2,338 research outputs found
The OPERA trial : a protocol for the process evaluation of a randomised trial of an exercise intervention for older people in residential and nursing accommodation
Background: The OPERA trial is large cluster randomised trial testing a physical activity intervention to address
depression amongst people living in nursing and residential homes for older people. A process evaluation was
commissioned alongside the trial and we report the protocol for this process evaluation. Challenges included the
cognitive and physical ability of the participants, the need to respect the privacy of all home residents, including
study non-participants, and the physical structure of the homes. Evaluation activity had to be organised around the
structured timetable of homes, leaving limited opportunities for data collection. The aims of this process evaluation
are to provide findings that will assist in the interpretation of the clinical trial results, and to inform potential
implementation of the physical activity intervention on a wider scale.
Methods/design: Quantitative data on recruitment of homes and individuals is being collected. For homes in the
intervention arm, data on dose and fidelity of the intervention delivered; including individual rates of participation
in exercise classes are collected. In the control homes, uptake and delivery of depression awareness training is
monitored. These data will be combined with qualitative data from an in-depth study of a purposive sample of
eight homes (six intervention and two control).
Discussion: Although process evaluations are increasingly funded alongside trials, it is still rare to see the findings
published, and even rarer to see the protocol for such an evaluation published. Process evaluations have the
potential to assist in interpreting and understanding trial results as well as informing future roll-outs of
interventions. If such evaluations are funded they should also be reported and reviewed in a similar way to the
trial outcome evaluation
Polarized light ions and spectator nucleon tagging at EIC
An Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) with suitable forward detection capabilities
would enable a unique experimental program of deep-inelastic scattering (DIS)
from polarized light nuclei (deuterium 2H, helium 3He) with spectator nucleon
tagging. Such measurements promise significant advances in several key areas of
nuclear physics and QCD: (a) neutron spin structure, by using polarized
deuterium and eliminating nuclear effects through on-shell extrapolation in the
spectator proton momentum; (b) quark/gluon structure of the bound nucleon at x
> 0.1 and the dynamical mechanisms acting on it, by measuring the spectator
momentum dependence of nuclear structure functions; (c) coherent effects in
QCD, by exploring shadowing in tagged DIS on deuterium at x << 0.1. The JLab
MEIC design (CM energy sqrt{s} = 15-50 GeV/nucleon, luminosity ~ 10^{34}
cm^{-2} s^{-1}) provides polarized deuterium beams and excellent coverage and
resolution for forward spectator tagging. We summarize the physics topics, the
detector and beam requirements for spectator tagging, and on-going R&D efforts.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. Prepared for proceedings of DIS 2014, XXII.
International Workshop on Deep-Inelastic Scattering and Related Subjects,
University of Warsaw, Poland, April 28 - May 2, 201
Fully compressible simulation of low-speed premixed reacting flows
Low speed premixed combustion flows in industrial applications are generally simulated using the "incompressible" Navier-Stokes algorithms, which belong to the family of fractional step methods, or segregated methods. The approximations used for the combustion modelling in the framework of the segregated mathematical formulation, often represent important limitations for applying the combustion numerical simulation to a wider class of problems of engineering interest. Recent developments of preconditioning techniques allow to apply the same complete system of Navier-Stokes equations to a wide variety of fluid flow problems characterized by the whole range of Reynolds, Mach, Grashof, Prandtl and Damkoeler numbers. The present work describes the development of a fully "compressible" mathematical model for the simulation of low-speed turbulent premixed reactive flows. Issues on flow and fluid compressibility as well as on the two mathematical alternative formulations, are discussed. Also discussed are issues related to coupling the flamelet premixed combustion model (based on the solution of a transport equation for the progress variable) with one-equation turbulence models, instead of the classical two-equation K – ε model. In this work the model by Spalart & Allmaras is used. The several advantages brought about by the use of the fully compressible formulation are discussed based on the results obtained on a test case taken from literature
Deposition of tin oxide, iridium and iridium oxide films by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition for electrochemical wastewater treatment
In this research, the specific electrodes were prepared by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) in a hot-wall CVD reactor with the presence of O2 under reduced pressure. The Ir protective layer was deposited by using (Methylcyclopentadienyl) (1,5-cyclooctadiene) iridium (I), (MeCp)Ir(COD), as precursor. Tetraethyltin (TET) was used as precursor for the deposition of SnO2 active layer. The optimum condition for Ir film deposition was at 300 °C, 125 of O2/(MeCp)Ir(COD) molar ratio and 12 Torr of total pressure. While that of SnO2 active layer was at 380 °C, 1200 of O2/TET molar ratio and 15 Torr of total pressure. The prepared SnO2/Ir/Ti electrodes were tested for anodic oxidation of organic pollutant in a simple three-electrode electrochemical reactor using oxalic acid as model solution. The electrochemical experiments indicate that more than 80% of organic pollutant was removed after 2.1 Ah/L of charge has been applied. The kinetic investigation gives a two-step process for organic pollutant degradation, the kinetic was zero-order and first-order with respect to TOC of model solution for high and low TOC concentrations, respectively
Local Versus Global Thermal States: Correlations and the Existence of Local Temperatures
We consider a quantum system consisting of a regular chain of elementary
subsystems with nearest neighbor interactions and assume that the total system
is in a canonical state with temperature . We analyze under what condition
the state factors into a product of canonical density matrices with respect to
groups of subsystems each, and when these groups have the same temperature
. While in classical mechanics the validity of this procedure only depends
on the size of the groups , in quantum mechanics the minimum group size
also depends on the temperature ! As examples, we apply our
analysis to a harmonic chain and different types of Ising spin chains. We
discuss various features that show up due to the characteristics of the models
considered. For the harmonic chain, which successfully describes thermal
properties of insulating solids, our approach gives a first quantitative
estimate of the minimal length scale on which temperature can exist: This
length scale is found to be constant for temperatures above the Debye
temperature and proportional to below.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, discussion of results extended, accepted for
publication in Phys. Rev.
A comparison of electrochemical degradation of phenol on boron doped diamond and lead dioxide anodes
This work compares two electrode materials used to mineralize phenol contained in waste waters. Two disks covered with either boron doped diamond (BDD) or PbO2 were used as anodes in a one compartment flow cell under the same hydrodynamic conditions. Efficiencies of galvanostatic electrolyses are compared on the basis of measurements of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). Galvanostatic electrolyses were monitored by analysis of phenol and of its oxidation derivatives to evaluate the operating time needed for complete elimination of toxic aromatics. The experimental current efficiency is close to the theoretical value for the BDD electrode. Other parameters being equal, phenol species disappeared at the same rate using the two electrode materials but the BDD anode showed better efficiency to eliminate TOC and COD. Moreover, during the electrolysis less intermediates are formed with BDD compared to PbO2 whatever the current density. A comparison of energy consumption is given based on the criterion of 99% removal of aromatic compounds
Eliciting and reconstructing programme theory: an exercise in translating theory into practice
The importance of evaluation to demonstrate the effectiveness of policies, programmes and interventions is widely recognised. Evaluation in the context of public health and healthcare is viewed as a complicated exercise, particularly when dealing with complex interventions involving multiple partners, multiple components and multiple outcomes. Eliciting the programme theory is an important starting point of an evaluation process to enable the link between theory and action to be articulated. This article gives a pragmatic account of the practicalities of working with stakeholders as they embark on a formative evaluation of a complex public health initiative, using a using a theory-based approach. Drawing on the principles of Leeuw’s strategic assessment, we planned a workshop to reflect the four stages of this approach–group formation, assumption surfacing, dialectical debate and synthesis. Stakeholders took part in four activities–Free Listing, Sphere of Influence, Beattie’s Theoretical Framework and Programme Concept Mapping. We found that our elicitation approach was particularly suited to reconstructing the programme theory in a non-threatening and playful environment, bringing about an alignment of programme theories by consensus and reducing anxiety
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