2,099 research outputs found
Experimental evidence for the breakdown of a Hartree-Fock approach in a weakly interacting Bose gas
We study the formation of a quasi-condensate in a nearly one dimensional,
weakly interacting trapped atomic Bose gas. We show that a Hartree Fock
(mean-field) approach fails to explain the presence of the quasi-condensate in
the center of the cloud: the quasi-condensate appears through an
interaction-driven cross-over and not a saturation of the excited states.
Numerical calculations based on Bogoliubov theory give an estimate of the
cross-over density in agreement with experimental results.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter
A solid-state digital temperature recorder for space use
A solid-state, digital, temperature recorder has been developed for use in space experiments. The recorder is completely self-contained and includes a temperature sensor; all necessary electronics for signal conditioning, processing, storing, control and timing; and a battery power supply. No electrical interfacing with the particular spacecraft on which the unit is used is required. The recorder is small, light, and sturdy, and has no moving parts. It uses only biocompatible materials and has passed vibration and shock spaceflight qualification tests. The unit is capable of storing 2048, -10 to +45 C, 8-bit temperature measurements taken at intervals selectable by factors of 2 from 1.875 to 240 min; data can be retained for at least 6 months. The basic recorder can be simplified to accommodate a variety of applications by adding memory to allow more data to be recorded, by changing the front end to permit measurements other than temperature to be made, and by using different batteries to realize various operating periods. Stored flight data are read out from the recorder by means of a ground read-out unit
Describing interruptions, multi-tasking and task-switching in the community pharmacy: A qualitative study in England
Background: There is growing evidence base around interruptions and distractions in the community pharmacy setting. There is also evidence to suggest these practices may be associated with dispensing errors. Up to date, qualitative research on this subject is limited.
Objective: To explore interruptions and distractions in the community setting; utilising an ethnographic approach to be able to provide a detailed description of the circumstances surrounding such practices.
Setting: Community pharmacies in England, July to October 2011.
Method: An ethnographic approach was taken. Non participant, unstructured observations were utilised to make records of pharmacistsâ every activities. Case studies were formed by combining field notes with detailed information on pharmacists and their respective pharmacy businesses. Content analysis was undertaken both manually and electronically, utilising NVivo 10.
Results: Response rate was 12% (n=11). Over fifteen days, a total of 123 hours and 58 minutes of observations were recorded in 11 separate pharmacies of 11 individual pharmacists. The sample was evenly split by gender (female n=6; male n=5) and pharmacy ownership (independent n=5; multiple n=6). Employment statuses included employee pharmacists (n=6), owners (n=4) and a locum (n=1). Average period of registration as a pharmacist was 19 years (range 5-39 years). Average prescriptions busyness of pharmacies ranged from 2,600 â 24,000 items dispensed per month. Two key themes were: âInterruptions and task-switchingâ and âdistractions and multi-tasking.â All observed pharmacistsâ work was dominated by interruptions, task-switches, distractions and multi-tasking, often to manage a barrage of conflicting demands. These practices were observed to be part of a deep-rooted culture in the community setting. Directional work maps illustrated the extent and direction of task switching employed by pharmacists.
Conclusions: In this study pharmacistsâ working practices were permeated by interruptions and multi-tasking. These practices are inefficient and potentially reduce patient safety in terms of dispensing accuracy
Not Just Efficiency: Insolvency Law in the EU and Its Political Dimension
Certain insolvency law rules, like creditorsâ priorities and set-off rights, have a distributive impact on creditors. Distributional rules reflect the hierarchies of values and interests in each jurisdiction and, as a result, have high political relevance and pose an obstacle to reforming the EU Insolvency Regulation. This paper will show the difficulty of reform by addressing two alternative options to regulate cross-border insolvencies in the European Union. The first one is the âchoice modelâ, under which companies can select the insolvency law they prefer. Although such a model would allow distressed firms to select the most efficient insolvency law, it would also displace Member Statesâ power to protect local constituencies. The choice model therefore produces negative externalities and raises legitimacy concerns. The opposite solution is full harmonisation of insolvency law at EU level, including distributional rules. Full harmonisation would have the advantage of internalising all externalities produced by cross-border insolvencies. However, the EU legislative process, which is still based on negotiations between states, is not apt to decide on distributive insolvency rules; additionally, if harmonisation includes such rules, it will indirectly modify national social security strategies and equilibria. This debate shows that the choice regarding power allocation over bankruptcies in the EU depends on the progress of European integration and is mainly a matter of political legitimacy, not only of efficiency
Resolved diffraction patterns from a reflection grating for atoms
We have studied atomic diffraction at normal incidence from an evanescent
standing wave with a high resolution using velocity selective Raman
transitions. We have observed up to 3 resolved orders of diffraction, which are
well accounted for by a scalar diffraction theory. In our experiment the
transverse coherence length of the source is greater than the period of the
diffraction grating.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
How much time do nurses have for patients? a longitudinal study quantifying hospital nurses' patterns of task time distribution and interactions with health professionals
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Time nurses spend with patients is associated with improved patient outcomes, reduced errors, and patient and nurse satisfaction. Few studies have measured how nurses distribute their time across tasks. We aimed to quantify how nurses distribute their time across tasks, with patients, in individual tasks, and engagement with other health care providers; and how work patterns changed over a two year period.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Prospective observational study of 57 nurses for 191.3 hours (109.8 hours in 2005/2006 and 81.5 in 2008), on two wards in a teaching hospital in Australia. The validated Work Observation Method by Activity Timing (WOMBAT) method was applied. Proportions of time in 10 categories of work, average time per task, time with patients and others, information tools used, and rates of interruptions and multi-tasking were calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nurses spent 37.0%[95%CI: 34.5, 39.3] of their time with patients, which did not change in year 3 [35.7%; 95%CI: 33.3, 38.0]. Direct care, indirect care, medication tasks and professional communication together consumed 76.4% of nurses' time in year 1 and 81.0% in year 3. Time on direct and indirect care increased significantly (respectively 20.4% to 24.8%, P < 0.01;13.0% to 16.1%, P < 0.01). Proportion of time on medication tasks (19.0%) did not change. Time in professional communication declined (24.0% to 19.2%, P < 0.05). Nurses completed an average of 72.3 tasks per hour, with a mean task length of 55 seconds. Interruptions arose at an average rate of two per hour, but medication tasks incurred 27% of all interruptions. In 25% of medication tasks nurses multi-tasked. Between years 1 and 3 nurses spent more time alone, from 27.5%[95%CI 24.5, 30.6] to 39.4%[34.9, 43.9]. Time with health professionals other than nurses was low and did not change.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Nurses spent around 37% of their time with patients which did not change. Work patterns were increasingly fragmented with rapid changes between tasks of short length. Interruptions were modest but their substantial over-representation among medication tasks raises potential safety concerns. There was no evidence of an increase in team-based, multi-disciplinary care. Over time nurses spent significantly less time talking with colleagues and more time alone.</p
Using atomic interference to probe atom-surface interaction
We show that atomic interference in the reflection from two suitably
polarized evanescent waves is sensitive to retardation effects in the
atom-surface interaction for specific experimental parameters. We study the
limit of short and long atomic de Broglie wavelength. The former case is
analyzed in the semiclassical approximation (Landau-Zener model). The latter
represents a quantum regime and is analyzed by solving numerically the
associated coupled Schroedinger equations. We consider a specific experimental
scheme and show the results for rubidium (short wavelength) and the much
lighter meta-stable helium atom (long wavelength). The merits of each case are
then discussed.Comment: 11 pages, including 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. A, RevTeX
sourc
X-Atlas: An Online Archive of Chandra's Stellar High Energy Transmission Gratings Observations
The high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy made possible by the 1999 deployment
of the Chandra X-ray Observatory has revolutionized our understanding of
stellar X-ray emission. Many puzzles remain, though, particularly regarding the
mechanisms of X-ray emission from OB stars. Although numerous individual stars
have been observed in high-resolution, realizing the full scientific potential
of these observations will necessitate studying the high-resolution Chandra
dataset as a whole. To facilitate the rapid comparison and characterization of
stellar spectra, we have compiled a uniformly processed database of all stars
observed with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating (HETG). This
database, known as X-Atlas, is accessible through a web interface with
searching, data retrieval, and interactive plotting capabilities. For each
target, X-Atlas also features predictions of the low-resolution ACIS spectra
convolved from the HETG data for comparison with stellar sources in archival
ACIS images. Preliminary analyses of the hardness ratios, quantiles, and
spectral fits derived from the predicted ACIS spectra reveal systematic
differences between the high-mass and low-mass stars in the atlas and offer
evidence for at least two distinct classes of high-mass stars. A high degree of
X-ray variability is also seen in both high and low-mass stars, including
Capella, long thought to exhibit minimal variability. X-Atlas contains over 130
observations of approximately 25 high-mass stars and 40 low-mass stars and will
be updated as additional stellar HETG observations become public. The atlas has
recently expanded to non-stellar point sources, and Low Energy Transmission
Grating (LETG) observations are currently being added as well
Vacuum Polarization and the Electric Charge of the Positron
We show that higher-order vacuum polarization would contribute a measureable
net charge to atoms, if the charges of electrons and positrons do not balance
precisely. We obtain the limit for the sum of
the charges of electron and positron. This also constitutes a new bound on
certain violations of PCT invariance.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure attached as PostScript file, DUKE-TH-92-38. Revised
versio
Real time approach to tunneling in open quantum systems: decoherence and anomalous diffusion
Macroscopic quantum tunneling is described using the master equation for the
reduced Wigner function of an open quantum system at zero temperature. Our
model consists of a particle trapped in a cubic potential interacting with an
environment characterized by dissipative and normal and anomalous diffusion
coefficients. A representation based on the energy eigenfunctions of the
isolated system, i.e. the system uncoupled to the environment, is used to write
the reduced Wigner function, and the master equation becomes simpler in that
representation. The energy eigenfunctions computed in a WKB approximation
incorporate the tunneling effect of the isolated system and the effect of the
environment is described by an equation that it is in many ways similar to a
Fokker-Planck equation. Decoherence is easily identified from the master
equation and we find that when the decoherence time is much shorter than the
tunneling time the master equation can be approximated by a Kramers like
equation describing thermal activation due to the zero point fluctuations of
the quantum environment. The effect of anomalous diffusion can be dealt with
perturbatively and its overall effect is to inhibit tunneling.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figur
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