Detecting Technibaryon Dark Matter

The technibaryon constitutes a possible dark matter candidate. Such a particle with electroweak quantum numbers is already nearly ruled out as the dominant component of the galactic dark matter by nuclear recoil experiments. Here, the scattering of singlet technibaryons, without electroweak quantum numbers, is considered. For scalar technibaryons the most important interaction is the charge radius. The scattering rates are typically of order $10^{-4}$ (kg keV day)$^{-1}$ for a technicolor scale of 1 TeV. For fermionic technibaryons the most important interaction is the magnetic dipole moment. The scattering rates in this case are considerably larger, typically between $10^{-1}$ and 1 (kg keV day)$^{-1}$, depending on the detector material. Rates this large may be detectable in the next generation of nuclear recoil experiments. Such experiments will also be sensitive to quite small technibaryon electric dipole moments.Comment: 11 pages, Tex file, requires phyzzx, Santa Cruz preprint SCIPP 93/3

Efficient entanglement operator for a multi-qubit system

In liquid-state NMR quantum computation, a selective entanglement operator between qubits 2 and 3 of a three-qubit molecule is conventionally realized by applying a pair of short $\pi$-pulses to qubit 1. This method, called refocusing, is well suited for heteronuclear molecules. When the molecule is homonuclear, however, the $\pi$-pulses applied to qubit 1 often induce unwanted $z$-rotations on qubits 2 and 3, even if the $z$-components of qubits 2 and 3 are left unchanged. This phenomenon is known as the transient Bloch-Siegert effect, and compensation thereof is required for precise gate operation. We propose an alternative refocusing method, in which a weak square pulse is applied to qubit 1. This technique has the advantage of curbing the Bloch-Siegert effect, making it suitable for both hetero- and homonuclear molecules.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Preliminary testing using Mokken scaling of an Italian translation of the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia (EdFED-I) scale

© 2015 Elsevier Inc. Purpose: To study the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia (EdFED-I) Scale. Background: The EdFED Scale is the only validated instrument that measures difficulty with feeding in older people with dementia. The original English version of the EdFED had three factors measuring: behavioral aspects of feeding difficulty (obstinacy/passivity); indicators of feeding difficulty; and nursing interventions. Methods: Participants affected by dementia and living in nursing homes (n = 210) were selected. Data collectors were trained to observe the residents' eating problems and their food intake. The data were analyzed using Mokken scaling and Pearson's correlation. Results: The Italian version of the EdFED Scale formed a Mokken scale which correlated in the expected direction with measures of residents' weight, Body Mass Index, time taken to eat, Mini Mental State Examination score and Barthel Index according to the unmet needs model of Cohen-Mansfield. Conclusions: The EdFED-I shows reasonable psychometric properties and can be used for the assessment of feeding difficulty in Italian samples of older people with dementia. However, further work with larger samples is required to test the utility of the whole range of items and the necessity of their inclusion in the EdFED-I

Developing a stoma acceptance questionnaire to improve motivation to adhere to enterostoma self-care

IntroductionIn stoma care, patient education is often weak in terms of improving patientsâ level of acceptance of living with a stoma. Self-care educational interventions in enterostomal patients, which according to Oremâs Theory should take into account these patientsâ specific needs, require instruments that measure patientsâ stoma acceptance to improve motivation based on the resumption of activities they used to carry out before having a stoma.MethodsThe aim was to develop an instrument that measures the level of stoma acceptance to improve motivation to adhere to enterostoma self-care.Aspects that improve stoma acceptance and consequently motivation to adhere to enterostoma self-care were identified through 10 focus groups. In the focus groups, the motivation indicators were grouped, categorised and results entered into a Stoma Acceptance Questionnaire (SAQ). The SAQ was then piloted with 104 enterostomal patients from three general hospitals. The SAQ latent structure was explored using nonparametric item response theory.ResultsA three-factor structure was demonstrated for the 16 items of the SAQ: Autonomy and normality; Self-determination and normality; and Trust and burden. Mokken Scaling identified the âresumption of enterostomal patientsâ normal activitiesâ as a measure of stoma acceptance.DiscussionThe SAQ could enable nurses to adopt a standardized approach to the assessment of enterostomal patientsâ motivation to resume their normal activities and identify needs linked to this. The SAQ could also be used to measure the effectiveness of psychosocial and educational interventions aimed at improving stoma acceptance

Neo medieval urbanism : timeless urban design strategies gleaned from lasting European cities

textNeo-medieval urbanism is the proposal to build urban villages in larger metropolitan areas by mimicking the design of medieval European cities. This development type is modeled after German and Italian medieval towns that existed as independent city states from the 11th century. This method for designing new communities is consistent with the high demand for walkable urbanism and the trend toward transit-oriented development. Neo-medieval urban design has the potential to create human and ecological value through an architecture that restores pedestrians as the principle users of the city and builds community. Neo-medieval features such as scale, aesthetics, context-sensitivity, and natural relationship come together in a comfortable place for people. Such design would achieve environmental objectives including using less fossil-fuel energy and lower aggregate resource consumption. Quality of life improvements when coupled with an inclusionary housing policy, would enable a variety of income groups to live well. Furthermore, neo-medieval urbanism could be a tool for local economic resilience. Neo-medieval neighborhoods need not break much from their lasting European counterparts and thus could be home and workplace to some 5,000-50,000 people. Site studies of Bologna, Siena, Lucca, and Venice in Italy and Bamberg, Rothenberg, Regensburg, and Freiburg in Germany grounded this project. Methods for producing Neo-medieval urban villages include discussion of design features, a process for designing a neo-medieval neighborhood, and a model neo-medieval zoning code. Additionally, the conceptual design for the Lakeline TOD in Austin, Texas serves as a visualization. This paper concludes that neo-medieval urbanism could achieve many local policy objectives and is the ideal form for transit-oriented development and urban villages within cities.Community and Regional Plannin