Improved high voltage insulator for use in vacuum

High voltage insulator for electron bombardment ion thruster has electric field directed through dielectric material and electrons emitted by field emission are constrained in negative junction region. Surface flashover and unstable operation are eliminated, and maximum voltage is limited only by dielectric strength of material, aluminum oxide in this case

American military cemeteries overseas : an honors thesis (HIST 440/HONRS 499)

My thesis is centered on overseas American military cemeteries run by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC). The ABMC is comprised primarily of twenty-four cemeteries around the world, where American war casualties are buried, as well as numerous overseas monuments and memorials. All of them lie outside the US, but are considered property of the United States government and contain the remains of American servicemen and women who died while serving their country overseas.For my thesis, I have gathered a number of relevant sources regarding 21 of the 24 cemeteries, as well as more general information regarding major US battles and conflicts overseas, the results of which created the need for American cemeteries overseas. I have found and organized these sources to allow others to learn more about our military, particularly in World War I and World War II, the cemeteries themselves, and the people interred and memorialized there. These sources provide a wealth of information regarding these topics and create an informational map for future researchers and other interested individuals.In addition, I have taken the information I gathered and used it to create a video-style script, highlighting one specific cemetery and its stories, the Cambridge American Cemetery in England. By doing this and explaining my method, I show how the sources I collected regarding the World Wars, individual battles, and the ABMC cemeteries, can be used to create more specialized works of interest to the general public, as well as researchers and other military hobbyists.Honors CollegeThesis (B.?.

A Concept for a Leaky Wave Antenna Oscillator With Second Order Degeneracy

We exploit a second order exceptional point of degeneracy (EPD) to enhance frequency purity and oscillation stability in oscillators. The EPD we consider in this paper is a regular band edge (RBE) that exists in lossless and gainless periodic waveguides. We present an example of single-ladder oscillator that may act as a leaky wave antenna (LWA). The oscillator we develop has 8 unit-cells that form a resonant cavity and an active element is used to compensate for the losses and start the oscillation. We show that the oscillation frequency is in proximity of the RBE frequency thanks to the second order degeneracy

Parameterizing by the Number of Numbers

The usefulness of parameterized algorithmics has often depended on what Niedermeier has called, "the art of problem parameterization". In this paper we introduce and explore a novel but general form of parameterization: the number of numbers. Several classic numerical problems, such as Subset Sum, Partition, 3-Partition, Numerical 3-Dimensional Matching, and Numerical Matching with Target Sums, have multisets of integers as input. We initiate the study of parameterizing these problems by the number of distinct integers in the input. We rely on an FPT result for ILPF to show that all the above-mentioned problems are fixed-parameter tractable when parameterized in this way. In various applied settings, problem inputs often consist in part of multisets of integers or multisets of weighted objects (such as edges in a graph, or jobs to be scheduled). Such number-of-numbers parameterized problems often reduce to subproblems about transition systems of various kinds, parameterized by the size of the system description. We consider several core problems of this kind relevant to number-of-numbers parameterization. Our main hardness result considers the problem: given a non-deterministic Mealy machine M (a finite state automaton outputting a letter on each transition), an input word x, and a census requirement c for the output word specifying how many times each letter of the output alphabet should be written, decide whether there exists a computation of M reading x that outputs a word y that meets the requirement c. We show that this problem is hard for W[1]. If the question is whether there exists an input word x such that a computation of M on x outputs a word that meets c, the problem becomes fixed-parameter tractable

Minimal Synthesis of String To String Functions From Examples

We study the problem of synthesizing string to string transformations from a set of input/output examples. The transformations we consider are expressed using deterministic finite automata (DFA) that read pairs of letters, one letter from the input and one from the output. The DFA corresponding to these transformations have additional constraints, ensuring that each input string is mapped to exactly one output string. We suggest that, given a set of input/output examples, the smallest DFA consistent with the examples is a good candidate for the transformation the user was expecting. We therefore study the problem of, given a set of examples, finding a minimal DFA consistent with the examples and satisfying the functionality and totality constraints mentioned above. We prove that, in general, this problem (the corresponding decision problem) is NP-complete. This is unlike the standard DFA minimization problem which can be solved in polynomial time. We provide several NP-hardness proofs that show the hardness of multiple (independent) variants of the problem. Finally, we propose an algorithm for finding the minimal DFA consistent with input/output examples, that uses a reduction to SMT solvers. We implemented the algorithm, and used it to evaluate the likelihood that the minimal DFA indeed corresponds to the DFA expected by the user.Comment: SYNT 201

Munchausen by internet: current research and future directions.

The Internet has revolutionized the health world, enabling self-diagnosis and online support to take place irrespective of time or location. Alongside the positive aspects for an individual's health from making use of the Internet, debate has intensified on how the increasing use of Web technology might have a negative impact on patients, caregivers, and practitioners. One such negative health-related behavior is Munchausen by Internet

Insufficient treatment of severe depression in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

OBJECTIVE: To investigate depression frequency, severity, current treatment, and interactions with somatic symptoms among patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). METHODS: In this dual-center observational study, we included 71 patients diagnosed with NMOSD according to the International Panel for NMO Diagnosis 2015 criteria. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was classified into severe, moderate, or minimal/no depressive state category. We used the Fatigue Severity Scale to evaluate fatigue. Scores from the Brief Pain Inventory and the PainDETECT Questionnaire were normalized to estimate neuropathic pain. Psychotropic, pain, and immunosuppressant medications were tabulated by established classes. RESULTS: Twenty-eight percent of patients with NMOSD (n = 20) had BDI scores indicative of moderate or severe depression; 48% of patients (n = 34) endorsed significant levels of neuropathic pain. Severity of depression was moderately associated with neuropathic pain (r = 0.341, p < 0.004) but this relationship was confounded by levels of fatigue. Furthermore, only 40% of patients with moderate or severe depressive symptoms received antidepressant medical treatment. Fifty percent of those treated reported persistent moderate to severe depressive symptoms under treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate and severe depression in patients with NMOSD is associated with neuropathic pain and fatigue and is insufficiently treated. These results are consistent across 2 research centers and continents. Future research needs to address how depression can be effectively managed and treated in NMOSD

Interaction and observation, categorically

This paper proposes to use dialgebras to specify the semantics of interactive systems in a natural way. Dialgebras are a conservative extension of coalgebras. In this categorical model, from the point of view that we provide, the notions of observation and interaction are separate features. This is useful, for example, in the specification of process equivalences, which are obtained as kernels of the homomorphisms of dialgebras. As an example we present the asynchronous semantics of the CCS.Comment: In Proceedings ICE 2011, arXiv:1108.014

Применение гидродинамического моделирования для обоснования мероприятий по борьбе с подтоплением при использовании лучевого дренажа

Развитие подтопления способно существенным образом осложнить эксплуатацию инженерных сооружений. Это требует разработки эффективных мер по предотвращению негативных последствий подъёма уровней подземных вод. В случае особо ответственных сооружений повышаются требования к надёжности прогноза изменения гидрогеологических условий под влиянием эксплуатации защитных мероприятий. В статье рассматриваются вопросы прогноза изменения гидрогеологических условий на участке хранения высокорадиоактивных отходов под влиянием лучевого дренажа. Flooding development is capable to complicate operation of engineering constructions essentially. It demands working out of effectual measures on prevention of negative consequences of ascending gradient of levels of underground waters. In case of especially responsible constructions requirements to reliability of the forecast of change of hydrogeological conditions under the influence of operation of protective actions raise. In article questions of the forecast of change of hydrogeological conditions on a lot of storage of a highly radioactive waste under the influence of a beam drainage are considered

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty