The preparation of New England norms for the 1947 revision of the Metropolitan Achievement Tests and their evaluation in respect to national norms for the same batteries

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1949. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Measuring the interests of adolescents by means of "The activity preference inventory"

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

Development of N/P AlGaAs free-standing top solar cells for tandem applications

The combination of a free standing AlGaAs top solar cell and an existing bottom solar cell is the highest performance, lowest risk approach to implementing the tandem cell concept. The solar cell consists of an AlGaAs substrate layer, an AlGaAs base layer, an AlGaAs emitter, and an ultra-thin AlGaAs window layer. The window layer is compositionally graded which minimizes reflection at the window layer/emitter interface and creates a built-in electric field to improve quantum response in the blue region of the spectrum. Liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) is the only viable method to produce this free standing top solar cell. Small (0.125 sq cm), transparent p/n AlGaAs top solar cells were demonstrated with optimum bandgap for combination with a silicon bottom solar cell. The efficiency of an AlGaAs/Si stack using the free standing AlGaAs device upon an existing silicon bottom solar cell is 24 pct. (1X, Air Mass Zero (AM0). The n/p AlGaAs top solar cell is being developed in order to facilitate the wiring configuration. The two terminal tandem stack will retain fit, form, and function of existing silicon solar cells. Progress in the development of large area (8 and 16 sq cm), free standing AlGaAs top solar cells is discussed

A 3,5-dinitro­benzoyl derivative of a stereoisomer of glycerol menthonide

The title compound, [(2S,5R,6S,9R)-6-isopropyl-9-methyl-1,4-dioxaspiro­[4.5]dec-2-yl]methyl 3,5-dinitro­benzoate, C20H26N2O8, was synthesized as part of a study of three-carbon stereochemical systems. The crystallographic assignment of the absolute stereochemistry is consistent with having started with (−)-menthone, the acetal carbon is R and the secondary alcohol is S. This brings the dinitro­benzoate into approximately the same plane as the menthyl ring and anti to the isopropyl group. Close inter­molecular C=O⋯NO2 contacts between neighboring mol­ecules [2.8341 (16) Å] contribute to the packing arrangement. The structure was refined as a pseudo-merohedral twin (monoclinic space group P21 emulating the ortho­rhom­bic space group C2221). Application of the twin law 100, 00, 0 gave a 2:1 ratio of twin moieties [refined BASF value = 0.3790 (7)]

In the Words of the Medical Tourist: An Analysis of Internet Narratives by Health Travelers to Turkey

Background: Patients regularly travel to the West for advanced medical care, but now the trend is also shifting in the opposite direction. Many people from Western countries now seek care outside of their country. This phenomenon has been labeled medical tourism or health travel. Information regarding health travelers’ actual outcomes, experiences, and perceptions is lacking or insufficient. However, advanced Internet technology and apps provide information on medical tourism and are a vehicle for patients to share their experiences. Turkey has a large number of internationally accredited hospitals, is a top tourism destination, and is positioning itself to attract international patients. Objective: The objective of this research was to identify the important individual characteristics of health travelers, outline the push and pull factors for seeking health care in Turkey, identify satisfaction with the outcomes and the results of these individuals’ treatments, and note positive and negative factors influencing their perceptions and overall experiences about patients’ health travel. Methods: This research uses qualitative data from Internet narratives of medical tourists to Turkey. Ethical considerations of using Internet narratives were reviewed. Narratives for analysis were obtained by using the Google search engine and using multiple search terms to obtain publicly posted blogs and discussion board postings of health travelers via purposeful sampling. Narratives were included if they were written in English, described travel to Turkey for health care, and were publicly accessible. Exclusion criteria included narratives that were on medical tourism facilitator or provider promotional websites, not in English, and did not describe an experience of a medical tourist. Medical tourists’ written words were analyzed in an iterative analytic process using narrative analysis theory principles. Three stages of coding (open, axial, and selective) were conducted to identify characteristics and themes using qualitative analysis software. Results: The narrative posts of 36 individuals undergoing 47 procedures who traveled to Turkey for medical care between 2007 and 2012 were analyzed. The narratives came from 13 countries, not including the narratives for which patient origin could not be determined. Travelers were predominantly from Europe (16/36, 44%) and North America (10/36, 28%). Factors driving travelers away from their home country (push factors) were cost and lack of treatment options or insufficient insurance coverage in their home country. Leading factors attracting patients to destination (pull factors) were lower costs, physician’s expertise and responsiveness, and familiarity or interest in Turkey. Health travelers to Turkey were generally satisfied with the outcomes of their procedures and care provided by their physicians, many noting intent to return. Communication challenges, food, transportation, and gaps in customer service emerged as key areas for improvement. Conclusions: This analysis provides an understanding of the insights of medical tourists through the words of actual health travelers. This nonintrusive methodology provides candid insights of common themes of health travelers and may be applied to study other patient experiences. The findings of this research expands the body of knowledge in medical tourism and serves as a platform for further qualitative and quantitative research on health travelers’ experiences

PANDA: A case-study examining a successful Audiology and Otology Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement research group

There has been increasing involvement of patients and members of the public in research; however, case studies describing patient research groups with hearing loss are non-existent. Such case studies will be valuable, enabling evidence-based dialogue and promoting best practice in the engagement of patients, the public and researchers. This paper aims to discuss this practice. The absence of such dialogue may hinder initial efforts by researchers to realise the potential of Patient and Public Involvement. The objective of this study was to set up and run a patient and public involvement and engagement group in audiology research, use the lessons learnt to provide a guide to others in a similar situation, and prompt the dialogue referred to above. A successful group with over 70 members has been set up, with an average attendance for meetings of between 15 and 20 participants. Feedback from the group indicates that members are happy with, and benefit from, their involvement and particularly appreciate the concern of those managing the group better to accommodate sensory impairments. Additionally, the group has improved research output for specific grant applications. We conclude that although this case study contains elements unique to the setting (a large NHS Trust in the Midlands), it also provides transferable observations and resources that can be adapted and utilised by researchers working with patients and the public with hearing loss. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Patient, Family & Community Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework) Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this lens

Tidally-Triggered Star Formation in Close Pairs of Galaxies

We analyze new optical spectra of a sample of 502 galaxies in close pairs and n-tuples, separated by <= 50/h kpc. We extracted the sample objectively from the CfA2 redshift survey, without regard to the surroundings of the tight systems. We probe the relationship between star formation and the dynamics of the systems of galaxies. The equivalent widths of H\alpha (EW(H\alpha) and other emission lines anti-correlate strongly with pair spatial separation (\Delta D) and velocity separation. We use the measured EW(H\alpha) and the starburst models of Leitherer et al. to estimate the time since the most recent burst of star for- mation began for each galaxy. In the absence of a large contribution from an old stellar population to the continuum around H\alpha, the observed \Delta D -- EW(H\alpha) correlation signifies that starbursts with larger separations on the sky are, on average, older. By matching the dynamical timescale to the burst timescale, we show that the data support a simple picture in which a close pass initiates a starburst; EW(H\alpha) decreases with time as the pair separation increases, accounting for the anti-correlation. This picture leads to a method for measuring the duration and the initial mass function of interaction-induced starbursts: our data are compatible with the starburst and orbit models in many respects, as long as the starburst lasts longer than \sim10^8 years and the delay between the close pass and the initiation of the starburst is less than a few \times 10^7 years. If there is no large contribution from an old stellar population to the continuum around H\alpha the Miller-Scalo and cutoff (M <= 30 M_\sun) Salpeter initial mass functions fit the data much better than a standard Salpeter IMF. (Abridged.)Comment: 43 pages, 22 figures, to appear in the ApJ; we correct an error which had minor effects on numerical values in the pape

2-(1,2,3,4-Tetra­hydro­phenanthren-1-yl­idene)malononitrile

In the title complex, C17H12N2, the non-aromatic six-membered ring adopts an envelope conformation. The dihedral angle between the eight-membered plane containing the malononitrile group and the aromatic system is 25.88 (4)°. The distance from the central C atom of the malononitrile group to the centroid of the n-glide-related distal aromatic ring is 3.66 Å, suggesting π–π inter­actions

Photon wave mechanics and position eigenvectors

One and two photon wave functions are derived by projecting the quantum state vector onto simultaneous eigenvectors of the number operator and a recently constructed photon position operator [Phys. Rev A 59, 954 (1999)] that couples spin and orbital angular momentum. While only the Landau-Peierls wave function defines a positive definite photon density, a similarity transformation to a biorthogonal field-potential pair of positive frequency solutions of Maxwell's equations preserves eigenvalues and expectation values. We show that this real space description of photons is compatible with all of the usual rules of quantum mechanics and provides a framework for understanding the relationships amongst different forms of the photon wave function in the literature. It also gives a quantum picture of the optical angular momentum of beams that applies to both one photon and coherent states. According to the rules of qunatum mechanics, this wave function gives the probability to count a photon at any position in space.Comment: 14 pages, to be published in Phys. Rev.