14,584 research outputs found
The effective potential and the renormalisation group
We discuss renormalisation group improvement of the effective potential both
in general and in the context of scalar \p^4 and the Standard Model.
In the latter case we find that absolute stability of the electroweak vacuum
implies that , for \as (M_Z) = 0.11. We point out
that the lower bound on {\it decreases\/} if \as (M_Z) is increased.Comment: 22 pages plus three PostScript figures (appended), Liverpool preprint
LTH 288, University of Michigan preprint UM-TH-92-2
Abstractions of shapes and space.
Abstractions of shape and space is the theme of this thesis. These prints and drawings were created between September, 1984 and October, 1986. Emphasis was placed on developing a body of work which is expressive, spontaneous, and rhythmical.
Intaglio was chosen as a major area of concentration. I experimented with soft-ground etching, hard-ground etching, machine engraving, scraping, burnishing, open bite, sugar lift, aquatint, and with several techniques for color printing. The project also involved a study of various media with the purpose of finding a technique as artistically satisfying as intaglio but less physically demanding to execute. Colored pencils and pen and ink were eventually chosen as the favored medium
Privacy, confidentiality and practicalities in data linkage. National Statistical Quality Review
Mental Health and Psychosocial Calls in the Prehospital Setting in Ontario: A Qualitative Case Study
Paramedics have seldom been included in discussions of mental health care and yet play a significant role in the chain of mental health care for many. This thesis explores the nature of paramedic work and the mental health and psychosocial calls encountered by paramedics in the community. This project is a case study of mental health and psychosocial calls in paramedicine in Ontario and was designed to explore the care provided by paramedics on mental health and psychosocial calls, the training and resources for these calls, and the experiences of paramedics in managing these calls. Using both a feminist political economy and social determinants of health approach, this thesis explores questions around care provision on the front lines, but also beyond into community mental health services and to the social determinants of health impacting an individuals need for care from paramedic services. I conducted interviews with front-line paramedics, paramedic services management, paramedic educators and Base Hospital physicians/managers; observation in three paramedic services including urban, rural/suburban and rural with varying degrees of engagement on the issue of mental health in paramedicine; and document analyses of the standards guiding paramedic practice in this area. This thesis reframes issues of mental health calls in paramedicine from an issue of misuse of emergency services, to one which accounts for the contexts creating distress as well as existing constraints for work and care. Findings from this study support enhanced training and education for paramedics, specific mental health related programming for paramedic services, as well as the importance of working conditions for both care providers and care recipients. I argue that there must be a balance between efforts placed on establishing appropriate supports for managing mental health and psychosocial calls as well as addressing necessary training and education in this area, while simultaneously ensuring sufficient focus remains at the level of prevention at the broader social, political, and economic determinants of physical and mental health
Secure data analysis environments: can we agree on criteria for “Appropriate secure access” to linked health data?
Methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide fluxes from a temperate salt marsh: grazing management does not alter global warming potential
Soil greenhouse gas emissions from cattle grazed and un-grazed temperate upper salt marsh were measured using dark static chambers, monthly for one year. Below-ground gas sampling tubes were also used to measure soil methane (CH4) concentrations. CH4 efflux from grazed and un-grazed salt marsh did not differ significantly although grazing did lead to ‘hotspots’ of underground CH4 (up to 6% of total air volume) and CH4 efflux (peak of 9 mg m−2 h−1) significantly linked to high soil moisture content, low soil temperatures and the presence of Juncus gerardii. Carbon dioxide (CO2) efflux was greater from the un-grazed marsh (mean of 420 mg m−2 h−1) than the grazed marsh (mean of 333 mg m−2 h−1) throughout most of the year and was positively correlated with the deeper water table and greater soil temperatures. Grazing was not a significant predictor of nitrous oxide (N2O) soil emissions. Global Warming Potential (GWP; over 100 years), calculated from mean yearly chamber fluxes for CH4 and CO2, did not differ significantly with grazing treatment. Seasonal variation in the key drivers of soil greenhouse gas efflux; soil temperature, moisture and water table, plus the presence or absence of aerenchymatous plants such as J. gerardii were more important to the magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions than grazing management per se
Geological mapping of Sierra Leone : baseline assessment and next steps
Sierra Leone is a resource-rich country, with extensive known and potential mineral and petroleum
resources. However, knowledge about the geology of the country is limited, with very little modern
data in the public domain, and this hinders sustainable development of these resources for the
national good. The lack of data is now being addressed by the Extractive Industries Technical
Assistance Programme Phase 2 (EITAP 2) which is funded by the World Bank, and which aims
to deliver a national airborne geophysical survey and subsequent geological mapping of the
country (World Bank, 2017).
Alongside EITAP 2, the UK government is funding the British Geological Survey (BGS) to work
in partnership with relevant institutions in Sierra Leone, including the National Minerals Agency
(NMA), the Petroleum Directorate (PD) and Fourah Bay College (FBC), to build their capacity to
collect, manage and disseminate geological data. As part of that work, a field reconnaissance was
carried out across Sierra Leone in January 2018 to assess the state of current geological mapping,
visit mines and exploration projects, and to discuss how best to plan and carry out a mapping
programme. The field trip was led by three British Geological Survey (BGS) staff members
(Kathryn Goodenough, Jon Ford, and Darren Jones) together with 11 geologists from the NMA,
two geologists from the PD, and two staff members from the Geology Department at Fourah Bay
College. Pauline Scott and Avril Jamieson from the Department for International Development
(DFID) joined the first two days of the trip.
This report describes the conclusions arising from that field reconnaissance and associated
literature review, including a baseline assessment of the current geological mapping of Sierra
Leone, and suggestions for next steps. Some information is also derived from separate field visits
to the AMR Gold licence area in the Loko Hills (April 2017) and coastal outcrops in the Lungi
area (June 2017)
A UKSeRP for SAIL: striking a balance
ABSTRACT
Objectives
Whilst the current expansion of health-related big data and data linkage research are exciting developments with great potential, they bring a major challenge. This is how to strike an appropriate balance between making the data accessible for beneficial uses, whilst respecting the rights of individuals, the duty of confidentiality and protecting the privacy of person-level data, without undue burden to research.
Approach
Using a case study approach, we describe how the UK Secure Research Platform (UKSeRP) for the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank addresses this challenge. We outline the principles, features and operating model of the SAIL UKSeRP, and how we are addressing the challenges of making health-related data safely accessible to increasing numbers of research users within a secure environment.
Results
The SAIL UKSeRP has four basic principles to ensure that it is able to meet the needs of the growing data user community, and these are to: A) operate a remote access system that provides secure data access to approved data users; B) host an environment that provides a powerful platform for data analysis activities; (C) have a robust mechanism for the safe transfer of approved files in and out of the system; and (D) ensure that the system is efficient and scalable to accommodate a growing data user base. Subject to independent Information Governance approval and within a robust, proportionate Governance framework, the SAIL UKSeRP provides data users with a familiar Windows interface and their usual toolsets to access anonymously-linked datasets for research and evaluation.
Conclusion
The SAIL UKSeRP represents a powerful analytical environment within a privacy-protecting safe haven and secure remote access system which has been designed to be scalable and adaptable to meet the needs of the rapidly growing data linkage community. Further challenges lie ahead as the landscape develops and emerging data types become more available. UKSeRP technology is available and customisable for other use cases within the UK and international jurisdictions, to operate within their respective governance frameworks
Diagnostic tools for 3D unstructured oceanographic data
Most ocean models in current use are built upon structured meshes. It follows
that most existing tools for extracting diagnostic quantities (volume and
surface integrals, for example) from ocean model output are constructed using
techniques and software tools which assume structured meshes. The greater
complexity inherent in unstructured meshes (especially fully unstructured grids
which are unstructured in the vertical as well as the horizontal direction) has
left some oceanographers, accustomed to traditional methods, unclear on how to
calculate diagnostics on these meshes. In this paper we show that tools for
extracting diagnostic data from the new generation of unstructured ocean models
can be constructed with relative ease using open source software. Higher level
languages such as Python, in conjunction with packages such as NumPy, SciPy,
VTK and MayaVi, provide many of the high-level primitives needed to perform 3D
visualisation and evaluate diagnostic quantities, e.g. density fluxes. We
demonstrate this in the particular case of calculating flux of vector fields
through isosurfaces, using flow data obtained from the unstructured mesh finite
element ocean code ICOM, however this tool can be applied to model output from
any unstructured grid ocean code
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