10,291 research outputs found
The midwife factor in obstetric procedures and neonatal outcome
Aims. In the face of major tendency towards midwiferyled-care it was our purpose to investigate the extent of the influence of the midwife on the rates of obstetric procedures and perinatal outcome. Methods. 5384 consecutive deliveries at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. University of Graz, were enrolled in the study. The following data were collected: mode of delivery, pH of umbilical artery, Apgar score. Firstly, data were investigated for interindividual differences and, secondly, for relationship with age of the midwife as a measure of experience. Results. Interindividual differences were significant for episiotomy rates (minimum: 31.6%; maximum 76.9%; p<0.001), forceps rates (minimum: 1.7%; maximum 11.1%;p=0.002) and pH of umbilical arteries (minimum: 7.21:maxinium: 7.28 p=0.001) but not for cesarean section rates and Apgar scores. Linear regression analysis was significant between age of midwives and pH of umbilical arteries (p<0.001: r=0.055) and for one-minute Apgar score (p=0.009; r=0.050) but not for episiotomy rates, cesarean section rates, forceps rates and five-minutes Apgar score. Conclusions. There are large interindividual differences in obstetric intervention rates which cannot be explained by the midwives' age. Provision of health care should be primarily determined by need and not by the personal characteristics of the health care provider, thus interindividual differences should be reduced and more often taken into account when analyzing any kind of data
Phase closure nulling of HD 59717 with AMBER/VLTI . Detection of the close faint companion
Aims: The detection of close and faint companions is an essential step in
many astrophysical fields, including the search for planetary companions. A new
method called "phase closure nulling" has been proposed for the detection of
such faint and close companions based on interferometric observations when the
system visibility amplitude is close to zero due to the large diameter of the
primary star. We aim at demonstrating this method by analyzing observations
obtained on the spectroscopic binary HD 59717. Methods: Using the AMBER/VLTI
instrument in the K-band with ~1500 spectral resolution, we record the
spectrally dispersed closures phases of the SB1 binary HD 59717 with a
three-baseline combination adequate for applying phase closure methods. After a
careful data reduction, we fit the primary diameter, the binary flux ratio, and
the separation using the phase closure data. Results: We detect the 5-mag
fainter companion of HD 59717 at a distance of 4 stellar radii from the
primary. We determine the diameter of the primary, infer the secondary's
spectral type and determine the masses and sizes of the stars in the binary
system. This is one of the highest contrasts detected by interferometry between
a companion and its parent star. Based on observations collected at the
European Southern Observatory, Paranal, Chile, within the commissioning
programme 60.A-9054(A)
Integrated optics for astronomical interferometry. I. Concept and astronomical applications
We propose a new instrumental concept for long-baseline optical single-mode
interferometry using integrated optics which were developed for
telecommunication. Visible and infrared multi-aperture interferometry requires
many optical functions (spatial filtering, beam combination, photometric
calibration, polarization control) to detect astronomical signals at very high
angular resolution. Since the 80's, integrated optics on planar substrate have
become available for telecommunication applications with multiple optical
functions like power dividing, coupling, multiplexing, etc. We present the
concept of an optical / infrared interferometric instrument based on this new
technology. The main advantage is to provide an interferometric combination
unit on a single optical chip. Integrated optics are compact, provide
stability, low sensitivity to external constrains like temperature, pressure or
mechanical stresses, no optical alignment except for coupling, simplicity and
intrinsic polarization control. The integrated optics devices are inexpensive
compared to devices that have the same functionalities in bulk optics. We think
integrated optics will fundamentally change single-mode interferometry.
Integrated optics devices are in particular well-suited for interferometric
combination of numerous beams to achieve aperture synthesis imaging or for
space-based interferometers where stability and a minimum of optical alignments
are wished.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accpeted by Astronomy and Astrophysics
Supplement Serie
Astrophotonic micro-spectrographs in the era of ELTs
The next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes (ELT), with diameters up to
39 meters, will start opera- tion in the next decade and promises new
challenges in the development of instruments. The growing field of
astrophotonics (the use of photonic technologies in astronomy) can partly solve
this problem by allowing mass production of fully integrated and robust
instruments combining various optical functions, with the potential to reduce
the size, complexity and cost of instruments. In this paper, we focus on
developments in integrated micro-spectrographs and their potential for ELTs. We
take an inventory of the identified technologies currently in development, and
compare the performance of the different concepts. We show that in the current
context of single-mode instruments, integrated spectrographs making use of,
e.g., a photonic lantern can be a solution to reach the desired performance.
However, in the longer term, there is a clear need to develop multimode devices
to improve overall the throughput and sensitivity, while decreasing the
instrument complexity.Comment: 9 pages. 2 figures. Proceeding of SPIE 9147 "Ground-based and
Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy V
Local pressure-induced metallization of a semiconducting carbon nanotube in a crossed junction
The electronic and vibrational density of states of a semiconducting carbon
nanotube in a crossed junction was investigated by elastic and inelastic
scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The strong radial compression of the nanotube
at the junction induces local metallization spatially confined to a few nm. The
local electronic modifications are correlated with the observed changes in the
radial breathing and G-band phonon modes, which react very sensitively to local
mechanical deformation. In addition, the experiments reveal the crucial
contribution of the image charges to the contact potential at nanotube-metal
interfaces
Exploring the Impact of a Marriage Seminar on Marital Relationships in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Trinidad
Purpose. The purpose of the study was to explore the quality of the relationship of certain married couples in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Trinidad and observe the impact that a marriage seminar would have on those families. This study should add to the academic field of study by possibly helping counselors and family therapists to consider whether group sessions with married couples will be a reasonable option in helping to enrich their relationships. It will likely provide resource information for counselors and counselees alike.
Justification. for the Project 1. Historically, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Trinidad has had a record of strong marriages. This rich legacy needs to be preserved. 2. Seventh-day Adventists are perceived as role models by many non-Seventh-day Adventists in Trinidad in terms of marital success. The current growing tolerance for divorce within the church threatens to undermine this positive perception. 3. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is accepting new members into its membership, some of whom come from broken homes and dysfunctional families, and thus, it has an obligation to equip and enable these new members to establish strong families. 4. The practice of obtaining a divorce outside of biblical grounds among Seventh-day Adventist leaders and members is increasing in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Trinidad.
Methodology. Theological reflection was done by examining relevant biblical passages and relevant passages from the writings of Ellen G. White that address the marriage covenant, divorce, and how to strengthen the marriage relationship. Christian literature dealing with strengthening the marriage relationship and marriage enrichment seminars was reviewed. A sample of six churches were selected in a combination of two large, two medium, and two small churches. A questionnaire was developed and sent out to married couples to determine (1) the quality of their relationship, (2) the strength of their communication, (3) management of conflicts, (4) how issues are resolved, and (5) the impact of in-laws. The questionnaires were collected and the data analyzed. A seminar to strengthen the marital relationship was developed based upon the evaluation of the questionnaires and was administered at a common site where the voluntary group of participants were invited to attend. The seminar consisted of five sessions that were administered for one day to the voluntary group of participants. After three to five months, the same questionnaire was given again to the participants who attended all of the sessions. The results were analyzed to determine the impact, if any, that the seminar had on their marital relationships as well as their appreciation of their marriages as covenantal and a reflection of Christ and His church.
Results. This study was relevant to my academic advancement since it allowed me to develop my powers of investigation, enhanced the practice of analyzing critical data, improved my ability and capacity to develop appropriate seminars, and enriched my own relationship and increased my counseling skill. This research was qualitative. The surveys took place in certain churches of the South Caribbean Conference among some of the married couples. Thus, this group were adults between the ages of 25 and 60.
Conclusion. The application of the intervention strategy provided the participants with the information to experience change, growth, and renewal. The evidence of impact on the relationships of the participants was clear. Their positive responses to the majority of the statements in the post-seminar survey indicated that fact
Identification of Cohesive Ends and Genes Encoding the Terminase of Phage 16-3
Cohesive ends of 16-3, a temperate phage of Rhizobium meliloti 41, have been identified as 10-base-long, 3âČ-protruding complementary G/C-rich sequences. terS and terL encode the two subunits of 16-3 terminase. Significant homologies were detected among the terminase subunits of phage 16-3 and other phages from various ecosystems
Computing the Least-core and Nucleolus for Threshold Cardinality Matching Games
Cooperative games provide a framework for fair and stable profit allocation
in multi-agent systems. \emph{Core}, \emph{least-core} and \emph{nucleolus} are
such solution concepts that characterize stability of cooperation. In this
paper, we study the algorithmic issues on the least-core and nucleolus of
threshold cardinality matching games (TCMG). A TCMG is defined on a graph
and a threshold , in which the player set is and the profit of
a coalition is 1 if the size of a maximum matching in
meets or exceeds , and 0 otherwise. We first show that for a TCMG, the
problems of computing least-core value, finding and verifying least-core payoff
are all polynomial time solvable. We also provide a general characterization of
the least core for a large class of TCMG. Next, based on Gallai-Edmonds
Decomposition in matching theory, we give a concise formulation of the
nucleolus for a typical case of TCMG which the threshold equals . When
the threshold is relevant to the input size, we prove that the nucleolus
can be obtained in polynomial time in bipartite graphs and graphs with a
perfect matching
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