3,495 research outputs found
Incorporation of two terminology projects into a system for information retrieval using NLP for term expansion
In this paper, we will discuss two medical terminology projects at the University College of Ghent, Faculty of translation studies, and the benefits of combining them to provide Dutch professionals and laymen with better access to information in biomedical databases. Our first project, the MeSH Termbase Project (MTB) is aimed at health care professionals, medical translators and also patients in need of language support. The main aim of our second project, the Multilingual Glossary of Technical and Popular Medical Terms, is the simplification of the terminology used in patient information leaflets
MuMax: a new high-performance micromagnetic simulation tool
We present MuMax, a general-purpose micromagnetic simulation tool running on
Graphical Processing Units (GPUs). MuMax is designed for high performance
computations and specifically targets large simulations. In that case speedups
of over a factor 100x can easily be obtained compared to the CPU-based OOMMF
program developed at NIST. MuMax aims to be general and broadly applicable. It
solves the classical Landau-Lifshitz equation taking into account the
magnetostatic, exchange and anisotropy interactions, thermal effects and
spin-transfer torque. Periodic boundary conditions can optionally be imposed. A
spatial discretization using finite differences in 2 or 3 dimensions can be
employed. MuMax is publicly available as open source software. It can thus be
freely used and extended by community. Due to its high computational
performance, MuMax should open up the possibility of running extensive
simulations that would be nearly inaccessible with typical CPU-based
simulators.Comment: To be published in JMM
Superradiant Laser: First-Order Phase Transition and Non-stationary Regime
We solve the superradiant laser model in two limiting cases. First the
stationary low-pumping regime is considered where a first-order phase
transition in the semiclassical solution occurs. This discontinuity is smeared
out in the quantum regime. Second, we solve the model in the non-stationary
regime where we find a temporally periodic solution. For a certain parameter
range well separated pulses may occur.Comment: RevTeX, 10 pages, 4 figure
Micromanagement in the gut : microenvironmental factors govern colon mucosal biofilm structure and functionality
The human gut microbiome provides us with functional features that we did not have to evolve ourselves and can be viewed as a structured microbial community that operates like a microbial organ within the human host. A minor but important part of this microbiome is the ability to colonise and thrive within the mucous layer that covers the colon epithelium. These mucosal microbes intimately interact with the intestinal tissue and seem to be important modulators of human health. Embedded in the host-secreted mucous matrix, they form a 'mucosal biofilm' with a distinct composition and functionality. In this review, we provide evidence that six specific (micro) environmental factors near the colon mucosa shape and determine mucosal biofilm formation and stability, that is, (1) mucous rigidity, (2) gradients of fluid shear, (3) radial oxygen gradients, (4) secretions of host defense molecules, (5) the presence of a rich but challenging nutrient platform and (6) the presence of niches at the colon epithelial surface. In addition, it appears that microbes actively participate in shaping their mucosal environment. Current insights into the interaction between mucosal microbes and their environment are rather limited, and many questions regarding the contribution of mucosal biofilm functionality and stability to human health remain to be answered. Yet, given the higher potency of mucosal microbes than their luminal counterparts to interact with the host, new insights can accelerate the development of novel disease-preventive or therapeutic strategies
High Performance Work Systems
Research, summarized and classified in the work of Delery and Doty (1996), Guest (1997), Paauwe and Richardson (1997) and Boselie et al. (2001), suggests significant impact of Human Resources Management (HRM) on the competitive advantage of organizations. The mainstream research on this topic reveals encouraging results on organizational level. Also in relation to Total Quality Management (TQM) there is research evidence that 'best practices' and/or 'high performance work systems' (HPWS) can be identified having positive impact on the performance of an organization (Waldman, 1994; Hendricks and Singhal, 1997 and 2001; Blackburn and Rosen, 1993). Delery and Shaw (forthcoming in 2002) allege a need for "research on research" in the area of HPWS and performance, more precisely research on organizational-level research methods. We argue that further "research on research" on the perception of the individual employee may also reveal new (methodological) insights in the effects of HRM and/or TQM practices on performances in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to (1) review methodological problems in empirical literature on HRM/TQM and performance and to (2) test the stability of HRM/TQM factors (or constructs) over time. We have the opportunity to analyze longitudinal data (1998 and 2000) of individual employee perceptions from the Ernst & Young company in the Netherlands. The HRM/TQM constructs appear to be relatively stable over time, just like the relationship between these constructs and performance.employee morale;total quality management (TQM);employee satisfaction;high performance work systems (HPWS);human resource management (HRM)
The effect of disorder on transverse domain wall dynamics in magnetic nanostrips
We study the effect of disorder on the dynamics of a transverse domain wall
in ferromagnetic nanostrips, driven either by magnetic fields or spin-polarized
currents, by performing a large ensemble of GPU-accelerated micromagnetic
simulations. Disorder is modeled by including small, randomly distributed
non-magnetic voids in the system. Studying the domain wall velocity as a
function of the applied field and current density reveals fundamental
differences in the domain wall dynamics induced by these two modes of driving:
For the field-driven case, we identify two different domain wall pinning
mechanisms, operating below and above the Walker breakdown, respectively,
whereas for the current-driven case pinning is absent above the Walker
breakdown. Increasing the disorder strength induces a larger Walker breakdown
field and current, and leads to decreased and increased domain wall velocities
at the breakdown field and current, respectively. Furthermore, for adiabatic
spin transfer torque, the intrinsic pinning mechanism is found to be suppressed
by disorder. We explain these findings within the one-dimensional model in
terms of an effective damping parameter increasing with the disorder
strength.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Mystery Shopping: In-depth measurement of customer satisfaction
This paper will discuss the phenomenon Mystery Shopping in the fieldof customer satisfaction measurement techniques. By using theliterature about Mystery Shopping definitions and restrictions of thisinstrument will be presented. Also, possible ways to present and usethe gathered data will be shown. After the literature part of thepaper some practical research will be presented. A Dutch Flexcompanyintroduced the instrument Mystery Shopping in addition to the alreadyused measurement methods like customer satisfaction measurement withuse of questionnaires. Some of the first results of the MysteryShopping visits will be presented.customer satisfaction;mystery guest;service quality
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