11,988 research outputs found
Public Diplomacy Following 9/11: The Saudi Peace Initiative and “Allies” Media Campaign
Get PDFFrom 2001 to 2004, Saudi Arabia engaged in a variety of Public Diplomacy and Public Relations efforts to improve their image in the United States. This paper examines two such efforts, as well as their effectiveness
Effects of Reorganization on the Clientele of the Division of Family Services in Northern Utah
Get PDFThe Division of Family Services in the State of Utah has undergone an organizational change. State aid to needy families is now administered on a regional level, rather than a county level.
It was hypothesized that this reorganization would have little affect on the client\u27s attitude toward state services. They would be aware of the change but would be neutral in attitude about the change.
Survey research was used to obtain data for this study. A change scale was developed and a score computed. After reviewing the data the hypothesis was rejected. Clients did have a positive view about regionalization or organizational change
Comparing compact binary parameter distributions I: Methods
Full text linkBeing able to measure each merger's sky location, distance, component masses,
and conceivably spins, ground-based gravitational-wave detectors will provide a
extensive and detailed sample of coalescing compact binaries (CCBs) in the
local and, with third-generation detectors, distant universe. These
measurements will distinguish between competing progenitor formation models. In
this paper we develop practical tools to characterize the amount of
experimentally accessible information available, to distinguish between two a
priori progenitor models. Using a simple time-independent model, we demonstrate
the information content scales strongly with the number of observations. The
exact scaling depends on how significantly mass distributions change between
similar models. We develop phenomenological diagnostics to estimate how many
models can be distinguished, using first-generation and future instruments.
Finally, we emphasize that multi-observable distributions can be fully
exploited only with very precisely calibrated detectors, search pipelines,
parameter estimation, and Bayesian model inference
When good bugs go bad: Epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Corynebacterium striatum, an emerging multidrug-resistant, opportunistic pathogen
Get PDFABSTRACT
Infections with
Corynebacterium striatum
have been described in the literature over the last 2 decades, with the majority being bacteremia, central line infections, and occasionally, endocarditis. In recent years, the frequency of
C. striatum
infections appears to be increasing; a factor likely contributing to this is the increased ease and accuracy of the identification of
Corynebacterium
spp., including
C. striatum
, from clinical cultures. The objective of this study was to retrospectively characterize
C. striatum
isolates recovered from specimens submitted as part of routine patient care at a 1,250-bed, tertiary-care academic medical center. Multiple strain types were recovered, as demonstrated by repetitive-sequence-based PCR. Most of the strains of
C. striatum
characterized were resistant to antimicrobials commonly used to treat Gram-positive organisms, such as penicillin, ceftriaxone, meropenem, clindamycin, and tetracycline. The MIC
50
for ceftaroline was >32 ÎĽg/ml. Although there are no interpretive criteria for susceptibility with telavancin, it appeared to have potent
in vitro
efficacy against this species, with MIC
50
and MIC
90
values of 0.064 and 0.125 ÎĽg/ml, respectively. Finally, as previously reported in case studies, we demonstrated rapid
in vitro
development of daptomycin resistance in 100% of the isolates tested (
n
= 50), indicating that caution should be exhibited when using daptomycin for the treatment of
C. striatum
infections.
C. striatum
is an emerging, multidrug-resistant pathogen that can be associated with a variety of infection types.
</jats:p
Modelling of optical traps for aerosols
Full text linkExperimental observations suggest that there are differences between the
behavior of particles optically trapped in air and trapped in a liquid phase.
We present a modified version of Mie Debye Spherical Aberration theory to
numerically simulate such optical system in attempt to explain and predict
these effects. The model incorporates Mie scattering and focussing of the
trapping beam through media of stratified refractive index. Our results show a
geometrical optics approach cannot correctly describe our system and that
spherical aberration must be included. We successfully qualitatively explain
the observed phenomena and those of other authors, before discussing the limits
of our experimental techniques and methods to improve it. We draw the important
conclusion that when optically trapping aerosols the system does not behave as
a true `optical tweezers', varying between levitation and single beam gradient
force trapping depending on particle and beam parameters
- …
