Art and Medicine: A Collaborative Project Between Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar and Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar

Four faculty researchers, two from Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, and two from Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar developed a one semester workshop-based course in Qatar exploring the connections between art and medicine in a contemporary context. Students (6 art / 6 medicine) were enrolled in the course. The course included presentations by clinicians, medical engineers, artists, computing engineers, an art historian, a graphic designer, a painter, and other experts from the fields of art, design, and medicine. To measure the student experience of interdisciplinarity, the faculty researchers employed a mixed methods approach involving psychometric tests and observational ethnography. Data instruments included pre- and post-course semi-structured audio interviews, pre-test / post-test psychometric instruments (Budner Scale and Torrance Tests of Creativity), observational field notes, self-reflective blogging, and videography. This book describes the course and the experience of the students. It also contains images of the interdisciplinary work they created for a culminating class exhibition. Finally, the book provides insight on how different fields in a Middle Eastern context can share critical /analytical thinking tools to refine their own professional practices

The Feasibility of a Fully Miniaturized Magneto-Optical Trap for Portable Ultracold Quantum Technology

Experiments using laser cooled atoms and ions show real promise for practical applications in quantum- enhanced metrology, timing, navigation, and sensing as well as exotic roles in quantum computing, networking and simulation. The heart of many of these experiments has been translated to microfabricated platforms known as atom chips whose construction readily lend themselves to integration with larger systems and future mass production. To truly make the jump from laboratory demonstrations to practical, rugged devices, the complex surrounding infrastructure (including vacuum systems, optics, and lasers) also needs to be miniatur- ized and integrated. In this paper we explore the feasibility of applying this approach to the Magneto-Optical Trap; incorporating the vacuum system, atom source and optical geometry into a permanently sealed micro- litre system capable of maintaining $10^{-10}$ mbar for more than 1000 days of operation with passive pumping alone. We demonstrate such an engineering challenge is achievable using recent advances in semiconductor microfabrication techniques and materialsComment: 23 pages, 10 figure

Polarization Properties of the "Photon Pistol"

The deterministic single-photon emission by means of STIRAP through the atoms with degenerate levels is studied. The expression for the polarization matrix of the emitted photon is obtained and its dependence on the polarization of the driving laser field and on the initial atomic state is examined.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

A dynamic magneto-optical trap for atom chips

We describe a dynamic magneto-optical trap (MOT) suitable for the use with vacuum systems in which optical access is limited to a single window. This technique facilitates the long-standing desire of producing integrated atom chips, many of which are likely to have severely restricted optical access compared with conventional vacuum chambers. This "switching-MOT" relies on the synchronized pulsing of optical and magnetic fields at audio frequencies. The trap's beam geometry is obtained using a planar mirror surface, and does not require a patterned substrate or bulky optics inside the vacuum chamber. Central to the design is a novel magnetic field geometry that requires no external quadrupole or bias coils which leads toward a very compact system. We have implemented the trap for 85Rb and shown that it is capable of capturing 2 million atoms and directly cooling below the Doppler temperature

Greater than the sum of its parts: the growing impact of devolution on the processes of constitutional reform in the United Kingdom

This article is the revised text of a lecture given at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies on December 8, 2008, under the chairmanship of Lord Hope of Craighead and as the firts in a series on "What's Happening in Scotland?" Article by Chris Himsworth, Professor of Administrative Law at the University of Edinburgh, published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

Charter incorporation in Scotland to the rescue of central-local relations?

In a century of writing about local government in the United Kingdom, an inevitably dominant theme has been the analysis of central-local relations - defining the measure of control by central ministers and departments over local authorities and the degree of autonomy nevertheless retained by the local authorities. On the whole the story (including that covering the years of devolution) has been one of increasing central control and declining autonomy. In more recent times, the United Kingdom has signed and ratified the European Charter of Local Self-Government of 1985. Even more recently, steps have been commenced in the Scottish Parliament to «incorporate» the Charter into the domestic law of Scotland. This article considers what effect on central-local relations the incorporation of the Charter might have

Scientific Knowledge and Philosophic Thought

Originally published in 1986. Are there two kinds of problems—the scientific and the philosophic—each requiring different methods for solution? Or are there, rather, two different ways of approaching a problem, each yielding a different answer according to the method used? Biomedical researcher Sir Harold Himsworth urges scientists not to shy away from using scientific methods to grapple with problems traditionally accepted as belonging to the province of philosophy. The difference between science and philosophy lies not in the problems to which they are directed, Himsworth argues, but rather in the methods they use for solving them. To the scientist, a proposition is something to be investigated; to the philosopher, something to be accepted as a basis for thought. Since the development of the scientific method, substantial progress has been made toward mastering problems in the natural environment. If we are ever to attain a degree of control over problems that derive from human activities, Himsworth claims that we only succeed by approaching them in a comparably objective way

Marine geophysical studies between northwest Scotland and the Faeroe plateau

A marine geophysical survey of the northern Rockall Trough including the Banks to the north and northwest, the Wyville-Thomson Rise and the Hebridean continental shelf was carried out in 1970 and 1971,Gravity, magnetic and seismic reflection data indicates that the central Rockall Trough is underlain by about 5 km of sediment overlying a normal oceanic crust. The sedimentary thickness decreases to about 3 km and the crust becomes anomalously thick at the northern end of the Trough. Gravity and magnetic interpretation suggests that the Faeroe-Shetland channel is also underlain by anomalously thick oceanic crust. Gravity interpretation indicates that George Bligh, Bill Bailey's and Faeroe Bank are underlain by crust of continental thickness. The Wyville-Thomson Rise, which connects Faeroe Bank to the Scottish continental margin, is composed of two basement ridges of pre-Lower Oligocene age shrouded by sediments up to 1.5 km thick. The north easterly ridge is continuous from the Bank to the continental margin but the south westerly ridge terminates about 50 km from the margin. Magnetic and gravity evidence indicates that the ridges are composed of igneous material and that crustal thickening occurs beneath the ridges. An intrusive complex of unknown age lies beneath the southwest flank of the Rise. Gravity, magnetic and bathymetric interpretation indicates that the Hebridean continental shelf is underlain by Lewisian basement. Gravity and magnetic interpretation indicates that a NNE-SSW trending sedimentary basin about 1.5 km deep and with a partial covering of Tertiary lavas lies between Lewis and the Flannan Isles. Tertiary intrusive complexes, recognisable by their magnetic, gravitational and bathymetric effects, are present beneath St. Kilda, below the continental slope 75 km northwest of St. Kilda and beneath the shelf kO km north-northwest of the Butt of Lewis

Nanolitre real-time PCR detection of bacterial, parasitic, and viral agents from patients with diarrhoea in Nunavut, Canada

Background. Little is known about the microbiology of diarrhoeal disease in Canada's Arctic regions. There are a number of limitations of conventional microbiology testing techniques for diarrhoeal pathogens, and these may be further compromised in the Arctic, given the often long distances for specimen transport. Objective. To develop a novel multiple-target nanolitre real-time reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR platform to simultaneously test diarrhoeal specimens collected from residents of the Qikiqtani (Baffin Island) Region of Nunavut, Canada, for a wide range of bacterial, parasitic and viral agents. Study design/methods. Diarrhoeal stool samples submitted for bacterial culture to Qikiqtani General Hospital in Nunavut over an 18-month period were tested with a multiple-target nanolitre real-time PCR panel for major diarrhoeal pathogens including 8 bacterial, 6 viral and 2 parasitic targets. Results. Among 86 stool specimens tested by PCR, a total of 50 pathogens were detected with 1 or more pathogens found in 40 (46.5%) stool specimens. The organisms detected comprised 17 Cryptosporidium spp., 5 Clostridium difficile with toxin B, 6 Campylobacter spp., 6 Salmonella spp., 4 astroviruses, 3 noroviruses, 1 rotavirus, 1 Shigella spp. and 1 Giardia spp. The frequency of detection by PCR and bacterial culture was similar for Salmonella spp., but discrepant for Campylobacter spp., as Campylobacter was detected by culture from only 1/86 specimens. Similarly, Cryptosporidium spp. was detected in multiple samples by PCR but was not detected by microscopy or enzyme immunoassay. Conclusions. Cryptosporidium spp., Campylobacter spp. and Clostridium difficile may be relatively common but possibly under-recognised pathogens in this region. Further study is needed to determine the regional epidemiology and clinical significance of these organisms. This method appears to be a useful tool for gastrointestinal pathogen research and may also be helpful for clinical diagnostics and outbreak investigation in remote regions where the yield of routine testing may be compromised