UV Degradation of the Optical Properties of Acrylic for Neutrino and Dark Matter Experiments

UV-transmitting (UVT) acrylic is a commonly used light-propagating material in neutrino and dark matter detectors as it has low intrinsic radioactivity and exhibits low absorption in the detectors' light producing regions, from 350 nm to 500 nm. Degradation of optical transmittance in this region lowers light yields in the detector, which can affect energy reconstruction, resolution, and experimental sensitivities. We examine transmittance loss as a result of short- and long-term UV exposure for a variety of UVT acrylic samples from a number of acrylic manufacturers. Significant degradation peaking at 343 nm was observed in some UVT acrylics with as little as three hours of direct sunlight, while others exhibited softer degradation peaking at 310 nm over many days of exposure to sunlight. Based on their measured degradation results, safe time limits for indoor and outdoor UV exposure of UVT acrylic are formulated.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables; To be submitted to Journal of Instrumentatio

Improving echocardiogram view classification using diffusion models

In the field of medical science datasets are often highly imbalanced, where rare datapoints are of high importance. This study aims to explore the usage of synthetic datasets to improve the classification of echocardiogram views. We join together different echocardiogram datasets (EchoNet-LVH, EchoNet-Dynamic, TMED-2) to form a custom imbalanced dataset (N=38,915) including Apical two-chamber (A2C), Apical four-chamber (A4C), Parasternal long axis (PLAX), and Parasternal short axis (PSAX) views. We study the results of training a diffusion model on differently sized subsets of this dataset. For each size of real subset available, we train two echocardiogram view classifiers on (i) the real data subset and (ii) on the synthetic subset, generated from training on the real subset. Our results show that synthetic data can be used to improve echocardiogram view classification performance. Specifically we prove that the classification performance of minority classes is significantly improved when the imbalanced dataset is limited. The percentage of images that get correctly classified, for the minority classes A2C and PSAX, increases from 0 to 0.83 and from 0 to 0.77 respectively, when the real subset is limited to 1,000 examples

The impact of multiplex genetic testing on disease risk perceptions

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110591/1/cge12403.pd

Half-timber in Southern Sweden I. Bibliography and research overview with a Scandinavian outlook.

This study is a bibliography and research overview about half-timbered building traditions in the towns and rural areas of Southern Sweden, primally the counties Scania (Skåne), Halland and Blekinge (until 1658 a part of Denmark) but also in other parts of Southern Sweden. The study is the first report from a research project in progress and identifies 504 books and articles about, or partly about, the subject, most of them written in Swedish. For comparison, some relevant texts in English, German, Norwegian and Danish are also included. The study has three main chapters after a short introduction. First comes a partly commented alphabetical bibliography, then follows a bibliography in which the same texts are organized geographically under countries, counties, towns and, for texts concerning Scania, the jurisdictional districts called ”härad”. The last chapter is a chronological research overview on half-timber i southern Sweden, which also gives the main content to the English summary. The major result of the study is that a lot has been written on the subject half-timber i Southern Sweden since the 1900th century, mainly in art history, ethnology, archaeology as well as in local overviews. Many of the texts, however, are short, published locally and outside the universities. In some of them, the pictures (drawings or photographs) give us the most interesting information. The knowledge is fragmental and there have been few attempts to compare the examples, draw general conclusions and to write a solid overview

Skiva som stabiliserande element på glespanel.

Målsättningen med detta examensarbete har varit att studera skivverkan och ta fram brottlasten för en innertaks konstruktion. Takkonstruktionen som studerats bestod av gipsskivor på glespanelstomme som i sin tur spikats på en regelstomme. Arbetet har utförts dels som praktiska försök i Väg och Vattensektionens labbhall på LTH och dels som teoretiska beräkningar med hjälp av ett finitelementprogram

Changing behaviour 'more or less'-do theories of behaviour inform strategies for implementation and de-implementation? A critical interpretive synthesis

BACKGROUND: Implementing evidence-based care requires healthcare practitioners to do less of some things (de-implementation) and more of others (implementation). Variations in effectiveness of behaviour change interventions may result from failure to consider a distinction between approaches by which behaviour increases and decreases in frequency. The distinction is not well represented in methods for designing interventions. This review aimed to identify whether there is a theoretical rationale to support this distinction. METHODS: Using Critical Interpretative Synthesis, this conceptual review included papers from a broad range of fields (biology, psychology, education, business) likely to report approaches for increasing or decreasing behaviour. Articles were identified from databases using search terms related to theory and behaviour change. Articles reporting changes in frequency of behaviour and explicit use of theory were included. Data extracted were direction of behaviour change, how theory was operationalised, and theory-based recommendations for behaviour change. Analyses of extracted data were conducted iteratively and involved inductive coding and critical exploration of ideas and purposive sampling of additional papers to explore theoretical concepts in greater detail. RESULTS: Critical analysis of 66 papers and their theoretical sources identified three key findings: (1) 9 of the 15 behavioural theories identified do not distinguish between implementation and de-implementation (5 theories were applied to only implementation or de-implementation, not both); (2) a common strategy for decreasing frequency was substituting one behaviour with another. No theoretical basis for this strategy was articulated, nor were methods proposed for selecting appropriate substitute behaviours; (3) Operant Learning Theory makes an explicit distinction between techniques for increasing and decreasing frequency. DISCUSSION: Behavioural theories provide little insight into the distinction between implementation and de-implementation. Operant Learning Theory identified different strategies for implementation and de-implementation, but these strategies may not be acceptable in health systems. Additionally, if behaviour substitution is an approach for de-implementation, further investigation may inform methods or rationale for selecting the substitute behaviour

Hydro­thermally synthesized α-Ba2P2O7

Single crystals of α-Ba2P2O7, dibarium diphosphate, were obtained under hydro­thermal conditions. The structure belongs to the diphosphate A 2P2O7 series with A being an alkaline earth cation. α-Ba2P2O7 crystallizes isotypically with α-Sr2P2O7. All atomic sites have site symmetry m with the exception of two O atoms which reside on general positions. Both Ba2+ cations are coordinated by nine terminal O atoms from eclipsed diphosphate P2O7 anions to form a three-dimensional network throughout the structure

Peer play in inclusive child care settings: Assessing the impact of Stay, Play, & Talk, a peer-mediated social skills program

Peer-mediated interventions are highly effective strategies in supporting the development of social skills for young children; however, research has focused on how peer-mediated interventions are beneficial for children with social communication challenges such as Autism Spectrum Disorder. The goal of this study was to measure the efficacy of Stay, Play, & Talk for typically developing children in an inclusive child care setting to extend the use of the intervention beyond its previous focus on children with identified or suspected social communication challenges. Using pre- and post-intervention measures, social skills (communication, cooperation, empathy, and responsibility) increased significantly and problem behaviors (hyperactivity/inattention and internalizing behaviors) decreased significantly for children in the intervention group; whereas, their peers in the control group experienced significant increases in communication skills and bullying behaviors. These findings provide preliminary support for the efficacy of this peer-mediated intervention in supporting the development of social skills in typically developing young preschool-aged children