The threshold properties of photonic crystal quantum dot lasers operating in the slow-light regime are investigated experimentally and theoretically. Measurements show that, in contrast to conventional lasers, the threshold gain attains a minimum value for a specific cavity length. The experimental results are explained by an analytical theory for the laser threshold that takes into account the...

The question of human resources is central to the success of VISION 2020 and of any health programme. The VISION 2020 global initiative document clearly spelt out what personnel was required and, more recently, the World Health Organization document on human resources for health care made recommendations on the type and number of people needed in order to meet all our objectives in global healt...

The purpose of this article is to introduce non-verbal tools as a way to initiate the psychosocial support response after a major disaster. The psychosocial interventions that follow the application of the Non Verbal Tool in its different configurations are based on the principle of fostering and strengthening the social and psychological attributes among the community members. The various psyc...

Family caregivers of persons following neurotrauma function as de facto extensions of our health care system. Their challenges may result in negative consequences for their physical and mental health, which directly impacts the well-being of their care-recipient. In this paper, we survey current practices in providing caregiver support, outline considerations for developing collaborative interv...

Objective The individually delivered Supervising for Home Safety (SHS) program improves caregivers' injury-related beliefs and supervision practices. The current randomized controlled trial used a group delivery in a community setting and assessed program impact, feasibility, and acceptance. Methods Caregivers of 2-5-year-olds were randomized to receive either the SHS or an attention-matched ...

The dispersive properties of waves are strongly affected by inevitable residual disorder in man-made propagating media, in particular in the slow wave regime. By a direct measurement of the dispersion curve in k space, we show that the nature of the guided modes in real photonic crystal waveguides undergoes an abrupt transition in the vicinity of a band edge. Such a transition that is not highl...

This review is focused on tests of Einstein's theory of general relativity with gravitational waves that are detectable by ground-based interferometers and pulsar-timing experiments. Einstein's theory has been greatly constrained in the quasi-linear, quasi-stationary regime, where gravity is weak and velocities are small. Gravitational waves will allow us to probe a complimentary, yet previousl...

Clinical investigations prove that blue light irradiation reduces the severity of psoriasis vulgaris. Nevertheless, the mechanisms involved in the management of this condition remain poorly defined. Despite the encouraging results of the clinical studies, no clear guidelines are specified in the literature for the irradiation scheme regime of blue light-based therapy for psoriasis. We investiga...

The central bank’s monetary policy targets are usually assumed to be constant overtime for simplicity when estimating a Taylor rule, but recent studies have shed some light on the time variation in policy targets, especially in the inflation target. The potential bias due to misspecification of the time variation can be quite considerable, especially in regime-swtiching models. In this paper, w...

Species in an adaptive radiation often occupy different habitats so that individuals of each species develop under different conditions. Showing that a radiation is adaptive thus requires evidence that taxa have diverged genetically and that each has an ecological advantage in using particular habitats or resources, taking into account both phenotypic plasticity and phylogenetic relationships a...