The need for more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly alternatives in the refrigeration industry to meet global emission targets has driven efforts towards materials with a potential for solid state cooling. Adiabatic depolarisation cooling, based on the electrocaloric effect (ECE), is a significant contender for efficient new solid state refrigeration techniques. Some of the highest ...

The aims of this study were to estimate the magnitude of variability and progression in actual competitive and field vertical jump test performances in elite Paralympic sprinters with visual impairment in the year leading up to the 2015 Parapan American Games, and to investigate the relationships between loaded and unloaded vertical jumping test results and actual competitive sprinting performa...

Photoconductive antennas with nano-structured electrodes and which show significantly improved performances have been proposed to satisfy the demand for compact and efficient terahertz (THz) sources. Plasmonic field enhancement was previously considered the dominant mechanism accounting for the improvements in the underlying physics. However, we discovered that the role of plasmonic field enhan...

Past research suggests that choice in deciding the features of a task can enhance performance. Independent of the quality of performance, choice may also increase the actor’s confidence by providing a secondary source of subjective control during the task. In two studies designed to examine this augmentation hypothesis, college students were asked to read and understand a short story. Study 1 r...

The quality of performance during international competitions such as the Olympic Games and various world championships is often judged by the number of world records attained. The simple fact that world records continue to improve is evidence that sports performance is progressing. Does this also mean that athletes are improving? Is the continual progression of world-record performances evidenc...

Some audio declipping methods produce waveforms that do not fully respect the physical process of clipping, which is why we refer to them as inconsistent. This letter reports what effect on perception it has if solution by inconsistent forced consistent postprocessing. We first propose a simple sample replacement method, then identify its main weaknesses and an improved variant. The experiments...