Human resources are increasingly seen as a key to innovation competitiveness, and there is a need for detailed, systematic data on the demographics of inventors, their motivations, and their careers. To gain systematic data on who invents, we collected detailed information on a sample of inventors in the U.S. and Japan (the RIETI-Georgia Tech inventor survey). The data come from a unique set of matched surveys of U.S. and Japanese inventors of triadic patents, i.e., patents from patent families with granted patents in the U.S. and applications filed in Japan and in the EPO, with data from over 1900 responses from the U.S. and over 3600 responses from Japan. Based on these survey data, we compare the profiles, motivations, mobility and performance of inventors in the U.S. and Japan. Overall, we find some important similarities between inventors in the U.S. and Japan. The distribution across functional affiliations within the firm, by gender, by educational fields and their motivations, are all quite similar. In particular, in both countries we find inventors emphasizing task motivations over pecuniary motivations. Firm-centered motivation (e.g., generating value for my firm) is also an important reason for inventing and this reason is relatively more important in the U.S. than Japan. Their distribution across types of organizations is quite similar. The percent of university inventors is nearly the same in the two countries, and the distribution of these inventors across technology classes is also quite similar. However, the percent from very small firms is significantly higher in the U.S. There are a few important differences. American inventors are much more likely to have a Ph.D. American inventors are older (even controlling for differences in the share of the inventors with Ph.D.s). The modal Japanese inventor has his first invention in his 20s, while for the U.S., the mode is the early 30s, and we also find many more American inventors over age 55 at the time of their triadic patent invention. In both countries, older inventors tend to produce higher value patents. American inventors are also much more mobile (although Japanese inventors with Ph.D.s also have high rates of mobility, mainly in the form of secondments). In the U.S., mobility tends to decline with age, while in Japan, mobility is higher for older inventors (likely due to the differences in retirement ages in the two countries). In both countries, mobility is associated with greater access to outside information. Finally, we find that foreign-born inventors are very important in the U.S. (we did not collect data on country of origin for Japan). Overall, these results suggest that inventor characteristics may be important for firm performance, and that institutional differences may affect the profile of inventors in each country, although the inventors of the two countries are very similar in many respects. Future work will examine how these cross-national differences in inventor profiles affect innovation in each country.


Somatostatin and dopamine are important neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. Their actions are mediated by members of a family of G protein-coupled receptors. For many receptors, homodimerization is an important aspect of functional regulation. Rocheville et al. show that this also can apply to two unrelated receptors like the ones for somatostatin and dopamine. The resulting heterodimers create a new type of receptor with increased physiological activity. Rocheville, M., Lange, D.C., Kumar, U., Patel, S.C., Patel, R.C., and Patel, Y.C. (2000) Receptors for dopamine and somatostatin: Formation of hetero-oligomers with enhanced functional activity. Science 288: 154-157. [Abstract] [Full Text]


Objective: The study aim was to identify the process underlying the performance of agency for urban-dwelling Aboriginal women in contemporary Australian society with a view to promoting social change for Aboriginal people. Method: Grounded theory methods were used in the conduct of 20 life history narrative interviews with Aboriginal women from across fourteen different language groups. Results: Analysis identified a specific ecological model of Aboriginal women's empowerment, defined as "becoming empowered". "Performing Aboriginality" was identified as the core category and encompassed the women's concern for carving out a fulfilling life and carrying out their perceived responsibilities as Aboriginal women. Conclusions: While confirming much of the extant literature on empowerment, the analysis also offered unique contributions – a spiritual sensibility, cultural competence and an ethics of care and morality. This sheds new light on the creative ways in which Aboriginal women "disrupt" discourses and create alternate modes of existence. The findings have implications for improving quality of life for Aboriginal people by informing the practical development and delivery of social and health policies and programs.


FOR many years the headquarters office of Music Educators National Conference has served as an information bureau and a medium of contact between inquirers and those who can supply the requested aids. This department in the Journal serves as an auxiliary to the MENC information service, and the questions printed here illustrate the varied types of inquiries received. All have been answered by mail with the help of MENC officers, committee chairmen, and others. Readers are invited to send their own answers to the headquarters offce. Copies of letters received will be forwarded to the inquirers concerned, and answers of especial interest will be published in the Journal.


The never ending increase of silicon capacity available to system and IC designers, as predicted by Moore's Law, brings on a cyclical crisis in design methodology and engineering productivity generating a ripple effect through the EDA and electronics industries. The system-on-a-chip era will need more than available silicon to become a reality. A new design methodology roadmap based on IP reuse needs to emerge. Two of the EDA giants, Synopsys and Mentor Graphics, took the initiative at DAC 1997 to set the pace for the new challenge of System-on-a-Chip design. After more than a year and the publishing of the Reuse Methodology Manual (RMM) that sets the stage for IP Reuse and System-on-a-Chip design, where do we stand? The Reuse Methodology Manual is well perceived and accepted by the design community and represents a stake in the ground towards ensuring rapid creation of reusable designs. Throughout this tutorial an attempt is made to describe the total SoC design now based on reusable IP and also to outline some non-trivial issues during this process: effect of available silicon capacity, SoC integration, SoC verification and documentation.


ABSTRACT Knowledge about methods to retain community mental health (CMH) clients in integrated primary and behavioral health care (PBHC) programs is needed to address longstanding health disparities. A preexisting data set that contained the clinical records of 446 PBHC program participants was used to examine whether baseline sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial characteristics predicted retention in care at 6 months post-enrollment. Results indicated that less than half of PBHC participants (43.7%) were retained in care, and approximately 17% of the variance in retention was explained by the inclusion of seven predictors in the model (overall health, medications, laboratory data, primary care provider, disorder type, transportation, and living arrangement). Clients with thought disorders were almost twice as likely as those with mood disorders to be retained in care, and greater frequency of prescribed medications also increased the likelihood of treatment continuation (ORs = 1.99 and 1.20, respectively). Future research should identify factors that improve retention in integrated PBHC programs overall, and among persons with mood disorders, in particular.


We present a new style of metric generator in graphs. Specifically we introduce a metric generator based on a partition of the vertex set of a graph. The sets of the partition will work as the elements which will uniquely determine the position of each single vertex of the graph. A set $W$ of vertices of a connected graph $G$ strongly resolves two different vertices $x,y\notin W$ if either $d_G(x,W)=d_G(x,y)+d_G(y,W)$ or $d_G(y,W)=d_G(y,x)+d_G(x,W)$, where $d_G(x,W)=\min\left\{d(x,w)\;:\;w\in W\right\}$. An ordered vertex partition $\Pi=\left\{U_1,U_2,...,U_k\right\}$ of a graph $G$ is a strong resolving partition for $G$ if every two different vertices of $G$ belonging to the same set of the partition are strongly resolved by some set of $\Pi$. A strong resolving partition of minimum cardinality is called a strong partition basis and its cardinality the strong partition dimension. In this article we introduce the concepts of strong resolving partition and strong partition dimension and we begin with the study of its mathematical properties.


This paper examines the changes in parents' perception on the value of daughters and their education. It utilizes information generated from Focus Group Discussions in two urban and four rural Isoko communities in Delta State, southern Nigeria. Eight Focus Groups were constituted in each of the towns and villages (four for men and four for women). The groups were homogeneous in terms of sex, age and educational level. It is observed that parents' perception on the value of daughters is changing because adult daughters have been found to be more caring and more supportive of aged parents than adult sons. Consequently, parents now consider the education of daughters as very rewarding since educated daughters become better equipped to provide support to their parents. The changing attitudinal disposition towards girls' education has implication for the enhancement of women's status and fertility decline.


Data centers, also known as server farms, are already storing most of the world's digital information. The availability of this data is of crucial importance to data center customers as an unreliable data service will not survive the fi erce competition. A reliable power supply and distribution architecture immediately draws the attention in this regard. Furthermore, data centers consume large amounts of electrical energy in trying to keep up with the energy demand associated with the rapid performance increase of the server technology itself. However, increasing energy prices and political pressure are forcing data centers to re-evaluate their energy consumption and increase their electrical effi ciency to remain profi table as well as to adhere to possible environmental legislation. This paper investigates the reliability and effi ciency of an AC power distribution architecture found in typical data centers. The application of a DC power distribution architecture is then proposed as an effi cient method of power delivery within a data center. This concept is inspired by the absence of reactive power, the possibility of the effi cient integration of small-distributed generation units and the fact that, internally, all the loads operate using a DC voltage. A comparison is then made between the AC and DC power distribution architectures as regards reliability, effi ciency and their susceptibility to introducing emerging technologies for supporting on-site electrical power generation and storage to achieve a more sustainable system with less emissions. The investigation reveals that the reliability and the effi ciency of a typical power distribution architecture can be improved by decreasing the number of power conversions required within the crucial current path from the source (public grid) to the load (server card). Yet, reducing the power conversions as far as a single point of conversion has an adverse eff ect. The reliability is reduced as it makes the power distribution more vulnerable to failure. Implementing a redundant distribution architecture solves this vulnerability. In this regard the DC power distribution architecture has the most advantage as it only requires two power conversions as opposed to four for an AC power distribution architecture. Effi ciency improvements ranging from 10 to 20% have been reported in the literature. Furthermore, it has been found that DC power distribution has the most advantage for the connection of emerging technologies for on-site power generation and energy storage as a signifi cant amount of this equipment delivers power in DC or high frequency AC, which requires an intermittent DC conversion when connecting to a conventional AC distribution system.


Abstract. Due to the influence of the occlusion of objects or the complexity of the measured terrain in the scanning process of airborne lidar, the point cloud data inevitably appears holes after filtering and other processing. The incomplete data will inevitably have an impact on the quality of the reconstructed digital elevation model, so how to repair the incomplete point cloud data has become an urgent problem to be solved. To solve the problem of hole repair in point cloud data, a hole repair algorithm based on improved moving least square method is proposed in this paper by studying existing hole repair algorithms. Firstly, the algorithm extracts the boundary of the point cloud based on the triangular mesh model. Then we use k-nearest neighbor search to obtain the k-nearest neighbor points of the boundary point. Finally, according to the boundary point and its k-nearest neighbor point, the improved moving least squares method is used to fit the hole surface to realize the hole repair. Combined with C++ and MATLAB language, the feasibility of the algorithm is tested by specific application examples. The experimental results show that the algorithm can effectively repair the point cloud data holes, and the repairing precision is high. The filled hole area can be smoothly connected with the boundary.


The asymmetric total synthesis of epoxyquinols A, B, and C and epoxytwinol A, and computational analysis of the key biomimetic oxidative dimerization procedure are described. In the first-generation synthesis, a HfCl4-mediated diastereoselective Diels–Alder reaction of furan with Corey's chiral auxiliary has been developed. In the second-generation synthesis, a chromatography-free preparation of an iodolactone using acryloyl chloride as the dienophile in the Diels–Alder reaction of furan and a lipase-mediated kinetic resolution of a cyclohexenol derivative have been developed. This second-generation synthesis is suitable for large-scale synthesis. A biomimetic cascade reaction involving oxidation, 6π-electrocyclization, and then Diels–Alder dimerization is the key reaction in the formation of the complex heptacyclic structure of epoxyquinols A, B, and C. Epoxytwinol A is synthesized by the cascade reaction involving oxidation, 6π-electrocyclization, and formal [4+4] cycloaddition reactions. A 2H-pyran, generated by oxidation/6π-electrocyclization, acts as a good diene, reacting with several dienophiles to afford polycyclic compounds in one step. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2007)


This special double issue (41.1 and 41.2) contains 11 articles on the formal properties of linguistic feature systems, all of which were presented at a conference in Tromso in the fall of 2013. The issue was jointly edited by Martin Kramer, Sandra Ronai, and Peter Svenonius. A version of the original call for papers posted in 2013 follows. All formal models of linguistics assume sets of features in terms of which generalizations can be stated. But the nature of the features themselves is often not explicitly addressed. In this special double issue of Nordlyd we focus on the nature of features across phonology and syntax and related domains of linguistics.  One group of questions concerns the 'grounding' of features in substance or content. For example, phonological features may be grounded in phonetics, and syntactic features may be grounded in semantics. Innatist traditions have sometimes posited innate universal inventories of grounded features. The 'substance-free' movement in phonology argues instead that the formal properties of features can and should be radically dissociated from their grounding in content. Sign language phonology would seem to support this position, as the featural system of sign language phonology operates with a completely different set of articulators from those used in spoken languages. Minimalist syntax also frequently promotes the dissociation of formal properties of features from their content (as in the proposal that tense is simply one of a variety of ways in which Infl may be 'grounded,' favored in Indo-European languages but with various other languages opting for other content for Infl). Such proposals raise many questions concerning how feature systems are constrained to be uniform across languages and to what extent they are free to vary. The radically opposing view in phonology denies the existence of categorical features altogether and attempts to model phonological patterns as statistical computation of phonetic data. The formal structure of features raises another set of questions. Complex patterns of feature locality gave rise to feature geometries in phonology, and these have been developed further to account for dependencies among features, not only in phonology but also in syntax. Cartographic work typically assumes linear hierarchies. To what extent are the various geometries and hierarchies motivated, and how might they be grounded in a broader explanatory theory? Interacting with these questions about the "geometric" relations among features is the algebraic structure of the features. For example, it is often assumed that privativity, in which opposition is marked by presence versus absence, is conceptually simplest and therefore the zero hypothesis. While in phonology the pendulum currently swings towards privativity, recently arguments have come from morphosyntax that features have binary values. While apparent ternary patterns in phonology have been taken as arguments in favor of binarity, such patterns have more recently been accounted for by reference to class nodes. Theories such as HPSG or Government Phonology assume much more complex relations among features (with HPSG even allowing feature-value matrices in which the values are feature-value matrices, extending to a kind of feature recursion, and GP positing government and licensing relations between features and positions). In this volume, a selection of researchers address these and other questions about the nature of features in linguistic theory.


Two experiments examined the psychological and biological antecedents of hierarchical differentiation and the resulting consequences for productivity and conflict within small groups. In Experiment 1, which used a priming manipulation, hierarchically differentiated groups (i.e., groups comprising 1 high-power-primed, 1 low-power-primed, and 1 baseline individual) performed better on a procedurally interdependent task than did groups comprising exclusively either all highpower-primed or all low-power-primed individuals. There were no effects of hierarchical differentiation on performance on a procedurally independent task. Experiment 2 used a biological marker of dominance motivation (prenatal testosterone exposure as measured by a digit-length ratio) to manipulate hierarchical differentiation. The pattern of results from Experiment 1 was replicated; mixed-testosterone groups achieved greater productivity than did groups comprising all hightestosterone or all low-testosterone individuals. Furthermore, intragroup conflict mediated the productivity decrements for the high-testosterone but not the low-testosterone groups. This research suggests possible directions for future research and the need to further delineate the conditions and types of hierarchy under which hierarchical differentiation enhances rather than undermines group effectiveness.


This paper describes the challenges faced, and opportunities identified, by a multidisciplinary team of researchers developing a novel closed loop system to recover valuable metals and reduce e-waste, focusing on mobile phones as a case study. This multidisciplinary approach is contrasted with current top-down approaches to making the transition to the circular economy (CE). The aim of the research presented here is to develop a product service system (PSS) that facilitates the recovery of valuable functional components and metals from mobile phone circuit boards. To create a holistic solution and limit unintended consequences, in addition to technological solutions, this paper considers appropriate component lifetimes; the (often ignored) role of the citizen in the circular economy; customer interaction with the PSS; environmental life cycle assessment; and social impacts of the proposed PSS. Development of enabling technologies and materials to facilitate recovery of components and metals and to provide an emotionally durable external enclosure is described. This research also highlights the importance of understanding value in the CE from a multifaceted and interdisciplinary perspective.


AbstractElite competitive golfers commonly use physical conditioning as a way of improving playing results. Multiple studies have investigated the use of different training methods for improving performance in golf but few studies have investigated the use of isokinetic power training as a way of improving clubhead speed (CHS). The specific objective of the study was to investigate if nine weeks of isokinetic training was more effective than traditional strength training in improving CHS. A 9 weeks intervention study implementing the isokinetic 1080 Quantum system was designed. 20 intercollegiate golfers (13 male and 7 women) all competing at an elite level participated in the study. The participants were divided into two groups, one group (n=10) received the isokinetic power intervention (IK) and the other group (n=10) continued with their normal pre-season strength-and power training regime and served as the control group (CNT). The strength/power tests consisted of countermovement jumps (CMJ), loaded vertical squat jumps (LVSJ) and sitting abdominal rotations. CHS was used as a measurement of golf performance. Statistically significant improvements were observed in both groups for rotational power on the non-dominant side. The IK group also increased their rotational power on the dominant side. There were no significant differences in CMJ height, peak power during squats or in CHS following the intervention period. There was no evidence suggesting that isokinetic training, as performed in this study, are more effective than traditional strength training when it comes to increasing CHS. Neither is there any evidence suggesting that the isokinetic training lead to any detriments in performance.


The anodic dissolution of 100Cr6 steel in neutral electrolytes containing sodium chloride and sodium nitrate was investigated potentiodynamically and galvanodynamically with a rotating disc electrode at room temperature. The total concentration of the mixed electrolyte was 3 mol L-1 with variation of chloride/nitrate mole ratios. The potentiodynamic linear sweep voltammograms (LSVs) in mixed electrolytes are similar to the LSVs in pure chloride electrolyte at lower current densities and switch to behaviour observed in pure nitrate electrolytes at higher current densities. Provided that both anions are present, it seems that the dissolution reactions at the steel anode are determined by the interface layer only. The effect of these layers on surface quality and current efficiency was also investigated in a flow channel applying galvanostatic pulses. An evidence for different dissolution mechanisms can be seen with an important influence of duty cycle and flow conditions. This allows external control of the desired dissolution mechanism in mixed electrolytes.


The purpose of this investigation was to discover whether there were differences in the adjustment of freshmen to Memorial University of Newfoundland during the first semester of studies in terms of overall adjustment, specific problem areas and differences in adjustment between rural and urban students. -- One hundred and thirty-six urban, and 137 rural students were tested in this investigation. These students were randomly enrolled in an Introductory Psychology course during the 1973-74 academic year at Memorial University. Once a week for each of the twelve weeks of the first semester, a different class was administered the Mooney Problem Check List (MPCL) in order to discover the problems which the freshmen experienced throughout the semester. -- The results of the MPCL were then analyzed in an attempt to answer each research question. To determine whether there were differences in adjustment over the semester, the total number of problems indicated was plotted on a graph and discussed. In order to discover whether there were some specific areas giving more problems than most, the scores for each area were plotted and those which appeared higher than the majority were discussed. Finally, to determine whether there were differences in adjustment between urban and rural students, a T-test was performed on the scores for each subscale of the MPCL for each week. -- The results obtained indicated there were differences in adjustment over the semester with weeks 1 through 4 showing an increasing number of problems, weeks 5 through 8 a relatively stable number of problems, week 9 showing a drop, and weeks 10 through 12 showing an increase, with week 12 showing the largest number of problems. At different times throughout the semester a number of problem areas were more predominant than others, the most notable being (1) Social and Recreational Activities, and (2) Adjustment to College Work. When urban and rural students were compared, a relatively large number of significant differences were found; however, the only consistent finding which appeared was that urban students almost always indicated more problems than rural students. -- The conclusion was that there were differences in adjustment throughout the semester generally and in specific areas; and, where significant differences existed, urban students scored higher.


As Washington elites drifted toward ideological poles over the past few decades, did ordinary Americans follow their lead? In "The Partisan Sort", Matthew Levendusky reveals that we have responded to this trend - but not, for the most part, by becoming more extreme ourselves. While polarization has filtered down to a small minority of voters, it also has had the more significant effect of reconfiguring the way we sort ourselves into political parties. In a marked realignment since the 1970s - when partisan affiliation did not depend on ideology and both major parties had strong liberal and conservative factions - liberals today overwhelmingly identify with Democrats, as conservatives do with Republicans. This 'sorting', Levendusky contends, results directly from the increasingly polarized terms in which political leaders define their parties. Exploring its far-reaching implications for the American political landscape, he demonstrates that sorting makes voters more loyally partisan, allowing campaigns to focus more attention on mobilizing committed supporters. Ultimately, Levendusky concludes, this new link between party and ideology represents a sea change in American politics.


We present a high spatial resolution study, on scales of ∼100 pc, of the relationship between star formation rate (SFR) and gas content within Local Group galaxy M33. Combining deep SCUBA-2 observations with archival GALEX, SDSS, WISE, Spitzer, and submillimetre Herschel data, we are able to model the entire SED from UV to sub-mm wavelengths. We calculate the SFR on a pixel-by-pixel basis using the total infrared luminosity, and find a total SFR of 0.17±0.06M ⊙ 0.17±0.06M⊙ yr−1, somewhat lower than our other two measures of SFR – combined FUV and 24 μ μ m SFR ( 0.25 +0.10 −0.07 M ⊙ 0.25−0.07+0.10M⊙ yr−1) and SED-fitting tool magphys ( 0.33 +0.05 −0.06 M ⊙ 0.33−0.06+0.05M⊙ yr−1). We trace the total gas using a combination of the 21cm H i line for atomic hydrogen, and CO(J=2−1) data for molecular hydrogen. We have also traced the total gas using dust masses. We study the star formation law in terms of molecular gas, total gas, and gas from dust. We perform an analysis of the star formation law on a variety of pixel scales, from 25 arcsec to 500 arcsec (100 pc to 2 kpc). At kpc scales, we find that a linear Schmidt-type power law index is suitable for molecular gas, but the index appears to be much higher with total gas, and gas from dust. Whilst we find a strong scale dependence on the Schmidt index, the gas depletion time-scale is invariant with pixel scale.


Few episodes in postcolonial Australian history have shown so remarkable a capacity to generate ever-increasing cross-fertilisations between myth, history and memory than the narratives centred on Eliza Fraser. The archive of materials surrounding the shipwreck of this British woman and her brief sojourn among the indigenous people of the Badtjala community of Fraser Island in the nineteenth century continues to grow. Kay Schaffer's impressive work overtook earlier studies of the phenomenon but concentrates mainly on the many European re-constructions of the episode .The fecundity of the materials is far from exhausted. This paper explores some of the Aboriginal reactions to the tale but its main focus is Patrick White's novel A Fringe of Leaves, which grew out of his own research and constructs a new myth with implications for the nation. It is a work with the potential for developing (in Jim Davidson's words) "a myth of reconciliation, and possibilities of growth."This Paper shows White's melding of history, myth, memory and imagination in this novel is illustrative of the literary artist's contribution to "writing the nation."


The focus of this project was to detect differences in running gait (at a fixed speed) induced by differences in shoes and surfaces. A review of the literature indicated that improvements in the measurement and analysis techniques were necessary to yield results accurate and reliable enough to. detect these differences. A pilot study was therefore performed to evaluate the magnitude of the measurement errors and the repeatibility of the results.
One subject completed 98 trials (emcompassing 10 different shoesurface conditions) at a fixed speed (approximately 4.46 m/sec) and the vertical (FZ) and horizontal (FY) ground reaction forces were measured. Parameters were developed ·to completely describe the characteristics of the ground reactions (FZ, FY). A statistical analysis performed using these parameters concluded that 10 trial repetitions were required for a reliable result. An X-ray study of one subject was also performed. This study evaluated the errors due to skin markers ( used for filming) moving with respect to the underlying bone. As a result of the X-ray study a new technique to reduce the marker motion errors was developed, tested and found to be potentially powerful.
On the basis of the pilot study, the main experiment was designed to test five male subjects under four shoe-surface conditions. High speed films in conjunction with force platform data were collected. A two-dimensional model of the human leg was employed to yield resultant forces and moments at four joints (hip, knee, ankle and metatarsophalangeal). Parameters were developed to describe these resultants. The force parameters, joint resultant parameters and shoe /surface parameters (from friction, resilience and flexibility tests of the shoes) were correlated and discussed in relation to performance and injury potential. Methods of applying the conclusions to shoe and surface design were suggested.


What is it about a quality fastball that brings us to the edge of our seats? How is it humanly possible to throw more than 100 mph? And the big question: Who is the fastest pitcher ever? Drawing on interviews with current and former players, managers, scouts, experts, and historians, Tim Wendel delivers the answers to some of the most intriguing questions about the fastball, providing insight into one of baseballs most exhilarating yet mystifying draws. In High Heat he takes us on a quest to separate verifiable fact from baseball lore, traveling from ballparks across the country to the Baseball Hall of Fame, piecing together the fascinating history of the fastball from its early development to the present form while exploring its remarkable impact on the game and the pitchers who have been blessed (or cursed) with its gift. From legends such as Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson, Steve Dalkowski, and Satchel Paige to present-day standard bearers like Tim Lincecum, Billy Wagner, and Randy Johnson, Wendel examines the factors that make throwing heat an elusive ability that few have and even fewer can harness. Along the way he investigates the effectiveness of early speed-testing techniques (including Bob Fellers infamous motorcycle test), explains why todays radar gun readings still leave plenty of room for debate, and even visits an aerodynamic testing lab outside of Birmingham, Alabama, in order to understand the mechanics that make throwing heat possible in the first place. At its heart, High Heat is a reflection on our infatuation with the fastball-the expectation it carries, the raw ability it puts on display, and, most of all, the feats and trials of those who have attempted to master it. As Wendel puts it, The tale of high heat can lead in several different directions at once, and the real story has more to do with triumph and tragedy that with the simple act of throwing a baseball.


This paper presents a high-speed single channel pipeline analog-to-digital converter sampling at 2.4 GS/s which, to the authors' best knowledge, is the fastest reported for pipeline converters. The use of a time-borrowing clocking scheme eliminates the comparator latency from the critical path and together with the use of fast open-loop current-mode amplifiers the high sample rate is achieved. Implemented in a 65nm general purpose CMOS technology the effective number of bits is above 4.7 in the Nyquist band, being 5.4 and 4.9 at DC and Nyquist respectively. This shows that very fast pipeline ADCs are possible to implement as key building blocks in interleaved structures.


Based on multivariate linear regression models, we analyze the effect of the lunar cycle and the number of sunspots occurring on a particular day on the number of births using social security data and controlling for a number of other potential confounders. The daily number of births between 1920 and 1989 have been calculated from the full sample of individuals who have been registered at least once in the German social security system. While the lunar cycle does not affect the number of births, the number of sunspots has a positive, albeit small effect on the number of births which is decreasing over time. The empirical results may be explained by medical technological progress making natural influences on births less important over time. This interpretation is supported by the results on the intertemporal influence of weekends and holidays on the frequency of daily births.


Cognitive control allows stimulus-response processing to be aligned with internal goals and is thus central to intelligent, purposeful behavior. Control is thought to depend in part on the active representation of task information in prefrontal cortex (PFC), which provides a source of contextual bias on perception, decision making, and action. In the present study, we investigated the organization, influences, and consequences of context representation as human subjects performed a cued sorting task that required them to flexibly judge the relationship between pairs of multivalent stimuli. Using a connectivity-based parcellation of PFC and multivariate decoding analyses, we determined that context is specifically and transiently represented in a region spanning the inferior frontal sulcus during context-dependent decision making. We also found strong evidence that decision context is represented within the intraparietal sulcus, an area previously shown to be functionally networked with the inferior frontal sulcus at rest and during task performance. Rule-guided allocation of attention to different stimulus dimensions produced discriminable patterns of activation in visual cortex, providing a signature of top-down bias over perception. Furthermore, demands on cognitive control arising from the task structure modulated context representation, which was found to be strongest after a shift in task rules. When context representation in frontoparietal areas increased in strength, as measured by the discriminability of high-dimensional activation patterns, the bias on attended stimulus features was enhanced. These results provide novel evidence that illuminates the mechanisms by which humans flexibly guide behavior in complex environments.


Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training is a systematically corrected, enhanced and updated avatar of a book (1995) which is widely used in T&I training programmes worldwide and widely quoted in the international Translation Studies community. It provides readers with the conceptual bases required to understand both the principles and recurrent issues and difficulties in professional translation and interpreting, guiding them along from an introduction to fundamental communication issues in translation to a discussion of the usefulness of research about Translation, through discussions of loyalty and fidelity issues, translation and interpreting strategies and tactics and underlying norms, ad hoc knowledge acquisition, sources of errors in translation, T&I cognition and language availability. It takes on board recent developments as reflected in the literature and spells out and discusses links between practices and concepts in T&I and concepts and theories from cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics.


The present investigation deals with the engineering geological studies of soil and rock masses in the Wadi Quaz area-Dam No. 2, East of Jeddah. Wadi Quaz area-Dam No. 2, East of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia often faces floods during rainy seasons, so it is so urgent to investigate the area before building any dam or preventing water from flow. Preventing water from flow will produce new dangerous factors such as uplift force which may cause the dam failure. To have a better understanding of the factors that may affect the slope stability, many rock slope locations are observed in detail to assess the effect of discontinuities formed in the rock masses. Fieldwork and Laboratory tests were carried out on soil and rocks. Soils included identification of soil type using unified soil classification system, permeability, water content and field density were done for soils. Rocks include identification of physical and mechanical properties such as: rock type, degree of weathering, rock strength, RQD, joint spacing measurements, and geometric properties (Dip, and Dip direction). Different methods were used to evaluate the potential failure in the studied area depending on rock mass rating and slope stability analysis. The well-known classification of rock masses titled Rock Mass Rating system [1] was used for categorizing the rock masses in the studied area besides slope mass rating [2] which would help to estimate the rock stability. The kinematical analysis was applied to investigate the potential failure mode which might occur in the dam abutments. This paper will provide the stability of dam abutments in both summer season and winter season besides general estimation of the seepage problems related to the soil and according to its permeability.


Hourly values of evapotranspiration ( ET ) for the months July to September 1976 and 1977 were calculated from energy balance measurements at two test sites near the village of Obergurgl in the Austrian Alps. One test site was situated at 1,960 m a.s.l. on a cultivated meadow near the timberline, the other test site at 2,580 m a.s.l. was covered with alpine sedges and grasses. Examples of the daily variations and daily sums of the energy fluxes are presented for clear and cloudy days. The mean daily courses of ET at the two test sites are shown for every month of the measurement periods; differences in ET between the two test sites are related to the decrease of transpirating leaf areas with altitude. Monthly sums of ET are presented in relation to net radiation and precipitation; on the average ET was about 30% lower at the higher elevated site. High correlations were found between the daily sums of net radiation and of ET at both sites. This relation can be used for calculating ET from radiation measurements.


Although human sustained control movements are continuous in nature there is still controversy on the mechanisms underlying such physiological systems. A popular topic of debate is whether human motor control mechanisms could be modelled as engineering control systems, and if so, what control algorithm is most appropriate.

Since the early years of modelling sustained control tasks in human motor control the servomechanism has been an adequate model to describe human tracking tasks. Another continuous-time system model that is often used to model sustained control tasks is the predictive controller which is based on internal models and includes prediction and optimisation. On the other hand, studies have suggested intermittent behaviour of the ``human controller'' in sustained motor control tasks.

This thesis investigated whether intermittent control is a suitable approach to describe sustained human motor control. It was investigated how well an intermittent control system model could approximate both the deterministic and non-deterministic parts of experimental data, from a visual-manual compensatory tracking task. Finally, a preliminary study was conducted to explore issues associated with the practical implementation of the intermittent control model.

To fit the deterministic part of experimental data, a frequency domain identification method was used. Identification results obtained with an intermittent controller were compared against the results using continuous-time non-predictive and predictive controllers. The results show that the identified frequency response functions of the intermittent control model not only fit the frequency response functions derived from the experimental data well, but most importantly resulted in identified controller parameters which are similar to those identified using a predictive controller, and whose parameter values appear to be physiologically meaningful.

A novel way to explain human variability, as represented by the non-deterministic part of the experimental data (the \emph{remnant}), was developed, based on an intermittent control model with variable intermittent interval. This model was compared against the established paradigm, in which variability is explained by a predictive controller with added noise, either signal dependent control signal noise, or observation noise. The study has shown that the intermittent controller with a variable intermittent interval could model the non-deterministic experimental data as well as the predictive controller model with added noise. This provides a new explanation for the source of remnant in human control as inherent to the controller structure, rather than as a noise signal, and enables a new interpretation for the physiological basis for human variability.

Finally, the theoretical intermittent control model was implemented in real-time in the context of the physiological control mechanism of human standing balance. An experimental method was developed to apply automatic artificial balance of an inverted pendulum in the context of human standing, via functions electrical stimulation control of the lower leg muscles of a healthy subject.

The significance of this study is, firstly, that frequency domain identification was applied for the first time with intermittent control, and it could be shown that both intermittent and predictive control models can model deterministic experimental data from manual tracking tasks equally well. Secondly, for the first time the inherent variability, which is represented by the remnant signal, in human motor control tasks could be modelled as part of the structure of the intermittent controller rather than as an added noise model. Although, the experimental method to apply automatic artificial balance of an inverted pendulum in the context of human standing was not successful, the intermittent controller was implemented for the first time in real-time and combined with electrical muscle stimulation to control a physiological mechanism.


OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to determine from a sample of Amazonian youngsters, with normal occlusion, the mean values for soft profile characteristics using cephalometric radiographs obtained in lateral norm. METHODS: The cephalometric radiographs of the 30 youngsters, being 15 males and 15 females, with mean age of 21.6 years old, were assessed. For statistical analysis, central tendencies and dispersion measurements (mean and standard deviation) were used and, for both the comparison of the mean values of males and females and the correlations between the measurements of the soft profile and bony profile, the unpaired Student's t-test was applied. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: After obtaining statistical data, parameters were set based on the cephalometric norms regarding the specialized literature, revealing that all variables presented a normal distribution pattern. There was sexual dimorphism for the following measurements: ANB, NAP, ANS-Me, N-ANS, Sn'-Me', and N'-SN'. Norms were determined for all the assessed measurements. Statistical differences were observed between the norm found in the present study and those found in the specialized literature.


Background— Recent studies show that coronary microcirculatory impairment is an independent predictor of poor outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease. However, controversy exists over whether microcirculatory resistance, a measure of coronary microcirculatory status, is dependent on epicardial stenosis severity. Previous studies demonstrating that microcirculatory resistance is dependent on epicardial stenosis severity have not accounted for collateral flow in their measurement of microcirculatory resistance. We investigated whether the index of microcirculatory resistance is independent of epicardial stenosis by comparing the index of microcirculatory resistance (IMR) levels in patients before and after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods and Results— Consecutive patients undergoing elective PCI of the left anterior descending artery were recruited. Patients who developed periprocedural myocardial infarction were excluded. A pressure-temperature sensor wire was used to measure the apparent IMR (IMRapp), which does not adjust for collateral flow, and the true IMR (IMRtrue), which incorporates wedge pressure measurement to account for collateral flow, before and after PCI. In 43 patients, there was no difference between pre- and post-PCI IMRtrue (mean difference=0.8±11.7, P=0.675). IMRapp was higher pre-PCI compared with post-PCI (mean difference=10.0±14.5, P<0.001). IMRapp was higher than IMRtrue (mean difference=9.3±14.2, P<0.001), and the difference between the IMRapp and IMRtrue became greater with decreasing fractional flow reserve and increasing coronary wedge pressure. Pre-PCI fractional flow reserve correlated modestly with IMRapp (r=−0.33, P=0.03), but not IMRtrue (r=0.26, P=0.10). Conclusions— Coronary microcirculatory resistance is independent of functional epicardial stenosis severity when collateral flow is taken into account.


The fundamental‐limit theory of antennas provides a theoretical limit to assist in the evaluation of antenna performance in terms of antenna size, fractional impedance bandwidth, and gain. The limit is very useful in practice, giving a basis for restricting the design search to a class of realizable antennas based on size and performance. Previous research on the limit theory focused on electrically small, resonant antennas. In this paper, we discuss how the classical fundamental‐limit theory can be interpreted for ultrawideband antennas. The frequency response of Chu's equivalent circuit model for spherical modes suggests the concept of an ideal antenna. The transfer function of the ideal antenna, showing ultrawideband antenna characteristics, simply has an entire function and two complex poles. In this paper, an antenna design strategy is developed based on observations of ideal antenna characteristics. A process is presented for evaluating how well an ultrawideband antenna can approach the theoretical size limit based on the 3‐dB cutoff frequencies of spherical modes.


There is something deceptively binary about Leı̈la Marouane's novel, The Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris: her male protagonist is a forty-year old virgin who wishes to "conquer" Western female bodies for whom procreation, marriage and commitment are (he hopes) irrelevant. At the same time, he does not seem able to break free from supposedly traditional Muslim values. And he is obsessed by an overpowering mother does not stop pressuring him into marrying a young Muslim virgin and having children as soon as possible. One of the possible interpretations of The Sexual Life of as Islamist in Paris is the protagonist slowly becomes mad because he is torn between two worlds and two cultures. The narrator has supposedly inherited a very precise cartography of bodies and gender that separates the world into penetrable and penetrating bodies. The trouble with that interpretation however is that it presupposes that Marouane accepts that Maghrebi sexual discourse is monolithic, opposable to a just as monolithic Western norm. Upon close reading, it becomes apparent that The Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris is just as provocative as its title seems to promise but for reasons that have nothing to do with the reiteration or inversion of clichés. Rather than presenting a simple reversal of stereotypes (Mohamed is the male virgin and the Arab women he meets are sexually liberated), the novel complicates the construction of virginity and penetration and presents the narrative voice as an inextricable web of male and female threads. Presented as a double of the author herself, it turns the novel into a space where the construction of masculinity and femininity escapes the opposition between "the Maghreb" and "France," a space where critique has find its own parameters through practices of constant disaligning and disidentification from gender and ethnic or religious norms.


The key objective of this study was to examine empirically the substantive issues that inform psychologists' decision-making in custody evaluations. The study draws on a relatively small convenience sample of 39 reports from eight different psychologists who represented key informants in the field in Cape Town. Jameson, Ehrenberg and Hunter's (1997) Best Interests of the Child Assessment model was revised and used as a template for a thematic content analysis. The results of the study indicate that psychologists tend to adopt a child-centred approach, with the child's basic and developmentally related needs ranked as the most commonly employed criterion (reflected in 95% of reports). The child's rights and wishes were reflected in 54% of the reports, and socio-economic resources were the lowest-ranked criterion, reflected in only 18% of the reports. The results of the study are discussed in terms of the need to formulate the implications of a child rights orientation, to negotiate referral questions and to adapt report writing styles to the legal-judicial context. Further, the implications of the findings for future research and professional practice are discussed and recommendations made.


Aerial architecture of flowering plants is largely based on the activities of the shoot apical meristem and axillary meristems (AM), which are initiated in the axils of leaves. The LATERAL SUPPRESSOR (LAS) loss-of-function mutant is characterized by a lack AM development during the vegetative growth phase, identifying LAS as a key regulator of this process. LAS is expressed in a very specific band-shaped domain at the adaxial side of leaf primordia, the site of later formation of AMs. In order to understand how this specific expression pattern is established, and to be able to subsequently address the question which factors control LAS, the LAS promoter was analyzed in detail in this work. Complementation of the las-4 phenotype with various promoter deletion constructs revealed that less than 117 bp 5' of the transcription start are necessary for gene function. However, the ability to complement is lost when constructs harbor less than 3547 bp of 3' sequences. The importance of the 3' region is emphasized by results showing that complementation is still achieved if the 5' promoter is replaced by a minimal 35S promoter or a PISTILLATA (PI) promoter fragment, which does not confer expression in the apex. In both cases visualization of expression profiles using promoter GUS constructs showed specific expression in axils of leaves and flowers, alike the endogenous LAS promoter activity. In summary an LAS 3' promoter element, extending from bp 3239 to 3547 behind the ORF, was found to be necessary for complementation. We speculate that it is this element, which causes the highly specific LAS expression pattern. A previous las-4 second site modifier screen led to the identification of the new regulator of AM development ENHANCER OF LATERAL SUPPRESSOR 5 (EOL5). The eol5 las-4 double mutant was identified owing to the lack of AM formation in cauline leaf axils. Additionally, eol5 las-4 plants could be shown to exhibit leaf fusions and defects in meristem maintenance and floral primordia development. The gene underlying the eol5 mutation could be identified by map based cloning as CZS, a putative histone methyl transferase, previously shown to be involved in the epigenetic regulation of FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and displays a mild delay of flowering. Complementation with an endogenous pCZS::CZS construct led to a recovery of the ability to form axillary shoots in cauline leaf axils, likewise an allelism test showed that the T-DNA insertion alleles czs-1 and czs-2 are allelic to eol5. However, the single mutant phenotype of eol5 is more pronounced, leading to a lack of AM formation in most rosette leaf axils, whereas czs-1 and czs-2 plants only exhibited few barren axils in the lower rosette. Accordingly, the delay of flowering observed in long day conditions was most distinct in eol5 plants. To address the question which genes are regulated by CZS, the expression of various candidates was compared between mutants and wild-type by real-time PCR. FLC could be shown to be upregulated in czs mutants. Analysis of FRI FLC plants, which strongly express FLC, revealed side shoot development defects, suggesting that FLC is involved in the process of AM formation. This indicates that similar mechanisms regulate lateral meristem development and flowering, thus the AM initiation defects observed in czs mutants are likely to be caused by the upregulation of FLC.


OBJECTIVE
To analyse patient and professional perceptions about (in)equity of care and rehabilitation of chronic pain patients from primary health care to assessment at a specialty rehabilitation clinic.

SETTING AND METHODS
This qualitative study consists one focus group interview with eight general practitioners who refer patients to pain rehabilitation clinics, 10 individual interviews with patients who were assessed at a pain rehabilitation clinic and seven interviews with professionals participating in multimodal assessment teams at a pain rehabilitation clinic. Interview analysis was conducted by the grounded theory method.

RESULTS
The core category Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering and pain, captured how gender and sociocultural context may contribute to advantages and disadvantages during patient journeys from primary health care to a pain rehabilitation clinic. Patients and professionals perceived pain as a low-ranking illness, and women and men used different gendered strategies to legitimise the pain and to be taken seriously. Being 'a proper patient ready to change' and having 'likeness' between patients and professionals were viewed as advantageous in rehabilitation of pain patients. Patients with higher educational levels were perceived as easier to interact with and had better access to health care. Professional thoughts about gender norms influenced the rehabilitation options. The rehabilitation programme was seen by several professionals to be better suited for women than men, which could lead to unequal care.

CONCLUSION
From an equity and gender perspective, our study highlights the complexity in rehabilitation of chronic pain patients - both from patient and professional perspectives. Awareness of gendered and the biased preconceptions and norms is crucial when professionals struggle to offer equitable health care and rehabilitation.


Late blight, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, is the most devastating disease of potato. In organic farming, late blight is controlled by repeated applications of copper-based products, which negatively impact the environment. To find alternative solutions for late blight management, we have previously isolated a large collection of bacteria from the phyllosphere and the rhizosphere of potatoes. Here we report the antagonistic potential of these strains when co-cultivated with P. infestans as well as with other potato pathogens. We then focused on three Pseudomonas strains and compared their protective impact against late blight to that of well-known biocontrol strains in planta using a high-throughput leaf disk assay with automated picture analysis. When sprayed on the leaves of potatoes in the greenhouse, the strains were able to survive for at least 15 days. Under field conditions, populations decreased faster but all tested strains could still be retrieved after 8 days. The most active strain in vitro, P. chlororaphis R47, was also the best protectant on leaf disks from plants grown in the greenhouse experiment, but its protection potential could not be verified in the field due to unfavorable infection conditions. However, its protective effect against P. infestans in planta, its survival in the phyllosphere as well as its ability to colonize the potato rhizosphere in very high population densities, suggest a potential for field application, e.g., in the form of tuber treatment or leaf spray.


Ride sharing has disrupted the transportation-for-hire industry, breaking down barriers to entry that have protected incumbents in the industry for decades. The disruption has led to calls for increased regulation, along with criticisms about the effect of innovation on consumer safety, market stability, rule of law, and others. And yet, that disruption has also led to tremendous benefits to consumers, as they are freed from a regulatory regime that limited their transportation choices and forced them to pay higher prices for lower quality service. The same type of disruptive innovation is upon us in almost every area of our economy, and how we deal with it will determine whether the law will finally free consumers from the grasp of entrenched and privileged incumbents, or whether the combined forces of those incumbents and their erstwhile allies in academia will lead to a regulatory retrenchment. The article concludes that opposition to innovation rests on a Galbraithian foundation that holds a dim view of human nature, and that greater reliance on Smithian assumptions would serve us better as we decide how to deal with innovation and its disruption. The article also concludes that innovation is inevitable; if the law seeks to inhibit it, it merely guarantees a greater disruption when it finally arrives.


Introduction: The care of patients in vegetative state at home is difficult because they need continuous medical interventions and extensive care. The present study aims to explain the process of home care of patients in vegetative state at home. Methods: This study was a qualitative research with a grounded theory approach. The participants were 22 people (included 17 family caregivers and 5 professional caregivers) who were enrolled in a purposive sampling. Data was gathered through unstructured interviews, observations and field notes. Data collection was continued to saturation. Data analysis was performed through the Strauss and Corbin 1998 approach. The MAXQDA10 software was used to facilitate data analysis. Results: The data analysis led to emerge four main concepts included "erosive care", "erosive expenditures", "seeking solver education" and "lasting hope" as the axes of the study. Participants' experiences showed that the main concern of family caregivers of vegetative patients was "playing an inevitable role in care", in which they did not hesitate to make any effort, and they tolerated all the problems and issues. Therefore, "resilient care" was extracted as the underlying idea of this study. Conclusion: The process of resilient care of vegetative patients at home showed planning by policy makers in health system is very important and underscored the necessity for supporting families and family caregivers of these patients. So some changes in the health system for this goal might include considering home care and supporting them in various aspects, especially information, financial and emotional dimensions.


In Culture, Modernity and Revolution a group of distinguished sociologists and social philosophers reflect upon the major concerns of Zygmunt Bauman. Their essays not only honour the man, but provide important contributions to the three interlinked themes that could be said to form the guiding threads of Bauman's life work: power, culture and modernity. Culture, Modernity and Revolution is both a remarkable sociological commentary on the problems facing East-Central Europe and an exposition of some of the key, hitherto neglected, features of the modern cultural universe.


We consider the problem of estimating states ( e.g., position and velocity) and physical parameters ( e.g., friction, elasticity) from a sequence of observations when provided a dynamic equation that describes the behavior of the system. The dynamic equation can arise from first principles ( e.g., Newton's laws) and provide useful cues for learning, but its physical parameters are unknown. To address this problem, we propose a model that estimates states and physical parameters of the system using two main components. First, an autoencoder compresses a sequence of observations ( e.g., sensor measurements, pixel images) into a sequence for the state representation that is consistent with physics by including a simulation of the dynamic equation. Second, an estimator is coupled with the autoencoder to predict the values of the physical parameters. We also theoretically and empirically show that using Fourier feature mappings improves the generalization of the estimator in predicting physical parameters compared to raw state sequences when learning from high-frequency data. In our experiments on three visual and one sensor measurement tasks, our model imposes interpretability on latent states and achieves improved generalization performance for long-term prediction of system dynamics over state-of-the-art baselines.


The human circulatory system comprises a complex network of blood vessels interconnecting biologically relevant organs and a heart driving blood recirculation throughout this system. Recreating this system in vitro would act as a bridge between organ-on-a-chip and "body-on-a-chip" and advance the development of in vitro models. Here, we present a microfluidic circulatory system integrated with an on-chip pressure sensor to closely mimic human systemic circulation in vitro. A cardiac-like on-chip pumping system is incorporated in the device. It consists of four pumping units and passive check valves, which mimic the four heart chambers and heart valves, respectively. Each pumping unit is independently controlled with adjustable pressure and pump rate, enabling users to control the mimicked blood pressure and heartbeat rate within the device. A check valve is located downstream of each pumping unit to prevent backward leakage. Pulsatile and unidirectional flow can be generated to recirculate within the device by programming the four pumping units. We also report an on-chip capillary-assisted pressure sensor to monitor the pressure inside the device. One end of the capillary was placed in the measurement region, while the other end was sealed. Time-dependent pressure changes were measured by recording the movement of the liquid-gas interface in the capillary and calculating the pressure using the ideal gas law. The sensor covered the physiologically relevant blood pressure range found in humans (0-142.5 mmHg) and could respond to 0.2 s actuation time. With the aid of the sensor, the pressure inside the device could be adjusted to the desired range. As a proof of concept, human normal left ventricular and arterial pressure profiles were mimicked inside this device. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured on chip and cells can respond to mechanical forces generated by arterial-like flow patterns.


This long-awaited book replaces Hughes and Cresswell's two classic studies of modal logic: An Introduction to Modal Logic and A Companion to Modal Logic. A New Introduction to Modal Logic is an entirely new work, completely re-written by the authors. They have incorporated all the new developments that have taken place since 1968 in both modal propositional logic and modal predicate logic, without sacrificing tha clarity of exposition and approachability that were essential features of their earlier works. The book takes readers from the most basic systems of modal propositional logic right up to systems of modal predicate with identity. It covers both technical developments such as completeness and incompleteness, and finite and infinite models, and their philosophical applications, especially in the area of modal predicate logic.


Strong theoretical guarantees of robustness can be given for ensembles of classifiers generated by input randomization. Specifically, an $\ell_2$ bounded adversary cannot alter the ensemble prediction generated by an additive isotropic Gaussian noise, where the radius for the adversary depends on both the variance of the distribution as well as the ensemble margin at the point of interest. We build on and considerably expand this work across broad classes of distributions. In particular, we offer adversarial robustness guarantees and associated algorithms for the discrete case where the adversary is $\ell_0$ bounded. Moreover, we exemplify how the guarantees can be tightened with specific assumptions about the function class of the classifier such as a decision tree. We empirically illustrate these results with and without functional restrictions across image and molecule datasets.


Flexible flat cables (FFC) are very popular for connecting different components in modern electronics (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, tablets, etc.). The manipulation of FFCs typically relies on highly trained workers that spend hours performing the same repetitive processes, or on autonomous robotic systems that are equipped with simple clamping mechanisms or pneumatically driven suction cups. Such robotic systems are difficult to program and reprogram and often rely on sophisticated sensing elements and complicated control laws. Moreover, the performance and robustness of such systems is far from sufficient, hindering their mass adoption. The manipulation of FFCs is also quite challenging. A good gripper should be able to pinch the cable steadily and execute insertion tasks of the cable connector with ease. The suction cup based solution is a good approach for holding the cable, but it makes the cable connector insertion very challenging as it can only apply limited shear forces. In this paper, we propose a locally-adaptive, pneumatic, parallel-jaw robot gripper equipped with fingertips that are able to both pinch the cable with a soft clamping mechanism and roll the cable surface on the soft fingertip structure until it reaches the desired connector. The gripper base accommodates a camera that allows for the recognition and pose estimation of the flat, flexible cables and other electronic components. The gripper is of low-cost and low-complexity and it can facilitate the efficient and robust execution of FFC grasping and assembly tasks.


Based on field and archival research, Becoming Wilderness analyses the fluid constructs of game preservation and their affect within networks and landscapes to the west of Tarangire National Park, Northern Tanzania from the late 19th Century until the present. The initial query of this thesis is how and why Tarangire comes to be separated as different from its surrounding (on the map and within policy) and what this has entailed for what is 'within' and 'outside'. This thesis is written to add to the understanding of how 'one of Tanzania's most spectacular wilderness areas' was created, in order to problematize and deepen the understanding of the factual people/park conflicts and entanglements existing there today. Through a topological investigation, it shows Tarangire's transformation from peripheral to central and the simultaneous transformation of peopled landscapes from central to borderlands. Based on interviews, focus groups and archival research the thesis firstly investigates the transformation of peopled landscapes to the west of Tarangire National Park. Secondly it analyses the alternations in the tsetse geography that has previously been claimed to be the root cause behind the creation of the park, pointing to the fluid and relational character of tsetse landscapes. Thirdly, this thesis queries the notion of an 'imposition of wilderness' and suggests that vast tracts of Tanzania's protected areas have in fact gradually become wilderness within heterogeneous networks, rooting themselves in ways that are far more tricky to oppose than had they suddenly been imposed. As such it seeks to contribute to the understanding of the root causes of conservation vs. people conflicts existing today.


In this paper, we report the environmental, optical, and gate bias stress stability of amorphous zinc-tin-oxide (ZTO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated by sol-gel spin-coating method. The ZTO TFTs showed excellent environmental and optical stability. The threshold voltage stability of ZTO TFTs was sensitive to both positive and negative gate bias stress. Maximum threshold voltage shifting of +1.9 and -3.2 V was observed under a gate bias stress of +10 and -10 V, respectively, with no significant change to subthreshold swing value.


The formation of widespread volcanic ash-fall layers in deep sea sediments was investigated experimentally to examine the settling behavior of tephra (20–180 µm diameter) as it travels from the atmosphere into water. Using a fallout mass flux rate that was constrained by measurements of distal fallout from the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (0.2 g/cm 2 /hr), the experiments show that particle settling in the water column is dramatically accelerated by the formation of diffuse vertical gravity currents. The currents form as a result of convective instabilities that develop in a surface boundary layer when the local particle concentration becomes large. At the air-water interface, the settling velocity of particles drops abruptly and the concentration of particles increases because of the differential in mass flux above and below the fluid surface. The implication of the experiments is that deposition of distal tephra fall layers in deep-sea sediments may be dominantly controlled by diffuse vertical gravity currents, as opposed to passive settling of individual particles through the water column. This process greatly reduces the residence time of fine ash in the ocean and diminishes the role of ocean currents in influencing the distribution patterns of individual tephra layers. Support for this mechanism comes from observations of greatly accelerated tephra settling rates in the South China Sea following the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines.


OBJECTIVE
To compare estimation of glomerular filtration rate determined via conventional methods (ie, scintigraphy and plasma clearance of technetium Tc 99m pentetate) and dynamic single-slice computed tomography (CT).

ANIMALS
8 healthy adult cats.

PROCEDURES
Scintigraphy, plasma clearance testing, and dynamic CT were performed on each cat on the same day; order of examinations was randomized. Separate observers performed GFR calculations for scintigraphy, plasma clearance testing, or dynamic CT. Methods were compared via Bland-Altman plots and considered interchangeable and acceptable when the 95% limits of agreement (mean difference between methods ± 1.96 SD of the differences) were ≤ 0.7 mL/min/kg.

RESULTS
Global GFR differed < 0.7 mL/min/kg in 5 of 8 cats when comparing plasma clearance testing and dynamic CT; the limits of agreement were 1.4 and -1.7 mL/min/kg. The mean ± SD difference was -0.2 ± 0.8 mL/min/kg, and the maximum difference was 1.6 mL/min/kg. The mean ± SD difference (absolute value) for percentage filtration by individual kidneys was 2.4 ± 10.5% when comparing scintigraphy and dynamic CT; the maximum difference was 20%, and the limits of agreement were 18% and 23% (absolute value).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
GFR estimation via dynamic CT exceeded the definition for acceptable clinical use, compared with results for conventional methods, which was likely attributable to sample size and preventable technical complications. Because 5 of 8 cats had comparable values between methods, further investigation of dynamic CT in a larger sample population with a wide range of GFR values should be performed.


The lack of new drugs coming through to the market, to add to those few available, for use against diseases caused by trypanosomatids, calls for ways of safe-guarding the use of the current drugs to prolong their usefulness. This can be achieved by studying mechanisms of resistance to the drugs currently in use. In this thesis, the complementary use of untargeted metabolomic and whole genome sequence analyses was applied to elucidate the mechanisms of amphotericin B (AmB) resistance in L. mexicana promastigotes and isometamidium (ISMM) resistance in bloodstream forms of T. brucei.

Resistance to AmB and ISMM was induced by step-wise increase of the drug concentration in the growth medium of L. mexicana promastigotes and bloodstream forms of T. brucei, respectively.

Untargeted metabolomics results were used to link a single SNP in the lanosterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) gene of the sterol (ergosterol) biosynthetic pathway from a multitude of SNPs that were found in generated AmB resistant cells as compared to the parental wild-type cells. The identified SNP was found to be a non-synonymous mutation, causing the change N176I, outside the active sites of CYP51 and was accompanied by accumulation of the enzyme's product, 4, 4-dimethylcholesta-8, 14, 24-trien-3β-ol. These results suggested a break down in a possible protein-protein interaction of CYP51 with the next enzyme in the pathway, sterol C14-reductase, for efficient flow of the metabolite. Although the main subcellular localisation is different for these enzymes, they had a common localisation in the ER. AmB resistance was accompanied by depleted levels of ergosterol in AmB resistant cells. Expression of the wild-type CYP51 in AmB resistant cells restored ergosterol levels to those of the parental wild-type. Associated with restoration of ergosterol synthesis was reversal of resistance to AmB and susceptibility to pentamidine observed in AmB resistant cells. Thus N176I mutation in CYP51 underlies resistance to AmB in L. mexicana promastigotes.

T. brucei resistance to isometamidium was accompanied by loss of the kinetoplast and maintenance of a much reduced mitochondrial membrane potential as compared to the parental wild-type cells. Reduction of the mitochondrial membrane potential was not connected to any apparent alteration of the energy metabolism of related metabolites. However, a perturbation in sphingolipid metabolism was observed to lead to depletion of sphingomyelin and accumulation of its precursor ceramide in the resistant cells. The responsible reaction enzyme, choline phosphorylceramide synthase (SLS4), was found to have 4 non-synonymous mutations which were outside the active site. The ISMM resistant cells exhibited a slow growth phenotype which has also been associated with perturbation of the sphingolipid synthesis pathway. ISMM resistant cells also showed cross resistance to diminazene aceturate and ethidium bromide used for control of African animal trypanosomiasis.


There are different points of view on the political capacity of city governments to steer the process of economic growth in a rescaled statehood. Somme scholars see this tendency as an opportunity to overcome the hollowing out of the national state and to reinforce local government. Others argue that there is increased inter-urban competition, which forces urban governments to apply market-oriented strategies, leading to a reduced steering capacity of urban governments. We analyze the inward oriented politics of Berlin's housing sector and show that the city is increasingly under pressure to fulfill the wishes of global real estate investors. We then look at the international activities of Stuttgart that is trying to alter its position in a global market establishing alliances with other cities. We show that, within both policy areas, the local state is under the pressure of international economic competition while trying to achieve socially coherent urban development.


PHYSIOLOGIC EFFECT OF RELAXATION THERAPIES ON AUTONOMIC TONE EARLY AFTER ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROMES. Rachel S.C. Friedman, Matthew Burg, Rachel J. Lampert. Section of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University, School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Post-MI patients are at increased risk of arrhythmic sudden death. Stress and sympathetic activation are known to influence arrhythmogenesis. While relaxation therapies improve psychological well-being in multiple medical illnesses, whether these therapies can positively influence sympathovagal balance in the post-MI population is unknown. We explored the physiologic effects of Reiki, a light-touch relaxation therapy, and music on postacute coronary syndrome (ACS) inpatients, using heart rate variability (HRV) to assess changes in cardiac autonomic function during treatment. Forty-eight patients with ACS within the last 72 hours were randomized to received a single 20-minute session of either Reiki, classical music, or a control "minimal distraction environment". All subjects underwent ambulatory ECG Holter monitoring. Emotional state was assessed by Likert scale. HRV was analyzed by spectral analysis via fast Fourier transformation during the baseline, intervention, and post-intervention periods and high-frequency power (lognormalized) compared via ANOVA with repeated measures. Adequate Holters were recorded in 12 control, 13 music, and 12 Reiki patients. High frequency (HF) component of HRV, an index of parasympathetic tone, increased significantly during Reiki (0.58±0.16) but not during music (-0.1±0.16) or control (0.06±0.16). RR interval increased significantly with Reiki and control, but not with music. Reiki significantly reduced reported anxiety and increased sense of relaxation compared to control (p=0.04), whereas music did not. In conclusion, post-MI recipients of light-touch from nurses trained in Reiki experienced increased vagal activity and decreased anxiety. Whether longer-term use of this therapy can improve outcomes requires further study.


We introduce an efficient differentiable fluid simulator that can be integrated with deep neural networks as a part of layers for learning dynamics and solving control problems. It offers the capability to handle one-way coupling of fluids with rigid objects using a variational principle that naturally enforces necessary boundary conditions at the fluid-solid interface with sub-grid details. This simulator utilizes the adjoint method to efficiently compute the gradient for multiple time steps of fluid simulation with user defined objective functions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method for solving inverse and control problems on fluids with one-way coupled solids. Our method outperforms the previous gradient computations, state-of-the-art derivative-free optimization, and model-free reinforcement learning techniques by at least one order of magnitude.


We present a search for gravitational waves from 116 known millisecond and young pulsars using data from the fifth science run of the LIGO detectors. For this search ephemerides overlapping the run period were obtained for all pulsars using radio and X-ray observations. We demonstrate an updated search method that allows for small uncertainties in the pulsar phase parameters to be included in the search. We report no signal detection from any of the targets and therefore interpret our results as upper limits on the gravitational wave signal strength. The most interesting limits are those for young pulsars. We present updated limits on gravitational radiation from the Crab pulsar, where the measured limit is now a factor of seven below the spin-down limit. This limits the power radiated via gravitational waves to be less than ~2% of the available spin-down power. For the X-ray pulsar J0537-6910 we reach the spin-down limit under the assumption that any gravitational wave signal from it stays phase locked to the X-ray pulses over timing glitches, and for pulsars J1913+1011 and J1952+3252 we are only a factor of a few above the spin-down limit. Of the recycled millisecond pulsars several of the measured upper limits are only about an order of magnitude above their spin-down limits. For these our best (lowest) upper limit on gravitational wave amplitude is 2.3x10^-26 for J1603-7202 and our best (lowest) limit on the inferred pulsar ellipticity is 7.0x10^-8 for J2124-3358.


Remote staring detection has been defined as "... the purported ability to detect when one is being watched or stared at by someone situated beyond the range of the conventional senses." (Braud, Sharer, & Andrews, 1993a, p. 391). Remote staring detection involves the measurement of behavioural or physiological reactions in starees when stared at by a starer, even though it should be impossible for the starees to know through any conventional sensory means that the starer is staring at them at any particular moment. Belief in this phenomenon as an everyday experience is considerably widespread, with incidences of belief ranging from approximately 70% to 94% of the populations sampled (Braud et al., 1993a; Braud, Sharer, & Andrews, 1993b; Coover, 1913; Cottrell, Winer, & Smith, 1996; Rosenthal, Soper, & Tabony, 1994; Sheldrake, 2003; Thalbourne & Evans, 1992). Over the past 100 years there have been several attempts to examine these anecdotal experiences and beliefs under controlled conditions. The earliest research in this area used relatively simple and direct behavioural measures that demonstrated an evolution of methodological sophistication over time as greater controls over extraneous variables were introduced (Coover, 1913; Poortman, 1959; Titchener, 1898; Williams, 1983). The introduction of the use of electrodermal activity (EDA) as a measure of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and as a potential indicator of a "fight-or-flight" response to being stared at remotely was a significant methodological development. This was particularly the case when the EDA method was combined with the use of CCTV systems to separate the starer and staree (Braud et al., 1993a, 1993b). Collectively referred to as the "EDA-CCTV" studies (Baker, 2005), several researchers found interesting results utilizing this method, including potential skeptic-believer experimenter effects (Schlitz & LaBerge, 1994; Schlitz, Wiseman, Watt, & Radin, 2006; Watt, Schlitz, Wiseman, & Radin, 2005; Watt, Wiseman, & Schlitz, 2002; Wiseman & Schlitz, 1997, 1999; Wiseman & Smith, 1994, 1994). A meta-analysis (Schmidt, Schneider, Utts, & Walach, 2004) of the 15 EDA-CCTV experiments that had been conducted at that time found a small but significant effect (d = .13, p = .01), suggesting evidence that requires further investigation. This was the primary objective of the research presented in this paper. Firstly, previous EDA-CCTV methods were expanded to include central nervous system (CNS) activity. It would be expected that, if this phenomenon is genuine, then any stimulus processing or awareness of a remote stare should result in corresponding activity in the brain. Secondly, it was important to embed the potential effect within a wider theoretical framework. Assuming that remote staring detection is producing brain activity as the information is processed, does this processing follow similar systems to those that have already been identified in cognitive neuroscience; for example, the processing of faces and/or the gaze of others? The significance of various forms of eye-based nonverbal communication in humans has been long established in the social psychology literature (e.g., Argyle & Cook, 1976; Ellsworth, Carlsmith, & Henson, 1972; Kirkland & Lewis, 1976). The human eye has the largest ratio of exposed, white sclera to dark iris compared to any other primate (Kobayashi & Kohshima, 1997; Riccardelli, Baylis, & Driver, 2000), which appears to aid humans in being particularly sensitive to the detection of gaze and its direction (Itier, Van Roon, & Alain, 2011). The impact of the gaze of another also elevates electrodermal measures of arousal (Helminen, Kaasinen, & Hietanen, 2011; Leavitt & Donovan, 1979; McBride, King, & James, 1965; Nichols & Champness, 1971; Strom & Buck, 1979), which neatly correlates with the EDA-CCTV measures of remote staring detection mentioned previously. …


In the last two decades, Europeans have grown increasingly exposed to the global market while they have experienced a rising degree of internal integration due to the creation of the European Union and the impact of the European Court of Human Rights' jurisdiction. This transformation has caused many, both within and outside of Europe, to question the identity of Europe and the very existence of a core of principles, values, and convictions likely to be considered as the European civil religion.1 Following World War II, Europe developed as a single market as well as a common political and legal space devoted to liberal democracy and human rights.2 Can this be considered the European civil religion? If so, what is the role of religion, particularly Christianity, in this civil religion? The debate on European civil religion is dominated by two fundamental questions. First, if Christianity is to be considered a substantial part of the European civil religion, how was it possible for Christians to fight and kill each other in the name of God for centuries? Unless a simply moral explanation is accepted-that Christians slaughtered each other because they were bad Christians-a deep contradiction must be addressed: how could Christianity represent the principle of religious and civil unity beyond national borders yet be the reason why nations and peoples went to war with each other? In other words, how could Christianity simultaneously represent a divisive factor and a shared identity, both in the past as well as in contemporary Europe?3 The second question concerns how secularization, as a cultural and social process, led Europe to adopt the secular free market of ideas, faiths, goods, persons, and capital as its peculiar civil religion. 4 In the Liberal Age after the Enlightenment, religion was not given up in Europe, despite anti-religious and anti-clerical pressure. Instead, Christianity continued to be a substantial part of the European civil religion, but society, public policies, and to some extent religion itself became more secular. This raises the question: how could the civil religion of human rights and the single free market pull together the secular and the religious?5 This Article attempts to answer these questions. First, this Article analyzes the period in which developing nation-states established national churches. Second, it examines the Liberal Age, when rights and liberties were recognized as the basis of coexistence in a free democratic society without jettisoning the Christian legacy of Europe. Third, it discusses the transformation of post-World War II Europe into a secular market based on the free circulation of ideas, faiths, goods, persons, and capital. I. THE CIVIL RELIGION OF CHRISTIANITY: CONFESSIONAL STATES AND ESTABLISHED CHURCHES From the fourth century to the nineteenth century, Europe underwent a fundamental transition from the original alliance between the Christian Church and the Roman Empire to a plural landscape featuring a multiplicity of churches and states that took shape after the Reformation. During the first three centuries after the death of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire fought Christians. Then Christianity was recognized in the Empire as possessing the legal status of religio licita, or "tolerated religion," by Constantine's Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. In 380 A.D., an edict of Emperor Flavius Theodosius made Christianity the Empire's sole legitimate religion. In this phase, the first ecumenical councils6 defined the Christian orthodoxy7 and celebrated the church's alliance with the Roman Emperor.8 Following the integration of Christianity into the Roman Empire, which was complete by the end of the fifth century, Pope Gelasius put the unity of Christianity under the dualist power of the Pope and the Emperor. As Gelasius explained to Emperor Anastasius: "There are two powers, august Emperor, by which this world is chiefly ruled, namely, the sacred authority of the priests and the royal power. …


Formaldehyde, an important feedstock in industrial processes and manufacture, is widely present in numerous consumer products. Emitted by many types of consumer products and indoor materials, indoor air can contain high concentrations of formaldehyde. Exposure to formaldehyde is hazardous to human health. Thus knowledge of formaldehyde mass-transfer properties is critical to efforts to reduce formaldehyde emissions and establish related standards and regulations. The primary objectives of this project include: 1) documenting and validating procedures and methods for analyzing and measuring formaldehyde mass-transfer characteristics; 2) evaluating and comparing formaldehyde mass-transfer properties in different materials using micro-balance sorption/desorption tests; 3) investigating observed formaldehyde mass-transfer irreversibility and the recently developed formaldehyde polymerization theory. The procedures and methods for analyzing and measuring formaldehyde mass-transfer characteristics were developed in an effort to minimize experimental variability and were strictly followed during the research. The formaldehyde mass-transfer properties of five polymer materials (polycarbonate, polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate), polyethylene and polypropylene) were measured through sorption/desorption testing. Results indicated that formaldehyde solubility was highest in polyethylene while the rate of diffusion was the highest in polypropylene. Results also showed that the diffusion process in the selected polymer materials was irreversible in all cases. Furthermore, additional testing showed no detectable polyformaldehyde formation on polymer surfaces after exposure to formaldehyde. The causes of observed mass-transfer irreversibility need further study.


Visual indicators that coincide with the time of maximum grain dry weight accumulation (tmax) in hard red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) have not been confirmed. Our objective was to evaluate various potential visual markers of tmax for a range of cultivars in typical Great Plains environments. Spikes of uniform maturity from five hard red winter and one soft white winter wheat cultivars were harvested throughout grain filling and divided into upper, middle, and bottom portions to determine grain dry weights. For each cultivar-year combination, tmax values for each spike portion and the entire spike were calculated using polynomial models derived from splined regression analysis. These values were compared with various visual traits observed at each harvest. There was no significant variation in tmax among the three spike portions. Complete loss of green color from the flag leaf blade and sheath preceded tmax by several days in all cultivars; green color in the node below the peduncle persisted 2 to 6 d beyond tmax. Complete loss of green color from the rachis, glumes, and the crease of kernels occurred within 1 d of tmax in all cases. The same was true for loss of awn color, except for the soft white winter cultivar, in which green color loss from awns occurred 2 d before tmax. Thus, color loss from most portions of the spike should serve as accurate indicators of tmax for hard red winter wheat in central Great Plains environments.


One of the significant issues related to the city trees is the transmission overhead cables damages caused by the trees growth that would sometime generate power disconnections. Currently the city progress monitoring technologies have three major challenges. Firstly, the spatial resolution of the collected data is critical factor in all monitoring technologies that would reflect the utilization of the extracted data and physical consistency with the ground features. Secondly, the temporal resolution where in all progress monitoring or change detection technologies the duration and time coverage is a basic for validating extracted features. Finally, the human resources and the operational capital is also primary cost when monitoring city trees is needed on a regular basis. Therefore, the research is intended to verify the feasibility of allocating the trees that overheads the electrical cables especially where the transmission overhead cables passing the forests. The area of interest is extended along the highways where most of the overhead cables are placed. The research is utilizing the dynamic laser scanning system for progress monitoring and spatially locating the well recognized and accessed city trees.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: A14-year-old girl presented to the Emergency Room with severe lower abdominal pain. She described her pain as intermittent left stabbing colic-like pain, occasionally associated with her menses. Upon investigation, she was found to have a non-functioning dilated large pelvic kidney with normal mullerian organs. She was offered a laparoscopic nephrectomy. Herein, we show a video depicting the surgical technique and the unexpected postoperative pathologic findings. METHODS: Using a 3 trocar laparoscopic approach, a transperitoneal nephrectomy was done. Upon entry in the abdomen the kidney was easily visualized. Using the LigaSure, the omentum draping the kidney was circumferentially taken down. We noted an unusual appearance to the kidney with abnormal appearing cystic structures and lobulations. As we dissected further medially, multiple small renal vessels arising from the iliac vessels were clipped and cauterized. On the lateral edge of the kidney, a tubular structure that appeared to be a bifid pelvis was transected. Finally, the kidney was freed from the pelvis. Since the kidney was too large to be placed within the EndoCatch bag, hence we attempted deflating the kidney by aspirating the fluid that looked like old blood. In order to remove the specimen, the kidney was then morcelated. It was removed after extending the incision of the lower quadrant trocar. The operative time was 192 minutes. RESULTS: No operative or postoperative complications were reported. The patient was discharged on the first postoperative day. However, the pathology revealed uterine, tubal and ovarian tissues. There was no renal tissue. The patient had normal menstrual cycles postoperatively and the abdominal pain she experienced before the surgery resolved. A postoperative ultrasound showed normal uterus and right ovary.The left ovary was not visualised. The patient was diagnosed with OHVIRA (obstructed hemivagina and ipsilateral renal anomaly) syndrome, a congenital malformation of the urogenital system. In our case, the apparent left pelvic kidney was in fact uterine duplication with an obstructed blind ending hemivagina and left renal agenesis. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of OHVIRA was missed and should be considered in cases of a non-functioning dilated pelvic kidney in females who report pain upon menarche and with menses. Source of Funding: None


Ready to take your IT skills to the healthcare industry? This concise book provides a candid assessment of the US healthcare system as it ramps up its use of electronic health records (EHRs) and other forms of IT to comply with the governments Meaningful Use requirements. Its a tremendous opportunity for tens of thousands of IT professionals, but its also a huge challenge: the program requires a complete makeover of archaic records systems, workflows, and other practices now in place. This book points out how hospitals and doctors offices differ from other organizations that use IT, and explains whats necessary to bridge the gap between clinicians and IT staff.Get an overview of EHRs and the differences among medical settings Learn the variety of ways institutions deal with patients and medical staff, and how workflows vary Discover healthcares dependence on paper records, and the problems involved in migrating them to digital documents Understand how providers charge for care, and how they get paid Explore how patients can use EHRs to participate in their own care Examine healthcares most pressing problemavoidable errorsand how EHRs can both help and exacerbate it