Sanctioning Defendants\u27 Non-Willful Delay:The Failure of Rule 55 and a Proposal for its Reform

For as long as parties have pursued claims through litigation, those against whom claims are asserted have delayed the litigation process. Defendants, and other parties against whom claims are asserted, (hereinafter collectively referred to as defendants), fail to answer complaints against them in time; they delay in responding to discovery requests, motions and court orders, and they fail to appear for trials and other proceedings

Cognitive Interpretation of Everyday Activities - Toward Perceptual Narrative Based Visuo-Spatial Scene Interpretation

We position a narrative-centred computational model for high-level knowledge representation and reasoning in the context of a range of assistive technologies concerned with visuo-spatial perception and cognition tasks. Our proposed narrative model encompasses aspects such as space, events, actions, change, and interaction from the viewpoint of commonsense reasoning and learning in large-scale cognitive systems. The broad focus of this paper is on the domain of human-activity interpretation in smart environments, ambient intelligence etc. In the backdrop of a smart meeting cinematography domain, we position the proposed narrative model, preliminary work on perceptual narrativisation, and the immediate outlook on constructing general-purpose open-source tools for perceptual narrativisation

The Risk of Cancer from CT Scans and Other Sources of Low-Dose Radiation: A Critical Appraisal of Methodologic Quality

AbstractIntroduction: Concern exists that radiation exposure from computerized tomography (CT) will cause thousands of malignancies. Other experts share the same perspective regarding the risk from additional sources of low-dose ionizing radiation, such as the releases from Three Mile Island (1979; Pennsylvania USA) and Fukushima (2011; Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan) nuclear power plant disasters. If this premise is false, the fear of cancer leading patients and physicians to avoid CT scans and disaster responders to initiate forcedevacuations is unfounded.Study Objective: This investigation provides a quantitative evaluation of the methodologic quality of studies to determine the evidentiary strength supporting or refuting a causal relationshipbetween low-dose radiation and cancer. It will assess the number of higher qualitystudies that support or question the role of low-dose radiation in oncogenesis.Methods: This investigation is a systematic, methodologic review of articles published from 1975–2017 examining cancer risk from external low-dose x-ray and gamma radiation, defined as less than 200 millisievert (mSv). Following the PRISMA guidelines, the authors performed a search of the PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Methodologies of selected articles were scored using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) and a tool identifying 11 lower quality indicators. Manuscript methodologies were rankedas higher quality if they scored no lower than seven out of nine on the NOS and contained no more than two lower quality indicators. Investigators then characterized articles as supporting or not supporting a causal relationship between low-dose radiation and cancer.Results: Investigators identified 4,382 articles for initial review. A total of 62 articles met all inclusion/exclusion criteria and were evaluated in this study. Quantitative evaluation of the manuscripts’ methodologic strengths found 25 studies met higher quality criteria while 37 studies met lower quality criteria. Of the 25 studies with higher quality methods, 21 out of 25did not support cancer induction by low-dose radiation (P = .0003).Conclusions: A clear preponderance of articles with higher quality methods found no increased risk of cancer from low-dose radiation. The evidence suggests that exposure to multiple CT scans and other sources of low-dose radiation with a cumulative dose up to 100 mSv (approximately 10 scans), and possibly as high as 200 mSv (approximately 20 scans), does not increase cancer risk

Evidence-Based Parametric Design: Computationally Generated Spatial Morphologies Satisfying Behavioural-Based Design Constraints

Parametric design is an established method in engineering and architecture facilitating the rapid generation and evaluation of a large number of configurations and shapes of complex physical structures according to constraints specified by the designer. However, the emphasis of parametric design systems, particularly in the context of architectural design of large-scale spaces, is on numerical aspects (e.g., maximising areas, specifying dimensions of walls) and does not address human-centred design criteria, for example, as developed from behavioural evidence-based studies. This paper aims at providing an evidence-based human-centred approach for defining design constraints for parametric modelling systems. We determine design rules that address wayfinding issues through behavioural multi-modal data analysis of a wayfinding case study in two healthcare environments of the Parkland hospital (Dallas). Our rules are related to the environmental factors of visibility and positioning of manifest cues along the navigation route. We implement our rules in FreeCAD, an open-source parametric system

Oak regeneration response to thinning from below

Most of the nation\u27s productive forests are in nonindustrial, private ownership. To meet projected demands, timber harvests will need to increase on these lands. Iowa, which has 0.61 million hectares (ha) or approximately 1.5 million acres of commercial forestland, could benefit from capitalizing on this demand. However, the state\u27s timber resource has been generally under-utilized. For example, Iowans have not harvested poletimber and low-grade sawlog materials from their woodlots because the market for such products has been lacking. Killing such trees to make room for better quality material involves costs that do not immediately increase net returns; thus, incentive to manage these woodlands has not been high

Demonstration of an agroforestry system to minimize pollution hazards from land application of treated municipal sludge

Iowa has over 700 communities that generate municipal biosolids by various treatment means. These biosolids contain valuable nutrients. In this study, municipal biosolids are applied to trees, perennial grasses, and corn/soybean crops in an alley cropping (repeated tree strips combined with crops) system. The goal is to produce economical quantities of biomass and grains with reduced use of fossil fuel-based fertilizers and minimal environmental impacts

Multislice computer tomography (MSCT) for the optimisation of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVI) is a novel therapy that is increasingly used to treat patients with severe aortic stenosis at high risk for surgical valve replacement. Patient selection, procedural planning and evaluation all require a detailed analysis of patient anatomy. The role and added value of multislice computer tomography (MSCT) is described as a 3-D imaging modality that enables a comprehensive evaluation of the complex 3-D anatomy of the aortic root, planning of all potential transcatheter access routes and evaluation of prosthesis anatomy interactions post-implantation