45,240 research outputs found
ESHRE task force on ethics and law 15: Cross-border reproductive care
This paper analyses the ethical aspects of cross-border reproductive care. Ethical questions are raised by some of the main reasons of cross-border travelling, i.e. law evasion and unequal access to treatment. The phenomenon also generates possible conflicts linked to the responsibility of the professionals. Three points are discussed: the moral obligation of the physician to refer the patient, his/her duty to provide information and counselling and the acceptability of fee-splitting. The recommendations focus on measures to reduce or limit the number of patients that have to travel abroad and on steps to guarantee the safety and quality of the treatment wherever it is provided
Towards a generalisation of formal concept analysis for data mining purposes
In this paper we justify the need for a generalisation of Formal
Concept Analysis for the purpose of data mining and begin the
synthesis of such theory. For that purpose, we first review semirings and
semimodules over semirings as the appropriate objects to use in abstracting
the Boolean algebra and the notion of extents and intents, respectively.
We later bring to bear powerful theorems developed in the field
of linear algebra over idempotent semimodules to try to build a Fundamental
Theorem for K-Formal Concept Analysis, where K is a type of
idempotent semiring. Finally, we try to put Formal Concept Analysis in
new perspective by considering it as a concrete instance of the theory
developed
A DC magnetic metamaterial
Electromagnetic metamaterials are a class of materials which have been
artificially structured on a subwavelength scale. They are currently the focus
of a great deal of interest because they allow access to previously
unrealisable properties like a negative refractive index. Most metamaterial
designs have so far been based on resonant elements, like split rings, and
research has concentrated on microwave frequencies and above. In this work, we
present the first experimental realisation of a non-resonant metamaterial
designed to operate at zero frequency. Our samples are based on a
recently-proposed template for an anisotropic magnetic metamaterial consisting
of an array of superconducting plates. Magnetometry experiments show a strong,
adjustable diamagnetic response when a field is applied perpendicular to the
plates. We have calculated the corresponding effective permeability, which
agrees well with theoretical predictions. Applications for this metamaterial
may include non-intrusive screening of weak DC magnetic fields.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Work fluctuation theorems for harmonic oscillators
The work fluctuations of an oscillator in contact with a thermostat and
driven out of equilibrium by an external force are studied experimentally and
theoretically within the context of Fluctuation Theorems (FTs). The oscillator
dynamics is modeled by a second order Langevin equation. Both the transient and
stationary state fluctuation theorems hold and the finite time corrections are
very different from those of a first order Langevin equation. The periodic
forcing of the oscillator is also studied; it presents new and unexpected short
time convergences. Analytical expressions are given in all cases
Categorification of persistent homology
We redevelop persistent homology (topological persistence) from a categorical
point of view. The main objects of study are diagrams, indexed by the poset of
real numbers, in some target category. The set of such diagrams has an
interleaving distance, which we show generalizes the previously-studied
bottleneck distance. To illustrate the utility of this approach, we greatly
generalize previous stability results for persistence, extended persistence,
and kernel, image and cokernel persistence. We give a natural construction of a
category of interleavings of these diagrams, and show that if the target
category is abelian, so is this category of interleavings.Comment: 27 pages, v3: minor changes, to appear in Discrete & Computational
Geometr
A quantum measure of coherence and incompatibility
The well-known two-slit interference is understood as a special relation
between observable (localization at the slits) and state (being on both slits).
Relation between an observable and a quantum state is investigated in the
general case. It is assumed that the amount of ceherence equals that of
incompatibility between observable and state. On ground of this, an argument is
peresented that leads to a natural quantum measure of coherence, called
"coherence or incompatibility information". Its properties are studied in
detail making use of 'the mixing property of relative entropy' derived in this
article. A precise relation between the measure of coherence of an observable
and that of its coarsening is obtained and discussed from the intutitive point
of view. Convexity of the measure is proved, and thus the fact that it is an
information entity is established. A few more detailed properties of coherence
information are derived with a view to investigate final-state entanglement in
general repeatable measurement, and, more importantly, general bipartite
entanglement in follow ups of this study.Comment: 19 GS pages; supercedes quant-ph/030921
Management of Elbow Dislocations in the National Football League.
Background: Although much literature exists regarding the treatment and management of elbow dislocations in the general population, little information is available regarding management in the athletic population. Furthermore, no literature is available regarding the postinjury treatment and timing of return to play in the contact or professional athlete.
Purpose: To review the clinical course of elbow dislocations in professional football players and determine the timing of return to full participation.
Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.
Methods: All National Football League (NFL) athletes with elbow dislocations from 2000 through 2011 who returned to play during the season were identified from the NFL Injury Surveillance System (NFL ISS). Roster position, player activity, use of external bracing, and clinical course were reviewed. Mean number of days lost until full return to play was determined for players with elbow dislocations who returned in the same season.
Results: From 2000 to 2011, a total of 62 elbow dislocations out of 35,324 injuries were recorded (0.17%); 40 (64.5%) dislocations occurred in defensive players, 12 (19.4%) were in offensive players; and 10 (16.1%) were during special teams play. Over half of the injuries (33/62, 53.2%) were sustained while tackling, and 4 (6.5%) patients required surgery. A total of 47 (75.8%) players who sustained this injury were able to return in the same season. For this group, the mean number of days lost in players treated conservatively (45/47) was 25.1 days (median, 23.0 days; range, 0.0-118 days), while that for players treated operatively (2/47) was 46.5 days (median, 46.5 days; range, 29-64 days). Mean return to play based on player position was 25.8 days for defensive players (n = 28; median, 21.5 days; range, 3.0-118 days), 24.1 days for offensive players (n = 11; median, 19 days; range, 2.0-59 days), and 25.6 days for special teams players (n = 8; median, 25.5 days; range, 0-44 days).
Conclusion: Elbow dislocations comprise less than a half of a percent of all injuries sustained in the NFL. Most injuries occur during the act of tackling, with the majority of injured athletes playing a defensive position. Players treated nonoperatively missed a mean of 25.1 days, whereas those managed operatively missed a mean of 46.5 days
Operator Analysis for the Higgs Potential and Cosmological Bound on the Higgs-Boson Mass
Using effective lagrangian, we examine the impacts of new physics on the
electroweak baryogenesis. By analysing the high dimensional operators relevent
to the Higgs potential we point out that the Higgs mass bound required by
electroweak baryogenesis can be relaxed to the region allowed by experiments,
provided that new physics appears at the TeV scale.Comment: 10 Pages, Tex, UMDHEP 93-07
Stable Quantum Resonances in Atom Optics
A theory for stabilization of quantum resonances by a mechanism similar to
one leading to classical resonances in nonlinear systems is presented. It
explains recent surprising experimental results, obtained for cold Cesium atoms
when driven in the presence of gravity, and leads to further predictions. The
theory makes use of invariance properties of the system, that are similar to
those of solids, allowing for separation into independent kicked rotor
problems. The analysis relies on a fictitious classical limit where the small
parameter is {\em not} Planck's constant, but rather the detuning from the
frequency that is resonant in absence of gravity.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
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