International Law- Criminal Law- Jurisdiction Over Aliens for Crimes Committed Abroad

Six alien defendants were convicted under a federal statute for knowingly making false statements before United States consular officials abroad in order to procure nonquota immigrant visas. Their motion to dismiss this count on the ground that the district court lacked jurisdiction to indict and try aliens for crimes committed outside the territorial limits of the United States was denied. On appeal, held, affirmed. As a necessary incident to its sovereignty, the United States is competent to punish aliens apprehended within the United States for acts against its sovereignty committed outside the country. Rocha v. United States, 288 F.2d 545 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 366 U.S. 948 (1961)

Graded Hecke algebras for disconnected reductive groups

We introduce graded Hecke algebras H based on a (possibly disconnected) complex reductive group G and a cuspidal local system L on a unipotent orbit of a Levi subgroup M of G. These generalize the graded Hecke algebras defined and investigated by Lusztig for connected G. We develop the representation theory of the algebras H. obtaining complete and canonical parametrizations of the irreducible, the irreducible tempered and the discrete series representations. All the modules are constructed in terms of perverse sheaves and equivariant homology, relying on work of Lusztig. The parameters come directly from the data (G,M,L) and they are closely related to Langlands parameters. Our main motivation for considering these graded Hecke algebras is that the space of irreducible H-representations is canonically in bijection with a certain set of "logarithms" of enhanced L-parameters. Therefore we expect these algebras to play a role in the local Langlands program. We will make their relation with the local Langlands correspondence, which goes via affine Hecke algebras, precise in a sequel to this paper.Comment: Theorem 3.4 and Proposition 3.22 in version 1 were not entirely correct as stated. This is repaired in a new appendi

Quantifying patient satisfaction with process metrics using a weighted bundle approach.

Background:Current patient satisfaction assessment results are delayed and obtained from select patient surveys. As a result, these assessments may not represent the experience of the entire patient population. This study developed a method to measure and evaluate all patients\u27 experiences while they are within the care episode and link it to processes within the organisation. Methods:Using the Six Sigma methodology, sites assembled diverse teams to categorise and analyse negative experience comments from patients to understand the drivers of dissatisfaction. These customer expectations lead to the development of the four components in the Patient Experience Bundle (PEB): communication, environment, basic needs/comfort and logistics. Individual process elements were ranked to create a numerical relationship between service and the needs expressed by the voice of the customer. Sites created surveys incorporating questions that focused on the bundle elements and measured daily bundle compliance. Graphical analysis and hypothesis testing enabled sites to determine key drivers of patient dissatisfaction within the bundle elements. Improvement strategies were developed and implemented to address the key drivers of patient dissatisfaction. Results:After implementing process improvements focused on issues identified by the PEB, bundle compliance improved from an average of 51% to an average of 82.5% and Press Ganey Likelihood to Recommend (PG LTR) scores improved from an average of 64.73% to an average 74.64%. The data demonstrated that the trends in improving PEB are followed by meaningful changes in PG LTR scores. Conclusion:This work is built on the identification of common elements of care that impact patient satisfaction and detailed mathematical analysis of the relationship between factors. Using the bundle concept, these improvement efforts maintain highly reliable processes to drive outcomes and provide real-time feedback on patient experience

High- and low-affinity PEGylated hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers: differential oxidative stress in a Guinea pig transfusion model

Hemoglobin (Hb)-based oxygen carriers (HBOCs) are an investigational replacement for blood transfusions and are known to cause oxidative damage to tissues. To investigate the correlation between their oxygen binding properties and these detrimental effects, we investigated two PEGylated HBOCs endowed with different oxygen binding properties - but otherwise chemically identical - in a Guinea pig transfusion model. Plasma samples were analyzed for biochemical markers of inflammation, tissue damage and organ dysfunction; proteins and lipids of heart and kidney extracts were analyzed for markers of oxidative damage. Overall, both HBOCs produced higher oxidative stress in comparison to an auto-transfusion control group. Particularly, tissue 4-hydroxynonenal-adducts, tissue malondialdehyde adducts and plasma 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine exhibited significantly higher levels in comparison with the control group. For malondialdehyde adducts, a higher level in the renal tissue was observed for animals treated with PEG-Hboxy, hinting at a correlation between the HBOCs oxygen binding properties and the oxidative stress they produce. Moreover, we found that the high-affinity HBOC produced greater tissue oxygenation in comparison with the low affinity one, possibly correlating with the higher oxidative stress it induced

Intravascular ultrasound imaging: In vitro validation and pathologic correlation

AbstractIntravascuiar ultrasound imaging is a new method in which high resolution images of the arterial wall are obtained with use of a catheter placed within an artery. An in vitro Plexiglas well model was used to validate measurements of the luminal area, and an excellent correlation was obtained. One hundred thirty segments of fresh peripheral arteries underwent ultrasound imaging and the findings were compared with the corresponding histopathologic sections. luminal areas determined with ultrasound imaging correlated well with those calculated from microscopic slides (r = 0.98).Three patterns were identified on the ultrasound images: 1) distinct interface between media and adventitia, 2) indistinct interface between media and adventitia but different echo density layers, and 3) diffuse homogeneous appearance. The types of patterns depended on the relative composition of the and adventitia. Calcification of intimal plaque obscured underlying structures. Atherosclerotic plaque was readily visualized but could not always be differentiated from the underlying media

Initial Results from the CHOOZ Long Baseline Reactor Neutrino Oscillation Experiment

Initial results are presented from CHOOZ, a long-baseline reactor-neutrino vacuum-oscillation experiment. Electron antineutrinos were detected by a liquid scintillation calorimeter located at a distance of about 1 km. The detector was constructed in a tunnel protected from cosmic rays by a 300 MWE rock overburden. This massive shielding strongly reduced potentially troublesome backgrounds due to cosmic-ray muons, leading to a background rate of about one event per day, more than an order of magnitude smaller than the observed neutrino signal. From the statistical agreement between detected and expected neutrino event rates, we find (at 90% confidence level) no evidence for neutrino oscillations in the electron antineutrino disappearance mode for the parameter region given approximately by deltam**2 > 0.9 10**(-3) eV**2 for maximum mixing and (sin(2 theta)**2) > 0.18 for large deltam**2.Comment: 13 pages, Latex, submitted to Physics Letters