When the Public Does Not Have a Right to Know: How the California Public Records Act Is Deterring Bioscience Research and Development

Many bioscience firms collaborate with public research universities to conduct innovative research through sponsored research agreements. Companies sponsoring this research usually require strict confidentiality from their academic partners in order to protect sensitive information that, if revealed, could put them at a competitive disadvantage and threaten their ability to obtain future patents. Yet, ambiguous disclosure requirements in the California Public Records Act preclude California\u27s public research universities from guaranteeing that proprietary information provided in connection with sponsored research agreements will remain confidential. Entering into such agreements with public universities in California is therefore a risky proposition for the sponsors. This iBrief argues that unless this is corrected, many of these public/private partnerships, which often lead to significant advances in science and medicine, may be deterred

A review of historical developments of quality assessment in industry and healthcare

Purpose: This study reviewed the literature on the historical development of quality assessment methods in industry and in healthcare. A comparative analysis of quality methods in industry and healthcare was conducted to examine the gap between methods in the two sectors. An attempt was then made to examine the latest approaches to quality assessment in healthcare and finally a proposal has been offered for a more effective approach to tackling the problem of quality in healthcare. Design/methodology/approach: Firstly, a review of the evolution of quality assessment in industry and healthcare was conducted. This was based on books written by prominent experts in the field of quality. secondly, a study of the current approaches in healthcare was undertaken. Publications from varied sources were selected and reviewed. The literature consulted includes worldwide operations research and healthcare sources including dissertations, the internet and reference lists of relevant articles. The journal papers and conference proceedings were selected according to the following criteria: Objective: the study must be aimed at measuring or improving quality both. It could also be aimed at developing new ways of measuring the quality of health care; Method: observational studies, experimental trials or systematic reviews; Setting: study should be in a hospital setting and not narrowed to quality of clinical cares. Findings: This study showed that the concept of quality management and its control in healthcare is not as advanced as it is in industry. Moreover, it seemed that most researchers, who set out to assess quality of care in one way or the other, have had differing views of quality and the factors that contribute to its assessment. It was also deduced that the way forward in healthcare quality is the development of systems that give staff ownership and pride in a way that is akin to the era of the craftsmen

Using discrete event simulation (DES) to manage theatre operations in healthcare: An audit-based case study

This paper discusses the application of Discrete Event Simulation (DES) in modelling the complex relationship between patient types, case-mix and operating theatre allocation in a large National Health Service (NHS) Trust in London. The simulation model that was constructed described the main features of nine theatres, focusing on operational processes and patient throughput times. The model was used to test three scenarios of case-mix and to demonstrate the potential of using simulation modelling as a cost effective method for understanding the issues of healthcare operations management and the role of simulation techniques in problem solving. The results indicated that removing all day cases will reduce patient throughput by 23.3% and the utilization of the orthopaedic theatre in particular by 6.5%. This represents a case example of how DES can be used by healthcare managers to inform decision making

Quantum Dynamics in a Time-dependent Hard-Wall Spherical Trap

Exact solution of the Schr\"{o}dinger equation is given for a particle inside a hard sphere whose wall is moving with a constant velocity. Numerical computations are presented for both contracting and expanding spheres. The propagator is constructed and compared with the propagator of a particle in an infinite square well with one wall in uniform motion.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accepted by Europhys. Let

Efficient adaptive integration of functions with sharp gradients and cusps in n-dimensional parallelepipeds

In this paper, we study the efficient numerical integration of functions with sharp gradients and cusps. An adaptive integration algorithm is presented that systematically improves the accuracy of the integration of a set of functions. The algorithm is based on a divide and conquer strategy and is independent of the location of the sharp gradient or cusp. The error analysis reveals that for a $C^0$ function (derivative-discontinuity at a point), a rate of convergence of $n+1$ is obtained in $R^n$. Two applications of the adaptive integration scheme are studied. First, we use the adaptive quadratures for the integration of the regularized Heaviside function---a strongly localized function that is used for modeling sharp gradients. Then, the adaptive quadratures are employed in the enriched finite element solution of the all-electron Coulomb problem in crystalline diamond. The source term and enrichment functions of this problem have sharp gradients and cusps at the nuclei. We show that the optimal rate of convergence is obtained with only a marginal increase in the number of integration points with respect to the pure finite element solution with the same number of elements. The adaptive integration scheme is simple, robust, and directly applicable to any generalized finite element method employing enrichments with sharp local variations or cusps in $n$-dimensional parallelepiped elements.Comment: 22 page

Coherent control of birefringence and optical activity

Control of polarization of light with light is demonstrated in thin slabs of linear material promising ultrafast all-optical data processing at arbitrarily low intensities. In proof-of-principle experiments we access any polarization azimuth and any ellipticity

Assessment of questionnaires measuring quality of life in infertile couples: A systematic review

Background: Infertility has potentially inappropriate effects on quality of life in infertile couples. Various general and specific questionnaires have been structured for assessing different aspects of quality of life in infertile men, women, or couples. The present systematic review was designed to assess these questionnaires and also identify different factors affecting infertile couples based on the aforesaid questionnaires. Methods: The research strategy involved general and specific terms in relation to couples's infertility and their quality of life. A review was done for studies published from 1982 to 2012 that were indexed in Medline, ISI Web of Science and Scopus as well as abstract books on this subject. We also corresponded with the authors of the references in related studies for introducing more resources and references. Results: In all reviewed studies, different aspects of the quality of life in couples were evaluated including sexual, psychological, social, communicational, environmental, occupational, medical, as well as economical ones. In total, after initial screening of all studies, 10 general and 2 specific questionnaires were retrieved. Although no meta-analysis was found in the review, infertility had a negative effect on quality of life in couples. Conclusion: This study revealed that some general questionnaires such as SF-36 and WHO-QOL were mostly used for assessing quality of life in infertile couples and some specific questionnaires such as FERTI-QoL and Fertility Problem Inventory were rarely used. Thus, it seems that the evaluation of quality of life in infertile couples needs valid instruments for measurement