Enabling National Instruments to Drive Power Electronics Circuits

The power electronics circuits have interfaces to the microcontroller to enable their operation and controls. National instruments products are common for data acquisition but less common for hardware in the loop control of power electronics. In this project we have demonstrated that the NI myDAQ hardware can be used to control DC-DC converters and AC-DC rectifiers despite having limited analog input and output ports. The control command and measured parameters of the system demonstrate very accurate switching and control. LabVIEW programing and other details will be demonstrated

Whiplash: diagnosis, treatment, and associated injuries

Study design Focused review of the current literature. Objective To identify and synthesize the most current data pertaining to the diagnosis and treatment of whiplash and whiplash-associated disorders (WAD), and to report on whiplash-related injuries. Methods A search of OVID Medline (1996–January 2007) and the Cochrane database of systematic reviews was performed using the keywords whiplash and WAD. Articles under subheadings for pathology, diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiology were chosen for review after identification by the authors. Results A total of 485 articles in the English language literature were identified. Thirty-six articles pertained to the diagnosis, treatment, epidemiology of whiplash, and WAD, and were eligible for focused review. From these, 21 primary and 15 secondary sources were identified for full review. In addition, five articles were found that focused on whiplash associated cervical injuries. These five articles were also primary sources. Conclusions Whiplash is a common injury associated most often with motor vehicle accidents. It may present with a variety of clinical manifestations, collectively termed WAD. Whiplash is an important cause of chronic disability. Many controversies exist regarding the diagnosis and treatment of whiplash injuries. The multifactorial etiology, believed to underly whiplash injuries, make management highly variable between patients. Radiographic evidence of injury often cannot be identified in the acute phase. Recent studies suggest early mobilization may lead to improved outcomes. Ligamentous and bony injuries may go undetected at initial presentation leading to delayed diagnosis and inappropriate therapies

The Article 82 EC Abuse Concept: What Scope is There for Modernization?

On 30 September 2004, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, the University of Nyenrode, and Global Competition Review co-sponsored a seminar on the reform of Article 82 EC by the European Commission. The seminar raised a great deal of interest amongst members of the legal community and attracted a large attendance. The speakers included some of the most well-known top-level policy makers, academics, and practitioners in the field of competition law. Over the last two years, there have been numerous calls for modernization of the way in which Article 82 of the EC Treaty is applied by the European Commission and, with decentralization in mind, by 25 national competition authorities and many more national courts. Modernization in other areas has involved a greater focus on the economic effects of the relevant practice. In Article 82 EC cases, enforcement has, however, been more based on the perceived object of a criticized practice with the effect being inferred from market power. Classic positions on fidelity market power. Classic positions on fidelity rebates and the special responsibilities of dominant companies have also been reaffirmed recently by the European Court in judgments such as Michelin II, Masterfoods II, and BA/Virgin. The aim of the seminar was to look at the concepts underlying the current law in relation to rebates and tying and bundling to compare how EU and US enforcers deal with such issues and to make suggestions for possible European Commission guidelines on Article 82 EC enforcement practice

Case Report: Intramedullary Cervical Spinal Cord Hemangioblastoma with an Evaluation of von Hippel-Lindau Disease

History of Present Illness MO is a 49 year old male with a history of multiple sclerosis who presents with a one year history of progressive numbness in his shoulders bilateral and upper back. The patient describes occasional sharp pains that radiate to his first three fingers on his right hand. He denies weakness, clumsiness, difficulty walking, or bladder/bowel dysfunction. He describes no problems with handwriting, or fine motor skills

Avionics Architectures for Exploration: Building a Better Approach for (Human) Spaceflight Avionics

The field of Avionics is advancing far more rapidly in terrestrial applications than in space flight applications. Spaceflight Avionics are not keeping pace with expectations set by terrestrial experience, nor are they keeping pace with the need for increasingly complex automation and crew interfaces as we move beyond Low Earth Orbit. NASA must take advantage of the strides being made by both space-related and terrestrial industries to drive our development and sustaining costs down. This paper describes ongoing efforts by the Avionics Architectures for Exploration (AAE) project chartered by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Program to evaluate new avionic architectures and technologies, provide objective comparisons of them, and mature selected technologies for flight and for use by other AES projects. Results from the AAE project's FY13 efforts are discussed, along with the status of FY14 efforts and future plans

Antitrust and Competition Law Update: Tetra Laval--A landmark judgement on EC Merger Control

On 15 February 2005, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed the European Commission’s appeal in the Tetra Laval/Sidel merger case.2 The ECJ’s judgment establishes two significant principles that apply beyond the facts of this particular case:The judgment confirms that the Court of First Instance (CFI) for all practical purposes will continue to be the ultimate arbiter of disputes about the Commission’s use of evidence and economic assessment in merger control proceedings. The ECJ has signaled that it will generally not entertain appeals asserting that the CFI engaged in excessive scrutiny of the Commission’s assessment and therefore overstepped the permissible boundaries of judicial review. Had the ECJ upheld the arguments raised by the Commission, this may well have had a chilling effect on the CFI’s willingness to subject the Commission’s merger decisions to strict scrutiny. This in turn would have severely limited the effectiveness of judicial review, in particular in the age of the Commission’s “more economicsbased approach” and the increasing importance of complex factual and economic evidence in merger cases. • While the judgment does not preclude prohibition of conglomerate mergers under the Merger Regulation, it imposes stringent legal and practical constraints on the Commission’s ability to challenge such mergers on the basis of “leveraging”- type theories of competitive harm: Finding that “the chains of cause and effect [underlying leveraging theories] are dimly discernible, uncertain, and difficult to establish”, the ECJ required a particularly high quality of evidence to support a conclusion that the leveraging developments will occur following the merger. By requiring that the Commission examine on a case-by-case basis whether behavioral commitments (such as not to bundle different products) might be effective, the ECJ’s judgment makes it less likely that the Commission will pursue leveraging theories in merger review. The judgment effectively compels the Commission to reassess its method of evaluating commitments, which currently calls for the rejection of even the most carefully crafted long-term behavioral commitments that adequately address conglomerate concerns

Schering-Plough Corp. v. Federal Trade Commission: Eleventh Circuit Rejects the FTC’s Position on “Reverse Payments” in Patent Suit Settlements

In recent years, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or the “Commission”) has investigated several settlement agreements between pioneer and generic drug manufacturers involving “reverse payments.” In the view of the FTC, reverse payments are cash that a pioneer drug manufacturer pays to a generic manufacturer who has challenged the patent(s) protecting the pioneer drug, in exchange for the generic manufacturer’s agreement to delay market entry. Such payments sometimes occur in the settlement of patent infringement actions. The Commission has been extremely skeptical of reverse payments, viewing them as objective indicia of intent to illegally share monopoly profits that the delayed generic entry perpetuates. It has successfully challenged settlement agreements that included reverse payments involving the market entry of generic Cardizem (hypertension treatment) and generic Hytrin (hypertension and angina treatment)

Avionics Architectures for Exploration: Wireless Technologies and Human Spaceflight

The authors describe ongoing efforts by the Avionics Architectures for Exploration (AAE) project chartered by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Program to evaluate new avionics architectures and technologies, provide objective comparisons of them, and mature selected technologies for flight and for use by other AES projects. The AAE project team includes members from most NASA centers and from industry. This paper provides an overview of recent AAE efforts, with particular emphasis on the wireless technologies being evaluated under AES to support human spaceflight