Poetic Tecniques in the Wasteland

That Eliot is the greatest poet in the English language o f the first third of the present century is debatable. There are also W.B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, and perhaps others, depending on scholarly opinion. But there is less doubt about his influence; he is generally considered the most influential and he remains the most controversial. Critics and other students of literature have written extensively to resolve controversial opinion and to unravel the complexity of his poetics both to professional scholars and, of corse, to students who approach them for the first time. Even today, a simpler explanation is required. Therefore the purpose of this essay is to explain some of Eliot' s most important techniques and to show how, in using them, he develops one of the themes that dominate much of his poetry: the spiritually negative character of the contemporary world and the spiritually positive character of the past tradition. 'The Wasteland' is in my opinion the poem which best illustrates these techniques

Somewhat Stochastic Matrices

The standard theorem for stochastic matrices with positive entries is generalized to matrices with no sign restriction on the entries. The condition that column sums be equal to 1 is kept, but the positivity condition is replaced by a condition on the distances between columns

An Unexpected Limit of Expected Values

Let t⩾0. Select numbers randomly from the interval [0,1] until the sum is greater than t . Let α(t) be the expected number of selections. We prove that α(t)=et for 0⩽t⩽1. Moreover, . This limit is a special case of our asymptotic results for solutions of the delay differential equation f′(t)=f(t)-f(t-1) for t\u3e1. We also consider four other solutions of this equation that are related to the above selection process

An Unexpected Limit of Expected Values

Let t⩾0. Select numbers randomly from the interval [0,1] until the sum is greater than t . Let α(t) be the expected number of selections. We prove that α(t)=et for 0⩽t⩽1. Moreover, . This limit is a special case of our asymptotic results for solutions of the delay differential equation f′(t)=f(t)-f(t-1) for t\u3e1. We also consider four other solutions of this equation that are related to the above selection process

Dynamics of Cloud-Top Generating Cells in Winter Cyclones. Part III: Shear and Convective Organization

Cloud-top generating cells (GCs) are a common feature atop stratiform clouds within the comma head of winter cyclones. The dynamics of cloud-top GCs are investigated using very high-resolution idealized WRF Model simulations to examine the role of shear in modulating the structure and intensity of GCs. Simulations were run for the same combinations of radiative forcing and instability as in Part II of this series, but with six different shear profiles ranging from 0 to 10ms21 km21 within the layer encompassing the GCs. The primary role of shear was to modulate the organization of GCs, which organized as closed convective cells in simulations with radiative forcing and no shear. In simulations with shear and radiative forcing, GCs organized in linear streets parallel to the wind. No GCs developed in the initially stable simulations with no radiative forcing. In the initially unstable and neutral simulations with no radiative forcing or shear, GCs were exceptionally weak, with no clear organization. In moderate-shear (Du/Dz 5 2, 4ms21 km21) simulations with no radiative forcing, linear organization of the weak cells was apparent, but this organization was less coherent in simulations with high shear (Du/Dz 5 6, 8, 10ms21 km21). The intensity of the updrafts was primarily related to the mode of radiative forcing but was modulated by shear. The more intense GCs in nighttime simulations were either associated with no shear (closed convective cells) or strong shear (linear streets). Updrafts within GCs under conditions with radiative forcing were typically ;1–2 ms21 with maximum values , 4ms21

Patient-reported Experience of Diagnosis, Management, and Burden of Renal Cell Carcinomas : Results from a Global Patient Survey in 43 Countries

Funding/Support and role of the sponsor: This project was funded by equal unrestricted grants from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Ipsen Pharma, Novartis, and Pfizer according to the IKCC code of conduct governing corporate funding (ikcc.org). The sponsors were not involved in the design or analysis of the survey or approval of the final manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Psychometric validation of the Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency Diary and Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency Impact Assessment in adults in the phase 3 ACTIVATE trial

© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Background: Pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is a rare hereditary disorder characterized by chronic hemolytic anemia and serious sequalae which negatively affect patient quality of life. This study aimed to psychometrically validate the first disease-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments: the 7-item PK Deficiency Diary (PKDD) and 12-item PK Deficiency Impact Assessment (PKDIA), designed to assess signs, symptoms, and impacts of PK deficiency in patients enrolled in the ACTIVATE global phase 3 study of mitapivat versus placebo (NCT03548220). Methods: All validation analyses for the PKDD and PKDIA were performed on blinded data, with analyses on item integrity, scoring, reliability, and validity conducted on data from screening and baseline. Completion rates and baseline response distributions were characterized using descriptive statistics. Item response modelling was used to inform a weighted scoring system. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency and test–retest reliability; and validity by convergent and known-groups analyses. Results: Of the 80 adults enrolled, baseline data were available for 77 (96.3%) and 78 (97.5%) patients for the PKDD and PKDIA, respectively. Item responses skewed right, indicating that mean values exceeded median values, especially for items utilizing a 0–10 numeric scale, which were subsequently recoded to a 0–4 scale; 4 items were removed from the PKDIA due to redundancy or low relevance to the trial population. Both the PKDD and PKDIA demonstrated high internal consistency (McDonald’s coefficient ω = 0.86 and 0.90, respectively), test–retest reliability (intra-class coefficients of 0.94 and 0.87, respectively), and convergent validity with other PROs (linear correlation coefficients [|r|] between 0.30–0.73 and 0.50–0.82, respectively). Conclusions: The findings provide evidence of validity and reliability for the PKDD and PKDIA, the first disease-specific PRO measures for PK deficiency, and can therefore increase understanding of, and more accurately capture, the wider impact of PK deficiency on health-related quality of life. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03548220. Registered June 07, 2018; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03548220.Peer reviewe

A Canadian approach to the regionalization of testis cancer: A review

At the Canadian Testis Cancer Workshop, the rationale and feasibility of regionalization of testis cancer care were discussed. The two-day workshop involved urologists, medical and radiation oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, physician’s assistants, residents and fellows, and nurses, as well as patients and patient advocacy groups. This review summarizes the discussion and recommendations of one of the central topics of the workshop — the centralization of testis cancer in Canada. It was acknowledged that non-guideline-concordant care in testis cancer occurs frequently, in the range of 18–30%. The National Health Service in the U.K. stipulates various testis cancer care modalities be delivered through supra-regional network. All cases are reviewed at a multidisciplinary team meeting and aspects of care can be delivered locally through the network. In Germany, no such network exists, but an insurance-supported online second opinion network was developed that currently achieves expert case review in over 30% of cases. There are clear benefits to regionalization in terms of survival, treatment morbidity, and cost. There was agreement at the workshop that a structured pathway for diagnosis and treatment of testis cancer patients is required. Regionalization may be challenging in Canada because of geography; independent administration of healthcare by each province; physicians fearing loss of autonomy and revenue; patient unwillingness to travel long distances from home; and the inability of the larger centers to handle the ensuing increase in volume. We feel the first step is to identify the key performance indicators and quality metrics to track the quality of care received. After identifying these metrics, implementation of a “networks of excellence” model, similar to that seen in sarcoma care in Ontario, could be effective, coupled with increased use of health technology, such as virtual clinics and telemedicine