Doctors at Risk: A Problem As Viewed by Decision Analysis

The authors closely analyze a case in which a Peer Review Organization cited a physician for treatment with potential for significant adverse effect. They also critique the regulatory scheme under which peer review occurs and conclude that such regulation interferes with physicians\u27 primary obligations, fails to encourage cost-effective behavior and may decrease the quality of medical care

sUAS: Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Exploits

The FAA predicts that purchases of hobbyist small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) will grow from 1.9 million in 2016 to 4.3 million by 2020, and commercial sUAS to increase from 600,000 in 2016 to 2.7 million by 2020. sUAS, often referred to as \u27drones,\u27 are comprised of aeronautical hardware, a CPU, RAM, onboard storage, radio frequency communications, sensors, a camera, and a controller used by the pilot-in-command (PIC). Some have argued that a sUAS is essentially a flying computer. As such, sUAS are sometimes susceptible to many of the types of attacks that are often used on PC-based computers attached to a computer network. Potential attacks on sUAS include de-authentication (i.e., \u27terminating\u27 the sUAS from the network); GPS spoofing (e.g., modifying or faking GPS coordinates); unauthorized access to the computer flight systems and onboard storage; jamming the communications channel; and contaminating the sUAS geofencing mechanism (allowing the sUAS to fly in a \u27no-fly-zone\u27). The result of these types of attacks include: theft of the sUAS; flying the sUAS into no-fly zones; purposefully crashing the sUAS to cause damage to persons or equipment (including airplanes, crowds, etc.); and theft or adulteration of sensitive data (e.g., law enforcement surveillance data). The purpose of this paper is to apply a threat modeling approach to identify cyber-based vulnerabilities; potential attack vectors; commercial-off-the-shelf and home-built equipment required to effectuate attacks; cyber and kinetic ramifications of attacks; and mitigating strategies for protecting sUAS from cyber-attacks

Answer and Return of Writ

Respondent says that the record in this case affirmatively shows that the petitioner (Sheppard) was awarded a full and fair hearing in the state courts, resulting in reliable findings of fact, and that the state courts applied correct constitutional standards in disposing of the various claims of the petitioner. Respondent denies that the trial court erred in refusing to grant petitioner (Sheppard) a new trial on the ground of newly discovered evidence. Respondent denies that any relevant material or substantial evidence was suppressed by the prosecution or that any unjust tactics were used by the prosecuting authorities in the trial of this case. Respondent denies that the petitioner (Sheppard) was prevented from having a fair and impartial trial by the action of the trial judge as a result of the actions of the bailiffs in permitting the jurors to make telephone calls. Respondent denies that the trial judge coerced the jury into reaching a verdict, and avers that the fact that the jury deliberated for a period of five days merely shows the carefulness and consideration that the jury gave the mass of testimony and over 200 exhibits in the case. Respondent denies each and every other allegation in the petition not herein admitted to be true. Affirmatively, respondent alleges that petitioner was convicted in a court that had jurisdiction of his person and of the crime involved, that petitioner was not deprived of any of his constitutional rights, and that the facts upon which petitioner (Sheppard) relies, even if true, constitute mere error in the trial court, which is not cognizable in an action of habeas corpus. For the foregoing reasons, respondent prays that the petition herein be dismissed

Answer and Return of Writ

Respondent says that the record in this case affirmatively shows that the petitioner (Sheppard) was awarded a full and fair hearing in the state courts, resulting in reliable findings of fact, and that the state courts applied correct constitutional standards in disposing of the various claims of the petitioner. Respondent denies that the trial court erred in refusing to grant petitioner (Sheppard) a new trial on the ground of newly discovered evidence. Respondent denies that any relevant material or substantial evidence was suppressed by the prosecution or that any unjust tactics were used by the prosecuting authorities in the trial of this case. Respondent denies that the petitioner (Sheppard) was prevented from having a fair and impartial trial by the action of the trial judge as a result of the actions of the bailiffs in permitting the jurors to make telephone calls. Respondent denies that the trial judge coerced the jury into reaching a verdict, and avers that the fact that the jury deliberated for a period of five days merely shows the carefulness and consideration that the jury gave the mass of testimony and over 200 exhibits in the case. Respondent denies each and every other allegation in the petition not herein admitted to be true. Affirmatively, respondent alleges that petitioner was convicted in a court that had jurisdiction of his person and of the crime involved, that petitioner was not deprived of any of his constitutional rights, and that the facts upon which petitioner (Sheppard) relies, even if true, constitute mere error in the trial court, which is not cognizable in an action of habeas corpus. For the foregoing reasons, respondent prays that the petition herein be dismissed

Hospital e Instituto de Sanidad del Centro Médico de Detroit MICHIGAN/EE. UU.

Not available.En el Centro Médico de Detroit se han realizado dos nuevos servicios sanitarios: un hospital de 43.000 m2 de superficie construida y capacidad para 340 camas, que cubre las necesidades de traumatología de urgencia para pacientes internos; y un instituto de sanidad, de 37,000 m2 construidos capaz para atender 550.000 visitas médicas anuales de pacientes externos y que, además, cumple una misión de medicina preventiva. A pesar de sus distintas funciones, ambos edificios responden a un mismo esquema formal, basado en la unión de tres módulos en forma de cruz griega. En los tres primeros niveles los dos edificios se conectan mediante corredores, lo que permite mancomunar una larga serie de servicios y es, a partir de la cuarta planta, donde se independizan para satisfacer las respectivas necesidades específicas. La configuración empleada permite, por un lado, una gran superficie de fachadas con la correspondiente ganancia en iluminación natural y, por otro, reduce el volumen aparente, haciéndola más acorde con la arquitectura circundante

Brief of Resondents

This Brief outlines the Respondents (State/Prosecution) side of legal support for why the Sheppard Case was conducted in a partial and Constitutional manner. The two questions they present include: DID THE PUBLICITY RELATING TO THE PETITIONER DEPRIVE HIM OF A FAIR TRIAL? and WAS THE PETITIONER DEPRIVED OF A PUBLIC TRIAL? Using precedent and examination of the Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 723 (1961) case and the case of Rideau v. State of Louisiana, 373 U.S. 723, 83 S. Ct., 1417, 10 L. Ed. 2d, 663 (1963), (perhaps the two cases most favorable to petitioner\u27s position) reveal where the United States Supreme Court has drawn the boundaries for what constitutes a fair trial in the face of adverse publicity. These cases with such a pattern of facts reveals situations that caused the United States Supreme Court to reverse both convictions. Although slightly similar to Sheppard, various factors suggest that the deep-rooted prejudice that existed in the Rideau and Irvin cases did not exist in the Sheppard case–as noted by respondents. After an examination of the relevant factors surrounding the Sheppard jury and the publicity in the community, respondent finds that it can merely repeat the words of the United States District Court in United States v. Kahaner, 204 F. Supp. 921, 924 (1962): Publicity, in and of itself does not, foreclose a fair trial. The courts do not function in a vacuum and jurors are not required to be totally ignorant of what goes on about them. * * * In considering the mentioned complaints it is necessary to keep in mind the following legal principles: The mere fact of unfavorable publicity does not of itself raise a presumption of prejudice but prejudice must manifest itself so as to corrupt due process. Dennis v. U.S., 302 F 2d 5 (1962). Mere exposure to adverse publicity does not necessarily result in bias, prejudgment or other disqualification. U.S. v. Applegarth, 206 F. Supp. 686, 687 (1962). The mere fact that a juror has read newspaper accounts relative to a criminal charge is not in itself sufficient grounds for excusing a jury. Blumenfield v. U.S, 284 F. 2d 46, 51 (1960). Also, regarding the petitioner\u27s (Sheppard) assertion that the action of the trial court in setting aside the major portion of the courtroom for representatives of the news media was violative of his right to a public trial. Respondent contends that the trial court was justified in its actions. Equally, the respondent is aware that the petitioner is going to present statements to the effect that the trial judge expressed his belief in the guilt of the petitioner before the trial commenced. Accordingly, respondent invites the Court\u27s attention to the recent case of Hendrix v. Hand, 312 F. 2d (1962) wherein the Court of Appeals, in a habeas corpus proceeding held that the mere fact that a trial judge in a state criminal prosecution signed a statement in advance of trial relating to the judge\u27s belief that the defendant was guilty of the crime charged did not establish any infringement of defendant\u27s right to a fair trial

The Annual Cycle of SST in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, Diagnosed in an Ocean GCM

The annual onset of the east Pacific cold tongue is diagnosed in an ocean GCM simulation of the tropical Pacific. The model uses a mixed-layer scheme that explicitly simulates the processes of vertical exchange of heat and momentum with the deeper layers of the ocean; comparison with observations of temperature and currents shows that many important aspects of the model fields are realistic. As previous studies have found, the heat balance in the eastern tropical Pacific is notoriously complicated, and virtually every term in the balance plays a significant role at one time or another. However, despite many complications, the three-dimensional ocean advection terms in the cold tongue region tend to cancel each other in the annual cycle and, to first order, the variation of SST can be described as simply following the variation of net solar radiation at the sea surface (sun minus clouds). The cancellation is primarily between cooling due to equatorial upwelling and warming due to tropical instability waves, both of which are strongest in the second half of the year (when the winds are stronger). Even near the equator, where the ocean advection is relatively intense, the terms associated with cloudiness variations are among the largest contributions to the SST balance. The annual cycle of cloudiness transforms the semiannual solar cycle at the top of the atmosphere into a largely 1 cycle yr−1 variation of insolation at the sea surface. However, the annual cycle of cloudiness appears closely tied to SST in coupled feedbacks (positive for low stratus decks and negative for deep cumulus convection), so the annual cycle of SST cannot be fully diagnosed in an ocean-only modeling context as in the present study. Zonal advection was found to be a relatively small influence on annual equatorial cold tongue variations; in particular, there was little direct (oceanic) connection between the Peru coastal upwelling and equatorial annual cycles. Meridional advection driven by cross-equatorial winds has been conjectured as a key factor leading to the onset of the cold tongue. The results suggest that the SST changes due to this mechanism are modest, and if meridional advection is in fact a major influence, then it must be through interaction with another process (such as a coupled feedback with stratus cloudiness). At present, it is not possible to evaluate this feedback quantitatively

Detection of Far-Infrared Water Vapor, Hydroxyl, and Carbon Monoxide Emissions from the Supernova Remnant 3C 391

We report the detection of shock-excited far-infrared emission of H2O, OH, and CO from the supernova remnant 3C 391, using the ISO Long-Wavelength Spectrometer. This is the first detection of thermal H2O and OH emission from a supernova remnant. For two other remnants, W~28 and W~44, CO emission was detected but OH was only detected in absorption. The observed H2O and OH emission lines arise from levels within ~400 K of the ground state, consistent with collisional excitation in warm, dense gas created after the passage of the shock front through the dense clumps in the pre-shock cloud. The post-shock gas we observe has a density ~2x10^5 cm^{-3} and temperature 100-1000 K, and the relative abundances of CO:OH:H2O in the emitting region are 100:1:7 for a temperature of 200 K. The presence of a significant column of warm H2O suggests that the chemistry has been significantly changed by the shock. The existence of significant column densities of both OH and H2O, which is at odds with models for non-dissociative shocks into dense gas, could be due to photodissociation of H2O or a mix of fast and slow shocks through regions with different pre-shock density.Comment: AASTeX manuscript and 4 postscript figure