Experiences in teleoperation of land vehicles

Teleoperation of land vehicles allows the removal of the operator from the vehicle to a remote location. This can greatly increase operator safety and comfort in applications such as security patrol or military combat. The cost includes system complexity and reduced system performance. All feedback on vehicle performance and on environmental conditions must pass through sensors, a communications channel, and displays. In particular, this requires vision to be transmitted by close-circuit television with a consequent degradation of information content. Vehicular teleoperation, as a result, places severe demands on the operator. Teleoperated land vehicles have been built and tested by many organizations, including Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The SNL fleet presently includes eight vehicles of varying capability. These vehicles have been operated using different types of controls, displays, and visual systems. Experimentation studying the effects of vision system characteristics on off-road, remote driving was performed for conditions of fixed camera versus steering-coupled camera and of color versus black and white video display. Additionally, much experience was gained through system demonstrations and hardware development trials. The preliminary experimental findings and the results of the accumulated operational experience are discussed

A Practical Introduction to Stata

This document provides an introduction to the use of Stata. It is designed to be an overview rather than a comprehensive guide, aimed at covering the basic tools necessary for econometric analysis. Topics covered include data management, graphing, regression analysis, binary outcomes, ordered and multinominal regression, time series and panel data. Stata commands are shown in the context of practical examples.Stata, econometric analysis, data management, regression analysis, graphing, binary outcomes

Dark side illuminated: imaging of Toxoplasma gondii through the decades.

In the more than 100 years since its discovery, our knowledge of Toxoplasma biology has improved enormously. The evolution of molecular biology, immunology and genomics has had profound influences on our understanding of this ubiquitous bug. However, it could be argued that in science today the adage "seeing is believing" has never been truer. Images are highly influential and in the time since the first description of T. gondii, advances in microscopy and imaging technology have been and continue to be dramatic. In this review we recount the discovery of T. gondii and the contribution of imaging techniques to elucidating its life cycle, biology and the immune response of its host

Common Themes and Unintended Consequences in Class Action Reform

The reform pendulum has been swinging in the direction of limiting the scope and flexibility of the class action procedural device. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA), the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA), the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 (Rule 23), various state statutes and rules, and a variety of state and U.S. Supreme Court decisions have included significant efforts to make class actions look more like traditional one-on-one litigation. These efforts have focused on five overlapping areas: public transparency, client control and attorney selection, attorney fees, suit selection, and an increased judicial role. At the same time, however, these reforms have generated unintended consequences that have the potential for creating new problems or undercutting the efficacy of the reforms themselves