IMPACTFUL INTERACTIONS WITH MEDICAL INTERPRETATION

The purpose of this paper is to examine the quality of healthcare that one can receive when the language barrier is a factor, looking specifically at the collaboration of interpreters and physicians in the delivery of care. To carry out this study, I have analyzed the presence of the language barrier in South Dakota, the current methods of interpretation in clinical settings, and how physicians and interpreters work together to provide care to Limited English Proficiency (LEP) patients. Data has been collected from scholarly articles, journals, presentations, and videos. Ultimately, with my committee’s help, I have created a physician-interpreter training module for the Sanford School of Medicine to prepare future physicians to work alongside interpreters, improving care for LEP patients. This proposed training will be included in the medical school curriculum, enhancing the patient encounter and future health outcomes. As the immigrant population in South Dakota continues to grow, the need for meaningful access to healthcare for LEP patients grows as well. The ultimate goal is to increase the quality of care that these patients can receive in years to come

Empirical risk analysis of pension insurance: the case of Germany

With this paper we seek to contribute to the literature on pension insurance systems. The financial literature tends to focus exclusively on the US pension insurance system. This is the first major empirical study to address the German occupational pension insurance (PSVaG) plan in Germany. The study is based on a Merton-type one-factor model, in which we determine the credit portfolio risk profile of the occupational pension insurance plan and compare two alternative pricing plans. We find that there is a low, yet non-negligible risk of very high losses that may threaten the existence of the occupational pension insurance plan (PSVaG). While relating risk premiums to firms' default probabilities would cause them to diverge widely, a marginal risk contribution method would produce less pronounced differences compared to the current, uniform pricing plan. --Pension insurance,Risk-adjusted premiums,Credit portfolio risk

Let's have a gay old time : how lesbians shaped early Hollywood

This thesis puts forth Alla Nazimova, Kay Francis, and Greta Garbo as case studies for early Hollywood lesbian stardom and reception and unpacks how their star personas were constructed as well as the fan responses to their image and work. Through intersections of star studies, reception studies, classic literature, and queer historical texts, I discuss each star’s life and career with textual analysis of their films and primary sources such as fan letters, fan magazines, advertisements, and newspaper articles. I argue that each star represents a queer, and more specifically lesbian and bisexual, sensibility within the early Hollywood film industry that deserves more scholarly attention. The fan letters columns within old Hollywood fan magazines such as Photoplay and Modern Screen particularly illustrate the construction of queer star personas and the impact that they had on informed movie fans. Nazimova, Francis, and Garbo were all-powerful and influential figures in the film industry during significant periods of change such as the rise of the studio era, the arrival of sound, and the shift from pre-Code to the production Code era. Their star personas reflect how they were influenced by and went on to influence these critical transitions in Old Hollywood. There is a fundamental activist function to this work, to remind audiences that queer people have always existed, even without a framework to discuss identity, and this work endeavors to show a dedicated lesbian influence and audience of early Hollywood.Radio-Television-Fil

Fracturas de implantes de tibia. Consecuencias para los ensayos de los implantes

El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar los modelos de fracturas de prótesis de tibia descritos en la literatura y, sobre la base de dichos conocimientos, desarrollar un ensayo para implantes en la cual se logren simular condiciones fisiológicas. El caso descrito con mayor frecuencia en la literatura es la migración de la parte medial de la prótesis, fenómeno que, a menudo, antecede a la fractura de la prótesis. La posición defectuosa resultante de dicha migración modifica el eje mecánico y provoca una sobrecarga en la parte medial de la prótesis. Se ha desarrollado un ensayo de implantes que simula el modelo de fallo in-vivo. Dos bases de material sintético de diferente dureza simulan la diferente densidad ósea medial y lateral, para permitir una migración del lado medial del platillo. En el ensayo dinámico el platillo tibial es sometido a una carga de un solo lado y el vástago de la prótesis se apuntala con un contrasoporte. Para simular el entorno fisiológico, todo el dispositivo se encuentra sumergido en una solución de Ringer a 37°. El implante de tibia es expuesto durante 10 millones de ciclos a una carga que corresponde al quíntuple del peso del cuerpo (4.000 N). El punto de aplicación de la fuerza fue tomado de datos de análisis del caminar (marcha en superficie plana, ascendente y descendente, subir escaleras). Con esta carga fisiológica se efectuaron los primeros ensayos. En éstas quedó demostrado que productos clínicamente exitosos podían superar el ensayo. Por el contrario, los productos con modelos de fracturas conocidos no la superaron. Los primeros resultados con estos productos demostraron también que el ensayo generaba muestras de fractura semejantes a las que se producen in vivo. Debido a la configuración fisiológica del dispositivo se somete el sistema completo es decir el platillo, el vástago de la prótesis y la unión - generalmente modular - entre ambos a ensayo. El "ensayo fisiológico de tibia " descrito ayuda a evaluar los diseños de tibia antes de que se autorice su venta. Nuevos implantes y modificaciones de diseño en implantes ya existentes son puestos a la venta después de cumplir con las exigencias del ensayo.Peer Reviewe

Reinforcement Learning in Ultracold Atom Experiments

Cold atom traps are at the heart of many quantum applications in science and technology. The preparation and control of atomic clouds involves complex optimization processes, that could be supported and accelerated by machine learning. In this work, we introduce reinforcement learning to cold atom experiments and demonstrate a flexible and adaptive approach to control a magneto-optical trap. Instead of following a set of predetermined rules to accomplish a specific task, the objectives are defined by a reward function. This approach not only optimizes the cooling of atoms just as an experimentalist would do, but also enables new operational modes such as the preparation of pre-defined numbers of atoms in a cloud. The machine control is trained to be robust against external perturbations and able to react to situations not seen during the training. Finally, we show that the time consuming training can be performed in-silico using a generic simulation and demonstrate successful transfer to the real world experiment.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure