A Snapshot of U.S. Physicians: Key Findings From the 2008 Health Tracking Physician Survey

Analyzes survey data on U.S. physicians' compensation system, career satisfaction, acceptance of new patients, managed care contracts, and charity care provision by demographics, type of practice, specialty, geographic location, and other characteristics

The differential diagnosis of some conditions of the hip joint with a few observations on the condition know as Coxa Vara

The hip joint is, by reason of its unique structure and arrangement peculiarly liable to disease and malformation, and by reason of its deep-seated position these conditions produce certain difficulties in diagnosis.With these difficulties we propose to deal, by comparing and contrasting coxa vara with other conditions simulating it. For the purpose of a brief survey it is necessary to enter into several points of the anatomy of the hip - especially with the ossification of the acetabulum and upper end of the femur and also into the architecture of these bones

A Test Generation Framework for Distributed Fault-Tolerant Algorithms

Heavyweight formal methods such as theorem proving have been successfully applied to the analysis of safety critical fault-tolerant systems. Typically, the models and proofs performed during such analysis do not inform the testing process of actual implementations. We propose a framework for generating test vectors from specifications written in the Prototype Verification System (PVS). The methodology uses a translator to produce a Java prototype from a PVS specification. Symbolic (Java) PathFinder is then employed to generate a collection of test cases. A small example is employed to illustrate how the framework can be used in practice

The behaviour of thin spherical shells under a variety of load actions

The subject matter of the thesis concerns the analytical and experimental investigation of the elastic behaviour of shell structures, in particular that of spherical shells, under axi-symmetric, asymmetric, and unsymmetric load systems. Chapter I presents a critical survey of the relevant literature in the form of a dissertation. In view of the lack of a survey of this type it was felt desirable to present this in considerable detail so as to provide an up-to-date reference of the shell field. The survey clearly shows the need for an analytical procedure capable of handling all types of unsymmetrical load systems, and also establishes the lack of published experimental work. The paucity of the latter is most surprising in relation to the voluminous literature on the analysis of simple symmetrical load cases. The plan of the research undertaken was, in consequence, designed to fill these gaps. Chapter II presents a unified analytical approach based on the linear concepts of the shallow shell theory in which all load actions are considered as built up of the four basic actions of radial and tangential load, bending and twisting moments. Their evaluation is to the author's knowledge the first presentation of the unified approach to the analysis of such a complete range of load actions. Further, analytical consideration is given to the correlation of this unified shallow shell approach with the general shell theory. It is shown that neglecting certain second order terms the general shell equations reduce to those of the shallow shell. The chapter culminates in the presentation of an Influence Line Method which, utilizing the permissibility of superposition in linear analysis, provides a ready approach to the solution of any type of unsymmetrical load action. In Chapter III a number of load actions are analysed by means of the Influence Line Method, These examples, in the main, have been selected from a range for which conventional theoretical solutions are available. It is shown that good agreement is obtained in all cases between the Influence Line and conventional solutions. The experimental investigations are described in Chapter IV covering the examination of the four basic load actions and certain selected composite actions. Some seventy tests were carried out covering a variety of radial and tangential area and ring loads, bending and twisting moments, and their combinations, applied directly to the continuous shell and to rigid inserts Incorporated in the shell wall. The experiments were carried out on shallow shell models of 60in radius, of 1/4 , 1/2 and 1 in thickness and on a complete spherical shell 13ft. in diam. which was a 1/10 scale model of the Dounreay Nuclear Reactor Containment Building. The experimental and theoretical results are compared and fully discussed in Chapter V. It is generally shown that good agreement la obtained, fully substantiating the proposed analytical methods and their underlying concepts. Chapter VI summarizes the main findings of the investigation regarding the basic aspects and their application to design analysis. A Bibliography and Author's Index is provided in Chapter VII, followed in Chapter VIII by eight appendices giving the details of analyses considered in the thesis

The effect of dietary sodium modification on blood pressure in adults with systolic blood pressure less than 140 mmHg: A systematic review

TYPES OF INTERVENTIONS: Interventions that quantitatively evaluated dietary sodium intake for equal to or greater than four weeks duration were considered. Only studies that included two study arms comprising different levels of sodium intake were included

Energy drinks' effect on pre adult development of drosophila melanogaster

Quality of energy drinks consumed by an organism has a significant effect on an organism�s fitness. In the present investigation D. melanogaster were reared in Alternative natural energy drink based media, Synthetic energy drink based media and Wheat cream agar media. Feeding rate and pre adult development in these energy drinks, based media were studied. Results revealed that flies fed on alternative natural energy drink had consumed significantly greater quantity of food than those flies fed on synthetic energy drink and wheat cream agar media. Egg to larva, larva to pupa and pupa to adult viability was found to be significantly greater in alternative natural energy drink, whereas in larva to pupa viability wheat cream agar media was greater. This suggests that the consumption of alternative natural energy drink was beneficial in pre adult development of D. melanogaster

Water Maser Survey toward Low‐Mass Young Stellar Objects in the Northern Sky with the Nobeyama 45 Meter Telescope and the Very Large Array

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Perceptions of physiotherapy clinical educators’ dual roles as mentors and assessors: Influence on teaching–learning relationships

Background: Central to clinical education is the teaching–learning (T-L) relationship that evolves between the clinical educator (CE) and the student. Within this T-L relationship, CEs may be expected to fulfil dual roles as mentors and assessors of students. Challenges for both parties may arise when CEs take on these different roles. Objectives: The goal of this study was to ascertain how CEs perceived the influence of their dual roles as mentors and assessors on their T-L relationships with physiotherapy students. Method: Individual interviews were semi-structured with nine CEs during this qualitative descriptive study at the Division of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University. A content analysis followed to analyse the data obtained. An iterative process, aimed to understand the phenomena under study, was conducted via an interpretive approach in context. This revealed main themes that were identified and refined. Results: Clinical educators experienced challenges when their role changed from being a mentor to that of assessor. These challenges affected the learning of students, as they influenced the T-L relationship. Clinical educators experienced ambiguities regarding their dual roles and, as a result, their expectations were often not fulfilled. Conclusion: Students’ learning processes were negatively affected by the changing roles of CEs, who acted as mentors and later as assessors of clinical competence during the students’ clinical rotations. The positioning theory was offered as a framework to resolve the challenges created by the dual roles and to manage expectations between CEs and students. The T-L encounters could be enhanced if students and CEs aligned themselves to a learning-centred paradigm where the focus was on learning and where the needs of the diverse students and the expectations of CEs were balanced. Further research should explore how a workshop with role play, demonstrating to CEs in practice how to reposition themselves, would impact the relationships between both parties. Clinical implications: It is essential to ensure a positive T-L relationship between a CE and a student as this will improve the quality of learning in the clinical environment and, therefore, directly influence student’s patient management. Implementing faculty development programmes to address this, should be further explored

Characterising the vertical separation of shale-gas source rocks and aquifers across England and Wales (UK)

Shale gas is considered by many to have the potential to provide the UK with greater energy security, economic growth and jobs. However, development of a shale gas industry is highly contentious due to environmental concerns including the risk of groundwater pollution. Evidence suggests that the vertical separation between exploited shale units and aquifers is an important factor in the risk to groundwater from shale gas exploitation. A methodology is presented to assess the vertical separation between different pairs of aquifers and shales that are present across England and Wales. The application of the method is then demonstrated for two of these pairs—the Cretaceous Chalk Group aquifer and the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation, and the Triassic sandstone aquifer and the Carboniferous Bowland Shale Formation. Challenges in defining what might be considered criteria for ‘safe separation’ between a shale gas formation and an overlying aquifer are discussed, in particular with respect to uncertainties in geological properties, aquifer extents and determination of socially acceptable risk levels. Modelled vertical separations suggest that the risk of aquifer contamination from shale exploration will vary greatly between shale–aquifer pairs and between regions and this will need to be considered carefully as part of the risk assessment and management for any shale gas development