Essential techniques for laparoscopic surgery simulation

Laparoscopic surgery is a complex minimum invasive operation that requires long learning curve for the new trainees to have adequate experience to become a qualified surgeon. With the development of virtual reality technology, virtual reality-based surgery simulation is playing an increasingly important role in the surgery training. The simulation of laparoscopic surgery is challenging because it involves large non-linear soft tissue deformation, frequent surgical tool interaction and complex anatomical environment. Current researches mostly focus on very specific topics (such as deformation and collision detection) rather than a consistent and efficient framework. The direct use of the existing methods cannot achieve high visual/haptic quality and a satisfactory refreshing rate at the same time, especially for complex surgery simulation. In this paper, we proposed a set of tailored key technologies for laparoscopic surgery simulation, ranging from the simulation of soft tissues with different properties, to the interactions between surgical tools and soft tissues to the rendering of complex anatomical environment. Compared with the current methods, our tailored algorithms aimed at improving the performance from accuracy, stability and efficiency perspectives. We also abstract and design a set of intuitive parameters that can provide developers with high flexibility to develop their own simulators

Precision Tests of the Standard Model

30 páginas, 11 figuras, 11 tablas.-- Comunicación presentada al 25º Winter Meeting on Fundamental Physics celebrado del 3 al 8 de MArzo de 1997 en Formigal (España).Precision measurements of electroweak observables provide stringent tests of the Standard Model structure and an accurate determination of its parameters. An overview of the present experimental status is presented.This work has been supported in part by CICYT (Spain) under grant No. AEN-96-1718.Peer reviewe

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

National Farmers Market Summit Proceedings Report

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), in partnership with the Farmers Market Consortium, hosted the National Farmers Market Summit November 7–9, 2007, in Baltimore, MD. The Summit assembled key stakeholders from the farmers market community to convene a national conversation on issues and challenges facing today’s farmers markets. The National Farmers Market Summit had three broad objectives: (1) Identify farmers market needs and existing gaps in assistance, (2) Prioritize future research and technical assistance initiatives, and (3) Provide guidance to policymakers on how best to allocate available resources. The Summit was attended by 75 participants who represented a diverse range of farmers market stakeholders, including national resource providers, farmers market representatives, and community partners. Invitations were sent to farmers market stakeholders with diverse interests, expertise, and geographic location. Participants included representatives from 31 States and the District of Columbia. The Summit also included 12 staff members of AMS’s Marketing Services Division (MSD), the lead organizer of the Summit, and Dr. Kenneth C. Clayton, the Associate Administrator of AMS and chair of the Farmers Market Consortium. Using the brainstorming and consensus priority exercises, participants at the National Farmers Market Summit identified 12 key issues that they believe deserve attention from policymakers, funders, and other market assistance providers. These included: “Growing” Farmers, Policy/Regulation, Professional Development, Partnerships, Message Related to Farmers Market Promotion, Research, Funding/Resources, Farmers Markets as Center of Community, Public Health, Low Income Access, Local Food Systems, and Economic Sustainability. To explore possible approaches and solutions for addressing each consensus priority, Summit attendees were invited to engage in one of 12 issue-specific discussions, based on their level of interest in the given discussion topic. Although each of the 12 key issues has a distinctive scope and set of associated characteristics, they primarily fall into the following three broadly defined categories of activity: (1) Policy and Advocacy-based Initiatives; (2) Education and Training Initiatives; and (3) Community-based Initiatives. Policy and advocacy-based initiatives aimed at championing the importance of farmers markets and facilitating their continued growth. As defined by Summit participants, specific priorities to be addressed within the framework of policy-based initiatives included: Policy/Regulatory Barriers, Message Related to Farmers Market Promotion, and Funding/Resources. One of the common themes that surfaced repeatedly during discussions of all three priority issues related to policy and advocacy was the notion of creating a single national trade organization for farmers market stakeholders (perhaps similar to the newly reorganized Farmers Market Coalition) to speak with a unified voice to policymakers and be a centralized point of contact for disseminating information about available funding and technical assistance to community members. Other strategies that appeared to share wide support were the development of a professional training curriculum aimed at enhancing and creating greater consistency in the expertise and knowledge base of farmers market managers (a theme that also emerged repeatedly during the “education and training” related priority discussions), and the development of a national farmers market promotional campaign aimed at informing policymakers and the public about the economic, community, and health benefits of farmers markets. All three discussions touched on the difficulty of preserving some degree of local autonomy while centralizing authority. Education and training initiatives, especially those targeted at enhancing the technical skills of farmers-market practitioners. As defined by Summit participants, specific priorities to be addressed include: “Growing” Farmers, Professional Development, Economic Sustainability, and Research, One common theme that surfaced repeatedly throughout each of the priority discussions related to education and training was the importance of establishing a minimum standard of technical experience in business planning and marketing for farmers market participants, whether through the development of a formal curriculum or the provision of other relevant continuing educational opportunities. The ability to properly gauge production costs and prices, and gain ongoing exposure to such rapidly changing issues as emerging consumer trends, new product varieties, and improved season extension techniques, were seen as essential tools in enhancing the profitability and long-term economic viability of farmers market vendors and suppliers. With respect to farmers market managers and members of market boards/management organizations, who often serve as a market’s primary point of contact with community members and policymakers, it was recommended that workshops or courses be developed that help such individuals learn how to: (1) Develop effective community partnerships (especially by examining the lessons learned from successful partnership models); (2) Augment the reach and impact of existing partnerships by exploring the possibility of relationships with nontraditional organizations; (3) Locate available resources from Federal, State, and local sources; and (4) Train market managers and other advocates on how to best capture, document, and report information that measures a market’s impact on the local economy/community. Community-based initiatives aimed at establishing farmers markets as vital cornerstones of their community’s quality of life. As defined by Summit participants, priorities included: Partnerships, Farmers Markets as Center of the Community, Public Health, Low-Income Access, and Local Food Systems. Probably the most common conversational thread that appeared in all of these independent discussions was the emphasis given to the importance of establishing innovative—and possibly untraditional—partnerships in order to achieve desired community goals. Lack of public awareness about the opportunities and benefits offered by farmers markets was a pervasive complaint throughout many of the discussions, whether the members of the public in question involved household consumers, local farmers, elected officials, or Federal policymakers, and improvement in outreach to potential allies was considered essential to obtain the level of attention necessary to change consumer behavior and/or public policy. Discussion participants also expressed the general opinion that current levels of communication and collaboration with relevant farmers market stakeholders was less than optimal and could easily be improved if greater attention were paid to the issue. This phenomenon appeared to hold true whether or not such discussions were occurring at a local, regional, or national level, suggesting that geographical proximity alone did not ensure that proper lines of communication were established and maintained

National Farmers Market Summit Proceedings Report

This item was a duplicate and was withdrawn. Full record and item are available at http://purl.umn.edu/14826

Emerging Market Opportunities for Small-Scale Producers: Proceedings of a Special Session at the 2008 USDA Partners Meeting

This report summarizes one of the panel discussions, “Emerging Market Opportunities for Small-scale Producers,” held as part of the August 2008 USDA Fifth Annual Partners Meeting, sponsored by the USDA Office of Outreach. The purpose of the annual event is to support a dialogue between USDA and community-based organizations that work with socially disadvantaged farmers. The panels and discussions provide information about USDA programs and marketing issues and serve as forums for attendees to share experiences and learn from food and agriculture experts. This session, organized by the AMS Marketing Services Division, offered an opportunity for farmers and farmer organizations to learn directly from industry insiders what it takes to work successfully with wholesale produce buyers. The panel featured food industry experts from across the food industry spectrum, from institutional food service to retail, who currently purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables. The audience included more than 80 farmers and representatives of organizations that work with minority and socially disadvantaged farmers