Secure Integration of Information Systems in Radiology

Medical Imaging is an industry where distinctive imaging protocols such as Digital Communications in Medicine (DICOM) and Health Level 7 (HL7) are used to transmit patient data across multiple information systems relaying possible life-saving data their providers. These information systems, unique to radiology departments require proper integration and workflow to achieve the CIA triad of confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This paper discusses the challenges of integrating disparate healthcare radiology information system with particular emphasis on protocol security

Participant reference in narrative discourse: A comparison of three methodologies

In recent years several linguists have developed quantitative methods for analyzing and describing how speakers of languages refer to activated participants in narrative discourse. One of the first of these was Talmy Givon, whose method (referred to by some as the Recency/Distance method) measured three factors in participant reference: referential distance, potential interference, and persistence. A few years later, Russell Tomlin proposed an alternative model, which he labeled the Episode/Paragraph method. He felt that Givon\u27s method fails to account for the fact that the thematic paragraphs or episodes found in narrative texts largely determine the amount of coding material used. His method assesses the point within an episode at which a referring expression occurs. Stephen H. Levinsohn developed a third strategy for analyzing referential systems in narrative texts. Informally called the Default/Marked method, he suggests categorizing subject and non-subject nominals into one of several contexts, then determining the default level of encoding for each context. Deviant tokens are then studied to determine the motivation for the deviation. With such widely different approaches, the question arises as to whether one seems to more accurately and thoroughly describe participant reference than do the others. A single, lengthy narrative text from the Sio language of Papua New Guinea was selected for the analysis. The first step was to prepare a chart showing the various constituents of each clause in the text. Tabulations were made regarding the participants in the text, including the clause position in which they were introduced and the amount of coding material used. Then, the Recency/Distance method was applied, and values were calculated for each of the three major factors. The next step was to identify the episode boundaries within the text, and apply the Episode/Paragraph method to determine how many over- or under-coded tokens could be explained by their position within episodes. Then, the Default/Marked method was applied to the text. Default encoding levels were obtained for each subject and non-subject context, using detailed analyses of each participant in every clause. Once this was complete, those tokens that had an amount of coding material other than the default level for that context were analyzed, to determine possible reasons for this marked encoding. Finally, the results obtained using each of the three methods were assessed. It was determined that the Default/Marked method provides the most thorough analysis of participant reference. The Recency/Distance method demonstrated the relationship between referential distance and the amount of coding material, but produced less convincing results for the other two factors, and failed to account for certain important discourse features and structure. The Episode/Paragraph method proved to be even less effective, as the number of over- and under-coded tokens explained by the position in arbitrarily pre-determined episodes was quite small. In contrast, the Default/Marked method accounted for all aspects of the referential system in Sio. Default levels for each of the contexts were easily obtained, and the motivation for non default (marked) encoding was as predicted by the theory. Thus it serves as a comprehensive and flexible method, one which undoubtedly can be effectively applied to narrative discourse in any language

Decoherence of a quantum memory coupled to a collective spin bath

We study the quantum dynamics of a single qubit coupled to a bath of interacting spins as a model for decoherence in solid state quantum memories. The spin bath is described by the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model and the bath spins are subjected to a transverse magnetic field. We investigate the qubit interacting via either an Ising- or an XY-type coupling term to subsets of bath spins of differing size. The large degree of symmetry of the bath allows us to find parameter regimes where the initial qubit state is revived at well defined times after the qubit preparation. These times may become independent of the bath size for large baths and thus enable faithful qubit storage even in the presence of strong coupling to a bath. We analyze a large range of parameters and identify those which are best suited for quantum memories. In general we find that a small number of links between qubit and bath spins leads to less decoherence and that systems with Ising coupling between qubit and bath spins are preferable.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure

The Skills of Female Immigrants to Australia, Canada, and the United States

Census data for 1990/91 indicate that Australian and Canadian female immigrants appear to have higher levels of English fluency, education, and income (relative to natives) than do U.S. female immigrants. This skill deficit for U.S. female immigrants arises in large part because the United States receives a much larger share of immigrants from Latin America than do the other two countries. However, even among women originating outside Latin America, the proportion of foreign-born women in the United States who are fluent in English is much lower than among foreign-born women in Australia. Furthermore, immigrant/native education gaps are reduced but not eliminated by the exclusion of Latin American women from the analysis. In contrast, other evidence for men suggests that the gap in observed skills among male immigrants to the United States is completely eliminated when Latin American immigrants are excluded from the estimation sample (Borjas, 1993; Antecol, et al., 2001). The importance of national origin and the general consistency in the results for men (who are routinely subjected to the selection criteria of various immigration programs) and women (who are not) suggests that many factors other than immigration policy per se are at work in producing skill variation among these three immigration streams.

FUNDAMENTAL AND INDUCED BIASES IN TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE IN CENTRAL CANADIAN AGRICULTURE

A new procedure is developed to estimate innovation possibility frontiers and test for biases in technological change. Using data on four inputs (land, machinery, chemicals and labour) from central Canada (Ontario and Quebec) over the period 1926-1985, we find that the innovations possibilities frontier shifts neutrally over time. This is consistent with Ahmad's model of induced innovations, but is not consistent with de Janvry's application of Ahmad's model to the historical development of Argentine agriculture. Agricultural research in Canada has been conducted with the objective of developing cost minimizing technologies. Empirical support was found for this notion in the development of the innovation possibilities frontier.Innovation possibility frontier, technological change, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

The Technology Effect: How Perceptions of Technology Drive Excessive Optimism

Purpose: We propose that constant exposure to advances in technology has resulted in an implicit association between technology and success that has conditioned decision makers to be overly optimistic about the potential for technology to drive successful outcomes. Three studies examine this phenomenon and explore the boundaries of this “technology effect.” Design/Methodology/Approach: In Study 1, participants (N = 147) made simulated investment decisions where the information about technology was systematically varied. In Study 2 (N = 143), participants made decisions in a resource dilemma where technology was implicated in determining the amount of a resource available for harvest. Study 3 (N = 53 and N = 60) used two implicit association tests to examine the assumption that people associate technology with success. Findings: Results supported our assumption about an implicit association between technology and success, as well as a “technology effect” bias in decision making. Signals of high performance trigger the effect, and the effect is more likely when the technology invoked is unfamiliar. Implications: Excessive optimism that technology will result in success can have negative consequences. Individual investment decisions, organizational decisions to invest in R&D, and societal decisions to explore energy and climate change solutions might all be impacted by biased beliefs about the promise of technology. Originality/Value: We are the first to systematically examine the optimistic bias in the technology effect, its scope, and boundaries. This research raises decision makers’ awareness and initiates research examining how the abstract notion of technology can influence perceptions of technological advances

Migratory passerine birds in Britain carry Phytophthora ramorum inoculum on their feathers and “feet” at low frequency

Funding Information UK Forestry Commission European Union Seventh Framework Programme. Grant Number: 245268Peer reviewedPostprin

Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues

This comprehensive overview of local food systems explores alternative definitions of local food, estimates market size and reach, describes the characteristics of local consumers and producers, and examines early indications of the economic and health impacts of local food systems. There is no consensus on a definition of “local” or “local food systems” in terms of the geographic distance between production and consumption. But defining “local” based on marketing arrangements, such as farmers selling directly to consumers at regional farmers’ markets or to schools, is well recognized. Statistics suggest that local food markets account for a small, but growing, share of U.S. agricultural production. For smaller farms, direct marketing to consumers accounts for a higher percentage of their sales than for larger farms. Findings are mixed on the impact of local food systems on local economic development and better nutrition levels among consumers, and sparse literature is so far inconclusive about whether localization reduces energy use or greenhouse gas emissions.local food systems, farmers’ markets, direct-to-consumer marketing, direct-to-retail/ foodservice marketing, community supported agriculture, farm to school programs, Farmers’ Market Promotion Program, food miles, Community/Rural/Urban Development,