The Sulzer Hip Replacement Recall Crisis: A Patient\u27s Perspective

This case discusses a product recall that resulted from a manufacturing defect and the degree to which the company distributed accurate and timely information to affected patients. More specifically, the case examines the crisis communication of Sulzer Orthopedics and its efforts to negotiate the interests of various stakeholders, while limiting liability. Written from the perspective of a patient, the case raises interesting questions regarding organizational duties related to product liability. It also provides valuable insights into how organizational communication may have both short- and long-term effects on its relationship with patients and physicians, among others

Distinct visual coding strategies mediate grasping and pantomime-grasping of 2D and 3D objects.

An issue of current debate in the visuomotor control literature surrounds whether 2D and 3D objects rely on similar or dissociable visual information in supporting goal-directed grasping. Accordingly, in Experiment One I had participants grasp 2D and 3D objects wherein just-noticeable-difference (JND) scores for aperture shaping were computed to determine the extent to which such actions adhere to the psychophysical principles of Weber’s law. Results demonstrated that JNDs scaled in accordance with Weber’s law in a time-independent and time-dependent manner for 2D and 3D grasping, respectively. In Experiment Two, I sought to further explore the cognitive demands of grasping by having participants pantomime the grasping of 2D and 3D objects. Results showed that grasping 2D objects and pantomime grasping elicited a common time-independent adherence to Weber’s law that is distinct from grasping a 3D object. Thus, results demonstrate that 2D and 3D grasping are mediated by distinct visual information

Diffusion of Au(CH3S)2 on Au(111) Observed with the Scanning Tunneling Microscope

The diffusion of a three-legged molecule, CH3S–Au–SCH3, on Au(111) has been investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy. Each of the two S atoms forms a bond with a Au atom in the Au(111) substrate. The Au atom in the molecule provides the third anchoring point via its interaction with Au(111). CH3S–Au–SCH3 hops as a single unit without breaking any of the S–Au bonds within the molecule at temperatures below 170 K, with an activation energy of 66 meV. The CH3S–Au–SCH3 molecules have a tendency to aggregate into rows driven by an attractive potential between neighboring molecules, with the minimum row consisting of just two molecules in the form of a dimer. The dimer is much less mobile than a single molecule due to the attractive potential between the two molecules. The dimer is observed apparently to hop as a single unit with an activation energy of 210 meV. Detachment of a CH3S–Au–SCH3 molecule from the end of a row consisting of three or more molecules takes place with an activation energy of 320 meV

Hamiltonian mappings and circle packing phase spaces

We introduce three area preserving maps with phase space structures which resemble circle packings. Each mapping is derived from a kicked Hamiltonian system with one of three different phase space geometries (planar, hyperbolic or spherical) and exhibits an infinite number of coexisting stable periodic orbits which appear to `pack' the phase space with circular resonances.Comment: 23 pages including 12 figures, REVTEX

Polarization proximity effect in isolator crystal pairs

We experimentally studied the polarization dynamics (orientation and ellipticity) of near infrared light transmitted through magnetooptic Yttrium Iron Garnet crystal pairs using a modified balanced detection scheme. When the pair separation is in the sub-millimeter range, we observed a proximity effect in which the saturation field is reduced by up to 20%. 1D magnetostatic calculations suggest that the proximity effect originates from magnetostatic interactions between the dipole moments of the isolator crystals. This substantial reduction of the saturation field is potentially useful for the realization of low-power integrated magneto-optical devices.Comment: submitted to Optics Letter