Trauma Care in Georgia Building a Better System

A focus on the need for Georgia to build a coordinated, regionalized, and accountable trauma system

Legacy

Alfred Turner sat hunched over his plate, transferring food to his mouth in a steady, unbroken stream..

An FPGA-based hardware accelerator for iris segmentation

Biometric authentication is becoming an increasingly prevalent way to identify a person based on unique physical traits such as the fingerprint, the face, and/or the iris. The iris stands out particularly among these traits due to its relative invariability with time and high uniqueness. However, iris recognition without special, dedicated tools like near-infrared (NIR) cameras and stationary high-performance computers is a challenge. Solutions have been proposed to target mobile platforms like smart phones and tablets by making use of the RGB camera commonly found on those platforms. These solutions tend to be slower than the former due to the decreased performance achieved in mobile processors. This work details an approach to solve the mobility and performance problems of iris segmentation in current solutions by targeting an FPGA-based SoC. The SoC allows us to run the iris recognition system in software, while accelerating slower parts of the system by using parallel, dedicated hardware modules. The results show a speedup in segmentation 2X when compared to an x86-64 platform and 46X when compared to an ARMv7 platform

Anteroposterior Jaw Position and Pharyngeal Airway Morphology in Young Adult Patients: A CBCT Study

Background and Objectives: Much previous attention has been paid in the orthodontic literature to craniofacial skeletal patterns and morphology of the upper airway and their association with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, the majority of 3D airway investigations in recent years have analyzed the relationship of the airway with various anteroposterior (AP) skeletal patterns using traditional 2D cephalometric landmarks and measurements, such as SNA and SNB. The Six Elements of Orofacial Harmony is a diagnostic and treatment philosophy that has attempted to provide a more accurate and clinically relevant determination of the position of teeth and jaws. Element II specifically deals with AP position of the jaws relative to a reproducible referent, the goal anterior limit line (GALL). The specific aim of this study is to utilize cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to investigate pharyngeal airway morphology relative to various A-P jaw positions as described by Element II. E xperimental Design and Methods: A sample of 86 CBCT scans of pre-treatment orthodontic patients aged 18-30 from the private practice of Dr. Thomas Shipley was used for this study. IRB-approval was obtained, and an approval letter was obtained from Dr. Shipley for permission to use the records from his office. Exclusion criteria included history of orthodontic treatment, complex open bite with divergent occlusal planes, craniofacial/developmental deformity, adenoid hypertrophy, history of tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy, and poor image quality or artifacts. Pre-treatment CBCT scans were de-identified and DICOM files were analyzed using Dolphin Imaging 11.5 software. CBCT slices were used to extract a 2D lateral cephalogram for each subject, from which a GALL was determined and a Six Elements evaluation performed. Using this evaluation, subjects were divided into groups based on classification of individual AP positions of the maxilla and mandible relative to the GALL, as well as other craniofacial measurements. Subjects were also be divided in to skeletal groups based on traditional cephalometric SNA, SNB, and ANB angles to serve as control groups. Dolphin 3D was utilized to measure each subject\u27s lower pharyngeal airway volume (AV), airway length (AL), and minimum cross-sectional area (mCA), as well as other dimensional characteristics of the oropharynx and hypopharynx, compared across skeletal groups. Data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA and unequal variances t-tests to determine statistical significance of the results. Results: In the optimal Mx-GALL group, the average AV (23296.1 +/- 1095.6 mm3) and MCA (332.3 +/- 16.4 mm2) were significantly higher (p = 0.011 and 0.023) than every other position group. No other craniofacial variables had a statistically significant correlation with airway dimensions. Conclusions: The anteroposterior position of the maxilla relative to GALL has a significant correlation with pharyngeal airway size and shape. This is a novel and clinically relevant finding that can have a significant influence on surgical and non-surgical treatment planning. Subjects grouped by SNA measurement did not display any correlation with airway dimensions, and this angular classification may be providing an incomplete picture of the position of the maxilla and its relationship with the pharyngeal airway

Purgatory

The blazing sun shouldered aside streamers of mist as it blossomed inexorably from the sea..

MS

thesisThere has been a dramatic increase in the number of managed care companies who offer prescription drug benefits to people in the United States in recent years. These companies often either mandate or encourage their members to accept generic medication when it is available. Although consumer opinions of generic drugs wee studied by several groups right after the 1989 Food and Drug Administration scandal, little information is available to understand current consumer attitudes. For this study, a questionnaire was mailed to 889 members of a national Preferred Provider Organization with prescription drug coverage. The information requested on the survey included demographics, general opinions of generic medications, opinions of the role pharmacists play in giving information and recommendations on generics, what financial incentives would be necessary for people to choose a generic medication, and consumer awareness of the generic drug scandal of 1989. The usable response rate was 31% (275/889). Of the 275 respondents, 120 (43%) believed that generic medications were as effective as the brand name medications and 87 (32%) were neutral. Seventy-two percent of respondents considered their pharmacist a valuable source of information about generics. One hundred thirty respondents (53%) would need to save five dollars or more to choose a generic medication over a brand name. When asked if they were aware of any publicity surrounding the generic drug industry in recent years, 132 respondents (48%) indicated that they were aware. Of these respondents, however, 76 people (58%) were either neutral or disagreed that the publicity they heard decreased their faith in generic medication. In reviewing the results it appears that many consumers had forgotten the publicity about the generic drug scandal between the time it occurred in 1989 and the time they completed the survey in 1991 or they were never aware of the scandal. Apparently people have a significant trust in their pharmacist and are influenced by what their pharmacist says regarding generic medication. Managed care companies who want their members to select generic medication need to structure their prescription drug co-payments so that members save a minimum of five dollars when a generic is available. Overall, consumers appear trusting of both generic medication and their pharmacist's opinion regarding drug product selection

Elastik Zemin Üzerinde Bulunan Bir Tarafı Ankastre Mesnetli Diğer Tarafı Serbest Homojen Olmayan Kirişin Serbest Titreşimi

Konferans Bildirisi -- Teorik ve Uygulamalı Mekanik Türk Milli Komitesi, 2008Conference Paper -- Theoretical and Applied Mechanical Turkish National Committee, 2008Bu çalışmada elastik zeminin üzerinde bulunan bir tarafı ankastre diğer tarafı serbest homojen olmayan kirişin serbest titreşim problemi incelenmiştir. Önce, malzemenin yoğunluğu sabit, elastisite modülünün kalınlık koordinatına bağlı bileşeni sürekli ve uzunluk koordinatına bağlı bileşeni rastgele fonksiyonlar şeklinde seçilerek kirişin temel bağıntı ve titreşim denklemleri çıkarılmıştır. Sonra çökme fonksiyonları polinom şeklinde seçilerek titreşim frekansı için 3 değişik ifade elde edilmiştir. Sayısal hesaplarda, Monte Carlo yöntemi uygulanarak elastisite modülünün uzunluk bileşenine rastgele değerler verilerek doğal titreşim frekansı için bulunan her üç ifadede kalınlık koordinatına göre homojen durumda (veya homojen olmayan durumda) serbest titreşim frekansı değerlerinin deterministik ve eşit olduğu saptanmıştır. Kalınlık koordinatına göre homojen olmamanın serbest titreşim frekansına etkisi homojen duruma kıyasla önemli olduğu görülmüştür. Elastik zemin etkisi dikkate alındığında doğal frekansın değerleri zemin etkisinin dikkate alınmadığı durumlarla kıyaslandığında artmakta veyatak katsayısı değeri artığında bu etki daha da büyümekte olduğu görülmüştür. Literatürdeki sonuçlarla karsılaştırma yapılarak sonuçların doğruluğu saptanmıştır.Free vibrations of non-uniform beams with one end clamped the other end simply supported on an elastic foundation is investigated in this study. Firstly, assuming density of the material as constant and elasticity modulus of the beams are assumed to vary random according to the longitudinal direction and continuously according to 158 the thickness direction. Then, choosing the displacement functions as polynomials three different expressions for vibration frequency are obtained. In numerical computations, applying Monte Carlo method and taking random values for lengthiness constituent of elasticity modulus, it is seen that all three expressions of natural vibration frequency are deterministic and equal to the values for thickness constituent of elasticity modulus in homogeneous case (or non-homogeneous case). It is observed that the effects of non-homogeneity to the natural vibration frequency compared by homogeneity are very important. Also it is seen that natural frequency values are increased by considering the elastic foundation effect and compared with the conditions except elastic foundation effect, and the effect is more increased by increasing the “bedding” coefficient values. Comparisons were made with the values obtained in the literature to validate the results

Policymakers follow pertinent academic research, but see much of it as irrelevant to their work

Last year, U.S. Congressman Eric Cantor called for an end to federal funding for political and social science, claiming that the funds could be better spent on medical research. The renewal of this contentious debate begs the important question, what do policymakers ideally want from scholars and their work? To answer this, Paul Avey and Michael Desch surveyed nearly 1000 former national security policymakers and found that while they follow international relations research, the prevalence of jargon as well as the focus on quantitative studies and techniques alienates many of these important readers

CPA\u27s handbook of fraud and commercial crime prevention

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1823/thumbnail.jp