Using fire dynamics simulator to reconstruct a hydroelectric power plant fire accident

The location of the hydroelectric power plant poses a high risk to occupants seeking to escape in a fire accident. Calculating the heat release rate of transformer oil as 11.5 MW/m(2), the fire at the Taiwan Dajia-River hydroelectric power plant was reconstructed using the fire dynamics simulator (FDS). The variations at the escape route of the fire hazard factors temperature, radiant heat, carbon monoxide, and oxygen were collected during the simulation to verify the causes of the serious casualties resulting from the fire. The simulated safe escape time when taking temperature changes into account is about 236 sec, 155 sec for radiant heat changes, 260 sec for carbon monoxide changes, and 235-248 sec for oxygen changes. These escape times are far less than the actual escape time of 302 sec. The simulation thus demonstrated the urgent need to improve escape options for people escaping a hydroelectric power plant fire.     

Using spectral information in forensic imaging

Improved detection of forensic evidence by combining narrow band photographic images taken at a range of wavelengths is dependent on the substance of interest having a significantly different spectrum from the underlying substrate. While some natural substances such as blood have distinctive spectral features which are readily distinguished from common colorants, this is not true for visualization agents commonly used in forensic science. We now show that it is possible to select reagents with narrow spectral features that lead to increased visibility using digital cameras and computer image enhancement programs even if their coloration is much less intense to the unaided eye than traditional reagents. The concept is illustrated by visualising latent fingermarks on paper with the zinc complex of Ruhemann's Purple, cyanoacrylate-fumed fingerprints with Eu(tta)(3)(phen), and soil prints with 2,6-bis(benzimidazol-2-yl)-4-[4'-(dimethylamino)phenyl]pyridine [BBIDMAPP]. In each case background correction is performed at one or two wavelengths bracketing the narrow absorption or emission band of these compounds. However, compounds with sharp spectral features would also lead to improved detection using more advanced algorithms such as principal component analysis.     

Establishment of revisit user fee program for Medicare survey and certification activities. Final rule

This final rule will establish a system of revisit user fees applicable to health care facilities that have been cited for deficiencies during initial certification, recertification, or substantiated complaint surveys and require a revisit to confirm that corrections to previously-identified deficiencies have been remedied. Consistent with the President's long-term goal to promote quality of health care and to cut the deficit in half by fiscal year (FY) 2009, the FY 2007 Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) budget request included both new mandatory savings proposals and a requirement that user fees be applied to health care providers that have failed to comply with Federal quality of care requirements. The "Revisit User Fees" will affect only those providers or suppliers for which a revisit is required to confirm that previously-identified failures to meet federal quality of care requirements have been remedied. The fees are estimated at $37.3 million annually and will recover the costs associated with the Medicare Survey and Certification program's revisit surveys. The fees will take effect on the date of publication of the final rule and will be in effect until the date that the continued authority provided by Congress expires. At the time of publication of this regulation the applicable date is September 30, 2007. If no legislation is enacted, the fees are not retroactive to the beginning of the fiscal year. Any provider or supplier that has a revisit survey conducted on or after the date of publication will be assessed a revisit user fee and will be notified of the assessment upon data system reconciliation which can occur following the closing of the fiscal year. The fees will be available to CMS until expended. The revisit user fee is included in the President's proposed FY 2008 budget. We note through the publication of this final rule that if authority for the revisit user fee is continued, we will use the current fee schedule in this rule for the assessment of such fees until such time as a new fee schedule notice is proposed and published in final form.     

Using the technology information system on internet

This paper describes the Technology Information System (TIS) available on Internet to help firms locate, navigate, and mine over 100 databases containing information about technology resources and expertise. TIS is managed by the University of Alabama in Huntsville.     

Surveying the user space through user allocations

Previous research into memory forensics has focused on understanding the structure and contents of the kernel space portions of physical memory, and mostly ignored the contents of the user space. This paper describes the results of a survey of user space virtual address allocations in the Windows XP and Windows 7 operating systems, comprehensively identifying the kernel and user space metadata required to identify such allocations. New techniques for determining the role and content of those allocations are identified, significantly increasing the proportion of allocations for which the role and function is understood. The validity of this approach is evaluated and a detailed analysis of the data structures involved provided. An implementation of this approach is presented which is capable of identifying all user space allocations, and for those allocations identifying for a high percentage, the role of those allocations, even for complex applications.     

Agency information collection activities: proposed collection; comment request--AHCPR. Notice

This notice announces the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research's. (AHCPR) intention to request the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to allow a proposed information collection of the "Medical Expenditure Panel Survey--Insurance Component (MEPS-IC) for 1998 and 1999." In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), AHCPR invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection.     

Holding back the tide: policies to preserve and reconstruct health insurance coverage in Maryland

Over the past decade, state officials have pursued a variety of strategies to protect and expand health insurance coverage for their residents. This article examines the course of action in Maryland, where new initiatives were shaped around the state's unique hospital payment system and its reimbursement of uncompensated care, an evolving Medicaid and children's health program, and regulation of the small group health insurance market. Several important patterns emerge from the Maryland experience. First, even the most incremental initiatives--programs intended to aid a few thousand beneficiaries--bring into play the very issues that hamper comprehensive reforms: who is deserving of mutual aid and what is the proper role of government versus private entities in administering that aid. In Maryland, these issues generate conflict not only between Democrats and Republicans but also urban and rural interests. Second, all of the important reforms of the past decade were undertaken primarily in reaction to federal policy initiatives. Contrary to rhetoric lauding states as the "laboratories of democracy," the political impetus for reform and basic policy options emerge from interaction between federal and state debates. Third, even with budget surpluses and Democrats in control of the governorship and legislature, Maryland did not move aggressively toward universal health insurance. Now, with a much weaker economy and a new, Republican governor, the primary challenge will be to prevent further erosion of insurance coverage. The Maryland experience reiterates that each step toward greater health security, no matter how small, is a major technical and political challenge and that it will be difficult if not impossible to rely on states to secure coverage for all Americans in the foreseeable future.     

A consideration of user financial incentives to address health inequalities

Health inequalities and user financial incentives to encourage health-related behavior change are two topical issues in the health policy discourse, and this article attempts to combine the two; namely, we try to address whether the latter can be used to reduce the former in the contexts of the United Kingdom and the United States. Payments for some aspects of medical adherence may offer a promising way to address, to some extent, inequalities in health and health care in both countries. However, payments for more sustained behavior change, such as that associated with smoking cessation and weight loss, have thus far shown little long-term effect, although more research that tests the effectiveness of different incentive mechanism designs, informed by the findings of behavioral economics, ought to be undertaken. Many practical, political, ethical, and ideological objections can be waged against user financial incentives in health, and this article reviews a number of them, but the justifiability of and limits to these incentives require more academic and public discourse so as to gain a better understanding of the circumstances in which they can legitimately be used.     

Patient information on drug therapy. A problem of medical malpractice law: between product safety and user safety

Medicinal products are associated with risks as well as potential therapeutic benefits. This is reflected by the legal requirements for patient information on drug therapy which can be differentiated into general product information, regulated by pharmaceutical (i. e. product safety) law, and individual patient information on the treatment with the product, which is subject to medical malpractice law. The physician's duty to inform the patient comprises therapeutic information as well as information required for informed consent. Therapeutic information intends to empower the patient to comply with the requirements of treatment and to protect him/her against preventable danger and risk; it is part of the medical treatment, aimed at the individual patient and his/her personal situation. Information required for informed consent enables the patient to a self-determined decision on the treatment offered; it can be divided into information on the course of treatment and risk information. Product information and treatment information complement each other; the former should be the basis of individual information on the concrete treatment, provided by the physician in a mandatory oral conversation with the patient. Product information cannot replace the physician's individual information about the treatment.     

Access to state-held information

China-EU Law Journal - On the basis of different cases of the ECHR regarding freedom of information and its scope of protection; this article analyses the individual right for access to state-held...     

论生理醉酒犯罪的刑事责任——比较、分梳与改造

“醉酒的人犯罪 ,应当负刑事责任” ,这是我国《刑法》第18条第 4款所确立的醉酒人应对其触犯刑律的危害行为负刑事责任的原则。这一原则从总体上看是正确的 ,但也有很多问题值得进一步思考 ,如醉酒是否属于精神障碍 ?醉酒是否可以导致辨认能力和控制能力的丧失 ?病理性醉酒人实施危害行为是否应负刑事责任 ?对醉酒及其后实施危害行为既无故意也无过失的醉酒人 ,是否应负完全刑事责任或部分刑事责任 ?《刑法》条文规定得粗疏导致刑法学界在有关醉酒犯罪的刑事责任问题上产生较大的分歧。司法精神病学的实证研究表明 ,酒精可以引起精神障碍。…     

EU law requirements to provide information to website visitors

This is the first of a planned series of articles considering the EU’s limited harmonisation of the laws regulating the activities of businesses using the Internet. This first article considers five key EU directives, all of which require website operators to provide a variety of information to website visitors. We consider the circumstances in which the various requirements apply and the information that must be provided, to simplify the process of navigating through rules which, although similar in nature, arise from disparate sources. We consider data privacy and “ePrivacy” rules; consumer protection rules arising in the field of e-commerce; and rules protecting potential creditors dealing over the Internet with limited liability companies.     

Profiling pythons to combat common illegal wildlife activities

Reptiles are the most common illegally traded vertebrates leading to many species becoming extinct or highly endangered; yet these species receive relatively low publicity and few genetic tests are available. Sought after as unusual pets and trophies, reptilian skin and meat are also valuable commodities, while certain anatomical features are valued in traditional medicinal cultures. The Australian carpet python is a popular target for illegal trade, breeding and export activities. It provides a model example for which to develop forensic markers that will positively impact wildlife criminal investigation and enforcement both in Australia and worldwide. We report on the initial isolation and characterisation of 24 polymorphic Short Tandem Repeat (STR) loci to enable individualisation and paternity testing of carpet pythons. These novel loci have been examined for their polymorphic content, heterozygosity and species specificity. The loci are being arranged into multiplex reactions exhibiting heterozygote balance with subsequent determination of stutter measurements. Allelic frequency databases of native populations are being developed that will allow not only match probabilities but also will potentially predict geographic origin of poached individuals. This profiling system will be subject to rigorous validation for use in legal proceedings.     

Improving automatic face recognition with user interaction

Face recognition systems aim to recognize the identity of a person depicted in a photograph by comparing it against a gallery of prerecorded images. Current systems perform quite well in controlled scenarios, but they allow for none or little interaction in case of mistakes due to the low quality of images or to algorithmic limitations. Following the needs and suggestions of investigators, we present a guided user interface that allows to adjust from a fully automatic to a fully assisted modality of execution, according to the difficulty of the task and to amount of available information (gender, age, etc.): the user can generally rely on automatic execution and intervene only on a limited number of examples when a failure is automatically detected or when the quality of intermediate results is deemed unsatisfactory. The interface runs on top of a preexistent automatic face recognition algorithm in such a way to guarantee full control over the execution flow and to exploit the peculiarities of the underlying image processing techniques. The viability of the proposed solution is tested on a classic face identification task run on a standard publicly available database (the XM2VTS), assessing the improvement to user interaction over the automatic system performance.     

Using psychology to control law

Legal decision makers often fail to make use of relevant psychological research. In two areas, deceptive advertising and criminal sentencing, legal decision makershave welcomed social science research. In each, the research provided has been substantially flawed. Using a commercial that several courts evaluated for deception, I illustrate how the typical study that purports to measure deception produces results that are unnecessarily ambibuous. Then, based on research that looks closely at public responses to criminal cases, I show that the frequently cited survey measures of public preference reflect sentencing preferences for unrepresentative stereotypic criminal offenders. The weaknesses demonstated in these examples suggest that psychologists can present legal decision makers with a more accurate picture of human perceptions and preferences. If researchers present legal decision makers with informative research when the relevance of research is acknowledged, legal decision makers are likely to become more receptive and more knowledgeable when a new question warrants the application of social science evidence.An earlier version of this paper was delivered as the presidential address for Division 41, the American Psychology—Law Society, at the 1988 American Psychological Association meetings in Atlanta, Georgia.