The relationship between the Tibetan prelate Tāranātha (1575-1634) and his major patrons, the various sDe pa of gTsang is a most complex one. In studying it I am increasingly aware that the wealth of detail to be gleaned from the various relevant texts is not just limited to the narrow study of the lives of just a few people, in this case those of Tāranātha and the various rulers of gTsang. Ind...

BACKGROUND Due to improved care, more and more children born with spina bifida in rural Kenya are surviving into adulthood. This improved survival has led to significant challenges in their lifestyles, especially the need to ensure pressure ulcer prevention and treatment. Malignant degeneration of pressure ulcers in spina bifida patients is very rare. The author describes the clinical presentat...

Methods: A cohesive fracture model is adopted together with a discrete crack and without predetermined fracture path. The fracture is filled with interface elements which in the 2D case are quadrangular and triangular elements and in the 3D case are either tetrahedral or wedge elements. The Rankine criterion is used for fracture nucleation and advancement. In a 2D setting the fracture follows d...

Medical devices are peculiar products: their definition varies from country to country, they are used to treat diseases and they are different from pharmaceuticals. In 2012, the authors began to describe the complex and demanding environment of the medical device industry. In this article, the authors' previous research is extended with additional peculiarities of medical devices such as recall...