On the stability and control of continuous-time TSK fuzzy systems.

This paper introduces a new stability test and control design methodology for type-1 and type-2 continuous-time (CT) Takagi-Sugeno-Kang systems. Unlike methods based on a common Lyapunov function, our stability results apply for systems with unstable consequents, and our controllers can be designed for systems with unstabilizable consequents. The stability results are derived using the comparison principle with a discontinuous function and the upper right-hand derivative.

The lived experience of treatment for hepatitis C.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe male patients' experiences of undergoing and completing treatment for the hepatitis C virus. A qualitative, descriptive, and phenomenological methodology was used. Eight male patients diagnosed with the hepatitis C virus, aged 41-60 years and enrolled in a health maintenance organization, were interviewed in their private residences in a community setting.

"Amide resonance" correlates with a breadth of C-N rotation barriers.

Complete basis set calculations (CBS-QB3) were used to compute the CN rotation barriers for acetamide and eight related compounds, including acetamide enolate and O-protonated acetamide. Natural resonance theory analysis was employed to quantify the "amide resonance" contribution to ground-state electronic structures. A range of rotation barriers, spanning nearly 50 kcal/mol, correlates well to the ground-state resonance weights without the need to account for transition-state effects.

Testing equality of two functions using BARS.

This article presents two methods of testing the hypothesis of equality of two functions H(0):f(1)(t)=f(2)(t) for all t, in a generalized non-parametric regression framework using a recently developed generalized non-parametric regression method called Bayesian adaptive regression splines (BARS). Of particular interest is the special case of testing equality of two Poisson process intensity functions lambda(1) (t)=lambda(2) (t), which arises frequently in neurophysiological applications. The first method uses Bayes factors, and the second method uses a modified Hotelling T(2) test.

Evaluating the chief nurse executive: reflections on the process.

Performance improvement of chief nurse executives (CNEs) is an integral part of a healthcare organization's program of continuous improvement. However, the process of evaluating CNEs is an increasingly complex and costly one. This is, in part, because the formal evaluation process for a CNE of a stand-alone hospital building is considerably different from that of a CNE in an integrated health-care system of hundreds or several thousand nursing personnel.