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Merlin.net Patient Care Network is a St. Jude Medical product that is used for remote patient management. The basic concept of Merlin.net is to allow the physician to view patient device follow-up information as well as general patient and device information on a web application. The Merlin.net system also interfaces with the patient and will send them notification if they miss a follow-up. All device information will be collected automatically while the patient is sleeping. This information is sent through a telephone line to a Merlin.net server to process a report package and display the collected information on the Merlin.net web application. The Merlin.net verification team ensures that all reports generated by the Merlin.net servers are processed and outputted correctly. There are currently 296 device parameters supported by Merlin.net, and the manual extraction and comparison of the expected parameter values takes several hours for each patient follow-up session. Currently there are 250 patient follow-up sessions used for verification testing. Each new release will continue to create additional patient follow-up sessions. Merlin.net releases are approximately 6 months apart, and each new release adds approximately 30-50 new patient follow-up records to support the new devices. In order to meet aggressive project deadlines, while ensuring that the Merlin.net system is processing and outputting patient follow-up data correctly, it is necessary to come up with an automated process to verify the contents of the processed data is correct. This will save a tremendous amount of time as well as improve on the quality of the verification process by eliminating human error and rework. It is critical for patient safety that the patient device follow-up information is processed and outputted correctly. In this thesis an automated process was developed to verify the correct content of the Merlin.net server generated reports for each patient follow-up session. This process leveraged different tools and scripting languages to achieve automation. TDE (Test Development Environment) tool was used to extract the device parameters from the patient follow-up sessions. The TDE script was written to extracts the desired parameter values from the patient follow-up session and automatically populates parameters in a device parameters spreadsheet. Once all the device parameter values are extracted in the spreadsheet, they are passed through a set of mapping rules, which form the expected values. The mapping rules were implemented as VBA (Visual Basic for Application) macros, one macro for each report. The VBA macros write the expected values back to the spreadsheet to form an “expected values spreadsheet”. The patient follow-up session is then sent to the Merlin.net server to process, which generates a processed patient follow-up session that contains a reports package in .zip format. A perl script was then written to compare the parameter values in the Merlinet.net generated reports with the corresponding expected values from the expected values spreadsheet. The perl script generates a comparison report displaying the discrepancies between the actual and the expected values.

Mechanical heart valve (MHV) flows are characterized by high shear stress, regions of recirculation, and high levels of turbulent fluctuations. It is well known that these flow conditions are hostile to blood constituents, which could lead to thromboembolism. In the ongoing effort to reduce long-term complications and morbidity, it is imperative that we better understand the flow characteristics of the natural valve as well as that of the mechanical valve. In this study, we overcome many of the limitations imposed by other measurement techniques by employing a powerful, high-speed Time-Resolved Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (TRDPIV) system to map the flow field. We compare the flows downstream from a St. Jude Medical bileaflet MHV, a porcine mitral valve (MV), and a combination of both valves to simulate the technique of chordal preservation. Instantaneous velocity fields and vorticity maps are presented, which provide detailed information about the development of the flow. Time-averaged velocity, vorticity, and turbulent kinetic energy measurements are also discussed. Asynchronous leaflet behavior was observed in all cases involving the mechanical valve. Extensive vortex formation and propagation are present distal to the MHV, which leads to high levels of jet dispersion. The porcine mitral jet exhibits lateral oscillatory behavior, but it does not disperse like the MHV. In the MHV/porcine combination system, the native tissue limits vortex propagation and jet dispersion. The results presented provide insight on the hemodynamic characteristics of natural and MHVs, reveal the detrimental character of asynchronous leaflet opening, document the mechanism of vortex formation and interaction distal to the valve, and illustrate the importance of chordal preservation. These results may improve MHV replacement clinical practice and/or motivate and aid the design of MHVs that better mimic natural mitral flow patterns. / Master of Science

Les parallélismes entre Jude et 2-Pierre esquissent une trame presque parfaite, en réponse au problème posé par ceux qui « renient le Maître ». Une étude synoptique systématique la met en évidence ; pour autant, chaque lettre possède sa propre architecture ; confronter ces deux démarches, moyennant une méthodologie spécifique, permet d’établir que 2-Pierre dépend de Jude. D’une lettre à l’autre, un autre problème s’est fait jour : quid de la (seconde) parousie de Christ ? « Pierre » opère un puissant travail de réécriture et, conjointement, élabore une théologie originale de l’inspiration. Si les deux textes ont choisi la forme épistolaire « catholique », et testamentaire pour 2-Pierre, Jude suit un modèle oraculaire, quand 2-Pierre adopte le genre « disputation speech ». La mise en intrigue des rapports entre les deux lettres permet d’esquisser des trajectoires théologiques. En réponse au second problème, 2-Pierre propose des principes herméneutiques originaux ; c’est sans doute un écrit à visée anti-millénariste, un témoin privilégié et un acteur important du processus de proto-canonisation en cours. Pour cela, il s’appuie sur une « christologie haute ». / Parallelisms between Jude and 2-Peter outline an almost perfect framework, to reply to the problem of those who “deny the Master”. A framework seen through a systematical synoptic study ; however, each epistle possesses its own architecture ; confronting these two steps allows to establish that 2-Peter depends on Jude. From one letter to the other, a second problem appears : what can be said of the (second) Parousia of Christ ? “Peter” demonstrates a great deal of rewriting, and, jointly, elaborates an original theology of inspiration. If the two texts chose the “catholic” epistolary form, and 2-Peter a testamentary one, Jude follows an oracular pattern, while 2-Peter assume the “disputation speech” genre. The plotting of the relation between the two letters alows us to sketch theological trajectories. In particular, in response to the second problem, 2-Peter puts forward original hermeneutical principles ; it is probably an anti-millenarist work, a privileged testimony and an important actor of the current proto-canonisation process. For that very reason, 2-Peter leans on a “high christology”.

Scholars have proposed that Jude and 2 Peter are literarily dependent. However, there is no definitive conclusion among scholars concerning which one is literarily dependent on the other. There are arguments for and against each of the literary dependency theories. It is difficult to define what is meant by literary dependency and how to measure it. By utilizing Lemke’s notion of intertextuality, this study examines the thematic formations, axiological stance, and rhetorical formations of Jude and 2 Peter. This study demonstrates that there are significant intertextual relations that can account for the similarities between these two texts. There is substantial evidence which suggests that their differences are significant. Jude and 2 Peter do not provide essential intertextual background information to understand each other. Through the analysis of other intertexts, this study reveals a significant number of intertexts, like the LXX, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, and contemporary literature, that can account for the meaning formation of the two books. These texts can be considered as more significant intertexts for Jude and 2 Peter.

This paper explores and interrogates late Victorian anxieties concerning the issues of masculinity and labor, taking Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure as a key text in this discourse. I argue that Hardy, drawing upon his own experiences, offers a meditation on the differing Victorian modes of masculinity outlined and embodied in the thought of John Henry Newman and Thomas Carlyle, and in doing so, constructs a dialectical tension between already outmoded, yet remarkably persistent, answers to the questions and pressures of modernity. Through the use of one of the text’s central images—that of Christminster and its accompanying Gothic architecture—Hardy creates an opposition between an idealized intellectual labor and the earthy reality of manual labor. Both forms—figured in either the heroic and organic terms of Carlyle or the reserved, tradition-bound reaction of Newman—represent the ideal that allows Jude to live, but also the force that leads to his death. Therefore, in the clash between the ideal and real, the dialectic fails to deliver a possible synthesis, and instead spirals restlessly in the darkened gaps of self-negation. At the same time, because the specter of a crude social and biological Darwinism consciously haunts the edges of the story, the dialectic never stops demanding a synthesis if Jude is to discover the grounding for a fully integrated identity or ethics. The central question for Hardy thus becomes one of form: For a modern masculine subjectivity to take hold, external social forms must have a connective vitality with interior dispositions, a proposition that Hardy views as a near impossibility. / text

Diploma thesis Honors Righteous Among the Nations in the context of the Second World War: the life stories of the awarded deals with The Righteous Among the Nations Award, which is awarded to people of Jewish origin, who during the Second World War selflessly helped the Jewish people survive. The aim is to increase awareness of the aforementioned awards and especially bring specific fates of people who have received it. Examined and interpreted sub- themes that determine the specifics of how to obtain this award. These issues include the motivation to help others during everyday concealment, friendship etc. Individual interviews with bearers that bring unique and direct evidence are placed in the broader context of the Second World War, which focuses primarily on the issue of the final solution of the Jewish question. Examination of the Second World War is underpinned by a rich resource base that supports the overall character of the text.

Software testing, specifically in the medical device field, has become increasingly complex over the last decade. Technological enhancements to simulate clinical scenarios and advancements in communicating to medical devices have created the need for better testing strategies and methodologies. Typical medical device companies have depended on manual testing processes to fulfill Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submission requirements specifically Class III devices which are life supporting, life sustaining devices. At St. Jude Medical, software testing of Class III devices such as implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), pacemakers, and pacing analyzers are given top priority to ensure the highest quality in each product. High emphasis is made on improving software testing for ease of use and for catching more software errors in each device. A significant stride in testing has automated the process and has provided software verification teams with the tools they need to successfully test and deliver high quality products. By creating software libraries which interact with communication to the other interfaces needed to test medical devices, test engineers can focus on fully testing device requirements and will not be concerned with how each test will interact with the device or any other testing tools. The main focus will be a specific St. Jude Medical device known as the Pacing System Analyzer (PSA). The PSA device will be used to demonstrate how verification engineers are able to benefit from software libraries and allow the testing process and test development to be fully automated. New technologies and standards will be created to simulate clinical scenarios and to communicate to new devices. The goal is to use software engineering principles to create standard test libraries which sustain these changes while still allowing testers to focus on finding issues for each device.

Ce projet de maîtrise porte sur le développement d’un nouvel appareil de cisaillement annulaire permettant de cisailler un échantillon d’argile sensible intact jusqu’à de grandes déformations dans des conditions équivalentes à celle d’un essai non-drainé, soit par cisaillement à volume constant. Plusieurs essais ont été réalisés avec cet appareil sur des échantillons intacts d’argile sensible prélevés avec un échantillonneur de grand diamètre sur le site de l’étalement de Saint-Jude, survenu 10 mai 2010. Les résultats de ces essais témoignent du bon fonctionnement de l’appareil. Pour des fins de comparaison, des essais de compression triaxiale et de cisaillement simple ont aussi été réalisés sur des échantillons du même sol. L’ensemble des résultats a permis de démontrer qu’en plus d’être le plus approprié des trois types d’essai de cisaillement réalisés pour caractériser adéquatement la résistance au cisaillement à grandes déformations des argiles, l’essai de cisaillement annulaire est le seul à permettre l’atteinte de la résistance au cisaillement résiduelle. / This study is about the development of a new ring shear apparatus which is able to shear an undisturbed sensitive clay sample at large strains in test conditions equivalent to an undrained test, by the mean of a constant volume test. A series of tests were realised on samples of undisturbed sensitive clay cored with a large diameter sampler on the site of the Saint-Jude spread that occurred on May 10th 2010. The results of those tests show that the apparatus is working properly. The results are compared with results of triaxial compression test and direct simple shear test realised on samples from the same soil. The outcome of the comparison is that the ring shear test is the better of the three types of test to characterise properly the shear strength at large strains of the clays. It is also the only one of the three types of test that is able to reach the residual shear strength.

The Gospel According to Thomas is found in the second manuscript of codex II of a set of texts found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, collectively referred to today as the Coptic Gnostic Library. This gospel was readily identified as Thomas due to fragments of a Greek version of the text having already been discovered and identified in the 1890s at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. However, the discovery near Nag Hammadi in 1945 C.E. was not of fragments, but it actually contained the entire text of Thomas. Thus, the finding of the entire text in Nag Hammadi brought about a set of questions that had not yet surfaced from the fragments of Thomas previously found at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. For example, was Thomas actually written by Didymus Jude Thomas? If Thomas did not write it, then by whom was it written, and why did the actual author claim it to be written by Thomas?