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Campus Crashes: Car Accidents Put Coeds At Risk

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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car collisions are a leading cause of death for young drivers, including college students. Car accidents are caused by a unique combination of factors present on college campuses, including density, frequency of pedestrian-car interactions, and young age populations. These factors combine to create deadly consequences for drivers and pedestrians.

College Commute and Transport

College students take buses, ride a bike, carpool, walk, and drive cars to campus. The college experience and population density facilitate many different modes of transportation to get to and around campus. The frequent interaction between pedestrians and cars means car accidents are more common than in the broader populace.

According to experts, younger drivers are more likely to engage in risky behavior. College students are more likely to engage in this behavior while walking, skateboarding, and biking. When combined with college students’ reduced experience, these factors result in an increased rate of fatal accidents.

Impaired Driving

Drowsy Driving

A common trend among college students is to sacrifice sleep to engage in social activities and study. College students, from those committed to rigorous coursework, such as engineering, to those more involved with social life, test their cognitive limits by losing sleep. Therefore, college students are more likely to drive drowsy. According to the National Sleep Foundation, most crashes or near misses occur between midnight and 2:00 a.m. Further, 23% of respondents say that they know someone who was involved in an accident after falling asleep while driving a vehicle.

Drunk Driving

College students frequently consume alcohol. For many students, college is the first time they are away from their parents; therefore, they are encouraged by social engagement to partake in risky behavior, making it more likely they will be injured in a crash. According to U.S. News & World Report, 20% of college students admit to driving while intoxicated at least once.

Distracted Driving and Walking

Distracted driving is a rising trend among all age groups, but it is particularly acute for young drivers. All drivers are presented with a dizzying array of devices that demand their attention while driving. Cars come outfitted with interactive consoles, and most adults now own a smartphone.

College students are accustomed to constant connection and interaction over the Internet. These risks are further increased based on results from a U.S. Department of Transportation study, which found that texting requires significant engagement from multiple brain regions and impairs driving capability.

Moreover, distracted walking is another issue. Many students do not walk without wearing earbuds or headphones, which muffles outside noise, such as a car horn trying to warn a pedestrian. Pedestrians also walk while looking at their phones, increasing the likelihood they will walk into traffic. The influx of “augmented reality” games, such as Pokemon Go, adds additional distractions.

New Driving Conditions

Finally, many students relocate to attend college, exposing students to unknown driving conditions, inclement weather like ice and snow, or dense highway traffic found in larger cities. These new conditions further increase car accident rates among college students.

Understanding Pediatric Brain Injuries

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Brain injuries are life-altering for adults and children alike, but they affect children differently. It’s important for parents to understand how these injuries impact children later in life. Symptomatically, brain injuries in children are similar to those in adults, but they can have a more significant long-term impact on children due to their level of development.

Unlike adults, children are not yet fully developed physically or mentally. This reduced physical development also applies to the brain. Previous misconceptions claimed that children were less vulnerable to brain injuries because of the plasticity of their brains. However, recent studies have disproven this myth. In fact, brain injuries can be more harmful to children than adults in several ways.

Latent Effects of Pediatric Brain Injuries

Initially following a brain injury, children may not always display obvious symptoms. But the damage may become more apparent as the child grows. Parents may notice that a child experiences social and cognitive difficulties as he or she gets older. These residual side effects can lead to lifelong impairments and challenges for not only the affected child but also his or her family.

Ultimately, there are symptoms that children may experience following one or multiple concussions, including mental to physical difficulties that may range from mild to debilitating.

Symptoms of Concussion in Children

Parents will need to be observant to catch symptoms of concussion in younger children since young children are often unable to articulate how they feel if something is wrong.

Some symptoms that young children may exhibit following a concussion could include:

  • Irritability and crankiness
  • Increased fatigue and listlessness
  • Changes in behavior and habits, including eating, sleeping, playing, and the way they act or perform in school
  • Loss of balance when walking
  • Loss of interest in daily activities
  • Confusion or frequent distractions

Other symptoms in young children include staring blankly, loss of newly learned skills, slurred speech, slower response times, and uncoordinated walking or general clumsiness. Memory loss and loss of consciousness may also take place.

If a child’s behavior seems suddenly or gradually unusual or out of character or other worrying physical symptoms develop, this could be indicative of a serious problem. These changes warrant contacting a doctor or EMT for treatment as soon as possible.

Concussion Symptoms in Infants and Toddlers

Infants or toddlers may also develop symptoms of concussion. In newborns, these signs could indicate that they were injured at birth. If parents notice any of the previously mentioned symptoms or others, such as not eating and an inability to calm the child, the opinion of a medical professional should be sought after.

Treating Children Following a Concussion

If a child has sustained a concussion, there are ways to help him or her heal to prevent serious injuries from developing. Making sure the child gets sufficient sleep, avoids activities that could aggravate the condition or result in another concussion, and takes medications only that their pediatrician has approved can help improve conditions for him or her.

Understanding pediatric injuries, including brain injuries, can help keep parents and caretakers aware and allow them to prevent further impairment early on.

Choosing the Right Criminal Defense Attorney

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Any individual charged with a crime should choose the right criminal defense lawyer to  increase his or her odds of a favorable outcome. The individual should start by determining  his or her legal needs, deciding whether to hire a federal or state attorney, and searching for  an attorney who has focused his or her practice in definite areas of defense. He or she should  also consider the qualities that matter, perform due diligence, and book an initial consultation.  By following these steps anyone accused of a crime can find the right criminal attorney.  

Step 1: Determining the Legal Needs 

Regardless of the nature and magnitude of a person’s criminal charge, seeking legal  assistance is crucial. Even if he or she doesn’t hire an attorney, an initial consultation will  give the accused person an insight into his or her legal needs. Anyone charged with a serious  crime is strongly advised to hire a competent defense attorney before appearing in court.  

Step 2: Deciding Whether to Choose a State Attorney or a Federal Attorney 

Depending on the case, the accused person may require either a state attorney or a federal  attorney. If the accused violated state law, he or she must search for criminal defense  attorneys who handle that specific state’s law. If he or she infringed the constitution or  copyright, hiring a federal attorney will be the best bet.  

Step 3: Looking for Attorneys Who Have Focused on Specific Areas of Defense 

Most attorneys focus their practice on clearly defined areas of defense. Depending on his or  her legal needs, the accused person may gravitate towards a criminal attorney who has  concentrated on a specific area of practice. A person with a DWI charge, for instance, will  improve his or her odds of getting a favorable result by hiring a DUI lawyer with a stellar  record of handling DUI/DWI cases. Discussing with a potential criminal attorney about his or  her areas of defense can help a person charged with a crime make an informed decision.  

Step 4: The Qualities that Matter 

The accused person should consider the must-have qualities. Trust is essential when it comes  to working with a criminal attorney. Other important qualities to consider include communication skills, responsiveness, enthusiasm, court confidence, and ethics. In short, the  accused person should ensure the attorney meets what he or she considers important. 

Step 5: Performing Due Diligence 

A quick Google search of criminal attorneys in a specific area will reveal several pages with  competent attorneys. Reviewing these results, checking whether they are registered with  professional organizations, going through testimonials, and seeking referrals can increase the  chances of a person accused of a crime finding the best fit. He or she should also check their  names on the State Bar website to verify if they are licensed to practice criminal law.  

Step 6: Scheduling a Meeting

Most criminal attorneys don’t charge initial consultations. After listing down a few potential  attorneys to represent him or her, the accused person should schedule an initial consultation  so he or she can compare them and select the right attorney for his or her needs.

Here Are Five Examples of Common Tax Evasion

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One of the easiest ways to get on the IRS’ wrong side is by committing tax evasion. People who commit tax evasion are aware they are doing it, and it’s wrong. They hope they won’t get caught. Tax evasion is a felony, and the legal consequences are rather stiff. 

Tax evasion is a crucial matter because it reduces the amount of taxes paid and leaves the state short of funding. It’s the same as stealing from the country, and it will get you into real trouble with the IRS. What if you made a mistake? The IRS is very good at determining mistakes and purposeful evasion. If unpaid taxes is due to lack of funds or accidental errors you can contact Randolph Law Firm. Errors include copying down wrong information, calculation errors, transposition errors, and obvious errors while filing your tax forms. Examples of tax evasion include: 

1. Falsifying records 

One way taxpayers falsify records is by lying to their CPA. Your CPA usually sends a questionnaire to fill out, which provides the accountant with all the numbers needed for the tax return. If you misrepresent any information like an offshore account or not reporting all your accounts to pay less tax, it’s deemed tax evasion. 

2. Underreporting income 

Tax liability is usually based on the amount of income you make. If you change the numbers and write lower numbers, then it means lower taxes. It may be tempting for you, but don’t do it. 

Another way people underreport their income is through structuring. Structuring is a method of falsely lowering your withdrawals, deposits, and transfers to a point below bank reporting requirements since it’s usually done to avoid detecting your actual income; it’s a crime. The IRS has tried to pursue this issue relentlessly since the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). 

3. Hiding interest 

Most people won’t hide their money in holes or put it under their mattresses. However, they hide it in offshore accounts where they hope the federal government won’t find it. Interest can pile up fast for people who have millions stashed in foreign banks. This is where the IRS strictly enforces FATCA to tackle this very issue. 

4. Purposely underpaying taxes 

Maybe you don’t like the number http://www.taxfyle.com/ came up with, so you deliberately pay a lower amount than what you owe. That’s easy for the IRS to see that you’re committing a felony.  

Another way is through money laundering. Let’s say an overseas vendor owes you business money, and instead of asking for cash, you tell the vendor to purchase things for you. Then, you transfer the goods through a third party and call it a gift. There will be no cash income to report because you willfully bypass the reporting by saying you received a gift worth what the vendor owes you. 

5. Illegally assigning income 

People also hide money by saying the income belongs to someone else, maybe a family member or a friend. If you deliberately assign income that’s yours to reduce your taxes, it’s tax evasion. 

Please ensure you adhere to all the IRS rules and regulations to avoid getting in trouble. 

Top Reasons Homeowners Sue HOAs

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Homeowners file lawsuits against their homeowner’s associations (HOAs) for several reasons. Upon moving into a new housing development or condominium, people may be required to read and sign a contract known as Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). While these forms may dictate what homeowners can and cannot do with specific rules, HOAs are also required to follow the rules in place.

If an HOA fails to adhere to terms discussed in a contract or otherwise engage in fair practices with residents, homeowners may be able to sue them depending on the situation. The following are some of the specific reasons why homeowners may sue HOAs.

Failure to Maintain the Property

One of the most common reasons why homeowners sue an HOA is the HOA’s failure to repair, replace, or otherwise maintain property following natural wear and tear. Depending on the state, HOAs may be responsible for maintaining both common areas and individual units. Homeowners can consult their contracts to determine what their HOA is required to cover.

Contract Violations

CC&Rs serve as contracts for HOAs. While residents are required to follow rules that appear in this document, HOAs are equally responsible for following the rules in place for them. This means that if an HOA decides to install new unneeded facilities or causes other disruptions that negatively impact residents, it may be possible for homeowners to sue the HOA if these actions are in violation of a contract.

Discrimination or Harassment

While HOAs can develop their own rules as detailed in the CC&R, they aren’t allowed to establish any rules based on “protected characteristics” such as marital status, race, age, or the number of children in a family. Such actions may constitute discrimination or harassment in violation of housing discrimination laws.

Denial of Plans

In some cases, homeowners may want to install architectural features or engage in other plans for their property, which the HOA may in turn deny. Regardless of whether the HOA was in the right, homeowners may attempt to sue for denial of plans.

Pet Disputes

Homeowners may sue HOAs over disputes involving pets. For example, homeowners have attempted to sue HOAs for allowing tenants to move into a property with emotional support animals.

Misappropriation of Funds

Homeowners often pay as much as hundreds of dollars to HOAs, which may not always go to their intended causes. Sometimes homeowners may sue HOAs if they discover that the HOA is spending too much of homeowners’ money on attorney fees or other expenses that don’t fall under what the money should go toward.

These are some of the most common causes for lawsuits against HOAs. Oftentimes, the HOAs aren’t responsible and have done nothing wrong. In other cases, the CC&R and other documents may not be entirely clear regarding responsibility, which can lead to some uncertainty about what to do on the part of an association and the need to consult a real estate lawyer for guidance.

Regardless of the issue, both homeowners and HOAs should take the time to understand governing documents and laws to avoid potential legal issues.

Ways Companies Can Close the Gender Gap

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Despite push and progress, American companies still have a gender gap problem. Pay remains unequal across the board, diversity in higher levels sees minimal percentages, and inclusion is proving a hard lesson for companies to learn. 

Ellevate Network conducted a survey of over 1,000 professional women to get their views on the gender gap, revealing that “somewhat satisfied” was the majority response to how these women’s companies handled diversity and inclusion. The second largest group was tired of PowerPoint presentations on the subject and wanted to see real change. 

So, what can companies do to become more diverse and inclusionary? Closing the gender gap is no small task but, like any large undertaking, it’s done one small step at a time. Here are the top ways that your company can do their part in making monumental change. 

Flexibility Without Stipulation

Today’s worker, thanks to technological advancement and innovation, are joined at the hip to their position. This has led the modern employee to value work/life balance, or flexibility, as a top perk at any company. From travel commitments to time off for childbearing or meeting with workers’ compensation claim lawyers, companies have become more lenient in the flexibility department. 

However, there’s often stipulations or shame tied to an employee taking the time off they need. It’s up to today’s companies to create a workplace culture complete with advancing career paths that allow people to balance their work and home lives together in a productive way. 

Break the Ceiling

Women, on average, still earn just $0.79 for every dollar made by their male counterparts. While this isn’t new news, it’s now easier than ever for an employee to find out they’re being underpaid thanks to websites offer vital industry data. 

It used to be uncommon for employees to discuss pay or ask their companies to review compensation in comparison with other peers, but those days are long gone. Companies who fail to break the glass ceiling are going to be found out, losing valuable workers as well as tarnishing their reputation. So, just pay equal wages already. 

Rebuild Core Values

The core values of any company are an enormous determining factor in that company’s culture. One without a forward-thinking focus leads to discrimination cases, like the kind this Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer deals with daily. By building diversity and inclusion into those values, the gender gap begins to close. 

Senior leadership and upper management have to be engaged in this process. Not only do they set the values their companies follow, but they also lead by example whether they’re actively trying to or not. When they act in diverse and inclusive ways, employees emulate that behavior. 

Invest in Leadership

Leadership roles are still, unfortunately, a man’s world despite countless studies showing just how beneficial a more diverse upper echelon is for any company. Making this investment in leadership now not only helps close the gender gap but pays off in major ways.

To get there, however, companies need to make the initial investment. That includes sponsorship programs, ensuring women who return to work after having children don’t miss a step in their career growth, and unconscious bias training. Creating a pipeline to women in leadership while engaging current senior management is one investment no company should pass up. 

ClearObject Managed Services Supports Engineering Tools with Secure Development Platforms

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With ClearObject’s Managed Services, they manage the engineering application development environment for you. Managed Services provides secure, up-to-date access to the IBM development tools you use, letting you focus on creating innovative and profitable systems.

With Managed Services, you can accelerate your time to market, reduce build and deployment times, and free up developers for other work.

What Is ClearObject Managed Services?

ClearObject Managed Services is a cloud-based solution that migrates, deploys, and manages your IBM engineering tools. Their Managed Services solution lets you focus on development without worrying about the day-to-day routine maintenance tasks and upgrades that can distract and disrupt your in-house engineers.  Managed Services lets your teams focus on revenue-generation, innovation, and excellence in product design and delivery not on the upkeep of your engineering development toolset.

What’s more, as an IBM Gold Business Partner, ClearObject understands the IBM production tools and how to optimize and maximize your investment in them.

There are multiple options available, allowing you to choose the ClearObject support that meets your engineering needs. Options include:

  • ClearObject Managed Services. Bring Your Own Licensing (BYOL) for the IBM tools you use and let ClearObject manage deployment and support services. ClearObject uses Google Cloud Platform, ensuring your tools benefit from superior performance and security compliance at a reduced cost compared to competitors
  • IBM SaaS. Buy IBM SaaS and have ClearObject provide managed services. ClearObject is the sole managed services provider globally for IBM SaaS. Tools are deployed on the IBM Cloud, providing unlimited bandwidth on bare metal and virtual servers
  • IBM Custom Services. BYOL for the IBM tools you use and use an IBM Statement of Work to contract separately for managed services from ClearObject. Hosted on IBM Cloud, you’ll benefit from better performance, reduced costs, and industry-leading security for your tools

No matter what solution you choose, you’ll gain access to professional managed services that keep your engineering tools accessible, protected, updated, and reliable.

Benefits of Using ClearObject Managed Services

Why choose ClearObject Managed Services for your IT needs? Consider the advantages:

  • IBM Relationship. ClearObject and IBM Support have a close working relationship. IBM Support has full, secure access to logs needed to diagnose problems and have a full understanding of ClearObject’s deployment architecture for IBM tools. This relationship helps eliminate or answer. support questions quickly to get issues resolved faster.
  • Automated Updates. When new versions, upgrades, and patches are necessary, ClearObject automates updates to your IBM tools. The team has done hundreds of successful updates. Their experience and automation mean updates have fewer errors, are done faster, and provide consistency, security, and new features quickly.
  • Monitoring. ClearObject’s proactive approach to monitoring uses pattern recognition to identify issues before they become problems. The company looks beyond the servers and inside your products, along with those of other users, to improve knowledge and troubleshoot for their entire customer community.
  • Security. ClearObject’s single-tenant virtual cloud is private, protected by a VPN connection to monitor cloud and user activity
  • Commitment to Best Practices. ClearObject invests in automation, machine learning, and other features to improve your IBM tool suite. They support organizations across industries, allowing them to identify, implement, and share best practices widely.

Managed Services Focused on Customers

With ClearObject Managed Services, you have the benefit of an experienced managed services provider focused on delivering exceptional service to your organization.

ClearObject managed services support the cloud-based deployment of multiple legacy tools, including:

  • CLM tools: DNG, RQM, RTC, DCC, JRS, and LQE
  • CE tools: RELM, RMM, RPE, RD
  • ELM
  • DOORS (only through our managed services model)

Their services include:

  • Help-desk services focused on incident management and support ticket resolution
  • Administration change management, including account security configuration, group creation, and user changes
  • Automated application upgrades, maintenance, and patching
  • Two upgrades per product year and one iFix per product per month
  • Migration management to move production environments, including data transfer and custom template creation
  • Integration of client-side plugins
  • Third-party tool support
  • Continuous security monitoring 24/7/365
  • High availability rates with a minimum 99.9 percent service level agreement
  • Nightly backups, 7-recovery-point minimums, and 1 daily recovery point. More frequent recovery point options are available
  • Connectivity options including S2S, SSL VPN client, or public internet
  • Customizable product packages
  • Regular customer service reviews to ensure your goals are being met and revised as needed
  • Optional add-ons (at additional cost) including an extra test/QA environment, data imports during onboarding, and server-side plug-in integration

Learn more about ClearObject Managed Services and how they can give your engineering tools the accessible, available, secured, and supported environment needed for excellence, innovation, and transformation.

You can find ClearObject on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more.

AFuzion Offers Free DO-178C Training Videos

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The digital age has sparked a plethora of online content and now more than ever before educational resources are becoming a lot more convenient to access. AFuzion, one of the leading American boutique companies that specialize in aviation engineer training and software critical certification has adapted to the trend of offering online training videos for free.

AFuzion has monitored the need for greater influence when it comes to the interest of their fellow clients, and those seeking assistance in certain areas. One of the most prominent features offered by AFuzion recently is that they now offer free DO-178C training videos. The small library of online resources is available to just about anyone, whether you’re a client of theirs or an aviation buff that needs some guidance.

AFuzion provides the world’s most popular and frequent DO-178C training, DO-254 training, and ARP4754A training with classes every month as detailed here.

Why are AFuzion training videos useful?

AFuzion has been built on years of knowledge, experience, and expertise. Today, the boutique company has become one of the world’s most reliable sources of aviation development, certification, and training. Roughly 90% of the worlds’ aviation companies rely on the resources, checklists, plans, and templates offered by AFuzion.

The team at AFuzion is a combined effort, with multiple experienced aviation engineers and software developers creating a platform that’s currently in use by more than 10,000 engineers worldwide in 25 countries. This platform has now become a number one choice for thousands of engineers and aviation software developers, offering both guidance and setting up standards that are now synonymous with the avionics industry. 

The videos currently available on AFuzions’ YouTube are aviation development & cert solutions, improving aviation development & cert efficiency per ARP4754A, DO-178C, and DO-254, DO-178 Gaps & understanding and closing technical training, avionics hardware development & test applying DO-254 and DO-160 best practices. These and many more are available for free online on both the AFuzion website or YouTube.

Plans and checklists available from AFuzion

AFuzion includes a handful of the latest plans and checklists used by aviation engineers across the world, these include but not limited to;

DO-178C Plans, Standards, and Checklists include:

•            Plan for Software Aspects of Certification

•           Software Design Coding and Design Standard

•            Software Verification Plan

•            Software Quality Assurance Plan Checklist

•            Source Code Review Checklist and many more.

DO-254 Plans, Standards, and Checklists, but not limited to:

•            Plans for Hardware Aspects of Certification

•            Hardware Interface Control Document

•            Hardware Accomplishment Summary

•            Hardware Development Plan

•            Hardware Verification and Validation Plan

ARP 475A Plans, Standards, and Checklists, but not limited to:

•            PASA Preliminary Aircraft Safety Assessment Template

•            System Requirements Management Plan Template

•            System Validation and Verification Standard

•           Plan for Software Aspects of Certification Checklist

•            System Configuration Index Checklist

Where to access everything      

Potential clients and interested engineers and aviation software developers can access all these resources on the AFuzion website and can directly contact the AFuzion team for further queries. Additionally, all videos offered by AFuzion are available for free on YouTube.

Best Selling European Car Brands In The US

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Do you think that European car brands are popular in the United States? While they might not be every motorists first choice (be that because of price, style, or some other factor), common knowledge shows that most drivers consider European cars safer and more reliable than their American counterparts, say OC car accident lawyers Easton Law.

It’s for this reason that you’ll see your fair share of European brands on the road, but which are the most popular? That’s the question we’ll be looking at today, as we go over the best-selling European cars you’ll find on American roads.

Looking At The Numbers

If we’re talking about recent trends in American’s car purchasing habits, Statista has the numbers on US sales of European car brands during the end of 2020. 

The leader of this list, BMW, should come as no surprise if you take stock in safety being the driving factor behind European car purchases. BMW has long been a superior option when it comes to reliability on the road, as experts like San Francisco wrongful death lawyer Dan Rose might remark. This is further backed up by IIHS, which gave BMW a top safety pick award for 2020 and has consistently given the brand high marks in the past.

BMW sold 98,750 vehicles in the final quarter of 2020, though they did have some stiff competition. Going down the list you can see the top selling brands in order:

  1. BMW — 98,750
  2. Mercedes-Benz — 95,310
  3. Volkswagen — 94,122
  4. Audi — 62,519
  5. Volvo — 36,526
  6. Land Rover — 27,698
  7. Porsche — 17,561
  8. Mini — 8,549
  9. Alfa Romeo — 6,092
  10. Jaguar — 5,500
  11. Fiat — 735

As you can see, there’s a clear hierarchy among European vehicles in the United States, at least as far as 2020 data is concerned. While BMW, Mercedes, and Volkswagen vie for the “podium positions” all other European automakers are left to fight out the lower rankings.

But what of European car sales in recent years? 2019 paints a similar picture, though Volkswagen had the top spot at that time, with Mercedes and BMW tracking closely behind. Seems that if you’re looking to buy European while in America, you can’t go wrong with one of those three brands, and they have a wide enough selection to satisfy motorists of all stripes, be they lovers of coupes, sedans, SUVs or something in between!

Dr. Alddo Molinar and 3 Tech Advances Poised to Change Medicine

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The field of medicine is constantly changing and evolving. How we treat illness and disease today is different than the methods used even ten years ago. This trend will continue into the future but in order to track it, we must analyze the newest innovations of today. To do this, we’ve looked to the work of Dr. Alddo Molinar, a well-respected anesthesiologist. As a proponent of the increased use of technology in medicine, the doctor has a wealth of knowledge about how tech is changing the field. Below, we look to that knowledge as well as other information to better understand the future of medical treatment.

Professional background

Before diving into the technologies we’ll analyze in this piece, let’s first look to the career of Dr. Alddo Molinar and how he’s made the intentional use of tech a focus of his work. To do this we can look back to his time as a department chair in one of his past working environments. Department chairs are some of the lead physicians in a hospital. Not only do they engage in the day to day work of treating patients, but they also work to help shape hospital policy and treatment methods across the institution. Due to these efforts, these doctors can often be at the forefront of medical advancement and instituting new treatment protocols.

One example of this type of advancement comes from his efforts to integrate the use of electronic medical records into his institution’s workflows. These efforts centered around an increased push to utilize medical records across institutions via data tracking technology. This work helped doctors more easily access patient records and also helped a larger number of those records to stay with patients if they transition from care at one medical facility to another. The end result was increased access to data for doctors which helped inform treatment methods and base outcomes on a greater availability of information.

The entire process helped increase hospital efficiency as well and goes to show the commitment of the doctor to utilizing technological advances to improve care. It’s one of the reasons he makes for a great resource when seeing how other important advances in the field may end up changing the practice of medicine.

Artificial intelligence

One area of technology that’s already making a huge impact in the healthcare field is the creation of artificial intelligence. While the field of AI is still a long way off from the sentient computers you might find in a science fiction film, it has grown precipitously in recent years. Computer scientists have now made sizable advances in this work, especially in a subset of the field known as machine learning. In machine learning applications, computers can use their access to large data sets to iteratively come up with more effective ways of completing a task. As access to data grows, these applications can come up with better and better solutions to solve increasingly more complex problems.

One example of the usage of machine learning AI in the medical field comes to us from the area of anesthesiology. Here’s a description by Dr. Alddo Molinar which details some of the work conducted by physicians in this field during a typical surgical operation:

“Among other things, we are critical to making sure your brain continues to receive oxygen, your kidneys continue to purify your blood, and you wake up in the least amount of pain possible,” says the doctor.

This quote points to the work these doctors do to monitor a patient’s vital signs. This can entail monitoring a large number of vital signs simultaneously on many different instruments. Machine learning applications are helping to streamline this process by condensing the monitoring to a single piece of dashboard software. AI can then use vital sign data to make treatment suggestions to doctors. Though it is still up to the doctor to make a decision, the AI algorithms can be an important tool at their disposal.

Virtual reality

Virtual reality is another hotly followed piece of technology that is touching many different areas of society. It’s popularly used in video game applications and is increasingly allowing people to experience situations that they might not otherwise be able to engage in. This can include attending concerts, traveling to remote locations, and much more.

In a medical application, one of the uses of virtual reality is for training doctors on how to deal with real-world situations. By engaging in training programs in a virtual reality environment, doctors can increase their experience in a safe manner. It can also help to train doctors on situations that are relatively rare in normal practice.

Wearables and other sensors

The collection of health data has long been an important part of the medical field. The greater a doctor’s access to data, the better equipped they are to make an informed decision about medical treatment. We touched on this above through the work by the anesthesiologist to improve access to electronic medical records.

However, medical records are not very useful if there’s no data to put in them in the first place. Traditionally, medical data has come from centralized testing procedures such as MRIs or X-rays. However, new advancements in wearable monitoring devices are allowing doctors a greater degree of flexibility when it comes to how patients are able to provide their medical data. Wearables are allowing patients to collect data throughout a normal day, rather than needing to go to a centralized testing facility. These devices are also able to improve access to data that is more useful over long spans of time, such as heart rate data and certain types of brain scans.

While it’s difficult to predict the trajectory of medicine, even in the immediate future, we can make informed guesses based on the state of modern technology. As we’ve seen above, three key areas of technology — artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and wearable data collection — are primed to have a significant impact on how medicine is practiced. These areas of exploration can be even more powerful when coupled with the work of medical professionals such as Dr. Alddo Molinar, who are proponents of the increased use of technology. Consider exploring these fields in greater detail for a better idea of how medicine may change moving forward.