Bariatric or weight loss surgery is the reduction of the size of the stomach with a gastric band or through removal of a portion of the stomach, or by resecting and re-routing the small intestine to a small stomach pouch. Metabolic surgery involves weight loss treatments and procedures to treat metabolic diseases, especially, Type 2 diabetes. This book is a guide to techniques in bariatric and metabolic surgery. Divided into three sections, the text begins with an explanation of the history of bariatric surgery. The following section presents 25 clinical cases detailing necessary operative procedures for different disorders, and the final section discusses surgical techniques including sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, and stapling technology. Based on the authors' own experiences, this quick reference guide is further enhanced by more than 200 surgical images, diagrams and tables. Key points Quick reference guide to procedures in bariatric and metabolic surgery Features 25 clinical cases for use of bariatric surgery Describes different surgical techniques Includes more than 200 surgical images, diagrams and tables

Master's Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Computer Science - Miscellaneous, grade: 1, course: ME computer science, language: English, abstract: This paper investigates how demand-side factors contribute to the Internet's "Long Tail" phenomenon. It first models how a reduction in search costs will affect the concentration in product sales. Then, by analyzing data collected from a multi-channel retailing company, it provides empirical evidence that the Internet channel exhibits a significantly less concentrated sales distribution, when compared with traditional channels. The difference in the sales distribution is highly significant, even after controlling for consumer differences. Furthermore, the effect is particularly strong for individuals with more prior experience using the Internet channel. We find evidence that Internet purchases made by consumers with prior Internet experience are more skewed toward obscure products, compared with consumers who have no such experience. We observe the opposite outcome when comparing purchases by the same consumers through the catalog channel. If the relationships we uncover persist, the underlying trends in technology and search costs portend an ongoing shift in the distribution of product sales. Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), together with the Expectation-Maximization (EM) procedure, can be used to find a low-dimension model that maximizes the log likelihood of observed ratings in recommendation systems. However, the computational cost of this approach is a major concern, since each iteration of the EM algorithm requires a new SVD computation. We present a novel algorithm that incorporates SVD approximation into the EM procedure to reduce the overall computational cost while maintaining accurate predictions. Furthermore, we propose a new framework for collaborating filtering in distributed recommendation systems that allows users to maintain their own rating profiles for privacy. We conduct offline and online t

In the design of sculpted objects such as the exterior of the car body, the design engineer is interested to capture the shape of the sculpted clay or wooden model and create a computer aided design (CAD) model for product development. This technology is also known as reverse engineering of shape. Constructing a CAD model from point cloud data is an inverse problem that is generally ill posed because the information one has does not uniquely determine the solution. New methods based on soft computing techniques such as neural networks, genetic algorithms and traditional analytical techniques for free-form surface recognition, parameterization for surface modeling and contour model recognition for rapid prototyping from point cloud data are presented in this book. The treatment of the subject should especially be useful to academicians and professionals who work in the areas of CAD, 3D data acquisition technologies and rapid product development. This book may also be of general interest to anyone who wants to appreciate the computing techniques that go behind the point cloud processing and surfacing software.

Machines and mechanisms form the backbone of industries, implements in agriculture, space exploration, and various appliances used in our daily lives. This title contains new developments at the core of the science of machines and mechanisms, as well as their applications in various walks of life. The contents represent contributions made by about two hundred researchers, practising engineers, and educators working in the fields of analysis and synthesis of mechanisms, robotics, compliant mechanisms, dynamics and control, design of machines for the industries, rural and agricultural sectors etc. in the 15th National Conference on Machines and Mechanisms (NaCoMM 2011). The variety of topics and the diversity of view-points should make the title significantly interesting to the beginner and expert alike in the general field of design and analysis of machines and mechanisms.