Preliminary Results of Initial Testing for Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Emergency Department

Introduction: On March 10, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic due to widespread infection of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). We report the preliminary results of a targeted program of COVID-19 infection testing in the ED in the first 10 days of its initiation at our institution.Methods: We conducted a review of prospectively collected data on all ED patients who had targeted testing for acute COVID-19 infection at two EDs during the initial 10 days of testing (March 10-19, 2020). During this initial period with limited resources, testing was targeted toward high-risk patients per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Data collected from patients who were tested included demographics, clinical characteristics, and test qualifying criteria. We present the data overall and by test results with descriptive statistics.Results: During the 10-day study period, the combined census of the study EDs was 2157 patient encounters. A total of 283 tests were ordered in the ED. The majority of patients were 18-64 years of age, male, non-Hispanic white, had an Emergency Severity Index score of three, did not have a fever, and were discharged from the ED. A total of 29 (10.2%) tested positive. Symptoms-based criteria most associated with COVID-19 were the most common criteria identified for testing (90.6%). All other criteria were reported in 5.51–43.0% of persons being tested. Having contact with a person under investigation was significantly more common in those who tested positive compared to those who tested negative (63% vs 24.5%, respectively). The majority of patients in both results groups had at least two qualifying criteria for testing (75.2%).Conclusion: In this review of prospectively collected data on all ED patients who had targeted testing for acute COVID-19 infection at two EDs in the first 10 days of testing, we found that 10.2% of those tested were identified as positive. The continued monitoring of testing and results will help providers understand how COVID-19 is progressing in the community

Design and Development of the Space Shuttle Tail Service Masts

The successful launch of a space shuttle vehicle depends on the proper operation of two tail service masts (TSMs). Reliable TSM operation is assured through a comprehensive design, development, and testing program. The results of the concept verification test (CVT) and the resulting impact on prototype TSM design are presented. The design criteria are outlined, and the proposed prototype TSM tests are described

Current practices of dynamic-structural testing in programming assessments

Automatic Programming Assessment (or APA) has been known as an important method to automatically mark and grade students’ programming exercises.It has been gaining a lot of attention from many researchers either to emphasize on the aspect of static analysis or dynamic testing (functional and structural testing).To date, not many recent studies attempted to focus on the context of structural testing even though, it is key in the software testing industry.Hence it becomes one of the most critical aspects of testing to be considered.Besides that, current literatures also lack information on APA’s detailed practices. Thus, we conducted a preliminary study to investigate the test adequacy criteria that have been commonly employed in the current practices of programming assessments which are applicable only to dynamic-structural testing.Specifically, this refers to testing that needs a program execution and focuses on the logic coverage of the tested program. In this paper, we reveal the means of conducting the preliminary study and its analysis and findings.From the findings, it has been discovered that most educators are commonly adopting the identified structural code coverage in programming assessments and even have a great leaning towards allowing those criteria to be considered in implementing AP

ANALYSIS OF THE ELECTRE METHOD IN DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR DETERMINING AREAS OF EXPERTISE FOR INFORMATICS MANAGEMENT STUDY PROGRAM STUDENTS

Confusion of students in concentrating on the field of science in the Informatics Study Program Univ. Labuhan Batu becomes a problem for students in writing a thesis. Informatics Engineering Study Program Univ. Labuhan Batu has a group of experts that is intended to direct students' thesis titles according to their fields. Elimination Choice and Translating Reality (ELECTRE) is the method used in this study. The ELECTRE method is a method that can produce decisions by comparing alternatives in pairs on the same criteria. The results obtained from this application are to provide a recommendation value in the form of a ranking based on the relationship between the alternatives and the criteria entered. The purpose of this research is to produce recommendations for areas of expertise for students of the Informatics Study Program Univ. Stone Labyrinth. System testing is done in two ways, namely black box testing and accuracy testing. Black box testing is done to test the functionality of the application based on the input entered. While the accuracy test is to see how much accuracy or suitability of the skill group students has with the results of the system recommendations

Design, analysis, and test verification of advanced encapsulation systems

Design sensitivities are established for the development of photovoltaic module criteria and the definition of needed research tasks. The program consists of three phases. In Phase I, analytical models were developed to perform optical, thermal, electrical, and structural analyses on candidate encapsulation systems. From these analyses several candidate systems will be selected for qualification testing during Phase II. Additionally, during Phase II, test specimens of various types will be constructed and tested to determine the validity of the analysis methodology developed in Phase I. In Phse III, a finalized optimum design based on knowledge gained in Phase I and II will be developed. All verification testing was completed during this period. Preliminary results and observations are discussed. Descriptions of the thermal, thermal structural, and structural deflection test setups are included

COMPLIANCE TESTING OF IOWA’S SKID-MOUNTED SIGN DEVICE

A wide variety of traffic control devices are used in work zones, some of which are nont ormally found on the roadside or in the traveled way outsideofthe work zones. These devices are used to enhance the safety of the work zones by controlling the traffic through these areas. Due to the placement of the traffic control devices, the devices themselves may be potentially hazardous to both workers and errant vehicles. The impact performance of many work zone traffic control devices is mainly unknown and to date limited crash testing has been conducted under the criteria of National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report No. 350, Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features. The objective of the study was to evaluatethe safety performance of existing skid-mounted sign supports through full- scale crash testing. Two full-scale crash tests were conducted on skid-mounted sign supports to determine their safety performance according to the Test Level 3 (TL-3) criteria set forth in the NCHRP Report No. 350. The safety performancevaluations indicate that these skid-mounted sign supports did not perform satisfactorily in the full-scale crash tests. The results of the crash tests were documented, and conclusions and recommendations pertaining tothe safety performance of the existing work zone traffic control devices were made

Determining Item Screening Criteria Using Cost-Benefit Analysis

Successful testing programs rely on high-quality test items to produce reliable scores and defensible exams. However, determining what statistical screening criteria are most appropriate to support these goals can be daunting. This study describes and demonstrates cost-benefit analysis as an empirical approach to determining appropriate screening criteria for a given testing program and purpose. Using a certification exam’s item pool and simulation we illustrate how to examine a wide range of screening criteria and reach an acceptable balance between the number of items screened out (cost) and pass/fail classification accuracy (benefit). Accessed 699 times on https://pareonline.net from April 09, 2019 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

739 observed NEAs and new 2-4m survey statistics within the EURONEAR network

We report follow-up observations of 477 program Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) using nine telescopes of the EURONEAR network having apertures between 0.3 and 4.2 m. Adding these NEAs to our previous results we now count 739 program NEAs followed-up by the EURONEAR network since 2006. The targets were selected using EURONEAR planning tools focusing on high priority objects. Analyzing the resulting orbital improvements suggests astrometric follow-up is most important days to weeks after discovery, with recovery at a new opposition also valuable. Additionally we observed 40 survey fields spanning three nights covering 11 sq. degrees near opposition, using the Wide Field Camera on the 2.5m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT), resulting in 104 discovered main belt asteroids (MBAs) and another 626 unknown one-night objects. These fields, plus program NEA fields from the INT and from the wide field MOSAIC II camera on the Blanco 4m telescope, generated around 12,000 observations of 2,000 minor planets (mostly MBAs) observed in 34 square degrees. We identify Near Earth Object (NEO) candidates among the unknown (single night) objects using three selection criteria. Testing these criteria on the (known) program NEAs shows the best selection methods are our epsilon-miu model which checks solar elongation and sky motion and the MPC's NEO rating tool. Our new data show that on average 0.5 NEO candidates per square degree should be observable in a 2m-class survey (in agreement with past results), while an average of 2.7 NEO candidates per square degree should be observable in a 4m-class survey (although our Blanco statistics were affected by clouds). At opposition just over 100 MBAs (1.6 unknown to every 1 known) per square degree are detectable to R=22 in a 2m survey based on the INT data, while our two best ecliptic Blanco fields away from opposition lead to 135 MBAs (2 unknown to every 1 known) to R=23.Comment: Published in Planetary and Space Sciences (Sep 2013