Optimal Cosmic-Ray Detection for Nondestructive Read Ramps

Cosmic rays are a known problem in astronomy, causing both loss of data and data inaccuracy. The problem becomes even more extreme when considering data from a high-radiation environment, such as in orbit around Earth or outside the Earth's magnetic field altogether, unprotected, as will be the case for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). For JWST, all the instruments employ nondestructive readout schemes. The most common of these will be "up the ramp" sampling, where the detector is read out regularly during the ramp. We study three methods to correct for cosmic rays in these ramps: a two-point difference method, a deviation from the fit method, and a y-intercept method. We apply these methods to simulated nondestructive read ramps with single-sample groups and varying combinations of flux, number of samples, number of cosmic rays, cosmic-ray location in the exposure, and cosmic-ray strength. We show that the y-intercept method is the optimal detection method in the read-noise-dominated regime, while both the y-intercept method and the two-point difference method are best in the photon-noise-dominated regime, with the latter requiring fewer computations.Comment: To be published in PASP. This paper is 12 pages long and includes 15 figure

Geochemistry of Buried Midcontinent Rift Volcanic Rocks in Iowa: Data From Well Samples

We analyzed welt cores and cuttings from deep wells into Precambrian igneous rocks from five separate pacts of the buried Midcontinent Rife System in Iowa for major and trace elements. A total of 21 samples, 9 cores and 12 cuttings, were analyzed for trace elements by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and 11 of these, 9 cores and 2 cuttings, were analyzed for major elements by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis

Studies of the Precambrian Geology of Iowa: Part 1. The Otter Creek Layered Igneous Complex

Rocks from a buried igneous body, herein called the Otter Creek layered igneous complex, were recovered by drilling in Archean rocks in northwestern Iowa. This complex consists of layers of ultramafic and mafic cumulate rocks, including bronzitite, harzburgite, dunite, gabbro, and anorthosite. These rocks have been subjected to low-grade metamorphism with a patagenesis including serpentine, chlorite, talc, uralitic amphiboles, magnetite, albite, epidote, sericite, and minor quartz and calcite. During its intrusion, the magma which gave rise to the layered body engulfed a large block of rock consisting of banded iron formation and thin lamprophyre dikes. Both the iron formation and the lamprophyre show evidence of high-temperature metamorphism followed by a retrograde event. Chemical compositions of the layered rocks and the lamprophyre are indicative of both having been derived from a primitive to slightly depleted mantle source. Comparison with similar rocks in the Superior Province indicate that the Otter Creek complex is part of a greenstone belt and was probably generated near the terminal stages of its development

Evaluating quality of life tools in North American patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria and X-linked protoporphyria.

BackgroundErythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked Protoporphyria (XLP) are rare photodermatoses presenting with severe phototoxicity. Although anecdotally, providers who treat EPP patients acknowledge their life-altering effects, tools that fully capture their impact on quality of life (QoL) are lacking.MethodsAdult patients with EPP/XLP were given four validated QoL tools: the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 57 (PROMIS-57), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Illness Perception Questionnaire Revised (IPQR), and an EPP-Specific tool. All patients received the PROMIS-57 while the HADS, IPQR, and EPP-Specific tools were introduced at a later date. Associations between responses and clinical phenotypes were explored.ResultsTwo hundred and two patients were included; 193 completed PROMIS-57, 104 completed IPQR, 103 completed HADS, and 107 completed the EPP-Specific tool. The IPQR showed that patients strongly believed EPP/XLP had a negative impact on their lives. Mean scores in anxiety and depression domains of both HADS and PROMIS-57 were normal; however, anxiety scores from HADS were borderline/abnormal in 20% of patients. The EPP-Specific tool revealed a decreased QoL in most patients. The PROMIS-57 showed that 21.8% of patients have clinically significant pain interference. Several tool domains correlated with measures of disease severity, most being from the PROMIS-57.ConclusionsImpaired QoL is an important consequence of EPP/XLP. PROMIS-57 was most sensitive in evaluating impaired QoL in EPP/XLP. Further research is needed to compare the effectiveness of it for assessing response to treatment

Implementing Pharmacy Informatics in College Curricula: The AACP Technology in Pharmacy Education and Learning Special Interest Group

Many professional organizations have initiatives to increase the awareness and use of informatics in the practice of pharmacy. Within education we must respond to these initiatives and make technology integral to all aspects of the curriculum, inculcating in students the importance of technology in practice. This document proposes 5 central domains for organizing planning related to informatics and technology within pharmacy education. The document is intended to encourage discussion of informatics within pharmacy education and the implications of informatics in future pharmacy practice, and to guide colleges of pharmacy in identifying and analyzing informatics topics to be taught and methods of instruction to be used within the doctor of pharmacy curriculum

Studies of the Precambrian Geology of Iowa: Part 2. The Matlock Keratophyre

Felsic pyroclastic rock occurs in the Precambrian basement in northwestern Iowa. This rock was recovered by drilling and originally logged as rhyolite; however it is severely depleted in K2O, Rb, Ba, Cs, and other mobile elements and is more properly called keratophyre. The volcanic unit lies atop a layered mafic/ultramafic complex and contains xenoliths of gabbro apparently derived from the layered body. These xenoliths are severely altered and are composed of secondary hydrated and carbonated minerals. The gabbros are enriched in incompatible trace elements, whose abundance patterns complement those of the keratophyre. Trace element abundance patterns for the keratophyre suggest it was derived by partial melting in a subduction zone. The keratophyre is comparable to rhyolite exposed in Wisconsin in terms of age, stratigraphic position, and low-grade metamorphism, although it cannot be established whether or not they are related in any way

Evaluating the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System scales in acute intermittent porphyria.

PurposeAcute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare inborn error of heme biosynthesis characterized by life-threatening acute attacks. Few studies have assessed quality of life (QoL) in AIP and those that have had small sample sizes and used tools that may not have captured important domains.MethodsBaseline data from the Porphyrias Consortium's Longitudinal Study were obtained for 259 patients, including detailed disease and medical history data, and the following Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scales: anxiety, depression, pain interference, fatigue, sleep disturbance, physical function, and satisfaction with social roles. Relationships between PROMIS scores and clinical and biochemical AIP features were explored.ResultsPROMIS scores were significantly worse than the general population across all domains, except depression. Each domain discriminated well between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with symptomatic patients having worse scores. Many important clinical variables like symptom frequency were significantly associated with domain scores in univariate analyses, showing responsiveness of the scales, specifically pain interference and fatigue. However, most regression models only explained ~20% of the variability observed in domain scores.ConclusionPain interference and fatigue were the most responsive scales in measuring QoL in this AIP cohort. Future studies should assess whether these scales capture longitudinal disease progression and treatment response

Making sense of theory construction: Metaphor and disciplined imagination

This article draws upon Karl Weick’s insights into the nature of theorizing, and extends and refines his conception of theory construction as ‘disciplined imagination’. An essential ingredient in Weick’s ‘disciplined imagination’ involves his assertion that thought trials and theoretical representations typically involve a transfer from one epistemic sphere to another through the creative use of metaphor. The article follows up on this point and draws out how metaphor works, how processes of metaphorical imagination partake in theory construction, and how insightful metaphors and the theoretical representations that result from them can be selected. The paper also includes a discussion of metaphors-in-use (organizational improvisation as jazz and organizational behavior as collective mind) which Weick proposed in his own writings. The whole purpose of this exercise is to theoretically augment and ground the concept of ‘disciplined imagination’, and in particular to refine the nature of thought trials and selection within it. In doing so, we also aim to provide pointers for the use of metaphorical imagination in the process of theory construction

Vitrine Virtual Interativa: um sistema computacional para fazer propaganda utilizando tecnologia perceptual

This paper introduces the Intel Perceptual Computing SDK as a platform to develop computer applications that provide a more compelling user experience, by changing the way people interface with computers. The interactive virtual display case is a tool that allows a potential customer to interact with the system and navigate through the product’s list by moving its hands in front a camera and executing specific hand gestures and poses