Entropy measures as geometrical tools in the study of cosmology

Classical chaos is often characterized as exponential divergence of nearby trajectories. In many interesting cases these trajectories can be identified with geodesic curves. We define here the entropy by $S = \ln \chi (x)$ with $\chi(x)$ being the distance between two nearby geodesics. We derive an equation for the entropy which by transformation to a Ricatti-type equation becomes similar to the Jacobi equation. We further show that the geodesic equation for a null geodesic in a double warped space time leads to the same entropy equation. By applying a Robertson-Walker metric for a flat three-dimensional Euclidian space expanding as a function of time, we again reach the entropy equation stressing the connection between the chosen entropy measure and time. We finally turn to the Raychaudhuri equation for expansion, which also is a Ricatti equation similar to the transformed entropy equation. Those Ricatti-type equations have solutions of the same form as the Jacobi equation. The Raychaudhuri equation can be transformed to a harmonic oscillator equation, and it has been shown that the geodesic deviation equation of Jacobi is essentially equivalent to that of a harmonic oscillator. The Raychaudhuri equations are strong geometrical tools in the study of General Relativity and Cosmology. We suggest a refined entropy measure applicable in Cosmology and defined by the average deviation of the geodesics in a congruence.Comment: Final Versio

COUNTER INSIDER THREAT EDUCATION IN THE USAF COMMAND-LEVEL SCHOOLHOUSES

The purpose of this research is to assess the United States Air Force’s (USAF) educational response to insider threat incidents. The primary research question is: How does the USAF educate its command-level personnel with Counter Insider Threat (CInT) curriculum? A review of evolving policies indicates that commanders and supervisors are the primary audience for CInT education. In the USAF, two military educational institutions are likely candidates for hosting CInT education: the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) and the Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy (SNCOA). The second research question is: To what degree are the educational policies and procedures at these institutions adequate for educating emerging command-level personnel on a topic as complex as CInT? The authors compare benchmark standards for adult education derived from theoretical and empirical literature to the standards employed at ACSC and SNCOA. The authors thus answer the research questions and make recommendations related to integrating CInT education into the institutions. This study contributes to the current body of research in CInT education and directly responds to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s April 9th Memo “Immediate Actions to Counter Extremism in the Department and the Establishment of the Countering Extremism Working Group:” specifically to Line of Effort #4, “Education and Training,” which solicits recommendations for education plans for different leadership levels.Master Sergeant, United States Air ForceCaptain, United States Air ForceCaptain, United States Air ForceApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Patient Perspectives on the Development of a Novel Mobile Health (mHealth) Application for Dietary Supplement Tracking and Reconciliation—A Qualitative Focus Group Study

BackgroundMore than 170 million adults use dietary supplements (DS) in the United States, which can have both benefit and harm to patient health. DS use is often poorly documented in the medical record and can pose health risks if not properly communicated with providers. Reasons for poor DS documentation include low disclosure rates, time constraints of clinical encounters, and providers’ failure to inquire about DS use. This study was conducted to assess patients’ views on the facilitators and barriers to using a mobile health (mHealth) application (app) to collect and share DS information with their healthcare providers.MethodsUtilizing a theory-based conceptual model, we conducted 7 patient focus groups (FGs) to assess opinions on DS safety, provider communication, comfort with technology use, and our proposed mHealth app. Participants were recruited from the general public and through patient advisory groups. Patient views will inform the creation of an mHealth app to improve DS patient-provider communication and tracking and reconciliation in the electronic medical record (EMR).ResultsOverall, participants believe their DS information is inaccurately represented in the EMR, leading to safety concerns and negatively impacting overall quality of care. Participants desired an app designed with (1) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance; (2) ease of use for a variety of technical efficacy levels; (3) access to reliable DS information, including a DS-drug interaction checker; and (4) integration with the EMR.ConclusionAn app to simplify and improve DS entry and reconciliation was of interest to patients, as long as it maintained health autonomy and privacy and possessed key valuable features

Healthcare Professionals’ Perspectives on Improving Dietary Supplement Documentation in the Electronic Medical Record: Current Challenges and Opportunities to Enhance Quality of Care and Patient Safety

Background Around half the US population uses dietary supplements (DS), and concomitant use with medications is common. Many DS include bioactive substances that can interact with medications; therefore, accurate tracking is critical for patient safety. Unfortunately, documentation of patients’ DS use is often missing or incomplete in the electronic medical record (EMR), leaving patients susceptible to potential adverse events. Novel approaches to assist healthcare professionals (HCPs) in capturing patients’ DS use are needed. Objective To assess HCPs’ perspectives on challenges and facilitators of DS documentation in the EMR and their opinions on a proposed mHealth application (app) to aid in DS capture. Methods HCPs, recruited from professional networks, largely in North Carolina, using purposive sampling, took part in semi-structured interviews. We inquired about HCPs’ experiences with DS documentation in the EMR and their opinions about our proposed mHealth app. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded. Thematic analysis included deductive codes based on the interview guide, and inductive codes that emerged during transcript review. Results HCPs (N = 30) included 60% females, mean age 46 ± 10; 70% White. Pharmacists (20%), nurses (17%), and physicians (17%) were the most represented professions. Years in practice ranged from 3–35 years. Most HCPs were concerned about DS safety and potential supplement-drug interactions, and cited several barriers to accurate EMR DS documentation including time constraints, database inconsistencies, and poor patient-HCP communication about DS. HCPs’ views on our proposed mHealth app were generally positive. They expressed that our proposed mHealth app could streamline documentation processes and enhance patient-provider communication. HCPs expressed desire for a high-quality mHealth app that includes access to evidence-based DS information, integrates with the EMR, and does not increase time burdens. Conclusion HCPs believe documentation of patients’ DS use is important but not accurately captured in the EMR. Support was expressed for our proposed barcode-scanning DS mHealth app

Concert recording 2016-11-29

[Track 1]. Concerto 2 in Eb major. Allegro / Carl Maria von Weber -- [Track 2]. Dance preludes. Allegro molto Andantino Allegro giocoso Andante Allegro molto / Witold Lutoslawski -- [Track 3]. 3 miniatures / Krzysztof Penderecki -- [Track 4]. Three pieces / Igor Stravinsky -- [Track 5]. Irish spirit / Bill Douglas -- [Track 6]. Fiesta de negritos / Lucho Bermudez -- [Track 7]. Tico tico / Zequinha de Abreu

Concert recording 2018-04-14

[Track 1]. Lonely avenue / Ray Charles -- [Track 2]. Boogie wonderland / Earth Wind and Fire -- [Track 3]. Think / Aretha Franklin -- [Track 4]. Please please please / James Brown -- [Track 5]. Your precious love / Tammi Terrell -- [Track 6]. September / Earth Wind and Fire -- [Track 7]. Baby brown eyes / Alisha Jones -- [Track 8]. Window seat / Erykah Badu -- [Track 9]. Smooth criminal / Michael Jackson -- [Track 10]. Going down / Norma Whitfield -- [Track 11]. Uptown funk / Mark Ronson Bruno Mars Philip Lawrence Jeff Bhasker Devon Gallaspy Nicholas Williams -- [Track 12]. Curley green hair / Jacob Skinner -- [Track 13]. You think of her / Shelby Sprott -- [Track 14]. Coffee song / Jordan Strickland Walter Ferguson -- [Track 15]. Leave a trace / Churches -- [Track 16]. Real one / Alisha Jones -- [Track 17]. Reality / Jordan Strickland -- [Track 18]. Still into you / Paramore -- [Track 19]. Alive / Carlie Spiers

Concert recording 2017-12-05a

[Track 1]. Lou Brouwer medley / Brouwer -- [Track 2]. One summer\u27s day / Daniel Asbun -- [Track 3]. What a friend we have in Jesus / Brad Paisley -- [Track 4]. Unity village / Pat Metheny -- [Track 5] Truth? / Asher Perkins -- [Track 6]. Invention no. 13 / J.S. Bach -- [Track 7]. Black Orpheus / Stan Getz arranged Luiz Bonfa -- [Track 8]. Five Hawaiian minutes / Shiro Mori -- [Track 9]. Birks works / Dizzy Gillespie -- [Track 10]. Perhaps / Charlie Parker -- [Track 11]. The river / King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard -- [Track 12]. Minor swing / Django Reinhardt and Stephan Grappelli -- [Track 13]. Why break mine / Legally blind -- [Track 14]. Monochrome / Carlie Spiers -- [Track 15]. Stuck in voodoo / Dawson Scantling -- [Track 16]. I\u27m saved / Shelby Sprott -- [Track 17]. Newborn / Muse -- [Track 18]. Blueberry brain / Elephantom