GlassNet: a multitask deep neural network for predicting many glass properties

A multitask deep neural network model was trained on more than 218k different glass compositions. This model, called GlassNet, can predict 85 different properties (such as optical, electrical, dielectric, mechanical, and thermal properties, as well as density, viscosity/relaxation, crystallization, surface tension, and liquidus temperature) of glasses and glass-forming liquids of different chemistries (such as oxides, chalcogenides, halides, and others). The model and the data used to train it are available in the GlassPy Python module as free and open source software for the community to use and build upon. As a proof of concept, GlassNet was used with the MYEGA viscosity equation to predict the temperature dependence of viscosity and outperformed another general purpose viscosity model available in the literature (ViscNet) on unseen data. An explainable AI algorithm (SHAP) was used to extract knowledge correlating the input (physicochemical information) and output (glass properties) of the model, providing valuable insights for glass manufacturing and design. It is hoped that GlassNet, with its free and open source nature, can be used to enable faster and better computer-aided design of new technological glasses.Comment: Supplementary material is include

Referral tickets to secondary healthcare : is communication effective?

Communication between primary and secondary health care relies primarily on referral tickets. They determine how patients’ details are conveyed and hence the quality of care. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of referral tickets at the Surgical Outpatients at Mater Dei Hospital in Malta and to develop recommendations for improvement. Consecutive referral tickets between the 7th February and 4th March 2015 were prospectively included in the study and analysed for completeness. The data was entered into a proforma which was revised after the first ten entries. A total of 351 referral tickets were included in the study. Names and surnames were present in all reports and identification number in 99.42% of cases. 44.16% of referrals were inappropriate according to clinical details. The majority of the forms had a history of presenting complaint (98.29%) while the past history, drug history / allergies and examination findings were available in 69.23%, 67.81% and 76.64% respectively. The source of referral was not clear in 56.13%. Only 69.23% of all referral tickets were completely legible while 30.77% were partly legible. This study shows the need for an overhaul in the referral system. Recommendations include the use of electronic referrals and the introduction of feedback letters by hospital specialists.peer-reviewe

Goal Effectiveness in Achieving Educational Outcomes: Experimental Evidence from 9th Graders in Medellin, Colombia

Does goal setting among low-income ninth graders leads to higher average goal achievements of educational outcomes? This question is explored by a field experiment motivated by the acknowledged California-based Family Independence Initiative (FII), to analyze the effectiveness of individual goal setting, incentives and self-help groups on the achievement of educational goals. By randomizing treatments and control with the cooperation of the Secretary of Education in Medellin, different classrooms were assigned to five different experimental groups that met systematically for five months. The results show that goal setting is a cost-effective method to help low-income students achieve educational outcomes. Setting a goal significantly increases a subject’s probability of achieving the task set out in the goal. Combining this with incentives and self-help groups is the most effective approach, with an increase in the likelihood of achieving an educational goal by 41% compared to setting a goal alone. Increased goal achievement leads to a higher academic performance through a higher average grade

Lateral habenula regulates temporal pattern organization of rat exploratory behavior and acute nicotine-induced anxiety in hole board

Nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs of abuse. Tobacco smoking is a major cause of many health problems worldwide, and is the first preventable cause of death. Several findings show that nicotine exerts significant aversive as well as the well-known rewarding motivational effects. Less certain is the anatomical substrate that mediates or enables nicotine aversion. Here we have focused on nicotine-induced anxiety-like behavior in unlesioned and lesioned lateral habenula (LHb) rats. Firstly, we showed that acute nicotine induces anxiogenic effects in rats at the doses investigated (0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/kg, i.p.) as measured by the hole-board apparatus, and manifested in behaviors such as decreased rearing and head-dipping and increased grooming. No changes in locomotor behavior were observed at any of the nicotine doses given. T-pattern analysis of the behavioral outcomes revealed a drastic reduction and disruption of complex behavioral patterns induced by all three nicotine doses, with the maximum effect for 1 mg/kg. Lesion of the LHb induced a significant anxiogenic effect, reduced the mean occurrences of T-patterns detected, and strikingly reverted the nicotine-induced anxiety to an anxiolytic effect. We suggest that LHb is critically involved in emotional behavior states and in nicotine-induced anxiety, most likely through modulating serotonergic/dopaminergic nuclei.peer-reviewe

Influence of cold rolling on in vitro cytotoxicity and electrochemical behaviour of an Fe-Mn-C biodegradable alloy in physiological solutions

The properties of cold-worked Fe-13Mn-1.2C steel, as candidate material for scaffolding and stenting applications, have been investigated. The study of the electrochemical corrosion susceptibility of Fe-13Mn-1.2C alloy in protein bearing and non-protein bearing physiological solutions, revealed that there were no differences between the as-received, 10% and 20% cold worked Fe-13Mn-1.2C samples. Although protein addition reduces the overall corrosion rate in static immersion degradation tests for both the cold worked and non-cold worked alloys, there were no discernible differences in the corrosion rates of samples with different percentages of cold work deformations. Similarly, potentiodynamic testing showed no differences between the corrosion rates in solutions with and without protein addition. Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) results—post static immersion—showed similar values of Fe and Mn concentrations in the electrolyte for all the investigated conditions. Cold working was found to increase Grain Average Misorientation (GAM) and deformation twins within the steel, and, consequently, this led to an increase in the elastic modulus. Hence, cold-rolling may be used to achieve smaller sections (volumes) in order to support the equivalent load of the non-cold worked counterpart, giving a larger surface area to the volume ratio, thereby increasing the corrosion rate, and, in turn, rendering the degradation process shorter. When considering cytocompatibility in vitro, the collected supernatant particulate free Fe-13Mn-1.2C steel electrolytes were seen to be equally cytocompatible with no differences being observed between the different percentage cold work conditions. The presence of solid 80 μm size particles in the seeded elutions were seen to change the results and render the Fe-13Mn-1.2C steel non-cytocompatible.peer-reviewe