Characteristics of Academic Anesthesiologist’s Elected to an Institutional Academy of Master Educators

Background. The educational experience and success of academic anesthesiologists may be elusive to quantify. We wished to examine the characteristics of a cohort of anesthesiology faculty who were inducted into a medical school master educator academy over the last decade. Methods. After IRB approval with waiver of consent, all 10 anesthesiology faculty inductees into the academy supplied relevant data for their accomplishments at the time of induction in multiple educational domains, including teaching and assessment, mentoring and advising, evidence of scholarship and production of enduring materials, and educational leadership. These were deidentified and analyzed. Results. The cohort had evidence of a consistent, visible footprint in the department, medical school, affiliated associations and state and national professional organizations. These included educational leadership positions, numerous teaching recognition and awards, substantial committee service, active mentorship exceeding usual faculty effort and robust portfolios of publications and presentations related to teaching and/or incorporating and supporting mentees as co-authors. Neither time in rank or academic progress was a limitation with several achieving induction in \u3c 5 years. Conclusions. It is possible for full-time anesthesiology clinicians to achieve success in educational recognition within the medical school body. This summary of characteristics of one department’s cohort may be useful to others seeking such recognition and serve. Based on the aggregate findings, we make recommendations for faculty wishing to pursue excellence in education

Functional analysis of a novel de novo variant in PPP5C associated with microcephaly, seizures, and developmental delay

We describe a proband evaluated through the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) who presented with microcephaly, developmental delay, and refractory epilepsy with a de novo p.Ala47Thr missense variant in the protein phosphatase gene, PPP5C. This gene has not previously been associated with a Mendelian disease, and based on the population database, gnomAD, the gene has a low tolerance for loss-of-function variants (pLI = 1, o/e = 0.07). We functionally evaluated the PPP5C variant in C. elegans by knocking the variant into the orthologous gene, pph-5, at the corresponding residue, Ala48Thr. We employed assays in three different biological processes where pph-5 was known to function through opposing the activity of genes, mec-15 and sep-1. We demonstrated that, in contrast to control animals, the pph-5 Ala48Thr variant suppresses the neurite growth phenotype and the GABA signaling defects of mec-15 mutants, and the embryonic lethality of sep-1 mutants. The Ala48Thr variant did not display dominance and behaved similarly to the reference pph-5 null, indicating that the variant is likely a strong hypomorph or complete loss-of-function. We conclude that pph-5 Ala48Thr is damaging in C. elegans. By extension in the proband, PPP5C p.Ala47Thr is likely damaging, the de novo dominant presentation is consistent with haplo-insufficiency, and the PPP5C variant is likely responsible for one or more of the proband\u27s phenotypes

Search for the disappearance of muon antineutrinos in the NuMI neutrino beam

We report constraints on antineutrino oscillation parameters that were obtained by using the two MINOS detectors to measure the 7% muon antineutrino component of the NuMI neutrino beam. In the Far Detector, we select 130 events in the charged-current muon antineutrino sample, compared to a prediction of 136.4 ± 11.7(stat)^(+10.2)_(-8.9)(syst) events under the assumption │Δm^2│ = 2.32 X 10^(-3) eV^2, sin^2(2θ) = 1.0

Measurement of the Neutrino Mass Splitting and Flavor Mixing by MINOS

Measurements of neutrino oscillations using the disappearance of muon neutrinos from the Fermilab NuMI neutrino beam as observed by the two MINOS detectors are reported. New analysis methods have been applied to an enlarged data sample from an exposure of 7.25×10^(20) protons on target. A fit to neutrino oscillations yields values of |Δm^2|=(2.32_(-0.08)^(+0.12))×10^(-3)  eV^2 for the atmospheric mass splitting and sin^2(2θ)>0.90 (90% C.L.) for the mixing angle. Pure neutrino decay and quantum decoherence hypotheses are excluded at 7 and 9 standard deviations, respectively

First Direct Observation of Muon Antineutrino Disappearance

This Letter reports the first direct observation of muon antineutrino disappearance. The MINOS experiment has taken data with an accelerator beam optimized for ν̅ _μ production, accumulating an exposure of 1.71×10^(20) protons on target. In the Far Detector, 97 charged current ν̅ _μ events are observed. The no-oscillation hypothesis predicts 156 events and is excluded at 6.3σ. The best fit to oscillation yields |Δm̅ 2|= [3.36=_(-0.40)^(+0.46)(stat)±0.06(syst)]x10^(-3)eV^2,sin^2(2θ̅)=0.86 _(-0.12)^(+0.11)(stat)±0.01(syst). The MINOS ν̅ _μ and ν̅ _μ measurements are consistent at the 2.0% confidence level, assuming identical underlying oscillation parameters

New constraints on muon-neutrino to electron-neutrino transitions in MINOS

This paper reports results from a search for ν_μ → ν_e transitions by the MINOS experiment based on a 7×10^(20) protons-on-target exposure. Our observation of 54 candidate ν_e events in the far detector with a background of 49.1±7.0(stat)±2.7(syst) events predicted by the measurements in the near detector requires 2sin^2(2θ_(13))sin^2θ_(23)<0.12(0.20) at the 90% C.L. for the normal (inverted) mass hierarchy at δ_(CP)=0. The experiment sets the tightest limits to date on the value of θ_(13) for nearly all values of δ_(CP) for the normal neutrino mass hierarchy and maximal sin^2(2θ_(23))

Improved Search for Muon-Neutrino to Electron-Neutrino Oscillations in MINOS

We report the results of a search for ν_e appearance in a ν_μ beam in the MINOS long-baseline neutrino experiment. With an improved analysis and an increased exposure of 8.2×10^(20) protons on the NuMI target at Fermilab, we find 2sin^2(θ_(23))sin^2(2θ_(13))<0.12(0.20) at 90% confidence level for δ=0 and the normal (inverted) neutrino mass hierarchy, with a best-fit of 2sin^2(θ_(23))sin^2(2θ_(13))=0.041^(+0.047)_(-0.031)(0.079^(+0.071)_(-0.053). The θ_(13)= 0 hypothesis is disfavored by the MINOS data at the 89% confidence level

Active to Sterile Neutrino Mixing Limits from Neutral-Current Interactions in MINOS

Results are reported from a search for active to sterile neutrino oscillations in the MINOS long-baseline experiment, based on the observation of neutral-current neutrino interactions, from an exposure to the NuMI neutrino beam of 7.07×10^(20) protons on target. A total of 802 neutral-current event candidates is observed in the Far Detector, compared to an expected number of 754±28(stat)±37(syst) for oscillations among three active flavors. The fraction f_s of disappearing ν_μ that may transition to ν_s is found to be less than 22% at the 90% C.L

Search for sterile neutrino mixing in the MINOS long-baseline experiment

A search for depletion of the combined flux of active neutrino species over a 735 km baseline is reported using neutral-current interaction data recorded by the MINOS detectors in the NuMI neutrino beam. Such a depletion is not expected according to conventional interpretations of neutrino oscillation data involving the three known neutrino flavors. A depletion would be a signature of oscillations or decay to postulated noninteracting sterile neutrinos, scenarios not ruled out by existing data. From an exposure of 3.18×10^(20) protons on target in which neutrinos of energies between ∼500  MeV and 120 GeV are produced predominantly as ν_μ, the visible energy spectrum of candidate neutral-current reactions in the MINOS far detector is reconstructed. Comparison of this spectrum to that inferred from a similarly selected near-detector sample shows that of the portion of the ν_μ flux observed to disappear in charged-current interaction data, the fraction that could be converting to a sterile state is less than 52% at 90% confidence level (C.L.). The hypothesis that active neutrinos mix with a single sterile neutrino via oscillations is tested by fitting the data to various models. In the particular four-neutrino models considered, the mixing angles θ_(24) and θ_(34) are constrained to be less than 11° and 56° at 90% C.L., respectively. The possibility that active neutrinos may decay to sterile neutrinos is also investigated. Pure neutrino decay without oscillations is ruled out at 5.4 standard deviations. For the scenario in which active neutrinos decay into sterile states concurrently with neutrino oscillations, a lower limit is established for the neutrino decay lifetime τ_3/m_3>2.1×10^(-12) s/eV at 90% C.L

Measurement of the underground atmospheric muon charge ratio using the MINOS Near Detector

The magnetized MINOS Near Detector, at a depth of 225 mwe, is used to measure the atmospheric muon charge ratio. The ratio of observed positive to negative atmospheric muon rates, using 301 days of data, is measured to be 1.266±0.001(stat)_(-0.014)^(+0.015)(syst). This measurement is consistent with previous results from other shallow underground detectors and is 0.108±0.019(stat+syst) lower than the measurement at the functionally identical MINOS Far Detector at a depth of 2070 mwe. This increase in charge ratio as a function of depth is consistent with an increase in the fraction of muons arising from kaon decay for increasing muon surface energie