Promoting information literacy through a student video contest

This presentation discusses the concept of user-generated content and fansourcing/crowdsourcing, using a video contest, to encourage student participation in the area of information literacy and library instruction. The activity can be a strategy to position the library within campus life and offers an opportunity for constructivist learning

Method for Rapid Interplanetary Trajectory Analysis using ΔV Maps with Flyby Options

This paper develops a convenient tool which is capable of calculating ballistic interplanetary trajectories with planetary flyby options to create exhaustive V contour plots for both direct trajectories without flybys and flyby trajectories in a single chart. The contours of V for a range of departure dates (x-axis) and times of flight (y-axis) serve as a “visual calendar” of launch windows, which are useful for the creation of a long-term transportation schedule for mission planning purposes. For planetary flybys, a simple powered flyby manoeuvre with a reasonably small velocity impulse at periapsis is allowed to expand the flyby mission windows. The procedure of creating a V contour plot for direct trajectories is a straightforward full- factorial computation with two input variables of departure and arrival dates solving Lambert's problem for each combination. For flyby trajectories, a “pseudo full-factorial” computation is conducted by decomposing the problem into two separate full- factorial computations. Mars missions including Venus flyby opportunities are used to illustrate the application of this model for the 2020-2040 time frame. The “competitiveness” of launch windows is defined and determined for each launch opportunity

A Generalized Multi-Commodity Network Flow Model for the Earth-Moon-Mars Logistics System

Simple logistics strategies such as "carry-along" and Earth-based "resupply" were sufficient for past human space programs. Next-generation space logistics paradigms are expected to be more complex, involving multiple exploration destinations and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Optional ISRU brings additional complexity to the interplanetary supply chain network design problem. This paper presents an interdependent network flow modeling method for determining optimal logistics strategies for space exploration and its application to the human exploration of Mars. It is found that a strategy utilizing lunar resources in the cislunar network may improve overall launch mass to low Earth orbit for recurring missions to Mars compared to NASA’s Mars Design Reference Architecture 5.0, even when including the mass of the ISRU infrastructures that need to be pre-deployed. Other findings suggest that chemical propulsion using LOX/LH[subscript 2], lunar ISRU water production, and the use of aerocapture significantly contribute to reducing launch mass from Earth. A sensitivity analysis of ISRU reveals that under the given assumptions, local lunar resources become attractive at productivity levels above 1.8 kg/year/kg in the context of future human exploration of Mars.Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.). Strategic University Research Partnerships Progra

Accelerating Deep Learning Model Inference on Arm CPUs with Ultra-Low Bit Quantization and Runtime

Deep Learning has been one of the most disruptive technological advancements in recent times. The high performance of deep learning models comes at the expense of high computational, storage and power requirements. Sensing the immediate need for accelerating and compressing these models to improve on-device performance, we introduce Deeplite Neutrino for production-ready optimization of the models and Deeplite Runtime for deployment of ultra-low bit quantized models on Arm-based platforms. We implement low-level quantization kernels for Armv7 and Armv8 architectures enabling deployment on the vast array of 32-bit and 64-bit Arm-based devices. With efficient implementations using vectorization, parallelization, and tiling, we realize speedups of up to 2x and 2.2x compared to TensorFlow Lite with XNNPACK backend on classification and detection models, respectively. We also achieve significant speedups of up to 5x and 3.2x compared to ONNX Runtime for classification and detection models, respectively

The QSO HE0450-2958: Scantily dressed or heavily robed? A normal quasar as part of an unusual ULIRG

(Abridged) The luminous z=0.286 quasar HE0450-2958 is interacting with a companion galaxy at 6.5 kpc distance and the whole system is a ULIRG. A so far undetected host galaxy triggered the hypothesis of a mostly "naked" black hole (BH) ejected from the companion by three-body interaction. We present new HST/NICMOS 1.6micron imaging data at 0.1" resolution and VLT/VISIR 11.3micron images at 0.35" resolution that for the first time resolve the system in the near- and mid-infrared. We combine these with existing optical HST and CO maps. (i) At 1.6micron we find an extension N-E of the quasar nucleus that is likely a part of the host galaxy, though not its main body. If true, this places HE0450-2958 directly onto the M_BH-M_bulge-relation for nearby galaxies. (ii) HE0450-2958 is consistent with lying at the high-luminosity end of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies, and more exotic explanations like a "naked quasar" are unlikely. (iii) All 11.3micron radiation in the system is emitted by the quasar nucleus, which is radiating at super-Eddington rate, L/L_Edd=6.2+3.8-1.8, or 12 M_sun/yr. (iv) The companion galaxy is covered in optically thick dust and is not a collisional ring galaxy. It emits in the far infrared at ULIRG strength, powered by Arp220-like star formation (strong starburst-like). An M82-like SED is ruled out. (v) With its black hole accretion rate HE0450-2958 produces not enough new stars to maintain its position on the M_BH-M_bulge-relation, and star formation and black hole accretion are spatially disjoint; the bulge has to grow by redistribution of preexisting stars. (vi) Systems similar to HE0450-2958 with spatially disjoint ULIRG-strength star formation and quasar activity are rare. At z<0.43 we only find <4% (3/77) candidates for a similar configuration.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Performance of the Universal Vital Assessment (UVA) Mortality Risk Score in Hospitalized Adults with Infection in Rwanda: A Retrospective External Validation Study

BACKGROUND: We previously derived a Universal Vital Assessment (UVA) score to better risk-stratify hospitalized patients in sub-Saharan Africa, including those with infection. Here, we aimed to externally validate the performance of the UVA score using previously collected data from patients hospitalized with acute infection in Rwanda. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of data collected from adults ≥18 years with acute infection admitted to Gitwe District Hospital in Rwanda from 2016 until 2017. We calculated the UVA score from the time of admission and at 72 hours after admission. We also calculated quick sepsis-related organ failure assessment (qSOFA) and modified early warning scores (MEWS). We calculated amalgamated qSOFA scores by inserting UVA cut-offs into the qSOFA score, and modified UVA scores by removing the HIV criterion. The performance of each score determined by the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) was the primary outcome measure. RESULTS: We included 573 hospitalized adult patients with acute infection of whom 40 (7%) died in-hospital. The admission AUCs (95% confidence interval [CI]) for the prediction of mortality by the scores were: UVA, 0.77 (0.68-0.85); modified UVA, 0.77 (0.68-0.85); qSOFA, 0.66 (0.56-0.75), amalgamated qSOFA, 0.71 (0.61-0.80); and MEWS, 0.74 (0.64, 0.83). The positive predictive values (95% CI) of the scores at commonly used cut-offs were: UVA \u3e4, 0.35 (0.15-0.59); modified UVA \u3e4, 0.35 (0.15-0.59); qSOFA \u3e1, 0.14 (0.07-0.24); amalgamated qSOFA \u3e1, 0.44 (0.20-0.70); and MEWS \u3e5, 0.14 (0.08-0.22). The 72 hour (N = 236) AUC (95% CI) for the prediction of mortality by UVA was 0.59 (0.43-0.74). The Chi-Square test for linear trend did not identify an association between mortality and delta UVA score at 72 hours (p = 0.82). CONCLUSIONS: The admission UVA score and amalgamated qSOFA score had good predictive ability for mortality in adult patients admitted to hospital with acute infection in Rwanda. The UVA score could be used to assist with triage decisions and clinical interventions, for baseline risk stratification in clinical studies, and in a clinical definition of sepsis in Africa

Ninety years of change, from commercial extinction to recovery, range expansion and decline for Antarctic fur seals at South Georgia

With environmental change, understanding how species recover from overharvesting and maintain viable populations is central to ecosystem restoration. Here, we reconstruct 90 years of recovery trajectory of the Antarctic fur seal at South Georgia (S.W. Atlantic), a key indicator species in the krill-based food webs of the Southern Ocean. After being harvested to commercial extinction by 1907, this population rebounded and now constitutes the most abundant otariid in the World. However, its status remains uncertain due to insufficient and conflicting data, and anthropogenic pressures affecting Antarctic krill, an essential staple for millions of fur seals and other predators. Using integrated population models, we estimated simultaneously the long-term abundance for Bird Island, northwest South Georgia, epicentre of recovery of the species after sealing, and population adjustments for survey counts with spatiotemporal applicability. Applied to the latest comprehensive survey data, we estimated the population at South Georgia in 2007–2009 as 3,510,283 fur seals [95% CI: 3,140,548–3,919,604] (ca. 98% of global population), after 40 years of maximum growth and range expansion owing to an abundant krill supply. At Bird Island, after 50 years of exponential growth followed by 25 years of slow stable growth, the population collapsed in 2009 and has thereafter declined by −7.2% [−5.2, −9.1] per annum, to levels of the 1970s. For the instrumental record, this trajectory correlates with a time-varying relationship between coupled climate and sea surface temperature cycles associated with low regional krill availability, although the effects of increasing krill extraction by commercial fishing and natural competitors remain uncertain. Since 2015, fur seal longevity and recruitment have dropped, sexual maturation has retarded, and population growth is expected to remain mostly negative and highly variable. Our analysis documents the rise and fall of a key Southern Ocean predator over a century of profound environmental and ecosystem change