Mission Analysis Program for Solar Electric Propulsion (MAPSEP). Volume 1: Analytical manual

The mission analysis program for solar electric propulsion (MAPSEP) is comprised of the basic modes: TOPSEP (trajectory generation), GODSEP (linear error analysis), and SIMSEP (simulation). The program is designed to analyze any low thrust mission with respect to trajectory performance, guidance and navigation, and to provide system related requirements for the purpose of vehicle design. The MAPSEP organization is described along with all models and algorithms. Topics discussed include: trajectory and error covariance propagation methods, orbit determination processes, thrust modeling, and trajectory correction (guidance) schemes

Mission Analysis Program for Solar Electric Propulsion (MAPSEP). Volume 3: Program manual

The internal structure of MAPSEP is described. Topics discussed include: macrologic, variable definition, subroutines, and logical flow. Information is given to facilitate modifications to the models and algorithms of MAPSEP

Mission Analysis Program for Solar Electric Propulsion (MAPSEP). Volume 2: User's manual

A user's manual which describes input/output routines and recommended operating procedures relating to MAPSEP is presented. Samples runs are included

Recovery and serious mental illness: a review of current clinical and research paradigms and future directions

Introduction: Recovery from serious mental illness has historically not been considered a likely or even possible outcome. However, a range of evidence suggests the courses of SMI are heterogeneous with recovery being the most likely outcome. One barrier to studying recovery in SMI is that recovery has been operationalized in divergent and seemingly incompatible ways, as an objective outcome, versus a subjective process. Areas Covered: This paper offers a review of recovery as a subjective process and recovery as an objective outcome; contrasts methodologies utilized by each approach to assess recovery; reports rates and correlates of recovery; and explores the relationship between objective and subjective forms of recovery. Expert Commentary: There are two commonalities of approaching recovery as a subjective process and an objective outcome: (i) the need to make meaning out of one’s experiences to engage in either type of recovery and (ii) there exist many threats to engaging in meaning making that may impact the likelihood of moving toward recovery. We offer four clinical implications that stem from these two commonalities within a divided approach to the concept of recovery from SMI

Metacognition, Social Cognition, and Mentalizing In Psychosis: Are These Distinct Constructs When It Comes To Subjective Experience Or Are We Just Splitting Hairs?

Research using the integrated model of metacognition has suggested that the construct of metacognition could quantify the spectrum of activities that, if impaired, might cause many of the subjective disturbances found in psychosis. Research on social cognition and mentalizing in psychosis, however, has also pointed to underlying deficits in how persons make sense of their experience of themselves and others. To explore the question of whether metacognitive research in psychosis offers unique insight in the midst of these other two emerging fields, we have offered a review of the constructs and research from each field. Following that summary, we discuss ways in which research on metacognition may be distinguished from research on social cognition and mentalizing in three broad categories: (1) experimental procedures, (2) theoretical advances, and (3) clinical applications or indicated interventions. In terms of its research methods, we will describe how metacognition makes a unique contribution to understanding disturbances in how persons make sense of and interpret their own experiences within the flow of life. We will next discuss how metacognitive research in psychosis uniquely describes an architecture which when compromised – as often occurs in psychosis – results in the loss of persons’ sense of purpose, possibilities, place in the world and cohesiveness of self. Turning to clinical issues, we explore how metacognitive research offers an operational model of the architecture which if repaired or restored should promote the recovery of a coherent sense of self and others in psychosis. Finally, we discuss the concrete implications of this for recovery-oriented treatment for psychosis as well as the need for further research on the commonalities of these approaches

The Periotest Method: Implant-Supported Framework Precision of Fit Evaluation

: In this study, the Periotest instrument was used to measure the precision of fit between cast high noble-metal frameworks and the supporting implants in a patient-simulation model. Three framework conditions and three implant-location variables were used to evaluate the rigidity of the assembly as measured by the Periotest method. The framework variables were (1) one-piece castings (OPC); (2) sectioned-soldered inaccurate castings (SSIC); and (3) sectioned-soldered accurate castings (SSAC). The implant-location variables were right anterior (RA), center (C), and left anterior (LA). Materials and Methods : The patient simulation model used consisted of three self-tapping BrÅnemark implants in a reasonable arch curvature in bovine bone. Three working casts were fabricated from the patient-simulation model using polyvinyl siloxane and tapered impression copings. From the working casts, three sets of three frameworks were fabricated as OPCs, SSICs, and SSACs using type 3 high noble alloy. The SSICs were fabricated with a quantitative misfit of 101.6 Μm at the facial surface, between the abutment-to-gold cylinder interface at the C implant location. Periotest value (PTV) measurements were made at the midfacial surface of the frameworks directly above each abutment-to-gold cylinder interface. Three measurements were made for each test condition. The data were analyzed to compare framework condition(s) and implant location(s) using ANOVA and Fisher's Protected Least Significant Difference Comparison Test. Results : The ANOVA showed that significant differences exist between the mean PTV data for framework condition and for implant location (p < .01). Significant differences were shown between the mean PTV data for the SSAC assemblies and the OPC and SSIC assemblies. The SSICs displayed a more positive (+) mean PTV than the OPCs. The OPC assemblies had a more positive mean PTV than the SSAC assemblies. The mean PTV data for the SSAC assemblies had a significantly different PTV (p < .01) than the other two framework condition assemblies. The OPC and the SSIC assemblies had PTVs that were not significantly different. The C implant location was significantly different from the RA and the LA implant locations (p < .01). The RA and the LA implant locations were not significantly different from each other. The C implant location always demonstrated the most positive mean PTV regardless of the framework condition being tested. Conclusions : The Periotest instrument quantified differences in the precision of fit between three framework conditions. The SSAC assemblies were significantly more rigid than the OPC and SSIC assemblies. The OPC and SSIC assemblies' mean PTVs were not significantly different. The mean PTVs for the C implant location and the RA and LA implant locations were significantly different (p < .01). The mean PTVs of the RA and LA implant locations were not significantly different. The implant-location PTVs followed the same rank order for all three framework conditions. The procedures used to fabricate a more precise fit between the framework and the supporting implants is influenced by the skill of the clinician and technician.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75096/1/j.1532-849X.1996.tb00298.x.pd

A method for comparing multiple imputation techniques: A case study on the U.S. national COVID cohort collaborative.

Healthcare datasets obtained from Electronic Health Records have proven to be extremely useful for assessing associations between patients’ predictors and outcomes of interest. However, these datasets often suffer from missing values in a high proportion of cases, whose removal may introduce severe bias. Several multiple imputation algorithms have been proposed to attempt to recover the missing information under an assumed missingness mechanism. Each algorithm presents strengths and weaknesses, and there is currently no consensus on which multiple imputation algorithm works best in a given scenario. Furthermore, the selection of each algorithm’s pa- rameters and data-related modeling choices are also both crucial and challenging

Diabetes medications and associations with Covid-19 outcomes in the N3C database: A national retrospective cohort study

Background While vaccination is the most important way to combat the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there may still be a need for early outpatient treatment that is safe, inexpensive, and currently widely available in parts of the world that do not have access to the vaccine. There are in-silico, in-vitro, and in-tissue data suggesting that metformin inhibits the viral life cycle, as well as observational data suggesting that metformin use before infection with SARS-CoV2 is associated with less severe COVID-19. Previous observational analyses from single-center cohorts have been limited by size. Methods Conducted a retrospective cohort analysis in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) for associations between metformin use and COVID-19 outcomes with an active comparator design of prevalent users of therapeutically equivalent diabetes monotherapy: metformin versus dipeptidyl-peptidase-4-inhibitors (DPP4i) and sulfonylureas (SU). This took place in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) longitudinal U.S. cohort of adults with +SARS-CoV-2 result between January 1 2020 to June 1 2021. Findings included hospitalization or ventilation or mortality from COVID-19. Back pain was assessed as a negative control outcome. Results 6,626 adults with T2DM and +SARS-CoV-2 from 36 sites. Mean age was 60.7 +/- 12.0 years; 48.7% male; 56.7% White, 21.9% Black, 3.5% Asian, and 16.7% Latinx. Mean BMI was 34.1 +/- 7.8kg/m2. Overall 14.5% of the sample was hospitalized; 1.5% received mechanical ventilation; and 1.8% died. In adjusted outcomes, compared to DPP4i, metformin had non-significant associations with reduced need for ventilation (RR 0.68, 0.32–1.44), and mortality (RR 0.82, 0.41–1.64). Compared to SU, metformin was associated with a lower risk of ventilation (RR 0.5, 95% CI 0.28–0.98, p = 0.044) and mortality (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.33–0.97, p = 0.037). There was no difference in unadjusted or adjusted results of the negative control. Conclusions There were clinically significant associations between metformin use and less severe COVID-19 compared to SU, but not compared to DPP4i. New-user studies and randomized trials are needed to assess early outpatient treatment and post-exposure prophylaxis with therapeutics that are safe in adults, children, pregnancy and available worldwide

Advocacy for women migrant workers in Malaysia through an Intersectionality lens

Analysing labour migration through the lens of intersectionality provides valuable insights into the complex identities of women migrant workers and the multiple discriminations they struggle with. Intersectionality advocates argue that only through adopting such an approach can women’s multiple discriminations be challenged. Drawing on a case study of seven NGOs and one focus group of women migrant workers in a non-western context, Malaysia, we explore how advocacy organisations understand, interpret and adopt an intersectional approach in advancing the rights of its women migrant workers. We show that there are challenges, specific to the local context, which reduces the likelihood of organisations doing so. The Malaysian experience likely has significance for similar advocacy in other Asian countries