A Conversation with Seymour Geisser

Seymour Geisser received his bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the City College of New York in 1950, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Mathematical Statistics at the University of North Carolina in 1952 and 1955, respectively. He then held positions at the National Bureau of Standards and the National Institute of Mental Health until 1961. From 1961 until 1965, he was Chief of the Biometry Section at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, and also held the position of Professorial Lecturer at the George Washington University from 1960 to 1965. From 1965 to 1970, he was the founding Chair of the Department of Statistics at the State University of New York, Buffalo, and in 1971, he became the founding Director of the School of Statistics at the University of Minnesota, remaining in that position until 2001. He held visiting professorships at Iowa State University, 1960; University of Wisconsin, 1964; University of Tel-Aviv (Israel), 1971; University of Waterloo (Canada), 1972; Stanford University, 1976, 1977, 1988; Carnegie Mellon University, 1976; University of the Orange Free State (South Africa), 1978, 1993; Harvard University, 1981; University of Chicago, 1985; University of Warwick (England), 1986; University of Modena (Italy), 1996; and National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan), 1998. He was the Lady Davis Visiting Professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1991, 1994, 1999, and the Schor Scholar, Merck Research Laboratories, 2002-2003. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the American Statistical Association.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/088342307000000131 the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Transport systems research vehicle color display system operations manual

A recent upgrade of the Transport Systems Research Vehicle operated by the Advanced Transport Operating Systems Program Office at the NASA Langley Research Center has resulted in an all-glass panel in the research flight deck. Eight ARINC-D size CRT color displays make up the panel. A major goal of the display upgrade effort was ease of operation and maintenance of the hardware while maintaining versatility needed for flight research. Software is the key to this required versatility and will be the area demanding the most detailed technical design expertise. This document is is intended to serve as a single source of quick reference information needed for routine operation and system level maintenance. Detailed maintenance and modification of the display system will require specific design documentation and must be accomplished by individuals with specialized knowledge and experience

Dalbavancin in the Community Emergency Department

Introduction Dalbavancin is an antibiotic within the class of medications known as lipoglycopeptides. This medication is given to patients presenting to the hospital with acute skin and skin-structure infections (ABSSSI). This is a unique medication because it is given as a one-time dose in the outpatient setting and it could prevent patients from requiring admission to the hospital. Methods The emergency department (ED) at Good Samaritan community hospital performed a trial period with dalbavancin and data was collected from November 2018 to March 2020. Retrospective chart review was performed to obtain patient data and outcomes. Patients would be contacted by a clinical pharmacist within 72 hours of treatment. Results Ten patients received dalbavancin in the ED during the trial period. Two patients were reached on follow-up and noted improvement in the initial lesion. Two patients returned to the ED within 30 days, and one of these patients was admitted. Discussion Dalbavancin provides another therapy option to the treatment of ABSSSIs. The one-time dosing is advantageous for outpatient treatment of patients presenting with ABSSSIs. This case series suggests dalbavancin can have positive effects when implemented in community hospital settings

Price Determinants of Ranch Horses Sold at Auction in Texas

A hedonic pricing model was used to determine parameters affecting ranch horse prices at two Texas auctions. Color, sex, age-sex interaction, sale order, and consigning ranch were all found to significantly affect price. Sire analysis found that progeny performance records did not significantly affect price.auction, hedonic model, ranch horses, Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries, C01, Q10,

Thermal Analysis of Low Layer Density Multilayer Insulation Test Results

Investigation of the thermal performance of low layer density multilayer insulations is important for designing long-duration space exploration missions involving the storage of cryogenic propellants. Theoretical calculations show an analytical optimal layer density, as widely reported in the literature. However, the appropriate test data by which to evaluate these calculations have been only recently obtained. As part of a recent research project, NASA procured several multilayer insulation test coupons for calorimeter testing. These coupons were configured to allow for the layer density to be varied from 0.5 to 2.6 layer/mm. The coupon testing was completed using the cylindrical Cryostat-l00 apparatus by the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center. The results show the properties of the insulation as a function of layer density for multiple points. Overlaying these new results with data from the literature reveals a minimum layer density; however, the value is higher than predicted. Additionally, the data show that the transition region between high vacuum and no vacuum is dependent on the spacing of the reflective layers. Historically this spacing has not been taken into account as thermal performance was calculated as a function of pressure and temperature only; however the recent testing shows that the data is dependent on the Knudsen number which takes into account pressure, temperature, and layer spacing. These results aid in the understanding of the performance parameters of MLI and help to complete the body of literature on the topic

Sorption Properties of Aerogel in Liquid Nitrogen

Aerogel products are now available as insulation materials of the future. The Cryogenics Test Laboratory at the NASA Kennedy Space Center is developing aerogel-based thermal insulation systems for space launch applications. Aerogel beads (Cabot Nanogel ) and aerogel blankets (Aspen Aerogels Spaceloft ) have outstanding ambient pressure thermal performance that makes them useful for applications where sealing is not possible. Aerogel beads are open-celled silicone dioxide and have tiny pores that run throughout the body of the bead. It has also recently been discovered that aerogel beads can be used as a filtering device for aqueous compounds at room temperature. With their hydrophobic covering, the beads absorb any non-polar substance and they can be chemically altered to absorb hot gases. The combination of the absorption and cryogenic insulating properties of aerogel beads have never been studied together. For future cryogenic insulation applications, it is crucial to know how the beads react while immersed in cryogenic liquids, most notably liquid nitrogen. Aerogel beads in loose-fill situation and aerogel blankets with composite fiber structure have been tested for absorption properties. Depending on the type of aerogel used and the preparation, preliminary results show the material can absorb up to seven times its own weight of liquid nitrogen, corresponding to a volumetric ratio of 0.70 (unit volume nitrogen per unit volume aerogel). These tests allow for an estimate on how much insulation is needed in certain situations. The theory behind the different processes of sorption is necessary for a better understanding of the preparation of the beads before they are used in an insulation system

Accepting Mortality: Using Dance/Movement Therapy in Nursing Home Care

As the elderly population continues to grow, there is new importance put on changing perceptions of the aging process. Long-term care in the form of nursing homes are seeing a shift in life expectancy as elderly individuals are living well into their eighties and nighties. This brings to light a lot of difficulties for the aging population who are experiencing major physical and cognitive declines. This also shows gaps in nursing home care when looking at the needs of elderly individuals who are facing their mortality. The medicalization of long-term care has put an emphasis on prolonging life, but is not working to help the entire individual, both body and mind. Examining Erikson’s theory provides psychosocial context for the need of holistic care. Self-management practices take Erikson’s work and apply the psychosocial stages to realistic goals for today’s elderly. The challenge is to find an approach that meets the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive needs of this elderly population. Dance/movement therapy (DMT) works as an age-specific discipline that accomplishes the numerous goals the aging elderly have. DMT works to repair the connection of mind and body to help this population find satisfaction in their final days

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV): Immunization strategies, virulence of various isolates, and efficacy of DNA vaccination

Many different strategies have been pursued by researchers in the quest for control and ultimately the eradication of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). Some of the strategies have lead to the licensure of commercial products while others have provided insight into the biology of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Many of the strategies examined here have contributed to the overall understanding of the host\u27s immune response to PRRSV. Some strategies have provided unconventional or in some cases controversial methods of protecting swine from PRRS. The main area of interest in this review will be the clinical protection of swine from virulent PRRSV challenge. Gross lung pathology and viremia along with virus neutralizing antibody titers will serve as the primary parameters for protection in the respiratory challenge model, whereas the number of live born pigs and the number of weaned pigs along with piglet viremia will serve as the primary parameters for protection in the reproductive challenge model. Despite the incomplete reporting of these primary parameters, some publications will be discussed that have focused on protection against PRRSV by either evaluating the immune responses in non-target animals or studies conducted in swine, some without a virulent challenge. It is important to note that for the purposes of this thesis a homologous PRRSV challenge will be defined as a challenge with the same viral isolate from which the vaccine was derived, and a heterologous PRRSV challenge will be defined as a challenge with a PRRSV isolate that is not the isolate from which the vaccine was derived. After evaluating the strategies based on these parameters the only immunization strategy that has provided efficacy against both a homologous and a heterologous challenge is the modified live vaccine. Although much research has been performed on PRRSV, little quantitative information is available on the relationships between virulence and in vivo virus replication, among isolates recovered at different times in the history of PRRS, or the relative levels of virulence associated with individual virus isolates. In this study the in vivo growth properties of virulent field isolates and attenuated PRRSV isolates were compared. The results show that virulent PRRSV isolates exhibit longer and more elevated levels of viremia, induce faster and more intense humoral immune responses, negatively affect body weight gain, induce higher death rates, and cause more severe clinical signs in a respiratory disease model. We found that the more virulent field isolates grew to significantly higher levels in pigs than did cell-culture adapted isolates. We concluded that the pathogenic consequences and immunological responses of pigs to PRRSV are directly related to viral load in acute infection as reflected in viral titers in blood. PRRSV causes an economically important swine disease and is an elusive target for vaccine development. Two prototype PRRSV DNA vaccines were investigated; with expression either driven by the muscle-specific synthetic SPc5-12 promoter, or by the ubiquitous CMV promoter constitutively. Ingelvacy PRRS MLV, a commercially available modified-live virus (MLV) vaccine, served as a positive vaccination control. Both DNA vaccines significantly reduced the level of lung lesions after virulent PRRSV challenge when each group was compared to the challenge control group. The MLV provided the best level of efficacy and significantly reduced the lung lesions as compared to all other challenged groups. The level of efficacy provided by the SELI method of DNA vaccination validates this vaccination concept and allows for more focused efforts on determining the most relevant immunogenic regions of the PRRSV

Recent Ground Hold and Rapid Depressurization Testing of Multilayer Systems

In the development of flight insulation systems for large cryogenic orbital storage (spray on foam and multilayer insulation), testing need include all environments that are experienced during flight. While large efforts have been expended on studying, bounding, and modeling the orbital performance of the insulation systems, little effort has been expended on the ground hold and ascent phases of a mission. Historical cryogenic in-space systems that have flown have been able to ignore these phases of flight due to the insulation system being within a vacuum jacket. In the development phase of the Nuclear Mars Vehicle and the Shuttle Nuclear Vehicle, several insulation systems were evaluated for the full mission cycle. Since that time there had been minimal work on these phases of flight until the Constellation program began investigating cryogenic service modules and long duration upper stages. With the inception of the Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer Technology Demonstration Mission, a specific need was seen for the data and as such, several tests were added to the Cryogenic Boil-off Reduction System liquid hydrogen test matrix to provide more data on a insulation system. Testing was attempted with both gaseous nitrogen (GN2) and gaseous helium (GHe) backfills. The initial tests with nitrogen backfill were not successfully completed due to nitrogen liquefaction and solidification preventing the rapid pumpdown of the vacuum chamber. Subsequent helium backfill tests were successful and showed minimal degradation. The results are compared to the historical data