Reflections on a Post-COVID World: Lessons from the Surge.

This conversation was held on June 16, 2020, and the resulting transcript reflects the events that were current as of the time of the original discussion. Changes to policies, events, and data may have changed between the time of the discussion and its publication

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Towards a 21st century health care system: advancing the case for telecare

Abstract Telecare is increasingly recognized as an essential tool for a contemporary twenty-first century health care system even though the evidence is still emerging on its effectiveness. The need to find delivery models like telecare that improve both the convenience and value of care is universal, but particularly pressing for countries like the U.S. and Israel who are facing rising costs related to the needs of individuals with multiple complex conditions. This commentary provides highlights of the current state of practice and policy for telecare and the challenges that remain ahead as it is adopted into the mainstream