Review of Arguing using critical thinking

Review of Arguing using critical thinking (2020) by Jim Marteney found at https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Communication/Argument_and_Debate/Arguing_Using_Critical_Thinking_(Marteney)

The JPL telerobotic Manipulator Control and Mechanization (MCM) subsystem

The Manipulator Control and Mechanization (MCM) subsystem of the telerobot system provides the real-time control of the robot manipulators in autonomous and teleoperated modes and real time input/output for a variety of sensors and actuators. Substantial hardware and software are included in this subsystem which interfaces in the hierarchy of the telerobot system with the other subsystems. The other subsystems are: run time control, task planning and reasoning, sensing and perception, and operator control subsystem. The architecture of the MCM subsystem, its capabilities, and details of various hardware and software elements are described. Important improvements in the MCM subsystem over the first version are: dual arm coordinated trajectory generation and control, addition of integrated teleoperation, shared control capability, replacement of the ultimate controllers with motor controllers, and substantial increase in real time processing capability

Forever yuck: Oculomotor avoidance of disgusting stimuli resists habituation.

Disgust is an adaptation forged under the selective pressure of pathogens. Yet disgust may cause problems in contemporary societies because of its propensity for "false positives" and resistance to corrective information. Here, we investigate whether disgust, as revealed by oculomotor avoidance, might be reduced through the noncognitive process of habituation. In each of three experiments, we repeatedly exposed participants to the same pair of images, one disgusting and one neutral, and recorded gaze. Experiment 1 (N = 104) found no decline in oculomotor avoidance of the disgusting image after 24 prolonged exposures. Experiment 2 (N = 99) replicated this effect and demonstrated its uniqueness to disgust. In Experiment 3 (N = 93), we provided a gaze-contingent reward to ensure perceptual contact with the disgusting image. Participants looked almost exclusively at the disgusting image for 5 min but resumed baseline levels of oculomotor avoidance once the reward ceased. These findings underscore the challenge of reducing disgust. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Nonvolatile memory with molecule-engineered tunneling barriers

We report a novel field-sensitive tunneling barrier by embedding C60 in SiO2 for nonvolatile memory applications. C60 is a better choice than ultra-small nanocrystals due to its monodispersion. Moreover, C60 provides accessible energy levels to prompt resonant tunneling through SiO2 at high fields. However, this process is quenched at low fields due to HOMO-LUMO gap and large charging energy of C60. Furthermore, we demonstrate an improvement of more than an order of magnitude in retention to program/erase time ratio for a metal nanocrystal memory. This shows promise of engineering tunnel dielectrics by integrating molecules in the future hybrid molecular-silicon electronics.Comment: to appear in Applied Physics Letter

Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty Is Associated with a Lower Rate of Periprosthetic Joint Infection Compared to Total Knee Arthroplasty

Background: Several studies have reported lower perioperative complications with unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) than with total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, there is a paucity of data analyzing the incidence of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in similar patients undergoing UKA and TKA. As such, we sought to analyze the incidence of UKA and TKA PJI in a large matched population. Material and Methods: The Mariner data set of the PearlDiver database was queried for all patients undergoing UKA or TKA during 2010-2017. Included patients were required to have at least 2 years of database inclusion after surgery. Patients were then matched at a 1:3 ratio (UKA:TKA) on age, gender, Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, tobacco use, and obesity. Rates of PJI requiring operative intervention within 90 days and 1 year were calculated. Results: In total, 5636 patients having undergone UKA were matched to 16,890 patients having undergone TKA. Fifteen (0.27%) after UKA and 79 (0.47%) after TKA had a PJI surgically managed within 90 days (risk ratio = 0.57, 95% confidence interval = 0.33-0.99, P = .04). Thirty (0.53%) after UKA and 136 (0.81%) after TKA had a PJI surgically managed within 1 year (risk ratio = 0.66, 95% confidence interval = 0.45-0.98, P = .04). Conclusions: In a large group of rigorously matched patients, UKA was associated with a significantly lower rate of surgically managed PJI than TKA at 90 days and 1 year; however, the rate of PJI in both groups remained low at \u3c 1% at 90 days and 1 year

Early implant placement in sites with ridge preservation or spontaneous healing: histologic, profilometric, and CBCT analyses of an exploratory RCT

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare changes in soft and hard tissue and the histologic composition following early implant placement in sites with alveolar ridge preservation or spontaneous healing (SH), as well as implant performance up to 1 year after crown insertion. METHODS: Thirty-five patients with either intact buccal bone plates or dehiscence of up to 50% following single-tooth extraction of incisors, canines, or premolars were included in the study. They were randomly assigned to undergo one of three procedures: deproteinized bovine bone mineral with 10% collagen (DBBM-C) covered by a collagen matrix (DBBM-C/CM), DBBM-C alone, or SH. At 8 weeks, implant placement was carried out, and cone-beam computed tomography scans and impressions were obtained for profilometric analysis. Patients were followed up after the final crown insertion and again at 1 year post-procedure. RESULTS: Within the first 8 weeks following tooth extraction, the median height of the buccal soft tissue contour changed by -2.11 mm for the DBBM-C/CM group, -1.62 mm for the DBBM-C group, and -1.93 mm for the SH group. The corresponding height of the buccal mineralized tissue changed by -0.27 mm for the DBBM-C/CM group, -2.73 mm for the DBBM-C group, and -1.48mm for the SH group. The median contour changes between crown insertion and 1 year were -0.19 mm in the DBBM-C/CM group, -0.09 mm in the DBBM-C group, and -0.29 mm in the SH group. CONCLUSIONS: Major vertical and horizontal ridge contour changes occurred, irrespective of the treatment modality, up to 8 weeks following tooth extraction. The DBBM-C/CM preserved more mineralized tissue throughout this period, despite a substantial reduction in the overall contour. All 3 protocols led to stable tissues for up to 1 year

Perioperative statin therapy reduces mortality in normolipidemic patients undergoing cardiac surgery

ObjectiveStatins might have pleiotropic effects, independent of their ability to reduce lipid levels. Recent data have suggested that statins improve early survival and cardiovascular outcomes after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The effectiveness of statin therapy in normolipidemic cardiac surgery patients is as yet unclear.MethodsWe evaluated 3056 consecutive patients who had undergone cardiac surgery between April 2004 and April 2009. Perioperative statin therapy was defined as continued treatment both before (≥ 6 months) and after the index surgery (included as a discharge medication). Hyperlipidemia (HL) was defined as a total cholesterol level greater than 200 mg/dL within 6 months before surgery. Four groups were analyzed: (1) statin-untreated normolipidemic (NL−, n = 1052); (2) statin-treated normolipidemic (NL+, n = 206); (3) statin-untreated hyperlipidemic (HL−, n = 638); and (4) statin-treated hyperlipidemic (HL+, n = 1160) patients. Adjusted hazard ratios accounted for the known preoperative cardiac risk factors. Mortality was ascertained by retrospective database review and the Social Security Death Index.ResultsThe mean follow-up was 2.2 years. The crude rate of 30-day mortality was 3.0% (32/1052), 0% (0/206), 8.0% (51/638), and 0.7% (8/1160) for the NL−, NL+, HL−, and HL+ groups, respectively. The overall all-cause crude mortality rate was 9.6% (101/1052), 3.9% (8/206), 17.2% (110/638), and 6.5% (75/1160) for the NL−, NL+, HL−, and HL+ groups, respectively. Statin therapy for NL patients undergoing cardiac surgery independently reduced the overall all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.34; 95% confidence interval, 0.16–0.71; P = .004).ConclusionsPerioperative statin therapy was associated with reduced mid-term mortality for patients undergoing cardiac surgery, irrespective of their baseline lipid status. This clinical evidence suggests that the beneficial effects of statins might extend beyond their lipid-lowering ability

The COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Emerging evidence on the effectiveness of action by, and cooperation between, different levels of government in a federal system

A new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by a novel pathogen (SARS-CoV-2) spread rapidly around the world in the early months of 2020, and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March. COVID-19 has, and continues to have, large implications for individuals, societies, and for national health systems across the globe. Due to its novelty and impact, it has challenged all health care systems where the virus has taken hold. The ways in which governments and health systems have responded have varied widely across the world. In the case of Nepal, the pandemic represented a major test for the newly decentralised health system, created as a result of the implementation of the 2015 federal constitution. This paper, which forms a part of our large on-going study of the decentralisation of the health system in the country, presents some of the early evidence on the effectiveness of the actions taken by Federal, Provincial and Local Governments and the levels of cooperation and coordination between them