.Pause.

.Pause. is a series of fifteen abstract oil paintings that represent a visual inspection of changing mental/emotional states of being as we navigate life. My subject matter consists of natural and organic forms that twist, contort, overlap, and flow. These aspects—combined with dramatic and gradual shifts in color, movement, layering and lighting—create a bizarre environment of conflict and growth as well as a space for contemplation. This series is a mixture of stylistic directions, including abstract representation, gestural, and nonobjective work. Perception is called into question as the visual information becomes more obscure. Outside elements, such as lighting and the viewer’s position, play a large role in shaping the audience experience. My work includes themes similar to contemporary representational artists and stylistic choices reminiscent of the abstract expressionists

A Prediction Model for Consumer Behavior regarding Product Safety

The objective of this study was the development of a model to predict whether a consumer would use a product safely as a function of sixteen different individual variables. Subjects were presented with four consumer products to use in an experimental setting where the true purpose of the study was concealed. Discriminant analysis was used to develop a prediction model to classify subjects into categories of safe or unsafe behavior. Prediction accuracy ranged from 68–86 percent for different types of behavior. The research illustrated which variables are important in determining whether a product will be used safely and has implications for product design, warnings, instructions for use and training.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Pediatric sleep difficulties after moderate–severe traumatic brain injury

The objective of this study is to systematically investigate sleep following moderate–severe pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). School-aged children with moderate–severe TBI identified via hospital records were invited to participate, along with a school-age sibling. Subjective reports and objective actigraphy correlates of sleep were recorded: Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), Sleep Self-Report questionnaire (SSR), and 5-night actigraphy. TBI participants (n = 15) and their siblings (n = 15) participated. Significantly more sleep problems were parent-reported (CSHQ: p = 0.003; d = 1.57), self-reported (SSR: p = 0.003; d = 1.40), and actigraph-recorded in the TBI group (sleep efficiency: p = 0.003; d = 1.23; sleep latency: p = 0.018; d = 0.94). There was no evidence of circadian rhythm disorders, and daytime napping was not prevalent. Moderate–severe pediatric TBI was associated with sleep inefficiency in the form of sleep onset and maintenance problems. This preliminary study indicates that clinicians should be aware of sleep difficulties following pediatric TBI, and their potential associations with cognitive and behavioral problems in a group already at educational and psychosocial risk

The Relationship between Saccadic Choice and Reaction Times with Manipulations of Target Value

Choosing the option with the highest expected value (EV; reward probability × reward magnitude) maximizes the intake of reward under conditions of uncertainty. However, human economic choices indicate that our value calculation has a subjective component whereby probability and reward magnitude are not linearly weighted. Using a similar economic framework, our goal was to characterize how subjective value influences the generation of simple motor actions. Specifically, we hypothesized that attributes of saccadic eye movements could provide insight into how rhesus monkeys, a well-studied animal model in cognitive neuroscience, subjectively value potential visual targets. In the first experiment, monkeys were free to choose by directing a saccade toward one of two simultaneously displayed targets, each of which had an uncertain outcome. In this task, choices were more likely to be allocated toward the higher valued target. In the second experiment, only one of the two possible targets appeared on each trial. In this task, saccadic reaction times (SRTs) decreased toward the higher valued target. Reward magnitude had a much stronger influence on both choices and SRTs than probability, whose effect was observed only when reward magnitude was similar for both targets. Across EV blocks, a strong relationship was observed between choice preferences and SRTs. However, choices tended to maximize at skewed values whereas SRTs varied more continuously. Lastly, SRTs were unchanged when all reward magnitudes were 1×, 1.5×, and 2× their normal amount, indicating that saccade preparation was influenced by the relative value of the targets rather than the absolute value of any single-target. We conclude that value is not only an important factor for deliberative decision making in primates, but also for the selection and preparation of simple motor actions, such as saccadic eye movements. More precisely, our results indicate that, under conditions of uncertainty, saccade choices and reaction times are influenced by the relative expected subjective value of potential movements

Progressive intellectual impairment in children with encephalopathy related to status epilepticus during slow sleep

We investigated whether Encephalopathy related to Status Epilepticus during slow Sleep (ESES) in childhood was associated with progressive intellectual decline. Participants were identified from the caseload of a single paediatric neurosciences centre and EEG department. A retrospective review of overnight sleep EEG reports (n=2200) over a five-year period identified twenty-two children as having the neurophysiological characteristics of ESES. All had repeat neuropsychological assessment using the WISC-III (UK) and/or WPPSI-R (UK). There was a statistically significant reduction in Full-Scale IQ and Performance IQ across a mean and median time interval of two years. Around a third of the participants showed a clinically significant regression in intellectual functioning evidenced by =>12-point reduction in IQ. These patients were not distinguishable from the rest of the cohort in terms of clinical history, imaging or duration of ESES. The reduction in IQ reflected reduced processing speed, working memory and overall cognitive efficiency. Children with a history of ESES require close monitoring in order to support educational planning and provide families with accurate information about prognosis

Book Reviews

Reviews of the following books: Uncollected Short Stories of Sarah Orne Jewett edited by Richard Cary; The Care of Historical Collections: A Conservation Handbook for the Non-Specialist by Per E. Guldbeck; Cushing’s Island: Two Memoirs by Robert and Agnes Hale; The History of Fort Halifax by Carleton E. Fishe

An Analysis of the Applicability of the Hypersonic Similarity Law to the Study of Flow About Bodies of Revolution at Zero Angle of Attack

The hypersonic similarity law as derived by Tsien has been investigated by comparing the pressure distributions along bodies of revolution at zero angle of attack. In making these comparisons, particular attention was given to determining the limits of Mach number and fineness ratio for which the similarity law applies. For the purpose of this investigation, pressure distributions determined by the method of characteristics for ogive cylinders for values of Mach numbers and fineness ratios varying from 1.5 to 12 were compared. Pressures on various cones and on cone cylinders were also compared in this study. The pressure distributions presented demonstrate that the hypersonic similarity law is applicable over a wider range of values of Mach numbers and fineness ratios than might be expected from the assumptions made in the derivation. This is significant since within the range of applicability of the law a single pressure distribution exists for all similarly shaped bodies for which the ratio of free-stream Mach number to fineness ratio is constant. Charts are presented for rapid determination of pressure distributions over ogive cylinders for any combination of Mach number and fineness ratio within defined limits

ISPAN (Interactive Stiffened Panel Analysis): A tool for quick concept evaluation and design trade studies

Interactive Stiffened Panel Analysis (ISPAN) modules, written in FORTRAN, were developed to provide an easy to use tool for creating finite element models of composite material stiffened panels. The modules allow the user to interactively construct, solve and post-process finite element models of four general types of structural panel configurations using only the panel dimensions and properties as input data. Linear, buckling and post-buckling solution capability is provided. This interactive input allows rapid model generation and solution by non finite element users. The results of a parametric study of a blade stiffened panel are presented to demonstrate the usefulness of the ISPAN modules. Also, a non-linear analysis of a test panel was conducted and the results compared to measured data and previous correlation analysis