The Practical Life, the Contemplative Life, and the Perfect Eudaimonia in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics 10.7-8

Two views continue to be defended today. One is that the account of eudaimonia in EN 10 is inconsistent with claims made about it in other books of the work. The other view is that the account in EN 10 is consistent with other claims made in the other books because Aristotle presents one account of perfect eudaimonia by portraying it as consisting solely in contemplative activity. I call this view the intellectualist interpretation. I then argue that neither view is correct because although Aristotle’s position is consistent, he does not hold that the perfect eudaimonia for a human being involves nothing but excellent theoretical activity. His philosopher possesses and exercises the moral excellences and practical wisdom and so some portion of his happiness consists in these activities as well as contemplative activity

Improved bounds on the set A(A+1)

For a subset A of a field F, write A(A + 1) for the set {a(b + 1):a,b\in A}. We establish new estimates on the size of A(A+1) in the case where F is either a finite field of prime order, or the real line. In the finite field case we show that A(A+1) is of cardinality at least C|A|^{57/56-o(1)} for some absolute constant C, so long as |A| < p^{1/2}. In the real case we show that the cardinality is at least C|A|^{24/19-o(1)}. These improve on the previously best-known exponents of 106/105-o(1) and 5/4 respectively

The conversion of the process flowsheet simulator, FLOWTRAN, for FORTRAN 66 based mainframe computers

The process flowsheet simulator FLOWTRAN was converted from FORTRAN 77 code to FORTRAN 66 code. The conversion was accomplished by developing a number of subprograms to handle FORTRAN 77 intrinsic functions that are missing in the FORTRAN 66 standard and by altering the code to take advantage of the developed subprograms. Also developed were a set of procedure files for executing the FORTRAN 66 FLOWTRAN on a Sperry-Univac 90/80-4. The new FLOWTRAN was tested and performs identically to the FORTRAN 77 version. The FORTRAN 66 FLOWTRAN can be installed on any mainframe computer with a FORTRAN 66 compiler

An investigation of centrifugal blood-cell separation

This dissertation investigated the centrifugal, batch separation of whole blood into subpopulations of red blood cells (erythrocytes) and white blood cells (leukocytes). Separations took place in a custom-built centrifuge (using a seal-less, anti-twisting feed/withdrawal system) containing, a 25-ml capacity separation chamber. The blood separation chamber had dart-shaped geometry in the radial plane and a constant depth in the axial direction. Separation experiments were performed on whole bovine blood at varying hematocrit, centrifuge speed, and batch duration. A small, companion study of whole human blood separation runs also were conducted; they concentrated on batch duration effect and achieved superior separations. A new graphical technique-generating accumulated cell-fraction separation graphs and measuring separation quality-was devised to display experimental separation runs. Results were presented for both bovine blood and human blood. An interval, observable between the accumulated cell-fraction curves of red blood cells and white blood cells, was measured and used to quantify the maximum extent of separation, allowing for determination of good and bad separations. This measured value was labeled separation quality (SQ). Measurements of SQ for bovine blood separation runs of various duration showed that batch duration had a strong correlation to separation quality. The set of human blood separation runs demonstrated that SQ values may be used as a means to locate optimal operating parameter values. An optimum was bounded for the human blood data set. A one-dimensional volume-diffusion model has been derived for the equations of change of fluid mechanics. The volume-diffusion model extended the original work of Bird, Curtiss, and Hirshfelder in the area of molecular diffusion to application on particulate systems where volume diffusion was the predominant driving force. This model described the binary system of red blood cells (erythrocytes) and plasma. Expressions for volume flux with respect to stationary coordinates, including contributions via ordinary diffusion and pressure diffusion, were derived from the molecular flux expressions for the corresponding diffusion contributions. Due to its high degree of complexity, the model\u27s system of partial differential equations could not be solved using a collocation finite element solver. The model was intractable

Goal-directed or goal-misdirected - how should we interpret the literature?

Goal-directed therapy (GDT) can be a vague term, meaning different things to different people and, depending on the clinical environment, sometimes even different things to the same person. It can refer to perioperative fluid management, clinicians driving oxygen delivery to supramaximal values, early treatment of sepsis in the emergency department, and even to restriction of perioperative crystalloids with the goal of maintaining preadmission body weight. Understandably, strong opinions about GDT vary; some clinicians consider it essential for perioperative care, others completely ineffective in critically ill patients. This commentary aims to further position the excellent review by Lees and colleagues in the context of the critical care and perioperative setting

Anomaly Detection in the Molecular Structure of Gallium Arsenide Using Convolutional Neural Networks

This paper concerns the development of a machine learning tool to detect anomalies in the molecular structure of Gallium Arsenide. We employ a combination of a CNN and a PCA reconstruction to create the model, using real images taken with an electron microscope in training and testing. The methodology developed allows for the creation of a defect detection model, without any labeled images of defects being required for training. The model performed well on all tests under the established assumptions, allowing for reliable anomaly detection. To the best of our knowledge, such methods are not currently available in the open literature; thus, this work fills a gap in current capabilities

Surviving Siblings’ Illnesses, Treatments/Health Services over 13 Months after a Sibling’s Death

Two million children experience sibling death annually and have problems that require clinical intervention although few receive such help. Effects on surviving siblings’ mental health has been well documented, however their physical health has not. This study described surviving siblings’ illnesses, treatments/health services at 2, 4, 6, and 13 months post-sibling death. The 132 children (76 girls, 56 boys, M 10.6 years, SD 3.43); 30% Hispanic, 51% Black, 26% White were recruited via hospital ICUs and published obituaries. Using a longitudinal design, parents reported types and numbers of surviving siblings’ illnesses, treatments/health services, and dates post-sibling death. Most of the 207 illnesses and 674 treatments/health services occurred in the first 6 months post-sibling death. While girls had more illnesses (131) than boys (76) and Hispanic children had more illnesses than White or Black children, these differences were not statistically significant. Girls accounted for 66% of the treatments/health services and boys 34%. There was no significant difference in treatments/health service use by gender of the children (F = 1.00, p = .32). Hispanic children had significantly more treatments/health service use than Black children (F = 6.81, p = .002). Sibling death affects surviving siblings’ physical health. Study data document the importance of monitoring the health, treatments and health service use of surviving siblings especially in the first 6 months after a sibling death, regardless of the child’ s gender. On average, Hispanic children had greater health service use, which may warrant greater attention

Wireless Bus Interconnects for Small Satellite Systems

For small satellite engineering systems, successfully managing the hundreds of in-system interconnections caused by a wired interface is a major element in the success of a SmallSat mission. Testing, integration, and mission operation of SmallSat subsystems frequently requires system interfaces to be reconfigured for extended mission capability and system reliability. We propose a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) based wireless interface technology to enable post-deployment reconfiguration of in-system interfaces. This wireless inter-face will improve system reliability while enabling ad hoc system level changes and reducing the probability of subsystem failure. While a wireless interconnect brings many benefits, its implementation raises potential technical challenges, including additional power consumption, data latency, interference with ground communications, susceptibility, and emissions. This work presents the concepts of wireless interface technologies, proof-of-concept experimental results of a BLE-based wireless interface system, and analysis of effective solutions for the aforementioned technical challenges. By limiting the RF power of the wireless interfaces, the susceptibility, emissions, and power consumption were be made minimal. Latency and interference were also be minimized through software optimization and error correction techniques. Proof-of-concept prototype lab experiments demonstrate the feasibility and adaptability of the proposed technology with increased ability to reconfigure assets compared to traditional wire-based interconnects

Resident Instruction in Social Emergency Medicine

Understanding social determinants of health (SDH) and their intersection with emergency medicine, also known as social emergency medicine (SEM), is an important area of EM training.https://knowledgeconnection.mainehealth.org/lambrew-retreat-2021/1043/thumbnail.jp

Migraine-attributed burden, impact and disability, and migraine-impacted quality of life: Expert consensus on definitions from a Delphi process

Delphi; Migraine; DisabilityDelphi; Migraña; DiscapacidadDelphi; Migranya; DiscapacitatBackground Migraine-attributed burden, impact, disability and migraine-impacted quality of life are important concepts in clinical management, clinical and epidemiological research, and health policy, requiring clear and agreed definitions. We aimed to formulate concise and precise definitions of these concepts by expert consensus. Methods We searched the terms migraine-attributed burden, impact, disability and migraine-impacted quality of life in Embase and Medline from 1974 and 1946 respectively. We followed a Delphi process to reach consensus on definitions. Results We found widespread conflation of concepts and inconsistent terminology within publications. Following three Delphi rounds, we defined migraine-attributed burden as “the summation of all negative consequences of the disease or its diagnosis”; migraine-attributed impact as “the effect of the disease, or its diagnosis, on a specified aspect of life, health or wellbeing”; migraine-attributed disability as “physical, cognitive and mental incapacities imposed by the disease”; and migraine-impacted quality of life as “the subjective assessment by a person with the disease of their general wellbeing, position and prospects in life”. We complemented each definition with a detailed description. Conclusion These definitions and descriptions should foster consistency and encourage more appropriate use of currently available quantifying instruments and aid the future development of others.The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was funded by Eli Lilly and Company