Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (2010)

Histor

Establishing Cooperation between Groups: Ingroup versus Outgroup Punishment

We analyse interethnic cooperation in an infinitely repeated prisoner’s dilemma when members of one group are unable to target punishment towards individual defectors from the other group. We first show that indiscriminate punishment may sustain cooperation in this setting. Our main result, however, is that the introduction of ingroup punishment in addition to outgroup punishment represents a better sanctioning institution in the sense that cooperative outcomes may persist in situations where outgroup punishment alone fails to induce cooperation. Our findings are consistent with historical evidence on the dynamics of interethnic conflicts.conflicts, interethnic cooperation, ethnicity, intergroup relations, ingroup punishment, outgroup punishment

The “Einstein Letter” — A Tipping Point in History

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Human Rights, American Exceptionalism, and the Stories We Tell

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights represents a remarkable expansion in the recognition of the fundamental rights of all peoples. Nonetheless, consensus on the implementation of these rights is elusive. Two commonly referenced obstacles to achieving such a consensus are: (1) the United States’ practice of unilaterally exempting itself from international human rights treaties, i.e., American exceptionalism; and (2) resistance from those who see the international human rights movement as a means of imposing Western values on non-Western cultures. Considering these as related issues, both deriving from the Eurocentric nature of contemporary international law, this essay suggests that a truly universal consensus will require a decolonizing of the underlying framework of human rights law

Factors Impacting Length of Treatment and Length of Hospital Stay in Neonatal Abstinence

Background: Neonatal Opiate Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) has been a concern in the United States, with an incidence of 20 cases per 1000 live births. Most research on NOWS uses length of stay (LOS) in the hospital or length of pharmacological treatment (LOT) as outcome measures for treatment effectiveness. However, LOS does not account for other factors impacting neonatal care, such as other medical or social confounders. LOT may be a more precise measure to evaluate treatment effectiveness but does not account for possible need to continue close, in-hospital monitoring of withdrawal symptoms. Therefore, the aim of our research is to evaluate LOT and LOS, assessing what factors prolong hospital stay after completing pharmacological treatment for NOWS. Objective: To evaluate factors that contribute to the difference between LOT and LOS. Methods: A retrospective medical chart review of all neonates born to mothers with evidence of substance use/abuse from 2011 – 2017 at a tertiary care center was conducted by using EPIC EHR system. Neonates over 35 weeks gestational age with in-utero opioid exposure and no other major congenital anomalies, who received pharmacological treatment for NOWS were included. Demographic data as well as outcome data related to the difference between LOT and LOS was analyzed using multivariate analysis. Prolonged hospital stay is considered for LOS-LOT greater than 48 hours. Results: 229 neonates were included in the study with median LOT 22 days and median LOS 29 days. Of the 62% who had prolonged hospital stay after cessation of pharmacological treatment for NOWS, 43% were due to a hold placed by child protection service. There was a correlation in increased time between LOT and LOS and maternal age (p=0.001), as well as receiving treatment in the NICU (p=0.005). There is a trend towards a shorter stay in neonates with higher birth weight (p=0.05) and gestational age (p=0.08). Maternal polysubstance use did not statistically increase the stay (p=0.929). Prolonged stay had no effect on readmission within 30 days (p=0.882). Mean LOS and LOT per year of birth were statistically different (p Conclusions: Close to half of the babies treated for NOWS had a pronged LOS, most of which was due to a social hold or a hold by child protective services. The average cost of treatment for infants with NOWS is $79,937.75. By addressing underlying factors that prolong the stay in the hospital past medical care, we may be able to decrease medical spending and improve overall care for these neonates

The Pre-Stall Behavior of a 4-Stage Transonic Compressor and Stall Monitoring Based on Artificial Neural Networks

Current research concerned with the aerodynamic instability of compressors aims at an extension of the operating range of the compressor towards decreased massflow. In practice, a safety margin is maintained between operating point and stability limit to prevent the compressor from going into stall and surge. In this article, we analyze the behavior of a 4-stage transonic axial compressor before entering the unstable range and present an approach to identifying incipient surge and stall using artificial neural networks. This method is based on measurements of the unsteady static wall pressure in front of the first rotor

Using Performance Metrics to Guide the Selection of a Website Content Management System -The Case of Joomla, Drupal and WordPress

The most recent trend in website development is the usage of Content Management Systems (CMS). These systems provide user-friendly interactive interface for persons without prior computer coding knowledge to utilize them to create websites. Different kinds of content management system technologies are now available, hence, it becomes challenging for users/developers to decide on which one is best to work with. This study, researched into three popular CMS’s namely, Joomla, Drupal and WordPress to explore which of these proposed three will be ideal for developing efficient website in terms of performance. This study resulted in researching into details the features common to all the three CMSs. These features were evaluated based on four performance criteria. The method this study used was a quantitative method. Practically, the researcher developed three websites using the three CMSs, and tested them against performance criteria namely, page load time, page size , number of cascading style sheet file and number of JavaScript files. The results or data collected through the page performance exercise was then tabulated, compared, and later analyzed. The study found that Joomla CMS created much JavaScript files as compared to all, and as a result was very interactive, WordPress also created much CSS file, as a result gives the best web layout. The researcher concluded that each of these CMS performed well in different criteria. As a result, the best CMS will depend on the interest of the developer for his or her site. These researched done will help readers and the academia in general to acquire knowledge that reveals the characteristics of the three CMS in terms of strengths and shortfalls. Keywords: CMS, website, Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal content management system, developer DOI: 10.7176/IKM/13-1-04 Publication date: January 31st 202

Molecule formation as a diagnostic tool for second order correlations of ultra-cold gases

We calculate the momentum distribution and the second-order correlation function in momentum space, $g^{(2)}({\bf p},{\bf p}',t)$ for molecular dimers that are coherently formed from an ultracold atomic gas by photoassociation or a Feshbach resonance. We investigate using perturbation theory how the quantum statistics of the molecules depend on the initial state of the atoms by considering three different initial states: a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), a normal Fermi gas of ultra-cold atoms, and a BCS-type superfluid Fermi gas. The cases of strong and weak coupling to the molecular field are discussed. It is found that BEC and BCS states give rise to an essentially coherent molecular field with a momentum distribution determined by the zero-point motion in the confining potential. On the other hand, a normal Fermi gas and the unpaired atoms in the BCS state give rise to a molecular field with a broad momentum distribution and thermal number statistics. It is shown that the first-order correlations of the molecules can be used to measure second-order correlations of the initial atomic state.Comment: revtex, 15 pages,8 figure