Repeated Testing Sessions and Scholastic Aptitude in College Students’ Metacognitive Accuracy

We performed three experiments to examine the effects of repeated study–judgement–test sessions on metacognitive monitoring, and to see if better students (those with higher Scholastic Aptitude Test or SAT scores) outperform low SAT students. In all experiments, mean metacognitive accuracy (bias scores and Gamma correlations) did improve with practice. Most improvement involved students’ ability to predict which items would not be recalled later. In addition, students with high SAT scores recalled more items, were less overconfident, and adjusted their predictions more effectively. Thus, high SAT students may be able to adjust their metacognitive monitoring effectively without feedback, but low SAT students appear unlikely to do so. Educators may need to devise more explicit techniques to help low SAT students improve their metacognitive monitoring during the course of a semester

The Eleventh and Twelfth Data Releases of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Final Data from SDSS-III

The third generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) took data from 2008 to 2014 using the original SDSS wide-field imager, the original and an upgraded multi-object fiber-fed optical spectrograph, a new near-infrared high-resolution spectrograph, and a novel optical interferometer. All of the data from SDSS-III are now made public. In particular, this paper describes Data Release 11 (DR11) including all data acquired through 2013 July, and Data Release 12 (DR12) adding data acquired through 2014 July (including all data included in previous data releases), marking the end of SDSS-III observing. Relative to our previous public release (DR10), DR12 adds one million new spectra of galaxies and quasars from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) over an additional 3000 deg2 of sky, more than triples the number of H-band spectra of stars as part of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), and includes repeated accurate radial velocity measurements of 5500 stars from the Multi-object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey (MARVELS). The APOGEE outputs now include the measured abundances of 15 different elements for each star. In total, SDSS-III added 5200 deg2 of ugriz imaging; 155,520 spectra of 138,099 stars as part of the Sloan Exploration of Galactic Understanding and Evolution 2 (SEGUE-2) survey; 2,497,484 BOSS spectra of 1,372,737 galaxies, 294,512 quasars, and 247,216 stars over 9376 deg2; 618,080 APOGEE spectra of 156,593 stars; and 197,040 MARVELS spectra of 5513 stars. Since its first light in 1998, SDSS has imaged over 1/3 of the Celestial sphere in five bands and obtained over five million astronomical spectra. \ua9 2015. The American Astronomical Society

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Search for the rare decay B-0 ->tau(+)tau(-) at BABAR

We present the results of a search for the decay B-0 ->tau(+)tau(-) in a data sample of (232 +/- 3)x10(6) Upsilon(4S)-> BB decays using the BABAR detector. Certain extensions of the standard model predict measurable levels of this otherwise rare decay. We reconstruct fully one neutral B meson and seek evidence for the signal decay in the rest of the event. We find no evidence for signal events and obtain B(B-0 ->tau(+)tau(-))< 4.1x10(-3) at the 90% confidence level

PIDEC[alpha] : photon intermediate direct energy conversion using the alpha emitter polonium-210

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on October 31, 2012).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Dissertation advisor: Dr. Mark A. PrelasIncludes bibliographical references.Vita.Ph.D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2012."July 2012"This work details the development of two proof-of-concept Photon Intermediate Direct Energy Conversion systems using the α-emitter Po-210 (PIDECα). Ch. I begins with a short history of nuclear battery development and then describes the expansion nuclear battery technology. It includes a review of recently published alphavoltaics in the literature, some shortcomings they exhibit, how these can be avoided with PIDEC, and the previous results seen with PIDEC systems. Ch. II describes the radioisotope sources used in the literature and compares their relative benefits. The remaining chapters discuss the fabrication and testing of the gas- and solid-state PIDEC devices. Ch. III reviews the theory of PIDEC and describes the models used to predict the behavior of the systems. Ch. IV details the design and assembly of the experimental apparatus. Ch. V contains the methods used to enact the experiments. Ch. VI presents the results of the experiments and analysis of those results. Ch. VII contains the conclusions drawn from the work and methods for improvement beyond the proof-of-concept phase. Both systems demonstrate the conversion of kinetic energy into electrical energy by PIDEC. The results of the gas fluorescer system are encouraging; photon transport efficiency was hampered as may be useful after some improvements. The Gallium Phosphide (GaP) results currently discourage application in long-lived batteries.Includes bibliographical reference

Sporadic neutron production by pressure-loaded D/Ti systems under high rates of temperature change

The mechanisms of low energy nuclear reactions (LENR) phenomena are poorly understood. If these phenomena are the consequence of commonly understood nuclear interactions, they should produce some nuclear byproducts such as gamma rays, neutrons, or charged particles. The unpublished results of a 1991 thermal shock experiment with high D/Ti loading observed a high rate of neutron emission while a recent attempt to recreate the 1991 results showed no evidence of neutrons produced by interactions within the D/Ti lattice. This work recreates the 1991 experiment and continues the previous recent investigation with improved methodology. In addition to control of deuterium pressure, system temperature, and duration of cryogenic exposure, this new setup also offers continuous data-logging and automated analysis routines. Although it has been suggested that the appearance of LENR phenomena is intimately related to specific characteristics of the material, the experimental system described herein has recorded anomalous numbers of neutrons on several occasions using materials of unspecified origin. Helium-3 data indicate neutrons are periodically emitted by reactions occurring within the D/Ti lattice, with a recorded maximum of 1800 neutrons per second, but these neutron releases do not appear to coincide with thermal shock events

Progress in diamond sensor development for use in LENR experiments

Electronic grade single crystal diamonds have recently become available, and the characteristics of these diamonds are ideal for the detection of various types of nuclear radiation. Previous work demonstrated the usefulness of diamond detectors in low energy nuclear reaction systems and exposed their fragile nature when used in situ. This work describes the use of different material combinations and fabrication techniques in an effort to improve the sensitivity and durability of these diamond sensors. We have successfully fabricated Palladium electrode diamond sensors using two additional material combinations. Their behavior was characterized using common I-V techniques. The spectroscopic response of the sensors was calibrated using a Pu-239 alpha source

Measurement of the D+->pi(+) pi(0) and D+-> K+ pi(0) branching fractions

Contains fulltext : 128229.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access