Military Retention Incentives: Evidence from the Air Force Selective Reenlistment Bonus

The limited lateral entry and rigid pay structure for U.S. military personnel present challenges in retaining skilled individuals who have attractive options in the civilian labor market. One tool the services use to address this challenge is the Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB), which offers eligible personnel with particular skills a substantial cash bonus upon reenlistment. However, the sequential nature of the bonus offer and reenlistment process limits the ability to adjust manpower quickly, raising interest in research that estimates the effect of the SRB on retention. While this literature has acknowledged challenges including potential endogeneity of bonus levels, attrition, and reenlistment eligibility, many studies do not address these concerns adequately. This paper uses a comprehensive panel data set on Air Force enlisted personnel to estimate the effect of the SRB on retention rates. We exploit variation in bonus levels within skill groups, control for civilian labor market conditions, and model reenlistment eligibility to avoid common assumptions that lead to biased impact estimates. We find substantial heterogeneity in the effect of the bonus, with the largest effects on first-term service members and those whose skills have not historically received a substantial bonus. We also find evidence that the bonus affects the timing of reenlistment decisions in addition to their frequency

Bayesian Cue Integration as a Developmental Outcome of Reward Mediated Learning

Average human behavior in cue combination tasks is well predicted by Bayesian inference models. As this capability is acquired over developmental timescales, the question arises, how it is learned. Here we investigated whether reward dependent learning, that is well established at the computational, behavioral, and neuronal levels, could contribute to this development. It is shown that a model free reinforcement learning algorithm can indeed learn to do cue integration, i.e. weight uncertain cues according to their respective reliabilities and even do so if reliabilities are changing. We also consider the case of causal inference where multimodal signals can originate from one or multiple separate objects and should not always be integrated. In this case, the learner is shown to develop a behavior that is closest to Bayesian model averaging. We conclude that reward mediated learning could be a driving force for the development of cue integration and causal inference

Optogenetic acidification of synaptic vesicles and lysosomes

Acidification is required for the function of many intracellular organelles, but methods to acutely manipulate their intraluminal pH have not been available. Here we present a targeting strategy to selectively express the light-driven proton pump Arch3 on synaptic vesicles. Our new tool, pHoenix, can functionally replace endogenous proton pumps, enabling optogenetic control of vesicular acidification and neurotransmitter accumulation. Under physiological conditions, glutamatergic vesicles are nearly full, as additional vesicle acidification with pHoenix only slightly increased the quantal size. By contrast, we found that incompletely filled vesicles exhibited a lower release probability than full vesicles, suggesting preferential exocytosis of vesicles with high transmitter content. Our subcellular targeting approach can be transferred to other organelles, as demonstrated for a pHoenix variant that allows light-activated acidification of lysosomes

Acute nontraumatic subdural hematoma from ruptured accessory meningeal artery pseudoaneurysm.

BACKGROUND: Cerebral angiography including internal and external carotid artery injections is crucial in young patients with a spontaneous subdural hematoma. CASE DESCRIPTION: We present the first reported case of an accessory meningeal artery aneurysm in a 46-year-old male with a history of hypertension that led to a spontaneous nontraumatic acute subdural hematoma. A PubMed review of the literature was performed using a keyword search to identify cases examining nontraumatic spontaneous intracranial hematomas related to meningeal artery aneurysms. The literature review summarizes all published reports of middle meningeal artery aneurysms resulting in nontraumatic acute intracranial bleeds. The patient underwent successful coiling of the accessory meningeal artery. CONCLUSION: We propose endovascular treatment for accessory meningeal artery aneurysms and emphasize the utility of angiography of internal and external carotid arteries in a patient with an unexplained intracranial hematoma

A Rational Approach to Understanding and Evaluating Responsive Neurostimulation.

Closed-loop brain stimulation is increasingly used in level 4 epilepsy centers without an understanding of how the device behaves on a daily basis. This lack of insight is a barrier to improving closed-loop therapy and ultimately understanding why some patients never achieve seizure reduction. We aimed to quantify the accuracy of closed-loop seizure detection and stimulation on the RNS device through extrapolating information derived from manually reviewed ECoG recordings and comprehensive device logging information. RNS System event logging data were obtained, reviewed, and analyzed using a custom-built software package. A weighted-means methodology was developed to adjust for bias and incompleteness in event logs and evaluated using Bland-Altman plots and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests to compare adjusted and non-weighted (standard method) results. Twelve patients implanted for a mean of 21.5 (interquartile range 13.5-31) months were reviewed. The mean seizure frequency reduction post-RNS implantation was 40.1% (interquartile range 0-96.2%). Three primary levels of event logging granularity were identified (ECoG recordings: 3.0% complete (interquartile range 0.3-1.8%); Event Lists: 72.9% complete (interquartile range 44.7-99.8%); Activity Logs: 100% complete; completeness measured with respect to Activity Logs). Bland-Altman interpretation confirmed non-equivalence with unpredictable differences in both magnitude and direction. Wilcoxon signed rank tests demonstrated significant (p < 10-6) differences in accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity at >5% absolute mean difference for extrapolated versus standard results. Device behavior logged by the RNS System should be used in conjunction with careful review of stored ECoG data to extrapolate metrics for detector performance and stimulation

Improved psychotic symptoms following resection of amygdalar low-grade glioma: illustrative case.

BackgroundEpilepsy-associated psychoses are poorly understood, and management is focused on treating epilepsy. Chronic, interictal psychosis that persists despite seizure control is typically treated with antipsychotics. Whether resection of a mesial temporal lobe lesion may improve interictal psychotic symptoms that persist despite seizure control remains unknown.ObservationsIn a 52-year-old man with well-controlled epilepsy and persistent comorbid psychosis, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an infiltrative, intraaxial, T2 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery intense mass of the left amygdala. The patient received an amygdalectomy for oncological diagnosis and surgical treatment of a presumed low-grade glioma. Pathology was ganglioglioma, World Health Organization grade I. Postoperatively, the patient reported immediate resolution of auditory hallucinations. Patient has remained seizure-free on 2 antiepileptic drugs and no antipsychotic pharmacotherapy and reported lasting improvement in his psychotic symptoms.LessonsThis report discusses improvement of psychosis symptoms after resection of an amygdalar glioma, independent of seizure outcome. This case supports a role of the amygdala in psychopathology and suggests that low-grade gliomas of the limbic system may represent, at minimum, partially reversible etiology of psychotic symptoms

Short segment rib resection to mitigate risk of pleural violation during retropleural lateral thoracic interbody fusion.

It can be difficult to avoid violating the pleura during the retropleural approach to the thoracolumbar spine. In this video, the authors resect a short segment of rib to allow more room for pleural dissection during a minimally invasive (MIS) lateral retropleural approach. After a lateral MIS skin incision, the rib is dissected and removed, clearly identifying the retropleural space. The curvature of the rib can then be followed, decreasing the risk of pleural violation. The pleura can then be mobilized ventrally until the spine is accessed. Managing the diaphragm is also illustrated by separating the fibers without a traditional cut through the muscle. The video can be found here: https://stream.cadmore.media/r10.3171/2022.3.FOCVID21138

High frequency activation data used to validate localization of cortical electrodes during surgery for deep brain stimulation

Movement related synchronization of high frequency activity (HFA, 76–100 Hz) is a somatotopic process with spectral power changes occurring during movement in the sensorimotor cortex (Miller et al., 2007) [1]. These features allowed movement-related changes in HFA to be used to functionally validate the estimations of subdural electrode locations, which may be placed temporarily for research in deep brain stimulation surgery, using the novel tool described in Randazzo et al. (2015) [2]. We recorded electrocorticography (ECoG) signals and localized electrodes in the region of the sensorimotor cortex during an externally cued hand grip task in 8 subjects. Movement related HFA was determined for each trial by comparing HFA spectral power during movement epochs to pre-movement baseline epochs. Significant movement related HFA was found to be focal in time and space, occurring only during movement and only in a subset of electrodes localized to the pre- and post-central gyri near the hand knob. To further demonstrate the use of movement related HFA to aid electrode localization, we provide a sample of the electrode localization tool, with data loaded to allow readers to map movement related HFA onto the cortical surface of a sample patient