The Relativistic Proton Spectrometer: A Review of Sensor Performance, Applications, and Science.

The Relativistic Proton Spectrometer (RPS) on the Van Allen Probes spacecraft was a particle spectrometer designed to measure the flux, angular distribution, and energy spectrum of protons from to . RPS provided new information about the inner Van Allen belt: a nearby region of space that had been relatively unexplored because of the difficulties of making charged particle measurements there and the associated hazards to satellite operations. We met the primary mission objective of providing accurate data for the AP9 radiation specification model at the high energies where there were little to no data prior to the Van Allen Probes mission.

Consumer choices with variations in item price, delay, and opportunity cost.

Tversky and Kahneman (1981) told participants to imagine they were at a store about to purchase an item. They were asked if they would be willing to drive 20 min to another store to receive a $5 discount on the item's price. Most participants were willing, but only when the original price of the item was small ($15); when the original price was relatively large ($125), most said they would not drive 20 min for a $5 discount.

The Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer: A Review of On-Orbit Sensor Performance, Data, Operations, and Science.

Unlabelled: Measurements from NASA's Van Allen Probes have transformed our understanding of the dynamics of Earth's geomagnetically-trapped, charged particle radiation. The Van Allen Probes were equipped with the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometers (MagEIS) that measured energetic and relativistic electrons, along with energetic ions, in the radiation belts. Accurate and routine measurement of these particles was of fundamental importance towards achieving the scientific goals of the mission.

Space Radiation and Plasma Effects on Satellites and Aviation: Quantities and Metrics for Tracking Performance of Space Weather Environment Models.

The Community Coordinated Modeling Center has been leading community-wide space science and space weather model validation projects for many years. These efforts have been broadened and extended via the newly launched International Forum for Space Weather Modeling Capabilities Assessment (https://ccmc.gsfc.

Tests of an indifference rule in variable-delay and double-reward choice procedures with humans.

Four hundred and fifty participants were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk across 3 experiments to test the predictions of a hyperbolic discounting equation in accounting for human choices involving variable delays or multiple rewards (Mazur, 1984, 1986). In Experiment 1, participants made hypothetical choices between 2 monetary alternatives, 1 consisting of a fixed delay and another consisting of 2 delays of equal probability (i.e.

A Revised Look at Relativistic Electrons in the Earth's Inner Radiation Zone and Slot Region.

We describe a new, more accurate procedure for estimating and removing inner zone background contamination from Van Allen Probes Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) radiation belt measurements. This new procedure is based on the underlying assumption that the primary source of background contamination in the electron measurements at L shells less than three, energetic inner belt protons, is relatively stable. Since a magnetic spectrometer can readily distinguish between foreground electrons and background signals, we are able to exploit the proton stability to construct a model of the background contamination in each MagEIS detector by only considering times when the measurements are known to be background dominated.

Engaging in Collaborative Research: Focus on the Pharmacy Practitioner.

Research offers an opportunity for investigators to explore unanswered questions, highlight best practices, and engage in collaboration. Clinical research can engage health care professionals to identify treatments or procedures to enhance patient care, quality of life, and outcomes. Research may also include experiences in a unique practice site or teaching methodology of trainees, staff, or patients.

Human choices between variable and fixed rewards in hypothetical variable-delay and double-reward discounting procedures.

Prior research has shown that nonhumans show an extreme preference for variable- over fixed-delays to reinforcement. This well-established preference for variability occurs because a reinforcer's strength or "value" decreases according to a curvilinear function as its delay increases. The purpose of the present experiments was to investigate whether this preference for variability occurs with human participants making hypothetical choices.

High-Dose Sedation and Analgesia During Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Focus on the Adjunctive Use of Ketamine.

Use of ketamine in patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has rarely been reported, and the optimal dosing strategy remains unclear. A patient admitted with hypoxic respiratory failure required ECMO in addition to continuous infusion of low-dose ketamine following titration of opioid and sedative medications to high doses. After initiation of ketamine, infusion rates of opioids and/or sedatives were maintained or decreased.

Rats' choices with token stimuli in concurrent variable-interval schedules.

Four rats responded on concurrent variable-interval schedules that delivered token stimuli (stimulus lights arranged vertically above each of two side levers). During exchange periods, each token could be exchanged for one food pellet by responding on a center lever, with one response required for each pellet delivery. In different conditions, the exchange requirements (number of tokens that had to be earned before they could be exchanged for food) varied between one and four for the two response levers.

Pigeons' choices with token stimuli in concurrent variable-interval schedules.

Twelve pigeons responded on concurrent variable-interval schedules that delivered token stimuli (stimulus lights for some pigeons, and white circles on the response keys for others). During exchange periods, each token could be exchanged for food on a fixed-ratio 1 schedule. Across conditions, the exchange requirements (number of tokens that had to be earned before they could be exchanged for food) varied between one and four for the two response keys.

Choice behavior of pigeons (Columba livia), college students, and preschool children (Homo sapiens) in the Monty Hall dilemma.

In the Monty Hall dilemma, an individual chooses between three options, only one of which will deliver a prize. After the initial choice, one of the nonchosen options is revealed as a losing option, and the individual can choose to stay with the original choice or switch to the other remaining option. Previous studies have found that most adults stay with their initial choice, although the chances of winning are 2/3 for switching and 1/3 for staying.

Effects of pre-trial response requirements on self-control choices by rats and pigeons.

Parallel experiments with rats and pigeons examined whether the size of a pre-trial ratio requirement would affect choices in a self-control situation. In different conditions, either 1 response or 40 responses were required before each trial. In the first half of each experiment, an adjusting-ratio schedule was used, in which subjects could choose a fixed-ratio schedule leading to a small reinforcer, or an adjusting-ratio schedule leading to a larger reinforcer.

The use of activated recombinant factor VII in a patient with fulminant hepatic failure requiring placement of an intracranial pressure monitor.

Objective: To evaluate the use of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in a patient with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) requiring placement of an intracranial pressure monitor.

Case Summary: A 21-year-old female with no significant medical history was admitted to an outside hospital with elevated results of liver function tests. Subsequently, the patient was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis.

Clinical usefulness of recombinant activated factor VII in patients with liver failure undergoing invasive procedures.

Objective: To evaluate the use of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) in patients with liver failure undergoing invasive procedures.

Methods: An OVID/MEDLINE and PubMed search (1997-June 2011) was performed to identify literature on the use of rFVIIa to reduce bleeding risk in patients with liver failure undergoing invasive procedures.

Study Selection And Data Extraction: English-language data evaluating the efficacy of rFVIIa to reverse coagulopathies prior to invasive procedures in patients with liver disease were included.

Effects of time between trials on rats' and pigeons' choices with probabilistic delayed reinforcers.

Parallel experiments with rats and pigeons examined reasons for previous findings that in choices with probabilistic delayed reinforcers, rats' choices were affected by the time between trials whereas pigeons' choices were not. In both experiments, the animals chose between a standard alternative and an adjusting alternative. A choice of the standard alternative led to a short delay (1 s or 3 s), and then food might or might not be delivered.

Terlipressin in hepatorenal syndrome.

Objective: To compare the pharmacology, dosing, and adverse reactions of vasopressin and terlipressin for the treatment of hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) and assess the efficacy of the investigational drug terlipressin for HRS.

Data Sources: Articles evaluating prospective studies for vasopressin and terlipressin were discussed after being identified through PubMed (1966-November 2010), International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (1970-November 2010), and EMBASE (1985-November 2010) with combinations of the following terms: vasopressin, terlipressin, and hepatorenal syndrome. In addition, reference citations from publications identified were reviewed.

Distributed versus exclusive preference in discrete-trial choice.

Two experiments on discrete-trial choice examined the conditions under which pigeons would exhibit exclusive preference for the better of two alternatives as opposed to distributed preference (making some choices for each alternative). In Experiment 1, pigeons chose between red and green response keys that delivered food after delays of different durations, and in Experiment 2 they chose between red and green keys that delivered food with different probabilities. Some conditions of Experiment 1 had fixed delays to food and other conditions had variable delays.

Efficacy of short-course, low-dose corticosteroid therapy for acute pulmonary sarcoidosis exacerbations.

Background: Although corticosteroids are the drug of choice for acute exacerbations of pulmonary sarcoidosis, the dose and duration of therapy is not standardized. We reviewed the short-term treatment outcome (median duration = 21 days) of 36 patients with acute exacerbations of pulmonary sarcoidosis using low-dose corticosteroid therapy (20 mg or less of daily prednisone equivalent). To the best of our knowledge, this is the shortest period of time over which the treatment of pulmonary sarcoidosis with corticosteroids has been assessed.

Delay-amount tradeoffs in choices by pigeons and rats: hyperbolic versus exponential discounting.

An adjusting-delay procedure was used to study the choices of pigeons and rats when both delay and amount of reinforcement were varied. In different conditions, the choice alternatives included one versus two reinforcers, one versus three reinforcers, and three versus two reinforcers. The delay to one alternative (the standard alternative) was kept constant in a condition, and the delay to the other (the adjusting alternative) was increased or decreased many times a session so as to estimate an indifference point--a delay at which the two alternatives were chosen about equally often.

Effects of reinforcer delay and variability in a successive-encounters procedure.

Pigeons responded in a successive-encounters procedure that consisted of a search period, a choice period, and a handling period. The search period was either a fixed-interval or a mixed-interval schedule presented on the center key of a three-key chamber. Upon completion of the search period, the center key was turned off and the two side keys were lit.

Relationships between colleges of pharmacy and academic medical centers.

Purpose: The nature of the relationships between academic medical centers and colleges of pharmacy, particularly in respect to experiential education, was studied.

Methods: A 22-item questionnaire was developed to assess the extent and type of student experiences academic medical centers offered, the presence of a contractual agreement, satisfaction level, role of pharmacy staff and residents, and perceived value of the relationship. The questionnaire was distributed electronically to pharmacy directors at 90 University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) academic medical centers, with subsequent responses analyzed with descriptive statistics.

Common problems in critically ill obstetric patients, with an emphasis on pharmacotherapy.

Pharmacological treatment of critically ill obstetric patients can be especially challenging due to the complexity of caring for 2 patients, with a paucity of research to support practice. This review will provide practitioners with primary recommendations for management of the critical illnesses most commonly encountered in pregnancy and will discuss the scientific and clinical merit of these recommendations.