Divergences between Language Models and Human Brains.

Do machines and humans process language in similar ways? Recent research has hinted at the affirmative, showing that human neural activity can be effectively predicted using the internal representations of language models (LMs). Although such results are thought to reflect shared computational principles between LMs and human brains, there are also clear differences in how LMs and humans represent and use language. In this work, we systematically explore the divergences between human and machine language processing by examining the differences between LM representations and human brain responses to language as measured by Magnetoencephalography (MEG) across two datasets in which subjects read and listened to narrative stories.

Toxicity of crude oil-derived polar unresolved complex mixtures to Pacific herring embryos: Insights beyond polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Crude oil toxicity to early life stage fish is commonly attributed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, it remains unclear how the polar unresolved complex mixture (UCM), which constitutes the bulk of the water-soluble fraction of crude oil, contributes to crude oil toxicity. Additionally, the role of photomodification-induced toxicity in relation to the polar UCM is not well understood.

Development and Validation of a Laparoscopic Sacrocolpopexy Training Model.

Importance: Proper training is necessary to develop the highly specialized skills required to safely perform laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy. Currently, there is no validated training model for laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy that includes dissection of the presacral space, both vaginal and presacral mesh attachments, and peritoneal closure.

Objectives: This study aimed to create a procedure specific hierarchical task analysis for laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy and then develop and validate a corresponding laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy pelvic training model for the simulation environment.

Creatinine clearance is maintained in a range of wet-bulb globe temperatures and work-rest ratios during simulated occupational heat stress.

We tested the hypothesis that compliance with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) heat stress recommendations will prevent reductions in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) across a range of wet-bulb globe temperatures (WBGTs) and work-rest ratios at a fixed work intensity. We also tested the hypothesis that noncompliance would result in a reduction in GFR compared with a work-rest matched compliant trial. Twelve healthy adults completed five trials (four NIOSH compliant and one noncompliant) that consisted of 4 h of exposure to a range of WBGTs.

Time dependence of aldehyde and ketone oxocarboxylic acid photoproduct generation from crude oil-seawater systems under solar irradiation.

Aldehyde and ketone oxocarboxylic acid photoproducts were semi-quantitated in the aqueous phase after subjecting Macondo (MC252) crude oil-seawater systems to simulated solar irradiation. Electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) was applied after derivatizing the samples with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH). Oil-seawater was irradiated at 27.

Barbed Versus Nonbarbed Suture for Posterior Colporrhaphy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Importance: There is limited literature or even consensus on the suture material used for posterior vaginal repairs.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare outcomes of barbed versus nonbarbed delayed absorbable suture used for posterior colporrhaphy.

Study Design: This study conducted a randomized controlled trial of 72 women undergoing posterior repair using standardized technique-concurrent procedures permitted with barbed (n = 36) or nonbarbed (n = 36) suture.

My pet pig won't fly and I want a refund.

Pigs can't fly. Any person buying a pig should understand this - it would be absurd to be upset that they can't fly or play poker. But pigs are amazing creatures and can do many interesting and useful things.

Occupational Heat Stress Recommendation Compliance Attenuates AKI Risk Compared with a Work-Rest Ratio-Matched, Positive Control Scenario.

Occupational heat stress recommendations attenuate AKI risk compared with a work–rest ratio–matched positive control scenario. Heat-induced AKI risk is strongly related to peak core temperature. The peak change in serum creatinine largely paralleled peak changes in urinary [insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7·tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase 2].

Photochemistry of oil in marine systems: developments since the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Oil spills represent a major source of negative environmental impacts in marine systems. Despite many decades of research on oil spill behavior, photochemistry was neglected as a major factor in the fate of oil spilled in marine systems. Subsequent to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, numerous studies using varied approaches have demonstrated the importance of photochemistry, including short-term impacts (hours to days) that were previously unrecognized.

Dispersant-enhanced photodissolution of macondo crude oil: A molecular perspective.

Previous laboratory studies developed a conceptual model based on elevated non-volatile dissolved organic carbon (NVDOC) concentrations after photodegradation and subsequent dissolution of Macondo oil following the Deepwater Horizon blowout. However, those experiments did not account for the effects of ∼1 million gallons of dispersant applied to the surface oil. Here, laboratory results show photodissolution in the presence of dispersant results in > 2x increase in NVDOC concentrations after extensive photoprocessing relative to oil without dispersant.

A Texture Statistics Encoding Model Reveals Hierarchical Feature Selectivity across Human Visual Cortex.

Midlevel features, such as contour and texture, provide a computational link between low- and high-level visual representations. Although the nature of midlevel representations in the brain is not fully understood, past work has suggested a texture statistics model, called the P-S model (Portilla and Simoncelli, 2000), is a candidate for predicting neural responses in areas V1-V4 as well as human behavioral data. However, it is not currently known how well this model accounts for the responses of higher visual cortex to natural scene images.

Low-level tuning biases in higher visual cortex reflect the semantic informativeness of visual features.

Representations of visual and semantic information can overlap in human visual cortex, with the same neural populations exhibiting sensitivity to low-level features (orientation, spatial frequency, retinotopic position) and high-level semantic categories (faces, scenes). It has been hypothesized that this relationship between low-level visual and high-level category neural selectivity reflects natural scene statistics, such that neurons in a given category-selective region are tuned for low-level features or spatial positions that are diagnostic of the region's preferred category. To address the generality of this "natural scene statistics" hypothesis, as well as how well it can account for responses to complex naturalistic images across visual cortex, we performed two complementary analyses.

Selectivity for food in human ventral visual cortex.

Visual cortex contains regions of selectivity for domains of ecological importance. Food is an evolutionarily critical category whose visual heterogeneity may make the identification of selectivity more challenging. We investigate neural responsiveness to food using natural images combined with large-scale human fMRI.

Early experience with low-pass filtered images facilitates visual category learning in a neural network model.

Humans are born with very low contrast sensitivity, meaning that inputs to the infant visual system are both blurry and low contrast. Is this solely a byproduct of maturational processes or is there a functional advantage for beginning life with poor visual acuity? We addressed the impact of poor vision during early learning by exploring whether reduced visual acuity facilitated the acquisition of basic-level categories in a convolutional neural network model (CNN), as well as whether any such benefit transferred to subordinate-level category learning. Using the ecoset dataset to simulate basic-level category learning, we manipulated model training curricula along three dimensions: presence of blurred inputs early in training, rate of blur reduction over time, and grayscale versus color inputs.

In-Person Versus Video Preoperative Visit: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: This study further supports virtual visits for gynecologic preoperative care.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine if preoperative video visits are noninferior to in-person visits in pelvic reconstructive surgery. Secondary objectives are as follows: patient satisfaction, convenience, visit duration, total perioperative visits, and patient travel time/distance.

Improving the accuracy of single-trial fMRI response estimates using GLMsingle.

Advances in artificial intelligence have inspired a paradigm shift in human neuroscience, yielding large-scale functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets that provide high-resolution brain responses to thousands of naturalistic visual stimuli. Because such experiments necessarily involve brief stimulus durations and few repetitions of each stimulus, achieving sufficient signal-to-noise ratio can be a major challenge. We address this challenge by introducing , a scalable, user-friendly toolbox available in MATLAB and Python that enables accurate estimation of single-trial fMRI responses (glmsingle.

Ad libitum drinking prevents dehydration during physical work in the heat when adhering to occupational heat stress recommendations.

Government entities issue recommendations that aim to maintain core temperature below 38.0°C and prevent dehydration [>2% body mass loss] in unacclimated workers exposed to heat. Hydration recommendations suggest drinking 237 mL of a cool sport drink every 15-20 min.

A resident robotic curriculum utilizing self-selection and a web-based feedback tool.

To describe an obstetrics and gynecology residency robotic curriculum, facilitated by a web-based feedback and case-tracking tool, allowing for self-selection into advanced training. Phase I (Basic) was required for all residents and included online training modules, online assessment, and robotic bedside assistant dry lab. Phase II (Advanced) was elective console training.

Intubation outcomes and practice trends during the initial New York SARS-COV-19 surge at an academic, level 1 trauma, urban emergency department.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to describe outcomes and associated characteristics of patients who were intubated during the initial (3/2020-4/2020) New York City surge of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (COVID-19) pandemic, during which time we were confronted by an unknown and unprecedented respiratory distress syndrome with extremely high degrees of morbidity and mortality. Our secondary aim was to analyze our physician's rapidly evolving approaches to COVID-19 airway management.

Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis of all patients intubated at two emergency departments (EDs) for COVID-19 suspected respiratory failure.

Dissolved organic matter production from herder application and in-situ burning of crude oil at high latitudes: Bioavailable molecular composition patterns and microbial community diversity effects.

Chemical herders and in-situ burning (ISB) are designed to mitigate the effects that oil spills may have on the high latitude marine environment. Little information exists on the water solubilization of petroleum residues stemming from chemically herded ISB and whether these bioavailable compounds have measurable impacts on marine biota. In this experiment, we investigated the effects of Siltech OP40 and crude oil ISB on a) petroleum-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition and b) seawater microbial community diversity over 28 days at 4 °C in aquarium-scale mesocosms.

Functional Context Affects Scene Processing.

Rapid visual perception is often viewed as a bottom-up process. Category-preferred neural regions are often characterized as automatic, default processing mechanisms for visual inputs of their categorical preference. To explore the sensitivity of such regions to top-down information, we examined three scene-preferring brain regions, the occipital place area (OPA), the parahippocampal place area (PPA), and the retrosplenial complex (RSC), and tested whether the processing of outdoor scenes is influenced by the functional contexts in which they are seen.

Validation of a Simulation Model for Robotic Sacrocolpopexy.

Objective: We sought to validate a simulation model for robotic sacrocolpopexy (RSCP) that includes multiple steps: presacral dissection/mesh attachment, vaginal mesh attachment, and peritoneal closure.

Methods: An RSCP training model was developed. Female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) experts and current FPMRS fellows were videotaped using the model; sessions were timed and scored using the Global Evaluative Assessment of Robotic Skills (GEARS) by 3 surgeon reviewers masked to participants' identities.

Twice-Daily Nitrofurantoin Administration Following Short-term Transurethral Catheterization After Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate if twice-daily nitrofurantoin for 5 days after discontinuation of transurethral catheterization decreases the rate of urinary tract infection (UTI) in women with postoperative urinary retention (POUR) after pelvic reconstructive surgery.

Methods: This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial conducted across 2 clinical sites between October 2017 and April 2019. Women with acute POUR after pelvic reconstructive surgery were included and randomized to nitrofurantoin (100 mg) or placebo twice-daily for 5 days.

Barium ion adduct mass spectrometry to identify carboxylic acid photoproducts from crude oil-water systems under solar irradiation.

Petroleum derived dissolved organic matter (DOMHC) samples were successfully cationized with barium, revealing many [M-H + Ba]+ peaks in both dark and simulated sunlight treatments. The DOMHC samples generated after light exposure exhibited a greater number of [M-H + Ba]+ peaks compared to the dark control. Multiple [M-H + Ba]+ peaks were investigated in the irradiated DOMHC using low resolution MS/MS in order to confirm the presence of diagnostic fragment ions, m/z 139, 155 and 196 in each treatment.