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SN 1987A was an unusual hydrogen-rich core-collapse supernova originating from a blue supergiant star. Similar blue supergiant explosions remain a small family of events, and are broadly characterized by their long rises to peak. The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) Census of the Local Universe (CLU) experiment aims to construct a spectroscopically complete sample of transients occurring in galaxies from the CLU galaxy catalog. We identify 13 long-rising (>40 days) Type II supernovae from the volume-limited CLU experiment during a 3.5 year period from June 2018 to December 2021, approximately doubling the previously known number of these events. We present photometric and spectroscopic data of these 13 events, finding peak r-band absolute magnitudes ranging from -15.6 to -17.5 mag and the tentative detection of Ba II lines in 9 events. Using our CLU sample of events, we derive a long-rising Type II supernova rate of $1.37^{+0.26}_{-0.30}\times10^{-6}$ Mpc$^{-3}$ yr$^{-1}$, $\approx$1.4% of the total core-collapse supernova rate. This is the first volumetric rate of these events estimated from a large, systematic, volume-limited experiment., 32 pages, 17 figures, 5 tables. Submitted to ApJ

SPIRITS--the SPitzer InfraRed Intensive Transients Survey--searched for luminous infrared (IR) transients and variables in nearly 200 nearby galaxies from 2014 to 2019, using the warm Spitzer telescope at 3.6 and 4.5 microns. Among the SPIRITS variables are IR-bright objects that are undetected in ground-based optical surveys. We classify them as (1) transients, (2) periodic variables, and (3) irregular variables. The transients include "SPRITE"s (eSPecially Red Intermediate-luminosity Transient Events), having maximum luminosities fainter than supernovae, red IR colors, and a wide range of outburst durations (days to years). Here we report deep optical and near-IR imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of 21 SPIRITS variables. They were initially considered SPRITE transients, but many eventually proved instead to be periodic or irregular variables as more data were collected. HST images show most of these cool and dusty variables are associated with star-forming regions in late-type galaxies, implying an origin in massive stars. Two SPRITEs lacked optical progenitors in deep pre-outburst HST images; however, one was detected during eruption at J and H, indicating a dusty object with an effective temperature of ~1050 K. One faint SPRITE turned out to be a dusty classical nova. About half the HST targets proved to be periodic variables, with pulsation periods of 670-2160 days; they are likely dusty asymptotic-giant-branch (AGB) stars with masses of ~5-10 Msun. A few of them were warm enough to be detected in deep HST frames, but most are too cool. Out of six irregular variables, two were red supergiants with optical counterparts in HST images; four were too enshrouded for HST detection., Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal

We present a search for extragalactic fast blue optical transients (FBOTs) during Phase I of the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF). We identify 38 candidates with durations above half-maximum light 1 d < t1/2 < 12 d, of which 28 have blue (g-r, Replaced following peer-review process. 46 pages, 20 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

We develop and evaluate a deep learning algorithm to classify multiple catheters on neonatal chest and abdominal radiographs. A convolutional neural network (CNN) was trained using a dataset of 777 neonatal chest and abdominal radiographs, with a split of 81%-9%-10% for training-validation-testing, respectively. We employed ResNet-50 (a CNN), pre-trained on ImageNet. Ground truth labelling was limited to tagging each image to indicate the presence or absence of endotracheal tubes (ETTs), nasogastric tubes (NGTs), and umbilical arterial and venous catheters (UACs, UVCs). The data set included 561 images containing 2 or more catheters, 167 images with only one, and 49 with none. Performance was measured with average precision (AP), calculated from the area under the precision-recall curve. On our test data, the algorithm achieved an overall AP (95% confidence interval) of 0.977 (0.679-0.999) for NGTs, 0.989 (0.751-1.000) for ETTs, 0.979 (0.873-0.997) for UACs, and 0.937 (0.785-0.984) for UVCs. Performance was similar for the set of 58 test images consisting of 2 or more catheters, with an AP of 0.975 (0.255-1.000) for NGTs, 0.997 (0.009-1.000) for ETTs, 0.981 (0.797-0.998) for UACs, and 0.937 (0.689-0.990) for UVCs. Our network thus achieves strong performance in the simultaneous detection of these four catheter types. Radiologists may use such an algorithm as a time-saving mechanism to automate reporting of catheters on radiographs., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures (+1 suppl.), 2 tables (+2 suppl.). Submitted to Journal of Digital Imaging

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a public–private enterprise, is a new time-domain survey employing a dedicated camera on the Palomar 48-inch Schmidt telescope with a 47 deg2 field of view and an 8 second readout time. It is well positioned in the development of time-domain astronomy, offering operations at 10% of the scale and style of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) with a single 1-m class survey telescope. The public surveys will cover the observable northern sky every three nights in g and r filters and the visible Galactic plane every night in g and r. Alerts generated by these surveys are sent in real time to brokers. A consortium of universities that provided funding (“partnership”) are undertaking several boutique surveys. The combination of these surveys producing one million alerts per night allows for exploration of transient and variable astrophysical phenomena brighter than r∼20.5 on timescales of minutes to years. We describe the primary science objectives driving ZTF, including the physics of supernovae and relativistic explosions, multi-messenger astrophysics, supernova cosmology, active galactic nuclei, and tidal disruption events, stellar variability, and solar system objects.

MBA Professional Project In this work, we conduct a financial cost benefit analysis concerning the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron’s (Blue Angels) transition from the current aircraft, F/A-18 Legacy Hornet, to two alternatives, the F/A-18 Super Hornet or F-35C Lightning II. By systematically comparing expected procurement, testing, and operating costs with potential benefits, the methodology we developed in this thesis provides Department of the Navy leadership with valuable data in support of an informed decision on the future of the Blue Angels flight demonstration. Based on the assumptions, methodology, and the findings from our financial cost benefit analysis, our recommendation to the Department of the Navy is to transition the Blue Angels to the F/A-18 Super Hornet for use in the foreseeable future. http://archive.org/details/costbenefitanaly1094562700 Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy Commander, United States Navy

Opening up the dynamic infrared sky for systematic time-domain exploration would yield many scientific advances. Multi-messenger pursuits such as localizing gravitational waves from neutron star mergers and quantifying the nucleosynthetic yields require the infrared. Another multi-messenger endeavor that needs infrared surveyors is the study of the much-awaited supernova in our own Milky Way. Understanding shocks in novae, true rates of supernovae and stellar mergers are some other examples of stellar evolution and high energy physics wherein the answers are buried in the infrared. We discuss some of the challenges in the infrared and pathfinders to overcome them. We conclude with recommendations on both infrared discovery engines and infrared follow-up machines that would enable this field to flourish in the next decade., Comment: Astro2020 Science White Paper for Decadal Survey

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) is a new optical time-domain survey that uses the Palomar 48 inch Schmidt telescope. A custom-built wide-field camera provides a 47 deg 2 field of view and 8 s readout time, yielding more than an order of magnitude improvement in survey speed relative to its predecessor survey, the Palomar Transient Factory. We describe the design and implementation of the camera and observing system. The ZTF data system at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center provides near-real-time reduction to identify moving and varying objects. We outline the analysis pipelines, data products, and associated archive. Finally, we present on-sky performance analysis and first scientific results from commissioning and the early survey. ZTF’s public alert stream will serve as a useful precursor for that of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

This study examined the effect of increased speech intensity on stop consonant acoustics in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Acoustic analyses focused on measures of spirantization, voicing during closure, stop closure durations, and voice onset time. Ten individuals with Parkinson’s disease and ten age-matched controls were audio recorded while they read aloud words from the Distinctive Features Differences Test (DFD) during two conditions: no noise and 65 dB of multi-talker background noise. When compared to controls, the participants with PD had values that approached a significant difference for the measures related to greater percent voicing into closure (p=0.074), lower mean syllable intensity (p=0.069) and greater spirantization ratio (p=0.094). When compared to the no noise condition, the 65 dB multi-talker noise condition was associated with significant changes in voice onset time (VOT), syllable intensity, spirantization ratio and other measures. In addition, the place of stop consonant production had a significant effect on measures of closure duration, VOT, spectral skewness and other measures. These preliminary findings suggest that additional studies of the effect of changes in speech intensity on stop production in PD are warranted. The results of the present study identified several acoustic measures of stop production that may be useful in future evaluations of treatment outcome in PD.

This session will highlight INDOT’s progress with Open Roads/Practical Design during its first year of implementation and share policy and project innovations realized to maximize the efficient and effective use of public transportation dollars.

The late-stage evolution of very massive stars such as $��$ Carinae may be dominated by episodic mass ejections which may later lead to Type II superluminous supernova (SLSN-II; e.g., SN 2006gy). However, as long as $��$ Car is one of a kind, it is nearly impossible to quantitatively evaluate these possibilities. Here we announce the discovery of five objects in the nearby ($\sim4-8$ Mpc) massive star-forming galaxies M51, M83, M101 and NGC6946 that have optical through mid-IR photometric properties consistent with the hitherto unique $��$ Car. The Spitzer mid-IR spectral energy distributions of these $L_{bol}\simeq3-8\times10^{6} L_\odot$ objects rise steeply in the $3.6-8 ��$m bands, then turn over between $8$ and $24 ��$m, indicating the presence of warm ($\sim400-600$ K) circumstellar dust. Their optical counterparts in HST images are $\sim1.5-2$ dex fainter than their mid-IR peaks and require the presence of $\sim5-10 M_\odot$ of obscuring material. Our finding implies that the rate of $��$ Car-like events is a fraction $f=0.094$ ($0.040 < f < 0.21$ at $90\%$ confidence) of the core-collapse supernova (ccSN) rate. If there is only one eruption mechanism and SLSN-II are due to ccSN occurring inside these dense shells, then the ejection mechanism is likely associated with the onset of carbon burning ($\sim 10^3 - 10^4$ years) which is also consistent with the apparent ages of massive Galactic shells., 14 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

Clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) frequently adapt to meet the challenging and changing needs of patients, families, nurses, physicians, and institutions, thus creating an advance practice role that is problematic in definition and description. The two dilemmas associated with CNSs have been role confusion and ambiguity, and the inability to explicate CNSs' value in economic terms. The purpose of this study was to describe the roles, activities, skills, and the cost-saving and revenue-generating activities of Master's-prepared nurses who function in traditional CNS roles in the United States. A descriptive research design was employed, using Role Theory as a framework to guide the study. The tool used to measure CNS practice included a 68-item instrument. It was pretested and used in two pilot studies. Content validity was supported by three experienced CNSs who were, at the time, in a doctoral nursing program. Instrument reliability was 0.89. Surveys were mailed to all individuals who subscribed (n = 2379) to the Clinical Nurse Specialist Journal. From the convenience sample, 724 CNSs participated, providing a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points with a 99% confidence level. Regarding the five role components, CNSs reported (listed from most frequently to least frequently) spending time in the role of expert practitioner, educator, consultant, administrator, and researcher. Most of the activities listed in each of the roles were typical of CNS practice. Of the advanced practice roles, the two with the most surprising results were the expert practitioner and administrator roles. The results indicated a trend toward performing advanced skills that have been in the past considered solely medical practice and toward increasing administrative responsibilities. A small number of CNSs were able to identify cost-saving and revenue-generating activities, including the monetary value of the activity.

Visual mental imagery protocols can provide step-by-step traces of executive decisionmaking. Sequences of drawings that externalize thought processes are often easier to analyze than transcriptions of tape recorded verbal protocols. The technique is of obvious use for investigating spatial problem solving behavior since such tasks are usually solved with sketches, drawings, or graphs; the methodology is also appropriate for abstract, non-spatial decisionmaking for which mental images often function as models that managers mentally construct and manipulate. This paper reports an application to the analysis of decisions by a high level executive: the commander of a naval task force. The study will influence both design and evaluation of the command and control systems that support tactical decision making by such commanders and their staffs, over long periods, in hostile environments under extreme stress.

The economic outcomes surrounding the dramatic spread of “Las Vegas” style casinos in the United States has become a point of great interest and inquiry both politically and academically. Prior research has tended to focus on regional studies and provided uniform conclusions regardless of differences in the nature of the community. Moreover, much of the previous empirical work fails to account for local level trends during estimation. By using a comprehensive data set on employment and earnings from across the US, and by including county-specific trends, this research hopes to alleviate these earlier concerns, as well as help reconcile differences in the early literature surrounding casino effects on related industrial sectors. Basic findings suggest that counties experience an increase in employment after a casino opens, but there seems to be no measurable effect on average earnings. More detailed analysis reveals that the effect on industries related to casinos is somewhat mixed, but in general mildly positive, as casinos provide a positive employment and earnings spillovers into the surrounding local community. Intertemporal estimation suggests that the casino effect changes over time, but also finds that time effects vary across sectors. Estimates of how overall effects vary across different population sizes find that employment growth is inversely related to county population. Finally, additional estimation finds little impact on employment levels in neighboring counties, although there are some small effects in certain industries.I would like to thank Scott Adams, Scott Drewianka, John Heywood, James Peoples, McKinley Blackburn, Keith Bender, Don Siegel, Gary Anders, Doug Walker, and Mike Wentz for their helpful suggestions. I would also thank David Mustard and Earl Grinols for their help with the data. Dain Johnson provided valuable research assistance.

Genetic lesions resulting in epigenetic dysregulation have a newly appreciated role in tumor initiation and progression. Alterations in epigenetic enzymes, such as histone deacetylases (HDACs), lead to dynamic changes in the epigenetic landscape that are postulated to alter the expression of critical mediators of tumorigenesis. HDACs not only alter the expression of protein-coding genes, but also affect noncoding RNAs, including microRNA (miRNA). Recent evidence suggests that miRNA are one of the largest classes of regulatory molecules and, given their broad impact on gene expression, it is not surprising they have a significant role in tumorigenesis. Although, small molecule inhibitors of HDACs have demonstrated therapeutic utility, the molecular events underlying the observed selective killing of cancer cells are incompletely resolved. We determined that HDAC inhibition in numerous hematopoietic malignancies relieved the Myc-mediated transcriptional repression of miRNA with known tumor suppressive properties, namely the miR-15 and let-7 families. Specifically, following HDAC inhibition, Myc, which normally represses the miR-15 and let-7 families in cancer cells, transcriptionally activated their expression. In addition, we demonstrated that Myc was required for this HDAC inhibition-induced miRNA upregulation. As a result, transcript levels of the miR-15 and let-7 families increased, which subsequently targeted and decreased the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, respectively, inducing apoptosis in multiple hematopoietic malignancies. Unexpectedly, we demonstrated that, in normal cells, dysregulated Myc transcriptionally upregulated these miRNA as a means to prevent cellular transformation, revealing a novel mechanism whereby Myc induces apoptosis independent of the p53 tumor suppressor. Our results expose a previously unknown, and surprisingly general, mechanism of Myc-induced apoptosis that capitalizes on miRNA. Importantly, our data provide insight into the molecular underpinnings following HDAC inhibition and contribute new knowledge that should aid in the development of improved cancer therapeutics. Citation Format: Clare M. Adams, Scott W. Hiebert, Christine M. Eischen. HDAC inhibition unmasks a microRNA-mediated mechanism of tumor suppression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Noncoding RNAs and Cancer: Mechanisms to Medicines ; 2015 Dec 4-7; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(6 Suppl):Abstract nr A24.