Applying to residency: survey of neurosurgical residency applicants on virtual recruitment during COVID-19

OBJECTIVE The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant disruption to residency recruitment, including a sudden, comprehensive transition to virtual interviews. The authors sought to characterize applicant experiences and perceptions concerning the change in the application, interview, and match process for neurological surgery residency during the 2020–2021 recruitment cycle. METHODS A national survey of neurosurgical residency applicants from the 2020–2021 application cycle was performed. This survey was developed in cooperation with the Society of Neurological Surgeons (SNS) and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons Young Neurosurgeons Committee (YNC) and sent to all applicants (n = 280) who included academic video submissions to the SNS repository as part of their application package. These 280 applicants accounted for 69.6% of the total 402 neurosurgical applicants this year. RESULTS Nearly half of the applicants responded to the survey (44.3%, 124 of 280). Applicants favored additional reform of the interview scheduling process, including a centralized scheduling method, a set of standardized release dates for interview invitations, and interview caps for applicants. Less than 8% of students desired a virtual-only platform in the future, though the majority of applicants supported incorporating virtual interviews as part of the process to contain applicant costs and combining them with traditional in-person interview opportunities. Program culture and fit, as well as clinical and research opportunities in subspecialty areas, were the most important factors applicants used to rank programs. However, subjective program "fit" was deemed challenging to assess during virtual-only interviews. CONCLUSIONS Neurosurgery resident applicants identified standardized interview invitation release dates, centralized interview scheduling methods, caps on the number of interviews available to each candidate, and regulated opportunities for both virtual and in-person recruitment as measures that could significantly improve the applicant experience during and effectiveness of future neurosurgery residency application cycles. Applicants prioritized program culture and "fit" during recruitment, and a majority were open to incorporating virtual elements into future cycles to reduce costs while retaining in-person opportunities to gauge programs and their locations.

Simulation of cancer treatment using the MATLAB SimBiology application

The paper presents the implementation of the mathematical model of cancer taking into account interference competition and the model of continuous treatment with a constant concentration of the drug in the patient's blood. The implementation was carried out using the MATLAB SimBiology application package. The principle of implementation of different stages of the course of the disease within the framework of one model is described. On the basis of the constructed models and SimBiology tools, a modification was carried out that implements the discrete administration of doses of the drug in courses and takes into account its dynamics in the body, taking into account the assumption that the drug is consumed only to suppress cancerous cells.

Criteria for selection to anesthesia residency programs: a survey of Canadian anesthesia program directors

Introduction: Applicants to specialty programs lack guidance on knowing what exactly is desired by selection committees and program directors. Anesthesia is especially opaque, given its failure to provide transparency reports nationally. This study was developed to survey Canadian anesthesia program directors about the aspects of the application package desired in an anesthesia applicant. The primary objective is to identify the preferred attributes of anesthesia applications by those mandating the selection committees. Methods: Survey was developed via Google Surveys, and sent online over a period of two months in June and July 2020. All program directors were sent requests for filling in the survey. STATA was used for all statistical analyses. Two analyses, Mann-Whitney and ANOVA tests, were performed for comparison groups. A p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Fourteen of seventeen (83%) Canadian anesthesia program directors completed the survey. Having done an anesthesia elective, good performance in it, and excellence of preclinical academic performance were considered among the most important aspects of the application package with the highest ranking important and smallest standard deviation. Any form of red flag was also considered an important criterion, again with little variation among program directors. The reference letters selected by the applicants were also important, with a personal relationship and well written reference being identified as most important (p < 0.05). Conclusions: An applicant who has good academic performance, having anesthesia elective experience, personal, well-written reference letters, and general activity and interests that are not necessarily anesthesia-focused would be favoured by Canadian anesthesia programs.

Implementasi Sistem Administrasi dan Forecasting Hasil Getah Karet Menggunakan Metode Moving Average

One of the plantation companies is located in north bengkulu and there are two gardens, precisely in Air Sebayur Village, Pinang Raya District and the other one is in Gembung Raya Village, Napal Putih District. Data from the results of the rubber sap in the division is still recorded manually, namely handwriting and then processed using the office application package, namelymicrosoft excel. However, the data is only limited to the results of rubber latex for PT. Julang Oca Permana and was not reviewed for information in the data. Implementation of the administration system and forecasting of rubber latex results using the Moving Average method at PT. Julang Oca Permana (jop) Bengkulu Utara was created using the visual basic .net programming language. With the development of the application, it can be used as an alternative in predicting the amount of production of rubber latex every day based on trend data for the previous 3 days. Administration system and forecasting of rubber latex results using the Moving Average method at PT. Julang Oca Permana (jop) Bengkulu Utara, there are several menus that can be accessed in order to manage production data and predict the amount of production. Based on the tests that have been carried out, it can be concluded that the application is able to predict the number of production results of each division for the next day based on trend data from the previous 3 days.

ON ONE SCIENTIFICALLY BASED SOWING MANAGEMENT FOR GETTING PARETO-OPTIMAL CROPS HARVEST

In the present work, we construct and study a mathematical model for one important agrarian problem of grain production, in which it is necessary to obtain such a guaranteed harvest of crops, the yield of which depends on soil-climatic conditions, so that the gross income from the sale of the grown crop is maximum. The constructed mathematical model is a multi-criteria optimization problem (with five criteria), and it can be attributed to optimal control, in which the controlled parameters are the kind and proportion of crops to be sown. Based on the results obtained, a concrete example is implemented using the application package Mathcad, version 14.0.0.163.

Devising a method to analyze the current state of the manipulator workspace

This paper has proposed a program analysis method over the current state of the workspace of an anthropomorphic manipulator using the Mathcad software application package (USA). The analysis of the manipulator workspace helped solve the following sub-tasks: to calculate the limits of the grip reach, to determine the presence of "dead zones" within the manipulator workspace, to build the boundaries of the manipulator workspace. A kinematic scheme of the manipulator typically provides for at least five degrees of mobility, which is why in the three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system the work zone boundaries represent the surfaces of a complex geometric shape. The author-devised method makes it possible to construct the projections of the boundaries of the manipulator's work zone onto the coordinate planes in the frame of reference associated with the base of the robot. Using Mathcad's built-in features makes it possible to effectively solve the above sub-tasks without wasting time developing specialized software. The Mathcad software application package provides for the possibility of a symbolic solution to the first problem of the kinematics of an industrial robot, that is, the program generates analytical dependences of the coordinates for special point P (pole) of the grip on the trigonometrical functions of the generalized coordinates. The resulting analytical dependences are used for kinematic and dynamic analysis of the manipulator. Special features in constructing mathematical models when using the Mathcad software application package have been revealed. Simulating the manipulator movement taking into consideration constraints for kinematic pairs, the drives' power, as well as friction factors, makes it possible to optimize the parameters of the manipulator kinematic scheme. An example of the analysis of the working space of an anthropomorphic manipulator with five degrees of mobility has been considered. The reported results could be used during the design, implementation, modernization, and operation of manipulators.