LEGAL DIGS

In this proof-of-concept work, we evaluate the performance of multiple machine-learning methods as surrogate models for use in the analysis of agent-based models (ABMs). Analysing agent-based modelling outputs can be challenging, as the relationships between input parameters can be non-linear or even chaotic even in relatively simple models, and each model run can require significant CPU time. Surrogate modelling, in which a statistical model of the ABM is constructed to facilitate detailed model analyses, has been proposed as an alternative to computationally costly Monte Carlo methods. Here we compare multiple machine-learning methods for ABM surrogate modelling in order to determine the approaches best suited as a surrogate for modelling the complex behaviour of ABMs. Our results suggest that, in most scenarios, artificial neural networks (ANNs) and gradient-boosted trees outperform Gaussian process surrogates, currently the most commonly used method for the surrogate modelling of complex computational models. ANNs produced the most accurate model replications in scenarios with high numbers of model runs, although training times were longer than the other methods. We propose that agent-based modelling would benefit from using machine-learning methods for surrogate modelling, as this can facilitate more robust sensitivity analyses for the models while also reducing CPU time consumption when calibrating and analysing the simulation.

Broth or agar dilution susceptibility test results for Enterobacteriaceae (11,775 strains), anaerobes (2888 strains), staphylococci (2206 strains), Haemophilus spp. (840 strains), group A streptococci (280 strains), group B streptococci (269 strains), Streptococcus pneumoniae (709 strains), and 160 …

The immediate lack of market-dominating commercial products (Vitek or MicroScan) for susceptibility testing of the new glycolipopeptide, dalbavancin, requires a surrogate marker agent to assist microbiologists in the correct categorization of potentially ...

Until 2016, federal courts unanimously concluded that predicate offenses for the Armed Career Criminal Act ('ACCA") required a knowledge mens rea. Therefore, any state law crimes that could be com- mitted with a reckless mens rea were not "violent felonies" and could not serve as ACCA predicates. In 2016, however, the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Voisine v. United States disrupted that lower court consensus. The Court stated that a reckless mens rea was sufficient to violate 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), which bars individuals convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses from possessing firearms. The ACCA's language is similar to § 922(g)(9), so, after Voisine, some lower courts overruled their prior ACCA precedents and held that reckless offenses could serve as ACCA predicates. Other courts, however, found that the purpose and context of § 922(g)(9) is significantly different than the ACCA, and ACCA predicate offenses still require a knowledge mens rea. This Note advocates for a congressional amendment to the ACCA that explicitly includes a knowledge mens rea requirement. A knowledge mens rea is most consistent with how the ACCA has been interpreted, adheres to original congressional intent, and ensures that repeated reckless offenders are not considered "career criminals" and are not subject to the ACCA's harsh punishment.

Criminal law has adopted the folk psychological view of human agency. Under this view, voluntary action exists and mental states, such as intentions, goals, and desires, have a causal relationship with bodily movement. However, new advances in neuroscience have begun to challenge this model and have lent empirical support to the idea that mental states may not play a causal role in bodily movement. This has profound implications for the voluntary act element of actus reus because the requirement presupposes the folk psychological view of agency. Nevertheless, criminal law can avoid this dilemma through praxeology, the deductive study of human action. This Article demonstrates through the deductive methods of praxeology that voluntary acts exist even assuming that mental states do not cause any bodily movement. Therefore, a praxeological conception of voluntariness in criminal law escapes the potential legal and bioethical dilemmas associated with using folk psychology in the voluntary act requirement. Furthermore, this Article shows that a praxeological theory of action is fully compatible with positive criminal law while still eliminating the possibility of legal voluntariness becoming a meaningless concept.

Basic summaries and coherent overviews of omissions cases in criminal law.

Basic summaries and coherent overviews of omissions cases in criminal law.

Basic summaries and coherent overviews of omissions cases in criminal law.

by Guus ten Broeke, George van Voorn, Arend Ligtenberg and Jaap Molenaar

What is osteopathic medicine and how is a doctor of osteopathic medicine different? Learn about osteopathic medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine.

The last days of life for patients with cancer involves managing end-of-life (EOL) care issues for a wide range of possible symptoms and ethical dilemmas. Get detailed information about EOL issues and the role of the oncologist in this clinician summary.

Topics article on Explaining Withholding Treatment, Withdrawing Treatment, and Palliative Sedation

Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy - In end-of-life care discussions, I contend that the distinction between “having a life” vs. “being alive” is an underutilized...

Location & HoursTompkins County Courthouse320 North Tioga StreetIthaca, NY 14850Chief Clerk Lori S. DeckerPhone: 607-216-6655Fax: 212-457-2952Mailing Address:PO Box 70Ithaca, NY 14851-0070Business Hours:8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday except Holidays.

Experts preparing the Static Detonation Chamber 2000 at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant concluded an important test in early November,

Withdrawing or withholding invasive medical treatments to keep very ill patients in the ICU comfortable and communicative may not hasten their death.

Maeve Roughton asks if it’s becoming a crime to think the wrong thoughts.