Bøger udgivet af National Academies Press

"Current von Neumann style computing is energy inefficient and bandwidth limited as information is physically shuttled via electrons between processor, short term non-volatile memory, and long-term storage. Biologically inspired neuromorphic computing, with its inherent autonomous learning capabilities and much lower power requirements based on analog processing, is seen as an avenue for overcoming these limitations. The development of nanoelectronic "memory resistors", or memristors, is essential to neuromorphic architectures as they allow logic-based elements for information processing to be combined directly with nonvolatile memory for efficient emulation of neurons and synapses found in the brain. Memristors are typically composed of a switchable material with nonlinear hysteretic behavior sandwiched between two conducting encoding elements. The design, dynamic control, scaling and fundamental understanding of these materials is essential for establishing memristive devices. To explore the state-of-the-art in the materials fundamentally underlying memristor technologies: their science, their mechanisms and their functional imperatives to realize neuromorphic computing machines, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Board on Physics and Astronomy convened a workshop on February 28, 2020. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop." --

A widespread and rapid transition to a low-carbon energy system by 2050 is essential to keep pace with ambitious policy goals and avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Innovation is necessary to lower costs and improve performance of existing technologies and to develop new clean energy options that address challenges in harder-to-decarbonize sectors. To examine means by which the U.S. federal government can rise to this challenge, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a virtual workshop series "Enhancing Federal Clean Energy Innovation" on July 27 to August 7, 2020. The workshop featured timely, action-orientated assessments of how to strengthen development and penetration of new clean energy technologies. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions that occurred over the course of the workshop.

In 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued an Interim Report evaluating the general viability of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration's (DOE-NNSA's) conceptual plans for disposing of 34 metric tons (MT) of surplus plutonium in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), a deep geologic repository near Carlsbad, New Mexico. It provided a preliminary assessment of the general viability of DOE-NNSA's conceptual plans, focused on some of the barriers to their implementation. This final report addresses the remaining issues and echoes the recommendations from the interim study.

From 1962 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed herbicides over Vietnam to strip the thick jungle canopy that could conceal opposition forces, to destroy crops that those forces might depend on, and to clear tall grasses and bushes from the perimeters of US base camps and outlying fire-support bases. Mixtures of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), picloram, and cacodylic acid made up the bulk of the herbicides sprayed. The main chemical mixture sprayed was Agent Orange, a 50:50 mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T. At the time of the spraying, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the most toxic form of dioxin, was an unintended contaminant generated during the production of 2,4,5-T and so was present in Agent Orange and some other formulations sprayed in Vietnam. Because of complaints from returning Vietnam veterans about their own health and that of their children combined with emerging toxicologic evidence of adverse effects of phenoxy herbicides and TCDD, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was asked to perform a comprehensive evaluation of scientific and medical information regarding the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange, other herbicides used in Vietnam, and the various components of those herbicides, including TCDD. Updated evaluations were conducted every two years to review newly available literature and draw conclusions from the overall evidence. Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 11 (2018) examines peer-reviewed scientific reports concerning associations between various health outcomes and exposure to TCDD and other chemicals in the herbicides used in Vietnam that were published between September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2017, and integrates this information with the previously established evidence database.

Injury and death from use of excessive force by police officers remain a common concern in countries across the globe. Despite local, national, and international attempts to legislate and provide guidance for police use of force, there continue to be global accounts of excessive force by law enforcement. Reports of officer-involved killings, injuries to citizens, and attempts to control protests and demonstrations with chemical irritants, rubber bullets, and sometimes shooting into crowds with live ammunition frequently appear in the press worldwide. However, reliable data on and accounting for these incidents are both lacking. A large network of international and regional organizations, bilateral donors, international financial institutions, and civil society organizations aim to work with governments to improve policing practices and reduce police use of excessive force. As a part of that network, the U.S. Department of State, through its Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), provides foreign assistance to and supports capacity building for criminal justice systems and police organizations in approximately 90 countries. Like many donors, it strives to direct its resources to the most effective approaches to achieve its mission. Policies and Practices to Minimize Police Use of Force Internationally, the third in a series of five reports produced for INL, addresses what policies and practices for police use of force are effective in promoting the rule of law and protecting the population (including the officers themselves). This report looks at what is known about effective practices and their implementation and identifies promising actions to be taken by international donors in their efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies.

The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the Social Security Disability Insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income program. As part of their process, immune system disorders are evaluated under Listing of Impairments 14.00 for adults and 114.00 for children. At the request of the SSA, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine assembled a committee to review selected conditions related to the immune system. In particular, the SSA was interested in the current status of the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of immune system disorders including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), scleroderma, polymyositis, Sjögren's syndrome/disease, and inflammatory arthritis. This report provides an overview of the current status of the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of these immune system disorders in the U.S. population and the relative levels of functional limitation typically associated with them, common treatments, and other considerations.

People spend the vast majority of their time inside their homes and other indoor environments where they are exposed to a wide range of chemicals from building materials, furnishings, occupants, cooking, consumer products, and other sources. Despite research to date, very little is known about how exposures to indoor chemicals across complex chemical phases and pathways affect human health. The COVID-19 pandemic has only increased public awareness of indoor environments and shed light on the many outstanding questions about how best to manage chemicals indoors. This report identifies gaps in current research and understanding of indoor chemistry and new approaches that can be applied to measure, manage, and limit chemical exposures. Why Indoor Chemistry Matters calls for further research about the chemical transformations that can occur indoors, pathways and timing of indoor chemical exposure, and the cumulative and long-term impacts of exposure on human health. Research priorities should consider factors that contribute to measurable environmental health disparities that affect vulnerable populations, such as the age, location, and condition of buildings that can alter exposures to indoor chemicals.

"Although artificial intelligence (AI) has many potential benefits, it has also been shown to suffer from a number of challenges for successful performance in complex real-world environments such as military operations, including brittleness, perceptual limitations, hidden biases, and lack of a model of causation important for understanding and predicting future events. These limitations mean that AI will remain inadequate for operating on its own in many complex and novel situations for the foreseeable future, and that AI will need to be carefully managed by humans to achieve their desired utility. Human-AI Teaming: State-of-the-Art and Research Needs examines the factors that are relevant to the design and implementation of AI systems with respect to human operations. This report provides an overview of the state of research on human-AI teaming to determine gaps and future research priorities and explores critical human-systems integration issues for achieving optimal performance." -- Provided by publisher

Climate change poses challenges as well as opportunities for businesses and, broadly speaking for the entire economy. Businesses will be challenged to provide services or products with less harmful influence on the climate; respond to a changing policy, regulatory, and market environment; and provide new services and products to help address the challenges of a changing climate. Many businesses are beginning to see climate change as another context within which they need to consider their core functions of strategy, finance, operations, marketing, and their regulatory environments, a context that poses both risks and opportunities. Climate Change Education: Preparing Current and Future Business Leaders is the summary of a workshop hosted by the National Research Council's Board on Science Education in March 2013 to explore issues associated with teaching climate change-related topics in business schools. The workshop focused on major gaps in understanding of climate and sustainability education in postsecondary professional schools of business. The workshop also connected the topic of climate education for current and future business leaders with a broader discussion on climate change education and how they influence and can benefit each other. This report discusses the role that business schools could play in preparing future corporate leaders for the challenges and opportunities that climate change poses.

The United States is a major producer of plastics and in 2016, generated more plastic waste by weight and per capita than any other nation. Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste calls for a national strategy by the end of 2022 to reduce the nation's contribution to global ocean plastic waste at every step - from production to its entry into the environment - including by substantially reducing U.S. solid waste generation.

Global advances in medicine, food, water, energy, microelectronics, communications, defense, and other important sectors of the economy are increasingly driven by discoveries in nanoscience and the development of nanotechnologies. Engaging the nanoscience and technology community in the crafting of national priorities, developing novel approaches for translating fundamental discovery to a technology readiness level appropriate for venture/industry funding, increasing domestic student interest in nanoscience to expand the workforce pipeline, and exploring new ways of coordinating the work of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) are all imperatives if the United States is to fully reap the societal benefits of nanotechnology. A Quadrennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative provides a framework for a redesign of the NNI and its coordination with the goal of achieving a U.S. resurgence in nanotechnology. This report makes recommendations to improve the value of the NNI's research and development strategy and portfolio to the economic prosperity and national security of the United States.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), in partnership with other agencies and divisions of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, coordinates a portfolio of projects that build data capacity for conducting patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR). PCOR focuses on producing scientific evidence on the effectiveness of prevention and treatment options to inform the health care decisions of patients, families, and health care providers, taking into consideration the preferences, values, and questions patients face when making health care choices. ASPE asked the National Academies to appoint a consensus study committee to identify issues critical to the continued development of the data infrastructure for PCOR. Building Data Capacity for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research contains findings and conclusions in the areas that could benefit from being prioritized as part of ASPE's work, and offers input on strengthening the overall framework for building the data infrastructure over the coming years. The committee authoring this report also issued three interim reports, which summarized discussions from three workshops, and are included as appendices in the final report.

Proper formulation of diets for horses depends on adequate knowledge of their nutrient requirements. These requirements depend on the breed and age of the horse and whether it is exercising, pregnant, or lactating. A great deal of new information has been accumulated since the publication 17 years ago of the last edition of Nutrient Requirements of Horses. This new edition features a detailed review of scientific literature, summarizing all the latest information, and provides a new set of requirements based on revised data. Also included is updated information on the composition of feeds, feed additives, and other compounds routinely fed to horses. The effects of physiological factors, such as exercise, and environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity, are covered, as well. Nutrient Requirements of Horses also contains information on several nutritional and metabolic diseases that horses often have. Designed primarily as a reference, both practical and technical, Nutrient Requirements of Horses is intended to ensure that the diets of horses and other equids contain adequate amounts of nutrients and that the intakes of certain nutrients are not so excessive that they inhibit performance or impair health. This book is primarily intended for animal nutritionists, veterinarians, and other scientists; however, individual horse owners and managers will also find some of this material useful. Professors who teach graduate courses in animal nutrition will find Nutrient Requirements of Horses beneficial as a textbook.

Digital health encompasses a broad array of tools and strategies with the goals of advancing research, increasing health care access and quality, and making care more personalized. It encompasses health content, digital health interventions, and digital applications, such as communication tools connecting patients and clinicians (e.g., secure email in the patient portal, text, chat, video visit), remote monitoring tools, clinical decision support tools, and systems for exchanging health information. Patient-facing tools, tools for clinicians, and systems to facilitate research and care improvement are all part of this diverse landscape, and each raises unique opportunities and potential challenges. To examine key policy issues for the effective and safe development, implementation, and use of digital health technologies in oncology research and care, the National Cancer Policy Forum of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a virtual workshop in collaboration with the Forum on Cyber Resilience. The workshop, Opportunities and Challenges for Using Digital Health Applications in Oncology, held on July 13-14, 2020, convened a broad group of experts, including clinicians and researchers; patient advocates; and representatives of federal agencies, health professional societies, health care organizations, insurers, and the pharmaceutical and health technology industries. Many workshop speakers found the opportunities presented by digital health tools to be particularly compelling for oncology; however, capitalizing on these opportunities necessitates careful attention to the design, implementation, and use of digital health technologies. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

"The opioid overdose epidemic combined with the need to reduce the burden of acute pain poses a public health challenge. To address how evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for prescribing opioids for acute pain might help meet this challenge, Framing Opioid Prescribing Guidelines for Acute Pain: Developing the Evidence develops a framework to evaluate existing clinical practice guidelines for prescribing opioids for acute pain indications, recommends indications for which new evidence-based guidelines should be developed, and recommends a future research agenda to inform and enable specialty organizations to develop and disseminate evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for prescribing opioids to treat acute pain indications. The recommendations of this study will assist professional societies, health care organizations, and local, state, and national agencies to develop clinical practice guidelines for opioid prescribing for acute pain. Such a framework could inform the development of opioid prescribing guidelines and ensure systematic and standardized methods for evaluating evidence, translating knowledge, and formulating recommendations for practice"--

The evolution of health care is expanding the possibilities for integration of clinical research into the continuum of clinical care; new approaches are enabling the collection of data in real-world settings; and new modalities, such as digital health technologies and artificial intelligence applications, are being leveraged to overcome challenges and advance clinical research. At the same time, the clinical research enterprise is strained by rising costs, varying global regulatory and economic landscapes, increasing complexity of clinical trials, barriers to recruitment and retention of research participants, and a clinical research workforce that is under tremendous demands. Looking ahead to 2030, the Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a public workshop for stakeholders from across the drug research and development life cycle to reflect on the lessons learned over the past 10 years and consider opportunities for the future. The workshop was designed to consider goals and priority action items that could advance the vision of a 2030 clinical trials enterprise that is more efficient, effective, person-centered, inclusive, and integrated into the health care delivery system so that outcomes and experiences for all stakeholders are improved. This Proceedings of a Workshop summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place during the four-part virtual public workshop held on January 26, February 9, March 24, and May 11, 2021.

Provides nutrient recommendations based on physical activity and stage in life, major factors that influence nutrient needs. This report also looks at how nutrients are metabolized in the bodies of dogs and cats, indications of nutrient deficiency, and diseases related to poor nutrition.

To take stock of lessons learned from COVID-19 around the world and in the United States, the Forum on Microbial Threats held two virtual workshops during 2021. The first workshop focused on what it means to frame the response to COVID-19 through a "syndemic" approach, and what the implications would be for global recovery. The second workshop focused more broadly on key lessons and emerging data from ongoing pandemic response efforts that can be incorporated into current health systems to improve resilience and preparedness for future outbreaks. This workshop explored the long-term effects of COVID-19 on health equity, including considerations for mental health and social determinants of health. It also addressed uncertainties during a pandemic, such as trust, communication, and engagement and explored approaches to systematize recovery efforts to improve the ongoing responses and prepare for the next pandemic. Experts discussed possibilities for a post-pandemic world and a response strategy for stakeholders that ensures sustained community partnerships and prioritization of health equity. This Proceedings of a Workshop summarizes the presentations and discussions from the second workshop.

"Autoimmune diseases occur when the body's immune system malfunctions and mistakenly attacks healthy cells, tissues, and organs. Strong data on the incidence and prevalence of autoimmune diseases are limited, but a 2009 study estimated the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in the U.S. to be 7.6 to 9.4 percent, or 25 to 31 million people today. This estimate, however, includes only 29 autoimmune diseases, and it does not account for increases in prevalence in the last decade. By some counts, there are around 150 autoimmune diseases, which are lifelong chronic illnesses with no known cures. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was asked to assess the autoimmune disease research portfolio of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Enhancing NIH Research on Autoimmune Disease finds that while NIH has made impressive contributions to research on autoimmune diseases, there is an absence of a strategic NIH-wide autoimmune disease research plan and a need for greater coordination across the institutes and centers to optimize opportunities for collaboration. To meet these challenges, this report calls for the creation of an Office of Autoimmune Disease/Autoimmunity Research in the Office of the Director of NIH. The Office could facilitate NIH-wide collaboration, and engage in prioritizing, budgeting, and evaluating research. Enhancing NIH Research on Autoimmune Disease also calls for the establishment of long term systems to collect epidemiologic and surveillance data and long term studies (20+ years) to study disease across the life course. Finally, the report provides an agenda that highlights research needs that crosscut many autoimmune diseases, such as understanding the effect of environmental factors in initiating disease"--

The needs and demands placed on science to address a range of urgent problems are growing. The world is faced with complex, interrelated challenges in which the way forward lies hidden or dispersed across disciplines and organizations. For centuries, scientific research has progressed through iteration of a workflow built on experimentation or observation and analysis of the resulting data. While computers and automation technologies have played a central role in research workflows for decades to acquire, process, and analyze data, these same computing and automation technologies can now also control the acquisition of data, for example, through the design of new experiments or decision making about new observations. The term automated research workflow (ARW) describes scientific research processes that are emerging across a variety of disciplines and fields. ARWs integrate computation, laboratory automation, and tools from artificial intelligence in the performance of tasks that make up the research process, such as designing experiments, observations, and simulations; collecting and analyzing data; and learning from the results to inform further experiments, observations, and simulations. The common goal of researchers implementing ARWs is to accelerate scientific knowledge generation, potentially by orders of magnitude, while achieving greater control and reproducibility in the scientific process. Automated Research Workflows for Accelerated Discovery: Closing the Knowledge Discovery Loop examines current efforts to develop advanced and automated workflows to accelerate research progress, including wider use of artificial intelligence. This report identifies research needs and priorities in the use of advanced and automated workflows for scientific research. Automated Research Workflows for Accelerated Discovery is intended to create awareness, momentum, and synergies to realize the potential of ARWs in scholarly discovery.

The U.S. Department of Defense is pursuing an improved ability to more closely integrate and operate jointly against agile adversaries through Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). This framework will seamlessly integrate sensors, networks, platforms, commanders, operators, and weapon systems for rapid information collection, decision-making, and projection of joint and multinational forces. The Department of the Air Force's contribution to JADC2 is the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS). As an evolving system in the early stages of definition, ABMS architecture and its supporting elements remain dynamic. Advanced Battle Management System assesses the technical approach being employed by ABMS and its ability to effectively support the range of system integration desired, while also supporting operational and development agility; and the governance being applied by ABMS and if it is appropriate and sufficient to enable quick development and evolution of capabilities while maintaining appropriate government control over the output.

"The aging population of the United States has significant implications for the workforce - challenging what it means to work and to retire in the U.S. In fact, by 2030, one-fifth of the population will be over age 65. This shift has significant repercussions for the economy and key social programs. Due to medical advancements and public health improvements, recent cohorts of older adults have experienced better health and increasing longevity compared to earlier cohorts. These improvements in health enable many older adults to extend their working lives. While higher labor market participation from this older workforce could soften the potential negative impacts of the aging population over the long term on economic growth and the funding of Social Security and other social programs, these trends have also occurred amidst a complicating backdrop of widening economic and social inequality that has meant that the gains in health, improvements in mortality, and access to later-life employment have been distributed unequally. Understanding the Aging Workforce: Defining a Research Agenda offers a multidisciplinary framework for conceptualizing pathways between work and nonwork at older ages. This report outlines a research agenda that highlights the need for a better understanding of the relationship between employers and older employees; how work and resource inequalities in later adulthood shape opportunities in later life; and the interface between work, health, and caregiving. The research agenda also identifies the need for research that addresses the role of workplaces in shaping work at older ages, including the role of workplace policies and practices and age discrimination in enabling or discouraging older workers to continue working or retire."--Publisher's website.