A Guide to Disability Statistics from the National Health Interview Survey

The purpose of this paper is to examine the information on the population with disabilities in a nationally representative survey conducted by the National Center on Health Statistics called the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The paper provides a description of the disability information available in the NHIS and how the data may be used to assess the employment, economic well being and health of the population. Descriptive statistics from the 2002 NHIS public use files are used to illustrate the type of analysis that will be useful to researchers and policymakers

Inter-frequency Bias Estimation for the GPS Monitor Station Network

The inter-frequency bias (IFB) is present in all dual frequency combinations of GPS pseudorange and carrier phase observables. It is caused by the path dependent signal delays in both the satellite and receiver. That delay can be directly measured for a space vehicle prior to launch, or for a ground based receiver prior to its being used in the field. However the bias is known to drift, and monitoring the delay estimate by direct measurement is time consuming for ground based receivers and impossible for deployed space vehicles. Hansen (2002) examined the observability of IFB through a global model of ionosphere total electron content (TEC). Variation in the receiver portion of the IFB can also be observed in receivers with antennae in a zero-baseline configuration. This is referred to as an inter-receiver bias (IRB). In this study a Kalman filter is formulated to observe IFBs and IRBs. Process noise is used to allow the filter to track changes in the IFBs and IRBs. The filter also implements constraints to reflect the fact that a given IRB is not linearly independent of the IFBs. Because the receivers are distributed on a global scale, the Kalman filter requires a globally observable phenomenon by which to tie the IFBs. In this case ionosphere delay provides such a phenomenon. The filter was applied to observations collected by GPS monitor stations that comprise the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency Monitor Station Network (MSN). Each monitor station contains two geodetic quality receivers in a zero-baseline configuration and continuously collects GPS observations. The GPS observations collected by this network are used to produce both precise ephemeris and the broadcast ephemeris. GPS observations made through the network are incorporated into the GPS Master Control Station (MCS) Kalman filter of the Operational Control System (OCS) (Wiley, 2006). The Kalman filter in the OCS estimates the orbital parameters that are transmitted via the navigation message. If estimated effectively, knowledge of the receiver portion of the IFB can aid in achieving better ionosphere models. IFBs are made observable using a global ionosphere delay model. A ninth order spherical harmonic model derived by Y.C. Chao (1997) was used in this study for ionosphere delay. Chao used this spherical harmonic model to capture ionospheric variations that occurred over a smaller global region in his IFB estimation process. In this study a similar model was used but was verified using observations that span a global coverage. The receiver portion of the IFB is observed precisely using the IRB. In this study error terms were introduced into the Kalman filter design to realign the IRB estimates to the IFB estimates produced for each of the two receivers in a zero baseline configuration. For a nominal epoch of measurement, there were 198 noisy measurements used each epoch to generate twelve monitor station specific IRBs. The IRB estimates showed small, decimeter level dynamic variation over the period of a day. The quality of the IFB estimate directly affects the quality of the ionospheric model formed during the estimation process. Results verify that the filter is operating properly. The ionosphere model, though simple, demonstrates that the total electron content (TEC) peaks during local noon and is at a minimum during local night. IRB estimates are roughly constant over time and have a magnitude of less than 2.5 meters. Similar estimates are formed for the IFBs, however when processing one day of observations, the IFB estimates are less stable than those of the IRBs. Future effort will involve tuning the filter, and establishing criteria for its convergence

Ten Economic Facts About Crime and Incarceration in the United States

Crime and high rates of incarceration impose tremendous costs on society, with lasting negative effects on individuals, families, and communities. Rates of crime in the United States have been falling steadily, but still constitute a serious economic and social challenge. At the same time, the incarceration rate in the United States is so high -- more than 700 out of every 100,000 people are incarcerated -- that both crime scholars and policymakers alike question whether, for nonviolent criminals in particular, the social costs of incarceration exceed the social benefits

Astrophysical Supercomputing with GPUs: Critical Decisions for Early Adopters

General purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is dramatically changing the landscape of high performance computing in astronomy. In this paper, we identify and investigate several key decision areas, with a goal of simplyfing the early adoption of GPGPU in astronomy. We consider the merits of OpenCL as an open standard in order to reduce risks associated with coding in a native, vendor-specific programming environment, and present a GPU programming philosophy based on using brute force solutions. We assert that effective use of new GPU-based supercomputing facilities will require a change in approach from astronomers. This will likely include improved programming training, an increased need for software development best-practice through the use of profiling and related optimisation tools, and a greater reliance on third-party code libraries. As with any new technology, those willing to take the risks, and make the investment of time and effort to become early adopters of GPGPU in astronomy, stand to reap great benefits.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

Fernandez Bay, San Salvador, Bahamas: A Natural Laboratory for Assessment of the Preservation of Coral Reef Community Structure

Reprinted from: James L. Carew (ed.), Proceedings of the 8th Symposium on the Geology of the Bahamas: San Salvador, Bahamian Field Statio

Entitlement Reform and the Future of Pensions

Reform of retirement and health care entitlements is inevitable, but its ultimate format remains uncertain. Any entitlement reform should take advantage of the additional resources provided by economic growth and the rise in demand for and supply of older workers. Recognizing the potential from those two forces argues for constructing reforms aimed largely at three goals: better orientation of public-sector retirement resources to needier and older populations; removal of obstacles to increased employment of older workers; and private-pension reform that provides the long-sought second tier of support in older ages

Comparison of Recent Coral Life and Death Assemblages to Pleistocene Reef Communities: Implications for Rapid Faunal Replacement on Recent Reefs

Marine ecologists and paleoecologists are increasingly recognizing that the Pleistocene and Holocene fossil record of coral reefs is the exclusive database from which an assessment of the long-term responses of reef communities to environmental perturbations may be obtained. The apparent persistence of coral communities in the face of intense fluctuations in sea level and sea surface temperature during glacial and interglacial stages of Pleistocene time is in marked contrast to dramatic fluctuations in reef community structure documented by short-term monitoring studies. We compared the taxonomic structure of live and dead coral communities on a modem patch reef currently undergoing a community transition to late Pleistocene facies exposed in the CockburnTown fossil coral reef. Multidimensional scaling revealed that specific taxa and colony growth forms characterize life, death, and fossil assemblages. The recent decline of thickets of Acropora cervicorn is is represented by their abundance in the death assemblage, while Porites porites dominates the coral life assemblage. Although additional study of Pleistocene reefal facies is required, the greater similarity of the death assemblage to the fossil assemblage suggests that the present Caribbean- wide decline of A. cervicornis is without a historical preceden

Reconstruction and Analysis of Central Metabolism in Microbes

Genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) generated from automated reconstruction pipelines often lack accuracy due to the need for extensive gapfilling and the inference of periphery metabolic pathways based on lower-confidence annotations. The central carbon pathways and electron transport chains are among the most well-understood regions of microbial metabolism, and these pathways contribute significantly toward defining cellular behavior and growth conditions. Thus, it is often useful to construct a simplified core metabolic model (CMM) that is comprised of only the high-confidence central pathways. In this chapter, we discuss methods for producing core metabolic models (CMM) based on genome annotations. With its reduced scope compared to GEMs, CMM reconstruction focuses on accurate representation of the central metabolic pathways related to energy biosynthesis and accurate energy yield predictions. We demonstrate the reconstruction and analysis of CMMs using the DOE Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase). The complete workflow is available at http://kbase.us/core-models/

Speaking out about gender imbalance in invited speakers improves diversity.

Omissions of qualified women scientists from major meeting programs continue to occur despite a surge in articles indicating persistent gender-discriminatory practices in hiring and promotion, and calls for gender balance in conference organizing committees