The Grizzly, November 30, 2006

Alcohol Awareness on the Front Burner of the Ursinus Campus • Diversity Forum Held for Staff and Students • 2nd Annual Relay for Life Officially Kicked Off at Ursinus • Town Hall Discusses Incidents on Campus • An Oral Examination • UCDC Performs Superbly in Latest Show • People Seeing People: The Artwork of Seward Johnson • Highlights of the Exposure Week Events and Festivities • Opinions: The Meaning of Liberal Arts; Racism in Our World and Home • Ursinus 2006 Division III Field Hockey National Champions! • Swimming to Successhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1726/thumbnail.jp

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

The impact of perceived stress and coping behaviors on college adjustment for undergraduate students with learning disabilities.

In view of comparatively low graduation rates of post-secondary education for students with learning disabilities, the extant literature was reviewed on stress, coping and college adjustment for this population. Undergraduate students with learning disabilities may be at an increased risk of attrition due to higher perceived stress and greater tendencies to utilize emotion-focused and avoidance coping behaviors. The relationship of perceived stress and coping behaviors to college adjustment was investigated using a sample of 50 undergraduate university students with documented learning disabilities. The predictive ability of perceived stress and coping behaviors for college adjustment was determined using self-report questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were performed to determine the main effects of stress and coping on college adjustment and the possible presence of an interaction effect when stress and coping behaviors are combined. Overall, results did offer support for the contention that increased stress and passive coping behaviors negatively impacted college adjustment. Importantly, stress and emotion coping negatively impacted college adjustment for this sample, but it was not more so than the general university population. These findings suggest that university students with learning disabilities are experiencing similar amount of stress and exhibiting similar coping behaviors as their peers without learning disabilities

Health, Wellness, and Illness in Appalachia

This NCA Public Program addressed health, health care, and understandings about health in the Appalachian region, an area where residents face a disproportionately high incidence of poor health and unique barriers to health. The program took place in the East Tennessee Room of the D.P. Culp Center on the campus of East Tennessee State University. The moderated panel included scholars in Communication, Community Health, Nursing, and Appalachian Studies, as well as community practitioners

Unmet Need for Mental Health Services Utilization Among Under-Resourced Black and Latinx Adults

IntroductionSubstantial unmet need for mental health services (MHS) exists in the United States, with pronounced disparities among people of color. Research highlights the need to identify facilitators and barriers to MHS utilization among Black and Latinx individuals to better promote overall health. We tested an expanded model of MHS use based on Andersen's (1995) conceptual framework of health care utilization. Associations were examined between sociodemographic variables, trauma and adversity burden, living with HIV, and unmet need for MHS in a community sample of underresourced Black and Latinx individuals. Barriers to MHS utilization are described.MethodsFive-hundred participants completed the UCLA Life Adversities Screener (LADS), sociodemographic measures, and items assessing need for and barriers to MHS.Results228 (46%) participants reported a need for MHS; of these, 115 (51%) reported receiving MHS. A binomial logistic regression model estimated the relative contribution of the LADS on need for MHS. Severity of LADS, younger age, and living with HIV predicted unmet need for MHS. Barriers to MHS included financial and time constraints and health system-related issues. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests revealed differences in mental health symptoms by MHS need.DiscussionThe unmet need for MHS in this sample of Black and Latinx individuals highlights the importance of addressing the systemic roots of trauma and adversity burden, and eliminating structural barriers to treatment to reduce existing health and mental health inequities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)