Temperature of a gray body most closely fit- ting the solar extraterrestrial spectrum

Temperature measurements of black body most closely fitting solar extraterrestrial spectru

Ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes: A review of underlying mechanisms

Epidemiological data provide varying degrees of evidence for associations between prenatal exposure to ambient air pollutants and adverse birth outcomes (suboptimal measures of fetal growth, preterm birth and stillbirth). To assess further certainty of effects, this review examines the experimental literature base to identify mechanisms by which air pollution (particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone) could cause adverse effects on the developing fetus. It likely that this environmental insult impacts multiple biological pathways important for sustaining a healthy pregnancy, depending upon the composition of the pollutant mixture and the exposure window owing to changes in physiologic maturity of the placenta, its circulations and the fetus as pregnancy ensues. The current body of evidence indicates that the placenta is a target tissue, impacted by a variety of critical processes including nitrosative/oxidative stress, inflammation, endocrine disruption, epigenetic changes, as well as vascular dysregulation of the maternal‐fetal unit. All of the above can disturb placental function and, as a consequence, could contribute to compromised fetal growth as well increasing the risk of stillbirth. Furthermore, given that there is often an increased inflammatory response associated with preterm labour, inflammation is a plausible mechanism mediating the effects of air pollution on premature delivery. In the light of increased urbanisation and an ever‐changing climate, both of which increase ambient air pollution and negatively affect vulnerable populations such as pregnant individuals, it is hoped that the collective evidence may contribute to decisions taken to strengthen air quality policies, reductions in exposure to air pollution and subsequent improvements in the health of those not yet born

PRISIM: a computer program that makes PRA useful

PRISIM is an IBM personal computer program that translates probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) information and calculates additional PRA type information for use by those who are not PRA experts. Specifically, PRISIM was developed for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission for use by their resident inspectors at nuclear power plants. Inspector activities are either scheduled or are in response to a particular status of a plant. PRISIM is useful for either activity

Robust plasmon waveguides in strongly-interacting nanowire arrays

Arrays of parallel metallic nanowires are shown to provide a tunable, robust, and versatile platform for plasmon interconnects, including high-curvature turns with minimum signal loss. The proposed guiding mechanism relies on gap plasmons existing in the region between adjacent nanowires of dimers and multi-wire arrays. We focus on square and circular silver nanowires in silica, for which excellent agreement between both boundary element method and multiple multipolar expansion calculations is obtained. Our work provides the tools for designing plasmon-based interconnects and achieving high degree of integration with minimum cross talk between adjacent plasmon guides.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Dominion cartoon satire as trench culture narratives: complaints, endurance and stoicism

Although Dominion soldiers’ Great War field publications are relatively well known, the way troops created cartoon multi-panel formats in some of them has been neglected as a record of satirical social observation. Visual narrative humour provides a ‘bottom-up’ perspective for journalistic observations that in many cases capture the spirit of the army in terms of stoicism, buoyed by a culture of internal complaints. Troop concerns expressed in the early comic strips of Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders and British were similar. They shared a collective editorial purpose of morale boosting among the ranks through the use of everyday narratives that elevated the anti-heroism of the citizen soldier, portrayed as a transnational everyman in the service of empire. The regenerative value of disparagement humour provided a redefinition of courage as the very act of endurance on the Western Front

An evidence-based socioecological framework to understand men’s use of anabolic androgenic steroids and inform interventions in this area

Research into men’s use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) over the past three decades has identified many factors that contribute to decision making in this area. However there are limited theoretical frameworks to synthesize this research and guide practice, such as interventions to prevent use or reduce health risks. To address this gap a socioecological framework is presented based upon the international literature examining AAS use. Socioecological models recognize that individuals and behaviors exist within complex physical and social systems and are useful tools for guiding interventions to ensure consideration is given to multiple influential factors. This framework proposes that use of AAS is the result of the interaction of a range of factors at the individual, social network, institutional, community and societal levels that are likely to change over time and with experience. Viewed through this framework it becomes clear that AAS use can be a complex behavior with many influential environments and relationships impacting on a diverse population in different ways and at different times. The implications of findings for engaging with people who use AAS and delivering interventions are discussed, such as the identification of important transition times and influencing norms within social groups and communities

What are the living conditions and health status of those who don't report their migration status? a population-based study in Chile

BACKGROUND: Undocumented immigrants are likely to be missing from population databases, making it impossible to identify an accurate sampling frame in migration research. No population-based data has been collected in Chile regarding the living conditions and health status of undocumented immigrants. However, the CASEN survey (Caracterizacion Socio- Economica Nacional) asked about migration status in Chile for the first time in 2006 and provides an opportunity to set the base for future analysis of available migration data. We explored the living conditions and health of self-reported immigrants and respondents who preferred not to report their migration status in this survey. METHODS: Cross-sectional secondary analysis of CASEN survey in Chile in 2006. Outcomes: any disability, illness/accident, hospitalization/surgery, cancer/chronic condition (all binary variables); and the number of medical/emergency attentions received (count variables). Covariates: Demographics (age, sex, marital status, urban/rural, ethnicity), socioeconomic status (education level, employment status and household income), and material standard of living (overcrowding, sanitation, housing quality). Weighted regression models were estimated for each health outcome, crude and adjusted by sets of covariates, in STATA 10.0. RESULTS: About 1% of the total sample reported being immigrants and 0.7% preferred not to report their migration status (Migration Status - Missing Values; MS-MV). The MS-MV lived in more deprived conditions and reported a higher rate of health problems than immigrants. Some gender differences were observed by health status among immigrants and the MS-MV but they were not statistically significant. Regressions indicated that age, sex, SES and material factors consistently affected MS-MVs’ chance of presenting poor health and these patterns were different to those found among immigrants. Great heterogeneity in both the MS-MV and the immigrants, as indicated by wide confidence intervals, prevented the identification of other significantly associated covariates. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to look at the living conditions and health of those that preferred not to respond their migration status in Chile. Respondents that do not report their migration status are vulnerable to poor health and may represent undocumented immigrants. Surveys that fail to identify these people are likely to misrepresent the experiences of immigrants and further quantitative and qualitative research is urgently required

Cohabitation : the Pan-America View

In this concluding chapter we reflect on a series of issues of both a methodological and substantive nature encountered in this research project. Firstly, we must realize that the use of individual census records not only opened vast possibilities, but also entails a number of limitations. Secondly, the very large sample sizes allowed for the disaggregation of national trends into far more detailed spatial, ethnic and educational patterns. This, in its turn, allowed us to adopt a "geo-historical" view of the rise of cohabitation for almost the entire American continent, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. Furthermore, statistical analyses could be performed at the individual and contextual levels simultaneously. Results show that the effects of social stratification, religion and ethnicity are continuing to be of major importance. This not only holds at the individual level, but at the contextual level as well. Nevertheless, an entirely new wave of change started rolling over the pre-existing patterns from the 1970s onward. These trends are following a firm course, irrespective of the economic ups and downs. The Americas, as opposed to many Asian societies and Africa, are now following in the European footsteps, be it with their own distinct and path-dependent characteristics associated with regionally varying historical antecedents

Lyapunov exponent of the random Schr\"{o}dinger operator with short-range correlated noise potential

We study the influence of disorder on propagation of waves in one-dimensional structures. Transmission properties of the process governed by the Schr\"{o}dinger equation with the white noise potential can be expressed through the Lyapunov exponent $\gamma$ which we determine explicitly as a function of the noise intensity \sigma and the frequency \omega. We find uniform two-parameter asymptotic expressions for $\gamma$ which allow us to evaluate $\gamma$ for different relations between \sigma and \omega. The value of the Lyapunov exponent is also obtained in the case of a short-range correlated noise, which is shown to be less than its white noise counterpart.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure

Migration Costs and Networks: household optimal investment in migration

International migration is an expensive form of investment, that only households relatively better off can afford. However poorer households have the higher incentive to migrate. Migration decision is conditional on the entry cost, expected returns and risks of migration. This paper, using data from Mexican rural and urban areas, examines the relation between household and community networks and costs and risks of migration focusing on the optimal investment in migration. To investigate an household optimal number of migrants this paper introduces a Three Step procedure to solve simultaneously for the endogeneity of network size and possible selection of migrants. The analysis confirms the inverted U-shaped relation between wealth and migration, stressing the importance of networks particularly in facilitating the migration of social strata belonging to the left tail of the income distribution. Moreover, in presence of sunk costs and/or high initial investment, household and community networks accomplish different functions