3,800 research outputs found

    Redemption from the Inside-Out: The Power of Faith-Based Programming

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    Prisons are tense, cheerless, and often degrading places in which all inmates struggle to maintain their equilibrium despite violence, exploitation, lack of privacy, stringent limitations on family and community contacts, and a paucity of opportunities for meaningful education, work, or other productive activities. As a general matter, prisoners come to see prison as their home and try to make the most of the limited resources available in prison; they establish daily routines that allow them to find meaning and purpose in their prison lives, lives that might otherwise seem empty and hopeless. The resilience shown by prisoners should not be construed as an argument for more or longer prison sentences or for more punitive regimes of confinement, but rather is a reminder that human beings can find meaning in adversity. Prisons are meant to be settings of adversity but should strive to accommodate the human needs of their inhabitants and to promote constructive changes in behavior. Here, there are programmatic offerings that may provide prisoners with the hope, skills, and empowerment necessary to overcome barriers to achievement and success as human beings in any social context. A current line of inquiry has focused on faith based prison programs and the potential benefits that a deepened spiritual life might have on coping with the doing time experience, changing old lifestyles, and reducing the likelihood of people returning to prison. These points will be explored throughout this chapter

    Efficient excitation of cavity resonances of subwavelength metallic gratings

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    One dimensional rectangular metallic gratings enable enhanced transmission of light for specific resonance frequencies. Two kinds of modes participating to enhanced transmission have already been demonstrated : (i) waveguide modes and (ii) surface plasmon polaritons (SPP). Since the original paper of Hessel and Oliner \cite{hessel} pointing out the existence of (i), no progress was made in their understanding. We present here a carefull analysis, and show that the coupling between the light and such resonances can be tremendously improved using an {\it evanescent} wave. This leads to enhanced localisation of light in cavities, yielding, in particular, to a very selective light transmission through these gratings.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

    Physical Activity Minimum Threshold Predicting Improved Function in Adults With Lower‐Extremity Symptoms

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    Objective To identify an evidence‐based minimum physical activity threshold to predict improved or sustained high function for adults with lower‐extremity joint symptoms. Methods Prospective multisite data from 1,629 adults, age ≄49 years with symptomatic lower‐extremity joint pain/aching/stiffness, participating in the Osteoarthritis Initiative accelerometer monitoring substudy were clinically assessed 2 years apart. Improved/high function in 2‐year gait speed and patient‐reported outcomes (PROs) were based on improving or remaining in the best (i.e., maintaining high) function quintile compared to baseline status. Optimal thresholds predicting improved/high function were investigated using classification trees for the legacy federal guideline metric requiring 150 minutes/week of moderate‐vigorous (MV) activity in bouts lasting 10 minutes or more (MV‐bout) and other metrics (total MV, sedentary, light intensity activity, nonsedentary minutes/week). Results Optimal thresholds based on total MV minutes/week predicted improved/high function outcomes more strongly than the legacy or other investigated metrics. Meeting the 45 total MV minutes/week threshold had increased relative risk (RR) for improved/high function (gait speed RR 1.8, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.6, 2.1 and PRO physical function RR 1.4, 95% CI 1.3, 1.6) compared to less active adults. Thresholds were consistent across sex, body mass index, knee osteoarthritis status, and age. Conclusion These results supported a physical activity minimum threshold of 45 total MV minutes/week to promote improved or sustained high function for adults with lower‐extremity joint symptoms. This evidence‐based threshold is less rigorous than federal guidelines (≄150 MV‐bout minutes/week) and provides an intermediate goal towards the federal guideline for adults with lower‐extremity symptoms

    Long-term tropospheric formaldehyde concentrations deduced from ground-based fourier transform solar infrared measurements

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    We report a 13-year (1992–2005) dataset of total column measurements of formaldehyde (HCHO) over Lauder, New Zealand, inferred from solar infrared spectra measured using a high-resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS). Ambient HCHO concentrations at this rural location are often close to levels typical of remote marine environments (\u3c250 ppt), which are close to the detection limit using standard techniques. Consequently we develop a new method that successfully produces HCHO columns with sufficient sensitivity throughout the whole season. HCHO columns over Lauder have a strong seasonal cycle (±50%), with a mean column of 4.9×1015 molecules cm−2, peaking during summer months. A simple box model of CH4 oxidation reproduces the observed broad-scale seasonal cycle, but significantly underestimates the seasonal peak HCHO ground concentrations during summer. This suggests the existence of an additional significant source of HCHO, possibly isoprene that cannot be explained by oxidation of CH4 alone. The ground-based FTS column data compare well with collocated HCHO column measurements from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) satellite instrument during the operational period of GOME (1996–2001, r2=0.65, mean bias=10%, n=48)

    Effects of serum proteins on corrosion behavior of ISO 5832–9 alloy modified by titania coatings

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    Stainless steel ISO 5832–9 type is often used to perform implants which operate in protein-containing physiological environments. The interaction between proteins and surface of the implant may affect its corrosive properties. The aim of this work was to study the effect of selected serum proteins (albumin and γ-globulins) on the corrosion of ISO 5832–9 alloy (trade name M30NW) which surface was modified by titania coatings. These coatings were obtained by sol– gel method and heated at temperatures of 400 and 800 °C. To evaluate the effect of the proteins, the corrosion tests were performed with and without the addition of proteins with concentration of 1 g L−1 to the physiological saline solution (0.9 % NaCl, pH 7.4) at 37 °C. The tests were carried out within 7 days. The following electrochemical methods were used: open circuit potential, linear polarization resistance, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In addition, surface analysis by optical microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) method was done at the end of weekly corrosion tests. The results of corrosion tests showed that M30NW alloy both uncoated and modified with titania coatings exhibits a very good corrosion resistance during weekly exposition to corrosion medium. The best corrosion resistance in 0.9 % NaCl solution is shown by alloy samples modified by titania coating annealed at 400 °C. The serumproteins have no significant effect onto corrosion of investigated biomedical steel. The XPS results confirmed the presence of proteins on the alloy surface after 7 days of immersion in proteincontaining solutions.The investigations were supported by the National Science Centre project No. N N507 501339. The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Janusz Sobczak and Dr. hab. Wojciech Lisowski from Institute of Physical Chemistry of PAS for XPS surface analyses

    Type 1 Diabetes Alters Lipid Handling and Metabolism in Human Fibroblasts and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

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    Triggers of the autoimmune response that leads to type 1 diabetes (T1D) remain poorly understood. A possibility is that parallel changes in both T cells and target cells provoke autoimmune attack. We previously documented greater Ca2+ transients in fibroblasts from T1D subjects than non-T1D after exposure to fatty acids (FA) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). These data indicate that metabolic and signal transduction defects present in T1D can be elicited ex vivo in isolated cells. Changes that precede T1D, including inflammation, may activate atypical responses in people that are genetically predisposed to T1D. To identify such cellular differences in T1D, we quantified a panel of metabolic responses in fibroblasts and peripheral blood cells (PBMCs) from age-matched T1D and non-T1D subjects, as models for non-immune and immune cells, respectively. Fibroblasts from T1D subjects accumulated more lipid, had higher LC-CoA levels and converted more FA to CO2, with less mitochondrial proton leak in response to oleate alone or with TNFα, using the latter as a model of inflammation. T1D-PBMCs contained and also accumulated more lipid following FA exposure. In addition, they formed more peroxidized lipid than controls following FA exposure. We conclude that both immune and non-immune cells in T1D subjects differ from controls in terms of responses to FA and TNFα. Our results suggest a differential sensitivity to inflammatory insults and FA that may precede and contribute to T1D by priming both immune cells and their targets for autoimmune reactions

    Two-Particle Correlations in Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

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    Two-particle momentum correlations between pairs of identical particles produced in relativistic heavy-ion reactions can be analyzed to extract the space-time structure of the collision fireball. We review recent progress in the application of this method, based on newly developed theoretical tools and new high-quality data from heavy-ion collision experiments. Implications for our understanding of the collision dynamics and for the search for the quark-gluon plasma are discussed.Comment: 44 pages, LaTeX, 11 Figures, uses special style files (included), prepared for Ann. Rev. Nucl. Part. Sci. 49 (1999). Error in Chapt. 1 corrected and a few references adde

    The Iowa Homemaker vol.6 no.8

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    Table of Contents Possibilities of the Modern Home by D. S. Jeffers, page 1 Old Fashioned Equipment, page 2 A Bit About Switzerland by Cleo Ftizsimmons, page 3 Types of Colonial Chairs by Gale Pugh, page 4 The Food Value of Milk by Helene Heye, page 5 Merrill Palmer by Frances Jones, page 6 4-H Club, page 7 Iowa State Home Economics Association Page, page 8 Editorial, page 9 Who’s There and Where, page 10 Farm and Home Week by Barbara Dewell, page 11 Sonny’s Room by Grace Bonnell, page 11 Eternal Question, page 12 Shall We Tell Stories? by Gwendolyn Hall, page 13 Fine Ware Made of Iowa City by Mary Yancy, page 1

    Strategic Planning for Environmental Stewardship at Eastern Kentucky University

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    The 2006-2010 Strategic Plan for Eastern Kentucky University, under Strategic Direction 5.4, mandates the formulation of a plan to guide the University toward greater environmental stewardship. The creation and implementation of that plan is the charge of the Eastern Committee on Responsible Environmental Stewardship (ECRES), which was formed in September of 2005. On October 27th, 2006, ECRES hosted a Strategic Planning Workshop. This workshop brought together a wide range of paticipants, including elected officials, college and university representatives, and interested citizens. The result was a broad consensus in the identification of environmental goals and objectives toward which EKU should strive
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