5,365 research outputs found
Knowledge and Preference in Reporting Financial Information
This article models respondent behavior in a financial survey with a framework explicitly integrating a respondentâs knowledge of and willingness to reveal his or her financial status. Whether a respondent provides a valid answer, a âdonât knowâ, or a ârefusalâ to a financial question depends on the interaction of his or her financial knowledge and preferences regarding revealing the knowledge. Using asset response and nonresponse data from the Health and Retirement Study (2000), we found that knowledge and preferences play interrelated roles in reporting financial information, that a respondentâs age, gender, education, and race and ethnicity are important predictors of respondent behavior, and that race and ethnicity affect a respondent behavior only via their influence on preferences, while gender only via its influence on knowledge. We also found strong heterogeneity in respondentsâ financial knowledge and their willingness to reveal the knowledge.
Enhancing the Quality of Data on Income and Wealth
Over the last decade or so, a substantial effort has gone into the design of a series of methodological investigations aimed at enhancing the quality of survey data on income and wealth. These investigations have largely been conducted at the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan, and have mainly involved two longitudinal surveys: the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), with a first wave beginning in 1992 and continued thereafter every other year through 2004; and the Assets and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) Study, begun in 1993 and continued in 1995 and 1998, then in every other year through 2004. This provides and overview of the main studies and summarizes what has been learned about correcting longitudinal inconsistencies that arise.
Relationship between Thermodynamic Driving Force and One-Way Fluxes in Reversible Chemical Reactions
Chemical reaction systems operating in nonequilibrium open-system states
arise in a great number of contexts, including the study of living organisms,
in which chemical reactions, in general, are far from equilibrium. Here we
introduce a theorem that relates forward and re-verse fluxes and free energy
for any chemical process operating in a steady state. This rela-tionship, which
is a generalization of equilibrium conditions to the case of a chemical process
occurring in a nonequilibrium steady state, provides a novel equivalent
definition for chemical reaction free energy. In addition, it is shown that
previously unrelated theories introduced by Ussing and Hodgkin and Huxley for
transport of ions across membranes, Hill for catalytic cycle fluxes, and Crooks
for entropy production in microscopically reversible systems, are united in a
common framework based on this relationship.Comment: 11 page
Hydrologic Inventory of the Great Salt Lake Desert Area
The Great Salt Lake Desert, located in the southwest corner of the State of Utah is a very dry region with sparse population and relatively small scattered areas of development. Since only a meager amount of hydrologic data has been collected and compiled for this relatively undeveloped area, the inventory presented herein is but a general appraisal of hydrologic conditions. Because of the small amount of development that has taken place and the general lack of hydrologic data, a water budget analysis is included for the Tooele Valley only
Food Stamp Participation and Reasons for Nonparticipation: 1986
The decision of eligible households to participate in the food stamp program is analyzed utilizing the 1986 Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Less than one-half of the sample of eligible households receive food stamps in 1986. The results of a multinomial logit model suggest that participation is related negatively to the age and educational level of the household head and positively to the benefit level. Participation is lower for single men and households residing in the West and higher for people with disabilities and households receiving some form of public transfer income. Problems regarding information about food stamps and personal attitudes toward food stamp use have the greatest impact on the decision to participate.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44658/1/10834_2004_Article_418066.pd
Seasonal Movements and Distribution of Stellerâs Eiders (Polysticta stelleri) Wintering at Kodiak Island, Alaska
We used satellite telemetry in 2004â06 to describe the annual movements and habitat use of a segment of the Pacific population of Stellerâs Eiders (Polysticta stelleri) that winters at Kodiak Island, Alaska. Information about broad-scale patterns of seasonal distribution and links among annual cycle stages is critical for interpreting population trends and developing conservation strategies. We captured birds in Chiniak Bay at Kodiak Island in late February and early March and monitored the movements after departure from Kodiak Island of 24 satellite-tagged birds: 16 after-second-year (ASY) age class females, one second-year age class female, and seven ASY males. All birds used the same intercontinental migration corridor during spring, but routes and chronology of spring migration appeared to vary by year and among individuals. Sixteen of the 24 birds that were tracked migrated to breeding areas along the Arctic coast of Russia from the Chukotka Peninsula to the Taymyr Peninsula; five birds, assumed to be non-breeding, spent the summer in nearshore waters of Russia and Alaska; and the remaining three birds either died during spring migration or had failed transmitters. Thirteen birds were tracked to molt sites that were broadly distributed along the coast of Alaska. Molt sites included St. Lawrence Island, the Kuskokwim Shoals, Kamishak Bay, and three sites along the Alaska Peninsula. Twelve of these 13 birds returned to Kodiak Island to winter, and a single male wintered on the Alaska Peninsula. Stellerâs Eiders marked during winter at Kodiak Island were widely distributed during the breeding season, but a large proportion of marked birds returned to molting and wintering areas in two years of the study.De 2004 Ă 2006, nous avons recouru Ă la tĂ©lĂ©mĂ©trie satellitaire pour dĂ©crire lâutilisation de lâhabitat et les mouvements annuels dâun segment de la population dâeiders de Steller (Polysticta stelleri) dans la rĂ©gion du Pacifique, eiders qui hivernent sur lâĂźle Kodiak, en Alaska. Il est essentiel dâobtenir des donnĂ©es sur les tendances Ă grande Ă©chelle de la rĂ©partition saisonniĂšre et des liens entre les divers stades du cycle annuel de ces oiseaux afin dâĂȘtre en mesure dâinterprĂ©ter leurs tendances dĂ©mographiques et dâĂ©laborer des stratĂ©gies de conservation. Nous avons capturĂ© des oiseaux dans la baie Chiniak de lâĂźle Kodiak vers la fin fĂ©vrier et le dĂ©but mars. AprĂšs notre dĂ©part de lâĂźle Kodiak, nous avons surveillĂ© les mouvements de 24 oiseaux pistĂ©s par satellite : 16 femelles de plus de deux ans, une femelle de deux ans et sept mĂąles de plus de deux ans. Tous les oiseaux ont empruntĂ© le mĂȘme couloir de migration intercontinental au printemps, mais les routes et la chronologie de la migration printaniĂšre semblaient varier dâune annĂ©e Ă lâautre et dâun individu Ă lâautre. Seize des24 oiseaux pistĂ©s ont migrĂ© vers des aires de reproduction situĂ©es le long de la cĂŽte arctique de la Russie, depuis la presquâĂźle de Tchoukotkae jusquâĂ la presquâĂźle de TaĂŻmyr; cinq oiseaux, probablement non reproducteurs, ont passĂ© lâĂ©tĂ© dans les eaux cĂŽtiĂšres de la Russie et de lâAlaska, tandis que les trois autres oiseaux sont morts pendant la migration printaniĂšre ou Ă©taient dotĂ©s de transmetteurs dĂ©fectueux. Treize oiseaux ont Ă©tĂ© repĂ©rĂ©s Ă des sites de mue largement rĂ©partis le long de la cĂŽte de lâAlaska. Parmi ces sites, notons ceux de lâĂźle Saint-Laurent, du haut-fond de Kuskokwim, de la baie de Kamishak et de trois autres sites le long de la pĂ©ninsule de lâAlaska. Douze de ces 13 oiseaux sont retournĂ©s Ă lâĂźle Kodiak pour passer lâhiver, et un seul mĂąle a hivernĂ© dans la pĂ©ninsule de lâAlaska. Les eiders de Steller qui ont Ă©tĂ© marquĂ©s Ă lâĂźle Kodiak pendant lâhiver Ă©taient largement rĂ©partis pendant la saison de reproduction, mais une grande proportion dâoiseaux pistĂ©s sont retournĂ©s aux aires de mue et dâhivernage au cours des deux annĂ©es visĂ©es par lâĂ©tude
Geologic controls on submarine slope failure along the central U.S. Atlantic margin : insights from the Currituck Slide Complex
© The Author(s), 2016. This is the author's version of the work and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Marine Geology 385 (2017): 114-130, doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2016.10.007.Multiple styles of failure, ranging from densely spaced, mass transport driven canyons to
the large, slab-type slope failure of the Currituck Slide, characterize adjacent sections of
the central U.S. Atlantic margin that appear to be defined by variations in geologic
framework. Here we use regionally extensive, deep penetration multichannel seismic
(MCS) profiles to reconstruct the influence of the antecedent margin physiography on
sediment accumulation along the central U.S. Atlantic continental shelf-edge, slope, and
uppermost rise from the Miocene to Present. These data are combined with highresolution
sparker MCS reflection profiles and multibeam bathymetry data across the
Currituck Slide complex. Pre-Neogene allostratigraphic horizons beneath the slope are
generally characterized by low gradients and convex downslope profiles. This is followed
by the development of thick, prograded deltaic clinoforms during the middle Miocene.
Along-strike variations in morphology of a regional unconformity at the top of this
middle Miocene unit appear to have set the stage for differing styles of mass transport
along the margin. Areas north and south of the Currituck Slide are characterized by
oblique margin morphology, defined by an angular shelf-edge and a relatively steep
(>8°), concave slope profile. Upper slope sediment bypass, closely spaced submarine
canyons, and small, localized landslides confined to canyon heads and sidewalls characterize these sectors of the margin. In contrast, the Currituck region is defined by a
sigmoidal geometry, with a rounded shelf-edge rollover and gentler slope gradient (<6°).
Thick (>800 m), regionally continuous stratified slope deposits suggest the low gradient
Currituck region was a primary depocenter for fluvial inputs during multiple sea level
lowstands. These results imply that the rounded, gentle slope physiography developed
during the middle Miocene allowed for a relatively high rate of subsequent sediment
accumulation, thus providing a mechanism for compactionâinduced overpressure that
preconditioned the Currituck region for failure. Detailed examination of the regional
geological framework illustrates the importance of both sediment supply and antecedent
slope physiography in the development of large, potentially unstable depocenters along
passive margins.The U.S. Geological Survey, the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Coastal Carolina University funded this
research
Multiplex Microsphere PCR (mmPCR) Allows Simultaneous Gram Typing, Detection of Fungal DNA, and Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Objective: To show the high analytical specificity of our multiplex microsphere polymerase chain reaction (mmPCR) method, which offers the simultaneous detection of both general (eg, Gram type) and specific (eg, Pseudomonas species) clinically relevant genetic targets in a single modular multiplex reaction.
Materials and Methods: Isolated gDNA of 16S/rRNA Sanger-sequenced and Basic Local Alignment Toolâidentified bacterial and fungal isolates were selectively amplified in a custom 10-plex Luminex MagPlex-TAG microsphere-based mmPCR assay. The signal/noise ratio for each reaction was calculated from flow cytometry standard data collected on a BD LSR Fortessa II flow cytometer. Data were normalized to the no-template negative control and the signal maximum. The analytical specificity of the assay was compared to single-plex SYBR chemistry quantitative PCR.
Results: Both general and specific primer sets were functional in the 10-plex mmPCR. The general Gram typing and pan-fungal primers correctly identified all bacterial and fungal isolates, respectively. The species-specific and antibiotic resistanceâspecific primers correctly identified the species- and resistance-carrying isolates, respectively. Low-level cross-reactive signals were present in some reactions with high signal/noise primer ratios.
Conclusion: We found that mmPCR can simultaneously detect specific and general clinically relevant genetic targets in multiplex. These results serve as a proof-of-concept advance that highlights the potential of high multiplex mmPCR diagnostics in clinical practice. Further development of specimen-specific DNA extraction techniques is required for sensitivity testing
Thermodynamic Theory of Weakly Excited Granular Materials
We present a thermodynamic theory of weakly excited two-dimensional granular
systems from the view point of elementary excitations of spinless Fermion
systems. We introduce a global temperature T that is associated with the
acceleration amplitude \Gamma in a vibrating bed. We show that the
configurational statistics of weakly excited granular materials in a vibrating
bed obey the Fermi statistics.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, To Appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. April, 199
The validity and reliability of school-based fundamental movement skills screening to identify children with motor difficulties
Aim Assess whether school-based teacher-led screening is effective at identifying children with motor difficulties. Methods Teachers tested 217 children aged between 5 and 11 years old, after a one hour training session, using a freely available tool (FUNMOVES). Four classes (n = 91) were scored by both researchers and teachers to evaluate inter-rater reliability. Researchers assessed 22 children using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2; considered to be the âgold standardâ in Europe for use as part of the diagnostic process for Developmental Coordination Disorder) to assess concurrent and predictive validity. Results Inter-rater reliability for all individual activities within FUNMOVES ranged from 0.85â0.97 (unweighted Kappa; with 95%CI ranging from 0.77â1). For total score this was lower (Îș = 0.76, 95%CI = 0.68â0.84), however when incorporating linear weighting, this improved (Îș = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.89â0.99). When evaluating FUNMOVES total score against the MABC-2 total score, the specificity (1, 95%CI = 0.63â1) and positive predictive value (1; 95%CI = 0.68â1) of FUNMOVES were high, whereas sensitivity (0.57, 95%CI = 0.29â0.82) and negative predictive values (0.57, 95%CI = 0.42â0.71) were moderate. Evaluating only MABC-2 subscales which are directly related to fundamental movement skills (Aiming & Catching, and Balance) improved these values to 0.89 (95%CI = 0.52â1) and 0.93 (95%CI = 0.67â 0.99) respectively. Interpretation Teacher-led screening of fundamental movement skills (via FUNMOVES) is an effective method of identifying children with motor difficulties. Such universal screening in schools has the potential to identify movement difficulties and enable earlier intervention than the current norm.</p
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