GRB-triggered searches for gravitational waves in LIGO data

The LIGO gravitational wave detectors have recently reached their design sensitivity and finished a two-year science run. During this period one year of data with unprecedented sensitivity has been collected. I will briefly describe the status of the LIGO detectors and the overall quality of the most recent science run. I also will present results of a search for inspiral waveforms in gravitational wave data coincident with the short gamma ray burst detected on 1st February 2007, with its sky location error box overlapping a spiral arms of M31. No gravitational wave signals were detected and a binary merger in M31 can be excluded at the 99% confidence level.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, contributed talk, submitted to the proceedings of Gamma Ray Bursts 2007, Santa Fe, New Mexico, November 5-9 200

Politics of pesticides

In regard to pesticides, today we have lost the benefit perspective. We no longer have a balance in the mind’s eye of the media, nor in the mind’s eye of the public as a whole. We talk, instead, about the risk to man, the risk to the environment, and the risk to wildlife that is wrought by the very use of the modern tools that have brought up production and health protection miracles. And, until that perspective is re-asserted in a balance, we’re going to lose the very tools that we depend on today to produce quality food, economical fiber, and to protect the good health of this nation. It’s amazing to me that we can ban the use of ethylene dibromide (EDB) and restrict its contamination in ready-to-eat products to 30 ppb, when at the same time we allow aflatoxin, which is a mold in peanut butter, to be present at 15 ppb knowing full well that it has 1,000 times the carcinogenic potential of EDB. That is the consistency and logic of our federal government. We need to re-align perception with fact, because unless we do and until we do, the politics of pesticides are going to win

Case Study: Member Perception Of A Federal Organization’s Employee Recognition Program

The purpose of this qualitative instrumental study was to clarify the purpose of Agency ABC’s Recognition Council, while identifying opportunities for staff recognition and appreciation to be optimized within Agency ABC to assist in creating and sustaining employee engagement. This purpose is in direct correlation to the study’s problem, to fill in research gaps due to a lack of existing documentation, best practices and research regarding federal recognition programs. Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory was the conceptual framework that the researcher applied to this study. The researcher performed semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with five former members of Agency ABC’s Recognition Council members. Interview questions were asked to investigate member perception regarding role, experiences and expectation in creating and sustaining employee engagement, as well as how may staff recognition be optimized to sustain employee engagement. Seven themes and 22 subthemes emerged from the subsequent analysis, providing insight into the study’s research questions. The study’s results indicated that participants felt that greater executive leadership collaboration with the council was necessary to enhance the purpose and operations of the council, while improved timeliness and agreement upon defining key terms and their application concerning the awards process would improve the council’s authenticity. Findings from this study may be useful for senior executives within federal organizations, private sector organizations and federal employees

Volunteer Growth in America: A Review of Trends Since 1974

The Corporation has produced a national report that for the first time tracks volunteering over a 30-year period. "Volunteer Growth in America: A Review of Trends Since 1974" illustrates how volunteering has rebounded to a 30-year high today -- rising by more than 32 percent over the past 16 years -- after declining between 1974 and 1989. The report found that older teenagers (ages 16-19) have more than doubled their time spent volunteering since 1989; that far from being a "Me Generation," that Baby Boomers are volunteering at sharply higher rates than did the previous generation at mid-life; and that the volunteer rate for Americans ages 65 years and over has increased 64 percent since 1974; and the proportion of Americans volunteering with an educational or youth service organization has seen a 63 percent increase just since just 1989. "Volunteer Growth in America" is based on statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The findings are encouraging while demonstrating that more engagement is needed to achieve a national goal of raising the number of volunteers from 65 million in 2005 to 75 million by 2010

2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Built Environment Considerations To Reduce Transmission.

With the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that results in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), corporate entities, federal, state, county, and city governments, universities, school districts, places of worship, prisons, health care facilities, assisted living organizations, daycares, homeowners, and other building owners and occupants have an opportunity to reduce the potential for transmission through built environment (BE)-mediated pathways. Over the last decade, substantial research into the presence, abundance, diversity, function, and transmission of microbes in the BE has taken place and revealed common pathogen exchange pathways and mechanisms. In this paper, we synthesize this microbiology of the BE research and the known information about SARS-CoV-2 to provide actionable and achievable guidance to BE decision makers, building operators, and all indoor occupants attempting to minimize infectious disease transmission through environmentally mediated pathways. We believe this information is useful to corporate and public administrators and individuals responsible for building operations and environmental services in their decision-making process about the degree and duration of social-distancing measures during viral epidemics and pandemics

The multisensory perception of hop essential oil: a review

© 2020 The Authors. Journal of the Institute of Brewing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Institute of Brewing & Distilling Hops are a key ingredient to add bitterness, aroma and flavour to beer, one of the most consumed beverages worldwide. Essential oils from different hop varieties are characterised by similar classes of chemical compounds and complexity, but their contribution to sensory characteristics in beer differs considerably. Volatiles in hop oil are categorised into several chemical classes. These induce diverse aroma and flavour sensations in beer being described as ‘floral’, ‘fruity’ (e.g. contributed by alcohols, esters, sulphur-containing compounds), ‘spicy’, ‘woody’, ‘herbal’ (sesquiterpenes, oxygenated sesquiterpenoids), and ‘green’ (aldehydes). The perception of hop volatiles depends on their concentrations and combinations, but also on threshold levels in different beer matrices or model systems. Several studies attributed modified taste and mouthfeel sensations to the presence of hop volatiles contributing to a multisensory perception of hop flavour. Linalool is frequently observed to show additive and synergistic-type behaviour and to affect aroma perception if combined with geraniol. Linalool has also been found to be involved in aroma-taste interactions, modifying the perception of bitterness qualities in beer. Particularly oxygenated sesquiterpenoids are suggested to be responsible for an irritating, tingling sensation indicating the activation of trigeminal receptors. The majority of these sensory interactions have been discovered almost by accident and a systematic research approach is required to gain a broad understanding of these complex phenomena. This review provides an overview of factors affecting the perception of hop derived volatiles involved in different sensory characteristics of beer, while illustrating the latest advances and highlighting research gaps from a sensory science perspective. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of the Institute of Brewing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Institute of Brewing & Distilling

Influence of passive leg movements on blood circulation on the tilt table in healthy adults

BACKGROUND: One problem in the mobilization of patients with neurological diseases, such as spinal cord injury, is the circulatory collapse that occurs while changing from supine to vertical position because of the missing venous pump due to paralyzed leg muscles. Therefore, a tilt table with integrated stepping device (tilt stepper) was developed, which allows passive stepping movements for performing locomotion training in an early state of rehabilitation. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate if passive stepping and cycling movements of the legs during tilt table training could stabilize blood circulation and prevent neurally-mediated syncope in healthy young adults. METHODS: In the first experiment, healthy subjects were tested on a traditional tilt table. Subjects who had a syncope or near-syncope in this condition underwent a second trial on the tilt stepper. In the second experiment, a group of healthy subjects was investigated on a traditional tilt table, the second group on the tilt ergometer, a device that allows cycling movements during tilt table training. We used the chi-square test to compare the occurrence of near-syncope/syncope in both groups (tilt table/tilt stepper and tilt table/tilt ergometer) and ANOVA to compare the blood pressure and heart rate between the groups at the four time intervals (supine, at 2 minutes, at 6 minutes and end of head-up tilt). RESULTS: Separate chi-square tests performed for each experiment showed significant differences in the occurrence of near syncope or syncope based on the device used. Comparison of the two groups (tilt stepper/ tilt table) in experiment one (ANOVA) showed that blood pressure was significantly higher at the end of head-up tilt on the tilt stepper and on the tilt table there was a greater increase in heart rate (2 minutes after head-up tilt). Comparison of the two groups (tilt ergometer/tilt table) in experiment 2 (ANOVA) showed that blood pressure was significantly higher on the tilt ergometer at the end of head-up tilt and on the tilt table the increase in heart rate was significantly larger (at 6 min and end of head-up tilt). CONCLUSIONS: Stabilization of blood circulation and prevention of benign syncope can be achieved by passive leg movement during a tilt table test in healthy adults

Changes in Youth Cigarette Use Following the Dismantling of an Antitobacco Media Campaign in Florida

We examined the association of the termination of a successful youth-targeted antitobacco media campaign ("truth") and changes in smoking rates among youths aged 12-17 years in Florida. Six telephone-based surveys were completed during the active media campaign (1998-2001), and 2 postcampaign surveys were completed in 2004 and 2006 (each n ~1,800). Prevalence of current smoking among youth observed during the campaign continued to decrease in the first postcampaign survey; however, by the second follow-up survey, youth smoking rates had increased significantly for youth aged 16 years or older. Our findings support the need for consistent antitobacco messaging to reduce the prevalence of youth smoking

Using Visual Scene Displays as Communication Support Options for People with Chronic, Severe Aphasia: A Summary of AAC Research and Future Research Directions

Research about the effectiveness of communicative supports and advances in photographic technology has prompted changes in the way speech-language pathologists design and implement interventions for people with aphasia. The purpose of this paper is to describe the use of photographic images as a basis for developing communication supports for people with chronic aphasia secondary to sudden-onset events due to cerebrovascular accidents (strokes). Topics include the evolution of AAC-based supports as they relate to people with aphasia, the development and key features of visual scene displays (VSDs), and future directions concerning the incorporation of photographs into communication supports for people with chronic and severe aphasia