Investigation of line-of-sight propagation in dense atmosphere, phase 3, part 1

The investigation of microwave absorption in the 1 to 10 GHz frequency band by the Jovian atmosphere has continued, and an estimate of the strength of signal fading at these frequencies due to layers of turbulence in Jupiter's atmosphere is given. The microwave absorption due to gaseous ammonia is estimated both in terms of a power loss in dB/km, and in total power loss in dB for slant-path communication with a probe at altitudes down to pressures of several tens of atmospheres. The graphs indicate a frequency-squared scaling of the absorption, and appreciable losses at altitudes where the pressure is several atmospheres. An estimate of turbulence strength is given. This may turn out to be quite crude considering the absence of any relevant data. A planetary scaling law which appears to hold reasonably well for Earth to Venus, is extrapolated to Jupiter. No reasonable modifications of the estimate can alter the conclusion that direct-path fading is negligible for pressure regimes up to 20 atm

Linkages Among Preschoolers\u27 Playground Behavior, Outcome Expectations, and Parental Disciplinary Strategies

To explore relationships among parent\u27s self-reported disciplinary strategies, preschoolers\u27 outcome expectations, and playground behavior, 136 mothers of preschool-age children (age range = 39-71 months) participated in home disciplinary style interviews. Measures of preschoolers\u27 outcome expectations and observations of childrens\u27 prosocial, antisocial/disruptive, and nonsocial/with-drawn playground behavior in preschool settings were also obtained. Results indicated that power-assertive mothers had preschoolers who engaged in more antisocial/disruptive behavior and who expected successful instrumental outcomes for hostile methods of resolving peer conflict. Preschoolers with such outcome expectations also participated in more antisocial playground behavior. Older preschoolers of inductive mothers engaged in more prosocial behavior and expected prosocial behavior to lead to both instrumental gains and enhanced relations with peers. Preschoolers who were more prosocial envisioned friendly-assertive strategies as leading to instrumental gains and, in the case of less nonsocial behavior, to enhanced relations with peers. Children\u27s outcome expectations were also found to be different for older versus younger preschoolers. Evidence was also obtained suggesting that maternal discipline and outcome expectations make separate and independent contributions to children\u27s social and aggressive play behavior. © 1992, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved

Changes in Patient Reported Symptoms During the Natural Progression of Osteoarthritis

Background: Arthritis is the leading cause of disability among adults in the United States affecting twenty-one million adults[1]. In addition, osteoarthritis is the second most costly chronic condition in the U.S[2]. Physical activity is a challenge in all patients and is associated with fewer functional limitations and lower risk for developing illness[3]. Currently, there are no objective measures of physical activity in advanced knee OA. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to quantify patient-reported changes in pain and function during the natural progression of osteoarthritis at 3, 6, and 9 months, and to correlate these metrics with objective activity monitors. Methods: 50 patients who were undergoing non-operative management of OA were enrolled. Patients were seen at baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months. At each visit, basic demographics and patient-reported measures (SF-36, WOMAC, and Charlson Co-morbidity index) were recorded. In addition, patients wore ActiGraph and activPal activity monitors for 7 days following the visit. Results: The average age of the enrolled participants was 57 with 82% of participants being less than 65 years of age. Most participants were female (64%), and 80% of participants had 1 or fewer medical co-morbidities on the Charlson Co-morbidity Index. Only 4% of patients were using assistive devices. The average WOMAC pain score was 68 and did not change from one time period to the next. The average SF-36 PCS score was 38 and the MCS was 54, and neither changed over time. The average SF-36 PCS score in patients with a WOMAC pain score less than 80 was 36, while in those with a WOMAC pain score greater than 80 it was 42.5. In contrast, analyses of the activPal found a decline in activity over the time period. In the first 19 patients wearing the activPal who were analyzed, 12 of 19 increased sedentary time at 9 months by an average of 18%. In addition, 15 of 19 participants decreased minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) at 9 months by an average of 26%. Conclusions: In our study of 50 participants with osteoarthritis, patient-reported function did not change over a 9-month period. However, preliminary activity data suggests a decline. Further work will correlate patient-reported measures to the objective measures recorded by activity monitors to determine if objective monitors are preferable to detect early changes in activity due to OA. [1] (CDC), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of arthritis—United States, 1997. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2001. May 4; 50:334-6. [2] Druss BG, Marcus SC, Olfson M, Pincus HA. The most expensive medical conditions in America. Health Affairs. 2002; 21:105-11. [3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Physical activity among adults with a disability—United States, 2005. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2007. Oct 5;56(39):1021-4

Developmental appropriateness of kindergarten programs and academic outcomes in first grade

This study explored the relationship between the developmental appropriateness of kindergarten classroom instruction and first-grade report card grade overall averages and averages in reading, language, spelling, math, science, and social studies. The interactive roles that gender, SES, and kindergarten classroom type play in children’s later achievement were also examined. The sample consisted of166first-grade children who hadattended kindergarten classrooms with teaching practices identified as predominately developmentally appropriate or developmentally inappropriate. Findings indicated that firstgraders from more appropriate kindergarten classrooms had higher reading averages than children from less appropriate kindergarten classrooms. Females had higher overall and subject area averages than males. Significant interaction effects indicated that high SES children from less appropriate kindergarten classrooms hadhigheroverall averages and higher averages in all subjects except reading, when compared with low SES children from less appropriate classrooms. Low SES children from more appropriate kindergarten classrooms had higher overall averages and higher averages in all subjects except reading when comparedwith low SES children from less appropriate kindergarten classrooms. No significant differences were found between high and low SES children from more appropriate kindergarten classrooms. © 1993 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

The model of particle production by strong external sources

Using some knowledge of multiplicity disributions for high energy reactions, it is possible to propose a simple analytical model of particle production by strong external sources. The model describes qualitatively most peculiar properties of the distributions. The generating function of the distribution varies so drastically as it can happen at phase transitions.Comment: 7 pages, no Figures, LATEX; Eq. (10) corrected, Eqs (25), (26) added, ref [20] corrected; Pisma v Zhetf 84, n5 (2006

Hardware Design Improvements to the Major Constituent Analyzer

The Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) onboard the International Space Station (ISS) is designed to monitor the major constituents of the ISS's internal atmosphere. This mass spectrometer based system is an integral part of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) and is a primary tool for the management of ISS atmosphere composition. As a part of NASA Change Request CR10773A, several alterations to the hardware have been made to accommodate improved MCA logistics. First, the ORU 08 verification gas assembly has been modified to allow the verification gas cylinder to be installed on orbit. The verification gas is an essential MCA consumable that requires periodic replenishment. Designing the cylinder for subassembly transport reduces the size and weight of the maintained item for launch. The redesign of the ORU 08 assembly includes a redesigned housing, cylinder mounting apparatus, and pneumatic connection. The second hardware change is a redesigned wiring harness for the ORU 02 analyzer. The ORU 02 electrical connector interface was damaged in a previous on-orbit installation, and this necessitated the development of a temporary fix while a more permanent solution was developed. The new wiring harness design includes flexible cable as well as indexing fasteners and guide-pins, and provides better accessibility during the on-orbit maintenance operation. This presentation will describe the hardware improvements being implemented for MCA as well as the expected improvement to logistics and maintenance

Trends in the medical management of patients with heart failure

BACKGROUND: Despite the availability of effective therapies, heart failure (HF) remains a highly prevalent disease and the leading cause of hospitalizations in the U.S. Few data are available, however, describing changing trends in the use of various cardiac medications to treat patients with HF and factors associated with treatment. The objectives of this population-based study were to examine decade-long trends (1995 - 2004) in the use of several cardiac medications in patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) and factors associated with evidence-based treatment. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 9,748 residents of the Worcester, MA, metropolitan area who were hospitalized with ADHF at all 11 central Massachusetts medical centers in 1995, 2000, 2002, and 2004. RESULTS: Between 1995 and 2004, respectively, the prescription upon hospital discharge of beta-blockers (23%; 67%), angiotensin pathway inhibitors (47%; 55%), statins (5%; 43%), and aspirin (35%; 51%) increased markedly, while the use of digoxin (51%; 29%), nitrates (46%; 24%), and calcium channel blockers (33%; 22%) declined significantly; nearly all patients received diuretics. Patients in the earliest study year, those with a history of obstructive pulmonary disease or anemia, incident HF, non-specific symptoms, and women were less likely to receive beta blockers and angiotensin pathway inhibitors than respective comparison groups. In 2004, 82% of patients were discharged on at least one of these recommended agents; however, only 41% were discharged on medications from both recommended classes. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that opportunities exist to further improve the use of HF therapeutics

Separating Agent-Functioning and Inter-Agent Coordination by Activated Modules: The DECOMAS Architecture

The embedding of self-organizing inter-agent processes in distributed software applications enables the decentralized coordination system elements, solely based on concerted, localized interactions. The separation and encapsulation of the activities that are conceptually related to the coordination, is a crucial concern for systematic development practices in order to prepare the reuse and systematic integration of coordination processes in software systems. Here, we discuss a programming model that is based on the externalization of processes prescriptions and their embedding in Multi-Agent Systems (MAS). One fundamental design concern for a corresponding execution middleware is the minimal-invasive augmentation of the activities that affect coordination. This design challenge is approached by the activation of agent modules. Modules are converted to software elements that reason about and modify their host agent. We discuss and formalize this extension within the context of a generic coordination architecture and exemplify the proposed programming model with the decentralized management of (web) service infrastructures

Dynamic Interactive Educational Diabetes Simulations Using the World Wide Web: An Experience of More Than 15 Years with AIDA Online

Background. AIDA is a widely available downloadable educational simulator of glucose-insulin interaction in diabetes. Methods. A web-based version of AIDA was developed that utilises a server-based architecture with HTML FORM commands to submit numerical data from a web-browser client to a remote web server. AIDA online, located on a remote server, passes the received data through Perl scripts which interactively produce 24 hr insulin and glucose simulations. Results. AIDA online allows users to modify the insulin regimen and diet of 40 different prestored “virtual diabetic patients” on the internet or create new “patients” with user-generated regimens. Multiple simulations can be run, with graphical results viewed via a standard web-browser window. To date, over 637,500 diabetes simulations have been run at AIDA online, from all over the world. Conclusions. AIDA online’s functionality is similar to the downloadable AIDA program, but the mode of implementation and usage is different. An advantage to utilising a server-based application is the flexibility that can be offered. New modules can be added quickly to the online simulator. This has facilitated the development of refinements to AIDA online, which have instantaneously become available around the world, with no further local downloads or installations being required

Self-Similarity of the Negative Binomial Multiplicity Distributions

The negative binomial distribution is self similar: If the spectrum over the whole rapidity range gives rise to a negative binomial, in absence of correlation and if the source is unique, also a partial range in rapidity gives rise to the same distribution. The property is not seen in experimental data, which are rather consistent with the presence of a number of independent sources. When multiplicities are very large self similarity might be used to isolate individual sources is a complex production process.Comment: 10 pages, plane tex, no figure