A Simple Approach to Project Extreme Old Age Mortality Rates and Value Mortality-Related Financial Instruments

This article shows how mortality models that involve age effects can be fitted to ages beyond the sample range using projections of age effects as replacements for age effects that might not be in the sample. This ‘projected age effect’ approach allows insurers to use age-effect mortality models to obtain valuations of financial instruments such as annuities that depend on projections of extreme old ag

Thin Films of AuCuAl Shape Memory Alloy for Use in Plasmonic Nano-actuators

Vijay Bhatia, Gordon Thorogood, Annette Dowd and Michael B. Cortie (2011). Thin Films of AuCuAl Shape Memory Alloy for Use in Plasmonic Nano-actuators. MRS Proceedings, 1295 , mrsf10-1295-n01-08 doi:10.1557/opl.2011.18

Linear optical properties of Ge nanocrystals in silica

The absorption and extinctionspectra of Genanocrystals in silica formed by ion implantation are studied using photothermal deflection and transmission spectroscopies. It is found that scattering makes a significant contribution to the extinction spectrum, damping the spectral features and resulting in a Rayleigh scattering-likeω⁴ dependence. In contrast, the spectra measured by photothermal deflection clearly show features such as the E1/E1+Δ1 transitions. The Tauc gap is extracted to be ∼0.7±0.1 eV

Inequality of Air Quality?: A Study of Air Quality within Housing Price Brackets in Gettysburg, PA

With the rise of cars and other motorized vehicles has come the rise of air pollution, which tends to have disproportionate environmental and health impacts on low-income and communities of color. This study analyzes car presence and air quality on a transect within Gettysburg, PA to determine if there is a relationship between air pollution and vehicle presence, and if there is a difference in air quality between higher price bracket housing compared to campus, commercial, and lower price bracket housing. To test our research questions, we identified nine sampling locations along a transect where we measured air pollutants, including particulate matter (2.5 um and 10 um), VOCs, and NO2, with Flow by Plume Labs and Atmotube Pro air quality monitors. Our hypotheses that car activity will increase the amount of air pollution in Gettysburg and that there will be a greater environmental justice disparity within lower housing price brackets were not supported. The air quality along the transect was not greatly affected by vehicle presence and was consistent with regional conditions, and while measurements of different pollutants changed with location, there was not one clear trend between these two variables. However, there were consistently higher levels of vehicle traffic in the commercial and low-income areas than in the high-income and campus areas. The main limitations of our study were the lack of functionality and accuracy of our air monitors, which reduced the sample size of our data. These results provide room for further study of racial and child health disparities caused by cars and air pollution, as well as the impact of higher traffic levels on the risk of car and pedestrian accidents

Seropositivity to cytomegalovirus, inflammation, all-cause and cardiovascular disease-related mortality in the United States

Background: Studies have suggested that CMV infection may influence cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and mortality. However, there have been no large-scale examinations of these relationships among demographically diverse populations. The inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) is also linked with CVD outcomes and mortality and may play an important role in the pathway between CMV and mortality. We utilized a U.S. nationally representative study to examine whether CMV infection is associated with all-cause and CVD-related mortality. We also assessed whether CRP level mediated or modified these relationships. Methodology/Principal Findings: Data come from subjects ≥25 years of age who were tested for CMV and CRP level and were eligible for mortality follow-up on December 31st, 2006 (N = 14153) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (1988-1994). Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause and CVD-related mortality by CMV serostatus. After adjusting for multiple confounders, CMV seropositivity remained statistically significantly associated with all-cause mortality (HR 1.19, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.41). The association between CMV and CVD-related mortality did not achieve statistical significance after confounder adjustment. CRP did not mediate these associations. However, CMV seropositive individuals with high CRP levels showed a 30.1% higher risk for all-cause mortality and 29.5% higher risk for CVD-related mortality compared to CMV seropositive individuals with low CRP levels. Conclusions/Significance: CMV was associated with a significant increased risk for all-cause mortality and CMV seropositive subjects who also had high CRP levels were at substantially higher risk for both for all-cause and CVD-related mortality than subjects with low CRP levels. Future work should target the mechanisms by which CMV infection and low-level inflammation interact to yield significant impact on mortality

Delayed maize lateral root determinacy induced by mild water deficit

The capability of roots to mine the soil for available water is essential for survival and productivity, especially under water-limited conditions. The formation and elongation of lateral roots is an important process determining the architecture of the root system, and is highly plastic in response to soil drying. In plants, organ growth is initiated, maintained, and regulated through meristematic tissues. However, in some contexts, meristems are genetically encoded to stop the production of new cells, resulting in determinate growth. To explore the effects of water deficit on lateral root determinacy, we implemented a system allowing photosynthetically active growth in a near-stable water potential environment. The suitability of several commonly used growth media was assessed for use in controlled water potential ([psi]w) experiments, and conditions allowing comparisons of maize genotypes of inherently different size, and transpiration regimes, over a narrow range of precise and reproducible media [psi]w are detailed. Two inbred maize lines (B73 and FR697) with divergent lateral root responses to water deficit were assessed. Genotypic differences specific to lateral root growth from the primary root system were observed over a series of mild water deficits, ranging from a medium [psi]w of -0.25 to -0.40 MPa, with a well-watered control of -0.10 MPa. The total lateral root length of inbred B73 plants, as well as the average length and diameter of first-order lateral roots, were unresponsive to the levels of water deficit tested. In contrast, the total lateral root length of inbred FR697 plants was 27% greater when grown at media [psi]w of -0.25 MPa, and first-order lateral roots were 30% longer. Furthermore, FR697 first-order lateral roots were 26% wider than well-watered controls, resulting in a 96% increase in volume at a [psi]w of -0.40 MPa. Neither genotype showed a significant difference in lateral root length at -0.35 MPa compared to their respective well-watered controls. The sensitivity of genotype specific responses over this narrow range shows the need to study mild water deficit conditions using a high-resolution series of water potentials. First-order laterals of the water-deficit tolerant maize cultivar FR697 display an ability to delay the determinacy program when grown under a mild water deficit of -0.30 MPa. Maximum root elongation rates were maintained for nearly 2.5 days longer, and were still at 44% of maximum when well-watered laterals approached their determinate length. Maintenance of lateral root elongation resulted from sustained rates of cell flux and meristem activity. In addition, kinematic (spatio-temporal growth) analysis revealed that reductions in tissue expansion rates with aging were delayed by more than two days in the longitudinal, radial and tangential planes. This study reveals that large genotypic differences exist relating to the interaction of water deficit with the developmental determinacy of maize lateral roots.Includes biblographical reference