Partner smoking and maternal cotinine during pregnancy: Implications for negative control methods

AbstractBackgroundComparison of the associations of maternal and mother's partner smoking with offspring outcomes is, in theory, a useful method for assessing whether there may be an intrauterine effect of tobacco exposure on these outcomes. However, this approach assumes that the effects of passive smoking from exposure to partner smoking during pregnancy are minimal. We evaluated this assumption using a biochemical measure of tobacco exposure in pregnant women.MethodsCotinine levels taken during the first trimester of pregnancy were measured in a sample of 3928 women from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Median cotinine values were compared across categories of smoking heaviness (cigarettes per day) of the women during the first trimester and in non-smoking women by the smoking heaviness of their partner.ResultsCotinine levels were substantially higher in women who smoked compared to non-smokers (range of medians across smoking heaviness categories: 900–5362ng/ml versus 20ng/ml, interquartile range (IQR) (0–63) for non-smokers). In contrast, cotinine levels in non-smoking women were only very weakly related to partner smoking status (range of medians in women with smoking partners: 34–69ng/ml versus 12ng/ml, IQR (0–48) in women with non-smoking partners).ConclusionsLevels of tobacco exposure from partner smoking, as assessed by cotinine, were low in non-smoking pregnant women. This suggests that using mother's partner's smoking as a negative control for investigating intrauterine effects is valid

Hadronic Resonances from Lattice QCD

The determination of the pattern of hadronic resonances as predicted by Quantum Chromodynamics requires the use of non-perturbative techniques. Lattice QCD has emerged as the dominant tool for such calculations, and has produced many QCD predictions which can be directly compared to experiment. The concepts underlying lattice QCD are outlined, methods for calculating excited states are discussed, and results from an exploratory Nucleon and Delta baryon spectrum study are presented.Comment: 8 pages, VII Latin American Symposium on Nuclear Physics and Application

Results and Frontiers in Lattice Baryon Spectroscopy

The Lattice Hadron Physics Collaboration (LHPC) baryon spectroscopy effort is reviewed. To date the LHPC has performed exploratory Lattice QCD calculations of the low-lying spectrum of Nucleon and Delta baryons. These calculations demonstrate the effectiveness of our method by obtaining the masses of an unprecedented number of excited states with definite quantum numbers. Future work of the project is outlined.Comment: To appear in the proceedings for the VII Latin American Symposium of Nuclear Physics and Application

1863-02-16 Officers of the regiment recommend W.B. Fenderson for promotion

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Effect of Parameter Distributions on Uncertainty Analysis of Hydrologic Models

Increasing concern about the accuracy of hydrologic and water quality models has prompted interest in procedures for evaluating the uncertainty associated with these models. If a Monte Carlo simulation is used in an uncertainty analysis, assumptions must be made relative to the probability distributions to assign to the model input parameters. Some have indicated that since these parameters can not be readily determined, uncertainty analysis is of limited value. In this article we have evaluated the impact of parameter distribution assumptions on estimates of model output uncertainty. We conclude that good estimates of the means and variances of the input parameters are of greater importance than the actual form of the distribution. This conclusion is based on an analysis using the AGNPS model

Beaver Lake Water Quality Monitoring Plan

The Beaver Lake basin is located in Northwest Arkansas, and includes portions of Washington, Madison, Benton, Carroll and Franklin counties. The White River is the :major tributary to Beaver lake, with minor tributaries including the Middle and West Forks of the Whi 1:e River, Richland Creek and War Eagle Creek. The basin encompassing 1,186 square miles of drainage area provides a usable storage capacity of 1.22 :million acre-feet, 300,000 of which are designated as flood control, the remainder is utilized for power generation and water supply. Beaver Lake is the water source for both the Beaver and Carroll County Water Districts. Ten recreational facilities hav\u27e been developed around the lake by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE)