Psychological Health and Smoking in Young Adulthood

Introduction: Young adulthood is a critical time for the emergence of risk behaviors including smoking. Psychological health is associated with smoking, but studies rarely track both over time. We used longitudinal data to assess whether average patterns of psychological health influenced average patterns of smoking and whether short-term fluctuations in psychological health influenced fluctuations in smoking. Method: Young adults aged 18–30 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics were followed from 2007 to 2013, and mean trajectories of smoking were modeled. Psychological health variables included ever having a mental health diagnosis and time-varying distress. Results: In regression models, individuals with poorer psychological health (higher distress or a diagnosis) were more likely to be smokers and to smoke greater number of cigarettes. The association of diagnosis with number of cigarettes smoked increased with age. Conclusions: Smoking-related interventions should target individuals with poorer psychological health, even if they have no formal mental health diagnosis

Fractional plateaus in the Coulomb blockade of coupled quantum dots

Ground-state properties of a double-large-dot sample connected to a reservoir via a single-mode point contact are investigated. When the interdot transmission is perfect and the dots controlled by the same dimensionless gate voltage, we find that for any finite backscattering from the barrier between the lead and the left dot, the average dot charge exhibits a Coulomb-staircase behavior with steps of size e/2 and the capacitance peak period is halved. The interdot electrostatic coupling here is weak. For strong tunneling between the left dot and the lead, we report a conspicuous intermediate phase in which the fractional plateaus get substantially altered by an increasing slope.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, final versio

Effects of nematicides on nematode population densities and crop yield in a turnip-corn-pea cropping system

Nous avons évalué quatre systèmes de conduite de cultures lors d'une étude de 6 ans afin de lutter contre les nematodes dans un système annuel de production de navet-maïs-pois sur des parcelles de sable loameux Tifton naturellement infestées par les Meloidogyne spp. (environ 90 % de M. incognita et 10 % de M. hapla), les Pratylenchus spp. (environ 65 % de P. scribneri, 25 % de P. brachyurus et 10 % de P. zeae), ainsi que par les Paratrichodorus minor et Criconemella ornata. Le navet (Brassica campestris subsp. rapifera) a toléré de faibles quantités de tous les nematodes. Le maïs (Zea mays) 'Pioneer 3369A' a toléré de plus importantes quantités de tous les nematodes que le maïs 'Funks G-4507'. Les densités de population de juvéniles (J2) de Meloidogyne spp. ont été abaissées en deçà de 80 par 150 cm3 de sol par un mélange composé de 98 % de bromure de méthyle et 2 % de chloropicrine et par 20% de methyl isothiocyanate combiné à 80% d'hydrocarbones C3 chlorinés sur le navet et le maïs. Ces populations de nematodes ont augmenté rapidement chez le pois (Vigna unguiculata) 'Pinkeye purplehull' mais ce ne fut pas le cas chez le cultivar Worthmore. Les densités de populations des autres nematodes n'ont pas été affectées par le cultivar de pois ou par le nématicide, en l'occurrence l'ethoprop. Le fenamiphos a été plus efficace que l'ethoprop en abaissant les densités de nematodes. Les augmentations de rendement du système intensif de conduite des cultures se sont échelonnées de 4% à 52 % par rapport aux témoins non traités.Four management systems were evaluated in a six-year study to control nematodes in a turnip-corn-pea annual cropping System on plots of Tifton loamy sand naturally infested with Meloidogyne spp. (about 90 % M. incognita and 10% M. hapla), Pratylenchus spp. (about 65% P. scribneri, 25% P. brachyurus, and 10% P. zeae), Paratrichodorus minor and Criconemella ornata. Turnip (Brassica campestris subsp. rapifera) supported low numbers of all nematodes. 'Pioneer 3369A' corn (Zea mays) supported greater numbers of all nematodes than 'Funks G-4507'. Population densities of Meloidogyne spp. juveniles (J2) were suppressed below 80 per 150 cm3 of soil by 98 % methyl bromide + 2 % chloropicrin and 20 % methyl isothiocyanate + 80 % chlorinated C3 hydrocarbons on turnip and corn, and increased rapidly on 'Pinkeye purplehull', but not on a resistant cultivar, 'Worthmore' pea (Vigna unguiculata). Population densities of other nematodes were not affected by cultivar of pea or the nematicide, ethoprop. Fenamiphos was more effective than ethoprop in suppressing nematode population densities. Increases in crop yield in the intensive management system ranged from 4% to 52% over untreated controls

Information transfer through disordered media by diffuse waves

We consider the information content h of a scalar multiple-scattered, diffuse wave field $\psi(\vec{r})$ and the information capacity C of a communication channel that employs diffuse waves to transfer the information through a disordered medium. Both h and C are shown to be directly related to the mesoscopic correlations between the values of $\psi(\vec{r})$ at different positions $\vec{r}$ in space, arising due to the coherent nature of the wave. For the particular case of a communication channel between two identical linear arrays of $n \gg 1$ equally-spaced transmitters/receivers (receiver spacing a), we show that the average capacity $\propto n$ and obtain explicit analytic expressions for $/n$ in the limit of $n \to \infty$ and $k \ell \to \infty$, where $k= 2\pi/ \lambda$, $\lambda$ is the wavelength, and $\ell$ is the mean free path. Modification of the above results in the case of finite but large n and $k \ell$ is discussed as well.Comment: REVTeX 4, 12 pages, 7 figure

Using Simulation to Assess the Opportunities of Dynamic Waste Collection

In this paper, we illustrate the use of discrete event simulation to evaluate how dynamic planning methodologies can be best applied for the collection of waste from underground containers. We present a case study that took place at the waste collection company Twente Milieu, located in The Netherlands. Even though the underground containers are already equipped with motion sensors, the planning of container emptying’s is still based on static cyclic schedules. It is expected that the use of a dynamic planning methodology, that employs sensor information, will result in a more efficient collection process with respect to customer satisfaction, profits, and CO2 emissions. In this research we use simulation to (i) evaluate the current planning methodology, (ii) evaluate various dynamic planning possibilities, (iii) quantify the benefits of switching to a dynamic collection process, and (iv) quantify the benefits of investing in fill‐level sensors. After simulating all scenarios, we conclude that major improvements can be achieved, both with respect to logistical costs as well as customer satisfaction

Dialectic tensions in the financial markets: a longitudinal study of pre- and post-crisis regulatory technology

This article presents the findings from a longitudinal research study on regulatory technology in the UK financial services industry. The financial crisis with serious corporate and mutual fund scandals raised the profile of compliance as governmental bodies, institutional and private investors introduced a ‘tsunami’ of financial regulations. Adopting a multi-level analysis, this study examines how regulatory technology was used by financial firms to meet their compliance obligations, pre- and post-crisis. Empirical data collected over 12 years examine the deployment of an investment management system in eight financial firms. Interviews with public regulatory bodies, financial institutions and technology providers reveal a culture of compliance with increased transparency, surveillance and accountability. Findings show that dialectic tensions arise as the pursuit of transparency, surveillance and accountability in compliance mandates is simultaneously rationalized, facilitated and obscured by regulatory technology. Responding to these challenges, regulatory bodies continue to impose revised compliance mandates on financial firms to force them to adapt their financial technologies in an ever-changing multi-jurisdictional regulatory landscape

Launch of the Space experiment PAMELA

PAMELA is a satellite borne experiment designed to study with great accuracy cosmic rays of galactic, solar, and trapped nature in a wide energy range protons: 80 MeV-700 GeV, electrons 50 MeV-400 GeV). Main objective is the study of the antimatter component: antiprotons (80 MeV-190 GeV), positrons (50 MeV-270 GeV) and search for antimatter with a precision of the order of 10^-8). The experiment, housed on board the Russian Resurs-DK1 satellite, was launched on June, 15, 2006 in a 350*600 km orbit with an inclination of 70 degrees. The detector is composed of a series of scintillator counters arranged at the extremities of a permanent magnet spectrometer to provide charge, Time-of-Flight and rigidity information. Lepton/hadron identification is performed by a Silicon-Tungsten calorimeter and a Neutron detector placed at the bottom of the device. An Anticounter system is used offline to reject false triggers coming from the satellite. In self-trigger mode the Calorimeter, the neutron detector and a shower tail catcher are capable of an independent measure of the lepton component up to 2 TeV. In this work we describe the experiment, its scientific objectives and the performance in the first months after launch.Comment: Accepted for publication on Advances in Space Researc

Evaluation of the modified FINDRISC to identify individuals at high risk for diabetes among middle-aged white and black ARIC study participants

Objective: To evaluate a modified Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) for predicting the risk of incident diabetes among white and black middle-aged participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Research design and methods: We assessed 9754 ARIC cohort participants who were free of diabetes at baseline. Logistic regression and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate a modified FINDRISC for predicting incident diabetes after 9 years of follow-up, overall and by race/gender group. The modified FINDRISC used comprised age, body mass index, waist circumference, blood pressure medication and family history. Results: The mean FINDRISC (range, 2 [lowest risk] to 17 [highest risk]) for black women was higher (9.9 ± 3.6) than that for black men (7.6 ± 3.9), white women (8.0 ± 3.6) and white men (7.6 ± 3.5). The incidence of diabetes increased generally across deciles of FINDRISC for all 4 race/gender groups. ROC curve statistics for the FINDRISC showed the highest area under the curve for white women (0.77) and the lowest for black men (0.70). Conclusions: We used a modified FINDRISC to predict the 9-year risk of incident diabetes in a biracial US population. The modified risk score can be useful for early screening of incident diabetes in biracial populations, which may be helpful for early interventions to delay or prevent diabetes