Prioritization methodology for chemical replacement

Since United States of America federal legislation has required ozone depleting chemicals (class 1 & 2) to be banned from production, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and industry have been required to find other chemicals and methods to replace these target chemicals. This project was initiated as a development of a prioritization methodology suitable for assessing and ranking existing processes for replacement 'urgency.' The methodology was produced in the form of a workbook (NASA Technical Paper 3421). The final workbook contains two tools, one for evaluation and one for prioritization. The two tools are interconnected in that they were developed from one central theme - chemical replacement due to imposed laws and regulations. This workbook provides matrices, detailed explanations of how to use them, and a detailed methodology for prioritization of replacement technology. The main objective is to provide a GUIDELINE to help direct the research for replacement technology. The approach for prioritization called for a system which would result in a numerical rating for the chemicals and processes being assessed. A Quality Function Deployment (QFD) technique was used in order to determine numerical values which would correspond to the concerns raised and their respective importance to the process. This workbook defines the approach and the application of the QFD matrix. This technique: (1) provides a standard database for technology that can be easily reviewed, and (2) provides a standard format for information when requesting resources for further research for chemical replacement technology. Originally, this workbook was to be used for Class 1 and Class 2 chemicals, but it was specifically designed to be flexible enough to be used for any chemical used in a process (if the chemical and/or process needs to be replaced). The methodology consists of comparison matrices (and the smaller comparison components) which allow replacement technology to be quantitatively compared in several categories, and a QFD matrix which allows process/chemical pairs to be rated against one another for importance (using consistent categories). Depending on the need for application, one can choose the part(s) needed or have the methodology completed in its entirety. For example, if a program needs to show the risk of changing a process/chemical one may choose to use part of Matrix A and Matrix C. If a chemical is being used, and the process must be changed; one might use the Process Concerns part of Matrix D for the existing process and all possible replacement processes. If an overall analysis of a program is needed, one may request the QFD to be completed

Gestational Hormone Profiles Predict Human Maternal Behavior at 1-Year Postpartum

In many non-human species, including primates, gestational reproductive hormones play an essential role in the onset of maternal motivation and behaviors. We investigated the associations between prepartum estradiol and progesterone and maternal behavior at 1-year postpartum in 177 women. Blood was obtained at five gestational time points and an index of quality of maternal care was determined using a well-validated mother-child interaction protocol. Women who exhibited higher quality maternal care at 1-year postpartum were characterized by unique gestational profiles of estradiol, progesterone and the estrogen to progesterone ratio; specifically by slower accelerations and levels of these hormone trajectories beginning in midgestation. Further, it appeared that both fetal sex and parity moderated these findings, with first time mothers and mothers of females showing stronger associations. In sum, these data document persisting associations between prepartum hormone profiles and human maternal behavior. More broadly, these findings add to the growing literature highlighting the perinatal period as one of critical neurodevelopment in the lifespan of the human female

Fold Lens Flux Anomalies: A Geometric Approach

We develop a new approach for studying flux anomalies in quadruply-imaged fold lens systems. We show that in the absence of substructure, microlensing, or differential absorption, the expected flux ratios of a fold pair can be tightly constrained using only geometric arguments. We apply this technique to 11 known quadruple lens systems in the radio and infrared, and compare our estimates to the Monte Carlo based results of Keeton, Gaudi, and Petters. We show that a robust estimate for a flux ratio from a smoothly varying potential can be found, and at long wavelengths those lenses deviating from from this ratio almost certainly contain significant substructure.Comment: 16 pages, including 8 figure

International Network of Twin Registries (INTR): Building a Platform for International Collaboration

This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.The International Network of Twin Registries (INTR) aims to foster scientific collaboration and promote twin research on a global scale by working to expand the resources of twin registries around the world and make them available to researchers who adhere to established guidelines for international collaboration. Our vision is to create an unprecedented scientific network of twin registries that will advance knowledge in ways that are impossible for individual registries, and includes the harmonization of data. INTR will also promote a broad range of activities, including the development of a website, formulation of data harmonization protocols, creation of a library of software tools for twin studies, design of a search engine to identify research partners, establishment of searchable inventories of data and biospecimens, development of templates for informed consent and data sharing, organization of symposia at International Society of Twin Studies conferences, support for scholar exchanges, and writing grant proposals.Peer Reviewe

Circulating growth factor concentrations and breast cancer risk: a nested case-control study of IGF-1, IGFBP-3, and breast cancer in a family-based cohort

Background Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) are associated with breast cancer in women at average risk of cancer. Less is known whether these biomarkers also predict risk in women with breast cancer family history. Methods We conducted a nested case-control study within the New York site of the Breast Cancer Family Registry (BCFR, n = 80 cases, 156 controls), a cohort enriched for breast cancer family history. Using conditional logistic regression, we estimated the association between IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 levels and breast cancer risk and examined whether this risk differed by predicted absolute breast cancer risk based on pedigree models. Results The overall association between IGF-1 or IGFBP-3 elevation (≥ median in controls) and breast cancer risk was elevated, but not statistically significant (IGF-1 OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 0.66–2.85; IGFBP-3 OR = 1.62, 95% CI = 0.81–3.24). Women with elevated predicted absolute 10-year risk ≥ 3.4% and elevated IGFBP-3 (≥ median) had more than a 3-fold increased risk compared to women with lower predicted absolute 10-year risk (< 3.4%) and low IGFBP-3 (OR = 3.47 95% CI = 1.04–11.6). Conclusions These data offer some support that the overall magnitude of the associations between IGF-1 and IGFBP3 seen in average risk cohorts may be similar in women enriched with a strong breast cancer family history