10,709 research outputs found
Retention of Low Income Children in Three Dental Studies Investigating Early Childhood Caries
Background: To our knowledge no dental studies have looked closely at subject retention, which is crucial to better understand oral health disparities. In this paper, we report retention rates and review and attempt to assess which retention strategies utilized in 3 dental research studies investigating ECC were effective for retaining WIC-enrolled children. The purpose of this paper is to discuss challenges that were encountered when working with these populations, describe characteristics of those not retained, and summarize some recommendations for future dental studies working at WIC sites. Methods: Three dental studies were conducted at WIC clinics in Iowa. Retention strategies focused on maintenance of contact over time, persistence in rescheduling appointments, utilization of incentives, high recruitment, and frequent communication with parents and program staff. Results: Retention rates in the studies ranged from 60 to 75 percent at the final research interventions. Studies were challenged by frequent moves of subjects, missed appointments, disconnected phones, busy schedules of parents, transportation problems, loss of child custody, family illness, and lack of interest. Those not retained in the studies were more likely to be younger, single, and less educated, with a lower household income and a non-Caucasian child. Lower retention was also associated with the presence of carious lesions. Conclusions: Despite many challenges, studies had good retention rates and benefited from the retention strategies. Future dental studies at WIC clinics may also benefit from arranging transportation, obtaining a free, 800 callback number, and offering after-hours appointments for working parents
On the intersection of free subgroups in free products of groups
Let (G_i | i in I) be a family of groups, let F be a free group, and let G =
F *(*I G_i), the free product of F and all the G_i. Let FF denote the set of
all finitely generated subgroups H of G which have the property that, for each
g in G and each i in I, H \cap G_i^{g} = {1}. By the Kurosh Subgroup Theorem,
every element of FF is a free group. For each free group H, the reduced rank of
H is defined as r(H) = max{rank(H) -1, 0} in \naturals \cup {\infty} \subseteq
[0,\infty]. To avoid the vacuous case, we make the additional assumption that
FF contains a non-cyclic group, and we define sigma := sup{r(H\cap
K)/(r(H)r(K)) : H, K in FF and r(H)r(K) \ne 0}, sigma in [1,\infty]. We are
interested in precise bounds for sigma. In the special case where I is empty,
Hanna Neumann proved that sigma in [1,2], and conjectured that sigma = 1;
almost fifty years later, this interval has not been reduced. With the
understanding that \infty/(\infty -2) = 1, we define theta := max{|L|/(|L|-2) :
L is a subgroup of G and |L| > 2}, theta in [1,3]. Generalizing Hanna Neumann's
theorem, we prove that sigma in [theta, 2 theta], and, moreover, sigma = 2
theta if G has 2-torsion. Since sigma is finite, FF is closed under finite
intersections. Generalizing Hanna Neumann's conjecture, we conjecture that
sigma = theta whenever G does not have 2-torsion.Comment: 28 pages, no figure
Unwinding the Molecular Basis of Interval and Circadian Timing
Neural timing mechanisms range from the millisecond to diurnal, and possibly annual, frequencies. Two of the main processes under study are the interval timer (seconds-to-minute range) and the circadian clock. The molecular basis of these two mechanisms is the subject of intense research, as well as their possible relationship. This article summarizes data from studies investigating a possible interaction between interval and circadian timing and reviews the molecular basis of both mechanisms, including the discussion of the contribution from studies of genetically modified animal models. While there is currently no common neurochemical substrate for timing mechanisms in the brain, circadian modulation of interval timing suggests an interaction of different frequencies in cerebral temporal processes
Relativity Theory and Time Perception: Single or Multiple Clocks?
BACKGROUND:Current theories of interval timing assume that humans and other animals time as if using a single, absolute stopwatch that can be stopped or reset on command. Here we evaluate the alternative view that psychological time is represented by multiple clocks, and that these clocks create separate temporal contexts by which duration is judged in a relative manner. Two predictions of the multiple-clock hypothesis were tested. First, that the multiple clocks can be manipulated (stopped and/or reset) independently. Second, that an event of a given physical duration would be perceived as having different durations in different temporal contexts, i.e., would be judged differently by each clock. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Rats were trained to time three durations (e.g., 10, 30, and 90 s). When timing was interrupted by an unexpected gap in the signal, rats reset the clock used to time the "short" duration, stopped the "medium" duration clock, and continued to run the "long" duration clock. When the duration of the gap was manipulated, the rats reset these clocks in a hierarchical order, first the "short", then the "medium", and finally the "long" clock. Quantitative modeling assuming re-allocation of cognitive resources in proportion to the relative duration of the gap to the multiple, simultaneously timed event durations was used to account for the results. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:These results indicate that the three event durations were effectively timed by separate clocks operated independently, and that the same gap duration was judged relative to these three temporal contexts. Results suggest that the brain processes the duration of an event in a manner similar to Einstein's special relativity theory: A given time interval is registered differently by independent clocks dependent upon the context
Running anti-de Sitter radius from QCD-like strings
We consider renormalization effects for a bosonic QCD-like string, whose
partons have propagators instead of Gaussian. Classically this model
resembles (the bosonic part of) the projective light-cone (zero-radius) limit
of a string on an AdS background, where Schwinger parameters give rise to
the fifth dimension. Quantum effects generate dynamics for this dimension,
producing an AdS background with a running radius. The projective
light-cone is the high-energy limit: Holography is enforced dynamically.Comment: 12 page
Pseudogap in 1d revisited
Two decades ago, Sadovskii found an exact solution of a model describing a
pseudogap in electron energy spectrum (first introduced by Lee, Rice and
Anderson). The discovery of a pseudogap in high-Tc superconductors has revived
the interest to his exact solution. I review the model with the emphasis on
physical content, point out an error in the original Sadovskii's solution and
explain which problem he actually solved. A recent incorporation of Sadovskii's
ideas into a description of "hot spots" on the Fermi surface in cuprate
superconductors (Schmalian, Pines and Stojkovic) is briefly discussed.Comment: Final version to appear in PR
Measurements of average heat-transfer and friction coefficients for subsonic flow of air in smooth tubes at high surface and fluid temperatures
An investigation of forced-convection heat transfer and associated pressure drops was conducted with air flowing through smooth tubes for an over-all range of surface temperature from 535 degrees to 3050 degrees r, inlet-air temperature from 535 degrees to 1500 degrees r, Reynolds number up to 500,000, exit Mach number up to 1, heat flux up to 150,000 btu per hour per square foot, length-diameter ratio from 30 to 120, and three entrance configurations. Most of the data are for heat addition to the air; a few results are included for cooling of the air. The over-all range of surface-to-air temperature ratio was from 0.46 to 3.5
First high-resolution look at the quiet Sun with ALMA at 3 mm
We present an overview of high resolution quiet Sun observations, from disk
center to the limb, obtained with the Atacama Large mm and sub-mm Array (ALMA)
at 3 mm. Seven quiet Sun regions were observed with resolution of up to 2.5" by
4.5". We produced both average and snapshot images by self-calibrating the ALMA
visibilities and combining the interferometric images with full disk solar
images. The images show well the chromospheric network, which, based on the
unique segregation method we used, is brighter than the average over the fields
of view of the observed regions by K while the intranetwork is less
bright by K, with a slight decrease of the network/intranetwork
contrast toward the limb. At 3 mm the network is very similar to the 1600 \AA\
images, with somewhat larger size. We detected for the first time spicular
structures, rising up to 15" above the limb with a width down to the image
resolution and brightness temperature of 1800 K above the local
background. No trace of spicules, either in emission or absorption, was found
on the disk. Our results highlight ALMA's potential for the study of the quiet
chromosphere.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics (Letters), in pres
- …