Psychological and demographic predictors of cellular phone use of college students

The present study examined psychological and demographic predictors of cellular phone use of college students. The participants were 158 undergraduate students enrolled at a public university in the Southeastern United States. Each participant reported demographic information and completed the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, the Trait Scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Cellular Telephone Inventory. Participants\u27 responses to the Cellular Telephone Inventory produced four measures of cellular phone use: daily phone use in minutes, instrumental use, emotional/social use, and problematic use. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine the degree to which a set of six predictor variables (self-esteem, trait anxiety, gender, age, class rank, and mileage from hometown) predicted each of the cellular phone use measures. The predictor variables accounted for 6% of the variance in daily phone use scores, 12% of the variance in the instrumental use scores, 26% of the variance in the emotional/social use scores, and 8% of the variance in the problematic use scores. The psychological variables of self-esteem and trait anxiety did not make a significant contribution to the prediction of any of the four cellular use measures; however, several demographic variables were significant predictors. Suggestions for future research on cellular phone use in the college population are discussed

Identification of Cytotoxic Flavor Chemicals in Top-Selling Electronic Cigarette Refill Fluids.

We identified the most popular electronic cigarette (EC) refill fluids using an Internet survey and local and online sales information, quantified their flavor chemicals, and evaluated cytotoxicities of the fluids and flavor chemicals. "Berries/Fruits/Citrus" was the most popular EC refill fluid flavor category. Twenty popular EC refill fluids were purchased from local shops, and the ingredient flavor chemicals were identified and quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Total flavor chemical concentrations ranged from 0.6 to 27.9 mg/ml, and in 95% of the fluids, total flavor concentration was greater than nicotine concentration. The 20 most popular refill fluids contained 99 quantifiable flavor chemicals; each refill fluid contained 22 to 47 flavor chemicals, most being esters. Some chemicals were found frequently, and several were present in most products. At a 1% concentration, 80% of the refill fluids were cytotoxic in the MTT assay. Six pure standards of the flavor chemicals found at the highest concentrations in the two most cytotoxic refill fluids were effective in the MTT assay, and ethyl maltol, which was in over 50% of the products, was the most cytotoxic. These data show that the cytotoxicity of some popular refill fluids can be attributed to their high concentrations of flavor chemicals

High concentrations of flavor chemicals are present in electronic cigarette refill fluids.

We characterized the flavor chemicals in a broad sample of commercially available electronic cigarette (EC) refill fluids that were purchased in four different countries. Flavor chemicals in 277 refill fluids were identified and quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and two commonly used flavor chemicals were tested for cytotoxicity with the MTT assay using human lung fibroblasts and epithelial cells. About 85% of the refill fluids had total flavor concentrations >1 mg/ml, and 37% were >10 mg/ml (1% by weight). Of the 155 flavor chemicals identified in the 277 refill fluids, 50 were present at ≥1 mg/ml in at least one sample and 11 were ≥10 mg/ml in 54 of the refill fluids. Sixty-one% (170 out of 277) of the samples contained nicotine, and of these, 56% had a total flavor chemical/nicotine ratio >2. Four chemicals were present in 50% (menthol, triacetin, and cinnamaldehyde) to 80% (ethyl maltol) of the samples. Some products had concentrations of menthol ("Menthol Arctic") and ethyl maltol ("No. 64") that were 30 times (menthol) and 100 times (ethyl maltol) their cytotoxic concentration. One refill fluid contained cinnamaldehyde at ~34% (343 mg/ml), more than 100,000 times its cytotoxic level. High concentrations of some flavor chemicals in EC refill fluids are potentially harmful to users, and continued absence of any regulations regarding flavor chemicals in EC fluids will likely be detrimental to human health

Blood Flow in silico: From Single Cells to Blood Rheology

This paper was presented at the 4th Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2014), which was held at University College, London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute, ASME Press, LCN London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL University College London, UCL Engineering, the International NanoScience Community, www.nanopaprika.eu.Mesoscale hydrodynamics simulations of red blood cells under flow have provided much new insight into their shapes and dynamics in microchannel flow. The presented results range from the behavior of single cells in confinement and the shape changes in sedimentation, to the clustering and arrangement of many cells in microchannels and the viscosity of red blood cell suspensions under shear flow. The interaction of red blood cells with other particles and cells, such as white blood cells, platelets, and drug carriers, shows an essential role of red blood cells in the margination of other blood components

The Diagnostic Potential of Transition Region Lines under-going Transient Ionization in Dynamic Events

We discuss the diagnostic potential of high cadence ultraviolet spectral data when transient ionization is considered. For this we use high cadence UV spectra taken during the impulsive phase of a solar flares (observed with instruments on-board the Solar Maximum Mission) which showed excellent correspondence with hard X-ray pulses. The ionization fraction of the transition region ion O V and in particular the contribution function for the O V 1371A line are computed within the Atomic Data and Analysis Structure, which is a collection of fundamental and derived atomic data and codes which manipulate them. Due to transient ionization, the O V 1371A line is enhanced in the first fraction of a second with the peak in the line contribution function occurring initially at a higher electron temperature than in ionization equilibrium. The rise time and enhancement factor depend mostly on the electron density. The fractional increase in the O V 1371A emissivity due to transient ionization can reach a factor of 2--4 and can explain the fast response in the line flux of transition regions ions during the impulsive phase of flares solely as a result of transient ionization. This technique can be used to diagnostic the electron temperature and density of solar flares observed with the forth-coming Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure

Reduced search space multiple shift maximum element sequential matrix diagonalisation algorithm

The Multiple Shift Maximum Element Sequential Matrix Diagonalisation (MSME-SMD) algorithm is a powerful but costly method for performing approximate polynomial eigenvalue decomposition (PEVD) for space-time covariance-type matrices encountered in e.g. broadband array processing. This paper discusses a newly developed search method that restricts the order growth within the MSME-SMD algorithm. In addition to enhanced control of the polynomial degree of the paraunitary and parahermitian factors in this decomposition, the new search method is also computationally less demanding as fewer elements are searched compared to the original while the excellent diagonalisation of MSME-SMD is maintained

Impact of source model matrix conditioning on iterative PEVD algorithms

Polynomial parahermitian matrices can accurately and elegantly capture the space-time covariance in broadband array problems. To factorise such matrices, a number of polynomial EVD (PEVD) algorithms have been suggested. At every step, these algorithms move various amounts of off-diagonal energy onto the diagonal, to eventually reach an approximate diagonalisation. In practical experiments, we have found that the relative performance of these algorithms depends quite significantly on the type of parahermitian matrix that is to be factorised. This paper aims to explore this performance space, and to provide some insight into the characteristics of PEVD algorithms

An Initial Inquiry Into Mountain Ungulate Space Use Within the Greater Yellowstone Area

The expansion of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) throughout the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) has continued since their initial introduction in the 1940’s. Mountain goats occupy similar habitats as native bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) and harbor pathogens known to be detrimental to bighorn sheep recovery efforts. In 2006 the Greater Yellowstone Area Mountain Ungulate Project initiated a large-scale collaring effort to enhance our understanding of the spatial dynamics of both species and the potential impacts of mountain goat range expansion on regional bighorn sheep. The research is unique in spatial scale and encompasses ten study areas with examples of both sympatric and allopatric mountain ungulate populations. To date we have instrumented 122 individuals (76 BHS and 46 MTGs) with GPS collars and have recovered 45 collars (22 BHS and 23 MTGs) from the field. Initial inquiries into space use across species and study areas with respect to seasonal migrations and elevational changes will be discussed. An early investigation of the heterogeneity in mountain ungulate space use and movement strategies throughout the GYA will help to inform future capture efforts and provide insights into mountain ungulate competition across space and time