Child Poverty in Rural America

This report explores the well-being of the 14 million children who live in rural America. Rural families represent a significant share of our total population and they are disproportionately poor, less educated, and underemployed. Yet poor children and the unique challenges they face are often overlooked by policymakers. Poor children living in rural America face significant educational, social, and economic challenges just as their urban counterparts do, but many of these problems are exacerbated by the isolation and limited access to support services common in rural areas

Automated system for analyzing the activity of individual neurons

This paper presents a signal processing system that: (1) provides an efficient and reliable instrument for investigating the activity of neuronal assemblies in the brain; and (2) demonstrates the feasibility of generating the command signals of prostheses using the activity of relevant neurons in disabled subjects. The system operates online, in a fully automated manner and can recognize the transient waveforms of several neurons in extracellular neurophysiological recordings. Optimal algorithms for detection, classification, and resolution of overlapping waveforms are developed and evaluated. Full automation is made possible by an algorithm that can set appropriate decision thresholds and an algorithm that can generate templates on-line. The system is implemented with a fast IBM PC compatible processor board that allows on-line operation

Characterizing the Response of Composite Panels to a Pyroshock Induced Environment using Design of Experiments Methodology

This experimental study seeks to quantify the impact various composite parameters have on the structural response of a composite structure in a pyroshock environment. The prediction of an aerospace structure's response to pyroshock induced loading is largely dependent on empirical databases created from collections of development and flight test data. While there is significant structural response data due to pyroshock induced loading for metallic structures, there is much less data available for composite structures. One challenge of developing a composite pyroshock response database as well as empirical prediction methods for composite structures is the large number of parameters associated with composite materials. This experimental study uses data from a test series planned using design of experiments (DOE) methods. Statistical analysis methods are then used to identify which composite material parameters most greatly influence a flat composite panel's structural response to pyroshock induced loading. The parameters considered are panel thickness, type of ply, ply orientation, and pyroshock level induced into the panel. The results of this test will aid in future large scale testing by eliminating insignificant parameters as well as aid in the development of empirical scaling methods for composite structures' response to pyroshock induced loading

Improving Communication of Uncertainty and Risk of High-Impact Weather through Innovative Forecaster Workshops

It is challenging to communicate uncertainty for high-impact weather events to the public and decision-makers. As a result, there is an increased emphasis and training within the National Weather Service (NWS) for “impact-based decision support.” A Collaborative Science, Technology, And Research (CSTAR) project led by Stony Brook University (SBU) in collaboration with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, several NWS forecast offices, and NWS operational centers held two workshops at SBU on effective forecast communication of probabilistic information for high-impact weather. Trainers in two 1.5-day workshops helped 15–20 forecasters learn to distill their messages, engage audiences, and more effectively communicate risk and uncertainty to decision-makers, media, and the general public. The novel aspect of the first workshop focused on using improvisational techniques to connect with audiences along with exercises to improve communication skills using short, clear, conversational statements. The same forecasters participated in the second workshop, which focused on matching messages to intended audiences and stakeholder interaction. Using a recent high-impact weather event, representatives in emergency management, TV media, departments of transportation, and emergency services provided feedback on the forecaster oral presentations (2–3 min) and a visual slide. This article describes our innovative workshop approach, illustrates some of the techniques used, and highlights participant feedback

Political and Institutional Determinants of Fiscal Policy Persistence in West Africa

This study investigates the political economy of fiscal policy making in West Africa by relying on a two-fold estimation technique, namely – the Instrumental variable regression model which accounts for potential endogeneity issue in the data and the Generalized Least Square regression model. The analysis covered 14 West African countries and spans over the period 1980 to 2016. The key results are as follows. First, we find evidence that fiscal policy has been more persistence in the region. This suggests that the governments of West African economies are either unwilling or just unable to adequately implement counter-cyclical fiscal policy. Second, fiscal policymaking has generally been drivenby political and institutional factor rather than on the basis of sound economic considerations. And third, the core politico-institutional factors determining fiscal persistence include corruption, government effectiveness and rule of law

Predictors of late presentation for obstetric fistula repair in Abakaliki, South-East Nigeria

Late presentation is a challenge to reducing the backlog of obstetric fistulas. We aimed to identify characteristics of women presenting late for repair in order to improve patient recruitment. It was a cross-sectional comparative study. Data was collected from the women and the hospital notes using proforma and analysed using SPSS. Associations between categorical variables were determined using Chi-square. Predictors of late presentation were determined using logistic regression. A P-value of <0.05 was statistically significant. The mean time of presentation was 42.3 months. Late presentation was significantly associated with age >35 years, parity < 3, not having a spouse, and trauma. On logistic regression, women aged 35 years and above were five times more likely to present late compared with younger ones (AOR= 5.192, 95%CI 1.839-14.660, P=0.002), while women with parity >3 were five times less likely to present late compared with those <3 (AOR= 0.208, 95%CI 0.073-0.587, P=0.003). In conclusion, most patients presented late. Although age, parity, having a spouse, and aetiology were associated with time of presentation, age >35 years and parity < 3 were the significant predictors of late presentation. Recruitment for early repair should be a priority area of the national policy for the elimination of obstetric fistula.   La présentation tardive est un défi pour réduire l'arriéré des fistules obstétricales. Nous avons cherché à identifier caractéristiques des femmes se présentant tardivement pour réparation afin d'améliorer le recrutement des patientes. Il s'agissait d'une étude comparative transversale. Les données ont été recueillies auprès des femmes et des notes d'hôpital à l'aide de formulaires proforma. et analysés à l'aide de SPSS. Les associations entre les variables catégorielles ont été déterminées à l'aide du Chi carré. Les prédicteurs de présentation tardive ont été déterminés à l'aide de la régression logistique. Une valeur p de <0,05 était statistiquement significatif. Le délai moyen de présentation était de 42,3 mois. La présentation tardive était significativement associé à l'âge > 35 ans, la parité < 3, l'absence de conjoint et un traumatisme. En régression logistique, les femmes âgés de 35 ans et plus étaient cinq fois plus susceptibles de se présenter tardivement que les plus jeunes (AOR = 5,192, IC à 95 % 1,839-14,660, P=0,002), tandis que les femmes avec une parité >3 étaient cinq fois moins susceptibles de présenter en retard par rapport à ceux <3 (AOR = 0,208, IC à 95 % 0,073-0,587, P = 0,003). En conclusion, la plupart des patients présenté tardivement. Bien que l'âge, la parité, le fait d'avoir un conjoint et l'étiologie soient associés au temps de la présentation, l'âge > 35 ans et la parité < 3 étaient les prédicteurs significatifs de la présentation tardive. Recrutement la réparation précoce devrait être un domaine prioritaire de la politique nationale d'élimination de la fistule obstétricale

The Northeast Water polynya as an atmospheric CO2 sink: a seasonal rectification hypothesis

During the multidisciplinary ‘NEW92’ cruise of the United States Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Polar Sea to the recurrent Northeast Water (NEW) Polynya (77–81°N, 6–17°W; July–August 1992), total dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity in the water column were measured with high precision to determine the quantitative impact of biological processes on the regional air-sea flux of carbon. Biological processes depleted the total inorganic carbon of summer surface waters by up to 2 mol C m−2 or about 3%. On a regional basis this depletion correlated with depth-integrated values of chlorophyll a, particulate organic carbon, and the inorganic nitrogen deficit. Replacement of this carbon through exchange with the atmosphere was stalled owing to the low wind speeds during the month of the cruise, although model calculations indicate that the depletion could be replenished by a few weeks of strong winds before ice forms in the autumn. These measurements and observations allowed formulation of a new hypothesis whereby seasonally ice-covered regions like the NEW Polynya promote a unique biologically and physically mediated “rectification” of the typical (ice free, low latitude) seasonal cycle of air-sea CO2 flux. The resulting carbon sink is consistent with other productivity estimates and represents an export of biologically cycled carbon either to local sediments or offshore. If this scenario is representative of seasonally ice-covered Arctic shelves, then the rectification process could provide a small, negative feedback to excess atmospheric CO2

Designing a tobacco counter-marketing campaign for African American youth

The objectives of this qualitative study were to: a) identify common marketing themes and tactics used by the tobacco industry to entice African Americans (AA's) and youth to initiate and maintain smoking behavior, especially smoking mentholated brands of cigarettes, and b) determine AA youths' knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and beliefs about smoking and the tobacco industry. Together, these activities could aid in the development of effective tobacco counter-marketing campaigns for AA youth. Using publicly available tobacco industry documents, computerized searches using standardized keywords were run and results were cataloged and analyzed thematically. Subsequently, 5 focus groups were conducted with n = 28 AA middle school-aged youth. Results suggest that the tobacco industry consistently recruited new AA smokers through a variety of means, including social and behavioral marketing studies and targeted media and promotional campaigns in predominantly AA, urban, and low income areas. AA youth interviewed in this study were largely unaware of these tactics, and reacted negatively against the industry upon learning of them. Youth tended to externalize control over tobacco, especially within the AA community. In designing a counter-marketing campaign for this population, partnering knowledge of tobacco industry practices with youth needs and community resources will likely increase their effectiveness