Texas Natural Resources Inventory and Monitoring System (TNRIMS), Applications System Verification and Transfer (ASVT), Remote Sensing Information Subsystem (RSIS): Acceptance test procedures

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Gasoline content regulation as a trade barrier: do boutique fuels discourage fuel imports?

This paper examines the impact of Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) environmental regulations on U.S. motor gasoline import patterns. Following the damage to U.S. petroleum refining infrastructure from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the federal government provided temporary relief for several weeks from so-called boutique fuel specifications designed to improve air quality in certain regions of the country. These temporary waivers increased marketers’ ability to sell gasoline originally destined for specific regional markets into a greater number of markets. We hypothesize that these same waivers also encouraged gasoline imports more than increased prices would have alone. We test our hypothesis using two analyses. The first consists of a simple transfer function analysis designed to separate price effects (and thus effects of refinery closures) from the effects of regulatory relief. The second analysis consists of a natural experiment comparing the primary recipient of regulatory relief—the Gulf Coast gasoline market— to the rest of the United States. Both analyses suggest that the CAAA-related specifications prevent a substantial amount of gasoline imports from entering the United States under normal circumstances.

Suppression of carrier induced ferromagnetism by composition and spin fluctuations in diluted magnetic semiconductors

We suggest an approach to account for spatial (composition) and thermal fluctuations in "disordered" magnetic models (e.g. Heisenberg, Ising) with given spatial dependence of magnetic spin-spin interaction. Our approach is based on introduction of fluctuating molecular field (rather than mean field) acting between the spins. The distribution function of the above field is derived self-consistently. In general case this function is not Gaussian, latter asymptotics occurs only at sufficiently large spins (magnetic ions) concentrations $n_i$. Our approach permits to derive the equation for a critical temperature $T_c$ of ferromagnetic phase transition with respect to the above fluctuations. We apply our theory to the analysis of influence of composition fluctuations on $T_c$ in diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) with RKKY indirect spin-spin interaction.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

As-built design specification for P1A software system modified display subsystem

This document contains the design of the proportional estimate processor which was written to satisfy the software requirement of Part A of the P1A experiment. The purposes of the project are: (1) to select the dots to be labelled; (2) to create tables of green numbers and brightness values for all selected dots per acquisition; (3) to create scatter plots of green numbers vs brightness for each acquisition for all selected dots. If labels have been provided then scatter plots of only categories of interest can be optionally produced; and (4) to produce trajectory plots of green number vs brightness at differing acquisition times for each dot. These plots need to be in the same order as the list of selected dots. When labels are provided only plots of dots of categories of interest are to be produced

Obstetric care among refugee populations: reinforcing cultural humility in residency training—preliminary report

The burden of increasing obstetric morbidity and mortality in the United States disproportionately impacts certain populations more than others, one such group being refugees. Poor obstetric outcomes among refugee communities historically have been attributed to delayed initiation of prenatal care, failure to detect co-morbidities, as well as higher rates of Cesarean sections (C-sections), stillbirths, pre-term births, and low birth weight infants in comparison to host-country mothers. Therefore, understanding the contextual nuances that play a role in these poor outcomes among refugee populations is very important

Missed opportunities for ovarian salvage in children: an 8-year review of surgically managed ovarian lesions at a tertiary pediatric surgery centre

INTRODUCTION: The aetiology and management of ovarian pathology in children differs between antenatal and postnatal lesions. However, all lesions may present acutely due to adnexal torsion. In this setting, opportunities to preserve fertility with ovary-sparing surgery (OSS) may be missed. Some studies suggest that pediatric and adolescent gynaecology (PAG) input in care is associated with OSS. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of children undergoing surgery for ovarian pathology at a tertiary pediatric surgery centre over an 8-year period (2011-2018). Patient factors, lesion characteristics and PAG involvement were examined for association with OSS using multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients with ovarian pathology managed surgically were included. Ten were infants with lesions detected antenatally; all were managed by pediatric surgeons (PS) alone at median age 2 weeks (1 day-25 weeks). Twenty-five patients presented postnatally at median age 11 (0.75-15) years. In total, there were 16 cases of adnexal torsion, each managed primarily by PS. Twelve underwent oophorectomy and six (50%) of these cases had viable ovarian tissue on histology. Furthermore, two infants with large simple cysts were similarly managed by unnecessary oophorectomy based on histology. Overall rate of OSS was 46% and PAG involvement was the only factor associated with ovarian salvage. CONCLUSION: Differences in surgical management between PAGs and PS may be attributable to the different patient populations they serve. We recommend improving the knowledge of PS trainees in OSS approaches for adnexal torsion and large benign lesions

Peer-Led, School-Based Nutrition Education for Young Adolescents: Feasibility and Process Evaluation of the TEENS Study

Peer education has become a popular strategy for health promotion interventions with adolescents, but it has not been used widely in school‐based nutrition education. This paper describes and reports on the feasibility of the peer leader component of school‐based nutrition intervention for young adolescents designed to increase fruit and vegetable intakes and lower-fat foods. About 1,000 seventh‐grade students in eight schools received the nutrition intervention. Of these, 272 were trained as peer leaders to assist the teacher in implementing the activities. Results from a multicomponent process evaluation based on peer leader and classroom student feedback, direct classroom observation, and teacher ratings and interviews are presented. Results show that peer‐led nutrition education approaches in schools are feasible and have high acceptability among peer leaders, classroom students, and teachers