Thermoset-thermoplastic aromatic polyamide containing N-propargyl groups

The compounds of the class of aromatic polyamides useful as matrix resins in the manufacture of composites or laminate fabrication were developed. The process for preparing this thermoplastic-thermoset polyamide system involves incorporating a latent crosslinking moiety along the backbone of the polyamide to improve the temperature range of fabrication thereof wherein the resin softens at a relatively low temperature (approx. 154 C) and subsequently sets-up or undergoes crosslinking when subjected to higher temperature (approx. 280 C)

Decreasing Opportunities for Low-Wage Workers: The Role of the Nondiscrimination Law for Employer-Provided Health Insurance

As of 1978, the favorable tax treatment of fringe benefits, including health insurance, has been regulated via a nondiscrimination clause such that low-wage, full-time workers must be offered health insurance (and other benefits) that are offered to higher-wage workers by the firm. Part-time workers may be excluded from coverage, however, creating incentives for firms to hire some types of workers part time to deny them coverage. We hypothesize that firms will hire fewer workers whose relative costs have increased, that is, low-wage workers. These workers will be less likely to work for firms that offer coverage, and those that do will be more likely to work part time without being eligible for the firm’s health insurance benefits. We use the 1988 and 1993 Employee Benefits Supplements to the Current Population Surveys and an employer premium imputation to examine these hypotheses. Both the descriptive and multivariate analysis are consistent with our hypotheses. We predict the probability of working for a firm that offers health insurance to decrease as premiums increase for both high- and low-wage workers. An increase in the premium is also associated with a decrease in the probability of part-time work, but an even greater decrease in the joint probability of part-time work with eligibility for health insurance.

Plasmas in Saturn's magnetosphere

The solar wind plasma analyzer on board Pioneer 2 provides first observations of low-energy positive ions in the magnetosphere of Saturn. Measurable intensities of ions within the energy-per-unit charge (E/Q) range 100 eV to 8 keV are present over the planetocentric radial distance range about 4 to 16 R sub S in the dayside magnetosphere. The plasmas are found to be rigidly corotating with the planet out to distances of at least 10 R sub S. At radial distances beyond 10 R sub S, the bulk flows appear to be in the corotation direction but with lesser speeds than those expected from rigid corotation. At radial distances beyond the orbit of Rhea at 8.8 R sub S, the dominant ions are most likely protons and the corresponding typical densities and temperatures are 0.5/cu cm and 1,000,000 K, respectively, with substantial fluctuations. It is concluded that the most likely source of these plasmas in the photodissociation of water frost on the surface of the ring material with subsequent ionization of the products and radially outward diffusion. The presence of this plasma torus is expected to have a large influence on the dynamics of Saturn's magnetosphere since the pressure ratio beta of these plasmas approaches unity at radial distances as close to the planet as 6.5 R sub S. On the basis of these observational evidences it is anticipated that quasi-periodic outward flows of plasma, accompanied with a reconfiguration of the magnetosphere beyond about 6.5 R sub S, will occur in the local night sector in order to relieve the plasma pressure from accretion of plasma from the rings

How developmental neuroscience can help address the problem of child poverty

Nearly 1 in 5 children in the United States lives in a household whose income is below the official federal poverty line, and more than 40% of children live in poor or near-poor households. Research on the effects of poverty on children’s development has been a focus of study for many decades and is now increasing as we accumulate more evidence about the implications of poverty. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently added “Poverty and Child Health” to its Agenda for Children to recognize what has now been established as broad and enduring effects of poverty on child development. A recent addition to the field has been the application of neuroscience-based methods. Various techniques including neuroimaging, neuroendocrinology, cognitive psychophysiology, and epigenetics are beginning to document ways in which early experiences of living in poverty affect infant brain development. We discuss whether there are truly worthwhile reasons for adding neuroscience and related biological methods to study child poverty, and how might these perspectives help guide developmentally-based and targeted interventions and policies for these children and their families

Developing collaborative partnerships with culturally and linguistically diverse families during the IEP process

Family participation in the special education process has been federally mandated for 40 years, and educators recognize that effective collaboration with their students’ families leads to improved academic and social outcomes for students. However, while some family-school relationships are positive and collaborative, many are not, particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) families. This article provides practice guidelines based in research for teachers who seek to improve their practices when working with CLD families who have children served by special education

The Organic Research Centre; Elm Farm Bulletin 84 July 2006

Regular bulletin with technical updates of the Organic Advisory Service Issue contains: Battling on for Avian Flu preventive vaccination; Organic Colombian Blacktail eggs; UK Co-existence - GMOand non-GMO crops; Aspects of Poultry Behaviour; CAP in the service of biodiversity; Seeing the Wood, the Trees and the Catch 22; Beware of organic market "statistics"; A central role in energy review

Inflation-Produced Magnetic Fields in R^n F^2 and I F^2 models

We re-analyze the production of seed magnetic fields during Inflation in (R/m^2)^n F_{\mu \nu}F^{\mu \nu} and I F_{\mu \nu}F^{\mu \nu} models, where n is a positive integer, R the Ricci scalar, m a mass parameter, and I \propto \eta^\alpha a power-law function of the conformal time \eta, with \alpha a positive real number. If m is the electron mass, the produced fields are uninterestingly small for all n. Taking m as a free parameter we find that, for n \geq 2, the produced magnetic fields can be sufficiently strong in order to seed dynamo mechanism and then to explain galactic magnetism. For \alpha \gtrsim 2, there is always a window in the parameters defining Inflation such that the generated magnetic fields are astrophysically interesting. Moreover, if Inflation is (almost) de Sitter and the produced fields almost scale-invariant (\alpha \simeq 4), their intensity can be strong enough to directly explain the presence of microgauss galactic magnetic fields.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Minor revisions. References added. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Association between Income and the Hippocampus

Facets of the post-natal environment including the type and complexity of environmental stimuli, the quality of parenting behaviors, and the amount and type of stress experienced by a child affects brain and behavioral functioning. Poverty is a type of pervasive experience that is likely to influence biobehavioral processes because children developing in such environments often encounter high levels of stress and reduced environmental stimulation. This study explores the association between socioeconomic status and the hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning and memory that is known to be affected by stress. We employ a voxel-based morphometry analytic framework with region of interest drawing for structural brain images acquired from participants across the socioeconomic spectrum (n = 317). Children from lower income backgrounds had lower hippocampal gray matter density, a measure of volume. This finding is discussed in terms of disparities in education and health that are observed across the socioeconomic spectrum