PILOT APPRAISAL OF VARIABLES AMONG MEXICAN-AMERICANS FOR SOCIAL NETWORKS ANALYSIS

poster abstractHispanics in the USA often suffer poor oral health. More appropriate solutions may be designed if we move beyond the simplistic interpretation of poor oral outcomes being associated with 1-2 variables, e.g., language; such an approach has failed to provide consistent interpretations, and offers no points for intervention. We propose to examine a constellation of variables interwoven into multilevel strategies under a new(er) paradigm, social network theories (http://cmol.nbi.dk/models/infoflow/infoflow.html). Objectives: To qualitatively identify domains of variables modulating oral health outcomes among 1st-2nd generation MexicanAmerican immigrants. Methods: Through key informant interviews, we ascertained KAB variables in immigrant families originating in Jalisco, Mexico. This community has had a strong, revolving presence for decades in a well-delimited location in Indianapolis, IN, around St. Patrick’s parish. We did not conduct clinical exams but used questions from American national surveys to document health perceptions, availability of dental services/insurance, presence of dental pain and impaired function in adults and children, and family structure and sociodemographic profiles during a Catholic festival (no incentives, no appointments). Data were content-analyzed. Results: Data were collected from 22 parent-child dyads (15 female adults, 7 male; mean age 24±6.3yrs; data from the oldest child and the interviewee). Frequencies of dental emergencies and acute problems varied markedly, with recurrence patterns. A minority exhibited consistent dental attendance, often enabled by public/private dental insurance. Time in the USA varied considerably, with 1st and 2nd generation immigrant parents and children sharing the household. Occupations ranged from manual to clerical, and education from elementary to college among adults. Conclusion: Interviews were feasible and acceptable, and the experience informed future fieldwork considerations. We are using the variables to design a social networks study to characterize the evolution of patterns between families in Indianapolis and among peers living in Jalisco, aiming to measure impacts ascribable to immigration along acculturation spectra

Crystal structure of the FAD-containing ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase from the plant pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri

We have solved the structure of ferredoxin-NADP(H) reductase, FPR, from the plant pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri, responsible for citrus canker, at a resolution of 1.5¿Å. This structure reveals differences in the mobility of specific loops when compared to other FPRs, probably unrelated to the hydride transfer process, which contributes to explaining the structural and functional divergence between the subclass I FPRs. Interactions of the C-terminus of the enzyme with the phosphoadenosine of the cofactor FAD limit its mobility, thus affecting the entrance of nicotinamide into the active site. This structure opens the possibility of rationally designing drugs against the X. axonopodis pv. citri phytopathogen

Induced Force Hovering of Spherical Robot by Under-Actuated Control of Dual Rotor

This chapter discusses the design and modelling of a spherical flying robot. The main objective is to control its hovering and omnidirectional mobility by controlling the air mass differential pressure between two asynchronous coaxial rotors that are aligned collinearly. The spherical robot design has embedded a gyroscopic mechanism of three rings that allow the rotors’ under-actuated mobility with 3DOF. The main objective of this study is to maintain the thrust force with nearly vertical direction. The change in pressure between rotors allows to vary the rotors’ tilt and pitch. The system uses special design propellers to improve the laminar air mass flux. A nonlinear fitting model automatically calibrates the rotors’ angular speed as a function of digital values. This model is the functional form that represents the reference input to control the rotors’ speed, validated by three types controllers: P, PI, and PID. The robot’s thrust and induced forces and flight mechanics are proposed and analysed. The simulation results show the feasibility of the approach

Derivative corrections to the Born-Infeld action through beta-function calculations in N=2 boundary superspace

We calculate the beta-functions for an open string sigma-model in the presence of a U(1) background. Passing to N=2 boundary superspace, in which the background is fully characterized by a scalar potential, significantly facilitates the calculation. Performing the calculation through three loops yields the equations of motion up to five derivatives on the fieldstrengths, which upon integration gives the bosonic sector of the effective action for a single D-brane in trivial bulk background fields through four derivatives and to all orders in alpha'. Finally, the present calculation shows that demanding ultra-violet finiteness of the non-linear sigma-model can be reformulated as the requirement that the background is a deformed stable holomorphic U(1) bundle.Comment: 25 pages, numerous figure

4-point effective actions in open and closed superstring theory

Recently the effective action for the 4-point functions in abelian open superstring theory has been derived, giving an explicit construction of the bosonic and fermionic terms of this infinite $\alpha'$ series. In the present work we generalize this result to the nonabelian case. We test our result, at ${\alpha'}^3$ and ${\alpha'}^4$ order, with several existing versions for these terms, finding agreement in most of the cases. We also apply these ideas to derive the effective action for the 4-point functions of the NS-NS sector of closed superstring theory, to all order in $\alpha'$.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure. To appear in JHE

Renormalization group and nonequilibrium action in stochastic field theory

We investigate the renormalization group approach to nonequilibrium field theory. We show that it is possible to derive nontrivial renormalization group flow from iterative coarse graining of a closed-time-path action. This renormalization group is different from the usual in quantum field theory textbooks, in that it describes nontrivial noise and dissipation. We work out a specific example where the variation of the closed-time-path action leads to the so-called Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation, and show that the renormalization group obtained by coarse graining this action, agrees with the dynamical renormalization group derived by directly coarse graining the equations of motion.Comment: 33 pages, 3 figures included in the text. Revised; one reference adde

Epstein-Barr virus and childhood Hodgkin's disease in Honduras and the United States

In industrialized populations, Hodgkin's disease (HD) has an initial peak in young adulthood, whereas in economically developing populations the initial peak occurs in childhood. This pattern resembles that of infection with poliovirus and suggests an infectious cofactor in the etiology. Serologic studies have linked Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to young adult and adult HD, and viral nucleic acids and antigens have been detected in a subset of Hodgkin's tumor specimens. To investigate the association of childhood HD with EBV we studied tumor specimens from 11 children treated in Honduras and 25 children treated in the United States using in situ hybridization and antigen detection techniques. Among the patients from Honduras, tumor specimens from all cases were EBV positive. Among the patients from the United States, tumor specimens from six of seven patients with mixed cellularity histology, 2 of 15 with nodular sclerosis histology, and neither of two patients with lymphocyte-predominant histologies were EBV positive. These findings support the hypothesis that EBV contributes to the pathogenesis of HD in children, particularly in mixed cellularity HD, and raises the possibility that there are important geographic, racial, or ethnic factors in the EBV association with HD

Estimation of Genetic Relationships Between Individuals Across Cohorts and Platforms: Application to Childhood Height

Combining genotype data across cohorts increases power to estimate the heritability due to common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), based on analyzing a Genetic Relationship Matrix (GRM). However, the combination of SNP data across multiple cohorts may lead to stratification, when for example, different genotyping platforms are used. In the current study, we address issues of combining SNP data from different cohorts, the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR) and the Generation R (GENR) study. Both cohorts include children of Northern European Dutch background (N = 3102 + 2826, respectively) who were genotyped on different platforms. We explore imputation and phasing as a tool and compare three GRM-building strategies, when data from two cohorts are (1) just comb