The food consumption habits of 145 Iowa farm families

The food consumption habits of 145 Iowa farm families were studied from records of expenditures for food and of food produced by farms during one year. Forty-three families in the central part of the state near Ames, 49 families in the southwestern part near Corning, and 53 families near Oelwein in the northeastern part of the state cooperated in the study. The nutritive values of the respective diets were calculated for the families in the Ames group and for the average of the families in each of the other two groups. The energy values of these diets and their content of protein, calcium, phosphorus and iron were calculated and contrasted with the standard allowances” on a per man per day basis

Spectroscopy of Infrared Flares from the Microquasar GRS 1915+105

We present near-infrared medium-resolution ($R \sim 875$) spectra of the microquasar GRS 1915+105 on 1997 August 13-15 UTC from the Hale 200-inch telescope. The spectra showed broad emission lines of He I (2.058 $\mu$m) and H I (2.166 $\mu$m - Br$\gamma$), consistent with previous work. On August 14 UTC, we took spectra with $\sim 6$-minute time resolution during infrared flaring events similar to those reported in Eikenberry et al. (1998a), which appear to reveal plasma ejection from the system. During the flares, the emission line fluxes varied in approximately linear proportionality to the IR continuum flux, implying that the lines are radiatively pumped by the flares. We also detected a weak He II (2.189 $\mu$m) emission line on August 14 UTC. The nature of the line variability and the presence of the He II feature indicate that the emission lines in GRS 1915+105 arise in an accretion disk around the compact object, rather than in the circumstellar disk of a proposed Oe/Be companion. The radiative line pumping also implies that the flare emission originates from ejecta which have moved out of the accretion disk plane.Comment: 13 pages plus 4 figures, to appear in ApJ Letter

Black-hole quasinormal modes and scalar glueballs in a finite-temperature AdS/QCD model

We use the holographic AdS/QCD soft-wall model to investigate the spectrum of scalar glueballs in a finite temperature plasma. In this model, glueballs are described by a massless scalar field in an AdS_5 black hole with a dilaton soft-wall background. Using AdS/CFT prescriptions, we compute the boundary retarded Green's function. The corresponding thermal spectral function shows quasiparticle peaks at low temperatures. We also compute the quasinormal modes of the scalar field in the soft-wall black hole geometry. The temperature and momentum dependences of these modes are analyzed. The positions and widths of the peaks of the spectral function are related to the frequencies of the quasinormal modes. Our numerical results are found employing the power series method and the computation of Breit-Wigner resonances.Comment: Revision: Results unchanged. More discussions on the model and on the results. References added. 28 pages, 7 figures, 5 table

The Different Artificial Sweeteners and Their Effects on Endothelial Cell/Blood Vessel Health: Possible Implications for Ringing in the Ear

Abstract: Background: Tinnitus, a condition whose remarkable symptom is ringing in the ear (RIE), is a problem plaguing people all around the world in varying degrees of severity, though it is most common and severe in older populations. Literature is lacking on its etiology. Therefore, it is difficult to diagnose and treat. Several possible components could play a role in the development of tinnitus including neurological, physiological, traumatic, dietary and vascular factors. No factor has yet been definitively linked to the development of tinnitus. Vascular health can be significantly impacted by diet- especially in regard to sugars. As artificial sweeteners are used widely in the American diet, they may play a significant role in vascular health. Objective: This project aims to investigate a possible connection between artificial sugars’ impact on vascular health and complaints of RIE among age groups through a patient survey and laboratory experiments. Methods: A survey assessing individuals’ demographic information, subjective severity of RIE and reported artificial sweetener consumption will be distributed to audiologists’ offices in major Ohio cities, via Qualtrics, where patients will complete them. Data collected will be analyzed for interrelationships among sugar intake, age and severity of RIE. In the laboratory, an ELISA assay will evaluate the effects of artificial sweeteners on endothelial cells- the same cells that comprise blood vessels- through quantifying stimulation of the Tie-2 survival and angiogenesis pathway via the cellular messenger pAKT

Performance of PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG urinary biomarkers in prediction of biopsy outcome in the Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS).

BackgroundFor men on active surveillance for prostate cancer, biomarkers may improve prediction of reclassification to higher grade or volume cancer. This study examined the association of urinary PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG (T2:ERG) with biopsy-based reclassification.MethodsUrine was collected at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months in the multi-institutional Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS), and PCA3 and T2:ERG levels were quantitated. Reclassification was an increase in Gleason score or ratio of biopsy cores with cancer to ≥34%. The association of biomarker scores, adjusted for common clinical variables, with short- and long-term reclassification was evaluated. Discriminatory capacity of models with clinical variables alone or with biomarkers was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and decision curve analysis (DCA).ResultsSeven hundred and eighty-two men contributed 2069 urine specimens. After adjusting for PSA, prostate size, and ratio of biopsy cores with cancer, PCA3 but not T2:ERG was associated with short-term reclassification at the first surveillance biopsy (OR = 1.3; 95% CI 1.0-1.7, p = 0.02). The addition of PCA3 to a model with clinical variables improved area under the curve from 0.743 to 0.753 and increased net benefit minimally. After adjusting for clinical variables, neither marker nor marker kinetics was associated with time to reclassification in subsequent biopsies.ConclusionsPCA3 but not T2:ERG was associated with cancer reclassification in the first surveillance biopsy but has negligible improvement over clinical variables alone in ROC or DCA analyses. Neither marker was associated with reclassification in subsequent biopsies

Divergent mathematical treatments in utility theory

In this paper I study how divergent mathematical treatments affect mathematical modelling, with a special focus on utility theory. In particular I examine recent work on the ranking of information states and the discounting of future utilities, in order to show how, by replacing the standard analytical treatment of the models involved with one based on the framework of Nonstandard Analysis, diametrically opposite results are obtained. In both cases, the choice between the standard and nonstandard treatment amounts to a selection of set-theoretical parameters that cannot be made on purely empirical grounds. The analysis of this phenomenon gives rise to a simple logical account of the relativity of impossibility theorems in economic theory, which concludes the paper

PHAT Stellar Cluster Survey I. Year 1 Catalog and Integrated Photometry

The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey is an on-going Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-cycle program to obtain high spatial resolution imaging of one-third of the M31 disk at ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we present the first installment of the PHAT stellar cluster catalog. When completed, the PHAT cluster catalog will be among the largest and most comprehensive surveys of resolved star clusters in any galaxy. The exquisite spatial resolution achieved with HST has allowed us to identify hundreds of new clusters that were previously inaccessible with existing ground-based surveys. We identify 601 clusters in the Year 1 sample, representing more than a factor of four increase over previous catalogs within the current survey area (390 arcmin^2). This work presents results derived from the first \sim25% of the survey data; we estimate that the final sample will include \sim2500 clusters. For the Year 1 objects, we present a catalog with positions, radii, and six-band integrated photometry. Along with a general characterization of the cluster luminosities and colors, we discuss the cluster luminosity function, the cluster size distributions, and highlight a number of individually interesting clusters found in the Year 1 search.Comment: 26 pages, 22 figures, Accepted by Ap

CARBON AND OXYGEN ISOTOPIC ANALYSIS: BUG, CHEROKEE, AND PATTERSON CANYON FIELDS, SAN JUAN COUNTY, UTAH

Over 400 million barrels (64 million m{sup 3}) of oil have been produced from the shallow-shelf carbonate reservoirs in the Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) Paradox Formation in the Paradox Basin, Utah and Colorado. With the exception of the giant Greater Aneth field, the other 100 plus oil fields in the basin typically contain 2 to 10 million barrels (0.3-1.6 million m{sup 3}) of original oil in place. Most of these fields are characterized by high initial production rates followed by a very short productive life (primary), and hence premature abandonment. Only 15 to 25 percent of the original oil in place is recoverable during primary production from conventional vertical wells. An extensive and successful horizontal drilling program has been conducted in the giant Greater Aneth field. However, to date, only two horizontal wells have been drilled in small Ismay and Desert Creek fields. The results from these wells were disappointing due to poor understanding of the carbonate facies and diagenetic fabrics that create reservoir heterogeneity. These small fields, and similar fields in the basin, are at high risk of premature abandonment. At least 200 million barrels (31.8 million m{sup 3}) of oil will be left behind in these small fields because current development practices leave compartments of the heterogeneous reservoirs undrained. Through proper geological evaluation of the reservoirs, production may be increased by 20 to 50 percent through the drilling of low-cost single or multilateral horizontal legs from existing vertical development wells. In addition, horizontal drilling from existing wells minimizes surface disturbances and costs for field development, particularly in the environmentally sensitive areas of southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado