ORDINARY AND GENERALIZED STOCHASTIC DOMINANCE: A PRIMER

Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

A Study of Bicycle Design as it Affects Safety of Operation

This paper presents the results of studies concerned with bicycle design and safety of operation. One study concerned the relationship between handlebar design, i.e., racing, regular and hi-rise, to bicycle control. It was found that the popular racing style handlebars used on the popular ten-speed bicycle produces problems in sensing visual and auditory information and responding to this information as compared to the regular handlebar design.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Young Adults, Social Networks, and Addiction Recovery: Post Treatment Changes in Social Ties and Their Role as a Mediator of 12-Step Participation

Background: Social factors play a key role in addiction recovery. Research with adults indicates individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) benefit from mutual-help organizations (MHOs), such as Alcoholics Anonymous, via their ability to facilitate adaptive network changes. Given the lower prevalence of sobriety-conducive, and sobriety-supportive, social contexts in the general population during the life-stage of young adulthood, however, 12-step MHOs may play an even more crucial recovery-supportive social role for young adults, but have not been investigated. Greater knowledge could enhance understanding of recovery-related change and inform young adults’ continuing care recommendations. Methods: Emerging adults (N = 302; 18–24 yrs; 26% female; 95% White) enrolled in a study of residential treatment effectiveness were assessed at intake, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months on 12-step attendance, peer network variables (“high [relapse] risk” and “low [relapse] risk” friends), and treatment outcomes (Percent Days Abstinent; Percent Days Heavy Drinking). Hierarchical linear models tested for change in social risk over time and lagged mediational analyses tested whether 12-step attendance conferred recovery benefits via change in social risk. Results: High-risk friends were common at treatment entry, but decreased during follow-up; low-risk friends increased. Contrary to predictions, while substantial recovery-supportive friend network changes were observed, this was unrelated to 12-step participation and, thus, not found to mediate its positive influence on outcome. Conclusions: Young adult 12-step participation confers recovery benefit; yet, while encouraging social network change, 12-step MHOs may be less able to provide social network change directly for young adults, perhaps because similar-aged peers are less common in MHOs. Findings highlight the importance of both social networks and 12-step MHOs and raise further questions as to how young adults benefit from 12-step MHOs

Fundamental Neutron Physics at Spallation Sources

Low-energy neutrons have been a useful probe in fundamental physics studies for more than 70 years. With advances in accelerator technology, many new sources are spallation based. These new, high-flux facilities are becoming the sites for many next-generation fundamental neutron physics experiments. In this review, we present an overview of the sources and the current and upcoming fundamental neutron physics programs

Safety of Log Transportation After Regulation and Training in the State of Georgia, USA

Mechanical failure rates observed in highway accidents involving logging tractor-trailers have fallen significantly since Georgia subjected these vehicles to random roadside inspections. This improvement is attributed to both the regulation and the training efforts aimed at the log trucking community immediately before and after the implementation of the rules

The effect of frequent hemodialysis on nutrition and body composition: frequent Hemodialysis Network Trial.

We investigated the effects of frequency of hemodialysis on nutritional status by analyzing the data in the Frequent Hemodialysis Network Trial. We compared changes in albumin, body weight, and composition among 245 patients randomized to six or three times per week in-center hemodialysis (Daily Trial) and 87 patients randomized to six times per week nocturnal or three times per week conventional hemodialysis, performed largely at home (Nocturnal Trial). In the Daily Trial, there were no significant differences between groups in changes in serum albumin or the equilibrated protein catabolic rate by 12 months. There was a significant relative decrease in predialysis body weight of 1.5 ± 0.2 kg in the six times per week group at 1 month, but this significantly rebounded by 1.3 ± 0.5 kg over the remaining 11 months. Extracellular water (ECW) decreased in the six times per week compared with the three per week hemodialysis group. There were no significant between-group differences in phase angle, intracellular water, or body cell mass (BCM). In the Nocturnal Trial, there were no significant between-group differences in any study parameter. Any gain in 'dry' body weight corresponded to increased adiposity rather than muscle mass but was not statistically significant. Thus, frequent in-center hemodialysis reduced ECW but did not increase serum albumin or BCM while frequent nocturnal hemodialysis yielded no net effect on parameters of nutritional status or body composition

Value of Ascitic Lipids in the Differentiation between Cirrhotic and Malignant Ascites

Ascitic fluid concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipids, were compared with ascitic fluid total protein in 40 patients with chronic liver disease, 51patients with various neoplasms and 1 patient with cardiac failure. Seven patients withboth chronic liver disease and malignancy were considered separately. The first 54 patients (23 cirrhotic and 31 with malignancy) were used to determine median values and ranges and to define the most suitable cutoff concentrations between both groups. Median values for cholesterol (75 mg per dl), phospholipids (0.79 mmole per liter), triglycerides (75 mg per dl) and protein (3.8 gm per dl)were higher in malignant ascites compared to ascitic fluid concentrations of cholesterol (20 mg per dl), phospholipids (0.33 mmole per liter), triglycerides (51 mg per dl) and protein (1.9 gm per dl) in patients withcirrhosis. The best discrimination values were 48 mg per dl for cholesterol, 0.6 mmole per liter for phospholipids, 65 mg per dl for triglycerides and 2.5 gm per dl for protein. Application of these cutoff points to 38 subsequent patients (17 cirrhotic, 1 with cardiac failure and 20 with malignancy) revealed an efficiency of 86.8% for cholesterol, 86.8% for phospholipids, 68.4% for triglycerides and 79.0% for protein. From the data of all 92 patients, an efficiency of 92.3% forcholesterol, 79.4% for phospholipids, 72.8% for triglycerides and 79.4% for protein was calculated. We conclude that ascitic fluid cholesterol determination offers an excellent, cost-effective discrimination of ascites due to cirrhosis vs. ascites caused by malignancies

The Host Galaxy and Central Engine of the Dwarf AGN POX 52

We present new multi-wavelength observations of the dwarf Seyfert 1 galaxy POX 52 in order to investigate the properties of the host galaxy and the active nucleus, and to examine the mass of its black hole, previously estimated to be ~ 10^5 M_sun. Hubble Space Telescope ACS/HRC images show that the host galaxy has a dwarf elliptical morphology (M_I = -18.4 mag, Sersic index n = 4.3) with no detected disk component or spiral structure, confirming previous results from ground-based imaging. X-ray observations from both Chandra and XMM show strong (factor of 2) variability over timescales as short as 500 s, as well as a dramatic decrease in the absorbing column density over a 9 month period. We attribute this change to a partial covering absorber, with a 94% covering fraction and N_H = 58^{+8.4}_{-9.2} * 10^21 cm^-2, that moved out of the line of sight in between the XMM and Chandra observations. Combining these data with observations from the VLA, Spitzer, and archival data from 2MASS and GALEX, we examine the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the active nucleus. Its shape is broadly similar to typical radio-quiet quasar SEDs, despite the very low bolometric luminosity of L_bol = 1.3 * 10^43 ergs/s. Finally, we compare black hole mass estimators including methods based on X-ray variability, and optical scaling relations using the broad H-beta line width and AGN continuum luminosity, finding a range of black hole mass from all methods to be M_bh = (2.2-4.2) * 10^5 M_sun, with an Eddington ratio of L_bol/L_edd = 0.2-0.5.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Rethinking the Death Penalty: Can We Define Who Deserves Death? A Symposium Held at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, May 22, 2002

In light of the defects of the capital punishment system and recent calls for a moratorium on executions, many are calling for serious reform of the system. Even some who would not eliminate the death penalty entirely propose reforms that they contend would result in fewer executions and would limit the death penalty to a category that they call the worst of the worst. This program asks the question: Is there a category of defendants who are the worst of the worst? Can a crime be so heinous that a defendant can be said to deserve to be executed? Would such a limited death penalty be supportable morally, philosophically, and constitutionally