Family-school connections and internalizing problems among children living with asthma in urban, low-income neighborhoods

Children with asthma living in urban environments are at risk for experiencing internalizing problems and difficulties at school due to social context and health-related stressors. Parent confidence and participation in the school and children’s attitudes about school were explored in association with children’s depressed mood and school anxiety. Forty-five parent—child dyads were recruited from urban community health centers. Most participants were members of ethnic minority groups. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that higher levels of parent confidence in the school were associated with fewer symptoms of school anxiety in children. Children’s attitudes toward school moderated the relation between parent participation in the school and children’s depressed mood. Specifically, lower levels of parent participation were associated with higher levels of depressed mood only for children with the least positive school attitudes. Although preliminary, these results suggest the importance of attending to family—school connections to optimize the school-related psychological functioning of children living with asthma in urban environments

Age-related changes in gait biomechanics and their impact on the metabolic cost of walking: Report from a National Institute on Aging workshop

Changes in old age that contribute to the complex issue of an increased metabolic cost of walking (mass-specific energy cost per unit distance traveled) in older adults appear to center at least in part on changes in gait biomechanics. However, age-related changes in energy metabolism, neuromuscular function and connective tissue properties also likely contribute to this problem, of which the consequences are poor mobility and increased risk of inactivity-related disease and disability. The U.S. National Institute on Aging convened a workshop in September 2021 with an interdisciplinary group of scientists to address the gaps in research related to the mechanisms and consequences of changes in mobility in old age. The goal of the workshop was to identify promising ways to move the field forward toward improving gait performance, decreasing energy cost, and enhancing mobility for older adults. This report summarizes the workshop and brings multidisciplinary insight into the known and potential causes and consequences of age-related changes in gait biomechanics. We highlight how gait mechanics and energy cost change with aging, the potential neuromuscular mechanisms and role of connective tissue in these changes, and cutting-edge interventions and technologies that may be used to measure and improve gait and mobility in older adults. Key gaps in the literature that warrant targeted research in the future are identified and discussed

Genetic determinants of telomere length from 109,122 ancestrally diverse whole-genome sequences in TOPMed

Genetic studies on telomere length are important for understanding age-related diseases. Prior GWASs for leukocyte TL have been limited to European and Asian populations. Here, we report the first sequencing-based association study for TL across ancestrally diverse individuals (European, African, Asian, and Hispanic/Latino) from the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. We used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of whole blood for variant genotype calling and the bioinformatic estimation of telomere length in n = 109,122 individuals. We identified 59 sentinel variants (p < 5 × 10−9) in 36 loci associated with telomere length, including 20 newly associated loci (13 were replicated in external datasets). There was little evidence of effect size heterogeneity across populations. Fine-mapping at OBFC1 indicated that the independent signals colocalized with cell-type-specific eQTLs for OBFC1 (STN1). Using a multi-variant gene-based approach, we identified two genes newly implicated in telomere length, DCLRE1B (SNM1B) and PARN. In PheWAS, we demonstrated that our TL polygenic trait scores (PTSs) were associated with an increased risk of cancer-related phenotypes

A ground water flow model for the A/M Area of the SRS

In 1984 and 1985, a quasi three-dimensional groundwater flow model was developed for the A/M Area (Savannah River Laboratory Complex) of the Savannah River Site to assist in the design of a groundwater recovery well network to remediate groundwater contaminated with chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents. In 1986, the existing groundwater flow model was used to evaluate the effectiveness of groundwater remediation systems. Since the original model was developed, additional monitoring wells have been installed, the understanding of the hydrogeologic system has improved and the horizontal and vertical extent of the contamination in the groundwater systems has been better defined. The objective of this study is to update and improve the existing A/M Area groundwater flow model by incorporating recent hydrologic information. The new model is calibrated to 1989--1990 groundwater levels and surface water flows. The model area is approximately 31 square miles and encompasses a manufacturing and processing area designated the A/M Area, a previous waste effluent disposal basin and overflow to a natural depression (Lost Lake), and several surface water features. The simulations are run on 80386-based personal computer using the public-domain groundwater flow code MODFLOW. This calibrated coarse-grid model is a base model. Specific areas of interest can be further discritized to provide more detailed and accurate water level elevations for use in particle tracking and capture analysis. The particle tracking and capture analysis are used to evaluate the groundwater contamination capture and removal capacity of proposed recovery wells

The oxidation of Type 310S stainless steel in mixed gases at elevated temperatures

Sheet specimens of Type 310S stainless steel were exposed to air as well as to lean'' and rich'' sulfidizing atmospheres at temperatures near 900{degrees}C to determine the relationships that exist between the scale structure, the rate of reaction, and the stresses generated during exposure. One goal of this experimental research program was to examine how these factors might be related to the breakdown of protective scales in sulfidizing atmospheres. It was found that the scales formed in air and the lean'' atmosphere are protective and non-spalling while those formed in the rich'' atmosphere spall, initially react at rates 1000 times greater than counterparts in less aggressive atmospheres, and later exhibit a breakaway''-type rapid reaction. Only those scales formed in air provide the cooperative, tractive interfacial forces required to produce uniform dilatation and deformation of the substrate. However, evidence exists for at least localized stresses in all of the scales examined

Four-wheel-drive powertrain models for real-time simulation

Dynamic vehicle powertrain models have been formulated by many researchers for particular applications, mainly the analysis of powertrain characteristics or vibration. In this paper, we formulate models of four-wheel-drive vehicle powertrains for the purpose of real-time simulation. While not encompassing the complete characteristics of powertrain operation, these models are applicable for use in vehicle simulators, and include both the differential and lock-up modes of four-wheel-drive transfer case operation. The models of four-wheel-drive powertrains are applied to a particular vehicle, the US Army High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle or HMMWV, in order to compare and contrast both the simulated vehicle performance and the computational complexity of the models. The HMMWV powertrain incorporates a wide variety of components including: automatic transmission, torque converter, worm-gear differentials, transfer case for both differential and lock-up operation, and final-drive speed reducers at the wheel hubs. Thus the simulation of this vehicle indicates the wide application of the developed models. 9 refs

Infrared phonon structure in epitaxial films of Tl sub 2 Ca sub 2 Ba sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 10 at low temperatures

We have used both bolometric and cavity techniques to obtain accurate submillimeter and microwave loss data for epitaxial thin films of Tl{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Ba{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 10} at low temperatures. These films have {Tc}=121.5 K, are c-axis oriented, contain some volume fraction of the 2:1:2:2 phase, and are characterized by excellent in-plane epitaxy. The absorptivity of these films at 100 cm{sup {minus}1} is a factor of five lower than that obtained by others from a reflectivity measurement on a ceramic sample. We observe strong phonon structure for frequencies between 70 and 600 cm{sup {minus}1}, which are in agreement with a lattice dynamical calculation. Our results show remarkably similar phonon structure to that observed in the ceramic sample. This is in strong contrast to the case for other high {Tc} superconductors such as YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7}, where phonon structure observed in ceramic samples in absent in epitaxial oriented films and crystals because of the electronic screening due to the high conductivity of the a-b planes. At microwave frequencies the absorptivity follows a frequency squared dependence, and is consistent with the submillimeter results. 6 refs

Local minima in cross-validation functions

SIGLETIB Hannover: RO 2708(201) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman