Understanding the Subsurface Reactive Transport of Transuranic Contaminants at DOE Sites

Our primary hypothesis is that actinides can interact with surfaces in fundamentally different ways than other metals, metalloids, and oxyanions and that this fundamental difference requires new approaches to studying and modeling transuranic sorption to minerals and geomedia. This project supports a key mission of the SBR program to develop sufficient scientific understanding such that DOE sites will be able to incorporate coupled physical, chemical, and biological processes into decision making for environmental management and long-term stewardship, while also supporting DOE’s commitment to education, training, and collaboration with DOE user facilities

Collaboration With Deaf Communities to Conduct Accessible Health Surveillance

Introduction Populations of deaf sign language users experience health disparities unmeasured by current public health surveillance. Population-specific health data are necessary to collaboratively identify health priorities and evaluate interventions. Standardized, reproducible, and language-concordant data collection in sign language is impossible via written or telephone surveys. Methods Deaf and hearing researchers, community members, and other stakeholders developed a broad computer-based health survey based on the telephone-administered Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. They translated survey items from English to sign language, evaluated the translations, and filmed the survey items for inclusion in their custom software. They initiated the second Rochester Deaf Health Survey in 2013 (n=211). Analyses (conducted in 2015) compared Rochester Deaf Health Survey 2013 findings with those of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System with the general adult population in the same community (2012, n=1,816). Results The Rochester Deaf Health Survey 2013 participants’ mean age was 44.7 (range, 18—87) years. Most were deaf since birth or early childhood (87.1%) and highly educated (53.6% with ≥4 years of college). The median household income was \u3c $35,000. The prevalence of current smokers was low (8.1%). Nearly all (93.8%) reported having health insurance, yet barriers to appropriate health care were evident, with high emergency department use (16.2% with two or more past-year visits) and 22.7% forgoing needed health care in the past year because of cost. Conclusions Community-engaged research with deaf populations identifies strengths and priorities, providing essential information otherwise missing from existing public health surveillance, and forming a foundation for collaborative dissemination to facilitate broader inclusion of deaf communities

Evidence and Ideology in Macroeconomics: The Case of Investment Cycles

The paper reports the principal findings of a long term research project on the description and explanation of business cycles. The research strongly confirmed the older view that business cycles have large systematic components that take the form of investment cycles. These quasi-periodic movements can be represented as low order, stochastic, dynamic processes with complex eigenvalues. Specifically, there is a fixed investment cycle of about 8 years and an inventory cycle of about 4 years. Maximum entropy spectral analysis was employed for the description of the cycles and continuous time econometrics for the explanatory models. The central explanatory mechanism is the second order accelerator, which incorporates adjustment costs both in relation to the capital stock and the rate of investment. By means of parametric resonance it was possible to show, both theoretically and empirically how cycles aggregate from the micro to the macro level. The same mathematical tool was also used to explain the international convergence of cycles. I argue that the theory of investment cycles was abandoned for ideological, not for evidential reasons. Methodological issues are also discussed

Echoes of the fifth dimension?

In this article we examine the question of whether the highest energy cosmic ray primaries could be ultra relativistic magnetic monopoles. The analysis is performed within the framework of large compact dimensions and TeV scale quantum gravity. Our study indicates that while this hypothesis must be regarded as highly speculative it cannot be ruled out with present data.Comment: Revised version accepted for publication in Physical Review D. The bibliography has been considerably reduced for the journal version due to limited spac

Foot pain and foot health in an educated population of adults: results from the Glasgow Caledonian University Alumni Foot Health Survey

Abstract Background Foot pain is common amongst the general population and impacts negatively on physical function and quality of life. Associations between personal health characteristics, lifestyle/behaviour factors and foot pain have been studied; however, the role of wider determinants of health on foot pain have received relatively little attention. Objectives of this study are i) to describe foot pain and foot health characteristics in an educated population of adults; ii) to explore associations between moderate-to-severe foot pain and a variety of factors including gender, age, medical conditions/co-morbidity/multi-morbidity, key indicators of general health, foot pathologies, and social determinants of health; and iii) to evaluate associations between moderate-to-severe foot pain and foot function, foot health and health-related quality-of-life. Methods Between February and March 2018, Glasgow Caledonian University Alumni with a working email address were invited to participate in the cross-sectional electronic survey (anonymously) by email via the Glasgow Caledonian University Alumni Office. The survey was constructed using the REDCap secure web online survey application and sought information on presence/absence of moderate-to-severe foot pain, patient characteristics (age, body mass index, socioeconomic status, occupation class, comorbidities, and foot pathologies). Prevalence data were expressed as absolute frequencies and percentages. Multivariate logistic and linear regressions were undertaken to identify associations 1) between independent variables and moderate-to-severe foot pain, and 2) between moderate-to-severe foot pain and foot function, foot health and health-related quality of life. Results Of 50,228 invitations distributed, there were 7707 unique views and 593 valid completions (median age [inter-quartile range] 42 [31–52], 67.3% female) of the survey (7.7% response rate). The sample was comprised predominantly of white Scottish/British (89.4%) working age adults (95%), the majority of whom were overweight or obese (57.9%), and in either full-time or part-time employment (82.5%) as professionals (72.5%). Over two-thirds (68.5%) of the sample were classified in the highest 6 deciles (most affluent) of social deprivation. Moderate-to-severe foot pain affected 236/593 respondents (39.8%). High body mass index, presence of bunions, back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, hip pain and lower occupation class were included in the final multivariate model and all were significantly and independently associated with moderate-to-severe foot pain (p < 0.05), except for rheumatoid arthritis (p = 0.057). Moderate-to-severe foot pain was significantly and independently associated lower foot function, foot health and health-related quality of life scores following adjustment for age, gender and body mass index (p < 0.05). Conclusions Moderate-to-severe foot pain was highly prevalent in a university-educated population and was independently associated with female gender, high body mass index, bunions, back pain, hip pain and lower occupational class. Presence of moderate-to-severe foot pain was associated with worse scores for foot function, foot health and health-related quality-of-life. Education attainment does not appear to be protective against moderate-to-severe foot pain

Much Ado About Leptoquarks: A Comprehensive Analysis

We examine the phenomenological implications of a 200 GeV leptoquark in light of the recent excess of events at HERA. Given the relative predictions of events rates in e^+p versus e^-p, we demonstrate that classes of leptoquarks may be excluded, including those contained in E_6 GUT models. It is shown that future studies with polarized beams at HERA could reveal the chirality of the leptoquark fermionic coupling and that given sufficient luminosity in each e^\pm_{L,R} channel the leptoquark quantum numbers could be determined. The implications of 200-220 GeV leptoquarks at the Tevatron are examined. While present Tevatron data most likely excludes vector leptoquarks and leptogluons in this mass region, it does allow for scalar leptoquarks. We find that while leptoquarks have little influence on Drell-Yan production, further studies at the Main Injector are possible in the single production channel. We investigate precision electroweak measurements as well as the process e^+e^-\to q\bar q at LEP II and find they provide no further restrictions on these leptoquark models. We then ascertain that cross section and polarization asymmetry measurements at the NLC provide the only direct mechanism to determine the leptoquark's electroweak quantum numbers. The single production of leptoquarks in \gamma e collisions by both the backscattered laser and Weisacker-Williams techniques at the NLC is also discussed. Finally, we demonstrate that we can obtain successful coupling constant unification in models with leptoquarks, both with or without supersymmetry. The supersymmetric case requires the GUT group to be larger than SU(5) such as flipped SU(5)\times U(1)_X.Comment: Corrected single production cross section at Tevatron, updated atomic parity violation constraints, 55 page

Socioeconomic differentials in the immediate mortality effects of the national Irish smoking ban

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background: Consistent evidence has demonstrated that smoking ban policies save lives, but impacts on health inequalities are uncertain as few studies have assessed post-ban effects by socioeconomic status (SES) and findings have been inconsistent. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the national Irish smoking ban on ischemic heart disease (IHD), stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) mortality by discrete and composite SES indicators to determine impacts on inequalities. Methods: Census data were used to assign frequencies of structural and material SES indicators to 34 local authorities across Ireland with a 2000–2010 study period. Discrete indicators were jointly analysed through principal component analysis to generate a composite index, with sensitivity analyses conducted by varying the included indicators. Poisson regression with interrupted time-series analysis was conducted to examine monthly age and gender-standardised mortality rates in the Irish population, ages ≥35 years, stratified by tertiles of SES indicators. All models were adjusted for time trend, season, influenza, and smoking prevalence. Results: Post-ban mortality reductions by structural SES indicators were concentrated in the most deprived tertile for all causes of death, while reductions by material SES indicators were more equitable across SES tertiles. The composite indices mirrored the results of the discrete indicators, demonstrating that post-ban mortality decreases were either greater or similar in the most deprived when compared to the least deprived for all causes of death. Conclusions: Overall findings indicated that the national Irish smoking ban reduced inequalities in smoking-related mortality. Due to the higher rates of smoking-related mortality in the most deprived group, even equitable reductions across SES tertiles resulted in decreases in inequalities. The choice of SES indicator was influential in the measurement of effects, underscoring that a differentiated analytical approach aided in understanding the complexities in which structural and material factors influence mortality

Evaluation of a candidate breast cancer associated SNP in ERCC4 as a risk modifier in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Results from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/BRCA2 (CIMBA)

Background: In this study we aimed to evaluate the role of a SNP in intron 1 of the ERCC4 gene (rs744154), previously reported to be associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer in the general population, as a breast cancer risk modifier in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers. Methods: We have genotyped rs744154 in 9408 BRCA1 and 5632 BRCA2 mutation carriers from the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA) and assessed its association with breast cancer risk using a retrospective weighted cohort approach. Results: We found no evidence of association with breast cancer risk for BRCA1 (per-allele HR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.93–1.04, P=0.5) or BRCA2 (per-allele HR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.89–1.06, P=0.5) mutation carriers. Conclusion: This SNP is not a significant modifier of breast cancer risk for mutation carriers, though weak associations cannot be ruled out. A Osorio1, R L Milne2, G Pita3, P Peterlongo4,5, T Heikkinen6, J Simard7, G Chenevix-Trench8, A B Spurdle8, J Beesley8, X Chen8, S Healey8, KConFab9, S L Neuhausen10, Y C Ding10, F J Couch11,12, X Wang11, N Lindor13, S Manoukian4, M Barile14, A Viel15, L Tizzoni5,16, C I Szabo17, L Foretova18, M Zikan19, K Claes20, M H Greene21, P Mai21, G Rennert22, F Lejbkowicz22, O Barnett-Griness22, I L Andrulis23,24, H Ozcelik24, N Weerasooriya23, OCGN23, A-M Gerdes25, M Thomassen25, D G Cruger26, M A Caligo27, E Friedman28,29, B Kaufman28,29, Y Laitman28, S Cohen28, T Kontorovich28, R Gershoni-Baruch30, E Dagan31,32, H Jernström33, M S Askmalm34, B Arver35, B Malmer36, SWE-BRCA37, S M Domchek38, K L Nathanson38, J Brunet39, T Ramón y Cajal40, D Yannoukakos41, U Hamann42, HEBON37, F B L Hogervorst43, S Verhoef43, EB Gómez García44,45, J T Wijnen46,47, A van den Ouweland48, EMBRACE37, D F Easton49, S Peock49, M Cook49, C T Oliver49, D Frost49, C Luccarini50, D G Evans51, F Lalloo51, R Eeles52, G Pichert53, J Cook54, S Hodgson55, P J Morrison56, F Douglas57, A K Godwin58, GEMO59,60,61, O M Sinilnikova59,60, L Barjhoux59,60, D Stoppa-Lyonnet61, V Moncoutier61, S Giraud59, C Cassini62,63, L Olivier-Faivre62,63, F Révillion64, J-P Peyrat64, D Muller65, J-P Fricker65, H T Lynch66, E M John67, S Buys68, M Daly69, J L Hopper70, M B Terry71, A Miron72, Y Yassin72, D Goldgar73, Breast Cancer Family Registry37, C F Singer74, D Gschwantler-Kaulich74, G Pfeiler74, A-C Spiess74, Thomas v O Hansen75, O T Johannsson76, T Kirchhoff77, K Offit77, K Kosarin77, M Piedmonte78, G C Rodriguez79, K Wakeley80, J F Boggess81, J Basil82, P E Schwartz83, S V Blank84, A E Toland85, M Montagna86, C Casella87, E N Imyanitov88, A Allavena89, R K Schmutzler90, B Versmold90, C Engel91, A Meindl92, N Ditsch93, N Arnold94, D Niederacher95, H Deißler96, B Fiebig97, R Varon-Mateeva98, D Schaefer99, U G Froster100, T Caldes101, M de la Hoya101, L McGuffog49, A C Antoniou49, H Nevanlinna6, P Radice4,5 and J Benítez1,3 on behalf of CIMB

Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays: The state of the art before the Auger Observatory

In this review we discuss the important progress made in recent years towards understanding the experimental data on cosmic rays with energies \agt 10^{19} eV. We begin with a brief survey of the available data, including a description of the energy spectrum, mass composition, and arrival directions. At this point we also give a short overview of experimental techniques. After that, we introduce the fundamentals of acceleration and propagation in order to discuss the conjectured nearby cosmic ray sources. We then turn to theoretical notions of physics beyond the Standard Model where we consider both exotic primaries and exotic physical laws. Particular attention is given to the role that TeV-scale gravity could play in addressing the origin of the highest energy cosmic rays. In the final part of the review we discuss the potential of future cosmic ray experiments for the discovery of tiny black holes that should be produced in the Earth's atmosphere if TeV-scale gravity is realized in Nature.Comment: Final version. To be published in Int. J. Mod. Phys.