Estimating Physical Capital and Land for States and Sectors of the United States, 1850-2000

This paper introduces new estimates of physical capital and land for the states of the United States covering up to 150 years, from 1850{2000. The estimates of physical capital are decomposed into estimates for agriculture, manufacturing, and a residual sector, while the estimates of land are for agriculture only. The paper describes the data sources and methodology used to generate the estimates. It provides sensitivity analysis when alternative choices are possible and comparison to alternative bench-marks when available.state physical capital, state land, farming, land, non-manufacturing, non-farming

BOWIE-M: A Microwave Sounder for Next Generation Operational Weather

The Ball Operational Weather Instrument Evolution-Microwave (BOWIE-M) is a compact cross-track scanning microwave radiometer combining design heritage from several radiometers as well as from IR&D efforts. Miniaturized RF electronics, a digital receiver and a compact antenna deliver operational performance, with reduced size, weight and power (SWaP) allowing ESPA-class spacecraft hosting. The antenna’s single 23 cm diameter reflector accommodates all operational bands and necessary resolutions up to the priority 832 km, high inclination orbits. A low loss polarizer splits the incident signals to two wideband feed horns attached to low noise and SWaP RF front end electronics (RFE). Atmospheric temperature and humidity sounding is performed in 22 channels over 6 frequency bands ranging from 24 to 183 GHz, using channels in the 50 to 58 GHz range (V-band) for temperature sounding. K, Ka and W-band receivers are direct-detection designs while the V, D and G-band receivers are super heterodyne designs. Channels near the most sensitive V-band oxygen resonance ensure temperature measurements accurately sound to the Earth’s surface under the most demanding weather conditions. Use of digital receiver (DR) technology for V-band channels is reconfigurable to meet changing operational needs, even while on-orbit

Foot pressure distributions during walking in African elephants (Loxodonta africana)

Elephants, the largest living land mammals, have evolved a specialized foot morphology to help reduce locomotor pressures while supporting their large body mass. Peak pressures that could cause tissue damage are mitigated passively by the anatomy of elephants' feet, yet this mechanism does not seem to work well for some captive animals. This study tests how foot pressures vary among African and Asian elephants from habitats where natural substrates predominate but where foot care protocols differ. Variations in pressure patterns might be related to differences in husbandry, including but not limited to trimming and the substrates that elephants typically stand and move on. Both species' samples exhibited the highest concentration of peak pressures on the lateral digits of their feet (which tend to develop more disease in elephants) and lower pressures around the heel. The trajectories of the foot's centre of pressure were also similar, confirming that when walking at similar speeds, both species load their feet laterally at impact and then shift their weight medially throughout the step until toe-off. Overall, we found evidence of variations in foot pressure patterns that might be attributable to husbandry and other causes, deserving further examination using broader, more comparable samples

Robust Causal Inference of Drug-drug Interactions

There is growing interest in developing causal inference methods for multi-valued treatments with a focus on pairwise average treatment effects. Here we focus on a clinically important, yet less-studied estimand: causal drug-drug interactions (DDIs), which quantifies the degree to which the causal effect of drug A is altered by the presence versus the absence of drug B. Confounding adjustment when studying the effects of DDIs can be accomplished via inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), a standard approach originally developed for binary treatments and later generalized to multi-valued treatments. However, this approach generally results in biased results when the propensity score model is misspecified. Motivated by the need for more robust techniques, we propose two empirical likelihood-based weighting approaches that allow for specifying a set of propensity score models, with the second method balancing user-specified covariates directly, by incorporating additional, nonparametric constraints. The resulting estimators from both methods are consistent when the postulated set of propensity score models contains a correct one; this property has been termed multiple robustness. We then evaluate their finite sample performance through simulation. The results demonstrate that the proposed estimators outperform the standard IPTW method in terms of both robustness and efficiency. Finally, we apply the proposed methods to evaluate the impact of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RAS-I) on the comparative nephrotoxicity of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and opioids, using data derived from electronic medical records from a large multi-hospital health system.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures and 2 table

Variable gravity research facility

Spin and despin requirements; sequence of activities required to assemble the Variable Gravity Research Facility (VGRF); power systems technology; life support; thermal control systems; emergencies; communication systems; space station applications; experimental activities; computer modeling and simulation of tether vibration; cost analysis; configuration of the crew compartments; and tether lengths and rotation speeds are discussed

Effects of Varying Doses of Oral Bisphenol A Consumption on Type 2 Diabetes Risk Markers in Healthy Adults

Objective To determine the effects of varying doses of orally administered BPA on indices of glucose metabolism. Methods Eleven college students (21.0 ± 0.8 years; 24.2 ± 3.9 kg/m2) were randomized in a double-blinded, crossover fashion separated by \u3e1 week to placebo (PL), deuterated BPA at 4 µg/kg body weight (BPA-4), and deuterated BPA at 50 µg/kg body weight (BPA-50). Total BPA, glucose, insulin, and C-peptide were assessed at baseline, minutes 15, 30, 45, 60, and every 30 minutes for 2 hours in response to a glucose tolerance test. Results There was a significant condition × time interaction for total BPA (P \u3c 0.001) such that BPA increased more rapidly in BPA-50 than BPA-4 and PL (P = 0.003) and increased more rapidly in BPA-4 than PL (P \u3c 0.001). There were no significant condition × time interactions on glucose, insulin, and C-peptide. Significant condition main effects were observed for glucose such that BPA-50 was significantly lower than PL (P = 0.036) and nearly lower for BPA-4 vs PL (P = 0.056). Significant condition main effects were observed such that insulin in BPA-50 was lower than BPA-4 (P = 0.021), and C-peptide in BPA-50 was lower than BPA-4 (t18 = 3.95; Tukey-adjusted P = 0.003). Glucose, insulin, and C-peptide areas under the curve for the 3-hour profile were significantly lower in BPA-50 vs PL (P \u3c 0.05). Conclusion Orally administered BPA protocol appeared feasible and has immediate effects on glucose, insulin, and C-peptide concentrations