Ethnic variations in the relationship between multiple stress domains and use of several types of tobacco/nicotine products among a diverse sample of adults.

IntroductionFinancial strain and discrimination are consistent predictors of negative health outcomes and maladaptive coping behaviors, including tobacco use. Although there is considerable information exploring stress and smoking, limited research has examined the relationship between patterns of stress domains and specific tobacco/nicotine product use. Even fewer studies have assessed ethnic variations in these relationships.MethodsThis study investigated the relationship between discrimination and financial strain and current tobacco/nicotine product use and explored the ethnic variation in these relationships among diverse sample of US adults (N = 1068). Separate logistic regression models assessed associations between stress domains and tobacco/nicotine product use, adjusting for covariates (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity, and household income). Due to statistically significant differences, the final set of models was stratified by race/ethnicity.ResultsHigher levels of discrimination were associated with higher odds of all three tobacco/nicotine product categories. Financial strain was positively associated with combustible tobacco and combined tobacco/nicotine product use. Financial strain was especially risky for Non-Hispanic Whites (AOR:1.191, 95%CI:1.083-1.309) and Blacks/African Americans (AOR:1.542, 95%CI:1.106-2.148), as compared to other groups, whereas discrimination was most detrimental for Asians/Pacific Islanders (AOR:3.827, 95%CI:1.832-7.997) and Hispanics/Latinas/Latinos (AOR:2.517, 95%CI:1.603-3.952).ConclusionsFindings suggest discrimination and financial stressors are risk factors for use of multiple tobacco/nicotine products, highlighting the importance of prevention research that accounts for these stressors. Because ethnic groups may respond differently to stress/strain, prevention research needs to identify cultural values, beliefs, and coping strategies that can buffer the negative consequences of discrimination and financial stressors

SPATIALLY EXPLICIT MODEL OF AREAS BETWEEN SUITABLE BLACK BEAR HABITAT IN EAST TEXAS AND BLACK BEAR POPULATIONS IN LOUISIANA, ARKANSAS, AND OKLAHOMA

Although black bears (Ursus americanus, Ursus americanus luteolus) were once found throughout the south-central United States, unregulated harvest and habitat loss resulted in severe range retractions and by the beginning of the twentieth century populations in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas were nearing extirpation. In response to these losses, translocation programs were initiated in Arkansas (1958-1968 & 2000-2006) and Louisiana (1964-1967 & 2001-2009). These programs successfully restored bears to portions of Louisiana and Arkansas, and, as populations in Arkansas began dispersing, to Oklahoma. In contrast, east Texas remains unoccupied despite the existence of suitable habitat in the region. To facilitate the establishment of a breeding population in east Texas, I sought to identify suitable habitat which bears could use for dispersal between known bear locations in Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma and the east Texas recovery units. I utilized Maxent, a machine learning software, to model habitat suitability in this region. I collected known black bear presence locations (n=18,241) from state agencies in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and east Texas and filtered them to reduce spatial autocorrelation (n=664). I also collected spatial data sets based on known black bear ecology to serve as environmental predictor variables. The model was developed at 30-m resolution and encompassed 417,076 km 2. The final model was selected to minimize model over-fitting while maintaining a high test Area Under the Receiver Operating Curve (AUC TEST)score. For final model interpretation and analysis, I used the 10th percentile training threshold available in Maxent which excludes the lowest 10% of predicted presence suitability scores from the binary predictive map, thus resulting in a more conservative predictive map. The final 10th percentile model predicted 43.7% of the pixels in the study area as suitable and 53.7 % percent of the pixels identified as potential recovery units by Kaminski et al. (2013, 2014) as suitable. To focus management efforts, I identified three movement zones with a high proportion of suitable habitat within which connectivity analyses were performed. Suitable patches greater than or equal to 12 km2 were classified within ArcGIS as stepping stone patches. Buffers of 3,500 m were generated around these patches to determine the level of functional connectivity in each zone. The final Maxent model confirmed that suitable bear habitat exists between source populations and the east Texas recovery units. The importance of percent of mast producing forest, percentage of cultivated crops and percentage of protected lands reflect what is known about basic bear biology and ecology. Furthermore, 153 stepping stone patches were identified within the movement zones, demonstrating that there is a reasonable chance of bears naturally dispersing to east Texas using the habitat identified in this study. Thus, protection of existing bear habitat and the stepping stone patches identified in this study should be a priority for managers seeking to facilitate natural bear recolonization of east Texas

Open-source Monitoring und Wissen für ein Regional Nachhaltiges Wassermanagement in Zentralasien

Ungleich verteiltes Wasser in Zentralasien impliziert Konflikte in allen Bereichen der Wassernutzung. Eine effiziente Bewässerungslandwirtschaft ist ein wichtiger Beitrag zur regionalen Entwicklung. Fernerkundungsdaten können notwendige Informationen im Sinne eines Monitorings liefern. Satellitenbasierte Erdbeobachtung, insbesondere seit der Verfügbarkeit von frei zugänglichen Fernerkundungsdaten, bietet enormes Potenzial für die räumliche und zeitliche Bewertung einer Vielzahl sozioökonomischer und ökologischer Aspekte. Das nachhaltige Management von Wasserressourcen steht dabei im Fokus zahlreicher wissenschaftlicher und gesellschaftlicher Fragestellungen. Speziell im Kontext zwischenstaatlicher Wasserverteilungs- und Nutzungskonflikte wie in Zentralasien wird der Fernerkundung ein hoher Stellenwert bei der Analyse und Bewertung wesentlicher Prozesse und Faktoren zur Erfassung des water footprint in der Bewässerungslandwirtschaft beigemessen. Im Aralseebecken in Zentralasien, einem der global größten Trockengebiete, ist Wasser geographisch ungleich allokiert und muss zwischen sechs Staaten, deren Ökonomien stark von der Wasserverfügbarkeit abhängen, verteilt werden. Physio-geographische Gegebenheiten als auch konkurrierende Interessen bei der Wassernutzung (wie Bewässerungslandwirtschaft und Energiegewinnung) erfordern eine effektive nationale und vor allem grenzüberschreitende Koordination dieser Interessen unter Einbindung von Nutzern und lokalen sowie regionalen Entscheidungsträgern mit dem Ziel der langfristig ressourcenschonenden Wassernutzung. Dieser Beitrag widmet sich der Frage wie frei zugängliche Fernerkundungsdaten und daraus in GIS-basierten Analysen abgeleitete Geoinformationen sowie der Transfer generierten Wissens im Sinne eines Monitorings zur Erhöhung der Wassernutzungseffizienz in der regionalen Bewässerungslandwirtschaft beitragen können. Besonderer Fokus liegt auf der Anwendung von optischen Satellitenbildern (MODIS) für (1) das Monitoring der bewässerten Landnutzung und der Ernteabschätzung zur Ermittlung der Produktivität der bewässerten Landwirtschaft und (2) dem zeitlichen und räumlichen Vergleich der Produktivität der Bewässerungssysteme. Die wissenschaftliche Arbeit verortet sich im CAWa-Projekt („Regional Research Network Central Asian Water“) als wissenschaftlich-technische Komponente der vom deutschen Bundesaußenministerium geförderten Wasserinitiative für Zentralasien (“Berliner Prozess”)

Sensitive VLBI Continuum and H I Absorption Observations of NGC 7674: First Scientific Observations with the Combined Array VLBA, VLA & Arecibo

We present phase-referenced VLBI observations of the radio continuum emission from, and the H I 21 cm absorption toward, the Luminous Infrared Galaxy NGC 7674. The observations were carried out at 1380 MHz using the VLBA, the phased VLA, and theArecibo radio telescope. These observations constitute the first scientific use of the Arecibo telescope in a VLBI observation with the VLBA. The high- and low-resolution radio continuum images reveal several new continuum structures in the nuclear region of this galaxy. At ~100 mas resolution, we distinguish six continuum structures extending over 1.4 arcsec, with a total flux density of 138 mJy. Only three of these structures were known previously. All these structures seem to be related to AGN activity. At the full resolution of the array, we only detect two of the six continuum structures. Both are composed of several compact components with brightness temperatures on the order of $10^{7}$ K. While it is possible that one of these compact structures could host an AGN, they could also be shock-like features formed by the interaction of the jet with compact interstellar clouds in the nuclear region of this galaxy. Complex H I absorption is detected with our VLBI array at both high and low angular resolution. Assuming that the widest H I feature is associated with a rotating H I disk or torus feeding a central AGN, we estimate an enclosed dynamical mass of ~7 x 10^7 M_sun, comparable to the value derived from the hidden broad H$\beta$ emission in this galaxy. The narrower H I lines could represent clumpy neutral hydrogen structures in the H I torus. The detection of H I absorption toward some of the continuum components, and its absence toward others, suggest an inclined H I disk or torus in the central region of NGC 7674.Comment: 37 pages, 11 figures. ApJ accepted. To appear in the Nov. 10, 2003 issue of ApJ. Please use the PDF version if the postscript doesn't show the figure

Perceived Discrimination, Coping Styles, and Internalizing Symptoms Among a Community Sample of Hispanic and Somali Adolescents

Purpose: Perceived discrimination, perceptions of receiving differential treatment due to negative attitudes, and stereotypes about one\u27s racial/ethnic group can increase vulnerability to depression and anxiety. Although ethnic minority youth now represent over half of the U.S. youth population, few studies have investigated potential protective factors in the relationship between perceived discrimination and mental health across diverse ethnic minority immigrant youth from different cultural backgrounds. Methods: We examined the association between perceived discrimination and past week symptoms of depression and anxiety and whether patterns of problem and emotion-focused coping moderate these relationships among Somali and Hispanic immigrant youth (N = 353) in an urban midwestern setting (mean age = 15; 53% male, 39% first generation, 75% low income). Path analysis models examined the main effects of perceived discrimination for depression and anxiety and whether problem and emotion-focused coping moderated these associations. Results: Path analysis models suggest that perceived discrimination was positively associated with past week symptoms of depression (β = .37, standard error = .06) and anxiety (β = .16, standard error = .06) across ethnicity. However, adolescents who reported high levels of discrimination and who used predominantly problem-focused coping strategies experienced fewer internalizing problems than youth who relied predominantly on emotion-focused coping strategies. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that strengthening youths’ problem-focused coping strategies in the face of discriminatory stress is a promising health promotion and risk prevention approach

C-Reactive Protein Causes Blood Pressure Drop in Rabbits and Induces Intracellular Calcium Signaling

Systemic diseases characterized by elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), such as sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome, are usually associated with hardly controllable haemodynamic instability. We therefore investigated whether CRP itself influences blood pressure and heart rate. Immediately after intravenous injection of purified human CRP (3.5 mg CRP/kg body weight) into anesthetized rabbits, blood pressure dropped critically in all animals, while control animals injected with bovine serum albumin showed no response. Heart rate did not change in either group. Approaching this impact on a cellular level, we investigated the effect of CRP in cell lines expressing adrenoceptors (CHO-α1A and DU-145). CRP caused a Ca(2+)signaling being dependent on the CRP dose. After complete activation of the adrenoceptors by agonists, CRP caused additional intracellular Ca(2+)mobilization. We assume that CRP interacts with hitherto unknown structures on the surface of vital cells and thus interferes with the desensitization of adrenoceptors

Data-driven Structured Realization

We present a framework for constructing structured realizations of linear dynamical systems having transfer functions of the form $C(\sum_{k=1}^K h_k(s)A_k)^{-1}B$ where $h_1, h_2, ..., h_K$ are prescribed functions that specify the surmised structure of the model. Our construction is data-driven in the sense that an interpolant is derived entirely from measurements of a transfer function. Our approach extends the Loewner realization framework to more general system structure that includes second-order (and higher) systems as well as systems with internal delays. Numerical examples demonstrate the advantages of this approach

Student Ensemble: Wind Symphony

Center for the Performing ArtsApril 24, 2016Sunday Afternoon4:00 p.m

On the Nature of the NGC 1275 System

Sub-arcsecond images, taken in B, R, and H-Alpha filters, and area spectroscopy obtained with the WIYN 3.5-m telescope provide the basis for an investigation of the unusual structures in the stellar body and ionized gas in and around the Perseus cluster central galaxy, NGC 1275. Our H-Alpha filter is tuned to gas at the velocity of NGC 1275, revealing complex, probably unresolved, small-scale features in the extended ionized gas, located up to 50/h kpc from NGC 1275. The mean H-Alpha surface brightness varies little along the outer filaments; this, together with the complex excitation state demonstrated by spectra, imply that the filaments are likely to be tubes, or ribbons, of gas. The morphology, location and inferred physical parameters of the gas in the filaments are consistent with a model whereby the filaments form through compression of the intracluster gas by relativistic plasma emitted from the active nucleus of NGC 1275. Imaging spectroscopy with the Densepak fiber array on WIYN suggests partial rotational support of the inner component of low velocity ionized gas. We confirm and extend evidence for features in the stellar body of NGC 1275, and identify outer stellar regions containing very blue, probably very young, star clusters. We interpret these as evidence for recent accretion of a gas-rich system, with subsequent star formation. We suggest that two main processes, which may be causally connected, are responsible for the rich phenomenology of the NGC 1275 system -- NGC 1275 experienced a recent merger/interaction with a group of gas-rich galaxies, and recent outflows from its AGN have compressed the intracluster gas, and perhaps the gas in the infalling galaxies, to produce a complex web of filaments. (Abridged)Comment: AJ, accepted; a recommended full resolution version is available at http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~chris/pera.p