An Analysis of Language as a Barrier to Receiving Influenza Vaccinations among an Elderly Hispanic Population in the United States

Background. The Hispanic population in the United States is growing, and disparities in the receipt of healthcare services as a result of limited English proficiency have been demonstrated. We set out to determine if Spanish language preference was a barrier to receiving influenza vaccinations among Hispanic persons 65 years and older in the USA. Methods. Differences in the receipt of vaccinations by language preference were tested with both Chi-square analyses and adjusted logistic regression analyses. Results. Findings suggest that elderly Hispanic persons, 65 years of age and older, who prefer to communicate in Spanish instead of English, are significantly less likely to have received influenza vaccinations when compared to their Hispanic counterparts who prefer to communicate in English. Conclusions. Influenza infections can more often be fatal in older persons and may disparately affect minority populations such as Hispanic persons. Therefore, understanding barriers to the receipt of effective preventive health measures is necessary

Deep Learning for Galaxy Mergers in the Galaxy Main Sequence

Starburst galaxies are often found to be the result of galaxy mergers. As a result, galaxy mergers are often believed to lie above the galaxy main sequence: the tight correlation between stellar mass and star formation rate. Here, we aim to test this claim. Deep learning techniques are applied to images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to provide visual-like classifications for over 340 000 objects between redshifts of 0.005 and 0.1. The aim of this classification is to split the galaxy population into merger and non-merger systems and we are currently achieving an accuracy of 91.5%. Stellar masses and star formation rates are also estimated using panchromatic data for the entire galaxy population. With these preliminary data, the mergers are placed onto the full galaxy main sequence, where we find that merging systems lie across the entire star formation rate - stellar mass plane.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. For Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 34

Quantifying microbial utilization of petroleum hydrocarbons in salt-marsh sediments using the ^(13)C content of bacterial rRNA

Natural remediation of oil spills is catalyzed by complex microbial consortia. Here we take a whole-community approach to investigate bacterial incorporation of petroleum hydrocarbons from a simulated oil spill. We utilized the natural difference in carbon-isotopic abundance between a salt marsh ecosystem supported by the ^(13)C-enriched C4 grass, Spartina alterniflora, and the ^(13)C-depleted composition of petroleum to monitor changes in the ^(13)C content of biomass. Magnetic-bead capture methods for the selective recovery of bacterial RNA were used to monitor the ^(13)C content of bacterial biomass during a two-week experiment. The data show that by the end of the experiment, up to 26% of bacterial biomass derived from consumption of the freshly-spilled oil. The results contrast with the inertness of a nearby relict spill, which occurred in 1969 in West Falmouth, MA. Sequences of 16S rRNA genes from our experimental samples also were consistent with previous reports suggesting the importance of {gamma}- and {delta}-Proteobacteria and Firmicutes in the remineralization of hydrocarbons. The magnetic-bead capture approach makes it possible to quantify uptake of petroleum hydrocarbons by microbes in-situ. Although employed here at the Domain level, RNA-capture procedures can be highly specific. The same strategy could be used with genus-level specificity, something which is not currently possible using the ^(13)C content of biomarker lipids

Analysis of five-year trends in self-reported language preference and issues of item non-response among Hispanic persons in a large cross-sectional health survey: implications for the measurement of an ethnic minority population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Significant differences in health outcomes have been documented among Hispanic persons, the fastest-growing demographic segment of the United States. The objective of this study was to examine trends in population growth and the collection of health data among Hispanic persons, including issues of language preference and survey completion using a national health survey to highlight issues of measurement of an increasingly important demographic segment of the United States.</p> <p>Design</p> <p>Data from the 2003-2007 United States Census and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to compare trends in population growth and survey sample size as well as differences in survey response based on language preference among a Hispanic population. Percentages of item non-response on selected survey questions were compared for Hispanic respondents choosing to complete the survey in Spanish and those choosing to complete the survey in English. The mean number of attempts to complete the survey was also compared based on language preference among Hispanic respondents.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The sample size of Hispanic persons in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System saw little growth compared to the actual growth of the Hispanic population in the United States. Significant differences in survey item non-response for nine of 15 survey questions were seen based on language preference. Hispanic respondents choosing to complete the survey in Spanish had a significantly fewer number of call attempts for survey completion compared to their Hispanic counterparts choosing to communicate in English.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Including additional measures of acculturation and increasing the sample size of Hispanic persons in a national health survey such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System may result in more precise findings that could be used to better target prevention and health care needs for an ethnic minority population.</p

Oligocene chronostratigraphy and planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy: historical review and current state-of-the art

We review past and recent advances in Oligocene chronostratigraphy (and its internal subdivisions) and geochronology, the so-called “missing” Oligocene debate of the 1960s, and planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphies of (sub)tropical and austral biogeographies. The Oligocene spans the interval from Chron C13r.0.14 to Subchron C6Cn.2n(o), corresponding to astronomical cycles 84Ol-C13n to 58OlC6Cn. It is currently subdivided into two (Rupelian and Chattian) ages/stages. The planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy is characterized by a 7-fold (sub) tropical and 4-fold austral zonation, respectively

Searching for Planets in the Hyades II: Some Implications of Stellar Magnetic Activity

The Hyades constitute a homogeneous sample of stars ideal for investigating the dependence of planet formation on the mass of the central star. Due to their youth, Hyades members are much more chromospherically active than stars traditionally surveyed for planets using high precision radial velocity (RV) techniques. Therefore, we have conducted a detailed investigation of whether magnetic activity of our Hyades target stars will interfere with our ability to make precise RV searches for substellar companions. We measure chromospheric activity (which we take as a proxy for magnetic activity) by computing the equivalent of the R'HK activity index from the Ca II K line. is not constant in the Hyades: we confirm that it decreases with increasing temperature in the F stars, and also find it decreases for stars cooler than mid-K. We examine correlations between simultaneously measured R'HK and RV using both a classical statistical test and a Bayesian odds ratio test. We find that there is a significant correlation between R'HK and the RV in only 5 of the 82 stars in this sample. Thus, simple Rprime HK-RV correlations will generally not be effective in correcting the measured RV values for the effects of magnetic activity in the Hyades. We argue that this implies long timescale activity variations (of order a few years; i.e., magnetic cycles or growth and decay of plage regions) will not significantly hinder our search for planets in the Hyades if the stars are closely monitored for chromospheric activity. The trends in the RV scatter (sigma'_v) with , vsini, and P_rot for our stars is generally consistent with those found in field stars in the Lick planet search data, with the notable exception of a shallower dependence of sigma'_v on for F stars.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables; To appear in the July 2002 issue of The Astronomical Journa

Making Good Tenure Decisions

This article provides information on decision making on the granting or denial of tenure to a faculty member. It not only has an effect on the professional life of a colleague, it has a major influence on the direction and long-term quality of the department. The tenure decision in made in the sixth year of a tenure-track faculty appointment. If a faculty member has been on the tenure track at two institutions, the years of service at the first institution usually count toward those six years, unless the faculty member and his of her current institution agree in writing at the time of appointment that they will not or that only a certain number of them will. The sooner the person is terminated or helped to find another position, the better for him or her and for the department

Onset of Surface-Tension-Driven Benard Convection

Experiments with shadowgraph visualization reveal a subcritical transition to a hexagonal convection pattern in thin liquid layers that have a free upper surface and are heated from below. The measured critical Marangoni number (84) and observation of hysteresis (3%) agree with theory. In some experiments, imperfect bifurcation is observed and is attributed to deterministic forcing caused in part by the lateral boundaries in the experiment.Comment: 4 pages. The RevTeX file has a macro allowing various styles. The appropriate style is "mypprint" which is the defaul

Human subjects requirements and economic education researchers

This paper presents the results of a web-based survey of economic educators who were asked about their knowledge and experience with human subjects research and the mandated federal protocols that govern such research at most American universities. The results indicate that while economic education researchers are experienced in conducting human subjects research and are aware of the federal regulations, they are not well informed about key details of the regulations. They are skeptical of the net benefits of the mandated protocols because of the perceived discouraging burdens of the paperwork that rarely result in significant modifications of their research projects. The authors conclude that recent calls for modifications to the federal regulations for classroom-based research projects may be justified given the opportunity costs of adhering to the regulations compared to the relatively low levels of perceived benefits