Adult BMI change and risk of Breast Cancer: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2010

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality among women in the developed world. This study assessed the association between occurrence of breast cancer and body mass index (BMI) change from age 25 to age closest to breast cancer diagnosis while exploring the modifying effects of demographic variables. METHODS: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data were used. Women included were ≥50 years, not pregnant and without a diagnosis of any cancer but breast. The total sample included 2895 women (172 with breast cancer and 2723 controls with no breast cancer diagnosis). Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the OR and 95 % CIs and interaction evaluated by including an interaction term in the model. RESULTS: Women whose BMI increased from normal or overweight to obese compared to those who remained at a normal BMI were found to have a 2 times higher odds (OR = 2.1; 95 % CI 1.11-3.79) of developing breast cancer. No significant association was observed for women who increased to overweight. However, a more pronounced association was observed in non-Hispanic black women (OR = 6.6; 95 % CI 1.68-25.86) and a significant association observed when they increased from normal to overweight (OR = 4.2; 95 % CI 1.02-17.75). CONCLUSIONS: Becoming obese after age 25 is associated with increased risk of breast cancer in women over 50 years old, with non-Hispanic black women being at greatest risk

Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS): Imaging and Tracking Capability

The geosynchronous-imaging Fourier transform spectrometer (GIFTS) engineering demonstration unit (EDU) is an imaging infrared spectrometer designed for atmospheric soundings. It measures the infrared spectrum in two spectral bands (14.6 to 8.8 microns, 6.0 to 4.4 microns) using two 128 128 detector arrays with a spectral resolution of 0.57/cm with a scan duration of approx. 11 seconds. From a geosynchronous orbit, the instrument will have the capability of taking successive measurements of such data to scan desired regions of the globe, from which atmospheric status, cloud parameters, wind field profiles, and other derived products can be retrieved. The GIFTS EDU provides a flexible and accurate testbed for the new challenges of the emerging hyperspectral era. The EDU ground-based measurement experiment, held in Logan, Utah during September 2006, demonstrated its extensive capabilities and potential for geosynchronous and other applications (e.g., Earth observing environmental measurements). This paper addresses the experiment objectives and overall performance of the sensor system with a focus on the GIFTS EDU imaging capability and proof of the GIFTS measurement concept

Effect of Ce and Sb on Primary Graphite Growth in Cast Irons

It is well-known that if certain trace elements are present in cast iron melts the morphology of the graphite precipitates can be altered. In order to understand the effect of doping elements on primary growth of graphite, pure Fe–Sb alloys were prepared by induction melting. They were then placed in graphite crucibles and heated to a temperature above the Fe–C eutectic so that the charge became saturated in carbon and melted. To obtain Fe–Ce alloys, metallic Ce was added at the bottom of a graphite crucible and covered with iron, and then heated as for the Fe–Sb charge. In both cases, the melt was then cooled and held slightly above the eutectic temperature so that primary graphite crystals, which had nucleated on the crucible walls and then detached from it, could grow freely in the melt. The influence of the added elements on graphite growth was revealed by the change in the shape and distribution of the crystals compared to those obtained in similar experiments carried out with pure Fe. The experiments were made in air and vacuum so as to point out possible interactions between the elements present in the melt and oxygen

GIFTS EDU Ground-based Measurement Experiment

Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) Engineering Demonstration Unit (EDU) is an imaging infrared spectrometer designed for atmospheric soundings. The EDU groundbased measurement experiment was held in Logan, Utah during September 2006 to demonstrate its extensive capabilities for geosynchronous and other applications

Ground-Based Measurement Experiment and First Results with Geosynchronous-Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer Engineering Demonstration Unit

The geosynchronous-imaging Fourier transform spectrometer (GIFTS) engineering demonstration unit (EDU) is an imaging infrared spectrometer designed for atmospheric soundings. It measures the infrared spectrum in two spectral bands (14.6 to 8.8 microns, 6.0 to 4.4 microns) using two 128 x 128 detector arrays with a spectral resolution of 0.57 cm(exp -1) with a scan duration of approximately 11 seconds. From a geosynchronous orbit, the instrument will have the capability of taking successive measurements of such data to scan desired regions of the globe, from which atmospheric status, cloud parameters, wind field profiles, and other derived products can be retrieved. The GIFTS EDU provides a flexible and accurate testbed for the new challenges of the emerging hyperspectral era. The EDU ground-based measurement experiment, held in Logan, Utah during September 2006, demonstrated its extensive capabilities and potential for geosynchronous and other applications (e.g., Earth observing environmental measurements). This paper addresses the experiment objectives and overall performance of the sensor system with a focus on the GIFTS EDU imaging capability and proof of the GIFTS measurement concept

Bican Bey

Musahip'in İstiklal'de tefrika edilen Bican Bey adlı romanıSüreli yayın kapandığından tefrika yarım kalmıştır

Modeled vs. Actual Performance of the Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS)

The NASA Geosynchronous Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) has been completed as an Engineering Demonstration Unit (EDU) and has recently finished thermal vacuum testing and calibration. The GIFTS EDU was designed to demonstrate new and emerging sensor and data processing technologies with the goal of making revolutionary improvements in meteorological observational capability and forecasting accuracy. The GIFTS EDU includes a cooled (150 K), imaging FTS designed to provide the radiometric accuracy and atmospheric sounding precision required to meet the next generation GOES sounder requirements. This paper discusses a GIFTS sensor response model and its validation during thermal vacuum testing and calibration. The GIFTS sensor response model presented here is a component-based simulation written in IDL with the model component characteristics updated as actual hardware has become available. We discuss our calibration approach, calibration hardware used, and preliminary system performance, including NESR, spectral radiance responsivity, and instrument line shape. A comparison of the model predictions and hardware performance provides useful insight into the fidelity of the design approach

Smart antennas cluster year 2000 report

It has been argued that Horava gravity needs to be extended to include terms that mix spatial and time derivatives in order avoid unacceptable violations of Lorentz invariance in the matter sector. In an earlier paper we have shown that including such mixed derivative terms generically leads to 4th instead of 6th order dispersion relations and this could be (naively) interpreted as a threat to renormalizability. We have also argued that power-counting renormalizability is not actually compromised, but instead the simplest power-counting renormalizable model is not unitary. In this paper we consider the Lifshitz scalar as a toy theory and we generalize our analysis to include higher order operators. We show that models which are power-counting renormalizable and unitary do exist. Our results suggest the existence of a new class of theories that can be thought of as Horava gravity with mixed derivative terms

Prosthetic Avian Vocal Organ Controlled by a Freely Behaving Bird Based on a Low Dimensional Model of the Biomechanical Periphery

Because of the parallels found with human language production and acquisition, birdsong is an ideal animal model to study general mechanisms underlying complex, learned motor behavior. The rich and diverse vocalizations of songbirds emerge as a result of the interaction between a pattern generator in the brain and a highly nontrivial nonlinear periphery. Much of the complexity of this vocal behavior has been understood by studying the physics of the avian vocal organ, particularly the syrinx. A mathematical model describing the complex periphery as a nonlinear dynamical system leads to the conclusion that nontrivial behavior emerges even when the organ is commanded by simple motor instructions: smooth paths in a low dimensional parameter space. An analysis of the model provides insight into which parameters are responsible for generating a rich variety of diverse vocalizations, and what the physiological meaning of these parameters is. By recording the physiological motor instructions elicited by a spontaneously singing muted bird and computing the model on a Digital Signal Processor in real-time, we produce realistic synthetic vocalizations that replace the bird's own auditory feedback. In this way, we build a bio-prosthetic avian vocal organ driven by a freely behaving bird via its physiologically coded motor commands. Since it is based on a low-dimensional nonlinear mathematical model of the peripheral effector, the emulation of the motor behavior requires light computation, in such a way that our bio-prosthetic device can be implemented on a portable platform