The Relations of Religiosity, Social Support, and Acculturation Attitudes Among Refugees

Refugees are entering the United States in increasing numbers. Identifying factors that promote successful acculturation is an important task for those working to help refugees. As religiosity and social support have previously been linked to better mental health outcomes in refugees, they should be considered when examining acculturation. Using the Duke University Religious Index, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Acculturation Attitudes Scale, this study examined the relations between religiosity, perceived social support, and acculturation strategies. Additional variables examined were number of migrations, language of religious services currently attended, and religious services demographics. Hypotheses were that scores on religiosity and social support measures would correlate positively with the strategy of integration and negatively with the strategy of marginalization. An increased number of migrations was hypothesized to be associated with increased utilization of the strategies of marginalization and separation and decreased utilization of the strategies of assimilation and integration. Attending religious services in one’s original language and at a place of worship that is predominantly made up of people from one’s home country was hypothesized to be associated with higher scores on the separation subscale, while attending religious services in a second language and at a place of worship that is predominantly made up of people from the host community was hypothesized to be associated with higher scores on the assimilation and integration subscales. Analyses provided supported the hypothesis that a significant negative correlation would be seen between religiosity and marginalization. The second hypothesis was not evident in the current data set; instead, increased social support was found to be significantly positively correlated with separation. Number of migrations was found to have significant associations with separation and integration. The fourth hypothesis related to language of services and religious services demographics was not found to be supported. Exploratory analyses were completed to examine regional differences for the first three hypotheses. Limitations of the current project, directions for future research, and implications for practice and community programming are discussed

Investigating the Presence of BPA in Infant Oral Hygiene Products Using Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a chemical found in hard plastics. BPA is an endocrine disruptor as it binds to estrogen receptors. This is linked to negative health effects such as cardiovascular disease and developmental issues. Infants and young children are more at risk of these effects because their endocrine systems are not fully developed. For this project, toothbrushes were investigated to determine if they contained BPA. BPA is a fluorescent compound with an excitation wavelength of 278 nm and an emission wavelength of 304 nm, so an FS-5 spectrofluorometer from Edinburgh Instruments was used to determine the presence of BPA in each sample. Each toothbrush was placed in 100 mL of a 1:1 methanol:water solution at room temperature. A 5-mL aliquot of the solution was taken at time intervals ranging from 5 minutes to 1 week after the toothbrush was placed in the solution. Each sample was run in the spectrofluorometer in duplicate, where the emission and excitation intensities were reviewed and recorded. These values were compared to a BPA calibration curve in order to determine the concentration of BPA leached into the solution from the toothbrushes. After determining which toothbrushes had traces of BPA, a similar method was utilized to investigate where the bulk of the BPA was located within the toothbrush. The bristles were removed from the BPA-containing toothbrushes. The bristles and the head of each toothbrush were then placed separately into 100-mL solutions of 1:1 methanol:water and analyzed following the protocol described above

Tobacco Plant Harvester

A harvester for tobacco plants is provided for towing by a prime mover to which an articulated frame is attached, the frame mounting a movable turret having spears on which tobacco stalks are impaled. During removal of the stalks from the spears, they are loaded on sticks which are then manually removed from the harvester. A hydraulic system powered from the prime mover serves to actuate each of the turrets, an empty stick supplying mechanism, a loaded stick removing mechanism, and the mechanism for transferring stalks from the spears to the sticks; and a mechanical power takeoff shaft driven by the prime mover drives the conveyor which moves stalks after being cut from their root systems to the turret for impaling on the spears

Incorporating Uncertainty and Cero Values into the Valuation of Protected Areas and Species

Under the Spanish conservation law, compensation is envisaged for the damage associated with all actions that reduce the quantity or quality of protected areas and species. This paper provides a tool to evaluate the monetary equivalent of this damage. We conduct a contingent valuation exercise to estimate the existence value related to protected areas and species in Aragon. This estimate is then reconsidered including the possibility of zero bids and also the possibility of uncertain preferences for non-familiar goods. Considering these two effects, mean values are reduced significantly giving support to previous recommendations of dividing by two contingent valuation estimates from dichotomous choice question formats.natural heritage, contingent valuation, Spike model, uncertainty, Land Economics/Use, B23, C24, C42, C52, D62, Q26,

Storage of Burley Tobacco in Bales and Bundles

Bales and bundles of burley tobacco were stored for seven months from spring to fall. Leaves darkened during storage at all moisture levels and stalk positions with the exception of the bottom stalk position, which darkened only slightly. There was no difference in color change and dry weight loss between burley tobacco in bales and bundles. Normal and high moisture bales and bundles were often graded as unsound because of a deviant odor caused by bacterial activity. A bale weight loss of about 8% occurred at normal moisture with the loss being divided evenly between moisture and dry weight losse

Transplanter Mounting Attachment for a Harvester

A transplanter mounting attachment for attachment to a crop harvester including a pivot shaft operatively connected for rotation about an axis extending longitudinally with respect to a support frame of a crop harvester. A rotating sleeve substantially orthogonally disposed with respect to the pivot shaft and rotatably mounted relative thereto. A connecting shaft substantially orthogonally disposed with respect to the pivot shaft and rotatably mounted relative thereto. At least one transplanter attaching assembly operatively connected to the rotating sleeve and being raised or lowered upon rotary motion being imparted to the rotating sleeve. Wheels are provided which are operatively connected to the connecting shaft for engaging the ground surface to support the transplanter attaching assembly. The transplanter attaching assembly is free to rotate about substantially horizontal axes which extend substantially parallel and perpendicular to the support frame of a crop harvester

Curling Burley Tobacco from an Automated Harvesting System

If burley tobacco can be successfully cured at high density under waterproof covers in the field, a producer can expand production without the necessity of building new curing barns and can thereby more easily justify investment in the automated burley tobacco harvesting system (Wells et al., 1990a, b). Curing under waterproof covers in the field and curing on frames in the barn were evaluated over three curing seasons using two varieties (KY 14 and TN 86), two plant densities (32 and 43 plants/m2, 3 and 4 plants/ft2), position of tobacco on the frame (four levels ranging from edge to center) and stalk position (bottom, middle and top). Conventionally cured tobacco was used as the standard of comparison and grade index was used as the assessment of quality. Averaged over a three-year period, burley tobacco cured in the field over sod and under waterproof covers and conventionally cured tobacco were of equal quality (56.0 and 55.8 grade index, respectively) and were both superior to tobacco cured on frames in the barn (52.0). During the dry curing season, burley tobacco cured under the covers had a higher grade index (54.9) than that cured conventionally (43.5) or on frames in the barn (43.7) but during the moderately wet and wet curing seasons, conventionally cured burley tobacco had a higher grade index (62.3 and 61.5, respectively) than that cured under covers (58.9 and 54.2, respectively) or on frame in the barn (59.0 and 53.4, respectively). During the wet curing season, leaf tips near the sod in the field and near the concrete in the barn cured dark red resulting in a lowered grade index. Burley tobacco from the automated harvesting system is better cured outside under waterproof covers than cured in a barn

Wind Drag on Burley Tobacco Plants

Drag coefficient and center of resistance to wind forces were determined for four varieties of burley tobacco at three stages of growth and using wind velocities ranging from about 3 to 17 m/s. Drag coefficients determined ranged from about 0.024 at the highest velocity to about 0.081 at the lowest velocity. Stage of growth and wind velocity had significant effects on drag coefficient. Variety did not have a significant effect on drag coefficient. Mean center of resistance varied from 42.3 percent of the distance from bottom leaf to top leaf at the early stage of growth to 71.2 percent at harvest stage. Center of resistance was significantly affected by variety, stage of growth, and wind velocity

Feed pellet and corn durability and breakage during repeated elevator handling

Pelleting of animal feeds is important for improved feeding efficiency and for convenience of handling. Pellet quality impacts the feeding benefits for the animals and pellet integrity during handling. To compare the effect of repeated handling on the quality of feed pellets and corn, a 22.6‐t (1000‐bu) lot of feed pellets made from corn meal and a 25.4‐t (1000‐bu) lot of shelled corn, were each transferred alternately between two storage bins in the USDA‐ARS, Grain Marketing and Production Research Center research elevator at Manhattan, Kansas, at an average flow rate of 59.4 t/h. Samples from a diverter‐type sampler were analyzed for particle size distribution (by sieving) and durability (by the tumbling box method). The apparent geometric mean diameter of pellet samples decreased with repeated transfers, whereas the mass of accumulated broken pellets increased with repeated transfers. The percentage of broken pellets increased by an average of 3.83% with each transfer from an initial value of 17.5%, which was significantly different from the values obtained from shelled corn (p 0.05) during the transfers. The durability index of shelled corn was also not significantly different during the transfers. Analysis of dust removed by the cyclone separators showed that the mass of dust < 0.125 mm was significantly less for feed pellets (0.337 kg/t of pellet mass) than for shelled corn (0.403 kg/t of corn mass)