A Review of Smoking among Rural African Americans: Recommendations for Research and Cessation Interventions

Objective: The purpose of this review is to synthesize the available literature on smoking among rural African Americans. Methods: Using search terms “rural” “African American” “Black” and “smoking” 19 relevant articles were identified in the Medline data base. Findings gleaned from the 19 articles are presented in four categories: a) smoking prevalence, b) smoking behavior and patterns, c) smoking cessation interventions and quitting, and d) smoking-related outcomes. Results: There may be gender differences, a pattern of late onset of smoking, and a preference for mentholated brands among rural African American smokers. There is no evidence that rural African Americans are less likely to quit than other populations, though there may be disparities in receiving appropriate treatment services or advice to quit. Conclusion: More research regarding the socio-cultural and systemic factors that influence the trajectory of smoking initiation, maintenance and cessation among rural African Americans is needed

Developing a Semester-Long Project in a Biomechanical Engineering Course to Instill the Entrepreneurial Mindset in the Next-Generation Biomedical Engineering Students

Entrepreneurial-Minded Learning (EML) is an emerging pedagogy progressively gaining popularity in the engineering education community. Coincided with project-based learning (PBL), EML illustrates an essential dimension to the instruction of next-generation engineers, equipping them with various perspectives and approaches to relate societal challenges with technical concepts. Nationwide initiatives, such as the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN), have developed a learning framework specifically designed to create engineers such as these. The implementation of EML aims to stimulate connections, create value, and ignite curiosity. This study introduced a semester-long project based on these EML skillsets in a sophomore-level biomechanical engineering course. To evaluate the effectiveness of the project design, students were equally distributed randomly to different versions of the project. Version 1, or the experimental group, contained students participating in the project embedded with the target EML concepts - such as identifying an opportunity, investigating the market, communicating an engineering solution in economic terms, developing partnerships, and building a team. Version 2, or the control group, contained students who participated in the project without the embedded EML concepts. At the completion of the project, an end-of-semester survey was administered to the students. The survey consisted of open-ended and 5-point Likert scale questions targeting students\u27 development of curiosity, connections, and value creation. Analysis indicated, with statistical significance, an overall increase in students\u27 development of an entrepreneurial mindset for those participating in the EML version of the course project. For the Likert scale questions, students participating in the experimental group averaged a response value of 4.32, indicating a strongly agree (5) or agree (4) response for questions targeting a student\u27s overall confidence in developing the specific EML skills targeted the project. Students who participated in the control version had an average overall response value of 3.93. Survey questions were further divided into EML target skills - curiosity, connections, and creating value. Across all three target skills, students participating in version 1 of the project demonstrated statistically significant increases in developing curiosity about the surrounding world, creating value, and establishing connections - thus generating an entrepreneurial mindset. Developing an entrepreneurial mindset is crucial to the next-generation engineers\u27 long-term success in the workforce, with a potentially more significant impact on the national economy and societal benefits. With guidance from the study results, semester-long projects that employ the EML concepts will be incorporated into our institution\u27s core curriculum of Biomedical Engineering

Shock pair observation

On day 84, 1969, the HEOS 1 satellite observed a shock pair connected with a plasma bulk velocity increase from 400 to approximately 750 km/sec. Both shocks were fast shocks. The forward shock had a Mach number of 1.7, the reverse shock had M(fast) = 1.4. The time interval between the two shocks was 7 hrs, 10 min. The time delay between HEOS 1 and Explorer 35 reverse shock observation (20 + or - 6 min) agrees with the computed time delay (11 + or - 4 min)

Beef and Dairy Substitution Effects Associated with Carbon Labeling and an Information Intervention

Understanding consumer perceptions of carbon emissions in agriculture is a critical step to help increase the sustainability of food consumption. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 14.5 percent of all global anthropogenic GHG emissions are estimated to be represented by livestock (FAO), and cattle, raised for beef and milk, are the largest animal species responsible for emissions, comprising over 60 percent of the livestock sector’s emissions. This motivates this study’s analysis of beef and dairy milk products and alternatives. To better understand how consumers may substitute meat and milk products when provided with information about carbon emissions, two online surveys, one meat and one milk, were distributed to 1,240 U.S. meat consumers and 1,217 milk consumers. The objective of this study is to answer the questions: 1) does a food label that provides estimates of carbon emissions cause substitution effects across products within the categories of meat and milk, and 2) does an information intervention about carbon emissions associated with agricultural production nudge consumers to make carbon-reducing food choices. The study also aims to discover which GHG-reducing mechanisms consumers perceive as most effective and least effective in agriculture. The results of this study are important for producers, consumers, policymakers, and other agriculturalists paving the way towards a more sustainable future so that agriculture can evolve to feed a growing global population. Findings reveal that a carbon label does cause substitution effects across provided meat and milk products and that the information intervention has less effect. Furthermore, respondents favored “carrot” GHG-reducing mechanisms - corporate incentive and government subsidy - more than “stick” mechanisms of corporate regulation and government tax. Ultimately, this study contributes to a deepened understanding of consumer preferences for beef and dairy and substitutes in the meat and milk categories (including plant-based options)

Beef and Dairy Substitution Effects Associated with Carbon Labeling and an Information Intervention

Understanding consumer perceptions of carbon emissions in agriculture is a critical step to help increase the sustainability of food consumption. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 14.5 percent of all global anthropogenic GHG emissions are estimated to be represented by livestock (FAO), and cattle, raised for beef and milk, are the largest animal species responsible for emissions, comprising over 60 percent of the livestock sector’s emissions. This motivates this study’s analysis of beef and dairy milk products and alternatives. To better understand how consumers may substitute meat and milk products when provided with information about carbon emissions, two online surveys, one meat and one milk, were distributed to 1,240 U.S. meat consumers and 1,217 milk consumers. The objective of this study is to answer the questions: 1) does a food label that provides estimates of carbon emissions cause substitution effects across products within the categories of meat and milk, and 2) does an information intervention about carbon emissions associated with agricultural production nudge consumers to make carbon-reducing food choices. The study also aims to discover which GHG-reducing mechanisms consumers perceive as most effective and least effective in agriculture. The results of this study are important for producers, consumers, policymakers, and other agriculturalists paving the way towards a more sustainable future so that agriculture can evolve to feed a growing global population. Findings reveal that a carbon label does cause substitution effects across provided meat and milk products and that the information intervention has less effect. Furthermore, respondents favored “carrot” GHG-reducing mechanisms - corporate incentive and government subsidy - more than “stick” mechanisms of corporate regulation and government tax. Ultimately, this study contributes to a deepened understanding of consumer preferences for beef and dairy and substitutes in the meat and milk categories (including plant-based options)

HEOS 1 helium observations in the solar wind

Results of alpha-particle observations performed by the European satellite HEOS 1, in the period from December 9, 1968, to April 13, 1969, and from September 6, 1969, to April 15, 1970, are presented. The average bulk velocities of protons V sub p and alpha-particles V sub alpha appear to be equal; however, due to an instrumental bias, the possibility of V sub alpha being lower than V sub p cannot be ruled out. Comparison with observations of Vela 3 and Explorer 34 satellites gives evidence of a dependence of helium abundance on the solar cycle. The problem of the stability of differences between the bulk velocities of protons and alpha-particles is investigated. The behavior of alpha-particles through interplanetary shock waves is illustrated in connection with magnetic field measurements

Porous UHTCs for transpiration cooling of hypersonic flight

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Pollution in the open oceans: 2009-2013

This review of pollution in the open oceans updates a report on this topic prepared by GESAMP five years previously (Reports and Studies No. 79, GESAMP, 2009). The latter report, the first from GESAMP focusing specifically on the oceans beyond the 200 m depth contour, was prepared for purposes of the Assessment of Assessments, the preparatory phase of a regular process for assessing the state of the marine environment, led jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO-IOC)