Generation of Generalized-Gauss Laser Beams via a Spatial Light Modulator

Generalized-Gauss laser beams can be described as a continuous transition between the well-known Hermite-Gauss (HG) and Laguerre-Gauss (LG) laser beams. A spatial light modulator (SLM) was made by removing the liquid crystal display (LCD) from an overhead projector. The homemade SLM, encoded with a computer-generated hologram, was then used to convert a fundamental Gaussian beam from a small frame Helium-Neon (HeNe) laser into several different orders of Generalized-Gauss (GG) beams. The experimentally generated GG beam profiles matched the theoretically expected profiles

Predicting Cholera Positive Cases in Haiti

While Western countries typically run census surveys frequently, poorer countries such as Haiti do not have the money to do so; thus research into how Haitians live is severely lacking. Furthermore, studies that do exist tend to be not only old and outdated, but also lacking in depth. Using new census data recently collected from Haiti, I attempt to predict if certain behaviors and living situations can be used as indicators for determining if someone has cholera. Challenges for exploring this data center on getting the surveys into a format suitable for analysis and the severe class imbalance between the number of cholera positive people and cholera negative people. Numerous solutions to this problem are attempted including using different sampling techniques, using ensembles with models like CART and SVM, and Bayesian model averaging. Better survey designs and questions to add to future surveys are also discussed

A New Operation on Sequences: the Boustrouphedon Transform

A generalization of the Seidel-Entringer-Arnold method for calculating the alternating permutation numbers (or secant-tangent numbers) leads to a new operation on integer sequences, the Boustrophedon transform.Comment: very minor change: corrected typo in author list. June 24 2002: correction to a proof; additional reference

Introducing Allergenic Food into Infants\u27 Diets: Systematic Review

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to explore the association between timing of introduction of potentially allergenic foods to infants and development of food allergies. Methods: CINAHL, Medline, PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science were searched using the terms solid food, complementary food, or infant feeding combined with allergy or hypersensitivity for articles published in English in 2000 or later. Inclusion criteria were 1) primary research articles with 2) a focus on association between introduction of complementary foods including potentially allergenic foods into diets of infants less than 12 months of age and development of food allergies. Articles were excluded if they were 1) not primary research, 2) about complementary foods only (without specifi city of allergenic foods), or 3) on allergic conditions other than food allergy (such as asthma or eczema). Results: The initial literature search yielded 533 articles; 14 articles met inclusion criteria. Level of evidence of each study was determined with the SORT criteria. Results found that delayed introduction of solid foods in general and allergenic foods in particular was not associated with decreased risk for allergic diseases among high and low-risk infants. Later introduction was associated with increased risk for allergy development. Clinical Implications: For infants at low risk for development of food allergies, providers should advise caregivers to introduce potentially allergenic foods with other solid foods between 4 and 6 months of age when children show an interest in eating solids. Infants at high risk for peanut allergy, should be evaluated by an allergy specialist prior to introduction of peanuts and work with providers to create an individualized plan for introduction of peanuts and other allergenic foods as needed

PERSONALITY AND INTERPERSONAL PREDICTORS AMONG MINISTERS: PREFERENCE FOR PASTORAL COUNSELING TASKS

A review of vocational assessment in ministry populations revealed that since the 1950s, ministers have been assessed using psychological and vocational assessments in an effort to ascertain goodness of fit for ministry tasks. However, ministers consistently produce profile reports that are significantly different from the population as a whole. In addition, while there has been much research on the general ministerial vocation, there has been little research on particular ministerial roles and the predictors for ministers who will excel in those tasks. The literature on ministers is outdated and has not taken into consideration the peculiar characteristics of the ministry population, such as a special set of societal standards and the “call” from God to engage in ministry. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a personality profile exists that can predict the types of ministers that would be most likely to exhibit a preference in pastoral care and counseling tasks as a specific ministerial vocation. Based on a review of the literature, several variables from psychological and vocational assessments emerged as possible predictors. In addition, it was hypothesized that the relationship between these variables could be explained by a friendly-dominant style of interpersonal behavior. Results suggest that there is in fact a personality profile that can predict whether ministers will exhibit a preference for pastoral care and counseling tasks. This profile was different based on setting, as was the goodness of fit with the theoretically proposed interpersonal style. Implications and limitations are discussed

We Are Pioneers : Polyamorists\u27 Stigma Management Strategies

Despite a shift in our late-modern period to erode more traditional forms of relationships and a growth in polyamory’s popularity, non-monogamy remains highly stigmatized. Polyamory is a relationship style wherein participants have multiple romantic and/or sexual partners with whom they focus on building commitments, sharing intimacy, and establishing honesty (Sheff 2006). While scholarship on polyamory and the stigma of non-monogamies generally is growing, little is known about how polyamorists manage their stigmatized identities. Using Goffman’s (1963) theory of stigma management, I inductively analyze discussion board posts on a polyamorous community’s website and find that polyamorists manage their stigma differently in private life and public life, but typically do so in a way that defies the stigma of non-monogamy. I argue that the source of polyamorists’ resistance to their stigmatization stems from the Polyamorous Ethos, an in-group perspective in the polyamorous community that advocates for polyamory’s superiority over monogamy and power to effect social change

Comparing Infrared Star-Formation Rate Indicators with Optically-Derived Quantities

We examine the UV reprocessing efficiencies of warm dust and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through an analysis of the mid- and far-infrared surface luminosity densities of 85 nearby H$\alpha$-selected star-forming galaxies detected by the volume-limited KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey (KISS). Because H$\alpha$ selection is not biased toward continuum-bright objects, the KISS sample spans a wide range in stellar masses ($10^8$-$10^{12}\rm{M}_\odot$), as well as H$\alpha$ luminosity ($10^{39}$-$10^{43}\rm{ergs/s}$), mid-infrared 8.0$\mu$m luminosity ($10^{41}$-$10^{44}\rm{ergs/s}$), and [Bw-R] color (-.1-2.2). We find that mid-infrared polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission in the Spitzer IRAC 8.0$\mu$m band correlates with star formation, and that the efficiency with which galaxies reprocess UV energy into PAH emission depends on metallicity. We also find that the relationship between far-infrared luminosity in the Spitzer MIPS 24$\mu$m band pass and H$\alpha$-measured star-formation rate varies from galaxy to galaxy within our sample; we do not observe a metallicity dependence in this relationship. We use optical colors and established mass-to-light relationships to determine stellar masses for the KISS galaxies; we compare these masses to those of nearby galaxies as a confirmation that the volume-limited nature of KISS avoids strong biases. We also examine the relationship between IRAC 3.6$\mu$m luminosity and galaxy stellar mass, and find a color-dependent correlation between the two.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure