Repeat pregnancies during adolescence : factors that influence teens\u27 decisions to have more than one child

This exploratory qualitative study was undertaken to try to learn and better understand why an adolescent would chose to have more than one child while still an adolescent herself. As the trends in current literature tend to focus on four primary areas of interest; I structured my questions in order to gain information in the same categories. Those categories include: 1) reasons adolescents become pregnant the first time including repeat pregnancies and contraceptive use, 2) intervention strategies and programs aimed to prevent repeat pregnancies, 3) the larger societal impact of adolescent pregnancy, and 4) adolescent brain development and decision making abilities. I interviewed six participants who were parenting more than one child by the age of 20 and asked them open ended questions about their experiences with regards to getting pregnant the first time, having a repeat pregnancy, their use or non-use of birth control and why, reasons they decided to have their children, and reactions to each of their pregnancies and how they may have differed. What I found in this study was that the participants I interviewed shared reasons, stories, and attitudes that were consistent with what is in the literature, the only exception was that this group fell statistically higher in their education levels than their counterparts

Ru2(CO)4{OOC(CH2) n CH3}2L2 sawhorse-type complexes containing μ2-η2-carboxylato ligands derived from saturated fatty acids

The thermal reaction of Ru3(CO)12 with the saturated fatty acids (heptanoic, nonanoic, decanoic, tridecanoic, tetradecanoic, heptadecanoic, octadecanoic) in refluxing tetrahydrofuran, followed by addition of triphenylphosphine (PPh3) or pyridine (C5H5N), gives the dinuclear complexes Ru2(CO)4{OOC(CH2)nCH3}2L2 (1: n = 5, 2: n = 7, 3: n = 8, 4: n = 11, 5: n = 12, 6: n = 15, 7: n = 16; a: L = NC5H5, b: L = PPh3). The single crystal structure analysis of 1b, 2a, 3a, 4a and 5a reveals a dinuclear Ru2(CO)4 sawhorse structure, the diruthenium backbone being bridged by the carboxylato ligands, while the two L ligands occupy the axial positions at the ruthenium atoms. In 2a, π-π stacking interactions between adjacent pyridyl units of symmetry related molecules prevail, while in the longer alkyl chain derivatives 3a, 4a and 5a, additional van der Waals and electrostatic interactions between the alkyl chains take place as well in the packing arrangement of the molecules, thus giving rise to layers of parallel alkyl chains in the crysta

Image enhancement software for underwater recovery operations - user's manual

This report describes software for performing image enhancement on live or recorded video images. The software was developed for operational use during underwater recovery operations at the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station. The image processing is performed on an IBM-PC/AT compatible computer equipped with hardware to digitize and display video images. The software provides the capability to provide contrast enhancement and other similar functions in real time through hardware lookup tables, to automatically perform histogram equalization, to capture one or more frames and average them or apply one of several different processing algorithms to a captured frame. The report is in the form of a user manual for the software and includes guided tutorial and reference sections. A Digital Image Processing Primer in the appendix serves to explain the principle concepts that are used in the image processing. (rrh)http://archive.org/details/imageenhancement00partApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Secondary school mathematics requirements of industrial firms of greater Boston,

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

3-D Imaging Applied To Foot Structures In Walking

Pedagogic and coaching experiments have demonstrated that learning and training difficulties encountered by physical education students, athletes and coaches are frequently related to poor or inadequate 3-D visual representation of human body structures and movement. In order to counteract this important shortcoming, a low cost computer platform including an Amiga 3000T computer, preparation software (Imagine and DCTV) and presentation software, has been developed. The purpose of this study was to generate 3-D objects of the ankle-foot structures and to animate these objects in order to accurately illustrate plantar flexion, dorsiflexion, supination and pronation of the foot as a function of the walking cycle. Using anatomical and biomechanical informations available in literature, this 3-D imaging study has succeeded in producing an interactive software permitting individual as well as large group visualisation (with the use of a video projector) of tibia and fibula interactions with talus, as well as movements of tarsal and metatarsal bones during the different support phases in walking. Positions and roles of ligaments have also been illustrated. Subsequent laboratory experiments have demonstrated that intermediate-term retention of knowledge is favored in teaching when using this computer-assisted technique. Actually, in a test-retest situation, intermediate retention decreased by 10.87% when using traditional teaching; the decrease in retention was only a slight 0.450 /0 when using this 3-D imaging program as a visualisation aid. Sports training and coaching have also benefitted from the use of this tool

Predation pressure by avian predators suggests summer limitation of small-mammal populations in the Canadian Arctic

Predation has been suggested to be especially important in simple food webs and less productive ecosystems such as the arctic tundra, but very few data are available to evaluate this hypothesis. We examined the hypothesis that avian predators could drive the population dynamics of two cyclic lemming species in the Canadian Arctic. A dense and diverse suite of predatory birds, including the Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus), the Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus), and the Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus), inhabits the arctic tundra and prey on collared (Dicrostonyx groenlandicus) and brown (Lemmus trimucronatus) lemmings during the snow-free period. We evaluated the predation pressure exerted by these predators by combining their numerical (variation in breeding and fledgling numbers) and functional (variation in diet and daily consumption rates) responses to variations in lemming densities over the 2004-2010 period. Breeding density and number of fledglings produced by the three main avian predators increased sharply without delay in response to increasing lemming densities. The proportion of collared lemmings in the diet of those predators was high at low lemming density (both species) but decreased as lemming density increased. However, we found little evidence that their daily consumption rates vary in relation to changes in lemming density. Total consumption rate by avian predators initially increased more rapidly for collared lemming but eventually leveled off at a much higher value for brown lemmings, the most abundant species at our site. The combined daily predation rate of avian predators exceeded the maximum daily potential growth rates of both lemming species except at the highest recorded densities for brown lemmings. We thus show, for the first time, that predation pressure exerted without delay by avian predators can limit populations of coexisting lemming species during the snow-free period, and thus, that predation could play a role in the cyclic dynamic of these species in the tundra.</p

Hair on near-extremal Reissner-Nordstrom AdS black holes

We discuss hairy black hole solutions with scalar hair of scaling dimension $\Delta$ and (small) electromagnetic coupling $q^2$, near extremality. Using trial functions, we show that hair forms below a critical temperature $T_c$ in the region of parameter space $(\Delta, q^2)$ above a critical line $q_c^2 (\Delta)$. For $\Delta > \Delta_0$, the critical coupling $q_c^2$ is determined by the AdS$_2$ geometry of the horizon. For $\Delta < \Delta_0$, $q_c^2$ is {\em below} the value suggested by the near horizon geometry at extremality. We provide an analytic estimate of $\Delta_0$ (numerically, $\Delta_0 \approx 0.64$). We also compute analytically the true critical line for the entire range of the scaling dimension. In particular for $q=0$, we obtain an instability down to the unitarity bound. We perform explicit analytic calculations of $T_c$, the condensate and the conductivity. We show that the energy gap in units of $T_c$ diverges as we approach the critical line ($T_c \to 0$).Comment: PRD version: 15 pages, 9 figures, corrected typos, improved discussio

Performance Measures for Alternative Project Delivery Methods on Highway Transportation Projects

The use of alternative project delivery methods such as Design-Build (D-B) and Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) is becoming an effective solution for state transportation agencies to deliver highway construction projects. These delivery methods have been introduced to increase efficiency and innovation, while decreasing costs and schedule durations. Studies have explored the benefits of D-B and CM/GC delivery methods, but they have not explored how to best measure the performance of these projects when viewed in aggregate as a program. Through a survey of 41 transportation practitioners across the country, this study addresses that need by identifying 6 performance measures that state transportation agencies can use to gauge the success of the alternative project delivery method projects, and programs as a whole. These performance measures are; (1) Proposals from Qualified Contractors, (2) Milestone Dates, (3) Construction Duration, (4) Total Project Cost, (5) Project Cost at Award, and (6) Accepted Alternative Technical Concepts. These measures utilize data from the preconstruction phase, construction phase, or both. This gives state transportation agencies the ability to analyze each phase, and identify improvements. The use of these performance measures will allow state transportation agencies to identify strengths and weaknesses within their alternative project delivery method programs, and lead to improvement when delivering these projects

Simulating Fully‐Integrated Hydrological Dynamics in Complex Alpine Headwaters: Potential and Challenges

Highly simplified approaches continue to underpin hydrological climate change impact assessments across the Earth's mountainous regions. Fully-integrated surface-subsurface models may hold far greater potential to represent the distinctive regimes of steep, geologically-complex headwater catchments. However, their utility has not yet been tested across a wide range of mountainous settings. Here, an integrated model of two adjacent calcareous Alpine headwaters that accounts for two-dimensional surface flow, three-dimensional (3D) variably-saturated groundwater flow, and evapotranspiration is presented. An energy balance-based representation of snow dynamics contributed to the model's high-resolution forcing data, and a sophisticated 3D geological model helped to define and parameterize its subsurface structure. In the first known attempt to calibrate a catchment-scale integrated model of a mountainous region automatically, numerous uncertain model parameters were estimated. The salient features of the hydrological regime could ultimately be satisfactorily reproduced – over an 11-month evaluation period, the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of simulated streamflow at the main gauging station was 0.76. Spatio-temporal visualization of the forcing data and simulated responses further confirmed the model's broad coherence. Presumably due to unresolved local subsurface heterogeneity, closely replicating the somewhat contrasting groundwater level signals observed near to one another proved more elusive. Finally, we assessed the impacts of various simplifications and assumptions that are commonly employed in physically-based modeling – including the use of spatially uniform forcings, a vertically limited model domain, and global geological data products – on key simulated outputs, finding strongly affected model performance in many cases. Although certain outstanding challenges must be overcome if the uptake of integrated models in mountain regions around the world is to increase, our work demonstrates the feasibility and benefits of their application in such complex systems