A self-referenced interferometer for in situ cryogenic wafer curvature measurements.

A self-referenced interferometer to measure time-varying curvature in mechanically unstable environments is needed in many applications. One application that demands this measurement technique with fast data acquisition, 2D sensitivity, and insensitivity to vibration is the measurement of thermal strain in thin films in operational environments. The diverging beam interferometer described here demonstrates an angular sensitivity to the local curvature using interferograms captured by a CMOS camera. Two-dimensional Fourier analysis is used to extract curvature changes. The interferometer demonstrates an experimental sensitivity to curvature changes on the order of 10-4 m-1 and is used to measure thermal stresses in a cryogenic environment of a polycrystalline titanium nitride thin film on a silicon wafer that exhibits anisotropic curvature.

Growing healthy kids: a community garden-based obesity prevention program.

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the past 3 decades, particularly among children aged 2-5 years. In this group, Latino children are among those with the highest prevalence of obesity. PURPOSE: This paper describes a pilot study to evaluate a community intervention, known as the Growing Healthy Kids Program (GHK), to prevent childhood obesity among low-income families in a Southern state. METHODS: The intervention included a weekly gardening session, a 7-week cooking and nutrition workshop, and social events for parents and children. Matched pre- and post-program height and weight data were collected for 95 children aged 2-15 years. Children's BMI was determined. Also, families reported on the availability and consumption of fruits and vegetables at the beginning and the end of the family's participation in the GHK program. Data were collected in 2008-2010 and analyzed in 2011. RESULTS: About 60% of participants who enrolled in the program were Latino families (n=60 families/120 children). By the end of their participation in the program, 17% (n=6, p<0.004) of obese or overweight children had improved their BMI classification and 100% of the children with a BMI classification of normal had maintained that BMI classification. According to parental reports, there was an increase of 146% (p<0.001) in the availability of fruits and vegetables and an increase in the consumption of fruits (28%; p<0.001) and vegetables (33%; p<0.001) among children of families participating in the GHK program. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this pilot study are consistent with previous studies reporting an increase in availability and consumption of fruits and vegetables among families participating in community gardens. Although there are limitations because this is a pilot study, this strategy seems to be promising for addressing childhood obesity, particularly among low-income Latino immigrant families.

Missing persons in post-conflict settings: best practices for integrating psychosocial and scientific approaches.

This paper argues the importance of establishing integrated systems to meet the needs of forensic investigations as well as the needs of families of the missing in post-conflict situations. Meeting the psychosocial needs of families to resolve uncertainty and to recover the remains of their loved ones must be part of a multidisciplinary team approach to a transparent and standardised scientific investigative protocol. The authors present several case studies from the former Yugoslavia illustrating community-based interventions combining education projects and participation in antemortem data collection as well as providing a support network for families of the missing. The participation of the scientific investigators (pathologists, anthropologists, crime scene investigators, etc), many of whom are unprepared for the presence of family members at the scene, is critical to the success of the integrated process. Providing for and sustaining a long term follow-up programme with families, who may require ongoing mental health and social support, is also essential.

The Kosovo family support project: offering psychosocial support for families with missing persons.

This article presents a case that illustrates the vital role that social workers and other mental health and public health workers provided to support families following the 1999 conflict between Serb forces and Kosovar Albanians in Kosovo. A public health and social work team from Boston-based Physicians for Human Rights responded to an emergency postconflict situation by planning and implementing a community-based intervention that mobilized local mental health providers and established collaboration among national and international agencies, including the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, to provide a support network for families with missing family members. The intervention included assessment of local resources, training, fieldwork, professional development of local staff, and the establishment of long-term local responsibility and autonomy.