Need to Know Review Number two: What Local Government Needs to Know about Public Health

This review of existing research on local government and public health focuses on the leadership role of local government in developing local public health systems that are capable of addressing the wider determinants of health

Congressional Research Service Products: History, Purpose, and Availability

Congressional Research Service (CRS) products, such as CRS Reports and Issue Briefs, are valuable reference tools that can assist reference professionals in providing service to a wide range of patrons and should not be overlooked. This paper details the history leading up to the creation of CRS beginning with the formation of the Library of Congress, the establishing of CRS’s congressional agency predecessor, the Legislative Reference Service, to its present form as the Congressional Research Service; explains what kind of products CRS creates and why; and provides a brief legislative history of congressional efforts to publicly disseminate CRS products, integrated with public discourse on the subject

Deceptive development and democratization: stadium construction and securitization in the FIFA world cup host countries of South Africa and Brazil

The past few decades has seen increasing attention given toward mega sporting events in the context of development. As countries, especially in developing regions of the world, strive to enhance their political, economic, and social standing, hosting mega events is viewed as an opportune path to growth. However, this view often does not take into consideration how fall-out, particularly for local communities, affects a country's overall experience with the event it hosts. The question I pose to test these two competing views of mega event hosting is the following: are mega-sporting events, specifically the FIFA World Cup, a viable avenue for furthering development and democratization? I examine the dual processes of stadium development and securitization for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups to answer this question, and argue that the neoliberal governance that drives FIFA World Cup securitization and stadium construction results in significant consequences for local development and compromises democratization for developing host countries

Deceptive development and democratization: stadium construction and securitization in the FIFA world cup host countries of South Africa and Brazil

The past few decades has seen increasing attention given toward mega sporting events in the context of development. As countries, especially in developing regions of the world, strive to enhance their political, economic, and social standing, hosting mega events is viewed as an opportune path to growth. However, this view often does not take into consideration how fall-out, particularly for local communities, affects a country's overall experience with the event it hosts. The question I pose to test these two competing views of mega event hosting is the following: are mega-sporting events, specifically the FIFA World Cup, a viable avenue for furthering development and democratization? I examine the dual processes of stadium development and securitization for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups to answer this question, and argue that the neoliberal governance that drives FIFA World Cup securitization and stadium construction results in significant consequences for local development and compromises democratization for developing host countries

Modelling the impact of environmental change on the physiology and ecology of sandeels

Sandeels comprise a quarter of North Sea fish biomass and are vital prey for a number of marine mammals and birds. However, in recent decades there have been significant declines in sandeel abundance and energy value. These declines have been linked to climate change, however, it is unclear what the relative influence of changes in food and temperature is. Here we examine the role of these factors on different aspects of the sandeel lifecycle and determine how robust sandeels are to expected climate warming. First, we review the evidence for climate impacts on sandeels and discuss the implications for higher trophic levels with particular reference to seabirds. Evidence summarised demonstrates that sandeels are a critical food source for many seabirds, and that declines in sandeel populations have negatively impacted seabird breeding populations. Lack of existing quantitative understanding of the influence of food and temperature on sandeels demonstrates the need for a new mathematical model to predict the outcome of climate warming on sandeel stocks. Second, we model changes in spawning and hatch dates off the Scottish east coast, which have been proposed as a contributor to the long-term decline in sandeel energy content. Results indicate that spawning and hatch dates do not explain this decline. Instead, the timing of both lifecycle events is relatively fixed and is governed by predictable environmental cues. Moreover, given the weak temperature effect on spawning and hatching, future temperature rises appear unlikely to significantly affect hatch date. The central part of this thesis is the development and use of a new dynamic energy budget model to unravel the influence of food and temperature on sandeel abundance and energy content. An important application of the model was the examination of mortality rates between 2001 and 2007, a period of pronounced stock decline off the Scottish east coast. The model was driven by food and temperature. Support was found for the hypothesis that overwinter starvation mortality contributed towards a recent decline in sandeels in northern UK waters. Highest over-winter mortality rates were recorded for juveniles and not individuals aged 1 or over due to the effect of weight-specific metabolism. However, a sensitivity analysis of the model suggests that mortality rates are more sensitive to changes in copepod abundance in the build up to overwintering rather than temperature during overwintering. We suggest that food-driven size-selective starvation mortality may have contributed to the stock decline off the Scottish east coast. We therefore conclude that indirect food web effects of climate change are likely to be greater than direct physiological effects on sandeels.Sandeels comprise a quarter of North Sea fish biomass and are vital prey for a number of marine mammals and birds. However, in recent decades there have been significant declines in sandeel abundance and energy value. These declines have been linked to climate change, however, it is unclear what the relative influence of changes in food and temperature is. Here we examine the role of these factors on different aspects of the sandeel lifecycle and determine how robust sandeels are to expected climate warming. First, we review the evidence for climate impacts on sandeels and discuss the implications for higher trophic levels with particular reference to seabirds. Evidence summarised demonstrates that sandeels are a critical food source for many seabirds, and that declines in sandeel populations have negatively impacted seabird breeding populations. Lack of existing quantitative understanding of the influence of food and temperature on sandeels demonstrates the need for a new mathematical model to predict the outcome of climate warming on sandeel stocks. Second, we model changes in spawning and hatch dates off the Scottish east coast, which have been proposed as a contributor to the long-term decline in sandeel energy content. Results indicate that spawning and hatch dates do not explain this decline. Instead, the timing of both lifecycle events is relatively fixed and is governed by predictable environmental cues. Moreover, given the weak temperature effect on spawning and hatching, future temperature rises appear unlikely to significantly affect hatch date. The central part of this thesis is the development and use of a new dynamic energy budget model to unravel the influence of food and temperature on sandeel abundance and energy content. An important application of the model was the examination of mortality rates between 2001 and 2007, a period of pronounced stock decline off the Scottish east coast. The model was driven by food and temperature. Support was found for the hypothesis that overwinter starvation mortality contributed towards a recent decline in sandeels in northern UK waters. Highest over-winter mortality rates were recorded for juveniles and not individuals aged 1 or over due to the effect of weight-specific metabolism. However, a sensitivity analysis of the model suggests that mortality rates are more sensitive to changes in copepod abundance in the build up to overwintering rather than temperature during overwintering. We suggest that food-driven size-selective starvation mortality may have contributed to the stock decline off the Scottish east coast. We therefore conclude that indirect food web effects of climate change are likely to be greater than direct physiological effects on sandeels

Sharing sovereignty in the EU’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

European integration has turned the EU neither into a state, in which authority is fully centralized in Brussels, nor is the EU a classic international organization, in which member states remain fully sovereign. Instead, European integration is patchy. For some policies, decision-making authority still rests with the member states whereas, for others, policy-making authority was transferred to the EU. Why does the EU’s authority vary across policies? Taking policies belonging to the EU’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice as a sample, Stefan Jagdhuber theorizes and empirically analyzes why integration proceeded on illegal immigration policy and judicial cooperation on civil law matters whereas it stagnated for legal immigration policy and judicial cooperation on criminal law matters. The findings show that uneven integration trajectories in the EU are likely when policy interdependence, supranational activism and domestic constraints differ across policies. Stefan Jagdhuber studied Political Science, Contemporary History and Sociology at the LMU Munich. During his doctoral studies at the LMU Munich, he specialized in questions of differentiated integration in the European Union and the EU in international negotiations. His research appeared in journals such as Politique Européenne, the Journal of European Public Policy and West European Politics

Use of a Checklist to Facilitate the Recognition of a Transfusion Associated Adverse Event

Transfusions are the most common procedure that hospitalized patients undergo. One of the risks associated with a transfusion is a transfusion related adverse event (TAAE). Transfusion associated adverse events can occur in any patient receiving a transfusion. Some patients are at risk of certain TAAEs (e.g., heart failure patients at risk of transfusion associated circulatory overload) while other events (e.g., allergic reactions) cannot always be anticipated. The severity of a TAAE can range from mildly uncomfortable to life threatening. Nurses need to be able to identify the signs and symptoms of a possible TAAE and intervene immediately by stopping the infusion of the blood product, taking immediate action to stabilize the patient and contacting the provider and transfusion medicine services/blood bank. This experimental study describes how the use of a transfusion checklist could facilitate the recognition and management of TAAEs for all clinicians and in particular, student nurses

Published work on freshwater science from the FBA, IFE and CEH, 1929-2006

A new listing of published scientific contributions from the Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) and its later Research Council associates – the Institute of Freshwater Ecology (1989–2000) and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (2000+) is provided. The period 1929–2006 is covered. The compilation extends an earlier list assembled by in 1979

Migraine

For centuries, people have talked of a powerful bodily disorder called migraine, which currently affects about a billion people around the world. Yet until now, the rich history of this condition has barely been told. In Migraine, award-winning historian Katherine Foxhall reveals the ideas and methods that ordinary people and medical professionals have used to describe, explain, and treat migraine since the Middle Ages. Touching on classical theories of humoral disturbance and medieval bloodletting, Foxhall also describes early modern herbal remedies, the emergence of neurology, and evolving practices of therapeutic experimentation. Throughout the book, Foxhall persuasively argues that our current knowledge of migraine's neurobiology is founded on a centuries-long social, cultural, and medical history. This history, she demonstrates, continues to profoundly shape our knowledge of this complicated disease, our attitudes toward people who have migraine, and the sometimes drastic measures that we take to address pain. Migraine is an intimate look at how cultural attitudes and therapeutic practices have changed radically in response to medical and pharmaceutical developments. Foxhall draws on a wealth of previously unexamined sources, including medieval manuscripts, early-modern recipe books, professional medical journals, hospital case notes, newspaper advertisements, private diaries, consultation letters, artworks, poetry, and YouTube videos. Deeply researched and beautifully written, this fascinating and accessible study of one of our most common, disabling—and yet often dismissed—disorders will appeal to physicians, historians, scholars in medical humanities, and people living with migraine alike