Tillage Research in Ohio A Guide to the Selection of Profitable Tillage Systems

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Management of work-relevant upper limb disorders: a review

Background Upper limb disorders (ULDs) are clinically challenging and responsible for considerable work loss. There is a need to determine effective approaches for their management. Aim To determine evidence-based management strategies for work-relevant ULDs and explore whether a biopsychosocial approach is appropriate. Methods Literature review using a best evidence synthesis. Data from articles identified through systematic searching of electronic databases and citation tracking were extracted into evidence tables. The information was synthesized into high-level evidence statements, which were ordered into themes covering classification/diagnosis, epidemiology, associations/risks and management/treatment, focusing on return to work or work retention and taking account of distinctions between non-specific complaints and specific diagnoses. Results Neither biomedical treatment nor ergonomic workplace interventions alone offer an optimal solution; rather, multimodal interventions show considerable promise, particularly for occupational outcomes. Early return to work, or work retention, is an important goal for most cases and may be facilitated, where necessary, by transitional work arrangements. The emergent evidence indicates that successful management strategies require all the players to be onside and acting in a coordinated fashion; this requires engaging employers and workers to participate. Conclusions The biopsychosocial model applies: biological considerations should not be ignored, but psychosocial factors are more influential for occupational outcomes. Implementation of interventions that address the full range of psychosocial issues will require a cultural shift in the way the relationship between upper limb complaints and work is conceived and handled. Dissemination of evidence-based messages can contribute to the needed cultural shift

Performance Evaluation of Road Traffic Control Using a Fuzzy Cellular Model

In this paper a method is proposed for performance evaluation of road traffic control systems. The method is designed to be implemented in an on-line simulation environment, which enables optimisation of adaptive traffic control strategies. Performance measures are computed using a fuzzy cellular traffic model, formulated as a hybrid system combining cellular automata and fuzzy calculus. Experimental results show that the introduced method allows the performance to be evaluated using imprecise traffic measurements. Moreover, the fuzzy definitions of performance measures are convenient for uncertainty determination in traffic control decisions.Comment: The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co

Modeling Changes in the In-Migration Patterns of Northern Saskatchewan Communities : a Log-Linear Approach

Les auteurs examinent les changements dans les types historiques de migrations au sein des petites communautés frontières du nord de la Saskatchewan durant les périodes 1927-1960, 1961-1970 et 1971-1976. Des problèmes apparaissent lorsqu'on tente de formuler des modèles d'interaction spatiale dans les régions frontières, ou en voie de développement, en particulier le faible volume de migration et le fait que certains termes agglomérés sont impropres lorsqu'utilisés comme mesures de degré d'attraction et de répulsion des communautés. Comme procédure alternative, on utilise une méthode log-linéaire, laquelle identifie, par une analyse à dimensions multiples d'une matrice de données classifiées, les composantes dans les processus d'interaction spatiale. Les résultats initiaux montrent que le sexe de l'immigrant n'a pas d'effet sur la tendance à immigrer, et que les types spatiaux d'immigration n'ont pas changé d'une période à l'autre.This paper examines changes in the historical pattern of in-migration to small frontier communities in northern Saskatchewan in three time periods: 1927-1960, 1961-1970 and 1971-1976. The problems associated with spatial interaction modeling in a developing or frontier region are noted, particularly the low volume of in-migration and the inappropriateness of mass terms as surrogate measures of nodal attractiveness and propulsiveness. As an alternative, a log-linear approach is adopted, whereby multidimensional contingency-table analysis of categorical data reveals structural components in the spatial-interaction process. Initial results indicate that the gender of the migrant has no effect on the propensity to migrate and that spatial patterns of in-migration have not changed over time

Power asymmetries and punishment in a prisoner's dilemma with variable cooperative investment

In many two-player games, players that invest in punishment finish with lower payoffs than those who abstain from punishing. These results question the effectiveness of punishment at promoting cooperation, especially when retaliation is possible. It has been suggested that these findings may stem from the unrealistic assumption that all players are equal in terms of power. However, a previous empirical study which incorporated power asymmetries into an iterated prisoner's dilemma (IPD) game failed to show that power asymmetries stabilize cooperation when punishment is possible. Instead, players cooperated in response to their partner cooperating, and punishment did not yield any additional increase in tendency to cooperate. Nevertheless, this previous study only allowed an all-or-nothing–rather than a variable–cooperation investment. It is possible that power asymmetries increase the effectiveness of punishment from strong players only when players are able to vary their investment in cooperation. We tested this hypothesis using a modified IPD game which allowed players to vary their investment in cooperation in response to being punished. As in the previous study, punishment from strong players did not increase cooperation under any circumstances. Thus, in two-player games with symmetric strategy sets, punishment does not appear to increase cooperation

Fate and transport of volatile organic compounds in glacial till and groundwater at an industrial site in Northern Ireland

Volatile organic compound (VOC) contamination of subsurface geological material and groundwater was discovered on the Nortel Monkstown industrial site, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the characteristics of the geological material and its influences on contaminated groundwater flow across the site using borehole logs and hydrological evaluations, and (2) identify the contaminants and examine their distribution in the subsurface geological material and groundwater using chemical analysis. This report focuses on the eastern car park (ECP) which was a former storage area associated with trichloroethene (TCE) degreasing operations. This is where the greatest amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly TCE, were detected. The study site is on a complex deposit of clayey glacial till with discontinuous coarser grained lenses, mainly silts, sands and gravel, which occur at 0.45-7.82 m below ground level (bgl). The lenses overall form an elongated formation that acts as a small unconfined shallow aquifer. There is a continuous low permeable stiff clayey till layer beneath the lenses that performs as an aquitard to the groundwater. Highest concentrations of VOCs, mainly TCE, in the geological material and groundwater are in these coarser lenses at similar to 4.5-7 m bgl. Highest TCE measurements at 390,000 mu g L-1 for groundwater and at 39,000 mu g kg(-1) at 5.7 m for geological material were in borehole GA19 in the coarse lens zone. It is assumed that TCE gained entrance to the subsurface near this borehole where the clayey till was thin to absent above coarse lenses which provided little retardation to the vertical migration of this dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) into the groundwater. However, TCE is present in low concentrations in the geological material overlying the coarse lens zone. Additionally, VOCs appear to be associated with poorly drained layers and in peat < 3.0 m bgl in the ECP. Some indication of natural attenuation as VOCs degradation products vinyl chloride (VC) and dichloromethane (DCM) also occur on the site

Arsenic and selenium

Arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) have become increasingly important in environmental geochemistry because of their significance to human health. Their concentrations vary markedly in the environment, partly in relation to geology and partly as a result of human activity. Some of the contamination evident today probably dates back to the first settled civilizations that used metals. This chapter outlines the main effects of arsenic and selenium on human and animal health, their abundance and distribution in the environment, sampling and analysis, and the main factors controlling their speciation and cycling. Such information should help to identify aquifers, water resources, and soils at risk from high concentrations of arsenic and selenium, and areas of selenium deficiency. Human activity has had, and is likely to continue to have, a major role in releasing arsenic and selenium from the geosphere and in perturbing the natural distribution of these and other elements over the Earth’s surface

A life less lonely: the state of the art in interventions to reduce loneliness in people with mental health problems

PURPOSE: There is growing evidence of significant harmful effects of loneliness. Relatively little work has focused on how best to reduce loneliness in people with mental health problems. We aim to present an overview of the current state of the art in loneliness interventions in people with mental health problems, identify relevant challenges, and highlight priorities for future research and implementation. METHODS: A scoping review of the published and grey literature was conducted, as well as discussions with relevant experts, to propose a broad classification system for types of interventions targeting loneliness. RESULTS: We categorised interventions as ‘direct’, targeting loneliness and related concepts in social relationships, and ‘indirect’ broader approaches to well-being that may impact on loneliness. We describe four broad groups of direct interventions: changing cognitions; social skills training and psychoeducation; supported socialisation or having a ‘socially-focused supporter’; and ‘wider community approaches’. The most promising emerging evidence appears to be in ‘changing cognitions’, but, as yet, no approaches have a robust evidence base. Challenges include who is best placed to offer the intervention, how to test such complex interventions, and the stigma surrounding loneliness. CONCLUSIONS: Development of clearly defined loneliness interventions, high-quality trials of effectiveness, and identifying which approaches work best for whom is required. Promising future approaches may include wider community initiatives and social prescribing. It is important to place loneliness and social relationships high on the wider public mental health and research agenda