NMHCs and halocarbons in Asian continental outflow during the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) Field Campaign: Comparison with PEM-West B

We present an overview of the spatial distributions of nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and halocarbons observed over the western north Pacific as part of the NASA GTE Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE‐P) airborne field campaign (February–April 2001). The TRACE‐P data are compared with earlier measurements from the Pacific Rim during the Pacific Exploratory Mission‐West B (PEM‐West B), which took place in February–March 1994, and with emission inventory data for 2000. Despite the limited spatial and temporal data coverage inherent to airborne sampling, mean levels of the longer‐lived NMHCs (including ethane, ethyne, and benzene) were remarkably similar to our results during the PEM‐West B campaign. By comparison, mixing ratios of the fire extinguisher Halon‐1211 (CF2ClBr) increased by about 50% in the period between 1994 and 2001. Southern China (south of 35°N), and particularly the Shanghai region, appears to have been a substantial source of Halon‐1211 during TRACE‐P. Our previous analysis of the PEM‐West B data employed methyl chloroform (CH3CCl3) as a useful industrial tracer. However, regulations have reduced its emissions to the extent that its mixing ratio during TRACE‐P was only one‐third of that measured in 1994. Methyl chloroform mixing ratio “hot spots,” indicating regions downwind of continuing emissions, included outflow from the vicinity of Shanghai, China, but particularly high emission ratios relative to CO were observed close to Japan and Korea. Tetrachloroethene (C2Cl4) levels have also decreased significantly, especially north of 25°N, but this gas still remains a useful indicator of northern industrial emissions. Methyl bromide (CH3Br) levels were systematically 1–2 pptv lower from 1994 to 2001, in accord with recent reports. However, air masses that had been advected over Japan and/or South Korean port cities typically exhibited elevated levels of CH3Br. As a consequence, emissions of CH3Br from Japan and Korea calculated employing CH3Br/CO ratios and scaled to CO emission inventory estimates, were almost as large as for all of south China (south of 35°N). Total east Asian emissions of CH3Br and CH3Cl were estimated to be roughly 4.7 Gg/yr and 167 Gg/yr, respectively, in 2001

Small States in the Rearview Mirror: Legitimacy in the Management of Economy and Society

Small States in World Markets is about political efficacy and legitimation rather than scoring who is ahead in the economic sweepstakes. Its case for democratic corporatism rests on norms, particularly stability, rather than on narrow measures of economic efficiency. But stability and the efficacious management of the economy and social problems requires a degree of technocracy that undermines the legitimacy of the management process itself by helping to produce populist revolts

Associations between adherence, depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life in young adults with cystic fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a life shortening disease, however prognosis has improved and the adult population is growing. Most adults with cystic fibrosis live independent lives and balance the demands of work and family life with a significant treatment burden. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among treatment adherence, symptoms of depression and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a population of young adults with CF. METHODS: We administered three standardized questionnaires to 67 patients with CF aged 18–30 years; Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, Major Depression Inventory, and Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised. RESULTS: There was a response rate of 77 % and a majority of the young adults (84 %) were employed or in an education program. Most participants (74 %) reported low adherence to medications. One third (32.8 %) of the participants reported symptoms of depression. HRQoL scores were especially low on Vitality and Treatment Burden, and symptoms of depression were associated with low HRQoL scores (p < 0.01) with medium to large deficits across on all HRQoL domains (Cohen’s d 0.60–1.72) except for the domain treatment burden. High depression symptom scores were associated with low adherence (r = −0.412, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite improved physical health, many patients with CF report poor adherence, as well as impaired mental wellbeing and HRQoL. Thus, more attention to mental health issues is needed

Characterization of Pulmonary Metastases in Children With Hepatoblastoma Treated on Children\u27s Oncology Group Protocol AHEP0731 (The Treatment of Children With All Stages of Hepatoblastoma): A Report From the Children\u27s Oncology Group.

Purpose To determine whether the pattern of lung nodules in children with metastatic hepatoblastoma (HB) correlates with outcome. Methods Thirty-two patients with metastatic HB were enrolled on Children\u27s Oncology Group Protocol AHEP0731 and treated with vincristine and irinotecan (VI). Responders to VI received two additional cycles of VI intermixed with six cycles of cisplatin/fluorouracil/vincristine/doxorubicin (C5VD), and nonresponders received six cycles of C5VD alone. Patients were imaged after every two cycles and at the conclusion of therapy. All computed tomography scans and pathology reports were centrally reviewed, and information was collected regarding lung nodule number, size, laterality, timing of resolution, and pulmonary surgery. Results Among the 29 evaluable patients, only 31% met Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) for measurable metastatic disease. The presence of measurable disease by RECIST, the sum of nodule diameters greater than or equal to the cumulative cohort median size, bilateral disease, and ≥ 10 nodules were each associated with an increased risk for an event-free survival event ( P = .48, P = .08, P = .065, P = .03, respectively), with nodule number meeting statistical significance. Ten patients underwent pulmonary resection/metastasectomy at various time points, the benefit of which could not be determined because of small patient numbers. Conclusion Children with metastatic HB have a poor prognosis. Overall tumor burden may be an important prognostic factor for these patients. Lesions that fail to meet RECIST size criteria (ie, those \u3c 10 mm) at diagnosis may contain viable tumor, whereas residual lesions at the end of therapy may constitute eradicated tumor/scar tissue. Patients may benefit from risk stratification on the basis of the burden of lung metastatic disease at diagnosis

Steady state free radical budgets and ozone photochemistry during TOPSE

A steady state model, constrained by a number of measured quantities, was used to derive peroxy radical levels for the conditions of the Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox (TOPSE) campaign. The analysis is made using data collected aboard the NCAR/NSF C-130 aircraft from February through May 2000 at latitudes from 40° to 85°N, and at altitudes from the surface to 7.6 km. HO2 + RO2 radical concentrations were measured during the experiment, which are compared with model results over the domain of the study showing good agreement on the average. Average measurement/model ratios are 1.04 (σ = 0.73) and 0.96 (σ = 0.52) for the MLB and HLB, respectively. Budgets of total peroxy radical levels as well as of individual free radical members were constructed, which reveal interesting differences compared to studies at lower latitudes. The midlatitude part of the study region is a significant net source of ozone, while the high latitudes constitute a small net sink leading to the hypothesis that transport from the middle latitudes can explain the observed increase in ozone in the high latitudes. Radical reservoir species concentrations are modeled and compared with the observations. For most conditions, the model does a good job of reproducing the formaldehyde observations, but the peroxide observations are significantly less than steady state for this study. Photostationary state (PSS) derived total peroxy radical levels and NO/NO2ratios are compared with the measurements and the model; PSS-derived results are higher than observations or the steady state model at low NO concentrations

Re-imagining the Borders of US Security after 9/11: Securitisation, Risk, and the Creation of the Department of Homeland Security

The articulation of international and transnational terrorism as a key issue in US security policy, as a result of the 9/11 attacks, has not only led to a policy rethink, it has also included a bureaucratic shift within the US, showing a re-thinking of the role of borders within US security policy. Drawing substantively on the 'securitisation' approach to security studies, the article analyses the discourse of US security in order to examine the founding of the Department of Homeland Security, noting that its mission provides a new way of conceptualising 'borders' for US national security. The securitisation of terrorism is, therefore, not only represented by marking terrorism as a security issue, it is also solidified in the organisation of security policy-making within the US state. As such, the impact of a 'war on terror' provides an important moment for analysing the re-articulation of what security is in the US, and, in theoretical terms, for reaffirming the importance of a relationship between the production of threat and the institutionalisation of threat response. © 2007 Taylor & Francis

Antiviral Resistance and Correlates of Virologic Failure in the first Cohort of HIV-Infected Children Gaining Access to Structured Antiretroviral Therapy in Lima, Peru: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Background: The impact of extended use of ART in developing countries has been enormous. A thorough understanding of all factors contributing to the success of antiretroviral therapy is required. The current study aims to investigate the value of cross-sectional drug resistance monitoring using DNA and RNA oligonucleotide ligation assays (OLA) in treatment cohorts in low-resource settings. The study was conducted in the first cohort of children gaining access to structured ART in Peru. Methods: Between 2002–5, 46 eligible children started the standard regimen of AZT, 3TC and NFV Patients had a median age of 5.6 years (range: 0.7-14y), a median viral load of 1.7·105 RNA/ml (range: 2.1·103 – 1.2·106), and a median CD4-count of 232 cells/μL (range: 1–1591). Of these, 20 patients were classified as CDC clinical category C and 31/46 as CDC immune category 3. At the time of cross-sectional analysis in 2005, adherence questionnaires were administered. DNA OLAs and RNA OLAs were performed from frozen PBMC and plasma, RNA genotyping from dried blood spots. Results: During the first year of ART, 44% of children experienced virologic failure, with an additional 9% failing by the end of the second year. Virologic failure was significantly associated with the number of resistance mutations detected by DNA-OLA (p < 0.001) during cross-sectional analysis, but also with low immunologic CDC-scores at baseline (p < 0.001). Children who had been exposed to unsupervised short-term antiretrovirals before starting structured ART showed significantly higher numbers of resistance mutations by DNA-OLA (p = 0.01). Detection of M184V (3TC resistance) by RNA-OLA and DNA-OLA demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.93 and 0.86 and specificity of 0.67 and 0.7, respectively, for the identification of virologic failure. The RT mutations N88D and L90M (NFV resistance) detected by DNA-OLA correlated with virologic failure, whereas mutations at RT position 215 (AZT resistance) were not associated with virologic failure. Conclusions: Advanced immunosuppression at baseline and previous exposures to unsupervised brief cycles of ART significantly impaired treatment outcomes at a time when structured ART was finally introduced in his cohort. Brief maternal exposures to with AZT +/− NVP for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission did not affect treatment outcomes in this group of children. DNA-OLA from frozen PBMC provided a highly specific tool to detect archived drug resistance. RNA consensus genotyping from dried blood spots and RNA-OLA fromplasma consistently detected drug resistance mutations, but merely in association with virologic failur

Characterization of lymphocyte populations in nonspecific interstitial pneumonia*

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) has been identified as a distinct entity with a more favorable prognosis and better response to immunosuppressive therapies than usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP). However the inflammatory profile of NSIP has not been characterized. DESIGN: Using immunohistochemistry techniques on open lung biopsy specimens, the infiltrate in NSIP was characterized in terms of T and B cells, and macrophages, and the T cell population further identified as either CD4 (helper) or CD8 (suppressor-cytotoxic) T cells. The extent of Th1 and Th2 cytokine producing cells was determined and compared to specimens from patients with UIP. RESULTS: In ten NSIP tissue samples 41.4 ± 4% of mononuclear cells expressed CD3, 24.7 ± 1.8% CD4, 19.1 ± 2% CD8, 27.4 ± 3.9% CD20, and 14.3 ± 1.6% had CD68 expression. Mononuclear cells expressed INFγ 21.9 ± 1.9% of the time and IL-4 in 3.0 ± 1%. In contrast, biopsies from eight patients with UIP demonstrated substantially less cellular staining for either cytokine (INFγ; 4.6 ± 1.7% and IL-4; 0.6 ± 0.3%). Significant populations of CD20 positive B-cells were also identified. CONCLUSION: The lymphocytic infiltrate in NSIP is characterized by an elevated CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio, and is predominantly of Th1 type, with additional populations rich in B-cells. Such features are consistent with the favorable clinical course observed in patients with NSIP compared to UIP

Steady state free radical budgets and ozone photochemistry during TOPSE

A steady state model, constrained by a number of measured quantities, was used to derive peroxy radical levels for the conditions of the Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox (TOPSE) campaign. The analysis is made using data collected aboard the NCAR/NSF C‐130 aircraft from February through May 2000 at latitudes from 40° to 85°N, and at altitudes from the surface to 7.6 km. HO2 + RO2 radical concentrations were measured during the experiment, which are compared with model results over the domain of the study showing good agreement on the average. Average measurement/model ratios are 1.04 (σ = 0.73) and 0.96 (σ = 0.52) for the MLB and HLB, respectively. Budgets of total peroxy radical levels as well as of individual free radical members were constructed, which reveal interesting differences compared to studies at lower latitudes. The midlatitude part of the study region is a significant net source of ozone, while the high latitudes constitute a small net sink leading to the hypothesis that transport from the middle latitudes can explain the observed increase in ozone in the high latitudes. Radical reservoir species concentrations are modeled and compared with the observations. For most conditions, the model does a good job of reproducing the formaldehyde observations, but the peroxide observations are significantly less than steady state for this study. Photostationary state (PSS) derived total peroxy radical levels and NO/NO2 ratios are compared with the measurements and the model; PSS‐derived results are higher than observations or the steady state model at low NO concentrations

Fit for what?: towards explaining Battlegroup inaction

The thrust of this paper concerns the case of the European Battlegroup (BG) non-deployment in late 2008, when the United Nations requested European military support for the United Nations Organisation Mission peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The argument is built on the fact that when, in official documents, the EU approaches the European security and ESDP/CSDP's military crisis management policy and interventions, it makes strong references to the United Nations and the UN Charter Chapter VII's mandate of restoring international peace and security. Such references make it seem that supporting the UN when it deals with threats and crises is a primary concern of the EU and the member states. These allusions lead to the main contention of this paper, that there is much ambivalence in these indications. The paper develops its argument from one key hypothesis; namely, that the non-deployment of a European BG in the DRC, at the end of 2008, constitutes a useful case study for detecting a number of ambiguities of the EU in respect of its declarations in the official documents establishing the European military crisis management intervention structure