Review of \u3ci\u3eRe-Dressing America’s Frontier Past\u3c/i\u3e. By Peter Boag.

Long-established notions about life on the frontier are upended in this well-researched and finely written study of gender presentation, as the author maintains that cross-dressing was “very much a part of daily life on the frontier West.” Peter Boag recognizes the diversity and complexity of this issue, and one of the book’s strengths is that he seeks no simple answer to questions of why some women dressed as men, and some men dressed as women. Most readers will be familiar with the “progress narrative”—the story of women who passed as men in order to seek gainful employment, to serve their country in the military, or simply to travel unmolested—but Boag also includes women who continued to present themselves as men long after the need to crossdress would seem to have passed. As a parallel, he explores the gender implications of men who took the less understandable course of abandoning masculine privilege in order to embrace the more difficult frontier life of a person perceived to be a woman

Review of \u3ci\u3eRe-Dressing America’s Frontier Past\u3c/i\u3e. By Peter Boag.

Long-established notions about life on the frontier are upended in this well-researched and finely written study of gender presentation, as the author maintains that cross-dressing was “very much a part of daily life on the frontier West.” Peter Boag recognizes the diversity and complexity of this issue, and one of the book’s strengths is that he seeks no simple answer to questions of why some women dressed as men, and some men dressed as women. Most readers will be familiar with the “progress narrative”—the story of women who passed as men in order to seek gainful employment, to serve their country in the military, or simply to travel unmolested—but Boag also includes women who continued to present themselves as men long after the need to crossdress would seem to have passed. As a parallel, he explores the gender implications of men who took the less understandable course of abandoning masculine privilege in order to embrace the more difficult frontier life of a person perceived to be a woman

Microalgal Biomass for Greenhouse Gas Reductions: Potential for Replacement of Fossil Fuels and Animal Feeds

Microalgal biomass production offers a number of advantages over conventional biomass production, including higher productivities, use of otherwise nonproductive land, reuse and recovery of waste nutrients, use of saline or brackish waters, and reuse of CO2 from power-plant flue gas or similar sources. Microalgal biomass production and utilization offers potential for greenhouse gas (GHG) avoidance by providing biofuel replacement of fossil fuels and carbon-neutral animal feeds. This paper presents an initial analysis of the potential for GHG avoidance using a proposed algal biomass production system coupled to recovery of flue-gas CO2 combined with waste sludge and/or animal manure utilization. A model is constructed around a 50-MW natural gas-fired electrical generation plant operating at 50% capacity as a semibase-load facility. This facility is projected to produce 216 million k·Wh/240-day season while releasing 30.3 million kg-C/season of GHG-CO2. An algal system designed to capture 70% of flue-gas CO2 would produce 42,400 metric tons (dry wt.) of algal biomass/season and requires 880 ha of high-rate algal ponds operating at a productivity of 20 g-dry-wt/m2-day. This algal biomass is assumed to be fractionated into 20% extractable algal oil, useful for biodiesel, with the 50% protein content providing animal feed replacement and 30% residual algal biomass digested to produce methane gas, providing gross GHG avoidances of 20, 8.5, and 7.8%, respectively. The total gross GHG avoidance potential of 36.3% results in a net GHG avoidance of 26.3% after accounting for 10% parasitic energy costs. Parasitic energy is required to deliver CO2 to the algal culture and to harvest and process algal biomass and algal products. At CO2 utilization efficiencies predicted to range from 60–80%, net GHG avoidances are estimated to range from 22–30%. To provide nutrients for algal growth and to ensure optimal algae digestion, importation of 53 t/day of waste paper, municipal sludge, or animal manure would be required. This analysis does not address the economics of the processes considered. Rather, the focus is directed at determination of the technical feasibility of applying integrated algal processes for fossil-fuel replacement and power-plant GHG avoidance. The technology discussed remains in early stages of development, with many important technical issues yet to be addressed. Although theoretically promising, successful integration of waste treatment processes with algal recovery of flue-gas CO2 will require pilot-scale trials and field demonstrations to more precisely define the many detailed design requirements

Energy balance of biogas production from microalgae: Effect of harvesting method, multiple raceways, scale of plant and combined heat and power generation

A previously-developed mechanistic energy balance model for production of biogas from the anaerobic digestion of microalgal biomass grown in open raceway systems was used to consider the energetic viability of a number of scenarios, and to explore some of the most critical parameters affecting net energy production. The output demonstrated that no single harvesting method of those considered (centrifugation, settlement or flocculation) produced an energy output sufficiently greater than operational energy inputs to make microalgal biogas production energetically viable. Combinations of harvesting methods could produce energy outputs 2.3–3.4 times greater than the operational energy inputs. Electrical energy to power pumps, mixers and harvesting systems was 5–8 times greater than the heating energy requirement. If the energy to power the plant is generated locally in a combined heat and power unit, a considerable amount of ‘low grade’ heat will be available that is not required by the process, and for the system to show a net operational energy return this must be exploited. It is concluded that the production of microalgal biogas may be energetically viable, but it is dependent on the effective use of the heat generated by the combustion of biogas in combined heat and power units to show an operational energy retur

Phytophthora ramorum within an Oregon tanoak forest : quantifying inoculum within canopy throughfall vs. soil splash

Phytophthora ramorum continues to cause extensive mortality of tanoaks in southwestern Oregon. Rain readily washes inoculum down through the canopy, causing new infections on the lower parts of the tree and neighboring host plants. Although this aspect of dispersal is well understood, the relative importance of infested soil and leaf litter as factors contributing to the spread of disease remain unclear. The primary objectives of this study were: (i) to compare the amount of inoculum washed down through the canopy to that splashed up from soil and litter, and (ii) to detect and quantify inoculum in relation to soil depth. Over the course of the 2014-2015 rainy season, rainwater was collected 8 times and soil sampled 3 times from within the Generally Infested Area in Brookings, Oregon. Rainwater, soil, and litter were subject to both qPCR and traditional baiting methods. P. ramorum was detected by qPCR more frequently in splash-up from the ground surface than from canopy throughfall. P. ramorum was only detected in soil twice via qPCR and was never recovered by baiting. In canopy throughfall water, qPCR also proved to be a more sensitive way to detect the pathogen than baiting with whole rhododendron leaf baits. In the Oregon tanoak forest studied, quantification of Phytophthora ramorum was not possible because inoculum levels were too low and distribution was too uneven for reliable detection with the methods employed.Keywords: real-time PCR, tanoak, inoculum, soil, canopy throughfall, Phytophthora ramoru

AUTONOMIA DA RELAÇÃO MÉDICO-PACIENTE SOB O ASPECTO DOS CUIDADOS PALIATIVOS: UM ESTUDO NOS CÓDIGOS DE CONDUTA MÉDICA DO BRASIL E PORTUGAL

A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo principal apresentar a composição do Código de Ética Médica brasileiro e do Código Deontológico Médico português e traçar um comparativo entre ambos, a partir da apresentação de dois casos médicos, amplamente divulgados na mídia, e da análise de decisões de Tribunais do Brasil e de Portugal, com ênfase na autonomia da relação médico-paciente sob o aspecto dos cuidados paliativos. A pesquisa é de natureza qualitativa, exploratória e descritiva, com utilização do método comparativo, histórico e dialético. As discussões são permeadas com análise documental e jurisprudencial, casos reais e revisão da literatura. Como resultado, verifica-se, a partir da análise dos cuidados paliativos, que a terminalidade da vida desafia o médico, capacitado para salvar vidas, independentemente de sua crença ou ideologia, seja no Brasil ou em Portugal, a um dever de cuidado e de respeito à vontade do paciente. A pesquisa também mostrou que Portugal encontra-se mais avançado que o Brasil em relação aos cuidados paliativos por ter um aparato legal constituído por Resoluções, Portarias e Despachos, em que são normatizadas questões que vão desde instalações específicas até profissionais qualificados para esse fim.Palavras-chave: Relação médico-paciente. Autonomia. Cuidados Paliativos. Estudo comparado.ABSTRACTThe main objective of this research is to present the composition of the Brazilian Medical Code of Ethics and the Portuguese Medical Code of Ethics and draw a comparison between the two, based on the presentation of medical cases widely disseminated in the media, and the analysis of decisions of Courts of Brazil and Portugal, emphasizing the autonomy of the physician-patient relationship under the palliative care aspect. The research is of a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive nature, using the comparative, historical and dialectical methods. The discussions are permeated with documentary and case law analysis, real cases and literature review. As a result, it is verified that, from the analysis of the autonomy in the palliative care, the end-of-life challenges the physicians, who are trained to save lives, regardless of their beliefs or ideologies, to a duty of care and of respect to the patient’s will, whether in Brazil or in Portugal. The research also showed that Portugal is more advanced than Brazil regarding the palliative care, since it has a legal framework composed by Resolutions, Ordinances and Clearances, which regulates questions ranging from specific facilities to professionals qualified for this purpose.Keywords: Physician-patient relationship. Autonomy. Palliative care. Comparative study

Micro-algae cultivation for biofuels: Cost, energy balance, environmental impacts and future prospects

AbstractMicro-algae have received considerable interest as a potential feedstock for producing sustainable transport fuels (biofuels). The perceived benefits provide the underpinning rationale for much of the public support directed towards micro-algae research. Here we examine three aspects of micro-algae production that will ultimately determine the future economic viability and environmental sustainability: the energy and carbon balance, environmental impacts and production cost. This analysis combines systematic review and meta-analysis with insights gained from expert workshops.We find that achieving a positive energy balance will require technological advances and highly optimised production systems. Aspects that will need to be addressed in a viable commercial system include: energy required for pumping, the embodied energy required for construction, the embodied energy in fertilizer, and the energy required for drying and de-watering. The conceptual and often incomplete nature of algae production systems investigated within the existing literature, together with limited sources of primary data for process and scale-up assumptions, highlights future uncertainties around micro-algae biofuel production. Environmental impacts from water management, carbon dioxide handling, and nutrient supply could constrain system design and implementation options. Cost estimates need to be improved and this will require empirical data on the performance of systems designed specifically to produce biofuels. Significant (>50%) cost reductions may be achieved if CO2, nutrients and water can be obtained at low cost. This is a very demanding requirement, however, and it could dramatically restrict the number of production locations available

Effects of Fluctuating Environments on the Selection of High Yielding Microalgae

Microalgae have the potential of producing biomass with a high content of lipids at high productivities using seawater or saline ground water resources. Microalgal lipids are similar to vegetable oils and suitable for processing to liquid fuels. Engineering cost analysis studies have concluded that, at a favorable site, microalgae cultivation for fuel production could be economically viable. The major uncertainties involve the microalgae themselves: biomass and lipid productivity and culture stability