A Note on Language Learning and Study Abroad

This letter from returnee Ashley Bennett explains the value of studying abroad in Austria

Impact of hydraulic fracturing on housing values in Weld County, Colorado: a hedonic analysis, The

2013 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.Oil and gas production using hydraulic fracturing has rapidly spread across the US and moved into suburban and urban neighborhoods. Proximity to residential areas has generated significant concerns by homeowners about water pollution, air pollution, aesthetics, and hence property values. However, the increase in drilling activity has generated sizable gains in local employment and a subsequent increase in demand for housing. In spite of controversies, there is almost no research evaluating whether proximity and level of drilling activity affects house prices on net. We apply the hedonic property method to a sample of 4035 housing transactions between 2009 and 2012 in Weld County, Colorado, the county at the forefront of oil and gas drilling activity in the state. Results across both the semi-log OLS and semi-log spatial GLS model specifications are consistent. While the count of wells being hydraulically fractured within a half mile of a house has a negative effect on houses in Greeley and other towns, rural households are statistically unaffected by the density of hydraulic fracturing in their immediate area. Employment in the oil and gas sector has a positive and significant effect on house prices in the full county and Greeley model specifications, but not in the rural model specifications. The overall lack of negative effect of hydraulic fracturing on housing prices in Weld County may be a result of the increase in employment associated with drilling operations potentially offsetting some of the disamenity associated with oil and gas drilling

Acupuncture’s efficacy in the treatment of psychological and somatic distress: an exploration of potential mechanisms from an attachment research perspective

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy.This thesis examines the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy in the treatment of psychological and somatic distress in the context of medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Also, it explores the role of psychological attachment and experiential avoidance in an effort to explain potential mechanisms of acupuncture’s effect. Existing literature demonstrates some level of effectiveness of acupuncture therapy for the treatment of depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms. However, a lack of experimental rigor in methodology means that existing results cannot be shown to be superior to a placebo and thus current treatment protocols for patients with MUS do not include a recommendation of acupuncture therapy. MUS are defined as any set of symptoms that cannot be explained by organic disease, these clusters of symptoms are theorised to be of psychological aetiology. Sufferers of MUS find themselves stuck in a perpetual loop of secondary care referrals with little or no treatment options being made available. Whilst there is some evidence that talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, are effective, their availability, efficacy and stigma mean they are often not desired by patients who suffer with MUS. Previous research has shown that insecure attachment predicts higher instances of, psychological and somatic distress, as well as MUS. Previous work undertaken by the author of this thesis also suggests that there may be a moderating effect of attachment in acupuncture therapy outcomes. In order to investigate acupuncture’s efficacy a double-blind randomised control trial was undertaken; 63 participants were randomised to receive either five treatments of genuine acupuncture or a non-penetrating sham form of acupuncture using the Park sham acupuncture device. A rigorous procedure ensured participant and practitioner blinding to group allocation. Primary measures of psychological (GHQ) and somatic (BSI) distress were taken at pre, post and follow-up time points (8 weeks). Secondary measures included general attachment (RQ), experiential avoidance (MEAQ) and client attachment to therapist (CATS). Results showed a significant effect of acupuncture over placebo in the reduction of both psychological (GHQ) and somatic distress (BSI). This therapeutic effect was maintained at 8-week follow-up. Further results showed moderation effects of secure attachment on somatic symptoms in the treatment group but not placebo group. Experiential avoidance also moderated somatic symptom outcomes in the treatment but not placebo group. A subsequent study utilising a quasi-experimental multi-centre methodology, which used identical measures to the previous experiment, revealed the same significant reduction of both psychological and somatic distress. This study consisted of 184 participants across five clinics, each participant receiving five sessions of acupuncture. Similar results were observed regarding moderation effects of secure attachment on treatment outcomes of somatic symptoms. Results also showed differences in moderation effects between participant with a MUS diagnosis vs. those without. Findings of both studies suggest acupuncture is an effective treatment for psychological and somatic distress, as well as MUS. The differences in attachment moderation effects between treatment and placebo may indicate acupuncture’s ability to elicit endogenous opioid release in the brain. However, further neurological studies are required to confirm this hypothesis

Electrostatic Networks and Mechanisms of ΔpH-Dependent Gating in the Human Voltage-Gated Proton Channel Hv1

The structure of the voltage-gated proton (H+) channel Hv1 is homologous to the voltage sensor domain (VSD) of tetrameric voltage-gated Na+, K+ and Ca2+ channels (VGCs), but lacks a pore domain and instead forms a homodimer. Similar to other VSD proteins, Hv1 is gated by changes in membrane potential (V), but unlike VGCs, voltage-dependent gating in Hv1 is modulated by changes in the transmembrane pH gradient (DpH = pHo - pHi). In Hv1, pHo or pHi changes shift the open probability (POPEN)-V relation by ~40 mV per pH unit. To better understand the structural basis of pHo-dependent gating in Hv1, we constructed new resting- and activated-state Hv1 VSD homology models using physical constraints determined from experimental data measured under voltage clamp and conducted all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Analyses of salt bridges and calculated pKas at conserved side chains suggests the existence of intracellular and extracellular electrostatic networks (ICEN and ECEN, respectively) that stabilize resting- or activated-state conformations of the Hv1 VSD. Structural analyses led to a novel hypothesis: two ECEN residues (E119 and D185) with coupled pKas coordinately interact with two S4 ‘gating charge’ Arg residues to modulate activated-state pHo sensitivity. Experimental data confirm that pH-dependent gating is compromised at acidic pHo in Hv1 E119A-D185A mutants, indicating that specific ECEN residue interactions are critical components of the ∆pH-dependent gating mechanism. E119 and D185 are known to participate in extracellular Zn2+ coordination, suggesting that H+ and Zn2+ utilize similar mechanisms to allosterically modulate the activated/resting state equilibrium in Hv1

What risks in whose risk society?

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University.The thesis discusses the mediating role of socioeconomic factors in risk debates through an examination of the decontamination and demolition of Fulham Power Station in 1983-1984. The power station was built between the wars by and for the people of Fulham. Located on the Thames in the neighbourhood of Sands End, it generated electricity and provided employment until 1978, when it was sold to a property development company. During the decontamination, a quantity of asbestos was released into the environment. A protest group was formed to secure better standards of work at the site. The group never had more than a dozen active members. All the members were middle-class. At the time of the decontamination and demolition, Sands End was a poor neighbourhood. A majority of the local population faced many 'social' as well as environmental hazards. Amongst these were sub-standard housing, unemployment, under-employment, low wages, inadequate work and educational skills and crime. The thesis discusses whether the neighbourhood's socioeconomic problems had any bearing on the character and dynamics of the power station debate. It suggests that the social geography and economic status of Sands End had two major effects on the debate. Firstly, gentrification provided the neighbourhood with a (small) middle-class constituency receptive to issues of environmental risk, such as the long-term health implications of airborne asbestos dust. Secondly, the neighbourhood's pressing social and economic problems mitigated against a wider involvement in the campaign. Most residents were too preoccupied with meeting their social and economic needs to become actively involved. The thesis also suggests that the population's experience of Fulham Power Station as a source of 'convenient' electrical power, employment and civic pride may have made it difficult for those native to Sands End to accept the activists' construction of the power station as a source of danger.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Social Workers\u27 Knowledge and Experience Working with Mixed Race Youth and Families

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of social workers’ knowledge and experience in working with mixed race youth and families. The literature review suggested that biracial and multiracial individuals struggle with identity issues, along with several barriers that affect their interactions with social workers, and the social workers’ abilities to provide services for mixed race clients. The literature review also discussed the public\u27s perception of social workers in dealing with minorities, most of which included the notion that social workers are biased. The literature review also discussed the use of technology in child welfare, and inaccuracies that can occur when utilizing a technological database. The study used a qualitative, exploratory design. The data was obtained from face-to-face interviews with 15 social worker participants who have worked with mixed race families in some capacity. The participants were current employees of a child welfare agency for a California county. The interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide designed by the researchers. The researchers found that social workers\u27 knowledge and experience in working with mixed race youth and family can be summarized in three themes: professional responsibility to mixed race clients, divergent approaches to identifying race and ethnicity, and challenges in documenting information within the database. Based on these findings, the researchers suggest implications for social work practice, policy, and research. The researchers recommend enhanced trainings in practice for cultural sensitivity, awareness, and humility, and updates in the database including the addition of multiracial and biracial categories. These changes have the potential to improve services for and research on mixed race youth and families in child welfare

Reduction of Moderate Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Adults through Community Based Intervention Programs

Per the American Heart Association (AHA) 2016, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 2016, most recent reports, cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of death nationally and globally. In the United States (U.S.), more than 600,000 adults die each ear of heart disease (CDC, 2015). The economic burden that cardiovascular disease places on society is tremendous. In the U.S. alone, the estimated direct and overall cost resulting from CVD is reported to be between 273 billion and 444 billion dollars annually (CDC/MMWR, 2011; WHO, 2016). Because of estimations like these, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services\u27 Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (OCPHP) has urged health care providers to improve cardiovascular health and quality of life through it\u27s Healthy People 2020 campaign initiative (HealthyPeople.gov, 2017). Studies have shown that one of the most effective ways to decrease risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease is through making modification to one\u27s behavior and lifestyle. In fact, the most prevalent risk factors for developing CVD are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, poor diet, obesity, and smoking. All of which are modifiable. They can be prevented, and treated with education, behavioral modifications, and, or medications. A well proven, effective, and relatively low-cost way of achieving this is through participation in community based intervention programs aimed at reducing these modifiable risk factors. The following literature review seeks to answer the questions, among the adult population, what types of community-based interventions have shown the greatest achievements in reducing modifiable, moderate cardiovascular disease risk factors

Educational change and self-governing agreements: a Yukon first nation case study

More recent developments in Canada's Yukon Territory draw attention to how political changes have potential for accelerating practices in education that are responsive to Indigenous People's cultural knowledge systems and practices. In contrast to other provincial jurisdictions across Canada, treaties were historically never negotiated in the Yukon. Over the past three decades the Governments of both Canada and the Yukon have moved towards actualizing policy developments with YFNs (Yukon First Nations), called Self-Government Agreements (SGAs). The SGAs have come to finalization within the last decade and set out the powers of the First Nation government to govern itself, its citizens and its land. Self-government agreements provide self-governing First Nations (SGFNs) with law-making authority in specific areas of First Nation jurisdiction, including education. With the establishment of SGFNs, each FN, with the required co-operation of Yukon Education (YE), faces the challenge of reversing assimilation and regaining a sense of identity especially within the processes that influence the education of their children, especially at the school and, more specifically, classroom level. Although this reversal draws into question the need for changes in the content or what of classrooms, it moves beyond this to reconsider the how and why of classrooms. This paper draws from a variety of data including the accounts of key stakeholders (First Nation Chief, Elders, parents, students and Education Manager; Local Teachers and Principal; Government Leader and Curriculum Director) in describing the processes contributing to this change and the tensions that remain, ultimately at the classroom level

Hydrator Therapies for Chronic Bronchitis. Lessons from Cystic Fibrosis

Patients with the chronic bronchitis form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cystic fibrosis share similar clinical features, including mucus obstruction of airways and the development of chronic/recurrent airways infections that often manifest as disease exacerbations. There is growing evidence that these diseases may have parallels in disease pathogenesis as well, including cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator dysfunction, mucus dehydration, and defective mucociliary clearance. As progress is made in the development of therapies that target the basic defects that lead to cystic fibrosis lung disease, it is possible that similar approaches could also benefit patients with chronic bronchitis. A deeper understanding of how tobacco smoke and other triggers of chronic bronchitis actually lead to disease, and exploration of the concept that therapies that restore cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator function, mucus hydration, and/or mucociliary clearance may benefit patients with chronic bronchitis, hold the prospect of significant progress in treating this prevalent disease

On the dimension of subspaces with bounded Schmidt rank

We consider the question of how large a subspace of a given bipartite quantum system can be when the subspace contains only highly entangled states. This is motivated in part by results of Hayden et al., which show that in large d x d--dimensional systems there exist random subspaces of dimension almost d^2, all of whose states have entropy of entanglement at least log d - O(1). It is also related to results due to Parthasarathy on the dimension of completely entangled subspaces, which have connections with the construction of unextendible product bases. Here we take as entanglement measure the Schmidt rank, and determine, for every pair of local dimensions dA and dB, and every r, the largest dimension of a subspace consisting only of entangled states of Schmidt rank r or larger. This exact answer is a significant improvement on the best bounds that can be obtained using random subspace techniques. We also determine the converse: the largest dimension of a subspace with an upper bound on the Schmidt rank. Finally, we discuss the question of subspaces containing only states with Schmidt equal to r.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX4 forma