The Effectiveness of Anti-Smoking Campaigns over the Life-Cycle and the Role of Information

Our study documents the effectiveness of anti-smoking campaigns on various age groups and attempts to shed some light on the mechanism by which community interventions operate and affect smokers. We re-examine evidence from a large scale National Cancer Institute community-wide intervention study entitled `The Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation' (COMMIT). Our empirical results show that this intervention has differential effects on the quit rates of smokers. This variation has not been observed in the earlier literature on anti-smoking campaigns and was not noticed by previous studies using the COMMIT data. The quit rates in the intervention group are found to be significantly higher for individuals aged 30 to 37 and those aged 60 and up, but lower for those younger than 30. The various channels of the COMMIT study were developed to create an awareness and recognition that smoking is a public health problem, and to change the social acceptability of smoking. In light of the age variation uncovered, we argue that the public information channel may play a crucial role in affecting change. In particular, public awareness about the negative health consequences of smoking is likely to be responsible for the increased quits among older smokers in the treatment group.Anti-Smoking Campaigns, Smoking, Tobacco, Tobacco Control

Hydrothermal Pre-Treatment Process of Phosphogypsum for Enhanced Rare Earths Recovery

Phosphogypsum (PG) is an industrial waste of phosphoric acid (H3PO4) production from phosphate ore by sulphuric acid (H2SO4) digestion, commonly known as the “wet acid” process. Phosphate rock often contains some valuable rare earth elements (REE) and it is well-established that from 70% to 85% of REE originally present in the phosphate rock end up in the PG, with an average REE content of ~0.4 wt. % [1-4]. PG is considered to be an attractive secondary resource of REE. However, processes available currently for REE recovery are often very expensive, sometimes impractical, and in other cases are characterised by highly variable and low overall REE recoveries due to the complexity of the REE association within the PG structure [5]. Mintek developed a novel hydrothermal process which modifies the microstructure of PG and release entrapped REE phases as shown in Figure 1 for subsequent leaching/recovery. Modification of the PG structure resulted in an increase of REE recovery from 5% (m/m) to 80% (m/m). This process was verified on various PG samples and carries a potential to unlock substantial REE value associated with the enormous size of PG stockpiles globally. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Guitner, John-Lydia-Alma – The Guitner Family

https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/archives_spirit/1003/thumbnail.jp

Sociocultural Impact of Reservoirs on Local Government Institutions

This study of the probable sociocultural impact of a proposed reservoir in central Kentucky on the institutions of local governments of a community adjacent to the reservoir utilizes anthropological concepts of social values and cultural and social change as well as anthropological research techniques. Data on observed impact on the same institutions in communities adjacent to two recently completed Kentucky reservoirs permit inferences as to probable directions and extent of reservoir-related change. Specific aspects of impact considered include: effects of reduction of the county tax base due to Federal acquisition of lands, including necessity for increased severity of taxes and changes in assessments, problems related to effective planning and zoning, potential benefits from development or expansion of city and county potable water supply, effects of reservoir caused highway relocation on county roads and county road maintenance, and effects of reservoir-created tourism patterns on local law enforcement. The overall purpose of the study is to recommend to the agency (Corps of Engineers) that is causing massive environmental change through creation of a manmade lake, improvements in policies and procedures that will increase sociocultural benefits and decrease sociocultural costs

Nighttime driver needs: an analysis of sign usage based on luminance

The need to see traffic signs at night has led to the development of increasingly brighter retroreflective sign sheeting. The impact of this increased brightness has been shown to increase the legibility distance of the sign, but at what cost? With brighter signs being visible from farther away, there is an increased opportunity for the driver to look at the sign. This thesis assesses the impact of sign brightness on the nighttime driverâÂÂs sign viewing behavior; such as the number of glances and the total glance duration directed at the sign. Eye-tracking technology has been used to follow the nighttime driverâÂÂs eye movements through tasks based on sign usage. The six signs used for the analysis are classified in three relative brightness categories of bright, medium, and dim on a closed course and on a public road. Data relating to the beginning and end of each glance were recorded as well as the distance at which the sign became legible to the driver. Comparisons were made between the three brightness levels for the number of glances, total glance duration, and legibility distance of the sign. Further analysis was conducted to determine the effect of the testing environment on a driverâÂÂs sign viewing behavior by comparing the results from the closed course with those from the open road. The data for this thesis show varying results between the two courses with more defined differences based on luminance for the open road. The results of this thesis indicate that drivers do not consistently change the number of times they look at a sign or the amount of time dedicated to a sign based on its brightness. During real world driving scenarios, the brightest sign resulted in the longest legibility distance and the lowest total glance duration, indicating an increased efficiency reading the sign by the driver. Typically, a sign with a longer total glance duration had a shorter legibility distance. Comparisons between the closed and open courses revealed that open road driving resulted in a longer total glance duration and a shorter legibility distance

Aluminum-copper-nickel alloy as a possible substitute for alpha brass for use in cartridge cases.

The present tendency toward reduction of armaments in general and reduction in size of men-of -war in particular keeps the Navy Department constantly on the lookout for improvements which will cause an increase in battle-worthiness of the vessels it is allowed.http://www.archive.org/details/aluminumcopperni00rookLieutenant (j.g.), United States Nav