Dynamic modelling of acidification of Norwegian surface waters

Årsliste 2008In 2006 and November 2007, the Coordination Centre for Effects (CCE) under the UNECE LRTAP Convention issued calls for data on results from dynamic models to soils and surface waters given specified future scenarios of sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) deposition. Submitted data from Norway is summarized here. 1007 lakes sampled in 1995 were modelled using the MAGIC model. The results were then matched to 2304 grid squares in the critical load grid for Norway. The past, present and future deposition (CLE=current legislation, i.e. Gothenburg protocol, and MFR=maximum feasible reduction) were specified by the CCE for each EMEP grid square. The results showed that the increasing trend in acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) in surface waters observed since 1990 will continue slightly through 2020. Many lakes in southernmost Norway will continue to be acidified (critical load exceeded) unless deposition of S and N is reduced substantially below requirements of the Gothenburg protocol. Under the MFR scenario, ANC can increase in most lakes throughout the country. Many lakes in Finnmark in northernmost Norway will experience reacidification due to projected increases in S and N deposition.Statens Forurensningstilsyn

Facilitating the Voice of Adolescents in Hospitals Through Art: A Case Report

Adolescence can be a challenging time, but even more so when diagnosed with a serious or chronic illness. Starlight Children's Foundation established the Livewire program after recognizing the unique needs of adolescents in hospitals. This article describes our experience of implementing an art-based project within the Livewire program, designed to facilitate the voice of adolescents with a serious or chronic illness and their siblings. We invited young people across Australia to contribute their artwork which would be used as the design for a deck of playing cards. The final 54 cards were a creative reflection of the unique interests, personalities, and experiences of 45 young people. In this article, we also share the experiences of two young people who contributed to this project. We conclude with our learnings in delivering an art-based project for young people that is not presented directly as “therapy”

Correlating pharmaceutical data with a national health survey as a proxy for estimating rural population health

Background: Chronic disease accounts for nearly three-quarters of US deaths, yet prevalence rates are not consistently reported at the state level and are not available at the sub-state level. This makes it difficult to assess trends in prevalence and impossible to measure sub-state differences. Such county-level differences could inform and direct the delivery of health services to those with the greatest need. Methods: We used a database of prescription drugs filled in the US as a proxy for nationwide, county-level prevalence of three top causes of death: heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. We tested whether prescription data are statistically valid proxy measures for prevalence, using the correlation between prescriptions filled at the state level and comparable Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. We further tested for statistically significant national geographic patterns. Results: Fourteen correlations were tested for years in which the BRFSS questions were asked (1999-2003), and all were statistically significant. The correlations at the state level ranged from a low of 0.41 (stroke, 1999) to a high of 0.73 (heart disease, 2003). We also mapped self-reported chronic illnesses along with prescription rates associated with those illnesses. Conclusions: County prescription drug rates were shown to be valid measures of sub-state estimates of diagnosed prevalence and could be used to target health resources to counties in need. This methodology could be particularly helpful to rural areas whose prevalence rates cannot be estimated using national surveys. While there are no spatial statistically significant patterns nationally, there are significant variations within states that suggest unmet health needs

“I didn’t know that…” patient perceptions of print information, education, and communication related to HIV/AIDS treatment

Improving health literacy is a necessary intervention for people with chronic health conditions to ensure adherence with long or life therapies and increase participation in self-care.  While adherence is a multifactorial process, increasing health literacy among HIV-infected patients at all stages of living with HIV has been shown to improve treatment outcomes. In the era of rapid scale up of HIV care and treatment, little has been done to evaluate the utility of IEC materials for increasing patient health literacy and how patients perceive such materials. Four patient-oriented print IEC brochures in Swahili were designed to be read at the clinic waiting areas and also carried home by patients to supplement the knowledge received from routine counseling during clinic visits. Brochures detail antiretroviral therapy and address common myths, side effects, types and management of opportunistic infections, and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. We conducted focus group discussions with HIV-infected patients to explore patient perceptions of IEC materials in the urban congested HIV care setting of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  Groups of participants were recruited from eight public PEPFAR-supported HIV care and treatment centers in the city (N=50).  In this paper we present the results of those focus group discussions and introduce the print IEC materials as a pilot intervention in a Swahili-speaking setting where a need for additional health literacy exists.  Further evaluation of these materials will follow as the data becomes available

The Potential of Bison Restoration as an Ecological Approach to Future Tribal Food Sovereignty on the Northern Great Plains

Future climate projections of warming, drying, and increased weather variability indicate that conventional agricultural and production practices within the Northern Great Plains (NGP) will become less sustainable, both ecologically and economically. As a result, the livelihoods of people that rely on these lands will be adversely impacted. This is especially true for Native American communities, who were relegated to reservations where the land is often vast but marginal and non-tribal operators have an outsized role in food production. In addition, NGP lands are expected to warm and dry disproportionately relative to the rest of the United States. It is therefore critical to identify models of sustainable land management that can improve ecological function and socio-economic outcomes for NGP communities, all while increasing resilience to a rapidly changing climate. Efforts led by Native American Nations to restore North American Plains bison (Bison bison bison) to tribal lands can bring desired socio-ecological benefits to underserved communities while improving their capacity to influence the health of their lands, their people, and their livelihoods. Ecological sustainability will depend on the restoration of bison herds and bison’s ability to serve as ecosystem engineers of North America’s Plains. The historically broad distribution of bison suggests they can adapt to a variety of conditions, making them resilient to a wide range of management systems and climates. Here we review bison’s ecological, cultural, and economic value using four case studies from tribal communities within the NGP. We discuss the potential contributions of bison to food sovereignty, sustainable economies, and conservation of a working landscape with limited protections and significant risk of conversion. The ecological role of bison within this setting has potential due to cultural acceptance and the vast availability of suitable lands; however, it is critical to address tribal needs for funding support, enhanced community capacity, and solving complex landownership for these goals to be achieved

Suggestive points on feeding for egg production

Published November 1924. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

Suggestive points on hatching and feeding chicks

Published June 1922. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

Radiative association and inverse predissociation of oxygen atoms

The formation of \mbox{O}_2 by radiative association and by inverse predissociation of ground state oxygen atoms is studied using quantum-mechanical methods. Cross sections, emission spectra, and rate coefficients are presented and compared with prior experimental and theoretical results. At temperatures below 1000~K radiative association occurs by approach along the $1\,{}^3\Pi_u$ state of \mbox{O}_2 and above 1000~K inverse predissociation through the \mbox{B}\,{}^3\Sigma_u^- state is the dominant mechanism. This conclusion is supported by a quantitative comparison between the calculations and data obtained from hot oxygen plasma spectroscopy.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. A (Sept. 7., 1994), 19 pages, 4 figures, latex (revtex3.0 and epsf.sty

Turkey chat

Published April 1938. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

The Far Ultraviolet Spectral Signatures of Formaldehyde and Carbon Dioxide in Comets

Observations of four comets made with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer show the rotational envelope of the (0,0) band of the CO Hopfield-Birge system (C - X) at 1088 A to consist of both "cold" and "hot" components, the "cold" component accounting for ~75% of the flux and with a rotational temperature in the range 55-75 K. We identify the "hot" component as coming from the dissociation of CO2 into rotationally "hot" CO, with electron impact dissociation probably dominant over photodissociation near the nucleus. An additional weak, broad satellite band is seen centered near the position of the P(40) line that we attribute to CO fluorescence from a non-thermal high J rotational population produced by photodissociation of formaldehyde into CO and H2. This process also leaves the H2 preferentially populated in excited vibrational levels which are identified by fluorescent H2 lines in the spectrum excited by solar OVI 1031.9 and solar Lyman-alpha. The amount of H2 produced by H2CO dissociation is comparable to the amount produced by photodissociation of H2O. Electron impact excitation of CO, rather than resonance fluorescence, appears to be the primary source of the observed (B - X) (0,0) band at 1151 A.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa