Some model experiments on continental shelf waves

This paper describes some model experiments that verify the theoretical form of continental shelf waves. Both the dispersion relationship and the positions of the orbital gyres are confirmed. The existence of a maximum frequency for each mode, with a corresponding zero group velocity, may be of significance for field observations

Drones, Virtual Reality, and Modeling: Communicating Catastrophic Dam Failure

Dam failures occur worldwide and can be economically and ecologically devastating. Communicating the scale of these risks to the general public and decision-makers is imperative. Two-dimensional (2D) dam failure hydraulic models inform owners and floodplain managers of flood regimes but have limitations when shared with non-specialists. This study addresses these limitations by constructing a 3D Virtual Reality (VR) environment to display the 1976 Teton Dam disaster case study using a pipeline composed of (1) 2D hydraulic model data (extrapolated into 3D), (2) a 3D reconstructed dam, and (3) a terrain model processed from UAS (Uncrewed Airborne System) imagery using Structure from Motion photogrammetry. This study validates the VR environment pipeline on the Oculus Quest 2 VR Headset with the criteria: immersion fidelity, movement, immersive soundscape, and agreement with historical observations and terrain. Through this VR environment, we develop an effective method to share historical events and, with future work, improve hazard awareness; applications of this method could improve citizen engagement with Early Warning Systems. This paper establishes a pipeline to produce a visualization tool for merging UAS imagery, Virtual Reality, digital scene creation, and sophisticated 2D hydraulic models to communicate catastrophic flooding events from natural or human-made levees or dams

Gamma radiation survey of the LDEF spacecraft

The retrieval of the Long Duration Exposure Facility spacecraft in January 1990 after nearly six years in orbit offered a unique opportunity to study the long term buildup of induced radioactivity in the variety of materials on board. We conducted the first complete gamma-ray survey of a large spacecraft on LDEF shortly after its return to earth. A surprising observation was the Be-7 activity which was seen primarily on the leading edge of the satellite, implying that it was picked up by LDEF in orbit. This is the first known evidence for accretion of a radioactive isotope onto an orbiting spacecraft. Other isotopes observed during the survey, the strongest being Na-22, are all attributed to activation of spacecraft components. Be-7 is a spallation product of cosmic rays on nitrogen and oxygen in the upper atmosphere. However, the observed density is much greater than expected due to cosmic-ray production in situ. This implies transport of Be-7 from much lower altitudes up to the LDEF orbit

Healthy ageing and home: The perspectives of very old people in five European countries

This paper reports on in-depth research, using a grounded theory approach, to examine the ways in which very old people perceive healthy ageing in the context of living alone at home within urban settings in five European countries. This qualitative study was part of a cross-national project entitled ENABLE-AGE which examined the relationship between home and healthy ageing. Interviews explored the notion of healthy ageing, the meaning and importance of home, conceptualisations of independence and autonomy and links between healthy ageing and home. Data analysis identified five ways in which older people constructed healthy ageing: home and keeping active; managing lifestyles, health and illness; balancing social life; and balancing material and financial circumstances. Older people reflected on their everyday lives at home in terms of being engaged in purposeful, meaningful action and evaluated healthy ageing in relation to the symbolic and practical affordances of the home, contextualised within constructions of their national context. The research suggests that older people perceive healthy ageing as an active achievement, created through individual, personal effort and supported through social ties despite the health, financial and social decline associated with growing older. The physicality and spatiality of home provided the context for establishing and evaluating the notion of healthy ageing, whilst the experienced relationship between home, life history and identity created a meaningful space within which healthy ageing was negotiated

Concern About Petrochemical Health Risk Before and After a Refinery Explosion

On March 23, 2005, a large explosion at an oil refinery in Texas City, Texas caused 15 deaths and approximately 170 injuries. Little is known about how such an industrial accident influences concern about environmental health risks. We used measures of environmental health concern about nearby petrochemical production with a sample of Texas City residents to understand patterns of concern and change in concern after an industrial accident, as well as individual and contextual factors associated with those patterns. Survey interviews with residents of Texas City, Texas (N =315) both pre- and postexplosion using a brief Concern About Petrochemical Health Risk Scale (CAPHRS) and other questions were used to collect pertinent predictor information. CAPHRS baseline, postexplosion, and change scores were compared and modeled using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and a mixed model. Higher preexplosion CAPHRS scores were predicted by younger adults, foreign-born Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks, lower- and middle-income groups, and those who live with someone who has worked at the petrochemical plants. Higher CAPHRS change scores are predicted by the same variables (except income), as well as proximity to, or perception of, the explosion, and reports of neighborhood damage. Findings suggest these groups’ concern scores could indicate a greater vulnerability to psychological and physical harm generated by concern and stress arising from local petrochemical activities. A clearer understanding of concern about actual environmental health risks in exposed populations may enhance the evolving theory of stress and coping and eventually enable public health professionals to develop appropriate mitigation strategies

Reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 is associated with cytomegalovirus and age

Recent studies have shown that Cytomegalovirus (CMV) may be an emerging marker of immunosenescence. CMV can affect the immune system by directly infecting leukocytes and hematopoietic cells or by eliciting an expansion of oligoclonal CD8+ T cells/contraction of the naïve T cell compartment that may reduce the host’s ability to fight other pathogens. To investigate further CMV-associated changes in immunity, a study was conducted with 1,454 adults (ages 25–91) to determine the association between CMV and reactivation of another latent herpesvirus, Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), as indexed by antibody titers. Elevated antibody titers to latent HSV-1 were significantly associated with both CMV seropositivity and high CMV antibody levels. Evaluation by specific age groups (<45, 45–64, and 65+ years old) revealed that this association was detectable early in life (<45 years of age). Increases in HSV-1 antibodies by age occurred in CMV seropositive individuals but not CMV seronegative subjects. Within CMV seropositive subjects, increases in HSV-1 antibodies by age were only found in individuals with low CMV antibody levels as those with high CMV antibodies already exhibited elevated HSV-1 antibodies. These associations remained significant after accounting for body mass index, gender, and socioeconomic status. These results suggest that CMV can influence the immune response to another pathogen and support the concept that CMV may accelerate immunosenescence

Problem Drinking among Mexican-Americans: The Influence of Nativity and Neighborhood Context?

We examined the influence of nativity and community context (Hispanic neighborhood concentration) on two measures of problem drinking among Mexican-Americans

The socio-spatial neighborhood estimation method: An approach to operationalizing the neighborhood concept

The literature on neighborhoods and health highlights the difficulty of operationalizing "neighborhood" in a conceptually and empirically valid manner. Most studies, however, continue to define neighborhoods using less theoretically relevant boundaries, risking erroneous inferences from poor measurement. We review an innovative methodology to address this problem, called the socio-spatial neighborhood estimation method (SNEM). To estimate neighborhood boundaries, researchers used a theoretically informed combination of qualitative GIS and on-the-ground observations in Texas City, Texas. Using data from a large sample, we assessed the SNEM-generated neighborhood units by comparing intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and multi-level model parameter estimates of SNEM-based measures against those for census block groups and regular grid cells. ICCs and criterion-related validity evidence using SF-36 outcome measures indicate that the SNEM approach to operationalization could improve inferences based on neighborhoods and health research

Environmental hazards and stress: evidence from the Texas City Stress and Health Study

Substantial research has suggested that exposure to environmental health hazards, such as polluting industrial activity, has deleterious effects on psychological and physiological well-being. However, one gap in the existing literature is comparative analysis of objective and subjective exposure's relative association with various measurable outcomes of exposure

Perceived health change in the aftermath of a petrochemical accident: an examination of pre-accident, within-accident, and post-accident variables

Little research has been conducted on changes in perceived health after an industrial accident. Using data from an ongoing survey on stress and health in a petrochemical complex in Texas City, Texas, the associations of a petrochemical accident with perceived health changes were examined