4,491 research outputs found
Voluntary Cleanups and Redevelopment Potential: Lessons from Baltimore, Maryland
Policy has increasingly shifted towards economic incentives and liability attenuation for promoting cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites, but little is known about the effectiveness of such policies. An example of such legislation is State Voluntary Cleanup Programs (VCPs), which were established in the US in the 1990s and to date have been implemented in almost every state. We examine Baltimore properties that participated in the Maryland VCP from its inception in 1997 to the end of 2006. Specifically, we examine what type of properties tend to participate in these programs, how these properties compare to other eligible but non-participating sites, and what is the redevelopment potential of VCP properties and implications towards open space conversion. We find that most applicants (66%) actually requested a âNo Further Action Determinationâ directly, rather than proposing cleanup. VCP properties tend to be industrial, located in industrial areas, and away from residential neighborhoods. In more recent years larger industrial properties have increasingly enrolled in the program. The majority of sites are reused as industrial or commercial. In contrast to Alberini (2007), this suggests that pressure for residential development does not drive VCP participation. Based on differences in zoning requirements, the VCP may reduce demand for potentially contaminating activities on pristine land by as much as 1,238 to 6,444 acres, in Baltimore alone.Brownfields, Contaminated Sites, Voluntary Cleanup Programs, Incentives
Light-induced dipolar spectroscopy - A quantitative comparison between LiDEER and LaserIMD
Nanometric distance measurements with EPR spectroscopy yield crucial
information on the structure and interactions of macromolecules in complex
systems. The range of suitable spin labels for such measurements was recently
expanded with a new class of light-inducible labels: the triplet state of
porphyrins. Importantly, accurate distance measurements between a triplet label
and a nitroxide have been reported with two distinct light-induced spectroscopy
techniques, (light-induced) triplet-nitroxide DEER (LiDEER) and laser-induced
magnetic dipole spectroscopy (LaserIMD). In this work, we set out to
quantitatively compare the two techniques under equivalent conditions at Q
band. Since we find that LiDEER using a rectangular pump pulse does not reach
the high modulation depth that can be achieved with LaserIMD, we further
explore the possibility of improving the LiDEER experiment with chirp inversion
pulses. LiDEER employing a broadband pump pulse results in a drastic
improvement of the modulation depth. The relative performance of chirp LiDEER
and Laser-IMD in terms of modulation-to-noise ratio is found to depend on the
dipolar evolution time: While LaserIMD yields higher modulation-to-noise ratios
than LiDEER at short dipolar evolution times ({\tau}=2 {\mu}s), the high phase
memory time of the triplet spins causes the situation to revert at {\tau}=6
{\mu}s.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures and supporting information (18 pages, 11 figures
The Benefits of Contaminated Site Cleanup Revisited: The Case of Naples and Caserta, Italy
Guerriero and Cairns (2009) recently estimate that contaminated sites and improper waste management result in 848 excess deaths per year in the provinces of Naples and Caserta in Southern Italy, 403 of which are fatal cancers. In the absence of estimates of the Value of a Prevented Fatality (VPF) in Italy or specific to the hazardous waste context, they use figures recommended by DG-Environment. Contrary to their claims, estimates of the VPF are available for Italy that are specific to the hazardous waste context, and for causes of death that have been linked to contaminated site exposures. We review them in this paper. We also produce new estimates of the cancer VPF using data from a recent survey conducted in Milan, Italy, in late November to mid-December 2008. The evidence points to much higher VPF figures than the ones used by Guerriero and Cairns, and hence to much larger estimates of the reduced mortality benefits of remediating the hazardous waste in the Naples and Caserta areas. We also examine the importance of the discount rates, since the mortality benefits of remediation begin in 20 years and are assumed to continue over 30 years.Value of a Prevented Fatality, Stated Preferences, Hazardous Waste Sites, Contaminated Sites, Cancer, Mortality Benefits, Cost-Benefit Analysis
Alien Registration- Dennis, Anna (Auburn, Androscoggin County)
https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/30611/thumbnail.jp
Temporal Taylor's scaling of facial electromyography and electrodermal activity in the course of emotional stimulation
High frequency psychophysiological data create a challenge for quantitative
modeling based on Big Data tools since they reflect the complexity of processes
taking place in human body and its responses to external events. Here we
present studies of fluctuations in facial electromyography (fEMG) and
electrodermal activity (EDA) massive time series and changes of such signals in
the course of emotional stimulation. Zygomaticus major (ZYG, "smiling" muscle)
activity, corrugator supercilii (COR, "frowning"bmuscle) activity, and phasic
skin conductance (PHSC, sweating) levels of 65 participants were recorded
during experiments that involved exposure to emotional stimuli (i.e., IAPS
images, reading and writing messages on an artificial online discussion board).
Temporal Taylor's fluctuations scaling were found when signals for various
participants and during various types of emotional events were compared. Values
of scaling exponents were close to 1, suggesting an external origin of system
dynamics and/or strong interactions between system's basic elements (e.g.,
muscle fibres). Our statistical analysis shows that the scaling exponents
enable identification of high valence and arousal levels in ZYG and COR
signals
Image data banks and geometric morphometrics
This paper examines the opportunities offered by recent
advances in digital image processing to allow access to natural history
museum collections without direct handling of specimens. It specifically refers
to two- and three-dimensional data recording and analysis in the frame of
geometric morphometrics
The Experience of Active Wheelchair Provision and Aspects of Importance Concerning the Wheelchair Among Experienced Users in Sweden
This qualitative study describes the experience of active ultra lightweight rigid frame wheelchairs (active wheelchairs) provision. Eleven interviews with experienced users showed that the wheelchair should support physical as well as social functioning, but that users experienced injustice and unfairness when negotiating their wheelchair needs and felt insecure within the system. Changes of attitudes and organization are suggested
Higher and Further Education Students' Income, Expenditure and Debt in Scotland 2007-08
This report presents findings from the second study of the income, expenditure and debt of students studying higher education (HE) and further education (FE) in Scotland in 2007-08. The study was commissioned by the Scottish Government and conducted by the Scottish Centre for Employment Research at the University of Strathclyde Business School in conjunction with colleagues from the Business School and Department of Economics of the University of Glasgow. The aim of the study is to examine Scottish-domiciled higher and further education students' finances, particularly their income, expenditure, debt and savings, and their attitudes to the financing of study in Scotland. Where appropriate this data is then compared to the findings of the previous 2004-05 Scottish survey as well as a control group of young Scots who are not students
- âŠ