Quantitative analysis of secondary organic aerosol using a high-resolution mass spectral database

Organic aerosol is an important factor in the atmospheric pollution, contributing up to 90% of the total aerosol. The complex system of sources and pathways of functionalisation these compounds can undergo, lead to a large number of compounds which exist in the organic fraction. The state of this organic fraction is in flux, due to the varying contributions of sources and the oxidative aging of the air mass. A purpose-built, UPLC-MS2 method, combined with a semi-targeted automated processing software was developed to compliment large datasets required for high temporal resolution. This method was validated using previous analysis of organic aerosol from London and Birmingham. The organic fraction in Beijing, China was observed from high resolution off-line filter samples during two field campaigns during winter 2016 and summer 2017. In total 646 compounds were identified during these campaigns, of which, the nitrophenolics and organosulfates were observed to be the most important groups. Hierarchical cluster analyses were applied to these two groups to determine the most important clusters within these heteroatom groups. 43 nitrophenolics were observed in the organic aerosol and 191 organosulfates. Nitrophenolics observed by this method show very high variation in ionisation efficiency based on structural isomerism, with ionisation efficiency varying of factors up to three orders of magnitude. The most significant organosulfates are more locally sourced to the Beijing area

Ten Years in Rehabilitation of Spoil: Appearance, Plant Colonists, and the Dominant Herbivore

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Factors Affecting Species Identifications of Blow Fly Pupae Based upon Chemical Profiles and Multivariate Statistics

Alternative methods for the identification of species of blow fly pupae have been developed over the years that consist of the analyses of chemical profiles. However, the effect of biotic and abiotic factors that could influence the predictive manner for the tests have not been evaluated. The lipids of blowfly pupae (Cochliomyia macellaria, Lucilia cuprina, Lucilia sericata, and Phormia regina) were extracted in pentane, derivatized, and analyzed by total-vaporization solid phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TV-SPME GC-MS). Peak areas for 26 compounds were analyzed. Here we evaluated one biotic factor (colonization) on four species of blow flies to determine how well a model produced from lipid profiles of colonized flies predicted the species of flies of offspring of wild-caught flies and found very good species identification following 10 generations of inbreeding. When we evaluated four abiotic factors in our fly rearing protocols (temperature, humidity, pupation substrate, and diet), we found that the ability to assign the chemical profile to the correct species was greatly reduced

Cost-Consequence Analysis Alongside a Randomised Controlled Trial of Hospital Versus Telephone Follow-Up after Treatment for Endometrial Cancer

Background Regular outpatient follow-up programmes are usually offered to patients following treatment for gynaecological and other cancers. Despite the substantial resources involved in providing these programmes, there is evidence that routine follow-up programmes do not affect survival or the likelihood of detecting recurrence and may not meet patient needs. Alternative follow-up modalities may offer the same outcomes at lower cost. We examined the costs of using telephone-based routine follow-up of women treated for endometrial cancer undertaken by specialist gynaecology oncology nurses in comparison to routine hospital-based follow-up. Methods The ENDCAT trial randomised 259 women at five centres in the north west of England with a known diagnosis of Stage I endometrial cancer who had completed primary treatment on a 1:1 basis to receive either standard hospital outpatient follow-up or a telephone follow-up intervention administered by specialist nurses. A cost-consequence analysis was undertaken in which we compared costs to the health system and to individuals with the trial’s co-primary outcomes of psychological morbidity and participant satisfaction with information received. Results Psychological morbidity, psychosocial needs, patient satisfaction and quality of life did not differ between arms. Patients randomised to telephone follow-up underwent more and longer consultations. There was no difference in total health service mean per patient costs at 6 months (mean difference £8, 95% percentile confidence interval: − £147 to £141) or 12 months (mean difference: − £77, 95% percentile confidence interval: − £334 to £154). Estimated return journey costs per patient for hospital consultations were £11.47. Productivity costs were approximately twice as high under hospital follow-up. Conclusion Telephone follow-up was estimated to be cost-neutral for the NHS and may free up clinic time for other patients. There was some evidence that telephone follow-up may be more efficient for patients and wider society, and is not associated with additional psychological morbidity, lower patient satisfaction or reduced quality of life

Association Between State Policies Using Medicaid Exclusions to Sanction Noncompliance With Welfare Work Requirements and Medicaid Participation Among Low-Income Adults

Twenty states have pursued community engagement requirements (ie, work requirements) as a condition for Medicaid eligibility among adults considered able-bodied. Work requirements seek to improve health by incentivizing work, but may result in coverage losses. The impact of work requirements on Medicaid coverage may extend beyond qualifying beneficiaries, by increasing confusion around benefit rules or deterring individuals from applying for coverage. However, the spillover effects of work requirements on individuals not directly subject to them are difficult to study because these programs have only recently been implemented. To examine this possibility, we studied Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the cash welfare program enacted under welfare reform in 1996. The TANF program requires able-bodied beneficiaries to fulfill work requirements, and states can elect to terminate Medicaid benefits as a sanction for nonpregnant adult TANF participants who do not comply with them. In states adopting these sanctions, Medicaid eligibility for dual TANF-Medicaid enrollees was effectively conditional on meeting work requirements. This quasi-experimental cohort study examines whether TANF-Medicaid sanctions had spillover effects on Medicaid coverage among low-income adults who were not likely to participate in TANF and, therefore, were not directly subject to these sanctions