OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF WATER LEASING: IRRIGATION, INSTREAM FLOW, AND WETLAND CONSIDERATIONS IN THE LARAMIE BASIN, WYOMING

Flood irrigation in the Laramie Basin of southeast Wyoming has created many wetlands that rely directly on irrigation inputs for water. The Laramie Basin is a proposed water source for enhancing Platte River instream flows, to the benefit of endangered cranes, terns, plovers, and sturgeons. Increasing irrigation efficiency, or retiring irrigated lands would transform Laramie Basin agriculture and cause a high fraction of the Basins wetlands to be lost. This study explores the limitations of traditional water transfer tools when regional instream-flow requirements compete for water with local irrigation-dependent wetlands. A rotating short-term water lease program is proposed. The program would allow Laramie Basin producers to contribute to instream flow without causing permanent wetland damage or loss. Short-term water leasing programs could allow agricultural communities to contribute to regional environmental water needs without sacrificing local, agriculturally-based ecological resources. An estimate of minimum water costs, advantages and disadvantages of short-term water leasing are discussed.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Assessment of cataract surgical outcomes in settings where follow-up is poor: PRECOG, a multicentre observational study

Background Poor follow-up after cataract surgery in developing countries makes assessment of operative quality uncertain. We aimed to assess two strategies to measure visual outcome: recording the visual acuity of all patients 3 or fewer days postoperatively (early postoperative assessment), and recording that of only those patients who returned for the fi nal follow-up examination after 40 or more days without additional prompting. Methods Each of 40 centres in ten countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America recruited 40–120 consecutive surgical cataract patients. Operative-eye best-corrected visual acuity and uncorrected visual acuity were recorded before surgery, 3 or fewer days postoperatively, and 40 or more days postoperatively. Clinics logged whether each patient had returned for the fi nal follow-up examination without additional prompting, had to be actively encouraged to return, or had to be examined at home. Visual outcome for each centre was defi ned as the proportion of patients with uncorrected visual acuity of 6/18 or better minus the proportion with uncorrected visual acuity of 6/60 or worse, and was calculated for each participating hospital with results from the early assessment of all patients and the late assessment of only those returning unprompted, with results from the fi nal follow-up assessment for all patients used as the standard. Findings Of 3708 participants, 3441 (93%) had fi nal follow-up vision data recorded 40 or more days after surgery, 1831 of whom (51% of the 3581 total participants for whom mode of follow-up was recorded) had returned to the clinic without additional prompting. Visual outcome by hospital from early postoperative and fi nal follow-up assessment for all patients were highly correlated (Spearman’s rs=0·74, p<0·0001). Visual outcome from fi nal followup assessment for all patients and for only those who returned without additional prompting were also highly correlated (rs=0·86, p<0·0001), even for the 17 hospitals with unprompted return rates of less than 50% (rs=0·71, p=0·002). When we divided hospitals into top 25%, middle 50%, and bottom 25% by visual outcome, classifi cation based on fi nal follow-up assessment for all patients was the same as that based on early postoperative assessment for 27 (68%) of 40 centres, and the same as that based on data from patients who returned without additional prompting in 31 (84%) of 37 centres. Use of glasses to optimise vision at the time of the early and late examinations did not further improve the correlations. Interpretation Early vision assessment for all patients and follow-up assessment only for patients who return to the clinic without prompting are valid measures of operative quality in settings where follow-up is poor

Phase 1/2 Dose Escalating Study of Twice-Monthly Pemetrexed and Gemcitabine in Patients with Advanced Cancer and Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

IntroductionPemetrexed is synergistic with gemcitabine in preclinical models of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The optimal dose and utility of gemcitabine and pemetrexed was evaluated in a dose-escalating study.MethodsThe phase 1 study included patients with advanced tumors, whereas the phase 2 study included patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC. Gemcitabine was infused over 30 minutes, followed by pemetrexed administered over 10 minutes on day 1 of a 14-day cycle. Treatment continued for 12 cycles or until disease progression. All patients received folic acid, Vitamin B12, and steroid prophylaxis.ResultsMaximum tolerated dose was gemcitabine 1500 mg/m2, followed by pemetrexed 500 mg/m2. Fifty-three patients (29 male, 24 female) were enrolled in the phase 2 study. Response rate was 20.8% (95% CI: 0.108–0.341), and the clinical benefit rate (CR + PR + SD) was 64.2%. Median time to disease progression was 4.6 months (95% CI: 2.79–6.18), median survival was 10.1 month (95% CI: 5.95–14.09, censorship = 20.75%), and 1-year survival was 41.0%. Common grade 3 or 4 adverse events (% of patients) were neutropenia (28.3%), fatigue (22.6%), and febrile neutropenia (9.4%).ConclusionsTwice-monthly gemcitabine and pemetrexed was well tolerated, with overall survival and clinical benefit indicating disease activity in NSCLC patients

Cognitive ability, parental socioeconomic position and internalising and externalising problems in adolescence: Findings from two European cohort studies

We investigated whether cognitive ability (CA) may be a moderator of the relationship of parental socioeconomic position (SEP) with internalising and externalising problems in adolescents. We used data from two longitudinal cohort studies; the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS). Indicators of SEP were mother’s education and household income. CA was estimated with IQ scores, derived from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Internalising and externalising problems were measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in ALSPAC and with the Child Behavior Checklist in TRAILS. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the relative index of inequality (RII) for each outcome; the RII provides the odds ratio comparing the most to least deprived for each measure of SEP. In fully adjusted models an association of mother’s education with externalising problems was observed [ALSPAC RII 1.42 (95%CI: 1.01–1.99); TRAILS RII 2.21 (95%CI: 1.37–3.54)], and of household income with internalising and externalising problems [pooled ALSPAC & TRAILS internalising RII 1.30 (95%CI: 0.99–1.71); pooled ALSPAC & TRAILS externalising RII 1.38 (95%CI: 1.03–1.84)]. No consistent associations were observed between mother’s education and internalising problems. Results of stratified analyses and interaction-terms showed no evidence that CA moderated the association of SEP with internalising or externalising problems

Atmospheric sources of trace element contamination in cultivated urban areas: A review

Producing food in cities has garnered increasing attention over the past decade. Although there are ecological and social benefits, cultivated urban areas (CUAs) also bear contamination hazards, including from trace elements (TEs). Trace element contamination has been studied extensively in CUAs, but atmospheric sources remain understudied and poorly understood. A brief discussion is offered on atmospheric particulate deposition processes in cities and their implications for urban food production. Available findings are discussed and contrasted. Existing research assesses atmospheric deposition indirectly or otherwise lacks controls for other TE contaminants. There is little to no engagement with methodological guidelines from the atmospheric sciences, which reduces confidence in the findings so far attained. Suggestions are delineated to combine techniques used in the atmospheric sciences with the robust methodologies already generated by studies on TE contamination in CUAs, such as isotope and TE ratios analyses

OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF WATER LEASING: IRRIGATION, INSTREAM FLOW, AND WETLAND CONSIDERATIONS IN THE LARAMIE BASIN, WYOMING

Flood irrigation in the Laramie Basin of southeast Wyoming has created many wetlands that rely directly on irrigation inputs for water. The Laramie Basin is a proposed water source for enhancing Platte River instream flows, to the benefit of endangered cranes, terns, plovers, and sturgeons. Increasing irrigation efficiency, or retiring irrigated lands would transform Laramie Basin agriculture and cause a high fraction of the Basin's wetlands to be lost. This study explores the limitations of traditional water transfer tools when regional instream-flow requirements compete for water with local irrigation-dependent wetlands. A rotating short-term water lease program is proposed. The program would allow Laramie Basin producers to contribute to instream flow without causing permanent wetland damage or loss. Short-term water leasing programs could allow agricultural communities to contribute to regional environmental water needs without sacrificing local, agriculturally-based ecological resources. An estimate of minimum water costs, advantages and disadvantages of short-term water leasing are discussed

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy. A case with unusual skin involvement and a therapeutic response to vinblastine‐loaded platelets

A patient with sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy had unusual skin lesions and progressive internal involvement. Both aspects responded dramatically to the administration of vinblastine‐loaded platelets. Vinblastine‐loaded, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura antibody‐coated platelets are a rationale therapy for a disease characterized by the presence of actively phagocytosing histiocytes