The Fixation of Atmospheric Nitrogen

Much has been accomplished in the last few years toward the conservation of natural resources, and in this work the engineer has taken a leading part. The prevention of unnecessary waste, the utilization of hitherto useless by-products, and the economic production of the world's necessities are important features of this work. It is the latter phase with which this subject deals. A large percentage of the world's commercial fertilizer comes from the immense beds found in the Atacama Desert, in Chile. But as the demand for Chili Saltpeter is increasing rapidly from year to year, scientists are already beginning to look around for another source of supply when these fields fail. The following paper will be divided into three parts; First, a discussion of the theory and economic principles Second, a resume of the current literature on the subject. Third, the construction and tests of a chamber patented after the Thomas and Barry Process

2001-2002 North American Music Festival - Youth Concert

Program Shyscrapers (World Premiere) / Gregory J. Hutter A Haunted Landscape / George Crumb The Rite of Spring / Igor Stravinsky North American Music Festival April 10, 2002 - Chamber Music Concert April 12, 2002 - Music of George Crumb (*No program) April 13, 2002 - Lynn University Philharmonia April 14, 2002 - Youth Concert Composers performed in the festival George Crumb Warren Gooch Gregory J. Hunter Timothy Melbinger Kurt Sander Greg A. Steinkehttps://spiral.lynn.edu/conservatory_otherseasonalconcerts/1098/thumbnail.jp

Data-model comparison of soil–water δ 18 O at a temperate site in N. Spain with implications for interpreting speleothem δ 18 O

An understanding of how seasonal and longer-term d18O signals in meteoric precipitation (d18Op) are modified by percolation through soils is essential to link temporal changes in speleothem d18O to surface climatic conditions. This study focuses on modifications that occur in a relatively thick soil above a temperate cave site (La Garma, N. Spain). Monthly soil-water d18O (d18Osw) values at a depth of 60 cm through the year is only 14% of the range in d18Op, implying substantial homogenisation and attenuation of seasonal signals. A striking feature is that d18Osw values at 60 cm depth are lowest in summer and highest in winter, the opposite (anti-phase) to that observed in rainfall. Soil-water residence times of up to circa 6 months in the upper 60 cm of soil, and a matrix flow, piston-type infiltration behaviour with mixing is inferred. Evaporative effects on recovered soil-water d18O are minimal at this wet temperate site, in contrast with published results from arid and semi-arid sites. A soil-water model is presented to estimate monthly d18Osw as a function of air temperature and d18Op, incorporating effects such as variations in the amount of infiltrated water, changes in the ratio between evaporation and transpiration, mixing with antecedent soil moisture and small enrichments in 18O linked to evaporation and summer moisture deficits. Our model reproduces the observed d18Osw results, and produces d18Osw outputs in excellent agreement with d18O data for two monitored drip-water sites at La Garma cave that exhibit seasonal d18O variability. We conclude that simple evapotranspiration models that permit infiltration during months that have a positive hydrological balance only tend to under-estimate summer rainfall contributions. Overall, the study provides an improved framework for predicting d18Osw trends at temperate sites such as La Garma that have a relatively thick soil cover, as well as for understanding seasonal ranges and trends in d18O in cave drip-sites

Sensitization in Transplantation: Assessment of Risk (STAR) 2017 Working Group Meeting Report

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144684/1/ajt14752_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144684/2/ajt14752.pd

Support for e-cigarette regulations among Australian young adults

Background: Surveying support for various regulatory options relating to e-cigarettes can assist policymakers to identify those that have broad support and are therefore likely to be easier to implement. However, data on support for potential e-cigarette regulations in Australia are limited. To inform regulatory efforts, the present study assessed attitudes to the regulation of e-cigarettes among Australian young adults, the most prevalent users of e-cigarettes and therefore the most likely population segment to be affected by e-cigarette regulations. Methods: A total of 1116 Australians aged 18 to 25 years (59% female) completed an online survey where they were presented with various statements relating to the regulation of e-cigarettes and asked to report on the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with each. Statements presented either a restrictive or non-restrictive approach to e-cigarette regulation. Results: Across all statements, 10-22% of respondents responded "don't know" while 23-35% neither agreed nor disagreed, indicating general ambivalence. There was a moderate level of support (33-37%) for regulating e-cigarette sales/use and treating e-cigarettes like tobacco products. Only 20% of respondents were in favour of allowing the use of e-cigarettes in smoke-free areas. Smokers, e-cigarette users, and those who did not believe in the harms associated with e-cigarettes were typically less likely than other respondents to support restrictive approaches. Conclusions: The young Australian adults surveyed were somewhat supportive of restrictions around the sale and use of e-cigarettes, but generally opposed outright bans and any need for a prescription from a medical practitioner. Increasing awareness of the harms associated with the use of e-cigarettes represents a potential strategy to gaining regulatory support

Psychological approaches to understanding and promoting recovery in psychosis and bipolar disorder:a mixed-methods approach

BackgroundRecovery in mental health is a relatively new concept, but it is becoming more accepted that people can recover from psychosis. Recovery-orientated services are recommended for adult mental health, but with little evidence base to support this. ObjectivesTo facilitate understanding and promotion of recovery in psychosis and bipolar disorder (BD), in a manner that is empowering and acceptable to service users. MethodThere were six linked projects using qualitative and quantitative methodologies: (1) developing and piloting a service user-defined measure of recovery; (2) a Delphi study to determine levels of consensus around the concept of recovery; (3) examination of the psychological factors associated with recovery and how these fluctuate over time; (4) development and evaluation of cognitive–behavioural approaches to guided self-help including a patient preference trial (PPT); (5) development and evaluation of cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) for understanding and preventing suicide in psychosis including a randomised controlled trial (RCT); and (6) development and evaluation of a cognitive–behavioural approach to recovery in recent onset BD, including a RCT of recovery-focused cognitive–behavioural therapy (RfCBT). Service user involvement was central to the programme. ResultsMeasurement of service user-defined recovery from psychosis (using the Subjective Experience of Psychosis Scale) and BD (using the Bipolar Recovery Questionnaire) was shown to be feasible and valid. The consensus study revealed a high level of agreement among service users for defining recovery, factors that help or hinder recovery and items which demonstrate recovery. Negative emotions, self-esteem and hope predicted recovery judgements, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, whereas positive symptoms had an indirect effect. In the PPT, 89 participants entered the study, three were randomised, 57 were retained in the trial until 15-month follow-up (64%). At follow-up there was no overall treatment effect on the primary outcome (Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery total; p = 0.82). In the suicide prevention RCT, 49 were randomised and 35 were retained at 6-month follow-up (71%). There were significant improvements in suicidal ideation [Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire; treatment effect = –12.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) –24.3 to –0.14], Suicide Probability Scale (SPS; treatment effect = –7.0, 95% CI –15.5 to 0) and hopelessness (subscale of the SPS; treatment effect = –3.8, 95% CI –7.3 to –0.5) at follow-up. In the RCT for BD, 67 participants were randomised and 45 were retained at the 12-month follow-up (67%). Recovery score significantly improved in comparison with treatment as usual (TAU) at follow-up (310.87, 95% CI 75.00 to 546.74). At 15-month follow-up, 32 participants had experienced a relapse of either depression or mania (20 TAU vs. 12 RfCBT). The difference in time to recurrence was significant (estimated hazard ratio 0.38, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.78; p < 0.006). ConclusionsThis research programme has improved our understanding of recovery in psychosis and BD. Key findings indicate that measurement of recovery is feasible and valid. It would be feasible to scale up the RCTs to assess effectiveness of our therapeutic approaches in larger full trials, and two of the studies (CBT for suicide prevention in psychosis and recovery in BD) found significant benefits on their primary outcomes despite limited statistical power, suggesting definitive trials are warranted. FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Programme Grants for Applied Research programme

Coupled stalagmite – Alluvial fan response to the 8.2 ka event and early Holocene palaeoclimate change in Greece

We explore the expression of early Holocene climatic change in the terrestrial Mediterranean of southern Greece. A regional palaeoclimate record from stable isotope and trace element geochemical proxies in an early Holocene (~12.4 ka to 6.7 ka) stalagmite is compared to the timing of palaeosol (entisol) development on an early Holocene alluvial fan located <100 km from the stalagmite site. Radiocarbon dated entisol development records fan abandonment surfaces, which can be coupled to the stalagmite climate signal. Variations in δ13C best record the main elements of palaeoclimatic change, more negative values indicating soil carbon input to karst groundwater under wetter conditions. The wettest conditions begin around 10.3 ka, coincident with the start of sapropel 1 deposition in the eastern Mediterranean. The widely documented northern hemisphere ‘8.2 ka event’ of cooler and drier conditions has a muted δ18O climatic signal in common with other stalagmite climate records from the wider Mediterranean. However, less negative δ13C values do record a period of episodic dryness between ~8.8 and ending at 8.2 ka. Wetter conditions re-established after 8.1 ka to the end of the record. The oldest alluvial fan entisols were developing by ~9.5 ka, and a prominent rubified entisol developed ~8.3 to 8.4 ka, indicating pedogenesis within dating error of the 8.2 ka event. The speleothem record of episodic dryness between ~8.8 and 8.2 ka, combined with other regional proxies, is consistent with the notion that precipitation patterns in Greece may have changed from predominantly winter frontal to summer convective during this period. Palaeosol formation on the alluvial fan may have been an allocyclic response to this change. It is plausible that fan-channel incision, driven by temporary development of a ‘flashier’ summer rainfall regime, isolated large areas of the fan surface allowing onset of prolonged pedogenesis there

Working conditions and tuberculosis mortality in England and Wales, 1890-1912:a retrospective analysis of routinely collected data

BACKGROUND: Modelling studies suggest that workplaces may be important sites of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission in high burden countries today. Contemporary data on tuberculosis by occupation from these settings are scarce. However, historical data on tuberculosis risk in different occupations are available and may provide insight into workplace transmission. We aimed to ascertain whether, in a high burden setting, individuals working in crowded indoor environments (exposed) had greater tuberculosis mortality than individuals employed elsewhere (unexposed). METHODS: The Registrar General's Decennial Supplements from 1890-2, 1900-2 and 1910-2 contain data on mortality from tuberculosis by occupation for men in England and Wales. In these data, the association between occupational exposure to crowded indoor environments and tuberculosis mortality was assessed using an overdispersed Poisson regression model adjusting for socioeconomic position, age and decade. RESULTS: There were 23,962 deaths from tuberculosis during 14.8 million person-years of follow-up among men working in exposed occupations and 28,483 during 19.9 million person-years of follow-up among men working in unexposed occupations. We were unable to categorise a large number of occupations as exposed or unexposed. The adjusted rate ratio for death from tuberculosis was 1.34 (95 % confidence interval 1.26-1.43) comparing men working in exposed occupations to those in unexposed occupations. CONCLUSIONS: Tuberculosis mortality in England and Wales at the turn of the 20th century was associated with occupational exposure to crowded indoor environments. The association between working conditions and TB in contemporary high burden settings requires further study

Immunoregulatory dysfunctions in type I diabetes: Natural and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxic activities

Peripheral blood lymphocytes from 13 patients with established insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and 2 prediabetic patients were examined for natural killer (NK) and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxic activities (ADCC), lectin-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (LDCC), interferon- and interleukin-2-induced cytotoxicity, and concanavalin A-induced suppressor-cell activities in comparison with age-matched normal controls. IDDM patients demonstrated normal levels of NK and ADCC activities against K562 and antibody-coated SB target cells, respectively, compared to controls. IDDM patients showed normal levels of LDCC activity. Notable deviations from control values were, however, observed with diabetic lymphocytes in the following systems. Interferon-and interleukin-2-induced NK activities were significantly higher with IDDM lymphocytes than with control cells. IDDM lymphocytes precultured with concanavalin A demonstrated lower NK and ADCC activities than control cells and manifested decreased suppressor effects on the NK activity of normal allogeneic lymphocytes. Lymphocytes from one of two prediabetic patients showed increased NK, ADCC, and LDCC activities in comparison to controls. The increased interferon- and interleukin-2-induced enhancement of NK activity and reduced suppressor activity of lymphocytes from IDDM patients may be involved in the pathogenesis of the disease.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44848/1/10875_2004_Article_BF00915375.pd