Atmospheric scavenging of solid rocket exhaust effluents

Solid propellant rocket exhaust was directly utilized to ascertain raindrop scavenging rates for hydrogen chloride. Two chambers were used to conduct the experiments; a large, rigid walled, spherical chamber stored the exhaust constituents, while the smaller chamber housing all the experiments was charged as required with rocket exhaust HCl. Surface uptake experiments demonstrated an HCl concentration dependence for distilled water. Sea water and brackish water HCl uptake was below the detection limit of the chlorine-ion analysis technique used. Plant life HCl uptake experiments were limited to corn and soybeans. Plant age effectively correlated the HCl uptake data. Metallic corrosion was not significant for single 20 minute exposures to the exhaust HCl under varying relative humidity. Characterization of the aluminum oxide particles substantiated the similarity between the constituents of the small scale rocket and the full size vehicles

Missouri River history, floodplain construction, and soil formation in southwestern Iowa

The Platte River has influenced the Missouri River below the mouth of the Platte by contributing sizable suspended and coarser-textured bed loads. Consequently, the Missouri River has been and is a braided stream in a reach about 43 miles long below the mouth of the Platte. In this reach the channel is wider, is less sinuous, has greater low-water slope profile, and contains numerous bars and islands. The Otoe Bend area, in this reach of the Missouri River near the southwestern corner of Iowa, has inherited these channel characteristics. By use of historic maps and aerial photographs, the lateral shifting of the river channel at Otoe Bend may be reconstructed. Adjustments of scale and geographic locations must be made to compare features of all maps and aerial photographs to the present landforms in the area. The older maps usually are not as accurate as present-day cartography with photogrammetric field control. Within the different levels of cartographic accuracy, however, correlation of landforms can be made by similarity of features or similarity of sequences of features

Bayesian belief network model for the safety assessment of nuclear computer-based systems

The formalism of Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) is being increasingly applied to probabilistic modelling and decision problems in a widening variety of fields. This method provides the advantages of a formal probabilistic model, presented in an easily assimilated visual form, together with the ready availability of efficient computational methods and tools for exploring model consequences. Here we formulate one BBN model of a part of the safety assessment task for computer and software based nuclear systems important to safety. Our model is developed from the perspective of an independent safety assessor who is presented with the task of evaluating evidence from disparate sources: the requirement specification and verification documentation of the system licensee and of the system manufacturer; the previous reputation of the various participants in the design process; knowledge of commercial pressures;information about tools and resources used; and many other sources. Based on these multiple sources of evidence, the independent assessor is ultimately obliged to make a decision as to whether or not the system should be licensed for operation within a particular nuclear plant environment. Our BBN model is a contribution towards a formal model of this decision problem. We restrict attention to a part of this problem: the safety analysis of the Computer System Specification documentation. As with other BBN applications we see this modelling activity as having several potential benefits. It employs a rigorous formalism as a focus for examination, discussion, and criticism of arguments about safety. It obliges the modeller to be very explicit about assumptions concerning probabilistic dependencies, correlations, and causal relationships. It allows sensitivity analyses to be carried out. Ultimately we envisage this BBN, or some later development of it, forming part of a larger model, which might well take the form of a larger BBN model, covering all sources of evidence about pre-operational life-cycle stages. This could provide an integrated model of all aspects of the task of the independent assessor, leading up to the final judgement about system safety in a particular context. We expect to offer some results of this further work later in the DeVa project

Epidemiology and fitness effects of wood mouse herpesvirus in a natural host population

Rodent gammaherpesviruses have become important models for understanding human herpesvirus diseases. In particular, interactions between murid herpesvirus 4 and Mus musculus (a non-natural host species) have been extensively studied under controlled laboratory conditions. However, several fundamental aspects of murine gammaherpesvirus biology are not well understood, including how these viruses are transmitted from host to host, and their impacts on host fitness under natural conditions. Here, we investigate the epidemiology of a gammaherpesvirus in free-living wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and bank voles (Myodes glareolus) in a 2-year longitudinal study. Wood mouse herpesvirus (WMHV) was the only herpesvirus detected and occurred frequently in wood mice and also less commonly in bank voles. Strikingly, WMHV infection probability was highest in reproductively active, heavy male mice. Infection risk also showed a repeatable seasonal pattern, peaking in spring and declining through the summer. We show that this seasonal decline can be at least partly attributed to reduced recapture of WMHV-infected adults. These results suggest that male reproductive behaviours could provide an important natural route of transmission for these viruses. They also suggest that gammaherpesvirus infection may have significant detrimental effects in wild hosts, questioning the view that these viruses have limited impacts in natural, co-evolved host species

Differences in client and therapist views of the working alliance in drug treatment

Background - There is growing evidence that the therapeutic alliance is one of the most consistent predictors of retention and outcomes in drug treatment. Recent psychotherapy research has indicated that there is a lack of agreement between client, therapist and observer ratings of the therapeutic alliance; however, the clinical implications of this lack of consensus have not been explored. Aims - The aims of the study are to (1) explore the extent to which, in drug treatment, clients and counsellors agree in their perceptions of their alliance, and (2) investigate whether the degree of disagreement between clients and counsellors is related to retention in treatment. Methods - The study recruited 187 clients starting residential rehabilitation treatment for drug misuse in three UK services. Client and counsellor ratings of the therapeutic alliance (using the WAI-S) were obtained during weeks 1-12. Retention was in this study defined as remaining in treatment for at least 12 weeks. Results - Client and counsellor ratings of the alliance were only weakly related (correlations ranging from r = 0.07 to 0.42) and tended to become more dissimilar over the first 12 weeks in treatment. However, whether or not clients and counsellors agreed on the quality of their relationship did not influence whether clients were retained in treatment. Conclusions - The low consensus between client and counsellor views of the alliance found in this and other studies highlights the need for drug counsellors to attend closely to their clients' perceptions of the alliance and to seek regular feedback from clients regarding their feelings about their therapeutic relationship

Empowering youth sport environments: Implications for daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and adiposity

AbstractBackgroundEvidence suggests involvement in youth sport does not guarantee daily guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are met, and participation may not mitigate the risks associated with physical inactivity. The need to promote higher habitual MVPA engagement amongst children active in the youth sport context has therefore been underlined. Framed by self-determination theory, the aim of the present study was to examine the implications of the motivational climate created in youth sport, for children's daily engagement in MVPA and associated adiposity. Specifically, we sought to test a motivational sequence in which children's perceptions of an empowering coach-created motivational climate were related to autonomous and controlled motivation, which in turn predicted sport-related enjoyment. Finally, enjoyment is assumed to predict accelerometer assessed daily MVPA and, following this, adiposity.MethodsMale and female youth sport participants aged 9–16 years (n = 112) completed multi-section questionnaires assessing their perceptions of the motivational climate created in youth sport (i.e., autonomy supportive, task involving, socially supportive), autonomous and controlled motivation, and sport-related enjoyment. Daily MVPA engagement was determined via 7 days of accelerometry. Percent body fat (BF%) was estimated using bio-electrical impedance analysis.ResultsPath analysis revealed perceptions of an empowering motivational climate positively predicted players' autonomous motivation, and in turn, sport-related enjoyment. Enjoyment was also significantly negatively related to players' BF%, via a positive association with daily MVPA.ConclusionFostering more empowering youth sport environments may hold implications for the prevention of excess adiposity, through encouraging higher habitual MVPA engagement. Findings may inform the optimal design of youth sport settings for MVPA promotion, and contribute towards associated healthy weight maintenance amongst youth active in this context. Longitudinal and intervention studies are required to confirm these results

Productivity levels of some Iowa soils

This report presents crop yield estimates for corn, soybeans, oats, and hay on 290 selected soil types and phases. These yield estimates are believed attainable as a 5-year average with the technology available in 1971 and average weather conditions.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/specialreports/1063/thumbnail.jp

Introducing ‘resonance’: revisioning the relationship between youth and later life in women born 1939–52

This article proposes ‘resonance’ as a fruitful way of conceptualising the relationship between youth and later life and reflecting on its significance: resonance is how a person’s ‘youth’ is lived with in the present of their later life. Resonance revisions youth, engaging with the complexity of its presence in the lifecourse. Relinquishing a preoccupation with continuity and linearity, youth seen from the vantage point of later life contributes fresh insights into what matters for people and how. This conceptualisation emerged from a qualitative study of women born 1939–52 which revealed that experiences attributed to the teens and early twenties have a presence in a person’s later life in ways unrecognised in established approaches, namely longitudinal life-course studies and socio-cultural approaches. These resonances are often historically inflected such that some cohorts may live with their youth in later life in ways that distinguish them from their predecessors and successors

PPARα-targeted mitochondrial bioenergetics mediate repair of intestinal barriers at the host-microbe intersection during SIV infection.

Chronic gut inflammatory diseases are associated with disruption of intestinal epithelial barriers and impaired mucosal immunity. HIV-1 (HIV) causes depletion of mucosal CD4+ T cells early in infection and disruption of gut epithelium, resulting in chronic inflammation and immunodeficiency. Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) is effective in suppressing viral replication, it is incapable of restoring the "leaky gut," which poses an impediment for HIV cure efforts. Strategies are needed for rapid repair of the epithelium to protect intestinal microenvironments and immunity in inflamed gut. Using an in vivo nonhuman primate intestinal loop model of HIV/AIDS, we identified the pathogenic mechanism underlying sustained disruption of gut epithelium and explored rapid repair of gut epithelium at the intersection of microbial metabolism. Molecular, immunological, and metabolomic analyses revealed marked loss of peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) signaling, predominant impairment of mitochondrial function, and epithelial disruption both in vivo and in vitro. To elucidate pathways regulating intestinal epithelial integrity, we introduced probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum into Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-inflamed intestinal lumen. Rapid recovery of the epithelium occurred within 5 h of L. plantarum administration, independent of mucosal CD4+ T cell recovery, and in the absence of ART. This intestinal barrier repair was driven by L. plantarum-induced PPARα activation and restoration of mitochondrial structure and fatty acid β-oxidation. Our data highlight the critical role of PPARα at the intersection between microbial metabolism and epithelial repair in virally inflamed gut and as a potential mitochondrial target for restoring gut barriers in other infectious or gut inflammatory diseases

Carbon and nitrogen dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions in constructed wetlands treating wastewater: a review

peer-reviewedThe removal efficiency of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in constructed wetlands (CWs) is very inconsistent and frequently does not reveal whether the removal processes are due to physical attenuation or whether the different species have been transformed to other reactive forms. Previous research on nutrient removal in CWs did not consider the dynamics of pollution swapping (the increase of one pollutant as a result of a measure introduced to reduce a different pollutant) driven by transformational processes within and around the system. This paper aims to address this knowledge gap by reviewing the biogeochemical dynamics and fate of C and N in CWs and their potential impact on the environment, and by presenting novel ways in which these knowledge gaps may be eliminated. Nutrient removal in CWs varies with the type of CW, vegetation, climate, season, geographical region, and management practices. Horizontal flow CWs tend to have good nitrate (NO3−) removal, as they provide good conditions for denitrification, but cannot remove ammonium (NH4+) due to limited ability to nitrify NH4+. Vertical flow CWs have good NH4+ removal, but their denitrification ability is low. Surface flow CWs decrease nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions but increase methane (CH4) emissions; subsurface flow CWs increase N2O and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but decrease CH4 emissions. Mixed species of vegetation perform better than monocultures in increasing C and N removal and decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but empirical evidence is still scarce. Lower hydraulic loadings with higher hydraulic retention times enhance nutrient removal, but more empirical evidence is required to determine an optimum design. A conceptual model highlighting the current state of knowledge is presented and experimental work that should be undertaken to address knowledge gaps across CWs, vegetation and wastewater types, hydraulic loading rates and regimes, and retention times, is suggested. We recommend that further research on process-based C and N removal and on the balancing of end products into reactive and benign forms is critical to the assessment of the environmental performance of CWs.The research was funded by Irish Research Council and Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine in Association with The University of Dublin, Trinity College