How Much Does the Federal Government Spend to Promote Economic Mobility and for Whom?

Tracks and projects federal expenditures and tax subsidies aimed at enhancing economic mobility, such as employer-related work subsidies, homeownership, savings and investment incentives, and education and training, and who benefits from them

Accessibility and consumer knowledge of services for deaf adolescents

The percentage of deaf and hard of hearing people who need mental health crisis services is similar to the percentage of the general population needing such services. Yet, coordinated mental services for deaf and hard of hearing individuals are virtually nonexistent. People who are deaf and hard of hearing, like everyone else, find themselves, from time to time, in need of mental health services

Kids' Share 2008: How Children Fare in the Federal Budget

Provides an annual analysis of trends in federal spending and tax expenditures on children's programs -- such as food stamps, tax credits, and Head Start -- and assesses the impact of future budget planning on children

Development of a novel off-grid drinking water production system integrating electrochemically activated solutions and ultrafiltration membranes

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Approximately 800 million people live without clean drinking water. Diarrhoea is responsible for between 1.7 and 2 million deaths each year (primarily children) which are the result of poor drinking water quality and sanitation. The main aim of this study was to demonstrate the production of drinking water from a raw water source using an off-grid drinking water production system. The off-grid drinking water production system (DWPS) developed at UWE Bristol, combines an ultra-filtration (UF) system with in situ generation of electrochemically activated solutions (ECAS). ECAS has two functional roles within the system; to manage biofilms within the UF system and as a disinfectant. Integrated in-situ probes (pH, oxidation reduction potential, chlorine, conductivity and dissolved oxygen) coupled with a water quality sensing network (pH, water temperature, conductivity and dissolved oxygen) enabled real time monitoring of; the operational efficiency of the DWPS, and the physicochemical parameters of both the raw water source and the produced drinking water. Spot samples of both raw and treated water were sent for independent chemical and microbial analysis at an accredited laboratory which demonstrated that the DWPS produced biologically safe potable drinking water according to the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) standards. Samples from the raw water source were shown to be consistently unsuitable for human consumption, failing several of the DWI standards for potable water supply, including coliform bacteria. This study demonstrated that the novel off-grid DWPS was capable of producing DWI standard drinking water from a heavily biologically contaminated water source

Electronic transport and photoconductive properties of resorcinol-formaldehyde-based carbon aerogels

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 1995.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-137).by Gillian Althea Maria Reynolds.Ph.D

The efficacy of chlorine-based disinfectants against planktonic and biofilm bacteria for decentralised point-of-use drinking water

Chlorine solutions are used extensively for the production of biologically safe drinking water. The capability of point-of-use [POU] drinking water treatment systems has gained interest in locations where centralised treatment systems and distribution networks are not practical. This study investigated the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity of three chlorine-based disinfectants (hypochlorite ions [OCl-], hypochlorous acid [HOCl] and electrochemically activated solutions [ECAS]) for use in POU drinking water applications. The relative antimicrobial activity was compared within bactericidal suspension assays (BS EN 1040 and BS EN 1276) using Escherichia coli. The anti-biofilm activity was compared utilising established sessile Pseudomonas aeruginosa within a Centre for Disease Control [CDC] biofilm reactor. HOCl exhibited the greatest antimicrobial activity against planktonic E. coli at >50 mg L−1 free chlorine, in the presence of organic loading (bovine serum albumen). However, ECAS exhibited significantly greater anti-biofilm activity compared to OCl- and HOCl against P. aeruginosa biofilms at ≥50 mg L−1 free chlorine. Based on this evidence disinfectants where HOCl is the dominant chlorine species (HOCl and ECAS) would be appropriate alternative chlorine-based disinfectants for POU drinking water applications

Child educational progress in Born in Bradford pregnancies affected by gestational diabetes and also exposed to maternal common mental disorders

Abstract Gestational diabetes and the maternal mental disorders of anxiety and depression have been implicated in adverse offspring neuro-behavioural outcomes but these exposures have only been studied in isolation. 1051 children whose mothers were diagnosed with gestational diabetes in UK’s Born in Bradford cohort had linkage to maternal primary care records, providing diagnostic and treatment codes for depression and anxiety. Education record linkage provided results of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile from the first year of school, aged five. Risk of not attaining a ‘Good level of development’ was analysed using multivariable Poisson regression within a generalised estimating equation framework. Multiple imputation was implemented for missing data. There was limited evidence of increased risk of failure to attain a ‘good level of development’ in those additionally exposed to maternal mental disorders (adjusted RR 1.21; 95% CI 0.94, 1.55). However, there was more evidence in children of Pakistani maternal ethnicity (adjusted RR 1.36; 95% CI 1.04, 1.77) than White British; this may have been driven by English not being the primary language spoken in the home. Therefore there may be groups with GDM in whom it is particularly important to optimise both maternal physical and mental health to improve child outcomes

Parallel Profiles of Inflammatory and Effector Memory T Cells in Visceral Fat and Liver of Obesity-Associated Cancer Patients

In the midst of a worsening obesity epidemic, the incidence of obesity-associated morbidities, including cancer, diabetes, cardiac and liver disease is increasing. Insights into mechanisms underlying pathological obesity-associated inflammation are lacking. Both the omentum, the principal component of visceral fat, and liver of obese individuals are sites of excessive inflammation, but to date the T cell profiles of both compartments have not been assessed or compared in a patient cohort with obesity-associated disease. We have previously identified that omentum is enriched with inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and T cells. Here, we compared the inflammatory profile of T cells in the omentum and liver of patients with the obesity-associated malignancy oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAC). Furthermore, we assessed the secreted cytokine profile in OAC patient serum, omentum and liver to assess systemic and local inflammation. We observed parallel T cell cytokine profiles and phenotypes in the omentum and liver of OAC patients, in particular CD69+ and inflammatory effector memory T cells. This study reflects similar processes of inflammation and T cell activation in the omentum and liver, and may suggest common targets to modulate pathological inflammation at these sites