Brown Fields, a Regional Incinerator and Resident Perception of Neighborhood Quality

The authors discuss an extension of their research into residential perceptions of neighborhood quality as affected by urban blight. They believe that unwanted facilities may help deteriorate neighborhoods to the point where they are fit only for such uses

On the elementary interactions for the quasilinear wave equation and

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46190/1/205_2004_Article_BF00252000.pd

Centers of Economic Excellence (endowed chairs) — a smart investment for South Carolina’s future

The General Assembly created a program designed to attract to South Carolina the world’s most talented researchers. This visionary initiative, the Centers of Economic Excellence Program (also known as endowed chairs) leverages state and private funds along with university-based research to drive economic growth. To date, the program has brought 12 world-class scientists or “endowed chairs” to our state’s universities. It has also established 30 Research Centers of Economic Excellence in areas such as nanotechnology, health sciences, future fuels, energy alternatives, automotive engineering and advanced fibers

The Tropical Forest and Fire Emissions Experiment: Emission, Chemistry, and Transport of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds in the Lower Atmosphere Over Amazonia

Airborne and ground-based mixing ratio and flux measurements using eddy covariance (EC) and for the first time the mixed layer gradient (MLG) and mixed layer variance (MLV) techniques are used to assess the impact of isoprene and monoterpene emissions on atmospheric chemistry in the Amazon basin. Average noon isoprene (7.8 +/- 2.3 mg/m(2)/h) and monoterpene fluxes (1.2 +/- 0.5 mg/m(2)/h)compared well between ground and airborne measurements and are higher than fluxes estimated in this region during other seasons. The biogenic emission model, Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN), estimates fluxes that are within the model and measurement uncertainty and can describe the large observed variations associated with land-use change in the region north-west of Manaus. Isoprene and monoterpenes accounted for similar to 75% of the total OH reactivity in this region and are important volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for modeling atmospheric chemistry in Amazonia. The presence of fair weather clouds ( cumulus humilis) had an important impact on the vertical distribution and chemistry of VOCs through the planetary boundary layer (PBL), the cloud layer, and the free troposphere (FT). Entrainment velocities between 10: 00 and 11: 30 local time ( LT) are calculated to be on the order of 8-10 cm/s. The ratio of methyl-vinyl-ketone (MVK) and methacrolein (MAC) ( unique oxidation products of isoprene chemistry) with respect to isoprene showed a pronounced increase in the cloud layer due to entrainment and an increased oxidative capacity in broken cloud decks. A decrease of the ratio in the lower free troposphere suggests cloud venting through activated clouds. OH modeled in the planetary boundary layer using a photochemical box model is much lower than OH calculated from a mixed layer budget approach. An ambient reactive sesquiterpene mixing ratio of 1% of isoprene would be sufficient to explain most of this discrepancy. Increased OH production due to increased photolysis in the cloud layer balances the low OH values modeled for the planetary boundary layer. The intensity of segregation ( Is) of isoprene and OH, defined as a relative reduction of the reaction rate constant due to incomplete mixing, is found to be significant: up to 39 +/- 7% in the similar to 800-m-deep cloud layer. The effective reaction rate between isoprene and OH can therefore vary significantly in certain parts of the lower atmosphere

The speculative turn in IVF: egg freezing and the financialization of fertility

Although egg freezing has received much scholarly attention, the pivotal role of financialisation in the fertility (preservation) sector remains understudied. This article discusses how processes of financialisation have instigated a step-change in the organisation of contemporary US IVF and why egg freezing is at the heart of a wider consolidating trend in the sector. The financialisation of fertility, in this context, references the financial investments in a future in which ever more women freeze their eggs, the role of capital markets in establishing new clinical and commercial infrastructures through which egg freezing becomes accessible and the role of financial products in shaping both the stories and the streamlining of fertility treatments. Together, these developments signal a shift from reproduction to fertility in IVF, in which treatment is not aimed at having a child at present, but rather at the proactive management of a more speculative fertility throughout the life course.Alan Turing Institut

Biogenic hydrocarbon emissions from southern African savannas

Biogenic nonmethane hydrocarbon (NMHC) emissions were investigated at two field sites in the Republic of South Africa that include five important southern African savanna landscapes. Tropical savannas are a globally important biome with a high potential for biogenic emissions but no NMHC emission measurements in these regions or in any part of Africa have been reported. Landscape average hydrocarbon emissions were estimated by characterizing plant species composition and foliar density at each site, identifying and characterizing NMHC emissions of the most abundant plant species, and identifying and characterizing NMHC emissions of plant species with the highest NMHC emission rates. A hand-held portable analyzer proved to be a useful tool for identifying plants with high emission rates. A branch enclosure system, with gas chromatography and flame ionization detector, was used to quantify isoprene and monoterpene emission rates. Emission rates were species-specific and several genera had both high and low emitters. At least some species with high emission rates were identified in most savanna types. High and low emitters were found on both nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor soils. Landscape average emission capacities for the five savanna types range from 0.6 to 9 mg C m-2 h-1 for isoprene and about 0.05 to 3 mg C m-2 h-1 for monoterpenes. The savanna emission rates predicted by existing global models are within the range estimated for these five savanna types

Efficacy of a trivalent influenza vaccine against seasonal strains and against 2009 pandemic H1N1: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Before pandemic H1N1 vaccines were available, the potential benefit of existing seasonal trivalent inactivated influenza vaccines (IIV3s) against influenza due to the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza strain was investigated, with conflicting results. This study assessed the efficacy of seasonal IIV3s against influenza due to 2008 and 2009 seasonal influenza strains and against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 strain. Methods: This observer-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study enrolled adults aged 18–64 years during 2008 and 2009 in Australia and New Zealand. Participants were randomized 2:1 to receive IIV3 or placebo. The primary objective was to demonstrate the efficacy of IIV3 against laboratory-confirmed influenza. Participants reporting an influenza-like illness during the period from 14 days after vaccination until 30 November of each study year were tested for influenza by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: Over a study period of 2 years, 15,044 participants were enrolled (mean age ± standard deviation: 35.5 ± 14.7 years; 54.4% female). Vaccine efficacy of the 2008 and 2009 IIV3s against influenza due to any strain was 42% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 30%, 52%), whereas vaccine efficacy against influenza due to the vaccine-matched strains was 60% (95% CI: 44%, 72%). Vaccine efficacy of the 2009 IIV3 against influenza due to the 2009 pandemic H1N1 strain was 38% (95% CI: 19%, 53%). No vaccine-related deaths or serious adverse events were reported. Solicited local and systemic adverse events were more frequent in IIV3 recipients than placebo recipients (local: IIV3 74.6% vs placebo 20.4%, p < 0.001; systemic: IIV3 46.6% vs placebo 39.1%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The 2008 and 2009 IIV3s were efficacious against influenza due to seasonal influenza strains and the 2009 IIV3 demonstrated moderate efficacy against influenza due to the 2009 pandemic H1N1 strain

Police officers and post traumatic stress disorder: discussing the deficit in research, identification and prevention in England and Wales

This article will review available literature regarding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) within policing in England and Wales, with a particular focus on its early identification and prevention. An overview of PTSD will be given as well as an exploration of why police officers are potentially more susceptible to this mental health condition compared to other members of society. Key factors in the early identification and prevention of PTSD will be outlined, with a focus on crisis intervention techniques which have been subject to considerable academic study. There is limited research available from England and Wales that looks specifically at PTSD in policing, this research deficit will be highlighted and key areas of research which need to be explored further will be given so that this problem can be both identified and prevented in officers

Neonatal infections: Case definition and guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation of immunisation safety data.

Maternal vaccination is an important area of research and requires appropriate and internationally comparable definitions and safety standards. The GAIA group, part of the Brighton Collaboration was created with the mandate of proposing standardised definitions applicable to maternal vaccine research. This study proposes international definitions for neonatal infections. The neonatal infections GAIA working group performed a literature review using Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane collaboration and collected definitions in use in neonatal and public health networks. The common criteria derived from the extensive search formed the basis for a consensus process that resulted in three separate definitions for neonatal blood stream infections (BSI), meningitis and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). For each definition three levels of evidence are proposed to ensure the applicability of the definitions to different settings. Recommendations about data collection, analysis and presentation are presented and harmonized with the Brighton Collaboration and GAIA format and other existing international standards for study reporting