Influence of Community Characteristics on Urban Forest Management Programs in New York State

US state and federal urban forest management agencies endeavor to support municipal forestry programs. However, the variation in programs within and among states may complicate support delivery. Municipal programs are often categorized by population size and community affluence to identify common characteristics and needs and facilitate support. To describe local urban forest management programs in New York State, a survey of municipalities gathered information on urban forest management program components, intentions, and needs. In addition to examining the contributions of population size and affluence, this study also evaluated the influence of metropolitan areas on programs in small municipalities and compared all community categorizations using national program standards. The survey revealed that a high percentage of municipalities plant and maintain trees. Nearly half of municipalities have tree inventories and street tree advisory boards, and a low percentage have an urban forest management plan. Almost all reported needing technical and educational assistance. Larger communities were more likely to have a comprehensive urban forest management program than medium-sized communities, and medium communities were more likely than small communities. Communities with high median household income (MHI) were more likely to have comprehensive urban forestry management programs than less affluent communities. However, low MHI and middle MHI communities had equivalent programs. Small municipalities in counties with large metropolitan areas possessed attributes similar to larger municipalities, compared to small communities in counties without these areas. This may indicate that proximity to a large metropolis has the potential to provide a small community with additional resources. These results suggest that smaller and less affluent communities, especially those outside counties containing large metropolitan areas, need more urban forest management assistance than larger and more affluent communities. However, all survey respondents indicated the need for support

The identification and psychological treatment of panic disorder in adolescents: a survey of CAMHS clinicians

Background Panic disorder is experienced by around 1% of adolescents, and has a significant impact on social and academic functioning. Preliminary evidence supports the effectiveness of panic disorder specific treatment in adolescents with panic disorder, however panic disorder may be overlooked in adolescents due to overlapping symptoms with other anxiety disorders and other difficulties being more noticeable to others. The aim of this study was to establish what training National Health Service (NHS) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) clinicians have received in psychological therapies and panic disorder and how they identify and treat panic disorder in adolescents. Method CAMHS clinicians from a range of professions (n = 427), who were delivering psychological treatments to children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, participated. They completed a cross-sectional, online survey, including a vignette describing an adolescent with panic disorder, and were asked to identify the main diagnosis or presenting problem. Results Less than half the clinicians (48.6%) identified panic disorder or panic symptoms as the main presenting problem from the vignette. The majority of clinicians suggested CBT would be their treatment approach. However, few identified an evidence-based treatment protocol for working with young people with panic disorder. Almost half the sample had received no training in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and around a fifth had received no training in delivering psychological treatments. Conclusions Only half of CAMHS clinicians identified panic disorder from a vignette and although CBT treatments are widely offered, only a minority of adolescents with panic disorder are receiving treatments developed for, and evaluated with young people with panic disorder. There is a vital need for clinician training, the use of tools that aid identification and the implementation of evidence-based treatments within CAMHS

Bioaccumulation factors for PCBs revisited

Bioaccumulation factors (BAFs)for individual polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in Barents Sea and White Sea marine calanoid copepods were 1-3 orders of magnitude higher than BAFs in the same species in Canadian and Alaskan Arctic Ocean areas, and in freshwater plankton (Lake Ontario) reported from the mid- to early 1980s. The present study reviews variability in PCB BAFs from the North American Great Lakes and the Arctic Ocean, and discusses possible explanations for the large variation among different studies. BAFs are higher in recent arctic marine and Great Lakes studies than previously reported, and they are at least 10 times higher than those predicted from the octanol-water partition coefficient (KOW). If the recent high BAFs are realistic, it means that earlier reported BAFs are too low. This is likely due to earlier erroneously high quantification of water PCB concentrations, and it implies that bioaccumulation in zooplankton is more efficient than previously assumed. Evidence is presented supporting that also trophic transfer and biomagnification of PCBs in zooplankton leads to BAFs well above those predicted by simple equilibrium partitioning. Overall, miss-measurement of water PCB concentrations and biomagnification contribute significantly to variability in BAFs for PCBs within and among studies. This large variability of BAFs for PCBs in zooplankton illustrated in the present study is of importance for future assessments of potential new bioaccumulative chemicals that rely on measured BAFs, such as the European Union Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals program (REACH). © 2005 American Chemical Society

Crankcase sampling of PM from a fired and motored compression ignition engine

Crankcase emissions are a complex mixture of combustion products and aerosol generated from lubrication oil. The crankcase emissions contribute substantially to the total particulate matter (PM) emitted from an engine. Environment legislation demands that either the combustion and crankcase emissions are combined to give a total measurement, or the crankcase gases are re-circulated back into the engine. There is a lack of understanding regarding the physical processes that generate crankcase aerosols, with a paucity of information on the size/mass concentrations of particles present in the crankcase. In this study the particulate matter crankcase emissions were measured from a fired and motored 4 cylinder compression ignition engine at a range of speeds and crankcase locations. A sequence of sampling equipment was used to characterise the emissions in the size range 5 nm - 19 μm; Cambustion DMS500 fast particulate spectrometer, TSI Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), TSI™ Condensation Particle Counter (CPC) and, TSI™ Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS). The combination of the two test engines and range of sampling equipment provided new information on the generation and behavior of aerodynamic particulate matter within an engine crankcase. Data is presented for the effect of controlled parameter changes on number distributions over the measured particle size range. A complex lognormal bimodal size distribution of sub micron accumulation mode particles was present in the crankcase of both engines at a low idle speed of 900rpm. At 1400rpm this complex distribution was not present. Increasing the engine load, on the fired engine, initially reduced the particle number concentration with a final significant increase in particle number concentration at 75% load. At 900 rpm 50% load there was a single strong peak at 32nm in the rocker cover however sampling from the push rod gallery and sump showed a strongly bimodal distribution with peaks at 32nm and 133nm. All other sampling data, from the fired engine, was consistent at each sampling location. The SMPS results, 15-665nm, on the motored engine showed location dependency, with the highest number concentration of particles present in the push rod gallery

Surveillance imaging of grade 1 astrocytomas in children: can duration and frequency of follow-up imaging and the use of contrast agents be reduced?

Purpose: The optimum strategy for the surveillance of low-grade gliomas in children has not been established, and there is concern about the use of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs), particularly in children, due to their deposition in the brain. The number of surveillance scans and the use of GBCAs in surveillance of low-risk tumours should ideally be limited. We aimed to investigate the consistency and utility of our surveillance imaging and also determine to what extent the use of GBCAs contributed to decisions to escalate treatment in children with grade 1 astrocytomas. / Methods: This was a retrospective single-centre study at a tertiary paediatric hospital. All children with a new diagnosis of a non-syndromic World Health Organization (WHO) grade 1 astrocytoma between 2007 and 2013 were included, with surveillance imaging up to December 2018 included in analysis. The intervals of surveillance imaging were recorded, and imaging and electronic health records were examined for decisions related to treatment escalation. / Results: Eighty-eight patients had 690 surveillance scans in the study period. Thirty-one patients had recurrence or progression leading to treatment escalation, 30 of whom were identified on surveillance imaging. The use of GBCAs did not appear to contribute to multidisciplinary team (MDT) decisions in the majority of cases. / Conclusion: Surveillance imaging could be reduced in number and duration for completely resected cerebellar tumours. MDT decisions were rarely made on the basis of post-contrast imaging, and GBCA administration could therefore potentially be restricted in the setting of surveillance of grade 1 astrocytomas in children

Herschel imaging of the dust in the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293)

In our series of papers presenting the Herschel imaging of evolved planetary nebulae, we present images of the dust distribution in the Helix nebula (NGC 7293). Images at 70, 160, 250, 350, and 500 micron were obtained with the PACS and SPIRE instruments on board the Herschel satellite. The broadband maps show the dust distribution over the main Helix nebula to be clumpy and predominantly present in the barrel wall. We determined the spectral energy distribution of the main nebula in a consistent way using Herschel, IRAS, and Planck flux values. The emissivity index of 0.99 +/- 0.09, in combination with the carbon rich molecular chemistry of the nebula, indicates that the dust consists mainly of amorphous carbon. The dust excess emission from the central star disk is detected at 70 micron and the flux measurement agree with previous measurement. We present the temperature and dust column density maps. The total dust mass across the Helix nebula (without its halo) is determined to be 0.0035 solar mass at a distance of 216 pc. The temperature map shows dust temperatures between 22 and 42 K, which is similar to the kinetic temperature of the molecular gas, strengthening the fact that the dust and gas co-exist in high density clumps. Archived images are used to compare the location of the dust emission in the far infrared (Herschel) with the ionized (GALEX, Hbeta) and molecular hydrogen component. The different emission components are consistent with the Helix consisting of a thick walled barrel-like structure inclined to the line of sight. The radiation field decreases rapidly through the barrel wall.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, revised version A&A in pres

Melanoma in congenital melanocytic naevi

Congenital melanocytic naevi (CMN) are a known risk factor for melanoma, with the greatest risk currently thought to be in childhood. There has been controversy over the years about the incidence, and therefore over clinical management of CMN, due partly to the difficulties of histological diagnosis and partly to publishing bias towards cases of malignancy. Large cohort studies have demonstrated that risk in childhood is related to the severity of the congenital phenotype, not only cutaneous but neuroradiological. New understanding of the genetics of CMN offers the possibility of improvement in diagnosis of melanoma, identification of those at highest risk, and new treatment options. We review the world literature and our centre's experience over the last 25 years, including the molecular characteristics of melanoma in these patients and new melanoma incidence and outcome data from our prospective cohort. Management strategies are proposed for presentation of suspected melanoma of the skin and the CNS in patients with CMN, including use of oral MEK inhibitors in NRAS-mutated tumours. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Experimental interpretation of compression ignition in-cylinder flow structures

Understanding and predicting in-cylinder flow structures that occur within compression-ignition engines is vital if further optimisation of combustion systems is to be achieved. To enable this prediction, fully validated computational models of the complex turbulent flow-fields generated during the intake and compression process are needed. However, generating, analysing and interpreting experimental data to achieve this validation remains a complex challenge due to the variability that occurs from cycle to cycle. The flow-velocity data gathered in this study, obtained from a single-cylinder CI engine with optical access using high-speed PIV, demonstrates that significantly different structures are generated over different cycles, resulting in the mean flow failing to adequately reflect the typical flow produced in-cylinder. Additionally, this high level of variability is shown by the work to impact the assessment of turbulence throughout the cycle, influencing the values often used to validate mathematical models. The original work in this paper analyses experimental PIV data from the single cylinder engine, to characterise the differences between individual cycles’ bulk flow structures and the resultant turbulent fields. The analysis approach presented uses proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and spatial filtering to interpret the progression of the flow structures and energy throughout compression, giving an understanding of the actual flow structures that are most likely to be produced in the engine. This analysis of the data provides a meaningful understanding of the nature of the bulk flow variations and how the turbulent field develops over a given cycle, from the intake stroke to the end of compression