Vacancy Reassessed

Since 1950, Philadelphia's population has been declining dramatically, by more than 30 percent. This rapid depopulation has led to the vacancy and abandonment of a large number of unmanaged residential lots and buildings. The future of Philadelphia rests on its ability to manage this decline, and in 1999, efforts were fragmented. This report highlights the barriers that many faced in trying to access vacant property and provides recommendations for a more strategic vision so that the city can create a significant and lasting impact

A critical review of South Africa' future carbon tax regime

The world is currently facing a global climate crisis largely associated with growing greenhouse gas emissions, of which carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are a significant component. As the fourteenth largest emitter of CO₂ globally and the highest per capita CO₂ emitter in Africa, South Africa has a responsibility to implement legal and fiscal instruments to reduce its emissions. One instrument receiving growing global attention to reduce CO₂ emissions is carbon tax; a tax imposed directly on the emission of carbon or the use of products which generate carbon emissions. South Africa is following the global trend and has for the past decade sought to formulate a carbon tax regime which is effective in its operation, equitable in its impact across different sectors, and which does not result in the collapse of the country's economy. Whilst yet to be finalised, several policy documents have provided a clear indication of its anticipated form, and 2015 saw the publication of the Draft Carbon Tax Bill with the Bill being re-­released in 2017, which by all accounts is due to be finalised for implementation in mid-­2017. The time would accordingly appear ripe to critically review the country's anticipated carbon tax regime, and this forms the focus of this dissertation. This critical review was undertaken against several tax design elements identified by international commentators, namely: environmental effectiveness; tax revenue; support for the tax; legislative aspects; technical and administrative viability; competitiveness effects; distributional aspects and adjoining policy areas. The critical analysis of South Africa's imminent carbon tax regime against generally accepted tax elements has determined that it will be effective in its operation, equitable in its impact across different sectors and it will promote a more sustainable and resilient domestic economy

Molecularly engineering homogenous catalysts

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 50).A critical issue in the design of new 'Green' recoverable reusable catalyst is the separation strategies used for catalyst recovery. Using materials and solvents that are miscible at elevated temperature but phase separate at low temperature we have developed new strategies for homogeneous catalyst recovery. Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly (N-octadecylacrylamide) supports, for example, yield recoverable catalysts that are selectively soluble in the lower (polar) phase and the upper (non-polar) phase, respectively. To explore the phase distribution continuum for other polymers, we have prepared poly (N-acryloxysuccinimide) (PNASI) and used this reactive polymer to prepare dye-labeled C3-C18-poly (N-alkylacrylamide) supports. UV analysis of these dye-modified polyacrylamides' phase solubility at ambient and elevated temperature will be described. Such experiments probe the phase behavior of these polymer supports as a function of side chain length and can be accomplished in a combinatorial fashion using PNASI as the common starting material. The potential for such supports in catalysis will be described

Parental Adverse Childhood Experiences and Perpetration of Child Physical Punishment in Wales

Child physical punishment is harmful to children and, as such, is being prohibited by a growing number of countries, including Wales. Parents’ own childhood histories may affect their risks of using child physical punishment. We conducted a national cross-sectional survey of Welsh adults and measured relationships between the number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) parents (n = 720 with children aged < 18) had suffered during childhood and their use of physical punishment towards children. Overall, 28.2% of parents reported having ever physically punished a child, and 5.8% reported having done so recently (in the last year). Child physical punishment use increased with the number of ACEs parents reported. Parents with 4+ ACEs were almost three times more likely to have ever physically punished a child and eleven times more likely to have done so recently (vs. those with 0 ACEs). The majority (88.1%) of parents that reported recent child physical punishment had a personal history of ACEs, while over half reported recently having been hit themselves by a child. Child physical punishment is strongly associated with parents’ own ACE exposure and can occur within the context of broader conflict. Prohibiting physical punishment can protect children and, with appropriate family support, may help break intergenerational cycles of violence

Influence of Fitness on Stress Reactivity as Measured with the Trier Social Stress Test

PURPOSE: Psychosocial stress is associated with multiple health complaints which a higher cardiorespiratory fitness may reduce stress reactivity. A higher level of fitness may assist in the reduction of stress-related risk factors. Limited studies have investigated the health and cortisol response of promotoras’ (Latina community health educators) physical activity (PA) behaviors along the South Texas Mexico Border Region. The aim of this study was to assess the associations of promotoras’ fitness on stress reactivity in promotoras. METHODS: 17 promotoras’ anthropometric measures (body mass index (BMI)), were assessed before performing Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Salivary cortisol was collected before, 10-minutes, 25-minutes, and 40-minutes post TSST via passive drool method. Self-report PA included Jurca non-exercise assessment of cardiorespiratory capacity. Promotoras also performed a 2-minute step test. All tests were assessed using Spearman correlation analyses at a significance level of .05. RESULTS: Participants’ average BMI was high (31.4±7.18 kg/m²); 76.5% were overweight or obese, 30% very or extremely obese. Physical functioning levels were low (cardiorespiratory capacity 26.0±9.1 VO2/kg/min; step test 77.4 steps/2-minutes). Salivary cortisol levels revealed significant increase at the onset of the TSST and remained significantly elevated at 10-minutes post TSST. In comparison to baseline, cortisol levels remained elevated at 25-minutes and 40-minutes post TSST. CONCLUSION: Low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and high BMI’s may have resulted in a slower cortisol recovery time after placing the body under stress in promotoras. Regular physical activity and fitness may attenuate response to psychosocial stress and enable promotoras to achieve a healthier lifestyle

Do Gold(III) Complexes Form Hydrogen Bonds? An Exploration of AuIII Dicarboranyl Chemistry

The reaction of 1,1′-Li2[(2,2′-C2B10H10)2] with the cyclometallated gold(III) complex (C^N)AuCl2 affords the first examples of gold(III) dicarboranyl complexes. The reactivity of these complexes is subject to the trans-influence exerted by the dicarboranyl ligand, which is substantially weaker than that of non-carboranyl anionic C-ligands. In line with this, displacement of coordinated pyridine by chloride is only possible under forcing conditions. While treatment of (C^N)Au{(2,2′-C2B10H10)2} (2) with triflic acid leads to Au-C rather than Au-N bond protonolysis, aqueous HBr cleaves the Au-N bond to give the pyridinium bromo complex 7. The trans-influence of a series of ligands including dicarboranyl and bis(dicarboranyl) was assessed by means of DFT calculations. The analysis demonstrated that it was not sufficient to rely exclusively on geometric descriptors (calculated or experimental) when attempting to rank ligands for their trans influence. Complex (C^N)Au(C2B10H11)2 containing two non-chelating dicarboranyl ligands was prepared similar to 2. Its reaction with trifluoroacetic acid also leads to Au-N cleavage to give trans-(Hpy^C)Au(OAcF)(C2B10H11)2 (8). In crystals of 8 the pyridinium N-H bond points towards the metal centre, while in 7 it is bent away. The possible contribution of gold(III) ··H-N hydrogen bonding in these complexes was investigated by DFT calculations. The results show that, unlike the situation for platinum(II), there is no evidence for an energetically significant contribution by hydrogen bonding in the case of gold(III)

Physical Fitness and Energy Balance Activity of “Promotora” Community Health Care Workers in the South Texas-Mexico Border Region

PURPOSE: Latinas along the U.S.-Mexico border are among the most physically inactive and obese segment of the U.S. population. There is widespread recognition of the cultural appropriateness of promotoras (community health workers) in health education among Latino communities. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 17 promotoras who reside/work in the region to investigate their physical fitness and energy balance behaviors. Promotoras completed physical testing and self-report on physical activity and dietary behaviors. Participants wore an accelerometer for one week. In addition, the validity of an activity self-report instrument to assess cardiorespiratory fitness was tested. RESULTS: Participants’ average body mass index (BMI) was high (31.4±7.18 kg/m²); 76.5% were overweight or obese, 30% very or extremely obese. Physical functioning levels were low (cardiorespiratory capacity 26.0±9.1 VO2/kg/min; step test 77.4 steps/2-minutes). Objectively measured moderate-vigorous PA (114.6 ± 87.0 minutes/week) was less than PA recommendations. Accelerometry activity significantly correlated with self-report (r = 0.71, p=0.009). Participants self-reported consuming 1889.2±492.8 kCal/day. CONCLUSION: Promotoras’ energy balance behaviors were similar to women where they reside/work. Promotoras engaging in health-promoting behaviors may enhance their effectiveness as change agents in the communities they serve

Millimeter Dust Emission and Planetary Dynamics in the HD 106906 System

Debris disks are dusty, optically thin structures around main sequence stars. HD 106906AB is a short-period stellar binary, host to a wide separation planet, HD 106906b, and a debris disk. Only a few known systems include a debris disk and a directly imaged planet, and HD 106906 is the only one in which the planet is exterior to the disk. The debris disk is edge-on and highly asymmetric in scattered light. Here we resolve the disk structure at a resolution of 0.38" (39 au) with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. We model the disk with both a narrow and broad ring of material, and find that a radially broad, axisymmetric disk between radii of $\sim$50$-$100 au is able to capture the structure of the observations without evidence of any asymmetry or eccentricity, other than a tentative stellocentric offset. We place stringent upper limits on both the gas and dust content of a putative circumplanetary disk. We interpret the ALMA data in concert with scattered light observations of the inner ring and astrometric constraints on the planet's orbit, and find that the observations are consistent with a large-separation, low-eccentricity orbit for the planet. A dynamical analysis indicates that the central binary can efficiently stabilize planetesimal orbits interior to $\sim$100 au, which relaxes the constraints on eccentricity and semimajor axis somewhat. The observational constraints are consistent with in situ formation via gravitational instability, but cannot rule out a scattering event as the origin for HD 106906b's current orbit