The Cost of Increasing Adoption of Beneficial Nutrient-Management Practices

We estimate the cost of offsets tied to reductions in the use of nitrogen on U.S. cornfields under the proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act.offsets, nitrogen, corn, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Assessment of the Compositional Influences on the Toughness of TiCr\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e-Base Laves Phase Alloys

Systematic studies of alloys based on TiCr, have been performed in order to improve the toughness of Laves phase intermetallics. The extent to which alloy compositions and annealing treatments influence the toughness was quantified by Vickers indentation. The single-phase Laves behavior was first established by studying stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric TiCr,. Next, alloying effects were investigated with ternary Laves phases based on TiCr2. Different microstructures of two-phase alloys consisting of (Ti,Cr)-bcc+TiCr2, were also examined. Various toughening theories based on vacancies, site-substitutions, crystal structure (C14, C36, or Cl5) stabilization, and the presence of a second phase were evaluated. The most effective factors improving the toughness of TiCr2, were determined, and toughening mechanisms are suggested

The effects of extended public transport operating hours and venue lockout policies on drinking-related harms in Melbourne, Australia: Results from SimDrink, an agent-based simulation model.

Background: The late-night accessibility of entertainment precincts is a contributing factor to acute drinking-related harms. Using computer simulation we test the effects of improved public transport (PT) and venue lockouts on verbal aggression, consumption-related harms and transport-related harms among a population of young adults engaging in heavy drinking in Melbourne. Methods: Using an agent-based model we implemented: a two-hour PT extension/24-hour PT; 1 am/3 am venue lockouts; and combinations of both. Outcomes determined for outer-urban (OU) and inner-city (IC) residents were: the number of incidents of verbal aggression inside public and private venues; the number of people ejected from public venues for being intoxicated; and the percentage of people experiencing verbal aggression, consumption-related harms and transport-related harms. Results: All-night PT reduced verbal aggression in the model by 21% but displaced some incidents among OU residents from private to public settings. Comparatively, 1 am lockouts reduced verbal aggression in the model by 19% but led to IC residents spending more time in private rather than public venues where their consumption-related harms increased. Extending PT by 2 h had similar outcomes to 24-hour PT except with fewer incidents of verbal aggression displaced. Although 3 am lockouts were inferior to 1 am lockouts, when modelled in combination with any extension of PT both policies were similar. Conclusions: A two-hour extension of PT is likely to be more effective in reducing verbal aggression and consumption-related harms than venue lockouts. Modelling a further extension of PT to 24 h had minimal additional benefits but the potential to displace incidents of verbal aggression among OU residents from private to public venues

Protection against discrimination in national dementia guideline recommendations: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: National dementia guidelines provide recommendations about the most effective approaches to diagnosis and interventions. Guidelines can improve care, but some groups such as people with minority characteristics may be disadvantaged if recommended approaches are the same for everyone. It is not known if dementia guidelines address specific needs related to patient characteristics. The objectives of this review are to identify which countries have national guidelines for dementia and synthesise recommendations relating to protected characteristics, as defined in the UK Equality Act 2010: age, disability, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We searched CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Medline databases and the Guideline International Network library from inception to March 4, 2020, for dementia guidelines in any language. We also searched, between April and September 2020, Google and the national health websites of all 196 countries in English and in each country’s official languages. To be included, guidelines had to provide recommendations about dementia, which were expected to be followed by healthcare workers and be approved at a national policy level. We rated quality according to the iCAHE guideline quality checklist. We provide a narrative synthesis of recommendations identified for each protected characteristic, prioritising those from higher-quality guidelines. Forty-six guidelines from 44 countries met our criteria, of which 18 were rated as higher quality. Most guidelines (39/46; 85%) made at least one reference to protected characteristics, and we identified recommendations relating to age, disability, race (or culture, ethnicity, or language), religion, sex, and sexual orientation. Age was the most frequently referenced characteristic (31/46; 67%) followed by race (or culture, ethnicity, or language; 25/46; 54%). Recommendations included specialist investigation and support for younger people affected by dementia and consideration of culture when assessing whether someone had dementia and providing person-centred care. Guidelines recommended considering religion when providing person-centred and end-of-life care. For disability, it was recommended that healthcare workers consider intellectual disability and sensory impairment when assessing for dementia. Most recommendations related to sex recommended not using sex hormones to treat cognitive impairment in men and women. One guideline made one recommendation related to sexual orientation. The main limitation of this study is that we only included national guidelines applicable to a whole country meaning guidelines from countries with differing healthcare systems within the country may have been excluded. CONCLUSIONS: National guidelines for dementia vary in their consideration of protected characteristics. We found that around a fifth of the world’s countries have guidelines for dementia. We have identified areas of good practice that can be considered for future guidelines and suggest that all guidelines provide specific evidence-based recommendations for minority groups with examples of how to implement them. This will promote equity in the care of people affected by dementia and help to ensure that people with protected characteristics also have high-quality clinical services

Dramatic Plays as a Tool to Educate Young African-American Females about HIV/AIDS

Rates of HIV/AIDS transmission have increased substantially, particularly among young African American women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HIV/AIDS is the number one killer for African American women aged 25 to 34. Given that many of these young women are contracting the disease in their late teens and early twenties, there is a need to develop interventions that directly address the needs of this group. The current study sought to assess the effectiveness of theater in increasing knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the likelihood of healthier sexual behavior and choices among 219 young African American women 18 to 39 years of age. Paired sample t-tests revealed that there were significant mean differences in knowledge and intended safe sex behavior after viewing the play. Young women who viewed the play reported increased knowledge of HIV and reported a higher likelihood of engaging in safer sex. Given the high rates of HIV/AIDS among young African American women, more innovative educational and prevention techniques are needed

Microwave Components with MEMS Switches

RF MEMS switches with metal-metal contacts are being developed for microwave applications where broadband, high linearity performance is required. These switches provide less than 0.2 dB insertion loss through 40 GHz. This paper describes the integration of these switches into selected microwave components such as reconfigurable antenna elements, tunable filters, switched delay lines, and SPDT switches. Microwave and millimeter wave measured results from these circuits are presented