Unequal Exposure to Ecological Hazards 2005: Environmental Injustices in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Unequal Exposure to Ecological Hazards 2005 documents Massachusetts residents' unequal exposure to environmental hazards. More specifically, the report analyzes both income basedand racially-based disparities in the geographic distribution of some 17 different types ofenvironmentally hazardous sites and industrial facilities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This report provides evidence that working class communities and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by toxic waste disposal, incinerators, landfills, trash transfer stations, power plants, and polluting industrial facilities. In some cases, not only are new toxic facilities and dump sites located in poorer neighborhoods and communities of color, but as in the case of the public housing development and playgrounds near the Alewife station in Cambridge, housing for people of color and low income populations is sometimes located on top of preexisting hazardous waste sites and/or nearby polluting facilities. We conclude that striking inequities in the distribution of these environmentally hazardous sites and facilities are placing working class families and people of color at substantially greater risk of exposure to human health risks. We advocate the adoption of a number of measures, including a comprehensive environmental justice act, to reduce pollution and address unequal exposure to ecological threats

Chemical control of root deflection and tap root elongation in containerized nursery stock

These studies were designed 1. to test the effectiveness of a 7% cupric hydroxide [Cu(OH)2]/latex paint formulation (Spin Out™) to control root deflection in a wide assortment of containerized nursery stock, and 2. to control tap root elongation of selected coarsely rooted species by inserting six different types of materials painted with Spin Out™ or impregnated with Spin Out™ WP (wetable powder) at the bottom of the container. Seedlings or rooted cuttings of 54 taxa of ornamental trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses were grown in plastic containers, half of which were painted inside with Spin Out™. Root deflection was measured subjectively by a panel of four judges using a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating root deflection of less than 1.3 cm, (excellent control) and 5 indicating severe root deflection (no control). While excellent control of root deflection was not always achieved in treated containers, root deflection was consistently reduced compared to untreated containers. This eliminated the need for corrective root pruning. Treatment means ranged from 1.0 to 2.5 with 83% ≤ 1.5. Control means ranged from 1.8 to 5.0 with 85% ≥ to 3.0. No visual signs of copper toxicity were observed. Cupric hydroxide did not inhibit or restrict the growth of stem structures such as rhizomes, stolons or basal suckers. Tap roots of three coarse rooted species, Nyssa sylvatica Marshall (black gum), Quercus acutissma Carruth. (sawtooth oak) and Castanea mollissima Bl. (Chinese chestnut) were subjected to six treatment materials which were either cut to fit or placed on the bottom of a 7.6 1 container. Each treatment material (paint only, Styrofoam plug tray, 3M floor buffer mat, peat fiber sheet, stone and weed barrier fabric) was either painted with Spin Out™ or impregnated with Spin Out™ WP. Treatments that allowed the tap root to penetrate the material, i.e. weed barrier fabric, stone and 3M floor buffing mat, were more effective in controlling tap root elongation compared to controls. Weed barrier fabric significantly reduced tap root length of Quercus acutissima and Nyssa sylvatica by 80% and 67%, respectively, compared to controls and by 65% and 53%, respectively, compared to the paint only treatment. In some cases the 3M floor buffing mat and stone treatments were more effective than the weed barrier fabric but were impractical because of weight or expense. The interior walls of all treatment containers were painted with Spin Out™ which significantly inhibited lateral root deflection down the side of the container compared to controls

Levels of Symbolic Meaning in \u3ci\u3ePearl\u3c/i\u3e

Using Tolkien’s translation, examines three levels of meaning in the Middle English poem. Calls it a poem “into which is woven an intense and organic symbolism of the Christian doctrine of death and eternal life.

Nucleon electromagnetic form factors from lattice QCD using a nearly physical pion mass

We present lattice QCD calculations of nucleon electromagnetic form factors using pion masses $m_\pi$ = 149, 202, and 254 MeV and an action with clover-improved Wilson quarks coupled to smeared gauge fields, as used by the Budapest-Marseille-Wuppertal collaboration. Particular attention is given to removal of the effects of excited state contamination by calculation at three source-sink separations and use of the summation and generalized pencil-of-function methods. The combination of calculation at the nearly physical mass $m_\pi$ = 149 MeV in a large spatial volume ($m_\pi L_s$ = 4.2) and removal of excited state effects yields agreement with experiment for the electric and magnetic form factors $G_E(Q^2)$ and $G_M(Q^2)$ up to $Q^2$ = 0.5 GeV$^2$.Comment: v2: published version; 30 pages, 25 figures, 6 table

A taxonomic study of the Spirillum lipoferum group, with descriptions of a new genus, Azospirillum gen. nov. and two species, Azospirillum lipoferum (Beijerinck) comb. nov. and Azospirillum brasilense sp. nov.

Sixty-one strains of the root-associated nitrogen fixer Spirillum lipoferum exhibited a similar morphology in peptone--succinate salts medium: vibrioid cells having a diameter of 1.0 micrometer. When grown in broth the cells had a single polar flagellum, but when grown on agar at 30 degrees C lateral flagella of shorter wavelength were also formed. The DNA base composition was 69--71 mol% guanine + cytosine when determined by thermal denaturation. DNA homology experiments indicated the occurrence of two distinct but related homology groups: 46 strains were in group I and 15 strains were in group II. Group II strains were distinguished by their ability to use glucose as a sole carbon source for growth in nitrogen-free medium, by their production of an acidic reaction in a peptone-based glucose medium, by their requirement for biotin, and by their formation of wider, longer, S-shaped or helical cells in semisolid nitrogen-free malate medium. The results indicate that two species exist, and on the basis of their characteristics it is proposed that they be assigned to a new genus, Azospirillum. Strians belonging to group II are named A. lipoferum (Beijerinck) comb. nov., while those belonging to group I are named A. brasilense sp. nov. Strain Sp 59b (ATCC29707) is proposed as the neotype strain for A. lipoferum, and strain Sp 7 (ATCC 29145) is proposed as the type strain for A. brasilense

Overview of pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis

The aetiology of SSc is subject to ongoing research, as the precise events that underlie the development of this disease remain unclear. The pathogenesis is known to involve endothelium, epithelium, fibroblasts, innate and adaptive immune systems and their component immunological mediators. Endothelial cell damage may be the initiating factor, but the precise triggering event(s) remain elusive. Angiogenesis also appears to be dysregulated. Vasculopathy shows similarities in different organs (e.g. pulmonary arterial hypertension, renal disease, digital tip ulcers). Endothelin-1 is a potent mediator of vasculopathy, and hence represents a highly relevant target for intervention of vascular features in SS

Initial nucleon structure results with chiral quarks at the physical point

We report initial nucleon structure results computed on lattices with 2+1 dynamical M\"obius domain wall fermions at the physical point generated by the RBC and UKQCD collaborations. At this stage, we evaluate only connected quark contributions. In particular, we discuss the nucleon vector and axial-vector form factors, nucleon axial charge and the isovector quark momentum fraction. From currently available statistics, we estimate the stochastic accuracy of the determination of $g_A$ and $_{u-d}$ to be around 10%, and we expect to reduce that to 5% within the next year. To reduce the computational cost of our calculations, we extensively use acceleration techniques such as low-eigenmode deflation and all-mode-averaging (AMA). We present a method for choosing optimal AMA parameters.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures; talk presented at the 32nd International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 23-28 June, 2014, Columbia University, New York, US