Mapping environmental injustices: pitfalls and potential of geographic information systems in assessing environmental health and equity.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used increasingly to map instances of environmental injustice, the disproportionate exposure of certain populations to environmental hazards. Some of the technical and analytic difficulties of mapping environmental injustice are outlined in this article, along with suggestions for using GIS to better assess and predict environmental health and equity. I examine 13 GIS-based environmental equity studies conducted within the past decade and use a study of noxious land use locations in the Bronx, New York, to illustrate and evaluate the differences in two common methods of determining exposure extent and the characteristics of proximate populations. Unresolved issues in mapping environmental equity and health include lack of comprehensive hazards databases; the inadequacy of current exposure indices; the need to develop realistic methodologies for determining the geographic extent of exposure and the characteristics of the affected populations; and the paucity and insufficiency of health assessment data. GIS have great potential to help us understand the spatial relationship between pollution and health. Refinements in exposure indices; the use of dispersion modeling and advanced proximity analysis; the application of neighborhood-scale analysis; and the consideration of other factors such as zoning and planning policies will enable more conclusive findings. The environmental equity studies reviewed in this article found a disproportionate environmental burden based on race and/or income. It is critical now to demonstrate correspondence between environmental burdens and adverse health impacts--to show the disproportionate effects of pollution rather than just the disproportionate distribution of pollution sources

Wilson Expansion of QCD Propagators at Three Loops: Operators of Dimension Two and Three

In this paper we construct the Wilson short distance operator product expansion for the gluon, quark and ghost propagators in QCD, including operators of dimension two and three, namely, A^2, m^2, m A^2, \ovl{\psi} \psi and m^3. We compute analytically the coefficient functions of these operators at three loops for all three propagators in the general covariant gauge. Our results, taken in the Landau gauge, should help to improve the accuracy of extracting the vacuum expectation values of these operators from lattice simulation of the QCD propagators.Comment: 20 pages, no figure

The development and validation of measures to assess cooking skills and food skills

BACKGROUND: With the increase use of convenience food and eating outside the home environment being linked to the obesity epidemic, the need to assess and monitor individuals cooking and food skills is key to help intervene where necessary to promote the usage of these skills. Therefore, this research aimed to develop and validate a measure for cooking skills and one for food skills, that are clearly described, relatable, user-friendly, suitable for different types of studies, and applicable across all sociodemographic levels. METHODS: Two measures were developed in light of the literature and expert opinion and piloted for clarity and ease of use. Following this, four studies were undertaken across different cohorts (including a sample of students, both 'Food preparation novices' and 'Experienced food preparers', and a nationally representative sample) to assess temporal stability, psychometrics, internal consistency reliability and construct validity of both measures. Analysis included T-tests, Pearson's correlations, factor analysis, and Cronbach's alphas, with a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: Both measures were found to have a significant level of temporal stability (P < 0.001). Factor analysis revealed three factors with eigenvalues over 1, with two items in a third factor outside the two suggested measures. The internal consistency reliability for the cooking skills confidence measure ranged from 0.78 to 0.93 across all cohorts. The food skills confidence measure's Cronbach's alpha's ranged from 0.85 to 0.94. The two measures also showed a high discriminate validity as there were significant differences (P < 0.05 for cooking skills confidence and P < 0.01 for food skills confidence) between Food preparation novices' and 'Experienced food preparers.' CONCLUSIONS: The cooking skills confidence measure and the food skills confidence measure have been shown to have a very satisfactory reliability, validity and are consistent over time. Their user-friendly applicability make both measures highly suitable for large scale cross-sectional, longitudinal and intervention studies to assess or monitor cooking and food skills levels and confidence

A method for dynamic subtraction MR imaging of the liver

BACKGROUND: Subtraction of Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced 3D Magnetic Resonance (DCE-MR) volumes can result in images that depict and accurately characterize a variety of liver lesions. However, the diagnostic utility of subtraction images depends on the extent of co-registration between non-enhanced and enhanced volumes. Movement of liver structures during acquisition must be corrected prior to subtraction. Currently available methods are computer intensive. We report a new method for the dynamic subtraction of MR liver images that does not require excessive computer time. METHODS: Nineteen consecutive patients (median age 45 years; range 37–67) were evaluated by VIBE T1-weighted sequences (TR 5.2 ms, TE 2.6 ms, flip angle 20°, slice thickness 1.5 mm) acquired before and 45s after contrast injection. Acquisition parameters were optimized for best portal system enhancement. Pre and post-contrast liver volumes were realigned using our 3D registration method which combines: (a) rigid 3D translation using maximization of normalized mutual information (NMI), and (b) fast 2D non-rigid registration which employs a complex discrete wavelet transform algorithm to maximize pixel phase correlation and perform multiresolution analysis. Registration performance was assessed quantitatively by NMI. RESULTS: The new registration procedure was able to realign liver structures in all 19 patients. NMI increased by about 8% after rigid registration (native vs. rigid registration 0.073 ± 0.031 vs. 0.078 ± 0.031, n.s., paired t-test) and by a further 23% (0.096 ± 0.035 vs. 0.078 ± 0.031, p < 0.001, paired t-test) after non-rigid realignment. The overall average NMI increase was 31%. CONCLUSION: This new method for realigning dynamic contrast-enhanced 3D MR volumes of liver leads to subtraction images that enhance diagnostic possibilities for liver lesions

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis resistant to conventional treatments: long-term results of a case series in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is no confirmed strategy for treating painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis (PBS/IC) with unclear etiology. Therefore, a pilot study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and safety of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy in treatment-resistant PBS/IC patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>HBO treatment (2.0 ATA for 60 minutes/day × 5 days/week for 2 or 4 weeks) was performed on 11 patients with severe symptoms that had not been improved by previous therapy regimens between December 2004 and July 2009.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seven of the 11 patients demonstrated persistent improvement in symptoms during the 12 months after HBO treatment. These responders demonstrated a decrease in the pelvic pain scale and urgency scale from 7.7 ± 1.0 and, 6.6 ± 0.9 to 3.4 ± 2.5 and 4.3 ± 2.4 after 12 months, respectively (p < 0.05). The total score of the interstitial cystitis symptom index and 24-hour urinary frequency demonstrated a significant sustained decrease from the baseline. Two responders, who received an additional course of HBO 12 and 13 months after initial treatment, respectively, did not suffer impairment for more than two years. There was one case of transient eustachian tube dysfunction and three cases of reversible exudative otitis media as a consequence of HBO treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>HBO is a potent treatment for PBS/IC patients resistant to conventional therapy. It was well tolerated and provided maintained amelioration of pain, urgency and urinary frequency for at least 12 months.</p

Rad51 Polymerization Reveals a New Chromatin Remodeling Mechanism

Rad51 protein is a well known protagonist of homologous recombination in eukaryotic cells. Rad51 polymerization on single-stranded DNA and its role in presynaptic filament formation have been extensively documented. Rad51 polymerizes also on double-stranded DNA but the significance of this filament formation remains unclear. We explored the behavior of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rad51 on dsDNA and the influence of nucleosomes on Rad51 polymerization mechanism to investigate its putative role in chromatin accessibility to recombination machinery. We combined biochemical approaches, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for analysis of the effects of the Rad51 filament on chromatinized templates. Quantitative analyses clearly demonstrated the occurrence of chromatin remodeling during nucleoprotein filament formation. During Rad51 polymerization, recombinase proteins moved all the nucleosomal arrays in front of the progressing filament. This polymerization process had a powerful remodeling effect, as Rad51 destabilized the nucleosomes along considerable stretches of DNA. Similar behavior was observed with RecA. Thus, recombinase polymerization is a powerful mechanism of chromatin remodeling. These remarkable features open up new possibilities for understanding DNA recombination and reveal new types of ATP-dependent chromatin dynamics

Examining the impact of 11 long-standing health conditions on health-related quality of life using the EQ-5D in a general population sample

Objectives Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures have been increasingly used in economic evaluations for policy guidance. We investigate the impact of 11 self-reported long-standing health conditions on HRQoL using the EQ-5D in a UK sample. Methods We used data from 13,955 patients in the South Yorkshire Cohort study collected between 2010 and 2012 containing the EQ-5D, a preference-based measure. Ordinary least squares (OLS), Tobit and two-part regression analyses were undertaken to estimate the impact of 11 long-standing health conditions on HRQoL at the individual level. Results The results varied significantly with the regression models employed. In the OLS and Tobit models, pain had the largest negative impact on HRQoL, followed by depression, osteoarthritis and anxiety/nerves, after controlling for all other conditions and sociodemographic characteristics. The magnitude of coefficients was higher in the Tobit model than in the OLS model. In the two-part model, these four long-standing health conditions were statistically significant, but the magnitude of coefficients decreased significantly compared to that in the OLS and Tobit models and was ranked from pain followed by depression, anxiety/nerves and osteoarthritis. Conclusions Pain, depression, osteoarthritis and anxiety/nerves are associated with the greatest losses of HRQoL in the UK population. The estimates presented in this article should be used to inform economic evaluations when assessing health care interventions, though improvements can be made in terms of diagnostic information and obtaining longitudinal data

Seamounts

Definition: Seamounts are literally mountains rising from the seafloor. More specifically, they are “any geographically isolated topographic feature on the seafloor taller than 100 m, including ones whose summit regions may temporarily emerge above sea level, but not including features that are located on continental shelves or that are part of other major landmasses” (Staudigel et al., 2010). The term “guyot” can be used for seamounts having a truncated cone shape with a flat summit produced by erosion at sea level (Hess, 1946), development of carbonate reefs (e.g., Flood, 1999), or partial collapse due to caldera formation (e.g., Batiza et al., 1984). Seamounts <1,000 m tall are sometimes referred to as “knolls” (e.g., Hirano et al., 2008). “Petit spots” are a newly discovered subset of sea knolls confined to the bulge of subducting oceanic plates of oceanic plates seaward of deep-sea trenches (Hirano et al., 2006)

A question of fit:cultural and individual differences in interpersonal justice perceptions

This study examined the link between employees’ adult attachment orientations and perceptions of line managers’ interpersonal justice behaviors, and the moderating effect of national culture (collectivism). Participants from countries categorized as low collectivistic (N = 205) and high collectivistic (N = 136) completed an online survey. Attachment anxiety and avoidance were negatively related to interpersonal justice perceptions. Cultural differences did not moderate the effects of avoidance. However, the relationship between attachment anxiety and interpersonal justice was non-significant in the Southern Asia (more collectivistic) cultural cluster. Our findings indicate the importance of ‘fit’ between cultural relational values and individual attachment orientations in shaping interpersonal justice perceptions, and highlight the need for more non-western organizational justice research