The International Response to Climate Change: An Agenda for Global Health

As the international community negotiates a successor to the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), there is new reason to hope that meaningful action might be taken to prevent devastating climate change. Even the more ambitious mitigation targets currently under negotiation, however, will not be sufficient to avoid a profound effect on the public\u27s health in coming decades, with the world\u27s poorest, most vulnerable populations bearing the disproportionate burden. The influence of historic and current emissions will be so substantial that it is imperative to reduce global emissions while at the same time preparing for the effects. Recently, the UNFCCC has begun to turn its attention to adaptation—changes to human systems to ameliorate the consequences of climate change. This Commentary proposes a new agenda for mitigation as well as adaptation approaches that emphasize the considerable health effects of climate change, which include increasingly intense and more frequent natural disasters, potential increases in vector-, food-, and water-borne infectious disease, and exacerbation of cardiovascular and respiratory disease. The effects of climate change will be experienced in every region but will disproportionately burden the global poor, exacerbating global health disparities and challenging the international community to address the inevitable questions of global social justice. Three key recommendations are proposed: (1) focus mitigation targets on broader health impacts, rather than framing climate change as a coastal issue; (2) incorporate land-use and agricultural approaches to mitigation alongside measures in the energy and transportation sectors to take advantage of co-benefits for health; and (3) fully fund adaptation projects as a global priority with an emphasis on strengthening health systems

Governmental Public Health Powers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Stay-at-home Orders, Business Closures, and Travel Restrictions

The president and all 50 governors have declared health emergencies to combat the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While researchers race for vaccines, officials are implementing physical distancing, including orders to stay at home, restrict travel, and close non-essential businesses. To limit cross-border spread, a few states have issued mandatory quarantines for interstate travelers. Models suggest physical distancing would have to persist for 3 months to mitigate peak impacts on health systems and could continue on an intermittent basis for 12-18 months. What legal powers do governments have? What is the role of the courts? How can we balance public health with personal and economic rights

SPS fiber optic link assessment

Fiber optic technology was tentatively selected in the SPS baseline design to transmit a stable phase reference throughout microwave array. Over a hundred thousand microwave modules are electronically steered by the phase reference signal to form the power beam at the ground receiving station. The initially selected IF distribution frequency of the phase reference signal was at 980 MHz or a submultiple of it. Fiber optics offers some significant advantages in view of the SPS application. Optical transmission is highly immune to EMI/RFI, which is expected to be severe when considering the low distribution power. In addition, there are savings in both mass, physical size, and potentially in cost

Physicians’ Experiences and Opinions Regarding Strategies to Improve Care for Minority Patients

Objective: To assess the views and experiences of a select group of physicians interested in minority health issues regarding promising strategies to improve minority care. Methods: Physicians were asked to respond to a 17-item survey assessing the level of agreement, frequency of implementation of and interest in learning more about 7 promising strategies for alleviating disparities. Results: Most physicians (75-95%) agreed that the 7 proposed strategies could be useful to improve the quality of care provided to minority patients, but only 40-66% of physicians had implemented the strategies sometimes or often in their practices. Between 22 and 29% of physicians were interested in learning more about 6 of the 7 strategies, preferably by CME, seminars and newsletters. Conclusion: Physicians concerned with minority health issues agree that commonly suggested strategies for eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care could be useful, but have difficulty implementing such approaches

Potential methane production and oxidation in shallow-water adapted wetland plant communities: Investigating a diversity-function relationship

The goal of this research was to understand how plant diversity affects methane production and oxidation in wetlands. We sampled soils from two natural and two created freshwater wetlands in central Ohio and measured methane production and oxidation potentials in the laboratory. Soil sampling plots were selected to represent the range of plant diversity in each wetland. In the two natural wetlands, maximum methane production potentials were 1.5 and 7.9 ng CH 4 g-1 h-1, and oxidation potentials were 41.3 and 25.8 ng CH4 g-1 h-1. In the two created wetlands, maximum production potentials were 0.3 and 0.7 ng CH4 g-1 h-1, while oxidation potentials were 8.1 and 4.3 ng CH4 g-1 h-1. Natural wetlands had greater methane oxidation (P \u3c 0.0001) than created wetlands and these rates increased with soil moisture ( P = 0.05, BF; 0.01, CA) and organic matter (P = 0.02, BF; 0.02, CA). Natural wetlands had greater soil moisture than created wetlands (P \u3c 0:0001). There was no relationship between plant diversity and methane production and oxidation potentials. However, there were important differences in soil properties between natural and created wetlands. Therefore, the creation of mitigation wetlands must still account for soil properties and processes mediated by the soil microbial community in order to attain functional equivalence, which may be more difficult to restore on shorter time-scales than plant diversity. This is a particular concern because the amount of time needed to restore wetland function is unknown, yet short-term monitoring is common practice while long-term monitoring is rare and not obligatory

FOOD HANDLING PERCEPTIONS, PRACTICES, KNOWLEDGE AND BARRIERS IN NATIVE AMERICAN PRIMARY FOOD HANDLERS OF YOUNG CHILDREN IN NEW MEXICO

Food borne illness among Native American populations exceeds that of majority populations. Due to the unique cultural diversity in New Mexico, these inequities are even greater. Attitudes and behaviors towards food are influenced by social and cultural contexts, yet, there has been limited research relating to the knowledge and perceptions of minority populations. A qualitative research design using focus group methodology was used in this study. The Health Belief Model was used as the theoretical framework. The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the food safety practices and beliefs of primary food handlers within Native American families. Thirty-one participants were recruited to participate in focus group discussions and to complete a food safety knowledge survey. Data was organized and analyzed for central themes. Results suggest a need for cultural competent public health education designed to increase awareness about food safety practices within the home

Student perceptions regarding the use of rubrics in writing assignments

The purpose of this study is to explore student perceptions regarding the use of rubrics in writing assignments. This qualitative research study was conducted with 16 students in a first grade classroom. I have conducted 4 mini-lessons on different writing components with the class. As a class we created a scoring rubric that includes important parts of the assignment and a number scale to further weigh the importance. The students were a part of creating the rubric and were given the rubric prior to their writing assignment. During the assignment I observed how the students use their knowledge of the rubric to complete their writing assignment. Upon the completion of the assignment I asked the students questions about the rubric, if they liked it or not, and why. This research supports the idea that students feel better about a writing assignment knowing exactly what they will be graded on prior to the assignment and these implications are discussed

The Effects of Metacognitive Writing on Student Achievement in Advanced Placement Calculus

Grounded in metacognitive theory (Flavell, 1976) and historical foundations that reach back as far as the writings of Plato (1973), the last few decades have seen an increase in research regarding the impact of metacognitive practice on student learning, often through the use of reflective writing. Studies have focused on a range of aspects, from how to measure metacognition to the effect metacognitive practice has on the academic achievement of students in a variety of subject areas. Specifically with regard to mathematics, researchers have studied the impact of reflective strategies on primary, secondary, and university level students. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of reflective writing practice on the achievement of Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus students in a comprehensive high school setting. This quasi-experimental study utilized a pretest-posttest control group design, with nonrandom assignment of students to the control and experimental groups. The independent variable was the use of reflective writing prompts, completed only by the experimental group. The non-calculator multiple choice portion of released AP Calculus AB examinations served as the dependent variable. Descriptive statistics were evaluated to determine if the data met the requirements for parametric analyses. Analysis of covariance was completed to analyze the data for statistically significant differences between the groups. In addition, theme extraction was carried out using Semantria® text analysis software to examine common themes within the reflective student writings as well as Sentiment values for those themes. Finally, Pearson’s r correlation coefficient was calculated to determine any correlation between number of extracted themes and posttest score. The ANCOVA revealed a statistically significant difference between the groups, but with the control group maintaining a higher mean than that of the experimental group. Common themes in the reflective writing included a variety of calculus concepts addressed during the timeframe of the study. A statistically significant correlation was found between the number of extracted themes and student’s score on the posttest

A View From the Margins: Situating CTL Staff in Organizational Development

The authors explore assumptions that underlie work on organizational development in their field, which reveal hierarchical and homogenizing tendencies, despite commitments to inclusivity. Given that the aim of recent literature, such as Schroeder and Associates’ Coming in from the Margins, is to situate educational developers in relation to organizational development, and given the field’s values, then both staff and directors must be considered. The authors examine how the margins can be valuable sites of knowledge production, highlighting the ways staff might contribute to organizational development. The authors hope that readers will gain several ideas for how to incorporate staff into organizational development