Assessing Happiness: An Evaluation of the Latin American Paradox in the United States

Abstract: This research project investigates an array of pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors and their effect on happiness trends within the United States’ Latino population. Happiness Economics is a new field of economic study coined in the 1970s by Richard Easterlin. This new field of study laid the foundation for further research and, ultimately, led to the discovery of the Latin American Paradox. The Latin American Paradox identifies high levels of happiness amongst Latinos within Latin America and the United States, with low levels of economic prosperity. This study uses Mental Health data from IPUMS Health Survey to investigate the different factors that play a role in the persistence of the Latin American paradox within the United States. Findings suggest that Latinos in the United States are less sensitive to economic factors (compared to Non-Latinos) and it is socio-cultural variables that act as a significant determinant of happiness within the United States’ Latino population

Can Money Buy You Mental Health? The Effects of Economic and Non-Economic Factors on Mental Health

This research paper examines the correlation between economic and non-economic factors and mental health. The Mental Health Hygiene Movement began in 1908 and led to the development of a new field of economic study: Mental Health Economics. Existing economic theories are applied to determine how pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors interact with mental health. Data from IPUMS Health Survey was used to run two linear regression models to evaluate how individuals’ social position, human capital characteristics, and demographic characteristics influence their mental health. Results social position, unemployment, educational attainment and mental health. Implications of the results suggest further analysis of mental health economics and policy reform for businesses and the government

Redoxtrons – An experimental system to study redox processes within the capillary fringe

Spatiotemporal characterisation of the soil redox status within the capillary fringe (CF) is a challenging task. Air-filled porosities (ε), oxygen concentration (O2) and soil redox potential (EH) are interrelated soil variables within active biogeochemical domains such as the CF. We investigated the impact of water table (WT) rise and drainage in an undisturbed topsoil and subsoil sample taken from a Calcaric Gleysol for a period of 46 days. We merged 1D (EH and matric potential) and 2D (O2) systems to monitor at high spatiotemporal resolution redox dynamics within self-constructed redoxtron housings and complemented the data set by a 3D pore network characterization using X-ray microtomography (X-ray μCT). Depletion of O2 was faster in the organic matter- and clay-rich aggregated topsoil and the CF extended >10 cm above the artificial WT. The homogeneous and less-aggregated subsoil extended only 4 cm above the WT as indicated by ε–O2–EH data during saturation. After drainage, 2D O2 imaging revealed a fast aeration towards the lower depths of the topsoil, which agrees with the connected ε derived by X-ray μCT (εCT_conn) of 14.9% of the total porosity. However, small-scaled anoxic domains with O2 saturation <5% were apparent even after lowering the WT (down to 0.25 cm2 in size) for 23 days. These domains remained a nucleus for reducing soil conditions (EH < −100 mV), which made it challenging to characterise the soil redox status in the CF. In contrast, the subsoil aeration reached O2 saturation after 8 days for the complete soil volume. Values of εCT_conn around zero in the subsoil highlighted that soil aeration was independent of this parameter suggesting that other variables such as microbial activity must be considered when predicting the soil redox status from ε alone. The use of redoxtrons in combination with localised redox-measurements and image based pore space analysis resulted in a better 2D/3D characterisation of the pore system and related O2 transport properties. This allowed us to analyse the distribution and activity of microbiological niches highly associated with the spatiotemporal variable redox dynamics in soil environments

Float, explode or sink: postmortem fate of lung-breathing marine vertebrates

What happens after the death of a marine tetrapod in seawater? Palaeontologists and neontologists have claimed that large lung-breathing marine tetrapods such as ichthyosaurs had a lower density than seawater, implying that their carcasses floated at the surface after death and sank subsequently after leakage of putrefaction gases (or ‘‘carcass explosions''). Such explosions would thus account for the skeletal disarticulation observed frequently in the fossil record. We examined the taphonomy and sedimentary environment of numerous ichthyosaur skeletons and compared them to living marine tetrapods, principally cetaceans, and measured abdominal pressures in human carcasses. Our data and a review of the literature demonstrate that carcasses sink and do not explode (and spread skeletal elements). We argue that the normally slightly negatively buoyant carcasses of ichthyosaurs would have sunk to the sea floor and risen to the surface only when they remained in shallow water above a certain temperature and at a low scavenging rate. Once surfaced, prolonged floating may have occurred and a carcass have decomposed gradually. Our conclusions are of significance to the understanding of the inclusion of carcasses of lung-breathing vertebrates in marine nutrient recycling. The postmortem fate has essential implications for the interpretation of vertebrate fossil preservation (the existence of complete, disarticulated fossil skeletons is not explained by previous hypotheses), palaeobathymetry, the physiology of modern marine lung-breathing tetrapods and their conservation, and the recovery of human bodies from seawate

Hydrogen Bond Acceptors and Additional Cationic Charges in Methylene Blue Derivatives: Photophysics and Antimicrobial Efficiency

Photodynamic inactivation of bacteria (PIB) by efficient singlet oxygen photosensitizers might be a beneficial alternative to antibiotics in the struggle against multiresistant bacteria. Phenothiazinium dyes belong to the most prominent classes of such sensitizers due to their intense absorption in the red-light region ( ca. 600–680 nm,  L mol−1 cm−1), their low toxicity, and their attachment/penetration abilities. Except simple substituents like alkyl or hydroxyalkyl residues, nearly no modifications of the phenothiaziniums have been pursued at the auxochromic sites. By this, the properties of methylene blue derivatives and their fields of application are limited; it remains unclear if their potential antimicrobial efficacy may be enhanced, also to compete with porphyrins. We prepared a set of six mainly novel methylene blue derivatives with the ability of additional hydrogen bonding and/or additional cationic charges to study the substituents’ effect on their activity/toxicity profiles and photophysical properties. Direct detection of singlet oxygen was performed at 1270 nm and the singlet oxygen quantum yields were determined. In suspensions with both, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, some derivatives were highly active upon illumination to inactivate S. aureus and E. coli up to 7 log10 steps (99.99999%) without inherent toxicities in the nonirradiated state

Einblick in die Lehrdiplom-Ausbildung in Geographie (SII) – Außerschulische Lernaktivitäten im Geopark Sardona

Außerschulisches Lernen kann zu besonders nachhaltigen Erkenntnisgewinnen führen, wenn die Lernenden die Möglichkeit haben, sich aktiv auf einen Raum einzulassen. Der Ortsbezug ist dabei eine Grundbedingung. Die Wahl geeigneter Standorte für außerschulische Lernaktivitäten gehört daher zu den wichtigsten Herausforderungen bei der Planung und bedingt sorgfältiges Rekognoszieren. – Um angehende Lehrpersonen bei dieser anspruchsvollen «Arbeit vor Ort» zu unterstützen, wurde im Rahmen des Studiengangs «Lehrdiplom für Maturitätsschulen» an der Universität Zürich ein Geographie-Pflichtmodul eingeführt, das fachwissenschaftliche Vertiefung mit forschend-entdeckendem Lernen kombiniert. Das Modul ist umsetzungsorientiert angelegt und besteht aus einer Informationsveranstaltung, einer Einführungsexkursion in die Zielregion, dem gemeinsamen Verfassen eines Exkursionsführers sowie einer zentralen zweitägigen Exkursion (Blockkurs). Letztere wird gemeinsam mit einer Gymnasialklasse durchgeführt, so dass die Studierenden ihre handlungsorientierten Lernideen möglichst realitätsnah vor Ort ausprobieren können. Als «Lernort» dient seit dem Frühjahrssemester 2012 der Geopark Sardona in der Ostschweiz. Zur Erfassung der landschaftlichen Vielfalt dieser Region setzten sich die Studierenden mit ausgewählten physisch- und humangeographischen Schwerpunktthemen auseinander. Die Lehrveranstaltung wurde im Anschluss sowohl von den Lehrdiplomstudierenden als auch von der Gymnasialklasse insgesamt als wertvoll und gelungen bezeichnet. Bemerkenswert war die unterschiedliche Wahrnehmung beim Inhaltsniveau: Während die Studierenden Bedenken hatten, die Lernenden mit zu vielen Lernaktivitäten zu überfordern, beklagten sich die Gymnasiastinnen und Gymnasiasten über zu wenige oder gar als «zu einfach» wahrgenommene Lerninhalte