Ozone Reduction Survey Results: The Fall 97 Ozone Report

The Annual Ozone Reduction telephone survey measures ground level ozone knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors and is given to Atlanta residents living and working in the 13 county ozone non-attainment area. The survey was conducted by the Applied Research Center at Georgia State University. Residents were randomly selected and interviewed from October 1st -- November 7th, 1997. Interviewing was conducted on weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 9:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Weekend interviewing was conducted Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Each number was contacted a minimum of 7 times, or until a final disposition was reached. The actual results collected were weighted using the most recent U.S. Census data on the state of Georgia.The results of the Survey are likely to contain some error. Ninety-five percent of the time, error due to the random selection process will be no more than 3.5 percentage points plus or minus the reported percentage for all Georgians. Error for subgroups is likely to be slightly larger. Other sources of error are caused by individuals refusing to participate in the interview and inability to connect with the selected telephone number. For the Fall 1997 survey, 1275 surveys were completed, a response rate of 66%. Every feasible effort is made to obtain a response and reduce the error, but the reader should be aware that some error is inherent in all research.Approximately 74% of respondents were white and 23% African American, 55% were female and 45% male. The mean age was 41 and, on average, respondents had completed some college course work. The median family income was $50,000-$75,000 and 66% of those surveyed owned their residence

Ozone Reduction Survey Results: The Spring 98 Report

The Ozone reduction survey measures ground level ozone knowledge

Ozone Reduction Survey Results: The Spring 97 Report Part 2

Abstract pending

Ozone Reduction Survey Results: The Spring & Summer 98 Executive Summary

Questions about the salience of issues and attitudes toward improving air quality

Ozone Reduction Survey Results: The Spring & Summer 98 Report

Results of the questions about the salience of issues and attitudes toward improving air quality

Complete genome sequences of 15 chikungunya virus isolates from Puerto Rico

Here, we report the complete genome sequences of 15 chikungunya virus strains isolated from human plasma from infected patients in Puerto Rico. The results show that currently circulating chikungunya strains in Puerto Rico are closely related

The role of herbivorous insects and pathogens in the regeneration dynamics of Guazuma ulmifolia in Panama

A significant proportion of the mortality of rainforest trees occurs during early life stages (seeds and seedlings), but mortality agents are often elusive. Our study investigated the role of herbivorous insects and pathogens in the early regeneration dynamics of Guazuma ulmifolia (Malvaceae), an important tree species in agroforestry in Central America. We reared pre-dispersal insect seed predators from G. ulmifolia seeds in Panama. We also carried out an experiment, controlling insects and pathogens using insecticide and/or fungicide treatments, as well as seed density, and compared survivorship of G. ulmifolia seeds and seedlings among treatments and relative to untreated control plots. We observed (1) high pre-dispersal attack (92%) of the fruits of G. ulmifolia, mostly by anobiine and bruchine beetles; (2) negligible post-dispersal attack of isolated seeds by insects and pathogens; (3) slow growth and high mortality (> 95%) of seedlings after 14 weeks; (4) low insect damage on seedlings; and (5) a strong positive correlation between seedling mortality and rainfall. We conclude that for G. ulmifolia at our study site the pre-dispersal seed stage is by far the most sensitive stage to insects and that their influence on seedling mortality appears to be slight as compared to that of inclement weather. Thus, the regeneration of this important tree species may depend on effective primary dispersal of seeds by vertebrates (before most of the seed crop is lost to insects), conditioned by suitable conditions in which the seedlings can grow

Group A Streptococcus M1T1 Intracellular Infection of Primary Tonsil Epithelial Cells Dampens Levels of Secreted IL-8 Through the Action of SpyCEP.

Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Streptococcus; GAS) commonly causes pharyngitis in children and adults, with severe invasive disease and immune sequelae being an infrequent consequence. The ability of GAS to invade the host and establish infection likely involves subversion of host immune defenses. However, the signaling pathways and innate immune responses of epithelial cells to GAS are not well-understood. In this study, we utilized RNAseq to characterize the inflammatory responses of primary human tonsil epithelial (TEpi) cells to infection with the laboratory-adapted M6 strain JRS4 and the M1T1 clinical isolate 5448. Both strains induced the expression of genes encoding a wide range of inflammatory mediators, including IL-8. Pathway analysis revealed differentially expressed genes between mock and JRS4- or 5448-infected TEpi cells were enriched in transcription factor networks that regulate IL-8 expression, such as AP-1, ATF-2, and NFAT. While JRS4 infection resulted in high levels of secreted IL-8, 5448 infection did not, suggesting that 5448 may post-transcriptionally dampen IL-8 production. Infection with 5448ΔcepA, an isogenic mutant lacking the IL-8 protease SpyCEP, resulted in IL-8 secretion levels comparable to JRS4 infection. Complementation of 5448ΔcepA and JRS4 with a plasmid encoding 5448-derived SpyCEP significantly reduced IL-8 secretion by TEpi cells. Our results suggest that intracellular infection with the pathogenic GAS M1T1 clone induces a strong pro-inflammatory response in primary tonsil epithelial cells, but modulates this host response by selectively degrading the neutrophil-recruiting chemokine IL-8 to benefit infection

Incommensurate Magnetism in FeAs Strips: Neutron Scattering from CaFe4_4As3_3

Magnetism in the orthorhombic metal CaFe$_4$As$_3$ was examined through neutron diffraction for powder and single crystalline samples. Incommensurate (${\bm q}_{\rm m}\approx (0.37-0.39)\times{\bm b}^{\ast}$) and predominantly longitudinally ($\parallel b$) modulated order develops through a 2nd order phase transition at $T_{\rm N}=89.63(6)$ K with a 3D Heisenberg-like critical exponent $\beta=0.365(6)$. A 1st order transition at $T_2=25.6(9)$ K is associated with the development of a transverse component, locking ${\bm q}_{\rm m}$ to $0.375(2){\bm b}^{\ast}$, and increasing the moments from 2.1(1) to 2.2(3) $\mu_{\rm B}$ for Fe$^{2+}$ and from 1.3(3) to 2.4(4) $\mu_{\rm B}$ for Fe$^+$. The {\it ab-initio} Fermi surface is consistent with a nesting instability in cross-linked FeAs strips.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let