An Ill Wind: Air Pollution in the Pearl River Delta

Marine transport is an efficient and cost-effective way to transport goods around the world; at least ninety percent of all global trade is served by the shipping industry and shipping trade is expected to triple in the next two decades. However, because of the poor quality of the fuel used by the shipping industry, ocean-going ships disproportionately impact the environment and human health. The shipping industry is presently estimated to generate almost thirty percent of the world’s smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions and nearly ten percent of sulfur dioxide emissions that cause acid rain and deadly fine particles. The Pearl River Delta on the Southern coast of China is home to some of the busiest sea ports in the world, including the ports of Hong Kong and East and West Shenzhen, and is therefore particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of ship emissions. The air pollution caused by ship emissions poses a serious and growing threat to the Pearl River Delta and its inhabitants, but the Chinese government has implemented very few initiatives to reduce its effects. The Chinese government must take a two-pronged approach to address the threat of ship emissions. First and most importantly, Chinese lawmakers should draft and implement national legislation that imposes emissions restrictions on ships while in and around the ports of the Pearl River Delta. Second, China should appeal to the International Maritime Organization to have the Pearl River Delta declared a Micro-Emissions Control Area, thereby significantly restricting the sulfur content of fuel permitted within the region

Through children\u27s eyes : understanding visible and invisible injury in military parents : a project based upon an independent investigation

This qualitative study explores how young children (age 5-11) experience and develop empathy about parents who are suffering from physical and psychological injuries. This study was based on a Sesame Workshop film which depicts five families with a parent returning from war with either a visible (arm or leg amputation) or an invisible (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Traumatic Brain Injury) wound. Children of military families (n= 28 children) and children of civilian families (n= 42 children) comprised the study sample. Focus groups based on a semi-structured interview guide were conducted after the viewing of the film. Findings indicated children\u27s difficulty in understanding the abstract nature of emotions associated with invisible injuries as well as their thirst for knowledge, even when this is accompanied by fear or anxiety about the subject matter. Suggestions for family educational materials are provided

The kinematic interaction problem of embedded circular foundations

Thesis. 1975. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil Engineering.Bibliography: leaf 106.by Joseph Parker Morray, Jr.M.S

Phonological contrasts and word-decoding skills of the reader of English as a second language

Purpose of the Study The purpose of the present study was to investigate the extent to which phoneme and grapheme-phoneme contrasts between English and Spanish influence the word-decoding skills of Spanish-speaking adults who are early readers of English. The major objectives of the research were to investigate: 1. The differences in subjects' discrimination between sounds contained in both English and Spanish and those found in English only. 2. The differences in subjects' decoding of nonsense words containing letter-sound combinations occurring in both English and Spanish and those found in English only. 3. Differences in sound-discrimination and word-decoding between native speakers of Spanish and English. 4. Differences among English proficiency levels in sounddiscrimination and word-decoding performance. 5. The influence of a contrast between Spanish and English in spelling the same sound (e.g., ph and f) on the ability of Spanish-speakers to decode English words containing such letter-sounds. 6. The degree of association between performances in sound-discrimination and word-decoding. Procedures Two exercises, one in sound-discrimination and the other in word-decoding, were administered to two main groups of subjects. The first was made up of seventy-four Spanish-speaking adults on four levels of English- language proficiency. The second, a control group, was composed of twenty native-English-speaking adults. Results were analyzed for significant differences in performance by means of three-way analysis of variance. Degree of association between performances on Exercises 1 and 2 was measured by the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Findings of the Study No significant difference existed in sound-discrimination performance on nonsense words containing familiar as compared to unfamiliar sounds. Moreover, position of the experimental sound in the word produced no significant difference. However, significant differences appeared in word-decoding performance on words containing familiar as compared to unfamiliar letter-sounds and on letter-sounds in terminal and initial position as compared to medial in favor of the former.Significant differences on both exercises were revealed between English-speakers and Spanish-speakers and between subjects on higher and lower levels of English-language proficiency in favor of the former. The use of an unfamiliar spelling for a sound familiar to Spanishspeakers resulted in a significant difference in decoding accuracy between words containing that feature and words with letter-sounds found in both languages. Finally, slight to moderate association was revealed between performances on items in Exercise 1 and corresponding items in Exercise 2. Implications The implications of these findings are that difficulties in word-decoding for Spanish-speaking adults are associated with the presence of letter-sounds which are not found in Spanish. Unfamiliar spellings of sounds that occur in Spanish are also associated with problems in word-decoding. As English-language proficiency increases, such difficulties tend to decrease. Recommendations Further Research 1. Theoretical research a. Investigation of reasons for Level 50's high performance level b. Investigation of the association between word-decoding and word-comprehension c. Replication of the present study with the substitution of different sounds and letter-sounds and with speakers of other languages as subjects 2. Research into the utility of selected methodological techniques a. Informal Reading Inventories (I.R.I.'s) b. Word-decoding drills c. Word-practice in a variety of contexts d. Appropriate audio-visual materials e. Criterion-referenced test

Incidence and duration of total occlusion of the radial artery in newborn infants after catheter removal

The incidence and duration of total occlusion of the radial artery after catheter removal was determined using repeated Doppler flow measurements. Thirty-two newborn infants with birthweights ranging from 945 g to 3890 g (median 1935 g) and gestational age ranging from 26 to 40 weeks (median 32 weeks) were studied. In 20 out of 32 infants (63%), complete occlusion of the radial artery occurred. The number of occlusions were not related to birthweight, gestational age or duration of cannulation. In all infants, blood flow in the radial artery resumed within 1-29 days after catheter removal. The duration of occlusion was directly related to the duration of cannulation and inversely related to birthweight. This study demonstrates a high frequency of total occlusion of the radial artery in newborn infants after percutaneous radial artery cannulation. In the majority of infants with a radial artert catheter, blood flow to the tissue distal to the cannulation site is dependent solely on the existence of an adequate arterial palmar collateral circulation

New Investigations in the Environment, History and Archaeology of the Iraqi Hilly Flanks: Shahrizor Survey Project 2009-2011

Recent palaeoenvironmental, historical, and archaeological investigations, primarily consisting of site reconnaissance, in the Shahrizor region within the province of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan are bringing to light new information on the region’s social and socio-ecological development. This paper summarises two seasons of work by researchers from German, British, Dutch, and Iraqi-Kurdish institutions working in the survey region. Palaeoenvironmental data have determined that during the Pleistocene many terraces developed which came to be occupied by a number of the larger tell sites in the Holocene. In the sedimentary record, climatic and anthropogenic patterns are noticeable, and alluviation has affected the recovery of archaeological remains through site burial in places. Historical data show the Shahrizor shifting between periods of independence, either occupied by one regional state or several smaller entities, and periods that saw the plain’s incorporation within large empires, often in a border position. New archaeological investigations have provided insight into the importance of the region as a transit centre between Western Iran and northern and southern Mesopotamia, with clear material culture links recovered. Variations between periods’ settlement patterns and occupations are also beginning to emerge

Indoor risk factors for asthma and wheezing among Seattle school children

Indoor risk factors for physician-diagnosed asthma and wheezing in the past 12 months without previous asthma diagnosis were assessed in a survey of parents of 5-9-year-old Seattle primary school students. Among the 925 respondents, 106 (11%) reported a physician diagnosis of asthma, 66 (7%) had wheezing without diagnosis, and 753 (82%) were asymptomatic. After adjusting for age, sex, gender, ethnicity, medical history, socioeconomic status (SES) and parental asthma status, an increased risk of physician diagnosis of asthma was associated with household water damage, the presence of one or more household tobacco smokers, and at least occasional environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure. Similarly, an increased risk of wheezing in the past 12 months among children without diagnosed asthma was associated with household water damage, presence of one or more household tobacco smokers, and occasional or more frequent ETS exposure. No increased risk of either condition was associated with gas, wood, or kerosene stove use, household mold, basement water, or wall/window dampness. Similarities in the indoor risk factors patterns between diagnosed asthma and wheezing without diagnosis suggested a similar etiology of these two conditions. The slightly higher association between ETS and asthma may indicate that parents of diagnosed asthmatics were more conscious of ETS, and were more likely to prohibit household smoking by resident smokers. Future research is needed to quantify which aspects of household water damage are related to respiratory illness