Perception and Barriers to Indoor Air Quality and Perceived Impact on Respiratory Health: An Assessment in Rural Honduras

Objective. The aim of this study was to identify household-specific factors associated with respiratory symptoms and to study the perceived impact of indoor air pollution (IAP) as a health issue. Methods. An IRB-approved, voluntary, anonymous 23-item survey was conducted in Spanish at a medical outreach clinic in June 2012 and at the homes of survey respondents (N = 79). Comparative analyses were performed to investigate relationships between specific house characteristics and respiratory complaints. Results. Seventy-nine surveys were completed. Respiratory symptoms were frequently reported by survey respondents: 42% stated that smoke in their household caused them to have watery eyes, 42% reported household members with coughs within the past two weeks, and 25% stated that there were currently household members experiencing difficulty in breathing. Stove location and kitchen roof construction material were significantly associated with frequency of respiratory symptoms. The vast majority used firewood as their major fuel type. Most respondents indicated that neither indoor air quality was a problem nor did it affect their daily life. Conclusions. Respiratory complaints are common in Yoro, Honduras. Stove location and kitchen roof construction material were significantly associated with frequency of respiratory symptoms; this may have implications for efforts to improve respiratory health in the region

Effects of composting manures and other organic wastes on soil processes and pest and disease interactions

Introduction Composts and manures are of major importance in providing fertility in organic farming systems, since synthetic fertilisers are prohibited. It is understood that composts have radically different nutrient release characteristics to those of uncomposted materials and manures, and it is believed that composting increases the beneficial effects of organic materials on soil health, soil quality, soil fertility and nutrient use efficiency. It has also been shown that some plant pests and diseases are suppressed through the application of composts and compost extracts to soils. There is considerable potential to use a wider range of feedstocks from on and off-farm sources and to improve the composting process and compost/manure application techniques. This review of scientific work to date was urgently required to help determine key research priorities to achieve this potential (Defra project OF0313). Project aims 1.To document the current standards, regulations and legislation relevant to recycling, compost/manure preparation and application and to review common UK practices relating to the preparation and application of uncomposted materials, manures, composts and compost extracts. 2. To review current scientific knowledge (from the literature) of the effects of different composting processes on chemical and biological parameters in the finished compost or compost extract. 3. To review (from the literature) the effects of uncomposted materials, manures and composts on soil health and quality, soil fertility and crop development and nutrition. 4. To review (from the literature) the effects of uncomposted materials, manures, composts and compost extracts on pest and disease incidence and severity in agricultural and horticultural crops. 5. To outline a proposed strategy for research which seeks to develop composting systems and compost/manure application protocols with a view to optimising soil fertility management and pest and disease control in organic agriculture and horticulture. Objective 1 - The current standards, regulations and legislation relevant to recycling, compost/manure preparation and application are documented in detail in the full report on Objective 1 (Appendix 2). Manures and uncomposted plant materials (e.g. green manures) are commonly used on UK organic farms. True composts (defined in the glossary, Appendix 1) are rarely prepared on UK organic farms, although there is increasing interest in their use, particularly on farms producing high value horticultural crops. An increasing number of companies are producing (or are interested in producing) composts suitable for use on organic farms as soil amendments or growing media. Objective 2 - The effects of different composting processes on chemical and biological parameters in the finished compost or compost extract are reviewed in detail in the full report on Objective 2 (Appendix 3). A short version of this review appears on pages 7-10 of this report. Objective 3 - The effects of uncomposted materials, manures and composts on soil health and quality, soil fertility and crop development and nutrition are reviewed in detail in the full report on Objective 3 (Appendix 4). A short version of this review appears on pages 10-13 of this report. Objective 4 - The effects of uncomposted materials, manures, composts and compost extracts on pest and disease incidence and severity in agricultural and horticultural crops are reviewed in detail in the full report on Objective 4 (Appendix 5). A short version of this review appears on pages 13-17 of this report. Objective 5 - A proposed strategy for research was outlined which seeks to develop composting systems and compost/manure application protocols with a view to optimising soil fertility management and pest/disease control in organic agriculture/horticulture Organic farming systems are by nature holistic. In other words, they function as a whole and all aspects of the system are interdependent on many other aspects of the system. It is essential therefore that research which is carried out to optimise the use of uncomposted plant residues, composts, manures and compost extracts is interdisciplinary; that is it must be carried out with reference to the organic farming system as a whole and not just a single aspect of it. Technology transfer and knowledge transfer are key elements to the proposed strategy for research. Seminars and conferences, farm walks, demonstration farms and a wide range of publishing formats must be used to ensure that end users have full access to the results of research carried out in the UK and abroad. The amount of information which is available for dissemination to those who wish to make or use composts will naturally depend on the amount of relevant research and development work which is going on in the UK, Europe and worldwide

Arendt on Arendt: Reflecting on the Meaning of the Eichmann Controversy

This thesis examines the controversy surrounding the publication of Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil (1963). More specifically, this study focuses on the American Jewish response to the text, examining how the controversy itself provoked a watershed of change in conceptions and understandings of the Holocaust, and by extension, notions of Jewish identity and discourse in the modern world. This study will consider the importance of viewing the controversy as a conversation rather than simply a rigid dichotomy. In failing to see how each side communicated with the other, scholars sometimes themselves reinforce the rigidity of this division, either by emphasizing only the difference between each side or by defending one position over another. Viewing this controversy as a conversation will also allow this study to examine not only how pre-existing perspectives clashed in the debate, but also how these perspectives were in turn changed by this encounter. The controversy did not simply present opposing views, but built up new views on history and identity as a result. This thesis will end on an investigation of Arendt’s own reaction to the controversy: though she herself provoked the debate, she considered it to have failed in generating a ‘real’ controversy. Arendt believed the Eichmann controversy failed not because her critics misinterpreted her book, but because the debate produced a monolithic response, inhibiting the possibility and endless plurality of opinion Arendt considered hallmarks of effective public discourse. This thesis concludes that the controversy was indeed a ‘real’ one, for both sides openly articulated the necessity of openness, plurality and disagreement in public debates. In the end, this thesis hopes to rewrite the story of the controversy in order to revive its lessons about public discourse rather than repeating historiographical approaches that, in focusing on the ways in which the controversy failed to break down a dichotomy of interpretation, only serving to maintain the static and unproductive logic of the debate. In a word, this thesis defends a new telling of the history of this controversy, one that identifies and learns from the manner in which each side of the debate engaged the other: both ultimately defended the virtue of political contestation and provoked a flood of new questions in scholarship. In short, this study will examine the social reality of an idea

Patterns of interaction in peer response: the relationship between pair dynamics and revision outcomes

Sociocultural researchers in SLA consider the interface between the social dynamics of pair interactions and language learning. Using Storch’s (2002) patterns of interaction coding scheme, studies have found that students who adopt a collaborative pattern are more successful in using language as a learning tool. SLA theorists, however, have suggested research projects that further analyze peer interaction and learning outcomes, including writing development, in ecologically valid settings (Swain, 2002; Ortega, 2012). Peer response is a pedagogical practice where focus on pair dynamics in relation to learning is particularly relevant. Despite its popularity and the theoretical argument for peer response, not all peer response is successful, and Ferris (2003) called for projects that consider both characteristics and outcomes of peer response. This study bridges the gap in these two related research areas, L2 writing and SLA, examining patterns of interaction during peer response, and considering associations between these and revision outcomes. Five pairs of non-native English speaking undergraduates were recording during peer response sessions three times, and also contributed first and second drafts of the papers they discussed. Peer response conversations were coded as exhibiting one of the four patterns (collaborative, expert/novice, dominant/dominant, and dominant/passive) identified by Storch (2002), which was enhanced by students’ perceptions of the peer response sessions that they provided in interviews. Second drafts were analyzed for improvement, and these gains were compared by pattern of interaction. Results show that two patterns (collaborative and expert/novice) are indeed associated with better revision outcomes. What is more, stimulated recall interviews with these students revealed that they become more successful at peer response when they attend to not only the task, but the interpersonal relationship. Overall, results provide classroom-based evidence on the relationship between peer-peer interaction and writing acquisition. These findings complement SLA interaction studies conducted in more experimental settings, as well as contribute to the peer response research in L2 writing by describing in detail students’ social interactions. This study also provides valuable pedagogical implications about training and pairing students for peer response. Finally, this study contributes to the emerging research trend of interfaces between SLA and L2 writing (Ortega, 2012)

Hypochlorite Oxidation of Nitrilotriacetic Acid

The chemical degradation of nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) by sodium hypochlorite is examined. Preliminary work indicates that NTA undergoes decarboxylation. In the second phase of this investigation (S92), the work was mainly concerned with the products from the reaction of NTA with hypochlorite. The product of decarboxylation has been found to be iminodiacetic acid. The decrease in concentration of hypochlorite per unit time was studied over a pH range of 7-14 and in the presence of lead, calcium, zinc, and copper ions

Statistical inference of transmission fidelity of DNA methylation patterns over somatic cell divisions in mammals

We develop Bayesian inference methods for a recently-emerging type of epigenetic data to study the transmission fidelity of DNA methylation patterns over cell divisions. The data consist of parent-daughter double-stranded DNA methylation patterns with each pattern coming from a single cell and represented as an unordered pair of binary strings. The data are technically difficult and time-consuming to collect, putting a premium on an efficient inference method. Our aim is to estimate rates for the maintenance and de novo methylation events that gave rise to the observed patterns, while accounting for measurement error. We model data at multiple sites jointly, thus using whole-strand information, and considerably reduce confounding between parameters. We also adopt a hierarchical structure that allows for variation in rates across sites without an explosion in the effective number of parameters. Our context-specific priors capture the expected stationarity, or near-stationarity, of the stochastic process that generated the data analyzed here. This expected stationarity is shown to greatly increase the precision of the estimation. Applying our model to a data set collected at the human FMR1 locus, we find that measurement errors, generally ignored in similar studies, occur at a nontrivial rate (inappropriate bisulfite conversion error: 1.6$$ with 80$$ CI: 0.9--2.3$$). Accounting for these errors has a substantial impact on estimates of key biological parameters. The estimated average failure of maintenance rate and daughter de novo rate decline from 0.04 to 0.024 and from 0.14 to 0.07, respectively, when errors are accounted for. Our results also provide evidence that de novo events may occur on both parent and daughter strands: the median parent and daughter de novo rates are 0.08 (80$$ CI: 0.04--0.13) and 0.07 (80$$ CI: 0.04--0.11), respectively.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-AOAS297 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Investigating the servant leader mentor: an examination of mentoring through the experiences of K-12 educators to promote selection strategies for beginning teacher induction programs

This qualitative narrative study was designed to investigate the mentoring experiences of quality teachers in order to provide knowledge for school district administration selecting mentor teachers for beginning staff. Data were gathered by examining the personal narratives of quality K-12 teachers, identified by having won the Missouri Teacher of the Year award, regarding their descriptions and experiences of mentoring as mentees. The conceptual framework of servant leadership was applied to provide a lens through which to study the phenomenon due to the deep insights it provided into the mentoring relationship. The study consisted of four educators who participated in multiple individual interviews sharing their personal stories of their mentors and the mentee process. Data were collected and triangulated from interviews and field texts revealing themes related to the characteristics of servant leaders. The findings of this study implicated that the mentors of quality public K-12 teachers utilize the ten characteristics of servant leadership (Spears, 1998) in their guiding of these teachers to reach their full potential. Therefore, the traits of servant leaders provide knowledge for an administrator trying to connect new staff with individuals who will positively affect their career. Results provided by this study add to the existing body of knowledge of servant leadership and mentoring

Georgia Latino Enrollment in the Affordable Care Act: A Qualitative, Key Informant Analysis

Background: Prior to implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, one in three Latinos in the United States were uninsured. In Georgia, a state that established a federal Marketplace, nearly half of Latinos lacked health insurance coverage going into the initial enrollment period of October 1, 2013 to April 15, 2014. The ACA provided an opportunity for these uninsured Latinos to gain health insurance coverage, thus increasing their access to necessary medical services. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore, from the perspective of key informants, knowledge of Georgia Latinos about the ACA and perceived barriers to enrollment in Marketplace health insurance coverage. Methods: A semi-structured interview guide based on a review of relevant literature and consideration of the study goal and aims was developed. Fourteen in-depth interviews with key informants (participants) from Georgia’s Latino community, including nonprofit leaders, health media professionals, and community health promoters, were conducted between June and September 2014. Results: Participants described perceived barriers to enrollment during the initial ACA enrollment period and made recommendations for the design and implementation of future outreach, education and enrollment strategies. Major themes that emerged involved basic health literacy, misinformation, enrollment opportunities, the importance of place and politics, and technology and language as barriers. Conclusions: To target Georgia Latinos, we provide seven recommendations for outreach, education and enrollment, including the organization of one-on-one services in locations of familiarity and comfort to Georgia Latinos and the hiring and training of Spanish-speaking enrollment professionals. When providing ACA education to Latinos, stakeholders should begin with basic health literacy concepts and education regarding the fundamentals of the United States health insurance system. The findings of this study may serve to guide future design and provision of culturally competent outreach, education and enrollment services