Developing EnviroSuite Resources at the National Synchrotron Light Source

The objective of Brookhaven National Laboratory's EnviroSuite Initiative is to develop the facilities, user support infrastructure, and techniques necessary to conduct world-class molecular environmental science research at the NSLS. This is intended to benefit the research of ERSD-supported scientists, both through direct access and assistance and through the indirect benefits of a broader network of environmental scientists as collaborators and users. Much of the EnviroSuite research involves close collaboration with members of the Center for Environmental Molecular Science (CEMS), an EMSI based at BNL and nearby Stony Brook University and jointly supported by ERSD (Project 1023761, P. Kalb) and NSF. This offers unique opportunities to benefit from both national laboratory facilities and university resources. Other collaborators, from around the US and the world, investigate various aspects of the underlying molecular-scale processes in complex natural systems. In general, synchrotron techniques are ideal for studying the molecular-scale structures, chemical/physical interactions, and transformations that govern the macroscopic properties and processes (e.g. transport, bioavailability) of contaminants in the environment. These techniques are element-specific, non-destructive, and sensitive to the very low concentrations found in real-world samples

Estimated Costs of False Laboratory Diagnoses of Tuberculosis in Three Patients

We estimated direct medical and nonmedical costs associated with a false diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) caused by laboratory cross-contamination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures in Massachusetts in 1998 and 1999. For three patients who received misdiagnoses of active TB disease on the basis of laboratory cross-contamination, the costs totaled U.S.$32,618. Of the total, 97$10,873 (range, $1,033-$21,306). Reducing laboratory cross-contamination and quickly identifying patients with cross-contaminated cultures can prevent unnecessary and potentially dangerous treatment regimens and anguish for the patient and financial burden to the health-care system

Freedom, Servitude and Voluntary Labor

We present an economic framework to revisit and reframe some important debates over the nature of free versus unfree labor and the economic consequences of emancipation. We use a simple general equilibrium model in which labor can be either free or coerced and where land and labor will be exchanged on markets that can be competitive or manipulated or via other non-market collusive arrangements. By working with variants of the same basic model under different assumptions about initial economy-wide factor endowments and asset ownership we can compare equilibrium distributional outcomes under different institutional and contractual arrangements including markets with free labor and free tenancy, slavery, and tenancy arrangements with tied labor-service obligations. Analysis of these different contractual and organizational forms yields insights that accord with common sense, but that are often overlooked or downplayed in academic debates, particularly amongst economists

Social Aspects of CSCL Environments: A Research Framework

Although there are research findings supporting the positive effects of computer-supported col- laborative learning (CSCL), problems have been reported regarding the learning process itself, group formation, and group dynamics. These problems can be traced back to impeded social interaction between group members. Social interaction is necessary (a) for group members to learn from each other in a CSCL environment and (b) for socioemotional processes to help cre- ate a social space where trust, sense of community, and strong interpersonal relationships exist. This article introduces a theoretical framework consisting of three core elements: sociability, social space, and social presence, along with their relationships with group members’ mental models, social affordances and learning outcomes. It postulates that the three core elements influence the social interaction needed for both learning and the emergence of a social space. This framework serves as a basis for a research agenda for systematic social CSCL research

Associations of Cumulative Sun Exposure and Phenotypic Characteristics with Histologic Solar Elastosis

Solar elastosis adjacent to melanomas in histologic sections is regarded as an indicator of sun exposure although the associations of ultraviolet (UV) exposure and phenotype with solar elastosis are yet to be fully explored