Combined Behavioral and Engineering Approach to Preventing Highway Fatalities

Traditional, single-discipline highway safety approaches can be augmented through multidisciplinary approaches that consider both engineering and behavioral interventions (e.g., education, enforcement, public outreach campaigns). Leveraging a systems-based conceptual framework of roadway safety, multiple forms of statistical and geospatial analysis, and SPF modeling and network screening, this report proposes and demonstrates methods for unpacking the influence of behavioral-related factors on crash occurrences and outcomes. The primary focus is on behaviors targeted in the Strategic Highway Safety Plan — aggressive driving, distracted driving, impaired driving, and driving without proper restraint (i.e., seatbelts). Based on application of these methods, the report highlights areas and highway corridors in Kentucky where behavioral-related crashes have been most common. Practitioners can use methods presented in the report to locate areas where behavioral-related crashes are problematic and based on this knowledge design behavioral modification strategies and countermeasures which focus on at-risk populations

Angler effort and catch within a spatially complex system of small lakes

Spatial layout of waterbodies and waterbody size can affect a creel clerk’s ability to intercept anglers for interviews and to accurately count anglers, which will affect the accuracy and precision of estimates of effort and catch. This study aimed to quantify angling effort and catch across a spatially complex system of19 small (\u3c100 ha) lakes, the Fremont lakes. Total (±SE) angling effort (hours) on individual lakes ranged from 0 (0) to 7,137 (305). Bank anglers utilized 18 of the 19 lakes, and their mean (±SE) trip lengths(hours) ranged from 0.80 (0.31) to 7.75 (6.75), depending on the waterbody. In contrast, boat anglers utilized 14 of the 19 lakes, and their trip lengths ranged from 1.39 (0.24) to 4.25 (0.71), depending on the waterbody. The most sought fishes, as indexed by number of lakes on which effort was exerted, were anything (17 of 19 lakes), largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (15 of 19 lakes), and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus (13 of 19 lakes). Bluegill Lepomis machrochirus, crappie Pomoxis spp., and largemouth bass were caught most frequently across the lakes, but catch rates varied considerably by lake. Of the1,138 parties interviewed, most parties (93%) visited a single lake but there were 77 (7%) parties that indicated that they had visited multiple lakes during a single day. The contingent of parties that visited more than one lake a day were primarily (87%) bank anglers.. The number of lake-to-lake connections made by anglers visiting more than one waterbody during a single day was related to catch rates and total angling effort. The greater resolution that was achieved with a lake specific creel survey at Fremont lakes revealed a system of lakes with a large degree of spatial variation in angler effort and catch that would be missed by a coarser, system-wide survey that did not differentiate individual lakes

Report to UNHCR Chad on proposals for livestock and animal owners in Eastern Chad.

Estimates of current livestock numbers owned by refugees in the 12 UNCHR camps in eastern Chad vary widely between 173,000 and 427,000 head, using data gathered by camp authorities. Finding adequate food for these animals is becoming an increasing challenge for their owners and is leading to increased tension between refugees and the host communities as they compete for already limited resources. The confinement of livestock within a relatively short distance from the camps is resulting in long-term environmental degradation resulting from over-exploitation of natural resources. Livestock mortality is very high due to high disease incidence exacerbated by poor nutrition. The application of traditional pastoralist management systems to an intensified livestock population is increasing the attrition of livestock, accelerating environmental degradation, increasing the risk of inter-ethnic conflict and, consequentially, failing to ensure that the most benefits possible in terms of added-value are being derived from the available livestock. Solutions to the problem of feeding the livestock belonging to refugees are made complex by the lack of incentive to invest in a region where camp dwellers have no land tenure rights and a strong desire to return home as soon as possible. In order to reduce conflict between refugees and the host community, solutions need to benefit both sectors.Due to the size of a camp and the concentration of dwellings in a small area, comparisons can be made with livestock keeping in a peri-urban environment. The over-grazing by the large numbers of livestock around the camps will result in degradation of the local environment and ultimately livestock may only be able to be kept by following a programme by refugee livestock owners of cutting and carrying available forage back to the immediate vicinity of the camps. An alternative, is that (as we shall later propose) fodder and crop residues are bought and brought in from outside the camp. However far more benefit would certainly derive from a planned programme of growing forage crops, either by the refugees, or endemic villagers who could then sell them to the refugees and gain a valuable additional income. However a balance has to be struck between what is currently an unsustainable situation, characterised by a excessive livestock population carrying out possibly long-term environmental degradation, versus support for an artificial system of livestock management, which will entail interventionary support and management, the planned and budgeted provision of supplementary feed and the perpetuation of a system which disconnects the refugees from their animal ownership and management traditions and knowledge. A series of recommendations will be made that are designed to reduce the overwhelming demand for forage in the short and medium term. If implemented, they should result in smaller, fitter herds of livestock that in the long term can be both more readily repatriated and readapted to the more favourable grazing conditions found in Western Sudan

Report to UNHCR Chad on proposals for livestock and animal owners in Eastern Chad.

Estimates of current livestock numbers owned by refugees in the 12 UNCHR camps in eastern Chad vary widely between 173,000 and 427,000 head, using data gathered by camp authorities. Finding adequate food for these animals is becoming an increasing challenge for their owners and is leading to increased tension between refugees and the host communities as they compete for already limited resources. The confinement of livestock within a relatively short distance from the camps is resulting in long-term environmental degradation resulting from over-exploitation of natural resources. Livestock mortality is very high due to high disease incidence exacerbated by poor nutrition. The application of traditional pastoralist management systems to an intensified livestock population is increasing the attrition of livestock, accelerating environmental degradation, increasing the risk of inter-ethnic conflict and, consequentially, failing to ensure that the most benefits possible in terms of added-value are being derived from the available livestock. Solutions to the problem of feeding the livestock belonging to refugees are made complex by the lack of incentive to invest in a region where camp dwellers have no land tenure rights and a strong desire to return home as soon as possible. In order to reduce conflict between refugees and the host community, solutions need to benefit both sectors.Due to the size of a camp and the concentration of dwellings in a small area, comparisons can be made with livestock keeping in a peri-urban environment. The over-grazing by the large numbers of livestock around the camps will result in degradation of the local environment and ultimately livestock may only be able to be kept by following a programme by refugee livestock owners of cutting and carrying available forage back to the immediate vicinity of the camps. An alternative, is that (as we shall later propose) fodder and crop residues are bought and brought in from outside the camp. However far more benefit would certainly derive from a planned programme of growing forage crops, either by the refugees, or endemic villagers who could then sell them to the refugees and gain a valuable additional income. However a balance has to be struck between what is currently an unsustainable situation, characterised by a excessive livestock population carrying out possibly long-term environmental degradation, versus support for an artificial system of livestock management, which will entail interventionary support and management, the planned and budgeted provision of supplementary feed and the perpetuation of a system which disconnects the refugees from their animal ownership and management traditions and knowledge. A series of recommendations will be made that are designed to reduce the overwhelming demand for forage in the short and medium term. If implemented, they should result in smaller, fitter herds of livestock that in the long term can be both more readily repatriated and readapted to the more favourable grazing conditions found in Western Sudan

The impact of COVID-19 public health restrictions on particulate matter pollution measured by a validated low-cost sensor network in Oxford, UK

Emergency responses to the COVID-19 pandemic led to major changes in travel behaviours and economic activities with arising impacts upon urban air quality. To date, these air quality changes associated with lockdown measures have typically been assessed using limited city-level regulatory monitoring data, however, low-cost air quality sensors provide capabilities to assess changes across multiple locations at higher spatial-temporal resolution, thereby generating insights relevant for future air quality interventions. The aim of this study was to utilise high-spatial resolution air quality information utilising data arising from a validated (using a random forest field calibration) network of 15 low-cost air quality sensors within Oxford, UK to monitor the impacts of multiple COVID-19 public heath restrictions upon particulate matter concentrations (PM10, PM2.5) from January 2020 to September 2021. Measurements of PM10 and PM2.5 particle size fractions both within and between site locations are compared to a pre-pandemic related public health restrictions baseline. While average peak concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 were reduced by 9–10 μg/m3 below typical peak levels experienced in recent years, mean daily PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were only ∼1 μg/m3 lower and there was marked temporal (as restrictions were added and removed) and spatial variability (across the 15-sensor network) in these observations. Across the 15-sensor network we observed a small local impact from traffic related emission sources upon particle concentrations near traffic-oriented sensors with higher average and peak concentrations as well as greater dynamic range, compared to more intermediate and background orientated sensor locations. The greater dynamic range in concentrations is indicative of exposure to more variable emission sources, such as road transport emissions. Our findings highlight the great potential for low-cost sensor technology to identify highly localised changes in pollutant concentrations as a consequence of changes in behaviour (in this case influenced by COVID-19 restrictions), generating insights into non-traffic contributions to PM emissions in this setting. It is evident that additional non-traffic related measures would be required in Oxford to reduce the PM10 and levels to within WHO health-based guidelines and to achieve compliance with PM2.5 targets developed under the Environment Act 2021

Impacts of ambient air quality on acute asthma hospital admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oxford City, UK:a time-series study

OBJECTIVES: The study aims to investigate the short-term associations between exposure to ambient air pollution (nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter pollution-particles with diameter&lt;2.5 µm (PM2.5) and PM10) and incidence of asthma hospital admissions among adults, in Oxford, UK.DESIGN: Retrospective time-series study.SETTING: Oxford City (postcode areas OX1-OX4), UK.PARTICIPANTS: Adult population living within the postcode areas OX1-OX4 in Oxford, UK from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2021.PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Hourly NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations and meteorological data for the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020 were analysed and used as exposures. We used Poisson linear regression analysis to identify independent associations between air pollutant concentrations and asthma admissions rate among the adult study population, using both single (NO2, PM2.5, PM10) and multipollutant (NO2 and PM2.5, NO2 and PM10) models, where they adjustment for temperature and relative humidity.RESULTS: The overall 5-year average asthma admissions rate was 78 per 100 000 population during the study period. The annual average rate decreased to 46 per 100 000 population during 2020 (incidence rate ratio 0.58, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.81, p&lt;0.001) compared to the prepandemic years (2015-2019). In single-pollutant analysis, we observed a significantly increased risk of asthma admission associated with each 1 μg/m3 increase in monthly concentrations of NO2 4% (95% CI 1.009% to 1.072%), PM2.5 3% (95% CI 1.006% to 1.052%) and PM10 1.8% (95% CI 0.999% to 1.038%). However, in the multipollutant regression model, the effect of each individual pollutant was attenuated.CONCLUSIONS: Ambient NO2 and PM2.5 air pollution exposure increased the risk of asthma admissions in this urban setting. Improvements in air quality during COVID-19 lockdown periods may have contributed to a substantially reduced acute asthma disease burden. Large-scale measures to improve air quality have potential to protect vulnerable people living with chronic asthma in urban areas.</p

Impacts of ambient air quality on acute asthma hospital admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oxford City, UK: a time-series study

Objectives: The study aims to investigate the short-term associations between exposure to ambient air pollution (nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter pollution—particles with diameter<2.5 µm (PM2.5) and PM10) and incidence of asthma hospital admissions among adults, in Oxford, UK. Design: Retrospective time-series study. Setting: Oxford City (postcode areas OX1–OX4), UK. Participants: Adult population living within the postcode areas OX1–OX4 in Oxford, UK from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2021. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Hourly NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations and meteorological data for the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020 were analysed and used as exposures. We used Poisson linear regression analysis to identify independent associations between air pollutant concentrations and asthma admissions rate among the adult study population, using both single (NO2, PM2.5, PM10) and multipollutant (NO2 and PM2.5, NO2 and PM10) models, where they adjustment for temperature and relative humidity. Results: The overall 5-year average asthma admissions rate was 78 per 100 000 population during the study period. The annual average rate decreased to 46 per 100 000 population during 2020 (incidence rate ratio 0.58, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.81, p<0.001) compared to the prepandemic years (2015–2019). In single-pollutant analysis, we observed a significantly increased risk of asthma admission associated with each 1 μg/m3 increase in monthly concentrations of NO2 4% (95% CI 1.009% to 1.072%), PM2.5 3% (95% CI 1.006% to 1.052%) and PM10 1.8% (95% CI 0.999% to 1.038%). However, in the multipollutant regression model, the effect of each individual pollutant was attenuated. Conclusions: Ambient NO2 and PM2.5 air pollution exposure increased the risk of asthma admissions in this urban setting. Improvements in air quality during COVID-19 lockdown periods may have contributed to a substantially reduced acute asthma disease burden. Large-scale measures to improve air quality have potential to protect vulnerable people living with chronic asthma in urban areas

Itraconazole inhibits nuclear delivery of extracellular vesicle cargo by disrupting the entry of late endosomes into the nucleoplasmic reticulum

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are mediators of intercellular communication under bothhealthy and pathological conditions, including the induction of pro-metastatic traits,but it is not yet known how and where functional cargoes of EVs are delivered to theirtargets in host cell compartments. We have described that after endocytosis, EVsreach Rab+late endosomes and a fraction of these enter the nucleoplasmic reticu-lum and transport EV biomaterials to the host cell nucleoplasm. Their entry thereinand docking to outer nuclear membrane occur through a tripartite complex formedby the proteins VAP-A, ORP and Rab (VOR complex). Here, we report that theantifungal compound itraconazole (ICZ), but not its main metabolite hydroxy-ICZor ketoconazole, disrupts the binding of Rab to ORP–VAP-A complexes, leadingto inhibition of EV-mediated pro-metastatic morphological changes including cellmigration behaviour of colon cancer cells. With novel, smaller chemical drugs, inhi-bition of the VOR complex was maintained, although the ICZ moieties responsiblefor antifungal activity and interference with intracellular cholesterol distributionwere removed. Knowing that cancer cells hijack their microenvironment and thatEVs derived from them determine the pre-metastatic niche, small-sized inhibitors ofnuclear transfer of EV cargo into host cells could nd cancer therapeutic applications,particularly in combination with direct targeting of cancer cell

Unprecedented springtime retreat of Antarctic sea ice in 2016

During austral spring 2016 Antarctic sea ice extent (SIE) decreased at a record rate of 75 x 10(3) km(2) d(-1), which was 46% faster than the mean rate and 18% faster than in any previous spring season during the satellite era. The decrease of sea ice area was also exceptional and 28% greater than the mean. Anomalous negative retreat occurred in all sectors of the Antarctic but was greatest in the Weddell and Ross Seas. Record negative SIE anomalies for the day of year were recorded from 3 November 2016 to 9 April 2017. Rapid ice retreat in the Weddell Sea took place in strong northerly flow after an early maximum ice extent in late August. Rapid ice retreat occurred in November in the Ross Sea when surface pressure was at a record high level, with the Southern Annular Mode at its most negative for that month since 1968