Public Perceptions of the Stigmatization of Wrongly Convicted Individuals: Findings from Semi-Structured Interviews

Many exonerees report stigmatizing experiences and difficulties securing gainful employment post-incarceration. Although researchers have begun to investigate public perceptions of wrongful conviction, there remains a dearth of knowledge about public perceptions of exonerees. To provide insight into how the public perceives exonerees, face-to-face interviews were conducted with members (n=30) of a suburban city in South Central Ontario. Data analysis included a constructed grounded approach to reveal emergent themes in the transcripts. All interviewees acknowledged that wrongly convicted individuals are stigmatized by the public and that this can have negative effects in many of their lived experiences. In addition, findings of this exploratory study suggest that some interviewees, indirectly or directly, stigmatize exonerees in their responses while being interviewed—lending insight into how the public views and reacts to exonerees. Findings and policy implications are theoretically framed in Erving Goffman’s (1963) seminal work on stigma. Implications include the potential role of research and education in informing community members, and all levels of government, about wrongful convictions in general, and the negative implications of stigma, in particular

Theta- and Gamma-Band Activity Discriminates Face, Body and Object Perception

Face and body perception is mediated by configural mechanisms, which allow the perception of these stimuli as a whole, rather than the sum of individual parts. Indirect measures of configural processing in visual cognition are the face and body inversion effects (FIE and BIE), which refer to the drop in performance when these stimuli are perceived upside-down. Albeit FIE and BIE have been well characterized at the behavioral level, much still needs to be understood in terms of the neurophysiological correlates of these effects. Thus, in the current study, the brain's electrical activity has been recorded by a 128 channel electroencephalogram (EEG) in 24 healthy participants while perceiving (upright and inverted) faces, bodies and houses. EEG data were analyzed in both the time domain (i.e., event-related potentials-ERPs) and the frequency domain [i.e., induced theta (5-7 Hz) and gamma (28-45 Hz) oscillations]. ERPs amplitude results showed increased N170 amplitude for inverted faces and bodies (compared to the same stimuli presented in canonical position) but not for houses. ERPs latency results showed delayed N170 components for inverted (vs. upright) faces, houses, but not bodies. Spectral analysis of induced oscillations indicated physiological FIE and BIE; that is decreased gamma-band synchronization over right occipito-temporal electrodes for inverted (vs. upright) faces, and increased bilateral frontoparietal theta-band synchronization for inverted (vs. upright) faces. Furthermore, increased left occipito-temporal and right frontal theta-band synchronization for upright (vs. inverted) bodies was found. Our findings, thus, demonstrate clear differences in the neurophysiological correlates of face and body perception. The neurophysiological FIE suggests disruption of feature binding processes (decrease in occipital gamma oscillations for inverted faces), together with enhanced feature-based attention (increase in frontoparietal theta oscillations for inverted faces). In contrast, the BIE may suggest that structural encoding for bodies is mediated by the first stages of configural processing (decrease in occipital theta oscillations for inverted bodies)

Characteristics and major sources of carbonaceous aerosols in PM2.5 in Emilia Romagna Region (Northern Italy) from four-year observations

The concentrations of organic and elemental carbon in PM2.5 aerosol samples were measured in two sites of Emilia Romagna (Po Valley, Northern Italy) in eight campaigns during different seasons from 2011 to 2014. Strong seasonality was observed with the highest OC concentrations during the cold periods (≈5.5 μg m−3) and the lowest in thewarmmonths (≈2.7 μgm−3) as well aswith higher EC levels in fall/winter (≈1.4 μgm−3) incomparison with spring/summer (≈0.6 μgm−3). Concerning spatial variability, therewere no statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between OC concentrations at the two sampling sites in each campaign, while the EC values were nearly twofold higher levels at the urban site than those at the rural one. Specific molecular markers were investigated to attempt the basic apportionment of OC by discriminating between the main emission sources of primary OC, such as fossil fuels burning – including traffic vehicle emission – residential wood burning, and bio-aerosol released from plants and microorganisms, and the atmospheric photo-oxidation processes generating OCsec. The investigated markers were low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids – to describe the contribution of secondary organic aerosol – anhydrosugars – to quantify primary emissions from biomass burning – bio-sugars – to qualitatively estimate biogenic sources – and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons – to differentiate among different combustion emissions. Using the levoglucosan tracer method, contribution of wood smoke to atmospheric OC concentration was computed. Wood burning accounts for 33% of OC in fall/winter and for 3% in spring/summer. A clear seasonal trend is also observed for the impact of secondary processes with higher contribution in the warm seasons (≈63%) in comparison with that in colder months (≈33%), that is consistent with enhanced solar radiation in spring/summer

Field study of a soft X-ray aerosol neutralizer combined with electrostatic classifiers for nanoparticle size distribution measurements

Most conventional aerosol neutralizers are based on radioactive sources, which are controlled by strict regulations restricting their handling, transport, and storage. The TSI 3087 soft X-ray (SXR) neutralizer circumvents these legal restrictions. The aim of the present work is to compare the performance of a standalone SXR aerosol neutralizer with that of conventional radioactive aerosol neutralizers based on85Kr (TSI 3077) and241Am (Grimm 5522) by performing field tests in a real environmental scenario. The results obtained when the SXR neutralizer was connected to a mobility particle sizer spectrometer (MPS), different from the device suggested by the manufacturer, were comparable with those obtained with the use of radioactive aerosol neutralizers. In changing the neutralizer, the particle number concentrations, measured with the MPS connected to the SXR neutralizer, almost remained within the 10% uncertainty bounds for the particle size interval 10–300 nm, when diffusion losses inside the SXR tube were considered. Based on our comparisons, the SXR neutralizer can be regarded as a standalone instrument that could solve the problems associated with legal restrictions on radioactive neutralizers and fulfil the need for a portable instrument for different field test purposes

Characterization of atmospheric aerosols in the Po valley during the supersito campaigns - Part 3: Contribution of wood combustion to wintertime atmospheric aerosols in Emilia Romagna region (Northern Italy)

This paper investigates the influence of wood combustion on PM in fall/winter that are the most favorable seasonal periods with presumed intense biomass burning for residential heating due to low temperatures. As a part of the Supersito project, nearly 650 PM2.5samples were daily collected at urban and rural sites in Emilia Romagna (Northern Italy) infive intensive experimental campaigns throughout the years from 2011 to 2014. From specific compounds related to wood combustion a set of 58 organic compounds was determined, such as anhydrosugars, primary biological sugars, low-molecular-weight carboxylic acids, methoxylated phenols, PAHs and carbonaceous components (EC/OC). Levoglucosan was by far the most dominant anhydrosugar, both on a relative and an absolute basis (35 e1043 ng m 3), followed by mannosan (7e121 ng m 3) and galactosan (4e52 ng m 3), indicating that wood burning for domestic heating is a diffuse regional source during the seasons studied. Different diagnostic ratios between anhydrosugars and methoxylated phenols were computed to discriminate the prevalent contribution of hardwood as combustion fuel. The investigated 19 high molecular weight PAHs were more abundant at the urban than at the rural site, with mean total value of 4.3 and 3.2 ng m 3 at MS and SP, respectively. The strong contribution of wood combustion to atmospheric PAHs was indicated by the positive correlation between levoglucosan and the most abundant PAHs (R 2 ¼0.71÷0.79) and individually with benzo(a)pyrene (R 2 ¼0.79). By using this correlation, it was estimated that wood burning contributed nearly 77% to BaP concentration in the winter months. Based on the ratio between levoglucosan and OC data, it could be concluded that the wood burning contributed about 35% to OC during the cold NovembereFebruary periods and the contribution was similar at both sampling sites

Vertical variation of PM2.5mass and chemical composition, particle size distribution, NO2, and BTEX at a high rise building

Substantial efforts have been made in recent years to investigate the horizontal variability of air pollutants at regional and urban scales and epidemiological studies have taken advantage of resulting improvements in exposure assessment. On the contrary, only a few studies have investigated the vertical variability and their results are not consistent. In this study, a field experiment has been conducted to evaluate the variation of concentrations of different particle metrics and gaseous pollutants on the basis of floor height at a high rise building. Two 15-day monitoring campaigns were conducted in the urban area of Bologna, Northern Italy, one of the most polluted areas in Europe. Measurements sites were operated simultaneously at 2, 15, 26, 44 and 65 m a.g.l. Several particulate matter metrics including PM2.5mass and chemical composition, particle number concentration and size distribution were measured. Time integrated measurement of NO2and BTEX were also included in the monitoring campaigns. Measurements showed relevant vertical gradients for most traffic related pollutants. A monotonic gradient of PM2.5was found with ground-to-top differences of 4% during the warm period and 11% during the cold period. Larger gradients were found for UFP (\ue2\u88\ubc30% during both seasons) with a substantial loss of particles from ground to top in the sub-50 nm size range. The largest drops in concentrations for chemical components were found for Elemental Carbon (\ue2\u88\u9227%), iron (\ue2\u88\u9211%) and tin (\ue2\u88\u9236%) during winter. The ground-to-top decline of concentrations for NO2and benzene during winter was equal to 74% and 35%, respectively. In conclusion, our findings emphasize the need to include vertical variations of urban air pollutants when evaluating population exposure and associated health effects, especially in relation to some traffic related pollutants and particle metrics. Need to include vertical variations of air pollutants when evaluating population exposure

Short-term effects of particulate matter constituents on daily hospitalizations and mortality in five South-European cities: results from the MED-PARTICLES project

BACKGROUND: Few recent studies examined acute effects on health of individual chemical species in the particulate matter (PM) mixture, and most of them have been conducted in North America. Studies in Southern Europe are scarce. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between particulate matter constituents and daily hospital admissions and mortality in five cities in Southern Europe. METHODS: The study included five cities in Southern Europe, three cities in Spain: Barcelona (2003-2010), Madrid (2007-2008) and Huelva (2003-2010); and two cities in Italy: Rome (2005-2007) and Bologna (2011-2013). A case-crossover design was used to link cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions and total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality with a pre-defined list of 16 PM10 and PM2.5 constituents. Lags 0 to 2 were examined. City-specific results were combined by random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: Most of the elements studied, namely EC, SO4(2-), SiO2, Ca, Fe, Zn, Cu, Ti, Mn, V and Ni, showed increased percent changes in cardiovascular and/or respiratory hospitalizations, mainly at lags 0 and 1. The percent increase by one interquartile range (IQR) change ranged from 0.69% to 3.29%. After adjustment for total PM levels, only associations for Mn, Zn and Ni remained significant. For mortality, although positive associations were identified (Fe and Ti for total mortality; EC and Mg for cardiovascular mortality; and NO3(-) for respiratory mortality) the patterns were less clear. CONCLUSIONS: The associations found in this study reflect that several PM constituents, originating from different sources, may drive previously reported results between PM and hospital admissions in the Mediterranean area.The research described in this article was conducted under the grant agreement European Commission, Environment LIFE10/IT/327. We thank the Instituto Nacional de Estadística and the Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona for providing the mortality data, the Consorci Sanitari de Barcelona (Cat-Salut) for providing hospitalization data for Barcelona and the Agencia Estatal de Meteorologia (Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente) for providing the weather data for Spain.S

Is particulate air pollution at the front door a good proxy of residential exposure?

The most advanced epidemiological studies on health effects of air pollution assign exposure to individuals based on residential outdoor concentrations of air pollutants measured or estimated at the front-door. In order to assess to what extent this approach could cause misclassification, indoor measurements were carried out in unoccupied rooms at the front and back of a building which fronted onto a major urban road. Simultaneous measurements were also carried out at adjacent outdoor locations to the front and rear of the building. Two 15-day monitoring campaigns were conducted in the period June-December 2013 in a building located in the urban area of Bologna, Italy. Particulate matter metrics including PM2.5 mass and chemical composition, particle number concentration and size distribution were measured. Both outdoor and indoor concentrations at the front of the building substantially exceeded those at the rear. The highest front/back ratio was found for ultrafine particles with outdoor concentration at the front door 3.4 times higher than at the rear. A weak influence on front/back ratios was found for wind direction. Particle size distribution showed a substantial loss of particles within the sub-50 nm size range between the front and rear of the building and a further loss of this size range in the indoor data. The chemical speciation data showed relevant reductions for most constituents between the front and the rear, especially for traffic related elements such as Elemental Carbon, Iron, Manganese and Tin. The main conclusion of the study is that gradients in concentrations between the front and rear, both outside and inside the building, are relevant and comparable to those measured between buildings located in high and low traffic areas. These findings show high potential for misclassification in the epidemiological studies that assign exposure based on particle concentrations estimated or measured at subjects' home addresses