Body image, health, and modernity: Women\u27s perspectives and experiences in the United Arab Emirates

The countries of the Arab Gulf have experienced accelerated development and urbanization over the last 50 years. Changes in health have likewise been dramatic: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE now have some of the highest proportions of obese/overweight people in the world, with correspondingly high rates of chronic disease. In the UAE, particularly high rates of obesity/overweight have been reported among middle-aged Emirati women, but other problems relating to health and nutrition are starting to be identified in younger age groups as well. This article describes preliminary data from a project among young Emirati women in the UAE. This study examines how these women cope with the increased availability of fast food, changing work patterns, and evolving ideas about body image, risk, and health within a larger context of increasing chronic disease and weight gain throughout the UAE. © 2010 APJPH

Comparison of Nitrogen Incorporation in Tholins Produced by FUV Irradiation and Spark Discharge

The discovery of very heavy ions (Coates et al., 2007) in Titan's thermosphere has dramatically altered our understanding of the processes involved in the formation of the complex organic aerosols that comprise Titan's characteristic haze. Before Cassini's arrival, it was believed that aerosol production began in the stratosphere where the chemical processes were predominantly initiated by FUV radiation. This understanding guided the design of Titan atmosphere simulation experiments. However, the energy environment of the thermosphere is significantly different than the stratosphere; in particular there is a greater flux of EUV photons and energetic particles available to initiate chemical reactions, including the destruction of N2. in the upper atmosphere. Using a High Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS), we have obtained in situ composition measurements of aerosol particles (so'called "tholins") produced in CH4/N2 gas mixtures subjected to either FUV radiation (deuterium lamp, 115-400 nm) (Trainer et al., 2012) or a spark discharge. A comparison of the composition of tholins produced using the two different energy sources will be presented, in particular with regard to the variation in nitrogen content of the two types of tholin. Titan's aerosols are known to contain significant amounts of nitrogen (Israel et al., 2005) and therefore understanding the role of nitrogen in the aerosol chemistry is important to further our knowledge of the formation and evolution of aerosols in Titan's atmosphere

Spatial and temporal patterns of Pseudo-nitzschia genetic diversity in the North Pacific Ocean from the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey

Several species of the marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia can produce the neurotoxin domoic acid that is responsible for the seafood-borne illness amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans, marine wildlife mortalities and prolonged closures of fisheries resulting in economic losses to coastal communities. Since the year 2000, Pseudo-nitzschia species have been monitored in the Pacific Ocean with the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR). We used a combination of scanning electron microscopy with high-throughput and Sanger sequencing of CPR survey samples to compare the diversity of phytoplankton, including Pseudo-nitzschia species, from the north-eastern Pacific Ocean over 3 climatically different years: 2002, 2005 and 2008. A Pseudo-nitzschia-specific primer set targeting a partial region of the large subunit ribosomal DNA (rDNA) revealed spatially separated communities of Pseudo-nitzschia. The coastal region was dominated by a diverse array of P. fraudulenta unique sequences (operational taxonomic units), whereas the offshore region was rich in P. multiseries and contained a wide range of other Pseudo-nitzschia taxa, many not previously observed in this region. In 2008, exceptionally cold sea surface temperatures were recorded, influenced by a strong negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation signal. In that year, a more diverse assemblage of species was present in a spring open water sample, whereas P. fraudulenta was unusually rare from a coastal autumn sample. This is the first application of high-throughput genetic methods to uncover patterns of Pseudo-nitzschia genetic diversity from archival CPR samples, demonstrating the value of using CPR for plankton community analysis in rarely sampled regions of the oceans

Ozone and alkyl nitrate formation from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill atmospheric emissions

Ozone (O3), alkyl nitrates (RONO2), and other photochemical products were formed in the atmosphere downwind from the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill by photochemical reactions of evaporating hydrocarbons with NOx (=NO+NO2) emissions from spill response activities. Reactive nitrogen species and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured from an instrumented aircraft during daytime flights in the marine boundary layer downwind from the area of surfacing oil. A unique VOC mixture, where alkanes dominated the hydroxyl radical (OH) loss rate, was emitted into a clean marine environment, enabling a focused examination of O3 and RONO 2 formation processes. In the atmospheric plume from DWH, the OH loss rate, an indicator of potential O3 formation, was large and dominated by alkanes with between 5 and 10 carbons per molecule (C 5-C10). Observations showed that NOx was oxidized very rapidly with a 0.8h lifetime, producing primarily C6-C10 RONO2 that accounted for 78% of the reactive nitrogen enhancements in the atmospheric plume 2.5h downwind from DWH. Both observations and calculations of RONO2 and O3 production rates show that alkane oxidation dominated O3 formation chemistry in the plume. Rapid and nearly complete oxidation of NOx to RONO2 effectively terminated O3 production, with O3 formation yields of 6.0±0.5 ppbv O3 per ppbv of NOx oxidized. VOC mixing ratios were in large excess of NOx, and additional NOx would have formed additional O3 in this plume. Analysis of measurements of VOCs, O3, and reactive nitrogen species and calculations of O3 and RONO2 production rates demonstrate that NOx-VOC chemistry in the DWH plume is explained by known mechanisms. Copyright 2012 by the American Geophysical Union

Determination of urban volatile organic compound emission ratios and comparison with an emissions database

During the NEAQS-ITCT2k4 campaign in New England, anthropogenic VOCs and CO were measured downwind from New York City and Boston. The emission ratios of VOCs relative to CO and acetylene were calculated using a method in which the ratio of a VOC with acetylene is plotted versus the photochemical age. The intercept at the photochemical age of zero gives the emission ratio. The so determined emission ratios were compared to other measurement sets, including data from the same location in 2002, canister samples collected inside New York City and Boston, aircraft measurements from Los Angeles in 2002, and the average urban composition of 39 U.S. cities. All the measurements generally agree within a factor of two. The measured emission ratios also agree for most compounds within a factor of two with vehicle exhaust data indicating that a major source of VOCs in urban areas is automobiles. A comparison with an anthropogenic emission database shows less agreement. Especially large discrepancies were found for the C2-C4 alkanes and most oxygenated species. As an example, the database overestimated toluene by almost a factor of three, which caused an air quality forecast model (WRF-CHEM) using this database to overpredict the toluene mixing ratio by a factor of 2.5 as well. On the other hand, the overall reactivity of the measured species and the reactivity of the same compounds in the emission database were found to agree within 30%. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union

In situ measurement of atmospheric krypton and xenon on Mars with Mars Science Laboratory

Mars Science Laboratory's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation has measured all of the stable isotopes of the heavy noble gases krypton and xenon in the martian atmosphere, in situ, from the Curiosity Rover at Gale Crater, Mars. Previous knowledge of martian atmospheric krypton and xenon isotope ratios has been based upon a combination of the Viking mission's krypton and xenon detections and measurements of noble gas isotope ratios in martian meteorites. However, the meteorite measurements reveal an impure mixture of atmospheric, mantle, and spallation contributions. The xenon and krypton isotopic measurements reported here include the complete set of stable isotopes, unmeasured by Viking. The new results generally agree with Mars meteorite measurements but also provide a unique opportunity to identify various non-atmospheric heavy noble gas components in the meteorites. Kr isotopic measurements define a solar-like atmospheric composition, but deviating from the solar wind pattern at 80Kr and 82Kr in a manner consistent with contributions originating from neutron capture in Br. The Xe measurements suggest an intriguing possibility that isotopes lighter than 132Xe have been enriched to varying degrees by spallation and neutron capture products degassed to the atmosphere from the regolith, and a model is constructed to explore this possibility. Such a spallation component, however, is not apparent in atmospheric Xe trapped in the glassy phases of martian meteorites

Laboratory Simulations of the Titan Surface to Elucidate the Huygens Probe GCMS Observations

The Cassini/Huygens mission has vastly increased the information we have available to stndy Satnro's moon Titan. The complete mission has included an array of observational methods including remote sensing techniques, upper atmosphere in-situ saropling, and the descent of the Huygens probe directly through the atmosphere to the surface [1,2]. The instruments on the Huygens probe remain the ouly source of in-situ measurements at the surface of Titan, and work evaluating these measurements to create a pict.rre of the surface environment is ongoing. In particular, the Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) experiment on Huygens found that although there were no heavy hydrocarbons detected in the lower atmosphere, a rich spectrum of mass peaks arose once the probe landed on the surface [3,4], However, to date it has not been possible to extract the identity and abundances of the many minor components of the spectra due to a lack of temperatnre- and instrumentappropriate data for the relevant species. We are performing laboratory stndies designed to elucidate the spectrum collected on Titan's surface, utilizing a cryogenic charober maintained at appropriate temperature and pressure conditions. The experiments will simulate the temperatnre rise experienced by the surface, which led to an enhanced signal of volatiles detected by the Huygens GCMS. The objective of this study is to exaroine the characteristics of various surface analogs as measured by the Huygens GCMS flight spare instrument, which is currently housed in our laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). This identification cannot be adequately accomplished through theoretical work alone since the thermodynamic properties of many species at these temperatnres (94 K, HASI measurement [5]) are not known

Stable Isotope Fractionation in Titan Aerosol Formation

Stable isotope ratio measurements are a powerful tool used to understand both ancient and modern planetary processes. Instruments on the Cassini- Huygens spacecraft along with ground-based observations have measured several isotope pairs, including C-13/C-12 and N-15/N-14, in Titan's atmosphere. This includes isotopic measurements of the major atmospheric species, CH4 and N2, along with HCN, HC3N, C2H2. C2H6 and C4H2. However, the isotopic fractionation of Titan's organic aerosol has not conclusively been measured and therefore the effect of aerosol formation as an isotopic fractionation pathway in Titan's atmosphere has not been considered. Laboratory studies have measured the carbon and/or nitrogen isotopic fractionation of Titan aerosol analogs. [18] found that the carbon fractionation of photochemical organic aerosol analogs are more enriched in C-13. This enrichment in the aerosol analogs is opposite of what is predicted for photochemical products by the kinetic isotope effect. Additionally, both [16] and [18] found that the nitrogen fractionation in the organic aerosol analogs are opposite of what is observed in Titan's atmospheric N2 and HCN, with the aerosol analogs being a light nitrogen sink. Here we monitor the gas phase during photochemical aerosol analog production as a function of reaction time. In a recirculation experiment, the isotopic fractionation of carbon within the gas-phase products is measured as the CH4 reservoir is depleted. This allows us to monitor the isotopic fractionation pathway during photochemical aerosol analog formation

Investigating the Origin and Evolution of Venus with In Situ Mass Spectrometry

The exploration of Venus continues to be a top priority of planetary science. The Planetary Decadal Survey goals for inner-planet exploration seek to discern the origin and diversity of terrestrial planets, understand how the evolution of terrestrial planets relates to the evolution of life, and explore the processes that control climate on Earth-like planets [1]. These goals can only be realized through continued and extensive exploration of Venus, the most mysterious of the terrestrial planets, remarkably different from the Earth despite the gross similarities between these twin planets. It is unknown if this apparent divergence was intrinsic, programmed during accretion from distinct nebular reservoirs, or a consequence of either measured or catastrophic processes during planetary evolution. Even if the atmosphere of Venus is a more recent development, its relationship to the resurfacing of the planets enigmatic surface is not well understood. Resolving such uncertainties directly addresses the hypothesis of a more clement, possibly water-rich era in Venus past as well as whether Earth could become more Venus-like in the future