Proximity to Industrial Releases of Toxins and Childhood Respiratory, Developmental, and Neurological Diseases: Environmental Ascription in East Baton Rouge Parish

Recent research by Legot et al. (2010a, 2010b) has identified East Baton Rouge Parish (EBR) as a locus of particularly high volumes of emissions of developmental neurotoxins, i.e., those toxins that put children’s health and, especially, learning abilities at greatest risk. Many developmental neurotoxins are also classified as respiratory toxins, which are also linked to the sorts of childhood diseases (e.g., asthma) that impact school performance. This case study specifies the degree to which proximity to the main sources of these toxins in EBR is associated with high rates of neurodevelopmental diseases and childhood asthma. We also examine the relationship between proximity to toxins and race and class.<span>  </span>We find very strong patterns: disease rates are significantly higher in zip codes close to pollution “hot spots” than in more distant zip codes, as are percent minority and percent poverty.<span>  </span>This is evidence of “environmental ascription”, the existence of multiple, overlapping ascriptions based on race, class, and “place”.<span>  </span>Vulnerable populations are disproportionately exposed to the sorts of toxins that limit their life chances.<p></p>environmental ascription; developmental neurotoxins; respiratory toxins; childhood diseases; vulnerable populations

MRI-only based radiotherapy treatment planning for the rat brain on a Small Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP)

Computed tomography (CT) is the standard imaging modality in radiation therapy treatment planning (RTP). However, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging provides superior soft tissue contrast, increasing the precision of target volume selection. We present MR-only based RTP for a rat brain on a small animal radiation research platform (SARRP) using probabilistic voxel classification with multiple MR sequences. Six rat heads were imaged, each with one CT and five MR sequences. The MR sequences were: T1-weighted, T2-weighted, zero-echo time (ZTE), and two ultra-short echo time sequences with 20 mu s (UTE1) and 2 ms (UTE2) echo times. CT data were manually segmented into air, soft tissue, and bone to obtain the RTP reference. Bias field corrected MR images were automatically segmented into the same tissue classes using a fuzzy c-means segmentation algorithm with multiple images as input. Similarities between segmented CT and automatic segmented MR (ASMR) images were evaluated using Dice coefficient. Three ASMR images with high similarity index were used for further RTP. Three beam arrangements were investigated. Dose distributions were compared by analysing dose volume histograms. The highest Dice coefficients were obtained for the ZTE-UTE2 combination and for the T1-UTE1-T2 combination when ZTE was unavailable. Both combinations, along with UTE1-UTE2, often used to generate ASMR images, were used for further RTP. Using 1 beam, MR based RTP underestimated the dose to be delivered to the target (range: 1.4%-7.6%). When more complex beam configurations were used, the calculated dose using the ZTE-UTE2 combination was the most accurate, with 0.7% deviation from CT, compared to 0.8% for T1-UTE1-T2 and 1.7% for UTE1-UTE2. The presented MR-only based workflow for RTP on a SARRP enables both accurate organ delineation and dose calculations using multiple MR sequences. This method can be useful in longitudinal studies where CT's cumulative radiation dose might contribute to the total dose

The Proximity of High Volume Developmental Neurotoxin Polluters to Schools: Vulnerable Populations at Risk

A substantial amount of environmental justice research has taken the form of “proximity studies” that analyze the race and class composition of populations living in close proximity to general sources of pollution. Such studies often find disproportionate minority, poverty, and low-income populations proximate to the pollution source. This proximity study has a different starting point. We begin by locating nearly 700 of the nation’s highest volume polluters of specific toxins that put children’s health and learning abilities at risk: developmental neurotoxins. We then examine (a) the numbers of schools and children located within two miles of each polluter, and (b) the race and class compositions of the populations within two miles. The result is a study of the proximity of vulnerable populations to pollution that highlights the vulnerability of children, not just that of minorities and the poor. We find thousands of schools and hundreds of thousands of children at risk. We also find that a substantial proportion of the high volume polluters studied are surrounded by disproportionate minority, poverty, and low-income populations.proximity studies; environmental inequality; developmental toxins; neurotoxins; high-volume polluters; vulnerable populations: race and class, schools and children

PEMILIHAN ALTERNATIF JENIS KONSTRUKSI RANGKA ATAP DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN METODE ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS (AHP)

Shandra Shapeka Alvian, 2015, PEMILIHAN ALTERNATIF JENIS KONSTRUKSI RANGKA ATAP DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN METODE ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS (AHP), Tugas Akhir, Program Studi Teknik Sipil Fakultas Teknik Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta. Dalam mengaplikasikan metode Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), diperlukan pemilihan kriteria dan alternatif, serta menghitung bobot dari hasil survey kuisioner kepada para pengambil keputusan di suatu proyek konstruksi. Setelah itu, perlu dilakukan uji konsistensi untuk menguji validitas dari hasil yang diperoleh, dan menetapkan alternatif dengan bobot terbesar sebagai pilihan. Berdasarkan hasil identifikasi faktor-faktor yang berpengaruh pada proses pengambilan keputusan pemilihan jenis konstruksi rangka atap dapat dibuat hierarki keputusan dari tingkat paling atas adalah tujuan, yaitu mencari jenis konstruksi rangka atap yang tepat untuk digunakan. Kemudian faktor kriteria dalam memilih alternatif jenis konstruksi rangka atap, yaitu: kriteria metode pelaksanaa, waktu, ekonomis, dampak lingkungan, dan penutup atap. Tingkatan paling bawah yaitu alternatif jenis konstruksi rangka atap yaitu: kayu, baja profil siku, baja IWF, space truss, dan baja ringan. Berdasarkan hasil analisis menggunakan metode AHP yang dilakukan, diperoleh prosentase prioritas kriteria pemilihan jenis konstruksi rangka atap dari yang tertinggi ke yang terendah yaitu: kriteria dampak lingkungan dengan prosentase sebesar 33%, kriteria ekonomis dengan prosentase sebesar 21%, kriteria waktu dengan prosentase sebesar 18%, kriteria metode pelaksanaan dengan prosentase sebesar 15%, berdasarkan kriteria penutup atap dengan prosentase sebesar 13%. Sedangkan urutan prioritas alternatif jenis konstruksi rangka atap dari yang paling tinggi ke yang paling rendah adalah: Baja ringan dengan prosentase sebesar 29%, Space Truss dengan prosentase sebesar 22%, Baja profil siku dengan prosentase sebesar 18%, Kayu dengan prosentase sebesar 16%, dan Baja IWF dengan prosentase sebesar 15 %. Berdasarkan nilai tersebut dapat diketahui bahwa baja ringan merupakan alternatif jenis konstruksi rangka atap yang tepat untuk digunakan. Kata kunci : pengambilan keputusan, AHP, konstruksi rangka atap

The Relationship between Child and Adolescent Risk and Protective Factors and Racial Microagression, Ethnic Identity, and Well-Being in Young Adulthood

Session 4: Risk and Protective Factors in Adolescent and Young Adults. Presenter: Shandra Forrest-Bank, University of Denver (2012) - "The Relationship between Child and Adolescent Risk and Protective Factors and Racial Microagression, Ethnic Identity, and Well-Being in Young Adulthood".The Ohio State University College of Social Wor

Analisis Dispersi Gas Co Dan So2 Dari Sumber Tetap (Point Source) Menggunakan Model Meti-lis

Mesin diesel pembangkit listirk adalah suatu mesin yang dapat menghasilkan gas-gas polutan, seperti gas karbon monoksida (CO) dan gas sulfur dioksida (SO2). Proses pembakaran menghasilkan emisi buangan yang dapat mencemari lingkungan, salah satunya mesin pembangkit tenaga diesel (PLTD) milik PLTD Sei Raya. Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk mengetahui tingkat konsentrasi pencemar, memprediksi pola dispersi gas CO dan SO2 dari sumber tetap dan mengetahui validitas hasil pemodelan Meti-lis dengan pengukuran di lapangan serta memberikan cara untuk penanggulangannya. Penelitian menggunakan program Meti-lis untuk mengetahui pola persebaran gas CO dan SO2 di udara. Hasil nilai konsentrasi dari pemantauan kualitas udara ambien untuk gas CO dan SO2 tertinggi terletak pada titik 2 dengan konsentrasi CO sebesar 130,1 μg/Nm3 dan SO2 sebesar 110,4 μg/Nm3. Konsentrasi gas CO dan SO2 tertinggi hasil dari pemodelan berada pada titik 2 yaitu konsentrasi gas CO sebesar 91,99 μg/Nm3 dan konsentrasi gas SO2 sebesar 77,57 μg/Nm3. Konsentrasi gas CO dan SO2 bila dibandingkan dengan baku mutu udara maka tingkat pencemaran masih dibawah standar baku mutu udara sesuai dengan PP No. 41 Tahun 1999. Nilai validasi antara konsentrasi hasil pemodelan dan konsentrasi hasil pengukuran langsung memenuhi kriteria dengan nilai RMSPE yang lebih kecil dari pada 10%, dimana hasil dari pemodelan memiliki tingkat validitasnya tinggi. Dalam upaya mempertahankan nilai konsentrasi gas CO dan SO2 agar tetap dibawah standar baku mutu dapat dilakukan dengan pengurangan penggunaan bahan bakar solar

Konsumsi dan Investasi Serta Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Sumatera Barat

The analysis of aggregate consumption growth, investment and economic growth have been carried out in West Sumatra. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of consumption, investment, taxation, government spending, consumption of the previous period, the interest rate and disposal revenue to GDP in West Sumatra. The study was conducted with descriptive and associative with the use of secondary data in the form of time series, 1994 -2010. The results on the First Hypothesis suggests that the development of consumption, the development of investment and the development of government spending together influential significantly to economic growth. Partially, the development of consumption and the growth of government spending significantly and positively to affect economic growth, then the development of a positive and significant effect of investment on economic growth. In the Second Hypothesis together previous period consumption growth and development of disposibel income and significant positive impact on the development of consumption. Partially, the previous period consumption growth and positive impact on the development of consumption was not significant and influential positive revenue development disposibel and significant to the development of consumption. Then on the Third Hypothesis jointly the credit interest rate of investment and economic growth has no effect on the development of significant investment. Partially, credit interest rates negatively and significant investment toward the development of investment and economic growth has positive influence on the development and significant investment. The Fourth Hypothesis proved to be influential economic growth on the development of the tax was not significant in West Sumatra. Government efforts need to be able to continue to increase government spending or reduce taxes by increasing the production of regional output. In addition to government efforts are needed to further improve the quality of human resources by providing education and training, scholarships and employment opportunities in labor- intensive system. To overcome the problem of development of investment the government needs to take expansionary monetary action is by controlling interest rates in order to increase investment development

Pengaruh Ekuitas Merek Dan Promosi Terhadap Keputusan Penggunaan Jasa Maskapai Penerbangan Garuda Indonesia

This research aims to know the brand equity effect which is consists of four brand equity dimension, they are ; brand awareness; brand association; perceived quality and brand loyalty; and promotion to the decision of utilizing the Garuda Indonesia flight company service. The hypothesis is there was brand equity variable effect and promotion to the decision of utilizing the Garuda Indonesia flight company service. The type of this research is the explanatory research,the sample collecting technique is purposing sampling technique by 100 samples as the respondent. Hypotheses tested by correlation coefficient, simple linear regression, multiple linear regression, t test, F test, and determination coefficient which is supported by SPSS for Windows as the analysis method. The result of this research shows that equity brand variable has significant effect to the decision of utilizing the Garuda Indonesia flight company service 37,4 %. The promotion variable has also significant to the decision of utilizing the Garuda Indonesia flight company service 30,3 %. Equity brand variable and promotion have effect to the purchasing decision 45,4 %