Public perceptions of recycled water: a survey of visitors to the London 2012 Olympic Park

The Old Ford Water Recycling Plant, operated by Thames Water, was used to supply non-potable recycled blackwater to some of the venues at the London 2012 Games. In an effort to learn from this experience, Thames Water commissioned a survey of visitors to the Olympic Park during the Games to explore public responses to the water recycling project. Results show a very high level of support for using non-potable recycled blackwater, both in public venues and in homes. Such findings may indicate a growing receptivity towards this technology, and show that Thames Water (and other private water companies) are well placed to encourage and even lead public discussion around the role of water reuse in the future of urban water supplies

GENETIC AND CONTEXTUAL DETERMINANTS OF EARLY-EMERGING EFFORTFUL CONTROL

Effortful control (EC) has important implications for children’s development. Although genetic factors and parenting have been shown to influence EC, few studies have examined whether they interact to predict its development. The current study investigated associations between parenting and children’s EC, and whether these associations were moderated by children’s DRD4 exon III VNTR genotype. A community sample o f 409 three-year-olds completed behavioural measures o f EC, and their caregivers completed laboratory and self-report measures of parenting. Observed and self- reported negative parenting were associated with lower child EC. The association between children’s EC and positive parenting was moderated by children’s DRD4 genotype, such that children with at least one 7-repeat allele displayed both better and poorer EC than children without this allele, depending on the degree of positive parenting. These results extend recent findings suggesting that certain genetic polymorphisms sensitize children to contextual influences in a bivalent manner

Epiplastral and geographic variation in Echmatemys, a geoemydid turtle from the Eocene of North America: A multi-tiered analysis of epiplastral shape complexity

Numerous geoemydid turtle fossils from the extinct genus Echmatemys have been recovered from the middle Eocene Uinta Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah over the past several decades. Here, we tested whether co-occurring Uintan species Echmatemys callopyge and E. uintensis can be reliably differentiated based on epiplastral morphology, and whether their geospatial distributions overlapped significantly. The geographic spatial and stratigraphic distributions of Uinta Basin E. callopyge and E. uintensis specimens were compared using ArcGIS and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The analysis revealed overlapping geographic distributions of these two species, and no significant differences in stratigraphic dispersal. This finding of extensive geospatial overlap between the two Uintan Echmatemys species highlights the need for accurate taxonomic identification, such as the gular scale morphology validated here. In addition, we sought to address a methodological question regarding the relative efficacy of data complexity in this context. Using epiplastra from three additional Eocene species of Echmatemys, we employed hierarchical analyses of increasing data complexity, from standard linear dimensions to 2D geometric morphometrics to 3D laser scans, to determine the degree to which data complexity contributes to taxonomic assessments within this genus. Uintan species E. callopyge and E. uintensis were found to differ significantly in epiplastral shape as captured by all three categories of data. These findings verify that these two co-occurring species can be differentiated consistently using the shape of the gular scale, and that the use of geometric morphometrics can improve identification of fragmentary specimens. Among the non-Uintan species, dorsal and ventral 2D landmark data reliably differentiated among species, but the linear dimensions were less useful

Response to Intervention and the Impact on Eligibility for Special Education Services in Texas

Response to Intervention (RTI) trends and special education referrals were examined and compared with the self-reported data of special education directors and evaluation staff to determine the overall impact of RTI on special education referrals. A descriptive nonexperimental design study using existing data and survey methods was used. Findings from archival data demonstrated that during the period ranging from 2007 to 2011, trends at the state level, across regional services centers, and in one independent school district showed an increase in the number of students who were referred and found eligible for special education services. However, there was an average decrease in the number of students receiving special education services at the regional and state levels and an increase according to one district level. The trends that evolved suggest a possible relationship between the RTI process and increasingly accurate referrals for special education services. Findings from the survey administered at the Education Service Center (ESC) indicated the perceptions of special education directors and evaluation staff did not mirror the findings of the archival data. However, data gathered from the survey administered at the Independent School District (ISD) indicated the perceptions of the special education director and evaluation staff did mirror the findings of actual archival data

Improving confidence set estimation when parameters are weakly identified

We consider inference in weakly identified moment condition models when additional partially identifying moment inequality constraints are available. We detail the limiting distribution of the estimation criterion function and consequently propose a confidence set estimator for the true parameter.National Science Foundation of China (Grant ID: 71301026)This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.spl.2016.06.01

An Incident Control Centre in action: Response to the Rena oil spill in New Zealand

Following the Rena grounding and oil spill in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, an Incident Command Centre was established which, among other tasks, coordinated a volunteer clean-up effort. We interviewed volunteers and organisers to gain insight into the efficacy of the volunteer coordination effort. Volunteers praised the system of communication and the involvement of indigenous groups. They expressed a desire for better training, more flexibility and community autonomy, a quicker uptake of volunteer support, and the use of social media. Locating the Incident Command Centre in a single site aided interaction between experts, and the sharing of resources. Overall, the volunteer coordination was considered a success

How volunteering reduced the impact of the Rena oil spill: Community responses to an environmental disaster

Following the Rena oil spill off the Bay of Plenty coast in New Zealand and subsequent volunteer clean-up programme, we interviewed 39 volunteers and 9 people involved in the volunteer organisation. We aimed to learn about people’s responses to an environmental disaster, what factors motivate people to volunteer, and how volunteering after a disaster assists individuals and communities to adjust to changing circumstances. The oil spill had an emotional, physical, cultural, social and spiritual impact on both individuals and communities. People were motivated to volunteer from a sense of duty and history of volunteering, a concern and sense of collective responsibility for the environment for current and future generations, a desire to contribute to their community, and to connect with others and cope with their negative responses. There was a strong typical New Zealand “can do” response in that volunteers expressed they had time and capability to help so they just wanted to get on with it. After volunteering, most participants reported a sense of satisfaction, renewed social ties, and renewed optimism. The clean-up programme brought communities together, resulting in timely removal of oil from beaches and coastline and demonstrating that citizen volunteers can contribute to oil spill mitigation

Met Receptor Inhibitor SU11274 Localizes in the Endoplasmic Reticulum

We discovered that SU11274, a class I c-Met inhibitor, fluoresces when excited by 488 nm laser light and showed rapid specific accumulation in distinct subcellular compartments. Given that SU11274 reduces cancer cell viability, we exploited these newly identified spectral properties to determine SU11274 intracellular distribution and accumulation in human pancreatic cancer cells. The aim of the studies reported here was to identify organelle(s) to which SU11274 is trafficked. We conclude that SU11274 rapidly and predominantly accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum

Public responses to water reuse - Understanding the evidence

Over the years, much research has attempted to unpack what drives public responses to water reuse, using a variety of approaches. A large amount of this work was captured by an initial review that covered research undertaken up to the early 2000s (Hartley, 2006). This paper showcases post-millennium evidence and thinking around public responses to water reuse, and highlights the novel insights and shifts in emphasis that have occurred in the field. Our analysis is structured around four broad, and highly interrelated, strands of thinking: 1) work focused on identifying the range of factors that influence public reactions to the concept of water reuse, and broadly looking for associations between different factors; 2) more specific approaches rooted in the socio-psychological modelling techniques; 3) work with a particular focus on understanding the influences of trust, risk perceptions and affective (emotional) reactions; and 4) work utilising social constructivist perspectives and socio-technical systems theory to frame responses to water reuse. Some of the most significant advancements in thinking in this field stem from the increasingly sophisticated understanding of the ‘yuck factor’ and the role of such pre-cognitive affective reactions. These are deeply entrenched within individuals, but are also linked with wider societal processes and social representations. Work in this area suggests that responses to reuse are situated within an overall process of technological ‘legitimation’. These emerging insights should help stimulate some novel thinking around approaches to public engagement for water reuse

Influence of key polymer attributes, manufacturing conditions and sintering on abuse deterrence of physical barrier type abuse deterrent formulations (ADF)

When sintering us used to treat tablet formulations containing polyethylene oxide (PEO), the polymer particles are able to form stronger bonds thereby increase tablet tensile strength. This increase in strength can make it more difficult for an abuser to break, chew, or grind opioid tablets. A mechanistic study was implemented to understand the key sintering factors that influence tensile strength