Half a Million Older Californians Living Alone Unable to Make Ends Meet

Presents findings on the economic security of Californians age 65 and older, using the 2007 Elder Index, with a focus on those living alone. Analyzes data by race/ethnicity, gender, age, and county and compares income levels with the federal poverty line

Hygroscopicity of Decayed Wood: Implications for Weight Loss Determinations

Hygroscopicity changes were observed in red maple blocks subjected to brown rot, white rot, and soft rot. Brown rot reduced hygroscopicity, soft rot increased hygroscopicity, and white rot showed no change in hygroscopicity. The effect of these changes on weight loss tests when using moisture-conditioned block weights is a slight overestimation of weight loss for brown rot, a slight underestimation for soft rot, and no apparent change for white rot. When comparing changes in hygroscopicity prior to oven-drying with those observed after oven-drying, there were no differences for white rot and soft rot, while for brown rot, the reduction in hygroscopicity was enhanced by oven-drying

Analysis of Vertebrae Pathologies of Grave A650 Chryssi Island, Crete, Greece

This study of multiple, co-mingled adult individuals located in grave A650 on Chryssi Island, Crete, Greece, examines the prevalence of several pathologies of the vertebrae. This grave was built into a collapsed Late Minoan period house (1400-1100 B.C.E.). Grave A650, which likely dates to the 5th – 7th century C.E., shows evidence of being used over a long period of time and may have served as an ossuary. The pathologies of approximately 30 recovered vertebrae, both complete and incomplete, show signs of degenerative joint disease, spondylolisthesis, and body expansion. Researching this data aims to accomplish a comprehensive understanding of what the present pathologies indicate about the physical activity endured by individuals during their lifetime. Conclusions of this data reveal these co-mingled individuals endured intense and sustained physical activity throughout their lives. There were high numbers of degenerative joint diseases in the thoracic vertebrae, which could indicate repetitive movement in bending down. A plausible cause of this intense labor could be slavery, as revealed by accompanying evidence in the ossuary itself

The age of racial profiling in the context of terrorism

Racial profiling refers to the law enforcement practice of using only race or ethnicity as probable cause to search or arrest an individual. The public has found racial profiling to be unjustified in the context of common crime, but tends to support the practice in the context of terrorism. The current study uses an explicit judgment survey to examine the expression of prejudice and factors that influence stereotyping. The study found that participants aged 18 to 24, and those who identified with a political party, were the participants most likely to racially profile individuals with stereotypical Middle-Eastern features to be potential terrorists

Improving the use of benzodiazepines-Is it possible? A non-systematic review of interventions tried in the last 20 years

Background: Benzodiazepines are often used on a long term basis in the elderly to treat various psychological disorders including sleep disorders, some neurological disorders and anxiety. This is despite the risk of dependence, cognitive impairment, and falls and fractures. Guidelines, campaigns and prescribing restrictions have been used to raise awareness of potentially inappropriate use, however long term use of benzodiazepine and related compounds is currently increasing in Australia and worldwide. The objective of this paper is to explore interventions aimed at improving the prescribing and use of benzodiazepines in the last 20 years

An aggregation of juvenile Youngina from the Beaufort Group, Karoo Basin, South Africa

Main articleAn assemblage of five fully-articulated juvenile skeletons of Youngina has been recovered from the Late Permian strata of the south-western Karoo Basin. These 12-cm-long skeletons are not only the first articulated juveniles of this taxon, but also the oldest yet found in the Karoo Basin. They are preserved in overbank mudrocks of the Hoedemaker Member (Beaufort Group, Adelaide Subgroup) on the farm Leeukloof 43 in the Beaufort West district. Although they are estimated to be some three million years older than previously described Youngina, these specimens show no significant skeletal differences. The high degree of articulation and the spatial arrangement of these skeletons in a dish-shaped hollow is compelling evidence for them having huddled together within an underground burrow. Taphonomic analysis of associated fossils indicates that this was probably a mechanism to reduce water loss during drought on the ancient Karoo floodplains .Non

Computer-based clinical decision support for general practitioners.

A GP makes many decisions within every consultation. A computer-based clinical decision support system (CDSS) is software designed to support this decision making. It matches individual patient characteristics to a computerized clinical knowledge base and then provides patient-specific assessments or recommendations to the clinician to support a decision that can relate to diagnosis, investigation, prognosis or treatment. CDSSs offers the potential to translate the most up to date and robust evidence into practice. An example would include a GP being prompted to use a clinical prediction rule for pharyngitis (such as the Centor score) through a CDSS integrated into the electronic health record, after typing the word ‘sore throat’, with suggested management options then being delivered to the GP.</p

Long-term variability of CO2 and O in the Mars upper atmosphere from MRO radio science data

We estimate the annual variability of CO2 and O partial density using approximately 6years of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) radio science data from August 2006 to January 2012, which cover three full Martian years (from the northern hemisphere summer of 28 to the northern hemisphere summer of 31). These two elements are the dominant species at the MRO periapsis altitude, constituting about 70-80% of the total density. We report the recovered annual cycle of CO2 and the annual and seasonal cycle of O in the upper atmosphere. Although no other observations are available at those altitudes, our results are in good agreement with the density measurements of the Mars Express Spectroscopy for Investigation of Characteristics of the Atmosphere of Mars, which uses stellar occultations between 60 and 130km to determine the CO2 variability, and with the Mars Global Reference Atmospheric Model 2010 for the O annual and seasonal variabilities. Furthermore, the updated model provides more reasonable MRO drag coefficients (CD), which are estimated to absorb mismodeling in the atmospheric density prediction. The higher content of dust in the atmosphere due to dust storms increases the density, so the CDs should compensate for this effect. The correlation between the drag coefficient and the dust optical depth, measured by the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument, increases from 0.4 to 0.8 with the a priori and adjusted models, respectively. The trend of CDs not only confirms a substantial improvement in the prediction of the atmospheric density with the updated model but also provides useful information for local dust storms, near MRO periapsis, that cannot be measured by the opacity level since THEMIS does not always sample the southern hemisphere evenly

Are We Alone? The Search for Life on Mars and Other Planetary Bodies

Extensive research has shown the potential for microorganisms to survive in some of the most extreme environments on Earth. Our current understanding of diverse life on Earth implies that, even though the surface of Mars is very inhospitable to life, it is possible that there may be indigenous microorganisms on Mars, especially in the protective subsurface. Ultimately, a better understanding of microbial diversity on Earth is needed to determine the limits of life to help determine the potential for life on Mars and other exoplanets