Integrating Flood Hazard Mitigation and Watershed Planning Through Regional Institutional Approaches: A Recommendation For The Tar River Basin Of North Carolina

In just one year, Governor Mike Easley of North Carolina directed over $350 million in federal and state funds toward citizens, businesses and public agencies that sustained property damages during the hurricane season of 2004.1 These funds are assisting the recovery process not in the state's coastal areas, but in the mountains of western North Carolina where heavy rainfall and overflowing rivers caused most of the damages. Flood hazard mitigation in communities with flood hazard risks or flood-prone areas can significantly reduce property damages as well as the emotional stress and long-term economic losses resulting from future flood events. Thus, hazard mitigation is a required element of sustainable communities. Reducing the potential for damages increases the resiliency of a community's members and its economy in the face of future disaster events. In regards to the environmental component of sustainability, the development of Gilbert White's concept for floodplain management, or non-structural flood hazard mitigation actions, emphasizes the natural and beneficial functions of floodplains, proactive approaches, and restoration and protection efforts that achieve broad environmental objectives into the future. "With increasing reliance being placed upon non-structural measures such as land acquisition and land use regulation, the need for consistency among the policies and actions of local governments bordering a common stream is acute."2 One jurisdiction's action in the floodplain will have impact-favorable or unfavorable-on jurisdictions downstream, across the river and even upstream. As a result, hazard mitigation actions implemented by local government or property 1 North Carolina Office of the Governor website: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/. Last accessed April 14, 2005. 2 Platt, Rutherford. 1980. Intergovernmental management of floodplains. Rutherford H. Platt, Ed. Program on Technology, Environment and Man, Monograph #30, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado, ., p. IV. owners in a community can be negated by the lack of similar action among other communities in the floodplain. In addition, floodplain management measures may become less effective if an equal amount of attention is not given for the impacts of increased impervious surface throughout a river basin. Increased impervious surfaces, particularly, in the upper portions of the basin can contribute to higher volumes of water reaching streams within the river basin and at a faster rate during a flood event. Effective flood hazard mitigation requires consistent floodplain management across multiple jurisdictions in conjunction with a broader basinwide planning approach. The challenges associated with regional land use regulation and intergovernmental coordination-both horizontally and vertically-have been well researched and documented for hazard mitigation as well as other water resources management issues. As a result, many experts including academics and practitioners abandoned the notion of regional planning approaches for application in these urban planning specializations decades ago. The most effective way to reduce the potential damages and escalating costs of future flood disasters is to integrate flood hazard mitigation actions with watershed planning tools; thus, a regional approach is inevitably needed. With scarce literature and findings about recent basinwide planning approaches, we must then look to successful models of regional planning approaches in other fields such as transportation planning and significant or natural resources protection. As a result, it becomes obvious that all regional planning approaches struggle from obstacles and the factors for success are directly linked to the regional context-especially, the local governments involved and the priorities, motivations and goals that each brings to the table-in which the model was applied. This masters project seeks to overcome the void in recent research about potential models for regional hazard mitigation by using diverse case studies of regional approaches and considering the local context within a specific river basin. As a result, the paper that follows concludes with a recommended regional institutional approach for the Tar River Basin of North Carolina. The recommended approach is designed to promote strong collaboration between state and local governments, and achieve diverse benefits through the integration of flood hazard mitigation and watershed planning.Master of City and Regional Plannin

Eudemonic Care: A Future Path for Occupational Therapy?

The core tenets of occupational therapy date to ancient Greece. Philosophers and physicians alike promulgated that quality of life, or “eudemonia,” is at the center of both ethical and medical concern and can be attained through healthful engagement in meaningful occupation. In more recent times, there has been a strong call to return to the powerful implementation of the eudemonic moral philosophy in health care practice, especially in occupational therapy. Searches of recent occupational therapy research show that integration of wellness initiatives into rehabilitative treatment sessions can have a profound impact on the physical and emotional healthfulness of people with a wide variety of ailments. Accordingly, we put forth three self-reflection questions and 10 client-centered questions to use in occupational therapy assessment to promote eudemonic care

Overcoming barriers to implementation of the Westchester County, NY false claims case settlement

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2010.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections."June 2010." Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references.Westchester County, NY was sued by the Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York, Inc. (ADC) under the False Claims Act for allegedly failing to meet its Affirmatively Further Fair Housing obligation for Community Development Block Grant funds received between 2000 and 2006. While Westchester County argued that it had an impressive affordable housing development record, ADC claimed that the County had not done the required Analysis of Impediments to fair housing choice vis-à-vis race and that the County had not taken steps to overcome known impediments to fair housing stemming from racial discrimination and segregation. The lawsuit ended in an August 2009 settlement that requires Westchester County to spend $51.6 million to build 750 units of affordable housing by 2016 in the 31 municipalities in Westchester with the lowest percentage of minority residents. This case could set a precedent for areas nationwide that have historically resisted residential desegregation. This thesis examines the challenges faced by stakeholders when implementing a court-ordered fair housing plan. It asks the question: In the face of various barriers to implementation, how does Westchester County get the required affordable Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing units built in compliance with both the letter and the spirit of the settlement? To frame the setting of the lawsuit and settlement, this thesis describes the history of the development of Westchester County and examines the federal housing policy context that shaped its suburban landscape. I then provide a detailed case study of the Westchester County False Claims lawsuit, settlement agreement, and implementation plan. Finally, I analyze barriers that the Westchester County Executive's Office will face in trying to implement the settlement agreement, and I provide political, policy and design recommendations for overcoming these barriers.by Julie Iris Stein.M.C.P

Database management and analysis of fisheries in Illinois: Final report, 1 March 1999-28 February 2002

Issued May 2002; F-69-RReport issued on: May 200

Noninvasive photoacoustic identification of sentinel lymph nodes containing methylene blue in vivo in a rat model

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) has become the standard method of axillary staging for patients with breast cancer and clinically negative axillae. Even though SLNB using both methylene blue and radioactive tracers has a high identification rate, it still relies on an invasive surgical procedure with associated morbidity. Axillary ultrasound has emerged as a diagnostic tool to evaluate the axilla, but it can only assess morphology and cannot specifically identify sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). In this pilot study, we propose a noninvasive photoacoustic SLN identification system using methylene blue injection in a rat model. We successfully image a SLN with high optical contrast (146±41, standard deviation) and good ultrasonic resolution (∼500μm) in vivo. We also show potential feasibility for clinical applications by imaging 20- and 31-mm-deep SLNs in 3-D and 2-D, respectively. Our results suggest that this technology would be a useful clinical tool, allowing clinicians to identify SLNs noninvasively in vivo

A conserved circadian function for the Neurofibromatosis 1 gene

Summary: Loss of the Neurofibromatosis 1 (Nf1) protein, neurofibromin, in Drosophila disrupts circadian rhythms of locomotor activity without impairing central clock function, suggesting effects downstream of the clock. However, the relevant cellular mechanisms are not known. Leveraging the discovery of output circuits for locomotor rhythms, we dissected cellular actions of neurofibromin in recently identified substrates. Herein, we show that neurofibromin affects the levels and cycling of calcium in multiple circadian peptidergic neurons. A prominent site of action is the pars intercerebralis (PI), the fly equivalent of the hypothalamus, with cell-autonomous effects of Nf1 in PI cells that secrete DH44. Nf1 interacts genetically with peptide signaling to affect circadian behavior. We extended these studies to mammals to demonstrate that mouse astrocytes exhibit a 24-hr rhythm of calcium levels, which is also attenuated by lack of neurofibromin. These findings establish a conserved role for neurofibromin in intracellular signaling rhythms within the nervous system. : Bai et al. show that the gene mutated in the disease Neurofibromatosis 1 is required for maintaining levels or cycling of calcium in circadian neurons in Drosophila and in mammalian cells. These effects likely account for effects of Nf1 on circadian behavior in Drosophila and may be relevant in explaining sleep phenotypes in patients. Keywords: circadian rhythms, neurofibromatosis 1, Drosophila, peptide signaling, cycling of calcium, mouse astrocyte

Conflicting rights: How the prohibition of human trafficking and sexual exploitation infringes the right to health of female sex workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

While repressive laws and policies in relation to sex work have the potential to undermine HIV prevention efforts, empirical research on their interface has been lacking. In 2008, Cambodia introduced anti-trafficking legislation ostensibly designed to suppress human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Based on empirical research with female sex workers, this article examines the impact of the new law on vulnerability to HIV and other adverse health outcomes. Following the introduction of the law, sex workers reported being displaced to streets and guesthouses, impacting their ability to negotiate safe sex and increasing exposure to violence. Disruption of peer networks and associated mobility also reduced access to outreach, condoms, and health care. Our results are consistent with a growing body of research which associates the violation of sex workers’ human rights with adverse public health outcomes. Despite the successes of the last decade, Cambodia’s AIDS epidemic remains volatile and the current legal environment has the potential to undermine prevention efforts by promoting stigma and discrimination, impeding prevention uptake and coverage, and increasing infections. Legal and policy responses which seek to protect the rights of the sexually exploited should not infringe the right to health of sex workers.NIH grants: U01AI0154241, 1R21 DA025441, and 1R01NR010995 and additional funding from a Faculty Initiative grant from the Pacific Rim Research Program of the University of California. Lisa Maher is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellowshi

Amphetamine-type stimulant use and HIV/STI risk behaviour among young female sex workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Background: Use of amphetamine-type substances (ATS) has been linked to increased risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI) worldwide. In Cambodia, recent ATS use is independently associated with incident STI infection among young female sex workers (FSW). Methods: We conducted 33 in-depth interviews with women (15-29 years old) engaged in sex work to explore ATS use and vulnerability to HIV/STI. Results: Participants reported that ATS, primarily methamphetamine in pill and crystalline forms (yama), were cheap, widely available and commonly used. Yama was described as a “power drug” (thnam kamlang) which enabled women to work long hours and serve more customers. Use of ATS by clients was also common, with some providing drugs for women and/or encouraging their use, often resulting in prolonged sexual activity. Requests for unprotected sex were also more common among intoxicated clients and strategies typically employed to negotiate condom use were less effective. Conclusion: ATS use was highly functional for young women engaged in sex work, facilitating a sense of power and agency and highlighting the occupational significance and normalization of ATS in this setting. This highly gendered dynamic supports the limited but emerging literature on women's use of ATS, which to date has been heavily focused on men. Results indicate an urgent need to increase awareness of the risks associated with ATS use, to provide women with alternative and sustainable options for income generation, to better regulate the conditions of sex work, and to work with FSWs and their clients to develop and promote culturally appropriate harm reduction interventions. Keywords: sex work; amphetamine-type substances; HIV; sexually transmitted infections; risk behaviour; vulnerabilityNI

Medical conditions and depressive, anxiety, and somatic symptoms in older adults with and without generalized anxiety disorder

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine medical illness and anxiety, depressive, and somatic symptoms in older medical patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). METHOD: A case-control study was designed and conducted in the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Geriatrics Clinics. A total of fifty-four older medical patients with GAD and 54 matched controls participated. MEASUREMENTS: The measurements used for this study include: Brief Symptom Inventory-18, Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule. RESULTS: Older medical patients with GAD reported higher levels of somatic symptoms, anxiety, and depression than other older adults, as well as higher rates of diabetes and gastrointestinal conditions. In a multivariate model that included somatic symptoms, medical conditions, and depressive and anxiety symptoms, anxiety symptoms were the only significant predictors of GAD. CONCLUSION: These results suggest first, that older medical patients with GAD do not primarily express distress as somatic symptoms; second, that anxiety symptoms in geriatric patients should not be discounted as a byproduct of medical illness or depression; and third, that older adults with diabetes and gastrointestinal conditions may benefit from screening for anxiety