Joint inference of CFC lifetimes and banks suggests previously unidentified emissions:Nature Communications

AbstractChlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are harmful ozone depleting substances and greenhouse gases. CFC production was phased-out under the Montreal Protocol, however recent studies suggest new and unexpected emissions of CFC-11. Quantifying CFC emissions requires accurate estimates of both atmospheric lifetimes and ongoing emissions from old equipment (i.e. ‘banks’). In a Bayesian framework we simultaneously infer lifetimes, banks and emissions of CFC-11, 12 and 113 using available constraints. We find lifetimes of all three gases are likely shorter than currently recommended values, suggesting that best estimates of inferred emissions are larger than recent evaluations. Our analysis indicates that bank emissions are decreasing faster than total emissions, and we estimate new, unexpected emissions during 2014-2016 were 23.2, 18.3, and 7.8 Gg/yr for CFC-11, 12 and 113, respectively. While recent studies have focused on unexpected CFC-11 emissions, our results call for further investigation of potential sources of emissions of CFC-12 and CFC-113, along with CFC-11.</jats:p

Self-Reflection and its Relationship to Occupational Competence and Clinical Performance in Level II Fieldwork

Purpose: Reflective practitioners embody the ability to critique their own clinical thinking about the dilemmas that frequently arise in professional practice and everyday life. Conflicting evidence exists on whether or not self-reflective practices are effective in promoting academic, clinical, and personal success. This quantitative study investigated self-reflection as a predictor of increased occupational competence and clinical performance in Level II Fieldwork for entry-level Master\u27s degree occupational therapy students. Method: The study used convenience sampling to recruit participants and data were collected via a demographic survey and self-assessment questionnaires. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which self-reflection predicts occupational competence and clinical performance. R2 values were examined to determine the importance of each dependent variable (occupational competence and clinical performance). Results: Findings revealed a statistically significant relationship between self-reflection and occupational competence (p = 0.0053) but not between self-reflection and clinical performance (p = 0.08). Self-reflection accounted for 14% of the variance in clinical performance (R2 = 0.14), and more than one third (R2 = 0.38) of the variance in occupational competence. Results suggest that students who self-reflect regularly during fieldwork may have a greater ability to maintain everyday life routines during the demands of Level II Fieldwork. Conclusions: Self-reflection strongly predicts occupational competence of occupational therapy students during Level II Fieldwork, but does not significantly predict students’ clinical performance. Recommendations: Occupational therapy educators should consider incorporating guided self-reflection activities into the academic program in order to support student occupational competence. Intentional coaching in self-reflection may better prepare students for a clinical setting by supporting healthy daily routines, which may help them to manage stress during Level II Fieldwork. Future research should explore the impact of self-reflection training during clinical rotations (provided by clinical educators) on student clinical performance. Revision of the measurement of clinical performance is warranted to include questions pertaining to soft skills such as self-reflection and awareness

Occupational Therapy Student Conceptions of Self-Reflection in Level II Fieldwork

Self-reflection is paramount to the development of professionalism and serves as the foundation of adult education and lifelong learning. Pedagogical approaches in health sciences programs that promote self-reflection are growing in popularity. Current literature identifies a gap in what and how students conceive self-reflection and whether self-reflection is creating professionals that meet the challenges of today’s healthcare climate. This qualitative study explores the conceptions of self-reflection for occupational therapy students in Level II Fieldwork. The use of phenomenographic methodology guided the collection of information-rich data through semi-structured interviews. Twenty-one occupational therapy graduates volunteered to participate in the interviews. Verbatim transcripts were coded to identify categories and patterns in the data. A focused discussion was employed as a member-checking method to ensure accuracy of study outcomes. Participants identified that self-reflection may serve to inform personal and professional practices during occupational therapy student clinical rotations. Although universally defined, student self-reflection occurred in countless ways and took many forms. Participants valued its function in expanded decision making, self-awareness, and competence in fieldwork and everyday occupations. These findings facilitate further research and the creation of new self-reflection educational methods or interventions designed to build or remediate self-reflective capacity of health sciences students during academic and clinical programming

A Rapid Assessment of Coral Reefs Near Hopetown, Abaco Islands, Bahamas (Stony Corals and Algae)

Coral reefs at 13 sites ranging in depth from 1-16 m near Hopetown, Abaco Islands, Bahamas were surveyed utilizing the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) benthos protocol. A total of 35 species of scleractinian corals and 2 species of calcareous hydrocorals were observed. The overall coral cover averaged just over 14%. Among corals that were at least 10 cm in diameter, small colonies (\u3c 40 cm diameter) predominated in all sites except for the Fowl Cay pinnacles where 68% were larger than 60 cm in diameter. Large colonies (\u3e 40 cm diameter) were also found in the Lynyard Cay spur-and-groove formations and the Sandy Cay fore reef. Zero-4% of the colonies were affected by disease. Total (recent + old) partial-colony mortality ranged from 9-31% (both extreme values being found in outer reef crests). Turf algae were the most common algal functional group overall. Macroalgae were ubiquitous, however, with relative abundance values of about 25-47%. Macroalgal indices (a proxy for biomass) ranged from 64 in the Sandy Cay back reef to 184 in the Fowl Cay outer reef crest

The Presence of Real Food Usurps Hypothetical Health Value Judgment in Overweight People.

To develop more ecologically valid models of the neurobiology of obesity, it is critical to determine how the neural processes involved in food-related decision-making translate into real-world eating behaviors. We examined the relationship between goal-directed valuations of food images in the MRI scanner and food consumption at a subsequent ad libitum buffet meal. We observed that 23 lean and 40 overweight human participants showed similar patterns of value-based neural responses to health and taste attributes of foods. In both groups, these value-based responses in the ventromedial PFC were predictive of subsequent consumption at the buffet. However, overweight participants consumed a greater proportion of unhealthy foods. This was not predicted by in-scanner choices or neural response. Moreover, in overweight participants alone, impulsivity scores predicted greater consumption of unhealthy foods. Overall, our findings suggest that, while the hypothetical valuation of the health of foods is predictive of eating behavior in both lean and overweight people, it is only the real-world food choices that clearly distinguish them.This study was supported by the Bernard Wolfe Health Neuroscience Fund (HZ, PCF), the Wellcome Trust (NM, HZ, PCF), the Medical Research Council grant U105960389 (ALA, KMD, SAJ) and the Department of Health Policy Research Program (Policy Research Unit in Behaviour and Health [PR-UN-0409-10109]) (TMM, SEF).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the Society for Neuroscience via https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0025-16.201

MMP-13 Selective Isonipecotamide Alpha-sulfone Hydroxamates

A series of N-aryl isonipecotamide α-sulfone hydroxamate derivatives has been prepared utilizing a combination of solution-phase and resin-bound library technologies to afford compounds that are potent and highly selective for MMP-13