A comparison of green space indicators for epidemiological research

<p><b>Background</b> The potential for natural environments to be salutogenic has received growing interest from epidemiologists, but there has been no critical examination of the extent to which associations between green space and health might vary according to the indicator of green space coverage used.</p> <p><b>Methods</b> Three different indicators of green space coverage were derived for a set of 268 small areas in four cities within Britain. The indicators had different origins and provided a spectrum of sensitivity from larger spaces only, through to ambient greenery. Two indicators reproducible for anywhere in Europe were included. Agreement between the indicators on the quantity of green space in a small area, and their independent association with measures of mortality and self-reported morbidity, were compared.</p> <p><b>Results</b> Overall, the indicators showed relatively close overall agreement (all r2>0.89, p<0.001). However, agreement varied by level of area socioeconomic deprivation (p<0.001). The indicator that detected larger spaces only found less green space in areas of socioeconomic deprivation than the other two. Despite this difference, all indicators showed similar protective associations with the risk of mortality and self-reported morbidity suggesting that larger green spaces may be more important for health effects than smaller spaces.</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b> Associations between green space indicator and health were not sensitive to indicator origin and type. This raises the possibility of trans-European epidemiological studies. Larger green spaces may be the most important for health effects, but may also be less prevalent in more deprived areas.</p&gt

A MODIFIED PARTIAL ADJUSTMENT MODEL OF AGGREGATE U.S. AGRICULTURAL SUPPLY

Aggregate U.S. agricultural supply response is modeled through a modified partial adjustment model, where the effects of weather and other temporal stochastic effects are structured to be purely static, while the effects of price and technology, or trend, are dynamic. The model is applied to a time series of aggregate U.S. farm output, aggregate U.S. crop production, and aggregate U.S. livestock and livestock products production for several sample periods within the period 1911-1958. The three aggregate output indexes are tested for irreversibilities in supply response, and no evidence of a definitive irreversible supply function is found for any of the dynamic supply models. The use of a nonstochastic difference equation to model the aggregate farm output and crop production equations results in short-run elasticity estimates that are somewhat smaller than previous studied suggest while the long-run elasticities are somewhat larger.Demand and Price Analysis, Production Economics,

Donepezil and related cholinesterase inhibitors as mood and behavioral controlling agents.

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) enhance neuronal transmission by increasing the availability of acetylcholine in muscarinic and nicotinic receptors. This effect is believed to be responsible for the beneficial and protective effects of ChEIs on cognition in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Effects of ChEIs on mood and behavior have also been reported. Earlier observations were limited by the exclusive availability of intravenous forms of administration, the short half-life of the formulations, and the high frequency of peripheral side effects. The introduction, in recent years, of better tolerated and less invasive compounds has rekindled the interest in cholinergic central nervous system mechanisms and has given rise to studies in areas other than cognition. The ChEI donepezil has been involved in the largest number of studies and positive reports. Preliminary observations suggest the possible value of ChEIs in the management of behavioral dysregulation, apathy, irritability, psychosis, depression, mania, tics, and delirium and in the diagnosis of depression, panic, and personality disorders

Green cities and health: a question of scale?

<p><b>Background:</b> Cities are expanding and accommodating an increasing proportion of the world's population. It is important to identify features of urban form that promote the health of city dwellers. Access to green space has been associated with health benefits at both individual and neighbourhood level. We investigated whether a relationship between green space coverage and selected mortality rates exists at the city level in the USA.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> An ecological cross-sectional study. A detailed land use data set was used to quantify green space for the largest US cities (n=49, combined population of 43 million). Linear regression models were used to examine the association between city-level ‘greenness’ and city-level standardised rates of mortality from heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer, motor vehicle fatalities and all causes, after adjustment for confounders.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> There was no association between greenness and mortality from heart disease, diabetes, lung cancer or automobile accidents. Mortality from all causes was significantly higher in greener cities.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> While considerable evidence suggests that access to green space yields health benefits, we found no such evidence at the scale of the American city. In the USA, greener cities tend also to be more sprawling and have higher levels of car dependency. Any benefits that the green space might offer seem easily eclipsed by these other conditions and the lifestyles that accompany them. The result merits further investigation as it has important implications for how we increase green space access in our cities.</p&gt

Development and Testing of a 2-D Transfer CCD

This paper describes the development, operation, and characterization of charge-coupled devices (CCDs) that feature an electrode structure that allows the transfer of charge both horizontally and vertically through the image area. Such devices have been termed two-dimensional (2-D) transfer CCDs (2DT CCDs), as opposed to the conventional devices, which might be called one-dimensional transfer CCDs, but in other respects are the same as conventional CCD devices. Batches of two different 2DT CCD test devices, featuring different electrode structures but with identical clocking operation in each case, were produced and tested. The methodology of 2-D charge transfer in each of the device types is described, followed by a presentation of test results from the new CCDs. The ability of both 2DT CCD transfer electrode schemes to successfully transfer charge in both horizontal and vertical directions in the image section of the devices has been proven, opening up potential new applications for 2DT CCD use

Pharmacogenomics in early-phase clinical development.

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) offers the promise of utilizing genetic fingerprints to predict individual responses to drugs in terms of safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics. Early-phase clinical trial PGx applications can identify human genome variations that are meaningful to study design, selection of participants, allocation of resources and clinical research ethics. Results can inform later-phase study design and pipeline developmental decisions. Nevertheless, our review of the clinicaltrials.gov database demonstrates that PGx is rarely used by drug developers. Of the total 323 trials that included PGx as an outcome, 80% have been conducted by academic institutions after initial regulatory approval. Barriers for the application of PGx are discussed. We propose a framework for the role of PGx in early-phase drug development and recommend PGx be universally considered in study design, result interpretation and hypothesis generation for later-phase studies, but PGx results from underpowered studies should not be used by themselves to terminate drug-development programs

Accurate measurement of telemetry performance

Performance of high rate telemetry stations used in the Deep Space Network is verified. Measurement techniques are discussed

Green space and child weight status : does outcome measurement matter? Evidence from an Australian longitudinal study

Taren Sanders is supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award. Thomas Astell-Burt is supported by a Fellowship with the National Heart Foundation of Australia.Objective. To examine whether neighbourhood green space is beneficially associated with (i) waist circumference (WC) and (ii) waist-to-height ratio (WtHR) across childhood. Methods. Gender-stratified multilevel linear regressions were used to examine associations between green space and objective measures of weight status in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, a nationally representative source of data on 4,423 children aged 6 y to 13 y. WC and WtHR were measured objectively. Percentage green space within the local area of residence was calculated. Effect modification by age was explored, adjusting for socioeconomic confounding. Results. Compared to peers with 0-5% green space locally, boys and girls with >40% green space tended to have lower WC (βboys -1.15, 95% CI -2.44, 0.14; βgirls -0.21, 95% CI -1.47, 1.05) and WtHR (βboys -0.82, 95% CI -1.65, 0.01; βgirls -0.32, 95% CI -1.13, 0.49). Associations among boys were contingent upon age (p valuesage green space40% green space at 73.85 cm and 45.75% compared to those with 0-5% green space at 75.18 cm and 46.62%, respectively. Conclusions. Greener neighbourhoods appear beneficial to alternative child weight status measures, particularly among boys.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Computer applications in psychiatry: Role in patient care, education, research and communication

In recent years, computer use has pervaded almost every aspect of the practice of medicine. Although computers have been in use in psychiatry since the early 1950s, it was the last decade that has witnessed the greatest growth. While computers cannot replace the careful attention and compassion of human contact, they can perform standardized operations much faster and more accurately. The current interest in computer use is associated with two phenomena: one is the availability of home, office, and portable computers; and the other is the exponential growth in the information that has to be processed in order to deliver optimal care. Computers have advanced patient care through improvements in documentation, evaluation, and treatment modalities (e.g., virtual reality). They have advanced education by providing convenient access to academic resources, adding decision support modules to electronic records, and by introducing educational software. Research was promoted through the use of sophisticated statistical tools, the convenience of access to clinical databases, and through the introduction of new evaluation and treatment modalities. Communication on intranets and on the Internet has significantly improved all aspects of psychiatric practice. Specific topics that require further development and clarification include: electronic records, confidentiality in electronic networks, the role of telepsychiatry and virtual reality in psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation

Modelling Gaia CCD pixels with Silvaco 3D engineering software

Gaia will only achieve its unprecedented measurement accuracy requirements with detailed calibration and correction for radiation damage. We present our Silvaco 3D engineering software model of the Gaia CCD pixel and two of its applications for Gaia: (1) physically interpreting supplementary buried channel (SBC) capacity measurements (pocket-pumping and first pixel response) in terms of e2v manufacturing doping alignment tolerances; and (2) deriving electron densities within a charge packet as a function of the number of constituent electrons and 3D position within the charge packet as input to microscopic models being developed to simulate radiation damage.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, contributed poster, appearing in proceedings of the ELSA conference: Gaia, at the frontiers of astrometry, 7-11 June 2010, S\`evres, Pari