STROZ Lidar Results at the MOHAVE III Campaign, October, 2009, Table Mountain, CA

During October, 2009 the GSFC STROZ Lidar participated in a campaign at the JPL Table Mountain Facility (Wrightwood, CA, 2285 m Elevation) to measure vertical profiles of water vapor from near the ground to the lower stratosphere. On eleven nights, water vapor, aerosol, temperature and ozone profiles were measured by the STROZ lidar, two other similar lidars, frost-point hygrometer sondes, and ground-based microwave instruments made measurements. Results from these measurements and an evaluation of the performance of the STROZ lidar during the campaign will be presented in this paper. The STROZ lidar was able to measure water vapor up to 13-14 km ASL during the campaign. We will present results from all the STROZ data products and comparisons with other instruments made. Implications for instrumental changes will be discussed

Size and clustering of ethnic groups and rates of psychiatric admission in England

Aims and method To compare rates of admission for different types of severe mental illness between ethnic groups, and to test the hypothesis that larger and more clustered ethnic groups will have lower admission rates. This was a descriptive study of routinely collected data from the National Health Service in England. Results There was an eightfold difference in admission rates between ethnic groups for schizophreniform and mania admissions, and a fivefold variation in depression admissions. On average, Black and minority ethnic (BME) groups had higher rates of admission for schizophreniform and mania admissions but not for depression. This increased rate was greatest in the teenage years and early adulthood. Larger ethnic group size was associated with lower admission rates. However, greater clustering was associated with higher admission rates. Clinical implications Our findings support the hypothesis that larger ethnic groups have lower rates of admission. This was a between-group comparison rather than within each group. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that more clustered groups have lower rates of admission. In fact, they suggest the opposite: groups with low clustering had lower admission rates. The BME population in the UK is increasing in size and becoming less clustered. Our results suggest that both of these factors should ameliorate the overrepresentation of BME groups among psychiatric in-patients. However, this overrepresentation continues, and our results suggest a possible explanation, namely, changes in the delivery of mental health services, particularly the marked reduction in admissions for depression

Equivalent Fixed-Points in the Effective Average Action Formalism

Starting from a modified version of Polchinski's equation, Morris' fixed-point equation for the effective average action is derived. Since an expression for the line of equivalent fixed-points associated with every critical fixed-point is known in the former case, this link allows us to find, for the first time, the analogous expression in the latter case.Comment: 30 pages; v2: 29 pages - major improvements to section 3; v3: published in J. Phys. A - minor change

Private needs, public responses: vulnerable people’s flood-disrupted mobility

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of vulnerable people during flood events, impacts of changes in mobility on well-being and the extent to which frontline services, emergency planning officers and other service providers allocate resources for vulnerable members of the community to meet the challenges posed by floods. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth qualitative interviews carried out with 15 vulnerable residents, seven community representatives and eight service providers. Findings – Vulnerable people’s well-being was negatively affected by the disruption to travel caused by floods, though support from the community to some extent redressed these negative feelings. Whilst there seems to be a strong response from both the community and the local authorities to the mobility needs of vulnerable people during floods, what seems to be missing is an equal response from the private sector in terms of provision of transport services to access goods such as food and money. Practical implications – More needs to be done to make sure that communication and support networks are formalised to address the potential unevenness of informal networks. Private companies need to engage more with customers. Improved information and more resilient services such as 4 × 4 vehicles and doorstep provision of goods and money would directly support vulnerable people who are highly dependent on their services. Originality/value – This study is the first in the UK to explore and compare the private experiences of vulnerable people with the views of stakeholders who could support them during floods

Deployable-erectable trade study for space station truss structures

The results of a trade study on truss structures for constructing the space station are presented. Although this study was conducted for the reference gravity gradient space station, the results are generally applicable to other configurations. The four truss approaches for constructing the space station considered in this paper were the 9 foot single fold deployable, the 15 foot erectable, the 10 foot double fold tetrahedral, and the 15 foot PACTRUSS. The primary rational for considering a 9 foot single-fold deployable truss (9 foot is the largest uncollapsed cross-section that will fit in the Shuttle cargo bay) is that of ease of initial on-orbit construction and preintegration of utility lines and subsystems. The primary rational for considering the 15 foot erectable truss is that the truss bay size will accommodate Shuttle size payloads and growth of the initial station in any dimension is a simple extension of the initial construction process. The primary rational for considering the double-fold 10 foot tetrahedral truss is that a relatively large amount of truss structure can be deployed from a single Shuttle flight to provide a large number of nodal attachments which present a pegboard for attaching a wide variety of payloads. The 15 foot double-fold PACTRUSS was developed to incorporate the best features of the erectable truss and the tetrahedral truss

The influence of the physical environment on self-recovery after disasters in Nepal and the Philippines

Following a disaster, the majority of families rebuild their homes themselves. In this paper, we consider how the physical environment influences such ‘self-recovery’ by investigating disasters in the Philippines (typhoons Haiyan in 2013 and Haima in 2016) and Nepal (the Gorkha earthquake - 2015). Despite the many differences in the disaster contexts, there are some common barriers to self-recovery (and building back better) in a substantially changed and dynamic multi-hazard, post-disaster environment. These are related to changes in water supply (shortage or surplus), impacts of post-disaster geohazard events on infrastructure (particularly affecting transport) and the availability of technical advice. People face a broad spectrum of challenges as they recover and tackling these ‘geo-barriers’ may help to create a more enabling environment for self-recovery. The findings point to what needs to be in place to support self-recovery in dynamic physical environments, including geoscience information and advice, and restoration of infrastructure damaged by natural hazard events. Further research is necessary to understand the issues this raises for the shelter and geoscience communities, particularly around availability of geoscience expertise, capacity and information at a local scale

Scavenger Receptors and Their Potential as Therapeutic Targets in the Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease

Scavenger receptors act as membrane-bound and soluble proteins that bind to macromolecular complexes and pathogens. This diverse supergroup of proteins mediates binding to modified lipoprotein particles which regulate the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic plaques. In vascular tissues, scavenger receptors are implicated in regulating intracellular signaling, lipid accumulation, foam cell development, and cellular apoptosis or necrosis linked to the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. One approach is using gene therapy to modulate scavenger receptor function in atherosclerosis. Ectopic expression of membrane-bound scavenger receptors using viral vectors can modify lipid profiles and reduce the incidence of atherosclerosis. Alternatively, expression of soluble scavenger receptors can also block plaque initiation and progression. Inhibition of scavenger receptor expression using a combined gene therapy and RNA interference strategy also holds promise for long-term therapy. Here we review our current understanding of the gene delivery by viral vectors to cells and tissues in gene therapy strategies and its application to the modulation of scavenger receptor function in atherosclerosis

Choice in the context of informal care-giving

Extending choice and control for social care service users is a central feature of current English policies. However, these have comparatively little to say about choice in relation to the informal carers of relatives, friends or older people who are disabled or sick. To explore the realities of choice as experienced by carers, the present paper reviews research published in English since 1985 about three situations in which carers are likely to face choices: receiving social services; the entry of an older person to long-term care; and combining paid work and care. Thirteen electronic databases were searched, covering both the health and social care fields. Databases included: ASSIA; IBSS; Social Care Online; ISI Web of Knowledge; Medline; HMIC Sociological Abstracts; INGENTA; ZETOC; and the National Research Register. The search strategy combined terms that: (1) identified individuals with care-giving responsibilities; (2) identified people receiving help and support; and (3) described the process of interest (e.g. choice, decision-making and self-determination). The search identified comparatively few relevant studies, and so was supplemented by the findings from another recent review of empirical research on carers' choices about combining work and care. The research evidence suggests that carers' choices are shaped by two sets of factors: one relates to the nature of the care-giving relationship; and the second consists of wider organisational factors. A number of reasons may explain the invisibility of choice for carers in current policy proposals for increasing choice. In particular, it is suggested that underpinning conceptual models of the relationship between carers and formal service providers shape the extent to which carers can be offered choice and control on similar terms to service users. In particular, the exercise of choice by carers is likely to be highly problematic if it involves relinquishing some unpaid care-giving activities

Variables associated with successful vascular access cannulation in hemodialysis patients: A prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Successful vascular access (VA) cannulation is integral to the delivery of adequate dialysis, highlighting the importance of ensuring the viability of arteriovenous access in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Missed VA cannulation can lead to infection, infiltration, hematoma or aneurysm formation resulting in the need for access revision, central venous catheter (CVC) placement, or permanent loss of VA. Cannulation-related complications can also negatively impact on a patient\u27s dialysis experience and quality of life. This study aimed to identify patient, VA and nurse factors associated with unsuccessful VA cannulations. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted in HD patients with a permanent VA from three HD units. Data on patient, VA and nurse characteristics, plus, cannulation technique were collected for each episode of cannulation. General Estimating Equation was used to fit a repeated measures logistic regression to determine the odds of cannulation success. RESULTS: We collected data on 1946 episodes of cannulation (83.9% fistula) in 149 patients by 63 nurses. Cannulation included use of tourniquet (62.9%), ultrasound (4.1%) and was by rope ladder (73.8%) or area (24.7%) technique. The miscannulation rate was 4.4% (n = 85) with a third of patients (n = 47) having at least one episode of miscannulation. Extravasation (n = 17, 0.9%) and use of an existing CVC (n = 6, 0.6%) were rare. Multivariable characteristics of successful cannulation included fistula compared with graft [OR 4.38; 95%CI, 1.89-10.1]; older access [OR 1.68; 95%CI, 1.32-2.14]; absence of stent [OR 3.37; 95%CI, 1.39-8.19]; no ultrasound [OR 13.7; 95%CI, 6.52-28.6]; no tourniquet [OR 2.32; 95%CI, 1.15-4.66]; and lack of post graduate certificate in renal nursing [OR 2.27; 95%CI, 1.31-3.93]. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated a low rate of miscannulation. Further research is required on ultrasound-guided cannulation. Identifying variables associated with successful cannulation may be used to develop a VA cannulation complexity instrument that could be utilised to match to the cannulation skill of a competency-assessed nurse, thereby minimising the risk of missed cannulation and trauma

Correction Technique for Raman Water Vapor Lidar Signal-Dependent Bias and Suitability for Water Wapor Trend Monitoring in the Upper Troposphere

The MOHAVE-2009 campaign brought together diverse instrumentation for measuring atmospheric water vapor. We report on the participation of the ALVICE (Atmospheric Laboratory for Validation, Interagency Collaboration and Education) mobile laboratory in the MOHAVE-2009 campaign. In appendices we also report on the performance of the corrected Vaisala RS92 radiosonde measurements during the campaign, on a new radiosonde based calibration algorithm that reduces the influence of atmospheric variability on the derived calibration constant, and on other results of the ALVICE deployment. The MOHAVE-2009 campaign permitted the Raman lidar systems participating to discover and address measurement biases in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. The ALVICE lidar system was found to possess a wet bias which was attributed to fluorescence of insect material that was deposited on the telescope early in the mission. Other sources of wet biases are discussed and data from other Raman lidar systems are investigated, revealing that wet biases in upper tropospheric (UT) and lower stratospheric (LS) water vapor measurements appear to be quite common in Raman lidar systems. Lower stratospheric climatology of water vapor is investigated both as a means to check for the existence of these wet biases in Raman lidar data and as a source of correction for the bias. A correction technique is derived and applied to the ALVICE lidar water vapor profiles. Good agreement is found between corrected ALVICE lidar measurments and those of RS92, frost point hygrometer and total column water. The correction is offered as a general method to both quality control Raman water vapor lidar data and to correct those data that have signal-dependent bias. The influence of the correction is shown to be small at regions in the upper troposphere where recent work indicates detection of trends in atmospheric water vapor may be most robust. The correction shown here holds promise for permitting useful upper tropospheric water vapor profiles to be consistently measured by Raman lidar within NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change) and elsewhere, despite the prevalence of instrumental and atmospheric effects that can contaminate the very low signal to noise measurements in the UT