Confronting Ebola as a Sexually Transmitted Infection

The unprecedented Ebola outbreak that devastated West Africa evolved within months from a regional outbreak to a global public health emergency. While the rate of confirmed cases declined dramatically, sporadic clusters of Ebola virus disease (EVD) continue well beyond the double incubation period of 42 days used to declare a nation Ebola-free. At the same time, evidence that the virus persists in genital fluids and can be sexually transmitted, along with the potential for lingering virus in other body compartments to permit recrudescence of EVD, has shaken our thinking of what it takes to achieve lasting control of an Ebola epidemic. A comprehensive response to the threat of persistence and sexual transmission of Ebola is required and should build on accessible longitudinal medical care of survivors and accurate genital fluid testing for Ebola. Control of this and future Ebola outbreaks will depend on our ability to recognize and respond to this persistence of the virus in those who survive

Horizontal Equity Effects in Energy Regulation

Choices in energy regulation, particularly whether and how to price externalities, can have widely different distributional consequences both across and within income groups. Traditional welfare theory focuses largely on effects across income groups; such “vertical equity” concerns can typically be addressed by a progressive redistribution of emissions revenues. In this paper, we review alternative economic perspectives that give rise to equity concerns within income groups, or “horizontal equity,” and suggest operational measures. We then apply those measures to a stylized model of pollution regulation in the electricity sector. In addition, we look for ways to present the information behind those measures directly to stakeholders. We show how horizontal equity concerns might overshadow efficiency concerns in this context

Estimating Optimal Landfill Sizes and Locations in North Dakota

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Nanoparticle growth following photochemical α‐ and β‐pinene oxidation at Appledore Island during International Consortium for Research on Transport and Transformation/Chemistry of Halogens at the Isles of Shoals 2004

Nanoparticle events were observed 48 times in particle size distributions at Appledore Island during the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation/Chemistry of Halogens on the Isles of Shoals (ICARTT/CHAiOS) field campaign from 2 July to 12 August of 2004. Eighteen of the nanoparticle events showed particle growth and occurred during mornings when peaks in mixing ratios of α‐ and β‐pinene and ozone made production of condensable products from photochemical oxidation probable. Many pollutants and other potential precursors for aerosol formation were also at elevated mixing ratios during these events, including NO, HNO3, NH3, HCl, propane, and several other volatile organic carbon compounds. There were no consistent changes in particle composition, although both submicron and supermicron particles included high maximum concentrations of methane sulfonate, sulfate, iodide, nitrate, and ammonium during these events. Nanoparticle growth continued over several hours with a nearly linear rate of increase of diameter with time. The observed nanoparticle growth rates varied from 3 to 13 nm h−1. Apparent nanoparticle aerosol mass fractions (yields) were estimated to range from less than 0.0005 to almost 1 using α‐ and β‐pinene as the presumed particle source. These apparent high aerosol mass fractions (yields) at low changes in aerosol mass are up to two orders of magnitude greater than predictions from extrapolated laboratory parameterizations and may provide a more accurate assessment of secondary organic aerosol formation for estimating the growth of nanoparticles in global models

(±)-Ethyl 6-(6-meth­oxy-2-naphth­yl)-4-(4-methyl­phen­yl)-2-oxocyclo­hex-3-ene-1-carboxyl­ate

In the title compound, C27H26O4, the dihedral angle between the naphthalene ring system and the benzene ring is 73.10 (5)°. In the crystal, a weak C—H⋯O inter­action occurs. Two C—H groups of the cyclo­hexene ring are disordered over two sets of sites in a 0.796 (5):0.204 (5) ratio, which corresponds to partial overlap of the two enanti­omeric mol­ecules

Medical Technology Transfer

The Biomedical Applications Team program sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an effective means for transferring aerospace technology to applications in medicine. A conceptual framework for medical technology transfer is presented to describe the transfer process in medicine and to supply a rationale for the Biomedical Applications Team methodology. Examples illustrate medical technology transfer at the material, design, and capacity levels. The roles of donor, recipient, and transfer agent are illustrated and factors essential to the success of medical technology transfer are summarized

Strategies and Barriers to Work Behavior Changes: Perceptions of Prevocational Rehabilitation Professionals

Adequate work behavior can increase job retention and job satisfaction for employees with disabilities. Employment modification strategies are practicable tools to address challenging work behavior negatively affecting employment of individuals with disabilities in rural areas. The purpose of this study was to conduct a phenomenological qualitative study of prevocational rehabilitation professionals in a focus group concerning rehabilitation services and training needs for rural vocational services for people with disabilities. Three themes emerged: (a) strategies to improve employment retention; (b) strategies to develop employment skills; and (c) barriers to the implementation of strategies provided. Results also suggested that training rehabilitation programs emphasize employment interventions to support employment opportunities and to understand characteristics of rural areas. Implications for vocational rehabilitation in rural areas included effective implementation using a person with a disability environment fit perspective, inclusion of identified themes in vocational rehabilitation curricula, and improvement of employment services

The hidden burden of influenza: A review of the extra-pulmonary complications of influenza infection

Severe influenza infection represents a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Although influenza is primarily considered a viral infection that results in pathology limited to the respiratory system, clinical reports suggest that influenza infection is frequently associated with a number of clinical syndromes that involve organ systems outside the respiratory tract. A comprehensive MEDLINE literature review of articles pertaining to extra-pulmonary complications of influenza infection, using organ-specific search terms, yielded 218 articles including case reports, epidemiologic investigations, and autopsy studies that were reviewed to determine the clinical involvement of other organs. The most frequently described clinical entities were viral myocarditis and viral encephalitis. Recognition of these extra-pulmonary complications is critical to determining the true burden of influenza infection and initiating organ-specific supportive care

He I λ10830 as a probe of winds in accreting young stars

He I λ10830 profiles acquired with Keck's NIRSPEC for six young low-mass stars with high disk accretion rates (AS 353A, DG Tau, DL Tau, DR Tau, HL Tau, and SVS 13) provide new insight into accretion-driven winds. In four of the stars, the profiles have the signature of resonance scattering, and they possess a deep and broad blueshifted absorption that penetrates more than 50% into the 1 μm continuum over a continuous range of velocities from near the stellar rest velocity to the terminal velocity of the wind, unlike inner wind signatures seen in other spectral features. This deep and broad absorption provides the first observational tracer of the acceleration region of the inner wind and suggests that this acceleration region is situated such that it occults a significant portion of the stellar disk. The remaining two stars also have blue absorption extending below the continuum, although here the profiles are dominated by emission, requiring an additional source of helium excitation beyond resonant scattering. This is likely the same process that produces the emission profiles seen at He I 5876 Å