Paraoxonase gene polymorphisms and haplotype analysis in a stroke population

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Atmospheric hydroxyl radical (OH) abundances from ground-based ultraviolet solar spectra: an improved retrieval method

The Fourier Transform Ultraviolet Spectrometer (FTUVS) instrument has recorded a long-term data record of the atmospheric column abundance of the hydroxyl radical (OH) using the technique of high resolution solar absorption spectroscopy. We report new efforts in improving the precision of the OH measurements in order to better model the diurnal, seasonal, and interannual variability of odd hydrogen (HOx) chemistry in the stratosphere, which, in turn, will improve our understanding of ozone chemistry and its long-term changes. Until the present, the retrieval method has used a single strong OH absorption line P1(1) in the near-ultraviolet at 32,341 cm−1. We describe a new method that uses an average based on spectral fits to multiple lines weighted by line strength and fitting precision. We have also made a number of improvements in the ability to fit a model to the spectral feature, which substantially reduces the scatter in the measurements of OH abundances

An Investigation into UK Government Policy and Legislation to Renewable Energy and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Commitments

The UK has committed to various legally binding targets with regard to renewable energy technology and greenhouse gas reduction. As a result, government policy and legislation have been significant in investing in renewable energy technology, driving innovation since 1990. The aim of this work identifies the key drivers behind commitments and to assess the role of government, business and organisations in the uptake of renewable energy and the development of a decentralised energy network as a result of greenhouse gas emission reduction target. This article presents quantitative analysis of primary research from government and industry. The novel aspect of this investigation is that the conclusive outcomes arise as a result of a unique research method by combining primary and secondary sources with support of company data from Nestlé and Transport for London. The main findings demonstrated that government support is one of the key drivers for innovation into renewable technology; however, business and the public are necessary to bring renewables to market. Strategies have been identified to incorporate decentralised generation into industry for the commitment of renewables and to develop the required energy network of the future

From the Market to the Classroom: How Ed-Tech Products are Procured by School Districts Interacting with Vendors

School districts are adopting educational technology products at an increasing rate over the years. As more and more products become available, school districts face the challenge of identifying and evaluating programs to meet students’ needs, while ed-tech providers compete for access to decision makers. The present mixed methods study sought to document the process by which school districts discover, evaluate, and acquire ed-tech products and how vendors market and work through this process with districts. Participants included district stakeholders representing 54 school districts and vendors from 47 ed-tech companies. Results indicated that, in contrast to best practices, needs assessments were rarely, if at all conducted, districts and vendors lack a central source of information for product information and evidence of effectiveness, and decisions are often made on small-scale pilot tryouts, peer references, and less often by examining rigorous evaluation evidence. Based on these findings, we offer recommendations for both district and vendor stakeholders to encourage successful procurement of ed-tech products.Digital Promis

Fermiophobic Higgs bosons at the Tevatron

Higgs bosons with negligible couplings to fermions can arise in various non--minimal Higgs sectors. We show that such a particle could be discovered during the current run at the Tevatron, and would be evidence against a minimal supersymmetric Higgs sector.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Lett. B, figures include

The long-term impact of the MEMA kwa Vijana adolescent sexual and reproductive health intervention: effect of dose and time since intervention exposure.

BACKGROUND: Despite recent decreases in HIV incidence in many sub-Saharan African countries, there is little evidence that specific behavioural interventions have led to a reduction in HIV among young people. Further and wider-scale decreases in HIV require better understanding of when behaviour change occurs and why. The MEMA kwa Vijana adolescent sexual and reproductive health intervention has been implemented in rural Mwanza, Tanzania since 1999. A long-term evaluation in 2007/8 found that the intervention improved knowledge, attitudes to sex and some reported risk behaviours, but not HIV or HSV2 prevalence. The aim of this paper was to assess the differential impact of the intervention according to gender, age, marital status, number of years of exposure and time since last exposure to the intervention. METHODS: In 2007, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in the 20 trial communities among 13,814 young people (15-30 yrs) who had attended intervention or comparison schools between 1999 and 2002. Outcomes for which the intervention had an impact in 2001 or 2007 were included in this subgroup analysis. Data were analysed using cluster-level methods for stratified cluster-randomised trials, using interaction tests to determine if intervention impact differed by subgroup. RESULTS: Taking into account multiplicity of testing, concurrence with a priori hypotheses and consistency within the results no strong effect-modifiers emerged. Impact on pregnancy knowledge and reported attitudes to sex increased with years of exposure to high-quality intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The desirable long-term impact of the MEMA kwa Vijana intervention did not vary greatly according to the subgroups examined. This suggests that the intervention can have an impact on a broad cross-section of young people in rural Mwanza. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00248469

Single superparticle production via γγ\gamma\gamma collision with explicit R-parity violation

We study the single production of scalar neutrinos or charginos via $\gamma\gamma$ collision in an R-parity ($R_{p}$) violating supersymmetric model. It may be possible to detect a sneutrino or a chargino at a Linear Collider (LC) in $\gamma \gamma$ operation mode, as a test of supersymmetry and $R_p$-violation. Because of the clean background in LC, stringent constraints on $R_p$ violating parameters can be obtained even if the process cannot be observed at the future Linear Collider.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figure

Validation of Aura Microwave Limb Sounder OH measurements with Fourier Transform Ultra-Violet Spectrometer total OH column measurements at Table Mountain, California

The first seasonal and interannual validation of OH measurements from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) has been conducted using ground-based OH column measurements from the Fourier Transform Ultra-Violet Spectrometer (FTUVS) over the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Table Mountain Facility (TMF) during 2004–2007. To compare with FTUVS total column measurements, MLS OH vertical profiles over TMF are integrated to obtain partial OH columns above 21.5 hPa, which covers nearly 90% of the total column. The tropospheric OH and the lower stratopheric OH not measured by MLS are estimated using GEOS (Goddard Earth Observing System)-Chem and a Harvard 2-D model implemented within GEOS-Chem, respectively. A number of field observations and calculations from a photochemical box model are compared to OH profiles from these models to estimate the variability in the lower atmospheric OH and thus the uncertainty in the combined total OH columns from MLS and models. In general, the combined total OH columns agree extremely well with TMF total OH columns, especially during seasons with high OH. In winter with low OH, the combined columns are often higher than TMF measurements. A slightly weaker seasonal variation is observed by MLS relative to TMF. OH columns from TMF and the combined total columns from MLS and models are highly correlated, resulting in a mean slope of 0.969 with a statistically insignificant intercept. This study therefore suggests that column abundances derived from MLS vertical profiles have been validated to within the mutual systematic uncertainties of the MLS and FTUVS measurements

Mediating effects of parents’ coping strategies on the relationship between parents’ emotional intelligence and sideline verbal behaviors in youth soccer

The overall purpose of this study was to examine the mediating effects of parents’ coping strategies on the relationship between parents’ emotional intelligence and sideline verbal behaviors during their children’s soccer games. Participants were 232 parents (120 mothers and 110 fathers) of youth soccer players age 9–13 years. Observations in situ were carried out at 30 soccer games during a soccer tournament. At the end of the game, parents were approached and asked to complete the Emotional Intelligence Scale and the Brief COPE scale. Structural-equation-modeling analyses revealed that adaptive and maladaptive coping mediated the relationship between regulation of emotion and parents’ praise/encouragement, and negative and derogatory comments during the game. In addition, game result moderated the relationships between emotional intelligence, coping strategies, and parent behaviors. Emotional regulation and adaptive coping may promote desirable parent sideline behaviors and reduce undesirable behaviors