Organic Farming and the Energy Crisis: Saint or Sinner?

Food production systems are partially responsible for contributing to elevated levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to the heavy reliance on fossil fuels and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Organic farming systems, however, strive to work so far as possible within closed systems, which attempt to use appropriate technologies and scarce resources sparingly. Drawing data from recent case studies this paper examines how close modern UK organic farming can come to these ideals. The paper will conclude with recommendations for the organic farming sector to deliver a food production system that will be required to operate within tighter economic, social and environmental constraints in the future

Retro-Aortic Left Renal Vein

The term retro-aortic left renal vein (RLRV) is defined as the left renal vein coursing posterior to the abdominal aorta. RLRV is an uncommon condition in which the left renal vein passes posterior to the abdominal aorta and anterior to the vertebrae. RLRV may lead to left renal vein hypertension (LRVH) syndrome, which is also known as Nutcracker syndrome. Nutcracker syndrome (NCS) is a condition in which the left renal vein is compressed causing hypertension of the vessel. RLRV and Nutcracker syndrome are vascular anomalies considered to be of clinical importance especially during surgical procedures of the renal vasculature

Carotid Artery Aneurysm: A Case Study

A 60 year old male arrived at the emergency department after losing consciousness. CT showed he demonstrated a right hemispheric embolic stroke with a middle cerebral artery distribution. Upon further investigation, the patient was found to have a right common carotid artery aneurysm that extended about 1 cm from the carotid bifurcation into the internal carotid artery. The patient underwent carotid artery reconstruction with the use of his right great saphenous vein. This case demonstrates an unusual form of cerebral embolization due to a internal carotid artery aneurysm

Children served by MaineCare, 2012: Survey findings

The purpose of the annual Survey of Children Served by MaineCare is to monitor the quality of services delivered by MaineCare, the State\u27s Medicaid and CHIP program. The 2012 survey examines the experiences of families with children. ages 0-17, who are enrolled in MaineCare using a standardized survey instrument (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems--CAHPS--4.0H Child Medicaid Health Plan Survey). MaineCare scores very favorably compared with national benchmarks on CAHPS measures of Getting Needed Care, Getting Care Quickly, and How Well the Child\u27s Doctors Community, with ratings at or above the 75th percentile on all the composites and individual items. Overall ratings of the child\u27s personal doctor, ratings of the child\u27s specialist, and ratings of all the child\u27s health care are also among the highest nationally. Areas for improvement included MaineCare customer service and care coordination. Continued administration of the CAHPS 4.0H Child Medicaid Health Plan Survey is recommended for 2013 and beyond to allow for ongoing monitoring of patient experience with and computation of trend results of the MaineCare program as well as ensuring that the MaineCare program complies with federal CHIPRA measure reporting requirements

How Does the Rural Food Environment Affect Rural Childhood Obesity?

Objective: Assess the impact of the rural food environment on the eating behaviors and BMI of rural low-income children. Method: Statewide (Maine, 2009) household survey of parents of children on Medicaid (n=1722), oversampled in six rural communities, resulting in n=272 for six target communities. Food environment measured using modified Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in Stores (NEMS-S) for 46 retail food outlets. Multi-variate analysis assessed factors affecting home food environment, child\u27s eating behavior and BMI. Results: Home food behaviors (how often: family eats together, child eats breakfast, vegetables served) and parent food consumption were significantly associated with children\u27s healthy eating behaviors. The only significant predictor of childhood obesity was parent eating behavior. We observed several alternative strategies such as hunting, gathering and buying from local farmers. Parents who drove over 20 miles to shop were found to shop at stores with higher NEMS scores as compared to parents who drove shorter distances.Conclusion: Defining and identifying food deserts is not a promising approach to measuring the rural food environment due to long distance trips, careful price shopping, and local, alternative strategies. Strategies to place healthier food in the home should be combined with interventions directed at parents\u27 and families\u27 eating behaviors

Health Status, Service Use and Cost among MaineCare Children in Foster Care

The purpose of this study was to inform IHOC program planning with baseline data on the health care use and expenditures of MaineCare children in the foster care program in general and to compare use and costs for foster care children that receive comprehensive health assessments through the Edmund N. Ervin Pediatric Center’s Pediatric Rapid Evaluation Program (PREP), and those that do not. In 2011, other organizations including Key Clinic at Penobscot Pediatrics in Bangor and the Portland-based Spurwink Services program also began conducting comprehensive health assessments for children in foster care. However, because of the timing of this study, this report only analyzes children that received comprehensive health assessments through the PREP program

The Dark Side of the Electroweak Phase Transition

Recent data from cosmic ray experiments may be explained by a new GeV scale of physics. In addition the fine-tuning of supersymmetric models may be alleviated by new O(GeV) states into which the Higgs boson could decay. The presence of these new, light states can affect early universe cosmology. We explore the consequences of a light (~ GeV) scalar on the electroweak phase transition. We find that trilinear interactions between the light state and the Higgs can allow a first order electroweak phase transition and a Higgs mass consistent with experimental bounds, which may allow electroweak baryogenesis to explain the cosmological baryon asymmetry. We show, within the context of a specific supersymmetric model, how the physics responsible for the first order phase transition may also be responsible for the recent cosmic ray excesses of PAMELA, FERMI etc. We consider the production of gravity waves from this transition and the possible detectability at LISA and BBO