Good press, bad press: A 25-year comparison of arguments and trends in American news coverage of climate change and the ozone hole

This study uses an original content analysis categorical system to seek out and compare the substance of arguments in a quarter century of American news coverage about the ozone hole and climate change. Findings from an examination of more than 1,000 news articles written by The Associated Press, United Press International and The New York Times are combined with interviews with members of key stakeholder groups in both cases including scientists, politicians, industry officials, environmentalists and news reporters. The analysis illuminates the social and political processes at work---that is, those captured by the press---in the evolution of the Montreal ozone and Kyoto climate treaties. The study concludes: (1) The timing and structure of arguments in American news coverage of the ozone hole has paralleled the policy success of the Montreal Protocol in the United States over the past quarter century; (2) By contrast, the landscape of arguments about climate change is still very much a battleground---reflecting the mixed fortunes and current failure of the Kyoto Protocol in America; (3) Over time, the climate change debate has shifted from one about the legitimacy of global warming science to one about what policy action should be taken. This is underscored by state efforts to address climate change in absence of federal action; (4) Uncertainty about the climate change phenomenon has been a hallmark of climate change news coverage in the 25-year sample and one that has buffered calls for policy action. It seems to have derived from a combination of deft lobbying by industry, reporters attempting to balance coverage of a confusing, controversial issue, and scientists unwilling or unable to place their work in context. There are very recent signs that this is changing. The study includes a critique of news coverage and recommendations for news reporters, scientists and readers to enhance their communication about and understanding of these critical environmental problems. It concludes with an evaluation of the research model and its future potential

Development of a game-based learning tool for applied team science communication in a virtual clinical trial.

Educational tools for application of team science competencies in clinical research are needed. Our interdisciplinary group developed and evaluated acceptability of a virtual world game-based learning tool simulating a multisite clinical trial; performance hinges on effective intrateam communication. Initial implementation with clinical research trainees (n=40) indicates high satisfaction and perceived relevance to team science and research career goals. Game-based learning may play an important role in team science training

Diurnal illumination patterns affect the development of the chick eye

AbstractExposure to continuous illumination disrupts normal ocular development in young chicks, causing severe corneal flattening, shallow anterior chambers and progressive hyperopia (‘constant light (CL) effects’). We have studied the minimum requirements of a diurnal light cycle to prevent CL effects. (1) Seven groups of 10 chicks were reared under a 0 (constant light, CL), or 1, 2, 3,4, 6, or 12/12 h (normal) light–dark cycles. It was found that CL effects were prevented if the dark period was 4 h or longer. Below 4 h, the effects were dose-dependent and inversely correlated with the amplitude of the Fourier component of illumination at 1 cycle per day (CPD). (2) Three groups of 20 chicks were exposed to 4 h of darkness distributed differently over 24 h to vary the amplitude of the Fourier component at 1 CPD. It was found that complete suppression of the CL effects required that the 4 h of darkness were given in one block and at the same time each day. Our results show that normal ocular development in the chick requires a minimum of 4 h darkness per day, provided at the same time of the day without interruption, and suggest that the light–dark cycle interacts with a linear or weakly nonlinear oscillating system

Time-Restricted Feeding Improves Circadian Dysfunction as well as Motor Symptoms in the Q175 Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease.

Huntington's disease (HD) patients suffer from a progressive neurodegeneration that results in cognitive, psychiatric, cardiovascular, and motor dysfunction. Disturbances in sleep/wake cycles are common among HD patients with reports of delayed sleep onset, frequent bedtime awakenings, and fatigue during the day. The heterozygous Q175 mouse model of HD has been shown to phenocopy many HD core symptoms including circadian dysfunctions. Because circadian dysfunction manifests early in the disease in both patients and mouse models, we sought to determine if early intervention that improve circadian rhythmicity can benefit HD and delay disease progression. We determined the effects of time-restricted feeding (TRF) on the Q175 mouse model. At six months of age, the animals were divided into two groups: ad libitum (ad lib) and TRF. The TRF-treated Q175 mice were exposed to a 6-h feeding/18-h fasting regimen that was designed to be aligned with the middle of the time when mice are normally active. After three months of treatment (when mice reached the early disease stage), the TRF-treated Q175 mice showed improvements in their locomotor activity rhythm and sleep awakening time. Furthermore, we found improved heart rate variability (HRV), suggesting that their autonomic nervous system dysfunction was improved. Importantly, treated Q175 mice exhibited improved motor performance compared to untreated Q175 controls, and the motor improvements were correlated with improved circadian output. Finally, we found that the expression of several HD-relevant markers was restored to WT levels in the striatum of the treated mice using NanoString gene expression assays

Trajectories to community engagement: understanding older people’s experiences of engagement with online and local communities

The communal benefits of online communities and SNS are enjoyed by many Internet users but remain of limited appeal to many older people. In this study we consider how a small group of older people in the South of England engage with these technologies showing their motivations and the role of existing relationships in the local community with regards to this engagement. Four catalysts are identified which determine trajectories towards and away from online engagement and these are: family, roles, loss, and ‘spaces and places’. The resulting trajectories are discussed along with their implications for policy making and technology design

Cultivando para Ganar - Choice Game for climate action

Smallholders are decision-makers with goals and strategies. Their decisions and behaviors towards the adaptation of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) options depend on individual livelihood goals, beliefs concerning the likelihood of uncertain climate events, and personal motives. Understanding the decision-making of farmers about the adoption of CSA practices and technologies to increase farming resilience against climate risks, which are embedded in many other risks, is a difficult task. Innovative approaches in action research, such as playing games, can generate a neutral environment to experiment and learn from simulated circumstances and outcomes and increase actors' awareness and capacity to plan the implementation of gender-sensitive CSA options properly. We developed and tested a choice game to understand and strengthen farmers' decision-making to implement (or not) CSA options after having received a seasonal climate forecast. The game was co-designed with CCAFS project partners in the Climate-Smart Villages of Olopa, Guatemala, and Santa-Rita, Honduras, and tested with farmers and extension in both countries. The game can be played in two settings, i) as a board game in a room where all players are present, and ii) as a virtual game where participants are connected through a video conference and accessing a shared document. Results provided general insights into farmers' perception of climate risks and the need and opportunities to proactively cope with them by implementing CSA practices. They were, however, hardly capable of developing strategies to do this in an economically reasonable way, and tried to implement as many strategies as possible. When playing the game in a virtual setting, agricultural experts and stakeholders from local institutions found the game to be an exciting tool to complement traditional learning methods in several ways. First, learning is promoted through the experience of the players. Also, the context of the game forms a safe learning environment for testing alternative decisions. Besides, discussion among players about the game outcome can be stimulating for real-world situations associated with adopting CSA practices. Simulation games can also make players aware of their mental models and potentially change these models or beliefs. Overall, the game is a useful tool for researchers to understand players' perceptions about climate risks, seasonal weather forecasts, and climate-smart agriculture options to cope with risks. For national stakeholder experts and development practitioners, it is a practical tool to be used in action research to complement other learning approaches, especially in low literacy communities

An Experimental Approach to a Rapid Propulsion and Aeronautics Concepts Testbed

Modern aircraft design tools have limitations for predicting complex propulsion-airframe interactions. The demand for new tools and methods addressing these limitations is high based on the many recent Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) concepts being developed for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) markets. We propose that low cost electronics and additive manufacturing can support the conceptual design of advanced autonomy-enabled concepts, by facilitating rapid prototyping for experimentally driven design cycles. This approach has the potential to reduce complex aircraft concept development costs, minimize unique risks associated with the conceptual design, and shorten development schedule by enabling the determination of many "unknown unknowns" earlier in the design process and providing verification of the results from aircraft design tools. A modular testbed was designed and built to evaluate this rapid design-build-test approach and to support aeronautics and autonomy research targeting UAM applications utilizing a complex, transitioning-VTOL aircraft configuration. The testbed is a modular wind tunnel and flight model. The testbed airframe is approximately 80% printed, with labor required for assembly. This paper describes the design process, fabrication process, ground testing, and initial wind tunnel structural and thermal loading of a proof-of-concept aircraft, the Langley Aerodrome 8 (LA-8)

Projecting Suburban Office Space Demand: Alternative Estimates of Employment in Offices

The boom-bust cycle of the 1980s highlights the need for independent, public sector estimates of office space needs. Buildings that fail to yield full property tax revenues, stand vacant and discourage development in the surrounding environment, displace jobs without creating new ones, and merely succeed in luring tenants from older buildings, have become commonplace in the real estate bust of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The purpose of this paper is to estimate office space demand and show patterns of office space usage in a suburban county. Specifically, we estimate the share of employees in freestanding offices, by empirically observing the share of industry employment in offices in 1986. We then assess the accuracy of our values and compare our results with an alternative, occupational approach. The data is drawn from Prince George's County, Maryland, a suburban county of Washington, D.C. To briefly summarize findings, our empirically based, industry-specific approach indicates there is a changing and wide variation in the share of employment in freestanding office buildings across the two-digit service industries. However, when data are aggregated across all service industries, our results generate estimates of office employment comparable to the earlier occupational approach of Kimball and Bloomberg (1987). Both approaches produce office space demand projections within 9% to 12% of actual leased space.

Comprehensive behavioral testing in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease shows no benefit from CoQ10 or minocycline

Previous studies of the effects of coenzyme Q10 and minocycline on mouse models of Huntington’s disease have produced conflicting results regarding their efficacy in behavioral tests. Using our recently published best practices for husbandry and testing for mouse models of Huntington’s disease, we report that neither coenzyme Q10 nor minocycline had significant beneficial effects on measures of motor function, general health (open field, rotarod, grip strength, rearing-climbing, body weight and survival) in the R6/2 mouse model. The higher doses of minocycline, on the contrary, reduced survival. We were thus unable to confirm the previously reported benefits for these two drugs, and we discuss potential reasons for these discrepancies, such as the effects of husbandry and nutrition