Air quality evaluation of London Paddington train station

Enclosed railway stations hosting diesel trains are at risk of reduced air quality as a result of exhaust emissions that may endanger passengers and workers. Air quality measurements were conducted inside London Paddington Station, a semi-enclosed railway station where 70% of trains are powered by diesel engines. Particulate matter (PM2.5) mass was measured at five station locations. PM size, PM number, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) were measured at two station locations. Paddington Station’s hourly mean PM2.5 mass concentrations averaged 16 μg/m3 [min 2, max 68]. Paddington Station’s hourly mean NO2 concentrations averaged 73 ppb [49, 120] and SO2 concentrations averaged 25 ppb [15, 37]. While UK train stations are not required to comply with air quality standards, there were five instances where the hourly mean NO2 concentrations exceeded the EU hourly mean limits (106 ppb) for outdoor air quality. PM2.5, SO2, and NO2 concentrations were compared against Marylebone, a busy London roadside 1.5 km from the station. The comparisons indicated that train station air quality was more polluted than the nearby roadside. PM2.5 for at least one measurement location within Paddington Station was shown to be statistically higher (P-value < 0.05) than Marylebone on 3 out of 4 days. Measured NO2 within Paddington Station was statistically higher than Marylebone on 4 out of 5 days. Measured SO2 within Paddington Station was statistically higher than Marylebone on all 3 days.We thank the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/F034350/1) for funding the Energy Efficient Cities Initiative and the Schiff Foundation for doctoral studentship funding.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from IOP via http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/09401

Vacuum Stability of the wrong sign (−ϕ6)(-\phi^{6}) Scalar Field Theory

We apply the effective potential method to study the vacuum stability of the bounded from above $(-\phi^{6})$ (unstable) quantum field potential. The stability ($\partial E/\partial b=0)$ and the mass renormalization ($\partial^{2} E/\partial b^{2}=M^{2})$ conditions force the effective potential of this theory to be bounded from below (stable). Since bounded from below potentials are always associated with localized wave functions, the algorithm we use replaces the boundary condition applied to the wave functions in the complex contour method by two stability conditions on the effective potential obtained. To test the validity of our calculations, we show that our variational predictions can reproduce exactly the results in the literature for the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric $\phi^{4}$ theory. We then extend the applications of the algorithm to the unstudied stability problem of the bounded from above $(-\phi^{6})$ scalar field theory where classical analysis prohibits the existence of a stable spectrum. Concerning this, we calculated the effective potential up to first order in the couplings in $d$ space-time dimensions. We find that a Hermitian effective theory is instable while a non-Hermitian but $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric effective theory characterized by a pure imaginary vacuum condensate is stable (bounded from below) which is against the classical predictions of the instability of the theory. We assert that the work presented here represents the first calculations that advocates the stability of the $(-\phi^{6})$ scalar potential.Comment: 21pages, 12 figures. In this version, we updated the text and added some figure

Systematic evaluation of implementation fidelity of complex interventions in health and social care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evaluation of an implementation process and its fidelity can give insight into the 'black box' of interventions. However, a lack of standardized methods for studying fidelity and implementation process have been reported, which might be one reason for the fact that few prior studies in the field of health service research have systematically evaluated interventions' implementation processes.</p> <p>The aim of this project is to systematically evaluate implementation fidelity and possible factors influencing fidelity of complex interventions in health and social care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A modified version of The Conceptual Framework for Implementation Fidelity will be used as a conceptual model for the evaluation. The modification implies two additional moderating factors: context and recruitment. A systematic evaluation process was developed. Multiple case study method is used to investigate implementation of three complex health service interventions. Each case will be investigated in depth and longitudinally, using both quantitative and qualitative methods.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study is the first attempt to empirically test The Conceptual Framework for Implementation Fidelity. The study can highlight mechanism and factors of importance when implementing complex interventions. Especially the role of the moderating factors on implementation fidelity can be clarified.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Supported Employment, SE, among people with severe mental illness -- a randomized controlled trial: NCT00960024.</p

The developmental effects of media-ideal internalization and self-objectification processes on adolescents’ negative body-feelings, dietary restraint, and binge eating

Despite accumulated experimental evidence of the negative effects of exposure to media-idealized images, the degree to which body image, and eating related disturbances are caused by media portrayals of gendered beauty ideals remains controversial. On the basis of the most up-to-date meta-analysis of experimental studies indicating that media-idealized images have the most harmful and substantial impact on vulnerable individuals regardless of gender (i.e., “internalizers” and “self-objectifiers”), the current longitudinal study examined the direct and mediated links posited in objectification theory among media-ideal internalization, self-objectification, shame and anxiety surrounding the body and appearance, dietary restraint, and binge eating. Data collected from 685 adolescents aged between 14 and 15 at baseline (47 % males), who were interviewed and completed standardized measures annually over a 3-year period, were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach. Results indicated that media-ideal internalization predicted later thinking and scrutinizing of one’s body from an external observer’s standpoint (or self-objectification), which then predicted later negative emotional experiences related to one’s body and appearance. In turn, these negative emotional experiences predicted subsequent dietary restraint and binge eating, and each of these core features of eating disorders influenced each other. Differences in the strength of these associations across gender were not observed, and all indirect effects were significant. The study provides valuable information about how the cultural values embodied by gendered beauty ideals negatively influence adolescents’ feelings, thoughts and behaviors regarding their own body, and on the complex processes involved in disordered eating. Practical implications are discussed

Dioxin Toxicity In Vivo Results from an Increase in the Dioxin-Independent Transcriptional Activity of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor

The Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) is the nuclear receptor mediating the toxicity of dioxins -widespread and persistent pollutants whose toxic effects include tumor promotion, teratogenesis, wasting syndrome and chloracne. Elimination of Ahr in mice eliminates dioxin toxicity but also produces adverse effects, some seemingly unrelated to dioxin. Thus the relationship between the toxic and dioxin-independent functions of Ahr is not clear, which hampers understanding and treatment of dioxin toxicity. Here we develop a Drosophila model to show that dioxin actually increases the in vivo dioxin-independent activity of Ahr. This hyperactivation resembles the effects caused by an increase in the amount of its dimerisation partner Ahr nuclear translocator (Arnt) and entails an increased transcriptional potency of Ahr, in addition to the previously described effect on nuclear translocation. Thus the two apparently different functions of Ahr, dioxin-mediated and dioxin-independent, are in fact two different levels (hyperactivated and basal, respectively) of a single function

Technical and Comparative Aspects of Brain Glycogen Metabolism.

It has been known for over 50 years that brain has significant glycogen stores, but the physiological function of this energy reserve remains uncertain. This uncertainty stems in part from several technical challenges inherent in the study of brain glycogen metabolism, and may also stem from some conceptual limitations. Factors presenting technical challenges include low glycogen content in brain, non-homogenous labeling of glycogen by radiotracers, rapid glycogenolysis during postmortem tissue handling, and effects of the stress response on brain glycogen turnover. Here, we briefly review aspects of glycogen structure and metabolism that bear on these technical challenges, and discuss ways these can be overcome. We also highlight physiological aspects of glycogen metabolism that limit the conditions under which glycogen metabolism can be useful or advantageous over glucose metabolism. Comparisons with glycogen metabolism in skeletal muscle provide an additional perspective on potential functions of glycogen in brain

Particle emission characteristics of a gas turbine with a double annular combustor

The total climate, air quality and health impact of aircraft black carbon (BC) emissions depends on quantity (mass and number concentration), as well as morphology (fractal dimension and surface area) of emitted BC aggregates. This study examines multiple BC emission metrics from a gas turbine with a double annular combustor, CFM56-5B4-2P. As a part of the SAMPLE III.2 campaign, concurrent measurements of particle mobility, particle mass, particle number concentration and mass concentration, as well as collection of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples, allowed for characterization of the BC emissions. Mass- and number-based emission indices were strongly influenced by thrust setting during pilot combustion and ranged from <1 to 208 mg/kg-fuel and 3×1012 to 3×1016 particles/kg-fuel, respectively. Mobility measurements indicated that mean diameters ranged from 7-44 nm with a strong dependence on thrust during pilot-only combustion. Using aggregation and sintering theory with empirical effective density relationships, a power law relationship between primary particle diameter and mobility diameter is presented. Mean primary particle diameter ranged from 6-19 nm, however, laser induced incandescence (LII) and mass-mobility calculated primary particle diameters demonstrated opposite trends with thrust setting. Similarly, mass-mobility-calculated aggregate mass specific surface area and LII-measured surface area were not in agreement, indicating both methods need further development and validation before use as quantitative indicators of primary particle diameter and mass-specific surface area.The authors express their gratitude to a number of people and organizations in helping to plan, conduct, finance and provide instruments for this measurement campaign. The 537 European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) funded the SAMPLE III SC02 campaign (EASA.2010.FC.10, Specific Contract No: SC02). The Federal Office of Civil Aviation, Switzerland (FOCA) was critical in for providing additional financial support and arranging facilities which made this study possible. We also thank the SR Technics test bed staff, including Frithjof Siegerist, for operating the engines and enabling access to the test facility. We thank AVL, Cambustion, Grimm & TSI supplying both instruments and expertise.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2015.107845

Low-frequency cortical activity is a neuromodulatory target that tracks recovery after stroke.

Recent work has highlighted the importance of transient low-frequency oscillatory (LFO; &lt;4 Hz) activity in the healthy primary motor cortex during skilled upper-limb tasks. These brief bouts of oscillatory activity may establish the timing or sequencing of motor actions. Here, we show that LFOs track motor recovery post-stroke and can be a physiological target for neuromodulation. In rodents, we found that reach-related LFOs, as measured in both the local field potential and the related spiking activity, were diminished after stroke and that spontaneous recovery was closely correlated with their restoration in the perilesional cortex. Sensorimotor LFOs were also diminished in a human subject with chronic disability after stroke in contrast to two non-stroke subjects who demonstrated robust LFOs. Therapeutic delivery of electrical stimulation time-locked to the expected onset of LFOs was found to significantly improve skilled reaching in stroke animals. Together, our results suggest that restoration or modulation of cortical oscillatory dynamics is important for the recovery of upper-limb function and that they may serve as a novel target for clinical neuromodulation

Stressor- and Corticotropin releasing Factor-induced Reinstatement and Active Stress-related Behavioral Responses are Augmented Following Long-access Cocaine Self-administration by Rats

Rationale Stressful events during periods of drug abstinence likely contribute to relapse in cocaine-dependent individuals. Excessive cocaine use may increase susceptibility to stressor-induced relapse through alterations in brain corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) responsiveness. Objectives This study examined stressor- and CRF-induced cocaine seeking and other stress-related behaviors in rats with different histories of cocaine self-administration (SA). Materials and methods Rats self-administered cocaine under short-access (ShA; 2 h daily) or long-access (LgA; 6 h daily) conditions for 14 days or were provided access to saline and were tested for reinstatement by a stressor (electric footshock), cocaine or an icv injection of CRF and for behavioral responsiveness on the elevated plus maze, in a novel environment and in the light–dark box after a 14- to 17-day extinction/withdrawal period. Results LgA rats showed escalating patterns of cocaine SA and were more susceptible to reinstatement by cocaine, EFS, or icv CRF than ShA rats. Overall, cocaine SA increased activity in the center field of a novel environment, on the open arms of the elevated plus maze, and in the light compartment of a light–dark box. In most cases, the effects of cocaine SA were dependent on the pattern/amount of cocaine intake with statistically significant differences from saline self-administering controls only observed in LgA rats. Conclusions When examined after several weeks of extinction/ withdrawal, cocaine SA promotes a more active pattern of behavior during times of stress that is associated with a heightened susceptibility to stressor-induced cocaine-seeking behavior and may be the consequence of augmented CRF regulation of addiction-related neurocircuitry

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns