Transformation

Prior to leaving for Claremont Colleges’ Envriolab Asia trip to Malaysia and Singapore, I was conflicted by the question: Do we have the moral authority to interfere with resource extraction and oil-palm development in SE Asia? At that time, the trip seemed imperialistic. Why should people from Malaysia, Indonesia or any developing SE Asia country listen to a group of liberal arts college faculty from a city where widespread habitat modifications have led to significant loss of native habitats, declines in biodiversity, and changes in how these ecosystems function? Many observations transformed my opinion and have inspired me to advocate for transformative environmental and social change both in SE Asia and at home

Tools for the trade

A brief review is given of daily operations in the airline business, with emphasis on the decisions made by pilots and the information used to make those decisions. Various wind shears are discussed as they affect daily operations. The discussion of tools focuses on airborne reactive and predictive systems. The escape maneuver used to fly out of a severe windshear is from a pilot's point of view

Guidelines for the Provision of Garbage Reception Facilities at Ports Under MARPOL Annex V

This report offers guidelines for the provision of adequate port reception facilities for vessel-generated garbage under the requirements of Annex V of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973 (MARPOL 73/78), Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships. MARPOL Annex V prohibits at-sea disposal of plastic materials from vessels, and specifies the distance from shore at which other materials may be dumped. Annex V also requires the provision of port reception facilities for garbage, but it does not specify these facilities or how they are to be provided. Since the at-sea dumping restrictions apply to all vessels, the reception facility requirement applies to all ports, terminals, and marinas that serve vessels. These guidelines were prepared to assist port owners and operators in meeting their obligation to provide adequate reception facilities for garbage. The report synthesizes available information and draws upon experience from the first years ofimplementation of MARPOL Annex V. (PDF file contains 55 pages.

An experimental measurement of galactic cosmic radiation dose in conventional aircraft between San Francisco and London compared to theoretical values for conventional and supersonic aircraft

These direct measurements are in fair agreement with computations made using a program which considers both basic cosmic ray atmospheric physics and the focusing effect of the earth's magnetic field. These measurements also agree with those made at supersonic jet aircraft altitudes in Rb-57 aircraft. It is concluded that experiments and theory show that the doses received at conventional jet aircraft altitudes are slightly higher than those encountered in supersonic flights at much higher altitudes

The effects of soil moisture, soil texture, and host orientation on the ability of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae) to infect Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Abstract Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) demonstrate potential as a biological control for soil dwelling insects. However, edaphic factors, such as soil moisture and texture impact the efficacy of EPN on a host. The objectives were to examine the effects of soil texture and moisture on 1) the infection rate of Galleria mellonella L. by EPN and; 2) the ability of H. bacteriophora (Poinar) to move through the soil to find a host at different orientations. Soil textures consisted of sand, a sand/silt/peat mixture, and a silt/peat mixture at 50% and 100% moisture. A general linear model was used to evaluate infection rates and EPN movement. Both soil moisture (p \u3c 0.05) and texture (p \u3c 0.05) had significant effects on nematodes infection rates of G. mellonella. Texture, moisture, and host orientation did not significantly affect (p \u3e 0.05) the ability of EPN to find a host. While EPN were able to find a host within a variety of soil types, soils that held more water had higher infection rates than soils that held less water, suggesting that moisture may be a key component in facilitating infection by EPN. By understanding the factors that influence the ability of EPN to find and infect a host, improved bio-control programs using EPN can be developed

Manuscript transcription by crowdsourcing: Transcribe Bentham

Transcribe Bentham is testing the feasibility of outsourcing the work of manuscript transcription to members of the public. UCL Library Services holds 60,000 folios of manuscripts of the philosopher and jurist Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832). Transcribe Bentham will digitise 12,500 Bentham folios, and, through a wiki-based interface, allow volunteer transcribers to take temporary ownership of manuscript images and to create TEI-encoded transcription text for final approval by UCL experts. Approved transcripts will be stored and preserved, with the manuscript images, in UCL's public Digital Collections repository. The project makes innovative use of traditional Library material. It will stimulate public engagement with UCL's scholarly archive collections and the challenges of palaeography and manuscript transcription; it will raise the profile of the work and thought of Jeremy Bentham; and it will create new digital resources for future use by professional researchers. Towards the end of the project, the transcription tool will be made available to other projects and services

Evaluation of uptake and effect on patient-reported outcomes of a clinician and patient co-led chronic musculoskeletal pain self-management programme provided by the UK National Health Service

In the United Kingdom, chronic pain affects approximately 28 million adults, creating significant healthcare and socio-economic costs. The aim was to establish whether a programme designed to use best evidence of content and delivery will be used by patients with significant musculoskeletal pain problems. Of 528 patients recruited, 376 participated in a 7-week-long group-based self-management programme (SMP) co-delivered by clinical and lay tutors. Of these, 308 patients (mean age, 53years; 69% females, 94% White) completed at least five SMP sessions. Six months after pre-course assessment, participants reported significantly improved patient activation and health status, lower depression and anxiety scores, decreased pain severity and interference, and improved self-management skills. There were no improvements in health state and pain self-efficacy. Uptake rate was 71% and completion 82%. The results should be of value to commissioners of pathways of care for the large numbers of patients attending the English NHS for chronic musculoskeletal pain

Decreased sensitivity to aspirin is associated with altered polyamine metabolism in human prostate cancer cells

Acknowledgments We thank NHS Grampian for financial support of this work.Peer reviewedPublisher PD