Mary L. Gray, Colin R. Johnson, Brian J. Gilley (uredniki). Queering the Countryside: New Frontiers in Rural Queer Studies. New York University Press, New York in London 2016, 416 strani, 30,00 USD ...(ISBN: 9781479880584).
The importance of renewable energy resources has increased over the last decades due to the European Union renewable energy policy and particularly its climate change mitigation objectives. There is ...a need to mobilize additional wood resources from private forests in order to meet ambitious renewable energy targets and the demand for wood. Due to the conditions prevailing in privately owned forests in Slovenia and Serbia characterized by a large number of still disorganized private forest owners with fragmented and small-scaled forest properties, wood mobilization strongly depends on owners’ organization and cooperation. The purpose of this study is to determine the possibilities for wood mobilization from private forest properties in Serbia and Slovenia, and propose organizational models on this basis and experience from the selected case countries. Surveys were conducted in Slovenia (n=622) and Serbia (n=248) on random samples of private forest owners. Analysis of wood mobilization potentials in Serbia and Slovenia showed that the harvesting intensity in private forests is below the potentials, therefore the preconditions to increase the level of wood mobilization exist. The main obstacles to the increase in the current level of wood mobilization in Serbia are biodiversity and the protective forest function, as well as high acquisition costs, also stated as the main obstacle in Slovenia. Moreover, it appeared that the majority of private forest owners in both countries believe that better logistics and infrastructure and interest association of private forest owners are potential solutions leading to an increase in the level of mobilization. Four models of private forest owner organization are proposed and they take into account the characteristics and attitudes of owners as well as activities in supply chain, including timber sales arrangement, construction and maintenance of forest roads, harvesting, measurement and quality assessment of timber, transportation, invoicing and payments.
With further development of LiDAR technology wake measurements by use of LiDAR became of common interest in the wind energy community. To study new measurement strategies of scanning and nacelle ...LiDARs, in combination with already existing measurement principles of static LiDARs, Norcowe conducted in collaboration with the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) the Wind Turbine Wake Experiment Wieringermeer (WINTWEX-W). In this study we use data from the static Windcubes V1 to illustrate a proof of concept of wake effects at 1.75 and 3.25 rotor diameter downstream distance. After validating Windcube data against sonic anemometers from the met mast, we compare downstream velocity deficits and turbulence intensities between measurements of static and scanning WindCubes. To further characterize single wind turbine wakes and their frequencies of occurrence we analysed the results in terms of atmospheric stability. Wake measurements are of great importance to further developing tools for optimising wind farm layouts and operations.
The second NASA Earth Venture Mission, Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCarb), will provide measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), and ...solar-induced fluorescence (SIF) from Geostationary Orbit (GEO). The GeoCarb mission will deliver daily maps of column concentrations of CO2, CH4, and CO over the observed landmasses in the Americas at a spatial resolution of roughly 10 x 10 km. Persistent measurements of CO2, CH4, CO, and SIF will contribute significantly to resolving carbon emissions and illuminating biotic processes at urban to continental scales, which will allow the improvement of modeled biogeochemical processes in Earth System Models as well as monitor the response of the biosphere to disturbance. This is essential to improve understanding of the Carbon-Climate connection. In this paper, we introduce the instrument and the GeoCarb Mission, and we demonstrate the potential scientific contribution of the mission through a series of CO2 and CH4 simulation experiments. We find that GeoCarb will be able to constrain emissions at urban to continental spatial scales on weekly to annual time scales. The GeoCarb mission particularly builds upon the Orbiting Carbon Obserevatory-2 (OCO-2), which is flying in Low Earth Orbit.
In the United States, 5% of adult liver transplant recipients receive a graft donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD). Concerns for ischemic cholangiopathy (IC), a disease of diffuse ...intrahepatic stricturing limits broader DCDD use. Single-center reports demonstrate large variation in outcomes.
Retrospective deidentified data collected between 2005 and 2013 were entered electronically by 10 centers via a Research Electronic Data Capture database. Our primary outcome was development of intrahepatic biliary strictures consistent with IC.
Within 6 months post-DCDD transplant, 162 (21.8%) patients developed a biliary stricture, of which 88 (11.8%) exhibited intrahepatic structuring consistent with IC. Unadjusted 6-month IC rate among the 10 centers varied significantly (P = 0.006) from 6.3% to 25.9%. The only factor associated with increased risk of IC within 6 months was Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy (vs duct-to-duct) (odds ratio, 3.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.52-6.16; P = 0.002). Graft failure by 6 months was more than 3 times higher for DCDD recipients with IC (odds ratio for IC, 3.36; 95% confidence interval, 1.95-5.79).
This first report of the large combined experience with DCDD from the Improving DCDD Outcomes in Liver Transplant consortium demonstrates significant differences in IC among centers, the importance of biliary strictures as a risk factor for graft failure, and does not validate other risk factors for IC found in smaller studies.
The investigation was based on a hypothesis that applying an extra pit ventilation system may remove the highly concentrated gases and odours from the headspace above the liquid manure surface. This ...would improve air quality in the animal occupation zone, and utilising an air purification system to clean the pit-exhaust air may result in a reduction of the total emission from livestock buildings. In the investigations, an experimental fattening room with two pens and 30 pigs was used. The room was equipped with an automatically controlled negative pressure ventilation system with ceiling diffusion air inlet and a ceiling–roof top ventilator as a major exhaust unit. Additionally, an extra pit-exhaust unit was also installed. During the experiments, the major exhaust unit was automatically controlled by the climate computer according to indoor thermal conditions. About 10% of the maximum ventilation capacity was dedicated to the pit ventilation in each of two two-week periods. Ammonia concentrations, in air inlet and outlet, in the headspace above the slurry pit and in the slurry-pit exhaust were measured continuously. We found that the combination of ceiling and pit ventilation resulted in significantly lower ammonia concentrations in the room air (42.6%,
p
<
0.001) and in the slurry-pit headspace (22.3%,
p
<
0.001) compared with only ceiling ventilation. Total ammonia emissions increased slightly due to this new combination of ventilation systems. However, using an air cleaning system such as bioscrubber for pit exhaust, reductions in the ammonia emission of 37–53% from pig building might be achieved. The capacity required for the air cleaning needs only be 10% of the system capacity for cleaning all exhaust air. We conclude that indoor air quality can be significantly improved, and emission from the buildings significantly reduced, by utilising partial pit ventilation together with an exhaust air cleaning in pig buildings with ceiling ventilation system, without affecting pigs' behaviour.
Background
Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection can have a broad range of manifestations. This study aimed to assess cCMV-associated sequelae and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) in ...infants during the first year of life in Germany.
Methods
A retrospective, controlled cohort study using German claims data from the Institute for Applied Health Research Berlin (InGef) database was conducted. cCMV-associated sequelae and HCRU during the first year of life were assessed by matching (1:60) infants with at least one inpatient/outpatient cCMV diagnosis (ICD-10-GM: P35.1) ≤90 days after birth (cCMV
90
cohort) and infants with at least one inpatient cCMV diagnosis plus specific sequelae ≤21 days after birth (cCMV
21-S
) to infants without cCMV or CMV (ICD-10-GM: B25) diagnosis (control group), respectively. Outcomes were analyzed during the first 365 days of life.
Results
Between 2014–2018, we identified 54 newborns for cCMV
90
and 24 newborns for cCMV
21-S
cohort. Compared to the 3,240 and 1,440 controls, respectively, more cCMV
90
infants (83.3% vs. 41.9%, p<0.01) presented with at least one sequela during the first year of life, including intrauterine growth retardation (42.6% vs. 5.3%, p<0.01), sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) to deafness (38.9% vs. 2.2%, p<0.01), and motor development disorders (33.3% vs. 10.9%, p<0.01). Further, 13.0% of cCMV
90
infants (vs. 2.3%, p<0.01) suffered from visual impairment. In cCMV
21-S
cohort, intrauterine growth retardation (79.2% vs. 6.0%, p<0.01), prematurity (54.2% vs. 7.3%, p<0.01), and motor development disorders (50.0% vs. 11.0%, p<0.01) were the most frequent sequelae. Infants in the cCMV
90
and cCMV
21-S
cohort had, on average, 7.3 times and 9.5 times more hospitalizations and 2.0 times and 2.1 times more outpatient physician visits than their respective controls (p<0.01). Hospitalized infants with cCMV stayed, on average, significantly longer in hospital compared to their controls (cCMV
90
cohort: 30.3 days vs. 9.0 days, p<0.01; cCMV
21-S
cohort: 46.5 days vs. 9.3 days, p<0.01).
Conclusions
cCMV-infection shows a considerable disease and healthcare burden during the first year of life. More than 80% of the identified newborns with cCMV suffered from at least one associated sequela during the first year of life, including long-term sequelae such as SNHL (40%) and visual impairment (13%). Additional steps for prevention of cCMV infection and associated sequelae as well as a comprehensive monitoring of disease burden are needed.
Our institution explored using allografts from donors with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) for elderly renal transplantation (RT). Thirteen HCV– elderly recipients were transplanted with HCV+ allografts ...(eD+/R–) between January 2003 and April 2009. Ninety HCV– elderly recipients of HCV– allografts (eD–/R–), eight HCV+ recipients of HCV+ allografts (D+/R+) and thirteen HCV+ recipients of HCV– allografts (D–/R+) were also transplanted. Median follow-up was 1.5 (range 0.8–5) years. Seven eD+/R– developed a positive HCV viral load and six had elevated liver transaminases with evidence of hepatitis on biopsy. Overall, eD+/R– survival was 46% while the eD–/R– survival was 85% ( P = 0.003). Seven eD+/R– died during follow-up. Causes included multi-organ failure and sepsis ( n = 4), cancer ( n = 1), failure-to-thrive ( n = 1) and surgical complications ( n = 1). One eD+/R– died from causes directly related to HCV infection. In conclusion, multiple eD+/R– quickly developed HCV-related liver disease and infections were a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality.
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