Health consultation : Sub-Slab Gas and Air Sampling Data Alcoa – Davenport Works CERCLIS No. IAD005270160 Riverdale, Scott County, Iowa (2005)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Alcoa – Davenport Works Facility (Alcoa), and concerned citizens and community leaders of Riverdale, Iowa requested the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Hazardous Waste Site Health Assessment Program to evaluate the health impacts of exposures to volatile organic vapors detected within residences located immediately to the west of the Alcoa property. This health consultation addresses inhalation exposure to individuals that may have occupied the currently vacant residences in which the air sampling was completed.

Communicating Highway Safety: What Works, 2002

Few topics in transportation are of greater significance, now and in the future, than making today’s roads safe for those who use them. This study aims to assist the formulation of policy by examining the empirical evidence currently available on the ability of several forms of communication efforts and activities to increase knowledge about and affect attitudes and behavior toward highway safety practices. The objective of this effort is to provide a comparative synthesis of what works and what does not in highway safety campaigns across a large number of topical areas that have a mass media component. This was accomplished by conducting an extensive literature review to determine the current state of knowledge concerning what works and what has significant potential for wide use in future highway safety campaigns. An analytic framework for investigating highway safety campaigns was created. The framework includes (1) the types of media components, (2) the types of collaborations, (3) the context in which the campaign is intended to have impact, (4) the structure or procedural steps into which campaigns are organized, (5) the principles for what works in a campaign, and (6) the desired impact of a campaign on its target audience. The report reveals 25 characteristics of successful communication campaigns, strategies that stand a chance of achieving changes in knowledge, attitude, and behavior. The actual impact of mass communication remains unproven because of a perceived lag in the development of adequate evaluation techniques. Education by itself has not generally resulted in significant changes in the behaviors targeted, but education of the public and advocacy groups has often helped enact necessary legislation, transmit knowledge about the provisions and penalties of laws in ways that increase their deterrent effect, and generate public support for law enforcement programs. Even in such cases, however, when enforcement is inconsistent, public compliance frequently decreases with time. Approaches to traffic safety that emphasize the need for long-term individual- and community-based measures are found to be especially crucial for addressing complex problems like drinking and driving that are determined by a myriad of lifestyle and psychosocial factors.

A study of the effects of PVAC on works of art on paper and wood: pH and colour change

This paper presents the preliminary findings of pH and colour measurements carried out on artworks on paperand on wood that had been treated with a poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAC) based adhesive in the 1980s. In both cases, areas treated with PVAC proved to be less acidic than untreated areas. Contrary to expectations, the conservation treatments have not, as yet, increased acidity levels in the objects under study. Colour measurements of the works on paper showed that those that had been backed with a cotton fabric using a mixture of methylcellulose and PVAC were less yellow than those from the same print run that had not been backed. This finding suggests that the backing somehow prevented the natural degradation of the support. In view of these preliminary results, further research is clearly needed. This study forms part of a broader ongoing project to assess the role of PVAC in the conservation of a range of cultural assets.

A study of the effects of PVAC on works of art on paper and wood: pH and colour change

This paper presents the preliminary findings of pH and colour measurements carried out on artworks on paperand on wood that had been treated with a poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAC) based adhesive in the 1980s. In both cases, areas treated with PVAC proved to be less acidic than untreated areas. Contrary to expectations, the conservation treatments have not, as yet, increased acidity levels in the objects under study. Colour measurements of the works on paper showed that those that had been backed with a cotton fabric using a mixture of methylcellulose and PVAC were less yellow than those from the same print run that had not been backed. This finding suggests that the backing somehow prevented the natural degradation of the support. In view of these preliminary results, further research is clearly needed. This study forms part of a broader ongoing project to assess the role of PVAC in the conservation of a range of cultural assets.

Communication skills training in oncology: it works!

While the previous chapter by L. Fallowfield and V. Jenkins focuses on different communication skills training (CST) concepts currently being utilized, this chapter reviews and comments the scientific evidence of the impact of CST on improving communication skills. The aim of this chapter is not to provide a complete review of the evidence-this has already been done in systematic reviews-but to discuss the scientific evidence and reflect on the available results and relevant topics for further investigations.

Activities of fosfomycin and rifampin on planktonic and adherent Enterococcus faecalis strains in an experimental foreign-body infection model.

Enterococcal implant-associated infections are difficult to treat because antibiotics generally lack activity against enterococcal biofilms. We investigated fosfomycin, rifampin, and their combinations against planktonic and adherent Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 19433) in vitro and in a foreign-body infection model. The MIC/MBClog values were 32/>512 μg/ml for fosfomycin, 4/>64 μg/ml for rifampin, 1/2 μg/ml for ampicillin, 2/>256 μg/ml for linezolid, 16/32 μg/ml for gentamicin, 1/>64 μg/ml for vancomycin, and 1/5 μg/ml for daptomycin. In time-kill studies, fosfomycin was bactericidal at 8× and 16× MIC, but regrowth of resistant strains occurred after 24 h. With the exception of gentamicin, no complete inhibition of growth-related heat production was observed with other antimicrobials on early (3 h) or mature (24 h) biofilms. In the animal model, fosfomycin alone or in combination with daptomycin reduced planktonic counts by ≈4 log10 CFU/ml below the levels before treatment. Fosfomycin cleared planktonic bacteria from 74% of cage fluids (i.e., no growth in aspirated fluid) and eradicated biofilm bacteria from 43% of cages (i.e., no growth from removed cages). In combination with gentamicin, fosfomycin cleared 77% and cured 58% of cages; in combination with vancomycin, fosfomycin cleared 33% and cured 18% of cages; in combination with daptomycin, fosfomycin cleared 75% and cured 17% of cages. Rifampin showed no activity on planktonic or adherent E. faecalis, whereas in combination with daptomycin it cured 17% and with fosfomycin it cured 25% of cages. Emergence of fosfomycin resistance was not observed in vivo. In conclusion, fosfomycin showed activity against planktonic and adherent E. faecalis. Its role against enterococcal biofilms should be further investigated, especially in combination with rifampin and/or daptomycin treatment.

Vitamin C and endogenous cortisol in foreign-body inflammatory response in pacus

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of food supplementation with vitamin C on macrophage and multinucleated giant cell (MGC) activities of pacus at two stocking densities. The experiment was carried out in a 2x2x3 split-plot factorial arrangement with: 0 and 500 mg kg-1 vitamin C; 5 and 20 kg m-3 stocking densities; and evaluation times at 3, 6, and 12 days after the subcutaneous implantation of glass coverslips (DPI). The number of macrophages and MGC, as well as cortisol and glucose plasma levels were determined. The number of macrophages and MGC with two to five nuclei was significantly greater in fish supplemented with vitamin C at 5 kg m-3 stocking density at 3 DPI in comparison to nonsupplemented ones. The macrophage and MGC counts were lower in fish with high-plasma cortisol concentration. Supplementation with 500 mg vitamin C benefits macrophage activity on foreign-body inflammation, and high-cortisol concentration has suppressive effects on this response.

Removal of unusual, large high-velocity metallic maxillary sinus foreign bodies by a modified free bone flap technique.

Metallic foreign bodies are rarely found in the maxillary sinus, and usually they have a dental origin.Potential complications related to foreign bodies include recurrent sinusitis, rhinolith formation, cutaneous fistula,chemical poisoning, facial neuralgic pain and even malignancies.Two main surgical approaches are currently used for the removal of foreign bodies in the maxillary sinus: the bone flap and the endoscopic sinus techniques. We are reporting two unusual cases of large high-velocity foreign bodies removed by a modified maxillary lateral antrotomy,with free bone flap repositioning and fixation with a titanium miniplate.

Activity of dalbavancin, alone and in combination with rifampicin, against meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a foreign-body infection model.

The activity of dalbavancin, a representative of the lipoglycopeptide antibiotics, alone and in combination with rifampicin, was investigated against meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a foreign-body infection model in guinea pigs. The MIC, MBC and time-kill profile of dalbavancin were determined for MRSA ATCC 43300 in the logarithmic (MBClog) and stationary (MBCstat) growth phases. The pharmacokinetic profile of dalbavancin was determined in sterile cage fluid in guinea pigs. The activity of intraperitoneal dalbavancin (40, 60 or 80mg/kg as a single dose), rifampicin (12.5mg/kg/12h for 4 days) and their combination was assessed against planktonic and biofilm MRSA. The MIC of dalbavancin was 0.078mg/L; MBClog and MBCstat were both >128Ã- MIC. In time-kill studies, bacterial reduction of 3log10CFU/mL was achieved after 48h at â0/00¥32Ã- MIC (logarithmic growth) and at â0/00¥1Ã- MIC (stationary growth). Dalbavancin was neither synergistic nor antagonistic with rifampicin, and prevented the emergence of rifampicin resistance in vitro. The half-life of dalbavancin in cage fluid was 35.8-45.4h and the concentration remained above the MIC of MRSA during 7 days after a single dose. Dalbavancin reduced planktonic MRSA in cage fluid at high dose (60mg/kg and 80mg/kg) but failed to eradicate biofilm MRSA from cages. In combination with rifampicin, dalbavancin at 80mg/kg cured 36% of infected cages, and emergence of rifampicin resistance was completely prevented. Dalbavancin at 80mg/kg and in combination with rifampicin eradicated approximately one-third of cage-associated MRSA infections and prevented emergence of rifampicin resistance.

Cycle: White under Black. Works from the imperceptible / 3. Freya Powell: I’ll smile and I’m not sad, and other past presents

The video installations of Freya Powell's first exhibition in Barcelona call for an analysis of the links between memory and the archive, between compilation, registration, and the traces of History. Powell's work establishes a fine link between the memory of those sentenced to death in the United States, the memory of the Second World War, the artist's own memory, and the different world maps produced by colonial history. This link forces us to take into account our own connection not only with the voices and words that have been archived, but also with those voices that we want to hear and register.