Night-time tropospheric chemistry of the unsaturated alcohols (Z)-pent-2-en-1-ol and pent-1-en-3-ol: Kinetic studies of reactions of NO3 and N2O5 with stress-induced plant emissions

The night-time tropospheric chemistry of two stress-induced volatile organic compounds (VOCs), (Z)-pent-2-en-1-ol and pent-1-en-3-ol, has been studied at room temperature. Rate coefficients for reactions of the nitrate radical (NO3) with these pentenols were measured using the discharge-flow technique. Because of the relatively low volatility of these compounds, we employed off-axis continuous-wave cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy for detection of NO3 in order to be able to work in pseudo first-order conditions with the pentenols in large excess over NO3. The rate coefficients were determined to be (1.53 +/- 0.23) x 10(-13) and (1.39 +/- 0.19) x 10(-14) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) for reactions of NO3 with (Z)-pent-2-en-1-ol and pent-1-en-3-ol. An attempt to study the kinetics of these reactions with a relative-rate technique, using N2O5 as source of NO3 resulted in significantly higher apparent rate coefficients. Performing relative-rate experiments in known excesses of NO2 allowed us to determine the rate coefficients for the N2O5 reactions to be (5.0 +/- 2.8) x 10(-19) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) for (Z)-pent-2-en-1-ol, and (9.1 +/- 5.8) x 10(-19) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) for pent-1-en-3-ol. We show that these relatively slow reactions can indeed interfere with rate determinations in conventional relative-rate experiments.

Generalized Bayesian cloud detection for satellite imagery. part 1: technique and validation for night-time imagery over land and sea

Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) fields are used to assist the detection of cloud in satellite imagery. Simulated observations based on NWP are used within a framework based on Bayes' theorem to calculate a physically-based probability of each pixel with an imaged scene being clear or cloudy. Different thresholds can be set on the probabilities to create application-specific cloud-masks. Here, this is done over both land and ocean using night-time (infrared) imagery. We use a validation dataset of difficult cloud detection targets for the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) achieving true skill scores of 87% and 48% for ocean and land, respectively using the Bayesian technique, compared to 74% and 39%, respectively for the threshold-based techniques associated with the validation dataset.

Absence of Melatonin Induces Night-Time Hepatic Insulin Resistance and Increased Gluconeogenesis Due to Stimulation of Nocturnal Unfolded Protein Response

It is known that the circadian rhythm in hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase expression (a limiting catalytic step of gluconeogenesis) and hepatic glucose production is maintained by both daily oscillation in autonomic inputs to the liver and night feeding behavior. However, increased glycemia and reduced melatonin (Mel) levels have been recently shown to coexist in diabetic patients at the end of the night period. In parallel, pinealectomy (PINX) is known to cause glucose intolerance with increased basal glycemia exclusively at the end of the night. The mechanisms that underlie this metabolic feature are not completely understood. Here, we demonstrate that PINX rats show night-time hepatic insulin resistance characterized by reduced insulin-stimulated RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase phosphorylation and increased phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase expression. In addition, PINX rats display increased conversion of pyruvate into glucose at the end of the night. The regulatory mechanism suggests the participation of unfolded protein response (UPR), because PINX induces night-time increase in activating transcription factor 6 expression and prompts a circadian fashion of immunoglobulin heavy chain-binding protein, activating transcription factor 4, and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-homologous protein expression with Zenith values at the dark period. PINX also caused a night-time increase in Tribble 3 and regulatory-associated protein of mammalian target of rapamycin; both were reduced in liver of PINX rats treated with Mel. Treatment of PINX rats with 4-phenyl butyric acid, an inhibitor of UPR, restored night-time hepatic insulin sensitivity and abrogated gluconeogenesis in PINX rats. Altogether, the present data show that a circadian oscillation of UPR occurs in the liver due to the absence of Mel. The nocturnal UPR activation is related with night-time hepatic insulin resistance and increased gluconeogenesis in PINX rats. (Endocrinology 152: 1253-1263, 2011)

A therapy dog's impact on daytime activity and night-time sleep for older persons with Alzheimer's disease : a case study

Background: Animal-Assisted Therapy using dogs have been described as having a calming effect, decrease sundowning and blood-pressure in persons with Alzheimer’s disease. The aim was to investigate how continuous and scheduled visits by a prescribed therapy dog affected daytime and night-time sleep for persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Methods: In this case study, registration of activity and sleep curves was conducted from five persons with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease living at a nursing home, over a period of 16 weeks using an Actiwatch. Data was analysed with descriptive statistics. Result: The study shows no clear pattern of effect on individual persons daytime activity and sleep when encounter with a therapy dog, but instead points to a great variety of possible different effects that brings an increased activity at different time points, for example during night-time sleep. Conclusions: Effects from the use of a Animal-Assisted Therapy with a dog in the care of persons with Alzheimer’s disease needs to be further investigated and analysed from a personcentred view including both daytime and nightime activities.

ID scanners in the night time economy

ID scanners are quickly emerging as a new technological fix to long-standing problems of security and safety within licensed venues. Yet at this point in time detailed research of this rapidly expanding security technology is remarkably limited. To address this analytical deficit we are currently examining the uptake of ID scanners in licensed venues operating in the night-time economy. We have found significant interest in the implementation of ID scanners in other Australian cities. However, the introduction of ID scanners in late-night licensed venues has occurred with little public awareness, no policy consideration and questionable claims concerning their effectiveness in enhancing safety and reducing crime. This article explores the factors shaping the introduction of ID scanners and the underlying beliefs concerning their utility as a crime prevention technology. The article then considers some broader implications to be explored in future analyses.

Outsourcing the risks : alcohol licensing, risk and the making of the night time economy

Mariana Valverde argues that in the late twentieth century, the British state contracted out the prevention of disorder and monitoring of risks produced by widespread alcohol use to the private sector through the process of liquor licensing. This paper will argue that this scenario was duplicated in Victoria at the same time. It will do so by an analysis of four government-instigated inquiries into liquor licensing regimes from 1965 to 1998. The inquiries were distinguished by the subtly different emphases in their terms of reference. In 1965, the Phillips Royal Commission was directed to inquire into the best ways of dealing with the problems alcohol produced and how best to regulate it for the benefit of the population as a whole. By the time the Nieuwenhuysen Report was commissioned in 1985, the emphasis had changed, and he was directed to inquire how best to serve the interests of alcohol consumers and to produce the licensing regulatory regime which would enable the construction of a 24-hour city. Any anomalies that still existed in the revised Act were eliminated in the 1998 review which was instigated as a direct response to the National Competition Policy. A consequence of these changes over 30 years was the development of particular risk groups, such as ‘binge-drinking young people’, whose violence and nuisance must be controlled to enable all other ‘reasonable’ and ‘moderate’ drinkers be allowed to keep drinking. Thus the notion of risk had been redefined and the responsibility for dealing with these risks had been directed from the state to individual licensees and individual drinkers.

ID scanners in the Australian night-time economy

The recent introduction of ID scanners into the night time economy in many Australian cities is fertile ground for exploring a range of themes related to technology and society. There are questions about the scanners' contribution to increased surveillance, the interface between private and public forms of surveillance, the capacity for data ahsring, concerns about the protection of privacy and the capacity or utility of existing theoretical models dealing with human surveillance, harm prevention, individual freedoms, and the role of technology in promoting social order.

Patron offending and intoxication in night time entertainment districts (POINTED) : a study protocol

Risky alcohol consumption is the subject of considerable community concern in Australia and internationally, particularly the risky drinking practices of young people consuming alcohol in the night-time economy. This study will determine some of the factors and correlates associated with alcohol-related risk-taking, offending and harm in and around licensed venues and night-time entertainment precincts across five Australian cities (three metropolitan and two regional). The primary aim of the study is to measure levels of pre-drinking, drinking in venues, intoxication, illicit drug use and potentially harmful drinking practices (such as mixing with energy drinks) of patrons in entertainment areas, and relating this to offending, risky behaviour and harms experienced. The study will also investigate the effects of license type, trading hours, duration of drinking episodes and geographical location on intoxication, offending, risk-taking and experience of harm. Data collection involves patron interviews (incorporating breathalysing and drug testing) with 7500 people attending licensed venues. Intensive venue observations (n=112) will also be undertaken in a range of venues, including pubs, bars and nightclubs. The information gathered through this study will inform prevention and enforcement approaches of policy makers, police and venue staff.

ID scanners in the night-time economy: Social sorting or social order?

Digital technologies are often considered effective methods of deterring or preventing crime. New forms of surveillance have particular appeal when attempting to reduce violence in the night-time economy, given ongoing concerns over perceived increases in the frequency and severity of reported assaults. This study examines the rationales for adopting compulsory patron ID scanning as a key method of reducing violence in and around licensed venues in the Victorian regional city of Geelong. Using a mixed methods approach, this paper challenges the popular perception that ID scanning has helped to reduce violence Geelong’s night-time economy. Further, the research identifies several limits in the administration of this technology that potentially undermine patron safety in the night-time economy. The authors conclude by proposing a series of reforms to address current regulatory gaps associated with ID scanning and related surveillance and identity authentication technologies to prevent crime.

'Wide-awake drunkenness'? Investigating the association between alcohol intoxication and stimulant use in the night-time economy

Aims: We tested whether patrons of the night-time economy who had co-consumed energy drinks or illicit stimulants with alcohol had higher blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels than patrons who had consumed only alcohol. Design: Street intercept surveys (n=4227) were undertaken between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. over a period of 7 months. Setting: Interviews were undertaken with patrons walking through entertainment precincts, queuing to enter venues or exiting venues in five Australian cities. Participants: The response rate was 92.1%; more than half the study sample was male (60.2%) and the median age was 23 years (range 18-72). Measurements: Data were collected on demographics, length of drinking session, venue types visited, types and quantity of alcohol consumed and other substance use. A BAC reading was recorded and a subsample of participants was tested for other drug use. Findings: Compared with the total sample (0.068%), illicit stimulant consumers (0.080%; P=0.004) and energy drink consumers (0.074%; P<0.001) had a significantly higher median BAC reading, and were more likely to engage in pre-drinking (65.6, 82.1 and 77.6%, respectively, P<0.001) and longer drinking sessions (4, 5 and 4.5 hours, respectively, P<0.001). However, stimulant use was not associated independently with higher BAC in the final multivariable model (illicit stimulants P=0.198; energy drinks P=0.112). Interaction analyses showed that stimulant users had a higher BAC in the initial stages of the drinking session, but not after 4-6 hours. Conclusions: While stimulant use does not predict BAC in and of itself, stimulants users are more likely to engage in prolonged sessions of heavy alcohol consumption and a range of risk-taking behaviours on a night out, which may explain higher levels of BAC among stimulants users, at least in the initial stages of the drinking session.