Landfill Closure and Housing Values

The United States disposes roughly 60% of the municipal solid waste it generates each year in solid waste disposal facilities, commonly known as landfills. Hedonic pricing studies have estimated the external costs of landfills on neighboring housing markets, but the literature is silent on what happens to property values after the landfill closes. Original housing price data collected both before and after a landfill closure are used to estimate how a landfill closure affects neighboring property values. Results of both a hedonic pricing model and repeat-sales estimator are used in the analysis.

Patent foramen ovale closure in recreational divers: effect on decompression illness and ischaemic brain lesions during long-term follow-up

To test the effect of patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure on neurological events in divers.

The Effects of Emotions and Distraction on Attention During a Perceptual Task

According to the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, positive emotions broaden while negative emotions narrow thought-action repertoires. These processes reflect changes in attentional scope, which is the focus of this research. The present study tested the hypothesis that participants in negative mood would be better able to focus on a target figure and separate it from its context in a perceptual task, and would also be better able to focus on the task amid a distracting environment than participants in a positive mood. An undergraduate sample of 77 participants watched video clips selected to induce either fear or amusement, and completed an Embedded Figures Test either in a quiet setting or in a noisy setting. A higher-order ANOVA revealed that Mood had a marginally significant effect on task performance, F(1, 73) = 3.94, p = .051, and that Distraction, F(1, 72) = 4.61, p = .035 and the Mood x Distraction interaction, F(1, 73) = 9.12, p = .003 did significantly affect task performance. However, contrary to the hypothesis, the effect of the distraction manipulation was greater for participants in a negative mood than it was for participants in a positive mood. The author suggests future directions to clarify the relationship between emotions, attentional scope, and susceptibility to environmental distraction.

Long-term propensity score-matched comparison of percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale with medical treatment after paradoxical embolism

Patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack presumably related to patent foramen ovale (PFO) are at risk for recurrent cerebrovascular events. Differences in long-term clinical outcome were investigated among patients with percutaneous PFO closure and those who received medical treatment.

Early closure of ileostomy is associated with less postoperative nausea and vomiting

Background/Aims: Temporary loop ileostomy is increasingly used in colorectal surgery but necessitates secondary closure. We evaluated postoperative complications, particularly nausea and vomiting, in patients with early, intermediate, or late elective ileostomy closure. Methods: We included all patients undergoing ileostomy closure from 2001 to 2008. Time from ileostomy construction to closure was classified as early (EC, <12 weeks), intermediate (IC, 12–18 weeks), and late (LC, >18 weeks). Using multivariable logistic regression, we compared the frequency of postoperative complications between the groups. Results: We included 134 patients (87 males; median age 71 years, range 29–91). Carcinoma of the rectum (n = 67, 50%) was the main reason for ileostomy construction. The median time to ileostomy closure was 103 days (range 8–461). Among patients with EC, IC, and LC, postoperative nausea occurred in 50.0, 73.1, and 78.6%, respectively (p = 0.006), and postoperative vomiting in 22.5, 57.7, and 59.5%, respectively (p = 0.001). Adjusting for important covariates, the odds ratio for postoperative nausea was 2.0 (95% CI 0.76–5.1) for IC and 4.1 (95% CI 1.2–14.3) for LC compared to EC (p = 0.069). For postoperative vomiting, adjusted odds ratios were 3.8 (95% CI 1.4–10.4) for IC and 4.6 (95% CI 1.4–15.5) for LC (p = 0.012). Other complications did not differ between the groups. Conclusions: These findings suggest that early ileostomy closure might reduce postoperative nausea and vomiting.