Concurrent Trend Research Articles

Relationship between Civil and Military in Disaster Response and Recovery

In recent years, military and civil agencies play an important role in disaster response and recovery. These include an increase in the scale and incident of natural disasters, a concurrent trend towards militarization of humanitarian response in conflict situations and increased interest in disaster response on the part of military. Hence, the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) and civil agencies play an effective role to ensure the effectiveness of managing the disaster response in that area. The objective of this study is to know the problems faced by the Malaysian Armed Forces and Civil Agencies in Sarawak. This study is to examine the civil-military cooperation between the Malaysian Armed Forces and civil agencies during the disaster, to examine the civil-military coordination in disaster management, and to examine the civil-military activities between armed forces and civil agencies and the activities carried out by the army and civil agencies and also the challenges faced during the response and recovery in disaster management. This study is based on qualitative research method through interviews and focus group discussion involving the military infantry unit at 11 Royal Malay Regiment, 13 Royal Malay Regiment, 3 Royal Ranger Regiment, and 10 Royal Ranger Regiment in Sarawak. There are also problems such as disagreement between the military and civil agency that weakened their professional relationship. It is important for the military and civil agency to have a good relationship in order to work together in managing the disaster.

Reproductive dysfunction in females of endangered golden mahseer (Tor putitora) in captivity

The present study was undertaken to gain insight on the physiological basis underlying the constraints in attaining maturity of endangered golden mahseer (Tor putitora) in captivity. Selected hormone levels and stress biomarkers were analysed in wild and captive reared brooders to address the above objectives. As compared to their captive counterparts, plasma 17β-estradiol was significantly (p<0.05) higher in wild caught females. A concurrent trend was observed for plasma vitellogenin, aromatase, 17α, 20β-dihydroxy progesterone (17α, 20β DHP), luteinizing hormone (LH) and11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) indicating a weak hormone response in captive females that potentially hindered maturity. To the contrary, the plasma11-KT levels were not significantly different between wild and captive males. Plasma 17α, 20β DHP level was found significantly (p<0.05) higher in wild caught females compared to females reared in captivity. However, both males of wild and captivity registered significantly higher 17α, 20β DHP than captive females. Plasma 11-KT level was significantly higher in males compared to females. However, the captive females had higher level of 11-KT than captive males. Stress biomarkers viz., cortisol, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were also estimated both in wild and captive brooders. There was no significant difference in plasma cortisol levels of wild and captive reared brooders. However, plasma GPx and SOD activity were significantly higher in captive reared T. putitora as compared to wild brooders counterpart manifesting prevailing oxidative stress in captivity. Overall results showed endocrine and stress differences between wild and captive reared brood fishes during early spawning period which highlighted the endocrine failure of female reproductive maturity in captivity.

Abstract WP362: Trends and Outcomes of Intracranial Hemorrhage in HIV Positive Population (2002-2012)

Background: The incidence of Intracranial Hemorrhage (ICrH) in HIV patients is on the rise in the United States, especially after the development of newer antiretroviral drugs. This study determines the trends of ICrH in HIV patients in the United States. Design/Methods: Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) were analyzed for years 2002-2012.Hospitalizations with HIV positive status were identified using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes 042, V08 and ICrH by 430.xx-432.xx. Cochrane Armitage trend test and multivariate regression were used to analyze temporal trends and the potential reasons for temporal changes over the years. Results: A total of 2,584,548 hospitalizations with HIV status were made from 2002 to 2012. Of these, 10,292 (0.40%) admissions were due to ICrH or developed ICrH during hospitalization. Concurrent trend of ICrH and HIV increased from 0.34% to 0.45% in 2012 (p trend &lt;0.001). This trend increased annually by 3.5% (OR 1.035; 95% CI 1.01-1.05;p&lt;0.001). The temporal rise was explained by changes in demographics and co-morbidities. Amongst HIV-related hospitalizations, Age (10 year increase) (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.09-1.43; p&lt;0.001), African-American race (OR 1.25; 95% CI 1.09-1.43; p&lt;0.001), Hispanic race (OR 1.29; 95% CI 1.07-1.55; p&lt;0.001) and history of Hypertension (OR 1.97; 95% CI 1.76-2.22; p&lt;0.001) were significantly associated with the development of ICrH, However females had lower odds of developing ICrH(OR 0.80; 95% CI 0.71-089; p&lt;0.001). Conclusions: These data suggest that the incidence of ICrH among hospitalized adults with HIV infection continue to increase. This increasing ICrH was explained by an aging HIV population, changing demographics and chronic comorbidities, but questions still remain regarding unexplained factors which merit in-depth study.

Abstract 217: Trends and Outcomes of Intracranial Hemorrhage in HIV Positive Population (2002-2012)

Background: The incidence of Intracranial Hemorrhage (ICrH) in HIV patients is on the rise in the United States, especially after the development of newer antiretroviral drugs. This study determines the trends of ICrH in HIV patients in the United States. Design/Methods: Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) were analyzed for years 2002-2012.Hospitalizations with HIV positive status were identified using International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes 042, V08 and ICrH by 430.xx-432.xx. Cochrane Armitage trend test and multivariate regression were used to analyze temporal trends and the potential reasons for temporal changes over the years. Results: A total of 2,584,548 hospitalizations with HIV status were made from 2002 to 2012. Of these, 10,292 (0.40%) admissions were due to ICrH or developed ICrH during hospitalization. Concurrent trend of ICrH and HIV increased from 0.34% to 0.45% in 2012 (p trend &lt;0.001). This trend increased annually by 3.5% (OR 1.035; 95% CI 1.01-1.05;p&lt;0.001). The temporal rise was explained by changes in demographics and co-morbidities. Amongst HIV-related hospitalizations, Age (10 year increase) (OR 1.23; 95% CI 1.09-1.43; p&lt;0.001), African-American race (OR 1.25; 95% CI 1.09-1.43; p&lt;0.001), Hispanic race (OR 1.29; 95% CI 1.07-1.55; p&lt;0.001) and history of Hypertension (OR 1.97; 95% CI 1.76-2.22; p&lt;0.001) were significantly associated with the development of ICrH, However females had lower odds of developing ICrH(OR 0.80; 95% CI 0.71-089; p&lt;0.001). Conclusions: These data suggest that the incidence of ICrH among hospitalized adults with HIV infection continue to increase. This increasing ICrH was explained by an aging HIV population, changing demographics and chronic comorbidities, but questions still remain regarding unexplained factors which merit in-depth study.

Revisiting the role of environmental and climate factors on the epidemiology of Kawasaki disease.

Can environmental factors, such as air-transported preformed toxins, be of key relevance to the health outcomes of poorly understood human ailments (e.g., rheumatic diseases such as vasculitides, some inflammatory diseases, or even severe childhood acquired heart diseases)? Can the physical, chemical, or biological features of air masses be linked to the emergence of diseases such as Kawasaki disease (KD), Henoch-Schönlein purpura, Takayasu's aortitis, and ANCA-associated vasculitis? These diseases surprisingly share some common epidemiological features. For example, they tend to appear as clusters of cases grouped geographically and temporarily progress in nonrandom sequences that repeat every year in a similar way. They also show concurrent trend changes within regions in countries and among different world regions. In this paper, we revisit transdisciplinary research on the role of environmental and climate factors in the epidemiology of KD as a paradigmatic example of this group of diseases. Early-warning systems based on environmental alerts, if successful, could be implemented as a way to better inform patients who are predisposed to, or at risk for, developing KD. Further research on the etiology of KD could facilitate the development of vaccines and specific medical therapies.

Doubt, Anxiety and Protestant Epistolary Counselling: The Letter-Book of Nehemiah Wallington

This essay focuses on a surprisingly underexplored manuscript of the London puritan woodturner, Nehemiah Wallington. His ‘Coppies of profitable and comfortable letters’ anthologizes printed correspondence of martyrs and Reformed clergy alongside Wallington's own pious exchanges with ministers, neighbours and friends. Since Wallington's agonies of doubt about his religious estate are well known to early modern historians, his piety provides a particularly valuable lens through which to explore how clergymen and laypeople attempted to address the pastoral obstacle of religious uncertainty. This remarkable manuscript provides insights into clerical status within puritan spirituality, shedding light on the role of Protestant ministers as physicians of the soul, who conceived of themselves as indispensable experts in the diagnosis and cure of the spiritual afflictions of their lay devotees. Wallington and others, seeking resolutions for their doubts and scruples, affirmed the particular authority of these clergy as pastoral specialists. This essay presents evidence of sustained clericalism within Protestant piety, a tendency which acted in tension with a concurrent trend of spiritual individualism. Furthermore, it advances an argument for the significant role which epistolary counselling played in Protestant pastoral ministry to those afflicted by religious doubt.

The Emerging Parliamentary Convention on British Military Action and Warfare by Remote Control

Recent British military interventions in Libya, Iraq and Syria have all been put to the vote in the House of Commons. This suggests a shift away from the longstanding Royal Prerogative on war-making powers towards an expectation that parliamentary authorisation is first required. As Tara McCormack argues however, there is a concurrent trend that undermines this apparent move towards greater democratic oversight of the use of military assets in conflict: the growing preference for ‘warfare by remote control’, such as the deployment of drones or military trainers. Perceived as a form of intervention with less ‘skin in the game’, such military action has so far been launched without prior parliamentary approval – and without scrutiny.

Molecular structure and reactivity of titania-supported transition metal oxide catalysts synthesized by equilibrium deposition filtration for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane

The molecular structure and catalytic performance of (MoO x ) n /TiO 2 , (WO x ) n /TiO 2 and (VO x ) n /TiO 2 catalysts (synthesized by the equilibrium–deposition–filtration/EDF method) for oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethane were studied by in situ Raman spectroscopy at 430 °C and catalytic measurements in the temperature range of 420–480 °C. The extent of association within the deposited oxometallic phase followed the sequence (VO x ) n /TiO 2 >> (MoO x ) n /TiO 2 > (WO x ) n /TiO 2 ; a concurrent trend in reduction susceptibility was evidenced by exploiting the relative normalized Raman band intensities while monitoring the response of the vibrational properties of the catalytic samples under reactive (C 2 H 6 /O 2 /He) and reducing (C 2 H 6 /He) conditions by in situ Raman spectroscopy. The catalyst reactivity tracks the corresponding trend in reduction susceptibility as evidenced by the in situ Raman spectra. Selective reaction pathways are favored at high coverage whilst combustion routes are activated at low coverages due to the involvement of carrier lattice oxygen sites. The observed apparent reaction rates and activation energies are discussed in relation to various structural and reactivity aspects.

Is It Time to Decrease Preprofessional Pharmacy Requirements?

Is It Time to Decrease Preprofessional Pharmacy Requirements?

Fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or indexes of liver health: a systematic review and meta-analysis , , ,

Background: Concerns have been raised about the concurrent temporal trend between simple sugar intakes, especially of fructose or high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and rates of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the United States.Objective: We examined the effect of different amounts and forms of dietary fructose on the incidence or prevalence of NAFLD and indexes of liver health in humans.Design: We conducted a systematic review of English-language, human studies of any design in children and adults with low to no alcohol intake and that reported at least one predetermined measure of liver health. The strength of the evidence was evaluated by considering risk of bias, consistency, directness, and precision.Results: Six observational studies and 21 intervention studies met the inclusion criteria. The overall strength of evidence for observational studies was rated insufficient because of high risk of biases and inconsistent study findings. Of 21 intervention studies, 19 studies were in adults without NAFLD (predominantly healthy, young men) and 1 study each in adults or children with NAFLD. We found a low level of evidence that a hypercaloric fructose diet (supplemented by pure fructose) increases liver fat and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) concentrations in healthy men compared with the consumption of a weight-maintenance diet. In addition, there was a low level of evidence that hypercaloric fructose and glucose diets have similar effects on liver fat and liver enzymes in healthy adults. There was insufficient evidence to draw a conclusion for effects of HFCS or sucrose on NAFLD.Conclusions: On the basis of indirect comparisons across study findings, the apparent association between indexes of liver health (ie, liver fat, hepatic de novo lipogenesis, alanine aminotransferase, AST, and γ-glutamyl transpeptase) and fructose or sucrose intake appear to be confounded by excessive energy intake. Overall, the available evidence is not sufficiently robust to draw conclusions regarding effects of fructose, HFCS, or sucrose consumption on NAFLD.

Regional and local changes inferred from lacustrine organic matter deposited between the Late Glacial and mid-Holocene in the Skaliska Basin (north-eastern Poland)

The article presents the results of a combination of isotopic (δ15N and δ13C), geochemical (TOC, TN, C/N) and palaeobotanical investigations. They were carried out on organic matter (OM) that had been deposited from the Younger Dryas to the Subboreal chronozone in palaolake sediments (north-eastern Poland). OM from the late Younger Dryas consists only a small amount of TOC and TN, which together with the lack of aquatic macrophyte macrofossils confirm low primary production in the then reservoir. The higher values of C/N ratio (18–27) and δ13C (ca. −26‰) suggest that OM was mainly terrestrial in origin. During the Preboreal chronozone (11,450–10,150 cal. BP), there was a probable deepening of the reservoir through the melting of dead ice. This might have been intensified by an increase in precipitation and a fall in evapotranspiration during the ‘Preboreal oscillation’. From the early Preboreal chronozone (ca. 11,345 cal. BP), a mixed source of OM is indicated by C/N ratio (from 8 to 13). At the same time significant increase in TOC and TN probably registered a rise in primary production in the palaeolake. From the older part of the Boreal chronozone (ca. 9865 cal. BP) algae productivity increased (the C/N ratio dropped to ca. 8 and was then constant). At the beginning of the Atlantic chronozone (ca. 8650 cal. BP) a probable increase in the water level caused the partial relocation of OM from the reed swamp belt and/or the adjacent alder carr into deeper sections of the palaeolake (an increase in TOC and TN). In the late Atlantic chronozone (ca. 6965–6650 cal. BP), TOC and TN decreased while δ13C had high values, which probably reflected a more distinct stratification of the water column with anoxic bottom waters. Next, in the late Atlantic and early Subboreal chronozone (ca. 6650–5205 cal. BP) the amount of OM in palaeolake sediments was still rising. The δ13C values dropped, suggesting an intensification of processes of water mixing. These processes were simultaneous with the constant shallowing of the palaeolake and the disappearance of habitats suitable for submerged macrophytes. The topmost part of the profile is characteristic of a strong decomposition of peat, causing a release of carbon dioxide and therefore the depletion of the carbon pool in the peat (a drop in the C/N ratio). The concurrent upward trend of the δ15N curve is probably the effect of a greater anthropogenic impact on the palaeolake/mire and its catchment and/or more recent human interference in the topmost peat layers.

Chlorophyll concentration in leaves is an indicator of potato tuber yield in water-shortage conditions

The phenotyping of secondary characters is a common practice in breeding programs aiming at finding physiological mechanism related to drought tolerance. However, the dynamics of these characters depend on crop phenology, levels of water shortage, and other factors that affect their relationship with yield and limit their capacity to be used for predictive purposes. In this work, we compared tuber yield with the temporal trend (using accumulated thermal time) of chlorophyll concentration (ChlSPAD), osmotic potential, and relative water content under water restriction. UNICA, a potato variety characterized by its low drought susceptibility was tested under full irrigation (as a control) and different treatments of partial root-zone drying and deficit irrigation in greenhouse and field conditions. ChlSPAD was the only trait showing a concurrent changing trend (slope) with yields, particularly in field conditions. The rate of greenness loss or senescence was slower in the higher water restriction treatments, which indicates that the stay-green effect (delayed senescence) occurs in some potato varieties. ChlSPAD at the loss of half the maximum plant cover during senescence (between 1040 and 1170°C days) was high and negatively correlated with final yield in all irrigation treatments. Our findings suggest that during senescence, chlorophyll increment is not related to a rise of carbon assimilation (non-functional stay-green), but could be associated with an oxidative stress occurrence, ultimately reducing yield.

How bank business models drive interest margins: evidence from US bank-level data

The two decades prior to the credit crisis witnessed a strategic shift from a traditional, relationships-oriented model (ROM) to a transactions-oriented model (TOM) of financial intermediation in developed countries. A concurrent trend has been a persistent decline in average bank interest margins. In the literature, these phenomena are often explained using a causality that runs from increased competition in traditional segments to lower margins to new activities. Using a comprehensive data set with bank-level data on over 16,000 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured US commercial banks for a period ranging from 1992 to 2010, this paper qualifies this chain of causality. We find that a bank's business model, measured using a multi-dimensional proxy of relationship banking activity, exerts a strong, positive effect on interest margins. Our results suggest that the strategic shift from ROM to TOM has transformed banks’ balance sheets and reduced interest rate margins as a by-product.

Holocene stalagmite oxygen isotopic record from the Japan Sea side of the Japanese Islands, as a new proxy of the East Asian winter monsoon

Stalagmite oxygen stable isotopic records from Chinese and Japanese caves have described the intensity of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) in the late Quaternary. In this study, we present a stalagmite δ18O record over the past 10,000 years from Fukugaguchi Cave, Itoigawa, Honshu, Japan, facing the Japan Sea. The regional climate is characteristically wet in winter and nearly 60% of the annual precipitation occurs from November to March when the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) brings moisture from the Japan Sea warmed by the Tsushima Warm Current. Rainwater δ18O values near the cave generally decrease with the precipitation amount, indicating an amount effect. The stalagmite δ18O profile has had a concurrent trend with winter precipitation observed near the cave since 1924 in addition to high-resolution records of the eolian fraction observed in China. These agreements suggest that the Fukugaguchi stalagmite δ18O record reflects the EAWM intensity. In comparison of our profile with the EASM record obtained from Chinese stalagmites, inverse correlation was recognized only in the earlier interval of 10.0–5.2 ka, suggesting that the southward migration of the intertropical convergence zone intensified the EAWM. From a peak at 5.2 ka, the EAWM intensity quickly decreased and remained at a lower level between 4.5 and 3.0 ka. Since 3.0 ka, the Fukugaguchi record has high-amplitude changes of millennial time scales, including two peak intervals in 2.9–2.5 ka and 1.3–0.7 ka. EAWM-related winter precipitation might have been amplified with intensification of the Tsushima Warm Current that enhanced the land-sea thermal contrast during winter season. A co-variation presumed between the Fukugaguchi δ18O record and the Chinese EAWM records implies that the thermal contrast between East Asia and NW Pacific may have influenced the winter monsoon in throughout the East Asian climate system.

Zeolitized tuffs in pedotechnique for the reclamation of abandoned quarries. A case study in the Campania region (Italy)

The present study aims to assess the evolution of different proto-horizons as embryonic soils built by pedotechnologies for the reclamation and management of derelict and damaged lands, such as abandoned quarries. The model proto-horizons were assembled by utilizing coarse limestone gravel or zeolitized Phlegraean Yellow Tuff (PYT) as mineral components and commercial compost-amendments or a phosphorite-poultry manure mixture as organic matrices for growth of a pasture-grass under controlled conditions. The evolution of the model proto-horizons was followed by an evaluation of the stability and modification of the organic matter (OM) with reference to plant development. The results suggest that the natural carbonatic substrate occurring in limestone quarries was unable to sustain significant plant growth, while the PYT was suitable and efficient as a pedogenic substrate because it supported plant growth and induced a conspicuous accumulation of OM due to root activity. In particular, OM, including humic and non-humic components, greatly increased in the PYT treatment with the phosphorite-poultry manure mixture showing a concurrent trend toward humification. Conversely, an overall tendency toward degradation of OM was detected in the PYT model proto-horizon treated with commercial compost. Feasibility estimates show that quarry restoration costs appear reasonable where environmental impacts are high.

A multi-year record of airborne CO&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt; observations in the US Southern Great Plains

Abstract. We report on 10 yr of airborne measurements of atmospheric CO2 mole fraction from continuous and flask systems, collected between 2002 and 2012 over the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Climate Research Facility in the US Southern Great Plains (SGP). These observations were designed to quantify trends and variability in atmospheric mole fraction of CO2 and other greenhouse gases with the precision and accuracy needed to evaluate ground-based and satellite-based column CO2 estimates, test forward and inverse models, and help with the interpretation of ground-based CO2 mole-fraction measurements. During flights, we measured CO2 and meteorological data continuously and collected flasks for a rich suite of additional gases: CO2, CO, CH4, N2O, 13CO2, carbonyl sulfide (COS), and trace hydrocarbon species. These measurements were collected approximately twice per week by small aircraft (Cessna 172 initially, then Cessna 206) on a series of horizontal legs ranging in altitude from 460 m to 5500 m a.m.s.l. Since the beginning of the program, more than 400 continuous CO2 vertical profiles have been collected (2007–2012), along with about 330 profiles from NOAA/ESRL 12-flask (2006–2012) and 284 from NOAA/ESRL 2-flask (2002–2006) packages for carbon cycle gases and isotopes. Averaged over the entire record, there were no systematic differences between the continuous and flask CO2 observations when they were sampling the same air, i.e., over the one-minute flask-sampling time. Using multiple technologies (a flask sampler and two continuous analyzers), we documented a mean difference of &lt; 0.2 ppm between instruments. However, flask data were not equivalent in all regards; horizontal variability in CO2 mole fraction within the 5–10 min legs sometimes resulted in significant differences between flask and continuous measurement values for those legs, and the information contained in fine-scale variability about atmospheric transport was not captured by flask-based observations. The CO2 mole fraction trend at 3000 m a.m.s.l. was 1.91 ppm yr−1 between 2008 and 2010, very close to the concurrent trend at Mauna Loa of 1.95 ppm yr−1. The seasonal amplitude of CO2 mole fraction in the free troposphere (FT) was half that in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) (~ 15 ppm vs. ~ 30 ppm) and twice that at Mauna Loa (approximately 8 ppm). The CO2 horizontal variability was up to 10 ppm in the PBL and less than 1 ppm at the top of the vertical profiles in the FT.

Sex Tools: New Queer Narratives as Community Action Cinema

Last October, the Guardian published an article by Ben Walters addressing a recent and telling trend in gay cinema. Within the past year, a new crop of films has appeared, displaying extreme content like explicit sex and copious drug use, while [deploying] naturalism--often shooting handheld in found locations and using performances that smack of improvisation, signaling an embrace of the real in contemporary gay feature filmmaking. (1) While the primary texts addressed in Walters's article, such as Andrew Haigh's Weekend (2011) and Ira Sachs's Keep the Lights On (2012), do present frank depictions of simulated sex acts, filmmakers like A.K. Burns, Travis Mathews, and A.L. Steiner are taking this trend to task, exploring new naturalistic methods of rendering the contemporary queer body in graphic (re)presentations of erotic pleasure. Unlike the conventionally cinematic Weekend or Keep the Lights On, these titles push the boundaries of digital aesthetics and distribution, proposing enthralling internet-age objects that embrace, in order to dismantle, the dynamics of online pornography in starkly contrasting approaches. This article will examine two feature-length videos, Mathews's 1 Want Your Love (2012), a gay male fictional narrative set in an artists' milieu in San Francisco, and Steiner and Burns's Communiy Action Center (2010), a sociosexual or womyn-centric art video that weaves together historical and contemporary referents and depictions of queer eroticism in a manner that speaks more to the aesthetics of performance art than any lesbian or queer filmic precedents. (2) Each title ushers the traditionally private arena of queer sex and online pornographic spectatorship into the public sector, in quite divergent capacities, thereby subverting many of the latent consumerist or censuring tendencies within contemporary pornography. Both works also exhibit a concurrent trend, in which the locus of production is situated explicitly as the community rendered therein. These features emerge from a conscious authorial intent to directly engage social networks (both online and analog) in order to conspire and intimately construct a sensuous and authentic platform for (self) articulation. This spirit of collaboration might not immediately appear so striking for a niche film genre. New Queer Cinema offered an early cinematic example or a politically charged movement that addressed health concerns and civil unrest within a community that felt marginalized by the Reagan administration, while also proving a watershed for independent film production and collaboration. In this climate, producer Christine Vachon could enlist her partner Marlene McCarty to design title sequences and promotional materials for a project in which the director's partner (James Lyons) would serve both as editor and appear as an actor. Such was the case with Safe (1995, directed by Todd Haynes), exemplary for--but not an exception within--that cinematic movement. (3) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Soon more industrial models of filmmaking came into play, causing this communal approach to shift radically by the 2000s when gay- and lesbian-themed film and video entered an established market phase of production, on the heels of successful television shows like Queer as Folk (2000-05) and The L Word (2004-09). And like those shows, narrative features drifted from the arthouses into the home--due, in part, to the home video boom of the mid-2000s, but also as content evolved into a lifestyle-oriented or genre-based cinema. These feel-good road movies or romantic comedies, which included franchises such as Eating Out (2004, directed by Q Allan Brocka, with sequels released in 2006, 2009, and 2011); and Another Gay Movie (2006, directed by Todd Stephens, with Another Gay Sequel: Gas Gone Wild released in 2008), were generated more for a casual consumer market than for the cinephiles who, sought Out the New Queer Cinema. DVD box covers for these newer titles frequently featured shirtless men, soliciting home video consumers with titillating appeals, promoting a homonormative ideal of physical attenuation, stemming (as most physical types within gay culture have historically tended to) from porn conventions. …

Community-based intervention packages facilitated by NGOs demonstrate plausible evidence for child mortality impact

Evidence exists that community-based intervention packages can have substantial child and newborn mortality impact, and may help more countries meet Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) targets. A non-governmental organization (NGO) project using such programming in Mozambique documented an annual decline in under-five mortality rate (U5MR) of 9.3% in a province in which Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data showed a 4.2% U5MR decline during the same period. To test the generalizability of this finding, the same analysis was applied to a group of projects funded by the US Agency for International Development. Projects supported implementation of community-based intervention packages aimed at increasing use of health services while improving preventive and home-care practices for children under five. All projects collect baseline and endline population coverage data for key child health interventions. Twelve projects fitted the inclusion criteria. U5MR decline was estimated by modelling these coverage changes in the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) and comparing with concurrent measured DHS mortality data. Average coverage changes for all interventions exceeded average concurrent trends. When population coverage changes were modelled in LiST, they were estimated to give a child mortality improvement in the project area that exceeded concurrent secular trend in the subnational DHS region in 11 of 12 cases. The average improvement in modelled U5MR (5.8%) was more than twice the concurrent directly measured average decline (2.5%). NGO projects implementing community-based intervention packages appear to be effective in reducing child mortality in diverse settings. There is plausible evidence that they raised coverage for a variety of high-impact interventions and improved U5MR by more than twice the concurrent secular trend. All projects used community-based strategies that achieved frequent interpersonal contact for health behaviour change. Further study of the effectiveness and scalability of similar packages should be part of the effort to accelerate progress towards MDG 4.

How Bank Business Models Drive Interest Margins: Evidence from U.S. Bank-Level Data

The two decades prior to the credit crisis witnessed a strategic shift from a traditional, relationships-oriented model (ROM) to a transactions-oriented model (TOM) of financial intermediation in developed countries. A concurrent trend has been a persistent decline in average bank interest margins. In the literature, these phenomena are often explained using a causality that runs from increased competition in traditional segments to lower margins to new activities. Using a comprehensive dataset with bank-level data on over 16,000 FDIC-insured U.S. commercial banks for a period ranging from 1992 to 2010, this paper qualifies this chain of causality. We find that a bank’s business model, measured using a multi-dimensional proxy of relationship banking activity, exerts a robust, positive effect on interest margins. Relationship banks still enjoy considerable interest margins. Our results provide evidence that banks’ quest for growth, not the level of competition in traditional retail segments, has transformed banks’ balance sheets and has reduced interest rate margins as a by-product.

Polyfluorinated and Perfluorinated Chemicals in Precipitation and Runoff from Cities Across Eastern and Central China

Twenty-three polychlorinated and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) were investigated in water phase and particulate matters of 19 precipitation samples (18 snow samples and 1 rain sample) from different cities across eastern and central China collected in February 2010. The PFCs in samples of 9e precipitation events during more than half a year at 1 site in Tianjin and 6 successive samples during 1 precipitation event were measured to elucidate the change of PFC in precipitation. In addition, PFCs in 3 runoffs at different kinds of sites in Tianjin were compared with those in the corresponding precipitation. The results showed that the particulate matters separated from the precipitation contained undetectable PFCs. The total PFC concentration ranged between 4.7 and 152ngL(-1) in water phase of the precipitation samples, with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) being detected at all of the sampling sites and the dominant PFC at most of the sampling sites. Some potential precursors of environmentally concerned PFCs and their degradation intermediates were measured simultaneously, among which 6:2 fluorotelomer unsaturated carboxylic acid (6:2 FTUCA), 8:2 FTUCA, and ×(3, 4, 5, 7):3 acid [F(CF(2))xCH(2)CH(2)COOH] were measured for the first time in Chinese precipitations; however, their concentrations were all lower than the limits of detection except that 6:2 FTUCA and 8:2 FTUCA could be detected in 3 and 8 precipitation samples, respectively. No clear seasonal variation in PFC concentrations in precipitation was observed during half a year; however, a relatively greater average concentration of total PFCs was observed during winter and summer compared with spring. The concentration of individual PFCs showed an obvious descending trend in the successive samples of the precipitation event. PFOA and perfluorononanoic acid in runoffs collected from different sites showed the following similar pattern-gas station>highway>university campus-whereas the other detected PFCs had no concurrent trend.