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Social networks of family and friends are key resources that individuals turn to in times of need. When family and friends can provide assistance, they constitute a form of social capital that individuals may draw on for social support. Although a large body of research has examined the use of social support in its own right and as a predictor or moderator of other outcomes, few studies have explored differentials in access to social support for the general population or how these access levels have changed over time. There are many open questions. Is access to social support broadly distributed in the population or does it differ by demographic subgroups? Have levels of access remained constant? We compare levels of access to social support through both family and friends across population subgroups and describe the changing contours of access to it in the general population. Using repeated cross-sectional measurements that we compile from nearly two decades of surveys conducted as part of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we expand on a literature that has, to date, focused almost exclusively on the use of social support as a predictor of other outcomes using non-representative data. This article presents, to our knowledge, the first nationally representative study of stratification and trends in access to social support for individuals in the United States.

New urban water practices promise greater resilience, liveability and sustainability. Water reformers suggest new practices which are decentred compared to old, centralised water arrangements and s...

Even using simple techniques like taking the stairs, many individuals struggle to maintain the motivation to be physically active. Health gamification systems can aid this goal by providing points earned through exercise that are redeemable for tangible extrinsic rewards. Using self-determination theory, we conduct research on one such system and investigate rewards’ effectiveness to promote exercise considering reward value, redemption frequency patterns, and fitness levels. We find that rewards do significantly increase activity levels, and this effect is larger for advanced users who redeem multiple times for higher value rewards. We close by offering future research avenues and advice to optimize reward portfolios.

Does access to social network support help protect households from material hardship? In this study, we analyze data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation ( N = 28,805) and find that access to assistance from family and friends is associated with a decrease in the likelihood that a household experiences bill-paying hardship, food hardship, or health care hardship. In addition, we examine the interaction between household income and level of available assistance from family and friends. Respondents with higher incomes are able to self-insure against material hardship, and consequently, the protection against material hardship offered by access to assistance is greatest for those respondents with the lowest incomes. Overall, these findings contribute to sociological understandings of how social networks and social isolation shape the well-being of households and suggest an important mechanism for how low-income households are able to avoid material hardship despite inadequate financial resources.

Native advertising is a new form of online advertising that appears in many settings, such as blogs, social media, and entertainment and news publications. Native ads typically blend with their sur...

There is considerable evidence that environmental properties are important for microbial niche partitioning in general. However, little is known about the environmental factors explaining this for soil methane-oxidising bacteria (or methanotrophs), which play an essential role in ecosystem functioning and climate regulation through mitigation of net CH4 emissions worldwide. This knowledge gap limits the inclusion of taxon-based information to improve predictions of climate change-simulation models. In this study, 697 soil samples were collected across Scotland and 62 climo-edaphic properties were analysed. Combined with a set of hybrid geostatistical modelling approaches, the aim of this study was to investigate the biogeographical distribution (pmoA gene relative abundance) of key methanotrophic operational taxonomic units named Terminal-Restriction Fragments (T-RFs) and of methanotrophic community structure. The main objectives were to: 1) identify major environmental drivers influencing the distribution and composition of methanotrophs; and 2) perform spatial modelling and mapping of soil methanotrophic community assemblage and distribution of those dominant T-RFs. Herein, it was hypothesised that the assemblage of methanotrophic community and distribution of key populations across various landscapes could be predicted using a range of climo-edaphic factors optimised for spatial, climate and terrain attributes. The findings presented here suggest that the distribution of methanotrophs is strongly linked to land use and some edaphic properties, predominantly soil moisture/rainfall, nutrients and metal ions. The hybrid geostatistical approach allowed for spatial prediction of methanotrophic T-RFs and community, and demonstrated a clear niche partitioning between dominant T-RFs. Overall, these results provide novel evidence that the distribution of methanotrophs could be explained and mapped in terms of niche partitioning and predicted at the regional scale. The findings of the present study have significance for the sustainable management of ecosystems and improvement of simulation models for better prediction of ecosystem functions under predicted global changes.

Vomiting is one of the commonest symptoms in children and accompanies most acute childhood illnesses. However, when vomiting is the major presenting symptom, particularly when episodes are repeated, it is an altogether different test of the clinician's skills in diagnosis and management. A simple coherent approach should be based on an understanding of essential basic physiology and a focussed history, leading to a logical choice of tests and rational management. This review presents some of the common and challenging situations that clinicians currently face in primary and secondary care and offers recommendation for investigation and management.

Two research goals were set for this study. (1) The first goal was to develop a reliable and cost-effective online analytical technique to measure amine solvent concentration, loading, and to quantify the amine degradation process based on Gas Chromatography (GC). (2) The second goal was the investigation of amine degradation in the presence of fly ash, which includes: the identification of proper chemistry of degradation; and, the identification and quantification of the degradation products of the amines. For this study, aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) and aqueous methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) have been selected. To accomplish the first goal, an online analytical technique to quantify the amine solvent chemistry based on Gas Chromatography (GC) was developed and set up in the lab. An automatic liquid sample injection system was attached to the GC to study the impact of the concentration of fly ash on the degradation process of two well-known amines (MEA and MDEA) by measuring the concentrations of amine, water and carbon dioxide (CO2). The flow system was equipped with filters to avoid the introduction of large particles into the GC column. A solvent back-flush system was used to allow for automated cleaning of the particulate filters. GC was then calibrated for the amine and water using various concentrations of aqueous amines (MEA and MDEA), and various CO2 loaded aqueous MDEA solutions and aqueous solutions of ammonium bicarbonate (NH4HCO3) were used to calibrate the GC for quantification of CO2 using a Total Organic Carbon / Total Inorganic Carbon (TOC/TIC) analyzer. To accomplish the second goal, two kinds of fly ash samples were collected from a coal burning power plant. Fly ash samples collected from the power plant were analyzed by SGS Canada Inc. ASTM methods were used to estimate the ash percentage, moisture content and elemental composition of the fly ash (silica and other metal oxides). A lab scale experimental setup was designed and developed to observe the influence of fly ash on amine-based solvents (MEA or MDEA) degradation.

This paper presents a case of study of a IoT cloud plat-form composed of a microservices architecture that has been developed to integrate the CRITERIA-1D into the ZENTRA cloud. CRITERIA-1D is an open-source agro-hydrological model developed by ARPAE simulating one-dimensional soil water fluxes, crop development, and crop water needs. CRITERIA-1D comes with a default set of crops and soils that can be used or tuned for a specific scenarios. Taking as input the weather forecasts (i.e., temperatures and precipitations), the model can be used to predict the soil water content and soil water potential at different depths. Along with the design of the implemented solution, this paper presents the process of tuning crop and soil parameters for a specific use case. The results show that the tuned model estimates very well with respect to the measures observed by sensors, paving the way to its application within the larger context of the METER's ZENTRA cloud.

Background: Physical activity is recommended to mitigate the incidence of obesity, but delivery of community wide initiatives is cumbersome. The challenges met by such programs are magnified when implementation transpires in the remote villages of Alaska. To overcome the difficulty of this challenge in the Arctic, the Skiku/AK Nordic cross-country skiing program was developed. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether access to Skiku/AK Nordic program would promote physical activity levels that met the daily recommendations for physical activity in Alaska Native children. Methods: Eight children (4 females and 4 males; 10±2 years/age) were recruited from Kaktovik, Alaska for participation in this study. Expert coaches and staff provided one week of cross-country ski instruction and access to ski equipment. Physical activity was monitored using ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers. Data collected from the devices was then downloaded and analyzed using ActiLife software. Results: The participants expended ~586 calories/day devoted to physical activity. Light and moderate physical activity was 68±38 minutes/day and 447±248 minutes/day, respectively. Conclusions: Delivery of the Skiku/AK Nordic program promoted favorable levels of physical activity in Alaska Native children. Further research is needed to assess the longitudinal and seasonal effectiveness of the Skiku/AK Nordic program.