The role of gifts in building influence with politicians: Thematic analysis of interviews with current and former parliamentarians.

Gifts are a powerful way to acknowledge and strengthen interpersonal relationships. As with any relational space, gifting plays various roles in forming and maintaining relationships in political contexts, but its contribution to relationship-building has attracted little attention. This paper examines how politicians in Aotearoa New Zealand both engage with gifting and how they navigate the perceptions of others. Four current members of parliament (MPs) and six retired MPs participated in semi-structured interviews with questions on common practices and common understandings about political gifting. Their responses indicate their use of four different processes: formal processes are the guidelines provided by the government on gifting, but when these are insufficient, contextual processes regarding perceptions of the media, constituents or colleagues are used, or, alternatively, MPs rely on personal values or view gifting in terms of transactional processes with both parties receiving benefits. The paper explores perceptions and complexities of a sequence of gifts during events (event gifting). The authors recommend an improved awareness and understanding of the contribution of gifting practices to political relationship building.

Unpacking the differing understandings of "alcohol industry" in public health research.

BACKGROUND: Use of the term 'alcohol industry' plays an important role in discussions of alcohol and public health. In this paper, we examine how the term is currently used and explore the merits of alternative conceptualisations. METHODS: We start by examining current ways of referring to 'alcohol industry' in public health and then explore the potential for organisational theory, political science, and sociology to provide alcohol research with more inclusive and nuanced conceptualizations. RESULTS: We identify, and critique, three conceptualisations based on purely economic understandings of industry: literal, market, and supply-chain understandings. We then examine three alternative conceptualizations based on systemic understandings of industry: organizational, social-network, and common-interest understandings. In examining these alternatives, we also identify the extent to which they open up new ways of approaching the levels at which industry influence is understood to operate in alcohol and public health research and policy. CONCLUSIONS: Each of the six understandings of 'industry' can play a role in research but their utility depends on the question being asked and the breadth and depth of the analysis being undertaken. However, for those intending to engage with a broader disciplinary base, approaches grounded in the systemic understandings of 'industry' are better positioned to study the complex nexus of relationships that contribute to alcohol industry influence.

EASIUR-HR: A Model To Evaluate Exposure Inequality Caused by Ground-Level Sources of Primary Fine Particulate Matter.

People of color disproportionately bear the health impacts of air pollution, making air quality a critical environmental justice issue. However, quantitative analysis of the disproportionate impacts of emissions is rarely done due to a lack of suitable models. Our work develops a high-resolution reduced-complexity model (EASIUR-HR) to evaluate the disproportionate impacts of ground-level primary PM2.5 emissions. Our approach combines a Gaussian plume model for near-source impacts of primary PM2.5 with a previously developed reduced-complexity model, EASIUR, to predict primary PM2.5 concentrations at a spatial resolution of 300 m across the contiguous United States. We find that low-resolution models underpredict important local spatial variation of air pollution exposure to primary PM2.5 emissions, potentially underestimating the contribution of these emissions to national inequality in PM2.5 exposure by more than a factor of 2. We apply EASIUR-HR to analyze the impacts of vehicle electrification on exposure disparities. While such a policy has small aggregate air quality impacts nationally, it reduces exposure disparity for race/ethnic minorities. Our high-resolution RCM for primary PM2.5 emissions (EASIUR-HR) is a new, publicly available tool to assess inequality in air pollution exposure across the United States.

Subnational implications from climate and air pollution policies in India's electricity sector.

Emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in India are important contributors to climate change and health damages. This study estimates current emissions from India's electricity sector and simulates the state-level implications of climate change and air pollution policies. We find that (i) a carbon tax results in little short-term emissions reductions because there is not enough dispatchable lower emission spare capacity to substitute coal; (ii) moving toward regional dispatch markets rather than state-level dispatch decisions will not lead to emissions reductions; (iii) policies that have modest emissions effects at the national level nonetheless have disparate state-level emissions impacts; and (iv) pricing or incentive mechanisms tied to production or consumption will result in markedly different costs to states.

Current and Future Estimates of Marginal Emission Factors for Indian Power Generation.

Emission factors from Indian electricity remain poorly characterized, despite known spatial and temporal variability. Limited publicly available emissions and generation data at sufficient detail make it difficult to understand the consequences of emissions to climate change and air pollution, potentially missing cost-effective policy designs for the world's third largest power grid. We use reduced-form and full-form power dispatch models to quantify current (2017-2018) and future (2030-2031) marginal CO2, SO2, NOX, and PM2.5 emission factors from Indian power generation. These marginal emissions represent emissions changes due to small changes in demand. For 2017-2018, spatial variability in marginal CO2 emission factors range 3 orders of magnitude across India's states. There is limited seasonal and intraday variability with coal generation likely to meet changes in demand more than half the time in more than half of the states. Assuming the Government of India approximate 2030 targets, the median marginal CO2 emission factor across states decreases by approximately a factor of 2, but emission factors still span 3 orders of magnitude across states. Under 2030-2031 assumptions there is greater seasonal and intraday variability by up to factors of two and four, respectively. Estimates provide emission factors to evaluate interventions such as electric vehicles, increased air conditioning, and energy efficiency.

Cardiopulmonary Mortality and Fine Particulate Air Pollution by Species and Source in a National U.S. Cohort.

The purpose of this study was to estimate cardiopulmonary mortality associations for long-term exposure to PM2.5 species and sources (i.e., components) within the U.S. National Health Interview Survey cohort. Exposures were estimated through a chemical transport model for six species (i.e., elemental carbon (EC), primary organic aerosols (POA), secondary organic aerosols (SOA), sulfate (SO4), ammonium (NH4), nitrate (NO3)) and five sources of PM2.5 (i.e., vehicles, electricity-generating units (EGU), non-EGU industrial sources, biogenic sources (bio), "other" sources). In single-pollutant models, we found positive, significant (p < 0.05) mortality associations for all components, except POA. After adjusting for remaining PM2.5 (total PM2.5 minus component), we found significant mortality associations for EC (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.36; 95% CI [1.12, 1.64]), SOA (HR = 1.11; 95% CI [1.05, 1.17]), and vehicle sources (HR = 1.06; 95% CI [1.03, 1.10]). HRs for EC, SOA, and vehicle sources were significantly larger in comparison to those for remaining PM2.5 (per unit µg/m3). Our findings suggest that cardiopulmonary mortality associations vary by species and source, with evidence that EC, SOA, and vehicle sources are important contributors to the PM2.5 mortality relationship. With further validation, these findings could facilitate targeted pollution regulations that more efficiently reduce air pollution mortality.

Prevalence and risk factors for Salmonella spp. contamination of slaughtered chickens in Taiwan.

The present study was designed to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella contamination in Taiwanese broilers at slaughter and to identify risk factors associated with the presence of Salmonella in processed batches of broilers. Carcass rinse samples from 362 batches of broilers were collected from 45 chicken abattoirs in Taiwan between February 2013 and November 2014. Univariate analyses and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify putative risk factors for contamination. Salmonella was detected in 32.6 % (95 % CI: 30.4-34.8) of individual broilers and 56.4 % (95 % CI: 51.1-61.5) of the sampled batches. The multivariable logistic regression model identified season (July to November) (OR = 1.95; 95 % CI: 1.2-3.2) as increasing the risk of infection. Abattoirs in the southern region (Taichung and Kaohsiung) (OR = 0.45; 95 % CI: 0.3-0.8); batches scalded for > 90 s (OR = 0.2; 95 % CI: 0.1-0.3) and batches of commercial white broilers (BR) (OR = 0.21; 95 % CI: 0.1-0.4) all had a decreased risk of contamination compared to abattoirs from the northern region, scalding < 90 s and Taiwan native chickens (TNC), respectively. This study highlights the influence of environmental conditions and poultry breed on the risk of Salmonella contamination of chickens during slaughter.

Air quality-related health damages of food.

Agriculture is a major contributor to air pollution, the largest environmental risk factor for mortality in the United States and worldwide. It is largely unknown, however, how individual foods or entire diets affect human health via poor air quality. We show how food production negatively impacts human health by increasing atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and we identify ways to reduce these negative impacts of agriculture. We quantify the air quality-related health damages attributable to 95 agricultural commodities and 67 final food products, which encompass >99% of agricultural production in the United States. Agricultural production in the United States results in 17,900 annual air quality-related deaths, 15,900 of which are from food production. Of those, 80% are attributable to animal-based foods, both directly from animal production and indirectly from growing animal feed. On-farm interventions can reduce PM2.5-related mortality by 50%, including improved livestock waste management and fertilizer application practices that reduce emissions of ammonia, a secondary PM2.5 precursor, and improved crop and animal production practices that reduce primary PM2.5 emissions from tillage, field burning, livestock dust, and machinery. Dietary shifts toward more plant-based foods that maintain protein intake and other nutritional needs could reduce agricultural air quality-related mortality by 68 to 83%. In sum, improved livestock and fertilization practices, and dietary shifts could greatly decrease the health impacts of agriculture caused by its contribution to reduced air quality.

Policy influence and the legalized cannabis industry: learnings from other addictive consumption industries.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: New Zealand has recently legalized medicinal cannabis and has explored the possibility of legalizing large-scale recreational cannabis supply. In the process, concerns have emerged regarding whether corporations involved in the large-scale production and sale of legalized cannabis will invest in tactics of influence with policymakers and the public. This paper aimed to examine the various ways a legalized cannabis industry could seek to influence governments and the public in the New Zealand reform context. METHOD: Based on the study of industry tactics with alcohol, tobacco and gambling, we applied a three-chain model of industry influence that breaks tactics into the 'public good', 'knowledge' and 'political' chains. RESULTS: Exploratory analysis of the nascent cannabis industry's activity in New Zealand provided signs of industry influence strategies related to all three chains. The medicinal cannabis industry has associated the establishment of a legal cannabis sector with regional economic development and employment, supported lobbying for recreational law reform, funded NGOs involved in lobbying for law reform, established research partnerships with universities, invited ex-politicians on advisory boards, and participated in government public sector partnerships. CONCLUSION: There is emerging evidence that the legal cannabis industry is using strategies to influence the regulatory environment in New Zealand.

Simulation of organic aerosol formation during the CalNex study: updated mobile emissions and secondary organic aerosol parameterization for intermediate-volatility organic compounds.

We describe simulations using an updated version of the Community Multiscale Air Quality model version 5.3 (CMAQ v5.3) to investigate the contribution of intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation in southern California during the CalNex study. We first derive a model-ready parameterization for SOA formation from IVOC emissions from mobile sources. To account for SOA formation from both diesel and gasoline sources, the parameterization has six lumped precursor species that resolve both volatility and molecular structure (aromatic versus aliphatic). We also implement new mobile-source emission profiles that quantify all IVOCs based on direct measurements. The profiles have been released in SPECIATE 5.0. By incorporating both comprehensive mobile-source emission profiles for semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and IVOCs and experimentally constrained SOA yields, this CMAQ configuration best represents the contribution of mobile sources to urban and regional ambient organic aerosol (OA). In the Los Angeles region, gasoline sources emit 4 times more non-methane organic gases (NMOGs) than diesel sources, but diesel emits roughly 3 times more IVOCs on an absolute basis. The revised model predicts all mobile sources (including on- and off-road gasoline, aircraft, and on- and off-road diesel) contribute ~ 1 µgm-3 to the daily peak SOA concentration in Pasadena. This represents a ~ 70% increase in predicted daily peak SOA formation compared to the base version of CMAQ. Therefore, IVOCs in mobile-source emissions contribute almost as much SOA as traditional precursors such as single-ring aromatics. However, accounting for these emissions in CMAQ does not reproduce measurements of either ambient SOA or IVOCs. To investigate the potential contribution of other IVOC sources, we performed two exploratory simulations with varying amounts of IVOC emissions from nonmobile sources. To close the mass balance of primary hydrocarbon IVOCs, IVOCs would need to account for 12% of NMOG emissions from nonmobile sources (or equivalently 30.7 t d-1 in the Los Angeles-Pasadena region), a value that is well within the reported range of IVOC content from volatile chemical products. To close the SOA mass balance and also explain the mildly oxygenated IVOCs in Pasadena, an additional 14.8% of nonmobile-source NMOG emissions would need to be IVOCs (assuming SOA yields from the mobile IVOCs apply to nonmobile IVOCs). However, an IVOC-to-NMOG ratio of 26.8% (or equivalently 68.5 t d-1 in the Los Angeles-Pasadena region) for nonmobile sources is likely unrealistically high. Our results highlight the important contribution of IVOCs to SOA production in the Los Angeles region but underscore that other uncertainties must be addressed (multigenerational aging, aqueous chemistry and vapor wall losses) to close the SOA mass balance. This research also highlights the effectiveness of regulations to reduce mobile-source emissions, which have in turn increased the relative importance of other sources, such as volatile chemical products.

Optimizing Emissions Reductions from the U.S. Power Sector for Climate and Health Benefits.

Improved air quality and human health are often discussed as "co-benefits" of mitigating climate change, yet they are rarely considered when designing or implementing climate policies. We analyze the implications of integrating health and climate when determining the best locations for replacing power plants with new wind, solar, or natural gas to meet a CO2 reduction target in the United States. We employ a capacity expansion model with integrated assessment of climate and health damages, comparing portfolios optimized for benefits to climate alone or both health and climate. The model estimates county-level health damages and accounts for uncertainty by using a range of air quality models (AP3, EASIUR, and InMAP) and concentration-response functions (American Cancer Society and Harvard Six Cities). We find that reducing CO2 by 30% yields $21-68 billion in annual health benefits, with an additional $9-36 billion possible when co-optimizing for climate and health benefits. Additional benefits accrue from prioritizing emissions reductions in counties with high population exposure. Total health benefits equal or exceed climate benefits across a wide range of modeling assumptions. Our results demonstrate the value of considering health in climate policy design and the need for interstate cooperation to achieve additional health benefits equitably.

Detection of chicken carcasses contaminated with Salmonella enterica serovar in the abattoir environment of Taiwan.

Although a nation-wide microbiological screening program of chicken carcasses after chilling in Taiwanese chicken abattoirs has been undertaken since 2006, little is known regarding the potential sources of the Salmonella during the slaughter process. The present study provides data on the detection and serotypes of Salmonella isolated from broilers during processing and from the environment in six abattoirs in Taiwan. Overall, Salmonella were detected in 156 of 622 samples (25.1%; 95% CI: 21.7-28.7) collected. The prevalence of Salmonella varied between sampling sites with 5.8, 17.6, 31.3 and 35.5% of cloacal swabs, environmental samples prior to processing, environmental samples during processing and carcass rinse fluid, respectively, being positive (χ2 = 51.3, p < 0.0001). A total of 15 serotypes were identified from the 156 Salmonella isolates with S. Albany (41.7%) S. Schwarzengrund (20.5%), S. Kentucky (12.8%) and S. Tennessee (5.1%) being the most commonly isolated serotypes. Characterization of 156 isolates by Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) identified 50 PFGE types. Typing confirmed the presence of the same PFGE type at multiple stages during processing including plucking, evisceration, chilling and post-chilling. The abattoir environment and intestinal contents of chickens are important sources of Salmonella in broiler chicken abattoirs, with the same PFGE types detected at different stages of processing both before and during slaughtering. It is concluded that Salmonella isolates present in the environment and intestinal contents of processed birds survived in the abattoir environment resulting in subsequent carcass contamination along the processing chain including plucking, evisceration, chilling and post-chilling.

Public health costs accounting of inorganic PM2.5 pollution in metropolitan areas of the United States using a risk-based source-receptor model.

In order to design effective strategies to reduce the public health burden of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) imposed in an area, it is necessary to identify the emissions sources affecting that location and quantify their contributions. However, it is challenging because PM2.5 travels long distances and most constituents are the result of complex chemical processes. We developed a reduced-form source-receptor model for estimating locations and magnitudes of downwind health costs from a source or, conversely, the upwind sources that contribute to health costs at a receptor location. Built upon outputs from a state-of-the-art air quality model, our model produces comprehensive risk-based source apportionment results with trivial computational costs. Using the model, we analyzed all the sources contributing to the inorganic PM2.5 health burden in 14 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the United States. Our analysis for 12 source categories shows that 80-90% of the burden borne by these areas originates from emissions sources outside of the area and that emissions sources up to 800 km away need to be included to account for 80% of the burden. Conversely, 60-80% of the impacts of an MSA's emissions occurs outside of that MSA. The results demonstrate the importance of regionally coordinated measures to improve air quality in metropolitan areas.

Postgraduate Alcohol and Other Drug Practitioner Training in New Zealand: Significant Influences.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to present a case study of the evolution of postgraduate-level training programs for alcohol and other drug (AOD) practitioners provided by two universities in New Zealand. METHOD: The case study compiles details on relevant treatment contexts and systems in New Zealand and key milestones and significant developments in postgraduate AOD practitioner programs in two locations over a 30-year period. The details were compiled by the authors, all of whom were closely involved with the development of the training programs. RESULTS: The key ingredients for success that were identified included a focus on specialized learning overlaying generic undergraduate professional training; a core commitment to practice oriented teaching; investment in the training by government bodies; and the parallel emergence of professional bodies, registration systems, and collaborative relationships across agencies. In a small country, the two programs have enabled 345 students to obtain specialist postgraduate qualifications in AOD practice over a 10-year period. CONCLUSIONS: Little could have been achieved without ongoing cooperation between education providers, government agencies, and AOD services. This history may be of interest to those in other locations attempting to establish nation- or statewide approaches to AOD practitioner training.

Leptospira Species in Feral Cats and Black Rats from Western Australia and Christmas Island.

Leptospirosis is a neglected, re-emerging bacterial disease with both zoonotic and conservation implications. Rats and livestock are considered the usual sources of human infection, but all mammalian species are capable of carrying Leptospira spp. and transmitting pathogenic leptospires in their urine, and uncertainty remains about the ecology and transmission dynamics of Leptospira in different regions. In light of a recent case of human leptospirosis on tropical Christmas Island, this study aimed to investigate the role of introduced animals (feral cats and black rats) as carriers of pathogenic Leptospira spp. on Christmas Island and to compare this with two different climatic regions of Western Australia (one island and one mainland). Kidney samples were collected from black rats (n = 68) and feral cats (n = 59) from Christmas Island, as well as feral cats from Dirk Hartog Island (n = 23) and southwest Western Australia (n = 59). Molecular (PCR) screening detected pathogenic leptospires in 42.4% (95% confidence interval 29.6-55.9) of cats and 2.9% (0.4-10.2) of rats from Christmas Island. Sequencing of cat- and rat-positive samples from Christmas Island showed 100% similarity for Leptospira interrogans. Pathogenic leptospires were not detected in cats from Dirk Hartog Island or southwest Western Australia. These findings were consistent with previous reports of higher Leptospira spp. prevalence in tropical regions compared with arid and temperate regions. Despite the abundance of black rats on Christmas Island, feral cats appear to be the more important reservoir species for the persistence of pathogenic L. interrogans on the island. This research highlights the importance of disease surveillance and feral animal management to effectively control potential disease transmission.

Gambling machine annexes as enabling spaces for addictive engagement.

The widespread proliferation of electronic gambling machines and improvements to their design have contributed to rising levels of gambling-related harm including harms associated with addictive behaviour and other impacts on health and wellbeing. Research into their addictive potential has focused mainly on the interface between gamblers and the machines themselves. We shift the focus onto the spatial contexts, the rooms and the venues, in which gambling machines are positioned. By examining a series of common layouts we identify the division of venues into two main areas: one for the main social activities of the venue (the "main hall") and the other a partitioned area (the "annex") in which gambling machines are tightly clumped in ways that discourage social interaction. Other features of the annex that encourage uninterrupted and solitary play include the absence of tables to socialize around, dimmed lighting and entry pathways that minimize scrutiny. We argue that these features promote a style of play more oriented towards heavy and problematic gambling. We also explore explanations for the nature of these annexes and discuss implications for public health.