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> 'Naxos AudioBooks: Classic Literature with Classical Music on Cassette and CD'--that was the tagline attached to the launch of our first five titles. It was September 1994. Autumn was [...]

IntroductionThe First UN Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011–2020) ended with most low/middle-income countries (LMICs) failing to reduce road traffic deaths. In contrast, Brazil reported a strong decline starting in 2012. However, comparisons with global health statistical estimates suggest that official statistics from Brazil under-report traffic deaths and overestimate declines. Therefore, we sought to assess the quality of official reporting in Brazil and explain discrepancies.MethodsWe obtained national death registration data and classified deaths to road traffic deaths and partially specified causes that could include traffic deaths. We adjusted data for completeness and reattributed partially specified causes proportionately over specified causes. We compared our estimates with reported statistics and estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD)-2019 study and other sources.ResultsWe estimate that road traffic deaths in 2019 exceeded the official figure by 31%, similar to traffic insurance claims (27.5%) but less than GBD-2019 estimates (46%). We estimate that traffic deaths have declined by 25% since 2012, close to the decline estimated by official statistics (27%) but much more than estimated by GBD-2019 (10%). We show that GBD-2019 underestimates the extent of recent improvements because GBD models do not track the trends evident in the underlying data.ConclusionBrazil has made remarkable progress in reducing road traffic deaths in the last decade. A high-level evaluation of what has worked in Brazil could provide important guidance to other LMICs.

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Three experiments examined the role of adenosine neuroregulation in the production of shuttle-escape deficits caused by prior exposure to inescapable electric shock in rats (learned helplessness). Intracerebroventricular administration of erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (EHNA), a selective adenosine deaminase inhibitor, mimicked the effect of earlier inescapable shock at a dose of 2.5 [[micro]Molar] in previously restrained rats. Performance deficits produced by EHNA or by earlier exposure to inescapable shock were reversed by intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg/kg caffeine, an adenosine receptor antagonist. Finally, preexposure to an ineffective number of shocks interacted in synergy with an ineffective pretest dose (1.0 [[micro]Molar]) of EHNA to maximize shuttle-escape latencies. These data implicate endogenous adenosine neuroregulation as a proximate mechanism in learned helplessness and conservation-withdrawal.

IntroductionThere is considerable uncertainty in estimates of traffic deaths in many sub-Saharan African countries, with the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) and the Global Status Report on Road Safety (GSRRS) reporting widely differing estimates. As a case study, we reviewed and compared estimates for Tanzania.MethodsWe estimated the incidence of traffic deaths and vehicle ownership in Tanzania from nationally representative surveys. We compared findings with GBD and GSRRS estimates.ResultsTraffic death estimates based on the 2012 census (9382 deaths; 95% CI: 7565 to 11 199) and the 2011–2014 Sample Vital Registration with Verbal Autopsy (8778; 95% CI: 7631 to 9925) were consistent with each other and were about halfway between GBD (5 608; 95% UI: 4506 to 7014) and WHO (16 252; 95% CI: 13 130 to 19 374) estimates and more than twice official statistics (3885 deaths in 2013). Surveys and vehicle registrations data show that motorcycles have increased rapidly since 2007 and now comprise 66% of vehicles. However, these trends are not reflected in GBD estimates of motorcycles in the country, likely resulting in an underestimation of motorcyclist deaths.ConclusionReducing discrepancies between GBD and GSRRS estimates and demonstrating consistency with local epidemiological data will increase the legitimacy of such estimates among national stakeholders. GBD, which is the only project that models the road-user distribution of traffic deaths in all countries, likely severely underestimates motorcycle deaths in countries where there has been a recent increase in motorcycles. Addressing police under-reporting and strengthening surveillance capacity in Tanzania will allow a better understanding of the road safety problem and better targeting of interventions.

IntroductionTimely, accurate and detailed information about traffic injuries are essential for managing national road safety programmes. However, there is considerable under-reporting in official statistics of many low and middle-income countries (LMICs) and large discrepancies between estimates from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study and WHO’s Global Health Estimates (GHE). We compared all sources of epidemiological information on traffic injuries in Cambodia to guide efforts to improve traffic injury statistics.MethodsWe estimated the incidence of traffic deaths and injuries and household ownership of motor vehicles in Cambodia from nationally representative surveys and censuses. We compared findings with GDB and GHE estimates.ResultsWe identified seven sources for estimating traffic deaths and three for non-fatal injuries that are not included as data sources in GBD and GHE models. These sources and models suggest a fairly consistent estimate of approximately 3100 deaths annually, about 50% higher than official statistics, likely because most hospital deaths are not recorded. Surveys strongly suggest that the vehicle fleet is dominated by motorcycles, which is not consistent with GBD estimates that suggest similar numbers of motorcyclist and vehicle occupant deaths. Estimates of non-fatal injuries from health surveys were about 7.5 times official statistics and 1.5 times GBD estimates.ConclusionIncluding local epidemiological data sources from LMICs can help reduce uncertainty in estimates from global statistical models and build trust in estimates among local stakeholders. Such analysis should be used as a benchmark to assess and strengthen the completeness of reporting of the national surveillance system.

British ex-playboy Mark Shand has enjoyed literary success with his book, Travels on My Elephant. He has married actress Clio Goldsmith, and devotes a great deal of time to his elephant, Tara.

Since 1968, the International Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem has convened every five years in nations around the world to report on the full range of the [...]

The European Commission never was one to give in easily. With some strong legal arguments in favour of an extension in its competence to apply the European Union competition rules [...]

The use of methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) as a pH stabilizer in natural gas pipelines utilizing monoethylene glycol (MEG) injection is an attractive option in systems with high carbon dioxide (CO2) partial pressures. However, the presence of MDEA within MEG loops may pose a corrosion risk to carbon steel systems operating at high temperatures including the primary MEG regeneration unit due to the effect of temperature on MDEA dissociation behavior. Carbon steel corrosion rates were measured within CO2-free lean glycol solutions containing 500 mM MDEA from pH25 °C= 6–11 at 30, 80, 140, and 180 °C. Heating of the lean MEG solution, analogous to the regeneration process, facilitated corrosion through the deprotonation of MDEA’s conjugate acid, MDEAH+, leading to an increase in hydrogen ions available for cathodic reduction. The effect of temperature on MDEA dissociation behavior led to carbon steel corrosion rates in excess of 1 mm/year for systems operating below pH25°C= 9 and ≥ 140 °C.

Monoethylene glycol (MEG) is often used in offshore multiphase hydrocarbon transportation pipelines to prevent the formation of natural gas hydrates. Post hydrate inhibition, MEG is separated alongside the water phase and regenerated through a series of chemical and physical processes to remove excess water and process contaminants including mineral salts, production chemicals, and organic acids. The level of organic acids within closed-loop MEG systems is often controlled via vacuum reclamation systems through the formation of nonvolatile salt products allowing their separation from the evaporated MEG/water phase. However, if a reclamation system is unavailable, or operated at low pH, organic acids will ultimately accumulate within the MEG loop. Likewise, removal of organic acids may be achieved during the distillation process by vaporization of the acids in their undissociated volatile form. Within both processes, the removal efficiency of an organic acid is ultimately dictated by the acid’s speciation behavior and system pH. The purpose of this study was to measure the removal efficiency of acetic acid during the regeneration and reclamation processes to identify key pH levels to minimize the long-term accumulation of acetic acid. Two equations have been proposed to estimate the removal efficiency of acetic acid during distillation and reclamation individually with an average error compared to reported experimental data of 0.38% and 2.6%, respectively. Combining the two proposed equations, the plant-wide removal of acetic acid can be predicted for a known rich glycol pH and pH rise across the regeneration system allowing practical application to industrial MEG regeneration systems.

Research has identified specific factors that render a given marine region susceptible to coral bleaching. Turbidity, upwellings, currents, and shade help protect coral reefs from bleaching effects, and may help environmentalists and scientists preserve the world's reefs.

The acid dissociation constants (pKa) of four organic acids (formic, acetic, propanoic, and butanoic) commonly found in monoethylene glycol (MEG) regeneration systems and methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) were measured via potentiometric titration. Dissociation constants were measured within varying concentration of MEG solution (0, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 wt %) and at varying temperature (25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 °C). Thermodynamic properties of the dissociation process including Gibbs free energy (ΔG° kJ mol–1), standard enthalpy (ΔH° kJ mol–1), and entropy (ΔS° kJ mol–1K–1) were calculated at 25 °C using the van’t Hoff equation. Comparison of the reported experimental pKavalues and calculated thermodynamic properties in aqueous solution to the literature demonstrated good agreement. Two models have been proposed to calculate the pKaof acetic acid and MDEA within MEG solutions of varying concentration, temperature, and ionic strength. The proposed models have an average error of 0.413% and 0.265% for acetic acid and MDEA, respectively.

Producer Nicolas Soames remembers two decades of audiobooks with Neville Jason, who passed away in November 2015. It was in the very first year of Naxos AudioBooks that Neville Jason [...]

I have always believed that there are some things in life, like five-bar gates and mothers' races, that are better taken at the gallop. And buying a house in France [...]

What on Earth is Rebecca Stephens doing when she refers to Ellen Macarthur as a great explorer (Reviews, September 2006)? Equal shame should attach to Joanna Vestey and Justin Marozzi. [...]

The 8th International Congress on Noise as a Public Health Problem, held last summer in The Netherlands, offered a valuable summary of research conducted over the past five years by [...]

The multi-voice recording of the curiously absorbing children's book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was the star of the Spoken Word Awards 2003, winning the top [...]

I recently picked up Witch's The Hex Is On EP just for the sleeve--it was in Mint condition and only cost me 1.1 £ don't expect it to be worth [...]

LONDON - The exploits of Mowgli, Baloo the bear, and Bagheera the panther could be poised for massive success this year, this time without the help of Walt Disney. BMG […]

LONDON--The massive response to innovative marketing campaigns based on a 'free' CD offer in national newspapers has sparked serious rows within Britain's normally genteel classical sector. The principal target is […]

LONDON--A group of Spanish monks living in an enclosed Benedictine order have followed Luciano Pavarotti and Henryk Gorecki into the European pop charts, selling more than 500,000 units in classical […]