Identifying American climate change free riders and motivating sustainable behavior

Free riders, who benefit from collective efforts to mitigate climate change but do not actively contribute, play a key role in shaping behavioral climate action. Using a sample of 2096 registered American voters, we explore the discrepancy between two groups of free riders: cynics, who recognize the significance of environmental issues but do not adopt sustainable behaviors, and doubters, who neither recognize the significance nor engage in such actions. Through statistical analyses, we show these two groups are different. Doubters are predominantly male, younger, with lower income and education, exhibit stronger conspiracy beliefs, lower altruism, and limited environmental knowledge, are more likely to have voted for Trump and lean towards conservative ideology. Cynics are younger, religious, higher in socioeconomic status, environmentally informed, liberal-leaning, and less likely to support Trump. Our research provides insights on who could be most effectively persuaded to make climate-sensitive lifestyle changes and provides recommendations to prompt involvement in individual sustainability behaviors. Our findings suggest that for doubters, incentivizing sustainability through positive incentives, such as financial rewards, may be particularly effective. Conversely, for cynics, we argue that engaging them in more community-driven and social influence initiatives could effectively translate their passive beliefs into active participation.

Infection and the older patient

An increasing number of elderly patients are in and out of doctors' offices, hospitals, nursing homes, and so forth, under continual medical care. Numerous invasive procedures allow for casual transfer of infectious diseases by fellow patients as well as health care workers. Dramatic increases in infectious diseases such as foot infections, pneumonia, staphylococcal infections and, because of necessary invasive and blood transfusion procedures, AIDS can be expected in the future. The elderly patient is often a debilitated, compromised, immunodeficient host who is highly susceptible to any number of infections. With this in mind as the population grows older, clinicians must begin to apply Universal Precautions in their practices if they have not already done so, and not underestimate any disease or symptom in any patient, regardless of their age or their condition.

Inhalation of nail dust from onychomycotic toenails. Part I. Characterization of particles. 1984

Nail dust particles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy for size and topography. The percentage of "fines" that could be inhaled and deposited in the alveoli and bronchioles were determined by quantitative particle size analysis. Distribution representing the largest total mass was graphed between 1 and 2 microns. The authors found that 86% of nail dust would reach the bronchioles and alveoli, and 31% could be expected to deposit in these areas.

Nail dust aerosols from onychomycotic toenails. Part II. Clinical and serologic aspects. 1984

The podiatric procedure of burring hyperkeratotic fungal infected toenails results in large quantities of nail dust aerosols. An extremely large percentage (31%) of podiatrists who were analyzed for immunoglobulin E (IgE) by antibody radioimmunoassay were found to have abnormally high levels. Incidence of precipitin antibodies to Trichophyton rubrum in sera of those in practice from 0 to 15 years was 23%, and those in practice 16 years or more was 29%. In this study, podiatrists who were chronically exposed to nail dust aerosols after years of practice presented with symptoms of conjunctivitis, rhinitis, asthma, coughing, hypersensitivity, and impaired lung function.

Diagnosis and treatment of tinea pedis. A review and update

Fungal foot infections are becoming an increasingly common public health problem as the population ages. New studies have shown that some of the traditional therapeutic antifungal agents have multiple actions that enable them to be more efficacious than previously thought, and more efficacious than other agents without multiple actions. In this review article, the pedal infections commonly referred to as tinea pedis, or athlete's foot, are described. The etiologic agents involved in the pathogenesis, the methodologies for proper diagnosis, and the therapeutic agents commercially available for treatment are reviewed.

Athlete's foot and onychomycosis caused by Hendersonula toruloidea

Fungi other than the dermatophytes can cause infections of the foot, toes and toenails that simulate classic "athlete's foot." Unless diagnosed culturally and morphologically by the clinical laboratory, treatment failures may occur. The saprophyte Hendersonula toruloidea as well as other fungi and yeasts reported to cause such infections have been shown to be clinically indistinguishable from classic dermatophytic "athlete's foot." The clinical and laboratory diagnosis of these types of foot infections caused by Hendersonula toruloidea are described. Specific transport media required for laboratory diagnosis and therapeutic alternatives are reviewed.

Athlete's foot caused by pseudomonas aeruginosa

An enzymatically active pigment-producing clinical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was found to produce a diffusible antifungal product that was shown to be inhibitory to the growth of several dermatophytes, specifically, Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum gypseum, and Microsporum audouini. In this study, Trichophyton rubrum was used as the test organism. The antifungal product was partially purified by Sephadex column chromatography and was found to be stable at 5 degrees, 25 degrees, and 37 degrees C. Several investigators have alluded to the fact that as asymptomatic cases of dermatophytosis simplex progress to symptomatic dermatophytosis complex, the bacterial profile changes from a gram-positive bacterial ecosystem to a gram-negative bacterial over-growth. The primary event in the pathogenesis of interdigital athlete's foot is the invasion of the horny layer by dermatophytes. This presents as a mild to moderate scaly lesion and is asymptomatic. As a result of predisposing factors, such as hyperhidrosis, occlusion by tight shoes, minute abrasions due to friction, and fungal-infected skin surfaces, dynamic overgrowth of opportunistic gram-negative bacilli prevails. As the gram-negative population increases, the recovery of dermatophytes dramatically diminishes, until a point is reached when no dermatophytes can be recovered from clinically symptomatic tinea pedis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is inhibiting its fungal competitor Trichophyton rubrum by producing a diffusible antifungal agent into the infectious environment of the intertriginous foot lesion. Clinically, the patient is diagnosed as having tinea pedis; laboratory culture for fungus and KOH are negative, and what was a paradox just a few years ago can currently be identified and treated appropriately as gram-negative athlete's foot.

Clinical usefulness of monoclonal-antibody phenotyping in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Lymphoblasts from 59 children with non-T, non-B acute lymphoblastic leukaemia were studied with monoclonal antibodies to four cell-surface proteins. 87% of the children had lymphoblasts positive for HLA-DR, 82% for p30, 75% for p24, and 72% for CALLA. The commonest composite phenotype was HLA-DR+ p30+ CALLA+ p24+. Significant correlations were seen between expression of HLA-DR, p30, and CALLA, but not p24. p30- and CALLA phenotypes were found in patients with high white-blood-cell counts (WBC) and splenomegaly. With standard chemotherapy, disease-free survival from time of remission was shorter in p30- and CALLA- patients than in others. Splenomegaly was associated with poor disease-free survival and provided prognostic information independent of phenotype. High WBC was less significant than phenotype in predicting outcome and was not independent of phenotype.

Electrophoretic characteristics of staphylococcal hyaluronate lyase

Partially purified staphylococcal hyaluronidase was studied with respect to its electrophoretic properties by the use of starch slurry or semisolid Noble agar as a matrix. The polarity of enzyme activity was found to be cathodal on starch and anodal on agar gel. The electrophoretic migration of the partially purified enzyme on starch, as a function of pH, suggested that the enzyme has an isoelectric point of pH 9.5 to 10.

Staphylococcal hyaluronate lyase: purification and characterization studies

Staphylococcal hyaluronate lyase (hyaluronidase) derived from a pathogenic strain of staphylococcus was purified by means of salt fractionation with ammonium sulfate and gel filtration through Sephadex G-100. Most of the enzyme activity from concentrated culture supernatant fluids of staphylococci was obtained in a fraction precipitated by 90 to 100% saturation with ammonium sulfate. A small amount of enzyme was also precipitated by 80 to 90% saturation with the salt. The hyaluronidase-rich fractions did not contain other staphylococcal enzymes, such as coagulase, protease, lipase, and staphylokinase. These enzymes were present in the original concentrates. Molecular sieving chromatography of the partially purified enzyme by filtration through Sephadex G-100 resulted in a further increase in specific enzyme activity. However, more than one active peak was obtained after gel filtration, thus suggesting that there may be more than one molecular form of the enzyme. Immunodiffusion in agar gel of the chromatographically purified enzyme fraction, with immune serum from rabbits injected with concentrated staphylococcal culture supernatant fluids, indicated that there was one major antigen. A similar antigen, giving reactions of identity with the purified material, was present in the original culture supernatant fluid.