Data quality in survey research remains a paramount concern for those studying mass political behavior. Because surveys are conducted in increasingly diverse contexts around the world, ensuring that best practices are followed becomes ever more important to the field of political science. Bringing together insights from surveys conducted in more than 80 countries worldwide, this article highlights common challenges faced in survey research and outlines steps that researchers can take to improve the quality of survey data. Importantly, the article demonstrates that with the investment of the necessary time and resources, it is possible to carry out high-quality survey research even in challenging environments in which survey research is not well established.

Objectives: Prior studies have found associations between visual acuity (VA) and cognitive function. However, these studies used a limited range of cognitive measures and did not control for cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVD-RFs) and baseline function. The primary objective of this study was to analyze the associations of VA and cognitive performance using a thorough neuropsychological test battery. Methods: This study used community-dwelling sample data across the sixth (2001–2006) and seventh (2006–2010) waves of the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (n=655). Wave 6 VA as measured by the Snellen Eye Test was the primary predictor of wave 6 and wave 7 Global cognitive performance, Visual-Spatial Organization and Memory, Verbal Episodic Memory, Working Memory, Scanning and Tracking, and Executive Function. Additionally, VA was used to predict longitudinal changes in wave 7 cognitive performance (wave 6 performance adjusted). We analyzed these relationships with multiple linear and logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, education, ethnicity, depressive symptoms, physical function deficits in addition to CVD-RFs, chronic kidney disease, homocysteine, continuous systolic blood pressure, and hypertension status. Results: Adjusted for demographic covariates and CVD-RFs, poorer VA was associated with concurrent and approximate 5-year declines in Global cognitive function, Visual-Spatial Organization and Memory, and Verbal Episodic Memory. Discussion: VA may be used in combination with other screening measures to determine risk for cognitive decline. (JINS, 2018, 24, 1–9)

Radioactive waste with widely varying characteristics is generated from the operation and maintenance of nuclear reactors, nuclear fuel cycle facilities, research facilities and medical facilities and the through the use of radioisotopes in industrial applications. The waste needs to be treated and conditioned appropriately to provide wasteforms acceptable for safe storage and disposal. Conditioning of radioactive waste is an important step to prepare waste for long-term storage or disposal and includes the following processes:

• ▪ Immobilization which may or may not also provide volume reduction, including

  • a) Low temperature processes and

  • b) Thermal processes;

• ▪ Containerization for

  • a) Transport,

  • b) Storage, and

  • c) Disposal;

• ▪ Overpacking of primary containers

  • a) Prior to disposal and

  • b) In a disposal facility as part of disposal process.

Conditioning consists of operations that produce a waste package suitable for handling, transportation, storage and/or disposal and may be performed for a variety of reasons including standardization of practices and/or wasteforms, technical requirements for waste stability in relation to a repository design or safety case, technical requirements related to waste transportation, societal preferences, regulatory preferences, etc. This paper gives an overview of recent advances in conditioning of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste.

The paper is based on the new IAEA Handbook “Conditioning of Low- and Intermediate-Level Liquid, Solidified and Solid Waste” which is one of eight IAEA handbooks intended to provide guidance for evaluating and implementing various characterisation and radioactive waste processing and storage technologies before final disposal

The Lothagam harpoon site in north-west Kenya's Lake Turkana Basin provides a stratified Holocene sequence capturing changes in African fisher-hunter-gatherer strategies through a series of subtle and dramatic climate shifts (Figure 1). The site rose to archaeological prominence following Robbins's 1965–1966 excavations, which yielded sizeable lithic and ceramic assemblages and one of the largest collections of Early Holocene human remains from Eastern Africa (Robbins 1974; Angel et al. 1980).

Ever more agricultural economics departments are offering appointments for nine rather than twelve months but little if any analysis of the impact of this change has been done. Our research shows that converting to nine-month contracts is an effective way to raise salaries without an initial outlay of new funds and thus meets the retention criterion. Lower ranks do not suffer significantly lower salaries (without supplements) and professors earn more. Because the nine-month alternative costs more, justification for converting all twelve-month faculty members must rest on other factors, such as enhanced grants or comparability.

Research using the Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) and other data shows that direct government payments to farmers increase rents and the price of land. However, some ARMS data is imputed and does not account for relationships between payments and other variables. We investigate various imputation methods and benefits gained from a method with a wide scope rather than a parsimonious range of variables. Using our method, we estimate that an additional dollar of direct payment increases land value about $2.69 more per acre than ARMS imputation methods and that our imputations (using an exhaustive iterative sequential regression) outperform other methods and/or smaller models.

Arboviruses are pathogens that widely affect the health of people in different communities around the world. Recently, a few successful approaches toward production of effective vaccines against some of these pathogens have been developed, but treatment and prevention of the resulting diseases remain a major health and research concern. The arbovirus infection and replication processes are complex, and many factors are involved in their regulation. Apoptosis, autophagy and the unfolded protein response (UPR) are three mechanisms that are involved in pathogenesis of many viruses. In this review, we focus on the importance of these pathways in the arbovirus replication and infection processes. We provide a brief introduction on how apoptosis, autophagy and the UPR are initiated and regulated, and then discuss the involvement of these pathways in regulation of arbovirus pathogenesis.

Vitreous materials are the overwhelming world-wide choice for the immobilisation of HLW resulting from nuclear fuel reprocessing due to glass tolerance for the chemical elements found in the waste as well as its inherent stability and durability. Vitrification is a mature technology and has been used for high-level nuclear waste immobilization for more than 50 years. Borosilicate glass is the formulation of choice in most applications although other formulations are also used e.g. phosphate glasses are used to immobilize high level wastes in Russia. The excellent durability of vitrified radioactive waste ensures a high degree of environment protection. Waste vitrification gives high waste volume reduction along with simple and cheap disposal facilities. Although vitrification requires a high initial investment and then operational costs, the overall cost of vitrified radioactive waste is usually lower than alternative options when account is taken of transportation and disposal expenses. Glass has proven to be also a suitable matrix for intermediate and low-level radioactive wastes and is currently used to treat legacy waste in USA, and NPP operational waste in Russia and South Korea. This report is also outlining IAEA activities aiming to support utilisation of vitreous materials for nuclear waste immobilisation.

This study develops a theoretical model of the multiproduct firm which allows for imperfect competition in the output market. Hypotheses are tested for retail meat prices concerning the degree and speed of price transmission, the effects of interfirm competition, and the interrelationship between prices within the store. Empirical results indicated that meat prices within a store were highly interrelated. Further, the firm was found to be very responsive to prices of competitors in the short run, but more responsive to wholesale price changes in the long run.

Few studies have examined associations between different subcategories of cholesterol and cognitive function. We examined relationships between total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), triglyceride levels and cognitive performance in the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study, a community-based study of cardiovascular risk factors. Cross-sectional analyses were undertaken on data from 540 participants, aged 60 to 98 years, free of dementia and stroke. TC, HDL, LDL, and triglyceride levels were obtained. Cognitive function was assessed using a thorough neuropsychological test battery, including domains of cognitive function indexed by multiple cognitive tests. The cognitive outcomes studied were as follows: Visual-Spatial Memory and Organization, Verbal and Working Memory, Scanning and Tracking, Abstract Reasoning, a Global Composite score, and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Significant positive associations were observed between HDL-cholesterol and the Global Composite score, Working Memory, and the MMSE after adjustment for demographic and cardiovascular risk factors. Participants with desirable levels of HDL (≥60 mg/dL) had the highest scores on all cognitive outcomes. There were no significant associations observed between TC, LDL, or triglyceride concentrations and cognition. In older individuals, HDL-cholesterol was related to a composite of Working Memory tests and for general measures of cognitive ability when adjusted for cardiovascular variables. We speculate that persons over 60 are survivors and thus less likely to show cognitive deficit in relation to TC, LDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides. Longitudinal studies are needed to examine relations between specific cognitive abilities and the different subcategories of cholesterol. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–10)

Effective species conservation depends upon correctly identifying the threatsthat cause decline or hinder recovery. Because estimates of the relativeviability of different populations of Endangered African wild dogs Lycaon pictus are most strongly influenced by adultand pup mortality, we analysed rates and causes of mortality in eight wild dogpopulations under study in southern and eastern Africa. The probabilities ofdetecting wild dog deaths were influenced by the monitoring methods used. Theleast biased estimates of mortality causes were obtained through intensivemonitoring of radio-collared individuals; this is impossible for pups, however.Mortality patterns varied substantially between populations. Rates ofhuman-caused mortality were higher for wild dogs radio-collared outsideprotected areas than for those collared inside, but rates of natural mortalitywere comparable, suggesting that anthropogenic mortality is additive to naturalmortality. The relative importance of factors such as snaring and infectiousdisease also varied regionally. Hence, although our analyses identified no newthreats beyond those highlighted in a 1997 range-wide Action Plan, they suggestthat local plans will be valuable to target conservation activities moreprecisely.