OH reactivity in urban and suburban regions in Seoul, South Korea - an East Asian megacity in a rapid transition.

South Korea has recently achieved developed country status with the second largest megacity in the world, the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA). This study provides insights into future changes in air quality for rapidly emerging megacities in the East Asian region. We present total OH reactivity observations in the SMA conducted at an urban Seoul site (May-June, 2015) and a suburban forest site (Sep, 2015). The total OH reactivity in an urban site during the daytime was observed at similar levels (∼15 s(-1)) to those previously reported from other East Asian megacity studies. Trace gas observations indicate that OH reactivity is largely accounted for by NOX (∼50%) followed by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (∼35%). Isoprene accounts for a substantial fraction of OH reactivity among the comprehensive VOC observational dataset (25-47%). In general, observed total OH reactivity can be accounted for by the observed trace gas dataset. However, observed total OH reactivity in the suburban forest area cannot be largely accounted for (∼70%) by the trace gas measurements. The importance of biogenic VOC (BVOCs) emissions and oxidations used to evaluate the impacts of East Asian megacity outflows for the regional air quality and climate contexts are highlighted in this study.

Assessment of the self-sustainability of primary eye care: analysis of the Belizean Council for the Visually Impaired and Centro Colombiano de Salud Visual / Medición de la auto sostenibilidad de servicios de atención primaria en salud ocular: analisis realizado por el Belizean Council for the Visually Impaired y el Centro Colombiano de Salud Visual

In an effort to combat visual impairment and blindness in the Americas, Help The World See, began several years ago to explore the possibility of building primary eye care clinics and eyeglass production facilities in economically disadvantaged countries. The clinics were intended to be fully self-financing and require no outside subsidies or grants, and service would be targeted to low-income, underserved populations who otherwise would receive no care. As such, fees for services and products would be low-cost and affordable to most of the population, although the quality of the care and the eyeglasses must remain high. The concept was first implemented with a non-governmental organization in Belize, The Belize Council for the Visually Impaired in 1993, and then a second facility was established in 1994 with the Centro Colombiano de Salud Visual in Bogota, Colombia. In addition to these organizationsïregular services, which were comprised respectively of rehabilitation for the blind and low-cost surgeries. Help The World See helped establish primary eye care screening and low-cost spectacles programs. In order to establish these primary eye care and spectacles clinics, Help The World See first received a formal invitation from the host countries and then raised financing through donations and grants to purchase and install equipment for producing eyeglasses