Lifestyle Planning in the Transition to Retirement.

Background: There is a further need to examine the types of planning people do for their lives in retirement and to examine goals and challenges in relation to planning efforts. Objectives: This report summarizes highlights from a study that examined retirement planning and explored personal retirement experiences. Design: An online survey included quantitative and qualitative questions about retirement preparedness and satisfaction and open-ended questions about retirement goals, fears, challenges, and advice. Participants: Canadians (n = 748) fully or partly retired responded to questions. Results: Quantitative results determined that while both financial and lifestyle planning were significant predictors of higher perceived preparedness, only lifestyle planning was a significant predictor for perceived satisfaction. Qualitative comments highlighted the importance of goal-setting, including planning for meaningful time use and strategies to address anticipated or existing challenges. Conclusions: Lifestyle planning is an essential component of planning for the transition to retirement.

Monitoring vegetation change and dynamics on U.S. Army training lands using satellite image time series analysis.

Given the significant land holdings of the U.S. Department of Defense, and the importance of those lands to support a variety of inherently damaging activities, application of sound natural resource conservation principles and proactive monitoring practices are necessary to manage military training lands in a sustainable manner. This study explores a method for, and the utility of, analyzing vegetation condition and trends as sustainability indicators for use by military commanders and land managers, at both the national and local levels, in identifying when and where vegetation-related environmental impacts might exist. The BFAST time series decomposition method was applied to a ten-year MODIS NDVI time series dataset for the Fort Riley military installation and Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) in northeastern Kansas. Imagery selected for time-series analysis were 16-day MODIS NDVI (MOD13Q1 Collection 5) composites capable of characterizing vegetation change induced by human activities and climate variability. Three indicators related to gradual interannual or abrupt intraannual vegetation change for each pixel were calculated from the trend component resulting from the BFAST decomposition. Assessment of gradual interannual NDVI trends showed the majority of Fort Riley experienced browning between 2001 and 2010. This result is supported by validation using high spatial resolution imagery. The observed versus expected frequency of linear trends detected at Fort Riley and KPBS were significantly different and suggest a causal link between military training activities and/or land management practices. While both sites were similar with regards to overall disturbance frequency and the relative spatial extents of monotonic or interrupted trends, vegetation trajectories after disturbance were significantly different. This suggests that the type and magnitude of disturbances characteristic of each location result in distinct post-disturbance vegetation responses. Using a remotely-sensed vegetation index time series with BFAST and the indicators outlined here provides a consistent and relatively rapid assessment of military training lands with applicability outside of grassland biomes. Characterizing overall trends and disturbance responses of vegetation can promote sustainable use of military lands and assist land managers in targeting specific areas for various rehabilitation activities.

Recognition of nonpeptide antigens by human V gamma 9V delta 2 T cells requires contact with cells of human origin.

SUMMARY It is becoming apparent that gamma delta T cells form an important part of the adaptive immune response. However, the ligands recognized by gamma delta T cell receptors (TCRs) and the exact biological function of the cells that express this receptor remain unclear. Numerous studies have shown that the dominant human peripheral blood subset of gamma delta T cells, which express a V gamma 9V delta 2 TCR, can activate in response to low molecular weight nonpeptidic molecules. Some of these components have been purified from bacteria or parasites. We examined the activation of polyclonal gamma delta T cell lines, clones with V gamma 9V delta 2 and V gamma 9V delta 1 TCRs, and gamma delta T cells directly ex vivo in response to multiple phosphate, alkylamine and aminobisphosphonate (nBP) antigens and purified protein derivative from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (PPD). V gamma 9V delta 2 T cells were able to respond to multiple small organic molecules of highly variable structure whereas cells expressing a similar V gamma 9 chain paired with a V delta 1 chain failed to recognize these antigens. Thus, the TCR delta chain appears to make an important contribution to the recognition of these antigens. The kinetics of responses to alkylphosphate and alkylamine antigens differ from those of responses to the nBP pamidronate. These different classes of antigen are believed to have differed mechanisms of action. Such differences explain why nBPs can be pulsed onto antigen presenting cells (APCs) and still retain their ability to activate gamma delta T cells while alkylphosphate and alkylamine antigens cannot. We also demonstrate that a substantial proportion of the cells that produce IFN gamma directly ex vivo in response to PPD are gamma delta T cells and that gamma delta T cell activation requires contact with cells of human origin.

Phytoremediation of aged petroleum sludge: effect of irrigation techniques and scheduling.

The use of higher plants to accelerate the remediation of petroleum contaminants in soil is limited by, among other factors, rooting depth and the delivery of nutrients to the microsites at which remediation occurs. The objective of this study was to test methods of enhancing root growth and remediation in the subsurface of a contaminated petroleum sludge. The phytoremediation of highly contaminated petroleum sludge (total petroleum hydrocarbons >35 g kg(-1) was tested in the greenhouse as a function of the frequency and the depth of irrigation and fertilization. Water and dissolved plant nutrients were added to the soil surface or at a depth of 30 cm, either daily or weekly. Equivalent quantities of water and nutrients were added in all cases. Daily irrigation at a depth of 30 cm invoked greater root growth and enhanced contaminant degradation relative to all other treatments. In the absence of plants, residual concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons after 7 mo were higher than with plants. The presence of plant roots clearly improved the physical structure of the soil and increased microbial populations. Thus, the plant roots in conjunction with daily additions of soluble N and P appeared to enhance oxygen transport to greater depths in the soil, stimulate petroleum-degrading microorganisms, and provide microbial access to soil micropores. Subsurface irrigation with frequent, small amounts of water and nutrients could significantly accelerate phytoremediation of field soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons.

Phytoremediation of aged petroleum sludge: effect of inorganic fertilizer.

Phytoremediation is a promising new technology that uses higher plants to enhance biodegradation. Nutrient availability is an important factor governing the success of phytoremediation and can be regulated through the addition of fertilizer. A greenhouse study was conducted to assess the importance of nitrogen and phosphorus for the phytoremediation of petroleum sludge. Degradation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) was quantified for six fertilization rates and three vegetation treatments: bermuda grass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.], tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), and an unvegetated control. During the first 6 mo of the experiment, TPH declined by an average of 49% with no significant differences between treatments. After 1 yr, TPH degradation was significantly greater in both vegetated treatments with a mean TPH reduction of 68% for bermuda, 62% for fescue, and 57% for the unvegetated control. Degradation of TPH in the fescue and bermuda treatments was significantly lower in the treatments in which no fertilizer was added or N and P were added simply to maintain plant growth compared with the higher rates of fertilization. For this short-term, greenhouse experiment, optimal remediation was obtained by fertilization that produced a C to N to P ratio of 100:2:0.2.