Contribution of public places in proliferation of dengue vectors in Penang Island,Malaysia

Objective: To determine abundance, distribution and diversity of potential breeding container habitats of the dengue vectors in public places including schools, restaurants,mosques and parks in southwest areas of Penang Island, Malaysia.Methods: Premises at restaurants, schools, parks and mosques were surveyed simultaneously and inspected visually for container habitats and production of immature mosquitoes from March 2015 to March 2016. Abundance(mean ± SE) of breeding containers between sites was compared using One-way ANOVA. Independent sample ttest was used to compare total number of Aedes albopictus(Ae. albopictus) and Aedes aegypti(Ae. aegypti) surveyed.Results: The surveyed locations yielded a total of 3 741 breeding containers and 19 537 immature mosquitoes from four areas. Concurrent artificial and natural containers produced 78.4% immature Ae. albopictus and 6.3% Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in wet season,with 14.2% Ae. albopictus and 1.1% Ae. aegypti mosquitoes in dry season. Artificial containers accounted for 98.1% of the total containers recorded, with restaurants being the most productive locations(8 012) and schools being the least productive(2 234).Conclusions: It was concluded that public places are good sources of potential container habitats of Aedes mosquitoes in Penang Island, Malaysia and Ae. albopictus has exclusively replaced the home-grown Ae. aegypti even in urban areas. Therefore, treatment of artificial containers in such locations is critical in Aedes mosquito control campaigns during dengue outbreaks.

Improving Conviviality in Public Places： The Case of Naples, Italy

Under the umbrella concept of conviviality in public spaces, a research project on the rehabilitation of urban areas for commercial and retail uses---as engine of a complex process of production of places for social and cultural mixit6--has been defined. The aim of this research has been to produce useful tools for coping with the abandonment of public spaces in former commercial urban areas, without generating anonymous and globalized commercial districts. Through involving local stakeholders in a participatory process, the first phase of the research here presented needs to demonstrate the possible effectiveness of a pilot action plan in dealing with both isolation and gentrification processes of historical centres. The main hypothesis is that traditional retailers should be considered an essential element to ensure effective public use of urban public spaces. The research methodology is based on a qualitative approach. Focussing on the process of impoverishment within local commercial districts, the research group started working with local stakeholders in order to identify priorities and criticisms for enhancing a regeneration process. The case study to be carried out in Naples is the historical market place of Piazza Mercato in the Citth Bassa of Naples （Italy）.

Is Swimming in the Nude in Public Places Acceptable Behavior?

Swimming has become a popular sport for both young and old in China as it doesn't require complicated equipment and it is easy to get access to water. Even in winter, it is common to see people plunging into the icy waters of a river or lake. But when some people do so without any clothing, controversy arises. This winter, in some places in Lanzhou, in northwest China's Gansu Province,

Most People Kiss the Right Way in Public Places

选注者言:人们在公开场合接吻,其脑袋朝什么方向倾斜?——这是一项科研的内容。初读之下,觉得是否有些无聊,再读就被其研究的精神所动。作为英语学习,本文的若干表达有必要记学。比如:文章主题句中的zero in,就值得注意。zero in的意思是:to converge intently;close in(专心注意,迫近)。另如:The chil-dren zeroed in on the display of toys in the store window.(孩子们的注意力都集中在商店橱窗里陈列的玩具上。)此外。

Urban Transformations and the Importance of Public Spaces and Urban Places

The aim of this essay is to understand the relationship between the media and the city. It is based on qualitative text analysis of theories and arguments from within urban sociology and media and communication. Two questions are posed：（1） what assumptions are the relationship characteristics between the media and the city based on？ and （2） what communicative changes in the relationship between the media and the city are historically noticeable？ The results are that： （1） the characteristics of the relationship between the media and the city are based on the assumption that the role of the media in society is closely intervened with the rise of the modern city and the urban society; and （2） four phases of communicative changes up until today are noticeable. First-hand experiences decreased and second-hand contact became more common, more shallow and rational due to the population sizes of the modern cities. The first-hand experiences continue to decrease but also the second-hand experiences. The latter is due to the increased importance of visual representations, and that the perceptions of the city became more important. As consequences people no longer always know from where their experiences steam. The implications of the characteristics of the relationship between the media and city are further discussed in terms of the importance of public spaces and public places.

Police Emergency Commitment Powers in Cases of Persons Experiencing Mental Health Crisis in “Public Spaces”: Review of the Commitment Process in England and Wales, in Comparison to the Practice in the United States of America (USA)

Police emergency commitment powers for detention of persons in the community perceived to be seriously mentally ill for further specialist examination in a designated facility have always raised interest in medical and legal circles on both sides of the Atlantic. The objective of this article is to detail the police commitment procedure in England and Wales, as dictated by the mental health act of 1983 (MHA 1983) amended in 2007 (MHA 2007);and compare this with similar legal provisions as prevails under current state mental health statutes in the United States of America (USA). The comparative review of the commitment processes in England and Wales to that of the USA reveals that the process in England and Wales seeks to primarily ensure that persons with mental disorder (PWMD) in crisis are directed to a specialist hospital for evaluation and appropriate specialist care. In the USA such persons in a good number of cases may end up in the criminal justice system due to application of the “dangerousness” standard. Additionally whereas in England and Wales the commitment law is uniform in law and application, the federal system in the USA is such that the commitment law may have minor variations depending on the individual states. The minor variation in state commitment laws may engender a situation where the commitment law in England and Wales may seem relatively equitable and just towards PWMD in crisis, compared to the state commitment laws in the USA.

Effect of central ventilation and air conditioner system on the concentration and health risk from airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Central ventilation and air conditioner systems are widely utilized nowadays in public places for air exchange and temperature control,which significantly influences the transfer of pollutants between indoors and outdoors.To study the effect of central ventilation and air conditioner systems on the concentration and health risk from airborne pollutants,a spatial and temporal survey was carried out using polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs） as agent pollutants.During the period when the central ventilation system operated without air conditioning （AC-off period）,concentrations of 2-4 ring PAHs in the model supermarket were dominated by outdoor levels,due to the good linearity between indoor air and outdoor air （rp〉0.769,p〈0.05）,and the slopes （1.2-4.54） indicated that ventilating like the model supermarket increased the potential health risks from low molecular weight PAHs.During the period when the central ventilation and air conditioner systems were working simultaneously （AC-on period）,although the total levels of PAHs were increased,the concentrations and percentage of the particulate PAHs indoors declined significantly.The BaP equivalency （BaPeq） concentration indicated that utilization of air conditioning reduced the health risks from PAHs in the model supermarket.