Applications of synchrotron radiation in physics, chemistry, materials science, and biology has now matured from an exotic experimental field into a well-established area of science. The spectroscopy of molecules and molecular adsorbates on surfaces is one area of science, where, in the past, synchrotron-radiation-related studies had made an impact on understanding the ground-state properties as well as the dynamics. With the new high-brightness synchrotron-radiation sources ahead, this will certainly continue to be a field of very active research. This quasi-monograph reviews the current state of the field for both, the active research scientist, and the new graduate student wishing to become acquainted with this field of research.

In the stratosphere, ozone performs a vital role by absorbing ultraviolet (UV) radiation and acting as a protective layer for life on Earth. Ultraviolet Reflections: Life Under a Thinning Ozone Layer examines the effects of increasing UV radiation on people, plants and animals. It takes the reader on a journey from the Antarctic ozone hole to the Arctic birch forest, to see how plankton and plants will fare against increasing UV radiation. We know the dangers for skin cancer, but this book also raises intriguing questions about the evolution of our immune system and uncovers scientific controversy in the discussion of eye disease. The accessible style of this book gives readers at all levels an insight into the complexities of how life has evolved to deal with the destructive power of the sun. Moreover, it gives the reader a chance to follow international policy, as well as current research in the field. The book is aimed at those who do not have time to follow the scientific literature in all the fields, but who are not satisfied with simple answers: science teachers trying to convey basic ideas about the environment, students who want to know things that you cannot find in the text books, environmentalists and policy makers needing more than statements of scientific consensus. Most of all it is written for anyone ready to reflect on one of the major environmental issues of today.

Greenhouse Earth Annika Nilsson Climate change has become one of the major issues on the international environmental agenda. Predictions of a rising sea and devastating droughts have alerted politicians worldwide to the risks of continued increases in the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. But to change the direction of development is not an easy process. A myriad of political decisions has to be made on a national as well as international level. Those decisions need to be based on facts. The questions are: How big a problem is climate change really? How much do the scientists know about what is in store? Since the greenhouse effect and global warming were first brought up on the international agenda of environmental problems, many efforts have been made to evaluate critically the scientific base for any predictions about climate change. This book is an attempt to capture the messages in those reports to give the non--scientific reader a picture of the different factors that scientists consider in their scenarios of the future. The decisions called for in a global climate convention have to be made by policy makers worldwide, but the basis for those decisions is the picture painted by scientists.

Scoochie, like all mice, is a quiet creature, careful in her comings and goings. She likes nothing better than to sleep beneath the warm feathers of her best-hen-friend, Henrietta. This gentle story for young children follows Scoochie, and her animal and gnome friends, though the seasons of the year as they understand and live out the values of the farm: a deep reverence for nature, kindness towards all creatures, love and goodness. This is a healing story for our times, which has been especially designed to be read aloud. Developed in a Steiner-Waldorf setting, parents and teachers alike will find the story enriching and affirming at home or in the classroom.

In 2015, 20.8 million people aged 12 years or older (7.8 percent of the United States population) had a substance use disorder (SUD) in the previous year. Approximately 75 percent of this group, or 15.7 million Americans, had an alcohol use disorder, 2.0 million had a prescription opioid use disorder (OUD), and about 0.6 million had a heroin use disorder. Even though evidence-based SUD treatments are effective, rates of treatment receipt are quite low. Only about 48 percent of patients who enter SUD treatment actually complete it. One measure of treatment receipt is the Initiation and Engagement of Alcohol and Other Drug Dependence Treatment (IET) performance measure, which is commonly reported by health plans and used by health systems and Medicaid and Medicare programs .Chapter 1 examines how these factors affect health plan performance on the IET measures for both commercial and Medicaid health plans and how initiation and engagement may be improved. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 115 people in the U.S. die after overdosing on opioids every day. In 2017, more than 72,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, overall. It is clear that we need safe and effective recovery options to combat this epidemic to ensure that people have the opportunity to get the help they need. One popular option is known as a sober living home as discussed in chapter 2.

After I retired, I regained my interest in gardening and raising rabbits. I re-learned the "modern ways" of raising rabbits, but the lessons from a long time ago remained etched in my mind. This just seemed all a bit too clinical. There were too many "rules" and it was not sociable at all for the rabbits. Not the way I remembered animals living in the wild or even what I remembered from the farms. I was looking for a better way... Then I met Zab Nilsson and saw what she has done. Her rabbit colonies inspire me. Look inside, meet Zab, listen to her story and let her inspire you too