Nucleosynthesis of 92^{92}Nb and the relevance of the low-lying isomer at 135.5 keV

Background: Because of its half-life of about 35 million years, 92Nb is considered as a chronometer for nucleosynthesis events prior to the birth of our sun. The abundance of 92Nb in the early solar system can be derived from meteoritic data. It has to be compared to theoretical estimates for the production of 92Nb to determine the time between the last nucleosynthesis event before the formation of the early solar system. Purpose: The influence of a low-lying short-lived isomer on the nucleosynthesis of 92Nb is analyzed. The thermal coupling between the ground state and the isomer via so-called intermediate states affects the production and survival of 92Nb. Method: The properties of the lowest intermediate state in 92Nb are known from experiment. From the lifetime of the intermediate state and from its decay branchings, the transition rate from the ground state to the isomer and the effective half-life of 92Nb are calculated as a function of the temperature. Results: The coupling between the ground state and the isomer is strong. This leads to thermalization of ground state and isomer in the nucleosynthesis of 92Nb in any explosive production scenario and almost 100% survival of 92Nb in its ground state. However, the strong coupling leads to a temperature-dependent effective half-life of 92Nb which makes the 92Nb survival very sensitive to temperatures as low as about 8 keV, thus turning 92Nb at least partly into a thermometer. Conclusions: The low-lying isomer in 92Nb does not affect the production of 92Nb in explosive scenarios. In retrospect this validates all previous studies where the isomer was not taken into account. However, the dramatic reduction of the effective half-life at temperatures below 10 keV may affect the survival of 92Nb after its synthesis in supernovae which are the most likely astrophysical site for the nucleosynthesis of 92Nb.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; Phys. Rev. C, accepted for publicatio

Evidence for Anthropogenic Surface Loading as Trigger Mechanism of the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake

Two and a half years prior to China's M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake of May 2008, at least 300 million metric tons of water accumulated with additional seasonal water level changes in the Minjiang River Valley at the eastern margin of the Longmen Shan. This article shows that static surface loading in the Zipingpu water reservoir induced Coulomb failure stresses on the nearby Beichuan thrust fault system at <17km depth. Triggering stresses exceeded levels of daily lunar and solar tides and perturbed a fault area measuring 416+/-96km^2. These stress perturbations, in turn, likely advanced the clock of the mainshock and directed the initial rupture propagation upward towards the reservoir on the "Coulomb-like" Beichuan fault with rate-and-state dependent frictional behavior. Static triggering perturbations produced up to 60 years (0.6%) of equivalent tectonic loading, and show strong correlations to the coseismic slip. Moreover, correlations between clock advancement and coseismic slip, observed during the mainshock beneath the reservoir, are strongest for a longer seismic cycle (10kyr) of M>7 earthquakes. Finally, the daily event rate of the micro-seismicity (M>0.5) correlates well with the static stress perturbations, indicating destabilization.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, 3 table

Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) for Papua New Guinea

Developing and least developed countries are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change and climate extremes, including drought. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), severe drought caused by the strong El Niño in 2015–2016 affected about 40% of the population, with almost half a million people impacted by food shortages. Recognizing the urgency of enhancing early warning systems to assist vulnerable countries with climate change adaptation, the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) international initiative has been established. In this chapter, the CREWS-PNG project is described. The CREWS-PNG project aims to develop an improved drought monitoring and early warning system, running operationally through a collaboration between PNG National Weather Services (NWS), the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the World Meteorological Organization that will enable better strategic decision-making for agriculture, water management, health and other climate-sensitive sectors. It is shown that current dynamical climate models can provide skillful predictions of regional rainfall at least 3 months in advance. Dynamical climate model-based forecast products are disseminated through a range of Web-based information tools. It is demonstrated that seasonal climate prediction is an effective solution to assist governments and local communities with informed decision-making in adaptation to climate variability and change

Depression Screening and Early Intervention on the Post-Stroke Patient

Statistics in the United States (US) have shown an increase in the prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) or risk for developing CVD. Approximately 78 million American adults, 20 years and older, have hypertension, 31.9 million have elevated serum cholesterol levels, and 68.2 million use tobacco products. Within California, San Francisco (SF) was ranked 8th among counties with adult residents that have CVD. It is estimated that approximately 1.02% of these individuals will have a stroke each year and 16.25% will die from stroke. Of those that survive, it is estimated that at least half will develop neurologic deficits, and at least a third will develop post-stroke depression (PSD). The high prevalence of post-stroke depression (PSD) greatly influences stroke survivor mortality, hospital length of stay (LOS), and Quality of Life (QOL) further fueling the projected rise of indirect annual costs associated to the loss of productivity of stroke survivors and ongoing healthcare costs. Despite best practice recommendations and guidelines from health agencies, current stroke care processes of stroke care facilities deviate from these recommendations and lack the inclusion of a post-stroke neuropsychiatric sequelae protocol or screening measure that leaves PSD undetected and untreated. This project aimed to implement the inclusion of a depression screening measure and (pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic) intervention in the current stroke care processes of a 395-licensed bed, urban, general acute care hospital (GACH) located in the downtown Tenderloin area of San Francisco, California. Despite the low volume of stroke patients admitted during the 3-month period, the project was moderately successful on multiple levels. The project produced the intended outcomes of cost-effective staff training and education on the timely administration of PSD screening measures and intended pharmacological interventions. It was able to moderately raise nurses’ comfort levels in the administration of BH screening questions and answering questions related to its use. Nurses reported moderate increase in confidence on the overall clinical utility of PSD screening as part of stroke care processes. The project’s success on improving stroke outcomes as it relates to timely screening and intervention of PSD was considered low. However, there appears to be a strong link between good communication, good training, and staff compliance to small tests of change aimed towards improving patient care. Ultimately, depression screening and early intervention on post-stroke patients has the potential to provide cost savings or cost avoidance equal to $29159.95 over a 3-month period

FOSTERING INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: THE TAU MODEL

Despite being one of the youngest research institutions in Israel, at 60 years old, Tel Aviv University is the biggest, with 30,000 students. Almost half of the student body is at the master’s or doctoral level. It is the most comprehensive institution of higher education in Israel, with 9 faculties spanning the humanities, arts and sciences, and 125 schools and departments. Most of the fields that are taught at Nazarbayev University – such as law, economics, medicine, public policy and engineering – are also strong areas at Tel Aviv University. Our graduates and faculty members play leading roles across Israeli society and beyond. They are Supreme Court Justices, cabinet ministers, political leaders, CEOs of top companies, health system managers, educators, famous film and theater directors and much more. In terms of rankings, I think the two most significant ones for this occasion are as follows. First, Tel Aviv University was recently ranked as a top 100 World Innovation University, and number 1 in Israel. Second, Tel Aviv University ranks 9th in the world for producing successful start-up founders. We are the only school among the top 10 outside of the United States. In other words, our graduates are leading in the entrepreneurship arena right up there with Stanford and MIT. Over the past five years, TAU produced 250 founders of startups, each of which attracted an average of $1.7 million in venture capital investments. One of these companies, whose co-founder studied economics and philosophy at Tel Aviv University, was sold for over$1 billion to Google. Now, Tel Aviv University is not a wealthy private university. We do not throw billions of dollars at our R&D. Rather, we are a public, state-funded, highly regulated institution. Let me give you some figures for other recognized innovation universities: Stanford and Harvard spend $800–900 million on research per year. The University of Michigan, which, like us, is a public university, spends$1.3 billion. By stark contrast, Tel Aviv University spends only $160 million annually on research. So how do we do it? How do we cultivate a spirit of innovation that translates into patents, viable technologies and businesses? I believe innovation-building requires at least 6 core ingredients, and these can be adapted and replicated across different kinds of organization

Syria’s Stateless Palestinians

In 1948, Syria received one hundred thousand Palestinian refugees denied their right to return to their homes and lands in Palestine – a right asserted by UN General Assembly Resolution 194. Over the subsequent decades, Syria facilitated their integration into the country. On the eve of the Syrian war, the community of Palestinian refugees in Syria was half a million strong. It is estimated that at least one in every five Palestinians has fled the country already, with the overwhelming majority arriving in Europe as refugees yet again. What can the Palestinians’ statelessness and repeated devastation of their communities tell us about human rights law and related international legal regimes that regulate the protection of refugees and displaced persons? When do refugees become recognized as refugees, and when does their status afford them protection? Under what circumstances are Palestinian rights, especially the right of return, recognized and supported, what enabled Israel to ignore their claims, and what impact will the continued displacement of communities have on the fight for the Palestinian cause? The participants will bring their unique expertise and diverse disciplinary background to discuss the current displacements of Palestinian refugees. The workshop and discussion mark the recent publication of Palestinians in Syria: Nakba Memories of Shattered Communities by former ICI Fellow Anaheed Al-Hardan.Syria’s Stateless Palestinians, workshop, ICI Berlin, 14 October 2016 <https://doi.org/10.25620/e161014

America After 3pm: Afterschool Programs in Demand

More than a decade of research shows that afterschool programs across the country are an integral support for children, families and communities. Each day after school, quality afterschool programs are keeping kids safe; inspiring them to learn; serving as a source of support and comfort to working families; and even helping working parents be more productive at work and keep their jobs.Given the difference that afterschool programs can make for children and families, important questions about scope and demand arise: How many children are in afterschool programs? How many families want to enroll their children in an afterschool program? And how many children are unsupervised after school who are missing out on the learning opportunities afterschool programs have to offer