Insights from personal perspectives

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Conclusions and reflections: what have we learnt about megaproject leaders?

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Coupling effect of ozone column and atmospheric infrared sounder data reveal evidence of earthquake precursor phenomena of Bam earthquake, Iran

Understanding the source mechanism of earthquakes may be the key to predict earthquakes. The testing of radioactive radiations and reactionary hypothesis of gases before and after quake events can help predict and monitor earthquake occurrence. In this study, the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the column ozone (O3) were applied to evaluate the December 26, 2003 earthquake of Bam city in western Iran. The results show that ozone concentration (column density) decreased about 30 DU and or 807 × 10E15/cm2 molecules. Using high-resolution AIRS data for the study area, we were able to discriminate gases that formed and changed before the main shock at least a day before the occurrence of the quake in Bam

Risks to Birds Traded for African Traditional Medicine: A Quantitative Assessment

Few regional or continent-wide assessments of bird use for traditional medicine have been attempted anywhere in the world. Africa has the highest known diversity of bird species used for this purpose. This study assesses the vulnerability of 354 bird species used for traditional medicine in 25 African countries, from 205 genera, 70 families, and 25 orders. The orders most represented were Passeriformes (107 species), Falconiformes (45 species), and Coraciiformes (24 species), and the families Accipitridae (37 species), Ardeidae (15 species), and Bucerotidae (12 species). The Barn owl (Tyto alba) was the most widely sold species (seven countries). The similarity of avifaunal orders traded is high (analogous to ‘‘morphospecies’’, and using Sørensen’s index), which suggests opportunities for a common understanding of cultural factors driving demand. The highest similarity was between bird orders sold in markets of Benin vs. Burkina Faso (90%), but even bird orders sold in two geographically separated countries (Benin vs. South Africa and Nigeria vs. South Africa) were 87% and 81% similar, respectively. Rabinowitz’s ‘‘7 forms of rarity’’ model, used to group species according to commonness or rarity, indicated that 24% of traded bird species are very common, locally abundant in several habitats, and occur over a large geographical area, but 10% are rare, occur in low numbers in specific habitats, and over a small geographical area. The order with the highest proportion of rare species was the Musophagiformes. An analysis of species mass (as a proxy for size) indicated that large and/or conspicuous species tend to be targeted by harvesters for the traditional medicine trade. Furthermore, based on cluster analyses for species groups of similar risk, vultures, hornbills, and other large avifauna, such as bustards, are most threatened by selective harvesting and should be prioritised for conservation action.University of the Witwatersrand SPARC Prestigious and URC Postdoctoral Fellowships; National Research Foundatio

Recent progress and perspectives of space electric propulsion systems based on smart nanomaterials

Miniaturized spacecraft built from advanced nanomaterials are poised for unmanned space exploration. In this review, the authors examine the integration of nanotechnology in electric propulsion systems and propose the concept of self-healing and adaptive thrusters

What is done through the lens of megaproject leader's life-stories

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Are Shock Index and Adjusted Shock Index useful in predicting mortality and length of stay in community-acquired pneumonia?

BACKGROUND: Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) is a common infection which is associated with a significant mortality. Shock index, heart rate divided by blood pressure, has been shown to predict mortality in several conditions including sepsis, acute myocardial infarction and traumatic injuries. Very little is known about the prognostic value of shock index in community acquired pneumonia (CAP). OBJECTIVE: To examine the usefulness of shock index (SI) and adjusted shock index (corrected to temperature) (ASI) in predicting mortality and hospital length of stay in patients admitted to hospital with CAP. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in three hospitals in Norfolk & Suffolk, UK. We compared risk of mortality and longer length of stay for low (=1.0, i.e. heart rate > systolic BP) SI and ASI adjusting for age, sex and other parameters which have been shown to be associated with mortality in CAP. RESULTS: A total of 190 patients were included (males=53%). The age range was 18-101 years (median=76 years). Patients with SI & ASI >1.0 had higher likelihood of dying within 6 weeks from admission. The adjusted odds ratio for 30 days mortality were 2.48 (1.04-5.92; p=0.04) for SI and 3.16 (1.12-8.95; p=0.03) for ASI. There was no evidence to suggest that they predict longer length of stay. CONCLUSION: Both SI and ASI of >1.0 predict 6 weeks mortality but not longer length of stay in CAP

Breach with Intent: A Risk Analysis of Deliberate Security Breaches in the Seafood Supply Chain

Global seafood supply chains are amongst the most complex of any, typically requiring short shelf life products to be transported long distance with stringent temperature and quality control. These requirements and large-scale outsourcing,wide-scale use of intermediaries, and often multiple transformation processes create opportunities for product quality failures, particularly at participant handover points, conversions, and transport mode changes. Failures include bothdegradation of the physical condition of seafood and damaged trust perceptions about its integrity and identity. These occur not only by accident, but sometimes willfully. Quality failures and negative market perceptions have the potential to do great damage in seafood supply chains with significant financial impact and even collapse of whole markets.Much work has already been contributed on unintentional quality problems in seafood supply chains, so in this chapter we provide a review of the seafood supply chain with a focus on intentional security breaches. We examine the susceptibility to security degradation of the components of the supply chain and the forms it takes. We highlight existing mechanisms used to identify and counter these events, and we posit technologies and strategies that can be employed to minimise them