Analysis of Environmental and Economic Effects of Kiri Dam, Adamawa State, Nigeria

This research was an attempt to study the consequences of dam construction in Nigeria This was expedient because such projects are known to be characterised by array of disasters that ensued their construction Satellite images captured before and after the dam in 1976 and 2014 respectively were subjected to image processing techniques so as to assess the likely changes in environmental variables of the area This was supplemented by 250 questionnaires administered in settlements along the riverbank to elicit information on the socioeconomic characteristics of the people Additionally field observations and informal interviews were conducted to probe further into details of information required Results show that natural vegetation has decreased by 63 This has led to chains of environmental problems including soil erosion loss of biodiversity and pollution The other land use cover types experienced increase with water body accounting for the highest value of 54 7 owing to dam in the reservoir The hitherto common crops of the area such as maize guinea corn have been replaced with cash crops like cotton and potato etc some of which are foreign to the area This coupled with inundation of farmlands by dam water has constituted undesirable impacts on the livelihood of the local farmers Unfortunately the dam water meant for irrigation farming and fishing has not been utilized maximally Instead the presence of the water has led to emergence of lifethreatening animals and birds It was recommended that the local farmers be provided with appropriate fishing and irrigation facilities to enable them take advantage of the dam Vast hectares of lands lying fallowed should be utilized to ensure food securit

Analysis of Environmental and Economic Effects of Kiri Dam, Adamawa State, Nigeria

This research was an attempt to study the consequences of dam construction in Nigeria This was expedient because such projects are known to be characterised by array of disasters that ensued their construction Satellite images captured before and after the dam in 1976 and 2014 respectively were subjected to image processing techniques so as to assess the likely changes in environmental variables of the area This was supplemented by 250 questionnaires administered in settlements along the riverbank to elicit information on the socioeconomic characteristics of the people Additionally field observations and informal interviews were conducted to probe further into details of information required Results show that natural vegetation has decreased by 63 This has led to chains of environmental problems including soil erosion loss of biodiversity and pollution The other land use cover types experienced increase with water body accounting for the highest value of 54 7 owing to dam in the reservoir The hitherto common crops of the area such as maize guinea corn have been replaced with cash crops like cotton and potato etc some of which are foreign to the area This coupled with inundation of farmlands by dam water has constituted undesirable impacts on the livelihood of the local farmers Unfortunately the dam water meant for irrigation farming and fishing has not been utilized maximally Instead the presence of the water has led to emergence of lifethreatening animals and birds It was recommended that the local farmers be provided with appropriate fishing and irrigation facilities to enable them take advantage of the dam Vast hectares of lands lying fallowed should be utilized to ensure food securit

Variation in advanced stage at diagnosis of lung and female breast cancer in an English region 2006-2009

This is the final published version. Available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this record.Background: Understanding variation in stage at diagnosis can inform interventions to improve the timeliness of diagnosis for patients with different cancers and characteristics. Methods: We analysed population-based data on 17 836 and 13 286 East of England residents diagnosed with (female) breast and lung cancer during 2006-2009, with stage information on 16 460 (92%) and 10 435 (79%) patients, respectively. Odds ratios (ORs) of advanced stage at diagnosis adjusted for patient and tumour characteristics were derived using logistic regression. Results :We present adjusted ORs of diagnosis in stages III/IV compared with diagnosis in stages I/II. For breast cancer, the frequency of advanced stage at diagnosis increased stepwise among old women (ORs: 1.21, 1.46, 1.68 and 1.78 for women aged 70-74, 75-79, 80-84 and ≥85, respectively, compared with those aged 65-69, P<0.001). In contrast, for lung cancer advanced stage at diagnosis was less frequent in old patients (ORs: 0.82, 0.74, 0.73 and 0.66, P<0.001). Advanced stage at diagnosis was more frequent in more deprived women with breast cancer (OR: 1.23 for most compared with least deprived, P=0.002), and in men with lung cancer (OR: 1.14, P=0.011). The observed patterns were robust to sensitivity analyses approaches for handling missing stage data under different assumptions. Conclusion: Interventions to help improve the timeliness of diagnosis of different cancers should be targeted at specific age groups. © 2012 Cancer Research UK All rights reserved

Socio-demographic inequalities in stage of cancer diagnosis: Evidence from patients with female breast,lung, colon, rectal, prostate, renal, bladder, melanoma, ovarian and endometrial cancer

This is the final published version. Available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this record.Background: Understanding socio-demographic inequalities in stage at diagnosis can inform priorities for cancer control. Patients and methods: We analysed data on the stage at diagnosis of East of England patients diagnosed with any of 10 common cancers, 2006-2010. Stage information was available on 88 657 of 98 942 tumours (89.6%). Results: Substantial socio-demographic inequalities in advanced stage at diagnosis (i.e. stage III/IV) existed for seven cancers, but their magnitude and direction varied greatly by cancer: advanced stage at diagnosis was more likely for older patients with melanoma but less likely for older patients with lung cancer [odds ratios for 75-79 versus 65-69 1.60 (1.38-1.86) and 0.83 (0.77-0.89), respectively]. Deprived patients were more likely to be diagnosed in advanced stage for melanoma, prostate, endometrial and (female) breast cancer: odds ratios (most versus least deprived quintile) from 2.24 (1.66-3.03) for melanoma to 1.31 (1.15-1.49) for breast cancer. In England, elimination of sociodemographic inequalities in stage at diagnosis could decrease the number of patients with cancer diagnosed in advanced stage by 5600 annually. Conclusions: There are substantial socio-demographic inequalities in stage at diagnosis for most cancers. Earlier detection interventions and policies can be targeted on patients at higher risk of advanced stage diagnosis. ©The Author 2012.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR

Solutions of Several Coupled Discrete Models in terms of Lame Polynomials of Order One and Two

Coupled discrete models abound in several areas of physics. Here we provide an extensive set of exact quasiperiodic solutions of a number of coupled discrete models in terms of Lame polynomials of order one and two. Some of the models discussed are (i) coupled Salerno model, (ii) coupled Ablowitz-Ladik model, (iii) coupled saturated discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation, (iv) coupled phi4 model, and (v) coupled phi6 model. Furthermore, we show that most of these coupled models in fact also possess an even broader class of exact solutions.Comment: 31 pages, to appear in Pramana (Journal of Physics) 201

Effects of Supersymmetric Threshold Corrections on High-Scale Flavor Textures

Integration of superpartners out of the spectrum induces potentially large contributions to Yukawa couplings. These corrections, the supersymmetric threshold corrections, therefore influence the CKM matrix prediction in a non-trivial way. We study effects of threshold corrections on high-scale flavor structures specified at the gauge coupling unification scale in supersymmetry. In our analysis, we first consider high-scale Yukawa textures which qualify phenomenologically viable at tree level, and find that they get completely disqualified after incorporating the threshold corrections. Next, we consider Yukawa couplings, such as those with five texture zeroes, which are incapable of explaining flavor-changing proceses. Incorporation of threshold corrections, however, makes them phenomenologically viable textures. Therefore, supersymmetric threshold corrections are found to leave observable impact on Yukawa couplings of quarks, and any confrontation of high-scale textures with experiments at the weak scale must take into account such corrections.Comment: 25 pages, submitted to JHE

Non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries in 4d string models

We study the realization of non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries in 4d field theory and string theory compactifications. The underlying structure generalizes the Abelian case, and follows from the interplay between gaugings of non-Abelian isometries of the scalar manifold and field identifications making axion-like fields periodic. We present several classes of string constructions realizing non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries. In particular, compactifications with torsion homology classes, where non-Abelianity arises microscopically from the Hanany-Witten effect, or compactifications with non-Abelian discrete isometry groups, like twisted tori. We finally focus on the more interesting case of magnetized branes in toroidal compactifications and quotients thereof (and their heterotic and intersecting duals), in which the non-Abelian discrete gauge symmetries imply powerful selection rules for Yukawa couplings of charged matter fields. In particular, in MSSM-like models they correspond to discrete flavour symmetries constraining the quark and lepton mass matrices, as we show in specific examples.Comment: 58 pages; minor typos corrected and references adde

Enhanced error estimator based on a nearly equilibrated moving least squares recovery technique for FEM and XFEM

In this paper a new technique aimed to obtain accurate estimates of the error in energy norm using a moving least squares (MLS) recovery-based procedure is presented. We explore the capabilities of a recovery technique based on an enhanced MLS fitting, which directly provides continuous interpolated fields, to obtain estimates of the error in energy norm as an alternative to the superconvergent patch recovery (SPR). Boundary equilibrium is enforced using a nearest point approach that modifies the MLS functional. Lagrange multipliers are used to impose a nearly exact satisfaction of the internal equilibrium equation. The numerical results show the high accuracy of the proposed error estimator

Envelope Determinants of Equine Lentiviral Vaccine Protection

Lentiviral envelope (Env) antigenic variation and associated immune evasion present major obstacles to vaccine development. The concept that Env is a critical determinant for vaccine efficacy is well accepted, however defined correlates of protection associated with Env variation have yet to be determined. We reported an attenuated equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) vaccine study that directly examined the effect of lentiviral Env sequence variation on vaccine efficacy. The study identified a significant, inverse, linear correlation between vaccine efficacy and increasing divergence of the challenge virus Env gp90 protein compared to the vaccine virus gp90. The report demonstrated approximately 100% protection of immunized ponies from disease after challenge by virus with a homologous gp90 (EV0), and roughly 40% protection against challenge by virus (EV13) with a gp90 13% divergent from the vaccine strain. In the current study we examine whether the protection observed when challenging with the EV0 strain could be conferred to animals via chimeric challenge viruses between the EV0 and EV13 strains, allowing for mapping of protection to specific Env sequences. Viruses containing the EV13 proviral backbone and selected domains of the EV0 gp90 were constructed and in vitro and in vivo infectivity examined. Vaccine efficacy studies indicated that homology between the vaccine strain gp90 and the N-terminus of the challenge strain gp90 was capable of inducing immunity that resulted in significantly lower levels of post-challenge virus and significantly delayed the onset of disease. However, a homologous N-terminal region alone inserted in the EV13 backbone could not impart the 100% protection observed with the EV0 strain. Data presented here denote the complicated and potentially contradictory relationship between in vitro virulence and in vivo pathogenicity. The study highlights the importance of structural conformation for immunogens and emphasizes the need for antibody binding, not neutralizing, assays that correlate with vaccine protection. © 2013 Craigo et al

Electroweak Baryogenesis and Dark Matter with an approximate R-symmetry

It is well known that R-symmetric models dramatically alleviate the SUSY flavor and CP problems. We study particular modifications of existing R-symmetric models which share the solution to the above problems, and have interesting consequences for electroweak baryogenesis and the Dark Matter (DM) content of the universe. In particular, we find that it is naturally possible to have a strongly first-order electroweak phase transition while simultaneously relaxing the tension with EDM experiments. The R-symmetry (and its small breaking) implies that the gauginos (and the neutralino LSP) are pseudo-Dirac fermions, which is relevant for both baryogenesis and DM. The singlet superpartner of the U(1)_Y pseudo-Dirac gaugino plays a prominent role in making the electroweak phase transition strongly first-order. The pseudo-Dirac nature of the LSP allows it to behave similarly to a Dirac particle during freeze-out, but like a Majorana particle for annihilation today and in scattering against nuclei, thus being consistent with current constraints. Assuming a standard cosmology, it is possible to simultaneously have a strongly first-order phase transition conducive to baryogenesis and have the LSP provide the full DM relic abundance, in part of the allowed parameter space. However, other possibilities for DM also exist, which are discussed. It is expected that upcoming direct DM searches as well as neutrino signals from DM annihilation in the Sun will be sensitive to this class of models. Interesting collider and Gravity-wave signals are also briefly discussed.Comment: 50 pages, 10 figure