Vexations and its Performers

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Satie and the British

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Planning [and] the Sanitary City: Understanding Implications of Community-Based Ecological Sanitation Reforms in the U.S.

Though most commonly regarded as a revolutionary public health invention, the introduction of conventional wastewater sanitation systems has a mixed legacy in the U.S. A growing body of research links sewage-based sanitation systems with nationwide ecosystem degradation and an unsustainable dependence on vast inputs of materials and resources. In addition to contributing to chronic problems across the country, today these wastewater infrastructures are in various states of disrepair. The EPA estimates that at least $270 billion must be invested in coming years to prevent massive sanitary failures, but municipalities are increasingly unable to fund these expensive (re)investments in buried water-carriage sanitation infrastructures. Some U.S. communities are exploring the potential for community-scale decentralized sustainable or ecological sanitation (ecosan) solutions to meet their sanitary needs at a fraction of the cost of wastewater treatment schemes and with various additional benefits. This thesis examines the first two pilot applications of community ecosan in the New England region of the U.S. to understand the opportunities, challenges, and adaptation strategies that characterize these projects in the North American context. An emergent, mixed methods approach was developed over several years and involved personal engagement with the cases reviewed. The two pilot projects are compared and contrasted, and several themes are identified: First, the case studies indicate that specific conditions may have provided fertile contexts for the introduction of community-scale ecosan in the U.S. Second, various challenges have been posed to large scale ecosan projects in the U.S, but existing sanitary regulations and funding pathways present the most formidable barriers since they often deter innovative solutions. Third, these cases show that communities can develop myriad strategies to overcome these challenges and confront barriers to sanitation reform in the U.S. The study is framed by an inquiry into the role of professional planners and local community members in sustainable sanitation reforms. Findings indicate that individual planners can react both positively and negatively to proposals for community ecosan schemes, and that planners possess numerous tools to support community-led programs in navigating the significant barriers they face. Ultimately, though, communities must practice self-determination in sanitation reform planning. Final recommendations suggest that future community ecosan projects focus on incremental and complementary introduction, integrate research components, and incorporate effective ecosan residuals management schemes into their programming

Experimental Music Catalogue: Introduction

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Results of a School-Based Obesity Prevention Program Targeting Early Childhood Students

The purpose of this study was to determine whether early childhood students who participated in the Healthy for Life/PE4ME program experienced significant changes in their age-adjusted body mass index (BMI) percentiles, obesity-related behaviors, and identification of healthy foods and physical activities. The school-based program included nutrition education and physical activity components implemented by the teacher and program dietitian. Participants were 356 children and their parents, in17 Southern California schools with a high percentage of ethnically diverse, low income students. Parents completed a survey assessing their children’s demographics; family medical history; and obesity-related lifestyle behaviors; at pre-test and post-test. Students completed a picture scale activity to assess their ability to identify healthy versus. unhealthy foods and active vs. less active physical activities. BMI percentiles significantly decreased among children who were overweight or obese at pre-test; they also significantly decreased their junk food consumption (e.g., soda, Cheetos©). Obese children at pre-test significantly decreased their consumption of whole milk and increased their consumption of low-fat milk. Normal weight children significantly increased their consumption of milk and their physical activity. These findings provide preliminary evidence that the Healthy for Life/PE4ME program may be effective in reducing the childhood obesity trend in Orange County preschool children

On the syntactic characterization of some model theoretic relations

In this thesis we consider binary relations over the class of L - structures , for some fixed language L . Such a binary relation R, induces a binary relation R* between the class of theories in L; in the following natural way. If T1 and T2 are theories in L then T1R*T2 if &exist;A,B A T1 , Bf T2 and ARB. We characterize syntactically those pairs of theories related by R* by introducing the concept of a notion of goodness for R. This consists of a set of ordered pairs of sentences in L, Delta, with the property that for theories T1 and T2 * T1R*T2 if for no empty1, empty2> epsilon Delta do we have T1 empty and T2empty. Provided is defined in a syntactically simple way, we find , by negating both sides of * and restricting the theories to sentences that the property * closely resembles an Interpolation Theorem for R. Actually, a notion of goodness is more complicated than this and our results are more general. In the established approaches to find Interpolation Theorems, the weak point has been in the understanding of "syntactically simple". We show, by considering certain relations which can be "described" by a theory in a particular language extending L, that a notion of goodness can often be found immediately from such a theory. Indeed we find a model theoretic condition on R for which this is possible. It turns out to be a "union of chains" condition. Using this approach we obtain many Interpolation Theorems by analysing the structure of the theories used to "describe" R. In particular the methods are used to prove a version of Feferman's Interpolation Theorem in a many-sorted language. We give a characterization of those theories with the Amalgamation Property and the Strong Amalgamation Property. We conclude with a solution of an open problem of G. Gratzer.<p

The epidemiology of foot-and-mouth disease at the wildlife-livestock interface in northern Tanzania

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a disease of cloven hooved animals caused by FMD virus (FMDV), is one of the most economically devastating diseases of livestock worldwide. The global burden of disease is borne largely by livestock-keepers in areas of Africa and Asia where the disease is endemic and where many people rely on livestock for their livelihoods and food-security. Yet, there are many gaps in our knowledge of the drivers of FMDV circulation in these settings. In East Africa, FMD epidemiology is complicated by the circulation of multiple FMDV serotypes (distinct antigenic variants) and by the presence of large populations of susceptible wildlife and domestic livestock. The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is the only wildlife species with consistent evidence of high levels of FMDV infection, and East Africa contains the largest population of this species globally. To inform FMD control in this region, key questions relate to heterogeneities in FMD prevalence and impacts in different livestock management systems and to the role of wildlife as a potential source of FMDV for livestock. To develop FMD control strategies and make best use of vaccine control options, serotype-specific patterns of circulation need to be characterised. In this study, the impacts and epidemiology of FMD were investigated across a range of traditional livestock-keeping systems in northern Tanzania, including pastoralist, agro-pastoralist and rural smallholder systems. Data were generated through field studies and laboratory analyses between 2010 and 2015. The study involved analysis of existing household survey data and generated serological data from cross-sectional livestock and buffalo samples and longitudinal cattle samples. Serological analyses included non-structural protein ELISAs, serotype-specific solid-phase competitive ELISAs, with optimisation to detect East African FMDV variants, and virus neutralisation testing. Risk factors for FMDV infection and outbreaks were investigated through analysis of cross-sectional serological data in conjunction with a case-control outbreak analysis. A novel Bayesian modeling approach was developed to infer serotype-specific infection history from serological data, and combined with virus isolation data from FMD outbreaks to characterise temporal and spatial patterns of serotype-specific infection. A high seroprevalence of FMD was detected in both northern Tanzanian livestock (69%, [66.5 - 71.4%] in cattle and 48.5%, [45.7-51.3%] in small ruminants) and in buffalo (80.9%, [74.7-86.1%]). Four different serotypes of FMDV (A, O, SAT1 and SAT2) were isolated from livestock. Up to three outbreaks per year were reported by households and active surveillance highlighted up to four serial outbreaks in the same herds within three years. Agro-pastoral and pastoral livestock keepers reported more frequent FMD outbreaks compared to smallholders. Households in all three management systems reported that FMD outbreaks caused significant impacts on milk production and sales, and on animals’ draught power, hence on crop production, with implications for food security and livelihoods. Risk factor analyses showed that older livestock were more likely to be seropositive for FMD (Odds Ratio [OR] 1.4 [1.4-1.5] per extra year) and that cattle (OR 3.3 [2.7-4.0]) were more likely than sheep and goats to be seropositive. Livestock managed by agro-pastoralists (OR 8.1 [2.8-23.6]) or pastoralists (OR 7.1 [2.9-17.6]) were more likely to be seropositive compared to those managed by smallholders. Larger herds (OR: 1.02 [1.01-1.03] per extra bovine) and those that recently acquired new livestock (OR: 5.57 [1.01 – 30.91]) had increased odds of suffering an FMD outbreak. Measures of potential contact with buffalo or with other FMD susceptible wildlife did not increase the likelihood of FMD in livestock in either the cross-sectional serological analysis or case-control outbreak analysis. The Bayesian model was validated to correctly infer from ELISA data the most recent serotype to infect cattle. Consistent with the lack of risk factors related to wildlife contact, temporal and spatial patterns of exposure to specific FMDV serotypes were not tightly linked in cattle and buffalo. In cattle, four serial waves of different FMDV serotypes that swept through southern Kenyan and northern Tanzanian livestock populations over a four-year period dominated infection patterns. In contrast, only two serotypes (SAT1 and SAT2) dominated in buffalo populations. Key conclusions are that FMD has a substantial impact in traditional livestock systems in East Africa. Wildlife does not currently appear to act as an important source of FMDV for East African livestock, and control efforts in the region should initially focus on livestock management and vaccination strategies. A novel modeling approach greatly facilitated the interpretation of serological data and may be a potent epidemiological tool in the African setting. There was a clear temporal pattern of FMDV antigenic dominance across northern Tanzania and southern Kenya. Longer-term research to investigate whether serotype-specific FMDV sweeps are truly predictable, and to shed light on FMD post-infection immunity in animals exposed to serial FMD infections is warranted

Recreating Winchendon Village: A Distinct Destination in Toy Town (Winchendon, MA)

The goal of the Master of Regional Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and then presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, and charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings. In the fall of 2014, three local governments contracted with the MRP Studio to create separate vision plans that focused on key aspects of community revitalization. For the Town of Winchendon, the graduate student team (Carousel Consulting) created a revitalization plan that addressed declining investment and commercial activity in the Central Street corridor. As the “downtown” and commercial center of Winchendon, the strategy for Central Street focused on generating reinvestment through the advancement of commercial development and diversity, infill development and cohesion, place-making and branding, open space and recreation, and circulatory functionality