The effects of forest disturbance and fragmentation on fruit-feeding butterflies in Trinidad

This thesis explores the use of tropical butterflies as indicators of forest disturbance, fragmentation and forest recovery. The disturbance level of habitats was found to be characterised by the rate of the fraction of species accumulated, with species in undisturbed habitats accumulating more slowly. Undisturbed habitats, but not more disturbed ones, were found to have a vertically stratified butterfly assemblage between the forest understorey and canopy, and certain species were found to be horizontally stratified from the forest edge. No significant effect of breaks in a forest habitat to the dispersal of certain fruit-feeding butterflies was found, but for species which did not cross breaks, it was not possible to determine whether this was due to low numbers of captures or because breaks acted as barriers to dispersal. Cissia arnaea (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) was present in significantly greatest abundance in 30 year selectively logged forest, even though canopy openness was not significantly different from that found in 5 year forest. Conversely, Colobura dirce (Nymphalidae: Nymphalinae) was found in greatest abundance in the O and 5 year forest and least abundant in the 30 year forest. It is possible that these species could be used to indicate forest recovery following selective logging. Population size estimates and average residency rates were calculated for Cissia penelope and Morpho peleides from fruit trap data. Community structure in the Cissia genus was explored, and the relationship between local abundance and geographic range size investigated and certain restricted range species were not found to be adversely affected by forest disturbance in Trinidad as expected (Thomas 1991 and Hamer et al. 1997)

MEDSAT: A Small Satellite for Malaria Early Warning and Control

This paper presents the design for a low cost, light satellite used to aid in the control of vector-borne diseases like malaria. The 340 kg satellite contains both a synthetic aperture radar and a visual/infrared multispectral scanner for remotely sensing the region of interest. Most of the design incorporates well established technology, but innovative features include the Pegasus launch vehicle, low mass and volume SAR and VIS/IR sensors, integrated design, low power SAR operation, microprocessor power system control, and advanced data compression and storage. This paper describes the main design considerations of the project which include, the remote sensing task, implementation for malaria control, launch vehicle, orbit, satellite bus, and satellite Subsystems

Remote Sensing and Human Health: New Sensors and New Opportunities

Remote sensing data enable scientists to study the earth\u27s biotic and abiotic components. These components and their changes have been mapped from space at several temporal and spatial scales since 1972. A small number of investigators in the health community have explored remotely sensed environmental factors that might be associated with disease-vector habitats and human transmission risk. However, most human health studies using remote sensing data have focused on data from Landsat\u27s Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and Thematic Mapper (TM), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)\u27s Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), and France\u27s Système Pour l\u27Observation de la Terre (SPOT). In many of these studies (Table 1), remotely sensed data were used to derive three variables: vegetation cover, landscape structure, and water bodies

Medsat: A satellite system for surveillance of tropical vector‐borne diseases

In this paper, the authors describe the need for, and preliminary student design of, a research satellite system (Medsat) devoted to the surveillance of environmental and epidemiological factors that influence the patterns and dynamics of tropical vector‐borne diseases.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87321/2/318_1.pd

Bi-fuel SI Engine Model for Analysis and Optimization

YesThe natural gas as an alternative fuel has economical and environmental benefits. Bi-fuel engines powered by gasoline and compressed natural gas (CNG) are an intermediate and alternative step to dedicated CNG engines. The conversion to bi-fuel CNG engine could be a short-term solution to air pollution problem in many developing countries. In this paper a mathematical model of a bi-fuel four-stroke spark ignition (SI) engine is presented for comparative studies and analysis. It is based on the two-zone combustion model, and it has the ability to simulate turbulent combustion. The model is capable of predicting the cylinder temperature and pressure, heat transfer, brake work , brake thermal and volumetric efficiency, brake torque, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake mean effective pressure (BMEP), concentration of CO2, brake specific CO (BSCO) and brake specific NOx (BSNOx). The effect of engine speed, equivalence ratio and performance parameters using gasoline and CNG fuels are analysed. The model has been validated by experimental data using the results obtained from a bi-fuel engine. The results show the capability of the model in terms of engine performance optimization and minimization of the emissions. The engine used in this study is a typical example of a modified bi-fuel engine conversion, which could benefit the researchers in the field

Child Adult Relationship Enhancement in Primary Care (PriCARE): Study design/protocol for a randomized trial of a primary care-based group parenting intervention to prevent child maltreatment

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment (CM) is a pervasive public health problem and there is a critical need for brief, effective, scalable prevention programs. Problematic parent-child relationships lie at the heart of CM. Parents who maltreat their children are more likely to have punitive parenting styles characterized by high rates of negative interaction and ineffective discipline strategies with over-reliance on punishment. Thus, parenting interventions that strengthen parent-child relationships, teach positive discipline techniques, decrease harsh parenting, and decrease child behavioral problems hold promise as CM prevention strategies. Challenges in engaging parents, particularly low-income and minority parents, and a lack of knowledge regarding effective implementation strategies, however, have greatly limited the reach and impact of parenting interventions. Child Adult Relationship Enhancement in Primary Care (PriCARE)/Criando Niños con CARIÑO is a 6-session group parenting intervention that holds promise in addressing these challenges because PriCARE/CARIÑO was (1) developed and iteratively adapted with input from racially and ethnically diverse families, including low-income families and (2) designed specifically for implementation in primary care with inclusion of strategies to align with usual care workflow to increase uptake and retention. METHODS: This study is a multicenter randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms. Children, 2-6 years old with Medicaid/CHIP/no insurance, and their English- and Spanish-speaking caregivers recruited from pediatric primary care clinics in Philadelphia and North Carolina will be enrolled. Caregivers assigned to the intervention regimen will attend PriCARE/CARIÑO and receive usual care. Caregivers assigned to the control regimen will receive usual care only. The primary outcome is occurrence of an investigation for CM by child protective services during the 48 months following completion of the intervention. In addition, scores for CM risk, child behavior problems, harsh and neglectful parenting behaviors, caregiver stress, and caregiver-child interactions will be assessed as secondary outcome measures and for investigation of possible mechanisms of intervention-induced change. We will also identify PriCARE/CARIÑO implementation factors that may be barriers and facilitators to intervention referrals, enrollment, and attendance. DISCUSSION: By evaluating proximal outcomes in addition to the distal outcome of CM, this study, the largest CM prevention trial with individual randomization, will help elucidate mechanisms of change and advance the science of CM prevention. This study will also gather critical information on factors influencing successful implementation and how to optimize intervention referrals, enrollment, and attendance to inform future dissemination and practical applications. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05233150) on February 1, 2022, prior to enrolling subjects

Bi-fuel SI engine model for analysis and optimization

The natural gas as an alternative fuel has economical and environmental benefits. Bi-fuel engines powered by gasoline and compressed natural gas (CNG) are an intermediate and alternative step to dedicated CNG engines. The conversion to bi-fuel CNG engine could be a short-term solution to air pollution problem in many developing countries. In this paper a mathematical model of a bi-fuel four-stroke spark ignition (SI) engine is presented for comparative studies and analysis. It is based on the two-zone combustion model, and it has the ability to simulate turbulent combustion. The model is capable of predicting the cylinder temperature and pressure, heat transfer, brake work , brake thermal and volumetric efficiency, brake torque, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake mean effective pressure (BMEP), concentration of CO2, brake specific CO (BSCO) and brake specific NOx (BSNOx). The effect of engine speed, equivalence ratio and performance parameters using gasoline and CNG fuels are analysed. The model has been validated by experimental data using the results obtained from a bi-fuel engine. The results show the capability of the model in terms of engine performance optimization and minimization of the emissions. The engine used in this study is a typical example of a modified bi-fuel engine conversion, which could benefit the researchers in the field

A Theoretical Treatment of the Steady-Flow, Linear, Crossed-Field, Direct-Current Plasma Accelerator for Inviscid, Adiabatic, Isothermal, Constant-Area Flow

The theory is developed from the individual equations of motion of the three components of the plasma. The effect of the ion cyclotron angle (omega tau), which is the product of the ion cyclotron frequency and the ion mean free time between collisions with neutral particles and which is proportional to the axial component of the ion slip velocity, on both Joule heating rate and accelerator length is included in the results and is shown to be small only for values of about 10(exp -3) radian or less

A direct interaction between fascin and microtubules contributes to adhesion dynamics and cell migration

Fascin is an actin-binding and bundling protein that is highly upregulated in most epithelial cancers. Fascin promotes cell migration and adhesion dynamics in vitro and tumour cell metastasis in vivo. However, potential non-actin bundling roles for fascin remain unknown. Here we show for the first time that fascin can directly interact with the microtubule cytoskeleton and that this does not depend upon fascin-actin bundling. Microtubule binding contributes to fascin-dependent control of focal adhesion dynamics and cell migration speed. We also show that fascin forms a complex with focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and Src, and that this signalling pathway lies downstream of fascin-microtubule association in the control of adhesion stability. These findings shed light on new non actin-dependent roles for fascin and may have implications for the design of therapies to target fascin in metastatic disease