Spectroscopy of D-type asteroids

We have performed a spectroscopic survey of 19 D-type asteroids. Comparison with previous photometry shows excellent agreement. Although the majority have similar colors to cometary nuclei, no cometary emission bands were present in any of the spectra. Absorption bands sporadically appearing were apparently due to stellar objects, and no features inherent to the asteroids were observed

Philosophy and updating of the asteroid photometric catalogue

The Asteroid Photometric Catalogue now contains photometric lightcurves for 584 asteroids. We discuss some of the guiding principles behind it. This concerns both observers who offer input to it and users of the product

CCD and photon-counting photometric observations of asteroids carried out at Padova and Catania observatories

We present the results of observational campaigns of asteroids performed at Asiago Station of Padova Astronomical Observatory and at M.G. Fracastoro Station of Catania Astrophysical Observatory, as part of the large research programme on Solar System minor bodies undertaken since 1979 at the Physics and Astronomy Department of Catania University. Photometric observations of six Main-Belt asteroids (27 Euterpe, 173 Ino, 182 Elsa, 539 Pamina, 849 Ara, and 984 Gretia), one Hungaria (1727 Mette), and two Near-Earth Objects (3199 Nefertiti and 2004 UE) are reported. The first determination of the synodic rotational period of 2004 UE was obtained. For 182 Elsa and 1727 Mette the derived synodic period of 80.23+/-0.08 h and 2.981+/-0.001 h, respectively, represents a significant improvement on the previously published values. For 182 Elsa the first determination of the H-G magnitude relation is also presented.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Planetary and Space Scienc

The evolution of the toponyms in the Şureanu mountains viewed on cartographic sources

Şureanu Mountains are situated in the south-west of Transylvania, belonging to the Carpathians. The region had been represented on cartographic documents since old times, but detailed maps were made beginning with the Habsburg period. The aim of our study is to display the evolution of cartographic elements exposed on several maps from the 18th century till nowadays. The toponyms reflecting settlements, roads, rivers and landforms have been changed from one cartographic edition to another due to the language on which the documents were written in Transylvania, each dominant administration (Austrian, Hungarian, Romanian) influencing the toponymy of these places. We also analyzed space changes of settlements, routes of transports and valleys in order to show differences in the stages of economic development of the studied mountain region

A latent class analysis of food hygiene and handling practices among urban and peri-urban residents in Hyderabad, India

In developing countries, food-borne diseases, attributable to lack of, or inappropriate, food hygiene and handling practices at home, are expected to increase due to a rapid growth in the consumption of fats and animal source foods. The context-specific and situational practices corresponding to underlying traits of food hygiene and handling practices for home-cooked food were investigated for a set of 662 randomly selected households in Hyderabad, India. Results indicate that about one-third of the households lack access to a refrigerator. Of those with a refrigerator, a majority (83%) had the temperature set at medium, with an actual temperature ranging from 8 to 11 ◦C. Results also show that smell, followed by food appearance rather than taste or labelled expiry dates were used as the main criteria for edibility. Furthermore, six indicators related to handling, storage and cooking non-vegetarian food and three indicators related to storage of the cooked food were assessed. For households with a refrigerator, the latent class analysis identified three exclusive and exhaustive subgroups of households representing the heterogeneity of handling and hygiene traits, while two subgroups were identified for households not having a refrigerator. Only a small proportion of households (12.6%) with a refrigerator were profiled as having adequate and consistent practices. Remaining subgroups revealed substantial within-group variations in terms of consistency in certain behaviors. Next, latent class modelling with covariates related to socio-demographic, socio-economic, socio-spatial variables and health or dietary outcomes showed that having higher than a primary school education, having a high percentage of food expenditure, or non-optimal refrigerator temperature were predictive of the latent class with more adequate practices. For households without a refrigerator, five covariates related to social class, age, income, and obesity distinguished the latent classes. These findings of latent trait-specific behaviors have implications for actions aiming to inform and direct behavioral change interventions on food safety practices in the developing countries

Urban Sprawl and Adverse Impacts on Agricultural Land: A Case Study on Hyderabad, India

Many Indian capitals are rapidly becoming megacities due to industrialization and rural–urban emigration. Land use within city boundaries has changed dynamically, accommodating development while replacing traditional land-use patterns. Using Landsat-8 and IRS-P6 data, this study investigated land-use changes in urban and peri-urban Hyderabad and their influence on land-use and land-cover. Advanced methods, such as spectral matching techniques with ground information were deployed in the analysis. From 2005 to 2016, the wastewater-irrigated area adjacent to the Musi river increased from 15,553 to 20,573 hectares, with concurrent expansion of the city boundaries from 38,863 to 80,111 hectares. Opportunistic shifts in land-use, especially related to wastewater-irrigated agriculture, emerged in response to growing demand for fresh vegetables and urban livestock feed, and to easy access to markets due to the city’s expansion. Validation performed on the land-use maps developed revealed 80–85% accuracy

Physical properties of ESA Rosetta target asteroid (21) Lutetia: Shape and flyby geometry

Aims. We determine the physical properties (spin state and shape) of asteroid (21) Lutetia, target of the ESA Rosetta mission, to help in preparing for observations during the flyby on 2010 July 10 by predicting the orientation of Lutetia as seen from Rosetta. Methods. We use our novel KOALA inversion algorithm to determine the physical properties of asteroids from a combination of optical lightcurves, disk-resolved images, and stellar occultations, although the latter are not available for (21) Lutetia. Results. We find the spin axis of (21) Lutetia to lie within 5 degrees of ({\lambda} = 52 deg., {\beta} = -6 deg.) in Ecliptic J2000 reference frame (equatorial {\alpha} = 52 deg., {\delta} = +12 deg.), and determine an improved sidereal period of 8.168 270 \pm 0.000 001 h. This pole solution implies the southern hemisphere of Lutetia will be in "seasonal" shadow at the time of the flyby. The apparent cross-section of Lutetia is triangular as seen "pole-on" and more rectangular as seen "equator-on". The best-fit model suggests the presence of several concavities. The largest of these is close to the north pole and may be associated with large impacts.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables, submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysic

Going means trouble and staying makes it double: the value of licensing recorded music online

This paper discusses whether a copyright compensation system (CCS) for recorded music—endowing private Internet subscribers with the right to download and use works in return for a fee—would be welfare increasing. It reports on the results of a discrete choice experiment conducted with a representative sample of the Dutch population consisting of 4986 participants. Under some conservative assumptions, we find that applied only to recorded music, a mandatory CCS could increase the welfare of rights holders and users in the Netherlands by over €600 million per year (over €35 per capita). This far exceeds current rights holder revenues from the market of recorded music of ca. €144 million per year. A monthly CCS fee of ca. €1.74 as a surcharge on Dutch Internet subscriptions would raise the same amount of revenues to rights holders as the current market for recorded music. With a voluntary CCS, the estimated welfare gains to users and rights holders are even greater for CCS fees below €20 on the user side. A voluntary CCS would also perform better in the long run, as it could retain a greater extent of market coordination. The results of our choice experiment indicate that a well-designed CCS for recorded music would simultaneously make users and rights holders better off. This result holds even if we correct for frequently observed rates of overestimation in contingent valuation studies

The Role of Health Systems Factors in Facilitating Access to Psychotropic Medicines: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the WHO-AIMS in 63 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

In a cross-sectional analysis of WHO-AIMS data, Ryan McBain and colleagues investigate the associations between health system components and access to psychotropic drugs in 63 low and middle income countries