Central Africa Energy: Utilizing NASA Earth Observations to Explore Flared Gas as an Energy Source Alternative to Biomass in Central Africa

Much of Central Africa's economy is centered on oil production. Oil deposits lie below vast amounts of compressed natural gas. The latter is often flared off during oil extraction due to a lack of the infrastructure needed to utilize it for productive energy generation. Though gas flaring is discouraged by many due to its contributions to greenhouse emissions, it represents a waste process and is rarely tracked or recorded in this region. In contrast to this energy waste, roughly 80% of Africa's population lacks access to electricity and in turn uses biomass such as wood for heat and light. In addition to the dangers incurred from collecting and using biomass, the practice commonly leads to ecological change through the acquisition of wood from forests surrounding urban areas. The objective of this project was to gain insight on domestic energy usage in Central Africa, specifically Angola, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo. This was done through an analysis of deforestation, an estimation of gas flared, and a suitability study for the infrastructure needed to realize the natural gas resources. The energy from potential natural gas production was compared to the energy equivalent of the biomass being harvested. A site suitability study for natural gas pipeline routes from flare sites to populous locations was conducted to assess the feasibility of utilizing natural gas for domestic energy needs. Analyses and results were shared with project partners, as well as this project's open source approach to assessing the energy sector. Ultimately, Africa's growth demands energy for its people, and natural gas is already being produced by the flourishing petroleum industry in numerous African countries. By utilizing this gas, Africa could reduce flaring, recuperate the financial and environmental loss that flaring accounts for, and unlock a plentiful domestic energy source for its people. II. Introduction Background Africa is home to numerous burgeoning economies; a significant number rely on oil production as their primary source of revenue. Relative to its size and population density, the continent has a wealth of natural resources, including oil and natural gas deposits. The exploration of these resources is not a new endeavor, but rather one that spans decades, up to a century in some places. Their resources, if realized, could provide a great means of economic and social mobility for the people of Africa. Currently, Africa represents about 12 % of the energy market, yet at the same time, consumes only 3 % of the world's energy (Kasekende 2009). The highe

Reforms: A Quest for Efficiency or an Opportunity for Vested Interests'? A Case Study of Pharmaceutical Policy Reforms in Tanzania.

Regulation of the pharmaceutical sector is a challenging task for most governments in the developing countries. In Tanzania, this task falls under the Food and Drugs Authority and the Pharmacy Council. In 2010, the Pharmacy Council spearheaded policy reforms in the pharmaceutical sector aimed at taking over the control of the regulation of the business of pharmacy from the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority. This study provides a critical analysis of these reforms. The study employed a qualitative case-study design. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and document reviews. Data was analyzed thematically using a policy triangle framework. The analysis was done manually. The reforms adopted an incremental model of public policy-making and the process was characterized by lobbying for political support, negotiations and bargaining between the interest groups. These negotiations were largely centred on vested interests and not on the impact of the reforms on the efficiency of pharmaceutical regulations in the country. Stakeholders from the micro and meso levels were minimally involved in the policy reforms. Recent pharmaceutical regulation reforms in Tanzania were overshadowed by vested interests, displacing a critical analysis of optimal policy options that have the potential to increase efficiency in the regulation of the business of pharmacy. Politics influenced decision-making at different levels of the reform process

DustPedia: Multiwavelength photometry and imagery of 875 nearby galaxies in 42 ultraviolet-microwave bands

Aims. The DustPedia project is capitalising on the legacy of the Herschel Space Observatory, using cutting-edge modelling techniques to study dust in the 875 DustPedia galaxies – representing the vast majority of extended galaxies within 3000 km s-1 that were observed by Herschel. This work requires a database of multiwavelength imagery and photometry that greatly exceeds the scope (in terms of wavelength coverage and number of galaxies) of any previous local-Universe survey. Methods. We constructed a database containing our own custom Herschel reductions, along with standardised archival observations from GALEX, SDSS, DSS, 2MASS, WISE, Spitzer, and Planck. Using these data, we performed consistent aperture-matched photometry, which we combined with external supplementary photometry from IRAS and Planck. Results. We present our multiwavelength imagery and photometry across 42 UV-microwave bands for the 875 DustPedia galaxies. Our aperture-matched photometry, combined with the external supplementary photometry, represents a total of 21 857 photometric measurements. A typical DustPedia galaxy has multiwavelength photometry spanning 25 bands. We also present the Comprehensive & Adaptable Aperture Photometry Routine (CAAPR), the pipeline we developed to carry out our aperture-matched photometry. CAAPR is designed to produce consistent photometry for the enormous range of galaxy and observation types in our data. In particular, CAAPR is able to determine robust cross-compatible uncertainties, thanks to a novel method for reliably extrapolating the aperture noise for observations that cover a very limited amount of background. Our rich database of imagery and photometry is being made available to the community

Not Just Collective Bargaining: The Role Of Trade Unions In Creating And Maintaining A Democratic Society

This essay addresses the historical and contemporary roles which trade unions have played in creating conditions necessary for democracy to flourish. Their effectiveness in fulfilling these roles is due in large measure to the organizational characteristics which make trade unions the archetypal civil society organization: democratic representation, demographic representation, financial independence, breadth of concerns and placement within society. This essay explores these aspects of the trade union movement and suggests that advocates for democracy have cause for concern in the absence of a vibrant, and independent, domestic trade union movement

The Sneeuberg: A new centre of floristic endemism on the Great Escarpment, South Africa

The Sneeuberg mountain complex (Eastern Cape) comprises one of the most prominent sections of the Great Escarpment in southern Africa but until now has remained one of the botanically least known regions. The Sneeuberg is a discrete orographical entity, being delimited in the east by the Great Fish River valley, in the west by the Nelspoort Interval, to the south by the Plains of Camdeboo, and to the north by the Great Karoo pediplain. The highest peaks range from 2278 to 2504 m above sea level, and the summit plateaux range from 1800 to 2100 m. Following extensive literature review and a detailed collecting programme, the Sneeuberg is reported here as having a total flora of 1195 species of which 107 (9%) are alien species, 33 (2.8%) are endemic, and 13 (1.1%) near-endemic. Five species previously reported as Drakensberg Alpine Centre (DAC) endemics are now known to occur in the Sneeuberg (representing range extensions of some 300–500 km). One-hundred-and-five species (8.8%) are DAC near-endemics, with the Sneeuberg being the western limit for most of these. Ten species (0.8%) represent disjunctions across the Karoo Interval from the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) to the Sneeuberg. In all, some 23 significant range extensions, eight new species, and several rediscoveries are recorded. We conclude by recognising the Sneeuberg as a new centre of endemism along the Great Escarpment, with floristic affinities with the Albany Centre and the DAC, and links to the CFR

MeerGAL: the MeerKAT Galactic Plane Survey

Radio surveys of the Milky Way galaxy have transformed our understanding of star formationand stellar evolution. However, due to strong dependence of ?survey cost? on frequency mostlarge area surveys have so far been carried out at low frequencies (∼ a few GHz). These surveysselect against dense plasma as the free-free turnover frequency scales directly with electrondensity which means that there are significant biases against the detection of the youngest anddensest HII regions, Young Stellar Objects, jets, winds and Planetary Nebulae. Here we describethe MeerKAT Large Project MeerGAL, which aims to address this issue by making the first sensitivehigh frequency, high resolution multi-epoch survey of the Galactic Plane. Together withits Northern Hemisphere sister project KuGARS (the Ku-band Galactic Reconnaissance Survey),MeerGAL will revolutionise the study of massive star formation and stellar evolution, Galacticstructure, and variability.Fil: Thompson, M. A.. University Of Hertfordshire; Reino UnidoFil: Goedhart, S.. University of Cape Town; SudáfricaFil: Benaglia, Paula. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía; ArgentinaFil: Beuther, H.. Max Planck Institute Fur Astronomie; AlemaniaFil: Blomme, R.. Royal Observatory Of Belgium; BélgicaFil: Chrysostomou, A. C.. SKA Organisation; Reino UnidoFil: Clark, J. S.. Open University; Reino UnidoFil: Dickinson, C.. University of Manchester; Reino UnidoFil: Ellingsen, S.. University of Tasmania; AustraliaFil: Fenech, D.. University College London; Estados UnidosFil: Hindson, L.. University of Hertfordshire; Reino UnidoFil: van Langevelde, H. J.. Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe; Países BajosFil: Longmore, S. N.. Liverpool John Moores University; Reino UnidoFil: MacLeod, G.. Hartebeesthoek Radio Observatory; SudáfricaFil: Molinari, S.. Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica; ItaliaFil: Prinja, E.. University College London; Estados UnidosFil: Purcell, C. R.. Macquarie University; AustraliaFil: Stevens, I.. University of Birmingham; Reino UnidoFil: Umana, G.. INAF. Catania Astrophysical Observatory; ItaliaFil: Urquhart, J. S.. University of Kent; Reino UnidoFil: Vlemmings, W.. Chalmers University of Technology; SueciaFil: Walsh, A. J.. Curtin University; AustraliaFil: Yang, A. Y.. National Astronomical Observatories; ChinaFil: Zijlstra, A.. University of Manchester; Reino UnidoMeerKAT Science: On the Pathway to the SKAStellenboschSudáfricaSKA Collaboratio

The Global Health System: Actors, Norms, and Expectations in Transition

In the first in a series of four articles highlighting the changing nature of global health institutions, Nicole Szlezák and colleagues outline the origin and aim of the series

Financial risk tolerance of Chinese American families

This chapter investigates the factors that affect financial risk tolerance of Chinese American households. Research on the economic well-being of Chinese American households is extremely limited. Few national datasets differentiate Chinese Americans from other race/ethnicity groups. For this study, a survey of Chinese American households residing in Midwestern states was conducted. The results showed that about 80.5 % of the sample households expressed a willingness to take at least some financial risks. Factors that have an impact on financial risk tolerance of Chinese American households included gender, non-financial assets, income, and investment time horizon. Chinese Americans represents a small but fast-growing population in the USA. More research should be done to better serve the financial needs of this group.Includes bibliographical references

Stocks of carbon and nitrogen and partitioning between above- and belowground pools in the Brazilian coastal Atlantic Forest elevation range

We estimated carbon and nitrogen stocks in aboveground biomass (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB) along an elevation range in forest sites located on the steep slopes of the Serra do Mar on the north coast of the State of São Paulo, southeast Brazil. In elevations of 100 m (lowland), 400 m (submontane), and 1000 m (montane) four 1-ha plots were established, and above- (live and dead) and belowground (live and dead) biomass were determined. Carbon and nitrogen concentrations in each compartment were determined and used to convert biomass into carbon and nitrogen stocks. The carbon aboveground stock (CAGB) varied along the elevation range from approximately 110 to 150 Mg·ha−1, and nitrogen aboveground stock (NAGB), varied from approximately 1.0 to 1.9 Mg·ha−1. The carbon belowground stock (CBGB) and the nitrogen belowground stock (NBGB) were significantly higher than the AGB and varied along the elevation range from approximately 200–300 Mg·ha−1, and from 14 to 20 Mg·ha−1, respectively. Finally, the total carbon stock (CTOTAL) varied from approximately 320 to 460 Mg·ha−1, and the nitrogen total stock (NTOTAL) from approximately 15 to 22 Mg·ha−1. Most of the carbon and nitrogen stocks were found belowground and not aboveground as normally found in lowland tropical forests. The above- and belowground stocks, and consequently, the total stocks of carbon and nitrogen increased significantly with elevation. As the soil and air temperature also decreased significantly with elevation, we found a significantly inverse relationship between carbon and nitrogen stocks and temperature. Using this inverse relationship, we made a first approach estimate that an increase of 1°C in soil temperature would decrease the carbon and nitrogen stocks in approximately 17 Mg·ha−1 and 1 Mg·ha−1 of carbon and nitrogen, respectively