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Leveraging geospatial technologies for flood management and disaster assessment in the Lower Mekong River Basin
The sixty million inhabitants of the Lower Mekong River Basin (LMB) in Southeast Asia rely on the natural resources provided by the Mekong River and its annual flooding. Extreme events, however, can cause widespread agricultural, structural, and humanitarian loss across the basin. Population increases, land use change, hydropower development, and climate change threaten to increase flood risk and potential damage over the next century. Geospatial technologies such as satellite remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide powerful tools for assessing historic risk and monitoring real-time events. In this thesis, I first assess trends in flood magnitude and timing over the last 90 years using stream gauge data to understand changes in the annual flooding of the river and associated risk. Next, I develop methods for using satellite data to map flood extent and relative degree, as well as assess risk to agriculture from both floods and droughts based on historic conditions. Lastly, I demonstrate how the satellite-derived flood maps can be integrated with socio-economic data in automated GIS tools to provide timely and reliable estimates of socio-economic damage during disasters.Geography and the Environmen
Properties of the ground F state and the excited P state of atomic thorium in cold collisions with He
We measure inelastic collisional cross sections for the ground F
state and the excited P state of atomic thorium in cold collisions with
He. We determine for Th (F) at 800 mK the ratio of the momentum-transfer to Zeeman relaxation cross sections for
collisions with He. For Th (P), we study electronic inelastic
processes and find no quenching even after collisions. We also determine
the radiative lifetime of Th (P) to be ms. This great
stability of the metastable state opens up the possibility for further study,
including trapping
Vibrational quenching of the electronic ground state in ThO in cold collisions with He
We measure the ratio of the momentum-transfer to the vibrational
quenching cross section for the X (), , state
of molecular thorium monoxide (ThO) in collisions with atomic He between
800 mK and 2.4 K. We observe indirect evidence for ThO--He van der Waals'
complex formation, which has been predicted by theory. We determine the 3-body
recombination rate constant at 2.4 K, and establish that the binding
energy E 4 K
Principles of Pretrial Release: Reforming Bail Without Repeating its Harms
Bail reform is happening. Across the country, jurisdictions are beginning to recognize that contemporary pretrial systems rooted in money bail are discriminatory, ineffective, and (by and large) unconstitutional. A common and substantial component of contemporary reforms is an increased reliance on conditional release as an alternative to pretrial incarceration. In many ways, conditional release represents an improvement over money bail, but the practice of conditional release has its own pitfalls.
This Article identifies unforeseen and unplanned harms that can result from a system of conditional release and proposes five principles that jurisdictions can follow to eliminate or mitigate these harms. As the options for pretrial conditions continue to expand, judges may impose more conditions than are necessary, including conditions that are burdensome and ineffective. Because pretrial monitoring is inexpensive—especially when subsidized by user fees for pretrial monitoring—there is a risk that courts will impose monitoring and other conditions on people who would previously have been released without conditions. Taken together, these harms can prolong people’s involvement in the criminal justice system, restrict their liberty in profound ways, set them up for pretrial incarceration through technical violations, and saddle them with unaffordable debts.
To responsibly use conditional release without replicating the harms of money bail, jurisdictions should adopt the following five principles. One, release on recognizance should be the norm and conditional release the exception. Two, the principle of parsimony should guide decisions over what conditions of release to impose—meaning that burdens placed on defendants and restrictions of their liberty should not exceed the legitimate interests of the government. Three, conditions should be minimal, related to the charged conduct, and proportionate to the risk of flight and pretrial criminal activity. Four, jurisdictions should not charge fees for conditional release, pretrial services, or pretrial monitoring. Five, restrictions on pretrial liberty should be evidence-based
Large spin relaxation rates in trapped submerged-shell atoms
Spin relaxation due to atom-atom collisions is measured for magnetically
trapped erbium and thulium atoms at a temperature near 500 mK. The rate
constants for Er-Er and Tm-Tm collisions are 3.0 times 10^-10 cm^3 s^-1 and 1.1
times 10^-10 cm^3 s^-1, respectively, 2-3 orders of magnitude larger than those
observed for highly magnetic S-state atoms. This is strong evidence for an
additional, dominant, spin relaxation mechanism, electrostatic anisotropy, in
collisions between these "submerged-shell" L > 0 atoms. These large spin
relaxation rates imply that evaporative cooling of these atoms in a magnetic
trap will be highly inefficient.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Genome-wide RNA sequencing of ocular fibroblasts from glaucomatous and normal eyes: Implications for glaucoma management
Primary open angle glaucoma is a leading cause of visual impairment and blindness which is commonly treated with drugs or laser but may require surgery. Tenon’s ocular fibroblasts are involved in wound-healing after glaucoma filtration surgery and may compromise a favourable outcome of glaucoma surgery by contributing to fibrosis. To investigate changes in gene expression and key pathways contributing to the glaucomatous state we performed genome-wide RNA sequencing. Human Tenon’s ocular fibroblasts were cultured from normal and glaucomatous human donors undergoing eye surgery (n = 12). mRNA was extracted and RNA-Seq performed on the Illumina platform. Differentially expressed genes were identified using a bioinformatics pipeline consisting of FastQC, STAR, FeatureCounts and edgeR. Changes in biological functions and pathways were determined using Enrichr and clustered using Cytoscape. A total of 5817 genes were differentially expressed between Tenon’s ocular fibroblasts from normal versus glaucomatous eyes. Enrichment analysis showed 787 significantly different biological functions and pathways which were clustered into 176 clusters. Tenon’s ocular fibroblasts from glaucomatous eyes showed signs of fibrosis with fibroblast to myofibroblast transdifferentiation and associated changes in mitochondrial fission, remodeling of the extracellular matrix, proliferation, unfolded protein response, inflammation and apoptosis which may relate to the pathogenesis of glaucoma or the detrimental effects of topical glaucoma therapies. Altered gene expression in glaucomatous Tenon’s ocular fibroblasts may contribute to an unfavourable outcome of glaucoma filtration surgery. This work presents a genome-wide transcriptome of glaucomatous versus normal Tenon’s ocular fibroblasts which may identify genes or pathways of therapeutic value to improve surgical outcomes
Community Experiences of Serious Organised Crime in Scotland
This summary sets out key findings from a research project that aimed to explore the community experiences of serious organised crime ( SOC) in Scotland. The study sought to answer the following questions: 1) What are the relationships that exist between SOC and communities in Scotland? 2) What are the experiences and perceptions of residents, stakeholders and organisations of the scope and nature of SOC within their local area? and 3) How does SOC impact on community wellbeing, and to what extent can the harms associated with SOC be mitigated? The work involved in-depth qualitative research, to understand both direct and indirect forms of harm. Key points pertaining to the research and its results are as follows: - The study involved the selection of three community case study sites based on a typology of ' SOC-affected' communities. These sites were based in varying urban and semi-urban settings. - The impact of SOC at a more 'diffuse' national level was explored via research in a range of smaller case study sites and via interviews with national stakeholders. This included a consideration of SOC impacts in rural and remote areas, and on populations that were not concentrated in any defined geographic community. - The case study areas were selected on the basis of pre-existing academic and policy literature, an initial set of interviews with key experts, and on the basis of aggregated and anonymised intelligence summaries provided by Police Scotland. - 188 individuals participated in the study, which mostly involved semi-structured qualitative interviews, but also a small number of focus groups, unstructured interviews and observational research. Interviews were conducted with residents, local businesses, service providers, community groups, and national organisations, as well as with a small number of individuals with lived experience of SOC. - Interviews comprised of questions about: the relationship between SOC and communities; the experiences and perceptions of residents and local service providers as to the nature and extent of SOC; and the impact of SOC on community wellbeing. - Preliminary findings were presented back to a sub-sample of 33 community residents and representatives, across three of the case study areas, through a feedback method called 'co-inquiry'. This involved the organisation of events designed to assess the integrity of the findings, and elicit reflections on the implications of the findings for potential actions
Use of complementary and alternative medicine by patients with hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome: A qualitative study
BackgroundPatients with hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) often make use of complementary and alternative medical (CAM) techniques to manage their chronic pain and other symptoms. Nevertheless, how they use CAM, which techniques they favor, and how CAM use affects their allopathic care remain unclear. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand patients’ personal experiences with CAM and its role in their symptom management.Materials and methodsThirty individuals living with hEDS completed a brief online survey related to their CAM use. Thereafter, in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 of the survey respondents, qualitatively investigating their experiences with CAM. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants described massage therapy (N = 21), medical cannabis (N = 12), and mindfulness (N = 13) as some of the most useful CAM modalities for managing symptoms related to hEDS, but they expressed a general interest in pursuing any treatment that could potentially reduce their chronic pain. They suggested an overall trust in CAM modalities and practitioners and ascribed greater empathy to CAM practitioners than to conventional medical providers. However, they also described a critical skepticism of CAM (and conventional) therapies and recounted instances of injury from such treatments.ConclusionParticipants made extensive use of CAM therapies. They described both critical benefits as well as harms from the use of these non-conventional modalities. These results underscore the importance of clinicians maintaining communicative and compassionate relationships with their patients, and of an openness to the discussion and use of CAM treatments
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