3,852 research outputs found
Spatial and Temporal Pattern of Rift Valley Fever Outbreaks in Tanzania; 1930 to 2007
Rift Valley fever (RVF)-like disease was first reported in Tanzania more than eight decades ago and the last large outbreak of the disease occurred in 2006â07. This study investigates the spatial and temporal pattern of RVF outbreaks in Tanzania over the past 80 years in order to guide prevention and control strategies. A retrospective study was carried out based on disease reporting data from Tanzania at district or village level. The data were sourced from the Ministries responsible for livestock and human health, Tanzania Meteorological Agency and research institutions involved in RVF surveillance and diagnosis. The spatial distribution of outbreaks was mapped using ArcGIS 10. The space-time permutation model was applied to identify clusters of cases, and a multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of outbreaks in the district. RVF outbreaks were reported between December and June in 1930, 1947, 1957, 1960, 1963, 1968, 1977â 79, 1989, 1997â98 and 2006â07 in 39.2% of the districts in Tanzania. There was statistically significant spatio-temporal clustering of outbreaks. RVF occurrence was associated with the eastern Rift Valley ecosystem (OR = 6.14, CI: 1.96, 19.28), total amount of rainfall of .405.4 mm (OR = 12.36, CI: 3.06, 49.88), soil texture (clay [OR = 8.76, CI: 2.52, 30.50], and loam [OR = 8.79, CI: 2.04, 37.82]). RVF outbreaks were found to be distributed heterogeneously and transmission dynamics appeared to vary between areas. The sequence of outbreak waves, continuously cover more parts of the country. Whenever infection has been introduced into an area, it is likely to be involved in future outbreaks. The cases were more likely to be reported from the eastern Rift Valley than from the western Rift Valley ecosystem and from areas with clay and loam rather than sandy soil texture
Soft Phonon Anomalies in the Relaxor Ferroelectric Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.92Ti_0.08O_3
Neutron inelastic scattering measurements of the polar TO phonon mode
dispersion in the cubic relaxor Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.92Ti_0.08O_3 at 500K reveal
anomalous behavior in which the optic branch appears to drop precipitously into
the acoustic branch at a finite value of the momentum transfer q=0.2 inverse
Angstroms, measured from the zone center. We speculate this behavior is the
result of nanometer-sized polar regions in the crystal.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Including albedo in time-dependent LCA of bioenergy
Albedo change during feedstock production can substantially alter the life cycle climate impact of bioenergy. Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies have compared the effects of albedo and greenhouse gases (GHGs) based on global warming potential (GWP). However, using GWP leads to unequal weighting of climate forcers that act on different timescales. In this study, albedo was included in the time-dependent LCA, which accounts for the timing of emissions and their impacts. We employed field-measured albedo and life cycle emissions data along with time-dependent models of radiative transfer, biogenic carbon fluxes and nitrous oxide emissions from soil. Climate impacts were expressed as global mean surface temperature change over time ( increment T) and as GWP. The bioenergy system analysed was heat and power production from short-rotation willow grown on former fallow land in Sweden. We found a net cooling effect in terms of increment T per hectare (-3.8 x 10(-11) K in year 100) and GWP(100) per MJ fuel (-12.2 g CO(2)e), as a result of soil carbon sequestration via high inputs of carbon from willow roots and litter. Albedo was higher under willow than fallow, contributing to the cooling effect and accounting for 34% of GWP(100), 36% of increment T in year 50 and 6% of increment T in year 100. Albedo dominated the short-term temperature response (10-20 years) but became, in relative terms, less important over time, owing to accumulation of soil carbon under sustained production and the longer perturbation lifetime of GHGs. The timing of impacts was explicit with increment T, which improves the relevance of LCA results to climate targets. Our method can be used to quantify the first-order radiative effect of albedo change on the global climate and relate it to the climate impact of GHG emissions in LCA of bioenergy, alternative energy sources or land uses
An interferometric gravitational wave detector as a quantum-gravity apparatus
As a consequence of the extreme precision of the measurements it performs, an
interferometric gravitational wave detector is a macroscopic apparatus for
which quantum effects are not negligible. I observe that this property can be
exploited to probe some aspects of the interplay between Quantum Mechanics and
Gravity.Comment: LaTex, 7 pages. Version accepted for publication in Nature. Under
press embargo until publicatio
Anomalous transverse acoustic phonon broadening in the relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O_3
The intrinsic linewidth of the transverse acoustic (TA) phonon
observed in the relaxor ferroelectric compound
Pb(MgNbTiO (PMN-20%PT) begins to broaden
with decreasing temperature around 650 K, nearly 300 K above the ferroelectric
transition temperature ( K). We speculate that this anomalous
behavior is directly related to the condensation of polarized, nanometer-sized,
regions at the Burns temperature . We also observe the ``waterfall''
anomaly previously seen in pure PMN, in which the transverse optic (TO) branch
appears to drop precipitously into the TA branch at a finite momentum transfer
\AA. The waterfall feature is seen even at
temperatures above . This latter result suggests that the PNR exist as
dynamic entities above .Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Effect of hydrogen on ground state structures of small silicon clusters
We present results for ground state structures of small SiH (2 \leq
\emph{n} \leq 10) clusters using the Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics. In
particular, we focus on how the addition of a hydrogen atom affects the ground
state geometry, total energy and the first excited electronic level gap of an
Si cluster. We discuss the nature of bonding of hydrogen in these
clusters. We find that hydrogen bonds with two silicon atoms only in SiH,
SiH and SiH clusters, while in other clusters (i.e. SiH,
SiH, SiH, SiH, SiH and SiH) hydrogen is bonded
to only one silicon atom. Also in the case of a compact and closed silicon
cluster hydrogen bonds to the cluster from outside. We find that the first
excited electronic level gap of Si and SiH fluctuates as a function
of size and this may provide a first principles basis for the short-range
potential fluctuations in hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Our results show that
the addition of a single hydrogen can cause large changes in the electronic
structure of a silicon cluster, though the geometry is not much affected. Our
calculation of the lowest energy fragmentation products of SiH clusters
shows that hydrogen is easily removed from SiH clusters.Comment: one latex file named script.tex including table and figure caption.
Six postscript figure files. figure_1a.ps and figure_1b.ps are files
representing Fig. 1 in the main tex
Phase diagram for morphological transitions of wetting films on chemically structured substrates
Using an interface displacement model we calculate the shapes of thin
liquidlike films adsorbed on flat substrates containing a chemical stripe. We
determine the entire phase diagram of morphological phase transitions in these
films as function of temperature, undersaturation, and stripe widthComment: 15 pages, RevTeX, 7 Figure
Competing orders in PZN-xPT and PMN-xPT relaxor ferroelectrics
Neutron and x-ray scattering studies on relaxor ferroelectric systems
Pb(ZnNb)O (PZN), Pb(MgNb)O (PMN), and
their solid solutions with PbTiO (PT) have shown that inhomogeneities and
disorder play important roles in the materials properties. Although a
long-range polar order can be established at low temperature - sometimes with
the help of an external electric field; short-range local structures called the
``polar nano-regions'' (PNR) still persist. Both the bulk structure and the PNR
have been studied in details. The coexistence and competition of long- and
short-range polar orders and how they affect the structural and dynamical
properties of relaxor materials are discussed.Comment: Article submitted for JPSJ Special Topics (Novel States of Matter
Induced by Frustration
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Three insects affecting clover seed production
Published April 1917. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo
Human Impacts on Forest Biodiversity in Protected Walnut-Fruit Forests in Kyrgyzstan
We used a spatially explicit model of forest dynamics, supported by empirical field data and socioeconomic data, to examine the impacts of human disturbances on a protected forest landscape in Kyrgyzstan. Local use of 27 fruit and nut species was recorded and modeled. Results indicated that in the presence of fuelwood cutting with or without grazing, species of high socioeconomic impor- tance such as Juglans regia, Malus spp., and Armeniaca vulgaris were largely eliminated from the landscape after 50â150 yr. In the absence of disturbance or in the presence of grazing only, decline of these species occurred at a much lower rate, owing to competi- tive interactions between tree species. This suggests that the current intensity of fuelwood harvesting is not sustainable. Conversely, cur- rent grazing intensities were found to have relatively little impact on forest structure and composition, and could potentially play a positive role in supporting regeneration of tree species. These results indicate that both positive and negative impacts on biodiversity can arise from human populations living within a protected area. Potentially, these could be reconciled through the development of participatory approaches to conservation management within this reserve, to ensure the maintenance of its high conservation value while meeting human needs
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