Chemical composition of outdoor airborne particles at urban schools and possible implications for the air quality in classrooms

Vehicle emissions are a significant source of fine particles (Dp < 2.5 µm) in an urban environment. These fine particles have been shown to have detrimental health effects, with children thought to be more susceptible. Vehicle emissions are mainly carbonaceous in nature, and carbonaceous aerosols can be defined as either elemental carbon (EC) or organic carbon (OC). EC is a soot-like material emitted from primary sources while OC fraction is a complex mixture of hundreds of organic compounds from either primary or secondary sources (Cao et al., 2006). Therefore the ratio of OC/EC can aid in the identification of source. The purpose of this paper is to use the concentration of OC and EC in fine particles to determine the levels of vehicle emissions in schools. It is expected that this will improve the understanding of the potential exposure of children in a school environment to vehicle emissions

An Economic analysis of the potential for precision farming in UK cereal production

The results from alternative spatial nitrogen application studies are analysed in economic terms and compared to the costs of precision farming hardware, software and other services for cereal crops in the UK. At current prices, the benefits of variable rate application of nitrogen exceed the returns from a uniform application by an average of £22 ha−1 The cost of the precision farming systems range from £5 to £18 ha−1 depending upon the system chosen for an area of 250 ha. The benefits outweigh the associated costs for cereal farms in excess of 80 ha for the lowest price system to 200–300 ha for the more sophisticated systems. The scale of benefits obtained depends upon the magnitude of the response to the treatment and the proportion of the field that will respond. To be cost effective, a farmed area of 250 ha of cereals, where 30% of the area will respond to variable treatment, requires an increase in crop yield in the responsive areas of between 0·25 and 1.00 t ha−1 (at £65 t−1) for the basic and most expensive precision farming systems, respectively

Laparoscopic Surgeries during Pregnancy - Related Anaesthetic Concerns

Pregnancy is no longer considered a contraindication to laparoscopic surgery. The advantages include less exposure of the fetus to possibly toxic agents, smaller incisions, decreased pain, less need for analgesics, more rapid recovery and mobilization. By understanding the physiological and pharmacological changes during pregnancy, surgery and related anesthesia risk can be minimized on mother and fetus. Appendicitis, cholecystitis, ovarian torsion and trauma are among the more common indications for surgical intervention. Less commonly, cardiac and neurological procedures are undertaken during pregnancy

Financial Reporting for Foreign Exchange Derivatives

A major objective of the FASB\u27s financial instruments project, inclusive of SFAS 105, SFAS 107 and SFAS 119, is to provide information useful to investors in assessing the credit and market rish associated with the use of off-balance-sheet ifnancial instruments. We survey 1992 SFAS 105 and SFAS 107 disclosures on Foreign Exchange Derivatives (FXD) to: (1) benchmark current practice by summarizing quantitative and qualitative disclosures of FXD, and (2) examine the usefulness of current disclosures in assessing market and credit rish related to FXD. In achieving these objectives, we provide insight into how leading U.S. multinationals operationalize accounting standards related to off-balance-sheet financial instruments and identify disclosrue attributes of footnotes unarticulateld to the financial statements. We conclude from our survey that (1) some firms make extensive us of FXD, (2) there is substantial compliance with SFAS 105 and SFAS 107 requirements, (3) large dealers comply with the FASB\u27s credit rish disclosure requirements, (4) book and air values of FXD are small relative to contract and notional amounts and (5) disclosures providing information on market rish are deficient due to lack of both specificity and quantification

Asynchronous Wi-Fi Control Interface (AWCI) Using Socket IO Technology

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices to the Internet that are provided with unique identifiers which has the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to- human or human-to- computer interaction. Raspberry pi-3 a popular, cheap, small and powerful computer with built in Wi-Fi can be used to make any devices smart by connecting to that particular device and embedding the required software to Raspberry pi-3 and connect it to Internet. It is difficult to install a full Linux OS inside a small devices like light switch so in that case to connect to a Wi-Fi connection a model was proposed known as Asynchronous Wi-Fi Control Interface (AWCI) which is a simple Wi-Fi connectivity software for a Debian compatible Linux OS). The objective of this paper is to make the interactive user interface for Wi-Fi connection in Raspberry Pi touch display by providing live updates using Socket IO technology. The Socket IO technology enables real-time bidirectional communication between client and server. Asynchronous Wi-Fi Control Interface (AWCI) is compatible with every platform, browser or device.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, published with Global Research and Development Journal for Engineerin

Multiaperture UBVRIzJHKUBVRIzJHK Photometry of Galaxies in the Coma Cluster

We present a set of $UBVRIzJHK_s$ photometry for 745 $J+H$ band selected objects in a $22.5' \times 29.2'$ region centered on the core of the Coma cluster. This includes 516 galaxies and is at least 80% complete to H=16, with a spectroscopically complete sample of 111 cluster members (nearly all with morphological classification) for $H < 14.5$. For each object we present total \cite{kron80} magnitudes and aperture photometry. As an example, we use these data to derive color-magnitude relations for Coma early-type galaxies, measure the intrinsic scatter of these relations and its dependence on galaxy mass, and address the issue of color gradients. We find that the color gradients are mild and that the intrinsic scatter about the color-magnitude relation is small ($\sim 0.05$ mag in $U-V$ and less than $\sim 0.03$ in $B-R$, $V-I$ or $J-K$). There is no evidence that the intrinsic scatter varies with galaxy luminosity, suggesting that the cluster red sequence is established at early epochs over a range of $\sim 100$ in stellar mass.Comment: 41 pages, 5 figures, 18 data tables attached to source files or available on request from R. De propris. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Supplement Serie

Low-Luminosity Early-Type Galaxies in the Coma Cluster: Variations in Spectral Properties

We present spectra of nine low-luminosity early-type galaxies (M_B > -17.5) in the Coma cluster. The spectra, which were obtained with the Multiple Mirror Telescope and cover the spectral region 3300-5350 A, exhibit a large variation in Balmer line strengths. In fact the line strength variation among the Coma low-luminosity galaxies is as large as that found among a sample of low-luminosity ellipticals in the Virgo cluster and lower density environments. When compared to detailed population synthesis models, the variation in Balmer line strengths among the Coma galaxies indicates a range in luminosity-weighted mean age of from 1 Gyr to 12 Gyr. The two youngest galaxies are shown to be in a post-starburst state, i.e., they are not simply former spirals whose star formation was recently terminated. Moreover, the 1 Gyr ages of these two youngest low-luminosity galaxies are similar to those of the brighter post-starburst galaxies in Coma.Comment: To appear in the Astronomical Journa

Randomized Efficacy Trial of a Micronutrient-Fortified Beverage in Primary School Children in Tanzania.

Dietary supplements providing physiologic amounts of several micronutrients simultaneously have not been thoroughly tested for combating micronutrient deficiencies. We determined whether a beverage fortified with 10 micronutrients at physiologic doses influenced the iron and vitamin A status and growth of rural children (aged 6-11 y) attending primary schools. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled efficacy trial, children were assigned to receive the fortified beverage or an unfortified beverage at school for 6 mo. There were nonsignificant differences at baseline between children in the fortified and nonfortified groups in iron status, serum retinol, and anthropometry. At the 6-mo follow-up, among children with anemia (hemoglobin < 110 g/L), there was a significantly larger increase in hemoglobin concentration in the fortified group than in the nonfortified group (9.2 and 0.2 g/L, respectively). Of those who were anemic at baseline, 69.4% in the nonfortified group and 55.1% in the fortified group remained anemic at follow-up (RR: 0.79), a cure rate of 21%. The prevalence of children with low serum retinol concentrations (< 200 microg/L) dropped significantly from 21.4% to 11.3% in the fortified group compared with a nonsignificant change (20.6% to 19.7%) in the nonfortified group. At follow-up, mean incremental changes in weight (1.79 compared with 1.24 kg), height (3.2 compared with 2.6 cm), and BMI (0.88 compared with 0.53) were significantly higher in the fortified group than in the nonfortified group. The fortified beverage significantly improved hematologic and anthropometric measurements and significantly lowered the overall prevalence of anemia and vitamin A deficiency