2,898 research outputs found
Women's experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period in the Gambia: A qualitative study
Objective: In sub-Saharan African countries, there are unique cultural factors and adverse physical conditions that contribute to women's experiences of pregnancy and birth. The objective of this study was to qualitatively explore women's experiences of pregnancy, childbirth, the postnatal period, and maternal psychological distress in The Gambia.
Design and methods: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 55 women who had given birth within the previous year.
Results: Thematic analysis identified five themes: (1) transition to adulthood, (2) physical difficulties, (3) value of children in relation to others, (4) children as a strain, and (5) going through it alone. The results suggest that having a child is a defining point in women's lives associated with happiness and joy. However, women also described situations which could lead to unhappiness and distress in the perinatal period. A child conceived out of wedlock or a baby girl can be sources of distress because of negative cultural perceptions. The strain of having a child, particularly the additional financial burden, and minimal support from men were also a concern for women. Finally, women recognized the danger associated with delivery and expressed recurrent worries of complications during childbirth which could result in the death of them or the baby.
Conclusions: Further research is needed to identify women vulnerable to psychological distress so that health services and target interventions can be developed accordingly
Haze in the Klang Valley of Malaysia
Continuous measurements of dry aerosol light scattering (Bsp) were made at two sites in the Klang Valley of Malaysia between December 1998 and December 2000. In addition 24-h PM2.5 samples were collected on a one-day-in-six cycle and the chemical composition of the aerosol was determined. Periods of excessive haze were defined as 24-h average Bsp values greater than 150 Mm-1 and these occurred on a number of occasions, between May and September 1999, during May 2000, and between July and September 2000. The evidence for smoke being a significant contributor to aerosol during periods of excessive haze is discussed and includes features of the aerosol chemistry, the diurnal cycle of Bsp, and the coincidence of forest fires on Sumatra during the southwest (SW) monsoon period, as well as transport modelling for one week of the southwest Monsoon of 2000. The study highlights that whilst transboundary smoke is a major contributor to poor visibility in the Klang Valley, smoke from fires on Peninsular Malaysia is also a contributor, and at all times, the domestic source of secondary particle production is present
Crucible of the Civil War: Virginia from Secession to Commemoration
Crucible of the Civil War offers an illuminating portrait of the state’s wartime economic, political, and social institutions. Weighing in on contentious issues within established scholarship while also breaking ground in areas long neglected by scholars, the contributors examine such concerns as the war’s effect on slavery in the state, the wartime intersection of race and religion, and the development of Confederate social networks. They also shed light on topics long disputed by historians, such as Virginia’s decision to secede from the Union, the development of Confederate nationalism, and how Virginians chose to remember the war after its close.https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/1258/thumbnail.jp
Post-traumatic stress disorder following childbirth: an update of current issues and recommendations for future research
Objective:
This paper aimed to report the current status of research in the field of post-traumatic stress disorder following childbirth (PTSD FC), and to update the findings of an earlier 2008 paper.
Background:
A group of international researchers, clinicians and service users met in 2006 to establish the state of clinical and academic knowledge relating to PTSD FC. A paper identified four key areas of research knowledge at that time.
Methods:
Fourteen clinicians and researchers met in Oxford, UK to update the previously published paper relating to PTSD FC. The first part of the meeting focused on updating the four key areas identified previously, and the second part on discussing new and emerging areas of research within the field.
Results:
A number of advances have been made in research within the area of PTSD FC. Prevalence is well established within mothers, several intervention studies have been published, and there is growing interest in new areas: staff and pathways; prevention and early intervention; impact on families and children; special populations; and post-traumatic growth.
Conclusion:
Despite progress, significant gaps remain within the PTSD FC knowledge base. Further research continues to be needed across all areas identified in 2006, and five areas were identified which can be seen as ‘new and emerging’. All of these new areas require further extensive research. Relatively little is still known about PTSD FC
Modeling sea-salt aerosols in the atmosphere: 2. Atmospheric concentrations and fluxes
Atmospheric sea-salt aerosol concentrations are studied using both long-term observations and model simulations of Na+ at seven stations around the globe. Good agreement is achieved between observations and model predictions in the northern hemisphere. A stronger seasonal variation occurs in the high-latitude North Atlantic than in regions close to the equator and in high-latitude southern hemisphere. Generally, concentrations are higher for both boreal and austral winters. With the model, the production flux and removal flux at the atmosphere-ocean interface was calculated and used to estimate the global sea-salt budget. The flux also shows seasonal variation similar to that of sea-salt concentration. Depending on the geographic location, the model predicts that dry deposition accounts for 60–70% of the total sea-salt removed from the atmosphere while in-cloud and below-cloud precipitation scavenging accounts for about 1% and 28–39% of the remainder, respectively. The total amount of sea-salt aerosols emitted from the world oceans to the atmosphere is estimated to be in the vicinity of 1.17×1016 g yr−1. Approximately 99% of the sea-salt aerosol mass generated by wind falls back to the sea with about 1–2% remaining in the atmosphere to be exported from the original grid square (300×300 km). Only a small portion of that exported (∼4%) is associated with submicron particles that are likely to undergo long-range transport
Dust aerosol effect on semi-arid climate over Northwest China detected from A-Train satellite measurements
The impact of dust aerosols on the semi-arid climate of Northwest China is analyzed by comparing aerosol and cloud properties derived over the China semi-arid region (hereafter, CSR) and the United States semi-arid region (hereafter, USR) using several years of surface and A-Train satellite observations during active dust event seasons. These regions have similar climatic conditions, but aerosol concentrations are greater over the CSR. Because the CSR is close to two major dust source regions (Taklamakan and Gobi deserts), the aerosols over the CSR not only contain local anthropogenic aerosols (agricultural dust, black carbon and other anthropogenic aerosols), but also include natural dust transported from the source regions. The aerosol optical depth, averaged over a 3-month period, derived from MODIS for the CSR is 0.27, which is 47% higher than that over the USR (0.19). Although transported natural dust only accounts for 53% of this difference, it is a major contributor to the average absorbing aerosol index, which is 27% higher in the CSR (1.07) than in the USR (0.84). During dust event periods, liquid water cloud particle size, optical depth and liquid water path are smaller by 9%, 30% and 33% compared to dust-free conditions, respectively
Quasiparticle properties in a density functional framework
We propose a framework to construct the ground-state energy and density
matrix of an N-electron system by solving selfconsistently a set of
single-particle equations. The method can be viewed as a non-trivial extension
of the Kohn-Sham scheme (which is embedded as a special case). It is based on
separating the Green's function into a quasi-particle part and a background
part, and expressing only the background part as a functional of the density
matrix. The calculated single-particle energies and wave functions have a clear
physical interpretation as quasiparticle energies and orbitals.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Effects of Microgravity on the Formation of Aerogels
This paper describes research to investigate fundamental aspects of the effects of microgravity on the formation of the microstructure of metal oxide alcogels and aerogels. We are studying the role of gravity on pore structure and gel uniformity in collaboration with Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) on gelling systems under microgravity conditions. While this project was just initiated in May 1998, related research performed earlier is described along with the plans and rationale for the current microgravity investigation to provide background and describe newly developing techniques that should be useful for the current gellation studies. The role of gravity in materials processing must be investigated through the study of well-mastered systems. Sol-gel processed materials are near-perfect candidates to determine the effect of gravity on the formation and growth of random clusters from hierarchies of aggregated units. The processes of hydrolysis, condensation, aggregation and gellation in the formation of alcogels are affected by gravity and therefore provide a rich system to study under microgravity conditions. Supercritical drying of the otherwise unstable wet alcogel preserves the alcogel structure produced during sol-gel processing as aerogel. Supercritically dried aerogel provides for the study of material microstructures without interference from the effects of surface tension, evaporation, and solvent flow. Aerogels are microstructured, low density open-pore solids. They have many unusual properties including: transparency, excellent thermal resistance, high surface area, very low refractive index, a dielectric constant approaching that of air, and extremely low sound velocity. Aerogels are synthesized using sol-gel processing followed by supercritical solvent extraction that leaves the original gel structure virtually intact. These studies will elucidate the effects of microgravity on the homogeneity of the microstructure and porosity of aerogel. The presence of poorly controlled microporosity in aerogel leads to material non-uniformity that gives rise to increased light scattering. Investigation of the effect of gravity driven solute flows within microclusters and their effect on condensation and agglomeration reactions will enable us to improve the preparation and properties of aerogel. Increased clarity of images viewed through aerogel and decreased scattering from the pores of aerogel will significantly improve the prospects for large-scale adoption of aerogel in such applications as transparent insulating windows, high performance thermal insulation, and Cherenkov detectors
Culex tarsalis is a competent vector species for Cache Valley virus
Background: Cache Valley virus (CVV) is a mosquito-borne orthobunyavirus endemic in North America. The virus is
an important agricultural pathogen leading to abortion and embryonic lethality in ruminant species, especially
sheep. The importance of CVV in human public health has recently increased because of the report of severe
neurotropic diseases. However, mosquito species responsible for transmission of the virus to humans remain to be
determined. In this study, vector competence of three Culex species mosquitoes of public health importance, Culex
pipiens, Cx. tarsalis and Cx. quinquefasciatus, was determined in order to identify potential bridge vector species
responsible for the transmission of CVV from viremic vertebrate hosts to humans.
Results: Variation of susceptibility to CVV was observed among selected Culex species mosquitoes tested in this
study. Per os infection resulted in the establishment of infection and dissemination in Culex tarsalis, whereas Cx.
pipiens and Cx. quinquefasciatus were highly refractory to CVV. Detection of viral RNA in saliva collected from
infected Cx. tarsalis provided evidence supporting its role as a competent vector.
Conclusions: Our study provided further understanding of the transmission cycles of CVV and identifies Cx. tarsalis
as a competent vector
On the selective deposition of tin and tin oxide on various glasses using a high power diode laser
The deposition of SnO2 using a 120 W high power diode laser (HPDL) on both fused silica and soda-lime-silica glass has been successfully demonstrated. Deposition on both glass substrates was carried out with laser power densities of 650-1600 W cm-2 and at rates of 420-1550 mm min-1. The thickness of the deposited layers was typically around 250 m. The maximum theoretical coverage rate that it may be possible to achieve using the HPDL was calculated as being 3.72 m2 h-1. Owing to the wettability characteristics of Sn, it proved impossible to deposit the metal on either glass substrate. Evidence of solidified microstructures was observed, with the microstructures differing considerably across the same deposited track. These differences were attributed to variations in the solidification rate, R, and the thermal gradient, G. Adhesion of the SnO2 with the soda-lime-silica glass was found to be due to mechanical bonding. The adhesion of the SnO2 with the fused silica was seen to the result of a chemical bond arising from an interface region between the SnO2 and the fused silica glass substrate. This interface region was found to be comprised of mainly Si and rich with Sn3O4
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