Letter from J[oseph] E[dward] Stubbs to John Muir, 1901 Aug 16.

some convenient time.We shall feel ourselves greatly honored if you can make us a visit sometime during this fall or winter, not, however, earlier than the 20th of October.I leave for England on a two-months vacation shortly, expecting to return about the 20th of October, and I should not want to be away from home at the time of your visit.With high esteem, I remain,Very respectfully yours,President.NEVADA STATE UNIVERSITYReno, Nevada,August 16, 1901.Mr.John Muir,Martinez, California.My dear Sir:our Professor Anna Martin returned from her trip through the Yosemite Valley bubbling over with enthusiasm.She mentioned among the most pleasing incidents of her trip the meeting with you. Professor Martin says that you will perhaps kindly waive your usual rule with regard to speaking to University students so far as to accept an invitation to visit the University of Nevada at[02881

Testing of the LSST's photometric calibration strategy at the CTIO 0.9 meter telescope

The calibration hardware system of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) is designed to measure two quantities: a telescope's instrumental response and atmospheric transmission, both as a function of wavelength. First of all, a "collimated beam projector" is designed to measure the instrumental response function by projecting monochromatic light through a mask and a collimating optic onto the telescope. During the measurement, the light level is monitored with a NIST-traceable photodiode. This method does not suffer from stray light effects or the reflections (known as ghosting) present when using a flat-field screen illumination, which has a systematic source of uncertainty from uncontrolled reflections. It allows for an independent measurement of the throughput of the telescope's optical train as well as each filter's transmission as a function of position on the primary mirror. Second, CALSPEC stars can be used as calibrated light sources to illuminate the atmosphere and measure its transmission. To measure the atmosphere's transfer function, we use the telescope's imager with a Ronchi grating in place of a filter to configure it as a low resolution slitless spectrograph. In this paper, we describe this calibration strategy, focusing on results from a prototype system at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) 0.9 meter telescope. We compare the instrumental throughput measurements to nominal values measured using a laboratory spectrophotometer, and we describe measurements of the atmosphere made via CALSPEC standard stars during the same run

State of the Nations : Transport Planning for a sustainable future

The State of the Nations 2020 report report reviews travel trends and behaviours, current government policy, regional transport planning, spending and investment and transport taxes and charges to enable the Transport Planning Society to make clear recommendations to government and the sector. The report concludes that the way transport is planned and integrated into society will be key to the UK’s ability to address the major challenges of today, particularly the decarbonisation of transport. Transport spending and taxation needs to support decarbonisation, with objectives set out in transport strategies and spending priorities to address these important national aims. Governments should give transport planners, especially in local and sub-national authorities, the policies, tools, funding, data and freedoms to improve the transport system for all users to provide a better quality of life for people and communities across the nations. Transport for London should serve as a model for well-resourced local and regional authorities, combining spatial and transport planning and with their own revenue raising powers, but with requirements for setting pathways to cut CO2 emissions

Are people with schizophrenia adherent to diabetes medication? A comparative meta-analysis

Individuals living with schizophrenia are 2–3 times more likely to experience type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diabetes medication adherence is essential to reduce morbidity and mortality in this population. We conducted a meta-analysis of diabetes medication adherence among people with schizophrenia, and compared this to those without schizophrenia. A systematic search strategy was used to identify all articles reporting adherence to diabetes medications among patients with schizophrenia. In total, 10 unique studies reporting data from 33,910 people with schizophrenia were included. Random effects meta-analysis showed people with schizophrenia adhered to medication on 77.3% of days prescribed (n=32080, 95%CI=73.6–81%, I2=99.2%,), and adhered on 4.6% more days per year than those without schizophrenia (p<0.01, 95%CI=2.4–6.7%, I2=92.5%, schizophrenia n=19367, controls=170,853). Furthermore, 56% of individuals with schizophrenia (n=33680) were considered “adherent” (i.e. >80% adherence over 12–24 month) to diabetes medication, which was significantly more than those without schizophrenia (OR=1.34, 95%CI: 1.18–1.52, p<0.01). Factors which were positively associated with diabetes medication adherence were age, number of outpatient visits, along with multiple medication administration variables. Future prospective research should examine diabetes monitoring, medication prescription, and subsequent adherence in fully representative samples. Novel interventions for maximizing compliance to diabetes medication in this vulnerable population should also be explored

Fast food consumption and suicide attempts among adolescents aged 12-15 years from 32 countries

Background: We examined the fast food consumption-suicide attempt relationship among 105,061 adolescents aged 12-15 years from 32 countries. Methods: This study was based on cross-sectional data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS), and included 4 low-income, 13 lower middle-income, 9 upper middle-income, and 6 high-income countries. Data on past 7-day fast food consumption and 12-month suicide attempts were collected. The association between fast food consumption and suicide attempts was investigated with multivariable logistic regression and meta-analysis while adjusting for sex, age, food insecurity (proxy of socioeconomic status), alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, obesity, carbonated soft drink consumption, and fruit and vegetable consumption. Results: Overall, the prevalence of fast food consumption was high (53.5%) and the proportion of suicide attempts was higher among consumers of fast food compared to non-consumers (11.8% vs. 8.3%). Of the 32 countries included in the study, a positive association between fast food consumption and suicide attempts was found in 26 countries although this was not statistically significant in all countries. The pooled OR (95% CI) based on a meta-analysis was 1.31 (1.17-1.46). Limitations: Since this was a cross-sectional study, it is not possible to draw any conclusions about causality or temporality in the associations assessed. Conclusions: Fast food consumption is positively associated with suicide attempts in adolescents. Further research of longitudinal design is needed to confirm/refute our findings and explore the potential underlying mechanisms

Disparities in COVID-19 infection, hospitalisation and death in people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder: a cohort study of the UK Biobank

People with severe mental illness (SMI; including schizophrenia/psychosis, bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD)) experience large disparities in physical health. Emerging evidence suggests this group experiences higher risks of infection and death from COVID-19, although the full extent of these disparities are not yet established. We investigated COVID-19 related infection, hospitalisation and mortality among people with SMI in the UK Biobank (UKB) cohort study. Overall, 447,296 participants from UKB (schizophrenia/psychosis = 1925, BD = 1483 and MDD = 41,448, non-SMI = 402,440) were linked with healthcare and death records. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine differences in COVID-19 outcomes by diagnosis, controlling for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities. In unadjusted analyses, higher odds of COVID-19 mortality were seen among people with schizophrenia/psychosis (odds ratio [OR] 4.84, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.00–7.34), BD (OR 3.76, 95% CI 2.00–6.35), and MDD (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.69–2.33) compared to people with no SMI. Higher odds of infection and hospitalisation were also seen across all SMI groups, particularly among people with schizophrenia/psychosis (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.32–1.96; OR 3.47, 95% CI 2.47–4.72) and BD (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.16–1.85; OR 3.31, 95% CI 2.22–4.73). In fully adjusted models, mortality and hospitalisation odds remained significantly higher among all SMI groups, though infection odds remained significantly higher only for MDD. People with schizophrenia/psychosis, BD and MDD have higher risks of COVID-19 infection, hospitalisation and mortality. Only a proportion of these disparities were accounted for by pre-existing demographic characteristics or comorbidities. Vaccination and preventive measures should be prioritised in these particularly vulnerable groups