Southern Hemisphere meteor rates Final report

Diurnal variations of Southern Hemisphere meteor rat

Research Note: Toleration and Persecution: The Jewish Community of Medieval Regensburg

It is often assumed that European Jews of the Middle Ages were a small minority constantly harassed and persecuted by a bigoted Christian population determined to annihilate them. Had such a situation existed, the Christians surely would have succeeded. A truer picture, however, is one of long periods of peace and prosperity as Jews lived side by side with their Christian neighbors, both benefiting from social and economic relations

Projected change in wintertime precipitation in California using projected changes in extratropical cyclone activity

This is the final version of the article. Available from the American Meteorological Society via the DOI in this record.Wintertime extratropical cyclones in the east Pacific region are the source of much of the precipitation over California. There is a lot of uncertainty in future projections of Californian precipitation associated with predicted changes in the jet stream and the midlatitude storm tracks. The question this work seeks to answer is how the changes in the frequency and the intensity of extratropical cyclones in the Pacific storm track influence future changes in Californian precipitation. We used an objective cyclone identification method applied to 25 CMIP5 models for the historical and RCP8.5 simulations and investigated the changing relationships between storm frequency, intensity and precipitation. Cyclone data from the historical simulations and differences between the historical and RCP8.5 simulations were used to “predict” the modeled precipitation in the RCP8.5 simulations. In all models, the precipitation predicted using historical relationships gives a lower future precipitation change than the direct model output. In the future, the relationship between track density and precipitation indicates that for the same number of tracks, more precipitation is received. The relationship between track intensity and precipitation (which is quite weak in the historical simulations) does not change in the future. This suggests that other sources, likely enhanced moisture availability, are more important than changes in the intensity of cyclones for the rainfall associated with the storm tracks.This work was funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) through a Discovery Early Career Research Award (DE140101305), and the Centre of Excellence for Climate Systems Science (CE110001028)

Leonid Electrophonic Bursters

We investigate the conditions under which Leonid meteoroids might generate short duration (burster) electrophonic sounds. A `first order' theory is employed to estimate the approximate electron number density in the meteoroid ablation column as a function of time. Using the threshold conditions discussed in an earlier communication (Beech and Foschini 1999) we find that Leonid meteoroids more massive than about 0.1 kg can potentially generate short duration electrophonic bursters.Comment: 5 pages, no figures. Accepted for the publication on Astronomy and Astrophysic

While We Waited: Incidence and Predictors of Falls in Older Adults With Cataract.

PURPOSE: Strong evidence indicates an increased fall risk associated with cataract. Although cataract surgery can restore sight, lengthy wait times are common for public patients in many high-income countries. This study reports incidence and predictors of falls in older people with cataract during their surgical wait. METHODS: Data from a prospective study of falls in adults aged ≥65 years who were awaiting cataract surgery in public hospitals in Australia were analyzed. Participants underwent assessment of vision, health status, and physical function, and recalled falls in the previous 12 months. Falls were self-reported prospectively during the surgical wait. RESULTS: Of 329 participants, mean age was 75.7 years; 55.2% were female. A total of 267 falls were reported by 101 (30.7%) participants during the surgical wait (median observation time, 176 days): an incidence of 1.2 falls per person-year (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0-1.3). Greater walking activity (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.06, 95% CI 1.01-1.10; P = 0.02, per additional hour/week), poorer health-related quality of life (IRR 1.12, 95% CI 1.05-1.20; P < 0.001, per 5-unit decrease), and a fall in the prior 12 months (IRR 2.48, 95% CI 1.57-3.93; P < 0.001) were associated with incident falls. No visual measure independently predicted fall risk. More than one-half (51.7%) of falls were injurious. CONCLUSIONS: We found a substantial rate of falls and fall injury in older adults with cataract who were awaiting surgery. Within this relatively homogenous cohort, measures of visual function alone inadequately predicted fall risk. Assessment of exposure to falls through physical activity frequency may prove valuable in identifying those more likely to fall during the surgical wait

Multisite prospective investigation of psychological outcomes following cataract surgery in Vietnam

Copyright © 2017 BMJ Global Health. All rights reserved. Background: Cataract surgery is a low-cost and effective intervention. There is increasing evidence to suggest that cataract surgery is associated with improvements in mobility, overall functioning and reductions in psychological distress. Within lowincome and middle-income countries, cataract surgery has also been documented to lead to reductions in psychological distress; however, differences in economic activity and engagement in paid and domestic work in these countries may moderate such reductions. We aimed to examine the psychological outcomes following cataract surgery among a diverse Vietnamese sample. Methods: We report findings from the VISIONARY study, a 12-month multisite prospective study of cataract surgery outcomes conducted in Vietnam (N=462). Generalised estimating equations (GEEs) were used to identify the variables which were associated with reduced psychological distress. Results: A high proportion of participants (56.6%) reported psychological distress before surgery and severity of psychological distress had decreased by 12 months following surgery (95% CI (4.13 to 4.95)). There were regional differences in the extent of improvement in psychological distress and change in paid and unpaid work. The extent of improvement in visual acuity, male gender, and increase in paid and unpaid work hours were significant predictors of reductions in psychological distress. Conclusions: Cataract surgery appears to result in the greatest reductions in psychological distress in communities where work engagement is highest. Funding: The VISIONARY study was funded by a grant provided by the Fred Hollows Foundation, Australia. During the course of this work, BME was in receipt of an Ian Potter Foundation Fellowship and a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) fellowship (1072148), SJ received an NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship, MLH was in receipt of a National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellowship 100034

S1×S2S^1 \times S^2 wormholes and topological charge

I investigate solutions to the Euclidean Einstein-matter field equations with topology $S^1 \times S^2 \times R$ in a theory with a massless periodic scalar field and electromagnetism. These solutions carry winding number of the periodic scalar as well as magnetic flux. They induce violations of a quasi-topological conservation law which conserves the product of magnetic flux and winding number on the background spacetime. I extend these solutions to a model with stable loops of superconducting cosmic string, and interpret them as contributing to the decay of such loops.Comment: 18 pages (includes 6 figs.), harvmac and epsf, CU-TP-62

Barriers to correct child restraint use: A qualitative study of child restraint users and their needs

© 2018 Motor vehicle crashes are a major cause of death and injury to children worldwide. Although risk of injury to child passengers can be reduced by using a child restraint, most restraints are incorrectly used. This greatly reduces the restraints’ protective potential; however there is limited research on drivers of correct child restraint use. The aim of this study was to explore perceived barriers and motivators of correct child restraint use in experienced child restraint users, to inform interventions to promote correct use. Motivations and risk perceptions concerning incorrect child restraint use among high and low socioeconomic populations and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) child restraint users in Sydney, Australia were qualitatively examined. Six focus groups (N = 44 participants) were facilitated using a semi-structured discussion guide. Transcriptions were deductively analysed using QSR NVivo11 software and the COM-B model of behaviour. Common perceived barriers to correct restraint use were: (a) difficulty interpreting instructions and labels, particularly among CALD participants; (b) remembering and attending to correct use information; (c) lack of information and behavioural feedback on how to correctly install and use a child restraint; and (d) low confidence in ability to install and use a child restraint correctly. The results indicate current child restraint product information is poorly understood, particularly among those whose first language is not English. Interventions to increase correct child restraint use should address access to correct use information, capability to understand and use these, and the influence of motivation, memory and attention in the process