Issues Related to the Emergence of the Information Superhighway and California Societal Changes, IISTPS Report 96-4

The Norman Y. Mineta International Institute for Surface Transportation Policy Studies (IISTPS) at San José State University (SJSU) conducted this project to review the continuing development of the Internet and the Information Superhighway. Emphasis was placed on an examination of the impact on commuting and working patterns in California, and an analysis of how public transportation agencies, including Caltrans, might take advantage of the new communications technologies. The document reviews the technology underlying the current Internet “structure” and examines anticipated developments. It is important to note that much of the research for this limited-scope project was conducted during 1995, and the topic is so rapidly evolving that some information is almost automatically “dated.” The report also examines how transportation agencies are basically similar in structure and function to other business entities, and how they can continue to utilize the emerging technologies to improve internal and external communications. As part of a detailed discussion of specific transportation agency functions, it is noted that the concept of a “Roundtable Forum,” growing out of developments in Concurrent Engineering, can provide an opportunity for representatives from multiple jurisdictions to utilize the Internet for more coordinated decision-making. The report also included an extensive analysis of demographic trends in California in recent years, such as commute and recreational activities, and identifies how the emerging technologies may impact future changes

Thermal analysis of the LLR optical telescope tube assembly based in Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory

The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory of South Africa is currently developing a lunar laser ranger (LLR) system based on a one metre aperture telescope in collaboration with National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur. This LLR will be an addition to a limited list of operating LLR stations globally and it is expected to achieve sub-centimetre range precision to the Moon. Key to this expectation including the overall telescope operational performance is thermal analysis of the telescope structure, based on the thermal properties of component materials and their interaction with the environment through conventional heat transfer mechanisms. This paper presents transient thermal simulation results of the telescope’s optical tube and one metre primary mirror in terms of thermal variations and consequent structural deformations. The results indicate that on a non-windy, cloud-free and winter day, the temperature gradients on the structure could be within 1 °C with respect to the temporal ambient air temperatures at the site when these are between 9 and 23 °C. Furthermore, these gradients were coupled with thermally-induced total deformations that vary between 2.9 and 40.7 μm of the assembled telescope components. In overall, these findings suggest that both the tube and especially the mirror may respond very slowly to ambient temperatures; however, correcting for structural thermal variations is imperative in maximizing the pointing accuracy of the telescope thereby increasing the chance being on-target with the retroreflectors located on the Moon surface.P. L. Tsela hereby acknowledges research support in part by the National Research Foundation of South Africa for the grant, Unique Grant No. 93952.http://link.springer.com/journal/403282017-09-30hb2016Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorolog

"Be active!" Revisiting the South African Food Based Dietary Guidelines for activity

The objective of this paper was to review current evidence on physical activity for health in order to support the foodbased dietary guideline (FBDG) “Be active!”. Physical activity, defined as at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per day for adults, and 60 minutes for children and adolescents, is advised in the FBDG because of the role it plays in maintaining energy balance, improving body composition and promoting general health and wellbeing. The reviewed outcome measures are changes in physical activity patterns and the reported prevalence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in South Africa. Despite the previous set of FBDGs, no improvements in physical activity, obesity or NCDs have been reported in South Africa. Recent literature emphasises the beneficial effects of physical activity on the reduction of risk factors associated with the prevalence of NCDs. Physical activity has a positive effect on appetite and weight control, insulin sensitivity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, stress relief and burnout. Barriers that prevent children and adults from participating in regular physical activity have been identified, and recommendations how to overcome these have been made. It has been concluded that South Africans are not sufficiently physically active for their general health status to be improved. It is recommended that methods to promote physical activity at national, provincial, district and local level need to be developed, implemented and sustained

The ‘Galilean Style in Science’ and the Inconsistency of Linguistic Theorising

Chomsky’s principle of epistemological tolerance says that in theoretical linguistics contradictions between the data and the hypotheses may be temporarily tolerated in order to protect the explanatory power of the theory. The paper raises the following problem: What kinds of contradictions may be tolerated between the data and the hypotheses in theoretical linguistics? First a model of paraconsistent logic is introduced which differentiates between week and strong contradiction. As a second step, a case study is carried out which exemplifies that the principle of epistemological tolerance may be interpreted as the tolerance of week contradiction. The third step of the argumentation focuses on another case study which exemplifies that the principle of epistemological tolerance must not be interpreted as the tolerance of strong contradiction. The reason for the latter insight is the unreliability and the uncertainty of introspective data. From this finding the author draws the conclusion that it is the integration of different data types that may lead to the improvement of current theoretical linguistics and that the integration of different data types requires a novel methodology which, for the time being, is not available

The ‘Galilean Style in Science’ and the Inconsistency of Linguistic Theorising

Chomsky’s principle of epistemological tolerance says that in theoretical linguistics contradictions between the data and the hypotheses may be temporarily tolerated in order to protect the explanatory power of the theory. The paper raises the following problem: What kinds of contradictions may be tolerated between the data and the hypotheses in theoretical linguistics? First a model of paraconsistent logic is introduced which differentiates between week and strong contradiction. As a second step, a case study is carried out which exemplifies that the principle of epistemological tolerance may be interpreted as the tolerance of week contradiction. The third step of the argumentation focuses on another case study which exemplifies that the principle of epistemological tolerance must not be interpreted as the tolerance of strong contradiction. The reason for the latter insight is the unreliability and the uncertainty of introspective data. From this finding the author draws the conclusion that it is the integration of different data types that may lead to the improvement of current theoretical linguistics and that the integration of different data types requires a novel methodology which, for the time being, is not available

Revival of the magnetar PSR J1622-4950: observations with MeerKAT, Parkes, XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR

New radio (MeerKAT and Parkes) and X-ray (XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR) observations of PSR J1622-4950 indicate that the magnetar, in a quiescent state since at least early 2015, reactivated between 2017 March 19 and April 5. The radio flux density, while variable, is approximately 100x larger than during its dormant state. The X-ray flux one month after reactivation was at least 800x larger than during quiescence, and has been decaying exponentially on a 111+/-19 day timescale. This high-flux state, together with a radio-derived rotational ephemeris, enabled for the first time the detection of X-ray pulsations for this magnetar. At 5%, the 0.3-6 keV pulsed fraction is comparable to the smallest observed for magnetars. The overall pulsar geometry inferred from polarized radio emission appears to be broadly consistent with that determined 6-8 years earlier. However, rotating vector model fits suggest that we are now seeing radio emission from a different location in the magnetosphere than previously. This indicates a novel way in which radio emission from magnetars can differ from that of ordinary pulsars. The torque on the neutron star is varying rapidly and unsteadily, as is common for magnetars following outburst, having changed by a factor of 7 within six months of reactivation.Comment: Published in ApJ (2018 April 5); 13 pages, 4 figure

Comparison of breast and bowel cancer screening uptake patterns in a common cohort of South Asian women in England

Background: Inequalities in uptake of cancer screening by ethnic minority populations are well documented in a number of international studies. However, most studies to date have explored screening uptake for a single cancer only. This paper compares breast and bowel cancer screening uptake for a cohort of South Asian women invited to undertake both, and similarly investigates these women's breast cancer screening behaviour over a period of fifteen years. Methods: Screening data for rounds 1, 2 and 5 (1989-2004) of the NHS breast cancer screening programme and for round 1 of the NHS bowel screening pilot (2000-2002) were obtained for women aged 50-69 resident in the English bowel screening pilot site, Coventry and Warwickshire, who had been invited to undertake breast and bowel cancer screening in the period 2000-2002. Breast and bowel cancer screening uptake levels were calculated and compared using the chi-squared test. Results: 72,566 women were invited to breast and bowel cancer screening after exclusions. Of these, 3,539 were South Asian and 69,027 non-Asian; 18,730 had been invited to mammography over the previous fifteen years (rounds 1 to 5). South Asian women were significantly less likely to undertake both breast and bowel cancer screening; 29.9% (n = 1,057) compared to 59.4% (n = 40,969) for non-Asians (p < 0.001). Women in both groups who consistently chose to undertake breast cancer screening in rounds 1, 2 and 5 were more likely to complete round 1 bowel cancer screening. However, the likelihood of completion of bowel cancer screening was still significantly lower for South Asians; 49.5% vs. 82.3% for non-Asians, p < 0.001. South Asian women who undertook breast cancer screening in only one round were no more likely to complete bowel cancer screening than those who decided against breast cancer screening in all three rounds. In contrast, similar women in the non-Asian population had an increased likelihood of completing the new bowel cancer screening test. The likelihood of continued uptake of mammography after undertaking screening in round 1 differed between South Asian religio-linguistic groups. Noticeably, women in the Muslim population were less likely to continue to participate in mammography than those in other South Asian groups. Conclusions: Culturally appropriate targeted interventions are required to reduce observed disparities in cancer screening uptakes

The intake and quality of breakfast consumption in adolescents attending public secondary schools in the North West province, South Africa

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the proportion and quality of breakfast intake in adolescents, and to determine the effect of breakfast intake and quality on overall diet quality.Design: A cross-sectional quantitative study design was used.Setting: The setting was seven public secondary schools in Potchefstroom and the surrounding areas in North West province.Subjects: The subjects were randomly selected adolescents in grades 9-11 (n = 244).Outcome measures: A self-administered demographic questionnaire was completed by the adolescents. Single 24-hour recall, using the four-stage multiple-pass method, was conducted to obtain information on breakfast and dietary intake for the day. Breakfast quality was measured by applying a breakfast quality score. The Diet Quality Index Revised was used to assess the quality of the overall diet. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was employed to assess an association between the continuous variables. The chi-square or Fisher’s exact test was utilised to assess an association between the categorical variables.Results: The proportion of breakfast intake and skipping was 81% and 19%, respectively. The mean breakfast quality score was moderate (3.1). No significant difference was shown in the diet quality score for the breakfast eaters and skippers. The breakfast quality score was marginally associated with calcium intake (p-value &lt; 0.0001, r = 0.418), phosphorous intake (p-value &lt; 0.0001, r = 0.378) and total diversity score (p-value &lt; 0.0001, r = 0.369).Conclusion: The proportion of breakfast skipping, moderate quality of the breakfast consumed and trend of improved nutrient intake with improved breakfast quality highlights the need for breakfast education and intervention as part of the Integrated School Health Policy.Keywords: adolescent, breakfast, breakfast quality, diet quality, adolescenc

Phase Mixing of Alfvén Waves Near a 2D Magnetic Null Point

The propagation of linear Alfvén wave pulses in an inhomogeneous plasma near a 2D coronal null point is investigated. When a uniform plasma density is considered, it is seen that an initially planar Alfvén wavefront remains planar, despite the varying equilibrium Alfvén speed, and that all the wave collects at the separatrices. Thus, in the non-ideal case, these Alfvénic disturbances preferentially dissipate their energy at these locations. For a non-uniform equilibrium density, it is found that the Alfvén wavefront is significantly distorted away from the initially planar geometry, inviting the possibility of dissipation due to phase mixing. Despite this however, we conclude that for the Alfvén wave, current density accumulation and preferential heating still primarily occur at the separatrices, even when an extremely non-uniform density profile is considered