Simulation of ground motion emissions from wind turbines in low mountain ranges: implications for amplitude decay prediction

The characterization and prediction of wind turbine (WT) emissions are important steps in reducing their impact on humans or sensitive technologies such as seismic stations or physics experiments. Here, WT ground motion emissions are studied along two measurement lines set up at two wind farms on the Eastern Swabian Alb, southwest Germany. The main purpose of the data analysis is to estimate amplitude decay rates from vertical component data and surface wave phase velocities excited by the permanent motion of the WT towers. Phase velocities as well as geological information serve as input to build realistic subsurface models for numerical wave field simulations. Amplitude A decay rates are characterized by b-values through $A\sim1/r^b$ depending on distance r and are derived from peaks in power spectral density (PSD). We find an increase of $b_{PSD}$ with frequency from 0.5 to 3.2 for field data. For low frequencies (1.2 Hz and 3.6 Hz), $b_{PSD}$ ranges from 0.5 to 1.1, hence close to the geometrical spreading factor of surface waves ($b_{PSD}=1$). Anelastic damping and scattering seem not to be significant at these frequencies which also shows in numerical simulations for quality factors $Q=50-200$. We also find that the emitted wavefields from several WTs interfere, especially in the near-field, and produce strong local ground motion amplitudes. The inclusion of a steep topography present in low mountain ranges adds more wave field distortions which can further increase the amplitudes. This needs to be considered when predicting WT induced ground motions

California Public Health Departments Remotely Treat Tuberculosis: Outcomes & Opportunities

Background and Purpose: Using video-based directly observed therapy (VDOT) to remotely monitor tuberculosis (TB) patients’ treatment is now a viable option due to the advancement and expansion of technology. This study determined the utilization levels, benefits, barriers, and outcomes of California public health departments using VDOT to treat TB. Methods: Interviews (n=7) with pilot site staff in California and a survey (n=56) were used for data collection. In 2015 the survey was disseminated to attendees of the California Tuberculosis Control Association annual conference. Results: Almost 27 percent (n=15) of survey respondents were using VDOT. Reported benefits were high and centered on patient and provider satisfaction, cost savings, and staff safety. The highest concern was reimbursement, specifically that California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal, reimburses for in-person DOT but not VDOT. Conclusion: VDOT is a practical and effective option for providing DOT as it has many benefits with minimal concerns. Reimbursement equal to that of in-person DOT and the continued technological improvements should alleviate the existing hindrances that are currently preventing many health departments from implementing VDOT or expanding their existing program. Satisfaction is high, outcomes are positive, and VDOT is cost effective so efforts should be made to break down the barriers to expansion

The Variable Stars and Blue Horizontal Branch of the Metal-Rich Globular Cluster NGC 6441

We present time-series VI photometry of the metal-rich ([Fe/H] = -0.53) globular cluster NGC 6441. Our color-magnitude diagram shows that the extended blue horizontal branch seen in Hubble Space Telescope data exists in the outermost reaches of the cluster. The red clump slopes nearly parallel to the reddening vector. A component of this slope is due to differential reddening, but part is intrinsic. The blue horizontal branch stars are more centrally concentrated than the red clump stars. We have discovered about 50 new variable stars near NGC 6441, among them eight or more RR Lyrae stars which are very probably cluster members. Comprehensive period searches over the range 0.2-1.0 days yielded unusually long periods (0.5-0.9 days) for the fundamental pulsators compared with field RR Lyrae of the same metallicity. Three similar long-period RR Lyrae are known in other metal-rich globulars. With over ten examples in hand, it seems that a distinct sub-class of RR Lyrae is emerging. The observed properties of the horizontal branch stars are in reasonable agreement with recent models which invoke deep mixing to enhance the atmospheric helium abundance, while they conflict with models which assume high initial helium abundance. The light curves of the c-type RR Lyrae seem to have unusually long rise times and sharp minima. Reproducing these light curves in stellar pulsation models may provide another means of constraining the physical variables responsible for the anomalous blue horizontal branch extension and sloped red clump observed in NGC 6441.Comment: 30 pages plus 6 EPS and 6 JPEG figures; uses AAS TeX. Accepted by the Astronomical Journal. Minor changes include computing He abundance, modifications to Figs 1 and 8, and expansion on idea that blue HB stars may be produced in binarie

Facilitating Pedagogies of Possibility in Teacher Education: Experiences of Faculty Members in a Self-Study Learning Group

This collaborative self-study explores how seven members of a Faculty Self-Study Learning Group (FS-SLG) attempt to foster cultures of inquiry with teacher candidates. In so doing, we simultaneously describe a professional learning community of teacher educators engaging in reflective practice via the teaching, learning, and enacting of self-study methodology. Findings from this collaborative self-study highlight how we attempt to translate our own efforts to be more purposeful and reflective into our teacher education practice through modeling, as well as the tensions we felt in promoting a view of teaching as a process of critical inquiry. The discussion focuses on lessons learned and potential ways forward for educators who similarly desire to embrace inquiry-based pedagogies of possibility within the existing landscape of teaching and teacher preparation

Above- and below-ground biodiversity responses to the prolonged flood pulse in central-western Amazonia, Brazil

publishedVersio

The Leeds Evaluation of Efficacy of Detoxification Study (LEEDS) project: An open-label pragmatic randomised control trial comparing the efficacy of differing therapeutic agents for primary care detoxification from either street heroin or methadone [ISRCTN07752728]

BACKGROUND: Heroin is a synthetic opioid with an extensive illicit market leading to large numbers of people becoming addicted. Heroin users often present to community treatment services requesting detoxification and in the UK various agents are used to control symptoms of withdrawal. Dissatisfaction with methadone detoxification [8] has lead to the use of clonidine, lofexidine, buprenorphine and dihydrocodeine; however, there remains limited evaluative research. In Leeds, a city of 700,000 people in the North of England, dihydrocodeine is the detoxification agent of choice. Sublingual buprenorphine, however, is being introduced. The comparative value of these two drugs for helping people successfully and comfortably withdraw from heroin has never been compared in a randomised trial. Additionally, there is a paucity of research evaluating interventions among drug users in the primary care setting. This study seeks to address this by randomising drug users presenting in primary care to receive either dihydrocodeine or buprenorphine. METHODS/DESIGN: The Leeds Evaluation of Efficacy of Detoxification Study (LEEDS) project is a pragmatic randomised trial which will compare the open use of buprenorphine with dihydrocodeine for illicit opiate detoxification, in the UK primary care setting. The LEEDS project will involve consenting adults and will be run in specialist general practice surgeries throughout Leeds. The primary outcome will be the results of a urine opiate screening at the end of the detoxification regimen. Adverse effects and limited data to three and six months will be acquired

Impact of helminth infections on female reproductive health and associated diseases

A growing body of knowledge exists on the influence of helminth infections on allergies and unrelated infections in the lung and gastrointestinal (GI) mucosa. However, the bystander effects of helminth infections on the female genital mucosa and reproductive health is understudied but important considering the high prevalence of helminth exposure and sexually transmitted infections in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this review, we explore current knowledge about the direct and systemic effects of helminth infections on unrelated diseases. We summarize host disease-controlling immunity of important sexually transmitted infections and introduce the limited knowledge of how helminths infections directly cause pathology to female reproductive tract (FRT), alter susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections and reproduction. We also review work by others on type 2 immunity in the FRT and hypothesize how these insights may guide future work to help understand how helminths alter FRT health

Aspergillus fumigatus Triggers Inflammatory Responses by Stage-Specific β-Glucan Display

Inhalation of fungal spores (conidia) occurs commonly and, in specific circumstances, can result in invasive disease. We investigated the murine inflammatory response to conidia of Aspergillus fumigatus, the most common invasive mold in immunocompromised hosts. In contrast to dormant spores, germinating conidia induce neutrophil recruitment to the airways and TNF-α/MIP-2 secretion by alveolar macrophages. Fungal β-glucans act as a trigger for the induction of these inflammatory responses through their time-dependent exposure on the surface of germinating conidia. Dectin-1, an innate immune receptor that recognizes fungal β-glucans, is recruited in vivo to alveolar macrophage phagosomes that have internalized conidia with exposed β-glucans. Antibody-mediated blockade of Dectin-1 partially inhibits TNF-α/MIP-2 induction by metabolically active conidia. TLR-2- and MyD88-mediated signals provide an additive contribution to macrophage activation by germinating conidia. Selective responsiveness to germinating conidia provides the innate immune system with a mechanism to restrict inflammatory responses to metabolically active, potentially invasive fungal spores

Effects of Al substitution on the multiferroic properties of TbMnO3

The effect of a small substitution of Mn with Al in TbMnO 3 has been studied. We report results of heat capacity, magnetization, and dielectric constant studies in TbMn 1-xAl xO 3 compounds (x ≤ 0.1). Al has the same valence as substituted Mn but is nonmagnetic and its small size gives rise to microstructural strain which affects the multiferroic properties of the parent compound. Long-range antiferromagnetic ordering is observed in all compounds but the transition temperature decreases as the Al content increases. TbMn 0.95Al 0.05O 3 exhibits a ferroelectric phase transition which is absent in TbMn 0.9Al 0.1O 3. The dielectric constant of the latter compound reveals a relaxor behavior suggesting the presence of nanosize polar domains for this compound. A neutron diffraction study on a single crystal of TbMn 0.9Al 0.1O 3 reveals that Mn shows a sinusoidal incommensurate ordering down to low temperature. Tb moments exhibit an incommensurate short-range ordering but the application of a magnetic field leads to metamagnetic transitions. In particular, a field parallel to the b axis induces a commensurate long-range ordering of Tb of type C xF y. The magnetic field also affects the magnetic structure of Mn3 + moments at low temperature which develop an incommensurate cycloid ordering in the ab plane. This result suggests that dilution of a magnetic multiferroic with a small nonmagnetic atom might yield materials with a relaxor to ferroelectric transition driven by a magnetic field.Financial support from Spanish MICINN (Projects No. FIS08-03951 and No. MAT2007-61621) and DGA (CAMRADS) is acknowledged. V.C. thanks the FPU research grant from MICINN.Peer Reviewe

Update on the distribution of Mansonella perstans in the southern part of Cameroon: influence of ecological factors and mass drug administration with ivermectin

Overview of gender distribution and median age in study sites. Out of 14,293 (6,746 males and 7,547 females) individuals involved in the study, 52.8 % were females. (PDF 224 kb