Achieving basic rights in health-care facilities in low-income countries

 In The Lancet Global Health, Michael Chaitkin and colleagues1 modelled the cost of providing public health-care facilities in the 46 UN designated least-developed countries, with basic services. These services include basic water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management services, which are Sustainable Development Goals and fundamental human rights. The total cost is estimated to be between US$6·5 and$9·6 billion from 2021 to 2030 in constant 2020 prices, including capital investment and recurrent costs. </p

Government Revenue, Quality of Governance and Child and Maternal Survival

This paper considers the effect of government revenue and the quality of governance on the under-five and maternal survival rates. A non-linear panel data study was undertaken using annual data for every country in the world. The study's broad conclusion is that while government resources, measured as total revenue received by a country's government, is essential, the quality of governance is even more critical in determining a good outcome for both mother and child

Phase Equilibrium of Binary Mixtures of <i>n</i>‑Hexane + Branched Chlorobutanes: Experimental Results and Group Contribution Predictions

In this work the study of the phase equilibrium (experimental and modeled) of three binary mixtures formed by <i>n</i>-hexane and a branched chlorobutane (2-chlorobutane, 1-chloro-2-methylpropane, or 2-chloro-2-methylpropane) is presented. New and consistent experimental vapor–liquid equilibrium data at isothermal conditions <i>T</i> = (288.15, 298.15, and 308.15) K have been obtained and correlated using the Wilson equation. In addition, two group contribution models, modified-UNIFAC (universal functional activity coefficient) and VTPR (volume-translated Peng–Robinson), have been used to predict the vapor–liquid equilibrium of the mixtures. The agreement between experimental results and predicted ones is not satisfactory

Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to a dark matter signal from the Galactic centre

We provide an updated assessment of the power of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to search for thermally produced dark matter at the TeV scale, via the associated gamma-ray signal from pair-annihilating dark matter particles in the region around the Galactic centre. We find that CTA will open a new window of discovery potential, significantly extending the range of robustly testable models given a standard cuspy profile of the dark matter density distribution. Importantly, even for a cored profile, the projected sensitivity of CTA will be sufficient to probe various well-motivated models of thermally produced dark matter at the TeV scale. This is due to CTA's unprecedented sensitivity, angular and energy resolutions, and the planned observational strategy. The survey of the inner Galaxy will cover a much larger region than corresponding previous observational campaigns with imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. CTA will map with unprecedented precision the large-scale diffuse emission in high-energy gamma rays, constituting a background for dark matter searches for which we adopt state-of-the-art models based on current data. Throughout our analysis, we use up-to-date event reconstruction Monte Carlo tools developed by the CTA consortium, and pay special attention to quantifying the level of instrumental systematic uncertainties, as well as background template systematic errors, required to probe thermally produced dark matter at these energies

Gaia Data Release 2: The kinematics of globular clusters and dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way

Aims. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the outstanding quality of the second data release of the Gaia mission and its power for constraining many different aspects of the dynamics of the satellites of the Milky Way. We focus here on determining the proper motions of 75 Galactic globular clusters, nine dwarf spheroidal galaxies, one ultra-faint system, and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.Methods. Using data extracted from the Gaia archive, we derived the proper motions and parallaxes for these systems, as well as their uncertainties. We demonstrate that the errors, statistical and systematic, are relatively well understood. We integrated the orbits of these objects in three different Galactic potentials, and characterised their properties. We present the derived proper motions, space velocities, and characteristic orbital parameters in various tables to facilitate their use by the astronomical community.Results. Our limited and straightforward analyses have allowed us for example to (i) determine absolute and very precise proper motions for globular clusters; (ii) detect clear rotation signatures in the proper motions of at least five globular clusters; (iii) show that the satellites of the Milky Way are all on high-inclination orbits, but that they do not share a single plane of motion; (iv) derive a lower limit for the mass of the Milky Way of 9.1-2.6+6.2 × 1011 M⊙ based on the assumption that the Leo I dwarf spheroidal is bound; (v) derive a rotation curve for the Large Magellanic Cloud based solely on proper motions that is competitive with line-of-sight velocity curves, now using many orders of magnitude more sources; and (vi) unveil the dynamical effect of the bar on the motions of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud.Conclusions. All these results highlight the incredible power of the Gaia astrometric mission, and in particular of its second data release.</div