The Limits of Water Maser Kinematics: Insights from High-Mass Protostar AFGL 5142-MM1

Multi-epoch VLBI observations measure 3D water maser motions in protostellar outflows, enabling analysis of inclination and velocity. However, these analyses assume that water masers and shock surfaces within outflows are co-propagating. We compared VLBI data on maser-traced bowshocks in high-mass protostar AFGL 5142-MM1, from seven epochs of archival data from the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA), obtained from April 2014 to May 2015, and our newly-conducted data from the KVN and VERA Array (KaVA), obtained in March 2016. We find an inconsistency between the expected displacement of the bowshocks and the motions of individual masers. The separation between two opposing bowshocks in AFGL 5142-MM1 was determined to be $337.17\pm0.07~\rm{mas}$ in the KaVA data, which is less than an expected value of $342.1\pm0.7~\rm{mas}$ based on extrapolation of the proper motions of individual maser features measured by VERA. Our measurements imply that the bowshock propagates at a velocity of $24\pm3~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$, while the individual masing gas clumps move at an average velocity of $55\pm5~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$, i.e. the water masers are moving in the outflow direction at double the speed at which the bowshocks are propagating. Our results emphasise that investigations of individual maser features are best approached using short-term high-cadence VLBI monitoring, while long-term monitoring on timescales comparable to the lifetimes of maser features, are better suited to tracing the overall evolution of shock surfaces. Observers should be aware that masers and shock surfaces can move relative to each other, and that this can affect the interpretation of protostellar outflows.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accepted by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on 28 November 202

Deaths rates in public hospitals of eastern cape province of South Africa.

BACKGROUND: South Africa (SA) is experiencing a rapid epidemiologic transition as a consequence of political, economic and social changes. In this study we described, based on hospital data, the mortality patterns of Non communicable Diseases (NCD), Communicable Diseases (CD), the NCD/CD ratios, and the trends of deaths. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of all deaths occurring in several public hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province of SA between 2002 and 2006. Causes of deaths were coded according to the ICD 10 Edition. RESULTS: A total of 107380 admissions responded to the inclusion criteria between 2002 and 2006. The crude death rate was 4.3% (n=4566) with a mean age of 46±21 years and a sex ratio of 3.1 men (n=3453): 1 woman (n=1113). Out of all deaths, there were 62.9% NCD (n=2872) vs. 37.1% CD (n=1694) with NCD/CD ratio of 1.7. The ratio NCD/CD deaths in men was 1.3 (n=1951/1502) vs. NCD/CD deaths in women of 1.9 (n=735/378). The peak of deaths was observed in winter season. The majority of NCD deaths were at age of 30-64 years, whereas the highest rate of CD deaths was at age< 30 years. The trend of deaths including the majority of NCD, increased from 2002 to 2006. There was a tendency of increase in tuberculosis deaths, but a tendency of decrease in HIV/AIDS deaths was from 2002 to 2006. CONCLUSION: Non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of deaths in rural Eastern Cape province of SA facing Post-epidemiologic transition stages. We recommend overarching priority actions for the response to the Non-communicable Diseases: policy change, prevention, treatment, international cooperation, research, monitoring, accountability, and re-orientation of health systems

Lessons from FOSTER for Improved Thinking and Working Politically: Part of a Special Issue 'Thinking and Working Politically'

Despite the wealth that comes from being the biggest oil producer in Africa, Nigeria has some of the worst development indicators in the world. From 2011 to mid‐2016, the DFID‐funded Facility for Oil Sector Transparency and Reform (FOSTER) programme's unique design aimed to reduce incentives for the capture of oil revenue by elites and international oil companies, restoring the potential of those revenues to accelerate economic and social development. This article asks what lessons FOSTER's successes and failures offer for improved “thinking and working politically” (TWP). It examines the outcomes from five “clusters” of interventions: three viewed by the FOSTER team as successes and two as failures. The article identifies factors for successful TWP‐based programming, including the need for local ownership rooted in staff with a combination of technical expertise, a deep knowledge of the local political context and excellent networking abilities. The research used a qualitative and inductive approach. Field research was undertaken with 44 semi‐structured qualitative interviews during one month of fieldwork in Abuja and Lagos. The research also included reviews of FOSTER's internal documentation and evaluation frameworks, as well as analysis of newspaper articles and grey literature on the oil sector in Nigeria. The project offers important lessons for politically informed programming about how interventions were implemented (process), what was actually done (content) and how the project responded to changes in context that created or blocked opportunities for reform (responsiveness). The article identifies factors for successful TWP‐based programming, including the need for local ownership rooted in staff with a combination of technical expertise, a deep knowledge of the local political context and excellent networking abilities. The findings have important implications for programme design. They demonstrate the value of built‐in flexibility that allows staff to choose and switch the partners they work with and the channels they work through. They also show that a key aspect of TWP‐based programming is implicit acceptance that some failure may be unavoidable, since this permits staff to balance risk against opportunities. Finally, a better understanding of FOSTER's failures reveals the challenges of a TWP‐based approach and the trade‐offs it demands.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe