“We cannot stop cooking”: Stove stacking, seasonality and the risky practices of household cookstove transitions in Nigeria

Drawing on qualitative data from three contrasting sites in Benue state, Nigeria, this paper explores how and why cooking system use and priorities vary over time and space as well as the influence of household air pollution (HAP)-related health risks on fuel and stove choices. The findings indicated that cooking system choices were constrained by economic and access considerations linked to spatio-temporal variations in fuel cost, availability and service quality coupled with socio-cultural and utilitarian influences on cooking practices. Respondents demonstrated strong preferences for wood-fuelled traditional stoves although shifts in fuel use between wet and dry seasons were observed. Stove and fuel 'stacking' were widely practised to meet different cooking requirements and minimise risks from (often seasonal) variations in fuel prices, access and reliability of supply. 'Backsliding' from clean to solid biomass fuels was observed when families outgrew their improved cookstoves or considered biomass to be more affordable, reliable, accessible or safer. There was limited awareness or concern about HAP-related health risks and smoke was valued for preserving food and signalling food security. Attention is drawn to the value of integrating household risk perceptions into improved cookstove promotion and behaviour change initiatives to better understand constraints to the adoption and sustained use of clean cooking systems. The paper concludes by highlighting the benefits of monitoring household cooking system stacks (rather than the 'main' fuel/stove used) for analysing how their components vary over space and time and providing insights into the effectiveness of measures taken to reduce HAP exposure

Towards Loosely-Coupled Programming on Petascale Systems

We have extended the Falkon lightweight task execution framework to make loosely coupled programming on petascale systems a practical and useful programming model. This work studies and measures the performance factors involved in applying this approach to enable the use of petascale systems by a broader user community, and with greater ease. Our work enables the execution of highly parallel computations composed of loosely coupled serial jobs with no modifications to the respective applications. This approach allows a new-and potentially far larger-class of applications to leverage petascale systems, such as the IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer. We present the challenges of I/O performance encountered in making this model practical, and show results using both microbenchmarks and real applications from two domains: economic energy modeling and molecular dynamics. Our benchmarks show that we can scale up to 160K processor-cores with high efficiency, and can achieve sustained execution rates of thousands of tasks per second.Comment: IEEE/ACM International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis (SuperComputing/SC) 200

Ariel - Volume 5 Number 3

Editor J.D. Kanofsky Entertainment Editors Robert Breckenridge Gary Kaskey Overseas Editor Mike Sinason Staff Ken Jaffe Bob Sklaroff Janet Weish David Jacoby Circulation Editor Jay Amsterdam Humorist Jim McCan

Engaging the disengaged indefinitely, and with no budget: creating a sustainable model for student library ambassadors

University Libraries offer a wide range of services and facilities to help enhance the student learning experience and to aid the transition into learning at University. Often, too few Science and Engineering students fully engage with the services and facilities on offer and therefore do not benefit from the opportunities available to them. Drawing on research highlighting the value of peer support, and the fact that students are far more likely to use their peers as an information source than ‘experts’, Loughborough University Library obtained small project funding in 2010 to employ four Student Ambassadors in a pilot project to improve student engagement with the Library. The successful project demonstrated the potency of the idea in engaging with students, particularly non-users, a large proportion of which are based in the Science and Engineering Faculties. In the absence of continued funding, the challenge, addressed here, is how to make such posts sustainable. Past experience at both Nottingham and Loughborough Universities has proven how difficult it is to recruit students on a voluntary basis to engage with University Libraries. In this paper, an innovative and creative method of recruiting and supporting “Learning Resource Leaders” (LRLs) at Nottingham and Loughborough Universities is discussed. The strategies employed have resulted in the recruitment of four LRLs – two at each institution – supported by an industrial sponsor who provides a package of non-monetary incentives. The paper also describes the techniques used by the LRLs to disseminate information about the resources offered by the University Libraries and to engage with the student cohort

Market mapping for improved cookstoves: barriers and opportunities in East Africa

The East African region has been a hub for the development and marketing of improved cookstoves from the 1980s. However, there are differences in the rates of uptake of stoves between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. To investigate, we use a participatory approach to market mapping, identifying the key barriers to market growth. Our findings illustrate common barriers of access to finance, but also differences between the countries in their stove value chains and enabling environments. Participatory use of market mapping techniques would help to catalyse further action at the national level. ABSTRACT: The East African region has been a hub for the development and marketing of improved cookstoves from the 1980s. However, there are differences in the rates of uptake of stoves between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. To investigate, we use a participatory approach to market mapping, identifying the key barriers to market growth. Our findings illustrate common barriers of access to finance, but also differences between the countries in their stove value chains and enabling environments. Participatory use of market mapping techniques would help to catalyse further action at the national level

Not quite cooking on gas: Understanding biogas plant failure and abandonment in Northern Tanzania

The potential for biogas to fulfil an integral role in promoting sustainable energy solutions, particularly in the Global South, is evident, and especially pertinent in the Sustainable Development Goal era. Internationally, multiple initiatives driven by private, public and third sectors have resulted in a significant growth in the numbers of biogas plants constructed. These processes are highly visible in Tanzania which has witnessed considerable investment across the sector in recent decades leading to a proliferation of biogas systems. However, research suggests that many of these plants experience failures which can lead to the ultimate abandonment of the systems, eroding the potential benefits of widespread biogas adoption. This research explores some of the main drivers of biogas plant failure and abandonment in the northern Tanzania through a rapid review of the literature identifying current sector best practice and a series of semi-structed interviews with key stakeholders including biogas plant owners, operators, constructors, government officials and private enterprises. Our analysis reveals a range of clear and, at points, interrelated themes associated with biogas failure which can be largely grouped under the following banners; poor construction and installation, sub-optimal feeding practices, operation and maintenance issues, and training provision and knowledge erosion. By illuminating the subtleties surrounding each challenge, this paper is designed to stimulate a re-evaluation of how long-term, sustained and successful use of biogas plants can be fostered through a reduction in failure and/or abandonment. This is particularly important given that the biogas sector continues to evolve and expand across the globe. Response to Reviewers: We thank all the editors and reviewers for their comments, please see the "detailed response to reviewers" for our specific and individual responses. Thanks you for helping significantly increase the quality of this paper

Diabetes, Metformin and the Clinical Course of Covid-19: Outcomes, Mechanisms and Suggestions on the Therapeutic Use of Metformin

Objectives: Pre-existing or new diabetes confers an adverse prognosis in people with Covid-19. We reviewed the clinical literature on clinical outcomes in metformin-treated subjects presenting with Covid-19. Methods: Structured PubMed search: metformin AND [covid (ti) OR covid-19 (ti) OR covid19 (ti) OR coronavirus (ti) OR SARS-Cov2 (ti)], supplemented with another PubMed search: “diabetes AND [covid OR covid-19 OR covid19 OR coronavirus (i) OR SARS-Cov2 (ti)]” (limited to “Clinical Study”, “Clinical Trial”, “Controlled Clinical Trial”, “Meta-Analysis”, “Observational Study”, “Randomized Controlled Trial”, “Systematic Review”). Results: The effects of metformin on the clinical course of Covid-19 were evaluated in retrospective analyses: most noted improved clinical outcomes amongst type 2 diabetes patients treated with metformin at the time of hospitalisation with Covid-19 infection. These outcomes include reduced admission into intensive care and reduced mortality in subgroups with versus without metformin treatment. Conclusion: The pleiotropic actions of metformin associated with lower background cardiovascular risk may mediate some of these effects, for example reductions of insulin resistance, systemic inflammation and hypercoagulability. Modulation by metformin of the cell-surface ACE2 protein (a key binding target for SARS-CoV 2 spike protein) via the AMP kinase pathway may be involved. While pre-existing metformin treatment offers potentially beneficial effects and can be continued when Covid-19 infection is not severe, reports of increased acidosis and lactic acidosis in patients with more severe Covid-19 disease remind that metformin should be withdrawn in patients with hypoxaemia or acute renal disease. Prospective study of the clinical and metabolic effects of metformin in Covid-19 is warranted

Student Adjustment to College: Examining the Impact of an Outdoor Orientation Program

This pilot study examined the impact of an outdoor orientation program (First Ascent) on participants’ level of transference, resilience, well-being and transition to college. Pre and posttest instruments were administered during a four- day college outdoor orientation program, as well as an open-ended series of questions. Nonparametric tests revealed significant differences from the pre- and posttest of the measures on skill transference and resiliency. Additional, individual items from each questionnaire were examined

TIME to Change: Rethinking Humanitarian Energy Access

Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7-universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services by 2030-represents a considerable challenge. Currently, 40% of the global population do not have access to sustainable energy sources, and instead rely on burning biomass to satisfy their energy needs. Despite a long history of energy technology for poverty-alleviation initiatives across the globe, many interventions fail at persuading end-users to continue using these technologies beyond an initial adoption phase. Whilst many champion sustainable energy solutions, most evaluation approaches do not consider long term sustained use. As a result, many end-user-orientated energy solutions, such as Improved Cookstoves (ICS), fall out of use once project partners depart. These failures are often due to emphasis on ever-more-complex technologies rather than social methodologies such as understanding end-user priorities and the complex contextual barriers to sustained use. In this paper, we present a novel interdisciplinary formative and evaluative implementation or delivery model, the qualitative Technology Implementation Model for Energy (TIME), for practitioners and policymakers. TIME focuses on refining three core areas of energy technology implementation; to rethink how impact is defined, to understand differences between practitioner perception and end-user reality, and to champion a co-produced approach with all key stakeholders in the energy system. TIME is the first energy implementation model to blend Social Enterprise, Appropriate Technology, Water, Hygiene and Sanitation behavioural change models as well as International Development planning tools whilst advocating an approach centred around co-production, ownership, use of resources and equality