Some comments on reconstructing the historical climate of California, USA

This paper describes some examples of historical climate reconstruction pertaining to California, USA, focusing mostly on winter climate given the expected strongest teleconnection signals for this season. Climatic data consist of early instrumental data from the US Army Surgeon General at military forts, observers of the Smithsonian Institution, the Signal Service, and some private observers. Documentary (non-instrumental) data were also used in assessing extreme events. Original daily records of these data were carefully assessed for discontinuities from examining diurnal temperature ranges and daily precipitation amounts. The climatic reconstructions conducted were as follows: 1) winter precipitation time series for selected locations since 1850, particularly for Sacramento and San Francisco, 2) winter temperature time series for selected locations since 1850, and 3) analyses of an extreme flooding event in January 1862 and a landfalling tropical cyclone of September 1939. Results indicate distinctive wetter winters for central and northern California in the late nineteenth century, and some of these wetter years correspond to well-known very strong El Ni˜no events. Connections to weaker El Ni˜no and La Ni˜na events, however, are not clearly evident. The flood of January 1862 is considered unprecedented when compared to other floods of the last 130 years. The reconstruction of a landfalling tropical cyclone for September 1939 near Los Angeles suggests its intensity at just below hurricane strength

Role of material properties and mesostructure on dynamic deformation and shear instability in Al-W granular composites

Dynamic experiments with Al-W granular/porous composites revealed qualitatively different behavior with respect to shear localization depending on bonding between Al particles. Two-dimensional numerical modeling was used to explore the mesomechanics of the large strain dynamic deformation in Al-W granular/porous composites and explain the experimentally observed differences in shear localization between composites with various mesostructures. Specifically, the bonding between the Al particles, the porosity, the roles of the relative particle sizes of Al and W, the arrangements of the W particles, and the material properties of Al were investigated using numerical calculations. It was demonstrated in simulations that the bonding between the "soft" Al particles facilitated shear localization as seen in the experiments. Numerical calculations and experiments revealed that the mechanism of the shear localization in granular composites is mainly due to the local high strain flow of "soft" Al around the "rigid" W particles causing localized damage accumulation and subsequent growth of the meso/macro shear bands/cracks. The "rigid" W particles were the major geometrical factor determining the initiation and propagation of "kinked" shear bands in the matrix of "soft" Al particles, leaving some areas free of extensive plastic deformation as observed in experiments and numerical calculations.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Journal of Applied Physic

Directly observed road safety compliance by Motor Cycle Riders after a 5- Year Road Safety Campaign in Naivasha, Kenya

Objective: To assess the extent of compliance with road safety regulations by  motorcycle riders following a five year road safety campaign in Naivasha town, Kenya.Design: A cross sectional study.Setting: Naivasha town, Nakuru county, Kenya.Results: A total of 9,280 MCs ferrying 13,733 people were observed. Less than 1% complied with all the four road safety  requirements. The overall helmet wearing compliance was 31%. MC driver helmet compliance was 42% which was five timeshigher than passenger helmet compliance. Female passengers were twice less likely to wear helmet than males.Conclusion: Despite the five-year road safety campaign, compliance among MC users remains low particularly among the passengers and more so female passengers. Does Kenya need to rethink the motor cycle road safety policy

Brillouin light scattering study of Co2_{2}Cr0.6_{0.6}Fe0.4_{0.4}Al and Co2_{2}FeAl Heusler compounds

The thermal magnonic spectra of Co$_{2}$Cr$_{0.6}$Fe$_{0.4}$Al (CCFA) and Co$_2$FeAl were investigated using Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy (BLS). For CCFA, the exchange constant A (exchange stiffness D) is found to be 0.48 $\mu$erg/cm (203 meV A$^2$), while for Co$_2$FeAl the corresponding values of 1.55 $\mu$erg/cm (370 meV A$^2$) were found. The observed asymmetry in the BLS spectra between the Stokes and anti-Stokes frequencies was assigned to an interplay between the asymmetrical profiles of hybridized Damon-Esbach and perpendicular standing spin-wave modes, combined with the optical sensitivity of the BLS signal to the upper side of the CCFA or Co$_2$FeAl film

First Things First: Effectiveness and Scalability of a Basic Prehospital Trauma Care Program for Lay First-Responders in Kampala, Uganda

BACKGROUND: We previously showed that in the absence of a formal emergency system, lay people face a heavy burden of injuries in Kampala, Uganda, and we demonstrated the feasibility of a basic prehospital trauma course for lay people. This study tests the effectiveness of this course and estimates the costs and cost-effectiveness of scaling up this training. METHODS AND FINDINGS: For six months, we prospectively followed 307 trainees (police, taxi drivers, and community leaders) who completed a one-day basic prehospital trauma care program in 2008. Cross-sectional surveys and fund of knowledge tests were used to measure their frequency of skill and supply use, reasons for not providing aid, perceived utility of the course and kit, confidence in using skills, and knowledge of first-aid. We then estimated the cost-effectiveness of scaling up the program. At six months, 188 (62%) of the trainees were followed up. Their knowledge retention remained high or increased. The mean correct score on a basic fund of knowledge test was 92%, up from 86% after initial training (n = 146 pairs, p = 0.0016). 97% of participants had used at least one skill from the course: most commonly haemorrhage control, recovery position and lifting/moving and 96% had used at least one first-aid item. Lack of knowledge was less of a barrier and trainees were significantly more confident in providing first-aid. Based on cost estimates from the World Health Organization, local injury data, and modelling from previous studies, the projected cost of scaling up this program was $0.12 per capita or$25-75 per life year saved. Key limitations of the study include small sample size, possible reporter bias, preliminary local validation of study instruments, and an indirect estimate of mortality reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Lay first-responders effectively retained knowledge on prehospital trauma care and confidently used their first-aid skills and supplies for at least six months. The costs of scaling up this intervention to cover Kampala are very modest. This may be a cost-effective first step toward developing formal emergency services in Uganda other resource-constrained settings. Further research is needed in this critical area of trauma care in low-income countries

Assessing emergency medical care in low income countries: A pilot study from Pakistan

Background: Emergency Medical Care is an important component of health care system. Unfortunately it is however, ignored in many low income countries. We assessed the availability and quality of facility-based emergency medical care in the government health care system at district level in a low income country - Pakistan. Methods: We did a quantitative pilot study of a convenience sample of 22 rural and 20 urban health facilities in 2 districts - Faisalabad and Peshawar - in Pakistan. The study consisted of three separate cross-sectional assessments of selected community leaders, health care providers, and health care facilities. Three data collection instruments were created with input from existing models for facility assessment such as those used by the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Hospitals and the National Center for Health Statistics in USA and the Medical Research Council in Pakistan. Results: The majority of respondents 43/44(98%), in community survey were not satisfied with the emergency care provided. Most participants 36/44(82%) mentioned that they will not call an ambulance in health related emergency because it does not function properly in the government system. The expenses on emergency care for the last experience were reported to be less than 5,000 Pakistani Rupees (equivalent to US$ 83) for 19/29(66%) respondents. Most health care providers 43/44(98%) were of the opinion that their facilities were inadequately equipped to treat emergencies. The majority of facilities 31/42(74%) had no budget allocated for emergency care. A review of medications and equipment available showed that many critical supplies needed in an emergency were not found in these facilities. Conclusion: Assessment of emergency care should be part of health systems analysis in Pakistan. Multiple deficiencies in emergency care at the district level in Pakistan were noted in our study. Priority should be given to make emergency care responsive to needs in Pakistan. Specific efforts should be directed to equip emergency care at district facilities and to organize an ambulance network

Lithographic Patterning of Photoreactive Cell-Adhesive Proteins

We describe a novel, simple method for the photolithographic patterning of cell-adhesive proteins. Intrinsically photoreactive proteins are synthesized in Escherichia coli through incorporation of the non-canonical, photosensitive amino acid para-azidophenylalanine. Upon ultraviolet irradiation at 365 nm, proteins form cross-linked films with elastic moduli that can be tuned by varying the concentration of photoreactive amino acid in the expression medium. Films of these proteins can be directly patterned using standard photolithographic techniques. We demonstrate the utility of this method of protein patterning by creating stable arrays of fibroblast cells on an engineered protein “photoresist”

Repurposing environmental DNA samples—detecting the western pearlshell (Margaritifera falcata) as a proof of concept

Information on the distribution of multiple species in a common landscape is fundamental to effective conservation and management. However, distribution data are expensive to obtain and often limited to high-profile species in a system. A recently developed technique, environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling, has been shown to be more sensitive than traditional detection methods for many aquatic species. A second and perhaps underappreciated benefit of eDNA sampling is that a sample originally collected to determine the presence of one species can be re-analyzed to detect additional taxa without additional field effort. We developed an eDNA assay for the western pearlshell mussel (Margaritifera falcata) and evaluated its effectiveness by analyzing previously collected eDNA samples that were annotated with information including sample location and deposited in a central repository. The eDNA samples were initially collected to determine habitat occupancy by nonbenthic fish species at sites that were in the vicinity of locations recently occupied by western pearlshell. These repurposed eDNA samples produced results congruent with historical western pearlshell surveys and permitted a more precise delineation of the extent of local populations. That a sampling protocol designed to detect fish was also successful for detecting a freshwater mussel suggests that rapidly accumulating collections of eDNA samples can be repurposed to enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of aquatic biodiversity monitoring