Where Have You Hidden the Cholera?

Rowan Moore Gerety, a reporter and author from New York, will speak out about the root causes of the mistrust and violence faced by efforts to stop the spread of cholera in Mozambique, which are part of a larger pattern of violent resistance to public health campaigns around the world. The talk will be based on the chapter Where have you hidden the cholera? in Gerety\u27s book Go Tell the Crocodiles: Chasing Prosperity in Mozambique.https://egrove.olemiss.edu/croft_spe/1009/thumbnail.jp

Measurement of vacuum pressure with a magneto-optical trap : a pressure-rise method

This research was supported by UK EPSRC grant GR/T08272/01, IOP Scotland and the Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant RPG-2013-074.The lifetime of an atom trap is often limited by the presence of residual background gases in the vacuum chamber. This leads to the lifetime being inversely proportional to the pressure. Here we use this dependence to estimate the pressure and to obtain pressure rate-of-rise curves, which are commonly used in vacuum science to evaluate the performance of a system. We observe different rates of pressure increase in response to different levels of outgassing in our system. Therefore we suggest that this is a sensitive method which will find useful applications in cold atom systems, in particular where the inclusion of a standard vacuum gauge is impractical.Peer reviewe

Toolkit for photonic integrated circuits based on inverted rib waveguides

This work was supported by an EPSRC Doctoral Prize and a European Research Council Starting under Grant 337508.We have performed an exploration of inverted rib waveguide platform for use in optical backplanes. This entailed the design, optimization, and characterization of a variety of passive optical components that may serve as a basis for the functions required of an on-chip optical networks. The presented design introduces an inverted-rib template, which consists of a polymer waveguide layer. We have successfully fabricated and demonstrated low-loss waveguides, and also functional passive devices such as directional couplers, multimode interferometers, waveguide bends and crossings, and distributed Bragg reflectors. We also demonstrate a way of coupling active components (e.g., in silicon) to such a photonic integrated circuit.PostprintPeer reviewe

Climate Change and Water Resources in Ireland: Initial investigations using downscaled GCMS and hydrological modelling techniques.

Predictions are made of changes in effective runoff at a high spatial resolution for the island of Ireland under different climate change scenarios. Although previous studies have examined the response of selected Irish catchments to future climate scenarios this is the first time that the whole area of the island has been considered. This paper discusses the initial investigation that has been carried out and outlines research currently in progress. Polynomial regression techniques are used to derive a baseline climatology for Ireland. Downscaled precipitation and evaporation data from the United Kingdom Climate Program (UKCIP)for the Medium-low 2080 scenario is used together with the baseline data for the initial investigation. The precipitation and potential evaporation (PE) data are converted to a suitable form for input to HYSIM. Two sets of simulations are carried out for 825 JO x JO km grid squares covering the land area of the island of Ireland for the baseline period and the 2080 scenario. The hydrological parameters for each of these squares are considered to be identical for this initial investigation. The results of this investigation are presented. Future work is considered, focusing on the parameterisation of HYSIM for individual grid cells. The initial investigation demonstrates that the representation of storage is of particular importance. Parameter values are derived for each square using data from the Soil Survey of Ireland, the CORINE land use database and information on major aquifers provided by the Geological Survey of Ireland. The flexible data requirements of HYSIM allow some representation of the diverse hydrological conditions found within Ireland. For example, approximately 40% of Ireland is underlain by limestones, many of which are karstified. These karst aquifers are an important water resource and can respond very rapidly to precipitation inputs. There are also extensive areas of lakes and wetlands. The land area is divided into broad hydrological zones to provide some representation of this variability

Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Water Supply and Flood Hazard in Ireland using Statistical Downscaling and Hydrological Modelling Technique

Although Ireland is relatively well endowed with water resources, regional shortages can occur at certain times of the year, especially in the east and south east of the country. The rapid expansion of urban areas such as Dublin, Cork, and Limerick, associated with recent economic conditions, is putting an increasing strain on the water supply infrastructure. The increased demand for water comes mainly from the industrial and domestic sectors, with domestic demand increasing both as a result of population growth and rising water consumption per capita. As a result, low flows are becoming more frequent in some areas and it is likely that future climate change scenarios will exacerbate these effects. At the same time, many Irish rivers are prone to flooding, especially those in the west, with the Shannon being a prime example. Increases in winter precipitation over the western part of the island are likely to increase the magnitude and frequency of flood events, and increase the duration of seasonal flooding. The aim of this research, therefore, is to simulate patterns of runoff under baseline and future climate scenarios, at a fine spatial resolution, in order to assess annual and seasonal changes

Novel strategies for the detection of ragwort poisoning in horses

Toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are produced by flowering plant species throughout the world, including ragwort (Senecio jacobea). In animals, PAs are metabolised within the liver to form their corresponding dehydro-PAs or pyrroles. These compounds are highly reactive and are capable of alkylating and cross-linking DNA and proteins to lead to characteristic molecular and cellular insult within the liver. There are presently no metllOds for tlle definitive diagnosis of ragwort poisoning in animals. If biomarkers for ragwort poisoning could be identified in dIe early stages of ingestion dlen the onset of irreversible patllology might be preventable. The goal of this study was to explore methods for the detection and analysis of pyrrole-peptide and pyrrole-protein adducts· in vitro and to investigate techniques facilitating the identification of changes in equine blood as a result of PA poisoning in Vivo. Initial experiments aimed to elucida~e dIe range of responses of model proteins to alh.'ylating agents ill tll/ro. Intact mass analysis of dIe proteins by l-dimensional gel electrophoresis (lD-GE) and quadtupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Q-ToF MS) demonstrated that different reagents are capable of distinctly modifying proteins, and that these reagents have varying degrees of specificity for dIe sulphydryl group of cysteine residues. Matri.x-assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI)-ToF MS revealed the particular regions of proteins which were targeted by reagents and demonstrated that peptide adduct detection could be enhanced by guanidination of lysine-terminated peptides

Biomarker Discovery in Animal Health and Disease: The Application of Post-Genomic Technologies

The causes of many important diseases in animals are complex and multifactorial, which present unique challenges. Biomarkers indicate the presence or extent of a biological process, which is directly linked to the clinical manifestations and outcome of a particular disease. Identifying biomarkers or biomarker profiles will be an important step towards disease characterization and management of disease in animals. The emergence of post-genomic technologies has led to the development of strategies aimed at identifying specific and sensitive biomarkers from the thousands of molecules present in a tissue or biological fluid. This review will summarize the current developments in biomarker discovery and will focus on the role of transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics in biomarker discovery for animal health and disease

National HPCC Software Exchange

This report describes an effort to construct a National HPCC Software Exchange (NHSE). This system shows how the evolving National Information Infrastructure (NII) can be used to facilitate sharing of software and information among members of the High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) community. To access the system use the URL: http://www.netlib.org/nse/

Green Inequities: Examining the Dimensions of Socioenvironmental Injustice in Marginalized Communities

In the realm of socioenvironmental justice, much discourse centers on equal access to green areas and on climate injustice in the United States. Marginalized communities, including Indigenous populations, are being excluded from current narratives surrounding the natural spaces that in many cases are historically tied to under-represented groups. This article aims to explore some of the many dimensions of environmental racism, green inequities, climate injustice, and access. The dimensions include but are not limited to racial gatekeeping, nature deprivation in low-income communities, green gentrification, light pollution, and access to clean water. The recommendations section serves as a guide during decisionmaking processes at the local, state, and federal level, as well as moving forward in offering impacted communities protection from environmental racism and socioenvironmental injustice to impacted communities