The Effects of the Food Reserve Agency on Maize Market Prices in Zambia

This policy synthesis estimates the effects of the Zambia Food Reserve Agency’s (FRA) activities on maize market prices in the country. The FRA, a government parastatal strategic food reserve/maize marketing board, buys maize at a pan-territorial price that typically exceeds wholesale market prices in major maize producing areas. It then exports the maize or sells it domestically at prices determined by tender, at auction, or administratively. In deficit production years, the Agency often imports maize and sells it to select large-scale millers at below-market prices.Zambia, Maize, Food Security, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty,

RC to Rπ Car Conversion

A C++ program was developed on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B in order to control the speed and steering of a radio controlled car so that it would autonomously drive within a lane. Images were captured by a Raspberry Pi Camera Module V2 and processed using OpenCV to detect the lane in front of the car. In each image, the intersection point of the best fit lines through the two lines of the lane was used to determine the target speed and target steering angle of the car. The program generated a pulse width modulation signal which it sent to a DC motor and a servo motor on the car through the GPIO of the Raspberry Pi in order to achieve these target values and guide the car to follow the lane.B.S. (Bachelor of Science

HIV/AIDS and Agrarian Livelihoods in Zambia: a Test of the New Variant Famine Hypothesis.

1. Consistent with the New Variant Famine (NVF) hypothesis, the negative impact of drought on crop output and output per hectare is further exacerbated where HIV prevalence rates are relatively high, particularly in the low- and medium rainfall zones of the country (agro-ecological regions I and II). 2. HIV prevalence rates and AIDS-related mortality rates in Zambia are highest in the lowest rainfall and most drought-prone zone of the country (agro-ecological region I). 3. Only for districts in agro-ecological region I do we find evidence of a robust negative effect of HIV/AIDS on agrarian livelihood indicators. Relatively stable food production zones and/or areas with relatively low HIV prevalence rates appear to be less vulnerable to the adverse effects predicted by the NVF hypothesis, which suggests that HIV/AIDS exacerbates the effects of drought and other shocks on agrarian communities. 4. HIV/AIDS reduces the crop production gains associated with fertilizer subsidy increases in the highest rainfall areas. 5. Increases in the percentage of female-headed households in a district are related to declines in agricultural production indicators, but these effects do not appear to worsen when the HIV/AIDS epidemic is severe. 6. Only in districts whose borders encompass both agro-ecological regions II and III do we consistently find weak evidence that HIV/AIDS reduces the contribution of productive assets to crop output and output per unit of land as would be expected under the NVF hypothesis.food security, food policy, Zambia, HIV/AIDS, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Q20,

Positive emotions, stress from pain and danger, and daily sleep negatively affect BMI in college age males

The purpose of this study was to determine how stress, exercise, and emotional eating can affect a college males body mass index (BMI). Our study included 48 males attending a State University who had their BMI measured and filled out the Stressful Situations Questionnaire, Physical Activity Scale, and the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire. We found that positive emotions, more daily sleep, and stress when dealing with pain and danger were all negatively associated with BMI. More research needs to be done on how positive emotions affect BMI, specifically differentiating males and females and more research should be done on the effect of pain and danger and stress

Characterization of the Impact of Fire on Terrestrial Organic Carbon and Its Fate in the Environment

Pyrogenic carbon (PyC) is a heterogeneous continuum of compounds resulting from incomplete combustion of organic matter. The understanding of PyC in the environment has mainly focused on high-temperature combustion by-products. However, the portion of this continuum produced at low temperatures, mainly during wildfire and prescribed burning events, is particularly labile and water-soluble. Therefore, low-temperature PyC is imperative to study during dynamic transport across environmental interfaces. This dissertation presents new characterization of low-temperature PyC at the interfaces of terrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric environments. I use biomarkers of biomass combustion, plant materials, and inorganic tracers to elucidate sources, composition, and degradation of PyC during transport within and between environmental reservoirs. In large Arctic rivers, low-temperature PyC biomarkers are present in detectable concentrations during all flow regimes. PyC export occurs predominately in the dissolved phase and is an intrinsic component of the DOC pool mobilized by hydrologic events. Around half of the low-temperature PyC exported may be remineralized during transit time from fire source to river mouth, implying a labile source of PyC to these watersheds. Phase partitioning of low-temperature PyC suggests that it sorbs to particles at levels orders of magnitude higher than what equilibrium theory would predict. The higher than expected association of these soluble components with particles may help explain the recorded presence of these biomarkers in sedimentary deposits, which have helped track historical wildfire signatures in watersheds. However, as partitioning coefficients of low-temperature PyC biomarkers are lower than those reported for high temperature PyC biomarkers, there is a higher potential for exchange with the aqueous phase and thus accessibility to microbial degradation during transport to the coastal ocean, especially during the spring freshet. In the atmosphere, low-temperature PyC biomarkers may be more labile than previously considered, with potential abiotic degradation (such as hydroxyl radical reactions) occurring on time scales relevant to atmospheric transport (days). As this could affect the composition of PyC biomarkers at depositional sites, the assumption that they are conservative in the atmosphere must be questioned. This dissertation quantifies PyC dynamics to help solidify flux and pool estimates and missing parameters in model assessments of carbon cycling

Effect of Prior Anterior Superior Iliac Spine Compression Testing on Second Assessor Findings: Implications for Inter-Examiner Reliability Testing

BACKGROUND: Osteopathic physicians use palpation to diagnose sacroiliac joint somatic dysfunction (SD) -- including the Anterior Superior Iliac Spine (ASIS) Compression Test for dysfunctional side lateralization. (Literature suggests right-sided lateralization in 80% of asymptomatic individuals). Accurate, reliable tests are crucial however to diagnose SD and kappa (κ) analysis is a gold-standard to determine the degree of interexaminer reliability for tests. Few studies have examined the effect the palpatory examination has on subsequent diagnostic findings and therefore on κ-values

Inter-Examiner Reliability of an Anterior Superior Iliac Spine Compression Test used to Lateralize Pelvic Somatic Dysfunction to the Right Side or Not

BACKGROUND: Osteopathic physicians use a number of palpatory structural examinations to diagnose pelvic somatic dysfunction (SD). They may elect to use the Anterior Superior Iliac Spine (ASIS) Compression Test to lateralize the dysfunctional side. Accurate, reliable tests are crucial to neuromusculoskeletal diagnosis and this study employs the kappa (κ) analysis protocol recommended for assessing interexaminer reliability of manual medicine tests (published by the Fédération Internationale de Médecine Manuelle [FIMM]). κ-values ≥0.40 (moderate agreement) are considered to be acceptable for use in the clinical setting

Pulsed Plasma Thruster Technology for Small Satellite Missions

Pulsed plasma thrusters (PPT's) offer the combined benefits of extremely low average electric power requirements (1 to 150 W), high specific impulse (approximately 1000 s), and system simplicity derived from the use of an inert solid propellant. Potential applications range from orbit insertion and maintenance of small satellites to attitude control for large geostationary communications satellites. While PPT's have been used operationally on several spacecraft, there has been no new PPT technology development since the early 1970's. As result of the rapid growth in the small satellite community and the broad range of PPT applications, NASA has initiated a development program with the objective of dramatically reducing the PPT dry mass, increasing PPT performance, and demonstrating a flight ready system by October 1997. This paper presents the results of a series of near-Earth mission studies including both primary and auxiliary propulsion and attitude control functions and reviews the status of NASA's on-going development program