GIS without GPS: new opportunities in technology and survey research to link people and place

This paper presents innovative ways to relate survey data to GIS maps, thereby making the connection of people and place more accessible for the research community. Based on data from rural areas in the Brazilian Amazon, we describe a successful effort to sample households while linking farm-level data to property boundaries, these boundaries generated from subjects’ interpretations of satellite images on a computer screen. The sampling framework is based on legislation requiring farmers to report to a government agency in a four-week period, and the farmers’ input allows for a more efficient means of identifying property boundaries as compared to GPS. We show that the resulting sampling is statistically representative. We discuss the potential of this association of institutional design and low-cost methods of data collection to allow for more cost-effective generation of spatial data and of geospatial analysis

Strengthening of Parenthood; Developing a Life Skills Questionnaire for Dutch Parents (LSQ-P)

AbstractLife skills of parents have a positive effect on the wellbeing of parents and development of children. Currently, no reliable instrument is available to measure these skills. This study was set up to develop a questionnaire for assessing parents’ life skills. The questionnaire was developed for professionals who are working with parents and for building behavioral interventions enhancing the wellbeing of parents. A pilot research using a translation of the Life Skills Scale (Erawan, 2010) was conducted. Construct validity and reliability by means of confirmatory factor analysis of nine scales were examined in a sample of 133 Dutch parents and reliability of the scales in terms of Cronbach's alpha was examined. Evidence for construct validity of the scales was found. Reliability coefficients were satisfactory for the scales Critical thinking, Social responsibility, Interpersonal relationships, Decision making, Self-awareness, and Creative thinking. Reliability coefficients were good for Empathy and Self-esteem. The LSQ-P can be used in social work practice as an assessment tool to measure strengths and weaknesses regarding life skills of parents. More attention for developing life skills of parents is necessary in order to increase their wellbeing. Implications for health promotion among parents are discussed. Suggestions for further research and development of the scales are outlined

An FTIR spectrometer for remote measurements of atmospheric composition

The JPL IV interferometer, and infrared Michelson interferometer, was built specifically for recording high resolution solar absorption spectra from remote ground-based sites, aircraft and from stratospheric balloons. The instrument is double-passed, with one fixed and one moving corner reflector, allowing up to 200-cm of optical path difference (corresponding to an unapodised spectral resolution of 0.003/cm). The carriage which holds the moving reflector is driven by a flexible nut riding on a lead screw. This arrangement, together with the double-passed optical scheme, makes the instrument resistant to the effects of mechanical distortion and shock. The spectral range of the instrument is covered by two liquid nitrogen-cooled detectors: an InSb photodiode is used for the shorter wavelengths (1.85 to 5.5 microns, 1,800 to 5,500/cm) and a HgCdTe photoconductor for the range (5.5 to 15 microns, 650 to 1,800/cm). For a single spectrum of 0.01/cm resolution, which requires a scan time of 105 seconds, the signal/noise ratio is typically 800:1 over the entire wavelength range

Developing fibre optic Raman probes for applications in clinical spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy has been shown by various groups over the last two decades to have significant capability in discriminating disease states in bodily fluids, cells and tissues. Recent development in instrumentation, optics and manufacturing approaches has facilitated the design and demonstration of various novel in vivo probes, which have applicability for myriad of applications. This review focusses on key considerations and recommendations for application specific clinical Raman probe design and construction. Raman probes can be utilised as clinical tools able to provide rapid, non-invasive, real-time molecular analysis of disease specific changes in tissues. Clearly the target tissue location, the significance of spectral changes with disease and the possible access routes to the region of interest will vary for each clinical application considered. This review provides insight into design and construction considerations, including suitable probe designs and manufacturing materials compatible with Raman spectroscopy

Faecal pathogen flows and their public health risks in urban environments: A proposed approach to inform sanitation planning

© 2018 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Public health benefits are often a key political driver of urban sanitation investment in developing countries, however, pathogen flows are rarely taken systematically into account in sanitation investment choices. While several tools and approaches on sanitation and health risks have recently been developed, this research identified gaps in their ability to predict faecal pathogen flows, to relate exposure risks to the existing sanitation services, and to compare expected impacts of improvements. This paper outlines a conceptual approach that links faecal waste discharge patterns with potential pathogen exposure pathways to quantitatively compare urban sanitation improvement options. An illustrative application of the approach is presented, using a spreadsheet-based model to compare the relative effect on disability-adjusted life years of six sanitation improvement options for a hypothetical urban situation. The approach includes consideration of the persistence or removal of different pathogen classes in different environments; recognition of multiple interconnected sludge and effluent pathways, and of multiple potential sites for exposure; and use of quantitative microbial risk assessment to support prediction of relative health risks for each option. This research provides a step forward in applying current knowledge to better consider public health, alongside environmental and other objectives, in urban sanitation decision making. Further empirical research in specific locations is now required to refine the approach and address data gaps

Perturbations on steady spherical accretion in Schwarzschild geometry

The stationary background flow in the spherically symmetric infall of a compressible fluid, coupled to the space-time defined by the static Schwarzschild metric, has been subjected to linearized perturbations. The perturbative procedure is based on the continuity condition and it shows that the coupling of the flow with the geometry of space-time brings about greater stability for the flow, to the extent that the amplitude of the perturbation, treated as a standing wave, decays in time, as opposed to the amplitude remaining constant in the Newtonian limit. In qualitative terms this situation simulates the effect of a dissipative mechanism in the classical Bondi accretion flow, defined in the Newtonian construct of space and time. As a result of this approach it becomes impossible to define an acoustic metric for a conserved spherically symmetric flow, described within the framework of Schwarzschild geometry. In keeping with this view, the perturbation, considered separately as a high-frequency travelling wave, also has its amplitude reduced.Comment: 8 pages, no figur

Early Quadriceps Strength Loss After Total Knee Arthroplasty : The Contributions of Muscle Atrophy and Failure of Voluntary Muscle Activation

While total knee arthroplasty reduces pain and provides a functional range of motion of the knee, quadriceps weakness and reduced functional capacity typically are still present one year after surgery. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the role of failure of voluntary muscle activation and muscle atrophy in theearly loss of quadriceps strength after surgery

Kinematics of the Young Stellar Objects associated with the Cometary Globules in the Gum Nebula

An analysis of proper motion measurements of the Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) associated with the Cometary Globules (CGs) in the Gum Nebula is presented. While earlier studies based on the radial velocity measurements of the CGs suggested expansion of the system of the CGs, the observed proper motion of the YSOs shows no evidence for expansion. In particular the kinematics of two YSOs embedded in CGs is inconsistent with the supernova explosion of the companion of $\zeta$ Pup about 1.5 Myr ago as the cause of the expansion of the CG system. YSOs associated with the CGs share the average proper motion of the member stars of the Vela OB2 association. A few YSOs that have relatively large proper motions are found to show relatively low infrared excesses.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Processing and grain quality to meet market demands

Considerable resources have been directed towards improving the nutritional quality of cool season food legumes with respect to protein content and amino acid pattern and to reducing the content of antinutritional factors such as trypsin inhibitors and haemaglutinins. Less attention has been paid to the processing and grain quality factors that affect the utilisation of these legumes. Two important market considerations are the dhal yield and consumer acceptance of the product. These are influenced by the size, shape, colour and, chemical composition of the grain, by storage conditions and any pre-treatment before use. The cooking time, texture, water absorption and dispersibility of solids are determinants of quality of these legumes as food. Under adverse storage conditions, the legumes can develop hard-to-cook defects, depending on genotype and cultural practices. Nutritional quality needs to be considered in terms of protein digestibility, antinutritional factors, availability of carbohydrates and content of essential micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, copper and zinc. Available technologies such as roasting, steaming, germination, fermentation, and extrusion cooking, and protein isolation/concentration play a role in determining the product quality. These topics are reviewed and future research needs are suggested in the pape

General Relativistic Electromagnetic Fields of a Slowly Rotating Magnetized Neutron Star. I. Formulation of the equations

We present analytic solutions of Maxwell equations in the internal and external background spacetime of a slowly rotating magnetized neutron star. The star is considered isolated and in vacuum, with a dipolar magnetic field not aligned with the axis of rotation. With respect to a flat spacetime solution, general relativity introduces corrections related both to the monopolar and the dipolar parts of the gravitational field. In particular, we show that in the case of infinite electrical conductivity general relativistic corrections due to the dragging of reference frames are present, but only in the expression for the electric field. In the case of finite electrical conductivity, however, corrections due both to the spacetime curvature and to the dragging of reference frames are shown to be present in the induction equation. These corrections could be relevant for the evolution of the magnetic fields of pulsars and magnetars. The solutions found, while obtained through some simplifying assumption, reflect a rather general physical configuration and could therefore be used in a variety of astrophysical situations.Comment: A few typos corrected; matches the versions in MNRA