IRAS F02044+0957: radio source in interacting system of galaxies

The steep spectrum of IRAS F02044+0957 was obtained with the RATAN-600 radio telescope at four frequencies. Optical spectroscopy of the system components, was carried out with the 2.1m telescope of the Guillermo Haro Observatory. Observational data allow us to conclude that this object is a pair of interacting galaxies, a LINER and a HII galaxy, at $z=0.093$.Comment: 2 pages, 2 EPS-figures, uses newpasp.sty. To appear in Proc. IAU Colloq. 184, AGN Surveys, ed. R. F. Green, E. Ye. Khachikian, & D. B. Sanders (San Francisco: ASP

Community-based environmental management for malaria control: evidence from a small-scale intervention in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Historically, environmental management has brought important achievements in malaria control and overall improvements of health conditions. Currently, however, implementation is often considered not to be cost-effective. A community-based environmental management for malaria control was conducted in Dar es Salaam between 2005 and 2007. After community sensitization, two drains were cleaned followed by maintenance. This paper assessed the impact of the intervention on community awareness, prevalence of malaria infection, and Anopheles larval presence in drains. A survey was conducted in neighbourhoods adjacent to cleaned drains; for comparison, neighbourhoods adjacent to two drains treated with larvicides and two drains under no intervention were also surveyed. Data routinely collected by the Urban Malaria Control Programme were also used. Diverse impacts were evaluated through comparison of means, odds ratios (OR), logistic regression, and time trends calculated by moving averages. Individual awareness of health risks and intervention goals were significantly higher among sensitized neighbourhoods. A reduction in the odds of malaria infection during the post-cleaning period in intervention neighbourhoods was observed when compared to the pre-cleaning period (OR = 0.12, 95% CI 0.05-0.3, p < 0.001). During the post-cleaning period, a higher risk of infection (OR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.4, p = 0.0069) was observed in neighbourhoods under no intervention compared to intervention ones. Eighteen months after the initial cleaning, one of the drains was still clean due to continued maintenance efforts (it contained no waste materials and the water was flowing at normal velocity). A three-month moving average of the percentage of water habitats in that drain containing pupae and/or Anopheles larvae indicated a decline in larval density. In the other drain, lack of proper resources and local commitment limited success. Although environmental management was historically coordinated by authoritarian/colonial regimes or by industries/corporations, its successful implementation as part of an integrated vector management framework for malaria control under democratic governments can be possible if four conditions are observed: political will and commitment, community sensitization and participation, provision of financial resources for initial cleaning and structural repairs, and inter-sectoral collaboration. Such effort not only is expected to reduce malaria transmission, but has the potential to empower communities, improve health and environmental conditions, and ultimately contribute to poverty alleviation and sustainable development

Embracing Human Security: New Directions of Japan’s ODA for the 21st Century

In today’s world, communities and individuals are exposed to old and new threats such as civil wars, terrorism, natural disasters, infectious diseases, economic downturns, climate change and famines. Human security is an idea and an approach developed to address the pressing needs and moral imperatives arising from those insecurities faced by all humankind. The idea urges to secure fundamental freedoms for everyone, i.e., freedom from fear, freedom from want, and freedom to live in dignity, by combining top-down protection and bottom-up empowerment. While the importance of such an idea has been increasingly discussed since its emergence in the mid-1990s, the ways to operationalize it in practice remain a contested matter. In particular, the practice of Japan’s ODA has received less attention despite Japan being the only government fully committed to the promotion of human security, with ODA as its major tool since 2003. Aiming to inform practice in coming decades, this paper explores the ways how to operationalize the idea, by following the recent history of Japan’s ODA activities related to human security. After briefly recounting the connection between Japan’s ODA and the idea of human security at the policy level, we trace the evolution of its practice, mainly focusing on bilateral contributions by JICA, in the four emblematic areas linked to human security: natural disasters, climate change, infectious diseases and violent conflict. Our examination reveals that Japan’s ODA practice has, in general, been evolving in a way that resonates with the idea of human security. In order to consolidate this trend and to further operationalize human security, however, there still remains much to be done. We have identified three significant directions that can be taken to further operationalize human security: emphasizing prevention, realizing seamless assistance, and caring for the most vulnerable