Implementation of the Great Works River Non-Point Source Pollution Watershed Management Plan

This project was a collaboration between the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Great Works Regional Land Trust, and the Great Works River Watershed Coalition to implement five of the “Highest Priority” tasks from the Action Plan of the Great Works River Nonpoint Source Pollution Watershed Management Plan (2007). The Great Works River drains 6 towns in southwest coastal Maine flowing into the estuary portion of the Salmon Falls and Piscataqua Rivers. The project included involving a steering committee of stakeholders, a buffer outreach effort, updating water quality data, invasive species education, improving access to information, and developing a plan for installing Best Management Practices. This project period was between January 2009 and April of 2010

The Land Conservation Plan for Maine’s Piscataqua Region Watersheds

The Piscataqua River/Great Bay estuary is a shared coastal embayment that forms the southernmost boundary between the states of Maine and New Hampshire. This rich coastal bay provides critical ecological, economic, and social benefits to the southern Maine and coastal New Hampshire region. The Great Bay estuary is such an important coastal resource that it is officially recognized as a coastal area of national significance by both the federal National Estuary Program and the federal National Estuarine Research Reserve program. The Piscataqua River/Great Bay estuary is fed by many rivers in New Hampshire, and by the Salmon Falls River, Great Works River, and Spruce Creek water- sheds in Maine. Collectively, the land area that contributes water flow to this treasured bi-state estuarine system is referred to as the “Piscataqua Region.” Within Maine, this region includes portions or all of ten Maine communities: Acton, Berwick, Eliot, Kittery, Lebanon, North Berwick, Sanford, South Berwick, Wells, and York

Quantum Melting and Absence of Bose-Einstein Condensation in Two-Dimensional Vortex Matter

We demonstrate that quantum fluctuations suppress Bose-Einstein condensation of quasi-two-dimensional bosons in a rapidly-rotating trap. Our conclusions rest in part on an effective-Lagrangian description of the triangular vortex lattice, and in part on microscopic Bogoliubov equations in the rapid-rotation limit. We obtain analytic expressions for the collective-excitation dispersion, which, in a rotating system, is quadratic rather than linear. Our estimates for the boson filling factor at which the vortex lattice melts at zero temperature due to quantum fluctuations are consistent with recent exact-diagonalization calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figures, version to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Explaining Myanmar's Regime Transition: The Periphery is Central

In 2010, Myanmar (Burma) held its first elections after 22 years of direct military rule. Few compelling explanations for this regime transition have emerged. This article critiques popular accounts and potential explanations generated by theories of authoritarian ‘regime breakdown’ and ‘regime maintenance’. It returns instead to the classical literature on military intervention and withdrawal. Military regimes, when not terminated by internal factionalism or external unrest, typically liberalise once they feel they have sufficiently addressed the crises that prompted their seizure of power. This was the case in Myanmar. The military intervened for fear that political unrest and ethnic-minority separatist insurgencies would destroy Myanmar’s always-fragile territorial integrity and sovereignty. Far from suddenly liberalising in 2010, the regime sought to create a ‘disciplined democracy’ to safeguard its preferred social and political order twice before, but was thwarted by societal opposition. Its success in 2010 stemmed from a strategy of coercive state-building and economic incorporation via ‘ceasefire capitalism’, which weakened and co-opted much of the opposition. Having altered the balance of forces in its favour, the regime felt sufficiently confident to impose its preferred settlement. However, the transition neither reflected total ‘victory’ for the military nor secured a genuine or lasting peace

A cell-based smoothed finite element method for kinematic limit analysis

This paper presents a new numerical procedure for kinematic limit analysis problems, which incorporates the cell-based smoothed finite element method with second-order cone programming. The application of a strain smoothing technique to the standard displacement finite element both rules out volumetric locking and also results in an efficient method that can provide accurate solutions with minimal computational effort. The non-smooth optimization problem is formulated as a problem of minimizing a sum of Euclidean norms, ensuring that the resulting optimization problem can be solved by an efficient second-order cone programming algorithm. Plane stress and plane strain problems governed by the von Mises criterion are considered, but extensions to problems with other yield criteria having a similar conic quadratic form or 3D problems can be envisaged

The use, perceived effectiveness and safety of herbal galactagogues during breastfeeding: A qualitative study

The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding as the normal infant feeding method and that infants being breastfed should be regarded as the control group or norm reference in all instances. There are many factors which could contribute to a new mother ceasing breastfeeding early, with the most commonly reported reason being perceived insufficient breast milk supply. The use of herbal galactagogues is increasingly common worldwide. Literature review identified a need for more research in the area of herbal galactagogue use during breastfeeding. Twenty in-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken with breastfeeding women who used herbal galactagogues, to document use and explore their perceived effectiveness and safety of herbal galactagogues. Several indicators of breastfeeding adequacy were mentioned as participants described their experiences with the use of herbal galactagogues. Confidence and self-empowerment emerged as an over-arching theme linked to positive experiences with the use of herbal galactagogues. Despite the lack of clinical trial data on the actual increase in measured volume of breast milk production, indicators of breastfeeding adequacy boosted participants’ confidence levels and resulted in psychological benefits. This study highlighted the importance of considering the potential psychological benefits of using herbal galactagogues, and how this translates into breastfeeding adequacy

Using Genetic Technologies To Reduce, Rather Than Widen, Health Disparities

Evidence shows that both biological and nonbiological factors contribute to health disparities. Genetics, in particular, plays a part in how common diseases manifest themselves. Today, unprecedented advances in genetically based diagnoses and treatments provide opportunities for personalized medicine. However, disadvantaged groups may lack access to these advances, and treatments based on research on non-Hispanic whites might not be generalizable to members of minority groups. Unless genetic technologies become universally accessible, existing disparities could be widened. Addressing this issue will require integrated strategies, including expanding genetic research, improving genetic literacy, and enhancing access to genetic technologies among minority populations in a way that avoids harms such as stigmatization

An atomic carbon source for high temperature molecular beam epitaxy of graphene

We report the use of a novel atomic carbon source for the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of graphene layers on hBN flakes and on sapphire wafers at substrate growth temperatures of ~1400 °C. The source produces a flux of predominantly atomic carbon, which diffuses through the walls of a Joule-heated tantalum tube filled with graphite powder. We demonstrate deposition of carbon on sapphire with carbon deposition rates up to 12 nm/h. Atomic force microscopy measurements reveal the formation of hexagonal moiré patterns when graphene monolayers are grown on hBN flakes. The Raman spectra of the graphene layers grown on hBN and sapphire with the sublimation carbon source and the atomic carbon source are similar, whilst the nature of the carbon aggregates is different - graphitic with the sublimation carbon source and amorphous with the atomic carbon source. At MBE growth temperatures we observe etching of the sapphire wafer surface by the flux from the atomic carbon source, which we have not observed in the MBE growth of graphene with the sublimation carbon source

Lifestyle Risk Behaviours and Nutritional Status Associated with Mental Health Problems among Myanmar Adolescents: Secondary Analysis of a Nationwide 2016 School Survey

Engaging in unhealthy lifestyles may be considered a risk factor for mental health problems, but there is limited evidence. This study aimed to identify the relationship between unhealthy lifestyles and mental health problems among Myanmar school-going adolescents. Global School Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) data from 2838 school-going adolescents from Myanmar were analysed. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were applied. After adjusting for confounding variables, adolescents who were seated for more than three hours per day had higher odds of loneliness, anxiety-induced sleep disturbance, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts compared to others. Moreover, students who ate fruit less than one time per day were more likely to experience anxiety-induced sleep disturbance and suicidal ideation. Being a current drinker was significantly associated with suicidal ideation and attempt. Obese students were more likely to feel lonely compared to normal weight students. Our study indicates there is a strong association between unhealthy lifestyle behaviours and mental health problems among school adolescents in Myanmar