Developing an RD&E project to address loss of productivity in Queensland pastures invaded by Indian couch (Bothriochloa pertusa)

Rapid, widespread dominance of exotic, stoloniferous, perennial Indian couch (Bothriochloa pertusa) grass is occurring in Queensland pastures, with reports also for the Northern Territory. This transformation is not necessarily due to overgrazing but, nonetheless, may lead to a 50% decline in productivity and resilience in beef grazing systems, and be associated with ecological penalties, such as increased sediment run-off to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon and a decline in biodiversity. Despite several early introductions into Australia in the 1930s, and subsequent rapid spread of a less desirable strain noted in Queensland in the 1960s, there is relatively little information on the ecology, management and economics of B. pertusa. This scoping study has been successful in collecting comprehensive, present-day feedback from beef producers on B. pertusa invasion for three catchments: Burdekin, Fitzroy, and the Burnett-Mary. Agency staff research findings relating to B. pertusa and key findings from the literature have also been collated. A synthesis of the producer knowledge and research results has identified the research gaps and priorities, and has provided the basis of a project proposal submission made to Meat & Livestock Australia Limited (MLA). The recommended specifications for RD&E include: • mapping the extent of B. pertusa invasion • understanding the drivers of invasion • quantifying both landscape function and production impacts • developing the different guidelines required for managing B. pertusa monocultures; reversing B. pertusa invasions; and options for targeted elimination of B. pertusa

Who should be undertaking population-based surveys in humanitarian emergencies?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Timely and accurate data are necessary to prioritise and effectively respond to humanitarian emergencies. 30-by-30 cluster surveys are commonly used in humanitarian emergencies because of their purported simplicity and reasonable validity and precision. Agencies have increasingly used 30-by-30 cluster surveys to undertake measurements beyond immunisation coverage and nutritional status. Methodological errors in cluster surveys have likely occurred for decades in humanitarian emergencies, often with unknown or unevaluated consequences.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Most surveys in humanitarian emergencies are done by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Some undertake good quality surveys while others have an already overburdened staff with limited epidemiological skills. Manuals explaining cluster survey methodology are available and in use. However, it is debatable as to whether using standardised, 'cookbook' survey methodologies are appropriate. Coordination of surveys is often lacking. If a coordinating body is established, as recommended, it is questionable whether it should have sole authority to release surveys due to insufficient independence. Donors should provide sufficient funding for personnel, training, and survey implementation, and not solely for direct programme implementation.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>A dedicated corps of trained epidemiologists needs to be identified and made available to undertake surveys in humanitarian emergencies. NGOs in the field may need to form an alliance with certain specialised agencies or pool technically capable personnel. If NGOs continue to do surveys by themselves, a simple training manual with sample survey questionnaires, methodology, standardised files for data entry and analysis, and manual for interpretation should be developed and modified locally for each situation. At the beginning of an emergency, a central coordinating body should be established that has sufficient authority to set survey standards, coordinate when and where surveys should be undertaken and act as a survey repository. Technical expertise is expensive and donors must pay for it. As donors increasingly demand evidence-based programming, they have an obligation to ensure that sufficient funds are provided so organisations have adequate technical staff.</p

Health Issues Affecting Displaced Populations: The Evolution of Public Health Response in Emergency and Post-Emergency Phases of Complex Emergencies

The field of humanitarian response has made tremendous strides over the past decade. In the Cambodian refugee camps in the 1980s, the establishment o

Space Shuttle main engine turbopump bearing assessment program

This report documents the work done on the bearing assessment program over the past two and a half years. The objective of the program is to develop a nondestructive evaluation system for the SSME HPOTP's which would be used to detect anomalies in installed bearings without engine disassembly. Data bases of various signatures are obtained by slowly turning the pump shafts before and after an engine firing. These signatures are then analyzed and compared to the original signatures to more accurately predict bearing wear

Managing Anxiety and Depression During Treatment

Here, we review the prevalence and treatment of anxiety and depression among patients with breast cancer. Cancer‐related symptoms include similarities to responses to traumatic stress. Well‐developed screening devices for identifying and tracking psychiatric comorbidity are discussed. Basic principles of psychopharmacology, and individual and group psychotherapy are presented. Finally, effects of effective treatment of anxiety and depression on quality of life and overall survival are reviewed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110604/1/tbj12355.pd

Self-Similar Blowup Solutions to the 2-Component Camassa-Holm Equations

In this article, we study the self-similar solutions of the 2-component Camassa-Holm equations% \begin{equation} \left\{ \begin{array} [c]{c}% \rho_{t}+u\rho_{x}+\rho u_{x}=0 m_{t}+2u_{x}m+um_{x}+\sigma\rho\rho_{x}=0 \end{array} \right. \end{equation} with \begin{equation} m=u-\alpha^{2}u_{xx}. \end{equation} By the separation method, we can obtain a class of blowup or global solutions for $\sigma=1$ or $-1$. In particular, for the integrable system with $\sigma=1$, we have the global solutions:% \begin{equation} \left\{ \begin{array} [c]{c}% \rho(t,x)=\left\{ \begin{array} [c]{c}% \frac{f\left( \eta\right) }{a(3t)^{1/3}},\text{ for }\eta^{2}<\frac {\alpha^{2}}{\xi} 0,\text{ for }\eta^{2}\geq\frac{\alpha^{2}}{\xi}% \end{array} \right. ,u(t,x)=\frac{\overset{\cdot}{a}(3t)}{a(3t)}x \overset{\cdot\cdot}{a}(s)-\frac{\xi}{3a(s)^{1/3}}=0,\text{ }a(0)=a_{0}% >0,\text{ }\overset{\cdot}{a}(0)=a_{1} f(\eta)=\xi\sqrt{-\frac{1}{\xi}\eta^{2}+\left( \frac{\alpha}{\xi}\right) ^{2}}% \end{array} \right. \end{equation} where $\eta=\frac{x}{a(s)^{1/3}}$ with $s=3t;$ $\xi>0$ and $\alpha\geq0$ are arbitrary constants.\newline Our analytical solutions could provide concrete examples for testing the validation and stabilities of numerical methods for the systems.Comment: 5 more figures can be found in the corresponding journal paper (J. Math. Phys. 51, 093524 (2010) ). Key Words: 2-Component Camassa-Holm Equations, Shallow Water System, Analytical Solutions, Blowup, Global, Self-Similar, Separation Method, Construction of Solutions, Moving Boundar

The formation of high-field magnetic white dwarfs from common envelopes

The origin of highly-magnetized white dwarfs has remained a mystery since their initial discovery. Recent observations indicate that the formation of high-field magnetic white dwarfs is intimately related to strong binary interactions during post-main-sequence phases of stellar evolution. If a low-mass companion, such as a planet, brown dwarf, or low-mass star is engulfed by a post-main-sequence giant, the hydrodynamic drag in the envelope of the giant leads to a reduction of the companion's orbit. Sufficiently low-mass companions in-spiral until they are shredded by the strong gravitational tides near the white dwarf core. Subsequent formation of a super-Eddington accretion disk from the disrupted companion inside a common envelope can dramatically amplify magnetic fields via a dynamo. Here, we show that these disk-generated fields are sufficiently strong to explain the observed range of magnetic field strengths for isolated, high-field magnetic white dwarfs. A higher-mass binary analogue may also contribute to the origin of magnetar fields.Comment: Accepted to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Under PNAS embargo until time of publicatio

Self-force on a scalar charge in radial infall from rest using the Hadamard-WKB expansion

We present an analytic method based on the Hadamard-WKB expansion to calculate the self-force for a particle with scalar charge that undergoes radial infall in a Schwarzschild spacetime after being held at rest until a time t = 0. Our result is valid in the case of short duration from the start. It is possible to use the Hadamard-WKB expansion in this case because the value of the integral of the retarded Green's function over the particle's entire past trajectory can be expressed in terms of two integrals over the time period that the particle has been falling. This analytic result is expected to be useful as a check for numerical prescriptions including those involving mode sum regularization and for any other analytical approximations to self-force calculations.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figures, Physical Review D version along with the corrections given in the erratu

Notes from the Field in Kigoma, Tanzania

In these short notes the authors provide some insight to their visit to displaced persons camps in Kigoma, Tanzania. This trip marks the fourth set of camps examined in the Post Emergency Phase Indicators Project, a joint collaboration between the Johns Hopkins Center for Refugee and Disaster Studies, and the International Emergency and Refugee Health Branch at the Centers for Disease Control.Dans ces brèves notes, les auteurs fournissent un aperçu de leur visite au camps pour personnes deplacees de Kigoma, en Tanzanie. Ce voyage marque la conclusion de la quatrième série de visites de camps de réfugiés examinés dans Ie cadre du Projet sur les Indicateurs d'Etapes en Situation Post- Urgente (Post-Emergency Phase Indicators Project), une collaboration conjointe du Centre John Hopkins pour les Etudes sur les Réfugiés et les Désastres, et la Section pour la Santé des Réfugiés et l'Urgence Internationale, du Centre pour Ie Contrôle Epidemique