11,108 research outputs found
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
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
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
Promoting kangaroo as a sustainable option for meat production on the rangelands of Australia
Implications
•As kangaroo meat is sourced from native wildlife, conservation of the species is important in developing sustainable meat harvesting. Landholders, conservationists, and commercial meat producers need to work together to achieve this goal.
•The production of high quality meat products from field-harvested carcasses can be augmented through a better understanding of the impact that field conditions and carcass handling have on final meat eating quality.
•Food safety is also paramount, with measures taken to minimize the impacts of parasitism and microbial contamination. Any breaches of inspection protocols can only serve to undermine consumer confidence and viability of the industry
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 or
. In particular, for the integrable system with , 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 with and 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
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