Experiencing and responding to climate change in the Andes : campesino experiences with – and Responses to – changes in the climate in the Andean highlands of Southern Ecuador

Climate change poses a significant challenge to society, in particular as it constitutes a threat to food security. Considering Andean campesinos are heavily affected by changes in the climate and substantially contribute to the food security of the larger Andean population, it is crucial to investigate their experiences with – and (undertaken and proposed) responses to – changes in the climate. The objective of this research is to investigate what campesinos in the Andean highlands of Southern Ecuador consider to be effective and appropriate responses to changes in the climate, and how this is influenced by perceptions, values and knowledge related to these changes. This is done by means of semi-structured interviews centered around the four axioms of perception, values, knowledge and response (as identified by Roncoli et al 2016). The study finds that reforestation (with native species), reducing contamination (of waste and toxic residues), and improving education on how to behave towards the environment are recurrently considered to be effective and appropriate responses to changes in the climate by campesinos in the highlands of Southern Ecuador. Locating the perceived changes and the known causes of changes in the climate in the immediate environment, along with values related to taking social responsibility for changes in the environment, are suggested to have contributed to the research participants largely taking on the responsibility themselves to undertake the strategies to limit future changes in the climate. The results of this research are important for a more contextualized understanding of climate change, and for the development of climate change response policies that reflect campesino needs, values and interests, and – as such – are expected to have a greater success rate of implementation due to greater local acceptance

System design perspective of healthcare provision in humanitarian aid

This study focuses on the role of Systems Design in addressing the challenges of healthcare provision by international emergency relief organizations in developing countries. More specifically the challenges related with the safety and performance of medical devices that are transferred in the aftermath of a humanitarian crisis. Our aim is to describe this transfer on the basis of two field studies in Indonesia and Haiti and reflect on the value of Human Factors and Ergonomics for a Systems Design approach. The presented concepts support designers in handling a larger degree of complexity and support them to think more steps ahead in a design project. Future studies will involve collaborative design projects dedicated to bring this reflection further to the development of healthcare products and services

Pioneer Venus polarimetry and haze optical thickness

The Pioneer Venus mission provided us with high-resolution measurements at four wavelengths of the linear polarization of sunlight reflected by the Venus atmosphere. These measurements span the complete phase angle range and cover a period of more than a decade. A first analysis of these data by Kawabata et al. confirmed earlier suggestions of a haze layer above and partially mixed with the cloud layer. They found that the haze exhibits large spatial and temporal variations. The haze optical thickness at a wavelength of 365 nm was about 0.06 at low latitudes, but approximately 0.8 at latitudes from 55 deg poleward. Differences between morning and evening terminator have also been reported by the same authors. Using an existing cloud/haze model of Venus, we study the relationship between the haze optical thickness and the degree of linear polarization. Variations over the visible disk and phase angle dependence are investigated. For that purpose, exact multiple scattering computations are compared with Pioneer Venus measurements. To get an impression of the variations over the visible disk, we have first studied scans of the polarization parallel to the intensity equator. After investigating a small subset of the available data we have the following results. Adopting the haze particle characteristics given by Kawabata et al., we find a thickening of the haze at increasing latitudes. Further, we see a difference in haze optical thickness between the northern and southern hemispheres that is of the same order of magnitude as the longitudinal variation of haze thickness along a scan line. These effects are most pronounced at a wavelength of 935 nm. We must emphasize the tentative nature of the results, because there is still an enormous amount of data to be analyzed. We intend to combine further polarimetric research of Venus with constraints on the haze parameters imposed by physical and chemical processes in the atmosphere

Standardization of microparticle enumeration across different flow cytometry platforms: results of a multicenter collaborative workshop

Microparticles are extracellular vesicles resulting from the budding of cellular membranes that have a high potential as emergent biomarkers; however, their clinical relevance is hampered by methodological enumeration concerns and a lack of standardization. Flow cytometry (FCM) remains the most commonly used technique with the best capability to determine the cellular origin of single MPs. However, instruments behave variably depending on which scatter parameter, (Forward (FSC) or Side scatter (SSC)), provides the best resolution to discriminate submicron particles. To overcome this problem, a new approach, based on two sets of selected beads adapted to FSC or SSC optimized instruments, was recently proposed to reproducibly enumerate platelet-derived MP counts among instruments with different optical systems

Evaluation of Operative Notes Concerning Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: Are Standards Being Met?

Background - Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the most performed minimal invasive surgical procedure and has a relatively high complication rate. As complications are often revealed postoperatively, clear, accurate, and timely written operative notes are important in order to recall the procedure and start follow-up treatment as soon as possible. In addition, the surgeon’s operative notes are important to assure surgical quality and communication with other healthcare providers. The aim of the present study was to assess compliance with the Dutch guidelines for writing operative notes for LC. Methods - Nine hospitals were asked to send 20 successive LC operative notes. All notes were compared to the Dutch guideline by two reviewers and double-checked by a third reviewer. Statistical analyses on the ‘‘not described’’ items were performed. Results - All hospitals participated. Most notes complied with the Dutch guideline (52–69%); 19–30% of items did not comply. Negative scores for all hospitals were found, mainly for lacking a description of the patient’s posture (average 69%), bandage (94%), blood loss (98%), name of the scrub nurse (87%), postoperative conclusion (65%), and postoperative instructions (78%). Furthermore, notes from one community hospital and two teaching hospitals complied significantly less with the guidelines. Conclusions - Operative notes do not always fully comply with the standards set forth in the guidelines published in the Netherlands. This could influence adjuvant treatment and future patient treatment, and it may make operative notes less suitable background for other purposes. Therefore operative note writing should be taught as part of surgical training, definitions should be provided, and procedure-specific guidelines should be established to improve the quality of the operative notes and their use to improve patient safety.Industrial DesignIndustrial Design Engineerin