Making global connections through dance film

Dance film communicates on a most basic level, eliminating barriers of language and geography. Through this accessible art form, one is able to experience a variety of global perspectives that tend to crystalize aspects of the universal human experience, promoting our sense of belonging to a global family

Burden of disease from inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene in low- and middle-income settings: a retrospective analysis of data from 145 countries

objective To estimate the burden of diarrhoeal diseases from exposure to inadequate water, sanitation and hand hygiene in low- and middle-income settings and provide an overview of the impact on other diseases. methods For estimating the impact of water, sanitation and hygiene on diarrhoea, we selected exposure levels with both sufficient global exposure data and a matching exposure-risk relationship. Global exposure data were estimated for the year 2012, and risk estimates were taken from the most recent systematic analyses. We estimated attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by country, age and sex for inadequate water, sanitation and hand hygiene separately, and as a cluster of risk factors. Uncertainty estimates were computed on the basis of uncertainty surrounding exposure estimates and relative risks. results In 2012, 502 000 diarrhoea deaths were estimated to be caused by inadequate drinking water and 280 000 deaths by inadequate sanitation. The most likely estimate of disease burden from inadequate hand hygiene amounts to 297 000 deaths. In total, 842 000 diarrhoea deaths are estimated to be caused by this cluster of risk factors, which amounts to 1.5% of the total disease burden and 58% of diarrhoeal diseases. In children under 5 years old, 361 000 deaths could be prevented, representing 5.5% of deaths in that age group. conclusions This estimate confirms the importance of improving water and sanitation in low- and middle-income settings for the prevention of diarrhoeal disease burden. It also underscores the need for better data on exposure and risk reductions that can be achieved with provision of reliable piped water, community sewage with treatment and hand hygiene

Assessing the impact of drinking water and sanitation on diarrhoeal disease in low- and middle-income settings: Systematic review and meta-regression

Objective: To assess the impact of inadequate water and sanitation on diarrhoeal disease in low- and middle-income settings. Methods: The search strategy used Cochrane Library, MEDLINE & PubMed, Global Health, Embase and BIOSIS supplemented by screening of reference lists from previously published systematic reviews, to identify studies reporting on interventions examining the effect of drinking water and sanitation improvements in low- and middle-income settings published between 1970 and May 2013. Studies including randomised controlled trials, quasi-randomised trials with control group, observational studies using matching techniques and observational studies with a control group where the intervention was well defined were eligible. Risk of bias was assessed using a modified Ottawa-Newcastle scale. Study results were combined using meta-analysis and meta-regression to derive overall and intervention-specific risk estimates. Results: Of 6819 records identified for drinking water, 61 studies met the inclusion criteria, and of 12 515 records identified for sanitation, 11 studies were included. Overall, improvements in drinking water and sanitation were associated with decreased risks of diarrhoea. Specific improvements, such as the use of water filters, provision of high-quality piped water and sewer connections, were associated with greater reductions in diarrhoea compared with other interventions. Conclusions: The results show that inadequate water and sanitation are associated with considerable risks of diarrhoeal disease and that there are notable differences in illness reduction according to the type of improved water and sanitation implemented

Physical Conditions in the Ionized Gas of 30 Doradus

We present a mid-infrared spectroscopic data cube of the central part of 30 Doradus, observed with Spitzer's IRS and MIPS/SED mode. Aromatic dust emission features and emission lines from molecular and atomic hydrogen are detected but not particularly strong. The dominant spectral features are emission lines from moderately ionized species of argon, neon, and sulphur, which are used to determine the physical conditions in the ionized gas. The ionized gas excitation shows strong variations on parsec scales, some of which can plausibly be associated with individual hot stars. We fit the ionic line strengths with photoionization and shock models, and find that photoionization dominates in the region. The ionization parameter U traces the rim of the central bubble, as well as highlighting isolated sources of ionization, and at least one quiescent clump. The hardness of the ionizing radiation field T_rad reveals several "hot spots" that are either the result of individual very hot stars or trace the propagation of the diffuse ionizing field through the surrounding neutral cloud. Consistent with other measurements of giant molecular hydrogen regions, log(U) ranges between -3 and -0.75, and T_rad between 30000 and 85000K.Comment: 32 pages, 26 figures, ApJ accepted. A version with high-resolution images can be found at http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~ged3j/indebetouw20090125.pd

Models of everywhere revisited: a technological perspective

The concept ‘models of everywhere’ was first introduced in the mid 2000s as a means of reasoning about the environmental science of a place, changing the nature of the underlying modelling process, from one in which general model structures are used to one in which modelling becomes a learning process about specific places, in particular capturing the idiosyncrasies of that place. At one level, this is a straightforward concept, but at another it is a rich multi-dimensional conceptual framework involving the following key dimensions: models of everywhere, models of everything and models at all times, being constantly re-evaluated against the most current evidence. This is a compelling approach with the potential to deal with epistemic uncertainties and nonlinearities. However, the approach has, as yet, not been fully utilised or explored. This paper examines the concept of models of everywhere in the light of recent advances in technology. The paper argues that, when first proposed, technology was a limiting factor but now, with advances in areas such as Internet of Things, cloud computing and data analytics, many of the barriers have been alleviated. Consequently, it is timely to look again at the concept of models of everywhere in practical conditions as part of a trans-disciplinary effort to tackle the remaining research questions. The paper concludes by identifying the key elements of a research agenda that should underpin such experimentation and deployment

The Balloon-Borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST) 2005: A 10 deg^2 Survey of Star Formation in Cygnus X

We present Cygnus X in a new multi-wavelength perspective based on an unbiased BLAST survey at 250, 350, and 500 micron, combined with rich datasets for this well-studied region. Our primary goal is to investigate the early stages of high mass star formation. We have detected 184 compact sources in various stages of evolution across all three BLAST bands. From their well-constrained spectral energy distributions, we obtain the physical properties mass, surface density, bolometric luminosity, and dust temperature. Some of the bright sources reaching 40 K contain well-known compact H II regions. We relate these to other sources at earlier stages of evolution via the energetics as deduced from their position in the luminosity-mass (L-M) diagram. The BLAST spectral coverage, near the peak of the spectral energy distribution of the dust, reveals fainter sources too cool (~ 10 K) to be seen by earlier shorter-wavelength surveys like IRAS. We detect thermal emission from infrared dark clouds and investigate the phenomenon of cold ``starless cores" more generally. Spitzer images of these cold sources often show stellar nurseries, but these potential sites for massive star formation are ``starless" in the sense that to date there is no massive protostar in a vigorous accretion phase. We discuss evolution in the context of the L-M diagram. Theory raises some interesting possibilities: some cold massive compact sources might never form a cluster containing massive stars; and clusters with massive stars might not have an identifiable compact cold massive precursor.Comment: 42 pages, 31 Figures, 6 table

The impact of single and shared rooms on family centred care in children's hospitals

Aim: To explore whether and how spatial aspects of children’s hospital wards (single and shared rooms) impact upon family centred care. Background: Family centred care has been widely adopted in paediatric hospitals internationally. Recent hospital building programmes in many countries have prioritised the provision of single rooms over shared rooms. Limited attention has, however, been paid to the potential impact of spatial aspects of paediatric wards on family centred care. Design: Qualitative, ethnographic. Methods: Phase 1; observation within 4 wards of a specialist children’s hospital. Phase 2; interviews with 17 children aged 5-16 years and 60 parents/carers. Sixty nursing and support staff also took part in interviews and focus group discussions. All data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: Two themes emerged from the data analysis: ‘role expectations’ and ‘family-nurse interactions’. The latter theme comprised 3 sub-themes: ‘family support needs’, ‘monitoring children’s wellbeing’ and ‘survey-assess-interact within spatial contexts’. Conclusion: Spatial configurations within hospital wards significantly impacted upon the relationships and interactions between children, parents and nurses, which played out differently in single and shared rooms. Increasing the provision of single rooms within wards is therefore likely to directly affect how family centred care manifests in practice. Relevance to clinical practice: Nurses need to be sensitive to the impact of spatial characteristics, and particularly of single and shared rooms, on families’ experiences of children’s hospital wards. Nurses’ contribution to and experience of family centred care can be expected to change significantly when spatial characteristics of wards change and, as is currently the vogue, hospitals maximise the provision of single rather than shared rooms

Geophysical monitoring of simulated clandestine graves using electrical and ground-penetrating radar methods: 0-3 years after burial.

This study provides forensic search teams with systematic geophysical monitoring data over simulated clandestine graves for comparison to active cases. Simulated "wrapped" and "naked" burials were created. Multigeophysical surveys were collected over a 3-year monitoring period. Bulk ground resistivity, electrical resistivity imaging, multifrequency ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and grave and background "soil-water" conductivity data were collected. Resistivity surveys revealed the naked burial had consistently low-resistivity anomalies, whereas the wrapped burial had small, varying high-resistivity anomalies. GPR 110- to 900-MHz frequency surveys showed the wrapped burial could be detected throughout, with the "naked" burial mostly resolved. Two hundred and twenty-five megahertz frequency GPR data were optimal. "Soil-water" analyses showed rapidly increasing (year 1), slowly increasing (year 2), and decreasing (year 3) conductivity values. Results suggest resistivity and GPR surveys should be collected if target "wrapping" is unknown, with winter to spring surveys optimal. Resistivity surveys should be collected in clay-rich soils

Semblance analysis to assess GPR data from a five-year forensic study of simulated clandestine graves

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys have proven useful for locating clandestine graves in a number of forensic searches. There has been extensive research into the geophysical monitoring of simulated clandestine graves in different burial scenarios and ground conditions. Whilst these studies have been used to suggest optimum dominant radar frequencies, the data themselves have not been quantitatively analysed to-date. This study uses a common-offset configuration of semblance analysis, both to characterise velocity trends from GPR diffraction hyperbolae and, since the magnitude of a semblance response is proportional to signal-to-noise ratio, to quantify the strength of a forensic GPR response. 2D GPR profiles were acquired over a simulated clandestine burial, with a wrapped-pig cadaver monitored at three-month intervals between 2008 and 2013 with GPR antennas of three different centre-frequencies (110, 225 and 450 MHz). The GPR response to the cadaver was a strong diffraction hyperbola. Results show, in contrast to resistivity surveys, that semblance analysis show little sensitivity to changes attributable to decomposition, and only a subtle influence of seasonality: velocity increases (0.01–0.02 m/ns) were observed in summer, associated with a decrease (5–10%) in peak semblance magnitude, SM, and potentially in the reflectivity of the cadaver. The lowest-frequency antennas consistently gave the highest signal-to-noise ratio although the grave was nonetheless detectable by all frequencies trialled. These observations suggest that forensic GPR surveys could be undertaken with little seasonal hindrance. Whilst GPR analysis cannot currently provide a quantitative diagnostic proxy for time-since-burial, the consistency of responses suggests that graves will remain detectable beyond the five years shown here

Detection of interstellar oxidaniumyl: abundant H2O+ towards the star-forming regions DR21, Sgr B2, and NGC6334

We identify a prominent absorption feature at 1115 GHz, detected in first HIFI spectra towards high-mass star-forming regions, and interpret its astrophysical origin. The characteristic hyperfine pattern of the H2O+ ground-state rotational transition, and the lack of other known low-energy transitions in this frequency range, identifies the feature as H2O+ absorption against the dust continuum background and allows us to derive the velocity profile of the absorbing gas. By comparing this velocity profile with velocity profiles of other tracers in the DR21 star-forming region, we constrain the frequency of the transition and the conditions for its formation. In DR21, the velocity distribution of H2O+ matches that of the [CII] line at 158\mu\m and of OH cm-wave absorption, both stemming from the hot and dense clump surfaces facing the HII-region and dynamically affected by the blister outflow. Diffuse foreground gas dominates the absorption towards Sgr B2. The integrated intensity of the absorption line allows us to derive lower limits to the H2O+ column density of 7.2e12 cm^-2 in NGC 6334, 2.3e13 cm^-2 in DR21, and 1.1e15 cm^-2 in Sgr B2.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&