Effect of previous-winter mortality on the association between summer temperature and mortality in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: It has recently been postulated that low mortality levels in the previous winter may increase the proportion of vulnerable individuals in the pool of people at risk of heat-related death during the summer months. OBJECTIVES: We explored the sensitivity of heat-related mortality in summer (June-August) to mortality in the previous winter (December-February) in Seoul, Daegu, and Incheon in South Korea, from 1992 through 2007, excluding the summer of 1994. METHODS: Poisson regression models adapted for time-series data were used to estimate associations between a 1 °C increase in average summer temperature (on the same day and the previous day) above thresholds specific for city, age, and cause of death, and daily mortality counts. Effects were estimated separately for summers preceded by winters with low and high mortality, with adjustment for secular trends. RESULTS: Temperatures above city-specific thresholds were associated with increased mortality in all three cities. Associations were stronger in summers preceded by winters with low versus high mortality levels for all nonaccidental deaths and, to a lesser extent, among persons ≥ 65 years of age. Effect modification by previous-winter mortality was not evident when we restricted deaths to cardiovascular disease outcomes in Seoul. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that low winter all-cause mortality leads to higher mortality during the next summer. Evidence of a relation between increased summer heat-related mortality and previous wintertime deaths has the potential to inform public health efforts to mitigate effects of hot weather

Numerical Approximations to Fractional Problems of the Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control

This chapter presents some numerical methods to solve problems in the fractional calculus of variations and fractional optimal control. Although there are plenty of methods available in the literature, we concentrate mainly on approximating the fractional problem either by discretizing the fractional term or expanding the fractional derivatives as a series involving integer order derivatives. The former method, as a subclass of direct methods in the theory of calculus of variations, uses finite differences, Grunwald-Letnikov definition in this case, to discretize the fractional term. Any quadrature rule for integration, regarding the desired accuracy, is then used to discretize the whole problem including constraints. The final task in this method is to solve a static optimization problem to reach approximated values of the unknown functions on some mesh points. The latter method, however, approximates fractional problems by classical ones in which only derivatives of integer order are present. Precisely, two continuous approximations for fractional derivatives by series involving ordinary derivatives are introduced. Local upper bounds for truncation errors are provided and, through some test functions, the accuracy of the approximations are justified. Then we substitute the fractional term in the original problem with these series and transform the fractional problem to an ordinary one. Hereafter, we use indirect methods of classical theory, e.g. Euler-Lagrange equations, to solve the approximated problem. The methods are mainly developed through some concrete examples which either have obvious solutions or the solution is computed using the fractional Euler-Lagrange equation.Comment: This is a preprint of a paper whose final and definite form appeared in: Chapter V, Fractional Calculus in Analysis, Dynamics and Optimal Control (Editor: Jacky Cresson), Series: Mathematics Research Developments, Nova Science Publishers, New York, 2014. (See http://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=46851). Consists of 39 page

Knowledge and attitude of ethics committee (EC) members on bioethics and structure & function of EC in Bangladesh: A pilot study

Having scandalous unethical research practices in the mid and late 20th century, study protocols of biomedical research reviewed by the Ethics Committee (EC) has become the accepted international standard. The Declaration of Helsinki uniformly requires that all biomedical research involving human participants, including research on identifiable human material or data, should be approved by the EC. Today, concerns over the quality of the EC functions worldwide. There are research globally in this regard but no data are available from Bangladesh. Hence, we conducted a questionnaire based pilot study on knowledge and attitude of EC members on bioethics and structure & function of EC in Bangladesh

Health effects of milder winters: a review of evidence from the United Kingdom.

Cold-related mortality and morbidity remains an important public health problem in the UK and elsewhere. Health burdens have often reported to be higher in the UK compared to other countries with colder climates, however such assessments are usually based on comparison of excess winter mortality indices, which are subject to biases. Daily time-series regression or case-crossover studies provide the best evidence of the acute effects of cold exposure. Such studies report a 6% increase in all-cause deaths in England & Wales for every 1 °C fall in daily mean temperature within the top 5% of the coldest days. In major Scottish cities, a 1 °C reduction in mean temperature below 11 °C was associated with an increase in mortality of 2.9%, 3.4%, 4.8% and 1.7% from all-causes, cardiovascular, respiratory, and non-cardio-respiratory causes respectively. In Northern Ireland, a 1 °C fall during winter months led to increases of 4.5%, 3.9% and 11.2% for all-cause, cardiovascular and respiratory deaths respectively among adults. Raised risks are also observed with morbidity outcomes. Hip fractures among the elderly are only weakly associated with snow and ice conditions in the UK, with the majority of cases occurring indoors. A person's susceptibility to cold weather is affected by both individual- and contextual-level risk factors. Variations in the distributions of health, demographic, socio-economic and built-environment characteristics are likely to explain most differences in cold risk observed between UK regions. Although cold-related health impacts reduced throughout much of the previous century in UK populations, there is little evidence on the contribution that milder winters due to climate change may have made to reductions in more recent decades. Intervention measures designed to minimise cold exposure and reduce fuel poverty will likely play a key role in determining current and future health burdens associated with cold weather

An Analysis on the Role of Government’s Structural Financial Services on the Sustainability of Rural Settlements : A Case Study in Darab Area Villages, Iran

Villages, as the first human settlements, have experienced different stages of growth or stop during the process of their historical evolution and also in their encountering with development of technology and change in structural fundamentals of societies, which has sometimes caused the increase or decrease of population of these residential points due to migration of villagers from the area. In this regard, specially in developing countries, attention to environmental improvement and rural development has been among basic priorities of the statesmen of such countries. In this line, rendering welfare and infrastructure amenities and services with the purpose of getting villagers to stay in these population centers in the line with sustainable development of villages are among the major objectives of planners and statesmen. In this research, which is a correlative-analytical one, it is attempted to study the role and effect of government services in decreasing rural migrations and consequently sustainability of population in rural settlements in Darab region, an environ of Iran, using data gathered through the field study and survey. The statistical population includes 15 villages enjoying and 15 villages lacking government services and financial facilities, and using Cochran sampling method, 220 people have been selected as sample size. The questionnaires have been randomly distributed in villages, and the correlation between variables has been measured using Spearman correlation coefficient. The results indicate that there is no significant relation between rendering services to villages and the sustainability of population in the studied villages. In other words, in spite of providing service and rendering welfare-fundamental facilities by the government agencies to the studied villages, the presence of economic problems such as lack of capital and financial resources required for production, widespread poverty, high rate of unemployment in villages, and the existence of relative surplus of labor in agriculture department have caused migration of villagers of the area to cities and therefore, evacuation of villages from population and their  sustainability

Silicon nanocavity light emitters at 1.3-1.5 µm wavelength

Silicon Photonics has been a major success story in the last decade, with many photonic devices having been successfully demonstrated. The only missing component is the light source, however, as making an efficient light source in silicon is challenging due to the material’s indirect bandgap. The development of a silicon light source would enable us to make an all-silicon chip, which would find many practical applications. The most notable among these applications are on-chip communications and sensing applications. In this PhD project, I have worked on enhancing silicon light emission by combining material processing and device engineering methods. Regarding materials processing, the emission level was increased by taking three routes. In all the three cases the emission was further enhanced by coupling it with a photonic crystal (PhC) cavity via Purcell effect. The three different approaches taken in this PhD project are listed below. 1. The first approach involves incorporation of optically active defects into the silicon lattice by hydrogen plasma treatment or ion implantation. This process results in broad luminescence bands centered at 1300 and 1500 nm. By coupling these emission bands with the photonic crystal cavity, I was able to demonstrate a narrowband silicon light emitting diode at room temperature. This silicon nano light emitting diode has a tunable emission line in the 1300-1600 nm range. 2. In the second approach, a narrow emission line at 1.28µm was created by carbon ion implantation, termed “G-line” emission. The possibility of enhancing the emission intensity of this line via the Purcell effect was investigated, but only with limited success. Different proposals for future work are presented in this regard. 3. The third approach is deposition of a thin film of an erbium disilicate on top of a PhC cavity. The erbium emission is enhanced by the PhC cavity. Using this method, an optically pumped light source emitting at 1.54 µm and operating at room temperature is demonstrated. A practical application of silicon light source developed in this project in gas sensing is also demonstrated. As a first step, I show refractive index sensing, which is a simple application for our source and demonstrates its capabilities, especially relating to the lack of fiber coupling schemes. I also discuss several proposals for extending applications into on-chip biological sensing

Trauma Narrative and Existential Dilemma in Mirza Waheed’s “The Collaborator”: A Study of Traumatic Narratology and Desensitization

The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed is a narrative trauma experienced by helpless Indian Kashmiri Muslims who are facing the tyranny of Indian Forces. The Kashmiri Muslims are considered traitors and tortured on and off without any justification. The dramatic disappearance of the Kashmiri youth has created an atmosphere of horror. The Kashmiri are scared and live a life of fear without any hope. The Kashmiris have no choice but to be complicit with the rulers in order to protect their families and avoid death and disappearance. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the trauma narrative and existential dilemma of the Kashmiri people. This will be a qualitative research and Traumatic narratology and Desensitization will be applied as a tool to analyze the text under discussion. By using the concept of Mary Cover Jones and Cathy Caruth the researcher will try to explore horrors and intensity of traumatic events in narration. Keywords: Trauma narrative, Existential dilemma, Desensitizatio

An Analysis on the Role of Government’s Structural Financial Services on the Sustainability of Rural Settlements : A Case Study in Darab Area Villages, Iran

Villages, as the first human settlements, have experienced different stages of growth or stop during the process of their historical evolution and also in their encountering with development of technology and change in structural fundamentals of societies, which has sometimes caused the increase or decrease of population of these residential points due to migration of villagers from the area. In this regard, specially in developing countries, attention to environmental improvement and rural development has been among basic priorities of the statesmen of such countries. In this line, rendering welfare and infrastructure amenities and services with the purpose of getting villagers to stay in these population centers in the line with sustainable development of villages are among the major objectives of planners and statesmen. In this research, which is a correlative-analytical one, it is attempted to study the role and effect of government services in decreasing rural migrations and consequently sustainability of population in rural settlements in Darab region, an environ of Iran, using data gathered through the field study and survey. The statistical population includes 15 villages enjoying and 15 villages lacking government services and financial facilities, and using Cochran sampling method, 220 people have been selected as sample size. The questionnaires have been randomly distributed in villages, and the correlation between variables has been measured using Spearman correlation coefficient. The results indicate that there is no significant relation between rendering services to villages and the sustainability of population in the studied villages. In other words, in spite of providing service and rendering welfare-fundamental facilities by the government agencies to the studied villages, the presence of economic problems such as lack of capital and financial resources required for production, widespread poverty, high rate of unemployment in villages, and the existence of relative surplus of labor in agriculture department have caused migration of villagers of the area to cities and therefore, evacuation of villages from population and their  sustainability

A perspective on the role of tourism in determining evaluation and monitoring patterns in Darab rural development

Any tourism activity which is done in rural areas shall make social and economic development which could be effective in evaluation and monitoring of the area. Although, in the recent years, great attention has been paid to the rural tourism from different aspects in different global levels, its nature and origin has not been fully and comprehensively studied. In the present study, the significant role of rural tourism in Darab rural development has been dealt with. The research method is analytical and descriptive based on four analytical relations, that first, the tourismability coefficient of the area was calculated, and upon proving its tourismability, the expected frequency tests were used through chi-square test, cronbach’s alpha coefficient, and Likert scales. Based on the value of 4 relations, the results indicate the monitoring of structural tourismability value in the area