Global trends in disability rehabilitation and their implications for leprosy programmes

[Excerpt] Globally, the disability rehabilitation scenario today is at an exciting stage. After many years of effort, the International Convention on Rights of Persons with Disability is in sight, a major step forward, and binding on governments to protect the rights of their disabled citizens. At the regional level, the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons (1993–2002) is extended from 2003 to 2012, and the Biwako Millenium Framework promoted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is being followed in the Asian region for programmes for people with disability. The period 2000–2009 was formally proclaimed the African Decade of Disabled Persons in June 2002. The African Decade seeks to replicate the practices of the Asian and Pacific Decade. The Arab Decade of Disabled People was launched in 2004. The Decade of Disabled Persons in the Americas was launched in 2006. All these international statements focus on rights and inclusion of people with disabilities. To gain a better understanding of the current scenario and their implications for leprosy rehabilitation programmes, a brief summary of the Biwako Millenium Framework of the Asian and Pacific Decade1 is given below

Pollinator Power: Supporting Bees Through Ecoregion Specific Planting Guides

The pollination of flowering crops by bees is an invaluable ecosystem service that supports biodiversity and much of the global agricultural system. Pollinators move pollen between the male structures of a plant to the female structures of a plant of the same species. This fertilizes the female plant, which then produces the next generation. This process also provides the pollinator with the nectar or pollen it needs to survive. While some plants transfer pollen through different means, the majority of plants need help from pollinators to reproduce. Depending on the means of pollination, pollination can be classified as abiotic or biotic. Abiotic pollination occurs without the assistance of living organisms, through agents like wind or water. Around 80% of pollination is biotic-- at least 100,000 different species of animals pollinate the estimated 250,000 species of flowering plants in the world (Penn State). Pollinators promote local biodiversity in their ecoregions and are vital to many of the essential crops used for human consumption. Klein et al. found that 87 crops, 70% of the 124 most important food crops used for human consumption globally, are dependent on pollinators (Klein, 2007). Insect pollination is a production practice used extensively by farmers all over the world for producing crops (Kearns, 1998). Widespread pesticide usage, climate change, and destroyed habitats are leading to a loss in biodiversity and a considerable decline in pollinator communities. It is imperative for us to increase education around the significance of pollinators, and work to reverse the anthropogenic causes of dwindling pollinator populations. While bees have long been a vital part of preserving biodiversity and sustaining human agricultural systems, the plight to save the bees has generated considerable buzz in the last few years related to the recent phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder. During the winter of 2006-2007, beekeepers began to report unusually high losses of 30-90 percent of their hives. As many as half of affected colonies demonstrated symptoms inconsistent with any known causes of honeybee death (EPA, 2017). The problem is clear--the bees are disappearing. The question becomes what does that mean, and how do we fix it? The large scale answer must include a careful consideration of current agricultural practices and the factors that are contributing to losses in biodiversity. But on a small scale, everyone can help support local pollinator populations-- as long as they have access to the right media to guide them. For my thesis project, I decided to build a website that allows users to input their zip code in order to receive information on which types of native pollinator-friendly plants are best suited to grow in their specific ecoregion

Gelatinous Zooplankton in Biological Systems; Case Study: Salpa thompsoni in the Western Antarctic Peninsula

Grades: 7th Subjects: Life Science Teach about the importance of gelatinous zooplankton and examine their role in food webs, the biological pump, and the carbon cycle

Parallel scheduling of recursively defined arrays

AbstractThis paper describes a new method of automatic generation of concurrent programs which construct arrays defined by sets of recursive equations. We assume that the time of computation of an array element is a linear combination of its indices, and we use integer programming to seek a succession of hyperplanes along which array elements can be computed concurrently. The method can be used to schedule equations involving variable length dependency vectors and mutually recursive arrays. Portions of the work reported here have been implemented in the PS automatic program generation system

Sentiment Analysis of Public Perception Towards Elon Musk on Reddit (2008-2022)

As Elon Musk’s influence in technology and business continues to expand, it becomes crucial to comprehend public sentiment surrounding him in order to gauge the impact of his actions and statements. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of comments from various subreddits discussing Elon Musk over a 14-year period, from 2008 to 2022. Utilizing advanced sentiment analysis models and natural language processing techniques, we examined patterns and shifts in public sentiment towards Musk, identifying correlations with key events in his life and career. Our findings reveal that public sentiment is shaped by a multitude of factors, including his business ventures, controversies, and personal behavior. This study offers valuable insights into the dynamics of public opinion towards influential figures in the digital age

Illustrating the use of concepts from the discipline of policy studies in energy research: An explorative literature review

AbstractWith the increasing challenges the energy sector faces, energy policy strategies and instruments are becoming ever more relevant. The discipline of policy studies might offer relevant concepts to enrich multidisciplinary energy research. The main research question of this article is: How can policy studies contribute to multidisciplinary energy research, and in how far does research on energy policy actually use the concepts of policy studies? The article presents key theoretical concepts from the discipline of policy studies and shows how they can be of use in multidisciplinary energy research. This is illustrated by presenting the results of a systematic review of academic literature on the use of policy studies concepts in academic literature on energy policy in The Netherlands. Results reveal the main theoretical concepts that were used as well as the identification of major research clusters. Results also show that many concepts from policy studies were actually integrated into eclectic theoretical frameworks