Significant Bodies Research Articles

Assessing the Correlation between Malaria Case Mortality Rates and Access to Health Facilities in the Malaria Region of Vhembe District, South Africa.

Background Local villages in the Vhembe district of South Africa have experienced high malaria infection rates and a high variability of malaria case mortality rates over the past 20 years. This research project sets out to determine if specific socioeconomic factors have influence on the varying malaria case mortality rates. Methods The study used existing malaria records of all reported malaria cases in the Vhembe district between 1998 and 2017. The data set was sampled using maximum variation sampling combined with a stratified sampling approach to select the source locations with the highest reported variations in malaria case mortality. The number of medical facilities used, distances to the medical facilities, and proximity to significant water sources were subsequently spatially and statistically analysed for potential correlations between these factors and the malaria case fatality rates of the source locations. Results Within the period of study, a total of 57,974 malaria infections were reported from 850 source locations across the villages and neighbourhoods. The result of the sampling methods gave 30 source locations with highest reported variations in malaria case mortality. The statistical analysis indicated a significant negative correlation between the case mortality rates and the number of medical facilities used, the number of infections reported, and the maximum and mean distances travelled to the medical facilities used. In addition, the analysis indicated a positive correlation between the minimum distances travelled to the medical facilities used and the case mortality rates. The spatial analysis supported the majority of the findings from the statistical analysis. Proximity to significant water bodies was not found to have any significant impact on case mortality rates. Conclusion The results suggested that malaria patients from larger communities, those who had financial or other means to consult more advanced facilities, or those with a larger variety of services had a significantly lower risk of mortality. The findings of this study could assist societies and authorities in mitigating the negative effects of malaria infections on human life expectancies through improved socioeconomic development.

Relation between alpha‐synuclein and core CSF biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease

AbstractBackgroundUp to 50% of Alzheimer´s disease (AD) cases exhibit significant Lewy bodies (LB) pathology in addition to plaques and tangles. It has been hypothesized that Aβ, tau and alpha‐synuclein (α‐syn) proteins promote the accumulation of one another. We evaluated the relation between those CSF proteins in a well‐characterized patient mild cognitive impairment (MCI) cohort.MethodBetween 2010‐2015, we included 81 MCI patients (Petersen criteria 2006) from the out‐patient consultation of Neurology Service in University General Hospital of Alicante and 18 control subjects. After a long term follow‐up (mean: 53 months), 25 patients were diagnosed with stable MCI, 32 MCI due to AD (MCI‐AD) and 24 MCI due to Lewy body dementia (MCI‐LBD). Levels of central core AD‐CSF biomarkers Aβ1‐42 (Aβ42), T‐tau (total‐tau) and P‐tau [phospho‐tau (181P)] were measured using ELISA (Innotest, Innogenetics/Fujirebio). Determination of α‐syn levels in CSF were performed using the LEGEND MAXTM human α‐synuclein ELISA kit (BioLegend, San Diego, USA). Rho of Spearman correlation coefficients among CSF protein levels were evaluated.ResultCSF α‐syn significantly positively correlated with T‐tau (Rho= 0.41, p=0.17 ) and P‐tau (Rho=0.57, p=0.001) exclusively for MCI‐AD patients. As expected, the tau proteins significantly positively correlated between them in every patient ΄s group and control subjects. No other significant correlations were found.ConclusionThe exclusive correlation between CSF α‐syn and tau protein levels in MCI‐AD patients, support a pathophysiologic connection between the metabolisms of these proteins, even at the early stages of the illness. In our opinion, the role of α‐syn should be included into the new pathogenetic theories of AD.

A systematic analysis of doctoral publication trends in South Africa

It is incumbent upon doctoral students that their work makes a substantive contribution to the field within which it is conducted. Dissemination of this work beyond the dissertation, whether whilst studying or after graduation, is necessary to ensure that the contribution does not remain largely dormant. While dissemination can take many forms, peer-reviewed journal articles are the key medium by which knowledge is shared. We aimed to establish the proportion of doctoral theses that results in journal publications by linking South African doctoral thesis metadata to journal articles authored by doctoral candidates. To effect this matching, a customised data set was created that comprised two large databases: the South African Theses Database (SATD), which documented all doctoral degrees awarded in South Africa (2005–2014), and the South African Knowledgebase (SAK), which listed all publications submitted for subsidy to the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (2005–2017). The process followed several iterations of matching and verification, including manual inspection of the data, in order to isolate only those records for which the link was established beyond doubt. Over the period under review, 47.6% of graduates, representing 22 of the 26 higher education institutions, published at least one journal article. Results further indicate increasingly higher publication rates over time. To explore whether the journal article identified was a direct product of the study, a similarity index was developed. Over 75% of records demonstrated high similarity. While the trend towards increasing publications by graduates is promising, work in this area should be ongoing.
 Significance:
 
 In spite of increasing trends in publications by graduates, many are not disseminating their work, suggesting that significant bodies of research are potentially not being shared with the academic community and are therefore not contributing to the relevant discipline or field.
 This study provides baseline data from which a number of further investigations can be launched, such as exploring the extent to which doctoral candidates who are also academics are publishing their work; the factors that enable or constrain publication; the other avenues of dissemination used; and whether publishing or not publishing can serve as a proxy for the quality of the doctoral work.

High density crustal intrusive bodies beneath Shillong plateau and Indo Burmese Range of northeast India revealed by gravity modeling and earthquake data

Modeling and analysis of gravity and earthquake data of a critically dynamic northeastern region of India assumes a special significance for understanding the seismicity and geodynamics. In this paper, the relation between lateral heterogeneity of gravity interfaces with subsurface structures, and seismic characteristics of northeast India are studied in detail to understand the seismicity and dynamics of the region using Bouguer gravity, earthquake and magnetotelluric data. The modern scaled power spectral analysis of gravity data has brought out crustal lateral heterogeneity at a depth of 8.33 km, 19.73 km and 37.14 km that correlate well with 10 km upper crust, 20 km lower crust and a Moho at 28–42 km revealed by 1D seismic crustal velocity and tomography studies. The inferred crustal depths support thinner crust over uplifted Shillong Plateau and gradual increase of depths over subduction interface of Indo Burmese Range. 2D gravity modeling constrained by seismic velocity model and 3D Euler deconvolution technique along two specific E-W and three N-S regional gravity transects delineated three significant high density anomalous heterogeneous intrusive bodies presumably due to underplating beneath Shillong Plateau, Mikir Massif and Indo Burmese Range. Based on the seismicity and stress pattern analysis through seismic ‘b’-value variation, we infer that the study region exhibits compressive stress concentrations in the form of brittle deformation at shallow depths and weakening of lower crust by high density intrusive (mafic/Ultramafic) bodies of ductile nature which may cause intense seismicity besides the ongoing collision of north drifting Indian plate with Eurasia to the north and the eastern subduction interface of Indo Burmese Range. We also infer that the NE to NW trending V-shaped areas outlined north of Shillong plateau, south of Mikir massif and NE-SW trending thrust Belt of Schuppen exhibit aseismic nature and may be the future impounding seismic sources in this region.

An Extremely Large Ka-Band Reflectarray Antenna for Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar: Enabling Next-Generation Satellite Remote Sensing

The Surface-Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, currently in development at NASA?s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), will employ the Ka-band radar interferometer (KaRIn) to characterize the ocean's height at the unprecedented spatial resolution of 2 km and is designed to provide a global inventory of significant terrestrial water bodies [area g(250 m)2] and rivers (width g50-100 m). The key enabling technology for this instrument is a pair of large, deployable antennas that form the interferometer. This article describes the development of the largest reflectarray antenna currently in process for a spaceflight application: a 5 ? 0.26-m offset-fed reflectarray antenna with a 4.37-m focal length. It details critical aspects of the development, including the radio-frequency (RF) design and analysis, fabrication, and measurement, and discusses unique requirements imposed by the interferometer that resulted in significant design and verification challenges. Flight-hardware measurements demonstrated a gain of approximately 49.5 dB, corresponding to an efficiency of 52%, and an azimuth beamwidth of 0.105?, with a beam-pointing knowledge of 5 millidegrees. Accurate characterization of these antenna-performance parameters is critical to the success of the KaRIn instrument.

Mineralogical and isotope-geochemical (δ13C, δ34S and Pb-Pb) characteristics of the Krasniy gold mine (Baikal-Patom Highlands): Constraining ore-forming mechanisms and the model for Sukhoi Log-type deposits

Orogenic gold deposits localized in carbonaceous sedimentary (black-shale) complexes are major contributors to worldwide balance of gold extracted from the crust, though there is a limited consensus about the role of host sedimentary rocks, involvement of external (i.e., magma-derived) fluids and brittle deformations into ore remobilization and transport. This paper presents the original results of mineralogical, petrographic and isotope-geochemical studies of rocks and ores from the large Krasniy gold deposit (Baikal-Patom plateau, southern Siberian craton) given in comparison with the thoroughly studied giant Sukhoi Log deposit, with both deposits hosted by the Neoproterozoic carbonaceous metasedimentary rocks. The multi-stage ore process occurred discretely at 200–400 °C (greenschist-facies metamorphism) and included (1) low-P-T diagenetic formation of globular pyrite, (2) catagenetic (<200 °C, 1–2 kbar) formation of small euhedral pyrite, (3) high-temperature and high-pressure (300–380 °C, 5–6 kbar) crystallization of arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite related to metamorphic transformation, and (4) formation of the major ore assemblage (arsenopyrite, pyrrhotite, pyrite meta-aggregates, native gold, galena, sphalerite, fahl ores) during almost isothermal decompression (270–320 °C, 0.5 kbar). Gold is detected as nanoparticles unevenly distributed at the surface of the early globular pyrite (up to 0.4 ppm) and occurs as inclusions in later metamorphic pyrite. Relatively narrow ranges of sulfur (δ34S within −4.7 – −6.9‰) and lead isotopic composition (206Pb/204Pb = 18.33–18.65, 207Pb/204Pb = 15.65–15.68 and 208Pb/204Pb = 38.13–38.82) in sulfides from the ores was continuously inherited from earlier generation of sulfides to the later (associate with native gold) and is similar to the values obtained for sulfides from the host Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Aunakit formation. The compositional inheritance together with geochemical evidence of no additional contribution of К, Na, Mg and Si into the ores and no correlation between gold and organic carbon content highlight the absence of the external metasomatic overprint of metal-bearing fluids. Instead, both the above facts and high Au content (up to 1 ppm) in bitumens derived from the host metasediments indicate a key role of the host carbonaceous substrate in the supply of metals through release and local transport of internally derived diagenetic/catagenetic carbon-rich fluids. Overall, the obtained results for the Krasniy deposit led to distinguishing the three key stages of the gold deposit formation, including 1) sedimentation of gold-specialized sediments in the spreading of the back-arc basin, where gold was associated with the scattered diagenetic pyrite mineralization (610–590 Ma), 2) catagenetic redistribution of sedimentary pore fluids from preconditioned sedimentary rocks into the vaulted parts of gentle anticlines with the formation of abnormally high concentrations of gold (~570 Ma), and 3) metamorphic-metasomatic redistribution of gold as a result of decarbonization of catagenic fluid with the formation of economically significant ore bodies (450–420 Ma). The compilation of the available geochemical and isotopic data allows to suspect this model as a general for the other Bodaibo region deposits, so that it can be used further for prediction and exploration purposes.

Mapping of Potential Groundwater Recharge Zones in the Kolleru Lake Catchment, India, by Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques

Water scarcity is the major problem in India where the population has been tremendously increasing, which results in invading natural resources, thus affects on hydrological processes. Because of this, significant surface water bodies have been disappearing continuously. Therefore, more pressure on groundwater resources is a consequence of that. The integration of remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS), which helps in groundwater research for the investigation of potential groundwater availability, is essential to assess, monitor, and conserve groundwater resources. This analysis reports on the mapping of various potential groundwater resources in the Kolleru Lake catchment, India, by using remote sensing and GIS techniques. For this, a survey of India toposheets and IRC-1C satellite imageries was used to prepare thematic layers of geomorphology, drainage density, lineament, slope, land-use, soil, rainfall, and NDVI converted into raster format in ArcGIS. The raster maps of these thematic layers were assigned to a weight-based factor depending on the catchment characteristics and its topographic influence. The results demonstrated that about 7% of the area is under excellent groundwater potential recharge. Good, moderate, and lower potential conditions are 42%, 38%, and 13%, respectively. The results indicated that the management of groundwater potential zones should be targeted on the middle-catchment region. Further, the results were validated with the borehole data obtained from the Government of Andhra Pradesh-Groundwater Department. These results are useful for better both planning and groundwater management sources in the Kolleru Lake catchment.

The Theatre of Tom Murphy: Playwright Adventurer by Nicholas Grene

Reviewed by: The Theatre of Tom Murphy: Playwright Adventurer by Nicholas Grene Deirdre O'Leary The Theatre of Tom Murphy: Playwright Adventurer. By Nicholas Grene. Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2017. Cloth $71.40, Paper $20.96, eBook $18.86. xv + 252 pages. There are several challenges to writing a monograph about celebrated Irish playwright Tom Murphy (1935-2018). First, there is his prodigious output: twenty full-length plays, eight adaptations, six television plays, and one novel. While other writers have also amassed significant bodies of work, the sheer number and variety of dramatic genres making up Murphy's dramaturgy render neat categorization of his work difficult. From the realism of A Whistle in the Dark, to the expressionism of A Crucial Week in the Life of a Grocer's Assistant, the history play Famine, the gangster noir of The Blue Macushla, the domestic drama The Wake, and the allegorical The Sanctuary Lamp, Murphy's dramatic oeuvre is purposefully referential, polyphonic, and frustrating for the writer hoping to describe a singular style as distinctly his. Finally, there is Murphy's practice of revising each of his works every time one is revived. Thus, many of his plays exist in multiple published versions. Yet Murphy's very mix of genres and stylistic approaches warrants Nicholas Grene's insightful analysis. [End Page 143] Significantly, The Theatre of Tom Murphy makes rich use of the Tom Murphy archive, which formally opened at Trinity College, Dublin, in 2010. Grene focuses his study on all of Murphy's original plays, supplementing his analyses with meticulous research into every draft, revision, and author note. The result is a nuanced study of Murphy's complex dramaturgy as a practice of revision, where his dramas are understood as literary texts, performance texts, and texts in revision. Where Grene succeeds most is in tracing and documenting the development of Murphy's storytelling and mapping his plays' shifting relationships with scholars and audiences. His book is an immensely valuable addition to the field of Irish theatre. Grene organizes his study across eight chapters, beginning with the author's critical biography. The remaining chapters are grouped thematically, rather than chronologically. Chapter 2 traces the development of Murphy's first play, On the Outside (1959), and its companion, On the Inside (1974). The works are considered in relation to two other early works, A Crucial Week in the Life of a Grocer's Assistant (1969) and A Whistle in the Dark, Murphy's early breakthrough hit of 1961. The grouping of these plays allows for a thematic consideration of the male characters having been shaped, as well as limited, by the patriarchal grip of the Catholic church, the class divisions rampant in the Irish economy, and the gendered nationalist discourse of the free state. Chapter 3 considers Murphy's attempt to stage plays based on foundational periods of Irish history. While the focus of the chapter is on his major play Famine (1968), Grene links this with two lesser known works, The Patriot Game (1991), a commemorative play about the 1916 rising, and his wildly unsuccessful The J. Arthur Maginnis Story (1976), a spoof history about storytelling and the making of Guinness. Grene considers the relationship of staging "history" in the Active medium of theatre, and considers how the reception of such history changes as audiences are further removed from the historical events depicted. Chapter 4 pairs The Blue Macushla (1980) with Conversations on a Homecoming (1985) and documents Murphy's practice of revision. Grene provides valuable research into the extended eighteen-year genesis of Homecoming. Chapters 5 and 6 focus on themes of location and dislocation, with The Wake (1998) and The House (2000) demonstrating Murphy's use of the most Irish of mise-en-scènes, the rural domestic space. In both plays he considers how material acquisitiveness informs twenty-first-century ideas of Celtic Tiger Irishness. Conversely, The Sanctuary Lamp (1975) and The Morning After Optimism (1971) are not bound by specific temporal or spatial settings—The Sanctuary Lamp is set in a church (religion not specified) and Optimism is set in a forest. In both plays he creates theatre worlds in which time and history are not integral to the...

BRILLIANT DISGUISES: PERSONA, AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND THE MAGIC OF RETROSPECTION IN BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’S LATE CAREER

Popular musicians with long careers provide rich source material for the study of persona, authenticity, endurance and the maintenance (and reinvention) of significant bodies of work. Successful artists’ songs create a soundtrack not only to their own lives, but also to those of their audiences, and to the times in which they were created and to which they bore witness. The work of singers who continue to perform after several decades can be heard in terms of their ‘late voice’ (Elliott 2015), a concept that has potentially useful insights for the study of musical persona. This article exploits this potential by considering how musical persona is de- and reconstructed in retrospective, autobiographical performance. I base my articulation of the relationship between persona, life-writing and retrospective narrativity on a close reading of two late texts by Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run, the autobiography he published in 2016, and Springsteen on Broadway, the audiovisual record of a show that ran from October 2017 through to December 2018. In these texts, Springsteen uses the metaphor of the ‘magic trick’ as a framing device to shuttle between the roles of autobiographical myth-breaker and lyrical protagonist. He repeatedly highlights his songs as fictions that bear little relation to his actual life, while also showing awareness that, as often happens with popular song, he has been mapped onto his characters in ways that prove vital for their sense of authenticity. Yet Springsteen appears to be aiming for a different kind of authenticity with these late texts, by substituting the persona developed in his recorded work with an older, wiser, more playful narrator. I appropriate Springsteen’s ‘magic trick’ metaphor to highlight the magic of retrospection and the magical formation of the life narrative as an end-driven process.

A review of progress and opportunities to foster development of sustainability-related competencies in engineering education

ABSTRACTOver the last decade and prompted by the United Nations (UN) 2030 Framework, significant engineering bodies have been calling for education directed towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this paper, the authors reflect on progress to enable SDG knowledge and skills in engineering studies, overviewing key examples of efforts within the global professional engineering and education community, including Australia and the United States of America (the US). Acknowledging differences in language and guidance around the world, the authors discuss the need to provide clear and concise language regarding: 1) statements for desirable graduate attributes, 2) required knowledge and skill (i.e. competency) development, and 3) commentary/guiding elements and indicators. The paper concludes with recommending accreditation bodies and professional societies and colleges make use of current international review processes underway by the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) and the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO), to update accreditation and supporting documents to ensure graduates have capacity to deliver solutions for ‘thriving humanity and planet’ in the twenty-first century. The authors also challenge educators to review and renew their institution’s desired graduate attributes and program offerings to ensure curriculum develops capacity for achieving the UN SDG goals, targets and indicators.

Explorations and reflections: on envisioning the psychosocial clinical programmes at the School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi, India

In the early years of psychology’s history, creative thinkers in different pockets across the world experimented with innovative ways of envisioning the field of psychological enquiry. Over time, in its pursuit to establish for itself a status akin to that of the ‘natural sciences’, psychology lost links with its introspective beginnings and came to be largely identified as a study of ‘human behavior’ and its effects. Since the last three decades, like other social scientists, psychologists too have gone through much creative tension. As a consequence, marginal but extremely significant bodies of work have pressed for subjective, critical, cultural and non-Eurocentric modes of humanness to be considered as valid domains of psychological enquiry. The endeavour has been to outline the dimensions of a psychological human science which is contextually sensitive, is in line with the spirit of decolonalization of knowledge and which can relate to the intricacies of the human unconscious. The present writing focuses on one such radical exploration in India in the recent past. It concerns itself with the envisioning and setting up of the Psychosocial Clinical programmes at School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi. The essay includes a brief account of intellectual influences on, and the past work history, of pioneers who imagined the Psychosocial Clinical axis in the Indian context. The writing also focuses on the distinctive features of the Psychosocial Clinical perspective at the School of Human Studies, and on the methodological, practice oriented and pedagogical challenges and considerations in the training of a reflexive psychological practitioner, researcher and thinker.

Developing Expertise in Sport Coaching Through Engagement with Disability Programmes

Summary Numerous academic and practitioner research has examined the role of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in the development of sport coaches in the UK (e.g. Crisp 2018; Stoszkowski and Collins 2018). However, whilst most fields related to coach development have significant bodies of work underpinning them, there is a dearth of information related to best practice within the context of disability sport coaching. Given that both coach learning in the HEI context and disability sports coaching are significant areas worthy of further exploration, this work investigates how learning can be developed through disability sport coaching in the HEI context. The aims of this study were to gather the perceptions, thoughts, and experiences of ten student-coaches enrolled on an HEI coaching programme who were completing a year long placement module that included sessions for participants with disabilities. Data were collected through two focus group meetings with the student-coaches and the submission of learning journals. Inductive analysis showed that coaching disability groups facilitated learning through generating knowledge from practice through a process of reflection, higher order thinking, and meta-cognition. This suggests that using disability coaching can be a useful tool for HEIs to use in terms of challenging student-coach practice and education.

“The margin between the edge of the world and infinite possibility”

PurposeThis paper aims to explore a paradoxical situation, asking whether it is possible to reconcile the immutable ledger known as blockchain with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), and more broadly privacy and data protection.Design/methodology/approachThis paper combines doctrinal legal research examining the GDPR’s application and scope with case studies examining blockchain solutions from an archival theoretic perspective to answer several questions, including: What risks are blockchain solutions said to impose (or mitigate) for organizations dealing with data that is subject to the GDPR? What are the relationships between the GDPR principles and the principles of archival theory? How can these two sets of principles be aligned within a particular blockchain solution? How can archival principles be applied to blockchain solutions so that they support GDPR compliance?FindingsThis work will offer an initial exploration of the strengths and weaknesses of blockchain solutions for GDPR compliant information governance. It will present the disjunctures between GDPR requirements and some current blockchain solution designs and implementations, as well as discussing how solutions may be designed and implemented to support compliance. Immutability of information recorded on a blockchain is a differentiating positive feature of blockchain technology from the perspective of trusted exchanges of value (e.g. cryptocurrencies) but potentially places organizations at risk of non-compliance with GDPR if personally identifiable information cannot be removed. This work will aid understanding of how blockchain solutions should be designed to ensure compliance with GDPR, which could have significant practical implications for organizations looking to leverage the strengths of blockchain technology to meet their needs and strategic goals.Research limitations/implicationsSome aspects of the social layer of blockchain solutions, such as law and business procedures, are also well understood. Much less well understood is the data layer, and how it serves as an interface between the social and the technical in a sociotechnical system like blockchain. In addition to a need for more research about the data/records layer of blockchains and compliance, there is a need for more information governance professionals who can provide input on this layer, both to their organizations and other stakeholders.Practical implicationsManaging personal data will continue to be one of the most challenging, fraught issues for information governance moving forward; given the fairly broad scope of the GDPR, many organizations, including those outside of the EU, will have to manage personal data in compliance with the GDPR. Blockchain technology could play an important role in ensuring organizations have easily auditable, tamper-resistant, tamper-evident records to meet broader organizational needs and to comply with the GDPR.Social implicationsBecause the GDPR professes to be technology-neutral, understanding its application to novel technologies such as blockchain provides an important window into the broader context of compliance in evolving information governance spaces.Originality/valueThe specific question of how GDPR will apply to blockchain information governance solutions is almost entirely novel. It has significance to the design and implementation of blockchain solutions for recordkeeping. It also provides insight into how well “technology-neutral” laws and regulations actually work when confronted with novel technologies and applications. This research will build upon significant bodies of work in both law and archival science to further understand information governance and compliance as we are shifting into the new GDPR world.

Application of an evolution strategy in planetary ephemeris modeling

Classical planetary ephemeris construction comprises three major steps which are to be performed iteratively: numerical integration of coupled equations of motion of a multi-body system (propagator step), reduction of observations (reduction step), and optimization of model parameters (adjustment step). In future, this approach may become challenged by further refinements in force modeling (e.g. inclusion of much more significant minor bodies than in the past), an ever-growing number of planetary observations (e.g. the vast amount of spacecraft tracking data), and big data issues in general. In order to circumvent the need for both the inversion of normal equation matrices and the determination of partial derivatives, and to prepare the ephemeris for applications apart from stand-alone solar-system planetary orbit calculations, here we propose an alternative ephemeris construction method. The main idea is to solve it as an optimization problem by straightforward direct evaluation of the whole set of mathematical formulas, rather than to solve it as an inverse problem with all its tacit mathematical assumptions and potential numerical difficulties. The usual gradient search is replaced by a stochastic search, namely an evolution strategy, the latter of which is perfect for the exploitation of parallel computing capabilities. Furthermore, this new approach allows for multi-criteria optimization and time-varying optima. These issues will become important in future once ephemeris construction is just one part of even larger optimization problems, e.g. the combined and consistent determination of a generalized physical state (orbit, size, shape, rotation, gravity, …) of celestial bodies (planets, satellites, asteroids, or comets), and/or if one seeks near real-time solutions. Here, we outline the general idea and exemplarily optimize high-correlated asteroidal ring model parameters (total mass and heliocentric radius), and individual asteroid masses, based on simulated observations.

Aquatic ecosystem health and trophic status classification of the Bitter Lakes along the main connecting link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

The Bitter Lakes are the most significant water bodies of the Suez Canal, comprising 85% of the water volume, but spreading over only 24% of the length of the canal. The present study aims at investigation of the trophic status of the Bitter Lakes employing various trophic state indices, biotic and abiotic parameters, thus reporting the health of the Lake ecosystem according to the internationally accepted classification criteria’s. The composition and abundance of phytoplankton with a dominance of diatoms and a decreased population density of 4315–7376 ind. l−1 reflect the oligotrophic nature of this water body. The intense growth of diatoms in the Bitter Lakes depends on silicate availability, in addition to nitrate and phosphate. If the trophic state index (TSI) is applied to the lakes under study it records that the Bitter Lakes have an index under 40. Moreover, in the total chlorophyll-a measurements of 0.35–0.96 µg l−1 there are more indicative of little algal biomass and lower biological productivity. At 0.76–2.3 µg l−1, meanwhile, the low quantity of Phosphorus is a further measure of low biological productivity. In the Bitter Lakes, TN/TP ratios are high and recorded 147.4, and 184.7 for minimum and maximum ratios, respectively. These values indicate that in Bitter lakes, the limiting nutrient is phosphorus and confirm the oligotrophic status of the Bitter Lakes. The latter conclusion is supported by Secchi disc water clarity measurements, showing that light can penetrate, and thus algae can photosynthesize, as deep as >13 m. This study, therefore, showed that the Bitter Lakes of the Suez Canal exhibit oligotrophic conditions with clear water, low productivity and with no algal blooming.

Computational Modelling of Magnetic Nanoparticle Properties and In Vivo Responses.

Nanoparticles are finding many applications in medicine and other fields like photonics. Magnetic nanoparticles have additional advantages in medicine over non-magnetic hard nanoparticles, as their magnetic properties make them ideal for hyperthermic applications in therapy and for sensitive diagnostic imaging applications. I review the literature on computational models of the magnetic properties of nanoparticles specifically. Such models have the potential to accelerate the design of magnetic nanoparticles for medical applications. Much of the current literature relates to the modelling of magnetic nanoparticles for inducing hyperthermia in aberrant cells, with significant bodies of work aimed at simulating and predicting properties for medical imaging and targeted delivery of drugs and gene therapies.

WLAN Totology and Comparison between Wired and Wireless Network

Wireless systems have significantly impacted the globe, considering that their first deployment. Wireless systems have remained to cultivate, and their usages have substantially expanded. Cellphones are nowadays aspect of significant wireless network bodies as well as individuals make use of cellphones every day to communicate with one another and also exchange relevant information. Just recently, wireless systems have been utilized for installing as well, for allowing the arrangement of area oriented solutions to the end-user. Different sorts of measurements accessible in the course of the shared network as well as terminal function, mainly for resource administration and also synchronization objectives, could be used to derive the consumer's location. This paper provides the topology of WLAN and compares the wired and wireless network.

Exploring Sandstone Body in Weak Electrical Resistivity Contrast with AMT Data

AMT method with the economical and convenient superiority plays a key role in exploring the sandstone-type uranium deposits in China, which mainly meets to four problems such as the thickness of overlying strata, delineating the shape of the significant sand bodies, whether there are buried structures and knowing the basement relief. Exploring the sand body shape is the key one among such problems because sand body provides the room of uranium deposits and is the prerequisite for exploring uranium mineralization. Through an example of outlining the sandstone layer within the mudstone layers, the ability can be improved to recognize the electrical resistivity anomaly among the weak electrical property contrast by adjusting the inversion model’s scale. A route to deal with the problem was given by inverting different scale models followed by checking whether the anomalies of each inversion are reliable. Finally, the geo-electrical model was to be determined by comparing results of different scale model.

Role of Technology Inclined Public Relations in Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo

The study is specifically interested in roles of technologized public relations and such influence in the dispensation of medical services in Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo. Findings from the research work related public relations to the customer care unit of firms and implies creative rapport cutting across the intra and inter-systems of the medical facility. The research made use of structured in-depth interview (IDI) as its source of data collection. The excellence theory, as well as the modernization theory provided the framework for the study. Thematic analysis was used in data analysis. It is to this end that ICT and Public Relations were seen as interdependent, bearing so much influence on the dispensation of medical services. Which is obvious in the fact that relationships at all levels, stem from communication which connotes appropriate conveyance of information both in content and process. Finally, conclusions from the study show that the medical centre in Jalingo is yet to fully embrace the advantages of technology, let alone its influence in promoting effective public relations. Hence, medical services tend to suffer and require timely interventions of significant bodies. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n6p287

Pushing the boundaries: urban unrest as anti-social behaviour

Purpose To explore the way in which responses to urban disorder have become part of the anti-social behaviour (ASB herein) toolkit following the 2011 disorders in England. In particular, the purpose of this paper is to unpack the government’s response to the riots through the use of eviction. It is argued that the boundaries of what constitutes ASB, and the geographical scope of the new powers, are being expanded resulting in a more pronounced unevenness of behaviour-control mechanisms being deployed across the housing tenures. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative research design, 30 in-depth interviews were undertaken with housing, ASB, and local police officers alongside a number of other practitioners working in related fields. These practitioners were based in communities across east London, the West Midlands and Greater Manchester. This was augmented with a desk-based analysis of key responses and reports from significant official bodies, third sector and housing organisations. Findings Findings from the research show that responses to the 2011 riots through housing and ASB-related mechanisms were disproportionate, resulting in a rarely occurring phenomenon being unnecessarily overinflated. This paper demonstrates, through the lens of the 2011 riots specifically, how the definition of ASB continues to be expanded, rather than concentrated, causing noticeable conflicts within governmental approaches to ASB post-2011. Research limitations/implications This research was undertaken as part of a PhD study and therefore constrained by financial and time implications. Another limitation is that the “riot-clause” being considered here has not yet been adopted in practice. Despite an element of supposition, understanding how the relevant authorities may use this power in the future is important nonetheless. Originality/value Much effort was expended by scholars to analyse the causes of the 2011 riots in an attempt to understand why people rioted and what this says about today’s society more broadly. Yet very little attention has been focused on particular legislative responses, such as the additional riot clause enacted through the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. This paper focuses on this particular response to explore more recent ways in which people face being criminalised through an expansion of behaviour defined as ASB.