Economic development as design: Insight and guidance through the PSI framework

Economic development is aimed at improving the lives of people in the developing world, and needs to be carried out with design at its heart, but this has often not been the case. This paper first reviews dominant approaches to economic development including the use of subsidies or the creation of markets and demand and the testing of initiatives using randomized control trials. It then introduces ‘development engineering’ as a representative engineering design approach to engineering and technology in development before presenting the view that successful development needs to involve continual learning through innovation in context. The PSI (problem social institutional) framework is presented as a basis for guiding such development as a design activity, and its application is illustrated using examples from India of the unsuccessful introduction of new cooking stoves and then both successful and unsuccessful approaches to rural electrification. A 2-level approach to PSI is taken, in which the lower level represents daily operation of communities and the 2nd level represents the development project including addressing misalignments between the different PSI spaces and levels

A forensically-enabled IASS cloud computing architecture

Current cloud architectures do not support digital forensic investigators, nor comply with today’s digital forensics procedures largely due to the dynamic nature of the cloud. Whilst much research has focused upon identifying the problems that are introduced with a cloud-based system, to date there is a significant lack of research on adapting current digital forensic tools and techniques to a cloud environment. Data acquisition is the first and most important process within digital forensics – to ensure data integrity and admissibility. However, access to data and the control of resources in the cloud is still very much provider-dependent and complicated by the very nature of the multi-tenanted operating environment. Thus, investigators have no option but to rely on cloud providers to acquire evidence, assuming they would be willing or are required to by law. Furthermore, the evidence collected by the Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) is still questionable as there is no way to verify the validity of this evidence and whether evidence has already been lost. This paper proposes a forensic acquisition and analysis model that fundamentally shifts responsibility of the data back to the data owner rather than relying upon a third party. In this manner, organisations are free to undertaken investigations at will requiring no intervention or cooperation from the cloud provider. The model aims to provide a richer and complete set of admissible evidence than what current CSPs are able to provide

δ13C and δ15N in the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The Deepwater Horizon explosion in April 2010 and subsequent oil spill released 3.19 × 106 barrels (5.07 × 108 l) of MC252 crude oil into important foraging areas of the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii (Lk) in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). We measured δ13C and δ15N in scute biopsy samples from 33 Lk nesting in Texas during the period 2010 to 2012. Of these, 27 were equipped with satellite transmitters and were tracked to traditional foraging areas in the northern GoM after the spill. Differences in δ13C between the oldest and newest scute layers from 2010 nesters were not significant, but δ13C in the newest layers from 2011 and 2012 nesters was significantly lower compared to 2010. δ15N differences were not statis- tically significant. Collectively, the stable isotope and tracking data indicate that the lower δ13C values reflect the incorporation of oil rather than changes in diet or foraging area. Discriminant analysis indicated that 51.5% of the turtles sampled had isotope signatures indicating oil exposure. Growth of the Lk population slowed in the years following the spill. The involvement of oil exposure in recent population trends is unknown, but long-term effects may not be evident for many years. Our results indicate that C isotope signatures in scutes may be useful biomarkers of sea turtle exposure to oil

Upgrade of the ultracold neutron source at the pulsed reactor TRIGA Mainz

The performance of the upgraded solid deuterium ultracold neutron source at the pulsed reactor TRIGA Mainz is described. The current configuration stage comprises the installation of a He liquefier to run UCN experiments over long-term periods, the use of stainless steel neutron guides with improved transmission as well as sputter-coated non-magnetic $^{58}$NiMo alloy at the inside walls of the thermal bridge and the converter cup. The UCN yield was measured in a `standard' UCN storage bottle (stainless steel) with a volume of 32 litres outside the biological shield at the experimental area yielding UCN densities of 8.5 /cm$^3$; an increase by a factor of 3.5 compared to the former setup. The measured UCN storage curve is in good agreement with the predictions from a Monte Carlo simulation developed to model the source. The growth and formation of the solid deuterium converter during freeze-out are affected by the ortho/para ratio of the H$_2$ premoderator.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Chiral selectivity of polyglycerol-based amphiphiles incorporating different aromatic cores

Customized polyglycerol-based surfactants incorporating different aromatic cores are used to isolate and suspend carbon nanotubes in water. Different cores yield suspension with distinct chiral species distribution. Increasing the number of the phenyl rings connecting head and tail, the dispersion of the semiconducting species becomes sharper toward the nanotubes with bigger family index

Liver transplantation for alcoholic cirrhosis: Long term follow-up and impact of disease recurrence

Background. Alcoholic liver disease has emerged as a leading indication for hepatic transplantation, although it is a controversial use of resources. We aimed to examine all aspects of liver transplantation associated with alcohol abuse. Methods. Retrospective cohort analysis of 123 alcoholic patients with a median of 7 years follow-up at one center. Results. In addition to alcohol, 43 (35%) patients had another possible factor contributing to cirrhosis. Actuarial patient and graft survival rates were, respectively, 84% and 81% (1 year); 72% and 66% (5 years); and 63% and 59% (7 years). After transplantation, 18 patients (15%) manifested 21 noncutaneous de novo malignancies, which is significantly more than controls (P=0.0001); upper aerodigestive squamous carcinomas were over-represented (P=0.03). Thirteen patients had definitely relapsed and three others were suspected to have relapsed. Relapse was predicted by daily ethanol consumption (P=0.0314), but not by duration of pretransplant sobriety or explant histology. No patient had alcoholic hepatitis after transplantation and neither late onset acute nor chronic rejection was significantly increased. Multiple regression analyses for predictors of graft failure identified major biliary/vascular complications (P=0.01), chronic bile duct injury on biopsy (P=0.002), and pericellular fibrosis on biopsy (P=0.05); graft viral hepatitis was marginally significant (P=0.07) on univariate analysis. Conclusions. Alcoholic liver disease is an excellent indication for liver transplantation in those without coexistent conditions. Recurrent alcoholic liver disease alone is not an important cause of graft pathology or failure. Potential recipients should be heavily screened before transplantation for coexistent conditions (e.g., hepatitis C, metabolic diseases) and other target-organ damage, especially aerodigestive malignancy, which are greater causes of morbidity and mortality than is recurrent alcohol liver disease

Nematode associates and susceptibility of a protected slug (Geomalacus maculosus) to four biocontrol nematodes

The impact of selected entomopathogenic nematodes and Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita on the European-Union-protected slug Geomalacus maculosus and the sympatric Lehmannia marginata was investigated. There was no significant difference in mortality between slugs treated with nematodes and their controls. The presence of P. hermaphrodita in two G. maculosus cadavers may be the result of necromenic behaviour. This study constitutes the first record of P. californica in Europe