Improved Measurement of the Muon Lifetime and Determination of the Fermi Constant

The MuLan collaboration has measured the lifetime of the positve muon to a precision of 1.0 parts per million. The Fermi constant is determined to a precision of 0.6 parts per million.Comment: Proceedings of CKM2010, the 6th International Workshop on the CKM Unitarity Triangle, University of Warwick, UK, 6-10 September 201

The potential role of socio-hydrological models for participatory water governance in Burkina Faso

Halting and reversing water quality degradation is a major global concern. The variety of needs and priorities placed on water resources make the issue of water pollution multifaceted and complex. Addressing water quality management requires an approach that can tackle the diversity of requirements and concerns to achieve effective strategies. In Burkina Faso, stakeholder participation plays an important role in effective catchment management. The Participatory Water Governance Project in Rural Burkina Faso has developed support strategies to strengthen the capacity of local-level Water User Committees. Research conducted by TU Wien (Technical University Vienna) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI) aims to support the project by exploring the potential role of socio-hydrological models in water management decision making. The areas around the River Kou and Bapla Reservoir were the focus for this part of the study. The specific question addressed by TU Wien was: can a socio-hydrological model be developed that accurately captures the relationships between people and water quality in the study area

A System for Acquiring, Processing, and Rendering Panoramic Light Field Stills for Virtual Reality

We present a system for acquiring, processing, and rendering panoramic light field still photography for display in Virtual Reality (VR). We acquire spherical light field datasets with two novel light field camera rigs designed for portable and efficient light field acquisition. We introduce a novel real-time light field reconstruction algorithm that uses a per-view geometry and a disk-based blending field. We also demonstrate how to use a light field prefiltering operation to project from a high-quality offline reconstruction model into our real-time model while suppressing artifacts. We introduce a practical approach for compressing light fields by modifying the VP9 video codec to provide high quality compression with real-time, random access decompression. We combine these components into a complete light field system offering convenient acquisition, compact file size, and high-quality rendering while generating stereo views at 90Hz on commodity VR hardware. Using our system, we built a freely available light field experience application called Welcome to Light Fields featuring a library of panoramic light field stills for consumer VR which has been downloaded over 15,000 times.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, 2 tables, accepted by SIGGRAPH Asia 2018, low-resolution versio

Degradation of water resources in rural Burkina Faso: drivers, local perceptions and solutions.

Burkina Faso reformed its water management institutions and adopted integrated water resources management (IWRM) for more than two decades, yet the country still suffers from weak institutions and ineffective implementation of water management reforms. The key institutional question is: “How can IWRM reforms be adapted to increase effectiveness and sustainability of water management, and improve livelihoods of rural populations through increased participation of local stakeholders?” A key practical issue related to this bigger institutional question is to understand the barriers to adoption of good land and water management measures by riparian farmers and other land/water users, and the mechanisms to induce behavioral change among these users. Knowledge gaps exist in understanding the local perceptions and preferences of alternative management measures, and the incentive mechanisms to induce behavioral change. The aim of this study, which was part of a 3-year project entitled ‘Participatory planning for more inclusive and sustainable water management in rural Burkina Faso’, was to understand the perceptions, preferences and willingness of farmers and other land/water users to adopt environmentally friendly land and water management measures. The study also examined potential mechanisms that could induce riparian economic actors to adopt such measures

Hypoxia-Induced Oxidative Stress Modulation with Physical Activity.

Increased oxidative stress, defined as an imbalance between prooxidants and antioxidants, resulting in molecular damage and disruption of redox signaling, is associated with numerous pathophysiological processes and known to exacerbate chronic diseases. Prolonged systemic hypoxia, induced either by exposure to terrestrial altitude or a reduction in ambient O2 availability is known to elicit oxidative stress and thereby alter redox balance in healthy humans. The redox balance modulation is also highly dependent on the level of physical activity. For example, both high-intensity exercise and inactivity, representing the two ends of the physical activity spectrum, are known to promote oxidative stress. Numerous to-date studies indicate that hypoxia and exercise can exert additive influence upon redox balance alterations. However, recent evidence suggests that moderate physical activity can attenuate altitude/hypoxia-induced oxidative stress during long-term hypoxic exposure. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent findings on hypoxia-related oxidative stress modulation by different activity levels during prolonged hypoxic exposures and examine the potential mechanisms underlying the observed redox balance changes. The paper also explores the applicability of moderate activity as a strategy for attenuating hypoxia-related oxidative stress. Moreover, the potential of such moderate intensity activities used to counteract inactivity-related oxidative stress, often encountered in pathological, elderly and obese populations is also discussed. Finally, future research directions for investigating interactive effects of altitude/hypoxia and exercise on oxidative stress are proposed

Les CLE, institutions locales pertinentes mais peu fonctionnelles de gestion de l’eau

Un travail de recherche mené en 2017 avec l’accompagnement de l’International Water Management Institute par Letisia Somda, étudiante du Master Agrinovia à l’Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo à Ouagadougou, s’est intéressé au fonctionnement d’une institution locale de gestion de l’eau, le Comité Local de l’Eau (CLE). Les CLE sont conçus comme les maillons de base du cadre institutionnel de la Gestion Intégrée des Ressources en Eau au Burkina Faso. Le CLE Bougouriba 7 ou CLE BGB7, créé en 2010, a été relancé en 2015 mais connaissait toujours d’importantes difficultés de fonctionnement en 2017. L’étude a permis de faire le diagnostic de la gestion de l’eau dans cet espace. Elle a identifié les obstacles à la bonne gestion et proposé des solutions pour une meilleure gouvernance de l’ea

Les usagers de l’eau face à la dégradation des ressources : entre prise de conscience et volonté d’agir

Cette étude menée en 2018 dans trois régions du Burkina Faso avec l’appui de l’International Water Management Institute IWMI visait à comprendre les pratiques agricoles et de gestion des ressources naturelles, les choix ou préférences des usagers de ces ressources ainsi que les mécanismes pouvant les inciter à adopter des mesures de gestion plus respectueuses de l’environnement. Selon ses résultats, beaucoup sont conscients de la raréfaction et de la dégradation de la qualité des ressources et en identifient des causes. Les usagers interrogés se sont dit prêts à adopter des mesures de gestion, y compris à travers une contribution financière

Conventions internationales et gouvernance locale de l’eau au Burkina Faso : le cas de la commune de Diebougou

Un travail de recherche mené en 2015 avec l’accompagnement de l’International Water Management Institute par Sébastien Guipo, étudiant au département d’histoire et d’archéologie à l’Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo à Ouagadougou, s’est intéressé à la gestion de l’approvisionnement en eau potable de 1960 à 2015 dans la commune de Diebougou, au Burkina Faso. L’objectif était d’apprécier les changements induits par les réformes de la gestion locale de l’eau. L’étude a montré que le Burkina Faso a fait évoluer son appareil législatif à mesure qu’il a ratifié de nombreuses conventions internationales. Leur application a contribué à l’implantation de points d’eau modernes et, par là, à l’amélioration de l’approvisionnement en eau potable dans la commune. L’application des textes se heurte cependant aux réalités sociales et culturelle