A Study of the Chars Livelihood Programme in Northern Bangladesh

The temporary islands and embankment areas, or chars, of the Jamuna River in northwest Bangladesh are home to three million people: poor and isolated, these rural communities face multiple livelihood challenges. Opportunities to smoothen irregular household cash-flow are limited and households in the region regularly adopt severe coping strategies -- such as the distress sale of assets and reduced food intake -- to meet consumption and emergency needs. The Chars Livelihood Programme (CLP) aims to ensure that most poor char dwellers in the Jamuna River Basin have access to appropriate financial services through Savings Groups

Effective Organisational Communication: Perspectives, principles and practices (4th edition)

Effective Organisational Communication gives students from all backgrounds the tools to communicate both within and between organisations of all kinds. With thorough coverage of the theoretical background of organisational communication, as well as practical content that helps readers develop their own communication skills, this is the perfect resource for those who want to improve their ability to work effectively with others. This heavily revised fourth edition reflects the rapidly changing world of organisational communication, with a special focus on social media and recent developments in advertising, PR and social marketing. Features to aid learning include: • Real-world case studies from organisations of all kinds bring the topics alive. • ‘Face to face’ case studies connect concepts and issue with typical everyday communication challenges found at university and work. • Up to the minute coverage of international and inter-cultural communication and emerging technologies. • Web links provide a starting point for research and further study on key issues in each chapter. ‘There is something refreshing about this text that derives from the breadth of the issues and perspectives addressed in the first half of the book, the worldview advanced through a willingness to engage with the complexity of organisations and communication, and the authors' rich yet succinct style of writing. They have managed to create a comprehensive text that addresses both the conceptual and the practical requirements of students, and even make topics like “meetings”, “email”, and “report writing” both instructive and engaging. The book is rich with valuable insights into the patterns, unpredictability and nuances of organisational communication. It is surprisingly thorough in its coverage of the topics one might expect, as well as many that come as a pleasing surprise. It avoids an instrumental focus and didacticism, but continuously provides guidance for effective practice.’ Journal of Communication Management (2010

The Cut : an Artist's Film (3 mins.)

The Cut (2010) is a short film by Kate Davis and David Moore, produced in conjunction with UK: ME/WE Productions. It was commissioned by the Bristol based artist and curator Louise Short for the exhibition Super8station3 and screened at Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, during the Old Media season (25 Sept - 21 Nov 2010). Continuing her exploitations of surrealist tropes and methods, Davis & Moore, used machinic framing, chance encounter and the time it takes to boil an egg to construct the film narrative. The film was shot on a single reel of three minute super-8 film, edited in camera and sent un-seen to the exhibition. There is a direct correlation between the chosen subject, the apparently benign act of boiling an egg, and the short time limit of the film reel. Davis and Moore elaborate the surrealist concerns of the relationship between sexuality and violence and cycles of birth and death such as seen in the work of Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali’s Un Chien Andalou. The Cut was shortlisted for the Swedenborg Short Film award, 2011, and screened along with the works of international filmmakers at the Swedenborg Institute, London (Dec 2011). It was included in the exhibitions: Mrs Darling’s Kiss at Arch 402, London (8 July - 5 Aug 2011); You Are Ok at De Toekomst, Amsterdam (5-15 July 2012)

The Incidence of Debris Disks at 24 {\mu}m and 670 Myr

We use Spitzer Space Telescope 24 {\mu}m data to search for debris disks among 122 AFGKM stars from the \sim 670 Myr clusters Hyades, Coma Ber, and Praesepe, utilizing a number of advances in data reduction and determining the intrinsic colors of main sequence stars. For our sample, the 1{\sigma} dispersion about the main sequence V-K, K-[24] locus is approximately 3.1%. We identify seven debris disks at 10% or more (\geq 3{\sigma} confidence level) above the expected K-[24] for purely photospheric emission. The incidence of excesses of 10% or greater in our sample at this age is 5.7 +3.1/-1.7%. Combining with results from the literature, the rate is 7.8 +4.2/-2.1% for early- type (B9 - F4) stars and 2.7 +3.3/-1.7% for solar-like (F5 - K9) stars. Our primary sample has strict criteria for inclusion to allow comparison with other work; when we relax these criteria, three additional debris disks are detected. They are all around stars of solar-like type and hence reinforce our conclusion that disks around such stars are still relatively common at 670 Myr and are similar to the rate around early-type stars. The apparently small difference in decay rates between early-type and solar-like stars is inconsistent with the first order theoretical predictions that the later type stellar disks would decay an order of magnitude more quickly than the earlier type ones.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

States that are far from being stabilizer states

Stabilizer states are eigenvectors of maximal commuting sets of operators in a finite Heisenberg group. States that are far from being stabilizer states include magic states in quantum computation, MUB-balanced states, and SIC vectors. In prime dimensions the latter two fall under the umbrella of Minimum Uncertainty States (MUS) in the sense of Wootters and Sussman. We study the correlation between two ways in which the notion of "far from being a stabilizer state" can be quantified, and give detailed results for low dimensions. In dimension 7 we identify the MUB-balanced states as being antipodal to the SIC vectors within the set of MUS, in a sense that we make definite. In dimension 4 we show that the states that come closest to being MUS with respect to all the six stabilizer MUBs are the fiducial vectors for Alltop MUBs.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figure

Effect of genotype on duodenal expression of nutrient transporter genes in dairy cows

peer-reviewedBackground Studies have shown clear differences between dairy breeds in their feed intake and production efficiencies. The duodenum is critical in the coordination of digestion and absorption of nutrients. This study examined gene transcript abundance of important classes of nutrient transporters in the duodenum of non lactating dairy cows of different feed efficiency potential, namely Holstein-Friesian (HF), Jersey (JE) and their F1 hybrid. Duodenal epithelial tissue was collected at slaughter and stored at -80°C. Total RNA was extracted from tissue and reverse transcribed to generate cDNA. Gene expression of the following transporters, namely nucleoside; amino acid; sugar; mineral; and lipid transporters was measured using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Data were statistically analysed using mixed models ANOVA in SAS. Orthogonal contrasts were used to test for potential heterotic effects and spearman correlation coefficients calculated to determine potential associations amongst gene expression values and production efficiency variables. Results While there were no direct effects of genotype on expression values for any of the genes examined, there was evidence for a heterotic effect (P < 0.05) on ABCG8, in the form of increased expression in the F1 genotype compared to either of the two parent breeds. Additionally, a tendency for increased expression of the amino acid transporters, SLC3A1 (P = 0.072), SLC3A2 (P = 0.081) and SLC6A14 (P = 0.072) was also evident in the F1 genotype. A negative (P < 0.05) association was identified between the expression of the glucose transporter gene SLC5A1 and total lactational milk solids yield, corrected for body weight. Positive correlations (P < 0.05) were also observed between the expression values of genes involved in common transporter roles. Conclusion This study suggests that differences in the expression of sterol and amino acid transporters in the duodenum could contribute towards the documented differences in feed efficiency between HF, JE and their F1 hybrid. Furthermore, positive associations between the expression of genes involved in common transporter roles suggest that these may be co-regulated. The study identifies potential candidates for investigation of genetic variants regulating nutrient transport and absorption in the duodenum in dairy cows, which may be incorporated into future breeding programmes

RX J2115-5840: confirmation of a new near-synchronous polar

Schwope et al (1997) suggested that the newly discovered Polar RX J2115-5840 is a near-synchronous system. We have obtained circular polarisation observations of RX J2115-5840 which show that the spin and orbital periods differ by 1.2%. We find the first direct evidence of `pole-switching' in a near-synchronous Polar. Further our data requires that the accretion flow must be directed onto the same magnetic field line at all spin-orbit beat phases implying that at some phases the flow must follow a path around the white dwarf before accreting.Comment: To be published in Proc Annapolis workshop on magnetic CVs, held in July 199

Case-Building Behavior, Persistence, and Emergence Success of \u3ci\u3ePycnopsyche Guttifer\u3c/i\u3e (Walker) (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) in Laboratory and \u3ci\u3ein situ\u3c/i\u3e Environments: Potential Trade-Offs of Material Preference

When removed from their cases in a non-flow laboratory environment, 5th instar Pycnopsyche guttifer (Walker) larvae were always successful in constructing a new case within 24 h when woody debris was present as a material choice. Most were successful within 1 h. Larvae were never successful at case building in the absence of wood in a non-flow environment. These laboratory-constructed ‘emergency cases’ were flimsy, lacking in shape, and larger than field cases. Laboratory case size, shape, and material preference remained constant after repeated daily evacuations over a series of 10 days. Larvae could be induced to construct a case composed of mineral particles only in the absence of wood and when placed in a laboratory stream with simulated flow conditions, or in situ in a natural stream. The emergence success of P. guttifer specimens induced to build these mineral cases, however, was significantly higher than that of larvae remaining in their field cases or of larvae that built wood cases. This result is likely due to a fungal infection that affected only larvae in wood cases. Our results demonstrate a scenario where a clearly non-preferred case construction material appears to increase survival

Clinical Pathways to Disability

This paper examines the pathways by which individuals transition from healthy to disabled. Because of the high prevalence and costs associated with disability, understanding these pathways is critical to developing interventions to prevent or minimize disability. We compare two estimates of disabling conditions: those observed in medical claims and conditions indicated by the disabled individual. A small number of conditions explain about half of incident disability: arthritis, infectious disease, dementia, heart failure, diabetes, and stroke. These conditions show up in medical claims and self reports. A large number of elderly also attribute disability to old age and various symptoms. Because so many of the most disabling conditions do not have clear medical treatments, the outlook for major reductions in disability might be limited.