Solar thermal heating and cooling. A bibliography with abstracts

This bibliographic series cites and abstracts the literature and technical papers on the heating and cooling of buildings with solar thermal energy. Over 650 citations are arranged in the following categories: space heating and cooling systems; space heating and cooling models; building energy conservation; architectural considerations, thermal load computations; thermal load measurements, domestic hot water, solar and atmospheric radiation, swimming pools; and economics

A Draft Regional Guidebook for Applying the Hydrogeomorphic Approach to Wet Hardwood Flats on Mineral Soils in the Coastal Plain of Virginia

The hydrogeomorphic (HGM) approach applies functional indices to the assessment of functions by comparing functions across a suite of reference sites that range from severely altered to unaltered. This Draft Regional Guidebook is the result of applying the HGM approach to Hardwood Mineral Flats in the coastal plain of Virginia. In developing the Draft Regional Guidebook, various models from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, as well as, input from a workshop held in Wakefield, Virginia on May 13-14, 1998 were used to provide a template for model development. The workshop was attended by hydrologists, biogeochemists, soil scientists, wildlife biologists, and botanists from the public, private and academic sectors who have extensive knowledge of Hardwood Mineral Flats (Table 1 ). This Draft Regional Guidebook incorporates material from the Regional Guidebook for Applying the Hydrogeomorphic Approach to Wet Pine Flats on Mineral Soils in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains by Richard Rheinhardt, Martha Rheinhardt, and Mark Brinson (1999). Excerpted material includes the overview of the HGM approach and the hydrology section (since the approach utilized for pine flats is also appropriate for hardwood flats). Additional input was gained from the Draft Functional Assessment for Deciduous Mineral Flat Wetlands, Version 5 - 1999 by the Natural Resources Conservation Service staff. Valuable suggestions from end-users of other HGM guidebooks regarding the pros and cons of various sampling methods were considered and incorporated into this draft guidebook where possible. An attempt was made to incorporate data that is routinely collected as part of wetlands delineations to reduce duplication of field data and expedite the assessment procedure. The field sampling time for this assessment will depend on the size of the site, and the skill level and number of personnel. The sampling assessment protocol can be conducted by one person (though sampling of microtopography will require the use of a measured stake that can be installed temporarily in the ground). Two people can collect field data on a three- plot site in three to four hours

Plantar fasciitis and calcaneal spur formation are associated with abductor digiti minimi atrophy on MRI of the foot

Objective To determine the association of atrophy of the abductor digiti minimi muscle (ADMA), an MRI manifestation of chronic compression of the inferior calcaneal nerve suggesting the clinical diagnosis of Baxter’s neuropathy, with MRI markers of potential etiologies, including calcaneal spur formation, plantar fasciitis, calcaneal edema, Achilles tendinosis and posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD). Materials and methods Prevalence of calcaneal spur formation, plantar fasciitis, calcaneal edema, Achilles tendinosis and PTTD was assessed retrospectively on 100 MRI studies with ADMA and 100 MRI studies without ADMA. Patients ranged in age from 10–92 years. Pearson chi-square analyses and Fisher’s exact test were used to compare prevalence of the above findings in patients with and without ADMA. Logistic regression was used to determine which variables were significantly associated with ADMA. Results Among patients with ADMA, there was significantly greater age (57.2 years vs 40.8 years, p \u3c 0.001), presence of Achilles tendinosis (22.0% vs 3.0%, P \u3c 0.001), calcaneal edema (15.0% vs 3.0%, P = 0.005), calcaneal spur (48.0% vs 7.0%, P \u3c 0.001), plantar fasciitis (52.5% vs 11.0%, P \u3c 0.001), and PTTD (32.0% vs 11.0%, P \u3c 0.001). After multivariate logistic regression analysis, only age [odds ratio (OR) 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03, 1.09], calcaneal spur (OR 3.60, 95% CI 1.28, 10.17), and plantar fasciitis (OR 3.35, 95% CI 1.31, 8.56) remained significant. Conclusion Advancing age, calcaneal spur, and plantar fasciitis are significantly associated with ADMA. Their high odds ratios support the notion of a possible etiologic role for calcaneal spur and plantar fasciitis in the progression to Baxter’s neuropathy

Negotiating the transition from adolescence to motherhood: Coping with prenatal and parenting stress in teenage mothers in Mulago hospital, Uganda

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adolescence is a transitional stage from childhood to adulthood that is characterized by physical, physiological, psychosocial and behavioral changes that are influenced to a large extent by the age, culture and socialization of the individual. To explore what adolescent mothers perceive as their struggles during the period of transition from childhood to parenthood (through motherhood) and to describe strategies employed in coping with stress of pregnancy, motherhood and parenthood.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Longitudinal qualitative study involving twenty two in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions among pregnant adolescents who were followed from pregnant to delivery, from January 2004 to August 2005. Participant were selected by theoretical sampling and data was analyzed using grounded theory.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, young adolescents reported more anxiety, loss of self esteem (when they conceived), difficulty in accessing financial, moral and material support from parents or partners and stigmatization by health workers when they sought care from health facilities. Three strategies by which adolescent mothers cope with parenting and pregnancy stress that were described as utilizing opportunities (thriving), accommodating the challenges (bargaining and surviving), or failure (despairing), and varied in the extent to which they enabled adolescents to cope with the stress.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Adolescents on the transition to motherhood have variable needs and aspirations and utilize different strategies to cope with the stress of pregnancy and parenthood.</p

Developing Single-Molecule TPM Experiments for Direct Observation of Successful RecA-Mediated Strand Exchange Reaction

RecA recombinases play a central role in homologous recombination. Once assembled on single-stranded (ss) DNA, RecA nucleoprotein filaments mediate the pairing of homologous DNA sequences and strand exchange processes. We have designed two experiments based on tethered particle motion (TPM) to investigate the fates of the invading and the outgoing strands during E. coli RecA-mediated pairing and strand exchange at the single-molecule level in the absence of force. TPM experiments measure the tethered bead Brownian motion indicative of the DNA tether length change resulting from RecA binding and dissociation. Experiments with beads labeled on either the invading strand or the outgoing strand showed that DNA pairing and strand exchange occurs successfully in the presence of either ATP or its non-hydrolyzable analog, ATPγS. The strand exchange rates and efficiencies are similar under both ATP and ATPγS conditions. In addition, the Brownian motion time-courses suggest that the strand exchange process progresses uni-directionally in the 5′-to-3′ fashion, using a synapse segment with a wide and continuous size distribution

Why we need signed poetry in bilingual education

A truly bilingual and bicultural education for deaf children requires them to learn about the deaf art-form of sign language poetry. In this article I outline the advantages and challenges of doing this. Reviewing the scarce literature on teaching deaf children signed poetry, whether translated or original, I relate it to the use of literature in L2-learning settings. Reflections of deaf teacher-poets from the UK show that deaf children readily relate to signed poetry, and with informed language focus from teachers it helps them to develop a range of language skills, and express their emotions. Barriers to this, however, include lack of training and awareness for both deaf and hearing teachers - even when the teachers are poets