Ebola virus disease epidemic in West Africa: Lessons learned and issues arising from West African countries

© Royal College of Physicians 2015. All rights reserved.The current Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak ravaging three nations in West Africa has affected more than 14,000 persons and killed over 5,000. It is the longest and most widely spread Ebola epidemic ever seen. At the time of this overview (written November 2014), having affected eight different nations, Nigeria and Senegal were able to control and eliminate the virus within a record time. Ghana has successfully, to date, kept the virus away from the country, despite economic and social relationships with affected nations. What lessons can we learn from Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana in the current epidemic? How can the world improve the health systems in low- and middle-income countries to effectively manage future outbreaks? Recently, the Royal College of Physicians launched a new partnership with the West African College of Physicians to curtail the effects of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in the region. We believe that strengthened health systems, skilled human resources for health and national ownership of problems are key to effective management of outbreaks such as EVD

Towards cultural competence : Australian Indigenous content in undergraduate psychology

This paper discusses the development and preliminary analysis of psychology undergraduate courses on cultural competence in relation to Indigenous Australians. The paper summarises the process that led to the formation of draft curriculum guidelines for psychology academics, including the need to critically examine the assumptions and history of Western psychology in relation to Indigenous peoples, the inclusion of non-conventional teaching and learning methods, staff and institutional support, and appropriate staff development. The paper then discusses the responses of students to one of the courses developed from these guidelines. The courses were well received by students and although they do not in themselves teach professional psychological skills in working effectively with Indigenous people, they provide a solid basis for the development of such skills. Because this is a relatively new area, it is likely that there will be much refinement of these courses in coming years. <br /

Data assimilation insights on selecting the most valuable atmospheric measurements

We discuss how objective guidance on selecting the most valuable atmospheric measurements on future Mars spacecraft missions can be provided through already developed Martian atmospheric data assimilation systems, and in particular through Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) which are widely used to design instruments for the Earth’s atmosphere

New near-IR observations of mesospheric CO2 and H2O clouds on Mars

Carbon dioxide clouds, which are speculated by models on solar and extra-solar planets, have been recently observed near the equator of Mars. The most comprehensive identification of Martian CO2 ice clouds has been obtained by the near-IR imaging spectrometer OMEGA. CRISM, a similar instrument with a higher spatial resolution, cannot detect these clouds with the same method due to its shorter wavelength range. Here we present a new method to detect CO2 clouds using near-IR data based on the comparison of H2O and CO2 ice spectral properties. The spatial and seasonal distributions of 54 CRISM observations containing CO2 clouds are reported, in addition to 17 new OMEGA observations. CRISM CO2 clouds are characterized by grain size in the 0.5-2\mum range and optical depths lower than 0.3. The distributions of CO2 clouds inferred from OMEGA and CRISM are consistent with each other and match at first order the distribution of high altitude (>60km) clouds derived from previous studies. At second order, discrepancies are observed. We report the identification of H2O clouds extending up to 80 km altitude, which could explain part of these discrepancies: both CO2 and H2O clouds can exist at high, mesospheric altitudes. CRISM observations of afternoon CO2 clouds display morphologies resembling terrestrial cirrus, which generalizes a previous result to the whole equatorial clouds season. Finally, we show that morning OMEGA observations have been previously misinterpreted as evidence for cumuliform, and hence potentially convective, CO2 clouds.Comment: Vincendon, M., C. Pilorget, B. Gondet, S. Murchie, and J.-P. Bibring (2011), New near-IR observations of mesospheric CO2 and H2O clouds on Mars, J. Geophys. Res., 116, E00J0

The role of technical improvements in decarbonising passenger transport

Passenger vehicles are a leading driver of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The majority of efforts to reduce vehicle GHG emissions focus on technical improvements, due to difficulties in reducing travel demand and shifting to alternative modes of travel. However, the rate at which technical improvements can be deployed is highly uncertain. Furthermore, the benefits of technical efficiency improvements may be offset by consumer trends towards larger and more powerful vehicles, filled with a greater number of accessories. Similarly, efficiency improvements can lower running costs, which may stimulate drivers to travel more. These consumer trends create further uncertainty about the impact of technical improvements. The aim of this thesis is to estimate the extent to which future technical improvements might be offset by consumer trends, and the risks they pose to reducing CO2 emissions. Firstly, technical efficiency improvements in vehicles over the past two decades are quantified, using driver-reported data for the first time. This is important as vehicle fuel consumption reported by drivers on the road is found to be ≈35% higher than official tested values in 2017-18. The analysis shows that technical improvements had the potential to reduce fuel consumption by 1.8 L/100km between 2001 and 2018. However, two thirds of this potential was offset by the increasing size and power of vehicles. Finally, the introduction of new EU vehicle efficiency regulations in 2008/09 is found to have had little effect at stimulating the rate of real technical efficiency improvements in British vehicles. If efficiency improvements stimulate drivers to travel more, due to lower running costs, potential emissions reductions from technical improvements may be further offset. Past estimates of the magnitude of this effect, known as the Rebound Effect, have varied widely, partly due to data constraints and a reliance upon highly aggregated government statistics. The analysis of this thesis instead uses a novel dataset of over 275 million vehicle road-worthiness tests. Results show that the Rebound Effect in Great Britain is small, with magnitude 4.6%, meaning efficiency improvements are unlikely to greatly stimulate increased mileage. Having quantified the extent to which technical efficiency improvements in vehicles have been offset by consumer trends in the recent past, the analysis then explores their future role. A range of technology and policy actions can be put in place to reduce carbon emissions, this thesis aims to prioritise between them, based upon their likely impact and uncertainty. Formal sensitivity analysis techniques are used for the first time to determine the relative importance of factors affecting future emissions from passenger vehicles. The findings show that over 80% of the uncertainty in future cumulative CO2 emissions can be attributed to uncertainty in electric vehicle uptake and vehicle size and power. These variables are therefore of primary importance for transport policy makers. The analysis also highlights variables of comparatively low importance; these include the carbon intensity of the electricity grid, the share of hybrid electric vehicles, the magnitude of the Rebound Effect and the rate of incremental improvements within powertrain technologies. The core contribution of this thesis is to compare efforts to improve the technical efficiency of vehicles, with the impacts of consumer trends and factors affecting future transport emissions. The majority of potential emissions savings from engineering improvements in the past two decades have been lost, strong policy action is required to avoid this trend continuing in future.This work was funded under EPSRC grant numbers: EP/M506485/1 and EP/M508007/1

Identifying elite family selections for growth and form in NZDFI’s Eucalyptus bosistoana 2012 progeny trials and for wood properties assessment

Some fast-growing and naturally durable eucalyptus species, including Eucalyptus bosistoana, are adapted to growing in many regions of New Zealand and offer the potential for a short-rotation regime to some forest growers. Increasing the production of high-quality XyloGene® seed from Proseed’s clonal orchards ensures durable eucalypt growers can plant the best genetics available and make it possible to scale-up planting a durable hardwood forest resource. This project aims to identify elite new trees to expand Proseed’s commercial seed production of XyloGene® branded E. bosistoana seed. Assessments of three replicated NZDFI E. bosistoana progeny trials have provided additional data to identify top families for growth and form. The assessments also provide data for selection of candidate trees of suitable size in each family at two sites from which core samples will be taken for measurement of heartwood and extractive content. An analysis to rank and select elite families has been undertaken using recent growth and form data collected from the Dillon and McNeill sites. Data collected in 2019 from the JNL Ngaumu site were also included. The means were ranked and the sum of the rankings for the two traits – growth and form – were calculated to produce an overall ranking of the families for each site. These results have provided the basis for selection of around 780 trees from 81 families at the McNeill site and 770 trees from 80 families at the Dillons site, for coring. This field work is planned for autumn 2025

'The Blessed Land': Narratives of Peasant Resistance at Nandigram, West Bengal, in 2007

In early 2007, the West Bengal state government in India sought to acquire over 10,000 acres of cultivated rural land in Nandigram, East Midnapur. The government, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) led Left Front coalition, sought to acquire this land to allow the Indonesian industrialists, the Salim group, to construct a chemical hub. Land acquisition had been increasing in India since 2005, when the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act was passed for the purpose of attracting investment from national and multinational corporations. Peasants in Nandigram were opposed to the acquisition of their land, and during 2007 successfully resisted the government attempts to do so. In response, the CPI-M sent party cadre to harass, rape and murder the peasantry, using their control of government to punish people in Nandigram. This thesis examines the events at Nandigram between June 2006 and May 2008 and investigates the narratives of peasant resistance that emerged in West Bengal. It focuses on three groups of West Bengal society: the peasants of Nandigram, the intellectuals and civil society of West Bengal, and the major political parties of West Bengal. Existing explanations of the events at Nandigram have focused on the role of intellectuals and civil society, and their views have dominated the literature. The existing historiography has argued that land acquisition policies and the subsequent resistance at Nandigram were an effect of neoliberal policies, policies that had been pursued by both the central and state governments in India since the 1990s. Resistance at Nandigram was explained as a broad movement that involved the peasantry and adivasi, but also the civil society groups that opposed neoliberal policies. However, as this thesis demonstrates, the peasantry at Nandigram rarely articulated their resistance as 'against' neoliberalism, and there was little consciousness of the movement challenging neoliberal policies. Rather, it was the local conditions and history of the area that informed their resistance. Amongst intellectuals and civil society, only a minority connected resistance at Nandigram to the wider issue of neoliberalism. The dominant perspective of these groups was that land acquisition policies, and neoliberal reforms in general, were necessary for the development of West Bengal. They criticised the CPI-M only for badly managing the process of land acquisition. The neoliberal consensus extended to the West Bengal political parties, muting serious debate over the economic direction of the state. The discourse of the political parties was limited to allegations of corruption, violence and criminality. Therefore, an investigation of how people in West Bengal viewed the resistance at Nandigram shows that discontent was not generally articulated in opposition to neoliberal polices. Rather, local politics and local issues had a more immediate effect on people's views, focusing discontent on the governance of the CPI-M. This resulted in the resistance at Nandigram evolving into a movement that sought to challenge the continued rule of the CPI-M in West Bengal

Energy intake and energy balance in New Zealand elite female football academy players : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Nutrition and Dietetics, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Background: Energy is a fundamental requirement for all biological processes, making adequate dietary energy intake (EI) critical to the health and athletic performance of athletes. Playing football at the elite level is an energetically expensive activity. Research in female footballers is limited; however, due to the negative consequences of being in a state of problematic low energy availability (pLEA), further investigation is needed to assess the adequacy of female footballers’ EI in supporting physiological function and demands of training. Objectives: Determine the energy intake (EI) and energy balance (EB) of elite under 20 female Football Academy players in New Zealand and if low carbohydrate (CHO) intake is a factor that increases the risk of low EB. Methods: Twenty-four female footballers who were part of the Wellington Phoenix U20 Football Academy team in New Zealand participated in this study. Participants were asked to complete a three-day dietary record on one light training day, one heavy training day, and one pre-game rest day. Energy intake was analysed via Foodworks V.1.0 software. For training, exercise energy expenditure (EEE) was estimated using a human motion tracking device (Playermaker, Israel). Paired sample t-tests or Wilcoxon Signed Rank test (non-parametric data) were utilised for comparisons between EI, EEE and EB on different training days. Significance was determined by a p-value of < 0.05. Results: The average EI for participants on light training, heavy training, and pre-game rest days was 1758.7 ± 549.5 kcal, 1910.1 ± 611.2 kcal and 1805.8 ± 533.2 kcal respectively, with no significant differences in EI between training days. The average relative carbohydrate intake ranged between 1.4 – 6.7 g‧kg- ¹ across all training days, failing to collectively meet sports nutrition recommendations. The average EB across all training days was 297.1 ± 491.6 kcal with no significant differences between days of data collection. Across the three training days, 25.0% of female development players were in a negative EB. A very strong, significant positive correlation was found between average EI and average EB (R=0.980, n=24, P=<0.01). There was no significant correlation found between average EI and average EEE (p=0.909) or average EEE and average EB (p=0.538). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that female footballers fail to match their EI to their EEE, and a high proportion of players at the elite development level in New Zealand are in a negative EB, which could increase their risk of pLEA

The transient behaviour of through-flowing gravity currents interacting with a roughness array

We present laboratory experiments that investigate the structure and flow characteristics of gravity currents travelling through an array of roughness elements. The roughness elements are of comparable height to the gravity current such that the current flows through the roughness array rather than over it. The frontal velocity and density structure are measured as the current transitions from flowing along a smooth bed to flowing through the roughness array, and then back to a smooth bed. We find that, upon entering the roughness array, the gravity current decelerates and the density structure changes from the head and tail structure typical of smooth bed gravity currents, to a wedge shape. A model is presented that explains the deceleration and change in shape based on a dynamic balance between a pressure gradient within the current tail and a drag force associated with individual roughness elements. This model accurately predicts the deceleration of the gravity current, supporting the proposed dynamic balance.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review of Fluids. 19 pages, 16 figure