scholarly journals Using VIIRS nightlights to estimate the impact of the 2015 Nepal earthquakes

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Tveit ◽  
Emmanuel Skoufias ◽  
Eric Strobl

AbstractWe use Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) nightlight data to model the impact of the 2015 Nepal earthquakes. More specifically, the data—showing nightlight emissions—are used to examine the extent to which there is a difference in nightlight intensity between cells damaged in the earthquake versus undamaged cells based on (1) mean comparisons; and (2) fixed effect regression models akin to the double difference method. The analysis is carried out for the entire country as well as smaller regions in and around the Central area and Kathmandu, which were the hardest hit areas. Overall, the regressions find a significant and negative effect from the initial shock, followed by a positive net effect from aid and relief efforts, which is consistent with what one would expect to find. However, the mean analysis results are inconclusive and there is substantial noise in the nightlight measurements due to how the values are produced and persistent cloud cover over Nepal.

Author(s):  
Tara M. Harrison ◽  
Samantha Morello ◽  
Kenneth Royal ◽  
Olivia Petritz ◽  
Amy Snyder

Abstract OBJECTIVE To evaluate income and family planning decisions of American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM) diplomates. SAMPLE 98 ACZM diplomates. PROCEDURES An online survey was sent to 201 ACZM diplomates. Participation was voluntary. RESULTS 98 (49%) diplomates responded to the survey. The most commonly reported income categories were $90,000 to $94,999, $100,000 to $104,999, and $110,000 to $114,999. Overall, the mean of the salary-category midpoint responses was $105,357 but was $122,917 for those in academia and $94,508 for those working in zoos and aquaria. When incomes of males and females were matched (24 pairs matched for gender and age), no difference in income was observed. There were no significant differences in income between males and females with and without children. Diplomates who did not complete a residency had significantly higher incomes than diplomates who did. Sixteen of 21 (76%) females and 9 of 19 (47%) males reported delaying having children because of their career. Additionally, a higher percentage of females with children (13/20 [65%]) than males with children (3/19 [16%]) felt that having children had had a negative effect on their career. Thirty-five of 41 (85%) females without children and 4 of 9 (44%) males without children thought having children would have negatively affected their careers. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Although substantial differences in income between female and male ACZM diplomates were not identified, differences in family planning and perceptions of the impact of having children on their careers did exist.


2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 487-493
Author(s):  
J Beach ◽  
N Cherry

Abstract Background The Foundation Course in Occupational Medicine for community-based physicians was started in Alberta in 2012 and has since been implemented across Canada. As part of the evaluation of the first 4 years, two studies were initiated to assess the impact of the course on assessment of work-relatedness and case-reporting. Aims To determine whether assessment of work-relatedness, intention to report cases and number of cases reported to the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) changed during/after the course. Methods In study 1, course participants were asked to rate scenarios describing ill-health potentially resulting from work. They rated work-relatedness on a visual analogue scale and recorded whether they would report to the WCB. Assessments were made before the course started, after course completion or both. In study 2, numbers of reports to the WCB were documented for physicians giving consent, both for Foundation Course participants and a comparison group of community-based physicians. Multilevel regression models were fitted to allow for potential confounders and clustering within respondent. Results Among 102 physicians completing at least one set of scenario assessments, ratings of work-relatedness (β = 6.5; 95% CI 2.6–10.4) and likelihood of reporting to the WCB (OR = 1.9; 95% CI 1.2–3.1) increased significantly post-course. The mean annual number of cases reported to the WCB increased from 91.8 to 125.7 among the 35 Alberta physicians included in study 2. This change was only significant (P < 0.05) on a one-sided test. Conclusion The two evaluative studies showed good evidence of changes in perceptions and intentions but only weak evidence of behavioural change.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1857
Author(s):  
Akira Obana ◽  
Yuko Gohto ◽  
Ryo Asaoka ◽  
Werner Gellermann ◽  
Paul S. Bernstein

The macular pigment consisting of lutein (L) and zeaxanthin (Z) protects photoreceptors via its antioxidative and barrier activities. This study aimed to determine L and Z distribution in the healthy macula and their association with various demographic factors. Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) was measured using fundus autofluorescence spectroscopy in 352 pseudophakic eyes with no fundus diseases. Pseudophakia was chosen to avoid the influence of cataract in the measurement of fundus autofluorescence. The mean patient age was 72.3 ± 8.6 years. MPOD was analyzed separately in three zones, i.e., A: a central area within a radius of 0.5°, mainly containing Z; B: a ring area with radii from 0.5° to 1.3°, containing Z and L; C: a ring area with radii from 1.3° to 9°, containing L. Multivariate analyses were performed with MPOD as the dependent variable and sex, supplement intake, smoking habits, glaucoma, diabetes, age, body mass index (BMI), skin carotenoid levels, retinal thickness, retinal volume, axial length as the independent variables. The mean total MPOD volume within 9° eccentricity was 20,121 ± 6293. Age was positively associated with MPOD in all zones. Supplement and BMI were positively and negatively associated with MPOD in zones B and C. Smoking was negatively associated with MPOD in zone A. This study revealed the standard MP values of aged Japanese, which resulted to be higher than the previously reported values in other races. Age was found to have a positive association with MP values. L in the outer foveola was affected by BMI and supplements, but Z in the foveola was not. The amount of Z in the Müller cell cone may not be changed easily by factors such as hunger and satiety in the context of preservation of homeostasis in the human body, but tobacco had a negative effect on Z.


1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 197-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan Steel

AbstractWhilst lithopanspermia depends upon massive impacts occurring at a speed above some limit, the intact delivery of organic chemicals or other volatiles to a planet requires the impact speed to be below some other limit such that a significant fraction of that material escapes destruction. Thus the two opposite ends of the impact speed distributions are the regions of interest in the bioastronomical context, whereas much modelling work on impacts delivers, or makes use of, only the mean speed. Here the probability distributions of impact speeds upon Mars are calculated for (i) the orbital distribution of known asteroids; and (ii) the expected distribution of near-parabolic cometary orbits. It is found that cometary impacts are far more likely to eject rocks from Mars (over 99 percent of the cometary impacts are at speeds above 20 km/sec, but at most 5 percent of the asteroidal impacts); paradoxically, the objects impacting at speeds low enough to make organic/volatile survival possible (the asteroids) are those which are depleted in such species.


Author(s):  
Julie L. Wambaugh ◽  
Lydia Kallhoff ◽  
Christina Nessler

Purpose This study was designed to examine the association of dosage and effects of Sound Production Treatment (SPT) for acquired apraxia of speech. Method Treatment logs and probe data from 20 speakers with apraxia of speech and aphasia were submitted to a retrospective analysis. The number of treatment sessions and teaching episodes was examined relative to (a) change in articulation accuracy above baseline performance, (b) mastery of production, and (c) maintenance. The impact of practice schedule (SPT-Blocked vs. SPT-Random) was also examined. Results The average number of treatment sessions conducted prior to change was 5.4 for SPT-Blocked and 3.9 for SPT-Random. The mean number of teaching episodes preceding change was 334 for SPT-Blocked and 179 for SPT-Random. Mastery occurred within an average of 13.7 sessions (1,252 teaching episodes) and 12.4 sessions (1,082 teaching episodes) for SPT-Blocked and SPT-Random, respectively. Comparisons of dosage metric values across practice schedules did not reveal substantial differences. Significant negative correlations were found between follow-up probe performance and the dosage metrics. Conclusions Only a few treatment sessions were needed to achieve initial positive changes in articulation, with mastery occurring within 12–14 sessions for the majority of participants. Earlier occurrence of change or mastery was associated with better follow-up performance. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12592190


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi E. Rademacher

Promoting the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was a key objective of the transnational women's movement of the 1980s and 1990s. Yet, few studies examine what factors contribute to ratification. The small body of literature on this topic comes from a world-society perspective, which suggests that CEDAW represented a global shift toward women's rights and that ratification increased as international NGOs proliferated. However, this framing fails to consider whether diffusion varies in a stratified world-system. I combine world-society and world-systems approaches, adding to the literature by examining the impact of women's and human rights transnational social movement organizations on CEDAW ratification at varied world-system positions. The findings illustrate the complex strengths and limitations of a global movement, with such organizations having a negative effect on ratification among core nations, a positive effect in the semiperiphery, and no effect among periphery nations. This suggests that the impact of mobilization was neither a universal application of global scripts nor simply representative of the broad domination of core nations, but a complex and diverse result of civil society actors embedded in a politically stratified world.


GIS Business ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-98
Author(s):  
Idoko Peter

This research the impact of competitive quasi market on service delivery in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria. Both primary and secondary source of data and information were used for the study and questionnaire was used to extract information from the purposively selected respondents. The population for this study is one hundred and seventy three (173) administrative staff of Benue State University selected at random. The statistical tools employed was the classical ordinary least square (OLS) and the probability value of the estimates was used to tests hypotheses of the study. The result of the study indicates that a positive relationship exist between Competitive quasi marketing in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (CQM) and Transparency in the service delivery (TRSP) and the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.05). Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) has a negative effect on Observe Competence in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (OBCP) and the relationship is not statistically significant (p>0.05). Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) has a positive effect on Innovation in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (INVO) and the relationship is statistically significant (p<0.05) and in line with a priori expectation. This means that a unit increases in Competitive quasi marketing (CQM) will result to a corresponding increase in innovation in Benue State University, Makurdi Nigeria (INVO) by a margin of 22.5%. It was concluded that government monopoly in the provision of certain types of services has greatly affected the quality of service experience in the institution. It was recommended among others that the stakeholders in the market has to be transparent so that the system will be productive to serve the society effectively


2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-125

The present study concerns the impact of a change in the rainfall regime on surface and groundwater resources in an experimental watershed. The research is conducted in a gauged mountainous watershed (15.18 km2) that is located on the eastern side of Penteli Mountain, in the prefecture of Attica, Greece and the study period concerns the years from 2003 to 2008. The decrease in the annual rainfall depth during the last two hydrological years 2006-2007, 2007-2008 is 10% and 35%, respectively, in relation to the average of the previous years. In addition, the monthly distribution of rainfall is characterized by a distinct decrease in winter rainfall volume. The field measurements show that this change in rainfall conditions has a direct impact on the surface runoff of the watershed, as well as on the groundwater reserves. The mean annual runoff in the last two hydrological years has decreased by 56% and 75% in relation to the average of the previous years. Moreover, the groundwater level follows a declining trend and has dropped significantly in the last two years.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-71
Author(s):  
Wigiyanti Masodah

Offering credit is the main activity of a Bank. There are some considerations when a bank offers credit, that includes Interest Rates, Inflation, and NPL. This study aims to find out the impact of Variable Interest Rates, Inflation variables and NPL variables on credit disbursed. The object in this study is state-owned banks. The method of analysis in this study uses multiple linear regression models. The results of the study have shown that Interest Rates and NPL gave some negative impacts on the given credit. Meanwhile, Inflation variable does not have a significant effect on credit given. Keywords: Interest Rate, Inflation, NPL, offered Credit.


2019 ◽  
pp. 50-57
Author(s):  
Yu. V. Vertakova ◽  
A. S. Evtyukhin

The presented study addresses the issues of implementation of an import substitution policy in the Russian oil industry. Support of domestic production is a key objective specified in the message of the President of the Russian Federation in 2019. In light of the current economic situation and considering the importance of the oil industry for the Russian economy, an import substitution policy could help achieve the objective set by the President.Aim. The study aims to identify the problems and ways of implementation of an import substitution policy in the Russian oil industry.Tasks. The authors analyze scientific publications on import substitution and the state of the Russian oil industry at the current stage of development; determine the directions and fundamental trends in the development of the oil industry; identify obstacles that hinder the implementation of an import substitution policy in the oil industry; describe conditions that facilitate the development of the  investment process in the oil industry; propose comprehensive methods and ways to intensify investments and optimize costs for enterprises in the oil industry.Methods. This study uses general scientific methods of cognition, comparative and statistical analysis to identify problems in the implementation of an import substitution policy in the oil industry.Results. Examination of the current state and development prospects of the oil industry allows the authors to identify obstacles to the development of import substitution. The study shows their impact on the potential of import substitution, which has a negative effect on the prospects of intensification of investment processes, and proposes comprehensive methods and mechanisms that could neutralize the impact of the identified obstacles, thus facilitating the formation of a positive investment climate. Conclusions. Investment climate is shown to have a decisive impact on the potential of import substitution in the Russian oil industry, and ways of overcoming negative trends in the development of the oil industry are proposed.


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