Provincial mortality in South Africa, 2000 - priority-setting for now and a benchmark for the future

Background. Cause-of-death statistics are an essential component of health information. Despite improvements, underregistration and misclassification of causes make it difficult to interpret the official death statistics. Objective. To estimate consistent cause-specific death rates for the year 2000 and to identify the leading causes of death and premature mortality in the provinces. Methods. Total number of deaths and population size were estimated using the Actuarial Society of South Africa ASSA2000 AIDS and demographic model. Cause-of-death profiles based on Statistics South Africa's 15% sample, adjusted for misclassification of deaths due to ill-defined causes and AIDS deaths due to indicator conditions, were applied to the total deaths by age and sex. Age-standardised rates and years of life lost were calculated using age weighting and discounting. Results. Life expectancy in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga is about 10 years lower than that in the Western Cape, the province with the lowest mortality rate. HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of premature mortality for all provinces. Mortality due to pre-transitional causes, such as diarrhoea, is more pronounced in the poorer and more rural provinces. In contrast, non-communicable disease mortality is similar across all provinces, although the cause profiles differ. Injury mortality rates are particularly high in provinces with large metropolitan areas and in Mpumalanga. Conclusion. The quadruple burden experienced in all provinces requires a broad range of interventions, including improved access to health care; ensuring that basic needs such as those related to water and sanitation are met; disease and injury prevention; and promotion of a healthy lifestyle. High death rates as a result of HIV/AIDS highlight the urgent need to accelerate the implementation of the treatment and prevention plan. In addition, there is an urgent need to improve the cause-of-death data system to provide reliable cause-of-death statistics at health district level.

An international benchmark for the Australian OHS Body of Knowledge (BoK)

Benchmarking was used to compare the Australian SIA’s (Safety Institute of Australia) OHS BoK with three different approaches to systemize the knowledge that should be taught by universities. The Australian Health and Safety Professionals Alliance (HaSPA) Core Body of Knowledge for Generalist OHS Professionals was benchmarked against three other international bodies of knowledge, the German Ergonomic Society’s Body of Knowledge Ergonomics – Core Definition, Object Catalogue and Research Domains, the IEEE Computer Society Software Engineering Body of Knowledge and the American ‘Association of Schools of Public Health’ Master’s Degree in Public Health Core Competency Model. It was found that quality, structure and content of the OHS BoK ranked lowest when compared with the other benchmarked documents. The HaSPA body of knowledge was ranked poorly when compared to the German Ergonomic Society’s Body of Knowledge for Ergonomics, IEEE Computer Society Software Engineering Body of Knowledge and the American Association of Schools of Public Health Core Competency Model. Analysis and discussion of the HaSPA BoK is important given its use as an audit tool for tertiary education in Australia. Furthermore the International Network of Safety & Health Practitioner Organisations (INSHPO) is apparently promoting the Australian SIA’s OHS BoK as the basis of an international standard.

A benchmark for numerical scheme validation of airborne particle exposure in street canyons

Measurements of particle concentrations and distributions in terms of number, surface area, and mass were performed simultaneously at eight sampling points within a symmetric street canyon of an Italian city. The aim was to obtain a useful benchmark for validation of wind tunnel experiments and numerical schemes: to this purpose, the influence of wind directions and speeds was considered. Particle number concentrations (PNCs) were higher on the leeward side than the windward side of the street canyon due to the wind vortex effect. Different vertical PNC profiles were observed between the two canyon sides depending on the wind direction and speed at roof level. A decrease in particle concentrations was observed with increasing rooftop wind speed, except for the coarse fraction indicating a possible particle resuspension due to the traffic and wind motion. This study confirms that particle concentration fields in urban street canyons are strongly influenced by traffic emissions and meteorological parameters, especially wind direction and speed.

Formative evaluation to benchmark and improve climate-based decision support for graziers in Western Queelsland

Researchers developing climate-based forecasts, workshops, software tools and information to aid grazier decisions undertook an evaluation study to enhance planning and benchmark impact. One hundred graziers in Western Queensland were randomly selected from 7 shires and surveyed by mail and telephone (43 respondents) to explore levels of knowledge and use of climate information, practices and information needs. We found 36% of respondents apply the Southern Oscillation Index to property decisions but 92% were unaware El Niño Southern Oscillation’s predictive signal in the region is greater for pasture growth than rainfall, suggesting they may not recognise the potential of pasture growth forecasts. Almost 75% of graziers consider they are conservative or risk averse in their attitude to managing their enterprise. Mail respondents (n= 20) if given a 68%, on average, probability of exceeding median rainfall forecast may change a decision; almost two-thirds vary stocking rate based on forage available, last year’s pasture growth or the Southern Oscillation Index; the balance maintain a constant stocking rate strategy; 90% have access to a computer; 75% to the internet and 95% have a fax. This paper presents findings of the study and draws comparisons with a similar study of 174 irrigators in the Northern Murray-Darling Basin (Aust. J. Exp. Ag. 44, 247-257). New insights and information gained are helping the team better understand client needs and plan, design and extend tools and information tailored to grazier knowledge, practice, information needs and preferences. Results have also provided a benchmark against which to measure project impact and have influenced the team to make important changes to their project planning, activities and methods for transferring technology tailored to grazier preferences.

Optimal dynamic inversion-based semi-active control of benchmark bridge using MR dampers

A new two-stage state feedback control design approach has been developed to monitor the voltage supplied to magnetorheological (MR) dampers for semi-active vibration control of the benchmark highway bridge. The first stage contains a primary controller, which provides the force required to obtain a desired closed-loop response of the system. In the second stage, an optimal dynamic inversion (ODI) approach has been developed to obtain the amount of voltage to be supplied to each of the MR dampers such that it provides the required force prescribed by the primary controller. ODI is formulated by optimization with dynamic inversion, such that an optimal voltage is supplied to each damper in a set. The proposed control design has been simulated for both phase-I and phase-II study of the recently developed benchmark highway bridge problem. The efficiency of the proposed controller is analyzed in terms of the performance indices defined in the benchmark problem definition. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach generally reduces peak response quantities over those obtained from the sample semi-active controller, although some response quantities have been seen to be increasing. Overall, the proposed control approach is quite competitive as compared with the sample semi-active control approach.

Benchmark scenarios for the NMSSM

We discuss constrained and semi--constrained versions of the next--to--minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (NMSSM) in which a singlet Higgs superfield is added to the two doublet superfields that are present in the minimal extension (MSSM). This leads to a richer Higgs and neutralino spectrum and allows for many interesting phenomena that are not present in the MSSM. In particular, light Higgs particles are still allowed by current constraints and could appear as decay products of the heavier Higgs states, rendering their search rather difficult at the LHC. We propose benchmark scenarios which address the new phenomenological features, consistent with present constraints from colliders and with the dark matter relic density, and with (semi--)universal soft terms at the GUT scale. We present the corresponding spectra for the Higgs particles, their couplings to gauge bosons and fermions and their most important decay branching ratios. A brief survey of the search strategies for these states at the LHC is given.

Benchmark Control Problem for Highway Bridge based on FLC

Fuzzy logic control (FLC) systems have been applied as an effective control system in various fields, including vibration control of structures. The advantage of this approach is its inherent robustness and ability to handle non‐linearities and uncertainties in structural behavior and loading. The study evaluates the three‐dimensional benchmark control problem for a seismically excited highway bridge using an ANFIS driven hydraulic actuators. An ANN based training strategy that considers both velocity and acceleration feedback together with a fuzzy logic rule base is developed. Present study needs only 4 accelerometers and 4 fuzzy rule bases to determine the control force, instead of 8 accelerometers and 4 displacement transducers used in the benchmark study problem. The results obtained are better than that obtained from the benchmark control algorithm.

Benchmark analytical solutions from beams with shared eigenpair

Structures with governing equations having identical inertial terms but somewhat differing stiffness terms can be termed flexurally analogous. An example of such a structure includes an axially loaded non-uniform beam and an unloaded uniform beam, for which an exact solution exists. We find that there exist shared eigenpairs (frequency and mode shapes) for a particular mode between such structures. Non-uniform beams with uniform axial loads, gravity loaded beams and rotating beams are considered and shared eigenpairs with uniform beams are found. In general, the derived flexural stiffness functions (FSF's) for the non-uniform beams required for the existence of shared eigenpair have internal singularities, but some of the singularities can be removed by an appropriate selection of integration constants using the theory of limits. The derived functions yield an insight into the relationship between the axial load and flexural stiffness of axially loaded beam structures. The derived functions can serve as benchmark solutions for numerical methods. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sapientia (Índice general)

Contenido: Índice general de autores y materias. Año I, 1946 - Año X, 1955

Sapientia, 1972, Vol. XXVII, nº 104 (Índice general)

Contenido: Índice general de autores y materias. Año I, 1946 – Año XXV, 1970

Determinación del índice de área foliar, radiación solar no interceptada por especies forestales y concentración de magnesio en hojas de café (Coffea arabica L.) en sistemas agroforestales, localizados en Masaya, Nicaragua

La presente investigación se realizó en sistemas agroforestales con Café Coffea arábiga L.)en el Municipio de Masatepe, Nicaragua, determinando el índice de área foliar, radiación solar no interceptada por especies forestales y concentración de magnesio en hojas de Café. Para determinar índice de área foliar se utilizó una metodología no destructiva y una destructiva; la medición no destructiva se basó en la técnica de fotografías hemisféricas para lo cual se utilizó una cámara Nikon Coolpix 4500 que permitió tomar fotografías de cuatro árboles de Samanea saman, Inga laurina, Simarouba glauca, Tabebuia rosea respectivamente. Porcada árbol se tomaron cuatro imágenes sobre lados opuestos del tronco (Norte, Sur, Este y Oeste), para el análisis de fotografías hemisféricas se empleó el software Gap Light Analyzer. Para contrastar la medición de índice de área foliar por método no destructivo (fotografías hemisféricas) se empleó un método destructivo basado en la recolección de 300 hojas, se tomó el peso húmedo del total de hojas de cada uno de los árboles en estudio. Del total de hojas de cada árbol se pesaron separadamente tres muestras; utilizando el planímetro LI-3000 se calculó en cada caso el área de la hoja. Una vez obtenida el área foliar de la hoja, las muestras se secaron en horno a 65° C, durante 72 h y promediadas para obtener biomasa del follaje. Dividiendo el área foliar de las muestras entre su peso seco se obtuvo el área foliar específica, posteriormente el promedio de área foliar específica de las muestras multiplicado por el peso seco total de hojas permitió calcular el área foliar del árbol. Finalmente, se obtuvo el índice de área foliar dividiendo área foliar entre el área de suelo asignada . La medición de la cantidad de radiación incidente sobre el follaje de las plantas de Café se realizó en la réplica II en CENECOOP en dos puntos de muestreo; el criterio de selección de los sitios se basó en la combinación de árboles ubicados diagonalmente y en la uniformidad de distancia entre las especies para la combinación T. rosea + S. glaucae I. laurina + S. saman. En esta réplica se realizaron análisis del contenido de magnesio en hojas de Café en las subparcelas 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 y 12 más dos muestras testigos en las subparcelas 13 y 14 a pleno sol. El índice de área foliar promedio para especies tropicales estimado por el método destructivo fue de 2,52 y por el método no destructivo fue de 0,85; debido a estas diferencias es necesario aplicar un factor de corrección o calibración al método no destructivo para validar ambos resultados. En la combinación I. laurina + S. saman se detectó un mayor paso de radiación solar al cafetal (29911,11lux) posiblemente debido a las características morfológicas del dosel. La concentración de magnesio más alta es de 2% la cual se encontró en las hojas de Café de la combinación T. rosea + S. glauca en nivel de insumo orgánico moderado.

Biocombustíveis, renda e alimentos

Consultoria Legislativa - Área XII - Recursos Minerais, Hídricos e Energéticos.

Assinatura básica de telefonia fixa

Analisa os dispositivos legais e os argumentos técnicos que fundamentam a manutenção e o reajustamento da tarifa básica de telefonia fixa. Apresenta as iniciativas legislativas em tramitação na Câmara dos Deputados que visam alterar a sistemática da cobrança da tarifa básica.

A subvenção econômica aos consumidores de energia elétrica de baixa renda

Consultoria Legislativa - Área XII - Recursos Minerais, Hídricos e Energéticos.