Harmonizing agriculture and health sector actions to improve household nutrition: policy experiences from Afghanistan (2002–2007)

Coordination across sectors to address undernutrition with its varied underlying causes remains a challenge in developing countries. In Afghanistan, harmonization of health and agriculture policies and actions to reduce endemic undernutrition occurred during 2002-2007. This qualitative case study explores the forms of harmonization, enabling features and constraints in the policy process. We interviewed 57 stakeholders (39 central level, 18 provincial) involved in public nutrition or food security issues. Forms of harmonization included written policies, reseach, training and advocacy. Important features of the policy process included: policy entrepreneurs with operational and strategic capacity, consensus-building using a shared causal framework, working groups and strategic alliances. This case presents an interesting alternative to a national nutrition coordinating body, an approach that has met with mixed results, often due to the lack of authority, budget, and operational capacity of such a body to oversee ministries and enforce national nutrition objectives. Mid-level professionals mobilized into task forces achieved much with the support of national and international partners. This study highlights the importance of building capacity for sustaining change through local institutions.     

Workshops and short courses

If you wanted to contribute to Microwave Week 2009, you had several opportunities beyond a standard paper submission: you could offer a serious short course if you were an established expert in your field or you could organize a workshop for colleagues in your field. New for International Microwave Symposium (IMS) 2009, workshops and short courses were solicited through a call for proposals in each area. These solicitations contain detailed information, and both are still readily accessible at www.ims2009.org.     

Direct Determination of Energy Band Alignments of Ni/Al2O3/GaN MOS Structures Using Internal Photoemission Spectroscopy

The energy band alignments of Ni/Al₂O₃/GaN heterostructures have been explored by internal photoemission (IPE) and capacitance–voltage (CV) measurements. By performing IPE measurements at both reverse- and forward-bias conditions, the Ni/Al₂O₃ Schottky barrier is found to be 2.9 ± 0.1 eV with the presence of a strong image force lowering effect, while the Al₂O₃/GaN conduction-band offset is determined to be 2.2 ± 0.1 eV and is insensitive to oxide electrical field. CV-based flat-band voltage analysis has further been performed on samples with different oxide thicknesses, not only confirming the IPE-measured band alignment but also revealing the presence of 3.0 × 10¹² cm^-2 net positive charge at the Al₂O₃/GaN interface.     

Leaky-wave propagation and radiation for a narrow-beammultiple-layer dielectric structure

Previous work has demonstrated that very narrow beam radiation patterns can be obtained from a simple source embedded within multiple dielectric layers of appropriate thicknesses above a ground plane. The configuration consists of dielectric layers having permittivities ϵ₁ and ϵ₂ stacked in an alternating arrangement, with ϵ₂>ϵ₁. This narrow-beam effect can be attributed to weakly attenuated leaky waves that exist on the structure. Simple asymptotic formulas for the propagation and attenuation constants are derived. The formulas show how the beamwidth varies with the number of layers and the material constants. The exact radiation pattern is compared with the leaky-wave pattern for a specific case to demonstrate the role of the leaky waves in determining the total pattern     

Spatially-multiplexed fibre-optic Bragg grating strain andtemperature sensor system based on interferometric wavelength-shiftdetection

A prototype fibre-optic system using interferometric wavelength-shift detection, capable of multiplexing up to 32 fibre-optic Bragg grating strain and temperature sensors with identical characteristics, has been demonstrated. This system is based on a spatially multiplexed scheme for use with fibre-based low-coherence interferometric sensors, reported previously. Four fibre-optic Bragg grating channels using the same fibre grating have been demonstrated for measuring quasi-static strain and temperature     

Confidence bounds on respiratory mechanical properties estimatedfrom transfer versus input impedance in humans versus dogs

Using parameters typical of a dog, we have shown that estimates for the parameters in the six-element model of Dubois et al. would be very unreliable if either input (Z(in)) or transfer (Ztr) data from only 2-32 Hz were fit. It has subsequently been shown that this model is not appropriate for human Z(in) from 2-320 Hz. However, several studies have continued to apply the model to human Ztr data from only 2-32 Hz. In this study a sensitivity analysis is used to determine whether and why the six-element model could be applicable to lower frequency (less than 64 Hz) Ztr data in humans, but not Z(in) data over any frequency range. We first predicted the joint parameter uncertainty bounds assuming a fit to either 2-32 Hz Z(in) or Ztr data created from literature based mean parameter values. Consistent with previous studies, we predicted that the estimates will be very unreliable if obtained from Z(in) data for humans or dogs, or from Ztr data from dogs. Surprisingly, however, the reliability of several parameter estimates from human Ztr data from only 2-32 Hz are reasonable. We next evaluated the variability in 2-64 Hz based Ztr parameter estimates by comparing experimental variability in two healthy human subjects (over 10 and 13 trials) to theoretical and Monte Carlo numerical predictions based on a single trial. Again, the Ztr parameters were reliable. A simulation study was used to describe the reasons for enhanced reliability when using human Ztr data. It is shown that this reliability is largely dependent on alveolar gas compressibility, Cg.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Pentacene-based organic thin-film transistors

Organic thin-film transistors using the fused-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pentacene as the active electronic material have shown mobility as large as 0.7 cm²/V-s and on/off current ratio larger than 10⁸; both values are comparable to hydrogenated amorphous silicon devices. On the other hand, these and most other organic TFT's have an undesirably large subthreshold slope. We show here that the large subthreshold slope typically observed is not an intrinsic property of the organic semiconducting material and that devices with subthreshold slope similar to amorphous silicon devices are possible     

Estimation of surface snow properties using combined millimeter-wave backscatter and near-infrared reflectance measurements

Knowledge of surficial snow properties such as grain size, surface roughness, and free-water content provides clues to the metamorphic state of snow on the ground, which in turn yields information on weathering processes and climatic activity. Remote sensing techniques using combined concurrent measurements of near-infrared passive reflectance and millimeter-wave radar backscatter show promise in estimating the above snow parameters. Near-infrared reflectance is strongly dependent on snow grain size and free-water content, while millimeter-wave backscatter is primarily dependent on free-water content and, to some extent, on the surface roughness. A neural-network based inversion algorithm has been developed that optimally combines near-infrared and millimeter-wave measurements for accurate estimation of the relevant snow properties. The algorithm uses reflectances at wavelengths of 1160 nm, 1260 nm and 1360 nm, as well as co-polarized and cross-polarized backscatter at a frequency of 95 GHz. The inversion algorithm has been tested using simulated data, and is seen to perform well under noise-free conditions. Under noise-added conditions, a signal-to-noise ratio of 32 dB or greater ensures acceptable errors in snow parameter estimation.     

Optical transmission characteristics of fiber ring resonators

We present the results of an experimental investigation of the transfer characteristics of a fiber ring resonator for various values of the resonator finesse. In particular, we measure the spectral dependence of the intensity transmission and the induced phase shift in the undercoupled, critically coupled, and overcoupled regimes. We also demonstrate tunable optical (true time) group delay via a fiber ring resonator and show that a high finesse is unnecessary. Our laboratory results are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions.     

Fundamental properties of radiation from a leaky mode excited on a planar transmission line

By using a specific normalization, it is shown that the TM/sub 0/ radiation field from a leaky mode that is excited by a source on any printed-circuit structure can be represented in a unified manner. The general properties of the normalized leaky-mode radiation field are examined in detail for a variety of phase and attenuation constants, as well as distances from the source, and for different types of source excitations. The normalized leaky-mode radiation field is compared to similarly normalized geometrical-optics and far-field radiation expressions to provide further insight into the nature of the radiation fields in the near- and far-field regions. The results provide a general view of leaky-mode radiation properties independent of the type of planar transmission line or background structure.