A study of the relationship between the poetry and criticism of Ezra Pound 1908-1920

From the preface: The purpose of this thesis is exposition rather than criticism. Pound's position in the hierarchy of the 'New Criticism' would provide an extremely interesting subject; but I have rather tried to outline; the standards which he has laid down as being central in the technics of good poetry and to show how closely he has adhered to them in his own verse. I have limited the period to be discussed because all of the essential principles which he employs in his writing after 1920 are discernible in the body of his work published before that date

Improved pharmaceutical impurity determination via comprehensive 2D-LC temperature-responsive x reversed phase liquid chromatography

Due to the increasing complexity of pharmaceutical drug formulations, as e.g. used in combination therapies, assessment of the active ingredients and of the thereby related impurities is becoming an ever more challenging task by conventional 1-dimensional chromatographic separation techniques. This because baseline separation of all solutes in complex samples can thereby not be obtained anymore, while the impurities typically arising at very low concentrations require also sensitive detection to enable their identification and quantification following current regulations.1 In order to address limited peak capacities, comprehensive 2-dimensional LCxLC approaches are increasingly used to analyse natural and synthetic samples of high complexity. Although the possibilities of LCxLC have been incrementally improving, overall many of the current approaches are limited in their robustness, characterized by modulation problems, too low orthogonality and undersampling.2 Especially the modulation issue often becomes visible in form of solvent immiscibility and excessive eluting strength issues, leading to e.g. peak broadening, decreased sensitivity and repeatability issues. Only a few comprehensive LCxLC modes, all using purely aqueous separation modes in the first dimension, are today exempted from these concerns. One of those is the recently introduced combination of temperature-responsive chromatography with reversed phase liquid chromatography (TRLCxRPLC).3 Such temperature responsive phases thereby depict an adaptable hydrophobicity and hence retention characteristics as a function of temperature. A main benefit of the approach is that it forgoes the need for the addition of organic solvents to the mobile phase. This new separation technique inherently reduces the methodical complexity of multidimensional LC, by allowing problem free modulation when using a conventional loop based 10-port valve and a purely aqueous mobile phase in the first dimension. This on the one hand allows for the transfer of high sample volumes from the first to the second dimension with near perfect peak refocussing, and on the other hand can facilitate more sensitive detection compared to conventional LCxLC approaches, which often require miniaturization of the first dimension. The possibilities offered by TRLCxRPLC in terms of selectivity, sensitivity, peak capacities and quantitative potential are assessed for improved separation of pharmaceutical mixtures. Therefore, synthetic mixtures of structurally similar pharmaceutical compounds are investigated, while optimizing the first and second dimension to optimally use the given separation space and the added selectivity. Additionally, several column (core-shell) chemistries are assessed in the second dimension

Protocol for a scoping review of existing policies on the prevention and control of obesity across countries in Africa

INTRODUCTION: The obesity epidemic is a public health challenge for all, including low-income countries. The behavioural patterns known to contribute to the rise in obesity prevalence occur in an environmental context which is not conducive for healthy choices. A policy approach to obesity prevention constitutes a form of public intervention in that it extends beyond individuals to influence entire populations and is a mechanism for creating healthier environments. Little is known about obesity prevention policies in Africa. This scoping review seeks to examine the nature, extent and range of policies covering obesity prevention in Africa in order to assess how they align with international efforts in creating less obesogenic environments. This will help identify gaps in the approaches that are adopted in Africa. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Using the Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping methodological framework as a guide, a comprehensive search of MEDLINE (PubMed), MEDLINE (EbscoHost) CINAHL (EbscoHost), Academic Search Complete (EbscoHost) and ISI Web of Science (Science Citation Index) databases will be carried out for peer reviewed journal articles related to obesity prevention policies using the African search filter. A grey literature search for policy documents and reports will also be conducted. There will be no language and date restrictions. Eligible policy documents and reports will be obtained and screened using the inclusion criteria. Data will be extracted and results analysed using descriptive numerical summary analysis and qualitative thematic analysis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No primary data will be collected since all data that will be presented in this review are based on published articles and publicly available documents, and therefore ethics committee approval is not a requirement. The findings of this systematic review will be presented at workshops and conferences; and will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journal. This will also form a chapter of a PhD thesis.IS

Frog eat frog: exploring variables influencing anurophagy

Background. Frogs are generalist predators of a wide range of typically small prey items. But descriptions of dietary items regularly include other anurans, such that frogs are considered to be among the most important of anuran predators. However, the only existing hypothesis for the inclusion of anurans in the diet of post-metamorphic frogs postulates that it happens more often in bigger frogs. Moreover, this hypothesis has yet to be tested

Diagnostic accuracy of body mass index in defining childhood obesity: Analysis of cross-sectional data from ghanaian children

Screening methods for childhood obesity are based largely on the published body mass index (BMI) criteria. Nonetheless, their accuracy in African children is largely unknown. The diagnostic accuracies of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) BMI-based criteria in defining obesity using deuterium dilution as a criterion method in a sample of Ghanaian children are presented. Methods: Data on anthropometric indices and percent body fat were collected from 183 children aged 8–11 years. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values were calculated. The overall performance of the BMI criteria was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristics area under the curve (AUC). Results: Overall sensitivity of WHO, CDC, and IOTF were 59.4% (40.6–76.3), 53.1% (34.7–70.9), and 46.9% (29.1–65.3) respectively. The overall specificity was high, ranging from 98.7% by WHO to 100.0% by IOTF. The AUC were 0.936 (0.865–1.000), 0.924 (0.852–0.995), and 0.945 (0.879–1.000) by the WHO, CDC, and IOTF criteria respectively for the overall sample. Prevalence of obesity by the WHO, CDC, IOTF, and deuterium oxide-derived percent body fat were 11.5%, 10.4%, 8.2%, and 17.5% respectively, with significant positive correlations between the BMI z-scores and percent body fat. Conclusions: The BMI-based criteria were largely specific but with moderate sensitivity in detecting excess body fat in Ghanaian children

SINTESIS MAGNETIT (Fe3O4) NANOPARTIKEL DENGAN NATRIUM DODESIL SULFAT

Telah dilakukan sintesis magnetit (Fe3O4) nanopartikel dengan Natrium Dodesil Sulfat (NaDS). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh NaDS terhadap karakter kimia dan fisik magnetit nanopartikel hasil sintesis dengan metode kopresipitasi. Sintesis magnetit nanopartikel dilakukan dengan mereaksikan FeSO4.7H2O dan FeCl3.6H2O dengan perbandingan mol 1:2 serta natrium hidroksida (NaOH) sebagai presipitan dengan proses pengadukan pada suhu 60 °C selama 2 jam. Kajian pengaruh surfaktan pada sintesis magnetit nanopartikel dilakukan dengan variasi konsentrasi NaDS dari 1%, 3% dan 6% (b/v). Material hasil sintesis dikarakterisasi dengan spektrofotometer X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) dan Surface Area Analyzer (SAA). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa magnetit nanopartikel berhasil disintesis. Magnetit ditunjukkan oleh puncak difraksi utama pada 2θ 30,43o; 35,53o; 43,46o; 57,32o dan 62,84o. Ikatan Fe–O ditunjukkan dengan puncak serapan 565 cm-1 yang dianalisa lebih lanjut menggunakan EDX menunjukkan adanya unsur Fe dan O. Adanya surfaktan NaDS menaikkan ukuran partikel dan ukuran kristal magnetit dengan meningkatnya konsentrasi NaDS yang ditambahkan. Morfologi magnetit-NaDS semakin homogen berbentuk butiran-butiran kecil (grain) dengan ukuran partikel sekitar 30-100 nm. Ukuran kristal magnetit sebesar 11,07 nm (magnetit tanpa surfaktan); 13,62 nm (magnetit-NaDS 1%); 16,12 nm (magnetit-NaDS 3%) dan 11,17 nm (magnetit-NaDS 6%). Luas permukaan magnetit nanopartikel berturut-turut sebesar 89,67 m2/g (magnetit tanpa surfaktan); 102,50 m2/g (magnetit-NaDS 1%); 98,45 m2/g (magnetit-NaDS 3%) dan 82,92 m2/g (magnetit-NaDS 6%)

Chromosomal microarray testing in adults with intellectual disability presenting with comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Chromosomal copy-number variations (CNVs) are a class of genetic variants highly implicated in the aetiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, including intellectual disabilities (ID), schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Yet the majority of adults with idiopathic ID presenting to psychiatric services have not been tested for CNVs. We undertook genome-wide chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) of 202 adults with idiopathic ID recruited from community and in-patient ID psychiatry services across England. CNV pathogenicity was assessed using standard clinical diagnostic methods and participants underwent comprehensive medical and psychiatric phenotyping. We found an 11% yield of likely pathogenic CNVs (22/202). CNVs at recurrent loci, including the 15q11-q13 and 16p11.2-p13.11 regions were most frequently observed. We observed an increased frequency of 16p11.2 duplications compared with those reported in single-disorder cohorts. CNVs were also identified in genes known to effect neurodevelopment, namely NRXN1 and GRIN2B. Furthermore deletions at 2q13, 12q21.2-21.31 and 19q13.32, and duplications at 4p16.3, 13q32.3-33.3 and Xq24-25 were observed. Routine CMA in ID psychiatry could uncover ~11% new genetic diagnoses with potential implications for patient management. We advocate greater consideration of CMA in the assessment of adults with idiopathic ID presenting to psychiatry services

Parsimonious Higher-Order Hidden Markov Models for Improved Array-CGH Analysis with Applications to Arabidopsis thaliana

Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (Array-CGH) is an important technology in molecular biology for the detection of DNA copy number polymorphisms between closely related genomes. Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) are popular tools for the analysis of Array-CGH data, but current methods are only based on first-order HMMs having constrained abilities to model spatial dependencies between measurements of closely adjacent chromosomal regions. Here, we develop parsimonious higher-order HMMs enabling the interpolation between a mixture model ignoring spatial dependencies and a higher-order HMM exhaustively modeling spatial dependencies. We apply parsimonious higher-order HMMs to the analysis of Array-CGH data of the accessions C24 and Col-0 of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We compare these models against first-order HMMs and other existing methods using a reference of known deletions and sequence deviations. We find that parsimonious higher-order HMMs clearly improve the identification of these polymorphisms. Moreover, we perform a functional analysis of identified polymorphisms revealing novel details of genomic differences between C24 and Col-0. Additional model evaluations are done on widely considered Array-CGH data of human cell lines indicating that parsimonious HMMs are also well-suited for the analysis of non-plant specific data. All these results indicate that parsimonious higher-order HMMs are useful for Array-CGH analyses. An implementation of parsimonious higher-order HMMs is available as part of the open source Java library Jstacs (www.jstacs.de/index.php/PHHMM)