THE VIEWS OF MERWELENE VANDER MER WE AND HER TEAM ABOUT THE FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY WORKING ENVIRONMENT

ThesisFashion is seen as a glamorous world full of beautiful people and exorbitant amounts of money. I t was decided to get a closer look at this world as seen through the eyes of those who participate. This study consists of two components. A practical component comprising studio and on location photographs and a theoretical component dealing with fashion worlUng environment. As South Africa is becoming a non-sexist society and women are part of the main business stream, it was decided to focus on the highly successful photographic icon of fashion photography, Merwelene van der Merwe. The main aim of the study was to research the interaction between the fashion photographer and the main participants in a fashion photograph, in order to get each individual's interpretation of what makes a successful fashion photograph and fashion photographer. This was achieved through a preliminary intervic'W with Merwelene van der Merwe to see if the aim of the study was feasible. As the f,rst interview was most successful, the decision was made to place more emphasis on Merwelene van der Merwe. Follow-up interviews and a week's stay with Merwelene resulted. Articles, two television interviews and all other available material was researched to get a more comprehensive picture. As Merwelene has a unique way of speaJUng, the author decided to give her interviews verbatim so that the reader can feel the "electricity" generated by Merwelene. The intervi~ws were done in Afrikaans, Merwelene's home language. In this dissertation, all questions are given in English and Afrikaans. All questions are preceded by a Q and all answers by an A. To get a more comprehensive picture, the following people who form part of Merwelene's team were interviewed: (1) Her assistants Doret, (2)her model Simone,(3) her hair and make-up artist Marilyn, (4) an art director of an advertising agency Sandy and (5) a client Mariette. The dissert.ation is devided into four chapters, the first chapter, Merwelene van der Merwe discusses her background and outlook on life. In chapter two, Merwelene discusses fashion photography as a success ful busin ess. Chapter three covers the team she works with and their yiews. The final chapter concentrates on Merwelene's work as a fas hion photographer. Here two divergent photographs are discussed

Reduced anthropogenic aerosol radiative forcing caused by biogenic new particle formation

The magnitude of aerosol radiative forcing caused by anthropogenic emissions depends on the baseline state of the atmosphere under pristine preindustrial conditions. Measurements show that particle formation in atmospheric conditions can occur solely from biogenic vapors. Here, we evaluate the potential effect of this source of particles on preindustrial cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations and aerosol-cloud radiative forcing over the industrial period. Model simulations show that the pure biogenic particle formation mechanism has a much larger relative effect on CCN concentrations in the preindustrial atmosphere than in the present atmosphere because of the lower aerosol concentrations. Consequently, preindustrial cloud albedo is increased more than under present day conditions, and therefore the cooling forcing of anthropogenic aerosols is reduced. The mechanism increases CCN concentrations by 20-100% over a large fraction of the preindustrial lower atmosphere, and the magnitude of annual global mean radiative forcing caused by changes of cloud albedo since 1750 is reduced by 0.22 W m-2 (27%) to -0.60 W m-2. Model uncertainties, relatively slow formation rates, and limited available ambient measurements make it difficult to establish the significance of a mechanism that has its dominant effect under preindustrial conditions. Our simulations predict more particle formation in the Amazon than is observed. However, the first observation of pure organic nucleation has now been reported for the free troposphere. Given the potentially significant effect on anthropogenic forcing, effort should be made to better understand such naturally driven aerosol processes

An original phylogenetic approach identified mitochondrial haplogroup T1a1 as inversely associated with breast cancer risk in BRCA2 mutation carriers

Introduction: Individuals carrying pathogenic mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have a high lifetime risk of breast cancer. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are involved in DNA double-strand break repair, DNA alterations that can be caused by exposure to reactive oxygen species, a main source of which are mitochondria. Mitochondrial genome variations affect electron transport chain efficiency and reactive oxygen species production. Individuals with different mitochondrial haplogroups differ in their metabolism and sensitivity to oxidative stress. Variability in mitochondrial genetic background can alter reactive oxygen species production, leading to cancer risk. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that mitochondrial haplogroups modify breast cancer risk in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Methods: We genotyped 22,214 (11,421 affected, 10,793 unaffected) mutation carriers belonging to the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 for 129 mitochondrial polymorphisms using the iCOGS array. Haplogroup inference and association detection were performed using a phylogenetic approach. ALTree was applied to explore the reference mitochondrial evolutionary tree and detect subclades enriched in affected or unaffected individuals. Results: We discovered that subclade T1a1 was depleted in affected BRCA2 mutation carriers compared with the rest of clade T (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.55; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.34 to 0.88; P = 0.01). Compared with the most frequent haplogroup in the general population (that is, H and T clades), the T1a1 haplogroup has a HR of 0.62 (95% CI, 0.40 to 0.95; P = 0.03). We also identified three potential susceptibility loci, including G13708A/rs28359178, which has demonstrated an inverse association with familial breast cancer risk. Conclusions: This study illustrates how original approaches such as the phylogeny-based method we used can empower classical molecular epidemiological studies aimed at identifying association or risk modification effects.Peer reviewe

Frequency drift in MR spectroscopy at 3T

Purpose: Heating of gradient coils and passive shim components is a common cause of instability in the B-0 field, especially when gradient intensive sequences are used. The aim of the study was to set a benchmark for typical drift encountered during MR spectroscopy (MRS) to assess the need for real-time field-frequency locking on MRI scanners by comparing field drift data from a large number of sites.Method: A standardized protocol was developed for 80 participating sites using 99 3T MR scanners from 3 major vendors. Phantom water signals were acquired before and after an EPI sequence. The protocol consisted of: minimal preparatory imaging; a short pre-fMRI PRESS; a ten-minute fMRI acquisition; and a long post-fMRI PRESS acquisition. Both pre- and post-fMRI PRESS were non-water suppressed. Real-time frequency stabilization/adjustment was switched off when appropriate. Sixty scanners repeated the protocol for a second dataset. In addition, a three-hour post-fMRI MRS acquisition was performed at one site to observe change of gradient temperature and drift rate. Spectral analysis was performed using MATLAB. Frequency drift in pre-fMRI PRESS data were compared with the first 5:20 minutes and the full 30:00 minutes of data after fMRI. Median (interquartile range) drifts were measured and showed in violin plot. Paired t-tests were performed to compare frequency drift pre- and post-fMRI. A simulated in vivo spectrum was generated using FID-A to visualize the effect of the observed frequency drifts. The simulated spectrum was convolved with the frequency trace for the most extreme cases. Impacts of frequency drifts on NAA and GABA were also simulated as a function of linear drift. Data from the repeated protocol were compared with the corresponding first dataset using Pearson's and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC).Results: Of the data collected from 99 scanners, 4 were excluded due to various reasons. Thus, data from 95 scanners were ultimately analyzed. For the first 5:20 min (64 transients), median (interquartile range) drift was 0.44 (1.29) Hz before fMRI and 0.83 (1.29) Hz after. This increased to 3.15 (4.02) Hz for the full 30 min (360 transients) run. Average drift rates were 0.29 Hz/min before fMRI and 0.43 Hz/min after. Paired t-tests indicated that drift increased after fMRI, as expected (p &lt; 0.05). Simulated spectra convolved with the frequency drift showed that the intensity of the NAA singlet was reduced by up to 26%, 44 % and 18% for GE, Philips and Siemens scanners after fMRI, respectively. ICCs indicated good agreement between datasets acquired on separate days. The single site long acquisition showed drift rate was reduced to 0.03 Hz/min approximately three hours after fMRI.Discussion: This study analyzed frequency drift data from 95 3T MRI scanners. Median levels of drift were relatively low (5-min average under 1 Hz), but the most extreme cases suffered from higher levels of drift. The extent of drift varied across scanners which both linear and nonlinear drifts were observed.</p

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

The scientific basis underlying the subspecialty of EMS - a systematic review of the literature

Introduction. Since the 1966 publication Accidental\ud Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of Modern Society, emergency medical services (EMS) has emerged as\ud a necessary discipline to improve the health and safety\ud of the public. Much of this improvement is due to the input, guidance, direction, and research from physicians\ud who practice EMS as a subspecialty of emergency medicine. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify the scientific basis of the physician subspecialty of EMS in support of formal recognition of this area of expertise. \ud \ud Methods. A total of 27 search terms were used to define the conglomerate term “EMS.” Using PubMed, these terms were combined using different strategies to identify articles reporting three roles of the physician in EMS: 1) the physician as a leader, 2) the practice of EMS medicine, and 3) the clinical science of EMS. Two independent reviewers evaluated each citation to identify those that met the inclusion criteria. Discrepancies between the two reviewers were resolved by a third reviewer. Included papers were those that addressed the science and practice of EMS and the role of the physician in EMS. \ud \ud Results. A total of 1,505 citations were initially identified, with 172 peer-reviewed citations and 43 non–peer-reviewed citations subsequently included in the data set. When examining publications in five-year increments from 1978 to 2008, both the raw number and the proportion of peer-reviewed papers (compared with non–peer-reviewed papers) have increased steadily. Many of the papers also demonstrate the impact of EMS on other specialties, including pediatrics, general surgery, trauma, cardiology, and public health. Conclusion. This systematic review demonstrates that over the past 30 years, there has been constant growth in articles published identifying the role of the physician in the development of EMS. Additionally, the growing body of literature also demonstrates the impact that EMS has had on the broader practice of medicine in general. Such data support the contention that EMS represents a discrete physician subspecialty