239 research outputs found

    Voltage drop apportionment in Eskom's distribution networks

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    Includes bibliographical references. Keywords: voltage drop Keywords: voltage apportionment Keywords: voltage contro

    Core issues, case studies, and the need for expanded Legacy African American genomics

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    Introduction: Genomic studies of Legacy African Americans have a tangled and convoluted history in western science. In this review paper, core issues affecting African American genomic studies are addressed and two case studies, the New York African Burial Ground and the Gullah Geechee peoples, are presented to highlight the current status of genomic research among Africa Americans.Methods: To investigate our target population’s core issues, a metadatabase derived from 22 publicly accessible databases were reviewed, evaluated, and synthesized to identify the core bioethical issues prevalent during the centuries of the African American presence in North America. The sequence of metadatabase development included 5 steps: identification of information, record screening and retention of topic relevant information, identification of eligibility via synthesis for concept identifications, and inclusion of studies used for conceptual summaries and studies used for genetic and genomic summaries. To these data we added our emic perspectives and specific insights from our case studies.Results: Overall, there is a paucity of existing research on underrepresent African American genomic diversity. In every category of genomic testing (i.e., diagnostic, clinical predictive, pharmacogenomic, direct-to-consumer, and tumor testing), African Americans are disproportionately underrepresented compared to European Americans. The first of our case studies is from the New York African Burial Ground Project where genomic studies of grave soil derived aDNA yields insights into the causes of death of 17th and 18th Century African Americans. In the second of our case studies, research among the Gullah Geechee people of the Carolina Lowcountry reveals a connection between genomic studies and health disparities.Discussion: African Americans have historically borne the brunt of the earliest biomedical studies used to generate and refine primitive concepts in genetics. As exploited victims these investigations, African American men, women, and children were subjected to an ethics-free western science. Now that bioethical safeguards have been added, underrepresented and marginalized people who were once the convenient targets of western science, are now excluded from its health-related benefits. Recommendations to enhance the inclusion of African Americans in global genomic databases and clinical trials should include the following: emphasis on the connection of inclusion to advances in precision medicine, emphasis on the relevance of inclusion to fundamental questions in human evolutionary biology, emphasis on the historical relevance of inclusion for Legacy African Americans, emphasis on the ability of inclusion to foster expanded scientific expertise in the target population, ethical engagement with their descendants, and increase the number of science researchers from these communities

    Ammonia-induced precipitation of zirconyl chloride and zirconyl-yttrium chloride solutions under industrially relevant conditions

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    The influence of concentration and added chloride salts on the solution speciation of zirconyl chloride solutions, and the precipitate formed upon addition of aqueous ammonia, has been investigated. Crystalline zirconium oxychloride octahydrate samples available on an industrial scale were investigated using ICP-OES, XRD and SEM. The samples had a remarkably consistent level of the trace elements and LOI and contained approximately 2 wt.% hafnium. Zirconyl chloride solutions at industrially relevant concentrations of 0.81 and 1.62 M were studied by small angle X-ray scattering, and the particle radii were found to be unchanged within experimental error. Yttrium–zirconium mixed solutions relevant to the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell market (containing 3, 5, 8 and 10 mole% yttrium) were also investigated, and it was found that the added yttrium did not significantly change the particle radii or particle-particle distances.Solutions at the same concentrations were then precipitated using a continuous double jet precipitation apparatus with aqueous ammonia as the base. Using DLS it was found that the zirconyl chloride solution at higher concentration yielded a larger precipitated particle size (1.0 ± 0.1 μm, 4.2 ± 0.1 μm). The yttrium–zirconium mixed solutions were found to give a consistent increase in particle size with increasing yttrium levels (2.0 ± 0.1 μm, 3.7 ± 0.2 μm, 4.5 ± 0.1 μm and 4.9 ± 0.2 μm). To investigate if the growth effect was most influenced by the cations or the increasing chloride concentrations, sample solutions containing mixtures of caesium chloride/zirconyl chloride and calcium chloride/zirconyl chloride with the same concentration of added chloride anions as that of the 8 mole% yttrium–zirconium sample were precipitated. The increased particle size was found to be most dependent on the type of cation and did not appear to be as significantly dependent on the concentration of chloride ions

    Annexing new audit spaces:challenges and adaptations

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    Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine attempts at jurisdictional expansion in the audit field. Specifically, the authors critically analyse the professional implications of "new audit spaces", that is, novel auditing and assurance services that have emerged at intersections between audit and other fields such as the environment, the public sector, sport and education. The purpose is two-fold. First, to better understand the dynamics of new audit spaces, and second, to highlight the major challenges and adaptations prompted by these dynamics. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, the authors highlight and problematise four issues central to the construction of new audit spaces: independence; reporting; professional accreditation; and the nature of the audit role. Findings - The audit profession has experienced mixed success in seeking to annex new audit spaces; in some instances, practices initially located at the margins of auditing have moved towards its centre, while elsewhere projects have been abandoned, colonised by others or remain in flux. In these ventures, the accounting profession is brought into competition with other bodies of expertise and modes of practice. In new audit spaces, core elements of auditing, as conventionally conceived, are transmogrified as they travel. Originality/value - This analysis calls into question some of the "sacred cows" of auditing and challenges the transferability of the capitals and habitus of the accounting profession in other domains. Future research avenues are suggested

    Synergistic induction of apoptosis by simultaneous disruption of the Bcl-2 and MEK/MAPK pathways in acute myelogenous leukemia

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    : Recent studies suggest that the Bcl-2 and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways together confer an aggressive, apoptosis-resistant phenotype on acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) cells. In this study, we analyzed the effects of simultaneous inhibition of these 2 pathways. In AML cell lines with constitutively activated MAPK, MAPK kinase (MEK) blockade by PD184352 strikingly potentiated the apoptosis induced by the small-molecule Bcl-2 inhibitor HA14-1 or by Bcl-2 antisense oligonucleotides. Isobologram analysis confirmed the synergistic nature of this interaction. Moreover, MEK blockade overcame Bcl-2 overexpression-mediated resistance to the proapoptotic effects of HA14-1. Most importantly, simultaneous exposure to PD184352 significantly (P =.01) potentiated HA14-1-mediated inhibition of clonogenic growth in all primary AML samples tested. These findings show that the Bcl-2 and MAPK pathways are relevant molecular targets in AML and that their concurrent inhibition could be developed into a new therapeutic strategy for this disease

    Cryo-EM reveals the complex architecture of dynactin's shoulder region and pointed end.

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    Dynactin is a 1.1 MDa complex that activates the molecular motor dynein for ultra-processive transport along microtubules. In order to do this, it forms a tripartite complex with dynein and a coiled-coil adaptor. Dynactin consists of an actin-related filament whose length is defined by its flexible shoulder domain. Despite previous cryo-EM structures, the molecular architecture of the shoulder and pointed end of the filament is still poorly understood due to the lack of high-resolution information in these regions. Here we combine multiple cryo-EM datasets and define precise masking strategies for particle signal subtraction and 3D classification. This overcomes domain flexibility and results in high-resolution maps into which we can build the shoulder and pointed end. The unique architecture of the shoulder securely houses the p150 subunit and positions the four identical p50 subunits in different conformations to bind dynactin's filament. The pointed end map allows us to build the first structure of p62 and reveals the molecular basis for cargo adaptor binding to different sites at the pointed end

    The context, influences and challenges for undergraduate nurse clinical education: Continuing the dialogue

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    Introduction – Approaches to clinical education are highly diverse and becoming increasingly complex to sustain in complex milieu Objective – To identify the influences and challenges of providing nurse clinical education in the undergraduate setting and to illustrate emerging solutions. Method: A discursive exploration into the broad and varied body of evidence including peer reviewed and grey literature. Discussion - Internationally, enabling undergraduate clinical learning opportunities faces a range of challenges. These can be illustrated under two broad themes: (1) Legacies from the past and the inherent features of nurse education and (2) Challenges of the present, including, population changes, workforce changes, and the disconnection between the health and education sectors. Responses to these challenges are triggering the emergence of novel approaches, such as collaborative models. Conclusion(s) – Ongoing challenges in providing accessible, effective and quality clinical learning experiences are apparent

    word~river literary review (2009)

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    wordriver is a literary journal dedicated to the poetry, short fiction and creative nonfiction of adjuncts and part-time instructors teaching in our universities, colleges, and community colleges. Our premier issue was published in Spring 2009. We are always looking for work that demonstrates the creativity and craft of adjunct/part-time instructors in English and other disciplines. We reserve first publication rights and onetime anthology publication rights for all work published. We define adjunct instructors as anyone teaching part-time or full-time under a semester or yearly contract, nationwide and in any discipline. Graduate students teaching under part-time contracts during the summer or who have used up their teaching assistant time and are teaching with adjunct contracts for the remainder of their graduate program also are eligible.https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/word_river/1002/thumbnail.jp

    Social Class

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    Discussion of class structure in fifth-century Athens, historical constitution of theater audiences, and the changes in the comic representation of class antagonism from Aristophanes to Menander
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