Physical activity and hypertension in South African adults

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 South Africa LicenseEstimates suggest that approximately 6-million South Africans have hypertension, with half classified as stage 1 (mild). Mindful of the cost of lifelong drug therapy, the South African Hypertension Society guidelines suggest delaying drug therapy through lifestyle modification (increased physical activity and weight management) in all but those with the highest risk. This pilot study examined the relationship of BP with physical activity and bodyweight in black South African adults employed in physical occupationsNon peer reviewe

Birds and people in Europe

At a regional scale, species richness and human population size are frequently positively correlated across space. Such patterns may arise because both species richness and human density increase with energy availability. If the species-energy relationship is generated through the 'more individuals' hypothesis, then the prediction is that areas with high human densities will also support greater numbers of individuals from other taxa. We use the unique data available for the breeding birds in Europe to test this prediction. Overall regional densities of bird species are higher in areas with more people; species of conservation concern exhibit the same pattern. Avian density also increases faster with human density than does avian biomass, indicating that areas with a higher human density have a higher proportion of small-bodied individuals. The analyses also underline the low numbers of breeding birds in Europe relative to humans, with a median of just three individual birds per person, and 4 g of bird for every kilogram of human

Nyungar tourism in the South West region of Western Australia : A quopardar or best practice approach for Nyungar tourism operators

Nyungar Tourism Operators involved in this research project acknowledge the need for a quopardar or best practice which is underpinned by the need to strive for excellence, to have a committed approach to improvement in every area of their organization, to establish and maintain a high quality service and for continually improving performance to achieve better outcomes for their visitors. There is a desire to protect and promote Nyungar culture, its practice and Nyungar knowledge as well as increase the economic value of the Nyungar community within the tourism industry. The challenge for Nyungar Tourism Operators is to be both innovative and competitive. Each of the tourism outlets involved in the research have put together the best possible resources available to them from their own Nyungar boodjar to give the tourist or visitor a “unique, authentic Nyungar experience” through stepping back in time. This also helps the visitor to experience and understand the impact of colonisation on Nyungar culture and to also share Nyungar knowledge, spirituality and customs of our Nyungar lifestyle. Nyungar Tourism Operators and other Case Study participants share a desire for commercial viability, to encourage a sustainable, quopardar or best practice approach that respects and protects both Nyungar culture and boodjar or country. This quopardar or Best Practice Guide is aimed to incorporate these objectives, philosophies and visions

Fingerprinting Vulnerabilities in Intelligent Electronic Device Firmware

Modern smart grid deployments heavily rely on the advanced capabilities that Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) provide. Furthermore, these devices firmware often contain critical vulnerabilities that if exploited could cause large impacts on national economic security, and national safety. As such, a scalable domain specific approach is required in order to assess the security of IED firmware. In order to resolve this lack of an appropriate methodology, we present a scalable vulnerable function identification framework. It is specifically designed to analyze IED firmware and binaries that employ the ARM CPU architecture. Its core functionality revolves around a multi-stage detection methodology that is specifically designed to resolve the lack of specialization that limits other general-purpose approaches. This is achieved by compiling an extensive database of IED specific vulnerabilities and domain specific firmware that is evaluated. Its analysis approach is composed of three stages that leverage function syntactic, semantic, structural and statistical features in order to identify vulnerabilities. As such it (i) first filters out dissimilar functions based on a group of heterogeneous features, (ii) it then further filters out dissimilar functions based on their execution paths, and (iii) it finally identifies candidate functions based on fuzzy graph matching . In order to validate our methodologies capabilities, it is implemented as a binary analysis framework entitled BinArm. The resulting algorithm is then put through a rigorous set of evaluations that demonstrate its capabilities. These include the capability to identify vulnerabilities within a given IED firmware image with a total accuracy of 0.92

Comparative gene transfer efficiency of low molecular weight polylysine DNA-condensing peptides

In a previous report (M.S. Wadhwa et al . (1997) Bioconjugate Chem. 8, 81–88), we synthesized a panel of polylysine-containing peptides and determined that a minimal repeating lysine chain of 18 residues followed by a tryptophan and an alkylated cysteine residue (AlkCWK 18 ) resulted in the formation of optimal size (78 nm diameter) plasmid DNA condensates that mediated efficient in vitro gene transfer. Shorter polylysine chains produced larger DNA condensates and mediated much lower gene expression while longer lysine chains were equivalent to AlkCWK 18 . Surprisingly, AlkCWK 18 (molecular weight 2672) was a much better gene transfer agent than commercially available low molecular weight polylysine (molecular weight 1000–4000), despite its similar molecular weight. Possible explanations were that the cysteine or tryptophan residue in AlkCWK 18 contributed to the DNA binding and the formation of small condensates or that the homogeneity of AlkCWK 18 relative to low molecular weight polylysine facilitated optimal condensation. To test these hypotheses, the present study prepared AlkCYK 18 and K 20 and used these to form DNA condensates and conduct in vitro gene transfer. The results established that DNA condensates prepared with either AlkCYK 18 or K 20 possessed identical particle size and mediated in vitro gene transfer efficiencies that were indistinguishable from AlkCWK 18 DNA condensates, eliminating the possibility of contributions from cysteine or tryptophan. However, a detailed chromatographic and electrospray mass spectrometry analysis of low molecular weight polylysine revealed it to possess a much lower than anticipated average chain length of dp 6. Thus, the short chain length of low molecular weight polylysine explains its inability to form small DNA condensates and mediate efficient gene transfer relative to AlkCWK 18 DNA condensates. These experiments further emphasize the need to develop homogenous low molecular weight carrier molecules for nonviral gene delivery.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74767/1/j.1399-3011.1999.00104.x.pd

Fitness landscape of the cellular automata majority problem: View from the Olympus

In this paper we study cellular automata (CAs) that perform the computational Majority task. This task is a good example of what the phenomenon of emergence in complex systems is. We take an interest in the reasons that make this particular fitness landscape a difficult one. The first goal is to study the landscape as such, and thus it is ideally independent from the actual heuristics used to search the space. However, a second goal is to understand the features a good search technique for this particular problem space should possess. We statistically quantify in various ways the degree of difficulty of searching this landscape. Due to neutrality, investigations based on sampling techniques on the whole landscape are difficult to conduct. So, we go exploring the landscape from the top. Although it has been proved that no CA can perform the task perfectly, several efficient CAs for this task have been found. Exploiting similarities between these CAs and symmetries in the landscape, we define the Olympus landscape which is regarded as the ''heavenly home'' of the best local optima known (blok). Then we measure several properties of this subspace. Although it is easier to find relevant CAs in this subspace than in the overall landscape, there are structural reasons that prevent a searcher from finding overfitted CAs in the Olympus. Finally, we study dynamics and performance of genetic algorithms on the Olympus in order to confirm our analysis and to find efficient CAs for the Majority problem with low computational cost

ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS FOR SELECTING ET #3 SITE

Engineered trenches (ETs) are considered to be a cost-effective method for disposing Low Level Waste (LLW). Based on waste forecasts from waste generators, the last engineered trench in operation (ET No.2) is anticipated to close in FY14, requiring development of a new ET. Solid Waste requested that SRNL develop an assessment report that reviews four disposal options for this new ET (ET No.3) and determine which option would provide the 'best' Performance Assessment (PA) disposal limits for LLW (Appendix A). Those four options (see option footprint locations in Figure 1-1) are: (1) Disposal at grade on TRU Pads 7-13 where soil would be mounded over waste packages; (2) Excavation at a slightly modified SLIT No.13 location - near the Used Equipment Storage Area; (3) Excavation at a modified SLIT No.12 location - near the 643-26E Naval Reactor Component Disposal Area; and (4) Excavation east of TRU Pad No.26 that replaces northeast portions of four slit trench (ST) disposal units in the eastern set of STs. The assessment consisted of both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The quantitative analysis captured key aspects that were readily quantifiable and had predictable impacts on limits and doses. A simplified modeling strategy stemming from current Special Analysis (SA) practices was employed. Both inventory capacity for a specific nuclide (a quasi-inventory limit) and overall performance for specified inventory mixtures (doses resulting from historical inventories) were considered. The qualitative analysis evaluated other key aspects based on engineering judgment in the form of pros and cons

SPECIAL ANALYSIS OF OPERATIONAL STORMWATER RUNOFF COVERS OVER SLIT TRENCHES

Solid Waste Management (SWM) commissioned this Special Analysis (SA) to determine the effects of placing operational stormwater runoff covers (referred to as covers in the remainder of this document) over slit trench (ST) disposal units ST1 through ST7 (the center set of slit trenches). Previously the United States Department of Energy (DOE) entered into an agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) to place covers over Slit Trenches 1 and 2 to be able to continue disposing Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) solid waste (see USDOE 2008). Because the covers changed the operating conditions, DOE Order 435.1 (DOE 1999) required that an SA be performed to assess the impact. This Special Analysis has been prepared to determine the effects of placing covers over slit trenches at about years 5, 10 and 15 of the 30-year operational period. Because some slit trenches have already been operational for about 15 years, results from analyzing covers at 5 years and 10 years provide trend analysis information only. This SA also examined alternatives of covering Slit Trenches 1 and 2 with one cover and Slit Trenches 3 and 4 with a second cover versus covering them all with a single cover. Based on modeling results, minimal differences exist between covering Slit Trench groups 1-2 and 3-4 with two covers or one large cover. This SA demonstrates that placement of covers over slit trenches will slow the subsequent release and transport of radionuclides in the vadose zone in the early time periods (from time of placement until about 100 years). Release and transport of some radionuclides in the vadose zone beyond 100 years were somewhat higher than for the case without covers. The sums-of-fractions (SOFs) were examined for the current waste inventory in ST1 and ST2 and for estimated inventories at closure for ST3 through ST7. In all cases SOFs were less than one (except for one SOF for ST5 that remained at one), indicating that there should be no unacceptable impacts on operations from placing covers for the cover alternatives that were analyzed. Minimal operational limits provided in Table 4 should be used as the new set of limits for Slit Trenches 1 through 7. ST1 and ST2 are expected to be covered about 15 years after the first disposal in ST1. Because the time of actual placement of covers over the other slit trenches is unknown, this SA did not consider limit increases, only limit decreases. Thus, each minimal operational limit is the minimum of the Performance Assessment (PA) final limit and the limit calculated in this SA if covers were placed at about 5, 10 or 15 years. If other cover times are desired, further analysis will be required

A Study on Developer Perception of Transformation Languages for Refactoring

Although there is much research advancing state-of-art of program transformation tools, their application in industry source code change problems has not yet been gauged. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to better understand developer familiarity and comfort with these languages by conducting a survey. It poses, and answers, four research questions to understand how frequently source code transformation languages are applied to refactoring tasks, how well-known these languages are in industry, what developers think are obstacles to adoption, and what developer refactoring habits tell us about their current use, or underuse, of transformation languages. The results show that while source code transformation languages can fill a needed niche in refactoring, research must motivate their application. We provide explanations and insights based on data, aimed at the program transformation and refactoring communities, with a goal to motivate future research and ultimately improve industry adoption of transformation languages for refactoring tasks