Polysaccharide Ecocomposite Materials: Materials: Synthesis, Characterization and Application for Removal of Pollutants and Bacteria

A novel, simple and totally recyclable method has been developed for the synthesis of nontoxic, biocompatible and biodegradable composite materials from cellulose and chitosan. In this method, [BMIm+Cl-], an ionic liquid (IL), was used as a solvent to dissolve and synthesize the [CEL+CS] composite materials. Since the IL can be removed from the materials by washing them with water, and recovered from the washed solution, the method is totally recyclable. XRD, FTIR, NIR and SEM were used to characterize the materials and to confirm that CEL and CS were successfully regenerated by the method without any chemical transformation. More importantly, we have successfully demonstrated that [CEL+CS] material can serve as an effective adsorbent for removal of various endocrine disruptors including polychlorophenols and bisphenol A. This is because the composites have combined advantages of their components, namely superior chemical stability and mechanical stability (from CEL) and excellent adsorption capability for pollutants (from CS)

Exploring internal quality assurance for nursing education in the State University of Zanzibar, Tanzania: A preliminary needs analysis

Background. A quality assurance (QA) process is acknowledged as important to ensure good higher education outcomes and graduate competence. Complaints about the quality of recent nursing graduates in the Department of General Nursing and Midwifery at the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), Tanzania, suggested that current QA concepts and processes may be inadequate and should be investigated prior to making recommendations for improvements. Objectives. To explore the awareness of QA in higher education among nurse educators and students at SUZA, and the extent to which the Department of General Nursing and Midwifery currently monitors and evaluates teaching and learning. Methods. Six nursing educators and 20 third-year nursing students were interviewed regarding their understanding of the concept of internal quality assurance (IQA) and procedures and their awareness of the internal processes that are currently in place in the  department. Results. All the nurse educators had heard of IQA, but only 2 (33%) had detailed knowledge of the processes involved. None of the  students knew what IQA entails. Most of the educators identified the monitoring of test scores and pass rates as part of an evaluation process. They were also aware of course evaluations by students, but believed these to be untrustworthy. The students did not understand that course evaluations were part of IQA and did not recognise the potential value of these evaluations. There was an understanding by 35% of students of continuous assessment to monitor individual progress, and 20% identified occasional meetings with the head of department to provide feedback on the course. Conclusions. A comprehensive programme of education around QA is suggested for educators and students of nursing at SUZA as a first step in the introduction of a well-planned and supported IQA process

The validation and use of a predictive geometallurgical model in plant process design

Abstract. Geometallurgy is more often used for a concentrator plant design. Geometallurgy determines the metallurgical response of ore before the ore is feed to a plant. In a processing plant, the feed keeps changing due to the heterogeneity of ore deposits. There is ore variability in different parts of a deposit, so the optimum blending is critical to provide a constant feed. The study of different blends enables to predict the plant performance. The thesis’ main objective is to study the effect of ore variations and blends on flotation performance. The productivity of HSC Chemistry ®’s flowsheet simulation module for the prediction of flotation kinetics for blends, is studied. The second objective is the investigation of the effect of ore pre-sorting on flotation kinetics. This thesis work is conducted using four samples from Sotkamo Silver Oy: malmi, sorter feed, sorter product, and ore 60. The experimental part includes crushing, grinding, sample splitting, grinding calibration tests, flotation tests for each sample, simulation of flotation tests, blends preparation, blend flotation tests and simulation of blend flotation. In terms of grindability, the sorter feed and sorter product samples are similar. The specific grinding energy of the malmi is 10% less than the sorter feed and sorter product. Ore 60 is the softest in terms of grindability. Both galena and sphalerite in the Malmi sample are oxidized, while Ore 60 has oxidized more completely as compared to the malmi. Sorter product is least oxidized while sorter feed is slightly higher oxidized than sorter product. Sorter feed and sorter product are similar in terms of flotation kinetics, having similar recoveries. Malmi sample also has good recoveries of galena and dyscrasite. Ore 60 has the lowest recovery of galena and the highest recovery of pyrite. The flotation in ore 60 is complex due to oxidation and the presence of slimes. The experimental and simulated recoveries of blends are close to each other. The blend of malmi and sorter product resulted in higher experimental grades of valuable minerals and lower grades of gangue than the simulated grades. The blends of ore 60 with malmi and sorter product have a higher experimental grade of gangue and lower experimental grade of ore minerals than simulated grades. The predictivity of simulation is close to the experimental results; hence HSC’s simulation module tool is productive to predict the kinetics of blends

S-matrices for Perturbed N=2 Superconformal Field Theory from quantum groups

S-matrices for integrable perturbations of $N=2$ superconformal field theories are studied. The models we consider correspond to perturbations of the coset theory $G_k \times H_{g-h} /H_{k+g-h}$. The perturbed models are closely related to $\hat G$-affine Toda theories with a background charge tuned to $H$. Using the quantum group restriction of the affine Toda theories we derive the S-matrix.Comment: 29 pages 2 figure

A method for assessing the success and failure of community-level interventions in the presence of network diffusion, social reinforcement, and related social effects

Prevention and intervention work done within community settings often face unique analytic challenges for rigorous evaluations. Since community prevention work (often geographically isolated) cannot be controlled in the same way other prevention programs and these communities have an increased level of interpersonal interactions, rigorous evaluations are needed. Even when the `gold standard' randomized control trials are implemented within community intervention work, the threats to internal validity can be called into question given informal social spread of information in closed network settings. A new prevention evaluation method is presented here to disentangle the social influences assumed to influence prevention effects within communities. We formally introduce the method and it's utility for a suicide prevention program implemented in several Alaska Native villages. The results show promise to explore eight sociological measures of intervention effects in the face of social diffusion, social reinforcement, and direct treatment. Policy and research implication are discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure

Praxis Mapping: A methodology for evaluating the political impacts of international projects

This report describes the participatory development of a process we have used to consider the political implications of a climate justice project we worked on together from 2010 to 2013, called Strengthening the role of civil society in water sector governance towards climate change adaptation in African cities – Durban, Maputo, Nairobi (see http://ccaa.irisyorku.ca). This project was funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) through their Climate Change Adaptation in Africa programme.This research was supported by the International Development Research Centr

Topological Matter, Integrable Models and Fusion Rings

We show how topological $G_k/G_k$ models can be embedded into the topological matter models that are obtained by perturbing the twisted $N=2$ supersymmetric, hermitian symmetric, coset models. In particular, this leads to an embedding of the fusion ring of $G$ as a sub-ring of the perturbed, chiral primary ring. The perturbation of the twisted $N=2$ model that leads to the fusion ring is also shown to lead to an integrable $N=2$ supersymmetric field theory when the untwisted $N=2$ superconformal field theory is perturbed by the same operator and its hermitian conjugate.Comment: 24 page

Coset Character Identities in Superstring Compactifications

We apply the coset character identities (generalization of Jacobi's abstruse identity) to compact and noncompact Gepner models. In the both cases, we prove that the partition function actually vanishes due to the spacetime supersymmetry. In the case of the compact models and discrete parts of the noncompact models, the partition function includes the expected vanishing factor. But the character identities used to the continuous part of the noncompact models suggest that these models have twice as many supersymmetry as expected. This fact is an evidence for the conjecture that the holographically dual of the string theory on an actually singular Calabi-Yau manifold is a super CONFORMAL field theory. The extra SUSY charges are interpreted as the superconformal S generators.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX, no figure. v2:corrected typos, added detailed calculations, added references. v3:corrected typo

Sex Differences in the Inflammatory Response to Stroke

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and disproportionally affects women, in part due to their higher longevity. Older women have poorer outcomes after stroke with high rates of cognitive deficits, depression, and reduced quality of life. Post-stroke inflammatory responses are also sexually dimorphic and drive differences in infarct size and recovery. Factors that influence sex-specific immune responses can be both intrinsic and extrinsic. Differences in gonadal hormone exposure, sex chromosome compliment, and environmental/social factors can drive changes in transcriptional and metabolic profiles. In addition, how these variables interact, changes across the lifespan. After the onset of ischemic injury, necrosis and apoptosis occur, which activate microglia and other glial cells within the central nervous system, promoting the release of cytokines and chemokines and neuroinflammation. Cells involved in innate and adaptive immune responses also have dual functions after stroke as they can enhance inflammation acutely, but also contribute to suppression of the inflammatory cascade and later repair. In this review, we provide an overview of the current literature on sex-specific inflammatory responses to ischemic stroke. Understanding these differences is critical to identifying therapeutic options for both men and women