A rational interaction: Lower bound on the number of I‐PI graphs without tadpoles

A lower bound on the number of I‐PI connected graphs without tadpoles that will be important in the proof of the divergence of the perturbation series of a model with rational interaction is obtained.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70857/2/JMAPAQ-32-5-1293-1.pd

Development of a tool to support person-centred medicine-focused consultations with stroke survivors

Objective: To develop a tool to support medicine-focused person-centred consultations between community pharmacists and stroke survivors. Method: Semi-structured interviews with 15 stroke survivors and 16 community pharmacists were conducted. Thematic analysis of the data was performed and emerging themes examined to determine their relevance to the principles of delivering person-centred care. Findings were used to generate a framework from which a consultation tool was created. Face validity and the feasibility of using the tool in practice were explored with participating pharmacists. Results: Three major themes were identified; personal, process and environmental factors. A tool, in two parts, was developed, A ‘Getting to know me’ form which would help the pharmacist to appreciate the individual needs of the stroke survivor and a consultation guide to facilitate the consultation process. Pharmacists considered that both were useful and would support a person-centred medicine-focussed consultation. Conclusion: A consultation tool, reflecting the needs of stroke survivors, has been developed and is feasible for use within community pharmacy practice. Practice implications: Pharmacists must recognise the individual needs of stroke survivors to ensure that they provide consultations which are truly person-centred. The tool developed could support medicine-related consultations with patients with other long term conditions

An investigation of the bioaccumulation of chromium and uranium metals by Cynodon dactylon: A case study of abandoned New Union Gold Mine Tailings, Limpopo, South Africa

Mine waste, including tailings is generally outlined as one of the largest environmental concern which faces defunct mines in South Africa and New Union Gold Mine is no exception. These tailing contain heavy metal such as chromium (Cr) and uranium (U) which poses enormous threat to the environment even at small quantity. The study focuses mainly on bioaccumulation of Cr and U in soil by Cynodon dactylon, an indigenous grass. The grass and soil sample were collected at New Union Gold Mine and Ka-Madonsi Village at Malamulele, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The concentration of Cr and U were determined with a Thermofischer ICP MS. The research findings indicate that the range in the levels of Cr and U at mine tailings dam A were 152.60 to 196.12 mg/kg and 0.51 to 0.92 μg/gm, respectively. The ranges in the levels of Cr and U at mine tailings dam B were 151.34 to 229.67 mg/kg and 0.85 to 1.06 μg/g, respectively. The levels of Cr and U at the control site were 81.31 mg/kg and 0.73 μg/g. The pH of mine tailing dam A was 3.23 to 3.34 and for tailing dam B were, 3.25 to 3.29 making both tailing acidic while for the control site, it was slightly alkaline at 7.56. The bioconcentration and translation factors of C. dactylon were variable but were dependent on pH conditions. Thus, C. dactylon was able to bioaccumulate toxic metals Cr and U from the mine tailings making them potential phytoremediation agent for the rehabilitation of exposed mine tailings. This is important in covering the mine tailings since any exposed part of mine tailings is liable to water and wind erosion. Thus, Cr and U may be exported to external environment such as aquatic ecosystem and neighboring rural communities with negative impacts.Key words: Phytoremediation, chromium, uranium, indigenous grass, dysfunctional mine tailings

Structure Demographique D’un Labeo Africain, Labeo coubie Rüppel, 1832 (Pisces: Cyprinidae), Dans Le Lac De Barrage De Taabo (Bassin Du Bandama, Côte D’ivoire)

La structure démographique de Labeo coubie a été étudiée en vue d’une gestion rationnelle du stock de poissons dans le lac Taabo. Des échantillonnages ont été effectués en juillet, octobre et décembre 2006, puis en mars et juin 2007. Les analyses ont porté sur la dynamique spatio-temporelle du sex-ratio, de la structure des tailles, des relations longueur-poids et du coefficient de condition. Le sex-ratio global a été en faveur des mâles (1,35 : 1) mais, n’a pas été significativement différent de la valeur d’équilibre. La taille moyenne des spécimens collectés en amont du lac (206,18 ± 63,55 mm LS) a été significativement plus importante (p<0,05) que celle des individus obtenus en aval (179,94 ± 56,66 mm LS). De même, la taille moyenne enregistrée pendant les mois de crue (285,28 ± 34,69 mm LS) a été largement supérieure à celle des mois de décrue (190,14 ± 61,13 mm LS), avec une croissance isométrique à l’échelle du lac (b = 2,97). Le coefficient moyen de condition obtenu dans la partie amont (3,59 ± 0,39) a été plus important (p<0,05) que celui observé dans la partie aval (2,29 ± 0,31).The demographic characteristics of Labeo coubie from lake Taabo was assessed, in order to establish the basis for a rational management of the stock of this fish. Samplings were done at different periods: in July, October and December 2006, and again in March and June 2007. Analyses were concerned with the spatiotemporal dynamics of sex-ratio, size and the structure, as well as length-weight relationships and condition factor of the fish. Results show that overall sex-ratio was in favor of males (1.35 : 1) but, it did not differ significantly from the equilibrium point. The mean size of the fish collected upper stream (206.18 ± 63.55 mm SL) was significantly higher than that from downstream (179.94 ± 56.66 mm SL) of the lake. Moreover, the mean size recorded during the inflow months (285.28 ± 34.69 mm SL) was significantly higher than that recorded during the months of low waters (190.14 ± 61.13 mm SL). Fish growth appeared isometric at the scale of the lake (b = 2.97). The average condition factor obtained upstream (3.59 ± 0.39), was higher (p<0.05) than that from downstream (2.29 ± 0.31).Keywords: Labeo coubie, demographic structure, lake Taabo, Côte d’Ivoir

Knowledge and awareness of orthodontics among Nigerian school children in selected private and public schools in Lagos

Objective: This study sought to assess the knowledge and awareness of Nigerian adolescents concerning orthodontics, to determine possible factors influencing their knowledge of orthodontics as well as to find out if socioeconomic status has any effect on their knowledge and awareness. Method: This cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire based study was conducted in two secondary schools (one private and one public) in Lagos State. Result: A total of 408 students, participated in the study of which only 98 (24.0%) had ever heard the term ‘orthodontics’, and of this number only 16 could correctly explain the meaning of the term orthodontics. Majority of the respondents with correct responses attended a private school. Significantly more of the private school students correctly identified that orthodontists are involved in rearranging the teeth (p=0.006) and not involved in cleaning the teeth (p=0.008). There was a significant difference in the knowledge of the students from the public and private school concerning the impact of malocclusion on speech (p=0.002) and appearance (p=0.000). The overall orthodontic knowledge is deficient. However knowledge was better among the children from the private school compared to those from the public school. The results obtained from this study, clearly show that there is need to provide oral health education especially to improve the orthodontic knowledge of these adolescents especially about malocclusion and its consequences. It is expected that this would improve their knowledge and consequently increase the demand for and the uptake of the available orthodontic services

Biometrics of the primary dentition in a Nigerian sample

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine normative values of crown dimensions, arch dimensions, and amount of interdental space in the primary dentition of Nigerian children. Method: Dental casts from alginate impressions obtained from 125 randomly selected nursery school children (65 boys, 60 girls) aged 3 to 5 years, were measured with electronic caliper. Independent tests were used to analyze sample differences between sexes. Result: There were significant gender differences in arch width, depth and length dimensions, with the exception of the left mandibular anterior length. The boys showed significantly larger mesiodistal crown dimensions, except in the maxillary and mandibular primary lateral incisors. Gender differences in buccolingual crown diameters were statistically significant for maxillary second primary molars. There was no significant gender difference in amount of interdental spaces. Conclusion: It can be concluded that males had larger tooth/arch dimensions than females in the primary dentition stage

Do Our Airmen Value Their CCAF Degree?

A recent article, “CCAF Continues to Provide Value to Air Force, Enlisted Members,” posted in the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) alumni group on LinkedIn generated over 100 comments from CCAF graduates regarding the value of that college’s degree.1 Their perceptions of the worth of the CCAF degree ranged from no value at all to its having a tremendous impact on careers and goals.2The foregoing served as the catalyst for this two-phased research. Only by comparing both sides of the problem will we have truly answered the question regarding the value of the degree. Phase one consisted of the current research project, focused on the collection and analysis of CCAF graduates’ perceptions regarding the value of their degree. Phase two will involve the collection of data collected from hiring managers from various fields of industry regarding their perception of the CCAF degree and their estimation of it during a review of an applicant’s credentials

ORide: A Privacy-Preserving yet Accountable Ride-Hailing Service

In recent years, ride-hailing services (RHSs) have be- come increasingly popular, serving millions of users per day. Such systems, however, raise significant privacy concerns, because service providers are able to track the precise mobility patterns of all riders and drivers. In this paper, we propose ORide (Oblivious Ride), a privacy- preserving RHS based on somewhat-homomorphic en- cryption with optimizations such as ciphertext packing and transformed processing. With ORide, a service provider can match riders and drivers without learning their identities or location information. ORide offers rid- ers with fairly large anonymity sets (e.g., several thou- sands), even in sparsely populated areas. In addition, ORide supports key RHS features such as easy payment, reputation scores, accountability, and retrieval of lost items. Using real data-sets that consist of millions of rides, we show that the computational and network over- head introduced by ORide is acceptable. For example, ORide adds only several milliseconds to ride-hailing op- erations, and the extra driving distance for a driver is less than 0.5 km in more than 75% of the cases evaluated. In short, we show that a RHS can offer strong privacy guar- antees to both riders and drivers while maintaining the convenience of its services

Projected Carbon Dioxide to Increase Grass Pollen and Allergen Exposure Despite Higher Ozone Levels

One expected effect of climate change on human health is increasing allergic and asthmatic symptoms through changes in pollen biology. Allergic diseases have a large impact on human health globally, with 10–30% of the population affected by allergic rhinitis and more than 300 million affected by asthma. Pollen from grass species, which are highly allergenic and occur worldwide, elicits allergic responses in 20% of the general population and 40% of atopic individuals. Here we examine the effects of elevated levels of two greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), a growth and reproductive stimulator of plants, and ozone (O3), a repressor, on pollen and allergen production in Timothy grass (Phleum pratense L.). We conducted a fully factorial experiment in which plants were grown at ambient and/or elevated levels of O3 and CO2, to simulate present and projected levels of both gases and their potential interactive effects. We captured and counted pollen from flowers in each treatment and assayed for concentrations of the allergen protein, Phl p 5. We found that elevated levels of CO2 increased the amount of grass pollen produced by ∼50% per flower, regardless of O3 levels. Elevated O3 significantly reduced the Phl p 5 content of the pollen but the net effect of rising pollen numbers with elevated CO2 indicate increased allergen exposure under elevated levels of both greenhouse gases. Using quantitative estimates of increased pollen production and number of flowering plants per treatment, we estimated that airborne grass pollen concentrations will increase in the future up to ∼200%. Due to the widespread existence of grasses and the particular importance of P. pratense in eliciting allergic responses, our findings provide evidence for significant impacts on human health worldwide as a result of future climate change

Automatic recognition of personality profiles using EEG functional connectivity during emotional processing

Personality is the characteristic set of an individual’s behavioral and emotional patterns that evolve from biological and environmental factors. The recognition of personality profiles is crucial in making human−computer interaction (HCI) applications realistic, more focused, and user friendly. The ability to recognize personality using neuroscientific data underpins the neurobiological basis of personality. This paper aims to automatically recognize personality, combining scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) and machine learning techniques. As the resting state EEG has not so far been proven efficient for predicting personality, we used EEG recordings elicited during emotion processing. This study was based on data from the AMIGOS dataset reflecting the response of 37 healthy participants. Brain networks and graph theoretical parameters were extracted from cleaned EEG signals, while each trait score was dichotomized into low- and high-level using the k-means algorithm. A feature selection algorithm was used afterwards to reduce the feature-set size to the best 10 features to describe each trait separately. Support vector machines (SVM) were finally employed to classify each instance. Our method achieved a classification accuracy of 83.8% for extraversion, 86.5% for agreeableness, 83.8% for conscientiousness, 83.8% for neuroticism, and 73% for openness