Places that Matter: Place Attachment and Wellbeing of Older Antillean Migrants in the Netherlands

It has been argued that attachment to place increases wellbeing in old age (Wiles et al., 2009). Feeling ‘in place’ can increase an older person's wellbeing. For older migrants it can be a challenge to live in-between cultures. The objective of the article is to explore how older Antillean migrants derive a sense of wellbeing from attachment to their everyday places. We do so by drawing on in-depth interviews and a photography project with Antilleans who live in a senior cohousing community in a city in the Northern Netherlands. Based on the study, we conclude that the cohousing community acted as a central setting of experience from which the participants explored their wider surroundings and developed new attachments in the neighbourhood

An Experience report on using DAML-S

Though DAML-S is growing into a de facto standard for semantic webservice markup, we have only found few complete service descriptions and even less papers discussing technical issues about the markup process. We addressed this lack by (1) reporting on our experiences in describing a set of services, (2) concluding several limitations of the latest DAML-S version (v0.7) and (3) making our work accessible to the research community1

Factors influencing the decision to choose information technology preparatory studies in secondary schools: an exploratory study in regional/rural Australia

[Abstract]: The career paths of students are influenced and shaped by the subject choices that are made in the final years of secondary schooling. This paper presents the findings of an empirical study that identified the key factors influencing the decision of rural / regional Australian students to choose or not choose to study Information Processing and Technology. The findings revealed that career oriented, extrinsic factors play an important role in motivating the selection of I.P.T. at school and, by implication, information technology at university. There are few apparent gender differences but there is limited evidence to suggest that males may be more influenced by extrinsic motivators and females by intrinsic motivators. Although the factors used in the study were initially identified largely via informal processes, they all appear to influence the decision to take I.P.T. The focus on career-related factors and the instrumentality of taking I.P.T. could explain the drop-off in students taking the subject. This has potentially significant implications as regards the future supply of good information technology professional

The Transcription Factor Network in Embryonic Stem Cells: The virtue of promiscuity?

Embryonic stem (ES) cells are derived from the inner cell mass of blastocyst stage embryos and when cultured in vitro can self-renew indefinitely while retaining the capacity to differentiate into derivatives of the three germ layers. These key properties are regulated by a core transcriptional network that revolves around three transcription factors, Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog. Chapter 1 introduces basic aspects of eukaryotic transcription regulation and describes the role of transcription factors in mouse preimplantation development and in maintenance and reinstatement of pluripotency in vitro. Whereas for most ES cell transcription factors genomic binding sites and regulated genes have been reported, the scope of their interaction partners remains underinvestigated. Exploring the interactome of ES cell transcription factors, however, can help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which they regulate gene expression and potentially leads to identification of novel factors involved in ES cell maintenance. Chapter 3 describes an improved FLAG affinity based protein purification methodology that was used to purify complexes of transcription factors Oct4, Sall4, Dax1, Tcfcp2l1 and Esrrb from relatively small amounts of ES cell nuclear extract. Identification of associated proteins by mass spectrometry analysis resulted in an interactome comprised of 166 proteins, including transcription factors and chromatin modifying complexes with documented roles in pluripotency or self-renewal, but also factors that are novel to the ES cell network. It furthermore demonstrates association of Esrrb with the basal transcription machinery (i.e. Mediator complex, RNA pol2 and TFIID). Chapter 2 reports on the functional implications of the newly identified interaction between Oct4 and Esrrb in regulation of Nanog gene expression. Chapter 4 concerns the characterization of Mediator complexes in ES cells and reports reproducible identification of Esrrb in purifications of Mediator complex. Chapter 5 provides a general discussion of the studies presented in this thesis

Sexual behaviour patterns in South Africa and their association with the spread of HIV: insights from a mathematical model

This paper aims to quantify the effects of different types of sexual risk behaviour on the spread of HIV in South Africa. A mathematical model is developed to simulate changes in numbers of sexual partners, changes in marital status, changes in commercial sex activity and changes in the frequency of unprotected sex over the life course. This is extended to allow for the transmission of HIV, and the model is fitted to South African HIV prevalence data and sexual behaviour data. Results suggest that concurrent partnerships and other non-spousal partnerships are major drivers of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa.AIDS/HIV, sexual behavior, simulation model, South Africa

Non-invasive technology to determine the haemoglobin level of blood donors at the SANBS

Background: Predonation haemoglobin (Hb) check has been done traditionally by the copper sulphate (CuSO4), or the haemocue haemoglobinometer methods. Both of these require a fingerprick of the donor to obtain capillary blood samples. It is thought that a non-invasive, but accurate method of Hb check will reduce stress to the donor and improve the donation experience.Aim: This study aims to establish the suitability of a non-invasive method, the HaemospectR transcutaneous Hb measurement system for screening prospective donors at the cut-off Hb value of 12.5g/dl.Materials and methods: All donors who presented for platelet and/or plasma donation at the multi-disciplinary donor centre of SANBS in Port Elizabeth were considered for enrolment. Hb was measured by both the standard automated method on venous EDTA samples, and by the HaemospectR transcutaneous Hb measuring device.Results: A total of 161 subjects were studied, including white, black, and coloured, male and female donors. The calculated sensitivity of the HaemospectR was 94.6%. The average percentage variance in Hb measurement between the two methods was 1.2%, while 70.8% of subjects had a percentage variance within10% of the venous Hb result.Discussion and conclusion: The result shows that the accuracy of the HaemospectR measurement was within the 1.5g/dl ascribed to the CuSO4 method. This suggests that the non-invasive method was at least as sensitive as the traditional screening methods. Further large-scale study is recommended to validate the findings in this pilot study.Keywords: Donor screening, haemoglobin, non-invasive, capillary sample; copper sulphat

Sweetpotato post-harvest assessment

For any crop cultivar to be successful it must not only have good production characteristics but also characteristics that ensure the harvested crop is acceptable and suitable for its intended use. Sweetpotato Post-harvest Assessment summarizes work carried out on postharvest aspects of sweetpotato between 1994 and 2002 within collaborative projects involving the Natural Resources Institute (UK), the International Potato Center and the Tanzanian Ministry of Agriculture, with input from the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute and the National Agricultural Research Organization of Uganda. Methods are discussed for assessing different quality aspects of sweetpotato cultivars within breeding programmes. The book is expected to be of particular interest to sweetpotato breeding organizations and those involved in research on sweetpotato, but will also be useful to those working on other crops

Why Didn’t I Know? Perspectives from Adult Children of Elderly Parents with Dementia

Purpose: Approximately 27 million adults are living with undiagnosed dementia worldwide. The purpose of this study was to learn about the experiences of adult children of elderly parents who were ultimately diagnosed with dementia. Data sources: A descriptive qualitative design was used for identifying if there were prodromal signs or symptoms that preceded the more commonly known warning signs of dementia. Twelve, 60-min interviews were conducted over the telephone. Conclusions: The overarching theme was: “Why didn\u27t I know?” Subthemes were “We ignored it because we didn\u27t want it to be,” “We thought it was grief,” and “They wouldn\u27t diagnose dementia.” Normal aging changes often mask the identification of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Healthcare providers should screen patients for dementia when cognitive concerns or changes become apparent. Implications for practice: The General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition and the Mini-Cog can be used for screening cognitive changes. Since depression may be misinterpreted as dementia, screening for depression should also be included if there is a potential for overlap. This is important in those patients who are experiencing grief, as many signs and symptoms of early grief are the same as early dementia