524 research outputs found
Reduction of Coxiella burnetii prevalence by vaccination of goats and sheep, the Netherlands
Recently, the number of human Q fever cases in the Netherlands increased dramatically. In response to this increase, dairy goats and dairy sheep were vaccinated against Coxiella burnetii. All pregnant dairy goats and dairy sheep in herds positive for Q fever were culled. We identified the effect of vaccination on bacterial shedding by small ruminants. On the day of culling, samples of uterine fluid, vaginal mucus, and milk were obtained from 957 pregnant animals in 13 herds. Prevalence and bacterial load were reduced in vaccinated animals compared with unvaccinated animals. These effects were most pronounced in animals during their first pregnancy. Results indicate that vaccination may reduce bacterial load in the environment and human exposure to C. burnetii
The sale of Halkiasu and the Old Assyrian legal formula qablitam erru'um
Middle Eastern Studie
The KĂźltepe tablets in the Hilprecht-Sammlung: a contribution to the chronology of their trade and collecting
Study of the collection of texts from KĂźltepe within the framework of excavations and trade of antiquities.Middle Eastern Studie
Diabetes alone should not be a reason for withholding adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer
Background: With increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus and colon cancer, the number of patients suffering from both diseases is growing, and physicians are being faced with complicated treatment decisions. Objective: To investigate the association between diabetes and treatment/course of stage III colon cancer and the association between colon cancer and course of diabetes. Materials and Methods: Additional information was collected from the medical records of all patients with both stage III colon cancer and diabetes (n=201) and a random sample of stage III colon cancer patients without diabetes (n=206) in the area of the population-based Eindhoven Cancer Registry (1998â2007). Results: Colon cancer patients without diabetes were more likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy compared with diabetic colon cancer patients (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.2â2.7). After adjustment for age, this difference was borderline significant (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.0â2.6). Diabetic patients did not have: significantly more side-effects from surgery or adjuvant chemotherapy; more recurrence from colon cancer; significantly shorter time interval until recurrence; or a poorer disease-free survival or overall survival. Age and withholding of adjuvant chemotherapy were most predictive of all-cause mortality. After colon cancer diagnosis, the dose of antiglycaemic medications was increased in 22% of diabetic patients, resulting in significantly lower glycaemic indexes than before colon cancer diagnosis. Conclusions: Since diabetic patients did not have more side-effects of adjuvant chemotherapy, and adjuvant chemotherapy had a positive effect on survival for both patients with and without diabetes, diabetes alone should not be a reason for withholding adjuvant chemotherapy.Journal of Comorbidity 2011;1(1):19â2
The Group of 20 and its contribution to the reform of the global financial architecture
The 2008 global financial crisis prompted an extensive re-evaluation of the effectiveness, legitimacy and relevance of the institutions that governed the global economy since the end of the Second World War. This re-evaluation resulted in various attempts to improve the formal and informal structures of global financial governance in order to avoid similar shortcomings in the future. As a result, the G20 developed from a mere suggestion at a G7 Summit in 1999 into a significant society of states ranging from highly developed states to developing states. The G20 is a deliberative forum representing 19 of the worldâs leading industrialised and emerging economies and the European Union. Global financial instability resulting from the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis triggered the establishment of the G20 and informed its mandate to promote international financial stability. Consequently, the G20 became the key agent for the reform of the international financial architecture and has been described as an international steering committee, a premier forum and a cornerstone for international financial cooperation. This study is grounded in the constructivistsâ assumption that the international environment should be explained as a social structure constructed by a normative framework. This non-material framework provides both agents (actors, such as, but not limited to, states) and the material environment social identity and legitimacy. Crises in the material environment, however, can result in new identities, interests and norms, a new normative platform for the reform of the system. This study found that the G20, represented by members from the global North and the global South, focused on the reform of the IMF, overseer of global financial processes. Yet, a main finding in this study is that the urgency to reform the IMF disappeared as new global issues emerged on the global agenda. This study also asks how the G20 can become a more effective global actor, an agent of long-term change driven by shared understandings and new norms to ensure the reform of the global financial architecture to increase its stability.Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2018.Political SciencesMAUnrestricte
De Facto huwelike :
Text in Afrikaans, abstract in Afrikaans and EnglishDie regsposisie van die deelgenote tot 'n de facto huwelik word krities ondersoek met
inagneming van die huidige Suid-Afrikaanse regsposisie, oorsigtelike regsvergelyking,
die morele argument, en die invloed van die Grondwet van Suid-Afrika. Die
verskillende vorme van de facto huwelike in sy bree interpretasie word in oenskou
geneem en die volgende verbindings word bespreek: saamwoonverhoudings;
inheemsregtelike huwelike; huwelike voortspruitend uit godsdienstige tradisies; en
homoseksuele huwelike.
Dit word gevind dat die Suid-Afrikaanse regsposisie tans baie onbevredigend is.
Sekere voorstelle vir wysigings word aan die hand gedoen, en daar word gewys op
die unieke kenmerke van die Suid-Afrikaanse situasie wat in ag geneem moet word
in die vorming van 'n nuwe benadering. Dit word bepleit dat die regslui die uitdaging
moet aangryp en met innoverende denke 'n nuwe bestel vir die Suid-Afrikaanse reg moet skep wat buigbaar en soepel is, maar terselfdertyd regsekerheid bevorder.The legal status of the parties to a de facto marriage is investigated, taking into
consideration the present South African position, legal comparison, the moral
argument, and the influence of the Constitution of South Africa. The different forms
of the de facto marriage in its wide interpretation are reviewed and the following
relationships are discussed: cohabitation relationships; customary marriages;
marriages resulting from religious traditions; and homosexual relationships.
It is found that the present South African legal position is very unsatisfactory. Several
suggestions for amendments are made, and the unique characteristics of the South
African situation to be taken into consideration in forming a new approach, are
highlighted. It is pleaded that the legal profession accept the challenge to create, with
innovation, a new system for South African law which will be flexible, but, will at the same time ensure certainty in law.Private LawLL. M
Qualitative development and content validation of the "SPART" model:a focused ethnography study of observable diagnostic and therapeutic activities in the emergency medical services care process
Abstract Background Clinical reasoning is a crucial task within the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) care process. Both contextual and cognitive factors make the task susceptible to errors. Understanding the EMS care processâ structure could help identify and address issues that interfere with clinical reasoning. The EMS care process is complex and only basically described. In this research, we aimed to define the different phases of the process and develop an overarching model that can help detect and correct potential error sources, improve clinical reasoning and optimize patient care. Methods We conducted a focused ethnography study utilizing non-participant video observations of real-life EMS deployments combined with thematic analysis of peer interviews. After an initial qualitative analysis of 7 video observations, we formulated a tentative conceptual model of the EMS care process. To test and refine this model, we carried out a qualitative, thematic analysis of 28 video-recorded cases. We validated the resulting model by evaluating its recognizability with a peer content analysis utilizing semi-structured interviews. Results Based on real-life observations, we were able to define and validate a model covering the distinct phases of an EMS deployment. We have introduced the acronym âSPARTâ to describe ten different phases: Start, Situation, Prologue, Presentation, Anamnesis, Assessment, Reasoning, Resolution, Treatment, and Transfer. Conclusions The âSPARTâ model describes the EMS care process and helps to understand it. We expect it to facilitate identifying and addressing factors that influence both the care process and the clinical reasoning task embedded in this process
REL: An Entity Linker Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Entity linking is a standard component in modern retrieval system that is
often performed by third-party toolkits. Despite the plethora of open source
options, it is difficult to find a single system that has a modular
architecture where certain components may be replaced, does not depend on
external sources, can easily be updated to newer Wikipedia versions, and, most
important of all, has state-of-the-art performance. The REL system presented in
this paper aims to fill that gap. Building on state-of-the-art neural
components from natural language processing research, it is provided as a
Python package as well as a web API. We also report on an experimental
comparison against both well-established systems and the current
state-of-the-art on standard entity linking benchmarks
Salient omissionsâpupil dilation in response to unexpected omissions of sound and touch
IntroductionRecent theories describe perception as an inferential process based on internal predictive models adjusted by means of prediction violations (prediction error). To study and demonstrate predictive processing in the brain the use of unexpected stimulus omissions has been suggested as a promising approach as the evoked brain responses are uncontaminated by responses to stimuli. Here, we aimed to investigate the pupilâs response to unexpected stimulus omissions in order to better understand surprise and orienting of attention resulting from prediction violation. So far only few studies have used omission in pupillometry research and results have been inconsistent.MethodsThis study adapted an EEG paradigm that has been shown to elicit omission responses in auditory and somatosensory modalities. Healthy adults pressed a button at their own pace, which resulted in the presentation of sounds or tactile stimuli in either 88%, 50% or 0% (motor-control) of cases. Pupil size was recorded continuously and averaged to analyze the pupil dilation response associated with each condition.ResultsResults revealed that omission responses were observed in both modalities in the 88%-condition compared to motor-control. Similar pupil omission responses were observed between modalities, suggesting modality-unspecific activation of the underlying brain circuits.DiscussionIn combination with previous omission studies using EEG, the findings demonstrate predictive models in brain processing and point to the involvement of subcortical structures in the omission response. Our pupillometry approach is especially suitable to study sensory prediction in vulnerable populations within the psychiatric field
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