Investigation into the effects of the tobacco smoke procarcinogen benzo[a]pyrene on gene expression profiles in oesophageal cancer

Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-140).Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor in the development of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a tobacco smoke procarcinogen that is metabolically activated into the carcinogenic benzo[a]pyrene diol-epoxide (BPDE) by the CYP1 family of cytochrome P450 enzymes. BaP is a ligand for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) which activates CYP1 gene transcription. Polymorphisms in these genes affect enzyme activity and therefore BaP bioactivation

Structural Studies on the Regulation of Sporulation in Bacillus and Antibiotic Sulfation

The microbial world is rich with complexity. Bacteria have evolved several mechanisms to help them survive the harshest environments on earth. These range from complex developmental transformations to the synthesis of small molecule antibiotics that can fend off competing species. Both of these topics will be the focus of this thesis, specifically the regulation of endospore formation in Bacillus and the generation of a sulfated small molecule antibiotic from an uncultured soil bacterium. Using standard molecular biology methods and the techniques of X-ray crystallography, synthetic chemistry, and protein semisynthesis, we have: (1) Solved the X-ray crystal structure of a Geobacillus stearothermophilus sporulation histidine kinase in complex with an inhibitor of the kinase reaction (Chapter 2). (2) Developed an approach using the methods of protein semisynthesis and small molecule organic chemistry that will facilitate the study of active state conformations of a sporulation histidine kinase (Chapter 3). (3) Developed a full-length sporulation histidine kinase expression and purification system so that we may gain insights into the signaling mechanism of these proteins through crystallography (Chapter 4). (4) Developed an expression and purification system for an important stage II sporulation protein for future crystallographic studies (Chapter 5). (5) Solved the X-ray crystal structures of two sulfotransferases from an uncultured soil bacterium in complex with the antibiotic teicoplanin (Chapters 6 and 7)

AH-1S communication switch integration program

The C-6533/ARC communication system as installed on the test AH-1E Cobra helicopter was modified to allow discrete radio selection of all aircraft radios at the cyclic radio/intercommunication system switch. The current Cobra-fleet use of the C-6533 system is cumbersome, particularly during low-altitude operations. Operationally, the current system C-6533 configuration and design requires the pilot to estimate when he can safely remove his hand from an active flight control to select radios during low-altitude flight. The pilot must then physically remove his hand from the flight control, look inside the cockpit to select and verify the radio selection and then effect the selected radio transmission by activating the radio/ICS switch on the cyclic. This condition is potentially hazardous, especially during low-level flight at night in degraded weather. To improve pilot performance, communications effectiveness, and safety, manprint principles were utilized in the selection of a design modification. The modified C-6533 design was kept as basic as possible for potential Cobra-fleet modification. The communications system was modified and the design was subsequently flight-tested by the U.S. Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate and NASA at the NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California. The design modification enables the Cobra pilot to maintain hands-on flight controls while selecting radios during nap-of-the-Earth (NOE) flight without looking inside the cockpit which resulted in reduced pilot workload ratings, better pilot handling quality ratings and increased flight safety for the NOE flight environment

The nature of process-produced data: towards a social-scientific source criticism

Probleme des Alltagslebens werden zunehmend Gegenstand administrativer Datensammlung und Verarbeitung. Diese quantitativen Daten können von der Sozialwissenschaft nur dann sinnvoll in die Arbeit einbezogen werden, wenn ihre Entstehungsbedingungen und ihr Verwendungszusammenhang in der Verwaltung berücksichtigt werden. Diese sozialwissenschaftliche Quellenkritik stellen die Autoren am Beispiel von Daten aus dem Bereich Köln vor. Nach grundsätzlichen Erwägungen über das Verhältnis von Alltagsleben und Verwaltungssystem, wird am Kölner Beispiel erläutert, wie die Verwaltung über Fragebögen Alltagsdaten sammelt und gewichtet. Der Vereinzelung in der Datenerhebung durch Verwaltungseinheiten führt zur Vernachlässigung bestimmter Daten aus dem Alltagsleben. In einem weiteren Abschnitt werden der Datenaustausch zwischen Institutionen und das darauf aufbauende Kommunikationsnetz mit seinen Defiziten dargestellt. Anschließend werden Daten daraufhin untersucht, inwieweit der Datenerheber der Verwaltung auf ihre Struktur Einfluß nimmt. Abschließend wird das Verhältnis zwischen Bürokratie der Verwaltung und Klienten behandelt. (BG

What is your corporate brand worth? A guide to brand valuation approaches

Brand league tables are becoming very popular as a reflection of the performance of an organisation. Stakeholders also view the ranking of brands as an important yardstick when forming a brand image. This article reviews the available approaches to brand valuation. The research followed a case study methodology. The case site that was used for this study was The South African Gold Coin Exchange. The main objective of this study was to calculate the value of the corporate brand of one company using different methods. The aim was to show that the value of the brand is highly dependent on the method used. In total twelve senior managers and directors were interviewed. It then calculates the value of the South African Gold Coin Exchange Brand using a number of different models. There is a different result under each approach. It has been established that different models are more appropriate than others depending on the manager's valuation objectives. This research is a single case study and therefore future research should have an increased sample size and be a cross industry study. Managers are often confronted with the problem of deciding which valuation method to use as there are many alternative approaches. We provide guidance for managers who want to perform a brand valuation of their organisation

Representação em XML da Floresta Sintáctica

A Floresta Sintáctica é um recurso linguístico mantido e distribuído livremente ao público pela Linguateca. Face à necessidade de abranger uma maior comunidade de linguistas e de programadores na área do processamento da linguagem natural, procura-se distribuir este recurso em outros formatos alem do existente, tais como formatos baseados em XML. Pretende-se neste documento descrever o processo de equipar a Floresta Sintáctica com mecanismos que facilitem a sua utilização. Para isso pretende-se converter o seu formato actual para formatos baseados em XML. Serão analisados os problemas e questões da definição XML deste tipo de recurso. Apresenta-se ainda um módulo experimental construído especificamente para facilitar a construção de processadores da Floresta

A narrative synthesis of factors that affect women speaking up about early warning signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia and responses of healthcare staff.

BACKGROUND: One of the challenges for treating pre-eclampsia and preventing further deterioration is determining how best to enable early detection. If women or their partners and families are able to raise early warnings about potential signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia in pregnancy, birth and in the postnatal period, women may be able to receive earlier intervention to prevent severe pre-eclampsia from developing. The aim of this study was to improve understanding of factors affecting the ability of women to recognise symptoms and signs of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia and seek appropriate medical help and factors affecting health care professionals' responses to women and their families who 'speak up' about early warning signs and symptoms. METHODS: A narrative synthesis was conducted of evidence relevant to address the research question. The following electronic data bases were searched for qualitative studies which met inclusion criteria from January 1980 to April 2016; Medline, CINAHL, HMIC, PsycINFO, Embase, BNI, ASSIA, Scopus, Maternity and Infant Care, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane, JBI and IBSS with the support of an Information Service Consultant. RESULTS: Following thematic analysis, three themes were identified; 1: Women's understanding and knowledge of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia; 2: Factors affecting help seeking behaviour from perspectives of women and their families'; 3: Factors affecting staff response. There was widespread lack of knowledge and understanding of signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia among women and their families, with some women not exhibiting signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia or unable to distinguish them from 'normal' pregnancy changes. CONCLUSIONS: Women and their families not only need to be made aware of signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia but also require information on the most effective ways to seek urgent medical assessment and care. Some women did not experience prodromal signs and symptoms, which raises concerns about how women and families can detect early onset, and is an issue which needs further exploration. There is very limited research exploring clinical staff response to women who raise concerns about their health when experiencing symptoms and signs of pre-eclampsia/eclampsia with further research needed if safety and quality of care are to be improved

Mental health and wellbeing during the transition to fatherhood: A systematic review of first time fathers’ experiences

COPYRIGHT 2018 THE AUTHORS PUBLISHED BY WOLTERS KLUWER HEALTH, INC. ON BEHALF OF THE JOANNA BRIGGS INSTITUTE. Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to identify and synthesize the best available evidence on first time fathers’ experiences and needs in relation to their mental health and wellbeing during their transition to fatherhood. Introduction: Men’s mental health and wellbeing during their transition to fatherhood is an important public health issue that is currently under-researched from a qualitative perspective and poorly understood. Inclusion criteria: Resident first time fathers (biological and non-biological) of healthy babies born with no identified terminal or long-term conditions were included. The phenomena of interest were their experiences and needs in relation to mental health and wellbeing during their transition to fatherhood, from commencement of pregnancy until one year after birth. Studies based on qualitative data, including, but not limited to, designs within phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography and action research were included. Methods: A three-step search strategy was used. The search strategy explored published and unpublished qualitative studies from 1960 to September 2017. All included studies were assessed by two independent reviewers and any disagreements were resolved by consensus or with a third reviewer. The recommended Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) approach to critical appraisal, study selection, data extraction and data synthesis was used. Results: Twenty-two studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review, which were then assessed to be of moderate to high quality (scores 5-10) based on the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. The studies were published between 1990 and 2017, and all used qualitative methodologies to accomplish the overall aim of investigating the experiences of expectant or new fathers. Nine studies were from the UK, three from Sweden, three from Australia, two from Canada, two from the USA, one from Japan, one from Taiwan and one from Singapore. The total number of first time fathers included in the studies was 351. One hundred and forty-four findings were extracted from the included studies. Of these, 142 supported findings were aggregated into 23 categories and seven synthesized findings: 1) New fatherhood identity, 2) Competing challenges of new fatherhood, 3) Negative feelings and fears, 4) Stress and coping, 5) Lack of support, 6) What new fathers want, and 7) Positive aspects of fatherhood. Conclusions: Based on the synthesized findings, three main factors that affect first time fathers’ mental health and wellbeing during their transition to fatherhood were identified: the formation of the fatherhood identity, competing challenges of the new fatherhood role and negative feelings and fears relating to it. The role restrictions and changes in lifestyle often resulted in feelings of stress, for which fathers used denial or escape activities, such as smoking, working longer hours or listening to music, as coping techniques. Fathers wanted more guidance and support around the preparation for fatherhood, and partner relationship changes. Barriers to accessing support included lack of tailored information resources and acknowledgment from health professionals. Better preparation for fatherhood, and support for couple relationships during the transition to parenthood could facilitate better experiences for new fathers, and contribute to better adjustments and mental wellbeing in new fathers