The Invisible Gender in the Corporate World: A Case Study of the Business Daily Newspaper in Kenya

The business world creates a power structure of male as authority (topdog) and female as the underdog. This discriminative structure has been passed down through generations. Consequently it has denied women the power to control their own resources .This paper purposes to show that the corporate world has maintained the male as authority bias to date and progress in attaining gender parity is ‘painfully’ slow especially for women seeking executive positions, Keywords: merchants, social construction of gender, corporate worl

Foundation and Structural Design of Lock Walls Founded on a Fault Zone

The Panama Canal Third Set of Locks Project is being constructed within a geologically diverse setting. Of particular interest is the upper chamber of the Pacific Locks Complex, which is 400 meters long and founded on basalt bedrock but crosses a 90 m wide fault zone. After completing the excavation to foundation grade, the fault zone was mapped and drilling investigations, in-situ geomechanical testing, and laboratory testing were performed. The fault zone contains highly fractured, faulted, and brecciated rock types that were grouped into two geomechanical classes, Class I and Class II. Given the extent of the fault zone and variability of the geologic conditions within the fault zone, the foundation analysis was coordinated with the structural design of the lock walls to take into account deformation and sliding stability to meet the design and performance requirements. Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) finite element analyses were performed using Phase2 and Abaqus 3D to estimate foundation settlements and evaluate the stresses within the lock walls. In addition, sensitivity analyses were performed using Abaqus 2D to evaluate bearing capacity and optimize concrete reinforcement. A second less extensive fault zone was later encountered, and based on the experience gained in developing the mitigation measures for this fault zone, it was determined that similar mitigation measures were applicable

Tracking TCRß sequence clonotype expansions during antiviral therapy using high-throughput sequencing of the hypervariable region

To maintain a persistent infection viruses such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) employ a range of mechanisms that subvert protective T cell responses. The suppression of antigen-specific T cell responses by HCV hinders efforts to profile T cell responses during chronic infection and antiviral therapy. Conventional methods of detecting antigen-specific T cells utilize either antigen stimulation (e.g., ELISpot, proliferation assays, cytokine production) or antigen-loaded tetramer staining. This limits the ability to profile T cell responses during chronic infection due to suppressed effector function and the requirement for prior knowledge of antigenic viral peptide sequences. Recently, high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies have been developed for the analysis of T cell repertoires. In the present study, we have assessed the feasibility of HTS of the TCRβ complementarity determining region (CDR)3 to track T cell expansions in an antigen-independent manner. Using sequential blood samples from HCV-infected individuals undergoing antiviral therapy, we were able to measure the population frequencies of >35,000 TCRβ sequence clonotypes in each individual over the course of 12 weeks. TRBV/TRBJ gene segment usage varied markedly between individuals but remained relatively constant within individuals across the course of therapy. Despite this stable TRBV/TRBJ gene segment usage, a number of TCRβ sequence clonotypes showed dramatic changes in read frequency. These changes could not be linked to therapy outcomes in the present study; however, the TCRβ CDR3 sequences with the largest fold changes did include sequences with identical TRBV/TRBJ gene segment usage and high junction region homology to previously published CDR3 sequences from HCV-specific T cells targeting the HLA-B*0801-restricted 1395HSKKKCDEL1403 and HLA-A*0101-restricted 1435ATDALMTGY1443 epitopes. The pipeline developed in this proof of concept study provides a platform for the design of future experiments to accurately address the question of whether T cell responses contribute to SVR upon antiviral therapy. This pipeline represents a novel technique to analyze T cell dynamics in situations where conventional antigen-dependent methods are limited due to suppression of T cell functions and highly diverse antigenic sequences

Factors associated with poor delivery outcomes among women delivering by breech in South Western Uganda: Unmatched case control study

Background: It is globally observed that breech delivery through vaginal route is associated with more adverse neonatal outcomes compared to caesarian section including low 5 minute Apgar score and perinatal mortality increased. The ideal mode of delivery in breech presentation remains an area of intense controversy worldwide coupled with paucity of studies to high light factors associated with poor outcomes among breech deliveries. Objective: This study set out to determine the neonatal delivery outcomes in women delivering by breech at Mbarara University teaching hospital, South Western Uganda and factors associated with poor neonatal outcomes among breech deliveries. Methods: This was an unmatched case control study of 208 breech births between January to December 2014. Relevant socio-demographic and obstetrical variables were abstracted from patients’ records. The data was analyzed using SPSS and cross tabulations were done and frequencies, percentages and Pearson Chi-square statistics obtained. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to test association. Significance level was set at p value < or = 0.05 Results: Among the 206 deliveries that were analyzed, 120 babies delivered by caesarean section (C/S) and 86 by assisted vaginal breech delivery. In the C/S group, 4 (3.3%) were fresh still births (FSB) and 116 (96.7%) were live births while in the assisted vaginal breech group, 25 (29.1%) were FSB and 61 (70.1%) were live births. Babies born by C/S had better Apgar scores at 5 minutes with 5 (4.1%) of babies born through C/S scored 0-6 while 115 (95.8%) scored between 7-10 whereas 31 (36%) of babies born by assisted vaginal breech delivery scored between 0-6 while 55 (64%) scored between 7-10. The factors associated with low Apgar scores at five minutes and fresh still births were vaginal mode of delivery, birth weight of less than 3 kilograms and multi-parity. Conclusion: Safe caesarian section and birth weight >2.5kg is associated with better perinatal outcome among breech deliveries Keywords: Breech delivery, mode of delivery, birth weight, Apgar score, perinatal outcome

Connectivity-enhanced diffusion analysis reveals white matter density disruptions in first episode and chronic schizophrenia.

Reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) is a well-established correlate of schizophrenia, but it remains unclear whether these tensor-based differences are the result of axon damage and/or organizational changes and whether the changes are progressive in the adult course of illness. Diffusion MRI data were collected in 81 schizophrenia patients (54 first episode and 27 chronic) and 64 controls. Analysis of FA was combined with "fixel-based" analysis, the latter of which leverages connectivity and crossing-fiber information to assess both fiber bundle density and organizational complexity (i.e., presence and magnitude of off-axis diffusion signal). Compared with controls, patients with schizophrenia displayed clusters of significantly lower FA in the bilateral frontal lobes, right dorsal centrum semiovale, and the left anterior limb of the internal capsule. All FA-based group differences overlapped substantially with regions containing complex fiber architecture. FA within these clusters was positively correlated with principal axis fiber density, but inversely correlated with both secondary/tertiary axis fiber density and voxel-wise fiber complexity. Crossing fiber complexity had the strongest (inverse) association with FA (r = -0.82). When crossing fiber structure was modeled in the MRtrix fixel-based analysis pipeline, patients exhibited significantly lower fiber density compared to controls in the dorsal and posterior corpus callosum (central, postcentral, and forceps major). Findings of lower FA in patients with schizophrenia likely reflect two inversely related signals: reduced density of principal axis fiber tracts and increased off-axis diffusion sources. Whereas the former confirms at least some regions where myelin and or/axon count are lower in schizophrenia, the latter indicates that the FA signal from principal axis fiber coherence is broadly contaminated by macrostructural complexity, and therefore does not necessarily reflect microstructural group differences. These results underline the need to move beyond tensor-based models in favor of acquisition and analysis techniques that can help disambiguate different sources of white matter disruptions associated with schizophrenia

Na+-leak channel, non-selective (NALCN) regulates myometrial excitability and facilitates successful parturition

Background/Aims: Uterine contractility is controlled by electrical signals generated by myometrial smooth muscle cells. Because aberrant electrical signaling may cause inefficient uterine contractions and poor reproductive outcomes, there is great interest in defining the ion channels that regulate uterine excitability. In human myometrium, the Na+ leak channel, non-selective (NALCN) contributes to a gadolinium-sensitive, Na+-dependent leak current. The aim of this study was to determine the role of NALCN in regulating uterine excitability and examine its involvement in parturition. Methods: Wildtype C57BL/6J mice underwent timed-mating and NALCN uterine expression was measured at several time points across pregnancy including pregnancy days 7, 10, 14, 18 and 19. Sharp electrode current clamp was used to measure uterine excitability at these same time points. To determine NALCN’s contribution to myometrial excitability and pregnancy outcomes, we created smooth-muscle-specific NALCN knockout mice by crossing NALCNfx/fx mice with myosin heavy chain Cre (MHCCreeGFP) mice. Parturition outcomes were assessed by observation via surveillance video recording cre control, flox control, smNALCN+/-, and smNALCN-/- mice. Myometrial excitability was compared between pregnancy day 19 flox controls and smNALCN-/- mice. Results: We found that in the mouse uterus, NALCN protein levels were high early in pregnancy, decreased in mid and late pregnancy, and then increased in labor and postpartum. Sharp electrode current clamp recordings of mouse longitudinal myometrial samples from pregnancy days 7, 10, 14, 18, and 19 revealed day-dependent increases in burst duration and interval and decreases in spike density. NALCN smooth muscle knockout mice had reduced myometrial excitability exemplified by shortened action potential bursts, and an increased rate of abnormal labor, including prolonged and dysfunctional labor. Conclusions: Together, our findings demonstrate that the Na+ conducting channel NALCN contributes to the myometrial action potential waveform and is important for successful labor outcomes

Responses to the MHRA Consultation on the Future Regulation of Medical Devices in the UK

Responses submitted to the MHRA Consultation on the Future Regulation of Medical Devices in the UK in November 2021

Responses to the MHRA Consultation on the Future Regulation of Medical Devices in the UK

Responses submitted to the MHRA Consultation on the Future Regulation of Medical Devices in the UK in November 2021

Graphene formation on SiC substrates

Graphene layers were created on both C and Si faces of semi-insulating, on-axis, 4H- and 6H-SiC substrates. The process was performed under high vacuum (<10-4 mbar) in a commercial chemical vapor deposition SiC reactor. A method for H2 etching the on-axis sub-strates was developed to produce surface steps with heights of 0.5 nm on the Si-face and 1.0 to 1.5 nm on the C-face for each polytype. A process was developed to form graphene on the substrates immediately after H2 etching and Raman spectroscopy of these samples confirmed the formation of graphene. The morphology of the graphene is described. For both faces, the underlying substrate morphology was significantly modified during graphene formation; sur-face steps were up to 15 nm high and the uniform step morphology was sometimes lost. Mo-bilities and sheet carrier concentrations derived from Hall Effect measurements on large area (16 mm square) and small area (2 and 10 um square) samples are presented and shown to compare favorably to recent reports.Comment: European Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials 2008 (ECSCRM '08), 4 pages, 4 figure