673 research outputs found
New āReligious Menā in Somaliland
A reformist brand of Islam emerged and consolidated during the decades of the Somali civil war, which began in the early 1980sāleading up to outright state collapse in 1991. Initially, its socio-political position was rather marginal. Proponents of the new brand denounced the dominant local Sufi Islam as well as the Somali clan system, to which it was traditionally closely associated. Soon however, lack of political and military success seems to have forced the Islamists back into the organically grown interaction between Somali Islam and the ubiquitous clan system, its politics, and institutions. At least for the time being
Assessment of electric pulse fishing as an environment friendly fishing method in the North Sea
A novel framework for engineering protein loops exploring length and compositional variation
Insertions and deletions (indels) are known to affect function, biophysical properties and substrate specificity of enzymes, and they play a central role in evolution. Despite such clear significance, this class of mutation remains an underexploited tool in protein engineering with few available platforms capable of systematically generating and analysing libraries of varying sequence composition and length. We present a novel DNA assembly platform (InDel assembly), based on cycles of endonuclease restriction digestion and ligation of standardised dsDNA building blocks, that can generate libraries exploring both composition and sequence length variation. In addition, we developed a framework to analyse the output of selection from InDel-generated libraries, combining next generation sequencing and alignment-free strategies for sequence analysis. We demonstrate the approach by engineering the well-characterized TEM-1 Ī²-lactamase Ī©-loop, involved in substrate specificity, identifying multiple novel extended spectrum Ī²-lactamases with loops of modified length and compositionāareas of the sequence space not previously explored. Together, the InDel assembly and analysis platforms provide an efficient route to engineer protein loops or linkers where sequence length and composition are both essential functional parameters
Application of Building Typologies for Modelling the Energy Balance of the Residential Building Stock
Building typologies can serve as a basis for analysing the national housing sector. During the TABULA project which was introducing or further developing building typologies in thirteen EU countries, six of the European partners have carried out model calculations which aim at imaging the energy consumption and estimating the energy saving potentials of their national residential building stocks (IWU / Germany, NOA / Greece, POLITO / Italy, VITO / Belgium, STU-K / Czech Republic, SBi / Denmark). The results show that the model calculations can provide plausible projections of the energy consumption of the national residential buildings stock. The fit of model calculations and national energy statistics is satisfactory, deviations can often be explained and corrected by adapting standard boundary conditions of the applied calculation models to more realistic values. In general, the analysis shows that building typologies can be a helpful tool for modelling the energy consumption of national building stocks and for carrying out scenario analysis beyond the TABULA project. The consideration of a set of representative buildings makes it possible to have a detailed view on various packages of measures for the complete buildings stock or for its sub-categories. The effects of different insulation measures at the respective construction elements as well as different heat supply measures including renewable energies can be considered in detail. The quality of future model calculations will depend very much on the availability of statistical data. For reliable scenario analysis information is necessary about the current state of the building stock (How many buildings and heating systems have been refurbished until now?) and about the current trends (How many buildings and heating systems are being refurbished every year?). The availability and regular update of the relevant statistical data will be an important basis for the development and evaluation of national climate protection strategies in the building secto
Two-Timescale Learning Using Idiotypic Behaviour Mediation For A Navigating Mobile Robot
A combined Short-Term Learning (STL) and Long-Term Learning (LTL) approach to
solving mobile-robot navigation problems is presented and tested in both the
real and virtual domains. The LTL phase consists of rapid simulations that use
a Genetic Algorithm to derive diverse sets of behaviours, encoded as variable
sets of attributes, and the STL phase is an idiotypic Artificial Immune System.
Results from the LTL phase show that sets of behaviours develop very rapidly,
and significantly greater diversity is obtained when multiple autonomous
populations are used, rather than a single one. The architecture is assessed
under various scenarios, including removal of the LTL phase and switching off
the idiotypic mechanism in the STL phase. The comparisons provide substantial
evidence that the best option is the inclusion of both the LTL phase and the
idiotypic system. In addition, this paper shows that structurally different
environments can be used for the two phases without compromising
transferability.Comment: 40 pages, 12 tables, Journal of Applied Soft Computin
Hugo Raes : de roman als montage : een struktuuranalyse van De vadsige koningen, Een faun met kille horentjes en, Het smaraĢn, het vikka, de ronko en al de andere kleuren van de geschiedenis
De analyse van het individuele literaire werk zal steeds het begin- en eindpunt moeten zijn van de literatuurstudie in welke gedaante dan ook: "Dit neemt echter niet weg dat het begin en einde, het alfa en omega van de literaire bedrijvigheid, het literair kunstwerk als zodanig, de literaire intentie, functie en efficientie de literair, literairesthetisch, te actualiseren en te valoriseren tekst is ... " (Rutten, 1973, p.144). Juist deze vorm van onderzoek lijkt op het ogenblik soms weI eens verloren te raken tussen de veelheid van literaire theorieen die overal opgang maken. De beoefenaars van de literaire kritiek lijken dikwijls meer begaan met het opbouwen en afbreken van theorieen dan met het literaire werk zelf. Sinds W. Bloks studie Verhaal en lezer in 1960 voor het eerst het licht zag, mag er dan op het gebied van de literatuurwetenschap in de Nederlanden en daarbuiten heel wat veranderd zijn, maar zijn uitspraak: " ... dat de romantheorie op het ogenblik het meest gebaat is met analyses van afzonderlijke werken" (1969, p.9) heeft zeker nog niets aan geldigheid ingeboet
Involving children in creating a healthy environment in low Socioeconomic Position (SEP) neighborhoods in The Netherlands:A Participatory Action Research (PAR) project
To ensure that health behavior interventions for children living in low socioeconomic position (SEP) neighborhoods are in line with childrenās wishes and needs, participation of the children in the development, implementation, and evaluation is crucial. In this paper, we show how children living in three low SEP neighborhoods in the Netherlands can be involved in Participatory Action Research (PAR) by using the photovoice method, and what influences this research process. Observations, informal chats, semi structured interviews, and focus group discussions with children and professionals were done to evaluate the research process. The photovoice method provided comprehensive information from the childrenās perspectives. With the help of the community workers, the children identified feasible actions. We found that it is important to constantly discuss the research process with participants, start with a concrete question or problem, and adapt the project to the local context and skills of participants
Children's Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms Predict Lower Diet Quality but Not Vice Versa:Results from Bidirectional Analyses in a Population-Based Cohort
BACKGROUND: As an adjuvant for medication, dietary changes focused on specific nutrients have been proposed to prevent or reduce attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. However, whether an overall healthy dietary pattern is associated with ADHD symptom severity during childhood remains unclear. Furthermore, it is not clear what the direction of this association is. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine the association between dietary patterns and ADHD symptoms in school-aged children. In addition, we aimed to identify the temporal direction of this association-that is, whether dietary patterns predict ADHD symptoms or vice versa. METHODS: We analyzed data from 3680 children participating in the Generation R Study, a prospective cohort in Rotterdam, Netherlands. ADHD symptoms were assessed with parent-report questionnaires at ages 6 and 10 y using the Child Behavior Checklist. Dietary intake was assessed at the age of 8 y with a validated food-frequency questionnaire. We computed a diet quality score reflecting adherence to dietary guidelines. We examined bidirectional associations of diet quality with ADHD symptom scores using multivariable linear regression analysis and cross-lagged modeling. RESULTS: Linear regressions showed that more ADHD symptoms at age 6 y were associated with a lower diet quality score at age 8 y (SD score = -0.08; 95% CI: -0.11, -0.05) but that diet quality at age 8 y was not associated with ADHD symptoms at age 10 y. Cross-lagged models confirmed a unidirectional relation from ADHD symptoms to diet quality but not vice versa. Associations did not differ by overweight status or between boys and girls. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that children with more ADHD symptoms may be at higher risk of an unhealthy diet but that overall diet quality does not affect ADHD risk
Mechanisms and contextual factors related to key elements of a successful integrated community-based approach aimed at reducing socioeconomic health inequalities in the Netherlands:A realist evaluation perspective
Background Reducing health inequalities is a challenge for policymakers and civil society. A multisectoral and multilevel approach is most promising to reduce those inequalities. Previous research showed what key elements of Zwolle Healthy City, an integrated community-based approach aimed at reducing socioeconomic health inequalities, are. To fully understand approaches that are complex and context dependent, questions as 'how does the intervention work' and 'in what context does it work' are just as important as 'what works'. The current study aimed to identify mechanisms and contextual factors associated with the key elements of Zwolle Healthy City, using a realist evaluation perspective.Ā Methods Transcripts of semi-structured interviews with a wide range of local professionals were used (n = 29). Following realist evaluation logic in the analysis of this primary data, context-mechanism- outcome configurations were identified and thereafter discussed with experts (n = 5).Ā Results How mechanisms (M) in certain contexts (C) were of influence on the key elements (O) of the Zwolle Healthy City approach are described. For example, how, in the context of the responsible aldermen embracing the approach (C), regular meetings with the aldermen (M) increased support for the approach among involved professionals (O). Or, how, in the context of available financial resources (C), assigning a program manager (M) contributed positively to coordination and communication (O). All 36 context-mechanism-outcome configurations can be found in the repository.Ā ConclusionThis study showed what mechanisms and contextual factors are associated with the key elements of Zwolle Healthy City. By applying realist evaluation logic in the analysis of primary qualitative data we were able to disentangle the complexity of processes of this whole system approach and show this complexity in a structured manner. Also, by describing the context in which the Zwolle Healthy City approach is implemented, we contribute to the transferability of this approach across different contexts.</p
A theoretical perspective on why socioeconomic health inequalities are persistent:Building the case for an effective approach
Despite policy intentions and many interventions aimed at reducing socioeconomic health inequalities in recent decades in the Netherlands and other affluent countries, these inequalities have not been reduced. Based on a narrative literature review, this paper aims to increase insight into why socioeconomic health inequalities are so persistent and build a way forward for improved approaches from a theoretical perspective. Firstly, we present relevant theories focusing on individual determinants of health-related behaviors. Thereafter, we present theories that take into account determinants of the individual level and the environmental level. Lastly, we show the complexity of the system of individual determinants, environmental determinants and behavior change for low socioeconomic position (SEP) groups and describe the next steps in developing and evaluating future effective approaches. These steps include systems thinking, a complex whole-system approach and participation of all stakeholders in system change
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