Parametrické struktury

Rozvoj výpočetních technik v posledních 20 letech zásadně změnil profesi architekta a přinesl nové možnosti. Parametrické navrhování se stává více než jen jedním z nástrojů při hledání formy. V současné architektonické praxi se proto stále častěji setkáváme i s nestandardní architekturou a parametrickými strukturami

The initiative to investigate the management of Pericarditis in Africa (IMPI) Registry : a substudy on the causes of constrictive pericarditis and predictors of mortality in patients with constrictive pericarditis requiring pericardiectomy at Groote Schuur Hospital (The Constrictive Pericarditis Substudy)

Background: Causes of constrictive pericarditis and predictors of peri-operative outcome following pericardiectomy are not clearly elucidated, especially in Africa, where disease characteristics differ from developed countries. Furthermore, the impact of HIV/AIDS on pericardial constriction and outcomes following surgery is unknown. We set out to investigate the causes of constrictive pericarditis, the outcomes after pericardiectomy and the predictors of mortality in Cape Town, South Africa during a 22-year period of high HIV/AIDS prevalence. Methods: A retrospective review of records of all patients who underwent pericardiectomy for constrictive pericarditis at Groote Schuur Hospital from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2012 was performed

Detecting forest cover and ecosystem service change using integrated approach of remotely sensed derived indices in the central districts of Uganda

Natural forests in Uganda have experienced both spatial and temporal modifications from different drivers which need to be monitored to assess the impacts of such changes on ecosystems and prevent related risks of reduction in ecosystem service benefits. Ground investigations may be complex because of dual ownership, whereas remote sensing techniques and GIS application enable a fast multi-temporal detection of changes in forest cover and offer a cost-effective option for inaccessible areas and their use to detect ecosystem service change. The overarching goal of this study was to use satellite measurements to study forest change and link it to ecosystem service benefit reduction (fresh water) in the study area using a representative sample of Landsat scenes, also testing whether the inclusion of ecosystem service benefits improves the classification. In this paper, an integrated approach of remotely derived indices was used together with post-classification comparison to detect forest cover and ecosystem service changes. Our contribution novelty is the ability to detect at multi-temporal scale private and central reserve forest cover decline along with ecosystem benefit reduction using remotely derived indices in the 20 year period (1986-2005). Change detection analysis showed that forest cover declined significantly in five sub-counties of Mpigi, than in Butambala by 5.99%, disturbed forest was 3%, farm land increased by 44%, grassland declined by 62.5% and light vegetation increased by63.6%. The two most affected areas also experienced fresh water reductions. For sustainable supply of ecosystem service benefits, resource managers must also involve private resource owners in the conservation effort.Keywords: Change detection, forest cover, ecosystem service, remotely sensed derived indices, central districts of Ugand

Knowledge, attitudes and practices on cervical cancer screening among the medical workers of Mulago Hospital, Uganda

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the commonest cancer of women in Uganda. Over 80% of women diagnosed in Mulago national referral and teaching hospital, the biggest hospital in Uganda, have advanced disease. Pap smear screening, on opportunistic rather than systematic basis, is offered free in the gynaecological outpatients clinic and the postnatal/family planning clinics. Medical students in the third and final clerkships are expected to learn the techniques of screening. Objectives of this study were to describe knowledge on cervical cancer, attitudes and practices towards cervical cancer screening among the medical workers of Mulago hospital. METHODS: In a descriptive cross-sectional study, a weighted sample of 310 medical workers including nurses, doctors and final year medical students were interviewed using a self-administered questionnaire. We measured knowledge about cervical cancer: (risk factors, eligibility for screening and screening techniques), attitudes towards cervical cancer screening and practices regarding screening. RESULTS: Response rate was 92% (285). Of these, 93% considered cancer of the cervix a public health problem and knowledge about Pap smear was 83% among respondents. Less than 40% knew risk factors for cervical cancer, eligibility for and screening interval. Of the female respondents, 65% didn't feel susceptible to cervical cancer and 81% had never been screened. Of the male respondents, only 26% had partners who had ever been screened. Only 14% of the final year medical students felt skilled enough to use a vaginal speculum and 87% had never performed a pap smear. CONCLUSION: Despite knowledge of the gravity of cervical cancer and prevention by screening using a Pap smear, attitudes and practices towards screening were negative. The medical workers who should be responsible for opportunistic screening of women they care for are not keen on getting screened themselves. There is need to explain/understand the cause of these attitudes and practices and identify possible interventions to change them. Medical students leave medical school without adequate skills to be able to effectively screen women for cervical cancer wherever they go to practice. Medical students and nurses training curricula needs review to incorporate practical skills on cervical cancer screening

Retention of academics in Ugandan private universities: the role of human resource practices.

Doctor of Philosophy in Management Studies. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2016.The study assesses the retention of academics in private Ugandan Universities and focuses on the role of human resource management practices in ensuring retention. There is rapid growth in the number of universities in Uganda which calls for a large number of academics that should be retained to offer services. Hence, human resource practices were explored to assess the extent to which these practices are currently able to retain staff and also to determine specific challenges and strategies to academic staff retention. The study was conducted in six chartered Private Universities in Uganda, namely, Ndejje, Uganda Christian, Uganda Martyrs, Bugema, Nkumba University and Kampala International Universities. A quantitative cross sectional survey design applying both quantitative and qualitative techniques was adopted. Academics, HR officers and members of Top Management at the universities were selected using cluster sampling (academics) and simple random sampling respectively. Data was collected using questionnaires which were distributed to academics and HR and Top Management officers were interviewed. The findings show that all the six HR practices were adopted but with varying degrees of magnitude; training and development has the greatest impact on academics‟ retention followed by compensation; academics believe that management is most concerned with recruitment and selection followed by performance appraisal, HR planning, industrial relations, training and development and compensation. Further still there exist significant intercorrelations amongst the human resource practices; the HR practices significantly account for the variance in determining academics retention; there is a significant difference in the perceptions of academics varying in biographical profiles (age, education, position, tenure, gender and the biographical profiles of academics significantly influence their intentions to quit. On the basis of these findings recommendations have been drawn to ensure enhancing the positive effects and to counteract the negative effects of academics‟ retention and the challenges to academics‟ retention. Also recommendations on the basis of the biographical profiles‟ influence on the academics intention to quit

The role of institutions as actors influencing Uganda’s cassava sector

We aim at mapping out a detailed framework that reveals the proportionate flow of cassava and its products along the value chain (VC). Furthermore, we aim at establishing the role of institutions and the linkages between institutions and other VC actors that influence the cassava VC in Uganda. We use both primary and secondary data obtained from four regions in Uganda. Results show that farmers, processors, transporters, traders, consumers and institutions are the major actors. There are four categories of institutions, viz, government, non-government, community based organisations and international agencies. Roles performed by institutions include: development and enforcement of policies, Research and Development (RD), capacity building, and creation of market access linkages for cassava and its products. Findings reveal that there is no clear nexus and no coordination among farmers/producers, processors, traders, transporters and consumers. However, institutions are well coordinated and play various roles along the VC to influence the dynamics of actors. Policy-wise it is important to establish strong private-public partnerships to bridge the impaired linkages between the actors (farmers/producers, processors, traders, transporters, and consumers) and institutions. Strong partnerships are envisaged to reduce the associated transaction costs amongst the actors

Osteoblast‐Targeted suppression of PPARγ increases osteogenesis through activation of mTOR signaling

Nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ (PPARγ) is an essential transcription factor for adipocyte differentiation. In mesenchymal stem cells, PPARγ has been assumed to play a negative role in osteoblastic differentiation, by working in an adipogenesis dependent manner, due to the reciprocal relationship between osteoblast and adipocyte differentiation. However, the direct role of PPARγ in osteoblast function is not fully understood, due in part to inadequate model systems. Here, we describe an adenoviral‐mediated PPARγ knockout system in which suppression of PPARγ in mesenchymal stem cells enhanced osteoblast differentiation and inhibited adipogenesis in vitro. Consistent with this in vitro observation, lipoatrophic A‐ZIP/F1 mice, which do not form adipocytes, displayed a phenotype in which both cortical and trabecular bone was significantly increased compared with wild‐type mice. We next developed an inducible osteoblast‐targeted PPARγ knockout ( Osx Cre/flox‐ PPARγ ) mouse to determine the direct role of PPARγ in bone formation. Data from both in vitro cultures of mesenchymal stem cells and in vivo µCT analysis of bones suggest that suppression of PPARγ activity in osteoblasts significantly increased osteoblast differentiation and trabecular number. Endogenous PPARγ in mesenchymal stem cells and osteoblasts strongly inhibited Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/p70S6k activity and led to decreased osteoblastic differentiation. Therefore, we conclude that PPARγ modulates osteoblast differentiation and bone formation through both direct and indirect mechanisms. The direct mode, as shown here, involves PPARγ regulation of the mTOR pathway, while the indirect pathway is dependent on the regulation of adipogenesis. S tem C ells 2013;31:2183–2192Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100308/1/stem1455.pd