Is Brain Gym an Effective Educational Intervention?

Brain Gym® (BG) (BGI, 2008) is a popular commercial program sold by Brain Gym® International (BGI). Making extravagant claims for improved intellectual and physical development, it used in more than 80 countries. While BGI’s claims are persuasive, to date there is little empirical evidence validating the approach. We examine some theoretical assumptions from which BGI was developed, review the efficacy literature, and provide suggestions for making informed decisions about the judiciousness of investing time and resources in this program

The Use of Silver Phenyl Benzyl Phosphate for the Synthesis of Monophenyl Esters of Phosphatidic Acids

Hessel, Morton, Todd, and Verkade have shown that dibenzyl esters of a-glycerophosphatidic acids I (D = acyl group), when shaken at room temperature in an ethanolic medium with hydrogen under slightly more than atmospheric pressure in the presence of a palladium/ active carbon catalyst according to Verkade, Cohen, and Vroege are smoothly hydrogenolyzed; 2 moles of hydrogen per mole of ester are rapidly absorbed, resulting in the formation of the corresponding phosphatidic acids and toluene

The Use of Silver Phenyl Benzyl Phosphate for the Synthesis of Monophenyl Esters of Phosphatidic Acids

Hessel, Morton, Todd, and Verkade have shown that dibenzyl esters of a-glycerophosphatidic acids I (D = acyl group), when shaken at room temperature in an ethanolic medium with hydrogen under slightly more than atmospheric pressure in the presence of a palladium/ active carbon catalyst according to Verkade, Cohen, and Vroege are smoothly hydrogenolyzed; 2 moles of hydrogen per mole of ester are rapidly absorbed, resulting in the formation of the corresponding phosphatidic acids and toluene

Bayesian highest posterior density intervals for the availability of a system with a 'rest-period' for the repair facility

CITATION: Yadavalli, V. S. S., et al. 2001. Bayesian highest posterior density intervals for the availability of a system with a 'rest-period' for the repair facility. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 12(2):17-24, doi:org/10.7166/12-2-345.The original publication is available at http://sajie.journals.ac.zaIn this paper Bayesian estimation for the steady state availability of a one-unit system with a rest-period for the repair facility is studied. The assumption is that the repair facility takes rest with probability p after each repair completion and the facility does not take the same with probability (l - p). The prior information is assumed to be vague and the Jeffreys' prior is used for the unknown parameters in the system. Gibbs sampling is used to derive the posterior distribution of the availability and subsequently the highest posterior density (HPD) intervals. A numerical example illustrates these results.In hierdie artikel word die Bayes-beraming van die ewewigstoestandsbeskikbaarheid van 'n stelsel wat afwisselend gebruik word, voorgestel. Daar word veronderstel dat die herstelfasiliteit na voltooiing van elke herstel of 'n rustydperk binnegaan of nie. Die rustydperk sal geneem word met waarskynlikheid p en die waarskynlikheid dat daar nie 'n rustydperk geneem word nie, is (l - p). Jeffrey se a priori-verdeling word vir die onbekende parameters in die stelsel aanvaar. Gibbs-steekproefneming word gebruik om die a posterioriverdeling van die beskikbaarheid en daarna die hoogste a posteriori-digtheidsintervalle (HPD) af te lei. 'n Numeriese voorbeeld illustreer hierdie resultate.http://sajie.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/345Publisher's versio

Regularity of Cauchy horizons in S2xS1 Gowdy spacetimes

We study general S2xS1 Gowdy models with a regular past Cauchy horizon and prove that a second (future) Cauchy horizon exists, provided that a particular conserved quantity $J$ is not zero. We derive an explicit expression for the metric form on the future Cauchy horizon in terms of the initial data on the past horizon and conclude the universal relation A\p A\f=(8\pi J)^2 where A\p and A\f are the areas of past and future Cauchy horizon respectively.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figur

Cohomogeneity one manifolds and selfmaps of nontrivial degree

We construct natural selfmaps of compact cohomgeneity one manifolds with finite Weyl group and compute their degrees and Lefschetz numbers. On manifolds with simple cohomology rings this yields in certain cases relations between the order of the Weyl group and the Euler characteristic of a principal orbit. We apply our construction to the compact Lie group SU(3) where we extend identity and transposition to an infinite family of selfmaps of every odd degree. The compositions of these selfmaps with the power maps realize all possible degrees of selfmaps of SU(3).Comment: v2, v3: minor improvement

Venous bicarbonate and creatine kinase as diagnostic and prognostic tools in the setting of acute traumatic rhabdomyolysis

Background. Myorenal or crush syndrome often develops following soft-tissue traumatic injury. It is a spectrum of disease that may result in severe renal dysfunction and kidney injury requiring renal replacement therapy.Objectives. To review a large cohort of patients with so-called myorenal or crush syndrome and assess the biochemical markers of venous bicarbonate and creatine kinase as predictors for the development of acute kidney injury (AKI).Methods. All patients with myorenal syndrome who presented to Khayelitsha District Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa (SA), and Ngwelezana Hospital, Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, SA, between January and December 2017 were identified and reviewed.Results. A total of 212 patients were included in the study. At both hospitals, 94% of the patients were male. Using the Pearson correlation coefficient, we compared creatinine kinase (CK) against serum creatinine. The mean CK level was 5 311.8 U/L and the mean creatinine level 133.457 μmol/L. The r-value was 0.2533. Although this is a technically positive correlation, the relationship between the variables is weak. Using the Pearson R Calculator, we inserted the r-value to calculate the p-value. The p-value was 0.000208. When comparing venous bicarbonate (HCO3) against creatinine, the mean HCO3 level was 22.296 mmol/L and the mean creatinine level 162.053 μmol/L. The r-value was –0.3468. Although this is a technically negative correlation, the relationship between the variables is weak. Using the Pearson R Calculator, we inserted the r-value to calculate the p-value. The p-value was 0.000013. The inverse ratio shown with HCO3 v. creatinine, although still a weak correlation, is significantly better in predicting an increase in creatinine compared with the weak positive correlation of CK v. creatinine.Conclusions. Although both venous HCO3 and CK showed a weak correlation with creatinine, the former performed significantly better in predicting AKI. In a resource-constrained system, we recommend that HCO3 be measured to assess patients with crush injury and that CK be regarded as a complementary modality

Factors influencing time to diagnosis and treatment among pediatric oncology patients in Kenya

Early diagnosis and start of treatment are fundamental goals in cancer care. This study determines the time lag and the factors that influence the time to diagnosis and start of treatment. Study participants were parents of childhood cancer patients diagnosed between August 2013 and July 2014 in a hospital in Kenya. Patient, physician, diagnosis, treatment, health care system, and total delay were explored using a questionnaire. Demographic and medical data were collected from the patients' medical records. Parents of 99 childhood cancer patients were interviewed (response rate: 80%). Median total delay was 102 (9–1021) days. Median patient delay (4 days) was significantly shorter than health care system delay (median 87 days; P < .001). Diagnosis delay (median 94 days) was significantly longer than treatment delay (median 6 days; P < .001). days. Lack of health insurance at diagnosis and use of alternative medicine before attending conventional health services were associated with a significantly longer patient delay (P = .041 and P = .017, respectively). The type of cancer had a significant effect on treatment delay (P = .020). The type of health facility attended affected only patient delay (P = .03). Gender, age at diagnosis, stage of disease, parents' education level or income, and distance from hospital did not have a significant effect on the length of any type of delay. Training on childhood cancer should be included in the curricula for medical training institutes. In-service workshops should be held for the health workers already working. Families must be obligated to get health insurance. Families should be encourage to attend conventional health facilities and informed on symptoms of cancer through mass media