1,041 research outputs found
Legal Pluralism & Women\u27s Rights: A Study in Post-Colonial Tanzania
Recognizing a dearth of legal research on Zanzibar, the authors explore the complex legal and cultural landscape of this archipelago and its relationship to mainland Tanzania. The article discusses the problems that arise when multicultural societies adopt a pluralist system of justice in order to preserve the traditions of its diverse communities. Although the article focuses on Tanzania, the problems that arise from multicultural accommodations affect not only young, postcolonial nations in Africa and Asia, but also individuals in cosmopolitan, economically-developed countries such as Israel and the United States. As countries wrestle with ever diversifying ethnic and religious populations, such a study is an important tool in ensuring that equal rights are provided to all citizens
Fossil biomass preserved as graphitic carbon in a late paleoproterozoic banded iron formation metamorphosed at more than 550°C
Metamorphism is thought to destroy microfossils, partly through devolatilization and graphitization of biogenic organic matter. However, the extent to which there is a loss of molecular, elemental and isotope signatures from biomass during high-temperature metamorphism is not clearly established. We report on graphitic structures inside and coating apatite grains from the c. 1850 Ma Michigamme silicate banded iron formation from Michigan, metamorphosed above 550°C. Traces of N, S, O, H, Ca and Fe are preserved in this graphitic carbon and X-ray spectra show traces of aliphatic groups. Graphitic carbon has an expanded lattice around 3.6 Å, forms microscopic concentrically-layered and radiating polygonal flakes and has homogeneous δ13C values around −22‰, identical to bulk analyses. Graphitic carbon inside apatite is associated with nanometre-size ammoniated phyllosilicate. Precursors of these metamorphic minerals and graphitic carbon originated from ferruginous clayrich sediments with biomass. We conclude that graphite coatings and inclusions in apatite grains indicate fluid remobilization during amphibolite-facies metamorphism of precursor biomass. This new evidence fills in observational gaps of metamorphosed biomass into graphite and supports the existence of biosignatures in the highly metamorphosed iron formation from the Eoarchean Akilia Association, which dates from the beginning of the sedimentary rock record
The ABCDE primary assessment in the emergency department in medically ill patients:An observational pilot study
A Systematic Review of the Effects of Hyperoxia in Acutely Ill Patients:Should We Aim for Less?
Introduction. Despite widespread and liberal use of oxygen supplementation, guidelines about rational use of oxygen are scarce. Recent data demonstrates that current protocols lead to hyperoxemia in the majority of the patients and most health care professionals are not aware of the negative effects of hyperoxemia. Method. To investigate the effects of hyperoxemia in acutely ill patients on clinically relevant outcomes, such as neurological and functional status as well as mortality, we performed a literature review using Medline (PubMed) and Embase. We used the following terms: hyperoxemia OR hyperoxemia OR [“oxygen inhalation therapy” AND (mortality OR death OR outcome OR survival)] OR [oxygen AND (mortality OR death OR outcome OR survival)]. Original studies about the clinical effects of hyperoxemia in adult patients suffering from acute or emergency illnesses were included. Results. 37 articles were included, of which 31 could be divided into four large groups: cardiac arrest, traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, and sepsis. Although a single study demonstrated a transient protective effect of hyperoxemia after TBI, other studies revealed higher mortality rates after cardiac arrest, stroke, and TBI treated with oxygen supplementation leading to hyperoxemia. Approximately half of the studies showed no association between hyperoxemia and clinically relevant outcomes. Conclusion. Liberal oxygen therapy leads to hyperoxemia in a majority of patients and hyperoxemia may negatively affect survival after acute illness. As a clinical consequence, aiming for normoxemia may limit negative effects of hyperoxemia in patients with acute illness
Electrical transport measurements in the superconducting state of Bi2212 and Tl2201
Precise measurements of the in-plane microwave surface impedance of
high-quality single crystals of Bi2212 and Tl2201 are used to probe the
relaxation time of nodal quasiparticles in the d-wave superconducting state
through a two-fluid analysis of the microwave conductivity. While this analysis
requires us to posit a form for the frequency-dependent quasiparticle
conductivity, we clearly demonstrate that the extraction of the relaxation rate
is quite insensitive to the assumed shape of the quasiparticle spectrum. The
robustness of the analysis is rooted in the oscillator-strength sum rule and
the fact that we simultaneously measure the real and imaginary parts of the
conductivity. In both Bi2212 and Tl2201 we infer a linear temperature
dependence of the transport relaxation rate 1/tau and a small but finite
zero-temperature intercept. The linear temperature dependence of 1/tau is in
accord with expectations for weak elastic scattering in an unconventional
superconductor with line nodes and a small residual density of states. The same
analysis reveals an onset of inelastic scattering at higher temperatures
similar to that seen in the YBCO superconductors. Finally we extrapolate the
two-fluid model over a range of frequencies up to five times the measurement
frequency, where the extrapolation predicts behaviour that is qualitatively
similar to terahertz conductivity data on Bi2212 thin films. While relaxation
rates in Bi2212 and Tl2201 are substantially higher than in YBCO there are
qualitative similarities between all three materials, and the differences can
likely be attributed to varying levels of static disorder. We therefore
conclude that a universal picture of quasiparticle scattering in the cuprates
is emerging.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring during scoliosis surgery in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy
PURPOSE: Little is known about the reliability and value of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) undergoing scoliosis correction surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of IONM and the cortical excitability in these patients. METHODS: Fifteen patients with DMD and scoliosis and 15 patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) underwent scoliosis correction surgery with the use of IONM. IONM consisted of transcranial electrical stimulation motor evoked potential (Tc-MEP) and somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) monitoring. The highest Tc-MEP amplitudes were collected to test the feasibility. Preoperative compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-MEPs were recorded to test the cortical excitability. SSEPs were scored as elicitable or not elicitable. RESULTS: Tc-MEP amplitudes were significantly lower in the DMD group for both the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles. However, the abductor hallucis muscle had similar amplitudes in both the DMD as the AIS group. TMS/CMAP and Tc-MEP/CMAP ratios were similar in the DMD and AIS group (P = 0.126 and P = 0.792 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Tc-MEP and SSEP monitoring is feasible, particularly when Tc-MEPs are recorded from the abductor hallucis muscle in patients with DMD. Similar TMS/CMAP and Tc-MEP/CMAP ratios show that there were no differences observed in cortical excitability between the groups. IONM seems a feasible and valuable neurophysiological tool to signal possible surgically induced damage to the spinal cord during scoliosis correction surgery in patients with DMD
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