The implications of stakeholders' perceptions of land for sustainable land use management in NE Ghana

There are negative implications of changes in stakeholders traditional land perceptions for sustainable land use and management in north-east Ghana. In African tenurial systems, land use was based on a local mystical view of the environment and stakeholders broad-based knowledge of the local environments. These led to sustainable resource use and management. However, in the context of current political ecology of north-east Ghana as induced by increased population growth, urbanisation, the market economy, changes in religious beliefs, and government land policies, stakeholders understandings of land have acquired even greater importance in issues of sustainable land resource use and management. A mixed methodological approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative data gathering techniques for information on stakeholders land perceptions, was used to analyse their implications for sustainable land use and management. Changes in the dynamics of stakeholders perceptions of land are partly responsible for the current state of land and environmental degradation in north-east Ghana. Policies aimed at ensuring sustainable land use and environmental management must focus on those traditional land perceptions, which encourage environmental sustainabilit

Needless Photographic Failures

The writer's close attention has frequently been directed to a lack of definition in certain half-tone reproductions of photographs appearing in The Condor, as well as in many other well-known and widely-distributed scientific publications, while the same volumes often contained beautiful examples of this universally used process of engraving. In calling attention to this rather common variation in quality of print, it is realized that the defects were probably as well known to the editors, and to the authors of the papers themselves, as they were to the present writer. However, he may be permitted to suggest methods which, if adopted, would do much to relieve this condition. Granting the undisputed fact that a loss of some clearness may usually be expected in a half-tone print, a successful cut depends upon a good photograph, or one well retouched, and on suitable paper and careful press work. The failure of many good half-tone cuts to meet requirements is often due to these factors alone; but more often it may be charged to the original photographs which lack the qualities needed to reproduce well

Surface Structures of Silicon and Germanium

Si and Ge were cleaved on the (111) plane under ultra high vacuum and exposed to O and subsequent heat treatment. LEED and spot photometric measurements were taken. Cleaved surfaces for both Si and Ge gave the expected (2 x 1) structure. Results for O exposure were qualitatively for Si and Ge. The 1/2 orders disappeared after exposure to approx = 10 exp - exp 7. Integral orders started to weaken at 10 exp -6 to 10 exp - exp 2 torr min., disappearing at 10 exp -1 torr min. Heat treatment of Si at 900 deg C for several seconds restored the integral orders and further heating gave a new pattern with 1/3 orders. Exposure to 2 x 10 exp -6 torr min O without further heating weakened the fractional orders and at 10 exp -5 torr min they disappeared. Integral orders remained after further heating in O. For Ge integral orders were not restored after 0 exposure until heat treatment had continued at 550 deg C for several min. The (1 x 1) structure disappeared after heating at 590 deg C in 7 x 10 exp -1 torr O and further heating at 590 deg C without O restored the integral order Variations of intensity with voltage were measured for the (00) and (20) spots. The results supported a model proposed by Haneman (Phys. Rev., 1968, 170, 705) involving two kinds of atom sites on the cleaved surface. 20 ref.--E.J.S

The Effectiveness of Tablet-based Application for Older Adults with Diabetes Mellitus Type II: A Pilot Study

Introduction: Advances in technological applications such as tablet-based computers is growing dramatically in the field of healthcare, as there is a considerable eagerness for mobile health interventions. Tablet-based interventions can have positive effects on both health and health service delivery processes (Free et al, 2013). Technological applications have been developed for a wide range of healthcare needs, including patient registration, data management, and self- management applications. Background: The usefulness of technology and the powerful capabilities of technological applications have led to a significantly increased interest in finding novel approaches to support older adults’ self-management.Self-management technological applications have been used in various contexts, and usability is key in sustainability and adoption of such technologies. Theoretical Framework: The study will be guided by the self-management model of Maintaining the Balance (Jacelon, 2010). Design: Quasi-experimental design. Methods: Quantitative standardized measures will be used in this study. A purposive sample of 24 elderly patients with DMII will be recruited for the study. The descriptive and inferential analysis will be used to analyze the quantitative data. Results: This is an ongoing project, and the study is currently in the recruitment and data collection phase.The final patient is expected to be enrolled by the end of March 2017. We hope to recruit approximately 24 patients to the study. Analyses will focus on usability attributes (effectiveness, efficacy, errors/simplicity, and overall satisfaction), perceived diabetes self-management and blood glucose level are the main outcomes. Conclusion: A well-designed application with new features has the ability to provide more promising results regarding improving the quality of life, supporting informed decision making, improving communication with care providers, promoting active collaboration with care teams, encouraging self-care behaviors, problem-solving, improving health status, and improving clinical outcomes

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance of scar and ischemia burden early after acute ST elevation and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The acute coronary syndrome diagnosis includes different classifications of myocardial infarction, which have been shown to differ in their pathology, as well as their early and late prognosis. These differences may relate to the underlying extent of infarction and/or residual myocardial ischemia. The study aim was to compare scar and ischemia mass between acute non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), ST-elevation MI with Q-wave formation (Q-STEMI) and ST-elevation MI without Q-wave formation (Non-Q STEMI) in-vivo, using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR).</p> <p>Methods and results</p> <p>This was a prospective cohort study of twenty five consecutive patients with NSTEMI, 25 patients with thrombolysed Q-STEMI and 25 patients with thrombolysed Non-Q STEMI. Myocardial function (cine imaging), ischemia (adenosine stress first pass myocardial perfusion) and scar (late gadolinium enhancement) were assessed by CMR 2–6 days after presentation and before any invasive revascularisation procedure. All subjects gave written informed consent and ethical committee approval was obtained. Scar mass was highest in Q-STEMI, followed by Non-Q STEMI and NSTEMI (24.1%, 15.2% and 3.8% of LV mass, respectively; p < 0.0001). Ischemia mass showed the reverse trend and was lowest in Q-STEMI, followed by Non-Q STEMI and NSTEMI (6.9%, 14.7% and 19.9% of LV mass, respectively; p = 0.012). The combined mass of scar and ischemia was similar between the three groups (p = 0.17). The ratio of scar to ischemia was 3.5, 1.0 and 0.2 for Q-STEMI, Non-Q STEMI and NSTEMI, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Prior to revascularisation, the ratio of scar to ischemia differs between NSTEMI, Non-Q STEMI and Q-STEMI, whilst the combined scar and ischemia mass is similar between these three types of MI. These results provide in-vivo confirmation of the diverse pathophysiology of different types of acute myocardial infarction and may explain their divergent early and late prognosis.</p

Unilateral Cleft Lip and Nasal Repair: Techniques and Principles

The Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and the Sheikh Hospital in Mashhad sponsored a Cleft Lip and Palate Workshop 30 April – 1 May 2009. During the Workshop, 6 surgical cases were performed and televised live to the audience attending the conference. Two of those cases were unilateral cleft lip repairs. The surgical technique used to repair these patients by the primary author (JGM) is a hybrid technique. It has evolved over the last decade as a result of prior surgical literature as well as first hand observation of various surgical colleagues. The following manuscript describes the surgical technique used at the Cleft Workshop in a step-wise or atlas-like fashion. The technique portion of the paper describes the repair of the unilateral cleft lip and nasal deformity in roughly the order the first author typically performs the procedure. More importantly, the final section of the paper details the principles that form the foundation for the techniques described

The influence of electromagnetic fields from two commercially available water-treatment devices on calcium carbonate precipitation

CaCO3 precipitation profiles, tracked by absorbance at 350 nm, showing accelerated precipitation upon exposure of the parent solutions to a pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) from a commercially available device.</p