African Political Philosophy, 1860-1995:An inquiry into families of discourse

This is a book of interpretation, not of fact. It studies the major discourses in African political thought throughout the last one and a half centuries, rendering new interpretations of a number of important theorists. Subsequently, this book analyzes paradigmatic models of thought that recur in pre-colonial, colonial, as well as post-colonial political discourses. This in depth analysis allows for a critical inventory of African political thought at the close of the twentieth century.

The clinical use of longitudinal bio-electrical impedance vector analysis in assessing stabilization of children with severe acute malnutrition

Background & aims: Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in children is determined using anthropometry. However, bio-electrical impedance (BI) analysis could improve the estimation of altered body composition linked to edema and/or loss of lean body mass in children with SAM. We aimed to assess: 1) the changes in BI parameters during clinical stabilization and 2) whether BI parameters add prognostic value for clinical outcome beyond the use of anthropometry. Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled children, aged 6–60 months, that were admitted at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi, for complicated SAM (i.e., having either severe wasting or edematous SAM with a complicating illness). Height, weight, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), and BI were measured on admission and after clinical stabilization. BI measures were derived from height-adjusted indices of resistance (R/H), reactance (Xc/H), and phase angle (PA) and considered to reflect body fluids and soft tissue in BI vector analysis (BIVA). Results: We studied 183 children with SAM (55% edematous; age 23.0 ± 12.0 months; 54% male) and 42 community participants (age 20.1 ± 12.3 months; male 62%). Compared to community participants, the BIVA of children with edematous SAM were short with low PA and positioned low on the hydration axis which reflects severe fluid retention. In contrast, children with severe wasting had elongated vectors with a PA that was higher than children with edematous SAM but lower than community participants. Their BIVA position fell within the top right quadrant linked to leanness and dehydration. BIVA from severely wasted and edematous SAM patients differed between groups and from community children both at admission and after stabilization (p < 0.001). Vector position shifted during treatment only in children with edematous SAM (p < 0.001) and showed a upward translation suggestive of fluid loss. While PA was lower in children with SAM, PA did not contribute more than anthropometry alone towards explaining mortality, length of stay, or time-to-discharge or time-to-mortality. The variability and heterogeneity in BI measures was high and their overall added predictive value for prognosis of individual children was low. Conclusions: BIVA did not add prognostic value over using anthropometry alone to predict clinical outcome. Several implementation challenges need to be optimized. Thus, in low-resource settings, the routine use of BI in the management of pediatric malnutrition is questionable without improved implementation

The yield of tertiary survey in patients admitted for observation after trauma

Purpose: Existing literature on trauma tertiary survey (TTS) focusses on multitrauma patients. This study examines the yield of the TTS in trauma patients with minor (AIS 1) or moderate (AIS 2) injury for which immediate hospitalization is not strictly indicated. Method: A single center retrospective cohort study was performed in a level II trauma center. All hospitalized trauma patients with an abbreviate injury score (AIS) of one or two at the primary and secondary survey were included. The primary outcome was defined as any missed injury found during TTS (Type 1). Secondary outcomes were defined as any missed injury found after TTS but during admission (Type 2); overall missed injury rate; mortality and hospital length of stay. Results: Out of 388 included patients, 12 patients (3.1%) had a type 1 missed injury. ISS and alcohol consumption were associated with an increased risk for type 1 missed injuries (resp. OR = 1.4, OR = 5.49). A type 2 missed injury was only found in one patient. This concerned the only case of trauma related mortality. Approximately one out of five patients were admitted for more than 2 days. These patients were significantly older (66 vs. 41 years, p < 0.001), had a higher ISS (4 vs. 3, p = 0.007) and ASA score, 3–4 vs. 1–2 (42.5% vs. 12.6%, p < 0.001). Conclusion: TTS showed a low rate of missed injuries in trauma patients with minor or moderate injury. TTS helped to prevent serious damage in two out of 388 patients (0.5%). ISS and alcohol consumption were associated with finding missed injury during TTS

Relational Algebra Processor

Import 22/07/2015Cílem této práce je navrhnout a implementovat procesor relační algebry, který bude vykonávat příkazy nad daty a~zároveň vytvoří plán spouštění. S~tím souvisí návrh jazyka a~implementace jeho operátorů. Také je třeba představit relační algebru, čímž se bude zabývat úvod práce a porovnáním programu s~existujícími procesory v závěru práce.Main goal of this thesis is design and implementation of relational algebra processor capable of executing queries over actual data and creating execution plan, which will be stored in tree structure. Another thing associated with processor is design of language and implementation of its operators. Another very important topic is relation algebra itself, which will be described at the first part of the thesis. Last part of thesis is to compare my processor with already existing programs.460 - Katedra informatikyvýborn