Child loss and fertility behaviour in Ghana

Evidence shows a strong relationship between child mortality and fertility at the aggregate level but the relationship at the individual level is less clear. Data from the 1993 Ghana DHS are used to examine the impact of infant death on a woman's subsequent fertility behaviour. Birth interval analysis, parity progression ratios, and multilevel discrete-time hazard models are used. Child replacement after infant death is found to be taking place in Ghana. On average, birth intervals are shortened by about 15 months if a child dies in the neonatal stage, and by about 11 months for postneonatal death. Progression to the next parity is higher if an infant dies than if it survives; the probability of progression is about 32% higher if a male child dies than if a female dies. A sustained decline in child mortality in Ghana is likely to result in further reduction in fertility

Theoretical Study of the Pseudomonic and Monic Acids

The drug Mupirocin has shown positive effects against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria with varying levels of success. It has been shown to be effective against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureas (MRSA) as a topical treatment in high concentrations. Mupirocin is comprised of pseudomonic acids. The monic acids are structurally similar to the pseudomonic acids and thus function as a good model to better understand the chemical characteristics of the drug. This work presents results of DFT (B3LYP) calculations with an accurate basis set on monic acid A and related species with focus on internal rotation barriers, optimal geometries, IR and Raman spectra, and electrostatic potentials to identify the differences between the monic and pseudomonic acids with an eye towards potential antibacterial treatments

Pathways of the determinants of unfavourable birth outcomes in Kenya

This paper explores the pathways of the determinants of unfavourable birth outcomes, such as premature birth, the size of the baby at birth, and Caesarean section deliveries in Kenya, using graphical loglinear chain models. The results show that a number of factors which do not have direct associations with unfavourable birth outcomes contribute to these outcomes indirectly through intermediate factors. Marital status, the desirability of a pregnancy, the use of family planning, and access to health facilities have no direct associations with poor birth outcomes, such as premature births and the small size of the baby at birth, but are linked to these outcomes through antenatal care. Antenatal care is identified as a central link between various socio- demographic or reproductive factors and birth outcomes

Can Plant Chloroplasts Function in Mammalian Cells?

The goal of this project is to determine if plant chloroplasts isolated from spinach can maintaining active chloroplast gene expression when placed into a mammalian cell environment. Chloroplasts were isolated and purified from fresh spinach leaves and introduced into human fibroblasts. RNA was isolate

MacEdward Leach and the songs of Atlantic Canada

This essay describes a website that brought the earliest audio recordings made in Atlantic Canada to the attention of scholars, singers, and cultural historians: MacEdward Leach and the Songs of Atlantic Canada (http://www.mun.ca/folklore/leach). Among the many collections of traditional song that have been made in Newfoundland and Labrador, there was until 2004 a noticeable gap in their accessibility. Collections by Karpeles (1970), Greenleaf and Mansfield (1965 [1933]), Peacock (1965), and Lehr (1985)--as well as Leach's Labrador collection (1966)--were published in print editions, and selections from Peacock (1956) were released on LP, but the earliest audio recordings made on the islands of Cape Breton and Newfoundland by American folklorist MacEdward Leach were largely unknown.1 His collections are important not only for their size but also for their geographic and generic range.Not

Dynamics of Polymerization of Macromolecules with Multiple Binding Sites

In Nature, there are many examples of biological polymerizations in which the monomers possess multiple binding sites. Under certain circumstances, such branched polymerizations may produce a large macroparticle that constitutes a significant fraction of the monomers. In this paper, we show that the polymerizations of antibodies with antigens and the polymerization of fibrin are of this type. We then present the results of stochastic simulations for the time-evolutions of these processes, and characterize their gel transitions. Finally, we relate the innate fluctuations of these processes to the gel transition, and demonstrate the necessity of using a stochastic approach to quantify polymerization kinetics

Kinetics of random aggregation-fragmentation processes with multiple components

A computationally efficient algorithm is presented for exact simulation of the stochastic time evolution of spatially homogeneous aggregation-fragmentation processes featuring multiple components or conservation laws. The algorithm can predict the average size and composition distributions of aggregating particles as well as their fluctuations, regardless of the functional form (e.g., composition dependence) of the aggregation or fragmentation kernels. Furthermore, it accurately predicts the complete time evolutions of all moments of the size and composition distributions, even for systems that exhibit gel transitions. We demonstrate the robustness and utility of the algorithm in case studies of linear and branched polymerization processes, the last of which is a two-component process. These simulation results provide the stochastic description of these processes and give new insights into their gel transitions, fluctuations, and long-time behavior when deterministic approaches to aggregation kinetics may not be reliable

A comparison of S.C.E. and G.C.E. school qualifications as predictors of university performance

The University of St. Andrews is unique in that one half of its intake has Scottish Certificate of Education (S.C.E.) qualifications and the other General Certificate of Education (G.C.E.) qualifications. Also, the S.C.E. qualified students have consistently been more likely to fail than have their G.C.E, qualified counterparts. The aim of this thesis is to develop a scale to compare S.C.E. and G.C.E. qualifications and to investigate some of the causes for the differential performance. The first part of the thesis considers whether the level of failure at St. Andrews is higher than that at other universities and then reviews the varied literature on academic performance to assess the potential relevance of a number of variables as predictors of performance. It has been common iii educational research to adopt linear weightings for S.C.E. and G.C.E. grades in statistical analyses. The next section investigates the linear weights and finds chat, at St. Andrews, they may be improved upon. An alternative scoring system is developed and a model to estimate an entrant's probability of failure constructed. Thirdly some qualitative reasons for the differential in performance are examined through two surveys: one of the academic and social experiences of the students' first year, and the other of the reasons given by students for choosing an ordinary degree. Finally, some suggestions are made regarding possible improvements in procedures for monitoring student progress and of the potential for improving the assistance offered to new students to help them to complete successfully a degree course