The connection between elastic scattering cross sections and acoustic vibrations of an embedded nanoparticle

Arbitrary waves incident on a solid embedded nanoparticle are studied. The acoustic vibrational frequencies are shown to correspond to the poles of the scattering cross section in the complex frequency plane. The location of the poles is unchanged even if the incident wave is nonplanar. A second approach approximating the infinite matrix as a very large shell surrounding the nanoparticle provides an alternate way of predicting the mode frequencies. The wave function of the vibration is also provided.Comment: Accepted for publication in physica status solidi (c) (C) (2003) WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Proceedings of Phonons200

PENGARUH JOB CRAFTING TERHADAP WORK ENGAGEMENT YANG DIMEDIASI OLEH PERSON JOB FIT PADA PT. BERLIAN JASA TEMINAL INDONESIA

Work engagement in a job is a must for employees. It is influenced by many factors, and of course, that factor is something that supports their comfortability in working and facilitating in facing job challenge. This study aims to determine the effect of job crafting on work engagement mediated by person job fit at PT. Berlian Jasa Terminal Indonesia. The type of this research is quantitative with sampling method used is random sampling with the number of samples 93 respondents. Analysis method using partial least square (PLS). The results of this study indicate that Job crafting has no effect on work enggement at PT. Berlian Jasa Terminal Indonesia, while job crafting has an effect on person job fit . The results of this study also showed that person job fit influenced work engagement, and Person job fit was able to mediate the influence of job crafting on work engagement. Based on the results of this study is the company expected to always their employee to increase job crafting that can cause comfortability in the process of working. Keywords: Job crafting, Person job fit, Work engagemen

Clinical indicators of Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP) in South African children infected with human immunodeficiency virus

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 53-60).Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality amongst HIV-infected children in Africa. Definitive diagnostic resources for PCP in Africa are limited due to their expense and technical difficulty, however recognising and treating children at risk is essential. As management decisions for children with pneumonia are made primarily on a clinical basis in many African regions, it is important to attempt to define a valid clinical diagnostic technique for PCP that could be used by clinicians to determine the use of correct empirical antibiotic therapy. The objectives of this study were to identify clinical features (associated with PCP in HIV-infected children hospitalised with pneumonia, to determine the combination of features that best predicts PCP in these children, and to calculate the diagnostic accuracy of these features. This study was a re-analysis of a database of a prospective study. Consecutive children below ten years of age, with a primary diagnosis of pneumonia or severe pneumonia, and who were known to be HIV-infected or were suspected of having HIV infection, were included prospectively over a 12 month period. Clinical data and diagnostic testing for PCP were obtained on admission. Bi­ and multivariate analysis of associations of the clinical variables with PCP were performed using logistic regression, to identify the combination of variables that best predicted PCP. The diagnostic accuracy of the best predicted features were calculated

Is science enough? Examining ways of understanding, coping with and adapting to storm risks in Johannesburg

Planning for current and future climate risks depends on more than early warning signals and technical climate information. The management and enabling of effective risk approaches, we argue, is shaped by complex contextual settings. These contexts are shaped by decisions including: What climate risks are prioritised? Who makes decisions about risk response interventions and how do they make these decisions? This preliminary study uses observed changes in storm events in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) and the City’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan as a lens through which the scope of such contexts and decisions can be interrogated. The study is used as a springboard from which to begin a dialogue on interactive approaches to adaptation and response planning for current and future climate change. We suggest that this dialogue may be required for a more proactive disaster-risk approach in the city. The major focus of the paper includes a statistical analysis of historical weather data from the OR Tambo Weather Station, located in close proximity to the city. Significant trends are identified in the frequency and intensity of thunderstorms for the period 1960-2009. This preliminary assessment shows some similarities with emerging climate change projections that suggest that heavy rainfall events may become more frequent and intense. The preliminary results presented here also concur with the recent findings contained in the CoJ’s Climate Change Adaptation Plan (2009). While the study is in no way substantive and few wider generalisations and strong conclusions can be drawn from it, the study does provide a useful starting point for considering possible planning interventions. The potential value of using science and information from studies, such as this, is highlighted along with the possible ways in which such science can interact with and help inform a comprehensive planning agenda in the City. Finally, the paper calls for more attention to be paid to the contributions and perceptions of community awareness and understanding of climate risks.Keywords: Thunderstorm trends, climate change, Johannesburg, policy response, adaption and development planning, citizen scienc

The use (and abuse) of reference centiles with an application to weight gain in pregnancy

Centile charts are commonly used in many areas of health research and practice, e.g. growth charts for children, Doppler ultrasonography in pregnancy and assessment of cholesterol levels at different ages. Yet there are a number of aspects of both their construction and application that are problematic and it is some of these issues that will be raised in this paper.The objective of the paper is to outline, in a non-technical way, some of the issues that need to be considered by the practitioner in estimating and using reference centile charts, but which frequently are either not known or ignored. These include: (i) the choice of reference population; (ii) how to estimate centiles; (iii) formally incorporating previous measurements on an individual, e.g. the interpretation of a child's weight that is on the 50th percentile for its age will be different if it has been moving along the 90th percentile at previous ages than if it has consistently been on the 50th percentile; and (iv) evaluation of centile charts used as a screen for problems.The concepts are introduced using an aspect of a study conducted at Tygerberg Hospital where centile charts for maternal weight gain in pregnancy were developed andassessed for their usefulness in detecting light-forgestational-age (UGA) births. The reference centile charts for maternal weight show poor discriminating ability between LiGA and nonnal births. These results support arguments in favour of abandoning the routine weighing of pregnant women

Polarizability calculation of vibrating nanoparticles for intensity of low frequency Raman scattering

A new numerical method is introduced for calculating the polarizability of an arbitrary dielectric object with position dependent complex permittivity. Three separate numerical approaches are provided to calculate the dipole moment of a nanoparticle embedded in a dielectric matrix in the presence of an applied electric field. Numerical tests confirm the accuracy of this method when applied to several cases for which an exact solution is available. This method is especially well suited for the calculation of absolute Raman scattering intensities due to acoustic phonons in metallic and dielectric nanoparticles embedded in transparent matrices.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of Raman Spectroscop

Antiretroviral treatment outcomes amongst older adults in a large multicentre cohort in South Africa

Introduction Increasing numbers of patients are starting antiretroviral treatment (ART) at advanced age or reaching advanced age while on ART. We compared baseline characteristics and ART outcomes of older adults (aged ≥55 years) vs. younger adults (aged 25-54 years) in routine care settings in South Africa. METHODS: A multicentre cohort study of ART-naïve adults starting ART at 89 public sector facilities was conducted. Mortality, loss to follow-up (LTFU), immunological and virological outcomes until five years of ART were compared using competing-risks regression, generalised estimating equations and mixed-effects models. RESULTS: 4065 older adults and 86,006 younger adults were included. There were more men amongst older adults; 44.7% vs. 33.4%; RR = 1.34 (95% CI: 1.29-1.39). Mortality after starting ART was substantially higher amongst older adults, adjusted sub-hazard ratio (asHR) = 1.44 over 5 years (95% CI: 1.26-1.64), particularly for the period 7-60 months of treatment, asHR = 1.73 (95% CI: 1.44-2.10). LTFU was lower in older adults, asHR = 0.87 (95% CI: 0.78-0.97). Achievement of virological suppression was greater in older adults, adjusted odds ratio = 1.42 (95% CI: 1.23-1.64). The probabilities of viral rebound and confirmed virological failure were both lower in older adults, adjusted hazard ratios = 0.69 (95% CI: 0.56-0.85) and 0.64 (95% CI: 0.47-0.89), respectively. The rate of CD4 cell recovery (amongst patients with continuous viral suppression) was 25 cells/6 months of ART (95% CI: 17.3-33.2) lower in older adults. CONCLUSIONS: Although older adults had better virological outcomes and reduced LTFU, their higher mortality and slower immunological recovery warrant consideration of age-specific ART initiation criteria and management strategies

Characteristics of Public Open Space Area in the Kampung Settlement (Case Study: Kampung Cungkeng)

This study investigates the characteristics of public space areas in kampung settlement, Kampung Cungkeng, Teluk Betung, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia. The study aims to identify the public space utilization and the elements moulding open space in this urban kampung. This study is to identify the characteristics of public space, the social interaction of communities and the dynamic interplay between public space and activities. It identifies the utilization of public open space which communities or dwellers use to interact and socialize in some activities in Kampung Cungkeng. The research is framed by qualitative method descriptively through collecting data and observing areas is accomplished by a snapshot surveying in a certain time. The method of data analysis is constructed by technical quality analysis based on facts and perception. The findings are the shortage of public space availability influences dwellers’ interaction and they bond engagement in semi-public zones, such as terraces and yards, where dwellers share the private house area to facilitate social activities. The lack of public space availability makes folks reorganise the existing public space and complete the additional facilities, features, or infrastructure to facilitate better social interaction and enhance comfort in Kampung Cungkeng.