Die Waarheids- en Versoeningskommissie as Simulacrum en die rol van belydenis, vergifnis en versoening

This paper examines the relevance and validity of the� Truth and Reconciliation Commission� s Christian leitmotiv in relation to the victim hearings. It is suggested that the Commission� s emphasis on religious themes such as the search for truth, the confession of guilt, forgiveness by victims and in the final instance the promise of redemption, reconciliation and transformation may facilitate the emergence of �moral elitism� or lead to the erroneous belief that a consensus morality dictating the transformation discourse exists. In this role, it can be said that the Commission has become simulacrum for the only way through which the truth about apartheid and redemption could be found.� The religious �authority� assumed by the Commission provided the necessary legitimacy to dictate to perpetrators and victims on a very personal level. The author warns that the Commission� s religiously inspired transformation rhetoric hides ambitious political motives that try to accomplish too much, too soon

Concern level assessment: building domain knowledge into a visual system to support network-security situation awareness

Information officers and network administrators require tools to help them achieve situation awareness about potential network threats. We describe a response to mini-challenge 1 of the 2012 IEEE VAST challenge in which we developed a visual analytic solution to a network security situation awareness problem. To support conceptual design, we conducted a series of knowledge elicitation sessions with domain experts. These provided an understanding of the information they needed to make situation awareness judgements as well as a characterisation of those judgements in the form of production rules which define a parameter we called the ‘Concern Level Assessment’ (CLA). The CLA was used to provide heuristic guidance within a visual analytic system called MSIEVE. An analysis of VAST challenge assessment sessions using M-SIEVE provides some evidence that intelligent heuristics like this can provide useful guidance without unduly dominating interaction and understanding

M-Sieve: a visualisation tool for supporting network security analysts

The Middlesex Spatial Interactive Visualisation Environment (M-Sieve) is a spatiotemporal visual analytics tool for exploring computer network activity. M-Sieve allows the user to filter and visualize data through facets to explore and find patterns. To help guide exploration, we developed a set of rules which are used to derive a variable we call the ‘Concern Level Assessment’ (CLA). The CLA is based on attributes of nodes on the network. The rules were developed by eliciting inferences from network security domain experts. The combination of M-Sieve and the CLA allowed us to address the problem presented by the VAST 2012 Competition - Mini Challenge 1

Aligning agri-environmental subsidies and environmental needs: A comparative analysis between the US and EU

The global recognition of modern agricultural practices' impact on the environment has fuelled policy responses to ameliorate environmental degradation in agricultural landscapes. In the US and the EU, agri-environmental subsidies (AES) promote widespread adoption of sustainable practices by compensating farmers who voluntarily implement them on working farmland. Previous studies, however, have suggested limitations of their spatial targeting, with funds not allocated towards areas of the greatest environmental need. We analysed AES in the US and EU –specifically through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and selected measures of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)– to identify if AES are going where they are most needed to achieve environmental goals, using a set of environmental need indicators, socio-economic variables moderating allocation patterns, and contextual variables describing agricultural systems. Using linear mixed models and linear models we explored the associations among AES allocation and these predictors at different scales. We found that higher AES spending was associated with areas of low soil organic carbon and high greenhouse gas emissions both in the US and EU, and nitrogen surplus in the EU. More so than successes, however, clear mismatches of funding and environmental need emerged – AES allocation did not successfully target areas of highest water stress, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, and nutrient runoff. Socio-economic and agricultural context variables may explain some of these mismatches; we show that AES were allocated to areas with higher proportions of female producers in the EU but not in the US, where funds were directed towards areas with less tenant farmers. Moreover, we suggest that the potential for AES to remediate environmental issues may be curtailed by limited participation in intensive agricultural landscapes. These findings can help inform refinements to EQIP and EAFRD allocation mechanisms and identify opportunities for improving future targeting of AES spending

Efficacy of tissue brushing as measured by the prosthodontic tissue index

This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of brushing the oral mucosa supporting complete dentures with a soft brush to see if this treatment would reduce inflammation. The oral mucosa health status of 60 patients was monitored for 120 days using the PTI to measure inflammation. For comparison the patients were divided into two groups, and every effort was made to balance the groups for those variables that may effect inflammation. The patients were also compared with themselves. The experiment consisted of three phases; Phase 1 established baseline data, and Phases 2 and 3 were information-gathering sessions. Each patient received brushing instructions at the start of the brushing test period and additional brushing instruction during a reinforcement session after 30 days. Tissue brushing did reduce the inflammation index of the oral mucosa examined.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74782/1/j.1754-4505.1984.tb00150.x.pd

First steps towards a fast-neutron therapy planning program

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Monte Carlo code GEANT4 was used to implement first steps towards a treatment planning program for fast-neutron therapy at the FRM II research reactor in Garching, Germany. Depth dose curves were calculated inside a water phantom using measured primary neutron and simulated primary photon spectra and compared with depth dose curves measured earlier. The calculations were performed with GEANT4 in two different ways, simulating a simple box geometry and splitting this box into millions of small voxels (this was done to validate the voxelisation procedure that was also used to voxelise the human body).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In both cases, the dose distributions were very similar to those measured in the water phantom, up to a depth of 30 cm. In order to model the situation of patients treated at the FRM II MEDAPP therapy beamline for salivary gland tumors, a human voxel phantom was implemented in GEANT4 and irradiated with the implemented MEDAPP neutron and photon spectra. The 3D dose distribution calculated inside the head of the phantom was similar to the depth dose curves in the water phantom, with some differences that are explained by differences in elementary composition. The lateral dose distribution was studied at various depths. The calculated cumulative dose volume histograms for the voxel phantom show the exposure of organs at risk surrounding the tumor.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In order to minimize the dose to healthy tissue, a conformal treatment is necessary. This can only be accomplished with the help of an advanced treatment planning system like the one developed here. Although all calculations were done for absorbed dose only, any biological dose weighting can be implemented easily, to take into account the increased radiobiological effectiveness of neutrons compared to photons.</p

The predictive value of early behavioural assessments in pet dogs: a longitudinal study from neonates to adults

Studies on behavioural development in domestic dogs are of relevance for matching puppies with the right families, identifying predispositions for behavioural problems at an early stage, and predicting suitability for service dog work, police or military service. The literature is, however, inconsistent regarding the predictive value of tests performed during the socialisation period. Additionally, some practitioners use tests with neonates to complement later assessments for selecting puppies as working dogs, but these have not been validated. We here present longitudinal data on a cohort of Border collies, followed up from neonate age until adulthood. A neonate test was conducted with 99 Border collie puppies aged 2–10 days to assess activity, vocalisations when isolated and sucking force. At the age of 40–50 days, 134 puppies (including 93 tested as neonates) were tested in a puppy test at their breeders' homes. All dogs were adopted as pet dogs and 50 of them participated in a behavioural test at the age of 1.5 to 2 years with their owners. Linear mixed models found little correspondence between individuals' behaviour in the neonate, puppy and adult test. Exploratory activity was the only behaviour that was significantly correlated between the puppy and the adult test. We conclude that the predictive validity of early tests for predicting specific behavioural traits in adult pet dogs is limited

Polymorphism in the Tyrosine Hydroxylase (TH) Gene Is Associated with Activity-Impulsivity in German Shepherd Dogs

We investigated the association between repeat polymorphism in intron 4 of the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene and two personality traits, activity-impulsivity and inattention, in German Shepherd Dogs. The behaviour of 104 dogs was characterized by two instruments: (1) the previously validated Dog-Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale (Dog-ADHD RS) filled in by the dog owners and (2) the newly developed Activity-impulsivity Behavioural Scale (AIBS) containing four subtests, scored by the experimenters. Internal consistency, inter-observer reliability, test-retest reliability and convergent validity were demonstrated for AIBS

Ethical and legal implications of whole genome and whole exome sequencing in African populations

BACKGROUND: Rapid advances in high throughput genomic technologies and next generation sequencing are making medical genomic research more readily accessible and affordable, including the sequencing of patient and control whole genomes and exomes in order to elucidate genetic factors underlying disease. Over the next five years, the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Initiative, funded by the Wellcome Trust (United Kingdom) and the National Institutes of Health (United States of America), will contribute greatly towards sequencing of numerous African samples for biomedical research. DISCUSSION: Funding agencies and journals often require submission of genomic data from research participants to databases that allow open or controlled data access for all investigators. Access to such genotype-phenotype and pedigree data, however, needs careful control in order to prevent identification of individuals or families. This is particularly the case in Africa, where many researchers and their patients are inexperienced in the ethical issues accompanying whole genome and exome research; and where an historical unidirectional flow of samples and data out of Africa has created a sense of exploitation and distrust. In the current study, we analysed the implications of the anticipated surge of next generation sequencing data in Africa and the subsequent data sharing concepts on the protection of privacy of research subjects. We performed a retrospective analysis of the informed consent process for the continent and the rest-of-the-world and examined relevant legislation, both current and proposed. We investigated the following issues: (i) informed consent, including guidelines for performing culturally-sensitive next generation sequencing research in Africa and availability of suitable informed consent documents; (ii) data security and subject privacy whilst practicing data sharing; (iii) conveying the implications of such concepts to research participants in resource limited settings. SUMMARY: We conclude that, in order to meet the unique requirements of performing next generation sequencing-related research in African populations, novel approaches to the informed consent process are required. This will help to avoid infringement of privacy of individual subjects as well as to ensure that informed consent adheres to acceptable data protection levels with regard to use and transfer of such information

RENEB intercomparisons applying the conventional Dicentric Chromosome Assay (DCA)

Purpose: Two quality controlled inter-laboratory exercises were organized within the EU project ‘Realizing the European Network of Biodosimetry (RENEB)’ to further optimize the dicentric chromosome assay (DCA) and to identify needs for training and harmonization activities within the RENEB network. Materials and methods: The general study design included blood shipment, sample processing, analysis of chromosome aberrations and radiation dose assessment. After manual scoring of dicentric chromosomes in different cell numbers dose estimations and corresponding 95% confidence intervals were submitted by the participants. Results: The shipment of blood samples to the partners in the European Community (EU) were performed successfully. Outside the EU unacceptable delays occurred. The results of the dose estimation demonstrate a very successful classification of the blood samples in medically relevant groups. In comparison to the 1st exercise the 2nd intercomparison showed an improvement in the accuracy of dose estimations especially for the high dose point. Conclusions: In case of a large-scale radiological incident, the pooling of ressources by networks can enhance the rapid classification of individuals in medically relevant treatment groups based on the DCA. The performance of the RENEB network as a whole has clearly benefited from harmonization processes and specific training activities for the network partners