cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
In/visibility of the abandoned school : beyond representations of school closure
Creators: name: LeBlanc, Natalie Elizabeth
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2016

description: This research is an artistic form of inquiry in which knowledge is generated from a closed school because it is a de-institutionalized and de-commissioned place that has not yet legally been re-zoned, re-sold, or repurposed. Much of the research on the topic of school closure suggests that its aftermath wreaks havoc on cities and neighborhoods. The abandoned school, marginalized and forgotten, enters into a process of neglect and decline (Chambers, 2007). This research demonstrates how acts of ‘re-territorialization’ (Smith, 2010) in the context of the socio-political state of the closed school, holds pedagogical possibility. To complete this project, I photographed multiple closed schools in cities across Canada and I spoke with principals, students, board directors, faculty, and community members about their experiences with school closure. For one of the final stages of my inquiry, I projected images of the inside of the decommissioned school onto the outside’s physical structure and invited the public, community members who experienced the closure of the school, to take part in an immersive experience in which they could project their own stories and imaginations onto the artwork. Encounters with the abandoned school are brought forward in five ‘concessions,’ articulated here as a virtual spatial practice that explores the abandoned school through photographic images and text, provoking readers/viewers to (re)imagine relationships between space, time, place, and memory. I articulate how this inquiry acts as an intervention — an experience that occurs because of art and because of the artist who is working as a catalyst within the context of the everyday. Drawing attention to the architecture of the closed school as an archive — a repository of memories (both individual and collective) that has been locked off from the community in which it exists, the abandoned school brings forth a possibility (however partial) to (re)construct, (re)store, and (re)present stories of the past with our own existing narratives. Conceptualized as a work of art, this exegesis challenges the more traditional dissertation structure. Rather than answering or advancing a hypothesis, it asks that you look at artistic inquiry in a new way, perhaps even provoking a shift in thought itself.
Clouds and Chemistry in the Atmosphere of Extrasolar Planet HR8799b
Creators: name: Barman, Travis S.
name: Macintosh, Bruce
name: Konopacky, Quinn M.
name: Marois, Christian
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Using the integral field spectrograph OSIRIS, on the Keck II telescope, broad near-infrared H and K-band spectra of the young exoplanet HR8799b have been obtained. In addition, six new narrow-band photometric measurements have been taken across the H and K bands. These data are combined with previously published photometry for an analysis of the planet's atmospheric properties. Thick photospheric dust cloud opacity is invoked to explain the planet's red near-IR colors and relatively smooth near-IR spectrum. Strong water absorption is detected, indicating a Hydrogen-rich atmosphere. Only weak CH4 absorption is detected at K band, indicating efficient vertical mixing and a disequilibrium CO/CH4 ratio at photospheric depths. The H-band spectrum has a distinct triangular shape consistent with low surface gravity. New giant planet atmosphere models are compared to these data with best fitting bulk parameters, Teff = 1100K +- 100 and log(g) = 3.5 +-0.5 (for solar composition). Given the observed luminosity, log(Lobs/Lsun) ~ -5.1, these values correspond to a radius of 0.75 Rjup (+0.17, -0.12) and mass ~ 0.72 Mjup (+2.6,-0.6) -- strikingly inconsistent with interior/evolution models. Enhanced metallicity (up to ~ 10 times that of the Sun) along with thick clouds and non-equilibrium chemistry are likely required to reproduce the complete ensemble of spectroscopic and photometric data and the low effective temperatures (< 1000K) required by the evolution models.
description: 17 pages, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal
Transcriptional repression of retrotransposons in mouse germline
Creators: name: Liu, Sheng
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2016

description: Transcription of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) is inhibited by de novo DNA methylation during gametogenesis, a process initiated after birth in oocytes and at approximately embryonic day 15.5 (E15.5) in prospermatogonia. However earlier in germline development, the genome, including most retrotransposons, is progressively demethylated. As DNA methylation reaches a low point in E13.5 primordial germ cells (PGCs) of both sexes, raising the question whether repressive histone methylations play a role in silencing of retrotransposons at this stage of development. To answer this question, I first focused on developing low input assays for profiling histone modifications, DNA methylation and transcription from rare cell populations. In close collaboration with Dr. Julie Brind’Amour, I was able to develop the “SmallCell” protocol package, which enables chromatin immunoprecipitation, bisulfite conversion of DNA, RNA isolation-reverse transcription using ~1000 cells per assay, but also construction of sequencing library from pictograms of DNA. This allows profiling of epigenetic information at both locus-specific and genome-wide scales. I then developed the “InterSeq” software (R package) to intersect and explore different types of epigenomic data. This package allows converting sequencing data into genomic interval measures in spreadsheet (SeqData), interfacing this spreadsheet into flowcytometry data (SeqFrame), and an intuitive graphical interface to gate and explore the inter-relationship between different types of epigenomic sequencing data similar to flowcytometry (SeqViz). With these tools we first determined whether retrotransposons are marked by H3K9me3 and H3K27me3. Although these repressive histone modifications are found predominantly on distinct genomic regions in E13.5 PGCs, they concurrently mark partially methylated long terminal repeats and LINE1 elements. Germline-specific conditional knockout of the H3K9 methyltransferase SETDB1 yields a decrease of both marks and DNA methylation at H3K9me3-enriched retrotransposon families. Strikingly, Setdb1 knockout E13.5 PGCs show concomitant derepression of many marked ERVs, including IAP, ETn, and ERVK10C elements, and ERV-proximal genes, a subset in a sex-dependent manner. Furthermore, Setdb1 deficiency is associated with a reduced number of male E13.5 PGCs and postnatal hypogonadism in both sexes. Taken together, these observations reveal that SETDB1 is an essential guardian against proviral expression prior to the onset of de novo DNA methylation in the germline.
Effects of Khaya senegalensis leaves on performance, carcass traits, hematological and biochemical parameters in rabbits
Creators: name: Abdel-Wareth, A. A. A.
name: Hammad, Seddik
name: Ahmed, Hassan
Publisher: name: TU Dortmund
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: Khaya senegalensis
subject: rabbit
subject: performance
subject: blood parameters
subject: carcass
subject: 610

description: One of the challenges facing farmers today is to ensure adequate integration of natural resources into animal feeds. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects of Khaya senegalensis (KS) leaves on the performance of growing male rabbits, carcass traits and biochemical as well as hematological parameters. Thirty New Zealand White male growing rabbits were randomly divided into 3 groups (10 rabbits per group). Group I (control) received standard rabbit diet. Rabbits in group II and group III were fed standard rabbit diet supplemented with 35 % and 65 % KS leaves, respectively. All rabbits were fed daily for 25 days. The performance parameters and carcass criteria, including daily body weight gain, final body weight, and the percentage of dressing, were increased in rabbits fed 35 % KS when compared to the control group. Kidney and liver weight ratios increased significantly in group II but dropped in group III. Furthermore, liver enzymes - alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase and kidney function parameters - urea, and creatinine - increased in both group II (significant P<0.05) and in group III (significant P<0.01) when compared to the control group. Moreover, KS leaves induced a significant increase (P<0.05) in the total white blood cell count, the percentage of granulocytes and the platelet count; whereas, the percentage of lymphocytes, red blood cell count, hemoglobin content, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration were not statistically significantly changed. This study demonstrates that the performance parameters and carcass traits are improved by the replacement of rabbit's diet with KS leaves. However, KS leaves may adversely affect liver and kidney function in a dose-dependent manner. Therefore, further studies are required to elucidate the maximum tolerable and toxic, as well as lethal doses, and to isolate the pharmacologically active components from KS leaves.
description: EXCLI Journal ; Vol. 13, 2014
Causes of gastrointestinal bleeding in oral anticoagulant users compared to non-users in a population-based study
Creators: name: Ágústsson, Arnar S.
name: Ingason, Arnar B.
name: Rumba, Edward
name: Pálsson, Daníel
name: Reynisson, Indriði E.
name: Hreinsson, Jóhann P.
name: Björnsson, Einar S.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Pharmacology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Ecology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Cancer
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: Causes of gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in patients on oral anticoagulants (OACs) are not well established. The aims of the study were to compare the causes of GIB in patients on OACs and those not on OAC therapy. A nationwide study of all GIB events in patients on OACs in Iceland from 2014–2019 was conducted. Bleeding events were obtained through ICD-10 codes and review of endoscopy databases, confirmed by review of medical records. For comparison, patients not on OACs from previous Icelandic population-based studies were used. Among 752 GIB events in 12,005 patients on OACs, 273 (1.9%) had verified upper and 391 (2.7%) had verified lower GIB. For lower GIB, multivariate analysis showed that OAC users were more likely to have colonic polyps (OR 6.6, 95% CI: 2.4 − 17.8, p p p p p = .003) were more common in OAC users. A high proportion of GIB caused by colonic polyps and colorectal cancer among OAC patients indicates that OACs treatment may facilitate cancer diagnosis. The low proportion of ischemic colitis among those on OACs suggests that OACs provide a protective effect against ischemic colitis. OACs seem to increase the bleeding from angiodysplasia and mucosal erosive disease.
A novel intragastric balloon for treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes. A two-center pilot trial
Creators: name: Tønnesen, Christer Julseth
name: Hjelmesæth, Jøran
name: Hofsø, Dag
name: Tonstad, Serena
name: Hertel, Jens Kristoffer
name: Heggen, Eli
name: Johnson, Line Kristin
name: Mathisen, Tor Erik
name: Kalager, Mette
name: Wieszczy, Paulina
name: Medhus, Asle W.
name: Løberg, Magnus
name: Aabakken, Lars
name: Bretthauer, Michael
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Physiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Marine Biology
subject: Science Policy
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: Obesity with type-2 diabetes is a global challenge. Lifestyle interventions have limited effect for most patients. Bariatric surgery is highly effective, but resource-demanding, invasive and associated with serious complications. Recently, a new intragastric balloon was introduced, not requiring endoscopy for placement or removal (Elipse™, Allurion Inc., Natick, MA). The balloon is swallowed in a capsule and filled with water once in the stomach. The balloon self-deflates after 4 months and is naturally excreted. The present trial investigated balloon feasibility, safety and efficacy in patients with obesity and type-2 diabetes. We treated 19 patients, with type-2 diabetes and body mass index (BMI) of 30.0–39.9 kg/m2 at two Norwegian centers with the Elipse balloon. Patient follow-up during balloon treatment mimicked real-world clinical practice, including dietary plan and outpatient visits. The primary efficacy endpoints were total body weight loss (TBWL) and HbA1c at weeks 16 and 52. All patients underwent balloon insertion uneventfully as out-patients. Mean TBWL and HbA1c reduction after 16 and 52 weeks of balloon insertion was 3.9% (95%CI 2.1–5.7) and 0.8% (95%CI 1.9–3.5); and 7 (95%CI 4–10), and 1 (95%CI −6 to 9) mmol/mol, respectively. Adverse events occurred in two patients (10.5%): one developed gastric outlet obstruction, managed by endoscopic balloon removal; the other excessive vomiting and dehydration, managed conservatively. This first Scandinavian real-world clinical trial with a new minimally invasive intragastric balloon system demonstrated good feasibility, but did not confirm expected efficacy for weight loss and diabetes control.
Microstructure and interface studies of LaVO3/SrVO3 superlattices
Creators: name: Boullay, P.
name: David, A.
name: Sheets, W. C.
name: Lüders, U.
name: Prellier, W.
name: Tan, H.
name: Verbeeck, J.
name: Van Tendeloo, G.
name: Gatel, C.
name: Vincze, G.
name: Radi, Z.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics (cond-mat.mes-hall)
subject: Strongly Correlated Electrons (cond-mat.str-el)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The structure and interface characteristics of (LaVO3)6m(SrVO3)m superlattices deposited on (100)-SrTiO3 (STO) substrate were studied using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Cross-section TEM studies revealed that both LaVO3 (LVO) and SrVO3 (SVO) layers are good single crystal quality and epitaxially grown with respect to the substrate. It is evidenced that LVO layers are made of two orientational variants of a distorted perovskite compatible with bulk LaVO3 while SVO layers suffers from a tetragonal distortion due to the substrate induced stain. Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) investigations indicate changes in the fine structure of the V L23 edge, related to a valence change between the LaVO3 and SrVO3 layers.
description: submitted for publication in PRB
A comparative evaluation of two Synthetic Transmit Aperture with Virtual Source beamforming methods in biomedical ultrasound
Creators: name: Ma, Manyou
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2016

description: This thesis studies the Synthetic Transmit Aperture with Virtual Source (STA-VS) beamforming method, which is an emerging technique in biomedical ultrasound. It promises better imaging quality compared to conventional beamforming, with the same imaging speed. Several specific realizations of the STA-VS methods have been proposed in the literature and the topic is an active research area. The first part of the thesis examines two realizations of the STA-VS method, namely the Synthetic Aperture Sequential Beamforming (SASB) method and the bi-directional pixel-based focusing (BiPBF) method. Studies are performed with both ultrasound simulation software and a commercial ultrasound scanner's research interface. The studies show that the STA-VS methods can improve the spatial and contrast resolution of ultrasound imaging. The two stage implementation of SASB has lower complexity between the two STA-VS methods. However, compared to other beamformers, SASB is more susceptible to speed-of-sound (SOS) errors in the beamforming calculations. The second part of the thesis proposes an SOS estimation and correction algorithm. The SOS estimation part of the algorithm is based on second-order polynomial fitting to point scatterers in pre-beamformed data, and is specifically applicable to the two stage realization of the SASB method. The SOS correction part of the algorithm is incorporated into the second stage beamforming of the SASB method and is shown to improve the spatial resolution of the beamformed image. This algorithm is also adapted to, and tested on, vertical two-layer structures with two distinct SOS's, through simulations and measurements on an in-house phantom. The premise is that two layers can simulate a fat/muscle or fat/organ anatomy. Spatial resolution is shown to improve with the SOS correction. Future work will investigate whether that this two-layer SOS estimation and correction algorithm will similarly improve the imaging quality in vivo such as abdominal ultrasound examinations of overweight patients.
Synthesis, Molecular Docking and Antitumor Activity of New Dithiazoles
Creators: name: Farghaly, Thoraya A.
name: El-Metwaly, Nashwa
name: Al-Soliemy, Amerah M.
name: Katouah, Hanadi A.
name: Muhammad, Zeinab A.
name: Sabour, Rehab
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Ecology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: 60506 Virology

description: Natural compounds including bis-heterocyclic moieties displayed several applications in pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and industrial fields. Di-thiazoles are effective core of several anticancer drugs such as bleomycin. Derived from importance of di-thiazoles, herein, we synthesized novel series of di-thiazoles from condensation reaction of thiazole thiosemicarbazone derivative with α-haloketones. Physical features and chemical structures of new compounds formed were discussed and assured based on their spectral and conformational analysis. The cytotoxic potency of newly synthesized thiazole derivatives against colon (HCT-116) and hepatocellular (HepG2) carcinoma-cell lines was determined by MTT assay. Compounds 7a, 9a, 9c, and 9e revealed marked anticancer activity especially against (HCT-116). Molecular docking study was executed over chosen compounds referring to expected promising features against LDH-5, which appeared agree with biological results. This study was utilized to predict prior binding-efficiency of active thiazole compounds.
A First Comparison of Kepler Planet Candidates in Single and Multiple Systems
Creators: name: Latham, David W.
name: Rowe, Jason F.
name: Quinn, Samuel N.
name: Batalha, Natalie M.
name: Borucki, William J.
name: Brown, Timothy M.
name: Bryson, Stephen T.
name: Buchhave, Lars A.
name: Caldwell, Douglas A.
name: Carter, Joshua A.
name: Christiansen, Jesse L.
name: Ciardi, David R.
name: Cochran, William D.
name: Dunham, Edward W.
name: Fabrycky, Daniel C.
name: Ford, Eric B.
name: Gautier, Thomas N.
name: Gilliland, Ronald L.
name: Holman, Matthew J.
name: Howell, Steve B.
name: Ibrahim, Khadeejah A.
name: Isaacson, Howard
name: Basri, Gibor
name: Furesz, Gabor
name: Geary, John C.
name: Jenkins, Jon M.
name: Koch, David G.
name: Lissauer, Jack J.
name: Marcy, Geoffrey W.
name: Quintana, Elisa V.
name: Ragozzine, Darin
name: Sasselov, Dimitar D.
name: Shporer, Avi
name: Steffen, Jason H.
name: Welsh, William F.
name: Wohler, Bill
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In this letter we present an overview of the rich population of systems with multiple candidate transiting planets found in the first four months of Kepler data. The census of multiples includes 115 targets that show 2 candidate planets, 45 with 3, 8 with 4, and 1 each with 5 and 6, for a total of 170 systems with 408 candidates. When compared to the 827 systems with only one candidate, the multiples account for 17 percent of the total number of systems, and a third of all the planet candidates. We compare the characteristics of candidates found in multiples with those found in singles. False positives due to eclipsing binaries are much less common for the multiples, as expected. Singles and multiples are both dominated by planets smaller than Neptune; 69 +2/-3 percent for singles and 86 +2/-5 percent for multiples. This result, that systems with multiple transiting planets are less likely to include a transiting giant planet, suggests that close-in giant planets tend to disrupt the orbital inclinations of small planets in flat systems, or maybe even to prevent the formation of such systems in the first place.
description: 13 pages, 13 figures, submitted to ApJ Letters
Synthesis of Thiazole Linked Imidazo[2,1-b]Thiazoles as Anticancer Agents
Creators: name: Mahmoud, Huda K.
name: Gomha, Sobhi M.
name: Farghaly, Thoraya A.
name: Awad, Hanem M.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: Medicine
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Science Policy
subject: Hematology
subject: 60506 Virology

description: Based on the search for new heterocyclic drugs suitable as anticancer agents and our knowledge of the efficacy of thiazol and imidazothiazole derivatives as anticancer drugs, we have created four new series of thiazolylimidazothiazole derivatives from the reaction of each of imidazothiazole-thiosemicabazone and imidazothiazole-thicarbohydrazone derivatives with acetyl-hydrazonoyl chlorides and ester-hydrazonoyl chlorides in dioxane/drops of Et3N. The structure of the four novel series of thiazolylimidazothiazoles was characterized by physical and spectroscopic tools. In addition, all the newly synthesized derivatives were examined in vitro for their activity against HCT-116 and MCF-7 human cancer cells using the MTT assay to evaluate their pharmaceutical importance. The encouraging potent results observed from anticancer elusidation studies on the newly prepared thiazolylimidazothiazole derivatives make the design and synthesis of novel series of these systems and studying of their pharmaceutical importance an active zone for more and more investigations.
Broken $S_3$ Symmetry in the Neutrino Mass Matrix
Creators: name: Dev, S.
name: Gupta, Shivani
name: Gautam, Radha Raman
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We explore the feasibility of the discrete flavor symmetry $S_3$ to explain the pattern of neutrino masses and mixings. In the flavor basis, the neutrino mass matrix is taken to be invariant under $S_3$ symmetry at the zeroth order. The effects of breaking $S_3$ symmetry by matrices invariant under different $S_2$ subgroups of $S_3$ are studied. The resulting retrocirculant perturbation matrix leads to the perturbed $S_3$ neutrino mass matrix having a trimaximal eigenvector as suggested by the solar neutrino data. It is found that after the third order perturbation the neutrino mixings only depend on the perturbation parameter and are consistent with the current experimental data leading to very small deviations from tribimaximal mixing. These perturbations in the $S_3$ invariant neutrino mass matrix result in interesting interplay between the solar and the reactor neutrino mixing angles. We also get a strongly suppressed range of effective Majorana mass which lies well within the reach of the ongoing experiments.
description: Phys. Lett. B (to appear)
Mortality in patients with Crohn’s disease in Örebro, Sweden 1963–2010
Creators: name: Zhulina, Yaroslava
name: Udumyan, Ruzan
name: Tysk, Curt
name: Halfvarson, Jonas
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Cell Biology
subject: Physiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Immunology
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Cancer

description: Some studies have suggested a reduced life expectancy in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) compared with the general population. The evidence, however, is inconsistent. Prompted by such studies, we studied survival of CD patients in Örebro county, Sweden. From the medical records, we identified all patients diagnosed with CD during 1963–2010 with follow-up to the end of 2011. We estimated: overall survival, net and crude probabilities of dying from CD, relative survival ratio (RSR), and excess mortality rate ratios (EMRR) at 10-year follow-up. The study included 492 patients (226 males, 266 females). Median age at diagnosis was 32 years (3–87). Net and crude probabilities of dying from CD increased with increasing age and were higher for women. Net survival of patients aged ≥60 at diagnosis was worse for patients diagnosed during 1963–1985 (54%) than for patients diagnosed during 1986–1999 (88%) or 2000–2010 (93%). Overall, CD patients’ survival was comparable to that in the general population [RSR = 0.98; 95% CI: (0.95–1.00)]. However, significantly lower than expected survival was suggested for female patients aged ≥60 diagnosed during the 1963–1985 [RSR = 0.47 (0.07–0.95)]. The adjusted model suggested that, compared with diagnostic period 1963–1985, disease-related excess mortality declined during 2000–2010 [EMRR = 0.36 (0.07–1.96)]; and age ≥60 at diagnosis [EMRR = 7.99 (1.64–39.00), reference: age 40–59], female sex [EMRR = 4.16 (0.62–27.85)], colonic localization [EMRR = 4.20 (0.81–21.88), reference: ileal localization], and stricturing/penetrating disease [EMRR = 2.56 (0.52–12.58), reference: inflammatory disease behaviour] were associated with poorer survival. CD-related excess mortality may vary with diagnostic period, age, sex and disease phenotype.Key summaryThere is inconsistent evidence on life expectancy of patients with Crohn’s diseaseCrohn’s disease-specific survival improved over time.Earlier diagnosis period, older age at diagnosis, female sex, colonic disease and complicated disease behaviour seems to be associated with excess Crohn’s disease-related mortality. There is inconsistent evidence on life expectancy of patients with Crohn’s disease Crohn’s disease-specific survival improved over time. Earlier diagnosis period, older age at diagnosis, female sex, colonic disease and complicated disease behaviour seems to be associated with excess Crohn’s disease-related mortality.
Comparative Assessment of PAHs Reduction in Soil by Growing Zea mays L. Augmented with Microbial Consortia and Fertilizer: Modulation in Uptake and Antioxidant Defense Response
Creators: name: Kumari, Babita
name: Kriti, Kriti
name: Sinam, Geetgovind
name: Singh, Gayatri
name: Jouhari, Nitanshi
name: Kumar, Navin
name: Gautam, Ambedkar
name: Mallick, Shekhar
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: Space Science
subject: Medicine
subject: Microbiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Ecology
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Plant Biology

description: Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are found ubiquitously in the environment and are carcinogenic and recalcitrant in nature, hence their fate in crops is imperative to quantify. In present study, the role of petroleum hydrocarbon (PH) degrading microbial consortium and organic fertilizer in the translocation and accumulation of PAHs in a crop plant i.e., Zea mays var. NMH-589 was determined under experimental simulated condition using spiked soil with PAHs mixture (300 µg g−1 phenantherene, 300 µg g−1 anthracene, 200 µg g−1 pyrene, and 200 µg g−1 fluoranthene). After 32 days of treatment, removal of 49.7% of PAHs mixture (k = 0.01552 d−1, t1/2 = 44.6 d) in soil was observed due to growth of maize plant, compared to only 31% removal in non-planted soil (k = 0.0097, t1/2 = 71.456). While growing maize plant amended with organic fertilizer and microbial consortium (Pseudomonas sp. BP10 and Penicillium oxalicum PS10), enhanced the degradation rate of PAHs in soil by 99.4% (k = 0.03107 d−1, t1/2 = 22.3 d). Maximum accumulation of total PAHs mixture in plant tissues (root, shoot, and leaves) was 99.5, 63.5, and 43.5 µg g−1, respectively without any amendment, while the accumulation was lowest i.e., 11.4 µg g−1, 1.2 µg g−1 and not detected, respectively when the soil was amended with microbes and cow-dung manure. Plants also stimulated the microbial count in soil by enhancing their CFU g−1 of soil up to 503%), while the addition of microbial consortium reduced the PAHs stress to plant concurrent with the decrease in antioxidant activities of the plant.
Teaching the intangible : how early childhood teacher education instructors "teach" relational development
Creators: name: McCannell, Alexandera
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2016

description: This thesis set out with the research question, “How are relationships framed, valued, taught and assessed by early childhood educator program instructors in British Columbia?” I conducted six group interviews and five individual interviews with instructors and directors, respectively, at public and private institutions around British Columbia. Using narrative analysis, I constructed a composite instructor character and a composite student instructor character and, using Ollerenshaw and Creswell’s (2002) problem-solution strategy, analyzed the characters during a chronological school year to illustrate tensions that arose at specific points. Overall, instructors frame relationships as foundational in the Early Childhood Educator Program. I draw parallels between the struggle to support adult students while being responsible to children and the balance between pedagogical and andragogical principles. Modeling and engaging in authentic professional relationships with students were the most effective tools for teaching relational development. Instructors engaged in an editing process to ensure that their actions reflected their beliefs, but were still professional. They noted that relational skills can be difficult to assess, and that they cannot assess a student’s willingness to use appropriate skills when needed. In the discussion, I trace the findings back to the purpose and questions for the research. I draw lines between instructors’ discursive constructions of students and Langford’s (2007) Good ECE, and examine the small but distinct cluster of instructors who spoke of the reconceptualising movement and its bearing on a teacher education program.
Restricting Fourth Order Gravity via Cosmology
Creators: name: Nelson, William
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The cosmology of general fourth order corrections to Einstein gravity is considered, both for a homogeneous and isotropic background and for general tensor perturbations. It is explicitly shown how the standard cosmological history can be (approximately) reproduced and under what condition the evolution of the tensor modes remain (approximately) unchanged. Requiring that the deviations from General Relativity are small during inflation sharpens the current constraints on such corrections terms by some thirty orders of magnitude. Taking a more conservative approach and requiring only that cosmology be approximately that of GR during Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, the constraints are improved by 4 - 6 orders of magnitude.
description: To appear in PRD
The determinants of lobbying regulations in Canada and its provinces
Creators: name: Chidgzey, Luke Darrel
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2016

description: The public has traditionally viewed lobbying with disdain; notions of “back room deals” and “bought politicians” have prevailed in the public discourse of many advanced industrialized democracies. This public attention has resulted in government action to regulate the practice of lobbying in some advanced democracies in the latter half of the twentieth century, with the aim to increase transparency and legitimacy. Research focused on the United States has produced insight into the creation and nature of lobbying regulations within the context of the American state governments. There has been no similar research within the Canadian political context, despite the fact that the Canadian federal government and nine of its ten provinces regulate lobbying to some degree. This study fills the gap in the literature by examining what factors cause lobbying regulations in Canada and its provinces. In order to address this question, this study scored all lobbying regulations at both the provincial and federal level, using an original index. Five potential causal variables were identified, based on findings from the literature: political scandals, political culture, financial resources, legislative tenure, and ideology. A quantitative bivariate analysis employing cross-tabulation was conducted, investigating the relationship between the aforementioned causal variables and lobbying regulations in Canada. Results indicated a statistically significant relationship between the timing and stringency of lobbying regulations and 1) the ideology of the governing party, 2) the occurrence of political scandals at the federal and provincial levels, and 3) the wealth of Canadian polities. These results differ from those reported in the US literature, which identify political culture and legislative tenure as causal variables. Thus, findings from the US literature cannot be generalized to the Canadian political context; potentially, contextual factors such as institutional design, the unique makeup of Canadian political culture, and the nature of the Canadian ideological spectrum may function to explain these differences. More broadly, these results undermine the notion that there are universal determinants of lobbying regulations across polities.
The case for primordial black holes as dark matter
Creators: name: Hawkins, M. R. S.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The aim of this paper is to present the case that stellar mass primordial black holes make up the dark matter component of the Universe. A near critical density of compact bodies implies that most lines of sight will be gravitationally microlensed, and the paper focuses on looking for the predicted effects on quasar brightness and spectral variations. These signatures of microlensing include the shape of the Fourier power spectrum of the light curves, near achromatic and statistically symmetric variations, and the absence of time dilation in the timescale of variability. For spectral changes, as the continuum varies there should be little corresponding change in the strength of the broad lines. In all these cases, the observations are found to be consistent with the predictions for microlensing by a population of stellar mass compact bodies. For multiply lensed quasars where the images vary independently it is shown that stellar populations are too small to produce the observed microlensing effects, implying a population of compact dark matter bodies of around a stellar mass along the line of sight. The most serious objection to dark matter in the form of compact bodies has come from observations of microlensing of stars in the Magellanic Clouds. In this paper the expected event rate is re-analysed using more recent values for the structure and dynamics of the Galactic halo, and it is shown that there is then no conflict with the observations. Finally, the possible identity of a near critical density of dark matter in the form of stellar mass compact bodies is reviewed, with the conclusion that by far the most plausible candidates are primordial black holes formed during the QCD epoch. The overall conclusion of the paper is that primordial black holes should be seen alongside elementary particles as viable dark matter candidates.
description: 16 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS
Occupational physical activity differentially affects the risk for developing later-onset Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis among middle-aged and older populations
Creators: name: Furuya, Yuko
name: Fukai, Kota
name: Nakazawa, Shoko
name: Kojimahara, Noriko
name: Hoshi, Keika
name: Toyota, Akihiro
name: Tatemichi, Masayuki
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2021
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Immunology
subject: FOS: Clinical medicine
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Biological sciences

description: A person’s occupation may increase his/her risk for developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study investigated the association between risk for later-onset of IBD and both specific occupations and occupational physical activity (OPA) levels. A multicenter hospital-based matched case-control study was conducted using the Inpatient Clinico-Occupational Survey database. Cases were patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) patients admitted for the first time between 2005 and 2015. Four controls matched by age, sex, admission year and hospital were selected for each case. Cases and controls were grouped into the longest-held occupations as classified by the Japanese Standard Occupational Classification and OPA levels. We conducted conditional logistic regressions to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for IBD, CD and UC adjusted for alcohol consumption and smoking status. There were 564 cases (172 CD, 392 UC) and 2086 controls. The risk for UC was higher among sales workers and carrying, cleaning and packing workers (ORs 2.62 [95%CIs 1.18–5.82], 2.52 [1.04–6.09]). There was no association between occupation type and CD risk. Higher OPA level decreased CD risk (OR 0.51 [95%CIs 0.26–1.00]) and increased UC risk (OR 1.53 [95%CIs 1.02–2.30]). Our study revealed that the risk for later-onset of UC, but not CD, was associated with longest-held 'service' and 'manufacture' work. The risk by OPA levels was inversely associated between CD and UC. Further studies are needed by follow-up method for long-term effects of physical activity.
Voluntary resettlement for improved livelihoods? : examining food security, nutrition, and informed consent amongst land reform participants in southern Malawi
Creators: name: Sharp, Kelly Susan
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2016

description: Land scarcity and food insecurity are critical concerns for billions of individuals worldwide; voluntary resettlement, as a type of land reform, offers governments and aid agencies a controversial approach to address these concerns. This thesis examines the case of a US$38-million World Bank-funded voluntary resettlement scheme in southern Malawi known as the Community Based Rural Land Development Project, through which 15,000 low-income farming households moved internally from densely populated areas to underutilized plantations between 2004 and 2011. The project and its explicit goals (to increase participant income and agricultural productivity) have been the subject of several studies, but the wider range of indirect outcomes and possible unintended consequences are lesser known, which this thesis works to address. The first analytic chapter assesses the extent to which the project was ‘voluntary’, and considers the real versus perceived land tenure claims established by the programme. To enhance understanding this analysis, this chapter also considers factors influencing household participation and withdrawal in the resettlement. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of surveys (N=203), focus group discussions (N=5) and interviews (N=20) suggest that participants did not have a clear understanding of the project conditions, and that they perceived their new ownership rights to be more secure and individual than they were by law. Additionally, attrition rates were analyzed: despite numerous influences factoring into participant decisions to withdraw and return ‘home’, availability of land in the district of origin and access to infrastructure in the district of resettlement played significant roles. The second analytic chapter assesses the effectiveness of voluntary resettlement in improving food security, including its effects on dietary diversity. Regressions and statistical analyses of Dietary Diversity Scores indicate that participants had statistically significant lower levels of food security and dietary diversity than former and non-beneficiaries, possibly due to a lack of infrastructure and access to markets. These findings highlight the importance of participatory holistic planning for voluntary resettlement, particularly to ensure participant understanding of future living conditions, and ultimately challenge the utility of voluntary resettlement as a policy tool to improve the well-being of subsistence farmers.
Maximal violation of Bell inequality for any given two-qubit pure state
Creators: name: Xiang, Yang
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In the case of bipartite two qubits systems, we derive the analytical expression of bound of Bell operator for any given pure state. Our result not only manifest some properties of Bell inequality, for example which may be violated by any pure entangled state and only be maximally violated for a maximally entangled state, but also give the explicit values of maximal violation for any pure state. Finally we point out that for two qubits systems there is no mixed state which can produce maximal violation of Bell inequality.
description: 3 pages, 1 figures
A Facile and Effective Four-Component Synthesis of Benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]-pyrimidine-3-carboxamides Based on Diketene
Creators: name: Ghanbarian, Manizheh
name: Beheshtiha, Seyed Yahya Shirazi
name: Heravi, Majid M.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: Biochemistry
subject: 29999 Physical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Physical sciences
subject: Medicine
subject: Microbiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Physiology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: 39999 Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Chemical sciences
subject: Inorganic Chemistry
subject: Plant Biology

description: A novel and efficient four component reaction involving diketene, primary amines, aromatic aldehydes and 2-amino-benzimidazole in the presence of I2 in refluxing EtOAc for the synthesis of benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]-pyrimidine-3-carboxamides is reported. Good yields, mild reaction conditions and facile isolation of products in pure forms are advantageous of this methodology.
Cristãos-Novos e Judaísmo no início da Época Moderna: identidade religiosa e “Razão de Estado”
Creators: name: Stuczynski, Claude B.
Publisher: name: Lusitania Sacra
Year: 2000

description: Lusitania Sacra, n. 12 (2000): Protestantismo e Catolicismo em Portugal nos Séculos XIX e XX
FEM Simulation of Influence of Different Polymeric Encapsulation Materials and Backsheets on Deformations in Strings of Shingled Solar Cells under Mechanical and Thermal Loading
Creators: name: Lang, Margit
name: Oreski, Gernot
name: Fuchs, Peter
name: Helfer, Eric
name: Halm, Andreas
name: Klenk, Markus
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023

description: Among several new cell architectures and module concepts, shingled solar cells interconnection is a promising technology to realize increased power output (higher power densities) by increased active cell area and low electrical losses. The direct interconnection by a slight overlapping of solar cells, using electrically conductive adhesives (ECA) as joint material, requires a sound understanding of the loads the ECA joint faces during module lifetime. In general, thermo-mechanical stresses in photovoltaic (PV) modules arise from external forces deflecting the module (e.g. wind or snow covering the module) and variations of temperature, hence stresses induced by differing coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of the different materials in the module laminate. The current study applies structural mechanics simulations based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) to investigate the impact of external mechanical and thermal loads on strings of shingled solar cells within a PV module according to well established standards IEC 61215:2-2016 (mechanical loading) and IEC 61215:2005 (thermal loading). The objective is to perform a sensitivity study on the influence of using different polymeric encapsulants and backsheet with the purpose of reducing stresses in the ECA joint and the adjacent silicon cells. Therefore, two newly developed encapsulants for photovoltaic applications, namely thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) and polyolefin elastomer (POE) are compared to the most widely used ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). Furthermore, co-extruded polypropylene (PP) as well as laminated polyphenylenether (PPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF/PET/EVA) backsheets are compared to a standard glass-backsheet module. The numerical analyses enables to directly analyze the internal stresses in the PV module and specifically the local stress distribution for the shingled interconnection. Viscoelastic material modeling is used with the objective of capturing the rate and temperature dependency of polymeric materials to allow for more accurate modeling of the material response.
Aspectos da filosofia católica em Portugal na segunda metade do século XX
Creators: name: Gomes, J. Pinharanda
Publisher: name: Lusitania Sacra
Year: 2000

description: Considerando que mais de um quarto dos começos do século XX foi perturbado para a Igreja em Portugal, em que uma “escola católica” achou muitas dificuldades de expressão, procura-se coligir os fenómenos ocorrentes na 2ª metade do século XX à luz dos pressupostos herdados, já do século XX, já das mutações verificadas depois. O ensaio procura abranger as principais linhas de força do pensamento filosófico, com realce para o neotomismo, mas fixando as expressões de outras correntes, do mesmo passo que dá importância à incidência filosófica na Literatura e na Poesia. No coração do ensaio situa-se o debate, jamais esgotado, entre Fé e Razão, entre Ciência e Revelação, assumindo o autor que só pela via do amor o debate será ultrapassado, sem prejuízo da liberdade de pensamento, que é propriedade de cada um no tempo, no lugar e na história.
description: Lusitania Sacra, n. 12 (2000): Protestantismo e Catolicismo em Portugal nos Séculos XIX e XX