82 research outputs found
Amn al-Kharji: An Analysis of External Operations Wing of the Islamic State
No full textThis article provides an analysis of the external operations wing of IS –the so-called Amn al-Kharji – focusing on its activities in the West. Apart from describing the organisation’s leadership, internal hierarchy, strategy and means of communication and attack coordination, the author asserts there is a link between recent deadly cells-based attacks and generally unsuccessful lone actor attacks; this connection between the two is not accidental but a result of a grand strategy, designed to hide the planning of larger plots by overloading security services with numerous smaller attacks
Abstracts from the 13th EUROCAT SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUM: Advancing congenital anomaly research through collaboration, 16-17 June 2016, Milan, Italy
No full textAmn al-Kharji: An Analysis of External Operations Wing of the Islamic State
No full textThis article provides an analysis of the external operations wing of IS -the so-called Amn al-Kharji - focusing on its activities in the West. Apart from describing the organisation's leadership, internal hierarchy, strategy and means of communication and attack coordination, the author asserts there is a link between recent deadly cells-based attacks and generally unsuccessful lone actor attacks; this connection between the two is not accidental but a result of a grand strategy, designed to hide the planning of larger plots by overloading security services with numerous smaller attacks.</jats:p
Relation between early life socioeconomic position and all cause mortality in two generations. A longitudinal study of Danish men born in 1953 and their parents
No full textObjective: To examine (1) the relation between parental socioeconomic position and all cause mortality in two generations, (2) the relative importance of mother’s educational status and father’s occupational status on offspring mortality, and (3) the effect of factors in the family environment on these relations.
Design: A longitudinal study with record linkage to the Civil Registration System. The data were analysed using Cox regression models.
Setting: Copenhagen, Denmark.
Subjects: 2890 men born in 1953, whose mothers were interviewed regarding family social background in 1968. The vital status of this population and their parents was ascertained from April 1968 to January 2002.
Main outcome measures: All cause mortality in study participants, their mothers, and fathers.
Results: A similar pattern of relations was found between parental social position and all cause mortality in adult life in the three triads of father, mother, and offspring constituted of the cohort of men born in 1953, their parents, and grandparents. The educational status of mothers showed no independent effect on total mortality when father’s occupational social class was included in the model in either of the triads. Low material wealth was the indicator that remained significantly associated with adult all cause mortality in a model also including parental social position and the intellectual climate of the family in 1968. In the men born in 1953 the influence of material wealth was strongest for deaths later in adult life.
Conclusion: Father’s occupational social class is associated with adult mortality in all members of the mother-father-offspring triad. Material wealth seems to be an explanatory factor for this association
An Atomic Approach to Animated Music Notation
No full textSince the turn of the century, and in particular the last 5 years, the discourse surrounding dynamic scoring techniques and practices has increased dramatically, while leading to an increasingly disparate terminological melee. With an awareness of what implications exist in the premature analysis and theorization of an emerging field of practice, the author argues that in order to further develop a taxonomy of dynamic scoring techniques and practices, it may be useful to take a reductionist approach toward defining the various low-level elements of dynamic scoring, in the case of this paper those elements that features prominently in Animated Music Notation [AMN]. By suggesting a set of low-level elements, and isolating the actualized indicators of contact and intersection as the primary functional components of AMN, the author will propose a working definition of AMN supported by examples drawn from the author's work and others. This definition is not intended to satisfy the broad range of dynamic scoring techniques that implement AMN, but to highlight prevalent methodologies, and to point toward the extension of existing taxonomies, specifically regard-ing their respective global functionalities
Structural assembly of the megadalton-sized receptor for intestinal vitamin B12 uptake and kidney protein reabsorption
No full textThe endocytic receptor cubam formed by the 460-kDa protein cubilin and the 45-kDa transmembrane protein amnionless (AMN), is essential for intestinal vitamin B (B) uptake and for protein (e.g. albumin) reabsorption from the kidney filtrate. Loss of function of any of the two components ultimately leads to serious B deficiency and urinary protein loss in humans (Imerslund-Gräsbeck’s syndrome, IGS). Here, we present the crystal structure of AMN in complex with the amino-terminal region of cubilin, revealing a sophisticated assembly of three cubilin subunits combining into a single intertwined β-helix domain that docks to a corresponding three-faced β-helix domain in AMN. This β-helix-β-helix association thereby anchors three ligand-binding cubilin subunits to the transmembrane AMN. Electron microscopy of full-length cubam reveals a 700–800 Å long tree-like structure with the potential of dimerization into an even larger complex. Furthermore, effects of known human mutations causing IGS are explained by the structural information
Paternal age in relation to offspring intelligence in the West of Scotland Twenty-07 prospective cohort study.
No full textBackground
The adverse effects of advancing maternal age on offspring's health and development are well understood. Much less is known about the impact of paternal age.
Methods
We explored paternal age-offspring cognition associations in 772 participants from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 study. Offspring cognitive ability was assessed using Part 1 of the Alice Heim 4 (AH4) test of General Intelligence and by reaction time (RT).
Results
There was no evidence of a parental age association with offspring RT. However, we observed an inverse U-shaped association between paternal age and offspring AH4 score with the lowest scores observed for the youngest and oldest fathers. Adjustment for parental education and socioeconomic status somewhat attenuated this association. Adjustment for number of, particularly older, siblings further reduced the scores of children of younger fathers and appeared to account for the lower offspring scores in the oldest paternal age group.
Conclusion
We observed a paternal age association with AH4 but not RT, a measure of cognition largely independent of social and educational experiences. Factors such as parental education, socioeconomic status and number of, particularly older, siblings may play an important role in accounting for paternal age-AH4 associations. Future studies should include parental intelligence
Effect of religion on the attitude of primiparous women toward genetic testing.
No full textBACKGROUND: Factors that influence a pregnant woman's decision to accept or decline genetic tests are largely undefined. The objective of this study was to determine the acceptance rate of prenatal diagnostic testing in Lebanon according to religion. METHODS: Prenatal charts were reviewed to obtain information about prenatal genetic testing. Women were divided according to their religion and were compared regarding the acceptance of triple screen test (TST) or amniocentesis (AMN) and reasons for declining such tests. Differences between groups were examined using the student's t-test, chi(2)-test and multivariate analysis (age >or= 35 years, religion, education and class). RESULTS: The religious distribution was 73.8% Moslems, 14.0% Christians and 11.2% Druze. Utilization of TST, AMN, and either (TST/AMN) was 61.2%, 7.6% and 67.0%, respectively. Uptake of TST/AMN was highest in Christians and lowest in Moslems and that of AMN higher in Christians >or= 35 years compared with Moslems. On multivariate analysis, none of the factors studied significantly affected the utilization of TST or TST/AMN except for age >or= 35 years which was associated with a borderline decrease in the utilization of TST Odds Ratio (OR) 0.485 (95% CI 0.21-1.12). The utilization of AMN significantly increased with age >or= 35 years OR 7.19 (95% CI 2.65-19.56) and lower education. CONCLUSION: Religion does not seem to affect utilization of prenatal diagnostic tests in Lebanon.http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pd.244
Medicalization in the news media: A comparison of AIDS coverage in three newspapers
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Reason: ETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permission"This dissertation explores the acceptance and criticism of medical authority and perspectives in early coverage of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in three newspapers--a specialized medical newspaper, American Medical News (AMN); an alternative gay newspaper, Gay Community News (GCN); and a mainstream mass circulation newspaper, The New York Times (NYT). After examining ""the medicalization of society"" perspective (which highlights the expansive and political nature of Western medicine), theories of how news is produced, and the social context of AIDS during its first four years, it is hypothesized that NYT would be as ""medicalized"" (that is, as accepting and celebratory of medicine) as the medical newspaper AMN in its coverage of AIDS, while the gay newspaper GCN would be the most ""nonmedicalized."""To determine how medicalized each newspaper's coverage of AIDS was, quantitative and qualitative methods are used. All of the AIDS articles in each newspaper from July 1981 to June 1985 (N = 735) are content analyzed for article topic, sources cited, and statements made about medicine. In addition, a more interpretive qualitative analysis is conducted on three early feature stories about AIDS that appeared in each newspaper; the analysis focuses on understanding how AIDS, medical researchers working on AIDS, and those affected by AIDS were discussed in the articles."Results indicate that AIDS coverage in AMN and NYT was ""medicalized"" compared to GCN. Both AMN and NYT depended heavily on medical sources in early AIDS coverage (although NYT used biomedical researchers more, and AMN used health care deliverers more), and rarely criticized medicine's role in AIDS (in fact, fewer criticisms of medicine were found in NYT than in AMN). Similarly, non-medical sources such as gay leaders were rarely cited in their AIDS stories. The interpretive analysis also reveals a similarity in their coverage: both newspapers tended to celebrate the medical perspective, describing researchers as ""dedicated"" and ""detectives."" GCN, by contrast, cited medical sources less, alternative sources more, and was much more critical of medicine. The last chapter explores some of the implications of the differences in mainstream versus alternative newspapers' use of medical authority."Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-07T12:42:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Uma nova perspetiva sobre as águas minerais naturais de Portugal continental: contributos para o seu conhecimento e a sua melhor exploração e valorização
No full textTese autopropostaAs Águas Minerais Naturais (AMN) que ocorrem em Portugal continental possuem particularidades muito interessantes, motivo pelo qual suscitaram o interesse de especialistas das mais diversas áreas, que as foram investigando ao longo dos anos, sobretudo do ponto de vista físico-químico, razão pela qual se considera que as mesmas se encontram atualmente num nível de investigação bastante significativo no que respeita à sua caracterização físico-química. Estas águas encontram-se associadas a setores de atividade – Termalismo, Engarrafamento e Geotermia, potenciadores da atividade económica no local onde ocorrem, a que se associam novas áreas relacionadas com a produção de produtos cosméticos e até mesmo de produtos de valor acrescentado, como os dermocosméticos. No território continental a riqueza e a diversidade de AMN são explicadas principalmente por fatores de natureza lito-estruturais e geotectónicos, de que resultam 6 famílias hidroquímicas, bicarbonatadas, sulfúreas, cloretadas, gasocarbónicas, hipossalinas e sulfatadas, sendo que em cada uma delas existem particularidades específicas determinadas por fenómenos físico-químicos e microbiológicos associados ao circuito hidromineral respetivo. Os sistemas aquíferos hidrominerais constituem ambientes muito próprios, contendo águas cujas particularidades inigualáveis podem incluir espécies microbianas raras e exclusivas desses ambientes, que constituem o microbismo natural das mesmas. Com o presente trabalho pretende-se contribuir para uma nova abordagem no aumento do conhecimento das AMN, ao reconhecê-las como ecossistemas únicos e inimitáveis de que faz parte uma comunidade microbiana que constitui um complexo biológico dinâmico, o que representa uma nova filosofia para a defesa, salvaguarda e valorização destes recursos. De forma a atingir os objetivos traçados, foi adotada uma metodologia multidisciplinar e faseada. Ao longo dos primeiros capítulos, e com o intuito de melhor caracterizar e enquadrar os setores de atividade das AMN, são dadas a conhecer as principais características destas águas, desde a sua localização e diversidade geológica e hidromineral, ao tipo de aproveitamento, bem como a melhor forma como estas águas devem ser geridas, exploradas, monitorizadas e valorizadas, passando pelo desejável aproveitamento em cascata no caso das AMN que se encontram igualmente qualificadas como Recurso Geotérmico (RG). É apresentado o projeto liderado pela Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia (DGEG) e coordenado pela autora da tese, denominado Hidrogenoma, realizado entre 2017-2019. Relativo ao estudo do microbismo natural das AMN de Portugal continental, este projeto multidisciplinar apresenta uma vertente de geologia e outra de biologia, que se complementam. Foram contempladas, numa fase inicial, 81 AMN de Portugal continental, tendo sido caracterizadas 74 AMN ao nível da sua diversidade microbiana recorrendo a técnicas de biologia molecular e bioinformática, utilizando a metagenómica como abordagem de estudo. São apresentados os microrganismos representativos de cada AMN, por comparação da composição taxonómica das amostras recolhidas em duas épocas de dois anos sucessivos (primavera e outono 2017; primavera e outono 2018), num total de 300 amostras, para avaliação da diversidade microbiana, bem como dos microrganismos viáveis isolados e caracterizados em laboratório. Cada AMN foi analisada com base no enquadramento geológico, hidrogeológico e modelo conceptual do respetivo sistema aquífero, e caracterizada do ponto de vista físico-químico, para depois serem estabelecidas considerações quanto à interação água-rochamicrorganismos. Pretendeu-se assim avançar com uma primeira hipótese de correlação entre os microrganismos representativos das comunidades microbianas, o quimismo das AMN e o sistema aquífero hidromineral, encarando desta forma estes sistemas aquíferos como unidades biológicas dinâmicas. Para o tratamento e análise de dados recorreu-se a ferramentas SIG e a softwares de estatística e de águas subterrâneas, sendo os resultados apresentados em mapas, gráficos e tabelas. O estudo desenvolvido nesta tese permitiu, por meio de uma análise sustentada pelo conhecimento geológico e hidrogeológico e pela identificação da composição das comunidades bacterianas presentes nas AMN, que constituem o microbismo natural de cada uma, contribuir com uma nova abordagem integrada para o conhecimento das AMN, ao correlacionar o microbismo natural de cada água com a sua composição físicoquímica. Assim, de forma a melhor conhecer o recurso, cujas propriedades se devem não só às suas características físico-químicas, mas também ao seu microbioma, os dados resultantes do microbismo natural das AMN podem ser utilizados numa perspetiva integradora e adaptada ao conhecimento das AMN, tendo como princípio basilar a sua melhor proteção, exploração e valorização. Não obstante a abordagem seguida nesta tese, que se considera constituir um novo paradigma na investigação das AMN, reconhece-se que são necessários mais trabalhos de investigação, de preferência mais direcionados a cada AMN, por forma a ser conhecida a identidade própria de cada AMN, e atribuir-lhe, por assim dizer, o respetivo “código de barras”.The Natural Mineral Waters (AMN) that occur in mainland Portugal have very interesting particularities, which is why they have aroused the interest of specialists from the most diverse areas, who have been investigating them over the years, especially from a physical-chemical point of view, which is why it is considered that they are currently very well investigated regarding their physicochemical characterization. These waters are associated with sectors of activity - Thermalism, Bottling and Geothermal, enhancers of economic activity in the place where they occur, to which are associated with new areas related to the production of cosmetic products and even value-added products, such as dermocosmetics. In the continental territory the richness and diversity of AMN are explained mainly by factors of a lithostructural and geotectonic nature, resulting in 6 hydrochemical families - bicarbonated, sulphurous, chlorinated, carbonated, hyposaline and sulfated, and in each of them there are specific particularities determined by physicochemical and microbiological phenomena associated with the respective hydromineral circuit. Hydromineral aquifer systems are very own environments, containing waters whose unparalleled particularities may include rare and exclusive microbial species of these environments, which constitute their natural microbism. With this work it is intended to contribute to a new approach in increasing knowledge of AMM, by recognizing them as unique and inimitable ecosystems of which a microbial community is part that constitutes a dynamic biological complex, which represents a new philosophy for the defense, safeguarding and valorization of these resources. In order to achieve the objectives set, a multidisciplinary and phased methodology was adopted. Throughout the first chapters, and in order to better characterize and frame the sectors of activity of the AMN, the main characteristics of these waters are made known, from their location and geological and hydromineral diversity, to the type of use, as well as the best way in which these waters should be managed, exploited, monitored and valued, through the desirable cascade use in the case of AMN that are also qualified as a Geothermal Resource (RG). The project led by the General-Directorate of Energy and Geology (DGEG) and coordinated by the author of the thesis, called Hidrogenoma, carried out between 2017- 2019, is presented. Regarding the study of the natural microbism of the AMN of mainland Portugal, this multidisciplinary project presents a strand of geology and another of biology, which complement each other. In an initial phase, 81 AMN from mainland Portugal were contemplated, and 74 AMN were characterized at the level of their microbial diversity using molecular biology and bioinformatics techniques, using metagenomics as a study approach. The representative microorganisms of each AMN are presented, by comparing the taxonomic composition of the samples collected in two seasons of two successive years (spring and autumn 2017; spring and autumn 2018), for a total of 300 samples, for evaluation of microbial diversity, as well as viable microorganisms isolated and characterized in the laboratory. Each AMN was analyzed based on the geological, hydrogeological and conceptual model of the respective aquifer system, and characterized from a physicochemical point of view, to then establish considerations regarding the water-rock-microorganism interaction. It was thus intended to advance with a first hypothesis of correlation between the microorganism’s representative of microbial communities, the AMN chemism and the hydromineral aquifer system, thus considering these aquifer systems as dynamic biological units. For the treatment and analysis of data, GIS tools and statistics and groundwater software were used, and the results were presented in maps, graphs and tables. The study developed in this thesis allowed, through an analysis sustained by geological and hydrogeological knowledge and the identification of the composition of the bacterial communities present in the AMN, which constitute the natural microbism of each water, to contribute to a new integrated approach in the knowledge of AMN, by correlating the natural microbism of each water with its physicochemical composition. Thus, to better know the resource, whose properties are due not only to its physicochemical characteristics, but also to its microbiome, the data resulting from the natural microbism of AMN can be used in an integrative perspective and adapted to the knowledge of AMN, having as a basic principle their best protection, exploitation and valorization. Notwithstanding the followed in this thesis, which is considered to constitute a new paradigm in the investigation of AMN, it is recognized that more research work is needed, preferably more directed to each AMN, in order to know the identity of each AMN, and assign to it the respective “barcode”
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