184 research outputs found
Opportunities and Challenges of Global Network Cameras
No full textEICPCI-S(ISTP)[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Not for Sale Tour
No full textTwenty-seven million slaves exist in the world today, according to David Batstone, professor of ethics in the department of theology and religious studies at the University of San Francisco, executive editor of Sojourners, and author of the America\u27s Ethics Guru column for USA Today Weekend. He is also author of the book, Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade -- and How We Can Fight It. \u3c BR\u3e\u27Not for Sale\u27 is a campaign of students, entrepreneurs, artists, people of faith, athletes, law enforcement officers, politicians, social workers, skilled professionals, and all justice seekers, united to fight the global slave trade
Technology-Based Firms Located on Science Parks: the Applicability of Bullock's 'Soft-Hard' Model
No full textProperty-based initiatives or 'incubators' such as Science Parks (adjacent to universities) have been established by their sponsors to promote higher education institute (HEI) and industry linkages as well as the formation and development of technology-based firms. Science Parks reflect an assumption that technological innovation stems from scientific research (for example, in a HEI) and that Parks can provide the catalytic incubator environment for the transformation of 'pure' research into production, generating the externality benefits within the Parks and the local economies. An extension to the linear model of innovation is provided by Bullock (1983). This study explores the applicability of the Bullock model which suggests firms established to provide 'soft' services transform over time to provide 'hard' manufactured products. A comparative static data set of technology-based firms interviewed in 1986 and 1992 located on and off Science Parks in the UK is explored to test presented hypotheses. The Bullock model is not supported. Nevertheless, 'soft' and 'hard' Science Park firms are found to make a contribution to wealth creation and job generation. The policy and research implications of the research findings are discussed
Redressing the Past: A Critical Legal Assessment of """"quota"""" allocations in post-apartheid South Africa under the Marine Living Resources Act 18 of 1998 in the hake deep-sea trawl and West Coast rock lobster near-shore sectors
No full textThe South African government faces numerous challenges in redistributing resources and ensuring access to those resources by historically disadvantaged individuals. This is particularly relevant in the fishing industry where people have been dependant on marine living resources, but under Apartheid, were restricted from accessing these resources. The manner and extent to which the South African government seeks to address the injustices of the past in fisheries allocations is an important indication of its commitment to transformation. Transformation of the fishing industry must be balanced against the South African government's commitment to promote historically disadvantaged individuals on the one hand, and sustainable development, the internal transformation of previously advantaged companies and the government's commitment under international human rights and environmental law instruments on the other. The South African government's Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has published numerous White Papers and laws that recognise the government's role as custodian of natural resources and the need for the redistribution of resources especially to historically disadvantaged individuals. However, the manner in which legislation and policy is implemented and, more importantly, the way transformation is interpreted by the courts is an important indication of what levels of transformation would satisfy the courts that transformation was considered and given effect to. As stated above, this is important not only for the fishing industry sector but for the redistribution and transformation processes in other areas as well. Transformation requires a marked change. The process under the Marine Living Resources Act and the levels of transformation that it has achieved resembles a negotiated settlement, where the process in allocating fishing rights is relatively transparent, rather than change that is so significant that it may be considered as marked
Derivation of Economic and Social Indicators for a Spatial Decision Support System to Evaluate the Impacts of Urban Development on Water Bodies in New Zealand
No full textThere is mounting evidence that urban development in New Zealand has contributed to poor water quality and ecological degradation of coastal and fresh water receiving waters. As a consequence, local governments have identified the need for improved methods to guide decision making to achieve improved outcomes for those receiving waters. This paper reports progress on a research programme to develop a catchmentscale spatial decision-support system (SDSS) that will aid evaluation of the impacts of urban development on attributes such as water and sediment quality; ecosystem health; and economic, social and cultural values. The SDSS aims to express indicators of impacts on these values within a sustainability indexing system in order to allow local governments to consider them holistically over planning timeframes of several decades. The SDSS will use a combination of deterministic and probabilistic methods to, firstly, estimate changes to environmental stressors such as contaminant loads from different land use and stormwater management scenarios and, secondly, use these results and information from a range of other sources to generate indicator values. This paper describes the project’s approach to the derivation of indicators of economic and social well being associated with the effects of urban storm water run-off on freshwater and estuarine receiving waters.Environmental Economics and Policy,
radiotherapy in the management of oral squamous cell carcinoma
No full textBackground: Predictive nomograms are useful tools to guide clinicians in estimating disease course. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients would benefit from an interactive prediction calculator that defines their levels of survival-risk specific to their tumors to guide the use of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT). Methods: Patients with OSCC surgically treated with curative intent at four Head and Neck Cancer Centres were recruited retrospectively for development and validation of nomograms. Predictor variables include PORT, age, T and N classification, surgical margins, perineural invasion, and lymphovascular invasion. Outcomes were disease-free, disease-specific, and overall survivals over 5 years. Results: 1296 patients with OSCC were in training cohort for nomogram analysis. Algorithms were developed to show relative benefit of PORT in survivals for higher-risk patients. External validation on 1212 patients found the nomogram to be robust with favorable discrimination and calibration. Conclusion: The proposed calculator can assist clinicians and patients in the decision-making process for PORT.No Full Tex
Fibular free flap with arteria peronea magna: The role of preoperative balloon occlusion
No full textThe free fibular osteocutaneous flap is a commonly used donor for reconstruction of mandibular defects. Vascular abnormalities and leg trauma are relative contraindications to the use of a fibular free flap. Peroneal arteria magna (PAM) is one such vascular abnormality that may preclude the use of the graft due to the high risk of lower-limb ischemia. Lower-limb angiography is the standard for assessing the lower-limb vascular anatomy; however, the indications remain controversial. Although balloon occlusion has been used to assess the vascular supply in distal bypass surgery, there have no reported cases of balloon occlusion to assess the viability of the distal extremity with PAM. Intraoperative assessment of vascular anatomy with an aborted harvest can lead to significant morbidity and cost. Balloon occlusion provides a relatively safe and minimally invasive technique for assessment of potential lower-limb ischemia in patients with PAM
Postoperative Radiotherapy for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma With Histologic Risk Factors: Are We Over-Treating?
No full textThe role of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) remains controversial for patients with low-risk oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and adverse histologic features. The aim of this study was to examine the survival benefits in the role of PORT, when compared with surgery alone, among these patients.In this systematic review, relevant published literature was identified in the PubMed database and eligible studies were included. Predictor variables were perineural invasion (PNI), lymphovascular invasion, and unfavorable grade. The primary outcomes were patient survival and recurrence rates. Because of the heterogeneity and insufficiency of the reported data, quantitative meta-analysis was precluded. Qualitative analysis and pooled analysis on overall survival were performed for study patients.Six eligible studies were included, with a median study period of 10\ua0years. All studies evaluated the role of PORT in pN0 OSCC patients with PNI, and 3 studies evaluated the role of PORT in patients with PNI in isolation.\ua0Overall, study patients had similar treatment outcomes between the PORT and non-PORT groups. In the pooled analysis of 325 patients, PORT was not associated with an improved overall survival rate compared with surgery alone (70.3% vs 80.2%, P\ua0=\ua0.059).No evidence was found to support the application of PORT given the indication of histologic risk factors alone. The prescription of PORT for PNI, lymphovascular invasion, and unfavorable grading among otherwise low-risk OSCC needs to be approached with caution to avoid the unnecessary harm of radiation exposure
The Impact of Dental State and Surgical Factors on Post-Operative Neck Infection in Oral Cancer Patients
No full textPostoperative neck infection (PONI) is a known complication of neck dissection. In this study we explored the impact of dental status on the development of PONI, using orthopantomograms to assess edentulism, periodontal health, and caries status. Retrospective analysis was performed for all new oral cancer patients who had neck dissection between January 2008 and January 2020 in a tertiary head and neck centre. PONI risk factors assessed included patient characteristics, dental status, tumour, and surgical factors. Development of PONI was the primary outcome. Edentulous patients had lower risk of PONI (OR 0.06, p = 0.026) compared to those with 21 or more teeth. Periodontitis and dental caries were not statistically significant. Current smokers (OR 2.09, p = 0.044) and free flap reconstruction (OR 5.41, p < 0.001) were also significant predictors for development of PONI. This study highlights the presence of teeth as a potential source of infection post neck dissection and that orthopantomogram assessment may be inadequate to identify at risk patients. Future studies are required on direct clinical assessment of dentition to evaluate the impact of dental optimisation in prevention of PONI.No Full Tex
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