116 research outputs found
Freedom of choice or force of circumstance? : Eastern European sex-workers in the Republic of Cyprus ; paper for the conference 'Alltag der Globalisierung. Perspektiven einer transnationalen Anthropologie', January 16-18, 2003, Institute of Cultural Anthropology and European Ethnology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main
No full textThis paper focuses on Eastern European migrants who, since the beginning of the 1990s, are entering the Republic Cyprus as “artistes”. This is a visa permit status as well as an euphemism for short-term work permits in the local sex industry. In addition to exploring the migrational experiences of these women and their living and working conditions in the Republic of Cyprus, the paper reconstructs, empirically and analyt ically, the connection between immigration and the local sex industry. Here, several categories of social actors and institutions in Cyprus are actively involved. The rhetoric of government representatives, entrepreneurs and clients in the sex business on the one hand is contrasted with the discourse of local NGO representatives concerned with immigrants’ rights on the other hand. The paper comes to the conclusion that all of these discursive positions ultimately do not do justice to the complex process of decisionmaking that women undergo who migrate into the sex industry. Either, freedom of choice is emphasized – such as by entrepreneurs and the government – or the domination of women – as in the public statements of the NGO. In order to analyze the ambivalent tension between freedom of choice and submission to force by which the women’s decision is characterized, the author employs Michel Foucault’s concept of governmentality, which describes forms of political regulation that use the individual’s freedom of action as an instrument to exercise power
Feed thickener for infants up to six months of age with gastro-oesophageal reflux (Review)
Get PDFBackground\ud
Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) is common in infants, and feed thickeners are often used to manage it in infants as they are simple to use and perceived to be harmless. However, conflicting evidence exists to support the use of feed thickeners.\ud
Objectives\ud
To evaluate the use of feed thickeners in infants up to six months of age with GOR in terms of reduction in a) signs and symptoms of GOR, b) reflux episodes on pH probe monitoring or intraluminal impedance or a combination of both, or c) histological evidence of oesophagitis.\ud
Search methods\ud
We used the standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group to search the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL 2016, Issue 2), MEDLINE via PubMed (1966 to 22 November 2016), Embase (1980 to 22 November 2016), and CINAHL (1982 to 22 November 2016). We also searched clinical trials databases, conference proceedings, and the reference lists of retrieved articles for randomised controlled trials.\ud
Selection criteria\ud
We included randomised controlled trials if they examined the effects of feed thickeners as compared to unthickened feeds (no treatment or placebo) in treating GOR in term infants up to six months of age or six months of corrected gestational age for those born preterm.\ud
Data collection and analysis\ud
Two review authors independently identified eligible studies from the literature search. Two review authors independently performed data extraction and quality assessments of the eligible studies. Differences in opinion were resolved by discussion with a third review author, and consensus was reached among all three review authors.We used the GRADE approach to assess the quality of the evidence.\ud
Main results\ud
Eight trials recruiting a total of 637 infants met the inclusion criteria for the systematic review. The infants included in the review were mainly formula-fed term infants. The trials were of variable methodological quality. Formula-fed term infants with GOR on feed thickeners had nearly two fewer episodes of regurgitation per day (mean difference -1.97 episodes per day, 95% confidence interval (CI) -2.32 to -1.61; 6 studies, 442 infants, moderate-certainty evidence) and were 2.5 times more likely to be asymptomatic from regurgitation at the end of the intervention period (risk ratio 2.50, 95% CI 1.38 to 4.51; number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome 5, 95% CI 4 to 13; 2 studies, 186 infants, low-certainty evidence) when compared to infants with GOR on unthickened feeds. No studies reported failure to thrive as an outcome. We found low-certainty evidence based on 2 studies recruiting\ud
116 infants that use of feed thickeners improved the oesophageal pH probe parameters of reflux index (i.e. percentage of time pH < 4), number of reflux episodes lasting longer than 5 minutes, and duration of longest reflux episode. No major side effects were reported with the use of feed thickeners. Information was insufficient to conclude which type of feed thickener is superior.\ud
Authors’ conclusions\ud
Gastro-oesophageal reflux is a physiological self resolving phenomenon in infants that does not necessarily require any treatment. However, we found moderate-certainty evidence that feed thickeners should be considered if regurgitation symptoms persist in term bottle-fed infants. The reduction of two episodes of regurgitation per day is likely to be of clinical significance to caregivers. Due to the limited information available, we were unable to assess the use of feed thickeners in infants who are breastfeeding or preterm nor could we conclude which type of feed thickener is superior
Hardware and software for WINC2R cognitive radio platform
No full textEmerging wireless technologies and standards require inter-operability between devices whose infrastructure has been built using different radio access technologies and which operate in different spectrum bands. In this thesis, we study the feasibility of building such a multi-protocol platform - the WINC2R platform. WINC2R is a platform for cognitive radio applications that has the agility needed for the per-packet protocol adaptation across the protocol layers and flexible enough to support the future evolution of the wireless communication protocols.
The WINC2R platform concept is based on the generic processing engines that each handles processing for the computationally intensive physical and MAC layer functions. They are augmented with a software programmable processor that can handle the differences between the standards and future changes of those functions. The microprocessor
environment forms one of the processing engines and can support additional functions
with a suffciently low complexity without sacrificing the performance in terms of latency and throughput. The WINC2R architecture satisfies the requirements of low latency and fast context switching as required by the multi-layer protocol processing.
The WINC2R system consists of three distinct layers: the data layer, the interconnection layer and the control layer. The data layer handles all the processing engines and its functionalities. Flexibility and programmability is achieved through the interconnections between the processing engines. In this thesis, we work with the control layer which consists of the underlying hardware that supports the control functions
like handling interrupts from the processing engines, synchronizing the tasks, etc. The
underlying hardware is customizable for system connectivity, Digital Signal Processing (DSP), and data processing applications which are required for the physical layer. The control functions are used to maintain the WINC2R system integrity and manage the wireless protocols. They also enable communication among the functional modules themselves. We examine the overall system and task processing flow. The interconnection layer deals with interconnecting the processing engines together which is handled by the Unit Control Module (UCM).
At the heart of every processing engine lies the UCM that assigns and schedules tasks to and from the functional blocks with the help of a centralized data structure. It is in charge of scheduling the tasks to the module that it is associated with, assigning the task, monitoring the task completion, and communicating with the other modules in the system for task sequencing. The UCM is analyzed, and we study the feasibility of various tasks occurring in time. We propose a timeline for the occurrence of data and control tasks in different scenarios and study the feasibility of these scenarios.M.S.Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-60)
A framework for multi-modal input in a pervasive computing environment
Get PDFThesis (M.Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53).This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.In this thesis, we propose a framework that uses multiple-domains and multi-modal techniques to disambiguate a variety of natural human input modes. This system is based on the input needs of pervasive computing users. The work extends the Galaxy architecture developed by the Spoken Language Systems group at MIT. Just as speech recognition disambiguates an input wave form by using a grammar to find the best matching phrase, we use the same mechanism to disambiguate other input forms, T9 in particular. A skeleton version of the framework was implemented to show this framework is possible and to explore some of the issues that might arise. The system currently works for both T9 and Speech modes. The framework also includes potential for any other type of input for which a recognizer can be built such as graffiti input.by Shalini Agarwal.M.Eng
Education of family members to support weaning to solids and nutrition in infants born preterm (Review) Education of family members to support weaning to solids and nutrition in infants born preterm (Review)
Get PDFBackgroundWeaning refers to the period of introduction of solid food to complement breast milk or formula milk. Preterm infants are known to acquire extrauterine growth restriction by the time of discharge from neonatal units. Hence, the postdischarge and weaning period are crucial for optimal growth. Optimisation of nutrition during weaning may have long‐term impacts on outcomes in preterm infants. Family members of preterm infants may require nutrition education to promote ideal nutrition practices surrounding weaning in preterm infants who are at high risk of nutritional deficit.ObjectivesTo investigate the role of nutrition education of family members in supporting weaning in preterm infants with respect to their growth and neurodevelopment compared with conventional management.Search methodsWe used the standard search strategy of Cochrane Neonatal to search the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL 2018, Issue 5), MEDLINE via PubMed (1966 to 26 June 2018), Embase (1980 to 26 June 2018), and CINAHL (1982 to 26 June 2018). We also searched clinical trials databases, conference proceedings, and the reference lists of retrieved articles for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi‐RCTs.Selection criteriaRCTs and quasi‐RCTs were eligible for inclusion if they examined the effects of nutrition education of family members as compared to conventional management for weaning of preterm infants up to one year of corrected gestational age. We defined prematurity as less than 37 completed weeks of gestation.Data collection and analysisAt least two review authors independently screened potential studies for inclusion and planned to identify, extract data, and assess the quality of eligible studies. We resolved any differences in opinion through discussion with a third review author and consensus among all three review authors.Main resultsNo eligible trials looking at the impact of nutrition education of family members in weaning of preterm infants fulfilled the inclusion criteria of this systematic review. Two studies investigating the ideal timing for weaning in premature infants reported conflicting results,Authors' conclusionsWe were unable to assess the impact of nutrition education of family members in weaning of preterm infants as there were no eligible studies. This may be due to the lack of evidence to determine the ideal weaning strategies for preterm infants with regards to the time of initiating weaning and type of solids to introduce. Trials are needed to assess the many aspects of infant weaning in preterm infants. Long‐term neurodevelopment and metabolic outcomes should also be assessed in addition to growth parameters
Information society and multilateral agreements: Obstacles for developing countries
No full textAuthor's proof
Would all countries have the opportunity in the long run to participate in the production, packaging and distribution of expression on the global broadband network?
No full textApplicability of the Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model Data for Basin-Scale Spatiotemporal Drought Assessment
No full textDrought directly impacts the living organisms and environment, and thereby, its assessment is essential. Different drought indices require different data, which can be obtained based on models or in-situ measurements, demanding a significant amount of effort. Using remotely sensed (RS) data from satellites can facilitate this data acquisition. Nowadays, more and more satellite techniques are rising, highlighting the need to assess the accuracy of their data and the reliability of the results obtained by employing them. The Wet-environment Evapotranspiration Precipitation Standardized Index (WEPSI) has shown good performance in drought monitoring and assessment, especially for agricultural purposes. This chapter employs the Global Land Evaporation Amsterdam Model (GLEAM) data to investigate its applicability in the Lempa River basin drought assessment using WEPSI. In this order, evaluated data obtained from the Water Evaluation and Planning system (WEAP) were used as the basis for comparison. Precisely, a comparison was made with GLEAM and WEAP-based data as well as WEPSI time series based on these two datasets. The results show a relatively high similarity between these two datasets and calculated WEPSI drought indices. This validates the good performance of GLEAM-based data in drought monitoring and assessment based on WEPSI.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Water Resource
Screen Printed Graphene Oxide Textile Biosensor for Applications in Inexpensive and Wearable Point-of-Exposure Detection of Influenza for At-Risk Populations
No full textA textile screen-printed biosensor was developed using silver conductive electrodes and graphene oxide transduction film built upon both nanoporous polyamide and consumer utility textiles for the detection of environmental exposure to influenza A virus. An affinity assay was constructed upon the graphene oxide layer to introduce influenza protein-specific antibodies to the sensor surface. Validation of fabrication reproducibility and stability, as well as affinity assay stability, was conducted using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The textile sensor was utilized for the detection of influenza A in biofluid analog buffer. Its linear dynamic range was from 10 ng/mL to 10 µg/mL with a limit of detection of 10 ng/mL, spanning both pre- and post-symptomatic ranges. The sensor can be integrated into common textiles and worn by at-risk populations to detect exposure to the virus before symptoms manifest. If integrated with Internet-of-Things reporting platforms, this sensor could have the ability to predict potential influenza outbreaks before broad symptoms manifest, reducing the physical and economic burden of the disease. © The Author(s) 2018.Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Scienc
Reflective Commentary. The British in India: the poetics of trauma and the emerging Sikh diaspora in England. Poetry Collection. My heart: an aquarium.
Get PDFThis thesis includes a poetry collection, My heart: an aquarium, and a reflective commentary, The British in India: the poetics of trauma and the emerging Sikh diaspora in England. The former creatively, and the latter critically, explore the traumas that Punjabi Sikhs endured under the British Raj, including the internalisation of violence (perpetrated by the British), the loss of their spiritual home (Punjab), food insecurity, the threat of disease and famine, Partition, and finally, Operation Blue Star and the Sikh genocide. The thesis traces transgenerational trauma within the author’s own family and the emerging Sikh diaspora in contemporary England. The collection thematically focuses on migration, assimilation, violence, genocide, love and healing, where the overarching theme is the legacy of British imperialism. The poems outline the transmission of trauma between the author’s family and its passage within the nuances of the author’s life. To re-explore inherited trauma, the poetical work breathes in a world of mysticism, erasure, and nature; offering regeneration where there is decay. The methodologies used to track trans-generational trauma include following the guidelines of autoethnographic practice to poeticise ancestral oral stories that have been inherited by the author. A literary analysis of the works of Sikh writers as well as a re-visitation of British imperialism in India, has been conducted to better understand diasporic voices and the traumas they have had to contend with due to colonialism. Lastly, the thesis investigates private oral stories that question public historical discourses where it suggests that trans-generational trauma is an inevitable occurrence within the Punjabi Sikh diaspora. However, it argues that there are therapeutic benefits from writing creatively about trauma—that healing is possible through collectively confronting and questioning the history that often denies a voice to communities that were once colonised
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