Genetic variation may explain the heterogeneity in the lipid response to dietary change. A systematic literature review found 79 articles on dietary intervention studies, 14 articles on observational studies, and 22 reviews on diet-gene interactions. The evidence suggests that variation within the genes for apolipoprotein (apo) AI, AIV, B and E may influence the lipid response to dietary change. This study assessed the influence of six polymorphisms within the genes for apo B, apo E and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) on the association between habitual diet and lipid levels in 239 healthy men and women (91 men and 148 women) aged 18-54 years, including 110 twin pairs, who were recruited for a population-based study of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors. Diet was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire, which was compared with 4-day weighed records in 41 men and 40 women aged 19-58 years. The nutrients of interest had either a correlation coefficient ≥0.5, ≥50/≤10% in the same/opposite third, a KW30.04. Genotypes were determined by the polymerase chain reaction and digestion with the appropriate enzyme. Significant diet-gene interactions were observed at each of the polymorphic sites, suggesting that genetic variation contributes to the framework within which diet, especially n-3 PUFAs, the P:S ratio and NSP can influence lipid levels. In particular, individuals with the apo B XbaI X+ allele, the apo B signal peptide insertion/deletion D allele, the apo &egr;4 allele, the LPL PvuII P- allele and the LPL S447X X allele may be at greater risk of developing CHD due to their poorer lipid profiles and/or poorer response to diet. At present, it is premature to recommend the use of genotyping in the design of therapeutic diets, however investigating diet-gene interactions will increase our knowledge of the mechanisms involved in the role of diet in reducing CHD risk.

No description available.

M.Inf. / As an instrument of society, information services have always been influenced by changes in the host environment. This being the case, information services are compelled to change, posing the challenge to managers who have to see to it that the challenges are properly dealt with. The strategies and techniques for managing change in academic information services have been explored thus providing guidance for managers in this regard. This was done by using an extensive literature survey. The empirical survey investigated the extent to which change is being managed in academic information services in South Africa, which was done by using pre-structured questionnaires. The study also provides recommendations on how information services can successfully manage change in order to survive in a competitive environment. Lastly, the areas for future investigation on this subject have been outlined.

<p> My research focuses on reconstructing past climate in southern Arizona using cave deposits called speleothems. However, this necessitates a broader perspective than simply a geochemical time series, and therefore, I also investigate modern cave systems using a combination of modeling and observational datasets. Finally, cave deposits are fundamentally non-renewable resources, and sampling for past climate reconstruction can be destructive, unlike other cave uses. My last investigation is focused on developing possible best practice recommendations for paleoclimate scientists and other cave stakeholders moving forward. </p><p> We developed two new stalagmite records of past climate variability in southern Arizona over the past 7000 years. Past climate reconstruction from two caves (Cave of the Bells and Fort Huachuca Cave) highlights insolation control of southern Arizona hydroclimate from 7000-2000 years before present. Additionally, comparison between two stalagmites with different seasonal sensitivities uncovers a few eras of multi-decade long droughts in southern Arizona, which align with other regional reconstructions of past climates and elucidate forcings on Southwest paleoclimate as emergent from both external (insolation) and internal climate variability in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins. Although the oxygen isotopic signal of cave calcite in speleothems is complex, agreement with these other records indicates that the speleothem records from these caves primarily record a climate signal. </p><p> Modeling and monitoring of modern caves both helps us interpret paleoclimate records and enhances our understanding of cave systems in their own right. Modeling of Cave of the Bells dripwaters demonstrates the effect of storage and mixing on the dripwater oxygen isotope signal; non-climate processes can imprint on dripwater variability on multidecadal timescales. Monitoring shows that on very small spatial scales, every cave is different, and even sites within the same cave respond uniquely to surface climate. Most notably, calcite oxygen isotopic composition, used to reconstruct past climate, shows seasonal variability unrelated to dripwater and surface rainfall oxygen isotope variability. Substantial oxygen isotope disequilibrium is identified at numerous caves sites in southern Arizona, and this understanding aligns with a growing number of cave studies that demonstrate the long-held assumption of isotopic equilibrium in cave systems may not always be valid or that the way in which we define isotopic equilibrium insufficiently captures the variety of processes controlling the oxygen isotopic composition of speleothems. Overall, however, monitoring can identify stalagmites that are more sensitive to surface climate and less sensitive to these in-cave processes by identifying sites with dripwater variability responses to surface rainfall variability and sites that precipitate close to oxygen isotopic equilibrium. </p><p> Finally, a major missing component in speleothem research is the fact that speleothems take thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of years to form. They are non-renewable resources on human timescales, and habitat for myriad microbes that have yet to be identified. Removal of speleothems for paleoclimate research is one of the only destructive uses of these deposits. With that in mind, I also analyze current methods of collecting speleothems and develop a framework based on two surveys of scientists and stakeholders to assist scientists and managers when evaluating potential methods of incorporating cave conservation into the speleothem sampling process. </p><p> Thus, I approach caves from a variety of angles and timescales, from the past through the present to the future, illuminating caves as complex scientific and social systems.</p>

PURPOSE: Although Intra-oral radiographs are foundational for diagnosis and planning treatment in dentistry, the resulting 2-dimensional image varies in interpretation requiring judgement. Cone Beam Computed Tomography provides a more detailed 3-dimensional image that may affect treatment recommendations. This study aimed to determine the basis for CBCT recommendations and its effect on diagnosis and treatment planning. METHODS: The study involved a sample of 45 cases that presented for endodontic treatment, 30 with a CBCT scan on record and 15 without. For phase I, all 45 cases were reviewed by 3 examiners without access to the CBCT scans. Four months later for phase II, the 3 examiners re-analyzed the 30 cases, this time with the associated CBCT. Intra and inter-examiner agreements were recorded and analyzed. Also, the recommendations for CBCT were compared to the AAE/AAOMR Joint Statement. RESULTS: Inter-examiners agreement in phases I and II were 65% and 72% respectively. For endodontic diagnoses, there was 19% change in the pulpal diagnosis category when CBCT was added, while there was 30% change in the apical category. The selections changed in 55% of the cases when determining etiology, and in 49% of the cases when making recommendations. CBCT was recommended 78.8% of the time when the case had a CBCT on record vs. 33% of the time in cases without. CONCLUSION: CBCT has a significant effect in determining endodontic pathology’s etiology and recommending treatment. Further, CBCT is not over prescribed in the endodontic department and the faculty adhere largely to the joint AAE/AAOMR recommendations. / 2021-06-23T00:00:00Z

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the Degree of Masters of Commerce / Investments in information technology have in many cases failed to deliver the anticipated benefits. It is now accepted that real value can only be leveraged by linking IT implementation to organisational change and process redesign. The management of this change is inextricably linked to the overall success of the implementation. The focus of the research was on identifying what the key elements of successful change management were. Research into generic change management was used as a basis for determining these critical success factors. The applicability of these factors in the case of an enterprise wide package software implementation was then tested through a case study method. The research showed that the factors developed were applicable in managing technology driven change. In addition to the factors developed, additional factors were identified as being relevant in the case of packaged software implementations. / Andrew Chakane 2018

Southeast Florida is a region of the U.S. that is predicted to incur severe damage due to climate change (CC). As a result, one particular grassroots organization created a CC workshop to educate, advocate, and build resiliency locally. Social movement’s literature reveals processes of framing, resource mobilization, and organizational structure that have had successful outcomes locally while climate action literature argues that civil society has been ineffective at creating significant impacts on the global scale of climate policy. In order to expand this literature further, I conducted a research project to examine how different frames presented in CC education influence climate actions in the Southeast Florida region. Using qualitative research methods of participant observations and interviews, my analysis of the data collected suggests that organizers of the workshop used an environmental and climate justice narrative along with a collective action framework, relying on three master frames of place, justice, and power to educate members on CC. Amongst the prognoses presented to members during the education were climate action solutions primarily within the meso (community/civic engagement) level to create structural change within the region. I found that participants interpreted CC to be an issue of 2 places in Southeast Florida, one on the coast and one inland and, thus, depending on which region participants lived, their level of climate action was affected, whether at the individual or community/civic level. Therefore, some participants focused on individual behavioral and household consumer tactics, while other participants worked on community building and creating structural change. Given the unsuccessful nature of local organizations at impacting global climate negotiations and the goal of social movement processes to create change within societal structures, this case study contributes to the growing body of knowledge regarding the influence of climate education on climate actions. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Ho Ching-sze. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-52). / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

Past climate change and recent human activity have had major impacts on the distribution of habitats as well as the community and population genetic structure of the species occupying these habitats. In temperate zones, glaciation forced many taxa into southern refugia. In contrast, little is understood about the extent to which tropical taxa and habitats were affected by colder periods. In Southeast Asia, some argue that the tropical forest was replaced by savannah at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), whereas others suggest that the forest persisted. Studying population genetic and community structure of forest-dependent species in this region may shed light on which of these scenarios is most likely, as well as provide crucial information on the effects of recent habitat loss. To address these issues, I studied the genetic and community structure of forest-dependent insectivorous bat species in Peninsular Malaysia. Data collected at 22 sites indicated that species richness declined with latitude, consistent with post-glacial expansion of forest. To test this further, I undertook mitochondrial DNA sequencing of a widespread species, Rhinolophus affinis, and found high haplotype diversity, little phylogeographic structure and no demographic growth. These all suggest a long population history in the region with no post-LGM range expansion. Subsequent microsatellite analyses of R. affinis and the congeneric R. lepidus showed that genetic distance followed an isolation-by-distance model, and that allelic diversity was unexpectedly higher in the northern populations. Taken together, my results from the community and genetic analyses disagree with each other. These conflicts are perhaps best explained if observed clines in species richness pre-date the LGM. I conclude that there is little evidence of forest contraction in the LGM. The fact that the highest species diversity was detected in the south, which is experiencing the most forest loss due to human activity, has important conservation consequences.

This study examined the work practices of a project team that was engaged in the implementation of shared services at three tertiary level educational institutions in Barbados. Using Activity Theory as the underpinning theoretical framework, the researcher employed Development Work Research (DWR) and the Engestromian Change Labs to reveal the tensions and contradictions that occurred in the project team’s work environment. The intent was to reframe their understanding of the work practices from the everyday to the scientific, and develop new work practices to generate organisational change. The study also explored the expansive transformation that took place during the intervention process. The aim of the study was to answer the following question: In what ways, if any, did changes in the work practices of a project team contribute to changes in the planning and implementation of shared services in three Barbadian educational institutions? The research found that there were ruptures and disturbances in the work environment. These were attributed to the historically bureaucratic practices of Government which impacted negatively on the project team by impeding the development of innovative practices. The DWR intervention resulted in the resolution of the contradictions and led to effective change and expansive learning in the staff as well as a change in the approach to the implementation strategies that were being used by the project team. The team was able through dialogue and debate in the Change Labs to create a new form of practice which involved a new communication strategy and model. The new practice was used to overcome the challenge of providing timely and effective communication with the stakeholder institutions with which they were working to implement the shared services.