Background: The aim of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) is to prevent surgical site infection (SSI) by administering an appropriate antimicrobial agent perioperatively. However, SAP may be associated with adverse effects and incurs added costs. The primary objective of this prospective study is to establish whether clinicians are adhering to existing perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines in terms of indication, dosage and timing of SAP. Secondary objectives are to determine the proportion of patients receiving inappropriate antibiotics; and to evaluate correct practice concerning re-dosing and duration of SAP. Methods: A cross-sectional prospective audit of the anaesthetic records and prescription charts of surgical patients was conducted at Groote Schuur Hospital, a tertiary level teaching hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, over a period of one week. Data were collected by anaesthetists – blinded to the study objectives – and the investigators; then captured on Excel spread sheets and compared to existing SAP guidelines. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used for analysis. Results: Of the 192 patients consented, 180 questionnaires were completed for data analysis. The median age of participants was 44.5 years (IQR: 31.5-58), with a preponderance of females (58.7%). SAP was administered in 149 cases (82.8%) and withheld in 31 (17.2%). This was appropriate in 91.9% (137/149) and 77.4% (24/31) respectively. Twelve patients (6.7%) received inappropriate antibiotics and in seven (3.9%) it was inappropriately withheld. Of the 156 patients who should have received SAP, choice of drug was correct in 121 (77.6%), dosage in 110 (70.5%) and timing in 87 (55.8%). Absolute compliance was achieved in 44.4% (80/180). Errors were mostly related to timing, re-dosing and duration of SAP. Conclusion: Anaesthetists and surgeons at Groote Schuur Hospital demonstrate variable adherence to surgical antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines. Interventions aimed at improving compliance are warranted.

付記する学位プログラム名: 充実した健康長寿社会を築く総合医療開発リーダー育成プログラム / 京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医科学) / 甲第22697号 / 医科博第112号 / 新制||医科||8(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医科学専攻 / (主査)教授 竹内 理, 教授 髙折 晃史, 教授 河本 宏 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

After steep declines due to overharvest and habitat loss, North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) populations have been increasing in most of the U.S. Radiotelemetry is an essential tool for understanding river otter habitat use, survival rates, and sources of mortality, which is important for successfully managing these growing populations. Surgically implanting radiotransmitters is standard for river otters, but strict requirements for the handling and transport of DEA-scheduled drugs for sedation, and the lack of accessible surgery suites, can limit researchers. My objectives were to: (1) develop a non-scheduled drug combination to sedate river otters and surgically implant intra-abdominal transmitters in a field setting, (2) determine survival rates and causes of mortality for river otters, and (3) quantify fourth order habitat selection at river otter daytime resting sites. During 2018-2020, I surgically implanted 24 river otters with transmitters in southern Illinois and monitored them via radiotelemetry to determine survival and causes of mortality. The effectiveness of the drug combination of Dexmedetomidine and Nalbuphine for chemically immobilizing river otters was tested to determine the appropriate dosage. I used homing to track river otters to 132 daytime resting sites where I described the structure used, closest water type, and distance to water; for 51 of these resting sites I also measured understory cover, overstory cover, distance to water, and presence of river otter and beaver sign. These 51 sites were paired with 1-4 random riparian locations, where I measured the same habitat variables. I then modeled habitat selection of daytime resting sites using conditional logistic regression. A combination of 0.06 mg dexmedetomidine/kg and 1.2 mg nalbuphine/kg injected intramuscularly followed by a 10-15 min induction period was sufficient to chemically immobilize river otters enough for further sedation with 1-4% isoflurane gas. Surgery in the field was successful, with only 2 sedation-related mortalities recorded. Estimated river otter survival was 0.84 ± 0.09 with no difference between males (0.83 ± 0.11) and females (0.86 ± 0.13) ( = 0, P = 0.900) and or between protected areas (0.80 ± 0.10) and harvested areas (0.83 ± 0.15) ( = 0.3, P = 0.600). Four river otters died (2 harvest, 2 unknown causes) during my study. Daytime rest sites were located in non-enclosed vegetation (n = 54) as well as enclosed sites, such as bank dens (n = 39), beaver lodges (n = 33), and wood piles (n = 6). River otters selected for greater understory cover at all sites, though enclosed sites had less understory cover than non-enclosed sites (all P ≤ 0.001). The top habitat selection model included the parameters understory cover and the beaver sign but did not include canopy cover. My study offers a novel way to sedate river otters without DEA-scheduled drugs, updates information about river otter survival, and provides new information on fourth order habitat selection at daytime resting sites.

The aim of this work is to create an algorithm for solving steady-state thermal processes, algorithms for dealing with the transition state of thermal processes and the algorithm for solving ventilation networks. At the same time, the resulting application were expected to meet the conditions arising from the use as teaching aid.

The Cradle of Humankind, famous for its abundance of hominid fossils, has been preserved as a pristine landscape throughout the modern era, thanks to the establishment of the site as a natural and cultural World Heritage Site in 1994 (Maropeng 2016). In this dissertation the complexity surrounding a world heritage hominid fossil site is investigated. Kromdraai Cave, one of the five original caves included in the World Heritage declaration on the Cradle of Humankind, is investigated as a point of connection between conflicting values within the world heritage context. Through the intervention the site is envisioned as connecting not only the values of the world heritage site, but also providing an understanding of the landscape as a whole. The site is envisioned as a centre of knowledge, relating the value of the site directly to the context. The distribution of knowledge will allow the heritage to be accessible, not only to the scientist but also to the community. / Die Wiegvan die Mensdom is bekend vir die oorvloed hominied-fossiele wat daar voorkom, en is dwarsdeur die moderne era as 'n ongerepte landskap bewaar, danksy die die feit dat dit in 1994 as 'n natuurlike en kulturele Werelderfenisgebied verklaar is (Maropeng 2016). Hierdie skripsie ondersoek die kompleksiteite wat so 'n hominied-werelderfenisgebied omring. Kromdraai-grot, een van die vyf oorspronklike grotte wat ingesluit is toe Werelderfenisstatus a an die Wieg van die Mensdom toegeken is, word as aansluitingspunt tussen teenstrydige waardes binne 'n werelderfeniskonteks ondersoek. Deur die voorgestelde ingryping word dit moontlik dat die terrein nie aileen 'n verband skep tussen die onderskeie waardes wat 'n werelderfenisgebied verteenwoordig nie, maar dat daar oak 'n beter begrip van die landskap as 'n geheel verskaf word. Die terrein word as 'n kennissentrum beskou, wat sy waarde direk met die konteks in verband bring. Die verspreiding van kennis sal die erfenis toeganklik maak vir nie net wetenskaplikes nie, maar ook vir die gemeenskap. / Mini Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Architecture / MArch (Prof) / Unrestricted

Krátká, M.: My city a century ago [Diploma Thesis] Praha 2014 - Charles University, Faculty of Education, Art Education Department, 135 p. The diploma thesis focuses on cross-curricular connection of two educational areas; The Art and Culture - Art education and "Man and His World". The thesis also analyzes textbooks of the "Man and His World" educational area and determines how and to what extent it is focused on the theme of home, region, the past, identity of subject and places of public area. The empirical part consists of an educational project closely linking the curriculum of art education with curriculum of the subject "Man and His World". It focuses on primary education and it's goal is to effectively educate children about the history of the town they live in using interdisciplinary approach. The educational project is based on theoretical findings stated in the theoretical part of the diploma thesis. It is also set to the context of contemporary art but in comparison to modern art it seems to be based more traditionally. Key words: Interdisciplinarity, Art Education, school subject, educational domain, Project-Based Learning, site, memory of the site, community, Site-specific art.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OFNicholas Seaton, for the Master of Science degree in Plant Biology, presented on December 4, 2019 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: THE EFFECT OF DEER BROWSE ON ACHYRANTHES JAPONICAMAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. David GibsonPlants respond in many ways to damage. These responses vary between sites depending on the severity and duration of the incident. One common form of damage in the forest understory is herbivory or browse. White tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been observed to change the dominant species of forests by selectively browsing palatable species in the understory. These changes in species dominance can lead to unwanted consequences, sometimes resulting in a proliferation of weedy or invasive plants or a reduction in performance and competitive abilities based on morphological traits. Understanding the changes that occur to undesirable species after deer browse can help land managers in their prioritization of sites for land management and understand the driving forces behind a species’ success or failure. Using deer exclosure plots, this study looks at the effects of white-tailed deer on Achyranthes japonica, an herbaceous invasive species in the Ohio River floodplain of Illinois and surrounding states. White tailed deer have been observed to browse A. japonica throughout the invaders range, but little is known about the plant’s response. Deer browse data were collected in the summer of 2018 from May to August. Estimated deer densities among six study sites ranged from 8 to 22 deer per km2. Plants that were browsed during the growing season were morphologically different to those that were not browsed. Browsed plants were 11.5 ± 0.1 cm shorter (F1,218=11.658; p<0.001) on average and produced 0.33 ± 0.09 fewer nodes (F1,216= 4.045; p<0.05). Browsed plants also produced 2.7 ± 0.32 fewer flowering spikes and were similar in length to those of un-browsed plants. These morphological differences showed significant variation between sites. Floristic Quality Indices of the herbaceous plant communities (Ȳ =3.5) ranged from 3.2 to 3.9 among study sites. This study shows that site conditions can impact the response of A. japonica growth as it continues to invade across its current introduced range and that the species is adaptive and grows along-side other similar weedy species such as Microstegium vimineum and Parthenocissus quinquefolia. This study also indicated that deer browse has little to no impact on the growth of Achyranthes japonica.Keywords: Achyranthes japonica, Odocoileus virginianus, herbivory, browse, deer density, site quality

Nickel based superalloys have superior high temperature mechanical strength, corrosion and creep resistance in harsh environments and found applications in the hot sections as turbine blades and turbine discs in jet engines and gas generator turbines in the aerospace and energy industries. The efficiency of these turbine engines depends on the turbine inlet temperature, which is determined by the high temperature strength and behavior of these superalloys. The microstructure of nickel based superalloys usually contains coherently precipitated gamma prime (?) Ni3Al phase within the random solid solution of the gamma () matrix, with the ? phase being the strengthening phase of the superalloys. How the alloying elements partition into the and ? phases and especially in the site occupancy behaviors in the strengthening ? phases play a critical role in their high temperature mechanical behaviors. The goal of this dissertation is to study the site substitution behavior of the major alloying elements including Cr, Co and Ti through first principles based calculations. Site substitution energies have been calculated using the anti-site formation, the standard defect formation formalism, and the vacancy formation based formalism. Elements such as Cr and Ti were found to show strong preference for Al sublattice, whereas Co was found to have a compositionally dependent site preference. In addition, the interaction energies between Cr-Cr, Co-Co, Ti-Ti and Cr-Co atoms have also been determined. Along with the charge transfer, chemical bonding and alloy chemistry associated with the substitutions has been investigated by examining the charge density distributions and electronic density of states to explain the chemical nature of the site substitution. Results show that Cr and Co atoms prefer to be close by on either Al sublattice or on a Ni-Al mixed lattice, suggesting a potential tendency of Cr and Co segregation in the ? phase.

Since the inception of the first modern Canadian carceral structure in 1835, the prison library has existed. The condition of the prison libraries in Canadian federal institutions, as well as the diversity and quantity of their content has changed dramatically over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The modern-day federal prison library mirrors, in many ways, its “outside” Canadian public library counterpart. This thesis does not attempt to dispute or affirm the likeness between the Canadian prison and public library. Instead, in this thesis, I examine the evolution of the library from a space that reinforced hegemonic carceral control to a space where inmates could seek refuge and sanctuary. The first half of the thesis charts the emergence of the library as a, what I have termed, space mercy. This conceptualization of the library is inspired by Douglas Hay’s concept of mercy, in criminal law, as an ideological tool to reinforce hegemony. In the second half of the thesis I present a case study of the William Head Institution on Vancouver Island. Through the consulting of inmate publications, interviews, questionnaires, and other primary source material I posit that the prison library has evolved into a site of sanctuary. This term is taken from Laura Madokoro’s public history project Sites of Sanctuary. The site of sanctuary differs from the space of mercy in a number of ways and marked a distinct shift in the function and use of the prison library, by inmates, in Canada’s federal carceral institutions. / Graduate / 2021-07-20

FrpC protein produced by Neisseria meningitidis in a human host belongs to the family of bacterial RTX toxins due to the presence of RTX domain. FrpC possesses a calcium-dependent auto-catalytic cleavage activity which is localized within its 177 amino-acids long segment Self-Processing Module (SPM). As the SPM is naturally intrinsically disordered protein without bound Ca2+, the calcium binding is crucial for SPM folding which is followed by the auto-catalytic processing. The elucidation of the SPM structure may be the key step for understanding of enzymatic and biological function. The structure of folded SPM itself can be characterized only with difficulties due to the presence of flexible loop according to preliminary NMR data. The subject of this work is the description of SPM using fluorescence methods, characterization of ions binding to SPM and structural changes occurring during Ca2+ binding. In this work, the ion binding properties of SPM segment and its ion-induced folding was characterized. It was found that the dissociation constant kD of 17 μM coincided with the folding of SPM into the native calcium-bound state which occurs in the concentration range between 1 and 20 μM Ca2+. In the attempt to characterize the structure of ion binding site, the fully active single tryptophan mutants...