The marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea, A. Rich.; Hoscht subspecies caffra, Sond) is a member of the Anacardiaceae which encompasses 73 genera and 600 species (Pretorius et al., 1985). This tree is distributed throughout Africa with its southern most location in the lowlands of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) from where it extends northwards through tropical Africa into Ethiopia and Sudan (VanWyk, 1974). Of all fruit trees indigenous to South Africa, the marula has received most attention in terms of domestication and commercialization (Shackleton, 1996). Several products such as beer, juice, jam and jelly have been developed from the mesocarp and successfully marketed, the most recent being a marula liqueur (Burger et al., 1987). Despite the traditional and commercial uses, the flavour constituents remain poorly studied, especially for the pericarp. Ripe marula fruit can be consumed by biting or cutting through the thick leathery skin and sucking the juice or chewing the mucilaginous flesh after removal of the skin. The ripe fruit has an average vitamin C content of 168 mg/100 g which is approximately three times that of oranges and comparable to the amounts present in guavas (Wilson, 1980). Bark and leaf infusions are often used to treat boils, malaria and diarrhoea (Shone, 1979). The seed oil is used as cosmetic and to preserve meat (Shone, 1979). Despite the several commercial uses of marula, the volatile constituents of the fruits are poorly studied. As part of the investigation on South African fruit flavours, we reported here the volatile constituents of the marula fruit pulp and the intact whole fruit volatiles.

Most people would like to be less stressed. With our increasingly fast paced and busy lives it appears that stress related issues are increasing, with the addition of issues such as terrorist attacks, stress at times can be hard to avoid. Many studies have found that cooling the brain is beneficial for those who have sustained traumatic brain injuries and the process of cooling can often stop or prevent further damage (Qui et al, 2006). The body may also use a natural cooling mechanism, yawning, as a way of keeping the brain at optimum temperature, so it can perform at its best (Gallup & Gallup, 2008).There seems to be very little research on the effects of head cooling on psychological variables. It was hypothesised that cooling would reduce stress levels and when put in conjunction with a self-affirmation manipulation would decrease stress levels even further. Participants had their ear temperature measured, filled out a stress questionnaire and then were asked to sit in between two fans for 12 minutes. Their ear temperature was measured again, they then went on to complete another questionnaire, some containing a self-affirmation manipulation and then went on to a stressor task. Lastly, they received a final stress questionnaire. Results were nonsignificant, yet general trends headed in the hypothesised direction. The implications of the findings are discussed as are limitations and suggestions for future research.

The study of the mechanism of traumatic brain injury (TBI) processes at the cellular level is vital to obtain characterization of nerve cell damage after mechanical deformation. This understanding is needed to find feasible therapeutic targets for mechanically damaged neurons. To study the cellular level of TBI damage, development of a new in vitro cellular model of TBI might be done to simulate in vivo cellular TBI. In this research, two studies were performed: (1) the design and construction of an in vitro cell stretching device to mechanically injure cells and (2) the characterization of the molecular and cellular level of the TBI mechanism. The cell stretching device design allows for the precise control of cell strain and duration of stretching cells such that TBI can be mimicked. Analysis of the cellular and molecular level mechanisms of TBI in the proposed in vitro model might help in the design of therapeutic strategies for the treatment of TBI. Our proposed mechanism of injury due to TBI is as follows: after the cell is stretched, a cellular signaling molecule is released to activate the cellular signaling pathway. The activated cell signal may activate kinases which phosphorylate proteins and initiate new protein synthesis. Newly phosphorylated and synthesized proteins may activate the apoptotic process. Using a variety of pharmacological agents, one could block steps in the hypothesized mechanism and examine the effect of those agents on downstream cellular processes and cell apoptosis. For example, the inhibitions of calcium transport, protein synthesis, and caspases were performed to examine the initial activation of the signaling pathway and the role of both in the apoptosis process. Proteomics of TBI may help the understanding of the mechanism of TBI related protein expression. This work will contribute to the discovery of new therapeutic targets and better treatments for TBI.

Background: Examining factors unique to major head injury (HI) etiogenesis can help reduce the burden of injury by identifying factors amenable to prevention. Objectives: To describe the epidemiology of HI in Nova Scotia. Risk and protective factors unique to HI were also examined specific to falls and Motor Vehicle Collision (MVC) injuries. Methods: Descriptive analyses and regression models were used to examine the socio-demographic profile of HI and associated risk factors using data from the Nova Scotia Trauma Registry. Results: Regression analyses for MVC-related injury found age, injury place, vehicle type and lack of safety restraint to be independently associated with an increased risk of HI. For falls-related injuries, age, time of trauma, injury mechanism and place were significant factors for a HI event. Conclusion: While HI share many similar characteristics to other major injuries, prevention programs must be aware of both common and unique risk factors for head injuries.

Depending upon their nature, Outdoor AR applications can be deployed on head mounted displays (HMD) like Google glass or handheld Displays (HHD) like smartphones. This master’s thesis investigates novel gesture-based interaction techniques and applications for a HMD-HHD hybrid system that account for advantages presented by each platform. Prior research in HMD-HHD hybrid systems and gestures used in VR and surface computing were taken into account while designing the applications and interaction techniques. A prototype system combining a HMD and HHD was developed and four applications were created for the system. For evaluating the gestures, an application that compared four of the proposed gestures for selection tasks was developed. The results showed a significant difference between the different gestures and that the choice of gesture for selection tasks using a hybrid system depended upon application requirements like speed and accuracy.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering)--Vanderbilt University, Dec. 2007. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (B.A.Hons. 1970) from the Dept. of History, University of Adelaide.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, June, 1994. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (doctoral)--Umeå University, Sweden, 1995. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.