<b>Background. </b> Although antipsychotic medications are primarily intended to treat schizophrenia and psychotic symptoms in adults, they are commonly administered to nursing home residents as pharmacotherapy for "off-label" indications such as disruptive behaviour. However, clinical trials have demonstrated limited efficacy and serious side-effects of antipsychotics among the elderly. As previous studies have reported inappropriate use in several countries, their use in nursing home residents ought to be monitored to detect and reduce inappropriate administration. <br /><br /> <b>Objectives. </b> The aim of this study was a) to determine and compare prevalence rates of antipsychotic use in Ontario and Swiss nursing homes, b) to identify determinants of antipsychotics use in these two countries, by means of a cross-sectional design, and c) to investigate the impact of antipsychotic use on behaviours over time in Ontario and Swiss residents, by means of a longitudinal design. <br /><br /> <b>Methods. </b> This study involved secondary data analysis of 1932 residents from 24 nursing homes in the province of Ontario in Canada and 1536 residents from 4 nursing homes in a German-speaking canton in Switzerland. Residents were assessed with the Minimum Data Set (MDS) tool. Resident characteristics and prevalence rates were compared internationally with the chi-square test. Demographic and clinical determinants of antipsychotic use, as well as behavioural change associated with antipsychotics, were analyzed using logistic regression. <br /><br /> <b>Results. </b> Although Ontario nursing home residents had an overall heavier-care profile than Swiss residents, antipsychotics were administered to 25% of the Ontario residents compared to 29. 5% of the Swiss residents. The adjusted rate among residents without appropriate conditions was also lower in Ontario (14%) than in Switzerland (24. 5%). Apart from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and cognitive impairment, antipsychotic use was determined by a different range of characteristics in these two countries. Antipsychotic use was not predictive of behavioural improvement. <br /><br /> <b>Conclusion. </b> The high adjusted rates of antipsychotic use in Ontario and Swiss nursing home residents, as well as the presence of "inappropriate indications" and "facility" as determinants of their use, raise concerns about the appropriateness of their administration in both countries. Their lack of effectiveness to improve behaviours also questions their use as long-term treatment for behaviour disturbances. Changes in practice patterns and implementation of policies are warranted to reduce inappropriate prescribing practices to enhance the quality of care provided to residents in nursing homes.

Contempory writing theories do not explain many of the writing behaviors exhibited by basic writers in the classroom. Many theorists (Emig, Fitzgerald, Rose, and Perl) have identified similar and distinct writing behaviors which have also been identified by instructors of basic writers. This study focuses on two college-level basic writing students by using the results of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and identified writing behaviors of theorists; these case studies shed light on writing processes in relationship to personality. The results suggest a correlation between writing behaviors and personality types which affects the writing and the teaching of the writing processes. / Department of English

Many organizations are digitizing their business systems, creating potential to furthermore develop their organizations to become even more efficient. Business Intelligence is a collective term for skills, techniques, applications and processes that can help organizations to better understand their business. One of many Business Intelligence tools is a digital dashboard. A dashboard can collect the hidden figures in the business system or present already knows Key Performance Indicator to an organization. This study is conducted to find out what positive changes a usage of a dashboard can give to an organization. Through interviews and literature studies we have compared and analysed the results. This study shows that if you succeed with an implementation of a dashboard you will find benefits like better awareness, better agency and you will find that the organization will become more results orientated than before. They are all positive effects that a usage of a dashboard can give.

The subject matter of this paper is a comparative review of egg production systems for theircontribution to sustainable development of egg production in order to assess the perceived challenges of eggfarmers in Germany. The thesis features a case study which presents two farms located in Germany, andimplementing different farming methods. The floor-range farming method and the organic system illustrate thisexample. The methodological approach is based on a three-phase framework, in which significant issuesconcerning sustainable development are presented (Phase 1), the significant issues are translated into sustainableindicators (Phase 2), and the contribution of sustainable indicators to sustainable development is assessed (Phase3). Phase 1 and 2 build on an extensive literature review and farmers consultation. Phase 3 relies on numericalcomparisons. A comparative analysis of the empirical data is based on theories and the developed conceptualframework. Based on the comparison of two specific farms, the results of this work indicate that the organicfarming system reveals the least negative contribution to sustainable development of egg production in Germany.The floor-range farming system shows a slightly more negative contribution to sustainable developmentcompared with the organic EPS. The organic farming system, therefore, is considered the better animal-friendlysystem. It is certainly noteworthy to mention that the organic system however fail to contribute to sustainabledevelopment from an economic perspective. Thus, the main perceived challenge for the organic farmer is tooperate his organic business in a more profitable way. The floor-range system on the other hand, succeeds tocontribute to sustainable development in economic terms, but fails to contribute positively from an ecologicaland social perspective. Therefore, the farmer operating the floor-range EPS needs to improve the ecological aswell as social conditions on his farm in order to achieve an equal positive contribution to sustainabledevelopment.

The spatio-temporal attributes of intracellular calcium (Ca2+) transients activate various biological functions. These Ca2+ signaling events are triggered extracellularly through different stimuli and controlled intracellularly by the major Ca2+ storage organelle and by numerous Ca2+ pumps, channels, and Ca2+ binding proteins. Ca2+ transients can be significantly altered as a result of defects with signal modulation, leading to different diseases. Because of the fragility and intricacy of the Ca2+ signaling system, with the endo- and sarcoplasmic reticulum at the center, genetically-encoded Ca2+ probes that have been optimized for mammalian expression and fast kinetics are needed to observe global and local Ca2+ changes in different cells. Here, we first report the crystal structure determination of our genetically-encoded Ca2+ sensor CatchER which utilizes EGFP as the scaffold protein. Crystal structures of CatchER were resolved in the Ca2+-free, Ca2+-loaded, and gadolinium-loaded forms at 1.66, 1.20, and 1.78 Å, respectively. Analysis of all three structures established conformational changes in T203 and E222 produce the varying ratios of the neutral and anionic chromophore reflected in the absorbance spectrum where Ca2+ stabilizes the anionic chromophore and enhances the optical output. Since CatchER has miniscule fluorescence when expressed at 37˚C in mammalian cells, we enhanced its brightness by improving the folding at 37˚C, facilitating better chromophore formation. The resulting mutants are the CatchER-T series of Ca2+ sensors with CatchER-T’ having the most improvement in brightness at 37˚C. We also introduced the N149E mutation in the binding site to alter the Kd along with the brightness mutations. The resulting mutants were characterized and found to have weaker Kds compared to wild-type CatchER, similar quantum yields, and altered ratios of the neutral and anionic chromophore in the apo form. Then, CatchER-T’ was applied in situ to monitor Ca2+ changes globally in the ER/SR of C2C12, HEK293, and Cos-7 cells. A new construct consisting of CatchER-T’ and JP-45 was created to monitor local Ca2+ dynamics in the SR lumen of skeletal muscle cells. The results showed a difference between global and local SR Ca2+ release. We also examined the potential and spectroscopic properties to utilize some of our sensors in T cells to monitor the magnesium (Mg2+) flux in immune cells with faulty MagT1 receptors to understand the role of Mg2+ in the immune response.

In the Canadian Cordillera, Mesozoic calcalkaline and alkaline intrusive igneous rocks that are prospective for hosting porphyry Cu-Au mineralization may be overlain by thick glacial overburden. Previous studies have shown that magnetite from ore deposits has a unique trace element signature that differs from magnetite in common igneous or metamorphic rocks. This study investigated if the composition of ore-related magnetite in till could provide a unique exploration tool to locate porphyry deposits in glaciated terrain. Bulk till samples were collected over an area of ~700 km2 surrounding the Mount Polley porphyry Cu-Au deposit, south-central British Columbia. Twenty elements were measured by LA-ICP-MS in ~50 detrital magnetite grains in each of 20 till samples. Previously proposed discrimination diagrams are proven to be of limited use in correctly identifying ore-related magnetite. Therefore, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was performed on a compiled dataset of magnetite compositions from various porphyry deposits and intrusive igneous rocks in order to rigorously redefine the chemical signature of hydrothermal magnetite from porphyry systems. Application of the LDA models to magnetite in till found that the dispersal of hydrothermal grains from Mount Polley is coincident with the deposit and the interpreted ice-flow history. Anomalous concentrations of hydrothermal magnetite grains in till are detected up to 2.5 km west-southwest and 4 km northwest of the deposit, indicating that magnetite has a strong potential to be an effective indicator in mineral exploration for porphyry systems. / Graduate

The relationship between personality type as measured by the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and marital satisfaction as measured by the Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI) was examined in this research. Subjects were 100 volunteer couples from a southwestern urban area who were given the MBTI and the MSI. These couples were divided into three groups: 40 were in marital therapy; 30 had satisfactory marriages and had been married seven years or less; 30 also had satisfactory marriages, but had been married more than seven years. The therapy group and the satisfactorily married groups were compared as to the number of MBTI preferences held in common, the strength of these preferences and the length of time married. The extraversion-introversion (E-I) scale and the sensing-judging (S-J) temperament of the MBTI were examined by comparing the spousal combinations in each of the groups. Chi square analysis and a Pearson correlation were used. A one-way analysis of variance was run between six of the scales of the MSI and each of the four MBTI dimensions. A MANOVA was attempted on the relationship between the spousal MBTI combinations and the six MSI scales, but the population was too small for this analysis to be conclusive. There were no significant differences between the groups as far as number of preferences held in common, length of time married, and the sensing-judging temperament. There were significantly more couples in the therapy group who had differences of 40 or more points on the four MBTI scales. The extent of the difference on the sensing-intuitive (S-N) scale was found to discriminate between satisfactory and unsatisfactory marriages. Differences on the E-I scale were found to effect couples' satisfaction in the MSI scales of Time Together and Affective Communication with the combination of introvert with introvert having the most difficulty in these areas.

The purpose of this study was to identify and explore personality characteristics of juvenile delinquents, to compare those characteristics with those of the general population, and determine if there are significant differences, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), between the personality characteristics of juvenile delinquents and the general population. Juvenile delinquents who were adjudicated into a Texas Youth Commission facility in North Texas were subjects for this study. Participants included 186 males who ranged in age from 14 years to 20 years. Statistical analyses were performed for each of the research questions. When comparing MBTI scores of juvenile delinquents to the general population, significant differences were found on the dichotomous scales, temperaments, function pairs, and types. All type preferences are represented within the juvenile delinquent population. The MBTI can be useful in responding to the education and rehabilitation needs of juvenile delinquents. Knowledge of personality type can help caregivers meet the needs of juvenile delinquents. Understanding personality type preference can serve to provide a deeper understanding of the behaviors that lead to adjudication of juvenile delinquents. A discovery of the types of adolescents who are adjudicated could lead to preventive measures, early detection, and early intervention for students at risk of becoming juvenile delinquents.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to explore the coagulation phase in water treatment process from two perspectives, the removal of cyanotoxin microcystin and the responses of ecotoxicological indicator species Daphnia magna to different concentration of this toxin, contained in a sample of cyanobacterial water bloom, which was extracted from a dam and was dominated by cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa. The sample was administered in three environmentally relevant concentrations to 6 clones of Daphnia magna, 3 of which had previous experience with M. aeruginosa. Coagulation process was performed under optimal conditions: pH = 6.36; KNK4,5 = 0.26 mmol.l-1 ; Fe = 0.162 mg.l-1 ; DOC = 2.83 mg.l-1 using 10 ml of 0.125M NaHCO3 in two litres of ultrapure water. Individual forms of microcystin were detected in this ratio: 31.6 % MC-LR, 53.6 % MC-RR and 14.8 % MC-YR. The study has shown that under these conditions coagulation does not remove microcystin, e.g. the efficiency of the process is zero. In ecotoxicological study, with growing concentration of cyanobacterial mixture the negative impact on Daphnia magna increased. We have found interclonal variability in responses of D. magna, however, the previous experience with M. aeruginosa had no effect. With growing concentration of cyanobacterial water...

There is an ongoing debate whether the impact of competition on bank soundness is positive or negative. Traditionally, it was assumed that there is a trade-off between competition and bank soundness. On the other hand, some recent studies suggest that competition has a positive effect on bank soundness. In this thesis, we will focus on the concept of efficiency as a possible link between competition and bank soundness. Firstly, we will summarize different approaches to measure competition, efficiency and soundness in banking sector. Subsequently, we will focus on hypotheses formulated to describe the link between competition in financial sector and bank soundness, between efficiency and bank soundness and between bank competition and efficiency. The empirical part, we will examine whether there is a link between competition and soundness via efficiency channel. Our analysis is based on dataset contains commercial banks from Visegrad group during period 2008 - 2012. We will exploit the Boone indicator as a measure of competition, the SFA approach to obtain efficiency score and soundness will be derived from z-score. The empirical evidence confirmed the positive link between competition and bank soundness via efficiency channel.