The presence of pathogens in semen can compromise the outcome of assisted reproductive treatment, together with the possibility of the female partner or offspring becoming infected. This is cause for concern, especially in South Africa with a high prevalence of HIV-1. Most of these infected individuals are in their reproductive years with the desire to have their own genetically related children. Therefore, assisted reproductive treatment with effective risk reduction procedures, such as semen processing for the elimination of these pathogens is crucial. However, during sperm preparation by standard discontinuous density gradient centrifugation, the supernatant is aspirated to allow access to the purified sperm pellet. Pathogens from the upper layers can adhere to the inside surface of the test tube and flow down to re-infect the purified sperm sample. The use of a centrifuge tube insert may prevent the re-contamination of sperm samples after discontinuous density gradient centrifugation. Furthermore, seminal pathogens can bind specifically or non-specifically to spermatozoa, rendering semen decontamination procedures ineffective. Serine proteases, such as trypsin, have been demonstrated to effectively inactivate viruses and to break pathogen-sperm bonds. However, the addition of a protease to density gradient layers during semen processing could have a negative impact on sperm parameters. This research was therefore aimed towards the determination of: i) The effect of semen processing with trypsin and trypsin inhibitor on sperm parameters. ii) The prevalence of various bacteria in semen samples from men attending the Reproductive and Endocrine Unit at Steve Biko Academic Hospital. iii) The effectiveness of semen processing by discontinuous density gradient centrifugation with a centrifuge tube insert, for the elimination of some of the most prevalent bacteria, white blood cells and in vivo derived HIV-1. Evaluation of sperm parameters after semen processing indicated that trypsin and trypsin inhibitor did not have an impact on sperm mitochondrial membrane potential, vitality, motility and zona binding potential, or acrosin activity, respectively. Seminal bacteria were highly prevalent in patients wishing to participate in the Unit’s assisted reproductive program, with 49.5% of semen samples presenting with positive bacterial cultures. Semen processing by means of discontinuous density gradient centrifugation with the tube insert, eliminated significantly more in vitro derived (spiked) bacteria and white blood cells from semen compared to processing without the insert. Furthermore, the semen decontamination procedure was effective in removing HIV-1 RNA from 100% of samples and proviral DNA from 98.1% of semen samples from HIV-1 sero-positive patients. The effectiveness of discontinuous density gradient centrifugation for the elimination of seminal pathogens could, therefore, be improved by the addition of trypsin to the upper density layer, without supplementing the bottom layer with trypsin inhibitor. Additionally, semen decontamination efficiency could also be improved by the prevention of re-contamination of processed sperm samples by the utilization of a tube insert during discontinuous density gradient centrifugation. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Obstetrics and Gynaecology / unrestricted

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Greater capacity for cities to be disaster resilient is needed. Public-private partnership enhances municipal capacity. This study therefore, interrogates the relationship between the City of Cape Town and its disaster relief partners. It is mainly concerned with policy implementation, and as such, investigates disaster management policy implementation in relation to public-private partnerships. The objectivesof the study were to provide a conceptual framework that defines the terms eminent in the practice and study of disaster management, particularly those that characterize public-private partnerships in the City of Cape Town; to explore the legislative mandate that makes provisions for disaster management and the funding of public-private partnerships in municipalities; to document the current practice of public-private partnerships in the City of Cape Town; to highlight noted challenges in the partnership and where necessary, recommend alternative policy implementation options for enhanced partnership sustainable capacity for disaster relief. The researcher deemed it expedient to utilize the qualitative method for the purposes of the adeptness it affords in expediting malleable, arduous investigation in engaging with the phenomena that “unfold[s] in real-world situations.” As far as the findings of this study are concerned, the public-private partnership of the City of Cape Town with its disaster relief partners is a successful one. It is effective in bringing the much needed awareness and relief to devastated communities. There are four main challenges that impact on this disaster relief partnership have been realized by this study. These namely are the delays in the reimbursement process, the constant change of government personnel dealing with relief partners, absence of a disaster relief official on the sites of distress and unsubsidized expenses incurred by the relief partners. Having realized these challenges, the study makes policy implementation recommendations.

Introduction:. In 2014, there were 180 thousand problematic users of drugs in the Czech Republic. Action plan of the realisation of National strategy of anti-drug politics in the Czech Republic concentrates on lowering the degree and risk of marijuana usage, while in the first period no specific programs for target group have been realised. In 2015, 2400 marijuana consumers were using low-threshold treatment programs. Topic of cannabis related drug users in drop-in centres and outreach programs appears at the expert meetings, though there is a lack of systematically developed material, which would be include good practice of low- threshold treatment programs for the target group. Aim: Primary aim of thesis is to provide a qualitative analysis of opinions of drop-in centers and outreach programs employees in Prague and Central Bohemian region regarding the possibility of offering harm reduction and therapeutic interventions to cannabis users. Thesis could serve as a summary of good practice of harm reduction services in the Czech Republic and become a material that could help individual services in the formulation of concept, respectively in changing and evaluating the work with cannabis users. Methodology: Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and were subsequently analysed using...

This dissertation examines the effect of environmental discourse and disaster risk reduction mapping in the favela Santa Marta, an urban informal settlement in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With the world’s largest urban forest within the metro area, Rio de Janeiro is unusual for a metropolis of more than ten million people in the rapidly urbanizing country of Brazil. The government of Rio de Janeiro has attempted to control favela settlements since the early 20th century, but beginning in the 1990s the prefecture began delimiting favela settlements with environmentally protected areas called ecolimits. According to the state’s calculations, in the 2000s favelas began to rapidly expand into the urban forest, which is protected by the ecolimits and national parks. In 2009, the state built a wall around Santa Marta, justified by concerns about expansion into the adjacent forest. The state then labeled Santa Marta the model favela after infrastructure improvements there and the installation of the first Pacification Police Unit, a new form of community policing begun in 2008 for favelas. The focus of my study is the particular ways that the government has framed its resettlement efforts in Santa Marta and how favela residents responded. I employ the concept of biopolitics assemblage to critically investigate the state’s and international institutions’ discursive and material practices of disaster risk management in Santa Marta. I collected data using a mixed methods approach during 15 months of fieldwork. Through archival research, I document the history of favela control tactics and trace the roots of disaster risk management in Rio de Janeiro to a World Bank financed disaster response project initiated in 1988. Using ethnographic methods, I documented residents’ responses to and understandings of the government’s resettlement project for Santa Marta. My results indicate that the state has discursively shifted the problem of favelas from a social question to an environmental one, while residents continue to frame favela conditions as a social justice issue and challenge the state’s assessment of environmental risk.

Frankia est une actinobactérie capable d'établir une symbiose racinaire avec les plantes actinorhiziennes dont le genre Alnus. Seulement certaines souches de Frankia sont capables de sporuler in planta, ce qui est illustré par la présence (Sp+) ou l'absence (Sp–) de sporanges dans les cellules végétales de la nodosité. C’est à notre connaissance un cas unique de sporulation endophyte. Cependant la description et l’interprétation écologique de ce trait d’histoire de vie (THV) original étaient incomplètes. Notre contribution à l’étude de la sporulation in planta des Frankia infectives de l’aulne intègre des approches théorique, descriptive et expérimentale, pour préciser (i) l’influence relative de la souche bactérienne, de l’espèce de la plante-hôte et des conditions pédoclimatiques sur ce THV, (ii) le rôle de la variabilité environnementale sur la distribution, la diversité et la sélection du trait, ainsi que (iii) les coûts et bénéfices associés pour les deux partenaires. Nous avons démontré pour la première fois que la sporulation in planta est un THV (i) spécifique de certaines lignées de Frankia, (ii) majeur pour en comprendre l'histoire évolutive et (iii) significativement corrélé à des caractéristiques génétiques des souches. Nous avons également confirmé que l’occurrence du trait varie selon l’environnement. Nous avons enfin établi un modèle de l'évolution du trait abordant sa valeur adaptative. L’ensemble des réflexions menées et des résultats obtenus nous permet de discuter de la sporulation in planta dans le cadre d’un continuum de stratégies symbiotiques, et plus généralement de discuter de l’écologie évolutive des symbioses entre microorganismes et plantes / Frankia sp. is a telluric actinobacteria able to establish a root symbiosis with actinorhizal plant such as Alnus sp. Only some Frankia strains are able to sporulate in-planta, as spores can be present in (Sp+) or absent from (Sp–) the vegetal cells of the root nodule. It is to our knowledge a unique case of endophytic sporulation. However, the description and the ecological interpretation of this original life-history trait (LHT) were scarce. Our contribution to the study of the in-planta sporulation of Alnus-infective Frankia sp. combines theoretical, descriptive and experimental approaches to precise (i) the relative effect of the bacterial strain, the host-plant species and the pedoclimatic conditions on this LHT, (ii) the effect of the of the environmental variability on the distribution, diversity and selection of the trait, and (iii) the associated costs and benefits for the two symbiotic partners. We demonstrated for the first time that the in-planta sporulation is a LHT (i) specific to some Frankia lineages, (ii) major to understand their evolutionary history and (iii) significantly correlated to particular genetic features. We also shown that the occurrence of the trait varies according to the environment We also proposed a model of the evolution of the trait taking its fitness into account. We bring all the previous considerations and results to discuss the inplanta sporulation trait within a continuum of symbiotic strategies and more generally to discuss the evolutionary ecology of plant-microbe symbioses

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The problem question of this study is how the City of Cape Town, as a metro municipality went about implementing Disaster Risk Assessments. While the National Disaster Management Centre acknowledges that municipalities are battling to perform Disaster Risk Assessments. Understanding what was done, by whom and when will aid in the understanding of implementing Disaster Risk Assessments. Uncovering the prospects and challenges they faced and will help shed light on the guidance that is required by other municipalities, although this study’s inference is limited by the methodology. The relatively new Disaster Management Act requires a shift from old civil defence legislation to a proactive disaster risk reduction mode, with new institutional arrangements. The shift to a proactive disaster risk reduction approach required by the new legislation cannot be achieved without firstly implementing these new institutional and policy arrangements and secondly, implementing this first and vital step in the disaster risk reduction process namely, Disaster Risk Assessments. The study also seeks to understand in the community was involved. This is a qualitative study, i.e. it contains descriptive statistics and narratives. It used questionnaires to provide numerical and descriptive data to measure compliance to the Disaster Management Act in terms of the institutional arrangements implemented by the City of Cape Town. Secondly, qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews to provide data to understand the challenges and prospects encountered in performing Disaster Risk Assessments. A literature review was also undertaken to highlight the current debates in Disaster Risk Reduction. The stratified sample was from the officials employed at the City’s Disaster Management Centre, Area Managers, NGOs, Ward Councillors and Consultants. The data was collated and the analysed. The objective is to primarily understand what was done, by whom, when and secondly to understand the prospects and challenges faced. The findings, recommendations and areas of future study are captured in this research report.

The diploma thesis deals with legislative purposes for the operation of machinery in the Czech Republic and the European Union. It deals with the analysis of technical standards of machinery, specific machining centers. The analysis of the risky machining center NHX 5500 DMG Mori is based on this. The result of the work is the minimization of ongoing risks and meeting the legal requirements of the state of the operated machining center.

There is a low supply of the missing middle housing types (MMH) in walkable urban core neighborhoods. That is, a variety of compact low- to mid-rise housing in walkable areas that are accessible to entertainment, recreational and other amenities. The largest demographic, the millennials, followed by the baby boomers, prefer the MMH types. The MMH types is a new name for a variety of compact housing types that existed in traditional neighborhoods in urban areas pre-World War II. However, due to changes in housing preferences after World War II, the requisite land use and zoning changes facilitated larger single-family homes phasing out the MMH types. Efforts to reintroduce the MMH types is these areas are met with opposition. This research investigates increasing the supply of the MMH types in walkable urban core neighborhoods. The literature review reveals, prior to this one, no academic study at this level was done to understand how to increase the supply of MMH types in these areas. This research explores the views of stakeholders in urban planning and various professions related to housing and the MMH types in the Tampa Bay Area, to better understand the issues involved in the low supply of the MMH types in urban core areas. The data for this qualitative research was guided by a grounded theory methodology (Corbin & Strauss, 2014) and was derived from thirty-nine semi-structured interviews with stakeholders to find out what factors inhibit and ways to improve the supply of the MMH types in the Tampa Bay area.

As a result of the United Nations’ International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (1990-2000), and recent high profile disasters, disaster risk reduction has climbed high on the international political agenda. There has been a paradigm shift from reacting to disasters towards preparing for and mitigating effects of disasters. Among the measures that have been highlighted on the disaster risk reduction agenda are early warning systems. In a Swedish context, there are needs for early warnings for various flood risk types. Municipalities carry big responsibilities for managing flood risks, and early warnings have a potential to facilitate decision-making and ultimately reduce flood losses. The aim of this thesis is to describe how a variety of flood warning signals are used in the risk management process of Swedish municipalities, how they can contribute to the flood risk reducing process, and which factors influence the success of this. The thesis is based on two papers. Paper I is based on interviews with three respondents from Swedish municipalities that have invested in and established local early warning systems. The paper shows that the possible effects from a local early warning system are not only reduced flood losses but also potential spinoff, the occurrence of which is dependent on the well-being of the organisation and its risk management processes. Paper II is based on interviews with 23 respondents at 18 Swedish municipalities, who have responsibilities related to flood risk management, and one respondent who works at SMHI with hydrological warning. The paper shows that municipalities can use a variety of complementary flood warning signals to facilitate decision-making for a proactive flood response. This is however not systematically the case, and is dependent on available resources. The theoretical contribution of this thesis is a development of existing conceptual models of early warning systems with respect to risk management and system contexts, and the use of complementary warning signals. / Following the United Nations’ International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (1990-2000), and recent high profile disasters, disaster risk reduction has climbed high on the international political agenda. Among the measures that have been highlighted are early warning systems – for Swedish municipalities who are responsible for managing flood risks, early warnings have a potential to facilitate decision-making and ultimately reduce flood losses. This licentiate thesis, based on two articles, aims to describe how a variety of flood warning signals are used in the risk management process of Swedish municipalities, how they can contribute to the flood risk reducing process, and which factors influence the success of this. The articles show that the possible effects from a local early warning system are not only reduced flood losses but also potential spin-off benefits, the occurrence of which is dependent on factors such as organisational culture and the functioning of the wider risk management system, and that municipalities can use a variety of complementary flood warning signals to facilitate decision-making for a proactive flood response which, however, is not systematically the case as benefits are dependent on available resources.

I samband med Gävle kommuns omvandling av den havsnära stadsdelen Näringen identifieras många naturgeografiska och geotekniska utmaningar. Dessa utmaningar förväntas förvärras av klimatförändringar, men också betyda en större påverkan på låglänta och havsnära områden. Däremot identifieras en ekonomisk vinst av exploatering av centrumnära mark. Den kommande omvandlingen av stadsdelen innefattar att 6 000 nya bostäder och 450 000 kvadratmeter nya verksamheter ska tillkomma, enligt avtal med svenska staten. Ökad ekonomisk belastning för försäkringsbolagen i samband med klimatförändringar och naturfenomen tvingar dock försäkringsbolagen att se över vad som i framtiden bör kunna försäkras. En konflikt kunde identifieras mellan kommunen och statens definition av hållbarhet, i jämförelse med försäkringsbolagens syn på vad som är hållbart och dessutom hållbart på lång sikt. Syftet med studien var att besvara forskningsfrågan Hur kan omvandlingen av Näringen utformas genom riskreducering för att minska exponering och sårbarhet och samtidigt öka stadsdelens resiliens? För att besvara frågan har studien använt metoderna spatial multikriterieanalys med farokartor, och gestaltning utifrån multikriterieanalysens resultat, för att skapa ett gestaltningsförslag som redovisar en ny utformning av stadsdelen som uppfyller avtalets krav kring antal bostäder och kvadratmeter verksamhetsytor, och detta på ett sätt som bidrar till att bebyggelsen i största möjliga mån placeras i områden där exponeringen för diverse risker är lägre.  Studiens resultat syftar att påvisa skillnader i ställningstaganden. Som en del av riskreduceringsstrategin klassificerades högriskområden som blågrön infrastruktur för de områden där konventionell markanvändning, som exploatering för bostäder och verksamheter, inte bedömdes vara lämplig till följd av de höga riskvärdena i dessa områden. Utifrån resultatet av dessa kartor skapades en 3D-modell med syfte att skapa ett pedagogiskt verktyg. 3D- modelleringen bidrar även till en högre förståelse för hur enligt studien olämplig mark, eller strandskydd kan omvandlas till attraktiva gröna områden som erbjuder rekreationsmöjligheter, infiltrering av dagvatten och som ökar den biologiska mångfalden. Studiens resultat erbjuder lättförståeliga tolkningar av de bakomliggande naturgeografiska och geotekniska riskerna, som även gemene man kan ta del av och tolka.  Ett återkommande inslag i studiens resultat är att stora skyddsområden som omfattas av strandskydd, även täcker de områden som har högst riskvärden. / The context of this study came from Gävle municipality's planned transformation of the coastal district of Näringen, where many natural geographical and geotechnical challenges are identified. These challenges are expected to be exacerbated by climate change, but also to have a greater impact on low-lying areas and areas close to the sea. On the other hand, an economic gain is identified from the exploitation of land close to the center. The upcoming transformation of the district includes that 6,000 new homes and 450,000 square meters of new businesses will be added according to an agreement with the Swedish state. Increased financial burden for the insurance companies in connection with climate change and natural phenomena forces the insurance companies to review what can be insured in the future. A conflict was identified between the municipality's and the state's definition of sustainability, in comparison with the insurance companies' view of what is sustainable and sustainable in the long term. The purpose of the study was to answer the research question How can the transformation of Näringen be designed through risk reduction to reduce exposure and vulnerability and at the same time increase the district's resilience? To answer the question, methods have used spatial multi-criteria analysis with hazard maps, and design based on the results of the multi-criteria analysis to create a modelled proposal that presents a new layout of the district, which meets the agreement's requirements for housing and square meters, in addition to that the placement of the settlement is made to the highest degree possible, in areas where the exposure to various risks is lower.  The results of the study aim to show differences in standpoints. As part of the risk reduction strategy, high-risk areas were classified as blue-green infrastructure for those areas where conventional land use, such as development for housing and businesses, was not deemed appropriate due to the high-risk values in these areas. Based on the results of these maps, a 3D- model was created with the aim of creating an educational tool. The 3D- modeling also contributes to a higher understanding of how, according to the study, unsuitable land or beach protection can be transformed into attractive green areas that offer recreation, infiltration of stormwater and that increase biodiversity. The results of the study offer easy-to-understand interpretations of the underlying natural geographical and geotechnical risks, which even the general public can take part in and interpret. A recurring element in the results of the study is that large, protected areas that are covered by beach protection (strandskydd), also cover the areas that have the highest risk values.