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Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effect of pulsating vibration on the sliding resistance between orthodontic brackets and stainless steel wires. Brackets were placed at two different angulations (0° and 5°) to simulate leveling of a tipped tooth during tooth movement. Pulsating vibration was delivered via the AcceleDent device. Background: Friction is defined as a force that retards or resists the relative motion of two objects in contact, and its direction is tangential to the common boundary of the two surfaces in contact. This has been of interest to the orthodontist since the mid-20th century. Since the time of Stoner’s paper in 1960, the orthodontic literature has been full of studies done on friction in orthodontics including: friction with different ligation methods, friction among different arch wire materials, friction and different bracket materials, and friction with various slot designs. Understanding friction has led to the emergence of new technologies in orthodontics. One of the most popular is the self-ligating bracket. This popularity arose from claims that they reduce friction during treatment. Other innovations have been introduced in the field of orthodontics to help accelerate tooth movement. Among these innovations is the application of a pulsating vibration during active orthodontic treatment. Such pulsating vibration can be delivered during orthodontic treatment by AcceleDent, which is a hands- free device designed by OrthoAccel Technologies, Inc., Bellaire, TX. The company claims the output force helps accelerate bone turnover. The following study investigated whether it could decrease treatment time via a different mechanism: decreasing frictional resistance to tooth movement along the arch wire. Methods: A paper template was made of a typodont tooth with a bracket window cut out. The bracket cut out was made with the bracket window angulated 0° and 5°. 0.022” x 0.028” standard prescription edgewise brackets (American Orthodontics, Sheboygan, WI) of ceramic, twin and self-ligating design were bonded to 3 maxillary 1st premolar typodont teeth using the template. The teeth were leveled with a 0.019” x 0.025” SS arch wire and placed in a metal scaffold. They were held in place with Aquasil Ultra XLV wash material PVS (DENTSPLY Caulk, Milford, DE.). Only the middle bracket was adjusted for angulation and accuracy was checked with the iPhone 6 level. The AcceleDent Aura device (OrthoAccel Technologies, Inc., Bellaire, TX). was attached to the occlusal surface of the teeth via cable ties. The AcceleDent Aura device provided 30 Hz of pulsating vibration. All tests were performed with a 0.019” x 0.025” SS arch wire pulled through the brackets via a Universal Testing Machine (Instron, Grove City, PA) at a crosshead speed of 2.5mm/min for 30 seconds. Frictional resistance was measured by averaging 6 recordings every 5 seconds. Results: The pulsating vibration provided by the AcceleDent device significantly reduced the resistance to sliding for each bracket type at both 0° and 5° (p<0.05). Ceramic brackets had the highest resistance to sliding of all bracket types. Conclusions: Pulsating vibration via the AcceleDent Aura device reduces the resistance to sliding between a bracket and arch wire in vitro. This may potentially decrease overall treatment time but more in vivo studies need to be done to evaluate this.

Twin to twin transfusion syndrome is a rare complication that can develop in monochorionic twin pregnancies where abnormal placental connections lead to hemodynamic imbalance between the two fetuses. The twin receiving the surplus of blood experiences polyhydramnios whereas the twin donating their blood experiences oligohydramnios. Diagnosis of this syndrome is done based off of the Quintero Staging scale, which consists of five categories of criteria ranging from non-critical diagnoses to diagnoses involving demise of one or two fetuses. The gold standard for treatment involves ablating abnormal vessel connections via a laser therapy. This therapy has shown to reduced short term and long term complications within the twins, and be most efficient at ceasing the disproportionate blood supply between the fetuses. Long term outcomes of twin to twin transfusion syndrome mainly involve neurodevelopmental impairment, but cardiovascular and renal complications can also be present. Adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes should be the ones to most closely monitor postnatally in all TTTS survivors. For recipient twin survivors, cardiovascular outcomes should be most closely watched via blood pressure monitoring and routine echocardiograms. For donor twin survivors, creatinine levels should be routinely checked in order to detect signs of chronic kidney disease in early childhood. Long term outcomes of twin to twin transfusion syndrome still need further investigating due to the difficulty of gathering information postnatally. Limitations that further increase the complexity of this research include lack of education and decreased opportunities for underserved communities to access the advanced medical care required to treat and monitor this disease. Shedding light on this disparity can lead mothers to be more aware of the signs and symptoms of this disease, leading to early detection and more positive outcomes.

Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a complication of blood flow among fetuses sharing a single placenta. TTTS is associated with high mortality rates; however there is treatment available which significantly increases the rate of survival. The treatment procedure is although far from perfect. Limited by a narrow field of view, it is a challenging task for the surgeon to mentally visualize the vascular structures of the placenta while trying to navigate across the areas of interest. Previous research within both medical imaging and tracking technologies has been conducted but there is no perfect solution on how to solve these issues. This paper is part of a two-part project attempting to provide an application which can make the surgical procedure easier. The two parts are image stitching and real-time tracking, this paper focusing on the latter. This is done by choosing an appropriate tracking method which can provide location and orientation of a small sensor. The 3D data gathered from the sensor is processed by various transformations so that the bounding box of the camera movement can be mapped directly onto the image generated by the stitching process. The same transformations are applied to data collected from the sensor at a rate of 60 Hz, resulting in a responsive system. By comparing the x-value and y-value of a calculated point to the bounding box, this point can be converted to its corresponding pixel in the image. The system is responsive and by visually comparing the digital position in the image to its corresponding real world position it seems accurate enough, even though a few pixels misalignment will occur. / Tvillingstransfusionssyndrom (TTTS) är en komplikation av blodflöde som kan uppstå hos foster som delar placenta. TTTS associeras medhöga dödstal, emellertid finns det behandlingar som signifikant ökar chanserna för fostrens överlevnad. Behandlingsprocessen är docklångt ifrån perfekt. Begränsad av ett smalt synfält är det en utmanande uppgift för kirurgen att mentalt föreställa sig placentansvaskulärsystem samtidigt som denne försöker att navigera mellan alla intresseområden. Forskning inom både bildbehandling ochspårningsteknologier är inget främmande men det finns ännu ingen självklar lösning på dessa problem. Den här rapporten är en del av etttvåstegsprojekt vars mål är att framställa en applikation som kan underlätta behandlingen. De två delarna är image stitching ochrealtidsspårning, där den här rapporten fokuserar på det sistnämnda. Detta görs genom att välja en lämplig spårningsmetod som kan mätabåde position samt orientering av en sensor. 3D-datan från sensorn behandlas av olika matematiska transformationer så att denomskrivande rektangeln av kamerans rörelser kan placeras på bilden erhållen från stitchingprocessen. På samma sätt behandlas deninformation som hämtas från sensorn i realtid med en frekvens på 60 Hz, vilket resulterar i ett snabbreagerande system. Genom att jämförax-värde och y-värde från en beräknad punkt med den omskrivande rektangeln, kan den här punkten översättas till sin motsvarande pixel ibilden. Systemet reagerar snabbt på indata och genom att visuellt jämföra den digitala positionen i bilden mot den motsvarande positionen iden riktiga världen ger systemet ett tillfredställande resultat, även om punkten kommer att ha ett par pixlars felmarginal.

Yes / Wave-seabed-pipelines interaction is of critical importance in the design of submarine pipelines. Previous studies mainly focus on investigating the characteristics of flow fields and hydrodynamics around a single pipeline. In this study, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations have been performed to examine the effect of burial depth and space between the centers of twin pipelines on the wave-seabed-twin pipelines interaction subject to waves. In the mathematical model, the Volume-Averaged Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (VARANS) equations are used to describe the wave motion in the fluid domain, while the seabed domain is described by using the Biot's poro-elastic theory. Numerical models are validated using these experimental measurements and available relevant experimental data. Experimental and numerical results indicate that the burial depth and relative position of twin pipelines can significantly affect the wave-averaged flow velocity field and the pore-water pressure distribution as well as effective stress.

L’objectif principal de cette recherche est de comprendre la place de la vie intra utérine dans le cas de la gémellité compliquée d’un syndrome transfuseur-transfusé (STT). Le second objectif concerne la singularité du deuil périnatal d’un jumeau et son devenir pour les parents et pour le jumeau vivant. Une méthodologie a été construite afin de mettre en perspective le vécu de la grossesse à travers le discours des parents (entretien semi-directif de recherche) et le développement psychique de l’enfant à 6 ans, à travers le bilan psychologique (WISC IV, dessin du bonhomme, dessin de la famille et CAT). Le recueil des données s’est fait à partir de 60 familles. Au sein de cette population, une analyse singulière a été faite à partir du matériel recueilli pour 10 enfants du groupe jumeaux et 10 enfants du groupe singletons. Une analyse transversale a été effectuée pour chacun des groupes et pour la totalité de la population. Mes résultats montrent que l’on retrouve chez l’enfant des traces agissantes d’inscriptions traumatiques pré-psychiques. Au WISC IV, les résultats indiquent que 73% des enfants ont un QI total dans la moyenne. Il existe un état de sidération des processus de pensée et un faible investissement dans les apprentissages. Au CAT, on observe des défenses narcissiques liées à une difficulté de l’élaboration de la position dépressive ainsi qu’une inhibition importante. La confusion et l’indifférenciation des espaces psychiques sont présentes. Dans le dessin de la famille et le CAT, les processus d’identifications se retrouvent d’un jumeau vers l’autre-jumeau, aboutissant à des limites du moi aux contours mal définis. Les identifications aux imagos parentales apparaissent comme secondaires. Cette recherche a montré que la présence du STT contient une potentialité traumatique dans les chaines générationnelles parents/enfants qui s’organise en trois temps. La relation d’objet gémellaire a été décrite comme « le nid prénatal » des relations objectales ultérieures, formées par le trio et le quartet. Ce type de relation inaugure une triadification primaire. Le complexe gémellaire a été décrit selon trois versants : archaïque, oedipianisé et selon l’effet du couple dans la gémellité. Pour les parents qui ont perdu un jumeau durant la grossesse, la perte d’un fœtus jumeau peut devenir un objet de survivance, liée au fonctionnement psychique des parents et au statut du fœtus-jumeau. Chez l’enfant, la place qu’occupe le jumeau décédé pour le vivant est fonction de l’élaboration du deuil des parents. La perte du jumeau peut devenir un objet de survivance, compte tenu de la nature narcissique et pré objectale de la gémellité. Le syndrome du survivant peut se retrouver chez l’enfant. / This thesis explores the phenomenon of twins who develop Twin to twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS), and the subsequent metaphyschological effects on both the perinatal and future development of children. The objective of this research is to understand intrauterine life using the context of afterward. Therefore, this research is focused on the link between parents’ experiences of afterward during their pregnancy, and the physical development of 6 year old twins. The second objective of this research concerns the perinatal death of one twin and how life develops in the future for the parents and for the living twin. The methods used are the psychoanalytic and the test method, in a psychodynamic approach. The tools used are the semi-direct research interview and the psychological evaluation of the child. (WISC IV, the drawing of man, the drawing of family and the projective test of the CAT). The collection of data is conducted with more than 60 families who have 6 year old children. At the heart of the population, a single analysis was made from material received for 10 children from a group of twins and 10 single children. A cross sectional analysis was done for each group and for the total of the population. My results show that we can find traces of registered pre-psychic trauma. From the WISC IV test, the results indicate that 73% of children have an average IQ. There is a state of paralysis in thought processes, and little interest in learning. The CAT showed narcissistic defenses related to difficulty in developing the depressive position, as well as significant inhibition. Confusion and lack of differentiation of psychic spaces are present. In the drawing of the family and in the CAT, the identification of one twin with the other twin can be found, resulting in poorly defined boundaries of self. Identification with parental images appears to be secondary. The presence of TTTS has the potential to cause trauma through the generational chain of parent/ child that is organised in three stages. Twin object relations have been described as “the prenatal nest” of subsequent object relations, formed by the trio and the quartet. This type of relationship introduces a primary triadification. Three aspects of the twin complex have been described: archaic, oedipianized and according to the effect of the couple in the twinning. For those parents who have lost a twin during pregnancy, the loss of a twin foetus can become an object of survival, or an object of trauma, linked to the psychic functioning of the parents and the status of the twin foetus. The place the living twin takes, in place of the dead twin, is dependent on the grieving process of the parents. Based on this, the loss of a twin can become an object of survival, taking into account the narcissistic and pre objectal nature of the twinning. Survival Syndrome can be found in children.

The debates on whether or not to regulate micro lending have shifted to finding the appropriate regulatory models. This is because countries are in agreement that being part of the greater financial services sector, micro lending plays an important role in the economic and social development of the citizens as it enables the poor to have access to credit and better their lives. To this end, Botswana has not fallen short of this global trend. Micro lending regulation plays an important role in maintaining the financial safety and soundness of any country’s financial sector. If not properly regulated, the micro lending industry can lead to undesirable incidents like financial crisis and suicide cases as it was the case in the State of Andhra Pradesh of India where borrowers were over-indebted leading them to commit suicide. Since there is not a perfect regulatory model, countries have over the years formulated regulatory frameworks for micro lending. Some of the laws failed and created more problems than they were in fact intended to solve like the 2010 financial crisis in India. In 2008 Parliament of Botswana enacted the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority Act in order to regulate (NBFIs), including micro lenders. The primary purpose of this study is to scrutinize the mechanisms in place for the regulation and supervision of micro lenders in Botswana in light of those set internationally and subsequently deducing their effectiveness or lack thereof. The comparative analysis will focus on South Africa and India’s State of Andhra Pradesh. / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The debates on whether or not to regulate micro lending have shifted to finding the appropriate regulatory models. This is because countries are in agreement that being part of the greater financial services sector, micro lending plays an important role in the economic and social development of the citizens as it enables the poor to have access to credit and better their lives. To this end, Botswana has not fallen short of this global trend. Micro lending regulation plays an important role in maintaining the financial safety and soundness of any country’s financial sector. If not properly regulated, the micro lending industry can lead to undesirable incidents like financial crisis and suicide cases as it was the case in the State of Andhra Pradesh of India where borrowers were over-indebted leading them to commit suicide. Since there is not a perfect regulatory model, countries have over the years formulated regulatory frameworks for micro lending. Some of the laws failed and created more problems than they were in fact intended to solve like the 2010 financial crisis in India. In 2008 Parliament of Botswana enacted the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority Act in order to regulate (NBFIs), including micro lenders. The primary purpose of this study is to scrutinize the mechanisms in place for the regulation and supervision of micro lenders in Botswana in light of those set internationally and subsequently deducing their effectiveness or lack thereof. The comparative analysis will focus on South Africa and India’s State of Andhra Pradesh. / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Globally, in both developed and developing countries, the twinning rates have increased since the early 70’s. A large proportion of twins are born preterm and/or small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and/or with a low birth weight. Several studies have been performed on the long-term effect of these non-optimal birth characteristics on future reproductive performance and morbidity. Yet, most studies exclude twins or higher order pregnancies and thus the findings are based on singleton pregnancies only. The aim of the present thesis was therefore to investigate the impact of non-optimal birth characteristics in terms of preterm birth, small-for-gestational age, and low birth weight, on the reproductive pattern and morbidity among twins and singletons Furthermore, the present thesis attempted to establish whether twins and singletons were affected in the same manner. The studies included in this thesis are prospective population-based register studies, including all men and women, alive and living in Sweden at age 13, who were born between 1973 and 1983 (1,000,037 singletons and 16,561 twins) for the first three studies with follow-up till the end of 2006 and 2009. The last study included all men and women, alive and living in Sweden at age 13, who were born between 1973 and 1993 (2,051,479 singletons and 39,726 twins) with follow-up till the end of 2012. In general, twins were found less likely to reproduce between 13 and 33 years of age compared with singletons. Stratifying data by different birth characteristics, it was found that twins had a lower likelihood of reproducing on several different birth characteristics (appropriate-for-gestational-age, normal birth weight, low birth weight, term birth, preterm birth). However, twins born very preterm had an increased likelihood of reproducing compared with singletons born very preterm. Not taking birth characteristics into account, twinning was associated with a higher degree of hospitalization. However, accounting for the diverging birth characteristics this difference diminished and for some diagnoses the relationship was reversed such that twins were actually less likely to be hospitalized compared with singletons. In terms of the heritability of non-optimal birth characteristics singleton mothers born preterm were more predisposed to give birth to a child that was preterm while singleton mothers born SGA more often gave birth to a child either born preterm or SGA. Among twins this heritability was not as evident. The only difference observed was among twin mothers born SGA who were more likely to give birth to a child born SGA. In the extended cohort comprising those born between 1973 and 1993, male and female twins were found to be less likely to become parents compared with singletons. No difference was found among women in terms of having a second child, while male twins were more likely to have a second child compared with male singletons. It was also found that the likelihood of becoming a first-time parent and second-time parent was positively associated with the number of siblings.

Foy Ridge is located about twenty-six miles south-southwest of Tucson, Arizona, and about a mile north of the Twin Buttes mining district. The sediments of the Roy Ridge area range in age from Cambrian to Recent. Separation of the Paleozoic section into mappable units has been complicated by post-Permian metamorphism. This metamorphism has destroyed any fossils that were probably once present, although a few remains of a Devonian Cladopora reef have been recognized. The metamorphism has caused a recrystallization of the limestones and an alteration of the shales to hornfels with stringers of epidote. The result is a sequence of altered Paleozoic rocks closely resembling one another. Lateral compression acting in a northeast-southwest direction played the major role in the tectonic history of the Foy Ridge area. Foy Ridge is the inverted limb of a large fold overturned to the northeast. As the fold was being produced thrust faults and wrench faults formed in the limbs. These first faults were cut off by the Foy Ridge fault that formed in the southwest limb of a northwest plunging anticline. This anticline was thrust forward (southwest) and upward until it was pressed against the inverted limb (Foy Ridge) and the adjacent fold. A disharmonic fold probably formed in the normal limb of the major fold of which Foy Ridge is a part. Thrust faults in the disharmonic fold repeated the lower Paleozoic section on the southwest side of Foy Ridge. As compression continued the last major thrust of the area was produced. This was the Bolsa Overthrust, which probably originated in the core of the disharmonic fold. It cut across the inverted limb of the major fold and may have also cut across the crest of the northwest plunging anticline northeast of the Foy Ridge fault. Intrusive activity followed or accompanied the overthrusting and folding of the area. This was closely followed by post-intrusion normal faulting. The Twin Buttes, two prominent hills immediately east of the thesis area, are a southeastern extension of the northeastern limb of the northwest plunging anticline that formed the hanging wall of the Foy Ridge fault. The "breached anticline" of the Twin Buttes mining district is probably related to the normal limb of the fold that formed Foy Ridge. The synclinal area between these two folds is covered by alluvium.