It is becoming increasingly evident that the development of atherosclerotic coronary heart disease (CHD) can largely be regulated by lifestyle and dietary choices. The type of fatty acids regularly consumed may promote or prevent atherogenesis. Flaxseed, the richest plant source of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is thought to protect against atherosclerotic disease. However, the mechanism(s) by which flaxseed exerts these anti-atherogenic effects requires further investigation. Alternatively, there are dietary fatty acids that are thought to induce significant deleterious effects upon our cardiovascular health. Epidemiological evidence associates dietary trans fatty acids (TFAs) with atherosclerotic CHD. This evidence has largely focused on the main source of TFAs in the North American diet, industrially hydrogenated vegetable shortening (iTFAs). It is assumed that TFAs stimulate atherosclerosis but the only studies to date have shown no effect of TFAs on atherosclerosis. Even less is known of the impact of naturally occurring TFAs from dairy and meat products of ruminant animals (rTFAs) on atherosclerotic disease. We investigated the effects of flaxseed supplementation on atherosclerosis and vascular function in two animal models, the hypercholesterolemic rabbit and the cholesterol fed, low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLr-/-) deficient mouse. New Zealand White rabbits and LDLr-/- mice were fed a diet containing flaxseed in the absence or presence of dietary cholesterol for a period of 6 to 24 weeks. We found that dietary flaxseed inhibits the atherogenic effects of a high cholesterol diet in both animal models. The anti-atherogenic effect was achieved in the mouse model through a capacity to lower circulating cholesterol levels and at a cellular level by inhibiting cell proliferation and inflammation. This reduction is also associated with an improved vascular relaxation response as demonstrated in the rabbit model. We also investigated the effects of consuming TFAs from two sources, industrially hydrogenated iTFAs rich in elaidic TFA (C18:1t-9) or naturally-occurring ruminant rTFAs rich in vaccenic TFA (C18:1t-11), on atherosclerotic development in the LDLr-/- mouse in the presence or absence of elevated dietary cholesterol. Our results demonstrate that consuming iTFAs dose dependently initiates atherosclerotic development but not beyond the effects of dietary cholesterol alone. However, consuming rTFAs rich in vaccenic acid protects against hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis in the presence or absence of dietary cholesterol. The effects of combining dietary flaxseed and iTFAs in the diet were also examined in this model. Adding whole ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil (ALA) to diets containing low and high doses of iTFAs completely prevented atherosclerotic development in the absence of dietary cholesterol. Flaxseed was also able to partially prevent atherosclerosis caused by iTFAs and cholesterol. Our results suggest that the omega-3 ALA fatty acid rich content of flaxseed is mainly responsible for the anti-atherogenic effects of flaxseed. Our results highlight potential mechanisms for the beneficial effects of dietary flaxseed and the mixed effects of TFAs on cardiovascular health and underscore the need for further basic and clinical investigations.

Admiration for the work of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God in Zambia, coupled with the desire to record some key events in the life of the PAOG(Z) have been the key factors that inspired this work. The repetition of mistakes of the past by the current leadership of the church has been worrisome. The negative effect caused by neglecting the history of the Church by some Pentecostal leaders, mostly due to gullibility, disregard, or even ignorance of their history, has in great measure reduced their potential for effectiveness. A true reflection of what constitutes the mission history and missionary methodologies of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God in Zambia from its inception in 1955 to the present day is vital information for Pentecostal clergy and laity. In this thesis, I have endeavoured to trace the beginnings of the Pentecostal Church and augmenting thereto the challenges and successes. The individual contributions of the missionaries accredited to Zambia and the indigenous leaders are enumerated to enable the reader to observe how the different gifts men and women brought influenced positively the growth of the church. The role of the Pentecostal Bible College in the Pentecostal missions in Zambia has been laid down, since the College has been the nerve centre and exemplar institution of Pentecostal missions in Zambia. Given the problem of poor community participation among some Pentecostal people, the need for a theology of socio-political and economic reconstruction and the need for a change in attitude have been examined. The dissertation closes with a chapter on the various contributions of women to the growth of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God in Zambia. The Pentecostal Church in Zambia has now become the storehouse or rendezvous of all the four shades of Pentecostalisms in the country: Classical, Charismatic, Third Wavers and Fourth Wavers. Classical Pentecostalism emerged almost one hundred years ago in Azusa in California; Charismatics, whose emphasis was on faith, began in the fifties; the Third and Fourth Wavers, whose spiritual focus is individual faith for personal improvement and livelihood, started in the eighties and the nineties. The apparent attempt to amalgamate all these compartments of Pentecostalism into an homogeneous phenomenon is stirring Zambia's Pentecost into a 'syncretism of Pentecostahsms', which I think must not go without mention, for it raises questions such as: What is it to be Pentecostal? Are these Pentecostahsms the same? Obvious they are different! What are the theological and practical implications of these teachings for the spirituality of the people? How do these Pentecostal categories or paradigms affect or bear on the doctrinal unity of the Pentecostal Church in Zambia? Apart from the initial evidence debate, this also, I think, constitutes a serious Pentecostal theological challenge. It is a matter for future inquiry. The future of PAOG(Z) now depends on how the PAOG(Z) church addresses itself to these new challenges. Pentecostal scholars should emerge in Zambia to help tackle these challenges. Could it be that, for now, the direction of PAOG(Z) is difficult to ascertain and should therefore be relegated to scholarly curiosity and activity? The paper terminates with recommendations for the leaderships of the Pentecostal Church in their various jurisdictions. Frankly, if these recommendations are seriously engaged, I suppose the Pentecostal Church will continue to be the church to which the people will come to and its future will be guaranteed. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Missiology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in association with Greenwich School of Theology, U.K., 2009

This thesis develops and applies Bayesian model selection and inversion approaches to acoustic seabed scattering and reflectivity data to estimate scattering and geoacoustic parameters with uncertainties, and to discriminate the relative importance of interface and volume scattering mechanisms. Determining seabed scattering mechanisms and parameters is important for reverberation modelling and sonar performance predictions. This thesis shows that remote acoustic sensing can provide efficient estimates of scattering properties and mechanisms with uncertainties, and is well suited for the development of bottom-scattering databases. An important issue in quantitative nonlinear inversion is model selection, i.e., specifying the physical theory, appropriate parameterization, and error statistics which describe the system of interest (acoustic scattering and reflection). The approach developed here uses trans-dimensional (trans-D) Bayesian sampling for both the number of sediment layers and the order (zeroth or first) of auto-regressive parameters in the error model. The scattering and reflection data are inverted simultaneously and the Bayesian sampling is conducted using a population of interacting Markov chains. The data are modelled using homogeneous fluid sediment layers overlying an elastic basement. The scattering model assumes a randomly rough water-sediment interface and random sediment-layer volume heterogeneities with statistically independent von Karman spatial power spectra. A Dirichlet prior distribution that allows the sediment layers and basement to have different numbers of parameters in a trans-D inversion is derived and implemented. The deviance information criterion and trans-D sampling are used to determine the dominant scattering mechanism for a particular data set. The inversion procedure is developed and validated through several simulated test cases, which demonstrate the following. (i) Including reflection data in joint inversion with scattering data improves the resolution and accuracy of scattering and geoacoustic parameters. (ii) The trans-D auto-regressive model improves scattering parameter resolution and correctly differentiates between strongly and weakly correlated residual errors. (iii) Joint scattering/reflection inversion is able to distinguish between interface and volume scattering as the dominant mechanism. %These invert either scattering %data only or scattering and reflection data jointly, assume one of interface scattering, volume scattering, %or volume and interface scattering, and use either fixed- or trans-D auto-regressive sampling. In addition, %the procedure for determining the dominant scattering mechanism is validated on six simulated data set %inversions where it accurately identifies the dominant scattering mechanism in five of the six test cases %(the sixth case is ambiguous). The inversion procedure is applied to data measured at several survey sites on the Malta Plateau (Mediterranean Sea) to estimate {\it in-situ} seabed scattering and geoacoustic parameters with uncertainties. Results are considered in terms of marginal posterior probability distributions and profiles, which quantify the effective data-information content to resolve scattering/ geoacoustic structure. At the first site scattering was assumed ({\it a priori}) to be dominated by interface roughness. The inversion results indicate well-defined roughness parameters in good agreement with existing measurements, and a multi-layer sediment profile over a high-speed (elastic) basement, consistent with independent knowledge of sand layers over limestone. At the second site no assumptions were made about the scattering mechanism. The deviance information criterion indicated volume scattering to be the dominant scattering mechanism. The scattering parameters and geoacoustic profile are well resolved. The parameters and preference for volume scattering are consistent with a core extracted at the site which indicated a sediment layer which included large (0.1 m) stones underlying $\sim$1 m of mud at the seafloor. As a final component of this thesis, a polynomial spline-based parameterization for trans-D geoacoustic inversion is developed for application to sites where sediment gradients (rather than discontinuous layers) dominate. The parameterization is evaluated using data for a third site on the Malta Plateau known to consist of soft mud with smoothly changing geoacoustic properties. The spline parameterization is compared to the standard stack-of-homogeneous-layers parameterization for the inversion of bottom-loss data. Inversion results for both parameterizations are in good agreement with measurements on a sediment core extracted at the site. However, the spline parameterization more accurately resolves the power-law like structure of the core density profile, and represents the preferred model according to the deviance information criterion. / Graduate / 0373 / gavin.amw.steininger@gmail.com

No description available.

No description available.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2006. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Inaug.-diss.--Leipzig. / Vita. "Benutzte quellen": p. 5-6.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka trans- och queerpersoners upplevelser av det professionella bemötandet vid kontakt med socialtjänsten. Av tidigare forskning och rapporter inom området framgår det att HBTQ-personer är en särskilt utsatt grupp i samhället. De drabbas i högre grad än andra av våld, hot om våld och diskriminering. Dessutom tydliggörs det att klienter anser att ett positivt bemötande är viktigt för att utveckla en god och trygg relation till den professionella, samt att intersektionalitet kan användas för analysera olika grader av förtryck och identitetsformering. Även de teoretiska perpektiven intersektionalitet, queerteori och erkännande har tillämpats i studien. Därefter genomfördes sex kvalitativa intervjuer med personer som identifierade sig själva som transpersoner och/eller queerpersoner som i någon utsträckning varit i kontakt med socialtjänsten. I resultatet framgick det att samtliga respondenter i någon grad upplevde brister i bemötandet. Detta visade sig bland annat genom felkönande, oförståelse för respondenternas könsidentitet och okunskap gällande normavvikande könsidentiteter. Dessutom upplevde respondenterna att heteronormen inte var lika förtryckande som cisnormen. De ansåg att de professionella inom socialtjänsten behöver utöka sina kunskaper om HBTQ-personer samt vara mer normkritiska i sitt arbete.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka trans- och queerpersoners upplevelser av det professionella bemötandet vid kontakt med socialtjänsten. Av tidigare forskning och rapporter inom området framgår det att HBTQ-personer är en särskilt utsatt grupp i samhället. De drabbas i högre grad än andra av våld, hot om våld och diskriminering. Dessutom tydliggörs det att klienter anser att ett positivt bemötande är viktigt för att utveckla en god och trygg relation till den professionella, samt att intersektionalitet kan användas för analysera olika grader av förtryck och identitetsformering. Även de teoretiska perpektiven intersektionalitet, queerteori och erkännande har tillämpats i studien. Därefter genomfördes sex kvalitativa intervjuer med personer som identifierade sig själva som transpersoner och/eller queerpersoner som i någon utsträckning varit i kontakt med socialtjänsten. I resultatet framgick det att samtliga respondenter i någon grad upplevde brister i bemötandet. Detta visade sig bland annat genom felkönande, oförståelse för respondenternas könsidentitet och okunskap gällande normavvikande könsidentiteter. Dessutom upplevde respondenterna att heteronormen inte var lika förtryckande som cisnormen. De ansåg att de professionella inom socialtjänsten behöver utöka sina kunskaper om HBTQ-personer samt vara mer normkritiska i sitt arbete.

A obesidade é uma síndrome metabólica complexa de etiologia multifatorial, que afeta um número progressivo de indivíduos. Estudos epidemiológicos confirmam que a síndrome metabólica está relacionada com obesidade abdominal, resistência à insulina, diabetes e outros fatores de risco metabólicos para doenças cardíacas. O tipo de alimentação, em especial os ácidos graxos (AG) consumidos, podem estar relacionados com os distúrbios da obesidade. Os ácidos graxos trans (AG trans) são obtidos pela dieta, em produtos contendo gorduras hidrogenadas e derivados dos animais ruminantes. Estes AG são bem absorvidos pelo organismo, e a composição destes no tecido adiposo (TA) reflete o consumo a longo prazo. Na obesidade, o metabolismo do TA é alterado e o restabelecimento da homeostase energética requer a identificação e regulação de genes envolvidos no metabolismo de lipídeos e carboidratos. Os receptores ativadores da proliferação de peroxissomos (PPARs) estão envolvidos na modulação do metabolismo e são ativados por AG. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram determinar o conteúdo total de AG trans no TA subcutâneo (TAS), retroperitoneal (TAR) e visceral (TAV) de obesos e não obesos submetidos à cirurgia bariátrica ou cirurgia abdominal; analisar o padrão de expressão do PPARb/d e PPARg1-3 nos diferentes depósitos destes TA; e comparar a expressão destes receptores em obesos e não obesos. Os TA foram obtidos por cirurgia. Para quantificar os AG trans, os lipídeos foram extraídos, saponificados e esterificados. Os níveis de AG trans foram medidos por FTIR-ATR. Para quantificar o mRNA, o RNA total foi extraído com TRIzol, foi reverso transcrito e determinado quantitativamente pela reação em cadeia da polimerase (qRT-PR). A média de AG trans em pacientes obesos foi de 6.3% no TAR e 8.7% no TAV. Nos pacientes não obesos, os resultados foram 6.9% no TAS e 9.3% no TAV. Não houve diferença estatística entre os grupos. No entanto, o depósito de AG trans no TAV foi maior nos pacientes obesos mórbidos (P<0.001) e nos não obesos (P<0.05). Por outro lado, a quantidade de mRNA do PPARb/d nos diferentes depósitos de TA de obesos mórbidos mostrou uma diminuição significativa no TAV (p<0.05). No grupo de não obesos, os níveis de PPARb/d foram mais altos no TAS (p<0.05). Os níveis de PPARg1-3 não diferiram estatisticamente entre os depósitos de TA tanto de obesos quanto não obesos. Quando obesos e não obesos foram comparados, os resultados revelaram uma diminuída expressão de PPARb/d no TAS (p=0.058) e TAV (p=0.094) de obesos mórbidos. A expressão de PPARg1-3 foi significantemente aumentada no TAS (p=0.022) e diminuída no TAR (p=0.034) nos obesos mórbidos. A expressão de PPARb/d no TAS e TAV correlacionou negativamente com a medida do quadril e com os níveis de insulina, respectivamente. Os níveis de mRNA PPARg1-3 no TAR correlacionaram negativamente com a medida da cintura e do quadril e no TAV correlacionou positivamente com a medida da cintura. Os valores encontrados de AG trans em todos os TA analisados são maiores do que os reportados em outros países. Nós encontramos maior depósito destes AG no TAV do que nos outros estoques. Os níveis elevados no TAV preocupam devido à alta taxa de lipólise deste tecido e sua forte associação com alterações metabólicas. Os altos níveis de AG trans encontrados refletem, ainda, o alto consumo destes na dieta dos brasileiros. Os resultados da expressão de PPARs demonstram que PPARb/d e PPARg1-3 são quantitativamente diferentes nos depósitos de TA de obesos mórbidos comparados a não obesos e que o padrão de expressão do PPARb/d é característico de cada depósito de TA. Os dados de correlação reforçam a relação destes receptores com a obesidade. / Obesity is a complex metabolic syndrome of multifactorial etiology affecting a progressively increasing number of individuals globally. Epidemiological studies have confirmed that this metabolic syndrome is related to abdominal obesity and insulin resistance, diabetes and other metabolic risk factors for coronary heart disease. The dietary intake, in special intake of specific fatty acids, could be related with the disturbance of obesity. Trans fatty acids (TFAs) are present in solid fats produced by partial hydrogenation of oils, and are naturally found in products originating from ruminants. They are well-absorbed by the body, and long-term intake is reflected in the fatty acid composition of adipose tissue (AT). In obesity, the AT metabolism is altered in obese subjects and the reestablishment of energy homeostasis requires the identification and regulation of genes with altered in lipid and glucose metabolism. The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), are involved in metabolism modulation and presented FA like ligand. The purpose of this study was to determine the total content of TFAs in subcutaneous (SAT), retroperitoneal (RAT) and visceral (VAT) adipose tissue of morbidly obese and non-obese patients submitted to bariatric surgery or abdominal surgery; analysed the expression pattern of PPARb/d and PPARg1-3 in different depots of AT; and, compare mRNA expression of these receptors in morbidly obese and non-obese patients. The Ats were obtained surgery. To quantify the TFAs, lipids were extracted, saponified and esterified. TFA were measured by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. To measure the mRNA, total RNAs were extracted using TRIzol, and PPARs reverse transcripts were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The TFA average in obese patients was 6.3% for RAT and 8.7% for VAT. For non-obese patients, the figures were 6.9% SAT and 9.3% VAT. There was no difference between the groups. However, the TFA depot in VAT was higher than other fatty tissues for morbidly obese (P<0.001) and non-obese (P<0.05) patients. The amounts of PPARb/d mRNA in different depots of morbidly obese AT showed a significant decrease in VAT (p<0.05). In the non-obese group, the level of PPARb/d was higher in SAT (p<0.05). The levels of PPARg1-3 was not differentially expressed in obese and non-obese depots. When comparing obese and non-obese, the results revealed a decrease in PPARb/d expression in SAT (p=0.058) and VAT (p=0.094) of the morbidly obese. PPARg1-3 mRNA expression was increased significantly in SAT (p=0.022) and decreased in RAT (p=0.034) in morbidly obese subjects. PPARb/d expression in SAT and VAT correlated negatively with hip size and insulin serum respectively. PPARg1-3 expression in RAT correlated negatively with waist and hip size and in VAT correlated positively with waist size. Our values for TFA content in all adipose tissues analyzed are higher than reported in other countries. We showed more TFA in VAT than in other abdominal fat. The VAT level is worrisome because the higher rate of lipolysis in this tissue appears to be an important indicator of metabolic alterations. The levels of TFA found in AT presumably reflect the higher dietary intake of TFA by Brazilians. In PPARS expression the results demonstrates that PPARb/d and PPARg1-3 mRNAs are quantitatively different in AT of morbidly obese individuals compared to non-obese and that PPARb/d mRNA levels are characteristic for each AT depot. Correlation data stregthen the relationship with this receptors and obesity.