Early Childhood Education of the African Child in the Diaspora--The Missing Link.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nwosu, Oriaku

"Africans in the Diaspora" refers to peoples of African origin dispersed throughout South America, the Caribbean, and North America as a result of the Atlantic slave trade carried out by European nations from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. The paper first provides an historical overview of the Diaspora. It then discusses…

Africans Away from Home.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, John Henrik

Africans who were brought across the Atlantic as slaves never fully adjusted to slavery or accepted its inevitability. Resistance began on board the slave ships, where many jumped overboard or committed suicide. African slaves in South America led the first revolts against tyranny in the New World. The first slave revolt in the Caribbean occurred…

[Antonio de Saldanha da Gama's proposals to improve the slave trade "for humanitarian and economic reasons," Rio de Janeiro, 1810].

PubMed

Viotti, Ana Carolina de Carvalho

2016-01-01

In 1808, Dom João VI issued an edict which regulated the shipping and treatment of slaves on the transatlantic crossing from Africa. Two years later, Antonio de Saldanha da Gama, a member of the Treasury Council, drafted a letter discussing some points of the resolution. This key figure in the Portuguese administration of Brazil argued that his respectful considerations concerning the determinations of His Royal Highness were designed to improve them "for humanitarian and economic reasons." Safeguarded in the archives of Arquivo Histórico Ultramarino, this letter is transcribed, annotated, and contextualized here, supplying an interesting perspective on the prevailing concerns and justifications about the trafficking of African slaves to Brazil.

The slavery hypothesis for hypertension among African Americans: the historical evidence.

PubMed Central

Curtin, P D

1992-01-01

The slavery hypothesis for hypertension has stated that the high blood pressures sometimes measured in African Americans are caused by one or more of these conditions: first, salt deficiency in the parts of Africa that supplied slaves for the Americas; second, the trauma of the slave trade itself; third, conditions of slavery in the United States. A review of the historical evidence shows that there was no salt deficiency in those parts of Africa, nor do present-day West Africans have a high incidence of hypertension. Historical evidence does not support the hypothesis that deaths aboard slave ships were caused mainly by conditions that might be conductive to hypertension, such as salt-depleting diseases. Finally, the hypothesis has depended heavily on evidence from the West Indies, which is not relevant for the United States. There is no evidence that diet or the resulting patterns of disease and demography among slaves in the American South were significantly different from those of other poor southerners. Images p1682-a p1684-a PMID:1456349

Bight of Benin: a Maternal Perspective of Four Beninese Populations and their Genetic Implications on the American Populations of African Ancestry.

PubMed

Primativo, Giuseppina; Ottoni, Claudio; Biondi, Gianfranco; Serafino, Sara; Martínez-Labarga, Cristina; Larmuseau, Maarten H D; Scardi, Michele; Decorte, Ronny; Rickards, Olga

2017-03-01

The understanding of the first movements of the ancestral populations within the African continent is still unclear, particularly in West Africa, due to several factors that have shaped the African genetic pool across time. To improve the genetic representativeness of the Beninese population and to better understand the patterns of human settlement inside West Africa and the dynamics of peopling of the Democratic Republic of Benin, we analyzed the maternal genetic variation of 193 Beninese individuals belonging to Bariba, Berba, Dendi, and Fon populations. Results support the oral traditions indicating that the western neighbouring populations have been the ancestors of the first Beninese populations, and the extant genetic structure of the Beninese populations is most likely the result of admixture between populations from neighbouring countries and native people. The present findings highlight how the Beninese populations contributed to the gene pool of the extant populations of some American populations of African ancestry. This strengthens the hypothesis that the Bight of Benin was not only an assembly point for the slave trade during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade but also an important slave trapping area. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/University College London.

Child slaves and freemen at the Spiritan Mission in Soyo, 1880-1885.

PubMed

Vos, Jelmer

2010-01-01

Catholic missionaries in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Africa more commonly than Protestants purchased slaves to build their mission stations. This article provides a micro-historical analysis of the redemption of child slaves by the Holy Ghost Fathers in Soyo, West Central Africa, in the years immediately preceding the colonial partition of Africa. It argues that the Spiritan missionaries liberated slaves for instrumental rather than humanitarian reasons. As local freemen were difficult to control, the mission depended for its growth on the import of slave children. Furthermore, since the missionaries operated on the same markets and paid the same prices for slaves as regular buyers, their purchasing practices showed a strong resemblance with ordinary slave trading.

Historical determinants of contemporary attributes of African descendants in the Americas: the androgen receptor holds the key.

PubMed

Aiken, W D

2011-12-01

It is hypothesised that seemingly disparate and unrelated phenomena clustering in persons of African descent living in the Americas such as outstanding sprinting ability and high prostate cancer incidence and mortality are in fact related and emerge from enhanced testosterone responsiveness in descendants of African slaves surviving the transatlantic trade in Africans. It is postulated that the ability to have survived the middle passage was positively correlated with greater responsiveness of the androgen receptor to its primary ligands dihydrotestosterone and testosterone, and that slaves possessing more responsive androgen receptors experienced a survival advantage engendered by the enhanced anabolic effects which accrued such as increased red cell mass and therefore greater oxygen carrying capacity and tissue oxygen delivery enabling these slaves to tolerate stifling conditions in the hull of the slave ship, increased lean muscle mass and therefore greater surface area to volume ratio resulting in easier ability to dissipate heat and remain cool, and increased skin thickness and sebum production resisting the macerating effect of lying in admixed bodily fluids below deck. These androgen effects as well as others would have produced a survival advantage under the severe selection pressure created by the inhumane and physiologically challenging circumstances under which the slaves were transported from the interior of the African continent and West Africa to the 'New World'. This would result in a population shift favouring increased androgen receptor responsiveness in descendants of African slaves populating the Americas and a corresponding geographic and racial distribution of androgen related phenomena such as sprinting prowess and prostate cancer. African-Americans having the highest prostate cancer incidence rate and the Caribbean having the highest prostate cancer mortality rates in the world are consistent with this hypothesis as is the observation that

A Founder Mutation in LEPRE1 Carried by 1.5% of West Africans and 0.4% of African Americans Causes Lethal Recessive Osteogenesis Imperfecta

PubMed Central

Cabral, Wayne A.; Barnes, Aileen M.; Adeyemo, Adebowale; Cushing, Kelly; Chitayat, David; Porter, Forbes D.; Panny, Susan R.; Gulamali-Majid, Fizza; Tishkoff, Sarah A.; Rebbeck, Timothy R.; Gueye, Serigne M.; Bailey-Wilson, Joan E.; Brody, Lawrence C.; Rotimi, Charles N.; Marini, Joan C.

2012-01-01

Purpose Deficiency of prolyl 3-hydroxylase 1, encoded by LEPRE1, causes recessive osteogenesis imperfecta. We previously identified a LEPRE1 mutation, exclusively in African Americans and contemporary West Africans. We hypothesized that this allele originated in West Africa and was introduced to the Americas with the Atlantic slave trade. We aimed to determine the frequency of carriers for this mutation among African Americans and West Africans, and the mutation origin and age. Methods Genomic DNA was screened for the mutation using PCR and restriction digestion, and a custom TaqMan genomic SNP assay. The mutation age was estimated using microsatellites and short tandem repeats spanning 4.2 Mb surrounding LEPRE1 in probands and carriers. Results Approximately 0.4% of Mid-Atlantic African Americans carry this mutation, estimating recessive OI in 1/260,000 births in this population. In Nigeria and Ghana, 1.48% of unrelated individuals are heterozygous carriers, predicting 1/18,260 births will be affected with recessive OI, equal to the incidence of de novo dominant OI. The mutation was not detected in Africans from surrounding countries. All carriers shared a haplotype of 63-770 Kb, consistent with a single founder for this mutation. Using linkage disequilibrium analysis, the mutation was estimated to have originated between 650 and 900 years before present (1100-1350 C.E.). Conclusions We identified a West African founder mutation for recessive OI in LEPRE1. Nearly 1.5% of Ghanians and Nigerians are carriers. The age of this allele is consistent with introduction to North America via the Atlantic slave trade (1501 – 1867 C.E). PMID:22281939

Mortality in the slave and white populations of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, 1850.

PubMed Central

René, A. A.; Daniels, D. E.; Jones, W.; Moore, F. I.

1992-01-01

A review of mortality from the 1850 census mortality schedules of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana has provided a snapshot of the health conditions of African-American slaves. The cause of death was abstracted from the mortality schedule and categorized according to the ninth revision of the Manual of the International Classification of Diseases. Children under the age of 9 accounted for 44% of the total mortality. Sixty-four percent of all deaths recorded occurred in the slave population. Sixty-two percent of the slave deaths occurred in the male population. Leading causes of death were helminthiasis, whooping cough, fever, cholera, and pneumonia. Reports of mortality due to Cachexia Africana (dirt eating) among slaves are discussed. PMID:1404481

[The healthcare system for slaves in nineteenth-century Brazil: disease, institutions, and treatment practices].

PubMed

Pôrto, Angela

2006-01-01

Although the nineteenth century saw numerous attempts to deter the slave trade, it was also the period when Brazil imported the greatest number of slaves in its history. The conditions under which slaves were transported, worked, and lived were largely responsible for their state of health. Yet this topic barely makes an appearance in the field of history, and many disputed points remain to be settled. My research cross-references sources and topics in order to gather data on the hygienic lives of nineteenth-century slaves. By analyzing archival documents from hospitals, notary public offices, and church bodies, iconographic sources, and the medical literature, I have retrieved information that can be used towards writing a history of the healthcare system available to slaves.

Discriminatory abilities of facultative slave-making ants and their slaves.

PubMed

Włodarczyk, T

2016-01-01

Intra-colony odor variability can disturb ants' ability to discriminate against intruders. The evolutionary relevance of this phenomenon can be revealed by studies on colonies of slave-making ants in which the parasite, and not the host, is subject to selection pressures associated with living in a mixed colony. We examined how the European facultative slave-making species Formica sanguinea and its F. fusca slaves perform in discriminating ants from alien colonies. Results of behavioral assays showed that slave-maker ants respond with hostility to conspecific individuals from alien colonies but are relatively tolerant to alien slaves. Furthermore, the behavior of slaves indicated a limited ability to discriminate ants from alien parasitic colonies. The subdivision of colony fragments into mixed and species-separated groups demonstrated that contact with the parasite is necessary for F. fusca slaves to be re-accepted by former nestmates after a period of separation from the stock colony. The results presented in this paper are consistent with the following hypotheses: (1) F. sanguinea ants, as opposed to their slaves, are adapted to discriminate alien individuals in the conditions of odor variability found in a mixed-species colony, (2) the recognition of slaves by F. sanguinea ants involves a dedicated adaptive mechanism that prevents aggression toward them, (3) the odor of slaves is strongly influenced by the parasite with beneficial effect on the colony integrity.

Kongo: A Kingdom Divided. A Unit of Study for Grades 7-11.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Roark, Ernest L.; Wood, Eileen E.

This unit uses a case study of the Kingdom of the Kongo (Congo) to answer questions about the trans-Atlantic slave trade from an African perspective. The unit is appropriate for use in any study of the history of sub-Saharan Africa. Because it focuses on the African perspective of events surrounding the slave trade, it supports in-depth studies of…

Consequences of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on medicinal plant selection: plant use for cultural bound syndromes affecting children in Suriname and Western Africa.

PubMed

Vossen, Tessa; Towns, Alexandra; Ruysschaert, Sofie; Quiroz, Diana; van Andel, Tinde

2014-01-01

Folk perceptions of health and illness include cultural bound syndromes (CBS), ailments generally confined to certain cultural groups or geographic regions and often treated with medicinal plants. Our aim was to compare definitions and plant use for CBS regarding child health in the context of the largest migration in recent human history: the trans-Atlantic slave trade. We compared definitions of four CBS (walk early, evil eye, atita and fontanels) and associated plant use among three Afro-Surinamese populations and their African ancestor groups in Ghana, Bénin and Gabon. We expected plant use to be similar on species level, and assumed the majority to be weedy or domesticated species, as these occur on both continents and were probably recognized by enslaved Africans. Data were obtained by identifying plants mentioned during interviews with local women from the six different populations. To analyse differences and similarities in plant use we used Detrended Component Analysis (DCA) and a Wald Chi-square test. Definitions of the four cultural bound syndromes were roughly the same on both continents. In total, 324 plant species were used. There was little overlap between Suriname and Africa: 15 species were used on two continents, of which seven species were used for the same CBS. Correspondence on family level was much higher. Surinamese populations used significantly more weedy species than Africans, but equal percentages of domesticated plants. Our data indicate that Afro-Surinamers have searched for similar plants to treat their CBS as they remembered from Africa. In some cases, they have found the same species, but they had to reinvent the largest part of their herbal pharmacopeia to treat their CBS using known plant families or trying out new species. Ideas on health and illness appear to be more resilient than the use of plants to treat them.

Gender Issues and the Slave Narratives: "Incidents in the Life" and "Narrative of the Life" Compared.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeGout, Yasmin Y.

The differences between early African American narratives written by women and those written by men can be seen in a comparison of Harriet A. Jacobs's "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself" and Frederick Douglass's "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave." A comparison of these works…

MANIPULATOR FOR SLAVE ROBOT

DOEpatents

Goertz, R.C.; Grimson, J.H.; Kohut, F.A.

1961-04-01

A remote-control manipulator comprising two stationary master units, two slave units on a movable vehicle, and electrical connections between the master and slave units is reported. The slave units are side by side with a minimum over-all width, which is made feasible by an arrangement of transducers producing most movements of each slave unit to one side of the support of said slave unit.

African gene flow to north Brazil as revealed by HBB*S gene haplotype analysis.

PubMed

Lemos Cardoso, Greice; Farias Guerreiro, João

2006-01-01

Haplotypes linked to the HBB*S gene were analyzed in a sample of 260 chromosomes of Brazilian sickle cell anemia patients from the population of Belém, state of Pará, to evaluate if the present-day haplotype frequencies correlate as well as expected with historical information on the geographic origin of African slaves sent directly to Northern Brazil. The HBB*S gene haplotype distribution (66% Bantu, 21.8% Benin, 10.9% Senegal, and 1.3% Cameroon) is in agreement with those observed for other Brazilian populations regarding the highest proportion of the Bantu type, followed by the Benin type, but it differs significantly concerning the Senegal type as this haplotype is rare or absent in samples from other Brazilian regions already studied. In addition, our results are in accordance with historical records that establish that about 90% of the slaves sent to Northern Brazil were from Angola, Congo, and Mozambique, where the Bantu haplotype predominates, in contrast to 10% of slaves from Senegambia, Guine-Bissau, and Cape Verde, where the Senegal haplotype is the most common. On the other hand, the observed frequency of the Benin haplotype in Belém was much higher than that expected by historical data. This fact corroborates the suggestion that the high prevalence of the Benin type in Belém is due to domestic slave trade and later internal migrations, mainly from the Northeast, since there are no historical records of direct slave trade from Central West Africa to North Brazil. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 18:93-98, 2006. (c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Genetic Diversity of the Hepatitis B Virus Strains in Cuba: Absence of West-African Genotypes despite the Transatlantic Slave Trade

PubMed Central

Rodríguez Lay, Licel A.; Corredor, Marité B.; Villalba, Maria C.; Frómeta, Susel S.; Wong, Meilin S.; Valdes, Lidunka; Samada, Marcia; Sausy, Aurélie; Hübschen, Judith M.; Muller, Claude P.

2015-01-01

Cuba is an HBsAg low-prevalence country with a high coverage of anti-hepatitis B vaccine. Its population is essentially the result of the population mix of Spanish descendants and former African slaves. Information about genetic characteristics of hepatitis B virus (HBV) strains circulating in the country is scarce. The HBV genotypes/subgenotypes, serotypes, mixed infections, and S gene mutations of 172 Cuban HBsAg and HBV-DNA positive patients were determined by direct sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. Phylogenetic analysis of HBV S gene sequences showed a predominance of genotype A (92.4%), subgenotype A2 (84.9%) and A1 (7.6%). Genotype D (7.0%) and subgenotype C1 (0.6%) were also detected but typical (sub)genotypes of contemporary West-Africa (E, A3) were conspicuously absent. All genotype A, D, and C strains exhibited sequence characteristics of the adw2, ayw2, and adrq serotypes, respectively. Thirty-three (19.1%) patients showed single, double, or multiple point mutations inside the Major Hydrophilic domain associated with vaccine escape; eighteen (10.5%) patients had mutations in the T-cell epitope (amino acids 28-51), and there were another 111 point mutations downstream of the S gene. One patient had an HBV A1/A2 mixed infection. This first genetic study of Cuban HBV viruses revealed only strains that were interspersed with strains from particularly Europe, America, and Asia. The absence of genotype E supports previous hypotheses about an only recent introduction of this genotype into the general population in Africa. The presence of well-known vaccine escape (3.5%) and viral resistance mutants (2.9%) warrants strain surveillance to guide vaccination and treatment strategies. PMID:25978398

Questionnaire survey of the pan-African trade in lion body parts

PubMed Central

Loveridge, Andrew J.; Newton, David J.; Macdonald, David W.

2017-01-01

The African lion is in decline across its range, and consumptive utilisation and trade of their body parts and skins has been postulated as a cause for concern. We undertook a pan-African questionnaire and literature survey to document informed opinion and evidence for the occurrence of domestic and international trade and consumption in African lion body parts across current and former range states. Sixty-five people from 18 countries participated in the online questionnaire survey (run from July 2014 to May 2015), with information provided for 28 countries (including 20 out of 24 countries believed to have extant populations). Respondents were experts within their professional spheres, and 77% had ≥6 years relevant experience within lion conservation or allied wildlife matters. Their opinions revealed wide sub-regional differences in consumptive use, drivers of trade, and access to lions that impact wild lion populations in different ways. Traditional medicine practices (African and Asian) were perceived to be the main uses to which lion body parts and bones are put domestically and traded internationally, and there is reason for concern about persistent imports from former lion range states (mainly in West Africa) for parts for this purpose. The domestic, rather than international, trade in lion body parts was perceived to be a bigger threat to wild lion populations. Parts such as skin, claws, teeth and bones are thought to be in most demand across the continent. The impact of international trade on wild populations was acknowledged to be largely unknown, but occasionally was judged to be ‘high’, and therefore vigilance is needed to monitor emerging detrimental impacts. Seventeen countries were nominated as priorities for immediate monitoring, including: South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Reasons for their selection include: prevalence of trophy hunting, ‘hot spots’ for poaching, active

Questionnaire survey of the pan-African trade in lion body parts.

PubMed

Williams, Vivienne L; Loveridge, Andrew J; Newton, David J; Macdonald, David W

2017-01-01

The African lion is in decline across its range, and consumptive utilisation and trade of their body parts and skins has been postulated as a cause for concern. We undertook a pan-African questionnaire and literature survey to document informed opinion and evidence for the occurrence of domestic and international trade and consumption in African lion body parts across current and former range states. Sixty-five people from 18 countries participated in the online questionnaire survey (run from July 2014 to May 2015), with information provided for 28 countries (including 20 out of 24 countries believed to have extant populations). Respondents were experts within their professional spheres, and 77% had ≥6 years relevant experience within lion conservation or allied wildlife matters. Their opinions revealed wide sub-regional differences in consumptive use, drivers of trade, and access to lions that impact wild lion populations in different ways. Traditional medicine practices (African and Asian) were perceived to be the main uses to which lion body parts and bones are put domestically and traded internationally, and there is reason for concern about persistent imports from former lion range states (mainly in West Africa) for parts for this purpose. The domestic, rather than international, trade in lion body parts was perceived to be a bigger threat to wild lion populations. Parts such as skin, claws, teeth and bones are thought to be in most demand across the continent. The impact of international trade on wild populations was acknowledged to be largely unknown, but occasionally was judged to be 'high', and therefore vigilance is needed to monitor emerging detrimental impacts. Seventeen countries were nominated as priorities for immediate monitoring, including: South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Cameroon. Reasons for their selection include: prevalence of trophy hunting, 'hot spots' for poaching, active domestic trade

Africans in America.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart, Ayanna; Spangler, Earl

This book introduces African-American history and culture to children. The first Africans in America came from many different regions and cultures, but became united in this country by being black, African, and slaves. Once in America, Africans began a long struggle for freedom which still continues. Slavery, the Civil War, emancipation, and the…

Bus-Programmable Slave Card

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, William A.

1990-01-01

Slave microprocessors in multimicroprocessor computing system contains modified circuit cards programmed via bus connecting master processor with slave microprocessors. Enables interactive, microprocessor-based, single-loop control. Confers ability to load and run program from master/slave bus, without need for microprocessor development station. Tristate buffers latch all data and information on status. Slave central processing unit never connected directly to bus.

The hepatitis delta genotype 8 in Northeast Brazil: The North Atlantic slave trade as the potential route for infection.

PubMed

Santos, Max Diego Cruz; Gomes-Gouvêa, Michele Soares; Nunes, Jomar Diogo Costa; Barros, Lena Maria Fonseca; Carrilho, Flair José; Ferreira, Adalgisa de Sousa Paiva; Pinho, João Renato Rebello

2016-09-15

Hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) is not well known, even though HDV and Hepatitis B virus (HBV) co-infection leads to severe forms of acute and chronic liver diseases. HDV is endemic in the Western Amazon region. Recently, the HDV genotype 8 was found in chronic patients followed at the center for liver studies in the Northeast Brazil, Maranhão. Previous studies suggested that this genotype was introduced in Maranhão during the slave trade. The presence of HDV in that study, which was done outside the Amazon region, led us to investigate whether the virus is found infecting individuals in other regions of Maranhão as well. Thus, we screened ninety-two HBsAg positive individuals from five Municipalities of Maranhão for anti-HD antibody and eight were found positive (8.7%). These eight positive individuals were submitted to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to investigate active HDV infection. Half of them were positive for a fragment sequence of the delta antigen; their sequence samples were submitted to genotype characterization by phylogenetic analysis. All sequences clustered in a unique branch of the tree separated from the other branch described in Africa. Our study confirmed the presence of HDV-8 in Maranhão. These infected individuals had no evidence of contact with African people. Furthermore, we found individuals infected with HDV-8 in two more different municipalities. More studies like ours are urgent because the co-infection HBV/HDV is more difficult to treat. Identification of the endemic regions and implementation of healthy policies for preventing this infection are urgent in this region. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Workers' Education--Seen by an African Trade Unionist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Labour Education, 1982

1982-01-01

The Secretary-General of the Organization of African Trade Union Unity gives a broad overview of workers' education activities conducted by that union, describes the activities, and discusses how the activities differ in concept and content from such activities in other parts of the world. (CT)

Improved electromechanical master-slave manipulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forster, G.; Goertz, R.; Grimson, J.; Mingesz, D.; Potts, C.

1968-01-01

Electric master-slave manipulator uses force multiplication and allows the operator to remotely control the slave arm. Both the master and slave arms execute seven distinct motions by a specially designed force-reflecting servo having a one to one correspondence between the motion at the master and slave.

Hepatitis Delta virus genotype 8 infection in Northeast Brazil: inheritance from African slaves?

PubMed

Barros, L M F; Gomes-Gouvêa, M S; Pinho, J R R; Alvarado-Mora, M V; Dos Santos, A; Mendes-Corrêa, M C J; Caldas, A J M; Sousa, M T; Santos, M D C; Ferreira, A S P

2011-09-01

Hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) is endemic worldwide, but its prevalence varies in different geographical areas. While in the Brazilian Amazon, HDV is known to be endemic and to represent a significant public health problem, few studies have assessed its prevalence in other regions in the country. This study evaluated the seroprevalence of HDV among HBsAg chronic carriers from Maranhão state, a region located in the Northeast of Brazil. Among 133 patients, 5 had anti-HD, of whom 3 had HDV RNA. HDV genotypes were characterized by Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of nucleotide sequences from the HDAg coding region. HDV-3 was identified in one patient who lives in Maranhão, but was born in Amazonas state (Western Amazon basin). Phylogenetic analysis shows that this HDV-3 sequence grouped with other HDV-3 sequences isolated in this state, which suggests that the patient probably contracted HDV infection there. Surprisingly, the other two patients were infected with HDV-8, an African genotype. These patients were born and have always lived in Urbano Santos, a rural county of Maranhão state, moreover they had never been to Africa and denied any contact with people from that continent. This is the first description of the HDV-8 in non-native African populations. This genotype may have been introduced to Brazil through the slaves brought to the country from the West Africa regions during the 16-18th centuries. Our results indicate that the need of clinical and epidemiological studies to investigate the presence of this infection in other areas in Brazil. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Master/Programmable-Slave Computer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smaistrla, David; Hall, William A.

1990-01-01

Unique modular computer features compactness, low power, mass storage of data, multiprocessing, and choice of various input/output modes. Master processor communicates with user via usual keyboard and video display terminal. Coordinates operations of as many as 24 slave processors, each dedicated to different experiment. Each slave circuit card includes slave microprocessor and assortment of input/output circuits for communication with external equipment, with master processor, and with other slave processors. Adaptable to industrial process control with selectable degrees of automatic control, automatic and/or manual monitoring, and manual intervention.

Blacks in Crimson and Blue: The Educational Experiences of Ex-Slaves at the University of Kansas from the 1870s-1920s

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Donna M.

2013-01-01

At a time when most other institutions of higher education in the country excluded ex-slaves from admission, the University of Kansas conferred degrees upon sixty African Americans by 1910. However, while the university did allow ex-slaves to matriculate, these students still experienced a degree of exclusion and encountered barriers of racial…

VEHICLE FOR SLAVE ROBOT

DOEpatents

Goertz, R.C.; Lindberg, J.F.

1962-01-30

A reeling device is designed for an electrical cable supplying power to the slave slde of a remote control manipulator mounted on a movable vehicle. As the vehicle carries the slave side about in a closed room, the device reels the cable in and out to maintain a variable length of the cable between the vehicle and a cable inlet in the wall of the room. The device also handles a fixed length of cable between the slave side and the vehicle, in spite of angular movement of the slave side with respect to the vehicle. (AEC)

Teaching African-American Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horton, Harold

1994-01-01

Examines the historical blighting of African-American slaves' minds, which stripped them of their African culture. Examines the effect on African-American children, as well as other children of color. Offers suggestions for coping with the problems of modern schools in terms of respecting and teaching these children that the system is the problem,…

Enslaved Africans and doctors in South Carolina.

PubMed

Goodson, Martia Graham

2003-03-01

This interpretation of the relationship between enslavement and American medicine in 19th century South Carolina reveals the intimacy that existed between Africans enslaved in that state and the doctors who practiced and taught there. Enslaved Africans were resourceful and reliable medical figures in the slave community. Their knowledge of medical botany permeated the slave quarters and plantation hospitals and was appropriated into southern medical knowledge. The trajectories of the careers of three South Carolina physicians are tied to their practice around and on the enslaved. The beginnings of gynecological surgery are linked to 1840s experimentation on enslaved African women performed by one of them.

FASTBUS Slaves: a designers view

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Downing, R.W.

1981-10-01

Although FASTBUS has features built into it which allow complex interconnections and multiple Masters, the rules for implementing Slaves are very simple. The first time designer of Slave Modules should not be intimidated by the 200 pages of the FASTBUS document. About 90% of the specification is associated with system implications that do not impact Slave design. This paper will review the basic logic and timing requirements for FASTBUS Slave design. Also, some examples of implementation will be shown. The discussion which follows assumes that mastership of the bus has been gained. Bus arbitration, system interconnection, message routing, etc. aremore » separate topics and will not be discussed here. These topics affect only the design of devices which operate at the system level since FASTBUS Slave modules have been specified to be completely transparent to these system considerations.« less

Master-slave micromanipulator apparatus

DOEpatents

Morimoto, A.K.; Kozlowski, D.M.; Charles, S.T.; Spalding, J.A.

1999-08-31

An apparatus is disclosed based on precision X-Y stages that are stacked. Attached to arms projecting from each X-Y stage are a set of two axis gimbals. Attached to the gimbals is a rod, which provides motion along the axis of the rod and rotation around its axis. A dual-planar apparatus that provides six degrees of freedom of motion precise to within microns of motion. Precision linear stages along with precision linear motors, encoders, and controls provide a robotics system. The motors can be positioned in a remote location by incorporating a set of bellows on the motors and can be connected through a computer controller that will allow one to be a master and the other one to be a slave. Position information from the master can be used to control the slave. Forces of interaction of the slave with its environment can be reflected back to the motor control of the master to provide a sense of force sensed by the slave. Forces import onto the master by the operator can be fed back into the control of the slave to reduce the forces required to move it. 12 figs.

Master-slave micromanipulator method

DOEpatents

Morimoto, Alan K.; Kozlowski, David M.; Charles, Steven T.; Spalding, James A.

1999-01-01

A method based on precision X-Y stages that are stacked. Attached to arms projecting from each X-Y stage are a set of two axis gimbals. Attached to the gimbals is a rod, which provides motion along the axis of the rod and rotation around its axis. A dual-planar apparatus that provides six degrees of freedom of motion precise to within microns of motion. Precision linear stages along with precision linear motors, encoders, and controls provide a robotics system. The motors can be remotized by incorporating a set of bellows on the motors and can be connected through a computer controller that will allow one to be a master and the other one to be a slave. Position information from the master can be used to control the slave. Forces of interaction of the slave with its environment can be reflected back to the motor control of the master to provide a sense of force sensed by the slave. Forces import onto the master by the operator can be fed back into the control of the slave to reduce the forces required to move it.

Master-slave micromanipulator apparatus

DOEpatents

Morimoto, Alan K.; Kozlowski, David M.; Charles, Steven T.; Spalding, James A.

1999-01-01

An apparatus based on precision X-Y stages that are stacked. Attached to arms projecting from each X-Y stage are a set of two axis gimbals. Attached to the gimbals is a rod, which provides motion along the axis of the rod and rotation around its axis. A dual-planar apparatus that provides six degrees of freedom of motion precise to within microns of motion. Precision linear stages along with precision linear motors, encoders, and controls provide a robotics system. The motors can be positioned in a remote location by incorporating a set of bellows on the motors and can be connected through a computer controller that will allow one to be a master and the other one to be a slave. Position information from the master can be used to control the slave. Forces of interaction of the slave with its environment can be reflected back to the motor control of the master to provide a sense of force sensed by the slave. Forces import onto the master by the operator can be fed back into the control of the slave to reduce the forces required to move it.

Dissecting the within-Africa ancestry of populations of African descent in the Americas.

PubMed

Stefflova, Klara; Dulik, Matthew C; Barnholtz-Sloan, Jill S; Pai, Athma A; Walker, Amy H; Rebbeck, Timothy R

2011-01-06

The ancestry of African-descended Americans is known to be drawn from three distinct populations: African, European, and Native American. While many studies consider this continental admixture, few account for the genetically distinct sources of ancestry within Africa--the continent with the highest genetic variation. Here, we dissect the within-Africa genetic ancestry of various populations of the Americas self-identified as having primarily African ancestry using uniparentally inherited mitochondrial DNA. We first confirmed that our results obtained using uniparentally-derived group admixture estimates are correlated with the average autosomal-derived individual admixture estimates (hence are relevant to genomic ancestry) by assessing continental admixture using both types of markers (mtDNA and Y-chromosome vs. ancestry informative markers). We then focused on the within-Africa maternal ancestry, mining our comprehensive database of published mtDNA variation (∼5800 individuals from 143 African populations) that helped us thoroughly dissect the African mtDNA pool. Using this well-defined African mtDNA variation, we quantified the relative contributions of maternal genetic ancestry from multiple W/WC/SW/SE (West to South East) African populations to the different pools of today's African-descended Americans of North and South America and the Caribbean. Our analysis revealed that both continental admixture and within-Africa admixture may be critical to achieving an adequate understanding of the ancestry of African-descended Americans. While continental ancestry reflects gender-specific admixture processes influenced by different socio-historical practices in the Americas, the within-Africa maternal ancestry reflects the diverse colonial histories of the slave trade. We have confirmed that there is a genetic thread connecting Africa and the Americas, where each colonial system supplied their colonies in the Americas with slaves from African colonies they controlled

Legal ivory trade in a corrupt world and its impact on African elephant populations.

PubMed

Bennett, Elizabeth L

2015-02-01

Illegal hunting of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) for ivory is causing rapid declines in their populations. Since 2007, illegal ivory trade has more than doubled. African elephants are facing the most serious conservation crisis since 1989, when international trade was banned. One solution proposed is establishment of a controlled legal trade in ivory. High prices for ivory mean that the incentives to obtain large quantities are high, but the quantity of tusks available for trade are biologically constrained. Within that context, effective management of a legal ivory trade would require robust systems to be in place to ensure that ivory from illegally killed elephants cannot be laundered into a legal market. At present, that is not feasible due to corruption among government officials charged with implementing wildlife-related legislation. With organized criminal enterprises involved along the whole commodity chain, corruption enables the laundering of illegal ivory into legal or potentially legal markets. Poachers and traffickers can rapidly pay their way out of trouble, so the financial incentives to break the law heavily outweigh those of abiding by it. Maintaining reliable permitting systems and leak-proof chains of custody in this context is challenging, and effective management breaks down. Once illegal ivory has entered the legal trade, it is difficult or impossible for enforcement officers to know what is legal and illegal. Addressing corruption throughout a trade network that permeates countries across the globe will take decades, if it can ever be achieved. That will be too late for wild African elephants at current rates of loss. If we are to conserve remaining wild populations, we must close all markets because, under current levels of corruption, they cannot be controlled in a way that does not provide opportunities for illegal ivory being laundered into legal markets. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

The Slave Narrative: An Image of Excellence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malden, Cynthia L.

Through the narratives of North American slaves a vivid picture of their lives, struggles, hopes, and aspirations emerges. The slave narrative arose as a response to, and a refutation of, claims that blacks could not write. Slave writings were often direct extensions of speech. Through a process of imitation and repetition, the black slave's…

Y-chromosome R-M343 African Lineages and Sickle Cell Disease reveal structured assimilation in Lebanon

PubMed Central

Haber, Marc; Platt, Daniel E; Khoury, Simon; Badro, Danielle A; Abboud, Miguel; Smith, Chris Tyler; Zalloua, Pierre A

2012-01-01

We have sought to identify signals of assimilation of African male lines in Lebanon by exploring the association of sickle cell disease in Lebanon with Y-chromosome haplogroups that are informative of the disease origin and its exclusivity to the Muslim community. A total of 732 samples were analyzed including 33 sickle cell disease patients from Lebanon genotyped for 28 binary markers and 19 short tandem repeats on the non-recombinant segment of the Y chromosome. Genetic organization was identified using populations known to have influenced the genetic structure of the Lebanese population, in addition to African populations with high incidence of sickle cell disease. Y-chromosome haplogroup R-M343 sub-lineages distinguish between sub-Saharan African and Lebanese Y chromosomes. We detected a limited penetration of sickle cell disease into Lebanese R-M343 carriers, restricted to Lebanese Muslims. We suggest that this penetration brought the sickle cell gene along with the African R-M343, probably with the Saharan caravan slave trade. PMID:20981037

The Trade in African Medicinal Plants in Matonge-Ixelles, Brussels (Belgium).

PubMed

van Andel, Tinde; Fundiko, Marie-Cakupewa C

Maintaining cultural identity and preference to treat cultural bound ailments with herbal medicine are motivations for migrants to continue using medicinal plants from their home country after moving to Europe and the USA. As it is generally easier to import exotic food than herbal medicine, migrants often shift to using species that double as food and medicine. This paper focuses on the trade in African medicinal plants in a Congolese neighborhood in Brussels (Belgium). What African medicinal plants are sold in Matonge, where do they come from, and to which extent are they food medicines? Does vendor ethnicity influence the diversity of the herbal medicine sold? We hypothesized that most medicinal plants, traders, and clients in Matonge were of Congolese origin, most plants used medicinally were mainly food crops and that culture-bound illnesses played a prominent role in medicinal plant use. We carried out a market survey in 2014 that involved an inventory of medicinal plants in 19 shops and interviews with 10 clients of African descent, voucher collection and data gathering on vernacular names and uses. We encountered 83 medicinal plant species, of which 71% was primarily used for food. The shredded leaves of Gnetum africanum Welw., Manihot esculenta Crantz, and Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam were among the most frequently sold vegetables with medicinal uses. Cola nuts, shea butter, Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f., and Mondia whitei (Hook.f.). Skeels were the main non-food medicines sold. Women's health, aphrodisiacs, and rituals were the most important medicinal applications, but culture-bound ailments did not entirely dominate the plant uses. While most clients in Matonge were Congolese, most vendors and plant species were not. The Pakistanis dominated the food trade, and typical Congolese plants were sometimes replaced by West African species, creating confusion in vernacular names. African-managed shops had significantly more species of medicinal plants in stock than shops

Y Chromosome Lineages in Men of West African Descent

PubMed Central

Keita, Shomarka O. Y.; Kittles, Rick A.

2012-01-01

The early African experience in the Americas is marked by the transatlantic slave trade from ∼1619 to 1850 and the rise of the plantation system. The origins of enslaved Africans were largely dependent on European preferences as well as the availability of potential laborers within Africa. Rice production was a key industry of many colonial South Carolina low country plantations. Accordingly, rice plantations owners within South Carolina often requested enslaved Africans from the so-called “Grain Coast” of western Africa (Senegal to Sierra Leone). Studies on the African origins of the enslaved within other regions of the Americas have been limited. To address the issue of origins of people of African descent within the Americas and understand more about the genetic heterogeneity present within Africa and the African Diaspora, we typed Y chromosome specific markers in 1,319 men consisting of 508 west and central Africans (from 12 populations), 188 Caribbeans (from 2 islands), 532 African Americans (AAs from Washington, DC and Columbia, SC), and 91 European Americans. Principal component and admixture analyses provide support for significant Grain Coast ancestry among African American men in South Carolina. AA men from DC and the Caribbean showed a closer affinity to populations from the Bight of Biafra. Furthermore, 30–40% of the paternal lineages in African descent populations in the Americas are of European ancestry. Diverse west African ancestries and sex-biased gene flow from EAs has contributed greatly to the genetic heterogeneity of African populations throughout the Americas and has significant implications for gene mapping efforts in these populations. PMID:22295064

Y chromosome lineages in men of west African descent.

PubMed

Torres, Jada Benn; Doura, Menahem B; Keita, Shomarka O Y; Kittles, Rick A

2012-01-01

The early African experience in the Americas is marked by the transatlantic slave trade from ∼1619 to 1850 and the rise of the plantation system. The origins of enslaved Africans were largely dependent on European preferences as well as the availability of potential laborers within Africa. Rice production was a key industry of many colonial South Carolina low country plantations. Accordingly, rice plantations owners within South Carolina often requested enslaved Africans from the so-called "Grain Coast" of western Africa (Senegal to Sierra Leone). Studies on the African origins of the enslaved within other regions of the Americas have been limited. To address the issue of origins of people of African descent within the Americas and understand more about the genetic heterogeneity present within Africa and the African Diaspora, we typed Y chromosome specific markers in 1,319 men consisting of 508 west and central Africans (from 12 populations), 188 Caribbeans (from 2 islands), 532 African Americans (AAs from Washington, DC and Columbia, SC), and 91 European Americans. Principal component and admixture analyses provide support for significant Grain Coast ancestry among African American men in South Carolina. AA men from DC and the Caribbean showed a closer affinity to populations from the Bight of Biafra. Furthermore, 30-40% of the paternal lineages in African descent populations in the Americas are of European ancestry. Diverse west African ancestries and sex-biased gene flow from EAs has contributed greatly to the genetic heterogeneity of African populations throughout the Americas and has significant implications for gene mapping efforts in these populations.

Health, Human Capital, and African American Migration Before 1910

PubMed Central

Logan, Trevon D.

2009-01-01

Using both IPUMS and the Colored Troops Sample of the Civil War Union Army Data, I estimate the effects of literacy and health on the migration propensities of African Americans from 1870 to 1910. I find that literacy and health shocks were strong predictors of migration and the stock of health was not. There were differential selection propensities based on slave status—former slaves were less likely to migrate given a specific health shock than free blacks. Counterfactuals suggest that as much as 35 percent of the difference in the mobility patterns of former slaves and free blacks is explained by differences in their human capital, and more than 20 percent of that difference is due to health alone. Overall, the selection effect of literacy on migration is reduced by one-tenth to one-third once health is controlled for. The low levels of human capital accumulation and rates of mobility for African Americans after the Civil War are partly explained by the poor health status of slaves and their immediate descendants. PMID:20161107

Dissecting the Within-Africa Ancestry of Populations of African Descent in the Americas

PubMed Central

Stefflova, Klara; Dulik, Matthew C.; Barnholtz-Sloan, Jill S.; Pai, Athma A.; Walker, Amy H.; Rebbeck, Timothy R.

2011-01-01

Background The ancestry of African-descended Americans is known to be drawn from three distinct populations: African, European, and Native American. While many studies consider this continental admixture, few account for the genetically distinct sources of ancestry within Africa – the continent with the highest genetic variation. Here, we dissect the within-Africa genetic ancestry of various populations of the Americas self-identified as having primarily African ancestry using uniparentally inherited mitochondrial DNA. Methods and Principal Findings We first confirmed that our results obtained using uniparentally-derived group admixture estimates are correlated with the average autosomal-derived individual admixture estimates (hence are relevant to genomic ancestry) by assessing continental admixture using both types of markers (mtDNA and Y-chromosome vs. ancestry informative markers). We then focused on the within-Africa maternal ancestry, mining our comprehensive database of published mtDNA variation (∼5800 individuals from 143 African populations) that helped us thoroughly dissect the African mtDNA pool. Using this well-defined African mtDNA variation, we quantified the relative contributions of maternal genetic ancestry from multiple W/WC/SW/SE (West to South East) African populations to the different pools of today's African-descended Americans of North and South America and the Caribbean. Conclusions Our analysis revealed that both continental admixture and within-Africa admixture may be critical to achieving an adequate understanding of the ancestry of African-descended Americans. While continental ancestry reflects gender-specific admixture processes influenced by different socio-historical practices in the Americas, the within-Africa maternal ancestry reflects the diverse colonial histories of the slave trade. We have confirmed that there is a genetic thread connecting Africa and the Americas, where each colonial system supplied their colonies in the

Facultative slave-making ants Formica sanguinea label their slaves with own recognition cues instead of employing the strategy of chemical mimicry.

PubMed

Włodarczyk, Tomasz; Szczepaniak, Lech

2017-01-01

Slave-making ant species use the host workforce to ensure normal colony functioning. Slaves are robbed as pupae from their natal nest and after eclosion, assume the parasite colony as their own. A possible factor promoting the successful integration of slaves into a foreign colony is congruence with the slave-makers in terms of cuticular hydrocarbons, which are known to play the role of recognition cues in social insects. Such an adaptation is observed in the obligate slave-making ant species, which are chemically adjusted to their slaves. To date, however, no reports have been available on facultative slave-making species, which represent an earlier stage of the evolution of slavery. Such an example is Formica sanguinea, which exploit F. fusca colonies as their main source of a slave workforce. Our results show that F. sanguinea ants have a distinct cuticular hydrocarbon profile, which contains compounds not present in free-living F. fusca ants from potential target nests. Moreover, enslaved F. fusca ants acquire hydrocarbons from their slave-making nestmates to such an extent that they become chemically differentiated from free-living, conspecific ants. Our study shows that F. sanguinea ants promote their own recognition cues in their slaves, rather than employing the strategy of chemical mimicry. Possible reasons why F. sanguinea is not chemically well adjusted to its main host species are discussed in this paper. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An assessment of West African seahorses in fisheries catch and trade.

PubMed

Cisneros-Montemayor, A M; West, K; Boiro, I S; Vincent, A C J

2016-02-01

This study provides the first assessment of a heavily traded West African seahorse species, Hippocampus algiricus, and the first information on short-snouted seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus biology in Africa. A total of 219 seahorses were sampled from fisher catch in Senegal and The Gambia, with estimated height at reproductive activity for H. algiricus (161 mm) larger than mean ± S.D. catch height (150 ± 31 mm). Catch composition, height at reproductive activity and potential biases in fishery retention are discussed with regard to the current Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) guidelines. © 2015 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Synchronization Analysis of Master-Slave Probabilistic Boolean Networks.

PubMed

Lu, Jianquan; Zhong, Jie; Li, Lulu; Ho, Daniel W C; Cao, Jinde

2015-08-28

In this paper, we analyze the synchronization problem of master-slave probabilistic Boolean networks (PBNs). The master Boolean network (BN) is a deterministic BN, while the slave BN is determined by a series of possible logical functions with certain probability at each discrete time point. In this paper, we firstly define the synchronization of master-slave PBNs with probability one, and then we investigate synchronization with probability one. By resorting to new approach called semi-tensor product (STP), the master-slave PBNs are expressed in equivalent algebraic forms. Based on the algebraic form, some necessary and sufficient criteria are derived to guarantee synchronization with probability one. Further, we study the synchronization of master-slave PBNs in probability. Synchronization in probability implies that for any initial states, the master BN can be synchronized by the slave BN with certain probability, while synchronization with probability one implies that master BN can be synchronized by the slave BN with probability one. Based on the equivalent algebraic form, some efficient conditions are derived to guarantee synchronization in probability. Finally, several numerical examples are presented to show the effectiveness of the main results.

Synchronization Analysis of Master-Slave Probabilistic Boolean Networks

PubMed Central

Lu, Jianquan; Zhong, Jie; Li, Lulu; Ho, Daniel W. C.; Cao, Jinde

2015-01-01

In this paper, we analyze the synchronization problem of master-slave probabilistic Boolean networks (PBNs). The master Boolean network (BN) is a deterministic BN, while the slave BN is determined by a series of possible logical functions with certain probability at each discrete time point. In this paper, we firstly define the synchronization of master-slave PBNs with probability one, and then we investigate synchronization with probability one. By resorting to new approach called semi-tensor product (STP), the master-slave PBNs are expressed in equivalent algebraic forms. Based on the algebraic form, some necessary and sufficient criteria are derived to guarantee synchronization with probability one. Further, we study the synchronization of master-slave PBNs in probability. Synchronization in probability implies that for any initial states, the master BN can be synchronized by the slave BN with certain probability, while synchronization with probability one implies that master BN can be synchronized by the slave BN with probability one. Based on the equivalent algebraic form, some efficient conditions are derived to guarantee synchronization in probability. Finally, several numerical examples are presented to show the effectiveness of the main results. PMID:26315380

Comparative Analysis of Breast Cancer Phenotypes in African American, White American, and West Versus East African patients: Correlation Between African Ancestry and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

PubMed

Jiagge, Evelyn; Jibril, Aisha Souleiman; Chitale, Dhananjay; Bensenhaver, Jessica M; Awuah, Baffour; Hoenerhoff, Mark; Adjei, Ernest; Bekele, Mahteme; Abebe, Engida; Nathanson, S David; Gyan, Kofi; Salem, Barbara; Oppong, Joseph; Aitpillah, Francis; Kyei, Ishmael; Bonsu, Ernest Osei; Proctor, Erica; Merajver, Sofia D; Wicha, Max; Stark, Azadeh; Newman, Lisa A

2016-11-01

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is more common among African American (AA) and western sub-Saharan African breast cancer (BC) patients compared with White/Caucasian Americans (WA) and Europeans. Little is known about TNBC in east Africa. Invasive BC diagnosed 1998-2014 were evaluated: WA and AA patients from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan; Ghanaian/west Africans from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana; and Ethiopian/east Africans from the St. Paul's Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2/neu expression was performed in Michigan on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples from all cases. A total of 234 Ghanaian (mean age 49 years), 94 Ethiopian (mean age 43 years), 272 AA (mean age 60 years), and 321 WA (mean age 62 years; p = 0.001) patients were compared. ER-negative and TNBC were more common among Ghanaian and AA compared with WA and Ethiopian cases (frequency ER-negativity 71.1 and 37.1 % vs. 19.8 and 28.6 % respectively, p < 0.0001; frequency TNBC 53.2 and 29.8 % vs. 15.5 and 15.0 %, respectively, p < 0.0001). Among patients younger than 50 years, prevalence of TNBC remained highest among Ghanaians (50.8 %) and AA (34.3 %) compared with WA and Ethiopians (approximately 16 % in each; p = 0.0002). This study confirms an association between TNBC and West African ancestry; TNBC frequency among AA patients is intermediate between WA and Ghanaian/West Africans consistent with genetic admixture following the west Africa-based trans-Atlantic slave trade. TNBC frequency was low among Ethiopians/East Africans; this may reflect less shared ancestry between AA and Ethiopians.

Regulation of cuticular and postpharyngeal hydrocarbons in the slave-making ant Polyergus rufescens: effect of Formica rufibarbis slaves.

PubMed

Bonavita-Cougourdan, Annie; Provost, Erick; Riviere, Germaine; Bagneres, Anne-Genevieve; Dusticier, Georges

2004-04-01

The purpose of this study was to compare cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of slave-making Polyergus rufescens ants reared alone or with their Formica rufibarbis slaves. Chemical analyses showed that due to the close contacts occurring when the Formica were tending the Polyergus, the synthesis of the cuticular hydrocarbons carried by the slaves was enhanced in the slave-makers. The postpharyngeal hydrocarbon levels increased during the first 15 days of life, whether or not the Polyergus were exposed to Formica. Our findings suggest that Polyergus is able to secrete all components of their cuticular hydrocarbon blend and that none are acquired through contact with Formica. In addition to presenting our experimental evidence, several hypotheses are proposed to explain the synthesis and regulation of hydrocarbon blends borne when these two species cohabitate within a single colony.

Symmetry breaking in occupation number based slave-particle methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgescu, Alexandru B.; Ismail-Beigi, Sohrab

2017-10-01

We describe a theoretical approach to finding spontaneously symmetry-broken electronic phases due to strong electronic interactions when using recently developed slave-particle (slave-boson) approaches based on occupation numbers. We describe why, to date, spontaneous symmetry breaking has proven difficult to achieve in such approaches. We then provide a total energy based approach for introducing auxiliary symmetry-breaking fields into the solution of the slave-particle problem that leads to lowered total energies for symmetry-broken phases. We point out that not all slave-particle approaches yield energy lowering: the slave-particle model being used must explicitly describe the degrees of freedom that break symmetry. Finally, our total energy approach permits us to greatly simplify the formalism used to achieve a self-consistent solution between spinon and slave modes while increasing the numerical stability and greatly speeding up the calculations.

The Genetic Ancestry of African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans across the United States

PubMed Central

Bryc, Katarzyna; Durand, Eric Y.; Macpherson, J. Michael; Reich, David; Mountain, Joanna L.

2015-01-01

Over the past 500 years, North America has been the site of ongoing mixing of Native Americans, European settlers, and Africans (brought largely by the trans-Atlantic slave trade), shaping the early history of what became the United States. We studied the genetic ancestry of 5,269 self-described African Americans, 8,663 Latinos, and 148,789 European Americans who are 23andMe customers and show that the legacy of these historical interactions is visible in the genetic ancestry of present-day Americans. We document pervasive mixed ancestry and asymmetrical male and female ancestry contributions in all groups studied. We show that regional ancestry differences reflect historical events, such as early Spanish colonization, waves of immigration from many regions of Europe, and forced relocation of Native Americans within the US. This study sheds light on the fine-scale differences in ancestry within and across the United States and informs our understanding of the relationship between racial and ethnic identities and genetic ancestry. PMID:25529636

Master-slave robotic system for needle indentation and insertion.

PubMed

Shin, Jaehyun; Zhong, Yongmin; Gu, Chengfan

2017-12-01

Bilateral control of a master-slave robotic system is a challenging issue in robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery. It requires the knowledge on contact interaction between a surgical (slave) robot and soft tissues. This paper presents a master-slave robotic system for needle indentation and insertion. This master-slave robotic system is able to characterize the contact interaction between the robotic needle and soft tissues. A bilateral controller is implemented using a linear motor for robotic needle indentation and insertion. A new nonlinear state observer is developed to online monitor the contact interaction with soft tissues. Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed master-slave robotic system for robotic needle indentation and needle insertion.

Use and Misuse of Speech Diagnostics for African American Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baugh, John

2015-01-01

Many African American students have been tested using speech pathology diagnostics that are ill suited to their distinctive linguistic circumstances. Slave descendants of African origin share a unique linguistic heritage in contrast and comparison to every other immigrant group residing within America. In an effort to overcome the legacy of…

HLA genes in Madeira Island (Portugal) inferred from sequence-based typing: footprints from different origins.

PubMed

Spínola, Hélder; Bruges-Armas, Jácome; Mora, Marian Gantes; Middleton, Derek; Brehm, António

2006-04-01

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 polymorphisms were examined in Madeira Island populations. The data was obtained at high-resolution level, using sequence-based typing (SBT). The most frequent alleles at each loci were: A*020101 (24.6%), B*5101 (9.7%), B*440201 (9.2%), and DRB1*070101 (15.7%). The predominant three-loci haplotypes in Madeira were A*020101-B*510101-DRB1*130101 (2.7%) and A*010101-B*0801-DRB1*030101 (2.4%), previously found in north and central Portugal. The present study corroborates historical sources and other genetic studies that say Madeira were populated not only by Europeans, mostly Portuguese, but also sub-Saharan Africans due to slave trade. Comparison with other populations shows that Madeira experienced a stronger African influence due to slave trade than Portugal mainland and even the Azores archipelago. Despite this African genetic input, haplotype and allele frequencies were predominantly from European origin, mostly common to mainland Portugal.

Income-environment relationship in Sub-Saharan African countries: Further evidence with trade openness.

PubMed

Zerbo, Eléazar

2017-07-01

This paper examines the dynamic relationship between energy consumption, income growth, carbon emissions and trade openness in fourteen Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach to cointegration and the Toda-Yamamoto causality test were used to investigate the long-run and short-run properties, respectively. The long-run estimations give evidence against the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in SSA countries. In contrast, the results highlight the significant and monotonically contribution of income growth and energy consumption in explaining carbon emissions in the long-run and short-run in several countries. Furthermore, the results show that trade openness enhances economic growth and is not linked to causing carbon emissions in these countries. Hence, a trade incentive policy may be implemented without harmful effect on the quality of the environment.

FORCE MULTIPLIER FOR USE WITH MASTER SLAVES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miles, L.E.; Parsons, T.C.; Howe, P.W.

1961-06-01

A force multiplier was designed. This piece of equipment was made to increase the gripping force presently available in the Model 8 master slave. The force multiplier described incorporates a clamp which can be quickly attached to and detached from the master slave hand. (auth)

1. GENERAL VIEW OF SLAVE QUARTERS No. 2 (right). Located ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. GENERAL VIEW OF SLAVE QUARTERS No. 2 (right). Located north of main house. The building at left is Slave Quarters No. 1 (HABS No. VA-1233 C) - Westend, Slave Quarters No. 2, Route 638 vicinity, Trevilians, Louisa County, VA

Liberia: America's Closest African Ally.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Samuel; Mowell, Barry

1997-01-01

Profiles Liberia, the West African nation patterned after the United States and colonized with freed U.S. slaves in the early 19th century. Reviews the country's history and its eruption into civil strife in 1990, showing how tensions have often characterized relationships between Liberians of different ethnic identities. (MJP)

A CBLT and MCST capable VME slave interface

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wuerthwein, F.; Strohman, C.; Honscheid, K.

1996-12-31

We report on the development of a VME slave interface for the CLEO III detector implemented in an ALTERA EPM7256 CPLD. This includes the first implementation of the chained block transfer protocol (CBLT) and multi-cast cycles (MCST) as defined by the VME-P task group of VIPA. Within VME64 there is no operation that guarantees efficient readout of large blocks of data that are sparsely distributed among a series of slave modules in a VME crate. This has led the VME-P task group of VIPA to specify protocols that enable a master to address many slaves at a single address. Whichmore » slave is to drive the data bus is determined by a token passing mechanism that uses the *IACKOUT, *IACKIN daisy chain. This protocol requires no special features from the master besides conformance to VME64. Non-standard features are restricted to the VME slave interface. The CLEO III detector comprises {approximately}400,000 electronic channels that have to be digitized, sparsified, and stored within 20{mu}s in order to incur less than 2% dead time at an anticipated trigger rate of 1000Hz. 95% of these channels are accounted for by only two detector subsystems, the silicon microstrip detector (125,000 channels), and the ring imaging Cerenkov detector (RICH) (230,400 channels). After sparsification either of these two detector subsystems is expected to provide event fragments on the order of 10KBytes, spread over 4, and 8 VME crates, respectively. We developed a chip set that sparsifies, tags, and stores the incoming digital data on the data boards, and includes a VME slave interface that implements MCST and CUT protocols. In this poster, we briefly describe this chip set and then discuss the VME slave interface in detail.« less

Anthropomorphic master/slave manipulator system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vykukal, H. C.; King, R. F.; Vallotton, W. C. (Inventor)

1977-01-01

An anthropomorphic master/slave manipulator system including master arm apparatus with a plurality of master tubular articulated portions is outlined. Objectives of this investion were to provide a system that accurately and smoothly simulates human limb movement at a remote location. The system has a high frequency response, a high structural stiffness and a design that protects the components of the slave mechanism. Simulation of human movements is possible in outer space, underwater, and in a hazardous environment such as in a high radiation area. The equivalent ability, dexterity, and strength of a human arm are simulated.

The history of introduction of the African baobab (Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae: Bombacoideae) in the Indian subcontinent

PubMed Central

Bell, Karen L.; Rangan, Haripriya; Kull, Christian A.; Murphy, Daniel J.

2015-01-01

To investigate the pathways of introduction of the African baobab, Adansonia digitata, to the Indian subcontinent, we examined 10 microsatellite loci in individuals from Africa, India, the Mascarenes and Malaysia, and matched this with historical evidence of human interactions between source and destination regions. Genetic analysis showed broad congruence of African clusters with biogeographic regions except along the Zambezi (Mozambique) and Kilwa (Tanzania), where populations included a mixture of individuals assigned to at least two different clusters. Individuals from West Africa, the Mascarenes, southeast India and Malaysia shared a cluster. Baobabs from western and central India clustered separately from Africa. Genetic diversity was lower in populations from the Indian subcontinent than in African populations, but the former contained private alleles. Phylogenetic analysis showed Indian populations were closest to those from the Mombasa-Dar es Salaam coast. The genetic results provide evidence of multiple introductions of African baobabs to the Indian subcontinent over a longer time period than previously assumed. Individuals belonging to different genetic clusters in Zambezi and Kilwa may reflect the history of trafficking captives from inland areas to supply the slave trade between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Baobabs in the Mascarenes, southeast India and Malaysia indicate introduction from West Africa through eighteenth and nineteenth century European colonial networks. PMID:26473060

The history of introduction of the African baobab (Adansonia digitata, Malvaceae: Bombacoideae) in the Indian subcontinent.

PubMed

Bell, Karen L; Rangan, Haripriya; Kull, Christian A; Murphy, Daniel J

2015-09-01

To investigate the pathways of introduction of the African baobab, Adansonia digitata, to the Indian subcontinent, we examined 10 microsatellite loci in individuals from Africa, India, the Mascarenes and Malaysia, and matched this with historical evidence of human interactions between source and destination regions. Genetic analysis showed broad congruence of African clusters with biogeographic regions except along the Zambezi (Mozambique) and Kilwa (Tanzania), where populations included a mixture of individuals assigned to at least two different clusters. Individuals from West Africa, the Mascarenes, southeast India and Malaysia shared a cluster. Baobabs from western and central India clustered separately from Africa. Genetic diversity was lower in populations from the Indian subcontinent than in African populations, but the former contained private alleles. Phylogenetic analysis showed Indian populations were closest to those from the Mombasa-Dar es Salaam coast. The genetic results provide evidence of multiple introductions of African baobabs to the Indian subcontinent over a longer time period than previously assumed. Individuals belonging to different genetic clusters in Zambezi and Kilwa may reflect the history of trafficking captives from inland areas to supply the slave trade between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Baobabs in the Mascarenes, southeast India and Malaysia indicate introduction from West Africa through eighteenth and nineteenth century European colonial networks.

Agonistic Struggle: Master-Slave Dialogues in Humanities Supervision

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grant, Barbara M.

2008-01-01

Hegel's master and slave is a significant archetype for graduate research supervision. The master-slave relation vividly exemplifies the hierarchical bond that ties supervisor and student together. Such a confronting view of supervision provides a counterbalance to contemporary emphases on equality between supervisor and student. In what follows,…

Genome-wide Ancestry and Demographic History of African-Descendant Maroon Communities from French Guiana and Suriname.

PubMed

Fortes-Lima, Cesar; Gessain, Antoine; Ruiz-Linares, Andres; Bortolini, Maria-Cátira; Migot-Nabias, Florence; Bellis, Gil; Moreno-Mayar, J Víctor; Restrepo, Berta Nelly; Rojas, Winston; Avendaño-Tamayo, Efren; Bedoya, Gabriel; Orlando, Ludovic; Salas, Antonio; Helgason, Agnar; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Sikora, Martin; Schroeder, Hannes; Dugoujon, Jean-Michel

2017-11-02

The transatlantic slave trade was the largest forced migration in world history. However, the origins of the enslaved Africans and their admixture dynamics remain unclear. To investigate the demographic history of African-descendant Marron populations, we generated genome-wide data (4.3 million markers) from 107 individuals from three African-descendant populations in South America, as well as 124 individuals from six west African populations. Throughout the Americas, thousands of enslaved Africans managed to escape captivity and establish lasting communities, such as the Noir Marron. We find that this population has the highest proportion of African ancestry (∼98%) of any African-descendant population analyzed to date, presumably because of centuries of genetic isolation. By contrast, African-descendant populations in Brazil and Colombia harbor substantially more European and Native American ancestry as a result of their complex admixture histories. Using ancestry tract-length analysis, we detect different dates for the European admixture events in the African-Colombian (1749 CE; confidence interval [CI]: 1737-1764) and African-Brazilian (1796 CE; CI: 1789-1804) populations in our dataset, consistent with the historically attested earlier influx of Africans into Colombia. Furthermore, we find evidence for sex-specific admixture patterns, resulting from predominantly European paternal gene flow. Finally, we detect strong genetic links between the African-descendant populations and specific source populations in Africa on the basis of haplotype sharing patterns. Although the Noir Marron and African-Colombians show stronger affinities with African populations from the Bight of Benin and the Gold Coast, the African-Brazilian population from Rio de Janeiro has greater genetic affinity with Bantu-speaking populations from the Bight of Biafra and west central Africa. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Correlates of the sex trade among African-American youth living in urban public housing: assessing the role of parental incarceration and parental substance use.

PubMed

Nebbitt, Von; Tirmazi, Taqi M; Lombe, Margaret; Cryer-Coupet, Qiana; French, Shelby

2014-04-01

African-American youth are disproportionately affected by parental incarceration and the consequences of parental substance use. Many adapt to the loss of their parents to prison or drug addiction by engaging in sex-risk behavior, particularly the sex trade. These youth may engage in this risky behavior for a number of reasons. Although previous research has examined this issue, most of these studies have focused on runaway or street youth or youth in international settings. Empirical evidence on correlates of trading sex for money among urban African-American youth is practically missing. Using a sample of 192 African-American youth living in urban public housing, this paper attempts to rectify this gap in knowledge by assessing how individual and parental factors are related to the likelihood of a youth trading sex for money. The sample for this study reported a mean age of 19; 28 % reported having traded sex for money; 30 % had a father currently in prison; and 7 % reported having a mother currently in prison. Maternal incarceration and paternal substance use were associated with a higher likelihood of trading sex for money. Given the potential health risks associated with trading sex for money, understanding correlates of this behavior has important implications for the health of this vulnerable population of youth and urban health in general.

The African Diaspora: Using the Multivalent Theory to Understand Slave Autobiographies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morehouse, Maggi M.

2007-01-01

In simple terms, diaspora can be defined as the identity community that is formed when people move. Although the term African Diaspora seems relatively new, a number of 20th century scholars have utilized a diasporic framework to explain the commonalities among people of African descent around the world. The earliest scholars did not use the term;…

1. CARRIAGE HOUSE (left) AND SLAVE QUARTERS, SOUTH FRONT. A ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. CARRIAGE HOUSE (left) AND SLAVE QUARTERS, SOUTH FRONT. A kitchen was included in the quarters. - Charles Fraser House, Carriage House & Slave Quarters, 55 King Street, Charleston, Charleston County, SC

2. EAST SIDE OF SLAVE QUARTERS (Jack E. Boucher, photgrapher, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

2. EAST SIDE OF SLAVE QUARTERS (Jack E. Boucher, photgrapher, April/May, 1986) - Felix & Odile Pratt Valle Slave Quarters, Southeast corner of Merchant & Second Streets, Sainte Genevieve, Ste. Genevieve County, MO

Clinical issues in caring for former chattel slaves.

PubMed

Blumhofer, Rebecca D; Shah, Neha; Grodin, Michael A; Crosby, Sondra S

2011-04-01

Over the centuries, slavery has become embedded into the social fabric of Mauritania with generations of abid and bizan (Mauritanian slaves and slave masters, respectively) born and raised knowing nothing but the institution of chattel slavery. Abid fleeing their station in Mauritania come to the USA with unique psychological needs that will affect all of their interactions with the medical community. This paper aims to assist health professionals and others concerned with the welfare of former chattel slaves in competently serving this vulnerable population. Discussion includes an overview of Mauritanian chattel slavery, deduced sequelae of chattel slavery, preliminary recommendations for mental health and medical treatment protocols, and suggestions for future research. A confidential Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved case report will be used to illustrate these objectives.

Hepatitis B virus genotypes A1, A2 and E in Cape Verde: Unequal distribution through the islands and association with human flows.

PubMed

de Pina-Araujo, Isabel Inês M; Spitz, Natalia; Soares, Caroline C; Niel, Christian; Lago, Barbara V; Gomes, Selma A

2018-01-01

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) diversity has not been previously studied in Cape Verde. The archipelago was discovered in 1460 by Portuguese explorers, who brought African slaves to colonise the islands. In this study, we investigated the HBV characteristics from 183 HBsAg-positive Cape Verdean individuals. Phylogenetic analysis of the pre-S/S region and the full-length genomes revealed 54 isolates with HBV/A1 (57%), 21 with HBV/A2 (22%), 19 with HBV/E (20%), and one with HBV/D (1%). HBV genotypes and subgenotypes were unequally distributed through the islands. In São Vicente, the main northern island, most isolates (84%) belonged to the African-originated HBV/A1, with the remaining isolates belonging to HBV/A2, which is prevalent in Europe. Interestingly, the HBV/A1 isolates from São Vicente were closely related to Brazilian sequences into the Asian-American clade, which suggests the dissemination of common African ancestors through slave trade. In contrast, in Santiago and nearby southern islands, where a recent influx from different populations circulates, a higher diversity of HBV was observed: HBV/A1 (40%); HBV/E (32%); HBV/A2 (28%); and HBV/D (1%). HBV/E is a recent genotype disseminated in Africa that was absent in the era of the slave trade. African and European human flows at different times of the history may explain the HBV diversity in Cape Verde. The possible origin and specifics of each HBV genotype circulating in Cape Verde are discussed.

Hepatitis B virus genotypes A1, A2 and E in Cape Verde: Unequal distribution through the islands and association with human flows

PubMed Central

Soares, Caroline C.; Niel, Christian; Lago, Barbara V.

2018-01-01

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) diversity has not been previously studied in Cape Verde. The archipelago was discovered in 1460 by Portuguese explorers, who brought African slaves to colonise the islands. In this study, we investigated the HBV characteristics from 183 HBsAg-positive Cape Verdean individuals. Phylogenetic analysis of the pre-S/S region and the full-length genomes revealed 54 isolates with HBV/A1 (57%), 21 with HBV/A2 (22%), 19 with HBV/E (20%), and one with HBV/D (1%). HBV genotypes and subgenotypes were unequally distributed through the islands. In São Vicente, the main northern island, most isolates (84%) belonged to the African-originated HBV/A1, with the remaining isolates belonging to HBV/A2, which is prevalent in Europe. Interestingly, the HBV/A1 isolates from São Vicente were closely related to Brazilian sequences into the Asian-American clade, which suggests the dissemination of common African ancestors through slave trade. In contrast, in Santiago and nearby southern islands, where a recent influx from different populations circulates, a higher diversity of HBV was observed: HBV/A1 (40%); HBV/E (32%); HBV/A2 (28%); and HBV/D (1%). HBV/E is a recent genotype disseminated in Africa that was absent in the era of the slave trade. African and European human flows at different times of the history may explain the HBV diversity in Cape Verde. The possible origin and specifics of each HBV genotype circulating in Cape Verde are discussed. PMID:29447232

Master/slave manipulator system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vykukal, H. C.; King, R. F.; Vallotton, W. C.

1973-01-01

System capabilities are equivalent to mobility, dexterity, and strength of human arm. Arrangement of torque motor, harmonic drive, and potentiometer combination allows all power and control leads to pass through center of slave with position-transducer arrangement of master, and "stovepipe joint" is incorporated for manipulator applications.

The role of conflict minerals, artisanal mining, and informal trading networks in African intrastate and regional conflicts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chirico, Peter G.; Malpeli, Katherine C.

2014-01-01

The relationship between natural resources and armed conflict gained public and political attention in the 1990s, when it became evident that the mining and trading of diamonds were connected with brutal rebellions in several African nations. Easily extracted resources such as alluvial diamonds and gold have been and continue to be exploited by rebel groups to fund their activities. Artisanal and small-scale miners operating under a quasi-legal status often mine these mineral deposits. While many African countries have legalized artisanal mining and established flow chains through which production is intended to travel, informal trading networks frequently emerge in which miners seek to evade taxes and fees by selling to unauthorized buyers. These networks have the potential to become international in scope, with actors operating in multiple countries. The lack of government control over the artisanal mining sector and the prominence of informal trade networks can have severe social, political, and economic consequences. In the past, mineral extraction fuelled violent civil wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Angola, and it continues to do so today in several other countries. The significant influence of the informal network that surrounds artisanal mining is therefore an important security concern that can extend across borders and have far-reaching impacts.

Slave Narratives as Polemic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heglar, Charles J.

Although slave narratives have enjoyed critical attention as literature and autobiography, when presenting them to undergraduates, there is some confusion--usually centering on the dissimilarities between the narratives and traditional autobiography. The narratives are not as linear, not as focused on personal development; the narrators are not as…

From master slave interferometry to complex master slave interferometry: theoretical work

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivet, Sylvain; Bradu, Adrian; Maria, Michael; Feuchter, Thomas; Leick, Lasse; Podoleanu, Adrian

2018-03-01

A general theoretical framework is described to obtain the advantages and the drawbacks of two novel Fourier Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) methods denoted as Master/Slave Interferometry (MSI) and its extension denoted as Complex Master/Slave Interferometry (CMSI). Instead of linearizing the digital data representing the channeled spectrum before a Fourier transform can be applied to it (as in OCT standard methods), channeled spectrum is decomposed on the basis of local oscillations. This replaces the need for linearization, generally time consuming, before any calculation of the depth profile in the range of interest. In this model two functions, g and h, are introduced. The function g describes the modulation chirp of the channeled spectrum signal due to nonlinearities in the decoding process from wavenumber to time. The function h describes the dispersion in the interferometer. The utilization of these two functions brings two major improvements to previous implementations of the MSI method. The paper details the steps to obtain the functions g and h, and represents the CMSI in a matrix formulation that enables to implement easily this method in LabVIEW by using parallel programming with multi-cores.

SLAVE QUARTERS (RESTORED). This is the north building, one of ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

SLAVE QUARTERS (RESTORED). This is the north building, one of the two identical buildings in the plantation. Each building has a 2-room plan. - Hopsewee Plantation, Slave Quarters, U.S. Routes 17 & 701, Santee River, North, Georgetown, Georgetown County, SC

Trading or coercion? Variation in male mating strategies between two communities of East African chimpanzees.

PubMed

Kaburu, Stefano S K; Newton-Fisher, Nicholas E

2015-06-01

Across taxa, males employ a variety of mating strategies, including sexual coercion and the provision, or trading, of resources. Biological market theory (BMT) predicts that trading of commodities for mating opportunities should exist only when males cannot monopolize access to females and/or obtain mating by force, in situations where power differentials between males are low; both coercion and trading have been reported for chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ). Here, we investigate whether the choice of strategy depends on the variation in male power differentials, using data from two wild communities of East African chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii ): the structurally despotic Sonso community (Budongo, Uganda) and the structurally egalitarian M-group (Mahale, Tanzania). We found evidence of sexual coercion by male Sonso chimpanzees, and of trading-of grooming for mating-by M-group males; females traded sex for neither meat nor protection from male aggression. Our results suggest that the despotism-egalitarian axis influences strategy choice: male chimpanzees appear to pursue sexual coercion when power differentials are large and trading when power differentials are small and coercion consequently ineffective. Our findings demonstrate that trading and coercive strategies are not restricted to particular chimpanzee subspecies; instead, their occurrence is consistent with BMT predictions. Our study raises interesting, and as yet unanswered, questions regarding female chimpanzees' willingness to trade sex for grooming, if doing so represents a compromise to their fundamentally promiscuous mating strategy. It highlights the importance of within-species cross-group comparisons and the need for further study of the relationship between mating strategy and dominance steepness.

A tale of aborigines, conquerors and slaves: Alu insertion polymorphisms and the peopling of Canary Islands.

PubMed

Maca-Meyer, N; Villar, J; Pérez-Méndez, L; Cabrera de León, A; Flores, C

2004-11-01

Classical, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome markers have been used to examine the genetic admixture in present day inhabitants of the Canary Islands. In this study, we report the analysis of ten autosomal Alu insertion polymorphisms in 364 samples from the seven main islands of the Archipelago, and their comparison to continental samples. The detection of population-specific alleles from the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa, as well as their affinities on the basis of genetic distances and principal component analysis, support a clear link between these populations. Coincident with previous results, the Canarian gene pool can be distinguished as being halfway between those of its putative parents, although with a major Iberian contribution (62-78%). Both the substantial Northwest African contribution (23-38%), and the minor sub-Saharan African input (3%), suggest that the genetic legacy from the aborigines and slaves still persists in the Canary Islanders.

Synchronisation control for neutral-type multi-slave stochastic hybrid systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Jun; Pan, Feng; Cai, Tingting; Sun, Yuqing; Zhou, Wuneng; Liu, Huashan

2017-10-01

In this paper, an exponential synchronisation problem for neutral-type multi-slave hybrid systems with stochastic perturbation is discussed, where the adaptive synchronisation model involves a master system and multiple slave systems. By the use of generalised It?'s formula and M-matrix method, a sufficient condition is obtained to guarantee the stability of the error system, and the update law of the feedback controller is determined to deduce the synchronisation between the master system and the sum system of all slave systems. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the results obtained in this paper.

Master-slave system with force feedback based on dynamics of virtual model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nojima, Shuji; Hashimoto, Hideki

1994-01-01

A master-slave system can extend manipulating and sensing capabilities of a human operator to a remote environment. But the master-slave system has two serious problems: one is the mechanically large impedance of the system; the other is the mechanical complexity of the slave for complex remote tasks. These two problems reduce the efficiency of the system. If the slave has local intelligence, it can help the human operator by using its good points like fast calculation and large memory. The authors suggest that the slave is a dextrous hand with many degrees of freedom able to manipulate an object of known shape. It is further suggested that the dimensions of the remote work space be shared by the human operator and the slave. The effect of the large impedance of the system can be reduced in a virtual model, a physical model constructed in a computer with physical parameters as if it were in the real world. A method to determine the damping parameter dynamically for the virtual model is proposed. Experimental results show that this virtual model is better than the virtual model with fixed damping.

Evidence for tuberculosis in 18th/19th century slaves in Anse Sainte-Marguerite (Guadeloupe - French Western Indies).

PubMed

Lösch, Sandra; Kim, Mi-Ra; Dutour, Olivier; Courtaud, Patrice; Maixner, Frank; Romon, Thomas; Sola, Christophe; Zink, Albert

2015-06-01

During the American colonization in the 18th and 19th century, Africans were captured and shipped to America. Harsh living and working conditions often led to chronic diseases and high mortality rates. Slaves in the Caribbean were forced to work mainly on sugar plantations. They were buried in cemeteries like Anse Sainte-Marguerite on the isle of Grande-Terre (Guadeloupe) which was examined by archaeologists and physical anthropologists. Morphological studies on osseous remains of 148 individuals revealed 15 cases with signs for bone tuberculosis and a high frequency of periosteal reactions which indicates early stages of the disease. 11 bone samples from these cemeteries were analysed for ancient DNA. The samples were extracted with established procedures and examined for the cytoplasmic multicopy β-actin gene and Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA (IS 6110) by PCR. An amplification product for M. tuberculosis with the size of 123 bp was obtained. Sequencing confirmed the result. This study shows evidence of M. tuberculosis complex DNA in a Caribbean slave population. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accumulated state assessment of the Peace-Athabasca-Slave River system.

PubMed

Dubé, Monique G; Wilson, Julie E

2013-07-01

Effects-based analysis is a fundamental component of watershed cumulative effects assessment. This study conducted an effects-based analysis for the Peace-Athabasca-Slave River System, part of the massive Mackenzie River Basin, encompassing 20% of Canada's total land mass and influenced by cumulative contributions of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam (Peace River) and industrial activities including oil sands mining (Athabasca River). This study assessed seasonal changes in 1) Peace River water quality and quantity before and after dam development, 2) Athabasca River water quality and quantity before and after oil sands developments, 3) tributary inputs from the Peace and Athabasca Rivers to the Slave River, and 4) upstream to downstream differences in water quality in the Slave River. In addition, seasonal benchmarks were calculated for each river based on pre-perturbation post-perturbation data for future cumulative effects assessments. Winter discharge (January-March) from the Peace and Slave Rivers was significantly higher than before dam construction (pre-1967) (p < 0.05), whereas summer peak flows (May-July) were significantly lower than before the dam showing that regulation has significantly altered seasonal flow regimes. During spring freshet and summer high flows, the Peace River strongly influenced the quality of the Slave River, as there were no significant differences in loadings of dissolved N, total P (TP), total organic C (TOC), total As, total Mn, total V, and turbidity and specific conductance between these rivers. In the Athabasca River, TP and specific conductance concentrations increased significantly since before oil sands developments (1967-2010), whereas dissolved N and sulfate have increased after the oil sands developments (1977-2010). Recently, the Athabasca River had significantly higher concentrations of dissolved N, TP, TOC, dissolved sulfate, specific conductance, and total Mn than either the Slave or the Peace Rivers during the winter months

Assigning African elephant DNA to geographic region of origin: Applications to the ivory trade

PubMed Central

Wasser, Samuel K.; Shedlock, Andrew M.; Comstock, Kenine; Ostrander, Elaine A.; Mutayoba, Benezeth; Stephens, Matthew

2004-01-01

Resurgence of illicit trade in African elephant ivory is placing the elephant at renewed risk. Regulation of this trade could be vastly improved by the ability to verify the geographic origin of tusks. We address this need by developing a combined genetic and statistical method to determine the origin of poached ivory. Our statistical approach exploits a smoothing method to estimate geographic-specific allele frequencies over the entire African elephants' range for 16 microsatellite loci, using 315 tissue and 84 scat samples from forest (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) and savannah (Loxodonta africana africana) elephants at 28 locations. These geographic-specific allele frequency estimates are used to infer the geographic origin of DNA samples, such as could be obtained from tusks of unknown origin. We demonstrate that our method alleviates several problems associated with standard assignment methods in this context, and the absolute accuracy of our method is high. Continent-wide, 50% of samples were located within 500 km, and 80% within 932 km of their actual place of origin. Accuracy varied by region (median accuracies: West Africa, 135 km; Central Savannah, 286 km; Central Forest, 411 km; South, 535 km; and East, 697 km). In some cases, allele frequencies vary considerably over small geographic regions, making much finer discriminations possible and suggesting that resolution could be further improved by collection of samples from locations not represented in our study. PMID:15459317

System for simultaneously loading program to master computer memory devices and corresponding slave computer memory devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, William A. (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A bus programmable slave module card for use in a computer control system is disclosed which comprises a master computer and one or more slave computer modules interfacing by means of a bus. Each slave module includes its own microprocessor, memory, and control program for acting as a single loop controller. The slave card includes a plurality of memory means (S1, S2...) corresponding to a like plurality of memory devices (C1, C2...) in the master computer, for each slave memory means its own communication lines connectable through the bus with memory communication lines of an associated memory device in the master computer, and a one-way electronic door which is switchable to either a closed condition or a one-way open condition. With the door closed, communication lines between master computer memory (C1, C2...) and slave memory (S1, S2...) are blocked. In the one-way open condition invention, the memory communication lines or each slave memory means (S1, S2...) connect with the memory communication lines of its associated memory device (C1, C2...) in the master computer, and the memory devices (C1, C2...) of the master computer and slave card are electrically parallel such that information seen by the master's memory is also seen by the slave's memory. The slave card is also connectable to a switch for electronically removing the slave microprocessor from the system. With the master computer and the slave card in programming mode relationship, and the slave microprocessor electronically removed from the system, loading a program in the memory devices (C1, C2...) of the master accomplishes a parallel loading into the memory devices (S1, S2...) of the slave.

The American Slave Narrative: Dramatic Resource Material for the Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polsky, Milton E.

Examples from American slave narratives offer demonstrative evidence that slave biographies and autobiographies deal with the worthwhile theme of the denial of and struggle for freedom and contain exciting adventure plots consisting of mystery, romance, risk-taking and disguises. Characters striving for freedom exhibit positive traits such as…

Time efficient Gabor fused master slave optical coherence tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cernat, Ramona; Bradu, Adrian; Rivet, Sylvain; Podoleanu, Adrian

2018-02-01

In this paper the benefits in terms of operation time that Master/Slave (MS) implementation of optical coherence tomography can bring in comparison to Gabor fused (GF) employing conventional fast Fourier transform based OCT are presented. The Gabor Fusion/Master Slave Optical Coherence Tomography architecture proposed here does not need any data stitching. Instead, a subset of en-face images is produced for each focus position inside the sample to be imaged, using a reduced number of theoretically inferred Master masks. These en-face images are then assembled into a final volume. When the channelled spectra are digitized into 1024 sampling points, and more than 4 focus positions are required to produce the final volume, the Master Slave implementation of the instrument is faster than the conventional fast Fourier transform based procedure.

The American Slave Narrative. Dramatic Resource Material for the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polsky, Milton

1976-01-01

Notes that the story of the black runaway who escapes the slave status under great risk to live as a free man or woman comprises one of the most meaningful chapters in United States history. The slave narrative genre offers resource material which all children should find compelling and inspiring. (Author/AM)

A Review of the Conflicting Theories on the Slave Family.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, David Brion

1997-01-01

Historians' changing perceptions of the quality of slave family life are reviewed as they developed from World War I to the present day, noting the paternalism that marked historians' thinking in post-War period, and the romanticism that characterizes some later writings. Controversy over slave family structures continues in present-day studies.…

Exchange circuits for FASTBUS slaves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bratskii, A.A.; Matseev, M.Y.; Rybakov, V.G.

1985-09-01

This paper describes general-purpose circuits for FASTBUS interfacing of the functional part of a slave device. The circuits contain buffered receivers and transmitters, addressrecognition and data-transfer logic, and the required control/status registers. The described circuits are implemented with series-K500 integrated circuits.

Diet and long-term health: an African Diaspora perspective.

PubMed

Solomons, Noel W

2003-01-01

The life-stage approach, which views the behaviours and exposures of an individual from the preconceptual situation of the parent through pregnancy, infancy, childhood and adolescence, and into the advancing years through adulthood, is the basis of analysis of strategies to improve long-term health. Among the behaviours of note is the dietary selection pattern, conditioning our exposure to nutrients and dietary constituents that influences growth, nutriture, cognitive and physical performance, and disease resistance and susceptibility. The African Diaspora created a population displaced from Africa to the Western Hemisphere as part of the African slave trade from the 16th to 18th centuries. It continues to manifest distinct dietary and lifestyle practices in the context of a health experience that is different both from the population in their African countries of origin and from the other ethnicities in their countries of displacement and current residence. Afro-Americans are more susceptible to a series of diseases and conditions including low birth weight, violence, and HIV/AIDS, as well as the non-communicable diseases: obesity, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, renal failure, breast cancer, prostate cancer and lead poisoning. The differential nature of dietary practices are conditioned at times by the poverty and marginalisation of the populace, resulting in either disadvantageous or beneficial outcomes relative to others' eating habits. Serious consideration must be given to the possibility that ethnic difference give rise to different requirements and tolerances for essential nutrients and distinct protective or adverse responses to foods and dietary substances. The major challenges to health improvement for the African Diaspora is coming to grips with the policy and programmatic nuances of differential treatment and the effecting the behavioural changes that would be needed in a population skeptical of the motives of media and

Taino and African maternal heritage in the Greater Antilles.

PubMed

Bukhari, Areej; Luis, Javier Rodriguez; Alfonso-Sanchez, Miguel A; Garcia-Bertrand, Ralph; Herrera, Rene J

2017-12-30

Notwithstanding the general interest and the geopolitical importance of the island countries in the Greater Antilles, little is known about the specific ancestral Native American and African populations that settled them. In an effort to alleviate this lacuna of information on the genetic constituents of the Greater Antilles, we comprehensively compared the mtDNA compositions of Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. To accomplish this, the mtDNA HVRI and HVRII regions, as well as coding diagnostic sites, were assessed in the Haitian general population and compared to data from reference populations. The Taino maternal DNA is prominent in the ex-Spanish colonies (61.3%-22.0%) while it is basically non-existent in the ex-French and ex-English colonies of Haiti (0.0%) and Jamaica (0.5%), respectively. The most abundant Native American mtDNA haplogroups in the Greater Antilles are A2, B2 and C1. The African mtDNA component is almost fixed in Haiti (98.2%) and Jamaica (98.5%), and the frequencies of specific African haplogroups vary considerably among the five island nations. The strong persistence of Taino mtDNA in the ex-Spanish colonies (and especially in Puerto Rico), and its absence in the French and English excolonies is likely the result of different social norms regarding mixed marriages with Taino women during the early years after the first contact with Europeans. In addition, this article reports on the results of an integrative approach based on mtDNA analysis and demographic data that tests the hypothesis of a southward shift in raiding zones along the African west coast during the period encompassing the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Teleoperated master-slave needle insertion.

PubMed

Abolhassani, Niki; Patel, Rajni V

2009-12-01

Accuracy of needle tip placement and needle tracking in soft tissue are of particular importance in many medical procedures. In recent years, developing autonomous and teleoperated systems for needle insertion has become an active area of research. In this study, needle insertion was performed using a master-slave set-up with multi-degrees of freedom. The effect of force feedback on the accuracy of needle insertion was investigated. In addition, this study compared autonomous, teleoperated and semi-autonomous needle insertion. The results of this study show that incorporation of force feedback can improve teleoperated needle insertion. However, autonomous and semi-autonomous needle insertions, which use feedback from a deflection model, provide significantly better performance. Development of a haptic master-slave needle insertion system, which is capable of performing some autonomous tasks based on feedback from tissue deformation and needle deflection models, can improve the performance of autonomous robotics-based insertions as well as non-autonomous teleoperated manual insertions. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

White Racism and Africanity in the Development of AFro-American Communities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Ferdinand

The construction of hypotheses concerning blacks in America requires an understanding of two enduring influences on collective black experience: (1) whites' treatment of blacks as slaves and (2) West African culture that helped to shape black adaptation to the conditions engendered by slavery. White racist attitudes and the psychological distance…

Restoring a Ruptured Relationship: Barnard College's Caryl Phillips' Senior English Seminar Focuses on Broken International Connections and Culminates with a Trans-Atlantic Journey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keels, Crystal L.

2004-01-01

Millions of African people who were captured, kidnapped and shackled for sale as part of the trans-Atlantic slave trade first passed through Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, West Africa. They stepped through the doorway that set them on a horrifying journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Men, women and children were taken by force, leaving their loved…

[Slaves in purgatory: the Tucunduba Leprosarium (Pará, nineteenth century)].

PubMed

Henrique, Márcio Couto

2012-12-01

The article analyzes the experience of the slaves interned at the Tucunduba Leprosarium in Belém, state of Pará during the nineteenth century. The slaves were freed once they showed the marks of their leprosy, and expectations were that they would submit to the segregation policy meant to keep them from contact with the rest of the population. The documentation produced by Santa Casa de Misericórdia hospital in Pará and by the province's political authorities reveals the strategies the slaves devised in response to this policy; they used their numerical predominance at the leprosarium to create a network of solidarity that allowed them to recreate their lives and stand in opposition to the type of nation that the era's hygienist theories envisioned.

Distributed support vector machine in master-slave mode.

PubMed

Chen, Qingguo; Cao, Feilong

2018-05-01

It is well known that the support vector machine (SVM) is an effective learning algorithm. The alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm has emerged as a powerful technique for solving distributed optimisation models. This paper proposes a distributed SVM algorithm in a master-slave mode (MS-DSVM), which integrates a distributed SVM and ADMM acting in a master-slave configuration where the master node and slave nodes are connected, meaning the results can be broadcasted. The distributed SVM is regarded as a regularised optimisation problem and modelled as a series of convex optimisation sub-problems that are solved by ADMM. Additionally, the over-relaxation technique is utilised to accelerate the convergence rate of the proposed MS-DSVM. Our theoretical analysis demonstrates that the proposed MS-DSVM has linear convergence, meaning it possesses the fastest convergence rate among existing standard distributed ADMM algorithms. Numerical examples demonstrate that the convergence and accuracy of the proposed MS-DSVM are superior to those of existing methods under the ADMM framework. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Slaves and citizens on Ilha Grande: the dawning of the Republic came slowly].

PubMed

Schnoor, Eduardo Cavalcanti

2012-12-01

The article introduces Ilha Grande, a district in the municipality of Angra dos Reis, and describes its role within the subsistence market economy and the memory of slavery as found in the Angra dos Reis Civil Records. According to the Almanaque Laemmert, this district had the largest number of slaves in the municipality as of the 1870s. Most owners had few slaves, and the majority of landholdings were small. The Angra dos Reis Civil Records did not forget slavery after May 1888. A number of birth and death notifications describe the persons in question as former slaves. Even in the twentieth century, clerks continued to describe various republican citizens as ex-slaves.

[Surgery using master-slave manipulators and telementoring].

PubMed

Furukawa, T; Wakabayashi, G; Ozawa, S; Watanabe, M; Ohgami, M; Kitagawa, Y; Ishii, S; Arisawa, Y; Ohmori, T; Nohga, K; Kitajima, M

2000-03-01

Master-slave manipulators enhance surgeons' dexterity and improve the precision of surgical techniques by filtering out surgeons' tremors and scaling the movements of surgical instruments. Among clinically available master-slave manipulators, the epoch-making system called "da Vinci" developed by Intuitive Surgical Inc. (Mountain View, CA, USA), equipped with 2 articulated joints at the tip of the surgical instruments allowing 7 degrees of freedom, mimics the movements of surgeons' wrists and fingers in the abdominal or thoracic cavity. Today advanced telecommunications technology provides us excellent motion images using only 3-ISDN telephone lines. Experienced surgeons at primary surgical sites have been able to perform complex procedures successfully by consulting specialists at remote sites. Because telecommunications costs have become lower each year, telementoring will be come a routine surgical practice in the near future. The usefulness of surgical telementoring has been greatly enhanced by the development of a technique to illustrate on video images from two directions. Moreover, remote advisory surgeons will be able to provide the optimal operative field to operating surgeons using robotic camera holders with voice-recognition systems. In the near future, when master-slave manipulators will also be coupled with telementoring systems, remote experts could actually perform complex surgical procedures.

Research of the master-slave robot surgical system with the function of force feedback.

PubMed

Shi, Yunyong; Zhou, Chaozheng; Xie, Le; Chen, Yongjun; Jiang, Jun; Zhang, Zhenfeng; Deng, Ze

2017-12-01

Surgical robots lack force feedback, which may lead to operation errors. In order to improve surgical outcomes, this research developed a new master-slave surgical robot, which was designed with an integrated force sensor. The new structure designed for the master-slave robot employs a force feedback mechanism. A six-dimensional force sensor was mounted on the tip of the slave robot's actuator. Sliding model control was adopted to control the slave robot. According to the movement of the master system manipulated by the surgeon, the slave's movement and the force feedback function were validated. The motion was completed, the standard deviation was calculated, and the force data were detected. Hence, force feedback was realized in the experiment. The surgical robot can help surgeons to complete trajectory motions with haptic sensation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Use of Slave Narratives in a High School English Class.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jolley, Susan Arpajian

2002-01-01

Notes that the key to making nonfiction work in the classroom is to connect it to the basic curriculum set forth by the school. Describes how the author's use of nonfiction slave narratives grew out of her teaching of two works of fiction. Discusses how she teaches slave narratives as a separate unit. (SG)

An anthropomorphic master-slave manipulator system.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vykukal, H. C.; King, R. F.; Vallotton, W. C.

1973-01-01

Review of some of the results of a teleoperator systems technology program devoted to the development of an anthropomorphic unilateral master-slave manipulator system. Following a discussion of the mechanical design details and servo design considerations, the developed system's test results are presented.

Analytical slave-spin mean-field approach to orbital selective Mott insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komijani, Yashar; Kotliar, Gabriel

2017-09-01

We use the slave-spin mean-field approach to study particle-hole symmetric one- and two-band Hubbard models in the presence of Hund's coupling interaction. By analytical analysis of the Hamiltonian, we show that the locking of the two orbitals vs orbital selective Mott transition can be formulated within a Landau-Ginzburg framework. By applying the slave-spin mean field to impurity problems, we are able to make a correspondence between impurity and lattice. We also consider the stability of the orbital selective Mott phase to the hybridization between the orbitals and study the limitations of the slave-spin method for treating interorbital tunnelings in the case of multiorbital Bethe lattices with particle-hole symmetry.

The Health of the American Slave Examined by Means of Union Army Medical Statistics

PubMed Central

Freemon, Frank R.

1985-01-01

The health status of the American slave in the 19th century remains unclear despite extensive historical research. Better knowledge of slave health would provide a clearer picture of the life of the slave, a better understanding of the 19th-century medicine, and possibly even clues to the health problems of modern blacks. This article hopes to contribute to the literature by examining another source of data. Slaves entering the Union Army joined an organization with standardized medical care that generated extensive statistical information. Review of these statistics answers questions about the health of young male blacks at the time American slavery ended. PMID:3881595

The health of the American slave examined by means of Union Army medical statistics.

PubMed

Freemon, F R

1985-01-01

The health status of the American slave in the 19th century remains unclear despite extensive historical research. Better knowledge of slave health would provide a clearer picture of the life of the slave, a better understanding of the 19th-century medicine, and possibly even clues to the health problems of modern blacks. This article hopes to contribute to the literature by examining another source of data. Slaves entering the Union Army joined an organization with standardized medical care that generated extensive statistical information. Review of these statistics answers questions about the health of young male blacks at the time American slavery ended.

Safeguarding slaves: smallpox, vaccination, and governmental health policies among the enslaved population in the Danish West Indies, 1803-1848.

PubMed

Jensen, Niklas Thode

2009-01-01

During the first half of the nineteenth century, a unique system of vaccination against smallpox was developed in the island of St. Croix in the Danish West Indies. The primary intention was to protect the population of enslaved workers, which was of fundamental importance to the economy of the colony. However, because the Danish abolition of the slave trade in 1803 had stopped the imports of new enslaved workers from Africa, the population was also decreasing. The vaccination system's success was due to a high degree of governmental control of the enslaved population that was virtually unseen anywhere else in the Caribbean.

Spatial distribution of eclogite in the Slave cratonic mantle: The role of subduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopylova, Maya G.; Beausoleil, Yvette; Goncharov, Alexey; Burgess, Jennifer; Strand, Pamela

2016-03-01

We reconstructed the spatial distribution of eclogites in the cratonic mantle based on thermobarometry for 240 xenoliths in 4 kimberlite pipes from different parts of the Slave craton (Canada). The accuracy of depth estimates is ensured by the use of a recently calibrated thermometer, projection of temperatures onto well-constrained local peridotitic geotherms, petrological screening for unrealistic temperature estimates, and internal consistency of all data. The depth estimates are based on new data on mineral chemistry and petrography of 148 eclogite xenoliths from the Jericho and Muskox kimberlites of the northern Slave craton and previously reported analyses of 95 eclogites from Diavik and Ekati kimberlites (Central Slave). The majority of Northern Slave eclogites of the crustal, subduction origin occurs at 110-170 km, shallower than in the majority of the Central Slave crustal eclogites (120-210 km). The identical geochronological history of these eclogite populations and the absence of steep suture boundaries between the central and northern Slave craton suggest the lateral continuity of the mantle layer relatively rich in eclogites. We explain the distribution of eclogites by partial preservation of an imbricated and plastically dispersed oceanic slab formed by easterly dipping Proterozoic subduction. The depths of eclogite localization do not correlate with geophysically mapped discontinuities. The base of the depleted lithosphere of the Slave craton constrained by thermobarometry of peridotite xenoliths coincides with the base of the thickened lithospheric slab, which supports contribution of the recycled oceanic lithosphere to formation of the cratonic root. Its architecture may have been protected by circum-cratonic subduction and shielding of the shallow Archean lithosphere from the destructive asthenospheric metasomatism.

Laboratory derived constraints on electrical conductivity beneath Slave craton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagdassarov, Nikolai S.; Kopylova, Maya G.; Eichert, Sandrine

2007-04-01

The depth profile of the electrical conductivity, σ(d), beneath the Central Slave craton (Canada) has been reconstructed with the help of laboratory measurements carried out on peridotite xenoliths. σ(T) of xenoliths was determined in the piston-cylinder apparatus at 1 and 2 GPa and from 600 to 1150 °C. σ(T) of xenoliths follows the Arrhenius dependence with the activation energy, E, varying from 2.10 to 1.44 eV depending on temperature range and the Mg-number. The calculated xenolith geotherm and the suggested lithology beneath the Central Slave have been used to constrain σ(d) as follows: σ(d) in the crust varies between 0.5×10-5 and 10-3 S/m; the lithospheric σ(d) sharply decreases below the Moho at 39.4 km to 0.5×10-8 S/m, which corresponds to 460 °C, and then gradually increases with the depth d to 0.5×10-2 S/m. The modeled MT-response of the constrained σ(d) profile has been compared with MT-observations [Jones, A.G., Lezaeta, P., Ferguson, I.J., Chave, A.D., Evans, R.L., Garcia, X., Spratt J., 2003. The electrical structure of the Slave craton. Lithos, 71, 505-527]. The general trend of the calculated MT-response based on the σ(d) model mimics the MT-inversion of the field data from the Central Slave.

Master-slave exponential synchronization of delayed complex-valued memristor-based neural networks via impulsive control.

PubMed

Li, Xiaofan; Fang, Jian-An; Li, Huiyuan

2017-09-01

This paper investigates master-slave exponential synchronization for a class of complex-valued memristor-based neural networks with time-varying delays via discontinuous impulsive control. Firstly, the master and slave complex-valued memristor-based neural networks with time-varying delays are translated to two real-valued memristor-based neural networks. Secondly, an impulsive control law is constructed and utilized to guarantee master-slave exponential synchronization of the neural networks. Thirdly, the master-slave synchronization problems are transformed into the stability problems of the master-slave error system. By employing linear matrix inequality (LMI) technique and constructing an appropriate Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, some sufficient synchronization criteria are derived. Finally, a numerical simulation is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiple independent introductions of Plasmodium falciparum in South America

PubMed Central

Yalcindag, Erhan; Elguero, Eric; Arnathau, Céline; Durand, Patrick; Akiana, Jean; Anderson, Timothy J.; Aubouy, Agnes; Balloux, François; Besnard, Patrick; Bogreau, Hervé; Carnevale, Pierre; D'Alessandro, Umberto; Fontenille, Didier; Gamboa, Dionicia; Jombart, Thibaut; Le Mire, Jacques; Leroy, Eric; Maestre, Amanda; Mayxay, Mayfong; Ménard, Didier; Musset, Lise; Newton, Paul N.; Nkoghé, Dieudonné; Noya, Oscar; Ollomo, Benjamin; Rogier, Christophe; Veron, Vincent; Wide, Albina; Zakeri, Sedigheh; Carme, Bernard; Legrand, Eric; Chevillon, Christine; Ayala, Francisco J.; Renaud, François; Prugnolle, Franck

2012-01-01

The origin of Plasmodium falciparum in South America is controversial. Some studies suggest a recent introduction during the European colonizations and the transatlantic slave trade. Other evidence—archeological and genetic—suggests a much older origin. We collected and analyzed P. falciparum isolates from different regions of the world, encompassing the distribution range of the parasite, including populations from sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South America. Analyses of microsatellite and SNP polymorphisms show that the populations of P. falciparum in South America are subdivided in two main genetic clusters (northern and southern). Phylogenetic analyses, as well as Approximate Bayesian Computation methods suggest independent introductions of the two clusters from African sources. Our estimates of divergence time between the South American populations and their likely sources favor a likely introduction from Africa during the transatlantic slave trade. PMID:22203975

Genomic ancestry of rural African-derived populations from Southeastern Brazil.

PubMed

Kimura, Lilian; Ribeiro-Rodrigues, Elzemar Martins; De Mello Auricchio, Maria Teresa Balester; Vicente, João Pedro; Batista Santos, Sidney Emanuel; Mingroni-Netto, Regina Célia

2013-01-01

xMany Africans were brought to Brazil as slaves. The runaway or abandoned slaves founded isolated communities named quilombos. There are many quilombo remnants in Vale do Ribeira region in the southern part of São Paulo State. The aim of our study was to contribute to understanding the origins of these populations, through admixture studies. We genotyped 307 unrelated DNA samples obtained from ten quilombo populations from Vale do Ribeira region, using a panel of 48 INDEL polymorphisms. We estimated genetic differentiation between populations (F(ST) ) and genomic ancestry from these populations. Our data were compared to a similar study performed in quilombo remnants from the Brazilian Amazon region. Population admixture estimates showed high degree of miscegenation in the quilombo remnants from Vale do Ribeira (average admixture estimates at 39.7% of African, 39.0% of European and 21.3% of Amerindian contribution). The proportions of ancestral genes varied greatly among individuals, ranging from 7.3 to 69.5%, 12.9 to 68.3%, and 7.3 to 58.5% (African, European, and Amerindian, respectively). Genetic differentiation between these populations was low (all F(ST) values <5%), indicating gene flow between them. Both groups of quilombos, from Vale do Ribeira and Amazon, presented similar patterns of admixture. INDEL markers were useful to evidence the triple interbreeding among African, European, and Amerindian in the formation of quilombo populations. The low F(ST) values suggested gene flow among quilombos from Vale do Ribeira. Our data highlight the important role of Amerindians in the formation of quilombo populations. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Risks to Birds Traded for African Traditional Medicine: A Quantitative Assessment

PubMed Central

Williams, Vivienne L.; Cunningham, Anthony B.; Kemp, Alan C.; Bruyns, Robin K.

2014-01-01

Few regional or continent-wide assessments of bird use for traditional medicine have been attempted anywhere in the world. Africa has the highest known diversity of bird species used for this purpose. This study assesses the vulnerability of 354 bird species used for traditional medicine in 25 African countries, from 205 genera, 70 families, and 25 orders. The orders most represented were Passeriformes (107 species), Falconiformes (45 species), and Coraciiformes (24 species), and the families Accipitridae (37 species), Ardeidae (15 species), and Bucerotidae (12 species). The Barn owl (Tyto alba) was the most widely sold species (seven countries). The similarity of avifaunal orders traded is high (analogous to “morphospecies”, and using Sørensen's index), which suggests opportunities for a common understanding of cultural factors driving demand. The highest similarity was between bird orders sold in markets of Benin vs. Burkina Faso (90%), but even bird orders sold in two geographically separated countries (Benin vs. South Africa and Nigeria vs. South Africa) were 87% and 81% similar, respectively. Rabinowitz's “7 forms of rarity” model, used to group species according to commonness or rarity, indicated that 24% of traded bird species are very common, locally abundant in several habitats, and occur over a large geographical area, but 10% are rare, occur in low numbers in specific habitats, and over a small geographical area. The order with the highest proportion of rare species was the Musophagiformes. An analysis of species mass (as a proxy for size) indicated that large and/or conspicuous species tend to be targeted by harvesters for the traditional medicine trade. Furthermore, based on cluster analyses for species groups of similar risk, vultures, hornbills, and other large avifauna, such as bustards, are most threatened by selective harvesting and should be prioritised for conservation action. PMID:25162700

Regional trade and the nutrition transition: opportunities to strengthen NCD prevention policy in the Southern African Development Community.

PubMed

Thow, Anne Marie; Sanders, David; Drury, Eliza; Puoane, Thandi; Chowdhury, Syeda N; Tsolekile, Lungiswa; Negin, Joel

2015-01-01

Addressing diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) will require a multisectoral policy approach that includes the food supply and trade, but implementing effective policies has proved challenging. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has experienced significant trade and economic liberalization over the past decade; at the same time, the nutrition transition has progressed rapidly in the region. This analysis considers the relationship between regional trade liberalization and changes in the food environment associated with poor diets and NCDs, with the aim of identifying feasible and proactive policy responses to support healthy diets. Changes in trade and investment policy for the SADC were documented and compared with time-series graphs of import data for soft drinks and snack foods to assess changes in imports and source country in relation to trade and investment liberalization. Our analysis focuses on regional trade flows. Diets and the burden of disease in the SADC have changed since the 1990s in parallel with trade and investment liberalization. Imports of soft drinks increased by 76% into SADC countries between 1995 and 2010, and processed snack foods by 83%. South Africa acts as a regional trade and investment hub; it is the major source of imports and investment related to these products into other SADC countries. At the same time, imports of processed foods and soft drinks from outside the region - largely from Asia and the Middle East - are increasing at a dramatic rate with soft drink imports growing by almost 1,200% and processed snack foods by 750%. There is significant intra-regional trade in products associated with the nutrition transition; however, growing extra-regional trade means that countries face new pressures in implementing strong policies to prevent the increasing burden of diet-related NCDs. Implementation of a regional nutrition policy framework could complement the SADC's ongoing commitment to regional trade policy.

"Master-Slave" Biological Network Alignment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferraro, Nicola; Palopoli, Luigi; Panni, Simona; Rombo, Simona E.

Performing global alignment between protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of different organisms is important to infer knowledge about conservation across species. Known methods that perform this task operate symmetrically, that is to say, they do not assign a distinct role to the input PPI networks. However, in most cases, the input networks are indeed distinguishable on the basis of how well the corresponding organism is biologically well-characterized. For well-characterized organisms the associated PPI network supposedly encode in a sound manner all the information about their proteins and associated interactions, which is far from being the case for not well characterized ones. Here the new idea is developed to devise a method for global alignment of PPI networks that in fact exploit differences in the characterization of organisms at hand. We assume that the PPI network (called Master) of the best characterized is used as a fingerprint to guide the alignment process to the second input network (called Slave), so that generated results preferably retain the structural characteristics of the Master (and using the Slave) network. We tested our method showing that the results it returns are biologically relevant.

Controller arm for a remotely related slave arm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salisbury, J. K., Jr. (Inventor)

1979-01-01

A segmented controller arm configured and dimensioned to form a miniature kinematic replica of a remotely related slave arm is disclosed. The arm includes: (1) a plurality of joints for affording segments of the arm simultaneous angular displacement about a plurality of pairs of intersecting axes, (2) a plurality of position sensing devices for providing electrical signals indicative of angular displacement imparted to corresponding segments of the controller shaft about the axes, and (3) a control signal circuit for generating control signals to be transmitted to the slave arm. The arm is characterized by a plurality of yokes, each being supported for angular displacement about a pair of orthogonally related axes and counterbalanced against gravitation by a cantilevered mass.

Master-slave mixed arrays for data-flow computations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, T.L.; Fisher, P.D.

1983-01-01

Control cells (masters) and computation cells (slaves) are mixed in regular geometric patterns to form reconfigurable arrays known as master-slave mixed arrays (MSMAS). Interconnections of the corners and edges of the hexagonal control cells and the edges of the hexagonal computation cells are used to construct synchronous and asynchronous communication networks, which support local computation and local communication. Data-driven computations result in self-directed ring pipelines within the MSMA, and composite data-flow computations are executed in a pipelined fashion. By viewing an MSMA as a computing network of tightly-linked ring pipelines, data-flow programs can be uniformly distributed over these pipelines formore » efficient resource utilisation. 9 references.« less

Transthyretin V122I (pV142I)* cardiac amyloidosis: an age-dependent autosomal dominant cardiomyopathy too common to be overlooked as a cause of significant heart disease in elderly African Americans

PubMed Central

Buxbaum, Joel N.; Ruberg, Frederick L.

2017-01-01

Since the identification of a valine-to-isoleucine substitution at position 122 (TTR V122I; pV142I) in the transthyretin (TTR)-derived fibrils extracted from the heart of a patient with late-onset cardiac amyloidosis, it has become clear that the amyloidogenic mutation and the disease occur almost exclusively in individuals of identifiable African descent. In the United States, the amyloidogenic allele frequency is 0.0173 and is carried by 3.5% of community-dwelling African Americans. Genotyping across Africa indicates that the origin of the allele is in the West African countries that were the major source of the slave trade to North America. At autopsy, the allele was found to be associated with cardiac TTR amyloid deposition in all the carriers after age 65 years; however, the clinical penetrance varies, resulting in substantial heart disease in some carriers and few symptoms in others. The allele has been found in 10% of African Americans older than age 65 with severe congestive heart failure. At this time there are potential forms of therapy in clinical trials. The combination of a highly accurate genetic test and the potential for specific therapy demands a greater awareness of this autosomal dominant, age-dependent cardiac disease in the cardiology community. PMID:28102864

[The physical and health status of runaway slaves announced in Jornal do Commercio (RJ) in 1850].

PubMed

Amantino, Márcia

2007-01-01

The article examines the state of health of a population of runaway slaves, based on announcements published in Rio de Janeiro's Jornal do Commercio in 1850. Two strategies were used. The first entailed analysis of the slaves' physical characteristics, as described by their masters. Taking into account the slave's health, the second step was to describe his or her physical problems as viewed by the era's medical or folk knowledge. This evidence can be traced to procedures found in the slave system, which sought to maximize use of captives.

Chemical stratification of cratonic lithosphere: constraints from the Northern Slave craton, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopylova, Maya G.; Russell, James K.

2000-08-01

We describe the mineralogical and chemical composition of the Northern Slave mantle as deduced from xenoliths of peridotite within the Jericho kimberlite, Northwest Territories. Our data set includes modal, major, trace and rare earth element compositions of bulk samples of spinel peridotite, low-T and high-T garnet peridotite and minor pyroxenite. Compared to primitive upper mantle, Jericho peridotite shows depletion in the major elements and enrichment in incompatible elements (except for HREE). The Slave mantle is also uniquely stratified. Older, depleted spinel peridotite extends to a depth of 80-100 km and is underlain by garnet peridotite which shows a gradual decrease in Mg# with depth to 200 km. The youngest layer of fertile garnet peridotite, enriched in clinopyroxene and garnet, is underlain by a pyroxenite-rich horizon at the base of the petrological lithosphere. The Northern Slave is further distinguished from the Kaapvaal and Siberian upper mantle by a marked vertical stratification in Mg#, lower abundances of orthopyroxene and higher abundances of clinopyroxene. In addition, a deeper layer of garnet peridotite below Jericho shows less depletion than low-T peridotite from other cratons. The Northern Slave peridotite results from a series of chemical events that include: (i) high-degree melting of pyrolite at P>3 Gpa for low-T peridotite and lower pressure melting for high-T peridotite, (ii) enrichment of low-T spinel peridotite in orthopyroxene, and (iii) pervasive metasomatic enrichment in alkali and LREE's by kimberlite-related fluids. The chemical stratification described for two of the three lithospheric domains of the Slave craton makes this craton an exception among cratons with commonly unstratified lithospheres. The gradual increase in fertility with depth below the Slave craton is related to age stratification and may have formed by incremental downward growth of mantle lithosphere with time, and/or later re-fertilization of deeper mantle

Bilateral control of master-slave manipulators with constant time delay.

PubMed

Forouzantabar, A; Talebi, H A; Sedigh, A K

2012-01-01

This paper presents a novel teleoperation controller for a nonlinear master-slave robotic system with constant time delay in communication channel. The proposed controller enables the teleoperation system to compensate human and environmental disturbances, while achieving master and slave position coordination in both free motion and contact situation. The current work basically extends the passivity based architecture upon the earlier work of Lee and Spong (2006) [14] to improve position tracking and consequently transparency in the face of disturbances and environmental contacts. The proposed controller employs a PID controller in each side to overcome some limitations of a PD controller and guarantee an improved performance. Moreover, by using Fourier transform and Parseval's identity in the frequency domain, we demonstrate that this new PID controller preserves the passivity of the system. Simulation and semi-experimental results show that the PID controller tracking performance is superior to that of the PD controller tracking performance in slave/environmental contacts. Copyright © 2011 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wit and Humor in the Slave Narratives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dance, Daryl

1977-01-01

Notes that although the slave narratives were usually intended to serve in the cause of abolition, not all of them were bitter, unrelieved tirades against the institution of slavery, but rather there were frequently moments of relieving laughter. (Author)

Finite-time master-slave synchronization and parameter identification for uncertain Lurie systems.

PubMed

Wang, Tianbo; Zhao, Shouwei; Zhou, Wuneng; Yu, Weiqin

2014-07-01

This paper investigates the finite-time master-slave synchronization and parameter identification problem for uncertain Lurie systems based on the finite-time stability theory and the adaptive control method. The finite-time master-slave synchronization means that the state of a slave system follows with that of a master system in finite time, which is more reasonable than the asymptotical synchronization in applications. The uncertainties include the unknown parameters and noise disturbances. An adaptive controller and update laws which ensures the synchronization and parameter identification to be realized in finite time are constructed. Finally, two numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Slaves immersed in a liberal ideology.

PubMed

Daly, Leslie Kim

2012-01-01

Paradigm debates have been featured in the nursing literature for over four decades. There are at least two opposing paradigms specific to nursing that have remained central in these debates. Advocates of the unitary perspective (or simultaneity paradigm) consider their theories to be more philosophically advanced and contemporary alternatives when compared to the older more traditional ideas characteristic of models they describe as originating from the totality paradigm. In the context of these debates, I focus on some theoretical positions embedded in the unitary perspective, noting their limitations with respect to integrating the individual and social mandates of nursing; nurses are responsible not only for individual health-related needs, but also for the health of the collective. I explore two hypotheses that may explain the powers of endurance of the unitary perspective. Paley, who outlines the origins of nurses' 'slave morality', inspires the first hypothesis. The second hypothesis speaks to the location of nursing knowledge development in the context of liberal ideology. In this work, I outline key conceptualizations of the unitary perspective in order to clearly illustrate the limitations of the unitary perspective for nurses' social mandate. Then, I explore how slave morality and liberal ideological assumptions might both work to sustain the unitary perspective. A paradigm for nursing must have utility in addressing both the health-related needs of individuals, and for addressing the health of the collective. To this end, I advance suggestions in three areas: first, to transform nurses' slave morality to more honest and noble aspirations; second, to examine liberal ideological premises; and third, to end paradigm debate by resituating elements of the unitary perspective to the level of mid-range theory, where it could be most effective for research and practice with specific populations. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

AN IMPROVED SOCKING TECHNIQUE FOR MASTER SLAVES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parsons, T.C.; Deckard, L.E.; Howe, P.W.

1962-10-29

A technique for socking a pair of standard Model 8 master-slave manipulators is described. The technique is primarily concerned with the fabrication of the bellows section, which provides for Z motion as well as wris movement and rotation. (N.W.R.)

Slave Labor Camps of the Third Reich.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Adolf

1983-01-01

Describes the ground rules used by Nazi architects in choosing the sites for slave labor camps. While some, like Auschwitz, became extermination camps, others also produced armaments. One camp, Theresienstadt, became a "model" camp to show to reporters and Red Cross representatives. (CS)

Design and Implementation of a Compact Master-Slave Robotic System with Force Feedback and Energy Recycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chunguang; Inoue, Yoshio; Liu, Tao; Shibata, Kyoko; Oka, Koichi

Master-slave control is becoming increasingly popular in the development of robotic systems which can provide rehabilitation training for hemiplegic patients with a unilaterally disabled limb. However, the system structures and control strategies of existent master-slave systems are always complex. An innovative master-slave system implementing force feedback and motion tracking for a rehabilitation robot is presented in this paper. The system consists of two identical motors with a wired connection, and the two motors are located at the master and slave manipulator sites respectively. The slave motor tracks the motion of the master motor directly driven by a patient. As well, the interaction force produced at the slave site is fed back to the patient. Therefore, the impaired limb driven by the slave motor can imitate the motion of the healthy limb controlling the master motor, and the patient can regulate the control force of the healthy limb properly according to the force sensation. The force sensing and motion tracking are achieved simultaneously with neither force sensors nor sophisticated control algorithms. The system is characterized by simple structure, bidirectional controllability, energy recycling, and force feedback without a force sensor. Test experiments on a prototype were conducted, and the results appraise the advantages of the system and demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed control scheme for a rehabilitation robot.

ELECTRONIC MASTER SLAVE MANIPULATOR

DOEpatents

Goertz, R.C.; Thompson, Wm.M.; Olsen, R.A.

1958-08-01

A remote control manipulator is described in which the master and slave arms are electrically connected to produce the desired motions. A response signal is provided in the master unit in order that the operator may sense a feel of the object and may not thereby exert such pressures that would ordinarily damage delicate objects. This apparatus will permit the manipulation of objects at a great distance, that may be viewed over a closed TV circuit, thereby permitting a remote operator to carry out operations in an extremely dangerous area with complete safety.

Regional trade and the nutrition transition: opportunities to strengthen NCD prevention policy in the Southern African Development Community

PubMed Central

Thow, Anne Marie; Sanders, David; Drury, Eliza; Puoane, Thandi; Chowdhury, Syeda N.; Tsolekile, Lungiswa; Negin, Joel

2015-01-01

Background Addressing diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) will require a multisectoral policy approach that includes the food supply and trade, but implementing effective policies has proved challenging. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has experienced significant trade and economic liberalization over the past decade; at the same time, the nutrition transition has progressed rapidly in the region. This analysis considers the relationship between regional trade liberalization and changes in the food environment associated with poor diets and NCDs, with the aim of identifying feasible and proactive policy responses to support healthy diets. Design Changes in trade and investment policy for the SADC were documented and compared with time-series graphs of import data for soft drinks and snack foods to assess changes in imports and source country in relation to trade and investment liberalization. Our analysis focuses on regional trade flows. Results Diets and the burden of disease in the SADC have changed since the 1990s in parallel with trade and investment liberalization. Imports of soft drinks increased by 76% into SADC countries between 1995 and 2010, and processed snack foods by 83%. South Africa acts as a regional trade and investment hub; it is the major source of imports and investment related to these products into other SADC countries. At the same time, imports of processed foods and soft drinks from outside the region – largely from Asia and the Middle East – are increasing at a dramatic rate with soft drink imports growing by almost 1,200% and processed snack foods by 750%. Conclusions There is significant intra-regional trade in products associated with the nutrition transition; however, growing extra-regional trade means that countries face new pressures in implementing strong policies to prevent the increasing burden of diet-related NCDs. Implementation of a regional nutrition policy framework could complement the SADC

[Neonatal tetanus--an explanation why the slaves in the Danish West Indian Islands not were self-sustaining].

PubMed

Lenz, Kristina

2011-01-01

The sugar plantation complex in West India was based on forced labour, mostly slaves from Africa. The problem was that this population had to be sustained by a constant stream of new slaves just to maintain their numbers. This demographic imbalance has during generations puzzled scholars and doctors. Modern research, however, shows that the fertility rates were normal. The problem was the infant mortality. The slaves' cultural tradition concerning childbirth had fatal consequences by being transferred to West India, where many newborn slave children died of neonatal tetanus.

Complicating Slavery: Teaching with Runaway Slave Advertisements.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mason, Matthew; Koman, Rita G.

2003-01-01

Presents a lesson plan that teaches students about slavery in the colonial United States. Focuses on the differences between slavery in the northern and southern parts of the country. Explains that the lesson includes and uses slave advertisements to teach about slavery. Offers additional resources. (CMK)

Third World adversity: African infant precocity and the role of environment.

PubMed

Saugstad, Letten F

2002-01-01

The war against illiteracy has not been won. The number of illiterates approaches a billion. Most reside in Third World countries--former colonies--where they are caught in a poverty trap of disease, low agricultural production and environmental adversity requiring technology beyond their means. I argue against the commonly held view that this is mainly attributable to the four hundred years of traffic in men. According to the late K.O. Dike, middle men along the African coast barred foreign merchants from the hinterland, and because of this the social, political structure and sovereignty of the African states remained fundamentally unchanged during the period 1400-1807, whereas a few decades after colonisation the socio-political system collapsed and was replaced by a small rich elite and many poor, while resources were taken out of Africa. Present poverty and underdevelopment represent as great a challenge as the trade in slaves. As did the African Middle-Men of that time, African leaders now must unite in an ambitious and confident Pan-African Union demonstrating strength. Western countries should focus on reducing poverty and improving nutrition. This also makes terrorism and legal and illegal migration less likely. Education is important, but the West should not limit its effort to fighting illiteracy but should also support the establishment of institutions for higher education. Africa possessed optimal conditions and an enriched environment for human evolution. African Infant Precocity is a persistent example. The human brain, like other brains, consists 60% of poly-unsaturated fatty acids (Marine-Fat), the rest being water. A sufficient amount is required to secure optimal brain growth. It normalizes brain function, and prevents sudden cardiac and infant death, which have been increasing in Western societies. Humans are unique in having a mismatch between the need for brain food--marine fat--and our common high protein diet. Nowhere is the neglect of the

Area Handbook Series: Zaire: A Country Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-12-01

minister; colonial government promulgates Loi Fondamentale (Fun- damental Law) to guide nation to independence and to serve as first constitution. June...followed in the wake of the slave trade, by the subsequent improvement in the capacity of Africans to des- troy each other through the use of firearms, and...in rural administration. The most noteworthy involved the establish- ment of rural councils (conseils de secteur ), whose members were to be appointed

A roaring trade? The legal trade in Panthera leo bones from Africa to East-Southeast Asia

PubMed Central

Loveridge, Andrew J.; Newton, David J.; Macdonald, David W.

2017-01-01

The African lion is the only big cat listed on CITES Appendix II, and the only one for which international commercial trade is legal under CITES. The trade in lion body parts, and especially the contentious trade in bones from South Africa to Asia, has raised concerns spanning continents and cultures. Debates were amplified at the 2016 CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP17) when a proposal to up-list lions to Appendix I was not supported and a compromise to keep them on Appendix II, with a bone trade quota for South Africa, was reached instead. CoP17 underscored a need for further information on the lion bone trade and the consequences for lions across the continent. Legal international trade in bones to Asia, allegedly to supply the substitute ‘tiger bone’ market, began in South Africa in February 2008 when the first CITES permits were issued. It was initially unclear the degree to which bones were sourced from captive-origin lions, and whether trade was a threat to wild lion populations. Our original assessment of the legal CITES-permitted lion bone trade from South Africa to East-Southeast Asia was for the period 2008–2011 (published 2015). In this paper, we consolidate new information that has become available for 2012–2016, including CITES reports from other African countries, and data on actual exports for three years to 2016 supplied by a freight forwarding company. Thus, we update the figures on the legal trade in lion bones from Africa to East-Southeast Asia in the period 2008–2016. We also contextualise the basis for global concerns by reviewing the history of the trade and its relation to tigers, poaching and wildlife trafficking. CITES permits issued to export bones escalated from ±314y-1 skeletons from 2008–2011, to ±1312y-1 skeletons from 2013–2015. South Africa was the only legal exporter of bones to Asia until 2013 when Namibia issued permits to export skeletons to Vietnam. While CITES permits to export ±5363 skeletons from Africa

A roaring trade? The legal trade in Panthera leo bones from Africa to East-Southeast Asia.

PubMed

Williams, Vivienne L; Loveridge, Andrew J; Newton, David J; Macdonald, David W

2017-01-01

The African lion is the only big cat listed on CITES Appendix II, and the only one for which international commercial trade is legal under CITES. The trade in lion body parts, and especially the contentious trade in bones from South Africa to Asia, has raised concerns spanning continents and cultures. Debates were amplified at the 2016 CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP17) when a proposal to up-list lions to Appendix I was not supported and a compromise to keep them on Appendix II, with a bone trade quota for South Africa, was reached instead. CoP17 underscored a need for further information on the lion bone trade and the consequences for lions across the continent. Legal international trade in bones to Asia, allegedly to supply the substitute 'tiger bone' market, began in South Africa in February 2008 when the first CITES permits were issued. It was initially unclear the degree to which bones were sourced from captive-origin lions, and whether trade was a threat to wild lion populations. Our original assessment of the legal CITES-permitted lion bone trade from South Africa to East-Southeast Asia was for the period 2008-2011 (published 2015). In this paper, we consolidate new information that has become available for 2012-2016, including CITES reports from other African countries, and data on actual exports for three years to 2016 supplied by a freight forwarding company. Thus, we update the figures on the legal trade in lion bones from Africa to East-Southeast Asia in the period 2008-2016. We also contextualise the basis for global concerns by reviewing the history of the trade and its relation to tigers, poaching and wildlife trafficking. CITES permits issued to export bones escalated from ±314y-1 skeletons from 2008-2011, to ±1312y-1 skeletons from 2013-2015. South Africa was the only legal exporter of bones to Asia until 2013 when Namibia issued permits to export skeletons to Vietnam. While CITES permits to export ±5363 skeletons from Africa to Asia from

Mapping the Elephants of the 19th Century East African Ivory Trade with a Multi-Isotope Approach

PubMed Central

Lee-Thorp, Julia; Collins, Matthew J.; Lane, Paul J.

2016-01-01

East African elephants have been hunted for their ivory for millennia but the nineteenth century witnessed strongly escalating demand from Europe and North America. It has been suggested that one consequence was that by the 1880s elephant herds along the coast had become scarce, and to meet demand, trade caravans trekked farther into interior regions of East Africa, extending the extraction frontier. The steady decimation of elephant populations coupled with the extension of trade networks have also been claimed to have triggered significant ecological and socio-economic changes that left lasting legacies across the region. To explore the feasibility of using an isotopic approach to uncover a ‘moving frontier’ of elephant extraction, we constructed a baseline isotope data set (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr) for historic East African elephants known to have come from three distinct regions (coastal, Rift Valley, and inland Lakes). Using the isotope results with other climate data and geographical mapping tools, it was possible to characterise elephants from different habitats across the region. This baseline data set was then used to provenance elephant ivory of unknown geographical provenance that was exported from East Africa during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to determine its likely origin. This produced a better understanding of historic elephant geography in the region, and the data have the potential to be used to provenance older archaeological ivories, and to inform contemporary elephant conservation strategies. PMID:27760152

Mapping the Elephants of the 19th Century East African Ivory Trade with a Multi-Isotope Approach.

PubMed

Coutu, Ashley N; Lee-Thorp, Julia; Collins, Matthew J; Lane, Paul J

2016-01-01

East African elephants have been hunted for their ivory for millennia but the nineteenth century witnessed strongly escalating demand from Europe and North America. It has been suggested that one consequence was that by the 1880s elephant herds along the coast had become scarce, and to meet demand, trade caravans trekked farther into interior regions of East Africa, extending the extraction frontier. The steady decimation of elephant populations coupled with the extension of trade networks have also been claimed to have triggered significant ecological and socio-economic changes that left lasting legacies across the region. To explore the feasibility of using an isotopic approach to uncover a 'moving frontier' of elephant extraction, we constructed a baseline isotope data set (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O and 87Sr/86Sr) for historic East African elephants known to have come from three distinct regions (coastal, Rift Valley, and inland Lakes). Using the isotope results with other climate data and geographical mapping tools, it was possible to characterise elephants from different habitats across the region. This baseline data set was then used to provenance elephant ivory of unknown geographical provenance that was exported from East Africa during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to determine its likely origin. This produced a better understanding of historic elephant geography in the region, and the data have the potential to be used to provenance older archaeological ivories, and to inform contemporary elephant conservation strategies.

Visual cueing considerations in Nap-of-the-Earth helicopter flight head-slaved helmet-mounted displays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grunwald, Arthur J.; Kohn, Silvia

1993-01-01

The pilot's ability to derive Control-Oriented Visual Field Information from teleoperated Helmet-Mounted displays in Nap-of-the-Earth flight, is investigated. The visual field with these types of displays, commonly used in Apache and Cobra helicopter night operations, originates from a relatively narrow field-of-view Forward Looking Infrared Radiation Camera, gimbal-mounted at the nose of the aircraft and slaved to the pilot's line-of-sight, in order to obtain a wide-angle field-of-regard. Pilots have encountered considerable difficulties in controlling the aircraft by these devices. Experimental simulator results presented here indicate that part of these difficulties can be attributed to head/camera slaving system phase lags and errors. In the presence of voluntary head rotation, these slaving system imperfections are shown to impair the Control-Oriented Visual Field Information vital in vehicular control, such as the perception of the anticipated flight path or the vehicle yaw rate. Since, in the presence of slaving system imperfections, the pilot will tend to minimize head rotation, the full wide-angle field-of-regard of the line-of-sight slaved Helmet-Mounted Display, is not always fully utilized.

Radiocarbon dating of seized ivory confirms rapid decline in African elephant populations and provides insight into illegal trade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerling, Thure E.; Barnette, Janet E.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain; Gobush, Kathleen S.; Uno, Kevin T.; Wasser, Samuel K.; Xu, Xiaomei

2016-11-01

Carbon-14 measurements on 231 elephant ivory specimens from 14 large ivory seizures (≥0.5 ton) made between 2002 and 2014 show that most ivory (ca. 90%) was derived from animals that had died less than 3 y before ivory was confiscated. This indicates that the assumption of recent elephant death for mortality estimates of African elephants is correct: Very little “old” ivory is included in large ivory shipments from Africa. We found only one specimen of the 231 analyzed to have a lag time longer than 6 y. Patterns of trade differ by regions: East African ivory, based on genetic assignments of geographic origin, has a much higher fraction of “rapid” transit than ivory originating in the Tridom region of Cameroon-Gabon-Congo. Carbon-14 is an important tool in understanding patterns of movement of illegal wildlife products.

Radiocarbon dating of seized ivory confirms rapid decline in African elephant populations and provides insight into illegal trade.

PubMed

Cerling, Thure E; Barnette, Janet E; Chesson, Lesley A; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain; Gobush, Kathleen S; Uno, Kevin T; Wasser, Samuel K; Xu, Xiaomei

2016-11-22

Carbon-14 measurements on 231 elephant ivory specimens from 14 large ivory seizures (≥0.5 ton) made between 2002 and 2014 show that most ivory (ca 90%) was derived from animals that had died less than 3 y before ivory was confiscated. This indicates that the assumption of recent elephant death for mortality estimates of African elephants is correct: Very little "old" ivory is included in large ivory shipments from Africa. We found only one specimen of the 231 analyzed to have a lag time longer than 6 y. Patterns of trade differ by regions: East African ivory, based on genetic assignments of geographic origin, has a much higher fraction of "rapid" transit than ivory originating in the Tridom region of Cameroon-Gabon-Congo. Carbon-14 is an important tool in understanding patterns of movement of illegal wildlife products.

Seismic structure of the Slave craton crust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barantseva, O.; Vinnik, L. P.; Farra, V.; van der Hilst, R. D.; Artemieva, I. M.; Montagner, J. P.

2017-12-01

We present P- and S-receiver functions for 20 stations along a 200-km-long NNW-SSE seismological profile across the Slave craton, and estimate the average crustal Vp/Vs ratio which is indicative of rock composition. We observe high Vp/Vs ratio ( 1.85-2.00) for the bulk crust and elevated Vp values at a depth range from 20-30 km to 40 km. High Vp values (>7.0 km/s) suggest mafic composition of the lower crust. In case of dry lower crustal rocks, the Vp/Vs ratio is expected to range from 1.6 to 1.8, which is lower than the observed values of 1.9-2.0. Laboratory studies show that Vp/Vs 1.9-2.0 can be explained by the presence of numerous cracks saturated with an incompressible fluid. Our results are at odds with the structure of the cratonic crust in many regions worldwide, and may suggest a unique geodynamic evolution of the Slave crust. Possible explanations for the observed crustal structure include the presence of an underplated mafic material, possibly related to intraplate magmatism or paleosubduction. Receiver functions are highly sensitive to the change of acoustic impedance and S-wave velocities, but do not resolve the internal seismic structure with a high precision. We extend our study of the crustal structure by using ambient noise tomography (ANT). We measure Rayleigh wave dispersion from Green's functions that are estimated from one-year noise cross-correlation (NCF). The phase velocity maps are inverted for 1D wave speed profiles which are then combined to form 2D and 3D models of the crust of the Slave Province. The combined results of RF analyses and ANT are interpreted in terms of crustal structure, composition, and evolution.

Sexual victimization and family violence among urban African American adolescent women: do violence cluster profiles predict partner violence victimization and sex trade exposure?

PubMed

Kennedy, Angie C; Bybee, Deborah; Kulkarni, Shanti J; Archer, Gretchen

2012-11-01

Guided by an intersectional feminist perspective, we examined sexual victimization, witnessing intimate partner violence (IPV) in the family, and familial physical abuse among a sample of 180 urban African American adolescent women. We used cluster analysis to better understand the profiles of cumulative victimization, and the relationships between profiles and IPV victimization and personal exposure to the sex trade. Just under one third of the sample reported sexual victimization, with cooccurrence with both forms of family violence common. The cluster profile with high levels of severe family violence was associated with the highest rate of IPV victimization and sex trade exposure.

Radiocarbon dating of seized ivory confirms rapid decline in African elephant populations and provides insight into illegal trade

PubMed Central

Cerling, Thure E.; Barnette, Janet E.; Chesson, Lesley A.; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain; Gobush, Kathleen S.; Wasser, Samuel K.; Xu, Xiaomei

2016-01-01

Carbon-14 measurements on 231 elephant ivory specimens from 14 large ivory seizures (≥0.5 ton) made between 2002 and 2014 show that most ivory (ca. 90%) was derived from animals that had died less than 3 y before ivory was confiscated. This indicates that the assumption of recent elephant death for mortality estimates of African elephants is correct: Very little “old” ivory is included in large ivory shipments from Africa. We found only one specimen of the 231 analyzed to have a lag time longer than 6 y. Patterns of trade differ by regions: East African ivory, based on genetic assignments of geographic origin, has a much higher fraction of “rapid” transit than ivory originating in the Tridom region of Cameroon–Gabon–Congo. Carbon-14 is an important tool in understanding patterns of movement of illegal wildlife products. PMID:27821744

Robust master-slave synchronization for general uncertain delayed dynamical model based on adaptive control scheme.

PubMed

Wang, Tianbo; Zhou, Wuneng; Zhao, Shouwei; Yu, Weiqin

2014-03-01

In this paper, the robust exponential synchronization problem for a class of uncertain delayed master-slave dynamical system is investigated by using the adaptive control method. Different from some existing master-slave models, the considered master-slave system includes bounded unmodeled dynamics. In order to compensate the effect of unmodeled dynamics and effectively achieve synchronization, a novel adaptive controller with simple updated laws is proposed. Moreover, the results are given in terms of LMIs, which can be easily solved by LMI Toolbox in Matlab. A numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the method. Copyright © 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interdisciplinary approach to the demography of Jamaica.

PubMed

Deason, Michael L; Salas, Antonio; Newman, Simon P; Macaulay, Vincent A; St A Morrison, Errol Y; Pitsiladis, Yannis P

2012-02-23

The trans-Atlantic slave trade dramatically changed the demographic makeup of the New World, with varying regions of the African coast exploited differently over roughly a 400 year period. When compared to the discrete mitochondrial haplotype distribution of historically appropriate source populations, the unique distribution within a specific source population can prove insightful in estimating the contribution of each population. Here, we analyzed the first hypervariable region of mitochondrial DNA in a sample from the Caribbean island of Jamaica and compared it to aggregated populations in Africa divided according to historiographically defined segments of the continent's coastline. The results from these admixture procedures were then compared to the wealth of historic knowledge surrounding the disembarkation of Africans on the island. In line with previous findings, the matriline of Jamaica is almost entirely of West African descent. Results from the admixture analyses suggest modern Jamaicans share a closer affinity with groups from the Gold Coast and Bight of Benin despite high mortality, low fecundity, and waning regional importation. The slaves from the Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa were imported in great numbers; however, the results suggest a deficit in expected maternal contribution from those regions. When considering the demographic pressures imposed by chattel slavery on Jamaica during the slave era, the results seem incongruous. Ethnolinguistic and ethnographic evidence, however, may explain the apparent non-random levels of genetic perseverance. The application of genetics may prove useful in answering difficult demographic questions left by historically voiceless groups.

Correlation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and carotid intima-media thickness in a Brazilian population descended from African slaves

PubMed Central

Monteiro, F.C.; Mandarino, N.R.; Santos, E.M.; Santos, A.M.; Salgado, J.V.; Brito, D.J.A.; Salgado, B.J.L.; Lages, J.S.; Castelo Branco, G.; Salgado, N.

2018-01-01

Hypovitaminosis D has been identified as a possible new cardiovascular risk factor. However, the results of studies correlating serum vitamin D levels with markers of subclinical atherosclerosis have been conflicting. The aim of this study was to correlate serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] with carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT) and conventional cardiovascular risk factors in Afro-descendants. A cross-sectional analysis was performed on a sample of 382 individuals from a cohort of descendants of African slaves, inhabitants of “Quilombola” communities, with a mean age of 57.79 ±15.3 years, 54.5% of whom were women. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected and biochemical tests were performed, including serum levels of 25(OH)D by electrochemiluminescence and urinary albumin excretion, evaluated by the albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) in a spot urine sample. All participants underwent high-resolution ultrasonography for C-IMT measurement. Hypovitaminosis D was defined as serum 25(OH)D levels <30 ng/mL. The mean serum 25(OH)D levels were 50.4±13.5 ng/mL, with a low prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (4.86%). By simple linear correlation, a significant inverse association between 25(OH)D levels and C-IMT (r=-0.174, P=0.001) was observed. However, after multiple linear regression analysis, the significance of the association between serum levels of 25(OH)D and C-IMT measurement was lost (β=-0.039, P=0.318) and only male gender, age, smoking, systolic blood pressure, glucose and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol remained significantly associated with C-IMT. Levels of 25(OH)D were independently and positively associated with HDL-cholesterol and inversely associated with age and ACR. In conclusion, no independent association between 25(OH)D levels and C-IMT was observed in this population. On the other hand, there was an inverse association with albuminuria, a marker of endothelial lesion. PMID:29490002

Correlation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and carotid intima-media thickness in a Brazilian population descended from African slaves.

PubMed

Monteiro Júnior, F C; Mandarino, N R; Santos, E M; Santos, A M; Salgado, J V; Brito, D J A; Salgado, B J L; Lages, J S; Castelo Branco, G; Salgado Filho, N

2018-01-01

Hypovitaminosis D has been identified as a possible new cardiovascular risk factor. However, the results of studies correlating serum vitamin D levels with markers of subclinical atherosclerosis have been conflicting. The aim of this study was to correlate serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] with carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT) and conventional cardiovascular risk factors in Afro-descendants. A cross-sectional analysis was performed on a sample of 382 individuals from a cohort of descendants of African slaves, inhabitants of "Quilombola" communities, with a mean age of 57.79 ±15.3 years, 54.5% of whom were women. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected and biochemical tests were performed, including serum levels of 25(OH)D by electrochemiluminescence and urinary albumin excretion, evaluated by the albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) in a spot urine sample. All participants underwent high-resolution ultrasonography for C-IMT measurement. Hypovitaminosis D was defined as serum 25(OH)D levels <30 ng/mL. The mean serum 25(OH)D levels were 50.4±13.5 ng/mL, with a low prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (4.86%). By simple linear correlation, a significant inverse association between 25(OH)D levels and C-IMT (r=-0.174, P=0.001) was observed. However, after multiple linear regression analysis, the significance of the association between serum levels of 25(OH)D and C-IMT measurement was lost (β=-0.039, P=0.318) and only male gender, age, smoking, systolic blood pressure, glucose and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol remained significantly associated with C-IMT. Levels of 25(OH)D were independently and positively associated with HDL-cholesterol and inversely associated with age and ACR. In conclusion, no independent association between 25(OH)D levels and C-IMT was observed in this population. On the other hand, there was an inverse association with albuminuria, a marker of endothelial lesion.

[Illness and death: slaves in the city of Pelotas, 1870-1880].

PubMed

Loner, Beatriz Ana; Gill, Lorena Almeida; Scheer, Micaele Irene

2012-12-01

The article analyzes diseases presented by slaves hospitalized at Santa Casa de Misericórdia in Pelotas. The focus is on the workers at 'charqueadas' (processing plants for dried meat), whose harsh and rigid work regimen had serious health consequences. Although we can find many descriptions of beef processing at 'charqueadas', we find less evidence of concerns about how slave labor was employed at these plants. By analyzing the period from 1870 to 1880, based on hospital records, travelers' observations, and newspaper reports, the article intends to contribute towards a better understanding of the health conditions of captives in the southern part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Physiological control of dual rotary pumps as a biventricular assist device using a master/slave approach.

PubMed

Stevens, Michael C; Wilson, Stephen; Bradley, Andrew; Fraser, John; Timms, Daniel

2014-09-01

Dual rotary left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) can provide biventricular mechanical support during heart failure. Coordination of left and right pump speeds is critical not only to avoid ventricular suction and to match cardiac output with demand, but also to ensure balanced systemic and pulmonary circulatory volumes. Physiological control systems for dual LVADs must meet these objectives across a variety of clinical scenarios by automatically adjusting left and right pump speeds to avoid catastrophic physiological consequences. In this study we evaluate a novel master/slave physiological control system for dual LVADs. The master controller is a Starling-like controller, which sets flow rate as a function of end-diastolic ventricular pressure (EDP). The slave controller then maintains a linear relationship between right and left EDPs. Both left/right and right/left master/slave combinations were evaluated by subjecting them to four clinical scenarios (rest, postural change, Valsalva maneuver, and exercise) simulated in a mock circulation loop. The controller's performance was compared to constant-rotational-speed control and two other dual LVAD control systems: dual constant inlet pressure and dual Frank-Starling control. The results showed that the master/slave physiological control system produced fewer suction events than constant-speed control (6 vs. 62 over a 7-min period). Left/right master/slave control had lower risk of pulmonary congestion than the other control systems, as indicated by lower maximum EDPs (15.1 vs. 25.2-28.4 mm Hg). During exercise, master/slave control increased total flow from 5.2 to 10.1 L/min, primarily due to an increase of left and right pump speed. Use of the left pump as the master resulted in fewer suction events and lower EDPs than when the right pump was master. Based on these results, master/slave control using the left pump as the master automatically adjusts pump speed to avoid suction and increases pump flow

Gabor fusion master slave optical coherence tomography

PubMed Central

Cernat, Ramona; Bradu, Adrian; Israelsen, Niels Møller; Bang, Ole; Rivet, Sylvain; Keane, Pearse A.; Heath, David-Garway; Rajendram, Ranjan; Podoleanu, Adrian

2017-01-01

This paper describes the application of the Gabor filtering protocol to a Master/Slave (MS) swept source optical coherence tomography (SS)-OCT system at 1300 nm. The MS-OCT system delivers information from selected depths, a property that allows operation similar to that of a time domain OCT system, where dynamic focusing is possible. The Gabor filtering processing following collection of multiple data from different focus positions is different from that utilized by a conventional swept source OCT system using a Fast Fourier transform (FFT) to produce an A-scan. Instead of selecting the bright parts of A-scans for each focus position, to be placed in a final B-scan image (or in a final volume), and discarding the rest, the MS principle can be employed to advantageously deliver signal from the depths within each focus range only. The MS procedure is illustrated on creating volumes of data of constant transversal resolution from a cucumber and from an insect by repeating data acquisition for 4 different focus positions. In addition, advantage is taken from the tolerance to dispersion of the MS principle that allows automatic compensation for dispersion created by layers above the object of interest. By combining the two techniques, Gabor filtering and Master/Slave, a powerful imaging instrument is demonstrated. The master/slave technique allows simultaneous display of three categories of images in one frame: multiple depth en-face OCT images, two cross-sectional OCT images and a confocal like image obtained by averaging the en-face ones. We also demonstrate the superiority of MS-OCT over its FFT based counterpart when used with a Gabor filtering OCT instrument in terms of the speed of assembling the fused volume. For our case, we show that when more than 4 focus positions are required to produce the final volume, MS is faster than the conventional FFT based procedure. PMID:28270987

Direct manipulation of tool-like masters for controlling a master-slave surgical robotic system.

PubMed

Zhang, Linan; Zhou, Ningxin; Wang, Shuxin

2014-12-01

Robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS) can benefit both patients and surgeons. However, the learning curve for robotically assisted procedures can be long and the total system costs are high. Therefore, there is considerable interest in new methods and lower cost controllers for a surgical robotic system. In this study, a knife-master and a forceps-master, shaped similarly to a surgical knife and forceps, were developed as input devices for control of a master-slave surgical robotic system. In addition, a safety strategy was developed to eliminate the master-slave orientation difference and stabilize the surgical system. Master-slave tracking experiments and a ring-and-bar experiment showed that the safety tracking strategy could ensure that the robot system moved stably without any tremor in the tracking motion. Subjects could manipulate the surgical tool to achieve the master-slave operation with less training compared to a mechanical master. Direct manipulation of the small, light and low-cost surgical tools to control a robotic system is a possible operating mode. Surgeons can operate the robotic system in their own familiar way, without long training. The main potential safety issues can be solved by the proposed safety control strategy. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Simulation of a master-slave event set processor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Comfort, J.C.

1984-03-01

Event set manipulation may consume a considerable amount of the computation time spent in performing a discrete-event simulation. One way of minimizing this time is to allow event set processing to proceed in parallel with the remainder of the simulation computation. The paper describes a multiprocessor simulation computer, in which all non-event set processing is performed by the principal processor (called the host). Event set processing is coordinated by a front end processor (the master) and actually performed by several other functionally identical processors (the slaves). A trace-driven simulation program modeling this system was constructed, and was run with tracemore » output taken from two different simulation programs. Output from this simulation suggests that a significant reduction in run time may be realized by this approach. Sensitivity analysis was performed on the significant parameters to the system (number of slave processors, relative processor speeds, and interprocessor communication times). A comparison between actual and simulation run times for a one-processor system was used to assist in the validation of the simulation. 7 references.« less

Trade-offs of predation and foraging explain sexual segregation in African buffalo

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hay, C.T.; Cross, P.C.; Funston, P.J.

2008-01-01

1. Many studies have investigated why males and females segregate spatially in sexually dimorphic species. These studies have focused primarily on temperate zone ungulates in areas lacking intact predator communities, and few have directly assessed predation rates in different social environments. 2. Data on the movement, social affiliation, mortality and foraging of radio-collared African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) were collected from 2001-06 in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. 3. The vast majority of mortality events were due to lion (Panthera leo) predation, and the mortality hazard associated with being an adult male buffalo in a male-only 'bachelor' group was almost four times higher than for adult females in mixed herds. The mortality rates of adult males and females within mixed herds were not statistically different. Mortality sites of male and female buffalo were in areas of low visibility similar to those used by bachelor groups, while mixed herds tended to use more open habitats. 4. Males in bachelor groups ate similar or higher quality food (as indexed by percentage faecal nitrogen), and moved almost a third less distance per day compared with mixed herds. As a result, males in bachelor groups gained more body condition than did males in breeding herds. 5. Recent comparative analyses suggest the activity-budget hypothesis as a common underlying cause of social segregation. However, our intensive study, in an area with an intact predator community showed that male and female buffalo segregated by habitat and supported the predation-risk hypothesis. Male African buffalo appear to trade increased predation risk for additional energy gains in bachelor groups, which presumably leads to increased reproductive success. ?? 2008 The Authors.

The American Slave Narrative: Exciting Resource Material for the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polsky, Milton

1975-01-01

An exploration of the educational value of the American slave narrative, offering suggestions as to how these materials can be integrated with a variety of classroom activities--music, art, writing, debate, dramatization and dance. (EH)

Increased host aggression as an induced defense against slave-making ants

PubMed Central

Pennings, Pleuni S.; Foitzik, Susanne

2011-01-01

Slave-making ants reduce the fitness of surrounding host colonies through regular raids, causing the loss of brood and frequently queen and worker death. Consequently, hosts developed defenses against slave raids such as specific recognition and aggression toward social parasites, and indeed, we show that host ants react more aggressively toward slavemakers than toward nonparasitic competitors. Permanent behavioral defenses can be costly, and if social parasite impact varies in time and space, inducible defenses, which are only expressed after slavemaker detection, can be adaptive. We demonstrate for the first time an induced defense against slave-making ants: Cues from the slavemaker Protomognathus americanus caused an unspecific but long-lasting behavioral response in Temnothorax host ants. A 5-min within-nest encounter with a dead slavemaker raised the aggression level in T. longispinosus host colonies. Contrarily, encounters with nonparasitic competitors did not elicit aggressive responses toward non-nestmates. Increased aggression can be adaptive if a slavemaker encounter reliably indicates a forthcoming attack and if aggression increases postraid survival. Host aggression was elevated over 3 days, showing the ability of host ants to remember parasite encounters. The response disappeared after 2 weeks, possibly because by then the benefits of increased aggression counterbalance potential costs associated with it. PMID:22476194

New constraints on the upper mantle structure of the Slave craton from Rayleigh wave inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chin-Wu; Rondenay, Stéphane; Weeraratne, Dayanthie S.; Snyder, David B.

2007-05-01

Rayleigh wave phase and amplitude data are analyzed to provide new insight into the velocity structure of the upper mantle beneath the Slave craton, in the northwestern Canadian Shield. We invert for phase velocities at periods between 20 s-142 s (with greatest sensitivity at depths of 28-200 km) using crossing ray paths from events recorded by the POLARIS broadband seismic network and the Yellowknife array. Phase velocities obtained for the Slave province are comparable to those from other cratons at shorter periods, but exceed the global average by ~2% at periods above 60 s, suggesting that the Slave craton may be an end member in terms of its high degree of mantle depletion. The one-dimensional inversion of phase velocities yields high upper-mantle S-wave velocities of 4.7 +/- 0.2 km/s that persist to 220 +/- 65 km depth and thus define the cratonic lithosphere. Azimuthal anisotropy is well resolved at all periods with a dominant fast direction of N59°E +/- 20°, suggesting that upper mantle anisotropy beneath the Slave craton is influenced by both lithospheric fabric and sub-lithospheric flow.

Effects of head-slaved navigation and the use of teleports on spatial orientation in virtual environments.

PubMed

Bakker, Niels H; Passenier, Peter O; Werkhoven, Peter J

2003-01-01

The type of navigation interface in a virtual environment (VE)--head slaved or indirect--determines whether or not proprioceptive feedback stimuli are present during movement. In addition, teleports can be used, which do not provide continuous movement but, rather, discontinuously displace the viewpoint over large distances. A two-part experiment was performed. The first part investigated whether head-slaved navigation provides an advantage for spatial learning in a VE. The second part investigated the role of anticipation when using teleports. The results showed that head-slaved navigation has an advantage over indirect navigation for the acquisition of spatial knowledge in a VE. Anticipating the destination of the teleport prevented disorientation after the displacement to a great extent but not completely. The time that was needed for anticipation increased if the teleport involved a rotation of the viewing direction. This research shows the potential added value of using a head-slaved navigation interface--for example, when using VE for training purposes--and provides practical guidelines for the use of teleports in VE applications.

New Constraints on Upper Mantle Structure Underlying the Diamondiferous Central Slave Craton, Canada, from Teleseismic Body Wave Tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esteve, C.; Schaeffer, A. J.; Audet, P.

2017-12-01

Over the past number of decades, the Slave Craton (Canada) has been extensively studied for its diamondiferous kimberlites. Not only are diamonds a valuable resource, but their kimberlitic host rocks provide an otherwise unique direct source of information on the deep upper mantle (and potentially transition zone). Many of the Canadian Diamond mines are located within the Slave Craton. As a result of the propensity for diamondiferous kimberlites, it is imperative to probe the deep mantle structure beneath the Slave Craton. This work is further motivated by the increase in high-quality broadband seismic data across the Northern Canadian Cordillera over the past decade. To this end we have generated a P and S body wave tomography model of the Slave Craton and its surroundings. Furthermore, tomographic inversion techniques are growing ever more capable of producing high resolution Earth models which capture detailed structure and dynamics across a range of scale lengths. Here, we present preliminary results on the structure of the upper mantle underlying the Slave Craton. These results are generated using data from eight different seismic networks such as the Canadian National Seismic Network (CNSN), Yukon Northwest Seismic Network (YNSN), older Portable Observatories for Lithospheric Analysis and Reseach Investigating Seismicity (POLARIS), Regional Alberta Observatory for Earthquake Studies Network (RV), USArray Transportable Array (TA), older Canadian Northwest Experiment (CANOE), Batholith Broadband (XY) and the Yukon Observatory (YO). This regional model brings new insights about the upper mantle structure beneath the Slave Craton, Canada.

Trans-Atlantic slavery: isotopic evidence for forced migration to Barbados.

PubMed

Schroeder, Hannes; O'Connell, Tamsin C; Evans, Jane A; Shuler, Kristrina A; Hedges, Robert E M

2009-08-01

The question of the ultimate origin of African slaves is one of the most perplexing in the history of trans-Atlantic slavery. Here we present the results of a small, preliminary isotopic study that was conducted in order to determine the geographical origin of 25 enslaved Africans who were buried at the Newton plantation, Barbados, sometime between the late 17th and early 19th century. In order to gain a more nuanced understanding of the slaves' origin, we used a combination of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotope analyses. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were determined in bone and dentinal collagen; oxygen and strontium isotopes were measured in tooth enamel. Results suggest that the majority of individuals were born on the island, if not the estate itself. Seven individuals, however, yielded enamel oxygen and strontium ratios that are inconsistent with a Barbadian origin, which strongly suggests that we are dealing with first-generation captives who were brought to the island with the slave trade. This idea is also supported by the fact that their carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values differ markedly between their teeth and bones. These intra-skeletal shifts reflect major dietary changes that probably coincided with their enslavement and forced migration to Barbados. While it is impossible to determine their exact origins, the results clearly demonstrate that the slaves did not all grow up in the same part of Africa. Instead, the data seem to suggest that they originated from at least three different areas, possibly including the Gold Coast and the Senegambia.

Accretion of the Archean Slave Province

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kusky, Timothy

1988-01-01

Detailed field studies of selected areas in the greenstone belts of the Slave Province of Canada were presented. This area was long cited as a type area by supporters of the (now generally abandoned) rift model of greenstone belts. It was shown that a plate tectonic interpretation accounted more successfully for the regional geology and identified four terranes that had experienced complex divergent and convergent histories between 2.7 and 3.4 Ga. A dismembered ophiolite was identified and a late episode of widespread granitic intrusion was recognized.

Improvements in multimedia data buffering using master/slave architecture

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sheikh, S.; Ganesan, R.

1996-12-31

Advances in the networking technology and multimedia technology has necessitated a need for multimedia servers to be robust and reliable. Existing solutions have direct limitations such as I/O bottleneck and reliability of data retrieval. The system can store the stream of incoming data if enough buffer space is available or the mass storage is clearing the buffer data faster than queue input. A single buffer queue is not sufficient to handle the large frames. Queue sizes are normally several megabytes in length and thus in turn will introduce a state of overflow. The system should also keep track of themore » rewind, fast forwarding, and pause requests, otherwise queue management will become intricate. In this paper, we present a master/slave (server that is designated to monitor the workflow of the complete system. This server holds every other information of slaves by maintaining a dynamic table. It also controls the workload on each of the systems by redistributing request to others or handles the request by itself) approach which will overcome the limitations of today`s storage and also satisfy tomorrow`s storage needs. This approach will maintain the system reliability and yield faster response by using more storage units in parallel. A network of master/slave can handle many requests and synchronize them at all times. Using dedicated CPU and a common pool of queues we explain how queues can be controlled and buffer overflow can be avoided. We propose a layered approach to the buffering problem and provide a read-ahead solution to ensure continuous storage and retrieval of multimedia data.« less

Interdisciplinary approach to the demography of Jamaica

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The trans-Atlantic slave trade dramatically changed the demographic makeup of the New World, with varying regions of the African coast exploited differently over roughly a 400 year period. When compared to the discrete mitochondrial haplotype distribution of historically appropriate source populations, the unique distribution within a specific source population can prove insightful in estimating the contribution of each population. Here, we analyzed the first hypervariable region of mitochondrial DNA in a sample from the Caribbean island of Jamaica and compared it to aggregated populations in Africa divided according to historiographically defined segments of the continent's coastline. The results from these admixture procedures were then compared to the wealth of historic knowledge surrounding the disembarkation of Africans on the island. Results In line with previous findings, the matriline of Jamaica is almost entirely of West African descent. Results from the admixture analyses suggest modern Jamaicans share a closer affinity with groups from the Gold Coast and Bight of Benin despite high mortality, low fecundity, and waning regional importation. The slaves from the Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa were imported in great numbers; however, the results suggest a deficit in expected maternal contribution from those regions. Conclusions When considering the demographic pressures imposed by chattel slavery on Jamaica during the slave era, the results seem incongruous. Ethnolinguistic and ethnographic evidence, however, may explain the apparent non-random levels of genetic perseverance. The application of genetics may prove useful in answering difficult demographic questions left by historically voiceless groups. PMID:22360861

An assembly-type master-slave catheter and guidewire driving system for vascular intervention.

PubMed

Cha, Hyo-Jeong; Yi, Byung-Ju; Won, Jong Yun

2017-01-01

Current vascular intervention inevitably exposes a large amount of X-ray to both an operator and a patient during the procedure. The purpose of this study is to propose a new catheter driving system which assists the operator in aspects of less X-ray exposure and convenient user interface. For this, an assembly-type 4-degree-of-freedom master-slave system was designed and tested to verify the efficiency. First, current vascular intervention procedures are analyzed to develop a new robotic procedure that enables us to use conventional vascular intervention devices such as catheter and guidewire which are commercially available in the market. Some parts of the slave robot which contact the devices were designed to be easily assembled and dissembled from the main body of the slave robot for sterilization. A master robot is compactly designed to conduct insertion and rotational motion and is able to switch from the guidewire driving mode to the catheter driving mode or vice versa. A phantom resembling the human arteries was developed, and the master-slave robotic system is tested using the phantom. The contact force of the guidewire tip according to the shape of the arteries is measured and reflected to the user through the master robot during the phantom experiment. This system can drastically reduce radiation exposure by replacing human effort by a robotic system for high radiation exposure procedures. Also, benefits of the proposed robot system are low cost by employing currently available devices and easy human interface.

Philosophy of a Slave (Attack on Tito) - Communist China -

DTIC Science & Technology

1960-09-15

master were to die, the slave would mourn . And when the master is sick, even his dog Will cry in sorrow. Recently, when Ameri- can imperialism was...uncovered before the people of the world, the Tito bloc of Yugoslavia naturally mourned and cried. But while Tito and his like mourned for their

An "Epeleptick" bondswoman: fits, slavery, and power in the antebellum South.

PubMed

Boster, Dea H

2009-01-01

Epilepsy, as nineteenth-century observers understood the disease construct, was a feared diagnosis associated with insanity and uncontrollability. Cases of epileptic fits in slaves-whether they were considered genuine or feigned- highlighted deep struggles among white masters, physicians, and slaves themselves over the control of African American bodies. Some slaves who experienced fits were subjected to prolonged experimental treatments at the hands of physicians and white masters. Although Southern medical sources largely ignored the connection between epilepsy and trauma in slaves, abolitionists and ex-slave narratives published in the North used epilepsy as a representation of the institution's cruelty. Some white observers thought that slaves with epilepsy were prone to malingering; epileptic fits were also a tool of slave resistance and had a significant role in slave sale negotiations. I use the case study of a fifteen-year-old bondswoman in Virginia, diagnosed with epilepsy in 1843, to illustrate the significance of the disease in the lives of African American slaves.

78 FR 16908 - Determinations Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-19

... STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE Determinations Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act AGENCY... substantial progress toward implementing and following, the customs procedures required by the African Growth... lesser developed beneficiary sub-Saharan African country. In Proclamation 7350 (October 2, 2000), the...

Design of a 7-DOF slave robot integrated with a magneto-rheological haptic master

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, Yong-Hoon; Cha, Seung-Woo; Kang, Seok-Rae; Choi, Seung-Bok

2017-04-01

In this study, a 7-DOF slave robot integrated with the haptic master is designed and its dynamic motion is controlled. The haptic master is made using a controllable magneto-rheological (MR) clutch and brake and it provides the surgeon with a sense of touch by using both kinetic and kinesthetic information. Due to the size constraint of the slave robot, a wire actuating is adopted to make the desired motion of the end-effector which has 3-DOF instead of a conventional direct-driven motor. Another motions of the link parts that have 4-DOF use direct-driven motor. In total system, for working as a haptic device, the haptic master need to receive the information of repulsive forces applied on the slave robot. Therefore, repulsive forces on the end-effector are sensed by using three uniaxial torque transducer inserted in the wire actuating system and another repulsive forces applied on link part are sensed by using 6-axis transducer that is able to sense forces and torques. Using another 6-axis transducer, verify the reliability of force information on final end of slave robot. Lastly, integrated with a MR haptic master, psycho-physical test is conducted by different operators who can feel the different repulsive force or torque generated from the haptic master which is equivalent to the force or torque occurred on the end-effector to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system.

Slave finite elements for nonlinear analysis of engine structures, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gellin, S.

1991-01-01

A 336 degrees of freedom slave finite element processing capability to analyze engine structures under severe thermomechanical loading is presented. Description of the theoretical development and demonstration of that element is presented in this volume.

Design of an integrated master-slave robotic system for minimally invasive surgery.

PubMed

Li, Jianmin; Zhou, Ningxin; Wang, Shuxin; Gao, Yuanqian; Liu, Dongchun

2012-03-01

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) robots are commonly used in hospitals and medical centres. However, currently available robotic systems are very complicated and huge, greatly raising system costs and the requirements of operating rooms. These disadvantages have become the major impediments to the expansion of MIS robots. An integrated MIS robotic system is proposed based on the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of different MIS robots. In the proposed system, the master manipulators, slave manipulators, image display device and control system have been designed as a whole. Modular design is adopted for the control system for easy maintenance and upgrade. The kinematic relations between the master and the slave are also investigated and embedded in software to realize intuitive movements of hand and instrument. Finally, animal experiments were designed to test the effectiveness of the robot. The robot realizes natural hand-eye movements between the master and the slave to facilitate MIS operations. The experimental results show that the robot can realize similar functions to those of current commercialized robots. The integrated design simplifies the robotic system and facilitates use of the robot. Compared with the commercialized robots, the proposed MIS robot achieves similar functions and features but with a smaller size and less weight. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Bilateral force reflection for teleoperators with masters and slaves with dissimilar and possibly redundant kinematics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jansen, J.F.; Babcock, S.M.

1989-11-01

Several bilateral control techniques and methods for exploiting redundant slaves are investigated as a part of research to develop and analyze bilateral, force-reflecting control methodologies for teleoperator systems with kinematic dissimilar masters and slaves. The study indicates that, with force/torque sensing at the wrist, and an impedance type of controller with the appropriate joint compensation, a significant improvement in performance and controllability of a teleoperator system can be achieved. 32 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

Slave Advertising in the Colonial Newspaper: Mirror to the Dilemma.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bradley, Patricia

To explore racial attitudes from the colonial period of the United States, a study examined advertising practices regarding announcements dealing with black slaves in colonial newspapers in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. Careful scrutiny revealed no relationship between the editorial stance of a…

Study on real-time force feedback for a master-slave interventional surgical robotic system.

PubMed

Guo, Shuxiang; Wang, Yuan; Xiao, Nan; Li, Youxiang; Jiang, Yuhua

2018-04-13

In robot-assisted catheterization, haptic feedback is important, but is currently lacking. In addition, conventional interventional surgical robotic systems typically employ a master-slave architecture with an open-loop force feedback, which results in inaccurate control. We develop herein a novel real-time master-slave (RTMS) interventional surgical robotic system with a closed-loop force feedback that allows a surgeon to sense the true force during remote operation, provide adequate haptic feedback, and improve control accuracy in robot-assisted catheterization. As part of this system, we also design a unique master control handle that measures the true force felt by a surgeon, providing the basis for the closed-loop control of the entire system. We use theoretical and empirical methods to demonstrate that the proposed RTMS system provides a surgeon (using the master control handle) with a more accurate and realistic force sensation, which subsequently improves the precision of the master-slave manipulation. The experimental results show a substantial increase in the control accuracy of the force feedback and an increase in operational efficiency during surgery.

Interior view, Slave Quarter/Service Wing, first floor, east end, perspective ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Interior view, Slave Quarter/Service Wing, first floor, east end, perspective view of the east chimney looking northwest (note ghost of mantel, nailing block - Decatur House, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 748 Jackson Place Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

Interior view, Slave Quarter/Service, second floor, detail view of framing ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Interior view, Slave Quarter/Service, second floor, detail view of framing to show joists (with ghosts of lathe) and header (trimmer) with keyed through tenon. - Decatur House, National Trust for Historic Preservation, 748 Jackson Place Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC

Master/slave clock arrangement for providing reliable clock signal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbey, Duane L. (Inventor)

1977-01-01

The outputs of two like frequency oscillators are combined to form a single reliable clock signal, with one oscillator functioning as a slave under the control of the other to achieve phase coincidence when the master is operative and in a free-running mode when the master is inoperative so that failure of either oscillator produces no effect on the clock signal.

Breaking the chains: examining the endorsement of modern Jezebel images and racial-ethnic esteem among African American women.

PubMed

Brown, Danice L; White-Johnson, Rhonda L; Griffin-Fennell, Felicia D

2013-01-01

The historical image of the Black Jezebel - a hypersexual, seductive and manipulative slave woman - has been one of the most pervasive and evolving images influencing the sexual socialization and perceptions of African American women today. This preliminary study examined generational differences in the endorsement of modern depictions of the Jezebel, as well as the relationship between racial-ethnic esteem and endorsement of this sexualised image. A total of 249 African American women completed an online, self-report questionnaire assessing study variables. Results suggested that younger women (aged 18-34) may exhibit higher endorsement of the modern Jezebel depictions. Additionally, aspects of racial-ethnic esteem may be linked to lower endorsement of modern Jezebel depictions among younger and older (55 years and older) African American women. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

Modeling and Dynamic Analysis of Paralleled dc/dc Converters With Master-Slave Current Sharing Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajagopalan, J.; Xing, K.; Guo, Y.; Lee, F. C.; Manners, Bruce

1996-01-01

A simple, application-oriented, transfer function model of paralleled converters employing Master-Slave Current-sharing (MSC) control is developed. Dynamically, the Master converter retains its original design characteristics; all the Slave converters are forced to depart significantly from their original design characteristics into current-controlled current sources. Five distinct loop gains to assess system stability and performance are identified and their physical significance is described. A design methodology for the current share compensator is presented. The effect of this current sharing scheme on 'system output impedance' is analyzed.

Remote heterodyne millimeter-wave over fiber based OFDM-PON with master-to-slave injected dual-mode colorless FPLD pair.

PubMed

Chen, Hsiang-Yu; Chi, Yu-Chieh; Lin, Gong-Ru

2015-08-24

A remote heterodyne millimeter-wave (MMW) carrier at 47.7 GHz over fiber synthesized with the master-to-slave injected dual-mode colorless FPLD pair is proposed, which enables the future connection between the wired fiber-optic 64-QAM OFDM-PON at 24 Gb/s with the MMW 4-QAM OFDM wireless network at 2 Gb/s. Both the single- and dual-mode master-to-slave injection-locked colorless FPLD pairs are compared to optimize the proposed 64-QAM OFDM-PON. For the unamplified single-mode master, the slave colorless FPLD successfully performs the 64-QAM OFDM data at 24 Gb/s with EVM, SNR and BER of 8.5%, 21.5 dB and 2.9 × 10(-3), respectively. In contrast, the dual-mode master-to-slave injection-locked colorless FPLD pair with amplified and unfiltered master can transmit 64-QAM OFDM data at 18 Gb/s over 25-km SMF to provide EVM, SNR and BER of 8.2%, 21.8 dB and 2.2 × 10(-3), respectively. For the dual-mode master-to-slave injection-locked colorless FPLD pair, even though the modal dispersion occurred during 25-km SMF transmission makes it sacrifice the usable OFDM bandwidth by only 1 GHz, which guarantees the sufficient encoding bitrate for the optically generated MMW carrier to implement the fusion of MMW wireless LAN and DWDM-PON with cost-effective and compact architecture. As a result, the 47.7-GHz MMW carrier remotely beat from the dual-mode master-to-slave injection-locked colorless FPLD pair exhibits an extremely narrow bandwidth of only 0.48 MHz. After frequency down-conversion operation, the 47.7-GHz MMW carrier successfully delivers 4-QAM OFDM data up to 2 Gb/s with EVM, SNR and BER of 33.5%, 9.51 dB and 1.4 × 10(-3), respectively.

Tele-Manipulation with Two Asymmetric Slaves: Two Operators Perform Better Than One.

PubMed

van Oosterhout, Jeroen; Heemskerk, Cock J M; de Baar, Marco R; van der Helm, Frans C T; Abbink, David A

2018-01-01

Certain tele-manipulation tasks require manipulation by two asymmetric slaves, for example, a crane for hoisting and a dexterous robotic arm for fine manipulation. It is unclear how to best design human-in-the-loop control over two asymmetric slaves. The goal of this paper is to quantitatively compare the standard approach of two co-operating operators that each control a single subtask, to a single operator performing bi-manual control over the two subtasks, and a uni-manual control approach. In a human factors experiment, participants performed a heavy load maneuvering and mounting task using a vertical crane and a robotic arm. We hypothesize that bi-manual control yields worse task performance and control activity compared to co-operation, because of conflicting spatial and temporal constraints. Literature suggests that uni-manual operators should perform better than co-operation, as co-operators critically depend on each other's actions. However, other literature provides evidence that individual operators have limited capabilities in controlling asymmetric axes of two dynamic systems. The results show that the two co-operators perform the maneuvering and mounting task faster than either bi- or uni-manual operators. Compared to co-operators, uni-manual operators required more control activity for the vertical crane and less for the robotic arm. In conclusion, this study suggests that when controlling two asymmetric slaves, a co-operating pair of operators performs better than a single operator.

Disentangling regional trade agreements, trade flows and tobacco affordability in sub-Saharan Africa.

PubMed

Appau, Adriana; Drope, Jeffrey; Labonté, Ronald; Stoklosa, Michal; Lencucha, Raphael

2017-11-14

In principle, trade and investment agreements are meant to boost economic growth. However, the removal of trade barriers and the provision of investment incentives to attract foreign direct investments may facilitate increased trade in and/or more efficient production of commodities considered harmful to health such as tobacco. We analyze existing evidence on trade and investment liberalization and its relationship to tobacco trade in Sub-Saharan African countries. We compare tobacco trading patterns to foreign direct investments made by tobacco companies. We estimate and compare changes in the Konjunkturforschungsstelle (KOF) Economic Globalization measure, relative price measure and cigarette prices. Preferential regional trade agreements appear to have encouraged the consolidation of cigarette production, which has shaped trading patterns of tobacco leaf. Since 2002, British American Tobacco has invested in tobacco manufacturing facilities in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa strategically located to serve different regions in Africa. Following this, British America Tobacco closed factories in Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Mauritius and Angola. At the same time, Malawi and Tanzania exported a large percentage of tobacco leaf to European countries. After 2010, there was an increase in tobacco exports from Malawi and Zambia to China, which may be a result of preferential trade agreements the EU and China have with these countries. Economic liberalization has been accompanied by greater cigarette affordability for the countries included in our analysis. However, only excise taxes and income have an effect on cigarette prices within the region. These results suggest that the changing economic structures of international trade and investment are likely heightening the efficiency and effectiveness of the tobacco industry. As tobacco control advocates consider supply-side tobacco control interventions, they must consider carefully the effects of these economic agreements and

Concept for a large master/slave-controlled robotic hand

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grissom, William A.; Abdallah, Mahmoud A.; White, Carl L.

1988-01-01

A strategy is presented for the design and construction of a large master/slave-controlled, five-finger robotic hand. Each of the five fingers will possess four independent axes each driven by a brushless DC servomotor and, thus, four degrees-of-freedom. It is proposed that commercially available components be utilized as much as possible to fabricate a working laboratory model of the device with an anticipated overall length of two-to-four feet (0.6 to 1.2 m). The fingers are to be designed so that proximity, tactile, or force/torque sensors can be imbedded in their structure. In order to provide for the simultaneous control of the twenty independent hand joints, a multilevel master/slave control strategy is proposed in which the operator wears a specially instrumented glove which produces control signals corresponding to the finger configurations and which is capable of conveying sensor feedback signals to the operator. Two dexterous hand master devices are currently commercially available for this application with both undergoing continuing development. A third approach to be investigated for the master control mode is the use of real-time image processing of a specially patterned master glove to provide the respective control signals for positioning the multiple finger joints.

Modeling and Dynamic Analysis of Paralleled of dc/dc Converters with Master-Slave Current Sharing Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajagopalan, J.; Xing, K.; Guo, Y.; Lee, F. C.; Manners, Bruce

1996-01-01

A simple, application-oriented, transfer function model of paralleled converters employing Master-Slave Current-sharing (MSC) control is developed. Dynamically, the Master converter retains its original design characteristics; all the Slave converters are forced to depart significantly from their original design characteristics into current-controlled current sources. Five distinct loop gains to assess system stability and performance are identified and their physical significance is described. A design methodology for the current share compensator is presented. The effect of this current sharing scheme on 'system output impedance' is analyzed.

Slaves, "Coloni," and Status Confusion in the Late Roman Empire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basta, Hannah

2017-01-01

From the dawn of the Roman Empire, slavery played a major and essential role in Roman society. While slavery never completely disappeared from ancient Roman society, its position in the Roman economy shifted at the beginning of the period called Late Antiquity (14 CE-500 CE). At this time, the slave system of the Roman world adjusted to a new…

Laboratory services series: a master-slave manipulator maintenance program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jenness, R. G.; Hicks, R. E.; Wicker, C. D.

1976-12-01

The volume of master slave manipulator maintenance at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has necessitated the establishment of a repair facility and organization of a specially trained group of craftsmen. Emphasis on cell containment requires the use of manipulator boots and development of precise procedures for accomplishing the maintenance of 287 installed units. A very satisfactory computer programmed maintenance system has been established at the Laboratory to provide an economical approach to preventive maintenance.

The Antislavery Movement in Early America: Religion, Social Environment and Slave Manumissions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Budros, Art

2005-01-01

Although traditional explanations of the historic slave manumission movement during the early Republic have stressed religion, rival ones have emphasized broader environmental forces. However, the literature has offered non-systematic conceptualizations of religion and impressionistic empirical analyses of the facilitators of liberations. In…

First evidence for slave rebellion: enslaved ant workers systematically kill the brood of their social parasite protomognathus americanus.

PubMed

Achenbach, Alexandra; Foitzik, Susanne

2009-04-01

During the process of coevolution, social parasites have evolved sophisticated strategies to exploit the brood care behavior of their social hosts. Slave-making ant queens invade host colonies and kill or eject all adult host ants. Host workers, which eclose from the remaining brood, are tricked into caring for the parasite brood. Due to their high prevalence and frequent raids, following which stolen host broods are similarly enslaved, slave-making ants exert substantial selection upon their hosts, leading to the evolution of antiparasite adaptations. However, all host defenses shown to date are active before host workers are parasitized, whereas selection was thought to be unable to act on traits of already enslaved hosts. Yet, here we demonstrate the rebellion of enslaved Temnothorax workers, which kill two-thirds of the female pupae of the slave-making ant Protomognathus americanus. Thereby, slaves decrease the long-term parasite impact on surrounding related host colonies. This novel antiparasite strategy of enslaved workers constitutes a new level in the coevolutionary battle after host colony defense has failed. Our discovery is analogous to recent findings in hosts of avian brood parasites where perfect mimicry of parasite eggs leads to the evolution of chick recognition as a second line of defense.

[Food insecurity in rural communities in Northeast Brazil: does belonging to a slave-descendent community make a difference?

PubMed

Silva, Etna Kaliane Pereira da; Medeiros, Danielle Souto de; Martins, Poliana Cardoso; Sousa, Líllian de Almeida; Lima, Gislane Pereira; Rêgo, Maria Amanda Sousa; Silva, Tainan Oliveira da; Freire, Alessandra Silva; Silva, Fernanda Moitinho

2017-06-01

This study aimed to measure the prevalence of food insecurity in a rural area of Northeast Brazil and investigate this outcome according to residence in quilombola communities (descendants of African slaves) versus non-quilombola communities. This was a cross-sectional study in 21 rural communities, 9 of which quilombolas, in 2014, using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA). Prevalence rates and prevalence ratios were estimated for food insecurity, and Poisson multiple regression analysis with robust variance was performed. Food insecurity was found in 52.1% of the families: 64.9% in quilombola communities and 42% in the others. Food insecurity was associated with belonging to a quilombola community (PR = 1.25), lower economic status (PR = 1.89; 2.98, and 3.22 for status C2, D, and E, respectively), beneficiaries of Bolsa Família program (PR = 1.52), and four or more household members (PR = 1.20). Food insecurity prevalence was high in the entire population, but it was even higher in quilombola communities, even though they belonged to the same coverage area. The results emphasize this population's vulnerability.

A SNP test to identify Africanized honeybees via proportion of 'African' ancestry.

PubMed

Chapman, Nadine C; Harpur, Brock A; Lim, Julianne; Rinderer, Thomas E; Allsopp, Michael H; Zayed, Amro; Oldroyd, Benjamin P

2015-11-01

The honeybee, Apis mellifera, is the world's most important pollinator and is ubiquitous in most agricultural ecosystems. Four major evolutionary lineages and at least 24 subspecies are recognized. Commercial populations are mainly derived from subspecies originating in Europe (75-95%). The Africanized honeybee is a New World hybrid of A. m. scutellata from Africa and European subspecies, with the African component making up 50-90% of the genome. Africanized honeybees are considered undesirable for bee-keeping in most countries, due to their extreme defensiveness and poor honey production. The international trade in honeybees is restricted, due in part to bans on the importation of queens (and semen) from countries where Africanized honeybees are extant. Some desirable strains from the United States of America that have been bred for traits such as resistance to the mite Varroa destructor are unfortunately excluded from export to countries such as Australia due to the presence of Africanized honeybees in the USA. This study shows that a panel of 95 single nucleotide polymorphisms, chosen to differentiate between the African, Eastern European and Western European lineages, can detect Africanized honeybees with a high degree of confidence via ancestry assignment. Our panel therefore offers a valuable tool to mitigate the risks of spreading Africanized honeybees across the globe and may enable the resumption of queen and bee semen imports from the Americas. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Simultaneous master-slave Omega pairs. [navigation system featuring low cost receiver

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burhans, R. W.

1974-01-01

Master-slave sequence ordering of the Omega system is suggested as a method of improving the pair geometry for low-cost receiver user benefit. The sequence change will not affect present sophisticated processor users other than require new labels for some pair combinations, but may require worldwide transmitter operators to slightly alter their long-range synchronizing techniques.

Counter-Discursive and Erotic Agency: The Case of the Black Slaves in Miguel De Cervantes's "El Celoso Extremeño"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruiz, Eduardo

2014-01-01

Cervantes's "novela" creates a complex protagonist due in part to the involvement of the slaves' destructive and creative energies: a linguistic and erotic paradox. Linguistically the female slave foregrounds the historical dichotomy between "ladinos" and "bozales" and the related problematic of conversion,…

[The suicide of slaves in São Paulo during the last two decades of slavery].

PubMed

Oliveira, Saulo Veiga; Oda, Ana Maria Galdini Raimundo

2008-01-01

News stories printed in Gazeta de Campinas (1871-1887) are used to investigate the views expressed at the time of the suicides of captives and freedmen in São Paulo province, and to discuss the data available. As suicide is a form of human behavior which cannot be reduced to one single explanation, it does not seem justifiable that amongst the slaves, these cases should also be taken as self-explanatory because of the conditions in which they occurred. By noting the circumstances in which these acts took place, it is hoped that the fallacy of oversimplified explanations can be belied, which refer to the suicide of slaves as quite simply being due to a 'dislike of captivity'.

Leveraging master-slave OpenFlow controller arrangement to improve control plane resiliency in SD-EONs.

PubMed

Chen, Xiaoliang; Zhao, Bin; Ma, Shoujiang; Chen, Cen; Hu, Daoyun; Zhou, Wenshuang; Zhu, Zuqing

2015-03-23

In this paper, we study how to improve the control plane resiliency of software-defined elastic optical networks (SD-EONs) and design a master-slave OpenFlow (OF) controller arrangement. Specifically, we introduce two OF controllers (OF-Cs), i.e., the master and slave OF-Cs, and make them work in a collaborative way to protect the SD-EON against controller failures. We develop a controller communication protocol (CCP) to facilitate the cooperation of the two OF-Cs. With the CCP, the master OF-C (M-OF-C) can synchronize network status to the slave OF-C (S-OF-C) in real time, while S-OF-C can quickly detect the failure of M-OF-C and take over the network control and management (NC&M) tasks timely to avoid service disruption. We implement the proposed framework in an SD-EON control plane testbed built with high-performance servers, and perform NC&M experiments with different network failure scenarios to demonstrate its effectiveness. Experimental results indicate that the proposed system can restore services in both the data and control planes of SD-EON jointly while maintaining relatively good scalability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that realizes control plane resiliency in SD-EONs.

Control of an ER haptic master in a virtual slave environment for minimally invasive surgery applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Young-Min; Choi, Seung-Bok

2008-12-01

This paper presents the control performance of an electrorheological (ER) fluid-based haptic master device connected to a virtual slave environment that can be used for minimally invasive surgery (MIS). An already developed haptic joint featuring controllable ER fluid and a spherical joint mechanism is adopted for the master system. Medical forceps and an angular position measuring device are devised and integrated with the joint to establish the MIS master system. In order to embody a human organ in virtual space, a volumetric deformable object is used. The virtual object is then mathematically formulated by a shape-retaining chain-linked (S-chain) model. After evaluating the reflection force, computation time and compatibility with real-time control, the haptic architecture for MIS is established by incorporating the virtual slave with the master device so that the reflection force for the object of the virtual slave and the desired position for the master operator are transferred to each other. In order to achieve the desired force trajectories, a sliding mode controller is formulated and then experimentally realized. Tracking control performances for various force trajectories are evaluated and presented in the time domain.

Unbinding slave spins in the Anderson impurity model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerci, Daniele; Fabrizio, Michele

2017-11-01

We show that a generic single-orbital Anderson impurity model, lacking, for instance, any kind of particle-hole symmetry, can be exactly mapped without any constraint onto a resonant level model coupled to two Ising variables, which reduce to one if the hybridization is particle-hole symmetric. The mean-field solution of this model is found to be stable to unphysical spontaneous magnetization of the impurity, unlike the saddle-point solution in the standard slave-boson representation. Remarkably, the mean-field estimate of the Wilson ratio approaches the exact value RW=2 in the Kondo regime.

Low birth weight of contemporary African Americans: an intergenerational effect of slavery?

PubMed

Jasienska, Grazyna

2009-01-01

The average birth weight in the contemporary African-American population is about 250 g lower than the average birth weight of European Americans. Differences in genetic and socioeconomic factors present between these two groups can explain only part of birth weight variation. I propose a hypothesis that the low birth weight of contemporary African Americans not only results from the difference in present exposure to lifestyle factors known to affect fetal development but also from conditions experienced during the period of slavery. Slaves had poor nutritional status during all stages of life because of the inadequate dietary intake accompanied by high energetic costs of physical work and infectious diseases. The concept of "fetal programming" suggests that physiology and metabolism including growth and fat accumulation of the developing fetus, and, thus its birth weight, depend on intergenerational signal of environmental quality passed through generations of matrilinear ancestors. I suggest that several generations that have passed since the abolition of slavery in the United States (1865) has not been enough to obliterate the impact of slavery on the current biological and health condition of the African-American population. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A novel control framework for nonlinear time-delayed dual-master/single-slave teleoperation.

PubMed

Ghorbanian, A; Rezaei, S M; Khoogar, A R; Zareinejad, M; Baghestan, K

2013-03-01

A novel trilateral control architecture for the Dual-master/Single-slave teleoperation is proposed in this paper. This framework has been used in surgical training and rehabilitation applications. In this structure, the slave motion has been controlled by weighted summation of signals transmitted by the operator referring to task control authority through the dominance factors. The nonlinear dynamics for telemanipulators are considered which were considered as disregarded issues in previous studies of this field. Bounded variable time-delay has been considered which affects the transmitted signals in the communication channels. Two types of controllers have been offered and an appropriate stability analysis for each controller has been demonstrated. The first controller includes Proportional with dissipative gains (P+d). The second one contains Proportional and Derivative with dissipative gains (PD+d). In both cases, the stability of the trilateral control framework is preserved by choosing appropriate controller's gains. It is shown that these controllers attempt to coordinate the positions of telemanipulators in the free motion condition. The stability of the Dual-master/Single-slave teleoperation has been proved by an appropriate Lyapunov like function and the stability conditions have been studied. In addition the proposed PD+d control architecture is modified for trilateral teleoperation with internet communication between telemanipulators that caused such communication complications as packet loss, data duplication and swapping. A number of experiments have been conducted with various levels of dominance factor to validate the effectiveness of the new control architecture. Copyright © 2012 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Luís Gomes Ferreira reports on the health of slaves in his work entitled Erário mineral (1735)].

PubMed

Eugênio, Alisson

2015-01-01

The article analyzes the reports of Luís Gomes Ferreira published in his manual on practical medicine entitled Erário mineral, of 1735, on the most common illnesses in captivity. It is shown that such reports can be interpreted as a criticism of the social relations of the slave era by issuing some warnings to the landowners who failed to look after the health of their slaves.

Time and frequency transfer by the Master-Slave Returnable Timing System technique - Application to solar power transmission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindsey, W. C.; Kantak, A. V.

1979-01-01

The concept of the Master Slave Returnable Timing System (MSRTS) is presented which combines the advantages of the master slave (MS) and the Returnable Timing System (RTS) for time and frequency transfer. The basic idea of MSRTS is to send the time-frequency signal received at a particular node back to the sending node. The delay accumulated by this return signal is used to advance the phase of the master (sending) node thereby canceling the effect of the delay introduced by the path. The method can be used in highly accurate clock distribution systems required in avionics, computer communications, and large retrodirective phased arrays such as the Solar Power Satellite.

Design of a haptic device with grasp and push-pull force feedback for a master-slave surgical robot.

PubMed

Hu, Zhenkai; Yoon, Chae-Hyun; Park, Samuel Byeongjun; Jo, Yung-Ho

2016-07-01

We propose a portable haptic device providing grasp (kinesthetic) and push-pull (cutaneous) sensations for optical-motion-capture master interfaces. Although optical-motion-capture master interfaces for surgical robot systems can overcome the stiffness, friction, and coupling problems of mechanical master interfaces, it is difficult to add haptic feedback to an optical-motion-capture master interface without constraining the free motion of the operator's hands. Therefore, we utilized a Bowden cable-driven mechanism to provide the grasp and push-pull sensation while retaining the free hand motion of the optical-motion capture master interface. To evaluate the haptic device, we construct a 2-DOF force sensing/force feedback system. We compare the sensed force and the reproduced force of the haptic device. Finally, a needle insertion test was done to evaluate the performance of the haptic interface in the master-slave system. The results demonstrate that both the grasp force feedback and the push-pull force feedback provided by the haptic interface closely matched with the sensed forces of the slave robot. We successfully apply our haptic interface in the optical-motion-capture master-slave system. The results of the needle insertion test showed that our haptic feedback can provide more safety than merely visual observation. We develop a suitable haptic device to produce both kinesthetic grasp force feedback and cutaneous push-pull force feedback. Our future research will include further objective performance evaluations of the optical-motion-capture master-slave robot system with our haptic interface in surgical scenarios.

The influence of space and time on the evolution of altruistic defence: the case of ant slave rebellion.

PubMed

Metzler, D; Jordan, F; Pamminger, T; Foitzik, S

2016-05-01

How can antiparasite defence traits evolve even if they do not directly benefit their carriers? An example of such an indirect defence is rebellion of enslaved Temnothorax longispinosus ant workers against their social parasite Temnothorax americanus, a slavemaking ant. Ant slaves have been observed to kill their oppressors' offspring, a behaviour from which the sterile slaves cannot profit directly. Parasite brood killing could, however, reduce raiding pressure on related host colonies nearby. We analyse with extensive computer simulations for the Temnothorax slavemaker system under what conditions a hypothetical rebel allele could invade a host population, and in particular, how host-parasite dynamics and population structure influence the rebel allele's success. Exploring a wide range of model parameters, we only found a small number of parameter combinations for which kin selection or multilevel selection could allow a slave rebellion allele to spread in the host population. Furthermore, we did not detect any cases in which the reduction of raiding pressure in the close vicinity of the slavemaker nest would substantially contribute to the inclusive fitness of rebels. This suggests that slave rebellion is not costly and perhaps a side-effect of some other beneficial trait. In some of our simulations, however, even a costly rebellion allele could spread in the population. This was possible when host-parasite interactions led to a metapopulation dynamic with frequent local extinctions and recolonizations of demes by the offspring of few immigrants. © 2016 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2016 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

[Distribution of three polymorphisms of the TSLP gen in African-descendent population from San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia].

PubMed

Fang, Luis; Martínez, Beatriz; Marrugo, Javier

2013-01-01

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) has been linked as a susceptibility gene for the development of allergic diseases. It is known that the population of Cartagena is a triethnic mix, in which the component of African ancestry was significantly associated with risk of asthma and high total serum IgE levels. This component comes from African slaves brought into the continent and settled in "palenques", one of them is San Basilio de Palenque, in the Colombian Caribbean Coast. To analyze the distribution of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) rs1837253, rs17551370 and rs2289276 located in TSLP gene, in the African-descendent population of San Basilio de Palenque. By real time-PCR and probes TaqMan SNP Genotyping™, we genotyped three polymorphisms in 80 individuals of African-descent aged 5 to 18 years of age. The frequency of the rs1837253 allele T was 41.9%, for the allele A, 14.3% for rs17551370, and 22.5% for the allele T of rs2289276. The rs17551370 and rs2289276 distribution remained in Hardy- Weinberg genetic equilibrium. The allele frequency of each SNP did not show statistically significant differences with those reported for other African and African-descendent populations. The three polymorphisms in the TSLP were present in the sample population of San Basilio de Palenque and its distribution is similar to that reported for African populations and African ancestry in America.

A review of commercially important African medicinal plants.

PubMed

Van Wyk, B-E

2015-12-24

Data on the relative importance and research status of commercially relevant African medicinal plants are needed for developing new research strategies in order to stimulate much-needed ethnopharmacological research and to promote the commercialization of African plants. To present an illustrated bird's eye view and comparative analysis of the relative popularity and importance of commercialized African medicinal plants. A comparison is made between the general popularity and commercial importance of the species (as indicated by their footprint on the World Wide Web) and their scientific popularity and importance (as indicated by the number of research publications). The inventory and review is strongly focussed to cover all or most of the medicinal plant raw materials in the international trade that are exported from African countries, with less emphasis on those that are regularly traded on local and regional markets within Africa. The review is based on literature data, Scopus and Google searches, commercial information and the author's own experience and observations. More than 5400 plant species are used in traditional medicine in Africa, of which less than 10% have been commercially developed to some extent. Africa is home to more than 80 valuable commercial species that are regularly traded on international markets, including phytomedicines (e.g. Harpagophytum procumbens and Pelargonium sidoides), functional foods (e.g. Adansonia digitata and Hibiscus sabdariffa) and sources of pure chemical entities (e.g. caffeine from Coffea arabica and yohimbine from Pausinystalia johimbe). According to the Scopus results, about 60% of all recent publications on African medicinal plants appeared in the last decade, with an average of 280 papers (28 per year) for 85 prominent species of international trade. The most popular African species for research (number of publications in brackets) were: Ricinus communis (5187), Aloe vera (2832), Catharanthus roseus (2653), Sesamum

Mites Parasitic on Australasian and African Spiders Found in the Pet Trade; a Redescription of Ljunghia pulleinei Womersley

PubMed Central

Masan, Peter; Simpson, Christopher; Perotti, M. Alejandra; Braig, Henk R.

2012-01-01

Parasitic mites associated with spiders are spreading world-wide through the trade in tarantulas and other pet species. Ljunghia pulleinei Womersley, a mesostigmatic laelapid mite originally found in association with the mygalomorph spider Selenocosmia stirlingi Hogg (Theraphosidae) in Australia, is redescribed and illustrated on the basis of specimens from the African theraphosid spider Pterinochilus chordatus (Gerstäcker) kept in captivity in the British Isles (Wales). The mite is known from older original descriptions of Womersley in 1956; the subsequent redescription of Domrow in 1975 seems to be questionable in conspecificity of treated specimens with the type material. Some inconsistencies in both descriptions are recognised here as intraspecific variability of the studied specimens. The genus Arachnyssus Ma, with species A. guangxiensis (type) and A. huwenae, is not considered to be a valid genus, and is included in synonymy with Ljunghia Oudemans. A new key to world species of the genus Ljunghia is provided. PMID:22720019

"By Taste and the Spirit of the Times …" The Professor as Slave

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kabatskov, A. N.; Leybovich, O. L.

2017-01-01

The authors examine how the social status of the university professor has evolved in Russia in recent centuries in light of the historical concepts about the enslavement and emancipation of social groups proposed by Sergey Solovyov and Aleksandr Gradovsky. They use the metaphor of the "slave" [nevol'nik] to describe the dependent…

Modified Streamflows 1990 Level of Irrigation : Missouri, Colorado, Peace and Slave River Basin, 1928-1989.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

A.G. Crook Company; United States. Bonneville Power Administration

1993-07-01

This report presents data for monthly mean streamflows adjusted for storage change, evaporation, and irrigation, for the years 1928-1990, for the Colorado River Basin, the Missouri River Basin, the Peace River Basin, and the Slave River Basin.

Parallel processing data network of master and slave transputers controlled by a serial control network

DOEpatents

Crosetto, D.B.

1996-12-31

The present device provides for a dynamically configurable communication network having a multi-processor parallel processing system having a serial communication network and a high speed parallel communication network. The serial communication network is used to disseminate commands from a master processor to a plurality of slave processors to effect communication protocol, to control transmission of high density data among nodes and to monitor each slave processor`s status. The high speed parallel processing network is used to effect the transmission of high density data among nodes in the parallel processing system. Each node comprises a transputer, a digital signal processor, a parallel transfer controller, and two three-port memory devices. A communication switch within each node connects it to a fast parallel hardware channel through which all high density data arrives or leaves the node. 6 figs.

Parallel processing data network of master and slave transputers controlled by a serial control network

DOEpatents

Crosetto, Dario B.

1996-01-01

The present device provides for a dynamically configurable communication network having a multi-processor parallel processing system having a serial communication network and a high speed parallel communication network. The serial communication network is used to disseminate commands from a master processor (100) to a plurality of slave processors (200) to effect communication protocol, to control transmission of high density data among nodes and to monitor each slave processor's status. The high speed parallel processing network is used to effect the transmission of high density data among nodes in the parallel processing system. Each node comprises a transputer (104), a digital signal processor (114), a parallel transfer controller (106), and two three-port memory devices. A communication switch (108) within each node (100) connects it to a fast parallel hardware channel (70) through which all high density data arrives or leaves the node.

Design and evaluation of a slave manipulator with roll-pitch-roll wrist and automatic tool loading mechanism in telerobotic surgery.

PubMed

Kim, Ki-Young; Lee, Jung-Ju

2012-12-01

As there is a shortage of scrub nurses in many hospitals, automatic surgical tool exchanging mechanism without human labour has been studied. Minimally invasive robotic surgeries (MIRS) also require scrub nurses. A surgical tool loading mechanism without a scrub nurse's assistance for MIRS is proposed. Many researchers have developed minimally invasive surgical instruments with a wrist joint that can be movable inside the abdomen. However, implementation of a distal rolling joint on a gripper is rare. To implement surgical tool exchanging without a scrub nurse's assistance, a slave manipulator and a tool loader were developed to load and unload a surgical tool unit. A surgical tool unit with a roll-pitch-roll wrist was developed. Several experiments were performed to validate the effectiveness of the slave manipulator and the surgical tool unit. The slave manipulator and the tool loader were able to successfully unload and load the surgical tool unit without human assistance. The total duration of unloading and loading the surgical tool unit was 97 s. Motion tracking experiments of the distal rolling joint were performed. The maximum positioning error of the step input response was 2°. The advantage of the proposed slave manipulator and tool loader is that other robotic systems or human labour are not needed for surgical tool loading. The feasibility of the distal rolling joint in MIS is verified. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The plights of African resources patenting through the lenses of the World Trade Organisation: an assessment of South Africa's rooibos tea's labyrith journey.

PubMed

Amusan, Lere

2014-01-01

Just as developing states are blessed with natural resources capable of transforming their economies into a positive direction, the imposed World Trade Organisation's (WTO) mores continue to relegate them to the status of underdevelopment. The consequences of this on investment, trade and finance in Third World States (TWSs), especially Africa, are disarticulation of the economy, exploitation, disinvestment, unemployment, political instability and unavailability of relevant technology to move TWSs forward, among others. This gives rise to the politics behind Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) patenting (a medicinal plant found only in South Africa) by various multinational corporations (MNCs). This study adopted political economy approach with emphasis on both primary and secondary sources of data collection using content analysis. There is need to adhere strictly to the issues of intellectual property rights (IPRs), geographical indications (GIs), prior informed consent (PIC), and access and sharing benefits (ASB). These have not been observed by the western states because of their economic of neo-imperialism to the disadvantage of developing states. This paper recommends that there is need for a regional regime such as African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO), on indigenous knowledge (IK) to patent the continental biodiversity resources.

Geographic variation of stable isotopes in African elephant ivory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziegler, S.; Merker, S.; Jacob, D.

2012-04-01

In 1989, the international community listed the African elephant in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) thus prohibiting commercial ivory trade. Recent surveillance data show that the illegal trade in ivory has been growing worldwide. Long-term preservation of many of the African elephant populations can be supported with a control mechanism that helps with the implementation of remedial conservation action. Therefore, setting up a reference database that predicts the origin of ivory specimens can assist in determining smuggling routes and the provenance of illegal ivory. Our research builds on earlier work to seek an appropriate method for determining the area of origin for individual tusks. Several researchers have shown that the provenance of elephant ivory can be traced by its isotopic composition, but this is the first attempt to produce an integrated isotopic reference database of elephant ivory provenance. We applied a combination of various routine geochemical analyses to measure the stable isotope ratios of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur. Up to now, we analysed 606 ivory samples of known geographical origin from African range states, museums and private collections, comprising 22 African elephant range states. The isotopic measurements were superimposed with data layers from vegetation, geology and climate. A regression function for the isotope composition of the water isotopes in precipitation and collagen in ivory was developed to overcome the problem of imprecise origin of some of the sampled material. Multivariate statistics, such as nearest neighborhood and discriminate analysis were applied to eventually allow a statistical determination of the provenance for ivory of unknown origin. Our results suggest that the combination of isotopic parameters have the potential to provide predictable and complementary markers for estimating the origin of seized elephant ivory.

QMRPF-UKF Master-Slave Filtering for the Attitude Determination of Micro-Nano Satellites Using Gyro and Magnetometer

PubMed Central

Cui, Peiling; Zhang, Huijuan

2010-01-01

In this paper, the problem of estimating the attitude of a micro-nano satellite, obtaining geomagnetic field measurements via a three-axis magnetometer and obtaining angle rate via gyro, is considered. For this application, a QMRPF-UKF master-slave filtering method is proposed, which uses the QMRPF and UKF algorithms to estimate the rotation quaternion and the gyro bias parameters, respectively. The computational complexicity related to the particle filtering technique is eliminated by introducing a multiresolution approach that permits a significant reduction in the number of particles. This renders QMRPF-UKF master-slave filter computationally efficient and enables its implementation with a remarkably small number of particles. Simulation results by using QMRPF-UKF are given, which demonstrate the validity of the QMRPF-UKF nonlinear filter. PMID:22163448

African swine fever: an epidemiological update.

PubMed

Sánchez-Vizcaíno, J M; Mur, L; Martínez-López, B

2012-03-01

African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most important swine diseases, mainly because of its significant sanitary and socioeconomic consequences. This review gives an update on the epidemiology of the disease and reviews key issues and strategies to improve control of the disease and promote its eradication. Several characteristics of ASF virus (ASFV) make its control and eradication difficult, including the absence of available vaccines, marked virus resistance in infected material and contaminated animal products, and a complex epidemiology and transmission involving tick reservoir virus interactions. The incidence of ASF has not only increased on the African continent over the last 15 years, so that it now affects West African countries, Mauritius and Madagascar, but it has also reached new areas, such as the Caucasus region in 2007. In fact, the rapid spread of the disease on the European continent and the uncontrolled situation in the Russian Federation places all countries at great risk as a result of intense global trade. The proximity of some affected areas to the European Union (EU) borders (<150 km) has increased concerns about the potential economic consequences of an ASF incursion into the EU pig sector. Establishing effective surveillance, control and eradication programmes that implicate all actors (veterinarians, farmers, and policy makers) is essential for controlling ASF. African swine fever -free countries should be aware of the potential risk of ASF incursion and implement risk reduction measures such as trade controls and other sanitary measures. This review will discuss lessons learnt so far about ASF control, current challenges to its control and future studies needed to support global efforts at prevention and control. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Phanerozoic burial and unroofing history of the western Slave craton and Wopmay orogen from apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ault, Alexis K.; Flowers, Rebecca M.; Bowring, Samuel A.

2009-06-01

Low temperature thermochronometry of cratonic regions can illuminate relationships among burial and unroofing patterns, surface subsidence and uplift, and lithosphere-asthenosphere interactions. The Slave craton, initially stabilized by the development of a thick lithospheric mantle root in late Archean time, is an excellent location in which to examine these connections. Although the Slave craton currently lacks Phanerozoic cover, Phanerozoic sedimentary xenoliths entrained in ca. 610 to 45 Ma kimberlites indicate that the region underwent a more dynamic history of burial and unroofing than widely recognized. We report new apatite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry data along a southeast to northwest transect from the interior of the Slave craton into the adjacent Paleoproterozoic Wopmay orogen to resolve the region's depositional and denudational history. Six samples from the western Slave craton and three samples from Wopmay orogen yield mean dates from 296 ± 41 Ma to 212 ± 39 Ma. Individual apatite dates are broadly uniform over a wide span of apatite [eU], and this pattern can be used to more tightly restrict the spectrum of viable temperature-time paths that can explain the dataset. When coupled with geologic and stratigraphic information, temperature-time simulations of the thermochronometry results suggest complete He loss from the apatites at minimum peak temperatures of ~ 88 °C in Devonian-Pennsylvanian time, cooling to near-surface conditions by the Early Cretaceous, followed by reheating to ≤ 72 °C during Cretaceous-Early Tertiary time. Consideration of modern and ancient geotherm constraints implies ≥ 3.3 km of burial during the first Phanerozoic heating phase, with an ancillary phase of reburial in late Mesozoic-Cenozoic time. The uniformity of the apatite (U-Th)/He dates indicates that the rocks encompassed by our > 250 km-long sample transect experienced similar Phanerozoic thermal histories. Despite the distinctly different lithospheric

Black start research of the wind and storage system based on the dual master-slave control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leng, Xue; Shen, Li; Hu, Tian; Liu, Li

2018-02-01

Black start is the key to solving the problem of large-scale power failure, while the introduction of new renewable clean energy as a black start power supply was a new hotspot. Based on the dual master-slave control strategy, the wind and storage system was taken as the black start reliable power, energy storage and wind combined to ensure the stability of the micorgrid systems, to realize the black start. In order to obtain the capacity ratio of the storage in the small system based on the dual master-slave control strategy, and the black start constraint condition of the wind and storage combined system, obtain the key points of black start of wind storage combined system, but also provide reference and guidance for the subsequent large-scale wind and storage combined system in black start projects.

Phylogenomics of palearctic Formica species suggests a single origin of temporary parasitism and gives insights to the evolutionary pathway toward slave-making behaviour.

PubMed

Romiguier, Jonathan; Rolland, Jonathan; Morandin, Claire; Keller, Laurent

2018-03-28

The ants of the Formica genus are classical model species in evolutionary biology. In particular, Darwin used Formica as model species to better understand the evolution of slave-making, a parasitic behaviour where workers of another species are stolen to exploit their workforce. In his book "On the Origin of Species" (1859), Darwin first hypothesized that slave-making behaviour in Formica evolved in incremental steps from a free-living ancestor. The absence of a well-resolved phylogenetic tree of the genus prevent an assessment of whether relationships among Formica subgenera are compatible with this scenario. In this study, we resolve the relationships among the 4 palearctic Formica subgenera (Formica str. s., Coptoformica, Raptiformica and Serviformica) using a phylogenomic dataset of 945 genes for 16 species. We provide a reference tree resolving the relationships among the main Formica subgenera with high bootstrap supports. The branching order of our tree suggests that the free-living lifestyle is ancestral in the Formica genus and that parasitic colony founding could have evolved a single time, probably acting as a pre-adaptation to slave-making behaviour. This phylogenetic tree provides a solid backbone for future evolutionary studies in the Formica genus and slave-making behaviour.

Operating force information on-line acquisition of a novel slave manipulator for vascular interventional surgery.

PubMed

Zhao, Yan; Guo, Shuxiang; Xiao, Nan; Wang, Yuxin; Li, Youxiang; Jiang, Yuhua

2018-04-02

Vascular interventional surgery has its advantages compared to traditional operation. Master-slave robotic technology can further improve the operation accuracy, efficiency and safety of this complicated and high risk surgery. However, on-line acquisition of operating force information of catheter and guidewire remains to be a significant obstacle on the path to enhancing robotic surgery safety. Thus, a novel slave manipulator is proposed in this paper to realize on-line sensing of guidewire torsional operating torque and axial operation force during robotic assisted operations. A strain sensor is specially designed to detect the small scale torsional operation torque with low rotational frequency. Additionally, the axial operating force is detected via a load cell, which is incorporated into a sliding mechanism to eliminate the influence of friction. For validation, calibration and performance evaluation experiments are conducted. The results indicate that the proposed operation torque and force detection device is effective. Thus, it can provide the foundation for enabling accurate haptic feedback to the surgeon to improve surgical safety.

TELEsarPHONE: Mutual Telexistence Master-Slave Communication System Based on Retroreflective Projection Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tachi, Susumu; Kawakami, Naoki; Nii, Hideaki; Watanabe, Kouichi; Minamizawa, Kouta

TELEsarPHONE is a conceptual prototype of a mutual telexistence system, designed for face-to-face telecommunication via robots. Because of the development of telexistence technology, we can acquire a feeling that we are present in several actual remote places using remote robots as our surrogates and can work and act freely there. However, people in the place where someone telexists using a robot see only the robot, and they cannot feel the existence of the telexisting person. Mutual telexistence aims to solve this problem so that the existence of a telexisting person (visitor) is apparent to the people in the remote environment by providing mutual sensations of presence. On the basis of the concept of mutual telexistence, we have designed and developed a prototype of a telexistence master-slave system for remote communication by applying retroreflective projection technology. In the TELEsarPHONE system, the face and chest of the slave robot TELESAR II are covered by retroreflective material. To provide the feeling of existence, the real-time image of the visitor is projected onto the robot so that people can see the visitor in real time.

Long-term spatio-temporal changes in a West African bushmeat trade system.

PubMed

McNamara, J; Kusimi, J M; Rowcliffe, J M; Cowlishaw, G; Brenyah, A; Milner-Gulland, E J

2015-10-01

Landscapes in many developing countries consist of a heterogeneous matrix of mixed agriculture and forest. Many of the generalist species in this matrix are increasingly traded in the bushmeat markets of West and Central Africa. However, to date there has been little quantification of how the spatial configuration of the landscape influences the urban bushmeat trade over time. As anthropogenic landscapes become the face of rural West Africa, understanding the dynamics of these systems has important implications for conservation and landscape management. The bushmeat production of an area is likely to be defined by landscape characteristics such as habitat disturbance, hunting pressure, level of protection, and distance to market. We explored (SSG, tense) the role of these four characteristics in the spatio-temporal dynamics of the commercial bushmeat trade around the city of Kumasi, Ghana, over 27 years (1978 to 2004). We used geographic information system methods to generate maps delineating the spatial characteristics of the landscapes. These data were combined with spatially explicit market data collected in the main fresh bushmeat market in Kumasi to explore the relationship between trade volume (measured in terms of number of carcasses) and landscape characteristics. Over time, rodents, specifically cane rats (Thryonomys swinderianus), became more abundant in the trade relative to ungulates and the catchment area of the bushmeat market expanded. Areas of intermediate disturbance supplied more bushmeat, but protected areas had no effect. Heavily hunted areas showed significant declines in bushmeat supply over time. Our results highlight the role that low intensity, heterogeneous agricultural landscapes can play in providing ecosystem services, such as bushmeat, and therefore the importance of incorporating bushmeat into ecosystem service mapping exercises. Our results also indicate that even where high bushmeat production is possible, current harvest levels may

Master-slave control with trajectory planning and Bouc-Wen model for tracking control of piezo-driven stage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Xiaojun; Liu, Changli; Chen, Lei

2018-04-01

In this paper, a redundant Piezo-driven stage having 3RRR compliant mechanism is introduced, we propose the master-slave control with trajectory planning (MSCTP) strategy and Bouc-Wen model to improve its micro-motion tracking performance. The advantage of the proposed controller lies in that its implementation only requires a simple control strategy without the complexity of modeling to avoid the master PEA's tracking error. The dynamic model of slave PEA system with Bouc-Wen hysteresis is established and identified via particle swarm optimization (PSO) approach. The Piezo-driven stage with operating period T=1s and 2s is implemented to track a prescribed circle. The simulation results show that MSCTP with Bouc-Wen model reduces the trajectory tracking errors to the range of the accuracy of our available measurement.

Where are the opportunities for the Dube Trade Port? : an assessment of the potential demand from some time-sensitive and time-critical sectors

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-02-01

With the aim of triggering growth, small geographical areas have been identified by the South African authorities where firms will be granted special investment and trade incentives, the Industrial Development Zones (IDZs). The Dube Trade Port (DTP),...

Maritime vessels carry more than half of growing U.S.-East Africa trade

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-03-01

Trade between the United States and East African countries : (defi ned in this special report as Burundi, Kenya, : Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda) has grown substantially : in recent years, reaching $1.3 billion in value in 2007. : Between 1997 and 200...

Of Broken Bonds and Bondage: An Analysis of Loss in the Slave Narrative Collection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laurie, Anna; Neimeyer, Robert A.

2010-01-01

Relatively few scholars have made use of the Slave Narrative Collection, a collection of more than 2,300 autobiographical narratives detailing the lives of people who had been born into slavery. Housed at the Library of Congress, the Collection was gathered during the 1930s under the direction of the Federal Writers Project. Research derived from…

Combating the illegal trade in African elephant ivory with DNA forensics.

PubMed

Wasser, Samuel K; Joseph Clark, William; Drori, Ofir; Stephen Kisamo, Emily; Mailand, Celia; Mutayoba, Benezeth; Stephens, Matthew

2008-08-01

International wildlife crime is burgeoning in this climate of global trade. We contend that the most effective way to contain this illegal trade is to determine where the wildlife is being removed. This allows authorities to direct law enforcement to poaching hot spots, potentially stops trade before the wildlife is actually killed, prevents countries from denying their poaching problems at home, and thwarts trade before it enters into an increasingly complex web of international criminal activity. Forensic tools have been limited in their ability to determine product origin because the information they can provide typically begins only at the point of shipment. DNA assignment analyses can determine product origin, but its use has been limited by the inability to assign samples to locations where reference samples do not exist. We applied new DNA assignment methods that can determine the geographic origin(s) of wildlife products from anywhere within its range. We used these methods to examine the geographic origin(s) of 2 strings of seizures involving large volumes of elephant ivory, 1 string seized in Singapore and Malawi and the other in Hong Kong and Cameroon. These ivory traffickers may comprise 2 of the largest poaching rings in Africa. In both cases all ivory seized in the string had common origins, which indicates that crime syndicates are targeting specific populations for intense exploitation. This result contradicts the dominant belief that dealers are using a decentralized plan of procuring ivory stocks as they became available across Africa. Large quantities of ivory were then moved, in multiple shipments, through an intermediate country prior to shipment to Asia, as a risk-reduction strategy that distances the dealer from the poaching locale. These smuggling strategies could not have been detected by forensic information, which typically begins only at the shipping source.

Water and Metasomatism in the Slave Cratonic Lithosphere (Canada): An FTIR Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kilgore, McKensie; Peslier, Anne H.; Brandon, Alan D.; Schaffer, Lillian Aurora; Pearson, D. Graham; O'Reilly, Suzanne Yvette; Kopylova, Maya G.; Griffin, William L.

2017-01-01

Water in the mantle influences melting, viscosity, seismic velocity, and electrical conductivity. The role played by water in the long-term stabilization of cratonic roots is currently being debated. This study focuses on water contents of mantle minerals (olivine, pyroxene and garnet) from xenoliths found in kimberlites of the Archean Slave craton. 19 mantle xenoliths from central Lac de Gras, and 10 from northern Jericho were analyzed by FTIR for water, and their equilibration depths span the several compositional layers identified beneath the region. At both locations, the shallow peridotites have lower water contents in their olivines (11-30 ppm H2O) than those from the deeper layers (28-300 ppm H2O). The driest olivines, however, are not at the base of the cratonic lithosphere (>6 GPa) as in the Kaapvaal craton. Instead, the deepest olivines are hydrous (31-72 ppm H2O at Lac de Gras and 275 ppm H2O at Jericho). Correlations of water in clinopyroxene and garnet with their other trace element contents are consistent with water being added by metasomatism by melts resembling kimberlite precursors in the mantle approx.0.35 Ga ago beneath Lac de Gras. The northern Jericho xenoliths are derived from a region of the Slave craton that is even more chemically stratified, and was affected at depth by the 1.27 Ga Mackenzie igneous events. Metasomatism at Jericho may be responsible for the particularly high olivine water contents (up to 300 ppm H2O) compared to those at Lac de Gras, which will be investigated by acquiring trace-element data on these xenoliths. These data indicate that several episodes of metasomatic rehydration occurred in the deep part of the Slave craton mantle lithosphere, with the process being more intense in the northern part beneath Jericho, likely related to a translithospheric suture serving as a channel to introduce fluids and/or melts in the northern region. Consequently, rehydration of the lithosphere does not necessarily cause cratonic root

[Depression in former slave communities in Brazil: screening and associated factors].

PubMed

Barroso, Sabrina Martins; Melo, Ana Paula Souto; Guimarães, Mark Drew Crosland

2014-04-01

To assess the prevalence and the factors associated with positive screening for major depressive episode (MDE) in former slave communities in the state of Bahia, Brazil. In this population-based, cross-sectional study, 764 participants were randomly selected from five former slave communities in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil. Depression was defined as a cutoff score of 10 or more points and the presence of five or more symptoms according to the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Poisson regression was used to assess prevalence ratios (PR), with a 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Screening for MDE was positive in 12% of participants (95%CI: 10 - 14%), but only 2.3% reported a previous diagnosis. Depression was associated with self-reported poor or very poor health status (PR = 1.14; 95%CI: 1.04 - 1.26), chronic disease (PR = 1.08; 95%CI: 1.04 - 1.13), no physical activity (PR = 1.06; 95%CI: 1.01 - 1.11), and reasonable (PR = 1.07; 95%CI: 1.01 - 1.13) or poor access to health services (PR = 1.07; 95%CI: 1.02 - 1.12). The prevalence of MDE in this population was similar to that of the general Brazilian population. The association between MDE and poor access to health services indicates a missed opportunity for early diagnosis. Public measures against social and health inequalities are necessary to ensure equity in these communities.

Master--slave manipulators and remote maintenance at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jenness, R.G.; Wicker, C.D.

1975-01-01

The volume of master-slave manipulator maintenance at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has necessitated the establishment of a repair facility and the organization of a specially trained group of craftsmen. Emphasis on cell containment requires the use of manipulator boots and the development of precise procedures for accomplishing the maintenance of 283 installed units. To provide the most economical type of preventive maintenance, a very satisfactory computer- programmed maintenance system has been established at the Laboratory. (auth)

Master-Leader-Slave Cuckoo Search with Parameter Control for ANN Optimization and Its Real-World Application to Water Quality Prediction

PubMed Central

Jaddi, Najmeh Sadat; Abdullah, Salwani; Abdul Malek, Marlinda

2017-01-01

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been employed to solve a broad variety of tasks. The selection of an ANN model with appropriate weights is important in achieving accurate results. This paper presents an optimization strategy for ANN model selection based on the cuckoo search (CS) algorithm, which is rooted in the obligate brood parasitic actions of some cuckoo species. In order to enhance the convergence ability of basic CS, some modifications are proposed. The fraction Pa of the n nests replaced by new nests is a fixed parameter in basic CS. As the selection of Pa is a challenging issue and has a direct effect on exploration and therefore on convergence ability, in this work the Pa is set to a maximum value at initialization to achieve more exploration in early iterations and it is decreased during the search to achieve more exploitation in later iterations until it reaches the minimum value in the final iteration. In addition, a novel master-leader-slave multi-population strategy is used where the slaves employ the best fitness function among all slaves, which is selected by the leader under a certain condition. This fitness function is used for subsequent Lévy flights. In each iteration a copy of the best solution of each slave is migrated to the master and then the best solution is found by the master. The method is tested on benchmark classification and time series prediction problems and the statistical analysis proves the ability of the method. This method is also applied to a real-world water quality prediction problem with promising results. PMID:28125609

Master-Leader-Slave Cuckoo Search with Parameter Control for ANN Optimization and Its Real-World Application to Water Quality Prediction.

PubMed

Jaddi, Najmeh Sadat; Abdullah, Salwani; Abdul Malek, Marlinda

2017-01-01

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been employed to solve a broad variety of tasks. The selection of an ANN model with appropriate weights is important in achieving accurate results. This paper presents an optimization strategy for ANN model selection based on the cuckoo search (CS) algorithm, which is rooted in the obligate brood parasitic actions of some cuckoo species. In order to enhance the convergence ability of basic CS, some modifications are proposed. The fraction Pa of the n nests replaced by new nests is a fixed parameter in basic CS. As the selection of Pa is a challenging issue and has a direct effect on exploration and therefore on convergence ability, in this work the Pa is set to a maximum value at initialization to achieve more exploration in early iterations and it is decreased during the search to achieve more exploitation in later iterations until it reaches the minimum value in the final iteration. In addition, a novel master-leader-slave multi-population strategy is used where the slaves employ the best fitness function among all slaves, which is selected by the leader under a certain condition. This fitness function is used for subsequent Lévy flights. In each iteration a copy of the best solution of each slave is migrated to the master and then the best solution is found by the master. The method is tested on benchmark classification and time series prediction problems and the statistical analysis proves the ability of the method. This method is also applied to a real-world water quality prediction problem with promising results.

Excitonic instability in a strongly correlated system: A slave rotor approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pradhan, Subhasree; Taraphder, A.

2018-05-01

Exciton formation and condensation in a two band correlated model is studied using slave rotor mean field (SRMF) theory. In the SRMF theory, charge and spin degrees are treated as independent degrees of freedom. Using this, we capture the effective many body scales beyond conventional mean-field theory. While the formation of exciton is favoured by the hybridization, it is strongy influenced by the Coulomb repulsion between electrons in the two bands. Beyond a critical value of hybridization, there is complete coheherence among the electrons and holes signalling a condensation of excitons.

Colonial Legacy, Communist Nostalgia and Failure of Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-29

desperation to acquire this wealth drove African slave owners to appeal to supernatural powers such as witchcraft and gods to assist them in accumulating...supernatural powers such as witchcraft , and gods to assist them in accumulating more slaves or wealth and sometimes this involved human sacrifices.42 The

Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Medicines: International Trade Issues

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-05-28

for pharmaceutical companies to invest in R&D. • Type III diseases, such as dengue fever and African sleeping sickness, are those that have...As such, the United States has pursued strong IPR regimes through multilateral, regional , and bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and...standards for IPR protection and enforcement. Countries have advanced IPR protection and enforcement efforts through multilateral, regional , and

African Security Challenges: Now and Over the Horizon - Voices from the NGO Community

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-01

economies will have a tendency to shift back to dependence on unskilled sectors such as mining, black -market or informal trading and international aid...PEPFAR Watch. Pepfarwatch.org. Rice , A. 2007. “An African Solution.” Nation, June 11. Voices from the NGO Community - 5.19 - African Security...oversight role in this area by parliaments, regardless of formal mandates, roles and responsibilities. In order to avoid the risk of cosmetic changes

The development of medical museums in the antebellum American South: slave bodies in networks of anatomical exchange.

PubMed

Kenny, Stephen C

2013-01-01

Prior to the American Civil War, museums were enthusiastically promoted in the annual circulars of southern medical colleges as valuable aids to medical education. Using case history narratives, medical college circulars, and announcements, this article examines the social origins of the region's collections of anatomical and pathological specimens and explores the professional agents and organizations responsible for their maintenance and development. The article is also concerned with exploring the racial framework in which these bodies and specimens were sourced and displayed. The social relations embodied in natural history and medical museum collections, and the emerging specialism of "negro medicine," were all elements of a context that subordinated and objectified blackness, as well as permitting and legitimizing the exploitation of black bodies. Medical museums function as a key case study for examining power relations among physicians, slaves, and slave owners, as well as underscoring southern medicine's dependence on slavery for its development.

Short-term benefits from central unit commitment and dispatch: Application to the Southern African Power Pool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowen, Brian Hugh

1998-12-01

Electricity utilities in the Southern African region are conscious that gains could be made from more economically efficient trading but have had no tools with which to analyze the effects of a change in policy. This research is the first to provide transparent quantitative techniques to quantify the impacts of new trading arrangements in this region. The study poses a model of the recently formed Southern African Power Pool, built with the collaboration of the region's national utilities to represent each country's demand and generation/transmission system. The multi-region model includes commitment and dispatch from diverse hydrothermal sources over a vast area. Economic gains are determined by comparing the total costs under free-trade conditions with those from the existing fixed-trade bilateral arrangements. The objective function minimizes production costs needed to meet total demand, subject to each utility's constraints for thermal and hydro generation, transmission, load balance and losses. Linearized thermal cost functions are used along with linearized input output hydropower plant curves and hydrothermal on/off status variables to formulate a mixed-integer programming problem. Results from the modeling show that moving to optimal trading patterns could save between 70 million and 130 million per year. With free-trade policies the quantity of power flow between utilities is doubled and maximum usage is made of the hydropower stations thus reducing costs and fuel use. In electricity exporting countries such as Zambia and Mozambique gains from increased trade are achieved which equal 16% and 18% respectively of the value of their total manufactured exports. A sensitivity analysis is conducted on the possible effects of derating generation, derating transmission and reducing water inflows but gains remain large. Maximum economic gains from optimal trading patterns can be achieved by each country allowing centralized control through the newly founded SAPP

"Broken-Off Like Limbs from a Tree": Fractured Identity in Caryl Phillips's "Crossing the River (1993)"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Labidi, Abid Larbi

2016-01-01

My major purpose in studying Caryl Phillips's widely acclaimed novel "Crossing the River" is to examine, through a close textual analysis, the severe identity crisis inflicted upon slaves under the three-century long slavery institution. I explore how slaves' tragic rift of separation from their African homelands led to a disastrous loss…

Water and metasomatism in the Slave cratonic lithosphere (Canada): an FTIR study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kilgore, M.; Peslier, A. H.; Brandon, A. D.; Schaffer, L. A.; Pearson, D. G.; O'Reilly, S. Y.; Kopylova, M. G.; Griffin, W. L.

2017-12-01

Water in the mantle influences melting, viscosity, seismic velocity, and electrical conductivity. The role played by water in the long-term stabilization of cratonic roots is currently being debated [1]. This study focuses on water contents of mantle minerals (olivine, pyroxene and garnet) from xenoliths found in kimberlites of the Archean Slave craton. 19 mantle xenoliths from central Lac de Gras, and 10 from northern Jericho were analyzed by FTIR for water, and their equilibration depths span the several compositional layers identified beneath the region [2]. At both locations, the shallow peridotites have lower water contents in their olivines (11-30 ppm H2O) than those from the deeper layers (28-300 ppm H2O). The driest olivines, however, are not at the base of the cratonic lithosphere (>6 GPa) as in the Kaapvaal craton [1]. Instead, the deepest olivines are hydrous (31-72 ppm H2O at Lac de Gras and 275 ppm H2O at Jericho). Correlations of water in clinopyroxene and garnet with their other trace element contents are consistent with water being added by metasomatism by melts resembling kimberlite precursors in the mantle 0.35 Ga ago beneath Lac de Gras [1]. The northern Jericho xenoliths are derived from a region of the Slave craton that is even more chemically stratified, and was affected at depth by the 1.27 Ga Mackenzie igneous events [3,4]. Metasomatism at Jericho may be responsible for the particularly high olivine water contents (up to 300 ppm H2O) compared to those at Lac de Gras, which will be investigated by acquiring trace-element data on these xenoliths. These data indicate that several episodes of metasomatic rehydration occurred in the deep part of the Slave craton mantle lithosphere, with the process being more intense in the northern part beneath Jericho, likely related to a translithospheric suture serving as a channel to introduce fluids and/or melts in the northern region [5]. Consequently, rehydration of the lithosphere does not necessarily

[Herpesvirus detection in clinically healthy West African mud turtles (Pelusioscastaneus)].

PubMed

Marschang, R E; Heckers, K O; Heynol, V; Weider, K; Behncke, H

2015-01-01

First description of a herpesvirus in West African mud turtles. A herpesvirus was detected in two clinically healthy West African mud turtles (Pelusios castaneus) by PCR during a quarantine exam. The animals had been imported from Togo, West Africa to Germany for the pet trade. Analysis of a portion of the genome of the detected virus showed that it is a previously unknown virus related to other chelonid herpesviruses. The virus was named pelomedusid herpesvirus 1. This case highlights the importance of testing for infectious agents during quarantine, even in clinically healthy animals.

Benjamin Franklin's Evolving Views on Race and Ethnicity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lapham, Steven S.; Saunders, Andrew

2005-01-01

More telling than his negative comments about Germans' shortcomings, was Benjamin Franklin's early attitude to slavery. In the 1730s, Franklin's newspaper, the Philadelphia Gazette, carried advertisements for black slaves, and he himself apparently participated in the slave trade, acting at the very least as the contact man for buyers and sellers.…

Master-slave interferometry for parallel spectral domain interferometry sensing and versatile 3D optical coherence tomography.

PubMed

Podoleanu, Adrian Gh; Bradu, Adrian

2013-08-12

Conventional spectral domain interferometry (SDI) methods suffer from the need of data linearization. When applied to optical coherence tomography (OCT), conventional SDI methods are limited in their 3D capability, as they cannot deliver direct en-face cuts. Here we introduce a novel SDI method, which eliminates these disadvantages. We denote this method as Master - Slave Interferometry (MSI), because a signal is acquired by a slave interferometer for an optical path difference (OPD) value determined by a master interferometer. The MSI method radically changes the main building block of an SDI sensor and of a spectral domain OCT set-up. The serially provided signal in conventional technology is replaced by multiple signals, a signal for each OPD point in the object investigated. This opens novel avenues in parallel sensing and in parallelization of signal processing in 3D-OCT, with applications in high- resolution medical imaging and microscopy investigation of biosamples. Eliminating the need of linearization leads to lower cost OCT systems and opens potential avenues in increasing the speed of production of en-face OCT images in comparison with conventional SDI.

"[No] doctor but my master": Health reform and antislavery rhetoric in Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the life of a slave girl.

PubMed

Berry, Sarah L

2014-03-01

This essay examines Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) in light of new archival findings on the medical practices of Dr. James Norcom (Dr. Flint in the narrative). While critics have sharply defined the feminist politics of Jacobs's sexual victimization and resistance, they have overlooked her medical experience in slavery and her participation in reform after escape. I argue that Jacobs uses the rhetoric of a woman-led health reform movement underway during the 1850s to persuade her readers to end slavery. This essay reconstructs both contexts, revealing that Jacobs links enslaved women's physical and sexual vulnerability with her female readers' fears of male doctors' threats to modesty and of their standard bleed-and-purge treatments. Jacobs illustrates that slavery damages women's health as much as heroic medicine, and thus merits the political activism of her readers. Specifically, Jacobs dramatizes her conflicts with the rapacious physician-master at moments that are crucial to women's health: marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood. Ultimately, this essay advances a new understanding of the role of health reform in social change: it galvanized other movements such as women's rights and abolition, particularly around issues of bodily autonomy for women and African Americans.

Coevolution in host-parasite systems: behavioural strategies of slave-making ants and their hosts.

PubMed Central

Foitzik, S.; DeHeer, C. J.; Hunjan, D. N.; Herbers, J. M.

2001-01-01

Recently, avian brood parasites and their hosts have emerged as model systems for the study of host-parasite coevolution. However, empirical studies of the highly analogous social parasites, which use the workers of another eusocial species to raise their own young, have never explicitly examined the dynamics of these systems from a coevolutionary perspective. Here, we demonstrate interpopulational variation in behavioural interactions between a socially parasitic slave-maker ant and its host that is consistent with the expectations of host-parasite coevolution. Parasite pressure, as inferred by the size, abundance and raiding frequency of Protomognathus americanus colonies, was highest in a New York population of the host Leptothorax longispinosus and lowest in a West Virginia population. As host-parasite coevolutionary theory would predict, we found that the slave-makers and the hosts from New York were more effective at raiding and defending against raiders, respectively, than were conspecifics from the West Virginia population. Some of these variations in efficacy were brought about by apparently simple shifts in behaviour. These results demonstrate that defence mechanisms against social parasites can evolve, and they give the first indications of the existence of a coevolutionary arms race between a social parasite and its host. PMID:11375101

Coevolution in host-parasite systems: behavioural strategies of slave-making ants and their hosts.

PubMed

Foitzik, S; DeHeer, C J; Hunjan, D N; Herbers, J M

2001-06-07

Recently, avian brood parasites and their hosts have emerged as model systems for the study of host-parasite coevolution. However, empirical studies of the highly analogous social parasites, which use the workers of another eusocial species to raise their own young, have never explicitly examined the dynamics of these systems from a coevolutionary perspective. Here, we demonstrate interpopulational variation in behavioural interactions between a socially parasitic slave-maker ant and its host that is consistent with the expectations of host-parasite coevolution. Parasite pressure, as inferred by the size, abundance and raiding frequency of Protomognathus americanus colonies, was highest in a New York population of the host Leptothorax longispinosus and lowest in a West Virginia population. As host-parasite coevolutionary theory would predict, we found that the slave-makers and the hosts from New York were more effective at raiding and defending against raiders, respectively, than were conspecifics from the West Virginia population. Some of these variations in efficacy were brought about by apparently simple shifts in behaviour. These results demonstrate that defence mechanisms against social parasites can evolve, and they give the first indications of the existence of a coevolutionary arms race between a social parasite and its host.

Neural-adaptive control of single-master-multiple-slaves teleoperation for coordinated multiple mobile manipulators with time-varying communication delays and input uncertainties.

PubMed

Li, Zhijun; Su, Chun-Yi

2013-09-01

In this paper, adaptive neural network control is investigated for single-master-multiple-slaves teleoperation in consideration of time delays and input dead-zone uncertainties for multiple mobile manipulators carrying a common object in a cooperative manner. Firstly, concise dynamics of teleoperation systems consisting of a single master robot, multiple coordinated slave robots, and the object are developed in the task space. To handle asymmetric time-varying delays in communication channels and unknown asymmetric input dead zones, the nonlinear dynamics of the teleoperation system are transformed into two subsystems through feedback linearization: local master or slave dynamics including the unknown input dead zones and delayed dynamics for the purpose of synchronization. Then, a model reference neural network control strategy based on linear matrix inequalities (LMI) and adaptive techniques is proposed. The developed control approach ensures that the defined tracking errors converge to zero whereas the coordination internal force errors remain bounded and can be made arbitrarily small. Throughout this paper, stability analysis is performed via explicit Lyapunov techniques under specific LMI conditions. The proposed adaptive neural network control scheme is robust against motion disturbances, parametric uncertainties, time-varying delays, and input dead zones, which is validated by simulation studies.

Level of environmental threat posed by horticultural trade in Cactaceae.

PubMed

Novoa, Ana; Le Roux, Johannes J; Richardson, David M; Wilson, John R U

2017-10-01

Ornamental horticulture has been identified as an important threat to plant biodiversity and is a major pathway for plant invasions worldwide. In this context, the family Cactaceae is particularly challenging because it is considered the fifth most threatened large taxonomic group in the world; several species are among the most widespread and damaging invasive species; and Cactaceae is one of the most popular horticultural plant groups. Based on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna and the 11 largest online auction sites selling cacti, we documented the international cactus trade. To provide an in-depth look at the dynamics of the industry, we surveyed the businesses involved in the cactus trade in South Africa (a hotspot of cactus trade and invasions). We purchased seeds of every available species and used DNA barcoding to identify species to the genus level. Although <20% of this trade involved threatened species and <3% involved known invasive species, many species were identified by a common name. However, only 0.02% of the globally traded cacti were collected from wild populations. Despite a large commercial network, all South African imports (of which 15% and 1.5% were of species listed as threatened and invasive, respectively) came from the same source. With DNA barcoding, we identified 24% of the species to genus level. Based on our results, we believe that if trade restrictions are placed on the small proportion of cacti that are invasive and there is no major increase in harvesting of native populations, then the commercial trade in cactus poses a negligible environmental threat. However, there are currently no effective methods for easily identifying which cacti are traded, and both the illicit harvesting of cacti from the wild and the informal trade in invasive taxa pose on-going conservation challenges. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

African Americans' Participation in a Comprehensive Intervention College Prep Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sianjina, Rayton R.; Phillips, Richard

2014-01-01

The National Center for Educational Statistics, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education, compiles statistical data for U.S. schools. As charts indicate, in 2001, it reported that nationwide, 76% of high-income graduates immediately enroll in colleges or trade schools. However, only 49% of Hispanic and 59% of African Americans enroll…

Energy cost and return for hunting in African wild dogs and cheetahs

PubMed Central

Hubel, Tatjana Y.; Myatt, Julia P.; Jordan, Neil R.; Dewhirst, Oliver P.; McNutt, J. Weldon; Wilson, Alan M.

2016-01-01

African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are reported to hunt with energetically costly long chase distances. We used high-resolution GPS and inertial technology to record 1,119 high-speed chases of all members of a pack of six adult African wild dogs in northern Botswana. Dogs performed multiple short, high-speed, mostly unsuccessful chases to capture prey, while cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) undertook even shorter, higher-speed hunts. We used an energy balance model to show that the energy return from group hunting and feeding substantially outweighs the cost of multiple short chases, which indicates that African wild dogs are more energetically robust than previously believed. Comparison with cheetah illustrates the trade-off between sheer athleticism and high individual kill rate characteristic of cheetahs, and the energetic robustness of frequent opportunistic group hunting and feeding by African wild dogs. PMID:27023457

Energy cost and return for hunting in African wild dogs and cheetahs.

PubMed

Hubel, Tatjana Y; Myatt, Julia P; Jordan, Neil R; Dewhirst, Oliver P; McNutt, J Weldon; Wilson, Alan M

2016-03-29

African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are reported to hunt with energetically costly long chase distances. We used high-resolution GPS and inertial technology to record 1,119 high-speed chases of all members of a pack of six adult African wild dogs in northern Botswana. Dogs performed multiple short, high-speed, mostly unsuccessful chases to capture prey, while cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) undertook even shorter, higher-speed hunts. We used an energy balance model to show that the energy return from group hunting and feeding substantially outweighs the cost of multiple short chases, which indicates that African wild dogs are more energetically robust than previously believed. Comparison with cheetah illustrates the trade-off between sheer athleticism and high individual kill rate characteristic of cheetahs, and the energetic robustness of frequent opportunistic group hunting and feeding by African wild dogs.

Robust synchronization of master-slave chaotic systems using approximate model: An experimental study.

PubMed

Ahmed, Hafiz; Salgado, Ivan; Ríos, Héctor

2018-02-01

Robust synchronization of master slave chaotic systems are considered in this work. First an approximate model of the error system is obtained using the ultra-local model concept. Then a Continuous Singular Terminal Sliding-Mode (CSTSM) Controller is designed for the purpose of synchronization. The proposed approach is output feedback-based and uses fixed-time higher order sliding-mode (HOSM) differentiator for state estimation. Numerical simulation and experimental results are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed technique. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dendroclimatology of the Slave River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarvis, S.; Buhay, W. M.; Blair, D.; Tardif, J.; Bailey, D.

2004-05-01

It is well documented that changing hydrological conditions impact delta ecosystems. Such changes can also affect local inhabitants who have historical connections to the area and its resources. During the summer of 2003 a multifaceted paleo-environmental project was initiated to reconstruct the frequencies of floods and droughts in the Slave River Delta (SRD), Northwest Territories, Canada. The project goal is to forecast future hydrological and ecological conditions in the SRD in light of anticipated climate change and increasing demand on water resources. With the intent of expanding the climate history of the SRD, this particular aspect of the project will employ white spruce tree-ring chronologies constructed from six sites visited within the delta. Work is currently in progress to build a master chronology estimated to span over 300 years. In addition, a climate model for the SRD is also being developed and will be highlighted.

A simple tectonic model for crustal accretion in the Slave Province: A 2.7-2.5 Ga granite greenstone terrane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoffman, P. F.

1986-01-01

A prograding (direction unspecified) trench-arc system is favored as a simple yet comprehensive model for crustal generation in a 250,000 sq km granite-greenstone terrain. The model accounts for the evolutionary sequence of volcanism, sedimentation, deformation, metamorphism and plutonism, observed througout the Slave province. Both unconformable (trench inner slope) and subconformable (trench outer slope) relations between the volcanics and overlying turbidities; and the existence of relatively minor amounts of pre-greenstone basement (microcontinents) and syn-greenstone plutons (accreted arc roots) are explained. Predictions include: a varaiable gap between greenstone volcanism and trench turbidite sedimentation (accompanied by minor volcanism) and systematic regional variations in age span of volcanism and plutonism. Implications of the model will be illustrated with reference to a 1:1 million scale geological map of the Slave Province (and its bounding 1.0 Ga orogens).

[Ernst Hasenclever in Gongo-Soco: English exploitation of the gold mines in the state of Minas Gerais in the nineteenth century].

PubMed

Alves, Débora Bendocchi

2014-01-01

Based on the report of Ernst Hasenclever on his visit to the Gong-Soco gold mine in 1839, this article seeks to understand the labor and administrative organizational system implemented by the English gold mining companies in Minas Gerais, especially in the second half of the nineteenth century at a time when the slave-based system was in its final stages. Our objective is to show the continuity of the administrative system and the use of slave labor by the English companies from the 1830s until the end of the century, despite the pressure applied by England against the transatlantic slave trade and the prohibition of Her Majesty's subjects to own slaves anywhere in the world.

"Ask a slave" and interpreting race on public history's front line: interview with Azie Mira Dungey.

PubMed

Dungey, Azie Mira; Tyson, Amy M

2014-02-01

In this interview, Azie Mira Dungey (creator of the web series, "Ask a Slave") and Amy M. Tyson (Associate Professor of History at DePaul University and author of The Wages of History: Emotional Labor on Public History's Front Lines) discuss Dungey's web series, as well as her experiences as a living history interpreter at both the Smithsonian Museum of American History and at Mount Vernon.

Being Yoruba in nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro.

PubMed

Graham, Sandra Lauderdale

2011-01-01

Through the experiences of two West Africans shipped to Bahia as slaves, probably in the 1840s, then sold south to Rio de Janeiro where they met, became lovers, bought their freedom, married, and divorced, I comment on an ongoing debate over the refashioning or transfer of African ethnic identities in American slave societies. The sources in this Brazilian case suggest that previous identities were not suddenly erased, but rather, new layers of understanding and ways of responding were added. Whatever the dynamic of cultural formation, it was memory that crucially bridged the distance between the past they carried with them and the present into which they were thrust; and so it becomes illuminating to reconstruct the plausibly remembered African pasts on which this couple drew to make sense of an unfamiliar Brazilian present.

"#Literate Lives Matter": Black Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening in the 21st Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ladson-Billings, Gloria

2016-01-01

Literacy for African Americans has never been merely about skill development and text comprehension. Its primary purposes and foci have been liberation, empowerment, and self-determination. From slave narratives to contemporary liberation movements assisted by social media, African Americans have deployed literacy strategically to as Paulo Freire…

Multiple Ethnic Origins of Mitochondrial DNA Lineages for the Population of Mauritius

PubMed Central

Betancor, Eva; Suárez, Nicolás M.; Calaon, Diego; Čaval, Saša; Janoo, Anwar; Pestano, Jose

2014-01-01

This article reports on the first genetic assessment of the contemporary Mauritian population. Small island nodes such as Mauritius played a critical role in historic globalization processes and revealing high-resolution details of labour sourcing is crucial in order to better understand early-modern diaspora events. Mauritius is a particularly interesting case given detailed historic accounts attesting to European (Dutch, French and British), African and Asian points of origin. Ninety-seven samples were analysed for mitochondrial DNA to begin unravelling the complex dynamics of the island's modern population. In corroboration with general demographic information, the majority of maternal lineages were derived from South Asia (58.76%), with Malagasy (16.60%), East/Southeast Asian (11.34%) and Sub-Saharan African (10.21%) also making significant contributions. This study pinpoints specific regional origins for the South Asian genetic contribution, showing a greater influence on the contemporary population from northern and southeast India. Moreover, the analysis of lineages related to the slave trade demonstrated that Madagascar and East Asia were the main centres of origin, with less influence from West Africa. PMID:24676463

Testing of microsatellite multiplexes for individual identification of Cape Parrots (Poicephalus robustus): paternity testing and monitoring trade

PubMed Central

Coetzer, Willem G.; Downs, Colleen T.; Perrin, Mike R.

2017-01-01

Background Illegal trade in rare wildlife species is a major threat to many parrot species around the world. Wildlife forensics plays an important role in the preservation of endangered or threatened wildlife species. Identification of illegally harvested or traded animals through DNA techniques is one of the many methods used during forensic investigations. Natural populations of the South African endemic Cape Parrot (Poicephalus robustus) are negatively affected by the removal of eggs and chicks for the pet trade. Methods In this study, 16 microsatellite markers specifically designed for the South African endemic Cape Parrot (P. robustus) are assessed for their utility in forensic casework. Using these 16 loci, the genetic diversity of a subset of the captive Cape Parrot population was also assessed and compared to three wild Cape Parrot populations. Results It was determined that the full 16 locus panel has sufficient discriminatory power to be used in parentage analyses and can be used to determine if a bird has been bred in captivity and so can be legally traded or if it has been illegally removed from the wild. In cases where birds have been removed from the wild, this study suggests that a reduced 12 locus microsatellite panel has sufficient power to assign confiscated birds to geographic population of origin. Discussion The level of genetic diversity observed within the captive Cape Parrot population was similar to that observed in the wild populations, which suggests that the captive population is not suffering from decreased levels of genetic diversity. The captive Cape Parrots did however have double the number of private alleles compared to that observed in the most genetically diverse wild population. This is probably due to the presence of rare alleles present in the founder population, which has not been lost due to genetic drift, as many of the individuals tested in this study are F1–F3 wild descendants. The results from this study provide a suit

Crisis in Haiti: Two Hundred Years after Slaves Rose up against France, Armed Rebels Oust Haiti's Elected Leader

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Social Education, 2004

2004-01-01

Haitians had expected 2004 to be a year of celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of independence from France following the only successful slave revolt of its time. Instead political violence exploded early in the year and armed gunmen took over cities demanding President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resign. Just as the rebels prepared to move in…

Investigation of trace elements in ancient pottery from Jenini, Brong Ahafo region, Ghana by INAA and Compton suppression spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyarko, B. J. B.; Bredwa-Mensah, Y.; Serfor-Armah, Y.; Dampare, S. B.; Akaho, E. H. K.; Osae, S.; Perbi, A.; Chatt, A.

2007-10-01

Concentrations of trace elements in ancient pottery excavated from Jenini in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana were determined using instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) in conjunction with both conventional and Compton suppression counting. Jenini was a slave Camp of Samory Toure during the indigenous slavery and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Pottery fragments found during the excavation of the grave tombs of the slaves who died in the slave camps were analysed. In all, 26 trace elements were determined in 40 pottery fragments. These elemental concentrations were processed using multivariate statistical methods, cluster, factor and discriminant analyses in order to determine similarities and correlation between the various samples. The suitability of the two counting systems for determination of trace elements in pottery objects has been evaluated.

The Double Meaning of the Spirituals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrence-McIntyre, Charshee Charlotte

1987-01-01

Analyzes the social function of spirituals in relation to African culture and the slavemasters' language restrictions. Describes the role of secret meetings in traditional African cultures and slave society, and the Bible as metaphor. Focuses on themes of freedom and escape, redemption and salvation, and judgment and punishment. (KH)

Human Genetic Ancestral Composition Correlates with the Origin of Mycobacterium leprae Strains in a Leprosy Endemic Population.

PubMed

Cardona-Castro, Nora; Cortés, Edwin; Beltrán, Camilo; Romero, Marcela; Badel-Mogollón, Jaime E; Bedoya, Gabriel

2015-01-01

Recent reports have suggested that leprosy originated in Africa, extended to Asia and Europe, and arrived in the Americas during European colonization and the African slave trade. Due to colonization, the contemporary Colombian population is an admixture of Native-American, European and African ancestries. Because microorganisms are known to accompany humans during migrations, patterns of human migration can be traced by examining genomic changes in associated microbes. The current study analyzed 118 leprosy cases and 116 unrelated controls from two Colombian regions endemic for leprosy (Atlantic and Andean) in order to determine possible associations of leprosy with patient ancestral background (determined using 36 ancestry informative markers), Mycobacterium leprae genotype and/or patient geographical origin. We found significant differences between ancestral genetic composition. European components were predominant in Andean populations. In contrast, African components were higher in the Atlantic region. M. leprae genotypes were then analyzed for cluster associations and compared with the ancestral composition of leprosy patients. Two M. leprae principal clusters were found: haplotypes C54 and T45. Haplotype C54 associated with African origin and was more frequent in patients from the Atlantic region with a high African component. In contrast, haplotype T45 associated with European origin and was more frequent in Andean patients with a higher European component. These results suggest that the human and M. leprae genomes have co-existed since the African and European origins of the disease, with leprosy ultimately arriving in Colombia during colonization. Distinct M. leprae strains followed European and African settlement in the country and can be detected in contemporary Colombian populations.

Re-envisioning global agricultural trade: time for a paradigm shift to ensure food security and population health in low-income countries.

PubMed

Pirkle, Catherine M; Poliquin, Hélène; Sia, Drissa; Kouakou, Kouassi Joseph; Sagna, Tani

2015-03-01

In this commentary, we use examples from West Africa to highlight how the liberalization of global agricultural trade exacerbates population health inequalities by threatening the livelihoods and food security of communities in low-income settings. We highlight the exploitative nature of trade agreements with West African countries demonstrating how these agreements disincentivize local agricultural investment and take jobs away from small-scale farmers. Further, we link agricultural trade liberalization to increased food insecurity, malnutrition, and exposure to environmental contaminants. Finally, we propose a paradigm shift that advocates for food sovereignty and the right to food. © The Author(s) 2014.

An evidence base for International Health Regulations: quantitative measurement of the impacts of epidemic disease on international trade.

PubMed

Kimball, A M; Wong, K Y; Taneda, K

2005-12-01

When cholera broke out in Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 1997, an urgent measure was filed with the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Committee of the World Trade Organization, by the European Union, citing the protection of human health, to limit imports of fish products. The authors analysed import data on specified products over time to quantify the trade impact of this measure. Using previous specific trade trends, the authors modelled expected trade flows and compared observed imports with expected imports to calculate the potential cost of lost trade. The conclusion of this analysis was that the impact of European restrictions on fish exports from Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda on the economies of these African countries was at least US dollar 332,217,415 for the years 1998 to 2002. Insights from such quantitative studies will be important in making policy choices under the revised International Health Regulations of the World Health Organization and should inform the discussion about the adoption of these regulations.

Late Archean greenstone tectonics: Evidence for thermal and thrust-loading lithospheric subsidence from stratigraphic sections in the Slave Province, Canada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kidd, W. S. F.; Kusky, T. M.; Bradley, D. C.

1988-01-01

How late Archean tectonics could be seen to have operated in the Slave Province is illustrated. Lithospheric thinning and stretching, with the formation of rifted margins (to continental or island arc fragments), and lithospheric flexural loading of the kind familiar in arcs and mountain belts could be discerned.

[The Pharaohs: slave merchants or organizers of an efficient welfare system? Re-writing history through new documentation and research].

PubMed

Melino, C; Del Vecchio, R; Druda, L

2003-01-01

The Authors have studied documents dating from the era of the Pharaohs, that is to say: the papyruses of Ebers and Smith, and have come to the conclusion that the recent claims by some archaeologists that the Egyptian workmen who built the Pyramids, were protected by health regulations and not treated as slaves, is true. This is a new interpretation of Egyptian history, because up to now, it has always been thought that the workmen were slaves. The construction of the Pharaoh's tomb was a team work including members of the upper classes (architects, physicians) and the lower classes (masons, workmen) and was the demonstration of a contribution and a symbol of recognition from all members of the team to the head of the society (the Pharaoh), who was their employer and took their interests into consideration e.g. health regulations. The Authors have also deduced from other sources of information that a public health system and welfare organization, comparable to our present day Legislative Decree 626/94, did in fact exist in the ancient world.

Dynamical mean-field theory, density-matrix embedding theory, and rotationally invariant slave bosons: A unified perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayral, Thomas; Lee, Tsung-Han; Kotliar, Gabriel

2017-12-01

We present a unified perspective on dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT), density-matrix embedding theory (DMET), and rotationally invariant slave bosons (RISB). We show that DMET can be regarded as a simplification of the RISB method where the quasiparticle weight is set to unity. This relation makes it easy to transpose extensions of a given method to another: For instance, a temperature-dependent version of RISB can be used to derive a temperature-dependent free-energy formula for DMET.

A twentieth-century triangle trade: selling black beauty at home and abroad, 1945–1965.

PubMed

McAndrew, Malia

2010-01-01

This study examines the careers of African American beauty culturists as they worked in the United States, Europe, and Africa between 1945 and 1965. Facing push back at home, African American beauty entrepreneurs frequently sought out international venues that were hospitable and receptive to black Americans in the years following World War II. By strategically using European sites that white Americans regarded as the birthplace of Western fashion and beauty, African American entrepreneurs in the fields of modeling, fashion design, and hair care were able to win accolades and advance their careers. In gaining support abroad, particularly in Europe, these beauty culturists capitalized on their international success to establish, legitimize, and promote their business ventures in the United States. After importing a positive reputation for themselves from Europe to the United States, African American beauty entrepreneurs then exported an image of themselves as the world's premier authorities on black beauty to people of color around the globe as they sold their products and marketed their expertise on the African continent itself. This essay demonstrates the important role that these black female beauty culturists played, both as businesspeople and as race leaders, in their generation's struggle to gain greater respect and opportunity for African Americans both at home and abroad. In doing so it places African American beauty culturists within the framework of transatlantic trade networks, the Black Freedom Movement, Pan-Africanism, and America's Cold War struggle.

Ancient mtDNA Analysis of Early 16th Century Caribbean Cattle Provides Insight into Founding Populations of New World Creole Cattle Breeds

PubMed Central

Speller, Camilla F.; Burley, David V.; Woodward, Robyn P.; Yang, Dongya Y.

2013-01-01

The Columbian Exchange resulted in a widespread movement of humans, plants and animals between the Old and New Worlds. The late 15th to early 16th century transfer of cattle from the Iberian Peninsula and Canary Islands to the Caribbean laid the foundation for the development of American creole cattle (Bos taurus) breeds. Genetic analyses of modern cattle from the Americas reveal a mixed ancestry of European, African and Indian origins. Recent debate in the genetic literature centers on the ‘African’ haplogroup T1 and its subhaplogroups, alternatively tying their origins to the initial Spanish herds, and/or from subsequent movements of taurine cattle through the African slave trade. We examine this problem through ancient DNA analysis of early 16th century cattle bone from Sevilla la Nueva, the first Spanish colony in Jamaica. In spite of poor DNA preservation, both T3 and T1 haplogroups were identified in the cattle remains, confirming the presence of T1 in the earliest Spanish herds. The absence, however, of “African-derived American” haplotypes (AA/T1c1a1) in the Sevilla la Nueva sample, leaves open the origins of this sub-haplogroup in contemporary Caribbean cattle. PMID:23894505

Population structure in Argentina

PubMed Central

Motti, Josefina M. B.; Paz Sepulveda, Paula B.; Yee, Muh-ching; Cooke, Thomas; Santos, María R.; Ramallo, Virginia; Alfaro, Emma L.; Dipierri, Jose E.; Bailliet, Graciela; Bravi, Claudio M.; Bustamante, Carlos D.; Kenny, Eimear E.

2018-01-01

We analyzed 391 samples from 12 Argentinian populations from the Center-West, East and North-West regions with the Illumina Human Exome Beadchip v1.0 (HumanExome-12v1-A). We did Principal Components analysis to infer patterns of populational divergence and migrations. We identified proportions and patterns of European, African and Native American ancestry and found a correlation between distance to Buenos Aires and proportion of Native American ancestry, where the highest proportion corresponds to the Northernmost populations, which is also the furthest from the Argentinian capital. Most of the European sources are from a South European origin, matching historical records, and we see two different Native American components, one that spreads all over Argentina and another specifically Andean. The highest percentages of African ancestry were in the Center West of Argentina, where the old trade routes took the slaves from Buenos Aires to Chile and Peru. Subcontinentaly, sources of this African component are represented by both West Africa and groups influenced by the Bantu expansion, the second slightly higher than the first, unlike North America and the Caribbean, where the main source is West Africa. This is reasonable, considering that a large proportion of the ships arriving at the Southern Hemisphere came from Mozambique, Loango and Angola. PMID:29715266

Population structure in Argentina.

PubMed

Muzzio, Marina; Motti, Josefina M B; Paz Sepulveda, Paula B; Yee, Muh-Ching; Cooke, Thomas; Santos, María R; Ramallo, Virginia; Alfaro, Emma L; Dipierri, Jose E; Bailliet, Graciela; Bravi, Claudio M; Bustamante, Carlos D; Kenny, Eimear E

2018-01-01

We analyzed 391 samples from 12 Argentinian populations from the Center-West, East and North-West regions with the Illumina Human Exome Beadchip v1.0 (HumanExome-12v1-A). We did Principal Components analysis to infer patterns of populational divergence and migrations. We identified proportions and patterns of European, African and Native American ancestry and found a correlation between distance to Buenos Aires and proportion of Native American ancestry, where the highest proportion corresponds to the Northernmost populations, which is also the furthest from the Argentinian capital. Most of the European sources are from a South European origin, matching historical records, and we see two different Native American components, one that spreads all over Argentina and another specifically Andean. The highest percentages of African ancestry were in the Center West of Argentina, where the old trade routes took the slaves from Buenos Aires to Chile and Peru. Subcontinentaly, sources of this African component are represented by both West Africa and groups influenced by the Bantu expansion, the second slightly higher than the first, unlike North America and the Caribbean, where the main source is West Africa. This is reasonable, considering that a large proportion of the ships arriving at the Southern Hemisphere came from Mozambique, Loango and Angola.

A review of the evolution and trajectory of the African union as an instrument of regional integration.

PubMed

Chirisa, Innocent Ew; Mumba, Artwell; Dirwai, Simbarashe O

2014-01-01

This review paper seeks to analyse African integration in terms of its magnitude of solidarity, the state and typology of integration and functioning. It assesses the strengths, weaknesses, objectives, successes and failures of the African integration project as well as threats to its survival. The primary goal is to sift between issues with the view of better informing the future of the integration. The paper acknowledges how, in 2002, the OAU (formed in 1963) convened to reconstitute and become the African Union (AU) composed of eight Regional Economic Communities. The reformed union has spelt out gender equality, strategic planning, intra-trade, non-indifference to suffering in member states and sustainability, as additional objectives to those of the former OAU. This idea has been to foster integration to promote peace, security and cooperation hence solidarity. It can now be assessed succinctly that African integration has arisen in the need for amalgamation of efforts to solve African problems with African solutions.

Slave boson theory of orbital differentiation with crystal field effects: Application to UO 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lanatà, Nicola; Yao, Yongxin; Deng, Xiaoyu

We derive an exact operatorial reformulation of the rotational invariant slave boson method, and we apply it to describe the orbital differentiation in strongly correlated electron systems starting from first principles. The approach enables us to treat strong electron correlations, spin-orbit coupling, and crystal field splittings on the same footing by exploiting the gauge invariance of the mean-field equations. Furthermore, we apply our theory to the archetypical nuclear fuel UO 2 and show that the ground state of this system displays a pronounced orbital differentiation within the 5f manifold, with Mott-localized Γ 8 and extended Γ 7 electrons.

Slave boson theory of orbital differentiation with crystal field effects: Application to UO 2

DOE PAGES

Lanatà, Nicola; Yao, Yongxin; Deng, Xiaoyu; ...

2017-03-23

We derive an exact operatorial reformulation of the rotational invariant slave boson method, and we apply it to describe the orbital differentiation in strongly correlated electron systems starting from first principles. The approach enables us to treat strong electron correlations, spin-orbit coupling, and crystal field splittings on the same footing by exploiting the gauge invariance of the mean-field equations. Furthermore, we apply our theory to the archetypical nuclear fuel UO 2 and show that the ground state of this system displays a pronounced orbital differentiation within the 5f manifold, with Mott-localized Γ 8 and extended Γ 7 electrons.

Slave Boson Theory of Orbital Differentiation with Crystal Field Effects: Application to UO_{2}.

PubMed

Lanatà, Nicola; Yao, Yongxin; Deng, Xiaoyu; Dobrosavljević, Vladimir; Kotliar, Gabriel

2017-03-24

We derive an exact operatorial reformulation of the rotational invariant slave boson method, and we apply it to describe the orbital differentiation in strongly correlated electron systems starting from first principles. The approach enables us to treat strong electron correlations, spin-orbit coupling, and crystal field splittings on the same footing by exploiting the gauge invariance of the mean-field equations. We apply our theory to the archetypical nuclear fuel UO_{2} and show that the ground state of this system displays a pronounced orbital differentiation within the 5f manifold, with Mott-localized Γ_{8} and extended Γ_{7} electrons.

Texts of Our Institutional Lives. "Don't You Mean "Slaves," Not "Servants"?": Literary and Institutional Texts for an Interdisciplinary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashton, Susanna

2006-01-01

The author describes an undergraduate course she taught on "Representations of Slavery." In particular, she explains how the course involved studying an historic site on her university's campus: the former slave plantation of leading antebellum racist John C. Calhoun. She also analyzes how her school represents the site on its Web pages. (Contains…

Livestock policy and trade issues in SADC.

PubMed

Hulman, B

2009-03-01

As from 2001, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has embarked on a course to deepen regional integration through restructuring. Under the new structure SADC has centralised the coordination of its activities to the Secretariat in Gaborone. The former Sector Coordinating Units have been merged into four directorates, one of which is the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate, which comprises, amongst others, the Livestock Development Unit (LDU). The LDU, under the aegis of the FANR, formulates policies for regional livestock development in order to respond to the objectives of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), and which are mainly to: Contribute to improved food security, Promote wealth creation, Enhance rural livelihood, Enhance livestock as a tradable and consumable commodity. Following the launch of the SADC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations, the eight SADC EPA member states identified sanitary and phytosanitary and technical barriers to trade to be major trade barriers for access to international markets, especially the EU market where standards are normally set beyond international standards. SADC has already brought some of the issues related to beef exports to the OIE Regional Commission for Africa as SADC member states feel that a few of the present requirements do not have a scientific basis. The paper discusses the process that the LDU follows in the formulation of policies and strategies in regional livestock development with the objective of bolstering intra and extra regional trade in livestock and livestock products.

Dynamical mean-field theory, density-matrix embedding theory, and rotationally invariant slave bosons: A unified perspective

DOE PAGES

Ayral, Thomas; Lee, Tsung-Han; Kotliar, Gabriel

2017-12-26

In this paper, we present a unified perspective on dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT), density-matrix embedding theory (DMET), and rotationally invariant slave bosons (RISB). We show that DMET can be regarded as a simplification of the RISB method where the quasiparticle weight is set to unity. Finally, this relation makes it easy to transpose extensions of a given method to another: For instance, a temperature-dependent version of RISB can be used to derive a temperature-dependent free-energy formula for DMET.

Dynamical mean-field theory, density-matrix embedding theory, and rotationally invariant slave bosons: A unified perspective

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ayral, Thomas; Lee, Tsung-Han; Kotliar, Gabriel

In this paper, we present a unified perspective on dynamical mean-field theory (DMFT), density-matrix embedding theory (DMET), and rotationally invariant slave bosons (RISB). We show that DMET can be regarded as a simplification of the RISB method where the quasiparticle weight is set to unity. Finally, this relation makes it easy to transpose extensions of a given method to another: For instance, a temperature-dependent version of RISB can be used to derive a temperature-dependent free-energy formula for DMET.

Recent Historical Migrations Have Shaped the Gene Pool of Arabs and Berbers in North Africa

PubMed Central

Arauna, Lara R.; Mendoza-Revilla, Javier; Mas-Sandoval, Alex; Izaabel, Hassan; Bekada, Asmahan; Benhamamouch, Soraya; Fadhlaoui-Zid, Karima; Zalloua, Pierre; Hellenthal, Garrett

2017-01-01

North Africa is characterized by its diverse cultural and linguistic groups and its genetic heterogeneity. Genomic data has shown an amalgam of components mixed since pre-Holocean times. Though no differences have been found in uniparental and classical markers between Berbers and Arabs, the two main ethnic groups in the region, the scanty genomic data available have highlighted the singularity of Berbers. We characterize the genetic heterogeneity of North African groups, focusing on the putative differences of Berbers and Arabs, and estimate migration dates. We analyze genome-wide autosomal data in five Berber and six Arab groups, and compare them to Middle Easterns, sub-Saharans, and Europeans. Haplotype-based methods show a lack of correlation between geographical and genetic populations, and a high degree of genetic heterogeneity, without strong differences between Berbers and Arabs. Berbers enclose genetically diverse groups, from isolated endogamous groups with high autochthonous component frequencies, large homozygosity runs and low effective population sizes, to admixed groups with high frequencies of sub-Saharan and Middle Eastern components. Admixture time estimates show a complex pattern of recent historical migrations, with a peak around the 7th century C.E. coincident with the Arabization of the region; sub-Saharan migrations since the 1st century B.C. in agreement with Roman slave trade; and a strong migration in the 17th century C.E., coincident with a huge impact of the trans-Atlantic and trans-Saharan trade of sub-Saharan slaves in the Modern Era. The genetic complexity found should be taken into account when selecting reference groups in population genetics and biomedical studies. PMID:27744413

Afro-American Music: One Form of Ethnic Identification.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grant, C. D.

An historical overview of African and Afro-American music, from the foundations in sub-Saharan African music to the music of the 1980s, is presented in this paper as evidence that Afro-American music is closely intertwined with ethnic identification and follows the direction of Afro-American sociopolitical change. Slave and folk music, minstrel…

Tricks of the trade: Mechanism of brood theft in an ant

PubMed Central

Paul, Bishwarup

2018-01-01

Thievery is ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, social insects not being an exception. Brood is invaluable for the survival of social insect colonies and brood theft is well documented in ants. In many species the stolen brood act as slaves in the thief colony as they take up tasks related to foraging, defence and colony maintenance. Slave-making (dulotic) ants are at an advantage as they gain workforce without investing in rearing immature young, and several slave-making species have been recorded in temperate regions. In the current study we investigate brood theft in a primitively eusocial ponerine ant Diacamma indicum that inhabits the tropics. In the context of colony relocation we asked how thieves steal brood and what victim colonies do to prevent theft. While exposed nests increased colonies’ vulnerability, the relocation process itself did not enhance the chances of theft. Various aggressive interactions, in particular immobilization of intruders helped in preventing theft. Thieves that acted quickly, stayed furtive and stole unguarded brood were found to be successful. This comprehensive study of behavioural mechanism of theft reveals that these are the ‘tricks’ adopted by thieves. PMID:29489858

Tricks of the trade: Mechanism of brood theft in an ant.

PubMed

Paul, Bishwarup; Annagiri, Sumana

2018-01-01

Thievery is ubiquitous in the animal kingdom, social insects not being an exception. Brood is invaluable for the survival of social insect colonies and brood theft is well documented in ants. In many species the stolen brood act as slaves in the thief colony as they take up tasks related to foraging, defence and colony maintenance. Slave-making (dulotic) ants are at an advantage as they gain workforce without investing in rearing immature young, and several slave-making species have been recorded in temperate regions. In the current study we investigate brood theft in a primitively eusocial ponerine ant Diacamma indicum that inhabits the tropics. In the context of colony relocation we asked how thieves steal brood and what victim colonies do to prevent theft. While exposed nests increased colonies' vulnerability, the relocation process itself did not enhance the chances of theft. Various aggressive interactions, in particular immobilization of intruders helped in preventing theft. Thieves that acted quickly, stayed furtive and stole unguarded brood were found to be successful. This comprehensive study of behavioural mechanism of theft reveals that these are the 'tricks' adopted by thieves.

Accelerating adoption of genetically modified crops in Africa through a trade liability regime.

PubMed

Smyth, Stuart J; Kerr, William A; Phillips, Peter W B

2013-06-01

Given the apparently unbridgeable divide that has developed between the 25 odd countries that grow and trade GM crops and the evolving EU regulatory hurdles, it may be time to consider alternative strategies for realizing a global market for agricultural products. Africa is one area of the world where the battle over GM agriculture is being played out, yet it is the continent where GM could have the greatest positive impact. Numerous African nations, given their long-standing trade connections to European nations, fear that allowing the commercialization of GM crops could lead to comingling of GM and conventional products and, hence, the loss of export opportunities to the EU. These are legitimate concerns. One potential solution that warrants serious consideration would be to establish a pool of funds that could be accessed by African agricultural commodity exporters in instances where exports to Europe are rejected. A production levy could be imposed in leading industrial adopting nations (i.e., Australia, Canada and the United States). The revenue raised would provide an endowment fund that could be used to offset the costs arising from import refusals. African-sourced shipments rejected by the EU will most certainly have alternate markets, but could receive a reduced price or incur higher costs associated with serving alternate markets. The intent of the fund would be to compensate for the real difference between the net returns contracted with European importers and the final market price received. This article examines the feasibility of establishing such a fund and discusses the funding options. © 2013 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The pulse of driftwood export from a very large forested river basin over multiple time scales, Slave River, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kramer, Natalie; Wohl, Ellen; Hess-Homeier, Brooke; Leisz, Stephen

2017-03-01

This study presents a case study of large wood transport on the great Slave River in northern Canada with the objective to better understand the processes of and variability in pulsed wood fluxes from large forested catchments. We use a varied approach, integrating field characterization of wood, historical anecdotes, repeat aerial imagery of stored wood, and time-lapse imagery of moving wood, for a robust analysis and synthesis of processes behind pulsed wood flux, from yearly uncongested export to rare congested wood floods. Repeat monitoring of known sites of temporary storage with new or historic imagery proved to be a very useful tool for constraining wood flux histories. Pulsed wood export on the Slave River is not an artifact of episodic recruitment from major up-basin disturbances, but rather reflects decadal- to half-century-scale discharge patterns that redistribute wood recruited from channel migration and bank slumping. We suggest that the multiyear flow history is of paramount importance for estimating wood flux magnitude, followed in declining importance by the yearly sequence of peaks and the magnitude and characteristics of the rising limb of individual floods.

Human Genetic Ancestral Composition Correlates with the Origin of Mycobacterium leprae Strains in a Leprosy Endemic Population

PubMed Central

Cardona-Castro, Nora; Cortés, Edwin; Beltrán, Camilo; Romero, Marcela; Badel-Mogollón, Jaime E.; Bedoya, Gabriel

2015-01-01

Recent reports have suggested that leprosy originated in Africa, extended to Asia and Europe, and arrived in the Americas during European colonization and the African slave trade. Due to colonization, the contemporary Colombian population is an admixture of Native-American, European and African ancestries. Because microorganisms are known to accompany humans during migrations, patterns of human migration can be traced by examining genomic changes in associated microbes. The current study analyzed 118 leprosy cases and 116 unrelated controls from two Colombian regions endemic for leprosy (Atlantic and Andean) in order to determine possible associations of leprosy with patient ancestral background (determined using 36 ancestry informative markers), Mycobacterium leprae genotype and/or patient geographical origin. We found significant differences between ancestral genetic composition. European components were predominant in Andean populations. In contrast, African components were higher in the Atlantic region. M. leprae genotypes were then analyzed for cluster associations and compared with the ancestral composition of leprosy patients. Two M. leprae principal clusters were found: haplotypes C54 and T45. Haplotype C54 associated with African origin and was more frequent in patients from the Atlantic region with a high African component. In contrast, haplotype T45 associated with European origin and was more frequent in Andean patients with a higher European component. These results suggest that the human and M. leprae genomes have co-existed since the African and European origins of the disease, with leprosy ultimately arriving in Colombia during colonization. Distinct M. leprae strains followed European and African settlement in the country and can be detected in contemporary Colombian populations. PMID:26360617

African and Non-African Admixture Components in African Americans and An African Caribbean Population

PubMed Central

Murray, Tanda; Beaty, Terri H.; Mathias, Rasika A.; Rafaels, Nicholas; Grant, Audrey Virginia; Faruque, Mezbah U.; Watson, Harold R.; Ruczinski, Ingo; Dunston, Georgia M.; Barnes, Kathleen C.

2013-01-01

Admixture is a potential source of confounding in genetic association studies, so it becomes important to detect and estimate admixture in a sample of unrelated individuals. Populations of African descent in the US and the Caribbean share similar historical backgrounds but the distributions of African admixture may differ. We selected 416 ancestry informative markers (AIMs) to estimate and compare admixture proportions using STRUCTURE in 906 unrelated African Americans (AAs) and 294 Barbadians (ACs) from a study of asthma. This analysis showed AAs on average were 72.5% African, 19.6% European and 8% Asian, while ACs were 77.4% African, 15.9% European, and 6.7% Asian which were significantly different. A principal components analysis based on these AIMs yielded one primary eigenvector that explained 54.04% of the variation and captured a gradient from West African to European admixture. This principal component was highly correlated with African vs. European ancestry as estimated by STRUCTURE (r2 = 0.992, r2 = 0.912, respectively). To investigate other African contributions to African American and Barbadian admixture, we performed PCA on ~14,000 (14k) genome-wide SNPs in AAs, ACs, Yorubans, Luhya and Maasai African groups, and estimated genetic distances (FST). We found AAs and ACs were closest genetically (FST = 0.008), and both were closer to the Yorubans than the other East African populations. In our sample of individuals of African descent, ~400 well-defined AIMs were just as good for detecting substructure as ~14,000 random SNPs drawn from a genome-wide panel of markers. PMID:20717976

Modeling the live-pig trade network in Georgia: Implications for disease prevention and control

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Live pig trade patterns, drivers and characteristics, particularly in backyard predominant systems, remain largely unexplored despite their important contribution to the spread of infectious diseases in the swine industry. A better understanding of the pig trade dynamics can inform the implementation of risk-based and more cost-effective prevention and control programs for swine diseases. In this study, a semi-structured questionnaire elaborated by FAO and implemented to 487 farmers was used to collect data regarding basic characteristics about pig demographics and live-pig trade among villages in the country of Georgia, where very scarce information is available. Social network analysis and exponential random graph models were used to better understand the structure, contact patterns and main drivers for pig trade in the country. Results indicate relatively infrequent (a total of 599 shipments in one year) and geographically localized (median Euclidean distance between shipments = 6.08 km; IQR = 0–13.88 km) pig movements in the studied regions. The main factors contributing to live-pig trade movements among villages were being from the same region (i.e., local trade), usage of a middleman or a live animal market to trade live pigs by at least one farmer in the village, and having a large number of pig farmers in the village. The identified villages’ characteristics and structural network properties could be used to inform the design of more cost-effective surveillance systems in a country which pig industry was recently devastated by African swine fever epidemics and where backyard production systems are predominant. PMID:28599000

Modeling the live-pig trade network in Georgia: Implications for disease prevention and control.

PubMed

Kukielka, Esther Andrea; Martínez-López, Beatriz; Beltrán-Alcrudo, Daniel

2017-01-01

Live pig trade patterns, drivers and characteristics, particularly in backyard predominant systems, remain largely unexplored despite their important contribution to the spread of infectious diseases in the swine industry. A better understanding of the pig trade dynamics can inform the implementation of risk-based and more cost-effective prevention and control programs for swine diseases. In this study, a semi-structured questionnaire elaborated by FAO and implemented to 487 farmers was used to collect data regarding basic characteristics about pig demographics and live-pig trade among villages in the country of Georgia, where very scarce information is available. Social network analysis and exponential random graph models were used to better understand the structure, contact patterns and main drivers for pig trade in the country. Results indicate relatively infrequent (a total of 599 shipments in one year) and geographically localized (median Euclidean distance between shipments = 6.08 km; IQR = 0-13.88 km) pig movements in the studied regions. The main factors contributing to live-pig trade movements among villages were being from the same region (i.e., local trade), usage of a middleman or a live animal market to trade live pigs by at least one farmer in the village, and having a large number of pig farmers in the village. The identified villages' characteristics and structural network properties could be used to inform the design of more cost-effective surveillance systems in a country which pig industry was recently devastated by African swine fever epidemics and where backyard production systems are predominant.

The life-history trade-off between fertility and child survival

PubMed Central

Lawson, David W.; Alvergne, Alexandra; Gibson, Mhairi A.

2012-01-01

Evolutionary models of human reproduction argue that variation in fertility can be understood as the local optimization of a life-history trade-off between offspring quantity and ‘quality’. Child survival is a fundamental dimension of quality in these models as early-life mortality represents a crucial selective bottleneck in human evolution. This perspective is well-rehearsed, but current literature presents mixed evidence for a trade-off between fertility and child survival, and little empirical ground to evaluate how socioecological and individual characteristics influence the benefits of fertility limitation. By compiling demographic survey data, we demonstrate robust negative relationships between fertility and child survival across 27 sub-Saharan African countries. Our analyses suggest this relationship is primarily accounted for by offspring competition for parental investment, rather than by reverse causal mechanisms. We also find that the trade-off increases in relative magnitude as national mortality declines and maternal somatic (height) and extrasomatic (education) capital increase. This supports the idea that socioeconomic development, and associated reductions in extrinsic child mortality, favour reduced fertility by increasing the relative returns to parental investment. Observed fertility, however, falls considerably short of predicted optima for maximizing total offspring survivorship, strongly suggesting that additional unmeasured costs of reproduction ultimately constrain the evolution of human family size. PMID:23034700

Robustly stable adaptive control of a tandem of master-slave robotic manipulators with force reflection by using a multiestimation scheme.

PubMed

Ibeas, Asier; de la Sen, Manuel

2006-10-01

The problem of controlling a tandem of robotic manipulators composing a teleoperation system with force reflection is addressed in this paper. The final objective of this paper is twofold: 1) to design a robust control law capable of ensuring closed-loop stability for robots with uncertainties and 2) to use the so-obtained control law to improve the tracking of each robot to its corresponding reference model in comparison with previously existing controllers when the slave is interacting with the obstacle. In this way, a multiestimation-based adaptive controller is proposed. Thus, the master robot is able to follow more accurately the constrained motion defined by the slave when interacting with an obstacle than when a single-estimation-based controller is used, improving the transparency property of the teleoperation scheme. The closed-loop stability is guaranteed if a minimum residence time, which might be updated online when unknown, between different controller parameterizations is respected. Furthermore, the analysis of the teleoperation and stability capabilities of the overall scheme is carried out. Finally, some simulation examples showing the working of the multiestimation scheme complete this paper.

Spatial Dynamics of the Communities and the Role of Major Countries in the International Rare Earths Trade: A Complex Network Analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Xibo; Ge, Jianping; Wei, Wendong; Li, Hanshi; Wu, Chen; Zhu, Ge

2016-01-01

Rare earths (RE) are critical materials in many high-technology products. Due to the uneven distribution and important functions for industrial development, most countries import RE from a handful of suppliers that are rich in RE, such as China. However, because of the rapid growth of RE exploitation and pollution of the mining and production process, some of the main suppliers have gradually tended to reduce the RE production and exports. Especially in the last decade, international RE trade has been changing in the trade community and trade volume. Based on complex network theory, we built an unweighted and weighted network to explore the evolution of the communities and identify the role of the major countries in the RE trade. The results show that an international RE trade network was dispersed and unstable because of the existence of five to nine trade communities in the unweighted network and four to eight trade communities in the weighted network in the past 13 years. Moreover, trade groups formed due to the great influence of geopolitical relations. China was often associated with the South America and African countries in the same trade group. In addition, Japan, China, the United States, and Germany had the largest impacts on international RE trade from 2002 to 2014. Last, some policy suggestions were highlighted according to the results.

Spatial Dynamics of the Communities and the Role of Major Countries in the International Rare Earths Trade: A Complex Network Analysis

PubMed Central

Wang, Xibo; Ge, Jianping; Wei, Wendong; Li, Hanshi; Wu, Chen; Zhu, Ge

2016-01-01

Rare earths (RE) are critical materials in many high-technology products. Due to the uneven distribution and important functions for industrial development, most countries import RE from a handful of suppliers that are rich in RE, such as China. However, because of the rapid growth of RE exploitation and pollution of the mining and production process, some of the main suppliers have gradually tended to reduce the RE production and exports. Especially in the last decade, international RE trade has been changing in the trade community and trade volume. Based on complex network theory, we built an unweighted and weighted network to explore the evolution of the communities and identify the role of the major countries in the RE trade. The results show that an international RE trade network was dispersed and unstable because of the existence of five to nine trade communities in the unweighted network and four to eight trade communities in the weighted network in the past 13 years. Moreover, trade groups formed due to the great influence of geopolitical relations. China was often associated with the South America and African countries in the same trade group. In addition, Japan, China, the United States, and Germany had the largest impacts on international RE trade from 2002 to 2014. Last, some policy suggestions were highlighted according to the results. PMID:27137779

The influence of feeding on the evolution of sensory signals: a comparative test of an evolutionary trade-off between masticatory and sensory functions of skulls in southern African horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae).

PubMed

Jacobs, D S; Bastian, A; Bam, L

2014-12-01

The skulls of animals have to perform many functions. Optimization for one function may mean another function is less optimized, resulting in evolutionary trade-offs. Here, we investigate whether a trade-off exists between the masticatory and sensory functions of animal skulls using echolocating bats as model species. Several species of rhinolophid bats deviate from the allometric relationship between body size and echolocation frequency. Such deviation may be the result of selection for increased bite force, resulting in a decrease in snout length which could in turn lead to higher echolocation frequencies. If so, there should be a positive relationship between bite force and echolocation frequency. We investigated this relationship in several species of southern African rhinolophids using phylogenetically informed analyses of the allometry of their bite force and echolocation frequency and of the three-dimensional shape of their skulls. As predicted, echolocation frequency was positively correlated with bite force, suggesting that its evolution is influenced by a trade-off between the masticatory and sensory functions of the skull. In support of this, variation in skull shape was explained by both echolocation frequency (80%) and bite force (20%). Furthermore, it appears that selection has acted on the nasal capsules, which have a frequency-specific impedance matching function during vocalization. There was a negative correlation between echolocation frequency and capsule volume across species. Optimization of the masticatory function of the skull may have been achieved through changes in the shape of the mandible and associated musculature, elements not considered in this study. © 2014 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2014 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

2008 Defense Economics Conference: The Economics of War

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-11-17

avoided a recession this time for a while. In a way one of the regions of the world avoided it in the 1970s and that was Latin America . How did it...What happened in Latin America ? They borrowed and borrowed until they could not repay it, and country after country went into default, [causing] a...most of the slaves brought to the Americas in the transatlantic slave trade were captives in war. Slavery was regarded by many as a humane way to

Inter-Industry Trade and Intra-Industry Trade: Some Recent Developments in International Trade Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenaway, David

1978-01-01

Contends that the analysis of intra-industry trade supplements the subject of trade theory in undergraduate economics courses. Intra-industry trade is the situation in which a country both exports and imports the products of a particular industry, e.g. automobiles. Questions for discussion are included. (KC)

A modified implementation of tristate inverter based static master-slave flip-flop with improved power-delay-area product.

PubMed

Singh, Kunwar; Tiwari, Satish Chandra; Gupta, Maneesha

2014-01-01

The paper introduces novel architectures for implementation of fully static master-slave flip-flops for low power, high performance, and high density. Based on the proposed structure, traditional C(2)MOS latch (tristate inverter/clocked inverter) based flip-flop is implemented with fewer transistors. The modified C(2)MOS based flip-flop designs mC(2)MOSff1 and mC(2)MOSff2 are realized using only sixteen transistors each while the number of clocked transistors is also reduced in case of mC(2)MOSff1. Postlayout simulations indicate that mC(2)MOSff1 flip-flop shows 12.4% improvement in PDAP (power-delay-area product) when compared with transmission gate flip-flop (TGFF) at 16X capacitive load which is considered to be the best design alternative among the conventional master-slave flip-flops. To validate the correct behaviour of the proposed design, an eight bit asynchronous counter is designed to layout level. LVS and parasitic extraction were carried out on Calibre, whereas layouts were implemented using IC station (Mentor Graphics). HSPICE simulations were used to characterize the transient response of the flip-flop designs in a 180 nm/1.8 V CMOS technology. Simulations were also performed at 130 nm, 90 nm, and 65 nm to reveal the scalability of both the designs at modern process nodes.

A Modified Implementation of Tristate Inverter Based Static Master-Slave Flip-Flop with Improved Power-Delay-Area Product

PubMed Central

Tiwari, Satish Chandra; Gupta, Maneesha

2014-01-01

The paper introduces novel architectures for implementation of fully static master-slave flip-flops for low power, high performance, and high density. Based on the proposed structure, traditional C2MOS latch (tristate inverter/clocked inverter) based flip-flop is implemented with fewer transistors. The modified C2MOS based flip-flop designs mC2MOSff1 and mC2MOSff2 are realized using only sixteen transistors each while the number of clocked transistors is also reduced in case of mC2MOSff1. Postlayout simulations indicate that mC2MOSff1 flip-flop shows 12.4% improvement in PDAP (power-delay-area product) when compared with transmission gate flip-flop (TGFF) at 16X capacitive load which is considered to be the best design alternative among the conventional master-slave flip-flops. To validate the correct behaviour of the proposed design, an eight bit asynchronous counter is designed to layout level. LVS and parasitic extraction were carried out on Calibre, whereas layouts were implemented using IC station (Mentor Graphics). HSPICE simulations were used to characterize the transient response of the flip-flop designs in a 180 nm/1.8 V CMOS technology. Simulations were also performed at 130 nm, 90 nm, and 65 nm to reveal the scalability of both the designs at modern process nodes. PMID:24723808

Globalization, pharmaceutical pricing, and South African health policy: managing confrontation with U.S. firms and politicians.

PubMed

Bond, P

1999-01-01

Brewing since the advent of South African democracy in 1994 and promises of health sector transformation, an extraordinary drug war between President Nelson Mandela's African National Congress government and U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers took on global proportions in 1998-1999. Within months of the passage of South African legislation aimed at lowering drug prices, the U.S. government quickly applied powerful pressure points to repeal a clause allowing potential importation of generic substitutes and imposition of compulsory licensing. At stake were not only local interpretations of patent law and World Trade Organization rules on Trade in Intellectual Property, but international power relations between developing countries and the pharmaceutical industry. In reviewing the ongoing debate, this article considers post-apartheid public health policy, U.S. government pressure to change the law, and pharmaceutical industry interests and links to the U.S. government, and evaluates various kinds of resistance to U.S. corporate and government behavior. The case thus raises--not for the first time--concerns about contemporary imperialism ("globalization"), the role of the profit motive as an incentive in vital pharmaceutical products, and indeed the depth of "democracy" in a country where high-bidding international drug firms have sufficient clout to embarrass Vice President Al Gore by pitting him against the life-and-death interests of millions of consumers of essential drugs in South Africa and other developing countries.

Paleolimnological assessment of riverine and atmospheric pathways and sources of metal deposition at a floodplain lake (Slave River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada).

PubMed

MacDonald, Lauren A; Wiklund, Johan A; Elmes, Matthew C; Wolfe, Brent B; Hall, Roland I

2016-02-15

Growth of natural resource development in northern Canada has raised concerns about the effects on downstream aquatic ecosystems, but insufficient knowledge of pre-industrial baseline conditions continues to undermine ability of monitoring programs to distinguish industrial-derived contaminants from those supplied by natural processes. Here, we apply a novel paleolimnological approach to define pre-industrial baseline concentrations of 13 priority pollutant metals and vanadium and assess temporal changes, pathways and sources of these metals at a flood-prone lake (SD2) in the Slave River Delta (NWT, Canada) located ~500 km north of Alberta's oil sands development and ~140 km south of a former gold mine at Yellowknife, NWT. Results identify that metal concentrations, normalized to lithium concentration, are not elevated in sediments deposited during intervals of high flood influence or low flood influence since onset of oil sands development (post-1967) relative to the 1920-1967 baseline established at SD2. When compared to a previously defined baseline for the upstream Athabasca River, several metal-Li relations (Cd, Cr, Ni, Zn, V) in post-1967 sediments delivered by floodwaters appear to plot along a different trajectory, suggesting that the Peace and Slave River watersheds are important natural sources of metal deposition at the Slave River Delta. However, analysis revealed unusually high concentrations of As deposited during the 1950s, an interval of very low flood influence at SD2, which corresponded closely with emission history of the Giant Mine gold smelter indicating a legacy of far-field atmospheric pollution. Our study demonstrates the potential for paleolimnological characterization of baseline conditions and detection of pollution from multiple pathways in floodplain ecosystems, but that knowledge of paleohydrological conditions is essential for interpretation of contaminant profiles. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights

The Psychohistory of Child Maltreatment Among Antebellum Slaveholders.

PubMed

Adams, Kenneth Alan

2016-01-01

Examining the inner workings of the slaveholder family, including slave caretakers, this article probes the psychodynamics of slaveholder development to assess the extent of child abuse in the Old South. Childcare was haphazard and premised on paternal absence, maternal ambivalence, and the exigencies of slave surrogacy. Corporal punishment, sanctified by southern religion, was the rule. The likelihood of slave negligence and retaliatory attacks against slaveholder children are addressed. Childrearing practices such as swaddling, aunt adoption, and maternal incest are considered, as well as the possible usage of a West African cleansing ritual. The article classifies planter families within the Ambivalent Mode of parent-child relations and suggests the restaging of childhood trauma as the underlying dynamic in the march to civil war.

Rotation and direction judgment from visual images head-slaved in two and three degrees-of-freedom.

PubMed

Adelstein, B D; Ellis, S R

2000-03-01

The contribution to spatial awareness of adding a roll degree-of-freedom (DOF) to telepresence camera platform yaw and pitch was examined in an experiment where subjects judged direction and rotation of stationary target markers in a remote scene. Subjects viewed the scene via head-slaved camera images in a head-mounted display. Elimination of the roll DOF affected rotation judgment, but only at extreme yaw and pitch combinations, and did not affect azimuth and elevation judgement. Systematic azimuth overshoot occurred regardless of roll condition. Observed rotation misjudgments are explained by kinematic models for eye-head direction of gaze.

Recent Historical Migrations Have Shaped the Gene Pool of Arabs and Berbers in North Africa.

PubMed

Arauna, Lara R; Mendoza-Revilla, Javier; Mas-Sandoval, Alex; Izaabel, Hassan; Bekada, Asmahan; Benhamamouch, Soraya; Fadhlaoui-Zid, Karima; Zalloua, Pierre; Hellenthal, Garrett; Comas, David

2017-02-01

North Africa is characterized by its diverse cultural and linguistic groups and its genetic heterogeneity. Genomic data has shown an amalgam of components mixed since pre-Holocean times. Though no differences have been found in uniparental and classical markers between Berbers and Arabs, the two main ethnic groups in the region, the scanty genomic data available have highlighted the singularity of Berbers. We characterize the genetic heterogeneity of North African groups, focusing on the putative differences of Berbers and Arabs, and estimate migration dates. We analyze genome-wide autosomal data in five Berber and six Arab groups, and compare them to Middle Easterns, sub-Saharans, and Europeans. Haplotype-based methods show a lack of correlation between geographical and genetic populations, and a high degree of genetic heterogeneity, without strong differences between Berbers and Arabs. Berbers enclose genetically diverse groups, from isolated endogamous groups with high autochthonous component frequencies, large homozygosity runs and low effective population sizes, to admixed groups with high frequencies of sub-Saharan and Middle Eastern components. Admixture time estimates show a complex pattern of recent historical migrations, with a peak around the 7th century C.E. coincident with the Arabization of the region; sub-Saharan migrations since the 1st century B.C. in agreement with Roman slave trade; and a strong migration in the 17th century C.E., coincident with a huge impact of the trans-Atlantic and trans-Saharan trade of sub-Saharan slaves in the Modern Era. The genetic complexity found should be taken into account when selecting reference groups in population genetics and biomedical studies. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

African Dust Transport Captured by Rare Earth Elemental Concentrations in Coral Microatolls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouellette, G., Jr.; DeLong, K.; Herrmann, A.; Huang, C. Y.; Shen, C. C.

2017-12-01

Winds are integral components of the climate system; unfortunately, windsare also among the climate variables that are most difficult to study prior to the instrumentalrecord. Paleoclimatologists use sedimentary dust records (e.g., lake and ocean cores) tounderstand past wind circulation conditions; however, these types of records typically are notamenable to sub-annual interpretation due to their limited temporal resolution. Here wedeveloped a coral-based dust-wind proxy to overcome these temporal limitations by usingtrace (nmol/mol) rare earth elemental concentrations recorded in the skeletons of coralmicroatolls. The rare earth elements (REE; the lanthanides as well as scandium and yttrium)behave similarly in geologic and geochemical systems, and have served as useful proxies ofgeological processes in both deep and shallow time. Corals incorporate REE as they deposittheir exoskeletons that extend incrementally with time forming annual density band couplets.Coral microatolls grow at or near the sea surface, where coral REE concentrations are mostsensitive to dust deposition. Our study site off the west coast of Haiti is down stream of light-REE depleted bedrock whereas REE in African dust, transported by the easterly trade winds,reflect average crustal abundances. This unique "upstream" source signature allows forterrestrial contamination of the dust-wind signal to be ruled out. Light REE concentrations (esp.Nd and Pr) demonstrate an order of magnitude increase within coral aragonite coincident withmajor African dust plume events throughout the past decade, with Nd/Ca and Pr/Ca increasingfrom an average of 27 nmol/mol to an average 144 nmol/mol and an average of 5 nmol/mol toan average of 37 nmol/mol, respectively, during major African dust plume events. Monthly-resolved REE analysis shows these REE peaks coincide with the summer dust season rather thanHaiti's two wet seasons in spring and autumn. Regression of our coral REE dust proxy tosatellite records of

Electrical Conductivity Model of the Mantle Lithosphere of the Slave Craton (NW Canada) and its tectonic interpretation in the context of Geochemical Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lezaeta, P.; Chave, A.; Evans, R.; Jones, A. G.; Ferguson, I.

2002-12-01

The Slave Craton, northwestern Canada, contains the oldest known rocks on Earth, with exposed outcrop over an area of about 600x400 km2. The discovery of economic diamondiferous kimberlite pipes during the early 1990s motivated extensive research in the region. Over the last six years, four types of deep-probing magnetotelluric (MT) surveys were conducted within the framework of diverse geoscientific programs, aimed at determining the regional-scale electrical structures of the craton. Two of the surveys involved novel acquisition; one through frozen lake ice along ice roads during winter, and the second deploying ocean-bottom instrumentation from float planes during summer. The latter surveys required one year of recording between summers, thus allowing long period transfer functions that lead to mantle penetration depths of over 300 km. Two-dimensional modeling of the MT data from along the winter road showed the existence of a high conductivity zone at depths of 80-120 km beneath the central Slave craton. This anomalous region is spatially coincident with an ultradepleted harzburgitic layer in the upper mantle that was interpreted by others to be related to a subducted slab emplaced during the mid-Archean. A 3-D electrical conductivity model of the Slave lithosphere has been obtained, by trial and error, to fit the magnetic transfer and MT response functions from the lake experiments. This 3-D model traces the central Slave conductor as a NE-SW oriented mantle structure. Its NE-SW orientation coincides with that of a late fold belt system, with the first phase of craton-wide plutonism at ca 2630-2590 Ma, three-part subdivision of the craton based on SKS results, and with a G10 (garnet) geochemical mantle boundaries. All of these highlight a NE-SW structural grain to the lithospheric mantle of the craton, in sharp contrast to the N-S grain of the crust. Constraints on the depth range and lateral extension of the electrical conductive structure are obtained

Exploring the value of overseas biodiversity to Chinese netizens based on willingness to pay for the African elephants' protection.

PubMed

Wang, Zhengzao; Gong, Yazhen; Mao, Xianqiang

2018-10-01

For a long time, Chinese people have been considered to be concerned only with commercial interests but not ecological systems and biodiversity conservation, even though their trade and investment footprints are globalizing rapidly. This study intended to reveal the non-market valuation on the non-use value of African elephant to Chinese people. Taking the ban of ivory trade as the background, in this study, Chinese netizens' willingness to pay for African elephant conservation was investigated using the contingent valuation method. Four versions of questionnaires were designed and distinguished by offering different background information and payment vehicles (tax and donation). It was demonstrated that the differences in both given information and payment vehicles had no significant impacts on the estimated mean willingness to pay value. 53.36% of the respondents gave positive responses for the hypothetical projects of African elephant protection. The mean willingness to pay was 83.62 RMB (12.59 USD) and 158.58 RMB (23.88 USD) per year per household and the aggregated willingness to pay or benefits for the protection of African elephants from Chinese netizens were estimated to be 16.31 billion RMB (2.45 billion USD) and 30.92 billion RMB (4.65 billion USD) per year after grouping regression and benefit transfer adjustments, respectively. The current research shows that Chinese people, living thousands kilometers away from Africa, have a high public awareness for and valuation to the endangered elephants. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A retrospective and prospective analysis of trading sex for drugs or money in women substance abuse treatment patients.

PubMed

Rash, Carla J; Burki, Madison; Montezuma-Rusca, Jairo M; Petry, Nancy M

2016-05-01

Trading sex for drugs or money is common in substance abuse treatment patients, and this study evaluated prevalence and correlates of this behavior in women with cocaine use disorders initiating outpatient care. In addition, we examined the relation of sex trading status to treatment response in relation to usual care versus contingency management (CM), as well as predictors of continued involvement in sex trading over a 9-month period. Women (N=493) recruited from outpatient substance abuse treatment clinics were categorized according to histories of sex trading (n=215, 43.6%) or not (n=278). Women with a history of trading sex were more likely to be African American, older and less educated, and they had more severe employment problems and were more likely to be HIV positive than those without this history. Controlling for baseline differences, both groups responded equally to substance abuse treatment in terms of retention and abstinence outcomes. Fifty-four women (11.3%) reported trading sex within the next nine months. Predictors of continued involvement in trading sex included a prior history of such behaviors and achieving less abstinence during treatment. Each additional week of abstinence during treatment was associated with a 16% reduction in the likelihood of trading sex over the follow-up. Because over 40% of women receiving community-based treatment for cocaine use disorders have traded sex for drugs or money and more than 10% persist in the behavior, more intensive and directed approaches toward addressing this HIV risk behavior are recommended. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

High level of mislabeling in Spanish and Greek hake markets suggests the fraudulent introduction of African species.

PubMed

Garcia-Vazquez, Eva; Perez, Juliana; Martinez, Jose L; Pardiñas, Antonio F; Lopez, Belen; Karaiskou, Nikoletta; Casa, Mary F; Machado-Schiaffino, Gonzalo; Triantafyllidis, Alexander

2011-01-26

DNA analysis of hake products commercialized in southern European (Spanish and Greek) market chains have demonstrated more than 30% mislabeling, on the basis of species substitution. Tails and fillets were more mislabeled than other products, such as slices and whole pieces. African species were substitute species for products labeled as American and European species, and we suggest it is a case of deliberate economically profitable mislabeling because real market prices of European and American hake products are higher than those of African in Spanish market chains. The presented results suggest fraud detection that disadvantages African producers. Government-mandated genetic surveys of commercial hakes and the use of subsequent statements of fair trade on labels of seafood products could help to reduce fraud levels in a global market of increasingly conscious consumers sensitive to ethical issues.

Selective breeding: the future of TB management in African buffalo?

PubMed

le Roex, N; Berrington, C M; Hoal, E G; van Helden, P D

2015-09-01

The high prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in regions of southern African has a negative economic impact on the trade of animals and animal products, represents an ecological threat to biodiversity, and poses a health risk to local communities through the wildlife-cattle-human interface. Test and cull methods may not be logistically feasible in many free-range wildlife systems, and with the presence of co-existing BTB hosts and the limited effectiveness of the BCG vaccine in buffalo, there is a need for alternative methods of BTB management. Selective breeding for increased resistance to BTB in buffalo may be a viable method of BTB management in the future, particularly if genetic information can be incorporated into these schemes. To explore this possibility, we discuss the different strategies that can be employed in selective breeding programmes, and consider the implementation of genetic improvement schemes. We reflect on the suitability of applying this strategy for enhanced BTB resistance in African buffalo, and address the challenges of this approach that must be taken into account. Conclusions and the implications for management are presented. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The hidden hyperbolic geometry of international trade: World Trade Atlas 1870-2013.

PubMed

García-Pérez, Guillermo; Boguñá, Marián; Allard, Antoine; Serrano, M Ángeles

2016-09-16

Here, we present the World Trade Atlas 1870-2013, a collection of annual world trade maps in which distance combines economic size and the different dimensions that affect international trade beyond mere geography. Trade distances, based on a gravity model predicting the existence of significant trade channels, are such that the closer countries are in trade space, the greater their chance of becoming connected. The atlas provides us with information regarding the long-term evolution of the international trade system and demonstrates that, in terms of trade, the world is not flat but hyperbolic, as a reflection of its complex architecture. The departure from flatness has been increasing since World War I, meaning that differences in trade distances are growing and trade networks are becoming more hierarchical. Smaller-scale economies are moving away from other countries except for the largest economies; meanwhile those large economies are increasing their chances of becoming connected worldwide. At the same time, Preferential Trade Agreements do not fit in perfectly with natural communities within the trade space and have not necessarily reduced internal trade barriers. We discuss an interpretation in terms of globalization, hierarchization, and localization; three simultaneous forces that shape the international trade system.

The hidden hyperbolic geometry of international trade: World Trade Atlas 1870-2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Pérez, Guillermo; Boguñá, Marián; Allard, Antoine; Serrano, M. Ángeles

2016-09-01

Here, we present the World Trade Atlas 1870-2013, a collection of annual world trade maps in which distance combines economic size and the different dimensions that affect international trade beyond mere geography. Trade distances, based on a gravity model predicting the existence of significant trade channels, are such that the closer countries are in trade space, the greater their chance of becoming connected. The atlas provides us with information regarding the long-term evolution of the international trade system and demonstrates that, in terms of trade, the world is not flat but hyperbolic, as a reflection of its complex architecture. The departure from flatness has been increasing since World War I, meaning that differences in trade distances are growing and trade networks are becoming more hierarchical. Smaller-scale economies are moving away from other countries except for the largest economies; meanwhile those large economies are increasing their chances of becoming connected worldwide. At the same time, Preferential Trade Agreements do not fit in perfectly with natural communities within the trade space and have not necessarily reduced internal trade barriers. We discuss an interpretation in terms of globalization, hierarchization, and localization; three simultaneous forces that shape the international trade system.

A novel manipulation method of human body ownership using an fMRI-compatible master-slave system.

PubMed

Hara, Masayuki; Salomon, Roy; van der Zwaag, Wietske; Kober, Tobias; Rognini, Giulio; Nabae, Hiroyuki; Yamamoto, Akio; Blanke, Olaf; Higuchi, Toshiro

2014-09-30

Bodily self-consciousness has become an important topic in cognitive neuroscience aiming to understand how the brain creates a unified sensation of the self in a body. Specifically, full body illusion (FBI) in which changes in bodily self-consciousness are experimentally introduced by using visual-tactile stimulation has led to improve understanding of these mechanisms. This paper introduces a novel approach to the classic FBI paradigm using a robotic master-slave system which allows us to examine interactions between action and the sense of body ownership in behavioral and MRI experiments. In the proposed approach, the use of the robotic master-slave system enables unique stimulation in which experimental participants can administer tactile cues on their own back using active self-touch. This active self-touch has never been employed in FBI experiments and it allows to test the role of sensorimotor integration and agency (the feeling of control over our actions) in FBI paradigms. The objective of this study is to propose a robotic-haptic platform allowing a new FBI paradigm including the active self-touch in MRI environments. This paper, first, describes the design concept and the performance of the prototype device in the fMRI environment (for 3T and 7T MRI scanners). In addition, the prototype device is applied to a classic FBI experiment, and we verify that the use of the prototype device succeeded in inducing the FBI. These results indicate that the proposed approach has a potential to drive advances in our understanding of human body ownership and agency by allowing novel manipulation and paradigms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrical resistivity structure of the Great Slave Lake shear zone, northwest Canada: implications for tectonic history

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Yaotian; Unsworth, Martyn; Liddell, Mitch; Pana, Dinu; Craven, James A.

2014-10-01

Three magnetotelluric (MT) profiles in northwestern Canada cross the central and western segments of Great Slave Lake shear zone (GSLsz), a continental scale strike-slip structure active during the Slave-Rae collision in the Proterozoic. Dimensionality analysis indicates that (i) the resistivity structure is approximately 2-D with a geoelectric strike direction close to the dominant geological strike of N45°E and that (ii) electrical anisotropy may be present in the crust beneath the two southernmost profiles. Isotropic and anisotropic 2-D inversion and isotropic 3-D inversions show different resistivity structures on different segments of the shear zone. The GSLsz is imaged as a high resistivity zone (>5000 Ω m) that is at least 20 km wide and extends to a depth of at least 50 km on the northern profile. On the southern two profiles, the resistive zone is confined to the upper crust and pierces an east-dipping crustal conductor. Inversions show that this dipping conductor may be anisotropic, likely caused by conductive materials filling a network of fractures with a preferred spatial orientation. These conductive regions would have been disrupted by strike-slip, ductile deformation on the GSLsz that formed granulite to greenschist facies mylonite belts. The pre-dominantly granulite facies mylonites are resistive and explain why the GSLsz appears as a resistive structure piercing the east-dipping anisotropic layer. The absence of a dipping anisotropic/conductive layer on the northern MT profile, located on the central segment of the GSLsz, is consistent with the lack of subduction at this location as predicted by geological and tectonic models.

17 CFR 37.400 - Core Principle 4-Monitoring of trading and trade processing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... trading and trade processing. 37.400 Section 37.400 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION SWAP EXECUTION FACILITIES Monitoring of Trading and Trade Processing § 37.400 Core Principle 4—Monitoring of trading and trade processing. The swap execution facility shall: (a) Establish and...

Alluvial diamond resource potential and production capacity assessment of the Central African Republic

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chirico, Peter G.; Barthelemy, Francis; Ngbokoto, Francois A.

2010-01-01

In May of 2000, a meeting was convened in Kimberley, South Africa, and attended by representatives of the diamond industry and leaders of African governments to develop a certification process intended to assure that rough, exported diamonds were free of conflict concerns. This meeting was supported later in 2000 by the United Nations in a resolution adopted by the General Assembly. By 2002, the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was ratified and signed by diamond-producing and diamond-importing countries. Over 70 countries were included as members of the KPCS at the end of 2007. To prevent trade in "conflict diamonds" while protecting legitimate trade, the KPCS requires that each country set up an internal system of controls to prevent conflict diamonds from entering any imported or exported shipments of rough diamonds. Every diamond or diamond shipment must be accompanied by a Kimberley Process (KP) certificate and be contained in tamper-proof packaging. The objective of this study was (1) to assess the naturally occurring endowment of diamonds in the Central African Republic (potential resources) based on geological evidence, previous studies, and recent field data and (2) to assess the diamond-production capacity and measure the intensity of mining activity. Several possible methods can be used to estimate the potential diamond resource. However, because there is generally a lack of sufficient and consistent data recording all diamond mining in the Central African Republic and because time to conduct fieldwork and accessibility to the diamond mining areas are limited, two different methodologies were used: the volume and grade approach and the content per kilometer approach. Estimates are that approximately 39,000,000 carats of alluvial diamonds remain in the eastern and western zones of the CAR combined. This amount is roughly twice the total amount of diamonds reportedly exported from the Central African Republic since 1931. Production capacity is

Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants.

PubMed

Wittemyer, George; Northrup, Joseph M; Blanc, Julian; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain; Omondi, Patrick; Burnham, Kenneth P

2014-09-09

Illegal wildlife trade has reached alarming levels globally, extirpating populations of commercially valuable species. As a driver of biodiversity loss, quantifying illegal harvest is essential for conservation and sociopolitical affairs but notoriously difficult. Here we combine field-based carcass monitoring with fine-scale demographic data from an intensively studied wild African elephant population in Samburu, Kenya, to partition mortality into natural and illegal causes. We then expand our analytical framework to model illegal killing rates and population trends of elephants at regional and continental scales using carcass data collected by a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species program. At the intensively monitored site, illegal killing increased markedly after 2008 and was correlated strongly with the local black market ivory price and increased seizures of ivory destined for China. More broadly, results from application to continental data indicated illegal killing levels were unsustainable for the species between 2010 and 2012, peaking to ∼ 8% in 2011 which extrapolates to ∼ 40,000 elephants illegally killed and a probable species reduction of ∼ 3% that year. Preliminary data from 2013 indicate overharvesting continued. In contrast to the rest of Africa, our analysis corroborates that Central African forest elephants experienced decline throughout the last decade. These results provide the most comprehensive assessment of illegal ivory harvest to date and confirm that current ivory consumption is not sustainable. Further, our approach provides a powerful basis to determine cryptic mortality and gain understanding of the demography of at-risk species.

Improving health services for African migrants in China: A health diplomacy perspective

PubMed Central

McLaughlin, Megan M.; Lee, Margaret C.; Hall, Brian J.; Bulterys, Marc; Ling, Li; Tucker, Joseph D.

2014-01-01

Global health has been an increasingly prominent component of foreign policy in the last decade. The term health diplomacy has been used to describe this growing interface between foreign policy and global health, and it encompasses both the concept of using health to further foreign policy objectives, as well as the idea that diplomatic tools can be helpful for attaining public health goals. The Chinese presence in Africa has grown in the last 15 years, generating increased interest in Sino-African relations. While much has been written in recent years about the Chinese presence in Africa, the growing numbers of Africans in China have attracted considerably less attention. Many are small-scale traders and might be expected to face many of the health challenges common among foreign migrants, but their health needs have been largely unrecognised. In this paper, we consider how a health diplomacy approach could be applied to African migrants in China, and the potential advantages and limitations of this strategy. We identify areas of overlap between public health, trade, and foreign policy goals that can be emphasised to generate support for improved services for African migrants in China and to engage partners from a diversity of sectors. PMID:24807820

Machine Trades Curriculum Guide. Michigan Trade and Industrial Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing. Coll. of Agriculture and Natural Resources Education Inst.

This task-based curriculum guide is intended to help secondary teachers provide relevant training for an entry-level job in machine trades. Introductory materials include background information on trade and industrial education and program goals and safety information. Descriptions follow of the construction trades program, vocational cooperative…

Superconductivity from a non-Fermi-liquid metal: Kondo fluctuation mechanism in slave-fermion theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Ki-Seok

2010-03-01

We propose Kondo fluctuation mechanism of superconductivity, differentiated from the spin-fluctuation theory as the standard model for unconventional superconductivity in the weak-coupling approach. Based on the U(1) slave-fermion representation of an effective Anderson lattice model, where localized spins are described by the Schwinger boson theory and hybridization or Kondo fluctuations weaken antiferromagnetic correlations of localized spins, we found an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point from an antiferromagnetic metal to a heavy-fermion metal in our recent study. The Kondo-induced antiferromagnetic quantum critical point was shown to be described by both conduction electrons and fermionic holons interacting with critical spin fluctuations given by deconfined bosonic spinons with a spin quantum number 1/2. Surprisingly, such critical modes turned out to be described by the dynamical exponent z=3 , giving rise to the well-known non-Fermi-liquid physics such as the divergent Grüneisen ratio with an exponent 2/3 and temperature-linear resistivity in three dimensions. We find that the z=3 antiferromagnetic quantum critical point becomes unstable against superconductivity, where critical spinon excitations give rise to pairing correlations between conduction electrons and between fermionic holons, respectively, via hybridization fluctuations. Such two kinds of pairing correlations result in multigap unconventional superconductivity around the antiferromagnetic quantum critical point of the slave-fermion theory, where s -wave pairing is not favored generically due to strong correlations. We show that the ratio between each superconducting gap for conduction electrons Δc and holons Δf and the transition temperature Tc is 2Δc/Tc˜9 and 2Δf/Tc˜O(10-1) , remarkably consistent with CeCoIn5 . A fingerprint of the Kondo mechanism is emergence of two kinds of resonance modes in not only spin but also charge fluctuations, where the charge resonance mode at an

Health Care Experiences and Perceived Barriers to Health Care Access: A Qualitative Study Among African Migrants in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

PubMed Central

Brown, Katherine B.; Yu, Fan; Yang, Jingqi; Wang, Jason; Schrock, Joshua M.; Bodomo, Adams B.; Yang, Ligang; Yang, Bin; Nehl, Eric J.; Tucker, Joseph D.; Wong, Frank Y.

2014-01-01

Guangzhou, one of China's largest cities and a main trading port in South China, has attracted many African businessmen and traders migrating to the city for financial gains. Previous research has explored the cultural and economic roles of this newly emerging population; however, little is known about their health care experiences while in China. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to assess health care experiences and perceived barriers to health care access among African migrants in Guangzhou, China. Overall, African migrants experienced various barriers to accessing health care and were dissatisfied with local health services. The principal barriers to care reported included affordability, legal issues, language barriers, and cultural differences. Facing multiple barriers, African migrants have limited access to care in Guangzhou. Local health settings are not accustomed to the African migrant population, suggesting that providing linguistically and culturally appropriate services may improve access to care for the migrants. PMID:25294415

Supercontinents, True Polar Wander, and Paleogeography of the Slave Craton

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitchell, Ross Nelson

evidence in support of a long-lived, Ediacaran-aged hotspot. The consistency of paleocurrent directions derived from the Great Slave Supergroup argues against significant regional vertical-axis rotations and for large and rapid TPW to explain discordant paleomagnetic directions observed within section. The last frontier for paleomagnetic constraints on supercontinents, TPW, and the antiquity of plate tectonics is earliest Proterozoic time. Laurentia, one of Earth's oldest continents that formed at the core supercontinent Nuna, contains several cratons that have adequate paleomagnetic and geochronologic data with which to test for evidence of early TPW and relative plate motion, the hallmark of tectonics. Although past comparisons have been made between the Slave and Superior cratons at each "bookend" of Laurentia, new paleomagnetic data supported by baked contact tests allow for conclusive early Proterozoic reconstructions. Similar to periods following Proterozoic supercontinents Nuna and Rodinia, early Proterozoic time is characterized by large TPW oscillations and large-scale plate reorganizations prior to amalgamation, possibly indicating the presence of `Kenorland', an Archean supercontinent.

[The archeology of slavery on Jesuit fazendas: first research notes].

PubMed

Symanski, Luís Cláudio P; Gomes, Flávio

2012-12-01

These preliminary research notes present theoretical and methodological questions regarding a recently inaugurated investigation in historical archeology that intends to analyze daily life under slavery, demographic regimes, cultural practices, and so on. A survey of archeological sites on former 'senzalas' (slave quarters) and slave-owning fazendas in the Paraíba Valley and northern part of the state of Rio de Janeiro is currently in progress. With the cooperation of historians, archeologists, and anthropologists, records of the material culture of slave populations, which originally comprised indigenes and later Africans, are being located at excavations underway on the fazenda that is part of the Jesuit school in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, first run by the clergy and later by members of the laity in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries.

Global and regional dissemination and evolution of Burkholderia pseudomallei

PubMed Central

Chewapreecha, Claire; Holden, Matthew T. G.; Vehkala, Minna; Välimäki, Niko; Yang, Zhirong; Harris, Simon R; Mather, Alison E.; Tuanyok, Apichai; De Smet, Birgit; Le Hello, Simon; Bizet, Chantal; Mayo, Mark; Wuthiekanun, Vanaporn; Limmathurotsakul, Direk; Phetsouvanh, Rattanaphone; Spratt, Brian G; Corander, Jukka; Keim, Paul; Dougan, Gordon; Dance, David A. B.; Currie, Bart J; Parkhill, Julian; Peacock, Sharon J.

2017-01-01

The environmental bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei causes an estimated 165,000 cases of human melioidosis per year worldwide, and is also classified as a biothreat agent. We used whole genome sequences of 469 B. pseudomallei isolates from 30 countries collected over 79 years to explore its geographic transmission. Our data point to Australia as an early reservoir, with transmission to Southeast Asia followed by onward transmission to South Asia, and East Asia. Repeated reintroduction was observed within the Malay Peninsula, and between countries bordered by the Mekong river. Our data support an African origin of the Central and South American isolates with introduction of B. pseudomallei into the Americas between 1650 and 1850, providing a temporal link with the slave trade. We also identified geographically distinct genes/variants in Australasian or Southeast Asian isolates alone, with virulence-associated genes being among those overrepresented. This provides a potential explanation for clinical manifestations of melioidosis that are geographically restricted. PMID:28112723

Hb S [β6(A3)Glu→Val, GAG>GTG] in Mexican Mestizos: frequency and analysis of the 5' β-globin haplotype.

PubMed

Guzmán, Luis F; Perea, Francisco J; Magaña, María T; Morales-González, Karina R; Chávez-Velazco, M Luz; Ibarra, Bertha

2010-01-01

Between 1978 and 2009, we studied 1,863 Mexican Mestizo patients with clinical data compatible with a hemoglobinopathy. Of these patients, 382 had some hemoglobin (Hb) abnormality (20.5%), 128 had a sickle cell hemoglobinopathy, representing a general frequency of 6.9%, which is similar to the percentage observed in previous studies on Mexican Mestizos. We analyzed the 5' β-globin haplotype (5'Hp) in 79 unrelated β(S) chromosomes (26 β(S)/β(S), 14 β(S)/β(Thal), nine β(S)/β(A) and four β(S)/β(D)), and four haplotypes were observed: 72.2% CAR 24.1% Benin, 2.5% Senegal and 1.2% Cameroon; the last two are reported for first time in Mexico. In some Latin American populations such as Brazil, the Bantu haplotype predominates, while in others such as Jamaica, the Benin haplotype is the most frequent, showing heterogeneity of African genes as a consequence of different regions involved in the slave trade.

Black versus Black: The Relationship among African, African American, and African Caribbean Persons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Jennifer V.; Cothran, Mary E.

2003-01-01

Surveyed people of African descent regarding relationships among African, African-American, and African-Caribbean persons, focusing on contact and friendship, travel to countries of the diaspora, cross-cultural communication, thoughts and stereotypes, and education. Most respondents had contacts with the other groups, but groups had preconceived…

Entropy of international trades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Chang-Young; Lee, D.-S.

2017-05-01

The organization of international trades is highly complex under the collective efforts towards economic profits of participating countries given inhomogeneous resources for production. Considering the trade flux as the probability of exporting a product from a country to another, we evaluate the entropy of the world trades in the period 1950-2000. The trade entropy has increased with time, and we show that it is mainly due to the extension of trade partnership. For a given number of trade partners, the mean trade entropy is about 60% of the maximum possible entropy, independent of time, which can be regarded as a characteristic of the trade fluxes' heterogeneity and is shown to be derived from the scaling and functional behaviors of the universal trade-flux distribution. The correlation and time evolution of the individual countries' gross-domestic products and the number of trade partners show that most countries achieved their economic growth partly by extending their trade relationship.

Analysis of admixture proportions in seven geographical regions of the state of Guerrero, Mexico

PubMed Central

Cahua‐Pablo, José Ángel; Cruz, Miguel; Tello‐Almaguer, Pedro Vidal; del Alarcón‐Romero, Luz Carmen; Parra, Esteban Juan; Villerías‐Salinas, Salvador; Valladares‐Salgado, Adán; Tello‐Flores, Vianet Argelia; Méndez‐Palacios, Abigail; Pérez‐Macedonio, Claudia Paola

2017-01-01

Abstract Objective Mexico's current population structure has been defined by admixture between European, Native American, and to some extent African, groups that started in the sixteenth century. The aim of this research was to analyze the relative contributions of these continental population groups to the seven regions of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. Methods A total of 104 ancestry informative markers were analyzed in 480 unrelated women from the seven regions of the state of Guerrero. The individual ancestry proportions were estimated using the software ADMIXMAP v3.2. Results The relative Native American, European and African ancestral contributions to the whole sample were estimated to be 69%, 27%, and 1.9%, respectively. We observed significant differences in admixture proportions across the regions. The highest average Native American ancestry was found in the Montaña region and the lowest in Costa Grande. Conversely, the highest European contribution was observed in Costa Grande. The highest African contributions were observed in the regions of Costa Chica and Costa Grande. Conclusions The genetic structure of the population of Guerrero reflects quite well the historical processes that have occurred in this state. Native American population settlements were mainly in the regions of Montaña, Norte, and Centro, where the highest indigenous genetic contribution is observed today. European settlers came from the center of the state to regions with significant agricultural and mining activities. The highest African contributions are observed in coastal regions, in agreement with historical evidence about slave trade routes in the Americas. PMID:28675593

The hidden hyperbolic geometry of international trade: World Trade Atlas 1870–2013

PubMed Central

García-Pérez, Guillermo; Boguñá, Marián; Allard, Antoine; Serrano, M. Ángeles

2016-01-01

Here, we present the World Trade Atlas 1870–2013, a collection of annual world trade maps in which distance combines economic size and the different dimensions that affect international trade beyond mere geography. Trade distances, based on a gravity model predicting the existence of significant trade channels, are such that the closer countries are in trade space, the greater their chance of becoming connected. The atlas provides us with information regarding the long-term evolution of the international trade system and demonstrates that, in terms of trade, the world is not flat but hyperbolic, as a reflection of its complex architecture. The departure from flatness has been increasing since World War I, meaning that differences in trade distances are growing and trade networks are becoming more hierarchical. Smaller-scale economies are moving away from other countries except for the largest economies; meanwhile those large economies are increasing their chances of becoming connected worldwide. At the same time, Preferential Trade Agreements do not fit in perfectly with natural communities within the trade space and have not necessarily reduced internal trade barriers. We discuss an interpretation in terms of globalization, hierarchization, and localization; three simultaneous forces that shape the international trade system. PMID:27633649

The Past Does Matter: a Nursing Perspective on Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS).

PubMed

Sule, Ejim; Sutton, Ryan M; Jones, Debbie; Moore, Ramel; Igbo, Imaculata; Jones, Lovell A

2017-01-11

Few have reviewed the impact of post traumatic slave syndrome (PTSS) on the issues of inequities, especially as it pertains to mental and physical health. Furthermore, the impact of PTSS on the social determinants of health is an area that has been researched by few investigators. The possibilities that the impact of slavery and/or major stress events in the life of a population can become trans-generational are lost to history. Think about what is taking place in cities around the country and then think about racist socialization (internalized racism) and its impact on our society. Combining these factors with the lack of real medical care and the bias that plagues our medical establishment and society in general, the net result is a society faced with inequities that seem to be unresolvable, simply because we have lost perspective about a major root cause of the problem.

The East African monsoon system: Seasonal climatologies and recent variations: Chapter 10

USGS Publications Warehouse

Funk, Christopher C.; Hoell, Andrew; Shukla, Shraddhanand; Husak, Gregory J.; Michaelsen, J.

2016-01-01

This chapter briefly reviews the complex climatological cycle of the East African monsoon system, paying special attention to its connection to the larger Indo-Pacific-Asian monsoon cycle. We examine the seasonal monsoon cycle, and briefly explore recent circulation changes. The spatial footprint of our analysis corresponds with the “Greater Horn of Africa” (GHA) region, extending from Tanzania in the south to Yemen and Sudan in the north. During boreal winter, when northeast trade winds flow across the northwest Indian Ocean and the equatorial moisture transports over the Indian Ocean exhibit strong westerly mean flows over the equatorial Indian Ocean, East African precipitation is limited to a few highland areas. As the Indian monsoon circulation transitions during boreal spring, the trade winds over the northwest Indian Ocean reverse, and East African moisture convergence supports the “long” rains. In boreal summer, the southwesterly Somali Jet intensifies over eastern Africa. Subsidence forms along the westward flank of this jet, shutting down precipitation over eastern portions of East Africa. In boreal fall, the Jet subsides, but easterly moisture transports support rainfall in limited regions of the eastern Horn of Africa. We use regressions with the trend mode of global sea surface temperatures to explore potential changes in the seasonal monsoon circulations. Significant reductions in total precipitable water are indicated in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen, with moisture transports broadly responding in ways that reinforce the climatological moisture transports over the Indian Ocean. Over Kenya, southern Ethiopia and Somalia, regressions with velocity potential indicate increased convergence aloft. Near the surface, this convergence appears to manifest as a surface high pressure system that modifies moisture transports in these countries as well as Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. An analysis

Natural orifice transgastric endoscopic wedge hepatic resection in an experimental model using an intuitively controlled master and slave transluminal endoscopic robot (MASTER).

PubMed

Phee, S J; Ho, K Y; Lomanto, D; Low, S C; Huynh, V A; Kencana, A P; Yang, K; Sun, Z L; Chung, S C Sydney

2010-09-01

The lack of triangulation of standard endoscopic devices limits the degree of freedom for surgical maneuvers during natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES). This study explored the feasibility of adapting an intuitively controlled master and slave transluminal endoscopic robot (MASTER) the authors developed to facilitate wedge hepatic resection in NOTES. The MASTER consists of a master controller, a telesurgical workstation, and a slave manipulator that holds two end-effectors: a grasper, and a monopolar electrocautery hook. The master controller is attached to the wrist and fingers of the operator and connected to the manipulator by electrical and wire cables. Movements of the operator are detected and converted into control signals driving the slave manipulator via a tendon-sheath power transmission mechanism allowing nine degrees of freedom. Using this system, wedge hepatic resection was performed through the transgastric route on two female pigs under general anesthesia. Entry into the peritoneal cavity was via a 10-mm incision made on the anterior wall of the stomach by the electrocautery hook. Wedge hepatic resection was performed using the robotic grasper and hook. Hemostasis was achieved with the electrocautery hook. After the procedure, the resected liver tissue was retrieved through the mouth using the grasper. Using the MASTER, transgastric wedge hepatic resection was successfully performed on two pigs with no laparoscopic assistance. The entire procedure took 9.4 min (range, 8.5-10.2 min), with 7.1 min (range, 6-8.2 min) spent on excision of the liver tissue. The robotics-controlled device was able to grasp, retract, and excise the liver specimen successfully in the desired plane. This study demonstrated for the first time that the MASTER could effectively mitigate the technical constraints normally encountered in NOTES procedures. With it, the triangulation of surgical tools and the manipulation of tissue became easy, and wedge hepatic

76 FR 32851 - African-American Music Appreciation Month, 2011

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-07

..., and brought hope to slaves toiling in fields. The soulfulness of jazz and storytelling in the blues... its enduring power to bring life to the narrative of our Nation. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA...

Granulite sulphides as tracers of lower crustal origin and evolution: An example from the Slave craton, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aulbach, Sonja; Krauss, Cristen; Creaser, Robert A.; Stachel, Thomas; Heaman, Larry M.; Matveev, Sergei; Chacko, Thomas

2010-09-01

We carried out a detailed study of sulphide minerals, a ubiquitous mineral group in lower crustal mafic to peraluminous granulite xenoliths from the Diavik kimberlites, to assess their use in constraining the origin and tectonothermal evolution of the deep crust, and to obtain additional data on the composition of lower crust beneath ancient continents. Sulphides are overwhelmingly pyrrhotite with minor Ni (0.7-3.9 at.%), Co (0.1-0.7 at.%), and Cu contents (0.4-3.9 at.%). Sulphide modes in mafic granulites range from 0.14 to 0.55 vol%, translating into bulk rock S contents from ˜600 to 2000 ppm, similar to S contents in other mafic igneous rocks and indicating preservation of primary igneous S contents. In mafic granulites, Re and Os abundances in sulphides range from 42.5 to 726 ppb and 3.2 to 180 ppb, respectively, whereas those in peraluminous granulites are distinctly lower (36.1-282 ppb and 1.8-7.2 ppb, respectively), suggestive of Re and Os loss to fractionating sulphides in the more evolved precursors of these rocks. The significant within-sample variability of 187Os/ 188Os and correlation with 187Re/ 188Os indicates the preservation of primary Re-Os isotope systematics and time-integrated decay of the measured 187Re. Within the large uncertainties inherent in the nature of the samples and technique, sulphides in some granulites may record major tectonothermal events in the central Slave craton spanning several billion years of evolution. Multiple generations of sulphide can occur in a single sample. These data attest to the heterogeneous composition and complex history of the Slave craton lower crust.

Negro, Black, Black African, African Caribbean, African American or what? Labelling African origin populations in the health arena in the 21st century

PubMed Central

Agyemang, C.; Bhopal, R.; Bruijnzeels, M.

2005-01-01

Broad terms such as Black, African, or Black African are entrenched in scientific writings although there is considerable diversity within African descent populations and such terms may be both offensive and inaccurate. This paper outlines the heterogeneity within African populations, and discusses the strengths and limitations of the term Black and related labels from epidemiological and public health perspectives in Europe and the USA. This paper calls for debate on appropriate terminologies for African descent populations and concludes with the proposals that (1) describing the population under consideration is of paramount importance (2) the word African origin or simply African is an appropriate and necessary prefix for an ethnic label, for example, African Caribbean or African Kenyan or African Surinamese (3) documents should define the ethnic labels (4) the label Black should be phased out except when used in political contexts. PMID:16286485

Entomopathogenic fungi and their potential for the management of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Americas

PubMed Central

Evans, Harry C; Elliot, Simon L; Barreto, Robert W

2018-01-01

Classical biological control has been used extensively for the management of exotic weeds and agricultural pests, but never for alien insect vectors of medical importance. This simple but elegant control strategy involves the introduction of coevolved natural enemies from the centre of origin of the target alien species. Aedes aegypti - the primary vector of the dengue, yellow fever and Zika flaviviruses - is just such an invasive alien in the Americas where it arrived accidentally from its West African home during the slave trade. Here, we introduce the concept of exploiting entomopathogenic fungi from Africa for the classical biological control of Ae. aegypti in the Americas. Fungal pathogens attacking arthropods are ubiquitous in tropical forests and are important components in the natural balance of arthropod populations. They can produce a range of specialised spore forms, as well as inducing a variety of bizarre behaviours in their hosts, in order to maximise infection. The fungal groups recorded as specialised pathogens of mosquito hosts worldwide are described and discussed. We opine that similar fungal pathogens will be found attacking and manipulating Ae. aegypti in African forests and that these could be employed for an economic, environmentally-safe and long-term solution to the flavivirus pandemics in the Americas. PMID:29412361

Entomopathogenic fungi and their potential for the management of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Americas.

PubMed

Evans, Harry C; Elliot, Simon L; Barreto, Robert W

2018-03-01

Classical biological control has been used extensively for the management of exotic weeds and agricultural pests, but never for alien insect vectors of medical importance. This simple but elegant control strategy involves the introduction of coevolved natural enemies from the centre of origin of the target alien species. Aedes aegypti - the primary vector of the dengue, yellow fever and Zika flaviviruses - is just such an invasive alien in the Americas where it arrived accidentally from its West African home during the slave trade. Here, we introduce the concept of exploiting entomopathogenic fungi from Africa for the classical biological control of Ae. aegypti in the Americas. Fungal pathogens attacking arthropods are ubiquitous in tropical forests and are important components in the natural balance of arthropod populations. They can produce a range of specialised spore forms, as well as inducing a variety of bizarre behaviours in their hosts, in order to maximise infection. The fungal groups recorded as specialised pathogens of mosquito hosts worldwide are described and discussed. We opine that similar fungal pathogens will be found attacking and manipulating Ae. aegypti in African forests and that these could be employed for an economic, environmentally-safe and long-term solution to the flavivirus pandemics in the Americas.

Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants

PubMed Central

Wittemyer, George; Northrup, Joseph M.; Blanc, Julian; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain; Omondi, Patrick; Burnham, Kenneth P.

2014-01-01

Illegal wildlife trade has reached alarming levels globally, extirpating populations of commercially valuable species. As a driver of biodiversity loss, quantifying illegal harvest is essential for conservation and sociopolitical affairs but notoriously difficult. Here we combine field-based carcass monitoring with fine-scale demographic data from an intensively studied wild African elephant population in Samburu, Kenya, to partition mortality into natural and illegal causes. We then expand our analytical framework to model illegal killing rates and population trends of elephants at regional and continental scales using carcass data collected by a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species program. At the intensively monitored site, illegal killing increased markedly after 2008 and was correlated strongly with the local black market ivory price and increased seizures of ivory destined for China. More broadly, results from application to continental data indicated illegal killing levels were unsustainable for the species between 2010 and 2012, peaking to ∼8% in 2011 which extrapolates to ∼40,000 elephants illegally killed and a probable species reduction of ∼3% that year. Preliminary data from 2013 indicate overharvesting continued. In contrast to the rest of Africa, our analysis corroborates that Central African forest elephants experienced decline throughout the last decade. These results provide the most comprehensive assessment of illegal ivory harvest to date and confirm that current ivory consumption is not sustainable. Further, our approach provides a powerful basis to determine cryptic mortality and gain understanding of the demography of at-risk species. PMID:25136107

Prediction of Pig Trade Movements in Different European Production Systems Using Exponential Random Graph Models.

PubMed

Relun, Anne; Grosbois, Vladimir; Alexandrov, Tsviatko; Sánchez-Vizcaíno, Jose M; Waret-Szkuta, Agnes; Molia, Sophie; Etter, Eric Marcel Charles; Martínez-López, Beatriz

2017-01-01

to simplify trade networks analysis and better inform European policy makers on risk-based and more cost-effective prevention and control against swine diseases such as African swine fever, classical swine fever, or porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome.

77 FR 31393 - Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-25

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and... taken steps to renew the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy. The Committee... Negotiations and Trade Policy consults with and makes recommendations to the Secretary of Labor and the United...

Human Factors in Financial Trading: An Analysis of Trading Incidents.

PubMed

Leaver, Meghan; Reader, Tom W

2016-09-01

This study tests the reliability of a system (FINANS) to collect and analyze incident reports in the financial trading domain and is guided by a human factors taxonomy used to describe error in the trading domain. Research indicates the utility of applying human factors theory to understand error in finance, yet empirical research is lacking. We report on the development of the first system for capturing and analyzing human factors-related issues in operational trading incidents. In the first study, 20 incidents are analyzed by an expert user group against a referent standard to establish the reliability of FINANS. In the second study, 750 incidents are analyzed using distribution, mean, pathway, and associative analysis to describe the data. Kappa scores indicate that categories within FINANS can be reliably used to identify and extract data on human factors-related problems underlying trading incidents. Approximately 1% of trades (n = 750) lead to an incident. Slip/lapse (61%), situation awareness (51%), and teamwork (40%) were found to be the most common problems underlying incidents. For the most serious incidents, problems in situation awareness and teamwork were most common. We show that (a) experts in the trading domain can reliably and accurately code human factors in incidents, (b) 1% of trades incur error, and (c) poor teamwork skills and situation awareness underpin the most critical incidents. This research provides data crucial for ameliorating risk within financial trading organizations, with implications for regulation and policy. © 2016, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Trade Integration and Trade Imbalances in the European Union: A Network Perspective

PubMed Central

Krings, Gautier M.; Carpantier, Jean-François; Delvenne, Jean-Charles

2014-01-01

We study the ever more integrated and ever more unbalanced trade relationships between European countries. To better capture the complexity of economic networks, we propose two global measures that assess the trade integration and the trade imbalances of the European countries. These measures are the network (or indirect) counterparts to traditional (or direct) measures such as the trade-to-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and trade deficit-to-GDP ratios. Our indirect tools account for the European inter-country trade structure and follow (i) a decomposition of the global trade flow into elementary flows that highlight the long-range dependencies between exporting and importing economies and (ii) the commute-time distance for trade integration, which measures the impact of a perturbation in the economy of a country on another country, possibly through intermediate partners by domino effect. Our application addresses the impact of the launch of the Euro. We find that the indirect imbalance measures better identify the countries ultimately bearing deficits and surpluses, by neutralizing the impact of trade transit countries, such as the Netherlands. Among others, we find that ultimate surpluses of Germany are quite concentrated in only three partners. We also show that for some countries, the direct and indirect measures of trade integration diverge, thereby revealing that these countries (e.g. Greece and Portugal) trade to a smaller extent with countries considered as central in the European Union network. PMID:24465381

Trade integration and trade imbalances in the European Union: a network perspective.

PubMed

Krings, Gautier M; Carpantier, Jean-François; Delvenne, Jean-Charles

2014-01-01

We study the ever more integrated and ever more unbalanced trade relationships between European countries. To better capture the complexity of economic networks, we propose two global measures that assess the trade integration and the trade imbalances of the European countries. These measures are the network (or indirect) counterparts to traditional (or direct) measures such as the trade-to-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and trade deficit-to-GDP ratios. Our indirect tools account for the European inter-country trade structure and follow (i) a decomposition of the global trade flow into elementary flows that highlight the long-range dependencies between exporting and importing economies and (ii) the commute-time distance for trade integration, which measures the impact of a perturbation in the economy of a country on another country, possibly through intermediate partners by domino effect. Our application addresses the impact of the launch of the Euro. We find that the indirect imbalance measures better identify the countries ultimately bearing deficits and surpluses, by neutralizing the impact of trade transit countries, such as the Netherlands. Among others, we find that ultimate surpluses of Germany are quite concentrated in only three partners. We also show that for some countries, the direct and indirect measures of trade integration diverge, thereby revealing that these countries (e.g. Greece and Portugal) trade to a smaller extent with countries considered as central in the European Union network.

From reproduction to reinvention. Women's roles in African cities.

PubMed

Simone, A

1995-01-01

African governments are expressing a new awareness that interventions focused on women's health, education, political participation, and human rights are essential to the control of population growth. Lacking, however, are formal models of innovative techniques for mobilizing endogenous resource bases and maximizing popular participation. Marginalized from social and economic development, African urban women have been able to elaborate new forms of social economies and reciprocal interaction that merit attention. In the shift from the household production and reproduction characteristic of parochial rural economies to the cross-circuitry of urban trade, women have facilitated the formation of interhousehold alliances and the sharing of opportunities and resources essential to urban survival. Because women tend to operate in informal contexts outside the realm of bureaucratic control, they have been able to improvise new forms of solidarity, information exchange, and income generation. Moreover, through their ability to link disparate households, compounds, and neighborhoods, women are evolving new processes of institutional reform that cut across territory, class position, and other forms of stratification.

British American Tobacco and the "insidious impact of illicit trade" in cigarettes across Africa.

PubMed

Legresley, E; Lee, K; Muggli, M E; Patel, P; Collin, J; Hurt, R D

2008-10-01

To provide an overview of the complicity of British American Tobacco (BAT) in the illicit trade of cigarettes across the African continent in terms of rationale, supply routes and scale. Analysis of internal BAT documents and industry publications. BAT has relied on illegal channels to supply markets across Africa since the 1980s. Available documents suggest smuggling has been an important component of BAT's market entry strategy in order to gain leverage in negotiating with governments for tax concessions, compete with other transnational tobacco companies, circumvent local import restrictions and unstable political and economic conditions and gain a market presence. BAT worked through distributors and local agents to exploit weak government capacity to gain substantial market share in major countries. Documents demonstrate that the complicity of BAT in cigarette smuggling extends to Africa, which includes many of the poorest countries in the world. This is in direct conflict with offers by the company to contribute to stronger international cooperation to tackle the illicit tobacco trade.

78 FR 72929 - Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-04

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy AGENCY... Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: December 16, 2013; 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; U.S. Department.... Potential U.S. negotiating objectives and bargaining positions in current and anticipated trade negotiations...

76 FR 71378 - Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-17

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and... Committee for Trade Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: November 30, 2011; 2-4:30 p.m.; U.S.... Potential U.S. negotiating objectives and bargaining positions in current and anticipated trade negotiations...

Macrocrystal phlogopite Rb-Sr dates for the Ekati property kimberlites, Slave Province, Canada: evidence for multiple intrusive episodes in the Paleocene and Eocene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Creaser, Robert A.; Grütter, Herman; Carlson, Jon; Crawford, Barbara

2004-09-01

New Rb-Sr age determinations using macrocrystal phlogopite are presented for 27 kimberlites from the Ekati property of the Lac de Gras region, Slave Province, Canada. These new data show that kimberlite magmatism at Ekati ranges in age from at least Late Paleocene (∼61 Ma) to Middle Eocene time (∼45 Ma). Older, perovskite-bearing kimberlites from Ekati extend this age range to Late Cretaceous time (∼74 Ma). Within this age range, emplacement episodes at ∼48, 51-53, 55-56 and 59-61 Ma can be recognized. Middle Eocene kimberlite magmatism of the previously dated Mark kimberlite (∼47.5 Ma) is shown to include four other pipes from the east-central Ekati property. A single kimberlite (Aaron) may be younger than the 47.5 Ma Mark kimberlite. The economically important Panda kimberlite is precisely dated in this study to be 53.3±0.6 Ma using the phlogopite isochron method, and up to six additional kimberlites from the central Ekati property have Early Eocene ages indistinguishable from that of Panda, including the Koala and Koala North occurrences. Late Paleocene 55-56 Ma kimberlite magmatism, represented by the Diavik kimberlite pipes adjacent to the southeastern Ekati property, is shown to extend onto the southeastern Ekati property and includes three, and possibly four, kimberlites. A precise eight-point phlogopite isochron for the Cobra South kimberlite yields an emplacement age of 59.7±0.4 Ma; eight other kimberlites from across the Ekati property have similar Late Paleocene Rb-Sr model ages. The addition of 27 new emplacement ages for kimberlites from the Ekati property confirms that kimberlite magmatism from the central Slave Province is geologically young, despite ages ranging back to Cambrian time from elsewhere in the Slave Province. With the available geochronologic database, Lac de Gras kimberlites with the highest diamond potential are currently restricted to the 51-53 and 55-56 Ma periods of kimberlite magmatism.

A mixed methods study of health and social disparities among substance-using African American/Black men who have sex with men.

PubMed

Buttram, Mance E; Kurtz, Steven P

2015-03-01

African American/Black men who have sex with men (MSM) in the U.S. experience health and social disparities at greater rates than MSM of other races/ethnicities, including HIV infection and substance use. This mixed methods paper presents: 1) a quantitative examination of health and social disparities among a sample of substance-using African American/Black MSM (N=108), compared to Caucasian/White MSM (N=250), and 2) in-depth qualitative data from a subsample of African American/Black MSM (N=21) in order to contextualize the quantitative data. Findings indicate that compared to Caucasian/White MSM, African American/Black MSM experienced a wide range of health and social disparities including: substance use and dependence; buying, trading or selling sex; educational attainment; employment; homelessness; identifying as gay; HIV status; arrest history; social support; and satisfaction with one's living situation. Qualitative data suggests that structural interventions that address homophobia and the social environment would be likely to mitigate many of the health and social disparities experienced by African American/Black MSM.

The role of Thailand in the international trade in CITES-listed live reptiles and amphibians.

PubMed

Nijman, Vincent; Shepherd, Chris R

2011-03-25

International wildlife trade is one of the leading threats to biodiversity conservation. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is the most important initiative to monitor and regulate the international trade of wildlife but its credibility is dependent on the quality of the trade data. We report on the performance of CITES reporting by focussing on the commercial trade in non-native reptiles and amphibians into Thailand as to illustrate trends, species composition and numbers of wild-caught vs. captive-bred specimens. Based on data in the WCMC-CITES trade database, we establish that a total of 75,594 individuals of 169 species of reptiles and amphibians (including 27 globally threatened species) were imported into Thailand in 1990-2007. The majority of individuals (59,895, 79%) were listed as captive-bred and a smaller number (15,699, 21%) as wild-caught. In the 1990s small numbers of individuals of a few species were imported into Thailand, but in 2003 both volumes and species diversity increased rapidly. The proportion of captive-bred animals differed greatly between years (from 0 to >80%). Wild-caught individuals were mainly sourced from African countries, and captive-bred individuals from Asian countries (including from non-CITES Parties). There were significant discrepancies between exports and imports. Thailand reports the import of >10,000 individuals (51 species) originating from Kazakhstan, but Kazakhstan reports no exports of these species. Similar discrepancies, involving smaller numbers (>100 individuals of 9 species), can be seen in the import of reptiles into Thailand via Macao. While there has been an increase in imports of amphibian and reptiles into Thailand, erratic patterns in proportions of captive-bred specimens and volumes suggests either capricious markets or errors in reporting. Large discrepancies with respect to origin point to misreporting or possible violations of the rules and

The ichthyoplankton assemblage of the Canaries-African Coastal Transition Zone: A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez, J. M.; Moyano, M.; Hernandez-Leon, S.

2009-12-01

In this paper we review information on the ichthyoplankton assemblage of the Canaries-African Coastal Transition Zone (C-ACTZ). This CTZ shows the singularity that the Canary Archipelago interrupts the main flow of the Canary Current and Trade Winds, introducing large mesoscale variability, in the form of island warm wakes and cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies downstream of the islands. Besides, upwelling filaments stretch towards the archipelago from the African coastal upwelling, transporting phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish larvae. They also interact with eddies shed from the islands to exchange water properties and biogenic material. All these mesoscale features influence the composition, structure, abundance and distribution of the larval fish community (LFC) of the region. The Canary Current (CC) and eddies shed from the islands drag larvae of island neritic fish species into the oceanic region and contribute, along warm wakes, to the horizontal distribution of fish larvae. Upwelling and upwelling filaments transport larvae of African neritic species into the oceanic region. These larvae dominate the LFC and account for the relatively high average larval fish abundance found in the C-ACTZ during the summer upwelling season. Filaments originated in the region of Cape Juby-Cape Bojador are entrained around a quasi-permanent cyclonic eddy, trapped between Gran Canaria Island and the African coast, forming a system through which most of the African neritic larvae may return to the African shelf. However, some larvae reach the eastern islands of the Canary archipelago and they may be spread all over the neritic region of the archipelago by eddies shed from the islands. Also in summer, the distribution of the LFC of the C-ACTZ is vertically stratified and fish larvae seem to carry out little or not diel vertical migration. Overall, this study highlights the strong relationship between mesoscale oceanographic processes and the LFC in the C-ACTZ.

Water in the Cratonic Mantle: Insights from FTIR Data on Lac De Gras Xenoliths (Slave Craton, Canada)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peslier, Anne H.; Brandon, Alan D.; Schaffer, Lillian Aurora; O'Reilly, Suzanne Yvette; Griffin, William L.; Morris, Richard V.; Graff, Trevor G.; Agresti, David G.

2014-01-01

The mantle lithosphere beneath the cratonic part of continents is the deepest (> 200 km) and oldest (>2-3 Ga) on Earth, remaining a conundrum as to how these cratonic roots could have resisted delamination by asthenospheric convection over time. Water, or trace H incorporated in mineral defects, could be a key player in the evolution of continental lithosphere because it influences melting and rheology of the mantle. Mantle xenoliths from the Lac de Gras kimberlite in the Slave craton were analyzed by FTIR. The cratonic mantle beneath Lac de Gras is stratified with shallow (<145 km) oxidized ultradepleted peridotites and pyroxenites with evidence for carbonatitic metasomatism, underlain by reduced and less depleted peridotites metasomatized by kimberlite melts. Peridotites analyzed so far have H O contents in ppm weight of 7-100 in their olivines, 58 to 255 in their orthopyroxenes (opx), 11 to 84 in their garnet, and 139 in one clinopyroxene. A pyroxenite contains 58 ppm H2O in opx and 5 ppm H2O in its olivine and garnet. Olivine and garnet from the deep peridotites have a range of water contents extending to higher values than those from the shallow ones. The FTIR spectra of olivines from the shallow samples have more prominent Group II OH bands compared to the olivines from the deep samples, consistent with a more oxidized mantle environment. The range of olivine water content is similar to that observed in Kaapvaal craton peridotites at the same depths (129-184 km) but does not extend to as high values as those from Udachnaya (Siberian craton). The Slave, Kaapvaal and Siberian cratons will be compared in terms of water content distribution, controls and role in cratonic root longevity.

Polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations of burbot Lota lota from Great Slave Lake are very low but vary by sex

USGS Publications Warehouse

Madenjian, Charles P.; Stapanian, Martin A.; Cott, Peter A.; Rediske, Richard R.; O'Keefe, James P.

2014-01-01

Total polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations (ΣPCBs) in whole fish were determined for 18 ripe female burbot Lota lota and 14 ripe male burbot from Great Slave Lake, a lake with no known point sources of PCBs. In addition, ΣPCBs were determined both in the somatic tissue and in the gonads for a randomly selected subset of five females and five males. Mean ΣPCBs for females and males were 2.89 and 3.76 ng/g, respectively. Thus, males were 30 % greater in ΣPCB than females. Based on ΣPCB determinations for somatic tissue and gonads, ΣPCBs of females and males would be expected to decrease by 18 % and increase by 6 %, respectively, immediately after spawning due to release of gametes. Results from a previous study in eastern Lake Erie indicated that males were 28 and 71 % greater in ΣPCB than females from populations of younger (ages 6-13) and older (ages 14-17) burbot, respectively. Thus, although younger burbot from Lake Erie were about 50 times greater in ΣPCB than Great Slave Lake burbot, the relative difference in ΣPCBs between the sexes was remarkably similar across both populations. Our results supported the contention that the widening of the difference in ΣPCBs between the sexes in older burbot from Lake Erie was attributable to a “hot spot” effect operating on older burbot, as Lake Erie has received PCB point source loadings. Our results also supported the contention that male fish expend energy at a rate between 15 and 30 % greater than that of females. Eventually, these results will be useful in developing sex-specific bioenergetics models for fish.

Methane at Ascension Island, southern tropical Atlantic Ocean: continuous ground measurement and vertical profiling above the Trade-Wind Inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lowry, David; Brownlow, Rebecca; Fisher, Rebecca; Nisbet, Euan; Lanoisellé, Mathias; France, James; Thomas, Rick; Mackenzie, Rob; Richardson, Tom; Greatwood, Colin; Freer, Jim; Cain, Michelle; Warwick, Nicola; Pyle, John

2015-04-01

Methane mixing ratios have been rising rapidly worldwide since 2007. At Ascension Island (8oS in the equatorial Atlantic), a sustained rise has occurred. Prior to 2010, growth was comparable to other regions, but in 2010-11, during a strong la Nina event, the increase was 10ppb year-on-year. Reduced growth followed in 2011-12, but in 2012-13 strong growth resumed and continues. This rise has been accompanied by a shift to lighter δ13CCH4 values in 2010-11 in the equatorial tropics. The most likely cause of this shift is emissions from isotopically 'light' biological sources in the equatorial and savanna tropics. Ascension Island is in the Trade Wind belt of the tropical Atlantic, perfectly located to measure the South Atlantic marine boundary layer. The SE Trade Winds are almost invariant, derived from the deep South Atlantic and with little contact with Africa. However, above the Trade Wind Inversion (TWI) at about 1200-2000m asl, the air masses are very different, coming dominantly from tropical Africa and occasionally S. America. Depending on season, air above the TWI is sourced from the African southern savanna grasslands or the equatorial wetlands of Congo and Uganda, with inputs of air also from southern tropical S. America (Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia). African methane sources are a major contributor to the global methane budget, but although local campaign studies have been made, African emissions are not well studied in bulk. In September 2014, an octocopter was used to retrieve air samples from heights up to 2700m asl on Ascension (see Thomas, R. et al, this volume). This allowed sampling through the marine boundary layer, across the TWI cloud layer, and into the mid-troposphere. Samples were collected in part-filled 5L Tedlar bags, which were analysed for CH4 concentration using Royal Holloway's Picarro 1301 CRDS system at the Met Office, Ascension. This has high precision and accuracy, with a 6-gas calibration suite. Bags were then analysed in the UK for

Construction Trades Related Areas Curriculum Guide. Michigan Trade and Industrial Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing. Coll. of Agriculture and Natural Resources Education Inst.

This task-based curriculum guide is intended to help secondary teachers provide relevant training for an entry-level job in related building trades procedures. Introductory materials include background information on trade and industrial education and program goals and safety information. Descriptions follow of the construction trades program,…

Nutrition labelling is a trade policy issue: lessons from an analysis of specific trade concerns at the World Trade Organization.

PubMed

Thow, Anne Marie; Jones, Alexandra; Hawkes, Corinna; Ali, Iqra; Labonté, Ronald

2017-01-12

Interpretive nutrition labels provide simplified nutrient-specific text and/or symbols on the front of pre-packaged foods, to encourage and enable consumers to make healthier choices. This type of labelling has been proposed as part of a comprehensive policy response to the global epidemic of non-communicable diseases. However, regulation of nutrition labelling falls under the remit of not just the health sector but also trade. Specific Trade Concerns have been raised at the World Trade Organization's Technical Barriers to Trade Committee regarding interpretive nutrition labelling initiatives in Thailand, Chile, Indonesia, Peru and Ecuador. This paper presents an analysis of the discussions of these concerns. Although nutrition labelling was identified as a legitimate policy objective, queries were raised regarding the justification of the specific labelling measures proposed, and the scientific evidence for effectiveness of such measures. Concerns were also raised regarding the consistency of the measures with international standards. Drawing on policy learning theory, we identified four lessons for public health policy makers, including: strategic framing of nutrition labelling policy objectives; pro-active policy engagement between trade and health to identify potential trade issues; identifying ways to minimize potential 'practical' trade concerns; and engagement with the Codex Alimentarius Commission to develop international guidance on interpretative labelling. This analysis indicates that while there is potential for trade sector concerns to stifle innovation in nutrition labelling policy, care in how interpretive nutrition labelling measures are crafted in light of trade commitments can minimize such a risk and help ensure that trade policy is coherent with nutrition action. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Vaccination, quarantine, and hygiene: Korean sex slaves and No. 606 injections during the Pacific War of World War II.

PubMed

Hwahng, Sel J

2009-01-01

During the Pacific War (World War II), Japan maintained an elaborate system of sexual slavery by implementing certain practices based on institutionalized policies of hygiene, efficiency, and the use of mostly Korean girls and women. Two hygienic techniques were established--vaccination and quarantine. No. 606 injections were given at mandatory regularly scheduled medical examinations to prevent and treat venereal disease, and to also deter pregnancy, induce abortions, and ultimately sterilize sex slaves. Secondary textual analysis of data collected from 1995-2000, N = 67 interview transcripts, and participant observation in 2003 and 2006. Geographic area: East Asia and the Pacific Islands.

To trade or not to trade: firm-level analysis of emissions trading in Santiago, Chile.

PubMed

Coria, Jessica; Löfgren, Asa; Sterner, Thomas

2010-11-01

Whether tradable permits are appropriate for use in transition and developing economies--given special social and cultural circumstances, such as the lack of institutions and lack of expertise with market-based policies--is much debated. We conducted interviews and surveyed a sample of firms subject to emissions trading programs in Santiago, Chile, one of the first cities outside the OECD that has implemented such trading. The information gathered allows us to study what factors affect the performance of the trading programs in practice and the challenges and advantages of applying tradable permits in less developed countries. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global Trade and Public Health

PubMed Central

Shaffer, Ellen R.; Waitzkin, Howard; Brenner, Joseph; Jasso-Aguilar, Rebeca

2005-01-01

Global trade and international trade agreements have transformed the capacity of governments to monitor and to protect public health, to regulate occupational and environmental health conditions and food products, and to ensure affordable access to medications. Proposals under negotiation for the World Trade Organization’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the regional Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement cover a wide range of health services, health facilities, clinician licensing, water and sanitation services, and tobacco and alcohol distribution services. Public health professionals and organizations rarely participate in trade negotiations or in resolution of trade disputes. The linkages among global trade, international trade agreements, and public health deserve more attention than they have received to date. PMID:15623854

International Trade and Protectionism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanford Univ., CA. Stanford Program on International and Cross Cultural Education.

This unit is designed to investigate the reasons for international trade and the issue of trade protectionism by focusing on the case study of the U.S. trade relationship with Taiwan. The unit begins with a simulation that highlights the concepts of global interdependence, the need for international trade, and the distribution of the world's…

Afro-Latinos in Latin America and Considerations for U.S. Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-11-21

Parodi , “Working to Achieve Health Equity with an Ethnic Perspective,” Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), October 2004; Cristina Torres Parodi ...Suffer in Brazil,” Reuters, July 3, 2007; “Justice for Descendants of African Slaves,” Latin America Weekly Report, August 16, 2007. 48 Cristina Torres

From Ivy League to NBA: A Great Urban High School Falls through the Hoop.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Tucker

1993-01-01

Describes the history of education at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., the country's first African-American high school founded by ex-slaves in 1870. Argues that today the school emphasizes athletics over academics and that the source of decline has been holding students to lower standards. (JB)

Cross-Curricular Teaching Going Forward: A View from "Strange Fruit"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esteve-Faubel, José-María; Martin, Tania Josephine; Junda, Mary Ellen

2018-01-01

"Strange Fruit," a song popularized by Billie Holiday in 1939, paints a gruesome picture of racial violence suffered by former African-American slaves following Reconstruction, 1863-1877 (Foner, 2011). While many scholars have analyzed the lyrics of "Strange Fruit", research that focuses on young people's reaction to the song…

Lewis Latimer: African American Inventor, Poet and Activist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Judd, Michael

1998-01-01

Details a lesson plan that examines the life and career of Lewis Latimer. Latimer, the self-taught son of fugitive slaves, rose to a prominent position in Thomas Edison's Electric Company and pioneered many innovations in the early electric industry. Includes a biographical sketch of Latimer, photographs, and illustrations. (MJP)

Mitochondrial DNA and trade data support multiple origins of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) in Brazil

PubMed Central

Tay, Wee Tek; Walsh, Thomas K.; Downes, Sharon; Anderson, Craig; Jermiin, Lars S.; Wong, Thomas K. F.; Piper, Melissa C.; Chang, Ester Silva; Macedo, Isabella Barony; Czepak, Cecilia; Behere, Gajanan T.; Silvie, Pierre; Soria, Miguel F.; Frayssinet, Marie; Gordon, Karl H. J.

2017-01-01

The Old World bollworm Helicoverpa armigera is now established in Brazil but efforts to identify incursion origin(s) and pathway(s) have met with limited success due to the patchiness of available data. Using international agricultural/horticultural commodity trade data and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene markers, we inferred the origins and incursion pathways into Brazil. We detected 20 mtDNA haplotypes from six Brazilian states, eight of which were new to our 97 global COI-Cyt b haplotype database. Direct sequence matches indicated five Brazilian haplotypes had Asian, African, and European origins. We identified 45 parsimoniously informative sites and multiple substitutions per site within the concatenated (945 bp) nucleotide dataset, implying that probabilistic phylogenetic analysis methods are needed. High diversity and signatures of uniquely shared haplotypes with diverse localities combined with the trade data suggested multiple incursions and introduction origins in Brazil. Increasing agricultural/horticultural trade activities between the Old and New Worlds represents a significant biosecurity risk factor. Identifying pest origins will enable resistance profiling that reflects countries of origin to be included when developing a resistance management strategy, while identifying incursion pathways will improve biosecurity protocols and risk analysis at biosecurity hotspots including national ports. PMID:28350004

Mitochondrial DNA and trade data support multiple origins of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) in Brazil.

PubMed

Tay, Wee Tek; Walsh, Thomas K; Downes, Sharon; Anderson, Craig; Jermiin, Lars S; Wong, Thomas K F; Piper, Melissa C; Chang, Ester Silva; Macedo, Isabella Barony; Czepak, Cecilia; Behere, Gajanan T; Silvie, Pierre; Soria, Miguel F; Frayssinet, Marie; Gordon, Karl H J

2017-03-28

The Old World bollworm Helicoverpa armigera is now established in Brazil but efforts to identify incursion origin(s) and pathway(s) have met with limited success due to the patchiness of available data. Using international agricultural/horticultural commodity trade data and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene markers, we inferred the origins and incursion pathways into Brazil. We detected 20 mtDNA haplotypes from six Brazilian states, eight of which were new to our 97 global COI-Cyt b haplotype database. Direct sequence matches indicated five Brazilian haplotypes had Asian, African, and European origins. We identified 45 parsimoniously informative sites and multiple substitutions per site within the concatenated (945 bp) nucleotide dataset, implying that probabilistic phylogenetic analysis methods are needed. High diversity and signatures of uniquely shared haplotypes with diverse localities combined with the trade data suggested multiple incursions and introduction origins in Brazil. Increasing agricultural/horticultural trade activities between the Old and New Worlds represents a significant biosecurity risk factor. Identifying pest origins will enable resistance profiling that reflects countries of origin to be included when developing a resistance management strategy, while identifying incursion pathways will improve biosecurity protocols and risk analysis at biosecurity hotspots including national ports.

Mitochondrial DNA and trade data support multiple origins of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) in Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tay, Wee Tek; Walsh, Thomas K.; Downes, Sharon; Anderson, Craig; Jermiin, Lars S.; Wong, Thomas K. F.; Piper, Melissa C.; Chang, Ester Silva; Macedo, Isabella Barony; Czepak, Cecilia; Behere, Gajanan T.; Silvie, Pierre; Soria, Miguel F.; Frayssinet, Marie; Gordon, Karl H. J.

2017-03-01

The Old World bollworm Helicoverpa armigera is now established in Brazil but efforts to identify incursion origin(s) and pathway(s) have met with limited success due to the patchiness of available data. Using international agricultural/horticultural commodity trade data and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene markers, we inferred the origins and incursion pathways into Brazil. We detected 20 mtDNA haplotypes from six Brazilian states, eight of which were new to our 97 global COI-Cyt b haplotype database. Direct sequence matches indicated five Brazilian haplotypes had Asian, African, and European origins. We identified 45 parsimoniously informative sites and multiple substitutions per site within the concatenated (945 bp) nucleotide dataset, implying that probabilistic phylogenetic analysis methods are needed. High diversity and signatures of uniquely shared haplotypes with diverse localities combined with the trade data suggested multiple incursions and introduction origins in Brazil. Increasing agricultural/horticultural trade activities between the Old and New Worlds represents a significant biosecurity risk factor. Identifying pest origins will enable resistance profiling that reflects countries of origin to be included when developing a resistance management strategy, while identifying incursion pathways will improve biosecurity protocols and risk analysis at biosecurity hotspots including national ports.

Palenque de San Basilio in Colombia: genetic data support an oral history of a paternal ancestry in Congo

PubMed Central

Ansari-Pour, Naser; Moñino, Yves; Duque, Constanza; Gallego, Natalia; Bedoya, Gabriel; Thomas, Mark G.; Bradman, Neil

2016-01-01

The Palenque, a black community in rural Colombia, have an oral history of fugitive African slaves founding a free village near Cartagena in the seventeenth century. Recently, linguists have identified some 200 words in regular use that originate in a Kikongo language, with Yombe, mainly spoken in the Congo region, being the most likely source. The non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome (NRY) and mitochondrial DNA were analysed to establish whether there was greater similarity between present-day members of the Palenque and Yombe than between the Palenque and 42 other African groups (for all individuals, n = 2799) from which forced slaves might have been taken. NRY data are consistent with the linguistic evidence that Yombe is the most likely group from which the original male settlers of Palenque came. Mitochondrial DNA data suggested substantial maternal sub-Saharan African ancestry and a strong founder effect but did not associate Palenque with any particular African group. In addition, based on cultural data including inhabitants' claims of linguistic differences, it has been hypothesized that the two districts of the village (Abajo and Arriba) have different origins, with Arriba founded by men originating in Congo and Abajo by those born in Colombia. Although significant genetic structuring distinguished the two from each other, no supporting evidence for this hypothesis was found. PMID:27030413

Palenque de San Basilio in Colombia: genetic data support an oral history of a paternal ancestry in Congo.

PubMed

Ansari-Pour, Naser; Moñino, Yves; Duque, Constanza; Gallego, Natalia; Bedoya, Gabriel; Thomas, Mark G; Bradman, Neil

2016-03-30

The Palenque, a black community in rural Colombia, have an oral history of fugitive African slaves founding a free village near Cartagena in the seventeenth century. Recently, linguists have identified some 200 words in regular use that originate in a Kikongo language, with Yombe, mainly spoken in the Congo region, being the most likely source. The non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome (NRY) and mitochondrial DNA were analysed to establish whether there was greater similarity between present-day members of the Palenque and Yombe than between the Palenque and 42 other African groups (for all individuals,n= 2799) from which forced slaves might have been taken. NRY data are consistent with the linguistic evidence that Yombe is the most likely group from which the original male settlers of Palenque came. Mitochondrial DNA data suggested substantial maternal sub-Saharan African ancestry and a strong founder effect but did not associate Palenque with any particular African group. In addition, based on cultural data including inhabitants' claims of linguistic differences, it has been hypothesized that the two districts of the village (Abajo and Arriba) have different origins, with Arriba founded by men originating in Congo and Abajo by those born in Colombia. Although significant genetic structuring distinguished the two from each other, no supporting evidence for this hypothesis was found. © 2016 The Author(s).

Quantifying immediate price impact of trades based on the k-shell decomposition of stock trading networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Wen-Jie; Li, Ming-Xia; Xu, Hai-Chuan; Chen, Wei; Zhou, Wei-Xing; Stanley, H. Eugene

2016-10-01

Traders in a stock market exchange stock shares and form a stock trading network. Trades at different positions of the stock trading network may contain different information. We construct stock trading networks based on the limit order book data and classify traders into k classes using the k-shell decomposition method. We investigate the influences of trading behaviors on the price impact by comparing a closed national market (A-shares) with an international market (B-shares), individuals and institutions, partially filled and filled trades, buyer-initiated and seller-initiated trades, and trades at different positions of a trading network. Institutional traders professionally use some trading strategies to reduce the price impact and individuals at the same positions in the trading network have a higher price impact than institutions. We also find that trades in the core have higher price impacts than those in the peripheral shell.

40 CFR 90.206 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Trading. 90.206 Section 90.206... Trading Provisions § 90.206 Trading. (a) An engine manufacturer may exchange emission credits with other engine manufacturers in trading, subject to the trading restriction specified in § 90.207(c)(2). (b...

40 CFR 90.206 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Trading. 90.206 Section 90.206... Trading Provisions § 90.206 Trading. (a) An engine manufacturer may exchange emission credits with other engine manufacturers in trading, subject to the trading restriction specified in § 90.207(c)(2). (b...

40 CFR 90.206 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Trading. 90.206 Section 90.206... Trading Provisions § 90.206 Trading. (a) An engine manufacturer may exchange emission credits with other engine manufacturers in trading, subject to the trading restriction specified in § 90.207(c)(2). (b...

40 CFR 90.206 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Trading. 90.206 Section 90.206... Trading Provisions § 90.206 Trading. (a) An engine manufacturer may exchange emission credits with other engine manufacturers in trading, subject to the trading restriction specified in § 90.207(c)(2). (b...

40 CFR 90.206 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Trading. 90.206 Section 90.206... Trading Provisions § 90.206 Trading. (a) An engine manufacturer may exchange emission credits with other engine manufacturers in trading, subject to the trading restriction specified in § 90.207(c)(2). (b...

Trade in health services.

PubMed Central

Chanda, Rupa

2002-01-01

In light of the increasing globalization of the health sector, this article examines ways in which health services can be traded, using the mode-wise characterization of trade defined in the General Agreement on Trade in Services. The trade modes include cross- border delivery of health services via physical and electronic means, and cross-border movement of consumers, professionals, and capital. An examination of the positive and negative implications of trade in health services for equity, efficiency, quality, and access to health care indicates that health services trade has brought mixed benefits and that there is a clear role for policy measures to mitigate the adverse consequences and facilitate the gains. Some policy measures and priority areas for action are outlined, including steps to address the "brain drain"; increasing investment in the health sector and prioritizing this investment better; and promoting linkages between private and public health care services to ensure equity. Data collection, measures, and studies on health services trade all need to be improved, to assess better the magnitude and potential implications of this trade. In this context, the potential costs and benefits of trade in health services are shaped by the underlying structural conditions and existing regulatory, policy, and infrastructure in the health sector. Thus, appropriate policies and safeguard measures are required to take advantage of globalization in health services. PMID:11953795

U.S. Trade Policy and the Caribbean: From Trade Preferences to Free Trade Agreements

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-22

countries, long involved in dependent economic relationships, appear content to take a cautious path toward any new trade arrangement with the United...Service Contents U.S. Preferential Trade Programs and the Caribbean Region.......................................................1 Background...finished products may then re-export them back to the United States, with duties levied only on the value added abroad (no tariff on U.S. content ).3

Biological trade and markets

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Cooperation between organisms can often be understood, like trade between merchants, as a mutually beneficial exchange of services, resources or other ‘commodities’. Mutual benefits alone, however, are not sufficient to explain the evolution of trade-based cooperation. First, organisms may reject a particular trade if another partner offers a better deal. Second, while human trade often entails binding contracts, non-human trade requires unwritten ‘terms of contract’ that ‘self-stabilize’ trade and prevent cheating even if all traders strive to maximize fitness. Whenever trading partners can be chosen, market-like situations arise in nature that biologists studying cooperation need to account for. The mere possibility of exerting partner choice stabilizes many forms of otherwise cheatable trade, induces competition, facilitates the evolution of specialization and often leads to intricate forms of cooperation. We discuss selected examples to illustrate these general points and review basic conceptual approaches that are important in the theory of biological trade and markets. Comparing these approaches with theory in economics, it turns out that conventional models—often called ‘Walrasian’ markets—are of limited relevance to biology. In contrast, early approaches to trade and markets, as found in the works of Ricardo and Cournot, contain elements of thought that have inspired useful models in biology. For example, the concept of comparative advantage has biological applications in trade, signalling and ecological competition. We also see convergence between post-Walrasian economics and biological markets. For example, both economists and biologists are studying ‘principal–agent’ problems with principals offering jobs to agents without being sure that the agents will do a proper job. Finally, we show that mating markets have many peculiarities not shared with conventional economic markets. Ideas from economics are useful for biologists

Biological trade and markets.

PubMed

Hammerstein, Peter; Noë, Ronald

2016-02-05

Cooperation between organisms can often be understood, like trade between merchants, as a mutually beneficial exchange of services, resources or other 'commodities'. Mutual benefits alone, however, are not sufficient to explain the evolution of trade-based cooperation. First, organisms may reject a particular trade if another partner offers a better deal. Second, while human trade often entails binding contracts, non-human trade requires unwritten 'terms of contract' that 'self-stabilize' trade and prevent cheating even if all traders strive to maximize fitness. Whenever trading partners can be chosen, market-like situations arise in nature that biologists studying cooperation need to account for. The mere possibility of exerting partner choice stabilizes many forms of otherwise cheatable trade, induces competition, facilitates the evolution of specialization and often leads to intricate forms of cooperation. We discuss selected examples to illustrate these general points and review basic conceptual approaches that are important in the theory of biological trade and markets. Comparing these approaches with theory in economics, it turns out that conventional models-often called 'Walrasian' markets-are of limited relevance to biology. In contrast, early approaches to trade and markets, as found in the works of Ricardo and Cournot, contain elements of thought that have inspired useful models in biology. For example, the concept of comparative advantage has biological applications in trade, signalling and ecological competition. We also see convergence between post-Walrasian economics and biological markets. For example, both economists and biologists are studying 'principal-agent' problems with principals offering jobs to agents without being sure that the agents will do a proper job. Finally, we show that mating markets have many peculiarities not shared with conventional economic markets. Ideas from economics are useful for biologists studying cooperation but need

48 CFR 25.403 - World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. 25.403 Section 25.403 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 25.403 World Trade Organization...

48 CFR 25.403 - World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. 25.403 Section 25.403 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 25.403 World Trade Organization...

48 CFR 25.403 - World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. 25.403 Section 25.403 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 25.403 World Trade Organization...

48 CFR 25.403 - World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. 25.403 Section 25.403 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 25.403 World Trade Organization...

48 CFR 25.403 - World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. 25.403 Section 25.403 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 25.403 World Trade Organization...

"Amistad" and the Lessons of History.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adjaye, Joseph K.

1999-01-01

Discusses Spielberg's film "Amistad," a production of the dramatization of a 19th-century slave revolt and its repercussions. Focuses on the point that Africans fiercely resisted slavery rather than passively submitted to it. Urges teachers to incorporate this aspect of resistance into their teaching of the history of slavery. (MMU)

Agricultural Education at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Croom, D. Barry

2007-01-01

This study identified events during the life of Booker Taliaferro Washington and during the early years of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School that may have contributed to the development of agricultural and industrial education for African Americans. Washington's experiences as a former slave and his observations of life for African…

Ten Myths, Half-Truths and Misunderstandings About Black History.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruffins, Paul

1997-01-01

Common myths and misconceptions about Blacks in American history and evidence that refutes them are presented. Issues addressed include Black enslavement patterns, social status within the Black community based on skin color, the legality of slaves learning to read, resistance to slavery, African influences in modern Black culture, Black names and…

Vocational Education and Race in the Chicago Public Schools: Three Historical Case Studies and Implications for Current Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, David L.

1992-01-01

Three Chicago (Illinois) vocational high schools illustrate contrasting histories in African-American education and economic opportunity: Washburne Trade School reinforced trade union exclusion of African Americans; Dunbar Vocational High School directed African Americans into lower-paying trades, and Chicago Vocational School prepared the white…

Real-time calibration-free C-scan images of the eye fundus using Master Slave swept source optical coherence tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradu, Adrian; Kapinchev, Konstantin; Barnes, Fred; Garway-Heath, David F.; Rajendram, Ranjan; Keane, Pearce; Podoleanu, Adrian G.

2015-03-01

Recently, we introduced a novel Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) method, termed as Master Slave OCT (MS-OCT), specialized for delivering en-face images. This method uses principles of spectral domain interfereometry in two stages. MS-OCT operates like a time domain OCT, selecting only signals from a chosen depth only while scanning the laser beam across the eye. Time domain OCT allows real time production of an en-face image, although relatively slowly. As a major advance, the Master Slave method allows collection of signals from any number of depths, as required by the user. The tremendous advantage in terms of parallel provision of data from numerous depths could not be fully employed by using multi core processors only. The data processing required to generate images at multiple depths simultaneously is not achievable with commodity multicore processors only. We compare here the major improvement in processing and display, brought about by using graphic cards. We demonstrate images obtained with a swept source at 100 kHz (which determines an acquisition time [Ta] for a frame of 200×200 pixels2 of Ta =1.6 s). By the end of the acquired frame being scanned, using our computing capacity, 4 simultaneous en-face images could be created in T = 0.8 s. We demonstrate that by using graphic cards, 32 en-face images can be displayed in Td 0.3 s. Other faster swept source engines can be used with no difference in terms of Td. With 32 images (or more), volumes can be created for 3D display, using en-face images, as opposed to the current technology where volumes are created using cross section OCT images.

African Ancestry Is Associated with Asthma Risk in African Americans

PubMed Central

Pino-Yanes, María; Wade, Michael S.; Pérez-Méndez, Lina; Kittles, Rick A.; Wang, Deli; Papaiahgari, Srinivas; Ford, Jean G.; Kumar, Rajesh; Garcia, Joe G. N.

2012-01-01

Background Asthma is a common complex condition with clear racial and ethnic differences in both prevalence and severity. Asthma consultation rates, mortality, and severe symptoms are greatly increased in African descent populations of developed countries. African ancestry has been associated with asthma, total serum IgE and lower pulmonary function in African-admixed populations. To replicate previous findings, here we aimed to examine whether African ancestry was associated with asthma susceptibility in African Americans. In addition, we examined for the first time whether African ancestry was associated with asthma exacerbations. Methodology/Principal Findings After filtering for self-reported ancestry and genotype data quality, samples from 1,117 self-reported African-American individuals from New York and Baltimore (394 cases, 481 controls), and Chicago (321 cases followed for asthma exacerbations) were analyzed. Genetic ancestry was estimated based on ancestry informative markers (AIMs) selected for being highly divergent among European and West African populations (95 AIMs for New York and Baltimore, and 66 independent AIMs for Chicago). Among case-control samples, the mean African ancestry was significantly higher in asthmatics than in non-asthmatics (82.0±14.0% vs. 77.8±18.1%, mean difference 4.2% [95% confidence interval (CI):2.0–6.4], p<0.0001). This association remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders (odds ratio: 4.55, 95% CI: 1.69–12.29, p = 0.003). African ancestry failed to show an association with asthma exacerbations (p = 0.965) using a model based on longitudinal data of the number of exacerbations followed over 1.5 years. Conclusions/Significance These data replicate previous findings indicating that African ancestry constitutes a risk factor for asthma and suggest that elevated asthma rates in African Americans can be partially attributed to African genetic ancestry. PMID:22235241

Trade challenges at the World Trade Organization to national noncommunicable disease prevention policies: A thematic document analysis of trade and health policy space.

PubMed

Barlow, Pepita; Labonte, Ronald; McKee, Martin; Stuckler, David

2018-06-01

It has long been contested that trade rules and agreements are used to dispute regulations aimed at preventing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Yet most analyses of trade rules and agreements focus on trade disputes, potentially overlooking how a challenge to a regulation's consistency with trade rules may lead to 'policy or regulatory chill' effects whereby countries delay, alter, or repeal regulations in order to avoid the costs of a dispute. Systematic empirical analysis of this pathway to impact was previously prevented by a dearth of systematically coded data. Here, we analyse a newly created dataset of trade challenges about food, beverage, and tobacco regulations among 122 World Trade Organization (WTO) members from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2016. We thematically describe the scope and frequency of trade challenges, analyse economic asymmetries between countries raising and defending them, and summarise 4 cases of their possible influence. Between 1995 and 2016, 93 food, beverage, and tobacco regulations were challenged at the WTO. 'Unnecessary' trade costs were the focus of 16.4% of the challenges. Only one (1.1%) challenge remained unresolved and escalated to a trade dispute. Thirty-nine (41.9%) challenges focussed on labelling regulations, and 18 (19.4%) focussed on quality standards and restrictions on certain products like processed meats and cigarette flavourings. High-income countries raised 77.4% (n = 72) of all challenges raised against low- and lower-middle-income countries. We further identified 4 cases in Indonesia, Chile, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia in which challenges were associated with changes to food and beverage regulations. Data limitations precluded a comprehensive evaluation of policy impact and challenge validity. Policy makers appear to face significant pressure to design food, beverage, and tobacco regulations that other countries will deem consistent with trade rules. Trade-related influence on public health policy is likely to

D'Eichthal and Urbain's "Lettres sur la race noire et la race blanche": race, gender, and reconciliation after slave emancipation.

PubMed

Andrews, Naomi J

2011-01-01

This article is a close reading of Gustave D'Eichthal and Ishmayl Urbain's Lettres sur la race noire et la race blanche (1839), written during the decade prior to the "second" French emancipation in 1848. The article argues that the hierarchical gendering of race described in the letters is reflective of metropolitan concerns about potential for social disorder accompanying slave emancipation in the French colonies. In arguing for social reconciliation through interracial marriage and its offspring, the symbolically charged figure of the mulatto, the authors deployed gendered and familial language to describe a stable post-emancipation society.

Trading network predicts stock price.

PubMed

Sun, Xiao-Qian; Shen, Hua-Wei; Cheng, Xue-Qi

2014-01-16

Stock price prediction is an important and challenging problem for studying financial markets. Existing studies are mainly based on the time series of stock price or the operation performance of listed company. In this paper, we propose to predict stock price based on investors' trading behavior. For each stock, we characterize the daily trading relationship among its investors using a trading network. We then classify the nodes of trading network into three roles according to their connectivity pattern. Strong Granger causality is found between stock price and trading relationship indices, i.e., the fraction of trading relationship among nodes with different roles. We further predict stock price by incorporating these trading relationship indices into a neural network based on time series of stock price. Experimental results on 51 stocks in two Chinese Stock Exchanges demonstrate the accuracy of stock price prediction is significantly improved by the inclusion of trading relationship indices.

15 CFR 400.45 - Retail trade.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Retail trade. 400.45 Section 400.45 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade (Continued) FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REGULATIONS OF THE FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD Zone Operations and...

15 CFR 400.45 - Retail trade.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Retail trade. 400.45 Section 400.45 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade (Continued) FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REGULATIONS OF THE FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD Zone Operations and...

Unifying Speed-Accuracy Trade-Off and Cost-Benefit Trade-Off in Human Reaching Movements.

PubMed

Peternel, Luka; Sigaud, Olivier; Babič, Jan

2017-01-01

Two basic trade-offs interact while our brain decides how to move our body. First, with the cost-benefit trade-off, the brain trades between the importance of moving faster toward a target that is more rewarding and the increased muscular cost resulting from a faster movement. Second, with the speed-accuracy trade-off, the brain trades between how accurate the movement needs to be and the time it takes to achieve such accuracy. So far, these two trade-offs have been well studied in isolation, despite their obvious interdependence. To overcome this limitation, we propose a new model that is able to simultaneously account for both trade-offs. The model assumes that the central nervous system maximizes the expected utility resulting from the potential reward and the cost over the repetition of many movements, taking into account the probability to miss the target. The resulting model is able to account for both the speed-accuracy and the cost-benefit trade-offs. To validate the proposed hypothesis, we confront the properties of the computational model to data from an experimental study where subjects have to reach for targets by performing arm movements in a horizontal plane. The results qualitatively show that the proposed model successfully accounts for both cost-benefit and speed-accuracy trade-offs.

15 CFR 400.47 - Retail trade.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Retail trade. 400.47 Section 400.47 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade (Continued) FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REGULATIONS OF THE FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD Operation of Zones and...

15 CFR 400.47 - Retail trade.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Retail trade. 400.47 Section 400.47 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade (Continued) FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REGULATIONS OF THE FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD Operation of Zones and...

Trade in health-related services.

PubMed

Smith, Richard D; Chanda, Rupa; Tangcharoensathien, Viroj

2009-02-14

The supervision of a domestic health system in the context of the trade environment in the 21st century needs a sophisticated understanding of how trade in health services affects, and will affect, a country's health system and policy. This notion places a premium on people engaged in the health sector understanding the importance of a comprehensive outlook on trade in health services. However, establishment of systematic comparative data for amounts of trade in health services is difficult to achieve, and most trade negotiations occur in isolation from health professionals. These difficulties compromise the ability of a health system to not just minimise the risks presented by trade in health services, but also to maximise the opportunities. We consider these issues by presenting the latest trends and developments in the worldwide delivery of health-care services, using the classification provided by the World Trade Organization for the General Agreement on Trade in Services. This classification covers four modes of service delivery: cross-border supply of services; consumption of services abroad; foreign direct investment, typically to establish a new hospital, clinic, or diagnostic facility; and the movement of health professionals. For every delivery mode we discuss the present magnitude and pattern of trade, main contributors to this trade, and key issues arising.

78 FR 30269 - Foreign-Trade Zone 129-Bellingham, Washington; Authorization of Production Activity; T.C. Trading...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-22

... proposed production activity to the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board on behalf of T.C. Trading Company, Inc... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [B-8-2013] Foreign-Trade Zone 129--Bellingham, Washington; Authorization of Production Activity; T.C. Trading Company, Inc. (Eyeglass Assembly and Kitting...

77 FR 65581 - Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-10-29

... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Office of the Secretary Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and... Committee for Trade Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: November 13, 2012; 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m... negotiations will be discussed. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2155(f), it has been determined that the meeting will be...

Learning about Sensitive History: "Heritage" of Slavery as a Resource

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savenije, Geerte M.; van Boxtel, Carla; Grever, Maria

2014-01-01

The history and heritage of slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade are sensitive topics in The Netherlands. Little is known about the ways in which students attribute significance to what is presented as heritage, particularly sensitive heritage. Using theories on historical significance, we explored how students attributed significance to the…

Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2010

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-10

marines and sailors) to discourage piracy and the slave trade along the Ivory coast, and to punish attacks by the natives on American seamen and...Naval forces sought to stop seal poaching . 1891 Chile. August 28 to 30. U.S. forces protected the American consulate and the women and children who

75 FR 9615 - Bureau of International Labor Affairs: Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-03

... Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy ACTION: Meeting Notice. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the... meeting of the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: March... in current and anticipated trade negotiations will be discussed. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2155(f) it has...

75 FR 78758 - Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-16

... Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy ACTION: Meeting notice. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the... meeting of the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: January... current and anticipated trade negotiations will be discussed. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2155(f) it has been...

The Role of Thailand in the International Trade in CITES-Listed Live Reptiles and Amphibians

PubMed Central

Nijman, Vincent; Shepherd, Chris R.

2011-01-01

Background International wildlife trade is one of the leading threats to biodiversity conservation. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is the most important initiative to monitor and regulate the international trade of wildlife but its credibility is dependent on the quality of the trade data. We report on the performance of CITES reporting by focussing on the commercial trade in non-native reptiles and amphibians into Thailand as to illustrate trends, species composition and numbers of wild-caught vs. captive-bred specimens. Methodology/Principal Findings Based on data in the WCMC-CITES trade database, we establish that a total of 75,594 individuals of 169 species of reptiles and amphibians (including 27 globally threatened species) were imported into Thailand in 1990–2007. The majority of individuals (59,895, 79%) were listed as captive-bred and a smaller number (15,699, 21%) as wild-caught. In the 1990s small numbers of individuals of a few species were imported into Thailand, but in 2003 both volumes and species diversity increased rapidly. The proportion of captive-bred animals differed greatly between years (from 0 to >80%). Wild-caught individuals were mainly sourced from African countries, and captive-bred individuals from Asian countries (including from non-CITES Parties). There were significant discrepancies between exports and imports. Thailand reports the import of >10,000 individuals (51 species) originating from Kazakhstan, but Kazakhstan reports no exports of these species. Similar discrepancies, involving smaller numbers (>100 individuals of 9 species), can be seen in the import of reptiles into Thailand via Macao. Conclusion/Significance While there has been an increase in imports of amphibian and reptiles into Thailand, erratic patterns in proportions of captive-bred specimens and volumes suggests either capricious markets or errors in reporting. Large discrepancies with respect to origin

Trading Network Predicts Stock Price

PubMed Central

Sun, Xiao-Qian; Shen, Hua-Wei; Cheng, Xue-Qi

2014-01-01

Stock price prediction is an important and challenging problem for studying financial markets. Existing studies are mainly based on the time series of stock price or the operation performance of listed company. In this paper, we propose to predict stock price based on investors' trading behavior. For each stock, we characterize the daily trading relationship among its investors using a trading network. We then classify the nodes of trading network into three roles according to their connectivity pattern. Strong Granger causality is found between stock price and trading relationship indices, i.e., the fraction of trading relationship among nodes with different roles. We further predict stock price by incorporating these trading relationship indices into a neural network based on time series of stock price. Experimental results on 51 stocks in two Chinese Stock Exchanges demonstrate the accuracy of stock price prediction is significantly improved by the inclusion of trading relationship indices. PMID:24429767

ACHP | Working Together to Build a More Inclusive Preservation Program

Science.gov Websites

, having started out volunteering for the Indiana State Museum in high school. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Archaeology at the University of Indianapolis, she completed her Master of Historic Preservation at the University of Kentucky, specializing in African American slave architecture and archaeology

Global Pursuits: Sunday Morning, Virginia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Arts: The Art Education Magazine for Teachers, 2004

2004-01-01

This brief article describes Winslow Homer's oil on canvas painting, "Sunday Morning, Virginia." "Sunday Morning, Virginia" depicts a group of African-Americans learning to read in a slave cabin after the Civil War. A young teacher, wearing a crisp dress and apron, sits surrounded by three children as she teaches them to read…

Booker T. Washington. Kindergarten-Third Grade Activity. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wahe, Amy

This illustrated activity for primary students features the life and accomplishments of Booker T. Washington. This educator began his life as a plantation slave and later founded Tuskegee Institute, one of the first colleges that African Americans could attend. The activity tells how Booker T. Washington and his students built the Tuskegee…

Y-chromosome lineages from Portugal, Madeira and Açores record elements of Sephardim and Berber ancestry.

PubMed

Gonçalves, Rita; Freitas, Ana; Branco, Marta; Rosa, Alexandra; Fernandes, Ana T; Zhivotovsky, Lev A; Underhill, Peter A; Kivisild, Toomas; Brehm, António

2005-07-01

A total of 553 Y-chromosomes were analyzed from mainland Portugal and the North Atlantic Archipelagos of Açores and Madeira, in order to characterize the genetic composition of their male gene pool. A large majority (78-83% of each population) of the male lineages could be classified as belonging to three basic Y chromosomal haplogroups, R1b, J, and E3b. While R1b, accounting for more than half of the lineages in any of the Portuguese sub-populations, is a characteristic marker of many different West European populations, haplogroups J and E3b consist of lineages that are typical of the circum-Mediterranean region or even East Africa. The highly diverse haplogroup E3b in Portuguese likely combines sub-clades of distinct origins. The present composition of the Y chromosomes in Portugal in this haplogroup likely reflects a pre-Arab component shared with North African populations or testifies, at least in part, to the influence of Sephardic Jews. In contrast to the marginally low sub-Saharan African Y chromosome component in Portuguese, such lineages have been detected at a moderately high frequency in our previous survey of mtDNA from the same samples, indicating the presence of sex-related gene flow, most likely mediated by the Atlantic slave trade.

Migrating microbes: what pathogens can tell us about population movements and human evolution.

PubMed

Houldcroft, Charlotte J; Ramond, Jean-Baptiste; Rifkin, Riaan F; Underdown, Simon J

2017-08-01

The biology of human migration can be observed from the co-evolutionary relationship with infectious diseases. While many pathogens are brief, unpleasant visitors to human bodies, others have the ability to become life-long human passengers. The story of a pathogen's genetic code may, therefore, provide insight into the history of its human host. The evolution and distribution of disease in Africa is of particular interest, because of the deep history of human evolution in Africa, the presence of a variety of non-human primates, and tropical reservoirs of emerging infectious diseases. This study explores which pathogens leave traces in the archaeological record, and whether there are realistic prospects that these pathogens can be recovered from sub-Saharan African archaeological contexts. Three stories are then presented of germs on a journey. The first is the story of HIV's spread on the back of colonialism and the railway networks over the last 150 years. The second involves the spread of Schistosoma mansoni, a parasite which shares its history with the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the origins of fresh-water fishing. Finally, we discuss the tantalising hints of hominin migration and interaction found in the genome of human herpes simplex virus 2. Evidence from modern African pathogen genomes can provide data on human behaviour and migration in deep time and contribute to the improvement of human quality-of-life and longevity.

15 CFR 400.45 - Retail trade.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Retail trade. 400.45 Section 400.45 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade (Continued) FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REGULATIONS OF THE FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES BOARD Zone Operations and Administrative Requirements § 400.45 Retail...

Emissions Trading Resources

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Learn about emissions trading programs, also known as cap and trade programs, which are market-based policy tools for protecting human health and the environment by controlling emissions from a group of sources.

The -(α)(5.2) Deletion Detected in a Uruguayan Family: First Case Report in the Americas.

PubMed

Soler, Ana María; Schelotto, Magdalena; de Oliveira Mota, Natalia; Dorta Ferreira, Roberta; Sonati, Maria de Fatima; da Luz, Julio Abayubá

2016-08-01

In Uruguay, α-thalassemia (α-thal) mutations were introduced predominantly by Mediterranean European immigrant populations and by slave trade of African populations. A patient with anemia with hypochromia and microcytosis, refractory to iron treatment and with normal hemoglobin (Hb) electrophoresis was analyzed for α-thal mutations by multiplex gap-polymerase chain reaction (gap-PCR), automated sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analyses. Agarose gel electrophoresis of the multiplex gap-PCR showed a band of unexpected size (approximately 700 bp) in the samples from the proband and mother. Automated sequencing of the amplified fragment showed the presence of the -(α)(5.2) deletion (NG_000006.1: g.32867_38062del5196) [an α-thal-1 deletion of 5196 nucleotides (nts)]. The MLPA analysis of the proband's sample also showed the presence of the -(α)(5.2) deletion in heterozygous state. We report here the presence of the -(α)(5.2) deletion, for the first time in the Americas, in a Uruguayan family with Italian ancestry, detected with a previously described multiplex gap-PCR.

77 FR 20054 - Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-03

... Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy ACTION: Meeting Notice. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the... meeting of the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: May 14... anticipated trade negotiations will be discussed. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2155(f) it has been determined that...

76 FR 31641 - Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-01

... Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy ACTION: Meeting notice. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the... meeting of the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: June 28... current and anticipated trade negotiations will be discussed. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2155(f) it has been...

Experiences of racial discrimination and relation to sexual risk for HIV among a sample of urban black and African American men.

PubMed

Reed, E; Santana, M C; Bowleg, L; Welles, S L; Horsburgh, C R; Raj, A

2013-04-01

This study aimed to examine racial discrimination and relation to sexual risk for HIV among a sample of urban black and African American men. Participants of this cross-sectional study were black and African American men (N = 703) between the ages of 18 and 65 years, recruited from four urban clinical sites in the northeast. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the relation of reported racial discrimination to the following: (1) sex trade involvement, (2) recent unprotected sex, and (3) reporting a number of sex partners in the past 12 months greater than the sample average. The majority of the sample (96%) reported racial discrimination. In adjusted analyses, men reporting high levels of discrimination were significantly more likely to report recent sex trade involvement (buying and/or selling) (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) range = 1.7-2.3), having recent unprotected vaginal sex with a female partner (AOR = 1.4, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.1-2.0), and reporting more than four sex partners in the past year (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI, 1.1-1.9). Findings highlight the link between experiences of racial discrimination and men's sexual risk for HIV.

Biclustering Learning of Trading Rules.

PubMed

Huang, Qinghua; Wang, Ting; Tao, Dacheng; Li, Xuelong

2015-10-01

Technical analysis with numerous indicators and patterns has been regarded as important evidence for making trading decisions in financial markets. However, it is extremely difficult for investors to find useful trading rules based on numerous technical indicators. This paper innovatively proposes the use of biclustering mining to discover effective technical trading patterns that contain a combination of indicators from historical financial data series. This is the first attempt to use biclustering algorithm on trading data. The mined patterns are regarded as trading rules and can be classified as three trading actions (i.e., the buy, the sell, and no-action signals) with respect to the maximum support. A modified K nearest neighborhood ( K -NN) method is applied to classification of trading days in the testing period. The proposed method [called biclustering algorithm and the K nearest neighbor (BIC- K -NN)] was implemented on four historical datasets and the average performance was compared with the conventional buy-and-hold strategy and three previously reported intelligent trading systems. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed trading system outperforms its counterparts and will be useful for investment in various financial markets.

Trading away what kind of jobs? Globalization, trade and tasks in the US economy.

PubMed

Kemeny, Thomas; Rigby, David

2012-04-01

Economists and other social scientists are calling for a reassessment of the impact of international trade on labor markets in developed and developing countries. Classical models of globalization and trade, based upon the international exchange of finished goods, fail to capture the fragmentation of much commodity production and the geographical separation of individual production tasks. This fragmentation, captured in the growing volume of intra-industry trade, prompts investigation of the effects of trade within, rather than between, sectors of the economy. In this paper we examine the relationship between international trade and the task structure of US employment. We link disaggregate US trade data from 1972 to 2006, the NBER manufacturing database, the Decennial Census, and occupational and task data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Within-industry shifts in task characteristics are linked to import competition and technological change. Our results suggest that trade has played a major role in the growth in relative demand for nonroutine tasks, particularly those requiring high levels of interpersonal interaction.

40 CFR 1036.720 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Trading. 1036.720 Section 1036.720... EMISSIONS FROM NEW AND IN-USE HEAVY-DUTY HIGHWAY ENGINES Averaging, Banking, and Trading for Certification § 1036.720 Trading. (a) Trading is the exchange of emission credits between manufacturers, or the...

40 CFR 1037.720 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Trading. 1037.720 Section 1037.720... EMISSIONS FROM NEW HEAVY-DUTY MOTOR VEHICLES Averaging, Banking, and Trading for Certification § 1037.720 Trading. (a) Trading is the exchange of emission credits between manufacturers, or the transfer of credits...

40 CFR 1037.720 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Trading. 1037.720 Section 1037.720... EMISSIONS FROM NEW HEAVY-DUTY MOTOR VEHICLES Averaging, Banking, and Trading for Certification § 1037.720 Trading. (a) Trading is the exchange of emission credits between manufacturers, or the transfer of credits...

40 CFR 1036.720 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 33 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Trading. 1036.720 Section 1036.720... EMISSIONS FROM NEW AND IN-USE HEAVY-DUTY HIGHWAY ENGINES Averaging, Banking, and Trading for Certification § 1036.720 Trading. (a) Trading is the exchange of emission credits between manufacturers, or the...

40 CFR 1036.720 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Trading. 1036.720 Section 1036.720... EMISSIONS FROM NEW AND IN-USE HEAVY-DUTY HIGHWAY ENGINES Averaging, Banking, and Trading for Certification § 1036.720 Trading. (a) Trading is the exchange of emission credits between manufacturers, or the...

40 CFR 1037.720 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 34 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Trading. 1037.720 Section 1037.720... EMISSIONS FROM NEW HEAVY-DUTY MOTOR VEHICLES Averaging, Banking, and Trading for Certification § 1037.720 Trading. (a) Trading is the exchange of emission credits between manufacturers, or the transfer of credits...

Alkaloids of the South African Amaryllidaceae: a review.

PubMed

Nair, Jerald J; Bastida, Jaume; Codina, Caries; Viladomat, Francesc; van Staden, Johannes

2013-09-01

The plant family Amaryllidaceae is known for its horticultural and ornamental appeal as well as its medicinal value. In relation to these characteristics, trade in Amaryllid flower varieties (especially daffodils) is a multi-million dollar revenue generator for the floriculture industry. Of greater significance are the medicinal attributes of the family, which has already spawned the Alzheimer's prescription drug galanthamine, a potent and selective inhibitor of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase, of significance in the progression of neurodegeneration associated with motor neuron diseases, with annual global sales of around $150 million. Furthermore, it is anticipated that an anticancer drug target related to the Amaryllidaceae alkaloid pancratistatin, presently under advanced clinical evaluation, will enter commercial circulation within the next decade. Members of the Amaryllidaceae are distributed through both tropical and subtropical regions of the globe, but are of prominence within three distinct geographical locations, including Andean South America, the Mediterranean basin, and southern Africa. The southern African zone is known to harbor at least a third of the worldwide complement of around 1000 species, many of which are widely utilized in the traditional medicinal practices of the indigenous people of the region. Given its therapeutic and economic value, its natural abundance in the southern African region, coupled to its widespread usage in ethnic medicine, the family Amaryllidaceae provides a diverse and accessible platform for phytochemical based drug discovery. A consolidation of its traditional usage as well as its chemical and pharmacological profiles will thus guide efforts aimed at maximizing this potential. In undertaking this survey of the Amaryllidaceae of southern African, we aimed to achieve these goals.

40 CFR 91.1306 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Trading. 91.1306 Section 91.1306... EMISSIONS FROM MARINE SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES In-Use Credit Program for New Marine Engines § 91.1306 Trading... engine manufacturers through trading. (b) In-use credits for trading can be obtained from credits banked...

40 CFR 91.206 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Trading. 91.206 Section 91.206... EMISSIONS FROM MARINE SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES Averaging, Banking, and Trading Provisions § 91.206 Trading. (a... manufacturers in trading. These credits must be used in the same averaging set as generated. (b) Credits for...

40 CFR 91.1306 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Trading. 91.1306 Section 91.1306... EMISSIONS FROM MARINE SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES In-Use Credit Program for New Marine Engines § 91.1306 Trading... engine manufacturers through trading. (b) In-use credits for trading can be obtained from credits banked...

40 CFR 91.206 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Trading. 91.206 Section 91.206... EMISSIONS FROM MARINE SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES Averaging, Banking, and Trading Provisions § 91.206 Trading. (a... manufacturers in trading. These credits must be used in the same averaging set as generated. (b) Credits for...

40 CFR 91.1306 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Trading. 91.1306 Section 91.1306... EMISSIONS FROM MARINE SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES In-Use Credit Program for New Marine Engines § 91.1306 Trading... engine manufacturers through trading. (b) In-use credits for trading can be obtained from credits banked...

40 CFR 91.206 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Trading. 91.206 Section 91.206... EMISSIONS FROM MARINE SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES Averaging, Banking, and Trading Provisions § 91.206 Trading. (a... manufacturers in trading. These credits must be used in the same averaging set as generated. (b) Credits for...

40 CFR 91.206 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Trading. 91.206 Section 91.206... EMISSIONS FROM MARINE SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES Averaging, Banking, and Trading Provisions § 91.206 Trading. (a... manufacturers in trading. These credits must be used in the same averaging set as generated. (b) Credits for...

40 CFR 91.1306 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Trading. 91.1306 Section 91.1306... EMISSIONS FROM MARINE SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES In-Use Credit Program for New Marine Engines § 91.1306 Trading... engine manufacturers through trading. (b) In-use credits for trading can be obtained from credits banked...

40 CFR 91.1306 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Trading. 91.1306 Section 91.1306... EMISSIONS FROM MARINE SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES In-Use Credit Program for New Marine Engines § 91.1306 Trading... engine manufacturers through trading. (b) In-use credits for trading can be obtained from credits banked...

40 CFR 91.206 - Trading.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Trading. 91.206 Section 91.206... EMISSIONS FROM MARINE SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES Averaging, Banking, and Trading Provisions § 91.206 Trading. (a... manufacturers in trading. These credits must be used in the same averaging set as generated. (b) Credits for...

The Genetic Structure and History of Africans and African Americans

PubMed Central

Tishkoff, Sarah A.; Reed, Floyd A.; Friedlaender, Françoise R.; Ehret, Christopher; Ranciaro, Alessia; Froment, Alain; Hirbo, Jibril B.; Awomoyi, Agnes A.; Bodo, Jean-Marie; Doumbo, Ogobara; Ibrahim, Muntaser; Juma, Abdalla T.; Kotze, Maritha J.; Lema, Godfrey; Moore, Jason H.; Mortensen, Holly; Nyambo, Thomas B.; Omar, Sabah A.; Powell, Kweli; Pretorius, Gideon S.; Smith, Michael W.; Thera, Mahamadou A.; Wambebe, Charles; Weber, James L.; Williams, Scott M.

2010-01-01

Africa is the source of all modern humans, but characterization of genetic variation and of relationships among populations across the continent has been enigmatic. We studied 121 African populations, four African American populations, and 60 non-African populations for patterns of variation at 1327 nuclear microsatellite and insertion/deletion markers. We identified 14 ancestral population clusters in Africa that correlate with self-described ethnicity and shared cultural and/or linguistic properties. We observed high levels of mixed ancestry in most populations, reflecting historical migration events across the continent. Our data also provide evidence for shared ancestry among geographically diverse hunter-gatherer populations (Khoesan speakers and Pygmies). The ancestry of African Americans is predominantly from Niger-Kordofanian (~71%), European (~13%), and other African (~8%) populations, although admixture levels varied considerably among individuals. This study helps tease apart the complex evolutionary history of Africans and African Americans, aiding both anthropological and genetic epidemiologic studies. PMID:19407144

Metal Trades Technology Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

EASTCONN Regional Educational Services Center, North Windham, CT.

This curriculum guide provides materials for a metal trades technology course of study at the high school level. Its stated purpose is to help students acquire the trade knowledge necessary to function effectively in the shipfitting, welding, and piping trades. Contents include: a course description, a list of general objectives; lists of…

17 CFR 37.406 - Trade reconstruction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Trade reconstruction. 37.406 Section 37.406 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION SWAP EXECUTION FACILITIES Monitoring of Trading and Trade Processing § 37.406 Trade reconstruction. The swap execution...

Masonry Curriculum Guide. Construction Trades. Michigan Trade and Industrial Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing. Coll. of Agriculture and Natural Resources Education Inst.

This task-based curriculum guide is intended to help secondary teachers provide relevant training for an entry-level job in masonry. Introductory materials include background information on trade and industrial education and program goals and safety information. Descriptions follow of the construction trades program, vocational cooperative…

Carpentry Curriculum Guide. Construction Trades. Michigan Trade and Industrial Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing. Coll. of Agriculture and Natural Resources Education Inst.

This task-based curriculum guide is intended to help secondary teachers provide relevant training for an entry-level job in carpentry. Introductory materials include background information on trade and industrial education and program goals and safety information. Descriptions follow of the construction trades program, vocational cooperative…

Plumbing Curriculum Guide. Construction Trades. Michigan Trade and Industrial Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michigan State Univ., East Lansing. Coll. of Agriculture and Natural Resources Education Inst.

This task-based curriculum guide is intended to help secondary teachers provide relevant training for an entry-level job in plumbing. Introductory materials include background information on trade and industrial education and program goals and safety information. Descriptions follow of the construction trades program, vocational cooperative…

Spiral magnetism in the single-band Hubbard model: the Hartree-Fock and slave-boson approaches.

PubMed

Igoshev, P A; Timirgazin, M A; Gilmutdinov, V F; Arzhnikov, A K; Irkhin, V Yu

2015-11-11

The ground-state magnetic phase diagram is investigated within the single-band Hubbard model for square and different cubic lattices. The results of employing the generalized non-correlated mean-field (Hartree-Fock) approximation and generalized slave-boson approach by Kotliar and Ruckenstein with correlation effects included are compared. We take into account commensurate ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and incommensurate (spiral) magnetic phases, as well as phase separation into magnetic phases of different types, which was often lacking in previous investigations. It is found that the spiral states and especially ferromagnetism are generally strongly suppressed up to non-realistically large Hubbard U by the correlation effects if nesting is absent and van Hove singularities are well away from the paramagnetic phase Fermi level. The magnetic phase separation plays an important role in the formation of magnetic states, the corresponding phase regions being especially wide in the vicinity of half-filling. The details of non-collinear and collinear magnetic ordering for different cubic lattices are discussed.

Standardized Curriculum for Metal Trades.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mississippi State Dept. of Education, Jackson. Office of Vocational, Technical and Adult Education.

This curriculum guide for the metal trades was developed by the state of Mississippi to standardize vocational education course titles and core contents. The objectives contained in this document are common to all metal trades programs in the state. The guide contains objectives for Metal Trades I and II courses. Units in Metal Trades I cover the…

African American Males. A Critical Link in the African American Family.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Dionne J., Ed.

African Americans are experiencing extreme stress in the United States, and African-American males appear to suffer the most. The chapters in this volume examine some of the issues confronting African-American men today. They include: (1) "Introduction" (Dionne J. Jones); (2) "Reaffirming Young African American Males: Mentoring and…

78 FR 15349 - Trade Mission to Central America in Conjunction With the Trade Americas-Opportunities in Central...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-11

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration Trade Mission to Central America in Conjunction With the Trade Americas--Opportunities in Central America Conference; July 15-19, 2013 AGENCY... (USFCS) is organizing a trade mission to Central America, in conjunction with the Trade Americas...

[Frontier, sugarcane and trafficking: slavery, disease and death in Capivari, São Paulo, 1821-1869].

PubMed

Lima, Carlos A M

2015-01-01

The deaths and diseases of slaves in the São Paulo State sugarcane municipality of Capivari are addressed, associating the causes attributed to these deaths to the social and economic context and characteristics of the local slave communities. The impact of malaria, relating it to the age brackets, the environment created by work on the sugarcane plantations and the evolution of the occupation of the area, initially by expanding frontiers, is emphasized. The relationship between illness and work processes, as well as the post-disembarkation mortality of Africans and the possibility of mortality crises among the sugarcane captives is explored. The results lead to a discussion of the impact of habitat and Atlantic displacement and the difficulty in acclimatizing.

Infectious Disease and the Demography of the Atlantic Peoples.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crosby, Alfred W.

1991-01-01

Discusses effects of disease on the Atlantic basin after Christopher Columbus established contact between the hemispheres. Emphasizes the decimation of the native populations of the Americas when exposed to illnesses common in Eurasia and Africa. Relates the epidemics to the development of the slave trade and the rise of the middle class in…

Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2007

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-09-12

one of 200 marines and sailors) to discourage piracy and the slave trade along the Ivory coast, and to punish attacks by the natives on American... poaching . 1891 Chile. August 28 to 30. U.S. forces protected the American consulate and the women and children who had taken refuge in it during a

Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2001

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-02-05

various parties (one of 200 marines and sailors) to discourage piracy and the slave trade along the Ivory coast, and to punish attacks by the natives...sought to protect American lives and property on Navassa Island. 1891— Bering Strait. July 2 to October 5. Naval forces sought to stop seal poaching

Instances of Use of United States Armed Forces Abroad, 1798-2007

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-14

parties (one of 200 marines and sailors) to discourage piracy and the slave trade along the Ivory coast, and to punish attacks by the natives on...seal poaching . 1891 Chile. August 28 to 30. U.S. forces protected the American consulate and the women and children who had taken refuge in it

Preparing to Teach a Slavery Past: History Teachers and Educators as Navigators of Historical Distance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klein, Stephan

2017-01-01

Using an analytical framework based on the concept of historical distance, this article explores how Dutch history teachers and educators navigate between the past and the present when making curriculum decisions on the sensitive topic of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery. Four history teachers and 2 museum educators were selected on the…

The TG/HDL-C ratio does not predict insulin resistance in overweight women of African descent: a study of South African, African American and West African women.

PubMed

Knight, Michael G; Goedecke, Julia H; Ricks, Madia; Evans, Juliet; Levitt, Naomi S; Tulloch-Reid, Marshall K; Sumner, Anne E

2011-01-01

Women of African descent have a high prevalence of diseases caused by insulin resistance. To positively impact cardiometabolic health in Black women, effective screening tests for insulin resistance must be identified. Recently, the TG/HDL-C ratio has been recommended as a tool to predict insulin resistance in overweight people. While the ratio predicts insulin resistance in White women, it is ineffective in African American women. As there are no data for African women, we tested the ability of the TG/HDL-C ratio to predict insulin resistance in Black women from South Africa, West Africa and the United States. For comparison, the ratio was also tested in White women from South Africa. Participants were 801 women (157 Black South African, 382 African American, 119 West African, 143 White South African, age 36 +/- 9y [mean +/- SD]). Standardized scores were created from log-transformed homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance values from each population. Participants in the upper third of their population distribution were classified as insulin-resistant. To predict insulin resistance by the TC/HDL-C ratio, area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUC-ROC) curve was used and criteria were: 0.50 for no discrimination and > or = 0.70 for acceptable. Seventy-one percent of the Black women were overweight vs 51% of White women (P<.01). In overweight White women, AUC-ROC curve for prediction of insulin resistance by TG/HDL-C was 0.76 +/- 0.06, but below the 0.70 threshold in each group of overweight Black women (Black South African: 0.64 +/- 0.06, African American: 0.66 +/- 0.03, and West African: 0.63 +/- 0.07). Therefore, TG/HDL-C does not predict insulin resistance in overweight African American women and this investigation extends that finding to overweight Black South African and West African women. Resources to identify effective markers of insulin resistance are needed to improve cardiometabolic health in women of African descent.

Trading away what kind of jobs? Globalization, trade and tasks in the US economy

PubMed Central

Kemeny, Thomas; Rigby, David

2015-01-01

Economists and other social scientists are calling for a reassessment of the impact of international trade on labor markets in developed and developing countries. Classical models of globalization and trade, based upon the international exchange of finished goods, fail to capture the fragmentation of much commodity production and the geographical separation of individual production tasks. This fragmentation, captured in the growing volume of intra-industry trade, prompts investigation of the effects of trade within, rather than between, sectors of the economy. In this paper we examine the relationship between international trade and the task structure of US employment. We link disaggregate US trade data from 1972 to 2006, the NBER manufacturing database, the Decennial Census, and occupational and task data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Within-industry shifts in task characteristics are linked to import competition and technological change. Our results suggest that trade has played a major role in the growth in relative demand for nonroutine tasks, particularly those requiring high levels of interpersonal interaction. PMID:26722134

Federal Support for Preserve America

Science.gov Websites

Mississippi Delta projects received Preserve America Grants in 2006. They were: Louisiana Rebirth: Restoring Arkansas Delta, one for music, one for African-American history, and one for agriculture. The project will said to be the only county outside the Delta where slaves outnumbered other residents four to one

Connie Porter: Telling It the Way It Was.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliot, Ian

1994-01-01

Profiles Connie Porter, best-selling children's author of six books featuring Addy Walker, a fictional African American slave girl who escapes to the North in 1864. The books, for girls aged 7 through 12, are part of a collection featuring 5 girls in different periods of American history. Discusses Porter's writing and research processes. (MDM)

Open Communication: Having Your Voice Heard

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Angela

2015-01-01

Communication is the use of language to exchange information to one another. African slaves used to embark on communication by means of using common symbols and speech, telling stories, singing spirituals, writing poems. As time revolved, blacks valued education. Education and the ability to read write and effectively would give them the skill or…

International Trade of Biofuels (Brochure)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

In recent years, the production and trade of biofuels has increased to meet global demand for renewable fuels. Ethanol and biodiesel contribute much of this trade because they are the most established biofuels. Their growth has been aided through a variety of policies, especially in the European Union, Brazil, and the United States, but ethanol trade and production have faced more targeted policies and tariffs than biodiesel. This fact sheet contains a summary of the trade of biofuels among nations, including historical data on production, consumption, and trade.

The Underground Railroad: Developing a Literary Track to Slave Narrative.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goncalves, Wande Knox

This paper offers a method of bringing to third-grade students an understanding of African-American contributions to the United States, the experience of slavery, and the struggle for freedom on the secretive Underground Railroad. The paper contains a list of eight primary sources to be used. Its lessons focus specifically on the skills necessary…

78 FR 7395 - Foreign-Trade Zone 129-Bellingham, WA; Notification of Proposed Production Activity; T.C. Trading...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-01

... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Foreign-Trade Zones Board [B-8-2013] Foreign-Trade Zone 129--Bellingham, WA; Notification of Proposed Production Activity; T.C. Trading Company, Inc. (Eyeglass Assembly and Kitting... activity on behalf of T.C. Trading Company, Inc. (T.C. Trading), located in Blaine, Washington. The...

The poor, the Black, and the marginalized as the source of cadavers in United States anatomical education.

PubMed

Halperin, Edward C

2007-07-01

When the practice of hands-on anatomical dissection became popular in United States medical education in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, demand for cadavers exceeded the supply. Slave bodies and thefts by grave robbers met this demand. Members of the public were aware that graves were being robbed and countered with various protective measures. Since the deterrence of grave robbing took time and money, those elements of society who were least economically and socially advantaged were the most vulnerable. Enslaved and free African Americans, immigrants, and the poor were frequently the target of grave robbing. The politically powerful tolerated this behavior except when it affected their own burial sites. Slave owners sold the bodies of their deceased chattel to medical schools for anatomic dissection. Stories of the "night doctors" buying and stealing bodies became part of African American folklore traditions. The physical and documentary evidence demonstrates the disproportionate use of the bodies of the poor, the Black, and the marginalized in furthering the medical education of white elites. Copyright 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Spatio-temporal patterns and movement analysis of pigs from smallholder farms and implications for African swine fever spread, Limpopo province, South Africa.

PubMed

Fasina, Folorunso O; Mokoele, Japhta M; Spencer, B Tom; Van Leengoed, Leo A M L; Bevis, Yvette; Booysen, Ingrid

2015-11-27

Infectious and zoonotic disease outbreaks have been linked to increasing volumes of legal and illegal trade. Spatio-temporal and trade network analyses have been used to evaluate the risks associated with these challenges elsewhere, but few details are available for the pig sector in South Africa. Regarding pig diseases, Limpopo province is important as the greater part of the province falls within the African swine fever control area. Emerging small-scale pig farmers in Limpopo perceived pig production as an important means of improving their livelihood and an alternative investment. They engage in trading and marketing their products with a potential risk to animal health, because the preferred markets often facilitate potential longdistance spread and disease dispersal over broad geographic areas. In this study, we explored the interconnectedness of smallholder pig farmers in Limpopo, determined the weaknesses and critical control points, and projected interventions that policy makers can implement to reduce the risks to pig health. The geo-coordinates of surveyed farms were used to draw maps, links and networks. Predictive risks to pigs were determined through the analyses of trade networks, and the relationship to previous outbreaks of African swine fever was postulated. Auction points were identified as high-risk areas for the spread of animal diseases. Veterinary authorities should prioritise focused surveillance and diagnostic efforts in Limpopo. Early disease detection and prompt eradication should be targeted and messages promoting enhanced biosecurity to smallholder farmers are advocated. The system may also benefit from the restructuring of marketing and auction networks. Since geographic factors and networks can rapidly facilitate pig disease dispersal over large areas, a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding the complexities that exist around the animal disease epidemiology becomes mandatory.

Power, policy and the Prunus africana bark trade, 1972-2015.

PubMed

Cunningham, A; Anoncho, V F; Sunderland, T

2016-02-03

After almost 50 years of international trade in wild harvested medicinal bark from Africa and Madagascar, the example of Prunus africana holds several lessons for both policy and practice in the fields of forestry, conservation and rural development. Due to recent CITES restrictions on P. africana exports from Burundi, Kenya and Madagascar, coupled with the lifting of the 2007 European Union (EU) ban in 2011, Cameroon's share of the global P. africana bark trade has risen from an average of 38% between 1995 and 2004, to 72.6% (658.6 metric tons) in 2012. Cameroon is therefore at the center of this international policy arena. This paper draws upon several approaches, combining knowledge in working with P. africana over a 30-year period with a thorough literature review and updated trade data with "ground-truthing" in the field in 2013 and 2014. This enabled the construction of a good perspective on trade volumes (1991-2012), bark prices (and value-chain data) and the gaps between research reports and practice. Two approaches provided excellent lenses for a deeper understanding of policy failure and the "knowing-doing gap" in the P. africana case. A similar approach to Médard's (1992) analyses of power, politics and African development was taken and secondly, studies of commodity chains that assess the power relations that coalesce around different commodities (Ribot, 1998; Ribot and Peluso, 2003). Despite the need to conserve genetically and chemically diverse P. africana, wild populations are vulnerable, even in several "protected areas" in Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the forest reserves of Madagascar. Secondly, hopes of decentralized governance of this forest product are misplaced due to elite capture, market monopolies and subsidized management regimes. At the current European price, for P. africana bark (US$6 per kg) for example, the 2012 bark quota (658.675t) from Cameroon alone was worth over US$3.9 million, with the majority of

15 CFR 2002.0 - Trade Policy Committee.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Trade Policy Committee. 2002.0 Section 2002.0 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Foreign Trade Agreements OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE OPERATION OF COMMITTEES § 2002.0 Trade Policy Committee. (a) The Trade Policy...