Kariandusi, Kenya

Kariandusi (0.45°S, 36.28°E) was one of the first early archaeological sites known in East Africa, discovered by Louis Leakey’s second expedition of 1928–1929 (Leakey, 1931, 1936). The site lies on the eastern side of the Gregory Rift Valley, about 120 km NNW of Nairobi, and about 2 km to the east of Lake Elmenteita (Fig. 1). The Acheulean localities face across the lake and the Rift Valley floor. The Nakuru-Elmenteita basin is flanked by Menengai volcano on the north, and by the volcanic pile of Mount Eburru on the south, visible from Kariandusi. The western wall of the rift, the Mau Escarpment of the Rift, can also be seen some 35 km away (Fig. 2). In the present day, the basin contains the small lakes of Elmenteita, close to the sites, and Lake Nakuru, which is out of sight beyond Lion Hill. Geologists have been fascinated with the history of the lakes since the pioneering investigations in the area a century ago. According to McCall (1966), the diatomites at Kariandusi were first reported by Hobley in 1909; the sediments were later described by Gregory (1921). The diatomite, with its strikingly white hue and more than 30 m deep, is an indicator of large and deep lakes in the past

Biface Knapping Skill in the East African Acheulean: Progressive Trends and Random Walks

Over the 1.5-million-year duration of the Acheulean, there is considerable variation in biface finesse. It is not clear, however, if there is an improvement in biface knapping ability over time, or if variation between sites is largely unrelated to their age. The diversity and duration of the East African Acheulean presents an opportunity to examine this issue. Variables that reflect difficult aspects of biface knapping, and which were likely important goals for Acheulean hominins, were measured in order to assess skill. These variables—refinement (thinness), edge straightness, and symmetry—were compared across four East African Acheulean sites: Olduvai Gorge, Olorgesailie, Kariandusi, and Isinya. The influence of rock type, blank type, reduction intensity, aberrant scar terminations, and invasive flaking on these variables was assessed

CBK Associates Resources

CBK Associates is a website featuring free service learning curriculum, student guides, and resources to assist in developing your own service learning project.https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/antipoverty/1015/thumbnail.jp

Retail Payment Costs and Savings in Kosovo

This report is based on a study of the costs of retail payments in Kosovo, using a methodology (A Practical Guide for Measuring Retail Payment Costs) developed by the World Bank's Payment System Development Group (PSDG), part of the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice. The study is based on survey data, with questionnaires administered to a sample of households and businesses on the demand side, as well as to 9 commercial banks operating in Kosovo; the Central Bank of Kosovo (in its role as currency issuer and as the operator of the Automated Clearing House); 4 money transfer operators; and the Post Office on the supply side. The study aims to establish a sound economic baseline for the national retail payments system regarding the costs of different payment instruments to better guide system development and enable high-impact changes. Efficiency gains resulting from migration to lower-cost retail payment instruments and more efficient use of those instruments could have significant benefits for economic development and growth as the transaction costs of exchanging goods and services are reduced. Lower costs of retail payments can also fundamentally extend the access of electronic payment services to lower-income households and further improve the efficiency of the national payments system as access to modern payment instruments is broadened

Bulk-Fill Composites: Effectiveness of Cure With Poly- and Monowave Curing Lights and Modes

SUMMARY This study compared the effectiveness of cure of bulk-fill composites using polywave light-emitting diode (LED; with various curing modes), monowave LED, and conventional halogen curing lights. The bulk-fill composites evaluated were Tetric N-Ceram bulk-fill (TNC), which contained a novel germanium photoinitiator (Ivocerin), and Smart Dentin Replacement (SDR). The composites were placed into black polyvinyl molds with cylindrical recesses of 4-mm height and 3-mm diameter and photopolymerized as follows: Bluephase N Polywave High (NH), 1200 mW/cm2 (10 seconds); Bluephase N Polywave Low (NL), 650 mW/cm2 (18.5 seconds); Bluephase N Polywave soft-start (NS), 0-650 mW/cm2 (5 seconds) → 1200 mW/cm2 (10 seconds); Bluephase N Monowave (NM), 800 mW/cm2 (15 seconds); QHL75 (QH), 550 mW/cm2 (21.8 seconds). Total energy output was fixed at 12,000 mJ/cm2 for all lights/modes, with the exception of NS. The cured specimens were stored in a light-proof container at 37°C for 24 hours, and hardness (Knoop Hardness Number) of the top and bottom surfaces of the specimens was determined using a Knoop microhardness tester (n=6). Hardness data and bottom-to-top hardness ratios were subjected to statistical analysis using one-way analysis of variance/Scheffe's post hoc test at a significance level of 0.05. Hardness ratios ranged from 38.43% ± 5.19% to 49.25% ± 6.38% for TNC and 50.67% ± 1.54% to 67.62% ± 6.96% for SDR. For both bulk-fill composites, the highest hardness ratios were obtained with NM and lowest hardness ratios with NL. While no significant difference in hardness ratios was observed between curing lights/modes for TNC, the hardness ratio obtained with NM was significantly higher than the hardness ratio obtained for NL for SDR.</jats:p

Why patients fractured with higher bone mineral density?

Abstract no. 54Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determinate the clinical risk factors associated with fractures in Chinese population with a higher bone mineral density (BMD) [T-score > –2.0]. Methods: All post-menopausal women with age of more than 50 years referred to Osteoporosis Clinic with lowtraumatic fractures were included in the analysis. All subjects underwent a structured evaluation and BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Common risk factors related to osteoporosis were identified and compared between patients with T-score ≤ –2.0 and > –2.0. Results: A total of 450 patients with fracture were assessed. The mean age was 67±8 years. Of the patients, 65% (n=293) of the patients presented with T-score ≤ –2.0 (low BMD group) and 35% (n=157) had T-score > –2.0 (high BMD group). Subjects of high BMD group were younger (63±8 vs 69±7 years, P<0.001), had lower body mass index (14.32±3.12 vs 15.42±4.11 kg/m2, P<0.05), shorter period of post-menopause time (11±8 vs 19±7 years, P<0.001), and lower oral diet calcium intake (643±272 vs 713±283 mg/day, P<0.05). More of them were current alcohol drinkers (11.5% vs 5.1% respectively, P<0.05) and smokers (8.3% vs 3.8% respectively, P<0.05). This group of patients had significantly higher serum parathyroid hormone (44.32±12.92 vs 40.41±11.73 pg/mL, P<0.05) but their serum calcium levels were similar to the lower BMD group (2.30±0.13 vs 2.30±0.11 mmol/L). Conclusions: Our findings showed that a significant proportion of patients sustained fractures with higher BMD. Some clinical risk factors identified in this group are modifiable. Public health education for bone health promotion should focus not only on osteoporotic patients, but also on individuals with higher BMD

Are neighboring trees in tune? Wood formation in Pinus pinaster

Neighboring trees growing under identical environmental conditions can exhibit different dynamics and periods of growth. Despite the recent advances in cambial biology, the exogenous and endogenous factors generating asynchronous xylem growths still remain undetermined. This study investigated timings and duration of xylem formation in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) from an even-aged plantation in Portugal growing under Mediterranean climate. Cambial phenology and stem diameter were monitored weekly, from March to December 2010, on two classes of trees divided according to the tree ring widths of the last 15 years, but similar age and size: fast- and slow-growing trees. We tested the hypothesis that differences in tree ring widths result from cell production which in turn affects timings of xylogenesis and that the bimodal growth pattern, typical of the Mediterranean, originates from a double reactivation of the cambium: in spring and autumn. Cambial activity started earlier and ended later in fast-growing trees, confirming that cell production is a key factor determining the duration of xylogenesis. Intra-annual variations in stem diameter recorded by band dendrometers revealed two peaks of increment occurring in spring and late summer. However, the number of cambial cells did not increase in late summer, which suggested that the second peak of increment was caused by stem rehydration, rather than by a reactivation of cell division. These results demonstrated that the variability in the timings of xylem phenology observed among trees of the same age and size and growing under similar environmental conditions was closely related to cell production and not to age or size per se.This study was supported by the Fundac¸a˜o para a Cieˆncia e a Tecnologia, Ministe´rio da Educac¸a˜o e Cieˆncia (FCT) cofinanced by Compete, through the project PTDC/AAC-AMB/111675/ 2009. Joana Vieira was supported by a Ph.D. Grant (SFRH/BD/ 48089/2008) and Filipe Campelo by a postdoctoral research grant (SFRH/BPD/47822/2008), both grants from FCT with funds from POPH (Portuguese Operational Human Potential Program) and QREN Portugal (Portuguese National Strategic Reference Framework)

Ileal perforation in typhoid bacteriological and immunological findings

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FinAccess Household Survey 2013

The Kenya FinAccess retail survey measures access to and demand for financial services among adults in a nationally representative survey. The sample for the 2013 survey was based on the National Sample Survey and Evaluation (NASSEP V) developed in 2012. Estimates from the 2006 survey are statistically reliable for adults above the age of 16, at the national, province and urban/rural level