Gastrocnemius medialis muscle architecture and physiological cross sectional area in adult males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Objectives: To describe muscle size and architecture of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) muscle in eleven adult males with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD, age 24.5±5.4 years), and a control group of eleven males without DMD (CTRL, age 22.1±0.9 years). Methods: GM anatomical cross sectional area (ACSA), volume (VOL), physiological cross sectional area (PCSA), fascicle length (Lf) and pennation angle (θ) were assessed using B-Mode Ultrasonography. GM ACSA was measured at 25, 50 and 75% of muscle length (Lm), from which VOL was calculated. At 50% of Lm, sagittal plane images were analysed to determine GM Lf and θ. GM PCSA was calculated as: VOL/Lf. The ratio of Lf and Lm was also calculated. Results: GM ACSA at 50% Lm, VOL and PCSA were smaller in DMD males compared to CTRL males by 36, 47 and 43%, respectively (P<0.01). There were no differences in Lf and θ. GM Lm was 29% shorter in DMD compared to CTRL. Lf/Lm was 29% longer in DMD (P<0.01). Conclusions: Unlike previous data in children with DMD, our results show significant atrophy in adult males with DMD, and no change in Lf or θ. The shorter Lm may have implications for joint flexibility

Bone health measured using quantitative ultrasonography in adult males with muscular dystrophy.

To compare muscle and bone health markers in adult males (aged 20-59 yrs) with and without muscular dystrophy (MD).Participants included 11 Fascioscapulohumeral (FSH), 11 Becker's (Be), 9 limb girdle (LG), 11 Duchenne (DMD), and 14 non-dystrophic controls (CTRL). Physical activity was assessed using Bone (BPAQ) and disability specific (PASIPD) questionnaires. Bone QUS provided T- and Z scores from the Distal Radius (DR) and Mid-shaft tibia (MST). Tibialis anterior cross sectional area (TAACSA) was measured using B-mode ultrasound. Grip strength was measured in all but DMD.Physical activity was lower in DMD, FSH and BeMD than CTRL (P<0.05), and lower in DMD than other MDs (P<0.01). T and Z scores were lower in DMD and Be than CTRL (DR, P<0.05); and lower in DMD than CTRL, LG, and FSH (MST, P<0.01). TAACSA and grip strength was 35-59% and 50-58% smaller in MD than CTRL, respectively (P<0.01). Within MD, BPAQ correlated with bone QUS measures (r=0.42-0.38, P<0.01). PASIPD correlated with grip strength (r=0.65, P<0.01) and TAACSA (r=0.46, P<0.01).Muscle size, strength, and bone health was lower in adult males with MD compared to adult males without MD, the extent of this is partially determined by physical activity

Engineered nanomaterials: toward effective safety management in research laboratories

It is still unknown which types of nanomaterials and associated doses represent an actual danger to humans and environment. Meanwhile, there is consensus on applying the precautionary principle to these novel materials until more information is available. To deal with the rapid evolution of research, including the fast turnover of collaborators, a user-friendly and easy-to-apply risk assessment tool offering adequate preventive and protective measures has to be provided.Results: Based on new information concerning the hazards of engineered nanomaterials, we improved a previously developed risk assessment tool by following a simple scheme to gain in efficiency. In the first step, using a logical decision tree, one of the three hazard levels, from H1 to H3, is assigned to the nanomaterial. Using a combination of decision trees and matrices, the second step links the hazard with the emission and exposure potential to assign one of the three nanorisk levels (Nano 3 highest risk; Nano 1 lowest risk) to the activity. These operations are repeated at each process step, leading to the laboratory classification. The third step provides detailed preventive and protective measures for the determined level of nanorisk.Conclusions: We developed an adapted simple and intuitive method for nanomaterial risk management in research laboratories. It allows classifying the nanoactivities into three levels, additionally proposing concrete preventive and protective measures and associated actions. This method is a valuable tool for all the participants in nanomaterial safety. The users experience an essential learning opportunity and increase their safety awareness. Laboratory managers have a reliable tool to obtain an overview of the operations involving nanomaterials in their laboratories; this is essential, as they are responsible for the employee safety, but are sometimes unaware of the works performed. Bringing this risk to a three-band scale (like other types of risks such as biological, radiation, chemical, etc.) facilitates the management for occupational health and safety specialists. Institutes and school managers can obtain the necessary information to implement an adequate safety management system. Having an easy-to-use tool enables a dialog between all these partners, whose semantic and priorities in terms of safety are often different

'Making Friends or Making Things?': Interfirm Transactions in the Sheffield Metal-working Cluster

The paper comprises an examination of the material inputs of a sample of 70 small firms in the Sheffield metal-working cluster and an assessment of the extent to which purchases are accompanied by face-to-face (embodied) transactions. It is shown that there are no significant differences between the level of embodied transactions accompanying local (intra-cluster) material links and those associated with non-local flows. It seems that, on this measure at least and within this cluster, the Sheffield metal-working cluster lacks the dense network of embodied transactions with local suppliers suggested in the wider literature. The lower-than-expected measures of embodied transactions suggest that one of the mechanisms for the transfer of knowledge between buyers and suppliers within an industrial cluster is poorly developed in this particular case.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

The limits of corporate social responsibility : Techniques of neutralization, stakeholder management and political CSR

Since scholarly interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) has primarily focused on the synergies between social and economic performance, our understanding of how (and the conditions under which) companies use CSR to produce policy outcomes that work against public welfare has remained comparatively underdeveloped. In particular, little is known about how corporate decision-makers privately reconcile the conflicts between public and private interests, even though this is likely to be relevant to understanding the limitations of CSR as a means of aligning business activity with the broader public interest. This study addresses this issue using internal tobacco industry documents to explore British-American Tobacco’s (BAT) thinking on CSR and its effects on the company’s CSR Programme. The article presents a three-stage model of CSR development, based on Sykes and Matza’s theory of techniques of neutralization, which links together: how BAT managers made sense of the company’s declining political authority in the mid-1990s; how they subsequently justified the use of CSR as a tool of stakeholder management aimed at diffusing the political impact of public health advocates by breaking up political constituencies working towards evidence-based tobacco regulation; and how CSR works ideologically to shape stakeholders’ perceptions of the relative merits of competing approaches to tobacco control. Our analysis has three implications for research and practice. First, it underlines the importance of approaching corporate managers’ public comments on CSR critically and situating them in their economic, political and historical contexts. Second, it illustrates the importance of focusing on the political aims and effects of CSR. Third, by showing how CSR practices are used to stymie evidence-based government regulation, the article underlines the importance of highlighting and developing matrices to assess the negative social impacts of CSR

Efficacy of self-monitored blood pressure, with or without telemonitoring, for titration of antihypertensive medication (TASMINH4): an unmasked randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Studies evaluating titration of antihypertensive medication using self-monitoring give contradictory findings and the precise place of telemonitoring over self-monitoring alone is unclear. The TASMINH4 trial aimed to assess the efficacy of self-monitored blood pressure, with or without telemonitoring, for antihypertensive titration in primary care, compared with usual care. METHODS: This study was a parallel randomised controlled trial done in 142 general practices in the UK, and included hypertensive patients older than 35 years, with blood pressure higher than 140/90 mm Hg, who were willing to self-monitor their blood pressure. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to self-monitoring blood pressure (self-montoring group), to self-monitoring blood pressure with telemonitoring (telemonitoring group), or to usual care (clinic blood pressure; usual care group). Randomisation was by a secure web-based system. Neither participants nor investigators were masked to group assignment. The primary outcome was clinic measured systolic blood pressure at 12 months from randomisation. Primary analysis was of available cases. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN 83571366. FINDINGS: 1182 participants were randomly assigned to the self-monitoring group (n=395), the telemonitoring group (n=393), or the usual care group (n=394), of whom 1003 (85%) were included in the primary analysis. After 12 months, systolic blood pressure was lower in both intervention groups compared with usual care (self-monitoring, 137·0 [SD 16·7] mm Hg and telemonitoring, 136·0 [16·1] mm Hg vs usual care, 140·4 [16·5]; adjusted mean differences vs usual care: self-monitoring alone, -3·5 mm Hg [95% CI -5·8 to -1·2]; telemonitoring, -4·7 mm Hg [-7·0 to -2·4]). No difference between the self-monitoring and telemonitoring groups was recorded (adjusted mean difference -1·2 mm Hg [95% CI -3·5 to 1·2]). Results were similar in sensitivity analyses including multiple imputation. Adverse events were similar between all three groups. INTERPRETATION: Self-monitoring, with or without telemonitoring, when used by general practitioners to titrate antihypertensive medication in individuals with poorly controlled blood pressure, leads to significantly lower blood pressure than titration guided by clinic readings. With most general practitioners and many patients using self-monitoring, it could become the cornerstone of hypertension management in primary care. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research via Programme Grant for Applied Health Research (RP-PG-1209-10051), Professorship to RJM (NIHR-RP-R2-12-015), Oxford Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care, and Omron Healthcare UK

Practice makes information literacy perfect: Models of educational collaboration at QUT

A number of teaching and learning initiatives which aim to develop the generic skills of commencing undergraduate students are currently underway at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and a range of educational models have been adopted. QUT Library has taken a leading role in the development of information literacy and has collaborated closely with faculties to integrate information skills and concepts into the curriculum of a number of foundation units. This paper presents three such case studies. It describes these cooperative Library-Faculty units and indicates the ways in which information literacy has been integrated into the course curriculum and structure. The case studies highlight various practical issues, such as collaborative planning and organisational processes, and explore in detail the logistics of delivery, skills assessment and program evaluation. The paper also examines the educational and organisational context of these initiatives, including their relationships to generic graduate attributes, the University's Teaching and Learning agenda and the Library's "Information Literacy Framework and CoRE Strategies"

Bounding Borders, Building Bridges: partnering for quality outcomes in the online learning of information literacy

IFN001:Advanced Information Retrieval (AIRS) is a mandatory coursework requirement of doctoral enrolment at QUT. It aims to assist research students in working toward their literature review through the development of advanced information literacy knowledge and practice. In response to increasing remote and offshore doctoral enrolments, and to support the University’s objectives regarding flexible delivery and online teaching, QUT Library has led the development of an innovative online course. From 2005, AIRS Online is available as a parallel option to the face-to-face mode. AIRS Online provides a student-focussed learning environment which encourages deep learning and caters for diverse learning styles and needs. It is founded on the principle that the simple transfer of content to an online environment will not deliver equivalent learning outcomes for students. Unlike a passive web-based tutorial, the course has been designed to actively engage students in teacher-facilitated, self-directed learning. Integrating content and educational technology and linking across dual IT platforms, the development of AIRS Online has necessitated diverse partnering across the University between Library teaching and systems staff and various online, multimedia and web support staff. This paper explores the pedagogical, technical and administrative partnerships, issues and outcomes of re-crafting an existing classroom-based course for an online environment