Biomechanics of stair descent in older adults

Negotiating stairs is one of the most difficult activities of daily living faced by older adults. Many researchers have studied the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal demands of stair ascent but there is little research on the biomechanics of stair descent. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanics of stair descent in older adults

The Same NEPA Proposal or Connected NEPA Actions?: Why the Bureau of Land Management\u27s New Oil Shale Rules and Regulations Should be Set Aside

In November 2008, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finalized a rule opening public land in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming for oil shale leasing and finalized regulations creating policies and procedures for that leasing. The rule and regulations are the BLM’s attempt to fulfill their mandate under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to create a commercial oil shale leasing program in the western United States. As federal actions significantly affecting the environment, both the rule and regulations, are subject to the procedural requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The purpose of this Note is to point to two possible errors by the BLM in fulfilling NEPA’s procedural require-ments. These procedural errors are fodder for citizen-plaintiffs hoping to have the Bush-era rule and regulations judicially set aside and subsequently abandoned by the Obama Administration

On bacillary dysentery - its diagnosis, spread and control

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Developing a computer aided design tool for inclusive design

The purpose of this study was to investigate age-related changes in the performance of a range of movement tasks for integration into a computer aided design (CAD) tool for use in inclusive design

NEPA, Climate Change, and Public Lands Decision Making

One of the most difficult challenges facing public land managers today is how to address climate change in a meaningful way when making decisions affecting public lands. This problem is largely the product of the high levels of uncertainty surrounding climate change and the potential consequences of climate change for the large and complex landscapes and ecosystems that public land agencies manage. In February 2010, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued draft guidance to federal agencies describing how these agencies should address climate change in their decision documents. Recognizing the difficulty of the task, however, the CEQ\u27s draft guidance expressly disclaimed any intention of affording assistance to public land management agencies maldng complex land-use decisions This Article seeks to fill that gap. It begins by describing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the unique difficulties in applying NEPA to climate change and public land management. It then considers three case studies that illustrate the complex challenges that face public land managers, including 1) the United States Forest Service\u27s treatment of the Mountain Pine Beetle in Colorado and Southern Wyoming, 2) the Regional Water Supply Pipeline proposal to bring 250, 000 acre-feet of water from the Colorado River Basin to the Front Range of Colorado and Southern Wyoming, and 3) fossil fuel leasing on public lands in general, with specific discussions of shale gas fracking, coal mine methane, and oil shale extraction. These case studies form the basis for a series of recommendations for the CEQ and land-use planning agencies. Most importantly, the Article recommends that land-use planning agencies quantify the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that result from their proposed actions and attach a price to those emissions that reflects the marginal social cost of climate change that might result from those emissions. Although the social cost of GHG emissions may be uncertain, assigning a price to those emissions that reflects their social cost will promote more accurate cost assessments, and ensures that such costs become a meaningful part of the decision-making process. The Article also recommends that the CEQ propose rules to ensure that agencies are held accountable when they commit to adaptive management in their decision documents. Finally, the Article offers several general recommendations for coping effectively with the uncertainty and scale of climate change

γ Heavy Chain Disease in Man: cDNA Sequence Supports Partial Gene Deletion Model

Human gamma heavy chain disease (HCD) is characterized by the presence in serum of a short monoclonal Ig gamma chain unattached to light chains. Although most HCD proteins have internal deletions, in some the defect is NH2-terminal. The OMM gamma 3 HCD serum protein is of the latter type, having undergone an extensive NH2-terminal deletion with a sequence starting within the hinge. A cell line synthesizing the OMM protein has enabled us to study the biogenesis of the abnormal molecule. In vitro translation of isolated mRNA yields a protein containing a hydrophobic NH2-terminal leader sequence. In the intact cell, the precursor molecule is processed normally to yield a protein with an NH2-terminal sequence homologous to the beginning of the variable (V) region. The nucleotide sequence of cDNA prepared from the OMM mRNA encodes a 19-amino acid leader followed by the first 15 residues of the V region. An extensive internal deletion encompasses the remainder of the V and the entire CHl domain. Immediately following the short V region, there is information in the cDNA for the entire normal hinge. The primary synthetic product is thus an internally deleted molecule that undergoes postsynthetic degradation to yield the NH2-terminally deleted serum protein. The structure of the OMM mRNA suggests that the protein abnormality results from a partial gene deletion rather than defective splicing

Within-host competitive exclusion among species of the anther smut pathogen

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Host individuals represent an arena in which pathogens compete for resources and transmission opportunities, with major implications for the evolution of virulence and the structure of populations. Studies to date have focused on competitive interactions within pathogen species, and the level of antagonism tends to increase with the genetic distance between competitors. Anther-smut fungi, in the genus <it>Microbotryum</it>, have emerged as a tractable model for within-host competition. Here, using two pathogen species that are frequently found in sympatry, we investigated whether the antagonism seen among genotypes of the same species cascades up to influence competition among pathogen species.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sequential inoculation of hosts showed that a resident infection most often excludes a challenging pathogen genotype, which is consistent with prior studies. However, the challenging pathogen was significantly more likely to invade the already-infected host if the resident infection was a conspecific genotype compared to challenges involving a closely related species. Moreover, when inter-specific co-infection occurred, the pathogens were highly segregated within the host, in contrast to intra-specific co-infection.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We show evidence that competitive exclusion during infection can be greater among closely related pathogen species than among genotypes within species. This pattern follows from prior studies demonstrating that genetic distance and antagonistic interactions are positively correlated in <it>Microbotryum</it>. Fungal vegetative incompatibility is a likely mechanism of direct competitive interference, and has been shown in some fungi to be effective both within and across species boundaries. For systems where related pathogen species frequently co-occur in the same host populations, these competitive dynamics may substantially impact the spatial segregation of pathogen species.</p

Variation in resistance to multiple pathogen species:anther-smuts of Silene uniflora

The occurrence of multiple pathogen species on a shared host species is unexpected when they exploit the same micro-niche within the host individual. One explanation for such observations is the presence of pathogen-specific resistances segregating within the host population into sites that are differentially occupied by the competing pathogens. This study used experimental inoculations to test whether specific resistances may contribute to the maintenance of two species of anther-smut fungi, Microbotryum silenes-inflatae and Microbotryum lagerheimii, in natural populations of Silene uniflora in England and Wales. Overall, resistance to the two pathogens was strongly positively correlated among host populations and to a lesser degree among host families within populations. A few instances of specific resistance were also observed and confirmed by replicated inoculations. The results suggest that selection for resistance to one pathogen may protect the host from the emergence via host shifts of related pathogen species, and conversely that co-occurrence of two species of pathogens may be dependent on the presence of host genotypes susceptible to both

The Experience, Impact, and Management of Professional Burnout Among Probation Officers in Juvenile Justice Settings

Little is known about the experience of professional burnout among juvenile probation officers. Following a statewide survey, 26 officers were randomly selected for qualitative interviews. Using emergent, consensus-based methods, we identified key aspects of the burnout experience. Officers described burnout in ways consistent with research definitions. Most probation officers identified negative effects of burnout, including spending less time getting to know the clients and becoming more directive. Probation officers tended to have limited strategies for managing burnout. Given the important role probation officers play in the lives of juvenile justice involved youth, more work is needed to help ameliorate burnout