Hemolysis in runners as evidenced by low serum haptoglobin: Implications for preflight monitoring of astronauts

Hematological parameters and serum haptoglobin were examined in 21 male employees of the Kennedy Space Center who were at 3 levels of physical activity: 7 subjects regularly ran more than 40 km (25 miles) per week (Group I); 7 ran 13 to 24 km (8 to 15 miles) per week (II), and 7 were sedentary (III). Blood was drawn on a different day of the week for five weeks. Differences between day of the week, visit number, and activity level were examined. No differences were observed for day of week or visit number; thus mean values for each variable were calculated for each subject. Variables did not differ among groups. However, trends with level of training were observed in some critical variables. Hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Hct) conformed to a staircase effect with Group I (14.5 gm/dl and 41.3 percent) lower than Group III (15.1 gm/dl and 42.9 percent). Reticulocyte count was higher and haptoglobin levels lower in Group I (1.35% and 75.7 gm/dl) than Group III (.99 percent and 132.9 gm/dl), with haptoglobin for the high mileage Group I in the clinically abnormal range. Since haptoglobin binds free Hb following RBC destruction, these results suggest that intravascular hemolysis occurs in trained male runners. These results may have special meaning for astronauts training before long-duration spaceflights, since the further reduction in red blood cells which is reported to occur during spaceflight could become detrimental to their health and performance

Qualitative Exploration of Factors Impacting Adjustment in Women Survivors of Military Sexual Trauma

This project draws from posttraumatic growth and resilience theories, as well as Critical Discourse Analysis and utilizes multiple case study to offer an in-depth examination of the military sexual assault experiences across eleven cases of women who served in the Marine Corps, Navy, Army, and Air Force from the 1960s to the present-day military. The cross-case analysis revealed a three-stage model of adjustment including adjustment to the military culture, surviving the sexual assault, and surviving the fallout, as well as the internal characteristics and behaviors women relied on to navigate these stages. While the data yielded pockets of strengths within the military context there was a notable lack of consistency among the perceived strengths of the military environment. There was, however, consistency in women’s reports of misogyny and sexism and significant barriers to adjustment created by this pervasive military culture. This project offered an integrated perspective of the interaction of behaviors, environments, and individual characteristics and how these simultaneously result in resilience, distress, growth, and posttraumatic stress and adds to current understandings of MST by offering a description of how the military environment both supported and presented considerable barriers to adjustment for the participants

The Service and Re-Entry Needs of Juvenile Offenders: American Indian Girls Impacted by Sexual Trauma

American Indian (AI) youth experience incarceration (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011; Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement, 1997-2010) and sexual abuse (Bachman, Zaykowski, Lanier, Poteyeva, & Kallmyer, 2010; Ellison, 2005; Hamby, 2008; Robin, 1997) at disparate rates in the United States. The present qualitative project utilized Extended Case Method to explore the service and re-entry needs of AI girls who are juvenile offenders and have been impacted by sexual abuse. This project includes secondary data detailing 58 cases of detained AI girls at a state-run female juvenile detention facility in the Midwest. Results indicated 26 of the 58 (45%) AI girls reported sexual abuse and 47 of the 58 (81%) girls reported involvement in `consensual\u27 sex before the age of 18. Findings revealed a need for comprehensive data collection procedures within correctional facilities as well as a need for trauma-informed prevention, intervention, and post-vention services. Specific service needs included culturally congruent care including advocacy around tribal enrollment and eligibility, psychoeducation around consent for sexual activity and gynecological health, trauma-informed physical health services including gynecological care, and trauma-informed mental health assessment and programming

Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy analysis of segmental dynamics in Actin filaments

We adapt Fluorescence Correlation spectroscopy (FCS) formalism to the studies of the dynamics of semi-flexible polymers and derive expressions relating FCS correlation function to the longitudinal and transverse mean square displacements of polymer segments. We use the derived expressions to measure the dynamics of actin filaments in two experimental situations: filaments labeled at distinct positions and homogeneously labeled filaments. Both approaches give consistent results and allow to measure the temporal dependence of the segmental mean-square displacement (MSD) over almost five decades in time, from ~0.04ms to 2s. These noninvasive measurements allow for a detailed quantitative comparison of the experimental data to the current theories of semi-flexible polymer dynamics. Good quantitative agreement is found between the experimental results and theories explicitly accounting for the hydrodynamic interactions between polymer segments

Face Immersion Bradycardia: Comparison of Swimmer and Nonswimmers

Author Institution: Department of Physiology, Wright State University ; Department of Physiology, George Washington UniversityA profound bradycardia may be exhibited by waterfowl and aquatic mammals when they dive underwater in search of food. A similar response occurs in humans diving underwater or simply wetting the face while breathholding. This bradycardia is mediated by the parasympathetic nervous system (vagus). We investigated whether the extent of this apneic face immersion bradycardia, or bradycardia during dry apnea, is greater in actively training competitive swimmers than in nonswimmers. Eight competitive swimmers and eight age/sex matched nonswimmers each performed apneic face immersion and dry apneic maneuvers while prone. Resting cardiac cycle (interval) duration was not significantly different between these groups, but the swimmers had a significantly longer interval duration (lower heart rate), P<0.05, and a greater percentage decrease of interval duration during both apneic face immersion and dry apnea. Swimmers—but not nonswimmers—demonstrated cardiac arrhythmias considered to be vagally mediated during face immersion. These results indicated that competitive swimmers in active training may have a greater range of parasympathetic nervous system (vagal) control of the heart as well as the well-accepted greater resting level of vagal tone

Transcendence measure of e1/ne^{1/n}

For a given transcendental number $\xi$ and for any polynomial $P(X)=: \lambda_0+\cdots+\lambda_k X^k \in \mathbb{Z}[X]$, we know that $P(\xi) \neq 0.$ Let $k \geq 1$ and $\omega (k, H)$ be the infimum of the numbers $r > 0$ satisfying the estimate $$\left|\lambda_0+\lambda_1 \xi+\lambda_2 \xi^{2}+ \ldots +\lambda_k\xi^{k}\right| > \frac{1}{H^r},$$ for all $(\lambda_0, \ldots ,\lambda_k)^T \in \mathbb{Z}^{k+1}\setminus\{\overline{0}\}$ with $\max_{1\le i\le k} \{|\lambda_i|\} \le H$. Any function greater than or equal to $\omega (k, H)$ is a {\it transcendence measure of $\xi$}. In this article, we find out a transcendence measure of $e^{1/n}$ which improves a result proved by Mahler(\cite{Mahler}) in 1975.Comment: This collaboration has come up due to the wonderful programme: Women in Numbers Europe

Recruitment barriers in a randomized controlled trial from the physicians' perspective – A postal survey

BACKGROUND: The feasibility of randomized trials often depends on successful patient recruitment. Although numerous recruitment barriers have been identified it is unclear which of them complicate recruitment most. Also, most surveys have focused on the patients' perspective of recruitment barriers whereas the perspective of recruiting physicians has received less attention. Therefore, our aim was to conduct a postal survey among recruiting physicians of a multi-center trial to weigh barriers according to their impact on recruitment. METHODS: We identified any potential recruitment barriers from the literature and from our own experience with a multi-center trial of respiratory rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We developed and pilot-tested a self-administered questionnaire where recruiting physicians were asked to express their agreement with statements about recruitment barriers on a Likert-type scale from 1 (full agreement with statement = very substantial recruitment barrier) to 7 (no agreement with statement = no recruitment barrier). RESULTS: 38 of 55 recruiting physicians returned questionnaires (69% response rate), of which 35 could be analyzed (64% useable response rate). Recruiting physicians reported that "time constraints" (median agreement of 3, interquartile range 2-5) had the most negative impact on recruitment followed by "difficulties including identified eligible patients" (median agreement of 5, IQR 3-6). Other barriers such as "trial design barriers", "lack of access to treatment", "individual barriers of recruiting physicians" or "insufficient training of recruiting physicians" were perceived to have little or no impact on patient recruitment. CONCLUSION: Physicians perceived time constraints as the most relevant recruitment barrier in a randomized trial. To overcome recruitment barriers interventions, that are affordable for both industry- and investigator-driven trials, need to be developed and tested in randomized trials. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN84612310

Förderung theoriebasierten Reflektierens in der Lehrer:innenbildung anhand von Entwicklungsplan, Ereignisanalyse und Reflexionsmatrix

Reflexion gilt in der Lehrer:innenbildung als wesentliches Element, um Theorie und Praxis zu verbinden. Wissenschaftlich fundiertes Wissen ist dabei ebenso Voraussetzung wie die Bereitschaft, konkretes pädagogisches Handeln in Bezug zur eigenen Professionalität zu setzen. In diesem Beitrag werden drei Reflexionsmethoden, die in einer explorativen Studie bei Lehramtsstudierenden zum Einsatz kamen, vorgestellt: Der persönliche Entwicklungsplan (Bachelorstudierende), die kritische Ereignisanalyse (Masterstudierende) sowie die Reflexionsmatrix (eingesetzt in beiden Gruppen). Die inhaltliche Auswertung der Dokumente erfolgte auf der Grundlage des Modells zur Reflexionstiefe von Leonhard und Rihm (2011). Es zeigte sich, dass die verwendeten Instrumente Reflexionen unterschiedlicher Tiefe induzieren können, wobei die Masterstudierenden häufiger höhere Stufen erreichten. (DIPF/Orig.