Exercise-Induced Asthma Symptoms and Nighttime Asthma: Are They Similar to AHR?

Background. Asthma experienced during exercise and during the night is based on the presence of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). The aim of the present study was to examine whether AHR is a predictor of exercise-induced asthma (EIA) and nighttime symptoms. Material. We included 793 asthmatics subjects with symptoms and a positive asthma test. Results. Mean (SD) FEV1 was 93% (15), 71% had rhinitis, and 62% had atopy. Both EIA and nighttime symptoms were associated with AHR; however, when including other factors of importance in a multivariate analysis, logRDR was eliminated, whereas FEV1% pred (P < .001), smoking (P < .05), atopy (P < .001), sex (P < .001), and treatment (P < .01) were associated with having EIA while dyspnoea (P < .001), cough (P < .001), and eosinophils (P < .01) were associated with frequent night symptoms. The risk of having nighttime awakenings due to asthma was more than twofold higher among those with EIA symptoms than among those without symptoms (OR (CI95%) 2.77 (2.0–3.8) (P < .001)). In Conclusion. EIA and night symptoms are associated with AHR, but other factors of importance eliminated this close association. Night asthma is more closely associated with airway inflammation than AHR

A Micro-glitch in the Millisecond Pulsar B1821-24 in M28

We report on the observation of a very small glitch observed for the first time in a millisecond pulsar, PSR B1821-24 located in the globular cluster M28. Timing observations were mainly conducted with the Nancay radiotelescope (France) and confirmation comes from the 140ft radiotelescope at Green Bank and the new Green Bank Telescope data. This event is characterized by a rotation frequency step of 3 nHz, or 10^-11 in fractional frequency change along with a short duration limited to a few days or a week. A marginally significant frequency derivative step was also found. This glitch follows the main characteristics of those in the slow period pulsars, but is two orders of magnitude smaller than the smallest ever recorded. Such an event must be very rare for millisecond pulsars since no other glitches have been detected when the cumulated number of years of millisecond pulsar timing observations up to 2001 is around 500 for all these objects. However, pulsar PSR B1821-24 is one of the youngest among the old recycled ones and there is likely a correlation between age, or a related parameter, and timing noise. While this event happens on a much smaller scale, the required adjustment of the star to a new equilibrium figure as it spins down is a likely common cause for all glitches.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letters, 5 pages, 2 figures, LaTex (uses emulateapj.sty

Desindustrialisatie in België

De ongelijke productiviteitsontwikkeling tussen industrie en diensten blijkt de belangrijkste verklaring te vormen voor het afnemend belang van de industriële sector in de totale werkgelegenheid van geïndustrialiseerde landen. Dit desindustrialisatieproces heeft zich over de periode 1970-1995 sterker doorgezet in België dan in andere Europese landen. De hoge productivititeitsgroei in de Belgische industrie hangt in belangrijke mate samen met de structurele kenmerken van de Belgische economie.

Vorderingsverslag betreffende het onderzoek naar de invloed van de exploratie- en exploitatieactiviteiten op het Continentaal Plat en de territoriale zee: periode januari - december 2015

Dit rapport beschrijft de stand van het onderzoek naar de effecten van zandwinning door ILVO-Aquatisch Milieu en Kwaliteit in het jaar 2015 en de planning voor 2016, overeenkomstig Artikel 4 van het ‘Samenwerkingsakkoord tussen de Federale Overheid en het Vlaamse Gewest van 21 december 2005 betreffende het onderzoek naar de invloed van de exploratie- en exploitatieactiviteiten op het Belgisch Continentaal Plat (BCP) op de sedimentafzettingen en op het marien milieu’ (KB 2006/261)

The level of specialist assessment of adult asthma is influenced by patient age

SummaryBackgroundLate onset asthma is associated with more severe disease and higher morbidity than in younger asthma patients. This may in part relate to under recognition of asthma in older adults, but evidence on the impact of patient age on diagnostic assessment of asthma in a specialist setting is sparse.AimTo examine the impact of patient age on the type and proportion of diagnostic tests performed in patients undergoing specialist assessment for asthma.MethodsData from a clinical population consisting of all patients consecutively referred over a 12 months period to a specialist clinic for assessment of asthma were analysed.ResultsA total of 224 patients with asthma or suspected asthma were referred during the 12 month period; 86 adults aged <35 years, 95 aged 35–55 years and 43 aged >55 years. Symptom characteristics were similar, but adults >35 years had a lower lung function than younger adults, and were more frequently smokers. However, a regression analysis showed that older age was associated with a lower likelihood of diagnostic assessment with a reversibility test, a bronchial challenge test, or measurement of exhaled NO, independently of a known diagnosis of asthma, smoking habits and lung function at referral.ConclusionA lower level of diagnostic assessment was observed already after the age of 35 years, indicating a risk for under diagnosis of asthma at an earlier patient age than previously thought

Identifying and Learning from Exemplary Volunteer Resource Managers: A Look at Best Practices in Managing Volunteer Resources

Nonprofit organizations thrive to the extent that their volunteer resource manager follows best practices for hiring, training, and managing volunteers. In an effort to identify some of the best practices in volunteer management, exemplary volunteer resources managers were identified from a consulting outreach program. These managers were then interviewed and the results from these interviews are presented here. Volunteer resource managers shared their best practices for improving volunteer organizational commitment, organizational recognition of volunteers, volunteer satisfaction with communication, volunteer perception of voice, volunteer competence & volunteer contribution, and volunteer burnouts & intentions to quit. In addition to presenting these practices, commentary includes ideas on implementation in general

The Effects of Collaborative Grouping on Student Engagement in Middle School Students

This action research project investigated the impact of collaborative grouping on students’ engagement in three middle level STEM (science, technology, engineering or math) classrooms. Research was conducted in two rural and one urban setting. Four data collection tools were used: A semantic rating scale (student questionnaire), teacher observations, student interviews, and teacher journaling. Data was categorized into three domains of student engagement: emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. Teamwork strategies were overtly taught to students before the study with additional instruction during the observation process as needed. While quantitative evidence implied a slight decrease in preference for collaborative learning by student’s self-report, qualitative data showed positive results across the implementation. Research findings support the finding that collaborative grouping has a positive impact on student learning and fosters socialemotional skills beneficial for overall functioning in today’s environment. Our findings suggest that middle-level classrooms benefit from incorporating collaborative learning activities when preceded by intentional group formation, instruction on how to participate effectively as a member of a collaborative team, and supplemented by re-teaching of group skills or re-grouping, as indicated by evidence of student engagement