The institutional and social construction of responsible investment

This paper provides a summary of the symposium on the institutional and social construction of Responsible Investment (RI), held at the 22nd IABS Conference. In the context of the symposium, we propose to move beyond the dominant focus on the financial impact of RI to consider the potential of emergent institutional and sociological perspectives to explain the practices and concepts related to RI. In doing so, our aim is to explore in greater detail the current changes in the RI infrastructure and the impact of these changes on wider issues of corporate sustainability and social responsibility

Volumetric intracoronary ultrasound: a new maximum confidence approach for the quantitative assessment of progression-regression of atherosclerosis?

Quantitative assessment of atherosclerosis during its natural history and following therapeutic interventions is important, as cardiovascular disease remains the most significant cause of morbidity and mortality in industrial societies. While coronary angiography delineates the vessel lumen, permitting only the indirect determination of atherosclerotic wall changes encroaching upon the lumen, intracoronary ultrasound permits direct plaque assessment and quantification. The angiographic percent diameter stenosis, previously suggested as measure of a maximum confidence approach, is still commonly used to quantify stenosis severity, but the reference segments which are required for angiographic interpolation of the normal vessel dimensions are frequently involved in the general process of atherosclerosis, including progression or regression. Considering also the variability of vascular remodeling during the evolution of atherosclerosis, including compensatory enlargement and paradoxical arterial shrinkage, intracoronary ultrasound appears currently to be the only reliable technique to measure plaque burden and progression or regression of atherosclerosis. However, correct matching of the site of measurement at follow-up with the site of the initial ultrasound study is often difficult to achieve, but is significantly facilitated by the use of volumetric intracoronary ultrasound. This approach permits not only area measurement, but also measurement of plaque volume, which appears to be the ideal measure for quantifying the atherosclerotic plaque, as it is highly reproducible and directly reflects the changes of an entire arterial segment

Reliability of the Q Force; a mobile instrument for measuring isometric quadriceps muscle strength

BACKGROUND: The ability to generate muscle strength is a pre-requisite for all human movement. Decreased quadriceps muscle strength is frequently observed in older adults and is associated with a decreased performance and activity limitations. To quantify the quadriceps muscle strength and to monitor changes over time, instruments and procedures with a sufficient reliability are needed. The Q Force is an innovative mobile muscle strength measurement instrument suitable to measure in various degrees of extension. Measurements between 110 and 130° extension present the highest values and the most significant increase after training. The objective of this study is to determine the test-retest reliability of muscle strength measurements by the Q Force in older adults in 110° extension. METHODS: Forty-one healthy older adults, 13 males and 28 females were included in the study. Mean (SD) age was 81.9 (4.89) years. Isometric muscle strength of the Quadriceps muscle was assessed with the Q Force at 110° of knee extension. Participants were measured at two sessions with a three to eight day interval between sessions. To determine relative reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated. To determine absolute reliability, Bland and Altman Limits of Agreement (LOA) were calculated and t-tests were performed. RESULTS: Relative reliability of the Q Force is good to excellent as all ICC coefficients are higher than 0.75. Generally a large 95 % LOA, reflecting only moderate absolute reliability, is found as exemplified for the peak torque left leg of -18.6 N to 33.8 N and the right leg of -9.2 N to 26.4 N was between 15.7 and 23.6 Newton representing 25.2 % to 39.9 % of the size of the mean. Small systematic differences in mean were found between measurement session 1 and 2. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that the Q Force has excellent relative test-retest reliability, but limited absolute test-retest reliability. Since the Q Force is relatively cheap and mobile it is suitable for application in various clinical settings, however, its capability to detect changes in muscle force over time is limited but comparable to existing instruments