Factors Predisposing to Urolithiasis in Feedlot Cattle

The formation of stony precipitates anywhere in the urinary passages is called urolithiasis. The stone is called a urolith or urinary calculus. Urolithiasis is an important disease of castrated male ruminants because of the common occurrence of urethral obstruction

A Case Study Of Muscle Activity In Giant Slalom Skiing

Speed of movement respresents the ability essential for successful performance of a sportsman in many branches of sport. This is especially important in ski-jumping where the skier must develop optimum vertical velocity corresponding to the correct ski-jumping technique in extremely complex and demanding inertial environment. The objective of this investigation was to establish the size of the attained vertical velocity measured both in the field and laboratory conditions; its stability and relation to the jump length. The results of the investigation will be, above all, useful to experts in developing the take-off techniqueElectromyography (EMG) and video data from a single female US. Ski Team member were acquired during giant slalom (GS) skiing at Beaver Creek, Colorado. The purpose of the testing was to examine muscle activity relative to the skiing motion. Muscles on the right side of the body, consisting of the lower leg (anterior tibialis (AT) and lateral gastrocnemius (LG», thigh (vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), semitendinosus (ST), gracilis (Gr), and gluteus maximus (GM», and trunk (rectus abdominis . (RA), external oblique (EO), and erector spinae (ES» were monitored. Maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) were performed pre- and post-skiing to provide a relative reference for the amplitude of muscle activity (%MVC). EMG during skiing was monitored via a four channel telemetry unit. The eleven muscles were partitioned into three sets. Three skiing trials of a seven gate GS course were completed for each set. Peak amplitude (uv) and time measures (ms) were digitized and averaged across trials for each gate. In six of the eleven muscles, the peak activity occurred when the right leg was the outside leg in a turn (turns 1, 3, 5, 7). The exception to this pattern was for the ES muscles of the lower back. %MVC ranged from 27% (EO at gate 4) to 206% (Gr at gate 5). The coeffcients of variation (CV) ranged from 2.3 (VM at gate 4) to 130% (EO at gate 4), indicating a large amount of variation in arnplitude for several muscle groups. The mean duration of muscle activity across all three muscle sets was consistent, ranging from 1.08 to 1.56 s. Roughly two-thirds of the CV's were less than 14%, indicating that the timing was more consistent than the peak EMG. This case study of EMG activity in GS skiing revealed substantial muscle activity at large percentages of MVC with considerable variation. A large amount of cocontraction between opposing muscles and relatively long duration of muscle activity suggest a quasi static nature of muscle activity during a GS turn. These findings have implications for dryland training of GS skiers. of ski jumpers, and in building a model of performance in ski jumping

Surveillance of fetal lung lesions using the congenital pulmonary airway malformation volume ratio: natural history and outcomes

ObjectivesThe congenital pulmonary airway malformation volume ratio (CVR) is a widely used sonographic measure of relative mass size in fetuses with lung malformations. The purposes of this study were to examine serial CVR measurements to understand longitudinal growth patterns and to determine correlation with postnatal imaging.MethodsAn institutional review boardâ approved retrospective review was performed on fetuses referred for an echogenic lung malformation between 2002 and 2014. For each fetus, the CVR was prospectively calculated using 2D ultrasound and followed with advancing gestation.ResultsBased on 40 fetuses, the mean initial CVR was 0.51â ±â 0.07 at 20.5â ±â 0.3â weeks of gestation. The CVR increased after 24â weeks of gestation (pâ =â 0.0014), peaking at a CVR of 0.96â ±â 0.11 at 25.5â ±â 0.05â weeks, followed by a significant decrease in the CVR to 0.43â ±â 0.07 prior to term (pâ <â 0.0001). However, approximately one third showed no appreciable increase in size. The mean CVR was significantly correlated with postnatal chest computed tomography (CT) size dimensions (pâ =â 0.0032) and likelihood for lung resection (pâ =â 0.0055).ConclusionsFetal lung malformations tend to follow one of two distinct growth patterns, characterized by either (1) a maximal CVR between 25 and 26â weeks of gestation or (2) minimal change in relative growth. The mean CVR correlates with postnatal CT size and operative management. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.What’s already known about the topic?The congenital pulmonary airway malformation volume ratio (CVR) is a common prenatal ultrasound measure of relative mass size in fetuses with lung malformations.The initial CVR and maximum CVR have been shown to be predictive of hydrops and neonatal respiratory compromise, respectively.What does this study add?Gestational age is important when interpreting CVR measurements because two thirds of lesions increase in size at 25â 26â weeks before spontaneous involution occurs.The mean CVR correlates with size measured by postnatal computed tomography scan.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136421/1/pd4761_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136421/2/pd4761.pd

Introduction: diverging or converging dynamics? EU and US policies in North Africa - an introduction

According to a number of scholars of international relations, the transatlantic relationship is going through a very significant and possibly irreversible crisis. It is claimed that the different reactions of the United States and the European Union to both September 11th and the war in Iraq were the catalyst for a rift that had been deepening for some time, leading to competition between the two actors. The literature on the foreign policy of the US and the EU in the Middle East and North Africa also points to this rift in order to explain the seemingly contradictory policies that the two actors implement in the region, with the US being more forceful in its attempts to export democracy and in supporting Israel while the EU adopts a less confrontational attitude and is perceived to be more friendly to the Palestinians. This article, which introduces a special issue on the nature of US and EU foreign policies in North Africa, argues on the contrary that the transatlantic rift does not really exist. While there are certainly differences in discourse and policies, both the EU and the US share the same concerns and have similar strategic objectives in the region, leading the two actors towards cooperation and division of labour rather than confrontation

The influence of organizational social responsibility on involvement behavior in community sport membership associations

Membership‐based associations are critical to their local communities and the overall social impact of the nonprofit sector. This study examines how organizational social responsibility within nonprofit membership associations influences positive member involvement behaviors, including volunteering, speaking positively about the club, and member loyalty. Self‐administered online questionnaires were completed by 735 members within seven grassroots membership associations in Ontario, Canada offering community‐based sport programs. Results show that members are somewhat aware of and felt positively about their organization’s socially responsible efforts. Awareness of these efforts had a positive direct effect on the involvement behaviors of members, including intention to stay involved with their club and speaking positively about their club to others (i.e., word of mouth). Members’ level of social consciousness was found to have a positive direct effect on word of mouth. Furthermore, members’ positive evaluation of sport clubs’ socially responsible initiatives was found to partially mediate the positive relationship between social consciousness and involvement behavior, as well as partially mediate the positive relationship between awareness of those efforts and involvement behavior. Results of this research provide grassroots membership associations with an in‐depth understanding of how their organization’s efforts toward social responsibility influence member perceptions and behaviors, which may help them focus their efforts and more effectively manage their social change agenda moving forward.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155505/1/nml21406_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155505/2/nml21406.pd

Inflatable Re-Entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) Design Overview

Inflatable aeroshells offer several advantages over traditional rigid aeroshells for atmospheric entry. Inflatables offer increased payload volume fraction of the launch vehicle shroud and the possibility to deliver more payload mass to the surface for equivalent trajectory constraints. An inflatable s diameter is not constrained by the launch vehicle shroud. The resultant larger drag area can provide deceleration equivalent to a rigid system at higher atmospheric altitudes, thus offering access to higher landing sites. When stowed for launch and cruise, inflatable aeroshells allow access to the payload after the vehicle is integrated for launch and offer direct access to vehicle structure for structural attachment with the launch vehicle. They also offer an opportunity to eliminate system duplication between the cruise stage and entry vehicle. There are however several potential technical challenges for inflatable aeroshells. First and foremost is the fact that they are flexible structures. That flexibility could lead to unpredictable drag performance or an aerostructural dynamic instability. In addition, durability of large inflatable structures may limit their application. They are susceptible to puncture, a potentially catastrophic insult, from many possible sources. Finally, aerothermal heating during planetary entry poses a significant challenge to a thin membrane. NASA Langley Research Center and NASA's Wallops Flight Facility are jointly developing inflatable aeroshell technology for use on future NASA missions. The technology will be demonstrated in the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE). This paper will detail the development of the initial IRVE inflatable system to be launched on a Terrier/Orion sounding rocket in the fourth quarter of CY2005. The experiment will demonstrate achievable packaging efficiency of the inflatable aeroshell for launch, inflation, leak performance of the inflatable system throughout the flight regime, structural integrity when exposed to a relevant dynamic pressure and aerodynamic stability of the inflatable system. Structural integrity and structural response of the inflatable will be verified with photogrammetric measurements of the back side of the aeroshell in flight. Aerodynamic stability as well as drag performance will be verified with on board inertial measurements and radar tracking from multiple ground radar stations. The experiment will yield valuable information about zero-g vacuum deployment dynamics of the flexible inflatable structure with both inertial and photographic measurements. In addition to demonstrating inflatable technology, IRVE will validate structural, aerothermal, and trajectory modeling techniques for the inflatable. Structural response determined from photogrammetrics will validate structural models, skin temperature measurements and additional in-depth temperature measurements will validate material thermal performance models, and on board inertial measurements along with radar tracking from multiple ground radar stations will validate trajectory simulation models

The effects of changes in the order of verbal labels and numerical values on children's scores on attitude and rating scales

Research with adults has shown that variations in verbal labels and numerical scale values on rating scales can affect the responses given. However, few studies have been conducted with children. The study aimed to examine potential differences in children’s responses to Likert-type rating scales according to their anchor points and scale direction, and to see whether or not such differences were stable over time. 130 British children, aged 9 to 11, completed six sets of Likert-type rating scales, presented in four different ways varying the position of positive labels and numerical values. The results showed, both initially and 8-12 weeks later, that presenting a positive label or a high score on the left of a scale led to significantly higher mean scores than did the other variations. These findings indicate that different arrangements of rating scales can produce different results which has clear implications for the administration of scales with children

Investigating knowledge management factors affecting Chinese ICT firms performance: An integrated KM framework

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in the Journal of Information Systems Management, 28(1), 19 - 29, 2011, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/10580530.2011.536107.This article sets out to investigate the critical factors of Knowledge Management (KM) which are considered to have an impact on the performance of Chinese information and communication technology (ICT) firms. This study confirms that the cultural environment of an enterprise is central to its success in the context of China. It shows that a collaborated, trusted, and learning environment within ICT firms will have a positive impact on their KM performance

Application of discrete ordinates and Monte Carlo methods to transport of photons from environmental sources

Federal Guidance Report No. 12 tabulates dose coefficients for external exposure to photons and electrons emitted by radionuclides distributed in air, water, and soil. Although the dose coefficients of this report are based on previously developed dosimetric methodologies, they are derived from new, detailed calculations of energy and angular distributions of the radiations incident on the body and the transport of these radiations within the body. Effort was devoted to expanding the information available for assessment of radiation dose from radionuclides distributed on or below the surface of the ground. A companion paper (External Exposure to Radionuclides in Air, Water, and Soil) discusses the significance of the new tabulations of coefficients and provides detiled comparisons to previously published values. This paper discusses details of the photon transport calculations

Prevalence of child-directed and general audience marketing strategies on the front of beverage packaging : the case of Chile

Chile leads the world in sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) sales. Front-of-package (FOP) marketing strategies of beverages were catalogued to examine their prevalence, prior to regulation of child-directed marketing aimed at reducing obesity-related disease among Chile’s youth. FOP marketing on beverages varied according to the nutritional quality of the product, with heavier use of health-oriented and child-directed strategies in less healthy products. Marketing activities warrant continued observation to evaluate how industry responds to new marketing restrictions