Incarcerated Child Sexual Offenders and the Reinvention of Self through Religious and Spiritual Affiliation

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Sex Differences in Arm Muscle Fatigability With Cognitive Demand in Older Adults

Background Muscle fatigability can increase when a stressful, cognitively demanding task is imposed during a low-force fatiguing contraction with the arm muscles, especially in women. Whether this occurs among older adults (\u3e 60 years) is currently unknown. Questions/purposes We aimed to determine if higher cognitive demands, stratified by sex, increased fatigability in older adults (\u3e 60 years). Secondarily, we assessed if varying cognitive demand resulted in decreased steadiness and was explained by anxiety or cortisol levels. Methods Seventeen older women (70 ± 6 years) and 13 older men (71 ± 5 years) performed a sustained, isometric, fatiguing contraction at 20% of maximal voluntary contraction until task failure during three sessions: high cognitive demand (high CD = mental subtraction by 13); low cognitive demand (low CD = mental subtraction by 1); and control (no subtraction). Results Fatigability was greater when high and low CD were performed during the fatiguing contraction for the women but not for the men. In women, time to failure with high CD was 16 ± 8 minutes and with low CD was 17 ± 4 minutes, both of which were shorter than time to failure in control contractions (21 ± 7 minutes; high CD mean difference: 5 minutes [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.78–9.89], p = 0.02; low CD mean difference: 4 minutes [95% CI, 0.57–7.31], p = 0.03). However, in men, no differences were detected in time to failure with cognitive demand (control: 13 ± 5 minutes; high CD mean difference: −0.09 minutes [95% CI, −2.8 to 2.7], p = 1.00; low CD mean difference: 0.75 minutes [95% CI, −1.1 to 2.6], p = 0.85). Steadiness decreased (force fluctuations increased) more during high CD than control. Elevated anxiety, mean arterial pressure, and salivary cortisol levels in both men and women did not explain the greater fatigability during high CD. Conclusions Older women but not men showed marked increases in fatigability when low or high CD was imposed during sustained static contractions with the elbow flexor muscles and contrasts with previous findings for the lower limb. Steadiness decreased in both sexes when high CD was imposed. Clinical Relevance Older women are susceptible to greater fatigability of the upper limb with heightened mental activity during sustained postural contractions, which are the foundation of many work-related tasks

The integrated academic information system support for education 3.0 in higher education institution: lecturer perspective

Education 3.0 has been implemented in many higher education institutions (HEIs). Education 3.0 has been directed the institution toward better educational experience. But on the other hands, the implementation of Education 3.0 also caused some problems. Previous research has found administrative problem experienced by the lecturer. This research explores deeper from the lecturer and suggested the solution from lecturer perspective, combined with information technology capabilities owned by the HEIs. The research used a case study as the method and conducted a qualitative research with a semi-structured interview. The interview analysis has found that the increase of the administrative processes is caused by online and offline administrative activities. The online activities are from e-learning and the offline activities are from traditional learning (face-to-face). The administrative processes also involved the academic information system (AIS). Simplified all of the administrative processes are more preferred. To overcome the problems, integrating the AIS and e-learning become necessary. This research suggests transforming the existing AIS into an integrated AIS and hopes the solution can simplify the administration process

Clenbuterol in the horse: Confirmation and quantitation of serum clenbuterol by LC-MS-MS after oral and intratracheal administration

Clenbuterol is a β2 agonist/antagonist bronchodilator, and its identification in post-race samples may lead to sanctions. The objective of this study was to develop a specific and highly sensitive serum quantitation method for clenbuterol that would allow effective regulatory control of this agent in horses. Therefore, clenbuterol-d9 was synthesized for use as an internal standard, an automated solid-phase extraction method was developed, and both were used in conjunction with a multiple reaction monitoring liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method to allow unequivocal identification and quantitation of clenbuterol in 2 mL of serum at concentrations as low as 10 pg/mL. Five horses were dosed with oral clenbuterol (0.8 μg/kg, BID) for 10 days, and serum was collected for 14 days thereafter. Serum clenbuterol showed mean trough concentrations of ∼150 pg/mL. After the last dose on day 10, serum clenbuterol reached a peak of ∼500 pg/mL and then declined with a half-life of ∼7 h. Serum clenbuterol declined to 30 and 10 pg/mL at 48 and 72 h after dosing, respectively. By 96 h after dosing, the concentration was below 4 pg/mL, the limit of detection for this method. Compared with previous results obtained in parallel urinary experiments, the serum-based approach was more reliable and satisfactory for regulation of the use of clenbuterol. Clenbuterol (90 μg) was also administered intratracheally to five horses. Peak serum concentrations of ∼230 pg/mL were detected 10 min after administration, dropping to ∼50 pg/mL within 30 min and declining much more slowly thereafter. These observations suggest that intratracheal administration of clenbuterol shortly before race time can be detected with this serum test. Traditionally, equine drug testing has been dependent on urine testing because of the small volume of serum samples and the low concentrations of drugs found therein. Using LC-MS-MS testing, it is now possible to unequivocally identify and quantitate low concentrations (10 pg/mL) of drugs in serum. Based on the utility of this approach, the speed with which new tests can be developed, and the confidence with which the findings can be applied in the forensic situation, this approach, offers considerable scientific and regulatory advantages over more traditional urine testing approaches

The Neurological Manifestations of Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Purpose of Review: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global health challenge. This review aims to summarize the incidence, risk factors, possible pathophysiology, and proposed management of neurological manifestations of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) or neuro-PASC based on the published literature. Recent Findings: The National Institutes of Health has noted that PASC is a multi-organ disorder ranging from mild symptoms to an incapacitating state that can last for weeks or longer following recovery from initial infection with SARS-CoV-2. Various pathophysiological mechanisms have been proposed as the culprit for the development of PASC. These include, but are not limited to, direct or indirect invasion of the virus into the brain, immune dysregulation, hormonal disturbances, elevated cytokine levels due to immune reaction leading to chronic inflammation, direct tissue damage to other organs, and persistent low-grade infection. A multidisciplinary approach for the treatment of neuro-PASC will be required to diagnose and address these symptoms. Tailored rehabilitation and novel cognitive therapy protocols are as important as pharmacological treatments to treat neuro-PASC effectively. Summary: With recognizing the growing numbers of COVID-19 patients suffering from neuro-PASC, there is an urgent need to identify affected individuals early to provide the most appropriate and efficient treatments. Awareness among the general population and health care professionals about PASC is rising, and more efforts are needed to understand and treat this new emerging challenge. In this review, we summarize the relevant scientific literature about neuro-PASC

Geographically dispersed zoonotic tuberculosis in pre-contact South American human populations

Previous ancient DNA research has shown that Mycobacterium pinnipedii, which today causestuberculosis (TB) primarily in pinnipeds, infected human populations living in the coastalareas of Peru prior to European colonization. Skeletal evidence indicates the presence of TB inseveral pre-colonial South and North American populations with minimal access to marineresources— a scenario incompatible with TB transmission directly from infected pinnipeds ortheir tissues. In this study, we investigate the causative agent of TB in ten pre-colonial, non-coastal individuals from South America. We reconstruct M. pinnipedii genomes (10- to 15-foldmean coverage) from three contemporaneous individuals from inland Peru and Colombia,demonstrating the widespread dissemination of M. pinnipedii beyond the coast, either throughhuman-to-human and/or animal-mediated routes. Overall, our study suggests that TBtransmission in the pre-colonial era Americas involved a more complex transmission pathwaythan simple pinniped-to-human transfer

A GC-MS Method for the Determination of Isoxsuprine in Biological Fluids of the Horse Utilizing Electron Impact Ionization

Isoxsuprine is used to treat navicular disease and other lower-limb problems in the horse. Isoxsuprine is regulated as a class 4 compound by the Association of Racing Commissioners, International (ARCI) and, thus, requires regulatory monitoring. A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method utilizing electron impact ionization was developed and validated for the quantitation of isoxsuprine in equine plasma or equine urine. The method utilized robotic solid-phase extraction and tri-methyl silyl ether products of derivatization. Products were bis-trimethylsilyl (TMS) isoxsuprine and tris-TMS ritodrine, which released intense quantifier ions m/z 178 for isoxsuprine and m/z 236 for ritodrine that were products of C-C cleavage. To our knowledge, this procedure is faster and more sensitive than other methods in the literature. Concentrations in urine and plasma of isoxsuprine were determined from a calibrator curve that was generated along with unknowns. Ritodrine was used as an internal standard and was, therefore, present in all samples, standards, and blanks. Validation data was also collected. The limit of detection of isoxsuprine in plasma was determined to be 2 ng/mL, the limit of quantitation of isoxsuprine in plasma was determined to be \u3c 5 ng/mL. The mean coefficient of determination for the calibrator curves for plasma was 0.9925 ± 0.0052 and for calibrator curves for urine 0.9904 ± 0.0075. The recovery efficiencies at concentrations of 50, 200, and 300 ng/mL were 76%, 73%, and 76%, respectively, in plasma and 92%, 89% and 91% in urine

Overcoming barriers to engaging socio-economically disadvantaged populations in CHD primary prevention: a qualitative study

<p><b>Background:</b> Preventative medicine has become increasingly important in efforts to reduce the burden of chronic disease in industrialised countries. However, interventions that fail to recruit socio-economically representative samples may widen existing health inequalities. This paper explores the barriers and facilitators to engaging a socio-economically disadvantaged (SED) population in primary prevention for coronary heart disease (CHD).</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> The primary prevention element of Have a Heart Paisley (HaHP) offered risk screening to all eligible individuals. The programme employed two approaches to engaging with the community: a) a social marketing campaign and b) a community development project adopting primarily face-to-face canvassing. Individuals living in areas of SED were under-recruited via the social marketing approach, but successfully recruited via face-to-face canvassing. This paper reports on focus group discussions with participants, exploring their perceptions about and experiences of both approaches.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Various reasons were identified for low uptake of risk screening amongst individuals living in areas of high SED in response to the social marketing campaign and a number of ways in which the face-to-face canvassing approach overcame these barriers were identified. These have been categorised into four main themes: (1) processes of engagement; (2) issues of understanding; (3) design of the screening service and (4) the priority accorded to screening. The most immediate barriers to recruitment were the invitation letter, which often failed to reach its target, and the general distrust of postal correspondence. In contrast, participants were positive about the face-to-face canvassing approach. Participants expressed a lack of knowledge and understanding about CHD and their risk of developing it and felt there was a lack of clarity in the information provided in the mailing in terms of the process and value of screening. In contrast, direct face-to-face contact meant that outreach workers could explain what to expect. Participants felt that the procedure for uptake of screening was demanding and inflexible, but that the drop-in sessions employed by the community development project had a major impact on recruitment and retention.</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> Socio-economically disadvantaged individuals can be hard-to-reach; engagement requires strategies tailored to the needs of the target population rather than a population-wide approach.</p&gt

Towards a consistent mechanism of emulsion polymerization—new experimental details

The application of atypical experimental methods such as conductivity measurements, optical microscopy, and nonstirred polymerizations to investigations of the ‘classical’ batch ab initio emulsion polymerization of styrene revealed astonishing facts. The most important result is the discovery of spontaneous emulsification leading to monomer droplets even in the quiescent styrene in water system. These monomer droplets with a size between a few and some hundreds of nanometers, which are formed by spontaneous emulsification as soon as styrene and water are brought into contact, have a strong influence on the particle nucleation, the particle morphology, and the swelling of the particles. Experimental results confirm that micelles of low-molecular-weight surfactants are not a major locus of particle nucleation. Brownian dynamics simulations show that the capture of matter by the particles strongly depends on the polymer volume fraction and the size of the captured species (primary free radicals, oligomers, single monomer molecules, or clusters)