114 research outputs found

    Duo sunt: The historical and intellectual foundations of the medieval 'two powers' principle of government

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    In the statements of the early Middle Ages, the most perennial question was how ought, regnum and Sacerdotium, the temporal power of kings and the spiritual power of priests be related. This work traces the development of an early formulation of the proper roles of ecclesiastical and temporal powers ― the Gelasian dualism. When Christianity first appeared in the Roman Empire, it was a persecuted sect and had no distinctive social or political philosophy. The maelstrom of the third century, however, stimulated the growth of Christianity, and the conversion of Constantine the Great, opened the possibility that Christianity could form a state-religion. The Church began to consolidate some form of central government, and its prelates began to emerge into a position of esteem and prominence. As a consequence, the Church faced a new danger ֊ that a Christianised state would acquire a controlling influence over the Church’s governance (caesaropapism). The dissolution of imperial power in the West, however, led to the development of a quite different religious and political tradition. The western Church sought to assert itself in matters of faith and claimed a degree of autonomy in its own affairs. The Church found its first great spokesman in St.Ambrose, bishop of Milan. The seed sown by Ambrose was borne out in the writings of his great pupil, St. Augustine of Hippo, who was hailed as an advocate of dualism. Towards the end of the fifth century, the bishops of Rome, the de facto heirs of the emperor’s power in the West, attempted a theoretical delimitation of the respectiveseparation owes a great deal to the thought of St. Augustine, but it was Pope Gelasius I who delivered this dualistic notion in its most influential formulation

    Biomechanical Determinants of the Reactive Strength Index During Drop Jumps

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    The Reactive Strength Index (RSI) is often used to quantify drop-jump (DJ) performance; however, not much is known about its biomechanical determinants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlations between the RSI and several biomechanical variables calculated from DJ performed with different initial drop heights. Twelve male NCAA Division I basketball players performed DJs from drop heights of 30, 45, and 60 cm. Force plates were used to calculate DJ performance parameters (ie, DJ height, contact time, and RSI) and DJ biomechanical variables (ie, vertical stiffness and eccentric/concentric energetics). Regression analyses were used to assess the correlations between variables at each drop height, and ANOVAs were used to assess the differences of all variables across drop heights. Follow-up analyses used 2 neural networks to determine if DJ performance and biomechanical data could accurately classify DJ trials by drop-height condition. Vertical-stiffness values were significantly correlated with RSI at each height but did not change across drop heights. Surprisingly, the RSI and other DJ parameters also did not vary across drop height, which resulted in the inability of these variables to accurately classify DJ trials. Given that vertical stiffness did not change across drop height and was highly correlated with RSI at each height, the RSI appears to reflect biomechanical behavior related to vertical stiffness during DJ. However, the inability of the RSI to accurately classify drop-height condition questions the use of RSI profiles established from DJs from different heights

    Mechanical Demands of the Hang Power Clean and Jump Shrug: A Joint-level Perspective

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    The purpose of this study was to investigate the joint- and load-dependent changes in the mechanical demands of the lower extremity joints during the hang power clean (HPC) and the jump shrug (JS). Fifteen male lacrosse players were recruited from an NCAA DI team, and completed three sets of the HPC and JS at 30%, 50%, and 70% of their HPC 1-Repetition Maximum (1-RM HPC) in a counterbalanced and randomized order. Motion analysis and force plate technology were used to calculate the positive work, propulsive phase duration, and peak concentric power at the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Separate three-way analysis of variances were used to determine the interaction and main effects of joint, load, and lift type on the three dependent variables. The results indicated that the mechanics during the HPC and JS exhibit joint-, load-, and lift-dependent behavior. When averaged across joints, the positive work during both lifts increased progressively with external load, but was greater during the JS at 30% and 50% of 1-RM HPC than during the HPC. The JS was also characterized by greater hip and knee work when averaged across loads. The joint-averaged propulsive phase duration was lower at 30% than at 50% and 70% of 1-RM HPC for both lifts. Furthermore, the load-averaged propulsive phase duration was greater for the hip than the knee and ankle joint. The jointaveraged peak concentric power was the greatest at 70% of 1-RM for the HPC and at 30% to 50% of 1-RM for the JS. In addition, the joint-averaged peak concentric power of the JS was greater than that of the HPC. Furthermore, the load-averaged peak knee and ankle concentric joint powers were greater during the execution of the JS than the HPC. However, the loadaveraged power of all joints differed only during the HPC, but was similar between the hip and knee joints for the JS. Collectively, these results indicate that compared to the HPC the JS is characterized by greater hip and knee positive joint work, and greater knee and ankle peak concentric joint power, especially if performed at 30 and 50% of 1-RM HPC. This study provides important novel information about the mechanical demands of two commonly used exercises and should be considered in the design of resistance training programs that aim to improve the explosiveness of the lower extremity joints

    The construction of intra-professional status in medicine and its role within processes of organisational change

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    The medical profession continues to sub-divide and sub-specialise into increasingly smaller units (Rosen, 1944). From cardiologists to cardiac surgeons, gynaecologists to geriatricians, orthopaedic surgeons to otologists, renal physicians to respiratory physicians, virologists to vascular surgeons, and diabetologists to dermatologists, to name but a few. It has been said that the profession is becoming increasingly composed of groups of doctors that have separate identities, boundary awareness, ideology, and governing principles. As such there is no longer a core within the profession that shares a sense of unity (Roth & Ruzek, 1986: 166). But how does this differentiation affect the identity of doctors and how does it affect the way they perceive those working in the other sub-groups of the profession? Does a cardiologist consider themselves to be higher status than a dermatologist, or are they just different in kind? Does a general practitioner or psychiatrist feel subordinate to a hospital specialist? How do doctors construct their professional status, and do doctors working within different specialties, or who work in different organisational contexts, do it in different ways? How do these constructions of status manifest themselves, and to what extent can they provide insights into the behaviour of doctors within processes of organisational change

    SUBJECT- AND JOINT-SPECIFIC STRATEGIES USED BY MALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS TO MAXIMIZE COUNTERMOVEMENT JUMP HEIGHT

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    The purpose of this project was to study the subject- and joint-specific strategies that male basketball players use to increase countermovement jump (CMJ) height. Lower extremity joint kinematics and kinetics were recorded as 11 male, NCAA Division I basketball players performed 8-10 CMJ with increasing effort. Correlations between maximal potential energy of players’ centre-of-mass (surrogate for CMJ height) and the amount of eccentric and concentric work done at the hip, knee, and ankle joint Singlesubject and group-average analyses were used to study. The group-average analysis showed that all joint work variables predicted potential energy, whereas the singlesubject analysis revealed varying levels of subject-specific correlations (i.e., joint-specific CMJ strategies) that did not necessarily reflect the group-average data

    Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and blood safety : an updated review

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    Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel human coronavirus first identified in late 2019 and subsequently declared a worldwide pandemic in March 2020. In this review, we provide an overview of the implications of SARS-CoV-2 for blood safety and sufficiency. Summary: Approximately one-third of SARS-CoV-2 infections are asymptomatic. The reported mean incubation period typically varies from 2 to 11 days, but longer periods up to 22 days have been reported. The blood phase of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be brief and low level, with RNAaemia detectable in only a small proportion of patients, typically associated with more severe disease and not demonstrated to be infectious virus. A small number of presymptomatic and asymptomatic blood phase cases have been reported. Transfusion-transmission (TT) of SARS-CoV-2 has not been reported. Therefore, the TT risk associated with SARS-CoV-2 is currently theoretical. To mitigate any potential TT risk, but more importantly to prevent respiratory transmission in donor centers, blood services can implement donor deferral policies based on travel, disease status, or potential risk of exposure and encourage staff vaccination. Key Messages: The TT risk of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be low. The biggest risk to blood services in the current COVID-19 pandemic is to maintain the sufficiency of the blood supply while minimizing respiratory transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to donors and staff while donating blood

    Pathways for nutrient loss to water with emphasis on phosphorus

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    Teagasc wishes to acknowledge the support of the Environmental Research Technological Development and Innovation (ERTDI) Programme under the Productive Sector Operational Programme which was financed by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan 2000-2006.End of project reportThe main objective of this project was to study phosphorus (P) loss from agricultural land under a range of conditions in Ireland, to quantify the main factors influencing losses and make recommendations on ways to reduce these losses. This report is a synthesis of the main conclusions and recommendations from the results of the studies. The final reports from the individual sub-projects in this project are available from the EPA (www.epa.ie).Environmental Protection Agenc

    PL - 033 A translational model of muscle protein synthetic bioactivity in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo

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    Objective The aim of this research was the development and validation of a translational model for the evaluation of exercise and nutrient stimulated muscle protein synthesis (MPS). To achieve this overall aim, three primary objectives had to be realised: (i) Development of an in vitro skeletal muscle cell bioassay to measure muscle growth and MPS; (ii) Development of an ex vivo model to evaluate the humoral effect on MPS in response to nutrient feeding and exercise; (iii) Use of a stable isotope technique to evaluate MPS in response to nutrient feeding and exercise in vivo. Methods To develop a novel in vitro skeletal muscle cell bioassay to measure muscle growth and MPS, C2C12 myoblasts were proliferated and subsequently differentiated to myotubes over 8 days in DMEM (2% HS). Changes in cell behavior and adhesion properties were monitored by measuring impedance via interdigitated microelectrodes using the xCELLigence system. MPS was measured by puromycin incorporation using the SUnSET technique, intracellular signalling measured by western blot, and myotube thickness by microscopy. To demonstrate the capability to monitor nutrient regulation of muscle growth, media was conditioned with a known potent regulator of MPS (leucine) in a dose response experiment (0.20 - 2.0 mM). To establish the ability of the bioassay to measure the humoral effect of MPS in response to feeding and exercise, media was conditioned by ex vivo human serum from fasted, rested, fed (protein and isonitrogenous non-essential amino acid (NEAA) control)  and post-exercise conditions. To evaluate MPS in response to nutrient feeding and exercise in vivo, acute MPS (5 h) was assessed by measuring stable isotope deuterium oxide (D2O) incorporation into m. vastus lateralis skeletal muscle following consumption of either a Whey Protein (WP) or an isonitrogenous NEAA control combined with resistance exercise in resistance trained males. Results In vitro experiments observed a dose-response effect with a 32 % increase in cell index and a 27 % increase in cell thickness after 2 h in the presence of 2.0 mM leucine when compared with control myotubes. Ex vivo serum following ingestion of NEAA had no effect on protein signalling or MPS whereas WP fed serum significantly increased mTOR, P70S6K and 4E-BP1 phosphorylation (p<0.01, p<0.05) compared to fasted serum. Furthermore, the effect of WP fed serum on protein signalling and MPS was significantly increased (p<0.01, p<0.05) compared to NEAA fed serum.  Ex vivo human serum following resistance exercise was also increased MPS (29 %) and phosphorylation of mTOR (6 %), p70S6K (12 %) and 4EBP1 (7 %), compared with resting serum. These ex vivo/in vitro findings translated to the in vivo model as myofibrillar fractional synthetic rates (myoFSR) (Basal 0.068±0.002%h-1 vs. WP 0.084±0.006 %h-1, p=0.033) and absolute synthetic rates (ASR) (Basal 10.34±1.01 vs. WP 13.18±0.71 g.day-1, p=0.026) were increased from basal levels only when resistance exercise was combined with WP ingestion and not the NEAA control (NEAA MPS 0.072±0.004%h-1, NEAA ASR 10.23±0.80 g.day-1).  Thus, ingestion of WP in combination with resistance training augments acute MPS responses in resistance trained young men. Conclusions We have developed a translational model of muscle protein synthetic bioactivity using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo methodologies. We have shown that we can impact MPS in vitro using ex vivo human serum to condition media, that MPS in vitro is differentially regulated by ex vivo serum containing bioactive WP compared to a non-bioactive NEAA control, and that this tranlates for resistance exercise combined with WP in humans when MyoFSR is measured using stable isotope technology.  These experiments demonstrate that ex vivo/in vitro experiments translate to the in vivo model and these methods can be used to inform both exercise and nutrient human interventions.&nbsp

    A new class of Cu/ZnO catalysts derived from zincian georgeite precursors prepared by co-precipitation

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    Zincian georgeite, an amorphous copper-zinc hydroxycarbonate, has been prepared by co-precipitation using acetate salts and ammonium carbonate. Incorporation of zinc into the georgeite phase and mild ageing conditions inhibits crystallisation into zincian malachite or aurichalcite. This zincian georgeite precursor was used to prepare a Cu/ZnO catalyst, which exhibits a superior performance to a zincian malachite derived catalyst for methanol synthesis and the low temperature water-gas shift (LTS) reaction. Furthermore, the enhanced LTS activity and stability in comparison to that of a commercial Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst, indicates that the addition of alumina as a stabiliser may not be required for the zincian georgeite derived Cu/ZnO catalyst. The enhanced performance is partly attributed to the exclusion of alkali metals from the synthesis procedure, which are known to act as catalyst poisons. The effect of residual sodium on the microstructural properties of the catalyst precursor was investigated further with preparations using sodium carbonate
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