Righting tibial retroversion : a functional and ontogenetic analysis

Tibial retroversion, or the posterior angulation of the tibial plateau relative to the diaphysis, has been tentatively linked to several behaviors in anthropological literature. While a large body of work, dating as far back as the late 1800's, has linked this morphology to squatting postures, this association is primarily from comparative studies of human groups as opposed to more controlled studies in populations knowns to squat. Other scholars have suggested that retroversion is related to overall robusticity or more explicitly, extensor muscle moment arm development. This research attempts to clarify the underlying etiology of tibial retroversion by analyzing it in an explicitly ontogenetic and functional perspective. First, this analysis explored age and population-level variation in tibial retroversion. Second, the relationship between tibial retroversion and long bone strength via cross-sectional geometric properties was evaluated. This study used a large cross-sectional sample of immature modern human remains from seven historical and archaeological osteology collections that vary in origin and activity patterns. Results of this analysis indicate that there is no relationship between tibial retroversion and age after the first six months of life, while populations and subsistence strategies differ in their magnitude of retroversion. In addition, there is no relationship between tibial retroversion and size-standardized cross-sectional geometric properties, implying that variation in this feature is not purely a function of loading and activity levels. The lack of association with age and robusticity suggests that additional research is needed to shed light on whether this morphology is associated with squatting or other functional correlates.Includes bibliographical references

Food processing and allergenicity

Food processing can have many beneficial effects. However, processing may also alter the allergenic properties of food proteins. A wide variety of processing methods is available and their use depends largely on the food to be processed. In this review the impact of processing (heat and non-heat treatment) on the allergenic potential of proteins, and on the antigenic (IgG-binding) and allergenic (IgE-binding) properties of proteins has been considered. A variety of allergenic foods (peanuts, tree nuts, cows’ milk, hens’ eggs, soy, wheat and mustard) have been reviewed. The overall conclusion drawn is that processing does not completely abolish the allergenic potential of allergens. Currently, only fermentation and hydrolysis may have potential to reduce allergenicity to such an extent that symptoms will not be elicited, while other methods might be promising but need more data. Literature on the effect of processing on allergenic potential and the ability to induce sensitisation is scarce. This is an important issue since processing may impact on the ability of proteins to cause the acquisition of allergic sensitisation, and the subject should be a focus of future research. Also, there remains a need to develop robust and integrated methods for the risk assessment of food allergenicity

Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza outbreak in Australia : impact on emergency departments

Executive summary\ud Objective:\ud The aims of this study were to identify the impact of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza on Australian Emergency Departments (EDs) and their staff, and to inform planning, preparedness, and response management arrangements for future pandemics, as well as managing infectious patients presenting to EDs in everyday practice.\ud Methods\ud This study involved three elements:\ud 1. The first element of the study was an examination of published material including published statistics. Standard literature research methods were used to identify relevant published articles. In addition, data about ED demand was obtained from Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) publications, with several state health departments providing more detailed data.\ud 2. The second element of the study was a survey of Directors of Emergency Medicine identified with the assistance of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM). This survey retrieved data about demand for ED services and elicited qualitative comments on the impact of the pandemic on ED management.\ud 3. The third element of the study was a survey of ED staff. A questionnaire was emailed to members of three professional colleges—the ACEM; the Australian College of Emergency Nursing (ACEN); and the College of Emergency Nursing Australasia (CENA). The overall response rate for the survey was 18.4%, with 618 usable responses from 3355 distributed questionnaires. Topics covered by the survey included ED conditions during the (H1N1) 2009 influenza pandemic; information received about Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza; pandemic plans; the impact of the pandemic on ED staff with respect to stress; illness prevention measures; support received from others in work role; staff and others’ illness during the pandemic; other factors causing ED staff to miss work during the pandemic; and vaccination against Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed.\ud Results:\ud The results obtained from Directors of Emergency Medicine quantifying the impact of the pandemic were too limited for interpretation. Data sourced from health departments and published sources demonstrated an increase in influenza-like illness (ILI) presentations of between one and a half and three times the normal level of presentations of ILIs. Directors of Emergency Medicine reported a reasonable level of preparation for the pandemic, with most reporting the use of pandemic plans that translated into relatively effective operational infection control responses. Directors reported a highly significant impact on EDs and their staff from the pandemic. Growth in demand and related ED congestion were highly significant factors causing distress within the departments. Most (64%) respondents established a ‘flu clinic’ either as part of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza Outbreak in Australia: Impact on Emergency Departments.\ud the ED operations or external to it. They did not note a significantly higher rate of sick leave than usual.\ud Responses relating to the impact on staff were proportional to the size of the colleges. Most respondents felt strongly that Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza had a significant impact on demand in their ED, with most patients having low levels of clinical urgency. Most respondents felt that the pandemic had a negative impact on the care of other patients, and 94% revealed some increase in stress due to lack of space for patients, increased demand, and filling staff deficits. Levels of concern about themselves or their family members contracting the illness were less significant than expected. Nurses displayed significantly higher levels of stress overall, particularly in relation to skill-mix requirements, lack of supplies and equipment, and patient and patients’ family aggression. More than one-third of respondents became ill with an ILI. Whilst respondents themselves reported taking low levels of sick leave, respondents cited difficulties with replacing absent staff. Ranked from highest to lowest, respondents gained useful support from ED colleagues, ED administration, their hospital occupational health department, hospital administration, professional colleges, state health department, and their unions. Respondents were generally positive about the information they received overall; however, the volume of information was considered excessive and sometimes inconsistent. The media was criticised as scaremongering and sensationalist and as being the cause of many unnecessary presentations to EDs. Of concern to the investigators was that a large proportion (43%) of respondents did not know whether a pandemic plan existed for their department or hospital. A small number of staff reported being redeployed from their usual workplace for personal risk factors or operational reasons. As at the time of survey (29 October –18 December 2009), 26% of ED staff reported being vaccinated against Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza. Of those not vaccinated, half indicated they would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ not get vaccinated, with the main reasons being the vaccine was ‘rushed into production’, ‘not properly tested’, ‘came out too late’, or not needed due to prior infection or exposure, or due to the mildness of the disease.\ud Conclusion:\ud Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Influenza had a significant impact on Australian Emergency Departments. The pandemic exposed problems in existing plans, particularly a lack of guidelines, general information overload, and confusion due to the lack of a single authoritative information source. Of concern was the high proportion of respondents who did not know if their hospital or department had a pandemic plan. Nationally, the pandemic communication strategy needs a detailed review, with more engagement with media networks to encourage responsible and consistent reporting. Also of concern was the low level of immunisation, and the low level of intention to accept vaccination. This is a problem seen in many previous studies relating to seasonal influenza and health care workers. The design of EDs needs to be addressed to better manage infectious patients. Significant workforce issues were confronted in this pandemic, including maintaining appropriate staffing levels; staff exposure to illness; access to, and appropriate use of, personal protective equipment (PPE); and the difficulties associated with working in PPE for prolonged periods. An administrative issue of note was the reporting requirement, which created considerable additional stress for staff within EDs. Peer and local support strategies helped ensure staff felt their needs were provided for, creating resilience, dependability, and stability in the ED workforce. Policies regarding the establishment of flu clinics need to be reviewed. The ability to create surge capacity within EDs by considering staffing, equipment, physical space, and stores is of primary importance for future pandemics

WHO/IUIS Allergen Nomenclature: Providing a common language

A systematic nomenclature for allergens originated in the early 1980s, when few protein allergens had been described. A group of scientists led by Dr. David G. Marsh developed a nomenclature based on the Linnaean taxonomy, and further established the World Health Organization/International Union of Immunological Societies (WHO/IUIS) Allergen Nomenclature Sub-Committee in 1986. Its stated aim was to standardize the names given to the antigens (allergens) that caused IgE-mediated allergies in humans. The Sub-Committee first published a revised list of allergen names in 1986, which continued to grow with rare publications until 1994. Between 1994 and 2007 the database was a text table online, then converted to a more readily updated website. The allergen list became the Allergen Nomenclature database (www.allergen.org), which currently includes approximately 880 proteins from a wide variety of sources. The Sub-Committee includes experts on clinical and molecular allergology. They review submissions of allergen candidates, using evidence-based criteria developed by the Sub-Committee. The review process assesses the biochemical analysis and the proof of allergenicity submitted, and aims to assign allergen names prior to publication. The Sub-Committee maintains and revises the database, and addresses continuous challenges as new “omics” technologies provide increasing data about potential new allergens. Most journals publishing information on new allergens require an official allergen name, which involves submission of confidential data to the WHO/IUIS Allergen Nomenclature Sub-Committee, sufficient to demonstrate binding of IgE from allergic subjects to the purified protein

Peptidomics characterization of allergenic and non-allergenic tropomyosin orthologs

Background The cleavage and the digestion patterns of allergenic proteins play a key role in allergenicity. The transformation of food proteins starts with their denaturation by the acidic environment of the stomach. However, protein denaturation is not enough to completely remove allergenic properties of a protein, but it is necessary a complete enzymatic digestion. Whether the enzymatic digestion is not efficient, the persistence of bigger peptides can occur and put the basis for the development of the sensitization process.The hypothesis of the current work takes into consideration the probability that shrimp tropomyosin (TM) is not fully digested or presents a digestion pattern that generates some peptides that can be immunogenic.Therefore, the work plan designed, aims to study the cleavage pattern of: purified chicken TM, recombinant chicken TM, purified TM of Penaeus monodon (Pen m 1), recombinant TM of Penaeus monodon (rPen m 1) and recombinant TM of Crangon crangon (rCrac c 1). Methods One mg of each ortholog has been processed through simulated mouth, gastric and intestinal digestion. The sample was frozen to block the digestion and, after this step, concentrated and cleaned through protein precipitation. The protein pellet was processed for peptidomic analysis through 1D Tricine gel electrophoresis, 2D Tricine gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Results Simulated gastric digestion pattern of shrimp TM highlighted the presence of a resistant band at an average MW of 25 kDa that could be involved in the immunogenic process. Conclusions This innovative approach (peptidomics study through 1D-2D Tricine/MS) could represent a milestone for the study of digestion patterns of allergenic proteins or for the study of allergenic potential of novel foods

The history of this house

Thesis (M.F.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2007'The History of this House' is a collection of personal essays focusing on one woman's attempt to explain her profound need to preserve and understand cultural and family history. The collection explores this theme as the narrator excavates a Native American burial mound and postulates that her chosen profession makes symbolic headstones in an endeavor to celebrate and immortalize the past. Her need to identify with the past is also apparent in other essays as she assists with an autopsy, investigates her sexuality through religion, searches for her biological mother, and comes to terms with her position as a female athlete in a family of male baseball players. She realizes at a family auction that though her family tries to keep the past alive by buying and selling tangible goods; she can never live in the past, but can only preserve and learn from it.Gravestones -- In the flesh -- Bride of the Brides of Christ -- If you don't know God, you don't know Jack -- Getting the bellybutton or the five times I've met my mother -- Swing and a miss -- The history of this house