Oral History: Joseph Macko II

Joseph Michael Macko II was born in the small town of Greensburg, Pennsylvania in 1953, where he lived for 5 years until he moved to Covina California where lived until he joined the Navy. Instead of going to college Joseph served in the Vietnam War from 1973-1975 as a Navy Seabee and in the Navy reserves from 1975-1979. Joseph after his military career took up the sport of body building and has lifted weights ever since. Joseph does not have a college degree and is now a professional electrician using his skills learned from a Navy Seabee to make a living for himself. He finally settled down and married Devra Lee Kelly (Macko) who both have three children; Joseph Michael Macko III, Joshua Lee Macko, and Alanna Marie Macko

Characterization of polypropylene–polyethylene blends by temperature rising elution and crystallization analysis fractionation

The introduction of single-site catalysts in the polyolefins industry opens new routes to design resins with improved performance through multicatalyst-multireactor processes. Physical combination of various polyolefin types in a secondary extrusion process is also a common practice to achieve new products with improved properties. The new resins have complex structures, especially in terms of composition distribution, and their characterization is not always an easy task. Techniques like temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) or crystallization analysis fractionation (CRYSTAF) are currently used to characterize the composition distribution of these resins. It has been shown that certain combinations of polyolefins may result in equivocal results if only TREF or CRYSTAF is used separately for their characterization

Treadmill exercise activates subcortical neural networks and improves walking after a stroke

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Stroke often impairs gait thereby reducing mobility and fitness and promoting chronic disability. Gait is a complex sensorimotor function controlled by integrated cortical, subcortical, and spinal networks. The mechanisms of gait recovery after stroke are not well understood. This study examines the hypothesis that progressive task-repetitive treadmill exercise (T-EX) improves fitness and gait function in subjects with chronic hemiparetic stroke by inducing adaptations in the brain (plasticity).METHODS: A randomized controlled trial determined the effects of 6-month T-EX (n=37) versus comparable duration stretching (CON, n=34) on walking, aerobic fitness and in a subset (n=15/17) on brain activation measured by functional MRI.RESULTS: T-EX significantly improved treadmill-walking velocity by 51% and cardiovascular fitness by 18% (11% and -3% for CON, respectively; P<0.05). T-EX but not CON affected brain activation during paretic, but not during nonparetic limb movement, showing 72% increased activation in posterior cerebellar lobe and 18% in midbrain (P<0.005). Exercise-mediated improvements in walking velocity correlated with increased activation in cerebellum and midbrain.CONCLUSIONS: T-EX improves walking, fitness and recruits cerebellum-midbrain circuits, likely reflecting neural network plasticity. This neural recruitment is associated with better walking. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of T-EX rehabilitation in promoting gait recovery of stroke survivors with long-term mobility impairment and provide evidence of neuroplastic mechanisms that could lead to further refinements in these paradigms to improve functional outcomes

Improving community ambulation after stroke: the AMBULATE trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It has been reported that following rehabilitation, only 7% of stroke survivors are able to walk at a level commensurate with community participation. Previous research indicates that treadmill and overground walking training can improve walking capacity in people living in the community after stroke. The main objectives of the AMBULATE trial are to determine (i) whether a 4-month treadmill walking program is more effective than a 2-month program, compared to control, in improving walking capacity, health and community participation and (ii) the "threshold" walking speed that results in sufficient walking capacity that makes walking self-sustaining.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A prospective randomised controlled trial of unsupported treadmill training with a 12 month follow-up with concealed allocation and blinded assessment will be conducted. 210 community-dwelling people after stroke who are able to walk independently but slowly will be recruited and randomly allocated to either a 4 month training group, 2 month training group or the control (no intervention) group. Intervention for the two training groups will occur 3 days per week for 30 minutes each session. Measurements of walking, health and community participation will be taken at baseline, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12 months. This study has obtained ethical approval from the relevant Human Research Ethics Committees.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>By improving stroke survivors' walking ability, it is likely also to improve their general wellbeing by promoting better health and greater community participation. Furthermore, if stroke survivors can reach a point where their walking and community participation is self-sustaining, this will reduce the burden of care on family and friends as well as the economic burden on the health system. Given the major demographic shift in developed nations involving significant growth in the aged population, this research will make an important evidence-based contribution to the promotion of healthy ageing.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>This trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, (ACTRN012607000227493)</p

Stable isotope analysis of soft tissues from mummified human remains

Mummies are faunal remains that include the preservation of soft tissues, such as skin, muscle, nails and hair as well as bone. These soft tissues are generally rich in collagen or keratin proteins and thus provide potentially suitable material for stable isotope studies. When preserved, such tissues can provide high-resolution information about the diet and migration of humans in the weeks and months before death. Hair, nails and soft tissue provide short-term (months) dietary information in contrast to bone which will represent 5–20 years of dietary history prior to death, depending on the bone analysed. Such high-resolution data can answer questions on the season of death, seasonality of food resources and the movement and relocation of people. This review begins with a summary of the most common isotope techniques (13C/12C, 15N/14N) and the tissues concerned, followed by an analysis of the key questions that have been addressed using these methods. Until relatively recently work has focused on bulk protein isotope analysis, but in the last 10 years this has been expanded to on-line compound-specific amino acid analysis and to a wider variety of isotopes (18O/16O, 2H/1H and 34S/32S) and these applications are also discussed

Assigning hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen isotope values for phytoplankton and terrestrial detritus in aquatic food web studies

Studies designed to assess the resources supporting aquatic consumers using stable isotope analysis require measurements of the potential end members (basal resources). While some basal resources are easily measured, it is often difficult to physically separate phytoplankton (one potential end member) from other components in seston. Further, terrestrial materials entering aquatic ecosystems undergo diagenetic change, potentially altering isotope composition and making it difficult to assign end member values. We tested techniques for determining the isotopic hydrogen (&delta;2H), carbon (&delta;13C), and nitrogen (&delta;15N) values of terrestrial and phytoplankton end members in seston. Long term in situ leaf decomposition experiments were performed. No appreciable change was found in the isotope values of degraded material (mean change 3.6&permil; for &delta;2H, 0.0&permil; for &delta;13C, and &minus;0.1&permil; for &delta;15N). We conclude that the isotope values of terrestrial plant material can be used to assign end members for terrestrial detritus. Using samples collected from 10 lakes with phytoplankton-dominated seston, we compared 3 published methods for estimating the &delta;13C and &delta;15N of phytoplankton. One method, which corrected bulk particulate organic matter (POM) isotope values based on a &delta;2H mixing model, accurately predicted measured phytoplankton &delta;13C. Another method, which used a C:N mixing model to correct bulk POM, also performed well. A new method, proposed here, modified seston isotope values using the difference in C:N of phytoplankton and terrestrial material in a &delta;2H mixing model and correctly predicted measured phytoplankton &delta;15N. We recommend estimating phytoplankton &delta;13C and &delta;15N by correcting bulk POM using a &delta;2H mixing model, with the C:N modification proposed here for &delta;15N

Bose-Einstein correlations of same-sign charged pions in the forward region in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Bose-Einstein correlations of same-sign charged pions, produced in protonproton collisions at a 7 TeV centre-of-mass energy, are studied using a data sample collected by the LHCb experiment. The signature for Bose-Einstein correlations is observed in the form of an enhancement of pairs of like-sign charged pions with small four-momentum difference squared. The charged-particle multiplicity dependence of the Bose-Einstein correlation parameters describing the correlation strength and the size of the emitting source is investigated, determining both the correlation radius and the chaoticity parameter. The measured correlation radius is found to increase as a function of increasing charged-particle multiplicity, while the chaoticity parameter is seen to decreas

Measurement of the inelastic pp cross-section at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV

The cross-section for inelastic proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13TeV is measured with the LHCb detector. The fiducial cross-section for inelastic interactions producing at least one prompt long-lived charged particle with momentum p &gt; 2 GeV/c in the pseudorapidity range 2 &lt; η &lt; 5 is determined to be ϭ acc = 62:2 ± 0:2 ± 2:5mb. The first uncertainty is the intrinsic systematic uncertainty of the measurement, the second is due to the uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The statistical uncertainty is negligible. Extrapolation to full phase space yields the total inelastic proton-proton cross-section ϭ inel = 75:4 ± 3:0 ± 4:5mb, where the first uncertainty is experimental and the second due to the extrapolation. An updated value of the inelastic cross-section at a centre-of-mass energy of 7TeV is also reported