Growing Stronger: Strength Training for Older Adults

In choosing to read this book, you have taken the first step on a journey toward greater strength and vitality. Growing Stronger was written for you—the older adult who wants to grow stronger, healthier, more active, and more independent. You may be inactive or only mildly active at the moment. You may know that regular exercise is important for your health and well-being and want to get started on a program of physical activity. But you may feel that you don’t have the necessary information. Perhaps you are concerned that because of your age or health problems physical activity may not be safe for you. Or perhaps you have had trouble finding or staying with a suitable program. This book gives you a safe, simple, and highly effective exercise program based on the principles of strength training. Studies at laboratories around the world have shown that strength training benefits women and men of all ages and all levels of fitness. According to Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (1996), experts agree that aerobic activities should be supplemented with strength-developing exercises at least twice per week

Estudio de la calidad del agua de bebida para aves en granjas avícolas de la región centro-oeste de la provincia de Entre Ríos. Granjas de postura comercial

En Argentina existe una población de 41.000.000 de gallinas en postura, de las cuales el 20% aproximadamente están localizadas en la Provincia de Entre Ríos, representando la segunda provincia en importancia del país en producción de huevos. El agua utilizada en las granjas es de origen subterráneo. Existe información sobre sus características por los múltiples usos a que se destina. Sin embargo, el nivel de conocimientos actual no nos sirve a la hora de tomar decisiones en particular. Por este motivo y con el fin de caracterizar el agua que se destina a bebida aviar, se realizó un relevamiento de granjas de postura en los departamentos Paraná y Diamante de la provincia de Entre Ríos, donde se encuentra la mayor concentración de aves destinadas a la producción de huevos. El mismo estuvo enmarcado en el proyecto de investigación “Estudio de la calidad del agua de bebida para aves en granjas avícolas de la región centro-oeste de la provincia de Entre Ríos”, llevado a cabo por las Cátedras de Química General y Avicultura FCA-UNER. Se analizó el agua de 29 granjas de postura, realizándose análisis físico-químico y bacteriológico, los resultados muestran pH dentro de lo recomendado, elevada dureza, altos valores de sodio y sulfatos así como importantes variaciones de los componentes aun en predios cercanos y como consecuencia la necesidad realizar correcciones de los aportes minerales a fin de lograr un balance electrolítico adecuado, para el mejor rendimiento de la explotación. &nbsp

Wariness of coyotes to camera traps relative to social status and territory boundaries

The primary objective of this study was to develop a better understanding of coyote (Canis latrans) wariness particularly as it related to social status. We determined that territory status (controlling alpha, resident beta, or nonterritorial transient) affected vulnerability to photo-capture by infrared-triggered camera systems. All coyotes were wary of cameras, leading to relatively low numbers of photo-captures, most of which occurred at night. Alphas were significantly underrepresented in photographs and were never photo-captured inside their awn territories. Betas were photographed inside and outside their territories, whereas transients were most often photographed on edges of territories. Both alphas and betas were photographed more often on territorial edges when outside their territories. We next addressed the question of how alphas were better able to avoid photo-capture. Alphas tracked human activity within their territories and presumably learned the locations of cameras as they were being set up. They did this either by approaching our location directly or by moving to a vantage point from where they could observe us. Betas and transients either withdrew or did not respond to human activity. Trials in which a dog was present were more likely to elicit an approach response from alphas. Avoidance of camera stations and the tracking of human activity implied wariness toward objects or locations resulting from their learned association with human presence rather than neophobia toward the objects themselves

Out-of-Core Build of a Topological Data Structure from Polygon Soup

Many solid modeling applications require information not only about the geometry of an object but also about its topology. Most interchange formats do not provide this information, which the application must then derive as it builds its own topological data structure from unordered, "polygon soup" input. For very large data sets, the topological data structure itself can be bigger than core memory, so that a naive algorithm for building it that doesn't take virtual memory access patterns into account can become prohibitively slow due to thrashing. In this paper, we describe a new out-of-core algorithm that can build a topological data structure efficiently from very large data sets, improving performance by two orders of magnitude over a naive approach

Geometric modeling with conical . . .

In architectural freeform design, the relation between shape and fabrication poses new challenges and requires more sophistication from the underlying geometry. The new concept of conical meshes satisfies central requirements for this application: They are quadri-lateral meshes with planar faces, and therefore particularly suitable for the design of freeform glass structures. Moreover, they possess a natural offsetting operation and provide a support structure orthogonal to the mesh. Being a discrete analogue of the network of principal curvature lines, they represent fundamental shape characteristics. We show how to optimize a quad mesh such that its faces become planar, or the mesh becomes even conical. Combining this perturbation with subdivision yields a powerful new modeling tool for all types of quad meshes with planar faces, making subdivision attractive for architecture design and providing an elegant way of modeling developable surfaces. Copyright © 2006 by the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Clinical value of combined determination of plasma L-DOPA/tyrosine ratio, S100B, MIA and LDH in melanoma

Aim of the study: L-DOPA/tyrosine ratio (an index of tyrosinase activity), melanoma antigens S100B and MIA, lactate deshydrogenase (LDH) and their combinations were evaluated for clinical value as tumour markers in melanoma. Methods: Blood samples were obtained in 170 melanoma patients (stage I-II: n = 57, III: n = 54, IV. n = 59) at inclusion and in a sub-group of 82 subjects during follow-up for up to 4 years. Laboratory analyses were performed by HPLC (L-DOPA, L-tyrosine), immunoassays (S100B, MIA) and colourimetry (LDH). Results: All markers, except LDH, were elevated in stage IV versus other stages. S100B and MIA highly correlated, especially in stage IV (r(s) : 0.849, p < 0.001). The combination of L-DOPA/tyrosine ratio with S100B displayed the highest sensitivity/specificity (73/70%) to confirm stage III-IV or stage IV alone (69/75%) (ROC optimised cut-off). only the L-DOPA/ tyrosine ratio significantly increased (+36% over 5 months, p = 0.001) during progression from stage I-III to higher stages. S100B, MIA and LDH, but not the L-DOPA/tyrosine ratio, responded to progression towards death in stage IV. All markers exhibited a prognostic value in deceased patients (n = 44); S100B and MIA were the best predictors of survival time by Cox proportional-hazards regression. Conclusion: The combination of plasma L-DOPA/tyrosine ratio and S100B appears an attractive approach for the biological follow-up of melanoma patients. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved