Does the inclusion of moderate amounts of red meat in the diet of exercising older women impact on faecal markers of bowel health, including faecal lactoferrin?

Background: High intakes of red meat may be associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), however, to determine CRC risk, it is important to assess faecal changes related to protein and carbohydrate metabolism.Objective: To determine the influence of three weekly meals rich in red meat as opposed to a carbohydrate control diet on faecal markers which are involved in the aetiology of CRC.Design: Twenty post-menopausal women (aged 60-75) undertook, 3 times a week for 12 weeks, a 30 minute exercise session followed immediately by a cooked meal that was high in lean red meat, low in carbohydrate (n= 10) or low in lean red meat, high in carbohydrate (n=10). Dietary fibre intake and macronutrients were kept constant. At the beginning and end of the study, three-day faecal samples were collected and by-products of protein fermentation and carbohydrate metabolism, undigested fibre residues, and faecal output and colonic bacterial microbiota changes measured.Outcomes: No significant differences were observed in subjects on either diet when comparing faecal output, faecal pH, other faecal markers, nor faecal lactoferrin. There was a trend observed in changes in the population of colonic microbiota using FISH analysis. Bacteroides spp. and Prevotella spp. appeared to decrease in women consuming a high red meat diet compared with an increase in women consuming a high carbohydrate diet.Conclusions: In this pilot study the trend in colonic microbiota change is interesting and suggests that dietary influence of colonic microbiota, especially changes in Bacteroidetes, may be indicative of risk of gut damage and disease compared to other faecal markers.<br /

Social interactions in massively multiplayer online role-playing gamers

To date, most research into massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) has examined the demographics of play. This study explored the social interactions that occur both within and outside of MMORPGs. The sample consisted of 912 self-selected MMORPG players from 45 countries. MMORPGs were found to be highly socially interactive environments providing the opportunity to create strong friendships and emotional relationships. The study demonstrated that the social interactions in online gaming form a considerable element in the enjoyment of playing. The study showed MMORPGs can be extremely social games, with high percentages of gamers making life-long friends and partners. It was concluded that virtual gaming may allow players to express themselves in ways they may not feel comfortable doing in real life because of their appearance, gender, sexuality, and/or age. MMORPGs also offer a place where teamwork, encouragement, and fun can be experienced

Some applications of computing to number theory

This thesis describes the application of a computer to certain problems in number theory. Chapter 1 is a general description of the use of computers in this field. Chapter 2 contains the results of computations relating to certain non - congruence subgroups of the full modular group, while chapter 3 describes the use of variable precision arithmetic, mainly in connection with continued fraction expansions. The last chapter describes a small library of subroutines, the majority of which are written in Fortran. A computer - printed listing of these subroutines is given at the end of the thesis

Precision nanoscale domain engineering of lithium niobate via UV laser induced inhibition of poling

Continuous wave ultraviolet (UV) laser irradiation at lambda=244 nm on the +z face of undoped and MgO doped congruent lithium niobate single crystals has been observed to inhibit ferroelectric domain inversion. The inhibition occurs directly beneath the illuminated regions, in a depth greater than 100 nm during subsequent electric field poling of the crystal. Domain inhibition was confirmed by both differential domain etching and piezoresponse force microscopy. This effect allows the formation of arbitrarily shaped domains in lithium niobate and forms the basis of a high spatial resolution micro-structuring approach when followed by chemical etching

Billy Elliot The Musical: visual representations of working-class masculinity and the all-singing, all-dancing bo[d]y

According to Cynthia Weber, ‘[d]ance is commonly thought of as liberating, transformative, empowering, transgressive, and even as dangerous’. Yet ballet as a masculine activity still remains a suspect phenomenon. This paper will challenge this claim in relation to Billy Elliot the Musical and its critical reception. The transformation of the visual representation of the human body on stage (from an ephemeral existence to a timeless work of art) will be discussed and analysed vis-a-vis the text and sub-texts of Stephen Daldry’s direction and Peter Darling’s choreography. The dynamics of working-class masculinity will be contextualised within the framework of the family, the older female, the community, the self and the act of dancing itself