Zivotofsky v. Kerry: Of Passports, Politics, and Foreign Policy Powers

This commentary profiles the upcoming Supreme Court decision in Zivotofsky v. Kerry, which will decide, for the first time in United States history, the dividing line between legislative and executive authority to recognize foreign nations. Though it emanates from a seemingly-benign passport disagreement about a place-of-birth designation, this case will address an unprecedented and extremely controversial issue about separation of powers that has somehow evaded a Supreme Court decision. The Author profiles the case history and applicable legal precedent and analyzes the arguments for both sides before recommending that the Court should not find the President\u27s power in this area of foreign policy to be either supreme or exclusive

Carboxylic acids in the hindgut of rats fed highly soluble inulin and Bifidobacterium lactis (Bb-12), Lactobacillus salivarius (UCC500) or Lactobacillus rhamnosus (GG)

Background: Propionic and butyric acids are important nutrients for the mucosal cells and may therefore increase the nutritional status and reduce the permeability of the colonic mucosa. These acids have also been suggested to counteract diseases in the colon, e.g. ulcerative colitis and colon cancer. Different substrates lead to different amounts and patterns of carboxylic acids (CAs). Objective: To study the effect of probiotics on CA formation in the hindgut of rats given inulin. Design: The rats were given inulin, marketed as highly soluble by the producer, together with the probiotic bacteria Bifidobacterium lactis (Bb-12), Lactobacillus salivarius (UCC500) or Lactobacillus rhamnosus (GG), or a mixture of all three. Results: Rats fed inulin only had comparatively high proportions of propionic and butyric acids throughout the hindgut. When diets were supplemented with Bb-12 and UCC500, the caecal pool of CAs increased compared with inulin only. In the caecum the proportion of butyric acid generally decreased when the rats were fed probiotics. In the distal colon the proportion of propionic and butyric acid was lower, while that of lactic acid was generally higher. The caecal pH in rats fed GG and Bb-12 was lower than expected from the concentration of CAs. Further, rats fed GG had the lowest weight gain and highest caecal tissue weight. Conclusions: It is possible to modify the formation of CAs by combining inulin with probiotics. Different probiotics had different effects

Driftstörningar relaterade till järnvägens kontaktledningssystem – begränsa och förebygga förseningar orsakade av strömavtagare och kontaktledning

The number of reported errors on the catenary is relatively few in comparison with errors relating to the remaining parts of the railway system. This is an interesting fact, as errors linked to the catenary causes 30% of the total train delays. The substantial delay effect may be due to the many different companies participating in the railway business, and the several technical components correlating within the railway system. There are several factors affecting the error statistics. These can be among other things aging catenaries, lack of maintenance follow-up, poor communication between companies linked to the railway and varying weather conditions. In this thesis we try to determine how the various factors are interrelated and how they affect each other. The railway vehicles are constantly tied to the track. Therefore the system is vulnerable to disturbances. There are no "passing lanes" if errors occur, and delay effects will thus quickly reach extensive levels. The thesis highlights the importance of looking at the big picture to be able to identify the critical points of the system. This will in the long-term improve the reliability of the catenary system and the railway system as a whole. Critical points that require improvement, and which are covered and analysed in our thesis include: • Cooperation and communication • Follow-up work • Consideration of the existing legislation Keywords: catenary, pantograph, catenary damage, maintenance, train dela

Information Retrieval – Swedish Specialist Student Nurses` Strategies for Finding Clinical Evidence

The care that intra-operative nurses perform has to be based on scientific knowledge. It is therefore vitally important that they have access to different databases and the Internet, as well as knowledge of the search procedure to find evidence for best practice. This means that specialist nurses should be proficient in the search procedure, interpretation of data, and implementation of available knowledge

Age-Related Olfactory Decline is Associated with the BDNF Val66met Polymorphism: Evidence from a Population-Based Study

The present study investigates the effect of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) val66met polymorphism on change in olfactory function in a large scale, longitudinal population-based sample (n = 836). The subjects were tested on a 13 item force-choice odor identification test on two test occasions over a 5-year-interval. Sex, education, health-related factors, and semantic ability were controlled for in the statistical analyses. Results showed an interaction effect of age and BDNF val66met on olfactory change, such that the magnitude of olfactory decline in the older age cohort (70–90 years old at baseline) was larger for the val homozygote carriers than for the met carriers. The older met carriers did not display larger age-related decline in olfactory function compared to the younger group. The BDNF val66met polymorphism did not affect the rate of decline in the younger age cohort (45–65 years). The findings are discussed in the light of the proposed roles of BDNF in neural development and maintenance

Professionals’ perceptions about the need for pain management interventions for children with cerebral palsy in South African school settings

Pain is common in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and may have negative consequences for children's success in their studies. Research has shown that pain in childhood negatively influences individuals' participation and quality of life in later years. This study investigated how professionals in South African school settings respond to children's need for pain management in an attempt to enable the children to be active participants in school activities, despite their pain. The study was descriptive and followed a qualitative design (i.e., focus group interviews with semistructured questions and a conventional content analysis). Five government schools for children with special education needs in South Africa's Gauteng province participated. Participants/Subjects: Thirty-eight professionals who represented eight professions. Professional statements on the topic were collected from five focus group sessions conducted during one week. Qualitative content analysis of the data was performed. Similar statements were combined, coded, and sorted into main categories and subcategories. The analysis identified three main categories for pain management: environmental, treatment, and support strategies. In addition, four groups of statements emerged on how contextual factors might affect pain in children with CP and their participation in school settings. It is important to train professionals in pain management and to implement structured models for pain prevention and management to ensure that best practices are adhered to for children with CP who suffer from acute or chronic pain.http://www.journals.elsevier.com/pain-management-nursing2017-08-31hb2016Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC

How pain management for children with cerebral palsy in South African schools complies with up-to-date knowledge

BACKGROUND : Pain in children with cerebral palsy (CP) has its sources in musculoskeletal problems that can influence learning in a school setting. Best pain management is essential for these children, but school staff may not keep up to date with the latest developments and interventions. Therefore, staff’s perceptions of beneficial strategies may not comply with contemporary scientific knowledge about effective evidence-based interventions. OBJECTIVES : This study investigated how pain management intervention for children with CP in South African schools complied with international scientific knowledge about evidence-based interventions. The intention was to provide support for an update of knowledge on both individual level (i.e. professionals) and system level (i.e. decision makers). METHOD : Five focus groups were conducted with staff members at five schools for children with special educational needs in South Africa. Manifest and latent content analyses of professional statements identified interventions reported as beneficial and related them to higher and lower levels of intervention evidence as reported at the time of data collection. RESULTS : Most treatment strategies concerned motor functioning that fell within the framework of physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Access to orthopaedic expertise was limited, waiting times were long and medication for spasticity treatment was not offered. CONCLUSION : A discrepancy between published evidence and clinical practice for pain management in children with CP in South African school settings was noted. Suggestions for improved early intervention to identify children’s hips at risk through surveillance programmes; and orthopaedic management are proposed to prevent deformities and unnecessary suffering in South African children with CP.http://www.ajod.orgcs2019Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC

Eina! Ouch! Eish! Professionals’ perceptions of how children with cerebral palsy communicate about pain in South African school settings : implications for the use of AAC

Most children with severe cerebral palsy experience daily pain that affects their school performance. School professionals need to assess pain in these children, who may also have communication difficulties, in order to pay attention to the pain and support the children's continued participation in school. In this study, South African school professionals' perceptions of how they observed pain in children with cerebral palsy, how they questioned them about it and how the children communicated their pain back to them were investigated. Thirty-eight school professionals participated in five focus groups. Their statements were categorized using qualitative content analysis. From the results it became clear that professionals observed children's pain communication through their bodily expressions, behavioral changes, and verbal and non-verbal messages. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods were rarely used. The necessity of considering pain-related vocabulary in a multilingual South African context, and of advocating for the use of AAC strategies to enable children with cerebral palsy to communicate their pain was highlighted in this study.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/iaac20hb2016Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC

Olympiaskolan och humanistisk bildning som livsstilsprojekt

I tre fallrapporter från forskningsprojektet Framgångsrikt skolledarskap i olika skolkulturer presenteras resultat från omfattande empiriska undersökningar vid tre skolor. I rapporterna beskrivs och problematiseras skolornas respektive kultur: den aktuella gymnasieskolans kunskapskultur, där bildning kommit att bli ett kännetecken; den utvalda f-9-skolans karriärkultur, utsatt för ett kraftfullt förändringstryck från både elever och från den förvandling av såväl pedagogiska arbetsformer som av lärarnas arbete som nu pågår; slutligen f-6-skolan där en ursprunglig tvångskultur förvandlats till en skolkultur som betonar elevernas sociala och kulturella integration. Detta är emellertid endast bakgrunden till rapporternas egentliga fokus: undersökningen av tre välfungerande skolledares sätt att utöva skolledarskap i olika skolkulturer. Ur ett omfattande undersökningsmaterial växer tre skolledarskap fram. Här finner vi rektorn som är en kulturell insider men som förväntas utöva ett kulturförändrande ledarskap på en synnerligen traditionstyngd skola. Och visionären som har denna kulturförvandling bakom sig och som nu förväntas profilera en gymnasieskola med vikande söktal och som gör det genom att knyta an till skolans humanistiska bildningstradition. Slutligen den kommunikative skolledaren som skyr företeelsen lojalitet och som framgångsrikt lett förvandlingen av en problemtyngd skola till en folkskola mitt i den mångkulturella byn