Force Plates: Measuring Human Force Production Using Plate Technology

Force plate technology is versatile and very useful in the field of biomechanics for measuring human force production. Force plates are used in a variety of settings including rehabilitation, sport performance, and prosthetic training. There are varying options as far as size and material, and these are evaluated based on the type of testing for which the plate will be used. This technology is relatively low-cost and thus provides an excellent tool for numerous settings

Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Treatment of Bariatric Patients

Bariatric care focuses on the treatment and prevention of obesity as a chronic disease. It encompasses a wide range of obesity interventions from diet and exercise to weight loss surgery. Due to the continuing rise in obesity, all health care professionals will encounter bariatric patients, and thus, it is important for all health-care professionals to be aware of bariatric considerations. There are many negative implications to increased obesity that affect both physical and psychological health. This thesis will present the rise and rates of obesity in America today, along with the health risks and morbidity statistics for those who fall into this category. It will then introduce the field of bariatrics—its origins, goals, and various approaches as well as the pros and cons to each. The thesis will then investigate the various healthcare professionals involved in the field of bariatrics and the role each one plays in obesity treatment. It will conclude with a discussion of the importance of implementing a multidisciplinary approach to bariatric treatment in order to provide optimal and holistic care

Investigating Integration: The Geographies of the WUSC Student Refugee Program at the University of British Columbia

This paper examines the geographies of resettlement and integration with respect to the Student Refugee Program(SRP) of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC).As Canada’s only program to link resettlement with post-secondary education, the SRP makes manifest intriguing geographies that intersect international, national, and local scales. Th is study carried out the first qualitative research of the WUSC SRP at the University of British Columbia (UBC). It draws from good settlement practices,refugees’ existing skill sets, and refugees’ perspectives to examine how refugee students’ human capital can best contribute to Canadian integration.Cet article examine les géographies de la réinstallation et de l’intégration à l’ égard du Programme d’étudiants réfugiés (PÉR) de l’Entraide universitaire mondiale du Canada (EUMC). Seul programme au Canada liant la réinstallation et l’ éducation postsecondaire, le PÉR rend manifeste des géographies intéressantes qui croisent des échelles internationales, nationales et locales. Cette étude propose la première analyse qualitative du PÉR de l’EUMC à l’université de la Colombie-Britannique (UBC). Elle est guidée par de bonnes pratiques d’établissement, les compétences existantes des réfugiés et les perspectives de ceux-ci afin d’examiner comment le capital humain des réfugiés peut mieux contribuer à l’intégration

Citizens of Nowhere: From Refugee Camp to Canadian Campus

Book Revie

Survey of Human Mitochondrial Diseases Using New Genomic/Proteomic Tools

BACKGROUND. We have constructed Bayesian prior-based, amino-acid sequence profiles for the complete yeast mitochondrial proteome and used them to develop methods for identifying and characterizing the context of protein mutations that give rise to human mitochondrial diseases. (Bayesian priors are conditional probabilities that allow the estimation of the likelihood of an event - such as an amino-acid substitution - on the basis of prior occurrences of similar events.) Because these profiles can assemble sets of taxonomically very diverse homologs, they enable identification of the structurally and/or functionally most critical sites in the proteins on the basis of the degree of sequence conservation. These profiles can also find distant homologs with determined three-dimensional structures that aid in the interpretation of effects of missense mutations. RESULTS. This survey reports such an analysis for 15 missense mutations one insertion and three deletions involved in Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy, Leigh syndrome, mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy, Mohr-Tranebjaerg syndrome, iron-storage disorders related to Friedreich's ataxia, and hereditary spastic paraplegia. We present structural correlations for seven of the mutations. CONCLUSIONS. Of the 19 mutations analyzed, 14 involved changes in very highly conserved parts of the affected proteins. Five out of seven structural correlations provided reasonable explanations for the malfunctions. As additional genetic and structural data become available, this methodology can be extended. It has the potential for assisting in identifying new disease-related genes. Furthermore, profiles with structural homologs can generate mechanistic hypotheses concerning the underlying biochemical processes - and why they break down as a result of the mutations.United States Department of Energy (DE-FG02-98ER62558); National Science Foundation (DBI-9807993

Beyond Basic Education: Exploring Opportunities for Higher Learning in Kenyan Refugee Camps

This paper seeks to elucidate the socio-cultural and economic benefits of higher education in refugee contexts. NGO and UNHCR initiatives in Dadaab and Kakuma camps are used as a reference point for discussing the challenges, best practices, and potential of higher and adult learning in contexts of protracted exile. This small-scale, qualitative study seeks to understand what opportunities for higher education exist for those living in Kenyan refugee camps, and do existing opportunities yield “social benefits” beyond those accrued by the refugees themselves? Drawing upon interviews with practitioners, observation in schools and learning centres, and data from refugee-service providers, our findings are primarily descriptive in nature and explore the myriad ways in which opportunities for higher learning can strengthen refugee communities in countries of asylum. We contend that although Kenya’s encampment policies limit the potential economic and social benefits of refugee education on a national level, opportunities for refugees to pursue higher education are still immensely valuable in that they bolster refugee service provision in the camps and provide refugees with the skills and knowledge needed to increase the effectiveness of durable solutions at both an individual and societal level, be they repatriation, local integration, or third-country resettlement.Cet article cherche à déterminer les avantages socioculturels et économiques d’une éducation supérieure pour les réfugiés. Des initiatives d’ONG et du Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés (UNHCR) dans les camps de Dadaab et de Kakuma servent de points de référence pour une discussion des défis, des pratiques exemplaires et des possibilités d’une éducation supérieure et d’un enseignement aux adultes dans des contextes d’exil prolongé. Cette étude qualitative à petite échelle cherche à déterminer les possibilités d’offrir une éducation supérieure aux habitants des camps de réfugiés au Kenya et à établir si les occasions existantes donnent lieu à des « avantages sociaux » autres que ceux qui sont acquis par les réfugiés eux-mêmes. Fondées sur des entrevues avec des praticiens, des observations dans les écoles et les centres d’apprentis-sage ainsi que des données obtenues de fournisseurs de services aux réfugiés, nos constatations sont essentiellement descriptives et explorent les multiples façons dont les possibilités d’une éducation supérieure peuvent renforcer les communautés de réfugiés dans les pays d’asile. Nous soutenons qu’en dépit des politiques du Kenya sur le regroupement des réfugiés qui limitent les avantages économiques et sociaux potentiels de l’éducation des réfugiés à l’échelle nationale, les possibilités qu’ont les réfugiés de poursuivre des études supérieures demeurent précieuses en ce qu’elles renforcent la prestation de services dans les camps et fournissent aux réfugiés les compétences et les connaissances qui sont nécessaires à l’établissement de solutions durables plus efficaces, tant au niveau individuel que sociétal, qu’il s’agisse de rapatriement, d’intégration locale ou de réinstallation dans un tiers pays

Nurses\u27 Alumnae Association Bulletin, June 1966

President\u27s Message Officers and Committee Chairmen Financial Report Report to Alumnae Association Jefferson\u27s Development Program Report of the School of Nursing Student Activities Nursing Service Staff Association Resume of Alumnae Meetings Ways and Means Report Sick and Welfare Membership Private Duty Scholarship Building Fund Social Committee Class News Notice

Development of frataxin gene expression measures for the evaluation of experimental treatments in Friedreich\u27s ataxia.

BACKGROUND: Friedreich ataxia is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by GAA triplet repeat expansions or point mutations in the FXN gene and, ultimately, a deficiency in the levels of functional frataxin protein. Heterozygous carriers of the expansion express approximately 50% of normal frataxin levels yet manifest no clinical symptoms, suggesting that therapeutic approaches that increase frataxin may be effective even if frataxin is raised only to carrier levels. Small molecule HDAC inhibitor compounds increase frataxin mRNA and protein levels, and have beneficial effects in animal models of FRDA. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To gather data supporting the use of frataxin as a therapeutic biomarker of drug response we characterized the intra-individual stability of frataxin over time, determined the contribution of frataxin from different components of blood, compared frataxin measures in different cell compartments, and demonstrated that frataxin increases are achieved in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Frataxin mRNA and protein levels were stable with repeated sampling over four and 15 weeks. In the 15-week study, the average CV was 15.6% for protein and 18% for mRNA. Highest levels of frataxin in blood were in erythrocytes. As erythrocytes are not useful for frataxin assessment in many clinical trial situations, we confirmed that PBMCs and buccal swabs have frataxin levels equivalent to those of whole blood. In addition, a dose-dependent increase in frataxin was observed when PBMCs isolated from patient blood were treated with HDACi. Finally, higher frataxin levels predicted less severe neurological dysfunction and were associated with slower rates of neurological change. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data support the use of frataxin as a biomarker of drug effect. Frataxin levels are stable over time and as such a 1.5 to 2-fold change would be detectable over normal biological fluctuations. Additionally, our data support buccal cells or PBMCs as sources for measuring frataxin protein in therapeutic trials