The Art of Rhetoric as Self-Discipline: Interdisciplinarity, Inner Necessity, and the Construction of a Research Agenda

I explore in this essay an ethically grounded method for structuring a program of study. Rather than attempt to delimit a discipline or to reinforce disciplinarity, I suggest a means of creatively narrowing the scope of research, namely by focusing on inner necessity and conscience. The art of rhetoric as self-discipline is an extension of inner necessity and a framework in which scholars may come to integrate the more rational and more artistic, more public and more private elements of their personalities by exploring the influence of symbols on their lives. By conceptualizing the art of rhetoric as a "self-discipline," I affirm the significance of all these elements and suggest that their harmonious blending will enhance the pleasures and utilities of discourse

Muscle Contraction Duration and Fibre Recruitment Influence Blood Flow and VO2 Independent of Contractile Work during Steady-State Exercise in Humans

We tested the hypothesis that, among conditions of matched contractile work, shorter contraction durations and greater muscle fibre recruitment result in augmented skeletal muscle blood flow and oxygen consumption (O2) during steady-state exercise in humans. To do so, we measured forearm blood flow (FBF; Doppler ultrasound) during 4 minutes of rhythmic handgrip exercise in 24 healthy young adults and calculated forearm O2 via blood samples obtained from a catheter placed in retrograde fashion into a deep vein draining the forearm muscle. In Protocol 1 (n = 11), subjects performed rhythmic isometric handgrip exercise at mild and moderate intensities under conditions in which tension time index (TTI; isometric analog of work) was held constant but contraction duration was manipulated. In this protocol, shorter contraction durations led to greater FBF (184 ± 25 vs. 164 ± 25 ml·min-1) and O2 (23 ± 3 vs. 17 ± 2 ml·min-1; both PPper se during steady-state exercise in humans

Reactive Hyperemia Occurs Via Activation of Inwardly Rectifying Potassium Channels and Na+/K+-ATPase in Humans

Rationale: Reactive hyperemia (RH) in the forearm circulation is an important marker of cardiovascular health, yet the underlying vasodilator signaling pathways are controversial and thus remain unclear. Objective: We hypothesized that RH occurs via activation of inwardly rectifying potassium (KIR) channels and Na+/K+-ATPase and is largely independent of the combined production of the endothelial autocoids nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins in young healthy humans. Methods and Results: In 24 (23±1 years) subjects, we performed RH trials by measuring forearm blood flow (FBF; venous occlusion plethysmography) after 5 minutes of arterial occlusion. In protocol 1, we studied 2 groups of 8 subjects and assessed RH in the following conditions. For group 1, we studied control (saline), KIR channel inhibition (BaCl2), combined inhibition of KIR channels and Na+/K+-ATPase (BaCl2 and ouabain, respectively), and combined inhibition of KIR channels, Na+/K+-ATPase, NO, and prostaglandins (BaCl2, ouabain, L-NMMA [NG-monomethyl-L-arginine] and ketorolac, respectively). Group 2 received ouabain rather than BaCl2 in the second trial. In protocol 2 (n=8), the following 3 RH trials were performed: control; L-NMMA plus ketorolac; and L-NMMA plus ketorolac plus BaCl2 plus ouabain. All infusions were intra-arterial (brachial). Compared with control, BaCl2 significantly reduced peak FBF (−50±6%; P2 (−61±3%) and ouabain (−44±12%) alone, and this effect was enhanced when combined (−87±4%), nearly abolishing RH. L-NMMA plus ketorolac did not impact total RH FBF before or after administration of BaCl2 plus ouabain. Conclusions: Activation of KIR channels is the primary determinant of peak RH, whereas activation of both KIR channels and Na+/K+-ATPase explains nearly all of the total (AUC) RH in humans

Impaired Peripheral Vasodilation during Graded Systemic Hypoxia in Healthy Older Adults: Role of the Sympathoadrenal System

Systemic hypoxia is a physiological and pathophysiological stress that activates the sympathoadrenal system and, in young adults, leads to peripheral vasodilation. We tested the hypothesis that peripheral vasodilation to graded systemic hypoxia is impaired in older healthy adults and that this age-associated impairment is due to attenuated β-adrenergic mediated vasodilation and elevated α-adrenergic vasoconstriction. Forearm blood flow was measured (Doppler ultrasound) and vascular conductance (FVC) was calculated in 12 young (24±1 yrs) and 10 older (63±2 yrs) adults to determine the local dilatory responses to graded hypoxia (90, 85, and 80% O2 saturations) in control conditions, following local intra-arterial blockade of β-receptors (propranolol), and combined blockade of α+β receptors (phentolamine + propranolol). Under control conditions, older adults exhibited impaired vasodilation to hypoxia compared with young at all levels of hypoxia (peak ΔFVC at 80% SpO2 = 4±6 vs. 35±8%; P\u3c0.01). During β-blockade, older adults actively constricted at 85 and 80% SpO2 (peak ΔFVC at 80% SpO2= -13±6%; P\u3c0.05 vs. control) whereas the response in the young was not significantly impacted (peak ΔFVC = 28±8%). Combined α+β blockade increased the dilatory response to hypoxia in young adults, however older adults failed to significantly vasodilate (peak ΔFVC at 80% SpO2= 12±11% vs. 58±11%; P\u3c0.05). Our findings indicate that peripheral vasodilation to graded systemic hypoxia is significantly impaired in older adults which cannot be fully explained by altered sympathoadrenal control of vascular tone. Thus, the impairment in hypoxic vasodilation is likely due to attenuated local vasodilatory and/or augmented vasoconstrictor signaling with age

Development and Piloting of a Novel Evaluation Tool for Childhood Obesity Prevention Programs

Childhood obesity remains chronic and high in the U.S., driven by factors including poor dietary habits and lack of physical activity. Interventions that address multiple causal factors may be the most appropriate strategy to address rising childhood obesity rates. The Cooperative Extension Service offers programs across the country to address causal factors of childhood obesity, but few coordinated or concerted efforts have been made to determine overlap, reduce duplication, or identify best practices in programming. To fill this gap, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Multistate Project W3005 Extension Workgroup sought to develop a novel tool to compare programs with components related to childhood obesity prevention. This manuscript details the iterative process used to develop the Childhood Obesity Prevention Program in Extension Rubric (COPPER), provides findings from the pilot process, and reveals the broad application and potential of this tool within Extension and nutrition education. The newly developed COPPER tool is multi-functional and may be beneficial in program development, implementation, adoption, and/or adaptation of programs in new settings. This tool will be useful for Extension, public health, and other community organizations focused on issues central to childhood obesity targeting children, parents, and/or caregivers

Pre-admission interventions to improve outcome after elective surgery-protocol for a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Poor physical health and fitness increases the risk of death and complications after major elective surgery. Pre-admission interventions to improve patients’ health and fitness (referred to as prehabilitation) may reduce postoperative complications, decrease the length of hospital stay and facilitate the patient’s recovery. We will conduct a systematic review of RCTs to examine the effectiveness of different types of prehabilitation interventions in improving the surgical outcomes of patients undergoing elective surgery. METHODS: This review will be conducted and reported according to the Cochrane and PRISMA reporting guidelines. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ISI Web of Science and clinical trial registers will be searched for any intervention administered before any elective surgery (including physical activity, nutritional, educational, psychological, clinical or multicomponent), which aims to improve postoperative outcomes. Reference lists of included studies will be searched, and grey literature including conference proceedings, theses, dissertations and preoperative assessment protocols will be examined. Study quality will be assessed using Cochrane’s risk of bias tool, and meta-analyses for trials that use similar interventions and report similar outcomes will be undertaken where possible. DISCUSSION: This systematic review will determine whether different types of interventions administered before elective surgery are effective in improving postoperative outcomes. It will also determine which components or combinations of components would form the most effective prehabilitation intervention. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD4201501919

Scholarship in Review 88(1)

Scholarship in Review was a magazine highlighting research and scholarly activities at Central Washington University, published by the Office of Graduate Studies and Research.https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/scholarship_in_review/1004/thumbnail.jp

Sentinel Surveillance: A Reliable Way To Track Antibiotic Resistance in Communities?

We used population-based data to evaluate how often groups of randomly selected clinical laboratories accurately estimated the prevalence of resistant pneumococci and captured trends in resistance over time. Surveillance for invasive pneumococcal disease was conducted in eight states from 1996 to 1998. Within each surveillance area, we evaluated the proportion of all groups of three, four, and five laboratories that estimated the prevalence of penicillin-nonsusceptible pneumococci (%PNSP) and the change in %PNSP over time. We assessed whether sentinel groups detected emerging fluoroquinolone resistance. Groups of five performed best. Sentinel groups accurately predicted %PNSP in five states; states where they performed poorly had high between-laboratory variation in %PNSP. Sentinel groups detected large changes in prevalence of nonsusceptibility over time but rarely detected emerging fluoroquinolone resistance. Characteristics of hospital-affiliated laboratories were not useful predictors of a laboratory’s %PNSP. Sentinel surveillance for resistant pneumococci can detect important trends over time but rarely detects newly emerging resistance profiles

Integrating isotopes and documentary evidence : dietary patterns in a late medieval and early modern mining community, Sweden

We would like to thank the Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, Sweden and the Tandem Laboratory (Ångström Laboratory), Uppsala University, Sweden, for undertaking the analyses of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes in both human and animal collagen samples. Also, thanks to Elin Ahlin Sundman for providing the δ13C and δ15N values for animal references from Västerås. This research (Bäckström’s PhD employment at Lund University, Sweden) was supported by the Berit Wallenberg Foundation (BWS 2010.0176) and Jakob and Johan Söderberg’s foundation. The ‘Sala project’ (excavations and analyses) has been funded by Riksens Clenodium, Jernkontoret, Birgit and Gad Rausing’s Foundation, SAU’s Research Foundation, the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund, Berit Wallenbergs Foundation, Åke Wibergs Foundation, Lars Hiertas Memory, Helge Ax:son Johnson’s Foundation and The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.Peer reviewedPublisher PD