INFLUENCE OF FOOTWEAR ON FOOT SENSITIVITY: A COMPARISON BETWEEN BAREFOOT AND SHOD SPORTS

The purpose of this study was to compare the vibration thresholds of the sensor of the plantar foot between athletes that practice sport with shoes and athletes that practice sport without shoes. Fourty female subjects were divided in two groups: Shod group (SG) with 20 volleyball players and barefoot group (BG) with 20 gymnasts. Vibration thresholds were measured by the use of a vibration exciter at five points of the foot sole: Heel; Midfoot; Metatarsal Head I; Metatarsal Head V and Hallux. The amplitude of the vibration stimulus was raised until it could be perceived by the subjects, which responded with a verbal sign. The amplitude read at the verbal sign was taken as the vibration threshold. The results show significantly lower vibration threshold values for the BG (p< 0.001) when calculating the mean values of the five foot points. The vibration thresholds measured at each of the five selected foot points were lower for the BG in comparison with the SG. However those differences were not statistically significant. The results indicate that the higher vibration sensitivity at the plantar foot for the BG may be explained by the sport practice without footwear as well as by the technical demands of the sport

Lokale Vernetzung in der Sozialpolitik: Eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit netzwerkbildenden Programmen im Übergang Schule-Beruf

Zusammenfassung Strategien lokaler Vernetzung antworten in verschiedenen sozialpolitischen Feldern auf die Fragmentierung der Gesellschaft und ihre Exklusionstendenzen wie auch auf die Fragmentierung des Sozialstaates. Der Übergang zwischen Schule und Beruf ist ideales Muster dieser doppelten Problemstellung. Dem Übergangssystem, so lautet eine nicht mehr ganz neue Problembeschreibung, geht jede Systematik ab. Stattdessen kennzeichnet es sich durch ein Nebeneinander von Akteuren, Förderprogrammen und Rechtskreisen. Vor diesem Hintergrund analysiert der vorliegende Beitrag exemplarisch netzwerkbildende Bundes- und Landesprogramme (in NRW) im Übergang Schule-Beruf, die zwischen 2006 und 2016 aufgelegt und implementiert wurden. Die Analyse zeigt, dass die verschiedenen netzwerkbildenden Programme unterschiedlichen Logiken folgen, die neuerlich Doppelstrukturen und überlappende Wirkungskreise erzeugen können. Abstract: Local Networking in Various Social Policy Areas: A Critical Approach to Network-Building Programs in Transitions between School and Work Strategies of local networking respond in various social policy areas to the fragmentation of society and its exclusionary tendencies, as well as to the welfare state’s fragmentation. Young people’s transition between school and work is an ideal template for this kind of problematization. The vocational training system is described as not being systematic at all. Instead, it is characterized by a juxtaposition of players, political programs and differing legal spheres. Against this background this article examines network building programs implemented by the federal government and by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which were initiated and implemented between 2006 and 2016. The analysis shows that the various network-building programs follow different logics, which can again generate double structures and overlapping spheres of influence

Contested Welfare: Migrant Organizations in Search of Their Role in the German Welfare State

This article examines the role of migrant organizations (MOs) in the welfare state and reflects on the transformation and negotiation processes in the organization of social protection in a society that is increasingly characterized by various forms of cross-border mobility. The article first describes various transformation trends in German social policy by highlighting the activation policy and marketization of social services. This transformation concerns not only the formal (material) forms of social protection and the relationship between migration and social policy, but also the organization of social protection within the German welfare state. By analysing qualitative interviews with representatives of migrant organizations and welfare associations, we then show which roles are ascribed to MOs by other welfare actors in the context of social protection and how the MOs position themselves. We argue that these role ascriptions are part of a negotiation process that goes along with the transformation of the German welfare state. MOs are increasingly addressed in the context of integration policy, while at the same time they are becoming more professional and are claiming a stronger role in formal security services. The discussion of the changing role of MOs in the future organization of the welfare state also sheds light on the question of the successful adaptation of social services to the needs of migrants in general

Role of the precursor chemistry on the phase composition and electrochemical performance of thin-film LiMn2O4 Li-ion battery cathodes prepared by spray pyrolysis

LiMn2O4-films were prepared by air-blast spray pyrolysis directly onto stainless steel foil substrate. The films were synthesized from various precursor solutions of dissolved nitrates and acetates with and without the addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG). Hereby X-ray diffraction experiments revealed that the phase compositions of the as-prepared and thermally post-treated films were highly dependent on the precursors used, but independent of the addition of PEG. Samples prepared from nitrates yielded phase mixtures of α-Mn2O3, Mn3O4 and LiNO3 as-prepared and LiMn2O4 and α-Mn2O3 after post-thermal treatment. Whereas films sprayed from acetate precursors consisted of LiMn2O4 predominantly before and after heat treatment, as well. Scanning electron microscopy investigations showed that the applied precursor had an effect on the film morphology and the addition of PEG led to film thinning. Galvanostatic cycling tests and post-mortem analyses of the electrochemical cell s fabricated from the thermally treated thin layers revealed that the film prepared from acetates and PEG had the highest capacity retention despite the formation of orthorhombic LiMnO2 besides the cubic LiMn2O4 during battery cycling

Radioembolization versus portal vein embolization for contralateral liver lobe hypertrophy: effect of cirrhosis

Purpose!#!Preoperative hypertrophy induction of future liver remnant (FLR) reduces the risk of postoperative liver insufficiency after partial hepatectomy. One of the most commonly used methods to induce hypertrophy of FLR is portal vein embolization (PVE). Recent studies have shown that transarterial radioembolization (TARE) also induces hypertrophy of the contralateral liver lobe. The aim of our study was to evaluate contralateral hypertrophy after TARE versus after PVE taking into account the effect of cirrhosis.!##!Methods!#!Forty-nine patients undergoing PVE before hemihepatectomy and 24 patients with TARE as palliative treatment for liver malignancy were retrospectively included. Semi-automated volumetry of the FLR/contralateral liver lobe before and after intervention (20 to 65 days) was performed on CT or MRI, and the relative increase in volume was calculated. Cirrhosis was evaluated independently by two radiologists on CT/MRI, and interrater reliability was calculated.!##!Results!#!Hypertrophy after PVE was significantly more pronounced than after TARE (25.3% vs. 7.4%; p &amp;lt; 0.001). In the subgroup of patients without cirrhosis, the difference was also statistically significant (25.9% vs. 8.6%; p = 0.002), whereas in patients with cirrhosis, the difference was not statistically significant (18.2% vs. 7.4%; p = 0.212). After PVE, hypertrophy in patients without cirrhosis was more pronounced than in patients with cirrhosis (25.9% vs. 18.2%; p = 0.203), while after TARE, hypertrophy was comparable in patients with and without cirrhosis (7.4% vs. 8.6%; p = 0.928).!##!Conclusion!#!TARE induces less pronounced hypertrophy of the FLR compared to PVE. Cirrhosis seems to be less of a limiting factor for hypertrophy after TARE, compared to PVE