Employment and Disability Policy: the role of the psychologist

Persons with minor or major disabilities represent a significant portion of the U.S. working-age population. Based on the 1993 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), approximately 30 million (19%) men and women 18 to 64 years of age report some type of physical or mental limitation. For approximately 55% of these individuals (about 10% of those 18 to 64), the limitations are severe

Dynamics of male pelvic floor muscle contraction observed with transperineal ultrasound imaging differ between voluntary and evoked coughs

Coughing provokes stress urinary incontinence, and voluntary coughs are employed clinically to assess pelvic floor dysfunction. Understanding urethral dynamics during coughing in men is limited, and it is unclear whether voluntary coughs are an appropriate surrogate for spontaneous coughs. We aimed to investigate the dynamics of urethral motion in continent men during voluntary and evoked coughs. Thirteen men (28–42 years) with no history of urological disorders volunteered to participate. Transperineal ultrasound (US) images were recorded and synchronized with measures of intraabdominal pressure (IAP), airflow, and abdominal/chest wall electromyography during voluntary coughs and coughs evoked by inhalation of nebulized capsaicin. Temporal and spatial aspects of urethral movement induced by contraction of the striated urethral sphincter (SUS), levator ani (LA), and bulbocavernosus (BC) muscles and mechanical aspects of cough generation were investigated. Results showed coughing involved complex urethral dynamics. Urethral motion implied SUS and BC shortening and LA lengthening during preparatory and expulsion phases. Evoked coughs resulted in greater IAP, greater bladder base descent (LA lengthening), and greater midurethral displacement (SUS shortening). The preparatory inspiration cough phase was shorter during evoked coughs, as was the latency between onset of midurethral displacement and expulsion. Maximum midurethral displacement coincided with maximal bladder base descent during voluntary cough, but followed it during evoked cough. The data revealed complex interaction between muscles involved in continence in men. Spatial and temporal differences in urethral dynamics and cough mechanics between cough types suggest that voluntary coughing may not adequately assess capacity of the continence mechanism

Kisspeptin Signalling in the Hypothalamic Arcuate Nucleus Regulates GnRH Pulse Generator Frequency in the Rat

Kisspeptin and its G protein-coupled receptor (GPR) 54 are essential for activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis. In the rat, the kisspeptin neurons critical for gonadotropin secretion are located in the hypothalamic arcuate (ARC) and anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) nuclei. As the ARC is known to be the site of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pulse generator we explored whether kisspeptin-GPR54 signalling in the ARC regulates GnRH pulses.We examined the effects of kisspeptin-10 or a selective kisspeptin antagonist administration intra-ARC or intra-medial preoptic area (mPOA), (which includes the AVPV), on pulsatile luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in the rat. Ovariectomized rats with subcutaneous 17β-estradiol capsules were chronically implanted with bilateral intra-ARC or intra-mPOA cannulae, or intra-cerebroventricular (icv) cannulae and intravenous catheters. Blood samples were collected every 5 min for 5–8 h for LH measurement. After 2 h of control blood sampling, kisspeptin-10 or kisspeptin antagonist was administered via pre-implanted cannulae. Intranuclear administration of kisspeptin-10 resulted in a dose-dependent increase in circulating levels of LH lasting approximately 1 h, before recovering to a normal pulsatile pattern of circulating LH. Both icv and intra-ARC administration of kisspeptin antagonist suppressed LH pulse frequency profoundly. However, intra-mPOA administration of kisspeptin antagonist did not affect pulsatile LH secretion.These data are the first to identify the arcuate nucleus as a key site for kisspeptin modulation of LH pulse frequency, supporting the notion that kisspeptin-GPR54 signalling in this region of the mediobasal hypothalamus is a critical neural component of the hypothalamic GnRH pulse generator

Towards an Economy of Higher Education

This paper draws a distinction between ways thinking and acting, and hence of policy and practice in higher education, in terms of different kinds of economy: economies of exchange and economies of excess. Crucial features of economies of exchange are outlined and their presence in prevailing conceptions of teaching and learning is illustrated. These are contrasted with other possible forms of practice, which in turn bring to light the nature of an economy of excess. In more philosophical terms, and to expand on the picture, economies of excess are elaborated with reference, first, to the understanding of alterity in the work of Emmanuel Levinas and, second, to the idea of Dionysian intensity that is to be found in Nietzsche. In the light of critical comment on some current directions in policy and practice, the implications of these ways of thinking for the administrator, the teacher and the student in higher education are explored

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Shortcuts for accelerating food system transitions

In light of ongoing global challenges of health, climate change, and food security, there is urgent need to transform our food systems. Here, we call for stakeholders to leverage collective wisdom garnered from more than two decades of sustainability transitions research into developing and implementing systemic approaches to shortcut theory to action and accelerate the transformation of global food systems

The Lid Domain of Caenorhabditis elegans Hsc70 Influences ATP Turnover, Cofactor Binding and Protein Folding Activity

Hsc70 is a conserved ATP-dependent molecular chaperone, which utilizes the energy of ATP hydrolysis to alter the folding state of its client proteins. In contrast to the Hsc70 systems of bacteria, yeast and humans, the Hsc70 system of C. elegans (CeHsc70) has not been studied to date

Antiplatelet therapy with aspirin, clopidogrel, and dipyridamole versus clopidogrel alone or aspirin and dipyridamole in patients with acute cerebral ischaemia (TARDIS): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 superiority trial

Background: Intensive antiplatelet therapy with three agents might be more effective than guideline treatment for preventing recurrent events in patients with acute cerebral ischaemia. We aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of intensive antiplatelet therapy (combined aspirin, clopidogrel, and dipyridamole) with that of guideline-based antiplatelet therapy. Methods: We did an international, prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded-endpoint trial in adult participants with ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) within 48 h of onset. Participants were assigned in a 1:1 ratio using computer randomisation to receive loading doses and then 30 days of intensive antiplatelet therapy (combined aspirin 75 mg, clopidogrel 75 mg, and dipyridamole 200 mg twice daily) or guideline-based therapy (comprising either clopidogrel alone or combined aspirin and dipyridamole). Randomisation was stratified by country and index event, and minimised with prognostic baseline factors, medication use, time to randomisation, stroke-related factors, and thrombolysis. The ordinal primary outcome was the combined incidence and severity of any recurrent stroke (ischaemic or haemorrhagic; assessed using the modified Rankin Scale) or TIA within 90 days, as assessed by central telephone follow-up with masking to treatment assignment, and analysed by intention to treat. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN47823388. Findings: 3096 participants (1556 in the intensive antiplatelet therapy group, 1540 in the guideline antiplatelet therapy group) were recruited from 106 hospitals in four countries between April 7, 2009, and March 18, 2016. The trial was stopped early on the recommendation of the data monitoring committee. The incidence and severity of recurrent stroke or TIA did not differ between intensive and guideline therapy (93 [6%] participants vs 105 [7%]; adjusted common odds ratio [cOR] 0·90, 95% CI 0·67–1·20, p=0·47). By contrast, intensive antiplatelet therapy was associated with more, and more severe, bleeding (adjusted cOR 2·54, 95% CI 2·05–3·16, p<0·0001). Interpretation: Among patients with recent cerebral ischaemia, intensive antiplatelet therapy did not reduce the incidence and severity of recurrent stroke or TIA, but did significantly increase the risk of major bleeding. Triple antiplatelet therapy should not be used in routine clinical practice

Measurement of Energy Correlators inside Jets and Determination of the Strong Coupling Formula Presented

Energy correlators that describe energy-weighted distances between two or three particles in a hadronic jet are measured using an event sample of $\sqrt{s}$=13 TeV proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb$^{−1}$. The measured distributions are consistent with the trends in the simulation that reveal two key features of the strong interaction: confinement and asymptotic freedom. By comparing the ratio of the measured three- and two-particle energy correlator distributions with theoretical calculations that resum collinear emissions at approximate next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy matched to a next-to-leading-order calculation, the strong coupling is determined at the Z boson mass: α$_S$ (m$_Z$)=0.1229 $\frac{0.0040}{-0.0050}$ , the most precise α$_S$m$_Z$ value obtained using jet substructure observable

The Long Term Response of Birds to Climate Change: New Results from a Cold Stage Avifauna in Northern England

The early MIS 3 (55–40 Kyr BP associated with Middle Palaeolithic archaeology) bird remains from Pin Hole, Creswell Crags, Derbyshire, England are analysed in the context of the new dating of the site’s stratigraphy. The analysis is restricted to the material from the early MIS 3 level of the cave because the upper fauna is now known to include Holocene material as well as that from the Late Glacial. The results of the analysis confirm the presence of the taxa, possibly unexpected for a Late Pleistocene glacial deposit including records such as Alpine swift, demoiselle crane and long-legged buzzard with southern and/or eastern distributions today. These taxa are accompanied by more expected ones such as willow ptarmigan /red grouse and rock ptarmigan living today in northern and montane areas. Finally, there are temperate taxa normally requiring trees for nesting such as wood pigeon and grey heron. Therefore, the result of the analysis is that the avifauna of early MIS 3 in England included taxa whose ranges today do not overlap making it a non-analogue community similar to the many steppe-tundra mammalian faunas of the time. The inclusion of more temperate and woodland taxa is discussed in the light that parts of northern Europe may have acted as cryptic northern refugia for some such taxa during the last glacial. These records showing former ranges of taxa are considered in the light of modern phylogeographic studies as these often assume former ranges without considering the fossil record of those taxa. In addition to the anomalous combination of taxa during MIS 3 living in Derbyshire, the individuals of a number of the taxa are different in size and shape to members of the species today probably due to the high carrying capacity of the steppe-tundra