WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MUSEUM TRAINING INSTITUTE PROVIDING IN SERVICE TRAINING FOR MUSEUM PERSONNEL

The South Eastern Museums Service is one of ten Area Museums Councils in Great Britain. They are partnerships; membership organizations to which the 2 000 + museums belong. They provide advice, support, technical services, information and training for their members. They are the principal channel of government grant-in-aid to local government, university and independent museums. This funding comes from the Department of National Heritage via the Museums & Galleries Commission. At the South Eastern Museums Service I am responsible for the development and delivery of training for 600 museums in our region and the provision of information about museums and of interest to museums.  This paper explains how we approach in-service training and the value of the definition of national standards for our work. It will pose some questions: What is training? What is a training need? and describe a new initiative, the development of training materials and their delivery

How accurate is your sclerostin measurement?:Comparison between three commercially available sclerostin ELISA kits

Sclerostin, bone formation antagonist is in the spotlight as a potential biomarker for diseases presenting with associated bone disorders such as chronic kidney disease (CDK-MBD). Accurate measurement of sclerostin is therefore important. Several immunoassays are available to measure sclerostin in serum and plasma. We compared the performance of three commercial ELISA kits. We measured sclerostin concentrations in serum and EDTA plasma obtained from healthy young (18-26 years) human subjects using kits from Biomedica, TECOmedical and from R&D Systems. The circulating sclerostin concentrations were systematically higher when measured with the Biomedica assay (serum: 35.5 ± 1.1 pmol/L; EDTA: 39.4 ± 2.0 pmol/L; mean ± SD) as compared with TECOmedical (serum: 21.8 ± 0.7 pmol/L; EDTA: 27.2 ± 1.3 pmol/L) and R&D Systems (serum: 7.6 ± 0.3 pmol/L; EDTA: 30.9 ± 1.5 pmol/L). We found a good correlation between the assay for EDTA plasma (r > 0.6; p < 0.001) while in serum, only measurements obtained using TECOmedical and R&D Systems assays correlated significantly (r = 0.78; p < 0.001). There was no correlation between matrices results when using the Biomedica kit (r = 0.20). The variability in values generated from Biomedica, R&D Systems and TECOmedical assays raises questions regarding the accuracy and specificity of the assays. Direct comparison of studies using different kits is not possible and great care should be given to measurement of sclerostin, with traceability of reagents. Standardization with appropriate material is required before different sclerostin assays can be introduced in clinical practice

Working in partnership with the Museum Training Institute providing in service training for museum personnel

Cadernos de SociomuseologiaThe South Eastern Museums Service is one of ten Area Museums Councils in Great Britain. They are partnerships; membership organizations to which the 2 000 + museums belong. They provide advice, support, technical services, information and training for their members. They are the principal channel of government grant-in-aid to local government, university and independent museums. This funding comes from the Department of National Heritage via the Museums & Galleries Commission. At the South Eastern Museums Service I am responsible for the development and delivery of training for 600 museums in our region and the provision of information about museums and of interest to museums. This paper explains how we approach in-service training and the value of the definition of national standards for our work. It will pose some questions: What is training? What is a training need? and describe a new initiative, the development of training materials and their delivery

Increased Training Volume Improves Bone Density and Cortical Area in Adolescent Football Players

Habitual football participation has been shown to be osteogenic, although the specific volume of football participation required to cause bone adaptations are not well established. The aim of the present study is to investigate tibial bone adaptations in response to 12 weeks of increased training volume in elite adolescents who are already accustomed to irregular impact training. 99 male adolescent elite footballers participated (age 16±0 y; height 1.76±0.66 m; body mass 70.2±8.3 kg). Tibial scans were performed using peripheral quantitative computed tomography immediately before and 12 weeks after an increase in football training volume. Scans were obtained at 4, 14, 38 and 66% of tibial length. Trabecular density (mg/cm3), cortical density (mg/cm3), cross-sectional area, cortical area (mm2), cortical thickness (mm) and strength strain index (mm3) were assessed. Trabecular (4%) and cortical density (14, 38%), cortical cross-sectional area (14, 38%), total cross-sectional area (66%), cortical thickness (14, 38%) and strength strain index (14, 38%) increased following 12 weeks of augmented volume training (P<0.05). Increased density of trabecular and cortical compartments and cortical thickening were shown following an increased volume of training. These adaptive responses may have been enhanced by the adolescent status of the cohort, supporting the role of early exercise intervention in improving bone strength

Reproductive dysfunction and associated pathology in women undergoing military training

Evidence from civilian athletes raises the question of whether reproductive dysfunction may be seen in female soldiers as a result of military training. Such reproductive dysfunction consists of impaired ovulation with or without long term subfertility. We critically review pertinent evidence, which points towards reduced energy availability as the most likely explanation for exercise-induced reproductive dysfunction. Evidence also suggests reproductive dysfunction is mediated by activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, with elevated ghrelin and reduced leptin likely to play an important role. The observed reproductive dysfunction exists as part of a female athletic triad, together with osteopenia and disordered eating. If this phenomenon was shown to exist with UK military training this would be of significant concern. We hypothesise that the nature of military training and possibly field exercises may contribute to greater risk of reproductive dysfunction among female military trainees compared with exercising civilian controls. We discuss the features of military training and its participants, such as energy availability, age at recruitment, body phenotype, type of physical training, psychogenic stressors, altered sleep pattern and elemental exposure as contributors to reproductive dysfunction. We identify lines of future research to more fully characterise reproductive dysfunction in military women, and suggest possible interventions which, if indicated, could improve their future wellbeing

The effect of reproductive hormones on muscle function in young and middle-aged females.

The menopause is associated with a deficiency of reproductive hormones, and accompanied by a significant loss of bone mass. This bone loss is accelerated within the first five years post-menopause. Muscle strength at this time would have important clinical implications for correcting imbalance and preventing falls. The aim of the studies within this thesis were to 1) determine the rate and time course of force loss of the quadriceps muscle group over 12 months in three groups of women with varying hormonal status 2) establish the role of oestrogen in this weakness and 3) investigate the effectiveness of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in maintaining muscle function. The reliability of an isokinetic dynamometer and a strain gauge assembly was examined initially to determine the inherent variability of muscle function assessment. Strength of the knee extensors measured on the isokinetic dynamometer was deemed reliable in middle-aged women, although at 1.05 rad/s more practice trials were needed to attain peak torque. Measurements of the knee flexors were highly variable. Maximal voluntary isometric contractions were repeatable using the strain gauge system, for both the knee extensors and first dorsal interosseus (FOI) muscle. There was greater variability in force production generated from electrically stimulated contractions. Maximal strength of the knee extensors declined by 9.3-4.6 and I0.3?3.1% (mean?SE) for dynamic (1.05 radls) and isometric strength respectively over 9 months in hypoestrogenic post-menopausal women. There were no changes at higher angular velocities, or for handgrip strength. These results support the role of reproductive hormones in influencing force production, which is further endorsed by the observation that females on HRT did not experience a reduction in strength over this time. The force loss was significant only when the post-menopausal and HRT group were compared (pO.OS).The difficulty in isolating oestrogen during the menstrual cycle does not render this a good model to assess its effects upon force production. Maximal strength and fatiguability of the FDI were examined in young women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment when acute, massive changes in oestrogen are induced. There were no differences in muscle function of the FDI when assessed under very low or high oestrogen changes (p>O.05). The independent effects of oestrogen upon muscle function were not demonstrated here. Hormone replacement therapy is the most efficacious treatment for preventing menopausally-related bone loss. The results from the longitudinal study suggest that HRT confers protection against muscle weakness as a consequence of ovarian failure. Whether HRT maintains or restores strength was examined in the FDI of post-menopausal women (n=9). The oestrogen only and oestrogen-progestogen phases were compared with baseline measurements. A positive change in strength was observed, although this did not reach significance (p<O.1). The increase in strength (15.2?20.6%) between baseline and the oestrogen-progestogen phase of HRT corroborates the involvement of progesterone in determining muscle function. The findings suggest that the menopause is associated with a loss of strength, prevented by the administration of HRT. Oestrogen alone does not influence force production, although progesterone is implicated. This has important ramifications in hysterectomised women who are prescribed preparations containing oestrogen only

Effect of carbohydrate feeding on the bone metabolic response to running

Bone resorption is increased after running, with no change in bone formation. Feeding during exercise might attenuate this increase, preventing associated problems for bone. This study investigated the immediate and short-term bone metabolic responses to carbohydrate (CHO) feeding during treadmill running. Ten men completed two 7-day trials, once being fed CHO (8% glucose immediately before, every 20 min during, and immediately after exercise at a rate of 0.7 g CHO·kg body mass-1·h-1) and once being fed placebo (PBO). On day 4 of each trial, participants completed a 120-min treadmill run at 70% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max). Blood was taken at baseline (BASE), immediately after exercise (EE), after 60 (R1) and 120 (R2) min of recovery, and on three follow-up days (FU1-FU3). Markers of bone resorption [COOH-terminal telopeptide region of collagen type 1 (β-CTX)] and formation [NH2-terminal propeptides of procollagen type 1 (P1NP)] were measured, along with osteocalcin (OC), parathyroid hormone (PTH), albumin-adjusted calcium (ACa), phosphate, glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6), insulin, cortisol, leptin, and osteoprotogerin (OPG). Area under the curve was calculated in terms of the immediate (BASE, EE, R1, and R2) and short-term (BASE, FU1, FU2, and FU3) responses to exercise. β-CTX, P1NP, and IL-6 responses to exercise were significantly lower in the immediate postexercise period with CHO feeding compared with PBO (β-CTX: P=0.028; P1NP: P=0.021; IL-6: P=0.036), although there was no difference in the short-term response (β-CTX: P=0.856; P1NP: P=0.721; IL-6: P=0.327). No other variable was significantly affected by CHO feeding during exercise. We conclude that CHO feeding during exercise attenuated the β-CTX and P1NP responses in the hours but not days following exercise, indicating an acute effect of CHO feeding on bone turnover