The effect of a 2-week ischaemic preconditioning intervention on anaerobic performance in male academy football players: a randomized, single-blinded, SHAM-Controlled study

Ischaemic preconditioning (IPC), brief periods of ischaemia immediately followed by reperfusion applied to a vascular bed, has emerged as a method to improve exercise performance. There is, however, a lack of research exploring repeated episodes of IPC on anaerobic performance. The aim of this study was to determine if a 2-week repeated IPC intervention could enhance anaerobic performance in male academy football players. Eight male academy football players completed two, 2-week intervention trials: six IPC episodes (4 × 5 min at 220 mmHg per episode), and six SHAM episodes (4 × 5 min at 20 mmHg per episode). Prior to and following each intervention trial, the participants completed assessments of anaerobic performance (Running Anaerobic Sprint Test [RAST]), and superficial femoral artery endothelial function (flow-mediated dilation [FMD]). IPC significantly enhanced peak and mean power output by 12% (p = 0.026) and 11% (p = 0.019) and significantly improved superficial femoral artery FMD (p = 0.049). The increase in endothelial function suggests that this may be a mechanism contributing to this enhancement of anaerobic performance. The present study supports the use of repeated IPC prior to matches and training sessions to enhance anaerobic performance

Effect of colostrum supplementation on baby pig performance

Master of ScienceDepartment of Animal Sciences and IndustryJim L. NelssenTwo experiments evaluated the effect of colostrum and energy supplementation on the performance and immune response of baby piglets. In Exp. 1, 301 newborn pigs (Line 600 × 241; DNA, 1.48 kg) were used in a 21-d study. Pigs were weighed and allotted to one of three treatments at 6-h of age in a randomized complete block design with 23 replications (litters) per treatment. Piglets were blocked by weight and randomly assigned a treatment. Runt piglets (birthweight 0.05) effect on weight or ADG at any of the weigh periods (30-h, d 5, d 7, d 14, and weaning), immunocrit ratio, or survival rate. The bovine colostrum treatment had a negative (P 0.05) effect of treatment on weight at weaning. . In Exp. 2, 364 newborn pigs (Line 600 × 241; DNA, 1.48 kg) were used in a 21-d study. Pigs were weighed and allotted to one of three treatments in a randomized complete block design with 25 replications (litters) per treatment. Dietary treatments were a control with no dietary supplementation, an energy supplement (1.5 ml, glucose based, containing milk protein, medium chain triglycerides, and tea extract), and bovine colostrum (10 ml). The supplements were given as an oral gavage. A single treatment was administered at 6-h after birth. At 30-h of age blood was collected for analysis of serum immunocrit. Body weights, ADG during the duration of the trial, immunocrit ratio, and survival rates were similar (P > 0.05) for the treatment groups. In both experiment 1 and 2 there were no treatment by weight group interaction. In summary, under the conditions of these experiments supplementation of 30 ml of bovine colostrum had a negative effect (P 0.05), of the treatments affected on weaning weights when compared to the control

Public perceptions of drinking water: A postal survey of residents with private water supplies

Background: In Canada, the legal responsibility for the condition of private water supplies, including private wells and cisterns, rests with their owners. However, there are reports that Canadians test these water supplies intermittently and that treatment of such water is uncommon. An estimated 45% of all waterborne outbreaks in Canada involve non-municipal systems. An understanding of the perceptions and needs of Canadians served by private water supplies is essential, as it would enable public health professionals to better target public education and drinking water policy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the public perceptions of private water supplies in the City of Hamilton, Ontario (Canada), with the intent of informing public education and outreach strategies within the population. Methods: A cross-sectional postal survey of 246 residences with private water supplies was conducted in May 2004. Questions pertained to the perceptions of water quality and alternative water sources, water testing behaviours and the self-identified need for further information. Results: Private wells, cisterns or both, were the source of household water for 71%, 16% and 13% of respondents, respectively. Although respondents rated their water quality highly, 80% also had concerns with its safety. The most common concerns pertained to bacterial and chemical contamination of their water supply and its potential negative effect on health. Approximately 56% and 61% of respondents used in-home treatment devices and bottled water within their homes, respectively, mainly due to perceived improvements in the safety and aesthetic qualities compared to regular tap water. Testing of private water supplies was performed infrequently: 8% of respondents tested at a frequency that meets current provincial guidelines. Two-thirds of respondents wanted more information on various topics related to private water supplies. Flyers and newspapers were the two media reported most likely to be used. Conclusion: Although respondents rated their water quality highly, the majority had concerns regarding the water from their private supply, and the use of bottled water and water treatment devices was extensive. The results of this study suggest important lines of inquiry and provide support and input for public education programs, particularly those related to private water testing, in this population

Development of a Comprehensive Hospital-Based Elder Abuse Intervention: An Initial Systematic Scoping Review

Introduction Elder abuse, a universal human rights problem, is associated with many negative consequences. In most jurisdictions, however, there are no comprehensive hospital-based interventions for elder abuse that address the totality of needs of abused older adults: psychological, physical, legal, and social. As the first step towards the development of such an intervention, we undertook a systematic scoping review. Objectives Our primary objective was to systematically extract and synthesize actionable and applicable recommendations for components of a multidisciplinary intersectoral hospital-based elder abuse intervention. A secondary objective was to summarize the characteristics of the responses reviewed, including methods of development and validation. Methods The grey and scholarly literatures were systematically searched, with two independent reviewers conducting the title, abstract and full text screening. Documents were considered eligible for inclusion if they: 1) addressed a response (e.g., an intervention) to elder abuse, 2) contained recommendations for responding to abused older adults with potential relevance to a multidisciplinary and intersectoral hospital-based elder abuse intervention; and 3) were available in English. Analysis The extracted recommendations for care were collated, coded, categorized into themes, and further reviewed for relevancy to a comprehensive hospital-based response. Characteristics of the responses were summarized using descriptive statistics. Results 649 recommendations were extracted from 68 distinct elder abuse responses, 149 of which were deemed relevant and were categorized into 5 themes: Initial contact; Capacity and consent; Interview with older adult, caregiver, collateral contacts, and/or suspected abuser; Assessment: physical/forensic, mental, psychosocial, and environmental/functional; and care plan. Only 6 responses had been evaluated, suggesting a significant gap between development and implementation of recommendations. Discussion To address the lack of evidence to support the recommendations extracted in this review, in a future study, a group of experts will formally evaluate each recommendation for its inclusion in a comprehensive hospital-based response

Deployment Methods for an Origami-Inspired Rigid-Foldable Array

The purpose of this work is to evaluate several deployment methods for an origami-inspired solar array at two size scales: 25-meter array and CubeSat array. The array enables rigid panel deployment and introduces new concepts for actuating CubeSat deployables. The design for the array was inspired by the origami flasher model (Lang, 1997; Shafer, 2001). Figure 1 shows the array prototyped from Garolite and Kapton film at the CubeSat scale. Prior work demonstrated that rigid panels like solar cells could successfully be folded into the final stowed configuration without requiring the panels to flex (Zirbel, Lang, Thomson, & al., 2013). The design of the array is novel and enables efficient use of space. The array can be wrapped around the central bus of the spacecraft in the case of the large array, or can accommodate storage of a small instrument payload in the case of the CubeSat array. The radial symmetry of this array around the spacecraft is ideally suited for spacecraft that need to spin. This work focuses on several actuation methods for a one-time deployment of the array. The array is launched in its stowed configuration and it will be deployed when it is in space. Concepts for both passive and active actuation were considered

Seamounts as refugia from ocean acidification for cold-water stony corals

Cold-water stony corals create habitat for a diverse range of deep-water species but are thought to be threatened by ocean acidification due to oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2. Knowledge of the severity of this threat is hampered by our limited understanding of the distribution and habitat requirements of these corals. Here we estimate the global acidification threat to these organisms using a global database of cold-water stony coral records and a species distribution modelling approach. We parameterised the models using present-day environmental data, and then replaced these data with future projections of ocean chemistry from the year 2099. We found suitable coral habitat to be very heterogeneously distributed, being concentrated in the northern North Atlantic and around New Zealand. Projected changes in ocean chemistry induced a pronounced reduction in habitat suitability in the North Atlantic, and a low-to-moderate impact elsewhere under both the IPCC IS92a and S650 scenarios. Seamount summits are impacted by these changes, but consistently provide more suitable habitat than the surrounding seafloor, with around 98% of seamount summits having higher suitability in both future scenarios; this is because they lie in shallower waters with a higher aragonite saturation state. These results suggest that anthropogenic-induced changes in ocean chemistry are likely to severely impact cold-water stony coral habitat in the deep-sea of the North Atlantic, and that impacts will be less severe elsewhere. We predict that coral communities on the summits and upper slopes of seamounts will be less susceptible to ocean acidification during this century than those on the surrounding seafloor, and thus that seamounts may serve as temporary refugia. © 2010 Blackwell Verlag GmbH

Testing predictions of a neural process model of visual attention in infancy across competitive and non-competitive contexts

A key question in early development is how changes in neural systems give rise to changes in infants' behavior. We examine this question by testing predictions of a dynamic field (DF) model of infant spatial attention. We tested 5-, 7-, and 10-month-old infants in the Infant Orienting With Attention (IOWA) task containing the original non-competitive cue conditions (when a central stimulus disappeared before a cue onset) and new competitive cue conditions (when a central stimulus remained visible throughout the trial). This allowed testing of five model predictions: (1) that orienting accuracy would be higher and (2) reaction times would be slower for all competitive conditions; (3) that all infants would be slower to orient in the competitive conditions, though (4) older infants would show the strongest competition costs; and (5) that reaction times would be particularly slow for un-cued competitive conditions. Four of these five predictions were supported, and the remaining prediction was supported in part. We next examined fits of the model to the expanded task. New simulation results reveal close fits to the present findings after parameter modification. Critically, developmental parameters of the model were not altered, providing support for the DF model's account of neuro-developmental change

Feeding Memories: A Conversation with Writers who Write About Food

Rochelle Spencer interviews Tara Christina, a writer and educator with degrees in holistic nutrition and is the founder and CEO of Tara’s Teas, an artisanal line of organic, loose leaf tea blends; Dera R. Williams whose work appears in several anthologies and you can find her food-related writing on her blog; and Shannon Holbrook, a writer and wine and food consultant who has organized prominent food-writing events throughout the Bay Area

Child abuse, child protection and disabled children : a review of recent research

This paper reports the results of a scoping study which reviewed research about child abuse, child protection and disabled children published in academic journals between 1996 - 2009. The review was conducted using a five stage method for scoping studies. Several studies have revealed a strong association between disability and child maltreatment, indicating that disabled children are significantly more likely to experience abuse than their non-disabled peers. Those with particular impairments are at increased risk. There is evidence that the interaction of age, gender and/or socio-cultural factors with impairment results in different patterns of abuse to those found among non-disabled children although the reasons for this require further examination. It appears that therapeutic services and criminal justice systems often fail to take account of disabled children's needs and heightened vulnerability. In Britain, little is known about what happens to disabled children who have been abused and how well safeguarding services address their needs. Very few studies have sought disabled children's own accounts of abuse or safeguarding. Considerable development is required, at both policy and practice level, to ensure that disabled children's right to protection is upheld. The paper concludes by identifying a number of aspects of the topic requiring further investigation

Developing a Culturally Proficient Intervention for Young African American Men in Drug Court: Examining Feasibility and Estimating an Effect Size for Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (HEAT)

African American males between 18 and 29 years of age are substantially less likely than many other participants to graduate successfully from drug court. Unsuccessful termination from drug court can have serious repercussions for these young men, including possible incarceration and negative collateral consequences associated with having a criminal record. This article reports preliminary results from two pilot studies that examined the feasibility of implementing a culturally proficient intervention for young African American men in drug court, and estimated an effect size for the intervention in improving treatment retention and reducing termination rates. Results confirmed that participants with serious criminal and substance use histories were willing and able to complete the lengthy 9-month curriculum, were satisfied with the intervention, and graduated from drug court at substantially higher rates than are commonly observed in this at-risk population. A sufficient basis has been established to justify the effort and expense of examining this intervention — Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (HEAT) — in fully powered randomized controlled trials