Redindling Community Connections with Digital Holiday Cards

The Raynor Memorial Libraries dean has a tradition of sending holiday greetings to the campus community and colleagues at other institutions to maintain strong personal connections and, in a small way, raise awareness of the library\u27s expertise and collections. To that end, each year, the library\u27s instructional designer and marketing coordinator have worked together to identify creative, standout designs for these greeting messages

A COMPARISON OF TORQUE- VELOCITY- POWER CHARACTERISTICS OF MAXIMAL KNEE EXTENSION IN SPRINT AND ENDURANCE TRAINED ATHLETES

This study examined the torque-velocity and power-velocity relationships of quadriceps muscle function in sprint and endurance athletes. Isokinetic maximal knee extension torque was obtained from seven sprinters and seven endurance athletes using a Contrex isokinetic dynamometer. Torque and power measures were corrected for lean thigh cross-sectional area and lean thigh volume respectively. The results indicated that significantly different torque and power velocity relationships existed between the two groups. The implication from this is that the use of isokinetic dynamometry might be a useful non-invasive method for determining qualitatively, the functional capacity of a muscle group

Availability of Pulses in Rural Karnataka: Need to Use District-level Data

In a response to "Making Pulses Affordable Again"(EPW, 7 January 2017) by P K Joshi, Avinash Kishore and Devesh Roy this article aims to bring to the fore the importance of using district-level data on nutritional levels and pulse production, that can better inform public policy and help improve human development indicators

Going beyond hunger: Linking food supplies to global malnutrition

International food security and nutrition studies focus mainly on hunger rather than dietary diversity and the nutritional requirements essential for a productive life. The authors present a method that processes Food and Agriculture Organization food supply data into World Health Organization food groups to determine whether national food supply satisfies nutritional requirements for medium energy intake (i.e. c.2200 calories per day) rather than minimum energy intake. They employ a modified version of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s 2013 Global Hunger Index to group nations for comparison. The results show that most nations have a deficit in at least one of four required food groups. However, many developed Mediterranean nations with low levels of hunger display an adequate supply of all food groups. The positioning represents a successful model for managing the nutrition transition from plant-based diets to the consumption of animal protein, oils, fats, and sugars and other carbohydrates. Additionally, the results suggest that health risks associated with overweight and obesity may increase with societal development. Accordingly, the authors conclude that information on medium energy requirements should be combined with complementary socio-economic analysis to inform food and nutrition research and policy

Sequencing of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis-related genes reveals independent single gene associations

BACKGROUND: Previous studies investigating a genetic basis for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) have focused on resequencing single genes in IPF kindreds or cohorts to determine the genetic contributions to IPF. None has investigated interactions among the candidate genes. OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequencies and interactions of mutations in six IPF-associated genes in a cohort of 132 individuals with IPF with those of a disease-control cohort of 192 individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the population represented in the Exome Variant Server. METHODS: We resequenced the genes encoding surfactant proteins A2 (SFTPA2), and C (SFTPC), the ATP binding cassette member A3 (ABCA3), telomerase (TERT), thyroid transcription factor (NKX2-1) and mucin 5B (MUC5B) and compared the collapsed frequencies of rare (minor allele frequency <1%), computationally predicted deleterious variants in each cohort. We also genotyped a common MUC5B promoter variant that is over-represented in individuals with IPF. RESULTS: We found 15 mutations in 14 individuals (11%) in the IPF cohort: (SFTPA2 (n=1), SFTPC (n=5), ABCA3 (n=4) and TERT (n=5)). No individual with IPF had two different mutations, but one individual with IPF was homozygous for p.E292V, the most common ABCA3 disease-causing variant. We did not detect an interaction between any of the mutations and the MUC5B promoter variant. CONCLUSIONS: Rare mutations in SFTPA2, SFTPC and TERT are collectively over-represented in individuals with IPF. Genetic analysis and counselling should be considered as part of the IPF evaluation

Initiating e-learning by stealth, participation and consultation in a late majority institution

The extent to which opportunities afforded by e-learning are embraced by an institution can depend in large measure on whether it is perceived as enabling and transformative or as a major and disruptive distraction. Most case studies focus on the former. This paper describes how e-learning was introduced into the latter environment. The sensitivity of competing pressures in a research intensive university substantially influenced the manner in which e-learning was promoted. This paper tells that story, from initial stealth to eventual university acknowledgement of the relevance of e-learning specifically to its own context

Dilemmas in doing insider research in professional education

This article explores the dilemmas I encountered when researching social work education in England as an insider researcher who was simultaneously employed as an educator in the host institution. This was an ethnographic project deploying multiple methods and generating rich case study material which informed the student textbook Becoming a Social Worker the four-year period of the project. First, ethical dilemmas emerged around informed consent and confidentiality when conducting surveys of students and reading their portfolios. Second, professional dilemmas stemmed from the ways in which my roles as a researcher, academic tutor, social worker and former practice educator converged and collided. Third, political dilemmas pertained to the potential for the project to crystallize and convey conflicts among stakeholders in the university and community. Since the majority of research in social work education is conducted by insiders, we have a vital interest in making sense of such complexity