Acromegaly, Mr Punch and caricature.

The origin of Mr Punch from the Italian Pulcinella of the Commedia dell'arte is well known but his feature, large hooked nose, protruding chin, kyphosis and sternal protrusion all in an exaggerated form also suggest the caricature of an acromegalic. This paper looks at the physical characteristics of acromegaly, the origin of Mr Punch and the development of caricature linking them together in the acromegalic caricature that now has a life of its own

Culture change in elite sport performance teams: Examining and advancing effectiveness in the new era

Reflecting the importance of optimizing culture for elite teams, Fletcher and Arnold (2011) recently suggested the need for expertise in culture change. Acknowledging the dearth of literature on the specific process, however, the potential effectiveness of practitioners in this area is unknown. The present paper examines the activity's precise demands and the validity of understanding in sport psychology and organizational research to support its delivery. Recognizing that sport psychologists are being increasingly utilized by elite team management, initial evidence-based guidelines are presented. Finally, to stimulate the development of ecologically valid, practically meaningful knowledge, the paper identifies a number of future research directions

Rothamsted Conference RC No 11 : the making of new grassland experiences of practical farmers

RESP-74

The Birmingham Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) project : developments towards selective internal particle therapy

This paper will review progress on two aspects of the Birmingham BNCT project. Firstly on evaluation of the effects of high and low LET radiations when delivered simultaneously, and secondly on attempts to optimise delivery of the boron carrier compound BPA through pharmacokinetic studies. Simultaneous or non-simultaneous irradiations of V79 cells with alpha-particle and X-ray irradiations were performed. Alpha doses of 2 and 2.5 Gy were chosen and the impact on survival when delivered separately or simultaneously with variable doses of X-rays was evaluated. The pharmacokinetics of the delivery of a new formulation of BPA (BPA-mannitol) are being investigated in brain tumour patients through a study with 2 × 2 design featuring intravenous and intracarotid artery infusion of BPA, with or without a mannitol bolus. On the combined effect of low and high LET radiations, a synergistic effect was observed when alpha and X-ray doses are delivered simultaneously. The effect is only present at the 2.5 Gy alpha dose and is a very substantial effect on both the shape of the survival curve and the level of cell killing. This indicates that the alpha component may have the effect of inhibiting the repair of damage from the low LET radiation dose delivered simultaneously. On the pharmacokinetics of BPA, data on the first three cohorts indicate that bioavailability of BPA in brain ECF is increased substantially through the addition of a mannitol bolus, as well as by the use of intracarotid artery route of infusion. In both cases, for some patients the levels after infusion approach those seen in blood, whereas the ECF levels for intravenous infusion without mannitol are typically less than 10% of the blood values

Change management: The case of the elite sport performance team

The effective and efficient implementation of change is often required for both successful performance and management survival across a host of contemporary domains. However, although of major theoretical and practical significance, research to date has overlooked the application of change management (hereafter CM) knowledge to the elite sport performance team environment. Considering that the success of ‘off-field’ sports businesses are largely dependent on the performances of their ‘on-field’ team, this article explores the application of current CM theorizing to this specific setting and the challenges facing its utility. Accordingly, we identify the need and importance of developing theory specific to this area, with practical application in both sport and business, through examination of current knowledge and identification of the domain's unique, dynamic and contested properties. Markers of successful change are then suggested to guide initial enquiry before the article concludes with proposed lines of research which may act to provide a valid and comprehensive theoretical account of CM to optimize the research and practice of those working in the field

Adolescents with Learning Disabilities

The subjective experiences of adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) were compared to those of their low-achieving and normally achieving peers. Three groups of juniors and seniors from one suburban high school district, 18 students with learning disabilities (15 males, 3 females), 17 low-achieving students (12 males, 5 females), and 20 average-achieving students (12 males, 8 females), were given electronic pagers and booklets for 1 week. They were signaled every 40 minutes during school hours, and every 2 hours after school. As soon as possible after receiving a signal, they responded to questions in their booklets. The questions provided subjective measures on levels of affect, activation, cognitive efficiency, self-esteem, motivation, and feedback from others. The students with learning disabilities reported feeling more positive and active than either of the other groups during school hours, while after school there were no differences on any of the subjective measures for the three groups. Specific LD school practices are highlighted for their probable impact on the heightened affect and activation of the students with learning disabilities.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68706/2/10.1177_002221949302600912.pd

Louse (Insecta : Phthiraptera) mitochondrial 12S rRNA secondary structure is highly variable

Lice are ectoparasitic insects hosted by birds and mammals. Mitochondrial 12S rRNA sequences obtained from lice show considerable length variation and are very difficult to align. We show that the louse 12S rRNA domain III secondary structure displays considerable variation compared to other insects, in both the shape and number of stems and loops. Phylogenetic trees constructed from tree edit distances between louse 12S rRNA structures do not closely resemble trees constructed from sequence data, suggesting that at least some of this structural variation has arisen independently in different louse lineages. Taken together with previous work on mitochondrial gene order and elevated rates of substitution in louse mitochondrial sequences, the structural variation in louse 12S rRNA confirms the highly distinctive nature of molecular evolution in these insects