Relationship Between Physical Conditioning and Plasma High Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol Concentration

Five subjects (three females and two males) took part in an exercise regimen in order to determine if aerobic exercise results in an increase in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels (HDL-C) in the plasma. The exercise regimen consisted of running three miles a day, five days per week for six months. Running speed was at such a pace that the subjects attained a minimum of 60% of their maximal heart rate reserve (MHRR). Before the training program began the following parameters were measured in all of the subjects: height, weight, percent body fat, maximal oxygen consumption (Vₒ₂ max), vital capacity, resting heart rate, resting blood pressure, HDL-C, plasma triglycerides (TG), and plasma cholesterol (TC). These same measurements were retaken every two months and at the conclusion of the study. The exercise protocol produced significant changes in Vₒ₂ max and resting heart rate. None of the other parameters were significantly changed. The results of this study have shown that aerobic exercise does not cause significant changes in HDL-C levels

The electronic instrumentation for atmospheric laser propagation studies

The use of laser radiation in atmospheric communication systems is revealing new forms of signal degradation not previously encountered with lower frequency transmitting sources. The coherence and directivity of the laser which is responsible for its increased signal capacity is degraded by the effect of atmospheric distortion. Random fluctuations in the index of refraction (turbulence), Rayleigh scattering, aerosol scattering and other atmospheric effects create fluctuations (boiling, breathing, dancing, attenuation, transit-time dispersion, etc.) within the beam cross section, which when received produce random fluctuations in the receiver output signal. The two systems which are described, are designed to investigate the effect of atmospheric distortions on the amplitude and phase (or transit time) of the laser beam. The Scintillation System was designed for real-time determination of amplitude scintillation statistics. The system will be incorporated into a multi-wavelength, multi-range experiment for comparison of theoretical and experimental meteorological and optical data. The system includes a laser transmitter, an atmospheric path over which the beam is allowed to diverge to a three-foot cross section, a pair of photomultipliers with variable spacing and small sampling apertures, an analog scintillation computer, and a recording device. The scintillation computer is a real time, special purpose, analog computer designed to compute the variance and covariance of log amplitude, the probability distribution of log amplitude, and the frequency spectrum of the amplitude scintillation. The system permits the recording of these data as a function of transmitter and receiver aperture, and time. The Short Pulse Distortion System is designed to detect pulse distortion due to transit-time dispersion of the laser beam. The system includes a mode-locked laser (i.e., the optical short pulse generator), a large transmitting aperture (a Cassegrainian telescope), the atmospheric path, a wideband receiver, a sampling oscilloscope, the Pulse Distortion Analyzer, and a high-quality tape recorder. The Pulse Distortion Analyzer is designed to compare the transmitted pulses to recorded reference pulses and to detect differential area due to time dispersion. The analyzer includes a novel, feed forward, automatic gain control circuit which utilizes a linear photo detector and an analog divider to smooth a 300Hz signal with a 100 microsecond response time. This is necessary to smooth out the signal amplitude fluctuations due to atmospheric turbulence effects. Both systems have been set up and tested on a one-mile path between the Oregon Graduate Center and Skyline Drive in Portland Oregon, using a 6328Å He-Ne Laser. The ultimate use of the scintillation computer will be in a multi-wave-length experiment conducted for the Office of Naval Research, and will utilize a uniform, meteorologically instrumented path for comparison with theoretical predictions. The Pulse Distortion System will be incorporated into a joint experiment with the Electro-optic Organization of Sylvania Electronic Systems, Inc., Mountain View, California, to be conducted over a seven-mile path

Influence lines for horizontally curved fixed-end beams of circular-arc plan

"October 10, 1947.""The Second of a Series of Bulletins on Horizontally Curved Beams.""The objects of this investigation are: [1] to provide a means for computing the influence line ordinates for moments and shears in the case of horizontally curved fixed-end beams of circular-arc plan, [2] to present such influence lines for a series of beams, and [3] to study the effect of the elastic constants on the ordinates of the influence lines."--Page 5

Phosphoinositide kinase signaling controls ER-PM cross-talk

Membrane lipid dynamics must be precisely regulated for normal cellular function, and disruptions in lipid homeostasis are linked to the progression of several diseases. However, little is known about the sensory mechanisms for detecting membrane composition and how lipid metabolism is regulated in response to membrane stress. We find that phosphoinositide (PI) kinase signaling controls a conserved PDK-TORC2-Akt signaling cascade as part of a homeostasis network that allows the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to modulate essential responses, including Ca(2+)-regulated lipid biogenesis, upon plasma membrane (PM) stress. Furthermore, loss of ER-PM junctions impairs this protective response, leading to PM integrity defects upon heat stress. Thus PI kinase-mediated ER-PM cross-talk comprises a regulatory system that ensures cellular integrity under membrane stress conditions

A method for identifying associations between seizures and possible trigger events in adults with intellectual disability.

OBJECTIVES: Precipitants of seizures are often reported by patients and carers, but the accuracy of these claims remains unknown. Focusing on epilepsy in people with intellectual disability (ID), the aims of this work were to (1) identify a set of methods for assessing the validity of reported seizure triggers in individual patients; and (2) undertake an initial assessment of the ease of implementation and acceptability of the method by applying it to a series of cases. METHODS: Data collection materials (developed with carer involvement) consisted primarily of carer diaries of seizure and trigger occurrences. Statistical analysis of diary data was using the self-controlled case series method. Unlike previously used methods, the analysis method included a means of choosing the time window, following trigger exposure, during which changes in seizure likelihood are to be assessed. RESULTS: The method developed was trialed in five adults with ID and epilepsy, who had a range of ID severities and living circumstances. Examples of the application of the method in two of the five cases are presented for illustrative purposes. The method was acceptable to participants and most aspects successfully implemented. SIGNIFICANCE: This method may be useful for clinicians and researchers wishing to investigate possible triggers in individual patients with epilepsy and ID. It also supports the identification of a statistically defined time window following exposure to a precipitant, during which the risk of developing a seizure is increased. The identification of such a window has value not just in contributing to clinical management, but also in guiding future work into the mechanisms of seizure precipitation.This study was funded by a grant to HR from Epilepsy Action: The Epilepsy Association. (Registered Charity in England (No. 234343)). SX was supported by NIH/NCRR Colorado CTSI Grant Number UL1 RR025780. HR is a member of the NIHR’s Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) East of England at Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. JI also received funding from CLAHRC East of England during preparation of the manuscript. This article presents independent research with funding from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health (UK). We would also like to thank Elizabeth Blake-Palmer for her assistance with patient recruitment, and Professor Paddy Farrington for statistical advice.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/epi.1313

Novel insights into maladaptive behaviours in Prader-Willi syndrome: serendipitous findings from an open trial of vagus nerve stimulation.

BACKGROUND: We report striking and unanticipated improvements in maladaptive behaviours in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) during a trial of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) initially designed to investigate effects on the overeating behaviour. PWS is a genetically determined neurodevelopmental disorder associated with mild-moderate intellectual disability (ID) and social and behavioural difficulties, alongside a characteristic and severe hyperphagia. METHODS: Three individuals with PWS underwent surgery to implant the VNS device. VNS was switched on 3 months post-implantation, with an initial 0.25 mA output current incrementally increased to a maximum of 1.5 mA as tolerated by each individual. Participants were followed up monthly. RESULTS: Vagal nerve stimulation in these individuals with PWS, within the stimulation parameters used here, was safe and acceptable. However, changes in eating behaviour were equivocal. Intriguingly, unanticipated, although consistent, beneficial effects were reported by two participants and their carers in maladaptive behaviour, temperament and social functioning. These improvements and associated effects on food-seeking behaviour, but not weight, indicate that VNS may have potential as a novel treatment for such behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: We propose that these changes are mediated through afferent and efferent vagal projections and their effects on specific neural networks and functioning of the autonomic nervous system and provide new insights into the mechanisms that underpin what are serious and common problems affecting people with IDs more generally.This study was funded by The Dunhill Medical Trust, Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, Isaac Newton Trust , and Prader-Willi Association UK. Funding bodies had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, writing of the report or the decision to submit for publication. We are grateful to the NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Care Research and Care (CLAHRC) East of England for financial support to AJH and HAR and to the Health Foundation for support of AJH. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jir.1220

Alien Registration- Hendsbee, Manford P. (Madison, Somerset County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/6589/thumbnail.jp

Literacy At Transition : An Exploration Of The Continuities And Discontinuities In Literacy Practices Across Secondary Transfer And Their Implications For Literacy Development

Literacy at Transition, an interpretative study adopting the sociocultural perspective of literacy as a situated social practice, offers an “experiential” (Murdoch, 1986) examination of commonalities and differences in cross-phase literacy practices. Designed as a small ethnographic case study set in four multiethnic inner city schools, it draws on the research traditions of sociolinguistics and classroom literacy research to look qualitatively at literacy practices in Years 6 and 7 (for pupils aged 10-1 1 and 11-12, hereafter Y6 and Y7). Data collection methods include observation and interview, with data recorded in open-ended fieldnotes and research journal. Progressive focusing and content analysis are used to identify themes and develop a new analytical framework. Eight key characteristics of the literacy practices are identified. Literacy is an “autonomous” and “ideological” models (Street, 1984), and fulfils an important function as meaning maker. In Y6 literacy is at the centre of the curriculum as an object of study, whereas in Y7 its value is as a tool to “get something done”. Pedagogical approaches differ but in both phases teacher literacy occupies the dominant position within the classroom literacy practices. Contributing to the fields of classroom literacy research, primary-secondary school transition and research methodology, this study fulfils a research need for a study which examines the teaching and learning experiences of pupils at the stage of transition from primary to secondary school (DfEE, 1999a). Its description of particular literacy practices adds to the collection of studies of classroom literacy practices. Its analytic framework foregrounds What is literacy?, Whose literacy? and How is literacy developed?, discussing issues of subject positions, literacy and power, and the relationship between teacher understanding and beliefs about literacy and the pedagogical approaches adopted. In addition the study provides a synthesis of the literature relevant to school literacy practices at the stage of primary-secondary transition. Issues of reactivity to changing researcher status and the value of informant contributions are also highlighted. Further experiential studies of aspects of primary-secondary literacy practices and implications for practice are suggested, including the need for enhanced teacher understanding and experience of cross-phase literacy practices; literacy training for secondary subject teachers; valuing and building on pupils’ existing literacy skills; explicit explanation of cross-phase differences to pupils; “planned discontinuity”, and greater recognition and responsiveness to the multiple literacies operating within the educational arena