The Politics of Gun Control in the United States: A Historical Perspective on the Second Amendment

The discussion of the right to keep and bear arms has been a growing issue in American society during the past two decades. This article examines the origin of the right and whether it is still relevant in contemporary American society. It is found that the Second Amendment was written for two main reasons: to protect the people of the frontier from wildlife and foreign as well as native enemies, and to ensure the citizen militia being armed and ready to fight for a country with a deep-rooted mistrust of a standing army and a strongly centralized government. As neither of these reasons have applied to American society for at least the past century, it is concluded that American society has changed immensely since the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791, and that the original purpose of the right to keep and bear arms thus has been outdated long ago

Estrus Detection in Mares

In a successful horse-breeding program, it is im¬portant to understand the reproductive cycles and be¬haviors of a mare. The reproductive cycle of a mare is called the estrous cycle and lasts an average of 21 days from one ovulation to the next. Estrus is a period of time within the estrous cycle when the mare is recep¬tive to being bred and typically lasts from 5 to 8 days. The efficiency of your breeding program can be af¬fected by your ability or inability to detect estrus in a mare. When a mare is in estrus, it is often referred to as being in “heat” or standing to be bred. Today there are a wide variety of methods used for detection of estrus in the mare. Before discussing the methods and signs of estrus, some background information about the es¬trous cycle must be given. Developing a thorough un¬derstanding of estrus and the estrous cycle in the mare during the breeding season is crucial for improving current breeding practices

Weight among children born 2005-2011 in Nuuk at the time of school entry

The aim of this study was to explore weight status among children born between 2005–2011 at the time of their school entry in Nuuk, and separately to compare weight status between Nuuk and the rest of Greenland among children born in 2011. Study method was an observational study based on data from the electronic medical records (EMR). All children born between 2005–2011 with an address in Nuuk, and registered weight and height were included. For children born in 2011 two study populations were used: children living in Nuuk, and children living outside Nuuk. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. Atotal of 1,616 children born in 2005–2011, with address in Nuuk between 2011-2017 were identified. 78% were included (N = 1, 280: 676 boys and 604 girls, ranging from 5.4–7.6 years). Prevalence of overweight and obesity were estimated to 12.0% (N = 153) and 5.1% (N = 65)respectively. Among children born in 2011, the prevalence of overweight or obesity was 14.6% in Nuuk, compared to 28.8% in the rest of Greenland (p &lt; 0.001). The prevalence of overweight and obesity was stable for children living in Nuuk. A higher prevalence was observed among children living outside Nuuk. Continued monitoring of weight status is recommended. Abbreviations: BMI: body mass index; EMR: electronic medical records; IOTF: international obesity task force; SD: standard derivation.</p

Guest blog: EM/CA Bootcamp 2018

Each year colleagues in Denmark organise an intensive get-together for postgraduates and other early-career researchers who want to delve into the mysteries of ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis. I’m glad to say that Sophia Fiedler & Søren Sandager Sørensen have sent in this insider’s report…

Diagnostic accuracy of cervical elastography in predicting labor induction success: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: To determine the accuracy of cervical elastography in predicting labor induction success. Materials and methods: A systematic search, review, and meta-analysis of observational studies published in English language between January 2000 and October 2014 was performed. It included studies considering cervix sonoelastography as the index test and successful labor or vaginal delivery as the reference standard. As cervix length and Bishop score were considered comparator tests, the quality of the included studies was assessed using quality assessment tool for diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS) tool. Results: A total of four studies assessing 323 women before medical induction of labor were included. Cervical elastography, cervical length, and Bishop score showed a diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for successful labor prediction of 3.50 (1.93\u20136.35), 3.35 (1.94\u20135.77), and 1.45 (0.33\u20136.41), respectively. In addition, cervical elastography, cervical length, and Bishop score showed a DOR with 95% CI for successful vaginal delivery prediction of 5.24 (3.23\u20138.50), 4.94 (2.72\u20138.98), and 4.62 (0.69\u201330.94), respectively. Considering the summary of receiver operating characteristic curves we show that cervical elastography or length are similarly reliable, and both are more reliable to predict successful labor than the Bishop score. Two studies were excluded because it was not possible to retrieve data for the meta-analysis. Among the excluded studies, one found no significant contribution from elastography for prediction of successful labor induction. Conclusions: Even though there is a limited number of studies included and the heterogeneity of the methods used, cervical elastography seems to be a promising tool for predicting successful labor induction and vaginal delivery in women treated by medical induction of labo