The effect of a resistance-training program on muscle strength, physical workload, muscle fatigue and musculoskeletal discomfort: An experiment

The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of a resistance-training program on muscle strength of the back and neck/shoulder muscles, relative physical workload, muscle fatigue and musculoskeletal discomfort during a simulated assembly and lifting task. Twenty-two workers were randomized over an 8-week resistance-training group, and a control group. Isokinetic muscle strength was assessed using the Cybex dynamometer, muscle fatigue was measured using EMG, and perceived discomfort was measured using a 10-point scale. At the follow-up, we found no effect of the resistance-training program on isokinetic muscle strength of the back and shoulder muscles. Furthermore, we did not find any effect on EMG data, nor on musculoskeletal discomfort during the simulated work tasks. However, trained workers performed the lifting tasks for a longer time before reporting considerable discomfort than those in the control group.     

Breakdown in high-risk subjects: Familial and early environmental factors.

Studied 40 children with schizophrenic mothers, selected from a larger study. 20 suffered breakdown; the others were matched controls. The mothers of Ss in the breakdown group experienced more emotional stress during their pregnancies than did the mothers of the improved group. Ss in the breakdown group suffered loss of mother at an earlier age and tended significantly not to acquire a substitute mother. The breakdown group tended to have mentally ill fathers as well as schizophrenic mothers. There were no fathers hospitalized for mental illness in the improved group. Results are discussed in terms of the relative influence of genetic and environmental factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Model of a synthetic wind speed time series generator

Wind energy has assumed a great relevance in the operation and planning of today's power systems due to the exponential increase of installations in the last 10 years. For this reason, many performed studies have looked at suitable representations of wind generation for power system analysis. One of the main elements to consider for this purpose is the model of the wind speed that is usually required as input. Wind speed measurements may represent a solution for this problem, but, for techniques such as sequential Monte Carlo simulation, they have to be long enough in order to describe a wide range of possible wind conditions. If these information are not available, synthetic wind speed time series may be a useful tool as well, but their generator must preserve statistical and stochastic features of the phenomenon. This paper deals with this issue: a generator for synthetic wind speed time series is described and some statistical issues (seasonal characteristics, autocorrelation functions, average values and distribution functions) are used for verification. The output of the model has been designed as input for sequential Monte Carlo simulation; however, it is expected that it can be used for other similar studies on wind generation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Verbal associative disturbances in children at high risk for schizophrenia.

Analyzed single-word and continuous association test behaviors of children at high (207 Ss) and low (104 Ss) risk for schizophrenia. A comparison was also made between test scores of those high-risk Ss who later became schizophrenic and scores of others who did not. Although high-risk Ss exhibited more deviant associations than low-risk Ss, premorbid associative disturbance did not characterize those who later became schizophrenic. These findings are not supportive of learning theories of associative disturbance. When combined with recent evidence showing that degree of associative disturbance at initial breakdown is not predictive of chronicity or outcome, these findings call for a reevaluation of the central character of associative disturbance in schizophrenia. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alkaline Swelling of Hemp Woody Core Chips

Swelling of hemp woody core chips after alkaline (peroxide) impregnation at 70 °C, as is practised in alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping (APMP) processes is examined, in relation to pulp yield and chemical composition of the chips. In contrast to wood chips, maximum swelling is attained at elevated temperature (70 °C) without chemical treatment, possibly as the result of relatively high porosity of hemp woody core cell walls. Alkaline swelling at 70 °C correlates with the xylan:lignin ratio. Swelling at ambient temperature shows some correlation with acidic group content. Apparent pore size distributions were examined, using ¹H NMR spin-spin relaxation. Several apparent pore size distributions could be distinguished within each sample. Elevated temperature, NaOH and peroxide addition are influencing apparent pore size distribution and total pore volume differently. Addition of peroxide results in remarkably enlarged apparent pore sizes, which emphasizes its importance (apart from bleaching) in APMP pulping, enhancing fiber flexibility and fibrillation.     

Impact of dietary FA and energy restriction on plasma leptin and ob gene expression in mice

The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether the qualitative compositiion of dietary fat influences plasma leptin and adipose tissue ob gene expression differentially. Two high-fat diets and a diet rich in carbohydrate were each administered both ad libitum and with a 25% energy restriction. The high-fat diets contained 58 energy percent as either monounsaturated FA (MUFA) or saturated FA (SAFA), whereas the carbohydrate-rich diet (CH) contained 7 energy percent as fat. We aimed at obtaining the same final weight for the animals in the ad libitum group as in the energy-restricted groups. This goal was reached at he same time (days 22–24) for all groups except for the ad libitum animals fed on saturated fat (day 36). The plasma leptin concentrations on ad libitum CH and MUFA diets did not differ significantly (24.3 ± 2.1 and 34.7 ± 6.7 ng/mL, respectively) whereas the saturated fat diet caused a lower concentration (13.9 ± 1.9 ng/mL; P < 0.05). Interestingly, no differences in plasma leptin levels between groups were seen in the energy-restricted groups (mean 8.0 + 1.0 ng/mL). The type of diet did not alter the ob gene expression in intraabdominal white adipose tissue; however, a lower expression level was found in the energy-restricted groups. The percentage of body fat in the three ad libitum fed groups did not differ (23 ± 1%). Thus, short-term administration of a diet rich in SAFA suppresses circulating leptin levels without altering the adipose tissue ob gene expression. This indicates that saturated fat may alter protein handling by adipose tissue or the whole body clearance of leptin.     

Managing Transdisciplinarity in Strategic Foresight

Strategic foresight deals with the long term future and is a transdisciplinary exercise which, among other aims, addresses the prioritization of science and other decision making in science and innovation advisory and funding bodies. This article discusses challenges in strategic foresight in relation to transdisciplinarity based on empirical as well as theoretical work in technological domains. By strategic foresight is meant future oriented, participatory consultation of actors and stakeholders, both within and outside a scientific community. It therefore allows multiple stakeholders to negotiate over how to attain a desirable future. This requires creative thinking from the participants, who need to extend their knowledge into the uncertainty of the future. Equally important is skilled facilitating in order to create a space for dialogue and exploration in a contested territory. Although strategic foresight has now been widely accepted for strategy‐making and priority‐setting in science and innovation policy, the methodologies underpinning it still need further development. Key findings are the identification of challenges, aspects and issues related to management and facilitation of strategic foresight exercises in complex systemic contexts that transcend science in relation to both the persons and problems involved.     

Juice clarification by protease and pectinase treatments indicates new roles of pectin and protein in cherry juice turbidity

Industrial juice clarification is accomplished by a combination of enzymatic depectinization, gelatin–silica sol, and/or bentonite treatment. The gelatin–silica sol treatment step is particularly slow, mischievous, and requires comprehensive downstream processing to obtain clarified juice. In this work, alternative, enzymatic clarification strategies of industrially pressed cherry juice were evaluated in a 2^4?1 factorial design set-up with addition of a pectinase, Pectinex Smash^®, a protease, Enzeco, both enzyme preparations derived from Aspergillus spp., gallic acid, and tannic acid as factors, and determination of turbidity, protein, pectin, and phenolics as responses. The effects of the alternative clarification treatments were assessed immediately after the particular clarification treatment (immediate turbidity) and during 14 days of cold storage (turbidity development). The protease treatment resulted in significant reduction of immediate turbidity, but had low clarification impact during the subsequent cold storage. In contrast, pectinase addition exerted a weak effect on immediate turbidity reduction, but effectively decreased the turbidity development during storage. The phenolic acid additions contributed to reduce turbidity when added together with the pectinase or the protease. However, when gallic acid and tannic acid were added together they induced enhanced turbidity formation. Conventionally, immediate turbidity is presumed to be caused by pectin, while turbidity development during cold storage (haze formation) is assumed to be due to protein–phenol interactions. Our results suggest that proteins play a decisive role in the formation of immediate turbidity in cherry juice, and point to that pectin may contribute to turbidity development during cold storage of cherry juice. The data may thus pave the way for development of improved, alternative procedures for cherry juice clarification.     

Automated Protein Distribution Detection in High-Throughput Image-Based siRNA Library Screens

The availability of RNA interference (RNAi) libraries, automated microscopy and computational methods enables millions of biochemical assays to be carried out simultaneously. This allows systematic, data driven high-throughput experiments to generate biological hypotheses that can then be verified with other techniques. Such high-throughput screening holds great potential for new discoveries and is especially useful in drug screening. In this study, we present a computational framework for an automatic detection of changes in images of in vitro cultured keratinocytes when phosphatase genes are silenced using RNAi technology. In these high-throughput assays, the change in pattern only happens in 1–2% of the cells and fewer than one in ten genes that are silenced cause phenotypic changes in the keratin intermediate filament network, with small keratin aggregates appearing in cells in addition to the normal reticular network seen in untreated cells. By taking advantage of incorporating prior biological knowledge about phenotypic changes into our algorithm, it can successfully filter out positive ‘hits’ in this assay which is shown in our experiments. We have taken a stepwise approach to the problem, combining different analyses, each of which is well-designed to solve a portion of the problem. These include, aggregate enhancement, edge detection, circular object detection, aggregate clustering, prior to final classification. This strategy has been instrumental in our ability to successfully detect cells containing protein aggregates.