Equine milk proteins: Chemistry,structure and nutritional significance

Equine milk has important nutritional and therapeutic properties that can benefit the diet of the elderly, convalescent or newborn. The protein content of equine milk is lower than that of bovine milk but similar to that of human milk. In this review qualitative and quantitative differences between the caseins and whey proteins of equine, bovine and human milk are discussed. Important biological and functional properties of specific proteins are reviewed and their significance in human nutrition considered. As well as characterizing equine milk proteins in the context of human nutrition and allergology, the potential industrial exploitation of equine milk is explored. Cross-reactivity of proteins from different species is discussed in relation to the treatment of cows’ milk protein allergy. While there is some scientific basis for the special nutritional and health-beneficial properties of equine milk based on its protein composition and similarity to human milk, further research is required to fully exploit its potential in human nutrition.     

Housing Equity Withdrawal in Australia: Prevalence,Patterns and Motivations in Mid-to-late Life

In an era of population ageing, the primary home is increasingly viewed as a personal resource that can perform a pension role in retirement. This article assesses the extent to which Australians aged 45 years and over withdraw housing equity through in situ mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW), downsizing and selling up. We find that the incidence of housing equity withdrawal has increased over the last decade despite a global financial crisis. MEW is the dominant form of equity release among those under pension age, while downsizing or selling up is more frequent among those above pension age. Downsizing and selling up are more likely to be prompted by adverse life events than MEW. Selling up is typically an option of last resort. Our findings offer insights into important debates around homeownership societies and the welfare role performed by owner-occupied housing in mid-to-late life.     

Perceptions of client needs and counseling center staff roles and functions.

Used a national sample of 205 university and college counseling center staff members to obtain ratings of Ss' perceptions of changes in client presenting problems, changes in agency expectations with regard to 9 service-related tasks, and their comfort and skill in performing these tasks. Ratings were obtained from past and present time perspectives to aid in assessing perceived changes in these areas. Results indicate that Ss perceived client problems to be changing from more informational/educational to more serious emotional/behavioral problem areas. At the same time, staff members across all experience levels reported an increased pressure to perform in 7 of the 9 tasks listed. Staff members generally rated themselves as able to meet current service demands. Implications for counseling training programs indicate that an emphasis on acquiring traditional therapy and assessment skills may become increasingly important and that opportunities for specialty training should be expanded. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linear-Time Algorithms for Hole-free Rectilinear Proportional Contact Graph Representations

In a proportional contact representation of a planar graph, each vertex is represented by a simple polygon with area proportional to a given weight, and edges are represented by adjacencies between the corresponding pairs of polygons. In this paper we first study proportional contact representations that use rectilinear polygons without wasted areas (white space). In this setting, the best known algorithm for proportional contact representation of a maximal planar graph uses 12-sided rectilinear polygons and takes O(nlogn) time. We describe a new algorithm that guarantees 10-sided rectilinear polygons and runs in O(n) time. We also describe a linear-time algorithm for proportional contact representation of planar 3-trees with 8-sided rectilinear polygons and show that this is optimal, as there exist planar 3-trees that require 8-sided polygons. We then show that a maximal outer-planar graph admits a proportional contact representation using rectilinear polygons with 6 sides when the outer-boundary is a rectangle and with 4 sides otherwise. Finally we study maximal series-parallel graphs. Here we show that O(1)-sided rectilinear polygons are not possible unless we allow holes, but 6-sided polygons can be achieved with arbitrarily small holes.     

Occupational posture exposure among construction electricians

The aim of this study is to record, objectively describe and compare working postures of Brazilian and Norwegian construction electricians. Postures of the upper arms, head, and neck during work and breaks were quantified by means of inclinometry for a representative sample of 12 Brazilian and 12 Norwegian electricians in the construction industry during a full work-shift. Despite that differences were found between specific work-related factors, Brazilian and Norwegian workers revealed a high and very similar level and pattern of postures for all evaluated body regions, suggesting that results could be extrapolated to other electricians. Upper arm elevation was high and similar for both groups and head flexion and extension was pronounced compared to other occupations. Thus, extreme postures were identified for construction electricians in both countries, with similar exposure pattern also for defined tasks (planning, support and wiredraw), suggesting that this job is risky regardless organizational differences.     

Lobbying friends and foes in climate policy: The case of business and environmental interest groups in the European Union

Drawing on two conflicting hypotheses from the theoretical literature on lobbying, I consider the strategies applied by interest groups lobbying to influence climate policy in the European Union (EU). The first hypothesis claims that interest groups lobby their ‘friends’, decision-makers with positions similar to their own. The second claims that interest groups lobby their ‘foes’, decision-makers with positions opposed to their own. Using interviews with lobbyists and decision-makers, I demonstrate that in the field of climate policy, interest groups in the EU lobby both friends and foes, but under different conditions. Moreover, I find that the interest groups’ motives are not always in line with the theoretical hypotheses. Interest groups lobby their friends on single policy decisions to exchange information, to further a common cause and to exert pressure, and their foes because a foe on one issue might prove to be a friend on another issue. Interest groups direct general lobbying towards both friends and foes. This paper provides a new empirical contribution to a literature that has so far been heavily dominated by studies focusing on lobbying in the US.     

A life cycle approach to modeling sea lamprey population dynamics in the Lake Champlain basin to evaluate alternative control strategies

Sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is a nuisance species in the Laurentian Great Lakes and Lake Champlain that has devastated native fish populations and hampered sport fisheries development. We developed a modified stage-based life history matrix for sea lamprey to analyze the effects of various management efforts to suppress sea lamprey population growth in Lake Champlain. These efforts targeted different life stages of the sea lamprey life cycle. A beta distribution was used to distribute stochastic larval populations among twenty sea lamprey-bearing tributaries and five deltas to Lake Champlain, from which sea lamprey that survive through larval metamorphosis were then pooled into a lake-wide parasitic-phase population. Parasitic-phase survival to the spawning stage was evaluated based on proximity to the natal tributary and on the size of the resident larval population in each tributary. Potential control strategies were modeled at egg to emergence, larval, and spawning stages to reduce vital rates at each stage, with the goal of suppressing parasitic-phase production. Simulations indicate that control of the larval stage was essential to achieving this goal, and with supplemental effort to reduce the vital rates at early life stages and at the spawning stage, the parasitic-phase population can be further suppressed. Sensitivity simulations indicate that the life history model was sensitive to egg deposition rate, abundance of parasitic-phase sea lamprey from unknown, uncontrolled sources, and the method in which parasitic-phase sea lamprey select tributaries for spawning. Results from this model can guide management agencies to optimize future management programs.     

Observed and perceived parental overprotection in relation to psychosocial adjustment in preadolescents with a physical disability: The mediational role of behavioral autonomy.

The purpose of this study was to test a mediational model of associations between parental overprotectiveness (OP), behavioral autonomy, and psychosocial adjustment in 68 families with 8- and 9-year-old preadolescents with spina bifida and a demographically matched sample of 68 families with able-bodied children. Measures included questionnaire and observational assessments of parental OP; parent and child reports of behavioral autonomy; and parent, child, and teacher reports of preadolescent adjustment. On the basis of both questionnaire and observational measures of OP, mothers and fathers of children with spina bifida were significantly more overprotective than their counterparts in the able-bodied sample, although this group difference was partially mediated by children's cognitive ability. Both questionnaire and observational measures of parental OP were associated with lower levels of preadolescent decision-making autonomy as well as with parents being less willing to grant autonomy to their offspring in the future. For the questionnaire measure of OP, and only for the spina bifida sample, the mediational model was supported such that parental OP was associated with less behavioral autonomy, which was, in turn, associated with more externalizing problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Heavy metal exposure in patients suffering from electromagnetic hypersensitivity

Background

Risks from electromagnetic devices are of considerable concern. Electrohypersensitive (EHS) persons attribute a variety of rather unspecific symptoms to the exposure to electromagnetic fields. The pathophysiology of EHS is unknown and therapy remains a challenge.

Objectives

Heavy metal load has been discussed as a potential factor in the symptomatology of EHS patients. The main objective of the study was to test the hypothesis of a link between EHS and heavy metal exposure.

Methods

We measured lead, mercury and cadmium concentrations in the blood of 132 patients (n = 42 males and n = 90 females) and 101 controls (n = 34 males and n = 67 females).

Results

Our results show that heavy metal load is of no concern in most cases of EHS but might play a role in exceptional cases.

Conclusions

The data do not support the general advice to heavy metal detoxification in EHS.