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Dozens of incurable neurological disorders result from expansion of short repeat sequences in both coding and non-coding regions of the transcriptome. Short repeat expansions underlie microsatellite repeat expansion (MRE) disorders including myotonic dystrophy (DM1, CUG50-3,500 in DMPK; DM2, CCTG75-11,000 in ZNF9), fragile X tremor ataxia syndrome (FXTAS, CGG50-200 in FMR1), spinal bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA, CAG40-55 in AR), Huntington's disease (HD, CAG36-121 in HTT), C9ORF72- amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)/frontotemporal dementia (FTD and C9-ALS/FTD, GGGGCC in C9ORF72), and many others, like ataxias. Recent research has highlighted several mechanisms that may contribute to pathology in this heterogeneous class of neurological MRE disorders - bidirectional transcription, intranuclear RNA foci, and repeat associated non-AUG (RAN) translation - which are the subject of this review. Additionally, many MRE disorders share similar underlying molecular pathologies that have been recently targeted in experimental and preclinical contexts. We discuss the therapeutic potential of versatile therapeutic strategies that may selectively target disrupted RNA-based processes and may be readily adaptable for the treatment of multiple MRE disorders. Collectively, the strategies under consideration for treatment of multiple MRE disorders include reducing levels of toxic RNA, preventing RNA foci formation, and eliminating the downstream cellular toxicity associated with peptide repeats produced by RAN translation. While treatments are still lacking for the majority of MRE disorders, several promising therapeutic strategies have emerged and will be evaluated within this review.

Highlights • We found a high asymptomatic rate in vulnerable people with epilepsy. • Enhanced surveillance allows to quickly contain outbreaks. • We report a low rate of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in a long-term care facility. • Preventative measures allow reducing resident-to-resident and -to-caregiver transmission. • Children and young adults appear to have lower infection rates., In this cohort study, we aim to compare outcomes from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people with severe epilepsy and other co-morbidities living in long-term care facilities which all implemented early preventative measures, but different levels of surveillance. During 25-week observation period (16 March–6 September 2020), we included 404 residents (118 children), and 1643 caregivers. We compare strategies for infection prevention, control, and containment, and related outcomes, across four UK long-term care facilities. Strategies included early on-site enhancement of preventative and infection control measures, early identification and isolation of symptomatic cases, contact tracing, mass surveillance of asymptomatic cases and contacts. We measured infection rate among vulnerable people living in the facilities and their caregivers, with asymptomatic and symptomatic cases, including fatality rate. We report 38 individuals (17 residents) who tested severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive, with outbreaks amongst residents in two facilities. At Chalfont Centre for Epilepsy (CCE), 10/98 residents tested positive: two symptomatic (one died), eight asymptomatic on weekly enhanced surveillance; 2/275 caregivers tested positive: one symptomatic, one asymptomatic. At St Elizabeth’s (STE), 7/146 residents tested positive: four symptomatic (one died), one positive during hospital admission for symptoms unrelated to COVID-19, two asymptomatic on one-off testing of all 146 residents; 106/601 symptomatic caregivers were tested, 13 positive. In addition, during two cycles of systematically testing all asymptomatic carers, four tested positive. At The Meath (TM), 8/80 residents were symptomatic but none tested; 26/250 caregivers were tested, two positive. At Young Epilepsy (YE), 8/80 children were tested, all negative; 22/517 caregivers were tested, one positive. Infection outbreaks in long-term care facilities for vulnerable people with epilepsy can be quickly contained, but only if asymptomatic individuals are identified through enhanced surveillance at resident and caregiver level. We observed a low rate of morbidity and mortality, which confirmed that preventative measures with isolation of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 residents can reduce resident-to-resident and resident-to-caregiver transmission. Children and young adults appear to have lower infection rates. Even in people with epilepsy and multiple co-morbidities, we observed a high percentage of asymptomatic people suggesting that epilepsy-related factors (anti-seizure medications and seizures) do not necessarily lead to poor outcomes.

The COVID-19 pandemic was caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we use enhanced crosslinking and immunoprecipitation to investigate SARS-CoV-2 protein interactions with viral and host RNAs. SARS-CoV-2 proteins, NSP8 and NSP12, bind to specific regions in the RNA viral genome, providing evidence for their central and potential roles in replication, transcription and genome recombination. SARS-CoV-2 proteins expressed in human lung epithelial cells bind to 4,821 unique host RNAs. Nine SARS-CoV-2 proteins upregulate target gene expression, including NSP12 which upregulates mitochondrial and N-linked glycosylation proteins. Furthermore, siRNA knockdown of host genes targeted by the viral proteins in human lung organoid cells demonstrates substantial antiviral effects. Conversely, NSP9 inhibits host gene expression by blocking mRNA export and dampens inflammatory responses such as interleukin-1α/β production. Our extensive viral protein-RNA interactome provides a catalog of potential therapeutic targets and offers insight into the etiology of COVID-19 as a safeguard against future pandemics. Funding Information: The work has been supported by Emergency COVID-19 Research Seed Funding (#R00RG2636) from the University of California Office of the President. This publication includes data generated at the UC San Diego IGM Genomics Center utilizing an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 that was purchased with funding from a National Institutes of Health SIG grant (#S10 OD026929). J.S.X as a visiting fellow is partially supported by Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Industrial Alignment Fund Pre-Positioning (IAF-PP) grant H17/01/a0/012. ELVN is supported by the NHGRI (R00HG009530). Declaration of Interests: J.S.X, F.E.T, J.C.S and G.W.Y declare a pending patent application. ELVN is co-founder, member of the Board of Directors, on the SAB, equity holder, and paid consultant for Eclipse BioInnovations. ELVN’s interests have been reviewed and approved by the Baylor College of Medicine in accordance with its conflict of interest policies. The authors declare no other competing interests Ethics Approval Statement: This study protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of UCSD's Human Research Protections Program (181180).

Although there are few high-profile cases of adolescent athletes being caught doping, up to a third of young athletes may dope. In order to generate a more accurate understanding of why adolescent athletes dope, it is important to validate models that help to explain this behavior. The aims of this study were 3-fold: firstly, to test the Sport Drug Control Model for Adolescent Athletes (SDCM-AA); secondly, to generate athlete profiles that would help quantify the proportion of athletes who are at risk of doping; and thirdly, to create norm values for the Adolescent Sport Doping Inventory (ASDI), which would allow national doping organizations, sporting organizations, and clubs to benchmark the scores of their athletes for key psycho-social variables linked to doping. A total of 2208 adolescent athletes from the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States completed the ASDI. The data presented an appropriate fit to the SDCM-AA model, in which 54% of the variance in susceptibility to doping was explained in the model, and 44.8% of attitudes toward doping was accounted for. Four distinct clusters of athletes emerged: the Susceptibles (i.e., identified with the benefits of doping, were willing to cheat, and viewed little threat), the Chancers (i.e., identified with the benefits of doping, scored high on willingness to cheat, and were highly influenced by their reference group, but had an average score for threat, self-esteem, and legitimacy), the Pragmatists (i.e., did not engage with any aspects of doping, but were more susceptible than the fair players), and Fair Players (i.e., high levels of sportspersonship, unwilling to cheat, and viewed doping as a threat). The revised SDCM-AA appears a valid model that helps explain the factors associated with doping attitudes and doping susceptibility. Adolescent athletes can be classified into one of four clusters, in relation to doping. Their cluster group could influence the content of the anti-doping education they receive.

The emergence of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has led to a pandemic infecting more than two million people worldwide in less than four months, posing a major threat to healthcare systems. This is compounded by the shortage of available tests causing numerous healthcare workers to unnecessarily self-isolate. We provide a roadmap instructing how a research institute can be repurposed in the midst of this crisis, in collaboration with partner hospitals and an established diagnostic laboratory, harnessing existing expertise in virus handling, robotics, PCR, and data science to derive a rapid, high throughput diagnostic testing pipeline for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in patients with suspected COVID-19. The pipeline is used to detect SARS-CoV-2 from combined nose-throat swabs and endotracheal secretions/ bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Notably, it relies on a series of in-house buffers for virus inactivation and the extraction of viral RNA, thereby reducing the dependency on commercial suppliers at times of global shortage. We use a commercial RT-PCR assay, from BGI, and results are reported with a bespoke online web application that integrates with the healthcare digital system. This strategy facilitates the remote reporting of thousands of samples a day with a turnaround time of under 24 hours, universally applicable to laboratories worldwide.

Purpose of examination / Clinical relevance At the end of 2019, several pneumonia cases were reported in Wuhan, China and the pathogen was confirmed as a new viral strain. World Health organization has named the newly identified coronavirus as 2019-nCoV, also known as SARS-Cov-2. The disease developed into a dangerous pandemic, posing major challenges to the NHS. Although more research is necessary to better understand the virus, in response to the emergency, simple and rapid testing is essential to identify the virus in infected individuals. This will aid the implementation of efficient interventions to contain the spread, and distinguish healthcare workers who have been infected, and are required to self-isolate, from those showing similar symptoms but which are not 2019-nCoV associated. The latter category may continue to work, alleviating stress on hard-pressed healthcare resources. 2019-nCoV is an RNA virus, and the diagnostic tests detect viral RNA in swabs from patient airways using a reverse transcriptase PCR assay. Samples are submitted to HSL, an accredited reporting laboratory, and transferred to the Crick for testing. The first step of the process is sample receipt at the Crick. This SOP describes the inactivation of the virus.

Clients’ subjective expectations and experiences of psychological therapy are likely to influence engagement and outcomes. A better understanding from the client perspective of how client therapy expectations compare to experiences of therapy may highlight client information needs and improve therapist sensitivity and attunement. In this study, we interviewed ten clients who had recently completed individual therapy about their expectations and experiences of therapy. Interview data were thematically analysed in the template style. Three themes are presented: (1) Undertaking the hard work of therapy and developing personal agency; (2) Abandoning expectations about ‘roles’ to develop a relationship between imperfect individuals; (3) Applying and owning learning from therapy. This study provides useful information about participants’ experiences of psychological therapy from the client perspective, including how these experiences compared to their expectations of therapy, and how these expectations changed over time. These insights could inform the development of materials to ensure those referred to and awaiting therapy are well informed and prepared for the process of therapy, promoting improved client experiences of therapy and increased engagement with the therapy process.

This Hamilton, Ontario today displays stark socioeconomic disparities in health which pattern along north/south lines within the city. Diphtheria provides a useful lens for examining the historical nature of these socioeconomic disparities. Data were collected from death registrations for the period 1900 to 1921 and 321 deaths were mapped in ArcMap. Diphtheria mortality rates were higher in the north overall; however, no difference was found for the 5–16 year age group (school age). Higher mortality in children under age five in the north due to factors associated with low SES may explain the differing rates. These results demonstrate the social inequalities in health that existed in early-twentieth century Hamilton and their geographic dimension., La ville d’Hamilton en Ontario présente aujourd’hui de fortes disparités socioéconomiques en termes de santé qui se moulent à la division nord/sud de la ville. La diphtérie nous permet d’examiner la nature historique de ces disparités. Des données recueillies de l’enregistrement des décès depuis 1900 jusqu’à 1921 ont permis l’analyse de 321 décès dans ArcMap. Malgré le fait que le taux de mortalité de la diphtérie était plus élevé au nord en général, aucune différence n’a été repérée dans le groupe d’âge de 5 à 16 ans. Dans le nord, le taux de mortalité plus élevé chez les enfants de moins de 5 ans serait alors lié aux facteurs associés avec une faible position socioéconomique. Ces résultats démontrent la dimension géographique de l’inégalité sociale en matière de santé qui existait à Hamilton au début du 20e siècle.

A significant barrier to understanding the psychosocial antecedents of doping use among adolescent athletes is the lack of valid measures. In order to address this issue, the first aim of this paper was to develop and validate the Adolescent Sport Drug Inventory (ASDI) among adolescent athletes from Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. The second aim was to assess the construct validity of the ASDI. As such, this paper is divided into two parts. Part 1 relates to the development of the ASDI and contains two studies: item development (Study 1) and factorial validity (Study 2). Part 2 contains information on how the psychosocial variables measured in the ASDI are associated with situational temptation, and honesty (Study 3), maturation (Study 4), stress and coping (Study 5), and coaching (Study 6). In devising the ASDI, 19 different models were examined, which culminated in a 9-factor, 43-item ASDI. Coping, mastery-approach goals, and cognitive-social maturity were associated with doping attitudes. Caring motivational climates, strong coach-athlete relationships, and positive coach behaviors were associated with athletes being less susceptible toward doping, which provides construct validity for the ASDI. The ASDI is a valid tool to assess the psychosocial factors associated with doping among adolescent athletes. This questionnaire can be used to identify athletes who are the most at risk of doping, assess how the psychosocial factors associated with doping change over time, and to monitor the impact of antidoping interventions for adolescent athletes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

While popular within some cognitive science approaches, the embodiment approach has still found resistance, particularly in light of evidence arguing against strong forms of embodiment. Among other things, the embodiment approach breaks away from the Cartesian ontology of the modulatory system. We claim that the advantages of the embodiment approach are: a) it grounds cognition into modal experience, b) it is harmonious with a materialist philosophy of mind (emergent materialism), and c) it is supported by experimental research in various fields. However, embodiment must still address abstractions, theoretical misunderstandings (representations vs non-representations) and neuroscientific findings that challenge the extension and relevance of sensorimotor properties into cognitive processes. While the strong version of embodiment is seriously challenged by conceptual and physiological setbacks, its weak version is supported by compelling evidence. We suggest future research focus on the psychophysiological bases of grounded cognition and redirect efforts towards the field of cross-modal correspondence. Resumen La teoría de la cognición corporeizada se separa de una ontología cartesiana basada en el sistema modular. Las ventajas del enfoque de la corporeización son: a) enraiza la cognición en la experiencia modal, b) está en armonía con una filosofía materialista de la mente (materialismo emergente), y c) está respaldada por la investigación experimental en varios campos. Sin embargo, la corporeización todavía debe dar cuenta de las abstracciones, los malentendidos teóricos (representación vs. no representación) y los hallazgos neurocientíficos que desafían la relevancia de las propiedades sensoriomotoras en los procesos cognitivos. Mientras que la versión fuerte de la corporeización se ve seriamente desafiada por los retos conceptuales y fisiológicos, su versión débil es respaldada por evidencia convincente. Sugerimos que la investigación futura se centre en las bases psicofisiológicas de la cognición corporeizada y redirija los esfuerzos hacia el campo de la correspondencia intermodal.

The purpose of this study was to assess an a priori model that included perceptions of coach behavior, coach–athlete relationship, stress appraisals, and coping. A total of 274 athletes from the United Kingdom, Austalia, and Hong Kong completed relevant measures that assessed each construct. Our results revealed that perceptions of coach behavior were associated with aspects of the coach–athlete relationship and stress appraisals. In particular, closeness was positively associated with challenge appraisals and negatively with threat appraisals. However, commitment was positively associated with threat, indicating that there might be some negative implications of having a highly committed coach–athlete relationship. Further, commitment was also positively associated with disengagement-oriented coping, which has previously been linked to poor performance and lower goal-attainment. Applied practitioners could monitor athlete’s perceptions of the coach–athlete relationship, particularly commitment levels, and provide training in appraising stress and coping to those who also score highly on threat and disengagement-oriented coping, but low on task-oriented coping.

While popular within some cognitive science approaches, the embodiment approach has still found resistance, particularly in light of evidence arguing against strong forms of embodiment. Among other things, the embodiment approach breaks away from the Cartesian ontology of the modulatory system. We claim that the advantages of the embodiment approach are: a) it grounds cognition into modal experience, b) it is harmonious with a materialist philosophy of mind (emergent materialism), and c) it is supported by experimental research in various fields. However, embodiment must still address abstractions, theoretical misunderstandings (representations vs non-representations) and neuroscientific findings that challenge the extension and relevance of sensorimotor properties into cognitive processes. While the strong version of embodiment is seriously challenged by conceptual and physiological setbacks, its weak version is supported by compelling evidence. We suggest future research focus on the psychophysiological bases of grounded cognition and redirect efforts towards the field of cross-modal correspondence.La teoría de la cognición corporeizada se separa de una ontología cartesiana basada en el sistema modular. Las ventajas del enfoque de la corporeización son: a) enraiza la cognición en la experiencia modal, b) está en armonía con una filosofía materialista de la mente (materialismo emergente), y c) está respaldada por la investigación experimental en varios campos. Sin embargo, la corporeización todavía debe dar cuenta de las abstracciones, los malentendidos teóricos (representación vs. no representación) y los hallazgos neurocientíficos que desafían la relevancia de las propiedades sensoriomotoras en los procesos cognitivos. Mientras que la versión fuerte de la corporeización se ve seriamente desafiada por los retos conceptuales y fisiológicos, su versión débil es respaldada por evidencia convincente. Sugerimos que la investigación futura se centre en las bases psicofisiológicas de la cognición corporeizada y redirija los esfuerzos hacia el campo de la correspondencia intermodal.

Hamstring strains are a common soft tissue injury in elite soccer. The injury and reinjury rates for this are high, and efficacious prevention strategies are yet to be standardized. After the research herein, training modalities emphasizing hamstring eccentric strength training progressing from low-velocity to high-velocity activities and the prevention of fatigue (i.e., conditioning drills) are recommended.

Aim We qualitatively explored the Sport Drug Control Model (SDCM; Donovan, Eggar, Kapernick, & Mendoza, 2002 ), in order to examine coaches’ perceptions of adolescent athletes’ attitudes and susceptibility towards doping. Methods Eleven coaches ( M = 10) from four countries, who worked in seven different sports (athletics, basketball, kayaking, racquetball, rowing, rugby league, and rugby union) were recruited to take part in semi-structured interviews. Transcribed interviews were analysed via a three-stage inductive and deductive coding process, which allowed us to identify common themes among the participants. Results The coaches believed that adolescents’ attitudes towards doping were influenced by perceptions of threat and benefit appraisals, morality, self-esteem, legitimacy, and reference group opinion. We also identified additional factors, which included age/maturation, sport level, pressure, country of residence, and ethnicity. Conclusions Our findings provide qualitative support for the SDCM, but also offer fresh insight into some of the nuances specific to adolescent athletes from different countries and cultures. Further research is required to test our proposed model with larger samples of adolescent athletes.

This paper explores the effects of dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations and idle time on the performance of aerated-sludge portable sewage systems for rapid deployment during natural calamities or warfare. Using synthetic sewage, three different reactors were operated at DO levels of 2–6 mg/l to determine the optimum DO for reactor performance, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic content (TOC) removal, pH, conductivity and biomass concentrations. Low DO values result in very low COD removal efficiency, while DO levels over 6 mg/l are not significantly more efficient. The oxygen utilisation rate and specific oxygen utilisation rate were in the ranges 0·87–1·08 mg O2/h and 0·44–0·895 mg O2/g MLSS (mixed liquor suspended solids) per hour respectively for the three reactors. The highest achieved specific removal rate was 14 mg/g MLSS per hour and 6 mg/g MLSS per hour for COD and TOC respectively. Investigation of idle time (no-aeration) revealed that an idle time of less than 24 h results in low removal efficiency (COD and/or TOC) but the system recovers in the next 24 h; however, an idle period of 48 h or greater results in very poor efficiency and may cause permanent failure of the bioremediation process. The results of the present study can be applied to avoid system failure in a sewage treatment system as a result of, say, intermittent or sudden power shutdown.

It is accepted among scholars that coping changes as people mature during adolescence, but little is known about the relationship between maturity and coping. The purpose of this paper was to assess a model, which included dispositional coping, coping effectiveness, and cognitive social maturity. We predicted that cognitive social maturity would have a direct effect on coping effectiveness, and also an indirect impact via dispositional coping. Two hundred forty-five adolescent athletes completed measures of dispositional coping, coping effectiveness, and cognitive social maturity, which has three dimensions: conscientiousness, peer influence on behavior, and rule following. Using structural equation modeling, we found support for our model, suggesting that coping is related to cognitive social maturity. This information can be used to influence the content of coping interventions for adolescents of different maturational levels.

The production of IL-21 by T follicular helper (Tfh) cells is vital in driving the germinal centre reaction and high affinity antibody formation. However, the degree of Tfh cell heterogeneity and function is not fully understood. We used a novel IL-21eGFP reporter mouse strain to analyze the diversity and role of Tfh cells. Through the analysis of GFP expression in lymphoid organs of IL-21eGFP mice, we identified a subpopulation of GFP+, high IL-21 producing Tfh cells present only in Peyer’s Patches. GFP+Tfh cells were found to be polyclonal and related to GFP−Tfh cells of Peyer’s Patches in TCR repertoire composition and overall gene expression. Studies on the mechanisms of induction of GFP+Tfh cells demonstrated that they required the intestinal microbiota and a diverse repertoire of CD4+ T cells and B cells. Importantly, ablation of GFP+ cells resulted in a reduced frequency of Peyer’s Patches IgG1 and germinal center B cells in addition to small but significant shifts in gut microbiome composition. Our work highlights the diversity among IL-21 producing CD4+ Tfh cells, and the interrelationship between the intestinal bacteria and Tfh cell responses in the gut.

Sport, politics and business have each made a significant impact on the economic development and world standing of both Hong Kong (HK) and China since the arrival of the British Forces during the early 1800s.1 These seemingly individual contexts have become inextricably linked throughout the era of colonial rule, at times working symbiotically to covertly influence the course of events in various social, political and sporting arenas. The discussion presented here reflects specifically on the emergence, cessation and resurgence of rugby union in HK up to the present day, acknowledging and analysing not only the mitigating social and economic factors that prompted the propagation of the game but also how Colonial and Chinese politics influenced proceedings that had a major bearing on the development of Hong Kong as a region whilst enabling the sport of rugby union to flourish.

The aim of this paper was to explore Lazarus's two-factor schematization of losses and gains and the emotions generated in response to loss (threat and harm) and gain (challenge and benefit) relational meanings. Participants were 10 professional rugby union players aged between 24 and 35 years (M age = 26.8 years, SD = 5.92). The results revealed that at different times, the same stressor had different relational meanings. For instance, opponent, coach, playing an important match, and injury stressors were appraised as losses and gains. Furthermore, stressful loss relational meanings generated pre-dominantly negative emotions, whereas gain relational meanings generated mainly positive emotions. However, anxiety was the second most reported emotion generated in response to gain relational meanings. This finding suggests that not all gain relational meanings generate positively toned emotions.

The purpose of the present study was to explore the use of imagery by an elite rugby union football player and to examine the effects of an imagery intervention in a practical performance environment. The study took place over a 14-week period of the competitive season. Data collection comprised semi-structured interviews, diaries, and the Sport Imagery Questionnaire. The findings suggested that the participant primarily used cognitive specific and cognitive general imagery. Post-intervention, the participant reported greater clarity; detail; control over his anxiety, activation, and motivation levels; an improvement in his ability to generate confidence in his playing ability prior to games; and more structure to his imagery use. The study highlighted the importance of individualizing imagery interventions to meet the specific needs of different athletes. Over the last 20 years, researchers have examined a number of theoretical frameworks to explain the mechanisms underlying the effects and use of imagery. One of the most recent frameworks of imagery use in sport was provided by Hall, Mack, Paivio, and Hausenblas (1998), who classified five types of imagery used by athletes: cognitive general (CG; e.g., imaging strategies of play), cognitive specific (CS; e.g., imaging perfectly executed sport skills), motivational general-arousal (MG-A; e.g., imaging the anxiety and arousal that can accompany competition), motivational general-mastery (MG-M; e.g., imaging being mentally tough, focused, and confident), and motivation specific (MS; e.g., imaging specific goals and outcomes). Hall et al. (1998) proposed that the five types of imagery were functionally orthogonal. Therefore, athletes may use the different types of imagery independently, or in combination, to achieve a number of successful behavioral and cognitive outcomes.

A step-by-step description of how a program introduced videotaping as an effective tool in developing Teaching Artists' skills.

Developments have been made in the addiction field with the aim of improving treatment outcomes in an area of clinical application known to be challenging. With these in mind, the potential implications for general psychological treatment are discussed.

Pelvic floor neuromuscular function was evaluated with surface electromyography using acrylic plug electrodes and interactions between neuromuscular function and factors pertinent to the delivery process were explored. Fifty-two women who were primiparas participated in this prospective cohort study. Circumvaginal and circumrectal muscles were assessed. Corrected vaginal-rectal flicks and holds were calculated. The results were compared by delivery route, birthweight, race, lactational status, and delivery anesthetic and to a group of nulliparous subjects. The mean interval from delivery was 46.3 days. Birthweight, race, lactational status, and anesthetic technique were not associated with statistically significant changes in electrical activity, although our ability to detect such differences was low due to the small number of subjects. Women who delivered vaginally had lower vaginal flick voltage than those delivering abdominally. Women who delivered vaginally had lower vaginal flick and hold voltages and rectal flick voltage when compared with nulliparous women studied earlier. Abdominally delivered women had values similar to the nulliparous group. Women delivering vaginally had less surface electromyographic activity in the circumvaginal muscles, implying that vaginal delivery impairs the neuromuscular function of the pelvic floor.

The paper presents the first part of the development of a closed loop drilling system for the management of downhole pressures. It is based on the Micro-Flux Control (MFC) method and uses real time simulation techniques connected to a process control loop that facilitates full back-pressure control over the well. The method has been described previously and is only briefly summarized here. This paper reviews the challenges and development hurdles that were overcome to commence field testing of the MFC method. The paper also describes how the first version was defined, based on feed-back received from operators, service companies and equipment suppliers. A combination of established field-proven UBD technology and existing conventional drilling techniques are used, integrating with a software-based well control system. This allows the operator to maintain an effective, safe, on-line watch on the well control process at all times and in real-time. The paper describes the results of the first series of tests conducted at a test well facility, where influxes were detected and automatically controlled with less than 1 bbl of pit gain. These outstanding results confirmed the ones previously obtained using a full size drilling simulator in the first part of the development; these results are also presented in the paper. The paper finally describes the next steps to be taken for the system to become fully available for application in a wide range of wells.

Advanced warning from arrays of on-line sensors to trigger more in-depth laboratory testing is now possible because the development phase of “smart” sensors has matured. There has been a need to develop reliable, affordable on-line instrumentation (sensors) that provides information on both lubricant and machinery condition (wear) supports critical systems requirements, addresses remote applications that are difficult to physically sample routinely, and that reduces manpower needs. The monitoring of specific oil related parameters like, alkalinity, acidity, and contaminants such as ferrous and non-ferrous debris, water, coolant and soot, with no human involvement, will be reviewed in this paper. Sensor technology includes Magnetometry and TAN Delta. They have been evaluated on test rig and on-engine trials to assess the improvement of sensitivity, insulation, electronics, connectors, and specialised software with interpretive algorithms to suit specific applications. Sensors will supplant some, but not all routine testing, thereby changing the Oil Analysis landscape.Copyright © 2005 by ASME

Ninety-seven primigravid patients were prospectively studied to assess the predictive value of the pressor response to aerobic exercise as a screening test for preeclampsia. The blood pressure response to cycle ergometry exercise to a maternal pulse of 140 beats/min was recorded on each subject. Each subject was studied in the second trimester of pregnancy at a mean gestational age of 23 weeks (range, 18 to 27). Three of the study subjects developed hypertension with proteinuria in the third trimester. A rise in systolic blood pressure of at least 30 mm Hg occurred in 29 patients, but this did not predict third trimester preeclampsia (p = 0.21). A rise in diastolic blood pressure of 20 mm was observed in 18 patients, two of whom developed preeclampsia (p = 0.08). An increase of diastolic pressure of 20 mm Hg with moderate cycle ergometry exercise in the second trimester may predict a subset of patients at elevated risk of preeclampsia in the third trimester. However, the positive predictive value of this 20 mm Hg pressor increase (11%) limits its applicability as a screening test. Thus, we cannot recommend the use of an exercise screening test at this time.

subsequently washed twice in phosphate-buffered saline and reimmersed in fresh BHI, sonicated, incubated for 24 hours and quantitatively measured at OD590nm for regrowth. Both assays were performed in triplicate. MIC and MBEC values were determined as the lowest concentration of disinfectant that inhibited growth of the bacteria. Results: Each strain exhibited different susceptibility profiles to the disinfectants tested. B. subtilis was the most resistant, while the clinical isolates were most susceptible. In addition, biofilms were more resistant to the disinfectants compared to planktonic cultures. Conclusions: Since biofilms are the primary mode of growth for most bacteria, it is important to recognize their role in the vast majority of medically relevant infections. The results of this study support the use of the MBEC method to test the efficacy of disinfectants, as it presents the most relevant results of antimicrobial activity. This will allow for further development of standardized test methods that more accurately reflect conditions found in the field, thus leading to more effective strategies for controlling the spread of infection.