The effect of voluntary fasting and dehydration on flicker-induced retinal vascular dilation in a healthy individual: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Dynamic retinal vessel analysis represents a well-established method for the assessment of vascular reactivity during both normal conditions and after various provocations. We present a case where the subject showed abnormal retinal vessel reactivity after fasting voluntarily for 20 hours. CASE PRESENTATION: A healthy, 21-year-old man who fasted voluntarily for 20 hours exhibited abnormal retinal vascular reactivity (dilation and constriction) after flicker provocation as measured using the Dynamic Retinal Vessel Analyser (Imedos, Jena, Germany). CONCLUSION: The abnormal vascular reactivity induced by fasting was significant; abnormal levels of important nutrients due to fasting and dehydration could play a role through altering the concentration of vasoactive substances such as nitric oxide. This hypothesis needs further investigation.

Good dog SPOT? Single pot funding of local voluntary and community groups

This paper reports on a recent pilot project by the English government aimed at introducing 'single pot' funding for local voluntary and community groups. It finds that implementation difficulties undermined the success of the scheme. Moreover, whilst local voluntary and community groups were initially enthusiastic about the scheme, this was eroded both by the shortfall in funding for the initiative and by conflicting priorities for it from its national and regional flinders and from local groups.

A regional analysis of contraction rate in written Standard American English

The goal of this study is to determine if various measures of contraction rate are regionally patterned in written Standard American English. In order to answer this question, this study employs a corpus-based approach to data collection and a statistical approach to data analysis. Based on a spatial autocorrelation analysis of the values of eleven measures of contraction across a 25 million word corpus of letters to the editor representing the language of 200 cities from across the contiguous United States, two primary regional patterns were identified: easterners tend to produce relatively few standard contractions (not contraction, verb contraction) compared to westerners, and northeasterners tend to produce relatively few non-standard contractions (to contraction, non-standard not contraction) compared to southeasterners. These findings demonstrate that regional linguistic variation exists in written Standard American English and that regional linguistic variation is more common than is generally assumed.

The Once and future pioneers? : the role of voluntary organizations in innovation in the personal social services

This thesis explores the innovative capacity of voluntary organizations in the field of the personal social services. It commences with a full literature review, which concludes that the wealth of research upon innovation in the organization studies field has not addressed this topic, whilst the specialist literatures upon voluntary organizations and upon the personal social services have neglected the study of innovation. The research contained in this thesis is intended to right this neglect and to integrate lessons from both fields. It combines a survey of the innovative activity of voluntary organizations in three localities with cross-sectional case studies of innovative, developmental and traditional organizations. The research concludes that innovation is an important, but not integral, characteristic of voluntary organizations. It develops a contingent model of this innovative capacity of voluntary organizations, which stresses the role of external environmental and institutional forces in shaping and releasing this capacity. It concludes by considering the contribution of this model both to organization studies and to the study of voluntary organizations.

Strategic positioning in voluntary and non-profit organizations in the UK : exploring the experiences of British charitable organizations:Exploring the experiences of British Charitable Organizations

This thesis explores the strategic positioning [SP] activities of charitable organizations [COs] within the wider sector of voluntary and non-profit organizations [VNPOs] in the UK. Despite the growing interest in SP for British COs in an increasingly competitive operating environment and changing policy context, there is lack of research in mainstream marketing/strategic management studies on this topic for charities, whilst the specialist literature on VNPOs has neglected the study of SP. The thesis begins with an extended literature review of the concept of positioning in both commercial [for-profit] and charitable organizations. It concludes that the majority of theoretical underpinnings of SP that are prescribed for COs have been derived from the commercial strategy/marketing literature. There is currently a lack of theoretical and conceptual models that can accommodate the particular context of COs and guide strategic positioning practice in them. The research contained in this thesis is intended to fill some of these research gaps. It combines an exploratory postal survey and four cross-sectional case studies to describe the SP activities of a sample of general welfare and social care charities and identifies the key factors that influence their choice of positioning strategies [PSs]. It concludes that charitable organizations have begun to undertake SP to differentiate their organizations from other charities that provide similar services. Their PSs have both generic features, and other characteristics that are unique to them. A combination of external environmental and organizational factors influences their choice of PSs. A theoretical model, which depicts these factors, is developed in this research. It highlights the role of governmental influence, other external environmental forces, the charity’s mission, organizational resources, and influential stakeholders in shaping the charity’s PS. This study concludes by considering the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings on the study of charitable and non-profit organizations.

The effects of metformin on the vascular system

Macrovascular contraction and relaxation effects of metformin were measured using a Mulvany Halpern myograph. Mouse aortic ring sections were treated for 1 and 4 hours in vitro with metformin at 10-5M, and for 2, 4 and 8 weeks in vivo with metformin at 250mg/kg/day. The rings were contacted with increasing concentrations of noradrenaline (10-9M, 10-8M, 10-7M, 10-6M) in the absence and presence of metformin. Maximally contracted tissue was then relaxed using increasing acetylcholine concentrations (10-9M, 10-8M, 10-7M, 10-6M). Meformin increased the sensitivity of the aorta to noradrenaline-induced contraction. The maximal effect in vitro was seen after 4 hours giving a 221% increase in contraction after 4 hours at noradrenaline 10-6M. Acetylcholine-stimulated relaxation via endothelium also increased with metformin after 4 hours by 36.85%. The maximal effect of metformin treatment in vivo was seen on aortic contraction after 8 weeks: the effect of melformin treatment on relaxation was less marked at this time. Metformin also increased passive tension generated by the aortic vessel wall after 4 hours, which was reversed by administration of papaverine, which acts directly on vascular smooth muscle. Metformin was shown not to alter nitric oxide production by the mouse aortic wall after 1 and 4 hours in vitro. Metformin lowered basal calcium concentrations, as measured by FURA/2AM, generating a slow sustained increase in calcium release induced by noradrenaline during contraction. This research programme has shown that metformin can increase both the contraction and relaxation capabilities of aortic sections treated both in vitro and in vivo with therapeutic concentrations of metformin at 10-5M. Metformin has been shown to act directly in the vascular wall to alter vascular contractility via effects on both vascular smooth muscle and endothelium, and to influence calcium movements independently of nitric oxide.

Representations of voluntary childlessness in the UK Press, 1990-2008

Representations of voluntary childlessness — the declaration by an individual that he or she does not wish to bear or raise children — were studied in 116 articles published in British national newspapers in the period 1990—2008. Media framing analysis was used to examine broad patterns of framing of the topic, identifying four frames: voluntary childlessness as an individual rights issue, as a form of resistance, as a social trend, and as a personal decision. These frames, it is argued, may act as potential ‘scripts’ for newspaper readers who are debating the decision to start a family.

Women's experiential journey toward voluntary childlessness

Voluntary childlessness is a relatively novel yet growing phenomenon. This idiographic study explored three women's experiential journeys toward voluntary childlessness. Semi-structured interviews were carried out and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Themes identified were: Owning the choice to be childless, social expectations, and models of mothering. Despite defining ‘voluntary childlessness’ as an unequivocal decision, the women's experiential accounts revealed an intrinsic fluidity in their journeys toward childlessness. Factors including beliefs in equality, independence and career aspirations competed with constructs of mothering/motherhood, partnership and choice to create a complex tapestry of contributory factors in these women's childlessness. The findings question the notion of choice and particularly women's ownership of that choice. The journeys toward childlessness these women shared reveal a synthesis of agentic decision-making, personal histories and challenging lifestyle choices bound up within an existential need to be a woman. More research is needed to determine the place of voluntary childlessness within society. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Training staff in voluntary organisations:challenges in providing a service to adults with learning disabilities

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Divided care and the Third Way:user involvement in statutory and voluntary sector cancer services

In health care, as in much of the public sphere, the voluntary sector is playing an increasingly large role in the funding, provision and delivery of services and nowhere is this more apparent than in cancer care. Simultaneously the growth of privatisation, marketisation and consumerism has engendered a rise in the promotion of 'user involvement' in health care. These changes in the organisation and delivery of health care, in part inspired by the 'Third Way' and the promotion of public and citizen participation, are particularly apparent in the British National Health Service. This paper presents initial findings from a three-year study of user involvement in cancer services. Using both case study and survey data, we explore the variation in the definition, aims, usefulness and mechanisms for involving users in the evaluation and development of cancer services across three Health Authorities in South West England. The findings have important implications for understanding shifts in power, autonomy and responsibility between patients, carers, clinicians and health service managers. The absence of any common definition of user involvement or its purpose underlines the limited trust between the different actors in the system and highlights the potentially negative impact of a Third Way health service.

English in a global voluntary work context:a case study of spoken interaction and its implications for language pedagogy

This study analyses a sample of spoken interaction between a Japanese volunteer working for JICA (Japan International Co-operation Agency) and one of her co-workers in Jamaica. Details of the research context are provided, followed by a theoretical grounding of the project, which relates to publications in English as a Lingua Franca and related fields. In terms of methodology and epistemology, the research aligns with discourse analysis, specifically linguistic ethnography and interactional sociolinguistics. After presenting an an analysis of the spoken interaction based on these approaches, the resulting implications for language pedagogy are considered. This includes recommendations for specific aspects of language teaching and testing practice based on the research findings, which could be incorporated into a needs-driven localized pedagogy for future Japanese volunteers. These findings also carry significant implications for other contexts of language education, not only in terms of specific pedagogical practices but also regarding broader conceptions of language and communication.

Where did we come from? The emergence and early development of voluntary sector studies in the UK

This article considers how the field of voluntary sector studies (VSS) in the UK emerged. Drawing on published and unpublished documents as well as on semi-structured interviews with people involved in the early development of VSS, a timeline of key events is suggested. The analysis reveals both social and cognitive elements in the field's development and considers the broader policy and institutional context within which key events of the VSS field occurred.

Thermal detemplation of SBA-15 mesophases. Effect of the activation protocol on the framework contraction

The potential use of the solvothermal extraction (SE) as a preliminary step to calcination for detemplating SBA-15 mesophases is investigated; aiming to reduce the amount of organics to be burnt and thereby the corresponding structural shrinkage. A systematic study was carried out by soxhlet extraction on mesophases hydrothermally aged between 90 and 130 C. The mesophases containing variable amounts of template were then treated by calcination or pyrolysis/calcination. TGA was applied to quantify the template amount after the various treatments. The as obtained materials were characterized by SAXS and Ar ad/desorption for structural and textural information while 1H NMR gave information about the integrity of the as-recycled template. The study shows that solvothermal conditions remove considerably the template, typically from 50 to 10-20 wt.%, mainly extracted from the primary mesopores. Possible reuse of the extracted template is questionable as it is poor in polyethyleneoxide compared to the synthesis block-copolymer, Pluronic P123. For all thermal protocols applied (direct calcination, calcination after solvent-extraction or pyrolysis/calcination after solvent extraction), the thermal shrinkage decreases with the aging temperature; that is consistent with the condensation degree of the silica. For each mesophase, it was found that the thermal shrinkage becomes less pronounced when the material is fully templated; thus the template can serve as structural support or can control the mass transfer of O2 and thereby the oxidation rate of the template burning. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.