Foreign assistance : North Korea restricts food aid monitoring : report to the Chairman, Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives /

"B-283605"--P. 3.

Strength and endurance training lead to different post exercise glucose profiles in diabetic participants using a continuous subcutaneous glucose monitoring system

Background Although both strength training (ST) and endurance training (ET) seem to be beneficial in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), little is known about post-exercise glucose profiles. The objective of the study was to report changes in blood glucose (BG) values after a 4-month ET and ST programme now that a device for continuous glucose monitoring has become available. Materials and methods Fifteen participants, comprising four men age 56.5 +/- 0.9 years and 11 women age 57.4 +/- 0.9 years with T2D, were monitored with the MiniMed (Northridge, CA, USA) continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) for 48 h before and after 4 months of ET or ST. The ST consisted of three sets at the beginning, increasing to six sets per week at the end of the training period, including all major muscle groups and ET performed with an intensity of maximal oxygen uptake of 60% and a volume beginning at 15 min and advancing to a maximum of 30 min three times a week. Results A total of 17 549 single BG measurements pretraining (619.7 +/- 39.8) and post-training (550.3 +/- 30.1) were recorded, correlating to an average of 585 +/- 25.3 potential measurements per participant at the beginning and at the end of the study. The change in BG-value between the beginning (132 mg dL(-1)) and the end (118 mg dL(-1)) for all participants was significant (P = 0.028). The improvement in BG-value for the ST programme was significant (P = 0.02) but for the ET no significant change was measured (P = 0.48). Glycaemic control improved in the ST group and the mean BG was reduced by 15.6% (Cl 3-25%). Conclusion In conclusion, the CGMS may be a useful tool in monitoring improvements in glycaemic control after different exercise programmes. Additionally, the CGMS may help to identify asymptomatic hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia after training programmes.

Pharmacist monitoring of patient health in the community

The Government has established essential principles in order to make significant improvements in the health of the people and has placed an emphasis on shifting care to the primary sening. This research has explored the potential role of the community pharmacist in health promotion in the pharmacy, and at general medical practices. The feasibility of monitoring patients' health status in the community was evaluated by intervention to assess and alter cardiovascular risk factors.68, hypertensive patients, monitored at one surgery, had a change in mean systolic blood pressure from 158.28 to 146.55 mmHg, a reduction of 7.4%, and a change in mean diastolic bood pressure from 90.91 to 84.85 mmHg, a reduction of 6.7%.120 patients, from a cohort of 449 at the major practice, with an initial serum total cholesterol of 6.0+mmol/L, experienced a change in mean value from 6.79 to 6.05 mmol/L, equivalent to a reduction of 10.9%. 86% of this patient cohort showed a decrease in cholesterol concentration. Patients, placed in a high risk category according to their coronary rank score, assessed at the first health screening, showed a consistent and significant improvement in coronary score throughout the study period of two years. High risk and intermediate risk patients showed improvements in coronary score of 52% and 14% respectively. Patients in the low risk group maintained their good coronary score. In some cases, a patient's improvement was effected in liaison with the GP, after a change or addition of medication and/or dosage.Pharmacist intervention consisted of advice on diet and lifestyle and adherence to medication regimes. It was concluded that a pharmacist can facilitate a health screening programme in the primary care setting, and provide enhanced continuity of care for the patient.

Computer integrated monitoring

Computer integrated monitoring is a very large area in engineering where on-line, real time data acquisition with the aid of sensors is the solution to many problems in the manufacturing industry as opposed to the old data logging method by graphics analysis. The raw data which is collected this way however is useless in the absence of a proper computerized management system. The transfer of data between the management and the shop floor processes has been impossible in the past unless all the computers in the system were totally compatible with each other. This limits the efficiency of the systems because they get governed by the limitations of the computers. General Motors of U.S.A. have recently started research on a new standard called the Manufacturing Automation Protocol (MAP) which is expected to allow data transfer between different types of computers. This is still in early development stages and also is currently very expensive. This research programme shows how such a shop floor data acquisition system and a complete management system on entirely different computers can be integrated together to form a single system by achieving data transfer communications using a cheaper but a superior alternative to MAP. Standard communication character sets and hardware such as ASCII and UARTs have been used in this method but the technique is so powerful that totally incompatible computers are shown to run different programs (in different languages) simultaneously and yet receive data from each other and process in their own CPUs with no human intervention.

Changes in biodiversity and trade-offs among ecosystem services, stakeholders, and components of well-being: the contribution of the International Long-Term Ecological Research network (ILTER) to Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS)

The International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) network comprises > 600 scientific groups conducting site-based research within 40 countries. Its mission includes improving the understanding of global ecosystems and informs solutions to current and future environmental problems at the global scales. The ILTER network covers a wide range of social-ecological conditions and is aligned with the Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) goals and approach. Our aim is to examine and develop the conceptual basis for proposed collaboration between ILTER and PECS. We describe how a coordinated effort of several contrasting LTER site-based research groups contributes to the understanding of how policies and technologies drive either toward or away from the sustainable delivery of ecosystem services. This effort is based on three tenets: transdisciplinary research; cross-scale interactions and subsequent dynamics; and an ecological stewardship orientation. The overarching goal is to design management practices taking into account trade-offs between using and conserving ecosystems toward more sustainable solutions. To that end, we propose a conceptual approach linking ecosystem integrity, ecosystem services, and stakeholder well-being, and as a way to analyze trade-offs among ecosystem services inherent in diverse management options. We also outline our methodological approach that includes: (i) monitoring and synthesis activities following spatial and temporal trends and changes on each site and by documenting cross-scale interactions; (ii) developing analytical tools for integration; (iii) promoting trans-site comparison; and (iv) developing conceptual tools to design adequate policies and management interventions to deal with trade-offs. Finally, we highlight the heterogeneity in the social-ecological setting encountered in a subset of 15 ILTER sites. These study cases are diverse enough to provide a broad cross-section of contrasting ecosystems with different policy and management drivers of ecosystem conversion; distinct trends of biodiversity change; different stakeholders’ preferences for ecosystem services; and diverse components of well-being issues.

Monitoring Compliance with Open Access policies

In the last few years, academic communities have seen an increase in the number of Open Access (OA) policies being adopted at the institutional and funder levels. In parallel to policy implementation, institutions and funders have also been engaged in developing mechanisms to monitor academics and researchers compliance with the existing OA policies. This study highlights a few of the cases where compliance is being effectively monitored by institutions and funders. In the first section, Open Access is briefly overviewed and the rationale for monitoring OA policy compliance is explained. The second section looks at best practices in monitoring policy compliance with OA policies by funders and institutions. The case studies reflect on compliance with the UK Funding Councils and the USA National Institutes of Health OA policies. The third section makes recommendations on what processes and procedures universities and funders should adopt to monitor compliance with their OA policies. The final section recapitulates some of the key ideas related to monitoring policy compliance.

Ciblage des délinquants sexuels : regard sur la qualité et la pertinence d'un programme de surveillance en communauté

Les crimes sexuels génèrent beaucoup d’inquiétudes chez la société, particulièrement quand vient le temps de libérer certains délinquants sexuels à risque élevé de récidive. Les évaluations du risque sont ainsi pertinentes puisque la majorité des délinquants sexuels sont libérés suivant une peine d’emprisonnement déterminée (Wilson, Picheca and Prinzo, 2005). Certaines méthodes sont donc mises en place servant à gérer les délinquants sexuels en communauté. Un cadre légal impose certaines conditions de remise en liberté et vise à réduire le risque de récidive (Hanson and Morton-Bourgon, 2005). Toutefois, une fois leur sentence complétée, certains délinquants posent toujours un risque pour la société. Pour répondre à ce problème, des partenariats ont été développés au Québec entre les services correctionnels et policiers. Ils imposent une surveillance accrue des personnes à risque élevé de récidive (PRER). Les décisions qui sont prises peuvent être lourdes de conséquences. Il est donc important d’évaluer si les méthodes de ciblage sont efficaces, soit orientées vers les individus à haut risque de récidive. Les données utilisées dans le cadre de ce mémoire proviennent de deux sources. Premièrement, un échantillon comparatif issu d’une compilation de données comprenant l’ensemble des délinquants sexuels condamnés depuis 20 ans a été utilisé (n = 235). Puis, un registre développé depuis 10 ans regroupant l’ensemble des individus soumis au programme a été analysé (n = 235). Les participants ont été évalués en fonction des variables disponibles de la Statique-99R. L’utilité de l’outil pour la police a été mise en perspective. Le programme ne semble pas n’impliquer que des délinquants sexuels à haut risque de récidive. Les taux de récidive sont relativement bas et similaires dans les deux échantillons. Les services de police ont des données pertinentes qui permettent d’étudier la qualité du ciblage fait dans le cadre du programme. Des évaluations plus fiables pourraient améliorer l’allocation des ressources et les stratégies de ciblage.