Metabolic equivalent: one size does not fit all.

The metabolic equivalent (MET) is a widely used physiological concept that represents a simple procedure for expressing energy cost of physical activities as multiples of resting metabolic rate (RMR). The value equating 1 MET (3.5 ml O2 x kg(-1) x min(-1) or 1 kcal x kg(-1) x h(-1)) was first derived from the resting O2 consumption (VO2) of one person, a 70-kg, 40-yr-old man. Given the extensive use of MET levels to quantify physical activity level or work output, we investigated the adequacy of this scientific convention. Subjects consisted of 642 women and 127 men, 18-74 yr of age, 35-186 kg in weight, who were weight stable and healthy, albeit obese in some cases. RMR was measured by indirect calorimetry using a ventilated hood system, and the energy cost of walking on a treadmill at 5.6 km/h was measured in a subsample of 49 men and 49 women (26-45 kg/m2; 29-47 yr). Average VO2 and energy cost corresponding with rest (2.6 +/- 0.4 ml O2 x kg(-1) x min(-1) and 0.84 +/- 0.16 kcal x kg(-1) x h(-1), respectively) were significantly lower than the commonly accepted 1-MET values of 3.5 ml O2 x kg(-1) x min(-1) and 1 kcal x kg(-1) x h(-1), respectively. Body composition (fat mass and fat-free mass) accounted for 62% of the variance in resting VO2 compared with age, which accounted for only 14%. For a large heterogeneous sample, the 1-MET value of 3.5 ml O2 x kg(-1) x min(-1) overestimates the actual resting VO2 value on average by 35%, and the 1-MET of 1 kcal/h overestimates resting energy expenditure by 20%. Using measured or predicted RMR (ml O2 x kg(-1) x min(-1) or kcal x kg(-1) x h(-1)) as a correction factor can appropriately adjust for individual differences when estimating the energy cost of moderate intensity walking (5.6 km/h).

Expectativas, actitudes y normas percibidas respecto al uso del preservativo por los jóvenes de Mozambique = Expectations, attitudes and perceived norms regarding condom use in Mozambique young people

Objetivos: Conocer la prevalencia del uso auto informado del preservativo en la última relación sexual, así como algunas actitudes, creencias y percepciones sobre su uso para la prevención de la transmisión del VIH por vía heterosexual, en jóvenes de las ciudades de Nampula, Bemba y Lichinga, en Mozambique. Diseño: Estudio transversal de encuesta. Participantes: Seiscientos treinta y dos estudiantes de secundaria (56,8% varones), con edades comprendidas entre 15 y 24 años, seleccionados mediante un muestreo aleatorio estratificado proporcional. El porcentaje de participación es del 79%. Mediciones principales: Mediante un cuestionario, se evalúan en una escala de 0 a 10 las actitudes hacia el uso del preservativo, expectativas de resultados y de autoeficacia y aceptación percibida sobre su utilización. Asimismo se evalúa el uso auto informado del preservativo en la última relación sexual. Resultados: Sólo un 47,4% (IC 0,95 = 42,0:52,8) de los jóvenes sexualmente activos utilizó el preservativo en la última relación sexual. En general las mujeres tienen una actitud más favorable respecto a su uso y creen más en su eficacia que los hombres, pero lo utilizan menos y se sienten poco capaces de pedir su uso al varón, principalmente si se trata de su actual pareja. La autoeficacia percibida para utilizar o pedir el uso del preservativo aumenta en el caso de una pareja ocasional tanto en hombres como en mujeres. Conclusiones: Se requieren acciones institucionales y sociales que promocionen el uso del preservativo entre los jóvenes de Mozambique. Los programas preventivos deberían insistir en el cambio de actitudes y creencias, y enfatizar los beneficios que se derivan de su uso adecuado y sistemático desde la primera relación coital

Repeated Double-Poling Sprint Training in Hypoxia by Competitive Cross-country Skiers.

PURPOSE: Repeated-sprint training in hypoxia (RSH) was recently shown to improve repeated-sprint ability (RSA) in cycling. This phenomenon is likely to reflect fiber type-dependent, compensatory vasodilation, and therefore, our hypothesis was that RSH is even more beneficial for activities involving upper body muscles, such as double poling during cross-country skiing. METHODS: In a double-blinded fashion, 17 competitive cross-country skiers performed six sessions of repeated sprints (each consisting of four sets of five 10-s sprints, with 20-s intervals of recovery) either in normoxia (RSN, 300 m; FiO2, 20.9%; n = 8) or normobaric hypoxia (RSH, 3000 m; FiO2, 13.8 %; n = 9). Before (pre) and after (post) training, performance was evaluated with an RSA test (10-s all-out sprints-20-s recovery, until peak power output declined by 30%) and a simulated team sprint (team sprint, 3 × 3-min all-out with 3-min rest) on a double-poling ergometer. Triceps brachii oxygenation was measured by near-infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS: From pretraining to posttraining, peak power output in the RSA was increased (P < 0.01) to the same extent (29% ± 13% vs 26% ± 18%, nonsignificant) in RSH and in RSN whereas the number of sprints performed was enhanced in RSH (10.9 ± 5.2 vs 17.1 ± 6.8, P < 0.01) but not in RSN (11.6 ± 5.3 vs 11.7 ± 4.3, nonsignificant). In addition, the amplitude in total hemoglobin variations during sprints throughout RSA rose more in RSH (P < 0.01). Similarly, the average power output during all team sprints improved by 11% ± 9% in RSH and 15% ± 7% in RSN. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reveal greater improvement in the performance of repeated double-poling sprints, together with larger variations in the perfusion of upper body muscles in RSH compared with those in RSN.

Multimarket contact externalities: the effect of rival's multimarket contacts on focal firm performance

Given that firms develop their activities in a network of multiple players, interfirm rivalry is not only a matter of direct competitors, but also of indirect competition. In spite of this, the literature on competitive dynamics tends to focus on analyzing rivalry as an exclusive function of the competitive relationship between a focal firm and its direct rivals. In this article, we extend competitive dynamics literature by considering how focal firms are affected by the relationships of their rivals with third-party firms. Specifically, we study the effect that the multimarket contacts of rivals produces on the performance of the focal firm. Additionally, we incorporate the idea that there are different strategic options for operating in an industry that affect the intensity of multimarket contact externalities. Our results show that multimarket contact among firms causes externalities that indirectly affect firms that are not directly involved in this competitive relationship. We find that multimarket contact externalities differ between and within strategic groups.

Lifespan extension by calorie restriction relies on the Sty1 MAP kinase stress pathway

Either calorie restriction, loss of function of the nutrient-dependent PKA or TOR/SCH9 pathways, or activation of stress defences improves longevity in different eukaryotes. However, the molecular links between glucose depletion, nutrient-dependent pathways and stress responses are unknown. Here we show that either calorie restriction or inactivation of nutrient-dependent pathways induces life-span extension in fission yeast, and that such effect is dependent on the activation of the stress-dependent Sty1 MAP kinase. During transition to stationary phase in glucose-limiting conditions, Sty1 becomes activated and triggers a transcriptional stress program, whereas such activation does not occur under glucose-rich conditions. Deletion of the genes coding for the SCH9-homologue Sck2 or the Pka1 kinases, or mutations leading to constitutive activation of the Sty1 stress pathway increase life span under glucose-rich conditions, and importantly such beneficial effects depend ultimately on Sty1. Furthermore, cells lacking Pka1 display enhanced oxygen consumption and Sty1 activation under glucose-rich conditions. We conclude that calorie restriction favours oxidative metabolism, reactive oxygen species production and Sty1 MAP kinase activation, and this stress pathway favours life-span extension.

Anti-Nogo-A Antibody Treatment Promotes Recovery of Manual Dexterity after Unilateral Cervical Lesion in Adult Primates--re-examination and Extension of Behavioral Data.

In rodents and nonhuman primates subjected to spinal cord lesion, neutralizing the neurite growth inhibitor Nogo-A has been shown to promote regenerative axonal sprouting and functional recovery. The goal of the present report was to re-examine the data on the recovery of the primate manual dexterity using refined behavioral analyses and further statistical assessments, representing secondary outcome measures from the same manual dexterity test. Thirteen adult monkeys were studied; seven received an anti-Nogo-A antibody whereas a control antibody was infused into the other monkeys. Monkeys were trained to perform the modified Brinkman board task requiring opposition of index finger and thumb to grasp food pellets placed in vertically and horizontally oriented slots. Two parameters were quantified before and following spinal cord injury: (i) the standard 'score' as defined by the number of pellets retrieved within 30 s from the two types of slots; (ii) the newly introduced 'contact time' as defined by the duration of digit contact with the food pellet before successful retrieval. After lesion the hand was severely impaired in all monkeys; this was followed by progressive functional recovery. Remarkably, anti-Nogo-A antibody-treated monkeys recovered faster and significantly better than control antibody-treated monkeys, considering both the score for vertical and horizontal slots (Mann-Whitney test: P = 0.05 and 0.035, respectively) and the contact time (P = 0.008 and 0.005, respectively). Detailed analysis of the lesions excluded the possibility that this conclusion may have been caused by differences in lesion properties between the two groups of monkeys.

Le tableau vivant chez Raoul Ruiz ou l'extension de la perception

Le cinéma de Raoul Ruiz est parcouru d'un motif majeur: le tableau vivant. Cette pratique (qui avait cours au XIXe siècle et qui consiste à faire incarner des compositions célèbres par des figurants immobiles, tenant la pose) trouve dans le cinéma de Ruiz une actualisation particulière. Chacune des ressources esthétiques du motif y est explorée: sa valeur de "simulacre", de "paragone", de "réincarnation", mais aussi et surtout de dispositif de regard. Cette dernière dimension est au centre de cet article, qui étudie - surtout à partir de L'Hypothèse du tableau volé (1979), de Généalogie d'un crime (1997) et de Klimt (2007) - comment le tableau vivant permet à Ruiz de mettre en abîme et d'expérimenter la perception du spectateur. Les tableaux vivants élaborés par le cinéaste déjouent en effet la "consommation visuelle" immédiate et superficielle prônée par le cinéma hollywoodien pour activer les facultés contemplatives, analytiques, inconscientes et même déviantes du regard du spectateur.

Radio Frequency Identification Tagging as a Mechanism of Creating a Viable Producer’s Brand in the Cattle Industry, May 2005

This manuscript reports on a project to examine the feasibility of extensive radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging to determine product provenance in the meat production industry. The investigators examined existing technologies and meat production processes as well as emerging technologies in RFID tagging to assess the potential of RFID technologies for provenance assurance. While RFID technologies hold tremendous promise for traceability, the current state of the technology and production process creates challenges for effectively creating full traceability. However, RFID holds tremendous potential for improving processing throughput, which will help make RFIDbased traceability more attractive for adoption by meat processors.

Finding a suitable job: the effect of the institutional context on self-perceived over-education

The current research compares the perception of over-education in four different European countries, resorting to European Household Panel Data. The results confirm that the type of educational system accounts for some of the cross-national differences in self-perceived over-education. In qualificational spaces, like Denmark, where vocational training receives more importance, self-perceived over-education is not associated as much with educational attainment as in the so-called’ organisational spaces’, like Spain, France and Italy. Yet, the results confirm that, controlling for the system of education, the traits and regulation of the labour market also have an effect on over-education. Thus, in Spain, where temporary employment has soared in recent decades, this type of contract is clearly associated with the perception of over-education, to a much higher extent than in Italy or France. Temporary contracts in Spain may not work as a steppig stone for attaining a job suitable to the training received by the individual, as they may in the case of France or Italy. In sum, not only institutions offering skills and human capital, but labour market regulation as well, have a clear impact on the incidence of over-education.

Echo-time independent signal modulations for strongly coupled systems in triple echo localization schemes: an extension of S-PRESS editing.

The double spin-echo point resolved spectroscopy sequence (PRESS) is a widely used method and standard in clinical MR spectroscopy. Existence of important J-modulations at constant echo times, depending on the temporal delays between the rf-pulses, have been demonstrated recently for strongly coupled spin systems and were exploited for difference editing, removing singlets from the spectrum (strong-coupling PRESS, S-PRESS). A drawback of this method for in vivo applications is that large signal modulations needed for difference editing occur only at relatively long echo times. In this work we demonstrate that, by simply adding a third refocusing pulse (3S-PRESS), difference editing becomes possible at substantially shorter echo times while, as applied to citrate, more favorable lineshapes can be obtained. For the example of an AB system an analytical description of the MR signal, obtained with this triple refocusing sequence (3S-PRESS), is provided.

Five-Year Denosumab Treatment of Postmenopausal Women with Osteoporosis: Results from the first two Years of the Freedom Trial Extension

Objectives : The FREEDOM trial1 open-label extension is designed to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of denosumab for up to 10 years. We report the results from the first 2 years of the extension, representing up to 5 years of denosumab exposure.Materials/Methods : Postmenopausal women enrolled in the extension previously completed FREEDOM. During the extension, all women receive denosumab (60 mg) every 6 months and calcium and vitamin D daily. For the FREEDOM denosumab group, the data reflect 5 years of denosumab treatment (long-term group). For the FREEDOM placebo group, the data reflect 2 years of denosumab treatment (de novo group). P-values are descriptive.Results : There were 4550 (70.2%) FREEDOM women enrolled in the extension (2343 long-term; 2207 de novo). During the 4th and 5th years of denosumab treatment, the long-term group had further 1.9% and 1.7% increases in lumbar spine BMD and further 0.7% and 0.6% increases in total hip BMD (all P<0.0001 compared with extension baseline). Total BMD increases with 5-year denosumab treatment were 13.7% (lumbar spine) and 7.0% (total hip). In the de novo group, BMD increased during the first 2 years of denosumab treatment by 7.9% (lumbar spine) and 4.1% (total hip) (all P<0.0001 compared with extension baseline). After denosumab administration, serum CTX was rapidly and maximally reduced in both groups with the characteristic attenuation observed at the end of the dosing interval, as previously reported.2 Incidences of new vertebral and nonvertebral fractures were low and below rates observed in the FREEDOM placebo group. Adverse event reports were similar for both groups: in the long-term group, 83.4% reported AEs and 18.9% were serious. In the de novo group, the percentages were 82.8% and 19.4%, respectively. In FREEDOM, the respective percentages were 92.8% and 25.8% in the denosumab group and 93.1% and 25.1% in the placebo group. Two subjects in the de novo group had AEs adjudicated to ONJ which healed without further complications ; one resolved within the 6-month dosing interval and denosumab was continued. There were no atypical femoral fractures.Conclusions : Denosumab treatment for 5 years was well-tolerated and continued to significantly reduce CTX and significantly increase BMD. Reference: 1)Cummings;NEJM;2009;361:756, 2)Eastell;JBMR;2010; doi-10.1002/jbmr.251 Disclosure of Interest: This study was funded by Amgen; S Papapoulos: Consulting fees from Amgen, Merck, Novartis, Procter & Gamble, GSK, and Wyeth; R Chapurlat: Research grants and/or consulting fees from Amgen, Merck, Novartis, sanofi-aventis, Roche, Servier, and Warner Chilcott;ML Brandi: Research grants and/or consulting fees from Amgen, Eli Lily, GSK, MSD, NPS, Nycomed, Roche, Servier, and Stroder; JP Brown: Research grants and/or consulting or speaking fees from Abott, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Roche, Novartis, Merck, and Warner Chilcott; E Czerwinski: Research grants from Amgen, Astrazeneca, Danone Research, Eli Lilly, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Merck Serono, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, SantoSolve AS, and Servier; N Daizadeh, A Grauer, C Libanati: Employed by Amgen and own Amgen stocks or stock options; M-A Krieg, D Mellstrom, H Resch: None; S Radominski: Research grants from Amgen, Pfizer, Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Roche, and Aventis; Z Man: Lecture fees and/or consulting fees from Merck, Novartis, Roche, and sanofi-aventis. Novartis steering committee member; JA Roman: Research grants from Roche; J-Y Reginster: Research grants, consulting fees, and/or lecture fees from Amgen, Analis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Ebewee Pharma, Genevrier, GSK, IBSA, Lilly, Merck Sharp & Dhome, Negma, Novartis, Novo-Nordisk, Nycomed, NPS, Roche, Rottapharm, Servier, Teijin, Teva, Theramex, UCB, Wyeth, and Zodiac; C Roux: Research grants and/or consulting fees from Amgen, MSD, Novartis, Servier, and Roche; SR Cummings: Research grants and/or consulting fees from Amgen, Eli Lilly, Novartis, and Merck; HG Bone: Research grants and/or consulting or speaking fees from Amgen, Eli Lilly, Merck, Nordic Bioscience, Novartis, Takeda, and Zelos

Symbolic meaning of local identity – A case study on Barcelona place brand representation

The core objective of this research process was to design an operational tool for place brand analysis. By modelling the emotional significance and the deeper-lying symbols associated to a specific place identity I expected to create a semiotic tool that could be applied, mutatis mutandis, on other similar place brands. As a field case study to develop the instrument, my choice of the research arena was Barcelona city, the capital of Catalonia Autonomous Community, Spain. Barcelona brand identity was approached in the line of the Chicago Urban Anthropology School. The research methods were designed according to the prescriptions of the urban anthropology, namely qualitative methods: in-depth interviews and discourse analysis. The final research outcome was a model summarizing a range of specific emotional values that support a place brand to position in the collective mindset and to assume a positively valued status and identity in the world order.