Transglutaminases as tanning agents for the leather industry

This study was aimed at determining whether the protein crosslinking enzymes, transglutaminases, had the potential to be used as tanning agents, using native bovine hide and purified soluble rat tail collagen as real and model substrates, respectively. We demonstrate that transglutaminases (TGs) were capable of covalently crosslinking collagen molecules together such that on average every collagen molecule contained at least one epsilon(gamma-glutamyl)lysine crosslink. However, transglutaminase-mediated crosslinking did not affect the denaturation temperature of either native bovine hide or soluble rat tail collagens when used in isolation or together with other proteins and bifunctional diamines as crosslinking facilitators. In an initial study into the effect of TG-mediated crosslinking on the tensile strength of chrome-tanned bovine hide, such crosslinking led to a 30 per cent decrease in tensile strength. Despite a change in the gel melting point mediated by epsilon(gamma-glutamyl)lysine crosslinking, the use of transglutaminases as alternative tanning agents seems unlikely given the present data.

Territory and party:explaining public policy variation in the German Länder

This paper discusses in way in which partisan influence upon public policy, and wider historical, political and institutional pressures, can operate on a regional level and can lead to divergent policies existing within a nation-state. It offers an empirical discussion of two policy areas (education and childcare) at the regional Level (the level of the Länder) in Germany, confirming that both the partisan composition of regional government, and also wider institutional and historical pressures, exert a clear influence upon policy, lead to sharply variations in policy within the nation state. Two conclusions can be drawn: that the region cab be an important unit of analysis in Political Science and Public Policy, and that scholars of policy change may find the regional level fertile ground in analysing wider political phenomena.

Sedative load and frailty among community-dwelling population aged ≥65 years

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between use of sedative drugs and frailty. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: First wave of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a nationally representative cohort of the community-dwelling population aged 50 years or older in Ireland. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 1642 men and 1804 women aged 65 years or older. MEASUREMENTS: Regular use of sedative drugs determined according to the sedative load (SL) model, frailty phenotype status, and frailty deficit index (FI) score assessed using validated, established protocols. RESULTS: Overall, 19% of the participants took sedative drugs, most frequently hypnotics and antidepressants. Sedative drug use was at 46% for frail, 23% for prefrail, and 9% for nonfrail participants. After adjustment for covariates, SL was positively associated with being prefrail (odds ratio [OR] 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-1.46) and frail (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.02-1.64). Advancing age but not sex remained significant (P < .001). After adjustment for covariates, the association between SL and the FI was also significant at P ≤ .001 (β = 1.77; 95% CI 1.13-2.42). CONCLUSION: Higher SL was positively associated with phenotype frailty and the FI. This suggests that careful consideration must be given when prescribing sedatives to frail older adults, who are most vulnerable to adverse drug reactions and adverse health outcomes.

Maria W. Stewart: America's first Black feminist

Maria W. Stewart was the first American-born and the first African-American woman known to address a mixed audience, from 1831 to 1833, and publish her essays and speeches. The purpose of this thesis is to examine Maria W. Stewart's acts of defiance--as the first public representation of Black Feminism: demanding that white America end slavery and grant rights to black men and women, re-appropriating the hegemonic, patriarchal codes which have significant social power by exposing their inconsistencies and deconstructing their ideologies, voicing the truth about the status of African-American women in early nineteenth-century America, and challenging Black women to become entrepreneurs and (as she did) acquire an education, establish schools, and take an active role in their community. ^

Timeshare Owner Preferences - An Analysis of Program and Service Relationships during Recessionary Times

Since the 1970s various industry studies have indicated that the vacation ownership industry has enjoyed unprecedented growth in unit sales, resort growth, and the number of owners (American Resort Devleopment Association [ARDA], 2007; ARDA, 2009a; ARDA, 2009b). However, due to the recent economic downturn these growth metrics are no longer obtainable. This external impact has caused developers to retrench and therefore reflect upon their existing product and service offerings, financial metrics, and consumer markets (ARDA, 2010a; ARDA 2010b). The crux of these findings indicates that the industry has shifted to maintaining and enhancing product and service offerings as a reaction to changing economic conditions. The findings reported in the body of this manuscript represent product and service preferences as collected from a random data pull of their existing ownership base. The study also revealed current preferences of timeshare owners with relation to services provided and products/amenities offered. Management implications and limitations of the current study are discussed.

Occupational therapists' attitudes toward family -centered care

The purpose of this study was to examine pediatric occupational therapists attitudes towards family-centered care. Specific attributes identified by the literature (professional characteristics, educational experiences and organizational culture) were investigated to determine their influence on these attitudes. Study participants were 250 pediatric occupational therapists who were randomly selected from the American Occupational Therapy Association special interest sections. ^ Participants received a mail packet with three instruments to complete and mail back within 2 weeks. The instruments were (a) the Professional Attitude Scale, (b) the Professional Characteristics Questionnaire, and (c) the Family-Centered Program Rating Scale. There was a 50% return rate. Data analysis was conducted in SPSS using descriptive statistics, correlations and regression analysis. ^ The analysis showed that pediatric occupational therapists working in various practice settings demonstrate favorable attitudes toward family-centered care as measured by the Professional Attitude Scale. There was no correlation between professional characteristics and educational experiences to therapists' attitudes. A moderate correlation (r = .368, p < .05) was found between the occupational therapists attitudes and the organizational culture of their workplaces. A factor analysis was conducted on the organizational culture instrument (FamPRS) as this sample was exclusively pediatric occupational therapists and the original sample was interdisciplinary professionals. Two factors were extracted using a principal components extraction and varimax rotation, in addition to examination of the scree plot. These two factors accounted for 50% of the total variance of the scores on the instrument. Factor 1, called empowerment accounted for 45.6% of the variance, and Factor 2, responsiveness accounted for 4.3% of the variance of the entire instrument. Stepwise regression analysis demonstrated that these two factors accounted for 16% of the variance toward attitudes clinicians hold toward family-centered care. These factors support the tenets of family-centered care; empowering parents to be leaders in their child's health care and helping organizations become more responsive to family needs. ^ These study findings suggest that organizational culture has some influence on occupational therapists attitudes toward family-centered care (R 2 = .16). These findings suggest educators should consider families as valuable resources when considering program planning in family-centered care at preservice and workplace settings. ^

Clinician perceptions of factors that enhance patient compliance in physical therapy

The purpose of this study was to determine physical therapists utilization of methods to increase compliance with home exercise programs, and to determine their perceptions of barriers patients have to completing exercise programs. The secondary purpose of this study was to describe the association, if any, between therapists' age, participation in exercise and/or lifestyle changes and the utilization of methods to increase exercise compliance. A sample of 73 physical therapists attending the American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting were surveyed for this study. This study found that barriers listed by patients were similar to those found in the literature. This study also found that a significant association, p = .015, existed between therapists engaging in behavioral changes and use of lifestyle activities.

Systematic Monitoring of Wound Healing Using a Hand-held Near-Infrared Optical Scanner

According to the American Podiatric Medical Association, about 15 percent of the patients with diabetes would develop a diabetic foot ulcer. Furthermore, foot ulcerations leads to 85 percent of the diabetes-related amputations. Foot ulcers are caused due to a combination of factors, such as lack of feeling in the foot, poor circulation, foot deformities and the duration of the diabetes. To date, the wounds are inspected visually to monitor the wound healing, without any objective imaging approach to look before the wound’s surface. Herein, a non-contact, portable handheld optical device was developed at the Optical Imaging Laboratory as an objective approach to monitor wound healing in foot ulcer. This near-infrared optical technology is non-radiative, safe and fast in imaging large wounds on patients. The FIU IRB-approved study will involve subjects that have been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician and who have developed foot ulcers. Currently, in-vivo imaging studies are carried out every week on diabetic patients with foot ulcers at two clinical sites in Miami. Near-infrared images of the wound are captured on subjects every week and the data is processed using customdeveloped Matlab-based image processing tools. The optical contrast of the wound to its peripheries and the wound size are analyzed and compared from the NIR and white light images during the weekly systematic imaging of wound healing.

El género epistolar en la prensa como visión ciudadana de la esfera pública en Colombia

A partir de un análisis temático inductivo, este artículo explora la visión ciudadana sobre la esfera pública expresada en las cartas de los lectores de los diarios El Tiempo y El Heraldo de Colombia. Los resultados muestran cómo la identidad colectiva de los lectores apareció en forma transversal en las cartas, para dar cuenta de una comunidad de adultos que se autodefine como “colombianos de bien”. El análisis reveló dos unidades de significado: posturas sobre la administración de lo público y antagonismos en la esfera pública, centrada en el conflicto político con las guerrillas. A través de estas se pudieron hacer visibles los llamamientos vívidos de los lectores al gobierno, funcionarios públicos, actores al margen de la ley y a sus compatriotas, para movilizarse para exigir cambios sociales largamente esperados.

Arteterapia en el final de la vida

El arteterapia permite una aproximación creativa biográfica particularmente valiosa en la etapa final de la vida. La persona enferma presenta múltiples necesidades – físicas, emocionales, sociales y espirituales – que solo una atención holística puede pretender abarcar, tal como lo contempla la filosofía de los cuidados paliativos. El arteterapeuta integrado en el equipo interdisciplinar contribuye a aliviar y acompañar el sufrimiento del paciente y su familia. Se presentan aquí las bases teóricas y la metodología de la intervención, así como el marco sanitario en el cual se inscribe.