Broadband dielectric response of the ionic liquid N-methyl-N-ethylpyrrolidinium dicyanamide

Dielectric relaxation measurements as a function of temperature, and of concentration in a non-coordinating solvent, the first reported for an ionic liquid, indicate a crossover in the relaxation mechanism due to varying levels of ion aggregation and the interplay of formation kinetics and relaxation dynamics of associates.

N-Acetylcysteine infusion does not affect glucose disposal during prolonged moderate-intensity exercise in humans

There is evidence that reactive oxygen species (ROS) signalling is required for normal increases in glucose uptake during contraction of isolated mouse skeletal muscle, and that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is involved. The aim of this study was to determine whether ROS signalling is involved in the regulation of glucose disposal and AMPK activation during moderate-intensity exercise in humans. Nine healthy males completed 80 min of cycle ergometry at 62 ± 1 of peak oxygen consumption ( . A 6,6-2H-glucose tracer was infused at rest and during exercise, and in a double-blind randomised cross-over design, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) or saline (CON) was co-infused. NAC was infused at 125 mg kg?1h?1for 15 min and then at 25 mg kg?1h?1for 20 min before and throughout exercise. NAC infusion elevated plasma NAC and cysteine, and muscle NAC and cysteine concentrations during exercise. Although neither NAC infusion nor exercise significantly affected muscle reduced or oxidised glutathione (GSH or GSSG) concentration (P> 0.05), S-glutathionylation (an indicator of oxidative stress) of a protein band of ?270 kDa was increased ?3-fold with contraction and this increase was prevented by NAC infusion. Despite this, exercised-induced increases in tracer determined glucose disposal, plasma lactate, plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), and decreases in plasma insulin were not affected by NAC infusion. In addition, skeletal muscle AMPK? and acetyl-CoA carboxylase-? (ACC?) phosphorylation increased during exercise by ?3- and ?6-fold (P< 0.05), respectively, and this was not affected by NAC infusion. Unlike findings in mouse muscle ex vivo, NAC does not attenuate skeletal muscle glucose disposal or AMPK activation during moderate-intensity exercise in humans.

An examination of the association between interviewer question type and story-grammar detail in child witness interviews about abuse

Objective : This study compared the effects of open-ended versus specific questions, and various types of open-ended questions, in eliciting story-grammar detail in child abuse interviews.
Methods : The sample included 34 police interviews with child witnesses aged 5–15 years (M age = 9 years, 9 months). The interviewers’ questions and their relative sub-types were classified according to definitions reported in the child interview training literature. The children's responses were classified according to the proportion of story grammar and the prevalence of individual story grammar elements as defined by Stein and Glenn (1979).
Results : Open-ended questions were more effective at eliciting story grammar than specific questions. This finding was revealed across three age groups, two interview phases and irrespective of how question effectiveness was measured. However, not all types of open-ended questions were equally effective. Open-ended questions that encouraged a broad response, or asked the child to elaborate on a part of their account, elicited more story-grammar detail compared to open-ended questions that requested clarification of concepts or descriptions of the next (or another) activity or detail within a sequence.
Conclusions : This study demonstrates that children's ability to provide story-grammar detail is maximised when there is minimal prompting from the interviewer.
Practical implications : Given the association between story grammar production and victim credibility, greater guidance is warranted in interviewer training programs in relation to the effects and administration of different types of open-ended questions.

A review of vision-based gait recognition methods for human identification

Human identification by gait has created a great deal of interest in computer vision community due to its advantage of inconspicuous recognition at a relatively far distance. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of recent developments on gait recognition approaches. The survey emphasizes on three major issues involved in a general gait recognition system, namely gait image representation, feature dimensionality reduction and gait classification. Also, a review of the available public gait datasets is presented. The concluding discussions outline a number of research challenges and provide promising future directions for the field.

Carnivale of night-town

Bloomsday in Melbourne Inc. annually celebrates James Joyce's novels with a theatrical event, a seminar and a dinner. This year, the centrepiece is an outrageous burlesque, adapted from the Circe chapter, which will not only delight Joyce aficionados but will provide the 'ah-hah's' for those of us unable to penetrate the text. Carnivale of Nighttown is pure Joyce: an irreverent absurdist romp involving bizarre antics, gibberish, blasphemy, gritty humour and sexual hallucination. It is a celebration of the unsurpassed richness of language that made Ulysses the greatest novel of its time, which continues to intrigue and entertain 88 years after publication despite being branded pornographic and banned.

Young adults’ management of Type 1 diabetes during life transitions

Aim. To identify life transitions likely to impact diabetes self-care among young adults with Type 1 diabetes and their coping strategies during transition events.
Background. Relationships among psychosocial stress, adjustment, coping and metabolic control affect clinical outcomes and mental health. Life transitions represent major change and are associated with stress that temporarily affects individuals’ problem-solving, coping abilities and blood glucose levels.
Design. A qualitative interpretive inquiry.
Method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 young adults with Type 1 diabetes and a constant comparative analysis method. Data and analysis was managed using QSR NVIVO 7 software.
Results. Participants identified two significant transition groups: life development associated with adolescence, going through the education system, entering new relationships, motherhood and the workforce and relocating. Diabetes-related transitions included being diagnosed, developing diabetes complications, commencing insulin pump treatment and going on diabetes camps. Participants managed transitions using ‘strategic thinking and planning’ with strategies of ‘self-negotiation to minimise risks’; ‘managing diabetes using previous experiences’; ‘connecting with others with diabetes’; ‘actively seeing information to ‘patch’ knowledge gaps’; and ‘putting diabetes into perspective’.
Conclusions. Several strategies are used to manage diabetes during transitions. Thinking and planning strategically was integral to glycaemic control and managing transitions. The impact of transitions on diabetes needs to be explored in larger and longitudinal studies to identify concrete strategies that assist diabetes care during life transitions.
Relevance to clinical practice. It is important for health professionals to understand the emotional, social and cognitive factors operating during transitions to assist young adults with Type 1 diabetes to achieve good health outcomes by prioritising goals and plan flexible, timely, individualised and collaborative treatment.