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ADAMTS13 antibody and inhibitor assays
No full textA finding of an ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin-like and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13) activity level of <10% of normal is usually sufficient to distinguish thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) from other thrombotic microangiopathies. TTP can be congenital or acquired, the most common form being acquired immune-mediated TTP caused by autoantibodies than inhibit ADAMTS13 function and/or increase its clearance. Basic 1 + 1 mixing tests can detect the presence of inhibitory antibodies, and quantification can be achieved with Bethesda-type assays that measure loss of function in a series of mixtures of test plasma and normal plasma. Not all patients present with inhibitory antibodies, and here the ADAMTS13 deficiency may be caused by clearing antibodies alone, which are not detectable in functional assays. ELISA assays are commonly used to detect clearing antibodies via capture with recombinant ADAMTS13. Since they also detect inhibitory antibodies, they are the preferred assay, although they cannot distinguish between inhibitory and clearing antibodies. The present chapter describes principles, performance, and practical aspects of a commercial ADAMTS13 antibody ELISA and a generic approach to Bethesda-type assays for detecting inhibitory ADAMTS13 antibodies
Corporate liability and international criminal law
No full textThis book investigates whether corporate criminal liability should be incorporated within the scope of international criminal law. The work provides unique insight into the evolution of the debate on the international criminal liability of corporations to facilitate future discussion on the possibility of including corporations within the scope of international criminal law. It combines a detailed examination of Nuremberg and Rome with the examination of previously overlooked initiatives such as the Draft Code of Offences against Peace and Security of Mankind and the 1951 and 1953 Committees on International Criminal Jurisdiction. This analysis is also complemented by a review of significant post-1998 international and domestic developments around corporate criminal liability. In addition, it offers suggestions for the development of an amendment to hold corporations accountable under the Statute of the ICC.
The book contributes to the existing literature on the topic of corporate liability which attracts significant attention from scholars in the fields of Law, Business and Political Science. It will be useful to professionals in the academic and diplomatic fields, researchers, legal advisors, and business leaders. It will also be of interest to anyone who wants to understand the debate on holding businesses accountable under international criminal law
Authentic by design: developing mathematicians for the talent economy
Get PDFThe graduate skills expected of mathematics students from employers has changed over the past decade. Traditionally, mathematics graduates are recognised for their logical approaches, critical thinking and analytical skills as well as their ability to solve complex problems. The nature of the employment market is also changing with many industries increasingly seeking digital and technology-driven employees. Digitally fluent graduates with a broad skill set are highly sought after. For mathematics programme teams this mean that these skills need to be updated for the modern economy. Previously Middlesex University’s mathematics programmes have embedded problem solving and communication skills in two modules. In this case-study we will outline how the programme team has developed our approach to teaching these skills to enhance students’ skills
Examining the cultural differences in disseminating green supply chain in global subsidiaries
Get PDFMultinational corporations (MNCs) are composed of subsidiaries with different cultures, and such culture differences between headquarters and subsidiaries have been conceptually proposed to negatively affect headquarters disseminating green initiatives to their subsidiaries. Despite MNCs vast size and cross-national-border influence on green innovation, very few empirical efforts have been devoted to examine the culture distance challenge. Drawing on Cultural Contingency Theory (CCT) and Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV), this research collected data from 141 senior managers in charge of green initiatives from subsidiaries in 39 countries of an MNC. We empirically investigate how national cultural distance influences subsidiaries’ green supply chain (GSCM) adoption levels, and how headquarters can alleviate such cultural influence. Our results show that, though cultural distance has a negative influence on headquarters-subsidiary green compatibility, we empirically validate that headquarters can overcome this cultural-distance problem by strategically using cultural similarity in response to each distinctive culture embedded in subsidiaries to strengthen a shared vision. Specifically, four cultural characteristics can strengthen the shared vision, including low individualism, low uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and a long-term orientation. MNCs can eventually benefit from the cross-culture cooperation in disseminating GSCM if headquarters can choose a cultural mechanism that best suits local subsidiary
Physical preparation for golf
No full textHistorically, in both the recreational and professional game, golf is not a sport that has a strong tradition of physical preparation. At the recreational level, less than 30% of golfers do any structured warm up and most golf facilities do not have a gym. However, a greater understanding of the health- and performance-related benefits of fitness training is changing this, with elite and professional players now viewing physical preparation as being as important as golf practice. Specifically, it is now common to see athletic warm-ups and physical training regimes focusing on dedicated speed training on the range, improving strength, power, and range of motion in the gym, and drawing on the planning expertise of strength and conditioning coaches to ensure this training is optimised through effective modulation of stress, adaptation, and recovery. As a result, professional players are exhibiting faster clubhead speeds than ever before, which naturally translates to hitting the ball a greater distance
Connecting perceptual control theory with health behavior
No full textThis chapter presents a case for bringing a perceptual control theory (PCT; Powers, 1973) perspective into health psychology. The central thesis is that PCT offers new insights for health and health research that go beyond the conventional cognitive-behavioral mainstream theories that inform health behavior change interventions. The main contribution being that PCT offers a coherent definition of health and an explanation of health behavior and health behavior variability under invariant reference states or goals. The chapter summarizes the process of gathering initial evidence for perceptual control, presents a case study on variability in hand hygiene, and describes how behavior change in dieting and quitting smoking can be framed as processes of control loops
Reliability and validity of hand-held dynamometer and hand-held sphygmomanometer for testing shoulder isometric external and internal rotator muscles strength
Get PDFBackground: Shoulder strength evaluation is a recommended procedure in musculoskeletal rehabilitation.
Aim: To examine hand-held sphygmomanometer (HHS) and hand-held dynamometer (HHD) intra- and inter-rater reliability during isometric shoulder external and internal rotation strength testing in prone rotation position in asymptomatic participants, and to compare these two testing modalities.
Design: Reliability study
Methods: A total of 20 asymptomatic participants (27.7±7.4 years; 77.1±10.1 kg) attended a strength assessment consisting of HHS and HHD tests. Reliability was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), coefficient of variation (CV) with 95%CI, and standard error of measurement (SEM). Pearson correlation and linear regression analysis were used to compare HHS and HHD testing modalities.
Results: “Good” to “excellent” intra (ICC range = 0.896 to 0.979) and inter-rater reliability scores (ICC range = 0.850 to 0.978) were displayed during both HHS and HHD tests during internal and external rotation strength assessments. Linear relationships between HHS and HHD measures were found, with coefficients of determination (R2) ranging between 0.60 to 0.79.
Conclusion: HHS and HHD resulted to be reliable strength assessment modalities for clinical practice. These assessment modes can be equally valid in assessing intra and inter-limb asymmetries in isometric shoulder rotation strength. The affordability and availability of HHS in ordinary clinical settings can facilitate its implementation in musculoskeletal practice
Leadership, innovation and strategy development in military hard structures: Bringing chaos to order
Get PDFThis thesis is a critical engagement with the development of leadership for officers in the United States Air Force (USAF) at the USAF’s Air University (AU) through specially designed graduate level education courses in leadership and innovation. These programs have been in regular demand and requests for their dissemination to various other parts of the military are frequent. They are also the seed bed for a number of change initiatives and graduates are to be found at the highest level of decision making. This responsibility to anticipate the future and contribute to supporting officers to lead in increasing complexity, requires me to be constantly questioning myself, my own leadership, my ideas and the ideas of others to inform the design and ongoing evolution of these programs. This evolution is nudged not only from questioning but from the input of students, faculty, and staff in a collaborative endeavor. The context is leadership in, what I refer to as, a ‘hard structure’, one that is heavily regulated and bureaucratized with non-negotiable expectations of its members in service to the protection of systems of security, from economy and law enforcement to trade and civil liberties. In the context of this particular hard structure of the military, the mandate to safeguard a nation’s institutions and alliances can also be a mandate to kill on small and large scales, if ordered to, in the interests of national and international security. This critique has brought into greater awareness the ambiguities, contradictions, and paradoxes faced by military leadership; it questions whether existing formulaic models are relevant to practice in field conditions and tracks my search for concepts as translational devices to negotiate opposing tensions and to see the possibilities in ‘the middle way’. I collaborate with students, peers, and literature to enable leadership and innovation education to shift from a monoperspective to a multi-perspective lens and from leadership as some form of mono-discipline to a multidisciplinary one. I explore the relevance of approaches and concepts including transdisciplinary perspectives as complementary ways to approach leadership for the future. While innovation is part of the leadership portfolio, I arrive at the need to introduce strategy into that portfolio and have set in motion an initiative to integrate all three into a Master’s program that stretches not only the skills of young officers but their imagination. I can now articulate more clearly the concepts, ideas and distilled experience that informs the content and the delivery of the leadership and innovation programs– a transparency of my own understanding including (i) context is pivotal (ii) once leaders understand and are comfortable with their ‘being’ they will be confident to seek cognitive diversity to complement any perceived or actual ‘weaknesses’ in themselves (iii) this in turn results in strong, cohesive teams where individuals can feel less inhibited in expressing and comprehending their strengths and can strive to help each other flourish with an understanding that leaders can only be as great as the teams they create
Assessing limb dominance and inter-limb asymmetries over multiple angles during change of direction speed tests in basketball players
Get PDFThe aims of this study were to establish whether directional dominance is displayed during change of direction (COD) tasks across various angles, to determine the angle-variation data for the asymmetry magnitude and direction, and to analyse the relationships in COD performance (completion time and COD deficit) across tasks. Twenty-four young (U-16 to U-20), highly trained male basketball players performed a 10-m linear sprint test and four 10-m COD tests (45º, 90º, 135º and 180º) in left and right directions. COD performance was determined via total times and COD deficit and asymmetry comparisons were made between faster and slower directions and dominant [DL] (i.e., first step leg in lay-up) and non-dominant (NDL) legs. No significant differences (p>0.05) were found between DL and NDL for any task excluding 45° COD (p<0.05, Effect size [ES]= 0.44-0.78), but significant differences were established between faster and slower sides for all angles (p<0.05, ES=0.70-1.28). Levels of the agreement in directional dominance during COD tasks were generally poor to slight (k=-0.14 to 0.14), excluding a fair agreement between COD45 and COD90 (k= 0.34). Correlations between COD total times and COD deficits between angles were moderate to very large (r=0.32 to 0.81) and moderate to large (r=-0.30 to 0.55) respectively. Players displayed superior COD performance in a particular direction across various angles. This directional dominance is not necessarily consistent between angles, thus, highlighting the angle-dependent nature of COD performance. Consequently, practitioners should investigate multiple angles and directions to create a COD angle profile for their athletes
Evolutionary biology: Contemporary and historical reflections upon core theory
No full textThe Modern Synthesis (MS) in evolutionary biology has been well documented and discussed. Critical scrutiny over the last 15 years has led researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to claim that there is a need for an extension to that theory, and they have called for an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES).
The majority of chapters in this book address various aspects of the EES position, and reflect upon the MS. Some of the chapters take historical perspectives, analyzing various details of the MS and EES claims. Others offer theoretical and philosophical analyses of the debate, or take contemporary findings in biology and discuss those findings and their possible theoretical interpretations. All of the chapters draw upon actual biology to make their points. Each chapter is accompanied by a commentary from one or more of the authors contributing to the volume, and that commentary is then replied to. In this way the book offers a discursive approach to the topics covered and exposes key lines of debate for future enquiry.
This book is written by practicing biologists and behavioural biologists, historians and philosophers - many of them working in interdisciplinary fields. It is a valuable resource for historians and philosophers of biology as well as for biologists