2,558 research outputs found
“Well, you go there to get off” Visiting Feminist Care Ethics through a Women’s Bathhouse
No full textThis paper examines normative feminist care scholarship through the lens of a sexual bathhouse. At first glance, a space dedicated to casual sexual pleasure seems at odds with care ethics. Drawing on Toronto Women’s Bathhouse (TWB) as a case study, this paper argues that bathhouse spaces can exemplify feminist care norms. At the same time, as a casual sexual space oriented towards personal autonomy, carefree conduct, and self-care, TWB also challenges certain feminist care assumptions. Drawing on these challenges, in the light of wider problems with normative care theorizing, particularly the sanitization and idealization of personal relationships, the paper seeks to revision care along non-normative lines
The impact of Vitamin D supplementation on athletic performance
No full textVitamin D (VitD) has been found to have many effects on systems in the body; these include the immune, cardiovascular and muscular system. In the elderly vitamin D (VitD) deficiency is implicated in reduced skeletal muscle function and physical performance (PP); however very few studies have been done to look at the effects of vitamin D deficiency on athletics performance in collegiate and recreational athletes. The purpose of this study was to (1) Determine the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency among Collegiate Athletes and athletic persons from the general public, (2) Determine if a 12-week VitD supplementation at 28,000IU/week in VitD insufficient or deficient athletes raises Vit D levels to a sufficient range, and (3) Determine VitD supplementation of 28,000IU/week improves physical performance in Vit D insufficient or deficient athletes. Methods: 93 athletes completed baseline measurements of serum calcidiol 25(OH)D levels, height, weight, body composition, a Block calcium/VitD questionnaire and a sun log. Athletes with serum calcidiol below 30ng/mL performed 5 PP tests (30m sprint, standing long jump, vertical jump, leg strength and flexibility) and were randomly assigned to a placebo control or VitD supplement (28,000 IU of VitD/week) group for 16 weeks. Post-intervention measures were the same as those collected at baseline. Results 30.1% of the subject populations were VitD deficient or insufficient at baseline while 69% of the populations were sufficient. Of the VitD insufficient or deficient athletes, 75% were African-American. Serum levels of VitD supplemented subject were raised to sufficient levels (39.3±5.1 ng/mL). There was no significant difference in any performance variable from pre to post intervention; however there were significant positive correlations between serum 25(OH)D and flexibility (r=0.55, p=0.03), serum 25(OH)D and type II fiber percentage (r=0.66, p=0.005) and sun exposure and leg strength (r=-0.51, p=0.04). Conclusion: VitD deficiency and insufficiency is highest among African American athletes and VitD supplementation at 28,000 IU / week will raise serum levels to significant levels, but was ineffective in increasing athletic performance
Mathematics, multimedia and higher level thinking skills
No full textThis paper emerges from our collective interest and experience in the use of multimedia in the science and mathematics classroom. We each approach this topic from a different direction. The first author, Martin, during his years as a classroom teacher, began to see the possibility of utilising multimedia to create a student centred learning environment in which a self paced curriculum would be delivered by the computer. Martin was aware, however, that there were many questions regarding the pedagogical value of using multimedia in the mathematics classroom that needed to be answered. Specifically, could the software address the vital issues of problem solving and higher-level thinking? The second author, Dorit, was involved in research in this area over the last 10 years. In her research she investigated the potential of computerised learning environments and constructivist teaching epistemology in promoting higher-level thinking skills in the science classroom
Vitamin D supplementation and athletic performance in male collegiate and recreational, intramural basketball players
No full textDeficient and insufficient levels of serum 25(OH)D, defined as levels below 30ng/ml, have been reported to negatively affect muscular performance and function, immune function, cognitive function, and other measures vital to perform in sports and athletics. Initial research has shown that athletes, especially those who practice and compete indoors, tend to have deficient and insufficient levels of vitamin D. However, the effects of supplementation with vitamin D3 on athletic performance measures in collegiate and recreational, intramural athletes has not been studied. This study examined 18 college aged males, both collegiate and recreational, intramural basketball players in a double-blind, placebo controlled trial, where neither the study participants nor researchers were aware of treatment, either vitamin D3 supplementation or placebo. Blood samples were taken and analyzed for 25(OH)D using liquid chromatography, tandem mass spectrometry at baseline and after 8 weeks of supplementation. Pre- and post-tests consisted of the vertical jump, to assess power, 20 m sprint time trial, to assess speed, and 5-10-5 agility drill time trial, to assess agility. The results indicated that collegiate and recreational, intramural basketball players were deficient in 25(OH)D at baseline, at 19.33 ng/mL (9.46). Vitamin D3 supplementation was effective at significantly increasing 25(OH)D levels from 21.10 ng/ml (9.27), an insufficient level, to 41.1 ng/ml, a sufficient level. Placebo did not significantly increase 25(OH)D levels, although levels did increase 18.25 ng/ml (10.30) to 27.88 ng/ml (7.77). However there were no significant differences in pre and post athletic performance measurements of the vertical jump height, 20 m sprint time, and 5-10-5 agility drill time. In conclusion, 4,000 IU of vitamin D3 supplementation, as expected, significantly increased 25(OH)D levels, but was ineffective in increasing athletic performance
Morphologic and functional correlates of synaptic pathology in the cathepsin D knockout mouse model of congenital neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis
No full textMutations in the cathepsin D (CTSD) gene cause an aggressive neurodegenerative disease (congenital neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis) that leads to early death. Recent evidence suggests that presynaptic abnormalities play a major role in the pathogenesis of CTSD deficiencies. To identify the early events that lead to synaptic alterations, we investigated synaptic ultrastructure and function in presymptomatic CTSD knockout (Ctsd) mice. Electron microscopy revealed that there were significantly greater numbers of readily releasable synaptic vesicles present in Ctsd mice than in wild-type control mice as early as postnatal day 16. The size of this synaptic vesicle pool continued to increase with disease progression in the hippocampus and thalamus of the Ctsd mice. Electrophysiology revealed a markedly decreased frequency of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) with no effect on paired-pulse modulation of the evoked excitatory post synaptic potentials in the hippocampus of Ctsd mice. The reduced mEPSCs frequency was observed before the appearance of epilepsy or any morphologic sign of synaptic degeneration. Taken together, these data indicate that CTSD is required for normal synaptic function and that a failure in synaptic trafficking or recycling may bean early and important pathologic mechanism in Ctsd mice; these presynaptic abnormalities may initiate synaptic degeneration in advance of subsequent neuronal loss
Singlet and triplet Cooper pair splitting in hybrid superconducting nanowires
No full textIn most naturally occurring superconductors, electrons with opposite spins
are paired up to form Cooper pairs. This includes both conventional -wave
superconductors such as aluminum as well as high-, -wave
superconductors. Materials with intrinsic -wave superconductivity, hosting
Cooper pairs made of equal-spin electrons, have not been conclusively
identified, nor synthesized, despite promising progress. Instead, engineered
platforms where -wave superconductors are brought into contact with magnetic
materials have shown convincing signatures of equal-spin pairing. Here, we
directly measure equal-spin pairing between spin-polarized quantum dots. This
pairing is proximity-induced from an -wave superconductor into a
semiconducting nanowire with strong spin-orbit interaction. We demonstrate such
pairing by showing that breaking a Cooper pair can result in two electrons with
equal spin polarization. Our results demonstrate controllable detection of
singlet and triplet pairing between the quantum dots. Achieving such triplet
pairing in a sequence of quantum dots will be required for realizing an
artificial Kitaev chain.Comment: Authors' version of the accepted manuscrip
Supercurrent parity meter in a nanowire Cooper pair transistor
No full textWe study a Cooper pair transistor realized by two Josephson weak links that enclose a superconducting island in an InSb-Al hybrid nanowire. When the nanowire is subject to a magnetic field, isolated subgap levels arise in the superconducting island and, because of the Coulomb blockade, mediate a supercurrent by coherent cotunneling of Cooper pairs. We show that the supercurrent resulting from such cotunneling events exhibits, for low to moderate magnetic fields, a phase offset that discriminates even and odd charge ground states on the superconducting island. Notably, this phase offset persists when a subgap state approaches zero energy and, based on theoretical considerations, permits parity measurements of subgap states by supercurrent interferometry. Such supercurrent parity measurements could, in a series of experiments, provide an alternative approach for manipulating and protecting quantum information stored in the isolated subgap levels of superconducting islands. Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer ScienceQRD/Kouwenhoven LabBUS/Quantum DelftQN/Kouwenhoven La
Multiple arterial embolization from left atrial myxoma in a Maltese boy
No full textAtrial myxoma is rare in adults and even rarer in children. In this article the author describes. The presentation may be with embolic, obstructive or constitutional symptoms, which may be dramatic and life-threatening. The case of a 12 year old Maltese boy with left atrial myxoma with multiple simultaneous arterial embolism in upper and lower limbs is described in this article.peer-reviewe
Infant attention to rate of infant directed speech in the context of varying levels of visual stimulation
No full textPast research has found that infants between 1- and 4-months of age prefer extremely slow infant-directed (ID) speech to normal ID speech. Given that previous studies have paired the speech with a visual display, it was thought that perhaps the characteristics of the visual display affected infant preferences for rate of speaking. The present investigation was an attempt to explore this possibility. In Experiment 1, 3- to 4-month old infants were presented with ID-normal and ID-slow speech samples paired with displays of higher and lower complexity. Here, the results showed that infants preferred ID-slow to ID-normal speech regardless of display complexity. The purpose of Experiment 2 was to determine whether infant preference for speaking rate could be affected by structural differences in the visual displays. The same ID-normal and ID-slow speech samples used in Experiment 1 were paired with visual displays that either had components in a face-like or scrambled arrangement. The results of Experiment 2 showed that infants preferred the face-like display over the scrambled display regardless of what speech type was presented (i.e., there was not preference for ID-slow speech). The results of the study as a whole indicate that young infants prefer ID-slow to ID-normal speech, but that the presence of a face-like image may overshadow this preference. The study as a whole indicates that assertions about the power of ID-slow speech, as well as any auditory event in general, should not fail to address the potential influence of other sensory factors, particularly visual.Ph. D
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