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The article titled "Letters" from Computer Act!ve discusses various topics raised by readers. One reader expresses their fondness for receiving physical birthday cards with money inside, rather than digital payments. Another reader discusses their refusal to watch pirated content using illegal Amazon Fire Sticks, highlighting the lack of moral consideration from others. There is also a discussion about the use of antistatic straps and the preference for wearing them in houses with plastic piping. Additionally, readers share their annoyance with certain phrases used in general language, such as "reaching out" and "leverage." The article also addresses the issue of telegraph poles being installed in areas already well-served by underground cables, causing aesthetic concerns for residents. Another reader shares their method of blocking email scams by setting up rules in Outlook. Lastly, a reader reminisces about building an old computer in 1979 and shares their experience using AI tools for image creation. The article concludes with a reader expressing surprise and concern over the fact that Amazon and other online retailers are not required to state the country of origin for their products, suggesting that consumers should take some responsibility for not pressuring these companies to provide this information. [Extracted from the article]

Richard Godfrey has a delightful, wry, and sometimes wicked sense of humor. He also has some darn good ideas and information. This article contains all of the above, and then […]

The role of breast biopsy has changed with the increased use of breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer. Between 20 and 25 percent of all operations to cure breast cancer are now breast-conserving. The traditional role of biopsy was to provide a tissue sample for examination simply to determine whether cancer was present; if found, definitive surgery was carried out, often days or weeks later. Because this excisional biopsy was performed for diagnostic purposes, there was no need to have cancer-free margins of the excised biopsy tissue specimen. It has been suggested that lumpectomy (excision of the entire mass) be used as the initial type of biopsy performed; this is believed to avoid repeat surgery if biopsy margins are tumor-free and provides a better cosmetic appearance following surgery. A study was undertaken retrospectively to compare the two methods of biopsy to assess their value in determining the course of later surgery. Forty-seven patients underwent traditional excisional biopsy, while 40 patients underwent lumpectomy. Lumpectomy took an average of 15 minutes longer to perform than traditional surgery. Cancer-free margins were present in 73 percent of the lumpectomy tissue specimens, compared with only 17 percent of the traditional excisional biopsy specimens. Patients in the lumpectomy group later on underwent more axillary dissections (removal of lymph nodes in the area of the armpit) and fewer breast removals than did the excisional biopsy group (49 percent vs 71 percent). There was a significant correlation found between patients with positive tissue margins and extensive intraductal cancer; eight of 11 patients with positive margins had ductal involvement. These findings suggest that lumpectomy is the better method for initial biopsy; it provides adequate tissue margins and may reduce the number of operations necessary. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

"From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggit beasties, and things that go |bump' in the night, may the Good Lord preserve us! "This is an eventide prayer handed down in my […]

A study is conducted to investigate the acute effects of sleeping in a normobaric hypoxic tent upon markers of sleep physiology and quality, compared with sleep in a normal ambient environment and sleep in a normobaric normoxic tent. It is reported that sleep in a normobaric hypoxic tent at a simulated altitude of 2500 m might affect sleep parameters in some individuals.

Results reveal no differences in the peak oxygen consumption between pure endurance sports. Data show a disproportionate increase in both calf and thigh leg muscles and in oxygen consumption. Furthermore, the peak oxygen consumtion of badminton and squash is lower than other pure endurance sports.

I've had a long love-hate relationship with a wheelbarrow--as a builder of tract-housing, as a dairy farmer, and extending to early childhood, when the more familiar term around the house […]

Growth hormone (GH) has many direct and indirect actions and roles including substrate regulation and priming of some cells of the immune system, and the expected aspects of growth and repair. Different concentrations in human body fluids reflect the exercise-induced growth hormone response (EIGR) after exercise. In populations such as elite athletes, the invasive nature of venous sampling is poorly accepted. Thus, this study examines possible viable alternatives such as urine and saliva samples and the GH concentration. A heterogeneous group of 11 males (age 26.0 ± 5.0 years; body mass 76.5 ± 9.3 kg; VO2peak57.0 ± 6.0 mL kg−1min−1) ran for 40 min on a treadmill at 5 % below their individually indentified lactate threshold pace. Samples of urine, saliva and blood were collected immediately pre- and post-test and at 30 and 60 min post-test. Salivary GH was correlated with serum pre- and post-exercise (p< 0.001); urinary GH was correlated with serum (p< 0.05). However, despite being significantly correlated, it is clear from the large differences in absolute concentration in the three media that the appearance of serum GH due to exercise is different from that of the appearance of salivary and urinary GH. This aspect of compartmental exchanges is very difficult to define and to investigate. Differences in any analyte concentration in different compartments are to be expected between different media, and hence the same medium should be used where the same ‘pattern of response’ can be tracked. The results suggest that urinary and saliva sampling cannot substitute for venous sampling with respect to exercise-induced changes in GH concentration. The use of the analyses in these three areas may be appropriate for further investigation.

Skeletal muscle disorders of glycogenolysis and glycolysis account for most of the conditions collectively termed glycogen storage diseases (GSDs). These disorders are rare (incidence 1 in 20,000–43,000 live births), and are caused by autosomal or X-linked recessive mutations that result in a specific enzyme deficiency, leading to the inability to utilize muscle glycogen as an energy substrate. McArdle disease (GSD V) is the most common of these disorders, and is caused by mutations in the gene encoding muscle glycogen phosphorylase. Symptoms of McArdle disease and most other related GSDs include exercise intolerance, muscle contracture, acute rhabdomyolysis, and risk of acute renal failure. Older patients may exhibit muscle wasting and weakness involving the paraspinal muscles and shoulder girdle. For patients with these conditions, engaging with exercise is likely to be beneficial. Diagnosis is frequently delayed owing to the rarity of the conditions and lack of access to appropriate investigations. A few randomized clinical trials have been conducted, some focusing on dietary modification, although the quality of the evidence is low and no specific recommendations can yet be made. The development of EUROMAC, an international registry for these disorders, should improve our knowledge of their natural histories and provide a platform for future clinical trials.

Thar's gold in them thar (Appalachian) hills. Figuratively speaking, of course. If you search for your homestead in Virginia, stone, clay, hardwoods and native warm-weather grasses are the gold to […]

Although it is strictly illegal, a lot of Americans - and a lot of Countryside readers - are exporting materials to Cuba. Some of the offenders would like to stop, […]

The development of housing is difficult and expensive in Rhode Island, as it is the smallest and the most densely populated state in the U.S., and also as there are many environmentally sensitive lands. Rhode Island has the fastest escalating housing prices in the country, coupled with the lowest rate of housing production.

I've had a long love-hate relationship with a wheelbarrow - as a builder of tract-housing, as a dairy farmer, and extending to early childhood, when the more familiar term around […]

This paper explores the relationship between masculinity, the body and the military through a close reading of the film Jarhead. Drawing on a Foucauldian frame of analysis, we consider three performances of the masculine military body that form key aspects of the film’s representational economy: the disciplined body, an outcome of the processes of basic training; the gendered body, realized through deployment of metaphors of the feminine to strengthen the masculine conception of the military body; and the cyborgian body, the result of the man-machine interface which is rapidly developing in many militaries around the world, and which poses significant questions for performances of military masculinity. We conclude by suggesting that the film’s rendering of the material and discursive body reveals an unexpected tension between the expectations of military bodies and the lived experience of their labour. As well as augmenting empirical explorations of male-worker-bodies and analysing the occupation of soldier as requiring a unique kind of body work, our contribution to the body-organization literature turns upon the claim that docile military bodies are made fit for purpose, but may actually no longer have a purpose for which to be fit.

Are you smarter than the average honeybee? Let me ask the question a little differently. How many swarms successfully plotted an escape from your hives last season? How many wild […]

Standard marathon running can result in a depression of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function during early recovery. Left atrial (LA) mechanics are integral in maintaining an early diastolic pressure gradient as well as being responsive to changes in LV diastolic function, and therefore the detailed assessment of LA mechanics may provide further insight. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of prolonged strenuous exercise on mechanics of the left atrium and the association with changes in LV diastolic function.

The article discusses the application of the concept of periodisation in making a training plan. Periodisation was created by a Russian physical culture expert in the 1960s as a method of organising training in order to increase the likelihood of a good training outcome. Coaches usually partition periodisation into duration categories to allow the prescription of training from a broad to more precise focus.

The effect on health of urbanisation is two-edged. On the one hand, there are the benefits of ready access to healthcare, sanitation, and secure nutrition, whilst on the other there are the evils of overcrowding, pollution, social deprivation, crime, and stress-related illness. In less developed countries, urbanisation also opens the door to ‘western' diseases, including hypertension, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and asthma. Here we review some of the health-related aspects of urbanisation, and comment on strategies designed to improve urban health. Because there is such a clear divide between the long process of urbanisation in industrialised western nations and the relatively recent explosive expansion in resource-poor countries, they are discussed separately.

Rab GTPases are regulators of membrane traffic. Rabs specifically associate with target membranes via the attachment of (usually) two geranylgeranyl groups in a reaction involving Rab escort protein and Rab geranylgeranyl transferase. In contrast, related GTPases are singly prenylated by CAAXprenyl transferases. We report that di-geranylgeranyl modification is important for targeting of Rab5a and Rab27a to endosomes and melanosomes, respectively. Transient expression of EGFP-Rab5 mutants containing two prenylatable cysteines (CGC, CC, CCQNI, and CCA) in HeLa cells did not affect endosomal targeting or function, whereas mono-cysteine mutants (CSLG, CVLL, or CVIM) were mistargeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and were nonfunctional. Similarly, Rab27aCVLL mutant is also mistargeted to the ER and transgenic expression on a Rab27a null background (Rab27aash) did not rescue the coat color phenotype, suggesting that Rab27aCVLL is not functional in vivo. CAAXprenyl transferase inhibition and temperature-shift experiments further suggest that Rabs, singly or doubly modified are recruited to membranes via a Rab escort protein/Rab geranylgeranyl transferase-dependent mechanism that is distinct from the insertion of CAAX-containing GTPases. Finally, we show that both singly and doubly modified Rabs are extracted from membranes by RabGDIα and propose that the mistargeting of Rabs to the ER results from loss of targeting information.

Rab GTPases are regulators of membrane traffic. Rabs specifically associate with target membranes via the attachment of (usually) two geranylgeranyl groups in a reaction involving Rab escort protein and Rab geranylgeranyl transferase. In contrast, related GTPases are singly prenylated by CAAX prenyl transferases. We report that di-geranylgeranyl modification is important for targeting of Rab5a and Rab27a to endosomes and melanosomes, respectively. Transient expression of EGFP-Rab5 mutants containing two prenylatable cysteines (CGC, CC, CCQNI, and CCA) in HeLa cells did not affect endosomal targeting or function, whereas mono-cysteine mutants (CSLG, CVLL, or CVIM) were mistargeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and were nonfunctional. Similarly, Rab27aCVLL mutant is also mistargeted to the ER and transgenic expression on a Rab27a null background (Rab27aash) did not rescue the coat color phenotype, suggesting that Rab27aCVLL is not functional in vivo. CAAX prenyl transferase inhibition and temperature-shift experiments further suggest that Rabs, singly or doubly modified are recruited to membranes via a Rab escort protein/Rab geranylgeranyl transferase-dependent mechanism that is distinct from the insertion of CAAX-containing GTPases. Finally, we show that both singly and doubly modified Rabs are extracted from membranes by RabGDIalpha and propose that the mistargeting of Rabs to the ER results from loss of targeting information.

We have constructed a high-resolution consensus genetic map of the rat in a single large intercross, which integrates 747 framework markers and 687 positions of our whole-genome radiation hybrid (RH) map of the rat. We selected 136 new gene markers from the GenBank database and assigned them either genetically or physically to rat chromosomes to evaluate the accuracy of the integrated linkage—RH maps in the localization of new markers and to enrich existing comparative mapping data. These markers and 631 D-Got- markers, which are physically mapped but still uncharacterized for evidence of polymorphism, were tested for allele variations in a panel of 16 rat strains commonly used in genetic studies. The consensus linkage map constructed in the GK × BN cross now comprises 1620 markers of various origins, defining 840 resolved genetic positions with an average spacing of 2.2 cM between adjacent loci, and includes 407 gene markers. This whole-genome genetic map will contribute to the advancement of genetic studies in the rat by incorporating gene/EST maps, physical mapping information, and sequence data generated in rat and other mammalian species into genetic intervals harboring disease susceptibility loci identified in rat models of human genetic disorders.

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) was derivatized with p-(9-anthroyloxy) phenyl bromide forming the panacyl ester. The yield from this reaction was 95 percent. Subsequent separation of this ester using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography resulted in a greater than 10 fold increase in sensitivity as measured directly with ultraviolet light (absorption at 254 nm). Sensitivity was 16 ng and elution time was less than 15 minutes. We applied this technique to quantification of LTB4 production by human polymorphonuclear leucocytes.

Radiolabeled human peripheral blood monocytes released [3H]arachidonic acid upon challenge with the calcium ionophore A23187 (10?M), or f-Met-LeuPhe (FMLP, 1?M). Chromatographic analysis of [3H]arachidonic acid labeled phospholipids showed that stimulation by FMLP reduced the amount of labeled phosphatidylcholine exclusively. Treatment of the monocytes with 10-3 M dibutyryl cyclic AMP (d-cAMP) or 5×10-4 M isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) substantially inhibited [3H]arachidonic acid release (30%) and depletion from labeled phosphatidylcholine (PC) in FMLP—but not calcium ionophore—stimulated cells. Using the fluorescent probe Indo-1, the FMLP-induced cytosolic calcium increase was unaffected by 10-3 M dibutyryl cyclic AMP. The results suggest that FMLP-stimulated phospholipase activity is regulated by cyclic AMP, but not by depressing receptor-medicated increases in cytoplasmic free calcium.

The article describes the works of printmaker, painter and engraver George Stubbs. Stubbs was reportedly involved in engraving and etching and was involved in etching John Burton's "Essay Towards a Complete New System of Midwifery." He restored large engravings of the paintings "A Horse Frightened by a Lion and "Leopards at Play" using line engraving. His other works include "Two Foxhounds in a Landscape" and "Horse Attacked by a Lion."

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Time to Reform Job Shop Manufacturing," by James E. Ashton and Frank X. Cook Jr. from the March-April 1989 issue.

The article focuses on the risks of blood clots and how coaches and athletes can minimise these risks. It states that a blood clot can occur in any individual at any age regardless of gender and the level of sporting success. The risks of a clot are increased reportedly due to the fact that blood is moving relatively slower. According to the author, a person who is breathless, light-headed and dizzy or complains of a pain in one leg with slight swelling should be checked to eliminate deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or venous thromboembolism (VTE).

The article provides information on strategies and sport-science provisions during the Race Across America (RAAM) that was held on June 11, 2009 in the U.S. It notes that the RAAM event includes four riders who were divided into two groups with their own three-staff crew and a support vehicle. The group has raced from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland for 6.5 days. Moreover, it presents the authors' comments on the overall result of the event from strategies to athletes' health.

The article focuses on the relationship between artist Wenceslaus Hollar and Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel. It mentions Arundel's description of Hollar's qualifications. It states that many of the Hans Holbein paintings owned by Arundel and copied by Hollar still exist. It notes that every line of Hollar's etchings from Adam Elsheimer breathes respect and engrossment with the originals.

Discusses the resemblance of homestead and hologram. How there are rewards in addition to the security blanket; Potential hazards of homesteading and other retirement income.

Surveys the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia for feasibility as a residential area. Landscape and soil conditions; Taxes; Adjacent cities or communities; Climate; Wildlife; Roads; Remoteness; Esthetic considerations.

Discusses the types and uses of poles on the farm. A constant need for poles; Trellises, tepees and other uses; Still more uses; Requirement for a pole-source; Use of bamboo poles in the south; Sumac, hybrid poplar and willows used in the north; Details and statistics on the different species; Supply sources for the different types of poles. INSET: Forest fire damage isn't always obvious..

The article discusses seven laws or principles that convert knowledge sharing into growth. According to the author, one must believe that every individual wants to learn and must be welcomed into the learning experience. People are surrounded by learning and teaching experiences such as metaphor, examples and conversations. The author adds that learning takes place by associating one's lives with parables, metaphors and examples.

The article presents an obituary for Doctor Mark Harries, the original founder of the British Olympic Medical Centre.