Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Whether Tilly is a proverbial Don Quixote, misconstruing the benign as Essay

Whether Tilly is a proverbial Don Quixote, misconstruing the benign as threatening. Is there any reason not to dismiss him - Essay Example In this respect, Tilly advocates for realism as opposed to determinism in a social science context. Mill also learns of the approach of Tilly in the study of social science. People must consider the premise that an individual must justify actions with the reality of actions. This is an assumption held by Tilly with regard to normative theory of social science. However, Mill is convinced that Tilly’s opposition to the aspect of determinism is justified (Franklin, 2007). Mill also anticipated Tilly’s social science criticisms because he also believes in the normative approach. An individual ought to base his decisions on self-conscience whereby a person influences the environment instinctively. Mill also believed that a humanistic approach in social science is justifiable and it formed the basis of Tilly’s critique for the determinism approach by in social science. The only exception when the normative approach is not followed is during a break in the pattern of a social life. Tilly also argues that the world is a rational environment as opposed to a social environment. This social philosopher upholds the fact that all actions are justified by reason in accordance to Descartes’s philosophical concept. Tilly is critical of the social scientist’s argument that reason-giving is just eventful rather than normality in life. According to Giddens (2008), the reasons given for any undertaking, must be of the right kind and must be applied to the right people in order to foster order in society. The speed of justifying actions by reason should also be high in order to have a logical flow of events. Tilly’s position on class politics contributed to his critique of the other socialist’s argument on normative socialism. In his critique, Tilly sought to abandon the structuralism theory of social science. Additionally, Tilly distanced himself for the reductionist theory. This paved way for

Monday, October 28, 2019

Tolerability and Haemodynamic Effects of NMES

Tolerability and Haemodynamic Effects of NMES Tolerability and haemodynamic effects of NMES in young healthy individuals Quinn C1, Cooke J1, Deegan B2, Breen P2, Hannigan A3, Dunne C3, Lyons G2 and Lyons D1. Introduction: Discomfort has been identified as a limiting factor for the use of surface NMES. Early implementation of NMES devices were so uncomfortable that they could only be used when the patient was under anaesthetic1. Furthermore, poor quality electrodes combined with monophasic waveforms often resulted in skin irritation and burns. Pambianco et al had to discontinue the NMES portion of the effects of heparin, intermittent pneumatic compression and NMES on DVT rates in stroke rehabilitation patients due to discomfort and skin blister formtion2. More recently the inclusion of microcontrollers in the design of NMES devices has allowed the implementation of precisely controlled waveforms and novel algorithms3. These waveforms and algorithms have significantly increased the comfort and tolerance of NMES users. Moreover the use of biphasic pulses, either asymmetric or symmetric has minimised ion redistribution and the subsequent risk of skin irritation and burns. Previous studies have examined patient perceptions of NMES. Alon et al. examined the effect of 4 different electrode sizes on excitatory responses (sensory, motor, pain and pain tolerance) on healthy participants and concluded that NMES comfort increases with increase in electrode size4. They also observed that increasing electrode size decreases the peak voltage corresponding to the excitatory levels. Clarke-Moloney et al assessed the comfort associated with and without NMES on patients with chronic venous insufficiency using a visual analogue scale (VAS)5. The authors found that the comfort categorical rating remained unchanged in all but one patient. This indicated that patients found NMES to be an acceptable therapy which could be significant in future studies involving NMES treatments for venous wound healing. Broderick et al. previously conducted a study involving healthy participants who underwent a 4 hour stimulation protocol6. Three participants indicated moderate discomfort and 7 only mild discomfort when NMES was commenced. By the end of the study, 2 participant’s scores increased to moderate while 2 other participant’s scores decreased to mild the remainder were unchanged. Kaplan et al. asked each healthy participant who received NMES of the calf or foot muscles to complete a questionnaire regarding the acceptance of NMES. Both groups found NMES to be comfortable and strongly felt they would use the NMES device if directed by their doctor7. More recently a study by Corley et al. demonstrated the use of a week-long NMES blood flow protocol in conjunction with compression stockings resulted in a high level of compliance and no reported adverse effects8. Our pilot study concluded that NMES may be useful in attenuating blood pressure drops in older subjects with OH. The asynchronous NMES setting demonstrated the most favourable haemodynamic response. The aims of this study were to assess tolerance and acceptability of both synchronous and asynchronous NMES settings in a young, healthy population during head-up tilt testing. A secondary objective was to assess the effect of both settings on haemodynamic parameters in this group. Methods: Subjects Healthy subjects (n=14) were recruited. Ten were male. The subjects’ medical history did not reveal any episodes of vasovagal syncope, cardiovascular diseases or any other morbidity. None of the subjects used any medication, and all subjects were non-smokers. Ethical Approval Ethical approval for this study was granted by University Hospital Limerick Research Ethics Committee. All subjects gave written consent to take part in the study. Tilt Protocol Subjects were asked to fast for a maximum of two hours beforehand. Studies were performed in a quiet syncope syncope laboratory room at ambient temperature (21-23 C). The tilt protocol was completed between 9am and 5pm. The study protocol included 3 Head-Up-Tilts (HUT) comprising asynchronous, synchronous settings and control. The order of each intervention was randomly assigned using closed envelope randomisation technique. HUT testing was performed using standardised conditions in accordance with the 1996 expert consensus document for all patients9. Subjects were required to rest in the supine position for five minutes prior to the onset of a 70 degree positive tilt. This was sustained for three minutes as per European Society of Cardiology guidelines10. Haemodynamic changes were recorded using non-invasive beat-to-beat digital artery photoplethysmography Finometer ® Pro Device (Finapres Medical Systems BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.finapres.com). Continuous cardiac monitoring was performed with three lead ECG (figure 2). OH was defined as a drop in systolic blood pressure of ≠¥ 20mmHg or in diastolic blood pressure of ≠¥ 10mmHg within three minutes of orthostasis10. The delta (or change) in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were rec orded in each subject at baseline and at the lowest point (nadir) for each HUT. Electrical stimulation protocol NMES was applied a custom built, two channel stimulator (Duo-STIM, Bioelectrics Research Cluster, NUI Galway)11. NMES was facilitated through the use of two 5 cmÃâ€"5 cm PALS self-adhesive, hypo-allergenic, skin surface electrodes (Nidd Valley Medical Limited, England) placed over the motor points of the soleus muscles of both legs of consenting patients12 (Figure 3). The stimulator was programmed to provide a pulse width of 350  µs, an inter-pulse interval of 100  µs, a frequency of 36 Hz, a contraction time of 1.2 second, a ramp up time of 500 ms and ramp down time of 300ms. This yielded stimulation amplitudes of 29.18  ± 4.2 V11. The stimulation parameters were selected at a level to achieve maximum blood flow while ensuring subject comfort. A series of test pulses were applied initially at a very low intensity to establish that the patient was comfortable with the sensation of electrical stimulation. The stimulus intensity was gradually increased until a noticeable contrac tion was observed for both legs, as indicated by a visible tightening of the soleus muscle or slight plantar flexion. Stimulation was applied alternatively to each leg with 3 second rest between contractions or synchronously to both legs with 3 second rest period at the onset of each HUT and continued for the three minute study duration. Duplex scanning Duplex Doppler ultrasound was used to monitor the subjects’ lower limb venous hemodynamic responses using a Siemens Sonoline Sienna ultrasound machine with a broadband array probe (Frequency 5 – 13 MHz). All measurements were performed by a single examiner. Blood flow measurements were taken from the popliteal vein at the lateral aspect of the knee (Fig. 1). Doppler ultrasound with angle correction not exceeding 600 was used and matched to the diameter of the popliteal vein. All measurements were taken from the right leg. Three measurements were taken per parameter and the average of these was used for analyses5, 13. Peak venous velocity was recorded from the popliteal vein. The Doppler machine’s own software was used to calculate venous volume flow (ml/min) by multiplying the average blood flow velocity by the cross-sectional area of the popliteal vein. Doppler measurements were taken at baseline and on assumption of the upright stance. Figure 1: Placement of ultrasound probe in popliteal fossa Figure 2: Screen shot of output from ultrasound software demonstrating venous blood flow and peak systolic velocity Comfort evaluation procedure At 2 time points (just after set-up of the NMES and at the end of the protocol), comfort was assessed by asking subjects to mark their level of comfort using a 100 mm, non-hatched visual-analogue scale (VAS). A VAS of 30 mm or less was categorised as mild pain, between 31 and 69 mm as moderate pain and scores of 70 mm or greater as severe pain. The minimum clinical significant difference (MCSD) in VAS was set as an increase in scores between test stages of 12mm14. At the end of the study, the patients were asked to complete a short verbal questionnaire. They were asked: To give a verbal categorical rating of the NMES treatment as very comfortable, comfortable, bearable or unbearable. To clarify preferred stimulation pattern. If they would consider NMES an acceptable form of treatment. Symptom recording Each subject was asked to mark the degree of symptoms encountered during the HUT using a 100 mm, non-hatched visual-analogue scale (VAS) once the tilt table had returned to the horizontal position. Statistical analysis Results: Discussion: Conclusion: Outcomes for tolerability study 1: Tolerability: Pain – pre and post change NMES sensation Acceptability Preference Symptoms 2: Haemodynamic parameters for each intervention: Delta SBP, DBP, HR, MAP, SV, CO TPR Peak systolic velocity Venous flow 3: Associations of presence of initial OH References: Browse NL, Negus D. Prevention of postoperative leg vein thrombosis by electrical muscle stimulation. An evaluation with 125 I-labelled fibrinogen. Br Med J 1970;3:615-618. Pambianco G, Orchard T, Landau P. Deep vein thrombosis: prevention in stroke patients during rehabilitation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 1995;76:324-330. Broderick B, Breen P, OLaighain G, Eelectrical stimulators for surface neural prosthesis. J Autom Control 2008;18:25-33. Alon G, Kantor G, Ho HS. Effects of electrode size on basic excitatory responses and on selected stimulus parameters. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1994;20:29-35. Clarke-Moloney M, Lyons GM, Breen P, Burke PE, Grace PA. Haemodynamic study examining the response of venous blood flow to electrical stimulation of the gastrocnemius muscle in patients with chronic venous disease. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg 2005;31:300-305. Broderick BJ, O’Brien DE, Breen PP, Kearns SR, OLaighin G. A pilot evaluation of a neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) based methodology for the prevention of venous stasis during bed rest. Med Eng Phys 2010;32:349-355. Kaplan RE, Czyrny JJ, Fung TS, Unsworth JD, Hirsh J. Electrical foot stimulation and implications for the prevention of venous thromboembolic disease. Thromb Haemost 2002;10:35-45. Corley CJ, Breen PP, Birlea S, Serrador JM, Grace PA, OLaighin G. Hemodynamic effects of habituation to a week-long program of neuromuscular electrical stimulation. Med Eng Phys 2012;34:459-456. Benditt DG, Ferguson DW, Grubb BP, et al. Tilt table testing for assessing syncope. American College of Cardiology. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1996;28: 263-275. Brignole M, Alboni P, Benditt DG, et al. Guidelines on management (diagnosis and treatment) of syncope-update 2004. Executive Summary. Eur Heart J. 2004;25: 2054-2072. Breen PP, Corley CJ, O’Keeffe DT, Conway R, OLaighin G. A programmable and portable NMES device for foot drop correction and blood flow assist applications. Med Eng Phys 2009;31:400-4008. Baker LL, McNeal DR, Benton LA, Bowman BR, Waters RL. Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation – A practical Guide. 3rd ed. Downey, California: Rancho Llos Amigos Research and Education Institute; 1993. Izumi M, Ikeuchi M, Mitani T, Taniguchi S, Tani T. Prevention of venous stasis in the lower limb by transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Eur J Vasc Endovasc Surg 2010;39:642-645. Kelly AM. The minimum clinically significant difference in visual analogue scale pain score does not differ with severity of pain. Emerg Med J 2001;18:205-207.

Friday, October 25, 2019

The History of Tattoos Essay -- Body Art Papers

A tattoo is a permanent mark or design made on the skin by a process of pricking and ingraining an indelible pigment into the punctures or by raising scars. This is the definition; however, to many a tattoo has more of an abstract, personal meaning. Tattoos symbolize individuality, experiences, status, religion, and art. They come in many shapes, sizes, colors, designs, and styles. The history behind the tattoo is just as fascinating as the tattoo itself. Whether flaunted or hidden, sought as art or bought out of a whim, the tattoo has left its mark on generation after generation (Krakow). The purpose of tattooing varies from culture to culture, person to person, and its place on the time line. The essay will examine the following eras: BC and tribal, 20th century, and modern. It is noted that tattooing (a Tahitian word meaning â€Å"to mark something†) has existed since 12,000 years BC. As noted in â€Å"A Brief History of Tattoos,† women in Borneo tattooed their symbols on their forearm indicating their particular skill. If a woman wore a symbol indicating she was a skilled weaver, her status as prime marriageable material was increased. In tribes, tattoos around the wrist and fingers were believed to ward away illness and bad spirits. In recorded history, the earliest tattoos can be found in Egypt during the time of the erection of the great pyramids. As the Egyptians expanded their empire, the art of tattooing spread along with it. The civilizations of Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia picked up and expanded the art form (â€Å"A Brief History of Tattoos). The Greeks used tattooing for communication among spies by identifying them and showing their rank. Romans marked criminals and slaves, a practice still carried on today. Arou... ...on, Michael. â€Å"Tattooing and Civilizing Processes: Body Modification as Self-Control.† La Revue Canadienne de Sociologie et d'Anthropologie 41 (May 2004): 125-146 Demello, Margo. Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community. Durham: Duke University Press, 2000. Garcia, Tomas (Keepsake Tattoo). Personal interview. 10 Nov. 2014 Hawkes, Daina, Charlene Senn, and Chantal Thorn. â€Å"Factors That Influence Attitudes toward Women with Tattoos.† Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 50 (May 2012): 125-146 Krakow, Amy. Total Tattoo Book. New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1994. Sace, Paul. â€Å"History of Tattoo.† Tattoo.co.uk. 15 November 2014 Steward, Samuel. Bad Boys and Tough Tattoos: A Social History of the Tattoo with Gangs, Sailors, and Street-Corner Punks, 1950-1965. Portland: Harrington Park Press, 1990. The History of Tattoos Essay -- Body Art Papers A tattoo is a permanent mark or design made on the skin by a process of pricking and ingraining an indelible pigment into the punctures or by raising scars. This is the definition; however, to many a tattoo has more of an abstract, personal meaning. Tattoos symbolize individuality, experiences, status, religion, and art. They come in many shapes, sizes, colors, designs, and styles. The history behind the tattoo is just as fascinating as the tattoo itself. Whether flaunted or hidden, sought as art or bought out of a whim, the tattoo has left its mark on generation after generation (Krakow). The purpose of tattooing varies from culture to culture, person to person, and its place on the time line. The essay will examine the following eras: BC and tribal, 20th century, and modern. It is noted that tattooing (a Tahitian word meaning â€Å"to mark something†) has existed since 12,000 years BC. As noted in â€Å"A Brief History of Tattoos,† women in Borneo tattooed their symbols on their forearm indicating their particular skill. If a woman wore a symbol indicating she was a skilled weaver, her status as prime marriageable material was increased. In tribes, tattoos around the wrist and fingers were believed to ward away illness and bad spirits. In recorded history, the earliest tattoos can be found in Egypt during the time of the erection of the great pyramids. As the Egyptians expanded their empire, the art of tattooing spread along with it. The civilizations of Crete, Greece, Persia, and Arabia picked up and expanded the art form (â€Å"A Brief History of Tattoos). The Greeks used tattooing for communication among spies by identifying them and showing their rank. Romans marked criminals and slaves, a practice still carried on today. Arou... ...on, Michael. â€Å"Tattooing and Civilizing Processes: Body Modification as Self-Control.† La Revue Canadienne de Sociologie et d'Anthropologie 41 (May 2004): 125-146 Demello, Margo. Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community. Durham: Duke University Press, 2000. Garcia, Tomas (Keepsake Tattoo). Personal interview. 10 Nov. 2014 Hawkes, Daina, Charlene Senn, and Chantal Thorn. â€Å"Factors That Influence Attitudes toward Women with Tattoos.† Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 50 (May 2012): 125-146 Krakow, Amy. Total Tattoo Book. New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1994. Sace, Paul. â€Å"History of Tattoo.† Tattoo.co.uk. 15 November 2014 Steward, Samuel. Bad Boys and Tough Tattoos: A Social History of the Tattoo with Gangs, Sailors, and Street-Corner Punks, 1950-1965. Portland: Harrington Park Press, 1990.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Lingerie A Fashion Statement Fashion Essay

Many adult females today are looking for good trades on lacing intimate apparel. This type of sexy unmentionable is a fabulous thought to spice things up, or merely to experience slightly glamourous. In the yesteryear, in order to acquire high quality lacing, you would hold to pass a batch of money and clip seeking for a shop that would be selling it without the high grade up that these things get. The great huge bulk of people that are seeking for lacing is happening that there is so much more online than of all time before. If you look at the commercialism universe in footings of history, you will cognize that there is a big turning place of people that are looking for great merchandises online from the comfort of their office chair or computing machine. Seriously, is n't that great, modern engineering has come up to the degrees that consumers truly want. It ‘s non merely adult females that are happening these shops intriguing, there is a big part of people that are detecting that they can order a batch of merchandises from their place and have them delivered. You can acquire these points delivered to your house with the greatest of easiness. It is an unbelievable thing to bask lacing intimate apparel, and people should truly understand how great things are now that there is more information out at that place to bask. If information in a sense is power, you have the power of a great consumer to travel out at that place and acquire the best trades on grownup intimate apparel and unmentionables for personal or recreational uses. Surely, non everyone in the universe is truly looking for lacing intimate apparel. However, there is a great sum of people and places that receive catalogs. If you are looking to spice up your ain life, or the life of your spouse, you can make so with have oning a nice lacing merchandise. Lace is really nice and soft, making a nice cognitive position for your partner or spouse. Looking for good material online is easy. The cyberspace has given us a major sum of power in respects to consumer shopping. You can truly look into comparing shopping with the touch of a button. You have to set this into position. If you were to desire to purchase lacing intimate apparel back in the yearss before the cyberspace roar, you were looking frontward to a batch of clip spent traveling shop to hive away. If you make it to a shop that sells these points, you would so hold to seek each one on, and most likely non happen the size you need. The job here is that shops do non ever carry the sizes of all adult females, furthermore they merely order what is popular in their country, non what the possible consumer might desire. However, if you go on-line to seek for a good shop that has lacing, you will detect that they carry all sizes and many different colourss because Thursday In an age where professional life style seduces one ‘s inherent aptitudes dressing takes a Centre stage.Dont be put down by humdrum traits of intimate apparel and usage wears. Making each twenty-four hours and dark a piece to retrieve is the most sought after sphere of human outlooks. Make your loved one feel exquisite by showing her a all right line of alien intimate apparel. Whether it is a Valentine ‘s dark a sexy shimmy may chat up with your psyche, transport your sleek attitudes with a underbodice, or surprise your spouse with a push-up bandeau which certainly would hypnotise his inherent aptitudes. Make her feel particular with a all new scope of intimate apparel doing her expression like a Hollywood star. The store for intimate apparel ne'er satisfies your psyche until you try a few trade names. Subject parties or Halloween eventides or that particular day of remembrance you have been waiting for long, purchase a sexy intimate apparel that would do your spouse expe rience special.Buy a sexy intimate apparel from a scope of party subjects available all the twelvemonth unit of ammunition. The feeling of being sexy is non merely promoted by your mentality but by your interior beauty, that ‘s why a sexy bandeau or pantie enhances your innerself by catapulting your curves and physical being. Silk in that sense makes one more attractive and is the most preferable trade name globally. A flirty babe doll enhances your societal presence but a sleepwear with extremist texture quality creates an feeling on your loved 1s. Try different trade names and manner each twenty-four hours to do your spouse looking for invention and make a long standing feeling on his thought genre. A bustier enhances non merely your curves but a colour assortment worn with sleek tops and denims bring out amorousness in you. Let your femina speak for itself when traveling for intimate apparel. Let your close buddies feel covetous with your all new girdle. Lingerie shopping i s a amour propre when explored in entirety, allow the wilderness in you speak up, travel purchase a sexy intimate apparel, do yourself experience particular with your all new mentality, do your life at large-kingsize.There are assorted trade names like Solera, Victoria ‘s secret, Olimpia, Elita, Cosabella, Portura, Chinchira.Though expensive trade names may be harsh on your pocket but there are many trade names like American dream, Bali, Aubade which are both attractive and costworthy.Check out the texture and size and basic liners before purchasing your lingerie.One thing to retrieve is the all right point quality grade which rarely people forget while purchasing a new intimate apparel. So what are you waiting for? Go shoot out to your nearest trader mercantile establishment to acquire clasp of your interior dreams and purchase sexy intimate apparel.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Restate Nuware’s Essay

1.) Restate Nuware’s 2013 earnings as if the company had used the same accounting methods and assumptions as R.P. Stuart. Your answer should focus on, but not necessarily be limited to, Nuware’s accounting for investments, receivables, inventory, and PP&E. From the discussions in Nuware’s notes and the comparison with RP.Stuart’s financial statement, we noticed that there are several different accounting policies being adopted, including receivables, inventory, advertisement cost and PP&E. Moreover, it seems that Nuware is using gains on investment to manipulate total income. Therefore, we made some adjustment to make the comparison between Nuware and R.P Stuart more reliable. For instance, we assumed the same reserve/receivable ratios of these two companies to avoid potential aggressive revenue recognition by Nuware’s management (see Appendix). However, there is not enough information to make adjustment on PP&E depreciations. Then we can compare the performance of these two companies in 2013 (as shown below). However, we cannot get find enough information to make a comprehensive adjustment on 2012 data (in particular, we don’t have the estimation on 2011 inventory using FIFO method). As a result, we cannot calculate the growth rate of EPS precisely here. 2.) Assess the financial performance of Nuware versus R.P. Stuart. Nuware and R.P. Stuart are in the same industry and share virtually identical business model, which make them comparable. Before adjustment, Nuware showed a much better financial performance than that of R.P Stuart regards to net income, gross profit margin, return on asset & equity, and EPS growth etc. After making necessary adjustment, we found that Nuware still outperforms R.P.Stuart, but with a smaller margin. The real net income is only 71% of the original figure, which subsequently lowered the return on assets and equity. But due to the higher leverage ratio, Nuware’s return on equity is still 2x that of R.P.Stuart (originally 3x). However, what worries us most is the combination of a negative earnings growth and slower sales growth.  Using these criteria, Nuware is not beating the industry (actually performed worse than R.P Stuart in terms of sales growth in 20131). 3.) Would you characterize the accounting discretion applied by Nuware’s management as aggressive? Why or why not? Nuware’s Management accounting discretion can be seen as aggressive for several reasons: 1. They artificially lower the allowance of account receivable to boost income and gross margin. Moreover, when estimating reserves, percentage of sales method is less accurate than the detailed monthly review method adopted by R.P Stuart’s. 2. Compared to R.P. Stuart, LIFO reduced the tax and LIFO liquidation in year 2013 resulting in artificially high net income as well. 3. The recognition of unrealized gains for available for sale investment assets also contributed to the higher net income, which should be considered separately from income from its core business. 4. There might be some aggressive assumptions when depreciating PP&E, which deserves more detailed analysis.