Effects of competition, exercise, and mental stress on secretory immunity

It has been suggested that the psychological stress associated with competitive sports events may help to explain the increased susceptibility to respiratory infections due to reductions in secretory immunity. In the current study, we investigated the influence of competitive exercise and psychological stress on secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA). Salivary s-IgA and heart rate were measured in 62 healthy young recreationally active men at rest and, in a between-subjects design, following one of four 8-min tasks: mental arithmetic, cycling at workloads of 60 to 180 W (mean = 146 W), mental arithmetic while cycling, or competitive cycling. Mental arithmetic was associated with significant increases in s-IgA concentration (mean = 49 microg.min(-1)) and s-IgA secretion rate (mean = 25 microg.ml(-1)) compared with rest, while mental arithmetic combined with exercise was associated with a significant increase in s-IgA concentration only (mean = 124 microg.min(-1)). In contrast, competitive exercise and exercise alone did not influence s-IgA concentration or secretion rate. Heart rate increased modestly to mental arithmetic (mean = 7 beats.min(-1)) and substantially, and similarly, to the three exercise tasks (mean = 56(62 beats.min(-1)). The hypothesis that the psychological stress of competitive exercise contributes to increased susceptibility to infection via reductions in s-IgA requires further investigation.     

High throughput fabrication of disposable nanofluidic lab-on-chip devices for single molecule studies

An easy method is introduced allowing fast polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) replication of nanofluidic lab-on-chip devices using accurately fabricated molds featuring cross-sections down to 60 nm. A high quality master is obtained through proton beam writing and UV lithography. This master can be used more than 200 times to replicate nanofluidic devices capable of handling single DNA molecules. This method allows to fabricate nanofluidic devices through simple PDMS casting. The extensions of YOYO-1 stained bacteriophage T4 and λ−DNA inside these nanochannels have been investigated using fluorescence microscopy and follow the scaling prediction of a large, locally coiled polymer chain confined in nanochannels.     

Guest editorial

Manufacturing technologies for making advanced micro systems have been developing in a rapid pace recently. Research progress towards nanosized structures and devices opens up a whole new horizon for miniaturized system integration. Advances in this field will have an enormous societal impact and economic benefit in areas such as information technology, energy, healthcare, and many more. There has been an enormous scientific and industrial interest in nanosized advanced technologies. The theories, tools and practices for the design, manufacturing and test of these systems are emerging. The aim of this special section is to capture some of the latest developments in integration technologies for the micro/nanosystems, with the following topics： Molecular and crystal assembly inside the carbon nanotube： encapsulation and manufacturing approachesElectroplating for high aspect ratio vias in PCB manufacturing： enhancement capabilities of acoustic streaming Local synthesis of carbon nanotubes for direct integra tion in Si microsystemsdesign considerations Waferlevel SLID bonding for MEMS encapsulation Effect of substrates and underlayer on CNT synthesis by plasma enhanced CVD These papers will briefly highlight important advance ments in manufacturing technologies of the micro/nano systems, and outline the blueprint of upcoming information technology revolution from the manufacturing point of view.     

Secular youth and religious practice: candle lighting in Norwegian folk high schools

Although large international studies have defined Norway as one of the most secular countries in the world, Christian folk high schools in Norway have experienced record high attendance. This paper presents case studies of the religious education (RE) and practices of two Christian folk high schools in Norway. A survey shows that students at these schools can be considered representative of the confessional backgrounds and stated values of their cohort of Norwegian youth. The studied institutions have the declared goal of offering RE, of which an on-campus worship service is a central element. A large portion of the student body attends these services. Using a reconstruction of Etienne Wenger’s theory of communities of practice, the author analyses student participation in the school worship service, specifically in the act of candle lighting. Observations and student interviews indicate that the service can be described as a reflective practice representing a dialogic form of religion. This article contributes an analysis of the distinctive form of RE offered by Christian folk high schools in Norway. In a broader sense, it contributes to the understanding of secular youth and their relation to religious practice.     

Towards new forms of regulation in higher education: the case of South Africa

The paper reflects on the prospects for higher education reform in a country - South Africa - lodged within a sub-continent not noted for successful reform. The argument is that much of the policy debate is conducted in a way that dichotomises the issues: control versus autonomy; freedom versus regulation; state versus civil society. This dichotomous construal is unable to deal adequately with recent work on the changing forms of the state and changing state-higher education relations. The paper develops a distinction between administrative and political forms of control; and broadens the state control-state supervision distinction from one based solely on models to one based on the specific quality of inter-organisational coordination, connectivity and regulation. The paper concludes by spelling out what such a connective conception of organisation and regulation could mean for South African higher education.     

Using computer-delivered natural speech to assist in the teaching of reading

The findings of a pilot study designed to evaluate a computer system developed to assist in the teaching of reading to beginners are presented. The system uses digitised speech and the content is based upon a reading scheme already in use in the schools. Twenty children, ten in the intervention group and ten in the control group, in two schools were involved over a four-week period. Subjects were tested on a standardised reading test, a list of the 30 most frequently occurring words in written English, and on words from the published scheme. The experimental group improved their scores significantly more than the control group only on the standardised reading test. The results suggest the system can be helpful and that its effect goes beyond the words being practised.     

Innovating strategically in information and knowledge management: Applications of organizational behavior theory

A business school declares its strategy as becoming a leading European institution. As main vehicle for achieving recognition is the implementation of a top-down strategy naming five academic fields as key – (a) finance, (b) economics, (c) marketing, (d) law, accounting, and auditing, and (e) organizational behavior (OB). Top management allocates resources for research, academic activities, and positions to these five strategically chosen areas. Academic areas that are not strategically named must generate their own income through educational programs and research grants. Can OB serve as the platform to ensure the survival of IS/KMS? In our analysis, we found no other business school formulating a strategy along these lines; dominating strategic themes are internationalization, research excellence, and student environment. No academic field is singled out as strategic. We argue that selecting a few academic areas as a strategy is dysfunctional. We also found that OB is not very actively employed in research, be it positioning, theory, research model, analysis, or discussion. Hence, we do not find that OB offers any theorizing help to IS/KMS – this in contrast to innovation and change theories, for which we propose an framework as a means of defining IS/KMS research projects.