"To give, say, a detailed exegesis of Locke's empiricism or Engel's dialectical materialism without carefully identifying the empirical and conceptual problems that those doctrines were designed to resolve is not unlike playing one of those parlor games in which one is given an answer (often a bizarre one), without knowing the question to which it is an answer! One can only understand a system of ideas when one knows, in detail, the problems to which it was addressed" (Laudan, 1977, pp. 175-176)
In order to assess progress in measurement theory, it is important to identify the perennial problems encountered in the assessment of human characteristics. Though precise definitions of measurement problems are dependent on the research tradition within which the measurement theorist is working, these problems can be used to define criteria for comparing different measurement theories, and also provide a framework for examining progress toward their own solution.
E. L. Thorndike (1904, 1916) stands out as a major source of ideas about educational and psychological measurement, and he identifies some of the fundamental problems in this area. "In the mental sciences, as in the physical, we have to measure things, differences, changes and relations" (1904, p. 4). In order to develop scales like those in the physical sciences, Thorndike (1916) proposed five essentials of valid scales: (1) objectivity, (2) consistency, (3) definiteness of the facts and their differences, (4) comparability with the facts to be measured, and (5) reference to a defined zero point.
One of the major measurement problems encountered in the behavioral sciences is the lack of objectivity in scales. For Thorndike, a perfectly objective scale is one on the meaning of which all competent thinkers agree. In order to obtain objective scales, he envisioned the construction of a set of standard items calibrated onto a scale that would be used as a common measuring stick. He describes a scale developed by Hillegas (1912) for the measurement of quality in English composition as an example of a "foot-rule for merit in English composition" (1916 p. 18). Hillegas selected a set of essays and had them rated by a group of experts ("competent thinkers") in order to calibrate them.
"The series of facts used as a scale must be varying amounts of the same sort of thing or quality" (1916, p. 13). For Thorndike, measurement problems related to consistency were so obvious that they did not need further comment. From a current perspective, consistency seems closest to the concept of unidimensionality.
Thorndike's third essential of a valid scale is definiteness. He sought the development of ideal scales with steps of equal difficulty between the calibrated objects on the scale. He also recognized that equal distances were not necessary, so long as the differences were fixed and known on some well-defined scale.
Comparability addresses measurement problems related to the use of calibrated scales. The usefulness of a scale is increased when the objects to be measured can be compared easily with the calibrated objects that define the scale. Comparisons are more precise and accurate when the objects to be measured are similar. "To measure the beauty of a drawing of an eagle by comparing it with the series [of drawings] a, b, c, etc., and observing to which point of the series it was nearest in respect to beauty, would be much easier if the series consisted of drawings of the same eagle, than if the series consisted of drawings of ships" (1916 p.15).
Finally, Thorndike points out that it is essential to know how the zero point is defined. Is it an arbitrary or theoretically defined zero? Clearly, the definition and location of the zero point will influence the interpretation of the scores obtained with a scale.
Thorndike's approach places him in the "scaling" tradition with which Rasch measurement is closely connected. In contrast, in the next column, I will examine Wood's principles of educational measurement. Though these were intended to be an elaboration of Thorndike's essentials, Wood subtly changed the definitions of these problems to initiate what today we call the "test score" tradition.
Hillegas MB 1912. A scale for the measurement of quality in English composition by young people. New York:Teachers College
Laudan L 1977. Progress and its problems: Towards a theory of scientific growth. Berkeley, CA:University of California Press
Thorndike EL 1904.An introduction to the theory of mental and social measurements. New York:Teachers College, Columbia University. 1916. Revised and enlarged edition.
Thorndike's Essentials of a Valid Scale, G Engelhard Jr. Rasch Measurement Transactions, 1991, 5:3 p. 170
|Rasch Measurement Transactions (free, online)||Rasch Measurement research papers (free, online)||Probabilistic Models for Some Intelligence and Attainment Tests, Georg Rasch||Applying the Rasch Model 3rd. Ed., Bond & Fox||Best Test Design, Wright & Stone|
|Rating Scale Analysis, Wright & Masters||Introduction to Rasch Measurement, E. Smith & R. Smith||Introduction to Many-Facet Rasch Measurement, Thomas Eckes||Invariant Measurement: Using Rasch Models in the Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, George Engelhard, Jr.||Statistical Analyses for Language Testers, Rita Green|
|Rasch Models: Foundations, Recent Developments, and Applications, Fischer & Molenaar||Journal of Applied Measurement||Rasch models for measurement, David Andrich||Constructing Measures, Mark Wilson||Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences, Boone, Stave, Yale|
|in Spanish:||Análisis de Rasch para todos, Agustín Tristán||Mediciones, Posicionamientos y Diagnósticos Competitivos, Juan Ramón Oreja Rodríguez|
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|Jan. 24 - Feb. 21, 2020, Fri.-Fri.||On-line workshop: Practical Rasch Measurement - Core Topics (E. Smith, Winsteps), www.statistics.com|
|Apr. 14-17, 2020, Tue.-Fri.||International Objective Measurement Workshop (IOMW), University of California, Berkeley, https://www.iomw.org/|
|May 22 - June 19, 2020, Fri.-Fri.||On-line workshop: Practical Rasch Measurement - Core Topics (E. Smith, Winsteps), www.statistics.com|
|June 26 - July 24, 2020, Fri.-Fri.||On-line workshop: Practical Rasch Measurement - Further Topics (E. Smith, Winsteps), www.statistics.com|
|June 29 - July 1, 2020, Mon.-Wed.||Measurement at the Crossroads 2020, Milan, Italy , https://convegni.unicatt.it/mac-home|
|July 1 - July 3, 2020, Wed.-Fri.||International Measurement Confederation (IMEKO) Joint Symposium, Warsaw, Poland, http://www.imeko-warsaw-2020.org/|
|Aug. 7 - Sept. 4, 2020, Fri.-Fri.||On-line workshop: Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (E. Smith, Facets), www.statistics.com|
|Oct. 9 - Nov. 6, 2020, Fri.-Fri.||On-line workshop: Practical Rasch Measurement - Core Topics (E. Smith, Winsteps), www.statistics.com|
|June 25 - July 23, 2021, Fri.-Fri.||On-line workshop: Practical Rasch Measurement - Further Topics (E. Smith, Winsteps), www.statistics.com|
The URL of this page is www.rasch.org/rmt/rmt53j.htm


Alzheimer’s disease is the most expensive illness in Canada.
And the Alzheimer Society of Canada says by 2040, dementia will cost the economy $293 billion a year.
“Unless we find a cure, or figure out how to prevent or reverse this disease, we and our children will be paying for dementia for a very long time. Dementia is a ticking time bomb,” says the society’s CEO, Mimi Lowi-Young. She addressed the Economic Club of Canada today in Toronto.
She wants the federal government to help create a national dementia strategy to deal with the disease and its effects on the economy.
Some 747,000 Canadians were living with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, in 2011.
The baby boom generation is turning 65, a prime time for developing dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society notes the risk of dementia doubles every five years after that.
By 2031, the number of Canadians with the disease is expected to rise to 1.4 million. And for every person with dementia, two or three people devote time to caring for them, says Lowi-Young.
That’s affecting our economy.
Already, dementia costs Canada $33 million a year in lost wages and medical expenses. In 2011, Canada’s economy lost $11 billion in productivity as family caregivers worked 444 million unpaid hours taking care of their relatives with dementia—the equivalent of 230,000 full time jobs, Lowi-Young says.
By 2040, caregivers will work 1.2 billion unpaid hours.
Worldwide, there are 35.6 million people living with dementia—more than the population of Canada—and it’s costing the global economy US$604 billion a year.
People can develop dementia as early as their forties. Symptoms include memory loss and changes to judgment and reasoning. Sufferers eventually can’t perform tasks like feeding themselves and need around-the-clock care, taxing Canada’s public health system.
We need to keep people productive and in their communities for as long as possible, says Lowi-Young.
Seed money for a national dementia strategy would cost the feds $100 million, with an additional $30 million over five years. The strategy would stimulate research, develop best care practices and streamline services.
The government has already invested about $250 million in dementia research. Lowi-Young says that number is dwarfed by the future economic impact of the disease.
France, Australia, the UK and the U.S. are working on plans to address dementia. G8 countries will meet in Britain in December to discuss a global strategy.
Talk to clients about dementia
There is a cultural taboo surrounding dementia and death, but don’t let that stop you from addressing the best interests of your clients. Ensure their estate plans include designating power of attorney in case they develop dementia down the line. Without one, your client’s family may end up in court. If your client owns property, consider using a trust or Continuing Power of Attorney for Property to protect it.
Work with your clients to make sure their retirement savings or an emergency fund will provide for them during illness. Cost out the standard of care your client expects and help them invest accordingly.
If Alzheimer’s and dementia is a concern to a number of clients you represent, consider getting a Certified Professional Consultant on Aging designation to better-serve their needs.
And don’t forget the power of family. Build connections with the children of your clients. You’ll need to have a solid relationship so that difficult decisions can be made smoothly down the line.


Be Water Wise by Conserving Water
Be Water Wise Hendersonville!
Hendersonville Water & Sewer Encourages Water Conservation in Every Season
Hendersonville Water & Sewer has a reminder for anyone who consumes water in the area: Be Water Wise!
Although not as severe as other areas, Western North Carolina has been experiencing dry weather. Periods of low rainfall provide a good reminder to evaluate water use levels and create better water conservation habits.
“We want our customers to think about their non-essential water use and take steps to conserve water where they can,” said Lee Smith, Hendersonville Utilities Director. “Conservation of this resource should always be a part of our daily routines.”
The City of Hendersonville encourages the public to be ‘Water Wise’ and incorporate some or all of the following conservation tips:
- Water plants during the coolest part of the day to lessen the impact of evaporation. If plants are watered more heavily, but less often, this saves water and builds stronger roots.
- Make sure your dishwasher is full before running a cycle. An automatic dishwasher uses 9 to 12 gallons of water while hand washing dishes can use up to 20 gallons.
- Install a high-efficiency clothes washer, high-efficiency toilet, and low-flow showerheads. The City offers a variety of rebates to reward customers for replacing outdated appliances and conserving water.
- Spend less time in the shower.
- Let pee be – only flush #2.
- Proper household maintenance (faucets, toilets, showers, sinks, etc.) will reduce leaks and save money.
- Participate in the City of Hendersonville's Rain barrel program.
- Sign up for Aquahawk Water Leak Alerts! This free service offers information about water usage and sends alerts when abnormal usage indicates a leak.
- The City of Hendersonville also offers a customer-side shut-off valve rebate program. This can help save water during an active leak.
Hendersonville Water & Sewer provides water service to over 72,000 people across Hendersonville and Henderson County. The raw water supply is provided from three sources; two intakes in Pisgah National Forest and one located on the Mills River.
“We can never fully predict the weather,” said Lee Smith, “but regardless of the amount of water coming in, it takes time, energy, and money to effectively treat water for drinking.” He explained conserving water benefits the greater community and environment and encouraged customers not to be wasteful.
“When we waste water here, we are also wasting our downstream neighbors’ water supply as many of them are surface water-based communities as well.”


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Inflammatory myopathies are a group of muscle diseases characterized by muscle weakness, high levels of muscle enzymes in the blood, and inflammation of the tissue surrounding muscle fibers (endomysium).
The diseases making up the inflammatory myopathies are grouped into three subsets:
I) Polymyositis (PM)
II) Dermatomyositis (DM)
III) Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM)
Inflammatory myopathies are thought to be autoimmune processes and are treated with steroids and immunosuppressive drugs. However, many patients who initially respond to these treatments develop resistance to the therapy or experience side effects causing the treatments to be stopped.
Researchers believe that intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) may provide patients with PM, DM, and IBM a safer and more effective alternative to standard therapies for the diseases. IVIg is a drug that has been used successfully to treat other immune-related diseases of the nervous system.
The study will take 60 patients and divide them into two groups. Group one will receive 2 injections of IVIg once a month for three months. Group two will receive 2 injections of placebo "inactive injection of sterile water" once a month for three months. Following the three months of treatment, group one will begin taking the placebo and group two will begin taking IVIg for an additional 3 months. The drug will be considered effective if patients receiving it experience a significant improvement (>15%) in muscle strength.
The inflammatory myopathies are a group of acquired muscle diseases characterized by subacute onset of progressive proximal muscle weakness, elevated serum muscle enzymes and endomysial inflammation. They comprise 3 clinically distinct subsets: polymyositis (PM), dermatomyositis (DM) and Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM). Because immune-mediated mechanisms are primarily responsible for the clinical manifestations of these conditions, the treatment of choice is with corticosteroids or immunotherapy drugs. Although most of the patients initially respond to these drugs, a number of them become resistant or develop unacceptable side effects that necessitate their discontinuation. The need for a more effective and safe immunotherapy in patients with PM, DM or IBM prompted the present study using high dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). IVIg is an immunomodulating agent which has been shown to be effective and safe in the treatment of a number of patients with immune-related neuromuscular diseases.
This is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study involving 30 patients, who will receive IVIg or placebo for 3 months and then will cross-over to the alternate therapy for another period of 3 monthly infusions. The monthly dose of IVIg is 2 GM/Kg divided into two daily doses. The drug will be considered effective if patients experience an increase of more than 15% in their baseline muscle strength. Muscle strength will be assessed with a series of objective dynamometric measurements performed before and at the end of each monthly infusion.
Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Primary Purpose: Treatment
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)
Published on BioPortfolio: 2014-08-27T03:59:41-0400
This is a retrospective descriptive cross-sectional and observational multicenter clinical and progressive study of juvenile dermatomyositis. The aim is to determine the clinical, paraclin...
Infection and inflammation is related to increased encephalopathy of prematurities.
This study is a Proof of Concept study aiming to evaluate the production of anti-IFNα antibodies (immune response) in adult subjects with dermatomyositis
Polymyositis and dermatomyositis are characterized by the association to a myopathic syndrome, inflammatory infiltrates in the skeletal muscle. They remain, even today, an important factor...
The purpose of this study is to obtain preliminary data regarding the safety and efficacy of Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, tofacitinib, in adults with active, treatment-refractory dermatom...
Dematomyositis is an idiopathic inflammatory myopathy with a variable clinical spectrum. In recent years, a number of myositis-specific antibodies have been identified including anti-MDA5, which is us...
The purpose of this article is to review the etiopathogenesis of dermatomyositis, including the predisposing factors, triggers, inflammatory cells, pathways and target antigens associated with dermato...
Dermatomyositis is an idiopathic inflammatory myopathy with a variety of systemic and cutaneous manifestations. The myositis-specific autoantibodies (MSAs) are associated with phenotypic features and ...
Panniculitis occurring in dermatomyositis is uncommon, with only a few cases described in the literature, most of them as case reports.
Panniculitis is a rare clinical finding in dermatomyositis, with less than 30 cases reported and there is only one case associated with the amyopathic subtype described in the literature. The present ...
N(2)-((1-(N(2)-L-Threonyl)-L-lysyl)-L-prolyl)-L-arginine. A tetrapeptide produced in the spleen by enzymatic cleavage of a leukophilic gamma-globulin. It stimulates the phagocytic activity of blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes and neutrophils in particular. The peptide is located in the Fd fragment of the gamma-globulin molecule.
An immunologic deficiency state characterized by an extremely low level of generally all classes of gamma-globulin in the blood.
A glycoprotein migrating as alpha 1-globulin, molecular weight 70,000 to 120,000. The protein, which is present in increased amounts in the plasma during pregnancy, binds mainly progesterone, with other steroids including testosterone competing weakly.
A subacute or chronic inflammatory disease of muscle and skin, marked by proximal muscle weakness and a characteristic skin rash. The illness occurs with approximately equal frequency in children and adults. The skin lesions usually take the form of a purplish rash (or less often an exfoliative dermatitis) involving the nose, cheeks, forehead, upper trunk, and arms. The disease is associated with a complement mediated intramuscular microangiopathy, leading to loss of capillaries, muscle ischemia, muscle-fiber necrosis, and perifascicular atrophy. The childhood form of this disease tends to evolve into a systemic vasculitis. Dermatomyositis may occur in association with malignant neoplasms. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp1405-6)
Serum globulins that migrate to the gamma region (most positively charged) upon ELECTROPHORESIS. At one time, gamma-globulins came to be used as a synonym for immunoglobulins since most immunoglobulins are gamma globulins and conversely most gamma globulins are immunoglobulins. But since some immunoglobulins exhibit an alpha or beta electrophoretic mobility, that usage is in decline.
Arthritis Fibromyalgia Gout Lupus Rheumatic Rheumatology is the medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and management of disease involving joints, tendons, muscles, ligaments and associated structures (Oxford Medical Diction...
Autoimmune disorders are conditions that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissue. There are more than 80 different types of autoimmune disorders. Normally the immune system's white blood cells help protect ...
An antibody is a protein produced by the body's immune system when it detects harmful substances, called antigens. Examples of antigens include microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses) and chemicals. Antibodies may be produc...


The superficial fascia of this region is very thick, especially in women and is impregnated with large quantities of fat. It is one of the major factors that contribute to the prominence of the buttock.
The deep fascia of gluteal region is continuous below with the deep fascia of thigh, which is also called the “fascia lata”. The fascia, in the gluteal region, splits to enclose the gluteus maximus muscle. Above the gluteus maximus, it continues as a single layer that covers the outer surface of the gluteus medius and is attached to iliac crest of the hip bone. On the lateral aspect of thigh, this fascia is thickened to form a strong band of connective tissue, known as the iliotibial tract. It is a strong wide band that is attached above to the tubercle of the iliac crest and below to the lateral condyle of tibia. The iliotibial tract forms a sheath for tensor fascia lata muscle and also receives a greater part of the insertion of gluteus maximus muscle.


04) Babylonian Domination
Daniel 7 outlines for us in breath taking detail the incredible system of Nimrod’s system of government. The people of the city of Babylon, the first city that Nimrod built, rose to a level of power not seen by any nation before it. Babylon captured Jerusalem in 606BC and carried their finest young people to Babylon to teach them their governmental system and worship. Daniel and his three friends faced a spiritual and mental battle to remain faithful their invisible Creator God. The foundations of Nimrod’s government always ensure its downfall and Babylon (The Lion) ruled by Nebuchadnezzar and his sons came to an end in 539BC when Medo-Persia (The Bear) animated by the same thirst for greatness and power took world dominion and continued to refine and develop Nimrod’s government system. Medo-Persia was replaced by Greece (The Leopard) in 331 BC. Greece further developed the Babylonian system and refined many features of science, art, recreation, education and government to enhance Nimrod’s kingdom system. Most of the features introduced by Greece are present with us today and the Bible portrays the Beast of Revelation 13 as predominately leopard like. Its influence and affect on the minds of men and women has been the greatest in terms of seducing minds into the Babylonian system. Greece was eventually toppled by Rome in 168BC and perfected the system that previous three kingdoms had worked on. Through these four kingdoms Satan perfected his system of government. The coming of Christ and the evangelism of the disciples nearly brought the kingdom of Rome to its knees. Regardless of how many Christians Rome killed the more they came. Constantine realised he could not beat the Christians and with Satanic genius he embraced the Christian Church and made it his own. During the dark Ages, the Babylonian system took the name of Christ (The Little Horn) and ruled the world with even greater power. Only God could stop this system and this is where the Judgement is mentioned. God would judge this parading impostor claiming to be God’s representative and cast her into the lake of fire.


Dynamic Maps Track Colorado Wildfires
Web-based tools provide important emergency-related information to the public and government agencies.
Record-breaking high temperatures, drought and strong winds have fueled intense wildfires across Colorado. And as other recent disasters have shown, the Internet has become a source for situational awareness data. Whether it’s looking at what the public is posting on social media sites or aggregating information from government sources, Web-based tools are providing important information to not only citizens but also public-sector agencies and first responders.
Esri maintains a continuously updated map of wildfires throughout the nation, including those in Colorado that have forced 32,000 people to evacuate from their homes and businesses. The map integrates the locations of wildfires, fire potential areas, global burn areas and precipitation. The map also pulls in tweets, YouTube videos and photos from Flickr to provide a look into what the public is sharing online.
See the full version of Esri's map.
The Google Crisis Response team released a fire resource map that provides national and local wildfire-related data. The map pulls in data from the U.S. Geological Survey to show active fire perimeters, and information about Colorado’s fires is provided by the state’s Division of Emergency Management.
See the full version of Google's map.
The wildfire threatening Colorado Springs is firefighters’ top priority as the area of the fire doubled the evening of June 26 from 12 to 24 square miles. "It was like looking at the worst movie set you could imagine," Gov. John Hickenlooper said, reported CBS. "It's almost surreal. You look at that, and it's like nothing I've seen before."
The Denver Post reported that Colorado’s largest wildfire was the 2002 Hayman Fire that burned more than 137,000 acres and cost $39 million. The ongoing High Park Fire in Larimer County is the state’s second biggest fire — it has already burned 87,250 acres and cost $29.6 million. As of the morning on Wednesday, June 27, the High Park Fire was 65 percent contained.
A Twitter feed from the Colorado Division of Emergency Management shows the ongoing updates and public outreach regarding the fires.
Photo: Nebraska National Guard crew members dump water from a Bambi bucket onto flames of the High Park Fire in Larimer County, Colo. Photo courtesy of Staff Sgt. Tate Petersen, Company C, 2nd-135th General Support Aviation Support


An animal’s “behavior” is the product of its genetic composition, the environment in which the animal functions, and the animal’s experience (particularly in the pre- and postnatal environment through the primary socialization period). This section focuses primarily on the diagnosis and treatment of abnormal behavior of domestic animals. For each species, normal social behavior is outlined, followed by a description of common behavioral disorders.
The minimum behavioral welfare requirements for the housing and enrichment of farm, zoo, and laboratory animals, known as the five freedoms, are equally important for family pets. These include freedom from hunger and thirst; discomfort; pain, injury, or disease; fear and distress; and freedom to express normal species behaviors. When these needs are not fully addressed, welfare is compromised and both health and behavior problems arise.
In companion animals, behavior problems weaken the pet–owner bond, resulting in a decreased owner commitment to pet care. They are a primary reason for pet relinquishment and euthanasia. Yet studies show that many owners do not report behavior changes to their veterinarian, and most veterinarians neglect to inquire about them. Thus, screening for any behavioral changes or emerging behavior problems should be done at each veterinary visit to ensure that the behavioral health, physical health, and welfare of the pet are being effectively and humanely managed.


Image credit: http://www.santamonica.com/shopping/
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This is a lesson plan designed to be used with a range of levels and ages. The different slides of the powerpoint indicate the level and age group.
shop-till-you-drop-lp – Lesson plan
shopping-conversation – Powerpoint
Use the quizlet set to introduce the different shopping vocabulary and then have students play the “match” game in teams to practice it.
Put students in small groups (2 or 3) and show them the first slide from the powerpoint, have them ask and answer the questions in their groups. Repeat for slide 2. Note: Questions are slightly different for teenagers.
Corner shop role-play
There are three different dialogues for use with different levels:
- ELM – elementary, very basic, using “do you want?” not “would you like?”
- ELM+ – slightly higher, using “do you want?” and other phrases like “here you are”
- Pre-int – slightly higher again, using “would you like?”
Choose two strong students to demonstrate the dialogue to the class or 1 strong student to perform it with you.
Then, put students in pairs and have them practice the dialogue. Monitor and correct pronunciation: weak forms in questions, vowel sounds etc. When students have finished have them swap characters and repeat.
Memory: Flash up the memory slide and have students fill in the blanks in open class.
Your shopping list: Students write their own shopping lists and then repeat the dialogue with the items they have listed. Note: limit students to countable items to avoid opening a can of worms with countable/uncountable nouns many/much etc. unless they’re ready for it, in which case introduce it here.
From memory: Now switch off the projector and challenge them to perform the dialogue by heart helping where needed, then ask if any confident students would like to come to the front and perform it for the class.
This one is only really suitable for higher levels (B1+). Split the class into two groups, flip a coin to decide which group is for/against. Give them 5-10mins to think of as many arguments to support their position as they can and then hold a debate. Allow each team to present one of their arguments uninterrupted, then give the other team the chance to counter the argument, repeat until both teams have exhausted their list. Award a winner at the end. Focus on encouraging the use of the expressions of opinion, agreeing and disagreeing.


Details of Examples of Human Evolution
Future generations deserve a far better economics. An overview of the important analyses of Patterson’s claims are available here. Such volunteerism isn’t the only method to reply to a crisis.
Several environmental problems are continuing as a main part of our concern. You continue citing refusal to speak about policy stances on their face. In reality, problems are essential for our progress because without conflict there isn’t any progression.
The Lost Secret of Examples of Human Evolution
Study a languageany languageand you are going to learn much concerning the history of those who speak that language. Executives and HR leaders must work with each other to recognize the data they have to have in order to take action. Periods of wildly changing climate appear to have driven a number of the significant evolutionary measures that made us who we are.
As a dramatic case of evolution in action, nylonase has attracted lots of attention over time. Smashing at one another and generally the larger you’re the increased chance you have of winning and thus claiming a great deal of the beach and thus territory for those females to come and mate with you. In the event that you were born and you only weighed a few pounds your likelihood of survival proved extremely low.
Ancient hunter-gatherers in Europe also couldn’t digest milk 8,000 years back. Evidence has indicated that in the previous 100,000 decades alone, our teeth have halved in dimension. It is the change over time.
The Basics of Examples of Human Evolution
If you are requested to earn a theme statement about a sheet of writing, the simplest approach to spot a theme is to try to find some challenge within the human condition. The web managed to succeed and evolve as a result of flexibility provided by the internet standards and the platforms that browser vendors built in addition to the browser itself. Whether it’s in the shape of a conservative news magazine or an internet site, these publications can provide essential perspective about what the Republican party is doing right and where they’re faltering.
Humans, on the opposite hand, and the civilizations they build, move relatively slowly. Transformational leaders need empathy to reveal their followers they care for their wants and achievements (Bass, 1985). Life goes on and is perpetually evolving.
The beginnings of agriculture and the growth of the initial civilizations occurred within the previous 12,000 decades. Many leadership theories imply that the ability to have and display empathy is a significant part leadership. The difference has seemingly been less in A. africanus, Paranthropus, and a lot of the Homo lineage.
What You Can Do About Examples of Human Evolution Starting in the Next 9 Minutes
Now one in four folks are missing a minumum of one wisdom tooth. Quite simply, racial differences are very likely to blend together. Many scientists feel this is not anything more than extensive operant conditioning, that Koko employs the signs to have rewards and does not have a feeling that the signs mean anything to her per se.
Put simply, it is apparently a rather useless model. For instance, when men were requested to imagine either the scenario of their significant other being engaged sexually with a different partner, or emotionally with a different partner, their pulse and galvonic skin responses were greatly elevated by the thought of sexual infidelity a great deal more so than the thought of emotional infidelity. Our imaginations give us hope, and in the surface of despair, it is genuinely an encouraging present.
A pair-bonding system meant that males were investing a lot of energy into one definite female. It is crucial to be aware that the variation observed in living organisms is constrained. The role of jealousy is somewhat different between both sexes.
So in portions of the world where malaria infection prices are incredibly high, like Africa, natural selection might actually favour the sickle-shaped cells. The issue starts if there’s an imbalance, especially in leptin, when it fails to initiate satiation. Over the previous three million decades, the average worldwide temperature has been steadily increasing, and the braincase of human ancestors.
To do so, future humans would need to be born beyond the body as she put it. What you’re doing now within this body is suitable for the huge picture and is equally as vital as any other experience. The body is the best instrument whereby one’s ultimate nature can be realised.
Sometimes having a cerebral cortex is little fun. In Asians, there’s a gene which makes ear wax more dry. Although it is responsible for most of the refraction, the eye contains a muscle that adjusts the shape of the lens surrounds the lens.
By 2050, an entirely new sort of human will evolve as a consequence of radical new technology, behaviour, and organic selection. Though empathy is practically universally regarded as desirable, it isn’t distributed evenly among all degrees of management. The mental capabilities are the distinguishing aspects in the present world.
During the procedure for analysis the business must know if they’re positioning it in the appropriate market at the most suitable location, time and value. All our resources are downloadable here at no cost! If you’ve perceived that the rise of software development is simply affecting the software business or other industry players alone then you’re certainly erroneous!
The Unexpected Truth About Examples of Human Evolution
An increasing number of examples demonstrate that humans not only result in the extinction of species but also drive evolution, and in some instances the emergence of entirely new species. There are many kinds of evidence for evolution. They use language for many more purposes than birds use song.
Over enough time, the procedure can even create new species. Behaviour can help determine the success of a species, so it’s reasonable to presume that human behaviours are shaped by evolution. Different strands of evidence have helped to set up a photo of how Neanderthals may have lived and communicated.
An important advancement is there is evidence of using fire. Wearable technology will nonetheless be around, but in a lot more subtle forms. The very first definition of HRM is that it’s the procedure for managing people in organizations in a structured and thorough method.


Across the street from Circus Maximus and next to the Municipal Rose Garden of Rome is the Giuseppe Mazzini Monument. During the mid-19th century, Giuseppe Mazzini was an outspoken – some said radical – revolutionary. He opposed Italy’s structure of Papal states ruled by the pope and advocated for a single Italy as a republican nation. His efforts were plagued by failures, criminal convictions and exiles. Yet his concepts led to the Italian unification first as the Roman Republic (1849) and then as the Kingdom of Italy (1861). The monument by sculptor was Ettore Ferrari was erected in 1949.


A Syrian king in the 15th century b.c.e
The story of Moses follows a pattern that is typical of ancient Near Eastern fugitive hero narratives. However, when Moses goes to Mount Horeb, the plot deviates from the usual “divine encounter” feature. What does this tell us about the composition of the story of Moses and the Burning Bush?
Edward L. Greenstein


If a volcano erupts in the middle of the ocean, and there is no one within 2,000 miles to see or hear it, can you actually call that volcano active? It is hard to know for sure if Amsterdam Island is active or dormant—it has scarcely been studied—but one thing we can say is that it is remote.
“What is the most remote active volcano on the planet, farthest from people or even farther from any other land mass that people might live?” volcanologist Erik Klemetti asked in a recent blog post. “That prize almost certainly goes to Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Amsterdam Island is staggeringly far from anything:”
- 4,300 kilometers (2,670 miles) from Africa
- 3,400 kilometers (2,100 miles) from Madagascar
- 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) from Sri Lanka
- 3,450 kilometers (2,140 miles) from Australia
- 3,200 kilometers (1,990 miles) from Antarctica
The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired this closeup view of Amsterdam Island on March 26, 2015. This volcanic summit sits near the East Indian Ocean Ridge, and it is the northernmost volcano above the water line on the Antarctic plate. The highest point of the island stands 867 meters (2,844 feet) above sea level. There are two calderas within an area of just 70 square kilometers.
Some scientists suggest that the volcano was last active about 200,000 to 400,000 years ago. But according to Klemetti, there are hints that an eruption may have occurred more recently. “No one has ever seen an eruption at Amsterdam Island, but the volcano has areas that look geologically young,” he wrote. “This means that the lava has not been highly re-vegetated or weathered, so it could have erupted as recently as 100 years ago.”
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption by Mike Carlowicz, inspired by Erik Klemetti.


1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data - 82 grams of ice is added to 0.15 liters of water at 35 degrees C. If the solution is allowed to cool to 0 degrees C, how much ice remain? (Heat of fusion of ice is 333 J/g) - Many cigarette lighters contain liquid butane, C4H10 for which ΔH(formation) = -127 kJ/mol. Calculate the heat of combustion of this reaction, and then how much energy is produced when 1.00 grams of liquid butane is burned. The products of the combustion are CO2 and water vapor. - Using the following data: Ca + 2C = CaC2 H°=-62.8 kJ Ca + 1/2O2 = CaO H°= -635.5 kJ CaO + H2O = Ca(OH)2 H°= -653.1 kJ C2H2 + 5/2O2 = 2CO2 + H2O H°= -1300 kJ C + O2 = CO2 H°= -393.5 kJ Calculate the change in enthalpy for the following equation CaC2 + 2H2O = Ca(OH)2 + C2H2 2. Relevant equations mc=ΔT q=mcΔT 3. The attempt at a solution I know that for the Hess Law problem, I need to cancel out unimportant elements and compounds, but I'm completely lost with the other two problems.


Gettysburg AddressIs the Gettysburg address still important right now?
It depends on what you mean by important.
In one way, it is not important. It is not a law that people have to follow. It does not give anyone any rights and it does not take away any rights. It is simply a short speech that a president made almost 150 years ago.
In another way, it is important. It is one of those statements that define who we are as a people. It is part of our heritage of democracy because of its idea that American soldiers die so that government "of the people, by the people and for the people" can survive on Earth.
I think that the Address is important in a rhetorical sense. How many Presidents or politicians write their speeches today? Because so many speakers--political or not--depend on cues, teleprompters, and other "helps," Lincoln's ability to craft the speech so quickly and appropriately should still amaze modern readers/listeners. Besides its content being important (remembering the great loss our country suffered), the speech presents many examples of effective rhetoric.
Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" moves beyond honoring the dead to creating new tasks for the living. This is done through a standard eulogistic technique. Lincoln never really specifies the “great task” remaining. The speech of the speech moves beyond a focus on the nation to a focus on the world. Because of its emphasis on fundamentals, and by not focusing on what had happened, but rather on what it meant, the speech achieves a timeless quality.
"Important" is a pretty subjective term. To me, as a historian, it shows how much worse things could be than they are now. We, as a nation, have survived the unimaginable, and Lincoln's short message in the address is one of hope. Remember what was going on in 1863, even though the Union had just won Gettysburg, there was still almost two full years of bloody war left, and Lincoln himself was not the least bit assured of re-election.
As a political document, the "Gettysburg Address" is not necessarily relevant other than from an historical perspective. However, it is a beautiful piece of literature, and even though it was written for an entirely different group of soldiers and nation, it's qualities do, as another poster has mentioned, make it timeless and powerful.


The court system is a highly complex series of rules and procedures. The judge assigned to each case is responsible for enforcing compliance with all of the rules, whether they regard the parties’ pleadings, the discovery process, or trial procedures. As a result, the assigned judge can have a huge impact on a litigated case, as the judge may rule on virtually hundreds of elements that effect a parties’ case.
As a result, it is important to the parties and the lawyers to treat the judge, the court, opposing counsel and the process with respect. Showing respect ensures compliance with the rules of Civil Procedure, the Court Rules, the Evidence Code and the Professional Rules of Conduct. Compliance with these various rules will ultimately become recognized by the court. Although opposing party’s lawyers will advocate their client’s positions, even in a respectful and appropriate manner, making the arguments based upon legal positions, case law and logical analysis is always superior to “gamesmanship,” name-calling and petty complaining.
The judge when, for example, ruling on a discovery dispute, is highly likely to consider the position of the respectful attorney more seriously than a counsel who is behaving poorly, being accusatory of the opposing counsel, or making arguments based upon conduct, as opposed to legal principles.
When in trial, juries are generally highly tuned towards how a lawyer addresses the court, the opposing counsel and even the witnesses. Those lawyers that act with dignity and treat the parties will respect are in a superior position to be accepted and taken more seriously by the judge and jury.
Litigation is confrontational and can be a highly charged experience. Having respect for the process and the players can only assist the client’s case towards a positive resolution.


$29.95 Buy and instantly download this paper now
This paper addresses whistle-blowing as a valid concept -- the contributing factors that encourage it, the typical responses by the organization, and the consequences to the whistle-blower. Current whistle-blowing laws are presented along with recommendations of what management can do to treat it as a positive management tool.
From the Paper:"When an employee steps forward and legitimately accuses an organization of wrongdoing, it can bring out the worst in everyone. The hierarchy -- right up the line to the CEO and the Board of Directors, if the allegations are serious enough -- may enact one of several scenarios. The company may instigate a cover-up. It could make the whistle-blower (instead of the allegations) the issue by trying to discredit the individual. It could retaliate against the whistle-blower. Or, in perhaps the most unethical of these scenarios, the company could pretend to listen, appoint the whistle-blower to solve the problem, deny access to needed information -- and make the whistle-blower the scapegoat when the wrongdoing persists."
Cite this Essay:
Whistle-blowing (2006, July 11) Retrieved March 08, 2014, from http://www.academon.com/essay/whistle-blowing-67577/
"Whistle-blowing" 11 July 2006. Web. 08 March. 2014. <http://www.academon.com/essay/whistle-blowing-67577/>


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The stories have many themes in common. In terms of identity, the stories are all examples of conforming to what you see every day, what is common practice, and what is expected. In "The Lesson", the children have never known anything outside of what they grew up with. It is not until they see that there is something outside of poverty and ignorance that they realize the various possibilities of life. Some of the children will resist the change because it will go against their identity and what they see in the community.
"Good Country People" also shows that people are accepted if they appear to conform to a stereotype. Because the salesman carries around a case of bibles and gives the appearance of being a normal country man, he is not perceived to be a threat. He gains instant acceptance because his "identity" is that of the communities he invades.
"The Lottery" revolves around identity, as well. Other villages have discontinues the ritual killings, yet this village refuses. They do not want change because there is comfort in tradition.
In all the stories, there is at least one character who voices an opinion that goes against the tradition and identity of the community. That voice is always met with resistance.
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Medieval hair styles differed greatly from those of our own time. However, a barber as we know him now was also called a barber in the Middle Ages, and used tools similar to those of barbers today. Medieval barbers, however, also served as surgeons. Therefore their tools often included items not used for cutting hair alone.
Medieval Barber's Tools
A medieval barber used razors, shears, combs and other tools a contemporary barber would recognize. During times of plague, however, many barbers also had to act as surgeons. Thus a barber's equipment included medical tools to pull teeth or perform surgery. Barbers also used tools like saws, drills, extractors, forceps, a variety of knives for amputations and other tools that punctured the skin to introduce medication or drain blood from the body.
Surgeons vs. Hair-Cutters
A medieval barber was usually a surgeon who cut hair because he had the appropriate razors and scissors, or a hair-cutter who had to double as a surgeon for the same reason. Based on which community he worked in, a barber might have to do more surgery because of a surplus of sick people, or not enough clients who needed a haircut.
Women and Hair Cutting
Just as barbers used whatever tools they had to cut hair or to do surgery, women might have used any hair-cutting tools at their disposal as well. Many popular medieval images of the story of Samson and Delilah show Delilah cutting Samson's hair with the same type of shears used to cut fabric or yarn. Other images show Delilah using a knife, which may also have been a common tool for cutting hair.
Because the medieval era had far less demanding hair styles than our own, and a trend toward longer hair, many of the tools used to cut hair weren't specifically for hair cutting. Hair styles differed from region to region, and often reflected social status. Whether women wore their hair loose or braided, it usually had to be long. Noblemen hardly ever cut their hair. Nuns represent one of the few groups of women who had shorter hair, although in their case it was hidden from view.
The vertical red and blue-striped pole that we still see spinning outside a traditional barbershop has its origins in the Middle Ages. During these centuries, only the wealthy and noble were literate. Signs advertised shops using symbols and pictures instead of text. The stripes signaled the act of blood-letting, a widely practiced medical procedure that barbers carried out because they had the tools to do so.


Neck pain or cervicalgia is a common problem, with two-thirds of the population having neck pain at some point in their lives.
Neck pain, although felt in the neck, can be caused by numerous other spinal issues. Neck pain may arise due to muscular tightness in both the neck and upper back, or pinching of the nerves emanating from the cervical vertebrae. Joint disruption in the neck creates pain, as doe’s joint disruption in the upper back.
The head is supported by the lower neck and upper back, and it is these areas that commonly cause neck pain. The top three joints in the neck allow for most movement of your neck and head. The lower joints in the neck and those of the upper back create a supportive structure for your head to sit on. If this support system is affected adversely, then the muscles in the area will dysfunction and minimally tighten, leading to spinal dysfunction and resulting in neck pain, sometimes mild and sometimes unrelenting intense debilitating contracted pain.
The origin of neck pain should be sought for a proper treatment resolution, one should not just merely medicate the warning signal and medicate the communication away
Neck pain may come from any of the structures in the neck including: vascular, nerve, airway, digestive, and musculature / skeletal or be referred from other areas of the body.
Major and severe causes of neck pain include:
Carotid artery dissection
Referred pain from acute coronary syndrome
Infections: retropharyngeal abscess, epiglottitis, etc.
Spondylosis - degenerative arthritis and osteophytes
Spinal stenosis a narrowing of the spinal canal
Spinal disc herniation protruding or bulging discs, or if severe prolapse.
The more common and lesser neck pain causes include:
Stress – physical and emotional stresses
Prolonged postures – many people fall asleep on sofas and chairs and wake with sore necks
Minor injuries and falls – car accidents, sporting events and day to day minor injuries
Referred pain – mostly from upper back problems
Over-use – muscular strain is one of the most common causes
More causes include poor sleeping posture, torticollis, head injury, rheumatoid arthritis, Carotidynia, congenital cervical rib, mononucleosis, rubella, certain cancers, ankylosing spondylitis, cervical spine fracture, esophageal trauma, subarachnoid hemorrhage, lymphadenitis, thyroid trauma, and tracheal trauma.
Treatment of neck pain depends on the cause. Chiropractic care has focused on spinal and musculoskeletal conditions for over 110 years. Many of the professional sports teams and professional athletes consult Chiropractic doctors regularly for conditions involving the spine and musculoskeletal system. If your pain persists the problem involving the cervical spine should be evaluated by a health care practitioner. Common treatments could include physiotherapy like ultra sound or interferential, body mechanics training, ergonomic reform and chiropractic manipulation.
Exercise plus chiropractic joint mobilization and/or joint manipulation has been found to be the most beneficial in both acute and chronic mechanical neck disorders. Mobilization or manipulation without corrective exercise technique training allows a condition to resurface years later. The use of heat or cold may provide short term pain relief. Chiropractic ultrasound has been shown not to be efficacious also.
Analgesics such as acetaminophen or NSAIDs are recommended for pain by most physicians not taught in musculoskeletal therapy like manipulation or physio-therapy. Muscle relaxants such as cyclobenzaprine have not been found to be useful and are therefore not recommended. Over the counter topical creams and patches containing counterirritants have little evidence to support efficacy. Khwaja SM, Minnerop M, Singer AJ (January 2010). "Comparison of ibuprofen, cyclobenzaprine or both in patients with acute cervical strain: a randomized controlled trial". CJEM 12 (1): 39–44. PMID 20078917
Surgery is usually not indicated for most mechanical causes of neck pain. If neck pain is the result of instability, cancer, or other disease process surgery may be necessary. Surgery is usually not indicated for "pinched nerves" or herniated discs unless there is spinal cord compression or pain and disability have been protracted for many months and refractory to conservative treatment such Chiropractic or Acupuncture and some Physical Therapy.


By LSS member Dr. Peter Bowen-Walker
Many people find the idea of unnecessary animal cruelty unacceptable and as a consequence they don’t mind paying a little extra for food they know has been produced in accordance with the highest standards of animal welfare.
Since ritual slaughter of animals often involves reliance on the EU exemption from the requirement that animals are stunned prior to slaughter, it is fair to conclude this sort of meat was not produced in line with the highest standards relating to animal welfare at the time of slaughter (see previous post).
So as a consumer how can you be sure that the meat you purchase comes from an animal stunned prior to slaughtering?
Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that any relevant UK government agency (DEFRA, Food Standards Agency, UK Accreditation Service, or the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency) holds a list of bodies that provide accreditation which certifies that any given item of meat has come from an animal which was stunned at the time of slaughter. This is despite the fact that the UK Farm Animal Welfare Council:
“… considers that slaughter without pre-stunning is unacceptable and that the Government should repeal the current exemption.”
And it is despite a clear call from the British Veterinary Association:
“that all animals should be stunned before slaughter, and if slaughter without stunning is still to be permitted then any meat or fish from this source must be clearly labelled. This will enable consumers to fully understand the choice they are making when purchasing such products.”
Even the British Retail Consortium, who do certify that food is safe in relation to its “packaging, storage and distribution” do not provide an assurance regarding the food they certify that the highest levels of animal welfare were applicable at all stages of the animal’s life including at the point of slaughter.
The EU are aware of the growing concern of consumers, scientists and veterinarians concerning the lack of information required on food labels and at Paragraph 50 of Regulation No 1169/2011 have stated:
“Union consumers show an increasing interest in the implementation of the Union animal welfare rules at the time of slaughter, including whether the animal was stunned before slaughter. In this respect, a study on the opportunity to provide consumers with the relevant information on the stunning of animals should be considered in the context of a future Union strategy for the protection and welfare of animals.”
So why are both the UK and the EU reluctant to impose a requirement that meat is labelled as prior-stunned or not?
Justin Cohen wrote a surprisingly candid article in March 2011 called Kosher meat labelling a 21st century ‘Yellow Star’. He discussed proposals by MEPs that all meat produced without prior stunning of the animal should be labelled with the wording:
“This product comes from an animal slaughtered by the Shechita/Halal method”
This recommendation was later changed to:
“Meat and meat products derived from animals that have not been stunned prior to slaughter, i.e. have been ritually slaughtered” (Amendments 205, 353, 354, 359 of the Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers)
He explained that Jewish groups were opposed to any such labelling because:
“It is feared that such a measure would lead to a massive hike in kosher prices as the vast majority of Shechita meat goes to non-kosher consumers who may decide to opt for products without labels. The practise could then eventually become untenable.”
The article went on to quote Shimon Cohen of Shechita UK, which opposed the labelling of food as “the 21st century equivalent of the yellow star, but on our food.”
So are the EU and member state governments colluding to permit non-stunned meat to clandestinely enter the general food market, knowing it will be purchased by unwitting and unwilling consumers – simply so that this cruel practice can be made financially viable for religious groups? Even if this is not explicitly the case, given that this possibility is being raised in the press and repeated in official government literature this troubling question must not be dismissed – because of the welfare consequences for the animals at the receiving end.
For example in a document written by Christopher Barclay entitled Religious Slaughter (Standard Note: SN/SC/1314 – House of Commons Library) in the section Labelling the following statement can be found:
“Many people believe that if such meat had to be labelled as coming from animals slaughtered without pre-stunning, they would not buy it. That might undermine the economics of Kosher meat.”
So much for the establishment of a true “internal market” as provided for by Article 28 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
For readers who want to know more about the labelling debate, there is a website sponsored by the RSPCA, Soil Association, Compassion in World Farming and others called Labelling Matters. It’s an excellent resource.
So how can you ensure the meat you purchase is derived from animals prior-stunned at the point of slaughter?
Thankfully, some forward-thinking organisations require that the meat produced under their accreditation system must come from prior-stunned animals. So look out for the following food certification schemes:
- Red Tractor
- RSPCA – Freedom Food
- Soil Association Scheme
- Humane Slaughter Association
In addition, many supermarkets require their producers to pre-stun the animals when producing fresh meat and “own brand” products. In a series of recent “over the phone” enquiries I made, all the following supermarkets confirmed their “own-brand” and fresh meat was prior stunned (irrespective of species):
- Waitrose / Ocado
Tesco would not give this assurance over the phone, but in a letter dated 7 October 2010 posted on the British Humanist Association website, Tesco stated:
“[We] would like to reassure you that we require all slaughter processes in our supply chain, including Halal, to meet our stringent animal welfare requirements. In every case, the animal is stunned before slaughter so that it is insensible and feels no pain.”
Unfortunately, these guarantees do not extend to processed or pre-prepared meals and ingredients. The meat in these products may very well derive from animals which suffered unnecessarily. It is in relation to this category of foods (also recently embroiled in the “contaminated with horse-meat” scandal) that the failure of EU and UK labelling requirements renders consumers powerless to make informed choices over the food they eat and the personal ethical standards they can therefore live by.
So much for Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights: freedom of “thought, conscience and religion”. This thorny subject is a two-sided coin in which the needs/conscience of the pro-animal welfare consumer is treated as inferior and subject to an EU/member state disregard.
It is on the basis of this analysis that religion appears to have an utterly disproportionate effect and influence in the EU. It distorts the internal market of the Union, it dismisses the true exercise of freedom of conscience of those with alternative “thoughts and conscience” and renders animal welfare a distinctly second-class EU principle.
Perhaps consumers should therefore be encouraged to avoid purchasing meat products produced in EU countries such as the UK, where prior-stunning is given an exemption, and should instead only purchase meat products from those countries that forbid this practice such as Sweden, Latvia and the province of Åland in Finland? This is of course impractical and no doubt disproportionate, but writing to your MP and MEP to lobby for honest labelling may be a small gesture of solidarity you may wish to take to reduce the suffering of your fellow “sentient beings”.
Animal welfare, freedom of thought and conscience, and a free internal market are all core principles of the EU. Yet, in response to unnecessary (and even contradictory) religious demands these core principles are compromised to a greater or lesser extent in relation to the ritual slaughter issue.
As the EU so readily capitulates to religious demands, I find myself musing on some further issues which arise naturally from this unsatisfactory situation:
1) How important will the question of animal welfare be in the 2014 MEP elections? And how important will it be in any future UK referendum on our continued membership of the EU?
Issues such as live animal transport, fur-farming, animal-testing, poor implementation of welfare standards in member-state farms and abattoirs, the non-stunning exemption and more recently the influence of EU export restrictions on cattle vaccinated against TB (possibly resulting in the need for a badger cull) all regularly feature in the UK press to the detriment of our view of the EU. Animal welfare is also now in the sights of organisations such as the Eurogroup for Animals who have recently launched a campaign to specifically raise public opinion on matters of animal welfare before the 2014 EU Parliamentary elections.
2) How will the EU reconcile its apparent commitment to animals as “sentient beings” and the already notable tension within the Union? Might this question become amplified if a country such as Turkey were to join in the future?
As a Muslim-majority country, almost all animal slaughter in Turkey is carried out without prior-stunning. One can only see things getting even worse if Turkey’s well-documented slide away from secularism towards Islamism continues.
Whilst this may not be an issue in itself, and the Union may simply provide a blanket power to derogate from Council Regulation 1099/2009, what if under consumer pressure in, say, the UK or Sweden the government did decide to insist on labelling of food as non-stunned or to prevent its production altogether within that member state?
Could this amount to an indistinctly applicable “Measure Equivalent to a Quantitative Restriction”? I propose that clear labelling might well influence the conduct of consumers (as it did after egg labelling), but could this be reconciled with Article 34 TFEU (prohibition of quantative restrictions)? Would any government be willing to hold its ground and argue it was justified under Article 36 treaty exceptions, namely the “protection of health and life of…animals…”? This argument has already failed once when the UK tried to prevent live transport of animals to the EU on the basis that animal welfare standards of some EU countries were too low – see paragraph 9 of the judgment in R v MAFF ex p Hedley Lomas (case C-5/94).
Would the EU expect a new member state to change its culture?
Or will the EU simply ditch completely its rhetoric of concern for “sentient beings” and their welfare?
Dr Peter Bowen-Walker is a biological scientist, lecturer and a part-time law student with an interest in animal welfare, habitat protection and environmental law
Views expressed are not necessarily those of the LSS
Image credit above: National Secular Society
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Guest: Paul T. Martin, principal investigator, Center for Gene Therapy and Neurosciences Center, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Access an abstract of this month’s featured research article: Overexpression of Galgt2 in skeletal muscle prevents injury resulting from eccentric contractions in both mdx and wild-type mice. American Journal of Physiology - Cell Physiology. 2009 Mar, 296(3):C476-88. Epub 2008 Dec 24.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: Welcome to this month in Muscular Dystrophy. I'm Kevin Flanigan from the Center for Gene therapy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Each month on this podcast, we invite authors of recent publications to discuss how their work improves our understanding of inherited neuromuscular diseases, and what their work might mean for treatment of these diseases.
Today, it's my great pleasure to have back Dr. Paul Martin, Professor of Pediatrics, Physiology and Cell Biology at the Ohio State University and an investigator here at the Center for Gene Therapy.
Dr. Paul Martin: Thanks, Kevin.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: We're going to discuss the paper today that's not brand new. It's from 2009 and just a reminder to our listeners there's a link to this paper on our website at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
The paper is "Overexpression of Galgt2 in Skeletal Muscle Prevents Injury Resulting from Eccentric Contractions in Both MDX and Wild-type Mice.... That's the title of the paper.
So Paul, maybe you could start by discussing a little bit about this, the paper explores potential surrogate gene therapy approach to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Maybe we could start there. What is a surrogate gene therapy mean?
Dr. Paul Martin: Well, Kevin, a surrogate gene therapy is, I mean the word surrogate is really is in the same way as we use anywhere in the English language, it means a substitute or somebody, something that's compensating, for something that's missing in this case, you have a gene and children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy called dystrophin which has mutation or deletions that prevent gene from making a protein called dystrophin.
And... so these strategies for gene therapy look to induced genes that make proteins that can basically do the same job as dystrophin, so that the muscle cell can function normally even when dystrophin is absent.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: So some of our listener's heard, I'm sure you're going to podcast here or else you've heard about efforts to put the dystrophin gene back in. In this case, it's another gene, to substitute in. Some of our listeners have probably heard some of this expose, like utrophin is considered perhaps a surrogate gene therapy.
Dr. Paul Martin: That's right. Yes, utrophin. There are number of these genes that make proteins that are now known to have beneficial effects even in the dystrophin deficient muscle cell and this would include things like the gene we study galgt2 but also integrin alpha 7, utrophin, sarcospan and there are several others.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: Let's talk about the galgt2 gene. What does galgt2 do?
Dr. Paul Martin: Well, you know all genes are abbreviated. So galgt2 is just a bunch of letters that really are short for GalNac glycosyltransferases which is the gal is the GalNac and the gt is the glycosyltransferases.
You know the longer name is the beta1, 4-N- acetylgalactosamine galactosyltransferase. So, you're actually pretty happy to just say galgt2 after a while.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: OK. Let's stick with that one.
Dr. Paul Martin: Is the gene that is expressed in skeletal muscle in a very specific place like many of these surrogate genes. It's highly concentrated in a small region of the muscle where the motor nerve touches the muscle called the neuromuscular junction.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: That's the point right where the electrical impulse gets
Dr. Paul Martin: that's correct.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: transmitted in chemical fashion 03:35
Dr. Paul Martin: and that region of the muscle is obviously very important and defects in that region will lead to lots of other kinds of neuromuscular disorders but in our case we were interested in understanding what these gene did to control curtains in the muscle and so what we did with that is we did what we call a gain of functional experiment where we overexpressed the gene in skeletal muscle cells in the mice and that led to the glycosylation of a very specific protein in the muscle called alpha-dystroglycan which is a part of the dystrophin glycoprotein complex.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: So, can I just step back one minute for others in the show, the galgt2 you mentioned glycosylation of these protein. So, it's an enzyme, it does something to these other protein. Is that right if glycosylation
Dr. Paul Martin: That's right. Yes. So, what galgt2 does is it puts a single sugar called galNac or N-acetylgalactosamine on the certain kinds of proteins. And so what sugar or carbohydrate or saccharide are often used interchangeable in the medical and biochemical fields.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: So you mentioned that if glycosylate, one of these target is dystroglycan, go ahead with that.
Dr. Paul Martin: So dystroglycan is a membrane protein in the muscle that binds to dystrophin and so in the skeletal muscle membrane, it is part of a complex of proteins anchored by dystrophin that help to maintain the muscle cells stability when it's moving because these muscle cells of course are twitching to move and so the cell has to move around quite a bit.
So at the neuromuscular junction there are different set of proteins many of these surrogate proteins we just mentioned like utrophin are localized to these one very small part of the muscle cell normally and what we discovered was that when we overexpressed these galgt2 gene many of the proteins that are normally expressed only in the small synaptic area are called the neuromuscular junction were now expressed everywhere and these include the utrophin, some extracellular matrix, proteins which bind to dystroglycan at the neuromuscular junction called like agrin and synaptic forms of laminin.
And we have known from the work of others in particular K-Davis for utrophin, for agrin, Marcu Ruegg that when you overexpressed the genes that makes these proteins that you can inhibit various forms of muscular dystrophy that arise from loss of these proteins in the extra synaptic regions of the muscle cell.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: So, did put it another way may be if I have it right then would be thinking in a way you've made the dystroglycan complex throughout the muscle appear in some ways molecularly like it usually does at the neuromuscular junction. Is that fair to say?
Dr. Paul Martin: That is fair to say with the added benefit though that the proteins that are made by this new complex of proteins are not by enlarged encoded by genes that are caused forms of muscular dystrophy.
So they are really surrogate genes there. Genes that encode proteins that can functionally compensate for this proteins that are missing this diseases but they're just not in the right place in the muscle cell normally to take on that job.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: So when you did that your first paper some years ago or first papers on this, what did you find? What did you do to the muscular dystrophy in mice when you overexpressed it?
Dr. Paul Martin: So, one of the first experiments that we did after we realized that this was going on in the muscle cell was to test this idea that this complex of proteins could compensate for the loss of dystrophin in the way we did that was to take this mice and breed them to a mouse called the mdx mouse, which is a mouse model for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
So these mice don't make the dystrophin protein much like kids with DMD don't.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: So, this was a breeding experiment, you took mice that were... you hadn't delivered this but these were mice that were overexpressing it because you'd created these mice. It's over expressing design.
Dr. Paul Martin: Yeah.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: OK.
Dr. Paul Martin: And the very surprising wonderfully surprising thing we discovered by doing that experiment was that these mice even though they lack these transgenic mice with too much galgt2... not too much but enough galgt2 in their muscle to have a functional effect on these proteins even though they were missing dystrophin did not develop muscle disease and that was true pretty much for the entire life span on those animals.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: That's a pretty spectacular result in a lot of ways.
Dr. Paul Martin: Well, it was a number of years in the analysis but it's very much true and we published that in PNAS tonight in 2002. So this paper in many ways has a functional follow up to that paper where we've developed tools that we can bring to the clinic and tested those as well to look at how overexpression can be accomplished in a way that we can deliver as a medicine.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: Well, let's talk about that. What are those tools that can bring us to the clinic and how did you use them in this paper?
Dr. Paul Martin: Well, we're basically utilizing technologies that have been developed by others in the gene therapy field over many, many years and we are grateful to many, many people for pioneering these approaches. You're going to talk to one of them in the next podcast. Jeff Chamberlain who's here on the campus this week.
But the vector that we use is called adeno-associated virus or AAV. This is a nonpathogenic viral vector it's a Nate little tool, it's basically kind of like a 20 nM nano particle to deliver genes to cells.
And you can take the genomic materials out of that virus and added back to cells reproducing the virus and then you could put in a human gene that you think is therapeutic instead and use that virus protein to deliver that to muscle cells and this AAV has a number of different forms and people have engineered it in a number of different ways but it has a number of properties that are just very, very advantageous of this idea of gene delivery.
Probably the most important of those is that the gene itself once the virus delivers it to the cell, the gene doesn't go in to the genome of the patient, in which by enlarge maintain as an episomal piece of DNA so that the gene is translated without mocking up anything inside the cell.
The other nice thing about the AAV vector that we're using here is that we can deliver it via the blood and it will cross the vascular barrier and go into tissues and that allows us to deliver the gene to much larger stretches of muscle tissue than we could by just injecting the muscle directly.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: When did individual muscles would be almost impossible to inject enough muscle.
Dr. Paul Martin: Well, muscle has huge amount of your body's tissue, so that's quite a challenge.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: Now, some of our listeners will know from other podcast, we talked about things like microdystrophins or things where... because of the carrying capacity of this AAV analogue, this AAV developing system... we can't fix the entire dystrophin gene and that's not the case with galgt2.
Dr. Paul Martin: Not at all. Galgt2 is a 1.6 Kilobase gene.
So you could probably fit about three of these genes into an AAV vector without too much trouble and since it's a naturally occurring gene, it has the added advantage also that there shouldn't be any immune responses.
The immune system basically knows that this is your protein and your tissues, so that it's not going to respond to it as a foreign agent.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: Great. Well, that takes us really, I think up to your paper. Can you tell us a little bit about how you did it and what you've done?
Dr. Paul Martin: Sure. There are number of aspects to this paper and it's sort of technically kind of complicated probably necessarily solve for lay reader but it's a physiology journal that we published this in and so there are a lot of technical aspect of the muscle physiology that we go into in pretty gory detail.
But the basic take home message is that we're showing that when you overexpressed the galgt2 gene in mdx skeletal muscles and also in wild-type skeletal muscles, so muscles that have dystrophin that you can prevent those muscles from becoming damage when you subject them to force lengthening during eccentric contractions when that's just sort of a big way of saying mimicking what the leg normally does when it's walking down, for example down the light of stairs.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: So that's the standard model of measurement of damage to these animal models.
Dr. Paul Martin: It is and then the x-muscles typically very much more poorly than wild-type muscles in this sorts of test but what we've found is that, in the list in the transgenic mice when we do this sort of test either in a wild-type background of an mdx background that we almost absolutely prevent the ability of the muscle to become injured.
The second part of the paper then deals with treatment with AAV vector to allow overexpression of the gene and muscle cells.
And here, we're trying to mimic what we would like to do in the clinical trial when we finally get IND application finish for this AAV vector and that is to deliver it via the femoral artery to the hind-limb muscles.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: That would be... that's something feasible and people to deliver in to the large vessels of the leg for example.
Dr. Paul Martin: Absolutely, absolutely. And in such a way that... you know... hopefully we can have a clinical impact immediately. And so we replicated that protocol in the mdx mice which is technically quite difficult and this was pioneered by another member of our center Louis Chicoine who's very good with small needles and manage to pull this off in little mouse leg and again what we found is that overtime after 12 weeks after treatment, we could maintain this mdx muscles that have been treated in terms of their absolute force, their maximum specific force and their ability to withstand damage to a level that was at or above what a wild-type muscle normally would have and this was even though we only perfused about 20% of the total muscle during this experiment.
So what that tells us both is that we can get a biological effect that's clinically relevant but also that we don't even need to treat the entire muscle to get a clinical benefit.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: So, I'm going to just go back for one minute cause you went sort of quickly to it. One of the three things you've mentioned was the protection from damage which is actually interesting.
Many of our listeners will know about numbers for example, like the serum CK level that their sons may have been diagnose with. So the core length to this is a leaky muscle membrane and one of the things is protects from then is leakage into the muscle using your SH4, etc.
Dr. Paul Martin: Yes. You can - it's not so easy and the way we do this physiology to do serum CKs although in transgenic mice that are... the serum CKs are absolutely back to wild-type levels.
But what we did instead to look at leakiness was to add a dye outside of the muscle cells while we were doing these eccentric contraction injury paradigms and looking at uptake of the dye which is a measure of the membrane allowing a dye to leak in or you can fracture or something like that.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: You look on your microscope you can see muscle fibers that have that dye, and that was improved with this.
Dr. Paul Martin: Very much improved prior to treatment.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: And one thing that I've found very interesting about paper was essentially you could get equivalent levels of protection with this as you could by putting in microdystrophin. The kind of dystrophin gene therapy molecule we're talking about, is that correct?
Dr. Paul Martin: That's true. What we did is we design this in a... as a sort of a completely blinded experiment to compare two different genes at the same time.
One is our best case scenario for gene replacement which is the microdystrophin construct and we compare it to galgt2 and the investigators that deliver the gene and analyze the muscles didn't know which one was which but it turns out that the galgt2 is as effective if not better than microdystrophin in this particular assays.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: So, what can you conclude from all this work?
Dr. Paul Martin: Well, our main conclusion is that this is an approach to gene therapy because it's a surrogate gene therapy that has a potential to treat all patients with mutations in the dystrophin gene.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: Regardless of their mutation.
Dr. Paul Martin: Regardless of their mutation because we really... what we're doing is up regulating surrogate proteins that are not dystrophin and to compensate for the loss of dystrophin.
So it doesn't matter how much dystrophin you've loss this should have a benefit and the other, I think, big take home message from this is that... because we're actually changing a whole complex of proteins it has a potential to be applicable to other forms of muscular dystrophy as well.
So we've actually tested both the gene therapy and the transgenic sort of experiments and two other models of muscular dystrophy; one is the alpha sarcoglycan deficient mouse, which is a mouse model for limb girdle muscular dystrophy 2D and the others the dyW-mouse which is mouse model for congenital muscular dystrophy 1A.
And both of those models we also see clinical benefit for galgt2 overexpression.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: That's quite exciting. So development of this in testing in the Duchenne population might led to therapies for this other forms of muscular... less common forms of muscular dystrophy.
Dr. Paul Martin: Well, we're optimistic that that would be the case.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: That's great. What are the next steps for your group and for your lab?
Dr. Paul Martin: Well, we're trying to forge ahead with this... the development of galgt2 gene therapy to develop a clinical trial for patient with Duchenne muscular Dystrophy.
And we've benefited from funding from the National Institute of Health specifically with the grant called the U54 Grant whose goal is to develop clinical products for rare diseases.
And so we are nearing the end of that process with the FDA and head up what we call a pre-IND meeting to suggest to them what are trial might look like.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: Sorry, just want to know for our listeners may not know that term IND we've used a few times, it's an Investigational New Drug application and that's the step. The gate keeping step in a way to bringing a new therapy to a child. The FDA has to approve that IND application.
Dr. Paul Martin: Right. I'm sorry I didn't mention that. This is a completely new drug. It's never been used before, and so we have additional levels of scrutiny that we have to pass for safety before the FDA will allow us to go in to patients' and the IND application is the end result of that.
So we are in a middle of doing those safety studies to prove that this gene therapy is safe and our goal then will be to wrap those hopefully by the end of 2013 at which point we would be filing that application.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: Once that's approved then we can actually think of a trial for boys with Duchenne Muscular dystrophy.
Dr. Paul Martin: Yes.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: That's great. Well terrific. Well thank you for taking the time to explain all these exciting work to us today.
Dr. Paul Martin: It's my pleasure, thanks for having me.
Dr. Kevin Flanigan: This podcast is brought to you by Nationwide Children's Hospital. You can find out more about the muscular dystrophy program, an ongoing clinical trial at Nationwide Children's at our website nationwidechildrens.org/muscular-dystrophy-podcast.
You'll also find a link to the published abstract of the study we've discussed today. Thank you and we looked forward to you joining us for our next episode.


Direct and simple answer – catchers don’t use gloves. Catcher’s use mitts designed specifically for their unique position in the field.
However, first basemen also can use a mitt – but they are different from a catcher’s mitt.
Alright, now that your burning question is out of the way – let’s dive deeper. You should know that only catchers and first basemen are allowed to wear mitts.
If you’re in any other position, you can’t wear a mitt even if you want to – it’s prohibited.
Plus, a mitt gives a catcher the advantage that a glove simply wouldn’t. Apart from being a rule and norm, there are benefits to wearing a mitt over a glove when you’re in the back of the diamond.
Mitts are only necessary when things get serious, though. For instance, tee-ball leaguers don’t need a catcher’s mitt – a glove would do just fine.
Also, if you’re having a fun family-and-friends weekend with slow-pitch softball, you don’t need a catcher’s mitt.
Now, why do catchers use a mitt? What are the benefits? What do you stand to lose if you assume a catcher’s position without a mitt? Let’s find out.
What Is the Difference Between a Mitt and a Glove?
Primary difference –
Gloves have fingers – mitts don’t. That’s the basics. This one difference aside, mitts are naturally way larger than gloves. Usually, the biggest glove you’ll find is donned by outfielders. And the size is around 14-15 inches – that’s the maximum.
However, a catcher’s mitt – even the ones used by little leaguers – are around 30-32 inches. So, as you can see, the difference is clear as daylight.
The webbing is a tad bit different as well. Most infielders and outfielders prefer H- or I-web for better visibility. But catchers usually go for closed webbing.
And finally, the padding is different. Mitts have more padding than gloves because catchers have to stop more balls than any other player on the field. So, they need more padding to
A) scoop groundballs up quickly
B) pocket flyballs with ease,
C) keep their hands safe from constant fastball impacts.
Still, these are just preliminary information. If you want a top-shelf catcher’s mitt to take your game up a notch, you have to think way beyond size, webbing, and padding.
Do Catchers Have to Use a Catcher’s Mitt?
The answer – yes. Apart from slow-pitch softball and tee-ball games, all catchers – fastpitch and baseball – need to wear mitts. Plus, they need to use a distinctive kind of mitts compared to the first base position.
They lack distinct fingers, like mittens, hence the nickname – “mitts.” These mitts are great at controlling balls that do not land in the pocket. Due to the absence of distinct fingers, catcher mitts help you out to scoop ground balls and catch the balls that are bouncing on the ground in short height.
Compared to the first base mitts, catchers’ mitts need to be bigger because the catchers sometimes need to catch the Knuckleballs (a pitch thrown to reduce the ball’s spin in flight). In most cases, the motion and the directions of the knuckleballs are not predictable, this is why most of the catchers use a bigger mitt than the first pitch players.
Usually, catchers’ mitts are made with extra protective padding (unlike first base mitts). The shape of a mitt resembles a crab’s claws. This claw-ish shape enables the catchers to draw the fastball into the pocket of the mitt.
Do Catchers Under 12 Years Need Mitts?
There’s a lot of confusion about whether a 12-year-old needs mitts or not. I hear this a lot when new parents talk to me about equipment shopping. The thing is – it’s not really necessary for a champ under 12-year-old to wear a catcher’s mitt. They can play the game with a glove as well.
The general rule for using the mitts only applies to senior players – usually, players over 12 years old. But adolescent players (under 12 years old) are exempted from this rule. Players who range from 5 to 12 years old play with gloves in different positions as well.
That’s why their gloves are made mostly for general purposes, which enables them to play in any position. Although even adolescent players from 5 to 12 years old can choose mitts to play in the catcher and first base positions, basically there’s no restriction if they do so!
Still, I recommend my youth players to get a youth catcher’s mitt. Why? Because the earlier you start, the faster you get used to a catcher’s mitt, and the better you perform. If you check some 12-year-old drills, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
Do Catchers Wear Gloves Under Their Mitts?
You should know that catcher’s mitts have finger-edge padding. Now, if you switch to first base mitts, the story is different. The padding is way lighter, and any padding around the finger area is non-existent.
The extra padding of a catcher’s mitt is there to protect the catcher. Players in this position are prone to getting sore hands or palm injuries because of receiving constant fastballs. So, some catchers – not all of them – wear a glove under their mitts to add an extra layer of protection.
You can do it as well if you feel like the padding on your mitt isn’t enough. However, get a feel for the catcher mitt you’re wearing first. See if the fastball impact is causing you discomfort after a few rounds. If that’s the case, you can wear a glove under your mitt. But, you need to get the hang of using two gears – a glove and a mitt – or else you won’t be able to perform at your desired level.
Plus, the thick padding is visible from the mound. A catcher often directs the pitcher, telling him/her where to pitch next. So, it’s easy for the pitcher to read the signs and adjust his/her pitch accordingly.
On the other hand, first base mitts have less thick padding than the first base players. These mitts are lighter and can eventually feel like more of an extension of your hand than a dedicated catcher’s mitt because they don’t have the finger edge padding. Some players are extra cautious about protecting their hands, they use batting gloves under their mitts to keep the impact to a minimum.
A Quick Recommendation for Catchers
For quite some time, I’ve been involved in softball and baseball, both as a player and currently as a coach. And I’m fairly adept at navigating the mystery of choosing good-quality catchers mitts and gloves. So, if all this information has got you thinking, you can have a look at the recommendations I have here.
Wilson A2000 Fastpitch Catchers Mitt
When it comes to selecting gloves or mitts, the name Wilson has probably come your way over and over. Honestly, Wilson is a brand that I fell in love with throughout my junior level playing career and continue to enjoy as a coach because of its cutting-edge design, comfort, and durability.
This glove series was designed by one of the world’s most experienced glove and mitt designers, the legendary Shigeaki Aso. With his solid forty+ years of designing gloves and mitts, he knew exactly what the players needed.
This fantastic catcher’s mitt is a little bit more expensive than other catcher’s mitts on the market when it comes to price. The price point is a bit high, but it’s a top contender for being the best fastpitch catcher’s mitt.
And you get what you pay for in the end! When it comes to purchasing catcher’s mitts, it is always a good idea, in my opinion, to invest a little more money.
Wilson is known for producing high-quality gloves and mitts for the most serious players. This wonderful Wilson A2000 SuperSkin fastpitch softball catcher’s mitt is no exception. Plus, this is designed for the most serious players who aspire to pursue a career in the game.
SuperSkin is a microfiber material that is half the weight of Pro Stock leather while being twice as durable. The glove’s moisture-resistant construction lasts longer and is easier to clean than regular leather. This material will withstand hot, humid conditions and breaks in at a decent pace compared to older Wilson gloves.
Another great feature of this mitt is its flat finger binding option. This option enables you – the player – who likes to play with one finger outside the glove to have more comfort and control. You can save time by minimizing the distance between your finger and the back of the glove.
It also comes with Wilson’s Custom Fit System, which allows for a quicker break-in time and a comfortable, snug fit with no wrinkling. So, it’s a complete bang but the buck you dish out is high. Still, the overall performance, the sheer quality, and the cheers you’ll get by using this mitt more than makes up for it.
Rawlings Player Preferred Catchers’ Mitts
Rawlings has had a very good reputation for making great gloves and mitts for over a century now. Their long history of producing gloves and mitts has given them ample experience to create extremely dependable items.
If you’re on a tight budget but still want a good pair of mitts, walk into the realm of Rawlings. This brand will give you the most value for your money if you are a beginner. And even if you are a pro player, you can still buy a Rawlings Player Preferred mitt as an additional mitt on your shelf.
Compared to the Wilson A2000, the Player Preferred doesn’t take long to break in. After all, the leather in this mitt isn’t as thick or anywhere near as premium as the A2000. So, there’s both an upside (low break-in time) and a downside (poor padding) to it.
The one really good thing about this mitt is that it has a great pocket. The size of the pocket can help you snag the balls easily without putting in a ton of effort. There is less chance for the ball to just pop off your mitt.
Most budget gloves/mitts don’t have enough room for thumbs and little fingers. However, the Player Preferred should accommodate all these fingers nicely. I’ve tried it out and my hands never felt any pressure or discomfort.
However, the Player Preferred is a casual mitt. You can’t expect top-notch performance from a catcher’s mitt that’s clearly meant for weekend warriors. That’s why I call it the king of utility gloves. If you check it out, you’ll see that the Player Preferred series has a glove/mitt for all positions available in different sizes. That’s what makes this mitt a dream come true for budget buyers.
With All Said and Done
It is particularly challenging for the players to play in positions like catcher or first base. After giving this article a read, I hope you understand why catchers and first basemen need to wear mitts instead of gloves.
I’ve seen a lot of games where the tides were turned thanks to the exceptional performance of the catcher and first baseman.
People often get confused about what mitt to get or what glove will be perfect for them. Well, there’s no right answer here. It’s not black and white – rather the area is completely grey. A great catcher’s mitt may feel awkward when you wear it. So, know how to size your fastpitch glove and make sure you buy something that fits you and your playing style.
Remember, it is not enough to simply purchase high-quality and comfortable sporting equipment to be a terrific player on the field. You must also devote a significant amount of time to practice to achieve your ambition of becoming a great catcher /fielder.
I’m not arguing that equipment isn’t vital. But practicing with improper equipment can cause a lot of damage, especially in the early stages of your sports career. And any mistake you sustain early in your career may follow you throughout your life.
So, put in a lot of practice time using the best mitts for you and let your sporting career shine brighter. Cheers!


Help Shape the Healthy People 2020 Objectives
The Healthy People goals and objectives establish a broad set of national priorities for disease prevention and health promotion. Every ten years, stakeholders representing government and non-government public health agencies come together to negotiate a set of objectives for the next decade. These objectives have important implications for research and funding opportunities.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services is currently inviting public comment on the proposed topic areas and objectives for Healthy People 2020.
Here are a few of the proposed objectives related to consumer health information.
Topic Area: Health Communication and Health IT
- Increase individuals’ access to the Internet.
- Improve the health literacy of the population.
- Increase the proportion of quality, health-related Web sites.
- Increase the proportion of patients whose doctor recommends personalized health information resources to help them manage their health.
Comments will be accepted through December 31. The final set of objectives will be announced in the spring of 2010, with a formal launch of Healthy People 2020 later in the year.
One of the selection criteria for Healthy People 2020 objectives is the availability of a national-level data source to provide baseline data and to measure progress through the decade. As of this writing, several of the proposed objectives, including the first and second objectives listed above, are yet to be determined. If you are aware of appropriate sources, please list them in your comments.