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The Lifespan and Disability Project, a 2-year qualitative study, was designed to enhance understanding of social integration by including the perspectives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Procedures and strategies employed to involve these individuals in the project were documented. Specifically, we describe the use of individual interviews and focus groups (e.g., purpose, rationale, facilitation techniques) to collect data, and verification meetings in which a prompting hierarchy and cueing were employed to assist participants in confirming or disconfirming the researchers' interpretations of the emerging findings. Highlights of the results were presented to illustrate the efficacy of the strategies in enabling the participants with intellectual disabilities to share their perspectives on social integration.

1. Genetic selection of broilers may have pushed muscle fibres to their maximum functional size constraints. Broiler (B), female great-grandparent (GGP) and layer (L) lines were weighed, blood sampled and killed from 5 to 25 weeks of age. 2. At 25 weeks, Pectoralis major (Pm) fibre size reached by the B (65.9 microm) and GGP (59.8 microm) were 1.5 times greater than the L (38.1 microm). In the B and GGP lines, fibre growth of the Pm markedly exceeded that of the Biceps femoris (Bf) muscle. However, in the L line, fibre growth of the Pm and Bf muscle was comparable. Connective tissue content was generally higher in the Bf than in the Pm of all lines. 3. Centralised nuclei were observed predominantly in Pm, and may regulate fibre size. Both large muscle fibres and inadequate capillary supply may induce metabolic stress in B and GGP lines due to the large diffusion distances for oxygen, metabolites and waste products. 4. Enzyme markers of muscle damage (creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and aspartate aminotransaminase (AST)) and histopathological analysis of Pm and Bf indicated greater myopathy in B and GGP vs L. 5. Regenerative processes were associated with oestrogen secretion. Reduced CK and LDH preceded egg yolk precursor production and increased calcium uptake for eggshell synthesis in all three lines. Oestrogen may stimulate muscle fibre regeneration and recovery as a myo-protective adaptation to potentially detrimental changes in calcium economy during egg production.

Knowledge of variations in normal human thigh musculature is important for the interpretation of various clinical and biomedical investigations. In this study, cross-sections from whole thighs of 34 cadavers were analyzed qualitatively and morphometrically. Sections were cut from right and left limbs at three levels in the region often used for muscle biopsy. Measurements were made of limb circumferences and cross-sectional areas of the three vasti and of the femur, and of the extent of overlap and fusion between the vasti on the lateral aspect of the thigh. Limb circumference proved to be a good predictor of total cross-sectional area of the quadriceps muscle. Large individual variations were found for most measurements but especially for the amount of fusion between the muscle bellies of vastus lateralis and vastus intermedius. Significant differences were found for most variables between the three levels, but there were few differences between sides except for the cross-sectional area of vastus lateralis which was greater on the right at the most distal level. These variations in size and form of thigh musculature should be considered when interpreting data obtained from muscle biopsy, imaging, biomechanical, electromyographic, and functional studies of the human thigh. Review of the literature on variability of quadriceps muscle and its clinical relevance showed a diversity of approaches but insufficient definitive data suitable for interpreting functional outcomes in response to exercise or following surgery. Further work is suggested combining current anatomical datasets with advanced imaging techniques capable of determining muscle fiber orientation and fiber type composition, and including 3D reconstruction.

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