902 research outputs found
Assessing and Improving Bioterrorism Preparedness Among First Responders: A Pilot Study
No full textFollowing the September 11 terrorist attacks, the vulnerability of the United States became apparent. It also became evident that there was a need for respiratory protection. The purpose of this study was to determine the prior knowledge and perceptions of emergency medical technicians with respect to bioterrorism and to enhance their current knowledge to better prepare them for possible future events. The study was also designed to create a certified pool of trainers who would be capable of fit-testing all squad members with N-100 respirators. Representatives were recruited from each of the Hunterdon County, New Jersey, rescue squads. Participants attended a train-the-trainer session. Before the session and after, they were tested on knowledge and perceptions about relevant bioterrorism issues and were given an educational presentation on bioterrorism, threatening agents, respiratory health, and proper protection, along with being introduced to the fit-test steps for N-100 respirator masks. The response rate for the training was 94 percent. The authors measured and compared responses on the pre-test and the post-test with respect to knowledge, behaviors, and perceptions, and the results indicated a change following the training. The study thus provided evidence that the train-the-trainer program is an effective method of providing public health preparedness training to members of community organizations and agencies.Reprinted with permission from the Journal of Environmental Health, a publication of the National Environmental Health Association, www.neha.org.Supported by NIEHS Grants ES07148 and ES05022 and the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute.Peer reviewe
Rashkova, T. The Robson cubics for matrix algebras with involution (Acta Univ. Apulensis Math. Inform.).
No full textLet R be the free associative algebra over a field K on
generators and let be the free
associative -algebra in one further indeterminate Consider
the set of polynomials in which are satisfied by
the matrix Such polynomials are
called laws over of the matrix Robson in [Robson, J.
C. Polynomials satisfied by matrices. J. Algebra 55 (1978), no.
2, 509--520; MR523471 (80j:15012)] proved that such laws are a
``consequence" of a finite set of laws and for he exhibited
generators called Robson cubics.
Here the author considers the special case when is a
symmetric or skew-symmetric matrix under the transpose
or symplectic involution and gives an explicit form of the Robson
cubics. Some other results are also given in case $n=3.
Trip purpose identification using pairwise constraints based semi-supervised clustering
No full textClustering of smart card data captured by automated fare collection (AFC) systems has traditionally been viewed as an unsupervised method. However,some additional information about human behaviour is available in addition to the smart card data points that can facilitate better partitioning of the data. In this paper, such prior knowledge is translated into pairwise constraints and used with the COPKMEANS clustering algorithm to identify user activities. The effectiveness of the method was evaluated using performance evaluation measures by comparison of the results with the ground truth. The results demonstrate that pairwise constraints significantly enhance the accuracy of the clusters
Abstract 316: Identification of SGK1 as a potential therapeutic target in castrate resistance prostate cancer
No full textAbstract
Introduction: Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common male cancer in the UK, with approximately 1 in 8 men developing the disease within their lifetime (Prostate Cancer UK). The androgen receptor (AR) has a crucial role in the proliferation and progression of prostate cancer. Patients respond to anti-androgen therapy in the early stage of the disease, however many will develop resistance, entering a “castrate-resistant” disease state (CRPC), carrying a very poor prognosis, posing a major clinical challenge (1). The development of second generation anti-androgen therapies, such as Enzalutamide and ARN-509, have shown promise in the treatment of CRPC patients, but response rates of just 50% and the development of resistance to these drugs have limited their success in the clinic (2,3). This study aims to interrogate the global gene expression consequences of anti-androgen resistance in an LNCaP prostate cancer cell line model, resistant to Enzalutamide. In our gene microarray, SGK1 demonstrates high expression in Enzalutamide resistant cells. Our subsequent experiments suggest SGK1 may serve as a biomarker of resistance or perhaps an exploitable target in CRPC.
Methods: A gene microarray was used to determine the gene profile of parental LNCaP cells, sensitive to anti-androgen drugs, versus in-house generated LNCaP-Enzalutamide Resistant cells. QPCR to determine the mRNA level of SGK1 +/- Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), +/-Dexamethasone. Western blot used to detect the protein level of the SGK1. IncuCyte used to determine the proliferation. Wound Healing Assay to detect the direction of the cells toward the edges
Results: These preliminary data demonstrate an increase in expression of SGK1 in the LNCaP-Enz-R cell line model, compared with parental LNCaP cell, at both the protein and mRNA levels. We have demonstrated that stimulating AR by DHT also increases SGK1 expression at both the protein and mRNA levels, in both cell lines. In addition, it is shown that activation of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) by stimulation with Dexamethasone increases SGK1 expression at the mRNA level only in LNCaP cells, however high SGK1 expression is observed at the mRNA AND protein level in the LNCaP-Enz-R cell line. Inhibition of SGK1 using small molecular inhibitors significantly decreases proliferation and migration of the LNCaP-Enz-R cell line, whereas no significant difference is seen in the parental, androgen sensitive LNCaP cell line.
Conclusion: Increased expression of SGK1 in Enzalutamide, Casodex and ARN509 resistant cell line models was observed, compared with parental LNCaP cells. AR regulates SGK1 in both parental LNCaP and LNCaP-Enz-R cell line models. GR regulates SGK1 in the LNCaP-Enz-R cell line alone. SGK1 has a vital role in the proliferation and migration of the LNCaP-Enz-R cell line model. SGK1 could represent either a future biomarker of Enzalutamide-resistance, or a potential therapeutic target in advanced disease.
Citation Format: Massar I. Alsamraae, Urzsula McClurg, Craig N. Robson, Stuart McCracken. Identification of SGK1 as a potential therapeutic target in castrate resistance prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 316. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-316</jats:p
English spelling in the seventeenth century : a study of the nature of standardisation as seen through the MS and printed versions of the Duke of Newcastle's 'A New Method ...'.
No full textIn 2 vols.Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX201006 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo
The use of judgement by commercial property developers
No full textIn the UK, as in other developed market economies, commercial property is a multimillion pound industry that makes an important contribution to GDP and employment. Commercial development is a classic example of a high risk / high return business; a fact that is particularly apposite in times of economic uncertainty. Developers clearly take significant risks at various stages of the development process; and they do this in anticipation of the considerable financial rewards on offer. Equally, when their assessment indicates it, the decision will be taken not to proceed. On what basis do they make these decisions? Previous research by the author found that, while formal risk assessment is undertaken by developers, the process is heavily influenced by their risk attitude and ‘judgement’. The research seeks to explore these issues by generating empirical data on developers’ ‘judgement’ and setting them against existing theoretical work. The overall aim of the study is to examine the issue of ‘judgement’ in risk-related decisions in the property development process, and to determine whether this concept can be theoretically explained using existing work on risk, risk attitude and heuristics. The method of enquiry is predominantly in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with experienced property developers. At this stage the data has been analysed by a sorting and sifting process to try and find similarities, differences and patterns in the responses. The research has found that property developers essentially believe that they adopt a fairly objective approach to risk related decision making however the use of judgement, intuition and experience was frequently referred to. A preliminary analysis of the data suggests that heuristics play a role in the decision making process. In particular the availability heuristic, confirmation trap and cautious shift heuristic are evident. The work reports on the interim findings of a continuing study, and conclusions are, as yet, provisional, but in terms of its aims, objectives and method the paper gives an insight into an important and little researched issue in the property development industry
A well-conserved Plasmodium falciparum var gene shows an unusual stage-specific transcript pattern
No full textThe var multicopy gene family encodes Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) variant antigens, which, through their ability to adhere to a variety of host receptors, are thought to be important virulence factors. The predominant expression of a single cytoadherent PfEMP1 type on an infected red blood cell, and the switching between different PfEMP1 types to evade host protective antibody responses, are processes thought to be controlled at the transcriptional level. Contradictory data have been published on the timing of var gene transcription. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) data suggested that transcription of the predominant var gene occurs in the later (pigmented trophozoite) stages, whereas Northern blot data indicated such transcripts only in early (ring) stages. We investigated this discrepancy by Northern blot, with probes covering a diverse var gene repertoire. We confirm that almost all var transcript types were detected only in ring stages. However, one type, the well-conserved varCSA transcript, was present constitutively in different laboratory parasites and does not appear to undergo antigenic variation. Although varCSA has been shown to encode a chondroitin sulphate A (CSA)-binding PfEMP1, we find that the presence of full-length varCSA transcripts does not correlate with the CSA-binding phenotype
Consumption Growth and Agricultural Shocks in Rural Madagascar
No full textThe aim of this paper is to evaluate the effect of rainfall and agricultural shocks on consumption growth in Madagascar. We are also interested in the impact of local endowments in infrastructures and social services on consumption growth. To achieve this goal, a micro model of household consumption growth is estimated thanks to household panel data collected by the Reseau des Observatoires Ruraux (ROR) between 1999 and 2004. Additional data sources include the 2001 communes census organized by the Ilo program of Cornell University. Altogether these different data sources make an unusually rich data set, at least when considered with developing country standards. We use panel data fixed effect estimation technique to remove unobserved household and community level time invariant heterogeneity. We find that production shocks have a substantial impact on consumption growth and we find sign of persistence of rainfall shocks. Roads and education seems to improve household’s consumption growth and remotness decreases it.risks, growth, poverty, Food Security and Poverty,
A Social Insurance Model for Pharmacare: Ontario's Options for a More Sustainable, Cost-Effective Drug Program
No full textWith annual spending of about $4.5 billion dollars in 2010, Canada’s largest drug plan – the Ontario Drug Program (ODB) – will become harder to afford as the babyboomers age and workforce growth slows. A business-as-usual approach to funding the plan, which provides publicly funded drug benefits to every Ontario resident aged 65 an older, presents a bleak prospect and amounts to wilfully passing on an exorbitant bill to future generations. Ontario, like all jurisdictions, faces tough challenges at the intersection of fiscal and health policy. Partial prefunding and benefit-payment reform of the ODB would put a key health program on a stronger and more sustainable footing.The Health Papers, Ontario Drug Program (ODB), Province of Ontario
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