Beeing in the Willamette Valley: A Look at Human and Honey Bee Relationships and the Global Currents That Shape Them

This thesis explores interspecies relationships between humans and honey bees. Through multispecies ethnographic vignettes, beekeeper-honey bee relationships reveal the ways in which social systems inform interspecies entanglements. The research is grounded in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, and highlights the experiences of eleven beekeepers. Stories highlight how bodies interact within larger landscapes that are dictated by the dominant food system model. The bee hive becomes a meeting place for bodies to interact with, contradict, and reflect, conditions set by global currents

The Grizzly, September 6, 2007

The Car Share Revolution • Ursinus Initiates Film Fest • Facilities Makes Renovation Waves • Stopping the Stork: Emergency Contraception • A Look at The Rising Suns • Spotlight on Sustain UC • Book Review: What is What by Dave Eggers • Opinions: With Gonzales\u27 Resignation, Exodus Continues; Harry Potter and the Satanic Pre-Teens; Don\u27t Paint Over Our Freedom of Expression • Intramural Intervention • Field Hockey Flavor • Football Sets the Bar High with 28-0 Rout of LaSalle • Fight for the Tophttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1741/thumbnail.jp

Opiates, cocaine and alcohol combinations in accidental drug overdose deaths in New York City, 1990-98

Aims Accidental drug overdose contributes substantially to mortality among drug users. Multi-drug use has been documented as a key risk factor in overdose and overdose mortality in several studies. This study investigated the contribution of multiple drug combinations to overdose mortality trends. Design We collected data on all overdose deaths in New York City between 1990 and 1998 using records from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). We standardized yearly overdose death rates by age, sex and race to the 1990 census population for NYC to enable comparability between years relevant to this analysis. Findings Opiates, cocaine and alcohol were the three drugs most commonly attributed as the cause of accidental overdose death by the OCME, accounting for 97.6% of all deaths; 57.8% of those deaths were attributed to two or more of these three drugs in combination. Accidental overdose deaths increased in 1990–93 and subsequently declined slightly in 1993–98. Changes in the rate of multi-drug combination deaths accounted for most of the change in overdose death rates, whereas single drug overdose death rates remained relatively stable. Trends in accidental overdose death rates within gender and racial/ethnic strata varied by drug combination suggesting different patterns of multi-drug use among different subpopulations. Conclusions These data suggest that interventions to prevent accidental overdose mortality should address the use of drugs such as heroin, cocaine and alcohol in combination.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40256/2/Coffin_Opiates, Cocaine and Alcohol Combinations_2003.pd

Triggering of the dsRNA Sensors TLR3, MDA5, and RIG-I Induces CD55 Expression in Synovial Fibroblasts

Background: CD55 (decay-accelerating factor) is a complement-regulatory protein highly expressed on fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS). CD55 is also a ligand for CD97, an adhesion-type G protein-coupled receptor abundantly present on leukocytes. Little is known regarding the regulation of CD55 expression in FLS. Methods: FLS isolated from arthritis patients were stimulated with pro-inflammatory cytokines and Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands. Transfection with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) and 5'-triphosphate RNA were used to activate the cytoplasmic double-stranded (ds)RNA sensors melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) and retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I). CD55 expression, cell viability, and binding of CD97-loaded beads were quantified by flow cytometry. Results: CD55 was expressed at equal levels on FLS isolated from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondyloarthritis. CD55 expression in RA FLS was significantly induced by IL-1 beta and especially by the TLR3 ligand poly(I:C). Activation of MDA5 and RIG-I also enhanced CD55 expression. Notably, activation of MDA5 dose-dependently induced cell death, while triggering of TLR3 or RIG-I had a minor effect on viability. Upregulation of CD55 enhanced the binding capacity of FLS to CD97-loaded beads, which could be blocked by antibodies against CD55. Conclusions: Activation of dsRNA sensors enhances the expression of CD55 in cultured FLS, which increases the binding to CD97. Our findings suggest that dsRNA promotes the interaction between FLS and CD97-expressing leukocyte

Increased hospital costs associated with red blood cell transfusion

Background - Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is independently associated in a dose-dependent manner with increased intensive care unit stay, total hospital length of stay, and hospital-acquired complications. Since little is known of the cost of these transfusion-associated adverse outcomes our aim was to determine the total hospital cost associated with RBC transfusion and to assess any dose-dependent relationship. Study Design and Methods - A retrospective cohort study of all multiday acute care inpatients discharged from a five hospital health service in Western Australia between July 2011 and June 2012 was conducted. Main outcome measures were incidence of RBC transfusion and mean inpatient hospital costs. Results - Of 89,996 multiday, acute care inpatient discharges, 4805 (5.3%) were transfused at least 1 unit of RBCs. After potential confounders were adjusted for, the mean inpatient cost was 1.83 times higher in the transfused group compared with the nontransfused group (95% confidence interval, 1.78-1.89; p < 0.001). The estimated total hospital-associated cost of RBC transfusion in this study was AUD $77 million (US$72 million), representing 7.8% of total hospital expenditure on acute care inpatients. There was a significant dose-dependent association between the number of RBC units transfused and increased costs after adjusting for confounders. Conclusion - RBC transfusions were independently associated with significantly higher hospital costs. The financial implication to hospital budgets will assist in prioritizing areas to reduce the rate of RBC transfusions and in implementing patient blood management programs