Studies on the mechanism of action of the bioflavonoid Hesperidin methyl chalcone in causing vascular and intestinal smooth muscle to relax

This thesis constitutes a report on a series of studies undertaken on possible mechanisms of action of the bioflavonoid, hesperidin methyl chalcone (HMC), in causing smooth muscle to relax. The term bioflavonoid refers to several compounds that can be extracted from the mesocarp of citrus fruits. They have been the subject of investigation and controversy since 1936. Much of this is covered in a eview by Vogin (1). As mentioned in the review, Szenti-Gyorgyi observed first that crude citrus extracts were more efficient in relieving experimental scurvy than pure extract containing only Vitamin C. The subject of scurvy has been covered in many reviews, and no purpose would be served in describing all these factors at this time. However, since Szent-Gyorgi’s observation, there has been considerable study of the possibility that bioflavonoids are a factor in capillary integrity. Despite all the activity, the necessity of bioflavonoids as a dietary adjuvant has not been established. At this date, almost thirty years after the initial studies, the literature is replete with contradictory statements on almost every phase of bioflavonoid activity. The possibility that HMC might have a direct action on smooth muscle indicated that both in vivo and in vitro studies should be utilized. The in vivo studies consisted of observations on blood pressure and nictitating membranes of cats. The in vitro studies were performed on sections of rabbit ileum

Country planning for health interventions under development: lessons from the malaria vaccine decision-making framework and implications for other new interventions

Traditionally it has taken years or decades for new public health interventions targeting diseases found in developing countries to be accessible to those most in need. One reason for the delay has been insufficient anticipation of the eventual processes and evidence required for decision making by countries. This paper describes research into the anticipated processes and data needed to inform decision making on malaria vaccines, the most advanced of which is still in phase 3 trials. From 2006 to 2008, a series of country consultations in Africa led to the development of a guide to assist countries in preparing their malaria vaccine decision-making frameworks. The guide builds upon the World Health Organization's Vaccine Introduction Guidelines. It identifies the processes and data for decisions, when they would be needed relative to the development timelines of the intervention, and where they will come from. Policy development will be supported by data (e.g. malaria disease burden; roles of other malaria interventions; malaria vaccine impact; economic and financial issues; malaria vaccine efficacy, quality and safety) as will implementation decisions (e.g. programmatic issues and socio-cultural environment). This generic guide can now be applied to any future malaria vaccine. The paper discusses the opportunities and challenges to early planning for country decision-making—from the potential for timely, evidence-informed decisions to the risks of over-promising around an intervention still under development. Careful and well-structured planning by countries is an important way to ensure that new interventions do not remain unused for years or decades after they become availabl

Teacher qualification and the achievement gap in early primary grades.

Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110, 115 Stat. 1245, 2002) holds schools accountable for reducing the academic achievement gap between the different ethnic groups and requires elementary school teachers to have at least a bachelors degree and a state certification. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the qualification requirement of NCLB to the goal of reducing the academic achievement gap. The study found that students with a certified teacher for most of their early school experience scored higher in reading than students who did not have a certified teacher. In addition, certification was associated with slightly narrowing the academic gap between African American and European American students across early elementary grades

Ruminal degradation of protein and carbohydrate in the domestic and wild ruminant

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on December 7, 2010).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Dissertation advisor: Dr. Monty Kerley.Vita.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2010.To optimize growth and health ruminant animals in a confined setting, diets need to be formulated to provide balanced levels of rumen degradable energy and nitrogen (RDN) to maximize microbial growth while also providing adequate rumen undegradable protein (RUP) for the animal. The first experiment in this study examined the level of feed-grade crystalline amino acids (AA) required in a diet to provide appreciable levels of limiting AA as RUP. The solubility of these AA in a mixed rumen culture showed dietary inclusion levels would be required at >12% of the diet on a DM basis. The second study measured the degradability of the starch, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and protein fractions of common feeds used in a feedlot finishing diet. Degradation rate was measured as the percentage disappearance of the ruminally available nutrient over time. Degradation rates were found to be linear and similar for the feeds tested with the average rates of degradation being approximately 0.0479 h-1 for starch, 0.0292 h-1 for NDF and 0.0271 h-1 for protein. A third study used these rates with an estimated passage rate of 0.06 h-1 to formulate diets with varying levels of rumen degradable protein (RDP) and RDN. Resulting diets were applied to continuous culture fermentations to measure fermentation characteristics and microbial efficiency (MOEFF) with the hypothesis that a diet balanced for the proper amount of RDP to rumen degradable energy would increase efficiency. MOEFF proved to be lesser when RDN was limiting and greatest when RDP was provided at less than 100% of requirement. Similar diets with varying RDP and balanced RDN were then applied to crossbred Angus steers to determine effects on growth. The greatest average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency was measured when RDP was provided at 115% of the requirement, compared to 95% and 85%. Finally, in vitro digestibility characteristics of commercially available pelleted feeds fed to exotic ruminants were measured. These studies included one low starch/high fiber and two different high starch/low fiber feeds. Both batch culture and continuous culture techniques were employed using dairy cow and mule deer rumen fluid. Both studies confirmed differences exist between fermentation characteristics due to species used as inoculum source. Further, greater fiberolytic activity was seen in mule deer inoculum, and greater proteolytic activity was seen in dairy cow inoculum. Also, decreasing starch in diets increased OM digestibility, likely due to removal of negative associative affects on cellulolytic bacteria.Includes bibliographical reference

The Legal Background to Community Based Fisheries Management in Bangladesh

This booklet, produced as an output from the Community Based Fisheries Management Project -- 2nd Phase(CBFM-2), aims to summarise the legal knowledge and experiences built up and challenges faced during the five years of CBFM-2 implementation. It also suggests a set of legal and policy interventions to ensure future sustainability. The project has established community control over 116 water bodies, spread over 48 Upazilas (sub-district) in 22 districts in Bangladesh. With 130 Community Based Organisations (CBOs), formed under this project, the communities were given the responsibility for management of 116 water bodies -- government owned fisheries (jalmohals) and privately owned seasonal water bodies -- closed beels, open beels, river sections and floodplains. The CBFM-2 project has been managed by the Department of Fisheries in partnership with the WorldFish Center and 11 implementing NGOs -- Banchte Shekha, BRAC, Caritas, CNRS, CRED, GHARONI, Proshika, SDC, SHISUK, and the specialist NGOs FemCom for media communications and BELA for legal support and assistance

A SWOT Analysis Of Competitive Knowledge From Social Media For A Small Start-Up Business

The analysis of data from social media sites can provide useful decision-making information for businesses; however, can small businesses with limited budgets and limited technical expertise compete in this new social media driven market? This study provides a proof of concept for increasing a company’s competitive knowledge through the use of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) framework model by gathering qualitative data about the use of social media from employee interviews. By increasing the competitive knowledge through evaluating the results of the SWOT analysis, this small start-up company will have a strategic plan for increasing their competitive advantage. The authors present the results of the study in the form of practical recommendations for short-term and long-term implementation. Several of the short-term and long-term recommendations are substantiated through prior research studies. Future research could include a follow-up study of this company using a SWOT framework tool or other methodologies to indicate what social media tools and strategies provide the most beneficial competitive knowledge for a small business, and why. Additionally, comparing the results from this study with a similar study of a different small start-up business could lead to the design of a model for other small businesses trying to increase their competitive knowledge through the effective use of social media

Modeling the public health impact of malaria vaccines for developers and policymakers

Efforts to develop malaria vaccines show promise. Mathematical model-based estimates of the potential demand, public health impact, and cost and financing requirements can be used to inform investment and adoption decisions by vaccine developers and policymakers on the use of malaria vaccines as complements to existing interventions. However, the complexity of such models may make their outputs inaccessible to non-modeling specialists. This paper describes a Malaria Vaccine Model (MVM) developed to address the specific needs of developers and policymakers, who need to access sophisticated modeling results and to test various scenarios in a user-friendly interface. The model's functionality is demonstrated through a hypothetical vaccine.; The MVM has three modules: supply and demand forecast; public health impact; and implementation cost and financing requirements. These modules include pre-entered reference data and also allow for user-defined inputs. The model includes an integrated sensitivity analysis function. Model functionality was demonstrated by estimating the public health impact of a hypothetical pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccine with 85% efficacy against uncomplicated disease and a vaccine efficacy decay rate of four years, based on internationally-established targets. Demand for this hypothetical vaccine was estimated based on historical vaccine implementation rates for routine infant immunization in 40 African countries over a 10-year period. Assumed purchase price was $5 per dose and injection equipment and delivery costs were$0.40 per dose.; The model projects the number of doses needed, uncomplicated and severe cases averted, deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted, and cost to avert each. In the demonstration scenario, based on a projected demand of 532 million doses, the MVM estimated that 150 million uncomplicated cases of malaria and 1.1 million deaths would be averted over 10 years. This is equivalent to 943 uncomplicate cases and 7 deaths averted per 1,000 vaccinees. In discounted 2011 US dollars, this represents $11 per uncomplicated case averted and$1,482 per death averted. If vaccine efficacy were reduced to 75%, the estimated uncomplicated cases and deaths averted over 10 years would decrease by 14% and 19%, respectively.; The MVM can provide valuable information to assist decision-making by vaccine developers and policymakers, information which will be refined and strengthened as field studies progress allowing further validation of modeling assumptions

WHO policy development processes for a new vaccine: case study of malaria vaccines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) are crucial to inform developing country decisions to use, or not, a new intervention. This article analysed the WHO policy development process to predict its course for a malaria vaccine.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The decision-making processes for one malaria intervention and four vaccines were classified through (1) consultations with staff and expert advisors to WHO's Global Malaria Programme (GMP) and Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals Department (IVB); (2) analysis of the procedures and recommendations of the major policy-making bodies of these groups; (3) interviews with staff of partnerships working toward new vaccine availability; and (4) review and analyses of evidence informing key policy decisions.</p> <p>Case description</p> <p>WHO policy formulation related to use of intermittent preventive treatment in infancy (IPTi) and the following vaccine interventions: <it>Haemophilus influenzae </it>type b conjugate vaccine (Hib), pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), rotavirus vaccine (RV), and human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV), five interventions which had relatively recently been through systematic WHO policy development processes as currently constituted, was analysed. Required information was categorized in three areas defined by a recent WHO publication on development of guidelines: safety and efficacy in relevant populations, implications for costs and population health, and localization of data to specific epidemiological situations.</p> <p>Discussion and evaluation</p> <p>Data needs for a malaria vaccine include safety; the demonstration of efficacy in a range of epidemiological settings in the context of other malaria prevention interventions; and information on potential rebound in which disease increases subsequent to the intervention. In addition, a malaria vaccine would require attention to additional factors, such as costs and cost-effectiveness, supply and demand, impact of use on other interventions, and distribution issues.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although policy issues may be more complex for future vaccines, the lead-time between the date of product regulatory approval and a recommendation for its use in developing countries is decreasing. This study presents approaches to define in advance core data needs to support evidence-based decisions, to further decrease this lead-time, accelerating the availability of a malaria vaccine. Specific policy areas for which information should be collected are defined, including studying its use within the context of other malaria interventions.</p

The SABAP2 legacy: A review of the history and use of data generated by a long-running citizen science project

Significance:• The Second Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2) – initiated in 2007 – is one of the region’s longest-running citizen science programmes and collects spatial and temporal data on birds. • Data from the project are publicly available and used extensively by environmental impact assessment practitioners, conservationists, authors, protected area managers, scientists and the general public.• The project is the template for other established projects that now operate across the continent, collectively now falling under the ‘African Bird Atlas Project’ umbrella.• We show that since the initiation of SABAP2, there has been a three-fold increase in publications, with over 150 papers that can be attributed to SABAP2. • The contribution of citizen scientists to the published scientific domain has been enormous

Current Tax Reading

The Canadian Tax Journal publishes research in, and informed comment on, taxation and public finance, with particular relevance to Canada. To this end, the journal invites interested parties to submit manuscripts for possible publication as peer-reviewed articles, and it especially welcomes work that contributes to the analysis, design, and implementation of tax policies