Effects of Oral Ingestion of Bisphenol A on Type 2 Diabetes Risk Markers II. Project

Eleven healthy adults (3 M, 8 F; 21.3 ± 0.8 yr; 24.0 ± 3.8 kg/m2) were block randomized to a single ingestion of placebo, low dose BPA (4 μg/kg-bw), or high dose BPA (50 μg/kg-bw) on separate days in a double-blinded, crossover fashion. Blood was drawn at baseline and repeatedly for 3 hours following each condition. Data collection has been completed for 11 subjects, and analyses of plasma BPA concentrations in these subjects have shown three distinct concentrations for high, low, and placebo conditions. Preliminary analyses of plasma insulin concentrations in 3 subjects appear to show differences in concentrations between conditions. In order to analyze insulin, proinsulin, estrogen, and glucose concentrations, this study will be continued into Summer 2017. Based on preliminary findings, we anticipate that oral ingestion of BPA will negatively affect risk markers in the pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes

Entrepreneurs’ Actions and Venture Success: A Structured Literature Review and Suggestions for Future Research

It is the actions of entrepreneurs that give rise to new organizations. However, a comprehensive understanding of what entrepreneurs do and what actually leads to venture success is currently lacking. To summarize existing research, we conduct a structured literature review including 59 empirical articles linking entrepreneurs’ behavior to venture success. We define "actions" as discrete units of "doing" that can—potentially be observed by others and "success" as firm-level success measured by firm status (e.g., firm survival) or performance (e.g., sales). More than half of the included articles are based on data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED), but there are also important "stand-alone" studies. We analyze the "what," the "how," the "how much," and the "when" of entrepreneurs' actions that lead to venture success. In addition, we integrate the view of entrepreneurship as an evolutionary process. The analysis reveals that studies typically analyze "what" entrepreneurs but less often "when" and "how much" and rarely "why," "how," and "what else" they do. Based on our findings, we develop a six-point research agenda. Specifically, we argue that future research should strive to understand the motives behind entrepreneurs’ actions, consider how entrepreneurs conduct activities, and what kind of business ideas they are working on. Also, applying alternative measurements and capturing a more complete picture of what entrepreneurs do when starting a business but also aside from their venturing efforts might contribute to a better understanding of the relationship to venture success

Effects of Varying Doses of Oral Bisphenol A Consumption on Type 2 Diabetes Risk Markers in Healthy Adults

Objective To determine the effects of varying doses of orally administered BPA on indices of glucose metabolism. Methods Eleven college students (21.0 ± 0.8 years; 24.2 ± 3.9 kg/m2) were randomized in a double-blinded, crossover fashion separated by \u3e1 week to placebo (PL), deuterated BPA at 4 µg/kg body weight (BPA-4), and deuterated BPA at 50 µg/kg body weight (BPA-50). Total BPA, glucose, insulin, and C-peptide were assessed at baseline, minutes 15, 30, 45, 60, and every 30 minutes for 2 hours in response to a glucose tolerance test. Results There was a significant condition × time interaction for total BPA (P \u3c 0.001) such that BPA increased more rapidly in BPA-50 than BPA-4 and PL (P = 0.003) and increased more rapidly in BPA-4 than PL (P \u3c 0.001). There were no significant condition × time interactions on glucose, insulin, and C-peptide. Significant condition main effects were observed for glucose such that BPA-50 was significantly lower than PL (P = 0.036) and nearly lower for BPA-4 vs PL (P = 0.056). Significant condition main effects were observed such that insulin in BPA-50 was lower than BPA-4 (P = 0.021), and C-peptide in BPA-50 was lower than BPA-4 (t18 = 3.95; Tukey-adjusted P = 0.003). Glucose, insulin, and C-peptide areas under the curve for the 3-hour profile were significantly lower in BPA-50 vs PL (P \u3c 0.05). Conclusion Orally administered BPA protocol appeared feasible and has immediate effects on glucose, insulin, and C-peptide concentrations

Dataset for Pilot Randomized Trial to Reduce Urinary Bisphenols in Women With Obesity

Background: Bisphenol exposure is widespread and correlated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Previous intervention studies have effectively lowered bisphenol exposure among women of normal-weight. The purpose of this pilot study was to test the hypothesis that a 3-week bisphenol intervention would decrease urinary bisphenol A (BPA) bisphenol S (BPS), and bisphenol F (BPF) in women with obesity. Methods: Thirty women with obesity (31.1 ± 5.6 kg/m2, 21.1 ± 3.1 yrs) were randomly assigned to an intervention or control. The intervention included weekly face-to-face meetings to reduce bisphenol exposures from food, cosmetics, and packaged products. Fasting urinary bisphenols, creatinine, and weight were assessed at study entry and after 3-weeks. Results: From study entry to 3-weeks, there was a significant treatment x time (P0.05) effects on creatinine-corrected urinary BPA, BPF, and weight. Conclusion: In women with obesity, a 3-week intervention decreased urinary BPS concentrations. Future large-scale clinical trials are needed to confirm these result and determine whether intervention reductions in bisphenols positively impact diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk markers

Practice Made (More) Perfect

Educating the next generation of librarians requires a combined effort involving practicing librarians, library educators and the programs that they represent, and the profession represented through its many allied organizations. This chapter will examine the practicum program at the library and information science (LIS) program of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). First accredited by the American Library Association in 1982, the program focuses primarily on libraries, archives, and similar information organizations as the place where people and information connect through services provided by professional librarians. About one-third of the students specialize in service to higher education institutions at the community college, four-year liberal arts, and university levels. The program recently instituted a requirement for studentsto complete hours in a workplace setting as part of a capstone course, but this chapter is based on reports from students who completed a 120-hour practicum elective (also sometimes called an internship, field experience, or other names, depending on the institution).1 Through the use of a survey and gathered testimonials, the students reported on their experiences with learning while doing in the field

TPX2 regulates the localization and activity of Eg5 in the mammalian mitotic spindle

TPX2 promotes mitotic spindle formation by enhancing Eg5 accumulation on microtubules and limiting motor activity

Common genetic variants in the CLDN2 and PRSS1-PRSS2 loci alter risk for alcohol-related and sporadic pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is a complex, progressively destructive inflammatory disorder. Alcohol was long thought to be the primary causative agent, but genetic contributions have been of interest since the discovery that rare PRSS1, CFTR, and SPINK1 variants were associated with pancreatitis risk. We now report two significant genome-wide associations identified and replicated at PRSS1-PRSS2 (1×10-12) and x-linked CLDN2 (p < 1×10-21) through a two-stage genome-wide study (Stage 1, 676 cases and 4507 controls; Stage 2, 910 cases and 4170 controls). The PRSS1 variant affects susceptibility by altering expression of the primary trypsinogen gene. The CLDN2 risk allele is associated with atypical localization of claudin-2 in pancreatic acinar cells. The homozygous (or hemizygous male) CLDN2 genotype confers the greatest risk, and its alleles interact with alcohol consumption to amplify risk. These results could partially explain the high frequency of alcohol-related pancreatitis in men – male hemizygous frequency is 0.26, female homozygote is 0.07

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Evaluation of Muscle Quality and Disease Severity in Individuals with Hip Osteoarthritis

Recent evidence suggests that muscle quality may play an important role in the pathogenesis of hip osteoarthritis (OA). Muscle quality describes the extent of adipose tissue accumulation, or fatty infiltration, within skeletal muscle, as adipose tissue stored within the muscle has the capacity to impair muscle function. The hip abductors are important pelvic stabilizers during gait; therefore, dysfunction of these muscles may impact joint loading and lead to degeneration of cartilage and bone. Despite evidence of increased fatty infiltration in individuals with hip OA, minimal research has evaluated muscle quality in a population with mild-to-moderate OA, and relationships of muscle quality with physical function, joint loading, and cartilage health have been sparsely characterized. In this study, chemical shift-based water-fat separated magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was used to quantitatively evaluate hip abductor muscle quality in a cohort of individuals with and without mild-to-moderate hip OA. Measures of hip abductor muscle quality were related to various disease outcomes including radiographic OA severity, patient-reported disability, functional performance, isometric strength, gait kinematics and kinetics, semi-quantitatively evaluated morphological cartilage degeneration, and biochemical cartilage composition evaluated using quantitative MR imaging. Hip abductor fatty infiltration was found to be significantly associated with worse patient-reported outcomes, functional impairment, cartilage lesions, muscle weakness, and increased frontal plane joint loading. These findings suggest that hip abductor fatty infiltration may contribute to an abnormal mechanical loading environment at the joint, potentially leading to greater cartilage degeneration and disability. These findings are clinically relevant, as muscle quality may be a modifiable risk factor for OA which can be targeted through exercise intervention to improve disease outcomes