Introduction

A basic premise of studies conducted in the 1950s and 1960s was that humans exhibited a uniform set of biological responses to the high altitude environment. Since then, investigations have been carried out in the North American Rockies, South American Andes, and the Himalayas by researchers from a variety of disciplines—biological anthropology, respiratory physiology, cardiology, hematology, and nutrition. These studies have contributed important insights for understanding the mechanisms involved in adaptation to high altitude and have revealed possible differences in the strategies of adaptation exhibited by the world's various high altitude populations. However, the findings have sometimes been slow to percolate across disciplinary boundaries, given the tradition among the biological sciences to conduct research and present findings in specialized groupings. This symposium breaks this pattern by bringing together from several disciplines investigators who are actively involved in the conduct of high altitude studies. The interaction afforded enables us to realize that understanding the process of human adaptation to high altitude requires a holistic approach whereby the expertise of various scientific disciplines needs to be utilized in a synchronized and integrated manner.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/38548/1/1310020603_ftp.pd

Study protocol; thyroid hormone replacement for untreated older adults with subclinical hypothyroidism - a randomised placebo controlled trial (TRUST)

Background: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a common condition in elderly people, defined as elevated serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with normal circulating free thyroxine (fT4). Evidence is lacking about the effect of thyroid hormone treatment. We describe the protocol of a large randomised controlled trial (RCT) of Levothyroxine treatment for SCH. Methods: Participants are community-dwelling subjects aged ≥65 years with SCH, diagnosed by elevated TSH levels (≥4.6 and ≤19.9 mU/L) on a minimum of two measures ≥ three months apart, with fT4 levels within laboratory reference range. The study is a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled parallel group trial, starting with levothyroxine 50 micrograms daily (25 micrograms in subjects <50Kg body weight or known coronary heart disease) with titration of dose in the active treatment group according to TSH level, and a mock titration in the placebo group. The primary outcomes are changes in two domains (hypothyroid symptoms and fatigue / vitality) on the thyroid-related quality of life questionnaire (ThyPRO) at one year. The study has 80% power (at p = 0.025, 2-tailed) to detect a change with levothyroxine treatment of 3.0% on the hypothyroid scale and 4.1% on the fatigue / vitality scale with a total target sample size of 750 patients. Secondary outcomes include general health-related quality of life (EuroQol), fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, handgrip strength, executive cognitive function (Letter Digit Coding Test), basic and instrumental activities of daily living, haemoglobin, blood pressure, weight, body mass index and waist circumference. Patients are monitored for specific adverse events of interest including incident atrial fibrillation, heart failure and bone fracture. Discussion: This large multicentre RCT of levothyroxine treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism is powered to detect clinically relevant change in symptoms / quality of life and is likely to be highly influential in guiding treatment of this common condition. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01660126; registered 8th June 2012

3-Methoxybutan-2-one as a sustainable bio-based alternative to chlorinated solvents

Methylation of acetoin with dimethyl carbonate was performed in a sustainable one-step process, with improved process mass intensity (PMI) and atom economy compared to previously published methods. The resulting product, 3-methoxybutan-2-one (MO) was successfully evaluated as a bio-based solvent, while both Kamlet–Taft solvatochromic parameters and Hansen solubility parameters demonstrate its potential viability in the substitution of chlorinated solvents. MO exhibited a low peroxide forming potential and a negative Ames mutagenicity test and was successfully used as a solvent in a Friedel–Crafts acylation (79% yield compared to 77% in dichloromethane) and for N-alkylations. MO is a renewable oxygenated solvent, with the potential ability to substitute carcinogenic halogenated solvents in some applications

Organizational culture, internal marketing, and perceived organizational support in portuguese higher education institutions

Changes imposed on public higher education institutions try to adopt some management practices in public organizations. In this study, we intend to understand how organizational culture (support, innovation, goals, rules) and internal marketing can contribute to the organizational support of employees of higher education institutions. The study was developed with a sample of 635 employees. The results show that organizational culture and internal marketing contribute to the explanation of perceived organizational support (POS). Then, through a structural equation model, it was possible to confirm the contribution of support culture and internal marketing to the explanation of POS. More studies are necessary taking students' point of view into account. These results reveal the importance of the fact that organizations need to implement a culture of support and appropriate internal communication networks that allow employees to perceive social support.FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology [UID/SOC/04020/2013

3-Methoxybutan-2-one as a sustainable bio-based alternative to chlorinated solvents

Methylation of acetoin with dimethyl carbonate was performed in a sustainable one-step process, with improved process mass intensity (PMI) and atom economy compared to previously published methods. The resulting product, 3-methoxybutan-2-one (MO) was successfully evaluated as a bio-based solvent, while both Kamlet–Taft solvatochromic parameters and Hansen solubility parameters demonstrate its potential viability in the substitution of chlorinated solvents. MO exhibited a low peroxide forming potential and a negative Ames mutagenicity test and was successfully used as a solvent in a Friedel–Crafts acylation (79% yield compared to 77% in dichloromethane) and for N-alkylations. MO is a renewable oxygenated solvent, with the potential ability to substitute carcinogenic halogenated solvents in some applications

Research protocol – Assessing Post-Stroke Psychology Longitudinal Evaluation (APPLE) study : A prospective cohort study in stroke

Acknowledgements The following experts provided advice on the design and conduct of the APPLE study: Prof Jonathan Evans (University of Glasgow); Prof Gillian Mead (University of Edinburgh); Prof Sarah T Pendlebury (University of Oxford) Funding This work was supported by the Chief Scientist Office and Stroke Association (funders reference PPA 2015/01_CSO).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

BRCA1 and MAD2 are Co-expressed and are Prognostic Indicators in Tubo-ovarian High-grade Serous Carcinoma

Additional file 1. Protein score from LC-MALDI-TOF/TOF

Study protocol; Thyroid hormone Replacement for Untreated older adults with Subclinical hypothyroidism - a randomised placebo controlled Trial (TRUST).

Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a common condition in elderly people, defined as elevated serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with normal circulating free thyroxine (fT4). Evidence is lacking about the effect of thyroid hormone treatment. We describe the protocol of a large randomised controlled trial (RCT) of Levothyroxine treatment for SCH. Participants are community-dwelling subjects aged ≥65 years with SCH, diagnosed by elevated TSH levels (≥4.6 and ≤19.9 mU/L) on a minimum of two measures ≥ three months apart, with fT4 levels within laboratory reference range. The study is a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled parallel group trial, starting with levothyroxine 50 micrograms daily (25 micrograms in subjects <50Kg body weight or known coronary heart disease) with titration of dose in the active treatment group according to TSH level, and a mock titration in the placebo group. The primary outcomes are changes in two domains (hypothyroid symptoms and fatigue / vitality) on the thyroid-related quality of life questionnaire (ThyPRO) at one year. The study has 80% power (at p = 0.025, 2-tailed) to detect a change with levothyroxine treatment of 3.0% on the hypothyroid scale and 4.1% on the fatigue / vitality scale with a total target sample size of 750 patients. Secondary outcomes include general health-related quality of life (EuroQol), fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, handgrip strength, executive cognitive function (Letter Digit Coding Test), basic and instrumental activities of daily living, haemoglobin, blood pressure, weight, body mass index and waist circumference. Patients are monitored for specific adverse events of interest including incident atrial fibrillation, heart failure and bone fracture. This large multicentre RCT of levothyroxine treatment of subclinical hypothyroidism is powered to detect clinically relevant change in symptoms / quality of life and is likely to be highly influential in guiding treatment of this common condition. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01660126 ; registered 8th June 2012