Androgen Receptor Characteristics in Skin Fibroblasts from Hirsute Women

Hormonal measurements in some women with hirsutism often reveal little or no elevation in androgen levels to explain the disorder. Thus, it has been postulated that increased sensitivity of the hair follicle to androgen may contribute to the development of hirsutism in such patients. We, therefore, sought androgen receptor abnormalities in skin fibroblasts cultured from 10 hirsute women (ages 17–43) and normal or mildly elevated plasma testosterone levels (28–82 ng/dl). Androgen receptor content (Ro) and binding affinity (Kd) in cultured pubic skin fibroblasts were measured using a dispersed, whole cell assay. Ten such cell lines from these women were compared with 19 pubic skin cell lines from 9 normal volunteers (6 males and 3 females) and from 10 other subjects (males with gynecomastia or hypospadias). There was no statistically significant difference in the mean androgen receptor content (11,600 ± 2700 (SE) sites/cell fibroblasts vs 7900 ± 700 sites/cell or binding affinity (2.0 ± 0.3 (SE) × 10[sup-9] M vs 1.5 ± 0.2 × 10-9 M, respectively) between the patients' fibroblasts and those of the controls.We conclude that hirsutism cannot be explained by abnormalities in fibroblast androgen receptor number or affinity. These observations do not exclude the possibility that other mechanisms might lead to increased peripheral androgen sensitivity in such patients

Using Horticulturalists\u27 Input to Inform a Home Horticultural Website Redesign Process

The Internet is a growing source of information for consumers. Website design and development become important factors in website usability as consumers’ Internet access increases and they seek home horticulture and gardening resources. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln developed a website in the 1990s to supplement its Backyard Farmer television program. Consumers’ expectations of websites changed as technology changed, which resulted in the site no longer meeting visitors’ needs. Two focus groups evaluating the website’s usefulness as an information source were conducted with home and professional horticulturalists. Participants were most interested in locating concise information about horticulture and gardening on a website that was easy to navigate; had many links to additional information; and contained timely and current information. Overall, content quality, usability and aesthetics were highly ranked as important for a “perfect” website

Gender-based differences in letters of recommendation written for ophthalmology residency applicants.

BACKGROUND:To determine whether gender-based differences may be present in letters of recommendation written for ophthalmology residency applicants. METHODS:All applications submitted through SF Match to the UCLA Stein Eye Institute Residency Training Program from the 2017-2018 application cycle were analyzed using validated text analysis software (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (Austin, TX)). The main outcome measures were differences in language use in letters of recommendation by gender of applicant. RESULTS:Of 440 applicants, 254 (58%) were male and 186 (42%) were female. The two gender groups had similar United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 scores, undergraduate grade point averages (uGPA's), proportions of underrepresented minority (URM) applicants and Gold Humanism Honor Society members, numbers of academic and service activities listed, and gender distributions of their letter writers (all P values > 0.05). However, letters written for male applicants were determined to use more "authentic" words than those written for female applicants (mean difference, 0.800; 95% CI, 0.001-1.590; P = 0.047). Letters written for male applicants also contained more "leisure" words (mean difference, 0.056; 95% CI, 0.008-0.104; P = 0.023) and fewer "feel" words (mean difference, 0.033; 95% CI, 0.001-0.065; P = 0.041) and "biological processes" words (mean difference, 0.157; 95% CI, 0.017-0.297; P = 0.028). CONCLUSIONS:There were gender differences detected in recommendation letters in ophthalmology consistent with prior studies from other fields. Awareness of these differences may improve residency selection processes

Importance of steak origin to restaurant customers

Introduction Today, consumers are more informed about the origin of their food due to the desire to have confidence in the safety of their food. This need for information has lead to an increase in demand for even higher levels of safety and quality (Unnevehr, 2003). Currently, traceability and source-verification are considered indicators of beef quality and safety by consumers. Mennecke et al. (2007) found that consumers place a high precedence on any information that can relate to the origin and production of their food. Research also indicates there could be preference for U.S. beef, especially beef from the Midwest (Mennecke et al., 2007). With the advent of animal identification systems, opportunities are increasing to provide source-verified beef to restaurant patrons. Restaurants and producers could create a niche market by offering products that are either source-verified or traceable from farm to restaurant. In order for this to be a viable option there has to be a financial incentive. Dickenson and Bailey (2002) along with Loureiro and Umberger (2007) found a majority of consumers are willing to pay more for a red-meat product that has a confirmed traceability. Patrons in high-end restaurants often have more disposable income and are willing to pay more for a premium product. Also, trends popular in high-end restaurants are frequently emulated in more casual restaurants. Dickenson and Bailey (2002) report discussed a need to verify their results by conducting a retail study. Placing source-verfied meat in high-end restaurants and testing if consumers will pay a premium for products with various forms of traceability is one way to verify their findings. The objectives of this research were to determine factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions in high-end restaurants. From there, it was possible to discover if consumers were interested in knowing the origin of their beef and the extent to which they were willing to pay a premium for this information

Flake aligner including baffles supported on continuously moving conveyor

Apparatus for forming a continuous elongated loosely felted mat of thin elongated wood flakes with the flakes being aligned in mutually parallel interleaved relation. The apparatus includes a plurality of belts positioned in adjacent side-by-side relation and for continuous movement so as to define a supporting surface for the mat. A plurality of sets of thin planar baffle plates are provided, each set including a plurality of thin planar baffle plates supported in coplanar alignment and in edge-to-edge adjacent relation. The baffle plates are positioned between a hopper for depositing wood flakes and the supporting surface and function to align the wood flakes in substantially mutually parallel relation in substantially parallel relation to the direction of movement of the supporting surface and to maintain the wood flakes in substantially parallel alignment as the flakes fall from the hopper onto the supporting surface. Each of the sets of baffle plates are positioned between pairs of belts and are supported for movement with the belts, and the baffle plates of one set are parallel to and spaced closely adjacent to baffle plates of an adjacent set.https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/patents/1119/thumbnail.jp

Adrenal Function in Women with Idiopathic Acne

The adrenal secretion of androgens was examined in 9 women (ages 19–39 yr) with postadolescent idiopathic acne and compared to age and sex-matched normal controls. Plasma dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHAS), androstenedione (Δ4-A), cortisol, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, 11-deoxycortisol, and testosterone were measured by radioimmunoassay in the basal state and during a 48hr ACTH infusion. The mean plasma and time-integrated plasma levels of the 3 adrenal androgens in patients with acne were 15–25% higher than normal controls, but the groups were not significantly different (p > .05). The plasma testosterone values, on the other hand, were similar in both groups. In addition, cortisol, 11-deoxycortisol and 17-hydroxyprogesterone basal plasma values and responses to ACTH in patients with acne were similar to the normal control values. These findings suggest that adrenal androgen secretion is at most mildly elevated in patients with idiopathic acne and is unlikely to be the sole cause of acne since many patients without acne have similar hormone levels. Increased sensitivity of the sebaceous gland to androgens or increased local metabolism of androgen hormones in the skin to potent androgen metabolites may offer alternative mechanisms for the pathogenesis of this disorder

The Human Transcriptome During Nontyphoid Salmonella and HIV Coinfection Reveals Attenuated NFκB-Mediated Inflammation and Persistent Cell Cycle Disruption

Background. Invasive nontyphoid Salmonella (iNTS) disease is common and severe in adults with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Africa. We previously observed that ex vivo macrophages from HIV-infected subjects challenged with Salmonella Typhimurium exhibit dysregulated proinflammatory cytokine responses

SANS polarization analysis with nuclear-spin-polarized He-3

A neutron spin filter based on transmission through nuclear-spin-polarized He-3 gas has been applied to polarization analysis of small angle neutron scattering (SANS). Such spin filters, which are based on the large spin dependence of the absorption of neutrons by He-3, make SANS polarization analysis possible because of their large angular acceptance. In the present experiment, a He-3-based analyzer was employed to separate nuclear scattering into its coherent and spin-incoherent components. Polarized He-3 analyzers were prepared by two different optical pumping methods and installed on the NG3 SANS instrument at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR). Measurements were taken on cellophane tape and silica gel, for which the scattering is almost completely incoherent and coherent, respectively, and on a combined sample. For the combined sample, separation of the coherent part from the incoherent part was successfully demonstrated using polarization analysis

Developing shelf-stable Microbiota Directed Complementary Food (MDCF) prototypes for malnourished children: Study protocol for a randomized, single-blinded, clinical study

BACKGROUND: Childhood undernutrition is a major public health concern that needs special attention to achieve 2025 global nutrition targets. Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), manifest as wasting (low weight-for-height), affects 33 million children under 5, yet there are currently no global guidelines for its treatment. We recently performed a randomized-controlled clinical study of a microbiota-directed complementary food formulation (MDCF-2) in 12-18-month-old Bangladeshi children with MAM. The results revealed that MDCF-2, freshly prepared each day, produced a significantly greater improvement in ponderal growth than a standard ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF), an effect that is associated with repair of the disrupted gut microbial community development that occurs in children with MAM. To test the generalizability of these results in acutely malnourished children at other sites, there is a pressing need for a packaged, shelf-stable, organoleptically-acceptable formulation that is bioequivalent to MDCF-2. This report describes the protocol for a clinical study to evaluate candidate formulations designed to meet these criteria. METHODS: A randomized single-blind study will be conducted in 8-12-month-old Bangladeshi children with MAM to compare the efficacy of alternative shelf-stable MDCF prototypes versus the current MDCF-2 formulation that is produced fresh each day. V4-16S rDNA amplicon and shotgun sequencing datasets will be generated from faecal DNA samples collected from each child enrolled in each group prior to, during, and after treatment to determine the abundances of MDCF-2-responsive bacterial taxa. Efficacy will be assessed by quantifying the change in representation of MDCF-2-responsive gut bacterial taxa after 4-weeks of treatment with freshly prepared MDCF-2 compared to their changes in abundance after treatment with the prototype MDCFs. Equivalence will be defined as the absence of a statistically significant difference, after 4-weeks of treatment, in the representation of faecal bacterial taxa associated with the response to MDCF-2 in participants receiving a test MDCF. DISCUSSION: This trial aims to establish acceptability and equivalence with respect to microbiota repair, of scalable, shelf-stable formulations of MDCF-2 in 8-12-month-old Bangladeshi children with moderate acute malnutrition. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05094024). The trial has been registered before starting enrolment on 23 October 2021

Glass Transition in the Polaron Dynamics of CMR Manganites

Neutron scattering measurements on a bilayer manganite near optimal doping show that the short-range polarons correlations are completely dynamic at high T, but then freeze upon cooling to a temperature T* 310 K. This glass transition suggests that the paramagnetic/insulating state arises from an inherent orbital frustration that inhibits the formation of a long range orbital- and charge-ordered state. Upon further cooling into the ferromagnetic-metallic state (Tc=114 K), where the polarons melt, the diffuse scattering quickly develops into a propagating, transverse optic phonon.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Physical Review Letters (in Press