Estimating the Economic Impact of Disease on a Local Economy: The Case of Diabetes in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas

The purpose of this study is to investigate the economic impact of wage reductions that people experience from contracting diabetes. Incorporating wage reduction information into an input-output model reveals that as diabetics' wages decrease by $1.00, production and income in the local economy decline by$0.36 and $0.38, respectively.Health Economics and Policy,

Primary pleomorphic adenoma of minor salivary gland in the parapharyngeal space

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>World literature suggests parapharyngeal space lesions account for only 0.5% head and neck tumours and the majority of the minor salivary gland tumours are malignant. The parapharyngeal space is very rare site for this tumour.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Two cases of primary pleomorphic adenomas arising <it>de novo </it>from minor salivary glands in the para pharyngeal space are reported. Review of literature, clinical features, pathology, radiological findings and treatment of these tumours are discussed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Pleomorphic adenoma arising de novo in the parapharyngeal space is of rare occurrence. High index of suspicion and an adequate clearance of the tumour with a cuff of surrounding dispensable normal tissues is the key to successful treatment of such tumours.</p

Seismic Behaviour of Water Front Structures with Tyre Chip Backfill

Water front structures have suffered significant damage in many of the recent earthquakes. One of the primary causes for the poor performance of these classes of structures is the liquefaction of the foundation soil and in some instances liquefaction of the backfill soil. The liquefaction of the soil in-front of the quay wall tends to cause large lateral displacements and rotation of the wall. Full or partial liquefaction of the backfill can result in the increase of lateral earth pressure exerted on the wall that can cause additional lateral displacement of the wall. In this paper numerical analyses of a gravity wall type water front structure will be considered. Often such gravity walls are placed on rubble mound that is deposited onto the sea bed. The problem will be based on a generic model although the simplifications in the generic model were derived based on observed failures of quay walls following the 1995 Kobe earthquake. The paper presents finite element analyses of such a problem in which strength degradation of the foundation soil and the backfill material will be modelled using PZ mark III constitutive relationship. At the Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI) in Japan the possibility of using tyre chips from used car tyres as the backfill material is being researched using 1G underwater shaking table and dynamic centrifuge modelling. The finite element analyses will be repeated by including a zone of backfill consisting of the tyre chips. The properties of this material will be derived from the element tests carried out at PARI. Finally the results from the analyses of the gravity wall founded rubble mound with liquefiable foundation soil and backfill will be compared to those with tyre chip backfill. The improvement in the performance of the wall in terms of decreased lateral displacements and/or reduction in the rotation suffered by the wall will be compared

Protein profiling by two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) represented a basic protein fingerprinting in tea

176-181We report about the use of protein profiling by two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) to identify a particular tea clone or cultivar from our recently considered three tea cultivars (TV1, TV6 and HK22/14). Comparison of 2-DE gel pictures for each cultivar provided a unique banding patterns of protein spots on 2-DE gel which remain unchanged after challenging with biotic (Helopeltis and red spider infested) and abiotic (drought) stresses. Therefore, it can be concluded that 2-DE may be used as a protein marker for identifying a desirable tea cultivar to be used in tea breeding programme

Isgur-Wise Function for Heavy Light Mesons in D dimensional Potential Model

We report results of a potential model for mesons in D space-time dimension developed by considering the quark-antiquark potential of Nambu-Goto strings. With this wave function, we have studied Isgur-Wise function for heavy-light mesons and its derivatives like slope and curvature. The dimensional dependence of our results and a comparative study with the results of 3+1 dimensional QCD are also reported.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

The VEGF receptor Flt-1 spatially modulates Flk-1 signaling and blood vessel branching

Blood vessel formation requires the integrated regulation of endothelial cell proliferation and branching morphogenesis, but how this coordinated regulation is achieved is not well understood. Flt-1 (vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF] receptor 1) is a high affinity VEGF-A receptor whose loss leads to vessel overgrowth and dysmorphogenesis. We examined the ability of Flt-1 isoform transgenes to rescue the vascular development of embryonic stem cell–derived flt-1−/− mutant vessels. Endothelial proliferation was equivalently rescued by both soluble (sFlt-1) and membrane-tethered (mFlt-1) isoforms, but only sFlt-1 rescued vessel branching. Flk-1 Tyr-1173 phosphorylation was increased in flt-1−/− mutant vessels and partially rescued by the Flt-1 isoform transgenes. sFlt-1–rescued vessels exhibited more heterogeneous levels of pFlk than did mFlt-1–rescued vessels, and reporter gene expression from the flt-1 locus was also heterogeneous in developing vessels. Our data support a model whereby sFlt-1 protein is more efficient than mFlt-1 at amplifying initial expression differences, and these amplified differences set up local discontinuities in VEGF-A ligand availability that are important for proper vessel branching

Permaculture to monoculture in shifting cultivation landscape of Mizoram, Northeast India: Are agrobiodiversity and happiness waning?

479-485The status of agrobiodiversity and perceived well-being of one indigenous community, namely the Mara tribe, was assessed in a pilot study of 150 households sampled at random from two blocks in Saiha district, which lies at the south-western corner of the state of Mizoram. A subsample of 50 households was chosen, based on a set of predefined criteria, for data collection using mix methods approach. The study documented 30 species of plants being cultivated by the respondents. The species comprised ten vegetables, nine fruit plants, seven field crops and four species of spices and condiments and their cultivation was supplemented with five species of domesticated livestock. The plants other than field crops were identified by the respondents as top three choices for the diversification of farming. The growing transition to monoculture is taking its toll on the respondents’ sense of subjective well-being. Most of them (92%) reported a moderate level of well-being or fluctuating levels of well-being: they are struggling now and expect to struggle even more in the future, to continue their way of life. We urge caution in the drive towards modernization lest the change should threaten the well-being of people and the ecological–economic trade-offs of monoculture

Transnational strategy on the sustainable management and responsible use of non-native trees in the Alpine Space

Abstract Non-native tree species – defined as those species intentionally or unintentionally introduced by humans – have long been a part of the Alpine Space, providing numerous benefits, but also posing a potential threat to native biodiversity and related ecosystem services. Compared to the urban space where non-native trees comprise most tree species, the number of non-native trees in forests and plantations is relatively low. To evaluate potential risks and benefits of non-native trees in the Alpine Space, a transnational strategy for the responsible use and management of non-native trees is needed. The goals of the strategy are to tailor management practices for a sustainable and responsible use or admixture of non-native trees, to reduce the risks connected with the invasive potential of some non-native tree species, to help forests and urban areas to adapt to climate change, and to improve coordination and cooperation regarding best practices between different regions of the Alpine Space. A proposal was developed in a four-step process including expert-based assessment, stakeholder mapping, an extensive data review, and a public consultation. For implementing the strategy fully, strong collaboration among diverse stakeholders is anticipated and robust governance and an adequate long-term and fair funding scheme is needed

Treatment of hypertension in rural Cambodia: results of a 6-year programme

This study was aimed to describe the outcomes of a hypertension treatment programme in two outpatient clinics in Cambodia. We determined proportions of patients who met the optimal targets for blood pressure (BP) control and assessed the evolution of mean systolic and diastolic BP (SBP/DBP) over time. Multivariate analyses were used to identify predictors of BP decrease and risk factors for LTFU. A total of 2858 patients were enrolled between March 2002 and June 2008 of whom 69.2% were female, 30.5% were aged >/=64years and 32.6% were diabetic. The median follow-up time was 600 days. By the end of 2008, 1642 (57.4%) were alive-in-care, 8 (0.3%) had died and 1208 (42.3%) were lost to follow-up. On admission, mean SBP and DBP were 162 and 94 mm Hg, respectively. Among the patients treated, a significant SBP reduction of 26.8 mm Hg (95% CI: 28.4-25.3) was observed at 6 months. Overall, 36.5% of patients reached the BP targets at 24 months. The number of young adults, non-overweight patients and non-diabetics reaching the BP targets was more. Older age (>64 years), uncontrolled DBP (>/=90 mm Hg) on last consultation and coming late for the last consultation were associated with LTFU, whereas non-diabetic patients were 1.5 times more likely to default than diabetics (95% CI: 1.3-1.7). Although the definite magnitude of the BP decrease due to antihypertension medication over time cannot be assessed definitely without a control group, our results suggest that BP reduction can be obtained with essential hypertension treatment in a large-scale programme in a resource-limited setting