Change and continuity in newspaper coverage of popular music since 1955: Evidence from the United States, France, Germany, and the Netherlands

In this article, we describe general features of popular music coverage in elite newspapers in the United States, France, Germany, and the Netherlands from 1955 to 2005. Drawing on data from content analysis of over 4,000 newspaper articles sampled in four reference years (1955, 1975, 1995, and 2005), we document broad changes and continuities in the extent, focus, and form of popular music coverage in mainstream media outlets of each country

Survey of Community Pharmacy Customers’ Medication Storage and Disposal Methods

Many people store medications in bathrooms, which provide a moist, humid environment that speeds up the breakdown process of medications. The proper way to store medicines is in a cool, dry place out of the reach of children. Every year medications are also disposed of improperly presenting a risk to both humans and the environment. About one-third of all sold medications are unused. The most common ways patients dispose of medications in the United States are flushing down the toilet or sink, and throwing them away. Because of this pharmaceuticals have been found in groundwater, and drinking water proving hazardous to both humans and ecosystems. In Congress today, both the Drug Free Water Act and the Safe Drug Disposal Act have been proposed to limit the disposal of pharmaceuticals in sewage systems, and provide the means of controlled substance disposal through take-back programs. In February 2007 the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) established guidelines for the disposal of prescription medications. ONDCP guidelines are: take unused, unneeded or expired medications out of the original container, mix with an undesirable substance (such as coffee grounds), securely seal in impermeable containers, such as sealable bags, and throw into the trash. ONDCP recommends only flushing if the label or patient information specifies to do so. Taking advantage of community pharmaceutical take-back programs is highly encouraged

Acute effect of pegvisomant on cardiovascular risk markers in healthy men: implications for the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in GH deficiency

Cardiovascular risk is increased in GH deficiency (GHD). GHD adults are frequently abdominally obese and display features of the metabolic syndrome. Otherwise healthy abdominally obese subjects have low GH levels and show features of the metabolic syndrome as well. We investigated in healthy nonobese males the effect of the GH receptor antagonist pegvisomant in different metabolic conditions. This is a model for acute GHD without the alterations in body composition associated with GHD. We compared the effect of pegvisomant with that of placebo before and after 3 d of fasting. In addition, we investigated the effect of pegvisomant under normal, i.e. fed, conditions. Three days of fasting as well as pegvisomant alone decreased serum free IGF-I levels (1.0 +/- 0.15 vs. 0.31 +/- 0.05 ng/ml and 0.86 +/- 0.23 vs. 0.46 +/- 0.23 ng/ml, respectively). Fasting in combination with pegvisomant also decreased serum free IGF-I levels (1.0 +/- 0.15 vs. 0.31 +/- 0.07 ng/ml). Treatment with pegvisomant had no additional influence on the decline of free IGF-I induced by fasting. Pegvisomant alone had no influence on insulin sensitivity. The increase in insulin sensitivity induced by fasting was comparable to the increase in insulin sensitivity induced by fasting combined with pegvisomant. Among serum lipid concentrations, only serum triglycerides increased significantly as a result of pegvisomant alone (1.0 +/- 0.2 vs. 1.6 +/- 0.4 mmol/liter). The changes in lipid concentrations induced by fasting alone or pegvisomant were not different from those induced by pegvisomant alone. von Willebrand factor antigen levels declined significantly under the influence of pegvisomant alone (1.1 +/- 0.07 vs. 0.8 +/- 0.06 U/ml). In conclusion, in different metabolic conditions the GH receptor antagonist pegvisomant induces no significant acute changes in the major risk markers for cardiovascular disease. These data suggest that the secondary metabolic changes, e.g. abdominal obesity or inflammatory factors, that develop as a result of long-standing GHD are of primary importance in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in patients with GHD

Towards Classification of Phase Transitions in Reaction--Diffusion Models

Equilibrium phase transitions are associated with rearrangements of minima of a (Lagrangian) potential. Treatment of non-equilibrium systems requires doubling of degrees of freedom, which may be often interpreted as a transition from the ``coordinate'' to the ``phase'' space representation. As a result, one has to deal with the Hamiltonian formulation of the field theory instead of the Lagrangian one. We suggest a classification scheme of phase transitions in reaction-diffusion models based on the topology of the phase portraits of corresponding Hamiltonians. In models with an absorbing state such a topology is fully determined by intersecting curves of zero ``energy''. We identify four families of topologically distinct classes of phase portraits stable upon RG transformations.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

Control of tumor size and disease activity during cotreatment with octreotide and the growth hormone receptor antagonist pegvisomant in an acromegalic patient

We describe the case of an acromegalic subject, who was the first patient ever treated with the GH receptor antagonist pegvisomant. Furthermore, in this particular patient, progression in tumor size was encountered during treatment with pegvisomant. The patient described did benefit from cotreatment with pegvisomant and octreotide, including decreased GH levels, normalization of serum insulin-like growth factor I concentrations, and improvement of visual field defects

Molecular epidemiology of apparent outbreak of invasive aspergillosis in ahematology ward

During a 2-month period, five patients suffering from invasive infections caused by Aspergillus flavus or Aspergillus fumigatus were identif