The Unsuspecting CAM User: Cancer patients and the changing nature of holistic health

The number of cancer patients using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States is growing, yet little is known about the meaning these activities have for users. Current literature supports the assumption that stigma surrounding CAM and holistic health practices are responsible for the reluctance of many cancer patients to self-identify as CAM users. This study explored the frequency of use, and familiarity with CAM among 25 female patients at a Midwestern oncology clinic. Findings suggest that patients need to be asked about CAM use multiple times and in multiple formats to gain an accurate assessment. Also, the assumptions about stigma may no longer be the reason patients are less than forthcoming about CAM use. The rise of integrative medicine and shifting boundaries of the holistic health movement may be equally, or in some cases, more responsible for the reluctance for CAM users to self-identify

Occurrence and function of enzymes for lignocellulose degradation in commercial Agaricus bisporus cultivation

The white button mushroom Agaricus bisporus is economically the most important commercially produced edible fungus. It is grown on carbon- and nitrogen-rich substrates, such as composted cereal straw and animal manure. The commercial mushroom production process is usually performed in buildings or tunnels under highly controlled environmental conditions. In nature, the basidiomycete A. bisporus has a significant impact on the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems as a saprotrophic decayer of leaf litter. In this mini-review, the fate of the compost plant cell wall structures, xylan, cellulose and lignin, is discussed. A comparison is made from the structural changes observed to the occurrence and function of enzymes for lignocellulose degradation present, with a special focus on the extracellular enzymes produced by A. bisporus. In addition, recent advancements in whole genome level molecular studies in various growth stages of A. bisporus in compost are reviewed.Peer reviewe

GH10 and GH11 endoxylanases in Penicillium subrubescens: Comparative characterization and synergy with GH51, GH54, GH62 α-L-arabinofuranosidases from the same fungus

Penicillium subrubescens has an expanded set of genes encoding putative endoxylanases (PsXLNs) compared to most other Penicillia and other fungi. In this study, all GH10 and GH11 PsXLNs were produced heterologously in Pichia pastoris and characterized. They were active towards beech wood xylan (BWX) and wheat flour arabinoxylan (WAX), and showed stability over a wide pH range. Additionally, PsXLNs released distinct oligosaccharides from WAX, and showed significant cooperative action with P. subrubescens α-L-arabinofuranosidases (PsABFs) from GH51 or GH54 for WAX degradation, giving insight into a more diverse XLN and ABF system for the efficient degradation of complex hemicelluloses. Homology modeling analysis pointed out differences in the catalytic center of PsXLNs, which are discussed in view of the different modes of action observed. These findings facilitate understanding of structural requirements for substrate recognition to contribute to recombinant XLN engineering for biotechnological applications

Fungal glycoside hydrolase family 44 xyloglucanases are restricted to the phylum Basidiomycota and show a distinct xyloglucan cleavage pattern

Xyloglucan is a prominent matrix heteropolysaccharide binding to cellulose microfibrils in primary plant cellwalls. Hence, the hydrolysis of xyloglucan facilitates the overall lignocellulosic biomass degradation. Xyloglucanases (XEGs) are key enzymes classified in several glycoside hydrolase (GH) families. So far, family GH44 has been shown to contain bacterial XEGs only. Detailed genome analysis revealed GH44 members in fungal species from the phylum Basidiomycota, but not in other fungi, which we hypothesized to also be XEGs. Two GH44 enzymes from Dichomitus squalens and Pleurotus ostreatus were heterologously produced and characterized. They exhibited XEG activity and displayed a hydrolytic cleavage pattern different fromthat observed in fungal XEGs from other GH families. Specifically, the fungal GH44 XEGs were not hindered by substitution of neighboring glucosyl units and generated various," "XXXG- type,'' "GXXX(G)-type,'' and "XXX-type'' oligosaccharides. Overall, these fungal GH44 XEGs represent a novel class of enzymes for plant biomass conversion and valorization.Peer reviewe

A model for the creation of human-generated metadata within communities

This paper considers situations for which detailed metadata descriptions of learning resources are necessary, and focuses on human generation of such metadata. It describes a model which facilitates human production of good quality metadata by the development and use of structured vocabularies. Using examples, this model is applied to single and multiple communities of metadata creators. The approach for transferring vocabularies across communities is related to similar work on the use of ontologies to support the development of the semantic web. Notable conclusions from this work are the need to encourage collaboration between the metadata specialists, content authors and system designers, and the scope for using accurate and consistent metadata created for one context in another context by producing descriptions of the relationships between those contexts

Landau's quasi-particle mapping: Fermi liquid approach and Luttinger liquid behavior

A continuous unitary transformation is introduced which realizes Landau's mapping of the elementary excitations (quasi-particles) of an interacting Fermi liquid system to those of the system without interaction. The conservation of the number of quasi-particles is important. The transformation is performed numerically for a one-dimensional system, i.e. the worst case for a Fermi liquid approach. Yet evidence for Luttinger liquid behavior is found. Such an approach may open a route to a unified description of Fermi and Luttinger liquids on all energy scales.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures included, final version to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett., references updated, slight re-focus on the treatment of all energy scale

Сутність і теоретичні підходи до аналізу фінансової нестабільності

У статті розкрито сутність поняття «фінансова нестабільність». Розглянуто найбільш поширені в науковій літературі визначення фінансової нестабільності. Досліджено різні теоретичні підходи до аналізу виникнення явища фінансової нестабільності.В статье раскрыта сущность понятия «финансовая нестабильность». Рассмотрены наиболее распространенные в научной литературе определения финансовой нестабильности. Исследованы различные теоретические подходы к анализу возникновения явления финансовой нестабильности.The article reveals the essence of the concept of financial instability. The most popular definitions of financial instability in the scientific literature are considered. Various theoretical approaches of the phenomenon of financial instability are investigated

First Observation of Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission in a Free-Electron Laser at 109 nm Wavelength

We present the first observation of Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission (SASE) in a free-electron laser (FEL) in the Vacuum Ultraviolet regime at 109 nm wavelength (11 eV). The observed free-electron laser gain (approx. 3000) and the radiation characteristics, such as dependency on bunch charge, angular distribution, spectral width and intensity fluctuations all corroborate the existing models for SASE FELs.Comment: 6 pages including 6 figures; e-mail: [email protected]