Capacity Utilization: Concept, Measurement, and Recent Estimates

macroeconomics, capacity utilization

Identification of Clinical Markers That Predict the Outcomes of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infections and Identification of Synergistic Antibiotic Combinations for the Treatment of These Infections

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) is a prominent nosocomial infection. Vancomycin is the mainstay of treatment, but it has a high rate of failure. Combination therapies can be used, but synergy is often not tested in clinical laboratories. Physicians are at a disadvantage because they cannot predict MRSA outcomes. The first aim of the study was to identify clinical and demographic markers that could predict infection recurrence or prolonged bacteremia. This was accomplished using retrospective chart review and statistical analysis. The second aim of the study was to identify which combinations, of those commonly used for MRSA treatment at Loyola, demonstrate the most synergy. This was accomplished using time-kill curves to test vancomycin in combination with gentamicin, rifampin, and cefazolin. The study showed that age, treatment, source of infection and long-term intravenous access may increase the risk for negative outcomes. In addition, no synergy was seen with any of the combinations

Which type of parent training works best for preschoolers with comorbid ADHD and ODD? A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial comparing generic and specialized programs

The present study examined whether the presence of comorbid ODD differentially moderated the outcome of two Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) programs in a sample of preschoolers with ADHD: One designed specifically for ADHD (NFPP: New Forest Parenting Programme) and one designed primarily for ODD (HNC: Helping the Noncompliant Child). In a secondary analysis, 130 parents and their 3-4 year-old children diagnosed with ADHD were assigned to one of the two programs. 44.6 % of the children also met criteria for ODD. Significant interactions between treatment conditions (NFPP vs. HNC) and child ODD diagnosis (presence vs. absence) indicated that based on some parent and teacher reports, HNC was more effective with disruptive behaviors than NFPP but only when children had a comorbid diagnosis. Further, based on teacher report, NFPP was more effective with these behaviors when children had a diagnosis of only ADHD whereas HNC was equally effective across ADHD only and comorbid ODD diagnoses. Comorbidity profile did not interact with treatment program when parent or teacher reported ADHD symptoms served as the outcome. Implications for clinical interventions are discussed and directions for future work are provided

Une approche exploratoire des inégalités environnementales et écologiques dans l’agglomération de La Rochelle

Les notions d’inégalités environnementales et écologiques proposées en 2002 lors du Sommet mondial de Johannesburg permettent de faire le pont entre les notions de développement durable et de justice sociale. Dans le cadre de cet article, l’objectif est d’analyser les perceptions et comportements des actifs, et vis-à-vis de ces inégalités, de les mettre en regard avec les propositions des élus pour lutter contre elles. Observer leur positionnement institutionnel permet d’évaluer le niveau d’intégration des problématiques environnementales liées à ces inégalités. Les inégalités territoriales et d’accès sont traitées à travers les thématiques de la densité urbaine, de la mobilité, de l’accession sociale et de la maîtrise foncière.The notion of environmental and ecological inequalities proposed in 2002 at the world submit in Johannesburg allows linking the notions of sustainable development and social justice. This paper’s aim is to compare residents’ perception and behaviors with local representatives’ visions of these inequalities questions according to the municipality’s type. Observing their institutional position allows evaluating the level of integration of environmental problematics linked to those inequalities. Territorial and access inequalities are analyzed through the themes of the urban density, transportation, social housing and land management

Super-multiplex vibrational imaging

The ability to visualize directly a large number of distinct molecular species inside cells is increasingly essential for understanding complex systems and processes. Even though existing methods have successfully been used to explore structure–function relationships in nervous systems, to profile RNA in situ, to reveal the heterogeneity of tumour microenvironments and to study dynamic macromolecular assembly, it remains challenging to image many species with high selectivity and sensitivity under biological conditions. For instance, fluorescence microscopy faces a ‘colour barrier’, owing to the intrinsically broad (about 1,500 inverse centimetres) and featureless nature of fluorescence spectra that limits the number of resolvable colours to two to five (or seven to nine if using complicated instrumentation and analysis). Spontaneous Raman microscopy probes vibrational transitions with much narrower resonances (peak width of about 10 inverse centimetres) and so does not suffer from this problem, but weak signals make many bio-imaging applications impossible. Although surface-enhanced Raman scattering offers high sensitivity and multiplicity, it cannot be readily used to image specific molecular targets quantitatively inside live cells. Here we use stimulated Raman scattering under electronic pre-resonance conditions to image target molecules inside living cells with very high vibrational selectivity and sensitivity (down to 250 nanomolar with a time constant of 1 millisecond). We create a palette of triple-bond-conjugated near-infrared dyes that each displays a single peak in the cell-silent Raman spectral window; when combined with available fluorescent probes, this palette provides 24 resolvable colours, with the potential for further expansion. Proof-of-principle experiments on neuronal co-cultures and brain tissues reveal cell-type-dependent heterogeneities in DNA and protein metabolism under physiological and pathological conditions, underscoring the potential of this 24-colour (super-multiplex) optical imaging approach for elucidating intricate interactions in complex biological systems

Pre-Diagnostic Biomarkers of Metabolic Dysregulation and Cancer Mortality

INTRODUCTION: The obesogenic milieu is a pro-tumorigenic environment that promotes tumor initiation, angiogenesis and metastasis. In this prospective cohort, we examined the association between pre-diagnostic metabolic biomarkers, plasma adiponectin, resistin, leptin and lipoprotein (a), and the risk of cancer mortality. METHODS: Prospective data was obtained from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort of Blacks and Whites followed from 2003 through 2012 for cancer mortality. We determined the association between metabolism biomarkers (log-transformed and tertiles) and risk of cancer mortality using Cox Proportional Hazards models with robust sandwich estimators to calculate the 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and adjusted for baseline covariates, including age, gender, income, education, physical activity, BMI, smoking status, alcohol use, and comorbidity score. RESULTS: Among 1764 participants with available biomarker data, each SD higher log-leptin was associated with a 54% reduced risk of total cancer mortality (HR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.23 - 0.92) and obesity-related cancer mortality (HR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.39-0.79). Among Blacks only, each SD higher log-resistin was associated with a nearly 7-fold increased risk of cancer mortality (adjusted HR: 6.68, 95% CI: 2.10 - 21.21). There were no significant associations of adiponectin or Lp(a) and cancer mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Leptin is involved in long-term regulation of energy balance, while resistin is involved in chronic inflammation and LDL production. These findings highlight the biological mechanisms linking metabolic dysregulation with cancer mortality, and the influence of resistin on cancer mortality only among Blacks suggests that this hormone may be a useful biomarker of racial differences in cancer mortality that deserves further study. IMPACT: Our observed increased risk of cancer mortality associated with higher serum resistin levels among Blacks suggests that if validated in larger cohorts, clinical strategies focused on resistin control may be a promising cancer prevention strategy

Association of baseline inflammatory biomarkers with cancer mortality in the REGARDS cohort

This study examines the association between inflammatory biomarkers and risk of cancer mortality by race. Data were obtained from 1,856 participants in the prospective REGARDS cohort who were cancer-free at baseline, and analyzed in relation to cancer mortality prospectively. Biomarkers were log-transformed and categorized into tertiles due to non-normal distributions, and Cox proportional hazard regression models were utilized to compute hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals using robust sandwich methods. Individuals in the highest tertile of IL-6 had over a 12-fold increased risk of cancer mortality (HR: 12.97, 95% CI: 3.46-48.63); those in the highest tertile of IL-8 had over a 2-fold increased risk of cancer mortality (HR: 2.21, 95% CI: 0.86-5.71), while those in the highest tertile of IL-10 had over a 3-fold increased risk of cancer mortality (HR: 3.06, 95% CI: 1.35-6.89). In race-stratified analysis, each unit increase in IL-6 was associated with increased risk of cancer mortality among African-Americans (HR: 3.88, 95% CI: 1.17-12.88) and Whites (5.25, 95% CI: 1.24-22.31). If replicated in larger, racially diverse prospective cohorts, these results suggest that cancer patients may benefit from clinical or lifestyle approaches to regulate systemic inflammation as a cancer prevention strategy