Bench-to-bedside review: the role of activated protein C in maintaining endothelial tight junction function and its relationship to organ injury.

Activated protein C (APC) has emerged as a novel therapeutic agent for use in selected patients with severe sepsis, even though the mechanism of its benefit is not well established. APC has anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, and profibrinolytic properties, but it is not clear through which of these mechanisms APC exerts its benefit in severe sepsis. Focus has recently turned to the role of APC in maintaining endothelial barrier function, and in vitro and in vivo studies have examined this relationship. This article critically reviews these studies, with a focus on potential mechanisms of action

Thirteen Economic Facts about Social Mobility and the Role of Education

This document provides thirteen economic facts on the growth of income inequality and its relationship to social mobility in America; on the growing divide in educational opportunities and outcomes for high- and low-income students; and on the pivotal role education can play in increasing the ability of low-income Americans to move up the income ladder.It is well known that the income divide in the United States has increased substantially over the last few decades, a trend that is particularly true for families with children. In fact, according to Census Bureau data, more than one-third of children today are raised in families with lower incomes than comparable children thirty-five years ago. This sustained erosion of income among such a broad group of children is without precedent in recent American history. Over the same period, children living in the highest 5 percent of the family-income distribution have seen their families' incomes double.What is less well known, however, is that mounting evidence hints that the forces behind these divergent experiences are threatening the upward mobility of the youngest Americans, and that inequality of income for one generation may mean inequality of opportunity for the next. It is too early to say for certain whether the rise in income inequality over the past few decades has caused a fall in social mobility of the poor and those in the middle class -- the first generation of Americans to grow up under this inequality is, on average, in high school -- but the early signs are troubling

Renewing Economically Distressed American Communities

All communities do not fare equally well after recessions and other economic shocks. Some bounce back fairly quickly. Others suffer more and take longer to recover—sometimes decades longer. A sluggish return to growth is not always necessary, however. There is evidence that well-targeted policies may be able to speed the pace of recovery

UK/US naval interoperability collaborative rersearch

This paper outlinees a collaborative program being carried out under an agreement between the US and the UK which started in January 2000, and is due to continue for four years. The research and is looking at the operational problems of coalition force interoperability initial from a naval perspective at the command and combat system level but then moving to a wider domain to cover both land and air participation. Details are given of why the research is necessary, the objectives and the approach being adopted. It then provides some information on the experiences gain from the initial trials which have been carried out during the first six months of this year

Prerequisites for Successful Fiscal Reform: Some Preliminary Results

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management, Winter 1998.Refereed Journal ArticleThis paper examines whether any relationship exists between success or failure of policy reform on the one hand, and various political/economic conditions in place at the time of reform on the other. Nineteen countries were scored using three financial variables to measure the degree of success or failure of the reform. The independent variables were country scores for ten different economic and political conditions. The independent variables were used to try and predict a priori which of the nineteen countries would succeed and which would fail. Eighteen of the nineteen countries were correctly placed into their respective success group. However only three of the ten conditions appeared important in predicting success: a visionary leader, a crisis, and a comprehensive program. Other writers have suggested different sets of predicting variables

Rapid Effective Trace-Back Capability Value in Reducing the Cost of a Foot and Mouth Disease Event

This study evaluates how the availability of animal tracing affects the cost of a hypothetical Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in the Texas High Plains using alternative tracing scenarios. To accomplish this objective, the AusSpread epidemic disease spread model (Ward et al., 2006) is used to simulate a High Plains FMD outbreak under different animal tracing possibilities. A simple economic costing module (Elbakidze, 2008) is used to determine the savings in terms of animal disease mitigation costs from rapid, effective trace-back. The savings from increased traceability are then be compared to the cost of a functional National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Initial results indicate that rapid, effective tracing reduces the overall cost of disease outbreaks and that the benefits per animal in terms of reduced cost of an outbreak more than outweigh the annualized cost per animal of implementing a NAIS. A value of time related to controlling an outbreak is estimated to have increased benefits from an identification system that incorporates a rapid response capability. We also find the level of benefits vary depending on the location of initial infection and whether or not welfare slaughter occurs.Traceability, Foot and Mouth Disease, Economics, Agricultural and Food Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,

Inhaled activated protein C: a novel therapy for acute lung injury?

Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by the presence of dysregulated coagulation and inflammation. Therefore, Waerhaug and colleagues hypothesized that administration of activated protein C (APC) via the inhaled route would be a novel and effective treatment for ALI. They demonstrated that inhaled APC improved oxygenation and lung aeration in a sheep model of lipopolysaccharide-induced ALI, but did not alter lung water or hemodynamics. Future studies are needed to determine plasma and airspace APC levels when administered by the inhaled route, and to determine if inhaled APC has a similar effect in other models of ALI

Quantification of characterization of biologically active components of Actaea racemosa L. (black cohosh) for identifying desirable plants for cultivation

Actaea racemosa, more commonly known as black cohosh, is a medicinal plant used for the suppression of menopausal symptoms. The growing popularity of black cohosh extract is leading to extensive wild harvesting of the perennial plant. The main purpose of this research is to use high-pressure liquid chromatography evaporative light scattering detection analysis of 20 accessions of black cohosh from Bent Creek Germplasm Repository to quantify the compounds with desirable biological activities. Plants identified as having desirable properties may be used to produce a superior hybrid plant. Cultivation of the hybrid plant may help black cohosh’s sustainability. This research showed that there were significant differences in phytochemical concentrations among the accessions

Knowing no boundaries : stemming the tide of urban sprawl in several southern Connecticut towns and the lessons for other strong home rule areas

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-173).Land use regulations and development patterns of several southern Connecticut towns and cities were studied in order to determine how the individual municipal land use controls in each town have contributed to urban sprawl in Southern Connecticut. Additionally, the historical foundations for the absence of strong regional governmental entities in southern Connecticut were studied to provide a baseline for developing potential regional solutions to suburban sprawl in Connecticut. Drawing upon analysis of land use regulations, regional governmental structure, existing sprawl typologies and professional and academic literature, remedies for preventing the proliferation of suburban sprawl in Connecticut through municipal action, framed within a multiple-town urban design corridor and a regional compact construct, were proposed and discussed. The potential applicability of these remedies to other areas of the United States where there are many independent municipalities concentrated in a relatively small area, each making land use decisions without a regional framework, was investigated.by Michael T. Looney.M.C.P