Setting priorities for stroke care and research

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99062/1/ijs12153.pd

Qualität des Weidefutters in der ökologischen Milchviehhaltung

Grazing of dairy cows is mandatory in organic farming. However, as in conventional farming there is a tendency to increase milk yield per cows by employing other feeding strategies than grazing. On-farm research was initiated on organic dairy farms in Lower Saxony to investigate the current practice of grassland utilization and dairy husbandry and to explore the potential of grazing for milk production. The results show that with an increased focus on grazing of dairy cows there is considerable room for more milk being produced from grazed grass. An in-depth analysis of the spatio-temporal pattern of the quality of the herbage on offer revealed steadily high net energy and protein concentrations almost irrespective of the sward botanical composition and the season of sampling. Research is needed to improve grazing management strategies in organic farming to make better use of the high potential of grazed grasslands and thereby increase the sustainability of milk production

MolabIS - An integrated information system for storing and managing molecular genetics data

BACKGROUND: Long-term sample storage, tracing of data flow and data export for subsequent analyses are of great importance in genetics studies. Therefore, molecular labs do need a proper information system to handle an increasing amount of data from different projects. RESULTS: We have developed a molecular labs information management system (MolabIS). It was implemented as a web-based system allowing the users to capture original data at each step of their workflow. MolabIS provides essential functionality for managing information on individuals, tracking samples and storage locations, capturing raw files, importing final data from external files, searching results, accessing and modifying data. Further important features are options to generate ready-to-print reports and convert sequence and microsatellite data into various data formats, which can be used as input files in subsequent analyses. Moreover, MolabIS also provides a tool for data migration. CONCLUSIONS: MolabIS is designed for small-to-medium sized labs conducting Sanger sequencing and microsatellite genotyping to store and efficiently handle a relative large amount of data. MolabIS not only helps to avoid time consuming tasks but also ensures the availability of data for further analyses. The software is packaged as a virtual appliance which can run on different platforms (e.g. Linux, Windows). MolabIS can be distributed to a wide range of molecular genetics labs since it was developed according to a general data model. Released under GPL, MolabIS is freely available at http://www.molabis.org

Timing of androgen deprivation therapy use and fracture risk among elderly men with prostate cancer in the United States

Purpose Fractures are a recognized consequence of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT); however, less is known about the incidence of fracture in relation to the timing of ADT use or the impact of fracture on mortality in men with prostate cancer. Methods Using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare linked database, we estimated adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) using time‐dependent Cox regression for fracture incidence related to the recency of exposure and dose among prostate cancer patients on gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, as well as mortality associated with fractures. Results In our cohort of 80 844 patients, ADT was associated with an increased rate of fracture in both non‐metastatic patients (aHR = 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29–1.39) and metastatic patients (aHR = 1.51; 95%CI = 1.36–1.67). Fracture rates increased with increasing cumulative GnRH dose but decreased with increasing number of months since last use in each dose category. The mortality rate doubled for men experiencing a fracture after their diagnosis compared with that for men who did not experience a fracture (aHR = 2.05; 95%CI = 1.98–2.12). Conclusions ADT in elderly men with prostate cancer increased the incidence of fractures, and the effect appears to diminish with increasing time since the last dose of a GnRH agonist. Experiencing a fracture after the diagnosis of prostate cancer was associated with decreased survival. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90397/1/pds2258.pd

The Atomic Slide Puzzle: Self-Diffusion of an Impure Atom

In a series of recent papers van Gastel et al have presented first experimental evidence that impure, Indium atoms, embedded into the first layer of a Cu(001) surface, are not localized within the close-packed surface layers but make concerted, long excursions visualized in a series of STM images. Such excursions occur due to continuous reshuffling of the surface following the position exchanges of both impure and host atoms with the naturally occuring surface vacancies. Van Gastel et al have also formulated an original lattice-gas type model with asymmetric exchange probabilities, whose numerical solution is in a good agreement with the experimental data. In this paper we propose an exact lattice solution of several versions of this model.Comment: Latex, 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. E (RC

The Enskog Process

The existence of a weak solution to a McKean-Vlasov type stochastic differential system corresponding to the Enskog equation of the kinetic theory of gases is established under natural conditions. The distribution of any solution to the system at each fixed time is shown to be unique. The existence of a probability density for the time-marginals of the velocity is verified in the case where the initial condition is Gaussian, and is shown to be the density of an invariant measure.Comment: 38 page

Relationship of Self-Determination Theory Constructs and Physical Activity and Diet in a Mexican American Population in Nueces County, Texas

Due to disparities in stroke risk among U.S. Hispanics, the need for culturally tailored, theory based effective health behavior change interventions persists. The purpose of this study was to examine self-determination theory (SDT) constructs related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in a predominantly Mexican American population. The Stroke Health and Risk Education (SHARE) project was a cluster-randomized, faith-based behavioral intervention trial that enrolled Mexican Americans (MAs) and non-Hispanic whites (NHWs) from Catholic Churches in Nueces County, Texas. Data regarding SDT constructs and dietary and physical activity behaviors were collected via computer-assisted interviews using standardized instruments at the baseline assessment. Of the 801 subjects who consented, 760 completed baseline interviews. After eliminating cases with missing data, 733 participants (617 MA and 116 NHW) were included in the analyses. Participants were predominantly Mexican American (84%) and female (64%), and had a median age of 53 years. There were no significant ethnic differences in any of the baseline SDT scale scores with the exception of higher autonomous motivation scores for exercise among MAs (7.00 vs. 6.67, p = 0.01). Demographic differences in mean SDT scale scores were identified for sex, age, and income. Perceived competence and autonomous motivation were both significant predictors of diet and physical activity behaviors. This study increases our understanding of SDT constructs relative to diet and physical activity in a large, predominantly Mexican American sample. The results indicate that SDT is an appropriate framework to address CVD behavioral risk factors in a predominantly Hispanic population

Ethnic differences in do-not-resuscitate orders after intracerebral hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE: To explore ethnic differences in do-not-resuscitate orders after intracerebral hemorrhage. DESIGN: Population-based surveillance. SETTING: Corpus Christi, Texas. PATIENTS: All cases of intracerebral hemorrhage in the community of Corpus Christi, TX were ascertained as part of the Brain Attack Surveillance in Corpus Christi (BASIC) project. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Medical records were reviewed for do-not-resuscitate orders. Unadjusted and multivariable logistic regression were used to test for associations between ethnicity and do-not-resuscitate orders, both overall ( any do-not-resuscitate ) and within 24 hrs of presentation ( early do-not-resuscitate ), adjusted for age, gender, Glasgow Coma Scale, intracerebral hemorrhage volume, intraventricular hemorrhage, infratentorial hemorrhage, modified Charlson Index, and admission from a nursing home. A total of 270 cases of intracerebral hemorrhage from 2000-2003 were analyzed. Mexican-Americans were younger and had a higher Glasgow Coma Scale than non-Hispanic whites. Mexican-Americans were half as likely as non-Hispanic whites to have early do-not-resuscitate orders in unadjusted analysis (odds ratio 0.45, 95% confidence interval 0.27, 0.75), although this association was not significant when adjusted for age (odds ratio 0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.35, 1.06) and in the fully adjusted model (odds ratio 0.75, 95% confidence interval 0.39, 1.46). Mexican-Americans were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have do-not-resuscitate orders written at any time point (odds ratio 0.37, 95% confidence interval 0.23, 0.61). Adjustment for age alone attenuated this relationship although it retained significance (odds ratio 0.49, 95% confidence interval 0.29, 0.82). In the fully adjusted model, Mexican-Americans were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to use do-not-resuscitate orders at any time point, although the 95% confidence interval included one (odds ratio 0.52, 95% confidence interval 0.27, 1.00). CONCLUSIONS: Mexican-Americans were less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have do-not-resuscitate orders after intracerebral hemorrhage although the association was attenuated after adjustment for age and other confounders. The persistent trend toward less frequent use of do-not-resuscitate orders in Mexican-Americans suggests that further study is warranted

Nothing moves a surface: vacancy mediated surface diffusion

We report scanning tunneling microscopy observations, which imply that all atoms in a close-packed copper surface move frequently, even at room temperature. Using a low density of embedded indium `tracer' atoms, we visualize the diffusive motion of surface atoms. Surprisingly, the indium atoms seem to make concerted, long jumps. Responsible for this motion is an ultra-low density of surface vacancies, diffusing rapidly within the surface. This interpretation is supported by a detailed analysis of the displacement distribution of the indium atoms, which reveals a shape characteristic for the vacancy mediated diffusion mechanism that we propose.Comment: 4 pages; for associated movie, see http://www-lion.leidenuniv.nl/sections/cm/groups/interface/projects/therm

Frustration - how it can be measured

A misfit parameter is used to characterize the degree of frustration of ordered and disordered systems. It measures the increase of the ground-state energy due to frustration in comparison with that of a relevant reference state. The misfit parameter is calculated for various spin-glass models. It allows one to compare these models with each other. The extension of this concept to other combinatorial optimization problems with frustration, e.g. p-state Potts glasses, graph-partitioning problems and coloring problems is given.Comment: 10 pages, 1 table, no figures, uses revtex.st