Locations of three repetitive sequence families found in BALB/c adult β-globin clones

Three different repeat sequences have been mapped within the cloned EcoRI fragments that Contain the adult β-globin genes from the BALB/c (Hd

Pharmacist provision of primary health care: a modified Delphi validation of pharmacists' competencies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pharmacists have expanded their roles and responsibilities as a result of primary health care reform. There is currently no consensus on the core competencies for pharmacists working in these evolving practices. The aim of this study was to develop and validate competencies for pharmacists' effective performance in these roles, and in so doing, document the perceived contribution of pharmacists providing collaborative primary health care services.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a modified Delphi process including assessing perception of the frequency and criticality of performing tasks, we validated competencies important to primary health care pharmacists practising across Canada.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Ten key informants contributed to competency drafting; thirty-three expert pharmacists replied to a second round survey. The final primary health care pharmacist competencies consisted of 34 elements and 153 sub-elements organized in seven CanMeds-based domains. Highest importance rankings were allocated to the domains of care provider and professional, followed by communicator and collaborator, with the lower importance rankings relatively equally distributed across the manager, advocate and scholar domains.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Expert pharmacists working in primary health care estimated their most important responsibilities to be related to direct patient care. Competencies that underlie and are required for successful fulfillment of these patient care responsibilities, such as those related to communication, collaboration and professionalism were also highly ranked. These ranked competencies can be used to help pharmacists understand their potential roles in these evolving practices, to help other health care professionals learn about pharmacists' contributions to primary health care, to establish standards and performance indicators, and to prioritize supports and education to maximize effectiveness in this role.</p

The Marine Viromes of Four Oceanic Regions

Viruses are the most common biological entities in the marine environment. There has not been a global survey of these viruses, and consequently, it is not known what types of viruses are in Earth's oceans or how they are distributed. Metagenomic analyses of 184 viral assemblages collected over a decade and representing 68 sites in four major oceanic regions showed that most of the viral sequences were not similar to those in the current databases. There was a distinct “marine-ness” quality to the viral assemblages. Global diversity was very high, presumably several hundred thousand of species, and regional richness varied on a North-South latitudinal gradient. The marine regions had different assemblages of viruses. Cyanophages and a newly discovered clade of single-stranded DNA phages dominated the Sargasso Sea sample, whereas prophage-like sequences were most common in the Arctic. However most viral species were found to be widespread. With a majority of shared species between oceanic regions, most of the differences between viral assemblages seemed to be explained by variation in the occurrence of the most common viral species and not by exclusion of different viral genomes. These results support the idea that viruses are widely dispersed and that local environmental conditions enrich for certain viral types through selective pressure

What Works in Conservation 2018

This book provides an assessment of the effectiveness of 1277 conservation interventions based on summarized scientific evidence. The 2018 edition contains new chapters covering practical global conservation of primates, peatlands, shrublands and heathlands, management of captive animals as well as an extended chapter on control of freshwater invasive species. Other chapters cover global conservation of amphibians, bats, birds and forests, conservation of European farmland biodiversity and some aspects of enhancing natural pest control, enhancing soil fertility and control of freshwater invasive species. It contains key results from the summarized evidence for each conservation intervention and an assessment of the effectiveness of each by international expert panels. The accompanying website www.conservationevidence.com describes each of the studies individually, and provides full references

Response-dependent and reduced treatment in lower risk Hodgkin lymphoma in children and adolescents, results of P9426: a report from the Children\u27s Oncology Group

BACKGROUND: Hodgkin lymphoma is highly curable but associated with significant late effects. Reduction of total treatment would be anticipated to reduce late effects. This aim of this study was to demonstrate that a reduction in treatment was possible without compromising survival outcomes. METHODS: Protocol P9426, a response-dependent and reduced treatment for low risk Hodgkin lymphoma (stages I, IIA, and IIIA(1) ) was designed in 1994 based on a previous pilot project. Patients were enrolled from October 15, 1996 to September 19, 2000. Patients were randomized to receive or not receive dexrazoxane and received two cycles of chemotherapy consisting of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vincristine, and etoposide. After two cycles, patients were evaluated for response. Those in complete response (CR) received 2,550 cGy of involved field radiation therapy (IFRT). Patient with partial response or stable disease, received two more cycles of chemotherapy and IFRT at 2,550 cGy. RESULTS: There were 294 patients enrolled, with 255 eligible for analysis. The 8-year event free survival (EFS) between the dexrazoxane randomized groups did not differ (EFS 86.8 +/- 3.1% with DRZ, and 85.7 +/- 3.3% without DRZ (P = 0.70). Forty-five percent of patients demonstrated CR after two cycles of chemotherapy. There was no difference in EFS by histology, rapidity of response, or number of cycles of chemotherapy. Six of the eight secondary malignancies in this study have been previously reported. CONCLUSIONS: Despite reduced therapy and exclusion of most patients with lymphocyte predominant histology, EFS and overall survival are similar to other reported studies. The protocol documents that it is safe and effective to reduce therapy in low-risk Hodgkin lymphoma based on early response to chemotherapy with rapid responding patients having the same outcome as slower-responding patients when given 50% of the chemotherapy

Severe hemodilutional anemia increases cerebral tissue injury following acute neurotrauma

Anemia may worsen neurological outcomes following traumatic brain injury (TBI) by undefined mechanisms. We hypothesized that hemodilutional anemia accentuates hypoxic cerebral injury following TBI. Anesthetized rats underwent unilateral TBI or sham injury (n ≥ 7). Target hemoglobin concentrations between 50 and 70 g/l were achieved by exchanging 40-50% of the blood volume (1:1) with pentastarch. The effect of TBI, anemia, and TBI-anemia was assessed by measuring brain tissue oxygen tension (PbrO ), regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjvO ), cerebral contusion area, and nuclear staining for programmed cell death. Baseline postinjury PbrO values in the TBI and TBI-anemia groups (9.3 ± 1.3 and 11.3 ± 4.1 Torr, respectively) were lower than the uninjured controls (18.2 ± 5.2 Torr, P \u3c 0.05 for both). Hemodilution caused a further reduction in PbrO in the TBI-anemia group relative to the TBI group without anemia (7.8 ± 2.7 vs. 14.8 ± 3.9 Torr, P \u3c 0.05). The rCBF remained stable after TBI and increased comparably after hemodilution in both anemia and TBI-anemia groups. The SjvO was elevated after TBI (87.4 ± 8.9%, P \u3c 0.05) and increased further following hemodilution (95.0 ± 1.6%, P \u3c 0.05). Cerebral contusion area and nuclear counts for programmed cell death were increased following TBI-anemia (4.1 ± 3.0 mm and 686 ± 192, respectively) relative to TBI alone (1.3 ± 0.3 mm and 404 ± 133, respectively, P \u3c 0.05 for both). Hemodilutional anemia reduced cerebral PbrO and oxygen extraction and increased cell death following TBI. These results support our hypothesis that acute anemia accentuated hypoxic cerebral injury after neurotrauma. Copyright © 2007 the American Physiological Society. 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Severe hemodilutional anemia increases cerebral tissue injury following acute neurotrauma

Anemia may worsen neurological outcomes following traumatic brain injury (TBI) by undefined mechanisms. We hypothesized that hemodilutional anemia accentuates hypoxic cerebral injury following TBI. Anesthetized rats underwent unilateral TBI or sham injury (n ≥ 7). Target hemoglobin concentrations between 50 and 70 g/l were achieved by exchanging 40-50% of the blood volume (1:1) with pentastarch. The effect of TBI, anemia, and TBI-anemia was assessed by measuring brain tissue oxygen tension (PbrO ), regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjvO ), cerebral contusion area, and nuclear staining for programmed cell death. Baseline postinjury PbrO values in the TBI and TBI-anemia groups (9.3 ± 1.3 and 11.3 ± 4.1 Torr, respectively) were lower than the uninjured controls (18.2 ± 5.2 Torr, P \u3c 0.05 for both). Hemodilution caused a further reduction in PbrO in the TBI-anemia group relative to the TBI group without anemia (7.8 ± 2.7 vs. 14.8 ± 3.9 Torr, P \u3c 0.05). The rCBF remained stable after TBI and increased comparably after hemodilution in both anemia and TBI-anemia groups. The SjvO was elevated after TBI (87.4 ± 8.9%, P \u3c 0.05) and increased further following hemodilution (95.0 ± 1.6%, P \u3c 0.05). Cerebral contusion area and nuclear counts for programmed cell death were increased following TBI-anemia (4.1 ± 3.0 mm and 686 ± 192, respectively) relative to TBI alone (1.3 ± 0.3 mm and 404 ± 133, respectively, P \u3c 0.05 for both). Hemodilutional anemia reduced cerebral PbrO and oxygen extraction and increased cell death following TBI. These results support our hypothesis that acute anemia accentuated hypoxic cerebral injury after neurotrauma. Copyright © 2007 the American Physiological Society. 2 2 2 2 2 2 2