Poverty, Housing, and Market Processes

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68441/2/10.1177_107808747200800108.pd

Phenoxazinone synthase from Streptomyces antibioticus: Purification of the large and small enzyme forms

Phenoxazinone synthase has been purified approximately 80-fold from 48-h-old cells of Streptomyces antibioticus. The purification procedure involves streptomycin sulfate and ammonium sulfate precipitations, affinity and Bio-Gel chromatography, and glycerol gradient centrifugation. Two forms of the enzyme are purified by these techniques, a large form (L) with a molecular weight of around 900,000 and a small form (S) with an Mr of about 200,000. Electrophoresis of the large and small forms on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels reveals the presence of a single polypeptide chain with a molecular weight of around 100,000. Both L and S appear to be distinct molecular forms of the enzyme since rechromatography on Bio-Gel or recentrifugation on glycerol gradients results in retention of the mobility of the form in question. These procedures do not convert L to S or S to L. The purification procedure described has been used for the preparation of phenoxazinone synthase from 12-, 18-, and 48-h cultures of S. antibioticus. These experiments have shown that the relative amounts of L and S which can be isolated depend on the age of the cells used as starting material. As the cultures age, the relative amount of L which is present increases. This result also suggests that L and S are distinct molecular entities. Antibody to a combined L plus S preparation and to L has been raised in rabbits. Anti-L antibody reacts with both L and S and is capable of completely inhibiting phenoxazinone synthase activity in crude extracts of S. antibioticus cells. Thus, the 100,000 Mr subunits of L and S must have some antigenic determinants in common, although they may not be identical in structure. Oxygen consumption during the formation of cinnabarinic acid from 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid was measured with the Clark oxygen electrode. These experiments showed that both L and S catalyze a reaction involving the consumption of 1.5 mol of oxygen per mole of phenoxazinone formed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24238/1/0000501.pd

Can participatory emissions budgeting help local authorities to tackle climate change?

A lack of concerted action on the part of local authorities and their citizens to respond to climate change is argued to arise partly from a poor relationship between the two. Meanwhile, local authorities could have a significant impact on community-wide levels of greenhouse gas emissions because of their influence over many other actors, but have had limited success with orthodox voluntary behaviour change methods and hold back from stricter behaviour change interventions. Citizen participation may offer an effective means of improving understanding between citizens and government concerning climate change and, because it is inherently a dialogue, avoids many of the pitfalls of more orthodox attempts to effect behaviour change. Participatory budgeting is a form of citizen participation which seems well suited to the task in being quantitative, drawing a diverse audience and, when successfully run, engendering confidence amongst authority stakeholders. A variant of it, participatory emissions budgeting, would introduce the issue of climate change in a way that required citizens to trade off greenhouse gas emissions with wider policy goals. It may help citizens to appreciate the nature of the challenge and the role of local government in responding; this may in turn provide authority stakeholders with increased confidence in the scope to implement pro-environmental agendas without meeting significant resistance

Hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic effects of Orostachys japonicus A. Berger extracts in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

The hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic effects of two dietary dosages (0.1% and 0.5%) of water and 80% ethanol extracts from hot-air dried Orostachys japonicus A. Berger were evaluated in the serum and organ tissues of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The STZ-induced diabetic groups supplemented with the O. japonicus extracts showed significantly higher body weight compared to a diabetic control group at the end of experiment. The extracts exhibited substantial hypoglycemic effects by significant reductions of fasting blood glucose levels at all time points tested compared to the initial stage before treatment of the extracts. Declines of serum and hepatic triglyceride levels were greater than declines of total cholesterol in the groups treated with the 0.5% O. japonicus extract (DBW2 and DBE2) when compared to the DBC group. Hepatic glycogen content was higher in the groups treated with O. japonicus extract, while lipid peroxide content was decreased in these treated groups compared to the DBC group. Hepatic antioxidant activity was significantly increased in the groups supplemented with the O. japonicus ethanol extract. The hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic effects of the O. japonicus ethanol extract were significantly greater than the effects of the water extract. Based on this study, it seems that O. japonicus ethanol extract, due to its higher phenolic and flavonoid components than the water extract, may control blood glucose and alleviate hyperlipidemia in diabetes

Effect of ascorbate on covalent binding of benzene and phenol metabolites to isolated tissue preparations

[14C]Phenol and [14C]benzene are metabolized in the presence of NADPH and hepatic microsomes isolated from phenobarbital- or benzene-pretreated or untreated guinea pigs to intermediates capable of covalently binding to microsomal protein. When 1 m ascorbate was included in the incubation mixture containing benzene as the substrate, covalent binding was inhibited by 55%. Increasing the ascorbate concentration to 5 m inhibited binding by only an additional 17%. In contrast, when phenol was used as the substrate, 1 m ascorbate inhibited binding by 95%. When DT-diaphorase was included in the incubation mixture containing benzene as the substrate, binding was inhibited by only 18%. This degree of inhibition is in contrast to 70% inhibition with phenol. These results indicate that different metabolites are responsible for a portion of the covalent binding depending upon the substrate employed. GSH inhibited covalent binding greater than 95% with either substrate. The metabolism of phenol to hydroquinone was unaffected by the addition of ascorbate or GSH. The metabolism of benzene to phenol was unaffected by the addition of GSH; however, the addition of ascorbate decreased the formation of phenol by 35%. Tissue ascorbate could be modulated by placing guinea pigs on different dietary intakes of ascorbate. Bone marrow ascorbate concentrations could be modulated 10-fold without any significant change in the GSH concentrations. Bone marrow isolated from guinea pigs on different dietary intakes of ascorbate were incubated with H2O2 and phenol. Bone marrow with low ascorbate concentrations displayed 4-fold more covalent binding of phenol equivalents than those with high ascorbate concentrations. This is an example of how the dietary intake of ascorbate can result in a differential response to a potentially toxic event in vitro.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25767/1/0000328.pd

Influence of naturally-occurring 5′-pyrophosphate-linked substituents on the binding of adenylic inhibitors to ribonuclease a: An X-ray crystallographic study

Ribonuclease A is the archetype of a functionally diverse superfamily of vertebrate-specific ribonucleases. Inhibitors of its action have potential use in the elucidation of the in vivo roles of these enzymes and in the treatment of pathologies associated therewith. Derivatives of adenosine 5′-pyrophosphate are the most potent nucleotide-based inhibitors known. Here, we use X-ray crystallography to visualize the binding of four naturally-occurring derivatives that contain 5′-pyrophosphate-linked extensions. 5′-ATP binds with the adenine occupying the B2 subsite in the manner of an RNA substrate but with the γ-phosphate at the P1 subsite. Diadenosine triphosphate (Ap3A) binds with the adenine in syn conformation, the β-phosphate as the principal P1 subsite ligand and without order beyond the γ-phosphate. NADPH and NADP+ bind with the adenine stacked against an alternative rotamer of His119, the 2′-phosphate at the P1 subsite, and without order beyond the 5′-α-phosphate. We also present the structure of the complex formed with pyrophosphate ion. The structural data enable existing kinetic data on the binding of these compounds to a variety of ribonucleases to be rationalized and suggest that as the complexity of the 5′-linked extension increases, the need to avoid unfavorable contacts places limitations on the number of possible binding modes. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 91: 995–1008, 2009

Structural analysis of the Ss sialoglycoprotein specific for Henshaw blood group from human erythrocyte membranes

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66122/1/j.1432-1033.1984.tb08155.x.pd

Screening Adolescents in the Emergency Department for Weapon Carriage

The objective was to describe the prevalence and correlates of past-year weapon involvement among adolescents seeking care in an inner-city emergency department (ED).This cross-sectional study administered a computerized survey to all eligible adolescents (age 14–18 years), 7 days a week, who were seeking care over an 18-month period at an inner-city Level 1 ED. Validated measures were administered, including measures of demographics, sexual activity, substance use, injury, violent behavior, weapon carriage, and/or weapon use. Zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression models were used to identify correlates of the occurrence and past-year frequency of these weapons variables.Adolescents ( n =  2069, 86% response rate) completed the computerized survey. Fifty-five percent were female; 56.5% were African American. In the past year, 20% of adolescents reported knife or razor carriage, 7% reported gun carriage, and 6% pulled a knife or gun on someone. Although gun carriage was more frequent among males, females were as likely to carry a knife or pull a weapon in the past year.One-fifth of all adolescents seeking care in this inner-city ED have carried a weapon. Understanding weapon carriage among teens seeking ED care is a critical first step to future ED-based injury prevention initiatives.ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:168–176 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency MedicinePeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78627/1/j.1553-2712.2009.00639.x.pd

Illness Mapping: A time and cost effective method to estimate healthcare data needed to establish community-based health insurance

Background: Most healthcare spending in developing countries is private out-of-pocket. One explanation for low penetration of health insurance is that poorer individuals doubt their ability to enforce insurance contracts. Community-based health insurance schemes (CBHI) are a solution, but launching CBHI requires obtaining accurate local data on morbidity, healthcare utilization and other details to inform package design and pricing. We developed the "Illness Mapping" method (IM) for data collection (faster and cheaper than household surveys). Methods. IM is a modification of two non-interactive consensus group methods (Delphi and Nominal Group Technique) to operate as interactive methods. We elicited estimates from "Experts" in the target community on morbidity and healthcare utilization. Interaction between facilitator and experts became essential to bridge literacy constraints and to reach consensus.The study was conducted in Gaya District, Bihar (India) during April-June 2010. The intervention included the IM and a household survey (HHS). IM included 18 women's and 17 men's groups. The HHS was conducted in 50 villages with1,000 randomly selected households (6,656 individuals). Results: We found good agreement between the two methods on overall prevalence of illness (IM: 25.9% ±3.6; HHS: 31.4%) and on prevalence of acute (IM: 76.9%; HHS: 69.2%) and chronic illnesses (IM: 20.1%; HHS: 16.6%). We also found good agreement on incidence of deliveries (IM: 3.9% ±0.4; HHS: 3.9%), and on hospital deliveries (IM: 61.0%. ± 5.4; HHS: 51.4%). For hospitalizations, we obtained a lower estimate from the IM (1.1%) than from the HHS (2.6%). The IM required less time and less person-power than a household survey, which translate into reduced costs. Conclusions: We have shown that our Illness Mapping method can be carried out at lower financial and human cost for sourcing essential local data, at acceptably accurate levels. In view of the good fit of results obtained, we assume that the method could work elsewhere as well

Treatment and outcomes of an Australian cohort of outpatients with bipolar 1 or schizoaffective disorder over twenty-four months : implications for clinical practice

Background The Bipolar Comprehensive Outcomes Study (BCOS) is a 2-year, prospective, non-interventional, observational study designed to explore the clinical and functional outcomes associated with &lsquo;real-world&rsquo; treatment of participants with bipolar I or schizoaffective disorder. All participants received treatment as usual. There was no study medication.Methods Participants prescribed either conventional mood stabilizers (CMS; n&thinsp;=&thinsp;155) alone, or olanzapine with, or without, CMS (olanzapine&thinsp;&plusmn;&thinsp;CMS; n&thinsp;=&thinsp;84) were assessed every 3&thinsp;months using several measures, including the Young Mania Rating Scale, 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Clinical Global Impressions Scale &ndash; Bipolar Version, and the EuroQol Instrument. This paper reports 24-month longitudinal clinical, pharmacological, functional, and socioeconomic data.Results On average, participants were 42 (range 18 to 79) years of age, 58%; were female, and 73%; had a diagnosis of bipolar I. Polypharmacy was the usual approach to pharmacological treatment; participants took a median of 5 different psychotropic medications over the course of the study, and spent a median proportion of time of 100%; of the study on mood stabilizers, 90%; on antipsychotics, 9%; on antidepressants, and 5%; on benzodiazepines/hypnotics. By 24&thinsp;months, the majority of participants had achieved both symptomatic and syndromal remission of both mania and depression. Symptomatic relapse rates were similar for both the CMS alone (65%;) and the olanzapine&thinsp;&plusmn;&thinsp;CMS (61%;) cohorts.Conclusions Participants with bipolar I or schizoaffective disorder in this study were receiving complex medication treatments that were often discordant with recommendations made in contemporary major treatment guidelines. The majority of study participants demonstrated some clinical and functional improvements, but not all achieved remission of symptoms or syndrome.<br /