Do statins increase the risk of developing diabetes?

Q: Do statins increase the risk of developing diabetes? A: Yes. Statin therapy produces a small increase in the incidence of diabetes: one additional case per 255 patients taking statins over 4 years (strength of recommendation [SOR]: A, meta-analysis). Intensive statin therapy, compared with moderate therapy, produces an additional 2 cases of diabetes per 1000 patient years (SOR: B, meta-analysis with significant heterogeneity among trials)

The Power of the Learning Community Model for the Development of Supervisor/Mentor

The article describes how learning communities, or communities of practice, are "groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly." How theological field educators share three distinguishing characteristics of a community of practice: domain, community, and practice

Beyond motivation: Job and work design for development, health, ambidexterity, and more

Much research shows it is possible to design motivating work, which has positive consequences for individuals and their organizations. This article reviews research that adopts this motivational perspective on work design, and it emphasizes that it is important to continue to refine motivational theories. In light of continued large numbers of poor-quality jobs, attention must also be given to influencing practice and policy to promote the effective implementation of enriched work designs. Nevertheless, current and future work-based challenges mean that designing work for motivation is necessary but insufficient. This review argues that work design can be a powerful vehicle for learning and development, for maintaining and enhancing employees' physical and mental health, and for achieving control and flexibility simultaneously (for example, in the form of ambidexterity); all these outcomes are important given the challenges in today's workplaces. The review concludes by suggesting methodological directions

The potential of new tumor endothelium-specific markers for the development of antivascular therapy.

Angiogenesis is a hallmark of solid tumors, and disruption of tumor vasculature is an active anticancer therapy in some cases. Several proteins expressed on the surface of tumor endothelium have been identified during the last decade. However, due to the expression in both physiological and tumor angiogenesis, only a few targets have been developed for clinical therapeutics. By thorough SAGE analysis of mouse endothelial cells isolated from various normal resting tissues, regenerating liver, and liver-metastasized tumor, Seaman and colleagues in this issue of Cancer Cell have demonstrated organ-specific endothelial markers, physiological angiogenesis endothelial markers, and tumor endothelial markers and revealed striking differences between physiological and pathological angiogenesis

Performance Evaluation of Adaptive Scientific Applications using TAU

Fueled by increasing processor speeds and high speed interconnection networks, advances in high performance computer architectures have allowed the development of increasingly complex large scale parallel systems. For computational scientists, programming these systems efficiently is a challenging task. Understanding the performance of their parallel applications i

Trafficking of storage proteins in developing grain of wheat

The processing properties of the wheat flour are largely determined by the structures and interactions of the grain storage proteins (also called gluten proteins) which form a continuous visco-elastic network in dough. Wheat gluten proteins are classically divided into two groups, the monomeric gliadins and the polymeric glutenins, with the latter being further classified into low molecular weight (LMW) and high molecular weight (HMW) subunits. The synthesis, folding and deposition of the gluten proteins take place within the endomembrane system of the plant cell. However, determination of the precise routes of trafficking and deposition of individual gluten proteins in developing wheat grain has been limited in the past by the difficulty of developing monospecific antibodies. To overcome this limitation, a single gluten protein (a LMW subunit) was expressed in transgenic wheat with a C-terminal epitope tag, allowing the protein to be located in the cells of the developing grain using highly specific antibodies. This approach was also combined with the use of wider specificity antibodies to compare the trafficking and deposition of different gluten protein groups within the same endosperm cells. These studies are in agreement with previous suggestions that two trafficking pathways occur in wheat, with the proteins either being transported via the Golgi apparatus into the vacuole or accumulating directly within the lumen of the ER. They also suggest that the same individual protein could be trafficked by either pathway, possibly depending on the stage of development, and that segregation of gluten proteins both between and within protein bodies may occur

Comparison of deep-ocean finescale shear at two sites along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Author Posting. © The Author, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 53 (2006): 207-225, doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2005.08.021.Four drifting floats were used to measure the magnitude of the vertical derivative of horizontal velocity in waters above the rough bathymetry of the Mid Atlantic Ridge. This derivative is typically the dominant component of the velocity gradient (the shear). Two floats were at the site of the Brazil Basin Tracer Release Experiment (BBTRE) in the South Atlantic, and two were near the site of the Guiana Abyssal Gyre Experiment (GAGE) in the North Atlantic. Floats operated for one year except for one BBTRE float which operated for 100 days. Shear was measured over a vertical span of 9.5 m using drag elements that caused the floats to rotate slowly in response to shear. For each float, the first, second and fourth moments of shear were elevated above levels associated with the Garrett-Munk model internal-wave spectrum. Three of the four floats were tracked as they moved over mountainous terrain, allowing shear intensity to be measured as a function of height above the bottom. A deep BBTRE float showed enhancement of rms shear near the bottom. Floats at both areas provided measurements at 2000 m above the bottom, with differing results: The GAGE site had a lower fourth moment of shear (diapycnal diffusivity proxy) than the BBTRE site. However, application of normalization factors accounting for differences between the sites in bottom roughness, latitude-dependent internal-wave dynamics, and tidal current speeds brings the results into agreement.This work was funded by the National Science Foundation under grants OCE9416014 and OCE9906685

Health literacy, health status, and healthcare utilization of Taiwanese adults: results from a national survey

Abstract Background Low health literacy is considered a worldwide health threat. The purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence and socio-demographic covariates of low health literacy in Taiwanese adults and to investigate the relationships between health literacy and health status and health care utilization. Methods A national survey of 1493 adults was conducted in 2008. Health literacy was measured using the Mandarin Health Literacy Scale. Health status was measured based on self-rated physical and mental health. Health care utilization was measured based on self-reported outpatient clinic visits, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations. Results Approximately thirty percent of adults were found to have low (inadequate or marginal) health literacy. They tended to be older, have fewer years of schooling, lower household income, and reside in less populated areas. Inadequate health literacy was associated with poorer mental health (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.35-0.91). No association was found between health literacy and health care utilization even after adjusting for other covariates. Conclusions Low (inadequate and marginal) health literacy is prevalent in Taiwan. High prevalence of low health literacy is not necessarily indicative of the need for interventions. Systematic efforts to evaluate the impact of low health literacy on health outcomes in other countries would help to illuminate features of health care delivery and financing systems that may mitigate the adverse health effects of low health literacy.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78252/1/1471-2458-10-614.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78252/2/1471-2458-10-614.pdfPeer Reviewe

Improving Communication Between Child Life Services and Nursing on an Inpatient Pediatric Unit

IMPROVING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN CHILD LIFE SERVICES AND NURSING ON AN INPATIENT HOSPITAL UNIT Effective communication between patient caregivers has been shown to reduce stress and trauma related to hospitalization and subsequent improved outcomes. An HCAHP score for a 30 bed acute inpatient pediatric unit illustrated the confusion faced by children as a result of nursing and care life specialists not working together as a team. A root cause analysis identified a number of issues as to why patients were not benefitting fully from child life services. Several counter measures were instituted with the goals of improving the HCAHP score and increasing child life utilization. Post KPI inception, there was an upward trend in the HCAHP score as well as a significant improvement in the creation of treatment plans between child life services and nursing. Next steps include sustaining current level of collaboration between both teams and expanding child life services to other hospital units

Implementing Strategies to Reduce Central Line-Associated Blood Stream Infections on an Inpatient Pediatric Unit

STRATEGIES TO REDUCE CENTRAL LINE ASSOCIATED BLOODSTREAM INFECTIONS Every central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) leads to poor outcomes, increased mortality and increased healthcare costs. A pediatric care team in an academic tertiary medical center set a goal to reduce the number of these infections on their unit. The team’s research showed that daily bathing greatly decreases CLABSI. Their baseline metrics demonstrated an unacceptable level of those with central lines being bathed. A root cause analysis revealed that patient and family refusal was the leading cause for those who did not bathe. A performance improvement plan was initiated that consisted of several KPIs. Post their rollout, a marked increase in the number of patients with central lines receiving baths was realized, as was a decrease in central line associated infections. Next steps include becoming a model for other patient care units and Maine Health associated hospitals