Tyrosinase and phenolic pressor amines

Basic to the consideration of the action of tyrosinase on the oxidation of phenolic pressor amines are the observations of Keilin and Mann (16) and of Nelson and his coworkers (17-19) that show that different preparations may vary considerably in their relative actions on monophenols and o-diphenols. Both of these types of activity appear to belong to the same enzyme complex, as they bear a proportionality to the same copper content. However, since the activities vary with the purity and method of purification, each enzyme preparation must be defined in terms of both monophenolase and o-diphenolase activities. This was done in the present studies, and modifications of previously described preparative methods were required to retain a reasonable proportioning of such activities in purified preparations

Detecting early signs of depressive and manic episodes in patients with bipolar disorder using the signature-based model

Recurrent major mood episodes and subsyndromal mood instability cause substantial disability in patients with bipolar disorder. Early identification of mood episodes enabling timely mood stabilisation is an important clinical goal. Recent technological advances allow the prospective reporting of mood in real time enabling more accurate, efficient data capture. The complex nature of these data streams in combination with challenge of deriving meaning from missing data mean pose a significant analytic challenge. The signature method is derived from stochastic analysis and has the ability to capture important properties of complex ordered time series data. To explore whether the onset of episodes of mania and depression can be identified using self-reported mood data.Comment: 12 pages, 3 tables, 10 figure

Finding the Motivation, Time, Personal Techniques, and Confidence to Write

Extension personnel need to embrace the concept of producing scholarship in written form. However, many often encounter challenges, such as finding time to write and figuring out how to get started. Scheduling writing times during your peak performance periods, using techniques that include goal setting or timed intensive writing, and overcoming your fears about writing can improve your productivity. Take the challenge, and start today

Short-range order and precipitation in Fe-rich Fe-Cr alloys: Atomistic off-lattice Monte Carlo simulations

Short-range order (SRO) in Fe-rich Fe-Cr alloys is investigated by means of atomistic off-lattice Monte Carlo simulations in the semi-grand canonical ensemble using classical interatomic potentials. The SRO parameter defined by Cowley [Phys. Rev. B 77, 669 (1950)] is used to quantify the degree of ordering. In agreement with experiments a strong ordering tendency in the Cr distribution at low Cr concentrations (~< 5%) is observed, as manifested in negative values of the SRO parameters. For intermediate Cr concentrations (5% ~< c_Cr ~< 15%) the SRO parameter for the alpha-phase goes through a minimum, but at the solubility limit the alpha-phase still displays a rather strong SRO. In thermodynamic equilibrium for concentrations within the two-phase region the SRO parameter measured over the entire sample therefore comprises the contributions from both the alpha and alpha-prime phases. If both of these contributions are taken into account, it is possible to quantitatively reproduce the experimental results and interpret their physical implications. It is thereby shown that the inversion of the SRO observed experimentally is due to the formation of stable (supercritical) alpha-prime precipitates. It is not related to the loss of SRO in the alpha-phase or to the presence of unstable (subcritical) Cr precipitates in the alpha-phase.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Effect of Biaxial Strain on the Phase Transitions of Ca(Fe1−xCox)2As2

We study the effect of applied strain as a physical control parameter for the phase transitions of Ca(Fe1−xCox)2As2 using resistivity, magnetization, x-ray diffraction, and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Biaxial strain, namely, compression of the basal plane of the tetragonal unit cell, is created through firm bonding of samples to a rigid substrate via differential thermal expansion. This strain is shown to induce a magnetostructural phase transition in originally paramagnetic samples, and superconductivity in previously nonsuperconducting ones. The magnetostructural transition is gradual as a consequence of using strain instead of pressure or stress as a tuning parameter

The Use of Telemedicine Access to Schools to Facilitate Expert Assessment of Children with Asthma

Research has shown that access to an asthma specialist improves asthma outcomes. We hypothesized that we could improve access to expert asthma care through a telemedicine link between an asthma specialist and a school-based asthma program. We conducted a prospective cohort study in 3 urban schools to ascertain the feasibility of using an asthma-focused telemedicine solution. Each subject was seen by an asthma expert at 0, 8, and 32 weeks. The assessment and recommendations for care were sent to the primary care physician (PCP) and parents were told to contact their physician for follow-up care. Eighty three subjects participated in the study. Subjects experienced improvement (P < .05) in family social activities and the number of asthma attacks. Ninety four percent of subjects rated the program as good or excellent. This study demonstrates the feasibility and acceptance of a school-based asthma program using a telemedicine link to an asthma specialist

A statistical framework to interpret individual response to intervention: paving the way for personalised nutrition and exercise prescription.

The concept of personalised nutrition and exercise prescription represents a topical and exciting progression for the discipline given the large inter-individual variability that exists in response to virtually all performance and health related interventions. Appropriate interpretation of intervention-based data from an individual or group of individuals requires practitioners and researchers to consider a range of concepts including the confounding influence of measurement error and biological variability. In addition, the means to quantify likely statistical and practical improvements are facilitated by concepts such as confidence intervals (CIs) and smallest worthwhile change (SWC). The purpose of this review is to provide accessible and applicable recommendations for practitioners and researchers that interpret, and report personalised data. To achieve this, the review is structured in three sections that progressively develop a statistical framework. Section 1 explores fundamental concepts related to measurement error and describes how typical error and CIs can be used to express uncertainty in baseline measurements. Section 2 builds upon these concepts and demonstrates how CIs can be combined with the concept of SWC to assess whether meaningful improvements occur post-intervention. Finally, Section 3 introduces the concept of biological variability and discusses the subsequent challenges in identifying individual response and non-response to an intervention. Worked numerical examples and interactive supplementary material are incorporated to solidify concepts and assist with implementation in practice

Is monitoring of plasma 5-fluorouracil levels in metastatic / advanced colorectal cancer clinically effective? A systematic review

Background: Pharmacokinetic guided dosing of 5-fluorouracil chemotherapies to bring plasma 5-fluorouracil into a desired therapeutic range may lead to fewer side effects and better patient outcomes. High performance liquid chromatography and a high throughput nanoparticle immunoassay (My5-FU) have been used in conjunction with treatment algorithms to guide dosing. The objective of this study was to assess accuracy, clinical effectiveness and safety of plasma 5-fluorouracil guided dose regimen(s) versus standard regimens based on body surface area in colorectal cancer. Methods: We undertook a systematic review. MEDLINE; MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations; EMBASE; Cochrane Library; Science Citation Index and Conference Proceedings (Web of Science); and NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme were searched from inception to January 2014. We reviewed evidence on accuracy of My5-FU for estimating plasma 5-fluorouracil and on the clinical effectiveness of pharmacokinetic dosing compared to body surface area dosing. Estimates of individual patient data for overall survival and progression-free survival were reconstructed from published studies. Survival and adverse events data were synthesised and examined for consistency across studies. Results: My5-FU assays were found to be consistent with reference liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Comparative studies pointed to gains in overall survival and in progression-free survival with pharmacokinetic dosing, and were consistent across multiple studies. Conclusions: Although our analyses are encouraging, uncertainties remain because evidence is mainly from outmoded 5-fluorouracil regimens; a randomised controlled trial is urgently needed to investigate new dose adjustment methods in modern treatment regimens