Administrative Managers – A Critical Link

Institutional responses to changes in the higher education environment have caused movements in the roles and identities of administrative managers in UK universities. These shifts have highlighted the problem for individuals of balancing traditional public service considerations of administration with institutional innovation and development. Administrative managers find themselves not only acting as independent arbiters, giving impartial advice on the basis of professional expertise, but also becoming involved in political judgements about institutional futures. They increasingly undertake an interpretive function between the various communities of the university and its external partners. As the boundaries of the university have become more permeable, administrative and academic management have inter-digitated, and hybrid roles have developed. In undertaking increasingly complex functions, therefore, administrative managers play a critical role in linking the academic and executive arms of governance in the university

Determinants of serum zinc in a random population sample of four Belgian towns with different degrees of environmental exposure to cadmium

This report investigated the distribution of serum zinc and the factors determining serum zinc concentration in a large random population sample. The 1977 participants (959 men and 1018 women), 20–80 years old, constituted a stratified random sample of the population of four Belgian districts, representing two areas with low and two with high environmental exposure to cadmium. For each exposure level, a rural and an urban area were selected. The serum concentration of zinc, frequently used as an index for zinc status in human subjects, was higher in men (13.1 μmole/L, range 6.5–23.0 μmole/L) than in women (12.6 μmole/L, range 6.3–23.2 μmole/L). In men, 20% of the variance of serum zinc was explained by age (linear and squared term, R = 0.29), diurnal variation (r = 0.29), and total cholesterol (r = 0.16). After adjustment for these covariates, a negative relationship was observed between serum zinc and both blood (r = −0.10) and urinary cadmium (r = −0.14). In women, 11% of the variance could be explained by age (linear and squared term, R = 0.15), diurnal variation in serum zinc (r = 0.27), creatinine clearance (r = −0.11), log γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (r = 0.08), cholesterol (r = 0.07), contraceptive pill intake (r = −0.07), and log serum ferritin (r = 0.06). Before and after adjustment for significant covariates, serum zinc was, on average, lowest in the two districts where the body burden of cadmium, as assessed by urinary cadmium excretion, was highest. These results were not altered when subjects exposed to heavy metals at work were excluded from analysis

Transancestral mapping and genetic load in systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with marked gender and ethnic disparities. We report a large transancestral association study of SLE using Immunochip genotype data from 27,574 individuals of European (EA), African (AA) and Hispanic Amerindian (HA) ancestry. We identify 58 distinct non-HLA regions in EA, 9 in AA and 16 in HA (B50% of these regions have multiple independent associations); these include 24 novel SLE regions (Po5 10 8), refined association signals in established regions, extended associations to additional ancestries, and a disentangled complex HLA multigenic effect. The risk allele count (genetic load) exhibits an accelerating pattern of SLE risk, leading us to posit a cumulative hit hypothesis for autoimmune disease. Comparing results across the three ancestries identifies both ancestry-dependent and ancestry-independent contributions to SLE risk. Our results are consistent with the unique and complex histories of the populations sampled, and collectively help clarify the genetic architecture and ethnic disparities in SL

Rituximab versus tocilizumab in rheumatoid arthritis: synovial biopsy-based biomarker analysis of the phase 4 r4ra randomized trial

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receive highly targeted biologic therapies without previous knowledge of target expression levels in the diseased tissue. Approximately 40% of patients do not respond to individual biologic therapies and 5–20% are refractory to all. In a biopsy-based, precision-medicine, randomized clinical trial in RA (R4RA; n = 164), patients with low/absent synovial B cell molecular signature had a lower response to rituximab (anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody) compared with that to tocilizumab (anti-IL6R monoclonal antibody) although the exact mechanisms of response/nonresponse remain to be established. Here, in-depth histological/molecular analyses of R4RA synovial biopsies identify humoral immune response gene signatures associated with response to rituximab and tocilizumab, and a stromal/fibroblast signature in patients refractory to all medications. Post-treatment changes in synovial gene expression and cell infiltration highlighted divergent effects of rituximab and tocilizumab relating to differing response/nonresponse mechanisms. Using ten-by-tenfold nested cross-validation, we developed machine learning algorithms predictive of response to rituximab (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.74), tocilizumab (AUC = 0.68) and, notably, multidrug resistance (AUC = 0.69). This study supports the notion that disease endotypes, driven by diverse molecular pathology pathways in the diseased tissue, determine diverse clinical and treatment–response phenotypes. It also highlights the importance of integration of molecular pathology signatures into clinical algorithms to optimize the future use of existing medications and inform the development of new drugs for refractory patients

Potentiation of cadmium nephrotoxicity by acetaminophen.

The possible interactions between acetaminophen and cadmium (Cd) on the kidney were investigated in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Acetaminophen was administered in the food at an average dose of 900 mg/kg and Cd in drinking water at the concentration of 200 ppm. The treatment with acetaminophen and Cd lasted 2 and 10 months, respectively. No interaction between Cd and acetaminophen was observed during the period of their concomitant administration: the increase in albuminuria caused by Cd and acetaminophen was additive, while the tubular impairment caused by acetaminophen (increased beta 2-microglobulinuria and decreased kidney concentrating ability) was not exacerbated by Cd. None of these treatments affected the glomerular filtration rate. Four months after the end of acetaminophen treatment, the renal changes had almost completely disappeared in the rats which had received the analgesic alone. Those continuously exposed to Cd had developed slight tubular damage, as evidenced by an increased urinary excretion of beta 2-microglobulin and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase. By contrast, rats pretreated with acetaminophen for 2 months and exposed to Cd showed a marked increase in urinary excretion of albumin and beta 2-microglobulin, suggesting an interaction between both treatments. At the end of the study, only the interaction with beta 2-microglobulin excretion was still evident; that with the urinary excretion of beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase and albumin having been masked by the chronic progressive nephrosis affecting most animals at that stage. As acetaminophen had no effect on the renal accumulation of Cd, it may be concluded that pretreatment with this analgesic at a dose causing slight tubular dysfunction renders rat kidney more sensitive to the nephrotoxic action of Cd. This observation may be of clinical relevance for population groups occupationally or environmentally exposed to Cd

Evaluation of the subacute nephrotoxicity of cyclohexane and other industrial solvents in the female Sprague-Dawley rat.

The subacute nephrotoxicity of more than 20 industrial solvents has been compared in female Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were given 5 i.p. injections of the solvents per week for 2 weeks at doses ranging from 1/20 to 1/5 of the i.p. or oral LD50 and the urinary excretion of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, beta 2-microglobulin and albumin was determined. Under these experimental conditions, two solvents, cyclohexane and styrene, were found to cause some tubular injury as evidenced by a statistically significant increase of beta 2-microglobulinuria. At the same dose, styrene was more tubulotoxic than cyclohexane but the opposite was observed when the solvents were administered proportionally to their LD50. The increased beta 2-microglobulinuria caused by cyclohexane was both time- and dose-dependent. It was not accompanied by changes in the glomerular filtration rate and the renal plasma flow, but at the highest dose (1.5 g/kg) the renal concentrating ability was depressed. These renal tubular effects can most likely be ascribed to cyclohexanol, the main metabolite of cyclohexane. As cyclohexane is a widely used industrial solvent with a relatively high threshold limit value (TWA-TLV: 300 ppm) it might represent an underestimated risk for the renal function of exposed populations