Activity Theory Analysis of Heart Failure Self-Care

The management of chronic health conditions such as heart failure is a complex process emerging from the activity of a network of individuals and artifacts. This article presents an Activity Theory-based secondary analysis of data from a geriatric heart failure management study. Twenty-one patients' interviews and clinic visit observations were analyzed to uncover eight configurations of roles and activities involving patients, clinicians, and others in the sociotechnical network. For each configuration or activity pattern, we identify points of tension and propose guidelines for developing interventions for future computer-supported healthcare systems

Did the Lamont Glass Company (Trenton, nS, ca. 1890-1897) Produce Pressed Glass Tableware? Conflicting Evidence from Artifacts and Folklore

Large amounts of soda-lime pressed glass tableware, lamp chimneys, bottles and other glass objects were manufactured in Trenton, where three glassworks (Nova Scotia Glass Co., Lamont Glass Co. and Humphreys Glass Co.) operated between ca. 1881 and 1917. Most Trenton pressed glass tableware has traditionally been assigned to the Nova Scotia Glass Co., but based on interviews dating to the 1950s of individuals not directly connected with the industry, standard reference books on historical Canadian glass have attributed specific patterns to Lamont, notwithstanding that virtually none of this glass, other than bottles, is marked by the maker. Colourless Lamont bottles contain 1.2-2.6 wt% barium oxide (BaO). This ingredient increases the refractive index of glass to which it is added, giving it a brilliant luster akin to that of lead crystal, an attribute that clearly would be advantageous in pressed glass. Barium, however, was not detected in any analyzed Nova Scotian pattern glass, thereby casting doubt not only on the suggestion that Lamont produced tableware, but also on the research methodology that gave rise to this apparent myth in the first place. Résumé De grandes quantités de vaisselle de verre sodocalcique pressé, verres de lampes à pétrole, bouteilles et autres objets de verre, ont été produites à Trenton, où trois verreries (Nova Scotia Glass Co., Lamont Glass Co. et Humphreys Glass Co.) étaient en activité entre 1881 environ et 1917. La plupart des objets de verre de Trenton étaient traditionnellement attribués à la Nova Scotia Glass Co., mais, en nous fondant sur des entrevues remontant aux années 1950 d’individus qui n’étaient pas directement liés à l’industrie, on s’aperçoit que les ouvrages de référence typologique sur le verre historique au Canada ont attribué des séries spécifiques à Lamont, en dépit du fait que quasiment aucun des objets de verre, hormis les bouteilles, ne porte de marque de fabrique. Les bouteilles incolores Lamont contiennent de 1,2 à 2,6 % d’oxyde de baryum (BaO). Cet additif accroît l’indice de réfraction du verre, lui donnant un lustre et un brillant comparable à celui du cristal de plomb, attribut nettement avantageux dans le cas du verre pressé. On n’a pas, cependant, décelé de barium dans la verrerie usuelle en Nouvelle-Écosse, ce qui permet de mettre en doute le fait que Lamont aurait produit de la verrerie de table, mais aussi la méthodologie de recherche qui a donné naissance en premier lieu à ce qui semble être un mythe

One-Sided Resonance Problems for Quasilinear Elliptic Operators

AbstractWe present some new existence results for a quasilinear elliptic problem with an unbounded driving force. The quasilinear elliptic operator is assumed to be variational and is such that 0 acts like an isolated eigenvalue with a corresponding eigenfunction which does not change sign. The driving force is further assumed to be in one-sided resonance around the eigenvalue 0, and a solvability condition of potential type is imposed. Variational methods are used to obtain existence. Our results significantly improve earlier results of the authors

Adenosine-A3 receptors in neutrophil microdomains promote the formation of bacteria-tethering cytonemes

The A3‐adenosine receptor (A3AR) has recently emerged as a key regulator of neutrophil behaviour. Using a fluorescent A3AR ligand, we show that A3ARs aggregate in highly polarized immunomodulatory microdomains on human neutrophil membranes. In addition to regulating chemotaxis, A3ARs promote the formation of filipodia‐like projections (cytonemes) that can extend up to 100 μm to tether and ‘reel in’ pathogens. Exposure to bacteria or an A3AR agonist stimulates the formation of these projections and bacterial phagocytosis, whereas an A3AR‐selective antagonist inhibits cytoneme formation. Our results shed new light on the behaviour of neutrophils and identify the A3AR as a potential target for modulating their function

Evaluation of the Long-Lasting Insecticidal Net Interceptor LN: Laboratory and Experimental Hut Studies against Anopheline and Culicine Mosquitoes in Northeastern Tanzania

Long lasting insecticidal nets (LN) are a primary method of malaria prevention. Before new types of LN are approved they need to meet quality and efficacy standards set by the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme. The process of evaluation has three phases. In Phase I the candidate LN must meet threshold bioassay criteria after 20 standardized washes. In Phase II washed and unwashed LNs are evaluated in experimental huts against wild, free flying anopheline mosquitoes. In Phase III the LN are distributed to households in malaria endemic areas, sampled over three years of use and tested for continuing insecticidal efficacy. Interceptor® LN (BASF Corporation, Germany) is made of polyester netting coated with a wash resistant formulation of alpha-cypermethrin. Interceptor LN was subjected to bioassay evaluation and then to experimental hut trial against pyrethroid-susceptible Anopheles gambiae and An. funestus and resistant Culex quinquefasciatus. Mosquito mortality, blood feeding inhibition and personal protection were compared between untreated nets, conventional alpha-cypermethrin treated nets (CTN) washed 20 times and LNs washed 0, 20 and 30 times. In Phase I Interceptor LN demonstrated superior wash resistance and efficacy to the CTN. In the Phase II hut trial the LN killed 92% of female An. gambiae when unwashed and 76% when washed 20 times; the CTN washed 20 times killed 44%. The LN out-performed the CTN in personal protection and blood-feeding inhibition. The trend for An. funestus was similar to An. gambiae for all outcomes. Few pyrethroid-resistant Cx. quinquefasciatus were killed and yet the level of personal protection (75-90%) against Culex was similar to that of susceptible An. gambiae (76-80%) even after 20 washes. This protection is relevant because Cx. quinquefasciatus is a vector of lymphatic filariasis in East Africa. After 20 washes and 60 nights’ use the LN retained 27% of its initial insecticide dose. Interceptor LN meets the approval criteria set by WHO and is recommended for use in disease control against East African vectors of malaria and filariasis. Some constraints associated with the phase II evaluation criteria, in particular the washing procedure, are critically reviewed

Validation of a Short Tandem Repeat Multiplex Typing System for Genetic Individualization of Domestic Cat Samples

Aim To conduct developmental validation studies on a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex typing system, developed for the purpose of genetic individualization and parentage testing in domestic cat samples. Methods To evaluate reproducibility of the typing system, the multiplex was amplified using DNA extracted from hair, blood, and buccal samples obtained from the same individual (n = 13). Additional studies were performed to evaluate the system’s species’ specificity, using 26 North American mammalian species and two prokaryotes Sacchromyces and Escherichia coli, sensitivity, and ability to identify DNA mixtures. Patterns of Mendelian inheritance and mutation rates for the 11 loci were directly examined in a large multi-generation domestic cat pedigree (n = 263). Results Our studies confirm that the multiplex system was species-specific for feline DNA and amplified robustly with as little as 125 picograms of genomic template DNA, demonstrating good product balance. The multiplex generated all components of a two DNA mixture when the minor component was one tenth of the major component at a threshold of 50 relative fluorescence units. The multiplex was reproducible in multiple tissue types of the same individual. Mutation rates for the 11 STR were within the range of sex averaged rates observed for Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) loci. Conclusion The cat STR multiplex typing system is a robust and reliable tool for the use of forensic DNA analysis of domestic cat samples

Feeding and fasting controls liver expression of a regulator of G protein signaling (Rgs16) in periportal hepatocytes

BACKGROUND: Heterotrimeric G protein signaling in liver helps maintain carbohydrate and lipid homeostasis. G protein signaling is activated by binding of extracellular ligands to G protein coupled receptors and inhibited inside cells by regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins. RGS proteins are GTPase activating proteins, and thereby regulate Gi and/or Gq class G proteins. RGS gene expression can be induced by the ligands they feedback regulate, and RGS gene expression can be used to mark tissues and cell-types when and where Gi/q signaling occurs. We characterized the expression of mouse RGS genes in liver during fasting and refeeding to identify novel signaling pathways controlling changes in liver metabolism. RESULTS: Rgs16 is the only RGS gene that is diurnally regulated in liver of ad libitum fed mice. Rgs16 transcription, mRNA and protein are up regulated during fasting and rapidly down regulated after refeeding. Rgs16 is expressed in periportal hepatocytes, the oxygen-rich zone of the liver where lipolysis and gluconeogenesis predominates. Restricting feeding to 4 hr of the light phase entrained Rgs16 expression in liver but did not affect circadian regulation of Rgs16 expression in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). CONCLUSION: Rgs16 is one of a subset of genes that is circadian regulated both in SCN and liver. Rgs16 mRNA expression in liver responds rapidly to changes in feeding schedule, coincident with key transcription factors controlling the circadian clock. Rgs16 expression can be used as a marker to identify and investigate novel G-protein mediated metabolic and circadian pathways, in specific zones within the liver