Effects of the environment and disease on drug metabolism in man

Imperial Users onl

The Group Employed Model as a Foundation for Health Care Delivery Reform

Outlines group employed models, with salaried primary and specialty care physicians and quality of care- and satisfaction-based incentives as high-quality, low-cost alternatives to fee-for-service; elements of success; and implications beyond Medicare

Endangered Species: The Edwards Aquifer Litigation

7 pages

Bioavailability of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Formulations and Their Effect on the Intestinal Microbiota

Due to their proposed anti-cancer effects, omega-3 fatty acids (O3FA) may have a role to play in both chemoprevention and the adjuvant treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). Novel O3FA drink formulations may provide a more effective method of delivering O3FA supplementation, although O3FA bioavailability in these preparations compared to traditional capsules has not been ascertained. There is also a lack of research exploring the effects of O3FAs on the colonic microbiota and whether this may have any protective effect on CRC carcinogenesis. This thesis reports the findings of a randomised cross-over trial in healthy volunteers comparing the bioavailability of equivalent doses of O3FA supplementation (2g EPA and 2g DHA daily for 8 weeks) in capsule and drink carton formulations. The trial also explores the effects of O3FA on faecal microbiome profiles. In addition I report the analysis of red blood cell membrane (RBC) EPA levels from the previously reported EMT trial, a Phase II randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which patients with colorectal cancer liver metastasis (CRCLM) received EPA (2g daily) prior to surgery. O3FA supplementation provided in a drinks carton supplementation was non-inferior to an equivalent dose of EPA and DHA provided in capsule form. Faecal microbiome profile analysis revealed subtle changes to the colonic microbiota including reversible increases to Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. Analysis of RBC samples from the EMT study revealed a positive correlation between RBC membrane and CRCLM tissue EPA levels. Participants with EPA RBC membrane levels of >1.22 also exhibited improved overall survival. This work provides evidence that an O3FA containing drink formulation is of equivalent bioavailability to traditional capsules. Due to their additional nutritional contents they may be of benefit in CRC patients. The effects of O3FAs on faecal microbiome profiles is of significant interest particularly their impact on bacteria associated with anti-CRC effects. Further work is required to elucidate whether O3FAs have a role in CRC chemoprevention or adjuvant treatment via their effects on the colonic microbiota.

Endangered Species: The Edwards Aquifer Litigation

7 pages

Power technologies and the space future

Advancements in space power and energy technologies are critical to serve space development needs and help solve problems on Earth. The availability of low cost power and energy in space will be the hallmark of this advance. Space power will undergo a dramatic change for future space missions. The power systems which have served the U.S. space program so well in the past will not suffice for the missions of the future. This is especially true if the space commercialization is to become a reality. New technologies, and new and different space power architectures and topologies will replace the lower power, low-voltage systems of the past. Efficiencies will be markedly improved, specific powers will be greatly increased, and system lifetimes will be markedly extended. Space power technology is discussed - its past, its current status, and predictions about where it will go in the future. A key problem for power and energy is its cost of affordability. Power must be affordable or it will not serve future needs adequately. This aspect is also specifically addressed

Old model, new problem: when should you update a model and what happens when you do?

This paper is a summary of some of the considerations involved in applying an existing model to a new problem, in particular in deciding whether to update or not, and some of the issues involved in interpreting the output from the new application. Thus where you start from does influence where you end up. Both change in total surplus and to a lesser extent the distribution of this change in total surplus across sectors, depends on the price and quantity data which is used to define the initial equilibrium, even if elasticity values are the same. So careful consideration should be given to whether an existing model should be updated because updating a model does matter. The final point to restate is that consumers of pig meat end up being the winners from either cost saving technology at the farm level or new product development or advertising campaigns at the retail level. Even for new technology implemented at the farm level, producers only receive about 20 per cent of the total benefits. These issues are discussed in detail in Mounter et al. (2005a, 2005b). Therefore in relation to the new problem outlined above, we now have a modelling framework available for the task that has been tested in a number of different ways and that now reflects current industry structure and size. It should be a more appropriate framework than the original that was described in the papers by Mounter et al. (2004, 2005a, 2005b).new model, old model, decision making, change in total surplus, updating a model, new technologies, pork, industry structure, industry size, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Industrial Organization, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

The effects of refinery effluent on the invertebrate intertidal fauna and flora of Little Wick Bay, Milford Haven

The effects of continuous low level oil pollution from a refinery effluent, on intertidal fauna and flora in Little Wick Bay are investigated. A shore survey of the intertidal species on six transects at varying distances from the effluent discharge point, is carried out and the results compared with past surveys of the same transects. Any differences or similarities in the findings are related to the environmental agencies in operation since the first survey. A detailed investigation of the size classes and abundance of the Limpet Patella vulgata at each of the six transects and a quantitative analysis of Petroleum Oil Pollutants in P. vulgata by Infra red Spectrophotometry is carried out in an attempt to relate findings to the effluent discharge