Floating Island International Case Study

The article describes the case of Floating Island International (FTI) with regards to developing a blue ocean strategy to establish the new technological invention known as BioHaven as a vehicle for wastewater treatment and water remediation. A BioHaven floating island is a man-made ecosystem mimicking natural wetlands that can be used to help clean water and create riparian habitat. Bruce Kania, FII Founder and BioHavens inventor, used biomimicry, a science that studies nature\u27s models

U.S. pension fund investment in real estate : a twenty-five year history & five year forecast

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1996.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-91).by Daniel Paul McCadden & Peter Timothy McNally.M.S

Profiles of Urine Samples Taken from Ecstasy Users at Rave Parties: Analysis by Immunoassays, HPLC, and GC-MS

The abuse of the designer amphetamines such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) is increasing throughout the world. They have become popular drugs, especially at all-night techno dance parties (Raves), and their detection is becoming an important issue. Presently, there are no MDMA- or MDA-specific immunoassays on the market, and detection of the designer amphetamines is dependent upon the use of commercially available amphetamine assays. The success of this approach has been difficult to assess because of the general unavailability of significant numbers of samples from known drug users. The objectives of the present study are to characterize the drug content of urine samples from admitted Ecstasy users by chromatographic methods and to assess the ability of the available amphetamine/methamphetamine immunoassays to detect methylenedioxyamphetamines. We found that, when analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD), 64% of 70 urine samples (by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry [GC-MS]: 88% of 64 urine samples) obtained from Rave attendees contained MDMA and/or 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) alone or in combination with amphetamine, methamphetamine, or other designer amphetamines such as 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA). This suggests that the majority of the Ravers are multi-drug users. At the manufacturer's suggested cutoffs, the Abbott TDx Amphetamine/Methamphetamine II and the new Roche HS Amphetamine/MDMA assays demonstrated greater detection sensitivity for MDMA than the other amphetamine immunoassays tested (Abuscreen OnLine Hitachi AMPS, Abuscreen OnLine Integra AMPS, Abuscreen OnLine Integra AMPSX, CEDIA AMPS, and EMIT II AMPS). There is 100% agreement between each of the two immunoassays with the reference chromatographic methods, HPLC-DAD and GC-MS, for the detection of methylenedioxyamphetamine

Decrease in Myelin-Associated Lipids Precedes Neuronal Loss and Glial Activation in the CNS of the Sandhoff Mouse as Determined by Metabolomics

Sandhoff disease (SD) is a lysosomal disease caused by mutations in the gene coding for the β subunit of β-hexosaminidase, leading to deficiency in the enzymes β-hexosaminidase (HEX) A and B. SD is characterised by an accumulation of gangliosides and related glycolipids, mainly in the central nervous system, and progressive neurodegeneration. The underlying cellular mecha-nisms leading to neurodegeneration and the contribution of inflammation in SD remain unde-fined. The aim of the present study was to measure global changes in metabolism over time that might reveal novel molecular pathways of disease. We used liquid chromatography-mass spec-trometry and 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy to profile intact lipids and aqueous metabolites, respectively. We examined spinal cord and cerebrum from healthy and Hexb -/- mice, a mouse model of SD, at ages one, two, three and four months. We report decreased concentrations in lipids typical of the myelin sheath, galactosylceramides and plasmalogen-phosphatidylethanolamines, suggesting that reduced synthesis of myelin lipids is an early event in the development of disease pathology. Reduction in neuronal density is pro-gressive, as demonstrated by decreased concentrations of N-acetylaspartate and amino acid neurotransmitters. Finally, microglial activation, indicated by increased amounts of myo-inositol correlates closely with the late symptomatic phases of the disease

Experiencing loneliness in parenthood: A scoping review

Aims: Chronic loneliness is experienced by around a third of parents, but there is no comprehensive review into how, why and which parents experience loneliness. This scoping review aimed to provide insight into what is already known about parental loneliness and give directions for further applied and methodological research. Method: Searches for peer reviewed articles were undertaken in six databases: PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus, during May 2019 to February 2020. We searched for English studies which examined loneliness experienced during parenthood, including studies that involved parents with children under 16 years and living at home and excluding studies on pregnancy, childbirth or post-birth hospital care. Results: From 2566 studies retrieved, 133 were included for analysis. Most studies (n=80) examined the experience of loneliness in specific groups of parents, e.g. teenage parents, parents of a disabled child. Other studies examined theoretical issues (n=6) or health and well-being impacts on parents (n=16) and their offspring (n=17). There were 14 intervention studies with parents that measured loneliness as an outcome. Insights indicate that parental loneliness may be different to loneliness experienced in other cohorts. There is evidence that parental loneliness has direct and intergenerational impacts on parent and child mental health. Some parents (e.g. with children with chronic illness or disability, immigrant or ethnic minority parents) also appear to be at increased risk of loneliness although evidence is not conclusive. Conclusion: This work has identified key gaps with further international, comparative and conceptual research needed

Using routinely collected laboratory and health administrative data to assess influenza vaccine effectiveness: introducing the Flu and Other Respiratory Viruses Research (FOREVER) Cohort

Introduction Annual evaluation of influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) is required because of frequent changes to circulating and vaccine strains. Traditionally, VE studies enroll patients who fulfill case definitions for respiratory infections and are tested for influenza. VE estimates generated from convenience samples of routinely collected specimens might be biased. Objectives and Approach We assessed the validity of using data from respiratory specimens collected during clinical encounters to estimate VE. We created the Flu and Other Respiratory Viruses Research (FOREVER) Cohort by linking respiratory virus laboratory test results from 2009-2014 from 11 public health and 8 hospital laboratories across Ontario to health administrative databases, including databases with billing claims for physician- and pharmacist-administered influenza vaccines. We evaluated the presence of information and selection biases when using these data and estimated VE in community-dwelling older adults (>65) using the test-negative design under conditions that emulated the inclusion criteria in traditional VE studies. Results The FOREVER Cohort included test results from 283,711 respiratory specimens obtained from 216,730 individuals. The overall linkage proportion to health administrative databases using deterministic and probabilistic linkage methods was 97.5%. Influenza positivity for older adults with unknown lag between illness onset and specimen collection was similar to those for whom illness onset date was documented to be ≤7 days before specimen collection, suggesting minimal outcome misclassification associated with information bias. The likelihood of influenza testing was similar between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, suggesting an absence of selection bias that could arise when a case definition for influenza testing is not employed. Lastly, VE estimates were similar under various conditions, demonstrating the robustness of using these data, and were comparable to published estimates. Conclusion/Implications The FOREVER Cohort can be used to estimate VE with negligible bias. Compared to traditional VE studies that are limited to recruited patients, routinely collected specimens create a larger, more generalizable sample. Linkage to health administrative databases can identify those with comorbidities and permit evaluation of VE in high-risk groups

Therapeutic options for mucinous ovarian carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: Mucinous ovarian carcinoma (MOC) is an uncommon ovarian cancer histotype that responds poorly to conventional chemotherapy regimens. Although long overall survival outcomes can occur with early detection and optimal surgical resection, recurrent and advanced disease are associated with extremely poor survival. There are no current guidelines specifically for the systemic management of recurrent MOC. We analyzed data from a large cohort of women with MOC to evaluate the potential for clinical utility from a range of systemic agents. METHODS: We analyzed gene copy number (n = 191) and DNA sequencing data (n = 184) from primary MOC to evaluate signatures of mismatch repair deficiency and homologous recombination deficiency, and other genetic events. Immunohistochemistry data were collated for ER, CK7, CK20, CDX2, HER2, PAX8 and p16 (n = 117-166). RESULTS: Molecular aberrations noted in MOC that suggest a match with current targeted therapies include amplification of ERBB2 (26.7%) and BRAF mutation (9%). Observed genetic events that suggest potential efficacy for agents currently in clinical trials include: KRAS/NRAS mutations (66%), TP53 missense mutation (49%), RNF43 mutation (11%), ARID1A mutation (10%), and PIK3CA/PTEN mutation (9%). Therapies exploiting homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) may not be effective in MOC, as only 1/191 had a high HRD score. Mismatch repair deficiency was similarly rare (1/184). CONCLUSIONS: Although genetically diverse, MOC has several potential therapeutic targets. Importantly, the lack of response to platinum-based therapy observed clinically corresponds to the lack of a genomic signature associated with HRD, and MOC are thus also unlikely to respond to PARP inhibition