Prospective investigation of complementary and alternative medicine use and subsequent hospitalizations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use has been estimated to be as high as 65% in some populations. However, there has been little objective research into the possible risks or benefits of unmanaged CAM therapies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this prospective study of active duty US Navy and Marine Corps personnel, the association between self-reported practitioner-assisted or self-administered CAM use and future hospitalization was investigated. Cox regression models were used to examine risk of hospitalization due to any cause over the follow-up period from date of questionnaire submission, until hospitalization, separation from the military, or end of observation period (June 30, 2004), whichever occurred first.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After adjusting for baseline health, baseline trust and satisfaction with conventional medicine, and demographic characteristics, those who reported self-administering two or more CAM therapies were significantly less likely to be hospitalized for any cause when compared with those who did not self-administer CAM (HR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.17, 0.86). Use of multiple practitioner-assisted CAM was not associated with a significant decrease or increase of risk for future hospitalization (HR = 1.86; 95 percent confidence interval = 0.96-3.63).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>While there were limitations to these analyses, this investigation utilized an objective measure of health to investigate the potential health effects of CAM therapies and found a modest reduction in the overall risk of hospitalization associated with self-administration of two or more CAM therapies. In contrast, use of practitioner-assisted CAM was not associated with a protective effect.</p

Ichthyological Bulletin of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology; No. 43

A new species of stingray, Hexatrygon bickelli Heemstra and Smith, is described from a specimen washed up on a beach at Port Elizabeth on the south coast of South Africa. This new species differs from all other batoid fishes in having six gill arches and a peculiar hypertrophied snout that appears to be a well-developed electroreceptive organ, and in the configuration of its spiracles. Other characters that separate H. bickelli from previously known rays (myliobatiforms) are its small simple brain (other rays have a very large complex brain) and the absence of supraorbital crests on the cranium. In addition, all myliobatiforms are neritic (with none having been recorded below 200 m), and H. bickelli is.presumed to live in moderately deep water (400 to 1000 m). The classification of batoid fishes is reviewed, and Hexatrygon is placed in a new family and suborder of the Myliobatiformes.Rhodes University Libraries (Digitisation

Margarets Garden Shoppe: A Realistic Simulation Of Accounting For Small Entities

According to the American Institute of CPAs, over 58% of new accounting graduates hired by CPA firms join those with fewer than 50 professional staff members, and over 38% join CPA firms with fewer than 10 professional staff members [AICPA, 2005]. Many of these regional and local firms provide accounting services to small business clients, whose accounting needs can differ significantly from those of larger organizations that are the primary focus of most textbooks. Exposure to the unique requirements of smaller businesses can improve the ability of new staff accountants to serve these entities accurately and efficiently, thereby reducing budget overruns and client complaints. This case study, which is based on 15 years of accounting and consulting experience, provides a unique experience in that it emphasizes the source documents, transactions and unique accounting needs of small businesses. It has been classroom-tested for accuracy and ease of use, and is suitable for principles, systems and first intermediate courses in accounting

Differential Effects of the Hormonal and Copper Intrauterine Device on the Endometrial Transcriptome.

The contraceptive effectiveness of intrauterine devices (IUDs) has been attributed in part to a foreign body reaction in the endometrium. We performed this study to better understand mechanisms of action of contraceptives of by studying their effects on endometrial and cervical transcriptomes. We collected endometrial and cervical biopsies from women using the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS, n = 11), copper intrauterine device (cu-IUD, n = 13) or levonorgestrel-containing combined oral contraceptives (COC, n = 12), and from women not using contraceptives (control group, n = 11). Transcriptional profiling was performed with Affymetrix arrays, Principal Component Analysis and the bioconductor package limma. In endometrial samples from cu-IUD users, there were no genes with statistically significant differential expression compared to controls. In LNG-IUS users, 2509 genes were differentially expressed and mapped predominantly onto immune and inflammatory pathways. The cervical samples showed no statistically significant differential gene expression compared to controls. Hormonal and copper IUDs have significantly different effects on the endometrial transcriptome, with the LNG-IUS transcriptome showing pronounced inflammation and immune activation compared to controls whereas the cu-IUD transcriptome was indistinguishable from luteal phase endometrium. These findings argue against a foreign body reaction as a common mechanism of action of IUDs

Incontinence-specific quality of life measures used in trials of treatments for female urinary incontinence: a systematic review.

This systematic review examined the use of incontinence-specific QOL measures in clinical trials of female incontinence treatments, and systematically evaluated their quality using a standard checklist. Of 61 trials included in the review, 58 (95.1%) used an incontinence-specific QOL measure. The most commonly used were IIQ (19 papers), I-QoL (12 papers) and UDI (9 papers). Eleven papers (18.0%) used measures which were not referenced or were developed specifically for the study. The eight QOL measures identified had good clinical face validity and measurement properties. We advise researchers to evaluate carefully the needs of their specific study, and select the QOL measure that is most appropriate in terms of validity, utility and relevance, and discourage the development of new measures. Until better evidence is available on the validity and comparability of measures, we recommend that researchers consider using IIQ or I-QOL with or without UDI in trials of incontinence treatments

Local Fiscal Multiplier on R&D and Science Spending: Evidence from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

We use detailed information about American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) spending to identify the distinctive effects R&D stimulus had on county level employment dynamics. ARRA R&D and science funding was awarded to over half the counties in the country. Counties with research universities and existing manufacturing employment were more likely to receive funding. We estimate that, over the program’s five-year disbursement period, each one million USD in R&D and science spending was associated with twenty-seven additional jobs in the county that received the stimulus and one additional job in adjacent counties. The average cost of a job for a year was less than $15,000.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144514/1/1383_Chhabra.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144514/4/1383_Chhabra_Apr19.pdfDescription of 1383_Chhabra_Apr19.pdf : April 2019 revisio

Solar Electric Propulsion Vehicle Demonstration to Support Future Space Exploration Missions

Human and robotic exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) will require enabling capabilities that are efficient, affordable, and reliable. Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) is highly advantageous because of its favorable in-space mass transfer efficiency compared to traditional chemical propulsion systems. The NASA studies have demonstrated that this advantage becomes highly significant as missions progress beyond Earth orbit. Recent studies of human exploration missions and architectures evaluated the capabilities needed to perform a variety of human exploration missions including missions to Near Earth Objects (NEOs). The studies demonstrated that SEP stages have potential to be the most cost effective solution to perform beyond LEO transfers of high mass cargoes for human missions. Recognizing that these missions require power levels more than 10X greater than current electric propulsion systems, NASA embarked upon a progressive pathway to identify critical technologies needed and a plan for an incremental demonstration mission. The NASA studies identified a 30kW class demonstration mission that can serve as a meaningful demonstration of the technologies, operational challenges, and provide the appropriate scaling and modularity required. This paper describes the planning options for a representative demonstration 30kW class SEP mission

The phage growth limitation system in Streptomyces coelicolor A(3)2 is a toxin/antitoxin system, comprising enzymes with DNA methyltransferase, protein kinase and ATPase activity

The phage growth limitation system of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) is an unusual bacteriophage defence mechanism. Progeny ϕC31 phage from an initial infection are thought to be modified such that subsequent infections are attenuated in a Pgl(+) host but normal in a Pgl(-) strain. Earlier work identified four genes required for phage resistance by Pgl. Here we demonstrate that Pgl is an elaborate and novel phage restriction system that, in part, comprises a toxin/antitoxin system where PglX, a DNA methyltransferase is toxic in the absence of a functional PglZ. In addition, the ATPase activity of PglY and a protein kinase activity in PglW are shown to be essential for phage resistance by Pgl. We conclude that on infection of a Pgl(+) cell by bacteriophage ϕC31, PglW transduces a signal, probably via phosphorylation, to other Pgl proteins resulting in the activation of the DNA methyltransferase, PglX and this leads to phage restriction