Some long-run effects of growing markets and renewable fuel standards on additives markets and the US ethanol industry

The effects of likely regulatory and policy changes in the US gasoline and additives market are compared to a reference baseline. The baseline reflects existing EPA policies about fuel quality regulation and likely petroleum and gasoline expansions. The market and welfare effects are presented for implementing a renewable fuel standard; imposing a national ban on the additive MTBE; and removing the oxygen standard for reformulated fuel. Market and welfare estimates are based on adjusting product market demands and factor supplies. Product market and price analyses include quality-differentiated products, such as refinery gasoline, chemical additives and ethanol at the wholesale level; and gasoline grades in conventional, reformulated and oxygenated markets at the ratail level. Factor market analyses include supplies for petroleum, natural gas byproducts, and corn. The analysis includes the welfare cost of fuel to consumers and income in agriculture and the petroleum sector

Consolidated Laser-Induced Fluorescence Diagnostic Systems for the NASA Ames Arc Jet Facilities

The spectroscopic diagnostic technique of two photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence (TALIF) of atomic species for non-intrusive arc jet flow property measurement was first implemented at NASA Ames in the mid-1990s. Use of TALIF expanded at NASA Ames and to NASA Johnson's arc jet facility in the late 2000s. In 2013-2014, NASA combined the agency's large-scale arc jet test capabilities at NASA Ames. Concurrent with that effort, the agency also sponsored a project to establish two comprehensive LIF diagnostic systems for the Aerodynamic Heating Facility (AHF) and Interaction Heating Facility (IHF) arc jets. The scope of the project enabled further engineering development of the existing IHF LIF system as well as the complete reconstruction of the original AHF LIF system. The updated LIF systems are identical in design and capability. They represent the culmination of over 20 years of development experience in transitioning a specialized laboratory research tool into a measurement system for large-scale, high-demand test facilities. This paper documents the overall system design from measurement requirements to implementation. Representative data from the redeveloped AHF and IHF LIF systems are also presented

Watch out for the Aunties! Young British Asians' accounts of identity and substance use

This paper considers how young people able to trace their origins from Pakistan or India (henceforth 'Asians'), discuss their use of, or abstention from, alcohol and tobacco in terms of religious and cultural tradition. The role of religion, ethnicity, gender and generation in the uptake or avoidance of alcohol and tobacco was explored in 19 qualitative group and individual interviews with 47 Asians aged 16–26 years and analysed in terms of pioneering and conservative forms of tradition. Religious proscriptions on alcohol and tobacco were reported to be formally gender blind, but concerns about reputation and future marriage chances, sanctioned by gossip, meant that women's behaviour was consistently more constrained than men's. Muslims' abstinence from alcohol was tightly linked with an Islamic identity in that drinking jeopardised one's claim to being a Muslim, whereas cigarette smoking was tolerated among young men. Sikhs' and Hindus' avoidance of tobacco was strongly sanctioned, but smoking did not strongly jeopardise a religious identity. Sikh men's abstention indicated manly strength central to a devout identity. Some experimentation was possible out of view of the older generation, especially the aunties, but the risk of gossip damaging young women's reputations was keenly felt. While damage to women's reputations was hard to undo, men's reputations tarnished by substance use, could be compensated for by their parents' honourable status. Discussion of tradition as innovation was rare and met with resistance. Tradition was largely experienced as a constraint to be circumvented

Abnormal expression of p27kip1 protein in levator ani muscle of aging women with pelvic floor disorders – a relationship to the cellular differentiation and degeneration

BACKGROUND: Pelvic floor disorders affect almost 50% of aging women. An important role in the pelvic floor support belongs to the levator ani muscle. The p27/kip1 (p27) protein, multifunctional cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, shows changing expression in differentiating skeletal muscle cells during development, and relatively high levels of p27 RNA were detected in the normal human skeletal muscles. METHODS: Biopsy samples of levator ani muscle were obtained from 22 symptomatic patients with stress urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and overlaps (age range 38–74), and nine asymptomatic women (age 31–49). Cryostat sections were investigated for p27 protein expression and type I (slow twitch) and type II (fast twitch) fibers. RESULTS: All fibers exhibited strong plasma membrane (and nuclear) p27 protein expression. cytoplasmic p27 expression was virtually absent in asymptomatic women. In perimenopausal symptomatic patients (ages 38–55), muscle fibers showed hypertrophy and moderate cytoplasmic p27 staining accompanied by diminution of type II fibers. Older symptomatic patients (ages 57–74) showed cytoplasmic p27 overexpression accompanied by shrinking, cytoplasmic vacuolization and fragmentation of muscle cells. The plasma membrane and cytoplasmic p27 expression was not unique to the muscle cells. Under certain circumstances, it was also detected in other cell types (epithelium of ectocervix and luteal cells). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report on the unusual (plasma membrane and cytoplasmic) expression of p27 protein in normal and abnormal human striated muscle cells in vivo. Our data indicate that pelvic floor disorders are in perimenopausal patients associated with an appearance of moderate cytoplasmic p27 expression, accompanying hypertrophy and transition of type II into type I fibers. The patients in advanced postmenopause show shrinking and fragmentation of muscle fibers associated with strong cytoplasmic p27 expression

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500 steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30 minutes spent performing activities ≥500 counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24 months), both the number of steps per day (per 500 steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500 counts per minute (per 30 minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score >10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500

Zoledronic Acid Preserves Bone Structure and Increases Survival but Does Not Limit Tumour Incidence in a Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis Model

Background The bisphosphonate, zoledronic acid (ZOL), can inhibit osteoclasts leading to decreased osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast activity in bone. Here, we used a mixed osteolytic/osteoblastic murine model of bone-metastatic prostate cancer, RM1(BM), to determine how inhibiting osteolysis with ZOL affects the ability of these cells to establish metastases in bone, the integrity of the tumour-bearing bones and the survival of the tumour-bearing mice. Methods The model involves intracardiac injection for arterial dissemination of the RM1(BM) cells in C57BL/6 mice. ZOL treatment was given via subcutaneous injections on days 0, 4, 8 and 12, at 20 and 100 µg/kg doses. Bone integrity was assessed by micro-computed tomography and histology with comparison to untreated mice. The osteoclast and osteoblast activity was determined by measuring serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRAP 5b) and osteocalcin, respectively. Mice were euthanased according to predetermined criteria and survival was assessed using Kaplan Meier plots. Findings Micro-CT and histological analysis showed that treatment of mice with ZOL from the day of intracardiac injection of RM1(BM) cells inhibited tumour-induced bone lysis, maintained bone volume and reduced the calcification of tumour-induced endochondral osteoid material. ZOL treatment also led to a decreased serum osteocalcin and TRAP 5b levels. Additionally, treated mice showed increased survival compared to vehicle treated controls. However, ZOL treatment did not inhibit the cells ability to metastasise to bone as the number of bone-metastases was similar in both treated and untreated mice. Conclusions ZOL treatment provided significant benefits for maintaining the integrity of tumour-bearing bones and increased the survival of tumour bearing mice, though it did not prevent establishment of bone-metastases in this model. From the mechanistic view, these observations confirm that tumour-induced bone lysis is not a requirement for establishment of these bone tumours

A Systematic Evaluation of Factors Associated With Nocturia—The Population-based FINNO Study

In a case-control study with prevalence sampling, the authors explored the correlates for nocturia and their population-level impact. In 2003–2004, questionnaires were mailed to 6,000 subjects (aged 18–79 years) randomly identified from the Finnish Population Register (62.4% participated; 53.7% were female). Questionnaires contained items on medical conditions, medications, lifestyle, sociodemographic and reproductive factors, urinary symptoms, and snoring. Nocturia was defined as ≥2 voids/night. In age-adjusted analyses, factors associated with nocturia were entered into a multivariate model. Backward elimination was used to select variables for the final model, with adjustment for confounding. Although numerous correlates were identified, none affected ≥50% of nocturia cases of both sexes. The factors with the greatest impact at the population level were (urinary) urgency (attributable number/1,000 subjects (AN) = 24), benign prostatic hyperplasia (AN = 19), and snoring (AN = 16) for men and overweight and obesity (AN = 40), urgency (AN = 24), and snoring (AN = 17) for women. Moreover, correlates included prostate cancer and antidepressant use for men, coronary artery disease and diabetes for women, and restless legs syndrome and obesity for both sexes. Although several correlates were identified, none accounted for a substantial proportion of the population burden, highlighting the multifactorial etiology of nocturia