A MODIFIED LOCKSET APPROACH FOR ENHANCING ROUTING EFFECTIVENESS

Productivity Analysis,

COST REDUCTION CONSIDERATIONS FOR PEDDLE-RUN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

Emphasizes the importance of the awareness of visit frequency savings potential.Agribusiness,

A POSITIVE ROLE FOR GRADUATE AGRIBUSINESS PROGRAMS IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

Agribusiness graduate students should do problem-solving and take business courses to understand the environment in which they will practice their theory. The longer we wait to teach them application, the greater are the chances of losing our critical mass in terms of relevancy and political support. We can, and should, cultivate a broader range of agribusiness problems and clientele groups. We can effect change immediately by doing more agribusiness research. We can assure our long-run existence through a stronger political support base by educating our graduate students in the ways of firm-level agribusiness application.Agribusiness, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MANAGERIAL HEURISTICS AND ECONOMICS IN PRICING RETAIL MEATS

This study develops a theoretical model of the multiproduct firm which allows for imperfect competition in the output market. Hypotheses are tested for retail meat prices concerning the degree and speed of price transmission, the effects of interfirm competition, and the interrelationship between prices within the store. Empirical results indicated that meat prices within a store were highly interrelated. Further, the firm was found to be very responsive to prices of competitors in the short run, but more responsive to wholesale price changes in the long run.Demand and Price Analysis,

Pharmacologic inhibition of RGD-binding integrins ameliorates fibrosis and improves function following kidney injury

Fibrosis is a final common pathway for many causes of progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD). Arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD)-binding integrins are important mediators of the pro-fibrotic response by activating latent TGF-β at sites of injury and by providing myofibroblasts information about the composition and stiffness of the extracellular matrix. Therefore, blockade of RGD-binding integrins may have therapeutic potential for CKD. To test this idea, we used small-molecule peptidomimetics that potently inhibit a subset of RGD-binding integrins in a murine model of kidney fibrosis. Acute kidney injury leading to fibrosis was induced by administration of aristolochic acid. Continuous subcutaneous administration of CWHM-12, an RGD integrin antagonist, for 28 days improved kidney function as measured by serum creatinine. CWHM-12 significantly reduced Collagen 1 (Col1a1) mRNA expression and scar collagen deposition in the kidney. Protein and gene expression markers of activated myofibroblasts, a major source of extracellular matrix deposition in kidney fibrosis, were diminished by treatment. RNA sequencing revealed that inhibition of RGD integrins influenced multiple pathways that determine the outcome of the response to injury and of repair processes. A second RGD integrin antagonist, CWHM-680, administered once daily by oral gavage was also effective in ameliorating fibrosis. We conclude that targeting RGD integrins with such small-molecule antagonists is a promising therapeutic approach in fibrotic kidney disease

Mammals of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: a 60-year followup to Brumwell (1951)

More than 60 years have elapsed since Brumwell\u27s (1951) comprehensive assessment during 193911940 of resident terrestrial vertebrates from Fort Leavenworth Military Rooervation in northeastern Kansas. Subsequent studies have been accomplished for the amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Our study is the first to assess intervening changes in the mammalian composition of this diverse local fauna. Notable observations include: the decline or extirpation of the black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), Franklin\u27s ground squirrel (Spermophilus franklinii), muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata) and eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius); the return or recovery of locally extirpated gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), puma (Puma concolor), and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the increases of the once uncommon eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) and striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), the invasion and establishment of the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus), and the displacement of the eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) by the eastern gray squirrel (S. carolinensis) as the most common squirrel. Documented species either not mentioned by Brumwell (1951) or listed by him as hypothetically occurring on the post, included northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis), eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus), evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis), southern bog lemming (Synaptomys cooperi), and meadow jumping mouse (Zapus hudsonius)

Predicting treatment outcome for incompetent defendants

This studv examined the ~rediction of outcome in a sample of defendants hospitalized i o r treatment of incompetency. Defendants' demog;aphic characteristics and scores on 18 scales of the Computer-Assisted Determination of Competency to Proceed instrument (CADCOMP) were used to predict competency restoration and length of stay (LOS). During the period of study, almost 90 percent of the defendants were restored to competency after a mean stay of over 280 days. Demographic characteristics were unrelated to outcome. Several CADCOMP scales, including two scales measuring psycholegal ability and one measuring psychopathology, were correlated with both outcome criteria. Discriminant analysis using the CADCOMP scales accurately classified 76.7 percent of the defendants into short and long stay groups. Although promising, the findings are nevertheless consistent with prior research in suggesting that examiners should exercise caution in providing feedback to the courts concerning competency restoration and the period of time needed for treatment

Regulation of ventilatory sensitivity and carotid body proliferation in hypoxia by the PHD2/HIF-2 pathway.

Ventilatory sensitivity to hypoxia increases in response to continued hypoxic exposure as part of acute acclimatisation. Although this process is incompletely understood, insights have been gained through studies of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) hydroxylase system. Genetic studies implicate these pathways widely in the integrated physiology of hypoxia, through effects on developmental or adaptive processes. In keeping with this, mice that are heterozygous for the principal HIF prolyl hydroxylase, PHD2, show enhanced ventilatory sensitivity to hypoxia and carotid body hyperplasia. Here we have sought to understand this process better through comparative analysis of inducible and constitutive inactivation of PHD2 and its principal targets HIF-1α and HIF-2α. We demonstrate that general inducible inactivation of PHD2 in tamoxifen-treated Phd2(f/f);Rosa26(+/CreERT2) mice, like constitutive, heterozygous PHD2 deficiency, enhances hypoxic ventilatory responses (HVRs: 7.2 ± 0.6 vs. 4.4 ± 0.4 ml min(-1) g(-1) in controls, P < 0.01). The ventilatory phenotypes associated with both inducible and constitutive inactivation of PHD2 were strongly compensated for by concomitant inactivation of HIF-2α, but not HIF-1α. Furthermore, inducible inactivation of HIF-2α strikingly impaired ventilatory acclimatisation to chronic hypoxia (HVRs: 4.1 ± 0.5 vs. 8.6 ± 0.5 ml min(-1) g(-1) in controls, P < 0.0001), as well as carotid body cell proliferation (400 ± 81 vs. 2630 ± 390 bromodeoxyuridine-positive cells mm(-2) in controls, P < 0.0001). The findings demonstrate the importance of the PHD2/HIF-2α enzyme-substrate couple in modulating ventilatory sensitivity to hypoxia

Genomic Standards Consortium projects

© The Author(s), 2014. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Standards in Genomic Sciences 9 (2014): 599-601, doi:10.4056/sigs.5559680.The Genomic Standards Consortium (GSC) is an open-membership community working towards the development, implementation and harmonization of standards in the field of genomics. The mission of the GSC is to improve digital descriptions of genomes, metagenomes and gene marker sequences. The GSC started in late 2005 with the defined task of establishing what is now termed the “Minimum Information about any Sequence” (MIxS) standard [1,2]. As an outgrowth of the activities surrounding the creation and implementation of the MixS standard there are now 18 projects within the GSC [3]. These efforts cover an ever widening range of standardization activities. Given the growth of projects and to promote transparency, participation and adoption the GSC has developed a “GSC Project Description Template”. A complete set of GSC Project Descriptions and the template are available on the GSC website. The GSC has an open policy of participation and continues to welcome new efforts. Any projects that facilitate the standard descriptions and exchange of data are potential candidates for inclusion under the GSC umbrella. Areas that expand the scope of the GSC are encouraged. Through these collective activities we hope to help foster the growth of the ‘bioinformatics standards’ community. For more information on the GSC and its range of projects, please see http://gensc.org/

The devil is in the detail - a multifactorial intervention to reduce blood pressure in co-existing diabetes and chronic kidney disease: a single blind, randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>About 30-60% of individuals are non-adherent to their prescribed medications and this risk increases as the number of prescribed medications increases. This paper outlines the development of a consumer-centred <it>Me</it>dicine <it>S</it>elf-<it>M</it>anagement <it>I</it>ntervention (MESMI), designed to improve blood pressure control and medication adherence in consumers with diabetes and chronic kidney disease recruited from specialist outpatients' clinics.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We developed a multifactorial intervention consisting of Self Blood Pressure Monitoring (SBPM), medication review, a twenty-minute interactive Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), and follow-up support telephone calls to help consumers improve their blood pressure control and take their medications as prescribed. The intervention is novel in that it has been developed from analysis of consumer and health professional views, and includes consumer video exemplars in the DVD. The primary outcome measure was a drop of 3-6 mmHg systolic blood pressure at three months after completion of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures included: assessment of medication adherence, medication self-efficacy and general wellbeing. Consumers' adherence to their prescribed medications was measured by manual pill count, self-report of medication adherence, and surrogate biochemical markers of disease control.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The management of complex health problems is an increasing component of health care practice, and requires interventions that improve patient outcomes. We describe the preparatory work and baseline data of a single blind, randomized controlled trial involving consumers requiring cross-specialty care with a follow-up period extending to 12 months post-baseline.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>The trial was registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ACTRN12607000044426).</p