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In this work, we present polarization profiles for 23 millisecond pulsars observed at 820 and 1500 MHz with the Green Bank Telescope as part of the NANOGrav pulsar timing array. We calibrate the data using Mueller matrix solutions calculated from observations of PSRs B1929+10 and J1022+1001. We discuss the polarization profiles, which can be used to constrain pulsar emission geometry, and present both the first published radio polarization profiles for nine pulsars and the discovery of very low-intensity average profile components ("microcomponents") in four pulsars. We obtain the Faraday rotation measures for each pulsar and use them to calculate the Galactic magnetic field parallel to the line of sight for different lines of sight through the interstellar medium. We fit for linear and sinusoidal trends in time in the dispersion measure and Galactic magnetic field and detect magnetic field variations with a period of 1 yr in some pulsars, but overall find that the variations in these parameters are more consistent with a stochastic origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xiaozhuo Chen,1– 7 Nigel A Daniels,1,4,5,8 David Cottrill,2,3 Yanyang Cao,2,3 Xuan Wang,2,3 Yunsheng Li,2 Pratik Shriwas,2,3 Yanrong Qian,2 Michael W Archer,1,4 Nicholas B Whitticar,4,9 Ishrat Jahan,1,4 Craig S Nunemaker,1,3– 5 Aili Guo10 1The Diabetes Institute at Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA; 2The Edison Biotechnology Institute, Athens, OH, 45701, USA; 3Department of Biological Sciences, Athens, OH, 45701, USA; 4Department of Biomedical Sciences, Athens, OH, 45701, USA; 5Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH, 45701, USA; 6Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Athens, OH, 45701, USA; 7Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Athens, OH, 45701, USA; 8Department of Specialty Medicine, Athens, OH, 45701, USA; 9Translational Biomedical Sciences Program, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA; 10Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University of California at Davis (UC Davis) School of Medicine, UC Davis Health Science, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USACorrespondence: Aili GuoDepartment of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University of California at Davis (UC Davis) School of Medicine, UC Davis Health Science, PSSB, G400, 4150 V St., Sacramento, CA, 95817, USATel +1 916-734-3730Fax +1 916-734-2292Email alguo@ucdavis.eduCraig S NunemakerDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, 1 Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USATel +1 740-593-2387Fax +1 740-593-4795Email nunemake@ohio.eduPurpose: Previously we showed that natural compound α-penta-galloyl-glucose (α-PGG) and its synthetic derivative 6-chloro-6-deoxy-1,2,3,4-tetra-O-galloyl-α-D-glucopyranose (6Cl-TGQ) act to improve insulin signaling in adipocytes by increasing glucose transport. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of actions of α-PGG and 6Cl-TGQ on insulin secretion.Methods: Mouse islets and/or INS-1832/13 beta-cells were used to test the effects of our compounds on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS), intracellular calcium [Ca2+]i using fura-2AM, glucose transport activity via a radioactive glucose uptake assay, intracellular ATP/ADP, and extracellular acidification (ECAR) and mitochondrial oxygen consumption rates (OCAR) using Seahorse metabolic analysis.Results: Both compounds reduced GSIS in beta-cells without negatively affecting cell viability. The compounds primarily diminished glucose uptake into islets and beta-cells. Despite insulin-like effects in the peripheral tissues, these compounds do not act through the insulin receptor in islets. Further interrogation of the stimulus-secretion pathway showed that all the key metabolic factors involved in GSIS including ECAR, OCAR, ATP/ADP ratios, and [Ca2+]i of INS-1832/13 cells were diminished after the compound treatment.Conclusion: The compounds suppress glucose uptake of the beta-cells, which consequently slows down the rates of glycolysis and ATP synthesis, leading to decrease in [Ca2+]i and GSIS. The difference between adipocytes and beta-cells in effects on glucose uptake is of great interest. Further structural and functional modifications could produce new compounds with optimized therapeutic potentials for different target cells. The higher potency of synthetic 6Cl-TGQ in enhancing insulin signaling in adipocytes but lower potency in reducing glucose uptake in beta-cells compared to α-PGG suggests the feasibility of such an approach.Keywords: glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, calcium influx, glucose transporter, α-PGG, 6Cl-TGQ

Objective: To develop consensus-based recommendations guiding the conduct of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to improve the comparability and quality of studies. The recommendations apply to analyses intended to inform the allocation of health care resources across a broad range of conditions and interventions. This article, first in a 3-part series, discusses how this goal affects the conduct and use of analyses. The remaining articles will outline methodological and reporting recommendations, respectively.Participants: The Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine, a nonfederal panel with expertise in CEA, clinical medicine, ethics, and health outcomes measurement, was convened by the US Public Health Service (PHS).Evidence: The panel reviewed the theoretical foundations of CEA, current practices, and alternative procedures for measuring and assigning values to resource use and health outcomes.Consensus Process: The panel met 11 times during 2 1/2 years with PHS staff and methodologists from federal agencies. Working groups brought issues and preliminary recommendations to the full panel for discussion. Draft recommendations were circulated to outside experts and the federal agencies prior to finalization.Conclusions: The panel's recommendations define a "reference case" cost-effectiveness analysis, a standard set of methods to serve as a point of comparison across studies. The reference case analysis is conducted from the societal perspective and accounts for benefits, harms, and costs to all parties. Although CEA does not reflect every element of importance in health care decisions, the information it provides is critical to informing decisions about the allocation of health care resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acid mine drainage (AMD) has for many years been a major environmental challenge associated with the mining industry, especially in the Eastern, Central and Western mining basins of Gauteng. The aims of this article are to: (i) demonstrate the suitability of the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system for both neutralisation of free acid and removal of iron(II), often the main component in AMD, using limestone, the cheapest alkali, followed by lime treatment for removal of heavy metals, and partial sulphate removal through gypsum crystallisation; (ii) compare the alkali cost of the alternative SBR system where limestone and lime are used for treatment, with conventional lime treatment, and (iii) present the capital cost of the SBR system. The conclusions of this study are that: (i) precipitated calcium carbonate can be used for complete removal of iron(II) in an SBR system within 90 min reaction time; (ii) lime can be used for complete removal of heavy metals after pre-treatment with precipitated calcium carbonate; (iii) the alkali cost for treatment of AMD from the Western Basin will amount to R2.80/m3 in the case of limestone/lime treatment compared to R5.83/m3 if only lime is used; (iv) the alkali cost for treatment of 85 Ml/d acid mine water from both the Western and Central Basins will amount to R60 m./a in the case of limestone/lime treatment compared to R136.9 m./a if only lime is used; and (v) the capital cost for the SBR system amounts to R3.5 m. per Ml/d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer collaboration is believed to assist in the development of critical thinking and reflection skills. However, collaboration may be difficult to achieve in the practice placement environment because students often experience placements away from peers. This study aimed to establish the frequency and types of peer contact experienced by first year occupational therapy students during practice placement education, in order to identify any benefits from interactions during this time and to establish any unmet needs that may arise from restricted peer contact. The data from responses to a survey by 53 of a cohort of 121 students demonstrated the diversity and disparity in the opportunities available. Many interactions provided support and reassurance and made a positive contribution to learning. Return-to-university days during practice placements and regional support groups to facilitate collaboration were suggested. The analysis of an online discussion board made available to all 121 students showed that only 12 students contributed to the discussions. The perceived benefits included contact with peers and practical support from tutors. Improved education and increased input from tutors were suggested as methods to encourage more effective use of this tool, in order to meet the learning and social needs of students with limited opportunities for peer interaction during placement modules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to transform health systems constitute social experiments on a population. Like clinical research, they deploy measures that are unproven in the context of the reform, and they often impose significant risks on some people in order to achieve a social goal: the improvement of health delivery.The rationale for proactively evaluating clinical experimentation on human subjects also applies to these social experiments. We used the 'benchmarks of fairness' methodology to illustrate the elements such an evidence-based review should encompass, leaving open the question of who should perform it. The review must include the ethical objectives of reform, namely, an integrated approach to equity, accountability, and efficiency; the fit between measures taken and these objectives; and the governance of the reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Benchmarks of Fairness instrument is an evidence-based policy tool developed in generic form in 2000 for evaluating the effects of health-system reforms on equity, efficiency and accountability. By integrating measures of these effects on the central goal of fairness, the approach fills a gap that has hampered reform efforts for more than two decades. Over the past three years, projects in developing countries on three continents have adapted the generic version of these benchmarks for use at both national and subnational levels. Interdisciplinary teams of managers, providers, academics and advocates agree on the relevant criteria for assessing components of fairness and, depending on which aspects of reform they wish to evaluate, select appropriate indicators that rely on accessible information; they also agree on scoring rules for evaluating the diverse changes in the indicators. In contrast to a comprehensive index that aggregates all measured changes into a single evaluation or rank, the pattern of changes revealed by the benchmarks is used to inform policy deliberation about which aspects of the reforms have been successfully implemented, and it also allows for improvements to be made in the reforms. This approach permits useful evidence about reform to be gathered in settings where existing information is underused and where there is a weak information infrastructure. Brief descriptions of early results from Cameroon, Ecuador, Guatemala, Thailand and Zambia demonstrate that the method can produce results that are useful for policy and reveal the variety of purposes to which the approach can be put. Collaboration across sites can yield a catalogue of indicators that will facilitate further work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Supreme Court, in Chevron v Echazabal, ruled that risks to a disabled worker, if established by an individualized medical assessment, can disqualify the worker from protections offered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This decision rejected the antipaternalist position of ADA advocates that workers with disabilities should be able to determine, through their own consent, the risks they will take. Such strong antipaternalism may not be compatible with the underlying justification for the protection of workers against health hazards. Stringent regulation of workplace hazards involves restricting the scope of consent to risk. Resolution of this conflict will depend on more careful examination of the degree to which individualized medical assessments avoid stereotyping and bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the social responsibilities of global pharmaceutical companies in developing countries. Problems of commitment and enforcement that must be addressed; Effects of corporate decisions on the rights of other parties; Solution to the problem of affordable appropriate drugs.

Context: In May and June 1998, reported Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections increased sharply in Texas.Objective: To determine factors that contributed to the increase in V parahaemolyticus infections.Design, Setting, and Participants: Cross-sectional survey of persons reporting gastroenteritis after eating seafood in Texas; survey of environmental conditions in Galveston Bay.Main Outcome Measures: Traceback of oysters, water quality measures in harvest areas, presence of V parahaemolyticus in stool cultures; comparison of median values for environmental conditions before and during the outbreak compared with during the previous 5 years.Results: Between May 31 and July 10, 1998, 416 persons in 13 states reported having gastroenteritis after eating oysters harvested from Galveston Bay. All 28 available stool specimens from affected persons yielded V parahaemolyticus serotype O3:K6 isolates. Oyster beds met current bacteriologic standards during harvest and fecal coliform counts in water samples were within acceptable limits. Median water temperature and salinity during May and June 1998 were 30.0 degrees C and 29.6 parts per thousand (ppt) compared with 28.9 degrees C and 15.6 ppt for the previous 5 years (P<.001).Conclusions: This is the first reported outbreak of V parahaemolyticus serotype O3:K6 infection in the United States. The emergence of a virulent serotype and elevated seawater temperatures and salinity levels may have contributed to this large multistate outbreak of V parahaemolyticus. Bacteriologic monitoring at harvest sites did not prevent this outbreak, suggesting that current policy and regulations regarding the safety of raw oysters require reevaluation. Consumers and physicians should understand that raw or undercooked oysters can cause illness even if harvested from monitored beds. In patients who develop acute gastroenteritis within 4 days of consuming raw or undercooked oysters, a stool specimen should be tested for Vibrio species using specific media. JAMA. 2000;284:1541-1545. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the ethical issues surrounding the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Medical Association (AMA) guidelines for health professionals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Implausible nature of the AMA claimthat physicians have a duty to avoid imposing any identifiable risks; Estimates from the CDC on the probability of transmission from a known HIV-infected surgeon to a patient; More.

Addresses the increased global interest towards Africa's environment, and how Western priorities and values are imposed upon Africans, denying them the right to determine which conservation policy best suits their needs and conditions. The colonial clash between Western and African visions; Creation of homegrown grassroots organizations; Naam's survival and growth in the Sahel; The Green Belt Movement in Kenya; Details.

How can health plans make fair determinations about when 'experimental' (and costly) treatments such as high dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation should be covered despite lack of clear clinical consensus about their benefits? Different models for managing 'last chance' therapies evolving in some health plans offer promising examples of how issues of fairness and legitimacy in decisionmaking can be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ponders the issue of whether health care workers have a moral duty to treat HIV infected patients regardless of the risk of contagion. Professional disagreements; National Commission on AIDS and the complaint that a shocking number of physicians are reluctant to treat people with HIV infections and AIDS; Problems with the AMA position; Low aggregate risks of HIV infection; Hepatitis B vs HIV; More.