Search

Oxytocin (OXT) is a small cyclic peptide that is administered to pregnant women to induce birth in cases where labour is prolonged. It has previously been observed that patients taking a low molecular weight heparin, dalteparin (DAL), and then prescribed, OXT experienced a swifter labour compared to women given OXT alone. Herein are described the interactions between OXT and a number of heparin-based oligosaccharides; DAL; fondaparinux (FP), which is a synthetic heparin oligosaccharide that represents the predominant antithrombin binding-site, and a family of chemically-derived heparin hexasaccharides. The latter oligosaccharides were chosen as they represent sequences found within the polysaccharide dalteparin. Furthermore, the carbohydrate chemical space was investigated by comparing the interaction between OXT and four chemically derivatived heparin hexasaccharides; I 2S -A 6S NS (DP6), I 2OH -A 6S NS (DP6-2OH, de-2- O -sulfated hexasaccharide), I 2S -A 6OH NS (DP6-6OH, de-6- O -sulfated hexasaccharide) and I 2S -A 6S NAc (DP6-NAc, de- N -sulfated hexasaccharide). The interactions between the peptide and oligosaccharides were studied using a series of 13 C- 1 H and 15 N- 1 H HSQC NMR experiments, at a range of temperatures. This approach allowed the binding epitopes of the peptide and oligosaccharides to be identified, highlighting that 6- O - and N -sulfation substituent groups of heparin are important for the interaction between the peptide and carbohydrate. This is an important observation as de- N -sulfation is a traditional method for decreasing the anticoagulation properties of heparin. Furthermore, low temperature experiments of the OXT : FP complex indicate that hydrogen-bonding is very important for the interaction between the peptide and oligosaccharide., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Key Message: Trees with otherwise equal dimensions have different leaf areas if they are located in different stand types. While leaf area of European larch is affected by mixture proportion, leaf area of Norway spruce is affected by stand density., Context: Leaf area is a key parameter for evaluating growth efficiency of trees, and therefore needs to be measured as consistently and accurately as possible. This is even more important when comparing monospecific and mixed stands., Aims: The aim of the study is to find combinations of parameters and allometric relationships that can be used to estimate accurately the leaf area of individual trees., Methods: Allometries of the measured leaf area of 194 trees in 12 stands were analysed in order to find variables affecting leaf area. Existing functions from the literature were validated. Finally, models were fitted to find the most appropriate method for estimating leaf area of mixed and monospecific stands of Norway spruce and European larch., Results: Allometric relationships of leaf area to other measurable characteristics of trees vary in different stand types. Besides individual tree dimensions such as diameter and crown surface area, leaf area of Norway spruce is related to stand density, whereas the leaf area of European larch is dependent on the admixture of Norway spruce in the stand., Conclusion: In contrast to models for estimating individual tree leaf area of Norway spruce, models for leaf area of European larch have to consider mixture proportions in order to correctly interpret the growth efficiency of mixed stands.

This study reports on results of a national survey conducted in the United States about the attitudes, perceptions and utilization of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in residential care settings. Seventy-five of 118 member agencies (63.6% response rate) of a voluntary national residential care association responded to a web-administered structured survey, which included the Evidence-Based Practices Attitude Scale (Aarons, 2004). Results show overwhelmingly positive attitudes toward EBPs. Concerns were reported mainly with regard to cost and impeding a client-driven practice approach. The study also showed a high degree of utilization of EBPs with over 88 percent of programs reporting the use of at least one practice they considered to be evidence-based. Altogether 53 different practices were reported although it is unknown at this point whether practices were delivered with fidelity. Behaviorally-based and trauma-focused interventions constituted the most common interventions used by residential care agencies. Practices were subsequently validated against four national clearinghouse sites, indicating that only slightly over half of all reported practices had been evaluated by at least one clearinghouse and rated as having some research evidence for effectiveness. Divergent views about what practices are evidence-based point to the need for continued discussion between the practice and research fields about conceptualizations of evidence.