The emergence of team science: Understanding the state of adoption research through social network analysis.

The notion of team science has recently gained popularity in European and American health sciences considering increasing evidence that scientific collaboration produces higher-impact research and that complex scientific problems are better investigated by interdisciplinary teams. While publication metrics indicate adoption research is expanding, the comprehensive structure of adoption studies as a scientific field has not been formally evaluated for collaborative and cross-disciplinary activity. This article aims to elucidate the structure, composition, and dynamics of scientific relationships within adoption research that may inform research and practice strategies, competencies, and cohesion within the field.

Pharmacological management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in patients with CKD.

Effective and appropriate control of blood glucose can significantly reduce the risk of diabetic complications and all-cause mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus and recent years have seen a number of new anti-diabetic medications marketed. However, approximately 30% of patients with diabetes mellitus develop progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD) limiting the selection of agents that can safely be used. Whilst older agents such as metformin and the sulphonylureas remain the mainstay of initial treatment, the elimination and adverse effects profile of a number of these drugs can be a concern in patients with CKD.

Quenched fluorescent substrate-based peptidase assays.

The use of specific quenched fluorescent substrates (QFS) provides a rapid and sensitive method to measure peptidase activity, and is readily adaptable to high-throughput screening of potential peptidase inhibitors. In this chapter, we discuss general considerations for the development of QFS assays, and describe in detail an assay protocol for the mammalian metallopeptidase, endothelin-converting enzyme.