Three decades (1983-2010) of contaminant trends in East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Part 2: brominated flame retardants.

Brominated flame retardants were determined in adipose tissues from 294 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) sampled in East Greenland in 23 of the 28years between 1983 and 2010. Significant linear increases were found for sum polybrominated diphenyl ether (ΣPBDE), BDE100, BDE153, and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD). Average increases of 5.

Distribution of Chaetodactylus krombeini (Acari: Chaetodactylidae) within Osmia cornifrons (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) nests: implications for population management.

Chaetodactylus krombeini (Baker) (Acari: Chaetodactylidae) is a cleptoparasitic mite that negatively affects propagation of Osmia spp. (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) for orchard pollination in the USA. This study was conducted to determine the effect of C.

Three decades (1983-2010) of contaminant trends in East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Part 1: legacy organochlorine contaminants.

Legacy organochlorine contaminants were determined in adipose tissues from 294 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) sampled in East Greenland in 23 of the 28years between 1983 and 2010. Of 19 major legacy contaminants and congeners (ΣPCB, 4 PCB congeners (CB153, 180, 170/190), ΣDDT, p,p'-DDE, p,p' -DDD and p,p'-DDT, α- and β-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), HCB, octachlorostyrene, dieldrin, oxychlordane, cis- and trans-chlordane, cis- and trans-nonachlor, heptachlor epoxide and BB-153), 18 showed statistically significant average yearly declines of -4.4% (range: -2.

Pattern and process of biotic homogenization in the New Pangaea.

Human activities have reorganized the earth's biota resulting in spatially disparate locales becoming more or less similar in species composition over time through the processes of biotic homogenization and biotic differentiation, respectively. Despite mounting evidence suggesting that this process may be widespread in both aquatic and terrestrial systems, past studies have predominantly focused on single taxonomic groups at a single spatial scale. Furthermore, change in pairwise similarity is itself dependent on two distinct processes, spatial turnover in species composition and changes in gradients of species richness.

Trophic transfer of contaminants in a changing arctic marine food web: Cumberland Sound, Nunavut, Canada.

Contaminant dynamics in arctic marine food webs may be impacted by current climate-induced food web changes including increases in transient/subarctic species. We quantified food web organochlorine transfer in the Cumberland Sound (Nunavut, Canada) arctic marine food web in the presence of transient species using species-specific biomagnification factors (BMFs), trophic magnification factors (TMFs), and a multifactor model that included δ(15)N-derived trophic position and species habitat range (transient versus resident), and also considered δ(13)C-derived carbon source, thermoregulatory group, and season. Transient/subarctic species relative to residents had higher prey-to-predator BMFs of biomagnifying contaminants (1.

Austerity program: States keep an eye on Mass. legislation limiting annual healthcare expenditures.

Massachusetts' landmark bill to contain healthcare spending has the attention of policymakers nationwide, as they wait to see which approaches in the law work. "This is a broad bill that uses a lot of different levers to make progress on healthcare affordability," says Sarah Iselin, left, of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. "It's a complex challenge, and if there were one silver-bullet solution, we'd all be doing it.

Anandamide externally added to lipid vesicles containing trapped fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is readily hydrolyzed in a sterol-modulated fashion.

We show that anandamide (AEA) externally added to model membrane vesicles containing trapped fatty acid amide hydrolyase (FAAH) can be readily hydrolyzed, demonstrating facile, rapid anandamide movement across the lipid bilayer. The rate of hydrolysis is significantly facilitated by cholesterol and coprostanol, but not by cholesterol sulfate. The effects of sterol upon hydrolysis by FAAH bound to the outer surface of the bilayer were much smaller, although they followed the same pattern.

No consensus. Healthcare systems slam NQF over support of readmissions measure.

A recent decision by the National Quality Forum endorsing a measure on readmissions has a group of large hospitals and systems crying foul and criticizing the group's process. "It's very rare that we don't have overwhelming support for measures when they're endorsed because there are so many opportunities to have issues raised and resolved along the way..

Clickable, photoreactive inhibitors to probe the active site microenvironment of fatty acid amide hydrolase().

Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is an integral membrane enzyme that degrades the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) and several other bioactive lipid amides. The catalytic mechanism of FAAH has been largely elucidated, and structural models of the enzyme suggest that it may recruit its hydrophobic substrates directly from the lipid bilayer of the cell. Testing this hypothesis, however, requires new tools to explore FAAH-substrate interactions in native cell membranes.

For better or worse. Report: where you live affects the type of healthcare you're going to get.

Geography is destiny when it comes to healthcare quality, according to the latest research from the Commonwealth Fund. Four of the best-performing communities are in Minnesota. "I'm not surprised at all that Minnesota cities did so well.

Stable Isotope Resolved Metabolomics Analysis of Ribonucleotide and RNA Metabolism in Human Lung Cancer Cells.

We have developed a simple NMR-based method to determine the turnover of nucleotides and incorporation into RNA by stable isotope resolved metabolomics (SIRM) in A549 lung cancer cells. This method requires no chemical degradation of the nucleotides or chromatography. During cell growth, the free ribonucleotide pool is rapidly replaced by synthesized nucleotides.