Development and validation of the first point-of-care assay to objectively monitor adherence to HIV treatment and prevention in real-time in routine settings.

Objective: HIV prevention and treatment studies demonstrate that pharmacologic adherence metrics are more accurate than self-report. Currently available metrics use liquid-chromatography/tandem-mass-spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), which is expensive and laboratory-based. We developed a specific and sensitive antibody against tenofovir, the backbone of treatment and prevention, but conversion to a lateral flow assay (LFA) - analogous to a urine pregnancy test - is required for point-of-care testing.

Dietary resistant starch dose-dependently reduces adiposity in obesity-prone and obesity-resistant male rats.

Background: Animal studies show that diets containing resistant starch (RS) at levels not achievable in the human diet result in lower body weight and/or adiposity in rodents. We aimed to determine whether RS dose-dependently reduces adiposity in obesity-prone (OP) and obesity-resistant (OR) rats.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=120) were fed a moderate-fat, high-energy diet for 4 wk.

Classification of Rotylenchulus reniformis Numbers in Cotton Using Remotely Sensed Hyperspectral Data on Self-Organizing Maps.

Rotylenchulus reniformis is one of the major nematode pests capable of reducing cotton yields by more than 60%, causing estimated losses that may exceed millions of dollars U.S. Therefore, early detection of nematode numbers is necessary to reduce these losses.

Measurement of phenol and p-cresol in urine and feces using vacuum microdistillation and high-performance liquid chromatography.

In this article, we describe a simple, sensitive, accurate, and repeatable method for the measurement of phenol and p-cresol (4-methylphenol) in human urine and feces. We examined a number of parameters to identify an optimal extraction protocol. Purification of sample extracts was achieved by low-temperature vacuum microdistillation.

End-member extraction for hyperspectral image analysis.

We investigate the relationship among several popular end-member extraction algorithms, including N-FINDR, the simplex growing algorithm (SGA), vertex component analysis (VCA), automatic target generation process (ATGP), and fully constrained least squares linear unmixing (FCLSLU). We analyze the fundamental equivalence in the searching criteria of the simplex volume maximization and pixel spectral signature similarity employed by these algorithms. We point out that their performance discrepancy comes mainly from the use of a dimensionality reduction process, a parallel or sequential implementation mode, or the imposition of certain constraints.

Wholegrain foods made from a novel high-amylose barley variety (Himalaya 292) improve indices of bowel health in human subjects.

Himalaya 292 (Hordeum vulgare var. Himalaya 292) is a novel hull-less barley variety lacking activity of a key enzyme of starch synthesis giving a grain containing less total starch, more amylose and higher total dietary fibre. Animal trials have shown that Himalaya 292 contains more resistant starch and has greater positive impact on biomarkers of large-bowel health than comparable wholegrain cereal products.

Evaluation of possible tourniquet systems for use in the Canadian Forces.

Objective: Hemorrhage from extremity wounds is the leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield. Tourniquets have been identified as the most reasonable option for controlling life threatening extremity hemorrhage in the tactical phase of an operation. The purpose of this trial was to determine which tourniquet systems are effective under simulated combat conditions and make recommendations to the Canadian Forces (CF) on an approach to tourniquet use.

Artificial neural networks and three-dimensional digital morphology: a pilot study.

In this pilot study, we used an unsupervised learning algorithm for self-organization and pattern matching to create feature maps that can be applied to morphological problems. We designed a network to analyze 83 first and/or second upper and lower molar sets representing 13 anthropoid primate species, based on three-dimensional measures obtained from laser-digitized, virtual specimens. As shown in a comparison with a principal-component analysis of the virtual specimens, the artificial neural network approach provided more biologically meaningful information than the conventional multivariate analysis approach.

Honokiol protects against carbon tetrachloride induced liver damage in the rat.

This study aims to investigate the possible hepato-protective effects of honokiol against liver damage and cirrhosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) in the rat. Rats were treated acutely, or chronically with CCl(4) at 5 day intervals (0.06 mL/100 g body weight, administered as 50% vol/vol solution in liquid paraffin) by gavage, in combination with phenobarbitone in drinking water (0.

Expression of adrenomedullin mRNA is altered with gestation and labour in human placenta and fetal membranes.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether placental and fetal membrane AdM (adrenomedullin) mRNA expression changes with gestation and human labour, as we have previously found labour-associated changes in AdM content in fetal membranes [Al-Ghafra, Gude, Brennecke and King (2003) Clin. Sci. 105, 419-423].

Is "ten days" really ten days?--the National Labor Relations Act's strike notice requirement in the healthcare industry.

Nearly thirty years ago, Congress amended the National Labor Relations Act (Act) and provided employees of healthcare institutions with the right to strike and picket. At the same time, Congress added a new Section 8(g) requiring a labor organization to provide a healthcare institution with ten days' notice before engaging in various types of concerted activity--primarily strikes and picketing--against the institution. Thus, Section 8(g) is an important statute for healthcare employers.

A novel high-amylose barley cultivar (Hordeum vulgare var. Himalaya 292) lowers plasma cholesterol and alters indices of large-bowel fermentation in pigs.

Hordeum vulgare var. Himalaya 292 is a new barley cultivar with altered starch synthesis and less total starch but more amylose, resistant starch (RS) and total and soluble NSP including beta-glucan. To determine its nutritional potential, young pigs were fed diets containing stabilised wholegrain flours from either Himalaya 292, Namoi (a commercial barley), wheat bran or oat bran at equivalent dietary NSP concentrations for 21 d.

Growth and function of the normal human placenta.

The placenta is the highly specialised organ of pregnancy that supports the normal growth and development of the fetus. Growth and function of the placenta are precisely regulated and coordinated to ensure the exchange of nutrients and waste products between the maternal and fetal circulatory systems operates at maximal efficiency. The main functional units of the placenta are the chorionic villi within which fetal blood is separated by only three or four cell layers (placental membrane) from maternal blood in the surrounding intervillous space.

Effect of fetal macrosomia on human placental glucose transport and utilization in insulin-treated gestational diabetes.

The aim of this study was to compare glucose transport and utilization in human placentae from pregnancies affected by insulin-treated GDM with and without macrosomia, and from non-diabetic control pregnancies. Placental lobules were perfused for 4 h. Maternal D-glucose concentration was 4, 8, 16, or 24 mM while the fetal D-glucose was maintained at 3mM.

Investigation of the effects of peppermint oil and valerian on rat liver and cultured human liver cells.

1. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of peppermint oil and valerian on rat liver and cultured human hepatoma cells. 2.

In vivo detection of morphological and microvascular changes of the colon in association with colitis using fiberoptic confocal imaging (FOCI).

Using a well-established rodent model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the present study examined changes in the microvasculature of the colonic mucosa in association with ulcerative colitis (UC). The results were compared to microscopic alterations in tissue morphology to establish a temporal relationship between microcirculatory dysfunction and IBD pathology. Mild colitis was induced in rats by the oral consumption of 5% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in drinking water.