Data Object Exchange (DOEx) as a Method to Facilitate Intraorganizational Collaboration by Managed Data Sharing: Viewpoint.

Background: To help reduce expenses, shorten timelines, and improve the quality of final deliverables, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) and other health care systems promote sharing of expertise among informatics user groups. Traditional barriers to time-efficient sharing of expertise include difficulties in finding potential collaborators and availability of a mechanism to share expertise.

Objective: We aim to describe how the VA shares expertise among its informatics groups by describing a custom-built tool, the Data Object Exchange (DOEx), along with statistics on its usage.

Diversity in laboratory animal science: issues and initiatives.

Since diversity in the workplace began receiving scholarly attention in the late 1980s, many corporations and institutions have invested in programs to address and manage diversity. We encourage laboratory animal science to address the challenges and to build on the strengths that personal diversity brings to our field and workplaces. Diversity is already becoming increasingly relevant in the workplace and the laboratory animal science field.

The concentration of free calcium in plasma is set by the extracellular action of noncollagenous proteins and hydroxyapatite.

The late Wm. F. Neuman frequently included the following statement in his speeches: "Plasma calcium is undersaturated in respect to itself, but supersaturated in respect to bone".

Calcium homeostasis: reassessment of the actions of parathyroid hormone.

The purpose of this report is to adjust our interpretation of the actions of parathyroid hormone (PTH) to include its action on the bone mineral-noncollagenous protein interactions at all bone surfaces. The three primary areas that respond to PTH are: (1) all bone surface areas in contact with the extracellular fluid (ECF), (2) the kidney, and indirectly the intestinal tract, and (3) the bone remodeling sequence. The primary rapid action of the hormone is to set and maintain the free calcium concentration of the ECF.

Calcium homeostasis: how bone solubility relates to all aspects of bone physiology.

This perspective challenges the bone research community to study a new concept of calcium homeostasis and determine how it affects all aspects of bone physiology and disease. The concept started with Neuman's discovery that the apparent supersaturation of calcium in the extracellular fluid (ECF) could be explained by the presence of non-collagenous proteins on the surfaces of bone. His discovery opens the door to a new field of bone research and raises the question of how his result affects other aspects of bone physiology and pathology? The purpose of this perspective is to challenge the bone field to determine the significance of these findings.

Calcium homeostasis: solving the solubility problem.

This report summarizes the evidence that the control of the concentration of free calcium ions in body fluids is centered at mineralized bone surfaces. This process involves an increase in the solubility of bone mineral produced by the non-collagenous proteins existing in the bone extracellular fluid (ECF) and on the adjacent surfaces of bone. The result is a basic equilibrium level produced in the absence of parathyroid hormone (PTH), which is well above the solubility of bone mineral.

Parathyroid hormone and plasma calcium control: an editorial.

The purpose of this report is to examine the various processes by which parathyroid hormone might control the ionic calcium concentration of plasma and extracellular fluid, and to emphasize the need for study of the maintenance of plasma calcium in the absence of the parathyroid glands. The report discusses mechanisms to explain the control of extracellular calcium and proposes new approaches to the study of calcium homeostasis.

Calcitonin, an enigmatic hormone: does it have a function?

This editorial presents our view of the status of thyroidal calcitonin (TCT) in mammalian physiology. The discovery of calcitonin (CT) enabled the development of a valuable therapeutic agent but the early experiments most likely misled us with regard to its physiological significance. These early purported roles for TCT, first as an agent important in blood calcium regulation and later as an agent to prevent hypercalcemia, are no longer considered as physiological functions.

Calcium homeostasis and bone surface proteins, a postulated vital process for plasma calcium control.

This report is a more in-depth explanation of a recently reported hypothesis for controlling the ionic calcium content of plasma and extracellular fluids (ECF). The hypothesis proposes a two-step process for returning calcium to the ECF against the established gradient continuously moving calcium from plasma to bone surfaces. The first step in this process is the predicted transfer of calcium directly from bone surfaces to the non-collagenous proteins, which are in contact with bone mineral.

Computerized controlled-substance surveillance: application involving automated storage and distribution cabinets.

A secondary data-reporting system used to scan the archives of a hospital's automated storage and distribution cabinets (ASDCs) for indications of controlled-substance diversion is described. ASDCs, which allow access to multiple doses of the same medication at one time, use drug count verification to ensure complete audits and disposition tracking. Because an ASDC may interpret inappropriate removal of a medication as a normal transaction, users of ASDCs should have a comprehensive plan for detecting and investigating controlled-substance diversion.

Bone mineral density and history of oral contraceptive use.

To examine the relationship between oral contraceptive (OC) use and bone mineral density (BMD), we conducted a cross-sectional study on 352 white, nonsmoking, perimenopausal women aged 40-54 years. We measured bone mineral density of lumbar vertebrae 2-4 with dual photon absorptiometry and mid-radius and distal radius with single photon absorptiometry. After controlling for age, body mass, current physical activity, current calcium intake and history of breastfeeding, our analysis did not find substantial differences in BMD at any site between OC ever users and never users.

Lactation history and bone mineral density among perimenopausal women.

To examine the relation between lactation and bone mineral density, we conducted a cross-sectional study among white, nonsmoking, perimenopausal women age 40-54. Three hundred fifty-two women completed a questionnaire covering medical and reproductive histories, physical activity, and diet. We measured the bone density of lumbar vertebrae 2-4 with dual photon absorptiometry, and the midradius and distal radius with single photon absorptiometry.

Are calcium intakes and physical activity patterns during adolescence related to radial bone mass of white college-age females?

The determinants of bone mass, i.e., size and density, in young adult women after cessation of growth in length of the bones are not well understood.

Bone mineral content at three sites in normal perimenopausal women.

Bone mineral content (BMC) in 217 healthy white women between the ages of 40 and 55 years was measured using single- and dual-photon absorptiometry. The sites measured included the distal radius, midradius, proximal femur, and lumbar spine. The relationship between BMC and age was constant over the age range studied when the confounding effect of menopause was controlled.

Monocytic origin of fibroblasts: spontaneous transformation of blood monocytes into neo-fibroblastic structures in osteomyelosclerosis and Engelmann's disease.

We describe here two pathological situations, osteomyelosclerosis and Engelmann's disease, in which HLA-DR blood monocytes modulate to the fibroblastic class, in long-term culture. Monocytes/macrophages were identified by immunofluorescence, using monoclonal antibodies against surface markers (Leu M3, CD 68, and HLA-DR) and the neo-fibroblasts by electron microscopy and immunofluorescence using monoclonal antibodies against a cytoplasmic enzyme specifically involved in the synthesis of collagen (5B5). Macrophages makers were found on the neo-fibroblasts, whereas HLA-DR macrophages expressed the cytoplasmic marker 5B5.

Update on the use of distal radial bone density measurements in prediction of hip and Colles' fracture risk.

A controversy has developed around the question as to whether bone density values from the distal radius can be used to accurately predict risk of future fractures. To address this question, two separate studies were undertaken: (a) Bone density was measured in 460 healthy ambulatory women living in retirement centers in the state of North Carolina; 83% of these women were followed for up to 60 months for occurrence of minimal trauma hip and wrist fractures. Thirty-one minimal trauma fractures were reported in our study population, representing 8% of those followed.

Spinal bone density following spinal fusion.

Spinal bone densities were assessed in 25 patients following lumbar fusion and bracing, in an attempt to study bone remodeling by noninvasive methods. Dual-photon densitometry was used to study specific areas of autologous bone grafts and adjacent vertebrae above the fusion mass. Measurements were made preoperatively and at 6-week intervals postoperatively.

The late effect of subtotal thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine therapy on calcitonin secretion and bone mineral density in women treated for Graves' disease.

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of subtotal thyroidectomy and/or radioactive iodine therapy on plasma immunocalcitonin (iCT) levels and bone densities in patients treated for Graves' disease. Forty-eight women whose ages ranged from 29 to 79 years (mean, 55 years) were evaluated. All were at least 10 years beyond treatment.

Age-related loss of bone mineral density in non-athletic and athletic women.

Single and dual photon absorptiometry were performed at the mid-radius, distal radius and lumbar spine in 1105 non-athletic and 124 athletic Caucasian women aged 18-98 years. An age-related loss of bone mineral density in mg/cm2 (BMD) occurred at the three skeletal sites. It was first demonstrated that a single break in the regression line (BMD versus Age) best fit the data.

In vivo bone mineral analysis throughout skeletal growth in rats: differences due to sex or vitamin D deficiency.

This study reports a new technique for the measurement of bone mineral content (BMC) in live rats. A single photon absorptiometric instrument has been adapted for rapid, reproducible measurement of BMC. Four bone sites were selected for use, based on ease of positioning and reproducibility of measurement; these were as follows: proximal femur, midfemur, proximal seventh caudal vertebra, and midseventh caudal vertebra.