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Own Studies (own + studies)
Selected AbstractsOseltamivir Treatment Prevents the Increased Influenza Virus Disease Severity and Lethality Occurring in Chronic Ethanol Consuming MiceALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2010Ryan A. Langlois Background:, Chronic consumption of ethanol (EtOH) is well recognized to lead to defective innate and adaptive immune responses and increase the severity of pulmonary infections. Our own studies have demonstrated that chronic EtOH consumption decreases CD8 T-cell immunity to influenza virus infections (IAV) leading to severe infections and mortality. Interestingly, antiviral treatment of IAVs has been shown to be compromised in mice and humans that are immuno-deficient. It is known that EtOH can alter the pharmacokinetics of antivirals. Therefore, the effectiveness of influenza antiviral therapy during chronic ethanol consumption remains in question. Methods:, BALB/c mice were placed on 18% (w/v) EtOH in their drinking water for 8 weeks. Chronic EtOH consuming and water controls were then treated with 10 mg/kg oseltamivir orally and infected intranasally with influenza virus 4 hours post-oseltamivir treatment. The mice were then treated with oseltamivir twice daily until day 7 postinfection. Influenza disease severity was measured by morbidity and mortality, pulmonary viral titers, and histology. Results:, Chronic EtOH consuming mice infected with IAV and treated with oseltamivir have decreased morbidity and mortality, pulmonary viral titers, and pulmonary pathology compared to untreated EtOH mice. Conclusions:, Despite the severe immune defect seen in chronic EtOH mice as well as the potential for EtOH to inhibit the conversion of oseltamivir into an active form, treatment with oseltamivir reduces viral shedding as well as disease severity. These data suggest that the combination of a limited adaptive immune response plus the anti-IAV drug oseltamivir is sufficient to curb high mortality and mediate resolution of IAVs in mice chronically consuming ethanol. [source] Making knowledge: explorations of the indissoluble relation between minds, bodies, and environmentTHE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Issue 2010Trevor H.J. Marchand There is growing recognition among social and natural scientists that nature or nurture should not be studied in isolation, for their interdependence is not trivial, but vital. The aim of this volume is to progress anthropology's thinking about human knowledge by exploring the interdependence of nurture with nature; and more specifically the interdependence of minds, bodies, and environments. This introductory essay begins with an overview of the (often conflicting) positions that dominated the ,anthropology of knowledge' in the closing decades of the last century before proceeding to a discussion of recent convergences between cognitivists, phenomenologists, and practice theorists in their ,thinking about knowing'. In the following section I use my own studies with craftspeople to reflect on apprenticeship as both a mode of learning and a field method, since the majority of authors included in this volume also took up apprenticeships of one form or another. Next, the idea that ,cognition is individual' is firmly established, but it is equally conceded that ,making knowledge' is a process entailing interaction between interlocutors and practitioners with their total environment. Before concluding with a summary of the scope and contents of the volume, I briefly present a theory of ,shared production' in knowledge-making that draws upon recent literature in cognitive linguistics and neuroscience. Making knowledge, after all, is an ongoing process shared between people and with the world. Résumé Les chercheurs en sciences sociales et naturelles sont de plus en plus nombreux à reconnaître qu'il ne faut pas étudier séparément l'inné et l'acquis car leur interdépendance, loin d'être négligeable, est vitale. Le présent volume a pour but de faire progresser la réflexion anthropologique sur les connaissances humaines en explorant les interdépendances entre inné et acquis, et plus précisément l'interdépendance des esprits, des corps et des environnements. À titre d'introduction, le présent essai commence par une vue d'ensemble des prises de position (souvent conflictuelles) qui ont dominé« l'anthropologie de la connaissance » pendant les dernières décennies du XXe siècle, avant d'aborder les récentes convergences entre cognitivistes, phénoménologues et théoriciens de la pratique, dans leur « réflexion sur la connaissance ». Dans la section suivante, l'auteur s'appuie sur ses propres études des artisans pour réfléchir sur l'apprentissage, à la fois comme mode d'apprentissage et comme méthode de terrain, puisque la plupart des auteurs intervenant dans ce volume ont aussi entrepris l'une ou l'autre forme d'apprentissage. L'idée que « la cognition est individuelle » est ensuite solidement établie, mais il est également concédé que la « fabrication de connaissances » est un processus impliquant une interaction entre les interlocuteurs et praticiens et leur environnement global. Avant de conclure par un résumé de la portée et la teneur de ce volume, je présenterai rapidement une théorie de la « production partagée » de connaissances qui s'inspire de récentes publications en linguistique cognitive et en neurosciences. En définitive, la fabrication de connaissances est un processus continu, partagéentre les gens et avec le monde. [source] Social networking: Communication revolution or evolution?BELL LABS TECHNICAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008Cheryl L. Coyle Social networks and the need to communicate are universal human conditions. A general assumption is that communication technologies help to increase and strengthen social ties. The Internet provides many social networking opportunities. But how do social networking sites affect individual relationships? Do people use social networking sites to expand their personal networks, to find people who have had similar experiences, to discuss a common hobby, for the potential of offline dating? Or, do people spend time on networking sites to deepen their existing personal networks and stay connected to old friends or distant family? What is the nature of the communications that transpire on social networking sites? Is it personal, emotional, private, and important; or trivial, informal, and public? We examined the literature on social networking sites and conducted our own studies of how students on American college campuses engage in social networking. © 2008 Alcatel-Lucent. [source] Cost estimate for biosynfuel production via biosyncrude gasificationBIOFUELS, BIOPRODUCTS AND BIOREFINING, Issue 1 2009Edmund Henrich Abstract Production of synthetic fuels from lignocellulose like wood or straw involves complex technology. There-fore, a large BTL (biomass to liquid) plant for biosynfuel production is more economic than many small facilities. A reasonable BTL-plant capacity is ,1 Mt/a biosynfuel similar to the already existing commercial CTL and GTL (coal to liquid, gas to liquid) plants of SASOL and SHELL, corresponding to at least 10% of the capacity of a modern oil refinery. BTL-plant cost estimates are therefore based on reported experience with CTL and GTL plants. Direct supply of large BTL plants with low bulk density biomass by trucks is limited by high transport costs and intolerable local traffic density. Biomass densification by liquefaction in a fast pyrolysis process generates a compact bioslurry or biopaste, also denoted as biosyncrude as produced by the bioliq® process. The densified biosyncrude intermediate can now be cheaply transported from many local facilities in silo wagons by electric rail over long distances to a large and more economic central biosynfuel plant. In addition to the capital expenditure (capex) for the large and complex central biosynfuel plant, a comparable investment effort is required for the construction of several dozen regional pyrolysis plants with simpler technology. Investment costs estimated for fast pyrolysis plants reported in the literature have been complemented by own studies for plants with ca. 100 MWth biomass input. The breakdown of BTL synfuel manufacturing costs of ca. 1 , /kg in central EU shows that about half of the costs are caused by the biofeedstock, including transport. This helps to generate new income for farmers. The other half is caused by technical costs, which are about proportional to the total capital investment (TCI) for the pyrolysis and biosynfuel production plants. Labor is a minor contribution in the relatively large facilities. © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [source] Re-assessing the relationship between cholesterol, statins and Alzheimer's diseaseACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2006B. Wolozin This communication integrates the purported role of cholesterol and statins in Alzheimer's disease (AD) with recent data. Meta-analysis of association studies relevant to AD indicates that apolipoprotein (apo)E4 is the only cholesterol-related polymorphism that shows clear association with AD. This suggests that the effect of apoE4 on the pathophysiology of AD occurs via a mechanism that is not directly related to cholesterol, such as fibrillization of A,. Despite the lack of genetic association, cholesterol and statins clearly modulate amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing in cell culture and animal models. Statins appear to act by a pleiotropic mechanism, involving both cholesterol (via lipid rafts) and isoprenylation. The pleiotropic mechanism of statin action clarifies conflicting data from clinical studies, where statins exert an action on A, and AD that might be dose dependent because of actions on both cholesterol and isoprenylation. Reduced isoprenylation can also inhibit inflammation. Our own studies of brains from Alzheimer subjects ± statins indicate that statins inhibit inflammation in humans but might not reduce cerebral A, load. These results suggest that the primary action of statins in humans with AD might be to reduce inflammation rather than decrease A, load. [source] | ||||||||||