Rural Household Food Consumption in China: Evidence from the Rural Household Survey

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Method and Apparatus for the Portable Identification Of Material Thickness And Defects Along Uneven Surfaces Using Spatially Controlled Heat Application

A method and apparatus for testing a material such as the water-wall tubes in boilers includes the use of a portable thermal line heater having radiation shields to control the amount of thermal radiation that reaches a thermal imager. A procedure corrects for variations in the initial temperature of the material being inspected. A method of calibrating the testing device to determine an equation relating thickness of the material to temperatures created by the thermal line heater uses empirical data derived from tests performed on test specimens for each material type, geometry, density, specific heat, speed at which the line heater is moved across the material and heat intensity

Marrow stromal cell (MSC) growth from long term cryopreserved bone marrow.

Abstract Autologous MSC are under active investigation for a variety of potential clinical indications in regenerative medicine and gene therapy. The potential to derive autologous MSC from long-term cryopreserved bone marrow has not been fully elucidated. We report here the growth characteristics of MSC from bone marrow that was cryopreserved for more than 10 years. Methods: We identified 3 deceased patients whose cryopreserved autologous bone marrow that was originally intended for autologous transplant, was to be discarded after fulfilling all accepted criteria for discard. The pts were age 46, 47, and 60 at the time of harvest, one had high risk and 2 had metastatic breast cancer (both to bone) and all had had multiple chemotherapy regimens prior to harvest. The marrow was cryopreserved between 1994–1995 in 10% DMSO using a controlled-rate freezer and stored in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen until June, 2006 (11–12 years). The marrow was thawed in a 37 C waterbath, diluted with an equal volume of PBS, washed × 3 in PBS, resuspended in culture medium with 20% fetal bovine serum and plated at 5 × 10E6 mononuclear cells (mnc)/cm2 in 2 – 4 T175 flasks. Culture medium was changed in 48 hours and the plates were observed during subsequent culture medium changes every 3–4 days. Results: At 2 – 4 days only scattered round cells were observed, but all samples grew scattered spindle-shaped cells were between days 4 – 12. Six of 8 primary cultures became > 70% confluent between days 11 and 21; 2 remained at < 40% confluence until replated (then achieving > 70% confluence at day 31). First passage cultures (n=12) became > 70% confluent in 4 – 10 days (median = 7) and 2nd passage cultures were > 70% confluent in 7 – 10 days (median = 9). Second or 3rd passage cultures yielded 2.1 – 4.2 × 10E6 MSC/T175 (n= 14; median 3.15) and were 89 – 96 % viable. Flow cytometry (n = 3) confirmed that 3rd passage cells stained positive for CD105 and CD73 and negative for CD14 and CD45. Additional characterization of the differentiation potential of these presumptive MSC are in progress. Conclusion: These studies indicate that cells typical for MSC can be readily grown from marrow that has been cryopreserved for > 10 years and suggest that even long-term stored bone marrow may serve as a source of cells for regenerative medicine

Characteristics of C-4 photosynthesis in stems and petioles of C-3 flowering plants

Most plants are known as C-3 plants because the first product of photosynthetic CO2 fixation is a three-carbon compound. C-4 plants, which use an alternative pathway in which the first product is a four-carbon compound, have evolved independently many times and are found in at least 18 families. In addition to differences in their biochemistry, photosynthetic organs of C-4 plants show alterations in their anatomy and ultrastructure. Little is known about whether the biochemical or anatomical characteristics of C-4 photosynthesis evolved first. Here we report that tobacco, a typical C-3 plant, shows characteristics of C-4 photosynthesis in cells of stems and petioles that surround the xylem and phloem, and that these cells are supplied with carbon for photosynthesis from the vascular system and not from stomata. These photosynthetic cells possess high activities of enzymes characteristic of C-4 photosynthesis, which allow the decarboxylation of four-carbon organic acids from the xylem and phloem, thus releasing CO2 for photosynthesis. These biochemical characteristics of C-4 photosynthesis in cells around the vascular bundles of stems of C-3 plants might explain why C-4 photosynthesis has evolved independently many times

Recovery of chronically lame dairy cows following treatment for claw horn lesions: a randomised controlled trial

A positively controlled, randomised controlled trial (RCT) was undertaken to test recovery of cows with claw horn lesions resulting in lameness of greater than two weeks duration. Cows on seven commercial farms were mobility scored fortnightly and selected by lameness severity and chronicity. Study cows all received a therapeutic trim then random allocation of: no further treatment (trim only (TRM)), plastic shoe (TS) or plastic shoe and NSAID (TSN). Recovery was assessed by mobility score at 42 (±4) days post treatment by an observer blind to treatment group. Multivariable analysis showed no significant effect of treatment with an almost identical, low response rate to treatment across all groups (Percentage non-lame at outcome: TRM – 15 per cent, TS – 15 per cent, TSN – 16 per cent). When compared with results of a similar RCT on acutely lame cows, where response rates to treatment were substantially higher, it can be concluded that any delay in treatment is likely to reduce the rate of recovery, suggesting early identification and treatment is key. Thirty-eight per cent of animals treated in this study were lame on the contralateral limb at outcome suggesting that both hindlimbs should be examined and a preventive or if necessary a therapeutic foot trim performed when lameness is identified particularly if the duration of lameness is unknown

Moving from evidence-based medicine to evidence-based health.

While evidence-based medicine (EBM) has advanced medical practice, the health care system has been inconsistent in translating EBM into improvements in health. Disparities in health and health care play out through patients' limited ability to incorporate the advances of EBM into their daily lives. Assisting patients to self-manage their chronic conditions and paying attention to unhealthy community factors could be added to EBM to create a broader paradigm of evidence-based health. A perspective of evidence-based health may encourage physicians to consider their role in upstream efforts to combat socially patterned chronic disease