Quality of ecologically produced foods of animal origin

The production of organic (ecological) food of animal origin is done in many ways and uses many different breeds. Therefore a real comparison with conventionally produced food is difficult. From the limited number of published data it appears, that the characteristics of quality of the products, the nutritional, hygienic, sensorial and technological factors, are not very different in both systems of production. In some factors organic food gets better marks, in others the conventionally produced food. The differences are in the production system (process quality) during lifetime of the animals.     

Sucrosemia in untreated celiac disease: a potential screening test

During studies to develop serum tests of small intestinal permeability, we detected an unidentified disaccharide in HPLC traces of sera from untreated celiacs. This present study aimed to identify the disaccharide and determine whether the presence of the disaccharide in the serum after an oral challenge had potential as a simple screening test for celiac disease. The disaccharide was identified as sucrose by incubation studies of sera with disaccharidases. Twenty untreated celiacs, 15 treated celiacs, and 20 normal or dyspeptic controls were studied for the presence of sucrose in their serum after an oral load (8 g). The results in celiacs were compared with the presence of serum IgA endomysial antibodies. The 10 normal controls were also given a larger sucrose challenge (50 g). Ten of the untreated celiacs and 10 controls had their brush border disaccharidase activities measured. Sucrose eluted in the same position as the unidentified disaccharide in the HPLC trace and the latter could be removed by incubation with sucrase. All untreated celiacs but none of the treated celiacs had sucrose in their serum after the 8-g oral challenge. None of the controls had sucrose in their serum after the 8-g or 50-g challenges. Three untreated celiacs were IgA endomysial antibody negative as were all the treated cases. Brush border sucrase activity was low in untreated celiac disease. The presence of sucrose in the serum after an oral load shows promise as a noninvasive test for celiac disease.     

Development of clinical indicators for performance measurement and improvement: an HMO/purchaser collaborative effort

This article describes a collaborative effort between a major health care purchaser, three area health maintenance organizations, and a state Medicaid agency to develop clinical indicators as the basis for a comparison database. Some of the difficulties in developing a "common yardstick" of quality and value are candidly discussed.     

The Managerial Implications of Real-Time New Product Development in Financial Services

A review of the various models of New Product Development (NPD) process shows that although different approaches have been proposed, they are in fact all variants on a linear theme: some may include feedback loops, but they all essentially advocate that certain steps precede, or are preceded by, others. An inevitable consequence on the Internet/World Wide Web (WWW or Web) is that such models are no longer applicable. Based on the lessons learned from the development of a new financial service offered via the Internet, we show how such assumptions of linearity need no longer be a constraint. In addition, innovativeness is not related to firm size. But the fact that the Web allows for the real-time development of new financial services based on on-going feedback from potential and current customers raises a new set of managerial issues that have to be tackled. The objective of this paper is to use the context of the recent launch of an innovative financial service product via the Web to explore the managerial changes that are starting to affect the banking industry.     

Proteomic Biomarkers of the Apnea Hypopnea Index and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Insights into the Pathophysiology of Presence,Severity, and Treatment Response

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disease associated with excessive sleepiness and increased cardiovascular risk, affects an estimated 1 billion people worldwide. The present study examined proteomic biomarkers indicative of presence, severity, and treatment response in OSA. Participants (n = 1391) of the Stanford Technology Analytics and Genomics in Sleep study had blood collected and completed an overnight polysomnography for scoring the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI). A highly multiplexed aptamer-based array (SomaScan) was used to quantify 5000 proteins in all plasma samples. Two separate intervention-based cohorts with sleep apnea (n = 41) provided samples pre- and post-continuous/positive airway pressure (CPAP/PAP). Multivariate analyses identified 84 proteins (47 positively, 37 negatively) associated with AHI after correction for multiple testing. Of the top 15 features from a machine learning classifier for AHI ≥ 15 vs. AHI < 15 (Area Under the Curve (AUC) = 0.74), 8 were significant markers of both AHI and OSA from multivariate analyses. Exploration of pre- and post-intervention analysis identified 5 of the 84 proteins to be significantly decreased following CPAP/PAP treatment, with pathways involving endothelial function, blood coagulation, and inflammatory response. The present study identified PAI-1, tPA, and sE-Selectin as key biomarkers and suggests that endothelial dysfunction and increased coagulopathy are important consequences of OSA, which may explain the association with cardiovascular disease and stroke.