Comparable efficacy of contingency management for cocaine dependence among African American, Hispanic, and White methadone maintenance clients.

Cocaine use is a significant problem among methadone maintenance clients. Contingency management (CM) is a reinforcement-based approach with demonstrated efficacy for reducing cocaine use. This study examines whether the efficacy of CM treatment for cocaine-dependent individuals receiving methadone maintenance for opioid dependence differs by ethnicity. Participants were 191 African American, Hispanic, and White cocaine-dependent methadone maintenance clients, randomly assigned to standard methadone treatment or standard methadone treatment plus CM for 12 weeks. Hispanic participants were younger, less educated, and reported fewer years of cocaine use than did African American and White participants and reported fewer years of heroin use than did African American participants. African American participants were less likely to report a history of psychiatric symptoms or treatment in comparison with Hispanic and White participants. While CM was associated with longer duration of continuous cocaine abstinence and a greater proportion of submitted urine samples negative for cocaine, ethnicity was not related to treatment outcomes, and there was no significant interaction between treatment and ethnicity. CM appears to be an efficacious treatment for cocaine dependence among methadone maintenance clients, regardless of ethnicity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peripheral Artery Disease Is Associated with a Deficiency of Erythrocyte Membrane n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids

Population-based data suggest that individuals who consume large dietary amounts of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have lower odds of peripheral artery disease (PAD); however, clinical studies examining n-3 PUFA levels in patients with PAD are sparse. The objective of this study is to compare erythrocyte membrane fatty acid (FA) content between patients with PAD and controls. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 179 vascular surgery outpatients (controls, 34; PAD, 145). A blood sample was drawn and the erythrocyte FA content was assayed using capillary gas chromatography. We calculated the ratio of the n-3 PUFA eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to the n-6 PUFA arachidonic acid (ARA) as well as the omega-3 index (O3I), a measure of erythrocyte content of the n-3 PUFA, EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), expressed as a percentage of total erythrocyte FA. Compared with controls, patients with PAD smoked more and were more likely to have hypertension and hyperlipidemia (p < 0.05). Patients with PAD had a lower mean O3I (5.0 ± 1.7% vs 6.0 ± 1.6%, p < 0.001) and EPA:ARA ratio (0.04 ± 0.02 vs 0.05 ± 0.05, p < 0.001), but greater mean total saturated fats (39.5 ± 2.5% vs 38.5 ± 2.6%, p = 0.01). After adjusting for several patient characteristics, comorbidities, and medications, an absolute decrease of 1% in the O3I was associated with 39% greater odds of PAD (odds ratio [OR] 1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–1.86, and p = 0.03). PAD was associated with a deficiency of erythrocyte n-3 PUFA, a lower EPA:ARA ratio, and greater mean total saturated fats. These alterations in FA content may be involved in the pathogenesis or development of poor outcomes in PAD.     

Phosphorylation Stoichiometries of Human Eukaryotic Initiation Factors

Eukaryotic translation initiation factors are the principal molecular effectors regulating the process converting nucleic acid to functional protein. Commonly referred to as eIFs (eukaryotic initiation factors), this suite of proteins is comprised of at least 25 individual subunits that function in a coordinated, regulated, manner during mRNA translation. Multiple facets of eIF regulation have yet to be elucidated; however, many of the necessary protein factors are phosphorylated. Herein, we have isolated, identified and quantified phosphosites from eIF2, eIF3, and eIF4G generated from log phase grown HeLa cell lysates. Our investigation is the first study to globally quantify eIF phosphosites and illustrates differences in abundance of phosphorylation between the residues of each factor. Thus, identification of those phosphosites that exhibit either high or low levels of phosphorylation under log phase growing conditions may aid researchers to concentrate their investigative efforts to specific phosphosites that potentially harbor important regulatory mechanisms germane to mRNA translation.     

Lipid‐lowering and anti‐inflammatory effects of palmitoleic acid: Evidence from preclinical and epidemiological studies

In preclinical and human epidemiological studies, the monounsaturated fatty acid, cis‐palmitoleic acid, has shown anti‐inflammatory and lipid lowering effects linked to prevention of metabolic syndrome including cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance associated with diabetes and obesity. Randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trials are needed to clarify its role in these conditions.     

Deconstructing the semantics of big-step modelling languages

With the popularity of model-driven methodologies and the abundance of modelling languages, a major question for a requirements engineer is: which language is suitable for modelling a system under study? We address this question from a semantic point-of-view for big-step modelling languages (BSMLs). BSMLs are a class of popular behavioural modelling languages in which a model can respond to an input by executing multiple transitions, possibly concurrently. We deconstruct the operational semantics of a large class of BSMLs into eight high-level, mostly orthogonal semantic aspects and their common semantic options. We analyse the characteristics of each semantic option. We use feature diagrams to present the design space of BSML semantics that arises from our deconstruction, as well as to taxonomize the syntactic features of BSMLs that exhibit semantic variations. We enumerate the dependencies between syntactic and semantic features. We also discuss the effects of certain combinations of semantic options when used together in a BSML semantics. Our goal is to empower a requirements engineer to compare and choose an appropriate BSML from the plethora of existing BSMLs, or to articulate the semantic features of a new desired BSML when such a BSML does not exist.