Diagnostic Reasoning in the Use of Travel Management System

We explore the appropriation of a self-management administrative system from the perspective of diagnostic reasoning. The case study, based on documents, ethnography and videotapes, concerns the appropriation of a travel management system in a major university in Finland. To explore this process from a user-centric view, we focus on the diagnostic work required in the appropriation of the new system, analyzing both the generic diagnostic reasoning of how the users navigate in the system and their individual and collaborative problem-solving strategies. This approach reveals the interaction between the users and the technology, which incorporates inbuilt models of users, administrative work and work processes. Our analysis concerns interactive instances which resulted from misdiagnosis of the functions of the system. For example, the orchestration and labeling of items in the application pose diagnostic challenges to end-users and may eventually be resolved in collaboration with administrative personnel. The individual and collaborative diagnostic reasoning sheds light on the hidden organizational embeddedness of self-management solutions, providing suggestions for developing the design and deployment of administrative self-management systems. The appropriated self-management system should finally be based on the end-user’s diagnostic reasoning so that the employees can base their actions on their taken-for-granted competence and the skills gained during the appropriation of the system.     

Subcellular localization of fructosyl amino acid oxidases in peroxisomes of Aspergillus terreus and Penicillium janthinellum

Fructosyl amino acid oxidase (FAOD) is the enzyme catalyzing the oxidative deglycation of Amadori compounds, such as fructosyl amino acids, yielding the corresponding amino acids, glucosone, and H(2)O(2). In a previous report, we determined the primary structures of cDNAs coding for FAODs from two fungal strains Aspergillus terreus AP1 and Penicillium janthinellum and we found that both fungal FAODs included the putative peroxisome targeting signal 1 (PTS1) at the carboxyl terminal (Yoshida, N. et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 242, 499-505, 1996). In this study, we determined the intracellular localization of FAODs in these two fungi. Subcellular fractionation experiments and immuno-electronmicroscopic observations, together with the previous findings indicated that the FAODs were localized in peroxisomes of A. terreus AP1 and P. janthinellum. These FAODs were also found to belong to a new member of "peroxisomal sarcosine oxidase family protein" in eucaryotic cells.     

Ante- and perinatal factors and child characteristics predicting parenting experience among formerly infertile couples during the child's first year: A controlled study.

In this prospective controlled study, the authors examined (a) parenting experiences among couples with successful assisted reproduction treatment (ART; n = 367) and fertile spontaneously conceiving controls (n = 371) and (b) the impact of ante- and perinatal factors and child characteristics on parenting experiences. The results show that positive mothering experiences increased more during the 1st year of parenting and were generally higher among ART mothers than control mothers. No differences were found between ART fathers and controls in their fathering experience. Unpleasant birth experiences, low birth weight, and difficulty soothing the child were associated with high levels of parental stress in the control group, but this was not so among the ART parents. Psychosocial interventions in maternal care should take into account the various meanings that couples give to the history of infertility and conception and ante- and perinatal experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of an exclusively binarized correlation-calculation method to wind velocity measurement by use of stellar scintillation patterns

An exclusively binarized method for the correlation calculation of image processing is presented with application to velocity measurements. The exclusively binarized correlation-calculation method is capable of determining the peak position of the correlation even with a small number of random-pattern images. Because the velocity is deduced from the movement of the correlation-peak position within a time interval, the method is suitable for the velocity measurement of random patterns. The method is applied to the measurement of the upper-atmospheric wind velocity by use of stellar scintillation patterns.     

Ultrafine particles from diesel vehicle emissions at different driving cycles induce differential vascular pro-inflammatory responses: Implication of chemical components and NF-κB signaling

Background

Nanometer silicon dioxide (nano-SiO₂) has a wide variety of applications in material sciences, engineering and medicine; however, the potential cell biological and proteomic effects of nano-SiO₂ exposure and the toxic mechanisms remain far from clear.

Results

Here, we evaluated the effects of amorphous nano-SiO₂ (15-nm, 30-nm SiO₂). on cellular viability, cell cycle, apoptosis and protein expression in HaCaT cells by using biochemical and morphological analysis, two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) as well as mass spectrometry (MS). We found that the cellular viability of HaCaT cells was significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner after the treatment of nano-SiO₂ and micro-sized SiO₂ particles. The IC₅₀ value (50% concentration of inhibition) was associated with the size of SiO₂ particles. Exposure to nano-SiO₂ and micro-sized SiO₂ particles also induced apoptosis in HaCaT cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the smaller SiO₂ particle size was, the higher apoptotic rate the cells underwent. The proteomic analysis revealed that 16 differentially expressed proteins were induced by SiO₂ exposure, and that the expression levels of the differentially expressed proteins were associated with the particle size. The 16 proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS analysis and could be classified into 5 categories according to their functions. They include oxidative stress-associated proteins; cytoskeleton-associated proteins; molecular chaperones; energy metabolism-associated proteins; apoptosis and tumor-associated proteins.

Conclusions

These results showed that nano-SiO₂ exposure exerted toxic effects and altered protein expression in HaCaT cells. The data indicated the alterations of the proteins, such as the proteins associated with oxidative stress and apoptosis, could be involved in the toxic mechanisms of nano-SiO₂ exposure.     

The effect of dietary forage to concentrate ratio and forage type on milk fatty acid composition and milk fat globule size of lactating cows

We examined the effects of 2 grass silage-based diets differing in forage:concentrate (FC) ratio and those of a red clover silage-based diet on intake, milk production, ruminal fatty acid (FA) biohydrogenation, milk FA composition, and milk fat globule (MFG) size distribution. Ten multiparous Nordic Red cows received the following treatments: grass silage-based diets containing high (70:30, HG) or low (30:70, LG) FC ratio or a red clover silage-based diet with an FC ratio of 50:50 (RC) on a dry matter basis. Determinations of MFG were performed from fresh milk samples without addition of EDTA so the results of fat globules >1 µm in diameter are emphasized instead of the entire globule population. Lower FC ratio in grass silage-based diets increased milk production with no effect on daily fat yield, leading to 13% lower milk fat concentration. The effect of FC ratio on MFG size was moderate. It did not affect the volume-weighted diameter in grass silage-based diets, although LG lowered the volume-surface diameter of MFG in the size class >1 µm compared with HG. Compared with HG, feeding LG moderately decreased the biohydrogenation of 18:2n-6, leading to a higher level of polyunsaturated fatty acids in milk fat. Feeding RC lowered milk fat concentration and daily milk fat yield compared with grass silage-based diets. The volume-weighted diameter of MFG in the size class >1 µm was smaller in RC milk compared with grass silage-based diets. Feeding RC increased the flow of 18:3n-3 at the omasum by 2.4-fold and decreased the apparent ruminal 18:3n-3 biohydrogenation compared with grass silage-based diets despite similar intake of 18:3n-3. It also resulted in the lowest amount of saturated FA and the highest amounts of cis-9 18:1, 18:3n-3, and polyunsaturated FA in milk. In conclusion, LG decreased milk fat content and induced minor changes in MFG size distribution compared with HG, whereas RC lowered milk fat production, altered milk FA composition to nutritionally more beneficial direction, and led to smaller MFG compared with grass silage-based diets.     

An 8-hour system for Salmonella detection with immunomagnetic separation and homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence PCR

We describe a system consisting of rapid sample enrichment and homogeneous end-point PCR analysis that enables the detection of Salmonella in various food matrices in 8 h. Sample preparation starts with 6 h enrichment step in supplemented broth, after which Salmonella cells are collected with immunomagnetic particles. The particles are washed and dispensed to ready-to-use PCR reaction vessels, which contain dried assay-specific reagents and an internal amplification control. PCR is performed with a novel instrument platform utilising the sensitive label technology of time-resolved fluorometry. Qualitative assay results are automatically interpreted and available in 45 min after sample addition. The overall accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the Magda CA Salmonella system were 99.1%, 98.4% and 100.0%, respectively, based on the evaluation of 107 samples (beef, pork, poultry and ready-to-eat meals) artificially contaminated with sub-lethally injured Salmonella cells.     

Noncholesterol Sterols as Surrogate Markers in Patients with Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis

Severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a life‐threatening condition lacking good serologic markers to tailor treatment and predict recovery. We examined the cholesterol metabolism in severe AH to explore prognostic markers and evaluate the profile of cholesterol precursors, cholestanol and phytosterols, in this context. We assessed serum cholesterol, cholesterol precursors, cholestanol, phytosterols, and biochemical markers in 24 patients with severe AH treated with prednisolone and randomized to ciprofloxacin in the ratio 1:1. Response to prednisolone was assessed with the Lille model. Evaluations were made between responders and nonresponders to corticosteroid treatment and during follow‐up for 180 days. The findings were compared with those from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) (n = 156) and healthy individuals (n = 124). Responders to prednisolone had ~56–60% higher (p‐value 0.032–0.044) serum ratios to cholesterol of phytosterols, while the lathosterol/campesterol ratio was ~76% (p = 0.031) lower compared to nonresponders. Stigmasterol/cholesterol predicted response to corticosteroid therapy. Surrogate markers of cholesterol synthesis (lathosterol and desmosterol) inversely reflected those of absorption (cholestanol and phytosterols) in PSC and controls (r‐range ?0.247 to ?0.559, p < 0.01 for all), contrary to AH patients, among whom this reciprocal regulation was partially recovered on day 90 (lathosterol: r‐range ?0.733 to ?0.952, p < 0.05 for all). AH patients had ~26% lower lathosterol/cholesterol, but 1.13–3.87‐fold higher cholestanol/cholesterol and sitosterol/cholesterol compared to control groups (p < 0.05 for all). Median ferritin concentration at baseline was ~37% lower (p = 0.011) among the responders. Cholesterol precursors and phytosterols have a disease‐specific profile in AH. Phytosterols and ferritin may serve as surrogate markers for short‐term response.