Cardioprotective effects of insulin: how intensive insulin therapy may benefit cardiac surgery patients

Interest in the effects of insulin on the heart came with the recognition that hyperglycemia in the context of myocardial infarction is associated with increased risks of mortality, congestive heart failure, or cardiogenic shock. More recently, instigated by research findings on stress hyperglycemia in critical illness, this interest has been extended to the influence of insulin on clinical outcome after cardiac surgery. Even in nondiabetic individuals, stress hyperglycemia commonly occurs as a key metabolic response to critical illness, eg, after surgical trauma. It is recognized as a major pathophysiological feature of organ dysfunction in the critically ill. The condition stems from insulin resistance brought about by dysregulation of key homeostatic processes, which implicates immune/inflammatory, endocrine, and metabolic pathways. It has been associated with adverse clinical outcomes, including increased mortality, increased duration of mechanical ventilation, increased intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay, and increased risk of infection. Hyperglycemia in critical illness is managed with exogenous insulin as standard treatment; however, there is considerable disagreement among experts in the field as to what target blood glucose level is optimal for the critically ill patient. Conventionally, the aim of insulin therapy has been to maintain blood glucose levels below the renal threshold, typically 220 mg/dL (12.2 mmol/L). In recent years, some have advocated tight glycemic control (TGC) with intensive insulin therapy (IIT) to normalize blood glucose levels to within the euglycemic range, typically 80 to 110 mg/dL (4.4–6.1 mmol/L).

Proteomic analyses of a Listeria monocytogenes mutant lacking σB identify new components of the σB regulon and highlight a role for σB in the utilization of glycerol

In Listeria monocytogenes the alternative sigma factor σB plays important roles in both virulence and stress tolerance. In this study a proteomic approach was used to define components of the σB regulon in L. monocytogenes 10403S (serotype 1/2a). Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and the recently developed isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation technique, the protein expression profiles of the wild type and an isogenic ΔsigB deletion strain were compared. Overall, this study identified 38 proteins whose expression was σB dependent; 17 of these proteins were found to require the presence of σB for full expression, while 21 were expressed at a higher level in the ΔsigB mutant background. The data obtained with the two proteomic approaches showed limited overlap (four proteins were identified by both methods), a finding that highlights the complementarity of the two technologies. Overall, the proteomic data reaffirmed a role for σB in the general stress response and highlighted a probable role for σB in metabolism, especially in the utilization of alternative carbon sources. Proteomic and physiological data revealed the involvement of σB in glycerol metabolism. Five newly identified members of the σB regulon were shown to be under direct regulation of σB using reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), while random amplification of cDNA ends-PCR was used to map four σB-dependent promoters upstream from lmo0796, lmo1830, lmo2391, and lmo2695. Using RT-PCR analysis of known and newly identified σB-dependent genes, as well as proteomic analyses, σB was shown to play a major role in the stationary phase of growth in complex media.

Where Does All the Knowledge Go in Small Knowledge-intensive Professional Service Firms?

Small knowledge-intensive professional service firms are becoming increasingly important agents of innovation in construction. There is thus an urgent need to better understand the nature and process of innovation in such firms. First, this paper presents a review of the relevant literature. It is concluded that this literature is often not appropriate for SKIPSFs, as it neglects the critical role of knowledge and knowledge workers in innovation within SKIPSFs. Second, a knowledge-based innovation model is presented as a holistic, system-oriented framework to better investigate how the SKIPSFs create, manage and exploit innovation. This model is to be tested with case study research.

Variation in root-associated phosphatase activities in wheat contributes to the utilization of organic P substrates in vitro, but does not explain differences in the P-nutrition of plants when grown in soils

To understand whether genotypic variation in root-associated phosphatase activities in wheat impacts on its ability to acquire phosphorus (P), various phosphatase activities of roots were measured in relation to the utilization of organic P substrates in agar, and the P-nutrition of plants was investigated in a range of soils. Root-associated phosphatase activities of plants grown in hydroponics were measured against different organic P substrates. Representative genotypes were then grown in both agar culture and in soils with differing organic P contents and plant biomass and P uptake were determined. Differences in the activities of both root-associated and exuded phosphodiesterase and phosphomonoesterase were observed, and were related to the P content of plants supplied with either ribonucleic acid or glucose 6-phosphate, respectively, as the sole form of P. When the cereal lines were grown in different soils, however, there was little relationship between any root-associated phosphatase activity and plant P uptake. This indicates that despite differences in phosphatase activities of cereal roots, such variability appears to play no significant role in the P-nutrition of the plant grown in soil, and that any benefit derived from the hydrolysis of soil organic P is common to all genotypes.

Genetic analysis of potassium use efficiency in Brassica oleracea

Potassium (K) fertilizers are used in intensive and extensive agricultural systems to maximize production. However, there are both financial and environmental costs to K-fertilization. It is therefore important to optimize the efficiency with which K-fertilizers are used. Cultivating crops that acquire and/or utilize K more effectively can reduce the use of K-fertilizers. The aim of the present study was to determine the genetic factors affecting K utilization efficiency (KUtE), defined as the reciprocal of shoot K concentration (1/K(shoot)), and K acquisition efficiency (KUpE), defined as shoot K content, in Brassica oleracea. Genetic variation in K(shoot) was estimated using a structured diversity foundation set (DFS) of 376 accessions and in 74 commercial genotypes grown in glasshouse and field experiments that included phosphorus (P) supply as a treatment factor. Chromosomal quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with K(shoot) and KUpE were identified using a genetic mapping population grown in the glasshouse and field. Putative QTL were tested using recurrent backcross substitution lines in the glasshouse. More than two-fold variation in K(shoot) was observed among DFS accessions grown in the glasshouse, a significant proportion of which could be attributed to genetic factors. Several QTL associated with K(shoot) were identified, which, despite a significant correlation in K(shoot) among genotypes grown in the glasshouse and field, differed between these two environments. A QTL associated with K(shoot) in glasshouse-grown plants (chromosome C7 at 62 center dot 2 cM) was confirmed using substitution lines. This QTL corresponds to a segment of arabidopsis chromosome 4 containing genes encoding the K(+) transporters AtKUP9, AtAKT2, AtKAT2 and AtTPK3. There is sufficient genetic variation in B. oleracea to breed for both KUtE and KUpE. However, as QTL associated with these traits differ between glasshouse and field environments, marker-assisted breeding programmes must consider carefully the conditions under which the crop will be grown.

Location, control and innovation in knowledge-intensive industries

The rising share of intangibles in economies worldwide highlights the crucial role of knowledge-intensive and creative industries in current and future wealth generation. The recognition of this trend has led to intense competition in these industries. At the micro-level, firms from both advanced and emerging economies are globally dispersing their value chains to control costs and leverage capabilities. The geography of innovation is the outcome of a dynamic process whereby firms from emerging economies strive to catch-up with advanced economy competitors, creating strong pressures for continued innovation. However, two distinct strategies can be discerned with regard to the control of the value chain. A vertical integration strategy emphasizes taking advantage of ‘linkage economies’ whereby controlling multiple value chain activities enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of each one of them. In contrast, a specialization strategy focuses on identifying and controlling the creative heart of the value chain, while outsourcing all other activities. The global mobile handset industry is used as the template to illustrate the theory.

Extensive and intensive globalizations: explicating the low connectivity puzzle of U.S. cities using a city-dyad analysis

This article reports an experiment in world city network analysis focusing on city-dyads. Results are derived from an unusual principal components analysis of 27,966 city-dyads across 5 advanced producer service sectors. A 2-component solution is found that identifies different forms of globalization: extensive and intensive. The latter is characterized by very high component scores and describes the more important city-dyads focused upon London-New York (NYLON). The extensive globalization component heavily features London and New York but with each linked to less important cities. U.S. cities score relatively high on the intensive globalization component and we use this finding to explain the low connectivities of U.S. cities in previous studies of the world city network. The two components are tentatively interpreted in world-systems terms: intensive globalization is the process of core-making through city-dyads; extensive globalization is the process of linking core with non-core through city-dyads.

Intensive approaches for childhood fears

This chapter reports on the implementation of a brief psychological intervention for the treatment of fears in childhood.

Knowledge intensive processes characteristics and improvement: a banking best practice example

This paper identifies characteristics of knowledge intensive processes and a method to improve their performance based on analysis of investment banking front office processes. The inability to improve these processes using standard process improvement techniques confirmed that much of the process was not codified and depended on tacit knowledge and skills. This led to the use of a semi-structured analysis of the characteristics of the processes via a questionnaire to identify knowledge intensive processes characteristics that adds to existing theory. Further work identified innovative process analysis and change techniques that could generate improvements based on an analysis of their properties and the issue drivers. An improvement methodology was developed to harness a number of techniques that were found to effective in resolving the issue drivers and improving these knowledge intensive processes.

Temperature and oxygen dependent metabolite utilization by Salmonella enterica Serovars Derby and Mbandaka

Salmonella enterica is a zoonotic pathogen of clinical and veterinary significance, with over 2500 serovars. In previous work we compared two serovars displaying host associations inferred from isolation statistics. Here, to validate genome sequence data and to expand on the role of environmental metabolite constitution in host range determination we use a phenotypic microarray approach to assess the ability of these serovars to metabolise ~500 substrates at 25°C with oxygen (aerobic conditions) to represent the ex vivo environment and at 37°C with and without oxygen (aerobic/anaerobic conditions) to represent the in vivo environment. A total of 26 substrates elicited a significant difference in the rate of metabolism of which only one, D-galactonic acid-g-lactone, could be explained by the presence (S. Mbandaka) or the absence (S. Derby) of metabolic genes. We find that S. Mbandaka respires more efficiently at ambient temperatures and under aerobic conditions on 18 substrates including: glucosominic acid, saccharic acid, trehalose, fumaric acid, maltotriose, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, N-acetyl-beta-D-mannosamine, fucose, L-serine and dihydroxy-acetone; whereas S. Derby is more metabolically competent anaerobically at 37°C for dipeptides, glutamine-glutamine, alanine-lysine, asparagine-glutamine and nitrogen sources glycine and nitrite. We conclude that the specific phenotype cannot be reliably predicted from the presence of metabolic genes directly relating to the metabolic pathways under study.

Intensive agriculture reduces soil biodiversity across Europe

Soil biodiversity plays a key role in regulating the processes that underpin the delivery of ecosystem goods and services in terrestrial ecosystems. Agricultural intensification is known to change the diversity of individual groups of soil biota, but less is known about how intensification affects biodiversity of the soil food web as a whole, and whether or not these effects may be generalized across regions. We examined biodiversity in soil food webs from grasslands, extensive, and intensive rotations in four agricultural regions across Europe: in Sweden, the UK, the Czech Republic and Greece. Effects of land-use intensity were quantified based on structure and diversity among functional groups in the soil food web, as well as on community-weighted mean body mass of soil fauna. We also elucidate land-use intensity effects on diversity of taxonomic units within taxonomic groups of soil fauna. We found that between regions soil food web diversity measures were variable, but that increasing land-use intensity caused highly consistent responses. In particular, land-use intensification reduced the complexity in the soil food webs, as well as the community-weighted mean body mass of soil fauna. In all regions across Europe, species richness of earthworms, Collembolans, and oribatid mites was negatively affected by increased land-use intensity. The taxonomic distinctness, which is a measure of taxonomic relatedness of species in a community that is independent of species richness, was also reduced by land-use intensification. We conclude that intensive agriculture reduces soil biodiversity, making soil food webs less diverse and composed of smaller bodied organisms. Land-use intensification results in fewer functional groups of soil biota with fewer and taxonomically more closely related species. We discuss how these changes in soil biodiversity due to land-use intensification may threaten the functioning of soil in agricultural production systems.