Red clover (Trifolium pratense) isoflavones and serum homocysteine in premenopausal women : a pilot study

Background: There is limited information on the effect of isoflavones on homocysteine concentrations, a risk factor for a number of chronic diseases. Methods: Twenty-three premenopausal women participated in a double-blind, randomized, parallel study for four menstrual cycles. Subjects consumed either placebo or purified red clover (Trifolium pratense) isoflavone (86mg/day) tablets. Blood samples were collected weekly during cycles 1, 3, and 4 for determination of serum folate and total homocysteine concentrations. Dietary intake was monitored monthly. Results: Concentrations of folate and homocysteine in serum did not change significantly in either group, and there were no significant differences observed between the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. The participants' dietary records indicated that nutrient intake was constant, and compliance was confirmed by analysis of urinary isoflavone concentrations and tablet counts in returned containers. Conclusions: These results suggest that in the absence of any dietary modification, supplementation with purified isoflavones that are predominantly methoxylated has no effect on serum homocysteine or folate in premenopausal women.

Patterns, correlates, and prognostic significance of quality of life following breast cancer

Objective To describe quality of life (QOL) over a 12-month period among women with breast cancer, consider the association between QOL and overall survival (OS), and explore characteristics associated with QOL declines. Methods A population-based sample of Australian women (n=287) with invasive, unilateral breast cancer (Stage I+), was observed prospectively for a median of 6.6 years. QOL was assessed at six, 12 and 18 months post-diagnosis, using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy, Breast (FACT-B+4) questionnaire. Raw scores for the FACT-B+4 and subscales were computed and individuals were categorized according to whether QOL declined, remained stable or improved between six and 18 months. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards survival methods were used to estimate OS and its associations with QOL. Logistic regression models identified factors associated with QOL decline. Results Within FACT-B+4 sub-scales, between 10% and 23% of women showed declines in QOL. Following adjustment for established prognostic factors, emotional wellbeing and FACT-B+4 scores at six months post-diagnosis were associated with OS (p<0.05). Declines in physical (p<0.01) or functional (p=0.02) well-being between six and 18 months post-diagnosis were also associated significantly with OS. Receiving multiple forms of adjuvant treatment, a perception of not handling stress well and reporting one or more other major life events at six months post-diagnosis were factors associated with declines in QOL in multivariable analyses. Conclusions Interventions targeted at preventing QOL declines may ultimately improve quantity as well as quality of life following breast cancer.

Intermittent access to 20% ethanol induces high ethanol consumption in Long-Evans and Wistar rats

BACKGROUND: There has been some difficulty getting standard laboratory rats to voluntarily consume large amounts of ethanol without the use of initiation procedures. It has previously been shown that standard laboratory rats will voluntarily consume high levels of ethanol if given intermittent-access to 20% ethanol in a 2-bottle-choice setting [Wise, Psychopharmacologia 29 (1973), 203]. In this study, we have further characterized this drinking model. METHODS: Ethanol-naïve Long-Evans rats were given intermittent-access to 20% ethanol (three 24-hour sessions per week). No sucrose fading was needed and water was always available ad libitum. Ethanol consumption, preference, and long-term drinking behaviors were investigated. Furthermore, to pharmacologically validate the intermittent-access 20% ethanol drinking paradigm, the efficacy of acamprosate and naltrexone in decreasing ethanol consumption were compared with those of groups given continuous-access to 10 or 20% ethanol, respectively. Additionally, ethanol consumption was investigated in Wistar and out-bred alcohol preferring (P) rats following intermittent-access to 20% ethanol. RESULTS: The intermittent-access 20% ethanol 2-bottle-choice drinking paradigm led standard laboratory rats to escalate their ethanol intake over the first 5 to 6 drinking sessions, reaching stable baseline consumption of high amounts of ethanol (Long-Evans: 5.1 +/- 0.6; Wistar: 5.8 +/- 0.8 g/kg/24 h, respectively). Furthermore, the cycles of excessive drinking and abstinence led to an increase in ethanol preference and increased efficacy of both acamprosate and naltrexone in Long-Evans rats. P-rats initiate drinking at a higher level than both Long-Evans and Wistar rats using the intermittent-access 20% ethanol paradigm and showed a trend toward a further escalation in ethanol intake over time (mean ethanol intake: 6.3 +/- 0.8 g/kg/24 h). CONCLUSION: Standard laboratory rats will voluntarily consume ethanol using the intermittent-access 20% ethanol drinking paradigm without the use of any initiation procedures. This model promises to be a valuable tool in the alcohol research field.

Closing the loop of design and analysis : Parametric modelling tools for early decision support

There is a growing need for parametric design software that communicates building performance feedback in early architectural exploration to support decision-making. This paper examines how the circuit of design and analysis process can be closed to provide active and concurrent feedback between architecture and services engineering domains. It presents the structure for an openly customisable design system that couples parametric modelling and energy analysis software to allow designers to assess the performance of early design iterations quickly. Finally, it discusses how user interactions with the system foster information exchanges that facilitate the sharing of design intelligence across disciplines.

Machinima

The research field was curatorship of the Machinima genre - a film-making practice that uses real time 3D computer graphics engines to create cinematic productions. The context was the presentation of gallery non-specific work for large-scale exhibition, as an investigation in thinking beyond traditional strategies of white cube. Strongly influenced by the Christiane Paul (Ed) seminal text, 'New Media in the White Cube and Beyond, Curatorial Models for Digital Art', the context was the repositioning of a genre traditionally focussed on delivery through small-screen, indoor, personal spaces, to large exhibition hall spaces. Beyond the core questions of collecting, documenting, expanding and rethinking the place of Machinima within the history of contemporary digital arts, the curatorial premise asked how to best invert the relationship between context of media production within the gaming domain, using novel presentational strategies that might best promote the 'take-home' impulse. The exhibition was used not as the ultimate destination for work but rather as a place to experience, sort and choose from a high volume of possible works for subsequent investigation by audiences within their own game-ready, domestic environments. In pursuit of this core aim, the exhibition intentionally promoted 'sensory overload'. The exhibition also included a gaming lab experience where audiences could begin to learn the DIY concepts of the medium, and be stimulated to revisit, consider and re-make their own relationship to this genre. The research was predominantly practice-led and collaborative (in close concert with the Machinima community), and ethnographic in that it sought to work with, understand and promote the medium in a contemporary art context. This benchmark exhibition, building on the 15-year history of the medium, was warmly received by the global Machinima community as evidenced by the significant debate, feedback and general interest recorded. The exhibition has recently begun an ongoing Australian touring schedule. To date, the exhibition has received critical attention nationally and internationally in Das Superpaper, the Courier Mail, Machinimart, 4ZZZ-FM, the Sydney Morning Herald, Games and Business, Australian Gamer, Kotaku Australia, and the Age.

Predictors of young people’s charitable intentions to donate money : an extended theory of planned behavior perspective

An extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used to predict young people’s intentions to donate money to charities in the future. Students (N = 210; 18-24 years) completed a questionnaire assessing their attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control [PBC], moral obligation, past behavior and intentions toward donating money. Regression analyses revealed the extended TPB explained 61% of the variance in intentions to donate money. Attitude, PBC, moral norm, and past behavior predicted intentions, representing future targets for charitable giving interventions.

Reply to William B. Grant

THE UVI working group acknowledges the contribution of Vitamin D to bone health as stated in our paper. However, we concluded that an optimal level of Vitamin D for humans has not yet been established with any certainty...

Let's talk about failures : why was the game for children not a success?

A significant proportion of research in the field of human-computer interaction has been devoted to game design. Yet, a multitude of good ideas and enthusiastic game design initiatives exist, where the games never see the light of day. Unfortunately, the causes of these failures remain often unexplored and unpublished. The challenges faced by researchers and practitioners are particularly complex when designing games for special target groups, such as children, or for a serious purpose. The HCI community would benefit from a discussion on these issues in order to avoid researchers and practitioners to repeat mistakes. We want to learn from projects that started with a promising idea, but failed or faced severe challenges. This workshop will be the first at CHI focusing on 'failed game projects'. In particular, workshop participants are encouraged to discuss issues that typically received little attention in publications and hereby contribute to the discussion on failures in the design, development and evaluation of games for and or with children. As a result, the community will benefit from these insights and lessons-learned, which will enhance the design of future (serious) games with/for children.

Towards proximity-based passenger sensing on public transport buses

While substantial research on intelligent transportation systems has focused on the development of novel wireless communication technologies and protocols, relatively little work has sought to fully exploit proximity-based wireless technologies that passengers actually carry with them today. This paper presents the real-world deployment of a system that exploits public transit bus passengers’ Bluetooth-capable devices to capture and reconstruct micro- and macro-passenger behavior. We present supporting evidence that approximately 12% of passengers already carry Bluetooth-enabled devices and that the data collected on these passengers captures with almost 80 % accuracy the daily fluctuation of actual passengers flows. The paper makes three contributions in terms of understanding passenger behavior: We verify that the length of passenger trips is exponentially bounded, the frequency of passenger trips follows a power law distribution, and the microstructure of the network of passenger movements is polycentric.

Rules of thumb for comparing multinomial logit and multinomial probit coefficients

A rule of thumb is suggested for comparing multinomial logit coefficients with multinomial probit coefficients in the special case where the normal errors are distributed N(0,1). The rule is a generalization of the '1.6' rule for comparing logit and probit coefficients. © 1989.

Cultural economy planning in creative cities : discourse and practice

While a growing body of research analyses the functional mechanisms of the cultural or creative economy, there has been little attention devoted to understanding how local governments translate this work into policy. Moreover, research in this vein focuses predominately on Richard Florida's creative class thesis rather than considering the wider body of work that may influence policy. This article seeks to develop a deeper understanding of how municipalities conceptualize and plan for the cultural economy through the lens of two cities held up as model ‘creative cities’ — Austin, Texas and Toronto, Ontario. The work pays particular attention to how the cities adopt and adapt leading theories, strategies and discourses of the cultural economy. While policy documents indicate that the cities embrace the creative city model, in practice agencies tend to adapt conventional economic development strategies for cultural economy activity and appropriate the language of the creative city for multiple purposes.