Ghrelin and cancer

Ghrelin is a peptide hormone that was originally isolated from the stomach as the endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR). Ghrelin has many functions, including the regulation of appetite and gut motility, growth hormone release from the anterior pituitary and roles in the cardiovascular and immune systems. Ghrelin and its receptor are expressed in a number of cancers and cancer cell lines and may play a role in processes associated with cancer progression, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell invasion and migration.

An analytical and experimental study of the vibration response of a clamped ribbed plate

An analytical solution is presented in this paper for the vibration response of a ribbed plate clamped on all its boundary edges by employing a travelling wave solution. A clamped ribbed plate test rig is also assembled in this study for the experimental investigation of the ribbed plate response and to provide verification results to the analytical solution. The dynamic characteristics and mode shapes of the ribbed plate are measured and compared to those obtained from the analytical solution and from finite element analysis (FEA). General good agreements are found between the results. Discrepancies between the computational and experimental results at low and high frequencies are also discussed. Explanations are offered in the study to disclose the mechanism causing the discrepancies. The dependency of the dynamic response of the ribbed plate on the distance between the excitation force and the rib is also investigated experimentally. It confirms the findings disclosed in a previous analytical study [T. R. Lin and J. Pan, A closed form solution for the dynamic response of finite ribbed plates. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 119 (2006) 917-925] that the vibration response of a clamped ribbed plate due to a point force excitation is controlled by the plate stiffness when the source is more than a quarter plate bending wavelength away from the rib and from the plate boundary. The response is largely affected by the rib stiffness when the source location is less than a quarter bending wavelength away from the rib.

Underwater emissions from a two-stroke outboard engine : a comparison between an EAL and an equivalent mineral lubricant

The emissions to water from a 1.9 kW two-stroke outboard engine were investigated in the laboratory and in the field, with the primary objective being to characterise and quantify the pollutants that remain within the water column. The emission rates of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were determined for the engine when using a mineral and an equivalent environmentally adapted lubricant (EAL). A comparison of the emission rates was conducted between the results from the fresh and sea water tests. The results showed that there was little difference in the emission rates of these pollutants when either of the lubricants was used in both the fresh and sea water. A further set of tests were done to find out the effect on pH of water due to the underwater emissions and these tests were done using both mineral and environmentally adapted lubricant. The results showed that the type of lubricant does not have any effect on the change in pH of the water.

Methods used in cross-cultural comparisons of sexual symptoms and their determinants

This is the fourth in a series of reviews of cross-cultural studies of menopausal symptoms. The purpose of this review is to examine methods used in cross-cultural comparisons of sexual symptoms among women at midlife, and to examine the determinants of sexual symptoms and how those determinants were measured. The goal of this review is to make recommendations that will improve cross-cultural comparisons in the future. The review included nine studies that explicitly examined symptoms in different countries or different ethnic groups in the same country and included: Australian/Japanese Midlife Women's Health Study (AJMWHS), Decisions At Menopause Study (DAMeS), Four Major Ethnic Groups (FMEG), Hilo Women's Health Survey (HWHS), Mid-Aged Health in Women from the Indian Subcontinent (MAHWIS), Penn Ovarian Aging Study (POAS), Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), Women's Health in Midlife National Study (WHiMNS), and Women's International Study of Health and Sexuality (WISHeS). Although methods used for assessing sexual symptoms across cultures differed between studies, statistically significant differences were reported. Cross-cultural differences in sexual symptoms exist, and should be measured by including the following symptoms: loss of interest in sex, vaginal dryness, and the Females Sexual Function Index which covers desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain on intercourse. The measurement of these symptoms will provide an evidence-based approach when forming any future menopause symptom list and allow for comparisons across studies.

Economic growth and suicide rate changes : a case in China from 1982 to 2005

It is to estimate the trend of suicide rate changes during the past three decades in China and try to identify its social and economic correlates. Official data of suicide rates and economic indexes during 1982–2005 from Shandong Province of China were analyzed. The suicide data were categorized for the rural / urban location and gender, and the economic indexes include GDP, GDP per capita, rural income, and urban income, all adjusted for inflation. We found a significant increase of economic development and decrease of suicide rates over the past decades under study. The suicide rate decrease is correlated with the tremendous growth of economy. The unusual decrease of Chinese suicide rates in the past decades is accounted for within the Chinese cultural contexts and maybe by the Strain Theory of Suicide.

A capabilities-based approach to obtaining a deeper understanding of information technology governance effectiveness : evidence from IT steering committees

Given the substantial investment in information technology (IT), and the significant impact IT has on organizational success, organizations consume considerable resources to manage acquisition and use of their IT resources. While various arguments proposed suggest which IT governance arrangements may work best, our understanding of the effectiveness of such initiatives is limited. We examine the relationship between the effectiveness of IT steering committee driven IT governance initiatives and firm's IT management and IT infrastructure related capabilities. We further propose that firm's ITrelated capabilities generated through IT governance initiatives should improve its business processes and firm-level performance. We test these relationships empirically by a field survey. Results suggest that firms' effectiveness of IT steering committee driven IT governance initiatives positively relates to the level of their IT-related capabilities. We also found positive relationships between IT-related capabilities and internal process-level performance. Our results also support that improvement in internal process-level performance positively relates to improvement in customer service and firm-level performance.

Vibrational spectroscopy of synthetic archerite (K,NH4)H2PO4 : and in comparison with the natural cave mineral

In order to mimic the formation of archerite in cave minerals, the mineral analogue has been synthesised. The cave mineral is formed by the reaction of the chemicals in bat guano with calcite substrates. X-ray diffraction proves that the synthesised archerite analogue was pure. The vibrational spectra of the synthesised mineral are compared with that of the natural cave mineral. Raman and infrared bands are assigned to H2PO4-, OH and NH stretching and bending vibrations. The Raman band at 917 cm-1 is assigned to the HOP stretching vibration of the H2PO4- units. Bands in the 1200 to 1800 cm-1 region are associated with NH4+ bending modes. Vibrational spectroscopy enables the molecular structure of archerite to be analysed.

Energy use, indoor temperature and possible adaptation strategies for air-conditioned office buildings in face of global warming

This paper discusses and summarises a recent systematic study on the implication of global warming on air conditioned office buildings in Australia. Four areas are covered, including analysis of historical weather data, generation of future weather data for the impact study of global warming, projection of building performance under various global warming scenarios, and evaluation of various adaptation strategies under 2070 high global warming conditions. Overall, it is found that depending on the assumed future climate scenarios and the location considered, the increase of total building energy use for the sample Australian office building may range from 0.4 to 15.1%. When the increase of annual average outdoor temperature exceeds 2 °C, the risk of overheating will increase significantly. However, the potential overheating problem could be completely eliminated if internal load density is significantly reduced.