Additive effect of homocysteine- and cholesterol-lowering therapy on endothelium-dependent vasodilation in patients with cardiovascular disease

Endothelial dysfunction is a marker for development and progression of atherosclerosis. Statin therapy improves endothelial function in cardiovascular patients by reducing LDL-cholesterol and by pleiotropic effects. B-group vitamin supplementation restores endothelial function mainly by reducing homocysteine-induced oxidative stress. Thus, we evaluated the effect of rosuvastatin, B-group vitamins and their combination on endothelial function in high-risk cardiovascular patients.

Additive Hazards Models with Latent Treatment Effectiveness Lag Time

In many clinical trials to evaluate treatment efficacy, it is believed that there may exist latent treatment effectiveness lag times after which medical procedure or chemical compound would be in full effect. In this article, semiparametric regression models are proposed and studied to estimate the treatment effect accounting for such latent lag times. The new models take advantage of the invariance property of the additive hazards model in marginalizing over random effects, so parameters in the models are easy to be estimated and interpreted, while the flexibility without specifying baseline hazard function is kept. Monte Carlo simulation studies demonstrate the appropriateness of the proposed semiparametric estimation procedure. Data collected in the actual randomized clinical trial, which evaluates the effectiveness of biodegradable carmustine polymers for treatment of recurrent brain tumors, are analyzed.

Modellgestützte und hierarchische Prozesskettenbetrachtung für die additive Fertigung

Additive Fertigungsverfahren eignen sich für die wirtschaftliche Herstellung von Bauteilen im Bereich kleiner bis mittlerer Stückzahlen, da keine Formen oder Spezialwerkzeuge notwendig sind. Die erzielbaren Eigenschaften sind oftmals bereits ausreichend, um einen Einsatz auch in Serienanwendungen zu ermöglichen. Verbunden mit den Vorteilen der Technologie bezüglich einer hohen Flexibilität, sowohl während der Konstruktion als auch der Fertigung, können sich durch eine konsequente Nutzung finanzielle Einsparmöglichkeiten entlang des gesamten Produktlebenszyklus ergeben. Bezüglich der Wirtschaftlichkeit der Verfahren herrscht oftmals noch Unklarheit, da geeignete Methoden fehlen, um diese zu bewerten. Bestehende Methoden und Werkzeuge zur Bewertung der Wirtschaftlichkeit konventioneller Fertigungsverfahren sind dabei für die additive Fertigung nicht direkt nutzbar. In dem Artikel wird eine Methode zur modellgestützten Abbildung einer gesamten additiven Fertigungskette vorgestellt, welche auch die Wechselwirkungen zwischen den einzelnen Prozesskettengliedern berücksichtigen soll. Eine konkrete Aussage bezüglich der Wirtschaftlichkeit der additiven Fertigung soll somit ermöglicht werden.

Ansätze zum Management der Additive Manufacturing Supply Chain

Da sich Additive Manufacturing (AM) von traditionellen Produktionsverfahren unterscheidet, entstehen neue Möglichkeiten im Produktdesign und im Supply Chain Setup. Die Auswirkungen der Aufhebung traditionellen Restriktionen im Produktdesign werden unter dem Begriff „Design for Additive Manufacturing“ intensiv diskutiert. In gleicher Weise werden durch AM Restriktionen im traditionellen Supply Chain Setup aufgehoben. Insbesondere sind die folgenden Verbesserungen möglich: Reduktion von Losgrössen und Lieferzeiten, bedarfsgerechte Produktion auf Abruf, dezentrale Produktion, Customization auf Ebene Bauteil und kontinuierliche Weiterentwicklung von Bauteilen. Viele Firmen investieren nicht selbst in die AM Technologien, sondern kaufen Bauteile bei Lieferanten. Um das Potential der AM Supply Chain mit Lieferanten umzusetzen, entstehen die folgenden Anforderungen an AM Einkaufsprozesse. Erstens muss der Aufwand pro Bestellung reduziert werden. Zweitens brauchen AM Nutzer einen direkten Zugang zu den Lieferanten ohne Umweg über die Einkaufsabteilung. Drittens müssen geeignete AM Lieferanten einfach identifiziert werden können. Viertens muss der Wechsel von Lieferanten mit möglichst geringem Aufwand möglich sein. Ein mögliche Lösung sind AM spezifische E-Procurement System um diese Anforderungen zu erfüllen

Evaluation of Bambermycins (GAINPRO®) as a Feed Additive in Receiving Rations for Beef Calves

Three-hundred-forty-eight newly weaned beef calves were used in duplicate 28-day experiments to evaluate GAINPRO®, Aureomycin, or no feed additive. Diets fed were formulated to provide 14.5% crude protein (CP) and .48 megacalorie per pound net energy (Mcal/lb. NEg) . Aureomycin reduced (P < .05) average daily gain (ADG) for the first 14 days compared to GAINPRO® or no feed additive. This effect disappeared by 28 days on feed, and ADG favored (P < .05) Aureomycin-supplemented calves compared to those given no feed additives. Calves receiving GAINPRO® fell between the two treatments for 28-day ADG.

Effect of a chitosan additive to a Sn(2+)-containing toothpaste on its anti-erosive/anti-abrasive efficacy-a controlled randomised in situ trial

OBJECTIVES It is well known that Sn(2+) is a notable anti-erosive agent. There are indications that biopolymers such as chitosan can enhance the effect of Sn(2+), at least in vitro. However, little information exists about their anti-erosive/anti-abrasive in situ effects. In the present in situ study, the efficacy of Sn(2+)-containing toothpastes in the presence or absence of chitosan was tested. METHODS Ten subjects participated in the randomised crossover study, wearing mandibular appliances with human enamel specimens. Specimens were extraorally demineralised (7 days, 0.5 % citric acid, pH 2.6; 6 × 2 min/day) and intraorally exposed to toothpaste suspensions (2 × 2 min/day). Within the suspension immersion time, one half of the specimens were additionally brushed intraorally with a powered toothbrush (5 s, 2.5 N). Tested preparations were a placebo toothpaste (negative control), two experimental toothpastes (F/Sn = 1,400 ppm F(-), 3,500 ppm Sn(2+); F/Sn/chitosan = 1,400 ppm F(-), 3,500 ppm Sn(2+), 0.5 % chitosan) and an SnF2-containing gel (positive control, GelKam = 3,000 ppm Sn(2+), 1,000 ppm F(-)). Substance loss was quantified profilometrically (μm). RESULTS In the placebo group, tissue loss was 11.2 ± 4.6 (immersion in suspension) and 17.7 ± 4.7 (immersion in suspension + brushing). Immersion in each Sn(2+)-containing suspension significantly reduced tissue loss (p ≤ 0.01); after immersion in suspension + brushing, only the treatments with GelKam (5.4 ± 5.5) and with F/Sn/chitosan (9.6 ± 5.6) significantly reduced loss [both p ≤ 0.05 compared to placebo; F/Sn 12.8 ± 6.4 (not significant)] CONCLUSION Chitosan enhanced the efficacy of the Sn(2+)-containing toothpaste as an anti-erosive/anti-abrasive agent. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The use of Sn(2+)- and chitosan-containing toothpaste is a good option for symptomatic therapy in patients with regular acid impacts.

The additive and interactive roles of aggression, prosocial behavior, and social preference in predicting resource control in young children

Distinguishing between physical and social aggression, this study examined whether the predictive effect of aggression on resource control a) is moderated by prosocial behavior and b) corresponds to a linear or a curvilinear trend. Moderating effects of children’s social preference among peers and child sex in this context were also tested. Based on a sample of 682 kindergarten children (348 girls; average age 72.7 months, 3.6 SD), multilevel regressions revealed additive linear effects of social preference and prosociality on resource control. Moderate (but not high) levels of social aggression also facilitated resource control for disliked children. There was no such threshold effect for well liked children, who increasingly controlled the resource the more socially aggressive they were. In contrast, physical aggression hampered resource control unless used very modestly. The present study has a number of positive features. First, the distinction between physical and social aggression improves our understanding of the relation between aggression and social competence and sketches a more differentiated picture of the role of different forms of aggression in resource control. Second, this study combines the concept of resource control with the concept of social preference and investigates curvilinear effects of aggression. Third, the direct observation of resource control in the Movie Viewer increases the internal validity of this study.