Research Triangle Park

About: Research Triangle Park is a nonprofit organization based out in Durham, North Carolina, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Receptor. The organization has 24961 authors who have published 35800 publications receiving 1684504 citations. The organization is also known as: RTP.

Oxidative Stress and Its Role in Skin Disease

Abstract: Skin is a major target of oxidative stress due to reactive oxygen species (ROS) that originate in the environment and in the skin itself. ROS are generated during normal metabolism, are an integral part of normal cellular function, and are usually of little harm because of intracellular mechanisms that reduce their damaging effects. Antioxidants attenuate the damaging effects of ROS and can impair and/or reverse many of the events that contribute to epidermal toxicity and disease. However, increased or prolonged free radical action can overwhelm ROS defense mechanisms, contributing to the development of cutaneous diseases and disorders. Although ROS play a role in diseases such as skin cancer, their biological targets and pathogenic mode of action are still not fully understood. In addition, strategies useful in the therapeutic management of ROS action in human skin are still lacking. This review is intended to give investigators an introduction to ROS, antioxidants, two skin disorders influenced by ROS action (skin cancer and psoriasis), and relevant model systems used to study ROS action.

Effect of dosing frequency on bisphosphonate medication adherence in a large longitudinal cohort of women.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE To compare medication adherence with daily vs weekly bisphosphonate dosing for the treatment or prevention of osteoporosis in a broad US retail pharmacy database population. PATIENTS AND METHODS From October 2002 through September 2003, the medication possession ratio (MPR = days of supply/ 365 days) was used to assess medication adherence. The MPR was calculated by use of daily and weekly bisphosphonate doses in a longitudinal cohort of patients who received prescriptions from 14,000 US retail pharmacies. Patient prescription information was from a database accessed through NDCHealth in Atlanta, Ga. Adequate adherence was defined as sufficient medication supply to ensure antifracture efficacy (MPR, ≥80%). The effects of patients' age, method of prescription payment, and pattern of past osteoporosis medication use on medication adherence also were evaluated. RESULTS Of 211,319 study patients, 177,552 (84%) were taking weekly bisphosphonates vs 33,767 (16%) taking the daily prescription. Although significantly more patients taking the weekly compared with the daily bisphosphonates had adequate medication adherence, only about one third of patients in the daily dosing group and fewer than one half in the weekly dosing group achieved adequate adherence. Patients new to bisphosphonates had the worst medication adherence over the year (25.2% for weekly vs 13.2% for daily dosing; P CONCLUSIONS Once-weekly dosing of bisphosphonates for the treatment or prevention of osteoporosis was associated with better medication adherence than daily dosing during a 1-year observation period. However, even with weekly dosing, adherence remained inadequate in more than one half of patients. These findings indicate that ways to improve medication adherence in the treatment or prevention of osteoporosis are still needed.

Science and Engineering Beyond Moore's Law

Abstract: In this paper, the historical effects and benefits of Moore's law for semiconductor technologies are reviewed, and it is offered that the rapid learning curve obtained to the benefit of society by feature size scaling might be continued in several different ways. The problem is that as features approach the range of a few nanometers, electron-based devices depart radically from the ideal switch and, in fact, become very leaky in the off state. It is argued that there are some short-term solutions involving more highly parallel manufacturing, increased design efficiency, and lower cost packaging technologies that could continue the steep learning curve for cost reductions that have historically been achieved via Moore's Law scaling. Another alternative might be to increase chip functionality by integrating devices that offer broadened chip functionality including, e.g., sensors, energy sources, oscillators, etc. A third alternative would be to invent an entirely new information processing state variable based on different physics, using electron spin, magnetic dipoles, photons, etc., to improve the performance and reduce switching energy for devices whose smallest features are on the order of a few nanometers. Each of these alternatives is being actively explored and an overview of each strategy and progress to date is given in the paper. A final alternative offered in the paper is to learn from information processing examples in nature, specifically in living systems. An E.coli cell of about one cubic micrometer volume is shown to be an incredibly powerful and energy-efficient information processor relative to the performance of an end-of-scaling silicon processor of the same volume. The paper concludes by pointing out some of the crucial differences between E.coli information processing and conventional approaches with the hope technologies can be invented using the hints offered by biosystems.

A Comprehensive Review of Prehospital and In-hospital Delay Times in Acute Stroke Care

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to systematically review and summarize prehospital and in-hospital stroke evaluation and treatment delay times. We identified 123 unique peer-reviewed studies published from 1981 to 2007 of prehospital and in-hospital delay time for evaluation and treatment of patients with stroke, transient ischemic attack, or stroke-like symptoms. Based on studies of 65 different population groups, the weighted Poisson regression indicated a 6.0% annual decline (P<0.001) in hours/year for prehospital delay, defined from symptom onset to emergency department arrival. For in-hospital delay, the weighted Poisson regression models indicated no meaningful changes in delay time from emergency department arrival to emergency department evaluation (3.1%, P=0.49 based on 12 population groups). There was a 10.2% annual decline in hours/year from emergency department arrival to neurology evaluation or notification (P=0.23 based on 16 population groups) and a 10.7% annual decline in hours/year for delay time from emergency department arrival to initiation of computed tomography (P=0.11 based on 23 population groups). Only one study reported on times from arrival to computed tomography scan interpretation, two studies on arrival to drug administration, and no studies on arrival to transfer to an in-patient setting, precluding generalizations. Prehospital delay continues to contribute the largest proportion of delay time. The next decade provides opportunities to establish more effective community-based interventions worldwide. It will be crucial to have effective stroke surveillance systems in place to better understand and improve both prehospital and in-hospital delays for acute stroke care.