University of Aberdeen

About: University of Aberdeen is a education organization based out in Aberdeen, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 21174 authors who have published 49962 publications receiving 2105479 citations. The organization is also known as: Aberdeen University.

The Political Economy of Regionalism

Abstract: The strength of the book lies not only in the breadth of material, but in the juxtaposition of different viewpoints and examples, al making connections between cultural, political, institutional and territorial contexts Town Planning Review Regional and Federal Studies 1997 "This book is necessary reading for students of globalization searching for ways to unpack this abstract concept" European Planning Studies - reviewed by Deron Ferguson - Uni of Washington "This collection represents a substantial resource for anyone interested in "the regional question" "anyone interested in regionalism will likely find several chapters of interest, or more, in this volume" Space and Polity, Vol 2, No 2 1998 - Reviewed by Donald McNeill - "there is undoubtedly a lot here of meritthe book should serve as a useful reference work for those seeking background on regional developments in various parts of the world" Urban Studies, Vol 35, No 2, 1998 "Certainly the volume provides ample evidence of the diversity of the regional question and of the responses to it, and there is much here to enlighten our understanding" Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Vol 91, No 1, 2000 "I would strongly recommend this volume for advanced classes and seminars on place, territory and identity regionalism in a post cold war world contemporary political Europe and regionalism and international relations I would encourage the editors to continue their research on this important topic and I hope the publisher will continue its commitment to publishing cutting-edge geopolitical and political economy research" Royal Dutch Geographical Society "I would strongly recommend this volume for advanced classes and seminars on place, territory and identity: regionalism in a post cold war world: contemporary political Europe: and regionalism and international relations" "Cutting Edge

Horizontal Gene Exchange in Environmental Microbiota

Abstract: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) plays an important role in the evolution of life on the Earth. This view is supported by numerous occasions of HGT that are recorded in the genomes of all three domains of living organisms. HGT-mediated rapid evolution is especially noticeable among the Bacteria, which demonstrate formidable adaptability in the face of recent environmental changes imposed by human activities, such as the use of antibiotics, industrial contamination, and intensive agriculture. At the heart of the HGT-driven bacterial evolution and adaptation are highly sophisticated natural genetic engineering tools in the form of a variety of mobile genetic elements (MGEs). The main aim of this review is to give a brief account of the occurrence and diversity of MGEs in natural ecosystems and of the environmental factors that may affect MGE-mediated HGT.

The binding spectrum of narcotic analgesic drugs with different agonist and antagonist properties

Abstract: Four groups of narcotic analgesic drugs have been assessed for their opiate activities by using three binding assays and three pharmacological bioassays. In the binding assays, their inhibition constants (K I, nM) were determined against the binding of the μ-ligand, [3H]-[d-Ala 2 ,MePhe 4 , Gly-ol5]enkephalin, of the δ-ligand, [3H]-[d-Ala 2 ,d-Leu 5]enkephalin and of the ϰ-ligand, [3H]-(±)-ethylketazocine after suppression of μ- and δ-binding by 100 nM of the unlabelled μ-ligand and 100 nM of the unlabelled δ-ligand. The pharmacological agonist or antagonist activities were assayed on the guinea-pig ileum, mouse vas deferens and rat vas deferens. The first group of compounds were pure agonists in all three pharmacological bioassays. The majority of the compounds showed preference to μ-binding but phenazocine and particularly etorphine had also high affinities to the δ- and ϰ-binding sites. The second group consisted of N-allyl and N-cyclopropylmethyl homologues of the morphine, 3-hydroxymorphinan and normetazocine series which had agonist and antagonist activities in the guinea-pig ileum and mouse vas deferens but were pure antagonists in the rat vas deferens. In the binding assays, μ-binding and ϰ-binding were prominent. The third group was made up by the ketazocine-like compounds which in the guinea-pig ileum and mouse vas deferens were pure agonists and in the rat vas deferens pure antagonists. The binding spectrum showed particularly high binding to the ϰ-binding site. The fourth group was the antagonists which were devoid of agonist activity with the exception of diprenorphine and Mr 2266 which had retained some agonism. The binding spectrum showed considerable variation, naloxone in low concentration being a selective μ-antagonist, Mr 2266 having high affinities to the μ- and ϰ-binding sites and diprenorphine having considerable affinities to the μ-, δ- and ϰ-binding sites. Since each of the four groups of compounds, whether pure agonists, agonist-antagonists, ketazocine-like drugs or pure antagonists, shows independent varittions in the affinities to the μ- and ϰ-binding sites, their different pharmacological behaviour cannot be solely due to difference in the binding spectra.

Enteral nutritional supplementation with key nutrients in patients with critical illness and cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To conduct a meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials comparing enteral nutritional support supplemented with key nutrients versus standard enteral nutritional support to determine effects on morbidity and mortality rates and hospital stay. BACKGROUND DATA: Recent studies have shown that malnutrition occurs in up to 30% of patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery, resulting in an increased risk of postoperative complications and death. With the realization that key nutrients can modulate inflammatory, metabolic, and immune processes, enteral nutritional regimens (supplemented with large amounts of key nutrients) have been developed for clinical use. METHODS: Eleven prospective, randomized controlled trials evaluating 1009 patients treated with combinations of key nutrients (Impact, Immun-Aid) were evaluated. Outcome measures examined were the incidences of pneumonia, infectious complications, and death, and length of hospital stay. Meta-analyses were undertaken to obtain the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for incidences of infectious complications, pneumonia, and death, and the weighted mean difference and 95% confidence interval for length of hospital stay. RESULTS: The provision of nutritional support supplemented with key nutrients to patients with critical illness resulted in a decrease in infectious complications when compared with patients receiving standard nutritional support and a significant reduction in overall hospital stay. Similar results were documented in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. However, there were no differences between patient groups for either pneumonia or death. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis has demonstrated that nutritional support supplemented with key nutrients results in a significant reduction in the risk of developing infectious complications and reduces the overall hospital stay in patients with critical illness and in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. However, there is no effect on death. These data have important implications for the management of such patients.