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A follow-up study was performed in 12 healthy women to evaluate systemic exposure to aluminium following topical application of a representative antiperspirant formulation under real-life use conditions (part A) and to assess the local fate of topically applied aluminium by taking additional tape strips and skin biopsies (Part B). A simple roll-on formulation, containing the maximal possible radioactive dose, was prepared with [26Al] aluminium-labeled chlorohydrate (ACH). The microtracer of [26Al] was used to distinguish aluminium from the natural background, using accelerator mass spectrometry. [26Al] aluminiumcitrate was administered intravenously to estimate the dermal fraction absorbed. Despite the 25-fold increase of the topical dose compared with the previous study, only 12 blood samples gave results above the lower limit of quantitation (0.118 fg/mL). The most reliable estimates of the dermal fraction absorbed are derived from noncompartmental analysis with the urine data. By using the intravenous dose to normalize the urinary excretion to 100% bioavailability, the best estimate of the fraction absorbed of [26Al] from a topical application of [26Al]-aluminium-labeled chlorohydrate in an antiperspirant formulation was 0.00052%. Part B of the study demonstrated that the majority of the aluminium in the formulation remained associated with the external layers of the skin without penetration through the skin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

California's farmworkers are among the lowest-paid wage earners in the state. They often live in crowded or substandard housing. The Polanco Bill—state legislation enacted in the early 1990s—aimed to increase the supply of housing for farmworkers by encouraging the development of employee housing on land zoned for agriculture. This article discusses the implementation and effects of the Polanco Bill in the agricultural area of the eastern Coachella Valley. It finds, somewhat unexpectedly, that groups of farmworkers, often family members, have used the bill to collaborate and develop small, resident-owned, informal mobile home communities, called polancos, and focuses on one such case. Although the article's key contribution is to identify the informal approach and its key attributes, it also discusses whether a new housing model based on the collectively owned polancos is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joint liability microcredit lending employs members' trust and social networks to screen and monitor members. Lenders may use this information along with a formal application to determine the size and terms of the loan they disburse. Yet it is unclear what factors influence loan size. This paper examines two questions related to credit consumption: the size of loans disbursed and whether the borrower was credit rationed, using a sample of clients from Nicaragua. Findings suggest that borrower assets, gender and length of time with the lending institution influence the size of loans received. Recent evidence has also suggested that credit rationing may be related to loan officer discrimination, although evidence for this and other factors here is not clear. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars typically study affluent neighbourhoods resisting annexation by poorer adjacent cities. This paper focuses on the mirror image of this problem: municipal underbounding—the unwillingness of cities to annex poor neighbouring areas. In the paper, such local governments are called reluctant cities and it is suggested that urban studies scholars need to reach a better understanding of the practice. Here, a seemingly counter-intuitive case from California is documented where adjacent cities were convinced to annex poor neighbourhoods, designated as colonias. It is suggested that there may be opportunities for local co-operation leading to annexation. The important role of federal infrastructure funding is noted and the need for deeper involvement of residents of annexed neighbourhoods in decision-making is emphasised. Although race was not an issue in this case study, it is likely to be an important concern in annexations and the literature’s call for regional approaches and institutional reforms is supported. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Proteolytic Clostridium botulinum is the causative agent of botulism, a severe neuroparalytic illness. Given the severity of botulism, surprisingly little is known of the population structure, biology, phylogeny or evolution of C. botulinum. The recent determination of the genome sequence of C. botulinum has allowed comparative genomic indexing using a DNA microarray. Results: Whole genome microarray analysis revealed that 63% of the coding sequences (CDSs) present in reference strain ATCC 3502 were common to all 61 widely-representative strains of proteolytic C. botulinum and the closely related C. sporogenes tested. This indicates a relatively stable genome. There was, however, evidence for recombination and genetic exchange, in particular within the neurotoxin gene and cluster (including transfer of neurotoxin genes to C. sporogenes), and the flagellar glycosylation island (FGI). These two loci appear to have evolved independently from each other, and from the remainder of the genetic complement. A number of strains were atypical; for example, while 10 out of 14 strains that formed type A1 toxin gave almost identical profiles in whole genome, neurotoxin cluster and FGI analyses, the other four strains showed divergent properties. Furthermore, a new neurotoxin sub-type (A5) has been discovered in strains from heroin-associated wound botulism cases. For the first time, differences in glycosylation profiles of the flagella could be linked to differences in the gene content of the FGI. Conclusion: Proteolytic C. botulinum has a stable genome backbone containing specific regions of genetic heterogeneity. These include the neurotoxin gene cluster and the FGI, each having evolved independently of each other and the remainder of the genetic complement. Analysis of these genetic components provides a high degree of discrimination of strains of proteolytic C. botulinum, and is suitable for clinical and forensic investigations of botulism outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the growing critique of decentralized and participatory approaches to development, the article develops a theoretical framework for analyzing the relationship between community-based planning and poverty. Building on contributions from research on collective action, social capital, and social movements, the framework identifies a series of variables that are theorized to affect a community's capacity to alleviate poverty. Using this framework, three community-level case studies in Oaxaca, Mexico are analyzed. All three communities are characterized by a decline in subsistence agriculture, increasing outmigration, and the use of remittances to finance community-based planning projects. The article documents each community's capacity to alleviate the material manifestations of poverty. It concludes that only the community with the strongest capacity for community-level collective action was capable of planning independent of the state, and thus in a position to take incipient steps toward addressing poverty's structural causes. The findings call into question the often assumed desirability of collaborative planning and support the need for a more nuanced understanding of the strengths and limitations of distinct forms of community-based planning interpreted within broader socio-political contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To assess the relationship between postoperative tibial plateau angle (TPA) and ground reaction forces (GRFs) in Labrador Retrievers at least 4-months after tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) surgery. Study Design A retrospective longitudinal study. Animals Thirty-two Labrador Retrievers with unilateral cranial cruciate ligament disease that had TPLO and concurrent meniscal surgery. Methods TPA and GRFs were measured pre- and ≥4 months postoperatively. Preoperative GRFs, preoperative TPA, duration of injury, postoperative TPA and degree of rotation were each compared with postoperative GRFs using correlation analysis. Dogs were also grouped by postoperative TPA and compared using 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Postoperative function was compared with meniscal release/meniscectomy, patient age, sex, body weight and follow-up time using ANOVA. Results No significant relationship was found between preoperative GRFs, preoperative TPA, duration of injury, postoperative TPA, degree of rotation, or meniscal release/meniscectomy and postoperative function. Mean preoperative GRFs for all dogs were 28.8±9.5 for peak vertical force (PVF) and 9.3±3.1 for peak vertical impulse (VI). Mean postoperative GRFs for all dogs were 40.4±5.0 for PVF and 14.1±1.9 for VI. Conclusions No statistically significant relationship was found between postoperative TPA and GRFs after TPLO ≥4 months after surgery, where the postoperative angle was between 0 and 14°. No significant relationship was found between the preoperative TPA and postoperative function. Clinical Relevance Limb function in Labrador Retrievers was not affected by postoperative TPA and re-operation for cases with a postoperative TPA between 0 and 14° is not recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuing proliferation requires regulation of cyclin D1 levels in each cell cycle phase. Growth factors stimulate high levels during G2?phase, which commits the cell to continue through G1?phase with sufficient cyclin D1 to initiate DNA synthesis. Upon entry into S?phase, however, cyclin D1 levels rapidly decline. Our goal is to understand the mechanism and importance of this S-phase suppression. Here, we demonstrate that cyclin D1 levels decline during S?phase due to reduced protein stability, without alterations in the rate of protein synthesis. This decline depends upon Thr 286, since mutation of this site eliminates the normal pattern of cyclin D1 suppression during S?phase. As evidence that phosphorylation of Thr 286 is responsible for this decline, Thr 286 is shown to be more efficiently phosphorylated during S?phase than in other cell cycle periods. Finally, high cyclin D1 levels during S?phase are shown to inhibit DNA synthesis. This inhibitory activity presumably blocks the growth of cells with altered cyclin D1 expression characteristics. Abnormal stimulation of cyclin D1 might result in levels high enough to promote G1/S?phase transition even in the absence of appropriate growth stimuli. In such cells, however, the levels of cyclin D1 would presumably be too high to be suppressed during S?phase, resulting in the inhibition of DNA synthesis.Oncogene (2005) 24, 2599-2612. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1208326 Published online 21 February 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To compare the biomechanical properties of radial graft (RG) versus ulnar transposition graft (UTG) limb-sparing techniques in the dog. Study design Cadaveric study. Animals Six pairs of normal canine thoracic limbs. Methods In each pair of limbs, 1 limb was subjected to the RG technique and the other to the UTG technique. Limbs were tested in axial loading until failure. Modes of failure and biomechanical properties were compared between the 2 groups. Percent coverage of the metacarpal bone by the plate was retrospectively compared between the limbs that failed by fracture of the metacarpal bones and those that did not. Results RG limbs had significantly greater stiffness, yield load, maximum load, maximum energy, and post-yield energy. All UTG limbs failed by cranial bending of the plate. Half of the RG limbs failed by caudal bending of the plate and half by fracture of the third metacarpal bone at the distal end of the plate. Limbs with <80% plate coverage of the metacarpal bone were significantly more likely to fail by metacarpal fracture. Conclusions The RG technique was biomechanically superior to the UTG technique under the conditions studied. At least 80% plate coverage of the metacarpal bone should be achieved. Clinical Relevance Exercise restriction and coaptation bandages should be considered for patients undergoing the UTG technique to minimize potential biomechanical complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses an attempt to develop a representative christology markedly different from the constitutive christologies at the heart of both traditional and modern theology. Exclusivist tradition; Tradition of pluralistic inclusivism; Traditional christology and its problems.

This is an effort to show that fundamental Christian principles repudiate racism and Antisemitism. Acknowledging that both attitudes have been part of Christian history and that the root of the Christian anti-Jewish sentiment is in the Gospels, this essay argues that these outlooks are contrary to the Christian vision that Jesus "re-presents," but does not exclusively constitute, the one God who is the ground and end of all beings. To have faith in this God, as thus represented by Jesus, as the one in whom we all live and move and have our being is to be liberated from the idolatries of exclusivism and ethnocentrism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]