The inhibition and mechanism-based inactivation potencies of phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) for human cytochrome P450 (CYP) activities were investigated using microsomes from baculovirus-infected insect cells expressing specific human CYP isoforms. PEITC competitively inhibited phenacetin O-deethylase activity catalyzed by CYP1A2 (K(i) = 4.5 +/- 1.0 microM) and coumarin 7-hydroxylase activity...

Policy change has eroded the entitlement of UK residents to free state-provided health care, with a resulting rise in the use of the private sector. This paper examines the choice between public and private health care. It models the use of private health care as a function of its costs and benefits relative to state care and no care. The results indicate a difference between users of private c...

Public confidence in clinical trials has been eroded by data suppression, misrepresentation and manipulation. Although various attempts have been made to achieve universal trial registration- e.g., Declaration of Helsinki, WHO clinical Trial Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors requirement- they have not succeeded, probably because they lack the ...

There is significant archaeological evidence marking the collapse of the Shijiahe culture in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China during the late Neolithic Period. However, the causes for this cultural collapse remain unclear. Our sedimentary records from a 3.3 m long profile and 76 phytolith and charcoal samples from the Tanjialing archaeological sites provide records of interactio...

In the Axelrod's model of cultural dissemination, we consider the mobility of cultural agents through the introduction of a density of empty sites and the possibility that agents in a dissimilar neighborhood can move to them if their mean cultural similarity with the neighborhood is below some threshold. While for low values of the density of empty sites, the mobility enhances the convergence t...

New detrital-zircon geochronologic data reveal that a through-going paleoriver connected Texas with Nevada in Late Triassic time. Sandstone from the Upper Triassic Santa Rosa Sandstone (Dockum Group) from northwestern Texas contains a detrital zircon suite nearly identical to that found in western Nevada in the Upper Triassic Osobb Formation (Auld Lang Syne Group, correlative with the Chinle Fo...

The concept of landscape in contemporary cities is in a dynamic state of flux (Daidalos, 1999; Waldheim, 2006), yet urban design and planning tends to see landscapes as merely open space for recreation and areas set aside as nature reserves or urban public space (Vienna STEP05, 2005; Sydney Metropolitan Strategy, 2004). Such a reading is superficial and ignores the rich and complex contribution...

The relationship between vegetation and soil moisture deserves attention due to its scientific importance and practical applications. However, the effects of soil moisture on vegetation development and succession are poorly documented. Here we study soil water storage in Yanhe watershed at northern Shaanxi on five different land uses, namely shrubland, farmland, natural grassland, woodland, and...