Welcome to Alternative articles category.

You can find informaion on Alternative articles and news.

A bout the size of a WW II-era Jeep and three times the torque of a Dodge Viper, the Quantum Alternative Mobility Vehicle (AMV) has the appearance of a large, futuristic all-terrain vehicle. Known also as the Aggressor, the Quantum AMV could portend the future for lightweight, battlefield-ready mobility vehicles for silent operation missions with the ability to export power to run electronics on the battlefield and only emit water from the tailpipe.

Lightweight vehicles like militarized electric bikes, ATVs, motorcycles and small utility vehicles are already on duty with military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The AMV was developed by Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc. for the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center’s National Automotive Center (TARDEC–NAC).

The recently shown demonstration model AMV is a high performance, fuel cell-powered, off-road vehicle designed to provide troops with high mobility when performing stealth missions. Rather than being designed for a narrow set of applications, this demonstrator is aimed at showing the flexibility to perform a variety of tasks, including commercial applications.

For example, the Aggressor features a 10 kW proprietary PEM-style fuel cell stack. The demonstrator AMV was configured so that fuel cells front a wide variety manufacturers could be integrated seamlessly into the vehicle. The fuel cell is combined with an Energy Storage Module (ESM) that allows either a hybrid series or parallel mode of operation.

Quantum’s proprietary ESM uses both capacitance and battery technology to provide both high peak short duration and long duration energy storage. Power is delivered to a proprietary, high-torque electric motor driving the rear wheels. The flexible design could also be a 4×4 using, for example, hub motors in each wheel.

The compressed hydrogen fuel is stored in Quantum’s TriShield Type IV impact-resistant, 100% composite and carbon fiber storage tanks coupled with the company’s in-tank regulators and sensors and shut-off valve to create the Fuel Storage Module (FSM). The FSM holds approximately 4.4 lb. of hydrogen at 5000 psig. The TriShield is designed so the external carbon fiber wrappings form a tough and very durable shell that should provide protection against bullets and shrapnel.

One of the standard tests performed on this type of fuel tanks is the bullet test to determine how the tank will perform should it be punctured. The goal is a tank that does not explode or shred, but releases its contents slowly. The TriShield tank passed all testing protocols, including the ability to withstand a 30 cal. round.

The TriShield design performed so effectively that the round fired did not damage the tank at all, and a 50 cal. round was required to penetrate the tank.

According to Quantum, properly stored and handled hydrogen is no more dangerous than munitions or other high-energy ordnance currently found on the battlefield.

When power is drawn from the ESM and fuel cell, a maximum peak power of 80.5 hp and a peak torque of 1681 lb.ft. are available. The latter allows the Aggressor to accelerate about twice as fast as comparable all-terrain vehicles with unmodified gasoline or diesel engines–from zero to 40 mph in under four seconds, Quantum said. Acceleration is limited by traction rather than power available, as the electronic control system imposes torque and speed limits on the drivetrain to enhance traction and safety. Ungoverned, Quantum said the Aggressor can reach speeds in excess of 80 mph.

The Aggressor has an 85 in. wheelbase and the overall length of the demonstration vehicle is 140 in. Other variants and body styles could be as long as 200 in. The AMV is 66 in. wide and 60 in. high. The 10.1 in. ground clearance and 6 in. of suspension travel assure great agility for serious off-road operations, the company said.

Of course, a big issue is the logistics of transporting hydrogen to the battlefield and then handling it there safely. According to Quantum, there are a number of ways hydrogen could be delivered to the battlefield. The first method is to generate the hydrogen in-situ using renewable sources such as solar cells to electrolyzed water to produce hydrogen, compress it, store it and make it available for refueling. The other method is to use pre-fill tanks and package them for transport to theater of operations.

Another issue is how hydrogen would fit into the military’s “single battlefield fuel” strategy. Hydrogen would most likely be considered an “optional” fuel, used only for special missions.

Using a fuel cell-powered vehicle on the battlefield offers many advantages that greatly outweigh the added logistics complications associated with using hydrogen. The foremost consideration is that it could be operate in a stealth mode being able to travel virtually silently with a g-ready reduced thermal signature making it much more difficult for IR (infrared) sensors to detect. Additionally, the AMV could be driven to the intended destination and then be used as a silent power generator to produce high quality electricity. The military needs a source of field-deployed exportable electrical power that is generated silently for special missions such as surveillance, target acquisition, telecommunications, etc. Being able to incorporate this with a mobility unit capable of getting the warfighters where they need to go, when they need to go is critical.

* Avoid giving gatifloxacin to patients.

* Consider selecting an antibiotic other than a fluoroquinolone for an elderly patient with diabetes mellitus (especially those taking sulfonylureas), hepatic insufficiency, or renal insufficiency (A).

* Discontinue fluoroquinolone therapy if a patient experiences symptoms of hypoor hyperglycemia, or if blood glucose levels fall below 60 mg/dL or rise above 200 mg/dL (C).

When was the last time you checked a glucose level before prescribing a fluoroquinolone? Though most side effects of these drugs are mild and self-limited (nausea, anorexia, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, taste disturbance, dizziness, headache, and somnolence), dysglycemia–hypo- or hyperglycemia–is another side effect that is potentially fatal.

From their inception, fluoroquinolones were known to upset glucose metabolism. However, recent publication of several case reports of gatifloxacin-associated dysglycemia, and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s announcement of a contraindication for gatifloxacin in diabetic patients, brought the matter of potentially severe dysglycemia to the forefront. (1)

This article reviews the available literature on fluoroquinolone-associated dysglycemia–first describing the frequency of dysglycemic events and then discussing the possible causes of these complications. Fluoroquinolones are valued agents in treating several infections (TABLE 1), (1-4) and this article makes clinical recommendations, based on published evidence, to help you decrease the risk of dysglycemia.

* Scope of the problem

The most recent article published on this subject identified 178 episodes of dysglycemia requiring hospitalization within 30 days of treatment–this following 16,697 outpatient courses of gatifloxacin, for a rate of 1.1%. Compared with gatifloxacin, rates were substantially lower for ciprofloxacin (0.3%), levofloxacin (0.3%), and moxifloxacin (0.2%) and for comparison antibiotics (those not associated with glucose metabolism problems), such as second-generation cephalosporins (0.2%) and macrolides (0.1%). (5)

However, an earlier analysis of inpatients receiving gatifloxacin, levofloxacin, or ciprofloxacin reported similar dysglycemia rates of 1.01%, 0.93%, and 0%, respectively. (6) Postmarketing surveillance studies further confirm these rates. (7)

The 2 North American governmental drug regulatory agencies report the following.

Health Canada: Twenty-eight cases of gatifloxacin-associated dysglycemia, with 2 deaths, over a 2-year period–89% of affected patients had preexisting diabetes mellitus and 67% of dysglycemia cases were hypoglycemic events. (8)

US Food and Drug Administration: Fifty-six times as many reports of dysglycemia filed for gatifloxacin than for other fluoroquinolones; its data revealed rates of hypoglycemia ranging from 0.65% to 2%. (9)

* Hypoglycemia: Exact cause uncertain

Sulfonylurea-like action. The most plausible mechanism is a sulfonylurea-like action on pancreatic beta cells, thus increasing insulin secretion. (10) Drugs such as quinine and mefloquine share chemical structures with fluoroquinolones and work in a similar manner to release insulin. (11,12) Individual fluoroquinolones differ greatly in their affinity for pancreatic beta cells. Gatifloxacin and temafloxacin have greater affinity, and thus greater hypoglycemic effect than other fluoroquinolones such as ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin. (12)

Drug-drug interaction. Hypoglycemia may also be caused by a drug-drug interaction. Glyburide levels have been reported to increase in patients with hepatic or renal impairment taking ciprofloxacin. (13) Gatifloxacin has been shown to augment the activity of several oral hypoglycemics, namely repaglinide, glyburide, pioglitazone, and glimepiride. (14) Similar effects have been documented between glyburide and levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and ciprofloxacin. (10)

P450 isoenzyme interaction may also be a factor in fluoroquinolone-associated dysglycemia. (16) This explanation is the least plausible given that, although hypoglycemia may be seen with all fluoroquinolones, ciprofloxacin is the only one with any appreciable hepatic P450 metabolism.

Frequency of hypoglycemic events

Clinical studies regarding the effect of fluoroquinolones on glucose homeostasis are difficult to interpret because they have yielded conflicting results. Differences in patient demographics, concomitant medications, existing medical conditions, and even the definitions of hypo-and hyperglycemia used may account for the varying results. The following is a synopsis of the available literature on fluoroquinolone-associated hypoglycemia. Only randomized controlled trials, case-control studies, and chart reviews are included.

Studies finding a hypoglycemic effect. The most comprehensive report on fluoroquinolone-associated dysglycemia screened the medical records of more than 1.4 million elderly patients from 2002 to 2004. During this case-control study, 788 patients were evaluated in an emergency department or admitted to a hospital for treatment of hypoglycemia within 30 days of receiving a fluoroquinolone, macrolide, or second-generation cephalosporin antibiotic. Ninety-two percent of patients suffering hypoglycemia were also being treated for diabetes. Gatifloxacin had the highest rate of hypoglycemic events, with an adjusted odds ratio of 4.3 vs a macrolide. Levofloxacin was also associated with a higher rate of hypoglycemia, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.5. No increased risk was reported for moxifloxacin, ciprofloxacin, or second-generation cephalosporins.

After a drop in the homicide rate during the late 1990s, Boston experienced a 10-year high in murders last year with 75 killings. This year has been no better. Earlier this summer, the city averaged three shooting victims–both fatal and non-fatal–every two days. One of the deadliest areas is the neighborhood surrounding the Bowdoin Street and Geneva Avenue Intersection in Dorchester, Mass.

Located at 284 Bowdoin Street, St. Peter Catholic School sits in the heart of the violence. “All of our students directly know someone who has been a victim or perpetrator,” said Principal Mary Lou Amrhein.

St. Peter Parish primarily consists of working poor African-Americans, Hispanics and immigrants from the Caribbean Islands and the Cape Verde Islands. “Many of our students live in households with one wage-earner,” said Amrhein, “with the parent working long hours and unable to look after the children once school lets out.”

School administrators long realized the need for some sort of parish after-school program–an assessment shared by a city study, which identified Dorchester as having one of the city’s highest percentages of students not being served by afterschool services. But St. Peter is struggling itself, receiving an annual subsidy of nearly $177,000 from the archdiocese. “The archdiocesan funds keep the lights on and the gas burning,” said St. Peter’s pastor, Fr. Daniel Finn. “There was no money available for an afterschool program.”

In 1997, a coalition of parish and community leaders organized a task force to identify the afterschool needs of Bowdoin students. In a series of house meetings, the students’ parents–many of whom are first-generation immigrants who speak limited English–overwhelmingly expressed a need for a place where their children could get help with their homework,

With the assistance of private donations, charitable foundations and city, state and federal grants, the Bowdoin Street After School Program opened its doors in 2002. Located out of the school basement, the program, which last year served more than 90 students, provides educational assistance and recreational opportunities from 2 to 6 p.m. To create an “all-day long continuum of care for the students,” the afterschool program works in conjunction with a teen center run by Catholic Charities, which operates out of the school basement daily from 4 to 9 p.m.

The programs have garnered praise from Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for being a model provider of successful afterschool service.

The afterschool program was designed to meet parents’ desire for homework assistance. All students receive extensive tutoring. To track educational progress, they are tested three times a year in math, art and language. The students scored 22 percent higher on last year’s exams than they did the year before, said Nicole O’Brien, director of the afterschool program, which costs about $170,000 annually.

O’Brien said that one of the best markers of the program’s success is the number of students who have moved on to high school and college and are now coming back to volunteer or work full-time at the center.

“We’re giving them an alternative to the streets,” said O’Brien.

The center has also become a focal meeting place for community organizations aimed at reducing the violence tearing apart the neighborhood. Romney recently used the center as a backdrop for the signing of a piece of antigun legislation.

Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Oracle are teaming up on a push to make it easier for users to modernize their applications that currently reside on mainframes.

The three vendors are unveiling the Application Modernization Initiative Oct. 24 at the Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco. Mark Hurd, HP’s chairman, president and CEO, will announce the program during his keynote address at the show.

The companies over the last six months began investigating the possibility of pooling their efforts in the area of application modernization, said Paul Evans, worldwide director of application modernization services for HP Services Consulting & Integration.

“We began to realize there was huge overlap in what the three of us were up to in application modernization, but not any one company had all of the solution,” Evans said.

The companies are using a combination of SOA (service-oriented architecture)—a services-based approach to building composite applications based on specific business processes—and grid computing technologies to create environments that offer the reliability and security of mainframes on industry-standard products.

The initiative offers everything from an analysis of a customer’s current mainframe environment, pretested reference architectures using technologies from all three companies and a recommended solution.

This year, over 1.3 million Americans will find out that they have cancer. A major public health concern, cancer was the second-leading cause of death in the United States in 2001. Cancer cost Americans $171.6 billion in medical bills and time lost from work in 2002, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Many cancer patients and their caregivers use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). One survey places the percentage of adult cancer patients who use CAM at 83%. The NCCAM Clearinghouse (see below), which responds to inquiries about CAM from the public, receives more questions about CAM for cancer that for any other medical condition.

NCCAM Director Stephen E. Straus, MD, observes, “For millions of Americans, cancer prevention and treatment concerns are not being adequately addressed through conventional medicine. Many are turning outside the medical mainstream to CAM approaches that are affordable and accessible, but largely untested.”

A few of the CAM approaches used by cancer patients include prayer, meditation, and other forms of spiritual practice; vitamins, herbs, and special diets; exercise and other movement therapies; imagery (1) and other relaxation techniques; and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

NCCAM is funding rigorous studies on CAM for cancer prevention and treatment (including whether CAM therapies may interfere with or enhance conventional therapies). It does so through grants to researchers at leading centers around the country and in its own Division of Intramural Research. In fiscal year 2002, NCCAM’s expenditures for cancer research totaled $14,253,000, or 16% of its research portfolio. In addition, NCCAM collaborates with other NIH Institutes and Centers, especially the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

A network of specialized centers of research is an integral part of NCCAM’s research portfolio (read more at nccam. nih.gov/training/centers). Currently, two of these centers are focused on cancer research, and two others are conducting projects on CAM and cancer:

* The Johns Hopkins Center for Cancer Complementary Medicine is studying fish oil for pancreatic cancer and the antioxidant effects of herbs in cancer cells.

* The Specialized Center of Research in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania is conducting four projects on the mechanisms of action, safety, and effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (2) for head and neck tumors.

* The Botanical Center for Age-Related Diseases at Purdue University is studying whether polyphenols–chemical compounds found in some plants, such as soy, grapes, Ginkgo biloba, and berries–reduce the risk of developing cancer.

* The UCLA Center for Dietary Supplements Research on Botanicals is studying green tea and other botanicals–such as curcumin (a spice) and ganoderma mushrooms–for insights into their actions on tumor angiogenesis (3); Chinese red yeast rice and its possible implications for cancer prevention; and multiple Chinese herbs for possible benefit in prostate cancer.

Clinical trials (research studies in people) are also underway. Some of these trials are investigating:

* Acupuncture and whether it reduces anxiety and improves quality of life in patients with advanced colorectal cancer

* Shark cartilage for its safety and effectiveness as a treatment in patients with advanced colorectal or breast cancer

* An alternative diet (the macrobiotic diet) and flaxseed, to see if they help decrease the risk of developing breast cancer or uterine cancer.

* Noni, a CAM therapy originating from Asia and Pacific Islands, and its possible usefulness in treatment and symptom management for cancer patients

* The vitamin L-carnitine and whether it reduces fatigue in cancer patients

* Massage therapy, to find out whether it eases swelling of the arms and legs related to treatment for breast cancer.

The NCCAM Division of Intramural Research’s Oncology Program is investigating selected CAM therapies for cancer. Currently, the Division is conducting studies of:

* Electroacupuncture, for delayed nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy in pediatric patients with osteosarcoma. While existing data suggest that nausea and vomiting in the first 24 hours after chemotherapy can be effectively treated with conventional medicine, delayed symptoms (occurring from 24 hours to 5 days after chemotherapy) are harder to manage. Electroacupuncture, a variation of traditional acupuncture, (4) involves placing needles on selected points on the body and pulsing them with electric current to stimulate the points.

* The herb mistletoe, combine with the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine, for patients with pancreatic, colorectal, lung, or breast cancer. Data from early studies suggest that mistletoe, either alone or in combination with chemotherapy, may stimulate the immune system and help cancer patients to feel better overall.

More information on NCCAM-sponsored clinical trials is available at nccam.nih.gov/clinicaltrials.

As a playwright and iconic literary figure of the twentieth century, Tennessee Williams consistently garners academic attention. Yet scholarship exploring Williams’s work within melodrama-not to mention that genre’s frequently invoked subject matter, motherhood- remains scarce, with absences unavoidably affecting ways maternity is understood in Williams’s work. An early critical and commercial success, his autobiographical The Glass Menagerie gave audiences one of the most memorable, if unlikable constructions of motherhood to inhabit stage or screen. As with similar monster-mother constructs, Amanda Wingfield is marked by a domineering intrusiveness into her unhappy children’s lives. This maternity-coded-as-pathology was an increasingly common trope for mid-century audiences of melodrama who, as E. Ann Kaplan points out, were tiring of the selfsacrificing martyrs associated with maternal melodramas that preceded them.1 Although we might safely categorize Menagerie as a “Maternal Melodrama,” a tradition of fictional maternity consistent throughout prewar American film, the text does not meet the parameters of the more resistant form, a genre Kaplan identifies as the “Maternal Woman’s Film.”2 Unlike the less resistant films categorized as Maternal Melodramas (which usually focus on mother-son relationships, as does Menagerie) the Maternal Woman’s Film underscores mother-daughter relationships; questions or opposes dominant ideologies; and addresses specifically female spectators who might actually identify with the protagonist. In other words, this genre often transvalues patriarchally constructed spheres of public and private life and potentially reveals the Mother figure as strong/transgressive within a male public order that is corrupt or inadequate (Kaplan 126). While Menagerie’s Amanda easily exists as Williams’s most infamous mother, a monstrous archetype imitated and exploited in popular culture for decades to come, this paper interrogates a later but no less memorable maternal construct, one which I argue exists in the more transgressive form of the Maternal Woman’s Film.

In November 2003 the Empire State Association of Two-Year College Biologists (ESATYCB) voted to confirm a position statement opposing any association between community college biology instruction with the unscientific beliefs of chiropractic and other alternative medicine schemes. The ESATYCB is the first statewide educational organization to openly oppose the encroachment of alternative medicine into undergraduate academic biology education.
Alternative medicine uses the language of science, but convolutes scientific reasoning to justify its undemonstrated claims. Sales pitches that sound similar to research findings abound on the Internet and in print. Televised infomercials, uncritical news reports, and sensationalized “investigative” programs are blurring the line between that which is considered accepted science and that which is not. Inevitably, this widely disseminated and attractively packaged pseudoscience finds its way into biology classroom discussions.

Recently, associations between alternative medicine and well-regarded educational, governmental, and medical institutions have been created. These relationships emerge as de facto endorsements of alternative medicine’s theories by respected groups. This perceived validation of “junk biology” undermines the task of biology educators whose responsibility is the presentation of science-based information.
The ESATYCB has no authority over New York State’s community college biology departments. The expectancy is that the policy statement will “red flag” alternative medicine as a questionable source of science-based information and provide support for educators who openly question dubious medical claims.

The Empire State Association of Two-Year College Biologists strongly disapproves of the association of academic biology departments at two-year colleges with unscientific and anti-scientific philosophies and practices. These are common among Chiropractic, Naturopathy, Homeopathy and many other practices known as “complementary and alternative medicine.” Such affiliations are likely to undercut scientific and critical thinking in the curriculum and hinder colleges trying to maintain high standards in science education. Additionally, such associations serve to legitimize unscientific and anti-scientific philosophies and practices and weaken the public’s understanding of science at a time when a full appreciation of the scientific method is sorely needed.

For better openhole pressure distribution, the gas-lift, dual-density method is favored.

Across the United States, residents of many rural towns have to travel 20 miles or more to buy underwear, jeans, sneakers, a toaster, towels or an inexpensive watch. Their locally owned department stores closed years ago, unable to compete with chain stores. Then, many of the chains faltered and faded as out-migration cut the customer base while regional “big-box” superstores kept pulling people farther away from home town Main Streets.

In other cases, communities with no place left to buy everyday clothing and small appliances have tried to attract a big-box retail store to locate in their town, but lack the population base to lure one. This was the case in Powell, Wyo. With a population of 5,500, the community–located 20 miles north of Cody, Wyo., and 90 miles south of Billings, Mont.–simply did not offer the economy of scale sought by a big-box retail chain
Sharon Earhart, director of the Powell Chamber of Commerce, can laugh now as she remembers the situation. “I’m so glad that when we asked the big stores to come open up in our town, they said, ‘Are you kidding? Get a life.’ So we did! And a much better one. I’m grateful to them that they all said no, or we never would have started down the road of this great adventure.”

Powell takes the plunge

That adventure began five years ago, when some local business people and other Powell residents incorporated as The Mercantile and began selling $500 shares in the company to their neighbors. Within months, they had raised $400,000 in start-up capital.
They opened the door of their new store in the summer of 2002. Community response was enthusiastic. Residents with special expertise stepped forward to help when asked. “Nobody ever turned us down,” Earhart says. They were fortunate to have a retired department store buyer and manager, Mike Reile, in their midst. His willingness to work pro bono until the company was formed enabled them to move ahead and begin buying inventory sooner than they had planned to do.

“He’s very bold,” she says. “You have to be that way because the rag industry is tough and very fiche. You can’t let your feelings get hurt, or buy just what you like.”

The three or four potential competitors already established in Powell were very supportive of the project and all have benefited from The Merc’s presence. Earhart notes that the town had a precedent for this sort of commercial cooperation. When one of Powell’s two car dealers closed, the remaining dealer was the strongest advocate for attracting another one. “His business fell off because people perceived that without competition the prices would go up. When the original dealer who’d closed re-opened, both businesses did better right away.”

Earhart says people come from as far as Billings, Mont., a city of 95,000 people nearly 100 miles away. “All the malls are like cookie cutters, they all sell the same thing,” she explains. “Here, you don’t know what you’re going to find, but it will be something you won’t find at the mall. People like that.”

Five consecutive profitable years

A good merchandise buyer is key to a store’s success, Earhart stresses. Powell was prepared to mount a national search until they found Mike Reile. But, she adds, a community may not have to look that far. While meeting with a group in Upstate New York, a steering committee member recalled that her employer’s wife was a buyer. “When the idea gets to the point where it becomes real and people see its validity,” she notes, “people step forward.”

And step forward they did, in Powell. Within months of selling the first $500 shares to local residents in early 2002, The Mercantile raised $400,000 in start-up capital. They opened the door of their new store that summer. They have had five straight profitable years, and in 2006 they purchased the store next door in order to double their size. “We’ve become a tourist destination, who’d have thought it!” Earhart exclaims.

Similar efforts have started in a number of rural communities in Wyoming and Montana, and are now sprouting in the Northeast. One of the first towns to take a hard look at community ownership of a retail department store is Greenfield, Mass. A group of Greenfield citizens have been pursuing the idea of starting such a store for two years. This past November, in partnership with the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), they invited Earhart to share her town’s story. As of this writing, they were awaiting state approval to launch their stock sale.

Co-op oriented town

Greenfield has more than three times the population of Powell, but–sitting halfway between the thriving Hampshire County college area of Northampton-Amherst, Mass., and the popular tourist destination of Brattleboro, Vt.–competition for retail dollars is fierce. There’s even a department store on Main Street already, but it deals mostly in more upscale, pricier products.