Comparison of osteoporosis pharmacotherapy fracture rates: Analysis of a marketScan® claims database cohort

Background: Several different classes of medications have been shown to be efficacious at preventing fractures in patients with osteoporosis. No study has compared real world efficacy at preventing fractures between all currently approved medications. Objectives: To directly compare the efficacy of all currently available osteoporosis medications by using a large population claims database. Methods: The Truven Health Analytics MarketScan® database from 2008 - 2012 was used to identify all patients who started a new osteoporosis medication. Patients who experienced a fracture after at least 12 months of treatment were identified and risk factors for fracture for all patients were recorded. Logistic regression was used to account for and quantify the contribution of risk factors, and to make direct comparisons between different osteoporosis medications. Results: A total of 51649 patients were included in the cohort, with an average age of 56 years. The overall incidence rate of fracture was 1.55 per 100 person - years of treatment. Orally administered medications had the lowest fracture rates, led by raloxifene and alendronate (1.24 and 1.54 respectively), while parenterally administered medications including teriparatide and zolerdonic acid had the highest rates (3.90 and 1.98 respectively). No statistically significant differences found between oral or parenterally administered bisphosphonate medications. Conclusions: While patients taking orally administered drugs including bisphosphonates had less frequent incident fracture no statistically significant differences were found between most drugs in head - to - head comparisons, even considering the route of administration of bisphosphonates. These findings support previous evidence that minimal differences in efficacy exist between different osteoporosis medications. This is the first study using a large database to compare all currently available osteoporosis treatments and will hopefully be augmented by further study to provide more evidence to make clinical decisions on osteoporosis medication use. © 2017 American Association of Neuropathologists, Inc

Approximate pole-placement controller using inverse plant dynamics for floor vibration control

PublishedThis is the final version of the article. Available from SPIE via the DOI in this record.Past research and field trials have demonstrated the viability of active vibration control (AVC) technologies for the mitigation of human induced vibrations in problematic floors. They make use of smaller units than their passive counterparts, provide quicker and more efficient control, can tackle multiple modes of vibration simultaneously and adaptability can be introduced to enhance their robustness. Predominantly single-input-single-output (SISO) and multi-SISO collocated sensor and actuator pairs have been utilized in direct output feedback schemes, for example, with direct velocity feedback (DVF). On-going studies have extended such past works to include model-based control approaches, for example, pole-placement (PP), which demonstrate increased flexibility of achieving desired vibration mitigation performances but for which stability issues must be adequately addressed. The work presented here is an extension to the pole-placement controller design using an algebraic approach that has been investigated in past studies. An approximate pole-placement controller formulated via the inversion of the floor dynamics, considered as minimum phase, is designed to achieve target closed-loop performances. Analytical studies and experimental tests are based on a laboratory structure and comparisons in vibration mitigation performances are made with a typical DVF control scheme with inner loop actuator compensation. It is shown that with minimal compensation, primarily in the form of notch filters and gain adjustment, the approximate pole-placement controller scheme is easily formulated and implemented and offers good vibration mitigation performance as well as the potential for isolation and control of specific target modes of vibration. Predicted attenuations of 22dB and 12dB in both the first and second vibration modes of the laboratory structure were also realized in the experimental studies for DVF and the approximate PP controller. © 2013 SPIE

Intrinsic religiosity attenuates the negative relationship between social disconnectedness and meaning in life

Positive social connections are integral to people’s experience of meaning in their lives. As such, social isolation can make life seem meaningless. Chan, Michalak, and Ybarra (2019, Journal of Personality) provided evidence that religious beliefs (not just participation in corporate religious life) can provide an alternative source of meaning for people who feel socially isolated. We tested whether this phenomenon was specific to (a) intrinsic versus extrinsic orientations toward religion and (b) experiencing meaning in one’s life at present versus actively searching for meaning. In a sample of undergraduates, high levels of intrinsic—but not extrinsic—religiosity attenuated the relationship between social disconnection and decreased meaning in life. Moreover, this attenuation was specific to felt presence of meaning in life, rather than active search for meaning. These results corroborate and expand Chan et al.’s findings and suggest that future research should explore mechanisms by which religious beliefs themselves serve meaning-making functions

Combining yield potential and drought resilience in a spring wheat diversity panel

Pressures of population growth and climate change require the development of resilient higher yielding crops, particularly to drought. A spring wheat diversity panel was developed to combine high‐yield potential with resilience. To assess performance under drought, which in many environments is intermittent and dependent on plant development, 150 lines were grown with drought imposed for 10 days either at jointing or at anthesis stages in Obregon, Mexico. Both drought treatments strongly reduced grain numbers compared with the fully irrigated check. Best performers under drought at jointing had more grain than poor performers, while best performers under drought at anthesis had larger grain than poor performers. Most high‐yielding lines were high yielding in one drought environment only. However, some of the best‐performing lines displayed yield potential and resilience across two environments (28 lines), particularly for yield under well‐watered and drought at jointing, where yield was most related to grain numbers. Strikingly, only three lines were high yielding across all three environments, and interestingly, these lines had high grain numbers. Among parameters measured in leaves and grain, leaf relative water content did not correlate with yield, and proline was negatively correlated with yield; there were small but significant relationships between leaf sugars and yield. This study provides a valuable resource for further crosses and for elucidating genes and mechanisms that may contribute to grain number and grain filling conservation to combine yield potential and drought resilience

Association of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide with cognitive function and depression in elderly people with type 2 diabetes

<p>Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is associated with risk of congestive heart failure (CHF), cognitive dysfunction and depression. CHF itself is linked both to poor cognition and depression. The ventricular N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a marker of CHF, suggesting potential as a marker for cognitive impairment and/or depression. This was tested in the Edinburgh Type 2 Diabetes Study (ET2DS).</p> <p>Methodology and Principal Findings: Cross-sectional analysis of 1066 men and women aged 60–75 with type 2 diabetes. Results from seven neuropsychological tests were combined in a standardised general cognitive ability factor, ‘g’. A vocabulary-based test estimated pre-morbid cognitive ability. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) assessed possible depression. After adjustment for age and sex, raised plasma NT-proBNP was weakly associated with lower ‘g’ and higher depression scores (ß −0.09, 95% CI −0.13 to −0.03, p = 0.004 and ß 0.08, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.12, p<0.001, respectively). Comparing extreme quintiles of NT-proBNP, subjects in the highest quintile were more likely to have reduced cognitive ability (within the lowest tertile of ‘g’) and ‘possible’ depression (HADS depression ≥8) (OR 1.80; 95% CI: 1.20, 2.70; p = 0.005 and OR 2.18; 95% CI: 1.28, 3.71; p = 0.004, respectively). Associations persisted when pre-morbid ability was adjusted for, but as expected were no longer statistically significant following the adjustment for diabetes-related and vascular co-variates (β −0.02, 95% CI −0.07 to 0.03, p>0.05 for ‘g’; β 0.03, 95% CI −0.02 to 0.07, p>0.05 for depression scores).</p> <p>Conclusion: Raised plasma NT-proBNP was weakly but statistically significantly associated with poorer cognitive function and depression. The prospective phases of the ET2DS will help determine whether or not NT-proBNP can be considered a risk marker for subsequent cognitive impairment and incident depression and whether it provides additional information over and above traditional risk factors for these conditions.</p&gt

What is on Tap? The Role of Spin in Compact Objects and Relativistic Jets

We examine the role of spin in launching jets from compact objects across the mass scale. Our work includes a total of 37 Seyferts, 11 stellar-mass black holes, and 13 neutron stars. We find that when the Seyfert reflection lines are modeled with Gaussian line features (a crude proxy for inner disk radius and therefore spin), only a slight inverse correlation is found between the Doppler-corrected radio luminosity at 5 GHz (a proxy for jet power) and line width. When the Seyfert reflection features are fit with relativistically-blurred disk reflection models that measure spin, there is a tentative positive correlation between the Doppler-corrected radio luminosity and the spin measurement. Further, when we include stellar-mass black holes in the sample, to examine the effects across the mass scale, we find a slightly stronger correlation with radio luminosity per unit mass and spin, at a marginal significance (2.3 sigma confidence level). Finally, when we include neutron stars, in order to probe lower spin values, we find a positive correlation (3.3 sigma confidence level) between radio luminosity per unit mass and spin. Although tentative, these results suggest that spin may have a role in determining the jet luminosity. In addition, we find a slightly more significant correlation (4.4 sigma confidence level) between radio luminosity per Bolometric luminosity and spin, using our entire sample of black holes and neutrons stars. Again, although tentative, these relations point to the possibility that the mass accretion rate, i.e. Bolometric luminosity, is also important in determining the jet luminosity, in addition to spin. Our analysis suggests that mass accretion rate and disk or coronal magnetic field strength may be the "throttle" in these compact systems, to which the Eddington limit and spin may set the maximum jet luminosity that can be achieved.Comment: 14 pages, 13 Figures, ApJ Accepte

High-Throughput Nanoliter Dispensing Device for Biological Applications

Pathogen identification is a field that can contribute largely to the prevention of the spreading of illness and disease. In the past, pathogen identification has been a long and arduous process due to the time-consuming processes and steps that requires technician’s time and effort. With new technologies emerging however, screening of bacteria colonies can be done in a quick and high-throughput way. The problem is that using the current methods, bacteria cannot be transferred to petri dishes fast enough to keep up with the new screening methods. The current study focuses on exploring different methods to create an ergonomic device that can dispense and inoculate bacteria cells onto petri dishes in a fast, repeatable, and high-throughput manner. The testing of bacteria in liquid allows for the most versatility because bacteria already suspended in liquid could be tested or bacteria could be suspended in liquid from a solid if needed. Different methods of dispensing liquid were tested such as solenoid valves, and different methods of dispenser movements in the X-Y plane around the surface of the petri dishes were tested such as a five-bar mechanism controlled by two rotary motors. It was found that a small solenoid valve in combination with either a five-bar mechanism with two motors or a simple XY stage were both ergonomic and able to provide high-throughput dispensing of bacteria colonies. Based on the devices performance, it can dispense 86 microliter droplets with 8 millimeters of spacing in 69 seconds (1.25 drops per second)

Keck Infrared Observations of GRO J0422+32 in Quiescence

We present Keck K-band photometry and low-resolution H & K-band spectroscopy of the X-ray nova GRO J0422+32 obtained while the system was in the quiescent state. No clear ellipsoidal modulation is present in the light curve, which is instead dominated by a strong flickering component. In the K-band we observe strong Br_gamma emission, with an equivalent width of 38 +/- 5 Angstroms. From this we conclude that the accretion disc is the most likely source of the observed photometric contamination, and that previous infrared-based attempts to constrain the mass of the putative black hole in this system are prone to considerable uncertainty. We finally proceed to show how it is possible to place meaningful constraints on some of the binary parameters of this system, even in the presence of a relatively high level of contamination from the disc.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures & 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Direct velocity feedback versus a geometric controller design of remotely located vibration control systems

Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Computation, SEMC 2013The mitigation of human induced vibrations in floors continues to be a key area of research particularly as a result of advancement in material and design technologies enabling the design of light, slender and more open plan structures. These floors are typically characterised by low and close natural frequencies as well as low modal damping ratios, and these combinations of factors contribute to their increased susceptibility to human induced vibrations. Amongst the remedial measures pursued to enhance their vibration serviceability performance, active vibration control (AVC) technologies are emerging as a viable technology and predominantly direct output feedback approaches have been pursued in past analytical studies and field trials. It has often been assumed that actuators and sensors can be located where vibration attenuation is desired and this may not always be feasible. The research work presented in this paper compares the vibration mitigation performances of the direct velocity feedback scheme that has been extensively used in past floor vibration control researches against a geometric controller design approach that has been developed to provide a design freedom for reducing vibration in both local and remote locations. The geometric controller design approach assumes the inability to locate the actuators and sensors at the remote location but acknowledges that this measurement can be obtained during the commissioning stage and used during the design phase to enhance both local and remote locations. All the analytical and experimental studies are based on a laboratory structure. The work demonstrates comparable vibration mitigation performances of the dominant mode of vibration of the laboratory structure for both approaches but also demonstrates potential for additional enhancement to the second vibration mode of the laboratory structure with the geometric controller design approach. Approximately 20-25 dB attenuation in the first and second vibration modes of the laboratory structure were achieved. © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group, London, UK.The authors would like to acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through a responsive mode grant entitled “Active Control of Human-Induced Vibration” (Ref: EP/H009825/1), Leadership Fellowship grant entitled “Advanced Technologies for Mitigation of Human-Induced Vibration” (Ref: EP/J004081/1) and Platform Grant entitled “Dynamic Performance of Large Civil Engineering Structures: An Integrated Approach to Management, Design and Assessment” (Ref: EP/G061130/1)

Geological and 40Ar/39Ar geochronological constraints on the timing of quartz vein formation in Meguma Group lode-gold deposits, Nova Scotia

The results of geological and 40Ar/39Ar geochronological investigations of several gold districts hosted by the Meguma Group are presented. Observations at both the macro- (deposit to ore zone) and micro- (hand sample to thin section) scale indicate that quartz vein formation followed major Acadian folding and metamorphism (ca. 400 ±10 Ma) and was broadly coincident with mafic-felsic magmatism at ca. 370 Ma. 40Ar/39Ar analyses of vein-fill mica and amphibole from the Beaver Dam, Moose River, Fifteen Mile Stream, Upper Seal Harbour and Caribou deposits indicate ages of ca. 380 Ma to ca. 362 Ma. The age data are interpreted to reflect discrete hydrothermal events with rapid cooling following crystallization of vein constituents. The age data do not reflect either variable amounts of resetting by later granitic intrusions or diachronous cooling. Genetic models that interpret the generation of the auriferous quartz veins as either before or during major Acadian folding are considered to be inconsistent with the present results. Instead, a model is favored that interprets quartz vein formation in the context of continued transpression of the Meguma Terrane following regional folding and metamorphism. RÉSUMÉ On présente les résultats d'études géologiques et géochronologiques [40Ar/39Ar] effectuées dans plusieurs districts aurifères au sein du Groupe de Meguma. Des observations tant macroscopiques (du gite à la zone de minéral) que microscopiques (de l'échantillon à la lame mince) indiquent que la formation des veines de quartz suivit un métamorphisme et un plissement majeurs acadiens (env. 400 ± 10 Ma) et coiincida d'une facon générale avec unmagmatisme mafique à felsique vers 370 Ma. Des analyses 40Ar/39Ar effectuées sur des micas et des amphiboles de remplissages de veine provenant des gites de Beaver Dam, Moose River, Fifteen Mile Stream, Upper Seal Harbour et Caribou révèlent des âges aux environs de 380 à 362 Ma. On interprète ces données d 'âge comme le reflet d'épisodes hydrothèrmaux distincts avec un refroidissement rapide suite à la cristallisation des constituants filoniens. Ces données ne reflètent ni un degré variable de remise à ziro par des intrusions granitiques ultérieures, ni un refroidissement diachrone. On considere que les modèles genetiques interprétant la formation des veines de quartz auriferes comme precedent ou ayant eu lieu pendant le plissement majeur acadien, sont en contradiction avec les resultats actuels. En leur lieu, on favorise un modèle qui interprète la formation des veines de quartz dans le contexte d'une transpression continue de la Lanière de Méguma à la suite d'un plissement et d'un métamorphisme régionaux. [Traduit par le journal