4,032 research outputs found
sFlt-1 and NTproBNP independently predict mortality in a cohort of heart failure patients.
Objective: Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) is a circulating receptor for VEGF-A. Recent reports of elevated plasma levels of sFlt-1 in coronary heart disease and heart failure (HF) motivated our study aimed at investigating the utility of sFlt-1 as a prognostic biomarker in heart failure patients. Methods: ELISA assays for sFlt-1 and NTproBNP were performed in n=858 patients from a prospective multicentre, observational study (the PEOPLE study) of outcome among patients after appropriate treatment for an episode of acute decompensated HF in New Zealand. Plasma was sampled at a baseline visit and stored at -80°C. Statistical tests were adjusted for patient age at baseline visit, skewed data were log-adjusted and the endpoint for clinical outcome analysis was all-cause death. Patients were followed for a median of 3.63 (range 0.74-5.50) years. Results: Mean baseline plasma sFlt-1 was 125 +/- 2.01 pg/ml. sFlt-1 was higher in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) (130 +/- 2.62 pg/ml, n=553) compared to those with HF with preserved EF (HFpEF) (117 +/-3.59 pg/ml, n=305; p=0.005). sFlt-1 correlated with heart rate (r=0.148, p<0.001), systolic blood pressure (r=-0.139, p<0.001) and LVEF (r=-0.088, p=0.019). A Cox proportional hazards model showed sFlt-1 was a predictor of all-cause death (HR=6.30, p<0.001) in the PEOPLE cohort independent of age, NTproBNP, ischaemic aetiology, and NYHA class (n=842, 274 deaths), established predictors of mortality in the PEOPLE cohort. Conclusion: sFlt-1 levels at baseline should be investigated further as a predictor of death; complementary to established prognostic biomarkers in heart failure
A supersonic crowdion in mica: Ultradiscrete kinks with energy between K recoil and transmission sputtering
In this chapter we analyze in detail the behaviour and properties of the
kinks found in an one dimensional model for the close packed rows of potassium
ions in mica muscovite. The model includes realistic potentials obtained from
the physics of the problem, ion bombardment experiments and molecular dynamics
fitted to experiments. These kinks are supersonic and have an unique velocity
and energy. They are ultradiscrete involving the translation of an interstitial
ion, which is the reason they are called 'crowdions'. Their energy is below the
most probable source of energy, the decay of the K isotope and above the
energy needed to eject an atom from the mineral, a phenomenon that has been
observed experimentallyComment: 28 pages, 15 figure
Associations between reliable changes in depression and changes in BMI, total body fatness and visceral adiposity during a 12-month weight loss trial.
We investigated associations between changes in depression and body composition over a 12-month weight loss trial. Of the 298 adults (BMI > 27 m/kg2), 219 with complete depression and body composition data were included. A 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale measured depression; dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry measured body composition. Multinomial logistic regression predicted reliable changes in depression by BMI, body fat (BF) and visceral adiposity (VAT). Multiplicative interaction terms tested modification by sex and ethnicity. Participants with increases in body composition were less likely to experience improvements in depression (BMI: RRR = 0.79 (0.68-0.91), p < 0.01; BF: RRR = 0.97 (0.94 - 0.99), p = 0.01; VAT: RRR = 0.99 (0.98-1.00), p = 0.02), but not worsening of depression (BMI: RRR = 1.29 (0.96-1.73), p = 0.10; BF: RRR = 1.04 (0.99-1.09), p = 0.15; VAT: RRR = 1.01 (1.00-1.03), p = 0.18). Sex and ethnicity interaction terms were not significant. However, the relationship was only significant among females, among non-Latinos for BMI and BF, and among Latinos for VAT. Our study supports the association between depression and obesity and highlights the need for longitudinal studies investigating VAT and depression in diverse ethnic groups
Dynamical Axion Field in Topological Magnetic Insulators
Axions are very light, very weakly interacting particles postulated more than
30 years ago in the context of the Standard Model of particle physics. Their
existence could explain the missing dark matter of the universe. However,
despite intensive searches, they have yet to be detected. In this work, we show
that magnetic fluctuations of topological insulators couple to the
electromagnetic fields exactly like the axions, and propose several experiments
to detect this dynamical axion field. In particular, we show that the axion
coupling enables a nonlinear modulation of the electromagnetic field, leading
to attenuated total reflection. We propose a novel optical modulators device
based on this principle.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Relativistic ejecta from XRF 060218 and the rate of cosmic explosions
Over the last decade, long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) including the
subclass of X-ray flashes (XRFs) have been revealed to be a rare variety of
Type Ibc supernova (SN). While all these events result from the death of
massive stars, the electromagnetic luminosities of GRBs and XRFs exceed those
of ordinary Type Ibc SNe by many orders of magnitude. The essential physical
process that causes a dying star to produce a GRB or XRF, and not just an SN,
remains the crucial open question. Here we present radio and X-ray observations
of XRF 060218 (associated with SN 2006aj), the second nearest GRB identified
to-date, which allow us to measure its total energy and place it in the larger
context of cosmic explosions. We show that this event is 100 times less
energetic but ten times more common than cosmological GRBs. Moreover, it is
distinguished from ordinary Type Ibc SNe by the presence of 10^48 erg coupled
to mildly-relativistic ejecta, along with a central engine (an accretion-fed,
rapidly rotating compact source) which produces X-rays for weeks after the
explosion. This suggests that the production of relativistic ejecta is the key
physical distinction between GRBs/XRFs and ordinary SNe, while the nature of
the central engine (black hole or magnetar) may distinguish typical bursts from
low-luminosity, spherical events like XRF 060218.Comment: To appear in Nature on August 31 2006 (15 pages, 3 figures, 1 table,
including Supplementary Information
Divergent mathematical treatments in utility theory
In this paper I study how divergent mathematical treatments affect mathematical modelling, with a special focus on utility theory. In particular I examine recent work on the ranking of information states and the discounting of future utilities, in order to show how, by replacing the standard analytical treatment of the models involved with one based on the framework of Nonstandard Analysis, diametrically opposite results are obtained. In both cases, the choice between the standard and nonstandard treatment amounts to a selection of set-theoretical parameters that cannot be made on purely empirical grounds. The analysis of this phenomenon gives rise to a simple logical account of the relativity of impossibility theorems in economic theory, which concludes the paper
Differential expression analysis for sequence count data
*Motivation:* High-throughput nucleotide sequencing provides quantitative readouts in assays for RNA expression (RNA-Seq), protein-DNA binding (ChIP-Seq) or cell counting (barcode sequencing). Statistical inference of differential signal in such data requires estimation of their variability throughout the dynamic range. When the number of replicates is small, error modelling is needed to achieve statistical power.

*Results:* We propose an error model that uses the negative binomial distribution, with variance and mean linked by local regression, to model the null distribution of the count data. The method controls type-I error and provides good detection power. 

*Availability:* A free open-source R software package, _DESeq_, is available from the Bioconductor project and from "http://www-huber.embl.de/users/anders/DESeq":http://www-huber.embl.de/users/anders/DESeq
Managerial Work in a Practice-Embodying Institution - The role of calling, the virtue of constancy
What can be learned from a small scale study of managerial work in a highly marginal and under-researched working community? This paper uses the ‘goods-virtues-practices-institutions’ framework to examine the managerial work of owner-directors of traditional circuses. Inspired by MacIntyre’s arguments for the necessity of a narrative understanding of the virtues, interviews explored how British and Irish circus directors accounted for their working lives. A purposive sample was used to select subjects who had owned and managed traditional touring circuses for at least 15 years, a period in which the economic and reputational fortunes of traditional circuses have suffered badly. This sample enabled the research to examine the self-understanding of people who had, at least on the face of it, exhibited the virtue of constancy. The research contributes to our understanding of the role of the virtues in organizations by presenting evidence of an intimate relationship between the virtue of constancy and a ‘calling’ work orientation. This enhances our understanding of the virtues that are required if management is exercised as a domain-related practice
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