Joint models for longitudinal counts and left-truncated time-to-event data with applications to health insurance

Aging societies have given rise to important challenges in the field of health insurance. Elderly policyholders need to be provided with fair premiums based on their individual health status, whereas insurance companies want to plan for the potential costs of tackling lifetimes above mean expectations. In this article, we focus on a large cohort of policyholders in Barcelona (Spain), aged 65 years and over. A shared-parameter joint model is proposed to analyse the relationship between annual demand for emergency claims and time until death outcomes, which are subject to left truncation. We compare different functional forms of the association between both processes, and, furthermore, we illustrate how the fitted model provides time-dynamic predictions of survival probabilities. The parameter estimation is performed under the Bayesian framework using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods

Decline and Fall of the Standard Model?

Motivations for physics beyond the Standard Model are reviewed, with particular emphasis on supersymmetry at the TeV scale. Constraints on the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model with universal soft supersymmetry-breaking terms (CMSSM) are discussed. These are also combined with the supersymmetric interpretation of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. The prospects for observing supersymmetry at accelerators are reviewed using benchmark scenarios to focus the discussion. Prospects for other experiments are discussed, including the detection of cold dark matter, mu -> e gamma and related processes, as well as proton decay.Comment: Invited talk at 20th International Symposium on Lepton and Photon Interactions at High Energies, Rome, 2001, 16 pages LaTeX, 13 eps figures, uses special .cls file (included

Insulin degradation by adipose tissue is increased in human obesity

White adipose tissue samples from obese and lean patients were used for the estimation ofinsulin protease and insulin:glutathione transhydrogenase using 1251-labeled insulin. There was no activity detected in the absence of reduced glutathione, which indicates that insulin is cleaved in human adipose "tissue through reduction of the disulfide bridge between the chains. O bese patients showed higher transhydrogenase activity (per U tissue protein wt, per U tissue wt, and in the total adipose tissue mass) than the lean group. There is a significant correlation between the activity per U tissue wt, and protein and total activity in the whole adipose tissue with respect to body mass index, with a higher activity in obese patients. The potential ofinsulin cleavage by adipose tissue in obese patients was a mean 5.6-fold higher than that in controla. The coexistence of high insulinemia and high cleavage capability implies that insulin secretion and turnover are increased in the o bese. Thus, white adipose tissue may be crucial in the control of energy availability through modulation ofinsulin cleavage

Competing mortality in oropharyngeal carcinoma according to HPV status

Purpose or Objective:The objective of the present study is to assess differences in the competing causes of death in oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC) patients as a function of the HPV status

SP-0489: HPV-transformation in the cervix and at non-cervical sites

Pla general d'un dels panells horitzontals sobre espais verds de Barcelona a l'exposició Ciutat. Barcelona projecta a l'Edifici Fòrum. Exposició sobre la planificació urbanística i arquitectònica de Barcelon

Therapeutic education and functional readaptation in obese patients on a waiting list for total knee replacement. A case-control study

Background Studies show patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) on waiting list for total knee replacement (TKR) underused conservative treatment, did not adhere to clinical guidelines on knee OA management, and potentially had earlier surgery and a higher risk of revisions. Therapeutic education and functional readaptation (TEFR) plus conventional therapy in waiting list patients improved function and adherence. TKR patients are often obese, negatively influencing TKR results, many patients are dissatisfied after TKR, and around 14% of TKR are inappropriate..

Near-Edge X‐ray Absorption Fine Structure Investigation of the Quasi-One-Dimensional Organic Conductor (TMTSF)2PF6

We present high-resolution near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) measurements at the P L2/3 edges, F K edge, C K edge, and Se M2/3 edges of the quasi-one-dimensional (1D) conductor and superconductor (TMTSF)2PF6. NEXAFS allows probing the donor and acceptor moieties separately; spectra were recorded between room temperature (RT) and 30 K at normal incidence. Spectra taken around RT were also studied as a function of the angle (θ) between the electric field of the X-ray beam and the 1D conducting direction. In contrast with a previous study of the S L2/3-edges spectra in (TMTTF)2AsF6, the Se M2/3 edges of (TMTSF)2PF6 do not exhibit a well-resolved spectrum. Surprisingly, the C K-edge spectra contain three well-defined peaks exhibiting strong and nontrivial θ and temperature dependence. The nature of these peaks as well as those of the F K-edge spectra could be rationalized on the basis of first-principles DFT calculations. Despite the structural similarity, the NEXAFS spectra of (TMTSF)2PF6 and (TMTTF)2AsF6 exhibit important differences. In contrast with the case of (TMTTF)2AsF6, the F K-edge spectra of (TMTSF)2PF6 do not change with temperature despite stronger donor−anion interactions. All these features reveal subtle differences in the electronic structure of the TMTSF and TMTTF families of salts