Tobacco use and the risk of cardiovascular diseases in developed and developing countries

The association between cigarette smoking and the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is well established. However, the effect of other, less common, types of smoking on CVD risk, such as pipes and cigars in developed countries, remains uncertain. By contrast, in developing countries, a large panel of smokeless tobacco products are consumed alongside smoking products, with unknown effects on the risk of CVD. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the association between various forms of tobacco use with the risk of CVD in the setting of developed countries and of a developing country with a large population, Pakistan.This work was supported by Marie Curie scholarship NETSIM-Bloodomics funded by the European Union

Posibilidades interactivas de la metáfora en la novela (Hacia una interpretación literaria de la metáfora) : En la obra los pecados de Inés de Hinojosa

El presente trabajo tiene como fin principal evidenciar de manera dinámica las posibilidades que pueden brindar las metáforas al momento de realizar cualquier interpretación, puesto que partiendo de este tropo retorico ha sido posible realizar el análisis interpretativo de la novela "Los pecados de Inés de Hinojosa" del autor colombiano Próspero Morales Pradilla. Trabajo que se ha realizado mediante un recorrido por aspectos culturales, sociales, políticos, literarios e históricos, que hacen parte de la intertextualidad que abunda en la ya nombrada obra literaria, de donde se extraen momentos simbólicos y asimismo un vasto corpus de metáforas para posteriormente realizar de manera cualitativa el análisis de la metáfora en la obra, de igual manera y simultáneamente se van presentando los conceptos y los autores que permiten que el trabajo posea una solidez teórica fundamentada. Es necesario aclarar que el punto de partida teórico del presente análisis es la metáfora literaria desde un enfoque interactivo, concepto planteado por Max Black en la década de los sesenta y que se aparta de los enfoques tradicionales como el sustitutivo y el comparativo que han definido la metáfora como un tropo retórico, mimético y ornamental; por tal razón es importante destacar el aire de renovación que ofrece el enfoque interactivo al brindar un nuevo panorama en cuanto a la metáfora se refiere, pues queda claro que una metáfora adaptada a un contexto puede llegar a construir nuevos andamiajes de conceptos en una sociedad. Para estructurar el trabajo se han construido cuatro capítulos que están atravesados por los conceptos de metáfora e interpretación, ya que en la metáfora es el elemento que permite interactuar y sobretodo confrontar los contenidos de la novela con la realidad, pues el interés no está centrado en quedarse en un plano teórico solamente, sino vislumbrar posibilidades para enfrentar la vida cotidiana, aprovechando al máximo las herramientas que ofrece la interpretación

Diffusion dynamics for an infinite system of two-type spheres and the associated depletion effect

We consider a random diffusion dynamics for an infinite system of hard spheres of two different sizes evolving in $\mathbb{R}^d$, its reversible probability measure, and its projection on the subset of the large spheres. The main feature is the occurrence of an attractive short-range dynamical interaction -- known in the physics literature as a depletion interaction -- between the large spheres, which is induced by the hidden presence of the small ones. By considering the asymptotic limit for such a system when the density of the particles is high, we also obtain a constructive dynamical approach to the famous discrete geometry problem of maximisation of the contact number of $n$ identical spheres in $\mathbb{R}^d$. As support material, we propose numerical simulations in the form of movies.Comment: Version accepted for publication in Stochastic Processes and their Applications. 27 pages, 6 figure

Diffusion dynamics for an infinite system of two-type spheres and the associated depletion effect

We consider a random diffusion dynamics for an infinite system of hard spheres of two different sizes evolving in ℝd, its reversible probability measure, and its projection on the subset of the large spheres. The main feature is the occurrence of an attractive short-range dynamical interaction --- known in the physics literature as a depletion interaction -- between the large spheres, which is induced by the hidden presence of the small ones. By considering the asymptotic limit for such a system when the density of the particles is high, we also obtain a constructive dynamical approach to the famous discrete geometry problem of maximisation of the contact number of n identical spheres in ℝd. As support material, we propose numerical simulations in the form of movies

Simple Sorting Criteria Help Find the Causal Order in Additive Noise Models

Additive Noise Models (ANM) encode a popular functional assumption that enables learning causal structure from observational data. Due to a lack of real-world data meeting the assumptions, synthetic ANM data are often used to evaluate causal discovery algorithms. Reisach et al. (2021) show that, for common simulation parameters, a variable ordering by increasing variance is closely aligned with a causal order and introduce var-sortability to quantify the alignment. Here, we show that not only variance, but also the fraction of a variable's variance explained by all others, as captured by the coefficient of determination $R^2$, tends to increase along the causal order. Simple baseline algorithms can use $R^2$-sortability to match the performance of established methods. Since $R^2$-sortability is invariant under data rescaling, these algorithms perform equally well on standardized or rescaled data, addressing a key limitation of algorithms exploiting var-sortability. We characterize and empirically assess $R^2$-sortability for different simulation parameters. We show that all simulation parameters can affect $R^2$-sortability and must be chosen deliberately to control the difficulty of the causal discovery task and the real-world plausibility of the simulated data. We provide an implementation of the sortability measures and sortability-based algorithms in our library CausalDisco (https://github.com/CausalDisco/CausalDisco).Comment: See https://github.com/CausalDisco/CausalDisco for implementation

Host Defense Peptide Piscidin and Yeast-Derived Glycolipid Exhibit Synergistic Antimicrobial Action through Concerted Interactions with Membranes

Developing new antimicrobials as alternatives to conventional antibiotics has become an urgent race to eradicate drug-resistant bacteria and to save human lives. Conventionally, antimicrobial molecules are studied independently even though they can be cosecreted in vivo. In this research, we investigate two classes of naturally derived antimicrobials: sophorolipid (SL) esters as modified yeast-derived glycolipid biosurfactants that feature high biocompatibility and low production cost; piscidins, which are host defense peptides (HDPs) from fish. While HDPs such as piscidins target the membrane of pathogens, and thus result in low incidence of resistance, SLs are not well understood on a mechanistic level. Here, we demonstrate that combining SL–hexyl ester (SL-HE) with subinhibitory concentration of piscidins 1 (P1) and 3 (P3) stimulates strong antimicrobial synergy, potentiating a promising therapeutic window. Permeabilization assays and biophysical studies employing circular dichroism, NMR, mass spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction are performed to investigate the mechanism underlying this powerful synergy. We reveal four key mechanistic features underlying the synergistic action: (1) P1/3 binds to SL-HE aggregates, becoming α-helical; (2) piscidin–glycolipid assemblies synergistically accumulate on membranes; (3) SL-HE used alone or bound to P1/3 associates with phospholipid bilayers where it induces defects; (4) piscidin–glycolipid complexes disrupt the bilayer structure more dramatically and differently than either compound alone, with phase separation occurring when both agents are present. Overall, dramatic enhancement in antimicrobial activity is associated with the use of two membrane-active agents, with the glycolipid playing the roles of prefolding the peptide, coordinating the delivery of both agents to bacterial surfaces, recruiting the peptide to the pathogenic membranes, and supporting membrane disruption by the peptide. Given that SLs are ubiquitously and safely used in consumer products, the SL/peptide formulation engineered and mechanistically characterized in this study could represent fertile ground to develop novel synergistic agents against drug-resistant bacteria

Impact of tobacco outlet density and proximity on smoking cessation: a longitudinal observational study in two English cities.

A previous study conducted in the USA reported an association between residential proximity to a tobacco outlet and reduced likelihood of a quit attempt enduring beyond six months. We replicated this study in an English urban setting using data on 611 smokers motivated to quit, of whom 66 were biochemically validated as being quit at six months. Sustained quitting at six months was unrelated to residential proximity of a tobacco outlet. Future studies would be improved by the use of validated mappings of retail outlets, mapped in relation to multiple activity spaces, not just residence

Model Intercomparison of Maize Response to Climate Change in Low-Input Smallholder Cropping Systems

Smallholder farming systems are characterized by poor soil fertility and low agricultural input use; process-based crop growth models can help quantifying the potential impact of climate change on productivity in these systems.With limiting conditions (water and nutrients), crop models need to rigorously account for soil water, nutrient, CO2, and temperature interactions when simulating climate change effects

Assessing associations in multi-member multi-group data: An actor-partner interdependence

Data from groups often have a multimember multigroup (MMMG) structure. Examples are two-parent families with a female or male child (three members, two groups), two same-gender and opposite-gender peers of different status (two members, four groups), or gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples (two members, three groups). To analyze such data, a framework called MMMG actor – partner interdependence model (MMMG APIM) is presented considering group composition. Three models are discussed in detail: the three-member two-group APIM, the two-member four-group APIM, and the two-member three-group APIM. Structural equation modeling and cross-sectional and longitudinal data are used to illustrate the approach. To ease the interpretation of APIM findings, a proposal of a general classification scheme is made