Plasma arginine vasopressin concentrations in epileptics under monotherapy

Plasma arginine vasopressin concentrations were determined by radio-immunoassay in 112 adult epileptics who were taking carbamazepine, phenytoin, primidone, or sodium valproate in long-term monotherapy, and in 19 controls. No significant difference was found between the groups, but some epileptics taking carbamazepine and primidone showed low values. Serum concentrations of carbamazepine did not correlate with the concentrations of plasma arginine vasopressin. In conclusion, there was no evidence of a stimulating effect of chronic carbamazepine medication or a special inhibiting effect of phenytoin on the release of vasopressin arginine from the posterior pituitary

Genes to predict VO2 max trainability: A systematic review

Cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) is an excellent predictor of chronic disease morbidity and mortality risk. Guidelines recommend individuals undertake exercise training to improve VO2max for chronic disease reduction. However, there are large inter-individual differences between exercise training responses. This systematic review is aimed at identifying genetic variants that are associated with VO2max trainability.Peer-reviewed research papers published up until October 2016 from four databases were examined. Articles were included if they examined genetic variants, incorporated a supervised aerobic exercise intervention; and measured VO2max/VO2peak pre and post-intervention.Thirty-five articles describing 15 cohorts met the criteria for inclusion. The majority of studies used a cross-sectional retrospective design. Thirty-two studies researched candidate genes, two used Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS), and one examined mRNA gene expression data, in addition to a GWAS. Across these studies, 97 genes to predict VO2max trainability were identified. Studies found phenotype to be dependent on several of these genotypes/variants, with higher responders to exercise training having more positive response alleles than lower responders (greater gene predictor score). Only 13 genetic variants were reproduced by more than two authors. Several other limitations were noted throughout these studies, including the robustness of significance for identified variants, small sample sizes, limited cohorts focused primarily on Caucasian populations, and minimal baseline data. These factors, along with differences in exercise training programs, diet and other environmental gene expression mediators, likely influence the ideal traits for VO2max trainability.Ninety-seven genes have been identified as possible predictors of VO2max trainability. To verify the strength of these findings and to identify if there are more genetic variants and/or mediators, further tightly-controlled studies that measure a range of biomarkers across ethnicities are required

Head‐to‐head comparison of clinical performance of CSF phospho‐tau T181 and T217 biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease diagnosis

Introduction: Phosphorylated tau (p‐tau) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is an established Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarker. Novel immunoassays targeting N‐terminal and mid‐region p‐tau181 and p‐tau217 fragments are available, but head‐to‐head comparison in clinical settings is lacking. / Methods: N‐terminal‐directed p‐tau217 (N‐p‐tau217), N‐terminal‐directed p‐tau181 (N‐p‐tau181), and standard mid‐region p‐tau181 (Mid‐p‐tau181) biomarkers in CSF were evaluated in three cohorts (n = 503) to assess diagnostic performance, concordance, and associations with amyloid beta (Aβ). / Results: CSF N‐p‐tau217 and N‐p‐tau181 had better concordance (88.2%) than either with Mid‐p‐tau181 (79.7%–82.7%). N‐p‐tau217 and N‐p‐tau181 were significantly increased in early mild cognitive impairment (MCI)‐AD (A+T–N–) without changes in Mid‐p‐tau181 until AD‐dementia. N‐p‐tau217 and N‐p‐tau181 identified Aβ pathophysiology (area under the curve [AUC] = 94.8%–97.1%) and distinguished MCI‐AD from non‐AD MCI (AUC = 82.6%–90.5%) signficantly better than Mid‐p‐tau181 (AUC = 91.2% and 70.6%, respectively). P‐tau biomarkers equally differentiated AD from non‐AD dementia (AUC = 99.1%–99.8%). / Discussion: N‐p‐tau217 and N‐p‐tau181 could improve diagnostic accuracy in prodromal‐AD and clinical trial recruitment as both identify Aβ pathophysiology and differentiate early MCI‐AD better than Mid‐p‐tau181

All-sky search for short gravitational-wave bursts in the second Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo run

We present the results of a search for short-duration gravitational-wave transients in the data from the second observing run of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. We search for gravitational-wave transients with a duration of milliseconds to approximately one second in the 32-4096 Hz frequency band with minimal assumptions about the signal properties, thus targeting a wide variety of sources. We also perform a matched-filter search for gravitational-wave transients from cosmic string cusps for which the waveform is well modeled. The unmodeled search detected gravitational waves from several binary black hole mergers which have been identified by previous analyses. No other significant events have been found by either the unmodeled search or the cosmic string search. We thus present the search sensitivities for a variety of signal waveforms and report upper limits on the source rate density as a function of the characteristic frequency of the signal. These upper limits are a factor of 3 lower than the first observing run, with a 50% detection probability for gravitational-wave emissions with energies of ∼10-9 Mc2 at 153 Hz. For the search dedicated to cosmic string cusps we consider several loop distribution models, and present updated constraints from the same search done in the first observing run

Search for Eccentric Binary Black Hole Mergers with Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo during Their First and Second Observing Runs

When formed through dynamical interactions, stellar-mass binary black holes (BBHs) may retain eccentric orbits (e > 0.1 at 10 Hz) detectable by ground-based gravitational-wave detectors. Eccentricity can therefore be used to differentiate dynamically formed binaries from isolated BBH mergers. Current template-based gravitational-wave searches do not use waveform models associated with eccentric orbits, rendering the search less efficient for eccentric binary systems. Here we present the results of a search for BBH mergers that inspiral in eccentric orbits using data from the first and second observing runs (O1 and O2) of Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. We carried out the search with the coherent WaveBurst algorithm, which uses minimal assumptions on the signal morphology and does not rely on binary waveform templates. We show that it is sensitive to binary mergers with a detection range that is weakly dependent on eccentricity for all bound systems. Our search did not identify any new binary merger candidates. We interpret these results in light of eccentric binary formation models. We rule out formation channels with rates ⪆100 Gpc-3 yr-1 for e > 0.1, assuming a black hole mass spectrum with a power-law index ≲2

Search for intermediate mass black hole binaries in the first and second observing runs of the Advanced LIGO and Virgo network

Gravitational-wave astronomy has been firmly established with the detection of gravitational waves from the merger of ten stellar-mass binary black holes and a neutron star binary. This paper reports on the all-sky search for gravitational waves from intermediate mass black hole binaries in the first and second observing runs of the Advanced LIGO and Virgo network. The search uses three independent algorithms: two based on matched filtering of the data with waveform templates of gravitational-wave signals from compact binaries, and a third, model-independent algorithm that employs no signal model for the incoming signal. No intermediate mass black hole binary event is detected in this search. Consequently, we place upper limits on the merger rate density for a family of intermediate mass black hole binaries. In particular, we choose sources with total masses M=m1+m2ϵ[120,800] M and mass ratios q=m2/m1ϵ[0.1,1.0]. For the first time, this calculation is done using numerical relativity waveforms (which include higher modes) as models of the real emitted signal. We place a most stringent upper limit of 0.20 Gpc-3 yr-1 (in comoving units at the 90% confidence level) for equal-mass binaries with individual masses m1,2=100 M and dimensionless spins χ1,2=0.8 aligned with the orbital angular momentum of the binary. This improves by a factor of ∼5 that reported after Advanced LIGO's first observing run

Personality, personnel selection, and job performance

Job Performance: The term job performance can either refer to the objective or subjective outcomes one achieves in a specific job (e.g., the profit of a sales persons, the number of publications of a scientist, the number of successful operations of a surgeon) or to work-related activities (e.g., writing an article, conducting specific surgical acts). In the majority of research on this topic, job performance as an outcome is used. Personnel selection: Personnel selection refers to the process of selecting the best employees for specific jobs. Introduction One major application of personality research is in the area of personnel selection. The key question in this area is to which extent personality can predict how well a candidate will perform on the job he or she is applying for. Most scholars in this area acknowledge that personality has predictive validity for job performance. In line with this, personality assessment is part of the selection procedure in many organizations

Consumer perceptions of co-branding alliances: Organizational dissimilarity signals and brand fit

This study explores how consumers evaluate co-branding alliances between dissimilar partner firms. Customers are well aware that different firms are behind a co-branded product and observe the partner firms’ characteristics. Drawing on signaling theory, we assert that consumers use organizational characteristics as signals in their assessment of brand fit and for their purchasing decisions. Some organizational signals are beyond the control of the co-branding partners or at least they cannot alter them on short notice. We use a quasi-experimental design and test how co-branding partner dissimilarity affects brand fit perception. The results show that co-branding partner dissimilarity in terms of firm size, industry scope, and country-of-origin image negatively affects brand fit perception. Firm age dissimilarity does not exert significant influence. Because brand fit generally fosters a benevolent consumer attitude towards a co-branding alliance, the findings suggest that high partner dissimilarity may reduce overall co-branding alliance performance