Seropositivity to Cytomegalovirus, Inflammation, All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease-Related Mortality in the United States

Studies have suggested that CMV infection may influence cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and mortality. However, there have been no large-scale examinations of these relationships among demographically diverse populations. The inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) is also linked with CVD outcomes and mortality and may play an important role in the pathway between CMV and mortality. We utilized a U.S. nationally representative study to examine whether CMV infection is associated with all-cause and CVD-related mortality. We also assessed whether CRP level mediated or modified these relationships., 2006 (N = 14153) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (1988–1994). Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause and CVD-related mortality by CMV serostatus. After adjusting for multiple confounders, CMV seropositivity remained statistically significantly associated with all-cause mortality (HR 1.19, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.41). The association between CMV and CVD-related mortality did not achieve statistical significance after confounder adjustment. CRP did not mediate these associations. However, CMV seropositive individuals with high CRP levels showed a 30.1% higher risk for all-cause mortality and 29.5% higher risk for CVD-related mortality compared to CMV seropositive individuals with low CRP levels.CMV was associated with a significant increased risk for all-cause mortality and CMV seropositive subjects who also had high CRP levels were at substantially higher risk for both for all-cause and CVD-related mortality than subjects with low CRP levels. Future work should target the mechanisms by which CMV infection and low-level inflammation interact to yield significant impact on mortality

Impurity-free vacancy diffusion technique for InGaAsP/InP multiple quantum well laser structure

Bandgap tuning of the InGaAsP/InP multiple quant um well (MQW) laser structure by the impurity-free vacancy diffusion (IFVD) is investigated using photoluminescence. It has been demonstrated that the effects of the plasma bombardment to the:sample surface involved in the IFVD technique can enhance the intermixing of the InGaAsP/InP MQW laser structure. The reliability of the IFVD technique, particularly the effects of the surface decomposition and the intrinsic defects formed in the growth or preparation of the wafer, has been discussed