532 research outputs found
Chronic kidney disease:Insights from social and genetic epidemiology
Chronic kidney disease is a major global health burden, caused by the complex interplay between environmental and genetic factors. The results in this thesis provide valuable insights into these causes. First, I corroborate the existence of socioeconomic disparities in kidney disease, as those with lower education seem to have higher rates of chronic kidney disease and faster rates of kidney function decline. Second, those with a positive family history have a threefold higher risk of having chronic kidney disease, and there is strong evidence for a genetic component to kidney function and kidney damage. Third, genetic risk of chronic kidney disease may be offset by higher socioeconomic status. Finally, educational level may not be the main driver of socioeconomic disparities in chronic kidney disease, as the genetic evidence for a causal effect of educational level is inconclusive
Magnetic susceptibility anisotropies in a two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions
The magnetic and thermodynamic properties of the two-dimensional quantum
Heisenberg antiferromagnet that incorporates both a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and
pseudo-dipolar interactions are studied within the framework of a generalized
nonlinear sigma model (NLSM). We calculate the static uniform susceptibility
and sublattice magnetization as a function of temperature and we show that: i)
the magnetic-response is anisotropic and differs qualitatively from the
expected behavior of a conventional easy-axis QHAF; ii) the Neel second-order
phase transition becomes a crossover, for a magnetic field B perpendicular to
the CuO(2) layers. We provide a simple and clear explanation for all the
recently reported unusual magnetic anisotropies in the low-field susceptibility
of La(2)CuO(4), L. N. Lavrov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 017007 (2001), and we
demonstrate explicitly why La(2)CuO(4) can not be classified as an ordinary
easy-axis antiferromagnet.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Revtex4, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Strong Discontinuities in the Complex Photonic Band Structure of Transmission Metallic Gratings
Complex photonic band structures (CPBS) of transmission metallic gratings
with rectangular slits are shown to exhibit strong discontinuities that are not
evidenced in the usual energetic band structures. These discontinuities are
located on Wood's anomalies and reveal unambiguously two different types of
resonances, which are identified as horizontal and vertical surface-plasmon
resonances. Spectral position and width of peaks in the transmission spectrum
can be directly extracted from CPBS for both kinds of resonances.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, REVTeX version
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Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin Levels Are Inversely Associated With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in HIV-Infected and -Uninfected Men.
BackgroundNonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a leading cause of liver disease worldwide. Elevated sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels have been observed in the setting of HIV and may protect against some metabolic disorders. We aimed to investigate whether higher SHBG levels may protect against NAFLD in men with/without HIV.MethodsNAFLD was assessed using noncontrast computed tomography in 530 men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) who drank <3 alcoholic drinks/d and were uninfected with chronic hepatitis C or B (340HIV+, 190HIV-). Morning serum samples were tested for SHBG, total testosterone (TT), and adiponectin. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess associations between HIV, SHBG, TT, adiponectin, and NAFLD.ResultsMedian SHBG was highest among HIV+/NAFLD- men and lowest among HIV-/NAFLD+ men. Adjusted for demographics, HIV, visceral adiposity, HOMA-IR, TT, and PNPLA3 genotype, higher SHBG was associated with lower odds of NAFLD (odds ratio [OR], 0.52 per doubling; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34-0.80). In separate multivariable models without SHBG, HIV (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.26-0.79) and higher adiponectin (OR, 0.66 per doubling; 95% CI, 0.49-0.89) were associated with lower NAFLD odds, whereas TT was not significantly associated (OR, 0.74 per doubling; 95% CI, 0.53-1.04). Adjusting for SHBG attenuated the associations of HIV (OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.34-1.08) and adiponectin (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.54-1.02) with NAFLD.ConclusionsSHBG levels were higher among HIV+ men, were independently associated with lower NAFLD, and could partially explain the associations of HIV and higher adiponectin with lower NAFLD in our cohort. These findings suggest that SHBG may protect against NAFLD, supporting further prospective and mechanistic studies
Observational and Genetic Evidence for Bidirectional Effects Between Red Blood Cell Traits and Diastolic Blood Pressure
Background: Previous studies have found associations of red blood cell traits (hemoglobin and red blood cell count, RBC) with blood pressure; whether these associations are causal is unknown.Methods: We performed cross-sectional analyses in the Lifelines Cohort Study (n=167,785). Additionally, we performed bidirectional two sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to explore the causal effect of the two traits on systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), using genetic instrumental variables regarding hemoglobin and RBC identified in UK Biobank (n=350,475) and International Consortium of Blood Pressure studies for SBP and DBP (n= 757,601).Results: In cross-sectional analyses we observed positive associations with hypertension and blood pressure for both hemoglobin (OR=1.18, 95% CI: 1.16 to 1.20 for hypertension; B=0.11, 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.12 for SBP; B=0.11, 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.11 for DBP, all per SD) and RBC (OR=1.14, 95% CI: 1.12 to 1.16 for hypertension; B=0.11, 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.12 for SBP; B=0.08, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.09 for DBP, all per SD). MR analyses suggested that higher hemoglobin and RBC cause higher DBP (inverse variance weighted [IVW] B=0.11, 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.16 for hemoglobin; B=0.07, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.10 for RBC, all per SD). Reverse MR analyses (all per SD) suggested causal effects of DBP on both hemoglobin (B=0.06, 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.09) and RBC (B=0.08, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.11). No significant effects on SBP were found.Conclusions: Our results suggest bidirectional causal relationships of hemoglobin and RBC with DBP, but not with SBP
Properties and Detection of Spin Nematic Order in Strongly Correlated Electron Systems
A spin nematic is a state which breaks spin SU(2) symmetry while preserving
translational and time reversal symmetries. Spin nematic order can arise
naturally from charge fluctuations of a spin stripe state. Focusing on the
possible existence of such a state in strongly correlated electron systems, we
build a nematic wave function starting from a t-J type model. The nematic is a
spin-two operator, and therefore does not couple directly to neutrons. However,
we show that neutron scattering and Knight shift experiments can detect the
spin anisotropy of electrons moving in a nematic background. We find the mean
field phase diagram for the nematic taking into account spin-orbit effects.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures. (v2) References adde
Suppression of Antiferromagnetic Order by Light Hole Doping in La_2Cu_{1-x}Li_xO_4: A ^{139}La NQR Study
^{139}La nuclear quadrupole resonance measurements in lightly doped
La_2Cu_{1-x}Li_xO_4 have been performed to reveal the dependence of the
magnetic properties of the antiferromagnetic CuO_2 planes on the character of
the doped holes and their interactions with the dopant. A detailed study shows
that the magnetic properties are remarkably insensitive to the character of the
dopant impurity. This indicates that the added holes form previously
unrecognized collective structures.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Slightly modified version, as accepted for
publication in Physical Review Letter
Metal-insulator Crossover Behavior at the Surface of NiS_2
We have performed a detailed high-resolution electron spectroscopic
investigation of NiS and related Se-substituted compounds
NiSSe, which are known to be gapped insulators in the bulk at all
temperatures. A large spectral weight at the Fermi energy of the room
temperature spectrum, in conjunction with the extreme surface sensitivity of
the experimental probe, however, suggests that the surface layer is metallic at
300 K. Interestingly, the evolution of the spectral function with decreasing
temperature is characterized by a continuous depletion of the single-particle
spectral weight at the Fermi energy and the development of a gap-like structure
below a characteristic temperature, providing evidence for a metal-insulator
crossover behavior at the surfaces of NiS and of related compounds. These
results provide a consistent description of the unusual transport properties
observed in these systems.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Surface plasmons of metallic surfaces perforated by nanoholes
Recent works dealt with the optical transmission on arrays of subwavelength
holes perforated in a thick metallic film. We have performed simulations which
quantitatively agree with experimental results and which unambiguously evidence
that the extraordinary transmission is due to the excitation of a
surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) mode on the metallic film interfaces. We
identify this SPP mode and show that its near-field possesses a hybrid
character, gathering collective and localised effects which are both essential
for the transmission.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Doping dependence of the Neel temperature in Mott-Hubbard antiferromagnets: Effect of vortices
The rapid destruction of long-range antiferromagnetic order upon doping of
Mott-Hubbard antiferromagnetic insulators is studied within a generalized
Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless renormalization group theory in accordance with
recent calculations suggesting that holes dress with vortices. We calculate the
doping-dependent Neel temperature in good agreement with experiments for
high-Tc cuprates. Interestingly, the critical doping where long-range order
vanishes at zero temperature is predicted to be xc ~ 0.02, independently of any
energy scales of the system.Comment: 4 pages with 3 figures included, minor revisions, to be published in
PR
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