474 research outputs found
Reversing the “risk‐treatment paradox” of bleeding in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: Risk‐concordant use of bleeding avoidance strategies is associated with reduced bleeding and lower costs
Cigarette Design Features in Low-, Middle-, and High-Income Countries
Previous studies have shown that country income grouping is correlated with cigarette engineering. Cigarettes (=111 brands) were purchased during 2008–2010 from 11 low-, middle-, and high-income countries to assess physical dimensions and an array of cigarette design features. Mean ventilation varied significantly across low- (7.5%), middle- (15.3%), and high-income (26.2%) countries (≤0.001). Differences across income groups were also seen in cigarette length (=0.001), length of the tipping paper (=0.01), filter weight (=0.017), number of vent rows (=0.003), per-cigarette tobacco weight (=0.04), and paper porosity (=0.008). Stepwise linear regression showed ventilation and tobacco length as major predictors of ISO tar yields in low-income countries (=0.909, 0.047), while tipping paper (<0.001), filter length (<0.001), number of vent rows (=0.014), and per-cigarette weight (=0.015) were predictors of tar yields in middle-income countries. Ventilation (<0.001), number of vent rows (=0.009), per-cigarette weight (<0.001), and filter diameter (=0.004) predicted tar yields in high-income countries. Health officials must be cognizant of cigarette design issues to provide effective regulation of tobacco products
Long-term moored array measurements of currents and hydrography over Georges Bank : 1994–1999
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Progress In Oceanography 82 (2009): 191-223, doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2009.07.004.In conjunction with the GLOBEC (Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics) program,
measurements of moored currents, temperature and salinity were made during 1994-1999 at
locations in 76 m of water along the Southern Flank of Georges Bank and at the Northeastern
Peak. The measurements concentrate on the biologically crucial winter and spring periods, and
coverage during the fall is usually poorer.
Current time series were completely dominated by the semidiurnal M2 tidal component, while
other tidal species (including the diurnal K1 component) were also important. There was a
substantial wind-driven component of the flow, which was linked, especially during the summer,
to regional–scale response patterns. The current response at the Northeast Peak was especially
strong in the 3-4 day period band, and this response is shown to be related to an amplifying
topographic wave propagating eastward along the northern flank. Monthly mean flows on the
southern flank are southwestward throughout the year, but strongest in the summertime. The
observed tendency for summertime maximum along-bank flow to occur at depth is rationalized
in terms of density gradients associated with a near-surface freshwater tongue wrapping around
the Bank.
Temperature and salinity time series demonstrate the presence, altogether about 25% of the time,
of a number of intruding water masses. These intrusions could last anywhere from a couple days
up to about a month. The sources of these intrusions can be broadly classified as the Scotian
Shelf (especially during the winter), the Western Gulf of Maine (especially during the summer),
and the deeper ocean south of Georges Bank (throughout the year). On longer time scales, the
temperature variability is dominated by seasonal temperature changes. During the spring and
summer, these changes are balanced by local heating or cooling, but wintertime cooling involves
advective lateral transports as well. Salinity variations have weak, if any, seasonal variability, but
are dominated by interannual changes that are related to regional- or basin-scale changes.
All considered, Georges Bank temperature and salinity characteristics are found to be highly
dependent on the surrounding waters, but many questions remain, especially in terms of whether
intrusive events leave a sustained impact on Bank waters.This work took place as part of the GLOBEC Northwest Atlantic/Georges Bank field project,
and was sponsored through NSF Biological Oceanography grants OCE- 80644500 and OCE-
80644501
Toxic metal concentrations in cigarettes obtained from U.S. smokers in 2009 : results from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) United States survey cohort
This research was funded by grants from the U.S. National Cancer Institute (R01 CA100362 and P01 CA138389), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (115016). Geoffrey T. Fong was supported by a Senior Investigator Award from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) and a Prevention Scientist Award from the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute.Smoking-related diseases can be attributed to the inhalation of many different toxins, including heavy metals, which have a host of detrimental health effects. The current study reports the levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), and lead (Pb) in cigarettes obtained from adult smokers participating in the 2009 wave of the ITC United States Survey (N = 320). The mean As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb levels were 0.17, 0.86, 2.35, 2.21, and 0.44 mu g/g, respectively. There were some differences in metal concentrations of cigarette brands produced by different manufacturers, suggesting differences in the source of tobaccos used by different companies. For Ni, there were significant pairwise differences between Philip Morris U.S. (PMUSA) and R.J. Reynolds (RJR) brands (PMUSA higher; p 0.10). Because of the variety of toxic heavy metals in cigarette tobacco, and their numerous negative health effects, metal content in cigarette tobacco should be reduced.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Novel patient-centered approach to facilitate same-day discharge in patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention
Background
Same‐day discharge (
SDD
) after elective percutaneous coronary intervention is safe, less costly, and preferred by patients, but it is usually performed in low‐risk patients, if at all. To increase the appropriate use of
SDD
in more complex patients, we implemented a “patient‐centered” protocol based on risk of complications at Barnes‐Jewish Hospital.
Methods and Results
Our objectives were as follows: (1) to evaluate time trends in
SDD
; (2) to compare (a) mortality, bleeding, and acute kidney injury, (b) patient satisfaction, and (c) hospital costs by
SDD
versus no SDD (
NSDD
); and (3) to compare
SDD
eligibility by our patient‐centered approach versus Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions guidelines. Our patient‐centered approach was based on prospectively identifying personalized bleeding, mortality, and acute kidney injury risks, with a personalized safe contrast limit and mitigating those risks. We analyzed Barnes‐Jewish Hospital's National Cardiovascular Data Registry Cath
PCI
Registry data from July 1, 2009 to September 30, 2015 (N=1752).
SDD
increased rapidly from 0% to 77% (
P
<0.001), independent of radial access. Although
SDD
patients were comparable to
NSDD
patients,
SDD
was not associated with adverse outcomes (0% mortality, 0% bleeds, and 0.4% acute kidney injury). Patient satisfaction was high with
SDD
. Propensity score–adjusted costs were 7331 lower/
SDD
patient (
P
<0.001), saving an estimated 1.8 million annually. Only 16 patients (6.95%) met the eligibility for
SDD
by Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions guidelines, implying our patient‐centered approach markedly increased
SDD
eligibility.
Conclusions
With a patient‐centered approach,
SDD
rapidly increased and was safe in 75% of patients undergoing elective percutaneous coronary intervention, despite patient complexity. Patient satisfaction was high, and hospital costs were lower. Patient‐centered decision making to facilitate
SDD
is an important opportunity to improve the value of percutaneous coronary intervention.
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Southern Ocean GLOBEC moored array and automated weather station data report
Southern Ocean GLOBal ocean ECosystemsAs part of the U.S. Southern Ocean GLOBEC program, moored time series measurements of
temperature, conductivity (salinity), pressure, velocity, and acoustic backscatter were made from
March 2001 to March 2003 in and near Marguerite Bay, located on the Antarctic Peninsula western
shelf. To monitor surface forcing during the moored array observations, two automatic weather
stations (AWSs) were deployed on islands in Marguerite Bay and time series of wind, air temperature,
pressure, and relative humidity were collected from May 2001 through March 2003. This
report describes the individual moorings, their locations and local bathymetry, the instrumentation
used and measurement depths, calibration and data processing steps taken to produce final time
series, and basic plots of the final time series. The AWS data acquisition and processing are also
described and basic plots of the final meteorological time series presented. Directions are given
about how to access the raw and processed moored and AWS data via the SO GLOBEC website
(http://globec.whoi.edu/jg/dir/globec/soglobec/).Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation under contract number OPP-99-10092
Indirect detection of superoxide in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells using microchip electrophoresis coupled to laser-induced fluorescence
The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00216-015-8865-1Superoxide is a naturally produced reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the human body and is involved in many pathological and physiological signaling processes. However, if superoxide formation is left unregulated, overproduction can lead to oxidative damage to important biomolecules, such as DNA, lipids, and proteins. Superoxide can also lead to the formation of peroxynitrite, an extremely hazardous substance, through its reaction with endogenously produced nitric oxide. Despite its importance, quantitative information regarding superoxide production is difficult to obtain due to its high reactivity and low concentrations in vivo. MitoHE, a fluorescent probe that specifically reacts with superoxide, was used in conjunction with microchip electrophoresis (ME) and laser-induced fluorescence detection to investigate changes in superoxide production by RAW 264.7 macrophage cells following stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Stimulation was performed in the presence and absence of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) inhibitors, diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC) and 2-metoxyestradiol (2-ME). The addition of these inhibitors resulted in an increase in the amount of superoxide specific product (2-OH-MitoE+) from 0.08 ± 0.01 fmol (0.17 ± 0.03 mM) in native cells to 1.26 ± 0.06 fmol (2.5 ± 0.1 mM) after PMA treatment. This corresponds to an approximately 15-fold increase in intracellular concentration per cell. Furthermore, the addition of 3-morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-1) to the cells during incubation resulted in 0.061 ± 0.006 fmol (0.12 ± 0.01 mM) of 2-OH-MitoE+ per cell on average. These results demonstrate that indirect superoxide detection coupled with the use of SOD inhibitors and a separation method is a viable method to discriminate the 2-OH-MitoE+ signal from possible interferences
Visualization of the significance of Receiver Operating Characteristics based on confidence ellipses
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