Responses of plasma concentrations of A type natriuretic peptide and B type natriuretic peptide to alacepril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, in patients with congestive heart failure [4]

This article has 2 parts, letter by Bernard Cheung and the reply by Michihiro Yoshimurapublished_or_final_versio

The Royal Free Hospital score: a calibrated prognostic model for patients with cirrhosis admitted to intensive care unit. Comparison with current models and CLIF-SOFA score

Prognosis for patients with cirrhosis admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) is poor. ICU prognostic models are more accurate than liver-specific models. We identified predictors of mortality, developed a novel prognostic score (Royal Free Hospital (RFH) score), and tested it against established prognostic models and the yet unvalidated Chronic Liver Failure-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (CLIF-SOFA) model

Comment on "Peierls Gap in Mesoscopic Ring Threated by a Magnetic Flux"

In a recent letter, Yi et al. PRL 78, 3523 (1997), have considered the stability of a Charge Density Wave in a one-dimensional ring, in the presence of an Aharonov-Bohm flux. This comment shows that, in one dimension, the stability of the Charge Density Wave depends on the parity of the number of electrons in the ring. This effect is similar to the parity effect known for the persistent current in one-dimensional rings.Comment: Latex, 1 page, 2 figure

Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in a mesoscopic ring with a quantum dot

We present an analysis of the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations for a mesoscopic ring with a quantum dot inserted in one of its arms. It is shown that microreversibility demands that the phase of the Aharonov-Bohm oscillations changes {\it abruptly} when a resonant level crosses the Fermi energy. We use the Friedel sum rule to discuss the conservation of the parity of the oscillations at different conductance peaks. Our predictions are illustrated with the help of a simple one channel model that permits the variation of the potential landscape along the ring.Comment: 11 pages, Revtex style, 3 figures under request. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B (rapid communications

Visit-to-visit blood pressure variability is associated with periventricular white matter hyperintensity in healthy hypertensive elderly Chinese

Oral PresentationBackground: Visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (BPV) has been reported to be associated with the severity and prognosis of symptomatic stroke, but its correlation with silent stroke is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between BPV and silent cerebral vascular lesions (SCVL). Methods: A total of 239 healthy hypertensive Chinese aged more than 65 years were recruited. SCVLs including silent brain infarcts (BIs), microbleeds (MBs), and white matter hyperintensity (WMH) were determined by magnetic resonance images on a 3T scanner. The severity of WMH was rated using the Fazekas white matter scale. Previous 3-year blood pressure measurements were collected from the electronic medical record. BPV parameters—including standard deviation, coefficient of variation, successive variation, and variation independent of mean blood pressure—were calculated. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the significance of relationships. Result: Of the patients, 26 (10.9%) and 12 (5.0%) had severe periventricular WMH and deep WMH (Fazekas score = 3), respectively. Both systolic and diastolic BPV parameters were correlated with the severity of periventricular WMH (P < 0.05) but not the severity of deep WMH, presence of BIs or MBs. The relationship between BPV parameters and periventricular WMH still existed after adjustment for age and other factors. Conclusion: BPV was an independent predictor of severe periventricular WMH in healthy hypertensive elderly.published_or_final_versio

Unparticle Physics in the Moller Scattering

We investigate the virtual effects of vector unparticles in the Moller scattering. We derive the analytic expression for scattering amplitudes with unpolarized beams. We obtain 95% confidence level limits on the unparticle couplings $\lambda_{V}$ and $\lambda_{A}$ with integrated luminosity of $L_{int}=50, 500 fb^{-1}$ and $\sqrt{s}=100, 300$ and 500 GeV energies. We show that limits on $\lambda_{V}$ are more sensitive than $\lambda_{A}$.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 4 table

Absence of association between arterial stiffness and white matter hyperintensities in otherwise healthy hypertensive elderly Chinese

Introduction: Arterial stiffness has been observed to be associated with white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in different populations. This study aimed to investigate whether such association exists in otherwise healthy hypertensive elderly Chinese. Methods: Degree of WMH has been assessed based on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) magnetic resonance imaging using Fazekas white matter scale scores, and then dichotomised to compare with quartiles of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (BaPWV), a marker of arterial stiffness. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the odds ratio (OR) for advanced WMH. Results: We studied a population of 252 otherwise healthy hypertensive Chinese over 65 years old, and advanced WMH was present in 53 (22.4%). In the highest BaPWV quartile, 22 (34.9%) subjects had advanced WMH. Significant association was observed between the highest quartile of BaPWV and advanced WMH when using the univariate logistic regression model. However, after controlling for demographic and arterial vascular risk factors (age, gender, body mass index, smoke history, grade of hypertension, duration of hypertension, total cholesterol, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), there was no statistically significant association (odds ratio = 2.101; 95% confidence interval, 0.781-5.649). Conclusion: This study did not provide any evidence for significant association between arterial stiffness and WMH. Fazekas white matter scale score may be too simple a tool to reveal the association and we shall pursuit more suitable resolution for further investigation.published_or_final_versio

Cognitive impairments in patients with severe periventricular hyperintensities

Oral PresentationINTRODUCTION: White matter hyperintensities (WMH), best discerned on T2-weighted or fluid-attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), have been increasingly recognised as one of the underlying causes of insidious cognitive decline. However, there is little information in the literature concerning the cognitive profile of patients with such lesions. We aimed to identify and assess the spectrum of cognitive impairments associated with advanced WMH in a cohort of 340 otherwise healthy hypertensive elderly Chinese. METHODS: Demographical information, standard neuropsychological tests and multi-sequence MRI scans were obtained from all participants. The neuropsychological tests evaluated the following domains: attention, visuospatial ability, memory, language …published_or_final_versio

Singlet Portal to the Hidden Sector

Ultraviolet physics typically induces a kinetic mixing between gauge singlets which is marginal and hence non-decoupling in the infrared. In singlet extensions of the minimal supersymmetric standard model, e.g. the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model, this furnishes a well motivated and distinctive portal connecting the visible sector to any hidden sector which contains a singlet chiral superfield. In the presence of singlet kinetic mixing, the hidden sector automatically acquires a light mass scale in the range 0.1 - 100 GeV induced by electroweak symmetry breaking. In theories with R-parity conservation, superparticles produced at the LHC invariably cascade decay into hidden sector particles. Since the hidden sector singlet couples to the visible sector via the Higgs sector, these cascades necessarily produce a Higgs boson in an order 0.01 - 1 fraction of events. Furthermore, supersymmetric cascades typically produce highly boosted, low-mass hidden sector singlets decaying visibly, albeit with displacement, into the heaviest standard model particles which are kinematically accessible. We study experimental constraints on this broad class of theories, as well as the role of singlet kinetic mixing in direct detection of hidden sector dark matter. We also present related theories in which a hidden sector singlet interacts with the visible sector through kinetic mixing with right-handed neutrinos.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure