Prediction of venous thromboembolism incidence in the general adult population using two published genetic risk scores

Introduction Most strategies for prevention of venous thromboembolism focus on preventing recurrent events. Yet, primary prevention might be possible through approaches targeting the whole population or high-risk patients. To inform possible prevention strategies, population-based information on the ability of genetic risk scores to identify risk of incident venous thromboembolism is needed. Materials and methods We used proportional hazards regression to relate two published genetic risk scores (273-variants versus 5-variants) with venous thromboembolism incidence in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) cohort (n = 11,292), aged 45–64 at baseline, drawn from 4 US communities. Results Over a median of 28 years, ARIC identified 788 incident venous thromboembolism events. Incidence rates rose more than two-fold across quartiles of the 273-variant genetic risk score: 1.7, 2.7, 3.4 and 4.0 per 1,000 person-years. For White participants, age, sex, and ancestry-adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) across quartiles were strong [1 (reference), 1.30 (0.99,1.70), 1.85 (1.43,2.40), and 2.58 (2.04,3.28)] but weaker for Black participants [1, 1.05 (0.63,1.75), 1.37 (0.84,2.22), and 1.32 (0.80,2.20)]. The 5-variant genetic risk score showed a less steep gradient, with hazard ratios in Whites of 1, 1.17 (0.89,1.54), 1.48 (1.14,1.92), and 2.18 (1.71,2.79). Models including the 273-variant genetic risk score plus lifestyle and clinical factors had a c-statistic of 0.67. Conclusions In the general population, middle-aged adults in the highest quartile of either genetic risk score studied have approximately two-fold higher risk of an incident venous thromboembolism compared with the lowest quartile. The genetic risk scores show a weaker association with venous thromboembolism for Black people

Alternative Models in Genetic Analyses of Carcass Traits Measured by Ultrasonography in Guzerá cattle: A Bayesian Approach

The objective was to study alternative models for genetic analyses of carcass traits assessed by ultrasonography in Guzerá cattle. Data from 947 measurements (655 animals) of Rib-eye area (REA), rump fat thickness (RFT) and backfat thickness (BFT) were used. Finite polygenic models (FPM), infinitesimal polygenic models (IPM) and FPM combined with IPM (IPM + FPM) were empirically tested, adjusting for the effects of permanent environment, age and weight at measurement and the contemporary group. A Bayesian analysis using the computer package FlexQTLTM was adopted. The combined model adjusted to the data, allowing reliable genetic analyses of REA and BFT. For the RFT, the IPM model was the only one to have convergence and, in this case, the trait should be analyzed by a polygenic model. The presence of up to three major genes (MGs) controlling the expression of REA and two MGs for BFT was detected. The additive genetic action was over dominance to REA, and for BFT the dominance genetic action was greater. Heritability estimates, and respective standard error, adjusted for the combined model to REA were 0.15 (0.00025) for the polygenic fraction and 0.10 (0.00019) for the oligogenic fraction; for BFT was 0.19 (0.00027) and 0.13 (0.00025), respectively. Heritability of 0.17 (0.00028) was estimated for RFT when the model was adjusted to IPM. There are major genes segregating within the population studied for REA and BFT traits, thus, their genetic analyses must be studied considering oligogenic effects. The major gene effects detected for a small number of genes, may possibly help to increase the reliability in detecting chromosomal regions that explain and control the phenotypic expression of these traits, facilitating research on detection and validation of molecular markers in this populatio

The relative effects of prey availability, anthropogenic pressure and environmental variables on lion (Panthera leo) site use in Tanzania's Ruaha landscape during the dry season

African lion (Panthera leo) populations have been reduced by almost half in the past two decades, with national parks and game reserves maintaining vital source populations, particularly in East Africa. However, much of the habitats necessary to support lion populations occur in unprotected lands surrounding protected areas. There is an ongoing need for understanding the ecological determinants of lion occurrence in these unprotected habitats, where lions are most vulnerable to extinction. This study evaluated variations in lion site use along a gradient of anthropogenic pressure encompassing the Ruaha National Park, Pawaga‐Idodi Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and unprotected village lands via camera‐trapping. We collected lion occurrence data in the dry seasons of 2014 and 2015, and modelled lion site use as a function of environmental and anthropogenic variables under a Bayesian framework. We recorded 143 lion detections within the national park, 14 in the WMA and no detections in village lands. This result does not imply that lions never use the village lands, but rather that we did not detect them in our surveys during the dry season. Our findings suggest that lion site use was primarily associated with high seasonal wild prey biomass in protected areas. Thus, we infer that human‐induced prey depletion and lion mortality are compromising lion site use of village lands. Seasonal prey movements, and a corresponding concentration inside the park during sampling, could also play an important role in lion site use. These findings reinforce the need to secure large‐bodied prey base to conserve lions, and the importance of protected areas as key refugia for the species

Study of KS KL Coupled Decays and KL -Be Interactions with the CMD-2 Detector at VEPP-2M Collider

The integrated luminosity about 4000 inverse nanobarn of around phi meson mass ( 5 millions of phi mesons) has been collected with the CMD-2 detector at the VEPP-2M collider. A latest analysis of the KS KL coupled decays based on 30 % of available data is presented in this paper. The KS KL pairs from phi meson decays were reconstructed in the drift chamber when both kaons decayed into two charged particles. From a sample of 1423 coupled decays a selection of candidates to the CP violating KL into pi+ pi- decay was performed. CP violating decays were not identified because of the domination of events with a KL regenerating at the Be beam pipe into KS and a background from KL semileptonic decays. The regeneration cross section of 110 MeV/c KL mesons was found to be 53 +- 17 mb in agreement with theoretical expectations. The angular distribution of KS mesons after regeneration and the total cross section of KL for Be have been measured.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Quantitative predictions with detuned normal forms

The phase-space structure of two families of galactic potentials is approximated with a resonant detuned normal form. The normal form series is obtained by a Lie transform of the series expansion around the minimum of the original Hamiltonian. Attention is focused on the quantitative predictive ability of the normal form. We find analytical expressions for bifurcations of periodic orbits and compare them with other analytical approaches and with numerical results. The predictions are quite reliable even outside the convergence radius of the perturbation and we analyze this result using resummation techniques of asymptotic series.Comment: Accepted for publication on Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronom

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of isolated photon production in pp and PbPb collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV

Isolated photon production is measured in proton-proton and lead-lead collisions at nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energies of 2.76 TeV in the pseudorapidity range |eta|<1.44 and transverse energies ET between 20 and 80 GeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The measured ET spectra are found to be in good agreement with next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD predictions. The ratio of PbPb to pp isolated photon ET-differential yields, scaled by the number of incoherent nucleon-nucleon collisions, is consistent with unity for all PbPb reaction centralities.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters