Reaction Time and Mortality from the Major Causes of Death:The NHANES-III Study

Studies examining the relation of information processing speed, as measured by reaction time, with mortality are scarce. We explored these associations in a representative sample of the US population

Multiple roles for endothelin in melanocyte development: Regulation of progenitor number and stimulation of differentiation

Melanocytes in the skin are derived from the embryonic neural crest, Recently, mutations in endothelin 3 and the endothelin receptor B genes have been shown to result in gross pigment defects, indicating that this signalling pathway is required for melanocyte development. We have examined the effects of endothelins on melanocyte progenitors in cultures of mouse neural crest. Firstly, they stimulate an increase in progenitor number and act synergistically with another factor, Steel factor, in the survival and proliferation of the progenitors. These findings are consistent with findings from mice with natural mutations in the endothelin receptor B gene, which show an early loss of melanocyte progenitors. Secondly, endothelins induce differentiation of the progenitors into fully mature pigmented melanocytes. This finding is consistent with the expression of endothelins in the skin of mice at the initiation of pigmentation. The melanocytes generated in endothelin-treated cultures also become responsive to alpha melanocyte-stimulating hormone, which then acts to regulate the activity of the pigmentation pathway. These findings indicate two key roles for endothelin in melanocyte development: regulation of expansion of the progenitor pool and differentiation of progenitors into mature melanocytes

Seven day remote ischaemic preconditioning improves endothelial function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomised pilot study

Remote ischaemic preconditioning (rIPC) may improve cardiac/cerebrovascular outcomes of ischaemic events. Ischaemic damage caused by cardiovascular/cerebrovascular disease are primary causes of mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Due to the positive effects from a bout of rIPC within the vasculature, we explored if daily rIPC could improve endothelial and cerebrovascular function. The aim of this pilot study was to obtain estimates for the change in conduit artery and cerebrovascular function following a 7-day rIPC intervention. Methods: Twenty-one patients with T2DM were randomly allocated to either 7-day daily upper-arm rIPC (4x5 min 220 mmHg, interspaced by 5-min reperfusion) or control. We examined peripheral endothelial function using flow mediated dilation (FMD) before and after ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI, 20 min forearm ischaemic-20 min reperfusion) and cerebrovascular function, assessed by dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) at three time points; pre, post and 8 days post intervention. Results: For exploratory purposes, we performed statistical analysis on our primary comparison (pre-to-post) to provide an estimate of the change in the primary and secondary outcome variables. Using pre-intervention data as a covariate, the change from pre-post in FMD was 1.3% (95%CI: 0.69 to 3.80; P=0.09) and 0.23 %cm s-1 %.mmHg-1mm Hg/% (-0.12, 0.59; P=0.18) in dCA normalised gain with rIPC versus control. Based upon this, a sample size of 20 and 50 for FMD and normalised gain, respectively, in each group would provide 90% power to detect statistically significant (P<0.05) between-group difference in a randomised controlled trial. Conclusion: We provide estimates of sample size for a randomised control trial exploring the impact of daily rIPC for 7 days on peripheral endothelial and cerebrovascular function. The directional changes outline from our pilot study suggest peripheral endothelial function can be enhanced by daily rIPC in patients with T2DM

Physics in Riemann's mathematical papers

Riemann's mathematical papers contain many ideas that arise from physics, and some of them are motivated by problems from physics. In fact, it is not easy to separate Riemann's ideas in mathematics from those in physics. Furthermore, Riemann's philosophical ideas are often in the background of his work on science. The aim of this chapter is to give an overview of Riemann's mathematical results based on physical reasoning or motivated by physics. We also elaborate on the relation with philosophy. While we discuss some of Riemann's philosophical points of view, we review some ideas on the same subjects emitted by Riemann's predecessors, and in particular Greek philosophers, mainly the pre-socratics and Aristotle. The final version of this paper will appear in the book: From Riemann to differential geometry and relativity (L. Ji, A. Papadopoulos and S. Yamada, ed.) Berlin: Springer, 2017

Is telomere length socially patterned? Evidence from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 study

Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is strongly associated with an increased risk of morbidity and premature mortality, but it is not known if the same is true for telomere length, a marker often used to assess biological ageing. The West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study was used to investigate this and consists of three cohorts aged approximately 35 (N = 775), 55 (N = 866) and 75 years (N = 544) at the time of telomere length measurement. Four sets of measurements of SES were investigated: those collected contemporaneously with telomere length assessment, educational markers, SES in childhood and SES over the preceding twenty years. We found mixed evidence for an association between SES and telomere length. In 35-year-olds, many of the education and childhood SES measures were associated with telomere length, i.e. those in poorer circumstances had shorter telomeres, as was intergenerational social mobility, but not accumulated disadvantage. A crude estimate showed that, at the same chronological age, social renters, for example, were nine years (biologically) older than home owners. No consistent associations were apparent in those aged 55 or 75. There is evidence of an association between SES and telomere length, but only in younger adults and most strongly using education and childhood SES measures. These results may reflect that childhood is a sensitive period for telomere attrition. The cohort differences are possibly the result of survival bias suppressing the SES-telomere association; cohort effects with regard different experiences of SES; or telomere possibly being a less effective marker of biological ageing at older ages

Illness perceptions and explanatory models of viral hepatitis B & C among immigrants and refugees: a narrative systematic review.

© 2015 Owiti et al.; licensee BioMed Central. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B and C (HBV, HCV) infections are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Many countries with traditionally low prevalence (such as UK) are now planning interventions (screening, vaccination, and treatment) of high-risk immigrants from countries with high prevalence. This review aimed to synthesise the evidence on immigrants' knowledge of HBV and HCV that might influence the uptake of clinical interventions. The review was also used to inform the design and successful delivery of a randomised controlled trial of targeted screening and treatment. METHODS: Five databases (PubMed, CINHAL, SOCIOFILE, PsycINFO & Web of Science) were systematically searched, supplemented by reference tracking, searches of selected journals, and of relevant websites. We aimed to identify qualitative and quantitative studies that investigated knowledge of HBV and HCV among immigrants from high endemic areas to low endemic areas. Evidence, extracted according to a conceptual framework of Kleinman's explanatory model, was subjected to narrative synthesis. We adapted the PEN-3 model to categorise and analyse themes, and recommend strategies for interventions to influence help-seeking behaviour. RESULTS: We identified 51 publications including quantitative (n = 39), qualitative (n = 11), and mixed methods (n = 1) designs. Most of the quantitative studies included small samples and had heterogeneous methods and outcomes. The studies mainly concentrated on hepatitis B and ethnic groups of South East Asian immigrants residing in USA, Canada, and Australia. Many immigrants lacked adequate knowledge of aetiology, symptoms, transmission risk factors, prevention strategies, and treatment, of hepatitis HBV and HCV. Ethnicity, gender, better education, higher income, and English proficiency influenced variations in levels and forms of knowledge. CONCLUSION: Immigrants are vulnerable to HBV and HCV, and risk life-threatening complications from these infections because of poor knowledge and help-seeking behaviour. Primary studies in this area are extremely diverse and of variable quality precluding meta-analysis. Further research is needed outside North America and Australia

Angel investor's selection criteria: a comparative institutional perspective

Despite the important role of angel investors as critical financial providers for new ventures, little is known regarding how institutions make their investment decisions. While angels make decisions based on selection criteria during the first stage, they are also embedded within and affected by different institutional settings and as a result weight these criteria differently than other investors. We compare angel investors' selection criteria in China and Denmark using the comparative institutional perspective. We use a policy capturing approach and hierarchy linear modeling, revealing that since Chinese angels are embedded within relationship-based institutional settings they tend to reply more on strong ties such as family and friends in management team, as well as weighting risks less compared to Danish angels operating within more rule-based institutional contexts

Amyloid imaging in the differential diagnosis of dementia: review and potential clinical applications

In the past decade, positron emission tomography (PET) with carbon-11-labeled Pittsburgh Compound B (PIB) has revolutionized the neuroimaging of aging and dementia by enabling in vivo detection of amyloid plaques, a core pathologic feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Studies suggest that PIB-PET is sensitive for AD pathology, can distinguish AD from non-AD dementia (for example, frontotemporal lobar degeneration), and can help determine whether mild cognitive impairment is due to AD. Although the short half-life of the carbon-11 radiolabel has thus far limited the use of PIB to research, a second generation of tracers labeled with fluorine-18 has made it possible for amyloid PET to enter the clinical era. In the present review, we summarize the literature on amyloid imaging in a range of neurodegenerative conditions. We focus on potential clinical applications of amyloid PET and its role in the differential diagnosis of dementia. We suggest that amyloid imaging will be particularly useful in the evaluation of mildly affected, clinically atypical or early age-at-onset patients, and illustrate this with case vignettes from our practice. We emphasize that amyloid imaging should supplement (not replace) a detailed clinical evaluation. We caution against screening asymptomatic individuals, and discuss the limited positive predictive value in older populations. Finally, we review limitations and unresolved questions related to this exciting new technique

ACL injury prevention, more effective with a different way of motor learning?

What happens to the transference of learning proper jump-landing technique in isolation when an individual is expected to perform at a competitive level yet tries to maintain proper jump-landing technique? This is the key question for researchers, physical therapists, athletic trainers and coaches involved in ACL injury prevention in athletes. The need for ACL injury prevention is clear, however, in spite of these ongoing initiatives and reported early successes, ACL injury rates and the associated gender disparity have not diminished. One problem could be the difficulties with the measurements of injury rates and the difficulties with the implementation of thorough large scale injury prevention programs. A second issue could be the transition from conscious awareness during training sessions on technique in the laboratory to unexpected and automatic movements during a training or game involves complicated motor control adaptations. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the issue of motor learning in relation to ACL injury prevention and to post suggestions for future research. ACL injury prevention programs addressing explicit rules regarding desired landing positions by emphasizing proper alignment of the hip, knee, and ankle are reported in the literature. This may very well be a sensible way, but the use of explicit strategies may be less suitable for the acquisition of the control of complex motor skills (Maxwell et al. J Sports Sci 18:111-120, 2000). Sufficient literature on motor learning and it variations point in that direction