6,120 research outputs found
Development of the health and economic consequences of smoking interactive model
Objective-To describe the health and economic consequences of smoking model, a user friendly, web based tool, designed to estimate the health and economic outcomes associated with smoking and the benefits of smoking cessation. Results-An overview of the development of the model equations and user interface is given, and data from the UK are presented as an example of the model outputs. These results show that a typical smoking cessation strategy costs approximately pound 1200 per life year saved and pound 22 000 per death averted. Conclusions-The model successfully captures the complexity required to model smoking behaviour and associated mortality, morbidity, and health care costs. Furthermore, the interface provides the results in a simple and flexible way so as to be useful to a variety of audiences and to simulate a variety of smoking cessation methods
Acidosis slows electrical conduction through the atrio-ventricular node
Acidosis affects the mechanical and electrical activity of mammalian hearts but comparatively little is known about its effects on the function of the atrio-ventricular node (AVN). In this study, the electrical activity of the epicardial surface of the left ventricle of isolated Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts was examined using optical methods. Perfusion with hypercapnic Tyrode's solution (20% CO2, pH 6.7) increased the time of earliest activation (Tact) from 100.5 ± 7.9 to 166.1 ± 7.2 ms (n = 8) at a pacing cycle length (PCL) of 300 ms (37°C). Tact increased at shorter PCL, and the hypercapnic solution prolonged Tact further: at 150 ms PCL, Tact was prolonged from 131.0 ± 5.2 to 174.9 ± 16.3 ms. 2:1 AVN block was common at shorter cycle lengths. Atrial and ventricular conduction times were not significantly affected by the hypercapnic solution suggesting that the increased delay originated in the AVN. Isolated right atrial preparations were superfused with Tyrode's solutions at pH 7.4 (control), 6.8 and 6.3. Low pH prolonged the atrial-Hisian (AH) interval, the AVN effective and functional refractory periods and Wenckebach cycle length significantly. Complete AVN block occurred in 6 out of 9 preparations. Optical imaging of conduction at the AV junction revealed increased conduction delay in the region of the AVN, with less marked effects in atrial and ventricular tissue. Thus acidosis can dramatically prolong the AVN delay, and in combination with short cycle lengths, this can cause partial or complete AVN block and is therefore implicated in the development of brady-arrhythmias in conditions of local or systemic acidosis
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Development of outbred CD1 mouse colonies with distinct standardized gut microbiota profiles for use in complex microbiota targeted studies.
Studies indicate that the gut microbiota (GM) can significantly influence both local and systemic host physiologic processes. With rising concern for optimization of experimental reproducibility and translatability, it is essential to consider the GM in study design. However, GM profiles can vary between rodent producers making consistency between models challenging. To circumvent this, we developed outbred CD1 mouse colonies with stable, complex GM profiles that can be used as donors for a variety of GM transfer techniques including rederivation, co-housing, cross-foster, and fecal microbiota transfer (FMT). CD1 embryos were surgically transferred into CD1 or C57BL/6 surrogate dams that varied by GM composition and complexity to establish four separate mouse colonies harboring GM profiles representative of contemporary mouse producers. Using targeted 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, subsequent female offspring were found to have similar GM profiles to surrogate dams. Furthermore, breeding colonies of CD1 mice with distinct GM profiles were maintained for nine generations, demonstrating GM stability within these colonies. To confirm GM stability, we shipped cohorts of these four colonies to collaborating institutions and found no significant variation in GM composition. These mice are an invaluable experimental resource that can be used to investigate GM effects on mouse model phenotype
Properties of the Strange Axial Mesons in the Relativized Quark Model
We studied properties of the strange axial mesons in the relativized quark
model. We calculated the decay constant in the quark model and showed how
it can be used to extract the mixing angle
() from the weak decay . The ratio is the most sensitive
measurement and also the most reliable since the largest of the theoretical
uncertainties factor out. However the current bounds extracted from the
TPC/Two-Gamma collaboration measurements are rather weak: we typically obtain
at 68\% C.L. We also calculated the
strong OZI-allowed decays in the pseudoscalar emission model and the flux-tube
breaking model and extracted a mixing angle of . Our analysis also indicates that the heavy quark limit does not give a
good description of the strange mesons.Comment: Revised version to be published in Phys. Rev. D. Minor changes. Latex
file uses revtex version 3 and epsfig, 4 postcript figures are attached. The
full postcript version with embedded figures is available at
ftp://ftp.physics.carleton.ca/pub/theory/godfrey/ocipc9512.ps.
How much dystrophin is enough: the physiological consequences of different levels of dystrophin in the mdx mouse
Splice modulation therapy has shown great clinical promise in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, resulting in the production of dystrophin protein. Despite this, the relationship between restoring dystrophin to established dystrophic muscle and its ability to induce clinically relevant changes in muscle function is poorly understood. In order to robustly evaluate functional improvement, we used in situ protocols in the mdx mouse to measure muscle strength and resistance to eccentric contraction-induced damage. Here, we modelled the treatment of muscle with pre-existing dystrophic pathology using antisense oligonucleotides conjugated to a cell-penetrating peptide. We reveal that 15% homogeneous dystrophin expression is sufficient to protect against eccentric contraction-induced injury. In addition, we demonstrate a >40% increase in specific isometric force following repeated administrations. Strikingly, we show that changes in muscle strength are proportional to dystrophin expression levels. These data define the dystrophin restoration levels required to slow down or prevent disease progression and improve overall muscle function once a dystrophic environment has been established in the mdx mouse model
Evaluating matrix elements relevant to some Lorenz violating operators
Carlson, Carone and Lebed have derived the Feynman rules for a consistent
formulation of noncommutative QCD. The results they obtained were used to
constrain the noncommutativity parameter in Lorentz violating noncommutative
field theories. However, their constraint depended upon an estimate of the
matrix element of the quark level operator (gamma.p - m) in a nucleon. In this
paper we calculate the matrix element of (gamma.p - m), using a variety of
confinement potential models. Our results are within an order of magnitude
agreement with the estimate made by Carlson et al. The constraints placed on
the noncommutativity parameter were very strong, and are still quite severe
even if weakened by an order of magnitude.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTex, minor change
Final Draft Report: Economic Policy Options for Utah Agriculture
As a general rule, economists seldom advocate policy options. They prefer to discuss advantages and disadvantages. Primarily, this is because of an inherent belief that the market does provide for an efficient allocation of goods and services for those participating in that particular market. However, it is widely recognized that the market will not allocate efficiently if certain impediments exist. Furthermore, in situations where the market cannot reflect true social costs and benefits, some corrective actions may be required
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