194 research outputs found
Health-related quality of life impact of a triple combination of olmesartan medoxomil, amlodipine besylate and hydrochlorotiazide in subjects with hypertension
Background
A post-hoc analysis was performed on the data from a 54 weeks phase III study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00923091) to measure changes in the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of 2,690 patients aged â„18 with moderate-to-severe hypertension who received one of six doses of olmesartan/amlodipine/hydrochlorothiazide (OLM/AML/HCTZ), using the MINICHAL and EQ-5D instruments.
Methods
Descriptive statistics were used to assess blood pressure and HRQoL scores over the study period. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to identify those factors that could possibly have influenced HRQoL. Linear regression was used to assess the relationship between changes in blood pressure and HRQoL scores.
Results
Patientsâ baseline MINICHAL mood and somatic domains scores were 5.5 and 2.6. Over the study period HRQoL improved as both MINICHAL scores decreased by 31-33%. Patientsâ baseline EQ-5D index and VAS scores were 0.9 and 73.4 respectively, increasing by 6% and 12% over the study period. Patientsâ QALY gain over the 54 weeks study period was estimated to be 0.029 QALYs. The ANCOVA showed that changes in patientsâ HRQoL was likely to have been influenced by patientsâ achievement of blood pressure control, the amount of concomitant medication and patientsâ last used dosage strength of antihypertensive. Linear regression showed that blood pressure improvement may have been associated with improved HRQoL.
Conclusions
This study showed that OLM/AML/HCTZ reduced blood pressure and significantly increased blood pressure control whilst improving patientsâ HRQoL. Achieving blood pressure control, amount of concomitant medication and dosage strength of antihypertensive impacted on patientsâ HRQoL
Cyclical strain improves artificial equine tendon constructs in vitro
Tendon injuries are a common cause of morbidity in humans. They also occur frequently in horses and the horse provides a relevant, large animal model in which to test novel therapies. To develop novel cell therapies that can aid tendon regeneration and reduce subsequent reâinjury rates, the mechanisms that control tendon tissue regeneration and matrix remodelling need to be better understood. Whilst a range of chemical cues have been explored (growth factors, media etc.), the influence of the mechanical environment on tendon cell culture has yet to be fully elucidated. To mimic the in vivo environment, in this study we have utilised a novel and affordable, customâmade bioreactor to apply a cyclical strain to tendonâlike constructs generated in 3âdimensional (3D) culture by equine tenocytes. Dynamic shear analysis (DSA), dynamic scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used to determine the mechanical and chemical properties of the resulting tendonâlike constructs. Our results demonstrate that equine tenocytes exposed to a 10% cyclical strain have an increased amount of collagen gel contraction after 7 and 8 days of culture compared to cells cultured in 3D in the absence of external strain. While all the tendonâlike constructs have a very similar chemical composition to native tendon, the application of strain improves their mechanical properties. We envisage these results will contribute towards the development of improved biomimetic artificial tendon models for the development of novel strategies for equine regenerative therapies
The older volcanic complexes of Sao Miguel, Azores: Nordeste and Povoacao
The oldest part of S. Miguel is to the east of Furnas. Previous research argued that these volcanics belong to a construct called the Nordeste Volcano, a heavily eroded shield which not only extends to the east coast of the island but also underlies Furnas Volcano in the west. On the basis of geomorphological mapping, we argue that Nordeste comprises two volcanic systems: an older Nordeste construct (the Nordeste Volcanic System); and the younger Povoação Volcano which straddles the Nordeste shield on its western margin. The Nordeste Volcanic System consists of the Lower Basalts which constitute the overwhelming majority of its subaerial products which are exposed in coastal cliff sections. Above the Lower Basalts is a surficial drape of Ankaramites and the Upper Basalts. There is no evidence of large explosive trachytic eruptions from Nordeste Volcanic System. Povoação Volcano comprises an early shield construct, after which the volcano experienced caldera collapse. Post-caldera deposits are poorly exposed, but include basaltic, mugearitic and trachytic lavas intercalated by cut and fill sequences. Radiometric dating has yet to resolve fully the absolute ages of the Nordeste and Povoação volcanic systems, but morphology indicates that the former is much older than the latter
The orbit rigidity matrix of a symmetric framework
A number of recent papers have studied when symmetry causes frameworks on a
graph to become infinitesimally flexible, or stressed, and when it has no
impact. A number of other recent papers have studied special classes of
frameworks on generically rigid graphs which are finite mechanisms. Here we
introduce a new tool, the orbit matrix, which connects these two areas and
provides a matrix representation for fully symmetric infinitesimal flexes, and
fully symmetric stresses of symmetric frameworks. The orbit matrix is a true
analog of the standard rigidity matrix for general frameworks, and its analysis
gives important insights into questions about the flexibility and rigidity of
classes of symmetric frameworks, in all dimensions.
With this narrower focus on fully symmetric infinitesimal motions, comes the
power to predict symmetry-preserving finite mechanisms - giving a simplified
analysis which covers a wide range of the known mechanisms, and generalizes the
classes of known mechanisms. This initial exploration of the properties of the
orbit matrix also opens up a number of new questions and possible extensions of
the previous results, including transfer of symmetry based results from
Euclidean space to spherical, hyperbolic, and some other metrics with shared
symmetry groups and underlying projective geometry.Comment: 41 pages, 12 figure
-Strands
A -strand is a map for a Lie
group that follows from Hamilton's principle for a certain class of
-invariant Lagrangians. The SO(3)-strand is the -strand version of the
rigid body equation and it may be regarded physically as a continuous spin
chain. Here, -strand dynamics for ellipsoidal rotations is derived as
an Euler-Poincar\'e system for a certain class of variations and recast as a
Lie-Poisson system for coadjoint flow with the same Hamiltonian structure as
for a perfect complex fluid. For a special Hamiltonian, the -strand is
mapped into a completely integrable generalization of the classical chiral
model for the SO(3)-strand. Analogous results are obtained for the
-strand. The -strand is the -strand version of the
Bloch-Iserles ordinary differential equation, whose solutions exhibit dynamical
sorting. Numerical solutions show nonlinear interactions of coherent wave-like
solutions in both cases. -strand equations on the
diffeomorphism group are also introduced and shown
to admit solutions with singular support (e.g., peakons).Comment: 35 pages, 5 figures, 3rd version. To appear in J Nonlin Sc
Comparative behaviour and evolution of the caldera forming active volcanoes of Sao Miguel (Azores): Sete Cidades, Fogo and Furnas
SĂŁo Miguel, with its E-W elongated shape, is the largest and the most volcanically active of the nine islands of
the Azores archipelago. From West to East Sete Cidades, Fogo and Furnas are three active central volcanoes
with calderas. Each of these three calderas evolved through several phases of collapse generated by Plinian scale explosive eruptions over the last 40 ka. The most recent Plinian scale eruption was that of Fogo A, c. 5ka, from Fogo volcano.
In this report, we summarise the results of more than two decades of research on the geology of these volcanoes.
More specifically we compare: the evolution of each caldera; and the styles of recent eruptions. It is of
note that there is a pattern of a change in eruptive behaviour from around 5 ka shown by all three volcanoes to eruptions displaying a style involving switching between magmatic and phreatomagmatic sub-Plinian activity.
This is well displayed in the historic sub-Plinian eruptions of Fogo and Furnas
Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in âs = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fbâ1 of protonâproton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results
Jet size dependence of single jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s(NN)) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC
Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC
provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of
lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of approximately 7 inverse microbarns, ATLAS has measured jets with
a calorimeter over the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.1 and over the
transverse momentum range 38 < pT < 210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the
anti-kt algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the
nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of
the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," Rcp.
Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in
the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. Rcp varies
smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating
nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and
transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of
inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous
measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 8 figures, 2 tables,
submitted to Physics Letters B. All figures including auxiliary figures are
available at
http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2011-02
Human Resource Flexibility as a Mediating Variable Between High Performance Work Systems and Performance
Much of the human resource management literature has demonstrated the impact of high performance
work systems (HPWS) on organizational performance. A new generation of studies is
emerging in this literature that recommends the inclusion of mediating variables between HPWS
and organizational performance. The increasing rate of dynamism in competitive environments
suggests that measures of employee adaptability should be included as a mechanism that may
explain the relevance of HPWS to firm competitiveness. On a sample of 226 Spanish firms, the
studyâs results confirm that HPWS influences performance through its impact on the firmâs
human resource (HR) flexibility
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