The health state preferences and logistical inconsistencies of New Zealanders: a tale of two tariffs

Notwithstanding the proposed use of Cost-Utility Analysis (CUA) to inform health care priority setting in New Zealand, to date there has been no research into New Zealanders’ valuations of health-related quality of life. This paper reports the results of a study of the health state preferences of adult New Zealanders generated from a postal survey to which 1360 people responded (a 50% response rate). The survey employed a self-completed questionnaire in which a selection of health states were described using the EQ-5D health state classification system and respondents’ valuations were sought using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Close attention is paid to the quality of the data, in particular to the ‘logical inconsistencies’ in respondents’ valuations. Regression analysis is used to interpolate values over the 245 possible EQ-5D states. Two tariffs of health state preferences, arising from contrasting treatments of the logical inconsistencies, are reported.New Zealand, EuroQol, EQ-5D

Growth-related quantitative trait loci in domestic and wild rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Background: Somatic growth is a complex process that involves the action and interaction of genes and environment. A number of quantitative trait loci (QTL) previously identified for body weight and condition factor in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and two other salmonid species, were used to further investigate the genetic architecture of growth-influencing genes in this species. Relationships among previously mapped candidate genes for growth and their co-localization to identified QTL regions are reported. Furthermore, using a comparative genomic analysis of syntenic rainbow trout linkage group clusters to their homologous regions within model teleost species such as zebrafish, stickleback and medaka, inferences were made regarding additional possible candidate genes underlying identified QTL regions.Results: Body weight (BW) QTL were detected on the majority of rainbow trout linkage groups across 10 parents from 3 strains. However, only 10 linkage groups (i.e., RT-3, -6, -8, -9, -10, -12, -13, -22, -24, -27) possessed QTL regions with chromosome-wide or genome-wide effects across multiple parents. Fewer QTL for condition factor (K) were identified and only six instances of co-localization across families were detected (i.e. RT-9, -15, -16, -23, -27, -31 and RT-2/9 homeologs). Of note, both BW and K QTL co-localize on RT-9 and RT-27. The incidence of epistatic interaction across genomic regions within different female backgrounds was also examined, and although evidence for interaction effects within certain QTL regions were evident, these interactions were few in number and statistically weak. Of interest, however, was the fact that these predominantly occurred within K QTL regions. Currently mapped growth candidate genes are largely congruent with the identified QTL regions. More QTL were detected in male, compared to female parents, with the greatest number evident in an F 1male parent derived from an intercross between domesticated and wild strain of rainbow trout which differed strongly in growth rate.Conclusions: Strain background influences the degree to which QTL effects are evident for growth-related genes. The process of domestication (which primarily selects faster growing fish) may largely reduce the genetic influences on growth-specific phenotypic variation. Although heritabilities have been reported to be relatively high for both BW and K growth traits, the genetic architecture of K phenotypic variation appears less defined (i.e., fewer major contributing QTL regions were identified compared with BW QTL regions)

Galactic microwave emission at degree angular scales

We cross-correlate the Saskatoon Ka and Q-Band Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data with different maps to quantify possible foreground contamination. We detect a marginal correlation (2 sigma) with the Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) 240, 140 and 100 microm maps, but we find no significant correlation with point sources, with the Haslam 408 MHz map or with the Reich and Reich 1420 MHz map. The rms amplitude of the component correlated with DIRBE is about 20% of the CMB signal. Interpreting this component as free-free emission, this normalization agrees with that of Kogut et al. (1996a; 1996b) and supports the hypothesis that the spatial correlation between dust and warm ionized gas observed on large angular scales persists to smaller angular scales. Subtracting this contribution from the CMB data reduces the normalization of the Saskatoon power spectrum by only a few percent.Comment: Minor revisions to match published version. 14 pages, with 2 figures included. Color figure and links at http://www.sns.ias.edu/~angelica/foreground.htm

Quantification of total T-cell receptor diversity by flow cytometry and spectratyping

BACKGROUND: T-cell receptor diversity correlates with immune competency and is of particular interest in patients undergoing immune reconstitution. Spectratyping generates data about T-cell receptor CDR3 length distribution for each BV gene but is technically complex. Flow cytometry can also be used to generate data about T-cell receptor BV gene usage, but its utility has not been compared to or tested in combination with spectratyping. RESULTS: Using flow cytometry and spectratype data, we have defined a divergence metric that quantifies the deviation from normal of T-cell receptor repertoire. We have shown that the sample size is a sensitive parameter in the predicted flow divergence values, but not in the spectratype divergence values. We have derived two ways to correct for the measurement bias using mathematical and statistical approaches and have predicted a lower bound in the number of lymphocytes needed when using the divergence as a substitute for diversity. CONCLUSIONS: Using both flow cytometry and spectratyping of T-cells, we have defined the divergence measure as an indirect measure of T-cell receptor diversity. We have shown the dependence of the divergence measure on the sample size before it can be used to make predictions regarding the diversity of the T-cell receptor repertoire

Lack of class I H-2 antigens in cells transformed by radiation leukemia virus is associated with methylation and rearrangement of H-2 DNA

Transformation of murine thymocytes by radiation leukemia virus is associated with reduced expression of the class I antigens encoded in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and increased methylation and altered restriction enzyme patterns of MHC DNA. These changes may play a role in host susceptibility to virus-induced leukemogenesis and accord with the notion that viral genomes play a regulatory function when they integrate adjacent to histocompatibiity genes

Breaking the Redshift Deadlock - I: Constraining the star formation history of galaxies with sub-millimetre photometric redshifts

Future extragalactic sub-millimetre and millimetre surveys have the potential to provide a sensitive census of the level of obscured star formation in galaxies at all redshifts. While in general there is good agreement between the source counts from existing SCUBA (850um) and MAMBO (1.25mm) surveys of different depths and areas, it remains difficult to determine the redshift distribution and bolometric luminosities of the sub-millimetre and millimetre galaxy population. This is principally due to the ambiguity in identifying an individual sub-millimetre source with its optical, IR or radio counterpart which, in turn, prevents a confident measurement of the spectroscopic redshift. Additionally, the lack of data measuring the rest-frame FIR spectral peak of the sub-millimetre galaxies gives rise to poor constraints on their rest-frame FIR luminosities and star formation rates. In this paper we describe Monte-Carlo simulations of ground-based, balloon-borne and satellite sub-millimetre surveys that demonstrate how the rest-frame FIR-sub-millimetre spectral energy distributions (250-850um) can be used to derive photometric redshifts with an r.m.s accuracy of +/- 0.4 over the range 0 < z < 6. This opportunity to break the redshift deadlock will provide an estimate of the global star formation history for luminous optically-obscured galaxies [L(FIR) > 3 x 10^12 Lsun] with an accuracy of 20 per cent.Comment: 14 pages, 22 figures, submitted to MNRAS, replaced with accepted versio