Law of the leading digits and the ideological struggle for numbers

Benford's law states that the occurrence of significant digits in many data sets is not uniform but tends to follow a logarithmic distribution such that the smaller digits appear as first significant digits more frequently than the larger ones. We investigate here numerical data on the country-wise adherent distribution of seven major world religions i.e. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Baha'ism to see if the proportion of the leading digits occurring in the distribution conforms to Benford's law. We find that the adherent data of all the religions, except Christianity, excellently does conform to Benford's law. Furthermore, unlike the adherent data on Christianity, the significant digit distribution of the three major Christian denominations i.e. Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy obeys the law. Thus in spite of their complexity general laws can be established for the evolution of the religious groups.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, title changed to "The law of the leading digits and the world religions" for journal version in publicatio

Todavía se recetan medicamentos potencialmente hepatotóxicos a pacientes con enfermedad hepática que reciben atención terciaria: es hora de decir basta

Introduction and aim: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) manifests as a spectrum of clinical presentations that carries morbidity and mortality. Patients with chronic liver disease (CLD), particularly hospitalized, are at high risk for developing DILI. We aimed to investigate the use of potentially hepatotoxic drugs (PHD) in patients with CLD in a tertiary university hospital. Materials and methods: Adult (≥ 18 years-old) with CLD admitted to the hospital from January 2016 to December 2018 were evaluated regarding PHD, assessing the risk of DILI and liver enzymes behavior after exposure. Results: From 931 hospitalized patients with CLD, 291 (31.3%) were exposed to hepatotoxic drugs during their hospitalization. Of those, 244 (83.8%) were cirrhotic. The most frequent causes of liver disease were hepatitis C (41.2%), followed by alcohol (13.2%), hepatitis C/alcohol (11.7%) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (5.8%). Decompensated cirrhosis (46.7%) was the main reason for hospital admission. The most often prescribed PHD were antibiotics (67.7%), cardiovascular drugs (34.4%), neuromodulators (26.1%) and anesthetics (19.9%). After exposure, 113 patients (38.8%) presented significant elevated liver enzymes. Surprisingly, PHD were more often prescribed in GI/Liver unit (48.8%) followed by emergency/intensive care unit (28.5%). A total of 65 patients (22%) died, however in neither case was it possible to safely infer causal relationship among PHD, liver enzymes and death. Conclusion: PHD prescription is frequent in patients with CLD even in a tertiary university hospital and in the gastroenterology and hepatology department, exposing these patients to an additional risk.Introducción y objetivo: La lesión hepática inducida por fármacos (DILI) se manifiesta como un espectro de presentaciones clínicas que conlleva morbilidad y mortalidad. Los pacientes con enfermedad hepática crónica (EHC), en particular hospitalizados, tienen un alto riesgo de desarrollar DILI. Nuestro objetivo fue investigar el uso de fármacos potencialmente hepatotóxicos (FPH) en pacientes con EHC en un hospital universitario terciario. Materiales y métodos: Se evaluó la expossición a FPH en adultos (≥ 18 años) con EHC ingresados en el hospital entre enero de 2016 y diciembre de 2018, evaluando el riesgo de DILI y el comportamiento de las enzimas hepáticas tras la exposición. Resultados: De 931 pacientes hospitalizados con EHC, 291 (31,3%) estuvieron expuestos a fármacos hepatotóxicos durante su hospitalización. De ellos, 244 (83,8%) eran cirróticos. Las causas más frecuentes de enfermedad hepática fueron la hepatitis C (41,2%), seguida del alcohol (13,2%), la hepatitis C / alcohol (11,7%) y la enfermedad del hígado graso no alcohólico (5,8%). La cirrosis descompensada (46,7%) fue el principal motivo de ingreso hospitalario. Los FPH más prescritos fueron antibióticos (67,7%), fármacos cardiovasculares (34,4%), neuromoduladores (26,1%) y anestésicos (19,9%). Tras la exposición, 113 pacientes (38,8%) presentaron elevación significativa de las enzimas hepáticas. Sorprendentemente, los FPH se prescribieron con mayor frecuencia en la unidad GI / Hígado (48,8%) seguido de la unidad de emergencia / cuidados intensivos (28,5%). Un total de 65 pacientes (22%) fallecieron, sin embargo, en ninguno de los casos fue posible inferir con seguridad la relación causal entre el FHD, las enzimas hepáticas y la muerte. Conclusión: la prescripción de FPH es frecuente en pacientes con EHC incluso en un hospital universitario terciario y en el servicio de gastroenterología y hepatología, exponiendo a estos pacientes a un riesgo adicional

Numerical simulations of the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium

In this paper we review the current predictions of numerical simulations for the origin and observability of the warm hot intergalactic medium (WHIM), the diffuse gas that contains up to 50 per cent of the baryons at z~0. During structure formation, gravitational accretion shocks emerging from collapsing regions gradually heat the intergalactic medium (IGM) to temperatures in the range T~10^5-10^7 K. The WHIM is predicted to radiate most of its energy in the ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray bands and to contribute a significant fraction of the soft X-ray background emission. While O VI and C IV absorption systems arising in the cooler fraction of the WHIM with T~10^5-10^5.5 K are seen in FUSE and HST observations, models agree that current X-ray telescopes such as Chandra and XMM-Newton do not have enough sensitivity to detect the hotter WHIM. However, future missions such as Constellation-X and XEUS might be able to detect both emission lines and absorption systems from highly ionised atoms such as O VII, O VIII and Fe XVII.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews, special issue "Clusters of galaxies: beyond the thermal view", Editor J.S. Kaastra, Chapter 14; work done by an international team at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, organised by J.S. Kaastra, A.M. Bykov, S. Schindler & J.A.M. Bleeke

Quantification of selection bias in studies of risk factors for birth defects among livebirths

Background: Risk factors for birth defects are frequently investigated using data limited to liveborn infants. By conditioning on survival, results of such studies may be distorted by selection bias, also described as “livebirth bias.” However, the implications of livebirth bias on risk estimation remain poorly understood. Objectives: We sought to quantify livebirth bias and to investigate the conditions under which it arose. Methods: We used data on 3994 birth defects cases and 11 829 controls enrolled in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study to compare odds ratio (OR) estimates of the relationship between three established risk factors (antiepileptic drug use, smoking, and multifetal pregnancy) and four birth defects (anencephaly, spina bifida, omphalocele, and cleft palate) when restricted to livebirths as compared to among livebirths, stillbirths, and elective terminations. Exposures and birth defects represented varying strengths of association with livebirth; all controls were liveborn. We performed a quantitative bias analysis to evaluate the sensitivity of our results to excluding terminated and stillborn controls. Results: Cases ranged from 33% liveborn (anencephaly) to 99% (cleft palate). Smoking and multifetal pregnancy were associated with livebirth among anencephaly (crude OR [cOR] 0.61 and cOR 3.15, respectively) and omphalocele cases (cOR 2.22 and cOR 5.22, respectively). For analyses of the association between exposures and birth defects, restricting to livebirths produced negligible differences in estimates except for anencephaly and multifetal pregnancy, which was twofold higher among livebirths (adjusted OR [aOR] 4.93) as among all pregnancy outcomes (aOR 2.44). Within tested scenarios, bias analyses suggested that results were not sensitive to the restriction to liveborn controls. Conclusions: Selection bias was generally limited except for high mortality defects in the context of exposures strongly associated with livebirth. Findings indicate that substantial livebirth bias is unlikely to affect studies of risk factors for most birth defects

Cardiovascular safety of celecoxib in acute myocardial infarction patients: a nested case-control study

The objective was to measure the impact of exposure to coxibs and non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) on morbidity and mortality in older patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). A nested case-control study was carried out using an exhaustive population-based cohort of patients aged 66 years and older living in Quebec (Canada) who survived a hospitalization for AMI (ICD-9 410) between 1999 and 2002. The main variables were all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) death, subsequent hospital admission for AMI, and a composite end-point including recurrent AMI or CV death. Conditional logistic regressions were used to estimate the risk of mortality and morbidity. A total of 19,823 patients aged 66 years and older survived hospitalization for AMI in the province of Quebec between 1999 and 2002. After controlling for covariables, the risk of subsequent AMI and the risk of composite end-point were increased by the use of rofecoxib. The risk of subsequent AMI was particularly high for new rofecoxib users (HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.57–3.89). No increased risk was observed for celecoxib users. No increased risk of CV death was observed for patients exposed to coxibs or NSAIDs. Patients newly exposed to NSAIDs were at an increased risk of death (HR 2.22, 95% CI 1.30–3.77) and of composite end-point (HR 2.28, 95% CI 1.35–3.84). Users of rofecoxib and NSAIDs, but not celecoxib, were at an increased risk of recurrent AMI and of composite end-point. Surprisingly, no increased risk of CV death was observed. Further studies are needed to better understand these apparently contradictory results

Planck 2015 results. XXVII. The Second Planck Catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich Sources

We present the all-sky Planck catalogue of Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) sources detected from the 29 month full-mission data. The catalogue (PSZ2) is the largest SZ-selected sample of galaxy clusters yet produced and the deepest all-sky catalogue of galaxy clusters. It contains 1653 detections, of which 1203 are confirmed clusters with identified counterparts in external data-sets, and is the first SZ-selected cluster survey containing > $10^3$ confirmed clusters. We present a detailed analysis of the survey selection function in terms of its completeness and statistical reliability, placing a lower limit of 83% on the purity. Using simulations, we find that the Y5R500 estimates are robust to pressure-profile variation and beam systematics, but accurate conversion to Y500 requires. the use of prior information on the cluster extent. We describe the multi-wavelength search for counterparts in ancillary data, which makes use of radio, microwave, infra-red, optical and X-ray data-sets, and which places emphasis on the robustness of the counterpart match. We discuss the physical properties of the new sample and identify a population of low-redshift X-ray under- luminous clusters revealed by SZ selection. These objects appear in optical and SZ surveys with consistent properties for their mass, but are almost absent from ROSAT X-ray selected samples

Search for W' bosons decaying to an electron and a neutrino with the D0 detector

This Letter describes the search for a new heavy charged gauge boson W' decaying into an electron and a neutrino. The data were collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron proton-antiproton Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 1 inverse femtobarn. Lacking any significant excess in the data in comparison with known processes, an upper limit is set on the production cross section times branching fraction, and a W' boson with mass below 1.00 TeV can be excluded at the 95% C.L., assuming standard-model-like couplings to fermions. This result significantly improves upon previous limits, and is the most stringent to date.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Before and After: Comparison of Legacy and Harmonized TCGA Genomic Data Commons’ Data

We present a systematic analysis of the effects of synchronizing a large-scale, deeply characterized, multi-omic dataset to the current human reference genome, using updated software, pipelines, and annotations. For each of 5 molecular data platforms in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)—mRNA and miRNA expression, single nucleotide variants, DNA methylation and copy number alterations—comprehensive sample, gene, and probe-level studies were performed, towards quantifying the degree of similarity between the ‘legacy’ GRCh37 (hg19) TCGA data and its GRCh38 (hg38) version as ‘harmonized’ by the Genomic Data Commons. We offer gene lists to elucidate differences that remained after controlling for confounders, and strategies to mitigate their impact on biological interpretation. Our results demonstrate that the hg19 and hg38 TCGA datasets are very highly concordant, promote informed use of either legacy or harmonized omics data, and provide a rubric that encourages similar comparisons as new data emerge and reference data evolve. Gao et al. performed a systematic analysis of the effects of synchronizing the large-scale, widely used, multi-omic dataset of The Cancer Genome Atlas to the current human reference genome. For each of the five molecular data platforms assessed, they demonstrated a very high concordance between the ‘legacy’ GRCh37 (hg19) TCGA data and its GRCh38 (hg38) version as ‘harmonized’ by the Genomic Data Commons

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types

Search for the associated production of a b quark and a neutral supersymmetric Higgs boson which decays to tau pairs

We report results from a search for production of a neutral Higgs boson in association with a $b$ quark. We search for Higgs decays to $\tau$ pairs with one $\tau$ subsequently decaying to a muon and the other to hadrons. The data correspond to 2.7fb$^{-1}$ of \ppbar collisions recorded by the D0 detector at $\sqrt{s} = 1.96$TeV. The data are found to be consistent with background predictions. The result allows us to exclude a significant region of parameter space of the minimal supersymmetric model.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter