71 research outputs found
Gambling problems and military- and health-related behaviour in UK Armed Forces veterans
Internationally, problem gambling is elevated in Armed Forces veterans compared to the general population. Here, we re-examined the prevalence of problem gambling in veterans and non-veterans residing in England using an established large dataset and investigated whether gambling was associated with length of service, common mental health disorders, substance abuse, or financial management history. Using the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey, 257 post-national service veterans and 514 age- and sex-matched controls were compared. Veterans had significantly higher rates of problem gambling than non-veterans. Male veterans were more likely than non-veterans to have experienced a traumatic event. The relationship between veteran status and problem gambling was not explained by differences in mental health conditions, substance abuse, or financial management. No differences were found for length of service. Further research is required with larger samples targeting problem gambling and Armed Forces experience in the United Kingdom population using contemporary diagnostic criteria
Biomarkers of aging associated with past treatments in breast cancer survivors.
Radiation and chemotherapy are effective treatments for cancer, but are also toxic to healthy cells. Little is known about whether prior exposure to these treatments is related to markers of cellular aging years later in breast cancer survivors. We examined whether past exposure to chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment was associated with DNA damage, telomerase activity, and telomere length 3-6 years after completion of primary treatments in breast cancer survivors (stage 0-IIIA breast cancer at diagnosis). We also examined the relationship of these cellular aging markers with plasma levels of Interleukin (IL)-6, soluble TNF-receptor-II (sTNF-RII), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Ninety-four women (36.4-69.5 years; 80% white) were evaluated. Analyses adjusting for age, race, BMI, and years from last treatment found that women who had prior exposure to chemotherapy and/or radiation compared to women who had previously received surgery alone were more likely to have higher levels of DNA damage (P = .02) and lower telomerase activity (P = .02), but did not have differences in telomere length. More DNA damage and lower telomerase were each associated with higher levels of sTNF-RII (P's < .05). We found that exposure to chemotherapy and/or radiation 3-6 years prior was associated with markers of cellular aging, including higher DNA damage and lower telomerase activity, in post-treatment breast cancer survivors. Furthermore, these measures were associated with elevated inflammatory activation, as indexed by sTNF-RII. Given that these differences were observed many years after the treatment, the findings suggest a long lasting effect of chemotherapy and/or radiation exposure
Creating a Discipline-specific Commons for Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Objective: To create a commons for infectious disease (ID) epidemiology in
which epidemiologists, public health officers, data producers, and software
developers can not only share data and software, but receive assistance in
improving their interoperability. Materials and Methods: We represented 586
datasets, 54 software, and 24 data formats in OWL 2 and then used logical
queries to infer potentially interoperable combinations of software and
datasets, as well as statistics about the FAIRness of the collection. We
represented the objects in DATS 2.2 and a software metadata schema of our own
design. We used these representations as the basis for the Content, Search,
FAIR-o-meter, and Workflow pages that constitute the MIDAS Digital Commons.
Results: Interoperability was limited by lack of standardization of input and
output formats of software. When formats existed, they were human-readable
specifications (22/24; 92%); only 3 formats (13%) had machine-readable
specifications. Nevertheless, logical search of a triple store based on named
data formats was able to identify scores of potentially interoperable
combinations of software and datasets. Discussion: We improved the findability
and availability of a sample of software and datasets and developed metrics for
assessing interoperability. The barriers to interoperability included poor
documentation of software input/output formats and little attention to
standardization of most types of data in this field. Conclusion: Centralizing
and formalizing the representation of digital objects within a commons promotes
FAIRness, enables its measurement over time and the identification of
potentially interoperable combinations of data and software.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure
The High Energy view of the Broad Line Radio Galaxy 3C 111
We present the analysis of Suzaku and XMM-Newton observations of the
broad-line radio galaxy (BLRG) 3C 111. Its high energy emission shows
variability, a harder continuum with respect to the radio quiet AGN population,
and weak reflection features. Suzaku found the source in a minimum flux level;
a comparison with the XMM-Newton data implies an increase of a factor of 2.5 in
the 0.5-10 keV flux, in the 6 months separating the two observations. The iron
K complex is detected in both datasets, with rather low equivalent width(s).
The intensity of the iron K complex does not respond to the change in continuum
flux. An ultra-fast, high-ionization outflowing gas is clearly detected in the
XIS data; the absorber is most likely unstable. Indeed, during the XMM-Newton
observation, which was 6 months after, the absorber was not detected. No clear
roll-over in the hard X-ray emission is detected, probably due to the emergence
of the jet as a dominant component in the hard X-ray band, as suggested by the
detection above ~ 100 keV with the GSO on-board Suzaku, although the present
data do not allow us to firmly constrain the relative contribution of the
different components. The fluxes observed by the gamma-ray satellites CGRO and
Fermi would be compatible with the putative jet component if peaking at
energies E ~ 100 MeV. In the X-ray band, the jet contribution to the continuum
starts to be significant only above 10 keV. If the detection of the jet
component in 3C 111 is confirmed, then its relative importance in the X-ray
energy band could explain the different observed properties in the high-energy
emission of BLRGs, which are otherwise similar in their other multiwavelength
properties. Comparison between X-ray and gamma-ray data taken at different
epochs suggests that the strong variability observed for 3C 111 is probably
driven by a change in the primary continuum.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS; 15 pages, 9 figures, 5 table
The Grizzly, October 30, 2008
Sounds of NYC Poet Tracie Morris • Plan to Vote? UC Students Take Note: Polling Location Change • Business Management Students Assist Charitable Causes • Colin Powell Publicly Endorses Obama • Young and Engaged: Planning for Life Beyond UC Years • Hingston of Philadelphia Speaks at UC • Faculty Spotlight on Philosophy Professor Kelly Sorensen • More from Students Studying Abroad: UC in Germany • Opinions: We Will Overcome: Positive Psychology in America; Logical Reason Behind Refusal to Vote; Controversy for the Republicans • Football Quarterback Nick Dye Great Leader for Young Team • Kelly Hosier: Sole, Shy Senior on UC Women\u27s Volleyball Teamhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1773/thumbnail.jp
Observational evidence for gravitationally trapped massive axion(-like) particles
Unexpected astrophysical observations can be explained by gravitationally
captured massive particles, which are produced inside the Sun or other Stars
and are accumulated over cosmic times. Their radiative decay in solar outer
space would give rise to a `self-irradiation' of the whole star, providing the
time-independent component of the corona heating source. In analogy with the
Sun-irradiated Earth atmosphere, the temperature and density gradient in the
corona - chromosphere transition region is suggestive for an omnipresent
irradiation of the Sun. The same scenario fits other astrophysical X-ray
observations. The radiative decay of a population of such elusive particles
mimics a hot gas. X-ray observatories, with an unrivalled sensitivity below ~10
keV, can search for such particles. The elongation angle relative to the Sun is
the relevant new parameter.Comment: 35 pages, LaTeX, 9 figures. Accepted by Astroparticle Physic
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