Prevalence, risk factors and awareness of albuminuria on a Canadian First Nation: A community-based screening study

BACKGROUND: Both diabetic and non-diabetic end stage renal disease (ESRD) are more common among Canadian First Nations people than among the general Canadian population. The purpose of this research was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for albuminuria in a Canadian First Nation population at high risk for ESRD and dialysis. METHODS: Data from a community-based screening study of 483 residents of a Plains Ojibway First Nation in Manitoba was used. Participants provided random urine samples. Proteinuria was defined as any dipstick positive for protein (≥1 g/L) or those with ACR in the macroalbuminuric range (≥30 mg/mmol) on at least one sample. Microalbuminuria was defined as ACR ≥2 mg/mmol for males and ≥2.8 mg/mmol for females. Other measures included fasting glucose, haemoglobin A(1c), triglycerides, cholesterol, blood pressure, height, weight and waist and hip circumferences. RESULTS: Twenty percent of study participants had albuminuria, (5% proteinuria and 15% microalbuminuria). Of participants with diabetes, 42% (56/132) had albuminuria compared to 26% (7/27) among those with impaired fasting glucose and 10% (30/303) among those with normal glucose tolerance. Only 5.3% of those with albuminuria were aware of any degree of renal disease. In a multivariate logistic regression, independent associations with albuminuria were male gender [p = 0.002], increasing fasting glucose [p <0.0001], years diagnosed with diabetes [p = 0.03], increasing systolic blood pressure [p = 0.009], and increasing body mass index (BMI) [p = 0.04]. CONCLUSIONS: The independent association between BMI and albuminuria has not been previously reported among indigenous populations. There is a high prevalence of albuminuria in this Canadian First Nation population; the high proportion of patients with diabetes and undiagnosed kidney disease demonstrates the need for screening, education and intervention to halt the progression and development of albuminuria and ultimately ESRD and CVD

Hepatitis B Vaccination for Patients with Chronic Renal Failure

Background Chronic renal failure patients are at particular risk of hepatitis B virus infection. Early studies have demonstrated that renal failure patients benefit from vaccination; however, not all studies have consistently shown benefit. Objectives To determine the beneficial and harmful effects of hepatitis B vaccine and of a reinforced vaccination series in chronic renal failure patients. Search methods We searched The Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group Controlled Trials Register, The Cochrane Renal Group Controlled Trials Register, The Cochrane Controlled Trials Register on The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2002), PubMed/MEDLINE (1966 to July 2003), EMBASE (1985 toNovember 2003), Current Clinical Practice Guidelines (Canadian Immunization Guide and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Surveillance Manual), and Science Citation Index as well as journals, published abstracts, and reference lists of articles. Selection criteria Randomised clinical trials comparing plasma vaccine with placebo, recombinant vaccine with placebo, recombinant vaccine with plasma vaccine, and a reinforced vaccination series (ie, more than three inoculations) with three inoculations of vaccine in chronic renal failure patients. Data collection and analysis Primary outcome measures included incidence of patients developing hepatitis B virus antibodies and infections while secondary outcomes included adverse events, liver-related morbidity, and mortality. Random effects models were used and reported relative risks and 95% confidence intervals (RR and 95% CI). Main results We included seven randomised clinical trials. None of them had high quality. Plasma vaccine was significantly more effective than placebo in achieving hepatitis B antibodies (RR 23.0, 95% CI 14.39 to 36.76, 3 trials). We found no statistically significant difference between plasma vaccine or placebo regarding hepatitis B virus infections (RR 0.50, 95% CI 0.20 to 1.24). We found no statistically significant differences between recombinant vaccine and plasma vaccine in achieving hepatitis B antibodies (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.28 to 1.53, 2 trials). Heterogeneity was significant and appeared to be attributable to the dose of vaccine. Two trials examined a reinforced recombinant vaccine strategy, which was not statistically more effective than three inoculations of recombinant vaccine regarding development of hepatitis B antibodies (RR 1.36, 95% CI 0.85 to 2.16). Authors’ conclusions Plasma derived vaccines are more effective than placebo in achieving hepatitis B antibodies, while no statistically significant difference was found between recombinant and plasma vaccines. No statistically significant difference of effectiveness was observed between a reinforced vaccination series versus routine vaccinations of three inoculations of recombinant vaccine

A Hot DQ White Dwarf in the Open Star Cluster M35

We report the discovery of a hot DQ white dwarf, NGC 2168:LAWDS 28, that is a likely member of the 150-Myr old cluster NGC 2168 (Messier 35). The spectrum of the white dwarf is dominated by CII features. The effective temperature is difficult to estimate but likely > 20,000 K based on the temperatures of hot DQs with similar spectra. NGC2168:LAWDS 28 provides further evidence that hot DQs may be the ``missing'' high-mass helium-atmosphere white dwarfs. Based on published studies, we find that the DBA WD LP 475-242 is likely a member of the Hyades open cluster, as often assumed. These two white dwarfs are the entire sample of known He-atmosphere white dwarfs in open clusters with turnoff masses >2 solar masses. Based on the number of known cluster DA white dwarfs and a redetermination of the H-atmosphere:He-atmosphere ratio, commonly known as the DA:DB ratio, we re-examine the hypothesis that the H- to He-atmosphere ratio in open clusters is the same as the ratio in the field. Under this hypothesis, we calculate that five He-atmosphere WDs are expected to have been discovered, with a probability of finding fewer than three He-atmosphere white dwarfs of 0.08, or at the ~ 2-sigma level.Comment: 9 pages with 2 figures, uses LaTeX/AASTeX 5.2. Accepted for publications in ApJ Letter

Investigation of the errors in SDSS proper-motion measurements using samples of quasars

We investigate in detail the probability distribution function (pdf) of the proper-motion measurement errors in the SDSS+USNO-B proper-motion catalog of \citet{mun04} using clean quasar samples. The pdf of the errors is well-represented by a Gaussian core with extended wings, plus a very small fraction ($<0.1$) of "outliers". We find while formally the pdf could be well-fit by a five-parameter fitting function, for many purposes it is also adequately to represent the pdf with a one-parameter approximation to this function. We apply this pdf to the calculation of the confidence intervals on the true proper motion for a SDSS+USNO-B proper motion measurement, and discuss several scientific applications of the SDSS proper motion catalogue. Our results have various applications in studies of the galactic structure and stellar kinematics. Specifically, they are crucial for searching hyper-velocity stars in the Galaxy.Comment: 26 pages (single column), 11 figures, accepted in A

The Seventh Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

This paper describes the Seventh Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), marking the completion of the original goals of the SDSS and the end of the phase known as SDSS-II. It includes 11663 deg^2 of imaging data, with most of the roughly 2000 deg^2 increment over the previous data release lying in regions of low Galactic latitude. The catalog contains five-band photometry for 357 million distinct objects. The survey also includes repeat photometry over 250 deg^2 along the Celestial Equator in the Southern Galactic Cap. A coaddition of these data goes roughly two magnitudes fainter than the main survey. The spectroscopy is now complete over a contiguous area of 7500 deg^2 in the Northern Galactic Cap, closing the gap that was present in previous data releases. There are over 1.6 million spectra in total, including 930,000 galaxies, 120,000 quasars, and 460,000 stars. The data release includes improved stellar photometry at low Galactic latitude. The astrometry has all been recalibrated with the second version of the USNO CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC-2), reducing the rms statistical errors at the bright end to 45 milli-arcseconds per coordinate. A systematic error in bright galaxy photometr is less severe than previously reported for the majority of galaxies. Finally, we describe a series of improvements to the spectroscopic reductions, including better flat-fielding and improved wavelength calibration at the blue end, better processing of objects with extremely strong narrow emission lines, and an improved determination of stellar metallicities. (Abridged)Comment: 20 pages, 10 embedded figures. Accepted to ApJS after minor correction

The Eighth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Data from SDSS-III

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) started a new phase in August 2008, with new instrumentation and new surveys focused on Galactic structure and chemical evolution, measurements of the baryon oscillation feature in the clustering of galaxies and the quasar Ly alpha forest, and a radial velocity search for planets around ~8000 stars. This paper describes the first data release of SDSS-III (and the eighth counting from the beginning of the SDSS). The release includes five-band imaging of roughly 5200 deg^2 in the Southern Galactic Cap, bringing the total footprint of the SDSS imaging to 14,555 deg^2, or over a third of the Celestial Sphere. All the imaging data have been reprocessed with an improved sky-subtraction algorithm and a final, self-consistent photometric recalibration and flat-field determination. This release also includes all data from the second phase of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Evolution (SEGUE-2), consisting of spectroscopy of approximately 118,000 stars at both high and low Galactic latitudes. All the more than half a million stellar spectra obtained with the SDSS spectrograph have been reprocessed through an improved stellar parameters pipeline, which has better determination of metallicity for high metallicity stars.Comment: Astrophysical Journal Supplements, in press (minor updates from submitted version

The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009 December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in temperature estimates for stars with T_eff<5000 K and in metallicity estimates for stars with [Fe/H]>-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2). The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014.Comment: 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at http://www.sdss3.org/dr

Report from the Annual Conference of the British Society of Echocardiography, November 2016, Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London.

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

CfA3: 185 Type Ia Supernova Light Curves from the CfA

We present multi-band photometry of 185 type-Ia supernovae (SN Ia), with over 11500 observations. These were acquired between 2001 and 2008 at the F. L. Whipple Observatory of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). This sample contains the largest number of homogeneously-observed and reduced nearby SN Ia (z < 0.08) published to date. It more than doubles the nearby sample, bringing SN Ia cosmology to the point where systematic uncertainties dominate. Our natural system photometry has a precision of 0.02 mag or better in BVRIr'i' and roughly 0.04 mag in U for points brighter than 17.5 mag. We also estimate a systematic uncertainty of 0.03 mag in our SN Ia standard system BVRIr'i' photometry and 0.07 mag for U. Comparisons of our standard system photometry with published SN Ia light curves and comparison stars, where available for the same SN, reveal agreement at the level of a few hundredths mag in most cases. We find that 1991bg-like SN Ia are sufficiently distinct from other SN Ia in their color and light-curve-shape/luminosity relation that they should be treated separately in light-curve/distance fitter training samples. The CfA3 sample will contribute to the development of better light-curve/distance fitters, particularly in the few dozen cases where near-infrared photometry has been obtained and, together, can help disentangle host-galaxy reddening from intrinsic supernova color, reducing the systematic uncertainty in SN Ia distances due to dust.Comment: Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal. Minor changes from last version. Light curves, comparison star photometry, and passband tables are available at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/supernova/CfA3

SDSS-III: Massive Spectroscopic Surveys of the Distant Universe, the Milky Way Galaxy, and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems

Building on the legacy of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-I and II), SDSS-III is a program of four spectroscopic surveys on three scientific themes: dark energy and cosmological parameters, the history and structure of the Milky Way, and the population of giant planets around other stars. In keeping with SDSS tradition, SDSS-III will provide regular public releases of all its data, beginning with SDSS DR8 (which occurred in Jan 2011). This paper presents an overview of the four SDSS-III surveys. BOSS will measure redshifts of 1.5 million massive galaxies and Lya forest spectra of 150,000 quasars, using the BAO feature of large scale structure to obtain percent-level determinations of the distance scale and Hubble expansion rate at z<0.7 and at z~2.5. SEGUE-2, which is now completed, measured medium-resolution (R=1800) optical spectra of 118,000 stars in a variety of target categories, probing chemical evolution, stellar kinematics and substructure, and the mass profile of the dark matter halo from the solar neighborhood to distances of 100 kpc. APOGEE will obtain high-resolution (R~30,000), high signal-to-noise (S/N>100 per resolution element), H-band (1.51-1.70 micron) spectra of 10^5 evolved, late-type stars, measuring separate abundances for ~15 elements per star and creating the first high-precision spectroscopic survey of all Galactic stellar populations (bulge, bar, disks, halo) with a uniform set of stellar tracers and spectral diagnostics. MARVELS will monitor radial velocities of more than 8000 FGK stars with the sensitivity and cadence (10-40 m/s, ~24 visits per star) needed to detect giant planets with periods up to two years, providing an unprecedented data set for understanding the formation and dynamical evolution of giant planet systems. (Abridged)Comment: Revised to version published in The Astronomical Journa