Diabetes and Risk of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

OBJECTIVE: To examine the epidemiologic association between diabetes and risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We searched MEDLINE for observational studies on the association between diabetes and NHL in adults using the keywords "diabetes" and "lymphoma." Prospective cohort studies that reported relative risks or standardized incidence ratios and case-control studies that reported odds ratios with 95% CIs were included. A random-effects model was used to combine results from the individual studies. RESULTS: A total of 15 manuscripts (reporting data from 5 prospective cohort and 11 case-control studies) met the inclusion criteria. Combining data from all studies, the risk ratio (RR) of developing NHL in patients with diabetes was 1.19 (95% CI 1.04–1.35). Based on prospective studies, patients with diabetes had an RR of developing NHL of 1.41 (1.07–1.88), without heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 34.3%; P > 0.10). Based on case-control studies, patients with diabetes had an RR of 1.12 (95% CI 0.95–1.31) of developing NHL compared with people without diabetes, with some heterogeneity among studies (I2 = 36.28%; P = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes is associated with a moderately increased risk of NHL, which is consistent with other reported associations between diabetes and malignancies. Future studies should focus on elucidating potential pathophysiologic links between diabetes and NHL.National Institutes of Health grants (R01-DK76092, R0179003, and R2178867

Parental perceptions of neighborhood effects in Latino comunas: the script of "the delinquent" in understanding drug use, violence, and social disorganization

OBJECTIVES: To obtain rich information about how adult Latinos living in high-poverty/high-drug use neighborhoods perceive and negotiate their environment. METHODS: In 2008, thirteen adult caregivers in Santiago, Chile were interviewed with open-ended questions to ascertain beliefs about neighborhood effects and drug use. ANALYSIS: Inductive analysis was used to develop the codebook/identify trends. DISCUSSION: Residents externalized their understanding of drug use and misuse by invoking the concept of delinquent youth. A typology of their perceptions is offered. Learning more about residents’ circumstances may help focus on needs-based interventions. More research with Latino neighborhoods is needed for culturally-competent models of interventions.The present study received support from National Hispanic Science Network Fellows Summer grant awarded to the lead author. The study was also partially supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01:DA021181) and the Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Research and Training Center, University of Michigan. (National Hispanic Science Network; R01:DA021181 - National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse; Vivian A. and James L. Curtis School of Social Work Research and Training Center, University of Michigan

Growth and Characterization of Gallium Oxide Thin Films and Devices

Gallium oxide has promising physical and electrical properties for power applications and optoelectronics. thermally grown oxide developed from sputtered GaN layers and gallium oxide substrates will be characterized. The study will evaluate a variety of temperatures in order to investigate the advantages and disadvantages on each of the synthetization techniques

Trends and cycles: How important are long- and short-run restictions? The case of Mexico

The document presents a test for the existence of binding long- and short-run (common trend-common cycle) restrictions in the dynamics of a set of Mexican macroeconomic variables. These restrictions are imposed in a VAR to decompose the series into their permanent and transitory components. The analysis shows that the magnitude of transitory (nominal) shocks is underestimated when such restrictions are not considered. In addition, we find that the timing and duration of recession and expansion periods are more accurately estimated when the trend-cycle decomposition is conducted with the imposition of cointegrating (long-run) and common feature (short-run) restrictions.

Distribution-free changepoint detection tests based on the breaking of records

The analysis of record-breaking events is of interest in fields such as climatology, hydrology or anthropology. In connection with the record occurrence, we propose three distribution-free statistics for the changepoint detection problem. They are CUSUM-type statistics based on the upper and/or lower record indicators observed in a series. Using a version of the functional central limit theorem, we show that the CUSUM-type statistics are asymptotically Kolmogorov distributed. The main results under the null hypothesis are based on series of independent and identically distributed random variables, but a statistic to deal with series with seasonal component and serial correlation is also proposed. A Monte Carlo study of size, power and changepoint estimate has been performed. Finally, the methods are illustrated by analyzing the time series of temperatures at Madrid, Spain. The R package RecordTest publicly available on CRAN implements the proposed methods

Cellular Mechanisms of Pathogenesis of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

Epithelial permeability is distorted by Pseudomonas aeruginosa elastase (PE) and changes in barrier function are caused by disruption of tight junction (TJ) proteins occludin, zonula occludens (ZO)-1 and alterations of the cytoskeleton. Increase in paracellular permeability is caused, in part, by activation of cellular signaling transduction pathways. The exact signaling mechanisms that lead to epithelial disruption are not yet fully understood. I sought to evaluate whether PE exposure can activate the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and whether, PE-induced TJ disruption was dependent upon activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) arm of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. My results indicate that inhibition of EGFR attenuated PE induced disruptive changes in expression of TJ proteins occludin and ZO-1. I demonstrate that PE induces phosphorylation of ERK proteins within 5 minutes of apical exposure. Activation of MAPK preceded a loss of localization of TJ proteins occludin and zonula occludens (ZO)-1 and cytoskeletal reorganization. Furthermore, I propose that TJ disruption is elicited, in part, by activation of EGFR/MAPK signaling pathway by Pseudomonas elastase

Innate immune responses of monocytes/macrophages to DENV-2 infection

The pathogenesis of severe DENV infection is characterized by a dysregulated inflammatory response and a transient increase in endothelial permeability. Monocytes and macrophages play an essential role in the innate immune response towards DENV and also represent an important target cell for virus replication. In this thesis, we characterized the mechanisms by which monocytes and macrophages sense and respond to DENV infection. Furthermore, we evaluated how natural, host-intrinsic immunomodulatory compounds such as Vitamin D (VitD3) and LL-37 influence the innate immune response of macrophages to DENV infection. Altogether, the studies presented in this thesis can be summarized in two key messages. First, TLR2 on CM plays an important role in DENV pathogenesis. Second, VitD3 and LL37 show both antiviral and immunomodulatory effects against DENV infection in human primary cells and show potential as therapeutic candidates

Estudio de prefactibilidad para un modelo de negocio bajo la figura de Cuentas en participación en el sector financiero automotriz en Colombia

El desarrollo del mercado colombiano ha generado que las empresas busquen métodos innovadores y sofisticados en aras de encontrar nuevas oportunidades y participación dentro del mismo -- La experiencia en un sector de la población y el conocimiento en un proceso específico, puede generar oportunidades de integración o alianzas de las compañías en búsqueda de tener un posicionamiento y aumentar sus excedentes -- El mercado automotriz, específicamente la financiación de vehículos en Colombia, es un mercado altamente competido -- La innovación en este mercado es de gran valor para el posicionamiento y las alianzas pueden ser un factor clave para el éxito; si a esto se suman casos de empresas extranjeras que tienen factores de éxito y el conocimiento del mercado local, se puede generar una figura comercial que sea capaz de abordar con éxito el mercado de financiación automotriz -- En el presente trabajo se analiza una propuesta de alianza comercial bajo el esquema de cuentas en participación (CEP), que permiten gracias al conocimiento por una parte del sector financiero automotriz en otro país y por otra parte de una compañía que conoce el mercado colombiano y tiene un posicionamiento en el mercado local— que se pueda conformar esta alianza estratégica para buscar posicionar un producto y obtener unos excedentes para ambos aliados -- En el trabajo se desarrolla tanto la oportunidad del sector como la viabilidad financiera del proyecto, determinando, de conformarse esta alianza, los impactos sociales, económicos y de gestió