3,212 research outputs found
Should heart, lung, and liver transplant recipients receive immunosuppression induction for kidney transplantation?
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74619/1/j.1399-0012.2009.00973.x.pd
Renal Allograft Survival in Transplant Recipients with Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73852/1/j.1600-6143.2003.30111.x.pd
Universal Properties of the Four-Body System with Large Scattering Length
Few-body systems with large scattering length have universal properties that
do not depend on the details of their interactions at short distances. We study
the universal bound state properties of the four-boson system with large
scattering length in an effective quantum mechanics approach. We compute the
four-body binding energies using the Yakubovsky equations for positive and
negative scattering length. Moreover, we study the correlation between three-
and four-body energies and present a generalized Efimov plot for the four-body
system. These results are useful for understanding the cluster structure of
nuclei and for the creation of weakly-bound tetramers with cold atoms close to
a Feshbach resonance.Comment: 14 pages, 4 ps figures, minor changes, version to appear in EPJ
Randomized Phase 2b Trial of Tofacitinib (CPâ690,550) in De Novo Kidney Transplant Patients: Efficacy, Renal Function and Safety at 1 Year
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93568/1/j.1600-6143.2012.04127.x.pd
Constrained nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation of stochastically ordered survivor functions
This paper considers estimators of survivor functions subject to a stochastic ordering constraint based on right censored data. We present the constrained nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator (CâNPMLE) of the survivor functions in oneâand twoâsample settings where the survivor distributions could be discrete or continuous and discuss the nonâuniqueness of the estimators. We also present a computationally efficient algorithm to obtain the CâNPMLE. To address the possibility of nonâuniqueness of the CâNPMLE of when , we consider the maximum CâNPMLE (MCâNPMLE) of . In the oneâsample case with arbitrary upper bound survivor function , we present a novel and efficient algorithm for finding the MCâNPMLE of . Dykstra ( 1982 ) also considered constrained nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation for such problems, however, as we show, Dykstra's method has an error and does not always give the CâNPMLE. We corrected this error and simulation shows improvement in efficiency compared to Dykstra's estimator. Confidence intervals based on bootstrap methods are proposed and consistency of the estimators is proved. Data from a study on larynx cancer are analysed to illustrate the method. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 40: 22â39; 2012 © 2012 Statistical Society of Canada Cet article considĂšre les estimateurs des fonctions de survie basĂ©s sur les donnĂ©es censurĂ©es Ă droite soumises Ă une contrainte d'ordonnancement stochastique. Nous prĂ©sentons un estimateur du maximum de vraisemblance non paramĂ©trique contraint (CâNPMLE) des fonctions de survie dans le contexte d'un ou de deux Ă©chantillons lorsque la distribution de survie peut ĂȘtre discrĂšte ou continue. De plus, nous discutons de la nonâidentifiabilitĂ© des estimateurs. Nous proposons aussi un algorithme, efficace au plan des calculs, pour obtenir le CâNPMLE. Pour considĂ©rer la possibilitĂ© de la nonâidentifiabilitĂ© du CâNPMLE de lorsque , nous considĂ©rons le CâNPMLE maximum (MCâNPMLE) de . Lorsque nous avons qu'un seul Ă©chantillon et une borne supĂ©rieure arbitraire pour la fonction de survie, nous prĂ©sentons un algorithme nouveau et efficace pour trouver le MCâNPMLE de . Dykstra (1982) a aussi considĂ©rĂ© l'estimation par maximum de vraisemblance non paramĂ©trique pour de tels problĂšmes, mais, comme nous le dĂ©montrons, il y a une erreur dans la mĂ©thode de Dykstra et elle ne conduit pas toujours Ă un CâNPMLE. Nous corrigeons cette erreur et des simulations montrent une amĂ©lioration de l'efficacitĂ© par rapport Ă l'estimateur de Dykstra. Des intervalles de confiance basĂ©s sur des mĂ©thodes de rĂ©Ă©chantillonnage sont proposĂ©s et nous dĂ©montrons la cohĂ©rence de nos estimateurs. Notre mĂ©thode est illustrĂ©e Ă l'aide de donnĂ©es provenant d'une Ă©tude sur le cancer du larynx. La revue canadienne de statistique 40: 22â39; 2012 © 2012 SociĂ©tĂ© statistique du CanadaPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90313/1/10143_ftp.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90313/2/cjs_10143_sm_SupplData.pd
Fixed- or Controlled-Dose Mycophenolate Mofetil with Standard- or Reduced-Dose Calcineurin Inhibitors: The Opticept Trial
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74911/1/j.1600-6143.2009.02668.x.pd
Dangerous Skyrmions in Little Higgs Models
Skyrmions are present in many models of electroweak symmetry breaking where
the Higgs is a pseudo-Goldstone boson of some strongly interacting sector. They
are stable, composite objects whose mass lies in the range 10-100 TeV and can
be naturally abundant in the universe due to their small annihilation
cross-section. They represent therefore good dark matter candidates. We show
however in this work that the lightest skyrmion states are electrically charged
in most of the popular little Higgs models, and hence should have been directly
or indirectly observed in nature already. The charge of the skyrmion under the
electroweak gauge group is computed in a model-independent way and is related
to the presence of anomalies in the underlying theory via the
Wess-Zumino-Witten term.Comment: 31 pages, 4 figures; v2: minor changes, one reference added, version
to appear in JHEP; v3: erratum added, conclusions unchange
The activity of French Research Ethics Committees and characteristics of biomedical research protocols involving humans: a retrospective cohort study
BACKGROUND: Clinical trials throughout the world must be evaluated by research ethics committees. No one has yet attempted to clearly quantify at the national level the activity of ethics committees and describe the characteristics of the protocols submitted. The objectives of this study were to describe 1) the workload and the activity of Research Ethics Committees in France, and 2) the characteristics of protocols approved on a nation-wide basis. METHODS: Retrospective cohort of 976 protocols approved by a representative sample of 25/48 of French Research Ethics Committees in 1994. Protocols characteristics (design, study size, investigator), number of revisions requested by the ethics committee before approval, time to approval and number of amendments after approval were collected for each protocol by trained research assistant using the committee's files and archives. RESULTS: Thirty-one percent of protocols were approved with no modifications requested in 16 days (95% CI: 14â17). The number of revisions requested by the committee, and amendments submitted by the investigator was on average respectively 39 (95% CI: 25â53) and 37 (95% CI: 27â46), per committee and per year. When revisions were requested, the main reasons were related to information to the patient (28%) and consent modalities (18%). Drugs were the object of research in 68% of the protocols examined. The majority of the research was national (80%) with a predominance of single-centre studies. Workload per protocol has been estimated at twelve and half hours on average for administrative support and at eleven and half hours for expertise. CONCLUSION: The estimated workload justifies specific and independent administrative and financial support for Research Ethics Committees
Elevated hemostasis markers after pneumonia increases one-year risk of all-cause and cardiovascular deaths
Background: Acceleration of chronic diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease, may increase long-term mortality after community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), but underlying mechanisms are unknown. Persistence of the prothrombotic state that occurs during an acute infection may increase risk of subsequent atherothrombosis in patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease and increase subsequent risk of death. We hypothesized that circulating hemostasis markers activated during CAP persist at hospital discharge, when patients appear to have recovered clinically, and are associated with higher mortality, particularly due to cardiovascular causes. Methods: In a cohort of survivors of CAP hospitalization from 28 US sites, we measured D-Dimer, thrombin-antithrombin complexes [TAT], Factor IX, antithrombin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 at hospital discharge, and determined 1-year all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Results: Of 893 subjects, most did not have severe pneumonia (70.6% never developed severe sepsis) and only 13.4% required intensive care unit admission. At discharge, 88.4% of subjects had normal vital signs and appeared to have clinically recovered. D-dimer and TAT levels were elevated at discharge in 78.8% and 30.1% of all subjects, and in 51.3% and 25.3% of those without severe sepsis. Higher D-dimer and TAT levels were associated with higher risk of all-cause mortality (range of hazard ratios were 1.66-1.17, p = 0.0001 and 1.46-1.04, p = 0.001 after adjusting for demographics and comorbid illnesses) and cardiovascular mortality (p = 0.009 and 0.003 in competing risk analyses). Conclusions: Elevations of TAT and D-dimer levels are common at hospital discharge in patients who appeared to have recovered clinically from pneumonia and are associated with higher risk of subsequent deaths, particularly due to cardiovascular disease. © 2011 Yende et al
The effects of CO2, climate and land-use on terrestrial carbon balance, 1920-1992: An analysis with four process-based ecosystem models
The concurrent effects of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration, climate variability, and cropland establishment and abandonment on terrestrial carbon storage between 1920 and 1992 were assessed using a standard simulation protocol with four process-based terrestrial biosphere models. Over the long-term(1920â1992), the simulations yielded a time history of terrestrial uptake that is consistent (within the uncertainty) with a long-term analysis based on ice core and atmospheric CO2 data. Up to 1958, three of four analyses indicated a net release of carbon from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere caused by cropland establishment. After 1958, all analyses indicate a net uptake of carbon by terrestrial ecosystems, primarily because of the physiological effects of rapidly rising atmospheric CO2. During the 1980s the simulations indicate that terrestrial ecosystems stored between 0.3 and 1.5 Pg C yrâ1, which is within the uncertainty of analysis based on CO2 and O2 budgets. Three of the four models indicated (in accordance with O2 evidence) that the tropics were approximately neutral while a net sink existed in ecosystems north of the tropics. Although all of the models agree that the long-term effect of climate on carbon storage has been small relative to the effects of increasing atmospheric CO2 and land use, the models disagree as to whether climate variability and change in the twentieth century has promoted carbon storage or release. Simulated interannual variability from 1958 generally reproduced the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-scale variability in the atmospheric CO2 increase, but there were substantial differences in the magnitude of interannual variability simulated by the models. The analysis of the ability of the models to simulate the changing amplitude of the seasonal cycle of atmospheric CO2 suggested that the observed trend may be a consequence of CO2 effects, climate variability, land use changes, or a combination of these effects. The next steps for improving the process-based simulation of historical terrestrial carbon include (1) the transfer of insight gained from stand-level process studies to improve the sensitivity of simulated carbon storage responses to changes in CO2 and climate, (2) improvements in the data sets used to drive the models so that they incorporate the timing, extent, and types of major disturbances, (3) the enhancement of the models so that they consider major crop types and management schemes, (4) development of data sets that identify the spatial extent of major crop types and management schemes through time, and (5) the consideration of the effects of anthropogenic nitrogen deposition. The evaluation of the performance of the models in the context of a more complete consideration of the factors influencing historical terrestrial carbon dynamics is important for reducing uncertainties in representing the role of terrestrial ecosystems in future projections of the Earth system
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