674 research outputs found
Development and use of prediction models for classification of cardiovascular risk of remote Indigenous Australians
Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for Indigenous Australians. There is widespread belief that current tools have deficiencies for assessing CVD risk in this high-risk population. We sought to develop a 5-year CVD risk score using a wide range of known risk factors to further improve CVD risk prediction in this population.
Methods: We used clinical and demographic information on Indigenous people aged between 30 and 74 years without a history of CVD events who participated in the Well Personâs Health Check (WPHC), a community-based survey. Baseline assessments were conducted between 1998 and 2000, and data were linked to administrative hospitalisation and death records for identification of CVD events. We used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the 5-year CVD risk, and the Harrellâs c-statistic and the modified Hosmer-Lemeshow (mH-L) Ď2 statistic to assess the model discrimination and calibration, respectively.
Results: The study sample consisted of 1,583 individuals (48.1% male; mean age 45.0âyear). The risk score consisted of sex, age, systolic blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, waist circumference, triglycerides, and albumin creatinine ratio. The bias-corrected c-statistic was 0.72 and the bias-corrected mH-L Ď2 statistic was 12.01 (p-value, 0.212), indicating good discrimination and calibration, respectively. Using our risk score, the CVD risk of the Indigenous Australians could be stratified to a greater degree compared to a recalibrated Framingham risk score.
Conclusions: A seven-factor risk score could satisfactorily stratify 5-year risk of CVD in an Indigenous Australian cohort. These findings inform future research targeting CVD risk in Indigenous Australians
Simulating Reverse Logistics in the Fashion Industry: A Case Study for a UK Footwear Company
We report on a case study of a footwear retailer in the UK, experiencing a higher rate of returns during the pandemic and needing support with the operational planning of its reverse logistics processes. We use semi-structured interviews to derive an understanding of the problem addressed with simulation modelling. Operational concerns about the costs related to product returns were raised in the interviews. Hence the simulation model focuses on this aspect by exploring the number of staff to returns ratio to achieve the targeted percentage of returned items processed within a certain number of working days. We conclude that other fashion companies might benefit from reviewing their reverse logistics operations especially in anticipation of escalating product returns
Quantitation of angiogenesis in vitro induced by VEGF-A and FGF-2 in two different human endothelial cultures : an all-in-one assay
Angiogenic therapy is considered to be a promising tool for treatment of ischemic diseases. Many in vivo and in vitro
assays have been developed to identify potential proangiogenic drugs and to investigate their mode of action. However, until now no validated system exists that would allow quantitation of angiogenesis in vitro in only one assay. Here, a previously established all-in-one in vitro assay based on staging of the angiogenic cascade was validated by quantitation of the effects of the known proangiogenic factors VEGF-A and FGF-2. Both growth factors were applied separately or in combination to human endothelial cell cultures derived from the heart and the foreskin, and angiogenesis was quantitated over 30 days of culture. Additionally, gene expression of VEGFR-1, VEGFR-2 and FGFR-1 at 3, 10, 20 or 40 days of cultivation was quantitated by RT-qPCR. In both cultures, VEGF-A as well as FGF-2 induced a run through all defined stages of angiogenesis in vitro. Application of VEGF-A only led to formation of irregular globular endothelial structures, while FGF-2 resulted in development of regular capillary-like structures. Quantitation of the angiogenic effects of VEGF-A and transcripts of VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 showed that a high VEGFR-1/VEGFR-2 ratio evoked deceleration of angiogenesis
Hexagonal dielectric resonators and microcrystal lasers
We study long-lived resonances (lowest-loss modes) in hexagonally shaped
dielectric resonators in order to gain insight into the physics of a class of
microcrystal lasers. Numerical results on resonance positions and lifetimes,
near-field intensity patterns, far-field emission patterns, and effects of
rounding of corners are presented. Most features are explained by a
semiclassical approximation based on pseudointegrable ray dynamics and boundary
waves. The semiclassical model is also relevant for other microlasers of
polygonal geometry.Comment: 12 pages, 17 figures (3 with reduced quality
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The voices of youth in envisioning positive futures for nature and people
The unpredictable Anthropocene poses the challenge of imagining a radically different, equitable and sustainable world. Looking 100 years ahead is not easy, and especially as millennials, it appears quite bleak. This paper is the outcome of a visioning exercise carried out in a 2-day workshop, attended by 33 young early career professionals under the auspices of IPBES. The process used Nature Futures Framework in an adapted visioning method from the Seeds of Good Anthropocene project. Four groups envisioned more desirable future worlds; where humanity has organised itself, the economy, politics and technology, to achieve improved nature-human well-being. The four visions had differing conceptualisations of this future. However, there were interesting commonalities in their leverage points for transformative change, including an emphasis on community, fundamentally different economic systems based on sharing and technological solutions to foster sustainability and human-nature connectedness. Debates included questioning the possibility of maintaining local biocultural diversity with increased connectivity globally and the prominence of technology for sustainability outcomes. These visions are the first step towards a wider galvanisation of youth visions for a brighter future, which is often missing in the arena where it can be taken seriously, to trigger more transformative pathways towards meeting global goals
Faktor Penguat Pada Peningkatan Kinerja Karyawan PT. Gading Murni Surabaya
The purpose of this study is to determine which factors as an amplifier to improve the performance of employees of PT. Gading Murni Surabaya, between the leadership style and compensation received by employees. This study uses a survey approach by collecting data using a questionnaire of 50 respondents then analyzed using quantitative methods. The regession equation is Y = 8.009 + 0,223 X1 + 0,240 X2. The results of this study concluded that the leadership style and compensation variables had a corrected item total correlation value exceeding r table = 0.284 and the reliability test of the leadership style variable, and the alpha cronbach's compensation results exceeded 0.060, which means that the variable was valid and reliable. Leadership and compensation styles also simultaneously have a significant effect on employee performance. And the independent variable that has the largest beta coefficient is the compensation variable (X2) with a beta coefficient of 0.240. Â Keywords : Leadership style, Compesation and Employee Performance
flavour tagging using charm decays at the LHCb experiment
An algorithm is described for tagging the flavour content at production of
neutral mesons in the LHCb experiment. The algorithm exploits the
correlation of the flavour of a meson with the charge of a reconstructed
secondary charm hadron from the decay of the other hadron produced in the
proton-proton collision. Charm hadron candidates are identified in a number of
fully or partially reconstructed Cabibbo-favoured decay modes. The algorithm is
calibrated on the self-tagged decay modes and using of data collected by the LHCb
experiment at centre-of-mass energies of and
. Its tagging power on these samples of
decays is .Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
http://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2015-027.htm
Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset
corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected
during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV.
The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the
couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and
right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary
mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b,
leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing
transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W'
boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to
the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for
masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC
data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed
coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant
improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe
Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV
A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The
analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC
from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an
integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross
section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected
exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the
standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The
analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model
Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The
largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is
observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance
of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local
significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is
estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of
this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section
ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum
pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7
TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are
based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi
Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and
Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times
the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls
faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the
branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06
+/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for
anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are
statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
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