An equivalence test between features lists, based on the Sorensen-Dice index and the joint frequencies of GO term enrichment

Background: In integrative bioinformatic analyses, it is of great interest to stablish the equivalence between gene or (more in general) feature lists, up to a given level and in terms of their annotations in the Gene Ontology. The aim of this article is to present an equivalence test based on the proportion of GO terms which are declared as enriched in both lists simultaneously. Results: On the basis of these data, the dissimilarity between gene lists is measured by means of the Sorensen-Dice index. We present two flavours of the same test: One of them based on the asymptotic normality of the test statistic and the other based on the bootstrap method. Conclusions: The accuracy of these tests is studied by means of simulation and their possible interest is illustrated by using them over two real datasets: A collection of gene lists related to cancer and a collection of gene lists related to kidney rejection after transplantation

La huella de las oscilaciones globales del nivel del mar durante los últimos 530000 años en el Golfo de León y su variabilidad durante el estadio isotópico marino 3

El sondeo PRGL1-4, recuperado en el talud superior, ha proporcionado un registro único, continuo y de larga duración para la investigación del impacto de las oscilaciones del nivel del mar de escala glacial/interglacial durante el Pleistoceno Superior en la construcción del margen continental del Golfo de León, dominado por aportaciones sedimentarias de origen fluvial. El estudio en detalle de los cambios del tamaño de grano y la composición elemental del sedimento, junto con una robusta cronoestratigrafía basada en el registro de isótopos de oxígeno en foraminíferos planctónicos, ha permitido reinterpretar la sismoestratigrafia del margen para los últimos 530 ka. El sondeo PRGL1-4 comprende el apilamiento formado por cinco unidades depositadas durante las bajadas del nivel del mar de los últimos cinco ciclos glacial/interglacial de 100 ka. La extensa plataforma del Golfo de León ha jugado un papel determinante en el desarrollo del margen profundo puesto que las oscilaciones del nivel del mar, además de modificar el espacio de acomodación, influyeron directamente en cambios cíclicos del modelo deposicional a través de la activación y desactivación de procesos con gran capacidad erosiva y de transporte de sedimento más allá de la plataforma. El registro del sondeo PRGL1-4 también muestra el impacto de las oscilaciones del nivel del mar a escala milenaria durante el MIS 3, con evidencias claras de la ocurrencia de niveles del mar altos durante la fase inicial de todos y cada uno de los interestadios cálidos de los ciclos de Dansgaard-Oeschger. El registro PRGL1-4 supone, por tanto, la primera evidencia de un acoplamiento consistente entre las oscilaciones del nivel del mar y la variabilidad climática rápida de escala milenaria asociada a los ciclos de Dansgaard-Oeschger

Holocene climate variability in the Western Mediterranean region from a deep water sediment record

The detailed analysis of the International Marine Past Global Changes Study core MD99-2343 recovered from a sediment drift at 2391 m water depth north of the island of Minorca illustrates the effects of climate variability on thermohaline circulation in the western Mediterranean during the last 12 kyr. Geochemical ratios associated with terrigenous input resulted in the identification of four phases representing different climatic and deepwater overturning conditions in the Western Mediterranean Basin during the Holocene. Superimposed on the general trend, eight centennial- to millennial-scale abrupt events appear consistently in both grain size and geochemical records, which supports the occurrence of episodes of deepwater overturning reinforcement in the Western Mediterranean Basin. The observed periodicity for these abrupt events is in agreement with the previously defined Holocene cooling events of the North Atlantic region, thus supporting a strong Atlantic-Mediterranean climatic link at high-frequency time intervals during the last 12 kyr. The rapid response of the Mediterranean thermohaline circulation to climate change in the North Atlantic stresses the importance of atmospheric teleconnections in transferring climate variability from high latitudes to midlatitudes

Impact of iceberg melting on Mediterranean thermohaline circulation during Heinrich events

Down-core samples of planktonic and benthic foraminifera were analyzed for oxygen and carbon isotopes in International Marine Past Global Changes Study (IMAGES) core MD99-2343 in order to study the interactions between climate change in the Northern Hemisphere and the western Mediterranean thermohaline circulation at times of Heinrich events (HE). Our results confirm the antiphase correlation between enhanced North Atlantic Deep Water formation and low ventilation in the Mediterranean. However, this study reveals that this antiphase relationship in deepwater formation between the North Atlantic and Mediterranean was interrupted during times of HE when the injection of large volumes of water from melting icebergs reached the entrance to the Mediterranean. These events, which lasted less than 1000 years, are represented by pronounced decreases in both planktonic d18O and benthic d13C signals. Lower salinities of Mediterranean surface water resulted in a slowdown of western Mediterranean deepwater overturn even though cold sea surface temperatures and drier climate should have resulted in enhanced deepwater formation

Amino acid change in the carbohydrate response element binding protein is associated with lower triglycerides and myocardial infarction incidence depending on level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet in the PREDIMED trial

Background: A variant (rs3812316, C771G, Gln241His) in the MLXIPL (Max-like protein X interacting protein-like) gene encoding the carbohydrate response element binding protein has been associated with lower triglycerides. However, its association with cardiovascular diseases and gene-diet interactions modulating these traits are unknown. Methods and Results: We studied 7,166 participants in the PREDIMED trial testing a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) intervention versus a control diet for cardiovascular prevention, with a median follow-up of 4.8 years. Diet, lipids, MLXIPL polymorphisms and cardiovascular events were assessed. Data were analyzed at baseline and longitudinally. We used multivariable-adjusted Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for cardiovascular outcomes. The MLXIPL-rs3812316 was associated with lower baseline triglycerides (P=5.5x10-5) and lower hypertriglyceridemia (odds ratio [OR]: 0.73; 95%CI, 0.63-0.85; P=1.4x10-6 in G- carriers versus CC). This association was modulated by baseline adherence to MedDiet (AdMedDiet). When AdMedDiet was high, the protection was stronger (OR: 0.63, 95%CI: 0.51-0.77; P=8.6x10-6) than when AdMedDiet was low (OR: 0.88, 95%CI: 0.70-1.09;P=0.219). Throughout the follow-up, both the MLXIPL-rs3812316 (P=3.8x10-6) and the MedDiet intervention (P=0.030) were significantly associated with decreased triglycerides. Likewise in G-carriers MedDiet intervention was associated with greater total cardiovascular risk reduction and specifically for myocardial infarction. In the MedDiet, but not in the control group, we observed lower myocardial infarction incidence in G-carriers versus CC (HR: 0.34; 95%CI:0.12- 0.93;P=0.036 and 0.90; 95%CI: 0.35-2.33;P=0.830, respectively). Conclusion: Our novel results suggest that MedDiet enhances the triglyceride- 3 lowering effect of the MLXIPL-rs3812316 variant and strengthens its protective effect on myocardial infarction incidence

Acuity, nurse staffing and workforce, missed care and patient outcomes. A cluster-unit-level descriptive comparison

Aim: To compare patient acuity, nurse staffing and workforce, missed nursing care and patient outcomes among hospital unit-clusters. Background: Relationships among acuity, nurse staffing and workforce, missed nursing care and patient outcomes, are not completely understood. Method: Descriptive design with data from four unit-clusters: medical, surgical, combined and stepdown units. Descriptive statistics were used to compare acuity, nurse staffing coverage, education and expertise, missed nursing care, and selected nurse-sensitive outcomes. Results: Patient acuity in general (medical, surgical and combined) floors is similar to step-down units, with an average of 5.6 required RN hours per patient day. In general wards, available RN hours per patient day reach only 50% of required RN hours to meet patient needs. Workforce measures are comparable among unit-clusters, and average missed nursing care is 21%. Patient outcomes vary among unit-clusters. Conclusion:Patient acuity is similar among unit-clusters, whilst nurse staffing coverage is halved in general wards. While RN education, expertise and missed care are comparable among unitclusters, mortality, skin injuries and risk of family compassion fatigue rates are higher in general wards. Implications for nursing management: Nurse managers play a pivotal role in hustling policy-makers to address structural understaffing in general wards, to maximize patient safety outcomes

Colon capsule endoscopy versus CT colonography in FIT-positive colorectal cancer screening subjects: a prospective randomised trial-the VICOCA study

Background: Colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) and CT colonography (CTC) are minimally invasive techniques for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Our objective is to compare CCE and CTC for the identification of patients with colorectal neoplasia among participants in a CRC screening programme with positive faecal immunochemical test (FIT). Primary outcome was to compare the performance of CCE and CTC in detecting patients with neoplastic lesions. Methods: The VICOCA study is a prospective, single-centre, randomised trial conducted from March 2014 to May 2016; 662 individuals were invited and 349 were randomised to CCE or CTC before colonoscopy. Endoscopists were blinded to the results of CCE and CTC. Results: Three hundred forty-nine individuals were included: 173 in the CCE group and 176 in the CTC group. Two hundred ninety individuals agreed to participate: 147 in the CCE group and 143 in the CTC group. In the intention-toscreen analysis, sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values for the identification of individuals with colorectal neoplasia were 98.1%, 76.6%, 93.7% and 92.0% in the CCE group and 64.9%, 95.7%, 96.8% and 57.7% in the CTC group. In terms of detecting significant neoplastic lesions, the sensitivity of CCE and CTC was 96.1% and 79.3%, respectively. Detection rate for advanced colorectal neoplasm was higher in the CCE group than in the CTC group (100% and 93.1%, respectively; RR = 1.07; p = 0.08). Both CCE and CTC identified all patients with cancer. CCE detected more patients with any lesion than CTC (98.6% and 81.0%, respectively; RR = 1.22; p = 0.002). Conclusion: Although both techniques seem to be similar in detecting patients with advanced colorectal neoplasms, CCE is more sensitive for the detection of any neoplastic lesion

Measurement of the Dipion Mass Spectrum in X(3872) -> J/Psi Pi+ Pi- Decays

We measure the dipion mass spectrum in X(3872)--> J/Psi Pi+ Pi- decays using 360 pb-1 of pbar-p collisions at 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector. The spectrum is fit with predictions for odd C-parity (3S1, 1P1, and 3DJ) charmonia decaying to J/Psi Pi+ Pi-, as well as even C-parity states in which the pions are from Rho0 decay. The latter case also encompasses exotic interpretations, such as a D0-D*0Bar molecule. Only the 3S1 and J/Psi Rho hypotheses are compatible with our data. Since 3S1 is untenable on other grounds, decay via J/Psi Rho is favored, which implies C=+1 for the X(3872). Models for different J/Psi-Rho angular momenta L are considered. Flexibility in the models, especially the introduction of Rho-Omega interference, enable good descriptions of our data for both L=0 and 1.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures -- Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Search for Higgs Boson Decaying to b-bbar and Produced in Association with W Bosons in p-pbar Collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

We present a search for Higgs bosons decaying into b-bbar and produced in association with W bosons in p-pbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV. This search uses 320 pb-1 of the dataset accumulated by the upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab. Events are selected that have a high-transverse momentum electron or muon, missing transverse energy, and two jets, one of which is consistent with a hadronization of a b quark. Both the number of events and the dijet mass distribution are consistent with standard model background expectations, and we set 95% confidence level upper limits on the production cross section times branching ratio for the Higgs boson or any new particle with similar decay kinematics. These upper limits range from 10 pb for mH=110 GeV/c2 to 3 pb for mH=150 GeV/c2.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures; updated title to published versio