Circumstellar interaction in type Ibn supernovae and SN 2006jc

I analyse peculiar properties of light curve and continua of enigmatic Ibn supernovae, including SN 2006jc, and argue in favour of the early strong circumstellar interaction. This interaction explains the high luminosity and fast flux rise of SN 1999cq, while the cool dense shell formed in shocked ejecta can explain the smooth early continuum of SN 2000er and unusual blue continuum of SN 2006jc. The dust is shown to condense in the cool dense shell at about day 50. Monte Carlo modelling of the He I 7065 \AA line profile affected by the dust occultation supports a picture, in which the dust resides in the fragmented cool dense shell, whereas He I lines originate from circumstellar clouds shocked and fragmented in the forward shock wave.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, MNRAS accepte

Harmonics generation in electron-ion collisions in a short laser pulse

Anomalously high generation efficiency of coherent higher field-harmonics in collisions between {\em oppositely charged particles} in the field of femtosecond lasers is predicted. This is based on rigorous numerical solutions of a quantum kinetic equation for dense laser plasmas which overcomes limitations of previous investigations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 eps-figures include

Needs, expectations and consequences for the child growing up in a family with a parent with mental illness

Parental mental illness is considered one of the strongest risk-factors for development of offspring psychopathology. The lack of pan-European guidelines for empowering children of parents with mental illness led to EU project CAMILLE - Empowerment of Children and Adolescents of Mentally Ill Parents through Training of Professionals working with children and adolescents. The first task in this project, was to analyse needs, expectations and consequences for children, with respect to living with a parent with mental illness. The aim this paper is to report results of these analyses. The qualitative research was conducted in England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland and Scotland (N=96). There were 3 types of focus groups: (1) professionals (doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers), (2) adult children and partners of a person with mental illness, (3) parents who have experienced mental illness during their parenthood. Framework analysis method was used. Results of the study highlighted that the main consequences for children of parental mental illness were role reversal, emotional and behavioural problems, lack of parent’s attention and stigma. The main needs of these children were emotional support, security and multidisciplinary help. Implications for practice are: (1) professionals working with parents with mental illness should be aware of the specific consequences for the children; (2) to empower children they should focus on them, but not excluding parents from the parental roles; (3) the multi-agency collaboration is necessary; (4) schools should provide counselling and teach staff and students about mental health problems to reduce stigm

Diagnostic value of combined serum biomarkers for the evaluation of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C infection: A multicenter, noninterventional, observational study

Background/Aims: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is important cause of chronic hepatitis. Liver biopsy is considered the gold standard for assessment of fibrosis but this procedure is an invasive procedure. We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of non-invasive serum biomarkers, separately and in combinations, on liver fibrosis in treatment-naive chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and sixteen treatment-naive CHC patients were enrolled from 32 locations across Turkey in this open-labelled, non-interventional prospective observational study. FibroTest®, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index(APRI), aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR), fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4), Age-platelet(AP) index and Forns index were measured and compared with Metavir scores got from liver biopsies. Results: Data from 182 patients with baseline liver biopsy were suitable for analysis. One hundred and twenty patients (65.9%) had F0-F1 fibrosis and 62 patients (34.1%) had F2-F4 fibrosis. APRI 0.732 area under the curve(AUC) indicated advanced fibrosis with 69% sensitivity and 77% specificity. FIB-4 0.732 AUC and FibroTest 0.715 AUC indicated advanced fibrosis with 69% and 78.4% sensitivity, and 75% and 71.4% specificity, respectively. The combined use of tests also led to an increase in AUC and specificity. Combinations of FibroTest with APRI and/or FIB-4, and FIB-4 with APRI were optimal for the evaluation of liver fibrosis. Conclusion: Fibrotest, FIB-4, APRI, AP index and Forns index exhibit good diagnostic performance for determining liver fibrosis in CHC patients, and the use of at least two tests together will increase their diagnostic value still further. © Copyright 2018 by The Turkish Society of Gastroenterology

Overall Diet History and Reversibility of the Metabolic Syndrome Over 5 Years: The Whitehall II prospective cohort study

International audienceOur findings support the benefit of adherence to AHEI dietary guidelines for individuals with MetS, especially those with central obesity or high triglyceride levels

Change in Sleep Duration and Type 2 Diabetes: The Whitehall II Study

OBJECTIVE Evidence suggests that short and long sleep durations are associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Using successive data waves spanning &amp;gt;20 years, we examined whether a change in sleep duration is associated with incident diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Sleep duration was reported at the beginning and end of four 5-year cycles: 1985–1988 to 1991–1994 (n = 5,613), 1991–1994 to 1997–1999 (n = 4,193), 1997–1999 to 2002–2004 (n = 3,840), and 2002–2004 to 2007–2009 (n = 4,195). At each cycle, change in sleep duration was calculated for participants without diabetes. Incident diabetes at the end of the subsequent 5-year period was defined using 1) fasting glucose, 2) 75-g oral glucose tolerance test, and 3) glycated hemoglobin, in conjunction with diabetes medication and self-reported doctor diagnosis. RESULTS Compared with the reference group of persistent 7-h sleepers, an increase of ≥2 h sleep per night was associated with a higher risk of incident diabetes (odds ratio 1.65 [95% CI 1.15, 2.37]) in analyses adjusted for age, sex, employment grade, and ethnic group. This association was partially attenuated by adjustment for BMI and change in weight (1.50 [1.04, 2.16]). An increased risk of incident diabetes was also seen in persistent short sleepers (average ≤5.5 h/night; 1.35 [1.04, 1.76]), but this evidence weakened on adjustment for BMI and change in weight (1.25 [0.96, 1.63]). CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that individuals whose sleep duration increases are at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Greater weight and weight gain in this group partly explain the association. </jats:sec

Associations of Common Genetic Variants With Age-Related Changes in Fasting and Postload Glucose: Evidence From 18 Years of Follow-Up of the Whitehall II Cohort

OBJECTIVE In the general, nondiabetic population, fasting glucose increases only slightly over time, whereas 2-h postload glucose shows a much steeper age-related rise. The reasons underlying these different age trajectories are unknown. We investigated whether common genetic variants associated with fasting and 2-h glucose contribute to age-related changes of these traits.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We studied 5,196 nondiabetic participants of the Whitehall 11 cohort (aged 40-78 years) attending up to four 5-yearly oral glucose tolerance tests. A genetic score was calculated separately for fasting and 2-h glucose, including 16 and 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms, respectively. Longitudinal modeling with age centered at 55 years was used to study the effects of each genotype and genetic score on fasting and 2-h glucose and their interactions with age, adjusting for sex and time-varying BMI.RESULTS The fasting glucose genetic score was significantly associated with fasting glucose with a 0,029 mmol/L (95% CI 0.023-0.034) difference (P = 2.76 x 10(-21)) per genetic score point, an association that remained constant over time (age interaction P = 0.17). Two-hour glucose levels differed by 0.076 mmol/L (0.047-0.105) per genetic score point (P = 3.1 x 10(-7)); notably, this effect became stronger with increasing age by 0.006 mmol/L (0.003-0.009) per genetic score point per year (age interaction P = 3.0 x 10(-5)), resulting in diverging age trajectories by genetic score.CONCLUSIONS Common genetic variants contribute to the age-related rise of 2-h glucose levels, whereas associations of variants for fasting glucose are constant over time, in line with stable age trajectories of fasting glucose. Diabetes 60:16171623, 201

5-year versus risk-category-specific screening intervals for cardiovascular disease prevention : a cohort study

Background Clinical guidelines suggest preventive interventions such as statin therapy for individuals with a high estimated 10-year risk of major cardiovascular events. For those with a low or intermediate estimated risk, risk-factor screenings are recommended at 5-year intervals; this interval is based on expert opinion rather than on direct research evidence. Using longitudinal data on the progression of cardiovascular disease risk over time, we compared different screening intervals in terms of timely detection of high-risk individuals, cardiovascular events prevented, and health-care costs. Methods We used data from participants in the British Whitehall II study (aged 40-64 years at baseline) who had repeated biomedical screenings at 5-year intervals and linked these data to electronic health records between baseline (Aug 7, 1991, to May 10, 1993) and June 30, 2015. We estimated participants' 10-year risk of a major cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction, cardiac death, and fatal or non-fatal stroke) using the revised Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) calculator. We used multistate Markov modelling to estimate optimum screening intervals on the basis of progression rates from low-risk and intermediate-risk categories to the high-risk category (ie, >= 7.5% 10-year risk of a major cardiovascular event). Our assessment criteria included person-years spent in a high-risk category before detection, the number of major cardiovascular events prevented and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained, and screening costs. Findings Of 6964 participants (mean age 50.0 years [ SD 6.0] at baseline) with 152 700 person-years of follow-up (mean follow-up 22.0 years [SD 5.0]), 1686 participants progressed to the high-risk category and 617 had a major cardiovascular event. With the 5-year screening intervals, participants spent 7866 (95% CI 7130-8658) person-years unrecognised in the high-risk group. For individuals in the low, intermediate-low, and intermediate-high risk categories, 21 alternative risk category-based screening intervals outperformed the 5-yearly screening protocol. Screening intervals at 7 years, 4 years, and 1 year for those in the low, intermediate-low, and intermediate-high-risk category would reduce the number of person-years spent unrecognised in the high-risk group by 62% (95% CI 57-66; 4894 person-years), reduce the number of major cardiovascular events by 8% (7-9; 49 events), and raise 44 QALYs (40-49) for the study population. Interpretation In terms of timely preventive interventions, the 5-year screening intervals were unnecessarily frequent for low-risk individuals and insufficiently frequent for intermediate-risk individuals. Screening intervals based on risk-category-specific progression rates would perform better in terms of preventing major cardiovascular disease events and improving cost-effectiveness. (C) 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Elevated Levels of the Anti-Inflammatory Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Precede the Onset of Type 2 Diabetes: The Whitehall II Study

OBJECTIVE—Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), a natural inhibitor of interleukin-1β, has been shown to improve β-cell function and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate whether baseline systemic levels of IL-1Ra are associated with incident type 2 diabetes during more than 10 years of follow-up

5-year versus risk-category-specific screening intervals for cardiovascular disease prevention : a cohort study

Background Clinical guidelines suggest preventive interventions such as statin therapy for individuals with a high estimated 10-year risk of major cardiovascular events. For those with a low or intermediate estimated risk, risk-factor screenings are recommended at 5-year intervals; this interval is based on expert opinion rather than on direct research evidence. Using longitudinal data on the progression of cardiovascular disease risk over time, we compared different screening intervals in terms of timely detection of high-risk individuals, cardiovascular events prevented, and health-care costs. Methods We used data from participants in the British Whitehall II study (aged 40-64 years at baseline) who had repeated biomedical screenings at 5-year intervals and linked these data to electronic health records between baseline (Aug 7, 1991, to May 10, 1993) and June 30, 2015. We estimated participants' 10-year risk of a major cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction, cardiac death, and fatal or non-fatal stroke) using the revised Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) calculator. We used multistate Markov modelling to estimate optimum screening intervals on the basis of progression rates from low-risk and intermediate-risk categories to the high-risk category (ie, >= 7.5% 10-year risk of a major cardiovascular event). Our assessment criteria included person-years spent in a high-risk category before detection, the number of major cardiovascular events prevented and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained, and screening costs. Findings Of 6964 participants (mean age 50.0 years [ SD 6.0] at baseline) with 152 700 person-years of follow-up (mean follow-up 22.0 years [SD 5.0]), 1686 participants progressed to the high-risk category and 617 had a major cardiovascular event. With the 5-year screening intervals, participants spent 7866 (95% CI 7130-8658) person-years unrecognised in the high-risk group. For individuals in the low, intermediate-low, and intermediate-high risk categories, 21 alternative risk category-based screening intervals outperformed the 5-yearly screening protocol. Screening intervals at 7 years, 4 years, and 1 year for those in the low, intermediate-low, and intermediate-high-risk category would reduce the number of person-years spent unrecognised in the high-risk group by 62% (95% CI 57-66; 4894 person-years), reduce the number of major cardiovascular events by 8% (7-9; 49 events), and raise 44 QALYs (40-49) for the study population. Interpretation In terms of timely preventive interventions, the 5-year screening intervals were unnecessarily frequent for low-risk individuals and insufficiently frequent for intermediate-risk individuals. Screening intervals based on risk-category-specific progression rates would perform better in terms of preventing major cardiovascular disease events and improving cost-effectiveness. (C) 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe