X-ray total mass estimate for the nearby relaxed cluster A3571

We constrain the total mass distribution in the cluster A3571, combining spatially resolved ASCA temperature data with ROSAT imaging data with the assumption that the cluster is in hydrostatic equilibrium. The total mass within r_500 (1.7/h_50 Mpc) is M_500 = 7.8[+1.4,-2.2] 10^14/ h_50 Msun at 90% confidence, 1.1 times smaller than the isothermal estimate. The Navarro, Frenk & White ``universal profile'' is a good description of the dark matter density distribution in A3571. The gas density profile is shallower than the dark matter profile, scaling as r^{-2.1} at large radii, leading to a monotonically increasing gas mass fraction with radius. Within r_500 the gas mass fraction reaches a value of f_gas = 0.19[+0.06,-0.03] h_50^{-3/2} (90% confidence errors). Assuming that this value of f_gas is a lower limit for the the universal value of the baryon fraction, we estimate the 90% confidence upper limit of the cosmological matter density to be Omega_m < 0.4.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Ap

Assortative Mating on Education: A Genetic Assessment

Social scientists have overwhelmingly documented a strong and increasing educa-tional homogamy between spouses. When estimating sorting by education, the pres-ence of measurement error in the education variables or random factors in the matching process may underestimate the actual degree of assortative mating, simultaneity bias may overestimate it, while omitting other individual characteristics relevant in the marriage market may under- or overestimate it. We address these issues using an in-strumental variables approach based on exploiting genetic variation in polygenic scores and controlling for population stratification. Specifically, we instrument spousal edu-cation with his/her educational polygenic score while controlling for own educational polygenic score. If the exclusion restriction is satisfied, our findings indicate that (1) assortative mating is underestimated when using OLS, and that (2) male education is correlated with other matching-relevant socioeconomic characteristics, while female education is productive per se in the matching. If the exclusion restriction is not satisfied, our evidence is consistent with (2). This suggests that individual socioeco-nomic attractiveness in the marriage market is multidimensional for men, but can be summarized with education for women

An epidemiologic study of early biologic effects of benzene in Chinese workers.

Benzene is a recognized hematotoxin and leukemogen, but its mechanisms of action in humans are still uncertain. To provide insight into these processes, we carried out a cross-sectional study of 44 healthy workers currently exposed to benzene (median 8-hr time-weighted average; 31 ppm), and unexposed controls in Shanghai, China. Here we provide an overview of the study results on peripheral blood cells levels and somatic cell mutation frequency measured by the glycophorin A (GPA) gene loss assay and report on peripheral cytokine levels. All peripheral blood cells levels (i.e., total white blood cells, absolute lymphocyte count, platelets, red blood cells, and hemoglobin) were decreased among exposed workers compared to controls, with the exception of the red blood cell mean corpuscular volume, which was higher among exposed subjects. In contrast, peripheral cytokine levels (interleukin-3, interleukin-6, erythropoietin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, tissue necrosis factor-alpha) in a subset of the most highly exposed workers (n = 11) were similar to values in controls (n = 11), suggesting that benzene does not affect these growth factor levels in peripheral blood. The GPA assay measures stem cell or precursor erythroid cell mutations expressed in peripheral red blood cells of MN heterozygous subjects, identifying NN variants, which result from loss of the GPA M allele and duplication of the N allele, and N phi variants, which arise from gene inactivation. The NN (but not N phi) GPA variant cell frequency was elevated in the exposed workers compared with controls (mean +/- SD, 13.9 +/- 8.4 mutants per million cells versus 7.4 +/- 5.2 per million cells, (respectively; p = 0.0002), suggesting that benzene produces gene-duplicating but not gene-inactivating mutations at the GPA locus in bone marrow cells of exposed humans. These findings, combined with ongoing analyses of benzene macromolecular adducts and chromosomal aberrations, will provide an opportunity to comprehensively evaluate a wide range of early biologic effects associated with benzene exposure in humans

Five-year follow-up mortality prognostic index for colorectal patients

Purpose: To identify 5-year survival prognostic variables in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and to propose a survival prognostic score that also takes into account changes over time in the patient's health-related quality of life (HRQoL) status. Methods: Prospective observational cohort study of CRC patients. We collected data from their diagnosis, intervention, and at 1, 2, 3, and 5 years following the index intervention, also collecting HRQoL data using the EuroQol-5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L), European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer's Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC-QLQ-C30), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaires. Multivariate Cox proportional models were used. Results: We found predictors of mortality over the 5-year follow-up to be being older; being male; having a higher TNM stage; having a higher lymph node ratio; having a result of CRC surgery classified as R1 or R2; invasion of neighboring organs; having a higher score on the Charlson comorbidity index; having an ASA IV; and having worse scores, worse quality of life, on the EORTC and EQ-5D questionnaires, as compared to those with higher scores in each of those questionnaires respectively. Conclusions: These results allow preventive and controlling measures to be established on long-term follow-up of these patients, based on a few easily measurable variables. Implications for cancer survivors: Patients with colorectal cancer should be monitored more closely depending on the severity of their disease and comorbidities as well as the perceived health-related quality of life, and preventive measures should be established to prevent adverse outcomes and therefore to ensure that better treatment is received. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02488161Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This work was supported in part by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and the European Regional Development Fund (PS09/00314, PS09/00910, PS09/00746, PS09/00805, PI09/90460, PI09/90490, PI09/90453, PI09/90441, PI09/90397); the Spanish Ministry of the Economy (PID2020-115738 GB-I00); the Departments of Health (2010111098) and Education, Language Policy and Culture (IT1456-22; IT1598-22; IT-1187–19) of the Basque Government; the Research Committee of Galdakao Hospital; the REDISSEC (Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas) thematic network of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III; and the Department of Education of the Basque Government through the Consolidated Research Group MATHMODE (IT1456-22) and the Basque Government through BMTF “Mathematical Modeling Applied to Health” Project

Discovery of SiCSi in IRC+10216: A missing link between gas and dust carriers of SiC bonds

We report the discovery in space of a disilicon species, SiCSi, from observations between 80 and 350 GHz with the IRAM 30m radio telescope. Owing to the close coordination between laboratory experiments and astrophysics, 112 lines have now been detected in the carbon-rich star CWLeo. The derived frequencies yield improved rotational and centrifugal distortion constants up to sixth order. From the line profiles and interferometric maps with the Submillimeter Array, the bulk of the SiCSi emis- sion arises from a region of 6 arcseconds in radius. The derived abundance is comparable to that of SiC2. As expected from chemical equilibrium calculations, SiCSi and SiC2 are the most abundant species harboring a SiC bond in the dust formation zone and certainly both play a key role in the formation of SiC dust grains.Comment: To be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters; Accepted May 6 201

Combining statistical techniques to predict post-surgical risk of 1-year mortality for patients with colon cancer

Introduction: Colorectal cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies and a common cause of cancer-related mortality. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a clinical predictive model for1-year mortality among patients with colon cancer who survive for at least 30 days after surgery. Methods: Patients diagnosed with colon cancer who had surgery for the first time and who survived 30 days after the surgery were selected prospectively. The outcome was mortality within 1 year. Random forest, genetic algorithms and classification and regression trees were combined in order to identify the variables and partition points that optimally classify patients by risk of mortality. The resulting decision tree was categorized into four risk categories. Split-sample and bootstrap validation were performed. Results: A total of 1945 patients were enrolled in the study. The variables identified as the main predictors of 1-year mortality were presence of residual tumour, ASA risk score, pathological tumour staging, Charlson comorbidity index, intraoperative complications, adjuvant chemotherapy and recurrence of tumour. The model was internally validated; the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.896 in the derivation sample and 0.835 in the validation sample. Risk categorization leads to AUC values of 0.875 and 0.832 in the derivation and validation samples, respectively. Optimal cut-off point of estimated risk had a sensitivity of 0.889 and a specificity of 0.758. Conclusions: The decision-tree was a simple, interpretable, valid and accurate prediction rule of 1-year mortality among colon cancer patients who survived for at least 30 days after surgery.Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PS09/00314, PS09/00910, PS09/00746, PS09/00805, PI09/90460, PI09/90490, PI09/90453, PI09/90441, PI09/90397 and the thematic networks REDISSEC - Red de Investigación en Servicios de Salud en Enfermedades Crónicas), co-funded by European Regional Development Fund/European Social Fund (ERDF/ESF "Investing in your future"); Research Committee of the Hospital Galdakao Department of Health and the Department of Education, Language Policy and Culture from the Basque Government (2010111098, IT620-13) MINECO and FEDER (MTM2013-40941-P, MTM2016-74931-P)

Clinical prediction rules for adverse evolution in patients with COVID-19 by the Omicron variant

Objective: We identify factors related to SARS-CoV-2 infection linked to hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality and develop clinical prediction rules. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 380,081 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection from March 1, 2020 to January 9, 2022, including a subsample of 46,402 patients who attended Emergency Departments (EDs) having data on vital signs. For derivation and external validation of the prediction rule, two different periods were considered: before and after emergence of the Omicron variant, respectively. Data collected included sociodemographic data, COVID-19 vaccination status, baseline comorbidities and treatments, other background data and vital signs at triage at EDs. The predictive models for the EDs and the whole samples were developed using multivariate logistic regression models using Lasso penalization. Results: In the multivariable models, common predictive factors of death among EDs patients were greater age; being male; having no vaccination, dementia; heart failure; liver and kidney disease; hemiplegia or paraplegia; coagulopathy; interstitial pulmonary disease; malignant tumors; use chronic systemic use of steroids, higher temperature, low O2 saturation and altered blood pressure-heart rate. The predictors of an adverse evolution were the same, with the exception of liver disease and the inclusion of cystic fibrosis. Similar predictors were found to be related to hospital admission, including liver disease, arterial hypertension, and basal prescription of immunosuppressants. Similarly, models for the whole sample, without vital signs, are presented. Conclusions: We propose risk scales, based on basic information, easily-calculable, high-predictive that also function with the current Omicron variant and may help manage such patients in primary, emergency, and hospital care. Keywords: COVID-19; Clinical decision rules; Health care; Outcome assessment; SARS-CoV-2

The Shapley Supercluster. III. Collapse dynamics and mass of the central concentration

We present the first application of a spherical collapse model to a supercluster of galaxies. Positions and redshifts of $\sim 3000$ galaxies in the Shapley Supercluster (SSC) are used to define velocity caustics that limit the gravitationally collapsing structure in its central part. This is found to extend at least to $8 h^{-1}$ Mpc of the central cluster, A 3558, enclosing 11 ACO clusters. Infall velocities reach $\sim 2000$ km s$^{-1}$. Dynamical models of the collapsing region are used to estimate its mass profile. An upper bound on the mass, based on a pure spherical infall model, gives $M(<8 h^{-1}{\rm Mpc}) ^{<}_{\sim} 1.3\times 10^{16}h^{-1}M_\odot$ for an Einstein-de Sitter (critical) Universe and $M(<8 h^{-1}{\rm Mpc}) ^{<}_{\sim} 8.5\times 10^{15}h^{-1}M_\odot$ for an empty Universe. The model of Diaferio & Geller (1997), based on estimating the escape velocity, gives a significantly lower value, $M(<8 h^{-1}{\rm Mpc})\approx 2.1\times 10^{15}h^{-1}M_\odot$, very similar to the mass found around the Coma cluster by the same method (Geller et al. 1999), and comparable to or slightly lower than the dynamical mass in the virialized regions of clusters enclosed in the same region of the SSC. In both models, the overdensity in this region is substantial, but far from the value required to account for the peculiar motion of the Local Group with respect to the cosmic microwave background.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, aastex v5.0. To appear in The Astronomical Journal August 200

A Richness Study of 14 Distant X-ray Clusters From the 160 Square Degree Survey

We have measured the surface density of galaxies toward 14 X-ray-selected cluster candidates at redshifts greater than z=0.46, and we show that they are associated with rich galaxy concentrations. We find that the clusters range between Abell richness classes 0-2, and have a most probable richness class of one. We compare the richness distribution of our distant clusters to those for three samples of nearby clusters with similar X-ray luminosities. We find that the nearby and distant samples have similar richness distributions, which shows that clusters have apparently not evolved substantially in richness since redshift z =0.5. We compare the distribution of distant X-ray clusters in the L_x--richness plane to the distribution of optically-selected clusters from the Palomar Distant Cluster Survey. The optically-selected clusters appear overly rich for their X-ray luminosities when compared to X-ray-selected clusters. Apparently, X-ray and optical surveys do not necessarily sample identical mass concentrations at large redshifts. This may indicate the existence of a population of optically rich clusters with anomalously low X-ray emission. More likely, however, it reflects the tendency for optical surveys to select unvirialized mass concentrations, as might be expected when peering along large-scale filaments.Comment: The abstract has been abridged. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa