Statistical Properties of Business Firms Structure and Growth

We analyze a database comprising quarterly sales of 55624 pharmaceutical products commercialized by 3939 pharmaceutical firms in the period 1992--2001. We study the probability density function (PDF) of growth in firms and product sales and find that the width of the PDF of growth decays with the sales as a power law with exponent $\beta = 0.20 \pm 0.01$. We also find that the average sales of products scales with the firm sales as a power law with exponent $\alpha = 0.57 \pm 0.02$. And that the average number products of a firm scales with the firm sales as a power law with exponent $\gamma = 0.42 \pm 0.02$. We compare these findings with the predictions of models proposed till date on growth of business firms

A Facile Method to Enhance Photovoltaic Performance of Benzodithiophene-Isoindigo Polymers by Inserting Bithiophene Spacer

This study describes the synthesis and characterization of four polymers based on benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (BDT) and isoindigo with zero, one, two, and three thiophene spacer groups. Results have demonstrated that the use of bithiophene as a spacer unit improves the geometry of the polymer chain, making it planar, and hence, potentially enhanced π- π stacking occurs. Due to favorable interaction of the polymer chains, enhanced absorption coefficient, and optimal morphology, PBDT-BTI, which possesses bithiophene as a spacer, revealed high current and fill factor leading to a power conversion efficiency of 7.3% in devices, making this polymer the best performing isoindigo-based material in polymer solar cells (PSCs). Also, PBDT-BTI could still maintain efficiency of over 6% with the active layer thickness of 270 nm, making it a potential candidate for a material in printed PSCs. These results demonstrate that the use of thiophene spacers in D-A polymers could be an important design strategy to produce high-performance PSCs

How resilient are waterways of the Asian Himalayas? Finding adaptive measures for future sustainability

The high-mountain system, a storehouse of major waterways that support important ecosystem services to about 1.5 billion people in the Himalaya, is facing unprecedented challenges due to climate change during the 21st century. Intensified floods, accelerating glacial retreat, rapid permafrost degradation, and prolonged droughts are altering the natural hydrological balances and generating unpredictable spatial and temporal distributions of water availability. Anthropogenic activities are adding further pressure onto Himalayan waterways. The fundamental question of waterway management in this region is therefore how this hydro-meteorological transformation, caused by climate change and anthropogenic perturbations, can be tackled to find avenues for sustainability. This requires a framework that can diagnose threats at a range of spatial and temporal scales and provide recommendations for strong adaptive measures for sustainable future waterways. This focus paper assesses the current literature base to bring together our understanding of how recent climatic changes have threatened waterways in the Asian Himalayas, how society has been responding to rapidly changing waterway conditions, and what adaptive options are available for the region. The study finds that Himalayan waterways are crucial in protecting nature and society. The implementation of integrated waterways management measures, the rapid advancement of waterway infrastructure technologies, and the improved governance of waterways are more critical than ever

CD73-generated adenosine restricts lymphocyte migration into draining lymph nodes.

After an inflammatory stimulus, lymphocyte migration into draining lymph nodes increases dramatically to facilitate the encounter of naive T cells with Ag-loaded dendritic cells. In this study, we show that CD73 (ecto-5\u27-nucleotidase) plays an important role in regulating this process. CD73 produces adenosine from AMP and is expressed on high endothelial venules (HEV) and subsets of lymphocytes. Cd73(-/-) mice have normal sized lymphoid organs in the steady state, but approximately 1.5-fold larger draining lymph nodes and 2.5-fold increased rates of L-selectin-dependent lymphocyte migration from the blood through HEV compared with wild-type mice 24 h after LPS administration. Migration rates of cd73(+/+) and cd73(-/-) lymphocytes into lymph nodes of wild-type mice are equal, suggesting that it is CD73 on HEV that regulates lymphocyte migration into draining lymph nodes. The A(2B) receptor is a likely target of CD73-generated adenosine, because it is the only adenosine receptor expressed on the HEV-like cell line KOP2.16 and it is up-regulated by TNF-alpha. Furthermore, increased lymphocyte migration into draining lymph nodes of cd73(-/-) mice is largely normalized by pretreatment with the selective A(2B) receptor agonist BAY 60-6583. Adenosine receptor signaling to restrict lymphocyte migration across HEV may be an important mechanism to control the magnitude of an inflammatory response

Multi-ancestry study of blood lipid levels identifies four loci interacting with physical activity.

Many genetic loci affect circulating lipid levels, but it remains unknown whether lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, modify these genetic effects. To identify lipid loci interacting with physical activity, we performed genome-wide analyses of circulating HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in up to 120,979 individuals of European, African, Asian, Hispanic, and Brazilian ancestry, with follow-up of suggestive associations in an additional 131,012 individuals. We find four loci, in/near CLASP1, LHX1, SNTA1, and CNTNAP2, that are associated with circulating lipid levels through interaction with physical activity; higher levels of physical activity enhance the HDL cholesterol-increasing effects of the CLASP1, LHX1, and SNTA1 loci and attenuate the LDL cholesterol-increasing effect of the CNTNAP2 locus. The CLASP1, LHX1, and SNTA1 regions harbor genes linked to muscle function and lipid metabolism. Our results elucidate the role of physical activity interactions in the genetic contribution to blood lipid levels

Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates for Transplantation (PACT) Score Identifies High Risk Patients in Pediatric Renal Transplantation

Background: Currently, there is no standardized approach for determining psychosocial readiness in pediatric transplantation. We examined the utility of the Psychosocial Assessment of Candidates for Transplantation (PACT) to identify pediatric kidney transplant recipients at risk for adverse clinical outcomes.Methods: Kidney transplant patients <21-years-old transplanted at Duke University Medical Center between 2005 and 2015 underwent psychosocial assessment by a social worker with either PACT or unstructured interview, which were used to determine transplant candidacy. PACT assessed candidates on a scale of 0 (poor candidate) to 4 (excellent candidate) in areas of social support, psychological health, lifestyle factors, and understanding. Demographics and clinical outcomes were analyzed by presence or absence of PACT and further characterized by high (≥3) and low (≤2) scores.Results: Of 54 pediatric patients, 25 (46.3%) patients underwent pre-transplant evaluation utilizing PACT, while 29 (53.7%) were not evaluated with PACT. Patients assessed with PACT had a significantly lower percentage of acute rejection (16.0 vs. 55.2%, p = 0.007). After adjusting for HLA mismatch, a pre-transplant PACT score was persistently associated with lower odds of acute rejection (Odds Ratio 0.119, 95% Confidence Interval 0.027–0.52, p = 0.005). In PACT subsection analysis, the lack of family availability (OR 0.08, 95% CI 0.01–0.97, p = 0.047) and risk for psychopathology (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.13–0.87, p = 0.025) were associated with a low PACT score and post-transplant non-adherence.Conclusions: Our study highlights the importance of standardized psychosocial assessments and the potential use of PACT in risk stratifying pre-transplant candidates

Functional analysis of the C-reactive protein (CRP) gene -717A>G polymorphism associated with coronary heart disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Atherosclerosis underlies the major pathophysiological mechanisms of coronary heart disease (CHD), and inflammation contributes to all phases of atherosclerosis. C-reactive protein (CRP), a sensitive, but nonspecific marker of inflammation has been shown to play proatherogenic roles in the process of atherosclerosis. Our previous report showed that rs2794521 (-717A>G), located in the promoter of the CRP gene, was independently associated with CHD in Chinese subjects. In the present study, we tried to investigate the biological significance of this genetic variation <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The influence of G to A substitution at the site of rs2794521 on the transcriptional activity of the promoter of the CRP gene was assessed by luciferase reporter assay, and protein binding to the site of rs2794521 was detected by EMSA assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The G to A exchange at the site of rs2794521 resulted in an increased transcriptional activity of the promoter of CRP gene, and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein factor bound drastically differently to the A and G alleles at the site of rs2794521.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results provided functional evidence supporting the association of the SNP rs2794521 of the CRP gene with CHD probably through regulating the expression level of CRP by different variations of rs2794521.</p

Association between polymorphisms in the coagulation factor VII gene and coronary heart disease risk in different ethnicities: a meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have examined the association between polymorphisms in the coagulation factor VII gene and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), but those studies have been inconclusive. This study was conducted to assess the associations between these polymorphisms and CHD and evaluated the associations in different ethnicities.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Literature-based searching was conducted to collect data and two methods, namely fixed-effects and random-effects, were performed to pool the odds ratio (OR), together with the 95% confidence interval (CI). Publication bias and between-study heterogeneity were also examined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-nine case-control studies of the three polymorphisms, R353Q (rs6046), HVR4 and -323Ins10 (rs36208070) in factor VII gene and CHD were enrolled in this meta-analysis, including 9,151 cases of CHD and 14,099 controls for R353Q, 2,863 cases and 2,727 controls for HVR4, and 2,862 cases and 4,240 controls for -323Ins10. Significant association was only found in Asian population for R353Q (Q vs R), with pooled OR of 0.70(95%CI: 0.55, 0.90). For the -323Ins10 polymorphism (10 vs 0), we found significant associations in both Asian and European populations, with pooled ORs of 0.74(95%CI: 0.61, 0.88) and 0.63(95%CI: 0.53, 0.74), respectively. Marginal significant association was found between HVR4 (H7 vs H5+H6) and CHD (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.78, 1.00). There was no evidence of publication bias, but between-study heterogeneity was found in the analyses.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The -323Ins10 polymorphism in factor VII gene is significantly associated with CHD in both Asian and European populations, while R353Q polymorphism showed trend for association with CHD in Asians. Lack of association was found for HVR4 polymorphism. Further studies are needed to confirm the association, especially for -323Ins10 polymorphism.</p

Blood pressure, body mass index and risk of cardiovascular disease in Chinese men and women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is still uncertain whether increased blood pressure (BP) has a stronger effect on the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in lean persons than in obese persons. We tested it using a data set collected from a large cohort of Chinese adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Systolic and diastolic BP, body mass index (BMI) and other variables were measured in 169,871 Chinese men and women ≥ 40 years of age in 1991 using standard protocols. Follow-up evaluation was conducted in 1999-2000, with a response rate of 93.4%. Data were analyzed with Cox proportional hazards models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After adjusted for age, sex, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, high school education, physical inactivity, geographic region, and urbanization, we found that the effects of systolic or diastolic BP on risk of CVD generally increased with the increasing BMI levels (underweight, normal, overweight, and obese). For example, hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) per 1- standard deviation (SD) increase in systolic BP within corresponding BMI levels were 1.27(1.21-1.33), 1.45(1.41-1.48), 1.52 (1.45-1.59) and 1.63 (1.51-1.76), respectively. Statistically significant interactions (P < 0.0001) were observed between systolic BP, diastolic BP and BMI in relation to CVD. In baseline hypertensive participants we found both obese men and women had higher risk of CVD than normal-weight persons. The multivariate-adjusted HRs(95%CI) were 1.23(1.03-1.47) and 1.20(1.02-1.40), respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study suggests that the magnitude of the association between BP and CVD generally increase with increasing BMI. Hypertension should not be regarded as a less serious risk factor in obese than in lean or normal-weight persons in Chinese adults.</p

Inclusion of MUC1 (Ma695) in a panel of immunohistochemical markers is useful for distinguishing between endocervical and endometrial mucinous adenocarcinoma*

BACKGROUND: Distinguishing endocervical adenocarcinoma (ECA) from endometrial mucinous adenocarcinoma (EMMA) is clinically significant in view of the differences in their management and prognosis. In this study, we used a panel of tumor markers to determine their ability to distinguish between primary endocervical adenocarcinoma and primary endometrial mucinous adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibodies to MUC1 (Ma695), p16, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and vimentin, was performed to examine 32 cases, including 18 EMMAs and 14 ECAs. For MUC1, cases were scored based on the percentage of staining pattern, apical, apical and cytoplasmic (A/C), or negative. For p16, cases were scored based on the percentage of cells stained. For the rest of the antibodies, semiquantitative scoring system was carried out. RESULTS: For MUC1, majority of EMMA (14 of 18 cases, 78%) showed A/C staining, whereas only few ECA (2 of 14, 14%) were positive. The difference of MUC1 expression in the two groups of malignancy was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Staining for p16 was positive in 10 of 14 (71%) ECA and 4 of 18 (22%) EMMA. Estrogen receptor was positive in 3 of 14 (21%) ECA and 17 of 18 (94%) EMMA. Progesterone receptor was positive in 3 of 14 (21%) ECA and 16 of 18 (89%) EMMA. Vimentin was positive in 1 of 14 (7%) ECA, and 9 of 18 (50%) EMA, with median and range of 0 (0–6), and 1.5 (0–9) respectively. CONCLUSION: A panel of immunohistochemical markers including MUC1, p16, ER, PR, and vimentin is recommended, when there is morphological and clinical doubt as to the primary site of endocervical or endometrial origin