Clinical correlation between N-terminal pro-b-type natriuretic peptide and angiographic coronary atherosclerosis

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the clinical correlation between angiographic coronary atherosclerosis and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide along with other known correlated factors. METHODS: In total, 153 patients with a diagnostic hypothesis of stable angina, unstable angina or acute myocardial infarction were classified as group A (patients with angiographically normal coronary arteries) or group B (patients with angiographic coronary atherosclerosis). The two groups were analyzed with respect to the following factors: gender, age, body mass index, abdominal circumference, smoking, diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, early family history of atherosclerosis, statin use, the presence of metabolic syndrome, clinical presentation and biochemical factors, including cholesterol, creatinine and fibrinogen plasma concentrations, monocyte counts and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide. RESULTS: Univariate analyses comparing the two groups revealed that group B patients more frequently had diabetes, used statins and had systolic dysfunction, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels ≥250 pg/mL, fibrinogen levels >;500 mg/dL and ≥501 monocytes/mm3 compared with group A patients (

Effect of PVA doping on flux pinning in Bulk MgB2

The synthesis and characterization of PVA (Poly Vinyl Acetate) doped bulk MgB2 superconductor is reported here. PVA is used as a Carbon source. PVA doping effects made two distinguishable contributions: first enhancement of Jc field performance and second an increase in Hc2 value, both because of carbon incorporation into MgB2 crystal lattice. The susceptibility measurement reveals that Tc decreased from 37 to 36 K. Lattice parameter a decreased from 3.085 A to 3.081 A due to the partial substitution of Carbon at Boron site. PVA doped sample exhibited the Jc values greater than 10^5 A/cm2 at 5 & 10 K at low fields; which is almost 3 times higher than the pure one, while at high fields the Jc is increased by an order of magnitude in comparison to pure MgB2. From R(T)H measurements we found higher Tc values under magnetic field for doped sample; indicating an increase in Hc2. Also the magnetization measurements exhibited a significant enhancement in Hirr value. The improved performance of PVA doped MgB2 can be attributed to the substitution of carbon at boron site in parent MgB2 and the resulting impact on the carrier density and impurity scattering. The improved flux pinning behavior could easily be seen from reduced flux pinning force plots.Comment: 14 Pages of Text + Figs. To appear in Physica

Deciphering The Preservation Of Fossil Insects: A Case Study From The Crato Member, Early Cretaceous Of Brazil

Exceptionally well-preserved three-dimensional insects with fine details and even labile tissues are ubiquitous in the Crato Member Konservat Lagerstätte (northeastern Brazil). Here we investigate the preservational pathways which yielded such specimens. We employed high resolution techniques (EDXRF, SR-SXS, SEM, EDS, micro Raman, and PIXE) to understand their fossilisation on mineralogical and geochemical grounds. Pseudomorphs of framboidal pyrite, the dominant fossil microfabric, display size variation when comparing cuticle with inner areas or soft tissues, which we interpret as the result of the balance between ion diffusion rates and nucleation rates of pyrite through the originally decaying carcasses. Furthermore, the mineral fabrics are associated with structures that can be the remains of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Geochemical data also point to a concentration of Fe, Zn, and Cu in the fossils in comparison to the embedding rock. Therefore, we consider that biofilms of sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) had a central role in insect decay and mineralisation. Therefore, we shed light on exceptional preservation of fossils by pyritisation in a Cretaceous limestone lacustrine palaeoenvironment. © 2016 Osés et al.20161

The δN formula is the dynamical renormalization group

We derive the 'separate universe' method for the inflationary bispectrum, beginning directly from a field-theory calculation. We work to tree-level in quantum effects but to all orders in the slow-roll expansion, with masses accommodated perturbatively. Our method provides a systematic basis to account for novel sources of time-dependence in inflationary correlation functions, and has immediate applications. First, we use our result to obtain the correct matching prescription between the 'quantum' and 'classical' parts of the separate universe computation. Second, we elaborate on the application of this method in situations where its validity is not clear. As a by-product of our calculation we give the leading slow-roll corrections to the three-point function of field fluctuations on spatially flat hypersurfaces in a canonical, multiple-field model.Comment: v1: 33 pages, plus appendix and references; 5 figures. v2: typographical typos fixed, minor changes to the main text and abstract, reference added; matches version published in JCA

Bulk viscosity driving the acceleration of the Universe

The possibility that the present acceleration of the universe is driven by a kind of viscous fluid is exploited. At background level this model is similar to the generalized Chaplygin gas model (GCGM). But, at perturbative level, the viscous fluid exhibits interesting properties. In particular the oscillations in the power spectrum that plagues the GCGM are not present. Possible fundamental descriptions for this viscous dark energy are discussed.Comment: Latex file, 8 pages, 3 eps figure

Flagships and tumbleweed: A history of the politics of gender justice work in Oxfam GB 1986–2015

This article contributes to scholarship on the political nature of feminists’ work in international development NGOs. The case study of Oxfam GB (OGB) is contemporary history, based on compiling a brief history of gender justice work between 1986 and 2014 and 18 months of part-time participant-observation fieldwork during 2014–15. I describe funding pressures and imperatives, contestations of meaning and power struggles within OGB and argue that gender justice becomes entangled in both internal and the external politics of international development. This is part of a wider research programme about how ideas on gender equality norms travel between and around development organizations, so I finally draw conclusions about how norms are contested and embodied. The shapeshifting political nature of feminist work challenges prevailing theories about how norms and ideas travel and take hold within organizations

The genome of the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, reveals potential mechanisms underlying reproduction, host interactions, and novel targets for pest control.

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans, is a major blood-feeding pest of livestock that has near worldwide distribution, causing an annual cost of over $2 billion for control and product loss in the USA alone. Control of these flies has been limited to increased sanitary management practices and insecticide application for suppressing larval stages. Few genetic and molecular resources are available to help in developing novel methods for controlling stable flies. This study examines stable fly biology by utilizing a combination of high-quality genome sequencing and RNA-Seq analyses targeting multiple developmental stages and tissues. In conjunction, 1600 genes were manually curated to characterize genetic features related to stable fly reproduction, vector host interactions, host-microbe dynamics, and putative targets for control. Most notable was characterization of genes associated with reproduction and identification of expanded gene families with functional associations to vision, chemosensation, immunity, and metabolic detoxification pathways. The combined sequencing, assembly, and curation of the male stable fly genome followed by RNA-Seq and downstream analyses provide insights necessary to understand the biology of this important pest. These resources and new data will provide the groundwork for expanding the tools available to control stable fly infestations. The close relationship of Stomoxys to other blood-feeding (horn flies and Glossina) and non-blood-feeding flies (house flies, medflies, Drosophila) will facilitate understanding of the evolutionary processes associated with development of blood feeding among the Cyclorrhapha