944 research outputs found
Improving the clinical value and utility of CGM systems: issues and recommendations : a joint statement of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and the American Diabetes Association Diabetes Technology Working Group
The first systems for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) became available over 15 years ago. Many then believed CGM would revolutionise the use of intensive insulin therapy in diabetes; however, progress towards that vision has been gradual. Although increasing, the proportion of individuals using CGM rather than conventional systems for self-monitoring of blood glucose on a daily basis is still low in most parts of the world. Barriers to uptake include cost, measurement reliability (particularly with earlier-generation systems), human factors issues, lack of a standardised format for displaying results and uncertainty on how best to use CGM data to make therapeutic decisions. This scientific statement makes recommendations for systemic improvements in clinical use and regulatory (pre- and postmarketing) handling of CGM devices. The aim is to improve safety and efficacy in order to support the advancement of the technology in achieving its potential to improve quality of life and health outcomes for more people with diabetes
Improving the clinical value and utility of CGM systems: issues and recommendations: a joint statement of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes and the American Diabetes Association Diabetes Technology Working Group
The first systems for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) became available over 15 years ago. Many then believed CGM would revolutionize the use of intensive insulin therapy in diabetes; however, progress toward that vision has been gradual. Although increasing, the proportion of individuals using CGM rather than conventional systems for self-monitoring of blood glucose on a daily basis is still low in most parts of the world. Barriers to uptake include cost, measurement reliability (particularly with earlier-generation systems), human factors issues, lack of a standardized format for displaying results, and uncertainty on how best to use CGM data to make therapeutic decisions. This Scientific Statement makes recommendations for systemic improvements in clinical use and regulatory (pre- and postmarketing) handling of CGM devices. The aim is to improve safety and efficacy in order to support the advancement of the technology in achieving its potential to improve quality of life and health outcomes for more people with diabetes
Photoproduction evidence for and against hidden-strangeness states near 2 GeV
Experimental evidence from coherent diffractive proton scattering has been
reported for two narrow baryonic resonances which decay predominantly to
strange particles. These states, with masses close to 2.0 GeV would, if
confirmed, be candidates for hidden strangeness states with unusual internal
structure. In this paper we examine the literature on strangeness
photoproduction, to seek additional evidence for or against these states. We
find that one state is not confirmed, while for the other state there is some
mild supporting evidence favoring its existence. New experiments are called
for, and the expected photoproduction lineshapes are calculated.Comment: 9 pages, RevTex, five postscript figures, submitted to PR
Searching for Galactic White Dwarf Binaries in Mock LISA Data using an F-Statistic Template Bank
We describe an F-statistic search for continuous gravitational waves from
galactic white-dwarf binaries in simulated LISA Data. Our search method employs
a hierarchical template-grid based exploration of the parameter space. In the
first stage, candidate sources are identified in searches using different
simulated laser signal combinations (known as TDI variables). Since each source
generates a primary maximum near its true "Doppler parameters" (intrinsic
frequency and sky position) as well as numerous secondary maxima of the
F-statistic in Doppler parameter space, a search for multiple sources needs to
distinguish between true signals and secondary maxima associated with other,
"louder" signals. Our method does this by applying a coincidence test to reject
candidates which are not found at nearby parameter space positions in searches
using each of the three TDI variables. For signals surviving the coincidence
test, we perform a fully coherent search over a refined parameter grid to
provide an accurate parameter estimation for the final candidates. Suitably
tuned, the pipeline is able to extract 1989 true signals with only 5 false
alarms. The use of the rigid adiabatic approximation allows recovery of signal
parameters with errors comparable to statistical expectations, although there
is still some systematic excess with respect to statistical errors expected
from Gaussian noise. An experimental iterative pipeline with seven rounds of
signal subtraction and re-analysis of the residuals allows us to increase the
number of signals recovered to a total of 3419 with 29 false alarms.Comment: 29 pages, 11 figures; submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravit
Diabetes Digital App Technology: Benefits, Challenges, and Recommendations. A Consensus Report by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Diabetes Technology Working Group
Digital health technology, especially digital and health applications ("apps"), have been developing rapidly to help people manage their diabetes. Numerous health-related apps provided on smartphones and other wireless devices are available to support people with diabetes who need to adopt either lifestyle interventions or medication adjustments in response to glucose-monitoring data. However, regulations and guidelines have not caught up with the burgeoning field to standardize how mobile health apps are reviewed and monitored for patient safety and clinical validity. The available evidence on the safety and effectiveness of mobile health apps, especially for diabetes, remains limited. The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) have therefore conducted a joint review of the current landscape of available diabetes digital health technology (only stand-alone diabetes apps, as opposed to those that are integral to a regulated medical device, such as insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitoring systems, and automated insulin delivery systems) and practices of regulatory authorities and organizations. We found that, across the U.S. and Europe, mobile apps intended to manage health and wellness are largely unregulated unless they meet the definition of medical devices for therapeutic and/or diagnostic purposes. International organizations, including the International Medical Device Regulators Forum and the World Health Organization, have made strides in classifying different types of digital health technology and integrating digital health technology into the field of medical devices. As the diabetes digital health field continues to develop and become more fully integrated into everyday life, we wish to ensure that it is based on the best evidence for safety and efficacy. As a result, we bring to light several issues that the diabetes community, including regulatory authorities, policy makers, professional organizations, researchers, people with diabetes, and health care professionals, needs to address to ensure that diabetes health technology can meet its full potential. These issues range from inadequate evidence on app accuracy and clinical validity to lack of training provision, poor interoperability and standardization, and insufficient data security. We conclude with a series of recommended actions to resolve some of these shortcomings
Elevated synaptic vesicle release probability in synaptophysin/gyrin family quadruple knockouts
Synaptophysins 1 and 2 and synaptogyrins 1 and 3 constitute a major family of
synaptic vesicle membrane proteins. Unlike other widely expressed synaptic vesicle proteins such
as vSNAREs and synaptotagmins, the primary function has not been resolved. Here, we report
robust elevation in the probability of release of readily releasable vesicles with both high and low
release probabilities at a variety of synapse types from knockout mice missing all four family
members. Neither the number of readily releasable vesicles, nor the timing of recruitment to the
readily releasable pool was affected. The results suggest that family members serve as negative
regulators of neurotransmission, acting directly at the level of exocytosis to dampen connection
strength selectively when presynaptic action potentials fire at low frequency. The widespread
expression suggests that chemical synapses may play a frequency filtering role in biological
computation that is more elemental than presently envisioned
The lack of star formation gradients in galaxy groups up to z~1.6
In the local Universe, galaxy properties show a strong dependence on
environment. In cluster cores, early type galaxies dominate, whereas
star-forming galaxies are more and more common in the outskirts. At higher
redshifts and in somewhat less dense environments (e.g. galaxy groups), the
situation is less clear. One open issue is that of whether and how the star
formation rate (SFR) of galaxies in groups depends on the distance from the
centre of mass. To shed light on this topic, we have built a sample of X-ray
selected galaxy groups at 0<z<1.6 in various blank fields (ECDFS, COSMOS,
GOODS). We use a sample of spectroscopically confirmed group members with
stellar mass M >10^10.3 M_sun in order to have a high spectroscopic
completeness. As we use only spectroscopic redshifts, our results are not
affected by uncertainties due to projection effects. We use several SFR
indicators to link the star formation (SF) activity to the galaxy environment.
Taking advantage of the extremely deep mid-infrared Spitzer MIPS and
far-infrared Herschel PACS observations, we have an accurate, broad-band
measure of the SFR for the bulk of the star-forming galaxies. We use
multi-wavelength SED fitting techniques to estimate the stellar masses of all
objects and the SFR of the MIPS and PACS undetected galaxies. We analyse the
dependence of the SF activity, stellar mass and specific SFR on the
group-centric distance, up to z~1.6, for the first time. We do not find any
correlation between the mean SFR and group-centric distance at any redshift. We
do not observe any strong mass segregation either, in agreement with
predictions from simulations. Our results suggest that either groups have a
much smaller spread in accretion times with respect to the clusters and that
the relaxation time is longer than the group crossing time.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
The Mock LISA Data Challenges: from Challenge 3 to Challenge 4
The Mock LISA Data Challenges are a program to demonstrate LISA data-analysis
capabilities and to encourage their development. Each round of challenges
consists of one or more datasets containing simulated instrument noise and
gravitational waves from sources of undisclosed parameters. Participants
analyze the datasets and report best-fit solutions for the source parameters.
Here we present the results of the third challenge, issued in Apr 2008, which
demonstrated the positive recovery of signals from chirping Galactic binaries,
from spinning supermassive--black-hole binaries (with optimal SNRs between ~ 10
and 2000), from simultaneous extreme-mass-ratio inspirals (SNRs of 10-50), from
cosmic-string-cusp bursts (SNRs of 10-100), and from a relatively loud
isotropic background with Omega_gw(f) ~ 10^-11, slightly below the LISA
instrument noise.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, proceedings of the 8th Edoardo Amaldi Conference
on Gravitational Waves, New York, June 21-26, 200
Delays in Leniency Application: Is There Really a Race to the Enforcer's Door?
This paper studies cartels’ strategic behavior in delaying leniency applications, a take-up decision that has been ignored in the previous literature. Using European Commission decisions issued over a 16-year span, we show, contrary to common beliefs and the existing literature, that conspirators
often apply for leniency long after a cartel collapses. We estimate hazard and probit models to study the determinants of leniency-application delays. Statistical tests find that delays are symmetrically affected by antitrust policies and macroeconomic fluctuations. Our results shed light on the design of
enforcement programs against cartels and other forms of conspiracy
Intravenous xenogeneic transplantation of human adipose-derived stem cells improves left ventricular function and microvascular integrity in swine myocardial infarction model
OBJECTIVES:
The potential for beneficial effects of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) on myocardial perfusion and left ventricular dysfunction in myocardial ischemia (MI) has not been tested following intravenous delivery.
METHODS:
Surviving pigs following induction of MI were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 different groups: the placebo group (n = 7), the single bolus group (SB) (n = 7, 15 × 10(7) ASCs), or the divided dose group (DD) (n = 7, 5 × 10(7) ASCs/day for three consecutive days). Myocardial perfusion defect area and coronary flow reserve (CFR) were compared during the 28-day follow-up. Also, serial changes in the absolute number of circulating CD4(+) T and CD8(+) T cells were measured.
RESULTS:
The increases in ejection fraction were significantly greater in both the SB and the DD groups compared to the placebo group (5.4 ± 0.9%, 3.7 ± 0.7%, and -0.4 ± 0.6%, respectively), and the decrease in the perfusion defect area was significantly greater in the SB group than the placebo group (-36.3 ± 1.8 and -11.5 ± 2.8). CFR increased to a greater degree in the SB and the DD groups than in the placebo group (0.9 ± 0.2, 0.8 ± 0.1, and 0.2 ± 0.2, respectively). The circulating number of CD8(+) T cells was significantly greater in the SB and DD groups than the placebo group at day 7 (3,687 ± 317/µL, 3,454 ± 787/µL, and 1,928 ± 457/µL, respectively). The numbers of small vessels were significantly greater in the SB and the DD groups than the placebo group in the peri-infarct area.
CONCLUSIONS:
Both intravenous SB and DD delivery of ASCs are effective modalities for the treatment of MI in swine. Intravenous delivery of ASCs, with its immunomodulatory and angiogenic effects, is an attractive noninvasive approach for myocardial rescue
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