Mathematical Models for Estimating the Risk of vCJD Transmission

We present two different simple models for vCJD transmission by blood transfusion. Both models indicate that transfusions alone are unlikely to cause more than a few infections, unless the number of primary cases increases. To improve our models, future work should pursue data collection, empirical estimation of the model parameters, and examination of the underlying assumptions of our frameworks. Further improvements could also include examining susceptibility to vCJD infection by age group and iatrogenic infections introduced through surgical instruments. Regarding the latter, it may be worthwhile to conduct experiments to quantify the transmission of prions from an infected surgical instrument after repeated sterilization procedures

Hβ\beta spectroscopy of the high-inclination black hole transient Swift J1357.2-0933 during quiescence

Swift J1357.2-0933 is a transient low-mass X-ray binary hosting a stellar-mass black hole. The source exhibits optical dips and very broad emission lines during both outburst and quiescence, which are thought to be the result of a high orbital inclination. We present phase-resolved spectroscopy obtained with the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). The spectra focus on the $\rm{H}\beta$ spectral region during X-ray quiescence. The emission line is exceptionally broad (full width at half maximum, FWHM > 4000 \AA), in agreement with previous studies focused on $\rm{H}\alpha$. A two-Gaussian fit to the prominent double-peaked profile reveals a periodic variability in the centroid position of the line. We also produced a diagnostic diagram aimed at constraining additional orbital parameters. Together, they allow us to independently confirm the orbital period of the system using a new dataset obtained five years after the previous outburst. However, our estimates for both the systemic velocity and the radial velocity semi-amplitude of the black hole reveal larger values than those found in previous studies. We argue that this could be explained by the precession of the disc and the presence of a hotspot. We found evidence of a narrow inner core in the double-peaked H$\beta$ emission profile. We studied its evolution across the orbit, finding that it is likely to result from the occultation of inner material by the outer rim bulge, further supporting the high orbital inclination hypothesis.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Clinical characteristics and evaluation of LDL-cholesterol treatment of the Spanish Familial Hypercholesterolemia Longitudinal Cohort Study (SAFEHEART)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) patients are at high risk for premature coronary heart disease (CHD). Despite the use of statins, most patients do not achieve an optimal LDL-cholesterol goal. The aims of this study are to describe baseline characteristics and to evaluate Lipid Lowering Therapy (LLT) in FH patients recruited in SAFEHEART.</p> <p>Methods and Results</p> <p>A cross-sectional analysis of cases recruited in the Spanish FH cohort at inclusion was performed. Demographic, lifestyle, medical and therapeutic data were collected by specific surveys. Blood samples for lipid profile and DNA were obtained. Genetic test for FH was performed through DNA-microarray. Data from 1852 subjects (47.5% males) over 19 years old were analyzed: 1262 (68.1%, mean age 45.6 years) had genetic diagnosis of FH and 590 (31.9%, mean age 41.3 years) were non-FH. Cardiovascular disease was present in 14% of FH and in 3.2% of non-FH subjects (P < 0.001), and was significantly higher in patients carrying a null mutation compared with those carrying a defective mutation (14.87% vs. 10.6%, respectively, P < 0.05). Prevalence of current smokers was 28.4% in FH subjects. Most FH cases were receiving LLT (84%). Although 51.5% were receiving treatment expected to reduce LDL-c levels at least 50%, only 13.6% were on maximum statin dose combined with ezetimibe. Mean LDL-c level in treated FH cases was 186.5 mg/dl (SD: 65.6) and only 3.4% of patients reached and LDL-c under 100 mg/dl. The best predictor for LDL-c goal attainment was the use of combined therapy with statin and ezetimibe.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although most of this high risk population is receiving LLT, prevalence of cardiovascular disease and LDL-c levels are still high and far from the optimum LDL-c therapeutic goal. However, LDL-c levels could be reduced by using more intensive LLT such as combined therapy with maximum statin dose and ezetimibe.</p

Clinical characteristics and evaluation of LDL-cholesterol treatment of the Spanish Familial Hypercholesterolemia Longitudinal Cohort Study (SAFEHEART)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) patients are at high risk for premature coronary heart disease (CHD). Despite the use of statins, most patients do not achieve an optimal LDL-cholesterol goal. The aims of this study are to describe baseline characteristics and to evaluate Lipid Lowering Therapy (LLT) in FH patients recruited in SAFEHEART.</p> <p>Methods and Results</p> <p>A cross-sectional analysis of cases recruited in the Spanish FH cohort at inclusion was performed. Demographic, lifestyle, medical and therapeutic data were collected by specific surveys. Blood samples for lipid profile and DNA were obtained. Genetic test for FH was performed through DNA-microarray. Data from 1852 subjects (47.5% males) over 19 years old were analyzed: 1262 (68.1%, mean age 45.6 years) had genetic diagnosis of FH and 590 (31.9%, mean age 41.3 years) were non-FH. Cardiovascular disease was present in 14% of FH and in 3.2% of non-FH subjects (P < 0.001), and was significantly higher in patients carrying a null mutation compared with those carrying a defective mutation (14.87% vs. 10.6%, respectively, P < 0.05). Prevalence of current smokers was 28.4% in FH subjects. Most FH cases were receiving LLT (84%). Although 51.5% were receiving treatment expected to reduce LDL-c levels at least 50%, only 13.6% were on maximum statin dose combined with ezetimibe. Mean LDL-c level in treated FH cases was 186.5 mg/dl (SD: 65.6) and only 3.4% of patients reached and LDL-c under 100 mg/dl. The best predictor for LDL-c goal attainment was the use of combined therapy with statin and ezetimibe.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although most of this high risk population is receiving LLT, prevalence of cardiovascular disease and LDL-c levels are still high and far from the optimum LDL-c therapeutic goal. However, LDL-c levels could be reduced by using more intensive LLT such as combined therapy with maximum statin dose and ezetimibe.</p

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) : refining the local galaxy merger rate using morphological information

KRVS acknowledges the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) for providing funding for this project, as well as the Government of Catalonia for a research travel grant (ref. 2010 BE-00268) to begin this project at the University of Nottingham. PN acknowledges the support of the Royal Society through the award of a University Research Fellowship and the European Research Council, through receipt of a Starting Grant (DEGAS-259586).We use the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey to measure the local Universe mass-dependent merger fraction and merger rate using galaxy pairs and the CAS (concentration, asymmetry, and smoothness) structural method, which identifies highly asymmetric merger candidate galaxies. Our goals are to determine which types of mergers produce highly asymmetrical galaxies and to provide a new measurement of the local galaxy major merger rate. We examine galaxy pairs at stellar mass limits down to M* = 108 M⊙ with mass ratios of 4:1) the lower mass companion becomes highly asymmetric, whereas the larger galaxy is much less affected. The fraction of highly asymmetric paired galaxies which have a major merger companion is highest for the most massive galaxies and drops progressively with decreasing mass. We calculate that the mass-dependent major merger fraction is fairly constant at ∼1.3–2 per cent within 109.5 < M* < 1011.5 M⊙, and increases to ∼4 per cent at lower masses. When the observability time-scales are taken into consideration, the major merger rate is found to approximately triple over the mass range we consider. The total comoving volume major merger rate over the range 108.0 < M* < 1011.5 M⊙ is (1.2 ± 0.5) × 10−3 h370 Mpc−3 Gyr−1.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Follow-up with Telemedicine in Early Discharge for COPD Exacerbations: Randomized Clinical Trial (TELEMEDCOPD-Trial)

The results reported by different studies on telemonitoring in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have been contradictory, without showing clear benefits to date. The objective of this study was to ascertain whether an early discharge and home hospitalization telehealth program for patients with COPD exacerbation is as effective as and more efficient than a traditional early discharge and home hospitalization program. A prospective experimental non-inferiority study, randomized into two groups (telemedicine/control) was conducted. The telemedicine group underwent monitoring and was required to transmit data on vital constants and ECGs twice per day, with a subsequent telephone call and 2 home visits by healthcare staff (intermediate and at discharge). The control group received daily visits. The main variable was time until first exacerbation. The secondary variables were: number of exacerbations; use of healthcare resources; satisfaction; quality of life; anxiety-depression; and therapeutic adherence, measured at one and 6 months of hospital discharge. A total of 116 patients were randomized (58 to each group) without significant differences in baseline characteristics or time until first exacerbation, i.e. median 48 days (pp. 25-75:23-120) in the control group, and 47 days (pp. 25-75:19-102) in the intervention group; p = 0.52). A significant decrease in the number of visits was observed in the intervention versus the control group, 3.8 ± 1 vs 5.1 ± 2(p = 0.001), without significant differences in the number of exacerbations. In conclusion follow-up via a telemedicine program in early discharge after hospitalization is as effective as conventional home follow up, being the cost of either strategy not significantly different.This study was awarded a Health Research Fund (Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias/FIS) grant, dossier No. PI12/01161 of the Carlos III Institute of Health and the Ministry of Sciences, Innovation and Universities.S

Maerl grounds : habitats of high biodiversity in European seas

The BIOMAERL programme is a 3-year collaborative programme between laboratories in UK, Spain, France and Malta which began in February 1996. Its main plans are described in the workplan. A full inventory of the biological composition (biodiversity) of maerl bed assemblages in these regions therefore has yet to be completed, but progress is outlined below.peer-reviewe

A Cautionary Tale: MARVELS Brown Dwarf Candidate Reveals Itself To Be A Very Long Period, Highly Eccentric Spectroscopic Stellar Binary

We report the discovery of a highly eccentric, double-lined spectroscopic binary star system (TYC 3010-1494-1), comprising two solar-type stars that we had initially identified as a single star with a brown dwarf companion. At the moderate resolving power of the MARVELS spectrograph and the spectrographs used for subsequent radial-velocity (RV) measurements (R ~ <30,000), this particular stellar binary mimics a single-lined binary with an RV signal that would be induced by a brown dwarf companion (Msin(i)~50 M_Jup) to a solar-type primary. At least three properties of this system allow it to masquerade as a single star with a very low-mass companion: its large eccentricity (e~0.8), its relatively long period (P~238 days), and the approximately perpendicular orientation of the semi-major axis with respect to the line of sight (omega~189 degrees). As a result of these properties, for ~95% of the orbit the two sets of stellar spectral lines are completely blended, and the RV measurements based on centroiding on the apparently single-lined spectrum is very well fit by an orbit solution indicative of a brown dwarf companion on a more circular orbit (e~0.3). Only during the ~5% of the orbit near periastron passage does the true, double-lined nature and large RV amplitude of ~15 km/s reveal itself. The discovery of this binary system is an important lesson for RV surveys searching for substellar companions; at a given resolution and observing cadence, a survey will be susceptible to these kinds of astrophysical false positives for a range of orbital parameters. Finally, for surveys like MARVELS that lack the resolution for a useful line bisector analysis, it is imperative to monitor the peak of the cross-correlation function for suspicious changes in width or shape, so that such false positives can be flagged during the candidate vetting process.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures, 6 table