Heart rate variability and biomarkers of systemic inflammation in patients with stable coronary heart disease: findings from the Heart and Soul Study

Background: Chronic low-grade systemic inflammation is a key component in atherogenesis. Decreased heart rate variability (HRV), a strong predictor of cardiovascular events, has been associated with elevations in circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, and fibrinogen in apparently healthy individuals. We investigated whether decreased HRV is associated with inflammatory markers in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods: We studied the relationship between HRV and CRP, IL-6, and fibrinogen in 862 outpatients with CHD. All participants provided fasting blood samples and underwent 24-h ambulatory monitoring to assess time-domain measures of HRV (MeanNN, SDNN, SDANN, and RMSSD). Regression analyses were adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index, smoking, diabetes, beta blocker use, and cardiopulmonary history. Results: MeanNN, SDNN, and SDANN were significantly and inversely associated with CRP and IL-6 levels in age-adjusted models and after adjustment for all covariates (p≤0.02). MeanNN, SDNN, and SDANN were also inversely associated with fibrinogen levels in age-adjusted models (p<0.03), but not significantly so in multivariable-adjusted models. Reduced vagal modulation of heart rate (RMSSD) was not significantly associated with any inflammatory measures. Conclusions: Reduced cardiac autonomic control is associated with increased systemic inflammation in patients with stable CHD. This relationship was largely independent of important covariate

Functional Status After Colon Cancer Surgery in Elderly Nursing Home Residents

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91352/1/jgs3915.pd

X-ray Astronomy in the Laboratory with a Miniature Compact Object Produced by Laser-Driven Implosion

Laboratory spectroscopy of non-thermal equilibrium plasmas photoionized by intense radiation is a key to understanding compact objects, such as black holes, based on astronomical observations. This paper describes an experiment to study photoionizing plasmas in laboratory under well-defined and genuine conditions. Photoionized plasma is here generated using a 0.5-keV Planckian x-ray source created by means of a laser-driven implosion. The measured x-ray spectrum from the photoionized silicon plasma resembles those observed from the binary stars Cygnus X-3 and Vela X-1 with the Chandra x-ray satellite. This demonstrates that an extreme radiation field was produced in the laboratory, however, the theoretical interpretation of the laboratory spectrum significantly contradicts the generally accepted explanations in x-ray astronomy. This model experiment offers a novel test bed for validation and verification of computational codes used in x-ray astronomy.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures are included. This is the original submitted version of the manuscript to be published in Nature Physic

Systematic identification and characterization of chicken (Gallus gallus) ncRNAs

Recent studies have demonstrated that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) play important roles during development and evolution. Chicken, the first genome-sequenced non-mammalian amniote, possesses unique features for developmental and evolutionary studies. However, apart from microRNAs, information on chicken ncRNAs has mainly been obtained from computational predictions without experimental validation. In the present study, we performed a systematic identification of intermediate size ncRNAs (50–500 nt) by ncRNA library construction and identified 125 chicken ncRNAs. Importantly, through the bioinformatics and expression analysis, we found the chicken ncRNAs has several novel features: (i) comparative genomic analysis against 18 sequenced vertebrate genomes revealed that the majority of the newly identified ncRNA candidates is not conserved and most are potentially bird/chicken specific, suggesting that ncRNAs play roles in lineage/species specification during evolution. (ii) The expression pattern analysis of intronic snoRNAs and their host genes suggested the coordinated expression between snoRNAs and their host genes. (iii) Several spatio-temporal specific expression patterns suggest involvement of ncRNAs in tissue development. Together, these findings provide new clues for future functional study of ncRNAs during development and evolution

Impact of Age on Quality-of-life Outcomes After Treatment for Localized Prostate Cancer

BackgroundMen aged &gt;65 yr are less likely to receive local therapy for prostate cancer (PCa), perhaps because of concerns about quality-of-life (QOL) outcomes.ObjectiveTo describe QOL before and after PCa treatment in men of varying ages.Design, setting, and participantsParticipants enrolled in CaPSURE who underwent radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, external beam radiation, androgen deprivation therapy, or active surveillance for localized PCa.Outcome measurements and statistical analysisQOL changes over time were assessed among age groups using repeated-measures mixed models adjusted for race, year, clinical risk, treatment, comorbidities, and an age-time interaction term. Differences are reported as adjusted least-square means and percentage decline. Secondary analyses evaluated age and QOL for local (prostatectomy, radiation) compared to nonlocal treatment (hormonal, surveillance).Results and limitationsOlder men had lower mean unadjusted pre- and post-treatment QOL scores for nearly all domains. Of the domains evaluated, adjusted mean sexual function, sexual bother, and urinary function showed greater declines from baseline to 2 yr. At 2 yr, more men &lt;60 yr than those &gt;70 yr experienced declines in urinary function (14% vs 9%) and sexual bother (39% vs 17%). Declines in these domains were also greater for local than for nonlocal treatment.ConclusionsDefinitive treatment for localized disease should not be deferred for older men because of fears regarding QOL declines. Younger men should be counseled about potential post-treatment declines in QOL despite higher absolute QOL scores. Communicating these differences to patients will facilitate more appropriate treatment decision-making in men of all ages.Patient summaryIn this study we evaluated quality of life before and after treatment for localized prostate cancer in a diverse patient population. Declines in quality of life after treatment varied according to age and treatment. We conclude that counseling about quality of life will help patients of all ages to make more appropriate treatment decisions

Assessment of iodine status in children, adults, pregnant women and lactating women in iodine-replete areas of China.

BACKGROUND: Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) are widespread in China. Presently, IDD have been put under control by Universal Salt Iodisation (USI) in China; however, there is a lack of evidence on whether the iodine status in adults, pregnant women and lactating women is optimal. This study was therefore conducted to assess the iodine nutrition and thyroid function of children, adults, pregnant women and lactating women residing in areas where the USI program is fully established. DESIGN: Six areas were selected according to the geographical regions in China. In each of these areas, we selected 4 distinct groups of subjects (children, adults, pregnant women and lactating women) in regions where the coverage rate of iodised salt was more than 95% and the levels of iodine and fluoride in drinking water were less than or equal to 10 µg/L and 1 mg/L, respectively. We tested the iodine content of salt, urinary iodine (UI), free thyroxin (FT4), thyrotropin (TSH), thyroglobulin (Tg), thyroglobulin antibody (Tg-Ab) and antimicrosomal antibody (TM-Ab) in the 4 groups, and examined the thyroid volume in children. RESULTS: The median urinary iodine (MUI) concentrations were 271.4 μg/L, 260.2 μg/L, 205.9 μg/L and 193.9 μg/L in children, adults, pregnant women and lactating women, respectively; MUI in children and adults were more than adequate. The goitre prevalence (GP) in children was 6.70%. The odds ratios (OR) of subclinical hypothyroidism in the Tg-Ab- or TM-Ab-positive groups were 3.80, 7.65, 2.01 and 7.47 for children, adults, pregnant women and lactating women, respectively, compared with the negative groups. CONCLUSIONS: The iodine status in children and adults is above the requirement, we should reduce their iodine intake. Subclinical hypothyroidism easily occurs in the Tg-Ab or TM-Ab positive groups

Numerical Study On Combustion Characteristics Of Partially Premixed Tubular Flame Burner For DME

The combustion characteristics of dimethyl ether (DME) in a partially premixed tubular flame burner have been investigated numerically. The species distribution, stability limit of tubular flame, wall temperature and burn-off rate have been studied at different equivalence ratios and inlet velocities. Meanwhile, the corresponding combustion characteristics in the rapidly mixed tubular flame burner have been simulated and compared. The results show that the partially premixed burner forms a unique species distribution and the fuel and the oxidant are not mixed uniformly. This unique species distribution will promote the chemical enthalpy supply to the flame front by recirculation reverse flow in the center, and thus strengthen the combustion process. Based on this unique species distribution, the partially premixed burner has larger tubular flame stability limit, lower heat loss, and higher burn-off rate, especially for lean operating conditions. Comparing the formation mechanisms of the tubular flames in two types of burners, it is found that the partially premixed burner forms partially premixed tubular flame, which is no need to create a uniform premixed gas zone, thereby suppressing the influence of velocity difference between fuel and oxidant present in the rapidly mixed burner

Combustion of liquid ethanol in an innovatory vortex-tube combustor with Self-evaporating and edge-like flame properties

The combustion performance of a novel self-evaporating vortex-tube combustor for liquid fuel proposed in this study was experimentally explored by taking liquid ethanol as fuel. The new combustor was developed via installing a double-layer self-evaporating tube made of stainless steel and copper into the center of a localized stratified vortex-tube combustor. The evaporation temperature and rate of liquid fuel can be controlled by adjusting the flow rate of cooling air flowing through the tube interlayer. The effects of global equivalence ratio and fuel flow rate on the stability limit, pressure fluctuation, flame configuration, and NOx and CO emissions were investigated. The results corroborate that the novel vortex-tube combustor can achieve full evaporation of ethanol up to 30 mL/min, corresponding to a heat output of 10.57 kW. The localized stratified distribution of species formed in the combustor results in an edge-like tubular flame structure and correspondingly a wide stability limit, which enables stable ultra-lean combustion with the global equivalence ratio as low as 0.22. The pressure fluctuation amplitudes are always less than 800 Pa throughout the entire operating map. The combustor can achieve low NOx and CO emissions below 18 ppm under appropriate conditions. The high-steady combustion procedure makes the ultra-lean combustion conducted, whilst the evaporating of liquid fuel can also decrease the temperature of the post-flame zone, then reducing the formation of thermal NOx. Furthermore, the high-temperature post-flame zone locates in the fuel-rich region with high concentrations of CO and H-2, which can further inhibit the production of NOx