Special Weapons and Tactics Occupational-Specific Physical Assessments and Fitness Measures

Specialist tactical response police are required to frequently perform physically demanding tasks at high-risk capability levels, emphasizing the need for optimal physical fitness in this population. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between select measures of physical fitness and performance on an occupational-specific physical assessment (OSPA). A retrospective analysis on 18 male specialist police candidates (age = 32.1 ± 5.04 yrs; height = 183.72 ± 5.79 cm; body mass = 89.44 ± 8.56 kg; body mass index (BMI) = 26.45 ± 1.58 kg/m2) was conducted. Data were comprised of anthropometric measures, assorted fitness measures and OSPA performance scores. A stepwise linear regression determined the influence of measured fitness parameters on OSPA performance. A regression featuring both the 1 RM military shoulder press and grip strength of the non-dominant hand was the most significant predictor of performance (adjusted r2 = 0.565, p = 0.001). A separate model, exclusively using the 1 RM military shoulder press additionally predicted OSPA performance (adjusted r2 = 0.240, p = 0.023). These results emphasize the importance of optimal upper-limb muscular strength and its impact on key occupational tasks in specialist police candidates

WIYN Imaging of the Globular Cluster Systems of the Spiral Galaxies NGC891 and NGC4013

We present results from a WIYN 3.5m telescope imaging study of the globular cluster (GC) systems of the edge-on spiral galaxies NGC891 and NGC4013. We used the 10' x 10' Minimosaic Imager to observe the galaxies in BVR filters to projected radii of ~20 kpc from the galaxy centers. We combined the WIYN data with archival and published data from WFPC2 and ACS on the Hubble Space Telescope to assess the contamination level of the WIYN GC candidate sample and to follow the GC systems further in toward the galaxies' centers. We constructed radial distributions for the GC systems using both the WIYN and HST data. The GC systems of NGC891 and NGC4013 extend to 9+/-3 kpc and 14+/-5 kpc, respectively, before falling off to undetectable levels in our images. We use the radial distributions to calculate global values for the total number (N_GC) and specific frequencies (S_N and T) of GCs. NGC4013 has N_GC = 140+/-20, S_N = 1.0+/-0.2 and T = 1.9+/-0.5; our N_GC value is ~40% smaller than a previous determination from the literature. The HST data were especially useful for NGC891, because the GC system is concentrated toward the plane of the galaxy and was only weakly detected in our WIYN images. Although NGC891 is thought to resemble the Milky Way in its overall properties, it has only half as many GCs, with N_GC = 70+/-20, S_N = 0.3+/-0.1 and T = 0.6+/-0.3. We also calculate the galaxy-mass-normalized number of blue (metal-poor) GCs in NGC891 and NGC4013 and find that they fall along a general trend of increasing specific frequency of blue GCs with increasing galaxy mass. Given currently available resources, the optimal method for studying the global properties of extragalactic GC systems is to combine HST data with wide-field, ground-based imaging with good resolution. The results here demonstrate the advantage gained by using both methods when possible.Comment: 43 pages, 11 figures 6 tables; accepted to The Astronomical Journal. Online AJ version at http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-3881/140/2/430

Health state utilities associated with attributes of treatments for hepatitis C

BACKGROUND: Cost-utility analyses are frequently conducted to compare treatments for hepatitis C, which are often associated with complex regimens and serious adverse events. Thus, the purpose of this study was to estimate the utility associated with treatment administration and adverse events of hepatitis C treatments. DESIGN: Health states were drafted based on literature review and clinician interviews. General population participants in the UK valued the health states in time trade-off (TTO) interviews with 10- and 1-year time horizons. The 14 health states described hepatitis C with variations in treatment regimen and adverse events. RESULTS: A total of 182 participants completed interviews (50 % female; mean age = 39.3 years). Utilities for health states describing treatment regimens without injections ranged from 0.80 (1 tablet) to 0.79 (7 tablets). Utilities for health states describing oral plus injectable regimens were 0.77 (7 tablets), 0.75 (12 tablets), and 0.71 (18 tablets). Addition of a weekly injection had a disutility of −0.02. A requirement to take medication with fatty food had a disutility of −0.04. Adverse events were associated with substantial disutilities: mild anemia, −0.12; severe anemia, −0.32; flu-like symptoms, −0.21; mild rash, −0.13; severe rash, −0.48; depression, −0.47. One-year TTO scores were similar to these 10-year values. CONCLUSIONS: Adverse events and greater treatment regimen complexity were associated with lower utility scores, suggesting a perceived decrease in quality of life beyond the impact of hepatitis C. The resulting utilities may be used in models estimating and comparing the value of treatments for hepatitis C. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10198-014-0649-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

Structural Features of Parathyroid Hormone Receptor Coupled to Gα(S)-Protein

The molecular basis of the activation of G-proteins by the G-protein coupled receptor for parathyroid hormone (PTH) is unknown. Employing a combination of NMR methods and computer-based structural refinement, structural features involved in the activation of Gα(s) by the PTH receptor (PTH1R) have been determined. Focusing on the C-terminus of the third intracellular loop (IC3), previously shown to be important for Gα(s) activation by PTH1R, the structure of this region, PTH1R(402–408), while bound to Gα(s), was determined by transferred nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy. The relative topological orientation of the IC3 while associated with Gα(s) was determined by saturation transfer difference spectroscopy. These experimental data were incorporated into molecular dynamics simulations of the PTH1R and Gα(s) to provide atomic insight into the receptor-protein interactions important for PTH signaling and a structural framework to analyze previous mutagenesis studies of Gα(s). These data provide the first step toward development of a molecular mechanism for the signaling profile of PTH1R, an important regulator of calcium levels in the bloodstream