Search for lepton flavor violating decays of a heavy neutral particle in p-pbar collisions at root(s)=1.8 TeV

We report on a search for a high mass, narrow width particle that decays directly to e+mu, e+tau, or mu+tau. We use approximately 110 pb^-1 of data collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab from 1992 to 1995. No evidence of lepton flavor violating decays is found. Limits are set on the production and decay of sneutrinos with R-parity violating interactions.Comment: Figure 2 fixed. Reference 4 fixed. Minor changes to tex

The current shortage and future surplus of doctors: a projection of the future growth of the Japanese medical workforce

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Starting in the late 1980s, the Japanese government decreased the number of students accepted into medical school each year in order to reduce healthcare spending. The result of this policy is a serious shortage of doctors in Japan today, which has become a social problem in recent years. In an attempt to solve this problem, the Japanese government decided in 2007 to increase the medical student quota from 7625 to 8848. Furthermore, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Japan's ruling party after the 2009 election, promised in their manifesto to increase the medical student quota to 1.5 times what it was in 2007, in order to raise the number of medical doctors to more than 3.0 per 1000 persons. It should be noted, however, that this rapid increase in the medical student quota may bring about a serious doctor surplus in the future, especially because the population of Japan is decreasing.</p> <p>The purpose of this research is to project the future growth of the Japanese medical doctor workforce from 2008 to 2050 and to forecast whether the proposed additional increase in the student quota will cause a doctor surplus.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Simulation modeling of the Japanese medical workforce.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Even if the additional increase in the medical student quota promised by the DPJ fails, the number of practitioners is projected to increase from 286 699 (2.25 per 1000 persons) in 2008 to 365 533 (over the national numerical goal of 3.0 per 1000) in 2024. The number of practitioners per 1000 persons is projected to further increase to 3.10 in 2025, to 3.71 in 2035, and to 4.69 in 2050. If the additional increase in the medical student quota promised by the DPJ is realized, the total workforce is projected to rise to 392 331 (3.29 per 1000 persons) in 2025, 464 296 (4.20 per 1,000 persons) in 2035, and 545 230 (5.73 per 1000 persons) in 2050.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The plan to increase the medical student quota will bring about a serious doctor surplus in the long run.</p

Aurora-A/STK15/BTAK overexpression induces centrosome amplification, chromosomal instability, and transformation in human urothelial cells

Aurora-A/STK15/BTAK kinase encoding gene, located on chromosome 20q13, is frequently amplified and overexpressed in human cancers. Sen et al. previously demonstrated that Aurora-A amplification and overexpression are associated with aneuploidy and clinically aggressive bladder cancer (J Natl Cancer Inst (2002) 94, 1320-1329). To examine if this association is the direct result of Aurora-A gene amplification and overexpression, an immortalized human urothelial cell line (SV-HUC) was infected with an adenoviral Aurora-A-green fluorescent protein (Ad-Aurora-A-GFP) fusion construct inducing ectopic expression of the resulting fusion protein. Controls included mock-infected and adenoviral-GFP infected cells. Ectopic expression of transduced Aurora-A did not alter the doubling time of the SV-HUC cells but significantly increased the number of cells with multiple centrosomes displaying aneuploidy and increased colony formation in soft agar. This is the first report demonstrating that overexpression of Aurora-A induces centrosome anomalies together with chromosomal instability and malignant transformation-associated phenotypic changes in immortalized human urothelial cells, thus supporting the hypothesis that this gene plays an important role in the development of aggressive bladder cancer

Association between the metabolic syndrome and its components and gait speed among U.S. adults aged 50 years and older: a cross-sectional analysis

BACKGROUND: To examine the relationship between the metabolic syndrome and its components and gait speed among older U.S. men and women. Whether these associations are independent of physical activity was also explored. METHODS: Eight hundred and thirty-five men and 850 women aged ≥50 years from the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2002 were examined. We used the definition of the metabolic syndrome developed by the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. Gait speed was measured with a 6.10-meter timed walk examination. RESULTS: The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 40.2% in men and 45.6% in women (P = .127). The prevalence of gait speed impairment was 29.3% in men and 12.5% in women (P < .001). No association was found between the metabolic syndrome and gait speed impairment. After including the individual components of the metabolic syndrome in a logistic model adjusted for age and leisure-time physical activity, abdominal obesity, low HDL cholesterol, and high fasting glucose were significantly associated with gait speed impairment among women (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.26 to 0.89; AOR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.08 to 4.75; and AOR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.12 to 3.74, respectively). Further adjustment for race/ethnicity, education, smoking status, alcohol consumption, arthritis status, and use of an assistive device attenuated these associations; among women, abdominal obesity and low HDL cholesterol remained significantly associated with gait speed impairment (AOR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.18 to 0.76 and AOR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.07 to 5.63, respectively) while the association between hyperglycemia and impaired gait speed attenuated to nonsignificance. CONCLUSION: Among women, gait speed impairment is associated with low HDL cholesterol and inversely with abdominal obesity. These associations may be sex-dependent and warrant further research

Wage inequality, segregation by skill and the price of capital in an assignment model

Some pieces of empirical evidence suggest that in the U.S., over the last few decades, (i) wage inequality between-plants has risen much more than wage inequality within-plants and (ii) there has been an increase in the segregation of workers by skill into separate plants. This paper presents a frictionless assignment model in which these two features can be explained simultaneously as the result of the decline in the relative price of capital. Additional implications of the model regarding the skill premium and the dispersion in labor productivity across plants are also consistent with the empirical evidence. [resumen de autor

A population-based study to investigate host genetic factors associated with hepatitis B infection and pathogenesis in the Chinese population

Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant public health problem that may lead to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Approximately 30% of the world\u27s population has been infected with HBV and approximately 350 million (5–6%) are persistent carriers. More than 120 million Chinese are infected with HBV. The role of host genetic factors and their interactions with environmental factors leading to chronic HBV infection and its complications are not well understood. We believe that a better understanding of these factors and interactions will lead to more effective diagnostic and therapeutic options. Methods/Design This is a population-based, case-control study protocol to enroll 2200 Han Chinese from medical centers in northern and western China. Adult subjects in the following groups are being enrolled: healthy donors (n = 200), HBV infected persons achieving virus clearance (n = 400), asymptomatic HBV persistent carriers (n = 400), chronic hepatitis B cases (n = 400), decompensated liver cirrhosis with HBV infection cases (n = 400), and hepatocellular carcinoma with HBV infection cases (n = 400). In addition, for haplotype inference and quality control of sample handling and genotyping results, children of 1000 cases will be asked to provide a buccal sample for DNA extraction. With the exception of adult patients presenting with liver cirrhosis or HCC, all other cases and controls will be 40 years or older at enrollment. A questionnaire is being administered to capture dietary and environmental risk factors. Both candidate-gene and genome-wide association approaches will be used to assess the role of single genetic factors and higher order interactions with other genetic or environmental factors in HBV diseases. Conclusion This study is designed and powered to detect single gene effects as well as gene-gene and environmental-gene interactions. The identification of allelic polymorphisms in genes involved in the pathway leading to chronic viral infection, liver cirrhosis and, ultimately, hepatocellular carcinoma would provide insights to those factors leading to HBV replication, liver inflammation, fibrosis, and the carcinogenic process. An understanding of the contribution of host genetic factors and their interactions may inform public health policy, improve diagnostics and clinical management, and provide targets for drug development

Dietary meat and fat intake and prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis in pregnant Japanese women: baseline data from the Kyushu Okinawa Maternal and Child Health Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dietary fat exerts numerous complex effects on proinflammatory and immunologic pathways. Several epidemiological studies have examined the relationships between intake of fatty acids and/or foods high in fat and allergic rhinitis, but have provided conflicting findings. The current cross-sectional study investigated such relationships in Japan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Study subjects were 1745 pregnant women. The definition of rhinoconjunctivitis was based on criteria from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Information on dietary factors was collected using a validated self-administered diet history questionnaire. Adjustment was made for age; gestation; region of residence; number of older siblings; number of children; smoking; secondhand smoke exposure at home and at work; family history of asthma, atopic eczema, and allergic rhinitis; household income; education; and body mass index.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis in the past 12 months was 25.9%. Higher meat intake was significantly associated with an increased prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis: the adjusted odds ratio between extreme quartiles was 1.71 (95% confidence interval: 1.25-2.35, <it>P </it>for trend = 0.002). No measurable association was found between fish intake and rhinoconjunctivitis. Intake of total fat, saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, α-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, and cholesterol and the ratio of n-3 to n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake were not evidently related to the prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The current results suggest that meat intake may be positively associated with the prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis in young adult Japanese women.</p