Surfaces Meeting Porous Sets in Positive Measure

Let n>2 and X be a Banach space of dimension strictly greater than n. We show there exists a directionally porous set P in X for which the set of C^1 surfaces of dimension n meeting P in positive measure is not meager. If X is separable this leads to a decomposition of X into a countable union of directionally porous sets and a set which is null on residually many C^1 surfaces of dimension n. This is of interest in the study of certain classes of null sets used to investigate differentiability of Lipschitz functions on Banach spaces

The ins and outs of translation

A report on the 2nd EMBO Conference on Protein Synthesis and Translational Control, Heidelberg, Germany, 12-16 September 2007

Long-term impact on healthcare resource utilization of statin treatment, and its cost effectiveness in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a record linkage study

Aims: To assess the impact on healthcare resource utilization, costs, and quality of life over 15 years from 5 years of statin use in men without a history of myocardial infarction in the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS).<p></p> Methods: Six thousand five hundred and ninety-five participants aged 45–54 years were randomized to 5 years treatment with pravastatin (40 mg) or placebo. Linkage to routinely collected health records extended follow-up for secondary healthcare resource utilization to 15 years. The following new results are reported: cause-specific first and recurrent cardiovascular hospital admissions including myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, coronary revascularization and angiography; non-cardiovascular hospitalization; days in hospital; quality-adjusted life years (QALYs); costs of pravastatin treatment, treatment safety monitoring, and hospital admissions.<p></p> Results: Five years treatment of 1000 patients with pravastatin (40 mg/day) saved the NHS £710 000 (P < 0.001), including the cost of pravastatin and lipid and safety monitoring, and gained 136 QALYs (P = 0.017) over the 15-year period. Benefits per 1000 subjects, attributable to prevention of cardiovascular events, included 163 fewer admissions and a saving of 1836 days in hospital, with fewer admissions for myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure and coronary revascularization. There was no excess in non-cardiovascular admissions or costs (or in admissions associated with diabetes or its complications) and no evidence of heterogeneity of effect over sub-groups defined by baseline cardiovascular risk.<p></p> Conclusion: Five years' primary prevention treatment of middle-aged men with a statin significantly reduces healthcare resource utilization, is cost saving, and increases QALYs. Treatment of even younger, lower risk individuals is likely to be cost-effective.<p></p&gt

A compact null set containing a differentiability point of every Lipschitz function

We prove that in a Euclidean space of dimension at least two, there exists a compact set of Lebesgue measure zero such that any real-valued Lipschitz function defined on the space is differentiable at some point in the set. Such a set is constructed explicitly.Comment: 28 pages; minor modifications throughout; Lemma 4.2 is proved for general Banach space rather than for Hilbert spac

Analytic and Gevrey Hypoellipticity for Perturbed Sums of Squares Operators

We prove a couple of results concerning pseudodifferential perturbations of differential operators being sums of squares of vector fields and satisfying H\"ormander's condition. The first is on the minimal Gevrey regularity: if a sum of squares with analytic coefficients is perturbed with a pseudodifferential operator of order strictly less than its subelliptic index it still has the Gevrey minimal regularity. We also prove a statement concerning real analytic hypoellipticity for the same type of pseudodifferential perturbations, provided the operator satisfies to some extra conditions (see Theorem 1.2 below) that ensure the analytic hypoellipticity

The S. pombe translation initiation factor eIF4G is sumoylated and associates with the SUMO protease Ulp2

SUMO is a small post-translational modifier, that is attached to lysine residues in target proteins. It acts by altering proteinprotein interactions, protein localisation and protein activity. SUMO chains can also act as substrates for ubiquitination, resulting in proteasome-mediated degradation of the target protein. SUMO is removed from target proteins by one of a number of specific proteases. The processes of sumoylation and desumoylation have well documented roles in DNA metabolism and in the maintenance of chromatin structure. To further analyse the role of this modification, we have purified protein complexes containing the S. pombe SUMO protease, Ulp2. These complexes contain proteins required for ribosome biogenesis, RNA stability and protein synthesis. Here we have focussed on two translation initiation factors that we identified as co-purifying with Ulp2, eIF4G and eIF3h. We demonstrate that eIF4G, but not eIF3h, is sumoylated. This modification is increased under conditions that produce cytoplasmic stress granules. Consistent with this we observe partial co-localisation of eIF4G and SUMO in stressed cells. Using HeLa cells, we demonstrate that human eIF4GI is also sumoylated; in vitro studies indicate that human eIF4GI is modified on K1368 and K1588, that are located in the C-terminal eIF4A- and Mnk-binding sites respectively

Post- and peritraumatic stress in disaster survivors: An explorative study about the influence of individual and event characteristics across different types of disasters

Background: Examination of existing research on posttraumatic adjustment after disasters suggests that survivors’ posttraumatic stress levels might be better understood by investigating the influence of the characteristics of the event experienced on how people thought and felt, during the event as well as afterwards. Objective: To compare survivors’ perceived post- and peritraumatic emotional and cognitive reactions across different types of disasters. Additionally, to investigate individual and event characteristics. Design: In a European multi-centre study, 102 survivors of different disasters terror attack, flood, fire and collapse of a building were interviewed about their responses during the event. Survivors’ perceived posttraumatic stress levels were assessed with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Peritraumatic emotional stress and risk perception were rated retrospectively. Influences of individual characteristics, such as socio-demographic data, and event characteristics, such as time and exposure factors, on post- and peritraumatic outcomes were analyzed. Results: Levels of reported post- and peritraumatic outcomes differed significantly between types of disasters. Type of disaster was a significant predictor of all three outcome variables but the factors gender, education, time since event, injuries and fatalities were only significant for certain outcomes. Conclusion: Results support the hypothesis that there are differences in perceived post- and peritraumatic emotional and cognitive reactions after experiencing different types of disasters. However, it should be noted that these findings were not only explained by the type of disaster itself but also by individual and event characteristics. As the study followed an explorative approach, further research paths are discussed to better understand the relationships between variables

The determinants of household water consumption: A review and assessment framework for research and practice

Achieving a thorough understanding of the determinants of household water consumption is crucial to support demand management strategies. Yet, existing research on household water consumption determinants is often limited to specific case studies, with findings that are difficult to generalize and not conclusive. Here, we first contribute an updated framework for review, classification, and analysis of the literature on the determinants of household water consumption. Our framework allows trade-off analysis of different criteria that account for the representation of a potential water consumption determinant in the literature, its impact across heterogeneous case studies, and the effort required to collect information on it. We then review a comprehensive set of 48 publications with our proposed framework. The results of our trade-off analysis show that distinct groups of determinants exist, allowing for the formulation of recommendations for practitioners and researchers on which determinants to consider in practice and prioritize in future research