Association of lower total bilirubin level with statin usage: the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2008

OBJECTIVE: A low circulating level of bilirubin is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. As statins can stimulate heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), which increases bilirubin production, we investigated whether statins in routine use increase total bilirubin levels in subjects at high cardiovascular risk. METHODS: Data from 3290 subjects with self-reported history of hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, or cardiovascular diseases in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2008 were analyzed. RESULTS: Subjects taking statins (n = 1156) had lower total bilirubin levels than those not taking any lipid-lowering medication (n = 2134) after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and survey period (adjusted mean = 0.699 vs 0.729 mg/dl respectively, P=0.001). The association remained significant after adjusting for more covariates (P = 0.002), but was attenuated after further adjusting for glycosylated hemoglobin, insulin resistance index, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P = 0.043). The use of lovastatin, rosuvastatin, and cerivastatin was associated with lower total bilirubin levels in the full adjustment model (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The use of statins was associated unexpectedly with lower total bilirubin levels. This could be explained at least partly by the effect of statins on glycemia and LDL cholesterol. Our results do not suggest that the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of statins are due to HO-1 induction and increased serum bilirubin levels.postprin

The theory of international business: the role of economic models

This paper reviews the scope for economic modelling in international business studies. It argues for multi-level theory based on classic internalisation theory. It present a systems approach that encompasses both firm-level and industry-level analysis

iRFP is a real time marker for transformation based assays in high content screening

Anchorage independent growth is one of the hallmarks of oncogenic transformation. Here we show that infrared fluorescent protein (iRFP) based assays allow accurate and unbiased determination of colony formation and anchorage independent growth over time. This protocol is particularly compatible with high throughput systems, in contrast to traditional methods which are often labor-intensive, subjective to bias and do not allow further analysis using the same cells. Transformation in a single layer soft agar assay could be documented as early as 2 to 3 days in a 96 well format, which can be easily combined with standard transfection, infection and compound screening setups to allow for high throughput screening to identify therapeutic targets

Budding-like division of all-aqueous emulsion droplets modulated by networks of protein nanofibrils.

Networks of natural protein nanofibrils, such as cytoskeletal filaments, control the shape and the division of cells, yet mimicking this functionality in a synthetic setting has proved challenging. Here, we demonstrate that artificial networks of protein nanofibrils can induce controlled deformation and division of all-aqueous emulsion droplets with budding-like morphologies. We show that this process is driven by the difference in the immersional wetting energy of the nanofibril network, and that both the size and the number of the daughter droplets formed during division can be controlled by modulating the fibril concentration and the chemical properties of the fibril network. Our results demonstrate a route for achieving biomimetic division with synthetic self-assembling fibrils and offer an engineered approach to regulate the morphology of protein gels

Dirac Gauginos, Negative Supertraces and Gauge Mediation

In an attempt to maximize General Gauge Mediated parameter space, I propose simple models in which gauginos and scalars are generated from disconnected mechanisms. In my models Dirac gauginos are generated through the supersoft mechanism, while independent R-symmetric scalar masses are generated through operators involving non-zero messenger supertrace. I propose several new methods for generating negative messenger supertraces which result in viable positive mass squareds for MSSM scalars. The resultant spectra are novel, compressed and may contain light fermionic SM adjoint fields.Comment: 16 pages 3 figure

Visible Supersymmetry Breaking and an Invisible Higgs

If there are multiple hidden sectors which independently break supersymmetry, then the spectrum will contain multiple goldstini. In this paper, we explore the possibility that the visible sector might also break supersymmetry, giving rise to an additional pseudo-goldstino. By the standard lore, visible sector supersymmetry breaking is phenomenologically excluded by the supertrace sum rule, but this sum rule is relaxed with multiple supersymmetry breaking. However, we find that visible sector supersymmetry breaking is still phenomenologically disfavored, not because of a sum rule, but because the visible sector pseudo-goldstino is generically overproduced in the early universe. A way to avoid this cosmological bound is to ensure that an R symmetry is preserved in the visible sector up to supergravity effects. A key expectation of this R-symmetric case is that the Higgs boson will dominantly decay invisibly at the LHC.Comment: v1 - 27 pages, 13 figures, 1 table; v2 - references added; v3 - expanded discussion of higgs sector, JHEP versio

Closing in on Asymmetric Dark Matter I: Model independent limits for interactions with quarks

It is argued that experimental constraints on theories of asymmetric dark matter (ADM) almost certainly require that the DM be part of a richer hidden sector of interacting states of comparable mass or lighter. A general requisite of models of ADM is that the vast majority of the symmetric component of the DM number density must be removed in order to explain the observed relationship $\Omega_B\sim\Omega_{DM}$ via the DM asymmetry. Demanding the efficient annihilation of the symmetric component leads to a tension with experimental limits if the annihilation is directly to Standard Model (SM) degrees of freedom. A comprehensive effective operator analysis of the model independent constraints on ADM from direct detection experiments and LHC monojet searches is presented. Notably, the limits obtained essentially exclude models of ADM with mass 1GeV$\lesssim m_{DM} \lesssim$ 100GeV annihilating to SM quarks via heavy mediator states. This motivates the study of portal interactions between the dark and SM sectors mediated by light states. Resonances and threshold effects involving the new light states are shown to be important for determining the exclusion limits.Comment: 18+6 pages, 18 figures. v2: version accepted for publicatio

Acolhimento na Atenção Básica: Navegações e Mergulhos nos Discursos e Práticas Produzidos no Cotidiano de uma Unidade de Saúde da Família.

RESUMO HOFFMANN, Catharina. Acolhimento na Atenção Básica: navegações e mergulhos nos discursos e práticas produzidos no cotidiano de uma Unidade de Saúde da Família. Orientadora: Profa. Dra. Maristela Dalbello Araújo. Vitória/ES: PPGPSI/UFES, 2009. 167f. Dissertação de Mestrado. Esta pesquisa abrange os processos de produção de saúde, tendo como objeto de estudo os discursos e práticas de saúde relacionados ao acolhimento. O contexto de análise é a Atenção Básica do município de Vitória/ES e o campo de pesquisa, o cotidiano da Unidade de Saúde da Família da Ilha do Príncipe. O estudo utilizou como referência os aportes teóricos da Análise Institucional e da Saúde Coletiva. Buscou-se analisar o modo como os trabalhadores fazem acolhimento no cotidiano do serviço, além de escutar as concepções e os discursos produzidos a respeito, na relação com suas práticas cotidianas, o que inclui os processos de trabalho e as interações com os usuários. Para isso, utilizou-se a Cartografia como estratégia metodológica. Os dados foram produzidos no período de fevereiro a setembro de 2008, por meio de observação, diário de campo e entrevistas realizadas com usuários e trabalhadores da USF. Os resultados produzidos expressam que o processo de trabalho e sua gestão são fragmentados e burocratizantes. Há intenção dos trabalhadores de rever os processos de trabalho, entretanto, isto encontra obstáculos na prática. No tocante ao acolhimento, a exigência que os trabalhadores sofrem para que atendam a uma certa produtividade é um aspecto que compromete a qualidade da relação entre as equipes e destas com o usuário, afetando o atendimento às necessidades destes e a própria oferta de ações de saúde. As necessidades que os trabalhadores esperam acolher estão circunscritas à doença ou sintoma manifesto fisicamente. Demonstrou-se que ir ao serviço para conversar constitui-se em uma demanda valorizada pelos usuários, sendo acolhida por alguns trabalhadores. Evidenciou-se que a comunicação nas equipes é restrita às discussões de questões administrativas e procedimentos. A hierarquização entre os níveis de formação contribui para entender o acolhimento como uma atividade ou procedimento que é atribuição de uma categoria específica (auxiliares de enfermagem), a qual supõe-se, tem capacidade técnica para fazê-lo no ato de recepção do usuário. Constatou-se que as ações de saúde não são pactuadas com os usuários, de modo que o PSF não garante o acolhimento. Porém, os tensionamentos nas relações cotidianas entre trabalhador e usuário favorecem a problematização do acolhimento como ação que pode ultrapassar a recepção. Fica evidente a necessidade de reorganização dos processos de trabalho e de se engendrar subjetividades por uma humanização que valorize os processos de singularização, de modo a se promover uma real democracia no acesso à saúde, na qualidade da assistência e na garantia dos princípios do SUS. Palavras-chave: acolhimento; processos de trabalho em saúde; produção de subjetividade; relação trabalhador-usuário

Chiral U(1) flavor models and flavored Higgs doublets: the top FB asymmetry and the Wjj

We present U(1) flavor models for leptophobic Z' with flavor dependent couplings to the right-handed up-type quarks in the Standard Model, which can accommodate the recent data on the top forward-backward (FB) asymmetry and the dijet resonance associated with a W boson reported by CDF Collaboration. Such flavor-dependent leptophobic charge assignments generally require extra chiral fermions for anomaly cancellation. Also the chiral nature of U(1)' flavor symmetry calls for new U(1)'-charged Higgs doublets in order for the SM fermions to have realistic renormalizable Yukawa couplings. The stringent constraints from the top FB asymmetry at the Tevatron and the same sign top pair production at the LHC can be evaded due to contributions of the extra Higgs doublets. We also show that the extension could realize cold dark matter candidates.Comment: 40 pages, 10 figures, added 1 figure and extended discussion, accepted for publication in JHE