Color in context: psychological context moderates the influence of red on approach- and avoidance-motivated behavior.

A basic premise of the recently proffered color-in-context model is that the influence of color on psychological functioning varies as a function of the psychological context in which color is perceived. Some research has examined the appetitive and aversive implications of viewing the color red in romance- and achievement-relevant contexts, respectively, but in all existing empirical work approach and avoidance behavior has been studied in separate tasks and separate experiments. Research is needed to directly test whether red influences the same behavior differently depending entirely on psychological context. The present experiment was designed to put this premise to direct test in romance- and achievement-relevant contexts within the same experimental paradigm involving walking behavior. Our results revealed that exposure to red (but not blue) indeed has differential implications for walking behavior as a function of the context in which the color is perceived. Red increased the speed with which participants walked to an ostensible interview about dating (a romance-relevant context), but decreased the speed with which they walked to an ostensible interview about intelligence (an achievement-relevant context). These results are the first direct evidence that the influence of red on psychological functioning in humans varies by psychological context. Our findings contribute to both the literature on color psychology and the broader, emerging literature on the influence of context on basic psychological processes

Burden of Cardiovascular Risk Factors Over Time and Arterial Stiffness in Youth With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study

Background: The incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children is increasing, resulting in higher burden of cardiovascular diseases due to diabetes mellitus–related vascular dysfunction. Methods and Results: We examined cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) and arterial parameters in 1809 youth with T1DM. Demographics, anthropometrics, blood pressure, and laboratory data were collected at T1DM onset and 5 years later. Pulse wave velocity and augmentation index were collected with tonometry. ANOVA or chi�square tests were used to test for differences in measures of arterial parameters by CVRF. Area under the curve of CVRFs was entered in general linear models to explore determinants of accelerate vascular aging. Participants at the time of arterial measurement were 17.6±4.5 years old, 50% female, 76% non�Hispanic white, and duration of T1DM was 7.8±1.9 years. Glycemic control was poor (glycated hemoglobin, 9.1±1.8%). All arterial parameters were higher in participants with glycated hemoglobin ≥9% and pulse wave velocity was higher with lower insulin sensitivity or longer duration of diabetes mellitus. Differences in arterial parameters were found by sex, age, and presence of obesity, hypertension, or dyslipidemia. In multivariable models, higher glycated hemoglobin, lower insulin sensitivity, body mass index, blood pressure, and lipid areas under the curve were associated with accelerated vascular aging. Conclusions: In young people with T1DM, persistent poor glycemic control and higher levels of traditional CVRFs are independently associated with arterial aging. Improving glycemic control and interventions to lower CVRFs may prevent future cardiovascular events in young individuals with T1DM

Construction of an odds model of coronary heart disease using published information: the Cardiovascular Health Improvement Model (CHIME)

Background: There is a need for a new cardiovascular disease model that includes a wider range of relevant risk factors, in particular lifestyle factors, to aid targeting of interventions and improve population models of the impact of cardiovascular disease and preventive strategies. The model needs to be applicable to a wider population including different ethnic groups, different countries and to those with and without cardiovascular disease. This paper describes the construction of the Cardiovascular Health Improvement Model that aims to meet these requirements. Method: An odds model is used. Information was taken from 2003 mortality statistics for England and Wales, the Health Survey for England 2003 and published data on relative risk in those with and without CVD and mean blood pressure values in hypertensives. The odds ratios used were taken from the INTERHEART study. Results: A worked example is given calculating the 10-year coronary heart disease risk for a 57 year-old non-diabetic male with no personal or family history of cardiovascular disease, who smokes 30 cigarettes a day and has a systolic blood pressure of 137 mmHg, a total cholesterol (TC) of 6.2 mmol/l, a high density lipoprotein (HDL) of 1.3 mol/l, and a body mass index of 21. He neither drinks regularly nor exercises. He can give no reliable information about his mental health or fruit and vegetable intake. His 10-year risk of CHD death is 2.47%. Conclusion: This paper demonstrates a method for developing a CHD risk model. Further improvements could be made to the model with additional information. The method is applicable to other causes of death

Apolipoprotein CIII and N-terminal prohormone b-type natriuretic peptide as independent predictors for cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes

Background and aims: Developing sparse panels of biomarkers for cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes would enable risk stratification for clinical decision making and selection into clinical trials. We examined the individual and joint performance of five candidate biomarkers for incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) in type 2 diabetes that an earlier discovery study had yielded. Methods: Apolipoprotein CIII (apoCIII), N-terminal prohormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), high sensitivity Troponin T (hsTnT), Interleukin-6, and Interleukin-15 were measured in baseline serum samples from the Collaborative Atorvastatin Diabetes trial (CARDS) of atorvastatin versus placebo. Among 2105 persons with type 2 diabetes and median age of 62.9 years (range 39.2–77.3), there were 144 incident CVD (acute coronary heart disease or stroke) cases during the maximum 5-year follow up. We used Cox Proportional Hazards models to identify biomarkers associated with incident CVD and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) to assess overall model prediction. Results: Three of the biomarkers were singly associated with incident CVD independently of other risk factors; NT-proBNP (Hazard Ratio per standardised unit 2.02, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.63, 2.50), apoCIII (1.34, 95% CI 1.12, 1.60) and hsTnT (1.40, 95% CI 1.16, 1.69). When combined in a single model, only NT-proBNP and apoCIII were independent predictors of CVD, together increasing the AUROC using Framingham risk variables from 0.661 to 0.745. Conclusions: The biomarkers NT-proBNP and apoCIII substantially increment the prediction of CVD in type 2 diabetes beyond that obtained with the variables used in the Framingham risk score

Calibration and Characterization of the IceCube Photomultiplier Tube

Over 5,000 PMTs are being deployed at the South Pole to compose the IceCube neutrino observatory. Many are placed deep in the ice to detect Cherenkov light emitted by the products of high-energy neutrino interactions, and others are frozen into tanks on the surface to detect particles from atmospheric cosmic ray showers. IceCube is using the 10-inch diameter R7081-02 made by Hamamatsu Photonics. This paper describes the laboratory characterization and calibration of these PMTs before deployment. PMTs were illuminated with pulses ranging from single photons to saturation level. Parameterizations are given for the single photoelectron charge spectrum and the saturation behavior. Time resolution, late pulses and afterpulses are characterized. Because the PMTs are relatively large, the cathode sensitivity uniformity was measured. The absolute photon detection efficiency was calibrated using Rayleigh-scattered photons from a nitrogen laser. Measured characteristics are discussed in the context of their relevance to IceCube event reconstruction and simulation efforts.Comment: 40 pages, 12 figure

The influence of hip circumference on the relationship between abdominal obesity and mortality

Background Higher waist circumference and lower hip circumference are both associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, despite being directly correlated. The real effects of visceral obesity may therefore be underestimated when hip circumference is not fully taken into account. We hypothesized that adding waist and hip circumference to traditional risk factors would significantly improve CVD risk prediction

Glucose Control Predicts 2-Year Change in Lipid Profile in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes

To test the hypothesis that a change in A1c over a follow-up interval of approximately 2 years would be associated with concomitant changes in fasting lipids in individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D)

Change in adiposity minimally affects the lipid profile in youth with recent onset type 1 diabetes

Dyslipidemia contributes to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in persons with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Weight control is commonly recommended as a treatment for dyslipidemia. However, the extent to which decreases in weight affect the lipid profile in youth with T1D is not known. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that decreases in BMI-z score (BMIz) were associated with concomitant changes in the lipid profile in youth with T1D

A collection of bacterial isolates from the pig intestine reveals functional and taxonomic diversity.

Our knowledge about the gut microbiota of pigs is still scarce, despite the importance of these animals for biomedical research and agriculture. Here, we present a collection of cultured bacteria from the pig gut, including 110 species across 40 families and nine phyla. We provide taxonomic descriptions for 22 novel species and 16 genera. Meta-analysis of 16S rRNA amplicon sequence data and metagenome-assembled genomes reveal prevalent and pig-specific species within Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Clostridium, Desulfovibrio, Enterococcus, Fusobacterium, and several new genera described in this study. Potentially interesting functions discovered in these organisms include a fucosyltransferase encoded in the genome of the novel species Clostridium porci, and prevalent gene clusters for biosynthesis of sactipeptide-like peptides. Many strains deconjugate primary bile acids in in vitro assays, and a Clostridium scindens strain produces secondary bile acids via dehydroxylation. In addition, cells of the novel species Bullifex porci are coccoidal or spherical under the culture conditions tested, in contrast with the usual helical shape of other members of the family Spirochaetaceae. The strain collection, called 'Pig intestinal bacterial collection' (PiBAC), is publicly available at www.dsmz.de/pibac and opens new avenues for functional studies of the pig gut microbiota

Dual use of Medicare and the Veterans Health Administration: are there adverse health outcomes?

BACKGROUND: Millions of veterans are eligible to use the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Medicare because of their military service and age. This article examines whether an indirect measure of dual use based on inpatient services is associated with increased mortality risk. METHODS: Data on 1,566 self-responding men (weighted N = 1,522) from the Survey of Assets and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) were linked to Medicare claims and the National Death Index. Dual use was indirectly indicated when the self-reported number of hospital episodes in the 12 months prior to baseline was greater than that observed in the Medicare claims. The independent association of dual use with mortality was estimated using proportional hazards regression. RESULTS: 96 (11%) of the veterans were classified as dual users. 766 men (50.3%) had died by December 31, 2002, including 64.9% of the dual users and 49.3% of all others, for an attributable mortality risk of 15.6% (p < .003). Adjusting for demographics, socioeconomics, comorbidity, hospitalization status, and selection bias at baseline, as well as subsequent hospitalization for ambulatory care sensitive conditions, the independent effect of dual use was a 56.1% increased relative risk of mortality (AHR = 1.561; p = .009). CONCLUSION: An indirect measure of veterans' dual use of the VHA and Medicare systems, based on inpatient services, was associated with an increased risk of death. Further examination of dual use, especially in the outpatient setting, is needed, because dual inpatient and dual outpatient use may be different phenomena