Posterior Mitral Leaflet Left Atrial Anomalous Chord in the Absence of Surgical Mitral Regurgitation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108052/1/echo12582.pd

Torque magnetometry study of the spin reorientation transition and temperature-dependent magnetocrystalline anisotropy in NdCo5

We present the results of torque magnetometry and magnetic susceptibility measurements to study in detail the spin reorientation transition (SRT) and magnetic anisotropy in the permanent magnet NdCo5. We further show simulations of the measurements using first-principles calculations based on density-functional theory and the disordered local moment picture of magnetism at finite temperatures. The good agreement between theory and experimental data leads to a detailed description of the physics underpinning the SRT. In particular we are able to resolve the magnetization of, and to reveal a canting between, the Nd and Co sublattices. The torque measurements carried out in the ac and ab planes near the easy direction allow us to estimate the anisotropy constants, K 1, K 2 and K 4 and their temperature dependences. Torque curves, τ(γ) recorded by varying the direction of a constant magnetic field in the crystallographic ac plane show a reversal in the polarity as the temperature is changed across the SRT (240 < T < 285 K). Within this domain, τ(γ) exhibits unusual features different to those observed above and below the transition. The single crystals of NdCo5 were grown using the optical floating zone technique

Tunability of the spin reorientation transitions with pressure in NdCo5

We present pressure-dependent magnetization measurements carried out in the domain of the spin reorientation transitions (SRTs) of a NdCo5 single crystal. The application of a hydrostatic pressure leads to a shift in the SRTs to higher temperatures. This shift is found to be very sensitive to pressure, with the SRT temperatures increasing at a rate of ≈17 K/GPa. To explain the experimental results, we have also performed first-principles calculations of the SRT temperatures for different applied strains, which corroborate the experimental findings. The calculations attribute the pressure dependence of the SRTs to a faster weakening of the Co contribution to the magnetocrystalline anisotropy with pressure compared to the Nd contribution

Οutcomes for patients who are diagnosed with breast and endometrial cancer

The present study sought to determine the survival outcomes for women diagnosed with breast and endometrial cancer. Using SEER data, a population-based cohort study of women diagnosed with breast and endometrial cancer was conducted. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were created for disease-specific survival rates. A total of 2,027 women diagnosed with breast and endometrial cancer were identified. Of these, 1,296 (63.9%) developed breast cancer first and 731 (36.1%) developed endometrial cancer first. Regional lymph node involvement was significantly more common with a breast cancer diagnosis [522 (25.8%) women] compared with an endometrial cancer diagnosis [87 (4.3%) women] (P<0.05). Factors associated with decreased survival included a high tumor grade in endometrial cancer, nodal positivity and estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer (P<0.05 for each). There were 83 (4.1%) mortalities due to breast cancer, 63 (3.1%) mortalities due to endometrial cancer and 178 (8.8%) mortalities due to other causes (P<0.05). In conclusion, for women diagnosed with breast and endometrial cancer, the cumulative risk of mortality at five years following the second cancer diagnosis is nearly four times more likely to be due to breast cancer than endometrial cancer

A Meiotic Checkpoint Alters Repair Partner Bias to Permit Inter-sister Repair of Persistent DSBs

Accurate meiotic chromosome segregation critically depends on the formation of inter-homolog crossovers initiated by double-strand breaks (DSBs). Inaccuracies in this process can drive aneuploidy and developmental defects, but how meiotic cells are protected from unscheduled DNA breaks remains unexplored. Here we define a checkpoint response to persistent meiotic DSBs in C. elegans that phosphorylates the synaptonemal complex (SC) to switch repair partner from the homolog to the sister chromatid. A key target of this response is the core SC component SYP-1, which is phosphorylated in response to ionizing radiation (IR) or unrepaired meiotic DSBs. Failure to phosphorylate (syp-16A) or dephosphorylate (syp-16D) SYP-1 in response to DNA damage results in chromosome non-dysjunction, hyper-sensitivity to IR-induced DSBs, and synthetic lethality with loss of brc-1BRCA1. Since BRC-1 is required for inter-sister repair, these observations reveal that checkpoint-dependent SYP-1 phosphorylation safeguards the germline against persistent meiotic DSBs by channelling repair to the sister chromatid.Cancer Research UK FC0010048UK Medical Research Council FC0010048Wellcome Trust FC0010048Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BFU2016-75058-PEuropean Research Council ERC2014 AdG669898 TARLOO

The Future of Intergenerational Relations in Aging Societies

As the pressure mounts to reduce the public costs of supporting rapidly aging societies, responsibility for supporting elderly people will increasingly fall on their family members. This essay explores the family’s capacity to respond to these growing challenges. In particular, we examine how family change and growing inequality pose special problems in developed nations, especially the United States. This essay mentions a series of studies supported by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on an Aging Society that aim to examine the future of intergenerational exchange. We focus particularly on adults who have dependent and young-adult children and who must also care for elderly parents, a fraction of the population that will grow substantially in the coming twenty-five years

Self-Reported Physical Activity and Myocardial Flow Reserve in Postmenopausal Women at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

Background: Regular exercise protects against coronary heart disease (CHD) events and improves vascular reactivity. Exercise effects on myocardial flow reserve (MFR) are not well studied. Methods: We performed dynamic N-13 ammonia positron emission tomography (PET) in 16 postmenopausal women (60 ± 6 years) to measure myocardial blood flow (MBF) and MFR. We also obtained information from each woman on her self-reported physical activity. Results: Of the 16 patients, 6 reported moderate regular physical activity, and 10 did not. Women who reported regular, at least moderate physical activity had a higher percentage increase in adenosine MBF from rest compared with women who did not exercise (268% vs. 129%, p = 0.04) and had a significantly higher mean maximal MFR (3.68 vs. 2.29, p = 0.04). Conclusions: These findings provide further mechanistic support for the beneficial cardiovascular effects of exercise.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63137/1/jwh.2006.15.45.pd

Small-particle Inhaled Corticosteroid as First-line or Step-up Controller Therapy in Childhood Asthma

Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Structural and magnetic properties of GdCo5−xNix

GdCo5 may be considered as two sublattices—one of Gd and one of Co—whose magnetizations are in antiparallel alignment, forming a ferrimagnet. Substitution of nickel in the cobalt sublattice of GdCo5 has been investigated to gain insight into how the magnetic properties of this prototype rare earth/transition-metal magnet are affected by changes in the transition-metal sublattice. Polycrystalline samples of GdCo5-xNix for 0 ≤ x ≤ 5 were synthesized by arc melting. Structural characterization was carried out by powder x-ray diffraction and optical and scanning electron microscope imagings of metallographic slides, the latter revealing a low concentration of Gd2(Co,Ni)7 lamellae for x ≤ 2.5. Compensation—i.e., the cancellation of the opposing Gd and transition-metal moments—is observed for 1< x < 3 at a temperature which increases with Ni content; for larger x , no compensation is observed below 360 K. A peak in the coercivity is seen at x ≈ 1 at 10 K coinciding with a minimum in the saturation magnetization. Density-functional theory calculations within the disordered local moment picture reproduce the dependence of the magnetization on Ni content and temperature. The calculations also show a peak in the magnetocrystalline anisotropy at similar Ni concentrations to the experimentally observed coercivity maximum