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Sample records for highest baseline levels

  1. Baseline Response Levels Are a Nuisance in Infant Contingency Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millar, W. S.; Weir, Catherine

    2015-01-01

    The impact of differences in level of baseline responding on contingency learning in the first year was examined by considering the response acquisition of infants classified into baseline response quartiles. Whereas the three lower baseline groups showed the predicted increment in responding to a contingency, the highest baseline responders did…

  2. High titers of both rheumatoid factor and anti-CCP antibodies at baseline in patients with rheumatoid arthritis are associated with increased circulating baseline TNF level, low drug levels, and reduced clinical responses: a post hoc analysis of the RISING study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takeuchi, Tsutomu; Miyasaka, Nobuyuki; Inui, Takashi; Yano, Toshiro; Yoshinari, Toru; Abe, Tohru; Koike, Takao

    2017-09-02

    Although both rheumatoid factor (RF) and anticyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies (anti-CCP) are useful for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the impact of these autoantibodies on the efficacy of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors has been controversial. The aim of this post hoc analysis of a randomized double-blind study (the RISING study) was to investigate the influences of RF and anti-CCP on the clinical response to infliximab in patients with RA. Methotrexate-refractory patients with RA received 3 mg/kg of infliximab from weeks 0 to 6 and then 3, 6, or 10 mg/kg every 8 weeks from weeks 14 to 46. In this post hoc analysis, patients were stratified into three classes on the basis of baseline RF/anti-CCP titers: "low/low-C" (RF < 55 IU/ml, anti-CCP < 42 U/ml), "high/high-C" (RF ≥ 160 IU/ml, anti-CCP ≥ 100 U/ml), and "middle-C" (neither low/low-C nor high/high-C). Baseline plasma TNF level, serum infliximab level, and disease activity were compared between the three classes. Baseline RF and anti-CCP titers showed significant correlations with baseline TNF and infliximab levels in weeks 2-14. Comparison of the three classes showed that baseline TNF level was lowest in the low/low-C group and highest in the high/high-C group (median 0.73 versus 1.15 pg/ml), that infliximab levels at week 14 were highest in the low/low-C group and lowest in the high/high-C group (median 1.0 versus 0.1 μg/ml), and that Disease Activity Score in 28 joints based on C-reactive protein at week 14 was lowest in the low/low-C group and highest in the high/high-C group (median 3.17 versus 3.82). A similar correlation was observed at week 54 in the 3 mg/kg dosing group, but not in the 6 or 10 mg/kg group. Significant decreases in both RF and anti-CCP were observed during infliximab treatment. RF/anti-CCP titers correlated with TNF level. This might explain the association of RF/anti-CCP with infliximab level and clinical response in patients with RA

  3. Do optimally ripe blackberries contain the highest levels of metabolites?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikulic-Petkovsek, Maja; Koron, Darinka; Zorenc, Zala; Veberic, Robert

    2017-01-15

    Five blackberry cultivars were selected for the study ('Chester Thornless', 'Cacanska Bestrna', 'Loch Ness', 'Smoothstem' and 'Thornfree') and harvested at three different maturity stages (under-, optimal- and over-ripe). Optimally ripe and over-ripe blackberries contained significantly higher levels of total sugars compared to under-ripe fruit. 'Loch Ness' cultivar was characterized by 2.2-2.6-fold higher levels of total sugars than other cultivars and consequently, the highest sugar/acids ratio. 'Chester Thornless' stands out as the cultivar with the highest level of vitamin C in under-ripe (125.87mgkg(-1)) and optimally mature fruit (127.66mgkg(-1)). Maturity stage significantly affected the accumulation of phenolic compounds. The content of total anthocyanins increased for 43% at optimal maturity stage and cinnamic acid derivatives for 57% compared to under-ripe fruit. Over-ripe blackberries were distinguished by the highest content of total phenolics (1251-2115mg GAE kg(-1) FW) and greatest FRAP values (25.9-43.2mM TE kg(-1) FW). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Mercury baseline levels in Flemish soils (Belgium)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tack, Filip M.G.; Vanhaesebroeck, Thomas; Verloo, Marc G.; Van Rompaey, Kurt; Ranst, Eric van

    2005-01-01

    It is important to establish contaminant levels that are normally present in soils to provide baseline data for pollution studies. Mercury is a toxic element of concern. This study was aimed at assessing baseline mercury levels in soils in Flanders. In a previous study, mercury contents in soils in Oost-Vlaanderen were found to be significantly above levels reported elsewhere. For the current study, observations were extended over two more provinces, West-Vlaanderen and Antwerpen. Ranges of soil Hg contents were distinctly higher in the province Oost-Vlaanderen (interquartile range from 0.09 to 0.43 mg/kg) than in the other provinces (interquartile ranges from 0.7 to 0.13 and 0.7 to 0.15 mg/kg for West-Vlaanderen and Antwerpen, respectively). The standard threshold method was applied to separate soils containing baseline levels of Hg from the data. Baseline concentrations for Hg were characterised by a median of 0.10 mg Hg/kg dry soil, an interquartile range from 0.07 to 0.14 mg/kg and a 90% percentile value of 0.30 mg/kg. The influence of soil properties such as clay and organic carbon contents, and pH on baseline Hg concentrations was not important. Maps of the spatial distribution of Hg levels showed that the province Oost-Vlaanderen exhibited zones with systematically higher Hg soil contents. This may be related to the former presence of many small-scale industries employing mercury in that region. - Increased mercury levels may reflect human activity

  5. CryoSat SAR/SARin Level1b products: assessment of BaselineC and improvements towards BaselineD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scagliola, Michele; Fornari, Marco; Bouffard, Jerome; Parrinello, Tommaso

    2017-04-01

    CryoSat was launched on the 8th April 2010 and is the first European ice mission dedicated to the monitoring of precise changes in the thickness of polar ice sheets and floating sea ice. Cryosat carries an innovative radar altimeter called the Synthetic Aperture Interferometric Altimeter (SIRAL), that transmits pulses at a high pulse repetition frequency thus making the received echoes phase coherent and suitable for azimuth processing. This allows to reach a significantly improved along track resolution with respect to traditional pulse-width limited altimeters. CryoSat is the first altimetry mission operating in SAR mode and continuous improvements in the Level1 Instrument Processing Facility (IPF1) are being identified, tested and validated in order to improve the quality of the Level1b products. The current IPF, Baseline C, was released in operation in April 2015 and the second CryoSat reprocessing campaign was jointly initiated, taking benefit of the upgrade implemented in the IPF1 processing chain but also of some specific configurations for the calibration corrections. In particular, the CryoSat Level1b BaselineC products generated in the framework of the second reprocessing campaign include refined information for what concerns the mispointing angles and the calibration corrections. This poster will thus detail thus the evolutions that are currently planned for the CryoSat BaselineD SAR/SARin Level1b products and the corresponding quality improvements that are expected.

  6. CryoSat Level1b SAR/SARin: quality improvements towards BaselineC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scagliola, Michele; Fornari, Marco; Bouzinac, Catherine; Tagliani, Nicolas; Parrinello, Tommaso

    2014-05-01

    CryoSat was launched on the 8th April 2010 and it is the first European ice mission dedicated to monitoring precise changes in the thickness of polar ice sheets and floating sea ice over a 3-year period. Cryosat carries an innovative radar altimeter called the Synthetic Aperture Interferometric Altimeter (SIRAL), that transmits pulses at a high pulse repetition frequency thus making the received echoes phase coherent and suitable for azimuth processing. This allows to reach a significantly improved along track resolution with respect to traditional pulse-width limited altimeters. CryoSat is the first altimetry mission operating in SAR mode and continuous improvement in the Level1 Instrument Processing Facility (IPF1) are being identified, tested and validated in order to improve the quality of the Level1b products. Towards the release of the BaselineC of the CryoSat Level1b SAR/SARin products, that is expected during 2014, several improvements have been identified: • a datation bias of about -0.5195 ms will be corrected • a range bias of about -0.6730 m will be corrected • the waveform length in the Level1b product will be doubled with respect to BaselineB • improved processing for 1Hz echoes to have sharper waveforms • surface sample stack weighting to filter out the single look echoes acquired at highest look angle, that results in a sharpening of the 20Hz waveforms This poster details the main improvements that are foreseen to be included in the CryoSat Level1b SAR/SARin products in BaselineC.

  7. CryoSat Level1b SAR/SARin BaselineC: Product Format and Algorithm Improvements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scagliola, Michele; Fornari, Marco; Di Giacinto, Andrea; Bouffard, Jerome; Féménias, Pierre; Parrinello, Tommaso

    2015-04-01

    CryoSat was launched on the 8th April 2010 and is the first European ice mission dedicated to the monitoring of precise changes in the thickness of polar ice sheets and floating sea ice. Cryosat carries an innovative radar altimeter called the Synthetic Aperture Interferometric Altimeter (SIRAL), that transmits pulses at a high pulse repetition frequency thus making the received echoes phase coherent and suitable for azimuth processing. This allows to reach a significantly improved along track resolution with respect to traditional pulse-width limited altimeters. CryoSat is the first altimetry mission operating in SAR mode and continuous improvements in the Level1 Instrument Processing Facility (IPF1) are being identified, tested and validated in order to improve the quality of the Level1b products. The current IPF, Baseline B, was released in operation in February 2012. A reprocessing campaign followed, in order to reprocess the data since July 2010. After more than 2 years of development, the release in operations of Baseline C is expected in the first half of 2015. BaselineC Level1b products will be distributed in an updated format, including for example the attitude information (roll, pitch and yaw) and, for SAR/SARIN, the waveform length doubled with respect to Baseline B. Moreveor, various algorithm improvements have been identified: • a datation bias of about -0.5195 ms will be corrected (SAR/SARIn) • a range bias of about 0.6730 m will be corrected (SAR/SARIn) • a roll bias of 0.1062 deg and a pitch bias of 0.0520 deg • Surface sample stack weighting to filter out the single look echoes acquired at highest look angle, that results in a sharpening of the 20Hz waveforms With the operational release of BaselineC, the second CryoSat reprocessing campaign will be initiated, taking benefit of the upgrade implemented in the IPF1 processing chain but also at IPF2 level. The reprocessing campaign will cover the full Cryosat mission starting on 16th July 2010

  8. Esophageal acid exposure decreases intraluminal baseline impedance levels

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kessing, Boudewijn F.; Bredenoord, Albert J.; Weijenborg, Pim W.; Hemmink, Gerrit J. M.; Loots, Clara M.; Smout, A. J. P. M.

    2011-01-01

    Intraluminal baseline impedance levels are determined by the conductivity of the esophageal wall and can be decreased in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the baseline impedance in GERD patients, on and off proton pump inhibitor (PPI), and in

  9. Cryosat Level1b SAR/Sarin: Improving the Quality of the Baseline C Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scagliola, M.; Fornari, M.; Tagliani, N.; Frommknecht, B.; Bouffard, J.; Parrinello, T.

    2014-12-01

    CryoSat was launched on the 8th April 2010 and it is the first European ice mission dedicated to monitoring precise changes in the thickness of polar ice sheets and floating sea ice over a 3-year period. Cryosat carries an innovative radar altimeter called the Synthetic Aperture Interferometric Altimeter (SIRAL), that transmits pulses at a high pulse repetition frequency thus making the received echoes phase coherent and suitable for azimuth processing. This allows to reach a significantly improved along track resolution with respect to traditional pulse-width limited altimeters. CryoSat is the first altimetry mission operating in SAR mode and continuous improvement in the Level1 Instrument Processing Facility (IPF1) are being identified, tested and validated in order to improve the quality of the Level1b products. Towards the release of the BaselineC of the CryoSat Level1b SAR/SARin products, that is expected at the end of 2014, several improvements have been identified: a datation bias of about -0.5195 ms will be corrected a range bias of about 0.6730 m will be corrected The range window size will be doubled with respect to BaselineB, so that the in Level1b products the waveforms will be doubled too Improved processing for 1Hz echoes to have sharper waveforms Surface sample stack weighting to filter out the single look echoes acquired at highest look angle, that results in a sharpening of the 20Hz waveforms Additional auxiliary information related to the mispointing angles of the instrument as well as to the stacks of single look echoes will be added This poster details the main quality improvements that are foreseen to be included in the CryoSat Level1b SAR/SARin products in BaselineC.

  10. Association of low baseline free thyroxin levels with progression of coronary artery calcification over 4 years in euthyroid subjects: the Kangbuk Samsung Health Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Hye-Jeong; Kim, Jihyun; Han, Eun Jin; Park, Se Eun; Park, Cheol-Young; Lee, Won-Young; Oh, Ki-Won; Park, Sung-Woo; Rhee, Eun-Jung

    2016-06-01

    Overt and subclinical hypothyroidism are risk factors for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. It is unclear whether thyroid hormone levels within the normal range are also associated with atherosclerosis measured by coronary artery calcium (CAC). This study aimed to examine the relationship between normal variations in thyroid function and changes in CAC. We conducted a 4-year retrospective study of 2173 apparently healthy men and women with normal thyroid hormone levels. Their free thyroxin (FT4), free triiodothyronin (FT3) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were measured by electrochemiluminescent immunoassay. The CAC score (CACS) of each subject was measured by multidetector computed tomography in both 2010 and 2014. Progression of CAC was defined as a CACS change over 4 years > 0. The mean CACS changes over 4 years by quartiles of baseline FT4 level (lowest to highest) were 12·9, 8·43, 7·82 and 7·81 (P = 0·028). CAC progression was not significantly associated with either the baseline FT3 or TSH levels. The odds ratios (OR) for CAC progression over 4 years (highest vs lowest quartile for baseline FT4) were 0·647 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0·472-0·886) after adjustment for confounding factor, which were attenuated with further adjustment for lipid profiles, homoeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and hypertension [0·747 (95% CI 0·537-1·038)]. Quartiles of baseline FT3 or TSH level did not show any increased OR for CAC progression after adjustment for confounding factors. In this cohort of euthyroid men and women, a low baseline FT4 level was associated with a high risk of CACS progression over 4 years. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Predictors of in vitro fertilization outcomes in women with highest follicle-stimulating hormone levels ≥ 12 IU/L: a prospective cohort study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lina N Huang

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to evaluate factors predictive of outcomes in women with highest follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH levels ≥ 12 IU/L on basal testing, undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF.A prospective cohort study was conducted at Stanford University Hospital in the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Center for 12 months. Women age 21 to 43 undergoing IVF with highest FSH levels on baseline testing were included. Donor/Recipient and frozen embryo cycles were excluded from this study. Prognostic factors evaluated in association with clinical pregnancy rates were type of infertility diagnosis and IVF stimulation parameters.The current study found that factors associated with clinical pregnancy were: increased number of mature follicles on the day of triggering, number of oocytes retrieved, number of Metaphase II oocytes if intracytoplasmic sperm injection was done, and number of embryos developed 24 hours after retrieval.Our findings suggest that it would be beneficial for women with increased FSH levels to attempt a cycle of IVF. Results of ovarian stimulation, especially embryo quantity appear to be the best predictors of IVF outcomes and those can only be obtained from a cycle of IVF. Therefore, increased basal FSH levels should not discourage women from attempting a cycle of IVF.

  12. Sediment baseline study of levels and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals in Lake Nicaragua

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scheibye, Katrine; Weisser, Johan Juhl; Borggaard, Ole K.

    2014-01-01

    Selected metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in sediment samples from 24 sites in Lake Nicaragua sampled May 2010 to provide a baseline of pollution levels. Cu exceeded the Consensus-Based Sediment Quality Guideline (CBSQG) Threshold Effect Concentrations (TECs) at 21...... showed that the CBSQG TECs were exceeded by naphthalene at five sites. The sum concentrations of the 16 US EPA priority PAHs (∑PAH16) ranged from 0.01mgkg(-1)dw to 0.64mgkg(-1)dw. The highest ∑PAH16 concentration was found upstream in River Mayales and the PAH composition revealed a heavy PAH fraction (e....... This study concluded that areas of Lake Nicaragua represent an important pollution baseline for future studies in this lake and other tropical lakes....

  13. [Diagnostic value of baseline serum luteinizing hormone level for central precocious puberty in girls].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ou-Yang, Li-Xue; Yang, Fan

    2017-07-01

    To evaluate the diagnostic value of baseline serum luteinizing hormone (LH) level for central precocious puberty (CPP) in girls. A total of 279 girls with precocious puberty were subjected to assessment of growth and development, bone age determination, baseline LH test, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) test, gonadotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test, and other related examinations. Of the 279 patients, 175 were diagnosed with CPP and 104 with premature thelarche (PT). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of baseline LH and FSH levels and their peak levels for CPP, and the correlation between the baseline LH level and the peak LH level was analyzed. The CPP group had significantly higher bone age, baseline LH and FSH levels, peak LH and FSH levels, and ratio of peak LH level to peak FSH level than the PT group (Pbaseline LH level and peak LH level had good diagnostic values for CPP. Among the three bone age subgroups in the CPP group (7.0-9.0 years, 9.0-11.0 years, and >11.0 years), baseline LH level showed the best diagnostic value in the >11.0 years subgroup, with the largest area under the ROC curve. At a baseline LH level of 0.45 IU/L, the Youden index reached the peak value, and the sensitivity and specificity were 66.7% and 80% respectively, for the diagnosis of CPP. At a peak LH level of 9.935 IU/L, the Youden index reached the peak value, and the sensitivity and specificity were 74.8% and 100% respectively, for the diagnosis of CPP. The baseline LH level was positively correlated with the peak LH level (r=0.440, PBaseline LH level can be used as an primary screening index for the diagnosis of CPP. It has a certain diagnostic value for CPP at different bone ages, and may be used as a monitoring index during the treatment and follow-uP.

  14. Highest PBDE levels (max 63 ppm) yet found in biota measured in seabird eggs from San Francisco Bay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    She, J.; Holden, A.; Tanner, M.; Sharp, M.; Hooper, K. [Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA (United States). Hazardous Materials Lab.; Adelsbach, T. [Environmental Contaminants Division, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Sacramento, CA (United States)

    2004-09-15

    High levels of polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) have been found in humans and wildlife from the San Francisco Bay Area, with levels in women among the highest in the world, and levels in piscivorous seabird eggs at the ppm level. Seabirds are useful for monitoring and assessing ecosystem health at various times and places because they occupy a high trophic level in the marine food web, are long-lived, and are generally localized near their breeding and non-breeding sites. In collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), we are carrying out a three-year investigation of dioxin, PCB and PBDE levels in eggs from fish-eating seabirds. Year 1 (2002) PBDE measurements from 73 bird eggs were reported at Dioxin2003. Year 2 (2003) PBDE measurements from 45 samples are presented in this report. The highest PBDE level measured in eggs was 63 ppm, lipid, which is the highest PBDE level, yet reported in biota.

  15. Individual variation in baseline and stress-induced corticosterone and prolactin levels predicts parental effort by nesting mourning doves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, David A.; Vleck, Carol M.; Otis, David L.

    2009-01-01

    Endocrine systems have an important mechanistic role in structuring life-history trade-offs. During breeding, individual variation in prolactin (PRL) and corticosterone (CORT) levels affects behavioral and physiological processes that drive trade-offs between reproduction and self-maintenance. We examined patterns in baseline (BL) and stress induced (SI; level following a standard capture-restraint protocol) levels of PRL and CORT for breeding mourning doves (Zenaida macroura). We determined whether the relationship of adult condition and parental effort to hormone levels in wild birds was consistent with life-history predictions. Both BL PRL and BL CORT level in adults were positively related to nestling weight at early nestling ages, consistent with the prediction of a positive relationship of hormone levels to current parental effort of adults and associated increased energy demand. Results are consistent with the two hormones acting together at baseline levels to limit negative effects of CORT on reproduction while maintaining beneficial effects such as increased foraging for nestling feeding. Our data did not support predictions that SI responses would vary in response to nestling or adult condition. The magnitude of CORT response in the parents to our capture-restraint protocol was negatively correlated with subsequent parental effort. Average nestling weights for adults with the highest SI CORT response were on average 10–15% lighter than expected for their age in follow-up visits after the stress event. Our results demonstrated a relationship between individual hormone levels and within population variation in parental effort and suggested that hormonal control plays an important role in structuring reproductive decisions for mourning doves.

  16. Highest manageable level of radioactivity in the waste storage facilities of power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elkert, J.; Lennartsson, R.

    1991-01-01

    This project presents and discusses an investigation of the highest level of radioactivity possible to handle in the waste storage facilities. The amount of radioactivity, about 0.1% of the fuel inventory, is the same in both of the cases but the amount of water is very different. The hypothetical accident was supposed to be damage of the reactor fuel caused by loss of coolant. (K.A.E.)

  17. Low baseline levels of NK cells may predict a positive response to ipilimumab in melanoma therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tietze, Julia K; Angelova, Daniela; Heppt, Markus V; Ruzicka, Thomas; Berking, Carola

    2017-07-01

    The introduction of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has been a breakthrough in the therapy of metastatic melanoma. The influence of ICB on T-cell populations has been studied extensively, but little is known about the effect on NK cells. In this study, we analysed the relative and absolute amounts of NK cells and of the subpopulations of CD56 dim and CD56 bright NK cells among the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 32 patients with metastatic melanoma before and under treatment with ipilimumab or pembrolizumab by flow cytometry. In 15 (47%) patients, an abnormal low amount of NK cells was found at baseline. Analysis of the subpopulations showed also low or normal baseline levels for CD56 dim NK cells, whereas the baseline levels of CD56 bright NK cells were either normal or abnormally high. The relative and absolute amounts of NK cells and of CD56 dim and CD56 bright NK cell subpopulations in patients with a normal baseline did not change under treatment. However, patients with a low baseline of NK cells and CD56 dim NK cells showed a significant increase in these immune cell subsets, but the amounts remained to be lower than the normal baseline. The amount of CD56 bright NK cells was unaffected by treatment. The baseline levels of NK cells were correlated with the number of metastatic organs. Their proportion increased, whereas the expression of NKG2D decreased significantly when more than one organ was affected by metastases. Low baseline levels of NK cells and CD56 dim NK cells as well as normal baseline levels of CD56 bright NK cells correlated significantly with a positive response to ipilimumab but not to pembrolizumab. Survival curves of patients with low amounts of CD56 dim NK cells treated with ipilimumab showed a trend to longer survival. Normal baseline levels of CD56 bright NK cells were significantly correlated with longer survival as compared to patients with high baseline levels. In conclusion, analysis of the amounts of total NK cells

  18. Baseline levels of benzo(a)pyrene in southern California mussels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dunn, B P [Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver; Young, D R

    1976-12-01

    Marine mussels accumulate the carcinogen benzo(a)-pyrene from contaminated environments. Baseline studies in California indicate that levels of the carcinogen in mussels are at or near zero, except in areas of human activity. This finding runs counter to previous suggestions that benzo(a)pyrene is widely distributed in marine organisms.

  19. Mercury exposure may suppress baseline corticosterone levels in juvenile birds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herring, Garth; Ackerman, Joshua T; Herzog, Mark P

    2012-06-05

    Mercury exposure has been associated with a wide variety of negative reproductive responses in birds, however few studies have examined the potential for chick impairment via the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The HPA axis regulates corticosterone levels during periods of stress. We examined the relationship between baseline fecal corticosterone metabolite concentrations and mercury concentrations in down feathers of recently hatched (feathers (decreasing by 45% across the range of observed mercury concentrations) while accounting for stronger positive correlations between corticosterone concentrations and colony nest abundance and date. These results indicate that chronic mercury exposure may suppress baseline corticosterone concentrations in tern chicks and suggests that a juvenile bird's ability to respond to stress may be reduced via the downregulation of the HPA axis.

  20. Experimental increase in baseline corticosterone level reduces oxidative damage and enhances innate immune response.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Csongor I Vágási

    Full Text Available Glucocorticoid (GC hormones are significant regulators of homeostasis. The physiological effects of GCs critically depend on the time of exposure (short vs. long as well as on their circulating levels (baseline vs. stress-induced. Previous experiments, in which chronic and high elevation of GC levels was induced, indicate that GCs impair both the activity of the immune system and the oxidative balance. Nonetheless, our knowledge on how mildly elevated GC levels, a situation much more common in nature, might influence homeostasis is limited. Therefore, we studied whether an increase in GC level within the baseline range suppresses or enhances condition (body mass, hematocrit and coccidian infestation and physiological state (humoral innate immune system activity and oxidative balance. We implanted captive house sparrows Passer domesticus with either 60 days release corticosterone (CORT or control pellets. CORT-treated birds had elevated baseline CORT levels one week after the implantation, but following this CORT returned to its pre-treatment level and the experimental groups had similar CORT levels one and two months following the implantation. The mass of tail feathers grown during the initial phase of treatment was smaller in treated than in control birds. CORT implantation had a transient negative effect on body mass and hematocrit, but both of these traits resumed the pre-treatment values by one month post-treatment. CORT treatment lowered oxidative damage to lipids (malondialdehyde and enhanced constitutive innate immunity at one week and one month post-implantation. Our findings suggest that a relatively short-term (i.e. few days elevation of baseline CORT might have a positive and stimulatory effect on animal physiology.

  1. The effect of a motivational intervention on weight loss is moderated by level of baseline controlled motivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tate Deborah F

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Clinic-based behavioral weight loss programs are effective in producing significant weight loss. A one-size-fits-all approach is often taken with these programs. It may be beneficial to tailor programs based on participants' baseline characteristics. Type and level of motivation may be an important factor to consider. Previous research has found that, in general, higher levels of controlled motivation are detrimental to behavior change while higher levels of autonomous motivation improve the likelihood of behavior modification. Methods This study assessed the outcomes of two internet behavioral weight loss interventions and assessed the effect of baseline motivation levels on program success. Eighty females (M (SD age 48.7 (10.6 years; BMI 32.0 (3.7 kg/m2; 91% Caucasian were randomized to one of two groups, a standard group or a motivation-enhanced group. Both received a 16-week internet behavioral weight loss program and attended an initial and a four-week group session. Weight and motivation were measured at baseline, four and 16 weeks. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to test for moderation. Results There was significant weight loss at 16-weeks in both groups (p p = 0.57 (standard group 3.4 (3.6 kg; motivation-enhanced group 3.9 (3.4 kg. Further analysis was conducted to examine predictors of weight loss. Baseline controlled motivation level was negatively correlated with weight loss in the entire sample (r = -0.30; p = 0.01. Statistical analysis revealed an interaction between study group assignment and baseline level of controlled motivation. Weight loss was not predicted by baseline level of controlled motivation in the motivation-enhanced group, but was significantly predicted by controlled motivation in the standard group. Baseline autonomous motivation did not predict weight change in either group. Conclusions This research found that, in participants with high levels of baseline controlled motivation

  2. Baseline serum CXCL10 and IL-12 levels may predict severe asthmatics' responsiveness to omalizumab.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suzukawa, Maho; Matsumoto, Hisako; Ohshima, Nobuharu; Tashimo, Hiroyuki; Asari, Isao; Tajiri, Tomoko; Niimi, Akio; Nagase, Hiroyuki; Matsui, Hirotoshi; Kobayashi, Nobuyuki; Shoji, Shunsuke; Ohta, Ken

    2018-01-01

    Omalizumab, a humanized anti-IgE monoclonal antibody, is the first molecularly targeted drug for severe asthmatics. However, responses to omalizumab vary widely among patients. This study aimed to assess the potential of baseline serum cytokine levels as predictors of responsiveness to omalizumab. Thirty-one patients with severe, persistent asthma were enrolled in this study and administered omalizumab for at least 1 year. Response to omalizumab was assessed based on the physician's global evaluation of treatment effectiveness (GETE) at 48 weeks of treatment. Blood samples were collected at baseline and 16 and 32 weeks after starting omalizumab and measured for 30 cytokines by Luminex 200 and ELISA. Exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) levels, peripheral blood eosinophil counts, pre-bronchodilator pulmonary functions and Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire scores were determined at baseline and 16, 32 and 48 weeks after starting omalizumab. The numbers of clinically significant asthma exacerbations in the previous year and during 48 weeks of treatment with omalizumab were assessed. GETE assessment showed 19 responders (61.3%) and 12 non-responders (38.7%). Responders showed significantly higher levels of CXCL10 and IL-12 at baseline compared to non-responders (CXCL10: responders, 1530.0 ± 315.2 pg/ml vs. non-responders, 1066.0 ± 396.8 pg/ml, P = 0.001; IL-12: responders, 60.2 ± 39.2 pg/ml vs. non-responders, 32.2 ± 26.3 pg/ml, P = 0.04). ROC curves to distinguish responders from non-responders using the baseline serum CXCL10 level showed a good AUC of 0.83. At 32 weeks of omalizumab therapy, serum CXCL10 tended to be increased (1350 ± 412.3 pg/ml at baseline vs. 1529 ± 637.6 pg/ml at 32 weeks, P = 0.16) and serum IL-12 tended to be decreased (49.4 ± 37.0 pg/ml at baseline vs. 43.9 ± 30.9 pg/ml at 32 weeks, P = 0.05). On the other hand, serum IL-5 and PDGF were significantly decreased (IL-5: 54.2 ± 13.8 pg/ml at baseline vs. 49

  3. Interactive Effects of Dopamine Baseline Levels and Cycle Phase on Executive Functions: The Role of Progesterone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Esmeralda Hidalgo-Lopez

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Estradiol and progesterone levels vary along the menstrual cycle and have multiple neuroactive effects, including on the dopaminergic system. Dopamine relates to executive functions in an “inverted U-shaped” manner and its levels are increased by estradiol. Accordingly, dopamine dependent changes in executive functions along the menstrual cycle have been previously studied in the pre-ovulatory phase, when estradiol levels peak. Specifically it has been demonstrated that working memory is enhanced during the pre-ovulatory phase in women with low dopamine baseline levels, but impaired in women with high dopamine baseline levels. However, the role of progesterone, which peaks in the luteal cycle phase, has not been taken into account previously. Therefore, the main goals of the present study were to extend these findings (i to the luteal cycle phase and (ii to other executive functions. Furthermore, the usefulness of the eye blink rate (EBR as an indicator of dopamine baseline levels in menstrual cycle research was explored. 36 naturally cycling women were tested during three cycle phases (menses–low sex hormones; pre-ovulatory–high estradiol; luteal–high progesterone and estradiol. During each session, women performed a verbal N-back task, as measure of working memory, and a single trial version of the Stroop task, as measure of response inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Hormone levels were assessed from saliva samples and spontaneous eye blink rate was recorded during menses. In the N-back task, women were faster during the luteal phase the higher their progesterone levels, irrespective of their dopamine baseline levels. In the Stroop task, we found a dopamine-cycle interaction, which was also driven by the luteal phase and progesterone levels. For women with higher EBR performance decreased during the luteal phase, whereas for women with lower EBR performance improved during the luteal phase. These findings suggest an important

  4. CryoSat Ice Processor: High-Level Overview of Baseline-C Data and Quality-Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannan, R.; Webb, E.; Hall, A.; Bouffard, J.; Femenias, P.; Parrinello, T.; Bouffard, J.; Brockley, D.; Baker, S.; Scagliola, M.; Urien, S.

    2016-08-01

    Since April 2015, the CryoSat ice products have been generated with the new Baseline-C Instrument Processing Facilities (IPFs). This represents a major upgrade to the CryoSat ice IPFs and is the baseline for the second CryoSat Reprocessing Campaign. Baseline- C introduces major evolutions with respect to Baseline- B, most notably the release of freeboard data within the L2 SAR products, following optimisation of the SAR retracker. Additional L2 improvements include a new Arctic Mean Sea Surface (MSS) in SAR; a new tuneable land ice retracker in LRM; and a new Digital Elevation Model (DEM) in SARIn. At L1B new attitude fields have been introduced and existing datation and range biases reduced. This paper provides a high level overview of the changes and evolutions implemented at Baseline-C in order to improve CryoSat L1B and L2 data characteristics and exploitation over polar regions. An overview of the main Quality Control (QC) activities performed on operational Baseline-C products is also presented.

  5. Greater-than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste Program 1992 baseline strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-02-01

    This baseline strategy document describes Department of Energy (DOE) goals, objectives, and strategy for fulfilling its responsibility to dispose of greater-than-Class C low-level radioactive waste (GTCC LLW) according to the requirements of Section 3(b) of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985, Public Law 99-240. This document describes the baseline strategy being employed at the end of FY 1992. The strategy for fulfilling the above responsibility consists of three tasks: interim storage of limited quantities of GTCC LLW at a currently operating DOE facility to eliminate a potential public health and safety threcceptance of GTCC LLW for storage in a DOE dedicated facility on an as-needed basis pending disposal; and disposal in a facility licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The objectives, assumptions, and strategies for each of these tasks are presented in this plan

  6. Relation of N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide levels after symptom-limited exercise to baseline and ischemia levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Zee, P Marc; Verberne, Hein J; van Spijker, Rianne C; van Straalen, Jan P; Fischer, Johan C; Sturk, Augueste; van Eck-Smit, Berthe L F; de Winter, Robbert J

    2009-03-01

    Circulating levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the amino-terminal portion of the prohormone (NT-proBNP) have been reported to increase immediately after myocardial ischemia. The association between extent of exercise-induced myocardial ischemia measured using myocardial perfusion scintigraphy and the magnitude and time course of changes in NT-proBNP was studied. One hundred one patients underwent symptom-limited exercise myocardial perfusion scintigraphy. Myocardial ischemia was assessed semiquantitatively. Serum samples were obtained before the start of exercise (baseline), at maximal exercise, and every hour up to 6 hours after maximal exercise. Myocardial ischemia was present in 37 patients (37%). NT-proBNP rapidly increased during exercise (to 113%, interquartile range 104 to 144, and 118%, interquartile range 106 to 142, of baseline, respectively), with a second peak at 4 (141%, interquartile range 119 to 169) and 5 hours (136%, interquartile range 93 to 188), respectively. Absolute changes between NT-proBNP at baseline and at maximum exercise in patients with versus without ischemia were similar (median, 30 pg/ml, interquartile range 7 to 45 vs 15, interquartile range 4 to 46, respectively, p = 0.230), but absolute change between baseline and the secondary peak was higher in patients with ischemia than in patients without ischemia (median 64 pg/ml, interquartile range 32 to 172 vs 34, interquartile range 19 to 85, respectively, p = 0.024). In multivariate linear stepwise regression analysis of determinants of changes in NT-proBNP after exercise, baseline NT-proBNP was the only independent determinant of absolute changes at maximum exercise, whereas the presence of ischemia was not predictive. Baseline NT-proBNP, cystatin C, and end-systolic volume were independent determinants of the absolute increase to secondary peak levels. In conclusion, myocardial ischemia per se did not lead to additional increases in NT-proBNP within 6 hours after exercise.

  7. Program Baseline Change Control Procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-02-01

    This procedure establishes the responsibilities and process for approving initial issues of and changes to the technical, cost, and schedule baselines, and selected management documents developed by the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System. This procedure implements the OCRWM Baseline Management Plan and DOE Order 4700.1, Chg 1. It streamlines the change control process to enhance integration, accountability, and traceability of Level 0 and Level I decisions through standardized Baseline Change Proposal (BCP) forms to be used by the Level 0, 1, 2, and 3 Baseline Change Control Boards (BCCBs) and to be tracked in the OCRWM-wide Configuration Information System (CIS) Database.This procedure applies to all technical, cost, and schedule baselines controlled by the Energy System Acquisition Advisory Board (ESAAB) BCCB (Level 0) and, OCRWM Program Baseline Control Board (PBCCB) (Level 1). All baseline BCPs initiated by Level 2 or lower BCCBs, which require approval from ESAAB or PBCCB, shall be processed in accordance with this procedure. This procedure also applies to all Program-level management documents controlled by the OCRWM PBCCB

  8. Statin-related aminotransferase elevation according to baseline aminotransferases level in real practice in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, H-S; Lee, S H; Kim, H; Lee, S-H; Cho, J H; Lee, H; Yim, H W; Kim, S-H; Choi, I-Y; Yoon, K-H; Kim, J H

    2016-06-01

    Higher rate of statin-related hepatotoxicity has been reported for Koreans than for Westerners. Moreover, statin-related aminotransferase elevation for those who show borderline levels of aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) (≤×3 of UNL) at baseline has not been fully investigated. Post-statin changes AST/ALT levels during the first year for 21 233 Korean outpatients at two large academic teaching hospitals from January 2009 to December 2013 were analysed using electronic health record data. The date of the first statin prescription was set as baseline. We also performed a comparative analysis of statin-related AST/ALT elevations according to the type of statin, followed by an analysis of clinical risk factors. The progression rate to abnormal AST/ALT values [>×3 the upper normal limit (UNL)] was significantly higher (2·4-16% vs. 0·3-1·7%, P ×1, but ≤×3 of UNL) compared with normal AST/ALT values at baseline. Those with normal baseline AST/ALT did not show significantly different progression rate between different statin medications (P = 0·801). However, patients taking pitavastatin (HR = 0·76, P = 0·657) were least likely to develop abnormal AST/ALT, whereas those taking fluvastatin (HR = 2·96, P = 0·029) were the most likely to develop abnormal AST/ALT compared with atorvastatin for patients who were with baseline borderline AST/ALT. However, given the small sample sizes and the observational nature of our study, these need further study. It is advisable to regularly monitor AST/ALT levels even in patients with AST/ALT increases >×1. Future studies should aim to determine the possible risk factors for each specific statin type by analysing various confounding variables. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Links between early baseline cortisol, attachment classification, and problem behaviors: A test of differential susceptibility versus diathesis-stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fong, Michelle C; Measelle, Jeffrey; Conradt, Elisabeth; Ablow, Jennifer C

    2017-02-01

    The purpose of the current study was to predict concurrent levels of problem behaviors from young children's baseline cortisol and attachment classification, a proxy for the quality of caregiving experienced. In a sample of 58 children living at or below the federal poverty threshold, children's baseline cortisol levels, attachment classification, and problem behaviors were assessed at 17 months of age. We hypothesized that an interaction between baseline cortisol and attachment classification would predict problem behaviors above and beyond any main effects of baseline cortisol and attachment. However, based on limited prior research, we did not predict whether or not this interaction would be more consistent with diathesis-stress or differential susceptibility models. Consistent with diathesis-stress theory, the results indicated no significant differences in problem behavior levels among children with high baseline cortisol. In contrast, children with low baseline cortisol had the highest level of problem behaviors in the context of a disorganized attachment relationship. However, in the context of a secure attachment relationship, children with low baseline cortisol looked no different, with respect to problem behavior levels, then children with high cortisol levels. These findings have substantive implications for the socioemotional development of children reared in poverty. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Geochemical baseline level and function and contamination of phosphorus in Liao River Watershed sediments of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shaoqing; Wang, Jing; Lin, Chunye; He, Mengchang; Liu, Xitao

    2013-10-15

    The quantitative assessment of P contamination in sediments is a challenge due to sediment heterogeneity and the lacking of geochemical background or baseline levels. In this study, a procedure was proposed to determine the average P background level and P geochemical baseline level (GBL) and develop P geochemical baseline functions (GBF) for riverbed sediments of the Liao River Watershed (LRW). The LRW has two river systems - the Liao River System (LRS) and the Daliao River System (DRS). Eighty-eight samples were collected and analyzed for P, Al, Fe, Ca, organic matter, pH, and texture. The results show that Fe can be used as a better particle-size proxy to construct the GBF of P (P (mg/kg) = 39.98 + 166.19 × Fe (%), R(2) = 0.835, n = 66). The GBL of P was 675 mg/kg, while the average background level of P was 355 mg/kg. Noting that many large cities are located in the DRS watershed, most of the contaminated sites were located within the DRS and the riverbed sediments were more contaminated by P in the DRS watershed than in the LRS watershed. The geochemical background and baseline information of P are of great importance in managing P levels within the LRW. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Association of baseline vitamin D levels with clinical parameters and treatment outcomes in chronic hepatitis B.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Henry Lik-Yuen; Elkhashab, Magdy; Trinh, Huy; Tak, Won Young; Ma, Xiaoli; Chuang, Wan-Long; Kim, Yoon Jun; Martins, Eduardo B; Lin, Lanjia; Dinh, Phillip; Charuworn, Prista; Foster, Graham R; Marcellin, Patrick

    2015-11-01

    The relationship between vitamin D levels and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection and treatment outcomes are poorly elucidated. We measured pre-treatment serum vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D3; 25[OH]D3) levels and determined their association with clinical parameters and treatment outcomes in active CHB patients without advanced liver disease enrolled in a global clinical trial. Patients were randomly assigned to either 48 weeks of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) plus peginterferon alfa-2a (PegIFN), TDF plus PegIFN for 16 weeks followed by TDF for 32 weeks, PegIFN for 48 weeks, or TDF for 120 weeks. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine associations between vitamin D, baseline factors, and week 48 clinical outcome. Of 737 patients, 35% had insufficient (⩾20 but vitamin D levels. In univariate analysis, lower vitamin D levels were significantly associated with the following baseline parameters: younger age, lower uric acid levels, HBeAg-positive status, lower calcium levels, blood draw in winter or autumn, and HBV genotype D. On multivariate analysis, only HBV genotype, season of blood draw, calcium level, and age retained their association. High baseline level of vitamin D was associated with low HBV DNA, normal ALT and HBsAg at week 48 independent of treatment groups, but the association, with the exception of ALT, became statistically insignificant after adjusting for age, gender, HBeAg and HBV genotype. Abnormally low vitamin D levels are highly prevalent among untreated, active CHB patients. Baseline vitamin D levels are not associated with treatment outcomes, but were associated with normal ALT. Copyright © 2015 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Program reference schedule baseline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-07-01

    This Program Reference Schedule Baseline (PRSB) provides the baseline Program-level milestones and associated schedules for the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program. It integrates all Program-level schedule-related activities. This schedule baseline will be used by the Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), and his staff to monitor compliance with Program objectives. Chapter 1 includes brief discussions concerning the relationship of the PRSB to the Program Reference Cost Baseline (PRCB), the Mission Plan, the Project Decision Schedule, the Total System Life Cycle Cost report, the Program Management Information System report, the Program Milestone Review, annual budget preparation, and system element plans. Chapter 2 includes the identification of all Level 0, or Program-level, milestones, while Chapter 3 presents and discusses the critical path schedules that correspond to those Level 0 milestones

  13. Association Between Baseline LDL-C Level and Total and Cardiovascular Mortality After LDL-C Lowering: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Navarese, Eliano P; Robinson, Jennifer G; Kowalewski, Mariusz; Kolodziejczak, Michalina; Andreotti, Felicita; Bliden, Kevin; Tantry, Udaya; Kubica, Jacek; Raggi, Paolo; Gurbel, Paul A

    2018-04-17

    Effects on specific fatal and nonfatal end points appear to vary for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)-lowering drug trials. To evaluate whether baseline LDL-C level is associated with total and cardiovascular mortality risk reductions. Electronic databases (Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, TCTMD, ClinicalTrials.gov, major congress proceedings) were searched through February 2, 2018, to identify randomized clinical trials of statins, ezetimibe, and PCSK9-inhibiting monoclonal antibodies. Two investigators abstracted data and appraised risks of bias. Intervention groups were categorized as "more intensive" (more potent pharmacologic intervention) or "less intensive" (less potent, placebo, or control group). The coprimary end points were total mortality and cardiovascular mortality. Random-effects meta-regression and meta-analyses evaluated associations between baseline LDL-C level and reductions in mortality end points and secondary end points including major adverse cardiac events (MACE). In 34 trials, 136 299 patients received more intensive and 133 989 received less intensive LDL-C lowering. All-cause mortality was lower for more vs less intensive therapy (7.08% vs 7.70%; rate ratio [RR], 0.92 [95% CI, 0.88 to 0.96]), but varied by baseline LDL-C level. Meta-regression showed more intensive LDL-C lowering was associated with greater reductions in all-cause mortality with higher baseline LDL-C levels (change in RRs per 40-mg/dL increase in baseline LDL-C, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.86 to 0.96]; P = .001; absolute risk difference [ARD], -1.05 incident cases per 1000 person-years [95% CI, -1.59 to -0.51]), but only when baseline LDL-C levels were 100 mg/dL or greater (P baseline LDL-C level. Meta-regression showed more intensive LDL-C lowering was associated with a greater reduction in cardiovascular mortality with higher baseline LDL-C levels (change in RRs per 40-mg/dL increase in baseline LDL-C, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.80 to 0.94]; P baseline LDL-C levels were 100

  14. Lowest cost due to highest productivity and highest quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wenk, Daniel

    2003-03-01

    Since global purchasing in the automotive industry has been taken up all around the world there is one main key factor that makes a TB-supplier today successful: Producing highest quality at lowest cost. The fact that Tailored Blanks, which today may reach up to 1/3 of a car body weight, are purchased on the free market but from different steel suppliers, especially in Europe and NAFTA, the philosophy on OEM side has been changing gradually towards tough evaluation criteria. "No risk at the stamping side" calls for top quality Tailored- or Tubular Blank products. Outsourcing Tailored Blanks has been starting in Japan but up to now without any quality request from the OEM side like ISO 13919-1B (welding quality standard in Europe and USA). Increased competition will automatically push the quality level and the ongoing approach to combine high strength steel with Tailored- and Tubular Blanks will ask for even more reliable system concepts which enables to weld narrow seams at highest speed. Beside producing quality, which is the key to reduce one of the most important cost driver "material scrap," in-line quality systems with true and reliable evaluation is going to be a "must" on all weld systems. Traceability of all process related data submitted to interfaces according to customer request in combination with ghost-shift-operation of TB systems are tomorrow's state-of-the-art solutions of Tailored Blank-facilities.

  15. Esophageal baseline impedance levels in patients with pathophysiological characteristics of functional heartburn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinucci, I; de Bortoli, N; Savarino, E; Piaggi, P; Bellini, M; Antonelli, A; Savarino, V; Frazzoni, M; Marchi, S

    2014-04-01

    Recently, it has been suggested that low esophageal basal impedance may reflect impaired mucosal integrity and increased acid sensitivity. We aimed to compare baseline impedance levels in patients with heartburn and pathophysiological characteristics related to functional heartburn (FH) divided into two groups on the basis of symptom relief after proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). Patients with heartburn and negative endoscopy were treated with esomeprazole or pantoprazole 40 mg daily for 8 weeks. According to MII-pH (off therapy) analysis, patients with normal acid exposure time (AET), normal reflux number, and lack of association between symptoms and refluxes were selected; of whom 30 patients with a symptom relief higher than 50% after PPIs composed Group A, and 30 patients, matched for sex and age, without symptom relief composed Group B. A group of 20 healthy volunteers (HVs) was enrolled. For each patient and HV, we evaluated the baseline impedance levels at channel 3, during the overnight rest, at three different times. Group A (vs Group B) showed an increase in the following parameters: mean AET (1.4 ± 0.8% vs 0.5 ± 0.6%), mean reflux number (30.4 ± 8.7 vs 24 ± 6.9), proximal reflux number (11.1 ± 5.2 vs 8.2 ± 3.6), acid reflux number (17.9 ± 6.1 vs 10.7 ± 6.9). Baseline impedance levels were lower in Group A than in Group B and in HVs (p heartburn and normal AET could achieve a better understanding of pathophysiology in reflux disease patients, and could improve the distinction between FH and hypersensitive esophagus. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Association of baseline level of physical activity and its temporal changes with incident hypertension and diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jong-Young; Ryu, Seungho; Sung, Ki-Chul

    2018-01-01

    Background The association between baseline and temporal changes in physical activity and incident hypertension or diabetes mellitus in initially non-hypertensive or non-diabetic subjects is rarely known. Methods Among individuals who underwent consecutive comprehensive health screenings, their physical activity level was measured using a self-reported international physical activity questionnaire. First, subjects were classified into four categories: no regular physical activity with a sedentary lifestyle; minimal physical activity (diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension, respectively. After a multivariate adjustment, sufficient baseline physical activity was associated with significantly lower risk for incident hypertension (hazard ratio 0.89; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81 to 0.97), but the difference was not significant, and showed a lower trend in diabetes mellitus incidence (hazard ratio 0.87; 95% CI 0.69 to 1.04) in reference to no regular physical activity group. Regardless of the baseline physical activity level, subjects with a temporal increase in physical activity showed significantly decreased risk for incident hypertension (hazard ratio 0.93; 95% CI 0.87 to 0.99) and diabetes mellitus (hazard ratio 0.83; 95% CI 0.74 to 0.92) compared with those with a temporal decrease in their physical activity level. Conclusion Both sufficient baseline physical activity level and its temporal increase were associated with a lower risk of incident hypertension and diabetes mellitus in a large, relatively healthy, cohort.

  17. Baseline adiponectin levels do not influence the response to pioglitazone in ACT NOW.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tripathy, Devjit; Clement, Stephen C; Schwenke, Dawn C; Banerji, MaryAnn; Bray, George A; Buchanan, Thomas A; Gastaldelli, Amalia; Henry, Robert R; Kitabchi, Abbas E; Mudaliar, Sunder; Ratner, Robert E; Stentz, Frankie B; Musi, Nicolas; Reaven, Peter D; DeFronzo, Ralph A

    2014-06-01

    Plasma adiponectin levels are reduced in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and other insulin-resistant states. We examined whether plasma adiponectin levels at baseline and after pioglitazone treatment in impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) subjects were associated with improved insulin sensitivity (SI) and glucose tolerance status. A total of 602 high-risk IGT subjects in ACT NOW were randomized to receive pioglitazone or placebo with a median follow-up of 2.4 years. Pioglitazone reduced IGT conversion to diabetes by 72% in association with improved β-cell function by 64% (insulin secretion/insulin resistance index) and increased tissue sensitivity by 88% (Matsuda index). In pioglitazone-treated subjects, plasma adiponectin concentration increased threefold from 13 ± 0.5 to 38 ± 2.5 μg/mL (P < 0.001) and was strongly correlated with the improvement in SI (r = 0.436, P < 0.001) and modestly correlated with glucose area under the curve during oral glucose tolerance test (r = 0.238, P < 0.005) and insulin secretion/insulin resistance index (r = 0.306, P < 0.005). The increase in adiponectin was a strong predictor of reversion to normal glucose tolerance and prevention of T2DM. In the placebo group, plasma adiponectin did not change and was not correlated with changes in glucose levels. There was an inverse association between baseline plasma adiponectin concentration and progression to diabetes in the placebo group but not in the pioglitazone group. Baseline adiponectin does not predict the response to pioglitazone. The increase in plasma adiponectin concentration after pioglitazone therapy in IGT subjects is strongly related to improved glucose tolerance status and enhanced tissue sensitivity to insulin. © 2014 by the American Diabetes Association.

  18. High-Level software requirements specification for the TWRS controlled baseline database system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spencer, S.G.

    1998-01-01

    This Software Requirements Specification (SRS) is an as-built document that presents the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Controlled Baseline Database (TCBD) in its current state. It was originally known as the Performance Measurement Control System (PMCS). Conversion to the new system name has not occurred within the current production system. Therefore, for simplicity, all references to TCBD are equivalent to PMCS references. This SRS will reference the PMCS designator from this point forward to capture the as-built SRS. This SRS is written at a high-level and is intended to provide the design basis for the PMCS. The PMCS was first released as the electronic data repository for cost, schedule, and technical administrative baseline information for the TAAS Program. During its initial development, the PMCS was accepted by the customer, TARS Business Management, with no formal documentation to capture the initial requirements

  19. Relationship of Baseline Hemoglobin Level with Serum Ferritin, Postphlebotomy Hemoglobin Changes, and Phlebotomy Requirements among HFE C282Y Homozygotes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Ali Mousavi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. We aimed to examine whether baseline hemoglobin levels in C282Y-homozygous patients are related to the degree of serum ferritin (SF elevation and whether patients with different baseline hemoglobin have different phlebotomy requirements. Methods. A total of 196 patients (124 males and 72 females who had undergone therapeutic phlebotomy and had SF and both pre- and posttreatment hemoglobin values were included in the study. Results. Bivariate correlation analysis suggested that baseline SF explains approximately 6 to 7% of the variation in baseline hemoglobin. The results also showed that males who had higher (≥150 g/L baseline hemoglobin levels had a significantly greater reduction in their posttreatment hemoglobin despite requiring fewer phlebotomies to achieve iron depletion than those who had lower (<150 g/L baseline hemoglobin, regardless of whether baseline SF was below or above 1000 µg/L. There were no significant differences between hemoglobin subgroups regarding baseline and treatment characteristics, except for transferrin saturation between male subgroups with SF above 1000 µg/L. Similar differences were observed when females with higher (≥138 g/L baseline hemoglobin were compared with those with lower (<138 g/L baseline hemoglobin. Conclusion. Dividing C282Y-homozygous patients into just two subgroups according to the degree of baseline SF elevation may obscure important subgroup variations.

  20. Relationship of Baseline Hemoglobin Level with Serum Ferritin, Postphlebotomy Hemoglobin Changes, and Phlebotomy Requirements among HFE C282Y Homozygotes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mousavi, Seyed Ali; Mahmood, Faiza; Aandahl, Astrid; Knutsen, Teresa Risopatron; Llohn, Abid Hussain

    2015-01-01

    Objectives. We aimed to examine whether baseline hemoglobin levels in C282Y-homozygous patients are related to the degree of serum ferritin (SF) elevation and whether patients with different baseline hemoglobin have different phlebotomy requirements. Methods. A total of 196 patients (124 males and 72 females) who had undergone therapeutic phlebotomy and had SF and both pre- and posttreatment hemoglobin values were included in the study. Results. Bivariate correlation analysis suggested that baseline SF explains approximately 6 to 7% of the variation in baseline hemoglobin. The results also showed that males who had higher (≥150 g/L) baseline hemoglobin levels had a significantly greater reduction in their posttreatment hemoglobin despite requiring fewer phlebotomies to achieve iron depletion than those who had lower (baseline hemoglobin, regardless of whether baseline SF was below or above 1000 µg/L. There were no significant differences between hemoglobin subgroups regarding baseline and treatment characteristics, except for transferrin saturation between male subgroups with SF above 1000 µg/L. Similar differences were observed when females with higher (≥138 g/L) baseline hemoglobin were compared with those with lower (baseline hemoglobin. Conclusion. Dividing C282Y-homozygous patients into just two subgroups according to the degree of baseline SF elevation may obscure important subgroup variations. PMID:26380265

  1. Increased risk of coronary artery calcification progression in subjects with high baseline Lp(a) levels: The Kangbuk Samsung Health Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Jung Hwan; Lee, Da Young; Lee, Eun Seo; Kim, Jihyun; Park, Se Eun; Park, Cheol-Young; Lee, Won-Young; Oh, Ki-Won; Park, Sung-Woo; Rhee, Eun-Jung

    2016-11-01

    Results from previous studies support the association of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] levels and coronary artery disease risk. In this study, we analyzed the association between baseline Lp(a) levels and future progression of coronary artery calcification (CAC) in apparently healthy Korean adults. A total of 2611 participants (mean age: 41years, 92% mend) who underwent a routine health check-up in 2010 and 2014 were enrolled. Coronary artery calcium score (CACS) were measured by multi-detector computed tomography. Baseline Lp(a) was measured by high-sensitivity immunoturbidimetric assay. Progression of CAC was defined as a change in CACS >0 over four years. Bivariate correlation analyses with baseline Lp(a) and other metabolic parameters revealed age, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C and CACS to have a significant positive correlation, while body weight, fasting glucose level, blood pressure and triglyceride level were negatively correlated with baseline Lp(a) level. After four years of follow-up, 635 subjects (24.3%) had CAC progression. The participants who had CAC progression were older, composed of more men, more obese, and had higher fasting glucose levels and worse baseline lipid profiles compared to those who did not have CAC progression. The mean serum Lp(a) level was significantly higher in subjects who had CAC progression compared to those who did not (32.5 vs. 28.9mg/dL, p<0.01). When the risk for CAC progression according to baseline Lp(a) was calculated, those with Lp(a) level≥50mg/dL had an odds ratio of 1.333 (95% CI 1.027-1.730) for CAC progression compared to those with Lp(a)<50mg/dL after adjusting for confounding factors. In this study, the subjects who had higher Lp(a) were at significantly higher risk for CAC progression after four years of follow-up, suggesting the role of high Lp(a) in CAC progression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. [Study of personal best value of peak expiratory flow in patients with asthma--comparison of the highest value of daily PEF under good control and the highest value of daily PEF obtained after using repeated inhaled beta2-agonist during high-dose inhaled steroid treatment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, Naoto; Makino, Sohei; Kihara, Norio; Fukuda, Takeshi

    2008-12-01

    In the guideline for asthma management, it is important to find the personal best value of peak expiratory flow (best PEF). Recently, we have substituted the highest value of PEF in daily life under good control (daily highest PEF) for the best PEF. In the present study, we considered whether the daily highest PEF could be used as the best PEF or not. Subjects were 30 asthmatics who were well controlled but whose baseline PEF values were less than 80 percent of predicted values. We compared the daily highest PEF and the highest of PEF obtained after repeated inhaled beta2-agonist (salbutamol MDI every 20 minutes three times). All subjects then received 1600 microg/day of beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) for 4 to 8 weeks. We studied the effect of high-dose inhaled steroid treatment on each PEF value and compared the daily highest PEF and the highest PEF obtained after using repeated salbutamol MDI during high dose inhaled steroid therapy on the examination day again. The baseline PEF, daily highest PEF and the highest PEF obtained after salbutamol MDI were significantly less than the each values obtained after high-dose BDP. The best PEF value of them was the value obtained after repeated salbutamol MDI during high dose BDP. We suggest that the daily highest PEF under good control is not a substitute for best PEF because it changes according to the degree of improvement of airway inflammation. We recommend that a course of high dose inhaled steroid is effective in finding the best value of PEF for each individual with moderate asthma.

  3. The prognostic utility of baseline alpha-fetoprotein for hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Jack P; Gorman, Richard A; Berger, Nicholas G; Tsai, Susan; Christians, Kathleen K; Clarke, Callisia N; Mogal, Harveshp; Gamblin, T Clark

    2017-12-01

    Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has a valuable role in postoperative surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrence. The utility of pretreatment or baseline AFP remains controversial. The present study hypothesized that elevated baseline AFP levels are associated with worse overall survival in HCC patients. Adult HCC patients were identified using the National Cancer Database (2004-2013). Patients were stratified according to baseline AFP measurements into the following groups: Negative (2000). The primary outcome was overall survival (OS), which was analyzed by log-rank test and graphed using Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate regression modeling was used to determine hazard ratios (HR) for OS. Of 41 107 patients identified, 15 809 (33.6%) were Negative. Median overall survival was highest in the Negative group, followed by Borderline, Elevated, and Highly Elevated (28.7 vs 18.9 vs 8.8 vs 3.2 months; P < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, overall survival hazard ratios for the Borderline, Elevated, and Highly Elevated groups were 1.18 (P = 0.267), 1.94 (P < 0.001), and 1.77 (P = 0.007), respectively (reference Negative). Baseline AFP independently predicted overall survival in HCC patients regardless of treatment plan. A baseline AFP value is a simple and effective method to assist in expected survival for HCC patients. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Correlation between hypersensitivity induced by esophageal acid infusion and the baseline impedance level in patients with suspected gastroesophageal reflux.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, A Young; Shin, Cheol Min; Kim, Nayoung; Yoon, Hyuk; Park, Young Soo; Lee, Dong Ho

    2015-07-01

    To evaluate the relevance between the pH parameters and baseline impedance level or esophageal hypomotility in patients with suspected gastroesophageal reflux. The recordings of 51 patients with heartburn, acid regurgitation, globus or noncardiac chest pain were analyzed. Evaluation included a 24-h multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH test while on off-proton pump inhibitor therapy over 1 week, high-resolution manometry and Bernstein test. Mean baseline impedance level at the most distal portion of the impedance channel was assessed manually. Esophageal hypomotility was evaluated using transitional zone defect (TZD) and distal break (DB) length measurement. In the study subjects (n = 51), 6 had a DeMeester score of more than 14.7 and 14 had a positive symptom index. The Bernstein test was positive in ten patients. The baseline impedance level was inversely correlated with the acid exposure time % (r = -0.660, P reflux and weakly acid reflux time % measured by impedance monitoring showed a weak correlation with TZD + DB length (r = 0.327 and 0.324, P = 0.019 and 0.020, respectively). Although a positive Bernstein test has no relevance for the acid exposure time or acid-related symptoms as represented by the DeMeester score or symptom index, the baseline impedance level was significantly lower in patients with a positive Bernstein test than in those with a negative one (2,628.4 ± 862.7 vs. 1,752.2 ± 611.1 Ω, P = 0.004). A lower baseline impedance level is closely related to increased esophageal acid exposure. Hypersensitivity induced by esophageal acid infusion might be attributed to acid-induced mucosal changes of the esophagus.

  5. Background differences in baseline and stimulated MMP levels influence abdominal aortic aneurysm susceptibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dale, Matthew A.; Ruhlman, Melissa K.; Zhao, Shijia; Meisinger, Trevor; Gu, Linxia; Swier, Vicki J.; Agrawal, Devendra K.; Greiner, Timothy C.; Carson, Jeffrey S.; Baxter, B. Timothy; Xiong, Wanfen

    2015-01-01

    Objective Evidence has demonstrated profound influence of genetic background on cardiovascular phenotypes. Murine models in Marfan syndrome (MFS) have shown that genetic background-related variations affect thoracic aortic aneurysm formation, rupture, and lifespan of mice. MFS mice with C57Bl/6 genetic background are less susceptible to aneurysm formation compared to the 129/SvEv genetic background. In this study, we hypothesize that susceptibility to abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) will be increased in 129/SvEv mice versus C57Bl/6 mice. We tested this hypothesis by assessing differences in aneurysm size, tissue properties, immune response, and MMP expression. Methods Mice of C57Bl/6 or 129/SvEv background underwent AAA induction by periaortic application of CaCl2. Baseline aortic diameters, tissue properties and MMP levels were measured. After aneurysm induction, diameters, MMP expression, and immune response (macrophage infiltration and bone marrow transplantation) were measured. Results Aneurysms were larger in 129/SvEv mice than C57Bl/6 mice (83.0% ± 13.6 increase compared to 57.8% ± 6.4). The aorta was stiffer in the 129/SvEv mice compared to C57Bl/6 mice (952.5 kPa ± 93.6 versus 621.4 kPa ± 84.2). Baseline MMP-2 and post-aneurysm MMP-2 and -9 levels were higher in 129/SvEv aortas compared to C57Bl/6 aortas. Elastic lamella disruption/fragmentation and macrophage infiltration were increased in 129/SvEv mice. Myelogenous cell reversal by bone marrow transplantation did not affect aneurysm size. Conclusions These data demonstrate that 129/SvEv mice are more susceptible to AAA compared to C57Bl/6 mice. Intrinsic properties of the aorta between the two strains of mice, including baseline expression of MMP-2, influence susceptibility to AAA. PMID:26546710

  6. Prediction of short-term changes in symptom severity by baseline plasma homovanillic acid levels in schizophrenic patients receiving clozapine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumiyoshi, T; Hasegawa, M; Jayathilake, K; Meltzer, H Y

    1997-03-24

    The relationship between pretreatment levels of plasma homovanillic acid (pHVA) and the outcome of clozapine treatment was studied in 18 male patients with schizophrenia who were resistant to treatment with conventional neuroleptics. After 6 months of clozapine treatment, 7 patients demonstrated > or = 20% decrease in the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) (responders), while 11 patients did not (non-responders). Responders and non-responders did not differ with respect to the baseline pHVA level. The BPRS Positive Symptom scores at 6 weeks and 3 months, but not those at baseline and 6 months, following initiation of clozapine treatment negatively correlated with pHVA levels for all patients. The correlations became stronger when only responders were included. No significant correlation between Positive Symptom scores and pHVA levels was observed for non-responders. The BPRS Total and Negative Symptom scores did not correlate with pHVA for all patients, responders or non-responders at any time. The percent decrease in the BPRS Positive Symptom scores from baseline at 6 weeks following clozapine treatment correlated significantly with pHVA levels in responders. These results suggest that pretreatment levels of pHVA can be used to predict relatively short-term changes in the positive symptoms of patients with schizophrenia receiving clozapine treatment, particularly for clozapine responders.

  7. On the Mechanisms of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS: How Brain State and Baseline Performance Level Determine Behavioral Effects of TMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juha Silvanto

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The behavioral effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS can change qualitatively when stimulation is preceded by initial state manipulations such as priming or adaptation. In addition, baseline performance level of the participant has been shown to play a role in modulating the impact of TMS. Here we examined the link between these two factors. This was done using data from a previous study using a TMS-priming paradigm, in which, at group level, TMS selectively facilitated targets incongruent with the prime while having no statistically significant effects on other prime-target congruencies. Correlation and linear mixed-effects analyses indicated that, for all prime-target congruencies, a significant linear relationship between baseline performance and the magnitude of the induced TMS effect was present: low levels of baseline performance were associated with TMS-induced facilitations and high baseline performance with impairments. Thus as performance level increased, TMS effects turned from facilitation to impairment. The key finding was that priming shifted the transition from facilitatory to disruptive effects for targets incongruent with the prime, such that TMS-induced facilitations were obtained until a higher level of performance than for other prime-target congruencies. Given that brain state manipulations such as priming operate via modulations of neural excitability, this result is consistent with the view that neural excitability, coupled with non-linear neural effects, underlie behavioral effects of TMS.

  8. Optimal screening interval for men with low baseline prostate-specific antigen levels (≤1.0 ng/mL) in a prostate cancer screening program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urata, Satoko; Kitagawa, Yasuhide; Matsuyama, Satoko; Naito, Renato; Yasuda, Kenji; Mizokami, Atsushi; Namiki, Mikio

    2017-04-01

    To optimize the rescreening schedule for men with low baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, we evaluated men with baseline PSA levels of ≤1.0 ng/mL in PSA-based population screening. We enrolled 8086 men aged 55-69 years with baseline PSA levels of ≤1.0 ng/mL, who were screened annually. The relationships of baseline PSA and age with the cumulative risks and clinicopathological features of screening-detected cancer were investigated. Among the 8086 participants, 28 (0.35 %) and 18 (0.22 %) were diagnosed with prostate cancer and cancer with a Gleason score (GS) of ≥7 during the observation period, respectively. The cumulative probabilities of prostate cancer at 12 years were 0.42, 1.0, 3.4, and 4.3 % in men with baseline PSA levels of 0.0-0.4, 0.5-0.6, 0.7-0.8, and 0.9-1.0 ng/mL, respectively. Those with GS of ≥7 had cumulative probabilities of 0.42, 0.73, 2.8, and 1.9 %, respectively. The cumulative probabilities of prostate cancer were significantly lower when baseline PSA levels were 0.0-0.6 ng/mL compared with 0.7-1.0 ng/mL. Prostate cancer with a GS of ≥7 was not detected during the first 10 years of screening when baseline PSA levels were 0.0-0.6 ng/mL and was not detected during the first 2 years when baseline PSA levels were 0.7-1.0 ng/mL. Our study demonstrated that men with baseline PSA levels of 0.0-0.6 ng/mL might benefit from longer screening intervals than those recommended in the guidelines of the Japanese Urological Association. Further investigation is needed to confirm the optimal screening interval for men with low baseline PSA levels.

  9. Baseline glucose level is an individual trait that is negatively associated with lifespan and increases due to adverse environmental conditions during development and adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montoya, Bibiana; Briga, Michael; Jimeno, Blanca; Moonen, Sander; Verhulst, Simon

    2018-05-01

    High baseline glucose levels are associated with pathologies and shorter lifespan in humans, but little is known about causes and consequences of individual variation in glucose levels in other species. We tested to what extent baseline blood glucose level is a repeatable trait in adult zebra finches, and whether glucose levels were associated with age, manipulated environmental conditions during development (rearing brood size) and adulthood (foraging cost), and lifespan. We found that: (1) repeatability of glucose levels was 30%, both within and between years. (2) Having been reared in a large brood and living with higher foraging costs as adult were independently associated with higher glucose levels. Furthermore, the finding that baseline glucose was low when ambient temperature was high, and foraging costs were low, indicates that glucose is regulated at a lower level when energy turnover is low. (3) Survival probability decreased with increasing baseline glucose. We conclude that baseline glucose is an individual trait negatively associated with survival, and increases due to adverse environmental conditions during development (rearing brood size) and adulthood (foraging cost). Blood glucose may be, therefore, part of the physiological processes linking environmental conditions to lifespan.

  10. Analysis of baseline gene expression levels from ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    The use of gene expression profiling to predict chemical mode of action would be enhanced by better characterization of variance due to individual, environmental, and technical factors. Meta-analysis of microarray data from untreated or vehicle-treated animals within the control arm of toxicogenomics studies has yielded useful information on baseline fluctuations in gene expression. A dataset of control animal microarray expression data was assembled by a working group of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute's Technical Committee on the Application of Genomics in Mechanism Based Risk Assessment in order to provide a public resource for assessments of variability in baseline gene expression. Data from over 500 Affymetrix microarrays from control rat liver and kidney were collected from 16 different institutions. Thirty-five biological and technical factors were obtained for each animal, describing a wide range of study characteristics, and a subset were evaluated in detail for their contribution to total variability using multivariate statistical and graphical techniques. The study factors that emerged as key sources of variability included gender, organ section, strain, and fasting state. These and other study factors were identified as key descriptors that should be included in the minimal information about a toxicogenomics study needed for interpretation of results by an independent source. Genes that are the most and least variable, gender-selectiv

  11. Radionuclides in marine macroalgae from Amchitka and Kiska Islands in the Aleutians: establishing a baseline for future biomonitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael; Kosson, David S.; Powers, Charles W.; Jewett, Stephen; Friedlander, Barry; Chenelot, Heloise; Volz, Conrad D.; Jeitner, Christian

    2006-01-01

    Levels of radionuclides in seven species of marine brown algae and Ulva were determined to establish a baseline for the Northern Pacific Ocean/Bering Sea (Aleutian Islands). There were differences in levels among algal species and locations (Amchitka Island vs Kiska Island). No values were above the minimum detectable activity (MDA) level for 137 Cs, 129 I, 6 Co, 152 Eu, 9 Sr, and 99 Tc. There were interspecific differences in some radionuclides: Ulva lactuca (=Ulva fenestrata) had the highest levels of 241 Am, Alaria fistulosa had the highest levels of 239,24 Pu, and Fucus distichus (=Fucus gardneri) had the highest levels of 234 U, 235 U, and 238 U. However, levels of all radionuclides were generally low and near the MDA for all isotopes. Although Amchitka Island had higher levels of 239,24 Pu than Kiska, the differences were very small and not significant biologically. The data indicate that algae can be useful bioindicators of actinides because they accumulate them at very low environmental levels, allowing them to provide early warning of any potential seepage of radionuclides into the marine environment. Further, the data indicate that some species (the intertidal Fucus) are better accumulators than others, and these should be used as bioindicators in future monitoring schemes

  12. Baseline glucose level is an individual trait that is negatively associated with lifespan and increases due to adverse environmental conditions during development and adulthood

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Montoya, Bibiana; Briga, Michael; Jimeno, Blanca; Moonen, Sander; Verhulst, Simon

    High baseline glucose levels are associated with pathologies and shorter lifespan in humans, but little is known about causes and consequences of individual variation in glucose levels in other species. We tested to what extent baseline blood glucose level is a repeatable trait in adult zebra

  13. Elevated baseline serum glutamate as a pharmacometabolomic biomarker for acamprosate treatment outcome in alcohol-dependent subjects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, H W; Karpyak, V M; Hinton, D J; Geske, J R; Ho, A M C; Prieto, M L; Biernacka, J M; Frye, M A; Weinshilboum, R M; Choi, D-S

    2015-01-01

    Acamprosate has been widely used since the Food and Drug Administration approved the medication for treatment of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in 2004. Although the detailed molecular mechanism of acamprosate remains unclear, it has been largely known that acamprosate inhibits glutamate action in the brain. However, AUD is a complex and heterogeneous disorder. Thus, biomarkers are required to prescribe this medication to patients who will have the highest likelihood of responding positively. To identify pharmacometabolomic biomarkers of acamprosate response, we utilized serum samples from 120 alcohol-dependent subjects, including 71 responders (maintained continuous abstinence) and 49 non-responders (any alcohol use) during 12 weeks of acamprosate treatment. Notably, baseline serum glutamate levels were significantly higher in responders compared with non-responders. Importantly, serum glutamate levels of responders are normalized after acamprosate treatment, whereas there was no significant glutamate change in non-responders. Subsequent functional studies in animal models revealed that, in the absence of alcohol, acamprosate activates glutamine synthetase, which synthesizes glutamine from glutamate and ammonia. These results suggest that acamprosate reduces serum glutamate levels for those who have elevated baseline serum glutamate levels among responders. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that elevated baseline serum glutamate levels are a potential biomarker associated with positive acamprosate response, which is an important step towards development of a personalized approach to treatment for AUD. PMID:26285131

  14. Effect of water deprivation on baseline and stress-induced corticosterone levels in the Children's python (Antaresia childreni).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupoué, Andréaz; Angelier, Frédéric; Lourdais, Olivier; Bonnet, Xavier; Brischoux, François

    2014-02-01

    Corticosterone (CORT) secretion is influenced by endogenous factors (e.g., physiological status) and environmental stressors (e.g., ambient temperature). Heretofore, the impact of water deprivation on CORT plasma levels has not been thoroughly investigated. However, both baseline CORT and stress-induced CORT are expected to respond to water deprivation not only because of hydric stress per se, but also because CORT is an important mineralocorticoid in vertebrates. We assessed the effects of water deprivation on baseline CORT and stress-induced CORT, in Children's pythons (Antaresia childreni), a species that experiences seasonal droughts in natural conditions. We imposed a 52-day water deprivation on a group of unfed Children's pythons (i.e., water-deprived treatment) and provided water ad libitum to another group (i.e., control treatment). We examined body mass variations throughout the experiment, and baseline CORT and stress-induced CORT at the end of the treatments. Relative body mass loss averaged ~10% in pythons without water, a value 2 to 4 times higher compared to control snakes. Following re-exposition to water, pythons from the water-deprived treatment drank readily and abundantly and attained a body mass similar to pythons from the control treatment. Together, these results suggest a substantial dehydration as a consequence of water deprivation. Interestingly, stress-induced but not baseline CORT level was significantly higher in water-deprived snakes, suggesting that baseline CORT might not respond to this degree of dehydration. Therefore, possible mineralocorticoid role of CORT needs to be clarified in snakes. Because dehydration usually induces adjustments (reduced movements, lowered body temperature) to limit water loss, and decreases locomotor performances, elevated stress-induced CORT in water-deprived snakes might therefore compensate for altered locomotor performances. Future studies should test this hypothesis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc

  15. The effect of a motivational intervention on weight loss is moderated by level of baseline controlled motivation

    OpenAIRE

    Webber, Kelly H; Gabriele, Jeanne M; Tate, Deborah F; Dignan, Mark B

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Background Clinic-based behavioral weight loss programs are effective in producing significant weight loss. A one-size-fits-all approach is often taken with these programs. It may be beneficial to tailor programs based on participants' baseline characteristics. Type and level of motivation may be an important factor to consider. Previous research has found that, in general, higher levels of controlled motivation are detrimental to behavior change while higher levels of autonomous mot...

  16. Wind power projects in the CDM: Methodologies and tools for baselines, carbon financing and sustainability analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ringius, L.; Grohnheit, P.E.; Nielsen, L.H.; Olivier, A.L.; Painuly, J.; Villavicencio, A.

    2002-12-01

    The report is intended to be a guidance document for project developers, investors, lenders, and CDM host countries involved in wind power projects in the CDM. The report explores in particular those issues that are important in CDM project assessment and development - that is, baseline development, carbon financing, and environmental sustainability. It does not deal in detail with those issues that are routinely covered in a standard wind power project assessment. The report tests, compares, and recommends methodologies for and approaches to baseline development. To present the application and implications of the various methodologies and approaches in a concrete context, Africa's largest wind farm-namely the 60 MW wind farm located in Zafarana, Egypt- is examined as a hypothetical CDM wind power project The report shows that for the present case example there is a difference of about 25% between the lowest (0.5496 tCO2/MWh) and the highest emission rate (0.6868 tCO 2 /MWh) estimated in accordance with these three standardized approaches to baseline development according to the Marrakesh Accord. This difference in emission factors comes about partly as a result of including hydroelectric power in the baseline scenario. Hydroelectric resources constitute around 21% of the generation capacity in Egypt, and, if excluding hydropower, the difference between the lowest and the highest baseline is reduced to 18%. Furthermore, since the two variations of the 'historical' baseline option examined result in the highest and the lowest baselines, by disregarding this baseline option altogether the difference between the lowest and the highest is reduced to 16%. The ES3-model, which the Systems Analysis Department at Risoe National Laboratory has developed, makes it possible for this report to explore the project-specific approach to baseline development in some detail. Based on quite disaggregated data on the Egyptian electricity system, including the wind power production

  17. Baseline and stress-induced levels of corticosterone in male and female Afrotropical and European temperate stonechats during breeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apfelbeck, Beate; Helm, Barbara; Illera, Juan Carlos; Mortega, Kim G; Smiddy, Patrick; Evans, Neil P

    2017-05-22

    Latitudinal variation in avian life histories falls along a slow-fast pace of life continuum: tropical species produce small clutches, but have a high survival probability, while in temperate species the opposite pattern is found. This study investigated whether differential investment into reproduction and survival of tropical and temperate species is paralleled by differences in the secretion of the vertebrate hormone corticosterone (CORT). Depending on circulating concentrations, CORT can both act as a metabolic (low to medium levels) and a stress hormone (high levels) and, thereby, influence reproductive decisions. Baseline and stress-induced CORT was measured across sequential stages of the breeding season in males and females of closely related taxa of stonechats (Saxicola spp) from a wide distribution area. We compared stonechats from 13 sites, representing Canary Islands, European temperate and East African tropical areas. Stonechats are highly seasonal breeders at all these sites, but vary between tropical and temperate regions with regard to reproductive investment and presumably also survival. In accordance with life-history theory, during parental stages, post-capture (baseline) CORT was overall lower in tropical than in temperate stonechats. However, during mating stages, tropical males had elevated post-capture (baseline) CORT concentrations, which did not differ from those of temperate males. Female and male mates of a pair showed correlated levels of post-capture CORT when sampled after simulated territorial intrusions. In contrast to the hypothesis that species with low reproduction and high annual survival should be more risk-sensitive, tropical stonechats had lower stress-induced CORT concentrations than temperate stonechats. We also found relatively high post-capture (baseline) and stress-induced CORT concentrations, in slow-paced Canary Islands stonechats. Our data support and refine the view that baseline CORT facilitates energetically

  18. Soy food frequency questionnaire does not correlate with baseline isoflavone levels in patients with bladder cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolesar, Jill M; Pomplun, Marcia; Havighurst, Tom; Stublaski, Jeanne; Wollmer, Barbara; Kim, KyungMann; Tangrea, Joseph A; Parnes, Howard L; House, Margaret G; Gee, Jason; Messing, Edward; Bailey, Howard H

    2015-04-01

    The isoflavone genistein, a natural soy product with receptor tyrosine kinase-inhibiting activity, as well as phytoestrogenic and other potential anticarcinogenic effects, is being studied as an anticancer agent. Since isoflavones are commonly consumed in food products containing soy proteins, a method to control for baseline isoflavone consumption is needed. HPLC was used to evaluate baseline plasma and urine concentrations of isoflavone in fifty-four participants with bladder cancer enrolled on a phase II chemoprevention study of G-2535. The soy food frequency questionnaire was used to assess participant's baseline soy intake. The association between baseline isoflavone concentrations and intakes for genistein and daidzein was assessed by the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The majority of participants had no detectable genistein or daidzein in plasma at baseline. The median and range of values were 0 (0-1480) nmol/L for genistein, and 0 (0-1260) nmol/L for daidzein. In urine, the median and range of values were 91.0 (0-9030) nmol/L for genistein and 623 (0-100,000) nmol/L for daidzein. The median and range of weekly estimated genistein intake was 0 (0-236) mg/wk; the median and range of weekly estimated daidzein intake was 0 (0-114) mg/wk. There was no relationship to soy intake as measured by the food frequency questionnaire and baseline isoflavone levels in plasma or urine and the Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were not significant. The soy food frequency questionnaire did not correlate with plasma or urine concentrations of either isoflavone. Alternative methods for controlling for soy consumption, including measuring plasma and urine concentrations, in isoflavone chemoprevention trials should be considered. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

  19. Variation in pre-treatment count lead time and its effect on baseline estimates of cage-level sea lice abundance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gautam, R; Boerlage, A S; Vanderstichel, R; Revie, C W; Hammell, K L

    2016-11-01

    Treatment efficacy studies typically use pre-treatment sea lice abundance as the baseline. However, the pre-treatment counting window often varies from the day of treatment to several days before treatment. We assessed the effect of lead time on baseline estimates, using historical data (2010-14) from a sea lice data management programme (Fish-iTrends). Data were aggregated at the cage level for three life stages: (i) chalimus, (ii) pre-adult and adult male and (iii) adult female. Sea lice counts were log-transformed, and mean counts by lead time relative to treatment day were computed and compared separately for each life stage, using linear mixed models. There were 1,658 observations (treatment events) from 56 sites in 5 Bay Management Areas. Our study showed that lead time had a significant effect on the estimated sea lice abundance, which was moderated by season. During the late summer and autumn periods, counting on the day of treatment gave significantly higher values than other days and would be a more appropriate baseline estimate, while during spring and early summer abundance estimates were comparable among counts within 5 days of treatment. A season-based lead time window may be most appropriate when estimating baseline sea lice levels. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative: design, implementation, and baseline findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokdad, Ali H; Colson, Katherine Ellicott; Zúñiga-Brenes, Paola; Ríos-Zertuche, Diego; Palmisano, Erin B; Alfaro-Porras, Eyleen; Anderson, Brent W; Borgo, Marco; Desai, Sima; Gagnier, Marielle C; Gillespie, Catherine W; Giron, Sandra L; Haakenstad, Annie; Romero, Sonia López; Mateus, Julio; McKay, Abigail; Mokdad, Ali A; Murphy, Tasha; Naghavi, Paria; Nelson, Jennifer; Orozco, Miguel; Ranganathan, Dharani; Salvatierra, Benito; Schaefer, Alexandra; Usmanova, Gulnoza; Varela, Alejandro; Wilson, Shelley; Wulf, Sarah; Hernandez, Bernardo; Lozano, Rafael; Iriarte, Emma; Regalia, Ferdinando

    2015-01-01

    Health has improved markedly in Mesoamerica, the region consisting of southern Mexico and Central America, over the past decade. Despite this progress, there remain substantial inequalities in health outcomes, access, and quality of medical care between and within countries. Poor, indigenous, and rural populations have considerably worse health indicators than national or regional averages. In an effort to address these health inequalities, the Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative (SM2015), a results-based financing initiative, was established. For each of the eight participating countries, health targets were set to measure the progress of improvements in maternal and child health produced by the Initiative. To establish a baseline, we conducted censuses of 90,000 households, completed 20,225 household interviews, and surveyed 479 health facilities in the poorest areas of Mesoamerica. Pairing health facility and household surveys allows us to link barriers to care and health outcomes with health system infrastructure components and quality of health services. Indicators varied significantly within and between countries. Anemia was most prevalent in Panama and least prevalent in Honduras. Anemia varied by age, with the highest levels observed among children aged 0 to 11 months in all settings. Belize had the highest proportion of institutional deliveries (99%), while Guatemala had the lowest (24%). The proportion of women with four antenatal care visits with a skilled attendant was highest in El Salvador (90%) and the lowest in Guatemala (20%). Availability of contraceptives also varied. The availability of condoms ranged from 83% in Nicaragua to 97% in Honduras. Oral contraceptive pills and injectable contraceptives were available in just 75% of facilities in Panama. IUDs were observed in only 21.5% of facilities surveyed in El Salvador. These data provide a baseline of much-needed information for evidence-based action on health throughout Mesoamerica. Our baseline

  1. Education Pays Off! On Transition to Work for 25 Year Olds in Norway with Upper Secondary Education or Lower as Their Highest Educational Level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markussen, Eifred

    2017-01-01

    In this article we examine the relationship between educational level and position in the labour market at age 25 for those who have completed upper secondary education or lower as their highest educational level. Whilst completion of upper secondary education is widely regarded as being important, we find that early and lasting work experience…

  2. Extended-release niacin/laropiprant significantly improves lipid levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus irrespective of baseline glycemic control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bays HE

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Harold E Bays,1 Eliot A Brinton,2 Joseph Triscari,3 Erluo Chen,3 Darbie Maccubbin,3 Alexandra A MacLean,3 Kendra L Gibson,3 Rae Ann Ruck,3 Amy O Johnson-Levonas,3 Edward A O’Neill,3 Yale B Mitchel3 1Louisville Metabolic & Atherosclerosis Research Center (L-MARC, Louisville, KY, USA; 2Utah Foundation for Biomedical Research, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; 3Merck & Co, Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA Background: The degree of glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM may alter lipid levels and may alter the efficacy of lipid-modifying agents. Objective: Evaluate the lipid-modifying efficacy of extended-release niacin/laropiprant (ERN/LRPT in subgroups of patients with T2DM with better or poorer glycemic control. Methods: Post hoc analysis of clinical trial data from patients with T2DM who were randomized 4:3 to double-blind ERN/LRPT or placebo (n=796, examining the lipid-modifying effects of ERN/LRPT in patients with glycosylated hemoglobin or fasting plasma glucose levels above and below median baseline levels. Results: At Week 12 of treatment, ERN/LRPT significantly improved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and lipoprotein (a, compared with placebo, with equal efficacy in patients above or below median baseline glycemic control. Compared with placebo, over 36 weeks of treatment more patients treated with ERN/LRPT had worsening of their diabetes and required intensification of antihyperglycemic medication, irrespective of baseline glycemic control. Incidences of other adverse experiences were generally low in all treatment groups. Conclusion: The lipid-modifying effects of ERN/LRPT are independent of the degree of baseline glycemic control in patients with T2DM (NCT00485758. Keywords: lipid-modifying agents, hyperglycemia, LDL, HDL, triglycerides

  3. Level 3 Baseline Risk Assessment for Building 3515 at Oak Ridge National Lab., Oak Ridge, TN

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wollert, D.A.; Cretella, F.M.; Golden, K.M. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)] [and others

    1995-08-01

    The baseline risk assessment for the Fission Product Pilot Plant (Building 3515) at the Oak Ridge National laboratory (ORNL) provides the Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) Program at ORNL and Building 3515 project managers with information concerning the results of the Level 3 baseline risk assessment performed for this building. The document was prepared under Work Breakdown Structure 1.4.12.6.2.01 (Activity Data Sheet 3701, Facilities D&D) and includes information on the potential long-term impacts to human health and the environment if no action is taken to remediate Building 3515. Information provided in this document forms the basis for the development of remedial alternatives and the no-action risk portion of the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis report.

  4. Level 3 Baseline Risk Assessment for Building 3515 at Oak Ridge National Lab., Oak Ridge, TN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wollert, D.A.; Cretella, F.M.; Golden, K.M.

    1995-08-01

    The baseline risk assessment for the Fission Product Pilot Plant (Building 3515) at the Oak Ridge National laboratory (ORNL) provides the Decontamination and Decommissioning (D ampersand D) Program at ORNL and Building 3515 project managers with information concerning the results of the Level 3 baseline risk assessment performed for this building. The document was prepared under Work Breakdown Structure 1.4.12.6.2.01 (Activity Data Sheet 3701, Facilities D ampersand D) and includes information on the potential long-term impacts to human health and the environment if no action is taken to remediate Building 3515. Information provided in this document forms the basis for the development of remedial alternatives and the no-action risk portion of the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis report

  5. Baseline prostate-specific antigen levels following treatment with abiraterone acetate as a prognostic factor in castration-resistant prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiroshige, Tasuku; Eguchi, Yoshiro; Yoshizumi, Osamu; Chikui, Katsuaki; Kumagai, Hisaji; Kawaguchi, Yoshihiro; Onishi, Rei; Hayashi, Tokumasa; Watanabe, Kouta; Mitani, Tomotaro; Saito, Koujiro; Igawa, Tsukasa

    2018-05-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the prognostic factors associated with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) times in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who received treatment with abiraterone acetate (AA) in routine clinical settings. A total of 93 patients treated with AA between September 2014 and February 2017 were selected and their medical records were analyzed retrospectively. The median PFS time of docetaxel (DTX)-naïve patients was 171 days, and that of post-DTX patients was 56 days. The OS time of DTX-naïve patients did not reach the median. The median OS time of post-DTX patients was 761 days. Multivariate analyses identified baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level prior to treatment with AA and the PSA response rate as independent prognostic factors for PFS time, and baseline PSA prior to treatment with AA as the only independent prognostic factor for OS time. The results of the present study indicate that the baseline PSA level prior to treatment with AA is a notable prognostic factor in patients with CRPC.

  6. Relationship status and relationship instability, but not dominance, predict individual differences in baseline cortisol levels.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dario Maestripieri

    Full Text Available We investigated variation in baseline cortisol levels in relation to relationship status (single or in a relationship, relationship characteristics (length, stability, presence or absence of clear dominance, or individual attributes (dominant or subordinate status, relative physical attractiveness, relationship worries. Study participants were 77 men and 75 women aged between 18 and 38 years. Individuals in romantic relationships had lower cortisol levels than singles. Individuals of African ethnicity, however, showed the opposite pattern. Individuals who perceived their relationship to be highly unstable had higher cortisol levels. Aside from African-Americans, married individuals reported the lowest relationship instability and the lowest cortisol levels, followed by individuals in long-term relationships, and by individuals in short-term relationships. The presence or absence of clear dominance in the relationship, dominance status, or relationship worries did not affect cortisol levels. Therefore relationship status and relationship instability were better predictors of variation in cortisol (presumably through stress-related mechanisms than individual attributes.

  7. Relationship status and relationship instability, but not dominance, predict individual differences in baseline cortisol levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maestripieri, Dario; Klimczuk, Amanda C E; Seneczko, Marianne; Traficonte, Daniel M; Wilson, M Claire

    2013-01-01

    We investigated variation in baseline cortisol levels in relation to relationship status (single or in a relationship), relationship characteristics (length, stability, presence or absence of clear dominance), or individual attributes (dominant or subordinate status, relative physical attractiveness, relationship worries). Study participants were 77 men and 75 women aged between 18 and 38 years. Individuals in romantic relationships had lower cortisol levels than singles. Individuals of African ethnicity, however, showed the opposite pattern. Individuals who perceived their relationship to be highly unstable had higher cortisol levels. Aside from African-Americans, married individuals reported the lowest relationship instability and the lowest cortisol levels, followed by individuals in long-term relationships, and by individuals in short-term relationships. The presence or absence of clear dominance in the relationship, dominance status, or relationship worries did not affect cortisol levels. Therefore relationship status and relationship instability were better predictors of variation in cortisol (presumably through stress-related mechanisms) than individual attributes.

  8. Baseline blood levels of manganese, lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc in residents of Beijing suburb

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Long-Lian, E-mail: Longlian57@163.com [Department of Occupational Diseases Control and Prevention, Fengtai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100071 (China); Lu, Ling [Department of Occupational Diseases Control and Prevention, Fengtai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100071 (China); Pan, Ya-Juan; Ding, Chun-Guang [Institute for Occupational Health and Poison Control in China Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100050 (China); Xu, Da-Yong [Department of Occupational Diseases Control and Prevention, Fengtai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100071 (China); Huang, Chuan-Feng; Pan, Xing-Fu [Institute for Occupational Health and Poison Control in China Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100050 (China); Zheng, Wei, E-mail: wzheng@purdue.edu [School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907 (United States)

    2015-07-15

    Baseline blood concentrations of metals are important references for monitoring metal exposure in environmental and occupational settings. The purpose of this study was to determine the blood levels of manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) among the residents (aged 12–60 years old) living in the suburb southwest of Beijing in China and to compare the outcomes with reported values in various developed countries. Blood samples were collected from 648 subjects from March 2009 to February 2010. Metal concentrations in the whole blood were determined by ICP-MS. The geometric means of blood levels of Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd were 11.4, 802.4, 4665, 42.6, and 0.68 µg/L, respectively. Male subjects had higher blood Pb than the females, while the females had higher blood Mn and Cu than the males. There was no gender difference for blood Cd and Zn. Smokers had higher blood Cu, Zn, and Cd than nonsmokers. There were significant age-related differences in blood levels of all metals studied; subjects in the 17–30 age group had higher blood levels of Mn, Pb, Cu, and Zn, while those in the 46–60 age group had higher Cd than the other age groups. A remarkably lower blood level of Cu and Zn in this population as compared with residents of other developed countries was noticed. Based on the current study, the normal reference ranges for the blood Mn were estimated to be 5.80–25.2 μg/L; for blood Cu, 541–1475 μg/L; for blood Zn, 2349–9492 μg/L; for blood Pb, <100 μg/L; and for blood Cd, <5.30 μg/L in the general population living in Beijing suburbs. - Highlights: • Baseline blood levels of metals in residents of Beijing suburb are investigated. • BMn and BPb in this cohort are higher than those in other developed countries. • Remarkably lower blood levels of Cu and Zn in this Chinese cohort are noticed. • The reference values for blood levels of Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd are established.

  9. Baseline blood levels of manganese, lead, cadmium, copper, and zinc in residents of Beijing suburb

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Long-Lian; Lu, Ling; Pan, Ya-Juan; Ding, Chun-Guang; Xu, Da-Yong; Huang, Chuan-Feng; Pan, Xing-Fu; Zheng, Wei

    2015-01-01

    Baseline blood concentrations of metals are important references for monitoring metal exposure in environmental and occupational settings. The purpose of this study was to determine the blood levels of manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) among the residents (aged 12–60 years old) living in the suburb southwest of Beijing in China and to compare the outcomes with reported values in various developed countries. Blood samples were collected from 648 subjects from March 2009 to February 2010. Metal concentrations in the whole blood were determined by ICP-MS. The geometric means of blood levels of Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd were 11.4, 802.4, 4665, 42.6, and 0.68 µg/L, respectively. Male subjects had higher blood Pb than the females, while the females had higher blood Mn and Cu than the males. There was no gender difference for blood Cd and Zn. Smokers had higher blood Cu, Zn, and Cd than nonsmokers. There were significant age-related differences in blood levels of all metals studied; subjects in the 17–30 age group had higher blood levels of Mn, Pb, Cu, and Zn, while those in the 46–60 age group had higher Cd than the other age groups. A remarkably lower blood level of Cu and Zn in this population as compared with residents of other developed countries was noticed. Based on the current study, the normal reference ranges for the blood Mn were estimated to be 5.80–25.2 μg/L; for blood Cu, 541–1475 μg/L; for blood Zn, 2349–9492 μg/L; for blood Pb, <100 μg/L; and for blood Cd, <5.30 μg/L in the general population living in Beijing suburbs. - Highlights: • Baseline blood levels of metals in residents of Beijing suburb are investigated. • BMn and BPb in this cohort are higher than those in other developed countries. • Remarkably lower blood levels of Cu and Zn in this Chinese cohort are noticed. • The reference values for blood levels of Mn, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd are established

  10. Elevated fasting insulin levels increase the risk of abdominal obesity in Korean men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Sung Keun; Oh, Chang-Mo; Jung, Taegi; Choi, Young-Jun; Chung, Ju Youn; Ryoo, Jae-Hong

    2017-04-01

    This study was designed to investigate whether an elevated fasting insulin level predicts abdominal obesity. A cohort study was conducted with 13,707 non-obese Korean men. They were categorized into 4 groups according to the quartile of fasting insulin level, and followed up from 2005 to 2010. Incidence rates of obesity were compared among the 4 groups during follow-up, and a Cox proportional hazards model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for abdominal obesity according to fasting insulin level. The overall incidence rate of obesity was 16.2%, but the rate increased in proportion to the fasting insulin level (quartiles 1-4: 9.8%, 12.4%, 16.9%, 25.5%, Pobesity increased proportionally to baseline fasting insulin level in an unadjusted model. However, after adjustment for covariates, including baseline waist circumference (WC), only in the quartile 4 group was the statistical significance of the association maintained [quartile 2-4; abdominal obesity: 0.89 (0.76-1.02), 1.00 (0.86-1.14) and 1.24 (1.08-1.43), P for trend obesity was highest in the group with the highest fasting insulin levels, an overall proportional relationship between fasting insulin level and incident abdominal obesity was not found. Additionally, this association was largely accounted for by baseline WC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Baseline levels and trimestral variation of triiodothyronine and thyroxine and their association with mortality in maintenance hemodialysis patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meuwese, Christiaan L; Dekker, Friedo W; Lindholm, Bengt; Qureshi, Abdul R; Heimburger, Olof; Barany, Peter; Stenvinkel, Peter; Carrero, Juan J

    2012-01-01

    Conflicting evidence exists with regard to the association of thyroid hormones and mortality in dialysis patients. This study assesses the association between basal and trimestral variation of thyroid stimulating hormone, triiodothyronine, and thyroxine and mortality. In 210 prevalent hemodialysis patients, serum triiodothyronine, thyroxine, thyroid stimulating hormone, and interleukin-6 were measured 3 months apart. Cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular deaths were registered during follow-up. Based on fluctuations along tertiles of distribution, four trimestral patterns were defined for each thyroid hormone: persistently low, decrease, increase, and persistently high. The association of baseline levels and trimestral variation with mortality was investigated with Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard models. During follow-up, 103 deaths occurred. Thyroid stimulating hormone levels did not associate with mortality. Patients with relatively low basal triiodothyronine concentrations had higher hazards of dying than patients with high levels. Longitudinally, patients with persistently low levels of triiodothyronine during the 3-month period had higher mortality hazards than those having persistently high levels. These associations were mainly attributable to cardiovascular-related mortality. The association between thyroxine and mortality was not altered after adjustment for triiodothyronine. Hemodialysis patients with reduced triiodothyronine or thyroxine levels bear an increased mortality risk, especially due to cardiovascular causes. This was true when considering both baseline measurements and trimestral variation patterns. Our longitudinal design adds observational evidence supporting the hypothesis that the link may underlie a causal effect.

  12. Education Organization Baseline Control Protection and Trusted Level Security

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wasim A. Al-Hamdani

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Many education organizations have adopted for security the enterprise best practices for implementation on their campuses, while others focus on ISO Standard (or/and the National Institution of Standards and Technology.All these adoptions are dependent on IT personal and their experiences or knowledge of the standard. On top of this is the size of the education organizations. The larger the population in an education organization, the more the problem of information and security become very clear. Thus, they have been obliged to comply with information security issues and adopt the national or international standard. The case is quite different when the population size of the education organization is smaller. In such education organizations, they use social security numbers as student ID, and issue administrative rights to faculty and lab managers – or they are not aware of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA – and release some personal information.The problem of education organization security is widely open and depends on the IT staff and their information security knowledge in addition to the education culture (education, scholarships and services has very special characteristics other than an enterprise or comparative organizationThis paper is part of a research to develop an “Education Organization Baseline Control Protection and Trusted Level Security.” The research has three parts: Adopting (standards, Testing and Modifying (if needed.

  13. Baseline Levels of Rapid Eye Movement Sleep May Protect Against Excessive Activity in Fear-Related Neural Circuitry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerner, Itamar; Lupkin, Shira M; Sinha, Neha; Tsai, Alan; Gluck, Mark A

    2017-11-15

    Sleep, and particularly rapid eye movement sleep (REM), has been implicated in the modulation of neural activity following fear conditioning and extinction in both human and animal studies. It has long been presumed that such effects play a role in the formation and persistence of posttraumatic stress disorder, of which sleep impairments are a core feature. However, to date, few studies have thoroughly examined the potential effects of sleep prior to conditioning on subsequent acquisition of fear learning in humans. Furthermore, these studies have been restricted to analyzing the effects of a single night of sleep-thus assuming a state-like relationship between the two. In the current study, we used long-term mobile sleep monitoring and functional neuroimaging (fMRI) to explore whether trait-like variations in sleep patterns, measured in advance in both male and female participants, predict subsequent patterns of neural activity during fear learning. Our results indicate that higher baseline levels of REM sleep predict reduced fear-related activity in, and connectivity between, the hippocampus, amygdala and ventromedial PFC during conditioning. Additionally, skin conductance responses (SCRs) were weakly correlated to the activity in the amygdala. Conversely, there was no direct correlation between REM sleep and SCRs, indicating that REM may only modulate fear acquisition indirectly. In a follow-up experiment, we show that these results are replicable, though to a lesser extent, when measuring sleep over a single night just before conditioning. As such, baseline sleep parameters may be able to serve as biomarkers for resilience, or lack thereof, to trauma. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Numerous studies over the past two decades have established a clear role of sleep in fear-learning processes. However, previous work has focused on the effects of sleep following fear acquisition, thus neglecting the potential effects of baseline sleep levels on the acquisition itself. The

  14. Procalcitonin levels in sepsis and its association with clinical outcome in southern India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebello, Alex; Thabah, Molly Mary; Dutta, Tarun Kumar; Bobby, Zachariah; Harish, B N; Mehalingam, Vadivelan

    2017-10-01

    Procalcitonin has been found to be a good marker for the diagnosis of sepsis. However, data on procalcitonin levels to predict the clinical outcome in patients with sepsis are limited. The aim of our study was to estimate serum procalcitonin levels in patients with sepsis and to identify its relationship with the clinical outcome. This was a prospective observational study conducted on 112 patients with sepsis admitted to the medical wards and medical intensive care unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Serum procalcitonin was measured at baseline before antibiotic administration and on day 5. The clinical outcome studied was death or survival on day 28. Baseline mean serum procalcitonin was highest in patients with septic shock and lowest in patients having sepsis without organ dysfunction. Mean values of procalcitonin at baseline and on day 5 were significantly higher in non-survivors when compared with survivors. There was a significant difference in the change in procalcitonin levels from baseline to day 5 between survivors and non-survivors, with survivors having declining values on day 5 while non-survivors had increasing values from baseline. The baseline APACHE II and SOFA scores also showed a significant correlation with the baseline procalcitonin level. Declining values of procalcitonin therefore indicate a favourable clinical outcome in patients with sepsis.

  15. Wind power projects in the CDM: Methodologies and tools for baselines, carbon financing and substainability analysis[CDM=Clean Development Mechanism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ringius, L.; Grohnheit, P.E.; Nielsen, L.H.; Olivier, A.L.; Painuly, J.; Villavicencio, A.

    2002-12-01

    The report is intended to be a guidance document for project developers, investors, lenders, and CDM host countries involved in wind power projects in the CDM. The report explores in particular those issues that are important in CDM project assessment and development - that is, baseline development, carbon financing, and environmental sustainability. It does not deal in detail with those issues that are routinely covered in a standard wind power project assessment. The report tests, compares, and recommends methodologies for and approaches to baseline development. To present the application and implications of the various methodologies and approaches in a concrete context, Africa's largest wind farm-namely the 60 MW wind farm located in Zafarana, Egypt- is examined as a hypothetical CDM wind power project The report shows that for the present case example there is a difference of about 25% between the lowest (0.5496 tCO2/MWh) and the highest emission rate (0.6868 tCO{sub 2}/MWh) estimated in accordance with these three standardized approaches to baseline development according to the Marrakesh Accord. This difference in emission factors comes about partly as a result of including hydroelectric power in the baseline scenario. Hydroelectric resources constitute around 21% of the generation capacity in Egypt, and, if excluding hydropower, the difference between the lowest and the highest baseline is reduced to 18%. Furthermore, since the two variations of the 'historical' baseline option examined result in the highest and the lowest baselines, by disregarding this baseline option altogether the difference between the lowest and the highest is reduced to 16%. The ES3-model, which the Systems Analysis Department at Risoe National Laboratory has developed, makes it possible for this report to explore the project-specific approach to baseline development in some detail. Based on quite disaggregated data on the Egyptian electricity system, including the wind

  16. Is CP violation observable in long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanimoto, M.

    1997-01-01

    We have studied CP violation originating from the phase of the neutrino-mixing matrix in the long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. The direct measurement of CP violation is the difference of the transition probabilities between CP-conjugate channels. In those experiments, the CP-violating effect is not suppressed if the highest neutrino mass scale is taken to be 1 endash 5 eV, which is appropriate for the cosmological hot dark matter. Assuming the hierarchy for the neutrino masses, the upper bounds of CP violation have been calculated for three cases, in which mixings are constrained by the recent short baseline ones. The calculated upper bounds are larger than 10 -2 , which will be observable in the long baseline accelerator experiments. The matter effect, which is not CP invariant, has been also estimated in those experiments. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  17. Highest priority in Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adil, E

    1968-01-01

    Responding to the challenge posed by its population problem, Pakistan's national leadership gave the highest priority to family planning in its socioeconomic development plan. In Pakistan, as elsewhere in the world, the first family planning effort originated in the private sector. The Family Planning Association of Pakistan made a tentative beginning in popularizing family planning in the country. Some clinics were opened and some publicity and education were undertaken to emphasize the need for family limitation. It was recognized soon that the government needed to assume the primarily responsibility if family planning efforts were to be successful. For the 1st plan period, 1955-60, about $10 million was allocated by the central government in the social welfare sector for voluntary family planning. The level of support continued on the same basis during the 2nd plan, 1960-65, but has been raised 4-fold in the 1965-70 scheme of family planning. Pakistan's Family Planning Association continues to play vital collaborative roles in designing and pretesting of prototype publicity material, involvement of voluntary social workers, and functional research in the clinical and public relations fields. The real breakthrough in the program came with the 3rd 5-year plan, 1965-70. High priority assigned to family planning is reflected by the total initial budget of Rs.284 million (about $60,000,000) for the 5-year period. Current policy is postulated on 6 basic assumptions: family planning efforts need to be public relations-oriented; operations should be conducted through autonomous bodies with decentralized authority at all tiers down to the grassroots level, for expeditious decision making; monetary incentives play an important role; interpersonal motivation in terms of life experience of the clientele through various contacts, coupled with mass media for publicity, can produce a sociological breakthrough; supplies and services in all related disciplines should be

  18. Baseline Levels, and Changes Over Time in Body Mass Index and Fasting Insulin, and Their Relationship to Change in Metabolic Trait Clustering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Lisa M.; Fox, Caroline S.; Wilson, Peter W.F.; Nathan, David M.; Vasan, Ramachandran S.; D'Agostino, Ralph B.; Meigs, James B.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Background: Multiple abnormal metabolic traits are found together or “cluster” within individuals more often than is predicted by chance. The individual and combined role of adiposity and insulin resistance (IR) on metabolic trait clustering is uncertain. We tested the hypothesis that change in trait clustering is a function of both baseline level and change in these measures. Methods: In 2616 nondiabetic Framingham Offspring Study participants, body mass index (BMI) and fasting insulin were related to a within-person 7-year change in a trait score of 0–4 Adult Treatment Panel III metabolic syndrome traits (hypertension, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hyperglycemia). Results: At baseline assessment, mean trait score was 1.4 traits, and 7-year mean (SEM) change in trait score was +0.25 (0.02) traits, Pfasting insulin were similarly related to trait score change. In models adjusted for age–sex–baseline cluster score, 7-year change in trait score was significantly related to both a 1-quintile difference in baseline BMI (0.07 traits) and fasting insulin (0.18 traits), and to both a 1-quintile 7-year increase in BMI (0.21 traits) and fasting insulin (0.18 traits). Conclusions: Change in metabolic trait clustering was significantly associated with baseline levels and changes in both BMI and fasting insulin, highlighting the importance of both obesity and IR in the clustering of metabolic traits. PMID:25007010

  19. Instantaneous Real-Time Kinematic Decimeter-Level Positioning with BeiDou Triple-Frequency Signals over Medium Baselines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Xiyang; Zhang, Xiaohong; Tang, Long; Liu, Wanke

    2015-12-22

    Many applications, such as marine navigation, land vehicles location, etc., require real time precise positioning under medium or long baseline conditions. In this contribution, we develop a model of real-time kinematic decimeter-level positioning with BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) triple-frequency signals over medium distances. The ambiguities of two extra-wide-lane (EWL) combinations are fixed first, and then a wide lane (WL) combination is reformed based on the two EWL combinations for positioning. Theoretical analysis and empirical analysis is given of the ambiguity fixing rate and the positioning accuracy of the presented method. The results indicate that the ambiguity fixing rate can be up to more than 98% when using BDS medium baseline observations, which is much higher than that of dual-frequency Hatch-Melbourne-Wübbena (HMW) method. As for positioning accuracy, decimeter level accuracy can be achieved with this method, which is comparable to that of carrier-smoothed code differential positioning method. Signal interruption simulation experiment indicates that the proposed method can realize fast high-precision positioning whereas the carrier-smoothed code differential positioning method needs several hundreds of seconds for obtaining high precision results. We can conclude that a relatively high accuracy and high fixing rate can be achieved for triple-frequency WL method with single-epoch observations, displaying significant advantage comparing to traditional carrier-smoothed code differential positioning method.

  20. Instantaneous Real-Time Kinematic Decimeter-Level Positioning with BeiDou Triple-Frequency Signals over Medium Baselines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiyang He

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Many applications, such as marine navigation, land vehicles location, etc., require real time precise positioning under medium or long baseline conditions. In this contribution, we develop a model of real-time kinematic decimeter-level positioning with BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS triple-frequency signals over medium distances. The ambiguities of two extra-wide-lane (EWL combinations are fixed first, and then a wide lane (WL combination is reformed based on the two EWL combinations for positioning. Theoretical analysis and empirical analysis is given of the ambiguity fixing rate and the positioning accuracy of the presented method. The results indicate that the ambiguity fixing rate can be up to more than 98% when using BDS medium baseline observations, which is much higher than that of dual-frequency Hatch-Melbourne-Wübbena (HMW method. As for positioning accuracy, decimeter level accuracy can be achieved with this method, which is comparable to that of carrier-smoothed code differential positioning method. Signal interruption simulation experiment indicates that the proposed method can realize fast high-precision positioning whereas the carrier-smoothed code differential positioning method needs several hundreds of seconds for obtaining high precision results. We can conclude that a relatively high accuracy and high fixing rate can be achieved for triple-frequency WL method with single-epoch observations, displaying significant advantage comparing to traditional carrier-smoothed code differential positioning method.

  1. Environmental Modeling, A goal of the Baseline Sampling and Analysis program is to determine baseline levels of select priority pollutants and petroleum markers in areas with high probability for oil spills., Published in 1999, 1:24000 (1in=2000ft) scale, Louisiana State University (LSU).

    Data.gov (United States)

    NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — Environmental Modeling dataset current as of 1999. A goal of the Baseline Sampling and Analysis program is to determine baseline levels of select priority pollutants...

  2. The fifty highest cited papers in anterior cruciate ligament injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vielgut, Ines; Dauwe, Jan; Leithner, Andreas; Holzer, Lukas A

    2017-07-01

    The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most common injured knee ligaments and at the same time, one of the most frequent injuries seen in the sport orthopaedic practice. Due to the clinical relevance of ACL injuries, numerous papers focussing on this topic including biomechanical-, basic science-, clinical- or animal studies, were published. The purpose of this study was to determine the most frequently cited scientific articles which address this subject, establish a ranking of the 50 highest cited papers and analyse them according to their characteristics. The 50 highest cited articles related to Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury were searched in Thomson ISI Web of Science® by the use of defined search terms. All types of scientific papers with reference to our topic were ranked according to the absolute number of citations and analyzed for the following characteristics: journal title, year of publication, number of citations, citation density, geographic origin, article type and level of evidence. The 50 highest cited articles had up to 1624 citations. The top ten papers on this topic were cited 600 times at least. Most papers were published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine. The publication years spanned from 1941 to 2007, with the 1990s and 2000s accounting for half of the articles (n = 25). Seven countries contributed to the top 50 list, with the USA having by far the most contribution (n = 40). The majority of articles could be attributed to the category "Clinical Science & Outcome". Most of them represent a high level of evidence. Scientific articles in the field of ACL injury are highly cited. The majority of these articles are clinical studies that have a high level of evidence. Although most of the articles were published between 1990 and 2007, the highest cited articles in absolute and relative numbers were published in the early 1980s. These articles contain well established scoring- or classification systems. The

  3. Early changes in adipokine levels and baseline limb fat may predict HIV lipoatrophy over 2 years following initiation of antiretroviral therapy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Calmy, A; Carey, D; Mallon, P W G

    2008-01-01

    levels during the first 6 months of ART, independently predicted a peripheral fat loss of > or = 2 kg [odds ratio (OR) 2.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04-6.41; OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.34-7.35, respectively). VAT changes showed a borderline association with high baseline tumour necrosis factor-alpha levels...

  4. Revised CDM baseline study on fuel use and manure management at household level

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buysman, E.; Bryan, S.; Pino, M.

    2010-05-15

    This report presents the revised study of the original CDM baseline study conducted in 2006. The original study was conducted under the authority of the National Biogas Program (NBP), to study the potential GHG mitigation resulting from the adoption of domestic biodigesters. In the beginning of June 2006, a survey amongst 300 randomly selected households with the technical potential for a biodigester was conducted in the NBP's 6-targeted provinces (Kampong Cham, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, Kampong Speu, Takeo and Kandal) in southeast Cambodia. The revised baseline study includes two additional provinces, Kampot and Kampong Chhnang. The survey showed that a significant proportion of the households have no access to basic sanitation and often have health problems. They consume mainly wood as cooking fuel and the majority use inefficient cooking stoves. The main lighting fuel is kerosene. The GHG emissions were calculated for each type of Animal Waste Management System (AWMS) and the baseline fuel consumption. The main methodology used is the GS-VER biodigester methodology and the IPCC 2006 guidelines to ex-ante estimate baseline, project and the emission reductions. The GHG emission from wood burning is only considered when it originates from a non-renewable source. The NRB analysis determined a NRB share of 70.7% for both collected and purchased wood. Total GHG emission is calculated by combining AWMS and wood fuels emissions. The annual baseline and project emission was estimated to be respectively 5.38 tCO2eq and 0.46 tCO2eq per average household, the emission reductions (ER) are therefore 4.92 tCO2eq/household/year.

  5. The antioxidant level of Alaska's wild berries: high, higher and highest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roxie Rodgers Dinstel

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Background . In the last few years, antioxidants have become the stars of the nutritional world. Antioxidants are important in terms of their ability to protect against oxidative cell damage that can lead to conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer and heart disease – conditions also linked with chronic inflammation. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Alaska's wild berries may have the potential to help prevent these diseases. Objective . To discover the antioxidant levels of Alaska wild berries and the ways these antioxidant levels translate when preservation methods are applied to the berry. Design . This research centred on both the raw berries and products made from the berries. In the first year, a variety of wild berries were tested to discover their oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC in the raw berries. The second level of the research project processed 4 different berries – blueberries, lingonberries, salmonberries, highbush cranberries – into 8 or 9 products made from these berries. The products were tested for both ORAC as well as specific antioxidants. Results . The Alaska wild berries collected and tested in the first experiment ranged from 3 to 5 times higher in ORAC value than cultivated berries from the lower 48 states. For instance, cultivated blueberries have an ORAC scale of 30. Alaska wild dwarf blueberries measure 85. This is also higher than lower 48 wild blueberries, which had a score of 61. All of the Alaskan berries tested have a level of antioxidant considered nutritionally valuable, ranging from 19 for watermelon berries to 206 for lingonberries on the ORAC scale. With the processed products made from 4 Alaska wild berries, one of the unexpected outcomes of the research was that the berries continued to have levels of antioxidants considered high, despite the effects of commonly used heat-processing techniques. When berries were dehydrated, per gram ORAC values increased. Conclusion

  6. Tank waste remediation system technical baseline summary description

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raymond, R.E.

    1998-01-01

    This document is one of the tools used to develop and control the mission work as depicted in the included figure. This Technical Baseline Summary Description document is the top-level tool for management of the Technical Baseline for waste storage operations

  7. Item response theory analysis of the mechanics baseline test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardamone, Caroline N.; Abbott, Jonathan E.; Rayyan, Saif; Seaton, Daniel T.; Pawl, Andrew; Pritchard, David E.

    2012-02-01

    Item response theory is useful in both the development and evaluation of assessments and in computing standardized measures of student performance. In item response theory, individual parameters (difficulty, discrimination) for each item or question are fit by item response models. These parameters provide a means for evaluating a test and offer a better measure of student skill than a raw test score, because each skill calculation considers not only the number of questions answered correctly, but the individual properties of all questions answered. Here, we present the results from an analysis of the Mechanics Baseline Test given at MIT during 2005-2010. Using the item parameters, we identify questions on the Mechanics Baseline Test that are not effective in discriminating between MIT students of different abilities. We show that a limited subset of the highest quality questions on the Mechanics Baseline Test returns accurate measures of student skill. We compare student skills as determined by item response theory to the more traditional measurement of the raw score and show that a comparable measure of learning gain can be computed.

  8. Role of baseline leptin and ghrelin levels on body weight and fat mass changes after an energy-restricted diet intervention in obese women: effects on energy metabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labayen, Idoia; Ortega, Francisco B; Ruiz, Jonatan R; Lasa, Arrate; Simón, Edurne; Margareto, Javier

    2011-06-01

    Hormones related to energy balance control may play an important role on weight loss resistance after low-caloric diet (LCD) intervention. To investigate the predictive value of baseline leptin and ghrelin on body fat mass (FM) loss after 12 wk of LCD intervention and to study whether these associations could be related to changes in resting metabolic rate (RMR). The study comprised a total of 78 obese women (age 36.7 ± 7 yr). We measured, before and after the LCD intervention, FM (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) and RMR (kilojoules per kilogram body weight per day, indirect calorimetry). We also analyzed fasting serum leptin and ghrelin, and leptin to ghrelin ratio was calculated. FM and RMR changes (data at baseline - data after the intervention) were assessed. Baseline serum leptin (r = -0.301; age- and baseline FM-adjusted P = 0.009) and ghrelin (r = 0.314, adjusted P = 0.014) levels as well as leptin to ghrelin levels (r = -0.331; adjusted P = 0.009) were significantly correlated with FM changes. Leptin to ghrelin ratio was significantly correlated with RMR at baseline and after the LCD (both P Baseline leptin to ghrelin ratio significantly predicted changes in RMR after the LCD (r = 0.298; P = 0.019) regardless of age, baseline RMR, and total body weight (r = 0.307; P = 0.016) or FM loss (r = 0.312; P = 0.015). Obese women with higher leptin and lower ghrelin levels at baseline seem to be more resistant to FM loss. The leptin to ghrelin ratio could be proposed as a biomarker for predicting metabolic adaptations to energy restriction treatment and, if confirmed in future studies, as a predictor of treatment success/failure.

  9. 40 CFR 74.20 - Data for baseline and alternative baseline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Data for baseline and alternative baseline. 74.20 Section 74.20 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... baseline and alternative baseline. (a) Acceptable data. (1) The designated representative of a combustion...

  10. Association between baseline serum hepcidin levels and infection in kidney transplant recipients: Potential role for iron overload.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Ruiz, Mario; Parra, Patricia; Ruiz-Merlo, Tamara; López-Medrano, Francisco; San Juan, Rafael; Polanco, Natalia; González, Esther; Andrés, Amado; Aguado, José María

    2018-02-01

    The liver-synthesized peptide hepcidin is a key regulator of iron metabolism and correlates with total iron stores. We analyzed the association between pre-transplant hepcidin-25 levels and infection after kidney transplantation (KT). Serum hepcidin-25 levels were measured at baseline by high-sensitivity ELISA in 91 patients undergoing KT at our institution between December 2011 and March 2013. The impact of this biomarker on the incidence of post-transplant infection (excluding lower urinary tract infection) during the first year was assessed by Cox regression. Mean hepcidin-25 level was 82.3 ± 67.4 ng/mL and strongly correlated with serum ferritin (Spearman's rho = 0.703; P role for iron overload in the individual susceptibility to post-transplant infection. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Preparing Norfolk Area Students for America's Second Highest Sea Level Rise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunbar, R. R.

    2017-12-01

    The nonprofit Elizabeth River Project located in Hampton Roads, Virginia was awarded a 3-year national NOAA Environmental Literacy award 2016-2019 to teach 21,000 K-12 youth how to help restore one of the most polluted rivers on the Chesapeake Bay and to help create a resilient community that is facing impacts from the rising seas and changing climate. Through a community collaboration, partners are also creating perhaps the nation's first Youth Resilience Strategy with a vision, goals, best practices and resources on engaging youth to help create resilient cities facing environmental and economic changes. During Year 1, 7,000 elementary students held field investigations aboard the floating classroom Learning Barge and at Paradise Creek Nature Park and helped restore wetland restoration sites. Students performed inquiry based investigations, learned stewardship actions to help create resilience and showed a 40% increase in knowledge. Year 1 best practices in teaching resilience include youth: getting out of the classroom, discovering how rain water travels, performing bioblitzes and water quality testing, engaging in hands-on GreenSTEM activities, using investigation tools, creating innovative solutions to retain and reuse rain water, creating art and voicing their opinions on creating a resilient community.Lessons learned include developing engaging inquiry questions based on creating a resilient community. These included: "What are the impact of rising tides?", "How can sea level rise affect river animals?", "How can we be safe and prepare for extreme weather and flooding as the sea level rises?", "How has the way people worked with the Elizabeth River changed?", "How could sea level rise affect the Elizabeth River's water quality?", "How hot might the air temperature get by 2050 and what can we do to keep it cooler?", "What does this park show us about sea level rise and other ways our climate is changing?", "How do trees help make our park and community

  12. [Effects of Square-Stepping Exercise inducing activation of the brain's cognitive function in community-dwelling older Japanese females--Focus on the baseline cognitive function level and age].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abe, Takumi; Tsuji, Taishi; Kitano, Naruki; Muraki, Toshiaki; Hotta, Kazushi; Okura, Tomohiro

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the degree of improvement in cognitive function achieved with an exercise intervention in community-dwelling older Japanese women is affected by the participant's baseline cognitive function and age. Eighty-eight women (mean age: 70.5±4.2 years) participated in a prevention program for long-term care. They completed the Square-Stepping Exercise (SSE) program once a week, 120 minutes/session, for 11 weeks. We assessed participants' cognitive function using 5 cognitive tests (5-Cog) before and after the intervention. We defined cognitive function as the 5-Cog total score and defined the change in cognitive function as the 5-cog post-score minus the pre-score. We divided participants into four groups based on age (≤69 years or ≥70 years) and baseline cognitive function level (above vs. below the median cognitive function level). We conducted two-way analysis of variance. All 4 groups improved significantly in cognitive function after the intervention. There were no baseline cognitive function level×age interactions and no significant main effects of age, although significant main effects of baseline cognitive function level (P=0.004, η(2)=0.09) were observed. Square-Stepping Exercise is an effective exercise for improving cognitive function. These results suggest that older adults with cognitive decline are more likely to improve their cognitive function with exercise than if they start the intervention with high cognitive function. Furthermore, during an exercise intervention, baseline cognitive function level may have more of an effect than a participant's age on the degree of cognitive improvement.

  13. Catching the Highest Energy Neutrinos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stanev, Todor [Bartol Research Institute and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 (United States)

    2011-08-15

    We briefly discuss the possible sources of ultrahigh energy neutrinos and the methods for their detection. Then we present the results obtained by different experiments for detection of the highest energy neutrinos.

  14. A Wide Band Gap Polymer with a Deep Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital Level Enables 14.2% Efficiency in Polymer Solar Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Sunsun; Ye, Long; Zhao, Wenchao; Yan, Hongping; Yang, Bei; Liu, Delong; Li, Wanning; Ade, Harald; Hou, Jianhui

    2018-05-21

    To simultaneously achieve low photon energy loss ( E loss ) and broad spectral response, the molecular design of the wide band gap (WBG) donor polymer with a deep HOMO level is of critical importance in fullerene-free polymer solar cells (PSCs). Herein, we developed a new benzodithiophene unit, i.e., DTBDT-EF, and conducted systematic investigations on a WBG DTBDT-EF-based donor polymer, namely, PDTB-EF-T. Due to the synergistic electron-withdrawing effect of the fluorine atom and ester group, PDTB-EF-T exhibits a higher oxidation potential, i.e., a deeper HOMO level (ca. -5.5 eV) than most well-known donor polymers. Hence, a high open-circuit voltage of 0.90 V was obtained when paired with a fluorinated small molecule acceptor (IT-4F), corresponding to a low E loss of 0.62 eV. Furthermore, side-chain engineering demonstrated that subtle side-chain modulation of the ester greatly influences the aggregation effects and molecular packing of polymer PDTB-EF-T. With the benefits of the stronger interchain π-π interaction, the improved ordering structure, and thus the highest hole mobility, the most symmetric charge transport and reduced recombination are achieved for the linear decyl-substituted PDTB-EF-T (P2)-based PSCs, leading to the highest short-circuit current density and fill factor (FF). Due to the high Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (χ), surface-directed phase separation occurs in the P2:IT-4F blend, which is supported by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy results and cross-sectional transmission electron microscope images. By taking advantage of the vertical phase distribution of the P2:IT-4F blend, a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.2% with an outstanding FF of 0.76 was recorded for inverted devices. These results demonstrate the great potential of the DTBDT-EF unit for future organic photovoltaic applications.

  15. Localizing gravitational wave sources with single-baseline atom interferometers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graham, Peter W.; Jung, Sunghoon

    2018-02-01

    Localizing sources on the sky is crucial for realizing the full potential of gravitational waves for astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. We show that the midfrequency band, roughly 0.03 to 10 Hz, has significant potential for angular localization. The angular location is measured through the changing Doppler shift as the detector orbits the Sun. This band maximizes the effect since these are the highest frequencies in which sources live for several months. Atom interferometer detectors can observe in the midfrequency band, and even with just a single baseline they can exploit this effect for sensitive angular localization. The single-baseline orbits around the Earth and the Sun, causing it to reorient and change position significantly during the lifetime of the source, and making it similar to having multiple baselines/detectors. For example, atomic detectors could predict the location of upcoming black hole or neutron star merger events with sufficient accuracy to allow optical and other electromagnetic telescopes to observe these events simultaneously. Thus, midband atomic detectors are complementary to other gravitational wave detectors and will help complete the observation of a broad range of the gravitational spectrum.

  16. Evidence of major genes for plasma HDL, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels at baseline and in response to 20 weeks of endurance training: the HERITAGE Family Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, P; Borecki, I B; Rankinen, T; Després, J-P; Leon, A S; Skinner, J S; Wilmore, J H; Bouchard, C; Rao, D C

    2005-01-01

    This study assessed major gene effects for baseline HDL-C, LDL-C, TG, and their training responses (post-training minus baseline) in 527 individuals from 99 White families and 326 individuals from 113 Black families in the HERITAGE Family Study. The baseline phenotypes were adjusted for the effects of age and BMI, and the training response phenotypes were adjusted for the effects of age, BMI, and their respective baseline values, within each of the sex-by-generation-by-race groups, prior to genetic analyses. In Whites, we found that LDL-C at baseline and HDL-C training response were under influence of major recessive genes (accounting for 2--30 % of the variance) and multifactorial (polygenic and familial environmental) effects. Interactions of these major genes with sex, age, and BMI were tested, and found to be nonsignificant. In Blacks, we found that baseline HDL-C was influenced by a major dominant gene without a multifactorial component. This major gene effect accounted for 45 % of the variance, and exhibited no significant genotype-specific interactions with age, sex, and BMI. Evidence of major genes for the remaining phenotypes at baseline and in response to endurance training were not found in both races, though some were influenced by major effects that did not follow Mendelian expectations or were with ambiguous transmission from parents to offspring. In summary, major gene effects that influence baseline plasma HDL-C and LDL-C levels as well as changes in HDL-C levels in response to regular exercise were detected in the current study.

  17. NOAA GOES-R Series Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) Level 1b Radiances

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument samples the radiance of the Earth in sixteen spectral bands using several arrays of detectors in the instrument’s...

  18. A long baseline global stereo matching based upon short baseline estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jing; Zhao, Hong; Li, Zigang; Gu, Feifei; Zhao, Zixin; Ma, Yueyang; Fang, Meiqi

    2018-05-01

    In global stereo vision, balancing the matching efficiency and computing accuracy seems to be impossible because they contradict each other. In the case of a long baseline, this contradiction becomes more prominent. In order to solve this difficult problem, this paper proposes a novel idea to improve both the efficiency and accuracy in global stereo matching for a long baseline. In this way, the reference images located between the long baseline image pairs are firstly chosen to form the new image pairs with short baselines. The relationship between the disparities of pixels in the image pairs with different baselines is revealed by considering the quantized error so that the disparity search range under the long baseline can be reduced by guidance of the short baseline to gain matching efficiency. Then, the novel idea is integrated into the graph cuts (GCs) to form a multi-step GC algorithm based on the short baseline estimation, by which the disparity map under the long baseline can be calculated iteratively on the basis of the previous matching. Furthermore, the image information from the pixels that are non-occluded under the short baseline but are occluded for the long baseline can be employed to improve the matching accuracy. Although the time complexity of the proposed method depends on the locations of the chosen reference images, it is usually much lower for a long baseline stereo matching than when using the traditional GC algorithm. Finally, the validity of the proposed method is examined by experiments based on benchmark datasets. The results show that the proposed method is superior to the traditional GC method in terms of efficiency and accuracy, and thus it is suitable for long baseline stereo matching.

  19. Baseline assessments for coral reef community structure and demographics on West Maui

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vargas-Angel, Bernardo; White, Darla; Storlazzi, Curt; Callender, Tova; Maurin, Paulo

    2017-01-01

    and “Synthesis and Discussion” sections of this report. The baseline assessments revealed that although some areas harbor prominent coral reef structures with high live coral cover and multispecies assemblages, others are characterized by sediment-impacted corals in impoverished and species-poor communities. Mean coral cover varied widely, from 49% at Wahikuli-shallow to 4.6% at Mahinahina-shallow. Similarly, coralline algal cover averaged 12.7% at Ka‘opala and Honokeana-north, but was altogether absent at the Mahinahina sites. Macroalgae was a minor component of the benthos across all study sites, representing only up to 2.3% at Mahinahina-south, while turf algae varied considerably, from 41% at Honokeana-north to 84% at the Honokahua site. Consequently, the Benthic Substrate Ratio (BSR) also varied considerably region wide, with the highest values (≥ 1), suggesting a healthier reef condition reported for the Wahikuli, Honokeana, and Honokōwai sites; and the lowest (≤ 0.5), suggesting impairment in structure and function, recorded at the Honolua and Honokahua sites. Adult colony densities were the highest at the Wahikuli (27 col/m2) but lowest at the Ka‘opala (7 col/m2 ) site. And, colony partial mortality peaked at the Ka‘opala (33%) and was the lowest at the Honokeana Bay (12%). Moreover, in-situ and derived estimates of water turbidity and sediment loading revealed that the Ka‘opala and Wahikuli stream sites ranked the highest for turbidity, whereas the Honokōwai and Ka‘opala sites ranked highest for sediment loading. Chronic and episodic terrestrial sediment stress has resulted in coral reef community demise, clearly illustrated at the Honolua, Honokahua, and Ka‘opala sites, where coral benthic cover and colony abundances ranked the lowest and levels of turf algae ranked among the highest. Left unattended, land-based pollution impacts will continue to negatively affect the coral reef communities of West Maui. And, under the current turbidity

  20. Pediatric Heart Transplantation: Transitioning to Adult Care (TRANSIT): Baseline Findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grady, Kathleen L; Hof, Kathleen Van't; Andrei, Adin-Cristian; Shankel, Tamara; Chinnock, Richard; Miyamoto, Shelley; Ambardekar, Amrut V; Anderson, Allen; Addonizio, Linda; Latif, Farhana; Lefkowitz, Debra; Goldberg, Lee; Hollander, Seth A; Pham, Michael; Weissberg-Benchell, Jill; Cool, Nichole; Yancy, Clyde; Pahl, Elfriede

    2018-02-01

    Young adult solid organ transplant recipients who transfer from pediatric to adult care experience poor outcomes related to decreased adherence to the medical regimen. Our pilot trial for young adults who had heart transplant (HT) who transfer to adult care tests an intervention focused on increasing HT knowledge, self-management and self-advocacy skills, and enhancing support, as compared to usual care. We report baseline findings between groups regarding (1) patient-level outcomes and (2) components of the intervention. From 3/14 to 9/16, 88 subjects enrolled and randomized to intervention (n = 43) or usual care (n = 45) at six pediatric HT centers. Patient self-report questionnaires and medical records data were collected at baseline, and 3 and 6 months after transfer. For this report, baseline findings (at enrollment and prior to transfer to adult care) were analyzed using Chi-square and t-tests. Level of significance was p Baseline demographics were similar in the intervention and usual care arms: age 21.3 ± 3.2 vs 21.5 ± 3.3 years and female 44% vs 49%, respectively. At baseline, there were no differences between intervention and usual care for use of tacrolimus (70 vs 62%); tacrolimus level (mean ± SD = 6.5 ± 2.3 ng/ml vs 5.6 ± 2.3 ng/ml); average of the within patient standard deviation of the baseline mean tacrolimus levels (1.6 vs 1.3); and adherence to the medical regimen [3.6 ± 0.4 vs 3.5 ± 0.5 (1 = hardly ever to 4 = all of the time)], respectively. At baseline, both groups had a modest amount of HT knowledge, were learning self-management and self-advocacy, and perceived they were adequately supported. Baseline findings indicate that transitioning HT recipients lack essential knowledge about HT and have incomplete self-management and self-advocacy skills.

  1. High Baseline Postconcussion Symptom Scores and Concussion Outcomes in Athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Custer, Aimee; Sufrinko, Alicia; Elbin, R J; Covassin, Tracey; Collins, Micky; Kontos, Anthony

    2016-02-01

    Some healthy athletes report high levels of baseline concussion symptoms, which may be attributable to several factors (eg, illness, personality, somaticizing). However, the role of baseline symptoms in outcomes after sport-related concussion (SRC) has not been empirically examined. To determine if athletes with high symptom scores at baseline performed worse than athletes without baseline symptoms on neurocognitive testing after SRC. Cohort study. High school and collegiate athletic programs. A total of 670 high school and collegiate athletes participated in the study. Participants were divided into groups with either no baseline symptoms (Postconcussion Symptom Scale [PCSS] score = 0, n = 247) or a high level of baseline symptoms (PCSS score > 18 [top 10% of sample], n = 68). Participants were evaluated at baseline and 2 to 7 days after SRC with the Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test and PCSS. Outcome measures were Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test composite scores (verbal memory, visual memory, visual motor processing speed, and reaction time) and total symptom score on the PCSS. The groups were compared using repeated-measures analyses of variance with Bonferroni correction to assess interactions between group and time for symptoms and neurocognitive impairment. The no-symptoms group represented 38% of the original sample, whereas the high-symptoms group represented 11% of the sample. The high-symptoms group experienced a larger decline from preinjury to postinjury than the no-symptoms group in verbal (P = .03) and visual memory (P = .05). However, total concussion-symptom scores increased from preinjury to postinjury for the no-symptoms group (P = .001) but remained stable for the high-symptoms group. Reported baseline symptoms may help identify athletes at risk for worse outcomes after SRC. Clinicians should examine baseline symptom levels to better identify patients for earlier referral and treatment for their

  2. Stack Characterization in CryoSat Level1b SAR/SARin Baseline C

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scagliola, Michele; Fornari, Marco; Di Giacinto, Andrea; Bouffard, Jerome; Féménias, Pierre; Parrinello, Tommaso

    2015-04-01

    CryoSat was launched on the 8th April 2010 and is the first European ice mission dedicated to the monitoring of precise changes in the thickness of polar ice sheets and floating sea ice. CryoSat is the first altimetry mission operating in SAR mode and it carries an innovative radar altimeter called the Synthetic Aperture Interferometric Altimeter (SIRAL), that transmits pulses at a high pulse repetition frequency thus making the received echoes phase coherent and suitable for azimuth processing. The current CryoSat IPF (Instrument Processing Facility), Baseline B, was released in operation in February 2012. After more than 2 years of development, the release in operations of the Baseline C is expected in the first half of 2015. It is worth recalling here that the CryoSat SAR/SARin IPF1 generates 20Hz waveforms in correspondence of an approximately equally spaced set of ground locations on the Earth surface, i.e. surface samples, and that a surface sample gathers a collection of single-look echoes coming from the processed bursts during the time of visibility. Thus, for a given surface sample, the stack can be defined as the collection of all the single-look echoes pointing to the current surface sample, after applying all the necessary range corrections. The L1B product contains the power average of all the single-look echoes in the stack: the multi-looked L1B waveform. This reduces the data volume, while removing some information contained in the single looks, useful for characterizing the surface and modelling the L1B waveform. To recover such information, a set of parameters has been added to the L1B product: the stack characterization or beam behaviour parameters. The stack characterization, already included in previous Baselines, has been reviewed and expanded in Baseline C. This poster describes all the stack characterization parameters, detailing what they represent and how they have been computed. In details, such parameters can be summarized in: - Stack

  3. Circulating Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein Levels Independently Predict 10-Year Progression of Subclinical Carotid Atherosclerosis: A Community-Based Cohort Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Shen; Zhao, Dong; Qi, Yue; Wang, Wei; Wang, Miao; Sun, Jiayi; Liu, Jun; Li, Yan; Liu, Jing

    2018-03-07

    To investigate the association between circulating oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) levels and progression of subclinical atherosclerosis and to examine whether this link is independent of other low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-related parameters. Totally, 804 subjects who were free of cardiovascular disease at baseline completed risk factor surveys and carotid ultrasound measurements in 2002 and 2012. Modified Poisson regression was performed to examine the association between baseline serum ox-LDL levels and the 10-year risk of progression of carotid atherosclerosis which was defined as the development of at least one new plaque in a previously plaque-free carotid segment at re-examination. The mean age of the subjects was 58.6±7.7 years at baseline and 43.3% were men. A total of 504 (62.7%) subjects had carotid plaque progression at re-examination. Subjects in the intermediate and highest tertiles of ox-LDL had a significantly higher adjusted risk of atherosclerosis progression than those in the lowest tertile [relative risk (95% confidence interval) 1.17 (1.01-1.34) for the intermediate tertile and 1.23 (1.07-1.42) for the highest tertile]. This association was independent of baseline levels of LDL-C, total LDL particle number, and small LDL particle number. This study demonstrates that serum ox-LDL levels predict 10-year progression of subclinical atherosclerosis. Moreover, this effect is independent of the cholesterol content, the number, and the size of LDL particles.

  4. Precise baseline determination for the TanDEM-X mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koenig, Rolf; Moon, Yongjin; Neumayer, Hans; Wermuth, Martin; Montenbruck, Oliver; Jäggi, Adrian

    The TanDEM-X mission will strive for generating a global precise Digital Elevation Model (DEM) by way of bi-static SAR in a close formation of the TerraSAR-X satellite, already launched on June 15, 2007, and the TanDEM-X satellite to be launched in May 2010. Both satellites carry the Tracking, Occultation and Ranging (TOR) payload supplied by the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences. The TOR consists of a high-precision dual-frequency GPS receiver, called Integrated GPS Occultation Receiver (IGOR), and a Laser retro-reflector (LRR) for precise orbit determination (POD) and atmospheric sounding. The IGOR is of vital importance for the TanDEM-X mission objectives as the millimeter level determination of the baseline or distance between the two spacecrafts is needed to derive meter level accurate DEMs. Within the TanDEM-X ground segment GFZ is responsible for the operational provision of precise baselines. For this GFZ uses two software chains, first its Earth Parameter and Orbit System (EPOS) software and second the BERNESE software, for backup purposes and quality control. In a concerted effort also the German Aerospace Center (DLR) generates precise baselines independently with a dedicated Kalman filter approach realized in its FRNS software. By the example of GRACE the generation of baselines with millimeter accuracy from on-board GPS data can be validated directly by way of comparing them to the intersatellite K-band range measurements. The K-band ranges are accurate down to the micrometer-level and therefore may be considered as truth. Both TanDEM-X baseline providers are able to generate GRACE baselines with sub-millimeter accuracy. By merging the independent baselines by GFZ and DLR, the accuracy can even be increased. The K-band validation however covers solely the along-track component as the K-band data measure just the distance between the two GRACE satellites. In addition they inhibit an un-known bias which must be modelled in the comparison, so the

  5. Large-baseline InSAR for precise topographic mapping: a framework for TanDEM-X large-baseline data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Pinheiro

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The global Digital Elevation Model (DEM resulting from the TanDEM-X mission provides information about the world topography with outstanding precision. In fact, performance analysis carried out with the already available data have shown that the global product is well within the requirements of 10 m absolute vertical accuracy and 2 m relative vertical accuracy for flat to moderate terrain. The mission's science phase took place from October 2014 to December 2015. During this phase, bistatic acquisitions with across-track separation between the two satellites up to 3.6 km at the equator were commanded. Since the relative vertical accuracy of InSAR derived elevation models is, in principle, inversely proportional to the system baseline, the TanDEM-X science phase opened the doors for the generation of elevation models with improved quality with respect to the standard product. However, the interferometric processing of the large-baseline data is troublesome due to the increased volume decorrelation and very high frequency of the phase variations. Hence, in order to fully profit from the increased baseline, sophisticated algorithms for the interferometric processing, and, in particular, for the phase unwrapping have to be considered. This paper proposes a novel dual-baseline region-growing framework for the phase unwrapping of the large-baseline interferograms. Results from two experiments with data from the TanDEM-X science phase are discussed, corroborating the expected increased level of detail of the large-baseline DEMs.

  6. Cortisol and politics: variance in voting behavior is predicted by baseline cortisol levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    French, Jeffrey A; Smith, Kevin B; Alford, John R; Guck, Adam; Birnie, Andrew K; Hibbing, John R

    2014-06-22

    Participation in electoral politics is affected by a host of social and demographics variables, but there is growing evidence that biological predispositions may also play a role in behavior related to political involvement. We examined the role of individual variation in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis parameters in explaining differences in self-reported and actual participation in political activities. Self-reported political activity, religious participation, and verified voting activity in U.S. national elections were collected from 105 participants, who were subsequently exposed to a standardized (nonpolitical) psychosocial stressor. We demonstrated that lower baseline salivary cortisol in the late afternoon was significantly associated with increased actual voting frequency in six national elections, but not with self-reported non-voting political activity. Baseline cortisol predicted significant variation in voting behavior above and beyond variation accounted for by traditional demographic variables (particularly age of participant in our sample). Participation in religious activity was weakly (and negatively) associated with baseline cortisol. Our results suggest that HPA-mediated characteristics of social, cognitive, and emotional processes may exert an influence on a trait as complex as voting behavior, and that cortisol is a better predictor of actual voting behavior, as opposed to self-reported political activity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Cortisol and Politics: Variance in Voting Behavior is Predicted by Baseline Cortisol Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    French, Jeffrey A.; Smith, Kevin B.; Alford, John R.; Guck, Adam; Birnie, Andrew K.; Hibbing, John R.

    2014-01-01

    Participation in electoral politics is affected by a host of social and demographics variables, but there is growing evidence that biological predispositions may also play a role in behavior related to political involvement. We examined the role of individual variation in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis parameters in explaining differences in self-reported and actual participation in political activities. Self-reported political activity, religious participation, and verified voting activity in U.S. national elections were collected from 105 participants, who were subsequently exposed to a standardized (nonpolitical) psychosocial stressor. We demonstrated that lower baseline salivary cortisol in the late afternoon was significantly associated with increased actual voting frequency in six national elections, but not with self-reported non-voting political activity. Baseline cortisol predicted significant variation in voting behavior above and beyond variation accounted for by traditional demographic variables (particularly age of participant in our sample). Participation in religious activity was weakly (and negatively) associated with baseline cortisol. Our results suggest that HPA-mediated characteristics of social, cognitive, and emotional processes may exert an influence on a trait as complex as voting behavior, and that cortisol is a better predictor of actual voting behavior, as opposed to self-reported political activity. PMID:24835544

  8. The effect of spironolactone in patients with resistant arterial hypertension in relation to baseline blood pressure and secondary causes of hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaclavik, Jan; Sedlak, Richard; Jarkovsky, Jiri; Kocianova, Eva; Taborsky, Milos

    2013-03-01

    There are currently limited data about whether the effect of spironolactone in patients with resistant arterial hypertension depends on baseline blood pressure and the presence of a secondary cause of hypertension. Patients with office systolic blood pressure (BP) >140 mmHg or diastolic BP >90 mmHg, despite treatment with at least 3 antihypertensive drugs including a diuretic, were randomly assigned to receive spironolactone or a placebo for 8 weeks in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial (ASPIRANT). Analyses were done with 55 patients treated with spironolactone. The degree of BP reduction after 8 weeks of spironolactone treatment did not differ significantly between the three tertiles of baseline systolic BP and patients with and without a secondary cause of hypertension. The reduction of office systolic, office diastolic BP and office pulse pressure was significantly lower in the highest tertile with baseline diastolic BP > 97 mmHg. Spironolactone treatment is effective to a similar extent both in patients with and without a secondary cause of hypertension and regardless of the baseline value of systolic BP. Less effect of spironolactone was found in patients with the highest baseline diastolic BP.

  9. Exploring non standard physics in long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chatterjee, Sabya Sachi

    2015-01-01

    After the recent discovery of large th ( 13), the focus has been shifted to address the remaining fundamental issues like neutrino mass ordering and CP-violation in leptonic sector. Future proposed Long-Baseline facilities like DUNE (1300 km baseline from FNAL to Homestake) and LBNO (2290 km baseline from CERN to Pyhasalmi) are well suited to address these issues at high confidence level. Not only to the standard framework, these experiments are highly capable to look for some new physics beyond the Standard Model scenario. In this work, we explore whether these high precision future facilities are sensitive to new U(1) global symmetries and upto which confidence level. (author)

  10. Baseline AMH Level Associated With Ovulation Following Ovulation Induction in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mumford, Sunni L; Legro, Richard S; Diamond, Michael P; Coutifaris, Christos; Steiner, Anne Z; Schlaff, William D; Alvero, Ruben; Christman, Gregory M; Casson, Peter R; Huang, Hao; Santoro, Nanette; Eisenberg, Esther; Zhang, Heping; Cedars, Marcelle I

    2016-09-01

    Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) reduces aromatase activity and sensitivity of follicles to FSH stimulation. Therefore, elevated serum AMH may indicate a higher threshold for response to ovulation induction in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study sought to determine the association between AMH levels and ovulatory response to treatment among the women enrolled into the Pregnancy in PCOS II (PPCOS II) trial. This was a secondary analysis of data from a randomized clinical trial in academic health centers throughout the United States Participants: A total of 748 women age 18-40 years, with PCOS and measured AMH levels at baseline, were included in this study. Couples were followed for up to five treatment cycles to determine ovulation (midluteal serum progesterone > 5 ng/mL) and the dose required to achieve ovulation. A lower mean AMH and AMH per follicle was observed among women who ovulated compared with women who never achieved ovulation during the study (geometric mean AMH, 5.54 vs 7.35 ng/mL; P = .0001; geometric mean AMH per follicle, 0.14 vs 0.18; P = .01) after adjustment for age, body mass index, T, and insulin level. As AMH levels increased, the dose of ovulation induction medication needed to achieve ovulation also increased. No associations were observed between antral follicle count and ovulation. These results suggest that high serum AMH is associated with a reduced response to ovulation induction among women with PCOS. Women with higher AMH levels may require higher doses of medication to achieve ovulation.

  11. Incretin responses to oral glucose and mixed meal tests and changes in fasting glucose levels during 7 years of follow-up

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koopman, A D M; Rutters, F; Rauh, S P

    2018-01-01

    . We used data from the Hoorn Meal Study; a population-based cohort study among 121 subjects, aged 61.0±6.7y. GIP and GLP-1 responses were determined at baseline and expressed as total and incremental area under the curve (tAUC and iAUC). The association between incretin response at baseline...... and changes in fasting glucose levels was assessed using linear regression. The average change in glucose over 7 years was 0.43 ± 0.5 mmol/l. For GIP, no significant associations were observed with changes in fasting glucose levels. In contrast, participants within the middle and highest tertile of GLP-1 iAUC...... responses to OGTT had significantly smaller increases (actually decreases) in fasting glucose levels; -0.28 (95% confidence interval: -0.54;-0.01) mmol/l and -0.39 (-0.67;-0.10) mmol/l, respectively, compared to those in the lowest tertile. The same trend was observed for tAUC GLP-1 following OGTT (highest...

  12. Developing RESRAD-BASELINE for environmental baseline risk assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, Jing-Jy.

    1995-01-01

    RESRAD-BASELINE is a computer code developed at Argonne developed at Argonne National Laboratory for the US Department of Energy (DOE) to perform both radiological and chemical risk assessments. The code implements the baseline risk assessment guidance of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 1989). The computer code calculates (1) radiation doses and cancer risks from exposure to radioactive materials, and (2) hazard indexes and cancer risks from exposure to noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic chemicals, respectively. The user can enter measured or predicted environmental media concentrations from the graphic interface and can simulate different exposure scenarios by selecting the appropriate pathways and modifying the exposure parameters. The database used by PESRAD-BASELINE includes dose conversion factors and slope factors for radionuclides and toxicity information and properties for chemicals. The user can modify the database for use in the calculation. Sensitivity analysis can be performed while running the computer code to examine the influence of the input parameters. Use of RESRAD-BASELINE for risk analysis is easy, fast, and cost-saving. Furthermore, it ensures in consistency in methodology for both radiological and chemical risk analyses

  13. C-reactive protein level predicts mortality in COPD: a systematic review and meta-analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giovanni Leuzzi

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The prognostic role of baseline C-reactive protein (CRP in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD is controversial. In order to clarify this issue, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the predictive effect of baseline CRP level in COPD patients. 15 eligible articles focusing on late mortality in COPD were included in our study. We performed a random-effects meta-analysis, and assessed heterogeneity and publication bias. We pooled hazard ratio (HR estimates and their 95% confidence intervals on mortality for the comparison between the study-specific highest category of CRP level versus the lowest category. In overall analysis, elevated baseline CRP levels were significantly associated with higher mortality (HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.32–1.77, I2=68.7%, p<0.001. Similar results were observed across subgroups. However, higher mortality risk was reported in studies using a cut-off value of 3 mg·L−1 (HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.12–2.30 and in those enrolling an Asiatic population (HR 3.51, 95% CI 1.69–7.31. Our analysis indicates that baseline high CRP level is significantly associated with higher late mortality in patients with COPD. Further prospective controlled studies are needed to confirm these data.

  14. Environmental Baseline File National Transportation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, M.

    1999-01-01

    This Environmental Baseline File summarizes and consolidates information related to the national-level transportation of commercial spent nuclear fuel. Topics addressed include: shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel based on mostly truck and mostly rail shipping scenarios; transportation routing for commercial spent nuclear fuel sites and DOE sites; radionuclide inventories for various shipping container capacities; transportation routing; populations along transportation routes; urbanized area population densities; the impacts of historical, reasonably foreseeable, and general transportation; state-level food transfer factors; Federal Guidance Report No. 11 and 12 radionuclide dose conversion factors; and national average atmospheric conditions

  15. Tigers and Their Prey in Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling: Abundance Baseline for Effective Wildlife Reserve Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Febri Anggriawan Widodo

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Managing the critically endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae needs accurate information on its abundance and availability of prey at the landscape level. Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling Wildlife Reserve in central Sumatra represents an important area for tigers at local, regional and global levels. The area has been recognized as a long-term priority Tiger Conservation Landscape. Solid baseline information on tigers and prey is fundamentally needed for the management. The objective of this study was to produce robust estimate of tiger density and prey a vailability in the reserve. We used camera traps to systematically collecting photographic samples of tigers and prey using Spatial Capture Recapture (SCR framework. We estimated density for tigers and calculated trap success rate (TSR; independent pictures/100 trap nights for main prey species. Three blocks in the reserve were sampled from 2012 to 2015 accumulating a total of 8,125 effective trap nights. We captured 14 tiger individuals including three cubs. We documented the highest density of tigers (individuals/100 km2 in southern sampling block (based on traditional capture recapture (TCR : 1.52 ± SE 0.55; based on Maximum Likelihood (ML SCR:0.51 ± SE 0.22 and the lowest in northeastern sampling block (TCR: 0.77 ±SE 0.39; ML SCR: 0.19 ± SE 0.16. The highest TSR of main prey (large ungulates and primates was in northeastern block (35.01 ± SD 8.67 and the lowest was in southern block (12.42 ± SD 2.91. The highest level of disturbance, as indicated by TSR of people, was in northeastern sampling block (5.45 ± SD 5.64 and the lowest in southern (1.26 ± SD 2.41. The results suggested that human disturbance strongly determine the density of tigers in the area, more than prey availability. To recover tigers, suggested strategies include controlling human disturbance and poaching to the lowest possible level in addition to maintaining main prey availability.

  16. A method to establish seismic noise baselines for automated station assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNamara, D.E.; Hutt, C.R.; Gee, L.S.; Benz, H.M.; Buland, R.P.

    2009-01-01

    We present a method for quantifying station noise baselines and characterizing the spectral shape of out-of-nominal noise sources. Our intent is to automate this method in order to ensure that only the highest-quality data are used in rapid earthquake products at NEIC. In addition, the station noise baselines provide a valuable tool to support the quality control of GSN and ANSS backbone data and metadata. The procedures addressed here are currently in development at the NEIC, and work is underway to understand how quickly changes from nominal can be observed and used within the NEIC processing framework. The spectral methods and software used to compute station baselines and described herein (PQLX) can be useful to both permanent and portable seismic stations operators. Applications include: general seismic station and data quality control (QC), evaluation of instrument responses, assessment of near real-time communication system performance, characterization of site cultural noise conditions, and evaluation of sensor vault design, as well as assessment of gross network capabilities (McNamara et al. 2005). Future PQLX development plans include incorporating station baselines for automated QC methods and automating station status report generation and notification based on user-defined QC parameters. The PQLX software is available through the USGS (http://earthquake. usgs.gov/research/software/pqlx.php) and IRIS (http://www.iris.edu/software/ pqlx/).

  17. THE 2014 ALMA LONG BASELINE CAMPAIGN: AN OVERVIEW

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Partnership, ALMA [Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, IC2, Liverpool Science Park, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF (United Kingdom); Fomalont, E. B.; Vlahakis, C.; Corder, S.; Remijan, A.; Barkats, D.; Dent, W. R. F.; Phillips, N.; Cox, P.; Hales, A. S. [Joint ALMA Observatory, Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago (Chile); Lucas, R. [Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (UMR 5274), BP 53, F-38041 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Hunter, T. R.; Brogan, C. L.; Amestica, R.; Cotton, W. [National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 (United States); Asaki, Y. [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Matsushita, S. [Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, P.O. Box 23-141, Taipei 106, Taiwan (China); Hills, R. E. [Astrophysics Group, Cavendish Laboratory, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Richards, A. M. S. [Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Broguiere, D., E-mail: efomalon@nrao.edu [Institut de Radioastronomie Millime´trique (IRAM), 300 rue de la Piscine, Domaine Universitaire, F-38406 Saint Martin d’Hères (France); and others

    2015-07-20

    A major goal of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is to make accurate images with resolutions of tens of milliarcseconds, which at submillimeter (submm) wavelengths requires baselines up to ∼15 km. To develop and test this capability, a Long Baseline Campaign (LBC) was carried out from 2014 September to late November, culminating in end-to-end observations, calibrations, and imaging of selected Science Verification (SV) targets. This paper presents an overview of the campaign and its main results, including an investigation of the short-term coherence properties and systematic phase errors over the long baselines at the ALMA site, a summary of the SV targets and observations, and recommendations for science observing strategies at long baselines. Deep ALMA images of the quasar 3C 138 at 97 and 241 GHz are also compared to VLA 43 GHz results, demonstrating an agreement at a level of a few percent. As a result of the extensive program of LBC testing, the highly successful SV imaging at long baselines achieved angular resolutions as fine as 19 mas at ∼350 GHz. Observing with ALMA on baselines of up to 15 km is now possible, and opens up new parameter space for submm astronomy.

  18. THE 2014 ALMA LONG BASELINE CAMPAIGN: AN OVERVIEW

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Partnership, ALMA; Fomalont, E. B.; Vlahakis, C.; Corder, S.; Remijan, A.; Barkats, D.; Dent, W. R. F.; Phillips, N.; Cox, P.; Hales, A. S.; Lucas, R.; Hunter, T. R.; Brogan, C. L.; Amestica, R.; Cotton, W.; Asaki, Y.; Matsushita, S.; Hills, R. E.; Richards, A. M. S.; Broguiere, D.

    2015-01-01

    A major goal of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is to make accurate images with resolutions of tens of milliarcseconds, which at submillimeter (submm) wavelengths requires baselines up to ∼15 km. To develop and test this capability, a Long Baseline Campaign (LBC) was carried out from 2014 September to late November, culminating in end-to-end observations, calibrations, and imaging of selected Science Verification (SV) targets. This paper presents an overview of the campaign and its main results, including an investigation of the short-term coherence properties and systematic phase errors over the long baselines at the ALMA site, a summary of the SV targets and observations, and recommendations for science observing strategies at long baselines. Deep ALMA images of the quasar 3C 138 at 97 and 241 GHz are also compared to VLA 43 GHz results, demonstrating an agreement at a level of a few percent. As a result of the extensive program of LBC testing, the highly successful SV imaging at long baselines achieved angular resolutions as fine as 19 mas at ∼350 GHz. Observing with ALMA on baselines of up to 15 km is now possible, and opens up new parameter space for submm astronomy

  19. Association between Anxiety Levels and Weight Change in the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine Rieke

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. To examine the association between anxiety and weight change in a multiethnic cohort followed for approximately 10 years. Methods. The study population consisted of participants of the multiethnic study of atherosclerosis who met specified inclusion criteria (n = 5,799. Weight was measured at baseline and four subsequent follow-up exams. Anxiety was analyzed as sex-specific anxiety quartiles (QANX. The relationship between anxiety level and weight change was examined using a mixed-effect model with weight as the dependent variable, anxiety and time as the independent variables, and adjusted for covariates. Results. Average annual weight change (range was −0.17 kg (−6.04 to 4.38 kg for QANX 1 (lowest anxiety, −0.16 kg (−10.71 to 4.45 kg for QANX 2, −0.15 kg (−8.69 to 6.39 kg for QANX 3, and −0.20 kg (−7.12 to 3.95 kg for QANX 4 (highest anxiety. No significant association was noted between QANX and weight change. However, the highest QANX was associated with a −2.48 kg (95% CI = −3.65, −1.31 lower baseline weight compared to the lowest QANX after adjustment for all covariates. Conclusions. Among adults, age 45–84, higher levels of anxiety, defined by the STPI trait anxiety scale, are associated with lower average baseline weight but not with weight change.

  20. Baseline Vascular Cognitive Impairment Predicts the Course of Apathetic Symptoms After Stroke: The CASPER Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douven, Elles; Köhler, Sebastian; Schievink, Syenna H J; van Oostenbrugge, Robert J; Staals, Julie; Verhey, Frans R J; Aalten, Pauline

    2018-03-01

    To examine the influence of vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) on the course of poststroke depression (PSD) and poststroke apathy (PSA). Included were 250 stroke patients who underwent neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric assessment 3 months after stroke (baseline) and at a 6- and 12-month follow-up after baseline. Linear mixed models tested the influence of VCI in at least one cognitive domain (any VCI) or multidomain VCI (VCI in multiple cognitive domains) at baseline and domain-specific VCI at baseline on levels of depression and apathy over time, with random effects for intercept and slope. Almost half of the patients showed any VCI at baseline, and any VCI was associated with increasing apathy levels from baseline to the 12-month follow-up. Patients with multidomain VCI had higher apathy scores at the 6- and 12-month follow-up compared with patients with VCI in a single cognitive domain. Domain-specific analyses showed that impaired executive function and slowed information processing speed went together with increasing apathy levels from baseline to 6- and 12-month follow-up. None of the cognitive variables predicted the course of depressive symptoms. Baseline VCI is associated with increasing apathy levels from baseline to the chronic stroke phase, whereas no association was found between baseline VCI and the course of depressive symptoms. Health professionals should be aware that apathy might be absent early after stroke but may evolve over time in patients with VCI. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Association between baseline vitamin D metabolite levels and long-term cardiovascular events in patients with rheumatoid arthritis from the CIMESTRA trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herly, Mette; Stengaard-Pedersen, Kristian; Hørslev-Petersen, Kim

    2017-01-01

    event in the follow-up period, evaluated using systematic journal audits. Logistic regression models will test the hypothesis that there are more cardiovascular events in enrolled patients with a low level of vitamin D (models, based on survival analysis......INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and among these patients, the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D is high. Moreover, low vitamin D levels have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk in healthy subjects. OBJECTIVE......: To evaluate the long-term risk of cardiovascular events in patients having low total 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels at baseline compared with patients with normal levels, in an efficiently treated, closed cohort of patients with an early diagnosis of RA. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This study is a prospective, closed...

  2. Vitamin D production after UVB exposure depends on baseline vitamin D and total cholesterol but not on skin pigmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogh, Morten K B; Schmedes, Anne V; Philipsen, Peter A; Thieden, Elisabeth; Wulf, Hans C

    2010-02-01

    UVB radiation increases serum vitamin D level expressed as 25-hydroxyvitamin-D(3) (25(OH)D), but the influence of skin pigmentation, baseline 25(OH)D level, and total cholesterol has not been well characterized. To determine the importance of skin pigmentation, baseline 25(OH)D level, and total cholesterol on 25(OH)D production after UVB exposure, 182 persons were screened for 25(OH)D level. A total of 50 participants with a wide range in baseline 25(OH)D levels were selected to define the importance of baseline 25(OH)D level. Of these, 28 non-sun worshippers with limited past sun exposure were used to investigate the influence of skin pigmentation and baseline total cholesterol. The participants had 24% of their skin exposed to UVB (3 standard erythema doses) four times every second or third day. Skin pigmentation and 25(OH)D levels were measured before and after the irradiations. Total cholesterol was measured at baseline. The increase in 25(OH)D level after UVB exposure was negatively correlated with baseline 25(OH)D level (Ppigmentation. In addition, we paired a dark-skinned group with a fair-skinned group according to baseline 25(OH)D levels and found no differences in 25(OH)D increase after identical UVB exposure.

  3. Baseline blood pressure, low- and high-density lipoproteins, and triglycerides and the risk of vascular events in the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Amarenco, Pierre; Goldstein, Larry B; Callahan, Alfred

    2009-01-01

    AND RESULTS: The SPARCL trial randomized 4731 patients with recent stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) and no known coronary heart disease and LDL-C between 100 and 190 mg/dL to either atorvastatin 80 mg/d or placebo. Baseline assessment included SBP, DBP and measurements of low-density lipoprotein...... associated with MCVE. Atorvastatin treatment was similarly effective regardless of baseline lipoprotein levels....

  4. Baseline and postoperative levels of C-reactive protein and interleukins as inflammatory predictors of atrial fibrillation following cardiac surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weymann, Alexander; Popov, Aron-Frederik; Sabashnikov, Anton; Ali-Hasan-Al-Saegh, Sadeq; Ryazanov, Mikhail; Tse, Gary; Mirhosseini, Seyed Jalil; Liu, Tong; Lotfaliani, Mohammadreza; Sedaghat, Meghdad; Baker, William L; Ghanei, Azam; Yavuz, Senol; Zeriouh, Mohamed; Izadpanah, Payman; Dehghan, Hamidreza; Testa, Luca; Nikfard, Maryam; Sá, Michel Pompeu Barros de Oliveira; Mashhour, Ahmed; Nombela-Franco, Luis; Rezaeisadrabadi, Mohammad; D'Ascenzo, Fabrizio; Zhigalov, Konstantin; Benedetto, Umberto; Aminolsharieh Najafi, Soroosh; Szczechowicz, Marcin; Roever, Leonardo; Meng, Lei; Gong, Mengqi; Deshmukh, Abhishek J; Palmerini, Tullio; Linde, Cecilia; Filipiak, Krzysztof J; Stone, Gregg W; Biondi-Zoccai, Giuseppe; Calkins, Hugh

    2018-01-01

    Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is a leading arrhythmia with high incidence and serious clinical implications after cardiac surgery. Cardiac surgery is associated with systemic inflammatory response including increase in cytokines and activation of endothelial and leukocyte responses. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the strength of evidence for evaluating the association of inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukins (IL), with POAF following isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), isolated valvular surgery, or a combination of these procedures. We conducted a meta-analysis of studies evaluating measured baseline (from one week before surgical procedures) and postoperative levels (until one week after surgical procedures) of inflammatory markers in patients with POAF. A compre-hensive search was performed in electronic medical databases (Medline/PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Science Direct, and Google Scholar) from their inception through May 2017 to identify relevant studies. A comprehensive subgroup analysis was performed to explore potential sources of heterogeneity. A literature search of all major databases retrieved 1014 studies. After screening, 42 studies were analysed including a total of 8398 patients. Pooled analysis showed baseline levels of CRP (standard mean difference [SMD] 0.457 mg/L, p < 0.001), baseline levels of IL-6 (SMD 0.398 pg/mL, p < 0.001), postoperative levels of CRP (SMD 0.576 mg/L, p < 0.001), postoperative levels of IL-6 (SMD 1.66 pg/mL, p < 0.001), postoperative levels of IL-8 (SMD 0.839 pg/mL, p < 0.001), and postoperative levels of IL-10 (SMD 0.590 pg/mL, p < 0.001) to be relevant inflammatory parameters significantly associated with POAF. Perioperative inflammation is proposed to be involved in the pathogenesis of POAF. Therefore, perioperative assessment of CRP, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 can help clinicians in terms of predicting and monitoring for POAF.

  5. THE IMPACT OF FREQUENCY STANDARDS ON COHERENCE IN VLBI AT THE HIGHEST FREQUENCIES

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rioja, M.; Dodson, R. [ICRAR, University of Western Australia, Perth (Australia); Asaki, Y. [Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chuou, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan); Hartnett, J. [School of Physics, University of Western Australia, Perth (Australia); Tingay, S., E-mail: maria.rioja@icrar.org [ICRAR, Curtin University, Perth (Australia)

    2012-10-01

    We have carried out full imaging simulation studies to explore the impact of frequency standards in millimeter and submillimeter very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), focusing on the coherence time and sensitivity. In particular, we compare the performance of the H-maser, traditionally used in VLBI, to that of ultra-stable cryocooled sapphire oscillators over a range of observing frequencies, weather conditions, and analysis strategies. Our simulations show that at the highest frequencies, the losses induced by H-maser instabilities are comparable to those from high-quality tropospheric conditions. We find significant benefits in replacing H-masers with cryocooled sapphire oscillator based frequency references in VLBI observations at frequencies above 175 GHz in sites which have the best weather conditions; at 350 GHz we estimate a 20%-40% increase in sensitivity over that obtained when the sites have H-masers, for coherence losses of 20%-10%, respectively. Maximum benefits are to be expected by using co-located Water Vapor Radiometers for atmospheric correction. In this case, we estimate a 60%-120% increase in sensitivity over the H-maser at 350 GHz.

  6. A possible method using baseline hormonal levels to prescribe the appropriate oral therapeutic radioiodine dosage for Graves' disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakajo, Masayuki; Tsuchimochi, Shinsaku; Jinguji, Megumi; Tanabe, Hiroaki; Umanodan, Tomoichi; Nakabeppu, Yoshiaki

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to retrospectively examine the correlations of hormonal ratios with radioiodine I-131 therapeutic parameters and the potentiality of prescribing the therapeutic I-131 target dosage for an individual patient with Graves' disease using baseline serum levels of thyroid hormones. Serum T3, T4, and FT4 levels 6 and 12 months after I-131 therapy/baseline levels (hormonal ratios) were calculated for a total of 68 therapeutic courses in 57 patients with Graves' disease. The therapeutic parameters were absorbed dose (Gy), dose concentration (μCi/g) and oral dose (mCi). Linear regression analysis was performed for correlating hormonal ratios (X) and therapeutic parameters (Y). Significant (P<0.05) negative correlations of the hormonal ratios were observed with absorbed dose (R -0.50 for T3, -0.61 for T4, and -0.46 for FT4 at 6 months, and -0.29 for T3, -0.44 for T4 at 12 months) and dose concentration (R -0.57 for T3, -0.58 for T4, and -0.49 for FT4 at 6 months and -0.27 for T3, -0.27 for T4 at 12 months), but not with oral dose at 6 months and 12 months or the absorbed dose and dose concentration for FT4 at 12 months. The correlations were higher at 6 months than at 12 months and in serum T4 than in serum T3 and FT4. The formulae for serum T4 at 6 months were as follows: Y (Gy)=109-53X and Y (μCi/g)=109-52X. These results suggest that the hormonal ratios are significantly correlated with the absorbed dose and dose concentration. The formulae for serum T4 at 6 months may serve to prescribe the individual oral dosage for Graves' disease, although the correlation coefficients are about -0.6. (author)

  7. Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program Cost and Schedule Baseline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-09-01

    The purpose of this document is to establish quantitative expressions of proposed costs and schedule to serve as a basis for measurement of program performance. It identifies the components of the Program Cost and Schedule Baseline (PCSB) that will be subject to change control by the Executive (Level 0) and Program (Level 1) Change Control Boards (CCBS) and establishes their baseline values. This document also details PCSB reporting, monitoring, and corrective action requirements. The Program technical baseline contained in the Waste Management System Description (WMSD), the Waste Management System Requirements (WMSR), and the Physical System Requirements documents provide the technical basis for the PCSB. Changes to the PCSB will be approved by the Pregrain Change Control Board (PCCB)In addition to the PCCB, the Energy System Acquisition Advisory Board Baseline CCB (ESAAB BCCB) will perform control functions relating to Total Project Cost (TPC) and major schedule milestones for the Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project and the Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) Project

  8. Association between baseline vitamin D metabolite levels and long-term cardiovascular events in patients with rheumatoid arthritis from the CIMESTRA trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herly, Mette; Stengaard-Pedersen, Kristian; Hørslev-Petersen, Kim

    2017-01-01

    written consent at baseline. To disseminate comprehension of factors of prognostic importance to cardiovascular outcome in RA, we will attempt to have a first draft ready no later than 1 year after the adjudication process has finished. If low vitamin D levels can predict cardiovascular events in RA......INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is increased in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and among these patients, the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D is high. Moreover, low vitamin D levels have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk in healthy subjects. OBJECTIVE...... event in the follow-up period, evaluated using systematic journal audits. Logistic regression models will test the hypothesis that there are more cardiovascular events in enrolled patients with a low level of vitamin D (

  9. Double blind randomized placebo-controlled trial on the effects of testosterone supplementation in elderly men with moderate to low testosterone levels: design and baseline characteristics [ISRCTN23688581

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verhaar Harald JJ

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In ageing men testosterone levels decline, while cognitive function, muscle and bone mass, sexual hair growth, libido and sexual activity decline and the risk of cardiovascular diseases increase. We set up a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effects of testosterone supplementation on functional mobility, quality of life, body composition, cognitive function, vascular function and risk factors, and bone mineral density in older hypogonadal men. We recruited 237 men with serum testosterone levels below 13.7 nmol/L and ages 60–80 years. They were randomized to either four capsules of 40 mg testosterone undecanoate (TU or placebo daily for 26 weeks. Primary endpoints are functional mobility and quality of life. Secondary endpoints are body composition, cognitive function, aortic stiffness and cardiovascular risk factors and bone mineral density. Effects on prostate, liver and hematological parameters will be studied with respect to safety. Measure of effect will be the difference in change from baseline visit to final visit between TU and placebo. We will study whether the effect of TU differs across subgroups of baseline waist girth ( At baseline, mean age, BMI and testosterone levels were 67 years, 27 kg/m2 and 10.72 nmol/L, respectively.

  10. Parametric estimation of time varying baselines in airborne interferometric SAR

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mohr, Johan Jacob; Madsen, Søren Nørvang

    1996-01-01

    A method for estimation of time varying spatial baselines in airborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is described. The range and azimuth distortions between two images acquired with a non-linear baseline are derived. A parametric model of the baseline is then, in a least square...... sense, estimated from image shifts obtained by cross correlation of numerous small patches throughout the image. The method has been applied to airborne EMISAR imagery from the 1995 campaign over the Storstrommen Glacier in North East Greenland conducted by the Danish Center for Remote Sensing. This has...... reduced the baseline uncertainties from several meters to the centimeter level in a 36 km scene. Though developed for airborne SAR the method can easily be adopted to satellite data...

  11. Weight change by baseline BMI from three-year observational data: findings from the Worldwide Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes Database.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bushe, Chris J; Slooff, Cees J; Haddad, Peter M; Karagianis, Jamie L

    2013-04-01

    The aim was to explore weight and body mass index (BMI) changes by baseline BMI in patients completing three years of monotherapy with various first- and second-generation antipsychotics in a large cohort in a post hoc analysis of three-year observational data. Data were analyzed by antipsychotic and three baseline BMI bands: underweight/normal weight (BMI 30 kg/m²). Baseline BMI was associated with subsequent weight change irrespective of the antipsychotic given. Specifically, a smaller proportion of patients gained ≥7% baseline bodyweight, and a greater proportion of patients lost ≥7% baseline bodyweight with increasing baseline BMI. For olanzapine (the antipsychotic associated with highest mean weight gain in the total drug cohort), the percentage of patients gaining ≥7% baseline weight was 45% (95% CI: 43-48) in the underweight/normal weight BMI cohort and 20% (95% CI: 15-27) in the obese BMI cohort; 7% (95% CI: 6-8) of the underweight/normal cohort and 19% (95% CI: 13-27) of the obese cohort lost ≥7% baseline weight. BMI has an association with the likelihood of weight gain or loss and should be considered in analyses of antipsychotic weight change.

  12. Associations between serum uric acid levels and the incidence of nonfatal stroke: a nationwide community-based cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamei, Keita; Konta, Tsuneo; Hirayama, Atsushi; Ichikawa, Kazunobu; Kubota, Isao; Fujimoto, Shouichi; Iseki, Kunitoshi; Moriyama, Toshiki; Yamagata, Kunihiro; Tsuruya, Kazuhiko; Narita, Ichiei; Kondo, Masahide; Shibagaki, Yugo; Kasahara, Masato; Asahi, Koichi; Watanabe, Tsuyoshi

    2017-06-01

    Hyperuricemia is an established risk factor for cardiovascular events and mortality. This study investigated the association between serum uric acid and the incidence of nonfatal stroke in a Japanese community-based population. We used a nationwide database of 155,322 subjects (aged 40-73, male 39 %) who participated in the annual "Specific Health Check and Guidance in Japan" checkup from 2008 to 2010. We examined the relationship between the quintiles of serum uric acid levels at baseline and the incidence of nonfatal stroke during a 2-year study period using self-reported data. The crude incidence of nonfatal stroke was significantly associated with serum uric acid levels at baseline, showing the lowest values in subjects with the 3rd quintile (Q3: men, 5.0-5.6; women, 3.8-4.3) of uric acid levels (mg/dL) and the highest values in subjects with the highest quintile (Q5: men ≥7.1, women ≥5.5) both in men and women (P uric acid levels for incident stroke was high, irrespective of characteristics such as age, sex, and renal function. This study has shown that serum uric acid is independently associated with the incidence of nonfatal stroke in the general Japanese population.

  13. Environmental Baseline File for National Transportation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    This Environmental Baseline File summarizes and consolidates information related to the national-level transportation of commercial spent nuclear fuel. Topics address include: shipments of commercial spent nuclear fuel based on mostly truck and mostly rail shipping scenarios; transportation routing for commercial spent nuclear fuel sites and DOE sites; radionuclide inventories for various shipping container capacities; transportation routing; populations along transportation routes; urbanized area population densities; the impacts of historical, reasonably foreseeable, and general transportation; state-level food transfer factors; Federal Guidance Report No. 11 and 12 radionuclide dose conversion factors; and national average atmospheric conditions

  14. Highest energy cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikolskij, S.

    1984-01-01

    Primary particles of cosmic radiation with highest energies cannot in view of their low intensity be recorded directly but for this purpose the phenomenon is used that these particles interact with nuclei in the atmosphere and give rise to what are known as extensive air showers. It was found that 40% of primary particles with an energy of 10 15 to 10 16 eV consist of protons, 12 to 15% of helium nuclei, 15% of iron nuclei, the rest of nuclei of other elements. Radiation intensity with an energy of 10 18 to 10 19 eV depends on the direction of incoming particles. Maximum intensity is in the direction of the centre of the nearest clustre of galaxies, minimal in the direction of the central area of our galaxy. (Ha)

  15. Self-esteem, personality, and eating disorders: baseline assessment of a prospective population-based cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gual, Pilar; Pérez-Gaspar, Marta; Martínez-González, Miguel Angel; Lahortiga, Francisca; de Irala-Estévez, Jokin; Cervera-Enguix, Salvador

    2002-04-01

    To study the relationship of self-esteem and personality factors with eating disorders (ED). A region-wide representative sample of 2862 girls 12-21 years old from Navarre (Spain) participated in the baseline assessment of a prospective study. A two-stage procedure was used, consisting in a first screening phase followed by a psychiatrist interview (DSM-IV criteria). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association of self-esteem (36-item scale) and personality characteristics (Eysenck inventory) with psychiatrist-diagnosed ED while controlling for potential confounders. Strong associations for ED were found with low self-esteem (adjusted odds ratio [adjOR] for the lowest quartile: 7.98, 95% CI: 3.4-18.8) and high levels of neuroticism (adjOR for the highest quartile: 9.49, 95% Cl: 3.7-24.5). Our results, although based on a cross-sectional design, support the potential role of neuroticism and low self-esteem in the onset of ED. Copyright 2002 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Baseline methodologies for clean development mechanism projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, M.K. (ed.); Shrestha, R.M.; Sharma, S.; Timilsina, G.R.; Kumar, S.

    2005-11-15

    The Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) came into force on 16th February 2005 with its ratification by Russia. The increasing momentum of this process is reflected in more than 100 projects having been submitted to the CDM Executive Board (CDM-EB) for approval of the baselines and monitoring methodologies, which is the first step in developing and implementing CDM projects. A CDM project should result in a net decrease of GHG emissions below any level that would have resulted from other activities implemented in the absence of that CDM project. The 'baseline' defines the GHG emissions of activities that would have been implemented in the absence of a CDM project. The baseline methodology is the process/algorithm for establishing that baseline. The baseline, along with the baseline methodology, are thus the most critical element of any CDM project towards meeting the important criteria of CDM, which are that a CDM should result in 'real, measurable, and long term benefits related to the mitigation of climate change'. This guidebook is produced within the frame work of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) facilitated 'Capacity Development for the Clean Development Mechanism (CD4CDM)' Project. This document is published as part of the projects effort to develop guidebooks that cover important issues such as project finance, sustainability impacts, legal framework and institutional framework. These materials are aimed to help stakeholders better understand the CDM and are believed to eventually contribute to maximize the effect of the CDM in achieving the ultimate goal of UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol. This Guidebook should be read in conjunction with the information provided in the two other guidebooks entitled, 'Clean Development Mechanism: Introduction to the CDM' and 'CDM Information and Guidebook' developed under the CD4CDM project. (BA)

  17. Baseline methodologies for clean development mechanism projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, M.K.; Shrestha, R.M.; Sharma, S.; Timilsina, G.R.; Kumar, S.

    2005-11-01

    The Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) came into force on 16th February 2005 with its ratification by Russia. The increasing momentum of this process is reflected in more than 100 projects having been submitted to the CDM Executive Board (CDM-EB) for approval of the baselines and monitoring methodologies, which is the first step in developing and implementing CDM projects. A CDM project should result in a net decrease of GHG emissions below any level that would have resulted from other activities implemented in the absence of that CDM project. The 'baseline' defines the GHG emissions of activities that would have been implemented in the absence of a CDM project. The baseline methodology is the process/algorithm for establishing that baseline. The baseline, along with the baseline methodology, are thus the most critical element of any CDM project towards meeting the important criteria of CDM, which are that a CDM should result in 'real, measurable, and long term benefits related to the mitigation of climate change'. This guidebook is produced within the frame work of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) facilitated 'Capacity Development for the Clean Development Mechanism (CD4CDM)' Project. This document is published as part of the projects effort to develop guidebooks that cover important issues such as project finance, sustainability impacts, legal framework and institutional framework. These materials are aimed to help stakeholders better understand the CDM and are believed to eventually contribute to maximize the effect of the CDM in achieving the ultimate goal of UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol. This Guidebook should be read in conjunction with the information provided in the two other guidebooks entitled, 'Clean Development Mechanism: Introduction to the CDM' and 'CDM Information and Guidebook' developed under the CD4CDM project. (BA)

  18. The Effect of Pretest Exercise on Baseline Computerized Neurocognitive Test Scores.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawlukiewicz, Alec; Yengo-Kahn, Aaron M; Solomon, Gary

    2017-10-01

    Baseline neurocognitive assessment plays a critical role in return-to-play decision making following sport-related concussions. Prior studies have assessed the effect of a variety of modifying factors on neurocognitive baseline test scores. However, relatively little investigation has been conducted regarding the effect of pretest exercise on baseline testing. The aim of our investigation was to determine the effect of pretest exercise on baseline Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) scores in adolescent and young adult athletes. We hypothesized that athletes undergoing self-reported strenuous exercise within 3 hours of baseline testing would perform more poorly on neurocognitive metrics and would report a greater number of symptoms than those who had not completed such exercise. Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. The ImPACT records of 18,245 adolescent and young adult athletes were retrospectively analyzed. After application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, participants were dichotomized into groups based on a positive (n = 664) or negative (n = 6609) self-reported history of strenuous exercise within 3 hours of the baseline test. Participants with a positive history of exercise were then randomly matched, based on age, sex, education level, concussion history, and hours of sleep prior to testing, on a 1:2 basis with individuals who had reported no pretest exercise. The baseline ImPACT composite scores of the 2 groups were then compared. Significant differences were observed for the ImPACT composite scores of verbal memory, visual memory, reaction time, and impulse control as well as for the total symptom score. No significant between-group difference was detected for the visual motor composite score. Furthermore, pretest exercise was associated with a significant increase in the overall frequency of invalid test results. Our results suggest a statistically significant difference in ImPACT composite scores between

  19. Early antihypertensive treatment and clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke: subgroup analysis by baseline blood pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, William J; Zhong, Chongke; Xu, Tan; Wang, Dali; Sun, Yingxian; Bu, Xiaoqing; Chen, Chung-Shiuan; Wang, Jinchao; Ju, Zhong; Li, Qunwei; Zhang, Jintao; Geng, Deqin; Zhang, Jianhui; Li, Dong; Li, Yongqiu; Yuan, Xiaodong; Zhang, Yonghong; Kelly, Tanika N

    2018-06-01

    We studied the effect of early antihypertensive treatment on death, major disability, and vascular events among patients with acute ischemic stroke according to their baseline SBP. We randomly assigned 4071 acute ischemic stroke patients with SBP between 140 and less than 220 mmHg to receive antihypertensive treatment or to discontinue all antihypertensive medications during hospitalization. A composite primary outcome of death and major disability and secondary outcomes were compared between treatment and control stratified by baseline SBP levels of less than 160, 160-179, and at least 180 mmHg. At 24 h after randomization, differences in SBP reductions were 8.8, 8.6 and 7.8 mmHg between the antihypertensive treatment and control groups among patients with baseline SBP less than 160, 160-179, and at least 180 mmHg, respectively (P baseline SBP subgroups on death (P = 0.02): odds ratio (95% CI) of 2.42 (0.74-7.89) in patients with baseline SBP less than 60 mmHg and 0.34 (0.11-1.09) in those with baseline SBP at least 180 mmHg. At the 3-month follow-up, the primary and secondary clinical outcomes were not significantly different between the treatment and control groups by baseline SBP levels. Early antihypertensive treatment had a neutral effect on clinical outcomes among acute ischemic stroke patients with various baseline SBP levels. Future clinical trials are warranted to test BP-lowering effects in acute ischemic stroke patients by baseline SBP levels. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01840072.

  20. Association of sex hormones with sexual function, vitality, and physical function of symptomatic older men with low testosterone levels at baseline in the testosterone trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Glenn R; Stephens-Shields, Alisa J; Rosen, Raymond C; Wang, Christina; Ellenberg, Susan S; Matsumoto, Alvin M; Bhasin, Shalender; Molitch, Mark E; Farrar, John T; Cella, David; Barrett-Connor, Elizabeth; Cauley, Jane A; Cifelli, Denise; Crandall, Jill P; Ensrud, Kristine E; Fluharty, Laura; Gill, Thomas M; Lewis, Cora E; Pahor, Marco; Resnick, Susan M; Storer, Thomas W; Swerdloff, Ronald S; Anton, Stephen; Basaria, Shehzad; Diem, Susan; Tabatabaie, Vafa; Hou, Xiaoling; Snyder, Peter J

    2015-03-01

    The prevalence of sexual dysfunction, low vitality, and poor physical function increases with aging, as does the prevalence of low total and free testosterone (TT and FT) levels. However, the relationship between sex hormones and age-related alterations in older men is not clear. To test the hypotheses that baseline serum TT, FT, estradiol (E2), and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels are independently associated with sexual function, vitality, and physical function in older symptomatic men with low testosterone levels participating in the Testosterone Trials (TTrials). Cross-sectional study of baseline measures in the TTrials. The study was conducted at 12 sites in the United States. The 788 TTrials participants were ≥ 65 years and had evidence of sexual dysfunction, diminished vitality, and/or mobility disability, and an average of two TT sexual desire, erectile function, and sexual activity. None of these hormones was significantly associated within or across trials with FACIT-Fatigue, PHQ-9 Depression or Physical Function-10 scores, or gait speed. FT and TT levels were consistently, independently, and positively associated, albeit to a small degree, with measures of sexual desire, erectile function, and sexual activity, but not with measures of vitality or physical function in symptomatic older men with low T who qualified for the TTrials.

  1. [The gender gap in highest quality medical research - A scientometric analysis of the representation of female authors in highest impact medical journals].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bendels, Michael H K; Wanke, Eileen M; Benik, Steffen; Schehadat, Marc S; Schöffel, Norman; Bauer, Jan; Gerber, Alexander; Brüggmann, Dörthe; Oremek, Gerhard M; Groneberg, David A

    2018-05-01

     The study aims to elucidate the state of gender equality in high-impact medical research, analyzing the representation of female authorships from January, 2008 to September, 2017.  133 893 male and female authorships from seven high-impact medical journals were analyzed. The key methodology was the combined analysis of the relative frequency, odds ratio and citations of female authorships. The Prestige Index measures the distribution of prestigious authorships between the two genders.  35.0 % of all authorships and 34.3 % of the first, 36.1 % of the co- and 24.2 % of the last authorships were held by women. Female authors have an odds ratio of 0.97 (KI: 0.93 - 1.01) for first, 1.36 (KI: 1.32 - 1.40) for co- und 0.57 (KI: 0.54 - 0.60) for last authorships compared to male authors. The proportion of female authorships exhibits an annual growth of 1.3 % overall, with 0.5 % for first, 1.2 % for co-, and 0.8 % for last authorships. Women are underrepresented at prestigious authorship compared to men (Prestige Index = -0.38). The underrepresentation accentuates in highly competitive articles attracting the highest citation rates, namely, articles with many authors and articles that were published in highest-impact journals. Multi-author articles with male key authors are more frequently cited than articles with female key authors. The gender-specific differences in citation rates increase the more authors contribute to an article. Women publish fewer articles compared to men (39.6 % female authors are responsible for 35.0 % of the authorships) and are underrepresented at productivity levels of more than 1 article per author. Distinct differences at the country level were revealed.  High impact medical research is characterized by few female group leaders as last authors and many female researchers being first or co-authors early in their career. It is very likely that this gender-specific career dichotomy will persistent in

  2. Quantification of baseline pupillary response and task-evoked pupillary response during constant and incremental task load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mosaly, Prithima R; Mazur, Lukasz M; Marks, Lawrence B

    2017-10-01

    The methods employed to quantify the baseline pupil size and task-evoked pupillary response (TEPR) may affect the overall study results. To test this hypothesis, the objective of this study was to assess variability in baseline pupil size and TEPR during two basic working memory tasks: constant load of 3-letters memorisation-recall (10 trials), and incremental load memorisation-recall (two trials of each load level), using two commonly used methods (1) change from trail/load specific baseline, (2) change from constant baseline. Results indicated that there was a significant shift in baseline between the trails for constant load, and between the load levels for incremental load. The TEPR was independent of shifts in baseline using method 1 only for constant load, and method 2 only for higher levels of incremental load condition. These important findings suggest that the assessment of both the baseline and methods to quantify TEPR are critical in ergonomics application, especially in studies with small number of trials per subject per condition. Practitioner Summary: Quantification of TEPR can be affected by shifts in baseline pupil size that are most likely affected by non-cognitive factors when other external factors are kept constant. Therefore, quantification methods employed to compute both baseline and TEPR are critical in understanding the information processing of humans in practical ergonomics settings.

  3. Detection of ST-T Episode Based on the Global Curvature of Isoelectric Level in ECG

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, D. W.; Jun, D. G.; Lee, K. J.; Yoon, H. R. [Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea)

    2001-04-01

    This paper describes an automated detection algorithm of ST-T episodes using global curvature which can connect the isoelectric level in ECG and can eliminate not only the slope of ST segment, but also difference of the baseline and global curve. This above method of baseline correction is very faster than classical baseline correction methods. The optimal values of parameters for baseline correction were found as the value having the highest detection rate of ST episode. The features as input of backpropagation Neural Network were extracted from the whole ST segment. The European ST-T database was used as training and test data. Finally, ST elevation, ST depression and normal ST were classified. The average ST episode sensitivity and predictivity were 85.42%, 80.29%, respectively. This result shows the high speed and reliability in ST episode detection. In conclusion, the proposed method showed the possibility in various applications for the Holter system. (author). 17 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs.

  4. Future coastal population growth and exposure to sea-level rise and coastal flooding--a global assessment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara Neumann

    Full Text Available Coastal zones are exposed to a range of coastal hazards including sea-level rise with its related effects. At the same time, they are more densely populated than the hinterland and exhibit higher rates of population growth and urbanisation. As this trend is expected to continue into the future, we investigate how coastal populations will be affected by such impacts at global and regional scales by the years 2030 and 2060. Starting from baseline population estimates for the year 2000, we assess future population change in the low-elevation coastal zone and trends in exposure to 100-year coastal floods based on four different sea-level and socio-economic scenarios. Our method accounts for differential growth of coastal areas against the land-locked hinterland and for trends of urbanisation and expansive urban growth, as currently observed, but does not explicitly consider possible displacement or out-migration due to factors such as sea-level rise. We combine spatially explicit estimates of the baseline population with demographic data in order to derive scenario-driven projections of coastal population development. Our scenarios show that the number of people living in the low-elevation coastal zone, as well as the number of people exposed to flooding from 1-in-100 year storm surge events, is highest in Asia. China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Viet Nam are estimated to have the highest total coastal population exposure in the baseline year and this ranking is expected to remain largely unchanged in the future. However, Africa is expected to experience the highest rates of population growth and urbanisation in the coastal zone, particularly in Egypt and sub-Saharan countries in Western and Eastern Africa. The results highlight countries and regions with a high degree of exposure to coastal flooding and help identifying regions where policies and adaptive planning for building resilient coastal communities are not only desirable but essential

  5. Future coastal population growth and exposure to sea-level rise and coastal flooding--a global assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, Barbara; Vafeidis, Athanasios T; Zimmermann, Juliane; Nicholls, Robert J

    2015-01-01

    Coastal zones are exposed to a range of coastal hazards including sea-level rise with its related effects. At the same time, they are more densely populated than the hinterland and exhibit higher rates of population growth and urbanisation. As this trend is expected to continue into the future, we investigate how coastal populations will be affected by such impacts at global and regional scales by the years 2030 and 2060. Starting from baseline population estimates for the year 2000, we assess future population change in the low-elevation coastal zone and trends in exposure to 100-year coastal floods based on four different sea-level and socio-economic scenarios. Our method accounts for differential growth of coastal areas against the land-locked hinterland and for trends of urbanisation and expansive urban growth, as currently observed, but does not explicitly consider possible displacement or out-migration due to factors such as sea-level rise. We combine spatially explicit estimates of the baseline population with demographic data in order to derive scenario-driven projections of coastal population development. Our scenarios show that the number of people living in the low-elevation coastal zone, as well as the number of people exposed to flooding from 1-in-100 year storm surge events, is highest in Asia. China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Viet Nam are estimated to have the highest total coastal population exposure in the baseline year and this ranking is expected to remain largely unchanged in the future. However, Africa is expected to experience the highest rates of population growth and urbanisation in the coastal zone, particularly in Egypt and sub-Saharan countries in Western and Eastern Africa. The results highlight countries and regions with a high degree of exposure to coastal flooding and help identifying regions where policies and adaptive planning for building resilient coastal communities are not only desirable but essential. Furthermore, we

  6. Future Coastal Population Growth and Exposure to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Flooding - A Global Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, Barbara; Vafeidis, Athanasios T.; Zimmermann, Juliane; Nicholls, Robert J.

    2015-01-01

    Coastal zones are exposed to a range of coastal hazards including sea-level rise with its related effects. At the same time, they are more densely populated than the hinterland and exhibit higher rates of population growth and urbanisation. As this trend is expected to continue into the future, we investigate how coastal populations will be affected by such impacts at global and regional scales by the years 2030 and 2060. Starting from baseline population estimates for the year 2000, we assess future population change in the low-elevation coastal zone and trends in exposure to 100-year coastal floods based on four different sea-level and socio-economic scenarios. Our method accounts for differential growth of coastal areas against the land-locked hinterland and for trends of urbanisation and expansive urban growth, as currently observed, but does not explicitly consider possible displacement or out-migration due to factors such as sea-level rise. We combine spatially explicit estimates of the baseline population with demographic data in order to derive scenario-driven projections of coastal population development. Our scenarios show that the number of people living in the low-elevation coastal zone, as well as the number of people exposed to flooding from 1-in-100 year storm surge events, is highest in Asia. China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Viet Nam are estimated to have the highest total coastal population exposure in the baseline year and this ranking is expected to remain largely unchanged in the future. However, Africa is expected to experience the highest rates of population growth and urbanisation in the coastal zone, particularly in Egypt and sub-Saharan countries in Western and Eastern Africa. The results highlight countries and regions with a high degree of exposure to coastal flooding and help identifying regions where policies and adaptive planning for building resilient coastal communities are not only desirable but essential. Furthermore, we

  7. The impact of GPS receiver modifications and ionospheric activity on Swarm baseline determination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, X.; Visser, P. N. A. M.; van den IJssel, J.

    2018-05-01

    The European Space Agency (ESA) Swarm mission is a satellite constellation launched on 22 November 2013 aiming at observing the Earth geomagnetic field and its temporal variations. The three identical satellites are equipped with high-precision dual-frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, which make the constellation an ideal test bed for baseline determination. From October 2014 to August 2016, a number of GPS receiver modifications and a new GPS Receiver Independent Exchange Format (RINEX) converter were implemented. Moreover, the on-board GPS receiver performance has been influenced by the ionospheric scintillations. The impact of these factors is assessed for baseline determination of the pendulum formation flying Swarm-A and -C satellites. In total 30 months of data - from 15 July 2014 to the end of 2016 - is analyzed. The assessment includes analysis of observation residuals, success rate of GPS carrier phase ambiguity fixing, a consistency check between the so-called kinematic and reduced-dynamic baseline solution, and validations of orbits by comparing with Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) observations. External baseline solutions from The German Space Operations Center (GSOC) and Astronomisches Institut - Universität Bern (AIUB) are also included in the comparison. Results indicate that the GPS receiver modifications and RINEX converter changes are effective to improve the baseline determination. This research eventually shows a consistency level of 9.3/4.9/3.0 mm between kinematic and reduced-dynamic baselines in the radial/along-track/cross-track directions. On average 98.3% of the epochs have kinematic solutions. Consistency between TU Delft and external reduced-dynamic baseline solutions is at a level of 1 mm level in all directions.

  8. Spent nuclear fuel technical baseline description, Fiscal Year 1996: Volume II, supporting data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Womack, J.C.

    1995-11-01

    The Technical Baseline Description documents the Project-Level functions and requirements, along with associated enabling assumptions, issues, trade studies, interfaces, and products. It is a snapshot in time of the baseline at the beginning of September 1995. It supports the individual subprojects in the development of lower-tier functions, requirements, and specifications in FY 1996. It also supports the need for Hanford site planning to be based on an integrated Hanford site systems engineering technical baseline; and is traceable to that baseline. This document replaces and supercedes WHC-SD-SNF-SD-003

  9. Vitamin D production after UVB exposure depends on baseline vitamin D and total cholesterol but not on skin pigmentation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bogh, Morten K B; Schmedes, Anne; Philipsen, Peter A

    2010-01-01

    UVB radiation increases serum vitamin D level expressed as 25-hydroxyvitamin-D(3) (25(OH)D), but the influence of skin pigmentation, baseline 25(OH)D level, and total cholesterol has not been well characterized. To determine the importance of skin pigmentation, baseline 25(OH)D level, and total...... cholesterol on 25(OH)D production after UVB exposure, 182 persons were screened for 25(OH)D level. A total of 50 participants with a wide range in baseline 25(OH)D levels were selected to define the importance of baseline 25(OH)D level. Of these, 28 non-sun worshippers with limited past sun exposure were used...... to investigate the influence of skin pigmentation and baseline total cholesterol. The participants had 24% of their skin exposed to UVB (3 standard erythema doses) four times every second or third day. Skin pigmentation and 25(OH)D levels were measured before and after the irradiations. Total cholesterol...

  10. Placental baseline conditions modulate the hyperoxic BOLD-MRI response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinding, Marianne; Peters, David A; Poulsen, Sofie S; Frøkjær, Jens B; Christiansen, Ole B; Petersen, Astrid; Uldbjerg, Niels; Sørensen, Anne

    2018-01-01

    Human pregnancies complicated by placental dysfunction may be characterized by a high hyperoxic Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) MRI response. The pathophysiology behind this phenomenon remains to be established. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether it is associated with altered placental baseline conditions, including a lower oxygenation and altered tissue morphology, as estimated by the placental transverse relaxation time (T2*). We included 49 normal pregnancies (controls) and 13 pregnancies complicated by placental dysfunction (cases), defined by a birth weight baseline BOLD)/baseline BOLD) from a dynamic single-echo gradient-recalled echo (GRE) MRI sequence and the absolute ΔT2* (hyperoxic T2*- baseline T2*) from breath-hold multi-echo GRE sequences. In the control group, the relative ΔBOLD response increased during gestation from 5% in gestational week 20 to 20% in week 40. In the case group, the relative ΔBOLD response was significantly higher (mean Z-score 4.94; 95% CI 2.41, 7.47). The absolute ΔT2*, however, did not differ between controls and cases (p = 0.37), whereas the baseline T2* was lower among cases (mean Z-score -3.13; 95% CI -3.94, -2.32). Furthermore, we demonstrated a strong negative linear correlation between the Log 10 ΔBOLD response and the baseline T2* (r = -0.88, p baseline conditions, as the absolute increase in placental oxygenation (ΔT2*) does not differ between groups. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Reconsidering Cluster Bias in Multilevel Data: A Monte Carlo Comparison of Free and Constrained Baseline Approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guenole, Nigel

    2018-01-01

    The test for item level cluster bias examines the improvement in model fit that results from freeing an item's between level residual variance from a baseline model with equal within and between level factor loadings and between level residual variances fixed at zero. A potential problem is that this approach may include a misspecified unrestricted model if any non-invariance is present, but the log-likelihood difference test requires that the unrestricted model is correctly specified. A free baseline approach where the unrestricted model includes only the restrictions needed for model identification should lead to better decision accuracy, but no studies have examined this yet. We ran a Monte Carlo study to investigate this issue. When the referent item is unbiased, compared to the free baseline approach, the constrained baseline approach led to similar true positive (power) rates but much higher false positive (Type I error) rates. The free baseline approach should be preferred when the referent indicator is unbiased. When the referent assumption is violated, the false positive rate was unacceptably high for both free and constrained baseline approaches, and the true positive rate was poor regardless of whether the free or constrained baseline approach was used. Neither the free or constrained baseline approach can be recommended when the referent indicator is biased. We recommend paying close attention to ensuring the referent indicator is unbiased in tests of cluster bias. All Mplus input and output files, R, and short Python scripts used to execute this simulation study are uploaded to an open access repository.

  12. Baseline risk and marginal willingness to pay for health risk reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerking, Shelby; Adamowicz, Wiktor; Dickie, Mark; Veronesi, Marcella

    2017-01-01

    Empirical results presented in this paper suggest that parents' marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for a reduction in morbidity risk from heart disease is inversely related to baseline risk (i.e., the amount of risk initially faced) both for themselves and for their children. For instance, a 40% reduction from the mean of baseline risk results in an increase in MWTP by 70% or more. Thus, estimates of monetary benefits of public programs to reduce heart disease risk would be understated if the standard practice is followed of evaluating MWTP at initial risk levels and then multiplying this value by the number of cases avoided. Estimates are supported by: (1) unique quantitative information on perceptions of the risk of getting heart disease that allow baseline risk to be defined at an individual level and (2) improved econometric procedures to control for well-known difficulties associated with stated preference data.

  13. BASELINE MECHANISMS FOR IT GOVERNANCE AT UNIVERSITIES

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bianchi, Isaias; Sousa, Rui; Pereira, Ruben; van Hillegersberg, Jos

    The pervasive use of technology has created a critical dependency on Information Technology (IT) that requires IT Governance (ITG). ITG calls for the definition and implementation of formal mechanisms at the highest level in the organization taking into account structures, processes and relational

  14. Effects of adjunctive N-acetylcysteine on depressive symptoms: Modulation by baseline high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porcu, Mauro; Urbano, Mariana Ragassi; Verri, Waldiceu A; Barbosa, Decio Sabbatini; Baracat, Marcela; Vargas, Heber Odebrecht; Machado, Regina Célia Bueno Rezende; Pescim, Rodrigo Rossetto; Nunes, Sandra Odebrecht Vargas

    2018-05-01

    Outcomes in a RCTs of 12 weeks of theclinical efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as an adjunctive treatment on depression and anxiety symptoms and its effects on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels. A wide array of measures were made. The 17-item version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS17); the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A); Sheehan Disability Scale; Quality of Life; Clinical Global Impression (CGI); anthropometrics measures; and vital signs and biochemical laboratory. There were no significant differences among the groups regarding demographic, clinical features, use of medication, metabolic syndrome and comorbidities. From baseline to week 12, individuals receiving NAC, versus placebo, had a statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms on HDRS 17 (p  3 mg/L at baseline. Individuals receiving NAC with baseline levels of hs-CRP > 3 mg/L, had more significant reduction in uric acid levels compared to individuals with baseline levels of hs-CRP ≤ 3 mg/L on week 12. Participants receiving placebogained significantly more weight during the 12 weeks for baseline levels of hs-CRP ≤ 3 mg/L and hs-CRP > 3 mg/L, and individuals receiving NAC in both groups did not have significant weight change during the 12 weeks. No individuals were withdrawn from the study because of adverse event. NAC group exhibited significantly greater reduction on hs-CRP levels than placebo group from baseline to week 12. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier; NCT02252341. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. The stability of baseline-defined categories of alcohol consumption during the adult life-course: a 28-year prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knott, Craig S; Bell, Steven; Britton, Annie

    2018-01-01

    Studies that report the relationship between alcohol consumption and disease risk have predominantly operationalized drinking according to a single baseline measure. The resulting assumption of longitudinal stability may be simplistic and complicate interpretation of risk estimates. This study aims to describe changes to the volume of consumption during the adult life-course according to baseline categories of drinking. A prospective observational study. United Kingdom. A cohort of British civil servants totalling 6838 men and 3372 women aged 34-55 years at baseline, followed for a mean 19.1 (standard deviation = 9.5) years. The volume of weekly alcohol consumption was estimated from data concerning the frequency and number of drinks consumed. Baseline categories were defined: non-current drinkers, infrequent drinkers, 0.1-50.0 g/week, 50.1-100.0 g/week, 100.1-150.0 g/week, 150.1-250.0 g/week and >250.0 g/week. For women, the highest category was defined as > 100.0 g/week. Baseline frequency was derived as 'daily or almost daily' and 'not daily or almost daily'. Trajectories were estimated within baseline categories using growth curve models. Trajectories differed between men and women, but were relatively stable within light-to-moderate categories of baseline consumption. Drinking was least stable within the highest categories of baseline consumption (men: > 250.0 g/week; women: > 100.0 g/week), declining by 47.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 40.7, 53.2] and 16.8 g/week (95% CI = 12.6, 21.0), respectively, per 10-year increase in age. These declines were not a consequence of sudden transitions to complete abstention. Rates of decline appear greatest in older age, with trajectories converging toward moderate volumes. Among UK civil servants, consumption within baseline drinking categories is generally stable during the life-course, except among heavier baseline drinkers, for whom intakes decline with increasing age. This shift does not appear

  16. Regulation of breeding behavior: do energy-demanding periods induce a change in prolactin or corticosterone baseline levels in the common tern (Sterna hirundo)?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riechert, Juliane; Chastel, Olivier; Becker, Peter H

    2014-01-01

    Hormones are involved in reproductive decisions, linking environmental cues and body condition and adapting behavior. Mass loss is often accompanied by decreased prolactin and increased corticosterone concentrations, influencing incubation and brooding behavior and ultimately triggering nest desertion. Using blood-sucking bugs (Dipetalogaster maxima), we measured baseline prolactin, corticosterone, and ketone body values in incubating common terns (Sterna hirundo) between 2006 and 2009 during energy-demanding periods: 50 pairs were sampled hungry (after an incubation bout) and again fed (after foraging). In a second approach, we sampled 57 other pairs (experienced and inexperienced birds) three times over their individual breeding period, because reproduction, especially chick rearing, is a very energy-demanding process. In line with the common physiological pattern of fasting, we found significantly lower baseline prolactin values in hungry terns, which were negatively related to mass loss over the incubation bout, whereas corticosterone and ketone body levels were marginally increased. Compared to that in the incubation phase, the prolactin level dropped after hatching of chicks in inexperienced birds, perhaps indicating lower parental expenditure. Corticosterone, on the other hand, increased after hatching in males, probably linked to higher foraging activity, as males mainly deliver food during the first days. These energy-demanding periods clearly influenced hormones and ketone bodies, maybe reinforced by the low energy margin of this small seabird species, but energy reserves were not depleted to a level affecting behavior or reproductive success.

  17. Incretin responses to oral glucose and mixed meal tests and changes in fasting glucose levels during 7 years of follow-up: The Hoorn Meal Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutters, F.; Rauh, S. P.; Nijpels, G.; Holst, J. J.; Beulens, J. W.; Alssema, M.; Dekker, J. M.

    2018-01-01

    We conducted the first prospective observational study in which we examined the association between incretin responses to an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and mixed meal test (MMT) at baseline and changes in fasting glucose levels 7 years later, in individuals who were non-diabetic at baseline. We used data from the Hoorn Meal Study; a population-based cohort study among 121 subjects, aged 61.0±6.7y. GIP and GLP-1 responses were determined at baseline and expressed as total and incremental area under the curve (tAUC and iAUC). The association between incretin response at baseline and changes in fasting glucose levels was assessed using linear regression. The average change in glucose over 7 years was 0.43 ± 0.5 mmol/l. For GIP, no significant associations were observed with changes in fasting glucose levels. In contrast, participants within the middle and highest tertile of GLP-1 iAUC responses to OGTT had significantly smaller increases (actually decreases) in fasting glucose levels; -0.28 (95% confidence interval: -0.54;-0.01) mmol/l and -0.39 (-0.67;-0.10) mmol/l, respectively, compared to those in the lowest tertile. The same trend was observed for tAUC GLP-1 following OGTT (highest tertile: -0.32 (0.61;-0.04) mmol/l as compared to the lowest tertile). No significant associations were observed for GLP-1 responses following MMT. In conclusion, within our non-diabetic population-based cohort, a low GLP-1 response to OGTT was associated with a steeper increase in fasting glucose levels during 7 years of follow-up. This suggests that a reduced GLP-1 response precedes glucose deterioration and may play a role in the etiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus. PMID:29324870

  18. Very Long Baseline Interferometry: Dependencies on Frequency Stability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nothnagel, Axel; Nilsson, Tobias; Schuh, Harald

    2018-04-01

    Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is a differential technique observing radiation of compact extra-galactic radio sources with pairs of radio telescopes. For these observations, the frequency standards at the telescopes need to have very high stability. In this article we discuss why this is, and we investigate exactly how precise the frequency standards need to be. Four areas where good clock performance is needed are considered: coherence, geodetic parameter estimation, correlator synchronization, and UT1 determination. We show that in order to ensure the highest accuracy of VLBI, stability similar to that of a hydrogen maser is needed for time-scales up to a few hours. In the article, we are considering both traditional VLBI where extra-galactic radio sources are observed, as well as observation of man-made artificial radio sources emitted by satellites or spacecrafts.

  19. Validity and Reliability of Baseline Testing in a Standardized Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Kathryn L; Caze, Todd; Maerlender, Arthur

    2017-08-11

    The Immediate Postconcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) is a computerized neuropsychological test battery commonly used to determine cognitive recovery from concussion based on comparing post-injury scores to baseline scores. This model is based on the premise that ImPACT baseline test scores are a valid and reliable measure of optimal cognitive function at baseline. Growing evidence suggests that this premise may not be accurate and a large contributor to invalid and unreliable baseline test scores may be the protocol and environment in which baseline tests are administered. This study examined the effects of a standardized environment and administration protocol on the reliability and performance validity of athletes' baseline test scores on ImPACT by comparing scores obtained in two different group-testing settings. Three hundred-sixty one Division 1 cohort-matched collegiate athletes' baseline data were assessed using a variety of indicators of potential performance invalidity; internal reliability was also examined. Thirty-one to thirty-nine percent of the baseline cases had at least one indicator of low performance validity, but there were no significant differences in validity indicators based on environment in which the testing was conducted. Internal consistency reliability scores were in the acceptable to good range, with no significant differences between administration conditions. These results suggest that athletes may be reliably performing at levels lower than their best effort would produce. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Baseline Quality of Life and Risk of Stroke in the ALLHAT Study (Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shams, Tanzila; Auchus, Alexander P; Oparil, Suzanne; Wright, Clinton B; Wright, Jackson; Furlan, Anthony J; Sila, Cathy A; Davis, Barry R; Pressel, Sara; Yamal, Jose-Miguel; Einhorn, Paula T; Lerner, Alan J

    2017-11-01

    The visual analogue scale is a self-reported, validated tool to measure quality of life (QoL). Our purpose was to determine whether baseline QoL predicted strokes in the ALLHAT study (Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial) and evaluate determinants of poststroke change in QoL. In the ALLHAT study, among the 33 357 patients randomized to treatment arms, 1525 experienced strokes; 1202 (79%) strokes were nonfatal. This study cohort includes 32 318 (97%) subjects who completed the baseline visual analogue scale QoL estimate. QoL was measured on a visual analogue scale and adjusted using a Torrance transformation (transformed QoL [TQoL]). Kaplan-Meier curves and adjusted proportional hazards analyses were used to estimate the effect of TQoL on the risk of stroke, on a continuous scale (0-1) and by quartiles (≤0.81, >0.81≤0.89, >0.89≤0.95, >0.95). We analyzed the change from baseline to first poststroke TQoL using adjusted linear regression. After adjusting for multiple stroke risk factors, the hazard ratio for stroke events for baseline TQoL was 0.93 (95% confidence interval, 0.89-0.98) per 0.1 U increase. The lowest baseline TQoL quartile had a 20% increased stroke risk (hazard ratio=1.20 [95% confidence interval, 1.00-1.44]) compared with the reference highest quartile TQoL. Poststroke TQoL change was significant within all treatment groups ( P ≤0.001). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that baseline TQoL was the strongest predictor of poststroke TQoL with similar results for the untransformed QoL. The lowest baseline TQoL quartile had a 20% higher stroke risk than the highest quartile. Baseline TQoL was the only factor that predicted poststroke change in TQoL. URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00000542. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  1. Blood pressure variability and risk of cardiovascular events and death in patients with hypertension and different baseline risks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehlum, Maria H; Liestøl, Knut; Kjeldsen, Sverre E; Julius, Stevo; Hua, Tsushung A; Rothwell, Peter M; Mancia, Giuseppe; Parati, Gianfranco; Weber, Michael A; Berge, Eivind

    2018-01-20

    Blood pressure variability is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events, particularly in high-risk patients. We assessed if variability was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events and death in hypertensive patients at different risk levels. The Valsartan Antihypertensive Long-term Use Evaluation trial was a randomized controlled trial of valsartan vs. amlodipine in patients with hypertension and different risks of cardiovascular events, followed for a mean of 4.2 years. We calculated standard deviation (SD) of mean systolic blood pressure from visits from 6 months onward in patients with ≥3 visits and no events during the first 6 months. We compared the risk of cardiovascular events in the highest and lowest quintile of visit-to-visit blood pressure variability, using Cox regression. For analysis of death, variability was analysed as a continuous variable. Of 13 803 patients included, 1557 (11.3%) had a cardiovascular event and 1089 (7.9%) died. Patients in the highest quintile of SD had an increased risk of cardiovascular events [hazard ratio (HR) 2.1, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.7-2.4; P risk of death (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.04-1.17; P = 0.002). Associations were stronger among younger patients and patients with lower systolic blood pressure, and similar between patients with different baseline risks, except for higher risk of death among patients with established cardiovascular disease. Higher visit-to-visit systolic blood pressure variability is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension, irrespective of baseline risk of cardiovascular events. Associations were stronger in younger patients and in those with lower mean systolic blood pressure. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2018. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Baseline plasma chromogranin A levels in patients with well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas: A potential predictor of postoperative recurrence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanno, Yoshihide; Toyama, Hirochika; Matsumoto, Ippei; Otani, Kyoko; Asari, Sadaki; Goto, Tadahiro; Ajiki, Tetsuo; Zen, Yoh; Fukumoto, Takumi; Ku, Yonson

    The present study aimed to elucidate prognostic values of baseline plasma chromogranin A (CgA) concentrations in patients with resectable, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs). Preoperative CgA levels in 21 patients with PNET were correlated with clinicopathological factors and patients' survival. Plasma CgA levels ranged 2.9-30.8 pmol/mL (median 6.0), and were significantly elevated in patients with post-operative recurrence (P = 0.004). Using the receiver operating characteristic curve, the optimal cutoff value to predict tumor recurrence was determined as 17.0 pmol/mL. This threshold identified patients with recurrence with 60% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and 90% overall accuracy. Patients with higher CgA levels showed worse recurrence-free survival than those with low CgA levels, both in total (P < 0.001) and in G2 patients (P = 0.020). Combined plasma CgA concentrations and WHO grading may assist in better stratification of PNET patients in terms of the risk of recurrence. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  3. Determination of base-line levels of trace amounts in pulses and spices using neutron activation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaidi, J.H.; Arif, M.; Fatima, I.; Qureshi, I.H.

    1993-01-01

    It has been established that essential trace elements are vitally important for biochemical systems, whereas toxic elements if present in relatively higher amounts adversely affect these systems. Trace elements reach the human body mainly through foodstuffs. The different articles contain varying amount of toxic and essential elements. It is therefore necessary to asses the adequacy and safety of the diet by determining the base-line levels of these elements. In continuation of our previous work, some varieties of pulses and spices were analyzed using neutron activation technique. Among the four varieties of pulses lentil (lens esculenta) was found to contain higher amounts of essential elements and lower amounts of toxic elements. The daily intake of essential and toxic elements through pulses was estimated and compared with the suggested values. The estimated intake of essential elements is adequate and that of toxic elements is well below the tolerance limit. In spices cumin and caraway seeds were found to contain relatively higher amounts of essential as well as toxic elements. The studies showed that food spices were additional source of trace element intake. (author)

  4. Solving The Longstanding Problem Of Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions At the Highest Microscopic Level - Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Quaglioni, S. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2016-09-22

    A 2011 DOE-NP Early Career Award (ECA) under Field Work Proposal (FWP) SCW1158 supported the project “Solving the Long-Standing Problem of Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions at the Highest Microscopic Level” in the five-year period from June 15, 2011 to June 14, 2016. This project, led by PI S. Quaglioni, aimed at developing a comprehensive and computationally efficient framework to arrive at a unified description of structural properties and reactions of light nuclei in terms of constituent protons and neutrons interacting through nucleon-nucleon (NN) and three-nucleon (3N) forces. Specifically, the project had three main goals: 1) arriving at the accurate predictions for fusion reactions that power stars and Earth-based fusion facilities; 2) realizing a comprehensive description of clustering and continuum effects in exotic nuclei, including light Borromean systems; and 3) achieving fundamental understanding of the role of the 3N force in nuclear reactions and nuclei at the drip line.

  5. Geodesy by radio interferometry - Determinations of baseline vector, earth rotation, and solid earth tide parameters with the Mark I very long baseline radio interferometery system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, J. W.; Clark, T. A.; Coates, R. J.; Ma, C.; Wildes, W. T.

    1986-01-01

    Thirty-seven very long baseline radio interferometry experiments performed between 1972 and 1978 are analyzed and estimates of baseline vectors between six sites, five in the continental United States and one in Europe are derived. No evidence of significant changes in baseline length is found. For example, with a statistical level of confidence of approximately 85 percent, upper bounds on such changes within the United States ranged from a low of 10 mm/yr for the 850 km baseline between Westford, Massachusetts, and Green Bank, West Virginia, to a high of 90 mm/yr for the nearly 4000 km baseline between Westford and Goldstone, California. Estimates for universal time and for the x component of the position of the earth's pole are obtained. For the last 15 experiments, the only ones employing wideband receivers, the root-mean-square differences between the derived values and the corresponding ones published by the Bureau International de l'Heure are 0.0012 s and 0.018 arc sec respectively. The average value obtained for the radial Love number for the solid earth is 0.62 + or - 0.02 (estimated standard error).

  6. Standardization of plasma vitellogenin level for surveying environmental estrogen pollution using the Japanese common goby Acanthogobius flavimanus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Jing; Nagae, Masaki; Soyano, Kiyoshi

    2018-07-01

    Field surveys of the impact of environmental estrogen (EE) pollution in aquatic wildlife have been conducted using vitellogenin (VTG) as a biomarker to evaluate the influence of EE. However, a standard baseline of VTG level that can be used to evaluate EE pollution has not been fully determined. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to determine the standard baseline VTG level for evaluating the biological effects of EE pollution using the Japanese common goby (Acanthogobius flavimanus) as the target model fish. Plasma VTG and estradiol-17β (E 2 ) levels associated with the reproductive cycle of wild goby inhabiting an unpolluted environment were measured. Mean plasma VTG and E 2 levels exhibited similar changes, increasing in the yolk vesicle stage and peaking in the tertiary yolk stage in females. However, plasma VTG and E 2 levels showed no significant changes in males, remaining at low levels throughout the reproductive cycle. The highest VTG levels in females and males were 1.6 mg ml -1 and 124.87 ng ml -1 , respectively. These results indicate that the baseline level (normal level) in males was approximately 130 ng ml -1 at most. We concluded that the threshold between normal and abnormal levels with a 10% risk rate was 150 ng ml -1 in the wild male goby. Plasma VTG levels in males captured from Nagasaki Harbor were higher than the threshold in each reproductive developmental stage, indicating the possibility of EE pollution at this site. The biological standard baseline for VTG established in this study is useful for assessing EE pollution in natural waters. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Serum carnitine levels in bone marrow transplant recipients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirvelä, O; Antila, H; Heinonen, O; Toivanen, A

    1990-12-01

    This study investigated plasma carnitine levels in patients undergoing allogenic bone marrow transplantation. The patients received fat-based TPN (50% fat, 50% CHO; calorie: nitrogen ratio 125:1) for an average of 33 +/- 7.5 days. TPN was started before transplantation and stopped when patients were able to eat. Caloric needs were estimated using the Harris-Benedict equation; 150% of the estimated BEE was given for the first two weeks after transplantation. The amount of TPN was gradually decreased as patients resumed their oral intake. All patients had low-normal serum carnitine levels before transplantation. There was no significant change in total or free serum carnitine levels during the course of TPN. However, in patients who had symptoms of graft vs. host reaction (GVH), the highest carnitine values during GVH (total 72.3 +/- 6.5 and free 61.2 +/- 12.4 mumol/l) were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than the baseline values (total 27.1 +/- 9.3 and free 24.9 +/- 9.6 mumol/l) or the highest non GVH values after transplantation (total 32.0 +/- 10.7 and free 29.0 +/- 10.7 mumol/l, respectively). The serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol remained within normal range. In conclusion, bone marrow transplant patients receiving fat-based TPN have normal circulating levels of carnitine. GVH reaction caused an increase in the carnitine levels, which was probably due to increased tissue catabolism.

  8. Baseline simple and complex reaction times in female compared to male boxers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bianco, M; Ferri, M; Fabiano, C; Giorgiano, F; Tavella, S; Manili, U; Faina, M; Palmieri, V; Zeppilli, P

    2011-06-01

    The aim of the study was to compare baseline cognitive performance of female in respect to male amateur boxers. Study population included 28 female amateur boxers. Fifty-six male boxers, matched for age, employment and competitive level to female athletes, formed the control group. All boxers had no history of head concussions (except boxing). Each boxer was requested to: 1) fulfill a questionnaire collecting demographic data, level of education, occupational status, boxing record and number of head concussions during boxing; 2) undergo a baseline computerized neuropsychological (NP) test (CogSport) measuring simple and complex reaction times (RT). Female were lighter than male boxers (56±7 vs. 73.1±9.8 kg, Pknock-outs, etc.) correlated with NP scores. Female and male Olympic-style boxers have no (or minimal) differences in baseline cognitive performance. Further research with larger series of female boxers is required to confirm these findings.

  9. DairyBISS Baseline report

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buizer, N.N.; Berhanu, Tinsae; Murutse, Girmay; Vugt, van S.M.

    2015-01-01

    This baseline report of the Dairy Business Information Service and Support (DairyBISS) project presents the findings of a baseline survey among 103 commercial farms and 31 firms and advisors working in the dairy value chain. Additional results from the survey among commercial dairy farms are

  10. Baseline rationing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hougaard, Jens Leth; Moreno-Ternero, Juan D.; Østerdal, Lars Peter Raahave

    The standard problem of adjudicating conflicting claims describes a situation in which a given amount of a divisible good has to be allocated among agents who hold claims against it exceeding the available amount. This paper considers more general rationing problems in which, in addition to claims...... to international protocols for the reduction of greenhouse emissions, or water distribution in drought periods. We define a family of allocation methods for such general rationing problems - called baseline rationing rules - and provide an axiomatic characterization for it. Any baseline rationing rule within...... the family is associated with a standard rule and we show that if the latter obeys some properties reflecting principles of impartiality, priority and solidarity, the former obeys them too....

  11. Vitamin D Levels and the Risk of Cognitive Decline in Chinese Elderly People: the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matchar, David B; Chei, Choy-Lye; Yin, Zhao-Xue; Koh, Victoria; Chakraborty, Bibhas; Shi, Xiao-Ming; Zeng, Yi

    2016-10-01

    Vitamin D has a neuroprotective function, potentially important for the prevention of cognitive decline. Prospective studies from Western countries support an association between lower vitamin D level and future cognitive decline in elderly people. No prospective study has examined this association in Asia. This community-based cohort study of elderly people in China follows 1,202 cognitively intact adults aged ≥60 years for a mean duration of 2 years. Plasma vitamin D level was measured at the baseline. Cognitive state of participants was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Cognitive impairment was defined as an MMSE score vitamin D levels with cognitive decline and incidence of cognitive impairment. Participants with low vitamin D level had an increased risk of cognitive decline. Compared with the highest quartile of vitamin D levels, the multivariable odds ratios (ORs; 95% confidence interval) for cognitive decline were 2.1 (1.3-3.4) for the second highest quartile, 2.2 (1.4-3.6) for the third highest quartile, and 2.0 (1.2-3.3) for the lowest quartile. The multivariable ORs of incident cognitive impairment for the second highest, third highest, and lowest versus highest quartiles of vitamin D levels were 1.9 (0.9-4.1), 2.6 (1.2-5.6), and 3.2 (1.5-6.6), respectively. This first follow-up study of elderly people, including the oldest-old, in Asia shows that low vitamin D levels were associated with increased risk of subsequent cognitive decline and impairment. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Effect of tidal cycle and food intake on the baseline plasma corticosterone rhythm in intertidally foraging marine iguanas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodley, Sarah K; Painter, Danika L; Moore, Michael C; Wikelski, Martin; Romero, L Michael

    2003-06-15

    In most species, plasma levels of baseline glucocorticoids such as corticosterone (B) have a circadian rhythm. This rhythm can be entrained by both photoperiod and food intake and is related to aspects of energy intake and metabolism. Marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) offer a unique opportunity to better understand the relative importance of the light:dark cycle versus food intake in influencing the rhythm in baseline B in a natural system. Compared to other species, food intake is not as strictly determined by the phase of the light:dark cycle. Animals feed in the intertidal zone so feeding activity is heavily influenced by the tidal cycle. We measured baseline plasma B levels in free-living iguanas over several 24-h periods that varied in the timing of low tide/foraging activity. We found that baseline B levels were higher during the day relative to night. However, when low tide occurred during the day, baseline B levels dropped coincident with the timing of low tide. Whether the baseline B rhythm (including the drop during foraging) is an endogenous rhythm with a circatidal component, or is simply a result of feeding and associated physiological changes needs to be tested. Together, these data suggest that the baseline B rhythm in marine iguanas is influenced by the tidal cycle/food intake as well as the light:dark cycle.

  13. Baseline restoration using current conveyors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morgado, A.M.L.S.; Simoes, J.B.; Correia, C.M.

    1996-01-01

    A good performance of high resolution nuclear spectrometry systems, at high pulse rates, demands restoration of baseline between pulses, in order to remove rate dependent baseline shifts. This restoration is performed by circuits named baseline restorers (BLRs) which also remove low frequency noise, such as power supply hum and detector microphonics. This paper presents simple circuits for baseline restoration based on a commercial current conveyor (CCII01). Tests were performed, on two circuits, with periodic trapezoidal shaped pulses in order to measure the baseline restoration for several pulse rates and restorer duty cycles. For the current conveyor based Robinson restorer, the peak shift was less than 10 mV, for duty cycles up to 60%, at high pulse rates. Duty cycles up to 80% were also tested, being the maximum peak shift 21 mV. The peak shift for the current conveyor based Grubic restorer was also measured. The maximum value found was 30 mV at 82% duty cycle. Keeping the duty cycle below 60% improves greatly the restorer performance. The ability of both baseline restorer architectures to reject low frequency modulation is also measured, with good results on both circuits

  14. Which Kids Are at Highest Risk for Suicide?

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Share Which Kids are at Highest Risk for Suicide? Page Content Article Body No child is immune, ... who have lost a friend or relative to suicide. Studies show that a considerable number of youth ...

  15. Large short-baseline νμ disappearance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giunti, Carlo; Laveder, Marco

    2011-01-01

    We analyze the LSND, KARMEN, and MiniBooNE data on short-baseline ν μ →ν e oscillations and the data on short-baseline ν e disappearance obtained in the Bugey-3 and CHOOZ reactor experiments in the framework of 3+1 antineutrino mixing, taking into account the MINOS observation of long-baseline ν μ disappearance and the KamLAND observation of very-long-baseline ν e disappearance. We show that the fit of the data implies that the short-baseline disappearance of ν μ is relatively large. We obtain a prediction of an effective amplitude sin 2 2θ μμ > or approx. 0.1 for short-baseline ν μ disappearance generated by 0.2 2 2 , which could be measured in future experiments.

  16. Cortex Matures Faster in Youths With Highest IQ

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... NIH Cortex Matures Faster in Youths With Highest IQ Past Issues / Summer 2006 Table of Contents For ... on. Photo: Getty image (StockDisc) Youths with superior IQ are distinguished by how fast the thinking part ...

  17. Multiple fMRI system-level baseline connectivity is disrupted in patients with consciousness alterations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demertzi, Athena; Gómez, Francisco; Crone, Julia Sophia; Vanhaudenhuyse, Audrey; Tshibanda, Luaba; Noirhomme, Quentin; Thonnard, Marie; Charland-Verville, Vanessa; Kirsch, Murielle; Laureys, Steven; Soddu, Andrea

    2014-03-01

    In healthy conditions, group-level fMRI resting state analyses identify ten resting state networks (RSNs) of cognitive relevance. Here, we aim to assess the ten-network model in severely brain-injured patients suffering from disorders of consciousness and to identify those networks which will be most relevant to discriminate between patients and healthy subjects. 300 fMRI volumes were obtained in 27 healthy controls and 53 patients in minimally conscious state (MCS), vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) and coma. Independent component analysis (ICA) reduced data dimensionality. The ten networks were identified by means of a multiple template-matching procedure and were tested on neuronality properties (neuronal vs non-neuronal) in a data-driven way. Univariate analyses detected between-group differences in networks' neuronal properties and estimated voxel-wise functional connectivity in the networks, which were significantly less identifiable in patients. A nearest-neighbor "clinical" classifier was used to determine the networks with high between-group discriminative accuracy. Healthy controls were characterized by more neuronal components compared to patients in VS/UWS and in coma. Compared to healthy controls, fewer patients in MCS and VS/UWS showed components of neuronal origin for the left executive control network, default mode network (DMN), auditory, and right executive control network. The "clinical" classifier indicated the DMN and auditory network with the highest accuracy (85.3%) in discriminating patients from healthy subjects. FMRI multiple-network resting state connectivity is disrupted in severely brain-injured patients suffering from disorders of consciousness. When performing ICA, multiple-network testing and control for neuronal properties of the identified RSNs can advance fMRI system-level characterization. Automatic data-driven patient classification is the first step towards future single-subject objective diagnostics

  18. Forecasting Sensorimotor Adaptability from Baseline Inter-Trial Correlations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaton, K. H.; Bloomberg, J. J.

    2014-01-01

    One of the greatest challenges surrounding adaptation to the spaceflight environment is the large variability in symptoms, and corresponding functional impairments, from one crewmember to the next. This renders preflight training and countermeasure development difficult, as a "one-size-fits-all" approach is inappropriate. Therefore, it would be highly advantageous to know ahead of time which crewmembers might have more difficulty adjusting to the novel g-levels inherent to spaceflight. Such knowledge could guide individually customized countermeasures, which would enable more efficient use of crew time, both preflight and inflight, and provide better outcomes. The primary goal of this project is to look for a baseline performance metric that can forecast sensorimotor adaptability without exposure to an adaptive stimulus. We propose a novel hypothesis that considers baseline inter-trial correlations, the trial-to-trial fluctuations in motor performance, as a predictor of individual sensorimotor adaptive capabilities. To-date, a strong relationship has been found between baseline inter-trial correlations and adaptability in two oculomotor systems. For this project, we will explore an analogous predictive mechanism in the locomotion system. METHODS: Baseline Inter-trial Correlations: Inter-trial correlations specify the relationships among repeated trials of a given task that transpire as a consequence of correcting for previous performance errors over multiple timescales. We can quantify the strength of inter-trial correlations by measuring the decay of the autocorrelation function (ACF), which describes how rapidly information from past trials is "forgotten." Processes whose ACFs decay more slowly exhibit longer-term inter-trial correlations (longer memory processes), while processes whose ACFs decay more rapidly exhibit shorterterm inter-trial correlations (shorter memory processes). Longer-term correlations reflect low-frequency activity, which is more easily

  19. TAPIR--Finnish national geochemical baseline database.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarva, Jaana; Tarvainen, Timo; Reinikainen, Jussi; Eklund, Mikael

    2010-09-15

    In Finland, a Government Decree on the Assessment of Soil Contamination and Remediation Needs has generated a need for reliable and readily accessible data on geochemical baseline concentrations in Finnish soils. According to the Decree, baseline concentrations, referring both to the natural geological background concentrations and the diffuse anthropogenic input of substances, shall be taken into account in the soil contamination assessment process. This baseline information is provided in a national geochemical baseline database, TAPIR, that is publicly available via the Internet. Geochemical provinces with elevated baseline concentrations were delineated to provide regional geochemical baseline values. The nationwide geochemical datasets were used to divide Finland into geochemical provinces. Several metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, V, and Zn) showed anomalous concentrations in seven regions that were defined as metal provinces. Arsenic did not follow a similar distribution to any other elements, and four arsenic provinces were separately determined. Nationwide geochemical datasets were not available for some other important elements such as Cd and Pb. Although these elements are included in the TAPIR system, their distribution does not necessarily follow the ones pre-defined for metal and arsenic provinces. Regional geochemical baseline values, presented as upper limit of geochemical variation within the region, can be used as trigger values to assess potential soil contamination. Baseline values have also been used to determine upper and lower guideline values that must be taken into account as a tool in basic risk assessment. If regional geochemical baseline values are available, the national guideline values prescribed in the Decree based on ecological risks can be modified accordingly. The national geochemical baseline database provides scientifically sound, easily accessible and generally accepted information on the baseline values, and it can be used in various

  20. CASA Uno GPS orbit and baseline experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schutz, B. E.; Ho, C. S.; Abusali, P. A. M.; Tapley, B. D.

    1990-01-01

    CASA Uno data from sites distributed in longitude from Australia to Europe have been used to determine orbits of the GPS satellites. The characteristics of the orbits determined from double difference phase have been evaluated through comparisons of two-week solutions with one-week solutions and by comparisons of predicted and estimated orbits. Evidence of unmodeled effects is demonstrated, particularly associated with the orbit planes that experience solar eclipse. The orbit accuracy has been assessed through the repeatability of unconstrained estimated baseline vectors ranging from 245 km to 5400 km. Both the baseline repeatability and the comparison with independent space geodetic methods give results at the level of 1-2 parts in 100,000,000. In addition, the Mojave/Owens Valley (245 km) and Kokee Park/Ft. Davis (5409 km) estimates agree with VLBI and SLR to better than 1 part in 100,000,000.

  1. Baseline neurocognitive testing in sports-related concussions: the importance of a prior night's sleep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClure, D Jake; Zuckerman, Scott L; Kutscher, Scott J; Gregory, Andrew J; Solomon, Gary S

    2014-02-01

    The management of sports-related concussions (SRCs) utilizes serial neurocognitive assessments and self-reported symptom inventories to assess recovery and safety for return to play (RTP). Because postconcussive RTP goals include symptom resolution and a return to neurocognitive baseline levels, clinical decisions rest in part on understanding modifiers of this baseline. Several studies have reported age and sex to influence baseline neurocognitive performance, but few have assessed the potential effect of sleep. We chose to investigate the effect of reported sleep duration on baseline Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) performance and the number of patient-reported symptoms. We hypothesized that athletes receiving less sleep before baseline testing would perform worse on neurocognitive metrics and report more symptoms. Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. We retrospectively reviewed 3686 nonconcussed athletes (2371 male, 1315 female; 3305 high school, 381 college) with baseline symptom and ImPACT neurocognitive scores. Patients were stratified into 3 groups based on self-reported sleep duration the night before testing: (1) short, sleep duration on baseline ImPACT performance. A univariate ANCOVA was performed to investigate the influence of sleep on total self-reported symptoms. When controlling for age and sex as covariates, the MANCOVA revealed significant group differences on ImPACT reaction time, verbal memory, and visual memory scores but not visual-motor (processing) speed scores. An ANCOVA also revealed significant group differences in total reported symptoms. For baseline symptoms and ImPACT scores, subsequent pairwise comparisons revealed these associations to be most significant when comparing the short and intermediate sleep groups. Our results indicate that athletes sleeping fewer than 7 hours before baseline testing perform worse on 3 of 4 ImPACT scores and report more symptoms. Because SRC management and RTP

  2. Baseline factors that influence ASAS 20 response in patients with ankylosing spondylitis treated with etanercept.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, John C; Van der Heijde, Désirée M F M; Dougados, Maxime; Braun, Jurgen; Cush, John J; Clegg, Daniel O; Inman, Robert D; de Vries, Todd; Tsuji, Wayne H

    2005-09-01

    To examine the baseline demographic and disease characteristics that might influence improvement as measured by the Assessment in Ankylosing Spondylitis Response Criteria (ASAS 20) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). A multicenter Phase 3 study was performed to compare the safety and efficacy of 24 weeks of etanercept 25 mg subcutaneous injection twice weekly (n = 138) and placebo (n = 139) in patients with AS. The ASAS 20 was measured at multiple time points. Using a significance level of 0.05, a repeated measures logistic regression model was used to determine which baseline factors influenced response in the etanercept-treated patients during the 24-week double blind portion of the trial. The following baseline factors were used in the model: demographic and disease severity variables, concomitant medications, extra-articular manifestations, and HLA-B27 status. The predictive capability of the model was then tested on the patients receiving placebo after they had received open-label etanercept treatment. Baseline factors that were significant predictors of an ASAS 20 response in etanercept-treated patients were C-reactive protein (CRP), back pain score, and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) score. Although clinical response to etanercept was seen at all levels of baseline disease activity, responses were consistently more likely with higher CRP levels or back pain scores and less likely with increased BASFI scores at baseline. Higher CRP values and back pain scores and lower BASFI scores at baseline were significant predictors of a higher ASAS 20 response in patients with AS receiving etanercept but predictive value was of insufficient magnitude to determine treatment in individual patients.

  3. Benefits of combination of insulin degludec and liraglutide are independent of baseline glycated haemoglobin level and duration of type 2 diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rodbard, Helena W; Buse, John B; Woo, Vincent C

    2016-01-01

    liraglutide, irrespective of baseline HbA1c. In DUAL II, insulin dose and hypoglycaemia rate were similar with IDegLira and IDeg (maximum dose limited to 50 U) independent of baseline HbA1c. The reduction in HbA1c with IDegLira was independent of disease duration and previous insulin dose but varied depending...... of disease progression stage including baseline glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), disease duration and previous insulin dose. RESULTS: Across four categories of baseline HbA1c (≤7.5-9.0%), HbA1c reductions were significantly greater with IDegLira (1.1-2.5%) compared with IDeg or liraglutide alone in DUAL I...

  4. ACHIEVEMENT OF THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK AND THE SATISFACTION OF EMPLOYEES IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Snezana Urosevic

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Safety and health at work involves the exercise of such working conditions that take certain measures and activities in order to protect the life and health of employees. The interest of society, of all stakeholders and every individual is to achieve the highest level of safety and health at work, to unwanted consequences such as injuries, occupational diseases and diseases related to work are reduced to a minimum, and to create the conditions work in which employees have a sense of satisfaction in the performance of their professional duties. Textile industry is a sector with higher risk, because the plants of textile industry prevailing unfavorable microclimate conditions: high air temperature and high humidity, and often insufficient illumination of rooms and increased noise. The whole line of production in the textile industry, there is a risk of injury, the most common with mechanical force, or gaining burns from heat or chemicals. All of these factors are present in the process of production and processing of textiles and the same may affect the incidence of occupational diseases of workers, absenteeism, reduction of their working capacity and productivity. With the progress of the textile industry production increases in the number of hazardous and harmful substances that may pose a potential danger to the employee in this branch of the economy as well as the harmful impact on the environment. Therefore, it is important to give special attention to these problems.

  5. Level 3 baseline risk evaluation for Building 3506 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golden, K.M.; Robers, S.K.; Cretella, F.M.

    1994-12-01

    This report presents the results of the Level 3 Baseline Risk Evaluation (BRE) performed on Building 3506 located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This BRE is intended to provide an analysis of the potential for adverse health effects (current or future) posed by contaminants at the facility. The decision was made to conduct a Level 3 (least rigorous) BRE because only residual contamination exists in the building. Future plans for the facility (demolition) also preclude a rigorous analysis. Site characterization activities for Building 3506 were conducted in fall of 1993. Concrete core samples were taken from the floors and walls of both the cell and the east gallery. These cores were analyzed for radionuclides and organic and inorganic chemicals. Smear samples and direct radiation measurements were also collected. Sediment exists on the floor of the cell and was also analyzed. To adequately characterize the risks posed by the facility, receptors for both current and potential future land uses were evaluated. For the current land use conditions, two receptors were evaluated. The first receptor is a hypothetical maintenance worker who spends 250 days (8 hours/day) for 25 years working in the facility. The remaining receptor evaluated is a hypothetical S and M worker who spends 2 days (8 hours/day) per year for 25 years working within the facility. This particular receptor best exemplifies the current worker scenario for the facility. The two current exposure scenarios and parameters of exposure (e.g., inhalation and ingestion rates) have been developed to provide a conservative (i.e. health protective) estimate of potential exposure

  6. Level 3 baseline risk evaluation for Building 3506 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Golden, K.M.; Robers, S.K.; Cretella, F.M.

    1994-12-01

    This report presents the results of the Level 3 Baseline Risk Evaluation (BRE) performed on Building 3506 located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This BRE is intended to provide an analysis of the potential for adverse health effects (current or future) posed by contaminants at the facility. The decision was made to conduct a Level 3 (least rigorous) BRE because only residual contamination exists in the building. Future plans for the facility (demolition) also preclude a rigorous analysis. Site characterization activities for Building 3506 were conducted in fall of 1993. Concrete core samples were taken from the floors and walls of both the cell and the east gallery. These cores were analyzed for radionuclides and organic and inorganic chemicals. Smear samples and direct radiation measurements were also collected. Sediment exists on the floor of the cell and was also analyzed. To adequately characterize the risks posed by the facility, receptors for both current and potential future land uses were evaluated. For the current land use conditions, two receptors were evaluated. The first receptor is a hypothetical maintenance worker who spends 250 days (8 hours/day) for 25 years working in the facility. The remaining receptor evaluated is a hypothetical S and M worker who spends 2 days (8 hours/day) per year for 25 years working within the facility. This particular receptor best exemplifies the current worker scenario for the facility. The two current exposure scenarios and parameters of exposure (e.g., inhalation and ingestion rates) have been developed to provide a conservative (i.e. health protective) estimate of potential exposure.

  7. Regional geochemical baselines for Portuguese shelf sediments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mil-Homens, M.; Stevens, R.L.; Cato, I.; Abrantes, F.

    2007-01-01

    Metal concentrations (Al, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) from the DGM-INETI archive data set have been examined for sediments collected during the 1970s from 267 sites on the Portuguese shelf. Due to the differences in the oceanographic and sedimentological settings between western and Algarve coasts, the archive data set is split in two segments. For both shelf segments, regional geochemical baselines (RGB) are defined using aluminium as a reference element. Seabed samples recovered in 2002 from four distinct areas of the Portuguese shelf are superimposed on these models to identify and compare possible metal enrichments relative to the natural distribution. Metal enrichments associated with anthropogenic influences are identified in three samples collected nearby the Tejo River and are characterised by the highest enrichment factors (EF; EF Pb Zn < 4). EF values close to 1 suggest a largely natural origin for metal distributions in sediments from the other areas included in the study. - Background metal concentrations and their natural variability must be established before assessing anthropogenic impacts

  8. Membrane fatty acid composition of different target populations: Importance of baseline on supplementation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veronica Silva

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Omega-3 fatty acids (n-3 FA supplementation has been widely used regardless the initial FA composition of the studied population. In this work we compared the red blood cell FA (RBC-FA composition in healthy and different diseased populations at baseline and show how this affects the incorporation of n-3 FA supplementation in ICU-trauma patients. Blood was drawn from Healthy (H, n = 22, Psoriasis (P, n = 13, Cancer(C, n = 81, Geriatric (G, n = 49, Social-phobia (SP, n = 27 and ICU-trauma (T, n = 40 patients before n-3 FA supplementation. For the T group blood was also drawn 8 days after receiving a formula with 4.1 g/L EPA and 5.5 g/L GLA (Oxepa, Abbott. RBC-FA was assessed by gas chromatography and the percentage of each FA was calculated in relation to the total identified FAs. Baseline RBC-FA profile was significantly different between groups (p < 0.0001 with subjects in the healthy group having higher n-3 FA status. H and SP showed the highest content in total n-3 FA (11.89 ± 0.22% H vs 7.45 ± 0.26% T and EPA (1.61 ± 0.03% H vs 0.41 ± 0.13% P. DHA was higher in C and H than in the other groups (6.15 ± 0.15% C vs 4.32 ± 0.11% T. ARA was highest in C (16.04 ± 0.20% C vs 14.85 ± 0.22% H and comparable in the rest of the groups. The n-6/n-3 ratio was lowest for H and highest for T (2.75 ± 0.07 vs 4.96 ± 0.13. Moreover, we showed that for the T group, the treatment-associated changes in the n-3 content are dependent on the initial n-3 FA status, since a negative correlation between the baseline omega 3 index (EPA + DHA and its change after supplementation was found (p = 0.002, r2 = 0.219. We conclude that RBC-FA profile should be evaluated and considered individually for each patient or groups before generalized supplementation schemes, strengthening the concept of personalized medicine.

  9. Comparison of toxicity of class-based organic chemicals to algae and fish based on discrimination of excess toxicity from baseline level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jin J; Tai, Hong W; Yu, Yang; Wen, Yang; Wang, Xiao H; Zhao, Yuan H

    2015-07-01

    Toxicity data to fish and algae were used to investigate excess toxicity between species. Results show that chemicals exhibiting excess toxicity to fish also show excess toxicity to algae for most of the compounds. This indicates that they share the same mode of action between species. Similar relationships between logKOW and toxicities to fish and algae for baseline and less inert compounds suggest that they have similar critical body residues in the two species. Differences in excess toxicity for some compounds suggest that there is a difference of physiological structure and metabolism between fish and algae. Some reactive compounds (e.g. polyamines) exhibit greater toxic effects for algae than those for fish because of relatively low bio-uptake potential of these hydrophilic compounds in fish as compared with that in algae. Esters exhibiting greater toxicity in fish than that in algae indicate that metabolism can affect the discrimination of excess toxicity from baseline level. Algae growth inhibition is a very good surrogate for fish lethality. This is not only because overall toxicity sensitivity to algae is greater than that to fish, but also the excess toxicity calculated from algal toxicity can better reflect reactivity of compounds with target molecules than fish toxicity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Base-line studies for DAE establishments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puranik, V.D.

    2012-01-01

    The Department of Atomic Energy has establishments located in various regions of the country and they include front-end fuel cycle facilities, nuclear power stations, back-end fuel cycle facilities and facilities for research and societal applications. These facilities handle naturally occurring radionuclides such as uranium, thorium and a variety of man-made radionuclides. These radionuclides are handled with utmost care so that they do not affect adversely the occupational workers or the members of public residing nearby. There is safety culture of the highest standard existing in all DAE establishments and it matches with the international standards. In addition, there is a perpetual environmental monitoring program carried out by the Environmental Survey Laboratories (ESLs) located at all DAE establishments. The environmental data generated by such program is studied regularly by experts to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements. The regulatory requirements in the country are of international standards and ensure adequate protection of workers and members of public. In addition to such continued monitoring program and studies being carried out for the ongoing projects, base-line studies are carried out for all the new projects of the DAE. The purpose of the base-line studies is to establish a detailed base-line data set for a new DAE location well before the foundation stone is laid, so that the data collected when there is no departmental activity can be compared with the data generated later by the ESL. The data so generated is site specific and it varies from place to place depending upon the location of the site, e.g., inland or coastal, the presence of water bodies and pattern of irrigation, the geological characteristics of the location, the local culture and habits of the people, population density and urban or rural background. The data to be recorded as base-line data is generated over a period of at least one year covering all the seasons

  11. Baseline scenarios of global environmental change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alcamo, J.; Kreileman, G.J.J.; Bollen, J.C.; Born, G.J. van den; Krol, M.S.; Toet, A.M.C.; Vries, H.J.M. de; Gerlagh, R.

    1996-01-01

    This paper presents three baseline scenarios of no policy action computed by the IMAGE2 model. These scenarios cover a wide range of coupled global change indicators, including: energy demand and consumption; food demand, consumption, and production; changes in land cover including changes in extent of agricultural land and forest; emissions of greenhouse gases and ozone precursors; and climate change and its impacts on sea level rise, crop productivity and natural vegetation. Scenario information is available for the entire world with regional and grid scale detail, and covers from 1970 to 2100. (author)

  12. Knowledge Management and Politics at the Highest Level: An Exploratory Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo TOMÉ

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses Knowledge Management (KM as a political activity, made by the great political leaders of the world. We try to examine if at the macro political level KM is made, and how. The research is interesting because given that we live in a Knowledge Society, in the Information Era, it is more or less obvious that the political leaders should also do KM. However we don’t know of any previous study on KM and world leaders and this paper wants to be a first step to fill that gap. As a methodology we use literature review: given this one is a first preliminary study we use data we found online and in databases like EBSCO. We divide the analysis in two main parts: theoretical ideas, and application. In the theoretical part we aim at distinguishing KM as made by managers from KM made by politicians. The second part is itself divided in two segments: the past and the present times; in the second segment we illustrate our ideas with the example of President Barack Obama. We observe, rather surprisingly, how much it has been over-looked by scholars; KM always was and nowadays is pervasive in the activity of the world political leaders. Furthermore, the importance of KM made by world political leaders is so great that it should prompt the making of detailed studies in order to improve the world governance. The study has the limitation of relying on documents, insights and texts, and not on interviews. It should be followed by studies of a more qualitative and participative nature. We believe it would be very interesting to make such studies and that they would help improving the democracies in the 21st century and beyond.

  13. Carbon intensity of electricity generation and CDM baseline: case studies of three Chinese provinces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Chi; Heller, T.C.; May, M.M.

    2005-01-01

    A difficult and persistent issue in the discussion of Clean Development Mechanism is estimating a carbon emissions baseline, against which tradable permits may be certified. This paper examines the proposition of adopting sectoral, as opposed to project level, baselines by conducting case studies of the electricity industry in three Chinese provinces. We find that complicated central planning, financial and institutional factors have been behind the declining trend of carbon intensity in electricity generation and its provincial variations. Government planned electricity development which incorporates many of these factors and the associated industry carbon intensity may serve as a second best baseline. However, the limitation of the baseline we examine in this study plus difficulties numerous studies have revealed in baseline setting suggests that using baselines based on counterfactuals of what would happen will in the end either miss good emission reduction opportunities, or compromise the integrity of the regime

  14. Baseline radiological monitoring at proposed uranium prospecting site at Rohil Sikar, Rajasthan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Rajesh; Jha, V.N.; Sahoo, N.K.; Jha, S.K.; Tripathi, R.M.

    2018-01-01

    Once economically viable grades of uranium deposits are proposed for mining and processing by the industry radiological baseline studies are required for future comparison during operational phases. The information collected during such studies serve as connecting feature between regulatory compliance and technical information. Present paper summarizes the results of baseline monitoring of atmospheric 222 Rn and gamma level in the area at prospecting mining, milling and waste disposal sites of Rohil Rajasthan

  15. 40 CFR 1042.825 - Baseline determination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Baseline determination. 1042.825... Provisions for Remanufactured Marine Engines § 1042.825 Baseline determination. (a) For the purpose of this... not valid. (f) Use good engineering judgment for all aspects of the baseline determination. We may...

  16. Oscillation Baselining and Analysis Tool

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2017-03-27

    PNNL developed a new tool for oscillation analysis and baselining. This tool has been developed under a new DOE Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium (GMLC) Project (GM0072 - “Suite of open-source applications and models for advanced synchrophasor analysis”) and it is based on the open platform for PMU analysis. The Oscillation Baselining and Analysis Tool (OBAT) performs the oscillation analysis and identifies modes of oscillations (frequency, damping, energy, and shape). The tool also does oscillation event baselining (fining correlation between oscillations characteristics and system operating conditions).

  17. A Multi-Baseline 12 GHz Atmospheric Phase Interferometer with One Micron Path Length Sensitivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimberk, Robert S.; Hunter, Todd R.; Leiker, Patrick S.; Blundell, Raymond; Nystrom, George U.; Petitpas, Glen R.; Test, John; Wilson, Robert W.; Yamaguchi, Paul; Young, Kenneth H.

    2012-12-01

    We have constructed a five station 12 GHz atmospheric phase interferometer (API) for the Submillimeter Array (SMA) located near the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Operating at the base of unoccupied SMA antenna pads, each station employs a commercial low noise mixing block coupled to a 0.7 m off-axis satellite dish which receives a broadband, white noise-like signal from a geostationary satellite. The signals are processed by an analog correlator to produce the phase delays between all pairs of stations with projected baselines ranging from 33-261 m. Each baseline's amplitude and phase is measured continuously at a rate of 8 kHz, processed, averaged and output at 10 Hz. Further signal processing and data reduction is accomplished with a Linux computer, including the removal of the diurnal motion of the target satellite. The placement of the stations below ground level with an environmental shield combined with the use of low temperature coefficient, buried fiber optic cables provides excellent system stability. The sensitivity in terms of rms path length is 1.3 microns which corresponds to phase deviations of about 1° of phase at the highest operating frequency of the SMA. The two primary data products are: (1) standard deviations of observed phase over various time scales, and (2) phase structure functions. These real-time statistical data measured by the API in the direction of the satellite provide an estimate of the phase front distortion experienced by the concurrent SMA astronomical observations. The API data also play an important role, along with the local opacity measurements and weather predictions, in helping to plan the scheduling of science observations on the telescope.

  18. Forecasting Sensorimotor Adaptability from Baseline Inter-Trial Correlations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaton, K. H.; Bloomberg, J. J.

    2016-01-01

    One of the greatest challenges for sensorimotor adaptation to the spaceflight environment is the large variability in symptoms, and corresponding functional impairments, from one crewmember to the next. This renders preflight training and countermeasure development difficult, as a "one-size-fits-all" approach is inappropriate. Therefore, it would be highly advantageous to know ahead of time which crewmembers might have more difficulty adjusting to the novel g-levels inherent to spaceflight. This information could guide individually customized countermeasures, which would enable more efficient use of crew time and provide better outcomes. The principal aim of this work is to look for baseline performance metrics that relate to locomotor adaptability. We propose a novel hypothesis that considers baseline inter-trial correlations, the trial-to-trial fluctuations ("noise") in motor performance, as a predictor of individual adaptive capabilities.

  19. The predictive value of mean serum uric acid levels for developing prediabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qing; Bao, Xue; Meng, Ge; Liu, Li; Wu, Hongmei; Du, Huanmin; Shi, Hongbin; Xia, Yang; Guo, Xiaoyan; Liu, Xing; Li, Chunlei; Su, Qian; Gu, Yeqing; Fang, Liyun; Yu, Fei; Yang, Huijun; Yu, Bin; Sun, Shaomei; Wang, Xing; Zhou, Ming; Jia, Qiyu; Zhao, Honglin; Huang, Guowei; Song, Kun; Niu, Kaijun

    2016-08-01

    We aimed to assess the predictive value of mean serum uric acid (SUA) levels for incident prediabetes. Normoglycemic adults (n=39,353) were followed for a median of 3.0years. Prediabetes is defined as impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), or impaired HbA1c (IA1c), based on the American Diabetes Association criteria. Serum SUA levels were measured annually. Four diagnostic strategies were used to detect prediabetes in four separate analyses (Analysis 1: IFG. Analysis 2: IFG+IGT. Analysis 3: IFG+IA1c. Analysis 4: IFG+IGT+IA1c). Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to assess the relationship between SUA quintiles and prediabetes. C-statistic was additionally used in the final analysis to assess the accuracy of predictions based upon baseline SUA and mean SUA, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, the hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) of prediabetes for the highest versus lowest quintile of mean SUA were 1.22 (1.10, 1.36) in analysis 1; 1.59 (1.23, 2.05) in analysis 2; 1.62 (1.34, 1.95) in analysis 3 and 1.67 (1.31, 2.13) in analysis 4. In contrast, for baseline SUA, significance was only reached in analyses 3 and 4. Moreover, compared with baseline SUA, mean SUA value was associated with a significant increase in the C-statistic (Pprediabetes risk, and showed better predictive ability for prediabetes than baseline SUA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. 33 CFR 2.20 - Territorial sea baseline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Territorial sea baseline. 2.20... JURISDICTION Jurisdictional Terms § 2.20 Territorial sea baseline. Territorial sea baseline means the line.... Normally, the territorial sea baseline is the mean low water line along the coast of the United States...

  1. Development of an approach to correcting MicroPEM baseline drift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ting; Chillrud, Steven N; Pitiranggon, Masha; Ross, James; Ji, Junfeng; Yan, Beizhan

    2018-07-01

    Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) is associated with various adverse health outcomes. The MicroPEM (RTI, NC), a miniaturized real-time portable particulate sensor with an integrated filter for collecting particles, has been widely used for personal PM 2.5 exposure assessment. Five-day deployments were targeted on a total of 142 deployments (personal or residential) to obtain real-time PM 2.5 levels from children living in New York City and Baltimore. Among these 142 deployments, 79 applied high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters in the field at the beginning and end of each deployment to adjust the zero level of the nephelometer. However, unacceptable baseline drift was observed in a large fraction (> 40%) of acquisitions in this study even after HEPA correction. This drift issue has been observed in several other studies as well. The purpose of the present study is to develop an algorithm to correct the baseline drift in MicroPEM based on central site ambient data during inactive time periods. A running baseline & gravimetric correction (RBGC) method was developed based on the comparison of MicroPEM readings during inactive periods to ambient PM 2.5 levels provided by fixed monitoring sites and the gravimetric weight of PM 2.5 collected on the MicroPEM filters. The results after RBGC correction were compared with those using HEPA approach and gravimetric correction alone. Seven pairs of duplicate acquisitions were used to validate the RBGC method. The percentages of acquisitions with baseline drift problems were 42%, 53% and 10% for raw, HEPA corrected, and RBGC corrected data, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis of duplicates showed an increase in the coefficient of determination from 0.75 for raw data to 0.97 after RBGC correction. In addition, the slope of the regression line increased from 0.60 for raw data to 1.00 after RBGC correction. The RBGC approach corrected the baseline drift issue associated with MicroPEM data. The algorithm developed

  2. Baseline placental growth factor levels for the prediction of benefit from early aspirin prophylaxis for preeclampsia prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Gaea S; Allshouse, Amanda A; Winn, Virginia D; Galan, Henry L; Heyborne, Kent D

    2015-10-01

    Placental growth factor (PlGF) levels early in pregnancy are lower in women who ultimately develop preeclampsia. Early initiation of low-dose aspirin reduces preeclampsia risk in some high risk women. We hypothesized that low PlGF levels may identify women at increased risk for preeclampsia who would benefit from aspirin. Secondary analysis of the MFMU High-Risk Aspirin study including singleton pregnancies randomized to aspirin 60mg/d (n=102) or placebo (n=72), with PlGF collected at 13w 0d-16w 6d. Within the placebo group, we estimated the probability of preeclampsia by PlGF level using logistic regression analysis, then determined a potential PlGF threshold for preeclampsia prediction using ROC analysis. We performed logistic regression modeling for potential confounders. ROC analysis indicated 87.71pg/ml as the threshold between high and low PlGF for preeclampsia-prediction. Within the placebo group high PlGF weakly predicted preeclampsia (AUC 0.653, sensitivity/specificity 63%/66%). We noted a 2.6-fold reduction in preeclampsia with aspirin in the high-PlGF group (12.15% aspirin vs 32.14% placebo, p=0.057), but no significant differences in preeclampsia in the low PlGF group (21.74% vs 15.91%, p=0.445). Unlike other studies, we found that high rather than low PlGF levels were associated with an increased preeclampsia risk. Low PlGF neither identified women at increased risk of preeclampsia nor women who benefitted from aspirin. Further research is needed to determine whether aspirin is beneficial in women with high PlGF, and whether the paradigm linking low PlGF and preeclampsia needs to be reevaluated. High-risk women with low baseline PlGF, a risk factor for preeclampsia, did not benefit from early initiation of low-dose aspirin. Copyright © 2015 International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Program Baseline Change Control Board charter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-02-01

    The purpose of this Charter is to establish the Program Baseline Change Control Board (PBCCB) for the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) Program, and to describe its organization, responsibilities, and basic methods of operation. Guidance for implementing this Charter is provided by the OCRWM Baseline Management Plan (BMP) and OCRWM Program Baseline Change Control Procedure

  4. Baseline evaluation of hand hygiene compliance in three major hospitals, Isfahan, Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ataei, B; Zahraei, S M; Pezeshki, Z; Babak, A; Nokhodian, Z; Mobasherizadeh, S; Hoseini, S G

    2013-09-01

    Hand hygiene is the mainstay of nosocomial infection prevention. This study was a baseline survey to assess hand hygiene compliance of healthcare workers by direct observation in three major hospitals of Isfahan, Iran. The use of different hand hygiene products was also evaluated. In 3078 potential opportunities hand hygiene products were available on 2653 occasions (86.2%). Overall compliance was 6.4% (teaching hospital: 7.4%; public hospital: 6.2%; private hospital: 1.4%). Nurses (8.4%) had the highest rates of compliance. Poor hand hygiene compliance in Isfahan hospitals necessitates urgent interventions to improve both hospital infrastructure and staff knowledge. © 2013 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The highest energies in the Universe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rebel, H.

    2006-01-01

    There are not many issues of fundamental importance which have induced so many problems for astrophysicists like the question of the origin of cosmic rays. This radiation from the outer space has an energy density comparable with that of the visible starlight or of the microwave background radiation. It is an important feature of our environment with many interesting aspects. A most conspicuous feature is that the energy spectrum of cosmic rays seems to have no natural end, though resonant photopion production with the cosmic microwave background predicts a suppression of extragalactic protons above the so-called Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz’min cutoff at about EGZK = 5 × 10"1"9 eV. In fact the highest particle energies ever observed on the Earth, stem from observations of Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Rays (E > 3 × 10"1"9 eV). But the present observations by the AGASA and HiRes Collaborations, partly a matter of debate, are origin of a number of puzzling questions, where these particles are coming from, by which gigantic acceleration mechanism they could gain such tremendous energies and how they have been able to propagate to our Earth. These questions imply serious problems of the understanding of our Universe. There are several approaches to clarify the mysteries of the highest energies and to base the observations on larger statistical accuracy. The Pierre Auger Observatory, being in installation in the Pampa Amarilla in the Province Mendoza in Argentina, is a hybrid detector, combining a large array of water Cerenkov detectors (registering charged particles generated in giant extended air showers) with measurements of the fluorescence light produced during the air shower development. This contribution will illustrate the astrophysical motivation and the current status of the experimental efforts, and sketch the ideas about the origin of these particles.

  6. Baseline assessment of groundwater quality in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senior, Lisa A.; Cravotta, III, Charles A.; Sloto, Ronald A.

    2016-06-30

    The Devonian-age Marcellus Shale and the Ordovician-age Utica Shale, geologic formations which have potential for natural gas development, underlie Wayne County and neighboring counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wayne Conservation District, conducted a study to assess baseline shallow groundwater quality in bedrock aquifers in Wayne County prior to potential extensive shale-gas development. The 2014 study expanded on previous, more limited studies that included sampling of groundwater from 2 wells in 2011 and 32 wells in 2013 in Wayne County. Eighty-nine water wells were sampled in summer 2014 to provide data on the presence of methane and other aspects of existing groundwater quality throughout the county, including concentrations of inorganic constituents commonly present at low levels in shallow, fresh groundwater but elevated in brines associated with fluids extracted from geologic formations during shale-gas development. Depths of sampled wells ranged from 85 to 1,300 feet (ft) with a median of 291 ft. All of the groundwater samples collected in 2014 were analyzed for bacteria, major ions, nutrients, selected inorganic trace constituents (including metals and other elements), radon-222, gross alpha- and gross beta-particle activity, selected man-made organic compounds (including volatile organic compounds and glycols), dissolved gases (methane, ethane, and propane), and, if sufficient methane was present, the isotopic composition of methane.Results of the 2014 study show that groundwater quality generally met most drinking-water standards, but some well-water samples had one or more constituents or properties, including arsenic, iron, pH, bacteria, and radon-222, that exceeded primary or secondary maximum contaminant levels (MCLs). Arsenic concentrations were higher than the MCL of 10 micrograms per liter (µg/L) in 4 of 89 samples (4.5 percent) with concentrations as high as 20 µg/L; arsenic

  7. Establishing a store baseline during interim storage of waste packages and a review of potential technologies for base-lining

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McTeer, Jennifer; Morris, Jenny; Wickham, Stephen [Galson Sciences Ltd. Oakham, Rutland (United Kingdom); Bolton, Gary [National Nuclear Laboratory Risley, Warrington (United Kingdom); McKinney, James; Morris, Darrell [Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Moor Row, Cumbria (United Kingdom); Angus, Mike [National Nuclear Laboratory Risley, Warrington (United Kingdom); Cann, Gavin; Binks, Tracey [National Nuclear Laboratory Sellafield (United Kingdom)

    2013-07-01

    Interim storage is an essential component of the waste management lifecycle, providing a safe, secure environment for waste packages awaiting final disposal. In order to be able to monitor and detect change or degradation of the waste packages, storage building or equipment, it is necessary to know the original condition of these components (the 'waste storage system'). This paper presents an approach to establishing the baseline for a waste-storage system, and provides guidance on the selection and implementation of potential base-lining technologies. The approach is made up of two sections; assessment of base-lining needs and definition of base-lining approach. During the assessment of base-lining needs a review of available monitoring data and store/package records should be undertaken (if the store is operational). Evolutionary processes (affecting safety functions), and their corresponding indicators, that can be measured to provide a baseline for the waste-storage system should then be identified in order for the most suitable indicators to be selected for base-lining. In defining the approach, identification of opportunities to collect data and constraints is undertaken before selecting the techniques for base-lining and developing a base-lining plan. Base-lining data may be used to establish that the state of the packages is consistent with the waste acceptance criteria for the storage facility and to support the interpretation of monitoring and inspection data collected during store operations. Opportunities and constraints are identified for different store and package types. Technologies that could potentially be used to measure baseline indicators are also reviewed. (authors)

  8. Effect of cross-level interaction between individual and neighborhood socioeconomic status on adult mortality rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winkleby, Marilyn; Cubbin, Catherine; Ahn, David

    2006-12-01

    We examined whether the influence of neighborhood-level socioeconomic status (SES) on mortality differed by individual-level SES. We used a population-based, mortality follow-up study of 4476 women and 3721 men, who were predominately non-HIspanic White and aged 25-74 years at baseline, from 82 neighborhoods in 4 California cities. Participants were surveyed between 1979 and 1990, and were followed until December 31, 2002 (1148 deaths; mean follow-up time 17.4 years). Neighborhood SES was defined by 5 census variables and was divided into 3 levels. Individual SES was defined by a composite of educational level and household income and was divided into tertiles. Death rates among women of low SES were highest in high-SES neighborhoods (1907/100000 person-years), lower in moderate-SES neighborhoods (1323), and lowest in low-SES neighborhoods (1128). Similar to women, rates among men of low SES were 1928, 1646, and 1590 in high-, moderate-, and low-SES neighborhoods, respectively. Differences were not explained by individual-level baseline risk factors. The disparities in mortality by neighborhood of residence among women and men of low SES demonstrate that they do not benefit from the higher quality of resources and knowledge generally associated with neighborhoods that have higher SES.

  9. Association between Cognitive Status and Physical Activity: Study Profile on Baseline Survey of the My Mind Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Gagliardi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: The incidence of people with dementia is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, but it seems that there is a relationship between an active lifestyle and cognitive decline. The present study aimed to compare the characteristics and engagement in the physical activity (PA of three groups of Italian elderly with different cognitive statuses at baseline phase. Methods: Data were examined using the results from the “My Mind Project” on 305 community-dwelling Italians. The sample was comprised of 93 subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD, 109 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI and 103 healthy elderly (HE. Results: Classification of subjects on the basis of Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE score showed that 47% of HE performed the highest level of physical activity while 40% of AD performed the lowest level. MCI subjects were distributed quite homogeneously across the levels (p < 0.001. Physical activity such as walking and light sports was carried out mainly and more frequently by HE as compared to the others (p < 0.05. As regards functional status, AD presented worse conditions in basic and instrumental activities of daily living than the other groups (p < 0.001. Conclusions: Our results evidenced that subjects with cognitive decline had the tendency to engage in PA less than HE. In particular, age and education negatively affected engagement in PA.

  10. Prediction of the Pharmacokinetic Parameters of Triptolide in Rats Based on Endogenous Molecules in Pre-Dose Baseline Serum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aa, Jiye; Zheng, Tian; Shi, Jian; Li, Mengjie; Wang, Xinwen; Zhao, Chunyan; Xiao, Wenjing; Yu, Xiaoyi; Sun, Runbin; Gu, Rongrong; Zhou, Jun; Wu, Liang; Hao, Gang; Zhu, Xuanxuan; Wang, Guangji

    2012-01-01

    Background Individual variances usually affect drug metabolism and disposition, and hence result in either ineffectiveness or toxicity of a drug. In addition to genetic polymorphism, the multiple confounding factors of lifestyles, such as dietary preferences, contribute partially to individual variances. However, the difficulty of quantifying individual diversity greatly challenges the realization of individualized drug therapy. This study aims at quantitative evaluating the association between individual variances and the pharmacokinetics. Methodology/Principal Findings Molecules in pre-dose baseline serum were profiled using gas chromatography mass spectrometry to represent the individual variances of the model rats provided with high fat diets (HFD), routine chows and calorie restricted (CR) chows. Triptolide and its metabolites were determined using high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Metabonomic and pharmacokinetic data revealed that rats treated with the varied diets had distinctly different metabolic patterns and showed differential Cmax values, AUC and drug metabolism after oral administration of triptolide. Rats with fatty chows had the lowest Cmax and AUC values and the highest percentage of triptolide metabolic transformation, while rats with CR chows had the highest Cmax and AUC values and the least percentage of triptolide transformation. Multivariate linear regression revealed that in baseline serum, the concentrations of creatinine and glutamic acid, which is the precursor of GSH, were linearly negatively correlated to Cmax and AUC values. The glutamic acid and creatinine in baseline serum were suggested as the potential markers to represent individual diversity and as predictors of the disposal and pharmacokinetics of triptolide. Conclusions/Significance These results highlight the robust potential of metabonomics in characterizing individual variances and identifying relevant markers that have the potential to facilitate

  11. Association of serum bicarbonate levels with mortality in patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovesdy, Csaba P.; Anderson, John E.; Kalantar-Zadeh, Kamyar

    2009-01-01

    Background. Metabolic acidosis, usually manifested by low serum bicarbonate level, is common in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and appears to be associated with higher mortality in dialysis patients. It is not known whether a similar association is present in patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD (NDD-CKD). Methods. We used multivariable-adjusted Cox models to examine the association between baseline and time-variable serum bicarbonate (measured as total CO2) with the outcomes of all-cause mortality and the composite of pre-dialysis mortality or end-stage renal disease in 1240 male patients with moderate and advanced NDD-CKD. Results. Serum bicarbonate showed a significant U-shaped association with all-cause mortality, with the highest mortality rate observed in patients with baseline serum bicarbonate levels <22 mmol/L [multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for patients with serum bicarbonate <22 mmol/L versus ≥22 mmol/L: 1.33 (1.05–1.69), P = 0.02] and the lowest mortality observed in patients with baseline serum bicarbonate of 26–29 mmol/L. The associations between lower serum bicarbonate level and mortality were more accentuated in subgroups of patients with better nutritional status and lower inflammation. Conclusions. Both lower and higher serum bicarbonates are associated with increased all-cause mortality in patients with moderate and advanced NDD-CKD. Clinical trials are needed to determine if therapeutic interventions aimed at optimizing serum bicarbonate can result in improved outcomes in this population. PMID:19015169

  12. Evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome in ethnobotanical research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanazaki, Natalia; Herbst, Dannieli Firme; Marques, Mel Simionato; Vandebroek, Ina

    2013-11-14

    The shifting baseline syndrome is a concept from ecology that can be analyzed in the context of ethnobotanical research. Evidence of shifting baseline syndrome can be found in studies dealing with intracultural variation of knowledge, when knowledge from different generations is compared and combined with information about changes in the environment and/or natural resources. We reviewed 84 studies published between 1993 and 2012 that made comparisons of ethnobotanical knowledge according to different age classes. After analyzing these studies for evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome (lower knowledge levels in younger generations and mention of declining abundance of local natural resources), we searched within these studies for the use of the expressions "cultural erosion", "loss of knowledge", or "acculturation". The studies focused on different groups of plants (e.g. medicinal plants, foods, plants used for general purposes, or the uses of specific important species). More than half of all 84 studies (57%) mentioned a concern towards cultural erosion or knowledge loss; 54% of the studies showed evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome; and 37% of the studies did not provide any evidence of shifting baselines (intergenerational knowledge differences but no information available about the abundance of natural resources). The general perception of knowledge loss among young people when comparing ethnobotanical repertoires among different age groups should be analyzed with caution. Changes in the landscape or in the abundance of plant resources may be associated with changes in ethnobotanical repertoires held by people of different age groups. Also, the relationship between the availability of resources and current plant use practices rely on a complexity of factors. Fluctuations in these variables can cause changes in the reference (baseline) of different generations and consequently be responsible for differences in intergenerational knowledge. Unraveling

  13. S Plant Aggregate Area Management study technical baseline report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeFord, D.H.; Carpenter, R.W.

    1995-05-01

    This document is prepared in support of an Aggregate Area Management Study of S Plant, 200 West Area, at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Hanford Site near Richland, Washington. It provides a technical baseline of the aggregate area and the results from an environmental investigation undertaken by the Technical Baseline Section of the Environmental Engineering Group, Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC). This document is based on review and evaluation of numerous Hanford Site current and historical reports, drawings and photographs, supplemented with site inspections and employee interviews. This report describes the REDOX facility and its waste sites, including cribs, french drains, septic tanks and drain fields, trenches, catch tanks, settling tanks, diversion boxes, underground tank farms designed for high-level liquid wastes, and the lines and encasements that connect them

  14. Technical baseline description for in situ vitrification laboratory test equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beard, K.V.; Bonnenberg, R.W.; Watson, L.R.

    1991-09-01

    IN situ vitrification (ISV) has been identified as possible waste treatment technology. ISV was developed by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL), Richland, Washington, as a thermal treatment process to treat contaminated soils in place. The process, which electrically melts and dissolves soils and associated inorganic materials, simultaneously destroys and/or removes organic contaminants while incorporating inorganic contaminants into a stable, glass-like residual product. This Technical Baseline Description has been prepared to provide high level descriptions of the design of the Laboratory Test model, including all design modifications and safety improvements made to data. Furthermore, the Technical Baseline Description provides a basic overview of the interface documents for configuration management, program management interfaces, safety, quality, and security requirements. 8 figs

  15. Hazard Baseline Downgrade Effluent Treatment Facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blanchard, A.

    1998-01-01

    This Hazard Baseline Downgrade reviews the Effluent Treatment Facility, in accordance with Department of Energy Order 5480.23, WSRC11Q Facility Safety Document Manual, DOE-STD-1027-92, and DOE-EM-STD-5502-94. It provides a baseline grouping based on the chemical and radiological hazards associated with the facility. The Determination of the baseline grouping for ETF will aid in establishing the appropriate set of standards for the facility

  16. Right hemisphere dominance directly predicts both baseline V1 cortical excitability and the degree of top-down modulation exerted over low-level brain structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arshad, Q; Siddiqui, S; Ramachandran, S; Goga, U; Bonsu, A; Patel, M; Roberts, R E; Nigmatullina, Y; Malhotra, P; Bronstein, A M

    2015-12-17

    Right hemisphere dominance for visuo-spatial attention is characteristically observed in most right-handed individuals. This dominance has been attributed to both an anatomically larger right fronto-parietal network and the existence of asymmetric parietal interhemispheric connections. Previously it has been demonstrated that interhemispheric conflict, which induces left hemisphere inhibition, results in the modulation of both (i) the excitability of the early visual cortex (V1) and (ii) the brainstem-mediated vestibular-ocular reflex (VOR) via top-down control mechanisms. However to date, it remains unknown whether the degree of an individual's right hemisphere dominance for visuospatial function can influence, (i) the baseline excitability of the visual cortex and (ii) the extent to which the right hemisphere can exert top-down modulation. We directly tested this by correlating line bisection error (or pseudoneglect), taken as a measure of right hemisphere dominance, with both (i) visual cortical excitability measured using phosphene perception elicited via single-pulse occipital trans-cranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and (ii) the degree of trans-cranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)-mediated VOR suppression, following left hemisphere inhibition. We found that those individuals with greater right hemisphere dominance had a less excitable early visual cortex at baseline and demonstrated a greater degree of vestibular nystagmus suppression following left hemisphere cathodal tDCS. To conclude, our results provide the first demonstration that individual differences in right hemisphere dominance can directly predict both the baseline excitability of low-level brain structures and the degree of top-down modulation exerted over them. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  17. Elevated prostaglandin E metabolites and abnormal plasma fatty acids at baseline in pediatric cystic fibrosis patients: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Michael Glenn; Thomsen, Kelly; Brown, Rebekah F; Laposata, Michael; Seegmiller, Adam

    2016-10-01

    Airway inflammation is a significant contributor to the morbidity of cystic fibrosis (CF) disease. One feature of this inflammation is the production of oxygenated metabolites, such as prostaglandins. Individuals with CF are known to have abnormal metabolism of fatty acids, typically resulting in reduced levels of linoleic acid (LA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). This is a randomized, double-blind, cross-over clinical trial of DHA supplementation with endpoints of plasma fatty acid levels and prostaglandin E metabolite (PGE-M) levels. Patients with CF age 6-18 years with pancreatic insufficiency were recruited. Each participant completed 3 four-week study periods: DHA at two different doses (high dose and low dose) and placebo with a minimum 4 week wash-out between each period. Blood, urine, and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) were collected at baseline and after each study period for measurement of plasma fatty acids as well as prostaglandin E metabolites. Seventeen participants were enrolled, and 12 participants completed all 3 study periods. Overall, DHA supplementation was well tolerated without significant adverse events. There was a significant increase in plasma DHA levels with supplementation, but no significant change in arachidonic acid (AA) or LA levels. However, at baseline, AA levels were lower and LA levels were higher than previously reported for individuals with CF. Urine PGE-M levels were elevated in the majority of participants at baseline, and while levels decreased with DHA supplementation, they also decreased with placebo. Urine PGE-M levels are elevated at baseline in this cohort of pediatric CF patients, but there was no significant change in these levels with DHA supplementation compared to placebo. In addition, baseline plasma fatty acid levels for this cohort showed some difference to prior reports, including higher levels of LA and lower levels of AA, which may reflect changes in clinical care, and consequently warrants further

  18. Baseline identification in stable -isotope studies of temperate lotic systems and implications for calculated trophic positions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Peter Brinkmann; Riis, Tenna; Dylmer, Hans Erik

    2016-01-01

    of two common fish species (three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, and brown trout Salmo trutta) differed markedly depending on the baseline chosen. The estimated trophic position was lowest when based on Baetidae and highest when using Simuliidae. The trophic position of Gasterosteus...... aculeatus was independent of land use (proxy used=%nature) when based on Gammarus pulex and Simuliidae, and the trophic position of Salmo trutta was independent of land use when based on Simuliidae only. The trophic position estimates based on Baetidae and mean primary consumers correlated with %nature...

  19. The predictive value of the baseline Oswestry Disability Index in lumbar disc arthroplasty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deutsch, Harel

    2010-06-01

    The goal of the study was to determine patient factors predictive of good outcome after lumbar disc arthroplasty. Specifically, the paper examines the relationship of the preoperative Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) to patient outcome at 1 year. The study is a retrospective review of 20 patients undergoing a 1-level lumbar disc arthroplasty at the author's institution between 2004 and 2008. All data were collected prospectively. Data included the ODI, visual analog scale scores, and patient demographics. All patients underwent a 1-level disc arthroplasty at L4-5 or L5-S1. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on their baseline ODI. Patients with an ODI between 38 and 59 demonstrated better outcomes with lumbar disc arthroplasty. Only 1 (20%) of 5 patients with a baseline ODI higher than 60 reported a good outcome. In contrast, 13 (87%) of 15 patients with an ODI between 38 and 59 showed a good outcome (p = 0.03). The negative predictive value of using ODI > 60 is 60% in patients who are determined to be candidates for lumbar arthroplasty. Lumbar arthroplasty is very effective in some patients. Other patients do not improve after surgery. The baseline ODI results are predictive of outcome in patients selected for lumbar disc arthroplasty. A baseline ODI > 60 is predictive of poor outcome. A high ODI may be indicative of psychosocial overlay.

  20. 10 CFR 850.20 - Baseline beryllium inventory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Baseline beryllium inventory. 850.20 Section 850.20 Energy... Baseline beryllium inventory. (a) The responsible employer must develop a baseline inventory of the... inventory, the responsible employer must: (1) Review current and historical records; (2) Interview workers...

  1. 40 CFR 80.92 - Baseline auditor requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 16 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Baseline auditor requirements. 80.92... (CONTINUED) REGULATION OF FUELS AND FUEL ADDITIVES Anti-Dumping § 80.92 Baseline auditor requirements. (a... determination methodology, resulting baseline fuel parameter, volume and emissions values verified by an auditor...

  2. Compatibility of Firm Positioning Strategy and Website Content: Highest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evla MUTLU KESİCİ

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Corporate websites are essential platforms through which firms introduce their goods and services on B2B and B2C level, express financial information for the stakeholders and share corporate values, purposes and activities. Due to its facilities, websites take part in firm positioning strategy. Accordingly this study aims to understand the innovation oriented positioning through corporate websites. The method applied in this study has been adapted from the 2QCV2Q Model developed by Mich and Franch (2000 to evaluate websites and top 30 firms with the highest Research and Development expenditures listed in Turkishtime (2015 have been analyzed. Within this context, this study presents a revised and updated method for the assessments of websites through positioning strategy framework. Findings indicate no direct relationship between website evaluation and R&D expenditure, though some common weaknesses have been put forward, such as information about management of the firms. Besides, publicly traded firms are recognized to facilitate websites more efficiently than non-publicly traded firms. Study contribute to both academia and practitioners as putting forward a new approach for 2QCV2Q Model and indicating the similarities and differences among the corporate websites through positioning perspective.

  3. Integrated planning: A baseline development perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clauss, L.; Chang, D.

    1994-01-01

    The FEMP Baseline establishes the basis for integrating environmental activity technical requirements with their cost and schedule elements. The result is a path forward to successfully achieving the FERMCO mission. Specific to cost management, the FEMP Baseline has been incorporate into the FERMCO Project Control System (PCS) to provide a time-phased budget plan against which contractor performance is measured with an earned value management system. The result is the Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB), an important tool for keeping cost under control

  4. Establishment of control site baseline data for erosion studies using radionuclides: a case study in East Slovenia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mabit, Lionel, E-mail: L.Mabit@iaea.or [Soil Science Unit, FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory, IAEA Laboratories Seibersdorf, PO Box 100, Wagramerstrasse 5, A-1400 Vienna (Austria); Martin, Paul [Physics, Chemistry and Instrumentation Laboratory, IAEA Laboratories Seibersdorf, PO Box 100, Wagramerstrasse 5, A-1400 Vienna (Austria); Jankong, Patcharin; Toloza, Arsenio [Soil Science Unit, FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory, IAEA Laboratories Seibersdorf, PO Box 100, Wagramerstrasse 5, A-1400 Vienna (Austria); Padilla-Alvarez, Roman [Physics, Chemistry and Instrumentation Laboratory, IAEA Laboratories Seibersdorf, PO Box 100, Wagramerstrasse 5, A-1400 Vienna (Austria); Zupanc, Vesna [Department of Agronomy, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana (Slovenia)

    2010-10-15

    The aim of the present study was to establish a reference site and its soil characteristics for use of fallout radionuclides in erosion studies in Slovenia. Prior to this study, no reference site and baseline data existed for Slovenia for this purpose. In the agricultural area of Goricko in East Slovenia, an undisturbed forest situated in Salamenci (46{sup o}44'N, 16{sup o}7'E), was selected to establish the inventory value of fallout {sup 137}Cs and to establish a baseline level of multi-elemental fingerprint (major, minor, trace elements including heavy metals) and naturally occurring radionuclides in soils. A total of 20 soil profiles were collected at four 10 cm depth increments for evaluation of baseline level of {sup 137}Cs inventory. An exponential distribution for {sup 137}Cs was found and the baseline level inventory was established at 7300 {+-} 2500 Bq m{sup -2} with a coefficient of variation of 34%. Of this mean present-day inventory, approximately 45% is due to the Chernobyl contribution. The physical degradation of soils through erosion is linked with biochemical degradation. This study introduces an approach to establishment of the naturally occurring radionuclide and elemental fingerprints baseline levels at a reference site which can provide comparative data to those from neighbouring agricultural fields for assessment of soil redistribution magnitude using fallout radionuclides. In addition, this information will be used to determine the impact of soil erosion processes and agricultural practices on soil quality and redistribution within agricultural landscapes in Slovenia.

  5. Up to the highest peak!

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN Bulletin

    2010-01-01

    In the early hours of this morning, the beam energy was ramped up to 3.5 TeV, a new world record and the highest energy for this year’s run. Now operators will prepare the machine to make high-energy collisions later this month. CERN Operations Group leader Mike Lamont (foreground) and LHC engineer in charge Alick Macpherson in the CERN Control Centre early this morning. At 5:23 this morning, Friday 19 March, the energy of both beams in the LHC was ramped up to 3.5 TeV, a new world record. During the night, operators had tested the performance of the whole machine with two so-called ‘dry runs’, that is, without beams. Given the good overall response, beams were injected at around 3:00 a.m. and stabilized soon after. The ramp started at around 4:10 and lasted about one hour. Over the last couple of weeks, operation of the LHC at 450 GeV has become routinely reproducible. The operators were able to test and optimize the beam orbit, the beam collimation, the injection and ext...

  6. Physics with a very long neutrino factory baseline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gandhi, Raj; Winter, Walter

    2007-01-01

    We discuss the neutrino oscillation physics of a very long neutrino factory baseline over a broad range of lengths (between 6000 km and 9000 km), centered on the 'magic baseline' (∼7500 km) where correlations with the leptonic CP phase are suppressed by matter effects. Since the magic baseline depends only on the density, we study the impact of matter density profile effects and density uncertainties over this range, and the impact of detector locations off the optimal baseline. We find that the optimal constant density describing the physics over this entire baseline range is about 5% higher than the average matter density. This implies that the magic baseline is significantly shorter than previously inferred. However, while a single detector optimization requires fine-tuning of the (very long) baseline length, its combination with a near detector at a shorter baseline is much less sensitive to the far detector location and to uncertainties in the matter density. In addition, we point out different applications of this baseline which go beyond its excellent correlation and degeneracy resolution potential. We demonstrate that such a long baseline assists in the improvement of the θ 13 precision and in the resolution of the octant degeneracy. Moreover, we show that the neutrino data from such a baseline could be used to extract the matter density along the profile up to 0.24% at 1σ for large sin 2 2θ 13 , providing a useful discriminator between different geophysical models

  7. Micronuclei and erythrocytic abnormalities frequencies of freshwater fishes: Establishing a baseline for health status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sousa, Debora Batista Pinheiro; Torres, Audalio Rebelo; Oliveira, Suelen Rosana Sampaio; Castro, Jonatas da Silva; Neta, Raimunda Nonata Fortes Carvalho

    2017-11-01

    Majority papers shows that micronucleus test and erythrocyte abnormalities are excellent tools such as tools for monitor fish health and the level of impact in aquatic ecosystems. Nevertheless, still do not know the baseline for those changes in freshwater fishes communities in the Brazilian Northeastern river. In this study, we show the level of basis of two species of freshwater fishes (Colossoma macropomum -tambaqui and Oreochromis niloticus - tilápia) with the aim of establish levels of background these species. The animals were collected from Ambude river in the protected area and blood collected from all fish for analysis. Erythrocyte indices—mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC)—were calculated. Blood samples from all fish were examined for micronuclear changes after Giemsa staining. Micronuclei were found in fish from from Ambude River. The baseline values determined for tambaqui was (micronuclei= 0.0071±0.0026; MCV=0.0073±0.0037; MCHV=0.0071±0.0024) and tilapia (micronuclei= 0.0061±0.0026; MCV=0.0037±0.0017; MCHV=0.056±0.0036). We belive that, we propose using the genotoxic approach for estimating fish health status as the technique allows examination in locus of live fish without the need for animal euthanasia. Besides, baseline level can be to establish levels of background and patterns to pathological and physiological research of these species in future biomonitoring programs.

  8. Moderate Amounts of Vitamin D3 in Supplements are Effective in Raising Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D from Low Baseline Levels in Adults: A Systematic Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan J Whiting

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available There is controversy surrounding the designation of vitamin D adequacy as defined by circulating levels of the metabolite 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OHD. Depending on the cutoff level chosen, dietary intakes of vitamin D may or may not provide sufficient impact upon vitamin D status measured as improvement in serum levels of 25(OHD. We sought to examine whether modest daily doses (5–20 μg as found in fortified foods or multivitamin supplements had a measureable impact on vitamin D status, defined as moving from below to above 50 nmol/L, or from less than 30 nmol/L to above 30 nmol/L. Published literature was searched for relevant articles describing randomized controlled trials. Exclusion criteria were: studies not involving humans; review articles; studies lacking blood level data pre- and post-treatment; no control group; bolus treatments (weekly, monthly, yearly; vitamin D <5 μg or >20 μg; baseline 25(OHD ≥75 nmol/L; subjects not defined as healthy; studies <8 weeks; and age <19 years. Of the 127 studies retrieved, 18 publications with 25 separate comparisons met criteria. The mean rate constant, defined as change in 25(OHD in nmol/L per μg vitamin D administered, was calculated as 2.19 ± 0.97 nmol/L per μg. There was a significant negative correlation (r = −0.65, p = 0.0004 between rate constant and administered dose. To determine impact of the dose reflecting the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR of 10 μg administered in nine studies (10 comparisons, in every case mean 25(OHD status rose either from “insufficient” (30–50 nmol/L to “sufficient” (>50 nmol/L or from “deficient” (<30 nmol/L to “insufficient” (>30 but <50 nmol/L. Our study shows that when baseline levels of groups were <75 nmol/L, for every microgram of vitamin D provided, 25(OHD levels can be raised by 2 nmol/L; and further, when groups were deficient or insufficient in vitamin D, there was significant value in providing additional 10 μg per day of

  9. Insulin resistance is associated with carotid intima-media thickness in non-diabetic subjects. A cross-sectional analysis of the ELSA-Brasil cohort baseline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Itamar S; Bittencourt, Márcio S; Goulart, Alessandra C; Schmidt, Maria Inês; Diniz, Maria de Fátima H S; Lotufo, Paulo A; Benseñor, Isabela M

    2017-05-01

    Epidemiological studies have analyzed the association between carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and insulin resistance, glucose levels or glycated hemoglobin with mixed results. We aimed to evaluate the association between CIMT and homeostasis model assessment - insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), fasting and post-load plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) baseline. We included 8028 participants (aged 35-74 years) without diabetes or overt cardiovascular disease who had complete CIMT data at baseline. We built crude and adjusted linear and binary logistic models to evaluate the association between CIMT and (a) HOMA-IR; (b) fasting plasma glucose; (c) post-load plasma glucose; and (d) glycated hemoglobin. We also built post-hoc models, stratified by sex. In the fully-adjusted linear models, only the association between CIMT (in mm) and HOMA-IR remained significant (β = 0.004; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]:0.001 to 0.006). Consistent with these results, only the association between the highest age- sex- and race-specific CIMT quartile and HOMA-IR was significant in the adjusted logistic model (odds ratio [OR]:1.10; 95% CI:1.04-1.17). The association between HOMA-IR and the highest CIMT quartile remained significant in sex-specific analyses (OR:1.10; 95% CI:1.02-1.20 for men and OR:1.10; 95% CI:1.02-1.20 for women). We did not find an independent association between CIMT and glucose or glycated hemoglobin. We found a direct association between HOMA-IR and CIMT in a large sample of non-diabetic participants. Mechanisms unrelated to glucose homeostasis, as a direct effect of insulin on atherosclerosis, or medial hypertrophy, may be involved. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Prediction of the pharmacokinetic parameters of triptolide in rats based on endogenous molecules in pre-dose baseline serum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linsheng Liu

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Individual variances usually affect drug metabolism and disposition, and hence result in either ineffectiveness or toxicity of a drug. In addition to genetic polymorphism, the multiple confounding factors of lifestyles, such as dietary preferences, contribute partially to individual variances. However, the difficulty of quantifying individual diversity greatly challenges the realization of individualized drug therapy. This study aims at quantitative evaluating the association between individual variances and the pharmacokinetics. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Molecules in pre-dose baseline serum were profiled using gas chromatography mass spectrometry to represent the individual variances of the model rats provided with high fat diets (HFD, routine chows and calorie restricted (CR chows. Triptolide and its metabolites were determined using high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Metabonomic and pharmacokinetic data revealed that rats treated with the varied diets had distinctly different metabolic patterns and showed differential C(max values, AUC and drug metabolism after oral administration of triptolide. Rats with fatty chows had the lowest C(max and AUC values and the highest percentage of triptolide metabolic transformation, while rats with CR chows had the highest C(max and AUC values and the least percentage of triptolide transformation. Multivariate linear regression revealed that in baseline serum, the concentrations of creatinine and glutamic acid, which is the precursor of GSH, were linearly negatively correlated to C(max and AUC values. The glutamic acid and creatinine in baseline serum were suggested as the potential markers to represent individual diversity and as predictors of the disposal and pharmacokinetics of triptolide. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results highlight the robust potential of metabonomics in characterizing individual variances and identifying relevant markers that have the

  11. Highest weight representations of the quantum algebra Uh(gl∞)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palev, T.D.; Stoilova, N.I.

    1997-04-01

    A class of highest weight irreducible representations of the quantum algebra U h (gl-∞) is constructed. Within each module a basis is introduced and the transformation relations of the basis under the action of the Chevalley generators are explicitly written. (author). 16 refs

  12. Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients Commencing Biologic Therapy Have High Baseline Levels of Comorbidity: A Report from the Australian Rheumatology Association Database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Oldroyd

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims. To compare the baseline characteristics of a population-based cohort of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS commencing biological therapy to the reported characteristics of bDMARD randomised controlled trials (RCTs participants. Methods. Descriptive analysis of AS participants in the Australian Rheumatology Association Database (ARAD who were commencing bDMARD therapy. Results. Up to December 2008, 389 patients with AS were enrolled in ARAD. 354 (91.0% had taken bDMARDs at some time, and 198 (55.9% completed their entry questionnaire prior to or within 6 months of commencing bDMARDs. 131 (66.1% had at least one comorbid condition, and 24 (6.8% had a previous malignancy (15 nonmelanoma skin, 4 melanoma, 2 prostate, 1 breast, cervix, and bowel. Compared with RCT participants, ARAD participants were older, had longer disease duration and higher baseline disease activity. Conclusions. AS patients commencing bDMARDs in routine care are significantly different to RCT participants and have significant baseline comorbidities.

  13. Baseline glucocorticoids are drivers of body mass gain in a diving seabird.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hennin, Holly L; Wells-Berlin, Alicia M; Love, Oliver P

    2016-03-01

    Life-history trade-offs are influenced by variation in individual state, with individuals in better condition often completing life-history stages with greater success. Although resource accrual significantly impacts key life-history decisions such as the timing of reproduction, little is known about the underlying mechanisms driving resource accumulation. Baseline corticosterone (CORT, the primary avian glucocorticoid) mediates daily and seasonal energetics, responds to changes in food availability, and has been linked to foraging behavior, making it a strong potential driver of individual variation in resource accrual and deposition. Working with a captive colony of white-winged scoters (Melanitta fusca deglandi), we aimed to causally determine whether variation in baseline CORT drives individual body mass gains mediated through fattening rate (plasma triglycerides corrected for body mass). We implanted individuals with each of three treatment pellets to elevate CORT within a baseline range in a randomized order: control, low dose of CORT, high dose of CORT, then blood sampled and recorded body mass over a two-week period to track changes in baseline CORT, body mass, and fattening rates. The high CORT treatment significantly elevated levels of plasma hormone for a short period of time within the biologically relevant, baseline range for this species, but importantly did not inhibit the function of the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis. Furthermore, an elevation in baseline CORT resulted in a consistent increase in body mass throughout the trial period compared to controls. This is some of the first empirical evidence demonstrating that elevations of baseline CORT within a biologically relevant range have a causal, direct, and positive influence on changes in body mass.

  14. Baseline glucocorticoids are drivers of body mass gain in a diving seabird

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hennin, Holly; Berlin, Alicia; Love, Oliver P.

    2016-01-01

    Life-history trade-offs are influenced by variation in individual state, with individuals in better condition often completing life-history stages with greater success. Although resource accrual significantly impacts key life-history decisions such as the timing of reproduction, little is known about the underlying mechanisms driving resource accumulation. Baseline corticosterone (CORT, the primary avian glucocorticoid) mediates daily and seasonal energetics, responds to changes in food availability, and has been linked to foraging behavior, making it a strong potential driver of individual variation in resource accrual and deposition. Working with a captive colony of white-winged scoters (Melanitta fusca deglandi), we aimed to causally determine whether variation in baseline CORT drives individual body mass gains mediated through fattening rate (plasma triglycerides corrected for body mass). We implanted individuals with each of three treatment pellets to elevate CORT within a baseline range in a randomized order: control, low dose of CORT, high dose of CORT, then blood sampled and recorded body mass over a two-week period to track changes in baseline CORT, body mass, and fattening rates. The high CORT treatment significantly elevated levels of plasma hormone for a short period of time within the biologically relevant, baseline range for this species, but importantly did not inhibit the function of the HPA (hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal) axis. Furthermore, an elevation in baseline CORT resulted in a consistent increase in body mass throughout the trial period compared to controls. This is some of the first empirical evidence demonstrating that elevations of baseline CORT within a biologically relevant range have a causal, direct, and positive influence on changes in body mass.

  15. Baseline energy forecasts and analysis of alternative strategies for airline fuel conservation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1976-07-01

    To evaluate the impact of fuel conservation strategies, baseline forecasts of airline activity and energy consumption to 1990 were developed. Alternative policy options to reduce fuel consumption were identified and analyzed for three baseline levels of aviation activity within the framework of an aviation activity/energy consumption model. By combining the identified policy options, a strategy was developed to provide incentives for airline fuel conservation. Strategies and policy options were evaluated in terms of their impact on airline fuel conservation and the functioning of the airline industry as well as the associated social, environmental, and economic costs. (GRA)

  16. LHCb base-line level-0 trigger 3D-flow implementation

    CERN Document Server

    Crosetto, D

    1999-01-01

    The LHCb Level-0 trigger implementation with the 3D-Flow system offers full programmability, allowing it to adapt to unexpected operating conditions and enabling new, unpredicted physics. The implementation is described in detail and refers to components and technology available today. The 3D-Flow Processor system is a new, technology-independent concept in very fast, real-time system architectures. Based on the replication of a single type of circuit of 100 k gates, which communicates in six directions: bi-directional with North, East, West, and South neighbors, unidirectional from Top to Bottom, the system offers full programmability, modularity, ease of expansion and adaptation to the latest technology. A complete study of its applicability to the LHCb calorimeter triggers is presented. Full description of the input data handling, either in digital or mixed digital-analog form, of the data processing, and the transmission of results to the global level-0 trigger decision unit are provided. Any level-0 trig...

  17. Does learning performance in horses relate to fearfulness, baseline stress hormone, and social rank?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Janne Winther; Ahrendt, Line Peerstrup; Lintrup, Randi

    2012-01-01

    The ability of horses to learn and remember new tasks is fundamentally important for their use by humans. Fearfulness may, however, interfere with learning, because stimuli in the environment can overshadow signals from the rider or handler. In addition, prolonged high levels of stress hormones c...... to behavioural responses in a standardised fear test. Learning performance in the home environment, however, appears unrelated to fearfulness, social rank and baseline FCM levels.......The ability of horses to learn and remember new tasks is fundamentally important for their use by humans. Fearfulness may, however, interfere with learning, because stimuli in the environment can overshadow signals from the rider or handler. In addition, prolonged high levels of stress hormones can...... affect neurons within the hippocampus; a brain region central to learning and memory. In a series of experiments, we aimed to investigate the link between performance in two learning tests, the baseline level of stress hormones, measured as faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM), fearfulness, and social rank...

  18. Overview of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility cryogenic system

    CERN Document Server

    Montanari, David; Bremer, Johan; Delaney, Michael; Aurelien, Diaz; Doubnik, Roza; Haaf, Kevin; Hentschel, Steve; Norris, Barry; Voirin, Erik

    2017-01-01

    The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) collaboration is developing a multi-kiloton Long-Baseline neutrino experiment that will be located one mile underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, SD. In the present design, detectors will be located inside four cryostats filled with a total of 68,400 ton of ultrapure liquid argon, at the level of impurities lower than 100 parts per trillion of oxygen equivalent contamination. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) is developing the conventional facilities and cryogenics infrastructure supporting this experiment. The cryogenics system is composed of several sub-systems: External/Infrastructure, Proximity, and Internal cryogenics. It will be engineered, manufactured, commissioned, and qualified by an international engineering team. This contribution highlights the main features of the LBNF cryogenic system. It presents its performance, functional requirements and modes of operations. It also details the status of the design, ...

  19. Pipeline integrity: ILI baseline data for QRA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Porter, Todd R. [Tuboscope Pipeline Services, Houston, TX (United States)]. E-mail: tporter@varco.com; Silva, Jose Augusto Pereira da [Pipeway Engenharia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: guto@pipeway.com; Marr, James [MARR and Associates, Calgary, AB (Canada)]. E-mail: jmarr@marr-associates.com

    2003-07-01

    The initial phase of a pipeline integrity management program (IMP) is conducting a baseline assessment of the pipeline system and segments as part of Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA). This gives the operator's integrity team the opportunity to identify critical areas and deficiencies in the protection, maintenance, and mitigation strategies. As a part of data gathering and integration of a wide variety of sources, in-line inspection (ILI) data is a key element. In order to move forward in the integrity program development and execution, the baseline geometry of the pipeline must be determined with accuracy and confidence. From this, all subsequent analysis and conclusions will be derived. Tuboscope Pipeline Services (TPS), in conjunction with Pipeway Engenharia of Brazil, operate ILI inertial navigation system (INS) and Caliper geometry tools, to address this integrity requirement. This INS and Caliper ILI tool data provides pipeline trajectory at centimeter level resolution and sub-metre 3D position accuracy along with internal geometry - ovality, dents, misalignment, and wrinkle/buckle characterization. Global strain can be derived from precise INS curvature measurements and departure from the initial pipeline state. Accurate pipeline elevation profile data is essential in the identification of sag/over bend sections for fluid dynamic and hydrostatic calculations. This data, along with pipeline construction, operations, direct assessment and maintenance data is integrated in LinaViewPRO{sup TM}, a pipeline data management system for decision support functions, and subsequent QRA operations. This technology provides the baseline for an informed, accurate and confident integrity management program. This paper/presentation will detail these aspects of an effective IMP, and experience will be presented, showing the benefits for liquid and gas pipeline systems. (author)

  20. Radionuclide Concentration in Soils and Vegetation at Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Area G during 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fresquez, P.R.; McNaughton, M.W.; Winch, M.J.

    2005-01-01

    Soil samples were collected at 15 locations and unwashed overstory and understory vegetation samples were collected from up to nine locations within and around the perimeter of Area G, the primary disposal facility for low-level radioactive solid waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Soil and plant samples were also collected from the proposed expansion area west of Area G for the purpose of gaining preoperational baseline data. Soil and plant samples were analyzed for radionuclides that have shown a history of detection in past years; these included 3 H, 238 Pu, 239,240 Pu, 241 Am, 234 U, 235 U, and 238 U for soils and 3 H, 238 Pu, and 239,240 Pu for plants. As in previous years, the highest levels of 3 H in soils and vegetation were detected at the south portion of Area G near the 3 H shafts; whereas, the highest concentrations of the Pu isotopes were detected in the northern and northeastern portions near the pads for transuranic waste. All concentrations of radionuclides in soils and vegetation, however, were still very low (pCi range) and far below LANL screening levels and regulatory standards

  1. The TDAQ Baseline Architecture

    CERN Multimedia

    Wickens, F J

    The Trigger-DAQ community is currently busy preparing material for the DAQ, HLT and DCS TDR. Over the last few weeks a very important step has been a series of meetings to complete agreement on the baseline architecture. An overview of the architecture indicating some of the main parameters is shown in figure 1. As reported at the ATLAS Plenary during the February ATLAS week, the main area where the baseline had not yet been agreed was around the Read-Out System (ROS) and details in the DataFlow. The agreed architecture has: Read-Out Links (ROLs) from the RODs using S-Link; Read-Out Buffers (ROB) sited near the RODs, mounted in a chassis - today assumed to be a PC, using PCI bus at least for configuration, control and monitoring. The baseline assumes data aggregation, in the ROB and/or at the output (which could either be over a bus or in the network). Optimization of the data aggregation will be made in the coming months, but the current model has each ROB card receiving input from 4 ROLs, and 3 such c...

  2. An Improved Rank Correlation Effect Size Statistic for Single-Case Designs: Baseline Corrected Tau.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarlow, Kevin R

    2017-07-01

    Measuring treatment effects when an individual's pretreatment performance is improving poses a challenge for single-case experimental designs. It may be difficult to determine whether improvement is due to the treatment or due to the preexisting baseline trend. Tau- U is a popular single-case effect size statistic that purports to control for baseline trend. However, despite its strengths, Tau- U has substantial limitations: Its values are inflated and not bound between -1 and +1, it cannot be visually graphed, and its relatively weak method of trend control leads to unacceptable levels of Type I error wherein ineffective treatments appear effective. An improved effect size statistic based on rank correlation and robust regression, Baseline Corrected Tau, is proposed and field-tested with both published and simulated single-case time series. A web-based calculator for Baseline Corrected Tau is also introduced for use by single-case investigators.

  3. Why some people discount more than others: Baseline activation in the dorsal PFC mediates the link between COMT genotype and impatient choice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorena R. R. Gianotti

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Individuals differ widely in how steeply they discount future rewards. The sources of these stable individual differences in delay discounting (DD are largely unknown. One candidate is the COMT Val158Met polymorphism, known to modulate prefrontal dopamine levels and affect DD. To identify possible neural mechanisms by which this polymorphism may contribute to stable individual DD differences, we measured 73 participants’ neural baseline activation using resting electroencephalogram (EEG. Such neural baseline activation measures are highly heritable and stable over time, thus an ideal endophenotype candidate to explain how genes may influence behavior via individual differences in neural function. After EEG-recording, participants made a series of incentive-compatible intertemporal choices to determine the steepness of their DD. We found that COMT significantly affected DD and that this effect was mediated by baseline activation level in the left dorsal prefrontal cortex (DPFC: (i COMT had a significant effect on DD such that the number of Val alleles was positively correlated with steeper DD (higher numbers of Val alleles means greater COMT activity and thus lower dopamine levels. (ii A whole-brain search identified a cluster in left DPFC where baseline activation was correlated with DD; lower activation was associated with steeper DD. (iii COMT had a significant effect on the baseline activation level in this left DPFC cluster such that a higher number of Val alleles was associated with lower baseline activation. (iv The effect of COMT on DD was explained by the mediating effect of neural baseline activation in the left DPFC cluster. Our study thus establishes baseline activation level in left DPFC as salient neural signature in the form of an endophenotype that mediates the link between COMT and DD.

  4. Lung Cancer Screening May Benefit Those at Highest Risk

    Science.gov (United States)

    People at the highest risk for lung cancer, based on a risk model, may be more likely to benefit from screening with low-dose CT, a new analysis suggests. The study authors believe the findings may better define who should undergo lung cancer screening, as this Cancer Currents blog post explains.

  5. THE US LONG BASELINE NEUTRINO EXPERIMENT STUDY.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    BISHAI,M.

    2007-08-06

    The US Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment Study was commissioned jointly by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL)and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) to investigate the potential for future U.S. based long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments using MW class conventional neutrino beams that can be produced at FNAL. The experimental baselines are based on two possible detector locations: (1) off-axis to the existing FNAL NuMI beamline at baselines of 700 to 810 km and (2) NSF's proposed future Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) at baselines greater than 1000km. Two detector technologies are considered: a megaton class Water Cherenkov detector deployed deep underground at a DUSEL site, or a 100kT Liquid Argon Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) deployed on the surface at any of the proposed sites. The physics sensitivities of the proposed experiments are summarized. We find that conventional horn focused wide-band neutrino beam options from FNAL aimed at a massive detector with a baseline of > 1000km have the best sensitivity to CP violation and the neutrino mass hierarchy for values of the mixing angle {theta}{sub 13} down to 2{sup o}.

  6. The highest energy cosmic rays, photons and neutrinos

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zas, Enrique

    1998-01-01

    In these lectures I introduce and discuss aspects of currently active fields of interest related to the production, transport and detection of high energy particles from extraterrestrial sources. I have payed most attention to the highest energies and I have divided the material according to the types of particles which will be searched for with different experimental facilities in planning: hadrons, gamma rays and neutrinos. Particular attention is given to shower development, stochastic acceleration and detection techniques

  7. Extreme groundwater levels caused by extreme weather conditions - the highest ever measured groundwater levels in Middle Germany and their management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinstorf, F.; Kramer, S.; Koch, T.; Pfützner, B.

    2017-12-01

    Extreme weather conditions during the years 2009 - 2011 in combination with changes in the regional water management led to maximum groundwater levels in large areas of Germany in 2011. This resulted in extensive water logging, with problems especially in urban areas near rivers, where water logging produced huge problems for buildings and infrastructure. The acute situation still exists in many areas and requires the development of solution concepts. Taken the example of the Elbe-Saale-Region in the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt, were a pilot research project was carried out, the analytical situation, the development of a management tool and the implementation of a groundwater management concept are shown. The central tool is a coupled water budget - groundwater flow model. In combination with sophisticated multi-scale parameter estimation, a high-resolution groundwater level simulation was carried out. A decision support process with an intensive stakeholder interaction combined with high-resolution simulations enables the development of a management concept for extreme groundwater situations in consideration of sustainable and environmentally sound solutions mainly on the base of passive measures.

  8. Why are models unable to reproduce multi-decadal trends in lower tropospheric baseline ozone levels?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, L.; Liu, J.; Mickley, L. J.; Strahan, S. E.; Steenrod, S.

    2017-12-01

    Assessments of tropospheric ozone radiative forcing rely on accurate model simulations. Parrish et al (2014) found that three chemistry-climate models (CCMs) overestimate present-day O3 mixing ratios and capture only 50% of the observed O3 increase over the last five decades at 12 baseline sites in the northern mid-latitudes, indicating large uncertainties in our understanding of the ozone trends and their implications for radiative forcing. Here we present comparisons of outputs from two chemical transport models (CTMs) - GEOS-Chem and the Global Modeling Initiative model - with O3 observations from the same sites and from the global ozonesonde network. Both CTMs are driven by reanalysis meteorological data (MERRA or MERRA2) and thus are expected to be different in atmospheric transport processes relative to those freely running CCMs. We test whether recent model developments leading to more active ozone chemistry affect the computed ozone sensitivity to perturbations in emissions. Preliminary results suggest these CTMs can reproduce present-day ozone levels but fail to capture the multi-decadal trend since 1980. Both models yield widespread overpredictions of free tropospheric ozone in the 1980s. Sensitivity studies in GEOS-Chem suggest that the model estimate of natural background ozone is too high. We discuss factors that contribute to the variability and trends of tropospheric ozone over the last 30 years, with a focus on intermodel differences in spatial resolution and in the representation of stratospheric chemistry, stratosphere-troposphere exchange, halogen chemistry, and biogenic VOC emissions and chemistry. We also discuss uncertainty in the historical emission inventories used in models, and how these affect the simulated ozone trends.

  9. The Association of Reproductive Hormone Levels and All-Cause, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Men

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agergaard Holmboe, Stine; Vradi, Eleni; Jensen, Tina Kold

    2015-01-01

    , 50, 60 or 70 years at baseline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: All-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and cancer mortality. RESULTS: 1,533 men died during the follow-up period; 428 from CVD and 480 from cancer. Cox proportional hazard models revealed that men in highest LH quartile had...... an increased all-cause mortality compared to lowest quartile (HR=1.32, 95%CI: 1.14 to 1.53). Likewise, increased quartiles of LH/T and estradiol increased the risk of all-cause mortality (HR=1.23, 95%CI: 1.06 to 1.43, HR=1.23, 95%CI: 1.06 to 1.43). No association to testosterone levels was found. Higher LH...... levels were associated with increased cancer mortality (HR=1.42, 95%CI: 1.10 to 1.84) independently of smoking status. Lower CVD mortality was seen for men with testosterone in the highest quartile compared to lowest (HR=0.72, 95%CI: 0.53 to 0.98). Furthermore, negative trends were seen for SHBG and free...

  10. Low adiponectin levels at baseline and decreasing adiponectin levels over 10 years of follow-up predict risk of the metabolic syndrome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindberg, S; Jensen, J S; Bjerre, Mette

    2017-01-01

    AIM: Adiponectin is the most abundant adipokine and may play a key role in the interplay between obesity, inflammation, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Thus, this large population-based cohort investigated whether adiponectin at baseline and/or a decrease in adiponectin during......-up were inversely associated with an increase in the number of components of MetS (Pvs 7.0mg/L (95% CI: 6.3-7.9) for those with four to five components. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Low plasma...

  11. The highest spin discrete levels in 131,132Ce

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paul, E S; Choy, P T W; Andreoiu, C; Boston, A J; Evans, A O; Fox, C; Gros, S; Nolan, P J; Rainovski, G; Sampson, J A; Scraggs, H C; Walker, A; Appelbe, D E; Joss, D T; Simpson, J; Gizon, J; Astier, A; Buforn, N; Prevost, A; Redon, N; Stezowski, O; Nyako, B M; Sohler, D; Timar, J; Zolnai, L; Bazzacco, D; Lunardi, S; Petrache, C M; Bednarczyk, P; Curien, D; Kintz, N; Ragnarsson, I

    2006-01-01

    The three superdeformed (SD) bands in 132 Ce and the two SD bands in 131 Ce have been extended to higher spin following experiments with the EUROBALL IV spectrometer. The two SD bands in 131 Ce have been linked together. However, despite the relatively high population intensity of the bands (up to 5% of the respective channel), it has not been possible to unambiguously link any of the five SD bands into the low-spin, normally deformed structures of 131,132 Ce

  12. English Learners: Reaching the Highest Level of English Literacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Gilbert C., Ed.

    This collection of papers examines the critical literacy development of English learners, focusing on English reading instruction in an immersion setting, English language development, and cultural issues pertaining to English learners in and out of the classroom. The 16 papers include the following: (1) "Reading and the Bilingual Student: Fact…

  13. Malaria prevalence, anemia and baseline intervention coverage prior to mass net distributions in Abia and Plateau States, Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noland, Gregory S; Graves, Patricia M; Sallau, Adamu; Eigege, Abel; Emukah, Emmanuel; Patterson, Amy E; Ajiji, Joseph; Okorofor, Iheanyichi; Oji, Oji Uka; Umar, Mary; Alphonsus, Kal; Damen, James; Ngondi, Jeremiah; Ozaki, Masayo; Cromwell, Elizabeth; Obiezu, Josephine; Eneiramo, Solomon; Okoro, Chinyere; McClintic-Doyle, Renn; Oresanya, Olusola; Miri, Emmanuel; Emerson, Paul M; Richards, Frank O

    2014-03-26

    Nigeria suffers the world's largest malaria burden, with approximately 51 million cases and 207,000 deaths annually. As part of the country's aim to reduce by 50% malaria-related morbidity and mortality by 2013, it embarked on mass distribution of free long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). Prior to net distribution campaigns in Abia and Plateau States, Nigeria, a modified malaria indicator survey was conducted in September 2010 to determine baseline state-level estimates of Plasmodium prevalence, childhood anemia, indoor residual spraying (IRS) coverage and bednet ownership and utilization. Overall age-adjusted prevalence of Plasmodium infection by microscopy was similar between Abia (36.1%, 95% CI: 32.3%-40.1%; n = 2,936) and Plateau (36.6%, 95% CI: 31.3%-42.3%; n = 4,209), with prevalence highest among children 5-9 years. P. malariae accounted for 32.0% of infections in Abia, but only 1.4% of infections in Plateau. More than half of children ≤10 years were anemic, with anemia significantly higher in Abia (76.9%, 95% CI: 72.1%-81.0%) versus Plateau (57.1%, 95% CI: 50.6%-63.4%). Less than 1% of households in Abia (n = 1,305) or Plateau (n = 1,335) received IRS in the 12 months prior to survey. Household ownership of at least one bednet of any type was 10.1% (95% CI: 7.5%-13.4%) in Abia and 35.1% (95% CI: 29.2%-41.5%) in Plateau. Ownership of two or more bednets was 2.1% (95% CI: 1.2%-3.7%) in Abia and 14.5% (95% CI: 10.2%-20.3%) in Plateau. Overall reported net use the night before the survey among all individuals, children Abia and 14.7%, 19.1% and 21.0%, respectively in Plateau. Among households owning nets, 34.4% of children Abia used a net, compared to 52.6% of children and 62.7% of pregnant women in Plateau. These results reveal high Plasmodium prevalence and childhood anemia in both states, low baseline coverage of IRS and LLINs, and sub-optimal net use-especially among age groups with highest observed malaria burden.

  14. Lack of association between depression and C-reactive protein level in the baseline of Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Menezes, Sara Teles; de Figueiredo, Roberta Carvalho; Goulart, Alessandra Carvalho; Nunes, Maria Angélica; M Benseñor, Isabela; Viana, Maria Carmen; Barreto, Sandhi Maria

    2017-01-15

    Depression has been linked to increased levels of inflammatory markers in clinical studies, but results from general population samples are inconsistent. We aimed to investigate whether depression was associated with serum CRP levels in a cross-sectional analysis of a large cohort from a middle-income country. We analyzed baseline data from 14,821 participants (35-74 years) of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Current depression (last 7 days) was assessed by the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (CIS-R). Because individuals on antidepressants could be negative on CIS-R due to their therapeutic effect, the explanatory variable had three categories: (1) negative on CIS-R and not using antidepressant (reference); (2) negative on CIS-R but using antidepressant; (3) positive on CIS-R with/without antidepressant use. Associations with CRP were investigated by general linear model (GLM). After adjustments for confounders, neither current depression, nor antidepressant use was statistically associated with elevated CRP levels. Additionally, analyzes stratified by gender, type and severity of depression did not change the results. The reference group in our analysis might include participants with a lifetime history of depression. Additionally, the exclusion of questions on weight fluctuation and appetite from the CIS-R applied in ELSA-Brasil may have slightly underestimated the prevalence of depression, as well as limited our ability to assess the presence of somatic symptoms. This study found no association between current depression, use of antidepressants, and serum CRP levels. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Elevating Baseline Activation Does Not Facilitate Reading of Unattended Words

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lien, Mei-Ching; Kouchi, Scott; Ruthruff, Eric; Lachter, Joel B.

    2009-01-01

    Previous studies have disagreed the extent to which people extract meaning from words presented outside the focus of spatial attention. The present study, examined a possible explanation for such discrepancies, inspired by attenuation theory: unattended words can be read more automatically when they have a high baseline level of activation (e.g., due to frequent repetition or due to being expected in a given context). We presented a brief prime word in lowercase, followed by a target word in uppercase. Participants indicated whether the target word belonged to a particular category (e.g., "sport"). When we drew attention to the prime word using a visual cue, the prime produced substantial priming effects on target responses (i.e., faster responses when the prime and target words were identical or from the same category than when they belonged to different categories). When prime words were not attended, however, they produced no priming effects. This finding replicated even when there were only 4 words, each repeated 160 times during the experiment. Even with a very high baseline level of activation, it appears that very little word processing is possible without spatial attention.

  16. The impact of sterile neutrinos on CP measurements at long baselines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gandhi, Raj; Kayser, Boris; Masud, Mehedi; Prakash, Suprabh

    2015-01-01

    With the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) as an example, we show that the presence of even one sterile neutrino of mass ∼1 eV can significantly impact the measurements of CP violation in long baseline experiments. Using a probability level analysis and neutrino-antineutrino asymmetry calculations, we discuss the large magnitude of these effects, and show how they translate into significant event rate deviations at DUNE. Our results demonstrate that measurements which, when interpreted in the context of the standard three family paradigm, indicate CP conservation at long baselines, may, in fact hide large CP violation if there is a sterile state. Similarly, any data indicating the violation of CP cannot be properly interpreted within the standard paradigm unless the presence of sterile states of mass O(1 eV) can be conclusively ruled out. Our work underscores the need for a parallel and linked short baseline oscillation program and a highly capable near detector for DUNE, in order that its highly anticipated results on CP violation in the lepton sector may be correctly interpreted.

  17. Is Vitamin C Supplementation Beneficial on Plasma Levels of Vitamin C and Total Anitioxidants for Pediatric Thalassemic Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Molouk Hadjibabaie

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Thalassemic patients undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT are faced with cumulative high level of oxidative stress and depletion of critical antioxidants. Administration of antioxidants, is promising towards minimizing oxidative damage in both thalassemic and HSCT patients.Method: This was a prospective cross-sectional observational study. Patients as a part of institutional protocol were received Vitamin C (Vit C (all the patients received oral Vit C; 200 mg and 400 mg Vit C, if they were less or more than 20 kg respectively plus 10 mg/kg/day intravenous infusion of Vit C.We measured plasma Vit C and total antioxidant (TAs levels at four different time points; baseline, transplantation day (0, day +7 and day +14. We calculated mean and standard error for plasma levels of Vit C and TAs.Results: Fifthy patients enrolled in this study (mean age 7.97± 3.53. In all four time points, means of Vit C and TAs serum levels were under their reference values and their highest means were belong to baseline. Serum TAs and Vit C both depleted significantly from baseline to day 0 (P: 0.00 for both variables, then increased up to day +7 and it keeps rising till day +14 (P: 0.00 from day0 to day +7 and +14 for both variables. These changes were significant through the measurement time. There is also a significant correlation between baseline Vit C and baseline TAs (P: 0.11. This means the higher level of Vit C is correlated with higher level of TAs and vice versa.Conclusion: We did not observe any beneficial effects of administering Vit C in thalassemic patients undergoing HSCT in order to increase or prevent depletion of Vit C and TAs serum levels. This could be resolved by further investigations carrying out higher doses or longer duration and having a control group.

  18. Origin of the highest energy cosmic rays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biermann, Peter L.; Ahn, Eun-Joo; Medina-Tanco, Gustavo; Stanev, Todor

    2000-06-01

    Introducing a simple Galactic wind model patterned after the solar wind we show that back-tracing the orbits of the highest energy cosmic events suggests that they may all come from the Virgo cluster, and so probably from the active radio galaxy M87. This confirms a long standing expectation. Those powerful radio galaxies that have their relativistic jets stuck in the interstellar medium of the host galaxy, such as 3C147, will then enable us to derive limits on the production of any new kind of particle, expected in some extensions of the standard model in particle physics. New data from HIRES will be crucial in testing the model proposed here.

  19. Potential Effects of a Scenario Earthquake on the Economy of Southern California: Baseline County-Level Migration Characteristics and Trends 1995-2000 and 2001-2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherrouse, Benson C.; Hester, David J.

    2008-01-01

    The Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project (MHDP) is a collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and various partners from the public and private sectors and academia, meant to improve Southern California's resiliency to natural hazards. In support of the MHDP objectives, the ShakeOut Scenario was developed. It describes a magnitude 7.8 earthquake along the southernmost 300 kilometers (200 miles) of the San Andreas Fault, identified by geoscientists as a plausible event that will cause moderate to strong shaking over much of the eight-county (Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura) Southern California region. This report uses historical, estimated, and projected population data from several Federal and State data sources to estimate baseline characteristics and trends of the region's population migration (that is, changes in a person's place of residence over time). The analysis characterizes migration by various demographic, economic, family, and household variables for the period 1995-2000. It also uses existing estimates (beginning in 2001) of the three components of population change - births, deaths, and migration - to extrapolate near-term projections of county-level migration trends through 2010. The 2010 date was chosen to provide baseline projections corresponding to a two-year recovery period following the November 2008 date that was selected for the occurrence of the ShakeOut Scenario earthquake. The baseline characteristics and projections shall assist with evaluating the effects of inflow and outflow migration trends for alternative futures in which the simulated M7.8 earthquake either does or does not occur and the impact of the event on housing and jobs, as well as community composition and regional economy changes based on dispersion of intellectual, physical, economic, and cultural capital.

  20. A new derivation of the highest-weight polynomial of a unitary lie algebra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    P Chau, Huu-Tai; P Van, Isacker

    2000-01-01

    A new method is presented to derive the expression of the highest-weight polynomial used to build the basis of an irreducible representation (IR) of the unitary algebra U(2J+1). After a brief reminder of Moshinsky's method to arrive at the set of equations defining the highest-weight polynomial of U(2J+1), an alternative derivation of the polynomial from these equations is presented. The method is less general than the one proposed by Moshinsky but has the advantage that the determinantal expression of the highest-weight polynomial is arrived at in a direct way using matrix inversions. (authors)

  1. Cortisol levels at baseline and under stress in adolescent males with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, with or without comorbid conduct disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Northover, Clare; Thapar, Anita; Langley, Kate; Fairchild, Graeme; van Goozen, Stephanie H M

    2016-08-30

    Reported findings on cortisol reactivity to stress in young people with ADHD are very variable. This inconsistency may be explained by high rates of comorbidity with Conduct Disorder (CD). The present study examined cortisol responses to a psychosocial stressor in a large sample of adolescent males with ADHD (n=202), with or without a comorbid diagnosis of Conduct Disorder (CD). Associations between stress reactivity and callous-unemotional traits and internalizing symptoms were also assessed. The ADHD only (n=95) and ADHD+CD (n=107) groups did not differ in baseline cortisol, but the ADHD+CD group showed significantly reduced cortisol stress reactivity relative to the ADHD only group. Regression analyses indicated that ADHD symptom severity predicted reduced baseline cortisol, whereas CD symptom severity predicted increased baseline cortisol (ADHD β=-0.24, CD β=0.16, R=0.26) and reduced cortisol stress reactivity (β=-0.17, R=0.17). Callous-unemotional traits and internalizing symptoms were not significantly related to baseline or stress-induced cortisol. Impaired cortisol reactivity is hypothesised to reflect fearlessness and is associated with deficient emotion regulation and inhibition of aggressive and antisocial behaviour. Consequently, it may partly explain the greater severity of problems seen in those with comorbid ADHD and CD. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  2. Long Baseline Observatory (LBO)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Long Baseline Observatory (LBO) comprises ten radio telescopes spanning 5,351 miles. It's the world's largest, sharpest, dedicated telescope array. With an eye...

  3. Hyperuricemia Is a Risk Factor for the Onset of Impaired Fasting Glucose in Men with a High Plasma Glucose Level: A Community-Based Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyake, Teruki; Kumagi, Teru; Furukawa, Shinya; Hirooka, Masashi; Kawasaki, Keitarou; Koizumi, Mitsuhito; Todo, Yasuhiko; Yamamoto, Shin; Abe, Masanori; Kitai, Kohichiro; Matsuura, Bunzo; Hiasa, Yoichi

    2014-01-01

    Background It is not clear whether elevated uric acid is a risk factor for the onset of impaired fasting glucose after stratifying by baseline fasting plasma glucose levels. We conducted a community-based retrospective longitudinal cohort study to clarify the relationship between uric acid levels and the onset of impaired fasting glucose, according to baseline fasting plasma glucose levels. Methods We enrolled 6,403 persons (3,194 men and 3,209 women), each of whom was 18–80 years old and had >2 annual check-ups during 2003–2010. After excluding persons who had fasting plasma glucose levels ≥6.11 mM and/or were currently taking anti-diabetic agents, the remaining 5,924 subjects were classified into quartiles according to baseline fasting plasma glucose levels. The onset of impaired fasting glucose was defined as fasting plasma glucose ≥6.11 mM during the observation period. Results In the quartile groups, 0.9%, 2.1%, 3.4%, and 20.2% of the men developed impaired fasting glucose, respectively, and 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5%, and 5.6% of the women developed impaired fasting glucose, respectively (P trend fasting glucose in men with highest-quartile fasting plasma glucose levels (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.003; 95% confidence interval, 1.0001–1.005, P = 0.041). Conclusions Among men with high fasting plasma glucose, hyperuricemia may be independently associated with an elevated risk of developing impaired fasting glucose. PMID:25237894

  4. Choice of baseline climate data impacts projected species' responses to climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, David J; Hartley, Andrew J; Butchart, Stuart H M; Willis, Stephen G

    2016-07-01

    Climate data created from historic climate observations are integral to most assessments of potential climate change impacts, and frequently comprise the baseline period used to infer species-climate relationships. They are often also central to downscaling coarse resolution climate simulations from General Circulation Models (GCMs) to project future climate scenarios at ecologically relevant spatial scales. Uncertainty in these baseline data can be large, particularly where weather observations are sparse and climate dynamics are complex (e.g. over mountainous or coastal regions). Yet, importantly, this uncertainty is almost universally overlooked when assessing potential responses of species to climate change. Here, we assessed the importance of historic baseline climate uncertainty for projections of species' responses to future climate change. We built species distribution models (SDMs) for 895 African bird species of conservation concern, using six different climate baselines. We projected these models to two future periods (2040-2069, 2070-2099), using downscaled climate projections, and calculated species turnover and changes in species-specific climate suitability. We found that the choice of baseline climate data constituted an important source of uncertainty in projections of both species turnover and species-specific climate suitability, often comparable with, or more important than, uncertainty arising from the choice of GCM. Importantly, the relative contribution of these factors to projection uncertainty varied spatially. Moreover, when projecting SDMs to sites of biodiversity importance (Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas), these uncertainties altered site-level impacts, which could affect conservation prioritization. Our results highlight that projections of species' responses to climate change are sensitive to uncertainty in the baseline climatology. We recommend that this should be considered routinely in such analyses. © 2016 John Wiley

  5. Hanford Site technical baseline database. Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Porter, P.E.

    1995-01-01

    This report lists the Hanford specific files (Table 1) that make up the Hanford Site Technical Baseline Database. Table 2 includes the delta files that delineate the differences between this revision and revision 0 of the Hanford Site Technical Baseline Database. This information is being managed and maintained on the Hanford RDD-100 System, which uses the capabilities of RDD-100, a systems engineering software system of Ascent Logic Corporation (ALC). This revision of the Hanford Site Technical Baseline Database uses RDD-100 version 3.0.2.2 (see Table 3). Directories reflect those controlled by the Hanford RDD-100 System Administrator. Table 4 provides information regarding the platform. A cassette tape containing the Hanford Site Technical Baseline Database is available

  6. Role of baseline HIV-1 DNA level in highly-experienced patients receiving raltegravir, etravirine and darunavir/ritonavir regimen (ANRS139 TRIO trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charlotte Charpentier

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: In the ANRS 139 TRIO trial, the use of 3 new active drugs (raltegravir, etravirine, and darunavir/ritonavir, resulted in a potent and sustained inhibition of viral replication in multidrug-resistant treatment-experienced patients. The aim of this virological sub-study of the ANRS 139 TRIO trial was to assess: (i the evolution of HIV-1 DNA over the first year; and (ii the association between baseline HIV-1 DNA and virological outcome. METHODS: Among the 103 HIV-1-infected patients included in the ANRS-139 TRIO trial, HIV-1 DNA specimens were available for 92, 84, 88, and 83 patients at Week (W0, W12, W24, and W48, respectively. Quantification of total HIV-1 DNA was performed by using the commercial kit "Generic HIV DNA Cell" (Biocentric, Bandol, France. RESULTS: Baseline median HIV-1 DNA of patients displaying virological success (n= 61, viral blip (n= 20, and virological failure (n = 11 were 2.34 log(10 copies/10(6 PBMC (IQR= 2.15-2.66, 2.42 (IQR = 2.12-2.48, and 2.68 (IQR= 2.46-2.83, respectively. Although not statistically significant, patients exhibiting virological success or viral blip had a tendency to display lower baseline HIV-1 DNA than patients experiencing virological failure (P = 0.06. Median decrease of HIV-1 DNA between baseline and W48 was -0.13 log(10 copies/10(6 PBMC (IQR = -0.34 to +0.10, mainly explained by the evolution from W0 to W4. No more changes were observed in the W4-W48 period. CONCLUSIONS: In highly-experienced multidrug-resistant patients, HIV-1 DNA slightly decreased during the first month and then remained stable during the first year of highly potent antiretroviral regimen. In this population, baseline HIV-1 DNA might help to better predict the virological response and to tailor clinical therapeutic management as more aggressive therapeutic choices in patients with higher baseline HIV-1 DNA.

  7. Measurement of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in plastic resin pellets from remote islands : Toward establishment of baseline level for International Pellet Watch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takada, H.; Heskett, M.; Yamashita, R.; Yuyama, M.; Itoh, M.; Geok, Y. B.; Ogata, Y.

    2011-12-01

    Plastic resin pellets collected from remote islands in open oceans (Canary, St. Helena, Cocos, Hawaii, Maui Islands and Barbados) were sorted and yellowing polyethylene (PE) pellets were measured for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and the degradation products (DDTs), and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) by gas chromatograph equipped with mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). PCBs were detected from all the pellet samples, confirming the global dispersion of PCBs. Median concentrations of PCBs (sum of 13 congeners : CB-66, CB-101, CB-110, CB-118, CB-105, CB-149, CB-153, CB-138, CB-128, CB-187, CB-180, CB-170, CB-206) in the remote island pellets ranged from 0.1 to 10 ng/g-pellet. These were one to three orders of magnitude lower than those observed for pellets from industrialized coastal zones (hundreds ng/g in Los Angeles, Boston, Tokyo; Ogata et al., 2009). Because these remote islands are far (>100 km) from industrialized zones, these concentrations (i.e., 0.1 to 10 ng/g-pellet) can be regarded as global "baseline" level of PCB pollution. Concentrations of DDTs in the remote island pellets ranged from 0.2 to 5.5 ng/g-pellet. At some locations, DDT was dominant over the degradation products (DDE and DDD), suggesting current usage of the pesticides in the islands. HCHs concentrations were 0.4 - 1.8 ng/g-pellet and lower than PCBs and DDTs, except for St. Helena Island at 18.8 ng/g-pellet where the current usage of the pesticides are of concern. The analyses of pellets from the remote islands provided "baseline" level of POPs (PCBs effects of global distillation, pellet samples from remote islands in higher latitude regions are necessary. From the eco-toxicological point of view, the fact that sporadic high concentrations of POPs were detected in some pellet samples from the remote islands is underscored. Some plastic debris which were contaminated in industrialized coastal zones may have rapidly

  8. Oxygen pathway modeling estimates high reactive oxygen species production above the highest permanent human habitation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isaac Cano

    Full Text Available The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS from the inner mitochondrial membrane is one of many fundamental processes governing the balance between health and disease. It is well known that ROS are necessary signaling molecules in gene expression, yet when expressed at high levels, ROS may cause oxidative stress and cell damage. Both hypoxia and hyperoxia may alter ROS production by changing mitochondrial Po2 (PmO2. Because PmO2 depends on the balance between O2 transport and utilization, we formulated an integrative mathematical model of O2 transport and utilization in skeletal muscle to predict conditions to cause abnormally high ROS generation. Simulations using data from healthy subjects during maximal exercise at sea level reveal little mitochondrial ROS production. However, altitude triggers high mitochondrial ROS production in muscle regions with high metabolic capacity but limited O2 delivery. This altitude roughly coincides with the highest location of permanent human habitation. Above 25,000 ft., more than 90% of exercising muscle is predicted to produce abnormally high levels of ROS, corresponding to the "death zone" in mountaineering.

  9. 75 FR 66748 - Notice of Baseline Filings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-29

    ...- 000] Notice of Baseline Filings October 22, 2010. ONEOK Gas Transportation, L.L.C Docket No. PR11-68... above submitted a revised baseline filing of their Statement of Operating Conditions for services...

  10. Lower serum endogenous secretory receptor for advanced glycation end product level as a risk factor of metabolic syndrome among Japanese adult men: a 2-year longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Momma, Haruki; Niu, Kaijun; Kobayashi, Yoritoshi; Huang, Cong; Chujo, Masahiko; Otomo, Atsushi; Tadaura, Hiroko; Miyata, Toshio; Nagatomi, Ryoichi

    2014-02-01

    Receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) activation by its ligands is implicated in obesity-related metabolic disease and accelerated atherothrombosis. Circulating soluble (sRAGE) and/or endogenous secretory RAGE (esRAGE) may counteract the detrimental effects of RAGE. This study aimed at determining the relationship between circulating RAGE and metabolic syndrome (MetS) incidence among Japanese adult men. This 2-year longitudinal study included 426 Japanese men aged 30-83 years who had no MetS at baseline. Serum esRAGE and sRAGE were assayed by ELISA at baseline. Incident metabolic syndrome, defined according to the Asian cutoff based on the 2009 criteria of the American Heart Association Scientific Statements, was evaluated after the 2-year follow-up. During the follow-up period, 55 participants (12.9%) had newly diagnosed MetS. In the multiple logistic models comparing MetS risk in the lowest with that in the highest tertile of baseline esRAGE, a high serum esRAGE level was found to be significantly associated with a low risk of MetS [odds ratios (95% confidence interval), 0.37 (0.14-0.95); P for trend = 0.038] after adjusting for lifestyle and sociodemographic factors, serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and MetS components at baseline. Although sRAGE and esRAGE were strongly correlated (r(s) = 0.88), the sRAGE level was not associated with MetS incidence. A high circulating esRAGE level, but not sRAGE level, was associated with a low MetS incidence among Japanese adult men.

  11. 2016 Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) - Webinar Presentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cole, Wesley; Kurup, Parthiv; Hand, Maureen; Feldman, David; Sigrin, Benjamin; Lantz, Eric; Stehly, Tyler; Augustine, Chad; Turchi, Craig; Porro, Gian; O' Connor, Patrick; Waldoch, Connor

    2016-09-13

    This deck was presented for the 2016 Annual Technology Baseline Webinar. The presentation describes the Annual Technology Baseline, which is a compilation of current and future cost and performance data for electricity generation technologies.

  12. [Environmental geochemical baseline of heavy metals in soils of the Ili river basin and pollution evaluation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xin-Ru; Nasier, Telajin; Cheng, Yong-Yi; Zhan, Jiang-Yu; Yang, Jian-Hong

    2014-06-01

    Environmental geochemical baseline models of Cu, Zn, Pb, As, Hg were established by standardized method in the ehernozem, chestnut soil, sierozem and saline soil from the Ili river valley region. The theoretical baseline values were calculated. Baseline factor pollution index evaluation method, environmental background value evaluation method and heavy metal cleanliness evaluation method were used to compare soil pollution degrees. The baseline factor pollution index evaluation showed that As pollution was the most prominent among the four typical types of soils within the river basin, with 7.14%, 9.76%, 7.50% of sampling points in chernozem, chestnut soil and sierozem reached the heavy pollution, respectively. 7.32% of sampling points of chestnut soil reached the permitted heavy metal Pb pollution index in the chestnut soil. The variation extent of As and Pb was the largest, indicating large human disturbance. Environmental background value evaluation showed that As was the main pollution element, followed by Cu, Zn and Pb. Heavy metal cleanliness evaluation showed that Cu, Zn and Pb were better than cleanliness level 2 and Hg was the of cleanliness level 1 in all four types of soils. As showed moderate pollution in sierozem, and it was of cleanliness level 2 or better in chernozem, chestnut soil and saline-alkali soil. Comparing the three evaluation systems, the baseline factor pollution index evaluation more comprehensively reflected the geochemical migration characteristics of elements and the soil formation processes, and the pollution assessment could be specific to the sampling points. The environmental background value evaluation neglected the natural migration of heavy metals and the deposition process in the soil since it was established on the regional background values. The main purpose of the heavy metal cleanliness evaluation was to evaluate the safety degree of soil environment.

  13. Cadmium tolerance in seven Daphnia magna clones is associated with reduced hsp70 baseline levels and induction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haap, Timo; Koehler, Heinz-R.

    2009-01-01

    The stress protein hsp70 is part of the intracellular alarm and repair system which enables organisms to counteract negative effects of toxicants on protein integrity. Under long-term selection pressure exerted by environmental pollution, in particular heavy metals, this system may be expected to play a major role in the course of local, microevolutionary events leading to the acquisition of toxicant resistance. Seven clones of Daphnia magna from different geographical regions were characterized regarding their sensitivity to Cd, their hsp70 expression, and Cd accumulation. In an acute immobilisation assay, the tested clones showed remarkable differences in their sensitivity to Cd. The highest EC 50 values by far were obtained for the clone displaying lowest hsp70 expression. In general, hsp70 levels reflected the order of sensitivity to Cd among the seven clones reciprocally. Clonal variations in sensitivity and hsp70 expression could not be related to differential accumulation of Cd, though. In summary, the association of stress insensitivity with low hsp70 induction which has been exemplarily reported for populations of different invertebrates under strong selection pressure could be affirmed for a largely parthenogenetic species for the first time. Furthermore, our observation has serious consequences for the interpretation of toxicological assays using a single D. magna clone solely.

  14. Influence of Baseline Diastolic Blood Pressure on Effects of Intensive Compared With Standard Blood Pressure Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beddhu, Srinivasan; Chertow, Glenn M; Cheung, Alfred K; Cushman, William C; Rahman, Mahboob; Greene, Tom; Wei, Guo; Campbell, Ruth C; Conroy, Margaret; Freedman, Barry I; Haley, William; Horwitz, Edward; Kitzman, Dalane; Lash, James; Papademetriou, Vasilios; Pisoni, Roberto; Riessen, Erik; Rosendorff, Clive; Watnick, Suzanne G; Whittle, Jeffrey; Whelton, Paul K

    2018-01-09

    In individuals with a low diastolic blood pressure (DBP), the potential benefits or risks of intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) lowering are unclear. SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) was a randomized controlled trial that compared the effects of intensive (target baseline DBP. Mean baseline SBP and DBP were 139.7±15.6 and 78.1±11.9 mm Hg, respectively. Regardless of the randomized treatment, baseline DBP had a U-shaped association with the hazard of the primary cardiovascular disease outcome. However, the effects of the intensive SBP intervention on the primary outcome were not influenced by baseline DBP level ( P for interaction=0.83). The primary outcome hazard ratio for intensive versus standard treatment was 0.78 (95% confidence interval, 0.57-1.07) in the lowest DBP quintile (mean baseline DBP, 61±5 mm Hg) and 0.74 (95% confidence interval, 0.61-0.90) in the upper 4 DBP quintiles (mean baseline DBP, 82±9 mm Hg), with an interaction P value of 0.78. Results were similar for all-cause death and kidney events. Low baseline DBP was associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease events, but there was no evidence that the benefit of the intensive SBP lowering differed by baseline DBP. URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01206062. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  15. Descriptive Analysis of a Baseline Concussion Battery Among U.S. Service Academy Members: Results from the Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Kathryn L; Dain Allred, C; Cameron, Kenneth L; Campbell, Darren E; D'Lauro, Christopher J; Houston, Megan N; Johnson, Brian R; Kelly, Tim F; McGinty, Gerald; O'Donnell, Patrick G; Peck, Karen Y; Svoboda, Steven J; Pasquina, Paul; McAllister, Thomas; McCrea, Michael; Broglio, Steven P

    2018-03-28

    The prevalence and possible long-term consequences of concussion remain an increasing concern to the U.S. military, particularly as it pertains to maintaining a medically ready force. Baseline testing is being used both in the civilian and military domains to assess concussion injury and recovery. Accurate interpretation of these baseline assessments requires one to consider other influencing factors not related to concussion. To date, there is limited understanding, especially within the military, of what factors influence normative test performance. Given the significant physical and mental demands placed on service academy members (SAM), and their relatively high risk for concussion, it is important to describe demographics and normative profile of SAMs. Furthermore, the absence of available baseline normative data on female and non-varsity SAMs makes interpretation of post-injury assessments challenging. Understanding how individuals perform at baseline, given their unique individual characteristics (e.g., concussion history, sex, competition level), will inform post-concussion assessment and management. Thus, the primary aim of this manuscript is to characterize the SAM population and determine normative values on a concussion baseline testing battery. All data were collected as part of the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium. The baseline test battery included a post-concussion symptom checklist (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT), psychological health screening inventory (Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) and neurocognitive evaluation (ImPACT), Balance Error Scoring System (BESS), and Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC). Linear regression models were used to examine differences across sexes, competition levels, and varsity contact levels while controlling for academy, freshman status, race, and previous concussion. Zero inflated negative binomial models estimated symptom scores due to the high frequency of zero scores

  16. Clinical outcomes after combined therapy with dutasteride plus tamsulosin or either monotherapy in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by baseline characteristics: 4-year results from the randomized, double-blind Combination of Avodart and Tamsulosin (CombAT) trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roehrborn, Claus G; Barkin, Jack; Siami, Paul; Tubaro, Andrea; Wilson, Timothy H; Morrill, Betsy B; Gagnier, R Paul

    2011-03-01

    • To investigate the influence of baseline variables on the 4-year incidence of acute urinary retention (AUR), benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)-related surgery and overall clinical progression in men treated with tamsulosin, dutasteride, or a combination of both. • The 4-year Combination of Avodart® and Tamsulosin (CombAT) study was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study of clinical outcomes in men aged ≥ 50 years with symptomatic (International Prostate Symptom Score [IPSS]≥ 12) BPH, with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of ≥ 1.5 ng/mL and ≤ 10 ng/mL, and a prostate volume (PV) of ≥ 30 mL. • Eligible patients received tamsulosin 0.4 mg, dutasteride 0.5 mg, or a combination of both. • The primary endpoint was time to first AUR or BPH-related surgery. Secondary endpoints included clinical progression of BPH and symptoms. Posthoc analyses of the influence of baseline variables (including age, IPSS health-related quality of life [HRQL], PV, PSA, IPSS, peak urinary flow rate [Q(max) ] and body-mass index [BMI]) on the incidence of AUR or BPH-related surgery, clinical progression of BPH, and symptoms were performed. • There were 4844 men in the intent-to-treat population. Overall baseline characteristics were similar across all patient groups. • Regardless of baseline subgroup, the incidence of AUR or BPH-related surgery was higher in men treated with tamsulosin than in those treated with dutasteride or combined therapy. • Combined therapy was statistically better than tamsulosin in reducing the risk of AUR or BPH-related surgery in subgroups of baseline PV > 42.0 mL, in all subgroups of baseline PSA level, and all other baseline subgroups (P ≤ 0.001). • Across treatment groups, the incidence of clinical progression was highest in men with a baseline IPSS of BPH-related surgery and greater reductions in the RR of clinical progression and symptom deterioration on combined therapy or dutasteride monotherapy than

  17. Associations between baseline allergens and polysensitization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlsen, B.C.; Menne, T.; Johansen, J.D.

    2008-01-01

    Background: Identification of patients at risk of developing polysensitization is not possible at present. An association between weak sensitizers and polysensitization has been hypothesized. Objectives: To examine associations of 21 allergens in the European baseline series to polysensitization....... Patients/Methods: From a database-based study with 14 998 patients patch tested with the European baseline series between 1985 and 2005, a group of 759 (5.1%) patients were polysensitized. Odds ratios were calculated to determine the relative contribution of each allergen to polysensitization. Results...... denominator for the association between the allergens and the polysensitization was apparent, and any association, whether positive or negative, was relatively low. Based on these results, sensitization to specific baseline allergens cannot be used as risk indicators for polysensitization Udgivelsesdato: 2008...

  18. Associations between baseline allergens and polysensitization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlsen, Berit Christina; Menné, Torkil; Johansen, Jeanne Duus

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Identification of patients at risk of developing polysensitization is not possible at present. An association between weak sensitizers and polysensitization has been hypothesized. OBJECTIVES: To examine associations of 21 allergens in the European baseline series to polysensitization....... PATIENTS/METHODS: From a database-based study with 14 998 patients patch tested with the European baseline series between 1985 and 2005, a group of 759 (5.1%) patients were polysensitized. Odds ratios were calculated to determine the relative contribution of each allergen to polysensitization. RESULTS...... denominator for the association between the allergens and the polysensitization was apparent, and any association, whether positive or negative, was relatively low. Based on these results, sensitization to specific baseline allergens cannot be used as risk indicators for polysensitization....

  19. Precision Search for Muon Antineutrino Disappearance Oscillations Using a Dual Baseline Technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheng, Gary Li [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)

    2013-01-01

    A search for short baseline muon antineutrino disappearance with the SciBooNE and MiniBooNE experiments at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois is presented. Short baseline muon antineutrino disappearance measurements help constrain sterile neutrino models. The two detectors observe muon antineutrinos from the same beam, therefore the combined analysis of their data sets serves to partially constrain some of the flux and cross section uncertainties. A likelihood ratio method was used to set a 90% confidence level upper limit on muon antineutrino disappearance that dramatically improves upon prior sterile neutrino oscillation limits in the Δm2=0.1-100 eV2 region.

  20. TWRS technical baseline database manager definition document

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Acree, C.D.

    1997-01-01

    This document serves as a guide for using the TWRS Technical Baseline Database Management Systems Engineering (SE) support tool in performing SE activities for the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS). This document will provide a consistent interpretation of the relationships between the TWRS Technical Baseline Database Management software and the present TWRS SE practices. The Database Manager currently utilized is the RDD-1000 System manufactured by the Ascent Logic Corporation. In other documents, the term RDD-1000 may be used interchangeably with TWRS Technical Baseline Database Manager

  1. Baseline studies of terrestrial outdoor gamma dose rate levels in Nigeria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farai, I.P.; Jibiri, N.N.

    2000-01-01

    The outdoor γ radiation exposure dose rates due to the radioactivity concentration of 40 K, 238 U and 232 Th in the soil across different environments in Nigeria have been carried out using the low-cost method of in situ γ ray spectrometry. Measurements were made in 18 cities, spread across the three major zones of the country. The radioactivity concentrations of these radionuclides in the soil were used to determine their γ radiation absorbed dose rates in the air. The range of average total dose rate due to the three radionuclides in the Eastern zone is between 0.025 and 0.081 μGy.h -1 with an average of 0.040 ± 0.006 μGy.h -1 , 0.041 and 0.214 μGy.h -1 with a mean of 0.089 ± 0.014 μGy.h -1 for the Western zone and between 0.066 and 0.222 μGy.h -1 with a mean of 0.102 ± 0.032 μGy.h -1 for the Northern zone. The average annual outdoor effective dose equivalents of 51 ± 8 μSv.y -1 , 114 ± 18 μSv.y -1 and 130 ± 41 μSv.y -1 have been estimated for the Eastern, Western and Northern zones, respectively. The average annual effective dose equivalent for the country has been estimated to be 98 ± 15 μSv.y -1 and the collective effective dose equivalent as 9.7 x 103 man.Sv.y -1 . Measurements have been taken as representing the baseline values of natural radioactivity as no artificial radionuclide was detected at any of the sites surveyed. (author)

  2. Business-as-Unusual: Existing policies in energy model baselines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strachan, Neil

    2011-01-01

    Baselines are generally accepted as a key input assumption in long-term energy modelling, but energy models have traditionally been poor on identifying baselines assumptions. Notably, transparency on the current policy content of model baselines is now especially critical as long-term climate mitigation policies have been underway for a number of years. This paper argues that the range of existing energy and emissions policies are an integral part of any long-term baseline, and hence already represent a 'with-policy' baseline, termed here a Business-as-Unusual (BAuU). Crucially, existing energy policies are not a sunk effort; as impacts of existing policy initiatives are targeted at future years, they may be revised through iterative policy making, and their quantitative effectiveness requires ex-post verification. To assess the long-term role of existing policies in energy modelling, currently identified UK policies are explicitly stripped out of the UK MARKAL Elastic Demand (MED) optimisation energy system model, to generate a BAuU (with-policy) and a REF (without policy) baseline. In terms of long-term mitigation costs, policy-baseline assumptions are comparable to another key exogenous modelling assumption - that of global fossil fuel prices. Therefore, best practice in energy modelling would be to have both a no-policy reference baseline, and a current policy reference baseline (BAuU). At a minimum, energy modelling studies should have a transparent assessment of the current policy contained within the baseline. Clearly identifying and comparing policy-baseline assumptions are required for cost effective and objective policy making, otherwise energy models will underestimate the true cost of long-term emissions reductions.

  3. Pakistan, Sindh Province - Baseline Indicators System : Baseline Procurement Performance Assessment Report

    OpenAIRE

    World Bank

    2009-01-01

    This document provides an assessment of the public procurement system in Sindh province using the baseline indicators system developed by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD-DAC). This assessment, interviews and discussions were held with stakeholders from the public and private sectors as well as civil society. Developing...

  4. Life Support Baseline Values and Assumptions Document

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Molly S.; Ewert, Michael K.; Keener, John F.

    2018-01-01

    The Baseline Values and Assumptions Document (BVAD) provides analysts, modelers, and other life support researchers with a common set of values and assumptions which can be used as a baseline in their studies. This baseline, in turn, provides a common point of origin from which many studies in the community may depart, making research results easier to compare and providing researchers with reasonable values to assume for areas outside their experience. This document identifies many specific physical quantities that define life support systems, serving as a general reference for spacecraft life support system technology developers.

  5. Assessment of local GNSS baselines at co-location sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera Pinzón, Iván; Rothacher, Markus

    2018-01-01

    As one of the major contributors to the realisation of the International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS), the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are prone to suffer from irregularities and discontinuities in time series. While often associated with hardware/software changes and the influence of the local environment, these discrepancies constitute a major threat for ITRS realisations. Co-located GNSS at fundamental sites, with two or more available instruments, provide the opportunity to mitigate their influence while improving the accuracy of estimated positions by examining data breaks, local biases, deformations, time-dependent variations and the comparison of GNSS baselines with existing local tie measurements. With the use of co-located GNSS data from a subset sites of the International GNSS Service network, this paper discusses a global multi-year analysis with the aim of delivering homogeneous time series of coordinates to analyse system-specific error sources in the local baselines. Results based on the comparison of different GNSS-based solutions with the local survey ties show discrepancies of up to 10 mm despite GNSS coordinate repeatabilities at the sub-mm level. The discrepancies are especially large for the solutions using the ionosphere-free linear combination and estimating tropospheric zenith delays, thus corresponding to the processing strategy used for global solutions. Snow on the antennas causes further problems and seasonal variations of the station coordinates. These demonstrate the need for a permanent high-quality monitoring of the effects present in the short GNSS baselines at fundamental sites.

  6. Comparison of fluorescence rejection methods of baseline correction and shifted excitation Raman difference spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Zhijian; Zou, Wenlong; Wu, Jianhong

    2017-10-01

    Raman spectroscopy has been extensively used in biochemical tests, explosive detection, food additive and environmental pollutants. However, fluorescence disturbance brings a big trouble to the applications of portable Raman spectrometer. Currently, baseline correction and shifted-excitation Raman difference spectroscopy (SERDS) methods are the most prevailing fluorescence suppressing methods. In this paper, we compared the performances of baseline correction and SERDS methods, experimentally and simulatively. Through the comparison, it demonstrates that the baseline correction can get acceptable fluorescence-removed Raman spectrum if the original Raman signal has good signal-to-noise ratio, but it cannot recover the small Raman signals out of large noise background. By using SERDS method, the Raman signals, even very weak compared to fluorescence intensity and noise level, can be clearly extracted, and the fluorescence background can be completely rejected. The Raman spectrum recovered by SERDS has good signal to noise ratio. It's proved that baseline correction is more suitable for large bench-top Raman system with better quality or signal-to-noise ratio, while the SERDS method is more suitable for noisy devices, especially the portable Raman spectrometers.

  7. Gender-Specific Differences in Baseline, Peak, and Delta Serum Creatinine: The NACSELD Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Leary, Jacqueline G; Wong, Florence; Reddy, K Rajender; Garcia-Tsao, Guadalupe; Kamath, Patrick S; Biggins, Scott W; Fallon, Michael B; Subramanian, Ram M; Maliakkal, B; Thacker, Leroy; Bajaj, Jasmohan S

    2017-03-01

    Women have lower serum creatinine values than men for similar renal function. We aimed to determine the differential effect of baseline, peak, and delta creatinine between genders on outcomes in infected hospitalized cirrhotic patients. North American Consortium for the Study of End-Stage Liver Disease is a 15-center consortium of tertiary care hepatology centers prospectively enrolling infected cirrhotic inpatients. Baseline, peak, and delta creatinine during hospitalization were compared between genders, and their impact on overall survival, transplant-free survival, probability of transplantation, and need for renal replacement therapy (RRT) was analyzed. In total, 532 patients with cirrhosis (males = 59% median admission MELD = 20) had significantly lower median baseline (1.07 vs. 1.30 mg/dL, p creatinine (1.47 vs. 1.59 mg/dL, p = 0.024) in women than men during hospitalization for an infection, but both genders had similar delta creatinine levels (0.30 vs. 0.30 mg/dL, p = 0.957). Thirty-day mortality was similar between genders. RRT was not used more often in women (19 vs. 12%, p = 0.050), and women were 1.8 times more likely than men to receive RRT at the same creatinine (p = 0.028). Both peak and delta creatinine significantly predicted 6-month overall and transplant-free survival (p creatinine. Infected hospitalized cirrhotic women are significantly more likely than men to receive RRT at similar creatinine levels. Gender-specific differences in baseline, peak, and delta creatinine need further investigation to determine whether women need acute kidney injury treatment at lower creatinine thresholds than men.

  8. Comparison of Three Methods Estimating Baseline Creatinine For Acute Kidney Injury in Hospitalized Patients: a Multicentre Survey in Third-Level Urban Hospitals of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Xia-Bing; Yang, Yi; Yang, Ju-Rong; Wan, Jian-Xin; Yu, Sheng-Qiang; Cui, Jiong; Tang, Xiao-Jing; Chen, Jianghua

    2018-01-01

    A lack of baseline serum creatinine (SCr) data leads to underestimation of the burden caused by acute kidney injury (AKI) in developing countries. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of various baseline SCr analysis methods on the current diagnosis of AKI in hospitalized patients. Patients with at least one SCr value during their hospital stay between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012 were retrospectively included in the study. The baseline SCr was determined either by the minimum SCr (SCrMIN) or the estimated SCr using the MDRD formula (SCrGFR-75). We also used the dynamic baseline SCr (SCrdynamic) in accordance with the 7 day/48 hour time window. AKI was defined based on the KDIGO SCr criteria. Of 562,733 hospitalized patients, 350,458 (62.3%) had at least one SCr determination, and 146,185 (26.0%) had repeat SCr tests. AKI was diagnosed in 13,883 (2.5%) patients using the SCrMIN, 21,281 (3.8%) using the SCrGFR-75 and 9,288 (1.7%) using the SCrdynamic. Compared with the non-AKI patients, AKI patients had a higher in-hospital mortality rate regardless of the baseline SCr analysis method. Because of the scarcity of SCr data, imputation of the baseline SCr is necessary to remedy the missing data. The detection rate of AKI varies depending on the different imputation methods. SCrGFR-75 can identify more AKI cases than the other two methods. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

  9. Comparison of Three Methods Estimating Baseline Creatinine For Acute Kidney Injury in Hospitalized Patients: a Multicentre Survey in Third-Level Urban Hospitals of China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xia-bing Lang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aims: A lack of baseline serum creatinine (SCr data leads to underestimation of the burden caused by acute kidney injury (AKI in developing countries. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of various baseline SCr analysis methods on the current diagnosis of AKI in hospitalized patients. Methods: Patients with at least one SCr value during their hospital stay between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012 were retrospectively included in the study. The baseline SCr was determined either by the minimum SCr (SCrMIN or the estimated SCr using the MDRD formula (SCrGFR-75. We also used the dynamic baseline SCr (SCrdynamic in accordance with the 7 day/48 hour time window. AKI was defined based on the KDIGO SCr criteria. Results: Of 562,733 hospitalized patients, 350,458 (62.3% had at least one SCr determination, and 146,185 (26.0% had repeat SCr tests. AKI was diagnosed in 13,883 (2.5% patients using the SCrMIN, 21,281 (3.8% using the SCrGFR-75 and 9,288 (1.7% using the SCrdynamic. Compared with the non-AKI patients, AKI patients had a higher in-hospital mortality rate regardless of the baseline SCr analysis method. Conclusions: Because of the scarcity of SCr data, imputation of the baseline SCr is necessary to remedy the missing data. The detection rate of AKI varies depending on the different imputation methods. SCrGFR-75 can identify more AKI cases than the other two methods.

  10. Multistrategic approach to improve quality of care of people with diabetes at the primary care level: Study design and baseline data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prestes, Mariana; Gayarre, María Angelica; Elgart, Jorge Federico; Gonzalez, Lorena; Rucci, Enzo; Gagliardino, Juan José

    2017-04-01

    To test the one year-post effect of an integrated diabetes care program that includes system changes, education, registry (clinical, metabolic and therapeutic indicators) and disease management (DIAPREM), implemented at primary care level, on care outcomes and costs. We randomly selected 15 physicians and 15 nurses from primary care units of La Matanza County to be trained (Intervention-IG) and another 15 physicians/nurses to use as controls (Control-CG). Each physician-nurse team controlled and followed up 10 patients with type 2 diabetes for one year; both groups use structured medical data registry. Patients in IG had quarterly clinical appointments whereas those in CG received traditional care. DIAPREM includes system changes (use of guidelines, programmed quarterly controls and yearly visits to the specialist) and education (physicians' and nurses' training courses). Statistical data analysis included parametric/nonparametric tests according to data distribution profile and Chi-squared test for proportions. Baseline data from both groups showed comparable values and 20-30% of them did not perform HbA1c and lipid profile measurements. Majority were obese, 59% had HbA1C ≥7%, 86% fasting blood glucose ≥100mg/dL, 45%, total cholesterol ≥200mg/dL, and 92% abnormal HDL- and LDL-cholesterol values. Similarly, micro and macroangiopathic complications had not been detected in the previous year. Most patients received oral antidiabetic agents (monotherapy), and one third was on insulin (mostly a single dose of an intermediate/long-acting formulation). Most people with hypertension received specific drug treatment but only half of them reached target values; dyslipidemia treatment showed similar data. Baseline data demonstrated the need of implementing an intervention to improve diabetes care and treatment outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Natural radioactivity levels and radiation hazard indices in granite from aswan to wadi el-allaqi south eastern desert, Egypt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Taher, A.; Uosif, M.A.M.; Orabi, A.A.

    2005-01-01

    Studies on radiation level and radionuclide distribution in granite from Aswan to Wadi El-Allaqi area which is located in southeastern desert of Egypt were undertaken. The samples collected from five locations: Gabal El Mesala, Umm Hibal, Abu Herigle, Abu Marw and Deneibit El Quleib. The purpose of this study is to provide a baseline map of radioactivity background levels in the investigated area environment and will be used as reference information to assess any changes in the radioactive background level due to geological processes. The highest average values of 226 R a and 232 T h concentration (24.003 and 31.227 Bq/kg respectively) was observed at Abu Herigle region whereas the highest average value of 40 K concentration 589.984 Bq/kg were detected in Umm Hibal location. The absorbed dose rate in air was found to be in the range between 5.400- 45.109 nGy/h and radium equivalent activity concentration was found in the range between 29.570 - 71.855 Bq/Kg. Also the representative external hazard index values for the corresponding samples was also estimated and given

  12. Radionuclide Concentration in Soils and Vegetation at Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Area G during 2005

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    P.R. Fresquez; M.W. McNaughton; M.J. Winch

    2005-10-01

    Soil samples were collected at 15 locations and unwashed overstory and understory vegetation samples were collected from up to nine locations within and around the perimeter of Area G, the primary disposal facility for low-level radioactive solid waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Soil and plant samples were also collected from the proposed expansion area west of Area G for the purpose of gaining preoperational baseline data. Soil and plant samples were analyzed for radionuclides that have shown a history of detection in past years; these included {sup 3}H, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239,240}Pu, {sup 241}Am, {sup 234}U, {sup 235}U, and {sup 238}U for soils and {sup 3}H, {sup 238}Pu, and {sup 239,240}Pu for plants. As in previous years, the highest levels of {sup 3}H in soils and vegetation were detected at the south portion of Area G near the {sup 3}H shafts; whereas, the highest concentrations of the Pu isotopes were detected in the northern and northeastern portions near the pads for transuranic waste. All concentrations of radionuclides in soils and vegetation, however, were still very low (pCi range) and far below LANL screening levels and regulatory standards.

  13. FAQs about Baseline Testing among Young Athletes

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... a similar exam conducted by a health care professional during the season if an athlete has a suspected concussion. Baseline testing generally takes place during the pre-season—ideally prior to the first practice. It is important to note that some baseline ...

  14. 75 FR 74706 - Notice of Baseline Filings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-01

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Notice of Baseline Filings November 24, 2010. Centana Intrastate Pipeline, LLC. Docket No. PR10-84-001. Centana Intrastate Pipeline, LLC... applicants listed above submitted a revised baseline filing of their Statement of Operating Conditions for...

  15. Highest Resolution Gaspra Mosaic

    Science.gov (United States)

    1992-01-01

    This picture of asteroid 951 Gaspra is a mosaic of two images taken by the Galileo spacecraft from a range of 5,300 kilometers (3,300 miles), some 10 minutes before closest approach on October 29, 1991. The Sun is shining from the right; phase angle is 50 degrees. The resolution, about 54 meters/pixel, is the highest for the Gaspra encounter and is about three times better than that in the view released in November 1991. Additional images of Gaspra remain stored on Galileo's tape recorder, awaiting playback in November. Gaspra is an irregular body with dimensions about 19 x 12 x 11 kilometers (12 x 7.5 x 7 miles). The portion illuminated in this view is about 18 kilometers (11 miles) from lower left to upper right. The north pole is located at upper left; Gaspra rotates counterclockwise every 7 hours. The large concavity on the lower right limb is about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) across, the prominent crater on the terminator, center left, about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile). A striking feature of Gaspra's surface is the abundance of small craters. More than 600 craters, 100-500 meters (330-1650 feet) in diameter are visible here. The number of such small craters compared to larger ones is much greater for Gaspra than for previously studied bodies of comparable size such as the satellites of Mars. Gaspra's very irregular shape suggests that the asteroid was derived from a larger body by nearly catastrophic collisions. Consistent with such a history is the prominence of groove-like linear features, believed to be related to fractures. These linear depressions, 100-300 meters wide and tens of meters deep, are in two crossing groups with slightly different morphology, one group wider and more pitted than the other. Grooves had previously been seen only on Mars's moon Phobos, but were predicted for asteroids as well. Gaspra also shows a variety of enigmatic curved depressions and ridges in the terminator region at left. The Galileo project, whose primary mission is the

  16. Gaspra - Highest Resolution Mosaic

    Science.gov (United States)

    1992-01-01

    This picture of asteroid 951 Gaspra is a mosaic of two images taken by the Galileo spacecraft from a range of 5,300 kilometers (3,300 miles), some 10 minutes before closest approach on October 29, 1991. The Sun is shining from the right; phase angle is 50 degrees. The resolution, about 54 meters/pixel, is the highest for the Gaspra encounter and is about three times better than that in the view released in November 1991. Additional images of Gaspra remain stored on Galileo's tape recorder, awaiting playback in November. Gaspra is an irregular body with dimensions about 19 x 12 x 11 kilometers (12 x 7.5 x 7 miles). The portion illuminated in this view is about 18 kilometers (11 miles) from lower left to upper right. The north pole is located at upper left; Gaspra rotates counterclockwise every 7 hours. The large concavity on the lower right limb is about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) across, the prominent crater on the terminator, center left, about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile). A striking feature of Gaspra's surface is the abundance of small craters. More than 600 craters, 100-500 meters (330-1650 feet) in diameter are visible here. The number of such small craters compared to larger ones is much greater for Gaspra than for previously studied bodies of comparable size such as the satellites of Mars. Gaspra's very irregular shape suggests that the asteroid was derived from a larger body by nearly catastrophic collisions. Consistent with such a history is the prominence of groove-like linear features, believed to be related to fractures. These linear depressions, 100-300 meters wide and tens of meters deep, are in two crossing groups with slightly different morphology, one group wider and more pitted than the other. Grooves had previously been seen only on Mars's moon Phobos, but were predicted for asteroids as well. Gaspra also shows a variety of enigmatic curved depressions and ridges in the terminator region at left. The Galileo project, whose primary mission is the

  17. Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency in Madeira (Portugal): the highest prevalence in the world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spínola, Carla; Bruges-Armas, Jácome; Pereira, Conceição; Brehm, António; Spínola, Hélder

    2009-10-01

    Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is a common genetic disease which affects both lung and liver. Early diagnosis can help asymptomatic patients to adjust their lifestyle choices in order to reduce the risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The determination of this genetic deficiency prevalence in Madeira Island (Portugal) population is important to clarify susceptibility and define the relevance of performing genetic tests for AAT on individuals at risk for COPD. Two hundred samples of unrelated individuals from Madeira Island were genotyped for the two most common AAT deficiency alleles, PI*S and PI*Z, using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Mediated Site-Directed Mutagenesis. Our results show one of the highest frequencies for both mutations when compared to any already studied population in the world. In fact, PI*S mutation has the highest prevalence (18%), and PI*Z mutation (2.5%) was the third highest worldwide. The frequency of AAT deficiency genotypes in Madeira (PI*ZZ, PI*SS, and PI*SZ) is estimated to be the highest in the world: 41 per 1000. This high prevalence of AAT deficiency on Madeira Island reveals an increased genetic susceptibility to COPD and suggests a routine genetic testing for individuals at risk.

  18. Geochemical baseline studies of soil in Finland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pihlaja, Jouni

    2017-04-01

    The soil element concentrations regionally vary a lot in Finland. Mostly this is caused by the different bedrock types, which are reflected in the soil qualities. Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) is carrying out geochemical baseline studies in Finland. In the previous phase, the research is focusing on urban areas and mine environments. The information can, for example, be used to determine the need for soil remediation, to assess environmental impacts or to measure the natural state of soil in industrial areas or mine districts. The field work is done by taking soil samples, typically at depth between 0-10 cm. Sampling sites are chosen to represent the most vulnerable areas when thinking of human impacts by possible toxic soil element contents: playgrounds, day-care centers, schools, parks and residential areas. In the mine districts the samples are taken from the areas locating outside the airborne dust effected areas. Element contents of the soil samples are then analyzed with ICP-AES and ICP-MS, Hg with CV-AAS. The results of the geochemical baseline studies are published in the Finnish national geochemical baseline database (TAPIR). The geochemical baseline map service is free for all users via internet browser. Through this map service it is possible to calculate regional soil baseline values using geochemical data stored in the map service database. Baseline data for 17 elements in total is provided in the map service and it can be viewed on the GTK's web pages (http://gtkdata.gtk.fi/Tapir/indexEN.html).

  19. Baseline disability in activities of daily living predicts dementia risk even after controlling for baseline global cognitive ability and depressive symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fauth, Elizabeth B; Schwartz, Sarah; Tschanz, Joann T; Østbye, Truls; Corcoran, Christopher; Norton, Maria C

    2013-06-01

    Late-life disability in activities of daily living (ADL) is theorized to be driven by underlying cognitive and/or physical impairment, interacting with psychological and environmental factors. Although we expect that cognitive deficits would explain associations between ADL disability and dementia risk, the current study examined ADL as a predictor of future dementia after controlling for global cognitive status. The population-based Cache County Memory Study (N = 3547) assessed individuals in four triennial waves (average age 74.9 years, years of education 13.36 years; 57.9% were women). Cox proportional hazards regression models assessed whether baseline ADL disability (presence of 2+ Instrumental ADL and/or 1+ Personal ADL) predicted incident dementia after controlling for APOE status, gender, age, baseline cognitive ability (Modified Mini-mental State Exam, 3MS-R; adjusted for education level), and baseline depressive symptoms (Diagnostic Interview Schedule). Over the course of study, 571 cases of incident dementia were identified through in-depth cognitive assessment, ending in expert consensus diagnosis. Results from Cox models suggest that ADL disability is a statistically significant predictor of incident dementia (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.83, p controlling for covariates. Findings suggest that ADL disability offers unique contributions in risk for incident dementia, even after controlling for global cognitive status. We discuss how physical impairment and executive function may play important roles in this relationship, and how ADL is useful, not just a diagnostic tool at, or after dementia onset, but also as a risk factor for future dementia, even in individuals not impaired on global cognitive tests. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Baseline extracellular potassium level as an indicator of the rate of increase of the same on further storage in CPDA-1 whole blood units: a potential approach to complement FIFO system for prioritisation of blood bags for release from blood-banks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baliarsingh, S; Jaiswal, M

    2014-02-01

    Potassium levels in stored blood bags increases as they age. Hyperkalemia in transfused blood has undesirable cardiac effects. Within a 19-month period, baseline and weekly samples from 15 CPDA-1 whole blood bags were collected till 28 days of storage and analysed for potassium, sodium, uric acid, albumin and whole blood haemoglobin. One unit increase in baseline (0 day) potassium in extracellular fluid of blood units was associated with the following increases in potassium levels on later days of storage: around two unit increase at 1 week (r2 = 0·50, P values. For CPDA-1 blood bags (i) low baseline potassium blood bags might be preferred for transfusion in cases demanding a low potassium load and (ii) coordinating the ‘first-in-first-out’ (FIFO) policy with ‘early release of blood-bags with high initial potassium’ might be helpful in improving the release of suitable blood units from blood-banks.

  1. Directional clustering in highest energy cosmic rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldberg, Haim; Weiler, Thomas J.

    2001-01-01

    An unexpected degree of small-scale clustering is observed in highest-energy cosmic ray events. Some directional clustering can be expected due to purely statistical fluctuations for sources distributed randomly in the sky. This creates a background for events originating in clustered sources. We derive analytic formulas to estimate the probability of random cluster configurations, and use these formulas to study the strong potential of the HiRes, Auger, Telescope Array and EUSO-OWL-AirWatch facilities for deciding whether any observed clustering is most likely due to nonrandom sources. For a detailed comparison to data, our analytical approach cannot compete with Monte Carlo simulations, including experimental systematics. However, our derived formulas do offer two advantages: (i) easy assessment of the significance of any observed clustering, and most importantly, (ii) an explicit dependence of cluster probabilities on the chosen angular bin size

  2. Mixed Waste Focus Area integrated technical baseline report, Phase 1: Volume 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE) established the Mixed Waste Characterization, Treatment, and Disposal Focus Area (MWFA) to develop and facilitate implementation of technologies required to meet the Department's commitments for treatment of mixed low-level and transuranic wastes. The mission of the MWFA is to provide acceptable treatment systems, developed in partnership with users and with participation of stakeholders, tribal governments, and regulators, that are capable of treating DOE's mixed waste. These treatment systems include all necessary steps such as characterization, pretreatment, and disposal. To accomplish this mission, a technical baseline is being established that forms the basis for determining which technology development activities will be supported by the MWFA. The technical baseline is the prioritized list of deficiencies, and the resulting technology development activities needed to overcome these deficiencies. This document presents Phase I of the technical baseline development process, which resulted in the prioritized list of deficiencies that the MWFA will address. A summary of the data and the assumptions upon which this work was based is included, as well as information concerning the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) mixed waste technology development needs. The next phase in the technical baseline development process, Phase II, will result in the identification of technology development activities that will be conducted through the MWFA to resolve the identified deficiencies

  3. Intrafractional baseline drift during free breathing breast cancer radiation therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Christer Andre; Acosta Roa, Ana María; Lund, Jo-Åsmund; Frengen, Jomar

    2017-06-01

    Intrafraction motion in breast cancer radiation therapy (BCRT) has not yet been thoroughly described in the literature. It has been observed that baseline drift occurs as part of the intrafraction motion. This study aims to measure baseline drift and its incidence in free-breathing BCRT patients using an in-house developed laser system for tracking the position of the sternum. Baseline drift was monitored in 20 right-sided breast cancer patients receiving free breathing 3D-conformal RT by using an in-house developed laser system which measures one-dimensional distance in the AP direction. A total of 357 patient respiratory traces from treatment sessions were logged and analysed. Baseline drift was compared to patient positioning error measured from in-field portal imaging. The mean overall baseline drift at end of treatment sessions was -1.3 mm for the patient population. Relatively small baseline drift was observed during the first fraction; however it was clearly detected already at the second fraction. Over 90% of the baseline drift occurs during the first 3 min of each treatment session. The baseline drift rate for the population was -0.5 ± 0.2 mm/min in the posterior direction the first minute after localization. Only 4% of the treatment sessions had a 5 mm or larger baseline drift at 5 min, all towards the posterior direction. Mean baseline drift in the posterior direction in free breathing BCRT was observed in 18 of 20 patients over all treatment sessions. This study shows that there is a substantial baseline drift in free breathing BCRT patients. No clear baseline drift was observed during the first treatment session; however, baseline drift was markedly present at the rest of the sessions. Intrafraction motion due to baseline drift should be accounted for in margin calculations.

  4. Exploring the cultural dimensions of the right to the highest ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The right to enjoying the highest attainable standard of health is incorporated in many international and regional human rights instruments. This right contains both freedoms and entitlements, including the freedom to control one's own health and body and the right to an accessible system of health care, goods and services.

  5. Extracting Baseline Electricity Usage Using Gradient Tree Boosting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Taehoon [Ulsan Nat. Inst. of Sci. & Tech., Ulsan (South Korea); Lee, Dongeun [Ulsan Nat. Inst. of Sci. & Tech., Ulsan (South Korea); Choi, Jaesik [Ulsan Nat. Inst. of Sci. & Tech., Ulsan (South Korea); Spurlock, Anna [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sim, Alex [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Todd, Annika [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Wu, Kesheng [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2016-05-05

    To understand how specific interventions affect a process observed over time, we need to control for the other factors that influence outcomes. Such a model that captures all factors other than the one of interest is generally known as a baseline. In our study of how different pricing schemes affect residential electricity consumption, the baseline would need to capture the impact of outdoor temperature along with many other factors. In this work, we examine a number of different data mining techniques and demonstrate Gradient Tree Boosting (GTB) to be an effective method to build the baseline. We train GTB on data prior to the introduction of new pricing schemes, and apply the known temperature following the introduction of new pricing schemes to predict electricity usage with the expected temperature correction. Our experiments and analyses show that the baseline models generated by GTB capture the core characteristics over the two years with the new pricing schemes. In contrast to the majority of regression based techniques which fail to capture the lag between the peak of daily temperature and the peak of electricity usage, the GTB generated baselines are able to correctly capture the delay between the temperature peak and the electricity peak. Furthermore, subtracting this temperature-adjusted baseline from the observed electricity usage, we find that the resulting values are more amenable to interpretation, which demonstrates that the temperature-adjusted baseline is indeed effective.

  6. 75 FR 57268 - Notice of Baseline Filings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PR10-103-000; Docket No. PR10-104-000; Docket No. PR10-105- 000 (Not Consolidated)] Notice of Baseline Filings September 13..., 2010, and September 10, 2010, respectively the applicants listed above submitted their baseline filing...

  7. Effect of Soil Filtration and Ozonation in the Change of Baseline Toxicity in Wastewater Spiked with Organic Micro-pollutants

    KAUST Repository

    Gan, Alexander

    2012-07-01

    Bioassays for baseline toxicity, which measure toxicants’ non-specific effects, have been shown in previous studies to effectively correlate with the increased presence of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine-disrupting compounds, and other synthetic organics in treated sewage effluent. This study investigated how the baseline toxicity of anthropogenic compounds-spiked wastewater changed during the treatment of biofiltration and ozone oxidation, as measured by the bioluminescence inhibition of the Vibrio fischeri bacterium. The water quality parameters of dissolved organic carbon, seven common anions, and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to corroborate and collate with the toxicity results. Water quality was evaluated on two bench-scale soil filtration columns, which were configured for pre-ozonation and post-ozonation. Both systems’ soil aerobically removed similar amounts of dissolved organic carbon, and the reduction ranged between 57.7% and 62.1% for the post-ozonation and pre-ozonation systems, respectively. Biological removal of DOC, protein-like, humic-like, and soluble microbial product-like material was highest in the first 28.5 cm of each 114 cm-long system. While bioluminescence inhibition showed that ozonation was effective at lowering baseline toxicity, this study’s bioassay procedure was a very poor indicator of soil filtration treatment; both system’s effluents were significantly more toxic than their non-ozonated influents.

  8. 75 FR 65010 - Notice of Baseline Filings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PR11-1-000; Docket No. PR11-2-000; Docket No. PR11-3-000] Notice of Baseline Filings October 14, 2010. Cranberry Pipeline Docket..., 2010, respectively the applicants listed above submitted their baseline filing of its Statement of...

  9. Utility of baseline serum phosphorus levels for predicting remission in acromegaly patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yalin, G Y; Tanrikulu, S; Gul, N; Uzum, A K; Aral, F; Tanakol, R

    2017-08-01

    High GH and IGF I levels increase tubular phosphate reabsorption in patients with acromegaly. We aimed to investigate the utility of serum phosphorus levels as an indicator for predicting chance of remission in acromegaly patients. Fifty-one patients (n: 51; F: 24, M: 27) with diagnosis of acromegaly were included in the study. Plasma IGF-1, Phosphorus (P) and nadir GH levels on oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at the time of diagnosis were analysed retrospectively. Patients were classified into two groups according to their plasma P levels; P ≤ 4.5 mg/dl (Group-1, n: 23, 45.1%), P > 4.5 mg/dl (Group-2, n: 28, 54.9%). Two groups were compared according to remission status; remission (n: 27) and non-remission (n: 24). Remission was defined with absence of clinical symptoms, normal plasma IGF-1 (adjusted for age and gender) and GH levels (acromegaly patients. Further studies with wider spectrum are needed to make specific suggestions.

  10. Fiscal year 1996 U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office Site summary baseline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johndro-Collins, A.

    1995-10-01

    The technical baseline is a hierarchical description of the Hanford Site cleanup mission. This technical baseline does not address the science, technology, or economic transition missions. It begins with a definition of the existing conditions at the Hanford Site, provides a description of the end product or mission accomplishments at completion, presents a statement of the major requirements and constraints that must be observed during the performance of the mission, and provides a statement of the top-level strategic approach to accomplish the mission. Mission-level interfaces are also described. This information is further defined hierarchically in increasing levels of detail. This definition is composed of the following major elements: functions that are key task descriptions; requirements that are the measurable standards to which the functions must be performed; architectures which are specific engineering solutions or systems that perform the functions described earlier; and verification ensuring the system satisfies the requirements and fulfills the functions. The above information is supplemented with the following: interface data; risk analyses and watch lists; assumptions; and required analyses

  11. Extending the baseline of tropical dry forest loss in Ghana (1984–2015) reveals drivers of major deforestation inside a protected area

    OpenAIRE

    Janssen, T; Ametsisi, G; Collins, M; Adu-Bredu, S; Oliveras-Menor, I; Mitchard, ETA; Veenendaal, EM

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Tropical dry forests experience the highest deforestation rates on Earth, with major implications for the biodiversity of these ecosystems, as well as for its human occupants. Global remote sensing based forest cover data (2000 − 2012) point to the rapid loss of tropical dry forest in South America and Africa, also, if not foremost, inside formally protected areas. Here, we significantly extend the baseline of tropical dry forest loss inside a protected area in Ghana using a generali...

  12. 76 FR 8725 - Notice of Baseline Filings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Notice of Baseline Filings Enstor Grama Ridge Storage and Docket No. PR10-97-002. Transportation, L.L.C.. EasTrans, LLC Docket No. PR10-30-001... revised baseline filing of their Statement of Operating Conditions for services provided under section 311...

  13. 76 FR 5797 - Notice of Baseline Filings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-02

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PR10-114-001; Docket No. PR10-129-001; Docket No. PR10-131- 001; Docket No. PR10-68-002 Not Consolidated] Notice of Baseline... applicants listed above submitted a revised baseline filing of their Statement of Operating Conditions for...

  14. Office of Geologic Repositories program baseline procedures notebook (OGR/B-1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-06-01

    Baseline management is typically applied to aid in the internal control of a program by providing consistent programmatic direction, control, and surveillance to an evolving system development. This fundamental concept of internal program control involves the establishment of a baseline to serve as a point of departure for consistent technical program coordination and to control subsequent changes from that baseline. The existence of a program-authorized baseline ensures that all participants are working to the same ground rules. Baseline management also ensures that, once the baseline is defined, changes are assessed and approved by a process which ensures adequate consideration of overall program impact. Baseline management also includes the consideration of examptions from the baseline. The process of baseline management continues through all the phases of an evolving system development program. As the Program proceeds, there will be a progressive increase in the data contained in the baseline documentation. Baseline management has been selected as a management technique to aid in the internal control of the Office of Geologic Repositories (OGR) program. Specifically, an OGR Program Baseline, including technical and programmatic requirements, is used for program control of the four Mined Geologic Disposal System field projects, i.e., Basalt Waste Isolation Project, Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigation, Salt Repository Project and Crystalline Repository Project. This OGR Program Baseline Procedures Notebook provides a description of the baseline mwanagement concept, establishes the OGR Program baseline itself, and provides procedures to be followed for controlling changes to that baseline. The notebook has a controlled distribution and will be updated as required

  15. Accelerated Best Basis Inventory Baselining Task

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    SASAKI, L.M.

    2001-01-01

    The baselining effort was recently proposed to bring the Best-Basis Inventory (BBI) and Question No.8 of the Tank Interpretive Report (TIR) for all 177 tanks to the current standards and protocols and to prepare a TIR Question No.8 if one is not already available. This plan outlines the objectives and methodology of the accelerated BBI baselining task. BBI baselining meetings held during December 2000 resulted in a revised BBI methodology and an initial set of BBI creation rules to be used in the baselining effort. The objectives of the BBI baselining effort are to: (1) Provide inventories that are consistent with the revised BBI methodology and new BBI creation rules. (2) Split the total tank waste in each tank into six waste phases, as appropriate (Supernatant, saltcake solids, saltcake liquid, sludge solids, sludge liquid, and retained gas). In some tanks, the solids and liquid portions of the sludge and/or saltcake may be combined into a single sludge or saltcake phase. (3) Identify sampling events that are to be used for calculating the BBIs. (4) Update waste volumes for subsequent reconciliation with the Hanlon (2001) waste tank summary. (5) Implement new waste type templates. (6) Include any sample data that might have been unintentionally omitted in the previous BBI and remove any sample data that should not have been included. Sample data to be used in the BBI must be available on TWINS. (7) Ensure that an inventory value for each standard BBI analyte is provided for each waste component. Sample based inventories for supplemental BBI analytes will be included when available. (8) Provide new means and confidence interval reports if one is not already available and include uncertainties in reporting inventory values

  16. Gravity sensing using Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlippert, D.; Wodey, E.; Meiners, C.; Tell, D.; Schubert, C.; Ertmer, W.; Rasel, E. M.

    2017-12-01

    Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometry (VLBAI) has applications in high-accuracy absolute gravimetry, gravity-gradiometry, and for tests of fundamental physics. Thanks to the quadratic scaling of the phase shift with increasing free evolution time, extending the baseline of atomic gravimeters from tens of centimeters to meters puts resolutions of 10-13g and beyond in reach.We present the design and progress of key elements of the VLBAI-test stand: a dual-species source of Rb and Yb, a high-performance two-layer magnetic shield, and an active vibration isolation system allowing for unprecedented stability of the mirror acting as an inertial reference. We envisage a vibration-limited short-term sensitivity to gravitational acceleration of 1x10-8 m/s-2Hz-1/2 and up to a factor of 25 improvement when including additional correlation with a broadband seismometer. Here, the supreme long-term stability of atomic gravity sensors opens the route towards competition with superconducting gravimeters. The operation of VLBAI as a differential dual-species gravimeter using ultracold mixtures of Yb and Rb atoms enables quantum tests of the universality of free fall (UFF) at an unprecedented level of <10-13, potentially surpassing the best experiments to date.

  17. Baseline and changes in serum uric acid independently predict 11-year incidence of metabolic syndrome among community-dwelling women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawamoto, R; Ninomiya, D; Kasai, Y; Senzaki, K; Kusunoki, T; Ohtsuka, N; Kumagi, T

    2018-02-19

    Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with an increased risk of major cardiovascular events. In women, increased serum uric acid (SUA) levels are associated with MetS and its components. However, whether baseline and changes in SUA predict incidence of MetS and its components remains unclear. The subjects comprised 407 women aged 71 ± 8 years from a rural village. We have identified participants who underwent a similar examination 11 years ago, and examined the relationship between baseline and changes in SUA, and MetS based on the modified criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATP) III report. Of these subjects, 83 (20.4%) women at baseline and 190 (46.7%) women at follow-up had MetS. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the contribution of each confounding factor for MetS; both baseline and changes in SUA as well as history of cardiovascular disease, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and estimated glomerular filtration ratio (eGFR) were independently and significantly associated with the number of MetS components during an 11-year follow-up. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence interval) for incident MetS across tertiles of baseline SUA and changes in SUA were 1.00, 1.47 (0.82-2.65), and 3.11 (1.66-5.83), and 1.00, 1.88 (1.03-3.40), and 2.49 (1.38-4.47), respectively. In addition, the combined effect between increased baseline and changes in SUA was also a significant and independent determinant for the accumulation of MetS components (F = 20.29, p baseline MetS. These results suggested that combined assessment of baseline and changes in SUA levels provides increased information for incident MetS, independent of other confounding factors in community-dwelling women.

  18. 75 FR 70732 - Notice of Baseline Filings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PR11-71-000; Docket No. PR11-72-000; Docket No. PR11-73- 000] Notice of Baseline Filings November 10, 2010. Docket No. PR11-71-000..., 2010, the applicants listed above submitted their baseline filing of their Statement of Operating...

  19. MALDI-TOF Baseline Drift Removal Using Stochastic Bernstein Approximation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Howard Daniel

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Stochastic Bernstein (SB approximation can tackle the problem of baseline drift correction of instrumentation data. This is demonstrated for spectral data: matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF data. Two SB schemes for removing the baseline drift are presented: iterative and direct. Following an explanation of the origin of the MALDI-TOF baseline drift that sheds light on the inherent difficulty of its removal by chemical means, SB baseline drift removal is illustrated for both proteomics and genomics MALDI-TOF data sets. SB is an elegant signal processing method to obtain a numerically straightforward baseline shift removal method as it includes a free parameter that can be optimized for different baseline drift removal applications. Therefore, research that determines putative biomarkers from the spectral data might benefit from a sensitivity analysis to the underlying spectral measurement that is made possible by varying the SB free parameter. This can be manually tuned (for constant or tuned with evolutionary computation (for .

  20. Physics Potential of Long-Baseline Experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjib Kumar Agarwalla

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The discovery of neutrino mixing and oscillations over the past decade provides firm evidence for new physics beyond the Standard Model. Recently, θ13 has been determined to be moderately large, quite close to its previous upper bound. This represents a significant milestone in establishing the three-flavor oscillation picture of neutrinos. It has opened up exciting prospects for current and future long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments towards addressing the remaining fundamental questions, in particular the type of the neutrino mass hierarchy and the possible presence of a CP-violating phase. Another recent and crucial development is the indication of non-maximal 2-3 mixing angle, causing the octant ambiguity of θ23. In this paper, I will review the phenomenology of long-baseline neutrino oscillations with a special emphasis on sub-leading three-flavor effects, which will play a crucial role in resolving these unknowns. First, I will give a brief description of neutrino oscillation phenomenon. Then, I will discuss our present global understanding of the neutrino mass-mixing parameters and will identify the major unknowns in this sector. After that, I will present the physics reach of current generation long-baseline experiments. Finally, I will conclude with a discussion on the physics capabilities of accelerator-driven possible future long-baseline precision oscillation facilities.

  1. Cervical flexor muscle training reduces pain, anxiety, and depression levels in patients with chronic neck pain by a clinically important amount: A prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nazari, Goris; Bobos, Pavlos; Billis, Evdokia; MacDermid, Joy C

    2018-03-14

    Neck pain is the fourth leading cause of disability in the United States and exerts an important socio-economic burden around the world. The aims of this study were to determine the effectiveness of deep and superficial flexor muscle training in addition to home-based exercises in reducing chronic neck pain and anxiety/depression levels. This was a prospective cohort study. Patients between 18 and 65 years old with chronic neck pain were eligible to participate if they had disability levels at least 5 out of 50 on the Neck Disability Index. Patients were divided into three groups: Group A received deep neck flexor and home-based exercises; Group B received superficial muscle and home-based exercises; and Group C received home-based exercises only. The Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Neck Disability Index, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were administered at baseline and 7 weeks later. The highest improvements in pain intensity levels were observed in Group A with 4.75 (1.74) NPRS points, and the lowest were in Group C with 1.00 (1.10). The highest reductions in anxiety and depression levels were noted in Group A (2.80) and Group B (1.65), respectively. The highest improvements in pain intensity levels were observed among Groups A versus C with 2.80 (0.52) NPRS. The highest reductions in anxiety and depression levels were noted among Groups A versus C with 1.75 (1.10) points and Groups B versus C with 1.60 (0.90) points, respectively. Deep and superficial flexor muscle training along with home-based exercises is likely to reduce chronic neck pain and anxiety/depression levels by a clinically relevant amount. Future larger scaled randomized controlled trials are warranted to further support these findings. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Higher Intake of Fruit, but Not Vegetables or Fiber, at Baseline Is Associated with Lower Risk of Becoming Overweight or Obese in Middle-Aged and Older Women of Normal BMI at Baseline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rautiainen, Susanne; Wang, Lu; Lee, I-Min; Manson, JoAnn E; Buring, Julie E; Sesso, Howard D

    2015-05-01

    Fruit, vegetable, and dietary fiber intake have been associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, little is known about their role in obesity prevention. Our goal was to investigate whether intake of fruits, vegetables, and dietary fiber is associated with weight change and the risk of becoming overweight and obese. We studied 18,146 women aged ≥45 y from the Women's Health Study free of CVD and cancer with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to Fruit, vegetable, and dietary fiber intakes were assessed at baseline through a 131-item food-frequency questionnaire, along with obesity-related risk factors. Women self-reported body weight on annual questionnaires. During a mean follow-up of 15.9 y, 8125 women became overweight or obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m²). Intakes of total fruits and vegetables, fruits, and dietary fiber were not associated with the longitudinal changes in body weight, whereas higher vegetable intake was associated with greater weight gain (P-trend: 0.02). In multivariable analyses, controlling for total energy intake and physical activity along with other lifestyle, clinical, and dietary factors, women in the highest vs. lowest quintile of fruit intake had an HR of 0.87 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.94; P-trend: 0.01) of becoming overweight or obese. No association was observed for vegetable or dietary fiber intake. The association between fruit intake and risk of becoming overweight or obese was modified by baseline BMI (P-interaction: fruit, but not vegetables or fiber, by middle-aged and older women with a normal BMI at baseline is associated with lower risk of becoming overweight or obese. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

  3. A Highest Order Hypothesis Compatibility Test for Monocular SLAM

    OpenAIRE

    Edmundo Guerra; Rodrigo Munguia; Yolanda Bolea; Antoni Grau

    2013-01-01

    Simultaneous Location and Mapping (SLAM) is a key problem to solve in order to build truly autonomous mobile robots. SLAM with a unique camera, or monocular SLAM, is probably one of the most complex SLAM variants, based entirely on a bearing-only sensor working over six DOF. The monocular SLAM method developed in this work is based on the Delayed Inverse-Depth (DI-D) Feature Initialization, with the contribution of a new data association batch validation technique, the Highest Order Hyp...

  4. IPCC Socio-Economic Baseline Dataset

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Socio-Economic Baseline Dataset consists of population, human development, economic, water resources, land...

  5. The Reduction of Baseline Serotonin 2A Receptors in Mild Cognitive Impairment is Stable at Two-year Follow-up

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marner, Lisbeth; Knudsen, Gitte M; Madsen, Karine

    2011-01-01

    Alzheimer's disease (AD). In both patients and healthy subjects, no significant change in 5-HT2A receptor binding was found as compared to baseline values. In MCI patients, the average BPP in neocortex ranged from 1.49 to 2.45 at baseline and 1.38 to 2.29 at two-year follow-up; and in healthy subjects BPP...... ranged from 1.85 to 3.10 at baseline and 1.81 to 2.98 at two-year follow-up. The BPP of the patients that converted to AD during the follow-up period did not differ significantly from the patients that had not (yet) converted, neither at baseline, nor at follow-up. We conclude that the reduced levels...

  6. Baseline budgeting for continuous improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilty, G L

    1999-05-01

    This article is designed to introduce the techniques used to convert traditionally maintained department budgets to baseline budgets. This entails identifying key activities, evaluating for value-added, and implementing continuous improvement opportunities. Baseline Budgeting for Continuous Improvement was created as a result of a newly named company president's request to implement zero-based budgeting. The president was frustrated with the mind-set of the organization, namely, "Next year's budget should be 10 to 15 percent more than this year's spending." Zero-based budgeting was not the answer, but combining the principles of activity-based costing and the Just-in-Time philosophy of eliminating waste and continuous improvement did provide a solution to the problem.

  7. Level III baseline risk evaluation for Building 3505 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mostella, W.B. Jr.

    1994-12-01

    The Level III Baseline Risk Evaluation (BRE) for Building 3505, the ORNL Metal Recovery Facility, provides an analysis of the potential for adverse health effects, current or future, associated with the presence of hazardous substances in the building. The Metal Recovery Facility was used from 1952 through 1960 to process large quantities of radioactive material using the PUREX process for the recovery of uranium-238, plutonium-239, neptunium-237, and americium-241. The facility consists of seven process cells (A through G), a canal, a dissolver room, a dissolver pit, an office, locker room, storage area, control room, electrical gallery, shop, and makeup area. The cells were used to house the nuclear fuel reprocessing equipment, and the canal was constructed to be used as a water-shielded transfer canal. Currently, there are no known releases of radioactive contaminants from Building 3505. To perform the BRE, historical radiological survey data were used to estimate the concentration of alpha- and beta/gamma emitting radionuclides in the various cells, rooms, and other areas in Building 3505. Data from smear surveys were used to estimate the amount of transferable contamination (to which receptors can be exposed via inhalation and ingestion), and data from probe surveys were used to estimate the amount of both fixed and transferable contamination (from which receptors can receive external exposure). Two land use scenarios, current and future, and their subsequent exposure scenarios were explored in the BRE. Under the current land use scenario, two exposure scenarios were evaluated. The first was a worst-case industrial exposure scenario in which the receptor is a maintenance worker who works 8 hours/day, 350 days/year in the building for 25 years. In the second, more realistic exposure scenario, the receptor is a surveillance and maintenance (S ampersand M) worker who spends two 8-hour days/year in the building for 25 years

  8. Safe and sensible preprocessing and baseline correction of pupil-size data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathôt, Sebastiaan; Fabius, Jasper; Van Heusden, Elle; Van der Stigchel, Stefan

    2018-02-01

    Measurement of pupil size (pupillometry) has recently gained renewed interest from psychologists, but there is little agreement on how pupil-size data is best analyzed. Here we focus on one aspect of pupillometric analyses: baseline correction, i.e., analyzing changes in pupil size relative to a baseline period. Baseline correction is useful in experiments that investigate the effect of some experimental manipulation on pupil size. In such experiments, baseline correction improves statistical power by taking into account random fluctuations in pupil size over time. However, we show that baseline correction can also distort data if unrealistically small pupil sizes are recorded during the baseline period, which can easily occur due to eye blinks, data loss, or other distortions. Divisive baseline correction (corrected pupil size = pupil size/baseline) is affected more strongly by such distortions than subtractive baseline correction (corrected pupil size = pupil size - baseline). We discuss the role of baseline correction as a part of preprocessing of pupillometric data, and make five recommendations: (1) before baseline correction, perform data preprocessing to mark missing and invalid data, but assume that some distortions will remain in the data; (2) use subtractive baseline correction; (3) visually compare your corrected and uncorrected data; (4) be wary of pupil-size effects that emerge faster than the latency of the pupillary response allows (within ±220 ms after the manipulation that induces the effect); and (5) remove trials on which baseline pupil size is unrealistically small (indicative of blinks and other distortions).

  9. High Rates of Baseline Drug Resistance and Virologic Failure Among ART-naive HIV-infected Children in Mali.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crowell, Claudia S; Maiga, Almoustapha I; Sylla, Mariam; Taiwo, Babafemi; Kone, Niaboula; Oron, Assaf P; Murphy, Robert L; Marcelin, Anne-Geneviève; Traore, Ban; Fofana, Djeneba B; Peytavin, Gilles; Chadwick, Ellen G

    2017-11-01

    Limited data exist on drug resistance and antiretroviral treatment (ART) outcomes in HIV-1-infected children in West Africa. We determined the prevalence of baseline resistance and correlates of virologic failure (VF) in a cohort of ART-naive HIV-1-infected children baseline (before ART) and at 6 months. Resistance was defined according to the Stanford HIV Genotypic Resistance database. VF was defined as viral load ≥1000 copies/mL after 6 months of ART. Logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with VF or death >1 month after enrollment. Post hoc, antiretroviral concentrations were assayed on baseline samples of participants with baseline resistance. One-hundred twenty children with a median age 2.6 years (interquartile range: 1.6-5.0) were included. Eighty-eight percent reported no prevention of mother-to-child transmission exposure. At baseline, 27 (23%), 4 (3%) and none had non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI), nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor or protease inhibitor resistance, respectively. Thirty-nine (33%) developed VF and 4 died >1 month post-ART initiation. In multivariable analyses, poor adherence [odds ratio (OR): 6.1, P = 0.001], baseline NNRTI resistance among children receiving NNRTI-based ART (OR: 22.9, P baseline NNRTI resistance (OR: 5.8, P = 0.018) were significantly associated with VF/death. Ten (38%) with baseline resistance had detectable levels of nevirapine or efavirenz at baseline; 7 were currently breastfeeding, but only 2 reported maternal antiretroviral use. Baseline NNRTI resistance was common in children without reported NNRTI exposure and was associated with increased risk of treatment failure. Detectable NNRTI concentrations were present despite few reports of maternal/infant antiretroviral use.

  10. Performance Measurement Baseline Change Request

    Data.gov (United States)

    Social Security Administration — The Performance Measurement Baseline Change Request template is used to document changes to scope, cost, schedule, or operational performance metrics for SSA's Major...

  11. Baseline prevalence and longitudinal evolution of non-motor symptoms in early Parkinson's disease: the PPMI cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simuni, Tanya; Caspell-Garcia, Chelsea; Coffey, Christopher S; Weintraub, Daniel; Mollenhauer, Brit; Lasch, Shirley; Tanner, Caroline M; Jennings, Danna; Kieburtz, Karl; Chahine, Lana M; Marek, Kenneth

    2018-01-01

    To examine the baseline prevalence and longitudinal evolution in non-motor symptoms (NMS) in a prospective cohort of, at baseline, patients with de novo Parkinson's disease (PD) compared with healthy controls (HC). Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) is a longitudinal, ongoing, controlled study of de novo PD participants and HC. NMS were rated using the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) Part I score and other validated NMS scales at baseline and after 2 years. Biological variables included cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers and dopamine transporter imaging. 423 PD subjects and 196 HC were enrolled and followed for 2 years. MDS-UPDRS Part I total mean (SD) scores increased from baseline 5.6 (4.1) to 7.7 (5.0) at year 2 in PD subjects (pbaseline NMS score was associated with female sex (p=0.008), higher baseline MDS-UPDRS Part II scores (pbaseline. There was no association with the dose or class of dopaminergic therapy. This study of NMS in early PD identified clinical and biological variables associated with both baseline burden and predictors of progression. The association of a greater longitudinal increase in NMS with lower baseline Aβ1-42 level is an important finding that will have to be replicated in other cohorts. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01141023. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  12. The baseline pressure of intracranial pressure (ICP) sensors can be altered by electrostatic discharges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eide, Per K; Bakken, André

    2011-08-22

    The monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) has a crucial role in the surveillance of patients with brain injury. During long-term monitoring of ICP, we have seen spontaneous shifts in baseline pressure (ICP sensor zero point), which are of technical and not physiological origin. The aim of the present study was to explore whether or not baseline pressures of ICP sensors can be affected by electrostatics discharges (ESD's), when ESD's are delivered at clinically relevant magnitudes. We performed bench-testing of a set of commercial ICP sensors. In our experimental setup, the ICP sensor was placed in a container with 0.9% NaCl solution. A test person was charged 0.5-10 kV, and then delivered ESD's to the sensor by touching a metal rod that was located in the container. The continuous pressure signals were recorded continuously before/after the ESD's, and the pressure readings were stored digitally using a computerized system A total of 57 sensors were tested, including 25 Codman ICP sensors and 32 Raumedic sensors. When charging the test person in the range 0.5-10 kV, typically ESD's in the range 0.5-5 kV peak pulse were delivered to the ICP sensor. Alterations in baseline pressure ≥ 2 mmHg was seen in 24 of 25 (96%) Codman sensors and in 17 of 32 (53%) Raumedic sensors. Lasting changes in baseline pressure > 10 mmHg that in the clinical setting would affect patient management, were seen frequently for both sensor types. The changes in baseline pressure were either characterized by sudden shifts or gradual drifts in baseline pressure. The baseline pressures of commercial solid ICP sensors can be altered by ESD's at discharge magnitudes that are clinically relevant. Shifts in baseline pressure change the ICP levels visualised to the physician on the monitor screen, and thereby reveal wrong ICP values, which likely represent a severe risk to the patient.

  13. Evaluation of the accuracy of estimated baseline serum creatinine for acute kidney injury diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatakeyama, Yutaka; Horino, Taro; Nagata, Keitaro; Kataoka, Hiromi; Matsumoto, Tatsuki; Terada, Yoshio; Okuhara, Yoshiyasu

    2018-04-01

    Modern epidemiologic studies of acute kidney injury (AKI) have been facilitated by the increasing availability of electronic medical records. However, pre-morbid reference serum creatinine (SCr) data are often unavailable in such records. Investigators substitute estimated baseline SCr with the eGFR 75 approach, instead of using actually measured baseline SCr. Here, we evaluated the accuracy of estimated baseline SCr for AKI diagnosis in the Japanese population. Inpatients and outpatients aged 18-80 years were retrospectively enrolled. AKI was diagnosed according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria, using SCr levels. The non-AKI and AKI groups were selected using the following criteria: increase 1.5 times greater than baseline SCr ("baseline SCr") or increase 0.3 mg/dL greater than baseline SCr in 48 h ("increase in 48 h"). AKI accuracy defined by the estimated reference SCr, the average SCr value of the non-AKI population (eb-GFR-A approach), or the back-calculated SCr from fixed eGFR = 75 mL/min/1.73 m 2 (eGFR 75 approach, or, eb-GFR-B approach in this study), was evaluated. We analyzed data from 131,358 Japanese patients. The number of patients with reference baseline SCr in the non-AKI and AKI patients were 29,834 and 8952, respectively. For AKI patients diagnosed using "baseline SCr", the AKI diagnostic accuracy rates as defined by eb-GFR-A and eb-GFR-B were 63.5 and 57.7%, respectively, while in AKI diagnosed using "increase in 48 h", the AKI diagnostic accuracy rates as defined by eb-GFR-A and eb-GFR-B were 78.7 and 75.1%, respectively. In non-AKI patients, false-positive rates of AKI misdiagnosed via eb-GFR-A and eb-GFR-B were 7.4 and 6.8%, respectively. AKI diagnosis using the average SCr value of the general population may yield more accurate results than diagnosis using the eGFR 75 approach when the reference SCr is unavailable.

  14. Capabilities and prospects of the East Asia Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, T.; Sohn, B. W.; Imai, H.

    2018-02-01

    The very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) technique offers angular resolutions superior to any other instruments at other wavelengths, enabling unique science applications of high-resolution imaging of radio sources and high-precision astrometry. The East Asia VLBI Network (EAVN) is a collaborative effort in the East Asian region. The EAVN currently consists of 21 telescopes with diverse equipment configurations and frequency setups, allowing flexible subarrays for specific science projects. The EAVN provides the highest resolution of 0.5 mas at 22 GHz, allowing the fine imaging of jets in active galactic nuclei, high-accuracy astrometry of masers and pulsars, and precise spacecraft positioning. The soon-to-be-operational Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) will open a new era for the EAVN. This state-of-the-art VLBI array also provides easy access to and crucial training for the burgeoning Asian astronomical community. This Perspective summarizes the status, capabilities and prospects of the EAVN.

  15. Distribution of aliphatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorinated pollutants in deep-sea sediments of the Southern Cretan margin, Eastern Mediterranean Sea: a baseline assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandalakis, Manolis; Polymenakou, Paraskevi N; Tselepides, Anastasios; Lampadariou, Nikolaos

    2014-07-01

    Deep sediments from the southern Cretan margin were analyzed to establish baseline levels for various types of organic pollutants before the anticipated intensification of anthropogenic activities. The total concentration of aliphatic hydrocarbons (ΣAH:326-3758ngg(-1), dry weight) was similar to those reported for deep sediments of the western Mediterranean Sea, while considerably lower levels were measured for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (ΣPAH:9-60ngg(-1)). Source-diagnostic ratios suggested that the aliphatic hydrocarbons in sediments were mainly of terrestrial biogenic origin, while polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons stemmed from the deposition of long-range transported combustion aerosols. Among the organochlorinated compounds analyzed, β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH:222-7052pgg(-1)), 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (p,p'-DDT:37-2236pgg(-1)) and polychlorinated biphenyls (ΣPCB:38-1182pgg(-1)) showed the highest abundance in sediments. The presence of HCHs and PCBs was attributed to historical inputs that have undergone extensive weathering, whereas an ongoing fresh input was suggested for p,p'-DDT. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the levels of the various pollutants in sediments were controlled by different factors, but with organic carbon content playing a prominent role in most cases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Tank waste remediation system retrieval and disposal mission initial updated baseline summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swita, W.R.

    1998-01-01

    This document provides a summary of the Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS) Retrieval and Disposal Mission Initial Updated Baseline (scope, schedule, and cost), developed to demonstrate Readiness-to-Proceed (RTP) in support of the TWRS Phase 1B mission. This Updated Baseline is the proposed TWRS plan to execute and measure the mission work scope. This document and other supporting data demonstrate that the TWRS Project Hanford Management Contract (PHMC) team is prepared to fully support Phase 1B by executing the following scope, schedule, and cost baseline activities: Deliver the specified initial low-activity waste (LAW) and high-level waste (HLW) feed batches in a consistent, safe, and reliable manner to support private contractors' operations starting in June 2002; Deliver specified subsequent LAW and HLW feed batches during Phase 1B in a consistent, safe, and reliable manner; Provide for the interim storage of immobilized HLW (IHLW) products and the disposal of immobilized LAW (ILAW) products generated by the private contractors; Provide for disposal of byproduct wastes generated by the private contractors; and Provide the infrastructure to support construction and operations of the private contractors' facilities

  17. Thyroid hormone levels and incident chronic kidney disease in euthyroid individuals: the Kangbuk Samsung Health Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yiyi; Chang, Yoosoo; Ryu, Seungho; Cho, Juhee; Lee, Won-Young; Rhee, Eun-Jung; Kwon, Min-Jung; Pastor-Barriuso, Roberto; Rampal, Sanjay; Han, Won Kon; Shin, Hocheol; Guallar, Eliseo

    2014-10-01

    Overt and subclinical hypothyroidism are associated with higher levels of serum creatinine and with increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The prospective association between thyroid hormones and kidney function in euthyroid individuals,however, is largely unexplored. We conducted a prospective cohort study in 104 633 South Korean men and women who were free of CKD and proteinuria at baseline and had normal thyroid hormone levels and no history of thyroid disease or cancer. At each annual or biennial follow-up visit, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxin (FT4) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. The study outcome was incident CKD, defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)<60 ml/min/1.73 m2 based on the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration creatinine equation. After a median follow-up of 3.5 years, 1032 participants developed incident CKD.There was a positive association between high-normal levels of TSH and increased risk of incident CKD. In fully-adjusted models including baseline eGFR, the hazard ratio comparing the highest vs the lowest quintiles of TSH was 1.26 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02 to 1.55; P for linear trend=0.03]. In spline models, FT3 levels below 3 pg/ml were also associated with increased risk of incident CKD. There was no association between FT4 levels and CKD. In a large cohort of euthyroid men and women, high levels of TSH and low levels of FT3, even within the normal range, were modestly associated with an increased risk of incident CKD.

  18. Predictive value of different prostate-specific antigen-based markers in men with baseline total prostate-specific antigen <2.0 ng/mL.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujizuka, Yuji; Ito, Kazuto; Oki, Ryo; Suzuki, Rie; Sekine, Yoshitaka; Koike, Hidekazu; Matsui, Hiroshi; Shibata, Yasuhiro; Suzuki, Kazuhiro

    2017-08-01

    To investigate the predictive value of various molecular forms of prostate-specific antigen in men with baseline prostate-specific antigen baseline prostate-specific antigen level baseline prostate-specific antigen- and age-adjusted men who did not develop prostate cancer. Serum prostate-specific antigen, free prostate-specific antigen, and [-2] proenzyme prostate-specific antigen were measured at baseline and last screening visit. The predictive impact of baseline prostate-specific antigen- and [-2] proenzyme prostate-specific antigen-related indices on developing prostate cancer was investigated. The predictive impact of those indices at last screening visit and velocities from baseline to final screening on tumor aggressiveness were also investigated. The baseline free to total prostate-specific antigen ratio was a significant predictor of prostate cancer development. The odds ratio was 6.08 in the lowest quintile baseline free to total prostate-specific antigen ratio subgroup. No serum indices at diagnosis were associated with tumor aggressiveness. The Prostate Health Index velocity and [-2] proenzyme prostate-specific antigen/free prostate-specific antigen velocity significantly increased in patients with higher risk D'Amico risk groups and higher Gleason scores. Free to total prostate-specific antigen ratio in men with low baseline prostate-specific antigen levels seems to predict the risk of developing prostate cancer, and it could be useful for a more effective individualized screening system. Longitudinal changes in [-2] proenzyme prostate-specific antigen-related indices seem to correlate with tumor aggressiveness, and they could be used as prognostic tool before treatment and during active surveillance. © 2017 The Japanese Urological Association.

  19. 12-Mo Intervention of Physical Exercise Improved Work Ability, Especially in Subjects with Low Baseline Work Ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oili Kettunen

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: This study’s objective was to assess the effects of a 12-month physical exercise intervention on work ability (WAI and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF in healthy working adults. Methods: The study group had 371 participants, of which 338 (212 women and 126 men were allocated in the exercise group and 33 (17 women and 16 men in the control group. The exercise group underwent a 12-month exercise program followed by a 12-month follow-up. WAI and CRF were evaluated at baseline, and at 4, 8, 12, and 24 study months, in both exercise and control groups. The exercise group was divided into subgroups according to baseline WAI classifications (poor/moderate, good, excellent. Results: During the 12-month exercise intervention, the exercise group increased their leisure-time physical activity by 71% (p = 0.016 and improved the mean WAI by 3% and CRF by 7% (p < 0.0001, in both, while WAI and CRF decreased in the control group (ANCOVA using age, sex and BMI as covariates, for WAI, p = 0.013 and for CRF, p = 0.008. The changes in WAI and CRF between the exercise group and control group were significantly different during the intervention (baseline vs. 12-months, p = 0.028 and p = 0.007 and after the follow-up (p = 0.001 and p = 0.040, respectively. A light positive correlation between the changes in WAI and in CRF (r = 0.19, p < 0.01 existed. WAI improvement was the highest (13%, p < 0.0001 in the subgroup having poor/moderate WAI at baseline (ANCOVA, p < 0.001. Conclusions: The improvement of WAI associated with CRF. These results suggest that a physical exercise intervention may improve work ability.

  20. Baseline Plasma C-Reactive Protein Concentrations and Motor Prognosis in Parkinson Disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atsushi Umemura

    Full Text Available C-reactive protein (CRP, a blood inflammatory biomarker, is associated with the development of Alzheimer disease. In animal models of Parkinson disease (PD, systemic inflammatory stimuli can promote neuroinflammation and accelerate dopaminergic neurodegeneration. However, the association between long-term systemic inflammations and neurodegeneration has not been assessed in PD patients.To investigate the longitudinal effects of baseline CRP concentrations on motor prognosis in PD.Retrospective analysis of 375 patients (mean age, 69.3 years; mean PD duration, 6.6 years. Plasma concentrations of high-sensitivity CRP were measured in the absence of infections, and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III (UPDRS-III scores were measured at five follow-up intervals (Days 1-90, 91-270, 271-450, 451-630, and 631-900.Change of UPDRS-III scores from baseline to each of the five follow-up periods.Change in UPDRS-III scores was significantly greater in PD patients with CRP concentrations ≥0.7 mg/L than in those with CRP concentrations <0.7 mg/L, as determined by a generalized estimation equation model (P = 0.021 for the entire follow-up period and by a generalized regression model (P = 0.030 for the last follow-up interval (Days 631-900. The regression coefficients of baseline CRP for the two periods were 1.41 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.21-2.61 and 2.62 (95% CI 0.25-4.98, respectively, after adjusting for sex, age, baseline UPDRS-III score, dementia, and incremental L-dopa equivalent dose.Baseline plasma CRP levels were associated with motor deterioration and predicted motor prognosis in patients with PD. These associations were independent of sex, age, PD severity, dementia, and anti-Parkinsonian agents, suggesting that subclinical systemic inflammations could accelerate neurodegeneration in PD.

  1. Baseline susceptibility of Planococcus ficus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) from California to select insecticides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabhaker, Nilima; Gispert, Carmen; Castle, Steven J

    2012-08-01

    Between 2006 and 2008, 20 populations of Planococcus ficus (Signoret), from Coachella and San Joaquin Valleys of California were measured in the laboratory for susceptibility to buprofezin, chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, methomyl, and imidacloprid. Toxicity was assessed using a petri dish bioassay technique for contact insecticides and by a systemic uptake technique for imidacloprid. Mixed life stages were tested for susceptibility to all insecticides except for buprofezin, which was measured against early and late instars (first, second, and third). Dose-response regression lines from the mortality data established LC50 and LC99 values by both techniques. Responses of populations from the two geographical locations to all five insecticides varied, in some cases significantly. Variations in susceptibility to each insecticide among sample sites showed a sevenfold difference for buprofezin, 11-fold to chlorpyrifos, ninefold to dimethoate, 24-fold to methomyl, and 8.5-fold to imidacloprid. In spite of susceptibility differences between populations, baseline toxicity data revealed that all five insecticides were quite effective based on low LC50s. Chlorpyrifos was the most toxic compound to Planococcus ficus populations as shown by lowest LC50s. Buprofezin was toxic to all immature stages but was more potent to first instars. The highest LC99 estimated by probit analysis of the bioassay data of all 20 populations for each compound was selected as a candidate discriminating dose for use in future resistance monitoring efforts. Establishment of baseline data and development of resistance monitoring tools such as bioassay methods and discriminating doses are essential elements of a sustainable management program for Planococcus ficus.

  2. An Automated Baseline Correction Method Based on Iterative Morphological Operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yunliang; Dai, Liankui

    2018-05-01

    Raman spectra usually suffer from baseline drift caused by fluorescence or other reasons. Therefore, baseline correction is a necessary and crucial step that must be performed before subsequent processing and analysis of Raman spectra. An automated baseline correction method based on iterative morphological operations is proposed in this work. The method can adaptively determine the structuring element first and then gradually remove the spectral peaks during iteration to get an estimated baseline. Experiments on simulated data and real-world Raman data show that the proposed method is accurate, fast, and flexible for handling different kinds of baselines in various practical situations. The comparison of the proposed method with some state-of-the-art baseline correction methods demonstrates its advantages over the existing methods in terms of accuracy, adaptability, and flexibility. Although only Raman spectra are investigated in this paper, the proposed method is hopefully to be used for the baseline correction of other analytical instrumental signals, such as IR spectra and chromatograms.

  3. Higher Intake of Fruit, but Not Vegetables or Fiber, at Baseline Is Associated with Lower Risk of Becoming Overweight or Obese in Middle-Aged and Older Women of Normal BMI at Baseline123

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rautiainen, Susanne; Wang, Lu; Lee, I-Min; Manson, JoAnn E; Buring, Julie E; Sesso, Howard D

    2015-01-01

    Background: Fruit, vegetable, and dietary fiber intake have been associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, little is known about their role in obesity prevention. Objective: Our goal was to investigate whether intake of fruits, vegetables, and dietary fiber is associated with weight change and the risk of becoming overweight and obese. Methods: We studied 18,146 women aged ≥45 y from the Women’s Health Study free of CVD and cancer with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to Fruit, vegetable, and dietary fiber intakes were assessed at baseline through a 131-item food-frequency questionnaire, along with obesity-related risk factors. Women self-reported body weight on annual questionnaires. Results: During a mean follow-up of 15.9 y, 8125 women became overweight or obese (BMI ≥25 kg/m2). Intakes of total fruits and vegetables, fruits, and dietary fiber were not associated with the longitudinal changes in body weight, whereas higher vegetable intake was associated with greater weight gain (P-trend: 0.02). In multivariable analyses, controlling for total energy intake and physical activity along with other lifestyle, clinical, and dietary factors, women in the highest vs. lowest quintile of fruit intake had an HR of 0.87 (95% CI: 0.80, 0.94; P-trend: 0.01) of becoming overweight or obese. No association was observed for vegetable or dietary fiber intake. The association between fruit intake and risk of becoming overweight or obese was modified by baseline BMI (P-interaction: fruit, but not vegetables or fiber, by middle-aged and older women with a normal BMI at baseline is associated with lower risk of becoming overweight or obese. PMID:25934663

  4. Effect on Fasting Serum Glucose Levels of Adding Ezetimibe to Statins in Patients With Nondiabetic Hypercholesterolemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toth, Peter P; Catapano, Alberico L; Farnier, Michel; Foody, Joanne; Tomassini, Joanne E; Jensen, Erin; Polis, Adam B; Hanson, Mary E; Musliner, Thomas A; Tershakovec, Andrew M

    2016-12-15

    Statin therapy is associated with a slightly increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance in patients without diabetes. Ezetimibe combined with statins may be considered for high-risk patients who do not achieve optimal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol lowering on statin monotherapy or who are statin intolerant. Changes in fasting serum glucose (FSG) levels during ezetimibe, ezetimibe/statin, and statin treatments were assessed using data pooled from clinical trials in hypercholesterolemic and heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemic patients, who were or were not receiving statin therapy. Study types included first-line trials in statin-naive/wash-out patients and second-line add-on and uptitration studies in patients on stable statin therapy. Similar analyses of FSG changes were performed separately for each study type in patients who were nondiabetic at baseline. Across all study types and treatments, mean FSG increases from baseline were small (0.5 to 3.7 mg/dl with ezetimibe/statin; 0.2 to 4.6 mg/dl with statins) and decreased over time; between-treatment differences (0.3 to 1.4 mg/dl) were nonsignificant for all comparisons. Proportions of patients with elevated FSG ≥126 mg/dl during therapy were low and similar for all treatments in the overall cohort (1.2% to 4.3%). Elevations were highest (3.3% to 25.7%) among patients with baseline factors characteristic of metabolic syndrome and prediabetes, including higher FSG, body mass index, and triglyceride levels, and numerically lower baseline high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; however, these factors were not related to FSG increases. Changes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoprotein B were not significantly correlated with FSG increases. In conclusion, statin therapy was associated with small FSG increases, and the addition of ezetimibe did not further increase FSG levels beyond those of

  5. LHCb base-line level-0 trigger 3D-Flow implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crosetto, Dario B.

    1999-01-01

    The LHCb Level-0 trigger implementation with the 3D-Flow system offers full programmability, allowing it to adapt to unexpected operating conditions and enabling new, unpredicted physics. The implementation is described in detail and refers to components and technology available today. The 3D-Flow Processor system is a new, technology-independent concept in very fast, real-time system architectures. Based on the replication of a single type of circuit of 100k gates, which communicates in six directions: bi-directional with North, East, West, and South neighbors, unidirectional from Top to Bottom, the system offers full programmability, modularity, ease of expansion and adaptation to the latest technology. A complete study of its applicability to the LHCb calorimeter triggers is presented. Full description of the input data handling, either in digital or mixed digital-analog form, of the data processing, and the transmission of results to the global level-0 trigger decision unit are provided. Any level-0 trigger algorithm (2x2, 3x3, 4x4, etc.) with up to 20 steps, can be implemented with zero dead-time, while sustaining input data rate (up to 32-bit per input channel, per bunch crossing) at 40 MHz. For each step, each 3D-Flow processor can execute up to 26 operations, inclusive of compare, ranging, finding local maxima, and efficient data exchange with neighboring channels. (One-to-one correspondence between input channel and trigger tower.) Populated with only two main types of components, front-end FPGAs and 3D-Flow processors, a single type of board, it is shown how the whole Level-0 calorimeter trigger can be accommodated into six crates (9U), each containing 16 identical boards. All 3D-Flow inter-chip Bottom to Top ports connection are all contained on the board (data are multiplexed 2 : 1, PCB traces are shorter than 6 cm); all 3D-flow inter-chip North, East, West, and South ports connections, between boards and crates, are multiplexed (8+2) : 1 and are

  6. Mouse Chromosome 4 Is Associated with the Baseline and Allergic IgE Phenotypes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cynthia Kanagaratham

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Regulation of IgE concentration in the blood is a complex trait, with high concentrations associated with parasitic infections as well as allergic diseases. A/J strain mice have significantly higher plasma concentrations of IgE, both at baseline and after ovalbumin antigen exposure, when compared to C57BL/6J strain mice. Our objective was to determine the genomic regions associated with this difference in phenotype. To achieve this, we used a panel of recombinant congenic strains (RCS derived from A/J and C57BL/6J strains. We measured IgE in the RCS panel at baseline and following allergen exposure. Using marker by marker analysis of the RCS genotype and phenotype data, we identified multiple regions associated with the IgE phenotype. A single region was identified to be associated with baseline IgE level, while multiple regions wereassociated with the phenotype after allergen exposure. The most significant region was found on Chromosome 4, from 81.46 to 86.17 Mbp. Chromosome 4 substitution strain mice had significantly higher concentration of IgE than their background parental strain mice, C57BL/6J. Our data presents multiple candidate regions associated with plasma IgE concentration at baseline and following allergen exposure, with the most significant one located on Chromosome 4.

  7. Rationing with baselines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hougaard, Jens Leth; Moreno-Ternero, Juan D.; Østerdal, Lars Peter Raahave

    2013-01-01

    We introduce a new operator for general rationing problems in which, besides conflicting claims, individual baselines play an important role in the rationing process. The operator builds onto ideas of composition, which are not only frequent in rationing, but also in related problems...... such as bargaining, choice, and queuing. We characterize the operator and show how it preserves some standard axioms in the literature on rationing. We also relate it to recent contributions in such literature....

  8. Methylphenidate during early consolidation affects long-term associative memory retrieval depending on baseline catecholamines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Isabella C; van Buuren, Mariët; Bovy, Leonore; Morris, Richard G; Fernández, Guillén

    2017-02-01

    Synaptic memory consolidation is thought to rely on catecholaminergic signaling. Eventually, it is followed by systems consolidation, which embeds memories in a neocortical network. Although this sequence was demonstrated in rodents, it is unclear how catecholamines affect memory consolidation in humans. Here, we tested the effects of catecholaminergic modulation on synaptic and subsequent systems consolidation. We expected enhanced memory performance and increased neocortical engagement during delayed retrieval. Additionally, we tested if this effect was modulated by individual differences in a cognitive proxy measure of baseline catecholamine synthesis capacity. Fifty-three healthy males underwent a between-subjects, double-blind, placebo-controlled procedure across 2 days. On day 1, subjects studied and retrieved object-location associations and received 20 mg of methylphenidate or placebo. Drug intake was timed so that methylphenidate was expected to affect early consolidation but not encoding or retrieval. Memory was tested again while subjects were scanned three days later. Methylphenidate did not facilitate memory performance, and there was no significant group difference in activation during delayed retrieval. However, memory representations differed between groups depending on baseline catecholamines. The placebo group showed increased activation in occipito-temporal regions but decreased connectivity with the hippocampus, associated with lower baseline catecholamine synthesis capacity. The methylphenidate group showed stronger activation in the postcentral gyrus, associated with higher baseline catecholamine synthesis capacity. Altogether, methylphenidate during early consolidation did not foster long-term memory performance, but it affected retrieval-related neural processes depending on individual levels of baseline catecholamines.

  9. Sensitivity of amounts and distribution of tropical forest carbon credits depending on baseline rules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griscom, Bronson; Shoch, David; Stanley, Bill; Cortez, Rane; Virgilio, Nicole

    2009-01-01

    One of the largest sources of global greenhouse gas emissions can be addressed through conservation of tropical forests by channeling funds to developing countries at a cost-savings for developed countries. However, questions remain to be resolved in negotiating a system for including reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in a post-Kyoto climate treaty. The approach to determine national baselines, or reference levels, for quantifying REDD has emerged as central to negotiations over a REDD mechanism in a post-Kyoto policy framework. The baseline approach is critical to the success of a REDD mechanism because it affects the quantity, credibility, and equity of credits generated from efforts to reduce forest carbon emissions. We compared outcomes of seven proposed baseline approaches as a function of country circumstances, using a retrospective analysis of FAO-FRA data on forest carbon emissions from deforestation. Depending upon the baseline approach used, the total credited emissions avoided ranged over two orders of magnitude for the same quantity of actual emissions reductions. There was also a wide range in the relative distribution of credits generated among the five country types we identified. Outcomes were especially variable for countries with high remaining forest and low rates of deforestation (HFLD). We suggest that the most credible approaches measure emissions avoided with respect to a business-as-usual baseline scenario linked to historic emissions data, and allow limited adjustments based on forest carbon stocks.

  10. Baseline Geochemical Data for Medical Researchers in Kentucky

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, W.

    2017-12-01

    According to the Centers for Disease Control, Kentucky has the highest cancer incidence and death rates in the country. New efforts by geochemists and medical researchers are examining ways to diagnose the origin and sources of carcinogenesis. In an effort to determine if naturally occurring geochemical or mineral elements contributes to the cancer causation, the Kentucky Geological Survey has established a Minerals and Geochemical Database that is available to medical researchers for examination of baseline geochemistry and determine if naturally occurring mineral or chemical elements contribute to the high rate of cancers in the state. Cancer causation is complex, so if natural sources can be accounted for, then researchers can focus on the true causation. Naturally occurring minerals, metals and elements occur in many parts of the state, and their presence is valuable for evaluating causation. For example, some data in the database contain maps showing (a) statewide elemental geochemistry, (b) areas of black shale oxidation occurrence, which releases metals in soil and surface waters, (c) some clay deposits in the state that can contain high content of rare earth elements, and (d) site-specific uranium occurrences. Knowing the locations of major ore deposits in the state can also provide information related to mineral and chemical anomalies, such as for base metals and mercury. Radionuclide data in soil and water analyses are limited, so future research may involve obtaining more analyses to determine radon potential. This database also contains information on faulting and geology in the state. Although the metals content of trees may not seem relevant, the ash and humus content of degraded trees affects soil, stream sediment and water geochemistry. Many rural homes heat with wood, releasing metals into the surrounding biosphere. Stressed vegetation techniques can be used to explore for ore deposits and look for high metal contents in soils and rocks. These

  11. Comparison between lead levels in dandelions grown in an ultra-clean lab environment (baseline) and those collected from the San Francisco Bay Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rojero, J.; Odigie, K. O.; Hibdon, S.; Flegal, A. R.

    2011-12-01

    This study is aimed at establishing the baseline (natural) levels of lead in dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) grown in an ultra-clean environment. Dandelions have been used extensively as biomonitors of environmental lead levels since their distribution is global and they can be easily collected. However, industrial lead contamination is so pervasive that even dandelions from the most remote areas in the world may be contaminated with industrial lead. Therefore, this work will test the hypothesis that "natural" lead levels in dandelions are lower than any previously published values - by growing them in a HEPA filtered air (Class 100) trace metal clean room with high purity (18 MΩ cm) water. Concentrations and isotopic compositions of lead in the clean-room grown dandelions will be compared to values in literature and to those of lead in dandelions collected from San Francisco Bay Area. Lead is a dense, ductile, and highly malleable metal that is found naturally in our environment. Due to its properties it is currently highly used in building construction, in ceramic glazes, lead chromate and in PVC plastic used to coat electrical cords. The uses of lead have included paint, leather tanning, and being used as an additive to gasoline prior to the mid 1970's, as well as others. Due to its many uses, humans are susceptible to lead regularly through various means of exposure from air, water and soil, often leading to lead toxicity.

  12. Assessment of Multiple Intrauterine Gestations from Ovarian Stimulation (AMIGOS) Trial: Baseline Characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diamond, Michael P.; Legro, Richard S.; Coutifaris, Christos; Alvero, Ruben; Robinson, Randal D.; Casson, Peter; Christman, Gregory M.; Ager, Joel; Huang, Hao; Hansen, Karl R.; Baker, Valerie; Usadi, Rebecca; Seungdamrong, Aimee; Bates, G. Wright; Rosen, R. Mitchell; Haisonleder, Daniell; Krawetz, Stephen A.; Barnhart, Kurt; Trussell, J.C.; Jin, Yufeng; Santoro, Nanette; Eisenberg, Esther; Zhang, Heping

    2015-01-01

    Objective To identify baseline characteristics of women with unexplained infertility to determine whether treatment with an aromatase inhibitor will result in a lower rate of multiple gestations than current standard ovulation induction medications. Design Randomized, prospective clinical trial Patients 900 couples with unexplained infertility Interventions: Ovarian stimulation with gonadotropins, clomiphene citrate, or letrozole in conjunction with intrauterine insemination. Setting Multicenter University based clinical practices. Main Outcome Measures Demographic, laboratory, imaging, and survey characteristics. Interventions Collection of baseline demographics, blood samples, and ultrasonographic assessments. Results Demographic characteristics of women receiving clomiphene citrate, letrozole, or gonadotropins for ovarian stimulation were very consistent. Their mean age was 32.2 ± 4.4 years and infertility duration was 34.7± 25.7 months, with 59% primary infertility. More than 1/3 of the women were current or past smokers. The mean BMI was 27 and mean AMH level was 2.6; only 11 women (1.3%) had antral follicle counts of less than 5. Similar observations were identified for hormonal profiles, ultrasound characterization of the ovaries, semen parameters, and quality of life assessments in both male and female partners. Conclusion The cause of infertility in the couples recruited to this treatment trial is elusive, as the women were regularly ovulating and had evidence of good ovarian reserve both by basal FSH, AMH levels, and antral follicle counts; the male partners had normal semen parameters. The three treatment subgroups have common baseline characteristics, thereby providing comparable patient populations for testing the hypothesis that use of letrozole for ovarian stimulation can reduce the rates of multiples from that observed with gonadotropin and clomiphene citrate treatment. PMID:25707331

  13. Effects of dapagliflozin on insulin-requirement, glucose excretion and ß-hydroxybutyrate levels are not related to baseline HbA1c in youth with type 1 diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biester, Torben; Aschemeier, Baerbel; Fath, Maryam; Frey, Marcel; Scheerer, Markus F; Kordonouri, Olga; Danne, Thomas

    2017-11-01

    Youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D) infrequently achieve HbA1c targets. Therefore, this placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover study was set up to assess the safety, effect and pharmacokinetics of a single dose of 10 mg dapagliflozin (DAPA) as add-on to insulin in relationship to HbA1c in youth. A total of 33 youths (14 males, median age 16 years, diabetes duration 8 years) were included and stratified into 3 baseline HbA1c categories (9.0; n = 11 each). During the study period of 24 hours, intravenous insulin administration and glucose-infusion kept blood glucose levels at 160 to 220 mg/dL. DAPA reduced mean insulin dose by 13.6% ( P  HbA1c. Six independent episodes in 6 patients with plasma ß-hydroxybutyrate levels between ≥0.6 and HbA1c levels, for adjunct SGLT2-inhibitor therapy in the paediatric age group by lowering insulin dose and increasing glucose excretion. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Translating genetic research into preventive intervention: The baseline target moderated mediator design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George W. Howe

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we present and discuss a novel research approach, the baseline target moderated mediation (BTMM design, that holds substantial promise for advancing our understanding of how genetic research can inform prevention research. We first discuss how genetically informed research on developmental psychopathology can be used to identify potential intervention targets. We then describe the BTMM design, which employs moderated mediation within a longitudinal study to test whether baseline levels of intervention targets moderate the impact of the intervention on change in that target, and whether change in those targets mediates causal impact of preventive or treatment interventions on distal health outcomes. We next discuss how genetically informed BTMM designs can be applied to both microtrials and full-scale prevention trials. We end with a discussion of some of the advantages and limitations of this approach.

  15. Carbon tetrachloride ERA soil-gas baseline monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fancher, J.D.

    1994-01-01

    From December 1991 through December 1993, Westinghouse Hanford Company performed routine baseline monitoring of selected wells ad soil-gas points twice weekly in the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site. This work supported the carbon Tetrachloride Expedited Response Action (ERA) and provided a solid baseline of volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in wells and in the subsurface at the ERA site. As site remediation continues, comparisons to this baseline can be one means of measuring the success of carbon tetrachloride vapor extraction. This report contains observations of the patterns and trends associated with data obtained during soil-gas monitoring at the 200 West Area: Monitoring performed since late 1991 includes monitoring soil-gas probes ad wellheads for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This report reflects monitoring data collected from December 1991 through December 1993

  16. Utilities and offsites design baseline. Outside Battery Limits Facility 6000 tpd SRC-I Demonstration Plant. Volume 1

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    1984-05-25

    As part of the overall Solvent Refined Coal (SRC-1) project baseline being prepared by International Coal Refining Company (ICRC), the RUST Engineering Company is providing necessary input for the Outside Battery Limits (OSBL) Facilities. The project baseline is comprised of: design baseline - technical definition of work; schedule baseline - detailed and management level 1 schedules; and cost baseline - estimates and cost/manpower plan. The design baseline (technical definition) for the OSBL Facilities has been completed and is presented in Volumes I, II, III, IV, V and VI. The OSBL technical definition is based on, and compatible with, the ICRC defined statement of work, design basis memorandum, master project procedures, process and mechanical design criteria, and baseline guidance documents. The design basis memorandum is included in Paragraph 1.3 of Volume I. The baseline design data is presented in 6 volumes. Volume I contains the introduction section and utility systems data through steam and feedwater. Volume II continues with utility systems data through fuel system, and contains the interconnecting systems and utility system integration information. Volume III contains the offsites data through water and waste treatment. Volume IV continues with offsites data, including site development and buildings, and contains raw materials and product handling and storage information. Volume V contains wastewater treatment and solid wastes landfill systems developed by Catalytic, Inc. to supplement the information contained in Volume III. Volume VI contains proprietary information of Resources Conservation Company related to the evaporator/crystallizer system of the wastewater treatment area.

  17. 324 Building Baseline Radiological Characterization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    R.J. Reeder, J.C. Cooper

    2010-06-24

    This report documents the analysis of radiological data collected as part of the characterization study performed in 1998. The study was performed to create a baseline of the radiological conditions in the 324 Building.

  18. Digital baseline estimation method for multi-channel pulse height analyzing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiao Wuyun; Wei Yixiang; Ai Xianyun

    2005-01-01

    The basic features of digital baseline estimation for multi-channel pulse height analysis are introduced. The weight-function of minimum-noise baseline filter is deduced with functional variational calculus. The frequency response of this filter is also deduced with Fourier transformation, and the influence of parameters on amplitude frequency response characteristics is discussed. With MATLAB software, the noise voltage signal from the charge sensitive preamplifier is simulated, and the processing effect of minimum-noise digital baseline estimation is verified. According to the results of this research, digital baseline estimation method can estimate baseline optimally, and it is very suitable to be used in digital multi-channel pulse height analysis. (authors)

  19. First Grade Baseline Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Center for Innovation in Assessment (NJ1), 2013

    2013-01-01

    The First Grade Baseline Evaluation is an optional tool that can be used at the beginning of the school year to help teachers get to know the reading and language skills of each student. The evaluation is composed of seven screenings. Teachers may use the entire evaluation or choose to use those individual screenings that they find most beneficial…

  20. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Emergency Response Capability Baseline Needs Assessment Requirement Document

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharry, J A

    2009-12-30

    provided, the remote location and low population density of some the facilities. As such, the needs assessment contains equivalencies to the applicable requirements. The compliance assessment contains no such equivalencies and simply assesses the existing emergency response resources to the requirements of the BNA and can be updated as compliance changes independent of the BNA update schedule. There are numerous NFPA codes and standards and other requirements and guidance documents that address the subject of emergency response. These requirements documents are not always well coordinated and may contain duplicative or conflicting requirements or even coverage gaps. Left unaddressed, this regulatory situation results in frequent interpretation of requirements documents. Different interpretations can then lead to inconsistent implementation. This BNA addresses this situation by compiling applicable requirements from all identified sources (see Section 5) and analyzing them collectively to address conflict and overlap as applicable to the hazards presented by the LLNL and Sandia/CA sites (see Section 7). The BNA also generates requirements when needed to fill any identified gaps in regulatory coverage. Finally, the BNA produces a customized simple set of requirements, appropriate for the DOE protection goals, such as those defined in DOE O 420.1B, the hazard level, the population density, the topography, and the site layout at LLNL and Sandia/CA that will be used as the baseline requirements set - the 'baseline needs' - for emergency response at LLNL and Sandia/CA. A template approach is utilized to accomplish this evaluation for each of the nine topical areas that comprise the baseline needs for emergency response. The basis for conclusions reached in determining the baseline needs for each of the topical areas is presented in Sections 7.1 through 7.9. This BNA identifies only mandatory requirements and establishes the minimum performance criteria. The minimum

  1. Apolipoprotein C-III Levels and Incident Coronary Artery Disease Risk: The EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Capelleveen, Julian C; Bernelot Moens, Sophie J; Yang, Xiaohong; Kastelein, John J P; Wareham, Nicholas J; Zwinderman, Aeilko H; Stroes, Erik S G; Witztum, Joseph L; Hovingh, G Kees; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Boekholdt, S Matthijs; Tsimikas, Sotirios

    2017-06-01

    Apolipoprotein C-III (apoC-III) is a key regulator of triglyceride metabolism. Elevated triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and apoC-III levels are causally linked to coronary artery disease (CAD) risk. The mechanism(s) through which apoC-III increases CAD risk remains largely unknown. The aim was to confirm the association between apoC-III plasma levels and CAD risk and to explore which lipoprotein subfractions contribute to this relationship between apoC-III and CAD risk. Plasma apoC-III levels were measured in baseline samples from a nested case-control study in the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk study. The study comprised 2711 apparently healthy study participants, of whom 832 subsequently developed CAD. We studied the association of baseline apoC-III levels with incident CAD risk, lipoprotein subfractions measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and inflammatory biomarkers. ApoC-III levels were significantly associated with CAD risk (odds ratio, 1.91; 95% confidence interval, 1.48-2.48 for highest compared with lowest quintile), retaining significance after adjustment for traditional CAD risk factors (odds ratio, 1.47; 95% confidence interval, 1.11-1.94). ApoC-III levels were positively correlated with triglyceride levels, ( r =0.39), particle numbers of very-low-density lipoprotein ( r =0.25), intermediate-density lipoprotein ( r =0.23), small dense low-density lipoprotein ( r =0.26), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein ( r =0.15), whereas an inverse correlation was observed with large low-density lipoprotein particle number ( r =-0.11), P C-reactive protein. ApoC-III levels are significantly associated with incident CAD risk. Elevated levels of remnant lipoproteins, small dense low-density lipoprotein, and low-grade inflammation may explain this association. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  2. Relationship between visual field progression and baseline refraction in primary open-angle glaucoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naito, Tomoko; Yoshikawa, Keiji; Mizoue, Shiro; Nanno, Mami; Kimura, Tairo; Suzumura, Hirotaka; Umeda, Yuzo; Shiraga, Fumio

    2016-01-01

    To analyze the relationship between visual field (VF) progression and baseline refraction in Japanese patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) including normal-tension glaucoma. In this retrospective study, the subjects were patients with POAG who had undergone VF tests at least ten times with a Humphrey Field Analyzer (Swedish interactive thresholding algorithm standard, Central 30-2 program). VF progression was defined as a significantly negative value of mean deviation (MD) slope at the final VF test. Multivariate logistic regression models were applied to detect an association between MD slope deterioration and baseline refraction. A total of 156 eyes of 156 patients were included in this analysis. Significant deterioration of MD slope was observed in 70 eyes of 70 patients (44.9%), whereas no significant deterioration was evident in 86 eyes of 86 patients (55.1%). The eyes with VF progression had significantly higher baseline refraction compared to those without apparent VF progression (-1.9±3.8 diopter [D] vs -3.5±3.4 D, P=0.0048) (mean ± standard deviation). When subject eyes were classified into four groups by the level of baseline refraction applying spherical equivalent (SE): no myopia (SE > -1D), mild myopia (-1D ≥ SE > -3D), moderate myopia (-3D ≥ SE > -6D), and severe myopia (-6D ≥ SE), the Cochran-Armitage trend analysis showed a decreasing trend in the proportion of MD slope deterioration with increasing severity of myopia (P=0.0002). The multivariate analysis revealed that baseline refraction (P=0.0108, odds ratio [OR]: 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.25) and intraocular pressure reduction rate (P=0.0150, OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.94-0.99) had a significant association with MD slope deterioration. In the current analysis of Japanese patients with POAG, baseline refraction was a factor significantly associated with MD slope deterioration as well as intraocular pressure reduction rate. When baseline refraction was classified into

  3. Effects of Selenium Supplementation on the Diabetic Condition Depend on the Baseline Selenium Status in KKAy Mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Febiyanto, Novian; Yamazaki, Chiho; Kameo, Satomi; Sari, Dian K; Puspitasari, Irma M; Sunjaya, Deni K; Herawati, Dewi M D; Nugraha, Gaga I; Fukuda, Toshio; Koyama, Hiroshi

    2018-01-01

    Oxidative stress in obesity leads to insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. Some selenoproteins possess antioxidant properties, suggesting that selenium (Se) may protect against type 2 diabetes; however, evidence from epidemiological studies is contradictory. We hypothesized that Se status before supplementation (baseline) contributes to the supplementation outcome. This study aimed to clarify the influence of baseline Se status on the effect of Se supplementation on the diabetic condition. Six-week-old KKAy mice were fed a diet without supplemental Se or with 0.1 ppm Se in the form of L-selenomethionine (SeM) for 2 weeks to create low-Se and sufficient-Se baseline statuses, respectively. For the next 4 weeks, low-Se mice were given a SeM (0.5 ppm Se)-supplemented diet, and sufficient-Se mice were given either a SeM (0.5 ppm Se)- or sodium selenite (0.5 ppm Se)-supplemented diet; control groups continued on baseline diets. Serum Se concentrations, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities, adiponectin levels, glucose tolerance, and insulin sensitivity were analyzed. All mice became diabetic during the 2-week baseline induction period. At the end of the supplementation period, Se-receiving groups demonstrated significantly higher Se concentrations and GPx activities than their respective controls. Sufficient-Se mice receiving SeM had lower blood glucose levels and better insulin sensitivity than control and sodium selenite-receiving mice, whereas low-Se mice receiving SeM showed no such improvements compared with their controls. Our results suggest that Se supplementation in the form of SeM may help prevent type 2 diabetes aggravation in people taking the 55 μg/day Se recommended dietary allowance.

  4. Measuring cognitive change with ImPACT: the aggregate baseline approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruce, Jared M; Echemendia, Ruben J; Meeuwisse, Willem; Hutchison, Michael G; Aubry, Mark; Comper, Paul

    2017-11-01

    The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT) is commonly used to assess baseline and post-injury cognition among athletes in North America. Despite this, several studies have questioned the reliability of ImPACT when given at intervals employed in clinical practice. Poor test-retest reliability reduces test sensitivity to cognitive decline, increasing the likelihood that concussed athletes will be returned to play prematurely. We recently showed that the reliability of ImPACT can be increased when using a new composite structure and the aggregate of two baselines to predict subsequent performance. The purpose of the present study was to confirm our previous findings and determine whether the addition of a third baseline would further increase the test-retest reliability of ImPACT. Data from 97 English speaking professional hockey players who had received at least 4 ImPACT baseline evaluations were extracted from a National Hockey League Concussion Program database. Linear regression was used to determine whether each of the first three testing sessions accounted for unique variance in the fourth testing session. Results confirmed that the aggregate baseline approach improves the psychometric properties of ImPACT, with most indices demonstrating adequate or better test-retest reliability for clinical use. The aggregate baseline approach provides a modest clinical benefit when recent baselines are available - and a more substantial benefit when compared to approaches that obtain baseline measures only once during the course of a multi-year playing career. Pending confirmation in diverse samples, neuropsychologists are encouraged to use the aggregate baseline approach to best quantify cognitive change following sports concussion.

  5. Study on the calibration and optimization of double theodolites baseline

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Jing-yi; Ni, Jin-ping; Wu, Zhi-chao

    2018-01-01

    For the double theodolites measurement system baseline as the benchmark of the scale of the measurement system and affect the accuracy of the system, this paper puts forward a method for calibration and optimization of the double theodolites baseline. Using double theodolites to measure the known length of the reference ruler, and then reverse the baseline formula. Based on the error propagation law, the analyses show that the baseline error function is an important index to measure the accuracy of the system, and the reference ruler position, posture and so on have an impact on the baseline error. The optimization model is established and the baseline error function is used as the objective function, and optimizes the position and posture of the reference ruler. The simulation results show that the height of the reference ruler has no effect on the baseline error; the posture is not uniform; when the reference ruler is placed at x=500mm and y=1000mm in the measurement space, the baseline error is the smallest. The experimental results show that the experimental results are consistent with the theoretical analyses in the measurement space. In this paper, based on the study of the placement of the reference ruler, for improving the accuracy of the double theodolites measurement system has a reference value.

  6. STATUS OF THE US LONG BASELINE NEUTRINO EXPERIMENT STUDY.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    BISHAI,M.

    2006-09-21

    The US Long Baseline Neutrino Experiment Study was commissioned jointly by Brookhaven National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory to investigate the potential for future U.S. based long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments beyond the currently planned program. The Study focused on MW class convention at neutrino beams that can be produced at Fermilab or BNL. The experimental baselines are based on two possible detector locations: (1) off-axis to the existing Fermilab NuMI beamline at baselines of 700 to 810 km and (2) NSF's proposed future Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) at baselines greater than 1000 km. Two detector technologies are considered: a megaton class Water Cherenkov detector deployed deep underground at a DUSEL site, or a 100kT Liquid Argon Time-Projection Chamber (TPC) deployed on the surface at any of the proposed sites. The physics sensitivities of the proposed experiments are summarized. We find that conventional horn focused wide-band neutrino beam options from Fermilab or BNL aimed at a massive detector with a baseline of > 1000 km have the best sensitivity to CP violation and the neutrino mass hierarchy for values of the mixing angle {theta}{sub 13} down to 2.2{sup o}.

  7. Adiponectin Levels and Longitudinal Changes in Metabolic Syndrome: The Healthy Twin Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Yun-Mi; Lee, Kayoung; Sung, Joohon

    2015-09-01

    We investigated the association of plasma adiponectin levels with longitudinal changes in metabolic syndrome and the metabolic syndrome-related traits [insulin and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)], as well as their genetic and environmental correlations. A total of 1030 Koreans (380 men and 650 women; 44.0 ± 12.7 years old) without diabetes of the Healthy Twin Study visited at baseline (2005-2010) and returned for a follow-up examination 3.7 ± 1.2 years later. Baseline plasma adiponectin, metabolic syndrome components [waist circumference (WC), glucose, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TGs)] and metabolic syndrome-related traits were measured at baseline and follow-up. After adjusting for age, sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, caloric intake, education level, body mass index (BMI), family history of diabetes, and changes in BMI, 1 standard deviation increment in baseline adiponectin levels was associated with 38-63% lower odds of incident and persistent metabolic syndrome. After additionally adjusting for the baseline levels of each trait, baseline adiponectin levels were inversely associated with WC, blood pressure, insulin, HOMA-IR, and TGs values at follow-up. After adjusting for age, sex, and baseline values of each trait or sum of metabolic syndrome components, baseline adiponectin levels exhibited significantly inverse genetic and environmental correlations with insulin, HOMA-IR, and HDL-C values and the sum of metabolic syndrome components at follow-up. High adiponectin levels reduce the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and having persistent metabolic syndrome and increase of metabolic syndrome-related traits over time. These associations may be explained by pleiotropic genetic mechanisms.

  8. The association between C-reactive protein levels and the risk for chronic kidney disease hospitalizations in adults of a remote Indigenous Australian community - A prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Luke W; Hoy, Wendy E; Wang, Zhiqiang

    2017-09-01

    Indigenous Australians are significantly burdened by chronic kidney disease (CKD). Elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) have been associated with diabetes and cardiovascular incidence in previous studies. Elevated CRP has been associated with albuminuria and reduced eGFR in cross-sectional studies. This study investigated the long-term predictive association between CRP measured at a baseline exam and the incidence of a CKD-related hospitalization. Health screening examinations were conducted in individuals of a remote indigenous Australian community between 1992 and 1998. The risk of subsequent CKD hospitalisations, documented through Northern Territory hospital records up to 2010, was estimated with Cox proportional hazard models in people aged over 18 years at the baseline screen and who had albumin-creatinine ratios (ACRs) less than 34g/mol. 546 participants were eligible for our study. Individuals in the highest CRP tertile at baseline had increased levels of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. They also had almost 4 times the risk of a CKD-related hospitalisation compared with participants in the lowest CRP tertile (HR=3.91, 95%CI 1.01-15.20, P=0.049) after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Participants with CRP concentrations greater than 3mg/L had almost 3 times the risk of CKD hospitalisations than those ≤3mg/L (HR=2.84, 95%CI 1.00-8.00, P=0.049). Furthermore, risk of CKD hospitalisations increased 34% per doubling of baseline CRP (HR=1.34, 95%CI 1.04-1.74, P=0.024). In individuals in this remote indigenous community without overt albuminuria at baseline the risk for incident CKD related hospitalisations was predicted by elevated C-reactive protein levels almost a decade earlier. Further research is needed to understand the roles that CRP and systemic inflammation play in CKD risk. © 2016 Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology.

  9. Re-creating missing population baselines for Pacific reef sharks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadon, Marc O; Baum, Julia K; Williams, Ivor D; McPherson, Jana M; Zgliczynski, Brian J; Richards, Benjamin L; Schroeder, Robert E; Brainard, Russell E

    2012-06-01

    Sharks and other large predators are scarce on most coral reefs, but studies of their historical ecology provide qualitative evidence that predators were once numerous in these ecosystems. Quantifying density of sharks in the absence of humans (baseline) is, however, hindered by a paucity of pertinent time-series data. Recently researchers have used underwater visual surveys, primarily of limited spatial extent or nonstandard design, to infer negative associations between reef shark abundance and human populations. We analyzed data from 1607 towed-diver surveys (>1 ha transects surveyed by observers towed behind a boat) conducted at 46 reefs in the central-western Pacific Ocean, reefs that included some of the world's most pristine coral reefs. Estimates of shark density from towed-diver surveys were substantially lower (sharks observed in towed-diver surveys and human population in models that accounted for the influence of oceanic primary productivity, sea surface temperature, reef area, and reef physical complexity. We used these models to estimate the density of sharks in the absence of humans. Densities of gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos), whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus), and the group "all reef sharks" increased substantially as human population decreased and as primary productivity and minimum sea surface temperature (or reef area, which was highly correlated with temperature) increased. Simulated baseline densities of reef sharks under the absence of humans were 1.1-2.4/ha for the main Hawaiian Islands, 1.2-2.4/ha for inhabited islands of American Samoa, and 0.9-2.1/ha for inhabited islands in the Mariana Archipelago, which suggests that density of reef sharks has declined to 3-10% of baseline levels in these areas. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology No claim to original US government works.

  10. Translating Genetic Research into Preventive Intervention: The Baseline Target Moderated Mediator Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howe, George W; Beach, Steven R H; Brody, Gene H; Wyman, Peter A

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we present and discuss a novel research approach, the baseline target moderated mediation (BTMM) design, that holds substantial promise for advancing our understanding of how genetic research can inform prevention research. We first discuss how genetically informed research on developmental psychopathology can be used to identify potential intervention targets. We then describe the BTMM design, which employs moderated mediation within a longitudinal study to test whether baseline levels of intervention targets moderate the impact of the intervention on change in that target, and whether change in those targets mediates causal impact of preventive or treatment interventions on distal health outcomes. We next discuss how genetically informed BTMM designs can be applied to both microtrials and full-scale prevention trials. We use simulated data to illustrate a BTMM, and end with a discussion of some of the advantages and limitations of this approach.

  11. Bias, precision and statistical power of analysis of covariance in the analysis of randomized trials with baseline imbalance: a simulation study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Analysis of variance (ANOVA), change-score analysis (CSA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) respond differently to baseline imbalance in randomized controlled trials. However, no empirical studies appear to have quantified the differential bias and precision of estimates derived from these methods of analysis, and their relative statistical power, in relation to combinations of levels of key trial characteristics. This simulation study therefore examined the relative bias, precision and statistical power of these three analyses using simulated trial data. Methods 126 hypothetical trial scenarios were evaluated (126 000 datasets), each with continuous data simulated by using a combination of levels of: treatment effect; pretest-posttest correlation; direction and magnitude of baseline imbalance. The bias, precision and power of each method of analysis were calculated for each scenario. Results Compared to the unbiased estimates produced by ANCOVA, both ANOVA and CSA are subject to bias, in relation to pretest-posttest correlation and the direction of baseline imbalance. Additionally, ANOVA and CSA are less precise than ANCOVA, especially when pretest-posttest correlation ≥ 0.3. When groups are balanced at baseline, ANCOVA is at least as powerful as the other analyses. Apparently greater power of ANOVA and CSA at certain imbalances is achieved in respect of a biased treatment effect. Conclusions Across a range of correlations between pre- and post-treatment scores and at varying levels and direction of baseline imbalance, ANCOVA remains the optimum statistical method for the analysis of continuous outcomes in RCTs, in terms of bias, precision and statistical power. PMID:24712304

  12. Baseline values of immunologic parameters in the lizard Salvator merianae (Teiidae, Squamata)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mestre, Ana Paula; Amavet, Patricia Susana; Siroski, Pablo Ariel

    2017-01-01

    The genus Salvator is widely distributed throughout South America. In Argentina, the species most abundant widely distributed is Salvator merianae. Particularly in Santa Fe province, the area occupied by populations of these lizards overlaps with areas where agriculture was extended. With the aim of established baseline values for four immunologic biomarkers widely used, 36 tegu lizards were evaluated tacking into account different age classes and both sexes. Total leukocyte counts were not different between age classes. Of the leucocytes count, eosinophils levels were higher in neonates compared with juvenile and adults; nevertheless, the heterophils group was the most prevalent leukocyte in the peripheral blood in all age classes. Lymphocytes, monocytes, heterophils, azurophils and basophils levels did not differ with age. Natural antibodies titres were higher in the adults compared with neonates and juveniles lizards. Lastly, complement system activity was low in neonates compared with juveniles and adults. Statistical analysis within each age group showed that gender was not a factor in the outcomes. Based on the results, we concluded that S. merianae demonstrated age (but not gender) related differences in the immune parameters analyzed. Having established baseline values for these four widely-used immunologic biomarkers, ongoing studies will seek to optimize the use of the S. merianae model in future research. PMID:28652981

  13. Baseline values of immunologic parameters in the lizard Salvator merianae (Teiidae, Squamata).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mestre, Ana Paula; Amavet, Patricia Susana; Siroski, Pablo Ariel

    2017-01-01

    The genus Salvator is widely distributed throughout South America. In Argentina, the species most abundant widely distributed is Salvator merianae . Particularly in Santa Fe province, the area occupied by populations of these lizards overlaps with areas where agriculture was extended. With the aim of established baseline values for four immunologic biomarkers widely used, 36 tegu lizards were evaluated tacking into account different age classes and both sexes. Total leukocyte counts were not different between age classes. Of the leucocytes count, eosinophils levels were higher in neonates compared with juvenile and adults; nevertheless, the heterophils group was the most prevalent leukocyte in the peripheral blood in all age classes. Lymphocytes, monocytes, heterophils, azurophils and basophils levels did not differ with age. Natural antibodies titres were higher in the adults compared with neonates and juveniles lizards. Lastly, complement system activity was low in neonates compared with juveniles and adults. Statistical analysis within each age group showed that gender was not a factor in the outcomes. Based on the results, we concluded that S. merianae demonstrated age (but not gender) related differences in the immune parameters analyzed. Having established baseline values for these four widely-used immunologic biomarkers, ongoing studies will seek to optimize the use of the S. merianae model in future research.

  14. Baseline values of immunologic parameters in the lizard Salvator merianae (Teiidae, Squamata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula Mestre

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The genus Salvator is widely distributed throughout South America. In Argentina, the species most abundant widely distributed is Salvator merianae. Particularly in Santa Fe province, the area occupied by populations of these lizards overlaps with areas where agriculture was extended. With the aim of established baseline values for four immunologic biomarkers widely used, 36 tegu lizards were evaluated tacking into account different age classes and both sexes. Total leukocyte counts were not different between age classes. Of the leucocytes count, eosinophils levels were higher in neonates compared with juvenile and adults; nevertheless, the heterophils group was the most prevalent leukocyte in the peripheral blood in all age classes. Lymphocytes, monocytes, heterophils, azurophils and basophils levels did not differ with age. Natural antibodies titres were higher in the adults compared with neonates and juveniles lizards. Lastly, complement system activity was low in neonates compared with juveniles and adults. Statistical analysis within each age group showed that gender was not a factor in the outcomes. Based on the results, we concluded that S. merianae demonstrated age (but not gender related differences in the immune parameters analyzed. Having established baseline values for these four widely-used immunologic biomarkers, ongoing studies will seek to optimize the use of the S. merianae model in future research.

  15. Disentangling Genuine Semantic Stroop Effects in Reading from Contingency Effects: On the Need for Two Neutral Baselines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric eLorentz

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The automaticity of reading is often explored through the Stroop effect, whereby color-naming is affected by color words. Color associates (e.g., ‘sky’ also produce a Stroop effect, suggesting that automatic reading occurs through to the level of semantics, even when reading sub-lexically (e.g., the pseudohomophone ‘skigh’. However, several previous experiments have confounded congruency with contingency learning, whereby faster responding occurs for more frequent stimuli. Contingency effects reflect a higher frequency-pairing of the word with a font color in the congruent condition than in the incongruent condition due to the limited set of congruent pairings. To determine the extent to which the Stroop effect can be attributed to contingency learning of font colors paired with lexical (word-level and sub-lexical (phonetically decoded letter strings, as well as assess facilitation and interference relative to contingency effects, we developed two neutral baselines: each one matched on pair-frequency for congruent and incongruent color words. In Experiments 1 and 3, color words (e.g., ‘blue’ and their pseudohomophones (e.g., ‘bloo’ produced significant facilitation and interference relative to neutral baselines, regardless of whether the onset (i.e., first phoneme was matched to the color words. Color associates (e.g., ‘ocean’ and their pseudohomophones (e.g., ‘oshin’, however, showed no significant facilitation or interference relative to onset matched neutral baselines (Experiment 2. When onsets were unmatched, color associate words produced consistent facilitation on RT (e.g., ‘ocean’ vs. ‘dozen’, but pseudohomophones (e.g., ‘oshin’ vs. ‘duhzen’ failed to produce facilitation or interference. Our findings suggest that the Stroop effects for color and associated stimuli are sensitive to the type of neutral baseline used, as well as stimulus type (word vs. pseudohomophone. In general, contingency learning

  16. Baseline restoration technique based on symmetrical zero-area trapezoidal pulse shaper

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeng, Guoqiang, E-mail: 24829500@qq.com [Key Laboratory of Applied Nuclear Techniques in Geosciences Sichuan, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059 (China); Yang, Jian, E-mail: 22105653@qq.com [Key Laboratory of Applied Nuclear Techniques in Geosciences Sichuan, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059 (China); Hu, Tianyu; Ge, Liangquan [Key Laboratory of Applied Nuclear Techniques in Geosciences Sichuan, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059 (China); Ouyang, Xiaoping [Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi’an 710024,China (China); Zhang, Qingxian; Gu, Yi [Key Laboratory of Applied Nuclear Techniques in Geosciences Sichuan, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059 (China)

    2017-06-21

    Since the baseline of the unipolar pulse shaper have the direct-current (DC) offset and drift, an additional baseline estimator is need to obtain baseline values in real-time. The bipolar zero-area (BZA) pulse shapers can be used for baseline restoration, but they cannot restrain the baseline drift due to their asymmetrical shape. In this study, three trapezoids are synthesized as a symmetrical zero-area (SZA) shape, which can remove the DC offset and restrain the baseline drift. This baseline restoration technique can be easily implemented in digital pulse processing (DPP) systems base on the recursive algorithm. To strengthen our approach, the iron's characteristic x-ray was detected using a Si-PIN diode detector. Compared with traditional trapezoidal pulse shapers, the SZA trapezoidal pulse shaper improved the energy resolution from 237 eV to 216 eV for the 6.403 keV Kα peak.

  17. Kericho CLinic-based ART Diagnostic Evaluation (CLADE: design, accrual, and baseline characteristics of a randomized controlled trial conducted in predominately rural, district-level, HIV clinics of Kenya.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fredrick K Sawe

    Full Text Available Prospective clinical trial data regarding routine HIV-1 viral load (VL monitoring of antiretroviral therapy (ART in non-research clinics of Sub-Saharan Africa are needed for policy makers.CLinic-based ART Diagnostic Evaluation (CLADE is a randomized, controlled trial (RCT evaluating feasibility, superiority, and cost-effectiveness of routine VL vs. standard of care (clinical and immunological monitoring in adults initiating dual nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI+non-NRTI ART. Participants were randomized (1:1 at 7 predominately rural, non-research, district-level clinics of western Kenya. Descriptive statistics present accrual patterns and baseline cohort characteristics.Over 15 months, 820 adults enrolled at 7 sites with 86-152 enrolled per site. Monthly site enrollment ranged from 2-92 participants. Full (100% informed consent compliance was independently documented. Half (49.9% had HIV diagnosed through voluntary counseling and testing. Study arms were similar: mostly females (57.6% aged 37.6 (SD = 9.0 years with low CD4 (166 [SD = 106] cells/m3. Notable proportions had WHO Stage III or IV disease (28.7%, BMI <18.5 kg/m2 (23.1%, and a history of tuberculosis (5.6% or were receiving tuberculosis treatment (8.2% at ART initiation. In the routine VL arm, 407/409 (99.5% received baseline VL (234,577 SD = 151,055 copies/ml. All participants received lamivudine; 49.8% started zidovudine followed by 38.4% stavudine and 11.8% tenofovir; and, 64.4% received nevirapine as nNRTI (35.6% efavirenz.A RCT can be enrolled successfully in rural, non-research, resource limited, district-level clinics in western Kenya. Many adults presenting for ART have advanced HIV/AIDS, emphasizing the importance of universal HIV testing and linkage-to-care campaigns.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01791556.

  18. A Fully Customized Baseline Removal Framework for Spectroscopic Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giguere, Stephen; Boucher, Thomas; Carey, C J; Mahadevan, Sridhar; Dyar, M Darby

    2017-07-01

    The task of proper baseline or continuum removal is common to nearly all types of spectroscopy. Its goal is to remove any portion of a signal that is irrelevant to features of interest while preserving any predictive information. Despite the importance of baseline removal, median or guessed default parameters are commonly employed, often using commercially available software supplied with instruments. Several published baseline removal algorithms have been shown to be useful for particular spectroscopic applications but their generalizability is ambiguous. The new Custom Baseline Removal (Custom BLR) method presented here generalizes the problem of baseline removal by combining operations from previously proposed methods to synthesize new correction algorithms. It creates novel methods for each technique, application, and training set, discovering new algorithms that maximize the predictive accuracy of the resulting spectroscopic models. In most cases, these learned methods either match or improve on the performance of the best alternative. Examples of these advantages are shown for three different scenarios: quantification of components in near-infrared spectra of corn and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy data of rocks, and classification/matching of minerals using Raman spectroscopy. Software to implement this optimization is available from the authors. By removing subjectivity from this commonly encountered task, Custom BLR is a significant step toward completely automatic and general baseline removal in spectroscopic and other applications.

  19. Baseline effects on carbon footprints of biofuels: The case of wood

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, Eric, E-mail: johnsonatlantic@gmail.com [Atlantic Consulting, 8136 Gattikon (Switzerland); Tschudi, Daniel [ETH, Berghaldenstrasse 46, 8800 Thalwil (Switzerland)

    2012-11-15

    As biofuel usage has boomed over the past decade, so has research and regulatory interest in its carbon accounting. This paper examines one aspect of that carbon accounting: the baseline, i.e. the reference case against which other conditions or changes can be compared. A literature search and analysis identified four baseline types: no baseline; reference point; marginal fossil fuel; and biomass opportunity cost. The fourth one, biomass opportunity cost, is defined in more detail, because this is not done elsewhere in the literature. The four baselines are then applied to the carbon footprint of a wood-fired power plant. The footprint of the resulting wood-fired electricity varies dramatically, according to the type of baseline. Baseline type is also found to be the footprint's most significant sensitivity. Other significant sensitivities are: efficiency of the power plant; the growth (or re-growth) rate of the forest that supplies the wood; and the residue fraction of the wood. Length of the policy horizon is also an important factor in determining the footprint. The paper concludes that because of their significance and variability, baseline choices should be made very explicit in biofuel carbon footprints. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Four baseline types for biofuel footprinting are identified. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer One type, 'biomass opportunity cost', is defined mathematically and graphically. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Choice of baseline can dramatically affect the footprint result. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The 'no baseline' approach is not acceptable. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Choice between the other three baselines depends on the question being addressed.

  20. Automated baseline change detection phase I. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-12-01

    The Automated Baseline Change Detection (ABCD) project is supported by the DOE Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) as part of its ER&WM cross-cutting technology program in robotics. Phase 1 of the Automated Baseline Change Detection project is summarized in this topical report. The primary objective of this project is to apply robotic and optical sensor technology to the operational inspection of mixed toxic and radioactive waste stored in barrels, using Automated Baseline Change Detection (ABCD), based on image subtraction. Absolute change detection is based on detecting any visible physical changes, regardless of cause, between a current inspection image of a barrel and an archived baseline image of the same barrel. Thus, in addition to rust, the ABCD system can also detect corrosion, leaks, dents, and bulges. The ABCD approach and method rely on precise camera positioning and repositioning relative to the barrel and on feature recognition in images. In support of this primary objective, there are secondary objectives to determine DOE operational inspection requirements and DOE system fielding requirements.

  1. Automated baseline change detection phase I. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-12-01

    The Automated Baseline Change Detection (ABCD) project is supported by the DOE Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) as part of its ER ampersand WM cross-cutting technology program in robotics. Phase 1 of the Automated Baseline Change Detection project is summarized in this topical report. The primary objective of this project is to apply robotic and optical sensor technology to the operational inspection of mixed toxic and radioactive waste stored in barrels, using Automated Baseline Change Detection (ABCD), based on image subtraction. Absolute change detection is based on detecting any visible physical changes, regardless of cause, between a current inspection image of a barrel and an archived baseline image of the same barrel. Thus, in addition to rust, the ABCD system can also detect corrosion, leaks, dents, and bulges. The ABCD approach and method rely on precise camera positioning and repositioning relative to the barrel and on feature recognition in images. In support of this primary objective, there are secondary objectives to determine DOE operational inspection requirements and DOE system fielding requirements

  2. Vegetation Parameter Extraction Using Dual Baseline Polarimetric SAR Interferometry Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, H.; Wang, C.; Chen, X.; Tang, Y.

    2009-04-01

    For vegetation parameter inversion, the single baseline polarimetric SAR interferometry (POLinSAR) technique, such as the three-stage method and the ESPRIT algorithm, is limited by the observed data with the minimum ground to volume amplitude ration, which effects the estimation of the effective phase center for the vegetation canopy or the surface, and thus results in the underestimated vegetation height. In order to remove this effect of the single baseline inversion techniques in some extend, another baseline POLinSAR data is added on vegetation parameter estimation in this paper, and a dual baseline POLinSAR technique for the extraction of the vegetation parameter is investigated and improved to reduce the dynamic bias for the vegetation parameter estimation. Finally, the simulated data and real data are used to validate this dual baseline technique.

  3. Baseline Assessment of Net Calcium Carbonate Accretion Rates on U.S. Pacific Reefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vargas-Ángel, Bernardo; Richards, Cristi L; Vroom, Peter S; Price, Nichole N; Schils, Tom; Young, Charles W; Smith, Jennifer; Johnson, Maggie D; Brainard, Russell E

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a comprehensive quantitative baseline assessment of in situ net calcium carbonate accretion rates (g CaCO3 cm(-2) yr(-1)) of early successional recruitment communities on Calcification Accretion Unit (CAU) plates deployed on coral reefs at 78 discrete sites, across 11 islands in the central and south Pacific Oceans. Accretion rates varied substantially within and between islands, reef zones, levels of wave exposure, and island geomorphology. For forereef sites, mean accretion rates were the highest at Rose Atoll, Jarvis, and Swains Islands, and the lowest at Johnston Atoll and Tutuila. A comparison between reef zones showed higher accretion rates on forereefs compared to lagoon sites; mean accretion rates were also higher on windward than leeward sites but only for a subset of islands. High levels of spatial variability in net carbonate accretion rates reported herein draw attention to the heterogeneity of the community assemblages. Percent cover of key early successional taxa on CAU plates did not reflect that of the mature communities present on surrounding benthos, possibly due to the short deployment period (2 years) of the experimental units. Yet, net CaCO3 accretion rates were positively correlated with crustose coralline algae (CCA) percent cover on the surrounding benthos and on the CAU plates, which on average represented >70% of the accreted material. For foreeefs and lagoon sites combined CaCO3 accretion rates were statistically correlated with total alkalinity and Chlorophyll-a; a GAM analysis indicated that SiOH and Halimeda were the best predictor variables of accretion rates on lagoon sites, and total alkalinity and Chlorophyll-a for forereef sites, demonstrating the utility of CAUs as a tool to monitor changes in reef accretion rates as they relate to ocean acidification. This study underscores the pivotal role CCA play as a key benthic component and supporting actively calcifying reefs; high Mg-calcite exoskeletons makes CCA

  4. Baseline Assessment of Net Calcium Carbonate Accretion Rates on U.S. Pacific Reefs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernardo Vargas-Ángel

    Full Text Available This paper presents a comprehensive quantitative baseline assessment of in situ net calcium carbonate accretion rates (g CaCO3 cm(-2 yr(-1 of early successional recruitment communities on Calcification Accretion Unit (CAU plates deployed on coral reefs at 78 discrete sites, across 11 islands in the central and south Pacific Oceans. Accretion rates varied substantially within and between islands, reef zones, levels of wave exposure, and island geomorphology. For forereef sites, mean accretion rates were the highest at Rose Atoll, Jarvis, and Swains Islands, and the lowest at Johnston Atoll and Tutuila. A comparison between reef zones showed higher accretion rates on forereefs compared to lagoon sites; mean accretion rates were also higher on windward than leeward sites but only for a subset of islands. High levels of spatial variability in net carbonate accretion rates reported herein draw attention to the heterogeneity of the community assemblages. Percent cover of key early successional taxa on CAU plates did not reflect that of the mature communities present on surrounding benthos, possibly due to the short deployment period (2 years of the experimental units. Yet, net CaCO3 accretion rates were positively correlated with crustose coralline algae (CCA percent cover on the surrounding benthos and on the CAU plates, which on average represented >70% of the accreted material. For foreeefs and lagoon sites combined CaCO3 accretion rates were statistically correlated with total alkalinity and Chlorophyll-a; a GAM analysis indicated that SiOH and Halimeda were the best predictor variables of accretion rates on lagoon sites, and total alkalinity and Chlorophyll-a for forereef sites, demonstrating the utility of CAUs as a tool to monitor changes in reef accretion rates as they relate to ocean acidification. This study underscores the pivotal role CCA play as a key benthic component and supporting actively calcifying reefs; high Mg-calcite exoskeletons

  5. Factors associated with D-dimer levels in HIV-infected individuals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borges, Alvaro H; O'Connor, Jemma L; Phillips, Andrew N

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Higher plasma D-dimer levels are strong predictors of mortality in HIV+ individuals. The factors associated with D-dimer levels during HIV infection, however, remain poorly understood. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, participants in three randomized controlled trials...... with measured D-dimer levels were included (N = 9,848). Factors associated with D-dimer were identified by linear regression. Covariates investigated were: age, gender, race, body mass index, nadir and baseline CD4+ count, plasma HIV RNA levels, markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6...... viruses, was positively correlated with D-dimer. Other factors independently associated with higher D-dimer levels were black race, higher plasma HIV RNA levels, being off ART at baseline, and increased levels of CRP, IL-6 and cystatin C. In contrast, higher baseline CD4+ counts and higher high...

  6. Proposal to generate 10 TW level femtosecond X-ray pulses from a baseline undulator in conventional SASE regime at the European XFEL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Serkez, Svitozar; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni; Zagorodnov, Igor [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Geloni, Gianluca [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany)

    2013-08-15

    Output characteristics of the European XFEL have been previously studied assuming an operation point at 5 kA peak current. In this paper we explore the possibility to go well beyond such nominal peak current level. In order to illustrate the potential of the European XFEL accelerator complex we consider a bunch with 0.25 nC charge, compressed up to a peak current of 45 kA. An advantage of operating at such high peak current is the increase of the X-ray output peak power without any modification to the baseline design. Based on start-to-end simulations, we demonstrate that such high peak current, combined with undulator tapering, allows one to achieve up to a 100-fold increase in a peak power in the conventional SASE regime, compared to the nominal mode of operation. In particular, we find that 10 TW-power level, femtosecond x-ray pulses can be generated in the photon energy range between 3 keV and 5 keV, which is optimal for single biomolecule imaging. Our simulations are based on the exploitation of all the 21 cells foreseen for the SASE3 undulator beamline, and indicate that one can achieve diffraction to the desired resolution with 15 mJ (corresponding to about 3.10{sup 13} photons) in pulses of about 3 fs, in the case of a 100 nm focus at the photon energy of 3.5 keV.

  7. Proposal to generate 10 TW level femtosecond X-ray pulses from a baseline undulator in conventional SASE regime at the European XFEL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serkez, Svitozar; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni; Zagorodnov, Igor; Geloni, Gianluca

    2013-08-01

    Output characteristics of the European XFEL have been previously studied assuming an operation point at 5 kA peak current. In this paper we explore the possibility to go well beyond such nominal peak current level. In order to illustrate the potential of the European XFEL accelerator complex we consider a bunch with 0.25 nC charge, compressed up to a peak current of 45 kA. An advantage of operating at such high peak current is the increase of the X-ray output peak power without any modification to the baseline design. Based on start-to-end simulations, we demonstrate that such high peak current, combined with undulator tapering, allows one to achieve up to a 100-fold increase in a peak power in the conventional SASE regime, compared to the nominal mode of operation. In particular, we find that 10 TW-power level, femtosecond x-ray pulses can be generated in the photon energy range between 3 keV and 5 keV, which is optimal for single biomolecule imaging. Our simulations are based on the exploitation of all the 21 cells foreseen for the SASE3 undulator beamline, and indicate that one can achieve diffraction to the desired resolution with 15 mJ (corresponding to about 3.10 13 photons) in pulses of about 3 fs, in the case of a 100 nm focus at the photon energy of 3.5 keV.

  8. Data-Driven Baseline Estimation of Residential Buildings for Demand Response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saehong Park

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The advent of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI generates a large volume of data related with energy service. This paper exploits data mining approach for customer baseline load (CBL estimation in demand response (DR management. CBL plays a significant role in measurement and verification process, which quantifies the amount of demand reduction and authenticates the performance. The proposed data-driven baseline modeling is based on the unsupervised learning technique. Specifically we leverage both the self organizing map (SOM and K-means clustering for accurate estimation. This two-level approach efficiently reduces the large data set into representative weight vectors in SOM, and then these weight vectors are clustered by K-means clustering to find the load pattern that would be similar to the potential load pattern of the DR event day. To verify the proposed method, we conduct nationwide scale experiments where three major cities’ residential consumption is monitored by smart meters. Our evaluation compares the proposed solution with the various types of day matching techniques, showing that our approach outperforms the existing methods by up to a 68.5% lower error rate.

  9. Information architecture. Volume 2, Part 1: Baseline analysis summary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-12-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE) Information Architecture, Volume 2, Baseline Analysis, is a collaborative and logical next-step effort in the processes required to produce a Departmentwide information architecture. The baseline analysis serves a diverse audience of program management and technical personnel and provides an organized way to examine the Department`s existing or de facto information architecture. A companion document to Volume 1, The Foundations, it furnishes the rationale for establishing a Departmentwide information architecture. This volume, consisting of the Baseline Analysis Summary (part 1), Baseline Analysis (part 2), and Reference Data (part 3), is of interest to readers who wish to understand how the Department`s current information architecture technologies are employed. The analysis identifies how and where current technologies support business areas, programs, sites, and corporate systems.

  10. Intensive lifestyle intervention provides rapid reduction of serum fatty acid levels in women with severe obesity without lowering omega?3 to unhealthy levels?

    OpenAIRE

    Lin, C.; Andersen, J. R.; V?ge, V.; Rajalahti, T.; Mj?s, S. A.; Kvalheim, O. M.

    2016-01-01

    Summary Serum fatty acid (FA) levels were monitored in women with severe obesity during intensive lifestyle intervention. At baseline, total FA levels and most individual FAs were elevated compared to a matching cohort of normal and overweight women (healthy controls). After 3 weeks of intensive lifestyle intervention, total level was only 11?12% higher than in the healthy controls and with almost all FAs being significantly lower than at baseline, but with levels of omega?3 being similar to ...

  11. Baseline trace metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River-a tropical river in Sarawak, Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sim, Siong Fong; Chai, Hui Ping; Nyanti, Lee; Ling, Teck Yee; Grinang, Jongkar

    2016-09-01

    Quantitative indices are classically employed to evaluate the contamination status of metals with reference to the baseline concentrations. The baselines vary considerably across different geographical zones. It is imperative to determine the local geochemical baseline to evaluate the contamination status. No study has been done to establish the background concentrations in tropical rivers of this region. This paper reports the background concentrations of metals in water and sediment of the Baleh River, Sarawak, derived based on the statistical methods where the areas possibly disturbed are distinguished from the undisturbed area. The baseline levels of six elements in water determined were Al (0.34 mg/L), Fe (0.51 mg/L), Mn (0.12 mg/L), Cu (0.01 mg/L), Pb (0.03 mg/L), and Zn (0.05 mg/L). Arsenic and selenium were below the detection limit. For sediment, the background values were established according to statistical methods including (mean + 2σ), iterative 2σ, cumulative distribution frequency, interquartile, and calculation distribution function. The background values derived using the iterative 2σ algorithm and calculated distribution function were relatively lower. The baseline levels calculated were within the range reported in the literatures mainly from tropical and sub-tropical regions. The upper limits proposed for nine elements in sediment were Al (100,879 mg/kg), Cr (75.45 mg/kg), Cu (34.59 mg/kg), Fe (37,823 mg/kg), Mn (793 mg/kg), Ni (22.88 mg/kg), Pb (27.26 mg/kg), Zn (70.64 mg/kg), and Hg (0.33 mg/kg). Quantitative indices calculated suggest low risk of contamination at the Baleh River.

  12. Baseline participant characteristics and risk for dropout from ten obesity randomized controlled trials: a pooled analysis of individual level data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaiser, Kathryn A; Affuso, Olivia; Desmond, Renee; Allison, David B

    Understanding participant demographic characteristics that inform the optimal design of obesity RCTs have been examined in few studies. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of individual participant characteristics and dropout rates (DORs) in obesity randomized controlled trials (RCT) by pooling data from several publicly available datasets for analyses. We comprehensively characterize DORs and patterns in obesity RCTs at the individual study level, and describe how such rates and patterns vary as a function of individual-level characteristics. We obtained and analyzed nine publicly-available, obesity RCT datasets that examined weight loss or weight gain prevention as a primary or secondary endpoint. Four risk factors for dropout were examined by Cox proportional hazards including sex, age, baseline BMI, and race/ethnicity. The individual study data were pooled in the final analyses with a random effect for study, and HR and 95% CIs were computed. Results of the multivariate analysis indicated that the risk of dropout was significantly higher for females compared to males (HR= 1.24, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.46). Hispanics and Non-Hispanic blacks had a significantly higher dropout rate compared to non-Hispanic whites (HR= 1.62, 95% CI = 1.37, 1.91; HR= 1.22, 95% CI = 1.11, 1.35, respectively). There was a significantly increased risk of dropout associated with advancing age (HR= 1.02, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.02) and increasing BMI (HR= 1.03, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.04). As more studies may focus on special populations, researchers designing obesity RCTs may wish to oversample in certain demographic groups if attempting to match comparison groups based on generalized estimates of expected dropout rates, or otherwise adjust a priori power estimates. Understanding true reasons for dropout may require additional methods of data gathering not generally employed in obesity RCTs, e.g. time on treatment.

  13. A study of man made radioactivity baseline in dietary materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    de la Paz, L.; Estacio, J.; Palattao, M.V.; Anden, A.

    1986-01-01

    This paper describes the radioactivity baseline from literature data coming from various countries where data are available. 1979-1985 were chosen as the baseline years for the following: milk (fresh and powdered), meat and meat products, cereals, fruits, coffee and tea, fish and vegetables. Pre- and post-Chernobyl baseline data are given. (ELC). 21 figs; 17 refs

  14. Baseline effects on carbon footprints of biofuels: The case of wood

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, Eric; Tschudi, Daniel

    2012-01-01

    As biofuel usage has boomed over the past decade, so has research and regulatory interest in its carbon accounting. This paper examines one aspect of that carbon accounting: the baseline, i.e. the reference case against which other conditions or changes can be compared. A literature search and analysis identified four baseline types: no baseline; reference point; marginal fossil fuel; and biomass opportunity cost. The fourth one, biomass opportunity cost, is defined in more detail, because this is not done elsewhere in the literature. The four baselines are then applied to the carbon footprint of a wood-fired power plant. The footprint of the resulting wood-fired electricity varies dramatically, according to the type of baseline. Baseline type is also found to be the footprint's most significant sensitivity. Other significant sensitivities are: efficiency of the power plant; the growth (or re-growth) rate of the forest that supplies the wood; and the residue fraction of the wood. Length of the policy horizon is also an important factor in determining the footprint. The paper concludes that because of their significance and variability, baseline choices should be made very explicit in biofuel carbon footprints. - Highlights: ► Four baseline types for biofuel footprinting are identified. ► One type, ‘biomass opportunity cost’, is defined mathematically and graphically. ► Choice of baseline can dramatically affect the footprint result. ► The ‘no baseline’ approach is not acceptable. ► Choice between the other three baselines depends on the question being addressed.

  15. Highest Plasma Phenylalanine Levels in (Very Premature Infants on Intravenous Feeding; A Need for Concern.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ernesto Cortés-Castell

    Full Text Available To analyse the association in newborns between blood levels of phenylalanine and feeding method and gestational age.This observational, cross-sectional study included a sample of 11,829 infants between 2008 and 2013 in a Spanish region. Data were recorded on phenylalanine values, feeding method [breast, formula, mixed (breast plus formula, or partial or fully intravenous feeding], gestational age in weeks (<32, 32-37, ≥37, gender and days since birth at the moment of blood collection. Outcomes were [phenylalanine] and [phenylalanine] ≥95th percentile. Associations were analysed using multivariate models [linear (means difference and logistic regression (adjusted odds ratios].Higher phenylalanine values were associated with lower gestational age (p<0.001 and with intravenous feeding (p<0.001.The degree of prematurity and intravenous feeding influenced the plasma concentration of phenylalanine in the newborn. Caution should be taken in [phenylalanine] for newborns with intravenous feeding, monitoring them carefully. Very preterm infants given the recommended amount of amino acids should also be strictly monitored. These findings should be taken into consideration and call for adapting the amounts to the needs of the infant.

  16. Long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gallagher, H.

    2006-01-01

    In this paper I will review briefly the experimental results which established the existence of neutrino mixing, the current generation of long baseline accelerator experiments, and the prospects for the future. In particular I will focus on the recent analysis of the MINOS experiment. (author)

  17. Baseline composition of solar energetic particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyer, J.

    1985-01-01

    We analyze all existing spacecraft observations of the highly variable heavy element composition of solar energetic particles (SEP) during non- 3 He-rich events. All data show the imprint of an ever-present basic composition pattern (dubbed ''mass-unbiased baseline'' SEP composition) that differs from the photospheric composition by a simple bias related to first ionization potential (FIP). In each particular observation, this mass-unbiased baseline composition is being distorted by an additional bias, which is always a monotonic function of mass (or Z). This latter bias varies in amplitude and even sign from observation to observation. To first order, it seems related to differences in the A/Z* ratio between elements (Z* = mean effective charge)

  18. Baseline concentrations of strontium and 90Sr in seawater from the northern Gulf

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uddin, S.; Al Ghadban, A.N.; Behbahani, M.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • This is the first baseline for strontium and 90 Sr from northern Gulf. • The total strontium concentration is much higher than reported for other oceans. • The Sr/salinity ratio correlates well with global averages. • High Sr might be due to increased salinity/CaCo 3 dissolution in acidifying Gulf waters. -- Abstract: Baseline concentration of strontium and Sr-90 in Gulf is presented. The strontium concentration is much higher than reported for other oceanic waters, while the Sr-90 concentration is low at 0.7–1.0 mBq l −1 , that represents the background level following nuclear tests and can be used as an effective tracer in case of any radioactive release in the region. The strontium concentration is primarily related to the increasing salinity off the Gulf coast

  19. Perceived Family Functioning Predicts Baseline Psychosocial Characteristics in U.S. Participants of a Family Focused Grief Therapy Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuler, Tammy A; Zaider, Talia I; Li, Yuelin; Masterson, Melissa; McDonnell, Glynnis A; Hichenberg, Shira; Loeb, Rebecca; Kissane, David W

    2017-07-01

    Screening and baseline data on 170 American families (620 individuals), selected by screening from a palliative care population for inclusion in a randomized controlled trial of family-focused grief therapy, were examined to determine whether family dysfunction conferred higher levels of psychosocial morbidity. We hypothesized that greater family dysfunction would, indeed, be associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes among palliative care patients and their family members. Screened families were classified according to their functioning on the Family Relationships Index (FRI) and consented families completed baseline assessments. Mixed-effects modeling with post hoc tests compared individuals' baseline psychosocial outcomes (psychological distress, social functioning, and family functioning on a different measure) according to the classification of their family on the FRI. Covariates were included in all models as appropriate. For those who completed baseline measures, 191 (30.0%) individuals were in low-communicating families, 313 (50.5%) in uninvolved families, and 116 (18.7%) in conflictual families. Family class was significantly associated (at ps ≤ 0.05) with increased psychological distress (Beck Depression Inventory and Brief Symptom Inventory) and poorer social adjustment (Social Adjustment Scale) for individual family members. The family assessment device supported the concurrent accuracy of the FRI. As predicted, significantly greater levels of individual psychosocial morbidity were present in American families whose functioning as a group was poorer. Support was generated for a clinical approach that screens families to identify those at high risk. Overall, these baseline data point to the importance of a family-centered model of care. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Anxiety and depressive symptoms are associated with higher carotid intima-media thickness. Cross-sectional analysis from ELSA-Brasil baseline data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Itamar S; Goulart, Alessandra C; Brunoni, André R; Kemp, Andrew H; Lotufo, Paulo A; Bensenor, Isabela M

    2015-06-01

    Studies focusing on the association between anxiety/depressive symptoms and accelerated subclinical atherosclerosis have yielded mixed results. Our aim is to examine associations between anxiety/depressive symptoms, common mental disorder (CMD), major depression disorder (MDD) or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) cohort baseline. The ELSA-Brasil baseline assessment included CIMT measurements and the Clinical Interview Schedule - Revised (CIS-R), a validated questionnaire for anxiety/depressive symptoms/diagnoses. We analyzed participants without previous coronary heart disease or stroke, and with high-quality CIMT images. We built regression models to determine whether the CIS-R score, CMD, MDD or GAD were associated with maximal CIMT levels. The study sample comprised 9744 participants. We found that individuals with higher CIS-R scores (Odds ratio for one standard deviation increase [OR]:1.12; 95% confidence interval [95%CI]:1.06-1.19), CMD (OR:1.22; 95%CI:1.07-1.38) and GAD (OR:1.19; 95%CI:1.01-1.41) had significantly higher odds of being classified in the highest age, sex and race-specific CIMT quartile. In the linear models, after adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, higher CIS-R scores (β:0.005; P = 0.010) and GAD (β:0.010; P = 0.049) were independently associated with CIMT values. Individuals with more symptoms of anxiety and/or depression, or diagnoses of CMD or GAD, had higher CIMT values, compared to peers of same age, sex and race. CIS-R scores and GAD were independently associated with higher CIMT values. These results suggest an association between anxiety/depressive symptoms (and, most notably, GAD) and accelerated subclinical atherosclerosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Magical properties of a 2540 km baseline superbeam experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raut, Sushant K.; Singh, Ravi Shanker; Uma Sankar, S.

    2011-01-01

    Lack of any information on the CP violating phase δ CP weakens our ability to determine neutrino mass hierarchy. Magic baseline of 7500 km was proposed to overcome this problem. However, to obtain large enough fluxes, at this very long baseline, one needs new techniques of generating high intensity neutrino beams. In this Letter, we highlight the magical properties of a 2540 km baseline. At such a baseline, using a narrow band neutrino superbeam whose no oscillation event rate peaks around the energy 3.5 GeV, we can determine neutrino mass hierarchy independently of the CP phase. For sin 2 2θ 13 ≥0.05, a very modest exposure of 10 Kiloton-years is sufficient to determine the hierarchy. For 0.02≤sin 2 2θ 13 ≤0.05, an exposure of about 100 Kiloton-years is needed.

  2. Plasma homovanillic acid levels in first-episode schizophrenia. Psychopathology and treatment response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koreen, A R; Lieberman, J; Alvir, J; Mayerhoff, D; Loebel, A; Chakos, M; Amin, F; Cooper, T

    1994-02-01

    To examine plasma homovanillic acid (pHVA) levels in first-episode schizophrenia, to compare pHVA levels in patients and controls, and to assess the association of pHVA levels with psychopathology and treatment response. Forty-one patients entered the study, and pHVA levels were measured at baseline and on a weekly basis for up to 6 weeks of open standardized neuroleptic treatment. Psychopathology was evaluated with the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms, and the Clinical Global Impressions scale. Ten healthy controls were used for comparison of baseline pHVA levels. No differences were observed between patients and controls. Baseline pHVA level was not associated with psychopathology but was associated with time to reach remission. Baseline pHVA levels and week-1 pHVA levels were higher in responders than nonresponders. Regardless of responsiveness, female participants had higher pHVA levels than male participants throughout the study. The pattern of pHVA levels with treatment was similar in all patients with a short-term rise initially and then a decrease toward baseline values. These findings suggest that pHVA levels have prognostic significance for response and time to reach remission. Qualitative and quantitative differences between first-episode patients' pHVA levels and studies using a long-term, neuroleptic-exposed population suggest that changes occur with neuroleptic treatment or the progression of the illness.

  3. The Mass Elevation Effect of the Central Andes and Its Implications for the Southern Hemisphere's Highest Treeline

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenhui He

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available One of the highest treelines in the world is at 4810 m above sea level on the Sajama Volcano in the central Andes. The climatological cause of that exceptionally high treeline position is still unclear. Although it has been suggested that the mass elevation effect (MEE explains the upward shift of treelines in the Altiplano region, the magnitude of MEE has not yet been quantified for that region. This paper defines MEE as the air temperature difference in summer at the same elevation between the inner mountains/plateaus (Altiplano and the free atmosphere above the adjacent lowlands of the Andean Cordillera. The Altiplano air temperature was obtained from the Global Historical Climatology Network-Monthly temperature database, and the air temperature above the adjacent lowlands was interpolated based on the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research Reanalysis 1 data set. We analyzed the mean air temperature differences for January, July, and the warm months from October to April. The air temperature was mostly higher on the Altiplano than over the neighboring lowlands at the same altitude. The air temperature difference increased from the outer Andean east-facing slope to the interior of the Altiplano in summer, and it increased from high latitudes to low latitudes in winter. The mean air temperature in the Altiplano in summer is approximately 5 K higher than it is above the adjacent lowlands at the same mean elevation, averaging about 3700 m above sea level. This upward shift of isotherms in the inner part of the Cordillera enables the treeline to climb to 4810 m, with shrub-size trees reaching even higher. Therefore, the MEE explains the occurrence of one of the world’s highest treelines in the central Andes.

  4. Dynamic baseline detection method for power data network service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wei

    2017-08-01

    This paper proposes a dynamic baseline Traffic detection Method which is based on the historical traffic data for the Power data network. The method uses Cisco's NetFlow acquisition tool to collect the original historical traffic data from network element at fixed intervals. This method uses three dimensions information including the communication port, time, traffic (number of bytes or number of packets) t. By filtering, removing the deviation value, calculating the dynamic baseline value, comparing the actual value with the baseline value, the method can detect whether the current network traffic is abnormal.

  5. Vitamin D levels are associated with gross motor function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paganoni, Sabrina; Macklin, Eric A; Karam, Chafic; Yu, Hong; Gonterman, Fernando; Fetterman, K Ashley; Cudkowicz, Merit; Berry, James; Wills, Anne-Marie

    2017-10-01

    The objective of this study was to determine whether serum vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels are associated with disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). 25(OH)D was measured in subjects enrolled in a multicenter study for validation of ALS biomarkers. Baseline 25(OH)D levels were correlated with baseline ALSFRS-R scores. Average 25(OH)D levels from baseline and month 6 visits (seasonally asynchronous) were used to predict subsequent rate of change in ALSFRS-R from month 6 to month 18. Most subjects had either insufficient or deficient 25(OH)D levels. Lower 25(OH)D was associated with lower ALSFRS-R gross motor scores, but not lower ALSFRS-R total scores at baseline. Levels of 25(OH)D were not predictive of disease progression over the next 12 months. 25(OH)D was associated with baseline gross motor ALSFRS-R scores but did not predict the rate of disease progression. Vitamin D levels may reflect poor mobility in patients with ALS. Muscle Nerve, 2017 Muscle Nerve 56: 726-731, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Robert Aymar receives one of the highest Finnish distinctions

    CERN Multimedia

    2008-01-01

    On 9 December 2008 Robert Aymar, CERN Director-General, was awarded the decoration of Commander, first class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland by the President of the Republic of Finland. This decoration, one of the highest of Finland, was presented in a ceremony by the Ambassador Hannu Himanen, Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva. Robert Aymar was honoured for his service to CERN, the LHC, his role in the cooperation between Finland and CERN, as well as his contribution to science in general. In his speech the ambassador underlined CERN’s efforts in the field of education, mentioning the High school teachers programme.

  7. Autonomous and controlled motivation for eating disorders treatment: baseline predictors and relationship to treatment outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Jacqueline C; Kelly, Allison C

    2015-03-01

    This study aimed to identify baseline predictors of autonomous and controlled motivation for treatment (ACMT) in a transdiagnostic eating disorder sample, and to examine whether ACMT at baseline predicted change in eating disorder psychopathology during treatment. Participants were 97 individuals who met DSM-IV-TR criteria for an eating disorder and were admitted to a specialized intensive treatment programme. Self-report measures of eating disorder psychopathology, ACMT, and various psychosocial variables were completed at the start of treatment. A subset of these measures was completed again after 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks of treatment. Multiple regression analyses showed that baseline autonomous motivation was higher among patients who reported more self-compassion and more received social support, whereas the only baseline predictor of controlled motivation was shame. Multilevel modelling revealed that higher baseline autonomous motivation predicted faster decreases in global eating disorder psychopathology, whereas the level of controlled motivation at baseline did not. The current findings suggest that developing interventions designed to foster autonomous motivation specifically and employing autonomy supportive strategies may be important to improving eating disorders treatment outcome. The findings of this study suggest that developing motivational interventions that focus specifically on enhancing autonomous motivation for change may be important for promoting eating disorder recovery. Our results lend support for the use of autonomy supportive strategies to strengthen personally meaningful reasons to achieve freely chosen change goals in order to enhance treatment for eating disorders. One study limitation is that there were no follow-up assessments beyond the 12-week study and we therefore do not know whether the relationships that we observed persisted after treatment. Another limitation is that this was a correlational study and it is therefore important

  8. Temporal Variation and Association of Aflatoxin B₁ Albumin-Adduct Levels with Socio-Economic and Food Consumption Factors in HIV Positive Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jolly, Pauline E; Akinyemiju, Tomi F; Jha, Megha; Aban, Inmaculada; Gonzalez-Falero, Andrea; Joseph, Dnika

    2015-11-30

    The association between aflatoxin exposure and alteration in immune responses observed in humans suggest that aflatoxin could suppress the immune system and work synergistically with HIV to increase disease severity and progression to AIDS. No longitudinal study has been conducted to assess exposure to aflatoxin (AF) among HIV positive individuals. We examined temporal variation in AFB₁ albumin adducts (AF-ALB) in HIV positive Ghanaians, and assessed the association with socioeconomic and food consumption factors. We collected socioeconomic and food consumption data for 307 HIV positive antiretroviral naive adults and examined AF-ALB levels at recruitment (baseline) and at six (follow-up 1) and 12 (follow-up 2) months post-recruitment, by age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES) and food consumption patterns. Generalized linear models were used to examine the influence of socioeconomic and food consumption factors on changes in AF-ALB levels over the study period, adjusting for other covariates. AF-ALB levels (pg/mg albumin) were lower at baseline (mean AF-ALB: 14.9, SD: 15.9), higher at six months (mean AF-ALB: 23.3, SD: 26.6), and lower at 12 months (mean AF-ALB: 15.3, SD: 15.4). Participants with the lowest SES had the highest AF-ALB levels at baseline and follow up-2 compared with those with higher SES. Participants who bought less than 20% of their food and who stored maize for less than two months had lower AF-ALB levels. In the adjusted models, there was a statistically significant association between follow up time and season (dry or rainy season) on AF-ALB levels over time (p = 0.04). Asymptomatic HIV-positive Ghanaians had high plasma AF-ALB levels that varied according to season, socioeconomic status, and food consumption patterns. Steps need to be taken to ensure the safety and security of the food supply for the population, but in particular for the most vulnerable groups such as HIV positive people.

  9. Analysis of factors affecting baseline SF-36 Mental Component Summary in Adult Spinal Deformity and its impact on surgical outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mmopelwa, Tiro; Ayhan, Selim; Yuksel, Selcen; Nabiyev, Vugar; Niyazi, Asli; Pellise, Ferran; Alanay, Ahmet; Sanchez Perez Grueso, Francisco Javier; Kleinstuck, Frank; Obeid, Ibrahim; Acaroglu, Emre

    2018-03-01

    To identify the factors that affect SF-36 mental component summary (MCS) in patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD) at the time of presentation, and to analyse the effect of SF-36 MCS on clinical outcomes in surgically treated patients. Prospectively collected data from a multicentric ASD database was analysed for baseline parameters. Then, the same database for surgically treated patients with a minimum of 1-year follow-up was analysed to see the effect of baseline SF-36 MCS on treatment results. A clinically useful SF-36 MCS was determined by ROC Curve analysis. A total of 229 patients with the baseline parameters were analysed. A strong correlation between SF-36 MCS and SRS-22, ODI, gender, and diagnosis were found (p baseline SF-36 MCS (p baseline SF-36 MCS in an ASD population are other HRQOL parameters such as SRS-22 and ODI as well as the baseline thoracic kyphosis and gender. This study has also demonstrated that baseline SF-36 MCS does not necessarily have any effect on the treatment results by surgery as assessed by SRS-22 or ODI. Level III, prognostic study. Copyright © 2018 Turkish Association of Orthopaedics and Traumatology. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Dipole model analysis of highest precision HERA data, including very low Q"2's

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luszczak, A.; Kowalski, H.

    2016-12-01

    We analyse, within a dipole model, the final, inclusive HERA DIS cross section data in the low χ region, using fully correlated errors. We show, that these highest precision data are very well described within the dipole model framework starting from Q"2 values of 3.5 GeV"2 to the highest values of Q"2=250 GeV"2. To analyze the saturation effects we evaluated the data including also the very low 0.35< Q"2 GeV"2 region. The fits including this region show a preference of the saturation ansatz.

  11. Association between baseline impedance values and response proton pump inhibitors in patients with heartburn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Bortoli, Nicola; Martinucci, Irene; Savarino, Edoardo; Tutuian, Radu; Frazzoni, Marzio; Piaggi, Paolo; Bertani, Lorenzo; Furnari, Manuele; Franchi, Riccardo; Russo, Salvatore; Bellini, Massimo; Savarino, Vincenzo; Marchi, Santino

    2015-06-01

    Esophageal impedance measurements have been proposed to indicate the status of the esophageal mucosa, and might be used to study the roles of the impaired mucosal integrity and increased acid sensitivity in patients with heartburn. We compared baseline impedance levels among patients with heartburn who did and did not respond to proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy, along with the pathophysiological characteristics of functional heartburn (FH). In a case-control study, we collected data from January to December 2013 on patients with heartburn and normal findings from endoscopy who were not receiving PPI therapy and underwent impedance pH testing at hospitals in Italy. Patients with negative test results were placed on an 8-week course of PPI therapy (84 patients received esomeprazole and 36 patients received pantoprazole). Patients with more than 50% symptom improvement were classified as FH/PPI responders and patients with less than 50% symptom improvement were classified as FH/PPI nonresponders. Patients with hypersensitive esophagus and healthy volunteers served as controls. In all patients and controls, we measured acid exposure time, number of reflux events, baseline impedance, and swallow-induced peristaltic wave indices. FH/PPI responders had higher acid exposure times, numbers of reflux events, and acid refluxes compared with FH/PPI nonresponders (P < .05). Patients with hypersensitive esophagus had mean acid exposure times and numbers of reflux events similar to those of FH/PPI responders. Baseline impedance levels were lower in FH/PPI responders and patients with hypersensitive esophagus, compared with FH/PPI nonresponders and healthy volunteers (P < .001). Swallow-induced peristaltic wave indices were similar between FH/PPI responders and patients with hypersensitive esophagus. Patients with FH who respond to PPI therapy have impedance pH features similar to those of patients with hypersensitive esophagus. Baseline impedance measurements might allow for

  12. Mental health and school dropout across educational levels and genders: a 4.8-year follow-up study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hjorth, Cathrine F; Bilgrav, Line; Frandsen, Louise Sjørslev; Overgaard, Charlotte; Torp-Pedersen, Christian; Nielsen, Berit; Bøggild, Henrik

    2016-09-15

    Education is a key determinant of future employment and income prospects of young people. Poor mental health is common among young people and is related to risk of dropping out of school (dropout). Educational level and gender might play a role in the association, which remains to be studied. Mental health was measured in 3146 Danish inhabitants aged 16-29 years using the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey and examined across genders and educational levels. For students, educational level at baseline was used; for young people who were not enrolled in school at baseline (non-students), the highest achieved educational level was used. The risk of dropout in students was investigated in administrative registers over a 4.8-year period (1(st) March 2010-31(th) December 2014). Odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for mental health and in relation to dropout in logistic regression models, adjusting for age, gender, educational level, parental education, parental income and ethnicity. Poor mental health was present in 24 % (n = 753) of the participants, 29 % (n = 468) in females and 19 % (n = 285) in males (p mental health than males (OR = 1.8, CI = 1.5-2.2). Among the students the lowest risk was found at the elementary level (OR = 1.3, CI = 0.8-2.3), while students in higher education had a statistically significantly higher risk (OR = 1.9, CI = 1.2-2.9). The lowest-educated non-students had the highest OR of poor mental health (OR = 3.3, CI = 2.1-5.4). Dropout occurred in 8 % (n = 124) of the students. Poor mental health was associated to dropout in vocational (OR = 1.8, CI = 1.0-3.2) and higher education (OR = 2.0, CI = 1.0-4.2). For males in higher education, poor mental health was a predictor of dropout (OR = 5.2, CI = 1.6-17.3), which was not seen females in higher education (OR = 1.2, CI = 0.5-3.1). Poor mental health was significantly associated to

  13. The baseline in bottom-up energy efficiency and saving calculations - A concept for its formalisation and a discussion of relevant options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reichl, Johannes; Kollmann, Andrea

    2011-01-01

    One of the central variables in bottom-up energy efficiency and saving calculations is the energy consumption baseline. In the evaluation of energy efficiency measures, developing this baseline is a challenging task, which may involve serious problems, especially if the energy service of the analysed subject has changed while the energy efficiency measure was being implemented. In this paper we present a formalised concept of the process of developing the baseline that is flexible enough to deal with various difficulties, such as changes in the levels of the energy services involved. We also discuss the most relevant options for deriving the necessary variables.

  14. U Plant Aggregate Area Management study technical baseline report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeFord, D.H.; Carpenter, R.W.

    1995-05-01

    This document was prepared in support of an Aggregate Area Management Study of U Plant. It provides a technical baseline of the aggregate area and results from an environmental investigation that was undertaken by the Technical Baseline Section of the Environmental Engineering Group, Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC), which is currently the Waste Site and Facility Research Office, Natural Resources, Bechtel Hanford, Inc. (BHI). It is based upon review and evaluation of numerous Hanford Site current and historical reports, drawings and photographs, supplemented with site inspections and employee interviews. U Plant refers to the 221-U Process Canyon Building, a chemical separation facility constructed during World War II. It also includes the Uranium Oxide (UO 3 ) Plant constructed at the same time as 221-U as an adjunct to the original plutonium separation process but which, like 221-U, was converted for other missions. Waste sites are associated primarily with U Plant's 1952 through 1958 Uranium Metal Recovery Program mission and the U0 3 Plant's ongoing U0 3 mission. Waste sites include cribs, reverse wells, french drains, septic tanks and drain fields, trenches, catch tanks, settling tanks, diversion boxes, a waste vault, and the lines and encasements that connect them. It also includes the U Pond and its feed ditches and an underground tank farm designed for high-level liquid wastes

  15. Determination of levels of some nutrients and anti nutrients in five ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    It was observed that spinach had the highest level of moisture, Sodium and Phosphorus (90.55%, 82.55mg and 18.6mg respectively). Bitter leaf recorded the highest level of fiber (3.72%), soybean had the highest level of protein, carbohydrate and calcium (8.35%, 20.45% and 480mg), respectively. Okra was high in ...

  16. A Kalman filter-based short baseline RTK algorithm for single-frequency combination of GPS and BDS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Sihao; Cui, Xiaowei; Guan, Feng; Lu, Mingquan

    2014-08-20

    The emerging Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) including the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) offer more visible satellites for positioning users. To employ those new satellites in a real-time kinematic (RTK) algorithm to enhance positioning precision and availability, a data processing model for the dual constellation of GPS and BDS is proposed and analyzed. A Kalman filter-based algorithm is developed to estimate the float ambiguities for short baseline scenarios. The entire work process of the high-precision algorithm based on the proposed model is deeply investigated in detail. The model is validated with real GPS and BDS data recorded from one zero and two short baseline experiments. Results show that the proposed algorithm can generate fixed baseline output with the same precision level as that of either a single GPS or BDS RTK algorithm. The significantly improved fixed rate and time to first fix of the proposed method demonstrates a better availability and effectiveness on processing multi-GNSSs.

  17. A Kalman Filter-Based Short Baseline RTK Algorithm for Single-Frequency Combination of GPS and BDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sihao Zhao

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The emerging Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS including the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS offer more visible satellites for positioning users. To employ those new satellites in a real-time kinematic (RTK algorithm to enhance positioning precision and availability, a data processing model for the dual constellation of GPS and BDS is proposed and analyzed. A Kalman filter-based algorithm is developed to estimate the float ambiguities for short baseline scenarios. The entire work process of the high-precision algorithm based on the proposed model is deeply investigated in detail. The model is validated with real GPS and BDS data recorded from one zero and two short baseline experiments. Results show that the proposed algorithm can generate fixed baseline output with the same precision level as that of either a single GPS or BDS RTK algorithm. The significantly improved fixed rate and time to first fix of the proposed method demonstrates a better availability and effectiveness on processing multi-GNSSs.

  18. Probing neutrino oscillations jointly in long and very long baseline experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Y.F.; Whisnant, K.; Young Binglin; Xiong Zhaohua; Yang Jinmin

    2002-01-01

    We examine the prospects of making a joint analysis of neutrino oscillations at two baselines with neutrino superbeams. Assuming narrow band superbeams and a 100 kiloton water Cherenkov calorimeter, we calculate the event rates and sensitivities to the matter effect, the signs of the neutrino mass differences, the CP phase, and the mixing angle θ 13 . Taking into account all possible experimental errors under general consideration, we explore the optimum cases of a narrow band beam to measure the matter effect and the CP violation effect at all baselines up to 3000 km. We then focus on two specific baselines, a long baseline of 300 km and a very long baseline of 2100 km, and analyze their joint capabilities. We find that the joint analysis can offer extra leverage to resolve some of the ambiguities that are associated with the measurement at a single baseline

  19. Hydrogeology baseline study Aurora Mine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    A baseline hydrogeologic study was conducted in the area of Syncrude's proposed Aurora Mine in order to develop a conceptual regional hydrogeologic model for the area that could be used to understand groundwater flow conditions. Geologic information was obtained from over 2,000 coreholes and from data obtained between 1980 and 1996 regarding water level for the basal aquifer. A 3-D numerical groundwater flow model was developed to provide quantitative estimates of the potential environmental impacts of the proposed mining operations on the groundwater flow system. The information was presented in the context of a regional study area which encompassed much of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region, and a local study area which was defined by the lowlands of the Muskeg River Basin. Characteristics of the topography, hydrology, climate, geology, and hydrogeology of the region are described. The conclusion is that groundwater flow in the aquifer occurs mostly in a westerly direction beneath the Aurora Mine towards its inferred discharge location along the Athabasca River. Baseflow in the Muskeg River is mostly related to discharge from shallow surficial aquifers. Water in the river under baseflow conditions was fresh, of calcium-carbonate type, with very little indication of mineralization associated with deeper groundwater in the Aurora Mine area. 44 refs., 5 tabs., 31 figs

  20. A baseline-free procedure for transformation models under interval censorship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Ming Gao; Sun, Liuquan; Zuo, Guoxin

    2005-12-01

    An important property of Cox regression model is that the estimation of regression parameters using the partial likelihood procedure does not depend on its baseline survival function. We call such a procedure baseline-free. Using marginal likelihood, we show that an baseline-free procedure can be derived for a class of general transformation models under interval censoring framework. The baseline-free procedure results a simplified and stable computation algorithm for some complicated and important semiparametric models, such as frailty models and heteroscedastic hazard/rank regression models, where the estimation procedures so far available involve estimation of the infinite dimensional baseline function. A detailed computational algorithm using Markov Chain Monte Carlo stochastic approximation is presented. The proposed procedure is demonstrated through extensive simulation studies, showing the validity of asymptotic consistency and normality. We also illustrate the procedure with a real data set from a study of breast cancer. A heuristic argument showing that the score function is a mean zero martingale is provided.

  1. Baseline cerebral oximetry values depend on non-modifiable patient characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valencia, Lucía; Rodríguez-Pérez, Aurelio; Ojeda, Nazario; Santana, Romen Yone; Morales, Laura; Padrón, Oto

    2015-12-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate baseline regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) values and identify factors influencing preoperative rSO2 in elective minor surgery. Observational analysis post-hoc. Observational post-hoc analysis of data for the patient sample (n=50) of a previously conducted clinical trial in patients undergoing tumourectomy for breast cancer or inguinal hernia repair. Exclusion criteria included pre-existing cerebrovascular diseases, anaemia, baseline pulse oximetry values were recorded while the patient breathed room air, using the INVOS 5100C monitor™ (Covidien, Dublin, Ireland). Thirty-seven women (72%) and 13 men (28%) 48 ± 13 years of age were enrolled in this study. Baseline rSO2 was 62.01 ± 10.38%. Baseline rSO2 was significantly different between men (67.6 ± 11.2%) and women (60 ± 9.4%), (P=0.023). There were also differences between baseline rSO2 and ASA physical status (ASA I: 67.6 ± 10.7%, ASA II: 61.6 ± 8.4%, ASA III: 55.8 ± 13.9%, P=0.045). Baseline rSO2 had a positive correlation with body weight (r=0.347, P=0.014) and height (r=0.345, P=0.014). We also found significant differences in baseline rSO2 among patients with and without chronic renal failure (P=0.005). No differences were found in any other studied variables. Non-modifiable patient characteristics (ASA physical status, sex, chronic renal failure, body weight and height) influence baseline rSO2. Copyright © 2015 Société française d’anesthésie et de réanimation (Sfar). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  2. Occupational exposure levels of bioaerosol components are associated with serum levels of the acute phase protein Serum Amyloid A in greenhouse workers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Anne Mette; Thilsing, Trine; Bælum, Jesper

    2016-01-01

    to elevated levels of bioaerosols. The objective of this study is to assess whether greenhouse workers personal exposure to bioaerosol components was associated with serum levels of the acute phase proteins Serum Amyloid A (SAA) and C-reactive protein (CRP). METHODS: SAA and CRP levels were determined......-glucan. RESULTS: Serum levels of SAA and CRP were not significantly different in greenhouse workers and a reference group, or on the two work days. In a mixed model, SAA levels were positively associated with endotoxin exposure levels (p = 0.0007). Results for fungi were not clear. CRP levels were positively...... associated with endotoxin exposures (p = 0.022). Furthermore, when workers were categorized into three groups based on SAA and CRP serum levels endotoxin exposure was highest in the group with the highest SAA levels and in the group with middle and highest CRP levels. SAA and CRP levels were elevated...

  3. Conservation of forest birds: evidence of a shifting baseline in community structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rittenhouse, Chadwick D; Pidgeon, Anna M; Albright, Thomas P; Culbert, Patrick D; Clayton, Murray K; Flather, Curtis H; Huang, Chengquan; Masek, Jeffrey G; Stewart, Susan I; Radeloff, Volker C

    2010-08-02

    Quantifying changes in forest bird diversity is an essential task for developing effective conservation actions. When subtle changes in diversity accumulate over time, annual comparisons may offer an incomplete perspective of changes in diversity. In this case, progressive change, the comparison of changes in diversity from a baseline condition, may offer greater insight because changes in diversity are assessed over longer periods of times. Our objectives were to determine how forest bird diversity has changed over time and whether those changes were associated with forest disturbance. We used North American Breeding Bird Survey data, a time series of Landsat images classified with respect to land cover change, and mixed-effects models to associate changes in forest bird community structure with forest disturbance, latitude, and longitude in the conterminous United States for the years 1985 to 2006. We document a significant divergence from the baseline structure for all birds of similar migratory habit and nest location, and all forest birds as a group from 1985 to 2006. Unexpectedly, decreases in progressive similarity resulted from small changes in richness (<1 species per route for the 22-year study period) and modest losses in abundance (-28.7 - -10.2 individuals per route) that varied by migratory habit and nest location. Forest disturbance increased progressive similarity for Neotropical migrants, permanent residents, ground nesting, and cavity nesting species. We also documented highest progressive similarity in the eastern United States. Contemporary forest bird community structure is changing rapidly over a relatively short period of time (e.g., approximately 22 years). Forest disturbance and forest regeneration are primary factors associated with contemporary forest bird community structure, longitude and latitude are secondary factors, and forest loss is a tertiary factor. Importantly, these findings suggest some regions of the United States may

  4. Effects of Baseline Selection on Magnetocardiography: P-Q and T-P Intervals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Hyun Kyoon; Kwon, Hyuk Chan; Kim, Tae En; Lee, Yong Ho; Kim, Jin Mok; Kim, In Seon; Kim, Ki Woong; Park, Yong Ki

    2007-01-01

    The baseline selection is the first and important step to analyze magnetocardiography (MCG) parameters. There are no difficulties to select the baseline between P- and Q-wave peak (P-Q interval) of MCG wave recorded from healthy subjects because the P-Q intervals of the healthy subjects do not much vary. However, patients with ischemic heart disease often show an unstable P-Q interval which does not seem to be appropriate for the baseline. In this case, T-P interval is alternatively recommended for the baseline. However, there has been no study on the difference made by the baseline selection. In this study, we studied the effect of the different baseline selection. MCG data were analyzed from twenty healthy subjects and twenty one patients whose baselines were alternatively selected in the T-P interval for their inappropriate P-Q interval. Paired T-test was used to compare two set of data. Fifteen parameters derived from the R-wave peak, the T-wave peak, and the period, T max/3 ∼ T max were compared for the different baseline selection. As a result, most parameters did not show significant differences (p>0.05) except few parameters. Therefore, there will be no significant differences if anyone of two intervals were selected for the MCG baseline. However, for the consistent analysis, P-Q interval is strongly recommended for the baseline correction.

  5. Joint effect of alcohol consumption and educational level on alcohol-related medical events

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nordahl Christensen, Helene; Diderichsen, Finn; Hvidtfeldt, Ulla Arthur

    2017-01-01

    alcohol consumption at baseline using self-administrated questionnaires. Information on highest attained education 1 year before study entry and hospital and mortality data on alcohol-related medical events were obtained through linkage to nationwide registries. We performed analyses using the Aalen...... may also play a role. We investigated the joint effect of alcohol consumption and educational level on the rate of alcohol-related medical events.Methods: We pooled seven prospective cohorts from Denmark that enrolled 74,278 men and women age 30–70 years (study period, 1981 to 2009). We measured...... additive hazards model.Results: During follow-up (1,085,049 person-years), a total of 1718 alcohol-related events occurred. The joint effect of very high alcohol consumption (>21 [>28] drinks per week in women [men]) and low education on alcohol-related events exceeded the sum of their separate effects...

  6. Factors Influencing Depression Endpoints Research (FINDER: baseline results of Italian patients with depression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grassi Luigi

    2009-05-01

    mean total score of VAS-pain in the last week was 42.9 ± 27.1, with highest scores reported in the 'interference of pain with daily activities' and in 'amount of time patient was awake and had pain'. From SF-36, the worst health status was found for role limitations due to emotional problem, mental health and social functioning. A mean score Conclusion The baseline results of patients enrolled in the FINDER study in Italy show clinical and functional impairments, and poor HRQoL. The results obtained after 6 months of therapy will permit better understanding the effects of different variables on clinical outcomes and HRQoL.

  7. Highest cited papers published in Neurology India: An analysis for the years 1993-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pandey, Paritosh; Subeikshanan, V; Madhugiri, Venkatesh S

    2016-01-01

    The highest cited papers published in a journal provide a snapshot of the clinical practice and research in that specialty and/or region. The aim of this study was to determine the highest cited papers published in Neurology India and analyze their attributes. This study was a citation analysis of all papers published in Neurology India since online archiving commenced in 1993. All papers published in Neurology India between the years 1993-2014 were listed. The number of times each paper had been cited up till the time of performing this study was determined by performing a Google Scholar search. Published papers were then ranked on the basis of total times cited since publication and the annual citation rate. Statistical Techniques: Simple counts and percentages were used to report most results. The mean citations received by papers in various categories were compared using the Student's t-test or a one-way analysis of variance, as appropriate. All analyses were carried out on SAS University Edition (SAS/STAT®, SAS Institute Inc, NC, USA) and graphs were generated on MS Excel 2016. The top papers on the total citations and annual citation rate rank lists pertained to basic neuroscience research. The highest cited paper overall had received 139 citations. About a quarter of the papers published had never been cited at all. The major themes represented were vascular diseases and infections. The highest cited papers reflect the diseases that are of major concern in India. Certain domains such as trauma, allied neurosciences, and basic neuroscience research were underrepresented.

  8. Shifting environmental baselines in the Red Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, A R G; Ghazi, S J; Tkaczynski, P J; Venkatachalam, A J; Santillan, A; Pancho, T; Metcalfe, R; Saunders, J

    2014-01-15

    The Red Sea is among the world's top marine biodiversity hotspots. We re-examined coastal ecosystems at sites surveyed during the 1980s using the same methodology. Coral cover increased significantly towards the north, mirroring the reverse pattern for mangroves and other sedimentary ecosystems. Latitudinal patterns are broadly consistent across both surveys and with results from independent studies. Coral cover showed greatest change, declining significantly from a median score of 4 (1000-9999 m(2)) to 2 (10-99m(2)) per quadrat in 2010/11. This may partly reflect impact from coastal construction, which was evident at 40% of sites and has significantly increased in magnitude over 30 years. Beach oil has significantly declined, but shore debris has increased significantly. Although substantial, levels are lower than at some remote ocean atolls. While earlier reports have suggested that the Red Sea is generally healthy, shifting environmental baselines are evident from the current study. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Temporal Variation and Association of Aflatoxin B1 Albumin-Adduct Levels with Socio-Economic and Food Consumption Factors in HIV Positive Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pauline E. Jolly

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The association between aflatoxin exposure and alteration in immune responses observed in humans suggest that aflatoxin could suppress the immune system and work synergistically with HIV to increase disease severity and progression to AIDS. No longitudinal study has been conducted to assess exposure to aflatoxin (AF among HIV positive individuals. We examined temporal variation in AFB1 albumin adducts (AF-ALB in HIV positive Ghanaians, and assessed the association with socioeconomic and food consumption factors. We collected socioeconomic and food consumption data for 307 HIV positive antiretroviral naive adults and examined AF-ALB levels at recruitment (baseline and at six (follow-up 1 and 12 (follow-up 2 months post-recruitment, by age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES and food consumption patterns. Generalized linear models were used to examine the influence of socioeconomic and food consumption factors on changes in AF-ALB levels over the study period, adjusting for other covariates. AF-ALB levels (pg/mg albumin were lower at baseline (mean AF-ALB: 14.9, SD: 15.9, higher at six months (mean AF-ALB: 23.3, SD: 26.6, and lower at 12 months (mean AF-ALB: 15.3, SD: 15.4. Participants with the lowest SES had the highest AF-ALB levels at baseline and follow up-2 compared with those with higher SES. Participants who bought less than 20% of their food and who stored maize for less than two months had lower AF-ALB levels. In the adjusted models, there was a statistically significant association between follow up time and season (dry or rainy season on AF-ALB levels over time (p = 0.04. Asymptomatic HIV-positive Ghanaians had high plasma AF-ALB levels that varied according to season, socioeconomic status, and food consumption patterns. Steps need to be taken to ensure the safety and security of the food supply for the population, but in particular for the most vulnerable groups such as HIV positive people.

  10. The Highest Good and the Practical Regulative Knowledge in Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason

    OpenAIRE

    Joel Thiago Klein

    2016-01-01

    In this paper I defend three different points: first, that the concept of highest good is derived from an a priori but subjective argument, namely a maxim of pure practical reason; secondly, that the theory regarding the highest good has the validity of a practical regulative knowledge; and thirdly, that the practical regulative knowledge can be understood as the same “holding something to be true” as Kant attributes to hope and believe.

  11. Informal and formal trail monitoring protocols and baseline conditions: Acadia National Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marion, Jeffrey L.; Wimpey, Jeremy F.; Park, L.

    2011-01-01

    At Acadia National Park, changing visitor use levels and patterns have contributed to an increasing degree of visitor use impacts to natural and cultural resources. To better understand the extent and severity of these resource impacts and identify effective management techniques, the park sponsored this research to develop monitoring protocols, collect baseline data, and identify suggestions for management strategies. Formal and informal trails were surveyed and their resource conditions were assessed and characterized to support park planning and management decision-making.

  12. 40 CFR 80.915 - How are the baseline toxics value and baseline toxics volume determined?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... baseline toxics value if it can determine an applicable toxics value for every batch of gasoline produced... of gasoline batch i produced or imported between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2000, inclusive. i = Individual batch of gasoline produced or imported between January 1, 1998 and December 31, 2000, inclusive. n...

  13. Environmental surveys of the Heidrun field. Supplementary baseline survey 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oug, E.; Konieczny, R.M.; Bakke, T.; Lind, K.

    1993-02-01

    The present survey is a re-investigation of the sea bottom sediments at six sites in the Heidrun oil and gas field, May 1992. Petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals were at background levels. Compared to the baseline survey in 1988 values of hydrocarbons and barium were decreased. The sediment fauna was sparse with low numbers of species and individuals. Densities were strongly reduced and diversity decreased compared to 1988. There is no indication of anthropogenic factors or other large scale disturbances in the area to explain the faunal changes, which may reflect a large natural variation in the sediment fauna. 22 refs., 16 figs., 35 tabs

  14. Baseline requirements for assessment of mining impact using biological monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Humphrey, C.L.; Dostine, P.L.

    1995-01-01

    Biological monitoring programmes for environmental protection should provide for both early detection of possible adverse effects, and assessment of the ecological significance of these effects. Monitoring techniques are required that include responses sensitive to the impact, that can be subjected to rigorous statistical analysis and for which statistical power is high. Such issues in baseline research of 'what and how to measure?' and 'for how long?' have been the focus of a programme being developed to monitor and assess effects of mining operations on the essentially pristine, freshwater ecosystems of the Alligator Rivers Region (ARR) in tropical northern Australia. Application of the BACIP (Before, After, Control, Impact, Paired differences) design, utilizing a form of temporal replication, to univariate (single species) and multivariate (community) data is described. The BACIP design incorporates data from single control and impact sites. We argue for modification of the design for particular studies conducted in streams, to incorporate additional independent control sites from adjacent catchment. Inferential power, by way of (i) more confidently attributing cause to an observed change and (ii) providing information about the ecological significance of the change, will be enhanced using a modified BACIP design. In highly valued environments such as the ARR, monitoring programmes require application of statistical tests with high power to guarantee that an impact no greater than a prescribed amount has gone undetected. A minimum number of baseline years using the BACIP approach would therefore be required in order to achieve some desired level of statistical power. This paper describes the results of power analyses conducted on 2-5 years (depending upon the technique) of baseline data from streams of the ARR and discuss the implications of these results for management. 44 refs., 1 tab., 3 figs

  15. Shifted Baselines Reduce Willingness to Pay for Conservation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loren McClenachan

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available A loss of memory of past environmental degradation has resulted in shifted baselines, which may result in conservation and restoration goals that are less ambitious than if stakeholders had a full knowledge of ecosystem potential. However, the link between perception of baseline states and support for conservation planning has not been tested empirically. Here, we investigate how perceptions of change in coral reef ecosystems affect stakeholders' willingness to pay (WTP for the establishment of protected areas. Coral reefs are experiencing rapid, global change that is observable by the public, and therefore provide an ideal ecosystem to test links between beliefs about baseline states and willingness to support conservation. Our survey respondents perceived change to coral reef communities across six variables: coral abundance, fish abundance, fish diversity, fish size, sedimentation, and water pollution. Respondants who accurately perceived declines in reef health had significantly higher WTP for protected areas (US $256.80 vs. $102.50 per year, suggesting that shifted baselines may reduce engagement with conservation efforts. If WTP translates to engagement, this suggests that goals for restoration and recovery are likely to be more ambitious if the public is aware of long term change. Therefore, communicating the scope and depth of environmental problems is essential in engaging the public in conservation.

  16. Baseline Anthropometric and Metabolic Parameters Correlate with Weight Loss in Women 1-Year After Laparoscopic Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sans, Arnaud; Bailly, Laurent; Anty, Rodolphe; Sielezenef, Igor; Gugenheim, Jean; Tran, Albert; Gual, Philippe; Iannelli, Antonio

    2017-11-01

    In this study, we explored in a prospective cohort of morbidly obese women undergoing laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGP) correlations between baseline anthropometrics, metabolic parameters, resting energy expenditure (REE), body composition, and 1-year % excess body mass index loss (%EBMIL). We also investigated risk factors for insufficient %EBMIL. One hundred three consecutive women were prospectively evaluated at baseline (age 40.6 ± 11.2, weight 113.9 kg ± 15.3, BMI 43.3 ± 4.9 kg/m 2 ) and 1 year after LRYGP. Weight, excess weight, brachial circumference, waist circumference, fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) (measured with bioelectrical impedance analysis), REE, inflammation, insulin resistance, and lipid disturbances were determined before and 1 year after LRYGP. At 1 year, mean weight loss was 39.8 kg ± 11.7 and mean EBMIL was 15.2 kg/m 2  ± 4.2. Mean %EBMIL was 86% ± 21% (range 30-146%). Baseline brachial circumference, waist circumference and triceps skinfold thickness decreased significantly at 1 year (P baseline body composition parameters, only preoperative FM was negatively correlated with %EBMIL (r = -0.23; p = 0.02). One year after surgery FM change was negatively correlated with EBMIL% (r = -0.49; P baseline blood glucose level (OR = 1.77; CI 95%: [1.3-2.4]) was the only predictive factor of EBMIL Baseline glucose level may be helpful in identifying poor responders to LRYGBP. NCT02820285y ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02820285?term=Characterization+of+Immune+Semaphorin+in+Non-Alcoholic+Fatty+Liver+Disease+and+NASH&rank=1 ).

  17. Baseline Projection Data Book: GRI baseline projection of U.S. Energy Supply and Demand to 2010. 1992 Edition. Volume 1 and Volume 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holtberg, P.D.; Woods, T.J.; Lihn, M.L.; Koklauner, A.K.

    1992-01-01

    The 1992 Baseline Projection Data Book provides backup data in tabular form for the 1992 GRI Baseline Projection of U.S. Energy Supply and Demand to 2010. Summary tables and data for the residential, commercial, industrial, electric utility, and transportation sectors are presented in the volume

  18. Cumulative Effects of Concussion History on Baseline Computerized Neurocognitive Test Scores: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsalaheen, Bara; Stockdale, Kayla; Pechumer, Dana; Giessing, Alexander; He, Xuming; Broglio, Steven P

    It is unclear whether individuals with a history of single or multiple clinically recovered concussions exhibit worse cognitive performance on baseline testing compared with individuals with no concussion history. To analyze the effects of concussion history on baseline neurocognitive performance using a computerized neurocognitive test. PubMed, CINAHL, and psycINFO were searched in November 2015. The search was supplemented by a hand search of references. Studies were included if participants completed the Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT) at baseline (ie, preseason) and if performance was stratified by previous history of single or multiple concussions. Systematic review and meta-analysis. Level 2. Sample size, demographic characteristics of participants, as well as performance of participants on verbal memory, visual memory, visual-motor processing speed, and reaction time were extracted from each study. A random-effects pooled meta-analysis revealed that, with the exception of worsened visual memory for those with 1 previous concussion (Hedges g = 0.10), no differences were observed between participants with 1 or multiple concussions compared with participants without previous concussions. With the exception of decreased visual memory based on history of 1 concussion, history of 1 or multiple concussions was not associated with worse baseline cognitive performance.

  19. Rationalization of the electric power utilization for the ferro-alloy production at the HEK 'Jugohrom' by means of the follow up and restriction of the highest level loading as well as automatic processing system for the involved electric power (Macedonia)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koevski, Doncho

    2001-01-01

    The relations between the electro energetic system and the energetic generally, as well as the chronic energetic crisis, the electric power price, provoked to analyse the application of the economic use forms of the electric power. This paper presents the way of rationalisation of the electric power utilization for the ferro-alloy production in Jugohrom. This is done by appointing the measuring system, control and limitation of the highest level loading as well as automatic processing system for the involved electric power. (Original)

  20. Rationalization of the electric power utilization for the ferro-alloy production at the HEK 'Jugohrom' by means of the follow up and restriction of the highest level loading as well as automatic processing system for the involved electric power (Macedonia)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koevski, Doncho

    2002-01-01

    The relations between the electro energetic system and the energetic generally, as well as the chronic energetic crisis, the electric power price, provoked to analyse the application of the economic use forms of the electric power. This paper presents the way of rationalisation of the electric power utilization for the ferro-alloy production in Jugohrom. This is done by appointing the measuring system, control and limitation of the highest level loading as well as automatic processing system for the involved electric power. (Original)

  1. Baseline for the cumulants of net-proton distributions at STAR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo, Xiaofeng; Mohanty, Bedangadas; Xu, Nu

    2014-01-01

    We present a systematic comparison between the recently measured cumulants of the net-proton distributions by STAR for 0–5% central Au + Au collisions at √(s NN )=7.7–200 GeV and two kinds of possible baseline measure, the Poisson and Binomial baselines. These baseline measures are assuming that the proton and anti-proton distributions independently follow Poisson statistics or Binomial statistics. The higher order cumulant net-proton data are observed to deviate from all the baseline measures studied at 19.6 and 27 GeV. We also compare the net-proton with net-baryon fluctuations in UrQMD and AMPT model, and convert the net-proton fluctuations to net-baryon fluctuations in AMPT model by using a set of formula

  2. FED baseline engineering studies report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sager, P.H.

    1983-04-01

    Studies were carried out on the FED Baseline to improve design definition, establish feasibility, and reduce cost. Emphasis was placed on cost reduction, but significant feasibility concerns existed in several areas, and better design definition was required to establish feasibility and provide a better basis for cost estimates. Design definition and feasibility studies included the development of a labyrinth shield ring concept to prevent radiation streaming between the torus spool and the TF coil cryostat. The labyrinth shield concept which was developed reduced radiation streaming sufficiently to permit contact maintenance of the inboard EF coils. Various concepts of preventing arcing between adjacent shield sectors were also explored. It was concluded that installation of copper straps with molybdenum thermal radiation shields would provide the most reliable means of preventing arcing. Other design studies included torus spool electrical/structural concepts, test module shielding, torus seismic response, poloidal conditions in the magnets, disruption characteristics, and eddy current effects. These additional studies had no significant impact on cost but did confirm the feasibility of the basic FED Baseline concept.

  3. FED baseline engineering studies report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sager, P.H.

    1983-04-01

    Studies were carried out on the FED Baseline to improve design definition, establish feasibility, and reduce cost. Emphasis was placed on cost reduction, but significant feasibility concerns existed in several areas, and better design definition was required to establish feasibility and provide a better basis for cost estimates. Design definition and feasibility studies included the development of a labyrinth shield ring concept to prevent radiation streaming between the torus spool and the TF coil cryostat. The labyrinth shield concept which was developed reduced radiation streaming sufficiently to permit contact maintenance of the inboard EF coils. Various concepts of preventing arcing between adjacent shield sectors were also explored. It was concluded that installation of copper straps with molybdenum thermal radiation shields would provide the most reliable means of preventing arcing. Other design studies included torus spool electrical/structural concepts, test module shielding, torus seismic response, poloidal conditions in the magnets, disruption characteristics, and eddy current effects. These additional studies had no significant impact on cost but did confirm the feasibility of the basic FED Baseline concept

  4. Baseline development, economic risk, and schedule risk: An integrated approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tonkinson, J.A.

    1994-01-01

    The economic and schedule risks of Environmental Restoration (ER) projects are commonly analyzed toward the end of the baseline development process. Risk analysis is usually performed as the final element of the scheduling or estimating processes for the purpose of establishing cost and schedule contingency. However, there is an opportunity for earlier assessment of risks, during development of the technical scope and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Integrating the processes of risk management and baselining provides for early incorporation of feedback regarding schedule and cost risk into the proposed scope of work. Much of the information necessary to perform risk analysis becomes available during development of the technical baseline, as the scope of work and WBS are being defined. The analysis of risk can actually be initiated early on during development of the technical baseline and continue throughout development of the complete project baseline. Indeed, best business practices suggest that information crucial to the success of a project be analyzed and incorporated into project planning as soon as it is available and usable

  5. Impact of baseline Diabetic Retinopathy Severity Scale scores on visual outcomes in the VIVID-DME and VISTA-DME studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staurenghi, Giovanni; Feltgen, Nicolas; Arnold, Jennifer J; Katz, Todd A; Metzig, Carola; Lu, Chengxing; Holz, Frank G

    2017-10-19

    To evaluate intravitreal aflibercept versus laser in subgroups of patients with baseline Diabetic Retinopathy Severity Scale (DRSS) scores ≤43, 47, and ≥53 in VIVID-DME and VISTA-DME. Patients with diabetic macular oedema were randomised to receive intravitreal aflibercept 2 mg every 4 weeks (2q4), intravitreal aflibercept 2 mg every 8 weeks after five initial monthly doses (2q8), or macular laser photocoagulation at baseline with sham injections at every visit. These post hoc analyses evaluate outcomes based on baseline DRSS scores in patients in the integrated dataset. The 2q4 and 2q8 treatment groups were also pooled. 748 patients had a baseline DRSS score based on fundus photographs (≤43, n=301; 47, n=153; ≥53, n=294). At week 100, the least squares mean difference between treatment groups (effect of intravitreal aflibercept above that of laser, adjusting for baseline best-corrected visual acuity) was 8.9 (95% CI 5.99 to 11.81), 9.7 (95% CI 5.54 to 13.91), and 11.0 (95% CI 7.96 to 14.1) letters in those with baseline DRSS scores ≤43, 47, and ≥53, respectively. The proportions of patients with ≥2 step DRSS score improvement were greater in the intravitreal aflibercept group versus laser, respectively, for those with baseline DRSS scores of ≤43 (13% vs 5.9%), 47 (25.8% vs 4.5%), and ≥53 (64.5% vs 28.4%). Regardless of baseline DRSS score, functional outcomes were superior in intravitreal aflibercept-treated patients, demonstrating consistent treatment benefit across various baseline levels of retinopathy. NCT01331681 and NCT01363440, Post-results. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  6. Preperimetric Glaucoma Prospective Observational Study (PPGPS: Design, baseline characteristics, and therapeutic effect of tafluprost in preperimetric glaucoma eye.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naoko Aizawa

    Full Text Available There is no consensus on the diagnosis or treatment policy for Preperimetric Glaucoma (PPG because the pathogenesis of PPG is not clear at this time. Preperimetric Glaucoma Prospective Observational Study (PPGPS is a first multicenter, prospective, observational study to clarify the pathogenesis of PPG. This article indicates study design, patient baseline characteristics, and analysis focused on optic nerve head (ONH blood flow in PPG, as well as the intraocular pressure (IOP -lowering effect and ONH blood flow-improving effects of Tafluprost.In this study, 122 eyes from 122 subjects (mean age: 53.1 ± 14.3 newly diagnosed as PPG were enrolled. The circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (cpRNFLT was evaluated with optical coherence tomography (OCT. The ONH blood flow was measured with laser speckle flowgraphy. The therapeutic effect of Tafluprost was evaluated at Month 0 (ONH blood flow-improving effect and Month 4 (IOP-lowering effect.The untreated IOP, cpRNFLT, and baseline Mean deviation (MD value was 16.4 ± 2.5 mmHg, 80.4 ± 8.2 μm, and -0.48 ± 1.29 dB, respectively. In the site-specific visual field evaluation using the sector map, there was no appreciable site-specific visual field defect in the eye with PPG. The inferior region of cpRNFLT in 4-quadrant OCT sector analysis and 6 o'clock region in 12-o'clock OCT sector analysis was the highest rate of abnormality in PPG eyes. Topical administration of Tafluprost significantly reduced IOP from 16.4 ± 2.5 mmHg at baseline to 14.5 ± 2.3 mmHg at Month 4 (P < 0.001, paired t-test. In the linear regression analysis, there was a significant relationship between the increase of ONH blood flow and baseline value.PPGPS is a first prospective study focusing on the pathology of PPG. This study is expected to elucidate the pathology of PPG, with evidence useful for determining a treatment strategy for PPG.

  7. Performance Analysis for Airborne Interferometric SAR Affected by Flexible Baseline Oscillation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Zhong-sheng

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The airborne interferometric SAR platform suffers from instability factors, such as air turbulence and mechanical vibrations during flight. Such factors cause the oscillation of the flexible baseline, which leads to significant degradation of the performance of the interferometric SAR system. This study is concerned with the baseline oscillation. First, the error of the slant range model under baseline oscillation conditions is formulated. Then, the SAR complex image signal and dual-channel correlation coefficient are modeled based on the first-order, second-order, and generic slant range error. Subsequently, the impact of the baseline oscillation on the imaging and interferometric performance of the SAR system is analyzed. Finally, simulations of the echo data are used to validate the theoretical analysis of the baseline oscillation in the airborne interferometric SAR.

  8. Pre-diagnostic plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and risk of non-melanoma skin cancer in women.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geyu Liang

    Full Text Available Recent reports have shown that vitamin D status was inversely associated with the risk of various cancers. However, few studies examined the association between vitamin D levels and risk of skin cancer.We prospectively evaluated the association between baseline plasma 25(OHD levels and the risk of incident squamous cell carcinoma (SCC and basal cell carcinoma (BCC among 4,641 women from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS and the NHS II with 510 incident BCC cases and 75 incident SCC cases. We used multivariate logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios (ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs.Plasma 25(OHD levels were positively associated with risk of BCC after adjusting for age at blood draw, season of blood draw, lab batch, hair color, burning tendency, the number of sunburns, and ultra-violet B flux of residence at blood collection. Women in the highest quartile of 25(OHD had more than 2-fold increased risk of BCC compared with women in the lowest quartile (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.52-2.80, P for trend <0.0001. We also found a significantly positive association between plasma 25(OHD levels and SCC risk after adjusting for the same covariates (OR, highest vs. lowest quartile = 3.77, 95% CI = 1.70-8.36, P for trend= 0.0002.In this prospective study of women, plasma vitamin D levels were positively associated with non-melanoma skin cancer risk. Considering that most circulating vitamin D is due to sun exposure, the positive association between plasma vitamin D and non-melanoma skin cancer is confounded by sun exposure. Our data suggest that one-time measurement of plasma vitamin D levels may reasonably reflect long-term sun exposure and predict the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer.

  9. Influence of Baseline Psychological Health on Muscle Pain During Atorvastatin Treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaleski, Amanda L; Taylor, Beth A; Pescatello, Linda S; Dornelas, Ellen A; White, Charles Michael; Thompson, Paul D

    3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase reductase inhibitors (statins) are generally well tolerated, with statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS) the most common side effect (~10%) seen in statin users. However, studies and clinical observations indicate that many of the self-reported SAMS appear to be nonspecific (ie, potentially not attributable to statins). Mental health and well-being influence self-perception of pain, so we sought to assess the effect of baseline well-being and depression on the development of muscle pain with 6 months of atorvastatin 80 mg/d (ATORVA) or placebo in healthy, statin-naive adults. The Psychological General Well-being Index (n = 83) and Beck Depression Inventory (n = 55) questionnaires were administered at baseline in participants (aged 59.5 ± 1.2 years) from the effect of Statins on Skeletal Muscle Function and Performance (STOMP) trial (NCT00609063). Muscle pain (Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire [SF-MPQ]), pain that interferes with daily life (Brief Pain Inventory [BPI]), and pain severity (BPI) were then measured before, throughout, and after treatment. At baseline, there were no differences in well-being (Psychological General Well-being Index), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), or pain measures (SF-MPQ and BPI) (P values ≥ .05) between the placebo and ATORVA groups. Baseline well-being correlated negatively with baseline BPI pain severity (r = -0.290, P = .008). Baseline depression correlated with baseline pain (SF-MPQ; r = 0.314, P = .020). Baseline well-being and depression did not predict the change in pain severity or interference after 6 months among the total sample or between groups (P values ≥ .05). Baseline well-being and depression were not significant predictors of pain after 6 months of ATORVA (P values ≥ .05). Thus, they do not appear to increase the risk of SAMS in otherwise healthy adults.

  10. Baseline Report on HB2320

    Science.gov (United States)

    State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, 2015

    2015-01-01

    Staff provides this baseline report as a summary of its preliminary considerations and initial research in fulfillment of the requirements of HB2320 from the 2015 session of the General Assembly. Codified as § 23-7.4:7, this legislation compels the Education Secretary and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Director, in…

  11. Advanced three-dimensional thermal modeling of a baseline spent fuel repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Altenbach, T.J.; Lowry, W.E.

    1980-01-01

    A three-dimensional thermal analysis using finite difference techniques was performed to determine the near-field response of a baseline spent fuel repository in a deep geologic salt medium. A baseline design incorporates previous thermal modeling experience and OWI recommendations for areal thermal loading in specifying the waste form properties, package details, and emplacement configuration. The base case in this thermal analysis considers one 10-year old PWR spent fuel assembly emplaced to yield a 36 kW/acre (8.9 W/m 2 ) loading. A unit cell model in an infinite array is used to simplify the problem and provide upper-bound temperatures. Boundary conditions are imposed which allow simulations to 1000 years. Variations studied include a comparison of ventilated and unventilated storage room conditions, emplacement packages with and without air gaps surrounding the canister, and room cool-down scenarios with ventilation following an unventilated state for retrieval purposes. It was found that at this low-power level, ventilating the emplacement room has an immediate cooling influence on the canister and effectively maintains the emplacement room floor near the temperature of the ventilating air

  12. Baseline toxicity of a chlorobenzene mixture and total body residues measured and estimated with solid-phase microextraction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leslie, H.A.; Hermens, J.L.; Kraak, M.H.S.

    2004-01-01

    Body residues of compounds with a narcotic mode of action that exceed critical levels result in baseline toxicity in organisms. Previous studies have shown that internal concentrations in organisms also can be estimated by way of passive sampling. In this experiment, solid-phase microextraction

  13. Automatic orbital GTAW welding: Highest quality welds for tomorrow's high-performance systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henon, B. K.

    1985-01-01

    Automatic orbital gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) or TIG welding is certain to play an increasingly prominent role in tomorrow's technology. The welds are of the highest quality and the repeatability of automatic weldings is vastly superior to that of manual welding. Since less heat is applied to the weld during automatic welding than manual welding, there is less change in the metallurgical properties of the parent material. The possibility of accurate control and the cleanliness of the automatic GTAW welding process make it highly suitable to the welding of the more exotic and expensive materials which are now widely used in the aerospace and hydrospace industries. Titanium, stainless steel, Inconel, and Incoloy, as well as, aluminum can all be welded to the highest quality specifications automatically. Automatic orbital GTAW equipment is available for the fusion butt welding of tube-to-tube, as well as, tube to autobuttweld fittings. The same equipment can also be used for the fusion butt welding of up to 6 inch pipe with a wall thickness of up to 0.154 inches.

  14. Baseline heavy metals and metalloid values in blood of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from Baja California Sur, Mexico

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ley-Quinonez, C.; Zavala-Norzagaray, A.A.; Espinosa-Carreon, T.L.; Peckham, H.; Marquez-Herrera, C.; Campos-Villegas, L.; Aguirre, A.A.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → We report baseline levels of selected heavy metals in blood of Pacific loggerhead turtles. → Blood was used to measure in a relatively non-invasive way baseline values of heavy metals. → Zn and Cd were found in high concentrations compared to levels reported in other parts of the world. → Cu concentrations in blood are high as they relate to concentrations in muscle. → No correlations were found between of heavy metals and metalloids analyzed and the size of the turtles. - Abstract: Environmental pollution due to heavy metals is having an increased impact on marine wildlife accentuated by anthropogenic changes in the planet including overfishing, agricultural runoff and marine emerging infectious diseases. Sea turtles are considered sentinels of ecological health in marine ecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine baseline concentrations of zinc, cadmium, copper, nickel, selenium, manganese, mercury and lead in blood of 22 clinically healthy, loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), captured for several reasons in Puerto Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Zinc was the most prevalent metal in blood (41.89 μg g -1 ), followed by Selenium (10.92 μg g -1 ). The mean concentration of toxic metal Cadmium was 6.12 μg g -1 and 1.01 μg g -1 respectively. Mean concentrations of metals followed this pattern: Zn > Se > Ni > Cu > Mn > Cd > Pb and Hg. We can conclude that blood is an excellent tissue to measure in relatively non-invasive way baseline values of heavy metals in Caretta caretta.

  15. Satellite-Surface Perspectives of Air Quality and Aerosol-Cloud Effects on the Environment: An Overview of 7-SEAS BASELInE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsay, Si-Chee; Maring, Hal B.; Lin, Neng-Huei; Buntoung, Sumaman; Chantara, Somporn; Chuang, Hsiao-Chi; Gabriel, Philip M.; Goodloe, Colby S.; Holben, Brent N.; Hsiao, Ta-Chih; hide

    2016-01-01

    The objectives of 7-SEASBASELInE (Seven SouthEast Asian Studies Biomass-burning Aerosols and Stratocumulus Environment: Lifecycles and Interactions Experiment) campaigns in spring 2013-2015 were to synergize measurements from uniquely distributed ground-based networks (e.g., AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork)), MPLNET ( NASA Micro-Pulse Lidar Network)) and sophisticated platforms (e.g.,SMARTLabs (Surface-based Mobile Atmospheric Research and Testbed Laboratories), regional contributing instruments), along with satellite observations retrievals and regional atmospheric transport chemical models to establish a critically needed database, and to advance our understanding of biomass-burning aerosols and trace gases in Southeast Asia (SEA). We present a satellite-surface perspective of 7-SEASBASELInE and highlight scientific findings concerning: (1) regional meteorology of moisture fields conducive to the production and maintenance of low-level stratiform clouds over land; (2) atmospheric composition in a biomass-burning environment, particularly tracers-markers to serve as important indicators for assessing the state and evolution of atmospheric constituents; (3) applications of remote sensing to air quality and impact on radiative energetics, examining the effect of diurnal variability of boundary-layer height on aerosol loading; (4) aerosol hygroscopicity and ground-based cloud radar measurements in aerosol-cloud processes by advanced cloud ensemble models; and (5) implications of air quality, in terms of toxicity of nanoparticles and trace gases, to human health. This volume is the third 7-SEAS special issue (after Atmospheric Research, vol. 122, 2013; and Atmospheric Environment, vol. 78, 2013) and includes 27 papers published, with emphasis on air quality and aerosol-cloud effects on the environment. BASELInE observations of stratiform clouds over SEA are unique, such clouds are embedded in a heavy aerosol-laden environment and feature characteristically greater

  16. Baseline participant characteristics and risk for dropout from ten obesity randomized controlled trials: a pooled analysis of individual level data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathryn Ann Kaiser

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Understanding participant demographic characteristics that inform the optimal design of obesity RCTs have been examined in few studies. The objective of this study was to investigate the association of individual participant characteristics and dropout rates (DORs in obesity randomized controlled trials (RCT by pooling data from several publicly available datasets for analyses. We comprehensively characterize DORs and patterns in obesity RCTs at the individual study level, and describe how such rates and patterns vary as a function of individual-level characteristics. Methods: We obtained and analyzed nine publicly-available, obesity RCT datasets that examined weight loss or weight gain prevention as a primary or secondary endpoint. Four risk factors for dropout were examined by Cox proportional hazards including sex, age, baseline BMI, and race/ethnicity. The individual study data were pooled in the final analyses with a random effect for study, and HR and 95% CIs were computed. Results: Results of the multivariate analysis indicated that the risk of dropout was significantly higher for females compared to males (HR= 1.24, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.46. Hispanics and Non-Hispanic blacks had a significantly higher dropout rate compared to non-Hispanic whites (HR= 1.62, 95% CI = 1.37, 1.91; HR= 1.22, 95% CI = 1.11, 1.35, respectively. There was a significantly increased risk of dropout associated with advancing age (HR= 1.02, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.02 and increasing BMI (HR= 1.03, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.04. Conclusion/Significance: As more studies may focus on special populations, researchers designing obesity RCTs may wish to oversample in certain demographic groups if attempting to match comparison groups based on generalized estimates of expected dropout rates, or otherwise adjust a priori power estimates. Understanding true reasons for dropout may require additional methods of data gathering not generally employed in obesity RCTs, e.g. time on

  17. Commercial Building Energy Baseline Modeling Software: Performance Metrics and Method Testing with Open Source Models and Implications for Proprietary Software Testing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Price, Phillip N.; Granderson, Jessica; Sohn, Michael; Addy, Nathan; Jump, David

    2013-09-01

    The overarching goal of this work is to advance the capabilities of technology evaluators in evaluating the building-level baseline modeling capabilities of Energy Management and Information System (EMIS) software. Through their customer engagement platforms and products, EMIS software products have the potential to produce whole-building energy savings through multiple strategies: building system operation improvements, equipment efficiency upgrades and replacements, and inducement of behavioral change among the occupants and operations personnel. Some offerings may also automate the quantification of whole-building energy savings, relative to a baseline period, using empirical models that relate energy consumption to key influencing parameters, such as ambient weather conditions and building operation schedule. These automated baseline models can be used to streamline the whole-building measurement and verification (M&V) process, and therefore are of critical importance in the context of multi-measure whole-building focused utility efficiency programs. This report documents the findings of a study that was conducted to begin answering critical questions regarding quantification of savings at the whole-building level, and the use of automated and commercial software tools. To evaluate the modeling capabilities of EMIS software particular to the use case of whole-building savings estimation, four research questions were addressed: 1. What is a general methodology that can be used to evaluate baseline model performance, both in terms of a) overall robustness, and b) relative to other models? 2. How can that general methodology be applied to evaluate proprietary models that are embedded in commercial EMIS tools? How might one handle practical issues associated with data security, intellectual property, appropriate testing ‘blinds’, and large data sets? 3. How can buildings be pre-screened to identify those that are the most model-predictable, and therefore those

  18. Terrestrial gamma radiation baseline mapping using ultra low density sampling methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleinschmidt, R; Watson, D

    2016-01-01

    Baseline terrestrial gamma radiation maps are indispensable for providing basic reference information that may be used in assessing the impact of a radiation related incident, performing epidemiological studies, remediating land contaminated with radioactive materials, assessment of land use applications and resource prospectivity. For a large land mass, such as Queensland, Australia (over 1.7 million km(2)), it is prohibitively expensive and practically difficult to undertake detailed in-situ radiometric surveys of this scale. It is proposed that an existing, ultra-low density sampling program already undertaken for the purpose of a nationwide soil survey project be utilised to develop a baseline terrestrial gamma radiation map. Geoelement data derived from the National Geochemistry Survey of Australia (NGSA) was used to construct a baseline terrestrial gamma air kerma rate map, delineated by major drainage catchments, for Queensland. Three drainage catchments (sampled at the catchment outlet) spanning low, medium and high radioelement concentrations were selected for validation of the methodology using radiometric techniques including in-situ measurements and soil sampling for high resolution gamma spectrometry, and comparative non-radiometric analysis. A Queensland mean terrestrial air kerma rate, as calculated from the NGSA outlet sediment uranium, thorium and potassium concentrations, of 49 ± 69 nGy h(-1) (n = 311, 3σ 99% confidence level) is proposed as being suitable for use as a generic terrestrial air kerma rate background range. Validation results indicate that catchment outlet measurements are representative of the range of results obtained across the catchment and that the NGSA geoelement data is suitable for calculation and mapping of terrestrial air kerma rate. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Substantial Variability Exists in Utilities' Nuclear Decommissioning Funding Adequacy: Baseline Trends (1997-2001); and Scenario and Sensitivity Analyses (Year 2001)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, D. G.

    2003-01-01

    This paper explores the trends over 1997-2001 in my baseline simulation analysis of the sufficiency of electric utilities' funds to eventually decommission the nation's nuclear power plants. Further, for 2001, I describe the utilities' funding adequacy results obtained using scenario and sensitivity analyses, respectively. In this paper, I focus more on the wide variability observed in these adequacy measures among utilities than on the results for the ''average'' utility in the nuclear industry. Only individual utilities, not average utilities -- often used by the nuclear industry to represent its funding adequacy -- will decommission their nuclear plants. Industry-wide results tend to mask the varied results for individual utilities. This paper shows that over 1997-2001, the variability of my baseline decommissioning funding adequacy measures (in percentages) for both utility fund balances and current contributions has remained very large, reflected in the sizable ranges and frequency distributions of these percentages. The relevance of this variability for nuclear decommissioning funding adequacy is, of course, focused more on those utilities that show below ideal balances and contribution levels. Looking backward, 42 of 67 utility fund (available) balances, in 2001, were above (and 25 below) their ideal baseline levels; in 1997, 42 of 76 were above (and 34 below) ideal levels. Of these, many utility balances were far above, and many far below, such ideal levels. The problem of certain utilities continuing to show balances much below ideal persists even with increases in the adequacy of ''average'' utility balances

  20. Baseline Optimization for the Measurement of CP Violation, Mass Hierarchy, and $\\theta_{23}$ Octant in a Long-Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bass, M. [Colorado State U.; Bishai, M. [Brookhaven; Cherdack, D. [Colorado State U.; Diwan, M. [Brookhaven; Djurcic, Z. [Argonne; Hernandez, J. [Houston U.; Lundberg, B. [Fermilab; Paolone, V. [Pittsburgh U.; Qian, X. [Brookhaven; Rameika, R. [Fermilab; Whitehead, L. [Houston U.; Wilson, R. J. [Colorado State U.; Worcester, E. [Brookhaven; Zeller, G. [Fermilab

    2015-03-19

    Next-generation long-baseline electron neutrino appearance experiments will seek to discover CP violation, determine the mass hierarchy and resolve the θ23 octant. In light of the recent precision measurements of θ13, we consider the sensitivity of these measurements in a study to determine the optimal baseline, including practical considerations regarding beam and detector performance. We conclude that a detector at a baseline of at least 1000 km in a wide-band muon neutrino beam is the optimal configuration.

  1. Should Studies of Diabetes Treatment Stratification Correct for Baseline HbA1c?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Angus G.; Lonergan, Mike; Henley, William E.; Pearson, Ewan R.; Hattersley, Andrew T.; Shields, Beverley M.

    2016-01-01

    Aims Baseline HbA1c is a major predictor of response to glucose lowering therapy and therefore a potential confounder in studies aiming to identify other predictors. However, baseline adjustment may introduce error if the association between baseline HbA1c and response is substantially due to measurement error and regression to the mean. We aimed to determine whether studies of predictors of response should adjust for baseline HbA1c. Methods We assessed the relationship between baseline HbA1c and glycaemic response in 257 participants treated with GLP-1R agonists and assessed whether it reflected measurement error and regression to the mean using duplicate ‘pre-baseline’ HbA1c measurements not included in the response variable. In this cohort and an additional 2659 participants treated with sulfonylureas we assessed the relationship between covariates associated with baseline HbA1c and treatment response with and without baseline adjustment, and with a bias correction using pre-baseline HbA1c to adjust for the effects of error in baseline HbA1c. Results Baseline HbA1c was a major predictor of response (R2 = 0.19,β = -0.44,pHbA1c were associated with response, however these associations were weak or absent after adjustment for baseline HbA1c. Bias correction did not substantially alter associations. Conclusions Adjustment for the baseline HbA1c measurement is a simple and effective way to reduce bias in studies of predictors of response to glucose lowering therapy. PMID:27050911

  2. The effect of mercury on baseline corticosterone in a breeding songbird.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maddux, Sarah L; Cristol, Daniel A; Varian-Ramos, Claire W; Bradley, Eric L

    2015-02-01

    Although songbirds accumulate mercury at rates equivalent to better-studied aquatic avian species, effects of mercury bioaccumulation in songbirds remain understudied. Little is known about the effects of mercury on endocrine physiology, but recent evidence indicates that mercury may disrupt the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Both field-based correlational studies and a recent dosing experiment suggest that mercury exposure alters levels of the primary avian stress hormone, CORT. We sampled zebra finches that had been dosed with 0, 0.5, or 1.0 ppm dietary methylmercury for baseline CORT twice; once during pairing and once after successfully fledging young. Circulating levels of CORT were not significantly affected by mercury exposure. However, our findings indicate potentially important differences in CORT responses between the sexes when exposed to environmentally relevant doses of mercury across the nesting cycle.

  3. Baseline series fragrance markers fail to predict contact allergy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Jack; McFadden, John P; White, Jonathan M L; White, Ian R; Banerjee, Piu

    2014-05-01

    Negative patch test results with fragrance allergy markers in the European baseline series do not always predict a negative reaction to individual fragrance substances. To determine the frequencies of positive test reactions to the 26 fragrance substances for which labelling is mandatory in the EU, and how effectively reactions to fragrance markers in the baseline series predict positive reactions to the fragrance substances that are labelled. The records of 1951 eczema patients, routinely tested with the labelled fragrance substances and with an extended European baseline series in 2011 and 2012, were retrospectively reviewed. Two hundred and eighty-one (14.4%) (71.2% females) reacted to one or more allergens from the labelled-fragrance substance series and/or a fragrance marker from the European baseline series. The allergens that were positive with the greatest frequencies were cinnamyl alcohol (48; 2.46%), Evernia furfuracea (44; 2.26%), and isoeugenol (40; 2.05%). Of the 203 patients who reacted to any of the 26 fragrances in the labelled-fragrance substance series, only 117 (57.6%) also reacted to a fragrance marker in the baseline series. One hundred and seven (52.7%) reacted to either fragrance mix I or fragrance mix II, 28 (13.8%) reacted to Myroxylon pereirae, and 13 (6.4%) reacted to hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde. These findings confirm that the standard fragrance markers fail to identify patients with contact allergies to the 26 fragrances. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Baseline Preferences for Daily, Event-Driven, or Periodic HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis among Gay and Bisexual Men in the PRELUDE Demonstration Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanie J. Vaccher

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available IntroductionThe effectiveness of daily pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP is well established. However, there has been increasing interest in non-daily dosing schedules among gay and bisexual men (GBM. This paper explores preferences for PrEP dosing schedules among GBM at baseline in the PRELUDE demonstration project.Materials and methodsIndividuals at high-risk of HIV were enrolled in a free PrEP demonstration project in New South Wales, Australia, between November 2014 and April 2016. At baseline, they completed an online survey containing detailed behavioural, demographic, and attitudinal questions, including their ideal way to take PrEP: daily (one pill taken every day, event-driven (pills taken only around specific risk events, or periodic (daily dosing during periods of increased risk.ResultsOverall, 315 GBM (98% of study sample provided a preferred PrEP dosing schedule at baseline. One-third of GBM expressed a preference for non-daily PrEP dosing: 20% for event-driven PrEP, and 14% for periodic PrEP. Individuals with a trade/vocational qualification were more likely to prefer periodic to daily PrEP [adjusted odds ratio (aOR = 4.58, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI: (1.68, 12.49], compared to individuals whose highest level of education was high school. Having an HIV-positive main regular partner was associated with strong preference for daily, compared to event-driven PrEP [aOR = 0.20, 95% CI: (0.04, 0.87]. Participants who rated themselves better at taking medications were more likely to prefer daily over periodic PrEP [aOR = 0.39, 95% CI: (0.20, 0.76].DiscussionIndividuals’ preferences for PrEP schedules are associated with demographic and behavioural factors that may impact on their ability to access health services and information about PrEP and patterns of HIV risk. At the time of data collection, there were limited data available about the efficacy of non-daily PrEP schedules, and clinicians only recommended daily PrEP to

  5. Long-term trends in U.S. gas supply and prices: 1992 edition of the GRI baseline projection of U.S. energy supply and demand to 2010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woods, T.J.

    1991-12-01

    The paper summarizes the gas supply outlook in the 1992 Edition of the GRI Baseline Projection of U.S. Energy Supply and Demand, which has been adopted as a major input to the planning cycle leading to the development of the Gas Research Institute (GRI) 1993 research and development program. The 1992 projection presents the GRI planning outlook for the economic and the energy supply and demand situation to the year 2010. It was prepared independently by GRI using publicly available data and a framework of commercially available models that GRI has developed over several years. It is not derived from the views of GRI member companies. The 1992 Edition of the GRI Baseline Projection presents an optimistic outlook for the U.S. gas industry in which increased gas supply can be obtained at competitive prices. The gas prices in the 1992 projection support growth in all major U.S. gas supply sources: lower-48, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and LNG. By about 2005, U.S. gas supply is at its highest level ever. By 2010, U.S. gas supply has grown to almost 25 quads. U.S. gas production increases 2.6 quads between 1990 and 2010; imports increase 2.2 quads. Although imports do not increase as much as U.S. gas production, they account for an increased share of U.S. gas supply. The import share grows from 7 percent to 12 percent over the projection period. Supplemental gas sources provide about 1 percent of U.S. gas supply

  6. Scheme for simultaneous generation of three-color ten GW-level X-ray pulses from baseline XFEL undulator and multi-user distribution system for XFEL laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geloni, Gianluca; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni

    2010-01-01

    The baseline design of present XFEL projects only considers the production of a single photon beam at fixed wavelength from each baseline undulator. At variance, the scheme described in this paper considers the simultaneous production of high intensity SASE FEL radiation at three different wavelengths. We present a feasibility study of our scheme, and we make exemplifications with parameters of the baseline SASE2 line of the European XFEL operating in simultaneous mode at 0.05 nm, 0.15 nm and 0.4 nm. Our technique for generating the two colors at 0.05 nm and 0.15 nm is based in essence on a ''fresh bunch'' technique. For the generation of radiation at 0.4 nm we propose to use an ''afterburner'' technique. Implementation of these techniques does not perturb the baseline mode of operation of the SASE2 undulator. The present paper also describes an efficient way to obtain a multi-user facility. It is shown that, although the XFEL photon beam from a given undulator is meant for a single user, movable multilayer X-ray mirrors can be used to serve many users simultaneously. The proposed photon beam distribution system would allow to switch the FEL beam quickly between many experiments in order to make an efficient use of the source. Distribution of photons is achieved on the basis of pulse trains and it is possible to distribute the multicolor photon beam among many independent beam lines, thereby enabling many users to work in parallel with different wavelengths. (orig.)

  7. A publication database for optical long baseline interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malbet, Fabien; Mella, Guillaume; Lawson, Peter; Taillifet, Esther; Lafrasse, Sylvain

    2010-07-01

    Optical long baseline interferometry is a technique that has generated almost 850 refereed papers to date. The targets span a large variety of objects from planetary systems to extragalactic studies and all branches of stellar physics. We have created a database hosted by the JMMC and connected to the Optical Long Baseline Interferometry Newsletter (OLBIN) web site using MySQL and a collection of XML or PHP scripts in order to store and classify these publications. Each entry is defined by its ADS bibcode, includes basic ADS informations and metadata. The metadata are specified by tags sorted in categories: interferometric facilities, instrumentation, wavelength of operation, spectral resolution, type of measurement, target type, and paper category, for example. The whole OLBIN publication list has been processed and we present how the database is organized and can be accessed. We use this tool to generate statistical plots of interest for the community in optical long baseline interferometry.

  8. Back-calculating baseline creatinine overestimates prevalence of acute kidney injury with poor sensitivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kork, F; Balzer, F; Krannich, A; Bernardi, M H; Eltzschig, H K; Jankowski, J; Spies, C

    2017-03-01

    Acute kidney injury (AKI) is diagnosed by a 50% increase in creatinine. For patients without a baseline creatinine measurement, guidelines suggest estimating baseline creatinine by back-calculation. The aim of this study was to evaluate different glomerular filtration rate (GFR) equations and different GFR assumptions for back-calculating baseline creatinine as well as the effect on the diagnosis of AKI. The Modification of Diet in Renal Disease, the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology (CKD-EPI) and the Mayo quadratic (MQ) equation were evaluated to estimate baseline creatinine, each under the assumption of either a fixed GFR of 75 mL min -1  1.73 m -2 or an age-adjusted GFR. Estimated baseline creatinine, diagnoses and severity stages of AKI based on estimated baseline creatinine were compared to measured baseline creatinine and corresponding diagnoses and severity stages of AKI. The data of 34 690 surgical patients were analysed. Estimating baseline creatinine overestimated baseline creatinine. Diagnosing AKI based on estimated baseline creatinine had only substantial agreement with AKI diagnoses based on measured baseline creatinine [Cohen's κ ranging from 0.66 (95% CI 0.65-0.68) to 0.77 (95% CI 0.76-0.79)] and overestimated AKI prevalence with fair sensitivity [ranging from 74.3% (95% CI 72.3-76.2) to 90.1% (95% CI 88.6-92.1)]. Staging AKI severity based on estimated baseline creatinine had moderate agreement with AKI severity based on measured baseline creatinine [Cohen's κ ranging from 0.43 (95% CI 0.42-0.44) to 0.53 (95% CI 0.51-0.55)]. Diagnosing AKI and staging AKI severity on the basis of estimated baseline creatinine in surgical patients is not feasible. Patients at risk for post-operative AKI should have a pre-operative creatinine measurement to adequately assess post-operative AKI. © 2016 Scandinavian Physiological Society. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. 1st DeepWind 5 MW Baseline design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt Paulsen, Uwe; Vita, Luca; Aagaard Madsen, Helge

    2012-01-01

    The first 5MW baseline design of the DeepWind concept is presented for a Darrieus type floating wind turbine system for water depths of more than 150 m. This design will be used as design reference to test the next technological improvements of sub-component level, being based as much as possible...... trajectory on the water plane. The generator is placed at the bottom of the platform and uses 5MW direct drive technology.The conceptual design is evaluated with numerical simulations in the time domain using the aero-elastic code HAWC2. In order to investigate the concept, a double-disc blade element....... A site has been chosen for the floating turbine off Norway as representative for external conditions. The structure is verified according to an ultimate strength analysis, including loads from wind, waves and currents. The stability of the platform is investigated, considering the displacements...

  10. C-018H Pre-Operational Baseline Sampling Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guzek, S.J.

    1993-01-01

    The objective of this task is to field characterize and sample the soil at selected locations along the proposed effluent line routes for Project C-018H. The overall purpose of this effort is to meet the proposed plan to discontinue the disposal of contaminated liquids into the Hanford soil column as described by DOE (1987). Detailed information describing proposed transport pipeline route and associated Kaiser Engineers Hanford Company (KEH) preliminary drawings (H288746...755) all inclusive, have been prepared by KEH (1992). The information developed from field monitoring and sampling will be utilized to characterize surface and subsurface soil along the proposed C-018H effluent pipeline and it's associated facilities. Potentially existing contaminant levels may be encountered therefore, soil characterization will provide a construction preoperational baseline reference, develop personnel safety requirements, and determine the need for any changes in the proposed routes prior to construction of the pipeline

  11. ASSESSMENT OF PAHS AND SELECTED PESTICIDES IN SHALLOW GROUNDWATER IN THE HIGHEST PROTECTED AREAS IN THE OPOLE REGION, POLAND

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariusz Głowacki

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The ground water quality was determined after the analyses of water samples from 18 wells. The wells were in the Groundwater Area with the Highest Protection (Triassic water, Opole region, Poland, rural build up. The water table level was low: 0.5 – 18.0 m below the ground surface level (except for one artesian well. The following parameters were determined: pH, EC, colour, ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, dissolved orthophosphate, total phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, BOD, COD-Mn, COD-Cr, humic substances, chloride, sulphate, total hardness, alkalinity, dry residue PAHs (16 compounds, pesticides (6 compounds, however, only selected data were presented in this paper. In all the analysed water samples chloro-organic pesticides were observed. The analysed water contained heptachlor in the highest concentrations of 15.97 mg/dm3. Good quality water must not include concentrations higher than 0.5 mg/dm3 of heptachlor. However, the concentration was circa 32 times higher than this value. The second pesticide determining poor water quality is dieldrin. This compound in the investigated groundwater was 1.94 mg/dm3 – 4 times higher than the limit for acceptable quality ground water. The concentration of pesticides also changed over the course of the research; the concentration in the analysed groundwater in the same well changed quite dramatically over a period of 1 year. Although PAHs and pesticides are potentially toxic for biological organisms they do exist in the environment as a product of the natural biological transformation of organic matter. The noted concentrations and compositions of PAH compounds were different to natural PAHs. It confirms the fact that agricultural activity influences groundwater quality.

  12. Solid Waste Program technical baseline description

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carlson, A.B.

    1994-07-01

    The system engineering approach has been taken to describe the technical baseline under which the Solid Waste Program is currently operating. The document contains a mission analysis, function analysis, system definition, documentation requirements, facility and project bases, and uncertainties facing the program.

  13. Long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crane, D.; Goodman, M.

    1994-01-01

    There is no unambiguous definition for long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. The term is generally used for accelerator neutrino oscillation experiments which are sensitive to Δm 2 2 , and for which the detector is not on the accelerator site. The Snowmass N2L working group met to discuss the issues facing such experiments. The Fermilab Program Advisory Committee adopted several recommendations concerning the Fermilab neutrino program at their Aspen meeting immediately prior to the Snowmass Workshop. This heightened the attention for the proposals to use Fermilab for a long-baseline neutrino experiment at the workshop. The plan for a neutrino oscillation program at Brookhaven was also thoroughly discussed. Opportunities at CERN were considered, particularly the use of detectors at the Gran Sasso laboratory. The idea to build a neutrino beam from KEK towards Superkamiokande was not discussed at the Snowmass meeting, but there has been considerable development of this idea since then. Brookhaven and KEK would use low energy neutrino beams, while FNAL and CERN would plan have medium energy beams. This report will summarize a few topics common to LBL proposals and attempt to give a snapshot of where things stand in this fast developing field

  14. 1993 baseline solid waste management system description

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Armacost, L.L.; Fowler, R.A.; Konynenbelt, H.S.

    1994-02-01

    Pacific Northwest Laboratory has prepared this report under the direction of Westinghouse Hanford Company. The report provides an integrated description of the system planned for managing Hanford's solid low-level waste, low-level mixed waste, transuranic waste, and transuranic mixed waste. The primary purpose of this document is to illustrate a collective view of the key functions planned at the Hanford Site to handle existing waste inventories, as well as solid wastes that will be generated in the future. By viewing this system as a whole rather than as individual projects, key facility interactions and requirements are identified and a better understanding of the overall system may be gained. The system is described so as to form a basis for modeling the system at various levels of detail. Model results provide insight into issues such as facility capacity requirements, alternative system operating strategies, and impacts of system changes (ie., startup dates). This description of the planned Hanford solid waste processing system: defines a baseline system configuration; identifies the entering waste streams to be managed within the system; identifies basic system functions and waste flows; and highlights system constraints. This system description will evolve and be revised as issues are resolved, planning decisions are made, additional data are collected, and assumptions are tested and changed. Out of necessity, this document will also be revised and updated so that a documented system description, which reflects current system planning, is always available for use by engineers and managers. It does not provide any results generated from the many alternatives that will be modeled in the course of analyzing solid waste disposal options; such results will be provided in separate documents

  15. US Department of Energy mixed waste characterization, treatment, and disposal focus area technical baseline development process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roach, J.A.; Gombert, D.

    1996-01-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) created the Mixed Waste Characterization, Treatment, and Disposal Focus Area (MWFA) to develop and facilitate implementation of technologies required to meet its commitments for treatment of mixed wastes under the Federal Facility Compliance Act (FFCA), and in accordance with the Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Mixed wastes include both mixed low-level waste (MLLW) and mixed transuranic (MTRU) waste. The goal of the MWFA is to develop mixed waste treatment systems to the point of implementation by the Environmental Management (EM) customer. To accomplish this goal, the MWFA is utilizing a three step process. First, the treatment system technology deficiencies were identified and categorized. Second, these identified needs were prioritized. This resulted in a list of technical deficiencies that will be used to develop a technical baseline. The third step, the Technical Baseline Development Process, is currently ongoing. When finalized, the technical baseline will integrate the requirements associated with the identified needs into the planned and ongoing environmental research and technology development activities supported by the MWFA. Completion of this three-step process will result in a comprehensive technology development program that addresses customer identified and prioritized needs. The MWFA technical baseline will be a cost-effective, technically-defensible tool for addressing and resolving DOE's mixed waste problems

  16. Small-scale CDM projects in a competitive electricity industry: How good is a simplified baseline methodology?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shrestha, Ram M.; Abeygunawardana, A.M.A.K.

    2007-01-01

    Setting baseline emissions is one of the principal tasks involved in awarding credits for greenhouse gas emission (GHG) mitigation projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). An emission baseline has to be project-specific in order to be accurate. However, project-specific baseline calculations are subject to high transaction costs, which disadvantage small-scale projects. For this reason, the CDM-Executive Board (CDM-EB) has approved simplified baseline methodologies for selected small-scale CDM project categories. While the simplified methods help reduce the transaction cost, they may also result in inaccuracies in the estimation of emission reductions from CDM projects. The purpose of this paper is to present a rigorous economic scheduling method for calculating the GHG emission reduction in a hypothetical competitive electricity industry due to the operation of a renewable energy-based power plant under CDM and compare the GHG emission reduction derived from the rigorous method with that obtained from the use of a simplified (i.e., standardized) method approved by the CDM-EB. A key finding of the paper is that depending upon the level of power demand, prices of electricity and input fuels, the simplified method can lead to either significant overestimation or substantial underestimation of emission reduction due to the operation of renewable energy-based power projects in a competitive electricity industry

  17. 40 CFR 80.1285 - How does a refiner apply for a benzene baseline?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... baseline? 80.1285 Section 80.1285 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... (abt) Program § 80.1285 How does a refiner apply for a benzene baseline? (a) A benzene baseline... credits. (b) For U.S. Postal delivery, the benzene baseline application shall be sent to: Attn: MSAT2...

  18. Analysis of Seasonal Signal in GPS Short-Baseline Time Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Kaihua; Jiang, Weiping; Chen, Hua; An, Xiangdong; Zhou, Xiaohui; Yuan, Peng; Chen, Qusen

    2018-04-01

    Proper modeling of seasonal signals and their quantitative analysis are of interest in geoscience applications, which are based on position time series of permanent GPS stations. Seasonal signals in GPS short-baseline (paper, to better understand the seasonal signal in GPS short-baseline time series, we adopted and processed six different short-baselines with data span that varies from 2 to 14 years and baseline length that varies from 6 to 1100 m. To avoid seasonal signals that are overwhelmed by noise, each of the station pairs is chosen with significant differences in their height (> 5 m) or type of the monument. For comparison, we also processed an approximately zero baseline with a distance of pass-filtered (BP) noise is valid for approximately 40% of the baseline components, and another 20% of the components can be best modeled by a combination of the first-order Gauss-Markov (FOGM) process plus white noise (WN). The TEM displacements are then modeled by considering the monument height of the building structure beneath the GPS antenna. The median contributions of TEM to the annual amplitude in the vertical direction are 84% and 46% with and without additional parts of the monument, respectively. Obvious annual signals with amplitude > 0.4 mm in the horizontal direction are observed in five short-baselines, and the amplitudes exceed 1 mm in four of them. These horizontal seasonal signals are likely related to the propagation of daily/sub-daily TEM displacement or other signals related to the site environment. Mismodeling of the tropospheric delay may also introduce spurious seasonal signals with annual amplitudes of 5 and 2 mm, respectively, for two short-baselines with elevation differences greater than 100 m. The results suggest that the monument height of the additional part of a typical GPS station should be considered when estimating the TEM displacement and that the tropospheric delay should be modeled cautiously, especially with station pairs with

  19. Sea level rise drives increased tidal flooding frequency at tide gauges along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts: Projections for 2030 and 2045.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahl, Kristina A; Fitzpatrick, Melanie F; Spanger-Siegfried, Erika

    2017-01-01

    Tidal flooding is among the most tangible present-day effects of global sea level rise. Here, we utilize a set of NOAA tide gauges along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts to evaluate the potential impact of future sea level rise on the frequency and severity of tidal flooding. Using the 2001-2015 time period as a baseline, we first determine how often tidal flooding currently occurs. Using localized sea level rise projections based on the Intermediate-Low, Intermediate-High, and Highest projections from the U.S. National Climate Assessment, we then determine the frequency and extent of such flooding at these locations for two near-term time horizons: 2030 and 2045. We show that increases in tidal flooding will be substantial and nearly universal at the 52 locations included in our analysis. Long before areas are permanently inundated, the steady creep of sea level rise will force many communities to grapple with chronic high tide flooding in the next 15 to 30 years.

  20. IEA Wind Task 26: Offshore Wind Farm Baseline Documentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smart, Gavin [Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, Blyth, Northumberland (United Kingdom); Smith, Aaron [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Warner, Ethan [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sperstad, Iver Bakken [SINTEF Energy Research, Trondheim (Norway); Prinsen, Bob [Ecofys, Utrecht (Netherlands). TKI Wind Op Zee; Lacal-Arantegui, Roberto [European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), Brussels (Belgium)

    2016-06-02

    This document has been produced to provide the definition and rationale for the Baseline Offshore Wind Farm established within IEA Wind Task 26--Cost of Wind Energy. The Baseline has been developed to provide a common starting point for country comparisons and sensitivity analysis on key offshore wind cost and value drivers. The baseline project reflects an approximate average of the characteristics of projects installed between 2012 and 2014, with the project life assumed to be 20 years. The baseline wind farm is located 40 kilometres (km) from construction and operations and maintenance (O&M) ports and from export cable landfall. The wind farm consists of 100 4-megawatt (MW) wind turbines mounted on monopile foundations in an average water depth of 25 metres (m), connected by 33-kilovolt (kV) inter-array cables. The arrays are connected to a single offshore substation (33kV/220kV) mounted on a jacket foundation, with the substation connected via a single 220kV export cable to an onshore substation, 10km from landfall. The wind farm employs a port-based O&M strategy using crew-transfer vessels.

  1. Consideration of the baseline environment in examples of voluntary SEAs from Scotland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wright, Fiona

    2007-01-01

    Evidence from analysing and evaluating examples of three voluntary SEAs prepared in Scotland in the mid-late 1990s showed that different spatial and temporal scales were used when providing a baseline environment description. The SEAs analysed were prepared for: a wind farm siting programme that looked at national and short-term impacts; a land use plan that looked at regional and short-term impacts; and a transport plan that examined local and medium-term impacts. It was found that the two SEAs prepared by local government only considered impacts on the baseline environment within their jurisdictional boundaries whilst the SEA prepared by the private business considered impacts on the national baseline. A mixture of baseline data about planning, economic, environmental and social issues were included in the SEAs, however, evidence suggested that each SEA only focussed on those baseline features that might be significantly affected by the proposal. Each SEA also made extensive use of existing baseline information available from a variety of sources including local, and central government records and information from statutory bodies. All of the SEAs acknowledged that baseline data deficiencies existed and in certain cases steps were taken to obtain primary field data to help address these, however, it was also acknowledged that resource restrictions and decision-making deadlines limited the amount of primary baseline data that could be collected

  2. GABA level, gamma oscillation, and working memory performance in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chi-Ming A; Stanford, Arielle D; Mao, Xiangling; Abi-Dargham, Anissa; Shungu, Dikoma C; Lisanby, Sarah H; Schroeder, Charles E; Kegeles, Lawrence S

    2014-01-01

    A relationship between working memory impairment, disordered neuronal oscillations, and abnormal prefrontal GABA function has been hypothesized in schizophrenia; however, in vivo GABA measurements and gamma band neural synchrony have not yet been compared in schizophrenia. This case-control pilot study (N = 24) compared baseline and working memory task-induced neuronal oscillations acquired with high-density electroencephalograms (EEGs) to GABA levels measured in vivo with magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Working memory performance, baseline GABA level in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and measures of gamma oscillations from EEGs at baseline and during a working memory task were obtained. A major limitation of this study is a relatively small sample size for several analyses due to the integration of diverse methodologies and participant compliance. Working memory performance was significantly lower for patients than for controls. During the working memory task, patients (n = 7) had significantly lower amplitudes in gamma oscillations than controls (n = 9). However, both at rest and across working memory stages, there were significant correlations between gamma oscillation amplitude and left DLPFC GABA level. Peak gamma frequency during the encoding stage of the working memory task (n = 16) significantly correlated with GABA level and working memory performance. Despite gamma band amplitude deficits in patients across working memory stages, both baseline and working memory-induced gamma oscillations showed strong dependence on baseline GABA levels in patients and controls. These findings suggest a critical role for GABA function in gamma band oscillations, even under conditions of system and cognitive impairments as seen in schizophrenia.

  3. Terrestrial gamma radiation baseline mapping using ultra low density sampling methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kleinschmidt, R.; Watson, D.

    2016-01-01

    Baseline terrestrial gamma radiation maps are indispensable for providing basic reference information that may be used in assessing the impact of a radiation related incident, performing epidemiological studies, remediating land contaminated with radioactive materials, assessment of land use applications and resource prospectivity. For a large land mass, such as Queensland, Australia (over 1.7 million km 2 ), it is prohibitively expensive and practically difficult to undertake detailed in-situ radiometric surveys of this scale. It is proposed that an existing, ultra-low density sampling program already undertaken for the purpose of a nationwide soil survey project be utilised to develop a baseline terrestrial gamma radiation map. Geoelement data derived from the National Geochemistry Survey of Australia (NGSA) was used to construct a baseline terrestrial gamma air kerma rate map, delineated by major drainage catchments, for Queensland. Three drainage catchments (sampled at the catchment outlet) spanning low, medium and high radioelement concentrations were selected for validation of the methodology using radiometric techniques including in-situ measurements and soil sampling for high resolution gamma spectrometry, and comparative non-radiometric analysis. A Queensland mean terrestrial air kerma rate, as calculated from the NGSA outlet sediment uranium, thorium and potassium concentrations, of 49 ± 69 nGy h −1 (n = 311, 3σ 99% confidence level) is proposed as being suitable for use as a generic terrestrial air kerma rate background range. Validation results indicate that catchment outlet measurements are representative of the range of results obtained across the catchment and that the NGSA geoelement data is suitable for calculation and mapping of terrestrial air kerma rate. - Highlights: • A baseline terrestrial air kerma map of Queensland, Australia was developed using geochemical data from a major drainage catchment ultra-low density sampling program

  4. Baselining PMU Data to Find Patterns and Anomalies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amidan, Brett G.; Follum, James D.; Freeman, Kimberly A.; Dagle, Jeffery E.

    2016-10-25

    This paper looks at the application of situational awareness methodologies with respect to power grid data. These methodologies establish baselines that look for typical patterns and atypical behavior in the data. The objectives of the baselining analyses are to provide: real-time analytics, the capability to look at historical trends and events, and reliable predictions of the near future state of the grid. Multivariate algorithms were created to establish normal baseline behavior and then score each moment in time according to its variance from the baseline. Detailed multivariate analytical techniques are described in this paper that produced ways to identify typical patterns and atypical behavior. In this case, atypical behavior is behavior that is unenvisioned. Visualizations were also produced to help explain the behavior that was identified mathematically. Examples are shown to help describe how to read and interpret the analyses and visualizations. Preliminary work has been performed on PMU data sets from BPA (Bonneville Power Administration) and EI (Eastern Interconnect). Actual results are not fully shown here because of confidentiality issues. Comparisons between atypical events found mathematically and actual events showed that many of the actual events are also atypical events; however there are many atypical events that do not correlate to any actual events. Additional work needs to be done to help classify the atypical events into actual events, so that the importance of the events can be better understood.

  5. Which Environmental Factors Have the Highest Impact on the Performance of People Experiencing Difficulties in Capacity?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verena Loidl

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Disability is understood by the World Health Organization (WHO as the outcome of the interaction between a health condition and personal and environmental factors. Comprehensive data about environmental factors is therefore essential to understand and influence disability. We aimed to identify which environmental factors have the highest impact on the performance of people with mild, moderate and severe difficulties in capacity, who are at risk of experiencing disability to different extents, using data from a pilot study of the WHO Model Disability Survey in Cambodia and random forest regression. Hindering or facilitating aspects of places to socialize in community activities, transportation and natural environment as well as use and need of personal assistance and use of medication on a regular basis were the most important environmental factors across groups. Hindering or facilitating aspects of the general environment were the most relevant in persons experiencing mild levels of difficulties in capacity, while social support, attitudes of others and use of medication on a regular basis were highly relevant for the performance of persons experiencing moderate to higher levels of difficulties in capacity. Additionally, we corroborate the high importance of the use and need of assistive devices for people with severe difficulties in capacity.

  6. Work engagement and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels among Japanese workers: a 1-year prospective cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eguchi, Hisashi; Shimazu, Akihito; Kawakami, Norito; Inoue, Akiomi; Nakata, Akinori; Tsutsumi, Akizumi

    2015-08-01

    Evidence on the association between psychological well-being and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels is limited. We carried out a prospective study to investigate the association between work engagement and hs-CRP levels in a group of Japanese workers. Our cohort included 1,857 men and 657 women aged 65 and under, and free from major illness, working at two manufacturing worksites in Japan. Baseline examinations were conducted from April to June 2011 to determine the demographic and lifestyle characteristics and levels of work engagement. Blood samples were obtained from participants at baseline and after 1 year. Participants were classified into tertiles of low, moderate, and high work engagement at baseline. Hs-CRP levels were split into low (≤3.0 mg/L) and high (>3.0 mg/L). We used multiple logistic regression analyses to evaluate the association between work engagement at baseline and hs-CRP levels at follow-up, adjusting for hs-CRP at baseline and potential confounding factors. Participants reporting moderate and high levels of work engagement at baseline had significantly lower odds ratios (ORs) of having high hs-CRP levels at follow-up than those with low levels of work engagement at baseline [OR of moderate level 0.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24-0.81; OR of high level 0.57, 95% CI 0.33-0.99; p for trend work engagement has beneficial effects on workers' cardiovascular health.

  7. Comparing the occlusal contact area of individual teeth during low-level clenching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishimori, Hideta; Iida, Takashi; Kamiyama, Hirona; Komoda, Yoshihiro; Obara, Ryoko; Uchida, Takashi; Kawara, Misao; Komiyama, Osamu

    2017-09-14

    The aim of this study was to investigate the occlusal contact area (OCA) in individual teeth during low-level tooth clenching in 24 healthy participants. Before measurements were made, the 100% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) was determined. At baseline, all subjects were instructed to close their mouth and touch the opposing teeth with minimal force. Occlusal contact was recorded during three jaw motor tasks (baseline, 20% MVC, and 40% MVC) using a blue silicone material. OCA thickness was determined from images and defined on five levels: level 1 (0-149 µm), level 2 (0-89 µm), level 3 (0-49 µm), level 4 (0-29 µm), and level 5 (0-4 µm). Premolar and molar OCAs increased significantly from baseline to 20% MVC and 40% MVC. The OCA of each anterior tooth did not change significantly with increasing clenching intensity at all levels. Our findings suggest that premolar and molar OCAs may be altered by low-intensity clenching, affecting the teeth and periodontal tissues.

  8. Noninvasive measurement of carboxyhemoglobin levels for adjustment of diffusion capacity measured during pulmonary function testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahoney, Anne M; Stimpson, Claudia L; Scott, Karen L; Hampson, Neil B

    2007-12-01

    The diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (D(LCO)) is commonly measured during pulmonary function testing (PFT). Although adjustment of the measured D(LCO) for an elevated baseline carboxyhemoglobin level is recommended, carboxyhemoglobin is not routinely measured, which may reduce the accuracy of D(LCO) measurements. We sought to assess the utility of routine carboxyhemoglobin measurement and subsequent D(LCO) correction in patients referred for PFT. We retrospectively reviewed 100 consecutive PFT results, including D(LCO) assessment. We used a pulse CO-oximeter (recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration) to noninvasively measure baseline carboxyhemoglobin (S(pCO)). We used simple descriptive statistics to compare the S(pCO) values. In subjects with elevated S(pCO) (> 2%) we adjusted the percent-of-predicted D(LCO). Interpretation of D(LCO) was categorized according to the American Thoracic Society classification scheme for respiratory impairment. The self-reported smokers had higher average S(pCO) than did self-reported nonsmokers (1.6% vs 3.5%, p carboxyhemoglobin is easy to perform during PFT. When precise measurement of D(LCO) is important, noninvasive measurement of carboxyhemoglobin may be of value. If routine S(pCO) measurement is considered, the highest yield is among current smokers.

  9. Effect of Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy on Interleukin-29 Levels in Gingival Crevicular Fluid of Chronic Periodontitis and Aggressive Periodontitis Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. M. Shivaprasad

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Recently discovered interleukin 29 (IL-29 has antiviral properties and its production is induced by herpes viruses. This study was aimed at analyzing the effect of non-surgical periodontal treatment on IL-29 levels in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF of chronic and aggressive periodontitis patients. A total of 60 participants were divided into healthy group (group 1; n = 20, chronic periodontitis group (group 2; n = 20, and aggressive periodontitis group (group 3; n = 20. GCF samples collected from each subject at baseline and 6–8 weeks after scaling and root planing were quantified for IL-29 levels using ELISA. The mean IL-29 concentration in GCF was found to be highest in group 3 (92.37 pg/μl. The mean IL-29 level in group 1 and group 2 was 36.88 pg/μl and 69.35 pg/μl respectively. After scaling and root planing, the mean concentration of IL-29 in GCF was increased to 85.99 pg/μl in group 2 and to 114.64 pg/μl in group 3. Results of the present study indicate that antiviral IL-29 level was highest in GCF of aggressive periodontitis patients and least in subjects with healthy periodontium, while that of chronic periodontitis lying in between. After non-surgical periodontal therapy, IL-29 levels increased both in chronic and aggressive periodontitis patients and deserve further investigation as a potential therapeutic agent in treating periodontitis.

  10. 200-BP-5 operable unit Technical Baseline report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacques, I.D.; Kent, S.K.

    1991-10-01

    This report supports development of a remedial investigation/feasibility study work plan for the 200-BP-5 operable unit. The report summarizes baseline information for waste sites and unplanned release sites located in the 200-BP-5 operable unit. The sites were investigated by the Technical Baseline Section of the Environmental Engineering Group, Westinghouse Hanford Company (Westinghouse Hanford). The investigation consisted of review and evaluation of current and historical Hanford Site reports, drawings, and photographs, and was supplemented with recent inspections of the Hanford Site and employee interviews. No field investigations or sampling were conducted

  11. Environmental baselines: preparing for shale gas in the UK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloomfield, John; Manamsa, Katya; Bell, Rachel; Darling, George; Dochartaigh, Brighid O.; Stuart, Marianne; Ward, Rob

    2014-05-01

    Groundwater is a vital source of freshwater in the UK. It provides almost 30% of public water supply on average, but locally, for example in south-east England, it is constitutes nearly 90% of public supply. In addition to public supply, groundwater has a number of other uses including agriculture, industry, and food and drink production. It is also vital for maintaining river flows especially during dry periods and so is essential for maintaining ecosystem health. Recently, there have been concerns expressed about the potential impacts of shale gas development on groundwater. The UK has abundant shales and clays which are currently the focus of considerable interest and there is active research into their characterisation, resource evaluation and exploitation risks. The British Geological Survey (BGS) is undertaking research to provide information to address some of the environmental concerns related to the potential impacts of shale gas development on groundwater resources and quality. The aim of much of this initial work is to establish environmental baselines, such as a baseline survey of methane occurrence in groundwater (National methane baseline study) and the spatial relationships between potential sources and groundwater receptors (iHydrogeology project), prior to any shale gas exploration and development. The poster describes these two baseline studies and presents preliminary findings. BGS are currently undertaking a national survey of baseline methane concentrations in groundwater across the UK. This work will enable any potential future changes in methane in groundwater associated with shale gas development to be assessed. Measurements of methane in potable water from the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic carbonate and sandstone aquifers are variable and reveal methane concentrations of up to 500 micrograms per litre, but the mean value is relatively low at documented in the range 2km. The geological modelling process will be presented and discussed

  12. The planning of decommissioning activities within nuclear facilities - Generating a Baseline Decommissioning Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meek, N.C.; Ingram, S.; Page, J.

    2003-01-01

    BNFL Environmental Services has developed planning tools to meet the emerging need for nuclear liabilities management and decommissioning engineering both in the UK and globally. It can provide a comprehensive baseline planning service primarily aimed at nuclear power stations and nuclear plant. The paper develops the following issues: Decommissioning planning; The baseline decommissioning plan;The process; Work package; Compiling the information; Deliverables summary; Customer Benefits; - Planning tool for nuclear liability life-cycle management; - Robust and reliable plans based upon 'real' experience; - Advanced financial planning; - Ascertaining risk; - Strategy and business planning. The following Deliverables are mentioned:1. Site Work Breakdown Structure; 2. Development of site implementation strategy from the high level decommissioning strategy; 3. An end point definition for the site; 4. Buildings, operational systems and plant surveys; 5. A schedule of condition for the site; 6. Development of technical approach for decommissioning for each work package; 7. Cost estimate to WBS level 5 for each work package; 8. Estimate of decommissioning waste arisings for each work package; 9. Preparation of complete decommissioning programme in planning software to suit client; 10. Risk modelling of work package and overall project levels; 11. Roll up of costs into an overall cost model; 12. Cash flow, waste profiling and resource profiling against the decommissioning programme; 13. Preparation and issue of Final Report. Finally The BDP process is represented by a flowchart listing the following stages: [Power Station project assigned] → [Review project and conduct Characterisation review of power station] → [Identify work packages] → [Set up WBS to level 3] → [Assign work packages] → [Update WBS to level 4] →[Develop cost model] → [Develop logic network] → [Develop risk management procedure] ] → [Develop project strategy document]→ [Work package

  13. A proposal to create an extension to the European baseline series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkinson, Mark; Gallo, Rosella; Goossens, An; Johansen, Jeanne D; Rustemeyer, Thomas; Sánchez-Pérez, Javier; Schuttelaar, Marie L; Uter, Wolfgang

    2018-02-01

    The current European baseline series consists of 30 allergens, and was last updated in 2015. To use data from the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergies (ESSCA) to propose an extension to the European baseline series in response to changes in environmental exposures. Data from departmental and national extensions to the baseline series, together with some temporary additions from departments contributing to the ESSCA, were collated during 2013-2014. In total, 31689 patients were patch tested in 46 European departments. Many departments and national groups already consider the current European baseline series to be a suboptimal screen, and use their own extensions to it. The haptens tested are heterogeneous, although there are some consistent themes. Potential haptens to include in an extension to the European baseline series comprise sodium metabisulfite, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, additional markers of fragrance allergy, propolis, Compositae mix, and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate. In combination with other published work from the ESSCA, changes to the current European baseline series are proposed for discussion. As well as addition of the allergens listed above, it is suggested that primin and clioquinol should be deleted from the series, owing to reduced environmental exposure. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Level of polychlorinated biphenyls in the lower troposphere of the North-and South-Atlantic Ocean. Studies of global baseline pollution. Pt. 17

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schreitmueller, J.; Ballschmiter, K.

    1994-01-01

    Fourteen polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were quantified in air samples of the tropospheric boundary layer of the Atlantic Ocean. The samples were taken on the German research vessel 'Polarstern' during north-south cruises across the Atlantic Ocean (1990, 1991), and on the Capo Verde islands in the North Atlantic Ocean (1992). Values for the sum of PCB were between 48 pg/m 3 (values for the seven indicator congeners were [ in pg/m 3 ]: PCB 28: 1.3; PCB 52: 5.0; PCB 101: 3.0; PCB 118: ≤0.5; PCB 138: 1; PCB 153: 1; PCB 180: 3 (values for the seven indicator congeners were [in pg/m 3 ]: PCB 28: 2.3; PCB 52: 3.4; PCB 101: ≤0.5; PCB 118: 3 (values for the seven indicator congeners were [in pg/m 3 ]: PCB 28: 2.6; PCB 52: 11.7; PCB 101: 28.4; PCB 118: 9; PCB 138: 21; PCB 153: 18; PCB 180: 5.5) were measured of the coast of South Patagonia. A difference depending on latitude and on terrestrial influenced air masses between the lower and the higher chlorinated congeners was observed. The levels of three- and tetrachlorinated congeners were highest in the Trade Wind regions. The contents of the higher chlorinated congeners had maxima in samples influenced by continental air masses. A correlation of the levels of the lower chlorinated congeners in air over the South Atlantic with the surface water temperature and thus with the temperature dependent gas/water partition coefficient K gw was observed. (orig.)

  15. 41 CFR 109-1.5202 - Establishment of a personal property holdings baseline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... personal property holdings baseline. 109-1.5202 Section 109-1.5202 Public Contracts and Property Management...-1.5202 Establishment of a personal property holdings baseline. (a) If the contractor is a new... baseline or may perform a complete physical inventory of all personal property. This physical inventory is...

  16. Plasma cytokine IL-6 levels and subjective cognitive decline: preliminary findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keegan, Andrew P; Paris, Daniel; Luis, Cheryl A; Abdullah, Laila; Ait-Ghezala, Ghania; Beaulieu-Abdelahad, David; Pryor, Makenzie; Chaykin, Jillian; Crynen, Gogce; Crawford, Fiona; Mullan, Michael

    2018-02-01

    Detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) prior to clinical inception will be paramount for introducing disease modifying treatments. We have begun collecting baseline characteristics of a community cohort for longitudinal assessment and testing of antecedent blood-based biomarkers. We describe the baseline visit from the first 131 subjects in relationship to a commonly described cytokine, interleukin 6 (IL-6). Subjects from the community presented for a free memory screening with varying degrees of memory concern. We quantified the baseline plasma levels of the cytokine IL-6 and assessed cognition (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA) and mood (Geriatric Depression Scale, GDS) in relationship to their memory concern. Baseline MoCA scores were inversely related to age, and this association was influenced by an AD risk factor, Apolipoprotein E (APOE4) carrier status. The degree of subjective cognitive decline correlated with GDS and was inversely related to MoCA scores. Interleukin 6 levels were related to age, body mass index, and years of education. It will be important to assess how these baseline IL-6 levels and forthcoming novel biomarkers relate to future cognitive decline. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. Circular polarization control for the LCLS baseline in the soft X-ray regime

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geloni, Gianluca [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2010-12-15

    The LCLS baseline includes a planar undulator system, which produces intense linearly polarized light in the wavelength range 0.15-1.5 nm. In the soft X-ray wavelength region polarization control from linear to circular is highly desirable for studying ultrafast magnetic phenomena and material science issues. Several schemes using helical undulators have been discussed in the context of the LCLS. One consists in replacing three of the last planar undulator segments by helical (APPLE III) ones. A second proposal, the 2nd harmonic helical afterburner, is based on the use of short, crossed undulators tuned to the second harmonic. This last scheme is expected to be the better one. Its advantages are a high (over 90%) and stable degree of circular polarization and a low cost. Its disadvantage is a small output power (1% of the power at the fundamental harmonic) and a narrow wavelength range. We propose a novel method to generate 10 GW level power at the fundamental harmonic with 99% degree of circular polarization from the LCLS baseline. Its merits are low cost, simplicity and easy implementation. In the option presented here, the microbunching of the planar undulator is used too. After the baseline undulator, the electron beam is sent through a 40 m long straight section, and subsequently passes through a short helical (APPLE II) radiator. In this case the microbunch structure is easily preserved, and intense coherent radiation is emitted in the helical radiator. The background radiation from the baseline undulator can be easily suppressed by letting radiation and electron beamthrough horizontal and vertical slits upstream the helical radiator, where the radiation spot size is about ten times larger than the electron bunch transverse size. Using thin Beryllium foils for the slits the divergence of the electron beam halo will increase by Coulomb scattering, but the beam will propagate through the setup without electron losses. The applicability of our method is not

  18. 75 FR 30014 - Consumers Energy Company; Notice of Baseline Filing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. PR10-25-000] Consumers Energy Company; Notice of Baseline Filing May 21, 2010. Take notice that on May 17, 2010, Consumers Energy Company (Consumers) submitted a baseline filing of its Statement of Operating Conditions for the...

  19. Work-Family Conflict and Self-Rated Health: the Role of Gender and Educational Level. Baseline Data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griep, Rosane Härter; Toivanen, Susanna; van Diepen, Cornelia; Guimarães, Joanna M N; Camelo, Lidyane V; Juvanhol, Leidjaira Lopes; Aquino, Estela M; Chor, Dóra

    2016-06-01

    This study examined gender differences in the association between work-family conflict and self-rated health and evaluated the effect of educational attainment. We used baseline data from ELSA-Brasil, a cohort study of civil servants from six Brazilian state capitals. Our samples included 12,017 active workers aged 34-72 years. Work-family conflict was measured by four indicators measuring effects of work on family, effects of family in work and lack of time for leisure and personal care. Women experienced more frequent work-family conflict, but in both genders, increased work-family conflict directly correlated with poorer self-rated health. Women's educational level interacted with three work-family conflict indicators. For time-based effects of work on family, highly educated women had higher odds of suboptimal self-rated health (OR = 1.54; 95 % CI = 1.19-1.99) than less educated women (OR = 1.14; 95 % CI = 0.92-1.42). For strain-based effects of work on family, women with higher and lower education levels had OR = 1.91 (95 % CI 1.48-2.47) and OR = 1.40 (95 % CI 1.12-1.75), respectively. For lack of time for leisure and personal care, women with higher and lower education levels had OR = 2.60 (95 % CI = 1.95-3.47) and OR = 1.11 (95 % CI = 0.90-1.38), respectively. Women's education level affects the relationship between work-family conflict and self-rated health. The results may contribute to prevention activities.

  20. Ecological risk assessments for the baseline condition for the Port Hope and Port Granby Projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hart, D.R.; Kleb, H.

    2006-01-01

    Baseline ecological risk assessments were completed in and around the areas where cleanup of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) and marginally contaminated soil (MCS) is planned under the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI). Both aquatic and terrestrial environments were assessed, in the vicinity of the proposed waste management facilities near Welcome and Port Granby, in locations potentially influenced by LLRW and MCS that will be cleaned up in future, and in reference locations that are not potentially influenced. The calculated doses and risk quotients suggest potential radiation effects for pre-cleanup benthic invertebrates in Port Hope Harbour, for any ducks feeding exclusively in this area, and for soil invertebrates in some other waste sites. In addition, risk quotients suggest potential baseline effects from some elements, particularly uranium and arsenic, in localized areas that are influenced by LLRW and MCS. (author)