Trajectories of self-rated health in people with diabetes: Associations with functioning in a prospective community sample

© 2013 Schmitz et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background: Self-rated health (SRH) is a single-item measure that is one of the most widely used measures of general health in population health research. Relatively little is known about changes and the trajectories of SRH in people with chronic medical conditions. The aims of the present study were to identify and describe longitudinal trajectories of self-rated health (SRH) status in people with diabetes. Methods: A prospective community study was carried out between 2008 and 2011. SRH was assessed at baseline and yearly at follow-ups (n=1288). Analysis was carried out through trajectory modeling. The trajectory groups were subsequently compared at 4 years follow-up with respect to functioning. Results: Four distinct trajectories of SRH were identified: 1) 72.2% of the participants were assigned to a persistently good SRH trajectory; 2) 10.1% were assigned to a persistently poor SRH trajectory; 3) mean SRH scores changed from good to poor for one group (7.3%); while 4) mean SRH scores changed from poor to medium/good for another group (10.4%). Those with a persistently poor perception of health status were at higher risk for poor functioning at 4 years follow-up than those whose SRH scores decreased from good to poor. Conclusions: SRH is an important predictor for poor functioning in diabetes, but the trajectory of SRH seems to be even more important. Health professionals should pay attention to not only SRH per se, but also changes in SRH over time.This work was supported by Operating Grant MOP-84574 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). GG was supported by a doctoral fellowship from the CIHR. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Prediction of photoperiodic regulators from quantitative gene circuit models

Photoperiod sensors allow physiological adaptation to the changing seasons. The external coincidence hypothesis postulates that a light-responsive regulator is modulated by a circadian rhythm. Sufficient data are available to test this quantitatively in plants, though not yet in animals. In Arabidopsis, the clock-regulated genes CONSTANS (CO) and FLAVIN, KELCH, F-BOX (FKF1) and their lightsensitive proteins are thought to form an external coincidence sensor. We use 40 timeseries of molecular data to model the integration of light and timing information by CO, its target gene FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), and the circadian clock. Among other predictions, the models show that FKF1 activates FT. We demonstrate experimentally that this effect is independent of the known activation of CO by FKF1, thus we locate a major, novel controller of photoperiodism. External coincidence is part of a complex photoperiod sensor: modelling makes this complexity explicit and may thus contribute to crop improvement

PSR J1907+0602: A Radio-Faint Gamma-Ray Pulsar Powering a Bright TeV Pulsar Wind Nebula

We present multiwavelength studies of the 106.6 ms gamma-ray pulsar PSR J1907+06 near the TeV source MGRO J1908+06. Timing observations with Fermi result in a precise position determination for the pulsar of R.A. = 19h07m547(2), decl. = +06:02:16(2) placing the pulsar firmly within the TeV source extent, suggesting the TeV source is the pulsar wind nebula of PSR J1907+0602. Pulsed gamma-ray emission is clearly visible at energies from 100 MeV to above 10 GeV. The phase-averaged power-law index in the energy range E > 0.1 GeV is = 1.76 \pm 0.05 with an exponential cutoff energy E_{c} = 3.6 \pm 0.5 GeV. We present the energy-dependent gamma-ray pulsed light curve as well as limits on off-pulse emission associated with the TeV source. We also report the detection of very faint (flux density of ~3.4 microJy) radio pulsations with the Arecibo telescope at 1.5 GHz having a dispersion measure DM = 82.1 \pm 1.1 cm^{-3}pc. This indicates a distance of 3.2 \pm 0.6 kpc and a pseudo-luminosity of L_{1400} ~ 0.035 mJy kpc^2. A Chandra ACIS observation revealed an absorbed, possibly extended, compact <(4 arcsec) X-ray source with significant non-thermal emission at R.A. = 19h07m54.76, decl. = +06:02:14.6 with a flux of 2.3^{+0.6}_{-1.4} X 10^{-14} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}. From archival ASCA observations, we place upper limits on any arcminute scale 2--10 keV X-ray emission of ~ 1 X 10^{-13} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}. The implied distance to the pulsar is compatible with that of the supernova remnant G40.5-0.5, located on the far side of the TeV nebula from PSR J1907+0602, and the S74 molecular cloud on the nearer side which we discuss as potential birth sites

Observation of exotic meson production in the reaction π−p→η′π−p \pi^{-} p \to \eta^{\prime} \pi^- p at 18 GeV/c

An amplitude analysis of an exclusive sample of 5765 events from the reaction $\pi^{-} p \to \eta^{\prime} \pi^- p$ at 18 GeV/c is described. The $\eta^{\prime} \pi^-$ production is dominated by natural parity exchange and by three partial waves: those with $J^{PC} = 1^{-+}, 2^{++},$ and $4^{++}$. A mass-dependent analysis of the partial-wave amplitudes indicates the production of the $a_2(1320)$ meson as well as the $a_4(2040)$ meson, observed for the first time decaying to $\eta^{\prime}\pi^-$. The dominant, exotic (non-$q\bar{q})$ $1^{-+}$ partial wave is shown to be resonant with a mass of $1.597 \pm 0.010^{+0.045}_{-0.010}$ GeV/c^2 and a width of $0.340 \pm 0.040 \pm 0.050$ GeV/c^2 . This exotic state, the $\pi_1(1600)$, is produced with a $t$ dependence which is different from that of the $a_2(1320)$ meson, indicating differences between the production mechanisms for the two states.Comment: 5 pages with 4 figure

Evidence for Exotic J^{PC}=1^{-+} Meson Production in the Reaction pi- p --> eta pi- p at 18 GeV/c

Details of the analysis of the eta pi- system studied in the reaction pi^{-} p --> eta pi^{-} p at 18 GeV/c are given. Separate analyses for the 2 gamma and pi+ pi- pi0 decay modes of the eta are presented. An amplitude analysis of the data indicates the presence of interference between the a(2)(1320)- and a J^{PC}=1^{-+} wave between 1.2 and 1.6 GeV/c^2. The phase difference between these waves shows phase motion not attributable solely to the a(2)(1320)-. The data can be fitted by interference between the a(2)(1320)- and an exotic 1^{-+} resonance with M = 1370 +-16 +50 -30} MeV/c^2 and Gamma = 385 +- 40 +65 -105 MeV/c^2. Our results are compared with those of other experiments.Comment: 50 pages of text and 34 figure

Greed, recklessness and/or dishonesty? An investigation into the micro-regulation and culture of five UK banks between 2004-2009

The author uses a multiple case study approach to examine five UK banks in her paper. The banks are Northern Rock, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC. The author feels that it is appropriate to use a multiple case study here because it will be interesting to study the micro aspects of regulation and corporate governance of five UK banks. The banks have to comply with the same regulations and laws on a macro level, so it is essential to examine the differences between these banks on a micro level through reviewing annual reports and financial ratios. The case study is longitudinal, spanning across 2004-2009. In accordance to the aims of a case study, the author will describe, understand and explain the effects of the financial crisis 2007 on five UK banks. This case study provides an opportunity to examine the weaknesses and failures of corporate governance of five UK banks at a micro level. The author has two hypotheses at the beginning of the study. First, banks moved from a customer driven culture to sales driven one. Secondly, the banking culture during between 2004-2009 is one of greed, recklessness and dishonesty. With the caveat that one should not make generalisations, there is evidence from the case study that both hypotheses are correct to a certain extent

Effect of Mono and Di-rhamnolipids on Biofilms Pre-formed by Bacillus subtilis BBK006.

Different microbial inhibition strategies based on the planktonic bacterial physiology have been known to have limited efficacy on the growth of biofilms communities. This problem can be exacerbated by the emergence of increasingly resistant clinical strains. Biosurfactants have merited renewed interest in both clinical and hygienic sectors due to their potential to disperse microbial biofilms. In this work, we explore the aspects of Bacillus subtilis BBK006 biofilms and examine the contribution of biologically derived surface-active agents (rhamnolipids) to the disruption or inhibition of microbial biofilms produced by Bacillus subtilis BBK006. The ability of mono-rhamnolipids (Rha-C10-C10) produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and the di-rhamnolipids (Rha-Rha-C14-C14) produced by Burkholderia thailandensis E264, and phosphate-buffered saline to disrupt biofilm of Bacillus subtilis BBK006 was evaluated. The biofilm produced by Bacillus subtilis BBK006 was more sensitive to the di-rhamnolipids (0.4 g/L) produced by Burkholderia thailandensis than the mono-rhamnolipids (0.4 g/L) produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027. Rhamnolipids are biologically produced compounds safe for human use. This makes them ideal candidates for use in new generations of bacterial dispersal agents and useful for use as adjuvants for existing microbial suppression or eradication strategies

The effect of asymmetries on stock index return value-at-risk estimates

It is widely accepted that equity return volatility increases more following negative shocks rather than positive shocks. However, much of value-at-risk (VaR) analysis relies on the assumption that returns are normally distributed (a symmetric distribution). This article considers the effect of asymmetries on the evaluation and accuracy of VaR by comparing estimates based on various models