Television viewing time, the predominant leisure-time sedentary behavior, is associated with biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk, but its relationship with mortality has not been studied. We examined ...the associations of prolonged television viewing time with all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and non-CVD/noncancer mortality in Australian adults.
Television viewing time in relation to subsequent all-cause, CVD, and cancer mortality (median follow-up, 6.6 years) was examined among 8800 adults > or =25 years of age in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). During 58 087 person-years of follow-up, there were 284 deaths (87 CVD deaths, 125 cancer deaths). After adjustment for age, sex, waist circumference, and exercise, the hazard ratios for each 1-hour increment in television viewing time per day were 1.11 (95% confidence interval CI, 1.03 to 1.20) for all-cause mortality, 1.18 (95% CI, 1.03 to 1.35) for CVD mortality, and 1.09 (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.23) for cancer mortality. Compared with a television viewing time of <2 h/d, the fully adjusted hazard ratios for all-cause mortality were 1.13 (95% CI, 0.87 to 1.36) for > or =2 to <4 h/d and 1.46 (95% CI, 1.04 to 2.05) for > or =4 h/d. For CVD mortality, corresponding hazard ratios were 1.19 (95% CI, 0.72 to 1.99) and 1.80 (95% CI, 1.00 to 3.25). The associations with both cancer mortality and non-CVD/noncancer mortality were not significant.
Television viewing time was associated with increased risk of all-cause and CVD mortality. In addition to the promotion of exercise, chronic disease prevention strategies could focus on reducing sitting time, particularly prolonged television viewing.
Aims/hypothesis Hyperglycaemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality in individuals without diabetes. We investigated: (1) whether the risk of all-cause and CVD ...mortality extended continuously throughout the range of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2 h plasma glucose (2hPG) and HbA₁c values; and (2) the ability of these measures to improve risk prediction for mortality. Methods Data on 10,026 people aged >=25 years without diagnosed diabetes were obtained from the population-based Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study. Between 1999 and 2000, FPG, 2hPG and HbA₁c were assessed and all-cause (332 deaths) and CVD (88 deaths) mortality were obtained after 7 years. Results Both 2hPG and HbA₁c exhibited linear relationships with all-cause and CVD mortality, whereas FPG showed J-shaped relationships. The adjusted HR (95% CI) for all-cause mortality per SD increase was 1.2 (1.1-1.3) for 2hPG and 1.1 (1.0-1.2) for HbA₁c. The HR for FPG <5.1 mmol/l (per SD decrease) was 2.0 (1.3-3.0); for FPG >=5.1 mmol/l (per SD increase) the HR was 1.1 (1.0-1.2). Corresponding HRs for CVD mortality were 1.2 (1.0-1.4), 1.2 (1.0-1.3), 4.0 (2.1-7.6) and 1.3 (1.1-1.4). The discriminative ability of each measure was similar; no measure substantially improved individual risk identification over traditional risk factors. Conclusions/interpretation In individuals without diagnosed diabetes, 2hPG and FPG, but not HbA₁c were significant predictors of all-cause mortality, whereas all measures were significant predictors of CVD mortality. However, these glucose measures did not substantially improve individual risk identification.
Weyl points are the crossings of linearly dispersing energy bands of three-dimensional crystals, providing the opportunity to explore a variety of intriguing phenomena such as topologically protected ...surface states and chiral anomalies. However, the lack of an ideal Weyl system in which the Weyl points all exist at the same energy and are separated from any other bands, poses a serious limitation to the further development of Weyl physics and potential applications. By experimentally characterizing a microwave photonic crystal of saddle-shaped metallic coils, we observe ideal Weyl points that are related to each other through symmetry operations. Topological surface states exhibiting helicoidal structure have also been demonstrated. Our system provides a photonic platform for exploring ideal Weyl systems and developing possible topological devices.
Spectral properties of 441 radio pulsars Jankowski, F.; van Straten, W.; Keane, E. F. ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
02/2018, Letnik:
473, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Abstract
We present a study of the spectral properties of 441 pulsars observed with the Parkes radio telescope near the centre frequencies of 728, 1382 and 3100 MHz. The observations at 728 and ...3100 MHz were conducted simultaneously using the dual-band 10–50 cm receiver. These high-sensitivity, multifrequency observations provide a systematic and uniform sample of pulsar flux densities. We combine our measurements with spectral data from the literature in order to derive the spectral properties of these pulsars. Using techniques from robust regression and information theory, we classify the observed spectra in an objective, robust and unbiased way into five morphological classes: simple or broken power law, power law with either low- or high-frequency cut-off and log-parabolic spectrum. While about 79 per cent of the pulsars that could be classified have simple power-law spectra, we find significant deviations in 73 pulsars, 35 of which have curved spectra, 25 with a spectral break and 10 with a low-frequency turn-over. We identify 11 gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) pulsars, with 3 newly identified in this work and 8 confirmations of known GPS pulsars; 3 others show tentative evidence of GPS, but require further low-frequency measurements to support this classification. The weighted mean spectral index of all pulsars with simple power-law spectra is −1.60 ± 0.03. The observed spectral indices are well described by a shifted log-normal distribution. The strongest correlations of spectral index are with spin-down luminosity, magnetic field at the light-cylinder and spin-down rate. We also investigate the physical origin of the observed spectral features and determine emission altitudes for three pulsars.
Abstract
We present the first interferometric detections of fast radio bursts (FRBs), an enigmatic new class of astrophysical transient. In a 180-d survey of the Southern sky, we discovered three ...FRBs at 843 MHz with the UTMOST array, as a part of commissioning science during a major ongoing upgrade. The wide field of view of UTMOST (≈9 deg2) is well suited to FRB searches. The primary beam is covered by 352 partially overlapping fan-beams, each of which is searched for FRBs in real time with pulse widths in the range 0.655–42 ms, and dispersion measures ≤2000 pc cm−3. Detections of FRBs with the UTMOST array place a lower limit on their distances of ≈104 km (limit of the telescope near-field) supporting the case for an astronomical origin. Repeating FRBs at UTMOST or an FRB detected simultaneously with the Parkes radio telescope and UTMOST would allow a few arcsec localization, thereby providing an excellent means of identifying FRB host galaxies, if present. Up to 100 h of followup for each FRB has been carried out with the UTMOST, with no repeating bursts seen. From the detected position, we present 3σ error ellipses of 15 arcsec × 8
${^{\circ}_{.}}$
4 on the sky for the point of origin for the FRBs. We estimate an all-sky FRB rate at 843 MHz above a fluence
$\cal F_\mathrm{lim}$
of 11 Jy ms of ∼78 events sky−1 d−1 at the 95 per cent confidence level. The measured rate of FRBs at 843 MHz is two times higher than we had expected, scaling from the FRB rate at the Parkes radio telescope, assuming that FRBs have a flat spectral index and a uniform distribution in Euclidean space. We examine how this can be explained by FRBs having a steeper spectral index and/or a flatter logN–log
$\mathcal {F}$
distribution than expected for a Euclidean Universe.
The discovery of topological phases has introduced new perspectives and platforms for various interesting physics originally investigated in quantum contexts and then, on an equal footing, in classic ...wave systems. As a characteristic feature, nontrivial Fermi arcs, connecting between topologically distinct Fermi surfaces, play vital roles in the classification of Dirac and Weyl semimetals, and have been observed in quantum materials very recently. However, in classical systems, no direct experimental observation of Fermi arcs in momentum space has been reported so far. Here, using near-field scanning measurements, we show the observation of photonic topological surface-state arcs connecting topologically distinct bulk states in a chiral hyperbolic metamaterial. To verify the topological nature of this system, we further observe backscattering-immune propagation of a nontrivial surface wave across a three-dimension physical step. Our results demonstrate a metamaterial approach towards topological photonics and offer a deeper understanding of topological phases in three-dimensional classical systems.Topological effects known from condensed matter physics have recently also been explored in photonic systems. Here, the authors directly observe topological surface-state arcs in momentum space by near-field scanning the surface of a chiral hyperbolic metamaterial.
Purpose
The Onodera’s prognostic nutritional index (PNI) and the haemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte and platelet (HALP) score are immune-nutritional indices that correlate with survival outcomes in ...several adult solid malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate whether PNI and HALP are associated with survival outcomes in endometrial cancer.
Patients and methods
Women undergoing management for endometrial cancer were recruited to a single centre prospective cohort study. Pre-treatment PNI and HALP scores were computed for study participants and analysed as continuous variables and by selecting cut-off values based on previous publications. Both parameters were analysed in relation to overall, endometrial cancer-specific and recurrence-free survival using Kaplan-Meier estimation and multivariable Cox proportional regression.
Results
A total of 439 women, with a median age of 67 years (interquartile range (IQR), 58, 74) and BMI of 31kg/m
2
(IQR 26, 37) were included in the analysis. Most had low-grade (63.3%), early-stage (84.4% stage I/II) endometrial cancer of endometrioid histological subtype (72.7%). Primary treatment was surgery in 98.2% of cases. Adjusted overall mortality hazard ratios for PNI and HALP as continuous variables were 0.97(95%CI 0.94–1.00, p = 0.136) and 0.99(95%CI 0.98–1.01, p = 0.368), respectively. Women with pre-treatment PNI ≥45 had a 45% decrease in both overall (adjusted HR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.33–0.92, p = 0.022) and cancer-specific mortality risk (adjusted HR = 0.55, 95%CI 0.30–0.99, p = 0.048) compared to those with PNI <45. There was no evidence for an effect of PNI on recurrence free survival. HALP scores were associated with adverse clinico-pathologic factors, but not overall, cancer-specific or recurrence-free survival in the multivariable analysis.
Conclusion
PNI is an independent prognostic factor in endometrial cancer and has the potential to refine pre-operative risk assessment.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
ABSTRACT
The fast folding algorithm (FFA) is a phase-coherent search technique for periodic signals. It has rarely been used in radio pulsar searches, having been historically supplanted by the less ...computationally expensive fast fourier transform (FFT) with incoherent harmonic summing (IHS). Here, we derive from first principles that an FFA search closely approaches the theoretical optimum sensitivity to all periodic signals; it is analytically shown to be significantly more sensitive than the standard FFT+IHS method, regardless of pulse period and duty cycle. A portion of the pulsar phase space has thus been systematically underexplored for decades; pulsar surveys aiming to fully sample the pulsar population should include an FFA search as part of their data analysis. We have developed an FFA software package, riptide, fast enough to process radio observations on a large scale; riptide has already discovered sources undetectable using existing FFT+IHS implementations. Our sensitivity comparison between search techniques also shows that a more realistic radiometer equation is needed, which includes an additional term: the search efficiency. We derive the theoretical efficiencies of both the FFA and the FFT+IHS methods and discuss how excluding this term has consequences for pulsar population synthesis studies.
Endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecological malignancy in high income countries and its incidence is rising. Whilst most women with endometrial cancer are diagnosed with highly curable ...disease and have good outcomes, a significant minority present with adverse clinico-pathological characteristics that herald a poor prognosis. Prognostic biomarkers that reliably select those at greatest risk of disease recurrence and death can guide management strategies to ensure that patients receive appropriate evidence-based and personalised care. The Cancer Genome Atlas substantially advanced our understanding of the molecular diversity of endometrial cancer and informed the development of simplified, pragmatic and cost-effective classifiers with prognostic implications and potential for clinical translation. Several blood-based biomarkers including proteins, metabolites, circulating tumour cells, circulating tumour DNA and inflammatory parameters have also shown promise for endometrial cancer risk assessment. This review provides an update on the established and emerging prognostic biomarkers in endometrial cancer.
PDF
