Background and purpose
We aimed to determine the burden of comorbidities at the time of diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), the risk of developing new comorbidities after diagnosis and the effect ...of comorbidities on mortality in patients with MS.
Methods
This study used data from 2526 patients with incident MS and 9980 age‐, sex‐ and physician‐matched controls without MS identified from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink.
Results
Before the MS diagnosis, the adjusted odds ratio for the association between MS and a Charlson comorbidity index score of 1–2, 3–4 or ≥5 was 131 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.17–1.47, 1.65 (95% CI, 1.20–2.26) or 3.26 (95% CI, 1.58–6.70), respectively. MS was associated with increased risks of cardiovascular and neurological/mental diseases. After diagnosis, the adjusted hazard ratio for the association between MS and an increased risk of developing comorbidities was 1.13 (95% CI, 1.00–1.29). The risk of developing any comorbidity in terms of neoplasms, musculoskeletal/connective tissue diseases or neurological/mental diseases was higher in MS. Patients with MS had a higher mortality risk compared with controls, with a hazard ratio of 2.29 (95% CI, 1.81–2.73) after adjusting for comorbidities. There was a dose effect of pre‐existing comorbidities on mortality.
Conclusions
Patients with MS have an increased risk of developing multiple comorbidities both before and after diagnosis and pre‐existing comorbidities have an impact on survival.
Background and purpose
We aimed to determine the prevalence of epilepsy in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) at diagnosis, the risk of developing epilepsy after the diagnosis of MS and the ...relative risk of mortality associated with epilepsy.
Methods
We used the UK Clinical Practice Research Data‐link to identify 2526 patients with incident MS and 9980 age‐, sex‐ and index year‐matched non‐MS controls from 1997 to 2006. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios 95% confidence interval (CI) for epilepsy and Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) (95% CI) for epilepsy and mortality.
Results
Patients with incident MS were on average 45 years old and 70.9% were female. At diagnosis, the prevalence of epilepsy in patients with MS was 1.30% compared with 0.57% in non‐MS controls. At diagnosis, MS was associated with an adjusted odds ratio (95% CI) of 2.11 (1.36–3.27) for pre‐existing epilepsy. Among epilepsy‐free patients, the cumulative probabilities of developing epilepsy, first recorded within 10 years of the index date, were 2.77% for patients with MS and 0.90% for controls. MS was associated with an adjusted HR (95% CI) of 6.01 (2.94–12.29) for epilepsy. Among patients with MS, epilepsy was associated with an HR (95% CI) of 2.23 (1.02–4.84) for all‐cause mortality.
Conclusions
This population‐based study found an increased prevalence of epilepsy in patients with MS at diagnosis when compared with non‐MS controls and the risk of developing epilepsy was also higher following the MS diagnosis. Patients with MS with epilepsy had a higher risk of mortality compared with those without.
Abstract
The upgrade of the CMS experiment for the high luminosity operation of the LHC comprises the replacement of the current endcap calorimeter by a high granularity sampling calorimeter (HGCAL). ...The electromagnetic section of the HGCAL is based on silicon sensors interspersed between lead and copper (or copper tungsten) absorbers. The hadronic section uses layers of stainless steel as an absorbing medium and silicon sensors as an active medium in the regions of high radiation exposure, and scintillator tiles directly read out by silicon photomultipliers in the remaining regions. As part of the development of the detector and its readout electronic components, a section of a silicon-based HGCAL prototype detector along with a section of the CALICE AHCAL prototype was exposed to muons, electrons and charged pions in beam test experiments at the H2 beamline at the CERN SPS in October 2018. The AHCAL uses the same technology as foreseen for the HGCAL but with much finer longitudinal segmentation. The performance of the calorimeters in terms of energy response and resolution, longitudinal and transverse shower profiles is studied using negatively charged pions, and is compared to GEANT4 predictions. This is the first report summarizing results of hadronic showers measured by the HGCAL prototype using beam test data.
Abstract
We present dynamical measurements for 586 Hα-detected star-forming galaxies from the KMOS (K-band Multi-Object Spectrograph) Redshift One Spectroscopic Survey (KROSS). The sample represents ...typical star-forming galaxies at this redshift (z = 0.6–1.0), with a median star formation rate of ≈7 M⊙ yr−1 and a stellar mass range of log (M⋆M⊙) ≈ 9–11. We find that the rotation velocity–stellar mass relationship (the inverse of the Tully–Fisher relationship) for our rotationally dominated sources (vC/σ0 > 1) has a consistent slope and normalization as that observed for z = 0 discs. In contrast, the specific angular momentum (j⋆; angular momentum divided by stellar mass) is ≈0.2–0.3 dex lower on average compared to z = 0 discs. The specific angular momentum scales as $j_{\rm s}\propto M_{\star }^{0.6\pm 0.2}$, consistent with that expected for dark matter (i.e. $j_{\rm DM}\propto M_{\rm DM}^{2/3}$). We find that z ≈ 0.9 star-forming galaxies have decreasing specific angular momentum with increasing Sérsic index. Visually, the sources with the highest specific angular momentum, for a given mass, have the most disc-dominated morphologies. This implies that an angular momentum–mass–morphology relationship, similar to that observed in local massive galaxies, is already in place by z ≈ 1.
Abstract
We analyse the velocity dispersion properties of 472 z ∼ 0.9 star-forming galaxies observed as part of the KMOS Redshift One Spectroscopic Survey (KROSS). The majority of this sample is ...rotationally dominated (83 ± 5 per cent with vC/σ0 > 1) but also dynamically hot and highly turbulent. After correcting for beam smearing effects, the median intrinsic velocity dispersion for the final sample is σ0 = 43.2 ± 0.8 km s−1 with a rotational velocity to dispersion ratio of vC/σ0 = 2.6 ± 0.1. To explore the relationship between velocity dispersion, stellar mass, star formation rate, and redshift, we combine KROSS with data from the SAMI survey (z ∼ 0.05) and an intermediate redshift MUSE sample (z ∼ 0.5). Whilst there is, at most, a weak trend between velocity dispersion and stellar mass, at fixed mass there is a strong increase with redshift. At all redshifts, galaxies appear to follow the same weak trend of increasing velocity dispersion with star formation rate. Our results are consistent with an evolution of galaxy dynamics driven by discs that are more gas rich, and increasingly gravitationally unstable, as a function of increasing redshift. Finally, we test two analytic models that predict turbulence is driven by either gravitational instabilities or stellar feedback. Both provide an adequate description of the data, and further observations are required to rule out either model.
ABSTRACT
We exploit the unprecedented depth of integral field data from the KMOS Ultra-deep Rotational Velocity Survey (KURVS) to analyse the strong (Hα) and forbidden (N ii, S ii) emission line ...ratios in 22 main-sequence galaxies at $z\, \approx \, 1.5$. Using the N ii/Hα emission-line ratio, we confirm the presence of the stellar mass – gas-phase metallicity relation at this epoch, with galaxies exhibiting on average 0.13 ± 0.04 dex lower gas-phase metallicity (12 + log(O/H)M13 = 8.40 ± 0.03) for a given stellar mass (log10(M*M⊙ = 10.1 ± 0.1) .than local main-sequence galaxies. We determine the galaxy-integrated S ii doublet ratio, with a median value of S iiλ6716/λ6731 = 1.26 ± 0.14 equivalent to an electron density of log10(necm−3) = 1.95 ± 0.12. Utilising CANDELS HST multi-band imaging we define the pixel surface-mass and star-formation rate density in each galaxy and spatially resolve the fundamental metallicity relation at $z\, \approx \, 1.5$, finding an evolution of 0.05 ± 0.01 dex compared to the local relation. We quantify the intrinsic gas-phase metallicity gradient within the galaxies using the N ii/Hα calibration, finding a median annuli-based gradient of ΔZ/ΔR = −0.015 ± 0.005 dex kpc−1. Finally, we examine the azimuthal variations in gas-phase metallicity, which show a negative correlation with the galaxy integrated star-formation rate surface density ($r_{\rm s}\,$ = −0.40, ps = 0.07) but no connection to the galaxies kinematic or morphological properties nor radial variations in stellar mass surface density or star formation rate surface density. This suggests both the radial and azimuthal variations in interstellar medium properties are connected to the galaxy integrated density of recent star formation.
This paper presents experimental evidence of homogeneous precipitation of the α-phase within the β matrix of a titanium alloy, and then accounts for this phase transformation by a new, non-classical ...mechanism involving compositional fluctuations, based on the pseudo-spinodal concept 1. This mechanism involves local compositional fluctuations of small amplitude which, when of a certain magnitude, can favor thermodynamically certain regions of the β matrix to transform congruently to the α-phase but with compositions far from equilibrium. Subsequently, as measured experimentally using the tomographical atom probe, continuous diffusional partitioning between the parent β- and product α-phases during isothermal annealing drives their compositions towards equilibrium. For a given alloy composition, the decomposition mechanism is strongly temperature dependent, which would be expected for homogeneous precipitation via the compositional fluctuation-mediated mechanism but not necessarily for one based on classical nucleation theory. The applicability of this mechanism to phase transformations in general is noted.
Green plants (Viridiplantae) include around 450,000-500,000 species
of great diversity and have important roles in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Here, as part of the One Thousand Plant ...Transcriptomes Initiative, we sequenced the vegetative transcriptomes of 1,124 species that span the diversity of plants in a broad sense (Archaeplastida), including green plants (Viridiplantae), glaucophytes (Glaucophyta) and red algae (Rhodophyta). Our analysis provides a robust phylogenomic framework for examining the evolution of green plants. Most inferred species relationships are well supported across multiple species tree and supermatrix analyses, but discordance among plastid and nuclear gene trees at a few important nodes highlights the complexity of plant genome evolution, including polyploidy, periods of rapid speciation, and extinction. Incomplete sorting of ancestral variation, polyploidization and massive expansions of gene families punctuate the evolutionary history of green plants. Notably, we find that large expansions of gene families preceded the origins of green plants, land plants and vascular plants, whereas whole-genome duplications are inferred to have occurred repeatedly throughout the evolution of flowering plants and ferns. The increasing availability of high-quality plant genome sequences and advances in functional genomics are enabling research on genome evolution across the green tree of life.
PDF
