The systematic evaluation of the results of time-series studies of air pollution is challenged by differences in model specification and publication bias.
We evaluated the associations of inhalable ...particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less (PM
) and fine PM with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM
) with daily all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality across multiple countries or regions. Daily data on mortality and air pollution were collected from 652 cities in 24 countries or regions. We used overdispersed generalized additive models with random-effects meta-analysis to investigate the associations. Two-pollutant models were fitted to test the robustness of the associations. Concentration-response curves from each city were pooled to allow global estimates to be derived.
On average, an increase of 10 μg per cubic meter in the 2-day moving average of PM
concentration, which represents the average over the current and previous day, was associated with increases of 0.44% (95% confidence interval CI, 0.39 to 0.50) in daily all-cause mortality, 0.36% (95% CI, 0.30 to 0.43) in daily cardiovascular mortality, and 0.47% (95% CI, 0.35 to 0.58) in daily respiratory mortality. The corresponding increases in daily mortality for the same change in PM
concentration were 0.68% (95% CI, 0.59 to 0.77), 0.55% (95% CI, 0.45 to 0.66), and 0.74% (95% CI, 0.53 to 0.95). These associations remained significant after adjustment for gaseous pollutants. Associations were stronger in locations with lower annual mean PM concentrations and higher annual mean temperatures. The pooled concentration-response curves showed a consistent increase in daily mortality with increasing PM concentration, with steeper slopes at lower PM concentrations.
Our data show independent associations between short-term exposure to PM
and PM
and daily all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in more than 600 cities across the globe. These data reinforce the evidence of a link between mortality and PM concentration established in regional and local studies. (Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and others.).
Factor Xa (FXa), a key serine protease that converts prothrombin to thrombin in the coagulation cascade, is a promising target enzyme for the prophylaxis and treatment of thromboembolic diseases. ...DU-176b is a novel antithrombotic agent that directly inhibits FXa activity.
To evaluate the in vitro pharmacological profiles and in vivo effects of DU-176b in animal models of thrombosis and bleeding.
In vitro, FXa inhibition, specificity and anticoagulant activities were examined. Oral absorption was studied in rats and cynomolgus monkeys. In vivo effects were studied in rat and rabbit models of venous thrombosis and tail bleeding.
DU-176b inhibited FXa with Ki values of 0.561 nm for free FXa, 2.98 nm for prothrombinase, and exhibited >10 000-fold selectivity for FXa. In human plasma, DU-176b doubled prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time at concentrations of 0.256 and 0.508 microm, respectively. DU-176b did not impair platelet aggregation by ADP, collagen or U46619. DU-176b was highly absorbed in rats and monkeys, as demonstrated by more potent anti-Xa activity and higher drug concentration in plasma following oral administration than a prototype FXa inhibitor, DX-9065a. In vivo, DU-176b dose-dependently inhibited thrombus formation in rat and rabbit thrombosis models, although bleeding time in rats was not significantly prolonged at an antithrombotic dose.
DU-176b is a more potent and selective FXa inhibitor with high oral bioavailability compared with its prototype, DX-9065a. DU-176b represents a promising new anticoagulant for the prophylaxis and treatment of thromboembolic diseases.
Abstract
Coherent radiation from a short bunch of electron beams is expected to be utilized as a terahertz (THz) radiation source. We have conducted an investigation on a terahertz source based on ...coherent diffraction-radiation (CDR) that possesses a unique characteristic of radial polarization and is potentially useful for certain applications. Particularly, with the high repetition beam of an energy-recovery linac, it is possible to achieve a watt-class high power source. We have designed a CDR setup and THz transport line, and subsequently measured the THz beam profile at the end of the line. The results confirmed the preservation of the distinctive characteristics of CDR within the experimental area.
Tissue engineering is a promising method for the regeneration of oral and maxillofacial tissues. Proper selection of a cell source is important for the desired application. This review describes the ...discovery and usefulness of dedifferentiated fat (DFAT) cells as a cell source for tissue engineering. Dedifferentiated Fat cells are a highly homogeneous cell population (high purity), highly proliferative, and possess a multilineage potential for differentiation into various cell types under proper in vitro inducing conditions and in vivo. Moreover, DFAT cells have a higher differentiation capability of becoming osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and adipocytes than do bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells and/or adipose tissue‐derived stem cells. The usefulness of DFAT cells in vivo for periodontal tissue, bone, peripheral nerve, muscle, cartilage, and fat tissue regeneration was reported. Dedifferentiated Fat cells obtained from the human buccal fat pad (BFP) are a minimally invasive procedure with limited esthetic complications for patients. The BFP is a convenient and accessible anatomical site to harvest DFAT cells for dentists and oral surgeons, and thus is a promising cell source for oral and maxillofacial tissue engineering.
A novel scheme for the focusing of high-energy leptons in future linear colliders was proposed in 2001 P. Raimondi and A. Seryi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3779 (2001). This scheme has many advantageous ...properties over previously studied focusing schemes, including being significantly shorter for a given energy and having a significantly better energy bandwidth. Experimental results from the ATF2 accelerator at KEK are presented that validate the operating principle of such a scheme by demonstrating the demagnification of a 1.3 GeV electron beam down to below 65 nm in height using an energy-scaled version of the compact focusing optics designed for the ILC collider.
Objectives
Many older patients with pneumonia cannot intake orally after admission and may need nutritional care such as nasogastric tube feeding or total parenteral nutrition. This study sought to ...compare in-hospital outcomes between patients receiving nasogastric tube feeding and total parenteral nutrition.
Design
This is a retrospective cohort study.
Setting
A hospital-based database constructed by the Diagnosis Procedure Combination survey data comprising more than 100 acute-care hospitals.
Participants
The study included consecutive older inpatients aged >65 years admitted to participating hospitals with a diagnosis of pneumonia from 2014 through 2017.
Measurements
We compared patients who received total parenteral nutrition and those who received nasogastric tube feeding in terms of characteristics and outcomes.
Results
Among the included inpatients, a total of 336 (73.2%) patients received total parenteral nutrition and 123 (26.8%) patients received nasogastric tube feeding. Patients with nasogastric tube feeding had less in-hospital mortality (13.8% vs 27.1%, p = 0.003) and a smaller number of complications (mean; 0.71 vs 1.44, p <0.001), shorter length of hospital stay (mean; 27.6 vs 48.9, p <0.001), more discharges home (72.4% vs 35.1%, p <0.001), and more discharges without oral intake (65.9% vs 45.8%, p <0.001) than patients with total parenteral nutrition. The same results were obtained in propensity score analysis.
Conclusions
Older patients with pneumonia treated with total parenteral nutrition were significantly more likely to have higher in-hospital mortality than those receiving nasogastric tube feeding.
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