We report a measurement of the E-mode polarization power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) using 150 GHz data taken from 2014 July to 2016 December with the Polarbear experiment. We ...reach an effective polarization map noise level of - across an observation area of 670 square degrees. We measure the EE power spectrum over the angular multipole range , tracing the third to seventh acoustic peaks with high sensitivity. The statistical uncertainty on E-mode bandpowers is ∼2.3 at , with a systematic uncertainty of 0.5 . The data are consistent with the standard ΛCDM cosmological model with a probability-to-exceed of 0.38. We combine recent CMB E-mode measurements and make inferences about cosmological parameters in ΛCDM as well as in extensions to ΛCDM. Adding the ground-based CMB polarization measurements to the Planck data set reduces the uncertainty on the Hubble constant by a factor of 1.2 to . When allowing the number of relativistic species ( ) to vary, we find , which is in good agreement with the standard value of 3.046. Instead allowing the primordial helium abundance ( ) to vary, the data favor . This is very close to the expectation of 0.2467 from big bang nucleosynthesis. When varying both and , we find and .
Aims/hypothesis The transcription factor 7-like 2 gene (TCF7L2) has been shown to be strongly associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in white populations. To further investigate the ...involvement of TCF7L2 in conferring susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, we examined the association of TCF7L2 polymorphisms with type 2 diabetes in a Japanese population. Subjects and methods We analysed four SNPs (rs12255372, rs7903146, rs7901695 and rs11196205) and one tetranucleotide repeat polymorphism (DG10S478) in 1,630 Japanese subjects with type 2 diabetes and 1,064 control subjects. Results All investigated polymorphisms were significantly associated with type 2 diabetes, and rs12255372 showed the strongest association (T vs G, χ ² = 9.20, p = 0.0024, odds ratio = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.20-2.41), although the frequency of the risk allele in our population was much lower than that in white populations. The microsatellite polymorphism showed an almost complete linkage disequilibrium to rs1255372 when the alleles with longer repeats (+8, +12) were considered as minor alleles and showed an association with type 2 diabetes (χ ² = 5.34, p = 0.021, odds ratio = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.06-2.12). Conclusions/interpretation These results indicate that TCF7L2 might be a strong candidate for conferring susceptibility to type 2 diabetes across different ethnicities.
TRIB3 is a human homologue of Drosophila tribbles. Previous studies have shown that TRIB3 controls the cell growth through ubiquitination-dependent degradation of other proteins, whereas its ...significance in the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) is not yet fully understood.
This study comprised 202 patients who underwent surgery for CRC, as well as 22 cell lines derived from human gastrointestinal cancer. The correlation of gene expression with clinical parameters in patients was assessed. The biological significance was evaluated by knockdown experiments in seven colorectal cancer cell lines.
A total of 20 cancer cell lines (90.9%) expressed the TRIB3 gene. The assessment in surgical specimens indicated that the gene expression was significantly higher in the cancerous region than in the marginal non-cancerous region. Patients with high TRIB3 expression were statistically susceptible to a recurrence of the disease, and showed poorer overall survival than those with low expression. The assessment of TRIB3 knockdown in five cell lines showed that small interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibition resulted in a statistically significant reduction in cell growth.
These data strongly suggest the usefulness of TRIB3 as a marker for predicting the prognosis of CRC patients, showing a basis for the development of effective treatments for CRC.
We present a measurement of the gravitational lensing deflection power spectrum reconstructed with two seasons of cosmic microwave background polarization data from the Polarbear experiment. ...Observations were taken at 150 GHz from 2012 to 2014 and surveyed three patches of sky totaling 30 square degrees. We test the consistency of the lensing spectrum with a cold dark matter cosmology and reject the no-lensing hypothesis at a confidence of 10.9 , including statistical and systematic uncertainties. We observe a value of AL = 1.33 0.32 (statistical) 0.02 (systematic) 0.07 (foreground) using all polarization lensing estimators, which corresponds to a 24% accurate measurement of the lensing amplitude. Compared to the analysis of the first-year data, we have improved the breadth of both the suite of null tests and the error terms included in the estimation of systematic contamination.
This study investigates the spatial and temporal distribution of energy release of large, intermediate‐depth earthquakes using a modified back projection technique first used to study the 2004 ...Sumatra‐Andaman megathrust event. Multiple seismic phases are included in the back projection analysis, which provides the capability to determine the energy distribution with respect to depth and time. A total of 22 intermediate‐depth earthquakes with moment magnitudes greater than or equal to 6.5 are investigated with hypocentral depths between 100 and 300 km. For most of these events, the vertical extent of energy release is either below the resolution of this study (≤5 km) or slightly above (≤15 km). This observation agrees with previous studies that find large, intermediate‐depth earthquakes have subhorizontal rupture planes. The results also show a significant portion of the events have multiple rupture planes that are well separated in depth. The closeness in time of the ruptures on separate planes and the distance between the planes suggest dynamic triggering where the P waves from the first rupture initiate rupture on the second plane. We propose that a dehydration embrittlement mechanism combined with preferentially hydrated subhorizontal faults can explain the observations of dominant subhorizontal rupture planes and the frequent occurrence of rupture complexity involving multiple subevents.
Key Points
Large, intermediate‐depth events commonly have subhorizontal rupture planes
Our results suggest that dynamic triggering is common for these events
Preferential rehydration of subhorizontal faults may explain these results
Background:
The worldwide demand for ECMO support has grown. Its provision remains limited due to several factors (high cost, complicated technology, lack of expertise) that increase healthcare cost. ...Our goal was to assess if an intensive care unit (ICU)-run ECMO model without continuous bedside perfusionists would decrease costs while maintaining patient safety and outcomes.
Method:
A new ECMO program was implemented in 2010, consisting of dedicated ICU multidisciplinary providers (ICU-registered nurses, mid-level providers and intensivists). In year one, we introduced an education platform, new technology and dedicated space. In year two, continuous bedside monitoring by perfusionists was removed and new management algorithms designating multidisciplinary providers as first responders were established. The patient safety and cost benefit from the removal of the continuous bedside monitoring of the perfusionists of this new ECMO program was retrospectively reviewed and compared.
Results:
During the study period, 74 patients (28 patients in year 1 and 46 patients in year 2) were placed on ECMO (mean days: 8 ± 5.7). The total annual hospital expenditure for the ECMO program was significantly reduced in the new model ($234,000 in year 2 vs. $600,264 in year 1), showing a 61% decrease in cost. This cost decrease was attributed to a decreased utilization of perfusion services and the introduction of longer lasting and more efficient ECMO technology. We did not find any significant changes in registered nurse ratios or any differences in outcomes related to ICU safety events.
Conclusion:
We demonstrated that the ICU-run ECMO model managed to lower hospital cost by reducing the cost of continuous bedside perfusion support without a change in outcomes.
The aims of the present study are to characterize the intestinal microbial community displaying a high-adhesive capability in fish, and to evaluate the relationship between mucosal adhesion of ...intestinal bacteria and fish health and disease. A total of 707 aerobic bacteria isolated from carp intestine that were maintained under either feeding (feeding group) or no-feeding (no-feeding group) conditions and were performed adhesive assay. Isolates were divided into three categories on the basis of adhesive capability: high-, medium-, and low- adhesive capabilities. The average proportions of isolates with high-adhesive capability in the feeding and no-feeding groups were 30% and 32%, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis using a partial 16S rRNA gene demonstrated that most isolates with high-adhesive capability in both groups were classified as belonging to an Aeromonas group, and populations of isolates within high- and low-adhesive categories were markedly different. Intestinal bacteria with a high-adhesive capability in relation to intestinal mucous always colonize on the surface of intestinal mucosa and grow in the intestinal tract of feeding carp. The adhesive capability of intestinal bacteria is essential for colonization and growth in the intestinal tract of fish. Our results indicate that members of the Aeromonas group with adhesive capability always colonize on the surface of intestinal mucosa.
PDF
