29 research outputs found
Fibrin D-dimer, markers of coagulation activation and the risk of major ischaemic heart disease in the Caerphilly Study
No full textWe have previously reported that plasma fibrin D-dimer (a marker of turnover of cross-linked Fibrin) showed a strong and independent association with incident ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in the Caerphilly Study cohort of 1,998 men a-ed 49-65. To establish the specificity of this finding, we assayed plasma samples from this cohort with a more specific assay for fibrin D-dimer: this showed an association with incident IHD which was at least as strong and independent as that for the original assay (odds ratio, OR for top fifth compared to bottom fifth 3.79; 95% CI 1.77-8.10; p lt 0.0001). To establish potential causes of the increased fibrin turnover. we also assayed several potential markers of coagulation activation or thrombotic tendency (prothrombin fragment F1+2, thrombin- antithrombin complexes, factor VIIc, activated partial thromboplastin time [APTT] and activated protein C resistance): none of these variables were associated with incident IHD in this cohort. We suggest that further studies are required to establish the causes of increased cross-linked fibrin turnover, which is associated with incident IHD in the general population when measured by a specific assay
Inactivation and transmission studies of the carnation viruses mosaic and streak
No full textTypescript (photocopy)
D-dimer predicts early clinical progression in ischemic stroke: confirmation using routine clinical assays
No full text<p><b>Background and Purpose:</b> Plasma D-dimer levels, measured using a research laboratory assay, independently predict progressing ischemic stroke. We wished to confirm these findings using commercially available assays and to provide data to allow the design of intervention studies.</p>
<p><b>Methods:</b> We studied 219 consecutive acute ischemic stroke admissions of whom 54 (25%) met criteria for progressing stroke.</p>
<p><b>Results:</b> There were strong correlations between D-dimer results as measured by the Biopool AB, MDA and VIDAS assays; correlation coefficients r=0.91 to 0.94; all P<0.001. In binary logistic regression analyses, D-dimer, as measured by the 3 different assays, was an independent predictor of progressing stroke (odds ratios, 1.87 to 2.45; all P<0.001). This confirms the results of our original analysis (Biopool AB) using 2 commercial D-dimer assays, demonstrating the potential usefulness of D-dimer in providing early prognostic information after ischemic stroke in different clinical settings. We also provide information on the performance of the 3 assays in predicting progressing stroke at a variety of cutoff values.</p>
<p><b>Conclusions:</b> Ischemic stroke patients at high risk of early progression can be identified using commercial D-dimer measurements. This could allow selection of high-risk patients for inclusion in randomized trials of early antithrombotic treatments.</p>
Fire protection talk to be given by Block Managers
No full textAdvertisement for fire prevention talk at Heart Mountain incarceration camp and report on fire hazards and fire safety measures.The Japanese American Archival Collection documents the people, places, and daily life of Japanese Americans, primarily those who lived in the once thriving community of pre-war Florin in the Sacramento region, as well as the conditions in American incarceration camps during World War II. The approximately 7,000 original items include personal and official letters, photographs, diaries, arts and crafts, newsletters, textiles, camps artifacts, yearbooks and other publications
Activated Protein C Resistance and the FV:R506Q Mutation in a Random Population Sample
No full textSummaryActivated protein C (APC) resistance, defined as a low APC ratio, is associated with the factor V mutation R506Q (factor V Leiden). APC ratio may also be influenced by other clinical and coagulation variables, which we studied in 460 men and 495 women aged 25-74 years, from a random population sample (Glasgow MONICA Survey). APC ratio correlated positively with APTT; and inversely with factor VIIIc, factor IXc, antithrombin activity, prothrombin F1+2 fragment, and thrombinantithrombin complexes; but not with other coagulation variables. APC ratio decreased with age, but APTT did not. APC ratio and APTT were significantly lower in women versus men, and were significantly lower in users of oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy. The FV:R506Q mutation (prevalence 2.5%) was associated with lower APC ratio and protein C and S activities and with higher factor VIIIc levels; but not with increases in F1+2 fragment or thrombin-antithrombin complexes. APC ratio correlated inversely with total cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure; and in women with triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index. Obesity was associated with a significantly lower APC ratio. In contrast, smoking markers correlated positively with APC ratio in men. These associations of APC ratio may be relevant to the increased risks of venous thrombosis with age, female sex, oestrogen use, obesity and high factor VIIIc levels. The association of APC resistance with elevated plasma levels of coagulation markers suggests that this phenotype represents an in vivo hypercoagulable state.Current address: Dr. E. Reid, Department of Medical Genetics, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, UK</jats:p
Project Retrosight. Understanding the returns from cardiovascular and stroke research: Case Studies
No full textCopyright @ 2011 RAND Europe. All rights reserved. The full text article is available via the link below.This project explores the impacts arising from cardiovascular and stroke research funded 15-20 years ago and attempts to draw out aspects of the research, researcher or environment that are associated with high or low impact. The project is a case study-based review of 29 cardiovascular and stroke research grants, funded in Australia, Canada and UK between 1989 and 1993. The case studies focused on the individual grants but considered the development of the investigators and ideas involved in the research projects from initiation to the present day. Grants were selected through a stratified random selection approach that aimed to include both high- and low-impact grants. The key messages are as follows: 1) The cases reveal that a large and diverse range of impacts arose from the 29 grants studied. 2) There are variations between the impacts derived from basic biomedical and clinical research. 3) There is no correlation between knowledge production and wider impacts 4) The majority of economic impacts identified come from a minority of projects. 5) We identified factors that appear to be associated with high and low impact. This report presents the key observations of the study and an overview of the methods involved. It has been written for funders of biomedical and health research and health services, health researchers, and policy makers in those fields. It will also be of interest to those involved in research and impact evaluation.This study was initiated with internal funding from RAND Europe and HERG, with continuing funding from the UK National Institute for Health Research, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the National Heart Foundation of Australia. The UK Stroke Association and the British Heart Foundation provided support in kind through access to their archives
Compiler-Assisted Source-to-Source Skeletonization of Application Models for System Simulation
No full textA greener plan for public housing: a study of Colorado Housing Authorties' utilization of green built technology
No full text2011 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.Reducing energy usage, or at least controlling energy consumption, is an important goal for Colorado Housing Authorities (CHAs). Additional goals include preventing the escalation of property rents, i.e., energy costs, as well as controlling administrative costs that result from high energy usage. Observational data, however, suggests that only a limited number of CHAs have undertaken energy conservation measures. This study examines current energy savings program implementation among CHAs. More specifically, the study will investigate how CHAs incorporate energy efficient technologies into existing facility maintenance as well as new property construction. Currently, information identifying a baseline of energy conservation by CHAs does not exist, and it the motivation of this study. Baseline energy conservation data will assist CHAs, as well as funding agencies, to identify current levels of technology implementation to use as a planning tool for current and future energy projects. The purposed methodological approach will incorporate the use of a census design, which will examine current attitudes, beliefs, opinions and practices of CHAs
Yilgarn: Good country for hardy people: The landscape and people of the Yilgarn Shire, Western Australia
No full textThis study of the environment and people of the Yilgarn region of Western Australia grew from a decision of the Shire of Yilgarn to commemorate the centenary of the discovery of commercial deposits of gold in the district in 1887-1888. The idea stemmed from the vision of Mr Romolo Patroni who saw the need to record the experiences of Yilgarn pioneers. He convinced the shire council under Cr Kenneth Beaton, president, 1972-1982, to publish a history of the district. The plan was fostered by Cr John Panizza, who became shire president in 1982 and brought to fruition by Cr Patroni who took the presidency in 1987.
An approach by the shire to the Mount Lawley College of Advanced Education for advice on the project was opportune. As head of the college\u27s Social Sciences Department, I had been looking for an opportunity to involve students in field studies at undergraduate level, particularly in history, geography and sociology. This method of involving students in research had been pioneered by Jim Faull of Hartley C.A.E. in South Australia who, with a group of students and colleagues had written Melrose, Child of the Mountain, which was published in 1979. Dr Neil Stewart, the director of Mount Lawley C.A.E., backed the proposal enthusiastically and as a consequence, an agreement was reached between the college and the shire to write a book on the Yilgarn district.
From the start it was intended that the study would be well illustrated and lively in tone and would avoid becoming too theoretical in its content. However, it was decided to avoid a purely popular approach by investigating the Yilgarn from a range of perspectives both scientific and behavioural in nature. The consequence is this book which includes three scientific studies by Graham Pike, Lindsay Hunter and Bill Foulds and seven chapters contributed by historians Neville Green and John McKenzie; sociologist, Lynne Hunt; economist, John Prestage and geographers, David Murray, Dennis Rumley and Alan May, in addition to my own historical chapter. I have very much appreciated the scholarship and co-operation of my colleagues in producing this work.
The advantage of building a book from the contributions of several authors is the broad scope of the study which is possible. Potential disadvantages include lack of continuity and duplication. I hope that in the present study the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and that the content is not repeated except as necessary to establish each writer\u27s argument. As it is, each chapter stands alone and is the sole responsibility of the author. The result is that the chapters can be read individually, yet they combine to provide a picture of the Yilgarn landscape and of the experiences of its people..
Socioeconomic position and coronary heart disease in older age: associations and possible pathways
No full textLow socioeconomic position is known to be associated with greater coronary heart
disease (CHD) risk in most developed countries. However, studies have largely focused
on the association between socioeconomic position and CHD in middle-aged
populations and little is known about the extent to which socioeconomic position affects
CHD risk in later life. This thesis uses the British Regional Heart Study, a populationbased
cohort of British men to investigate the extent of socioeconomic inequalities in
CHD in older age and the possible pathways to these inequalities. Issues addressed in
detail include trends in socioeconomic inequalities in CHD with increasing age and over
time, the extent of socioeconomic inequalities in CHD in older age (60-79 years), the
contribution of established and novel coronary risk factors to these inequalities, and the
influence of early life socioeconomic position on CHD risk in later life. Although CHD
mortality declined over the last two decades in Britain, relative social class differences
in CHD did not narrow between 1980 and 2005. With increasing age (from 40-59 years
to 65-84 years), relative social class inequalities in CHD narrowed, although absolute
differences widened with age. Marked socioeconomic differences in CHD were present
in older age; CHD risk increased from the highest to the lowest social class group.
Socioeconomic differences in behavioural coronary risk factors (particularly cigarette
smoking) could explain at least a third of these inequalities; inflammatory markers
made some additional contribution. Lower socioeconomic position in childhood was
associated with increased CHD risk in older age; part of this association was due to the
relationship of childhood socioeconomic position with adult behavioural factors.
Appreciable socioeconomic inequalities were also present in disability among older
men with CHD. The results suggest that important socioeconomic inequalities in CHD
persist in older age; the implications for public health and further epidemiological
research are discussed
