30 research outputs found
Postcyberpunk features in the Luben Dilov’s novel «Choosing oneself»
No full textCтаття присвячена актуальній проблемі функціонування посткіберпанку у
фантастичному романі відомого сучасного болгарського письменника. У роботі
названі основні риси посткіберпанку та визначено особливості їх реалізації у тексті. Наголошено на авторському осмисленні окремих екзистенціалів (безсмертя,
самовизначення, сумнів, песимізм, абсурд) як однієї з рис посткіберпанку. Визначено специфіку зображення сновидінь в онейросфері постмодерністського роману,
яка обумовлена авторською настановою зображення боротьби протилежних начал у душі героя, аналізом особливостей його свідомості, творенням нової міфології. Вказані можливі напрями для подальшого дослідження твору: проблематика
сексуальності, фройдизму, оніричного дискурсу.Статья посвящена актуальной проблеме функционирования посткиберпанка в фантастическом романе известного современного болгарского писателя. В
работе названы основные черты посткиберпанка и определены особенности их
реализации в тексте. Отмечено авторское осмысление отдельных экзистенциалов (бессмертие, самоопределение, сомнение, пессимизм, абсурд) как одна из черт
посткиберпанка. Определена специфика изображения сновидений в онейросфере
постмодернистского романа. Указаны возможные направления для дальнейшего
исследования произведения: проблематика сексуальности, фрейдизма, сновидений.The article «Postcyberpunk features in the Luben Dilov’s novel «Choosing Oneself»
is dedicated to the problem of the postcyberpunk’s functioning in the science fiction novel
of the well-known Bulgarian modern writer. The main features of postcyberpunk and
their implementation in the text are analyzed. The functioning of postmodern fiction with
typical for the Bulgarian literature of early 2000s genre diffusion — a combination of techniques
and themes of science fiction, cyberpunk, dystopian — is called by the scientists (eg,
L. Person) postcyberpunk.
It is stated that the work of the Bulgarian writer is highly existential, therefore the
categories of immortality, self determining, exhaustion, doubt, despair, pessimism, death,
immortality absurdity are examined. The author focuses on the question of human immortality:
whether a person who has died several times can be treated as a person and,
ultimately, what is a person? The suffering man «without hope» who doesn’t belong to the
future any longer is a classic type of the existential literature. The postmodern principle of
character destruction realises not only at the psychological and social levels, but also at the
level of actual existence. The scientist Daniel Dimih didn’t exist any more, he was replaced
by the biorobot Brain. Trying to stay a human being when the physical transformations
have turned it into something else bring Luben Dilov closer to the advanced researches of
postcyberpunk.
The specificity of dreams’ images in the postmodern novel is analyzed. A dream in the
novel manifasts itself at several levels: as an actual state of unconsciousness, as a dream
reality and as an alternative space. The possible directions for the further investigations
are: sexuality, Freudism, dream discourse.There are the following elements available in the postcyberpunk novel «Choosing
Oneself»: cyberspace, direct connection of the human brain to the computer systems, artificial
intelligence, bioimplant, nanotechnology, quantum physics, genetic engineering,
social character, an attempt to help humanity, biopunk, cosmopunk. Luben Dilov in his
novel gives new sense to such characteristics of postmodern aesthetics as destruction of
character, the collapse of rationalism, the death of author ect. The article enables the
exploring of the three realities functioning — real, dream and literary. The author points
out that the novel gives many ways of reading and understanding
Interethnic differences in the accuracy of anthropometric indicators of obesity in screening for high risk of coronary heart disease.
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Cut points for defining obesity have been derived from mortality data among Whites from Europe and the United States and their accuracy to screen for high risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in other ethnic groups has been questioned. OBJECTIVE: To compare the accuracy and to define ethnic and gender-specific optimal cut points for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) when they are used in screening for high risk of CHD in the Latin-American and the US populations. METHODS: We estimated the accuracy and optimal cut points for BMI, WC and WHR to screen for CHD risk in Latin Americans (n=18 976), non-Hispanic Whites (Whites; n=8956), non-Hispanic Blacks (Blacks; n=5205) and Hispanics (n=5803). High risk of CHD was defined as a 10-year risk > or =20% (Framingham equation). The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) and the misclassification-cost term were used to assess accuracy and to identify optimal cut points. RESULTS: WHR had the highest AUC in all ethnic groups (from 0.75 to 0.82) and BMI had the lowest (from 0.50 to 0.59). Optimal cut point for BMI was similar across ethnic/gender groups (27 kg/m(2)). In women, cut points for WC (94 cm) and WHR (0.91) were consistent by ethnicity. In men, cut points for WC and WHR varied significantly with ethnicity: from 91 cm in Latin Americans to 102 cm in Whites, and from 0.94 in Latin Americans to 0.99 in Hispanics, respectively. CONCLUSION: WHR is the most accurate anthropometric indicator to screen for high risk of CHD, whereas BMI is almost uninformative. The same BMI cut point should be used in all men and women. Unique cut points for WC and WHR should be used in all women, but ethnic-specific cut points seem warranted among men
Identification of heart rate-associated loci and their effects on cardiac conduction and rhythm disorders
Get PDFElevated resting heart rate is associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. In a 2-stage meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in up to 181,171 individuals, we identified 14 new loci associated with heart rate and confirmed associations with all 7 previously established loci. Experimental downregulation of gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster and Danio rerio identified 20 genes at 11 loci that are relevant for heart rate regulation and highlight a role for genes involved in signal transmission, embryonic cardiac development and the pathophysiology of dilated cardiomyopathy, congenital heart failure and/or sudden cardiac death. In addition, genetic susceptibility to increased heart rate is associated with altered cardiac conduction and reduced risk of sick sinus syndrome, and both heart rate-increasing and heart rate-decreasing variants associate with risk of atrial fibrillation. Our findings provide fresh insights into the mechanisms regulating heart rate and identify new therapeutic targets
Assessing interactions between the associations of common genetic susceptibility variants, reproductive history and body mass index with breast cancer risk in the breast cancer association consortium: a combined case-control study.
Get PDFINTRODUCTION: Several common breast cancer genetic susceptibility variants have recently been identified. We aimed to determine how these variants combine with a subset of other known risk factors to influence breast cancer risk in white women of European ancestry using case-control studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. METHODS: We evaluated two-way interactions between each of age at menarche, ever having had a live birth, number of live births, age at first birth and body mass index (BMI) and each of 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (10q26-rs2981582 (FGFR2), 8q24-rs13281615, 11p15-rs3817198 (LSP1), 5q11-rs889312 (MAP3K1), 16q12-rs3803662 (TOX3), 2q35-rs13387042, 5p12-rs10941679 (MRPS30), 17q23-rs6504950 (COX11), 3p24-rs4973768 (SLC4A7), CASP8-rs17468277, TGFB1-rs1982073 and ESR1-rs3020314). Interactions were tested for by fitting logistic regression models including per-allele and linear trend main effects for SNPs and risk factors, respectively, and single-parameter interaction terms for linear departure from independent multiplicative effects. RESULTS: These analyses were applied to data for up to 26,349 invasive breast cancer cases and up to 32,208 controls from 21 case-control studies. No statistical evidence of interaction was observed beyond that expected by chance. Analyses were repeated using data from 11 population-based studies, and results were very similar. CONCLUSIONS: The relative risks for breast cancer associated with the common susceptibility variants identified to date do not appear to vary across women with different reproductive histories or body mass index (BMI). The assumption of multiplicative combined effects for these established genetic and other risk factors in risk prediction models appears justified
The influence of formulation and medicine delivery system on medication administration errors in care homes for older people.
Get PDFINTRODUCTION: Older people in care homes are at increased risk of medication errors and adverse drug events. The effect of formulation on administration errors is not known, that is whether the medicine is a tablet or capsule, liquid or device such as an inhaler. Also, the impact on administration errors of monitored dosage systems (MDS), commonly used in UK care homes to dispense tablets and capsules, is not known. This study investigated the influence of formulation and MDS on administration errors. METHODS: Administration errors were identified by pharmacists (using validated definitions) observing two drug rounds of residents randomly selected from a purposive sample of UK nursing and residential homes. Errors were classified and analysed by formulation and medicine delivery system. RESULTS: The odds of administration errors by formulation, when compared with tablets and capsules in MDS, were: liquids 4.31 (95% CI 2.02 to 9.21; p = 0.0002); topicals/transdermals/injections 19.61 (95% CI 6.90 to 55.73; p < 0.0001); inhalers 33.58 (95% CI 12.51 to 90.19; p < 0.0001). The odds of administration errors for tablets and capsules not in MDS were double those that were dispensed in MDS (adjusted OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.02 to 4.51; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Inhalers and liquid medicines were associated with significantly increased odds of administration errors. Training of staff in safe administration of these formulations needs implementing. Although there was some evidence that MDS reduced the odds of an administration error, the use of MDS impacts on other aspects of medicines management. Because of this, and as the primary topic of our study was not MDS, a prospective trial specifically designed to evaluate the overall impact of MDS on medicine management in care homes is needed
Weather, day length and physical activity in older adults: Cross-sectional results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Norfolk Cohort
Get PDF\ua9 2017 Wu et al.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background A wide range of environmental factors have been related to active ageing, but few studies have explored the impact of weather and day length on physical activity in older adults. We investigate the cross-sectional association between weather conditions, day length and activity in older adults using a population-based cohort in England, the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Norfolk study. Methods Physical activity was measured objectively over 7 days using an accelerometer and this was used to calculate daily total physical activity (counts per minute), daily minutes of sedentary behaviour and light, moderate and vigorous physical activity (LMVPA). Day length and two types of weather conditions, precipitation and temperature, were obtained from a local weather station. The association between these variables and physical activity was examined by multilevel first-order autoregressive modelling. Results After adjusting for individual factors, short day length and poor weather conditions, including high precipitation and low temperatures, were associated with up to 10% lower average physical activity (p<0.01) and 8 minutes less time spent in LMVPA but 15 minutes more sedentary time, compared to the best conditions. Conclusion Day length and weather conditions appear to be an important factor related to active ageing. Future work should focus on developing potential interventions to reduce their impact on physical activity behaviours in older adults
Meta-analysis identifies 13 new loci associated with waist-hip ratio and reveals sexual dimorphism in the genetic basis of fat distribution
Get PDFWaist-hip ratio (WHR) is a measure of body fat distribution and a predictor of metabolic consequences independent of overall adiposity. WHR is heritable, but few genetic variants influencing this trait have been identified. We conducted a meta-analysis of 32 genome-wide association studies for WHR adjusted for body mass index (comprising up to 77,167 participants), following up 16 loci in an additional 29 studies (comprising up to 113,636 subjects). We identified 13 new loci in or near RSPO3, VEGFA, TBX15-WARS2, NFE2L3, GRB14, DNM3-PIGC, ITPR2-SSPN, LY86, HOXC13, ADAMTS9, ZNRF3-KREMEN1, NISCH-STAB1 and CPEB4 (P = 1.9 × 10⁻⁹ to P = 1.8 × 10⁻⁴⁰) and the known signal at LYPLAL1. Seven of these loci exhibited marked sexual dimorphism, all with a stronger effect on WHR in women than men (P for sex difference = 1.9 × 10⁻³ to P = 1.2 × 10⁻¹³). These findings provide evidence for multiple loci that modulate body fat distribution independent of overall adiposity and reveal strong gene-by-sex interactions
Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index
Get PDFObesity is globally prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined associations between body mass index and similar to 2.8 million SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with targeted follow up of 42 SNPs in up to 125,931 additional individuals. We confirmed 14 known obesity susceptibility loci and identified 18 new loci associated with body mass index (P < 5 x 10(-8)), one of which includes a copy number variant near GPRC5B. Some loci (at MC4R, POMC, SH2B1 and BDNF) map near key hypothalamic regulators of energy balance, and one of these loci is near GIPR, an incretin receptor. Furthermore, genes in other newly associated loci may provide new insights into human body weight regulation
Home and community based parenting support programmes and interventions: report of Workpackage 2 of the DataPrev project
Get PDFThe last decade has witnessed an increasing interest in the promotion of mental health and wellbeing because of its importance for health and social functioning at the individual level and for the social and economic wellbeing of societies. Recent research from a range of disciplines has highlighted the importance of the quality of the parent-child relationships and parenting on children‟s emotional and social development, and on adult mental health and wellbeing. Intervention studies involving children of all age groups have shown that if parenting can be influenced for the better outcomes can be changed.
The DataPrev project was funded by the 6th Framework of the European Community Research Programme under Policy-Orientated Research with the aim of establishing a database of evidence-based programmes in Europe that promote mental health and wellbeing and prevent mental illness throughout the life course.
This is the report of the Workpackage 2 describing the international evidence base on programmes to support parenting, including home and community based programmes
Erratum: No association of alcohol use and the risk of ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease: Data from a European Prospective cohort study (EPIC) (European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2017) 71 (512-518) DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2016.271)
No full textSince the publication of this article, the authors have noticed an error in author affiliation 1. The correct affiliation is: Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition, Potsdam, Germany. The PDF and html versions have been amended. The authors apologise for any inconvenience caused
