WASP-10b: a 3M(J), gas-giant planet transiting a late-type K star

We report the discovery of WASP-10b, a new transiting extrasolar planet (ESP) discovered by the Wide Angle Search for Planets ( WASP) Consortium and confirmed using Nordic Optical Telescope FIbre-fed Echelle Spectrograph and SOPHIE radial velocity data. A 3.09-d period, 29 mmag transit depth and 2.36 h duration are derived for WASP-10b using WASP and high-precision photometric observations. Simultaneous fitting to the photometric and radial velocity data using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo procedure leads to a planet radius of 1.28R(J), a mass of 2.96M(J) and eccentricity of approximate to 0.06. WASP-10b is one of the more massive transiting ESPs, and we compare its characteristics to the current sample of transiting ESP, where there is currently little information for masses greater than approximate to 2M(J) and non-zero eccentricities. WASP-10's host star, GSC 2752-00114 (USNO-B1.0 1214-0586164) is among the fainter stars in the WASP sample, with V = 12.7 and a spectral type of K5. This result shows promise for future late-type dwarf star surveys.

Biorefining of perennial ryegrass for the production of nano-fibrillated cellulose

This study has demonstrated biorefining steps for ryegrass and silage at a pilot scale to extrude fibre cake for the production of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC), a potentially green biomaterial for replacing conventional fillers in the manufacture of polymer composites. Further treatments of processed ryegrass fibres with mechanical shearing, microfluidising, hydrochloric acid (HCl)/ sulphuric acid and a four stage {ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid, sodium hydroxide, sodium hypochlorite and HCl} hydrolysis yielded 43.8, 36.1, 25.6 and 39.8 kg t21 DM of NFCs respectively. The NFCs were characterised using microscopy, X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering, spectroscopy and thermogravimetry. The NFC had diameters from 3.0–9.1 nm and length 308 nm– 4.6 mm. NFC-polyvinyl alcohol composites containing NFC (5 wt%) exhibited enhanced Young’s modulus and thermal stability by factors of 2.5 and 2 respectively compared with control. The mass, energy, water and chemical balances of the four process steps were assessed to evaluate technical feasibility and also to provide baseline production data for scaling up. The microfluidised product has been identified as the best NFC product, but production cost needs to be reduced.

Impact of different health systems on the burden of type 2 diabetes in two populations

Objectives: Health policy directs the management of patients with chronic disease in a country, but evaluating nationwide policies is difficult, not least because of the absence of suitable comparators. This paper examines the management of patients with type 2 diabetes in two demographically comparable populations with different health care systems to see if this represents a viable approach to evaluation.

Methods: A secondary analysis of centralized prescribing databases for 2010 was undertaken to compare the levels and costs of care of patients with type 2 diabetes in Northern Ireland’s National Health Service (NHS) (NI, n = 1.8 million) which has structured care, financial incentives related to diabetes care and an emphasis on generic prescribing, with that of the Republic of Ireland (ROI, n = 4.3 million) where management of diabetes care is guided solely by clinical and other guidelines.

Results: The prevalence of treated type 2 diabetes was 3.59% in NI and 3.09% in ROI, but there were similar and high levels of prescribing of secondary cardiovascular medications. Medication costs per person for anti-diabetic, anti-obesity and cardiovascular medication were 46% higher in ROI than NI, due to differences in levels of generic prescribing.

Conclusions: These different health care systems appear to be producing similar levels of care for patients with type 2 diabetes, although at different levels of cost. The findings question the need for financial incentives in NI and highlight the large cost savings potentially accruing from a greater shift to generic prescribing in ROI. Cross-country comparison, though not without difficulties, may prove a useful adjunct to within-country analysis of policy impact.

Low alanine aminotransferase levels and higher number of cardiovascular events in people with Type 2 diabetes: analysis of the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) study.

AIMS: To determine whether alanine aminotransferase or gamma-glutamyltransferase levels, as markers of liver health and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, might predict cardiovascular events in people with Type 2 diabetes.

METHODS: Data from the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes study were analysed to examine the relationship between liver enzymes and incident cardiovascular events (non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary and other cardiovascular death, coronary or carotid revascularization) over 5 years.

RESULTS: Alanine aminotransferase level had a linear inverse relationship with the first cardiovascular event occurring in participants during the study period. After adjustment, for every 1 sd higher baseline alanine aminotransferase value (13.2 U/l), the risk of a cardiovascular event was 7% lower (95% CI 4-13; P=0.02). Participants with alanine aminotransferase levels below and above the reference range 8-41 U/l for women and 9-59 U/l for men, had hazard ratios for a cardiovascular event of 1.86 (95% CI 1.12-3.09) and 0.65 (95% CI 0.49-0.87), respectively (P=0.001). No relationship was found for gamma-glutamyltransferase.

CONCLUSIONS: The data may indicate that in people with Type 2 diabetes, which is associated with higher alanine aminotransferase levels because of prevalent non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a low alanine aminotransferase level is a marker of hepatic or systemic frailty rather than health. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.