Assessing the Influence of Acoustic Variation on the Acquisition of Bathymetric Surveying Data

[author abstract] The field of hydrographic surveying is inherently important to achieving a true understanding of the world that underlies the vast bodies of water that cover the earth. In this study I will determine the uncertainties of depth estimates of the seafloor that relate to the survey design and sound velocity. The survey design and collection of sound velocity were all conducted of the coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. near the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The assessment will show how the change in sound velocity over time will influence the bathymetric reading, if not corrected for. The differences in bathymetric depth readings will show a correlation to the changes in sound velocity.

(Dis)located Olympic Patriots: Sporting Connections, Administrative Communications and Imperial Ether in Interwar New Zealand

During the interwar period (1919–1939), protagonists of the early New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) worked to renegotiate and improve the country's international sporting participation and involvement in the International Olympic Committee. To this end, NZOC effectively used its locally based administrators and well-placed expatriates in Britain to variously assert the organization's nascent autonomy, independence and political power, progress Antipodean athlete's causes and counter any potential doubt about the nation's peripheral position in imperial sporting dialogues. Adding to the corpus of scholarship on New Zealand's ties and tribulations with imperial Britain, both in and beyond sport (e.g. Beilharz and Cox, 2007, “Settler Capitalism Revisited,” Thesis Eleven 88: 112–124; Belich, 2001, Paradise Reforged: A History of the New Zealanders from the 1880s to the Year 2000, Auckland: Allen Lane; Belich, 2007, Making Peoples: A History of the New Zealanders from Polynesian Settlement to the End of the Nineteenth Century, Auckland: The Penguin Group; Coombes, 2006, Rethinking Settler Colonialism: History and Memory in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand and South Africa, Manchester: Manchester University Press; MacLean, 2010, “New Zealand (Aotearoa),” In Routledge Companion to Sports History, edited by Steve W. Pope and John Nauright, 510–525, London: Routledge; Phillips, 1984, “Rugby, War and the Mythology of the New Zealand Male,” The New Zealand Journal of History 18 (1): 83–103; Phillips, 1987, A Man's Country: The Image of the Pakeha Male, Auckland: Penguin Books; Ryan, 2004, The Making of New Zealand Cricket, 1832–1914, London: Frank Cass; Ryan, 2005, Tackling Rugby Myths: Rugby and New Zealand Society 1854–2004, Dunedin: University of Otago Press; Ryan, 2007, “Sport in 19th-Century Aotearoa/New Zealand: Opportunities and Constraints,” In Sport in Aotearoa/New Zealand Society, edited by Chris Collins and Steve Jackson, 96–111, Auckland: Thomson), I will examine how the political actions and strategic location of three key NZOC agents (specifically, administrator Harry Amos and expatriates Arthur Porritt and Jack Lovelock) worked in their own particular ways to assert the position of the organization within the global Olympic fraternity. I argue that the efforts of Amos, Porritt and Lovelock also concomitantly served to remind Commonwealth sporting colleagues (namely Britain and Australia) that New Zealand could not be characterized as, or relegated to being, a distal, subdued or subservient colonial sporting partner. Subsequently, I contend that NZOC's development during the interwar period, and particularly the utility of expatriate agents, can be contextualized against historiographical shifts that encourage us to rethink, reimagine and rework narratives of empire, colonization, national identity, commonwealth and belonging.

Mind in Dispute: The Section on Mind in Harivarman’s *Tattvasiddhi

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2015

Prediction of breast cancer risk based on profiling with common genetic variants

BACKGROUND: Data for multiple common susceptibility alleles for breast cancer may be combined to identify women at different levels of breast cancer risk. Such stratification could guide preventive and screening strategies. However, empirical evidence for genetic risk stratification is lacking. METHODS: We investigated the value of using 77 breast cancer-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for risk stratification, in a study of 33 673 breast cancer cases and 33 381 control women of European origin. We tested all possible pair-wise multiplicative interactions and constructed a 77-SNP polygenic risk score (PRS) for breast cancer overall and by estrogen receptor (ER) status. Absolute risks of breast cancer by PRS were derived from relative risk estimates and UK incidence and mortality rates. RESULTS: There was no strong evidence for departure from a multiplicative model for any SNP pair. Women in the highest 1% of the PRS had a three-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer compared with women in the middle quintile (odds ratio [OR] = 3.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.95 to 3.83). The ORs for ER-positive and ER-negative disease were 3.73 (95% CI = 3.24 to 4.30) and 2.80 (95% CI = 2.26 to 3.46), respectively. Lifetime risk of breast cancer for women in the lowest and highest quintiles of the PRS were 5.2% and 16.6% for a woman without family history, and 8.6% and 24.4% for a woman with a first-degree family history of breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The PRS stratifies breast cancer risk in women both with and without a family history of breast cancer. The observed level of risk discrimination could inform targeted screening and prevention strategies. Further discrimination may be achievable through combining the PRS with lifestyle/environmental factors, although these were not considered in this report.

Liver fat in adults with GH deficiency: comparison to matched controls and the effect of GH replacement

CONTEXT: Existing data regarding the association between growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and liver fat content are conflicting. OBJECTIVE: We aimed i) to assess intrahepatocellular lipid (IHCL) content in hypopituitary adults with GHD compared to matched controls and ii) to evaluate the effect of growth hormone (GH) replacement on IHCL content. DESIGN: Cross-sectional comparison and controlled intervention study. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional comparison: 22 hypopituitary adults with GHD and 44 healthy controls matched for age, BMI, gender and ethnicity. Intervention study: 9 GHD patients starting GH replacement (GH Rx group), 9 GHD patients not starting replacement therapy (non-GH Rx group). INTERVENTION: Intervention study:GH replacement for 6 months in the GH Rx group, dosage was titrated to achieve normal IGF-1 levels. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: IHCL content determined by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1 H MRS). RESULTS: Cross-sectional comparison: There was no difference in IHCL content between GHD patients and healthy controls (1.89% (0.30, 4.03) vs. 1.14% (0.22, 2.32); p=0.2), the prevalence of patients with hepatic steatosis (IHCL of ≥ 5.56%) was similar in the two groups (22.7% vs. 15.9%; chi square probability = 0.4). Intervention study: The change in IHCL content over 6 months did not differ between the GH Rx group and the non-GH Rx group (-0.63 ± 4.53% vs. +0.11 ± 1.46%; p=0.6). CONCLUSIONS: In our study liver fat content and the prevalence of hepatic steatosis did not differ between hypopituitary adults with GHD and matched controls. In GHD patients GH replacement had no effect on liver fat content.

O Volume da Aurícula Esquerda como Marcador Ecocardiográfico de Prognóstico em Doentes com Miocardiopatia Dilatada

Introdução: O aumento da aurícula esquerda (AE) é um marcador de mortalidade na população geral. Os doentes com miocardiopatia dilatada (MCD) têm um amplo espetro de tamanhos deAE, mas a importância clínica desta observação tem sido pouco estudada. Objectivo: Avaliar a importância prognóstica a longo prazo do volume da AE (VAE) em doentes com MCD. Métodos: Estudo prospetivo de doentes admitidos durante o ano de 2004 com o diagnóstico deMCD, em ritmo sinusal. Foi realizado estudo ecocardiográfico completo em repouso e após stress farmacológico. O endpoint composto considerou a assistência ventricular mecânica (AVM), a transplantação cardíaca ou a morte. Resultados: Foram incluídos 35 doentes (68,6% sexo masculino, idade média 52,0), 82,9% etiologia não isquémica. Fração ejeção em repouso 31,1 ± 9,4%.Durante o seguimento, oito doentes morreram, um foi colocado em AVM e um foi transplantado. A análise de Cox univariável revelou potenciais marcadores ecocardiográficos de prognóstico na amostra tais como a dimensão da AE em modo M (HR-1,12; IC: 0,99-1,26;p = 0,067); VAE (HR-1,02; IC: 1,00-1,04; p = 0,046); VAE ajustado à superfície corporal (HR-1,03;IC: 1,00-1,07; p = 0,049); E/A (HR-0,99; IC: 0,99-1,81; p = 0,060); E/A > 2 (HR-7,00; IC:1,48-32,43; p = 0,014) e E/E’ mitral (HR-1,04; IC: 1,00-1,09; p = 0,074). Na análise multivariável a única variável que permaneceu no modelo foi o VAE com o ponto de corte de 63 ml (HR-7,7, IC:0,97-60,61, p = 0,05).Conclusão: Nesta amostra, o VAE foi o único parâmetro ecocardiográfico determinante de AVM,transplantação cardíaca ou morte. Os parâmetros ecocardiográficos habitualmente utilizadospara estratificação de risco, tais como a fração ejeção do ventrículo esquerdo, a dimensão do ventrículo esquerdo e a reserva contrátil não tiveram valor prognóstico na nossa amostra.

Modelling HIV/AIDS length of stay in Portugal

Tese apresentada como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Doutor em Estatística e Gestão de Informação pelo Instituto Superior de Estatística e Gestão de Informação da Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Three essays on the term structure of interest rates

A PhD Dissertation, presented as part of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the NOVA - School of Business and Economics

The Impact of income support programs on transitions to employment

The income support programs are created with the purpose of fighting both, the poverty trap and the inactivity trap. The balance between both is fragile and hard to find. Thus, the goal of this work is to contribute to solve this issue by finding how income support programs, particularly the Portuguese RSI, affect transitions to employment. This is made through duration analysis, namely using Cox and Competing Risks models. A particular feature is introduced in this work as it incorporates the possibility of Defective Risks. The estimated hazard elasticity with respect to the amount of RSI received for individuals who move to employment is -0,41. More than a half of RSI receivers stays for more than a year and the probability of never leaving to employment is 44%. The results appear to indicate that RSI has affected negatively transitions to employment.

Cenários de impacto de uma eventual pandemia de gripe na população portuguesa : morbilidade, mortalidade e necessidade de cuidados de saúde

RESUMO - Introdução — O presente estudo descreve os cenários de impacto que uma eventual pandemia de gripe poderá ter na população portuguesa e nos serviços de saúde. Trata-se de uma versão actualizada dos cenários preliminares que têm vindo a ser elaborados e discutidos desde 2005. Material e métodos — Os cenários assumem que a pandemia ocorrerá em duas ondas das quais a primeira (taxa de ataque: 10%) será menos intensa do que a segunda (taxas de ataque: 20%, 25% ou 30%). Neste trabalho são descritos apenas os cenários respeitantes à situação mais grave (taxa de ataque global = 10% + 30%). A elaboração dos cenários utilizou o método proposto por Meltzer, M. I., Cox, N. J. e Fukuda, K. (1999) mas com quase todos os parâmetros adaptados à população portuguesa. Esta adaptação incidiu sobre: 1. duração da pandemia; 2. taxa de letalidade; 3. percentagem da população com risco elevado de complicações; 4. percentagem de doentes com suspeita de gripe que procurará consulta; 5. tempo entre o início dos sintomas e a procura de cuidados; 6. percentagem de doentes que terá acesso efectivo a antiviral; 7. taxa de hospitalização por gripe e tempo médio de hospitalização; 8. percentagem de doentes hospitalizados que necessitarão de cuidados intensivos (CI) e tempo de internamento em CI; 9. efectividade de oseltamivir para evitar complicações e morte. Resultados — Os cenários correspondentes à situação mais grave (taxa de ataque global: 10% + 30%) são apresentados sem qualquer intervenção e, também, com utilização de oseltamivir para fins terapêuticos. Os resultados sem intervenção para o cenário «provável» indicam: • número total de casos — 4 142 447; • número total de indivíduos a necessitar de consulta — 5 799 426; • número total de hospitalizações — 113 712; • número total de internamentos em cuidados intensivos — 17 057; • número total de óbitos — 32 051; • número total de óbitos, nas semanas com valor máximo — 1.a onda: 2551, 2.a onda: 7651. Quando os cenários foram simulados entrando em linha de conta com a utilização de oseltamivir (considerando uma efectividade de 10% e 30%), verificou-se uma redução dos valores dos óbitos e hospitalizações calculados. O presente artigo também apresenta a distribuição semanal, no período de desenvolvimento da pandemia, dos vários resultados obtidos. Discussão — Os resultados apresentados devem ser interpretados como «cenários» e não como «previsões». De facto, as incertezas existentes em relação à doença e ao seu agente não permitem prever com rigor suficiente os seus impactos sobre a população e sobre os serviços de saúde. Por isso, os cenários agora apresentados servem, sobretudo, para fins de planeamento. Assim, a preparação da resposta à eventual pandemia pode ser apoiada em valores cujas ordens de grandeza correspondem às situações de mais elevada gravidade. Desta forma, a sua utilização para outros fins é inadequada e é vivamente desencorajada pelos autores.

Endothelial mineralocorticoid receptor activation mediates endothelial dysfunction in diet-induced obesity.

AIMS: Aldosterone plays a crucial role in cardiovascular disease. 'Systemic' inhibition of its mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) decreases atherosclerosis by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. Obesity, an important cardiovascular risk factor, is an inflammatory disease associated with increased plasma aldosterone levels. We have investigated the role of the 'endothelial' MR in obesity-induced endothelial dysfunction, the earliest stage in atherogenesis. METHODS AND RESULTS: C57BL/6 mice were exposed to a normal chow diet (ND) or a high-fat diet (HFD) alone or in combination with the MR antagonist eplerenone (200 mg/kg/day) for 14 weeks. Diet-induced obesity impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation in response to acetylcholine, whereas eplerenone treatment of obese mice prevented this. Expression analyses in aortic endothelial cells isolated from these mice revealed that eplerenone attenuated expression of pro-oxidative NADPH oxidase (subunits p22phox, p40phox) and increased expression of antioxidative genes (glutathione peroxidase-1, superoxide dismutase-1 and -3) in obesity. Eplerenone did not affect obesity-induced upregulation of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 or prostacyclin synthase. Endothelial-specific MR deletion prevented endothelial dysfunction in obese (exhibiting high 'endogenous' aldosterone) and in 'exogenous' aldosterone-infused lean mice. Pre-incubation of aortic rings from aldosterone-treated animals with the COX-inhibitor indomethacin restored endothelial function. Exogenous aldosterone administration induced endothelial expression of p22phox in the presence, but not in the absence of the endothelial MR. CONCLUSION: Obesity-induced endothelial dysfunction depends on the 'endothelial' MR and is mediated by an imbalance of oxidative stress-modulating mechanisms. Therefore, MR antagonists may represent an attractive therapeutic strategy in the increasing population of obese patients to decrease vascular dysfunction and subsequent atherosclerotic complications.

Morbidity and aging in HIV-infected persons: the Swiss HIV cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Patterns of morbidity and mortality among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals taking antiretroviral therapy are changing as a result of immune reconstitution and improved survival. We studied the influence of aging on the epidemiology of non-AIDS diseases in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study. METHODS: The Swiss HIV Cohort Study is a prospective observational cohort established in 1988 with continuous enrollment. We determined the incidence of clinical events (per 1000 person-years) from January 2008 (when a new questionnaire on non-AIDS-related morbidity was introduced) through December 2010. Differences across age groups were analyzed using Cox regression, adjusted for CD4 cell count, viral load, sex, injection drug use, smoking, and years of HIV infection. RESULTS: Overall, 8444 (96%) of 8848 participants contributed data from 40,720 semiannual visits; 2233 individuals (26.4%) were aged 50-64 years, and 450 (5.3%) were aged ≥65 years. The median duration of HIV infection was 15.4 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.59-22.0 years); 23.2% had prior clinical AIDS. We observed 994 incident non-AIDS events in the reference period: 201 cases of bacterial pneumonia, 55 myocardial infarctions, 39 strokes, 70 cases of diabetes mellitus, 123 trauma-associated fractures, 37 fractures without adequate trauma, and 115 non-AIDS malignancies. Multivariable hazard ratios for stroke (17.7; CI, 7.06-44.5), myocardial infarction (5.89; 95% CI, 2.17-16.0), diabetes mellitus (3.75; 95% CI, 1.80-7.85), bone fractures without adequate trauma (10.5; 95% CI, 3.58-30.5), osteoporosis (9.13; 95% CI, 4.10-20.3), and non-AIDS-defining malignancies (6.88; 95% CI, 3.89-12.2) were elevated for persons aged ≥65 years. CONCLUSIONS: Comorbidity and multimorbidity because of non-AIDS diseases, particularly diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, non-AIDS-defining malignancies, and osteoporosis, become more important in care of HIV-infected persons and increase with older age.

Superior outcome of women with stage I/II cutaneous melanoma: pooled analysis of four European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer phase III trials.

PURPOSE: Several studies observed a female advantage in the prognosis of cutaneous melanoma, for which behavioral factors or an underlying biologic mechanism might be responsible. Using complete and reliable follow-up data from four phase III trials of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Melanoma Group, we explored the female advantage across multiple end points and in relation to other important prognostic indicators. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed with localized melanoma were included in EORTC adjuvant treatment trials 18832, 18871, 18952, and 18961 and randomly assigned during the period of 1984 to 2005. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for women compared with men, adjusted for age, Breslow thickness, body site, ulceration, performed lymph node dissection, and treatment. RESULTS: A total of 2,672 patients with stage I/II melanoma were included. Women had a highly consistent and independent advantage in overall survival (adjusted HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.83), disease-specific survival (adjusted HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.88), time to lymph node metastasis (adjusted HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.96), and time to distant metastasis (adjusted HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.81). Subgroup analysis showed that the female advantage was consistent across all prognostic subgroups (with the possible exception of head and neck melanomas) and in pre- and postmenopausal age groups. CONCLUSION: Women have a consistent and independent relative advantage in all aspects of the progression of localized melanoma of approximately 30%, most likely caused by an underlying biologic sex difference.

Serum Leptin Concentration, Body Mass Index and Incident Heart Failure: The Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study

Background: Leptin is produced primarily by adipocytes. Although originally associated with the central regulation of satiety and energy metabolism, increasing evidence indicates that leptin may be an important factor for congestive heart faire (CHF). In the study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that leptin may influence CHF pathophysiology via a pathway of increasing body mass index (BMI). Methods: We studied 2,389 elderly participants aged 70 and older (M; 1161, F: 1228) without CHF and with serum leptin measures at the Health Aging, and Body Composition study. We analyzed the association between serum leptin level and risk of incident CHF using Cox hazard proportional regression models. Elevated leptin level was defined as more than the highest quartile (Q4) of leptin distribution in the total sample for each gender. Adjusted-covariates included demographic, behavior, lipid and inflammation variables (partially-adjusted models), and further included BMI (fully-adjusted models). Results: In a mean 9-year follow-up, 316 participants (13.2%) developed CHF. The partially-adjusted models indicated that men and women with elevated serum leptin levels (>=9.89 ng/ml in men and >=25 ng/ml in women) had significantly higher risks of developing CHF than those with leptin level of less than Q4. The adjusted hazard ratios (95%CI) for incident CHF was 1.49 (1.04 -2.13) in men and 1.71 (1.12 -2.58) in women. However, these associations became non-significant after adjustment for including BMI for each gender. The fully-adjusted hazard ratios (95%CI) were 1.43 (0.94 -2.18) in men and 1.24 (0.77-1.99) in women. Conclusion: Subjects with elevated leptin levels have a higher risk of CHF. The study supports the hypothesis that the influence of leptin level on risk of CHF may be through a pathway related to increasing BMI.