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The sensitivity of atom interferometers is usually limited by the observation time of a free falling cloud of atoms in Earth's gravitational field. Considerable efforts are currently made to increase this observation time, e.g. in fountain experiments, drop towers and in space. In this article, we experimentally study and discuss the use of magnetic levitation for interferometric precision measurements. We employ a Bose-Einstein condensate of cesium atoms with tuneable interaction and a Michelson interferometer scheme for the detection of micro-g acceleration. In addition, we demonstrate observation times of 1s, which are comparable to current drop-tower experiments, we study the curvature of our force field, and we observe the effects of a phase-shifting element in the interferometer paths.

Reprints an article first published 100 years ago this month, in which several students of the New Zealand Medical School, who served in Egypt and Gallipoli, have written accounts of their experiences on the battlefields in the Great War. Source: National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, licensed by the Department of Internal Affairs for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand Licence.

Chronic hepatitis C infection is common among patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. In this randomized trial, 133 patients were assigned to receive either peginterferon alfa-2a with ribavirin or interferon alfa-2a with ribavirin. The rate of sustained virologic response was higher in the peginterferon group than in the interferon group (27 percent vs. 12 percent). Coinfection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is common among persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with a prevalence ranging from 4 to 92 percent depending on the underlying risk factors. Since the introduction of potent antiretroviral therapy, liver disease due to HCV coinfection has become a major source of mortality among HIV-infected persons. 1 – 3 The progression of liver disease appears to be accelerated in such persons. 4 Treatment regimens based on interferon and ribavirin are recommended for chronic hepatitis C but pose special concerns in persons coinfected with HIV, particularly those who are receiving antiretroviral therapy. Common side effects . . .

Cerebrovascular disease is the second leading cause of death worldwide 1 , 2 and the leading cause of long-term disability in developed countries. 3 , 4 There has been controversy about whether there is an association between cholesterol levels and the risk of stroke; a meta-analysis found no clear evidence of such an association. 5 Most of the studies made no distinction between ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, which have different pathophysiologic mechanisms. A positive association between increasing cholesterol levels and ischemic stroke due to atherothrombosis in a large artery may be offset by a possible association between low cholesterol levels and hemorrhagic stroke. Studies of . . .

Diabetes, a major health problem worldwide, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and its associated mortality: The Long-Term Intervention with Pravastatin in Ischemic Disease (LIPID) trial showed that cholesterol-lowering treatment with pravastatin reduced mortality and coronary heart disease (CHD) events in 9014 patients aged 31-75 years with CHD and total cholesterol 4.0-7.0 mmol/l. We measured the effects of pravastatin therapy, 40 mg/day over 6.0 years, on the risk of CHD death or nonfatal myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular outcomes in 1,077 LIPID patients with diabetes and 940 patients with impaired fasting glucose (IFG). In patients allocated to placebo, the risk of a major CHD event was 61% higher in patients with diabetes and 23% higher in the IFG group than in patients with normal fasting glucose, and the risk of any cardiovascular event was 37% higher in the diabetic group and 19% higher in the IFG group. Pravastatin therapy reduced the risk of a major CHD event overall from 15.9 to 12.3% (relative risk reduction [RRR] 24%, P < 0.001) and from 23.4 to 19.6% in the diabetic group (19%, P = 0.11); in the diabetic group, the reduction was not significantly different from the reductions in the other groups. Pravastatin reduced the risk of any cardiovascular event from 52.7 to 45.2% (21%, P < 0.008) in patients with diabetes and from 45.7 to 37.1% (26%, P = 0.003) in the IFG group. Pravastatin reduced the risk of stroke from 9.9 to 6.3% in the diabetic group (RRR 39%, CI 7-61%, P = 0.02) and from 5.4 to 3.4% in the IFG group (RRR 42%, CI -9 to 69%, P = 0.09). Pravastatin did not reduce the incidence of diabetes. Over 6 years, pravastatin therapy prevented one major CHD event (CHD death or nonfatal myocardial infarction) in 23 patients with IFG and 18 patients with diabetes. A meta-analysis of other major trials confirmed the high absolute risks of diabetes and IFG and the absolute benefits of statin therapy in these patients. Cholesterol-lowering treatment with pravastatin therapy prevents cardiovascular events, including stroke, in patients with diabetes or IFG and established CHD.

Objective: To investigate the relationships between plasma leptin and adiponectin levels and recurrent cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and stroke) in men with earlier acute coronary syndromes. Design, subjects and measurements: A nested case-control study examined circulating leptin and adiponectin levels in plasma obtained 4-6 years after entry into the Long-Term Intervention with Pravastatin in Ischaemic Disease (LIPID) trial. Plasma was assayed from 184 men who suffered recurrent events within 4.4 years after blood collection and 184 matched controls who remained free of further events. The association between cardiovascular events and the explanatory variables was examined by conditional logistic regression analysis. Results: Relative risk (RR) increased across increasing leptin quartiles; the highest quartile compared with the lowest quartile was related to the highest risk (P for trend=0.002); the increased risk remained after adjustment for risk factors (P=0.018) or for obesity (P=0.038), but in the final model (adjusted for randomized treatment, other drugs, LIPID risk score, age and body mass index), the risk was attenuated (RR=1.61, 95% CI: 0.72-3.57, P for trend=0.34). Adiponectin did not predict cardiovascular events. Subjects randomly allocated to pravastatin had 6% lower leptin levels (P=0.04) than those allocated to placebo. Conclusion: Plasma leptin was a significant and independent predictor of recurrent cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and stroke) in men with earlier acute coronary syndromes.

The Long-term Intervention with Pravastatin in Ischaemic Disease (LIPID) study showed that pravastatin therapy over 6 years reduced mortality and cardiovascular events in patients with previous acute coronary syndromes and average cholesterol concentrations. We assessed the longer-term effects of initial treatment with pravastatin on further cardiovascular events and mortality over a total follow-up period of 8 years. In the main trial, 9014 patients with previous myocardial infarction or unstable angina and a baseline plasma cholesterol concentration of 4·0–7·0 mmol/L were randomly assigned pravastatin 40 mg daily or placebo and followed up for 6 years. Subsequently, all patients were offered open-label pravastatin for 2 more years. Major cardiovascular events and adverse events were compared according to initial treatment assignment. 7680 (97% of those still alive) had 2 years of extended follow-up. 3766 (86%) of those assigned placebo and 3914 (88%) assigned pravastatin agreed to take open-label pravastatin. During this period, patients originally assigned pravastatin had almost identical cholesterol concentrations to those assigned placebo, but a lower risk of death from all causes (219 [5·6%] vs 255 [6·8%], p=0·029), coronary heart disease (CHD) death (108 [2·8%] vs 137 [3·6%], p=0·026), and CHD death or non-fatal myocardial infarction (176 [4·5%] vs 196 [5·2%], p=0·08). Over the total 8-year period, all-cause mortality was 888 (19·7%) in the group originally assigned placebo and 717 (15·9%) in the group originally assigned pravastatin, CHD mortality was 510 (11·3%) versus 395 (8·8%), myocardial infarction was 570 (12·7%) versus 435 (9·6%; each p<0·0001), and stroke was 272 (6·0%) versus 224 (5·0%; p=0·015). Stronger evidence of separate treatment benefits than in the main trial was seen in important prespecified subgroups (women, patients aged ≥70 years, and those with total cholesterol <5·5 mmol/L). Pravastatin had no significant adverse effects. The evidence of sustained treatment benefits and safety of long-term pravastatin treatment reinforces the importance of long-term cholesterol-lowering treatment for almost all patients with previous CHD events.

Women aged 47-50 and 70-73, who receive the same \"new improved\" national leaflet, are not fully informed about the harms of overdiagnosis. [...]recruits cannot realise that it is uncertain whether breast screening works at their age or that research participation may carry risks.