McGill University

About: McGill University is a education organization based out in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 72688 authors who have published 162565 publications receiving 6966523 citations. The organization is also known as: Royal institution of advanced learning & University of McGill College.

Tracking Strategy in an Entrepreneurial Firm1

Abstract: This study tracks the strategies of a retail chain over 60 years of its history to show how that vague concept called strategy can be operationalized and to draw conclusions about strategy formatio...

Gene-Panel Sequencing and the Prediction of Breast-Cancer Risk

Abstract: An international group of cancer geneticists review the level of evidence for the association of gene variants with the risk of breast cancer. It is difficult to draw firm conclusions from the data because of ascertainment bias and the lack of data from large populations.

Planck 2013 results - XXIII. Isotropy and statistics of the CMB

Abstract: We test the statistical isotropy and Gaussianity of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies using observations made by the Planck satellite. Our results are based mainly on the full Planck mission for temperature, but also include some polarization measurements. In particular, we consider the CMB anisotropy maps derived from the multi-frequency Planck data by several component-separation methods. For the temperature anisotropies, we find excellent agreement between results based on these sky maps over both a very large fraction of the sky and a broad range of angular scales, establishing that potential foreground residuals do not affect our studies. Tests of skewness, kurtosis, multi-normality, N-point functions, and Minkowski functionals indicate consistency with Gaussianity, while a power deficit at large angular scales is manifested in several ways, for example low map variance. The results of a peak statistics analysis are consistent with the expectations of a Gaussian random field. The “Cold Spot” is detected with several methods, including map kurtosis, peak statistics, and mean temperature profile. We thoroughly probe the large-scale dipolar power asymmetry, detecting it with several independent tests, and address the subject of a posteriori correction. Tests of directionality suggest the presence of angular clustering from large to small scales, but at a significance that is dependent on the details of the approach. We perform the first examination of polarization data, finding the morphology of stacked peaks to be consistent with the expectations of statistically isotropic simulations. Where they overlap, these results are consistent with the Planck 2013 analysis based on the nominal mission data and provide our most thorough view of the statistics of the CMB fluctuations to date.

Conjugated equine estrogens and global cognitive function in postmenopausal women: Women's Health Initiative Memory Study.

Abstract: ContextThe Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) previously reported that estrogen plus progestin therapy does not protect cognition among women aged 65 years or older. The effect of estrogen-alone therapy, also evaluated in WHIMS, on cognition has not been established for this population.ObjectivesTo determine whether conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) alters global cognitive function in older women and to compare its effect with CEE plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (CEE plus MPA).Design, Setting, and ParticipantsA randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled ancillary study of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), WHIMS evaluated the effect of CEE on incidence of probable dementia among community-dwelling women aged 65 to 79 years with prior hysterectomy from 39 US academic centers that started in June 1995. Of 3200 eligible women free of probable dementia enrolled in the WHI, 2947 (92.1%) were enrolled in WHIMS. Analyses were conducted on the 2808 women (95.3%) with a baseline and at least 1 follow-up measure of global cognitive function before the trial's termination on February 29, 2004.InterventionsParticipants received 1 daily tablet containing either 0.625 mg of CEE (n = 1387) or matching placebo (n = 1421).Main Outcome MeasureGlobal cognitive function measured annually with the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MSE).ResultsDuring a mean follow-up of 5.4 years, mean (SE) 3MSE scores were 0.26 (0.13) units lower than among women assigned to CEE compared with placebo (P = .04). For pooled hormone therapy (CEE combined with CEE plus MPA), the mean (SE) decrease was 0.21 (0.08; P = .006). Removing women with dementia, mild cognitive impairment, or stroke from the analyses lessened these differences. The adverse effect of hormone therapy was more pronounced among women with lower cognitive function at baseline (all P<.01). For women assigned to CEE compared with placebo, the relative risk of having a 10-unit decrease in 3MSE scores (>2 SDs) was estimated to be 1.47 (95% confidence interval, 1.04-2.07).ConclusionFor women aged 65 years or older, hormone therapy had an adverse effect on cognition, which was greater among women with lower cognitive function at initiation of treatment.

Automated labeling of the human brain: A preliminary report on the development and evaluation of a forward-transform method

Abstract: A forward-transform method for retrieving brain labels from the 1988 Talairach Atlas using x-y-z coordinates is presented. A hierarchical volume-occupancy labeling scheme was created to simplify the organization of atlas labels using volume and subvolumetric components. Segmentation rules were developed to define boundaries that were not given explicitly in the atlas. The labeling scheme and segmentation rules guided the segmentation and labeling of 160 contiguous regions within the atlas. A unique three-dimensional (3-D) database label server called the Talairach Daemon (http://ric.uthscsa.edu/projects) was developed for serving labels keyed to the Talairach coordinate system. Given an x-y-z Talairach coordinate, a corresponding hierarchical listing of labels is returned by the server. The accuracy and precision of the forward-transform labeling method is now under evaluation.