Behavior of the Quantum Critical Point and the Fermi-liquid Domain in the Heavy Fermion Superconductor CeCoIn5 studied by resistivity

We report detailed very low temperature resistivity measurements on the heavy fermion compounds Ce_{1-x}La_{x}CoIn5 (x=0 and x=0.01), with current applied in two crystallographic directions [100] (basal plane) and [001] (perpendicular to the basal plane) under magnetic field applied in the [001] or [011] direction. We found a Fermi liquid (\rho \propto T^{2}) ground state, in all cases, for fields above the superconducting upper critical field. We discuss the possible location of a field induced quantum critical point with respect to Hc2(0), and compare our measurements with the previous reports in order to give a clear picture of the experimental status on this long debated issue.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures accepted for publication in JPS

Adjustment disorder in cancer patients after treatment:Prevalence and acceptance of psychological treatment

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of adjustment disorder (AD) among cancer patients and the acceptance of psychological treatment, in relation to sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological factors. METHODS: Breast, prostate, and head and neck cancer patients of all stages and treatment modalities (N = 200) participated in this observational study. Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Checklist Individual Strength, Distress Thermometer and problem list. Patients with increased risk on AD based on these questionnaires were scheduled for a diagnostic interview. Patients diagnosed with AD were invited to participate in a randomized controlled trial on the cost-effectiveness of psychological treatment. Participation in this trial was used as a proxy of acceptance of psychological treatment. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate associated factors. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of AD was estimated at 13.1%. Sensitivity analyses showed prevalence rates of AD of 11.5%, 15.0%, and 23.5%. Acceptance of psychological treatment was estimated at 65%. AD was associated both with being employed (OR = 3.3, CI = 1.3–8.4) and having a shorter time since diagnosis (OR = 0.3, CI = 0.1–0.8). CONCLUSION: Taking sensitivity analysis into account, the prevalence of AD among cancer patients is estimated at 13 to 15%, and is related to being employed and having a shorter time since diagnosis. The majority of cancer patients with AD accept psychological treatment

Adaptation of the Landau-Migdal Quasiparticle Pattern to Strongly Correlated Fermi Systems

A quasiparticle pattern advanced in Landau's first article on Fermi liquid theory is adapted to elucidate the properties of a class of strongly correlated Fermi systems characterized by a Lifshitz phase diagram featuring a quantum critical point (QCP) where the density of states diverges. The necessary condition for stability of the Landau Fermi Liquid state is shown to break down in such systems, triggering a cascade of topological phase transitions that lead, without symmetry violation, to states with multi-connected Fermi surfaces. The end point of this evolution is found to be an exceptional state whose spectrum of single-particle excitations exhibits a completely flat portion at zero temperature. Analysis of the evolution of the temperature dependence of the single-particle spectrum yields results that provide a natural explanation of classical behavior of this class of Fermi systems in the QCP region.Comment: 26 pages, 14 figures. Dedicated to 100th anniversary of A.B.Migdal birthda

Prospective longitudinal study on fear of cancer recurrence in patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer:Course, trajectories, and associated factors

Background: This study assessed the course of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) in patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer (HNC), identified FCR trajectories and factors associated with FCR trajectories. Methods: Six hundred and seventeen HNC patients from the NET-QUBIC cohort study completed the Cancer Worry Scale-6 at diagnosis, 3 and 6 months post-treatment. FCR trajectories were identified using Latent Class Growth Analysis. Associations were explored between FCR trajectories and baseline demographic and medical variables, coping and self-efficacy. Results: Overall, FCR decreased slightly between baseline and 3 months post-treatment and remained stable up to 6 months. Two FCR trajectories were identified: “high stable” (n = 125) and “low declining” (n = 492). Patients with high stable FCR were younger, reported more negative adjustment, passive coping, and reassuring thoughts, and less avoidance. Conclusions: The majority of HNC patients have low declining FCR after diagnosis, but one in five patients experience persistent high FCR up to 6 months post-treatment

Psychological Problems among Head and Neck Cancer Patients in Relation to Utilization of Healthcare and Informal Care and Costs in the First Two Years after Diagnosis

BACKGROUND: To investigate associations between psychological problems and the use of healthcare and informal care and total costs among head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. METHOD: Data were used of the NETherlands QUality of Life and Biomedical Cohort study. Anxiety and depression disorder (diagnostic interview), distress, symptoms of anxiety and depression (HADS), and fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) and cancer worry scale (CWS) were measured at baseline and at 12-month follow-up. Care use and costs (questionnaire) were measured at baseline, 3-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-up. Associations between psychological problems and care use/costs were investigated using logistic and multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: Data of 558 patients were used. Distress, symptoms of anxiety or depression, FCR, and/or anxiety disorder at baseline were significantly associated with higher use of primary care, supportive care, and/or informal care (odds ratios (ORs) between 1.55 and 4.76). Symptoms of anxiety, FCR, and/or depression disorder at 12-month follow-up were significantly associated with use of primary care, supportive care, and/or informal care (ORs between 1.74 and 6.42). Distress, symptoms of anxiety, and FCR at baseline were associated with higher total costs. DISCUSSION: HNC patients with psychological problems make more use of healthcare and informal care and have higher costs. This is not the result of worse clinical outcomes

Quasiparticles of strongly correlated Fermi liquids at high temperatures and in high magnetic fields

Strongly correlated Fermi systems are among the most intriguing, best experimentally studied and fundamental systems in physics. There is, however, lack of theoretical understanding in this field of physics. The ideas based on the concepts like Kondo lattice and involving quantum and thermal fluctuations at a quantum critical point have been used to explain the unusual physics. Alas, being suggested to describe one property, these approaches fail to explain the others. This means a real crisis in theory suggesting that there is a hidden fundamental law of nature. It turns out that the hidden fundamental law is well forgotten old one directly related to the Landau---Migdal quasiparticles, while the basic properties and the scaling behavior of the strongly correlated systems can be described within the framework of the fermion condensation quantum phase transition (FCQPT). The phase transition comprises the extended quasiparticle paradigm that allows us to explain the non-Fermi liquid (NFL) behavior observed in these systems. In contrast to the Landau paradigm stating that the quasiparticle effective mass is a constant, the effective mass of new quasiparticles strongly depends on temperature, magnetic field, pressure, and other parameters. Our observations are in good agreement with experimental facts and show that FCQPT is responsible for the observed NFL behavior and quasiparticles survive both high temperatures and high magnetic fields.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures. Dedicated to 100th anniversary of A.B.Migdal birthda

Concern for information privacy:a cross-nation study of the United Kingdom and South Africa

Individuals have differing levels of information privacy concern, formed by their expectations and the confidence they have that organisations meet this in practice. Variance in privacy laws and national factors may also play a role. This study analyses individuals’ information privacy expectation and confidence across two nations, the United Kingdom and South Africa, through a survey of 1463 respondents. The findings indicate that the expectation for privacy in both countries are very high. However, numerous significant differences exist between expectations and confidence when examining privacy principles. The overall results for both countries show that there is a gap in terms of the privacy expectations of respondents compared to the confidence they have in whether organisations are meeting their expectations. Governments, regulators, and organisations with an online presence need to consider individuals’ expectations and ensure that controls that meet regulatory requirements, as well as expectations, are in place

The Dutch Consumer Quality Index: an example of stakeholder involvement in indicator development

Background: Like in several other Western countries, in the Dutch health care system regulated competition has been introduced. In order to make this work, comparable information is required about the performance of health care providers in terms of effectiveness, safety and patient experiences. Without further coordination, external actors will all try to force health care providers to be transparent. For health care providers this might result in a situation in which they have to deliver data for several sets of indicators, defined by different actors. Therefore, in the Netherlands an effort is made to define national sets of performance indicators and related measuring instruments. In this article, the following questions are addressed, using patient experiences as an example: - When and how are stakeholders involved in the development of indicators and instruments that measure the patients' experiences with health care providers? - Does this involvement lead to indicators and instruments that match stakeholders' information needs? Discussion: The Dutch experiences show that it is possible to implement national indicator sets and to reach consensus about what needs to be measured. Preliminary evaluations show that for health care providers and health insurers the benefits of standardization outweigh the possible loss of tailor-made information. However, it has also become clear that particular attention should be given to the participation of patient/consumer organisations. Summary: Stakeholder involvement is complex and time-consuming. However, it is the only way to balance the information needs of all the parties that ask for and benefit from transparency, without frustrating the health care system.

Immune Protection of Nonhuman Primates against Ebola Virus with Single Low-Dose Adenovirus Vectors Encoding Modified GPs

BACKGROUND: Ebola virus causes a hemorrhagic fever syndrome that is associated with high mortality in humans. In the absence of effective therapies for Ebola virus infection, the development of a vaccine becomes an important strategy to contain outbreaks. Immunization with DNA and/or replication-defective adenoviral vectors (rAd) encoding the Ebola glycoprotein (GP) and nucleoprotein (NP) has been previously shown to confer specific protective immunity in nonhuman primates. GP can exert cytopathic effects on transfected cells in vitro, and multiple GP forms have been identified in nature, raising the question of which would be optimal for a human vaccine. METHODS AND FINDINGS: To address this question, we have explored the efficacy of mutant GPs from multiple Ebola virus strains with reduced in vitro cytopathicity and analyzed their protective effects in the primate challenge model, with or without NP. Deletion of the GP transmembrane domain eliminated in vitro cytopathicity but reduced its protective efficacy by at least one order of magnitude. In contrast, a point mutation was identified that abolished this cytopathicity but retained immunogenicity and conferred immune protection in the absence of NP. The minimal effective rAd dose was established at 10(10) particles, two logs lower than that used previously. CONCLUSIONS: Expression of specific GPs alone vectored by rAd are sufficient to confer protection against lethal challenge in a relevant nonhuman primate model. Elimination of NP from the vaccine and dose reductions to 10(10) rAd particles do not diminish protection and simplify the vaccine, providing the basis for selection of a human vaccine candidate