139 research outputs found
Children’s discourses of natural spaces: considerations for children’s subjective well-being
Based on the evidence provided in the literature, it is manifest that increased time spent in nature increases various aspects of children’s well-being. Using discourse analysis on focus group interviews with 28 children between the ages of 12 and 14 years old from three socio-economically diverse communities in the Western Cape of South Africa, the study aimed to explore how children construct and assign meaning to natural spaces. More specifically the study explored how children use specific discursive resources and repertoires to construct and assign meaning to their engagement with natural spaces, and the extent to which this influences their subjective well-being. Several pertinent discourses emerged from the participants’ accounts within four themes of: Safety and natural spaces, Appreciation for natural spaces, Degradation of Nature: Thinking environmentally, acting pro-environmentally, and Natural spaces and children’s subjective well-being. The study highlights the critical role that children’s engagement in natural spaces has on their subjective well-being, and how these benefits can be harnessed to better children’s overall quality of life.IS
Mild cognitive impairment: the Manchester consensus.
Given considerable variation in diagnostic and therapeutic practice, there is a need for national guidance on the use of neuroimaging, fluid biomarkers, cognitive testing, follow-up and diagnostic terminology in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI is a heterogenous clinical syndrome reflecting a change in cognitive function and deficits on neuropsychological testing but relatively intact activities of daily living. MCI is a risk state for further cognitive and functional decline with 5-15% of people developing dementia per year. However, ~50% remain stable at 5Â years and in a minority, symptoms resolve over time. There is considerable debate about whether MCI is a useful clinical diagnosis, or whether the use of the term prevents proper inquiry (by history, examination and investigations) into underlying causes of cognitive symptoms, which can include prodromal neurodegenerative disease, other physical or psychiatric illness, or combinations thereof. Cognitive testing, neuroimaging and fluid biomarkers can improve the sensitivity and specificity of aetiological diagnosis, with growing evidence that these may also help guide prognosis. Diagnostic criteria allow for a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease to be made where MCI is accompanied by appropriate biomarker changes, but in practice, such biomarkers are not available in routine clinical practice in the UK. This would change if disease-modifying therapies became available and required a definitive diagnosis but would present major challenges to the National Health Service and similar health systems. Significantly increased investment would be required in training, infrastructure and provision of fluid biomarkers and neuroimaging. Statistical techniques combining markers may provide greater sensitivity and specificity than any single disease marker but their practical usefulness will depend on large-scale studies to ensure ecological validity and that multiple measures, e.g. both cognitive tests and biomarkers, are widely available for clinical use. To perform such large studies, we must increase research participation amongst those with MCI
Response of a CMS HGCAL silicon-pad electromagnetic calorimeter prototype to 20-300 GeV positrons
The Compact Muon Solenoid Collaboration is designing a new high-granularity
endcap calorimeter, HGCAL, to be installed later this decade. As part of this
development work, a prototype system was built, with an electromagnetic section
consisting of 14 double-sided structures, providing 28 sampling layers. Each
sampling layer has an hexagonal module, where a multipad large-area silicon
sensor is glued between an electronics circuit board and a metal baseplate. The
sensor pads of approximately 1 cm are wire-bonded to the circuit board and
are readout by custom integrated circuits. The prototype was extensively tested
with beams at CERN's Super Proton Synchrotron in 2018. Based on the data
collected with beams of positrons, with energies ranging from 20 to 300 GeV,
measurements of the energy resolution and linearity, the position and angular
resolutions, and the shower shapes are presented and compared to a detailed
Geant4 simulation
Mesalazine in the initial management of severely acutely malnourished children with environmental enteric dysfunction: a pilot randomized controlled trial
Comparative Accuracy and Cost-Effectiveness of Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography and Positron Emission Tomography in the Characterisation of Solitary Pulmonary Nodules
Abstract
Introduction:
Dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (DCE-CT) and Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) have a high reported accuracy for the diagnosis of malignancy in solitary pulmonary nodules. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of these.
Methods:
In this prospective multicentre trial, 380 participants with a solitary pulmonary nodule (8-30mm) and no recent history of malignancy underwent DCE-CT and PET/CT. All patients underwent either biopsy with histological diagnosis or completed CT follow-up. Primary outcome measures were sensitivity, specificity, and overall diagnostic accuracy for PET/CT and DCE-CT. Costs and cost-effectiveness were estimated from a healthcare provider perspective using a decision-model.
Results:
312 participants (47% female, 68.1±9.0 years) completed the study, with 61% rate of malignancy at 2 years. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive values for DCE-CT were 95.3% [95% CI 91.3;97.5], 29.8% [95% CI 22.3;38.4], 68.2% [95% CI 62.4%;73.5%] and 80.0% [95% CI 66.2;89.1] respectively, and for PET/CT were 79.1% [95% CI 72.7;84.2], 81.8% [95% CI 74.0;87.7], 87.3%[95% CI 81.5;91.5) and 71·2%
[95% CI 63.2;78.1]. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC) for DCE-CT and PET/CT was 0.62 [95%CI 0.58;0.67] and 0.80 [95%CI 0.76;0.85] respectively (p<0.001). Combined results significantly increased diagnostic accuracy over PET/CT alone (AUROC=0.90 [95%CI 0.86;0.93], p<0.001). DCE-CT was preferred when the willingness to pay per incremental cost per correctly treated malignancy was below ÂŁ9000. Above ÂŁ15500 a combined approach was preferred.
Conclusions:
PET/CT has a superior diagnostic accuracy to DCE-CT for the diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules. Combining both techniques improves the diagnostic accuracy over either test alone and could be cost-effective. (Clinical trials.gov - NCT02013063)
Cellular anatomy of the mouse primary motor cortex.
An essential step toward understanding brain function is to establish a structural framework with cellular resolution on which multi-scale datasets spanning molecules, cells, circuits and systems can be integrated and interpreted1. Here, as part of the collaborative Brain Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN), we derive a comprehensive cell type-based anatomical description of one exemplar brain structure, the mouse primary motor cortex, upper limb area (MOp-ul). Using genetic and viral labelling, barcoded anatomy resolved by sequencing, single-neuron reconstruction, whole-brain imaging and cloud-based neuroinformatics tools, we delineated the MOp-ul in 3D and refined its sublaminar organization. We defined around two dozen projection neuron types in the MOp-ul and derived an input-output wiring diagram, which will facilitate future analyses of motor control circuitry across molecular, cellular and system levels. This work provides a roadmap towards a comprehensive cellular-resolution description of mammalian brain architecture
A Comparative Study of Physical Fitness Index (PFI) and Predicted Maximum Aerobic Capacity (VO2max) among the Different Groups of FemaleStudents in West Bengal, India
Cobalt-thioalkylazoimidazole complexes: Structures, spectra and redox properties
1-Alkyl-2-{(o-thioalkyl)phenylazo}imidazole (SRaaiNR', 1) reacts with Co(ClO4)(2)center dot 6H(2)O to form [Co(SRaaiNR')(2)](ClO4)(2) (2). The single crystal X-ray structure of one of the complexes of 2 shows a tridentate chelation N(imidazole), N(azo), S(thioether) system. In the structure one of ClO4- anions shows disorder and forms an (imidazole)C-H center dot center dot center dot O(ClO3) interaction leading to a 1-D chain. Co(OAc)(2)center dot 4H(2)O and SRaaiNR' react in the presence of NH4SCN (1:1:2 mole ratio) in methanol and the complex [Co(SRaaiNR')(2)(SCN)(2)](3) has been separated. The single crystal X-ray structure determination has established the structure of the complexes in which the ligand SRaaiNR' acts in a bidentate N(imidazole), N(azo) chelation mode. A cyclic voltammogram shows a Co(III)/Co(II) oxidative response at 0.6-0.8 V and azo reductions. DFT computation using optimized geometry support the electronic spectral and redox properties of the complexes. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.</p
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