1,295 research outputs found
Acute changes in mood induced by subthalamic deep brain stimulation in Parkinson disease are modulated by psychiatric diagnosis
BACKGROUND: Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS) reduces Parkinson disease (PD) motor symptoms but has unexplained, variable effects on mood. OBJECTIVE: The study tested the hypothesis that pre-existing mood and/or anxiety disorders or increased symptom severity negatively affects mood response to STN DBS. METHODS: Thirty-eight PD participants with bilateral STN DBS and on PD medications were interviewed with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders (SCID) and completed Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory (SSAI) self-reports. Subsequently, during OFF and optimal ON (clinical settings) STN DBS conditions and while off PD medications, motor function was assessed with the United Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS, part III), and participants rated their mood with Visual Analogue Scales (VAS), and again completed SSAI. VAS mood variables included anxiety, apathy, valence and emotional arousal. RESULTS: STN DBS improved UPDRS scores and mood. Unexpectedly, PD participants diagnosed with current anxiety or mood disorders experienced greater STN DBS-induced improvement in mood than those diagnosed with remitted disorders or who were deemed as having never met threshold criteria for diagnosis. BDI and SSAI scores did not modulate mood response to STN DBS, indicating that clinical categorical diagnosis better differentiates mood response to STN DBS than self-rated symptom severity. SCID diagnosis, BDI and SSAI scores did not modulate motor response to STN DBS. CONCLUSIONS: PD participants diagnosed with current mood or anxiety disorders are more sensitive to STN DBS-induced effects on mood, possibly indicating altered basal ganglia circuitry in this group
IgG antibody production and persistence to 6 months following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: a Northern Ireland observational study
BACKGROUND: This study evaluates spike protein IgG antibody response following Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination using the AbC-19⢠lateral flow device. METHODS: Plasma samples were collected from n=111 individuals from Northern Ireland. The majority were >50 years old and/or clinically vulnerable. Samples were taken at five timepoints from pre-vaccination until 6-months post-first dose. RESULTS: 20.3% of participants had detectable IgG responses pre-vaccination, indicating prior COVID-19. Antibodies were detected in 86.9% of participants three weeks after the first vaccine dose, falling to 74.7% immediately prior to the second dose, and rising to 99% three weeks post-second vaccine. At 6-months post-first dose, this decreased to 90.5%. At all timepoints, previously infected participants had significantly higher antibody levels than those not previously infected. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that strong anti-spike protein antibody responses are evoked in almost all individuals that receive two doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, and largely persist beyond six months after first vaccination
GRB Polarimetry with POET
POET (Polarimeters for Energetic Transients) represents a concept for a Small Explorer (SMEX) satellite mission, whose principal scientific goal is to understand the structure of GRB sources through sensitive Xâray and Îłâray polarization measurements. The payload consists of two wide fieldâofâview (FoV) instruments: a Low Energy Polarimeter (LEP) capable of polarization measurements in the energy range from 2â15 keV and a high energy polarimeter (GammaâRay Polarimeter Experiment or GRAPE) that would measure polarization in the 60â500 keV energy range. The POET spacecraft provides a zenithâpointed platform for maximizing the exposure to deep space. Spacecraft rotation provides a means of effectively dealing with any residual systematic effects in the polarization response. POET provides sufficient sensitivity and sky coverage to measure statistically significant polarization (for polarization levels in excess of 20%) for âź80 GRBs in a twoâyear mission. High energy polarization data would also be obtained for SGRs, solar flares, pulsars and other sources of astronomical interest
Family Cluster of Mayaro Fever, Venezuela
A cluster of protracted migratory polyarthritis involving four adult family
members occurred in January 2000 after a brief overnight outing in a rural area
of Venezuela. Laboratory testing demonstrated Mayaro virus as the cause of the
cluster. These results documented the first human cases of Mayaro virus in
Venezuela
An Optimized Photoelectron Track Reconstruction Method for Photoelectric X-Ray Polarimeters
We present a data processing algorithm for angular reconstruction and event selection applied to 2-D photoelectron track images from X-ray polarimeters. The method reconstructs the initial emission angle of a photoelectron from the initial portion of the track, which is obtained by continuously cutting a track until the image moments or number of pixels fall below tunable thresholds. In addition, event selection which rejects round tracks quantified with eccentricity and circularity is performed so that polarimetry sensitivity considering a trade-off between the modulation factor and signal acceptance is maximized. The modulation factors with applying track selection are 26.6 0.4, 46.1 0.4, 62.3 0.4, and 61.8 0.3% at 2.7, 4.5, 6.4, and 8.0 keV, respectively, using the same data previously analyzed by Iwakiri et al. (2016), where the corresponding numbers are 26.90.4, 43.40.4, 54.40.3, and 59.1 0.3%. The method improves polarimeter sensitivity by 5%10% at the high energy end of the band previously presented (Iwakiri et al. 2016)
Bapineuzumab for mild to moderate Alzheimerâs disease in two global, randomized, phase 3 trials
Background Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy (clinical and biomarker)
and safety of intravenous bapineuzumab in patients with mild to moderate
Alzheimerâs disease (AD). Methods Two of four phase 3, multicenter,
randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 18-month trials were conducted
globally: one in apolipoprotein E Îľ4 carriers and another in noncarriers.
Patients received bapineuzumab 0.5 mg/kg (both trials) or 1.0 mg/kg
(noncarrier trial) or placebo every 13 weeks. Coprimary endpoints were change
from baseline to week 78 on the 11-item Alzheimerâs Disease Assessment
ScaleâCognitive subscale and the Disability Assessment for Dementia. Results A
total of 683 and 329 patients completed the current carrier and noncarrier
trials, respectively, which were terminated prematurely owing to lack of
efficacy in the two other phase 3 trials of bapineuzumab in AD. The current
trials showed no significant difference between bapineuzumab and placebo for
the coprimary endpoints and no effect of bapineuzumab on amyloid load or
cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated tau. (Both measures were stable over time
in the placebo group.) Amyloid-related imaging abnormalities with edema or
effusion were confirmed as the most notable adverse event. Conclusions These
phase 3 global trials confirmed lack of efficacy of bapineuzumab at tested
doses on clinical endpoints in patients with mild to moderate AD. Some
differences in the biomarker results were seen compared with the other phase 3
bapineuzumab trials. No unexpected adverse events were observed. Trial
registration Noncarriers (3000) ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT00667810;
registered 24 Apr 2008. Carriers (3001) ClinicalTrials.gov identifier
NCT00676143; registered 2 May 2008
Status of Muon Collider Research and Development and Future Plans
The status of the research on muon colliders is discussed and plans are
outlined for future theoretical and experimental studies. Besides continued
work on the parameters of a 3-4 and 0.5 TeV center-of-mass (CoM) energy
collider, many studies are now concentrating on a machine near 0.1 TeV (CoM)
that could be a factory for the s-channel production of Higgs particles. We
discuss the research on the various components in such muon colliders, starting
from the proton accelerator needed to generate pions from a heavy-Z target and
proceeding through the phase rotation and decay ()
channel, muon cooling, acceleration, storage in a collider ring and the
collider detector. We also present theoretical and experimental R & D plans for
the next several years that should lead to a better understanding of the design
and feasibility issues for all of the components. This report is an update of
the progress on the R & D since the Feasibility Study of Muon Colliders
presented at the Snowmass'96 Workshop [R. B. Palmer, A. Sessler and A.
Tollestrup, Proceedings of the 1996 DPF/DPB Summer Study on High-Energy Physics
(Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, CA, 1997)].Comment: 95 pages, 75 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Special Topics,
Accelerators and Beam
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