Hope and Explanatory Style: A Study of Outcomes in Inpatient Headache Sufferers

Chronic daily headache (CDH) imposes significant burden on sufferers, among which are impaired quality of life, physical suffering, and financial cost. Psychological factors are known to play a considerable role in headache onset, maintenance, progression, and treatment outcome. Furthermore, headache-related disability cannot be accounted for by biological factors alone; both headache symptoms and psychological variables contribute to headache-related disability (Nicholson et al., 2007). Hope is an important predictor of improved health-related quality of life and has been linked with better outcomes for many diseases, disorders, and also in managing pain. Explanatory style, an individual’s style of making sense out of life events, has been associated with a variety of positive health outcomes. At this time, no research exists linking hope and explanatory style with treatment outcomes for CDH. Findings indicate that hope, as assessed through the Herth Hope Index (HHI), and an optimistic explanatory style, as assessed through the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ), are closely related constructs. In this study greater hope predicted reduced headache impact for inpatient headache sufferers. Implementation of a hope instilling intervention could be helpful in reducing headache impact for those with CDH

Eliciting density ratio classes

AbstractThe probability distributions of uncertain quantities needed for predictive modelling and decision support are frequently elicited from subject matter experts. However, experts are often uncertain about quantifying their beliefs using precise probability distributions. Therefore, it seems natural to describe their uncertain beliefs using sets of probability distributions. There are various possible structures, or classes, for defining set membership of continuous random variables. The Density Ratio Class has desirable properties, but there is no established procedure for eliciting this class. Thus, we propose a method for constructing Density Ratio Classes that builds on conventional quantile or probability elicitation, but allows the expert to state intervals for these quantities. Parametric shape functions, ideally also suggested by the expert, are then used to bound the nonparametric set of shapes of densities that belong to the class and are compatible with the stated intervals. This leads to a natural metric for the size of the class based on the ratio of the total areas under upper and lower bounding shape functions. This ratio will be determined by the characteristics of the shape functions, the scatter of the elicited values, and the explicit expert imprecision, as characterized by the width of the stated intervals. We provide some examples, both didactic and real, and conclude with recommendations for the further development and application of the Density Ratio Class

Transparent and feasible uncertainty assessment adds value to applied ecosystem services modeling

We introduce a special issue that aims to simultaneously motivate interest in uncertainty assessment (UA) and reduce the barriers practitioners face in conducting it. The issue, “Demonstrating transparent, feasible, and useful uncertainty assessment in ecosystem services modeling,” responds to findings from a 2016 workshop of academics and practitioners that identified challenges and potential solutions to enhance the practice of uncertainty assessment in the ES community. Participants identified that one important gap was the lack of a compelling set of cases showing that UA can be feasibly conducted at varying levels of sophistication, and that such assessment can usefully inform decision-relevant modeling conclusions. This article orients the reader to the 11 other articles that comprise the special issue, and which span multiple methods and application domains, all with an explicit consideration of uncertainty. We highlight the value of UA demonstrated in the articles, including changing decisions, facilitating transparency, and clarifying the nature of evidence. We conclude by suggesting ways to promote further adoption of uncertainty analysis in ecosystem service assessments. These include: Easing the analytic workflows involved in UA while guarding against rote analyses, applying multiple models to the same problem, and learning about the conduct and value of UA from other disciplines

ВИБІР ДОПОМІЖНИХ РЕЧОВИН ДЛЯ ОТРИМАННЯ ТАБЛЕТОК L-ТРИПТОФАНУ З ТІОТРИАЗОЛІНОМ МЕТОДОМ ВОЛОГОЇ ГРАНУЛЯЦІЇ

The message 2.Influence of the excipients on pharmaco-technological parameters of L-tryptophan with thiotriazolin tablets obtained by wet granulation.The aim of the work. Creation of a new tablet with neuro psychotropic effect based on L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline. Selection of optimal excipients, study of their effect on hardness of tablets, friability, disintegration, the external appearance of coatings of L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline tablets after 6 months of storage.Materials and Methods. The active substances: L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline in a ratio of 4:1, excipients – fillers, disintegrants, binders, solubilizers). The tablets were compressed by wet granulation method. The effect of excipients on tablets containing L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline was studied according to the following parameters: hardness, friability, decomposition, external appearance of coatings after 6 months of storage.Results and Discussion. The results of analysis of variance showed that 5 % solution of HPMC have the best effect on the hardness among binders; sodium croscarmellose have the best effect among disintegrants; mixture of MCC 101+Solani amylum+ Lactose monohydrate – among fillers. Solubilizers have minimum effect on hardness of L-tryptophan with thiotriazoline.Aёrosilum have the maximum effect on friability of L-tryptophan with thiotriazoline among solubilizers; among disintegrants – Polyplasdone XL 10;The mixture of MCC 101+Solani amylum+calcium dihydrogen phosphate anhydrous have the best effect on the time of disintegration time of tablets.Sodium starch glycolate and MCC 101+Solani amylum+ basic magnesium carbonate have the best effect on the external appearance of coatings of tablets after six months of storage.Conclusions. The effect of the four groups of excipients on the hardness, friability, disintegration time, the external appearance of coatings after six months of storage of L-tryptophan with thiotriazoline tablets was studied. The following excipients were selected in order to obtain optimal composition tablets with L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline: mixture of MCC 101 + Solani amylum + basic magnesium carbonate, sodium starch glycolate, 5 % solution of HPMC 5, Aёrosilum, calcium stearate. L -tryptophan with thiotriazoline tablets were obtained in using of these excipients which meet the requirements of the SPU regarding tablets.Повідомлення 2. Вплив допоміжних речовин на фармако-технологічні показники таблеток L-триптофану з тіотриазоліном, отриманих методом вологої грануляції.Мета роботи. Cтворення нового таблеткового лікарського засобу нейропсихотропної дії на основі L-триптофану та тіотриазоліну. Підбір оптимальних допоміжних речовин (ДР), вивчення їх впливу на стійкість таблеток до роздавлювання, стираність, розпадання, зовнішній вигляд поверхні таблеток L-триптофану та тіотриазоліну після 6-ти місяців зберігання.Матеріали і методи. Діючі речовини – L-триптофан та тіотриазолін у співвідношенні 4:1, ДР (наповнювачі, розпушувачі, зв’язуючі розчини, солюбілізатори). Таблетки пресували методом вологої грануляції. Вплив ДР на таблетки, до складу яких входять L-триптофан та тіотриазолін, вивчали за такими показниками: стійкість таблеток до роздавлювання, стираність, розпадання, зовнішній вигляд поверхні таблеток після 6-ти місяців зберігання. Результати й обговорення. За результатами дисперсійного аналізу було встановлено, що на стійкість до роздавлювання серед зв’язуючих розчинів позитивний вплив має 5 % розчин ГПМЦ; серед розпушувачів – натрій кроскармелоза; серед наповнювачів – суміш МКЦ 101 + крохмаль картопляний + лактоза моногідрат. Найменший вплив на стійкість до роздавлювання таблеток L-триптофану з тіотриазоліном чинить додавання солюбілізаторів.На стираність таблеток L-триптофану з тіотриазоліном серед солюбілізаторів лідером є аеросил ; серед розпушувачів – поліплаздон ХЛ 10.При дослідженні часу розпадання таблеток найбільш значущою є суміш МКЦ 101+ крохмаль картопляний + кальцій дигідрофосфат безводний.На зовнішній вигляд поверхні таблеток після шести місяців зберігання лідерами є натрій крохмальгліколят та суміш МКЦ 101 + крохмаль картопляний + магній карбонат основний.Висновки. Вивчено вплив чотирьох груп ДР на стійкість таблеток L-триптофану з тіотриазоліном до роздавлювання, стираність, час розпадання та зовнішній вигляд поверхні через 6 місяців зберігання. З метою отримання оптимального складу таблеток з L-триптофаном та тіотриазоліном відібрано такі ДР: суміш МКЦ 101 + крохмаль картопляний + магній карбонат основний, натрій крохмальгліколят, 5 % розчин ГПМЦ 5, аеросил, кальція стеарат. При використанні саме цих ДР були отримані таблетки L-триптофану з тіотриазоліном, які відповідають вимогам ДФУ щодо таблеток

Optimization of L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline compound analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography

Introduction. An actual task of modern medicine is the development of treatment methods of the central nervous system diseases. The solution of this problem was the creation of new, more effective neuropsychotropic drug that shows pronounced antidepressant, nootropic, neuroprotective and antioxidant effects based on the fixed combination of L-tryptophan with thiotriazoline. One of the steps in creating a new drug is the standardization of active ingredients. Today, much attention is being paid to new physical-chemical methods of drugs study, including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Increasingly, the HPLC method is used for the determination of active ingredients of organic nature, both in mono-preparations and in combined dosage forms. Therefore, we have proposed the HPLC method for new combined L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline drug in order to determine active substances based on their effects. The purpose of our study is to develop a method for the simultaneous standardization of L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline in an artificial compound by high-performance liquid chromatography, in particular the selection of the mobile and stationary phase. Materials and methods. In the first stage of our work, a selection of phase and eluents was carried out for L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline model compound in a ratio of 1:1. The analysis method of thiotriazoline in the reverse phase (C 18) using the eluents, which are water-methanol compounds, was taken as a basis. Results. In the course of study, it was found that the retention volume of both tryptophan and thiotriazoline decreased, and the peak distribution coefficient increased with the number of theoretical plates with increasing content of methanol in phosphate buffer compound. Therefore, as an eluent, attention was drawn to a solution of 20% methanol with 80 % phosphate buffer. Under these conditions, the tryptophan retention volume was 15.11 ml, thiotriazoline – about 6.05 ml, the efficacy of the chromatographic column, calculated on the tryptophan peak of about 3300 theoretical plates. Findings: A highly sensitive technic was developed as part of the study for the simultaneous determination of L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline in a model mixture by HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography method, that is planned to be used in further study, was developed as a part of the study. The method is developed not only for L-tryptophan and thiotriazoline standardization in the combined drug, but also for their determination in biological fluids

On the multiple Borsuk numbers of sets

The Borsuk number of a set S of diameter d >0 in Euclidean n-space is the smallest value of m such that S can be partitioned into m sets of diameters less than d. Our aim is to generalize this notion in the following way: The k-fold Borsuk number of such a set S is the smallest value of m such that there is a k-fold cover of S with m sets of diameters less than d. In this paper we characterize the k-fold Borsuk numbers of sets in the Euclidean plane, give bounds for those of centrally symmetric sets, smooth bodies and convex bodies of constant width, and examine them for finite point sets in the Euclidean 3-space.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figure