64 research outputs found
Religion between Nation and Europe: The French and Belgian ‘No’ to the Christian Heritage of Europe
High Energy Physics in the Atmosphere: Phenomenology of Cosmic Ray Air Showers
The properties of cosmic rays with energies above 10**6 GeV have to be
deduced from the spacetime structure and particle content of the air showers
which they initiate. In this review we summarize the phenomenology of these
giant air showers. We describe the hadronic interaction models used to
extrapolate results from collider data to ultra high energies, and discuss the
prospects for insights into forward physics at the LHC. We also describe the
main electromagnetic processes that govern the longitudinal shower evolution,
as well as the lateral spread of particles. Armed with these two principal
shower ingredients and motivation from the underlying physics, we provide an
overview of some of the different methods proposed to distinguish primary
species. The properties of neutrino interactions and the potential of
forthcoming experiments to isolate deeply penetrating showers from baryonic
cascades are also discussed. We finally venture into a terra incognita endowed
with TeV-scale gravity and explore anomalous neutrino-induced showers.Comment: Typo in caption of Fig. 8 corrected, references adde
Mindfulness-based supportive therapy on reducing suffering in patients with advanced cancer: randomised controlled trial
Objectives Suffering is common among
patients with advanced cancer. The practice of
mindfulness during patient care can potentially
reduce suffering. We aimed to examine the
efficacy of mindfulness-based supportive therapy
(MBST) on reducing suffering in patients with
advanced cancer.
Methods We conducted a parallel-group,
single-blinded, randomised controlled trial at the
University of Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia.
Seventy-three patients with advanced cancer
with an overall suffering score ≥4/10 based on
the Suffering Pictogram were recruited and
randomly assigned into either the MBST group
(n=34) or the control group (n=39).
Results There was a statistically significant
reduction in the overall suffering score in the
MBST group compared with the control group
(U=432.5, median1
=−2.0, median2
=−1.0,
z=−2.645, p=0.008). There was also significant
improvement in the total Hospital Anxiety and
Depression Scale score (U=483.5, median1
=−4.0,
median2
=−3.0, z=−1.994, p=0.046), and the
total Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness
Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being score (U=252.0,
median1
=+14.5, median2
=+5.0, z=−4.549,
p=0.000) in the MBST group compared with the
control group.
Conclusions The results provided evidence that
the practice of MBST during patient care could
promote positive psychosocial outcome
Mitochondria interaction networks show altered topological patterns in Parkinson's disease.
Mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, individual mitochondria-based analyses do not show a uniform feature in PD patients. Since mitochondria interact with each other, we hypothesize that PD-related features might exist in topological patterns of mitochondria interaction networks (MINs). Here we show that MINs formed nonclassical scale-free supernetworks in colonic ganglia both from healthy controls and PD patients; however, altered network topological patterns were observed in PD patients. These patterns were highly correlated with PD clinical scores and a machine-learning approach based on the MIN features alone accurately distinguished between patients and controls with an area-under-curve value of 0.989. The MINs of midbrain dopaminergic neurons (mDANs) derived from several genetic PD patients also displayed specific changes. CRISPR/CAS9-based genome correction of alpha-synuclein point mutations reversed the changes in MINs of mDANs. Our organelle-interaction network analysis opens another critical dimension for a deeper characterization of various complex diseases with mitochondrial dysregulation
COVID-19, Suffering and Palliative Care: A Review
According to the WHO guideline, palliative care is an integral component of COVID-19 management. The relief of physical symptoms and the provision of psychosocial support should be practiced by all healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients. In this review, we aim to provide a simple outline on COVID-19, suffering in COVID-19, and the role of palliative care in COVID-19. We also introduce 3 principles of palliative care that can serve as a guide for all healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients, which are (1) good symptom control, (2) open and sensitive communication, and (3) caring for the whole team. The pandemic has brought immense suffering, fear and death to people everywhere. The knowledge, skills and experiences from palliative care could be used to relieve the suffering of COVID-19 patients
Fatigue in neuromuscular disorders: focus on Guillain–Barré syndrome and Pompe disease
Fatigue accounts for an important part of the burden experienced by patients with neuromuscular disorders. Substantial high prevalence rates of fatigue are reported in a wide range of neuromuscular disorders, such as Guillain–Barré syndrome and Pompe disease. Fatigue can be subdivided into experienced fatigue and physiological fatigue. Physiological fatigue in turn can be of central or peripheral origin. Peripheral fatigue is an important contributor to fatigue in neuromuscular disorders, but in reaction to neuromuscular disease fatigue of central origin can be an important protective mechanism to restrict further damage. In most cases, severity of fatigue seems to be related with disease severity, possibly with the exception of fatigue occurring in a monophasic disorder like Guillain–Barré syndrome. Treatment of fatigue in neuromuscular disease starts with symptomatic treatment of the underlying disease. When symptoms of fatigue persist, non-pharmacological interventions, such as exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy, can be initiated
Mindful gratitude journaling: psychological distress, quality of life and suffering in advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial
Context Numerous studies have shown that gratitude can reduce stress and improve quality of life.
Objective Our study aimed to examine the effect of mindful gratitude journaling on suffering, psychological distress and quality of life of patients with advanced cancer.
Methods We conducted a parallel-group, blinded, randomised controlled trial at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. Ninety-two adult patients with advanced cancer, and an overall suffering score ≥4/10 based on the Suffering Pictogram were recruited and randomly assigned to either a mindful gratitude journaling group (N=49) or a routine journaling group (N=43).
Results After 1 week, there were significant reductions in the overall suffering score from the baseline in both the intervention group (mean difference in overall suffering score=−2.0, 95% CI=−2.7 to −1.4, t=−6.125, p=0.000) and the control group (mean difference in overall suffering score=−1.6, 95% CI=−2.3 to −0.8, t=−4.106, p=0.037). There were also significant improvements in the total Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score (mean difference=−3.4, 95% CI=−5.3 to −1.5, t=−3.525, p=0.000) and the total Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being score (mean difference=7.3, 95% CI=1.5 to 13.1, t=2.460, p=0.014) in the intervention group after 7 days, but not in the control group.
Conclusion The results provide evidence that 7 days of mindful gratitude journaling could positively affect the state of suffering, psychological distress and quality of life of patients with advanced cancer
Non-Standard Errors
In statistics, samples are drawn from a population in a data-generating process (DGP). Standard errors measure the uncertainty in estimates of population parameters. In science, evidence is generated to test hypotheses in an evidence-generating process (EGP). We claim that EGP variation across researchers adds uncertainty: Non-standard errors (NSEs). We study NSEs by letting 164 teams test the same hypotheses on the same data. NSEs turn out to be sizable, but smaller for better reproducible or higher rated research. Adding peer-review stages reduces NSEs. We further find that this type of uncertainty is underestimated by participants
Économie Internationale
Célébré pour sa rigueur et la clarté de son propos, l'ouvrage de Krugman et Obstfeld constitue un support de formation et d'information indispensable à tous ceux qui s'intéressent aux principes de l'économie internationale. Écrit par deux des plus influents experts en la matière, il traite les deux thèmes de l'économie internationale : le commerce international et la finance internationale. Il développe plus particulièrement : * Les théories liées au commerce (productivité au travail, distribution des revenus, économies d'échelle) * L'application de ces théories à l'analyse des politiques commerciales (instruments de la politique commerciale, politique commerciale dans les pays émergents) * Les théories monétaires (balance des paiements, taux de change, taux d'intérêt) * L'application de ces théories aux problèmes de politique monétaire internationale (politique macroéconomique, marché international des capitaux, croissance et réformes dans les pays émergents) Ce manuel a par ailleurs fait l'objet d'une adaptation minutieuse aux spécificités françaises et plus généralement européennes : commerce intra-européen, débats autour des craintes de dumping social au sein de l'UE, de la politique européenne de la concurrence, de la balance des paiements de la zone euro, de la politique régionale européenne, etc. Cette nouvelle édition vise à rendre compte des évolutions récentes de l'analyse économique : * des ajouts sur les théories de la nouvelle économie géographique * des développements plus nombreux sur les pays asiatiques, désormais acteurs majeurs de la scène internationale * l'avancée du cycle de négociations commerciales de Doha * la crise financière En outre, les exemples ont été modifiés ou remplacés, et toutes les données chiffrées, les graphiques et les tableaux ont été actualisés. Chaque chapitre s'achève par une série d'exercices d'application et de réflexion
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