2,139 research outputs found
The development of the Canberra symptom scorecard: a tool to monitor the physical symptoms of patients with advanced tumours
BACKGROUND: Patients with advanced (incurable) tumours usually experience a diverse burden of
symptoms. Although many symptom assessment instruments are available, we examined whether
these addressed tumour-related symptoms.
METHODS: We reviewed existing symptom assessment instruments and found a number of
deficiencies such as instruments being too long or burdensome, too short, or measuring quality of
life rather than tumour-related symptoms. Others focused on emotional, rather than physical
symptoms. Therefore, we decided to devise a new symptom instrument. A list of 20 symptoms
common in patients with advanced tumours generated from the literature and existing instruments,
was ranked according to prevalence by 202 Australian clinicians. Following clinicians' responses, the
list was revised and two severity assessment scales (functional severity and distress severity) added.
The resultant 18-item list was assessed in 44 outpatients with advanced tumours.
RESULTS: Patient responses indicated that a shorter questionnaire of 11 items, reflecting three main
symptom clusters, provided a good representation of physical symptoms. An additional symptom
that is an important predictor of survival was added, making a 12-item questionnaire, which was
entitled "The Canberra Symptom Scorecard" (CSS). For symptom severity, the distress severity
scale was more appropriate than the functional severity scale.
CONCLUSION: The CSS focuses on tumour-related physical symptoms. It is about to be assessed in
patients with advanced tumours receiving palliative treatments, when it will also be validated against
existing instruments
Efficient Photometric Selection of Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: 100,000 z<3 Quasars from Data Release One
We present a catalog of 100,563 unresolved, UV-excess (UVX) quasar candidates
to g=21 from 2099 deg^2 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release One
(DR1) imaging data. Existing spectra of 22,737 sources reveals that 22,191
(97.6%) are quasars; accounting for the magnitude dependence of this
efficiency, we estimate that 95,502 (95.0%) of the objects in the catalog are
quasars. Such a high efficiency is unprecedented in broad-band surveys of
quasars. This ``proof-of-concept'' sample is designed to be maximally
efficient, but still has 94.7% completeness to unresolved, g<~19.5, UVX quasars
from the DR1 quasar catalog. This efficient and complete selection is the
result of our application of a probability density type analysis to training
sets that describe the 4-D color distribution of stars and spectroscopically
confirmed quasars in the SDSS. Specifically, we use a non-parametric Bayesian
classification, based on kernel density estimation, to parameterize the color
distribution of astronomical sources -- allowing for fast and robust
classification. We further supplement the catalog by providing photometric
redshifts and matches to FIRST/VLA, ROSAT, and USNO-B sources. Future work
needed to extend the this selection algorithm to larger redshifts, fainter
magnitudes, and resolved sources is discussed. Finally, we examine some science
applications of the catalog, particularly a tentative quasar number counts
distribution covering the largest range in magnitude (14.2<g<21.0) ever made
within the framework of a single quasar survey.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures (3 color), 2 tables, accepted by ApJS; higher
resolution paper and ASCII version of catalog available at
http://sdss.ncsa.uiuc.edu/qso/nbckde
Additional Ultracool White Dwarfs Found in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
We identify seven new ultracool white dwarfs discovered in the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS). The SDSS photometry, spectra, and proper motions are
presented, and additional BVRI data are given for these and other previously
discovered ultracool white dwarfs. The observed colors span a remarkably wide
range, qualitatively similar to colors predicted by models for very cool white
dwarfs. One of the new stars (SDSS J1251+44) exhibits strong collision-induced
absorption (CIA) in its spectra, while the spectra and colors of the other six
are consistent with mild CIA. Another of the new discoveries (SDSS J2239+00A)
is part of a binary system -- its companion is also a cool white dwarf, and
other data indicate that the companion exhibits an infrared flux deficiency,
making this the first binary system composed of two CIA white dwarfs. A third
discovery (SDSS J0310-00) has weak Balmer emission lines. The proper motions of
all seven stars are consistent with membership in the disk or thick disk.Comment: Accepted for Astrophysical Journal. 16 pages (includes 3 figures
Masked Bobwhite Recovery: The Need for a Multifaceted Approach
Masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi) is a critically endangered quail historically found in the Sonoran grasslands of southern Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico. Native populations of masked bobwhite may already be extinct in the wild, but captive populations exist in the United States at G. M. Sutton Avian Research Center (Oklahoma, USA), Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (Arizona, USA), and various zoos. The 47,000-hectare Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, located in south-central Arizona, was established primarily for reintroduction of this bird. Recovery efforts within the refuge boundary in the 1980s and 1990s were initially successful but suffered debilitating setbacks that ultimately resulted in failure. Substantial releases were suspended in 2005. Improved habitat restoration efforts and promising conditioning and release techniques led to the belief that reintroductions could again be attempted and successful. In 2016–2017 plans were developed to increase captive propagation and reinitiate release efforts. Releases began in 2018. Over-winter survival of birds released in 2018–2019 was encouraging, and reproduction of wild birds was documented in 2019. An existing base of wild birds established from these releases could help masked bobwhite populations recover in the state. Habitat restoration, better methods of rearing, release, and conditioning, and improved production from captive facilities also inspire hope that a full recovery of the species in Arizona is possible
Impact of a physician intervention program to increase breast cancer screening
In order to improve compliance with the National Cancer Institute\u27s breast cancer screening guidelines, we developed a multifaceted intervention designed to alter physician screening practice. A pre-post test, two-community design was used. Primary care physicians in one community served as the control. Data were collected by two mailed surveys (1987 and 1990). Response rates were 61% and 64%, respectively. The physician intervention program consisted of a hospital-based continuing medical education program and an outreach component which focused on implementing a reminder system. Outcome measures were self-reported attitudinal, knowledge, and screening practices changes. In spite of an impressive change in comparison community physicians\u27 practice, the difference in change over time in the intervention community physicians\u27 ordering of annual mammography compared to the change in the comparison community physicians\u27 ordering was significant (P = 0.04). The adjusted odds ratio is nearly 8. We conclude that our in-service continuing medical education program was successful in improving breast cancer screening practices among primary care physicians
PS56 Acute Kidney Injury in Critically Ill Vascular Surgery Patients Is Associated With Increased Mortality Regardless of Severity and Type of Index Procedure
Faint High-Latitude Carbon Stars Discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: An Initial Catalog
A search of more than 3,000 square degrees of high latitude sky by the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey has yielded 251 faint high-latitude carbon stars (FHLCs),
the large majority previously uncataloged. We present homogeneous spectroscopy,
photometry, and astrometry for the sample. The objects lie in the 15.6 < r <
20.8 range, and exhibit a wide variety of apparent photospheric temperatures,
ranging from spectral types near M to as early as F. Proper motion measurements
for 222 of the objects show that at least 50%, and quite probably more than
60%, of these objects are actually low luminosity dwarf carbon (dC) stars, in
agreement with a variety of recent, more limited investigations which show that
such objects are the numerically dominant type of star with C_2 in the
spectrum. This SDSS homogeneous sample of ~110 dC stars now constitutes 90% of
all known carbon dwarfs, and will grow by another factor of 2-3 by the
completion of the Survey. As the spectra of the dC and the faint halo giant C
stars are very similar (at least at spectral resolution of 1,000) despite a
difference of 10 mag in luminosity, it is imperative that simple luminosity
discriminants other than proper motion be developed. We use our enlarged sample
of FHLCs to examine a variety of possible luminosity criteria, including many
previously suggested, and find that, with certain important caveats, JHK
photometry may segregate dwarfs and giants.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 127, May
2004, 37 pages, 12 figure
Two More Candidate AM Canum Venaticorum (AM CVn) Binaries from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
AM CVn systems are a select group of ultracompact binaries with the shortest
orbital periods of any known binary subclass; mass-transfer is likely from a
low-mass (partially-)degenerate secondary onto a white dwarf primary, driven by
gravitational radiation. In the past few years, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
(SDSS) has provided five new AM CVns. Here we report on two further candidates
selected from more recent SDSS data. SDSS J1208+3550 is similar to the earlier
SDSS discoveries, recognized as an AM CVn via its distinctive spectrum which is
dominated by helium emission. From the expanded SDSS Data Release 6 (DR6)
spectroscopic area, we provide an updated surface density estimate for such AM
CVns of order 10^{-3.1} to 10^{-2.5} per deg^2 for 15<g<20.5. In addition, we
present another new candidate AM CVn, SDSS J2047+0008, that was discovered in
the course of followup of SDSS-II supernova candidates. It shows nova-like
outbursts in multi-epoch imaging data; in contrast to the other SDSS AM CVn
discoveries, its (outburst) spectrum is dominated by helium absorption lines,
reminiscent of KL Dra and 2003aw. The variability selection of SDSS J2047+0008
from the 300 deg^2 of SDSS Stripe 82 presages further AM CVn discoveries in
future deep, multicolor, and time-domain surveys such as LSST. The new
additions bring the total SDSS yield to seven AM CVns thus far, a substantial
contribution to this rare subclass, versus the dozen previously known.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures, 1 table; submitted to A
Faint High Latitude Carbon Stars Discovered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Methods and Initial Results
We report the discovery of 39 Faint High Latitude Carbon Stars (FHLCs) from
Sloan Digital Sky Survey commissioning data. The objects, each selected
photometrically and verified spectroscopically, range over 16.6 < r* < 20.0,
and show a diversity of temperatures as judged by both colors and NaD line
strengths. At the completion of the Sloan Survey, there will be many hundred
homogeneously selected and observed FHLCs in this sample. We present proper
motion measures for each object, indicating that the sample is a mixture of
extremely distant (>100 kpc) halo giant stars, useful for constraining halo
dynamics, plus members of the recently-recognized exotic class of very nearby
dwarf carbon (dC) stars. Motions, and thus dC classification, are inferred for
40-50 percent of the sample, depending on the level of statistical significance
invoked. The new list of dC stars presented here, although selected from only a
small fraction of the final SDSS, doubles the number of such objects found by
all previous methods. (Abstract abridged).Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 124, Sep.
2002, 40 pages, 7 figures, AASTeX v5.
An Initial Survey of White Dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
An initial assessment is made of white dwarf and hot subdwarf stars observed
in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. In a small area of sky (190 square degrees),
observed much like the full survey will be, 269 white dwarfs and 56 hot
subdwarfs are identified spectroscopically where only 44 white dwarfs and 5 hot
subdwarfs were known previously. Most are ordinary DA (hydrogen atmosphere) and
DB (helium) types. In addition, in the full survey to date, a number of WDs
have been found with uncommon spectral types. Among these are blue DQ stars
displaying lines of atomic carbon; red DQ stars showing molecular bands of C_2
with a wide variety of strengths; DZ stars where Ca and occasionally Mg, Na,
and/or Fe lines are detected; and magnetic WDs with a wide range of magnetic
field strengths in DA, DB, DQ, and (probably) DZ spectral types. Photometry
alone allows identification of stars hotter than 12000 K, and the density of
these stars for 15<g<20 is found to be ~2.2 deg^{-2} at Galactic latitudes
29-62 deg. Spectra are obtained for roughly half of these hot stars. The
spectra show that, for 15<g<17, 40% of hot stars are WDs and the fraction of
WDs rises to ~90% at g=20. The remainder are hot sdB and sdO stars.Comment: Accepted for AJ; 43 pages, including 12 figures and 5 table
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