15,513 research outputs found
The Leeds Evaluation of Efficacy of Detoxification Study (LEEDS) prisons project pilot study: protocol for a randomised controlled trial comparing dihydrocodeine and buprenorphine for opiate detoxification
Background
In the United Kingdom (UK), there is an extensive market for the class 'A' drug heroin. Many heroin users spend time in prison. People addicted to heroin often require prescribed medication when attempting to cease their drug use. The most commonly used detoxification agents in UK prisons are buprenorphine, dihydrocodeine and methadone. However, national guidelines do not state a detoxification drug of choice. Indeed, there is a paucity of research evaluating the most effective treatment for opiate detoxification in prisons. This study seeks to address the paucity by evaluating routinely used interventions amongst drug using prisoners within UK prisons.
Methods/Design
The Leeds Evaluation of Efficacy of Detoxification Study (LEEDS) Prisons Pilot Study will use randomised controlled trial methodology to compare the open use of buprenorphine and dihydrocodeine for opiate detoxification, given in the context of routine care, within HMP Leeds. Prisoners who are eligible and give informed consent will be entered into the trial. The primary outcome measure will be abstinence status at five days post detoxification, as determined by a urine test. Secondary outcomes during the detoxification and then at one, three and six months post detoxification will be recorded
Nucleon Spin Structures from Lattice QCD: Flavor Singlet Axial and Tensor Charges
The flavor singlet axial and tensor charges of the nucleon are calculated in
lattice QCD. We find for the axial charge and
for the tensor charge. The result for the axial charge shows
reasonable agreement with the experiment and that for the tensor charge is the
first prediction from lattice QCD before experimental measurements.Comment: 10 pages, latex source-file, 5 figures as epsf-file, uses
espcrc1.sty. Invited talk at the International Conference on Quark Lepton
Nuclear Physics, 20-23 May 1997, Osaka, Japa
Development of relativistic shock waves in viscous gluon matter
To investigate the formation and the propagation of relativistic shock waves
in viscous gluon matter we solve the relativistic Riemann problem using a
microscopic parton cascade. We demonstrate the transition from ideal to viscous
shock waves by varying the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio .
We show that an ratio larger than 0.2 prevents the development of
well-defined shock waves on time scales typical for ultrarelativistic heavy-ion
collisions. These findings are confirmed by viscous hydrodynamic calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures - To appear in the conference proceedings for
Quark Matter 2009, March 30 - April 4, Knoxville, Tennesse
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and productivity of schizophrenia trials: an ecological study
The 5000 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's database affords an opportunity to research for variables related to the differences between nations of their output of schizophrenia trials.
Ecological study – investigating the relationship between four economic/demographic variables and number of schizophrenia RCTs per country. The variable with closest correlation was used to predict the expected number of studies.
GDP closely correlated with schizophrenia trial output, with 76% of the total variation about the Y explained by the regression line (r = 0.87, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.92, r2 = 0.76). Many countries have a strong tradition of schizophrenia trials, exceeding their predicted output. All nations with no identified trial output had GDPs that predicted zero trial activity. Several nations with relatively small GDPs are, nevertheless, highly productive of trials. Some wealthy countries seem either not to have produced the expected number of randomised trials or not to have disseminated them to the English-speaking world.
This hypothesis-generating study could not investigate causal relationships, but suggests, that for those seeking all relevant studies, expending effort searching the scientific literature of Germany, Italy, France, Brazil and Japan may be a good investment
A conceptual multidimensional model for assessing smart sustainable cities
The concept of Smart Sustainable Cities (SSC) is gaining increasing attention by the countries around the globe, particularly in response to potential future environmental challenges and increased proportion of populations living in cities. Several countries claim to have implemented or in the process of implementing SSCs, and there are many models that can be used to measure how 'smart' the initiatives and cities are. This paper critically evaluates the main models to measure city smartness and identifies deficiencies, namely that they are not sensitive to the needs, resources, priorities and wider context for individual cities. The paper suggests a multidimensional methodological model that assists in evaluating the smartness level of a city while being sensitive to its context. It provides further contribution by combining sustainable and smart attributes of a cit
Radio Frequency in the Treatment of Lumbar Facet Joint Arthropathy: Indications and Technical Notes
Low back pain is one of the most reported symptoms in adult life. Different etiologies have been evoked. Degenerative disease of the spine is the most common cause. Facet joint arthropathy is the second leading cause of low back pain in degenerative disease. Failure of medical treatment will lead to more invasive therapeutic option. Radio frequency is a well-known therapeutic option for refractory low back pain related to facet arthropathy. We present our results analyzed retrospectively between January 2015 and March 2018. In addition, we describe our workflow, our procedure technique, and our results. According to our findings, 73% improved their VAS pain score by at least 50% over 3 months. Twenty-seven percent failed to improve with this procedure. There was a 20-point improvement on the SF-36 QOL; the overall satisfaction was high. When patients are selected carefully, radio-frequency ablation technique is a safe and efficient procedure. Its complication rate and cost are low. We recommend it as one of the therapeutic tools in the management of low back pain related to facet joint disease
A substitute for the singular Green kernel in the Newtonian potential of celestial bodies
The "point mass singularity" inherent in Newton's law for gravitation
represents a major difficulty in accurately determining the potential and
forces inside continuous bodies. Here we report a simple and efficient
analytical method to bypass the singular Green kernel 1/|r-r'| inside the
source without altering the nature of the interaction. We build an equivalent
kernel made up of a "cool kernel", which is fully regular (and contains the
long-range -GM/r asymptotic behavior), and the gradient of a "hyperkernel",
which is also regular. Compared to the initial kernel, these two components are
easily integrated over the source volume using standard numerical techniques.
The demonstration is presented for three-dimensional distributions in
cylindrical coordinates, which are well-suited to describing rotating bodies
(stars, discs, asteroids, etc.) as commonly found in the Universe. An example
of implementation is given. The case of axial symmetry is treated in detail,
and the accuracy is checked by considering an exact potential/surface density
pair corresponding to a flat circular disc. This framework provides new tools
to keep or even improve the physical realism of models and simulations of
self-gravitating systems, and represents, for some of them, a conclusive
alternative to softened gravity.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 7 pages, color figure
The QGP phase in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
The dynamics of partons, hadrons and strings in relativistic nucleus-nucleus
collisions is analyzed within the novel Parton-Hadron-String Dynamics (PHSD)
transport approach, which is based on a dynamical quasiparticle model for
partons (DQPM) matched to reproduce recent lattice-QCD results - including the
partonic equation of state - in thermodynamic equilibrium. The transition from
partonic to hadronic degrees of freedom is described by covariant transition
rates for the fusion of quark-antiquark pairs or three quarks (antiquarks),
respectively, obeying flavor current-conservation, color neutrality as well as
energy-momentum conservation. The PHSD approach is applied to nucleus-nucleus
collisions from low SIS to RHIC energies. The traces of partonic interactions
are found in particular in the elliptic flow of hadrons as well as in their
transverse mass spectra.Comment: To be published by Springer in Proceedings of the International
Symposium on `Exciting Physics', Makutsi-Range, South Africa, 13-20 November,
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