444 research outputs found
Pacing as a strategy to improve energy management in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a consensus document
Purpose: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating condition characterized by a number of symptoms which typically worsen following minimal exertion. Various strategies to manage the limited energy levels have been proposed. Of these, pacing has been consistently rated as one of the most helpful in surveys conducted by patient groups. This review is a response to the paucity of the information on pacing in the scientific literature. Method: We describe the principle of pacing and how this can be adapted to meet individual abilities and preferences. A critical evaluation of the research was conducted to ascertain the benefits and limitations of this strategy. Results: Based on various studies, it is proposed that pacing can help to stabilize the condition and avoid post-exertional malaise. Conclusion: Pacing offers practitioners an additional therapeutic option which is acceptable to the majority of patients and can reduce the severity of the exertion-related symptoms of ME/CFS
Multiple Conclusion Rules in Logics with the Disjunction Property
We prove that for the intermediate logics with the disjunction property any
basis of admissible rules can be reduced to a basis of admissible m-rules
(multiple-conclusion rules), and every basis of admissible m-rules can be
reduced to a basis of admissible rules. These results can be generalized to a
broad class of logics including positive logic and its extensions, Johansson
logic, normal extensions of S4, n-transitive logics and intuitionistic modal
logics
Identification of a protein encoded in the EB-viral open reading frame BMRF2
Using monospecific rabbit sera against a peptide derived from a potential antigenic region of the Epstein-Barr viral amino acid sequence encoded in the open reading frame BMRF2 we could identify a protein-complex of 53/55 kDa in chemically induced B95-8, P3HR1 and Raji cell lines. This protein could be shown to be membrane-associated, as predicted by previous computer analysis of the secondary structure and hydrophilicity pattern, and may be a member of EBV-induced membrane proteins in lytically infected cells
The Cross-Cultural Dementia Screening (CCD):A new neuropsychological screening instrument for dementia in elderly immigrants
Objective: Currently, approximately 3.9% of the European population are non-EU citizens, and a large part of these people are from "non-Western" societies, such as Turkey and Morocco. For various reasons, the incidence of dementia in this group is expected to increase. However, cognitive testing is challenging due to language barriers and low education and/or illiteracy. The newly developed Cross-Cultural Dementia Screening (CCD) can be administered without an interpreter. It contains three subtests that assess memory, mental speed, and executive function. We hypothesized the CCD to be a culture-fair test that could discriminate between demented patients and cognitively healthy controls. Method: To test this hypothesis, 54 patients who had probable dementia were recruited via memory clinics. Controls (N = 1625) were recruited via their general practitioners. All patients and controls were aged 55 years and older and of six different self-defined ethnicities (Dutch, Turkish, Moroccan-Arabic, Moroccan-Berber, Surinamese-Creole, and Surinamese-Hindustani). Exclusion criteria included current or previous conditions that affect cognitive functioning. Results: There were performance differences between the ethnic groups, but these disappeared after correcting for age and education differences between the groups, which supports our central hypothesis that the CCD is a culture-fair test. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) and logistic regression analyses showed that the CCD has high predictive validity for dementia (sensitivity: 85%; specificity: 89%). Discussion: The CCD is a sensitive and culture-fair neuropsychological instrument for dementia screening in low-educated immigrant populations.</p
Consistent off-shell vertex and nucleon self-energy
We present a consistent calculation of half-off-shell form factors in the
pion-nucleon vertex and the nucleon self-energy. Numerical results are
presented. Near the on-shell point the pion-nucleon vertex is dominated by the
pseudovector coupling, while at large nucleon invariant masses we find a
sizable pseudoscalar admixture.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, REVTeX, submitted to Phys. Rev. C, replaced with
corrected versio
New Class of Monoclonal Antibodies against Severe Influenza: Prophylactic and Therapeutic Efficacy in Ferrets
Background: The urgent medical need for innovative approaches to control influenza is emphasized by the widespread resistance of circulating subtype H1N1 viruses to the leading antiviral drug oseltamivir, the pandemic threat posed by the occurrences of human infections with highly pathogenic avian H5N1 viruses, and indeed the evolving swine-origin H1N1 influenza pandemic. A recently discovered class of human monoclonal antibodies with the ability to neutralize a broad spectrum of influenza viruses (including H1, H2, H5, H6 and H9 subtypes) has the potential to prevent and treat influenza in humans. Here we report the latest efficacy data for a representative antibody of this novel class. Methodology/Principal Findings: We evaluated the prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy of the human monoclonal antibody CR6261 against lethal challenge with the highly pathogenic avian H5N1 virus in ferrets, the optimal model of human influenza infection. Survival rates, clinically relevant disease signs such as changes in body weight and temperature, virus replication in lungs and upper respiratory tract, as well as macro- and microscopic pathology were investigated. Prophylactic administration of 30 and 10 mg/kg CR6261 prior to viral challenge completely prevented mortality, weight loss and reduced the amount of infectious virus in the lungs by more than 99.9%, abolished shedding of virus in phar
Towards an understanding of isospin violation in pion-nucleon scattering
We investigate isospin breaking in low-energy pion-nucleon scattering in the
framework of chiral perturbation theory. This work extends the systematic
analysis of [1] to the energy range above threshold. Various relations, which
identically vanish in the limit of isospin symmetry, are used to quantify
isospin breaking effects. We study the energy dependence of the S- and P-wave
projections of these ratios and find dramatic effects in the S-waves of those
two relations which are given in terms of isoscalar quantities only. This
effect drops rather quickly with growing center-of-mass energy.Comment: 12 pp, REVTeX, 8 figs, FZJ-IKP(TH)-2000-2
Solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation for pion-nucleon scattering
A relativistic description of pion-nucleon scattering based on the
four-dimensional Bethe-Salpeter equation is presented. The kernel of the
equation consists of s- and u-channel nucleon and delta pole diagrams, as well
as rho and sigma exchange in the t-channel. The Bethe-Salpeter equation is
solved by means of a Wick rotation, and good fits are obtained to the s- and
p-wave phase shifts up to 360 MeV pion laboratory energy. The coupling
constants determined by the fits are consistent with the commonly accepted
values in the literature.Comment: 34 pages, RevTeX; 7 figures. Several references added, a few typos
corrected. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Compton scattering on the nucleon at intermediate energies and polarizabilities in a microscopic model
A microscopic calculation of Compton scattering on the nucleon is presented
which encompasses the lowest energies -- yielding nucleon polarizabilities --
and extends to energies of the order of 600 MeV. We have used the covariant
"Dressed K-Matrix Model" obeying the symmetry properties which are appropriate
in the different energy regimes. In particular, crossing symmetry, gauge
invariance and unitarity are satisfied. The extent of violation of analyticity
(causality) is used as an expansion parameter.Comment: 35 pages, 15 figures, using REVTeX. Modified version to be published
in Phys. Rev. C, more extensive comparison with data for Compton scattering,
all results unchange
- …