Szegö-Kac-Achiezer formulas in terms of realizations of the symbol

AbstractFor rational and analytic matrix functions new formulas are obtained for the limits in the Szegö-Kac-Achiezer limit theorems. In the rational case the new expressions are given in terms of finite matrices which come from special representations of the matrix functions. These representations are known as realizations in mathematical systems theory

Viscosity and fission time scale of^{156}Dy

In the fusion-fission reaction Ar-40+Cd-116-->Dy-156-->fission, performed at beam energies E(b) = 216 MeV and 238 MeV, gamma rays were measured in coincidence with fission fragments. The gamma-ray spectra are interpreted using a modified version of the statistical-model code CASCADE. From a comparison of the experimental and calculated spectra it is deduced that the nuclear viscosity is in the range 0.01 <gamma <4. The extracted fission time scale is of the order of 10(-19) s

Modelling changes in the pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus during pregnancy after kidney transplantation:A retrospective cohort study

Aims: Pregnancy after kidney transplantation is realistic but immunosuppressants should be continued to prevent rejection. Tacrolimus is safe during pregnancy and is routinely dosed based on whole-blood predose concentrations. However, maintaining these concentrations is complicated as physiological changes during pregnancy affect tacrolimus pharmacokinetics. The aim of this study was to describe tacrolimus pharmacokinetics throughout pregnancy and explain the changes by investigating covariates in a population pharmacokinetic model. Methods: Data of pregnant women using a twice-daily tacrolimus formulation following kidney transplantation were retrospectively collected from 6 months before conception, throughout gestation and up to 6 months postpartum. Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed using nonlinear mixed effects modelling. Demographic, clinical and genetic parameters were evaluated as covariates. The final model was evaluated using goodness-of-fit plots, visual predictive checks and a bootstrap analysis. Results: A total of 260 whole-blood tacrolimus predose concentrations from 14 pregnant kidney transplant recipients were included. Clearance increased during pregnancy from 34.5 to 41.7 L/h, by 15, 19 and 21% in the first, second and third trimester, respectively, compared to prior to pregnancy. This indicates a required increase in the tacrolimus dose by the same percentage to maintain the prepregnancy concentration. Haematocrit and gestational age were negatively correlated with tacrolimus clearance (P ≤ 0.01), explaining 18% of interindividual and 85% of interoccasion variability in oral clearance.Conclusions: Tacrolimus clearance increases during pregnancy, resulting in decreased exposure to tacrolimus, which is explained by gestational age and haematocrit. To maintain prepregnancy target whole-blood tacrolimus predose concentrations during pregnancy, increasing the dose is required.</p

Visualization formats of patient-reported outcome measures in clinical practice: a systematic review about preferences and interpretation accuracy

Purpose The use of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for individual patient management within clinical practice is becoming increasingly important. New evidence about graphic visualization formats for PROMs scores has become available. This systematic literature review evaluated evidence for graphic visualization formats of PROMs data in clinical practice for patients and clinicians, for both individual and group level PROMs data. Methods Studies published between 2000 and 2020 were extracted from CINAHL, PubMed, PsychInfo, and Medline. Studies included patients >= 18 years old in daily clinical practice. Papers not available in English, without full-text access, or that did not specifically describe visualization of PROMs data were excluded. Outcomes were: visualization preferences; interpretation accuracy; guidance for clinical interpretation. Results Twenty-five out of 789 papers were included for final analysis. Most frequently studied formats were: bar charts, line graphs, and pie charts. Patients preferred bar charts and line graphs as these were easy and quick for retrieving information about their PROMs scores over time. Clinicians' interpretation accuracy and preferences were similar among graphic visualization formats. Scores were most often compared with patients' own previous scores; to further guide clinical interpretation, scores were compared to norm population scores. Different 'add-ons' improved interpretability for patients and clinicians, e.g. using colors, descriptions of measurement scale directionality, descriptive labels, and brief definitions. Conclusion There was no predominant graphical visualization format approach in terms of preferences or interpretation accuracy for both patients and clinicians. Detailed clarification of graph content is essential.Plain English summary Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) capture patients' self-reported health through the use of questionnaires. PROMs measure health related quality of life, daily functioning, and symptom experience, which are becoming increasingly important to incorporate in clinical practice for individual patient management. To present PROMs within clinical practice, raw or summarized PROMs scores can be visualized in graphical formats. To be useful during clinical encounters, both patients and clinicians ought to interpret such formats correctly. New evidence about graphic visualization formats for PROMs scores has become available. Therefore, we systematically reviewed the literature to evaluate evidence for graphic visualization formats of PROMs data in clinical practice. In 25 included papers, most studies used graphical formats like bar charts, line graphs, and pie charts for presenting PROMs scores. There was no predominant graphical visualization format approach in terms of preferences or interpretation accuracy for both patients and clinicians. Patients preferred bar charts and line graphs as these were easy and quick for retrieving information about their PROMs scores over time. Clinicians' interpretation accuracy and preferences were similar among graphic visualization formats. The graphical interpretation of PROMs data for patients and clinicians can be improved by using colors, descriptions of measurement scale directionality, descriptive labels, and brief definitions.Analysis and support of clinical decision makin

Compilation of Giant Electric Dipole Resonances Built on Excited States

Giant Electric Dipole Resonance (GDR) parameters for gamma decay to excited states with finite spin and temperature are compiled. Over 100 original works have been reviewed and from some 70 of which more than 300 parameter sets of hot GDR parameters for different isotopes, excitation energies, and spin regions have been extracted. All parameter sets have been brought onto a common footing by calculating the equivalent Lorentzian parameters. The current compilation is complementary to an earlier compilation by Samuel S. Dietrich and Barry L. Berman (At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 38(1988)199-338) on ground-state photo-neutron and photo-absorption cross sections and their Lorentzian parameters. A comparison of the two may help shed light on the evolution of GDR parameters with temperature and spin. The present compilation is current as of January 2006.Comment: 31 pages including 1 tabl

Lack of evidence for a superdeformed band in^{192}Pb

An experiment was performed to measure the lifetimes of the states in the superdeformed band reported in Pb192. No evidence for such a band was found, despite the fact that the experimental conditions were nearly identical to those of an earlier measurement where this band was proposed. The problems and questions encountered in the analysis are described. The arguments presented here indicate that further measurements are needed to establish the existence of a superdeformed band in this nucleus unambiguously

Different susceptibility of osteosarcoma cell lines and primary cells to treatment with oncolytic adenovirus and doxorubicin or cisplatin

Despite improvements in treatment regimens for osteosarcoma (OS) patients, survival rate has not increased over the last two decades. New treatment modalities are therefore warranted. Preclinical results with conditionally replicative adenoviruses (CRAds) to treat OS are promising. One type of CRAd that was effective against OS cells is Ad5-Δ24RGD. In other types of cancer, CRAds have been shown to interact synergistically with chemotherapeutic agents. Chemotherapy for OS often includes doxorubicin and cisplatin. Therefore, we explored combination treatment of OS cell lines and primary OS cell cultures with Ad5-Δ24RGD and doxorubicin or cisplatin. On OS cell lines, combination treatment was additive to synergistic. Surprisingly, however, on seven of eight primary OS samples no such combination effects were observed. In contrast, in many cases chemotherapy even inhibited CRAd-mediated cell killing. The inhibitory effect of doxorubicin on Ad5-Δ24RGD in primary OS cells appeared to correlate with slow cell growth rate; reduced viral replication and absence of chemotherapy-induced G2 cell cycle arrest. Our results point to the possibility that, at least for OS, virotherapy and chemotherapy should best not be performed simultaneously. In general, our work underscores the importance of testing new genetic anticancer agents and treatment regimens on primary cancer specimens

The study design of UDRIVE: the Naturalistic Driving Study across Europe for cars, trucks and scooters

Purpose: UDRIVE is the first large-scale European Naturalistic Driving Study on cars, trucks and powered two wheelers. The acronym stands for "European naturalistic Driving and Riding for Infrastructure & Vehicle safety and Environment". The purpose of the study is to gain a better understanding of what happens on the road in everyday traffic situations. Methods: The paper describes Naturalistic Driving Studies, a method which provides insight into the actual real-world behaviour of road users, unaffected by experimental conditions and related biases. Naturalistic driving can be defined as a study undertaken to provide insight into driver behaviour during everyday trips by recording details of the driver, the vehicle and the surroundings through unobtrusive data gathering equipment and without experimental control. Data collection will take place in six EU Member States. Results: Road User Behaviour will be studied with a focus on both safety and environment. The UDRIVE project follows the steps of the FESTA-V methodology, which was originally designed for Field Operational Tests. Conclusions: Defining research questions forms the basis of the study design and the specification of the recording equipment. Both will be described in this paper. Although the project has just started collecting data from drivers, we consider the process of designing the study as a major result which may help other initiatives to set up similar studies