Some effects of ultrasonic radiation on normal tissues

Lesions can be produced in many different tissues with ultrasonic irradiation at intensities varying from 1 to 3 watts/sq cm for periods of 1 to 15 minutes. The higher the intensity and the longer the duration of treatment, the more severe were the lesions. Focused ultrasound waves of 37.5 total watts for 5 to 15 minutes produced localized areas of necrosis in liver.Other histologic lesions produced by various intensities and durations of treatment included necrosis, inflammation and edema of skin, subcutaneum, and muscle; degeneration, necrosis and giant cell reaction in testis; necrosis, ulcers, inflammation and hemorrhage in the intestines; and necrosis of bone and hyaline droplet change in renal tubular epithelium.Cavitation, probably due to the accumulation of bubbles of gas, was not observed in livers or other tissues of living animals that were treated. The change was produced in the livers of animals treated in situ after death and in livers removed from the body and treated.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32204/1/0000263.pd

Functional Social Support Moderates Stress on Depression in Individuals with CID during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Two-Wave Study.

Depression is a common psychological experience for those living with a chronic illness and disease (CID). Social support (SS) can influence psychological health by regulating emotional functioning. The functional domain of SS refers to supportive exchange, including the emotional and instrumental functions. Public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic include social distancing and isolation, which have impacted functional aspects of SS. The health risks of being isolated are comparable to the risks linked to obesity, blood pressure, and cigarette smoking. PURPOSE: To investigate the moderating effect of functional SS on the stress-depression relationship on individuals with CID during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Two waves of data were collected from a US sample: Apr. ’20: N = 321; Jun. ’20: N = 238. Participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (depression symptoms), the Medical Outcomes Study–Social Support Survey–8 (perceived social support), and the Perceived Stress Scale–10 (perceived stress). For each wave of data, social support was entered as a moderator of the stress-depression relationship via multiple regression. RESULTS: The moderation models were estimated separately by wave. In the first wave, there was a negative but nonsignificant moderating effect (b = -0.19, p = .10) of social support on the stress-depression relationship (R2 = 51). In the second wave, the moderating relationship of social support doubled in magnitude (b = -0.30, p = .03, R2 = .57). During the COVID pandemic, functional social support weakened the association between stress and depression. CONCLUSION: Given the increased risk for social isolation and negative social exchange among people with CID during the COVID-19 pandemic, practitioners in rehabilitation psychology need to be informed about the potential implications of a lack of SS for the psychological health of the CID clients they work with. Drawing from the stress-buffering model and Lazarus et al.’s stress and coping theory (Lazarus, 1966; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), our findings indicate that increased levels of perceived support can reduce the effects of stress on depression during the pandemic by contributing to fewer negative appraisals. Interventions targeting the particular functions of emotional (e.g., opportunities for emotional expression and venting) and instrumental (e.g., material aid) support could have immediate implications for facilitating rehabilitation outcomes (e.g., quality of life, interpersonal functioning, psychiatric symptomatology) during this public health crisis

Vorinostat: A Potent Agent to Prevent and Treat Laser-Induced Corneal Haze

PURPOSE—This study investigated the efficacy and safety of vorinostat, a deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, in the treatment of laser-induced corneal haze following photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in rabbits in vivo and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1) -induced corneal fibrosis in vitro. METHODS—Corneal haze in rabbits was produced with −9.00 diopters (D) PRK. Fibrosis in cultured human and rabbit corneal fibroblasts was activated with TGFβ1. Vorinostat (25 μm) was topically applied once for 5 minutes on rabbit cornea immediately after PRK for in vivo studies. Vorinostat (0 to 25 μm) was given to human/rabbit corneal fibroblasts for 5 minutes or 48 hours for in vitro studies. Slit-lamp microscopy, TUNEL assay, and trypan blue were used to determined vorinostat toxicity, whereas real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunocytochemistry, and immunoblotting were used to measure its efficacy. RESULTS—Single 5-minute vorinostat (25 μm) topical application on the cornea following PRK significantly reduced corneal haze (Pin vivoscreened 4 weeks after PRK. Vorinostat reduced TGFβ1-induced fibrosis in human and rabbit corneas in vitro in a dose-dependent manner without altering cellular viability, phenotype, or proliferation. CONCLUSIONS—Vorinostat is non-cytotoxic and safe for the eye and has potential to prevent laser-induced corneal haze in patients undergoing PRK for high myopia

The mental health of NHS staff during the COVID-19 pandemic:Two-wave Scottish cohort study

Background: Health and social care workers (HSCWs) are at risk of experiencing adverse mental health outcomes (e.g. higher levels of anxiety and depression) because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This can have a detrimental effect on quality of care, the national response to the pandemic and its aftermath. Aims: A longitudinal design provided follow-up evidence on the mental health (changes in prevalence of disease over time) of NHS staff working at a remote health board in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic, and investigated the determinants of mental health outcomes over time. Method: A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted from July to September 2020. Participants self-reported levels of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7) and mental well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale) at baseline and 1.5 months later. Results: The analytic sample of 169 participants, working in community (43%) and hospital (44%) settings, reported substantial levels of depression and anxiety, and low mental well-being at baseline (depression, 30.8%; anxiety, 20.1%; well-being, 31.9%). Although mental health remained mostly constant over time, the proportion of participants meeting the threshold for anxiety increased to 27.2% at follow-up. Multivariable modelling indicated that working with, and disruption because of, COVID-19 were associated with adverse mental health changes over time. Conclusions: HSCWs working in a remote area with low COVID-19 prevalence reported substantial levels of anxiety and depression, similar to those working in areas with high COVID-19 prevalence. Efforts to support HSCW mental health must remain a priority, and should minimise the adverse effects of working with, and disruption caused by, the COVID-19 pandemic

Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009 and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3% for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table, submitted to European Physical Journal

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011

Measurements of Higgs boson production and couplings in diboson final states with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements are presented of production properties and couplings of the recently discovered Higgs boson using the decays into boson pairs, H →γ γ, H → Z Z∗ →4l and H →W W∗ →lνlν. The results are based on the complete pp collision data sample recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 25 fb−1. Evidence for Higgs boson production through vector-boson fusion is reported. Results of combined fits probing Higgs boson couplings to fermions and bosons, as well as anomalous contributions to loop-induced production and decay modes, are presented. All measurements are consistent with expectations for the Standard Model Higgs boson

Measurement of the top quark pair cross section with ATLAS in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV using final states with an electron or a muon and a hadronically decaying τ lepton

A measurement of the cross section of top quark pair production in proton-proton collisions recorded with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is reported. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 2.05 fb -1. Events with an isolated electron or muon and a τ lepton decaying hadronically are used. In addition, a large missing transverse momentum and two or more energetic jets are required. At least one of the jets must be identified as originating from a b quark. The measured cross section, σtt-=186±13(stat.)±20(syst.)±7(lumi.) pb, is in good agreement with the Standard Model prediction

Expected Performance of the ATLAS Experiment - Detector, Trigger and Physics

A detailed study is presented of the expected performance of the ATLAS detector. The reconstruction of tracks, leptons, photons, missing energy and jets is investigated, together with the performance of b-tagging and the trigger. The physics potential for a variety of interesting physics processes, within the Standard Model and beyond, is examined. The study comprises a series of notes based on simulations of the detector and physics processes, with particular emphasis given to the data expected from the first years of operation of the LHC at CERN