1,791 research outputs found
Quality of life and symptom intensity over time in people with cancer receiving palliative care : results from the international European Palliative Care Cancer Symptom study
Background
People with advanced cancer experience multiple symptoms during their illness trajectory, which can fluctuate in intensity.
Aim
To describe the course of self-reported quality of life, emotional functioning, physical functioning and symptom intensity over time in cancer patients receiving palliative care.
Design
Longitudinal study with monthly assessments, using the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL. Data were analysed (1) prospectively, from baseline to >= 8-month follow-up; and (2) retrospectively, by taking death as index date and comparing results from three cross-sectional subsamples at different stages of illness (time to death >= 6, 5-3 and 2-0 months). Linear mixed models were calculated.
Setting/participants
A total of 1739 patients (mean age 66, 50% male) from 30 palliative care centers in 12 countries were included.
Results
In prospective analyses, quality of life, functioning and symptoms-except nausea/vomiting-remained generally stable over time. In retrospective analyses, patients 2-0 months before death reported significantly lower quality of life and physical functioning scores than those 5-3 months before death, who in turn scored lower than those >= 6 months before death, suggesting progressive decline. Emotional functioning remained initially unchanged, but decreased in the last months. Pain, fatigue and appetite loss showed a stable increase in intensity towards death. Dyspnea, insomnia and constipation increased from 5-3 to 2-0 months before death. Nausea/vomiting only increased when comparing those >= 6 months before death with those 2-0 months before death.
Conclusion
While the prospective approach showed predominantly stable patterns for quality of life, functioning and symptom severity throughout study duration, retrospective analyses indicated that deterioration was already apparent before the terminal phase and accelerated close to death. Our findings support the importance of early symptom identification and treatment in this population, and highlight the need for further studies to explore what characterizes those with either lower or higher symptom burden at different time points towards death
Correlated Photon Emission from a Single II-VI Quantum Dot
We report correlation and cross-correlation measurements of photons emitted
under continuous wave excitation by a single II-VI quantum dot (QD) grown by
molecular-beam epitaxy. A standard technique of microphotoluminescence combined
with an ultrafast photon correlation set-up allowed us to see an antibunching
effect on photons emitted by excitons recombining in a single CdTe/ZnTe QD, as
well as cross-correlation within the biexciton ()-exciton ()
radiative cascade from the same dot. Fast microchannel plate photomultipliers
and a time-correlated single photon module gave us an overall temporal
resolution of 140 ps better than the typical exciton lifetime in II-VI QDs of
about 250ps.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Appl. Phys. Let
Excitonic giant Zeeman effect in GaN:Mn^3+
We describe a direct observation of the excitonic giant Zeeman splitting in
(Ga,Mn)N, a wide-gap III-V diluted magnetic semiconductor. Reflectivity and
absorption spectra measured at low temperatures display the A and B excitons,
with a shift under magnetic field due to s,p-d exchange interactions. Using an
excitonic model, we determine the difference of exchange integrals between
Mn^3+ and free carriers in GaN, N_0(alpha-beta)=-1.2 +/- 0.2 eV. Assuming a
reasonable value of alpha, this implies a positive sign of beta which
corresponds to a rarely observed ferromagnetic interaction between the magnetic
ions and the holes.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)N epilayers versus antiferromagnetic GaMnN clusters
Mn-doped wurtzite GaN epilayers have been grown by nitrogen plasma-assisted
molecular beam epitaxy. Correlated SIMS, structural and magnetic measurements
show that the incorporation of Mn strongly depends on the conditions of the
growth. Hysteresis loops which persist at high temperature do not appear to be
correlated to the presence of Mn. Samples with up to 2% Mn are purely
substitutional GaMnN epilayers, and exhibit paramagnetic
properties. At higher Mn contents, precipitates are formed which are identified
as GaMnN clusters by x-ray diffraction and absorption: this induces a
decrease of the paramagnetic magnetisation. Samples co-doped with enough Mg
exhibit a new feature: a ferromagnetic component is observed up to
K, which cannot be related to superparamagnetism of unresolved magnetic
precipitates.Comment: Revised versio
Remote optical addressing of single nano-objects
We present a scheme for remotely addressing single nano-objects by means of
near-field optical microscopy that makes only use of one of the most
fundamental properties of electromagnetic radiation: its polarization. A medium
containing optically active nano-objects is covered with a thin metallic film
presenting sub-wavelength holes. When the optical tip is positioned some
distance away from a hole, surface plasmons in the metal coating are generated
which, by turning the polarization plane of the excitation light, transfer the
excitation towards a chosen hole and induce emission from the underlying
nano-objects. The method, easily applicable to other systems, is demonstrated
for single quantum dots (QDs) at low temperature. It may become a valuable tool
for future optical applications in the nanoworld
Magneto-optical spectroscopy of (Ga,Mn)N epilayers
We report on the magneto-optical spectroscopy and cathodoluminescence of a
set of wurtzite (Ga,Mn)N epilayers with a low Mn content, grown by molecular
beam epitaxy. The sharpness of the absorption lines associated to the Mn
internal transitions allows a precise study of its Zeeman effect in both
Faraday and Voigt configurations. We obtain a good agreement if we assume a
dynamical Jahn-Teller effect in the 3d configuration of Mn, and we
determine the parameters of the effective Hamiltonians describing the
and levels, and those of the spin Hamiltonian in the
ground spin multiplet, from which the magnetization of the isolated ion can be
calculated. On layers grown on transparent substrates, transmission close to
the band gap, and the associated magnetic circular dichroism, reveal the
presence of the giant Zeeman effect resulting from exchange interactions
between the Mn ions and the carriers. The spin-hole interaction is found
to be ferromagnetic
Strength training alone, exercise therapy alone, and exercise therapy with passive manual mobilisation each reduce pain and disability in people with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review
QuestionWhat are the effects of strength training alone, exercise therapy alone, and exercise with additional passive manual mobilisation on pain and function in people with knee osteoarthritis compared to control? What are the effects of these interventions relative to each other?DesignA meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.ParticipantsAdults with osteoarthritis of the knee.Intervention typesStrength training alone, exercise therapy alone (combination of strength training with active range of motion exercises and aerobic activity), or exercise with additional passive manual mobilisation, versus any non-exercise control. Comparisons between the three interventions were also sought.Outcome measuresThe primary outcome measures were pain and physical function.Results12 trials compared one of the interventions against control. The effect size on pain was 0.38 (95% CI 0.23 to 0.54) for strength training, 0.34 (95% CI 0.19 to 0.49) for exercise, and 0.69 (95% CI 0.42 to 0.96) for exercise plus manual mobilisation. Each intervention also improved physical function significantly. No randomised comparisons of the three interventions were identified. However, meta-regression indicated that exercise plus manual mobilisations improved pain significantly more than exercise alone (p = 0.03). The remaining comparisons between the three interventions for pain and physical function were not significant.ConclusionExercise therapy plus manual mobilisation showed a moderate effect size on pain compared to the small effect sizes for strength training or exercise therapy alone. To achieve better pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis physiotherapists or manual therapists might consider adding manual mobilisation to optimise supervised active exercise programs
- …