The development of a personnel dosimetry system for apollo eleventh quarterly progress report

Personnel dosimetry system for Apoll

Associations between adherence, depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life in young adults with cystic fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a life shortening disease, however prognosis has improved and the adult population is growing. Most adults with cystic fibrosis live independent lives and balance the demands of work and family life with a significant treatment burden. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among treatment adherence, symptoms of depression and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a population of young adults with CF. METHODS: We administered three standardized questionnaires to 67 patients with CF aged 18–30 years; Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, Major Depression Inventory, and Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised. RESULTS: There was a response rate of 77 % and a majority of the young adults (84 %) were employed or in an education program. Most participants (74 %) reported low adherence to medications. One third (32.8 %) of the participants reported symptoms of depression. HRQoL scores were especially low on Vitality and Treatment Burden, and symptoms of depression were associated with low HRQoL scores (p < 0.01) with medium to large deficits across on all HRQoL domains (Cohen’s d 0.60–1.72) except for the domain treatment burden. High depression symptom scores were associated with low adherence (r = −0.412, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite improved physical health, many patients with CF report poor adherence, as well as impaired mental wellbeing and HRQoL. Thus, more attention to mental health issues is needed

Small States in the Rearview Mirror: Legitimacy in the Management of Economy and Society

Small States in World Markets is about political efficacy and legitimation rather than scoring who is ahead in the economic sweepstakes. Its case for democratic corporatism rests on norms, particularly stability, rather than on narrow measures of economic efficiency. But stability and the efficacious management of the economy and social problems requires a degree of technocracy that undermines the legitimacy of the management process itself by helping to produce populist revolts

Zidovudine (AZT) Monotherapy Selects for the A360V Mutation in the Connection Domain of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase

Background: We previously demonstrated in vitro that zidovudine (AZT) selects for A371V in the connection domain and Q509L in ribonuclease H (RNase H) domain of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) which, together with the thymidine analog mutations D67N, K70R and T215F, confer greater than 100-fold AZT resistance. The goal of the current study was to determine whether AZT monotherapy in HIV-1 infected patients also selects the A371V, Q509L or other mutations in the C-terminal domains of HIV-1 RT. Methodology/Principal Findings: Full-length RT sequences in plasma obtained pre- and post-therapy were compared in 23 participants who received AZT monotherapy from the AIDS Clinical Trials Group study 175. Five of the 23 participants reached a primary study endpoint. Mutations significantly associated with AZT monotherapy included K70R (p = 0.003) and T215Y (p = 0.013) in the polymerase domain of HIV-1 RT, and A360V (p = 0.041) in the connection domain of HIV-1 RT. HIV-1 drug susceptibility assays demonstrated that A360V, either alone or in combination with thymidine analog mutations, decreased AZT susceptibility in recombinant viruses containing participant-derived full-length RT sequences or site-directed mutant RT. Biochemical studies revealed that A360V enhances the AZT-monophosphate excision activity of purified RT by significantly decreasing the frequency of secondary RNase H cleavage events that reduce the RNA/DNA duplex length and promote template/primer dissociation. Conclusions: The A360V mutation in the connection domain of RT was selected in HIV-infected individuals that received AZT monotherapy and contributed to AZT resistance. © 2012 Brehm et al

Convergence towards a European strategic culture? A constructivist framework for explaining changing norms.

The article contributes to the debate about the emergence of a European strategic culture to underpin a European Security and Defence Policy. Noting both conceptual and empirical weaknesses in the literature, the article disaggregates the concept of strategic culture and focuses on four types of norms concerning the means and ends for the use of force. The study argues that national strategic cultures are less resistant to change than commonly thought and that they have been subject to three types of learning pressures since 1989: changing threat perceptions, institutional socialization, and mediatized crisis learning. The combined effect of these mechanisms would be a process of convergence with regard to strategic norms prevalent in current EU countries. If the outlined hypotheses can be substantiated by further research the implications for ESDP are positive, especially if the EU acts cautiously in those cases which involve norms that are not yet sufficiently shared across countries

Impact of N-myc amplification on median survival in children with neuroblastoma

Background: Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial malignant solid tumor in children under 5 years, and it is characterized by wide clinical and biological heterogeneity. N-myc oncogene amplification is considered to be one of the most important prognostic factors used to evaluate survival in these patients. Objectives: The aim of our study was to determine amplification of the N-myc oncogene using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and to show the influence of N-myc amplified tumors on the overall survival rate. Patients and Methods: This study is an analytical historical cohort study of forty children with neuroblastoma admitted to the Shafa Hospital, Iran from 1999 to 2010. Paraffined blocks of tumoral tissue were analyzed for N-myc amplification by a PCR. The degree of N-myc amplification was derived from the ratio of the N-myc oncogene and the single copy reference gene, NAGK. In the statistical analysis, a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used. Results: We found a variable degree of N-myc amplification, from 3 to 2 200, in 32 of the 40 neuroblastomas (80%). NMYC amplification was seen more frequently in patients older than 2.5 years (71.9%), stage 4 (65.6%) and female (53.1%). Median survival time in the males was significantly longer than in the females (P = 0.03). The overall median survival for N-myc amplified tumor patients was 20 months, and 30 months for the non amplified tumors. Conclusions: The N-myc amplified tumors may increase the probability of more aggressive behavior and rapid tumor progression, especially in advanced stages of neuroblastoma. This study confirmed the importance of obtaining correct measurements of oncogene amplification in the early evaluation of neuroblastomas in order to target more aggressive therapies in patients with a higher risk of cancer progression

Re-imagining the Borders of US Security after 9/11: Securitisation, Risk, and the Creation of the Department of Homeland Security

The articulation of international and transnational terrorism as a key issue in US security policy, as a result of the 9/11 attacks, has not only led to a policy rethink, it has also included a bureaucratic shift within the US, showing a re-thinking of the role of borders within US security policy. Drawing substantively on the 'securitisation' approach to security studies, the article analyses the discourse of US security in order to examine the founding of the Department of Homeland Security, noting that its mission provides a new way of conceptualising 'borders' for US national security. The securitisation of terrorism is, therefore, not only represented by marking terrorism as a security issue, it is also solidified in the organisation of security policy-making within the US state. As such, the impact of a 'war on terror' provides an important moment for analysing the re-articulation of what security is in the US, and, in theoretical terms, for reaffirming the importance of a relationship between the production of threat and the institutionalisation of threat response. © 2007 Taylor & Francis