1,040 research outputs found
Interventions for treating depression after stroke
Background: Depression is an important consequence of stroke that impacts on recovery yet is often not detected or inadequately treated. This is an update of a Cochrane review first published in 2004. Objectives: To determine whether pharmaceutical, psychological, or electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) of depression in patients with stroke can improve outcome. Search strategy: We searched the trials registers of the Cochrane Stroke Group (last searched October 2007) and the Cochrane Depression Anxiety and Neurosis Group (last searched February 2008). In addition, we searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2008), MEDLINE (1966 to May 2006), EMBASE (1980 to May 2006), CINAHL (1982 to May 2006), PsycINFO (1967 to May 2006) and other databases. We also searched reference lists, clinical trials registers, conference proceedings and dissertation abstracts, and contacted authors, researchers and pharmaceutical companies. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials comparing pharmaceutical agents with placebo, or various forms of psychotherapy or ECT with standard care (or attention control), in patients with stroke, with the intention of treating depression. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors selected trials for inclusion and assessed methodological quality; three review authors extracted, cross-checked and entered data. Primary analyses were the prevalence of diagnosable depressive disorder at the end of treatment. Secondary outcomes included depression scores on standard scales, physical function, death, recurrent stroke and adverse effects. Main results: Sixteen trials (17 interventions), with 1655 participants, were included in the review. Data were available for 13 pharmaceutical agents, and four trials of psychotherapy. There were no trials of ECT. The analyses were complicated by the lack of standardised diagnostic and outcome criteria, and differing analytic methods. There was some evidence of benefit of pharmacotherapy in terms of a complete remission of depression and a reduction (improvement) in scores on depression rating scales, but there was also evidence of an associated increase in adverse events. There was no evidence of benefit of psychotherapy. Authors' conclusions: A small but significant effect of pharmacotherapy (not psychotherapy) on treating depression and reducing depressive symptoms was found, as was a significant increase in adverse events. More research is required before recommendations can be made about the routine use of such treatments
Incidental cardiac findings on computed tomography imaging of the thorax
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Investigation of pulmonary pathology with computed tomography also allows visualisation of the heart and major vessels. We sought to explore whether clinically relevant cardiac pathology could be identified on computed tomography pulmonary angiograms (CTPA) requested for the exclusion of pulmonary embolism (PE). 100 consecutive CT contrast-enhanced pulmonary angiograms carried out for exclusion of PE at a single centre were assessed retrospectively by two cardiologists.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Evidence of PE was reported in 5% of scans. Incidental cardiac findings included: aortic wall calcification (54%), coronary calcification (46%), cardiomegaly (41%), atrial dilatation (18%), mitral annulus calcification (15%), right ventricular dilatation (11%), aortic dilatation (8%) and right ventricular thrombus (1%). Apart from 3 (3%) reports describing cardiomegaly, no other cardiac findings were described in radiologists' reports. Other reported pulmonary abnormalities included: lung nodules (14%), lobar collapse/consolidation (8%), pleural effusion (2%), lobar collapse/consolidation (8%), emphysema (6%) and pleural calcification (4%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>CTPAs requested for the exclusion of PE have a high yield of cardiac abnormalities. Although these abnormalities may not have implications for acute clinical management, they may, nevertheless, be important in long-term care.</p
Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: the challenge ahead.
Lifestyle factors are responsible for a considerable portion of cancer incidence worldwide, but credible estimates from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) suggest that the fraction of cancers attributable to toxic environmental exposures is between 7% and 19%. To explore the hypothesis that low-dose exposures to mixtures of chemicals in the environment may be combining to contribute to environmental carcinogenesis, we reviewed 11 hallmark phenotypes of cancer, multiple priority target sites for disruption in each area and prototypical chemical disruptors for all targets, this included dose-response characterizations, evidence of low-dose effects and cross-hallmark effects for all targets and chemicals. In total, 85 examples of chemicals were reviewed for actions on key pathways/mechanisms related to carcinogenesis. Only 15% (13/85) were found to have evidence of a dose-response threshold, whereas 59% (50/85) exerted low-dose effects. No dose-response information was found for the remaining 26% (22/85). Our analysis suggests that the cumulative effects of individual (non-carcinogenic) chemicals acting on different pathways, and a variety of related systems, organs, tissues and cells could plausibly conspire to produce carcinogenic synergies. Additional basic research on carcinogenesis and research focused on low-dose effects of chemical mixtures needs to be rigorously pursued before the merits of this hypothesis can be further advanced. However, the structure of the World Health Organization International Programme on Chemical Safety 'Mode of Action' framework should be revisited as it has inherent weaknesses that are not fully aligned with our current understanding of cancer biology
The Large Enriched Germanium Experiment for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (LEGEND)
The observation of neutrinoless double-beta decay (0)
would show that lepton number is violated, reveal that neutrinos are Majorana
particles, and provide information on neutrino mass. A discovery-capable
experiment covering the inverted ordering region, with effective Majorana
neutrino masses of 15 - 50 meV, will require a tonne-scale experiment with
excellent energy resolution and extremely low backgrounds, at the level of
0.1 count /(FWHMtyr) in the region of the signal. The
current generation Ge experiments GERDA and the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR
utilizing high purity Germanium detectors with an intrinsic energy resolution
of 0.12%, have achieved the lowest backgrounds by over an order of magnitude in
the 0 signal region of all 0
experiments. Building on this success, the LEGEND collaboration has been formed
to pursue a tonne-scale Ge experiment. The collaboration aims to develop
a phased 0 experimental program with discovery potential
at a half-life approaching or at years, using existing resources as
appropriate to expedite physics results.Comment: Proceedings of the MEDEX'17 meeting (Prague, May 29 - June 2, 2017
Double Diffraction Dissociation at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider
We present results from a measurement of double diffraction dissociation in
collisions at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The production cross
section for events with a central pseudorapidity gap of width
(overlapping ) is found to be [] at [630]
GeV. Our results are compared with previous measurements and with predictions
based on Regge theory and factorization.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, using RevTeX. Submitted to Physical Review
Letter
Measurement of and Production in Collisions at = 1.96 TeV
The Standard Model predictions for and production are
tested using an integrated luminosity of 200 pb of \ppbar collision data
collected at the Collider Detector at Fermilab. The cross sections are measured
selecting leptonic decays of the and bosons, and photons with
transverse energy GeV that are well separated from leptons. The
production cross sections and kinematic distributions for the and
are compared to SM predictions.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR
Observation of Bs-Bsbar Oscillations
We report the observation of Bs-Bsbar oscillations from a time-dependent
measurement of the Bs-Bsbar oscillation frequency Delta ms. Using a data sample
of 1 fb^-1 of p-pbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II
detector at the Fermilab Tevatron, we find signals of 5600 fully reconstructed
hadronic Bs decays, 3100 partially reconstructed hadronic Bs decays, and 61500
partially reconstructed semileptonic Bs decays. We measure the probability as a
function of proper decay time that the Bs decays with the same, or opposite,
flavor as the flavor at production, and we find a signal for Bs-Bsbar
oscillations. The probability that random fluctuations could produce a
comparable signal is 8 X 10^-8, which exceeds 5 sigma significance. We measure
Delta ms = 17.77 +- 0.10 (stat) +- 0.07 (syst) ps^-1
and extract
|Vtd/Vts| = 0.2060 +- 0.0007 (exp) + 0.0081 - 0.0060 (theor).Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Measurement of the Ratio of Branching Fractions B(D0 -> K+ pi-)/B(D0 -> K- pi+) using the CDF II Detector
We present a measurement of R_B, the ratio of the branching fraction for the
rare decay D0 -> K+ pi- to that for the Cabibbo-favored decay D0 -> K- pi+.
Charge conjugate decays are implicitly included. A signal of 2005 +/- 104
events for the decay D0 -> K+ pi- is obtained using the CDF II detector at the
Fermilab Tevatron collider. The data set corresponds to an integrated
luminosity of 0.35 1/fb produced in p-bar/p collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV.
Assuming no mixing, we find R_B = [ 4.05 +/- 0.21 (stat) +/- 0.11 (syst) ] x
10(-3). This measurement is consistent with the world average, and comparable
in accuracy with the best measurements from other experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Global Search for New Physics with 2.0/fb at CDF
Data collected in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron are searched for
indications of new electroweak-scale physics. Rather than focusing on
particular new physics scenarios, CDF data are analyzed for discrepancies with
the standard model prediction. A model-independent approach (Vista) considers
gross features of the data, and is sensitive to new large cross-section
physics. Further sensitivity to new physics is provided by two additional
algorithms: a Bump Hunter searches invariant mass distributions for "bumps"
that could indicate resonant production of new particles; and the Sleuth
procedure scans for data excesses at large summed transverse momentum. This
combined global search for new physics in 2.0/fb of ppbar collisions at
sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV reveals no indication of physics beyond the standard model.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Final version which appeared in Physical Review D
Rapid Communication
Observation of Orbitally Excited B_s Mesons
We report the first observation of two narrow resonances consistent with
states of orbitally excited (L=1) B_s mesons using 1 fb^{-1} of ppbar
collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the
Fermilab Tevatron. We use two-body decays into K^- and B^+ mesons reconstructed
as B^+ \to J/\psi K^+, J/\psi \to \mu^+ \mu^- or B^+ \to \bar{D}^0 \pi^+,
\bar{D}^0 \to K^+ \pi^-. We deduce the masses of the two states to be m(B_{s1})
= 5829.4 +- 0.7 MeV/c^2 and m(B_{s2}^*) = 5839.7 +- 0.7 MeV/c^2.Comment: Version accepted and published by Phys. Rev. Let
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