437 research outputs found
Mindfulness based interventions in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review
<b>Background</b> Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a stressful condition; depression, anxiety, pain and fatigue are all common problems. Mindfulness based interventions (MBIs) mitigate stress and prevent relapse in depression and are increasingly being used in healthcare. However, there are currently no systematic reviews of MBIs in people with MS. This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of MBIs in people with MS.<p></p>
<b>Methods</b> Systematic searches were carried out in seven major databases, using both subject headings and key words. Papers were screened, data extracted, quality appraised, and analysed by two reviewers independently, using predefined criteria. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. Perceived stress was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes include mental health, physical health, quality of life, and health service utilisation. Statistical meta-analysis was not possible. Disagreements were adjudicated by a third party reviewer.<p></p>
<b>Results</b> Three studies (nâ=â183 participants) were included in the final analysis. The studies were undertaken in Wales (nâ=â16, randomised controlled trial - (RCT)), Switzerland (nâ=â150, RCT), and the United States (nâ=â17, controlled trial). 146 (80%) participants were female; mean age (SD) was 48.6 (9.4) years. Relapsing remitting MS was the main diagnostic category (nâ=â123, 67%); 43 (26%) had secondary progressive disease; and the remainder were unspecified. MBIs lasted 6â8Â weeks; attrition rates were variable (5-43%); all employed pre- post- measures; two had longer follow up; one at 3, and one at 6 months. Socio-economic status of participants was not made explicit; health service utilisation and costs were not reported. No study reported on perceived stress. All studies reported quality of life (QOL), mental health (anxiety and depression), physical (fatigue, standing balance, pain), and psychosocial measures. Statistically significant beneficial effects relating to QOL, mental health, and selected physical health measures were sustained at 3- and 6- month follow up.<p></p>
<b>Conclusion</b> From the limited data available, MBIs may benefit some MS patients in terms of QOL, mental health, and some physical health measures. Further studies are needed to clarify how MBIs might best serve the MS population.<p></p>
Display of probability densities for data from a continuous distribution
Based on cumulative distribution functions, Fourier series expansion and
Kolmogorov tests, we present a simple method to display probability densities
for data drawn from a continuous distribution. It is often more efficient than
using histograms.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, presented at Computer Simulation Studies XXIV,
Athens, GA, 201
Rituximab in B-Cell Hematologic Malignancies: A Review of 20 Years of Clinical Experience
Rituximab is a human/murine, chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody with established efficacy, and a favorable and well-defined safety profile in patients with various CD20-expressing lymphoid malignancies, including indolent and aggressive forms of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Since its first approval 20 years ago, intravenously administered rituximab has revolutionized the treatment of B-cell malignancies and has become a standard component of care for follicular lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and mantle cell lymphoma. For all of these diseases, clinical trials have demonstrated that rituximab not only prolongs the time to disease progression but also extends overall survival. Efficacy benefits have also been shown in patients with marginal zone lymphoma and in more aggressive diseases such as Burkitt lymphoma. Although the proven clinical efficacy and success of rituximab has led to the development of other anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies in recent years (e.g., obinutuzumab, ofatumumab, veltuzumab, and ocrelizumab), rituximab is likely to maintain a position within the therapeutic armamentarium because it is well established with a long history of successful clinical use. Furthermore, a subcutaneous formulation of the drug has been approved both in the EU and in the USA for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. Using the wealth of data published on rituximab during the last two decades, we review the preclinical development of rituximab and the clinical experience gained in the treatment of hematologic B-cell malignancies, with a focus on the well-established intravenous route of administration. This article is a companion paper to A. Davies, et al., which is also published in this issue
A search for W bb and W Higgs production in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We present a search for W b \bar{b} production in p \bar{p} collisions at
sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV in events containing one electron, an imbalance in transverse
momentum, and two b-tagged jets. Using 174 pb-1 of integrated luminosity
accumulated by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, and the
standard-model description of such events, we set a 95% C.L. upper limit on W b
\bar{b}WH--$135
GeV.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Study of events and limits on anomalous and couplings in ppbar collisions at TeV
We present a measurement of the Z\gamma production cross section and limits
on anomalous ZZ\gamma and Z\gamma\gamma couplings for form-factor scales of
Lambda = 750 and 1000 GeV. The measurement is based on 138 (152) candidate
events in the ee\gamma (\mu\mu\gamma) final state using 320 (290) pb^{-1} of
ppbar collisions at \sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV. The 95% C.L. limits on real and
imaginary parts of individual anomalous couplings are |h_{10,30}^{Z}|<0.23,
|h_{20,40}^{Z}|<0.020, |h_{10,30}^{\gamma}|<0.23, and
|h_{20,40}^{\gamma}|<0.019 for Lambda = 1000 GeV.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter
Measurement of the Ratio of B+ and B0 Meson Lifetimes
The ratio of B+ and B0 meson lifetimes was measured using data collected in
2002-2004 by the D0 experiment in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron Collider.
These mesons were reconstructed in B -> mu+ nu D*- X decays, which are
dominated by B0, and B ->mu+ nu D0bar X decays, which are dominated by B+. The
ratio of lifetimes is measured to be t+/t0 = 1.080 +- 0.016(stat) +-
0.014(syst).Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX, to be submitted to Physical Review Letter
A Search for the Flavor-Changing Neutral Current Decay B0_s -> mu^+mu^- in pp(bar) Collisions at \sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV with the D0 Detector
We present the results of a search for the flavor-changing neutral current
decay B0_s -> mu+ mu- using a data set with integrated luminosity of 240
pb^{-1} of pp(bar) collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV collected with the D0
detector in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We find the upper limit
on the branching fraction to be Br(B0_s -> mu+ mu-) \leq 5.0 x 10^{-7} at the
95% C.L. assuming no contributions from the decay B0_d -> mu+ mu- in the signal
region. This limit is the most stringent upper bound on the branching fraction
B0_s -> mu+ mu- to date.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, LaTeX, to be submitted to Physical Review
Letters, minor changes to text, reference adde
Canadian Arctic sea ice reconstructed from bromine in the Greenland NEEM ice core
Reconstructing the past variability of Arctic sea ice provides an essential context for recent multi-year sea ice decline, although few quantitative reconstructions cover the Holocene period prior to the earliest historical records 1,200 years ago. Photochemical recycling of bromine is observed over first-year, or seasonal, sea ice in so-called "bromine explosions" and we employ a 1-D chemistry transport model to quantify processes of bromine enrichment over first-year sea ice and depositional transport over multi-year sea ice and land ice. We report bromine enrichment in the Northwest Greenland Eemian NEEM ice core since the end of the Eemian interglacial 120,000 years ago, finding the maximum extension of first-year sea ice occurred approximately 9,000 years ago during the Holocene climate optimum, when Greenland temperatures were 2 to 3 degrees C above present values. First-year sea ice extent was lowest during the glacial stadials suggesting complete coverage of the Arctic Ocean by multi-year sea ice. These findings demonstrate a clear relationship between temperature and first-year sea ice extent in the Arctic and suggest multi-year sea ice will continue to decline as polar amplification drives Arctic temperatures beyond the 2 degrees C global average warming target of the recent COP21 Paris climate agreement
Advancement of photospheric radius expansion and clocked type-I x-ray burst models with the new 22Mg(α,p)25 Al reaction rate determined at Gamow energy
We report the first (in)elastic scattering measurement of
with the capability to select and measure in a broad
energy range the proton resonances in Si contributing to the
Mg reaction at type I x-ray burst energies. We measured
spin-parities of four resonances above the threshold of Si that
are found to strongly impact the Mg rate. The new rate
advances a state-of-the-art model to remarkably reproduce light curves of the
GS 182624 clocked burster with mean deviation % and permits us to
discover a strong correlation between the He abundance in the accreting
envelope of photospheric radius expansion burster and the dominance of
Mg branch.Comment: accepted by Physical Review Letters on 5 August 2021, published 19
October 202
Effect of Low Temperature on Growth and Ultra-Structure of Staphylococcus spp
The effect of temperature fluctuation is an important factor in bacterial growth especially for pathogens such as the staphylococci that have to remain viable during potentially harsh and prolonged transfer conditions between hosts. The aim of this study was to investigate the response of S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and S. lugdunensis when exposed to low temperature (4°C) for prolonged periods, and how this factor affected their subsequent growth, colony morphology, cellular ultra-structure, and amino acid composition in the non-cytoplasmic hydrolysate fraction. Clinical isolates were grown under optimal conditions and then subjected to 4°C conditions for a period of 8 wks. Cold-stressed and reference control samples were assessed under transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to identify potential ultra-structural changes. To determine changes in amino acid composition, cells were fractured to remove the lipid and cytoplasmic components and the remaining structural components were hydrolysed. Amino acid profiles for the hydrolysis fraction were then analysed for changes by using principal component analysis (PCA). Exposure of the three staphylococci to prolonged low temperature stress resulted in the formation of increasing proportions of small colony variant (SCV) phenotypes. TEM revealed that SCV cells had significantly thicker and more diffuse cell-walls than their corresponding WT samples for both S. aureus and S. epidermidis, but the changes were not significant for S. lugdunensis. Substantial species-specific alterations in the amino acid composition of the structural hydrolysate fraction were also observed in the cold-treated cells. The data indicated that the staphylococci responded over prolonged periods of cold-stress treatment by transforming into SCV populations. The observed ultra-structural and amino acid changes were proposed to represent response mechanisms for staphylococcal survival amidst hostile conditions, thus maintaining the viability of the species until favourable conditions arise again
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