Intravenous immunoglobulin treatment for mild Guillain-Barré syndrome: an international observational study

Objective: To compare the disease course in patients with mild Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) who were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) or supportive care only. Methods: We selected patients from the prospective observational International GBS Outcome Study (IGOS) who were able to walk independently at study entry (mild GBS), treated with one IVIg course or supportive care. The primary endpoint was the GBS disability score four weeks after study entry, assessed by multivariable ordinal regression analysis. Results Of 188 eligible patients, 148 (79%) were treated with IVIg and 40 (21%) with supportive care. The IVIg group was more disabled at baseline. IVIg treatment was not associated with lower GBS disability scores at 4 weeks (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.62, 95% CI 0.63 to 4.13). Nearly all secondary endpoints showed no benefit from IVIg, although the time to regain full muscle strength was shorter (28 vs 56 days, p=0.03) and reported pain at 26 weeks was lower (n=26/121, 22% vs n=12/30, 40%, p=0.04) in the IVIg treated patients. In the subanalysis with persistent mild GBS in the first 2 weeks, the aOR for a lower GBS disability score at 4 weeks was 2.32 (95% CI 0.76 to 7.13). At 1 year, 40% of all patients had residual symptoms. Conclusion: In patients with mild GBS, one course of IVIg did not improve the overall disease course. The certainty of this conclusion is limited by confounding factors, selection bias and wide confidence limits. Residual symptoms were often present after one year, indicating the need for better treatments in mild GBS

Alien Registration- Lunn, Muriel M. (Auburn, Androscoggin County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/31145/thumbnail.jp

Cold Case Homicides: an Examination of Clearance Factors

The killing of one individual by another is something in our culture that garners a lot of attention from the media as well as community leaders. Law enforcement agencies have a duty to find resolution to these crimes. Yet, even with the rapid growth of forensics and the technology associated with it, there are still cases that go unsolved. These cases are commonly referred to as cold case homicides. In order to evaluate whether forensic evidence or investigative technique plays a larger role in the clearance of cold case homicides, a retrospective study was conducted to examine previously solved cold case homicides to reveal what factors lead to their clearance. This study explored the role of forensics in closing cold case homicides as the culture around homicide has changed in recent years. A qualitative case-study analysis was utilized to examine the research questions: (a) what role does forensic evidence play versus investigative technique in the clearance of cold case homicides, and (b) is clearance by forensic evidence or investigative technique affected by the method of death? The criminological theory of Moral Disengagement Theory was utilized to explain why an individual would take another\u27s life, as well as the increase in homicide cases turning cold. The examination identified four themes that were used to answer the two research questions that were proposed

Unhappiness, health and cognitive ability in old age

Background To test whether scores on depression inventories on entry to a longitudinal study predict mental ability over the next 4–16 years. Method Associations between scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and on tests of intelligence, vocabulary and memory were analysed in 5070 volunteers aged 49–93 years after differences in prescribed drug consumption, death and drop-out, sex, socio-economic advantage and recruitment cohort effects had also been considered. Results On all cognitive tasks Beck scores on entry, even in the range 0–7 indicating differences in above average contentment, affected overall levels of cognitive performance but not rates of age-related cognitive decline suggesting effects of differences in life satisfaction rather than in depression. Conclusions A new finding is that, in old age, increments in life satisfaction are associated with better cognitive performance. Implications for interpreting associations between depression inventory scores and cognitive performance in elderly samples are discussed

Synthesis of mannosylated and PEGylated nanoparticles via RAFT emulsion polymerisation, and investigation of particle-lectin aggregation using turbidimetric and DLS techniques

Recent developments in controlled radical polymerisation presents an attractive way of producing biocompatible polymeric nanoparticles for a wide range of applications. With this motivation, well defined P (ManAm) and P(PEGA) coated nanoparticles in a range of different sizes have been synthesised via RAFT emulsion polymerisation. The particles were used to precisely investigate the effect of particle size on lectin binding with Concanavalin A, and validate the use of online DLS measurements for lectin-glycoparticle aggregation studies. Larger particles were found to have an enhanced aggregation by both UV–Vis turbidimetric and DLS aggregation studies. The DLS technique was shown to be robust up to an aggregate diameter of c.500 nm for aggregation tests, and was not affected by any dilution or light scattering effects that typically hinder the common use of turbidimetry in particle aggregation studies

Bayesian hierarchical model for the prediction of football results

The problem of modelling football data has become increasingly popular in the last few years and many different models have been proposed with the aim of estimating the characteristics that bring a team to lose or win a game, or to predict the score of a particular match. We propose a Bayesian hierarchical model to fulfil both these aims and test its predictive strength based on data about the Italian Serie A 1991-1992 championship. To overcome the issue of overshrinkage produced by the Bayesian hierarchical model, we specify a more complex mixture model that results in a better fit to the observed data. We test its performance using an example of the Italian Serie A 2007-2008 championship

A Framework for Guiding Transformative Growth After High School Shootings

For the last 20 years, gun violence has severely compromised safety, learning outcomes, social development, and psychological well-being in many high school communities. An emerging body of international research describes strategies developed to support students and staff members in the wake of school shootings. However, these protocols are typically designed to help administrators manage the immediate sequelae of these incidents, leaving survivors to handle the lasting consequences of their experiences on their own. This article presents a broad framework for facilitating long-term psychological growth that can be integrated into high school curricula. It is based on the complementary theories of Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) and Transformative Learning (TL), which explain how positive psychological change can occur after a traumatic event disrupts a person’s assumptive worldview. The three segments of the TL process—questioning, exploring, and experimenting—facilitate PTG by transforming established beliefs into broader meaning perspectives that accommodate present realities. The framework below provides an organized approach to guiding high school students, staff, and communities through the full process of rebuilding global schemas after a shooting occurs. It can be implemented alongside existing crisis-response models, resulting in an expansion of their utility. Its guided-growth strategies can also be leveraged to reshape school culture and encourage collective action in the surrounding community, maximizing the possibility of positive worldview development