2,154 research outputs found
The DiSC assay - A cost-effective guide to treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia?
The differential staining cytotoxicity (DISC) assay involves in vitro drug panel testing against patient tumor cells to identify optimal therapy. This observational study investigated whether DISC assay guided treatment could improve outcome in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. A cohort of 178 patients were categorized either as sensitive to drugs in vitro and receiving a sensitive drug in vivo, sensitive in vitro but not treated with a sensitive drug, or having disease resistant to all drugs tested in vitro. Response and survival for these patient categories were compared using multivariate regression techniques. Patients receiving a sensitive drug, compared with those who though having sensitivity did not, had a higher remission rate (odds ratio, 6.5; 95% CI, 2.91-14.53) and reduced death rate (hazard ratio, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.16-0.53). Having adjusted for all known confounding factors, the results suggest that in vitro drug sensitivity is an important independent prognostic variable to include in future trials, and that the DiSC assay may be a cost-effective use of health resources: the estimated incremental cost-effectiveness was $1,470 per life-year gained. A randomized controlled trial is required to confirm the benefit and estimate reliably the potential impact of assay-guided choice of therapy
A cross-correlation of WMAP and ROSAT
We cross-correlate the recent CMB WMAP 1 year data with the diffuse soft
X-ray background map of ROSAT. We look for common signatures due to galaxy
clusters (SZ effect in CMB, bremsstrahlung in X-rays) by cross-correlating the
two maps in real and in Fourier space. We do not find any significant
correlation and we explore the different reasons for this lack of correlation.
The most likely candidates are the possibility that we live in a low universe () and/or systematic effects in the data
especially in the diffuse X-ray maps which may suffer from significant cluster
signal subtraction during the point source removal process.Comment: To appear in New Astronomy Reviews, Proceedings of the CMBNET
Meeting, 20-21 February, 2003, Oxford, U
A Q-methodology study of parental understandings of infant immunisation: Implications for health-care advice
This study used Q-methodology to explore systematically parental judgements about infant immunisation. A total of 45 parents completed a 31-statement Q-sort. Data were collected after vaccination in general practitioner practices or a private day nursery. Q factor analysis revealed four distinct viewpoints: a duty to immunise based on medical benefits, child-orientated protection based on parental belief, concern and distress and surprise at non-compliance. Additionally, there was a common view among parents that they did not regret immunising their children. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of health-care policy and future research
Antioxidant Therapy Does Not Reduce Pain in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis: The ANTICIPATE Study
Background & Aims: We investigated whether antioxidant therapy reduces pain and improves quality of life in patients with chronic pancreatitis. Methods: We performed a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial that compared the effects of antioxidant therapy with placebo in 70 patients with chronic pancreatitis. Patients provided 1 month of baseline data and were followed up for 6 months while receiving either Antox version 1.2 (Pharma Nord, Morpeth, UK) or matched placebo (2 tablets, 3 times/d). The primary analysis was baseline-adjusted change in pain score at 6 months, assessed by an 11-point numeric rating scale. Secondary analyses included alternative analyses of clinic and diary pain scores, scores on quality-of-life tests (the EORTC-QLQ-C30, QLQ-PAN28, EuroQOL EQ-5D, and EQ visual analog score), levels of antioxidants, use of opiates, and adverse events. Analyses, reported by intention to treat, were prospectively protocol-defined. Results: After 6 months, pain scores reported to the clinic were reduced by 1.97 from baseline in the placebo group and by 2.33 in the antioxidant group but were similar between groups (−0.36; 95% confidence interval, −1.44 to 0.72; P = .509). Average daily pain scores from diaries were also similar (3.05 for the placebo group, 2.93 for the antioxidant group, a difference of 0.11; 95% confidence interval, 1.05–0.82; P = .808). Measures of quality of life were similar between groups, as was opiate use and number of hospital admissions and outpatient visits. Blood levels of vitamin C and E, β-carotene, and selenium were increased significantly in the antioxidant group. Conclusi1ons: In patients with painful chronic pancreatitis of predominantly alcoholic origin, antioxidant therapy did not reduce pain or improve quality of life, despite causing a sustained increase in blood levels of antioxidants. Trial registration: ISRCTN-21047731
Delicate Debates on Islam. Policymakers and Academics Speaking with Each Other: an Introduction
Rule of Law and Development: Formation, Implementation and Improvement of Law and Governance in Developing Countrie
Superconductor-Insulator Transition in a Capacitively Coupled Dissipative Environment
We present results on disordered amorphous films which are expected to
undergo a field-tuned Superconductor-Insulator Transition.The addition of a
parallel ground plane in proximity to the film changes the character of the
transition.Although the screening effects expected from "dirty-boson" theories
are not evident,there is evidence that the ground plane couples a certain type
of dissipation into the system,causing a dissipation-induced phase
transition.The dissipation due to the phase transition couples similarly into
quantum phase transition systems such as superconductor-insulator transitions
and Josephson junction arrays.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Relationship between incommensurability and superconductivity in Peierls distorted charge-density-wave systems
We study the pairing potential induced by fluctuations around a
charge-density wave (CDW) with scattering vector Q by means of the Froehlich
transformation. For general commensurability M, defined as |k+M*Q>=|k>, we find
that the intraband pair scattering within the M subbands scales with M whereas
the interband pair scattering becomes suppressed with increasing CDW order
parameter. As a consequence superconductivity is suppressed when the Fermi
energy is located between the subbands as it is usually the case for nesting
induced CDW's, but due to the vertex renormalization it can be substantially
enhanced when the chemical potential is shifted sufficiently inside one of the
subbands. The model can help to understand the experimentally observed
dependence of the superconducting transition temperature from the stripe phase
incommensurability in the lanthanum cuprates.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Proof of the MHV vertex expansion for all tree amplitudes in N=4 SYM theory
We prove the MHV vertex expansion for all tree amplitudes of N=4 SYM theory.
The proof uses a shift acting on all external momenta, and we show that every
N^kMHV tree amplitude falls off as 1/z^k, or faster, for large z under this
shift. The MHV vertex expansion allows us to derive compact and efficient
generating functions for all N^kMHV tree amplitudes of the theory. We also
derive an improved form of the anti-NMHV generating function. The proof leads
to a curious set of sum rules for the diagrams of the MHV vertex expansion.Comment: 40 pages, 7 figure
The effect of tranexamic acid on artificial joint materials : a biomechanical study (the bioTRANX study)
Background Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been successfully used to reduce bleeding in joint replacement. Recently local TXA has been advocated to reduce blood loss in total knee or hip replacement; however, this raised concerns about potential adverse effects of TXA upon the artificial joint replacement. Materials and methods In this biomechanical study we compared the effects of TXA and saline upon the following biomechanical properties of artificial joint materials—(1) tensile properties (ultimate strength, stiffness and Young’s modulus), (2) the wear rate using a multi-directional pin-on-plate machine, and (3) the surface topography of pins and plates before and after wear rate testing. Results There were no significant differences in tensile strength, wear rates or surface topography of either ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene pins or cobalt chromium molybdenum metal plates between specimens soaked in TXA and specimens soaked in saline. Conclusion Biomechanical testing shows that there are no biomechanical adverse affects on the properties of common artificial joint materials from using topical TXA. Level of evidence
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