A physical activity intervention to improve the quality of life of patients with a stoma:a feasibility study protocol

Background: Physical activity (PA) is positively associated with quality of life. People with a stoma are less likely to engage in PA than those without a stoma. Methods: In this feasibility intervention study, we will perform the following: (1) Develop a PA intervention for people with a stoma. An Expert Working Group of behavioural scientists, exercise scientists, clinicians and a Patient Advisory Group of people with a bowel stoma will meet with the research team to inform the development of a PA intervention for people with a stoma. A manual of the intervention will be the main output. (2) Explore PA instructors' experiences of delivering the PA intervention. PA instructors will record on paper the number of PA consultations with each patient and a researcher will interview the PA instructors about their experiences of delivering the intervention. (3) Assess the level of patient (bowel cancer or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients with a stoma between 6 weeks and 24 months postsurgery) engagement with the PA intervention and their views on intervention acceptability and usefulness. Patients will keep a PA diary to record daily pedometer recorded step count and type and duration of activities. A researcher will interview patients about their experiences of the PA intervention. (4) Assess screening, eligibility, consent, data completion, loss to follow up, and missing data rates, representativeness of participants and potential treatment effects. A researcher will record on paper all study procedure parameters. Quality of life (stoma-quality of life; Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy, Short IBD questionnaire), fatigue (FACIT fatigue scale) and PA (accelerometer) will be measured pre- and post-intervention in patients. For IBD patients only, blood will be taken to measure systemic inflammation. Discussion: We hypothesise that a PA intervention will be an effective means of improving the quality of life of people with a stoma. Before embarking on a full randomised controlled trial to test this hypothesis, a PA intervention needs to be developed and a feasibility study of the proposed PA intervention conducted.</p

HALT (Hernia Active Living Trial):protocol for a feasibility study of a randomised controlled trial of a physical activity intervention to improve quality of life in people with bowel stoma with a bulge/parastomal hernia

Background: Parastomal hernia (PSH) can be repaired surgically, but results to date have been disappointing, with reported recurrence rates of 30 to 76%. Other types of intervention are therefore needed to improve the quality of life of people with PSH. One potential intervention is physical activity. We hypothesise that the intervention will increase core activation and control across the abdominal wall at a site of potential weakness and thus reduce the risk of PSH progression. Increases in physical activity will improve body image and quality of life (QoL). Methods: Subjects and sample There were approximately 20 adults with a bowel stoma and PSH. People with previous PSH repair will be excluded as well as people who already do core training. Study design This is a feasibility study of a randomised controlled trial with 2 months follow-up, in 2 sites using mixed methods. Stage 1 involves intervention development and in stage 2, intervention and trial parameters will be assessed. Intervention A theoretically informed physical activity intervention was done, targeting people with PSH. Main outcome of feasibility study The main outcome is the decision by an independent Study Steering Committee whether to proceed to a full randomised controlled trial of the intervention. Other outcomes We will evaluate 4 intervention parameters—fidelity, adherence, acceptability and safety and 3 trial parameters (eligible patients’ consent rate, acceptability of study design and data availability rates for following endpoints): I. Diagnosis and classification of PSHII. Muscle activation III. Body composition (BMI, waist circumference) IV. Patient reported outcomes: QoL, body image and physical functioning V. Physical activity; VI. Psychological determinants of physical activity Other data Included are other data such as interviews with all participants about the intervention and trial procedures. Data analysis and statistical power As this is a feasibility study, the quantitative data will be analysed using descriptive statistics. Audio-recorded qualitative data from interviews will be transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Discussion: The feasibility and acceptability of key intervention and trial parameters will be used to decide whether to proceed to a full trial of the intervention, which aims to improve body image, quality of life and PSH progression.</p

Quantum computation with mesoscopic superposition states

We present a strategy to engineer a simple cavity-QED two-bit universal quantum gate using mesoscopic distinct quantum superposition states. The dissipative effect on decoherence and amplitude damping of the quantum bits are analyzed and the critical parameters are presented.Comment: 9 pages, 5 Postscript and 1 Encapsulated Postscript figures. To be published in Phys. Rev.

Compressed sensing reconstruction for high-SNR, rapid dissolved 129Xe gas exchange MRI

Purpose Three-dimensional hyperpolarized 129Xe gas exchange imaging suffers from low SNR and long breath-holds, which could be improved using compressed sensing (CS). The purpose of this work was to assess whether gas exchange ratio maps are quantitatively preserved in CS-accelerated dissolved-phase 129Xe imaging and to investigate the feasibility of CS-dissolved 129Xe imaging with reduced-cost natural abundance (NA) xenon. Methods 129Xe gas exchange imaging was performed at 1.5 T with a multi-echo spectroscopic imaging sequence. A CS reconstruction with an acceleration factor of 2 was compared retrospectively with conventional gridding reconstruction in a cohort of 16 healthy volunteers, 5 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, and 23 patients who were hospitalized following COVID-19 infection. Metrics of comparison included normalized mean absolute error, mean gas exchange ratio, and red blood cell (RBC) image SNR. Dissolved 129Xe CS imaging with NA xenon was assessed in 4 healthy volunteers. Results CS reconstruction enabled acquisition time to be halved, and it reduced background noise. Median RBC SNR increased from 6 (2–18) to 11 (2–100) with CS, and there was strong agreement between CS and gridding mean ratio map values (R2 = 0.99). Image fidelity was maintained for gridding RBC SNR > 5, but below this, normalized mean absolute error increased nonlinearly with decreasing SNR. CS increased the mean SNR of NA 129Xe images 3-fold. Conclusion CS reconstruction of dissolved 129Xe imaging improved image quality with decreased scan time, while preserving key gas exchange metrics. This will benefit patients with breathlessness and/or low gas transfer and shows promise for NA-dissolved 129Xe imaging

Sex differences in cognition in healthy elderly individuals

Sex differences in patterns of cognitive test performance have been attributed to factors, such as sex hormones or sexual dimorphisms in brain structure, that change with normal aging. The current study examined sex differences in patterns of cognitive test performance in healthy elderly individuals. Cognitive test scores of 957 men and women (age 67-89), matched for overall level of cognitive test performance, age, education, and depression scale score, were compared. Men and women were indistinguishable on tests of auditory divided attention, category fluency, and executive functioning. In contrast, women performed better than men on tests of psychomotor speed and verbal learning and memory, whereas men outperformed women on tests of visuoconstruction and visual perception. Our finding that the pattern of sex differences in cognition observed in young adults is observed in old age has implications for future studies of both healthy elderly individuals and of those with cognitive disorders

Inferring superposition and entanglement from measurements in a single basis

We discuss what can be inferred from measurements on one- and two-qubit systems using a single measurement basis at various times. We show that, given reasonable physical assumptions, carrying out such measurements at quarter-period intervals is enough to demonstrate coherent oscillations of one or two qubits between the relevant measurement basis states. One can thus infer from such measurements alone that an approximately equal superposition of two measurement basis states has been created in a coherent oscillation experiment. Similarly, one can infer that a near maximally entangled state of two qubits has been created in an experiment involving a putative SWAP gate. These results apply even if the relevant quantum systems are only approximate qubits. We discuss applications to fundamental quantum physics experiments and quantum information processing investigations.Comment: Final published versio

Introduction: Shakespeare's public spheres

Habermas’ sense of a “cultural Public Sphere” is a notoriously complex term and, when applied to Early Modern cultures, needs careful definition. This essay both introduces the variety of methods by which we might approach playtexts with a view to their public – auditory – impact and contributes to a debate about an audience's understanding of Shakespeare's plays. By selecting two words and their spread of use in one play, Twelfth Night, we might appreciate the potential for meaningful ambiguity latent in how we hear the language of live performance. If we search for how certain terms (in this case, the cluster of semes derived from repetitions of “fancy” and “play”), we might find at times incompatible senses, yet we get near to appreciating the range of Early Modern dramatic language

Unlocking the transcriptomic potential of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded clinical tissues: Comparison of gene expression profiling approaches

Background: High-throughput transcriptomics has matured into a very well established and widely utilised research tool over the last two decades. Clinical datasets generated on a range of different platforms continue to be deposited in public repositories provide an ever-growing, valuable resource for reanalysis. Cost and tissue availability normally preclude processing samples across multiple technologies, making it challenging to directly evaluate performance and whether data from different platforms can be reliably compared or integrated. Methods: This study describes our experiences of nine new and established mRNA profiling techniques including Lexogen QuantSeq, Qiagen QiaSeq, BioSpyder TempO-Seq, Ion AmpliSeq, Nanostring, Affymetrix Clariom S or U133A, Illumina BeadChip and RNA-seq of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) and fresh frozen (FF) sequential patient-matched breast tumour samples. Results: The number of genes represented and reliability varied between the platforms, but overall all methods provided data which were largely comparable. Crucially we found that it is possible to integrate data for combined analyses across FFPE/FF and platforms using established batch correction methods as required to increase cohort sizes. However, some platforms appear to be better suited to FFPE samples, particularly archival material. Conclusions: Overall, we illustrate that technology selection is a balance between required resolution, sample quality, availability and cost