Perfect Fluid Quantum Anisotropic Universe: Merits and Challenges

The present paper deals with quantization of perfect fluid anisotropic cosmological models. Bianchi type V and IX models are discussed following Schutz's method of expressing fluid velocities in terms of six potentials. The wave functions are found for several examples of equations of state. In one case a complete wave packet could be formed analytically. The initial singularity of a zero proper volume can be avoided in this case, but it is plagued by the usual problem of non-unitarity of anisotropic quantum cosmological models. It is seen that a particular operator ordering alleviates this problem.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; Accepted for publication in Gen Relativ Gravi

The general social survey-national death index: an innovative new dataset for the social sciences

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Social epidemiology seeks in part to understand how social factors--ideas, beliefs, attitudes, actions, and social connections--influence health. However, national health datasets have not kept up with the evolving needs of this cutting-edge area in public health. Sociological datasets that do contain such information, in turn, provide limited health information.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Our team has prospectively linked three decades of General Social Survey data to mortality information through 2008 via the National Death Index. In this paper, we describe the sample, the core elements of the dataset, and analytical considerations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The General Social Survey-National Death Index (GSS-NDI), to be released publicly in October 2011, will help shape the future of social epidemiology and other frontier areas of public health research.</p

Multifocal invasive ductal breast cancer with osteoclast-like giant cells: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a multifocal (trifocal) invasive carcinoma of the breast containing osteoclast-like giant cells.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 64-year-old Caucasian woman presented for routine mammography screening with three radiodense lesions in the lower inner quadrant of the right breast, a primary breast cancer. Microscopic examination showed three foci of invasive ductal carcinoma with multinucleated osteoclast-like giant cells. Osteoclast-like giant cells in breast cancer are a rare phenomenon. They are described in less than two percent of all breast cancers and occur in association with invasive ductal cancer and invasive lobular cancer. In addition, osteoclast-like giant cells have been described in several sarcomas and metaplastic carcinomas of the breast.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a multifocal infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast containing osteoclast-like giant cells. This could be an indication for a possible early event in carcinogenesis associated with a biological event or secretion that indicates the differentiation and/or migration of stromal cells or macrophages.</p

Help-seeking behaviors for female sexual dysfunction: a cross sectional study from Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Female sexual dysfunctions (FSD) are prevalent multifactor problems that in general remain misdiagnosed in primary health care. This population-based study investigated help-seeking behaviors among women with FSD in Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a cross sectional study carried out in Kohgilouyeh-Boyer-Ahmad province in Iran. Using quota sampling all sexually active women aged 15 and over registered in primary health care delivery centers were studied. Experience of sexual problems was assessed using an ad-hoc questionnaire (Female sexual dysfunction: help-seeking behaviors survey) containing 14 items. Trained female nurses interviewed all participants after a verbal informed consent. Data were analyzed in a descriptive manner.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In all 1540 women were studied. Of these, 786 (51%) cases had experienced at least one of the FSD problems. Results showed that 35.8% of women with FSD had sought no professional help and the most reasons for not seeking help were identified as: 'time constraints' and believing that it 'did not occur to me' (39.1 and 28.5% respectively). Sixty one percent of women who sought help for FSD reported that 'doctor gave me a definite diagnosis' and 'a definite treatment plan was given' in 57% of cases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study findings indicated that FSD problems were prevalent and many women did not seek help for their problem. Finding 'time constraints' and believing that the problem 'did not occur to me' as the most cited reasons for not seeking help might facilitate to understand potential barriers that exist in recognition and treatment of the female sexual dysfunctions. Since FSD might have a negative impact on interpersonal relationships and women's quality of life, it seems that there is need to address the problem both at local and national primary health care services.</p

Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery-Dementia Version (SNSB-D): A Useful Tool for Assessing and Monitoring Cognitive Impairments in Dementia Patients

The Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery (SNSB) is one of the standardized neuropsychological test batteries widely used in Korea. However, it may be a bit too lengthy for patients with decreased attention span; and it does not provide the score of global cognitive function (GCF), which is useful for monitoring patients longitudinally. We sought to validate a dementia version of SNSB (SNSB-D) that was shorter than the original SNSB and contained only scorable tests with a GCF score of 300. We administered SNSB-D to patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n=43) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n=93), and normal controls (NC) (n=77). MCI and AD groups had GCF scores significantly different from NC group, and GCF scores were able to distinguish patients with Clinical Dementia Rating of 0.5 and 1. Test-retest reliability was high, with a correlation coefficient of 0.918 for AD, 0.999 for MCI, and 0.960 for NC. The GCF score significantly correlated with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Through ROC-curve analysis, GCF scores were found to yield more accurate diagnoses than the MMSE. The SNSB-D is a valid, reliable tool for assessing the overall cognitive function, and can be used to monitor cognitive changes in patients with dementia

The Hawthorne Effect: a randomised, controlled trial

Background: The 'Hawthorne Effect' may be an important factor affecting the generalisability of clinical research to routine practice, but has been little studied. Hawthorne Effects have been reported in previous clinical trials in dementia but to our knowledge, no attempt has been made to quantify them. Our aim was to compare minimal follow- up to intensive follow-up in participants in a placebo controlled trial of Ginkgo biloba for treating mild-moderate dementia.Methods: Participants in a dementia trial were randomised to intensive follow- up (with comprehensive assessment visits at baseline and two, four and six months post randomisation) or minimal follow-up (with an abbreviated assessment at baseline and a full assessment at six months). Our primary outcomes were cognitive functioning (ADAS-Cog) and participant and carer-rated quality of life (QOL-AD).Results: We recruited 176 participants, mainly through general practices. The main analysis was based on Intention to treat (ITT), with available data. In the ANCOVA model with baseline score as a co- variate, follow-up group had a significant effect on outcome at six months on the ADAS-Cog score (n = 140; mean difference = -2.018; 95% Cl -3.914, -0.121; p = 0.037 favouring the intensive follow-up group), and on participant- rated quality of life score (n = 142; mean difference = -1.382; 95% Cl -2.642, -0.122; p = 0.032 favouring minimal follow-up group). There was no significant difference on carer quality of life.Conclusion: We found that more intensive follow-up of individuals in a placebo-controlled clinical trial of Ginkgo biloba for treating mild-moderate dementia resulted in a better outcome than minimal follow-up, as measured by their cognitive functioning

Serotonin and corticosterone rhythms in mice exposed to cigarette smoke and in patients with COPD:implication for COPD-associated neuropathogenesis

The circadian timing system controls daily rhythms of physiology and behavior, and disruption of clock function can trigger stressful life events. Daily exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) can lead to alteration in diverse biological and physiological processes. Smoking is associated with mood disorders, including depression and anxiety. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have abnormal circadian rhythms, reflected by daily changes in respiratory symptoms and lung function. Corticosterone (CORT) is an adrenal steroid that plays a considerable role in stress and anti-inflammatory responses. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5HT) is a neurohormone, which plays a role in sleep/wake regulation and affective disorders. Secretion of stress hormones (CORT and 5HT) is under the control of the circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Since smoking is a contributing factor in the development of COPD, we hypothesize that CS can affect circadian rhythms of CORT and 5HT secretion leading to sleep and mood disorders in smokers and patients with COPD. We measured the daily rhythms of plasma CORT and 5HT in mice following acute (3 d), sub-chronic (10 d) or chronic (6 mo) CS exposure and in plasma from non-smokers, smokers and patients with COPD. Acute and chronic CS exposure affected both the timing (peak phase) and amplitude of the daily rhythm of plasma CORT and 5HT in mice. Acute CS appeared to have subtle time-dependent effects on CORT levels but more pronounced effects on 5HT. As compared with CORT, plasma 5HT was slightly elevated in smokers but was reduced in patients with COPD. Thus, the effects of CS on plasma 5HT were consistent between mice and patients with COPD. Together, these data reveal a significant impact of CS exposure on rhythms of stress hormone secretion and subsequent detrimental effects on cognitive function, depression-like behavior, mood/anxiety and sleep quality in smokers and patients with COPD

Does training with amplitude modulated tones affect tone-vocoded speech perception?

Temporal-envelope cues are essential for successful speech perception. We asked here whether training on stimuli containing temporal-envelope cues without speech content can improve the perception of spectrally-degraded (vocoded) speech in which the temporal-envelope (but not the temporal fine structure) is mainly preserved. Two groups of listeners were trained on different amplitude-modulation (AM) based tasks, either AM detection or AM-rate discrimination (21 blocks of 60 trials during two days, 1260 trials; frequency range: 4Hz, 8Hz, and 16Hz), while an additional control group did not undertake any training. Consonant identification in vocoded vowel-consonant-vowel stimuli was tested before and after training on the AM tasks (or at an equivalent time interval for the control group). Following training, only the trained groups showed a significant improvement in the perception of vocoded speech, but the improvement did not significantly differ from that observed for controls. Thus, we do not find convincing evidence that this amount of training with temporal-envelope cues without speech content provide significant benefit for vocoded speech intelligibility. Alternative training regimens using vocoded speech along the linguistic hierarchy should be explored