954 research outputs found
Effect of PSI-697, a novel P-selectin inhibitor, on platelet-monocyte aggregate formation in humans
Background:
Platelet activation is central to the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndromes. Surface expression of Pâselectin on activated platelets induces formation of plateletâmonocyte aggregates and promotes vascular inflammation and thrombosis. Pâselectin antagonism may represent a novel therapeutic strategy in vascular disease. We aimed to investigate the effects of the novel Pâselectin antagonist PSIâ697 on plateletâmonocyte aggregate formation in humans.
Methods and Results:
In a doubleâblind, randomized, placeboâcontrolled crossover study, healthy smokers were randomized to receive either oral PSIâ697 600 mg or matched placebo. The sequence of treatment was also randomized, with all subjects receiving both PSIâ697 and placebo. Plateletâmonocyte aggregates were measured by flow cytometry at 4 and 24 hours in the presence and absence of thrombin receptorâactivating peptide (TRAP; 0.1 to 1.0 ÎŒm/L). The ex vivo addition of TRAP caused a concentrationâdependent increase in plateletâmonocyte aggregates from 8.2% to 94.8% (P<0.001). At 4 and 24 hours, plasma concentrations of PSIâ697 increased to 1906 and 83 ng/mL, respectively (P<0.001). PSIâ697 had no demonstrable effect on either stimulated or unstimulated plateletâmonocyte aggregates at 4 or 24 hours (P>0.05). Pâselectinâblocking antibody (CLBâThromb6), but not PSIâ697, inhibited both stimulated and unstimulated plateletâmonocyte aggregate formation in vitro (P<0.001).
Conclusions:
The novel smallâmolecule Pâselectin antagonist PSIâ697 did not inhibit basal or stimulated plateletâmonocyte aggregate formation in humans at the dose tested. Its clinical efficacy remains to be established
Deleterious Associations of Sitting Time and Television Viewing Time With Cardiometabolic Risk Biomarkers: Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study 2004â2005
OBJECTIVE - We examined the associations Of Sitting time and television (TV) Viewing time with continuously measured biomarkers of cardio-metabolic risk in Australian adults
A follow-up study to a randomised control trial to investigate the perceived impact of mindfulness on academic performance in university students
1 Objectives
Mindfulness research in education has focussed on its potential to support student well-being. There is a paucity of research on the interaction between mindfulness and academic performance. This qualitative study builds on results of the largest randomised control trial of mindfulness in education to date which suggested mindfulness can have mixed effects on academic performance. A more in-depth understanding of the relationship between mindfulness and academic performance is therefore needed to ascertain if, how and for which students, mindfulness facilitates academic performance. The objective of the study was to capture studentsâ perceptions of the impact of mindfulness on their academic performance.
2 Methods
Thematic analysis was applied to data obtained by six in-depth interviews from three higher and three lower performing undergraduate participants in the mindfulness intervention arm of the Mindful Student Study randomised control trial.
3 Results
Three themes emerged, whereby five students described mindfulness having a positive impact on their academic performance. One student felt mindfulness had an initial negative impact on academic performance. All students felt mindfulness enhanced self-awareness and self-regulation of their thinking, feelings and behaviours, and our analysis suggests students perceived these processes underpinned the effect of mindfulness on academic performance
4 Conclusion
Differences in studentsâ psychological distress and study habits may determine the differing initial impact of mindfulness on academic performance
The effects of an experimental programme to support studentsâ autonomy on the overt behaviours of physical education teachers
Although the benefits of autonomy supportive behaviours are now well established in the literature, very few studies have attempted to train teachers to offer a greater autonomy support to their students. In fact, none of these studies has been carried out in physical education (PE). The purpose of this study is to test the effects of an autonomy-supportive training on overt behaviours of teaching among PE teachers. The experimental group included two PE teachers who were first educated on the benefits of an autonomy supportive style and then followed an individualised guidance programme during the 8 lessons of a teaching cycle. Their behaviours were observed and rated along 3 categories (i.e., autonomy supportive, neutral and controlling) and were subsequently compared to those of three teachers who formed the control condition. The results showed that teachers in the experimental group used more autonomy supportive and neutral behaviours than those in the control group, but no difference emerged in relation to controlling behaviours. We discuss the implications for schools of our findings
Observation of Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering
The coherent elastic scattering of neutrinos off nuclei has eluded detection
for four decades, even though its predicted cross-section is the largest by far
of all low-energy neutrino couplings. This mode of interaction provides new
opportunities to study neutrino properties, and leads to a miniaturization of
detector size, with potential technological applications. We observe this
process at a 6.7-sigma confidence level, using a low-background, 14.6-kg
CsI[Na] scintillator exposed to the neutrino emissions from the Spallation
Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Characteristic
signatures in energy and time, predicted by the Standard Model for this
process, are observed in high signal-to-background conditions. Improved
constraints on non-standard neutrino interactions with quarks are derived from
this initial dataset
The SSTARS (STeroids and Stents Against Re-Stenosis) Trial : different stent alloys and the use of peri-procedural oral corticosteroids to prevent in-segment restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention
Background
Stent design and technological modifications to allow for anti-proliferative drug elution influence restenosis rates following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We aimed to investigate whether peri-procedural administration of corticosteroids or the use of thinner strut cobalt alloy stents would reduce rates of binary angiographic restenosis (BAR) after PCI.
Methods
This was a two centre, mixed single and double blinded, randomised controlled trial using a factorial design. We compared (a) the use of prednisolone to placebo, starting at least six hours pre-PCI and continued for 28â
days post-PCI, and (b) cobalt chromium (CoCr) to stainless steel (SS) alloy stents, in patients admitted for PCI. The primary end-point was BAR at six months.
Results
315 patients (359 lesions) were randomly assigned to either placebo (nâ
=â
145) or prednisolone (nâ
=â
170) and SS (nâ
=â
160) or CoCr (nâ
=â
160). The majority (58%) presented with an ACS, 11% had diabetes and 287 (91%) completed angiographic follow up. BAR occurred in 26 cases in the placebo group (19.7%) versus 31 cases in the prednisolone group (20.0%) respectively, pâ
=â
1.00. For the comparison between SS and CoCr stents, BAR occurred in 32 patients (21.6%) versus 25 patients (18.0%) respectively, pâ
=â
0.46.
Conclusion
Our study showed that treating patients with a moderately high dose of prednisolone for 28â
days following PCI with BMS did not reduce the incidence of BAR. In addition, we showed no significant reduction in 6â
month restenosis rates with stents composed of CoCr alloy compared to SS
Framework for evaluating the health impact of the scale-up of malaria control interventions on all-cause child mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa
Concerted efforts from national and international partners have scaled up malaria control interventions, including insecticide-treated nets, indoor residual spraying, diagnostics, prompt and effective treatment of malaria cases, and intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This scale-up warrants an assessment of its health impact to guide future efforts and investments; however, measuring malaria-specific mortality and the overall impact of malaria control interventions remains challenging. In 2007, Roll Back Malaria's Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group proposed a theoretical framework for evaluating the impact of full-coverage malaria control interventions on morbidity and mortality in high-burden SSA countries. Recently, several evaluations have contributed new ideas and lessons to strengthen this plausibility design. This paper harnesses that new evaluation experience to expand the framework, with additional features, such as stratification, to examine subgroups most likely to experience improvement if control programs are working; the use of a national platform framework; and analysis of complete birth histories from national household surveys. The refined framework has shown that, despite persisting data challenges, combining multiple sources of data, considering potential contributions from both fundamental and proximate contextual factors, and conducting subnational analyses allows identification of the plausible contributions of malaria control interventions on malaria morbidity and mortality
Measuring coverage in MNCH: indicators for global tracking of newborn care.
Neonatal mortality accounts for 43% of under-five mortality. Consequently, improving newborn survival is a global priority. However, although there is increasing consensus on the packages and specific interventions that need to be scaled up to reduce neonatal mortality, there is a lack of clarity on the indicators needed to measure progress. In 2008, in an effort to improve newborn survival, the Newborn Indicators Technical Working Group (TWG) was convened by the Saving Newborn Lives program at Save the Children to provide a forum to develop the indicators and standard measurement tools that are needed to measure coverage of key newborn interventions. The TWG, which included evaluation and measurement experts, researchers, individuals from United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, and donors, prioritized improved consistency of measurement of postnatal care for women and newborns and of immediate care behaviors and practices for newborns. In addition, the TWG promoted increased data availability through inclusion of additional questions in nationally representative surveys, such as the United States Agency for International Development-supported Demographic and Health Surveys and the United Nations Children's Fund-supported Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Several studies have been undertaken that have informed revisions of indicators and survey tools, and global postnatal care coverage indicators have been finalized. Consensus has been achieved on three additional indicators for care of the newborn after birth (drying, delayed bathing, and cutting the cord with a clean instrument), and on testing two further indicators (immediate skin-to-skin care and applications to the umbilical cord). Finally, important measurement gaps have been identified regarding coverage data for evidence-based interventions, such as Kangaroo Mother Care and care seeking for newborn infection
âNonsense Rides Piggyback on Sensible Thingsâ: The Past, Present, and Future of Graphology
âNonsense rides piggyback on sensible thingsâ, declares professional sceptic and questioned-document analyst Joe Nickell concerning graphology. This chapter examines graphologyâs enduring allure and reach, despite its controversies, and considers its relationship with other types of handwriting analysis. It first asks: is it possible to metaphorically âdissectâ the page of handwritten texts, to scrutinize writing as a âmedical paratextâ rich in information about the writerâs state of health? It then interrogates the nature of the connection between physical and mental states and handwriting. It demonstrates how academics are going âback to basicsâ with their enquiries into individual difference and handwriting features, and how digital methodologies are contributing to this. Thus, this chapter is an updated study of graphology, providing a wider understanding of the concept of the paratext by considering the information captured in handwriting in the context of a digital age
Characterization of an Ionization Readout Tile for nEXO
A new design for the anode of a time projection chamber, consisting of a
charge-detecting "tile", is investigated for use in large scale liquid xenon
detectors. The tile is produced by depositing 60 orthogonal metal
charge-collecting strips, 3~mm wide, on a 10~\si{\cm} 10~\si{\cm}
fused-silica wafer. These charge tiles may be employed by large detectors, such
as the proposed tonne-scale nEXO experiment to search for neutrinoless
double-beta decay. Modular by design, an array of tiles can cover a sizable
area. The width of each strip is small compared to the size of the tile, so a
Frisch grid is not required. A grid-less, tiled anode design is beneficial for
an experiment such as nEXO, where a wire tensioning support structure and
Frisch grid might contribute radioactive backgrounds and would have to be
designed to accommodate cycling to cryogenic temperatures. The segmented anode
also reduces some degeneracies in signal reconstruction that arise in
large-area crossed-wire time projection chambers. A prototype tile was tested
in a cell containing liquid xenon. Very good agreement is achieved between the
measured ionization spectrum of a Bi source and simulations that
include the microphysics of recombination in xenon and a detailed modeling of
the electrostatic field of the detector. An energy resolution =5.5\%
is observed at 570~\si{keV}, comparable to the best intrinsic ionization-only
resolution reported in literature for liquid xenon at 936~V/\si{cm}.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, as publishe
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