234 research outputs found
Relaxation and Metastability in the RandomWalkSAT search procedure
An analysis of the average properties of a local search resolution procedure
for the satisfaction of random Boolean constraints is presented. Depending on
the ratio alpha of constraints per variable, resolution takes a time T_res
growing linearly (T_res \sim tau(alpha) N, alpha < alpha_d) or exponentially
(T_res \sim exp(N zeta(alpha)), alpha > alpha_d) with the size N of the
instance. The relaxation time tau(alpha) in the linear phase is calculated
through a systematic expansion scheme based on a quantum formulation of the
evolution operator. For alpha > alpha_d, the system is trapped in some
metastable state, and resolution occurs from escape from this state through
crossing of a large barrier. An annealed calculation of the height zeta(alpha)
of this barrier is proposed. The polynomial/exponentiel cross-over alpha_d is
not related to the onset of clustering among solutions.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures. A mistake in sec. IV.B has been correcte
Developing Community Nursing Practice: Promoting Case Management and Skill Enhancement to Support Shifting the Balance of Care
Five inter-related projects were commissioned by NHS Highland to further knowledge and understanding of key issues that can be used to inform particular aspects of care delivery that supports the community nurse review. The five projects reflect some of the core elements that have been identified to maximise nursesâ contributions in community settings (Scottish Executive 2006a). The projects were designed to provide qualitative evidence of the views of community nurses regarding case management and to support the delivery of skills in community nursing practice. Additionally community nurses identified the knowledge and skills required to develop practice tools that would support areas of generalist and specialist practice, specifically around child welfare and long term conditions (heart care). The five projects were: i. Literature review on case management models in Community Nursing. ii. Action research project to support implementation of Case Management Models in community nursing. iii. Literature review on practitioners with special interest. iv. Research to inform development of practitioner tools for child protection and long term conditions (heart care). v. Research to explore skills transition to support Shifting the Balance of Care. This project focused on 3 key initiatives that are influencing community nursing and it was apparent that they all shared common goals and challenges of implementation. For this reason, it was clear that any development in service provision would impact on, and articulate with, other health, social and profession based changes and could not be implemented in isolation from other related developments that underpin shifting the balance of care. Nurses in the studies articulated insightful challenges for shifting the balance of care, and related role developments, but these were, in the majority, followed by offering practical solutions
Measurement of CP observables in B± â D(â)K± and B± â D(â)ϱ decays
Measurements of CP observables in B ± âD (â) K ± and B ± âD (â) Ï Â± decays are presented, where D (â) indicates a neutral D or D â meson that is an admixture of D (â)0 and DÂŻ (â)0 states. Decays of the D â meson to the DÏ 0 and DÎł final states are partially reconstructed without inclusion of the neutral pion or photon, resulting in distinctive shapes in the B candidate invariant mass distribution. Decays of the D meson are fully reconstructed in the K ± Ï â , K + K â and Ï + Ï â final states. The analysis uses a sample of charged B mesons produced in pp collisions collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.0, 1.0 and 2.0 fb â1 taken at centre-of-mass energies of s=7, 8 and 13 TeV, respectively. The study of B ± âD â K ± and B ± âD â Ï Â± decays using a partial reconstruction method is the first of its kind, while the measurement of B ± âDK ± and B ± âDÏ Â± decays is an update of previous LHCb measurements. The B ± âDK ± results are the most precise to date
A novel formulation of inhaled sodium cromoglicate (PA101) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic cough: a randomised, double-blind, proof-of-concept, phase 2 trial
Background Cough can be a debilitating symptom of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and is difficult to treat. PA101 is a novel formulation of sodium cromoglicate delivered via a high-efficiency eFlow nebuliser that achieves significantly higher drug deposition in the lung compared with the existing formulations. We aimed to test the efficacy and safety of inhaled PA101 in patients with IPF and chronic cough and, to explore the antitussive mechanism of PA101, patients with chronic idiopathic cough (CIC) were also studied. Methods This pilot, proof-of-concept study consisted of a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in patients with IPF and chronic cough and a parallel study of similar design in patients with CIC. Participants with IPF and chronic cough recruited from seven centres in the UK and the Netherlands were randomly assigned (1:1, using a computer-generated randomisation schedule) by site staff to receive PA101 (40 mg) or matching placebo three times a day via oral inhalation for 2 weeks, followed by a 2 week washout, and then crossed over to the other arm. Study participants, investigators, study staff, and the sponsor were masked to group assignment until all participants had completed the study. The primary efficacy endpoint was change from baseline in objective daytime cough frequency (from 24 h acoustic recording, Leicester Cough Monitor). The primary efficacy analysis included all participants who received at least one dose of study drug and had at least one post-baseline efficacy measurement. Safety analysis included all those who took at least one dose of study drug. In the second cohort, participants with CIC were randomly assigned in a study across four centres with similar design and endpoints. The study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02412020) and the EU Clinical Trials Register (EudraCT Number 2014-004025-40) and both cohorts are closed to new participants. Findings Between Feb 13, 2015, and Feb 2, 2016, 24 participants with IPF were randomly assigned to treatment groups. 28 participants with CIC were enrolled during the same period and 27 received study treatment. In patients with IPF, PA101 reduced daytime cough frequency by 31·1% at day 14 compared with placebo; daytime cough frequency decreased from a mean 55 (SD 55) coughs per h at baseline to 39 (29) coughs per h at day 14 following treatment with PA101, versus 51 (37) coughs per h at baseline to 52 (40) cough per h following placebo treatment (ratio of least-squares [LS] means 0·67, 95% CI 0·48â0·94, p=0·0241). By contrast, no treatment benefit for PA101 was observed in the CIC cohort; mean reduction of daytime cough frequency at day 14 for PA101 adjusted for placebo was 6·2% (ratio of LS means 1·27, 0·78â2·06, p=0·31). PA101 was well tolerated in both cohorts. The incidence of adverse events was similar between PA101 and placebo treatments, most adverse events were mild in severity, and no severe adverse events or serious adverse events were reported. Interpretation This study suggests that the mechanism of cough in IPF might be disease specific. Inhaled PA101 could be a treatment option for chronic cough in patients with IPF and warrants further investigation
Effects of rare kidney diseases on kidney failure: a longitudinal analysis of the UK National Registry of Rare Kidney Diseases (RaDaR) cohort
Background
Individuals with rare kidney diseases account for 5â10% of people with chronic kidney disease, but constitute more than 25% of patients receiving kidney replacement therapy. The National Registry of Rare Kidney Diseases (RaDaR) gathers longitudinal data from patients with these conditions, which we used to study disease progression and outcomes of death and kidney failure.
Methods
People aged 0â96 years living with 28 types of rare kidney diseases were recruited from 108 UK renal care facilities. The primary outcomes were cumulative incidence of mortality and kidney failure in individuals with rare kidney diseases, which were calculated and compared with that of unselected patients with chronic kidney disease. Cumulative incidence and KaplanâMeier survival estimates were calculated for the following outcomes: median age at kidney failure; median age at death; time from start of dialysis to death; and time from diagnosis to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) thresholds, allowing calculation of time from last eGFR of 75 mL/min per 1·73 m2 or more to first eGFR of less than 30 mL/min per 1·73 m2 (the therapeutic trial window).
Findings
Between Jan 18, 2010, and July 25, 2022, 27â285 participants were recruited to RaDaR. Median follow-up time from diagnosis was 9·6 years (IQR 5·9â16·7). RaDaR participants had significantly higher 5-year cumulative incidence of kidney failure than 2·81 million UK patients with all-cause chronic kidney disease (28% vs 1%; p<0·0001), but better survival rates (standardised mortality ratio 0·42 [95% CI 0·32â0·52]; p<0·0001). Median age at kidney failure, median age at death, time from start of dialysis to death, time from diagnosis to eGFR thresholds, and therapeutic trial window all varied substantially between rare diseases.
Interpretation
Patients with rare kidney diseases differ from the general population of individuals with chronic kidney disease: they have higher 5-year rates of kidney failure but higher survival than other patients with chronic kidney disease stages 3â5, and so are over-represented in the cohort of patients requiring kidney replacement therapy. Addressing unmet therapeutic need for patients with rare kidney diseases could have a large beneficial effect on long-term kidney replacement therapy demand.
Funding
RaDaR is funded by the Medical Research Council, Kidney Research UK, Kidney Care UK, and the Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity
Search for violation in the phase space of decays
A search for time-integrated violation in the Cabibbo-suppressed decay
\mbox{D^0\rightarrow\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-} is performed using an unbinned,
model-independent technique known as the energy test. This is the first
application of the energy test in four-body decays. The search is performed for
-even asymmetries and, for the first time, is extended to probe the
-odd case. Using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 3.0 fb collected by the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass
energies of 7 TeV and 8 TeV, the world's best sensitivity to
violation in this decay is obtained. The data are found to be consistent with
the hypothesis of symmetry with a -value of in the
-even case, and marginally consistent with a -value of in
the -odd case, corresponding to a significance for non-conservation of
2.7 standard deviations.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-044.htm
Long COVID and cardiovascular disease: a prospective cohort study
Background
Pre-existing cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cardiovascular risk factors have been associated with an increased risk of complications following hospitalisation with COVID-19, but their impact on the rate of recovery following discharge is not known.
Objectives
To determine whether the rate of patient-perceived recovery following hospitalisation with COVID-19 was affected by the presence of CVD or cardiovascular risk factors.
Methods
In a multicentre prospective cohort study, patients were recruited following discharge from the hospital with COVID-19 undertaking two comprehensive assessments at 5 months and 12 months. Patients were stratified by the presence of either CVD or cardiovascular risk factors prior to hospitalisation with COVID-19 and compared with controls with neither. Full recovery was determined by the response to a patient-perceived evaluation of full recovery from COVID-19 in the context of physical, physiological and cognitive determinants of health.
Results
From a total population of 2545 patients (38.8% women), 472 (18.5%) and 1355 (53.2%) had CVD or cardiovascular risk factors, respectively. Compared with controls (n=718), patients with CVD and cardiovascular risk factors were older and more likely to have had severe COVID-19. Full recovery was significantly lower at 12 months in patients with CVD (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.62, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.89) and cardiovascular risk factors (aOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.86).
Conclusion
Patients with CVD or cardiovascular risk factors had a delayed recovery at 12 months following hospitalisation with COVID-19. Targeted interventions to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in patients with cardiovascular disease remain an unmet need
Post-acute COVID-19 neuropsychiatric symptoms are not associated with ongoing nervous system injury
A proportion of patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 experience a range of neuropsychiatric symptoms months after infection, including cognitive deficits, depression and anxiety. The mechanisms underpinning such symptoms remain elusive. Recent research has demonstrated that nervous system injury can occur during COVID-19. Whether ongoing neural injury in the months after COVID-19 accounts for the ongoing or emergent neuropsychiatric symptoms is unclear. Within a large prospective cohort study of adult survivors who were hospitalized for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, we analysed plasma markers of nervous system injury and astrocytic activation, measured 6 months post-infection: neurofilament light, glial fibrillary acidic protein and total tau protein. We assessed whether these markers were associated with the severity of the acute COVID-19 illness and with post-acute neuropsychiatric symptoms (as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire for depression, the General Anxiety Disorder assessment for anxiety, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment for objective cognitive deficit and the cognitive items of the Patient Symptom Questionnaire for subjective cognitive deficit) at 6 months and 1 year post-hospital discharge from COVID-19. No robust associations were found between markers of nervous system injury and severity of acute COVID-19 (except for an association of small effect size between duration of admission and neurofilament light) nor with post-acute neuropsychiatric symptoms. These results suggest that ongoing neuropsychiatric symptoms are not due to ongoing neural injury
Observation of and search for decays
The first observation of the decay is reported
using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of
recorded by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies
of 7 and 8 TeV. The resonance is produced in the decay . The product of branching fractions normalised to that for
the intermediate state, , is measured to be
\begin{align*} {\cal R}_{\eta_{c}(2S)}\equiv\frac{{\mathcal B}(B^{+} \to
\eta_{c}(2S) K^{+}) \times {\mathcal B}(\eta_{c}(2S) \to p \bar p)}{{\mathcal
B}(B^{+} \to J/\psi K^{+}) \times {\mathcal B}(J/\psi\to p \bar p)} =~& (1.58
\pm 0.33 \pm 0.09)\times 10^{-2}, \end{align*} where the first uncertainty is
statistical and the second systematic. No signals for the decays and
are seen, and the 95\% confidence level upper limits on their relative
branching ratios are % found to be and
. In addition, the mass differences between the
and the states, between the and the
states, and the natural width of the are measured as
\begin{align*} M_{J/\psi} - M_{\eta_{c}(1S)} =~& 110.2 \pm 0.5 \pm 0.9 \rm \,
MeV, M_{\psi(2S)} -M_{\eta_{c}(2S)} =~ & 52.5 \pm 1.7 \pm 0.6 \rm \, MeV,
\Gamma_{\eta_{c}(1S)} =~& 34.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 1.3 \rm \, MeV. \end{align*}Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures All figures and tables, along with any
supplementary material and additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-016.htm
Measurement of asymmetries in and decays
See paper for full list of authors - All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-041.html - Submitted to Phys. Lett. BInternational audienceA search for CP violation in D±âηâČϱ and D±sâηâČϱ decays is performed using proton-proton collision data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fbâ1, recorded by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. The measured CP-violating charge asymmetries are ACP(D±âηâČϱ)=(â0.61±0.72±0.55±0.12)% and ACP(D±sâηâČϱ)=(â0.82±0.36±0.24±0.27)%, where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second systematic, and the third are the uncertainties on the ACP(D±âK0Sϱ) and ACP(D±sâÏϱ) measurements used for calibration. The results represent the most precise measurements of these asymmetries to date
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