3,312 research outputs found
Linguistics
Contains reports on seven research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-03)U. S. Air Force (Electronics Systems Division) under Contract AF19(628)-248
An exploration of parents’ preferences for foot care in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a possible role for the discrete choice experiment
Background:
An increased awareness of patients’ and parents’ care preferences regarding foot care is desirable from a clinical perspective as such information may be utilised to optimise care delivery. The aim of this study was to examine parents’ preferences for, and valuations of foot care and foot-related outcomes in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).<p></p>
Methods:
A discrete choice experiment (DCE) incorporating willingness-to-pay (WTP) questions was conducted by surveying 42 parents of children with JIA who were enrolled in a randomised-controlled trial of multidisciplinary foot care at a single UK paediatric rheumatology outpatients department. Attributes explored were: levels of pain; mobility; ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL); waiting time; referral route; and footwear. The DCE was administered at trial baseline. DCE data were analysed using a multinomial-logit-regression model to estimate preferences and relative importance of attributes of foot care. A stated-preference WTP question was presented to estimate parents’ monetary valuation of health and service improvements.<p></p>
Results:
Every attribute in the DCE was statistically significant (p < 0.01) except that of cost (p = 0.118), suggesting that all attributes, except cost, have an impact on parents’ preferences for foot care for their child. The magnitudes of the coefficients indicate that the strength of preference for each attribute was (in descending order): improved ability to perform ADL, reductions in foot pain, improved mobility, improved ability to wear desired footwear, multidisciplinary foot care route, and reduced waiting time. Parents’ estimated mean annual WTP for a multidisciplinary foot care service was £1,119.05.<p></p>
Conclusions:
In terms of foot care service provision for children with JIA, parents appear to prefer improvements in health outcomes over non-health outcomes and service process attributes. Cost was relatively less important than other attributes suggesting that it does not appear to impact on parents’ preferences.<p></p>
New Low Accretion-Rate Magnetic Binary Systems and their Significance for the Evolution of Cataclysmic Variables
Discoveries of two new white dwarf plus M star binaries with striking optical
cyclotron emission features from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) brings to
six the total number of X-ray faint, magnetic accretion binaries that accrete
at rates < 10^{-13} Msun/yr, or <1% of the values normally encountered in
cataclysmic variables. This fact, coupled with donor stars that underfill their
Roche lobes and very cool white dwarfs, brand the binaries as post
common-envelope systems whose orbits have not yet decayed to the point of
Roche-lobe contact. They are pre-magnetic CVs, or pre-Polars. The systems
exhibit spin/orbit synchronism and apparently accrete by efficient capture of
the stellar wind from the secondary star, a process that has been dubbed a
``magnetic siphon''. Because of this, period evolution of the binaries will
occur solely by gravitational radiation, which is very slow for periods >3 hr.
Optical surveys for the cyclotron harmonics appear to be the only means of
discovery, so the space density of pre-Polars could rival that of Polars, and
the binaries provide an important channel of progenitors (in addition to the
asynchronous Intermediate Polars). Both physical and SDSS observational
selection effects are identified that may help to explain the clumping of all
six systems in a narrow range of magnetic field strength around 60 MG.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figures, Accepted to Ap
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Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life.
Synthesizing trait observations and knowledge across the Tree of Life remains a grand challenge for biodiversity science. Species traits are widely used in ecological and evolutionary science, and new data and methods have proliferated rapidly. Yet accessing and integrating disparate data sources remains a considerable challenge, slowing progress toward a global synthesis to integrate trait data across organisms. Trait science needs a vision for achieving global integration across all organisms. Here, we outline how the adoption of key Open Science principles-open data, open source and open methods-is transforming trait science, increasing transparency, democratizing access and accelerating global synthesis. To enhance widespread adoption of these principles, we introduce the Open Traits Network (OTN), a global, decentralized community welcoming all researchers and institutions pursuing the collaborative goal of standardizing and integrating trait data across organisms. We demonstrate how adherence to Open Science principles is key to the OTN community and outline five activities that can accelerate the synthesis of trait data across the Tree of Life, thereby facilitating rapid advances to address scientific inquiries and environmental issues. Lessons learned along the path to a global synthesis of trait data will provide a framework for addressing similarly complex data science and informatics challenges
Preliminary effects and acceptability of a co-produced physical activity referral intervention
Objectives: To explore the preliminary effects and acceptability of a co-produced physical activity referral intervention.
Study Design: Longitudinal design with data collected at baseline and post a 12-week physical activity referral intervention.
Setting. Community leisure centre.
Methods: 32 adults with controlled lifestyle-related health conditions took part in a physical activity referral intervention (co-produced by a multidisciplinary stakeholder group) comprising 12 weeks’ subsidised fitness centre access plus four behaviour change consultations. A complete case analysis (t-tests and magnitude-based inferences) was conducted to assess baseline-to-12-week change in physical activity, cardiometabolic, and psychological measures. Semi-structured interviews were conducted (n=12) to explore experiences of the intervention.
Results: Mean improvements were observed in cardiorespiratory fitness-2 (3.6 ml.kg.-1min-1 (95% confidence interval 1.9 to 5.4) P<0.001) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (12.6 min.day (95% CI 4.3 to 29.6) P=0.013). Participants were positive about the support from exercise referral practitioners, but experienced some challenges in a busy and under staffed gym environment.
Conclusions: A co-produced physical activity referral intervention elicited short-term improvements in physical activity and cardiometabolic health. Further refinements may be required, via ongoing feedback between stakeholders, researchers and service users, to achieve the intended holistic physical activity focus of the intervention, prior to a definitive trial
Benznidazole biotransformation and multiple targets in <i>Trypanosoma</i> cruzi revealed by metabolomics
<b>Background</b><p></p>
The first line treatment for Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, involves administration of benznidazole (Bzn). Bzn is a 2-nitroimidazole pro-drug which requires nitroreduction to become active, although its mode of action is not fully understood. In the present work we used a non-targeted MS-based metabolomics approach to study the metabolic response of T. cruzi to Bzn.<p></p>
<b>Methodology/Principal findings</b><p></p>
Parasites treated with Bzn were minimally altered compared to untreated trypanosomes, although the redox active thiols trypanothione, homotrypanothione and cysteine were significantly diminished in abundance post-treatment. In addition, multiple Bzn-derived metabolites were detected after treatment. These metabolites included reduction products, fragments and covalent adducts of reduced Bzn linked to each of the major low molecular weight thiols: trypanothione, glutathione, γ-glutamylcysteine, glutathionylspermidine, cysteine and ovothiol A. Bzn products known to be generated in vitro by the unusual trypanosomal nitroreductase, TcNTRI, were found within the parasites, but low molecular weight adducts of glyoxal, a proposed toxic end-product of NTRI Bzn metabolism, were not detected.<p></p>
<b>Conclusions/significance</b><p></p>
Our data is indicative of a major role of the thiol binding capacity of Bzn reduction products in the mechanism of Bzn toxicity against T. cruzi
Search for CP violation in decays
A model-independent search for direct CP violation in the Cabibbo suppressed
decay in a sample of approximately 370,000 decays is
carried out. The data were collected by the LHCb experiment in 2010 and
correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35 pb. The normalized Dalitz
plot distributions for and are compared using four different
binning schemes that are sensitive to different manifestations of CP violation.
No evidence for CP asymmetry is found.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Study of boson production in association with beauty and charm
The associated production of a boson with a jet originating from either a
light parton or heavy-flavor quark is studied in the forward region using
proton-proton collisions. The analysis uses data corresponding to integrated
luminosities of 1.0 and collected with the LHCb detector
at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, respectively. The bosons are
reconstructed using the decay and muons with a transverse
momentum, , larger than 20 GeV in the pseudorapidity range
GeV
and . The sum of the muon and jet momenta must satisfy
GeV. The fraction of jet events that originate from beauty
and charm quarks is measured, along with the charge asymmetries of the
and production cross-sections. The ratio of the jet to
jet production cross-sections is also measured using the
decay. All results are in agreement with Standard Model predictions
Study of and decays and determination of the CKM angle
We report a study of the suppressed and favored
decays, where the neutral meson is detected
through its decays to the and CP-even and
final states. The measurement is carried out using a proton-proton
collision data sample collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an
integrated luminosity of 3.0~fb. We observe the first significant
signals in the CP-even final states of the meson for both the suppressed
and favored modes, as well as
in the doubly Cabibbo-suppressed final state of the decay. Evidence for the ADS suppressed decay , with , is also presented. From the observed
yields in the , and their
charge conjugate decay modes, we measure the value of the weak phase to be
. This is one of the most precise
single-measurement determinations of to date.Comment: 22 pages, 9 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-2015-020.htm
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