328 research outputs found
The AMC Linear Disability Score in patients with newly diagnosed Parkinson disease
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the clinimetric properties of the AMC Linear Disability Score (ALDS), a new generic disability measure based on Item Response Theory, in patients with newly diagnosed Parkinson disease (PD).\ud
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Methods: A sample of 132 patients with PD was evaluated using the Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y), the Unified PD Rating Scale motor examination, the Schwab and England scale (S&E), the Short Form–36, the PD Quality of Life Questionnaire, and the ALDS.\ud
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Results: The internal consistency reliability of the ALDS was good ([alpha] = 0.95) with 55 items extending the sufficient item-total correlation criterion (r > 0.20). The ALDS was correlated with other disability measures (r = 0.50 to 0.63) and decreasingly associated with measures reflecting impairments (r = 0.36 to 0.37) and mental health (r = 0.23 to -0.01). With regard to know-group validity, the ALDS indicated that patients with more severe PD (H&Y stage 3) were more disabled than patients with mild (H&Y stage 1) or moderate PD (H&Y stage 2) (p < 0.0001). The ALDS discriminated between more or less severe extrapyramidal symptoms (p = 0.001) and patients with postural instability showed lower ALDS scores compared to patients without postural instability (p = < 0.0001). Compared to the S&E (score 100% = 19%), the ALDS showed less of a ceiling effect (5%).\ud
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Conclusion: The AMC Linear Disability Score is a flexible, feasible, and clinimetrically promising instrument to assess the level of disability in patients with newly diagnosed Parkinson disease
A survey investigating the diversity and distribution of entomopathogenic nematodes in the UK and the first confirmed UK record of Steinernema carpocapsae
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) of the families Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae are lethal insect parasites that have been commercialised as biological control agents. EPN have been isolated from across the world but it has been more than 20 years since the last survey of the UK, and species like Steinernema carpocapsae have never been found here and positively identified through molecular biology. We collected 518 soil samples from a diverse range of habitats across the UK and baited them with Galleria mellonella to isolate EPN. Dead G. mellonella were placed in White traps and emergent EPN underwent DNA barcoding analyses. From the 518 samples, 3.5% were positive for EPN. No Heterorhabditis species were found, but seven isolates of S. glaseri, one isolate of S. feltiae, eight isolates of S. affine and two isolates of S. carpocapsae were found. This was the first confirmed record of S. carpocapsae in the UK
Aspects of meson properties in dense nuclear matter
We investigate the modification of meson spectral densities in dense nuclear
matter at zero temperature. These effects are studied in a fully relativistic
mean field model which goes beyond the linear density approximation and also
includes baryon resonances. In particular, the role of N*(1520) and N*(1720) on
the rho meson spectral density is highlighted. Even though the nucleon-nucleon
loop and the nucleon-resonance loop contribute with the opposite sign, an
overall reduction of rho meson mass is still observed at high density.
Importantly, it is shown that the resonances cause substantial broadening of
the rho meson spectral density in matter and also induces non-trivial momentum
dependence. The spectral density of the a0 meson is also shown. We study the
dispersion relations and collective oscillations induced by the rho meson
propagation in nuclear matter together with the influence of the mixing of rho
with the a0 meson. The relevant expression for the plasma frequency is also
recovered analytically in the appropriate limit.Comment: 19 pages, 17 figure
Role of baryonic resonances in the dilepton emission in nucleon-nucleon collisions
Within an effective Lagrangian model, we present calculations for cross
sections of the dilepton production in proton-proton and proton-neutron
collisions at laboratory kinetic energies in 1-5 GeV range. Production
amplitudes include contributions from the nucleon-nucleon bremsstrahlung as
well as from the mechanism of excitation, propagation, and radiative decay of
Delta(1232) and N*(1520) intermediate baryonic resonances. It is found that the
delta isobar terms dominate the cross sections in the entire considered beam
energy range. Our calculations are able to explain the data of the DLS
collaboration on the dilepton production in proton-proton collisions for beam
energies below 1.3 GeV. However, for incident energies higher than this the
inclusion of contributions from other dilepton sources like Dalitz decay of pi0
and eta mesons, and direct decay of rho and omega mesons is necessary to
describe the data.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, more details of the calculations added, version
to appear in Phys. Rev
Electromagnetic Probes
A review is presented of dilepton and real photon measurements in
relativistic heavy ion collisions over a very broad energy range from the low
energies of the BEVALAC up to the highest energies available at RHIC. The
dileptons cover the invariant mass range \mll = 0 - 2.5 GeV/c, i.e. the
continuum at low and intermediate masses and the light vector mesons, . The review includes also measurements of the light vector mesons
in elementary reactions.Comment: To be published in Landolt-Boernstein Volume 1-23A; 40 pages, 24
figures. Final version updated with small changes to the text, updated
references and updated figure
Male-Female Differences in Acute Type B Aortic Dissection
BACKGROUND: Acute type B aortic dissection is a cardiovascular emergency with considerable mortality and morbidity risk. Male-female differences have been observed in cardiovascular disease; however, literature on type B aortic dissection is scarce. METHODS AND RESULTS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted including all consecutive patients with acute type B aortic dissection between 2007 and 2017 in 4 tertiary hospitals using patient files and questionnaires for late morbidity. In total, 384 patients were included with a follow-up of 6.1 (range, 0.02-14.8) years, of which 41% (n=156) were female. Women presented at an older age than men (67 [interquartile range (IQR), 57-73] versus 62 [IQR, 52-71]; P=0.015). Prior abdominal aortic aneurysm (6% versus 15%; P=0.009), distally extending dissections (71 versus 85%; P=0.001), and clinical malperfusion (18% versus 32%; P=0.002) were less frequently observed in women. Absolute maximal descending aortic diameters were smaller in women (36 [IQR: 33-40] mm versus 39 [IQR, 36-43] mm; P<0.001), while indexed for body surface area diameters were larger in women (20 [IQR, 18-23] mm/m2 versus 19 [IQR, 17-21] mm/m2). No male-female differences were found in treatment choice; however, indications for invasive treatment were different (P<0.001). Early mortality rate was 9.6% in women and 11.8% in men (P=0.60). The 5-year survival was 83% (95% CI, 77-89) for women and 84% (95% CI, 79-89) for men (P=0.90). No male-female differences were observed in late (re)interventions. CONCLUSIONS: No male-female differences were found in management, early or late death, and morbidity in patients presenting with acute type B aortic dissection, despite distinct clinical profiles at presentation. More details on the impact of age and type of intervention are warranted in future studies.</p
Dilepton production in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies
We present a unified description of the vector meson and dilepton production
in elementary and in heavy ion reactions. The production of vector mesons
() is described via the excitation of nuclear resonances ().
The theoretical framework is an extended vector meson dominance model (eVMD).
The treatment of the resonance decays with arbitrary spin is
covariant and kinematically complete. The eVMD includes thereby excited vector
meson states in the transition form factors. This ensures correct asymptotics
and provides a unified description of photonic and mesonic decays. The
resonance model is successfully applied to the production in
reactions. The same model is applied to the dilepton production in elementary
reactions (). Corresponding data are well reproduced. However, when
the model is applied to heavy ion reactions in the BEVALAC/SIS energy range the
experimental dilepton spectra measured by the DLS Collaboration are
significantly underestimated at small invariant masses. As a possible solution
of this problem the destruction of quantum interference in a dense medium is
discussed. A decoherent emission through vector mesons decays enhances the
corresponding dilepton yield in heavy ion reactions. In the vicinity of the
-peak the reproduction of the data requires further a substantial
collisional broadening of the and in particular of the meson.Comment: 32 pages revtex, 19 figures, to appear in PR
Male-Female Differences in Acute Type B Aortic Dissection
BACKGROUND: Acute type B aortic dissection is a cardiovascular emergency with considerable mortality and morbidity risk. Male-female differences have been observed in cardiovascular disease; however, literature on type B aortic dissection is scarce. METHODS AND RESULTS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted including all consecutive patients with acute type B aortic dissection between 2007 and 2017 in 4 tertiary hospitals using patient files and questionnaires for late morbidity. In total, 384 patients were included with a follow-up of 6.1 (range, 0.02-14.8) years, of which 41% (n=156) were female. Women presented at an older age than men (67 [interquartile range (IQR), 57-73] versus 62 [IQR, 52-71]; P=0.015). Prior abdominal aortic aneurysm (6% versus 15%; P=0.009), distally extending dissections (71 versus 85%; P=0.001), and clinical malperfusion (18% versus 32%; P=0.002) were less frequently observed in women. Absolute maximal descending aortic diameters were smaller in women (36 [IQR: 33-40] mm versus 39 [IQR, 36-43] mm; P<0.001), while indexed for body surface area diameters were larger in women (20 [IQR, 18-23] mm/m2 versus 19 [IQR, 17-21] mm/m2). No male-female differences were found in treatment choice; however, indications for invasive treatment were different (P<0.001). Early mortality rate was 9.6% in women and 11.8% in men (P=0.60). The 5-year survival was 83% (95% CI, 77-89) for women and 84% (95% CI, 79-89) for men (P=0.90). No male-female differences were observed in late (re)interventions. CONCLUSIONS: No male-female differences were found in management, early or late death, and morbidity in patients presenting with acute type B aortic dissection, despite distinct clinical profiles at presentation. More details on the impact of age and type of intervention are warranted in future studies.</p
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