Revie ⊕: the influence of a life review intervention including a positive, patient-centered approach towards enhancing the personal dignity of patients with advanced cancer-a study protocol for a feasibility study using a mixed method investigation.

It is generally recognized that existential concerns must be addressed to promote the dignity of patients with advanced cancer. A number of interventions have been developed in this regard, such as dignity therapy and other life review interventions (LRI). However, so far, none have focused on a positive approach or evaluated its effects on dignity and personal growth. This study aims to explore the feasibility of Revie ⊕, a life review intervention comprising a positive, patient-centered approach, and to determine potential changes of patients' sense of dignity, posttraumatic growth, and satisfaction with life. A mixed method study will be performed, which includes specialized nurses and 40 patients with advanced cancer in an ambulatory and in-patient setting of a Swiss university hospital. Quantitative methods involve a single group, pre- and post-intervention, and outcome measurements include the Patient Dignity Inventory, the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Feasibility data relating to process, resource, and scientific elements of the trial will also be collected. A semi-directed interview will be used to collect qualitative data about the process and the participants' experiences of the intervention. In this way, enhanced quantitative-qualitative evidence can be drawn from outcome measures as well as individual, contextualized personal views, to help inform researchers about the plausibility of this complex intervention before testing its effectiveness in a subsequent full trial. Patient dignity is a goal of quality end-of-life care. To our knowledge, this is the first trial to evaluate the role of a life review intervention that is focused on personal growth and on changes relating to the experience of having cancer. This study will evaluate the feasibility of a novel intervention, Revie ⊕, which we hope will contribute to promote the dignity, personal growth, and overall life satisfaction of patients with advanced cancer. ISRCTN, ISRCTN12497093

Impact of an Operating Room Nurse Preoperative Dialogue on Anxiety, Satisfaction and Early Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Major Visceral Surgery-A Single Center, Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Anxiety is common before surgery and known to negatively impact recovery from surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a preoperative nurse dialogue on a patient's anxiety, satisfaction and early postoperative outcomes. This 1:1 randomized controlled trial compared patients undergoing major visceral surgery after a semistructured preoperative nurse dialogue (interventional group: IG) to a control group (CG) without nursing intervention prior to surgery. Anxiety was measured with the autoevaluation scale State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, Y-form) pre and postoperatively. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) In-Patsat32 questionnaire was used to assess patient satisfaction at discharge. Further outcomes included postoperative pain (visual analogue scale: VAS 0-10), postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), opiate consumption and length of stay (LOS). Over a period of 6 months, 35 participants were randomized to either group with no drop-out or loss to follow-up (total n = 70). The median score of preoperative anxiety was 40 (IQR 33-55) in the IG vs. 61 (IQR 52-68) in the CG (p < 0.001). Postoperative anxiety levels were comparable 34 (IQR 25-46) vs. 32 (IQR 25-44) for IG and CG, respectively (p = 0.579). The IG did not present higher overall satisfaction (90 ± 15 vs. 82.9 ± 16, p = 0.057), and pain at Day 2 was similar (1.3 ± 1.7 vs. 2 ± 1.9, p = 0.077), while opiate consumption, PONV levels and LOS were comparable. A preoperative dialogue with a patient-centered approach helped to reduce preoperative anxiety in patients undergoing major visceral surgery

Anisotropic flow of charged hadrons, pions and (anti-)protons measured at high transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76 TeV

The elliptic, $v_2$, triangular, $v_3$, and quadrangular, $v_4$, azimuthal anisotropic flow coefficients are measured for unidentified charged particles, pions and (anti-)protons in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Results obtained with the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods are reported for the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ at different collision centralities and as a function of transverse momentum, $p_{\rm T}$, out to $p_{\rm T}=20$ GeV/$c$. The observed non-zero elliptic and triangular flow depends only weakly on transverse momentum for $p_{\rm T}>8$ GeV/$c$. The small $p_{\rm T}$ dependence of the difference between elliptic flow results obtained from the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods suggests a common origin of flow fluctuations up to $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$. The magnitude of the (anti-)proton elliptic and triangular flow is larger than that of pions out to at least $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$ indicating that the particle type dependence persists out to high $p_{\rm T}$.Comment: 16 pages, 5 captioned figures, authors from page 11, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/186

Centrality dependence of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}} = 2.76 TeV

The inclusive transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) distributions of primary charged particles are measured in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ as a function of event centrality in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}=2.76$ TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The data are presented in the $p_{\rm T}$ range $0.15<p_{\rm T}<50$ GeV/$c$ for nine centrality intervals from 70-80% to 0-5%. The Pb-Pb spectra are presented in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm{AA}}$ using a pp reference spectrum measured at the same collision energy. We observe that the suppression of high-$p_{\rm T}$ particles strongly depends on event centrality. In central collisions (0-5%) the yield is most suppressed with $R_{\rm{AA}}\approx0.13$ at $p_{\rm T}=6$-7 GeV/$c$. Above $p_{\rm T}=7$ GeV/$c$, there is a significant rise in the nuclear modification factor, which reaches $R_{\rm{AA}} \approx0.4$ for $p_{\rm T}>30$ GeV/$c$. In peripheral collisions (70-80%), the suppression is weaker with $R_{\rm{AA}} \approx 0.7$ almost independently of $p_{\rm T}$. The measured nuclear modification factors are compared to other measurements and model calculations.Comment: 17 pages, 4 captioned figures, 2 tables, authors from page 12, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/284