316 research outputs found
Veterinary Arsenicals
Feed medication and other forms of chemotherapy in our meat-producing animals have caused heated controversies. Some of this confusion is due to both a distortion of and a lack of information. Arsenicals are some of the oldest compounds whose use in agriculture has been questioned. An attempt will be made to trace the historical use of arsenicals and to discuss their metabolism and side effects from a veterinarian\u27s point of view
Pion-Lambda-Sigma Coupling Extracted from Hyperonic Atoms
The latest measurements of the atomic level width in Sigma-hyperonic Pb atom
offer the most accurate datum in the region of low-energy Sigma-hyperon
physics. Atomic widths are due to the conversion of Sigma-nucleon into
Lambda-nucleon. In high angular momentum states this conversion is dominated by
the one-pion exchange. A joint analysis of the data of the scattering of
negative-Sigma on proton converting into a Lambda and a neutron and of the
atomic widths allows to extract a pseudovector pion-hyperon-Sigma coupling
constant of 0.048 with a statistical error of +-0.005 and a systematic one of
+-0.004. This corresponds to a pseudoscalar coupling constant of 13.3 with a
statistical uncertainty of 1.4 and a systematic one of 1.1.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, Use of Revtex.st
-matrix poles near the and Thresholds in the Coupled \\ System
We search -matrix poles for coupling interactions
using two soft core models of the Nijmegen group which bind the hypertriton at
the correct binding energy, and hard core models which are still influential in
hypernuclear physics. To treat the hard core potentials, a useful method for
calculating the off-shell -matrix is proposed. We find poles close to the
threshold in the second or third quadrant of the complex plane of
the relative momentum. The relation between the poles and the shape
of the elastic total cross section is discussed based on a
so-called uniformization by which two-channel -matrices become single-valued
on a complex valuable. We also find poles near the threshold. These
are correlated to the -wave scattering lengths, the values of
which have yet to be determined.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, Revte
The Hypertriton in Effective Field Theory
Doublet Lambda d scattering and the hypertriton are studied in the framework
of an effective field theory for large scattering lengths. As in the triton
case, consistent renormalization requires a one-parameter three-body force at
leading order whose renormalization group evolution is governed by a limit
cycle. Constraining unknown parameters from symmetry considerations and the
measured binding energy of the hypertriton, we calculate the low-energy phase
shifts for doublet Lambda d scattering. For the low-energy parameters, we find
a_{Lambda d}=(16.8^{+4.4}_{-2.4}) fm and r_{Lambda d}=(2.3 +/- 0.3) fm, where
the errors are due to the uncertainty in the hypertriton binding energy. Since
the hypertriton is extremely shallow, low-energy three-body observables in this
channel are very insensitive to the exact values of the Lambda N low-energy
parameters.Comment: 16 pages, revtex4, 5 ps figures, reference added, typos in appendix A
correcte
COgnitive behavioural therapy vs standardised medical care for adults with Dissociative non-Epileptic Seizures (CODES): a multicentre randomised controlled trial protocol
Background
The evidence base for the effectiveness of psychological interventions for patients with dissociative non-epileptic seizures (DS) is currently extremely limited, although data from two small pilot randomised controlled trials (RCTs), including from our group, suggest that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) may be effective in reducing DS occurrence and may improve aspects of psychological status and psychosocial functioning.
Methods/Design
The study is a multicentre, pragmatic parallel group RCT to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of specifically-tailored CBT plus standardised medical care (SMC) vs SMC alone in reducing DS frequency and improving psychological and health-related outcomes. In the initial screening phase, patients with DS will receive their diagnosis from a neurologist/epilepsy specialist. If patients are eligible and interested following the provision of study information and a booklet about DS, they will consent to provide demographic information and fortnightly data about their seizures, and agree to see a psychiatrist three months later. We aim to recruit ~500 patients to this screening stage. After a review three months later by a psychiatrist, those patients who have continued to have DS in the previous eight weeks and who meet further eligibility criteria will be told about the trial comparing CBT + SMC vs SMC alone. If they are interested in participating, they will be given a further booklet on DS and study information. A research worker will see them to obtain their informed consent to take part in the RCT. We aim to randomise 298 people (149 to each arm). In addition to a baseline assessment, data will be collected at 6 and 12 months post randomisation. Our primary outcome is monthly seizure frequency in the preceding month. Secondary outcomes include seizure severity, measures of seizure freedom and reduction, psychological distress and psychosocial functioning, quality of life, health service use, cost effectiveness and adverse events. We will include a nested qualitative study to evaluate participants’ views of the intervention and factors that acted as facilitators and barriers to participation.
Discussion
This study will be the first adequately powered evaluation of CBT for this patient group and offers the potential to provide an evidence base for treating this patient group.
Trial registration
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN05681227
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0232554
Density dependent hadron field theory for hypernuclei
The Density Dependent Relativistic Hadron Field (DDRH) theory, previously
introduced and applied to isospin nuclei, is extended to hypernuclei by
including the octet hyperons. Infinite matter Dirac-Brueckner theory for octet
baryons and the derivation of in-medium DDRH baryon-meson vertices is
discussed. From the properties of Dirac-Brueckner interactions it is found that
hyperon and nucleon self-energies and vertices are related by the ratios of
free space coupling constants. This leads to simple scaling laws for the
in-medium hyperon and nucleon vertices. The model is applied in relativistic
DDRH mean-field calculations to singl$\Lambda nuclei. Free space N-Lambda
T-matrix results are used for the scalar vertex. As the only free parameter the
hyperon vector vertex scaling factor is adjusted to a selected set of
hypernuclear data. Spectroscopic data of single Lambda hypernuclei over the
full mass range are well described. The reduced Lambda spin-orbit splitting is
reproduced and found to be related closely the medium dependence of scalar and
vector interactions.Comment: 38 pages, 9 figure
Application of the density dependent hadron field theory to neutron star matter
The density dependent hadron field (DDRH) theory, previously applied to
isospin nuclei and hypernuclei is used to describe -stable matter and
neutron stars under consideration of the complete baryon octet. The
meson-hyperon vertices are derived from Dirac-Brueckner calculations of nuclear
matter and extended to hyperons. We examine properties of density dependent
interactions derived from the Bonn A and from the Groningen NN potential as
well as phenomenological interactions. The consistent treatment of the density
dependence introduces rearrangement terms in the expression for the baryon
chemical potential. This leads to a more complex condition for the
-equilibrium compared to standard relativistic mean field (RMF)
approaches. We find a strong dependence of the equation of state and the
particle distribution on the choice of the vertex density dependence. Results
for neutron star masses and radii are presented. We find a good agreement with
other models for the maximum mass. Radii are smaller compared to RMF models and
indicate a closer agreement with results of non-relativistic Brueckner
calculations.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figure
Strangeness nuclear physics: a critical review on selected topics
Selected topics in strangeness nuclear physics are critically reviewed. This
includes production, structure and weak decay of --Hypernuclei, the
nuclear interaction and the possible existence of bound
states in nuclei. Perspectives for future studies on these issues are also
outlined.Comment: 63 pages, 51 figures, accepted for publication on European Physical
Journal
Soft-core hyperon-nucleon potentials
A new Nijmegen soft-core OBE potential model is presented for the low-energy
YN interactions. Besides the results for the fit to the scattering data, which
largely defines the model, we also present some applications to hypernuclear
systems using the G-matrix method. An important innovation with respect to the
original soft-core potential is the assignment of the cut-off masses for the
baryon-baryon-meson (BBM) vertices in accordance with broken SU(3), which
serves to connect the NN and the YN channels. As a novel feature, we allow for
medium strong breaking of the coupling constants, using the model with
a Gell-Mann--Okubo hypercharge breaking for the BBM coupling. We present six
hyperon-nucleon potentials which describe the available YN cross section data
equally well, but which exhibit some differences on a more detailed level. The
differences are constructed such that the models encompass a range of
scattering lengths in the and channels. For the
scalar-meson mixing angle we obtained values to 40 degrees, which
points to almost ideal mixing angles for the scalar states. The
G-matrix results indicate that the remarkably different spin-spin terms of the
six potentials appear specifically in the energy spectra of
hypernuclei.Comment: 37 pages, 4 figure
Cognitive behavioural therapy for adults with dissociative seizures (CODES): a pragmatic, multicentre, randomised controlled trial.
BACKGROUND: Dissociative seizures are paroxysmal events resembling epilepsy or syncope with characteristic features that allow them to be distinguished from other medical conditions. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) plus standardised medical care with standardised medical care alone for the reduction of dissociative seizure frequency. METHODS: In this pragmatic, parallel-arm, multicentre randomised controlled trial, we initially recruited participants at 27 neurology or epilepsy services in England, Scotland, and Wales. Adults (≥18 years) who had dissociative seizures in the previous 8 weeks and no epileptic seizures in the previous 12 months were subsequently randomly assigned (1:1) from 17 liaison or neuropsychiatry services following psychiatric assessment, to receive standardised medical care or CBT plus standardised medical care, using a web-based system. Randomisation was stratified by neuropsychiatry or liaison psychiatry recruitment site. The trial manager, chief investigator, all treating clinicians, and patients were aware of treatment allocation, but outcome data collectors and trial statisticians were unaware of treatment allocation. Patients were followed up 6 months and 12 months after randomisation. The primary outcome was monthly dissociative seizure frequency (ie, frequency in the previous 4 weeks) assessed at 12 months. Secondary outcomes assessed at 12 months were: seizure severity (intensity) and bothersomeness; longest period of seizure freedom in the previous 6 months; complete seizure freedom in the previous 3 months; a greater than 50% reduction in seizure frequency relative to baseline; changes in dissociative seizures (rated by others); health-related quality of life; psychosocial functioning; psychiatric symptoms, psychological distress, and somatic symptom burden; and clinical impression of improvement and satisfaction. p values and statistical significance for outcomes were reported without correction for multiple comparisons as per our protocol. Primary and secondary outcomes were assessed in the intention-to-treat population with multiple imputation for missing observations. This trial is registered with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial registry, ISRCTN05681227, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02325544. FINDINGS: Between Jan 16, 2015, and May 31, 2017, we randomly assigned 368 patients to receive CBT plus standardised medical care (n=186) or standardised medical care alone (n=182); of whom 313 had primary outcome data at 12 months (156 [84%] of 186 patients in the CBT plus standardised medical care group and 157 [86%] of 182 patients in the standardised medical care group). At 12 months, no significant difference in monthly dissociative seizure frequency was identified between the groups (median 4 seizures [IQR 0-20] in the CBT plus standardised medical care group vs 7 seizures [1-35] in the standardised medical care group; estimated incidence rate ratio [IRR] 0·78 [95% CI 0·56-1·09]; p=0·144). Dissociative seizures were rated as less bothersome in the CBT plus standardised medical care group than the standardised medical care group (estimated mean difference -0·53 [95% CI -0·97 to -0·08]; p=0·020). The CBT plus standardised medical care group had a longer period of dissociative seizure freedom in the previous 6 months (estimated IRR 1·64 [95% CI 1·22 to 2·20]; p=0·001), reported better health-related quality of life on the EuroQoL-5 Dimensions-5 Level Health Today visual analogue scale (estimated mean difference 6·16 [95% CI 1·48 to 10·84]; p=0·010), less impairment in psychosocial functioning on the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (estimated mean difference -4·12 [95% CI -6·35 to -1·89]; p<0·001), less overall psychological distress than the standardised medical care group on the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-10 scale (estimated mean difference -1·65 [95% CI -2·96 to -0·35]; p=0·013), and fewer somatic symptoms on the modified Patient Health Questionnaire-15 scale (estimated mean difference -1·67 [95% CI -2·90 to -0·44]; p=0·008). Clinical improvement at 12 months was greater in the CBT plus standardised medical care group than the standardised medical care alone group as reported by patients (estimated mean difference 0·66 [95% CI 0·26 to 1·04]; p=0·001) and by clinicians (estimated mean difference 0·47 [95% CI 0·21 to 0·73]; p<0·001), and the CBT plus standardised medical care group had greater satisfaction with treatment than did the standardised medical care group (estimated mean difference 0·90 [95% CI 0·48 to 1·31]; p<0·001). No significant differences in patient-reported seizure severity (estimated mean difference -0·11 [95% CI -0·50 to 0·29]; p=0·593) or seizure freedom in the last 3 months of the study (estimated odds ratio [OR] 1·77 [95% CI 0·93 to 3·37]; p=0·083) were identified between the groups. Furthermore, no significant differences were identified in the proportion of patients who had a more than 50% reduction in dissociative seizure frequency compared with baseline (OR 1·27 [95% CI 0·80 to 2·02]; p=0·313). Additionally, the 12-item Short Form survey-version 2 scores (estimated mean difference for the Physical Component Summary score 1·78 [95% CI -0·37 to 3·92]; p=0·105; estimated mean difference for the Mental Component Summary score 2·22 [95% CI -0·30 to 4·75]; p=0·084), the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 scale score (estimated mean difference -1·09 [95% CI -2·27 to 0·09]; p=0·069), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scale depression score (estimated mean difference -1·10 [95% CI -2·41 to 0·21]; p=0·099) did not differ significantly between groups. Changes in dissociative seizures (rated by others) could not be assessed due to insufficient data. During the 12-month period, the number of adverse events was similar between the groups: 57 (31%) of 186 participants in the CBT plus standardised medical care group reported 97 adverse events and 53 (29%) of 182 participants in the standardised medical care group reported 79 adverse events. INTERPRETATION: CBT plus standardised medical care had no statistically significant advantage compared with standardised medical care alone for the reduction of monthly seizures. However, improvements were observed in a number of clinically relevant secondary outcomes following CBT plus standardised medical care when compared with standardised medical care alone. Thus, adults with dissociative seizures might benefit from the addition of dissociative seizure-specific CBT to specialist care from neurologists and psychiatrists. Future work is needed to identify patients who would benefit most from a dissociative seizure-specific CBT approach. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research, Health Technology Assessment programme
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