Randomised controlled trial of fish oil supplement to treat cancer cachexia

Patients with advanced cancer often suffer from cachexia, a debilitating and complex extreme weight loss syndrome which is also associated with shorter survival times. A pragmatic randomised controlled trial was conducted to determine whether an oral nutritional supplement containing the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was able to improve quality of life and survival times of patients with advanced solid tumour cancer in a mixed tumour cancer type population

Sandbagging on the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) in a high school athlete population

The Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) is a computerized neuropsychological test battery commonly used to assess cognitive functioning after a concussion. It is recommended that application of ImPACT utilizes a baseline administration so athletes have an individualized baseline with which to compare post-injury results should they sustain a concussion. It has been suggested that athletes may provide suboptimal effort, called “sandbagging,” in order to return to their baseline cognitive scores, and thus to play, more quickly. This research examines ImPACT baseline scores when high school athletes were asked to attempt to “sandbag,” and compares those scores with scores obtained when they were asked to give their “best effort.” Fifty-four high school student athlete volunteers participated in the study. In contrast to previous research that just looked at the cut-score invalidity indicators built into ImPACT, this research developed a regression equation to predict sandbagging. A logistic regression equation developed with four variables that demonstrated the largest effect size between “best effort” and “sandbagged” baselines showed a 99.7% classification accuracy for the “best effort” and “sandbag” groups

Peierls transition in the quantum spin-Peierls model

We use the density matrix renormalization group method to investigate the role of longitudinal quantized phonons on the Peierls transition in the spin-Peierls model. For both the XY and Heisenberg spin-Peierls model we show that the staggered phonon order parameter scales as $\sqrt{\lambda}$ (and the dimerized bond order scales as $\lambda$) as $\lambda \to 0$ (where $\lambda$ is the electron-phonon interaction). This result is true for both linear and cyclic chains. Thus, we conclude that the Peierls transition occurs at $\lambda=0$ in these models. Moreover, for the XY spin-Peierls model we show that the quantum predictions for the bond order follow the classical prediction as a function of inverse chain size for small $\lambda$. We therefore conclude that the zero $\lambda$ phase transition is of the mean-field type

Analysis of multiply spliced transcripts in lymphoid tissue reservoirs of rhesus macaques infected with RT-SHIV during HAART.

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can reduce levels of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) to undetectable levels in infected individuals, but the virus is not eradicated. The mechanisms of viral persistence during HAART are poorly defined, but some reservoirs have been identified, such as latently infected resting memory CD4⁺ T cells. During latency, in addition to blocks at the initiation and elongation steps of viral transcription, there is a block in the export of viral RNA (vRNA), leading to the accumulation of multiply-spliced transcripts in the nucleus. Two of the genes encoded by the multiply-spliced transcripts are Tat and Rev, which are essential early in the viral replication cycle and might indicate the state of infection in a given population of cells. Here, the levels of multiply-spliced transcripts were compared to the levels of gag-containing RNA in tissue samples from RT-SHIV-infected rhesus macaques treated with HAART. Splice site sequence variation was identified during development of a TaqMan PCR assay. Multiply-spliced transcripts were detected in gastrointestinal and lymphatic tissues, but not the thymus. Levels of multiply-spliced transcripts were lower than levels of gag RNA, and both correlated with plasma virus loads. The ratio of multiply-spliced to gag RNA was greatest in the gastrointestinal samples from macaques with plasma virus loads <50 vRNA copies per mL at necropsy. Levels of gag RNA and multiply-spliced mRNA in tissues from RT-SHIV-infected macaques correlate with plasma virus load

Aortic cusp extension valvuloplasty with or without tricuspidization in children and adolescents: Long-term results and freedom from aortic valve replacement

ObjectiveAortic cusp extension valvuloplasty is increasingly used in the management of children and adolescents with aortic stenosis or regurgitation. The durability of this approach and the freedom from valve replacement are not well defined. A study was undertaken to investigate outcomes.MethodsFrom July 1987 to November 2008, 142 patients aged less than 19 years underwent aortic cusp extension valvuloplasty in the form of pericardial cusp extension and tricuspidization (when needed). Three patients with truncus arteriosus and severe truncal valve insufficiency were excluded. From the available follow-up data of 139 patients, 50 had bicuspid aortic valves, 40 had congenital aortic valve stenosis, 41 had combined congenital aortic valve stenosis/insufficiency, and 8 had other diagnoses. Median follow-up was 14.4 years (0.1–21.4). Long-term mortality and freedom from aortic valve replacement were studied.ResultsThere were no early, intermediate, or late deaths. Z-values of left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, aortic annulus, aortic sinus diameter, and sinotubular junction diameter before aortic valve replacement were 4.2 ± 3.11, 2.3 ± 1.25, 4.4 ± 1.23, and 1.84 ± 1.28, respectively. During the follow-up period, 64 patients underwent aortic valve reinterventions. The Ross procedure was performed in 32 of 139 patients (23%) undergoing aortic cusp extension valvuloplasty. Other aortic valve replacements were undertaken after 16 aortic cusp extension valvuloplasties (11.5%). Freedom from a second aortic cusp extension valvuloplasty or aortic valve replacement at 18 years was 82.1% ± 4.2% and 60.0% ± 7.2%, respectively.ConclusionAortic cusp extension valvuloplasty is a safe and effective surgical option with excellent survival and good long-term outcomes in children and adolescents. The procedure provides acceptable durability and satisfactory freedom from aortic valve replacement

Persistent holes in a fluid

We observe stable holes in a vertically oscillated 0.5 cm deep aqueous suspension of cornstarch for accelerations a above 10g. Holes appear only if a finite perturbation is applied to the layer. Holes are circular and approximately 0.5 cm wide, and can persist for more than 10^5 cycles. Above a = 17g the rim of the hole becomes unstable producing finger-like protrusions or hole division. At higher acceleration, the hole delocalizes, growing to cover the entire surface with erratic undulations. We find similar behavior in an aqueous suspension of glass microspheres.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure