Assessment of sexual difficulties associated with multi-modal treatment for cervical or endometrial cancer: A systematic review of measurement instruments

Background: Practitioners and researchers require an outcome measure that accurately identifies the range of common treatment-induced changes in sexual function and well-being experienced by women after cervical or endometrial cancer. This systematic review critically appraised the measurement properties and clinical utility of instruments validated for the measurement of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) in this clinical population. Methods: A bibliographic database search for questionnaire development or validation papers was completed and methodological quality and measurement properties of selected studies rated using the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instrument (COSMIN) checklist. Results: 738 articles were screened, 13 articles retrieved for full text assessment and 7 studies excluded, resulting in evaluation of 6 papers; 2 QoL and 4 female sexual morbidity measures. Five of the six instruments omitted one or more dimension of female sexual function and only one instrument explicitly measured distress associated with sexual changes as per DSM V (APA 2013) diagnostic criteria. None of the papers reported measurement error, responsiveness data was available for only two instruments, three papers failed to report on criterion validity, and test-retest reliability reporting was inconsistent. Heterosexual penile-vaginal intercourse remains the dominant sexual activity focus for sexual morbidity PROMS terminology and instruments lack explicit reference to solo or non-coital sexual expression or validation in a non-heterosexual sample. Four out of six instruments included mediating treatment or illness items such as vaginal changes, menopause or altered body image. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) remains the most robust sexual morbidity outcome measure, for research or clinical use, in sexually active women treated for cervical or endometrial cancer

Health-related quality-of-life outcome measures in paediatric palliative care: A systematic review of psychometric properties and feasibility of use

BACKGROUND: The number of children worldwide requiring palliative care services is increasing due to advances in medical care and technology. The use of outcome measures is important to improve the quality and effectiveness of care. AIM: To systematically identify health-related quality-of-life outcome measures that could be used in paediatric palliative care and examine their feasibility of use and psychometric properties. DESIGN: A systematic literature review and analysis of psychometric properties. DATA SOURCES: PsychInfo, Medline and EMBASE were searched from 1 January 1990 to 10 December 2014. Hand searches of the reference list of included studies and relevant reviews were also performed. RESULTS: From 3460 articles, 125 papers were selected for full-text assessment. A total of 41 articles met the eligibility criteria and examined the psychometric properties of 22 health-related quality-of-life measures. Evidence was limited as at least half of the information on psychometric properties per instrument was missing. Measurement error was not analysed in any of the included articles and responsiveness was only analysed in one study. The methodological quality of included studies varied greatly. CONCLUSION: There is currently no 'ideal' outcome assessment measure for use in paediatric palliative care. The domains of generic health-related quality-of-life measures are not relevant to all children receiving palliative care and some domains within disease-specific measures are only relevant for that specific population. Potential solutions include adapting an existing measure or developing more individualized patient-centred outcome and experience measures. Either way, it is important to continue work on outcome measurement in this field

A1_1 Bruce Almighty: Moon Wrangler

In the film Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey, as a romantic gesture he erases the clouds in the sky and draws the Moon closer to the Earth, using an invisible lasso. In this paper we have calculated 2.1x10^27N would be needed to pull the Moon towards the Earth. We have also discussed the ramifications of changing the Moon's distance from the Earth with tides rising to a height of 12.0m

A1_7 That's No Exoplanet!

As the Death Star II passes in front of the star of the Endor system, it could be detected using the methods of transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy, commonly used to discover exoplanets. We find that theDeath Star II would cause a 1.3x10^-6% drop in the flux from the star, and cause the star to have a radial velocity of 1.9x10^-12ms^-1, undetectable with current technology

A1_6 Ali G Cracks The Safe

Ali G sets up an elaborate plan to break into a safe - he links a series of cars together via their batteries to a human chain, to carry an electric current along, break into a safe and retrieve a video tape. We found the current needed to melt the lock of the safe to break it to be 7.98x10^5 A. The current calculated that reaches the safe in the scenario is 4.59x10^-5 A, therefore it would not be possible to break into the safe via the method used in the film

A1_2 One Punch Man - Speed Test

Saitama, the hero of "One Punch Man" has seemingly immeasurable strength and speed. We attempt to quantify his speed from a scene in which he jumps from the Moon to the Earth. We calculated Saitama's velocity during this action as 6.7% of the speed of light, and that his collision with the Earth would create a crater of 600m in diameter. This is comparable to a Near-Earth Object impact of 8 on the Torino Scale

A1_3 Dinosaur In-dial-gestion

In this paper we investigate the attenuation of sound waves originating from a ringing mobile phone, as they travel outwards from the stomach of a Spinosaurus, in order to determine whether they could act as a warning of the approaching dinosaur. Calculating the intensity lost crossing between the various media in the dinosaur's body, as well as air outside of the dinosaur, we determined this would not be possible. We calculated that the intensity of the phone ringing would be -19.6 dB when it reached their ears, which puts it just below the range of human hearing

Effects of glucose and lactate on <em>Streptococcus </em><em>mutans </em>abundance in a novel multispecies oral biofilm model

The oral microbiome plays an important role in protecting oral health. Here, we established a controlled mixed-species in vitro biofilm model and used it to assess the impact of glucose and lactate on the ability of Streptococcus mutans, an acidogenic and aciduric species, to compete with commensal oral bacteria. A chemically defined medium was developed that supported the growth of S. mutans and four common early colonizers of dental plaque: Streptococcus gordonii, Actinomyces oris, Neisseria subflava, and Veillonella parvula. Biofilms containing the early colonizers were developed in a continuous flow bioreactor, exposed to S. mutans, and incubated for up to 7 days. The abundance of bacteria was estimated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). At high glucose and high lactate, the pH in bulk fluid rapidly decreased to approximately 5.2, and S. mutans outgrew other species in biofilms. In low glucose and high lactate, the pH remained above 5.5, and V. parvula was the most abundant species in biofilms. By contrast, in low glucose and low lactate, the pH remained above 6.0 throughout the experiment, and the microbial community in biofilms was relatively balanced. Fluorescence in situ hybridization confirmed that all species were present in the biofilm and the majority of cells were viable using live/dead staining. These data demonstrate that carbon source concentration is critical for microbial homeostasis in model oral biofilms. Furthermore, we established an experimental system that can support the development of computational models to predict transitions to microbial dysbiosis based on metabolic interactions. 38376204</strong