Electron recombination with multicharged ions via chaotic many-electron states

We show that a dense spectrum of chaotic multiply-excited eigenstates can play a major role in collision processes involving many-electron multicharged ions. A statistical theory based on chaotic properties of the eigenstates enables one to obtain relevant energy-averaged cross sections in terms of sums over single-electron orbitals. Our calculation of the low-energy electron recombination of Au$^{25+}$ shows that the resonant process is 200 times more intense than direct radiative recombination, which explains the recent experimental results of Hoffknecht {\em et al.} [J. Phys. B {\bf 31}, 2415 (1998)].Comment: 9 pages, including 1 figure, REVTe

Electrochemical characterization and surface analysis of bulk amorphous alloys in aqueous solutions at different pH

Bulk amorphous alloys are a new class of materials with a variety of characteristics that make them useful for applications in aqueous environments. While some bulk amorphous metals show increased corrosion resistance, there is still a lack of fundamental electrochemical studies of these materials. Two different compositions of BeCuNiTiZr bulk amorphous alloys have been studied at pH 5, 7, and 10 using cyclic voltammetry (CV), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), depth profiling methods, and optical microscopy. While XPS is used to determine the composition of the resulting oxide films, the CV curves and optical micrographs are compared to pinpoint differences in the corrosion resistance of the amorphous multicomponent alloys. The effect of the amorphicity, multicomponent structure and the presence of elements with widely varying interfacial reactivities on the oxidation process and on the corrosion resistance of the alloys, are discussed with the desire to provide some electrochemical background for the expected wide spread use of bulk amorphous alloys

The association between mental health nursing and hospital admissions for people with serious mental illness: a protocol for a systematic review

Background: Relapse in individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) is a frequent occurrence and can add considerably to the burden of disease. As such, relapse prevention is an essential therapeutic outcome for people with SMI. Mental health nurses (MHNs) are well placed to support individuals with SMI and to prevent relapse; notwithstanding, there has been no synthesis of the evidence to date to determine whether MHNs prevent relapse in this population. Methods: Electronic databases will be systemically searched for observational studies and clinical trials that report the association between mental health nursing and the hospitalisation of persons living with an SMI. The search will be supplemented by reference checking and a search of the grey literature. The primary outcome of interest will be hospital admission rate. Screening of articles, data extraction and critical appraisal will be undertaken by two reviewers, independently, with a third reviewer consulted should disagreement occur between reviewers. The quality of studies will be assessed using the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies - of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tool and the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool. Depending on the number of studies and level of heterogeneity, the evidence may be synthesised using meta-analysis or narrative synthesis. Discussion: This review will explore for the first time the clinical potential of mental health nursing in preventing relapse in persons with SMI. The findings of this review will serve to inform future research and education in this area. The evidence may also help inform future policy, including decisions regarding future mental health workforce development and planning

Performance evaluation of a new fourth-generation HIV combination antigen-antibody assay

Education and diagnostic tests capable of early detection represent our most effective means of preventing transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The importance of early detection is underlined by studies demonstrating increased life expectancy following early initiation of antiviral treatment. The Elecsys(®) HIV combi PT assay is a fourth-generation antigen-antibody combination assay developed to allow earlier detection of seroconversion, and to have increased sensitivity and improved specificity. We aimed to determine how early the assay could detect infection compared with existing assays; whether all HIV variants could be detected; and the assay's specificity using samples from blood donors, routine specimens, and patients with potential cross-reacting factors. Samples were identified as positive by the Elecsys(®) assay 4.9 days after a positive polymerase chain reaction result (as determined by the panel supplier), which was earlier than the 5.3-7.1 days observed with comparators. The analytical sensitivity of the Elecsys(®) HIV combi PT assay for the HIV-1 p24 antigen was 1.05 IU/mL, which compares favorably with the comparator assays. In addition, the Elecsys(®) assay identified all screened HIV subtypes and displayed greater sensitivity to HIV-2 homologous antigen and antibodies to HIV-1 E and O and HIV-2 than the other assays. Overall, the specificity of the Elecsys(®) assay was 99.88 % using samples from blood donors and 99.81 % when analyzing unselected samples. Potential cross-reacting factors did not interfere with assay performance. The Elecsys(®) HIV combi PT assay is a sensitive and specific assay that has been granted the CE mark according to Directive 2009/886/EC

Evaluating Depressive Symptoms in Schizophrenia: A Psychometric Comparison of the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale

Background: The aim of this study was to compare two measures of depression in patients with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorder, including patients with delusional and schizoaffective disorder, to conclude implications for their application. Sampling and Methods: A total of 278 patients were assessed using the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was also applied. At admission and discharge, a principal component analysis was performed with each depression scale. The two depression rating scales were furthermore compared using correlation and regression analyses. Results: Three factors were revealed for the CDSS and HAMD-17 factor component analysis. A very similar item loading was found for the CDSS at admission and discharge, whereas results of the loadings of the HAMD-17 items were less stable. The first two factors of the CDSS revealed correlations with positive, negative and general psychopathology. In contrast, multiple significant correlations were found for the HAMD-17 factors and the PANSS sub-scores. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the HAMD-17 accounted more for the positive and negative symptom domains than the CDSS. Conclusions:The present results suggest that compared to the HAMD-17, the CDSS is a more specific instrument to measure depressive symptoms in schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorder, especially in acutely ill patients. Copyright (c) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Parities of bound dipole states in 40Ar

Nuclear resonance fluorescence experiments with linearly polarized bremsstrahlung were performed to determine parities of strong dipole transitions in 40Ar. A total of 14 transitions—ten of them previously unknown—in the energy range from 4.7 to 10.2 MeV could be identified. From this experiment it is evident that the main dipole strength to bound states is due to E1 excitations. An upper limit of B(M1) [up arrow] <0.5 µN2 was found for individual magnetic dipole excitations in 40Ar in the energy region below neutron threshold

Electric and magnetic dipole transitions to bound states in 206Pb

Nuclear resonance fluorescence measurements with linearly polarized bremsstrahlung were performed to determine parities of bound dipole transitions in 206Pb. A new 1+ level at 5800 keV was found, which has almost the same strength as the isoscalar M1 transition in 208Pb. Twenty-four further dipole states in 206Pb below 7.6 MeV possess negative parity

Prostate-specific antigen testing in Tyrol, Austria: prostate cancer mortality reduction was supported by an update with mortality data up to 2008

Objectives: The objective of this study was to update an in-depth analysis of the time trend for prostate cancer (PCA) mortality in the population of Tyrol by 5 years, namely to 2008. In Tyrol, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests were introduced in 1988/89; more than three-quarters of all men in the age group 45–74 had at least one PSA test in the past decade. Methods: We applied the same model as in a previous publication, i.e., an age-period-cohort model using Poisson regression, to the mortality data covering more than three decades from 1970 to 2008. Results: For Tyrol from 2004 to 2008 in the age group 60+ period terms show a significant reduction in prostate cancer mortality with a risk ratio of 0.70 (95% confidence interval 0.57, 0.87) for Tyrol, and for Austria excluding Tyrol a moderate reduction with a risk ratio of 0.92 (95% confidence interval 0.87, 0.97), each compared to the mortality rate in the period 1989–1993. Conclusions: This update strengthens our previously published results, namely that PSA testing offered to a population at no charge can reduce prostate cancer mortality. The extent of mortality reduction is in line with that reported in the other recent publications. However, our data do not permit us to fully assess the harms associated with PCA screening, and no recommendation for PSA screening can be made without a careful evaluation of overdiagnosis and overtreatment

Sustained favorable long-term outcome in the treatment of schizophrenia: a 3-year prospective observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study of chronically ill patients with schizophrenia aimed to identify patients who achieve sustained favorable long-term outcome - when the outcome incorporates severity of symptoms, level of functioning, and use of acute care services - and to identify the best baseline predictors of achieving this sustained favorable long-term outcome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using data from the United States Schizophrenia Care and Assessment Program (US-SCAP) (N = 2327), a large 3-year prospective, multisite, observational study of individuals treated for schizophrenia in the US, a hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to group patients based upon baseline symptom severity. Symptom severity was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores, level of functioning, and use of acute care services. Level of functioning reflected patient-reported productivity and clinician-rated occupational role functioning. Use of acute care services reflected self-reported psychiatric hospitalization and emergency service use. Change of health state was determined over the 3-year period. A patient was classified as having a sustained favorable long-term outcome if their health state values had the closest distance to the defined "best baseline cluster" at each point over the length of the study. Stepwise logistic regression was used to determine baseline predictors of sustained favorable long-term outcome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At baseline, 5 distinct health state clusters were identified, ranging from "best" to "worst." Of 1635 patients with sufficient data, only 157 (10%) experienced sustained favorable long-term outcome during the 2-years postbaseline. The baseline predictors associated with sustained favorable long-term outcome included better quality of life, more daily activities, patient-reported clearer thinking from medication, better global functioning, being employed, not being a victim of a crime, not having received individual therapy, and not having received help with shopping and leisure activities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Only a small percentage of patients achieved sustained favorable long-term outcome in this study, suggesting there continues to be a great need for improvement in the treatment of schizophrenia. Findings suggest that clinicians could make early projections of health states and identify those patients more likely to achieve favorable long-term outcomes enabling early therapeutic interventions to enhance benefits for patients.</p

Change in level of productivity in the treatment of schizophrenia with olanzapine or other antipsychotics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>When treating schizophrenia, improving patients' productivity level is a major goal considering schizophrenia is a leading cause of functional disability. Productivity level has been identified as the most preferred treatment outcome by patients with schizophrenia. However, little has been done to systematically investigate productivity levels in schizophrenia. We set out to better understand the change in productivity level among chronically ill patients with schizophrenia treated with olanzapine compared with other antipsychotic medications. We also assessed the links between productivity level and other clinical outcomes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This post hoc analysis used data from 6 randomized, double-blind clinical trials of patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, with each trial being of approximately 6 months duration. Change in productivity level was compared between olanzapine-treated patients (HGBG, n = 172; HGHJ, n = 277; HGJB, n = 171; HGLB, n = 281; HGGN, n = 159; HGDH, n = 131) and patients treated with other antipsychotic medications (separately vs. haloperidol [HGGN, n = 97; HGDH, n = 132], risperidone [HGBG, n = 167; HGGN, n = 158], quetiapine [HGJB, n = 175], ziprasidone [HGHJ, n = 271] and aripiprazole [HGLB, n = 285]). Productivity was defined as functional activities/work including working for pay, studying, housekeeping and volunteer work. Productivity level in the prior 3 months was assessed on a 5-point scale ranging from no useful functioning to functional activity/work 75% to 100% of the time.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Chronically ill patients treated with olanzapine (OLZ) experienced significantly greater improvement in productivity when compared to patients treated with risperidone (RISP) (OLZ = 0.22 ± 1.19, RISP = -0.03 ± 1.17, p = 0.033) or ziprasidone (ZIP) (OLZ = 0.50 ± 1.38, ZIP = 0.25 ± 1.27, p = 0.026), but did not significantly differ from the quetiapine, aripiprazole or haloperidol treatment groups. Among first episode patients, OLZ therapy was associated with greater improvements in productivity levels compared to haloperidol (HAL), during the acute phase (OLZ = -0.31 ± 1.59, HAL = -0.69 ± 1.56, p = 0.011) and over the long-term (OLZ = 0.10 ± 1.50, HAL = -0.32 ± 1.91, p = 0.008). Significantly more chronically ill and first episode patients treated with olanzapine showed moderately high (>50%-75% of the time) and high levels of productivity (>75%-100% of the time) at endpoint, when compared to risperidone or haloperidol-treated patients (p < .05), respectively. Higher productivity level was associated with significantly higher study completion rates and better scores on the positive, negative, disorganized thoughts, hostility and depression subscales of the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Some antipsychotic medications significantly differed in beneficial impact on productivity level in the long-term treatment of patients with schizophrenia. Findings further highlight the link between clinical and functional outcomes, showing significant associations between higher productivity, lower symptom severity and better persistence on therapy.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>clinicaltrials.gov identifier <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00088049">NCT00088049</a>; <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00036088">NCT00036088</a></p