808 research outputs found
Follow-up services for improving long-term outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU) survivors
This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows:
Our main objective is to assess the effectiveness of follow-up services for ICU survivors that aim to identify and address unmet health needs related to the ICU period. We aim to assess the effectiveness in relation to health-related quality of life, mortality, depression and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, physical function, cognitive function, ability to return to work or education and adverse events.
Our secondary objectives are, in general, to examine both the various ways that follow-up services are provided and any major influencing factors. Specifically, we aim to explore: the effectiveness of service organisation (physician versus nurse led, face to face versus remote, timing of follow-up service); possible differences in services related to country (developed versus developing country); and whether participants had delirium within the ICU setting
High resolution sub-millimetre mapping of starburst galaxies: Comparison with CO emission
Researchers present first results from a program of submillimeter continuum mapping of starburst galaxies, and comparison of their dust and CO emission. This project was prompted by surprising results from the first target, the nearby starburst M82, which shows in the dust continuum a morphology quite unlike that of its CO emission, in contrast to what might be expected if both CO and dust are accurately tracing the molecular hydrogen. Possible explanations for this striking difference are discussed. In the light of these results, the program has been extended to include sub-mm mapping of the nearby, vigorously star forming spirals, M83 and Maffei 2. The latter were also observed extensively in CO, in order to study excitation conditions in its central regions. The James Clerk Maxwell Telescope was used in these studies
Correlating the Energetics and Atomic Motions of the Metal-Insulator Transition of M1 Vanadium Dioxide
Materials that undergo reversible metal-insulator transitions are obvious
candidates for new generations of devices. For such potential to be realised,
the underlying microscopic mechanisms of such transitions must be fully
determined. In this work we probe the correlation between the energy landscape
and electronic structure of the metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide
and the atomic motions occurring using first principles calculations and high
resolution X-ray diffraction. Calculations find an energy barrier between the
high and low temperature phases corresponding to contraction followed by
expansion of the distances between vanadium atoms on neighbouring sub-lattices.
X-ray diffraction reveals anisotropic strain broadening in the low temperature
structure's crystal planes, however only for those with spacings affected by
this compression/expansion. GW calculations reveal that traversing this barrier
destabilises the bonding/anti-bonding splitting of the low temperature phase.
This precise atomic description of the origin of the energy barrier separating
the two structures will facilitate more precise control over the transition
characteristics for new applications and devices.Comment: 11 Pages, 8 Figure
OH 1720 MHz Masers in Supernova Remnants --- C-Shock Indicators
Recent observations show that the OH 1720 MHz maser is a powerful probe of
the shocked region where a supernova remnant strikes a molecular cloud. We
perform a thorough study of the pumping of this maser and find tight
constraints on the physical conditions needed for its production. The presence
of the maser implies moderate temperatures (50 -- 125 K) and densities (), and OH column densities of order . We show
that these conditions can exist only if the shocks are of C-type. J-shocks fail
by such a wide margin that the presence of this maser could become the most
powerful indicator of C-shocks. These conditions also mean that the 1720 MHz
maser will be inherently weak compared to the other ground state OH masers. All
the model predictions are in good agreement with the observations.Comment: 16 pages, 5 Postscript figures (included), uses aaspp4.sty. To appear
in the Astrophysical Journa
Follow-up services for improving long-term outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU) survivors
Background:
The intensive care unit (ICU) stay has been linked with a number of physical and psychological sequelae, known collectively as postâintensive care syndrome (PICS). Specific ICU followâup services are relatively recent developments in health systems, and may have the potential to address PICS through targeting unmet health needs arising from the experience of the ICU stay. There is currently no single accepted model of followâup service and current aftercare programmes encompass a variety of interventions and materials. There is uncertain evidence about whether followâup services effectively address PICS, and this review assesses this.
Objectives:
Our main objective was to assess the effectiveness of followâup services for ICU survivors that aim to identify and address unmet health needs related to the ICU period. We aimed to assess effectiveness in relation to healthârelated quality of life (HRQoL), mortality, depression and anxiety, postâtraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), physical function, cognitive function, ability to return to work or education and adverse effects.
Our secondary objectives were to examine different models of followâup services. We aimed to explore: the effectiveness of service organisation (physicianâ versus nurseâled, faceâtoâface versus remote, timing of followâup service); differences related to country (highâincome versus lowâ and middleâincome countries); and effect of delirium, which can subsequently affect cognitive function, and the effect of followâup services may differ for these participants.
Search methods:
We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase and CINAHL on 7 November 2017. We searched clinical trials registers for ongoing studies, and conducted backward and forward citation searching of relevant articles.
Selection criteria:
We included randomised and nonârandomised studies with adult participants, who had been discharged from hospital following an ICU stay. We included studies that compared an ICU followâup service using a structured programme and coâordinated by a healthcare professional versus no followâup service or standard care.
Data collection and analysis:
Two review authors independently assessed studies for inclusion, extracted data, assessed risk of bias, and synthesised findings. We used the GRADE approach to assess the certainty of the evidence.
Main results:
We included five studies (four randomised studies; one nonârandomised study), for a total of 1707 participants who were ICU survivors with a range of illness severities and conditions. Followâup services were led by nurses in four studies or a multidisciplinary team in one study. They included faceâtoâface consultations at home or in a clinic, or telephone consultations or both. Each study included at least one consultation (weekly, monthly, or sixâmonthly), and two studies had up to eight consultations. Although the design of followâup service consultations differed in each study, we noted that each service included assessment of participants' needs with referrals to specialist support if required.
It was not feasible to blind healthcare professionals or participants to the intervention and we did not know whether this may have introduced performance bias. We noted baseline differences (two studies), and services included additional resources (two studies), which may have influenced results, and one nonârandomised study had high risk of selection bias.
We did not combine data from randomised studies with data from one nonârandomised study. Followâup services for improving longâterm outcomes in ICU survivors may make little or no difference to HRQoL at 12 months (standardised mean difference (SMD) â0.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) â0.1 to 0.1; 1 study; 286 participants; lowâcertainty evidence). We found moderateâcertainty evidence from five studies that they probably also make little or no difference to allâcause mortality up to 12 months after ICU discharge (RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.76 to 1.22; 4 studies; 1289 participants; and in one nonârandomised study 79/259 deaths in the intervention group, and 46/151 in the control group) and lowâcertainty evidence from four studies that they may make little or no difference to PTSD (SMD â0.05, 95% CI â0.19 to 0.10, 703 participants, 3 studies; and one nonârandomised study reported less chance of PTSD when a followâup service was used).
It is uncertain whether using a followâup service reduces depression and anxiety (3 studies; 843 participants), physical function (4 studies; 1297 participants), cognitive function (4 studies; 1297 participants), or increases the ability to return to work or education (1 study; 386 participants), because the certainty of this evidence is very low. No studies measured adverse effects.
We could not assess our secondary objectives because we found insufficient studies to justify subgroup analysis.
Authors' conclusions:
We found insufficient evidence, from a limited number of studies, to determine whether ICU followâup services are effective in identifying and addressing the unmet health needs of ICU survivors. We found five ongoing studies which are not included in this review; these ongoing studies may increase our certainty in the effect in future updates. Because of limited data, we were unable to explore whether one design of followâup service is preferable to another, or whether a service is more effective for some people than others, and we anticipate that future studies may also vary in design. We propose that future studies are designed with robust methods (for example randomised studies are preferable) and consider only one variable (the followâup service) compared to standard care; this would increase confidence that the effect is due to the followâup service rather than concomitant therapies
A feasibility study of a brief psycho-educational intervention for psychogenic nonepileptic seizures
AbstractPurposeWe have previously reported that one in six patients stops experiencing psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) following our communication protocol. This prospective multicentre study describes a psycho-educational intervention for PNES building on the initial communication of the diagnosis and examines the feasibility of its delivery by healthcare professionals with minimal experience in psychological therapies.MethodThree healthcare professionals with minimal training in psychological therapies took part in a one-day training course. 20 participants attended for a four-session manualised psycho-educational intervention delivered at three different clinical neuroscience centres. Participants completed self-report measures prior to the intervention at baseline (n=29) and seven months after diagnosis (n=13) measures included seizure frequency, health related quality of life, healthcare utilisation, activity levels, symptom attributions and levels of functioning. Therapy sessions were audiorecorded and manual adherence assessed.ResultsOf 29 patients enrolled into the study, 20 started and 13 completed the intervention and provided follow-up information. At follow-up, 4/13 of patients had achieved complete seizure control and a further 3/13 reported a greater than 50% improvement in seizure frequency. After training, epilepsy nurses and assistant psychologists demonstrated sufficient adherence to the manualised psycho-educational intervention in 80% of sessions.ConclusionThe delivery of our brief manualised psycho-educational intervention for PNES by health professionals with minimal training in psychological treatment was feasible. The intervention was associated with higher rates of PNES cessation than those observed in our previous studies describing the short-term outcome of the communication of the diagnosis alone. An RCT of the intervention is justified but a significant proportion of drop-outs will have to be anticipated
Deep three-dimensional solid-state qubit arrays with long-lived spin coherence
Nitrogen-vacancy centers (NVCs) in diamond show promise for quantum computing, communication, and sensing. However, the best current method for entangling two NVCs requires that each one is in a separate cryostat, which is not scalable. We show that single NVCs can be laser written 6â15-”m deep inside of a diamond with spin coherence times that are an order of magnitude longer than previous laser-written NVCs and at least as long as naturally occurring NVCs. This depth is suitable for integration with solid immersion lenses or optical cavities and we present depth-dependent T2 measurements. 200â000 of these NVCs would fit into one diamond
A Candidate Substellar Companion to HR 7329
We present the discovery of a candidate substellar companion from a survey of
nearby, young stars with the NICMOS coronagraph on the Hubble Space Telescope.
The H ~ 12 mag object was discovered approximately 4" from the young A0V star
HR 7329. Using follow-up spectroscopy from STIS, we derive a spectral type
between M7V and M8V with an effective temperature of ~ 2600 K. We estimate that
the probability of a chance alignment with a foreground dwarf star of this
nature is ~ 10^(-8) and therefore suggest the object (HR 7329B) is physically
associated with HR 7329 with a projected separation of 200 AU. Current brown
dwarf cooling models indicate a mass of less than 50 Jupiter masses for HR
7329B based on age estimates of < 30 Myr for HR7329A.Comment: 8 pages LATEX, 5 ps figures, accepted for Ap
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