98 research outputs found
Breast cancer risk reduction:is it feasible to initiate a randomised controlled trial of a lifestyle intervention programme (ActWell) within a national breast screening programme?
BackgroundBreast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second cause of cancer deaths amongst women in the UK. The incidence of the disease is increasing and is highest in women from least deprived areas. It is estimated that around 42% of the disease in post-menopausal women could be prevented by increased physical activity and reductions in alcohol intake and body fatness. Breast cancer control endeavours focus on national screening programmes but these do not include communications or interventions for risk reductionThis study aimed to assess the feasibility of delivery, indicative effects and acceptability of a lifestyle intervention programme initiated within the NHS Scottish Breast Screening Programme (NHSSBSP).MethodsA 1:1 randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the 3 month ActWell programme (focussing on body weight, physical activity and alcohol) versus usual care conducted in two NHSSBSP sites between June 2013 and January 2014. Feasibility assessments included recruitment, retention, and fidelity to protocol. Indicative outcomes were measured at baseline and 3 month follow-up (body weight, waist circumference, eating and alcohol habits and physical activity. At study end, a questionnaire assessed participant satisfaction and qualitative interviews elicited women¿s, coaches and radiographers¿ experiences. Statistical analysis used Chi squared tests for comparisons in proportions and paired t tests for comparisons of means. Linear regression analyses were performed, adjusted for baseline values, with group allocation as a fixed effectResultsA pre-set recruitment target of 80 women was achieved within 12 weeks and 65 (81%) participants (29 intervention, 36 control) completed 3 month assessments. Mean age was 58¿±¿5.6 years, mean BMI was 29.2¿±¿7.0 kg/m2 and many (44%) reported a family history of breast cancer.The primary analysis (baseline body weight adjusted) showed a significant between group difference favouring the intervention group of 2.04 kg (95%CI ¿3.24 kg to ¿0.85 kg). Significant, favourable between group differences were also detected for BMI, waist circumference, physical activity and sitting time. Women rated the programme highly and 70% said they would recommend it to others.ConclusionsRecruitment, retention, indicative results and participant acceptability support the development of a definitive RCT to measure long term effects.Trial registrationThe trial was registered with Current Controlled Trials (ISRCTN56223933)
Gluonic and leptonic decays of heavy quarkonia and the determination of and
QCD running coupling constant and are
determined from heavy quarkonia and decays. The
decay rates of and for and
are estimated by taking into account both relativistic and QCD
radiative corrections. The decay amplitudes are derived in the Bethe-Salpeter
formalism, and the decay rates are estimated by using the meson wavefunctions
which are obtained with a QCD-inspired inter-quark potential. For the
decay we find the relativistic correction to be very large
and to severely suppress the decay rate. Using the experimental values of ratio
R_g\equiv \frac {\Gamma (V\longrightarrow 3g)}% {\Gamma (V\longrightarrow
e^{+}e^{-})}\approx 10,~32 for respectively, and the
calculated widths , we find and
. These values for the QCD running coupling
constant are substantially enhanced, as compared with the ones obtained without
relativistic corrections, and are consistent with the QCD scale parameter
. We also find that these
results are mainly due to kinematic corrections and not sensitive to the
dynamical models.Comment: 15 pages in Late
Scaling laws near the conformal window of many-flavor QCD
We derive universal scaling laws for physical observables such as the
critical temperature, the chiral condensate, and the pion decay constant as a
function of the flavor number near the conformal window of many-flavor QCD in
the chiral limit. We argue on general grounds that the associated critical
exponents are all interrelated and can be determined from the critical exponent
of the running gauge coupling at the Caswell-Banks-Zaks infrared fixed point.
We illustrate our findings with the aid of nonperturbative functional
Renormalization Group (RG) calculations and low-energy QCD models.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, references added and discussion expanded
(matches JHEP version
Pseuduscalar Heavy Quarkonium Decays With Both Relativistic and QCD Radiative Corrections
We estimate the decay rates of ,
, and ,
, by taking into account both relativistic and
QCD radiative corrections. The decay amplitudes are derived in the
Bethe-Salpeter formalism. The Bethe-Salpeter equation with a QCD-inspired
interquark potential are used to calculate the wave functions and decay widths
for these states. We find that the relativistic correction to the
ratio is negative and tends to compensate the positive contribution from
the QCD radiative correction. Our estimate gives and ,
which are smaller than their nonrelativistic values. The hadronic widths
and are then indicated accordingly to the first order
QCD radiative correction, if . The decay widths for
states are also estimated. We show that when making the assmption
that the quarks are on their mass shells our expressions for the decay widths
will become identical with that in the NRQCD theory to the next to leading
order of and .Comment: 14 pages LaTex (2 figures included
Looking through the QCD conformal window with perturbation theory
We study the conformal window of QCD using perturbation theory, starting from the perturbative upper edge and going down as much as we can towards the strongly coupled regime. We do so by exploiting the available five-loop
computation of the -function and employing Borel resummation techniques both for the ordinary perturbative series and for the Banks-Zaks conformal expansion. Large- results are also used. We argue that the perturbative series for the -function is most likely asymptotic and non-Borel resummable, yet Borel resummation techniques allow to improve on ordinary perturbation theory. We find
substantial evidence that QCD with flavours flows in the IR to a conformal field theory. Though the evidence is weaker, we find indications that also might sit within the conformal window. We also compute the value
of the mass anomalous dimension at the fixed point and compare it with the available lattice results. The conformal window might extend for lower values of , but our methods break down for n_f<11, where we expect that non-perturbative effects become important. A similar analysis is performed in the Veneziano limit
Communication between family carers and health professionals about end-of-life care for older people in the acute hospital setting: a qualitative study
This paper focuses on communication between hospital staff and family carers of patients dying on acute hospital wards, with an emphasis on the family carers’ perspective. The age at which people in the UK die is increasing and many continue to die in the acute hospital setting. Concerns have been expressed about poor quality end of life care in hospitals, in particular regarding communication between staff and relatives. This research aimed to understand the factors and processes which affect the quality of care provided to frail older people who are dying in hospital and their family carers
Experimental Evaluation of Seed Limitation in Alpine Snowbed Plants
Background: The distribution and abundance of plants is controlled by the availability of seeds and of sites suitable for establishment. The relative importance of these two constraints is still contentious and possibly varies among species and ecosystems. In alpine landscapes, the role of seed limitation has traditionally been neglected, and the role of abiotic gradients emphasized.
Methodology/Principal Findings: We evaluated the importance of seed limitation for the incidence of four alpine snowbed species (Achillea atrata L., Achillea clusiana Tausch, Arabis caerulea L., Gnaphalium hoppeanum W. D. J. Koch) in local plant communities by comparing seedling emergence, seedling, juvenile and adult survival, juvenile and adult growth, flowering frequency as well as population growth rates lambda of experimental plants transplanted into snowbed patches which were either occupied or unoccupied by the focal species. In addition, we accounted for possible effects of competition or facilitation on these rates by including a measure of neighbourhood biomass into the analysis. We found that only A. caerulea had significantly lower seedling and adult survival as well as a lower population growth rate in unoccupied sites whereas the vital rates of the other three species did not differ among occupied and unoccupied sites. By contrast, all species were sensitive to competitive effects of the surrounding vegetation in terms of at least one of the studied rates.
Conclusions/Significance: We conclude that seed and site limitation jointly determine the species composition of these snowbed plant communities and that constraining site factors include both abiotic conditions and biotic interactions. The traditional focus on abiotic gradients for explaining alpine plant distribution hence appears lopsided. The influence of seed limitation on the current distribution of these plants casts doubt on their ability to readily track shifting habitats under climate change unless seed production is considerably enhanced under a warmer climate
Does Sex-Selective Predation Stabilize or Destabilize Predator-Prey Dynamics?
Background: Little is known about the impact of prey sexual dimorphism on predator-prey dynamics and the impact of sexselective
harvesting and trophy hunting on long-term stability of exploited populations.
Methodology and Principal Findings: We review the quantitative evidence for sex-selective predation and study its longterm
consequences using several simple predator-prey models. These models can be also interpreted in terms of feedback
between harvesting effort and population size of the harvested species under open-access exploitation. Among the 81
predator-prey pairs found in the literature, male bias in predation is 2.3 times as common as female bias. We show that
long-term effects of sex-selective predation depend on the interplay of predation bias and prey mating system. Predation
on the ‘less limiting’ prey sex can yield a stable predator-prey equilibrium, while predation on the other sex usually
destabilizes the dynamics and promotes population collapses. For prey mating systems that we consider, males are less
limiting except for polyandry and polyandrogyny, and male-biased predation alone on such prey can stabilize otherwise
unstable dynamics. On the contrary, our results suggest that female-biased predation on polygynous, polygynandrous or
monogamous prey requires other stabilizing mechanisms to persist.
Conclusions and Significance: Our modelling results suggest that the observed skew towards male-biased predation might
reflect, in addition to sexual selection, the evolutionary history of predator-prey interactions. More focus on these
phenomena can yield additional and interesting insights as to which mechanisms maintain the persistence of predator-prey
pairs over ecological and evolutionary timescales. Our results can also have implications for long-term sustainability of
harvesting and trophy hunting of sexually dimorphic species
- …