Novel Perceived Stress and Life Events Precede Flares of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Prospective 12-Month Follow-Up Study

Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog

A parton picture of de Sitter space during slow-roll inflation

It is well-known that expectation values in de Sitter space are afflicted by infra-red divergences. Long ago, Starobinsky proposed that infra-red effects in de Sitter space could be accommodated by evolving the long-wavelength part of the field according to the classical field equations plus a stochastic source term. I argue that--when quantum-mechanical loop corrections are taken into account--the separate-universe picture of superhorizon evolution in de Sitter space is equivalent, in a certain leading-logarithm approximation, to Starobinsky's stochastic approach. In particular, the time evolution of a box of de Sitter space can be understood in exact analogy with the DGLAP evolution of partons within a hadron, which describes a slow logarithmic evolution in the distribution of the hadron's constituent partons with the energy scale at which they are probed.Comment: 36 pages; uses iopart.cls and feynmp.sty. v2: Minor typos corrected. Matches version published in JCA

Telemedicine for management of inflammatory bowel disease (myIBDcoach): a pragmatic, multicentre, randomised controlled trial

Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog

Complex speech-language therapy interventions for stroke-related aphasia: the RELEASE study incorporating a systematic review and individual participant data network meta-analysis

Background: People with language problems following stroke (aphasia) benefit from speech and language therapy. Optimising speech and language therapy for aphasia recovery is a research priority. Objectives: The objectives were to explore patterns and predictors of language and communication recovery, optimum speech and language therapy intervention provision, and whether or not effectiveness varies by participant subgroup or language domain. Design: This research comprised a systematic review, a meta-analysis and a network meta-analysis of individual participant data. Setting: Participant data were collected in research and clinical settings. Interventions: The intervention under investigation was speech and language therapy for aphasia after stroke. Main outcome measures: The main outcome measures were absolute changes in language scores from baseline on overall language ability, auditory comprehension, spoken language, reading comprehension, writing and functional communication. Data sources and participants: Electronic databases were systematically searched, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Linguistic and Language Behavior Abstracts and SpeechBITE (searched from inception to 2015). The results were screened for eligibility, and published and unpublished data sets (randomised controlled trials, non-randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, case series, registries) with at least 10 individual participant data reporting aphasia duration and severity were identified. Existing collaborators and primary researchers named in identified records were invited to contribute electronic data sets. Individual participant data in the public domain were extracted. Review methods: Data on demographics, speech and language therapy interventions, outcomes and quality criteria were independently extracted by two reviewers, or available as individual participant data data sets. Meta-analysis and network meta-analysis were used to generate hypotheses. Results: We retrieved 5928 individual participant data from 174 data sets across 28 countries, comprising 75 electronic (3940 individual participant data), 47 randomised controlled trial (1778 individual participant data) and 91 speech and language therapy intervention (2746 individual participant data) data sets. The median participant age was 63 years (interquartile range 53–72 years). We identified 53 unavailable, but potentially eligible, randomised controlled trials (46 of these appeared to include speech and language therapy). Relevant individual participant data were filtered into each analysis. Statistically significant predictors of recovery included age (functional communication, individual participant data: 532, n = 14 randomised controlled trials) and sex (overall language ability, individual participant data: 482, n = 11 randomised controlled trials; functional communication, individual participant data: 532, n = 14 randomised controlled trials). Older age and being a longer time since aphasia onset predicted poorer recovery. A negative relationship between baseline severity score and change from baseline (p < 0.0001) may reflect the reduced improvement possible from high baseline scores. The frequency, duration, intensity and dosage of speech and language therapy were variously associated with auditory comprehension, naming and functional communication recovery. There were insufficient data to examine spontaneous recovery. The greatest overall gains in language ability [14.95 points (95% confidence interval 8.7 to 21.2 points) on the Western Aphasia Battery-Aphasia Quotient] and functional communication [0.78 points (95% confidence interval 0.48 to 1.1 points) on the Aachen Aphasia Test-Spontaneous Communication] were associated with receiving speech and language therapy 4 to 5 days weekly; for auditory comprehension [5.86 points (95% confidence interval 1.6 to 10.0 points) on the Aachen Aphasia Test-Token Test], the greatest gains were associated with receiving speech and language therapy 3 to 4 days weekly. The greatest overall gains in language ability [15.9 points (95% confidence interval 8.0 to 23.6 points) on the Western Aphasia Battery-Aphasia Quotient] and functional communication [0.77 points (95% confidence interval 0.36 to 1.2 points) on the Aachen Aphasia Test-Spontaneous Communication] were associated with speech and language therapy participation from 2 to 4 (and more than 9) hours weekly, whereas the highest auditory comprehension gains [7.3 points (95% confidence interval 4.1 to 10.5 points) on the Aachen Aphasia Test-Token Test] were associated with speech and language therapy participation in excess of 9 hours weekly (with similar gains notes for 4 hours weekly). While clinically similar gains were made alongside different speech and language therapy intensities, the greatest overall gains in language ability [18.37 points (95% confidence interval 10.58 to 26.16 points) on the Western Aphasia Battery-Aphasia Quotient] and auditory comprehension [5.23 points (95% confidence interval 1.51 to 8.95 points) on the Aachen Aphasia Test-Token Test] were associated with 20–50 hours of speech and language therapy. Network meta-analyses on naming and the duration of speech and language therapy interventions across language outcomes were unstable. Relative variance was acceptable (< 30%). Subgroups may benefit from specific interventions. Limitations: Data sets were graded as being at a low risk of bias but were predominantly based on highly selected research participants, assessments and interventions, thereby limiting generalisability. Conclusions: Frequency, intensity and dosage were associated with language gains from baseline, but varied by domain and subgroup. Future work: These exploratory findings require confirmatory study designs to test the hypotheses generated and to develop more tailored speech and language therapy interventions. Study registration: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42018110947. Funding: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme and will be published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 10, No. 28. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information. Funding was also provided by The Tavistock Trust for Aphasia

IBD risk loci are enriched in multigenic regulatory modules encompassing putative causative genes.

GWAS have identified >200 risk loci for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The majority of disease associations are known to be driven by regulatory variants. To identify the putative causative genes that are perturbed by these variants, we generate a large transcriptome data set (nine disease-relevant cell types) and identify 23,650 cis-eQTL. We show that these are determined by ∼9720 regulatory modules, of which ∼3000 operate in multiple tissues and ∼970 on multiple genes. We identify regulatory modules that drive the disease association for 63 of the 200 risk loci, and show that these are enriched in multigenic modules. Based on these analyses, we resequence 45 of the corresponding 100 candidate genes in 6600 Crohn disease (CD) cases and 5500 controls, and show with burden tests that they include likely causative genes. Our analyses indicate that ≥10-fold larger sample sizes will be required to demonstrate the causality of individual genes using this approach

Modelling of Ripening Behaviour of Albian Oil Sand Tailings in Canada

Geo-engineeringGeoscience & EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience

Viscoelastic properties of a homologous series of nematic liquid crystalline Schiff's bases

Experimental values are reported for the distortion viscoelastic and elastic ratios for a homologous series of nematic Schiff's bases : APAPAm (m = 1-5, 9) and OHMBBA as a function of temperature. In the experiments the homodyne photoelectric self-beat technique was used to detect noise intensity spectra and to determine the angular distribution of laser light scattered by the nematic liquid crystals. Relations between the viscoelastic properties and the sizes of the molecules are discussed. It turned out that the viscosity coefficients are rather independent of the molecular sizes of the compounds studied.Nous avons mesuré les paramètres viscoélastiques et élastiques d'une série homologue de bases de Schiff nématiques : APAPAm (m = 1-5, 9) et OHMBBA en fonction de la température. Nos expériences utilisent une technique homodyne avec laquelle on peut détecter la densité spectrale et déterminer la distribution angulaire de la lumière laser diffusée par des cristaux liquides. Nous discutons des relations entre les propriétés viscoélastiques et les dimensions des molécules. Nous constatons que les coefficients de viscosité sont assez indépendants des dimensions moléculaires des matériaux étudiés

Physical properties of the nematic liquid crystal, APAPA. Optical determination of the viscoelastic and elastic ratios

We report a study of the viscoelastic and elastic properties of a nematic liquid crystal as measured by static and dynamic light scattering. Experimental values are reported for the splay/twist/bend elastic and viscoelastic ratio as well as for the Mięsowicz viscosity ratio η1/η3 of APAPA in the nematic region as a function of temperature.Nous présentons une étude des propriétés viscoélastiques et élastiques d'un cristal liquide mesuré en utilisant la technique de diffusion de la lumière laser. Les rapports entre constantes élastiques de divergence, torsion et flexion ont été déterminés ainsi que le rapport entre les paramètres de viscosité de Miesowicz, η1/η3 pour le nématique APAPA en fonction de la température

Optical determination of viscoelastic properties of nematic OHMBBA

Experimental values are reported for the splay/twist viscoelastic ratios of OHMBBA in the nematic region as a function of temperature. In the experiments the homodyne self-beat technique was used to detect noise intensity spectra of laser light scattered by the nematic liquid crystal. The measured rotational viscosity can be described as a function of the temperature, the order parameter and an activation energy. The splay/twist ratio of the elastic constants was determined by measuring the scattered cross section as a function of the scattering wave vector and by making a noise analysis in the mixture region. The results obtained with each method are in agreement, but differ from Freedericksz transition data. This discrepancy is discussed.Nous avons mesuré des paramètres viscoélastiques du nématique OHMBBA en fonction de la température. Nos expériences se basent sur la technique homodyne avec laquelle on peut détecter la densité spectrale de la lumière laser diffusée par des cristaux liquides. On peut décrire le coefficient de la viscosité de torsion en fonction de la température, du paramètre d'ordre et d'une énergie d'activation. Nous obtenons le rapport entre les constantes élastiques de divergence et de torsion par deux méthodes : 1) en déterminant la section efficace de diffusion en fonction du vecteur d'onde de diffusion et 2) en faisant une analyse de la densité spectrale dans le mode mélangé(torsion plus divergence). Les résultats obtenus avec ces deux méthodes concordent, mais ils diffèrent des résultats obtenus avec la technique de Freedericksz. Nous discutons ce désaccord brièvement