THE EFFECT OF NON·CONTACT THERAPEUTIC TOUCH ON THE HEALING RATE OF FULL THICKNESS DERMAL WOUNDS

The effect of Noncontact Therapeutic Touch (NClD on the rate of surgical wound healing was examined in a double-blind study. Full-thickness dermal wounds were incised on the lateral deltoid region using a skin punch biopsy instrument, on healthy subjects randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Subjects were blinded both to group assignment and to the true nature of the active treatment modality in order to control placebo and expectation effects. Incisions were dressed with gas-permeable dressings, and wound surface areas were measured on Days 0, 8, and 16 using a direct tracing method and digitization system. Active and control treatments were comprised ofdaily sessions offive minutes of exposure to a hidden Therapeutic Touch practitioner or to sham exposure.Results showed that treated subjects experienced a significant acceleration in the rate of wound healing as compared to non-treated subjects at day8 (Mann-Whitney U; Z =-5.675; n =44; p<.OO1; 2 tailed), and at day 16 (X2 =16.847, df =1; p<.OO1). Statistical comparisons are dominated by the complete healing of 13 of 23 treated subjects vs. O of 21 control subjects by day 16. Placebo effects and the possible influences of suggestion and expectation of healing were eliminated by isolating the subjects from the Therapeutic Touch practitioner, by blinding them to the nature of the therapy during the study, and by the use of an independent experimenter who was blinded to the nature of the therapy. The findings of this study demonstrate, at least, the potential for NCIT in the healing of full-thickness human dermal wounds

THE EFFECT OF NON·CONTACT THERAPEUTIC TOUCH ON THE HEALING RATE OF FULL THICKNESS DERMAL WOUNDS

The effect of Noncontact Therapeutic Touch (NClD on the rate of surgical wound healing was examined in a double-blind study. Full-thickness dermal wounds were incised on the lateral deltoid region using a skin punch biopsy instrument, on healthy subjects randomly assigned to treatment or control groups. Subjects were blinded both to group assignment and to the true nature of the active treatment modality in order to control placebo and expectation effects. Incisions were dressed with gas-permeable dressings, and wound surface areas were measured on Days 0, 8, and 16 using a direct tracing method and digitization system. Active and control treatments were comprised ofdaily sessions offive minutes of exposure to a hidden Therapeutic Touch practitioner or to sham exposure.Results showed that treated subjects experienced a significant acceleration in the rate of wound healing as compared to non-treated subjects at day8 (Mann-Whitney U; Z =-5.675; n =44; p&lt;.OO1; 2 tailed), and at day 16 (X2 =16.847, df =1; p&lt;.OO1). Statistical comparisons are dominated by the complete healing of 13 of 23 treated subjects vs. O of 21 control subjects by day 16. Placebo effects and the possible influences of suggestion and expectation of healing were eliminated by isolating the subjects from the Therapeutic Touch practitioner, by blinding them to the nature of the therapy during the study, and by the use of an independent experimenter who was blinded to the nature of the therapy. The findings of this study demonstrate, at least, the potential for NCIT in the healing of full-thickness human dermal wounds

Development of mullite substrates and containers. Final report, October 7, 1977-April 15, 1979

The objective of this program was to evaluate mullite in contact with molten silicon to be used as a substrate for Honeywell&#x27;s Silicon-On-Ceramic process and as a container for melting solar grade silicon. A further requirement was to fabricate respective substrates and containers. To maintain solar grade silicon purity levels, the mullite must generally introduce less than 10/sup 15/ atoms/cc of impurities. To evaluate the mullite-molten silicon interaction, a series of bodies were made with variations in density, alumina-silica ratio and glass-crystalline ratio. These materials were tested in a sessile drop technique. None of the variations stood up to extended exposure to molten silicon sufficiently to be recommended as a contaner material. However, directional solidification experiments by Jet Propulsion Laboratory suggest that, under proper conditions, contamination of the silicon by mullite containers can be minimized. To improve an already good thermal expansion match between mullite and silicon, compositional variations were studied. Altering of the alumina-silica ratio was determined to give a continuously varying thermal expansion. Thus, a composition can be selected to give the desired thermal expansion match with silicon

Photoemission and x-ray absorption spectroscopy study of electron-doped colossal magnetoresistance manganite: La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 film

The electronic structure of La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 (LCeMO) thin film has been investigated using photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The Ce 3d core-level PES and XAS spectra of LCeMO are very similar to those of CeO2, indicating that Ce ions are far from being trivalent. A very weak 4f resonance is observed around the Ce 4d $\to$ 4f absorption edge, suggesting that the localized Ce 4f states are almost empty in the ground state. The Mn 2p XAS spectrum reveals the existence of the Mn(2+) multiplet feature, confirming the Mn(2+)-Mn(3+) mixed-valent states of Mn ions in LCeMO. The measured Mn 3d PES/XAS spectra for LCeMO agrees reasonably well with the calculated Mn 3d PDOS using the LSDA+U method. The LSDA+U calculation predicts a half-metallic ground state for LCeMO.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

TOI-942b: A Prograde Neptune in a ∼ 60 Myr Old Multi-transiting System

Mapping the orbital obliquity distribution of young planets is one avenue toward understanding mechanisms that sculpt the architectures of planetary systems. TOI-942 is a young field star, with an age of ∼60 Myr, hosting a planetary system consisting of two transiting Neptune-sized planets in 4.3 and 10.1 day period orbits. We observed the spectroscopic transits of the inner Neptune TOI-942b to determine its projected orbital obliquity angle. Through two partial transits, we find the planet to be in a prograde orbit, with a projected obliquity angle of |λ| = 1-33+41 deg. In addition, incorporating the light curve and the stellar rotation period, we find the true 3D obliquity to be 2-23+27 deg. We explored various sources of uncertainties specific to the spectroscopic transits of planets around young active stars, and showed that our reported obliquity uncertainty fully encompassed these effects. TOI-942b is one of the youngest planets to have its obliquity characterized, and one of even fewer residing in a multi-planet system. The prograde orbital geometry of TOI-942b is in line with systems of similar ages, none of which have yet been identified to be in strongly misaligned orbits

The Intensive Diet and Exercise for Arthritis (IDEA) Trial: 18-Month Radiographic and MRI Outcomes

SummaryPurposeReport the radiographic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) structural outcomes of an 18-month study of diet-induced weight loss, with or without exercise, compared to exercise alone in older, overweight and obese adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA).MethodsProspective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial that enrolled 454 overweight and obese (body mass index, BMI = 27–41 kg m−2) older (age ≥ 55 yrs) adults with knee pain and radiographic evidence of femorotibial OA. Participants were randomized to one of three 18-month interventions: diet-induced weight loss only (D); diet-induced weight loss plus exercise (D + E); or exercise-only control (E). X-rays (N = 325) and MRIs (N = 105) were acquired at baseline and 18 months follow-up. X-ray and MRI (cartilage thickness and semi-quantitative (SQ)) results were analyzed to compare change between groups at 18-month follow-up using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) adjusted for baseline values, baseline BMI, and gender.ResultsMean baseline descriptive characteristics of the cohort included: age, 65.6 yrs; BMI 33.6 kg m−2; 72% female; 81% white. There was no significant difference between groups in joint space width (JSW) loss; D −0.07 (SE 0.22) mm, D + E −0.27 (SE 0.22) mm and E −0.16 (SE 0.24) mm (P = 0.79). There was also no significant difference in MRI cartilage loss between groups; D −0.10(0.05) mm, D + E −0.13(0.04) mm and E −0.05(0.04) mm (P = 0.42).ConclusionDespite the potent effects of weight loss in this study on symptoms as well as mechanistic outcomes (such as joint compressive force and markers of inflammation), there was no statistically significant difference between the three active interventions on the rate of structural progression either on X-ray or MRI over 18-months