1,116 research outputs found
Evaluating the impact of incentives on clinical trial participation: Protocol for a mixed methods, community-engaged study
Background: Monetary incentives in research are frequently used to support participant recruitment and retention. However, there are scant empirical data regarding how researchers decide upon the type and amount of incentives offered. Likewise, there is little guidance to assist study investigators and institutional review boards (IRBs) in their decision-making on incentives. Monetary incentives, in addition to other factors such as the risk of harm or other intangible benefits, guide individuals' decisions to enroll in research studies. These factors emphasize the need for evidence-informed guidance for study investigators and IRBs when determining the type and amount of incentives to provide to research participants. Objective: The specific aims of our research project are to (1) characterize key stakeholders' views on and assessments of incentives in biomedical HIV research; (2) reach consensus among stakeholders on the factors that are considered when choosing research incentives, including consensus on the relative importance of such factors; and (3) pilot-test the use of the guidance developed via aims 1 and 2 by presenting stakeholders with vignettes of hypothetical research studies for which they will choose corresponding incentive types. Methods: Our 2-year study will involve monthly, active engagement with a stakeholder advisory board of people living with HIV, researchers, and IRB members. For aim 1, we will conduct a nationwide survey (N=300) among people living with HIV to understand their views regarding the incentives used in HIV research. For aim 2, we will collect qualitative data by conducting focus groups with people living with HIV (n=60) and key informant interviews with stakeholders involved in HIV research (people living with HIV, IRB members, and biomedical HIV researchers: n=36) to extend and deepen our understanding of how incentives in HIV research are perceived. These participants will also complete a conjoint analysis experiment to gain an understanding of the relative importance of key HIV research study attributes and the impact that these attributes have on study participation. The data from the nationwide survey (aim 1) will be triangulated with the qualitative and conjoint analysis data (aim 2) to create 25 vignettes that describe hypothetical HIV research studies. Finally, individuals from each stakeholder group will select the most appropriate incentive that they feel should be used in each of the 25 vignettes (aim 3). Results: The stakeholder advisory board began monthly meetings in March 2021. All study aims are expected to be completed by December 2022. Conclusions: By studying the role of incentives in HIV clinical trial participation, we will establish a decision-making paradigm to guide the choice of incentives for HIV research and, eventually, other types of similar research and facilitate the ethical recruitment of clinical research participants
Pd/Cr Gates for a MIS Type Hydrogen Sensor
Instead of the pure Pd gates in MIS type hydrogen sensor, Pd-Cr alloy gates with different composition and structure were used to improve the sensors performance. The use of Pd-Cr alloy not only extended the dynamic range from 100 ppm to 50,000 ppm of hydrogen, but also showed quick response. The dynamic range and sensitivity were related to the nature of metal outer surface and the metal/insulator interface respectively
Search for Top Quark FCNC Couplings in Z' Models at the LHC and CLIC
The top quark is the heaviest particle to date discovered, with a mass close
to the electroweak symmetry breaking scale. It is expected that the top quark
would be sensitive to the new physics at the TeV scale. One of the most
important aspects of the top quark physics can be the investigation of the
possible anomalous couplings. Here, we study the top quark flavor changing
neutral current (FCNC) couplings via the extra gauge boson Z' at the Large
Hadron Collider (LHC) and the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) energies. We
calculate the total cross sections for the signal and the corresponding
Standard Model (SM) background processes. For an FCNC mixing parameter x=0.2
and the sequential Z' mass of 1 TeV, we find the single top quark FCNC
production cross sections 0.38(1.76) fb at the LHC with sqrt{s_{pp}}=7(14) TeV,
respectively. For the resonance production of sequential Z' boson and decays to
single top quark at the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) energies, including the
initial state radiation and beamstrahlung effects, we find the cross section
27.96(0.91) fb at sqrt{s_{e^{+}e^{-}}}=1(3) TeV, respectively. We make the
analysis to investigate the parameter space (mixing-mass) through various Z'
models. It is shown that the results benefit from the flavor tagging.Comment: 20 pages, 17 figures, 6 table
Reconstructing interacting new agegraphic polytropic gas model in non-flat FRW universe
We study the correspondence between the interacting new agegraphic dark
energy and the polytropic gas model of dark energy in the non-flat FRW
universe. This correspondence allows to reconstruct the potential and the
dynamics for the scalar field of the polytropic model, which describe
accelerated expansion of the universe.Comment: 9 page
Performance of a MIS Type Pd-Cr/AlN/Si Hydrogen Sensor
An MIS Hydrogen sensor with a Pd0.96Cr0.04/AlN/Si structure was fabricated, exhibiting the dynamic range considerably wider than that of analogous devices with pure Pd gates. A useful response could be obtained for Hydrogen concentrations as large as 50,000 ppm. Although the response amplitude was much reduced at the lower concentrations, satisfactory signal to noise down to 50 ppm could be obtained. The saturating magnitude of the electrical response is in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 V, which is the same as that for the pure Pd gated devices, inspite of the 3 orders of magnitude difference in the saturation hydrogen concentration. This result will be discussed in terms of the response mechanism of these devices
Patients with refractory cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection following allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation are at high risk for CMV disease and non-relapse mortality
AbstractPre-emptive therapy is an effective approach for cytomegalovirus (CMV) control; however, refractory CMV still occurs in a considerable group of recipients after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Until now, hardly any data have been available about the clinical characteristics and risk factors of refractory CMV, or its potential harmful impact on the clinical outcome following allo-HSCT. We studied transplant factors affecting refractory CMV in the 100 days after allo-HSCT, and the impact of refractory CMV on the risk of CMV disease and non-relapse mortality (NRM). We retrospectively studied 488 consecutive patients with CMV infection after allo-HSCT. Patients with refractory CMV in the 100 days after allo-HSCT had a higher incidence of CMV disease and NRM than those without refractory CMV (11.9% vs. 0.8% and 17.1% vs. 8.3%, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that refractory CMV infection in the 100 days after allo-HSCT was an independent risk factor for CMV disease (hazard ratio (HR) 10.539, 95% CI 2.467â45.015, p 0.001), and that refractory CMV infection within 60â100 days after allo-HSCT was an independent risk factor for NRM (HR 8.435, 95% CI 1.511â47.099, p 0.015). Clinical factors impacting on the risk of refractory CMV infection included receiving transplants from human leukocyte antigen-mismatched family donors (HR 2.012, 95% CI 1.603â2.546, p <0.001) and acute graft-versus-host disease (HR 1.905, 95% CI 1.352â2.686, p <0.001). We conclude that patients with refractory CMV infection during the early stage after allo-HSCT are at high risk for both CMV disease and NRM
Linear Contraction Behavior of Low-Carbon, Low-Alloy Steels During and After Solidification Using Real-Time Measurements
A technique for measuring the linear contraction during and after solidification of low-alloy steel was developed and used for examination of two commercial low-carbon and low-alloy steel grades. The effects of several experimental parameters on the contraction were studied. The solidification contraction behavior was described using the concept of rigidity in a solidifying alloy, evolution of the solid fraction, and the microstructure development during solidification. A correlation between the linear contraction properties in the solidification range and the hot crack susceptibility was proposed and used for the estimation of hot cracking susceptibility for two studied alloys and verified with the real casting practice. The technique allows estimation of the contraction coefficient of commercial steels in a wide range of temperatures and could be helpful for computer simulation and process optimization during continuous casting. © 2013 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International
Restoring New Agegraphic Dark Energy in RS II Braneworld
Motivated by recent works [1,2], we investigate new agegraphic model of dark
energy in the framework of RS II braneworld. We also include the case of
variable gravitational constant in our model. Furthermore, we establish
correspondence between the new agegraphic dark energy with other dark energy
candidates based on scalar fields.Comment: 13 pages, accepted for publication in IJT
Probing interaction and spatial curvature in the holographic dark energy model
In this paper we place observational constraints on the interaction and
spatial curvature in the holographic dark energy model. We consider three kinds
of phenomenological interactions between holographic dark energy and matter,
i.e., the interaction term is proportional to the energy densities of dark
energy (), matter (), and matter plus dark energy
(). For probing the interaction and spatial curvature in
the holographic dark energy model, we use the latest observational data
including the type Ia supernovae (SNIa) Constitution data, the shift parameter
of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) given by the five-year Wilkinson
Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP5) observations, and the baryon acoustic
oscillation (BAO) measurement from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Our
results show that the interaction and spatial curvature in the holographic dark
energy model are both rather small. Besides, it is interesting to find that
there exists significant degeneracy between the phenomenological interaction
and the spatial curvature in the holographic dark energy model.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures; to appear in JCA
New Agegraphic Dark Energy in Gravity
In this paper we study cosmological application of new agegraphic dark energy
density in the gravity framework. We employ the new agegraphic model of
dark energy to obtain the equation of state for the new agegraphic energy
density in spatially flat universe. Our calculation show, taking , it is
possible to have crossing -1. This implies that one can
generate phantom-like equation of state from a new agegraphic dark energy model
in flat universe in the modified gravity cosmology framework. Also we develop a
reconstruction scheme for the modified gravity with action.Comment: 8 pages, no figur
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