Quadrature wavelength scanning interferometry

A novel method to double the measurement range of wavelength scanning interferometry (WSI) is described. In WSI the measured optical path difference (OPD) is affected by a sign ambiguity, i.e. from an interference signal it is not possible to distinguish whether the OPD is positive or negative. The sign ambiguity can be resolved by measuring an interference signal in quadrature. A method to obtain a quadrature interference signal for WSI is described and a theoretical analysis of the advantages is reported. Simulations of the advantages of the technique and of signal errors due to non-ideal quadrature are discussed. The analysis and simulation are supported by experimental measurements to show the improved performances

Efficacy of laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) for newly diagnosed and recurrent IDH wild-type glioblastoma

BACKGROUND: Treatment options for unresectable new and recurrent glioblastoma remain limited. Laser ablation has demonstrated safety as a surgical approach to treating primary brain tumors. The LAANTERN prospective multicenter registry (NCT02392078) data were analyzed to determine clinical outcomes for patients with new and recurrent METHODS: Demographics, intraprocedural data, adverse events, KPS, health economics, and survival data were prospectively collected and then analyzed on RESULTS: A total of 29 new and 60 recurrent CONCLUSIONS: Laser ablation is a viable option for patients with new and recurrent glioblastoma. Median OS fo

Enhancing the effect of psychotherapy through systematic client feedback in outpatient mental healthcare:A cluster randomized trial

Objective: Systematic client feedback (SCF), the regular monitoring and informing of patients’ progress during therapy to patient and therapist, has been found to have effects on treatment outcomes varying from very positive to slightly negative. Several prior studies have been biased by researcher allegiance or lack of an independent outcome measure. The current study has taken this into account and aims to clarify the effects of SCF in outpatient psychological treatment. Method: Outpatients (n = 1733) of four centers offering brief psychological treatments were cluster randomized to either treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU with SCF based on the Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS). Primary outcome measure was the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45). Effects of the two treatment conditions on treatment outcome, patient satisfaction, dropout rate, costs, and treatment duration were assessed using a three-level multilevel analysis. DSM-classification, sex, and age of each patient were included as covariates. Results: In both analyses, SCF significantly improved treatment outcome, particularly in the first three months. No significant effects were found on the other outcome variables. Conclusions: Addition of systematic client feedback to treatment as usual, is likely to have a beneficial impact in outpatient psychological treatment. Implementation requires a careful plan of action. Clinical or methodological significance of this article: This study, with large sample size and several independent outcome measures, provides strong evidence that addition of systematic client feedback to outpatient psychological treatment can have a beneficial effect on treatment outcome (symptoms and wellbeing), particularly in the first three months. However, implementation requires a careful plan of action

Patient participation in electronic nursing documentation:An interview study among home-care patients

Abstract Background Patients are increasingly expected to take an active role in their own care. Participation in nursing documentation can support patients to take this active role since it provides opportunities to express care needs and preferences. Yet, patient participation in electronic nursing documentation is not self‐evident. Objective To explore how home‐care patients perceive their participation in electronic nursing documentation. Methods Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 21 home‐care patients. Interview transcripts were analysed in an iterative process based on the principles of reflexive inductive thematic analysis. Results We identified a typology with four patient types: ‘high need, high ability’, ‘high need, low ability’, ‘low need, high ability’ and ‘low need, low ability’. Several patients felt a need for participation because of their personal interest in health information. Others did not feel such a need since they trusted nurses to document the information that is important. Patients' ability to participate increased when they could read the documentation and when nurses helped them by talking about the documentation. Barriers to patients' ability to participate were having no electronic devices or lacking digital skills, a lack of support from nurses and the poor usability of electronic patient portals. Conclusion Patient participation in electronic nursing documentation varies between patients since home‐care patients differ in their need and ability to participate. Nurses should tailor their encouragement of patient participation to individual patients' needs and abilities. Furthermore, they should be aware of their own role and help patients to participate in the documentation. Patient or Public Contribution Home‐care patients were involved in the interviews

Spontaneous localization of bulk fields: the six-dimensional case

We study N=2 supersymmetric gauge theories with $d=6$ bulk and $d=4$ brane fields charged under a U(1) gauge symmetry. Radiatively induced Fayet-Iliopoulos terms lead to an instability of the bulk fields. We compute the profile of the bulk zero modes and observe the phenomenon of spontaneous localization towards the position of the branes. While this mechanism is quite similar to the $d=5$ case, the mass spectrum of the excited Kaluza-Klein modes shows a crucial difference.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figure file