Randomized sham controlled trial of cranial microcurrent stimulation for symptoms of depression, anxiety, pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances in women receiving chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer

Purpose Women with breast cancer may experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances during chemotherapy. However, there are few modalities that address multiple, commonly occurring symptoms that may occur in individuals receiving cancer treatment. Cranial electrical stimulation (CES) is a treatment that is FDA cleared for depression, anxiety and insomnia. CES is applied via electrodes placed on the ear that deliver pulsed, low amplitude electrical current to the head. Methods This phase III randomized, sham-controlled study aimed to examine the effects of cranial microcurrent stimulation on symptoms of depression, anxiety, pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances in women receiving chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer. Patients were randomly assigned to either an actual or sham device and used the device daily for 1 h. The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00902330. Results The sample included N = 167 women with early-stage breast cancer. Symptom severity of depression, anxiety, and fatigue and sleep disturbances were generally mild to moderate. Levels of pain were low. Anxiety was highest prior to the initial chemotherapy and decreased over time. The primary outcome assessment (symptoms of depression, anxiety, fatigue, pain, sleep disturbances) revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups, actual CES vs. sham. Conclusion In this study, women receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer experienced multiple symptoms in the mild to moderate range. Although there is no evidence for the routine use of CES during the chemotherapy period for symptom management in women with breast cancer, further symptom management modalities should be evaluated to mitigate symptoms of depression, anxiety, fatigue, pain and sleep disturbances over the course of chemotherapy

A Study of Wing Flutter

Part I describes vibration tests, in a wind tunnel, of simple airfoils and of the tail plane of an M0-1 airplane model; it also describes the air flow about this model. From these tests are drawn inferences as to the cause and cure of aerodynamic wing vibrations. Part II derives stability criteria for wing vibrations in pitch and roll, and gives design rules to obviate instability. Part III shows how to design spars to flex equally under a given wing loading and thereby economically minimize the twisting in pitch that permits cumulative flutter. Resonant flutter is not likely to ensue from turbulence of air flow along past wings and tail planes in usual flying conditions. To be flutterproof a wing must be void of reversible autorotation and not have its centroid far aft of its pitching axis, i. e., axis of pitching motion. Danger of flutter is minimized by so proportioning the wing's torsional resisting moment to the air pitching moment at high-speed angles that the torsional flexure is always small. (author

Grazing Management of Beef Cows to Limit Non-point Source Pollution of Streams in Midwestern Pastures

In 2006, the Iowa DNR identified 336 impaired water bodies in Iowa. The majority of these impairments are associated with elevated nutrient, sediment, or bacterial loads in streams and lakes. Poorly managed grazing of beef cattle in riparian areas may contribute to a reduction in quality of Midwest surface waters. However, research has shown that management practices that alter the timing, frequency, duration, and timing of grazing can reduce the impact of cattle on water sources

Impact of Grazing Management on Cattle Distribution and Physical Characteristics of the Riparian Zones of Pastures

Grazing management practices that allow cattle to congregate near pasture streams may result in the loss of vegetative cover and accumulation of manure near pasture streams. These conditions may cause loading of the streams with sediment, phosphorus, and pathogens carried in surface runoff. The loss of vegetation and increased compaction associated with concentrated cattle traffic may promote stream bank erosion causing further impairment of stream water quality. The objectives of the current study were 1) to evaluate cattle distribution patterns, in relation to a pasture stream/pond and 2)to evaluate the effects of stocking rate and the botanical composition of the pastures’ riparian zone on the forage sward height and the proportions of bare and manure-covered ground along the banks of pasture streams

Electrocardiographic Imaging of Sinus Rhythm in Pig Hearts Using Bayesian Maximum A Posteriori Estimation

Background: Electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) has potential to guide physicians to plan treatment strategies. Previously, Bayesian maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation has been successfully applied to solve this inverse problem for paced data. In this study, we evaluate its effectiveness using experimental data in reconstructing sinus rhythm. Methods: Four datasets from Langendorff-perfused pig hearts, suspended in a human-shaped torso-tank, were used. Each experiment included 3-5 simultaneous electrogram (EGM) and body surface potential (BSP) recordings of 10 beats, in baseline and under dofetilide and pinacidil perfusion. Bayesian MAP estimation and Tikhonov regularization were used to solve the inverse problem. Prior models in MAP were generated using beats from the same recording but excluding the test beat. Pearson's correlation was used to evaluate EGM reconstructions, activation time (AT) maps, and gradient of ATs. Results: In almost all quantitative evaluations and qualitative comparisons of AT maps and epicardial breakthrough sites, MAP outperformed substantially better than Tikhonov regularization. Conclusion: These preliminary results showed that with a "good" prior model, MAP improves over Tikhonov regularization in terms of preventing misdiagnosis of conduction abnormalities associated with arrhythmogenic substrates and identifying epicardial breakthrough sites

Lift and drag effects of wing-tip rake

This report deals with a description and report of tests carried out at the Washington Navy Yard on models of the RAF-6, albatross and Slone airfoils to determine the effectiveness of the conventional wing-trailing edge being always longer than the leading edge. The results are compared with the values computed by standard formulae in use at the time the tests were conducted

Bound on Lorentz- and CPT-Violating Boost Effects for the Neutron

A search for an annual variation of a daily sidereal modulation of the frequency difference between co-located ${}^{129}$Xe and ${}^{3}$He Zeeman masers sets a stringent limit on boost-dependent Lorentz and CPT violation involving the neutron, consistent with no effect at the level of 150 nHz. In the framework of the general Standard-Model Extension, the present result provides the first clean test for the fermion sector of the symmetry of spacetime under boost transformations at a level of $10^{-27}$ GeV.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Dispersion enhancement and damping by buoyancy driven flows in 2D networks of capillaries

The influence of a small relative density difference on the displacement of two miscible liquids is studied experimentally in transparent 2D networks of micro channels. Both stable displacements in which the denser fluid enters at the bottom of the cell and displaces the lighter one and unstable displacements in which the lighter fluid is injected at the bottom and displaces the denser one are realized. Except at the lowest mean flow velocity U, the average $C(x,t)$ of the relative concentration satisfies a convection-dispersion equation. The dispersion coefficient is studied as function of the relative magnitude of fluid velocity and of the velocity of buoyancy driven fluid motion. A model is suggested and its applicability to previous results obtained in 3D media is discussed

Testing Lorentz and CPT symmetry with hydrogen masers

We present details from a recent test of Lorentz and CPT symmetry using hydrogen masers. We have placed a new limit on Lorentz and CPT violation of the proton in terms of a recent standard model extension by placing a bound on sidereal variation of the F = 1 Zeeman frequency in hydrogen. Here, the theoretical standard model extension is reviewed. The operating principles of the maser and the double resonance technique used to measure the Zeeman frequency are discussed. The characterization of systematic effects is described, and the method of data analysis is presented. We compare our result to other recent experiments, and discuss potential steps to improve our measurement.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figure