130 research outputs found

    Demonstration of safety of intravenous immunoglobulin in geriatric patients in a long-term, placebo-controlled study of Alzheimer's disease.

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    INTRODUCTION:We present safety results from a study of Gammagard Liquid intravenous immunoglobulin (IGIV) in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease. METHODS:This was a placebo-controlled double-blind study. Subjects were randomized to 400 mg/kg (n = 127), 200 mg/kg (n = 135) IGIV, or to 0.25% human albumin (n = 121) administered every 2 weeks ± 7 days for 18 months. RESULTS:Elevated risk ratios of IGIV versus placebo included chills (3.85) in 9.5% of IGIV-treated subjects (all doses), compared to 2.5% of placebo-treated subjects, and rash (3.08) in 15.3% of IGIV-treated subjects versus 5.0% of subjects treated with placebo. Subjects in the highest IGIV dose group had the lowest proportion of SAEs considered related to product (2 of 127 [1.6%]). Subjects treated with IGIV experienced a lower rate of respiratory and all other infections compared to placebo. DISCUSSION:IGIV-treated subjects did not experience higher rates of renal failure, lung injury, or thrombotic events than the placebo group. There were no unexpected safety findings. IGIV was well tolerated throughout 18 months of treatment in subjects aged 50-89 years

    The impact of induced emotions on free movement

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    The goal of this study was to examine the effect of two basic emotions, happiness and sadness, on free movement. A total of 32 adult participants took part in the study. Following an emotion induction procedure intended to induce emotional states of happiness or sadness by means of music and guided imagery, participants moved to an emotionally neutral piece of music that was composed for the experiment. Full body movement was captured using motion caption. In order to explore whether differences in corporeal articulations between the two conditions existed, several movement cues were examined. The criteria for selection of these cues was based on Effort-Shape. Results revealed that in the happy condition, participants showed faster and more accelerated body movement. Moreover, movements proved to be more expanded and more impulsive in the happy condition. These findings provide evidence of the effect of emotion induction as related to body movement

    Patient and provider experiences with virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods study

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    The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the rapid uptake of Virtual Care (VC). Positive patient outcomes with VC are previously reported but little is known about the experiences of patients and providers using VC during the pandemic. We aimed to describe patient and primary care provider experiences, satisfaction, perceptions, and attitudes to VC during the COVID-19 pandemic that might explain adoption of VC across the continuum of care and inform sustained uptake. We conducted a sequential explanatory mixed methods study using online surveys and virtual interviews with a convenience sample of primary care providers and patients in a Canadian province (July – December 2020). Eligible participants included patients and primary care providers using VC during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey responses and interviews were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, respectively. Overall satisfaction was compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Eighty-five patients and 94 primary care providers responded to the surveys. Patients reported higher overall satisfaction with VC than primary care providers (median [interquartile range]: 4.4 [4.0-4.7] and 3.7 [3.4-3.9] p \u3c 0.001). Ten patients and 11 primary care providers were interviewed. Both groups strongly appreciated VC’s increased access and convenience, identified the lack of compensation as a pre-pandemic barrier to providing VC, and reported willingness to continue VC post-COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for patients and primary care providers to rapidly adopt VC with high satisfaction. Patients and primary care providers viewed VC positively due to its convenience and accessibility; both intend to continue using VC post-pandemic. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Staff & Provider Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework (https://www.theberylinstitute.org/ExperienceFramework). Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this lens

    A Fluorescent Polymer for Facile One-Step Writing of Polychromic Hidden Information in Flexible Films

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    peer reviewedA poly(para)phenylene conjugated polymer is developed to store information via a quick and facile optical writing method. After exposure to UV light, co-fluorescence (films with two or more written emission colors –, i.e., “double-on”) and “on-off” states are written into the flexible polymer films. The hidden information is invisible under ambient lighting and can only be read with an appropriate light source, optical filter, and/or magnifier, thus providing a level of security for information encoded into the films. The physical and chemical mechanisms are discussed responsible for the rapid fluorescence changes that occur under UV exposure and demonstrate microscale multi-colored artwork and hidden QR codes written into pliable and freestanding films. Depending on the preparation, the written patterns remained easily visible and stable after exposure to water and to ambient levels of UV background radiation

    Flatland

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    Flatland is a project of VCDE233 TYPOGRAPHY II and VCDI223 DESIGN AND PRE-PRESS PRODUCTION, both courses in the Design Studies diploma program at MacEwan University. Students were asked to translate an assigned section of the Victorian novella, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott (1884), into a two-page layout that treats the text in a way that is visually appealing, readable, and appropriate to the content. They were encouraged to challenge conventions by exploring alternative grids, objective and expressive type, and text and image relationships. VCDE233 Typography II (Constanza Pacher) and VCDI223 Design and Pre-Press Production (Jess Dupuis

    The Alberta Heart Failure Etiology and Analysis Research Team (HEART) study

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    Background Nationally, symptomatic heart failure affects 1.5-2% of Canadians, incurs $3 billion in hospital costs annually and the global burden is expected to double in the next 1–2 decades. The current one-year mortality rate after diagnosis of heart failure remains high at >25%. Consequently, new therapeutic strategies need to be developed for this debilitating condition. Methods/Design The objective of the Alberta HEART program (http://albertaheartresearch.ca) is to develop novel diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic approaches to patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. We hypothesize that novel imaging techniques and biomarkers will aid in describing heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Furthermore, the development of new diagnostic criteria will allow us to: 1) better define risk factors associated with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; 2) elucidate clinical, cellular and molecular mechanisms involved with the development and progression of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; 3) design and test new therapeutic strategies for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Additionally, Alberta HEART provides training and education for enhancing translational medicine, knowledge translation and clinical practice in heart failure. This is a prospective observational cohort study of patients with, or at risk for, heart failure. Patients will have sequential testing including quality of life and clinical outcomes over 12 months. After that time, study participants will be passively followed via linkage to external administrative databases. Clinical outcomes of interest include death, hospitalization, emergency department visits, physician resource use and/or heart transplant. Patients will be followed for a total of 5 years. Discussion Alberta HEART has the primary objective to define new diagnostic criteria for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. New criteria will allow for targeted therapies, diagnostic tests and further understanding of the patients, both at-risk for and with heart failure

    Integration of longitudinal and circumferential strain predicts volumetric change across the cardiac cycle and differentiates patients along the heart failure continuum

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    Abstract Background Left ventricular (LV) circumferential and longitudinal strain provide important insight into LV mechanics and function, each contributing to volumetric changes throughout the cardiac cycle. We sought to explore this strain-volume relationship in more detail, by mathematically integrating circumferential and longitudinal strain and strain rate to predict LV volume and volumetric rates of change. Methods Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging from 229 participants from the Alberta HEART Study (46 healthy controls, 77 individuals at risk for developing heart failure [HF], 70 patients with diagnosed HF with preserved ejection fraction [HFpEF], and 36 patients with diagnosed HF with reduced ejection fraction [HFrEF]) were evaluated. LV volume was assessed by the method of disks and strain/strain rate were assessed by CMR feature tracking. Results Integrating endocardial circumferential and longitudinal strain provided a close approximation of LV ejection fraction (EFStrain), when compared to gold-standard volumetric assessment (EFVolume: r = 0.94, P < 0.0001). Likewise, integrating circumferential and longitudinal strain rate provided a close approximation of peak ejection and peak filling rates (PERStrain and PFRStrain, respectively) compared to their gold-standard volume-time equivalents (PERVolume, r = 0.73, P < 0.0001 and PFRVolume, r = 0.78, P < 0.0001, respectively). Moreover, each integrated strain measure differentiated patients across the HF continuum (all P < 0.01), with the HFrEF group having worse EFStrain, PERStrain, and PFRStrain compared to all other groups, and HFpEF having less favorable EFStrain and PFRStrain compared to both at-risk and control groups. Conclusions The data herein establish the theoretical framework for integrating discrete strain components into volumetric measurements across the cardiac cycle, and highlight the potential benefit of this approach for differentiating patients along the heart failure continuum

    Multi-Site N-glycan mapping study 1: Capillary electrophoresis – laser induced fluorescence

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    An international team that included 20 independent laboratories from biopharmaceutical companies, universities, analytical contract laboratories and national authorities in the United States, Europe and Asia was formed to evaluate the reproducibility of sample preparation and analysis of N-glycans using capillary electrophoresis of 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (APTS)-labeled glycans with laser induced fluorescence (CE-LIF) detection (16 sites) and ultra highperformance liquid chromatography (UHPLC, 12 sites; results to be reported in a subsequent publication). All participants used the same lot of chemicals, samples, reagents, and columns/capillaries to run their assays. Migration time, peak area and peak area percent values were determined for all peaks with >0.1% peak area. Our results demonstrated low variability and high reproducibility, both, within any given site as well across all sites, which indicates that a standard N-glycan analysis platform appropriate for general use (clone selection, process development, lot release, etc.) within the industry can be established
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