Gender differences in health-related quality of life following total laryngectomy

Background: The impact of a total laryngectomy on an individual's life has primarily been measured from a male viewpoint reflecting the demographics of a diagnosis of laryngeal cancer. A small number of studies have looked specifically at females, but very few are comparison studies. Consequently, there is little consistent research regarding any potential gender differences. Aims: To investigate whether there are gender differences in perceptions of health-related quality of life and functional abilities following total laryngectomy. Methods & Procedures: A total of 43 participants (22 males, 21 females), who had undergone a total laryngectomy procedure at least one year previously, took part in the study. They completed The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Questionnaire Version 3.0 (EORTC QLQ-C30) in conjunction with the disease-specific Head & Neck Cancer Module (QLQ-H&N35). Outcomes & Results: There were no significant differences between males and females on demographic and disease-related variables, except for the following: significantly more females lived alone and changed their employment status following surgery. Males had a significantly higher global health status/quality of life than females (p < 0.05) and significantly higher levels of physical (p = 0.01), emotional (p < 0.01), cognitive (p < 0.05) and social functioning (p < 0.05). After adjusting for differences in living arrangements and change in employment status, differences in emotional and social functioning remained significant. There was a general trend for females to have higher symptom/impairment levels and to report more treatment-related problems, but the majority of these differences were not significant. Conclusions & Implications: Following total laryngectomy, females appear to be worsely affected in aspects of quality of life than males. Emotional and social functioning are particularly vulnerable. The findings imply that rehabilitation programmes after total laryngectomy need to evaluate quality of life and address these specific areas in order to improve patient-reported long-term outcomes

Higher-order compatible finite element schemes for the nonlinear rotating shallow water equations on the sphere

We describe a compatible finite element discretisation for the shallow water equations on the rotating sphere, concentrating on integrating consistent upwind stabilisation into the framework. Although the prognostic variables are velocity and layer depth, the discretisation has a diagnostic potential vorticity that satisfies a stable upwinded advection equation through a Taylor-Galerkin scheme; this provides a mechanism for dissipating enstrophy at the gridscale whilst retaining optimal order consistency. We also use upwind discontinuous Galerkin schemes for the transport of layer depth. These transport schemes are incorporated into a semi-implicit formulation that is facilitated by a hybridisation method for solving the resulting mixed Helmholtz equation. We illustrate our discretisation with some standard rotating sphere test problems.Comment: accepted versio

Experiments Concerning Nonequilibrium Conductivity in a Seeded Plasma

Measurements of conductivity have been made in a plasma composed of argon seeded with potassium vapor. The gas temperature was 2000°K; the pressure, 1 atm; and the potassium concentration was between 0.22 and 0.80 mole-percent. Conductivity values, calculated from a two-temperature model in which the energy dependence of the cross sections and radiation losses from the plasma are taken into account, agree well with experimental values. Measured values of the plasma temperature appear to be about 10% less than predicted values. Relaxation times for the conductivity in response to a step function change in the electric field were proportional to (n_e0l/σ_0E^2) and were a few tens of microseconds for a field strength in the range 3 to 10 v/cm. The ionization rate appeared to be limited primarily by the heating rate for the plasma, and the short relaxation times suggest that ionization occurs by a multistep process. Analysis of conductivity and light intensity data obtained during the transient period indicates that the electron temperature approaches its final value during the first few microseconds

Follicular occlusion triad: an isotopic response or adverse effect of rituximab?

Follicular occlusion triad is a symptom complex of three conditions with a similar pathophysiology including hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), dissecting cellulitis of the scalp, and acne conglobata. Although the exact pathogenesis of the triad is unknown, it appears to be related to follicular occlusion in areas with apocrine glands. Wolf isotopic response refers to the occurrence of a new dermatosis at the site of another, unrelated, previously healed dermatosis. We present a 26-year-old man with a history of pemphigus foliaceus (PF) who developed large draining nodules with scarring and sinus tracts, compatible with follicular occlusion triad, preferentially at areas previously affected by PF thirteen months after treatment with rituximab. To the authors' knowledge there are no reported cases of follicular occlusion triad or HS manifesting as an isotopic response. However, one member of the triad, HS, has been reported to occur infrequently following the use of biologic agents such as adalimumab, infliximab, tocilizumab, and rituximab for chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (psoriasis, Crohn disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis)

Effect of neck cut position on time to collapse in halal slaughtered cattle without stunning

This study examined the effect of neck cut position on the time to physical collapse in upright restrained halal slaughtered cattle (n = 644). Time to collapse was used as an indirect indicator of the early stages of onset of unconsciousness. Cattle were slaughtered with either a conventional low (LNC) (n = 561) or a high neck cut (HNC) (n = 83). Mean time to final collapse was higher in the LNC compared to HNC group (18.9 ± 1.1 s and 13.5 ± 1.3 s respectively (P 20 s to final collapse had larger false aneurysms. In summary, the HNC reduced the mean time to final collapse and the frequency of animals that took longer than 20 s to collapse

Galactic Cannibalism: the Origin of the Magellanic Stream

We are in a privileged location in the Universe which allows us to observe galactic interactions from close range -- the merger of our two nearest dwarf satellite galaxies, the LMC and SMC. It is important to understand the local merger process before we can have confidence in understanding mergers at high redshift. We present high resolution Nbody+SPH simulations of the disruption of the LMC and SMC and the formation of the Magellanic Stream, and discuss the implications for galaxy formation and evolution.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, to appear in "The Evolution of Galaxies II: Basic Building Blocks", (2002) ed. M. Sauvage et al. (Kluwer

Reference pricing with elastic demand for pharmaceuticals

In this paper, we re‐examine the properties of two commonly adopted government reimbursement schemes for pharmaceuticals: reference pricing and fixed percentage reimbursement. We depart from the previous literature by assuming that the individual demand is price‐sensitive and depends on the copayment rate (i.e., the part paid by each consumer). We obtain two novel results under reference pricing: first, as the copayment rate increases, so do pharmaceutical prices; second, this increase in pharmaceutical prices reduces social welfare. Whilst reference pricing does emerge as a preferable reimbursement scheme, demand elasticities and the copayment rate interact in complex ways. This leads (unexpectedly) to the possibility that a higher copayment rate (lower reimbursement rate) results in higher government expenditure.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

High-resolution N-body Simulations of Galactic Cannibalism: The Magellanic Stream

Hierarchical clustering represents the favoured paradigm for galaxy formation throughout the Universe; due to its proximity, the Magellanic system offers one of the few opportunities for astrophysicists to decompose the full six-dimensional phase-space history of a satellite in the midst of being cannibalised by its host galaxy. The availability of improved observational data for the Magellanic Stream and parallel advances in computational power has led us to revisit the canonical tidal model describing the disruption of the Small Magellanic Cloud and the consequent formation of the Stream. We suggest improvements to the tidal model in light of these recent advances.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, LaTeX (gcdv.sty). Refereed contribution to the 5th Galactic Chemodynamics conference held in Swinburne, July 2003. Accepted for publication in PASA. Version with high resolution figures available at http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/publications.htm

Biodegradation of aromatic compounds by high latitude phytoplankton

"It was the purpose of the work undertaken to bring into pure culture representative diatoms from the Cook Inlet and the ice-edge in the Bering Sea and to examine their capacity for the oxidation of aromatic compounds using naphthalene as a model substrate. Three diatoms from the Cook Inlet (Kasitsna Bay) were shown to metabolize naphthalene at 6 or 12°C to 1-naphthol and other unidentified ethyl acetate and water-soluble products. Likewise, three diatoms isolated from samples collected at the ice-edge in the Bering Sea also formed small amounts of 1-naphthol from naphthalene when incubated in the light at 0 or 10°C. We have not been able to rigorously prove that any algal cell, be it a blue-green alga, a green alga, or a diatom can metabolize (1-¹⁴C) naphthalene far enough to produce ¹⁴CO₂. However, if we assume a stoichiometery of one 1-naphthol in the algae equivalent to one CO₂ in bacteria, then for mesophilic algae, the rate of 1-naphthol production is roughly estimated as 10% of the in situ marine potential, and perhaps higher if only the photic zone is considered. We have as yet, no corresponding values for rate of 1-naphthol formation from naphthalene by cold-adapted or psychrophilic diatom cultures, however, it seems reasonable to suggest that algal aromatic transformations may also be a significant fraction of bacterial activity in cold environments. In addition to studies on the oxidation of naphthalene we have also examined the sensitivity of the Bering Sea psychrophilic diatoms to crude oil samples from Cook Inlet and Prudhoe Bay. The results with pure cultures indicate that the toxicity of crude oil was enhanced in psychrophilic diatoms growing at O°C or 10°C as compared to previous studies with mesophilic forms. There are several important consequences of the results for Alaskan OCS oil and gas development. It is now clear that pure cultures of diatoms isolated from either the lower Cook Inlet or from the ice-edge in the Bering Sea can oxidize aromatic compounds such as naphthalene. Whether the metabolites persist through the food chain and will be more or less toxic than naphthalene itself is not known. The results with naphthalene also imply that the photic zone can be an important sink for aromatic hydrocarbon transformations. There are certainly differences among microalgae in the capacity to oxidize naphthalene. It seems prudent, therefore, to insure, via monitoring, that accidental introduction of aromatic compounds in Alaskan waters does not cause a selective or enrichment effect on existing phytoplankton populations. A second area of environmental concern is the suggestion of an enhanced crude oil toxicity in slower growing psychrophilic diatoms as compared to their mesophilic cousins. Crude oil spills near or under the sea ice may severely impact primary productivity, and thereby higher tropic level.Final report RD/MPF24-Effects-675April 30, 1982Marine Scienc