Proton Collimation in TeV Colliders

In high intensity proton colliders with superconducting magnets, quenches induced by beam losses are unavoidable in the absence of a collimation system. We will show that a single stage system cannot suffice at TeV energies. We will discuss a two-stage collimation system at first as an optical system then considering true scattering in collimator jaws. Expected performance at LHC are presented. then finally, we present the preliminary measurements done at 120 GeV/c in the SPS ring with a simplified three stage collimation system

Factors Influencing the Use of a Mobile App for Reporting Adverse Drug Reactions and Receiving Safety Information:A Qualitative Study

Introduction A mobile app may increase the reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and improve the communication of new drug safety information. Factors that influence the use of an app for such two-way risk communication need to be considered at the development stage. Objective Our aim was to reveal the factors that may influence healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients to use an app for two-way risk communication. Methods Focus group discussions and face-to-face interviews were conducted in the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, patients with a rare disease or their caregivers and adolescents with health conditions were eligible to participate. HCPs included pharmacists, paediatricians, general practitioners, internists, practice nurses and professionals caring for patients with a rare disease. Patients and HCPs were recruited through various channels. The recorded discussions and interviews were transcribed verbatim. The dataset was analysed using thematic analysis and arranged according to the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. Results Seven focus group discussions and 13 interviews were conducted. In total, 21 HCPs and 50 patients participated. Identified factors that may influence the use of the app were the type of feedback given on reported ADRs, how ADR reports are stored and the type of drug news. Also mentioned were other functions of the app, ease of use, type of language, the source of safety information provided through the app, security of the app, layout, the operating systems on which the app can be used and the costs. Conclusions Further research is needed to assess associations between user characteristics and the direction (positive or negative) of the factors potentially influencing app use

Interest in a Mobile App for Two-Way Risk Communication:A Survey Study Among European Healthcare Professionals and Patients

Previously, an app has been developed for healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients to report adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to national medicines agencies and to receive drug safety information. This study aimed to assess (1) European HCPs' and patients' interest in an app for this two-way risk communication; (2) their preferences and perceptions towards specific app characteristics; and (3) which HCPs and patients are particularly interested in the app. In addition, these aspects were studied specifically for the countries where such an app was already available, i.e. Croatia, The Netherlands, and The UK. European HCPs and patients were asked to complete a web-based survey developed in the context of the Web-Recognizing Adverse Drug Reactions (Web-RADR) project. Data on app interest and preferences and perceptions towards app characteristics were analysed descriptively. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the association of HCP characteristics and patient characteristics on the level of interest in the app (i.e. very interested vs. not/somewhat interested). In total, 399 HCPs and 656 patients completed the survey. About half of the patients (48%; ranging from 38% from The Netherlands to 54% from The UK), and 61% of the HCPs (ranging from 42% from The Netherlands to 54% from The UK) were very interested in the app. A faster means of reporting ADRs and easier access to the reporting form were the main perceived benefits. HCPs and patients who already use a health app were particularly interested in the app (HCPs: odds ratio [OR] 3.52; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.96-6.30, patients: OR 1.64; 95% CI 1.19-2.27). An app is positively perceived by HCPs and patients for reporting ADRs quickly and for receiving drug safety information from national medicines agencies. In particular, HCPs and patients who already use other health apps were interested in the app

Cholinergic-serotonergic imbalance contributes to cognitive and behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer's disease

Neuropsychiatric symptoms seen in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are not simply a consequence of neurodegeneration, but probably result from differential neurotransmitter alterations, which some patients are more at risk of than others. Therefore, the hypothesis of this study is that an imbalance between the cholinergic and serotonergic systems is related to cognitive symptoms and psychological syndromes of dementia (BPSD) in patients with AD. Cholinergic and serotonergic functions were assessed in post-mortem frontal and temporal cortex from 22 AD patients who had been prospectively assessed with the Mini-Mental State examination (MMSE) for cognitive impairment and with the Present Behavioral Examination (PBE) for BPSD including aggressive behavior, overactivity, depression and psychosis. Not only cholinergic deficits, but also the cholinacetyltransferase/serotonin ratio significantly correlated with final MMSE score both in frontal and temporal cortex. In addition, decreases in cholinergic function correlated with the aggressive behavior factor, supporting a dual role for the cholinergic system in cognitive and non-cognitive disturbances associated to AD. The serotonergic system showed a significant correlation with overactivity and psychosis. The ratio of serotonin to acetylcholinesterase levels was also correlated with the psychotic factor at least in women. It is concluded that an imbalance between cholinergic-serotonergic systems may be responsible for the cognitive impairment associated to AD. Moreover, the major findings of this study are the relationships between neurochemical markers of both cholinergic and serotonergic systems and non-cognitive behavioral disturbances in patients with dementia

El Servicio de Validación de Copernicus EMS como vector de mejora de la cartografía de emergencias basada en Sentinel

[EN] The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) is coordinated by the European Commission and “provides all actors involved in the management of natural disasters, man-made emergency situations, and humanitarian crises with timely and accurate geo-spatial information derived from satellite remote sensing and complemented by available in situ or open data sources”. It includes two components, Early Warning and Monitoring and Mapping. The latter provides on demand geo-spatial information derived from satellite imagery during all phases of the disaster management cycle. It includes 3 systems, Rapid Mapping (RM), Risk and Recovery Mapping (RRM), and a Validation Service. RM provides geospatial information immediately after a disaster to assess its impact; RRM in the prevention, preparation and reconstruction phases; and the Validation Service is in charge of validating and verifying the products generated by both, and of collecting and analyzing users’ feedback. The wide spectrum of activities framed in the Validation Service has allowed it to become a vector to improve the Mapping component through the testing of new methodologies, data input type, or approach for the creation of emergency cartography in the frame of the CEMS. The present paper introduces the main investigation lines based on Sentinel-1 and 2 for flood and fire monitoring that could be implemented in the CEMS services taking into consideration the characteristics of the Mapping component in terms of products to create and time constraints. The applicability of Sentinel-1 for flood monitoring based on the backscattering, the MultiTemporal Coherence (MTC), and dual polarization; and for burnt area delineation based on MTC was studied, while Sentinel-2 was used for burnt area delineation based on vegetation indices. Results indicate that proposed methodologies might be appropriate for the creation of crisis information products in large areas, due to the relative easy and fast implementation compared to classic photo interpretation, although further applicability analyses should be carried out.[ES] El Servicio de Gestión de Emergencias de Copernicus (CEMS), está coordinado por la Comisión Europea y “provee de información geoespacial precisa y oportuna derivada de la teledetección satelital y completada por fuentes de datos disponibles in situ o abiertas a todos los actores involucrados en la gestión de emergencias, bien sean derivadas de desastres naturales o producidos por el hombre, o de crisis humanitarias”. El servicio tiene dos componentes, uno de alerta temprana y monitoreo y otro de creación de mapas. El servicio de mapeo se encarga de proveer, bajo demanda, a los diferentes agentes de emergencias de información geoespacial derivada de imágenes de satélite en todas las fases de la gestión de emergencias, consta de 3 sistemas, Rapid Mapping (RM), Risk and Recovery Mapping (RRM), y Validation. RM aporta información inmediatamente después de un desastre para evaluar su impacto; RRM en las fases de prevención, preparación y reconstrucción; y la Validación se encarga de validar y verificar los productos generados por ambos, y de recoger y analizar los comentarios de los usuarios. El amplio espectro de actividades enmarcadas en él le ha permitido ser vector de mejora de los servicios de mapeo de emergencias mediante el testeo de nuevas metodologías, tipos de datos, o enfoques para la creación de cartografías de emergencias en el marco de CEMS. El presente artículo describe las principales líneas de investigación en el uso de datos Sentinel-1 y 2 para la monitorización de inundaciones e incendios, que se podrían implementar en el futuro en el marco de CEMS. La aplicabilidad de Sentinel-1 para el monitoreo de inundaciones basado en la retrodispersión, la coherencia multitemporal (MTC) y la polarización dual; y se estudió la delimitación del área quemada basada en MTC. Sentinel-2 se usó para delimitar áreas quemadas en base a índices de vegetación. Los resultados indican que las metodologías propuestas podrían ser apropiadas para la creación de productos de información de crisis en grandes áreas, debido a la implementación relativamente fácil y rápida en comparación con la fotointerpretación clásica, aunque deberían realizarse más análisis para su aplicación en el marco de CEMS.The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Massimiliano Rossi and Antigoni Maistrali for the preparation of the materials analysed in this work.Donezar-Hoyos, U.; Albizua-Huarte, L.; Amezketa-Lizarraga, E.; Barinagarrementeria-Arrese, I.; Ciriza, R.; De Blas-Corral, T.; Larrañaga-Urien, A.... (2020). The Copernicus EMS Validation service as a vector for improving the emergency mapping based on Sentinel data. Revista de Teledetección. 0(56):23-34. https://doi.org/10.4995/raet.2020.13770OJS233405

Cisplatin-induced emesis: systematic review and meta-analysis of the ferret model and the effects of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists

PURPOSE: The ferret cisplatin emesis model has been used for ~30 years and enabled identification of clinically used anti-emetics. We provide an objective assessment of this model including efficacy of 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists to assess its translational validity. METHODS: A systematic review identified available evidence and was used to perform meta-analyses. RESULTS: Of 182 potentially relevant publications, 115 reported cisplatin-induced emesis in ferrets and 68 were included in the analysis. The majority (n = 53) used a 10 mg kg(−1) dose to induce acute emesis, which peaked after 2 h. More recent studies (n = 11) also used 5 mg kg(−1), which induced a biphasic response peaking at 12 h and 48 h. Overall, 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists reduced cisplatin (5 mg kg(−1)) emesis by 68% (45–91%) during the acute phase (day 1) and by 67% (48–86%) and 53% (38–68%, all P < 0.001), during the delayed phase (days 2, 3). In an analysis focused on the acute phase, the efficacy of ondansetron was dependent on the dosage and observation period but not on the dose of cisplatin. CONCLUSION: Our analysis enabled novel findings to be extracted from the literature including factors which may impact on the applicability of preclinical results to humans. It reveals that the efficacy of ondansetron is similar against low and high doses of cisplatin. Additionally, we showed that 5-HT(3) receptor antagonists have a similar efficacy during acute and delayed emesis, which provides a novel insight into the pharmacology of delayed emesis in the ferret

Red wine consumption increases antioxidant status and decreases oxidative stress in the circulation of both young and old humans

Background: Red wine contains a naturally rich source of antioxidants, which may protect the body from oxidative stress, a determinant of age-related disease. The current study set out to determine the in vivo effects of moderate red wine consumption on antioxidant status and oxidative stress in the circulation.Methods: 20 young (18&ndash;30 yrs) and 20 older (&ge; 50 yrs) volunteers were recruited. Each age group was randomly divided into treatment subjects who consumed 400 mL/day of red wine for two weeks, or control subjects who abstained from alcohol for two weeks, after which they crossed over into the other group. Blood samples were collected before and after red wine consumption and were used for analysis of whole blood glutathione (GSH), plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and serum total antioxidant status.Results: Results from this study show consumption of red wine induced significant increases in plasma total antioxidant status (P &lt; 0.03), and significant decreases in plasma MDA (P &lt; 0.001) and GSH (P &lt; 0.004) in young and old subjects. The results show that the consumption of 400 mL/day of red wine for two weeks, significantly increases antioxidant status and decreases oxidative stress in the circulation.Conclusion: It may be implied from this data that red wine provides general oxidative protection and to lipid systems in circulation via the increase in antioxidant status.<br /

Fruit and vegetable intake and prostate cancer risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

Several dietary factors have been studied in relation to prostate cancer; however, most studies have not reported on subtypes of fruit and vegetables or tumor characteristics, and results obtained so far are inconclusive. This study aimed to examine the prospective association of total and subtypes of fruit and vegetable intake with the incidence of prostate cancer overall, by grade and stage of disease, and prostate cancer death. Lifestyle information for 142,239 men participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition from 8 European countries was collected at baseline. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). After an average follow-up time of 13.9 years, 7,036 prostate cancer cases were identified. Compared with the lowest fifth, those in the highest fifth of total fruit intake had a significantly reduced prostate cancer risk (HR = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.83–0.99; p-trend = 0.01). No associations between fruit subtypes and prostate cancer risk were observed, except for citrus fruits, where a significant trend was found (HR = 0.94; 95% CI = 0.86–1.02; p-trend = 0.01). No associations between total and subtypes of vegetables and prostate cancer risk were observed. We found no evidence of heterogeneity in these associations by tumor grade and stage, with the exception of significant heterogeneity by tumor grade (pheterogeneity<0.001) for leafy vegetables. No significant associations with prostate cancer death were observed. The main finding of this prospective study was that a higher fruit intake was associated with a small reduction in prostate cancer risk. Whether this association is causal remains unclear

Determinants of health-related quality of life in elderly in Tehran, Iran

BACKGROUND: As Iran started to experience population ageing, it is important to consider and address the elderly people's needs and concerns, which might have direct impacts on their well-being and quality of life. There have been only a few researches into different aspects of life of the elderly population in Iran including their health-related quality of life. The purpose of this study was to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of elderly Iranians and to identify its some determinant factors. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey of a random sample of community residents of Tehran aged 65 years old and over. HRQoL was measured using the Short From Health Survey (SF-36). The study participants were interviewed at their homes. Uni-variate analysis was performed for group comparison and logistic regression analysis conducted to predict quality of life determinants. RESULTS: In all, 400 elderly Iranian were interviewed. The majority of the participants were men (56.5%) and almost half of the participants were illiterate (n = 199, 49.8%). Eighty-five percent of the elderly were living with their family or relatives and about 70% were married. Only 12% of participants evaluated their economic status as being good and most of people had moderate or poor economic status. The mean scores for the SF-36 subscales ranged from 70.0 (SD = 25.9) for physical functioning to 53.5 (SD = 29.1) for bodily pain and in general, the respondents significantly showed better condition on mental component of the SF-36 than its physical component (mean scores 63.8 versus 55.0). Performing uni-variate analysis we found that women reported significantly poorer HRQoL. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that for the physical component summary score of the SF-36, age, gender, education and economic status were significant determinants of poorer physical health-related quality of life; while for the mental component summary score only gender and economic status were significant determinants of poorer mental health-related quality of life. The analysis suggested that the elderly people's economic status was the most significant predictor of their HRQoL. CONCLUSION: The study findings, although with a small number of participants, indicate that elderly people living in Tehran, Iran suffer from relatively poor HRQoL; particularly elderly women and those with lower education. Indeed to improve quality of life among elderly Iranians much more attention should be paid to all aspects of their life including their health, and economic status