Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on physical activity of individuals with a spinal cord injury in Belgium: observational study.

The letter reports an observational study, which our group has undertaken, to evaluate the effect of the Covid-19 lockdown among individuals with a spinal cord injury in Belgium. The primary focus of the study was the impact of the lockdown on physical activity levels, as the literature shows that individuals with a physical disability, such as spinal cord injury, particularly benefit from physical activity. The report was written in accordance to the STROBE guidelines

A new experiment for the determination of the 18F(p,alpha) reaction rate at nova temperatures

The 18F(p,alpha) reaction was recognized as one of the most important for gamma ray astronomy in novae as it governs the early 511 keV emission. However, its rate remains largely uncertain at nova temperatures. A direct measurement of the cross section over the full range of nova energies is impossible because of its vanishing value at low energy and of the short 18F lifetime. Therefore, in order to better constrain this reaction rate, we have performed an indirect experiment taking advantage of the availability of a high purity and intense radioactive 18F beam at the Louvain La Neuve RIB facility. We present here the first results of the data analysis and discuss the consequences.Comment: Contribution to the Classical Novae Explosions conference, Sitges, Spain, 20-24 May 2002, 5 pages, 3 figure

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

ECR ion sources and rare isotope beams at Louvain-la-Neuve

Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion sources are used in a variety of applications. A lot of them are put to work to ionize abundant isotopes at high intensity and/or high charge states. But another important field for these kinds of sources is also to ionize, with high efficiency, isotopes which are available only in very small quantities, e.g., radioactive isotopes or stable isotopes with very small abundances. At Louvain-la-Neuve a range of different "exotic" beams are accelerated using two types of ECR ion sources. Each element requires the use of some unique method in preparing, operating, or tuning the source. Examples of the use of ECR sources for gaseous exotic isotope ionization include: the production of low charge state Ar-37 (t(1/2)=35 days) and 170 (natural abundance 0.038%) for implantation purposes and short-lived He-6 (t(1/2)=0.8 s) for postacceleration. The sputtering method has been used for the production of Ni-64 beams (0.91% natural abundance) and Be-7 beams (t(1/2)=53 days). Some aspects of the tuning, preparation, and performance of the ECR sources and the configuration and preparation of the sputtering apparatus will be discussed. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics