Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) from various manufacturers are shown to be sensitive to gamma-ray ionizing radiation without being coupled to a scintillator. Survey measurements of units from ...Hamamatsu, SENSL, and KETEK are shown, followed by detailed measurements of units from SENSL. Pulseheight spectroscopy of gamma-ray-induced signals reveals large pulses in excess of 16 microcells excited per event and as large as ~100 excited microcells. We review other examples of direct excitation by ionizing radiation found in the literature and surmise the effect that is related to the scattered charged particles (electrons) passing through the SiPM. We demonstrate that this direct sensitivity extends to cosmic-ray secondaries by a triple-coincidence experiment. The precise signal producing mechanism is unclear. The signal may be due to light producing processes, such as Čerenkov or scintillation in the optical windows, or charged particle ionization in the microcell layer, which may induce avalanches in microcells along the particle track. Possible applications and avenues for future study are suggested.
Chronic low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of pain and disability, resulting in a major socioeconomic impact. The Cochrane Review which examined the effect of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) ...for chronic LBP concluded that SMT is moderately effective, but was based on conventional meta-analysis of aggregate data. The use of individual participant data (IPD) from trials allows for a more precise estimate of the treatment effect and has the potential to identify moderators and/or mediators. The aim is (1) to assess the overall treatment effect of SMT for primary and secondary outcomes in adults with chronic LBP, (2) to determine possible moderation of baseline characteristics on treatment effect, (3) to identify characteristics of intervention (e.g., manipulation/mobilization) that influence the treatment effect, and (4) to identify mediators of treatment effects.
All trials included in the Cochrane Review on SMT for chronic LBP will be included which were published after the year 2000, and the search will be updated. No restrictions will be placed on the type of comparison or size of the study. Primary outcomes are pain intensity and physical functioning. A dataset will be compiled consisting of individual trials and variables included according to a predefined coding scheme. Variables to be included are descriptive of characteristics of the study, treatment, comparison, participant characteristics, and outcomes at all follow-up periods. A one-stage approach with a mixed model technique based on the intention-to-treat principle will be used for the analysis. Subsequent analyses will focus on treatment effect moderators and mediators.
We will analyze IPD for LBP trials in which SMT is one of the interventions. IPD meta-analysis has been shown to be more reliable and valid than aggregate data meta-analysis, although this difference might also be attributed to the number of studies that can be used or the amount of data that can be utilized. Therefore, this project may identify important gaps in our knowledge with respect to prognostic factors of treatment effects.
PROSPERO CRD42015025714.
To assess the effectiveness of individualized physiotherapy in combination with rigid taping compared with individualized physiotherapy alone in patients with subacromial pain syndrome.
A prospective ...randomized trial with concealed allocation.
A total of 140 patients between 18 and 65 years of age from primary physiotherapy settings.
The intervention group received individualized physiotherapy and shoulder taping. The control group received individualized physiotherapy only. Primary outcomes were: pain intensit (numerical rating scale) and functioning (Simple Shoulder Test). Secondary outcomes were: global perceived effect and patient-specific complaints. Data were collected at baseline, and at 4, 12 and 26 weeks' follow-up.
During the 6-month follow-up period multilevel analysis showed a significant difference between groups favouring the control group on pain intensity (p = 0.02), but not on functioning. Regarding secondary outcomes, a significant difference between groups was found favouring the intervention group for global perceived effect (p = 0.02), but not for patient-specific complaints.
Rigid shoulder taping, as used in this study, cannot be recommended for improving physiotherapy outcomes in people with subacromial pain syndrome.
Time-correlated neutron analysis of a multiplying HEU source Miller, E.C.; Kalter, J.M.; Lavelle, C.M. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
06/2015, Letnik:
784
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The ability to quickly identify and characterize special nuclear material remains a national security challenge. In counter-proliferation applications, identifying the neutron multiplication of a ...sample can be a good indication of the level of threat. Currently neutron multiplicity measurements are performed with moderated 3He proportional counters. These systems rely on the detection of thermalized neutrons, a process which obscures both energy and time information from the source. Fast neutron detectors, such as liquid scintillators, have the ability to detect events on nanosecond time scales, providing more information on the temporal structure of the arriving signal, and provide an alternative method for extracting information from the source. To explore this possibility, a series of measurements were performed on the Idaho National Laboratory׳s MARVEL assembly, a configurable HEU source. The source assembly was measured in a variety of different HEU configurations and with different reflectors, covering a range of neutron multiplications from 2 to 8. The data was collected with liquid scintillator detectors and digitized for offline analysis. A gap based approach for identifying the bursts of detected neutrons associated with the same fission chain was used. Using this approach, we are able to study various statistical properties of individual fission chains. One of these properties is the distribution of neutron arrival times within a given burst. We have observed two interesting empirical trends. First, this distribution exhibits a weak, but definite, dependence on source multiplication. Second, there are distinctive differences in the distribution depending on the presence and type of reflector. Both of these phenomena might prove to be useful when assessing an unknown source. The physical origins of these phenomena can be illuminated with help of MCNPX-PoliMi simulations.
Abstract
Background - Fatigue is one of the most common and disabling complaints in patients with breast cancer and can effectively be reduced by physical exercise, with small to moderate effect ...sizes. To identify heterogeneity in responses to exercise and to further personalize exercise prescriptions, moderators of exercise effects on fatigue should be investigated. However, most randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are not adequately powered for such analyses. Therefore we conducted meta-analyses using the individual patient data of several exercise RCTs. The aim is to investigate the effect and moderators of physical exercise on cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer.
Methods - Within the Predicting OptimaL cAncer RehabIlitation and Supportive care (POLARIS) consortium, principal investigators of 34 exercise RCTs worldwide have shared their individual patient data. Twenty-two of these RCTs included patients with breast cancer with a total sample size of 3,061. Different questionnaires to assess level of fatigue were used, which was acknowledged by using z-scores in the analysis. A one-step individual patient data meta-analysis, using a linear mixed-effect model adjusted for baseline fatigue, with a random intercept on study (to account for study clustering) was undertaken to investigate effect of exercise on fatigue. The result, a between-group difference in z-scores, corresponds to a Cohen's d effect size. An interaction term was included in the model to assess potential moderators including demographic (age, marital status, education), clinical (body mass index, presence of distant metastasis), intervention-related (intervention timing, delivery mode and duration), and exercise-related (exercise type, frequency, intensity, duration) characteristics.
Results – Exercise significantly reduced fatigue reported by women with breast cancer (β= -0.15, 95% CI -0.21;-0.09). This effect did not differ significantly between patients with different demographic and clinical characteristics (p-valuesinteraction >0.05). Also, neither timing (during or post-treatment) and duration of the intervention, nor exercise-related factors moderated intervention effects on fatigue. Supervised exercise had significantly larger effects on fatigue than unsupervised exercise (βdifference= -0.17, 95%CI -0.28;-0.05). Compared to the control group, supervised exercise significantly improved fatigue (β = -0.21, 95%CI = -0.28;-0.14), while unsupervised exercise did not (β = -0.04, 95%CI = -0.14;0.06).
Conclusion – Exercise significantly reduces fatigue in patients with breast cancer across subgroups formed on the basis of age, marital status, education level, body mass index, and presence of distant metastasis. The effect of exercise is significantly larger when performed under supervision. Hence, exercise, and preferably supervised exercise, represents a viable intervention for the prevention and treatment of fatigue among patients with breast cancer.
Citation Format: van Vulpen JK, Sweegers MG, Kalter J, Peeters PH, Courneya KS, Newton RU, Aaronson NK, Jacobsen PB, Steindorf K, Stuiver MM, Hayes S, Mesters I, Knoop H, Goedendorp M, Mutrie N, Thorsen L, Schmidt M, Sonke GS, Bohus M, James EL, Oldenburg HS, Velthuis MJ, Nollet F, Wenzel J, Wiskemann J, Galvão DA, Chinapaw MJ, Irwin ML, Griffith KA, van Weert E, Daley AJ, McConnachie A, Schulz K-H, Short CE, Plotnikoff RC, Potthoff K, van Beurden M, van Harten WH, Schmitz KH, Winters-Stone KM, Taaffe DR, van Mechelen W, Kersten M-J, Verdonck-de Leeuw IM, Brug J, Buffart LM, May AM. Effect and moderators of exercise on fatigue in patients with breast cancer: Meta-analysis of individual patient data abstract. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-12-06.
We describe experiments conducted to ascertain that a sample collected from a comet can be returned to the surface of the Earth with a minimal loss of scientific information contained in the sample. ...We consider the sample handling from the point of collection, through the trip back to Earth, and through re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. We show that the volatile compounds, particularly H2O, can be fully removed via sublimation from the solid compounds while maintaining the sample at -30 °C, thus preventing potential chemical reactions between water and minerals or other molecules that may contain critical information about the history of the universe or give insight into the formation of organic molecules. The data show that the vibration environment during the descent through the atmosphere is mild enough that the stratigraphy of the sample will be minimally affected, and that the shock of impact with the ground does not significantly alter either the stratigraphy or the chemistry of the sample.
This paper reports the results of a scenario-based simulation study to explore mobility effects of an aging society in the Netherlands. Four accumulative behavioral scenario variants, embedded in an ...economic and demographic scenario are used to simulate possible future activity-travel patterns, using the Albatross system as the simulator. The variants account for likely differences in activity-travel behavior between elderly today and elderly in the future. Trends ongoing over the last decade in the Netherlands suggest that future elderly need to work longer, change their activity pattern with most growth occurring in the social/leisure activity category, will try to avoid morning peak hours by rescheduling their activities and may introduce more spatial diversity in terms of their residence location. Results show that these behavioral and spatial changes lead to a significant increase in travel demands as well as temporal, spatial and modal shifts in mobility patterns. We discuss possible policy implications of these predictions and evaluate the specific strength of activity-based models for studies of this kind.
Tissue banking programmes in Europe Kalter, Eric S J; de, Theo M M H
British medical bulletin,
1997, 1997-00-00, 1997-01-01, 19970101, Letnik:
53, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In Europe, organ centres such as Bio Implant Services (BIS) in cooperation with Eurotransplant, play an intermediary role from donation of tissue and organs to allocation and transplantation. They ...take responsibility for donor medical/safety screening and organize procurement. Tissue banks are autonomous and are responsible for tissue processing and preservation. Allocation of scarce tissues is performed according to rules set by committees of renowned experts in the field. Most frequently donated types of tissues are corneas, heart valves, bone and soft tissue and skin. In this article, optimal serological screening of the donor, and the banking of these tissues in Europe is reviewed in relation to clinical need and volume of transplantable tissues available, number of banks and their organisational level, methods of explantation, processing and preservation, quality standards and new developments.
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