The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) has been directly detecting gravitational waves from compact binary mergers since 2015. We report on the first use of squeezed vacuum ...states in the direct measurement of gravitational waves with the Advanced LIGO H1 and L1 detectors. This achievement is the culmination of decades of research to implement squeezed states in gravitational-wave detectors. During the ongoing O3 observation run, squeezed states are improving the sensitivity of the LIGO interferometers to signals above 50 Hz by up to 3 dB, thereby increasing the expected detection rate by 40% (H1) and 50% (L1).
The effects of antidepressants for treating depressive disorders have been overestimated because of selective publication of positive trials. Reanalyses that include unpublished trials have yielded ...reduced effect sizes. This in turn has led to claims that antidepressants have clinically insignificant advantages over placebo and that psychotherapy is therefore a better alternative. To test this, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies comparing psychotherapy with pill placebo.
Ten 10 studies comparing psychotherapies with pill placebo were identified. In total, 1240 patients were included in these studies. For each study, Hedges' g was calculated. Characteristics of the studies were extracted for subgroup and meta-regression analyses.
The effect of psychotherapy compared to pill placebo at post-test was g = 0.25 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14-0.36, I² = 0%, 95% CI 0-58. This effect size corresponds to a number needed to treat (NNT) of 7.14 (95% CI 5.00-12.82). The psychotherapy conditions scored 2.66 points lower on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) than the placebo conditions, and 3.20 points lower on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Some indications for publication bias were found (two missing studies). We found no significant differences between subgroups of the studies and in meta-regression analyses we found no significant association between baseline severity and effect size.
Although there are differences between the role of placebo in psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy research, psychotherapy has an effect size that is comparable to that of antidepressant medications. Whether these effects should be deemed clinically relevant remains open to debate.
Nearly a century after Einstein first predicted the existence of gravitational waves, a global network of Earth-based gravitational wave observatories is seeking to directly detect this faint ...radiation using precision laser interferometry. Photon shot noise, due to the quantum nature of light, imposes a fundamental limit on the attometre-level sensitivity of the kilometre-scale Michelson interferometers deployed for this task. Here, we inject squeezed states to improve the performance of one of the detectors of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) beyond the quantum noise limit, most notably in the frequency region down to 150 Hz, critically important for several astrophysical sources, with no deterioration of performance observed at any frequency. With the injection of squeezed states, this LIGO detector demonstrated the best broadband sensitivity to gravitational waves ever achieved, with important implications for observing the gravitational-wave Universe with unprecedented sensitivity.
Histone H3 lysine 9 methylation Me(Lys9)H3 is an epigenetic mark for heterochromatin-dependent gene silencing, mediated by direct binding to chromodomain-containing proteins such as Heterochromatin ...Protein 1. In the ciliate
Tetrahymena, two chromodomain proteins, Pdd1p and Pdd3p, are involved in the massive programmed DNA elimination that accompanies macronuclear development. We report that both proteins bind H3(Lys9)Me in vitro. In vivo, H3(Lys9)Me is confined to the time period and location where DNA elimination occurs, and associates with eliminated sequences. Loss of parental Pdd1p expression drastically reduces H3(Lys9)Me. Finally, tethering Pdd1p is sufficient to promote DNA excision. These results extend the range of H3(Lys9)Me involvement in chromatin activities outside transcriptional regulation and also strengthen the link between heterochromatin formation and programmed DNA elimination.
Despite the well-documented importance of braille for people who are blind or visually impaired, few studies explore technology for facilitating braille literacy education. Evaluations of the impact ...of using assistive devices on academics for children and youth who are blind or visually impaired are needed. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of technology used to support braille literacy education for children and youth.
The population of interest was defined as children and youth aged 0-21 years who were blind or visually impaired, learning literacy through braille as their primary medium, and had not previously learned to read through sighted methods. Sixteen academic education, health sciences, multidisciplinary, rehabilitation, and engineering databases were searched.
Twelve peer-reviewed, English-language articles were included in the review evaluating a total of 176 participants. In general, the quality of research was low with little evidence to support the use of current technology for braille literacy education.
Standards of technology evaluation for braille literacy must be developed. Furthermore, assistive technologies for braille literacy education for children and youth should provide real-time auditory and tactile feedback, enable independent study/practice and editing of work, and be easy to use, motivational, and engaging.
IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION
Standards must be developed to ensure technology evaluation is consistent among researchers and clinicians to achieve the best outcomes.
Technologies for braille literacy education for children and youth should provide real-time auditory and tactile feedback, enable independent study/practice and editing of work, and be easy to use, motivational, and engaging.
The objective of the present research was to develop a single measure of the major symptoms of both neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain that can be used in studies of epidemiology, natural history, ...pathophysiologic mechanisms, and treatment response. We expanded and revised the Short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) pain descriptors by adding symptoms relevant to neuropathic pain and by modifying the response format to a 0-10 numerical rating scale to provide increased responsiveness in longitudinal studies and clinical trials. The reliability, validity, and subscale structure of the revised SF-MPQ (SF-MPQ-2) were examined in responses from 882 individuals with diverse chronic pain syndromes and in 226 patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy who participated in a randomized clinical trial. The data suggest that the SF-MPQ-2 has excellent reliability and validity, and the results of both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses provided support for four readily interpretable subscales-continuous pain, intermittent pain, predominantly neuropathic pain, and affective descriptors. These results provide a basis for use of the SF-MPQ-2 in future clinical research, including clinical trials of treatments for neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain conditions.
High-quality optical resonant cavities require low optical loss, typically on the scale of parts per million. However, unintended micron-scale contaminants on the resonator mirrors that absorb the ...light circulating in the cavity can deform the surface thermoelastically and thus increase losses by scattering light out of the resonant mode. The point absorber effect is a limiting factor in some high-power cavity experiments, for example, the Advanced LIGO gravitational-wave detector. In this Letter, we present a general approach to the point absorber effect from first principles and simulate its contribution to the increased scattering. The achievable circulating power in current and future gravitational-wave detectors is calculated statistically given different point absorber configurations. Our formulation is further confirmed experimentally in comparison with the scattered power in the arm cavity of Advanced LIGO measured by in situ photodiodes. The understanding presented here provides an important tool in the global effort to design future gravitational-wave detectors that support high optical power and thus reduce quantum noise.
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