Probabilistic SSME blades structural response under random pulse loading

Science.gov (United States)

Shiao, Michael; Rubinstein, Robert; Nagpal, Vinod K.

1987-01-01

The purpose is to develop models of random impacts on a Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) turbopump blade and to predict the probabilistic structural response of the blade to these impacts. The random loading is caused by the impact of debris. The probabilistic structural response is characterized by distribution functions for stress and displacements as functions of the loading parameters which determine the random pulse model. These parameters include pulse arrival, amplitude, and location. The analysis can be extended to predict level crossing rates. This requires knowledge of the joint distribution of the response and its derivative. The model of random impacts chosen allows the pulse arrivals, pulse amplitudes, and pulse locations to be random. Specifically, the pulse arrivals are assumed to be governed by a Poisson process, which is characterized by a mean arrival rate. The pulse intensity is modelled as a normally distributed random variable with a zero mean chosen independently at each arrival. The standard deviation of the distribution is a measure of pulse intensity. Several different models were used for the pulse locations. For example, three points near the blade tip were chosen at which pulses were allowed to arrive with equal probability. Again, the locations were chosen independently at each arrival. The structural response was analyzed both by direct Monte Carlo simulation and by a semi-analytical method.

[Clinical research IV. Relevancy of the statistical test chosen].

Science.gov (United States)

Talavera, Juan O; Rivas-Ruiz, Rodolfo

2011-01-01

When we look at the difference between two therapies or the association of a risk factor or prognostic indicator with its outcome, we need to evaluate the accuracy of the result. This assessment is based on a judgment that uses information about the study design and statistical management of the information. This paper specifically mentions the relevance of the statistical test selected. Statistical tests are chosen mainly from two characteristics: the objective of the study and type of variables. The objective can be divided into three test groups: a) those in which you want to show differences between groups or inside a group before and after a maneuver, b) those that seek to show the relationship (correlation) between variables, and c) those that aim to predict an outcome. The types of variables are divided in two: quantitative (continuous and discontinuous) and qualitative (ordinal and dichotomous). For example, if we seek to demonstrate differences in age (quantitative variable) among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with and without neurological disease (two groups), the appropriate test is the "Student t test for independent samples." But if the comparison is about the frequency of females (binomial variable), then the appropriate statistical test is the χ(2).

A Danish randomized trial comparing breast-preserving therapy with mastectomy in mammary carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blichert-Toft, M.; Brincker, H.; Andersen, J.A.; Andersen, K.W.; Axelsson, C.K.; Mouridsen, H.T.; Dombernowsky, P.; Overgaard, M.; Gadeberg, C.; Knudsen, G.; Borgeskov, S.; Bertelsen, S.; Knudsen, J.B.; Hansen, J.B.; Poulsen, P.E.; Willumsen, H.; Schousen, P.; Froberg, D.; Oernsholt, J.; Andersen, M.; Olesen, S.; Skovgaard, S.; Oester, M.; Schumacher, H.; Lynderup, E.K.; Holm, C.N.

1988-01-01

The present study comprises 847 women operated upon for invasive breast carcinoma at 19 surgical departments and enrolled in protocol DBCG-82TM from January 1983 to November 1987. Among them 662 (78%) were allocated for breast-preserving therapy or mastectomy by randomization, while 185 patients (22%) did not accept randomization. Within the randomized group 6% could not be entered into adjuvant protocols, i.e. subsequent programmes of postoperative therapy and follow-up. This left 619 evaluable patients. In the non-randomized series 26% did not fulfil the demands for entrance into the adjuvant protocols, leaving 136 evaluable patients, 60 of whom had chosen a breast-preserving operation and 76 mastectomy. In the randomized series the patients in the two treatment arms were comparable in age, menopausal status, site of tumour, pathoanatomical diameter of the tumour, number of removed axillary lymph nodes, number of metastatic axillary lymph nodes, and distribution on adjuvant regimens. Ninety per cent of the patients in the randomized group accepted the method offered, whereas 10% declined and wanted the alternate form of operation. The median follow-up period was approximately 1.75 years. The cumulative recurrence rate in the randomized group was 13% and in the non-randomized group 7%. These results are preliminary. Life-table analyses have not so far demonstrated differences in recurrence-free survival either in the randomized or the non-randomized series. (orig.)

Special quasirandom structures for binary/ternary group IV random alloys

KAUST Repository

Chroneos, Alexander I.; Jiang, Chao; Grimes, Robin W.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

2010-01-01

Simulation of defect interactions in binary/ternary group IV semiconductor alloys at the density functional theory level is difficult due to the random distribution of the constituent atoms. The special quasirandom structures approach is a

Associative self-anchoring interacts with obtainability of chosen objects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dean eMobbs

2016-01-01

Full Text Available While there is evidence that implicit self-esteem transfers to chosen objects (associative self-anchoring, it is still unknown whether this phenomenon extends to explicit self-esteem. Moreover, whether the knowledge that these objects might belong to the self in the future or not affects the evaluation of these objects has yet to be tested. Here, we demonstrate that evaluations of chosen objects are further enhanced when they are obtainable as compared to when they are not in participants with high explicit self-esteem, whereas participants with low explicit self-esteem exhibit the opposite pattern. These findings extend previous results and shed new light on the role of self-esteem in altering preferences for chosen objects depending on their obtainability.

Geography and genography: prediction of continental origin using randomly selected single nucleotide polymorphisms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramoni Marco F

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent studies have shown that when individuals are grouped on the basis of genetic similarity, group membership corresponds closely to continental origin. There has been considerable debate about the implications of these findings in the context of larger debates about race and the extent of genetic variation between groups. Some have argued that clustering according to continental origin demonstrates the existence of significant genetic differences between groups and that these differences may have important implications for differences in health and disease. Others argue that clustering according to continental origin requires the use of large amounts of genetic data or specifically chosen markers and is indicative only of very subtle genetic differences that are unlikely to have biomedical significance. Results We used small numbers of randomly selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs from the International HapMap Project to train naïve Bayes classifiers for prediction of ancestral continent of origin. Predictive accuracy was tested on two independent data sets. Genetically similar groups should be difficult to distinguish, especially if only a small number of genetic markers are used. The genetic differences between continentally defined groups are sufficiently large that one can accurately predict ancestral continent of origin using only a minute, randomly selected fraction of the genetic variation present in the human genome. Genotype data from only 50 random SNPs was sufficient to predict ancestral continent of origin in our primary test data set with an average accuracy of 95%. Genetic variations informative about ancestry were common and widely distributed throughout the genome. Conclusion Accurate characterization of ancestry is possible using small numbers of randomly selected SNPs. The results presented here show how investigators conducting genetic association studies can use small numbers of arbitrarily

Random Walks on Homeo( S 1)

Science.gov (United States)

Malicet, Dominique

2017-12-01

In this paper, we study random walks {g_n=f_{n-1}\\ldots f_0} on the group Homeo ( S 1) of the homeomorphisms of the circle, where the homeomorphisms f k are chosen randomly, independently, with respect to a same probability measure {ν}. We prove that under the only condition that there is no probability measure invariant by {ν}-almost every homeomorphism, the random walk almost surely contracts small intervals. It generalizes what has been known on this subject until now, since various conditions on {ν} were imposed in order to get the phenomenon of contractions. Moreover, we obtain the surprising fact that the rate of contraction is exponential, even in the lack of assumptions of smoothness on the f k 's. We deduce various dynamical consequences on the random walk ( g n ): finiteness of ergodic stationary measures, distribution of the trajectories, asymptotic law of the evaluations, etc. The proof of the main result is based on a modification of the Ávila-Viana's invariance principle, working for continuous cocycles on a space fibred in circles.

Randomized trial of group musi therapy with Chinese prisoners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Xi Jing; Hannibal, Niels; Gold, Christian

2016-01-01

decreased significantly at mid-test and post-test; self-esteem improved significantly at mid-test (TSBI) and at post-test (TSBI, RSI). Improvements were greater in younger participants (STAI-Trait, RSI) and/or those with a lower level of education (STAI-State, STAI-Trait). Group music therapy seems...... to be effective in improving anxiety, depression, and self-esteem and was shown to be most beneficial for prisoners of a younger age or with lower education level.......This study investigated the effects of group music therapy on improving anxiety, depression, and self-esteem in Chinese prisoners. Two hundred male prisoners were randomly assigned to music therapy (n = 100) or standard care (n = 100). The music therapy had 20 sessions of group therapy compared...

Chosen-plaintext attack on a joint transform correlator encrypting system

Science.gov (United States)

Barrera, John Fredy; Vargas, Carlos; Tebaldi, Myrian; Torroba, Roberto

2010-10-01

We demonstrate that optical encryption methods based on the joint transform correlator architecture are vulnerable to chosen-plaintext attack. An unauthorized user, who introduces three chosen plaintexts in the accessible encryption machine, can obtain the security key code mask. In this contribution, we also propose an alternative method to eliminate ambiguities that allows obtaining the right decrypting key.

Comparing groups randomization and bootstrap methods using R

CERN Document Server

Zieffler, Andrew S; Long, Jeffrey D

2011-01-01

A hands-on guide to using R to carry out key statistical practices in educational and behavioral sciences research Computing has become an essential part of the day-to-day practice of statistical work, broadening the types of questions that can now be addressed by research scientists applying newly derived data analytic techniques. Comparing Groups: Randomization and Bootstrap Methods Using R emphasizes the direct link between scientific research questions and data analysis. Rather than relying on mathematical calculations, this book focus on conceptual explanations and

BWIP-RANDOM-SAMPLING, Random Sample Generation for Nuclear Waste Disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagar, B.

1989-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: Random samples for different distribution types are generated. Distribution types as required for performance assessment modeling of geologic nuclear waste disposal are provided. These are: - Uniform, - Log-uniform (base 10 or natural), - Normal, - Lognormal (base 10 or natural), - Exponential, - Bernoulli, - User defined continuous distribution. 2 - Method of solution: A linear congruential generator is used for uniform random numbers. A set of functions is used to transform the uniform distribution to the other distributions. Stratified, rather than random, sampling can be chosen. Truncated limits can be specified on many distributions, whose usual definition has an infinite support. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Generation of correlated random variables is not included

Special quasirandom structures for binary/ternary group IV random alloys

KAUST Repository

Chroneos, Alexander I.

2010-06-01

Simulation of defect interactions in binary/ternary group IV semiconductor alloys at the density functional theory level is difficult due to the random distribution of the constituent atoms. The special quasirandom structures approach is a computationally efficient way to describe the random nature. We systematically study the efficacy of the methodology and generate a number of special quasirandom cells for future use. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the technique, the electronic structures of E centers in Si1-xGex and Si1-x -yGexSny alloys are discussed for a range of nearest neighbor environments. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Relaxing Chosen-Ciphertext Security

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Canetti, Ran; Krawczyk, Hugo; Nielsen, Jesper Buus

2003-01-01

Security against adaptive chosen ciphertext attacks (or, CCA security) has been accepted as the standard requirement from encryption schemes that need to withstand active attacks. In particular, it is regarded as the appropriate security notion for encryption schemes used as components within...... general protocols and applications. Indeed, CCA security was shown to suffice in a large variety of contexts. However, CCA security often appears to be somewhat too strong: there exist encryption schemes (some of which come up naturally in practice) that are not CCA secure, but seem sufficiently secure...... “for most practical purposes.” We propose a relaxed variant of CCA security, called Replayable CCA (RCCA) security. RCCA security accepts as secure the non-CCA (yet arguably secure) schemes mentioned above; furthermore, it suffices for most existing applications of CCA security. We provide three...

Design and analysis of group-randomized trials in cancer: A review of current practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, David M; Pals, Sherri L; George, Stephanie M; Kuzmichev, Andrey; Lai, Gabriel Y; Lee, Jocelyn A; Myles, Ranell L; Nelson, Shakira M

2018-06-01

The purpose of this paper is to summarize current practices for the design and analysis of group-randomized trials involving cancer-related risk factors or outcomes and to offer recommendations to improve future trials. We searched for group-randomized trials involving cancer-related risk factors or outcomes that were published or online in peer-reviewed journals in 2011-15. During 2016-17, in Bethesda MD, we reviewed 123 articles from 76 journals to characterize their design and their methods for sample size estimation and data analysis. Only 66 (53.7%) of the articles reported appropriate methods for sample size estimation. Only 63 (51.2%) reported exclusively appropriate methods for analysis. These findings suggest that many investigators do not adequately attend to the methodological challenges inherent in group-randomized trials. These practices can lead to underpowered studies, to an inflated type 1 error rate, and to inferences that mislead readers. Investigators should work with biostatisticians or other methodologists familiar with these issues. Funders and editors should ensure careful methodological review of applications and manuscripts. Reviewers should ensure that studies are properly planned and analyzed. These steps are needed to improve the rigor and reproducibility of group-randomized trials. The Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has taken several steps to address these issues. ODP offers an online course on the design and analysis of group-randomized trials. ODP is working to increase the number of methodologists who serve on grant review panels. ODP has developed standard language for the Application Guide and the Review Criteria to draw investigators' attention to these issues. Finally, ODP has created a new Research Methods Resources website to help investigators, reviewers, and NIH staff better understand these issues. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Diversity of poverty in the chosen European Union countries within the period 2006-2014

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Iwacewicz-Orłowska

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of the study is to analyse the poverty level changes in the chosen European Union countries in years 2006-2014. The poverty and inequality issue gained a global dimension. Income inequality in most countries is significantly higher than thirty years ago. Analysis was based on the statistical data source The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC for four countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia and the method of the data analysis has been used. The Gini coefficient and a people at-risk-of- poverty or social exclusion indexes were used for this analysis. Differences in the level of poverty depends on the following determinants: the age, the territorial location, the size of the town and the most frequent activity status. Results of research shows that main groups exposed to the poverty in the chosen EU countries are above all unemployed persons and their families, young persons, children and inhabitants of towns, suburbs and rural areas. Inhabitants from outlying districts, far from the capital city of the country are threatened with the higher level of poverty in each analysed country. The results of the research prove that the poverty at different levels afflict different social groups.

Pilot randomized controlled trial of dialectical behavior therapy group skills training for ADHD among college students.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Andrew P; McMahon, Robert J; Moran, Lyndsey R; Peterson, A Paige; Dreessen, Anthony

2015-03-01

ADHD affects between 2% and 8% of college students and is associated with broad functional impairment. No prior randomized controlled trials with this population have been published. The present study is a pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) group skills training adapted for college students with ADHD. Thirty-three undergraduates with ADHD between ages 18 and 24 were randomized to receive either DBT group skills training or skills handouts during an 8-week intervention phase. ADHD symptoms, executive functioning (EF), and related outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. Participants receiving DBT group skills training showed greater treatment response rates (59-65% vs. 19-25%) and clinical recovery rates (53-59% vs. 6-13%) on ADHD symptoms and EF, and greater improvements in quality of life. DBT group skills training may be efficacious, acceptable, and feasible for treating ADHD among college students. A larger randomized trial is needed for further evaluation. © 2014 SAGE Publications.

The Bayesian group lasso for confounded spatial data

Science.gov (United States)

Hefley, Trevor J.; Hooten, Mevin B.; Hanks, Ephraim M.; Russell, Robin E.; Walsh, Daniel P.

2017-01-01

Generalized linear mixed models for spatial processes are widely used in applied statistics. In many applications of the spatial generalized linear mixed model (SGLMM), the goal is to obtain inference about regression coefficients while achieving optimal predictive ability. When implementing the SGLMM, multicollinearity among covariates and the spatial random effects can make computation challenging and influence inference. We present a Bayesian group lasso prior with a single tuning parameter that can be chosen to optimize predictive ability of the SGLMM and jointly regularize the regression coefficients and spatial random effect. We implement the group lasso SGLMM using efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms and demonstrate how multicollinearity among covariates and the spatial random effect can be monitored as a derived quantity. To test our method, we compared several parameterizations of the SGLMM using simulated data and two examples from plant ecology and disease ecology. In all examples, problematic levels multicollinearity occurred and influenced sampling efficiency and inference. We found that the group lasso prior resulted in roughly twice the effective sample size for MCMC samples of regression coefficients and can have higher and less variable predictive accuracy based on out-of-sample data when compared to the standard SGLMM.

A randomized trial assessing the impact of written information on outpatients' knowledge about and attitude toward randomized clinical trials. The Info Trial Group

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kruse, A Y; Kjaergard, L L; Krogsgaard, K

2000-01-01

To improve the patient education process in clinical research, three information materials describing general aspects of design and conduct of randomized clinical trials were developed. The materials varied in length, reading ability level, and reader appeal. Their influence on knowledge about...... and attitude toward randomized clinical trials was assessed in a randomized, parallel group, evaluator-blinded trial among 415 outpatients. The patients were randomized to the following groups: control (no intervention), leaflet, brochure, or booklet. Knowledge was assessed by a 17-item multiple......-choice questionnaire and attitude was assessed by a 32-item Likert questionnaire at entry and 2 weeks after the intervention. The interventions and the questionnaires were pilot tested and power calculations were performed. At entry, the mean knowledge score was 7.9 points. At follow-up, the knowledge scores increased...

Tensor renormalization group with randomized singular value decomposition

Science.gov (United States)

Morita, Satoshi; Igarashi, Ryo; Zhao, Hui-Hai; Kawashima, Naoki

2018-03-01

An algorithm of the tensor renormalization group is proposed based on a randomized algorithm for singular value decomposition. Our algorithm is applicable to a broad range of two-dimensional classical models. In the case of a square lattice, its computational complexity and memory usage are proportional to the fifth and the third power of the bond dimension, respectively, whereas those of the conventional implementation are of the sixth and the fourth power. The oversampling parameter larger than the bond dimension is sufficient to reproduce the same result as full singular value decomposition even at the critical point of the two-dimensional Ising model.

Random walks on the braid group B3 and magnetic translations in hyperbolic geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voituriez, Raphaeel

2002-01-01

We study random walks on the three-strand braid group B 3 , and in particular compute the drift, or average topological complexity of a random braid, as well as the probability of trivial entanglement. These results involve the study of magnetic random walks on hyperbolic graphs (hyperbolic Harper-Hofstadter problem), what enables to build a faithful representation of B 3 as generalized magnetic translation operators for the problem of a quantum particle on the hyperbolic plane

Comparison of natural drainage group and negative drainage groups after total thyroidectomy: prospective randomized controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Woo, Seung Hoon; Kim, Jin Pyeong; Park, Jung Je; Shim, Hyun Seok; Lee, Sang Ha; Lee, Ho Joong; Won, Seong Jun; Son, Hee Young; Kim, Rock Bum; Son, Young-Ik

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare a negative pressure drain with a natural drain in order to determine whether a negative pressure drainage tube causes an increase in the drainage volume. Sixty-two patients who underwent total thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) were enrolled in the study between March 2010 and August 2010 at Gyeongsang National University Hospital. The patients were prospectively and randomly assigned to two groups, a negative pressure drainage group (n=32) and natural drainage group (n=30). Every 3 hours, the volume of drainage was checked in the two groups until the tube was removed. The amount of drainage during the first 24 hours postoperatively was 41.68 ± 3.93 mL in the negative drain group and 25.3 ± 2.68 mL in the natural drain group (pdrain group was 35.19 ± 4.26 mL and natural drain groups 21.53 ± 2.90 mL (pdrain may increase the amount of drainage during the first 24-48 hours postoperatively. Therefore, it is not necessary to place a closed suction drain when only a total thyroidectomy is done.

Can group-based reassuring information alter low back pain behavior? A cluster-randomized controlled trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frederiksen, Pernille; Indahl, Aage; Andersen, Lars L

2017-01-01

-randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Publically employed workers (n = 505) from 11 Danish municipality centers were randomized at center-level (cluster) to either intervention (two 1-hour group-based talks at the workplace) or control. The talks provided reassuring information together with a simple non...

The effectiveness of peer support groups in psychosis : a randomized controlled trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Castelein, S.; Bruggeman, R.; van Busschbach, J. T.; van der Gaag, M.; Stant, A. D.; Knegtering, H.; Wiersma, D.

Objective: To investigate the effect of a (minimally) guided peer support group (GPSG) for people with psychosis on social network, social support, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and quality of life, and to evaluate the intervention and its economic consequences. Method: In a multi-center randomized

Group Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Group Recreational Activity for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Hesselmark, Eva; Plenty, Stephanie; Bejerot, Susanne

2014-01-01

Although adults with autism spectrum disorder are an increasingly identified patient population, few treatment options are available. This "preliminary" randomized controlled open trial with a parallel design developed two group interventions for adults with autism spectrum disorders and intelligence within the normal range: cognitive…

Proposal of Solidification/Stabilisation Process of Chosen Hazardous Waste by Cementation

OpenAIRE

Bozena Dohnalkova

2015-01-01

This paper presents a part of the project solving which is dedicated to the identification of the hazardous waste with the most critical production within the Czech Republic with the aim to study and find the optimal composition of the cement matrix that will ensure maximum content disposal of chosen hazardous waste. In the first stage of project solving – which represents this paper – a specific hazardous waste was chosen, its properties were identified and suitable soli...

Eco-efficiency analysis methodology on the example of the chosen polyolefins production

OpenAIRE

K. Czaplicka-Kolarz; D. Burchart-Korol; P. Krawczyk

2010-01-01

the chosen polyolefins production. The article presents also main tools of eco-efficiency analysis: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Net Present Value (NPV).Design/methodology/approach: On the basis of LCA and NPV of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) production, eco-efficiency analysis is conducted.Findings: In this article environmental and economic performance of the chosen polyolefins production was presented. The basis phases of eco-efficiency methodology...

A collision avoidance model for two-pedestrian groups: Considering random avoidance patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhuping; Cai, Yifei; Ke, Ruimin; Yang, Jiwei

2017-06-01

Grouping is a common phenomenon in pedestrian crowds and group modeling is still an open challenging problem. When grouping pedestrians avoid each other, different patterns can be observed. Pedestrians can keep close with group members and avoid other groups in cluster. Also, they can avoid other groups separately. Considering this randomness in avoidance patterns, we propose a collision avoidance model for two-pedestrian groups. In our model, the avoidance model is proposed based on velocity obstacle method at first. Then grouping model is established using Distance constrained line (DCL), by transforming DCL into the framework of velocity obstacle, the avoidance model and grouping model are successfully put into one unified calculation structure. Within this structure, an algorithm is developed to solve the problem when solutions of the two models conflict with each other. Two groups of bidirectional pedestrian experiments are designed to verify the model. The accuracy of avoidance behavior and grouping behavior is validated in the microscopic level, while the lane formation phenomenon and fundamental diagrams is validated in the macroscopic level. The experiments results show our model is convincing and has a good expansibility to describe three or more pedestrian groups.

Measurement Error Correction Formula for Cluster-Level Group Differences in Cluster Randomized and Observational Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Sun-Joo; Preacher, Kristopher J.

2016-01-01

Multilevel modeling (MLM) is frequently used to detect cluster-level group differences in cluster randomized trial and observational studies. Group differences on the outcomes (posttest scores) are detected by controlling for the covariate (pretest scores) as a proxy variable for unobserved factors that predict future attributes. The pretest and…

What's on Your Mind? Conversation Topics Chosen by People With Degenerative Cognitive-Linguistic Disorders for Communication Boards.

Science.gov (United States)

Fried-Oken, Melanie; Daniels, Darlene; Ettinger, Olivia; Mooney, Aimee; Noethe, Glory; Rowland, Charity

2015-05-01

Conversational topics chosen by a group of adults with degenerative cognitive-linguistic disorders for personalized communication board development were examined. The patient-generated themes commonly selected are presented to guide treatment planning and communication board development. Communication boards were created for 109 adults as part of a larger research project. One autobiographical topic that each participant would enjoy discussing multiple times was represented on each communication board with 16 pictures and word labels. For this review, topics were collapsed into general themes through a consensus process and examined by gender and age. Sixty unique conversational topics were identified from 109 participants and collapsed into 9 general themes: Hobbies, Family, Travel, Work, Home/Places I've Lived, Sports/Fitness, Religion, Animals, and World War II. Age and gender produced variations in themes chosen, though no significance in rank orders was found across groups. Topics selected by adults with degenerative cognitive-linguistic disorders for communication boards resemble common conversational adult themes and do not center around basic needs or medical issues. Differences in gender and age for topic selection tend to be based on traditional roles. These general themes should be used when creating personalized communication boards for those who benefit from conversational aids.

An Alternative Method for Understanding User-Chosen Passwords

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhixiong Zheng

2018-01-01

Full Text Available We present in this paper an alternative method for understanding user-chosen passwords. In password research, much attention has been given to increasing the security and usability of individual passwords for common users. Few of them focus on the relationships between passwords; therefore we explore the relationships between passwords: modification-based, similarity-based, and probability-based. By regarding passwords as vertices, we shed light on how to transform a dataset of passwords into a password graph. Subsequently, we introduce some novel notions from graph theory and report on a number of inner properties of passwords from the perspective of graph. With the assistance of Python Graph-tool, we are able to visualize our password graph to deliver an intuitive grasp of user-chosen passwords. Five real-world password datasets are used in our experiments to fulfill our thorough experiments. We discover that (1 some passwords in a dataset are tightly connected with each other; (2 they have the tendency to gather together as a cluster like they are in a social network; (3 password graph has logarithmic distribution for its degrees. Top clusters in password graph could be exploited to obtain the effective mangling rules for cracking passwords. Also, password graph can be utilized for a new kind of password strength meter.

Random walks on a fluctuating lattice: A renormalization group approach applied in one dimension

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levermore, C.D.; Nadler, W.; Stein, D.L.

1995-01-01

We study the problem of a random walk on a lattice in which bonds connecting nearest-neighbor sites open and close randomly in time, a situation often encountered in fluctuating media. We present a simple renormalization group technique to solve for the effective diffusive behavior at long times. For one-dimensional lattices we obtain better quantitative agreement with simulation data than earlier effective medium results. Our technique works in principle in any dimension, although the amount of computation required rises with the dimensionality of the lattice

Household Obesity Prevention: Take Action—a Group-Randomized Trial

Science.gov (United States)

French, Simone A.; Gerlach, Anne F.; Mitchell, Nathan R.; Hannan, Peter J.; Welsh, Ericka M.

2018-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate an intervention to prevent weight gain among households (HHs) in the community. Ninety HHs were randomized to intervention or control group for 1 year. Intervention consisted of six face-to-face group sessions, placement of a television (TV) locking device on all home TVs, and home-based intervention activities. Measures were collected in person at baseline and 1 year. Weight, height, eating behaviors, physical activity (PA), and TV viewing were measured among HH members ages ≥12 years. Follow-up rate at 1 year was 96%. No significant intervention effects were observed for change in HH BMI-z score. Intervention HHs significantly reduced TV viewing, snacks/sweets intake, and dollars per person spent eating out, and increased (adults only) PA and self-weighing frequency compared with control HHs. A 1 year obesity prevention intervention targeting entire HHs was effective in reducing TV viewing, snack/sweets intake and eating out purchases. Innovative methods are needed to strengthen the home food environment intervention component. Longer intervention durations also need to be evaluated. PMID:21212771

Controlling Chronic Diseases Through Evidence-Based Decision Making: A Group-Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Brownson, Ross C; Allen, Peg; Jacob, Rebekah R; deRuyter, Anna; Lakshman, Meenakshi; Reis, Rodrigo S; Yan, Yan

2017-11-30

Although practitioners in state health departments are ideally positioned to implement evidence-based interventions, few studies have examined how to build their capacity to do so. The objective of this study was to explore how to increase the use of evidence-based decision-making processes at both the individual and organization levels. We conducted a 2-arm, group-randomized trial with baseline data collection and follow-up at 18 to 24 months. Twelve state health departments were paired and randomly assigned to intervention or control condition. In the 6 intervention states, a multiday training on evidence-based decision making was conducted from March 2014 through March 2015 along with a set of supplemental capacity-building activities. Individual-level outcomes were evidence-based decision making skills of public health practitioners; organization-level outcomes were access to research evidence and participatory decision making. Mixed analysis of covariance models was used to evaluate the intervention effect by accounting for the cluster randomized trial design. Analysis was performed from March through May 2017. Participation 18 to 24 months after initial training was 73.5%. In mixed models adjusted for participant and state characteristics, the intervention group improved significantly in the overall skill gap (P = .01) and in 6 skill areas. Among the 4 organizational variables, only access to evidence and skilled staff showed an intervention effect (P = .04). Tailored and active strategies are needed to build capacity at the individual and organization levels for evidence-based decision making. Our study suggests several dissemination interventions for consideration by leaders seeking to improve public health practice.

A Novel Religious/Spiritual Group Psychotherapy Reduces Depressive Symptoms in a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Chida, Yoichi; Schrempft, Stephanie; Steptoe, Andrew

2016-10-01

This randomized controlled trial aimed to examine the effect of the Happy Science doctrine-based group psychotherapy on depressive symptoms in 118 Japanese mental disorder outpatients. The treatment group (n = 58) took part in five 90-min sessions at one-week intervals, while the control group (n = 60) received standard care including medication. Depressive symptoms were assessed before the intervention, 5 weeks after the intervention, and at 3-month follow-up. Compared to the control group, the treatment group showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms both at post-intervention and at 3-month follow-up. In conclusion, this group psychotherapy might be of benefit in treating depressive symptoms.

Whole body and local cryotherapy in restless legs syndrome: A randomized, single-blind, controlled parallel group pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Happe, Svenja; Evers, Stefan; Thiedemann, Christian; Bunten, Sabine; Siegert, Rudolf

2016-11-15

Treatment of restless legs syndrome (RLS) is primarily based on drugs. Since many patients report improvement of symptoms due to cooling their legs, we examined the efficacy of cryotherapy in RLS. 35 patients (28 women, 60.9±12.5years) with idiopathic RLS and symptoms starting not later than 6pm were randomized into three groups: cold air chamber at -60°C (n=12); cold air chamber at -10°C (n=12); local cryotherapy at -17°C (n=11). After a two week baseline, the different therapies were applied three minutes daily at 6pm over two weeks, followed by a four week observation period. The patients completed several questionnaires regarding RLS symptoms, sleep, and quality of life on a weekly basis (IRLS, ESS), VAS and sleep/morning protocol were completed daily, MOSS/RLS-QLI were completed once in each period. Additionally, the PLM index was measured by a mobile device at the end of baseline, intervention, and follow-up. The IRLS score was chosen as primary efficacy parameter. At the end of follow-up, significant improvement of RLS symptoms and quality of life could be observed only in the -60°C group as compared to baseline (IRLS: p=0.009; RLS-QLI: p=0.006; ESS: p=0.020). Local cryotherapy led to improvement in quality of life (VAS4: p=0.028; RLS-QLI: p=0.014) and sleep quality (MOSS: p=0.020; MOSS2: p=0.022) but not in IRLS and ESS. In the -10°C group, the only significant effect was shortening of number of wake phases per night. Serious side-effects were not reported. Whole body cryotherapy at -60°C and, to a less extent, local cryotherapy seem to be a treatment option for RLS in addition to conventional pharmacological treatment. However, the exact mode of cryotherapy needs to be established. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Reinforcement Behavior Therapy by Kindergarten Teachers on Preschool Children’s Aggression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahrzad Yektatalab

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Aggression is a kind of behavior that causes damage or harm to others. The prevalence of aggression is 8–20% in 3–6 years old children. The present study aimed to assess the effect of training kindergarten teachers regarding reinforcement behavior therapy on preschoolers’ aggression. Methods: In this cluster randomized control trial, 14 out of 35 kindergarten and preschool centers of Mohr city, Iran, were chosen using random cluster sampling and then randomly assigned to an intervention and a control group. All 370 kindergarten and preschool children in 14 kindergarten were assessed by preschoolers’ aggression questionnaire and 60 children who obtained a minimum aggression score of 117.48 for girls and 125.77 for boys were randomly selected. The teachers in the intervention group participated in 4 educational sessions on behavior therapy and then practiced this technique under the supervision of the researcher for two months. Preschoolers’ aggression questionnaire was computed in both intervention and control groups before and after a two-month period. Results: The results demonstrated a significant statistical difference in the total aggression score (P=0.01, verbal (P=0.02 and physical (P=0.01 aggression subscales scores in the intervention group in comparison to the control group after the intervention. But the scores of relational aggression (P=0.09 and impulsive anger (P=0.08 subscales were not statistically different in the intervention group compared to the controls. Conclusion: This study highlighted the importance of teaching reinforcement behavior therapy by kindergarten teachers in decreasing verbal and physical aggression in preschoolers.

Characterization of geometrical random uncertainty distribution for a group of patients in radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munoz Montplet, C.; Jurado Bruggeman, D.

2010-01-01

Geometrical random uncertainty in radiotherapy is usually characterized by a unique value in each group of patients. We propose a novel approach based on a statistically accurate characterization of the uncertainty distribution, thus reducing the risk of obtaining potentially unsafe results in CTV-PTV margins or in the selection of correction protocols.

Influence of Motivation on the Effectiveness of Work in a chosen Firm

OpenAIRE

Hrutkaiová, Gabriela

2011-01-01

This bachelor thesis is concerned with motivation of employees, describes factors, which can directly or indirectly influence workers and instigate them to efficient work. Theory engages with the definition of motivation term, and its importance, motivation progression and also describes concrete tools, which stimulate increase in employee's motivation. The practical part evaluates system of motivation and its effect in chosen company and also decides whether chosen methods succeeded.

Standard versus prosocial online support groups for distressed breast cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Golant Mitch

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Internet can increase access to psychosocial care for breast cancer survivors through online support groups. This study will test a novel prosocial online group that emphasizes both opportunities for getting and giving help. Based on the helper therapy principle, it is hypothesized that the addition of structured helping opportunities and coaching on how to help others online will increase the psychological benefits of a standard online group. Methods/Design A two-armed randomized controlled trial with pretest and posttest. Non-metastatic breast cancer survivors with elevated psychological distress will be randomized to either a standard facilitated online group or to a prosocial facilitated online group, which combines online exchanges of support with structured helping opportunities (blogging, breast cancer outreach and coaching on how best to give support to others. Validated and reliable measures will be administered to women approximately one month before and after the interventions. Self-esteem, positive affect, and sense of belonging will be tested as potential mediators of the primary outcomes of depressive/anxious symptoms and sense of purpose in life. Discussion This study will test an innovative approach to maximizing the psychological benefits of cancer online support groups. The theory-based prosocial online support group intervention model is sustainable, because it can be implemented by private non-profit or other organizations, such as cancer centers, which mostly offer face-to-face support groups with limited patient reach. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01396174

Standard versus prosocial online support groups for distressed breast cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Lepore, Stephen J; Buzaglo, Joanne S; Lieberman, Morton A; Golant, Mitch; Davey, Adam

2011-08-25

The Internet can increase access to psychosocial care for breast cancer survivors through online support groups. This study will test a novel prosocial online group that emphasizes both opportunities for getting and giving help. Based on the helper therapy principle, it is hypothesized that the addition of structured helping opportunities and coaching on how to help others online will increase the psychological benefits of a standard online group. A two-armed randomized controlled trial with pretest and posttest. Non-metastatic breast cancer survivors with elevated psychological distress will be randomized to either a standard facilitated online group or to a prosocial facilitated online group, which combines online exchanges of support with structured helping opportunities (blogging, breast cancer outreach) and coaching on how best to give support to others. Validated and reliable measures will be administered to women approximately one month before and after the interventions. Self-esteem, positive affect, and sense of belonging will be tested as potential mediators of the primary outcomes of depressive/anxious symptoms and sense of purpose in life. This study will test an innovative approach to maximizing the psychological benefits of cancer online support groups. The theory-based prosocial online support group intervention model is sustainable, because it can be implemented by private non-profit or other organizations, such as cancer centers, which mostly offer face-to-face support groups with limited patient reach. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01396174.

A prospective randomized trial of content expertise versus process expertise in small group teaching.

Science.gov (United States)

Peets, Adam D; Cooke, Lara; Wright, Bruce; Coderre, Sylvain; McLaughlin, Kevin

2010-10-14

Effective teaching requires an understanding of both what (content knowledge) and how (process knowledge) to teach. While previous studies involving medical students have compared preceptors with greater or lesser content knowledge, it is unclear whether process expertise can compensate for deficient content expertise. Therefore, the objective of our study was to compare the effect of preceptors with process expertise to those with content expertise on medical students' learning outcomes in a structured small group environment. One hundred and fifty-one first year medical students were randomized to 11 groups for the small group component of the Cardiovascular-Respiratory course at the University of Calgary. Each group was then block randomized to one of three streams for the entire course: tutoring exclusively by physicians with content expertise (n = 5), tutoring exclusively by physicians with process expertise (n = 3), and tutoring by content experts for 11 sessions and process experts for 10 sessions (n = 3). After each of the 21 small group sessions, students evaluated their preceptors' teaching with a standardized instrument. Students' knowledge acquisition was assessed by an end-of-course multiple choice (EOC-MCQ) examination. Students rated the process experts significantly higher on each of the instrument's 15 items, including the overall rating. Students' mean score (±SD) on the EOC-MCQ exam was 76.1% (8.1) for groups taught by content experts, 78.2% (7.8) for the combination group and 79.5% (9.2) for process expert groups (p = 0.11). By linear regression student performance was higher if they had been taught by process experts (regression coefficient 2.7 [0.1, 5.4], p teach first year medical students within a structured small group environment; preceptors with process expertise result in at least equivalent, if not superior, student outcomes in this setting.

Integrating CHWs as part of the team leading diabetes group visits: A randomized controlled feasibility study

Science.gov (United States)

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of integrating Community Health Workers (CHWs) as part of the team leading diabetes group visits. This was a randomized controlled study that integrated CHWs as part of the team leading diabetes group visits for low-income Hispanic adults (n=5...

Chosen Aspects of Non‑Profit Sector and Volunteering in Slovakia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beata Gavurova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The significance of voluntary activities in Slovakia constantly increases as it is one of the fundamental areas, which is of particular interest to chosen communities as well as the general public, with the scope of these activities exceeding religious or social groups and national character. The current situation of voluntary activities is not satisfactory and there is an absence of primary research studies that would provide a relevant and complex overview of the volunteering system. Further worsening the situation is the fact that volunteering actions were not even defined in the legal system until 2011. Evaluation of the existing situation and development of voluntary activities realized in Slovakia is carried out using a questionnaire survey, identifying the fundamental barriers of its development and evaluating the potential for implementing new challenges and trends. The most problematic issue is area of financing, closely related to non‑governmental sector financing issues. A lack of understanding by the donors concerning the process of investing in volunteers, even in high quality programs, is also an important problem, along with the lack of legislation and mistrust. Organization and volunteer motivation was also investigated.

An effective group psychoeducational intervention for improving compliance with vaginal dilation: A randomized controlled trial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeffries, Sherryl A.; Robinson, John W.; Craighead, Peter S.; Keats, Melanie R.

2006-01-01

Purpose: Although vaginal dilation is often recommended to minimize or prevent vaginal scarring after pelvic radiotherapy, compliance with this recommendation has historically been very low. Therefore, effective intervention strategies are needed to enhance compliance with vaginal dilation after radiotherapy for gynecologic cancer. Methods and Materials: This study was a randomized controlled clinical trial of a psychoeducational intervention specifically designed to increase compliance with vaginal dilation. The information-motivation-behavioral skills model of enhancing compliance with behavioral change was the basis for the intervention design. Forty-two sexually active women, 21 to 65 years of age, diagnosed with Stages Ic-III cervical or endometrial cancer, who received pelvic radiotherapy, were randomized to either the experimental psychoeducational group or the information-only control group. Assessment via questionnaire occurred before treatment and at 6-week, 6-month, 12-month, 18-month, and 24-month follow-up. Assessment via interview also occurred at 6-month, 12-month, 18-month, and 24-month follow-up. Results: The psychoeducational intervention was successful in increasing compliance with vaginal dilation. Conclusions: This study is the first randomized controlled study to demonstrate the effectiveness of an intervention in increasing compliance with the use of vaginal dilators

Renormalization group treatment for spin waves in the randomly disordered Heisenberg chain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaves, C.M.; Koiller, B.

1983-03-01

Local densities of states in the randomly disordered binary quantum Heisenberg chain using a generalization of a recently developed approach based on renormalization group ideas are calculated. It envolves decimating alternate apins along the chain in such a way as to obtain recursion relations to describe the renormalized set of Green's function equations of motion. The densities of states are richly structured, indicating that the method takes into account compositional fluctuations of arbitrary range. (Author) [pt

Outcome of systemic and analytic group psychotherapy for adult women with history of intrafamilial childhood sexual abuse: a randomized controlled study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lau, M; Kristensen, Ellids

2007-01-01

Research suggests that group psychotherapy for adults with a history of child sexual abuse (CSA) is generally beneficial. Only few studies have included random assignment. This study compared the effects of analytic (A) and systemic group psychotherapy (S) on CSA.......Research suggests that group psychotherapy for adults with a history of child sexual abuse (CSA) is generally beneficial. Only few studies have included random assignment. This study compared the effects of analytic (A) and systemic group psychotherapy (S) on CSA....

Community-based group exercise for persons with Parkinson disease: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Combs, Stephanie A; Diehl, M Dyer; Chrzastowski, Casey; Didrick, Nora; McCoin, Brittany; Mox, Nicholas; Staples, William H; Wayman, Jessica

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare group boxing training to traditional group exercise on function and quality of life in persons with Parkinson disease (PD). A convenience sample of adults with PD (n = 31) were randomly assigned to boxing training or traditional exercise for 24-36 sessions, each lasting 90 minutes, over 12 weeks. Boxing training included: stretching, boxing (e.g. lateral foot work, punching bags), resistance exercises, and aerobic training. Traditional exercise included: stretching, resistance exercises, aerobic training, and balance activities. Participants were tested before and after completion of training on balance, balance confidence, mobility, gait velocity, gait endurance, and quality of life. The traditional exercise group demonstrated significantly greater gains in balance confidence than the boxing group (p effect size for the gait endurance (d = 0.65). Both groups demonstrated significant improvements with the balance, mobility, and quality of life with large within-group effect sizes (d ≥ 0.80). While groups significantly differed in balance confidence after training, both groups demonstrated improvements in most outcome measures. Supporting options for long-term community-based group exercise for persons with PD will be an important future consideration for rehabilitation professionals.

Long-term follow-up of a randomized study of support group intervention in women with primary breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Björneklett, Helena Granstam; Rosenblad, Andreas; Lindemalm, Christina; Ojutkangas, Marja-Leena; Letocha, Henry; Strang, Peter; Bergkvist, Leif

2013-04-01

Despite a fairly good prognosis, many breast-cancer patients suffer from symptoms such as anxiety, depression and fatigue, which may affect health-related quality of life and may persist for several years. The aim of the present study was to perform a long-term follow-up of a randomized study of support group intervention in women after primary breast cancer treatment. Three hundred and eighty two women with primary breast cancer were randomized to support group intervention or control group, 181 in each group. Women in the intervention group participated in 1 week of intervention followed by 4 days of follow-up 2 months later. This is a long-term follow-up undertaken, in average, 6.5 years after randomization. Patients answered the questionnaires the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, quality of life questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the breast cancer module questionnaire (BR 23), the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HAD) and the Norwegian version of the fatigue scale (FQ). After adjusting for treatment with chemotherapy, age, marriage, education and children at home, there was a significant improvement in physical, mental and total fatigue (FQ), cognitive function, body image and future perspective (EORTC QLQ C30 and BR23) in the intervention group compared with controls. The proportion of women affected by high anxiety and depression scores were not significantly different between the groups. Support intervention significantly improved cognitive function, body image, future perspective and fatigue, compared with to the findings in the control group. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A scientific nutrition strategy improves time trial performance by ≈6% when compared with a self-chosen nutrition strategy in trained cyclists: a randomized cross-over study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hottenrott, Kuno; Hass, Erik; Kraus, Manon; Neumann, Georg; Steiner, Martin; Knechtle, Beat

2012-08-01

We investigated whether an athlete's self-chosen nutrition strategy (A), compared with a scientifically determined one (S), led to an improved endurance performance in a laboratory time trial after an endurance exercise. S consisted of about 1000 mL·h(-1) fluid, in portions of 250 mL every 15 min, 0.5 g sodium·L(-1), 60 g glucose·h(-1), 30 g fructose·h(-1), and 5 mg caffeine·kg body mass(-1). Eighteen endurance-trained cyclists (16 male; 2 female) were tested using a randomized crossover-design at intervals of 2 weeks, following either A or S. After a warm-up, a maximal oxygen uptake test was performed. Following a 30-min break, a 2.5-h endurance exercise on a bicycle ergometer was carried out at 70% maximal oxygen uptake. After 5 min of rest, a time trial of 64.37 km (40 miles) was completed. The ingested nutrition was recorded every 15 min. In S, the athletes completed the time trial faster (128 vs. 136 min; p ≤ 0.001) and with a significantly higher power output (212 vs. 184 W; p ≤ 0.001). The intake of fluid, energy (carbohydrate-, mono-, and disaccharide), and sodium was significantly higher in S compared with A (p ≤ 0.001) during the endurance exercise. In the time trial, only sodium intake was significantly higher in S (p ≤ 0.001). We concluded that a time trial performance after a 2.5-h endurance exercise in a laboratory setting was significantly improved following a scientific nutrition strategy.

Randomization in clinical trials: stratification or minimization? The HERMES free simulation software.

Science.gov (United States)

Fron Chabouis, Hélène; Chabouis, Francis; Gillaizeau, Florence; Durieux, Pierre; Chatellier, Gilles; Ruse, N Dorin; Attal, Jean-Pierre

2014-01-01

Operative clinical trials are often small and open-label. Randomization is therefore very important. Stratification and minimization are two randomization options in such trials. The first aim of this study was to compare stratification and minimization in terms of predictability and balance in order to help investigators choose the most appropriate allocation method. Our second aim was to evaluate the influence of various parameters on the performance of these techniques. The created software generated patients according to chosen trial parameters (e.g., number of important prognostic factors, number of operators or centers, etc.) and computed predictability and balance indicators for several stratification and minimization methods over a given number of simulations. Block size and proportion of random allocations could be chosen. A reference trial was chosen (50 patients, 1 prognostic factor, and 2 operators) and eight other trials derived from this reference trial were modeled. Predictability and balance indicators were calculated from 10,000 simulations per trial. Minimization performed better with complex trials (e.g., smaller sample size, increasing number of prognostic factors, and operators); stratification imbalance increased when the number of strata increased. An inverse correlation between imbalance and predictability was observed. A compromise between predictability and imbalance still has to be found by the investigator but our software (HERMES) gives concrete reasons for choosing between stratification and minimization; it can be downloaded free of charge. This software will help investigators choose the appropriate randomization method in future two-arm trials.

Estimates of Intraclass Correlation Coefficients from Longitudinal Group-Randomized Trials of Adolescent HIV/STI/Pregnancy Prevention Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Glassman, Jill R.; Potter, Susan C.; Baumler, Elizabeth R.; Coyle, Karin K.

2015-01-01

Introduction: Group-randomized trials (GRTs) are one of the most rigorous methods for evaluating the effectiveness of group-based health risk prevention programs. Efficiently designing GRTs with a sample size that is sufficient for meeting the trial's power and precision goals while not wasting resources exceeding them requires estimates of the…

Calculation of the mean differential group delay of periodically spun, randomly birefringent fibers

Science.gov (United States)

Galtarossa, Andrea; Griggio, Paola; Pizzinat, Anna; Palmieri, Luca

2002-05-01

Spinning is one of the most effective and well-known ways to reduce polarization mode dispersion of optical fibers. In spite of the popularity of spinning, a detailed theory of spin effects is still lacking. We report an analytical expression for the mean differential group delay of a randomly birefringent spun fiber. The result holds for any periodic spin function with a period shorter than the fiber's beat length.

Effectiveness of a group diabetes education programme in underserved communities in South Africa: pragmatic cluster randomized control trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Mash, Bob; Levitt, Naomi; Steyn, Krisela; Zwarenstein, Merrick; Rollnick, Stephen

2012-12-24

Diabetes is an important contributor to the burden of disease in South Africa and prevalence rates as high as 33% have been recorded in Cape Town. Previous studies show that quality of care and health outcomes are poor. The development of an effective education programme should impact on self-care, lifestyle change and adherence to medication; and lead to better control of diabetes, fewer complications and better quality of life. Pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trialParticipants: Type 2 diabetic patients attending 45 public sector community health centres in Cape TownInterventions: The intervention group will receive 4 sessions of group diabetes education delivered by a health promotion officer in a guiding style. The control group will receive usual care which consists of ad hoc advice during consultations and occasional educational talks in the waiting room. To evaluate the effectiveness of the group diabetes education programmeOutcomes: diabetes self-care activities, 5% weight loss, 1% reduction in HbA1c. self-efficacy, locus of control, mean blood pressure, mean weight loss, mean waist circumference, mean HbA1c, mean total cholesterol, quality of lifeRandomisation: Computer generated random numbersBlinding: Patients, health promoters and research assistants could not be blinded to the health centre's allocationNumbers randomized: Seventeen health centres (34 in total) will be randomly assigned to either control or intervention groups. A sample size of 1360 patients in 34 clusters of 40 patients will give a power of 80% to detect the primary outcomes with 5% precision. Altogether 720 patients were recruited in the intervention arm and 850 in the control arm giving a total of 1570. The study will inform policy makers and managers of the district health system, particularly in low to middle income countries, if this programme can be implemented more widely. Pan African Clinical Trial Registry PACTR201205000380384.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Mindfulness and Acceptance Group Therapy for Residential Substance Use Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Shorey, Ryan C; Elmquist, Joanna; Gawrysiak, Michael J; Strauss, Catherine; Haynes, Ellen; Anderson, Scott; Stuart, Gregory L

2017-09-19

Substance use disorders are understood as a chronically relapsing condition that is difficult to treat. However, in recent years there have been promising developments in the treatment of substance use disorders, specifically with interventions based on mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy. Little research has examined whether these types of interventions may positively impact residential substance use treatment outcomes. Thus, in the current study we developed and examined, in a randomized controlled trial, a 4-week, eight-session, adjunctive mindfulness and acceptance group therapy for patients in residential substance use treatment. Our primary outcomes were substance use cravings, psychological flexibility, and dispositional mindfulness at treatment discharge. Patients (N = 117) from a private residential substance use facility were randomized to receive the adjunctive mindfulness and acceptance group or treatment-as-usual. Patients were assessed at treatment intake and at discharge from a 28-30-day residential program. Although treatment groups did not statistically differ at discharge on any primary outcome, small effect sizes favored the mindfulness and acceptance group on cravings and psychological flexibility. Conclusions/Importance: Continued research is needed to determine whether the addition of mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions improve outcomes long term following residential substance use treatment.

Generalized statistical criterion for distinguishing random optical groupings from physical multiple systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anosova, Z.P.

1988-01-01

A statistical criterion is proposed for distinguishing between random and physical groupings of stars and galaxies. The criterion is applied to nearby wide multiple stars, triplets of galaxies in the list of Karachentsev, Karachentseva, and Shcherbanovskii, and double galaxies in the list of Dahari, in which the principal components are Seyfert galaxies. Systems that are almost certainly physical, probably physical, probably optical, and almost certainly optical are identified. The limiting difference between the radial velocities of the components of physical multiple galaxies is estimated

PageRank in scale-free random graphs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, Ningyuan; Litvak, Nelli; Olvera-Cravioto, Mariana; Bonata, Anthony; Chung, Fan; Pralat, Paweł

2014-01-01

We analyze the distribution of PageRank on a directed configuration model and show that as the size of the graph grows to infinity, the PageRank of a randomly chosen node can be closely approximated by the PageRank of the root node of an appropriately constructed tree. This tree approximation is in

Oral sumatriptan for migraine in children and adolescents: a randomized, multicenter, placebo-controlled, parallel group study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujita, Mitsue; Sato, Katsuaki; Nishioka, Hiroshi; Sakai, Fumihiko

2014-04-01

The objective of this article is to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of two doses of oral sumatriptan vs placebo in the acute treatment of migraine in children and adolescents. Currently, there is no approved prescription medication in Japan for the treatment of migraine in children and adolescents. This was a multicenter, outpatient, single-attack, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. Eligible patients were children and adolescents aged 10 to 17 years diagnosed with migraine with or without aura (ICHD-II criteria 1.1 or 1.2) from 17 centers. They were randomized to receive sumatriptan 25 mg, 50 mg or placebo (1:1:2). The primary efficacy endpoint was headache relief by two grades on a five-grade scale at two hours post-dose. A total of 178 patients from 17 centers in Japan were enrolled and randomized to an investigational product in double-blind fashion. Of these, 144 patients self-treated a single migraine attack, and all provided a post-dose efficacy assessment and completed the study. The percentage of patients in the full analysis set (FAS) population who report pain relief at two hours post-treatment for the primary endpoint was higher in the placebo group than in the pooled sumatriptan group (38.6% vs 31.1%, 95% CI: -23.02 to 8.04, P  = 0.345). The percentage of patients in the FAS population who reported pain relief at four hours post-dose was higher in the pooled sumatriptan group (63.5%) than in the placebo group (51.4%) but failed to achieve statistical significance ( P  = 0.142). At four hours post-dose, percentages of patients who were pain free or had complete relief of photophobia or phonophobia were numerically higher in the sumatriptan pooled group compared to placebo. Both doses of oral sumatriptan were well tolerated. No adverse events (AEs) were serious or led to study withdrawal. The most common AEs were somnolence in 6% (two patients) in the sumatriptan 25 mg treatment group and chest

[Assessment of nociceptive suppression in laparoscopic postoperative status: prospective, randomized and comparative study with a control group].

Science.gov (United States)

Jaime, A; Hernández-Favela, P; Zamora, R; Nava, E; Barroso, G; Kably, A

2001-08-01

In recent years endoscopic surgery has became a highly demanded procedure because it is an easy method for diagnosis and treatment in gynecological field. Post-operative pain is considered as a condition in the morbidity status. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nociceptive suppression in laparoscopic surgery. A prospective randomized trial was performed in order to evaluate this condition. A total of 45 patients were included. Three groups were randomized using two different anesthetics applied in the cult-de-sac and uterine-bladder union. Group A (n-15) received bupivacaine, group B (n = 15) ropivacaine and group C (control) saline solution was instilled. The pain was scored using the visual analog scale as same as blood pressure and heart rate in a 15 minute intervals in the recovery room. For study design there were no differences in age, weight, height and body mass index (EMI). The surgical and anesthetic times were similar among groups. However there were significant differences when pain was evaluated. For a less toxic effects and good preventive analgesia we recommend to use ropivacaine in the postoperative status.

Individual Versus Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Partner-Violent Men: A Preliminary Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Christopher M; Eckhardt, Christopher I; Clifford, Judith M; Lamotte, Adam D; Meis, Laura A

2017-04-01

A randomized clinical trial tested the hypothesis that a flexible, case formulation-based, individual treatment approach integrating motivational interviewing strategies with cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT) is more efficacious than a standardized group cognitive-behavioral approach (GCBT) for perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). Forty-two men presenting for services at a community domestic violence agency were randomized to receive 20 sessions of ICBT or a 20-week group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) program. Participants and their relationship partners completed assessments of relationship abuse and relationship functioning at baseline and quarterly follow-ups for 1 year. Treatment uptake and session attendance were significantly higher in ICBT than GCBT. However, contrary to the study hypothesis, GCBT produced consistently equivalent or greater benefits than ICBT. Participant self-reports revealed significant reductions in abusive behavior and injuries across conditions with no differential benefits between conditions. Victim partner reports revealed more favorable outcomes for group treatment, including a statistically significant difference in psychological aggression, and differences exceeding a medium effect size for physical assault, emotional abuse, and partner relationship adjustment. In response to hypothetical relationship scenarios, GCBT was associated with greater reductions than ICBT (exceeding a medium effect) in articulated cognitive distortions and aggressive intentions. Treatment competence ratings suggest that flexible, individualized administration of CBT creates challenges in session agenda setting, homework implementation, and formal aspects of relationship skills training. Although caution is needed in generalizing findings from this small-scale trial, the results suggest that the mutual support and positive social influence available in group intervention may be particularly helpful for IPV perpetrators.

Asymptotic properties of a simple random motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravishankar, K.

1988-01-01

A random walker in R/sup N/ is considered. At each step the walker picks a point in R/sup N/ from a fixed finite set of destination points. Having chosen the point, the walker moves a fraction r (r < 1) of the distance toward the point along a straight line. Assuming that the successive destination points are chosen independently, it is shown that the asymptotic distribution of the walker's position has the same mean as the destination point distribution. An estimate is obtained for the fraction of time the walker stays within a ball centered at the mean value for almost every destination sequence. Examples show that the asymptotic distribution could have intricate structure

Use of bibloc and monobloc oral appliances in obstructive sleep apnoea: a multicentre, randomized, blinded, parallel-group equivalence trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Isacsson, Göran; Nohlert, Eva; Fransson, Anette M C; Bornefalk-Hermansson, Anna; Wiman Eriksson, Eva; Ortlieb, Eva; Trepp, Livia; Avdelius, Anna; Sturebrand, Magnus; Fodor, Clara; List, Thomas; Schumann, Mohamad; Tegelberg, Åke

2018-05-16

The clinical benefit of bibloc over monobloc appliances in treating obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has not been evaluated in randomized trials. We hypothesized that the two types of appliances are equally effective in treating OSA. To compare the efficacy of monobloc versus bibloc appliances in a short-term perspective. In this multicentre, randomized, blinded, controlled, parallel-group equivalence trial, patients with OSA were randomly assigned to use either a bibloc or a monobloc appliance. One-night respiratory polygraphy without respiratory support was performed at baseline, and participants were re-examined with the appliance in place at short-term follow-up. The primary outcome was the change in the apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI). An independent person prepared a randomization list and sealed envelopes. Evaluating dentist and the biomedical analysts who evaluated the polygraphy were blinded to the choice of therapy. Of 302 patients, 146 were randomly assigned to use the bibloc and 156 the monobloc device; 123 and 139 patients, respectively, were analysed as per protocol. The mean changes in AHI were -13.8 (95% confidence interval -16.1 to -11.5) in the bibloc group and -12.5 (-14.8 to -10.3) in the monobloc group. The difference of -1.3 (-4.5 to 1.9) was significant within the equivalence interval (P = 0.011; the greater of the two P values) and was confirmed by the intention-to-treat analysis (P = 0.001). The adverse events were of mild character and were experienced by similar percentages of patients in both groups (39 and 40 per cent for the bibloc and monobloc group, respectively). The study shows short-term results with a median time from commencing treatment to the evaluation visit of 56 days and long-term data on efficacy and harm are needed to be fully conclusive. In a short-term perspective, both appliances were equivalent in terms of their positive effects for treating OSA and caused adverse events of similar magnitude. Registered with Clinical

A randomized controlled trial of group Stepping Stones Triple P: a mixed-disability trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Roux, Gemma; Sofronoff, Kate; Sanders, Matthew

2013-09-01

Stepping Stones Triple P (SSTP) is a parenting program designed for families of a child with a disability. The current study involved a randomized controlled trial of Group Stepping Stones Triple P (GSSTP) for a mixed-disability group. Participants were 52 families of children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, or an intellectual disability. The results demonstrated significant improvements in parent-reported child behavior, parenting styles, parental satisfaction, and conflict about parenting. Results among participants were similar despite children's differing impairments. The intervention effect was maintained at 6-month follow-up. The results indicate that GSSTP is a promising intervention for a mixed-disability group. Limitations of the study, along with areas for future research, are also discussed. © FPI, Inc.

Malevolent Governance, Intra-Group Conflict and the Paradox of the Plenty: An Experiment

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Klarizze Anne Puzon

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Using a laboratory experiment, we behaviourally study the impact of a sudden increase in the common-pool size on within-group conflict, i.e., the paradox of the plenty. We also consider the potential role of governance in avoiding this paradox. In the first stage, a randomly-chosen leader of the group determines how much of the common-pool resource to protect from second-stage conflict. In the next stage, each group member allocates his private endowment between working or fighting for a share of the unprotected resource. We consider two treatments: anarchy (consisting of the second stage only and with a leader deciding in the first stage. We find that the existence of institutions is not always better than anarchy. This is aggravated when the resource size is higher. Group conflict (income decreases (increases only when leaders chose the strongest resource protection. When leaders are malevolent, i.e., they chose weak resource protection, outcomes are worse than when institutions are absent.

High-Performance Pseudo-Random Number Generation on Graphics Processing Units

OpenAIRE

Nandapalan, Nimalan; Brent, Richard P.; Murray, Lawrence M.; Rendell, Alistair

2011-01-01

This work considers the deployment of pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs) on graphics processing units (GPUs), developing an approach based on the xorgens generator to rapidly produce pseudo-random numbers of high statistical quality. The chosen algorithm has configurable state size and period, making it ideal for tuning to the GPU architecture. We present a comparison of both speed and statistical quality with other common parallel, GPU-based PRNGs, demonstrating favourable performance o...

Random Assignment of Schools to Groups in the Drug Resistance Strategies Rural Project: Some New Methodological Twists

Science.gov (United States)

Pettigrew, Jonathan; Miller-Day, Michelle; Krieger, Janice L.; Zhou, Jiangxiu; Hecht, Michael L.

2014-01-01

Random assignment to groups is the foundation for scientifically rigorous clinical trials. But assignment is challenging in group randomized trials when only a few units (schools) are assigned to each condition. In the DRSR project, we assigned 39 rural Pennsylvania and Ohio schools to three conditions (rural, classic, control). But even with 13 schools per condition, achieving pretest equivalence on important variables is not guaranteed. We collected data on six important school-level variables: rurality, number of grades in the school, enrollment per grade, percent white, percent receiving free/assisted lunch, and test scores. Key to our procedure was the inclusion of school-level drug use data, available for a subset of the schools. Also, key was that we handled the partial data with modern missing data techniques. We chose to create one composite stratifying variable based on the seven school-level variables available. Principal components analysis with the seven variables yielded two factors, which were averaged to form the composite inflate-suppress (CIS) score which was the basis of stratification. The CIS score was broken into three strata within each state; schools were assigned at random to the three program conditions from within each stratum, within each state. Results showed that program group membership was unrelated to the CIS score, the two factors making up the CIS score, and the seven items making up the factors. Program group membership was not significantly related to pretest measures of drug use (alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, chewing tobacco; smallest p>.15), thus verifying that pretest equivalence was achieved. PMID:23722619

Mediation and spillover effects in group-randomized trials: a case study of the 4Rs educational intervention

Science.gov (United States)

VanderWeele, Tyler J.; Hong, Guanglei; Jones, Stephanie M.; Brown, Joshua L.

2013-01-01

Peer influence and social interactions can give rise to spillover effects in which the exposure of one individual may affect outcomes of other individuals. Even if the intervention under study occurs at the group or cluster level as in group-randomized trials, spillover effects can occur when the mediator of interest is measured at a lower level than the treatment. Evaluators who choose groups rather than individuals as experimental units in a randomized trial often anticipate that the desirable changes in targeted social behaviors will be reinforced through interference among individuals in a group exposed to the same treatment. In an empirical evaluation of the effect of a school-wide intervention on reducing individual students’ depressive symptoms, schools in matched pairs were randomly assigned to the 4Rs intervention or the control condition. Class quality was hypothesized as an important mediator assessed at the classroom level. We reason that the quality of one classroom may affect outcomes of children in another classroom because children interact not simply with their classmates but also with those from other classes in the hallways or on the playground. In investigating the role of class quality as a mediator, failure to account for such spillover effects of one classroom on the outcomes of children in other classrooms can potentially result in bias and problems with interpretation. Using a counterfactual conceptualization of direct, indirect and spillover effects, we provide a framework that can accommodate issues of mediation and spillover effects in group randomized trials. We show that the total effect can be decomposed into a natural direct effect, a within-classroom mediated effect and a spillover mediated effect. We give identification conditions for each of the causal effects of interest and provide results on the consequences of ignoring “interference” or “spillover effects” when they are in fact present. Our modeling approach

Group antenatal intervention to reduce perinatal stress and depressive symptoms related to intergenerational conflicts: a randomized controlled trial.

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Leung, Sharron S K; Lam, T H

2012-11-01

Intergenerational conflicts are a major source of stress, which might lead to depression in new mothers. The conflict is heightened when grandparents are involved in childcare. To examine the effectiveness of an interpersonal psychotherapy oriented group intervention to reduce stress and depressive symptoms in new mothers and enhance happiness and self-efficacy in managing intergenerational conflict in childcare. This study is one of the intervention projects of FAMILY: A Jockey Club Initiative for a Harmonious Society, funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. Multisite randomized controlled trial with two arms: an intervention group attended an additional 4-week program and a control group who received usual care only. Six Maternal and Child Health Centres in Hong Kong From September 2009 to January 2010, 156 pregnant women who would have grandparents involved in childcare were recruited at their 14-32 weeks' gestation. Participants were randomized to groups using computer generated random sequences by blinded recruitment staff. Primary outcomes were stress and depressive symptoms immediately after the intervention and 6-8 weeks after delivery. Secondary outcomes were happiness and self-efficacy in managing conflict. After screening 2870 pregnant women, 156 eligible participants were randomized. Intention-to-treat analysis showed that the intervention group (n=78) had significantly lower perceived stress (p=0.017; Cohen d=0.38) and greater happiness (p=0.004; Cohen d=0.41) than the control group (n=78) immediately after the intervention. However, the effects were not sustained at postnatal follow-up. Subgroup analysis showed that participants with depressive symptoms (EPDS>12) at baseline reported significantly lower stress, greater happiness (p=0.035 and 0.037, respectively; both Cohen d=0.61), greater self-efficacy in managing conflict (p=0.012; Cohen d=0.76) than the control group after the intervention. Also, after delivery, they had significantly

Intervention for children with word-finding difficulties: a parallel group randomised control trial.

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Best, Wendy; Hughes, Lucy Mari; Masterson, Jackie; Thomas, Michael; Fedor, Anna; Roncoli, Silvia; Fern-Pollak, Liory; Shepherd, Donna-Lynn; Howard, David; Shobbrook, Kate; Kapikian, Anna

2017-07-31

The study investigated the outcome of a word-web intervention for children diagnosed with word-finding difficulties (WFDs). Twenty children age 6-8 years with WFDs confirmed by a discrepancy between comprehension and production on the Test of Word Finding-2, were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 11) and waiting control (n = 9) groups. The intervention group had six sessions of intervention which used word-webs and targeted children's meta-cognitive awareness and word-retrieval. On the treated experimental set (n = 25 items) the intervention group gained on average four times as many items as the waiting control group (d = 2.30). There were also gains on personally chosen items for the intervention group. There was little change on untreated items for either group. The study is the first randomised control trial to demonstrate an effect of word-finding therapy with children with language difficulties in mainstream school. The improvement in word-finding for treated items was obtained following a clinically realistic intervention in terms of approach, intensity and duration.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy as Treatments for Academic Procrastination: A Randomized Controlled Group Session

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Wang, Shuo; Zhou, Ya; Yu, Shi; Ran, Li-Wen; Liu, Xiang-Ping; Chen, Yu-Fei

2017-01-01

Objective: This study tested the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), compared with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), in alleviating academic procrastination. Method: A total of 60 (53.3% male) undergraduates suffering from academic procrastination were randomly assigned to two treatment groups (ACT and CBT) and a control group.…

Effectiveness of a group diabetes education programme in underserved communities in South Africa: pragmatic cluster randomized control trial

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Mash Bob

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Diabetes is an important contributor to the burden of disease in South Africa and prevalence rates as high as 33% have been recorded in Cape Town. Previous studies show that quality of care and health outcomes are poor. The development of an effective education programme should impact on self-care, lifestyle change and adherence to medication; and lead to better control of diabetes, fewer complications and better quality of life. Methods Trial design: Pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial Participants: Type 2 diabetic patients attending 45 public sector community health centres in Cape Town Interventions: The intervention group will receive 4 sessions of group diabetes education delivered by a health promotion officer in a guiding style. The control group will receive usual care which consists of ad hoc advice during consultations and occasional educational talks in the waiting room. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the group diabetes education programme Outcomes: Primary outcomes: diabetes self-care activities, 5% weight loss, 1% reduction in HbA1c. Secondary outcomes: self-efficacy, locus of control, mean blood pressure, mean weight loss, mean waist circumference, mean HbA1c, mean total cholesterol, quality of life Randomisation: Computer generated random numbers Blinding: Patients, health promoters and research assistants could not be blinded to the health centre’s allocation Numbers randomized: Seventeen health centres (34 in total will be randomly assigned to either control or intervention groups. A sample size of 1360 patients in 34 clusters of 40 patients will give a power of 80% to detect the primary outcomes with 5% precision. Altogether 720 patients were recruited in the intervention arm and 850 in the control arm giving a total of 1570. Discussion The study will inform policy makers and managers of the district health system, particularly in low to middle income countries, if this programme can

Gossips and prejudices: ergodic randomized dynamics in social networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frasca, Paolo; Ravazzi, Chiara; Tempo, Roberto; Ishii, Hideaki

In this paper we study a new model of opinion dynamics in social networks, which has two main features. First, agents asynchronously interact in pairs, and these pairs are chosen according to a random process: following recent literature, we refer to this communication model as “gossiping‿. Second,

A national study of the psychological impact of bank robbery with a randomized control group

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Maj; Armour, Cherie; Shevlin, Mark

of bank employees exposed to robbery (response rate: 73.6 %). Several related factors were also investigated including prior traumatic exposure, anxiety, and general traumatic symptoms. The results were compared to a randomized control group of bank employees never exposed to robbery (N= 303...... but surprisingly significantly higher than the follow-up robbery group. The results are discussed in relation to existing research and the effect of other factors such as prior traumatic exposure. In conclusion bank robberies are a traumatizing event for the employees, especially when disregarding avoidance...

Fast Neutron Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer: Final Report of a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Randomized Clinical Trial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laramore, G. E.; Krall, J. M.; Thomas, F. J.; Russell, K. J.; Maor, M. H.; Hendrickson, F. R.; Martz, K. L.; Griffin, T. W.; Davis, L. W.

1993-01-01

Between June 1977 and April 1983 the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) sponsored a Phase III randomized trial investigating the use of fast neutron radiotherapy for patients with locally advanced (Stages C and D1) adenocarcinoma of the prostate gland. Patients were randomized to receive either conventional photon radiation or fast neutron radiation used in a mixed-beam (neutron/photon) treatment schedule. A total of 91 analyzable patients were entered into the study, and the two patient groups were balanced with respect to the major prognostic variables. Actuarial curves are presented for local/regional control and "overall" survival. Ten-year results for clinically assessed local control are 70% for the mixed-beam group versus 58% for the photon group (p = 0.03) and for survival are 46% for the mixed-beam group versus 29% for the photon group (p = 0.04). This study suggests that a regional method of treatment can influence both local tumor control and survival in patients with locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the prostate gland.

Chosen interval methods for solving linear interval systems with special type of matrix

Science.gov (United States)

Szyszka, Barbara

2013-10-01

The paper is devoted to chosen direct interval methods for solving linear interval systems with special type of matrix. This kind of matrix: band matrix with a parameter, from finite difference problem is obtained. Such linear systems occur while solving one dimensional wave equation (Partial Differential Equations of hyperbolic type) by using the central difference interval method of the second order. Interval methods are constructed so as the errors of method are enclosed in obtained results, therefore presented linear interval systems contain elements that determining the errors of difference method. The chosen direct algorithms have been applied for solving linear systems because they have no errors of method. All calculations were performed in floating-point interval arithmetic.

Worksite Environmental Interventions for Obesity Prevention and Control: Evidence from Group Randomized Trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Isabel Diana; Becerra, Adan; Chin, Nancy P

2014-06-01

Worksites provide multiple advantages to prevent and treat obesity and to test environmental interventions to tackle its multiple causal factors. We present a literature review of group-randomized and non-randomized trials that tested worksite environmental, multiple component interventions for obesity prevention and control paying particular attention to the conduct of formative research prior to intervention development. The evidence on environmental interventions on measures of obesity appears to be strong since most of the studies have a low (4/8) and unclear (2/8) risk of bias. Among the studies reviewed whose potential risk of bias was low, the magnitude of the effect was modest and sometimes in the unexpected direction. None of the four studies describing an explicit formative research stage with clear integration of findings into the intervention was able to demonstrate an effect on the main outcome of interest. We present alternative explanation for the findings and recommendations for future research.

Efficacy of group psychotherapy for social anxiety disorder: A meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Barkowski, Sarah; Schwartze, Dominique; Strauss, Bernhard; Burlingame, Gary M; Barth, Jürgen; Rosendahl, Jenny

2016-04-01

Group psychotherapy for social anxiety disorder (SAD) is an established treatment supported by findings from primary studies and earlier meta-analyses. However, a comprehensive summary of the recent evidence is still pending. This meta-analysis investigates the efficacy of group psychotherapy for adult patients with SAD. A literature search identified 36 randomized-controlled trials examining 2171 patients. Available studies used mainly cognitive-behavioral group therapies (CBGT); therefore, quantitative analyses were done for CBGT. Medium to large positive effects emerged for wait list-controlled trials for specific symptomatology: g=0.84, 95% CI [0.72; 0.97] and general psychopathology: g=0.62, 95% CI [0.36; 0.89]. Group psychotherapy was also superior to common factor control conditions in alleviating symptoms of SAD, but not in improving general psychopathology. No differences appeared for direct comparisons of group psychotherapy and individual psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy. Hence, group psychotherapy for SAD is an efficacious treatment, equivalent to other treatment formats. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Facial exercises for facial rejuvenation: a control group study.

Science.gov (United States)

De Vos, Marie-Camille; Van den Brande, Helen; Boone, Barbara; Van Borsel, John

2013-01-01

Facial exercises are a noninvasive alternative to medical approaches to facial rejuvenation. Logopedists could be involved in providing these exercises. Little research has been conducted, however, on the effectiveness of exercises for facial rejuvenation. This study assessed the effectiveness of 4 exercises purportedly reducing wrinkles and sagging of the facial skin. A control group study was conducted with 18 participants, 9 of whom (the experimental group) underwent daily training for 7 weeks. Pictures taken before and after 7 weeks of 5 facial areas (forehead, nasolabial folds, area above the upper lip, jawline and area under the chin) were evaluated by a panel of laypersons. In addition, the participants of the experimental group evaluated their own pictures. Evaluation included the pairwise presentation of pictures before and after 7 weeks and scoring of the same pictures by means of visual analogue scales in a random presentation. Only one significant difference was found between the control and experimental group. In the experimental group, the picture after therapy of the upper lip was more frequently chosen to be the younger-looking one by the panel. It cannot be concluded that facial exercises are effective. More systematic research is needed. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Randomized controlled trial comparing nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation and nasal continuous positive airway pressure in premature infants after tracheal extubation

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Daniela Franco Rizzo Komatsu

Full Text Available Summary Objective: To analyze the frequency of extubation failure in premature infants using conventional mechanical ventilation (MV after extubation in groups subjected to nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation (nIPPV and continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP. Method: Seventy-two premature infants with respiratory failure were studied, with a gestational age (GA ≤ 36 weeks and birth weight (BW > 750 g, who required tracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. The study was controlled and randomized in order to ensure that the members of the groups used in the research were chosen at random. Randomization was performed at the time of extubation using sealed envelopes. Extubation failure was defined as the need for re-intubation and mechanical ventilation during the first 72 hours after extubation. Results: Among the 36 premature infants randomized to nIPPV, six (16.6% presented extubation failure in comparison to 11 (30.5% of the 36 premature infants randomized to nCPAP. There was no statistical difference between the two study groups regarding BW, GA, classification of the premature infant, and MV time. The main cause of extubation failure was the occurrence of apnea. Gastrointestinal and neurological complications did not occur in the premature infants participating in the study. Conclusion: We found that, despite the extubation failure of the group of premature infants submitted to nIPPV being numerically smaller than in premature infants submitted to nCPAP, there was no statistically significant difference between the two modes of ventilatory support after extubation.

Decoring Behaviour of Chosen Moulding Materials with Alkali Silicate Based Inorganic Binders

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Conev M.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper contains basic information about new processes for cores for cylinder heads production with alkali silicate based inorganic binders. Inorganic binders are coming back to the foreground due to their ecologically friendly nature and new technologies for cores production and new binder systems were developed. Basically these binder systems are modified alkali silicates and therefore they carry some well-known unfavourable properties with their usage. To compensate these disadvantages, the binder systems are working with additives which are most often in powder form and are added in the moulding material. This paper deals with decoring behaviour of different moulding sands as well as the influence of chosen additives on knock-out properties in laboratory terms. For this purpose, specific methods of specimen production are described. Developed methods are then used to compare decoring behaviour of chosen sands and binder systems.

Comparison of group-based outpatient physiotherapy with usual care after total knee replacement: a feasibility study for a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Artz, Neil; Dixon, Samantha; Wylde, Vikki; Marques, Elsa; Beswick, Andrew D; Lenguerrand, Erik; Blom, Ashley W; Gooberman-Hill, Rachael

2017-04-01

To evaluate the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial comparing group-based outpatient physiotherapy with usual care in patients following total knee replacement. A feasibility study for a randomized controlled trial. One secondary-care hospital orthopaedic centre, Bristol, UK. A total of 46 participants undergoing primary total knee replacement. The intervention group were offered six group-based exercise sessions after surgery. The usual care group received standard postoperative care. Participants were not blinded to group allocation. Feasibility was assessed by recruitment, reasons for non-participation, attendance, and completion rates of study questionnaires that included the Lower Extremity Functional Scale and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score. Recruitment rate was 37%. Five patients withdrew or were no longer eligible to participate. Intervention attendance was high (73%) and 84% of group participants reported they were 'very satisfied' with the exercises. Return of study questionnaires at six months was lower in the usual care (75%) than in the intervention group (100%). Mean (standard deviation) Lower Extremity Functional Scale scores at six months were 45.0 (20.8) in the usual care and 57.8 (15.2) in the intervention groups. Recruitment and retention of participants in this feasibility study was good. Group-based physiotherapy was acceptable to participants. Questionnaire return rates were lower in the usual care group, but might be enhanced by telephone follow-up. The Lower Extremity Functional Scale had high responsiveness and completion rates. Using this outcome measure, 256 participants would be required in a full-scale randomized controlled trial.

Blocked Randomization with Randomly Selected Block Sizes

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Jimmy Efird

2010-12-01

Full Text Available When planning a randomized clinical trial, careful consideration must be given to how participants are selected for various arms of a study. Selection and accidental bias may occur when participants are not assigned to study groups with equal probability. A simple random allocation scheme is a process by which each participant has equal likelihood of being assigned to treatment versus referent groups. However, by chance an unequal number of individuals may be assigned to each arm of the study and thus decrease the power to detect statistically significant differences between groups. Block randomization is a commonly used technique in clinical trial design to reduce bias and achieve balance in the allocation of participants to treatment arms, especially when the sample size is small. This method increases the probability that each arm will contain an equal number of individuals by sequencing participant assignments by block. Yet still, the allocation process may be predictable, for example, when the investigator is not blind and the block size is fixed. This paper provides an overview of blocked randomization and illustrates how to avoid selection bias by using random block sizes.

Fuzzy classification of phantom parent groups in an animal model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fikse Freddy

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genetic evaluation models often include genetic groups to account for unequal genetic level of animals with unknown parentage. The definition of phantom parent groups usually includes a time component (e.g. years. Combining several time periods to ensure sufficiently large groups may create problems since all phantom parents in a group are considered contemporaries. Methods To avoid the downside of such distinct classification, a fuzzy logic approach is suggested. A phantom parent can be assigned to several genetic groups, with proportions between zero and one that sum to one. Rules were presented for assigning coefficients to the inverse of the relationship matrix for fuzzy-classified genetic groups. This approach was illustrated with simulated data from ten generations of mass selection. Observations and pedigree records were randomly deleted. Phantom parent groups were defined on the basis of gender and generation number. In one scenario, uncertainty about generation of birth was simulated for some animals with unknown parents. In the distinct classification, one of the two possible generations of birth was randomly chosen to assign phantom parents to genetic groups for animals with simulated uncertainty, whereas the phantom parents were assigned to both possible genetic groups in the fuzzy classification. Results The empirical prediction error variance (PEV was somewhat lower for fuzzy-classified genetic groups. The ranking of animals with unknown parents was more correct and less variable across replicates in comparison with distinct genetic groups. In another scenario, each phantom parent was assigned to three groups, one pertaining to its gender, and two pertaining to the first and last generation, with proportion depending on the (true generation of birth. Due to the lower number of groups, the empirical PEV of breeding values was smaller when genetic groups were fuzzy-classified. Conclusion Fuzzy

Multicomponent interdisciplinary group intervention for self-management of fibromyalgia: a mixed-methods randomized controlled trial.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia Bourgault

Full Text Available This study evaluated the efficacy of the PASSAGE Program, a structured multicomponent interdisciplinary group intervention for the self-management of FMS.A mixed-methods randomized controlled trial (intervention (INT vs. waitlist (WL was conducted with patients suffering from FMS. Data were collected at baseline (T0, at the end of the intervention (T1, and 3 months later (T2. The primary outcome was change in pain intensity (0-10. Secondary outcomes were fibromyalgia severity, pain interference, sleep quality, pain coping strategies, depression, health-related quality of life, patient global impression of change (PGIC, and perceived pain relief. Qualitative group interviews with a subset of patients were also conducted. Complete data from T0 to T2 were available for 43 patients.The intervention had a statistically significant impact on the three PGIC measures. At the end of the PASSAGE Program, the percentages of patients who perceived overall improvement in their pain levels, functioning and quality of life were significantly higher in the INT Group (73%, 55%, 77% respectively than in the WL Group (8%, 12%, 20%. The same differences were observed 3 months post-intervention (Intervention group: 62%, 43%, 38% vs Waitlist Group: 13%, 13%, 9%. The proportion of patients who reported ≥ 50% pain relief was also significantly higher in the INT Group at the end of the intervention (36% vs 12% and 3 months post-intervention (33% vs 4%. Results of the qualitative analysis were in line with the quantitative findings regarding the efficacy of the intervention. The improvement, however, was not reflected in the primary outcome and other secondary outcome measures.The PASSAGE Program was effective in helping FMS patients gain a sense of control over their symptoms. We suggest including PGIC in future clinical trials on FMS as they appear to capture important aspects of the patients' experience.International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number

Group Singing as a Therapy during Diabetes Training--A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Groener, J B; Neus, I; Kopf, S; Hartmann, M; Schanz, J; Kliemank, E; Wetekam, B; Kihm, L; Fleming, T; Herzog, W; Nawroth, P P

2015-11-01

Comprehensive diabetes treatment has been shown to reduce quality of life in diabetic patients. However, there is evidence to suggest that group singing can have positive effects on quality of life in various clinical settings. In this randomized controlled pilot study, the effect of singing as a therapy to reduce stress and improve quality of life was investigated in insulin-dependent diabetic patients, undergoing a lifestyle intervention program. Patients from the singing group felt less discontented following treatment. This effect, however, was lost after 3 months. No effect on serum cortisol and plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels could be seen when comparing the singing group with the control group, although reduced levels of ACTH and cortisol 3 days after treatment could be found and were still present after 3 months within the group of patients who undertook singing as a therapy. Singing led to an increase in bodyweight, which interestingly had no effect on glucose control or methylglyoxal levels. Therefore, singing during a lifestyle intervention program for insulin-dependent diabetic patients had a short lasting and weak effect on patients' mood without affecting glucose control, but no significant effect on stress related hormones. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Random Numbers and Monte Carlo Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Scherer, Philipp O. J.

Many-body problems often involve the calculation of integrals of very high dimension which cannot be treated by standard methods. For the calculation of thermodynamic averages Monte Carlo methods are very useful which sample the integration volume at randomly chosen points. After summarizing some basic statistics, we discuss algorithms for the generation of pseudo-random numbers with given probability distribution which are essential for all Monte Carlo methods. We show how the efficiency of Monte Carlo integration can be improved by sampling preferentially the important configurations. Finally the famous Metropolis algorithm is applied to classical many-particle systems. Computer experiments visualize the central limit theorem and apply the Metropolis method to the traveling salesman problem.

Changes in work affect in response to lunchtime walking in previously physically inactive employees: A randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C; Loughren, E A; Kinnafick, F-E; Taylor, I M; Duda, J L; Fox, K R

2015-12-01

Physical activity may regulate affective experiences at work, but controlled studies are needed and there has been a reliance on retrospective accounts of experience. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of lunchtime walks on momentary work affect at the individual and group levels. Physically inactive employees (N = 56; M age = 47.68; 92.86% female) from a large university in the UK were randomized to immediate treatment or delayed treatment (DT). The DT participants completed both a control and intervention period. During the intervention period, participants partook in three weekly 30-min lunchtime group-led walks for 10 weeks. They completed twice daily affective reports at work (morning and afternoon) using mobile phones on two randomly chosen days per week. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the data. Lunchtime walks improved enthusiasm, relaxation, and nervousness at work, although the pattern of results differed depending on whether between-group or within-person analyses were conducted. The intervention was effective in changing some affective states and may have broader implications for public health and workplace performance. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Assessment of chosen cognitive functions in children and adolescents with primary headaches].

Science.gov (United States)

Zgorzalewicz, Małgorzata; Mojs, Ewa

2006-01-01

Foundations and aim of the study: Right development of cognitive functions is one of the basal factors, which determines good realization of the developmental tasks, for example achievement in education. Primary headaches especially migraine can be one of the important factor disturbing cognitive functioning of children and adolescents. The aim of the study was to estimate the level of some chosen aspects of cognitive and intellectual functioning of children and adolescents with primary headaches: migraine and tension type (TTH). 90 patients with migraine and 35 with TTH were diagnosed according to the classification of the International Headache Society (IHS 2004). Both groups matched each other according to distribution and averages in sex, age, age of the disease occurrence and time of its duration. The methods used in the study were Raven Test (intelligence), Benton Visual Retention Test form C and D, method A (short term memory for visual modality), Ten Words Test as a shortened version of RAVLT (abilities of learning processes and memory), Loretta Bender Gestalt Test and Bender-Koppitz Test (visuomotor integration and visual perception). The significant difference in the level of intelligence was stated between the examined groups. Children with migraine, especially without aura, in comparison to peers with TTH reached better results in Raven Test. The analysis of the results of the Benton Test in the number of correct and incorrect reproduced tables shows that children with migraine have poorer results. The percentage of correct answers in area of the level of visuomotor intergration was lower in the group with migraine (64%) than in the group with TTH (76%). Patients with migraine mainly with aura (41%) got lower results in Ten Word Test, which estimates the sum of gained results in five trials, and a percentage of correct answers in comparison to the group with TTH (60%). Patients with migraine in comparison to children with TTH show important disturbances

Social support and education groups for single mothers: a randomized controlled trial of a community-based program.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipman, Ellen L; Boyle, Michael H

2005-12-06

Members of families headed by single mothers are at increased risk of psychosocial disadvantage and mental health problems. We assessed the effect of a community-based program of social support and education groups for single mothers of young children on maternal well-being and parenting. We recruited 116 single mothers of children 3 to 9 years old through community advertisements. Eligible mothers were randomly assigned either to participate in a 10-week program of group sessions (1.5 hours per week) offering social support and education, with a parallel children's activity group, or to receive a standard list of community resources and the option to participate in group sessions at the end of the follow-up period. Interviewers blinded to the randomization collected assessment data from all mothers at baseline and at 3 follow-up visits (immediately after the intervention and at 3 and 6 months after the intervention). Outcome measures were self-reported mood, self-esteem, social support and parenting. Between February 2000 and April 2003, the program was offered to 9 groups of single mothers. Most of the mothers in the trial reported high levels of financial and mental health problems. In the short term (after the intervention), mothers in the intervention group had improved scores for mood (p effect = 0.55) and self-esteem (p effect = 0.29) compared with mothers in the control group; scores for the other 2 measures did not differ between the groups. Growth curve analysis of program effects over the follow-up period showed improvement in all 4 outcomes, with no significant difference between the intervention and control groups. This community-based program of group sessions offering social support and education to low-income single mothers had positive short-term effects on mood and self-esteem but not on social support and parenting. Longer follow-up showed attenuation of these effects.

Group Milieu in systemic and psychodynamic group therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lau, Marianne Engelbrecht; Kristensen, Ellids

Objectives: A recent meta-analysis also concluded that psychotherapeutic approaches are beneficial for adult with a history of CSA and maintained for at least six months follow-up. The results suggest that different characteristics of therapy moderate the therapeutic outcome. We found in a random......Objectives: A recent meta-analysis also concluded that psychotherapeutic approaches are beneficial for adult with a history of CSA and maintained for at least six months follow-up. The results suggest that different characteristics of therapy moderate the therapeutic outcome. We found...... in a randomized study of systemic versus psychodynamic group therapy, that the short-term outcome for patients who received systemic group psychotherapy was significantly better than the outcome for patients who received psychodynamic group psychotherapy. The current study assessed the group milieu in both groups....... Methods: This randomized prospective study included 106 women: 52 assigned to psychodynamic group psychotherapy and 54 assigned to systemic group psychotherapy. The Group Environment Scale (GES) was filled in the mid phase of therapy and analysed in three dimensions and 10 subscales. Results: The systemic...

Implementation KMES Quality system for acquisition and processing data in chosen foundry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Sika

2008-08-01

Full Text Available In the paper, main assumptions, algorithms and functions of author’s KMES Quality system are discussed. Its working version is tested in chosen foundry by near 2 years. This system is applied to enlarge the use of chosen technological data accessible during foundry processes. The data can be introduced by means of keyboard directly in the fields (windows present on the PC screen according to program commands, instead of report-manuscripts containing measured results, or from the automated measurement recording system by direct data import to KMES Quality system. In the paper, a way of technological data acquisition with their further integration into main foundry databases and their processing, with taking into consideration e.g. kind of casting assortment, current time, sequences of measurements, are presented. Also the capabilities of linking KMES Quality system with SAP R/3 system existing in this foundry useful to quality assurance is show.

Freely Chosen Index Finger Tapping Frequency Is Increased in Repeated Bouts of Tapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Ernst Albin; Ebbesen, Brian Duborg; Dalsgaard, Ane; Mora-Jensen, Mark Holten; Rasmussen, Jakob

2015-01-01

Healthy individuals (n = 40) performed index finger tapping at freely chosen frequency during repeated bouts and before and after near-maximal muscle action consisting of 3 intense flexions of the index finger metacarpal phalangeal joint. One experiment showed, unexpectedly, that a bout of tapping increased the tapping frequency in the subsequent bout. Thus, a cumulating increase of 8.2 ± 5.4% (p tapping frequency was still increased in consecutive bouts when rest periods were extended to 20 min. Besides, near-maximal muscle activation, followed by 5 min rest, did not affect the tapping frequency. In conclusion, freely chosen tapping frequency was increased in repeated bouts of tapping, which were separated by 10-20 min rest periods. The observed phenomenon is suggested to be termed repeated bout rate enhancement.

The impact of group music therapy on depression and cognition in elderly persons with dementia: a randomized controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Hsin; Yang, Chyn-Yng; Lin, Yu; Ou, Keng-Liang; Lee, Tso-Ying; O'Brien, Anthony Paul; Chou, Kuei-Ru

2014-04-01

The aims of this study were to determine the effectiveness of group music therapy for improving depression and delaying the deterioration of cognitive functions in elderly persons with dementia. The study had a prospective, parallel-group design with permuted-block randomization. Older persons with dementia (N = 104) were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. The experimental group received 12 sessions of group music therapy (two 30-min sessions per week for 6 weeks), and the control group received usual care. Data were collected 4 times: (1) 1 week before the intervention, (2) the 6th session of the intervention, (3) the 12th session of the intervention, and (4) 1 month after the final session. Group music therapy reduced depression in persons with dementia. Improvements in depression occurred immediately after music therapy and were apparent throughout the course of therapy. The cortisol level did not significantly decrease after the group music therapy. Cognitive function significantly improved slightly at the 6th session, the 12th session, and 1 month after the sessions ended; in particular, short-term recall function improved. The group music therapy intervention had the greatest impact in subjects with mild and moderate dementia. The group music intervention is a noninvasive and inexpensive therapy that appeared to reduce elders' depression. It also delayed the deterioration of cognitive functions, particularly short-term recall function. Group music therapy may be an appropriate intervention among elderly persons with mild and moderate dementia.

Group psychotherapy for eating disorders: A randomized clinical trial and a pre-treatment moderator and mediator analyses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davidsen, Annika Helgadóttir

disorders in group therapy. We conducted a randomized clinical trial and included 159 adult participants, 156 females and 3 males, diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or eating disorder not otherwise specified according to DSM-IV. Eighty participants were allocated to the experimental...

Patient preference compared with random allocation in short-term psychodynamic supportive psychotherapy with indicated addition of pharmacotherapy for depression.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van, H.L.; Dekker, J.J.M.; Koelen, J.; Kool, S.; van Aalst, G.; Hendriksen, I.J.M.; Peen, J.; Schoevers, R.A.

2009-01-01

Depressed patients randomized to psychotherapy were compared with those who had been chosen for psychotherapy in a treatment algorithm, including addition of an antidepressant in case of early nonresponse. There were no differences between randomized and by-preference patients at baseline in

Demographic Recommendation by means of Group Profile Elicitation Using Speaker Age and Gender Recognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shepstone, Sven Ewan; Tan, Zheng-Hua; Jensen, Søren Holdt

2013-01-01

, which itself is the input to a recommender system. The recommender system finds the content items whose demographics best match the group profile. We tested the effectiveness of the system for several typical home audience configurations. In a survey, users were given a configuration and asked to rate......In this paper we show a new method of using automatic age and gender recognition to recommend a sequence of multimedia items to a home TV audience comprising multiple viewers. Instead of relying on explicitly provided demographic data for each user, we define an audio-based demographic group...... a set of advertisements on how well each advertisement matched the configuration. Unbeknown to the subjects, half of the adverts were recommended using the derived audio demographics and the other half were randomly chosen. The recommended adverts received a significantly higher median rating of 7...

Assessing differences in groups randomized by recruitment chain in a respondent-driven sample of Seattle-area injection drug users.

Science.gov (United States)

Burt, Richard D; Thiede, Hanne

2014-11-01

Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is a form of peer-based study recruitment and analysis that incorporates features designed to limit and adjust for biases in traditional snowball sampling. It is being widely used in studies of hidden populations. We report an empirical evaluation of RDS's consistency and variability, comparing groups recruited contemporaneously, by identical methods and using identical survey instruments. We randomized recruitment chains from the RDS-based 2012 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance survey of injection drug users in the Seattle area into two groups and compared them in terms of sociodemographic characteristics, drug-associated risk behaviors, sexual risk behaviors, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status and HIV testing frequency. The two groups differed in five of the 18 variables examined (P ≤ .001): race (e.g., 60% white vs. 47%), gender (52% male vs. 67%), area of residence (32% downtown Seattle vs. 44%), an HIV test in the previous 12 months (51% vs. 38%). The difference in serologic HIV status was particularly pronounced (4% positive vs. 18%). In four further randomizations, differences in one to five variables attained this level of significance, although the specific variables involved differed. We found some material differences between the randomized groups. Although the variability of the present study was less than has been reported in serial RDS surveys, these findings indicate caution in the interpretation of RDS results. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MendelianRandomization: an R package for performing Mendelian randomization analyses using summarized data.

Science.gov (United States)

Yavorska, Olena O; Burgess, Stephen

2017-12-01

MendelianRandomization is a software package for the R open-source software environment that performs Mendelian randomization analyses using summarized data. The core functionality is to implement the inverse-variance weighted, MR-Egger and weighted median methods for multiple genetic variants. Several options are available to the user, such as the use of robust regression, fixed- or random-effects models and the penalization of weights for genetic variants with heterogeneous causal estimates. Extensions to these methods, such as allowing for variants to be correlated, can be chosen if appropriate. Graphical commands allow summarized data to be displayed in an interactive graph, or the plotting of causal estimates from multiple methods, for comparison. Although the main method of data entry is directly by the user, there is also an option for allowing summarized data to be incorporated from the PhenoScanner database of genotype-phenotype associations. We hope to develop this feature in future versions of the package. The R software environment is available for download from [https://www.r-project.org/]. The MendelianRandomization package can be downloaded from the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) within R, or directly from [https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/MendelianRandomization/]. Both R and the MendelianRandomization package are released under GNU General Public Licenses (GPL-2|GPL-3). © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

Assessing the germplasm of Laminaria (phaeophyceae) with random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yingjun; Zou, Yuping; Wang, Xiaodong; Zheng, Zhiguo; Zhang, Daming; Duan, Delin

2003-06-01

Eighteen gametophytes including L. japonica, L. ochotensis and L. longissima, were verified with random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. Eighteen ten-base primers were chosen from 100 primers selected for final amplification test. Among the total of 205 bands amplified, 181 (88.3%) were polymorphic. The genetic distance among different strains ranged from 0.072 to 0.391. The dendrogram constructed by unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic (UPGMA) method showed that the female and male gametophytes of the same cell lines could be grouped in pairs respectively. It indicated that RAPD analysis could be used not only to distinguish different strains of Laminaria, but also to distinguish male and female gametophyte within the same cell lines. There is ambiguous systematic relationship if judged merely by the present data. It seems that the use of RAPD marker is limited to elucidation of the phylogenetic relationship among the species of Laminaria.

Synthesis of Polystyrene-Based Random Copolymers with Balanced Number of Basic or Acidic Functional Groups

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dimitrov, Ivaylo; Jankova Atanasova, Katja; Hvilsted, Søren

2010-01-01

for the functionalization were applied. The first one involved direct functionalization of the template backbone through alkylation of the phenolic groups with suitable reagents. The second modification approach was based on "click" chemistry, where the introduction of alkyne groups onto the template backbone was followed......Pairs of polystyrene-based random copolymers with balanced number of pendant basic or acidic groups were synthesized utilizing the template strategy. The same poly[(4-hydroxystyrene)-ran-styrene] was used as a template backbone for modification. Two different synthetic approaches...... by copper-catalyzed 1,3 cycloaddition of aliphatic sulfonate- or amine-contaning azides. Both synthetic approaches proved to be highly efficient as evidenced by H-1-NMR analyses. The thermal properties were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermal gravimetric analyses and were influenced...

Influence of random setup error on dose distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhai Zhenyu

2008-01-01

Objective: To investigate the influence of random setup error on dose distribution in radiotherapy and determine the margin from ITV to PTV. Methods: A random sample approach was used to simulate the fields position in target coordinate system. Cumulative effect of random setup error was the sum of dose distributions of all individual treatment fractions. Study of 100 cumulative effects might get shift sizes of 90% dose point position. Margins from ITV to PTV caused by random setup error were chosen by 95% probability. Spearman's correlation was used to analyze the influence of each factor. Results: The average shift sizes of 90% dose point position was 0.62, 1.84, 3.13, 4.78, 6.34 and 8.03 mm if random setup error was 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 mm,respectively. Univariate analysis showed the size of margin was associated only by the size of random setup error. Conclusions: Margin of ITV to PTV is 1.2 times random setup error for head-and-neck cancer and 1.5 times for thoracic and abdominal cancer. Field size, energy and target depth, unlike random setup error, have no relation with the size of the margin. (authors)

Depressive symptoms and gestational length among pregnant adolescents: Cluster randomized control trial of CenteringPregnancy® plus group prenatal care.

Science.gov (United States)

Felder, Jennifer N; Epel, Elissa; Lewis, Jessica B; Cunningham, Shayna D; Tobin, Jonathan N; Rising, Sharon Schindler; Thomas, Melanie; Ickovics, Jeannette R

2017-06-01

Depressive symptoms are associated with preterm birth among adults. Pregnant adolescents have high rates of depressive symptoms and low rates of treatment; however, few interventions have targeted this vulnerable group. Objectives are to: (a) examine impact of CenteringPregnancy® Plus group prenatal care on perinatal depressive symptoms compared to individual prenatal care; and (b) determine effects of depressive symptoms on gestational age and preterm birth among pregnant adolescents. This cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted in 14 community health centers and hospitals in New York City. Clinical sites were randomized to receive standard individual prenatal care (n = 7) or CenteringPregnancy® Plus group prenatal care (n = 7). Pregnant adolescents (ages 14-21, N = 1,135) completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale during pregnancy (second and third trimesters) and postpartum (6 and 12 months). Gestational age was obtained from medical records, based on ultrasound dating. Intention to treat analyses were used to examine objectives. Adolescents at clinical sites randomized to CenteringPregnancy® Plus experienced greater reductions in perinatal depressive symptoms compared to those at clinical sites randomized to individual care (p = .003). Increased depressive symptoms from second to third pregnancy trimester were associated with shorter gestational age at delivery and preterm birth (<37 weeks gestation). Third trimester depressive symptoms were also associated with shorter gestational age and preterm birth. All p < .05. Pregnant adolescents should be screened for depressive symptoms prior to third trimester. Group prenatal care may be an effective nonpharmacological option for reducing depressive symptoms among perinatal adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Feedback versus no feedback to improve patient outcome in group psychotherapy for eating disorders (F-EAT): A randomized clinical trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davidsen, Annika Helgadóttir; Waaddegaard, Mette; Poulsen, Stig Bernt

of continuous feedback on adherence and outcome in group psychotherapy. Methods/design: The trial is set up in a randomized design for outpatients diagnosed with bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or eating disorder not otherwise specified (DSM-IV). They are allocated 1:1 to the experimental group...

The Effectiveness of a Group Triple P with Chinese Parents Who Have a Child with Developmental Disabilities: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Cynthia; Fan, Angel; Sanders, Matthew R.

2013-01-01

The study examined the effectiveness of Group Triple P, a Level 4 variant of the Triple P multilevel system of parenting support, with Chinese parents who had a preschool aged child with a developmental disability, using randomized controlled trial design. Participants (Intervention group: 42; Waitlist Control group: 39) completed measures on…

Heterogenic control groups in randomized, controlled, analgesic trials of total hip and knee arthroplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Karlsen, Anders P; Mathiesen, Ole; Dahl, Jørgen B

2018-03-01

Postoperative analgesic interventions are often tested adjunct to basic non-opioid analgesics in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Consequently, treatment in control groups, and possible assay sensitivity, differs between trials. We hypothesized that postoperative opioid requirements and pain intensities vary between different control groups in analgesic trials. Control groups from RCTs investigating analgesic interventions after total hip and knee arthroplasty were categorized based on standardized basic analgesic treatment. Morphine consumption 0 to 24 hours postoperatively, and resting pain scores at 6 and 24 hours for subgroups of basic treatments, were compared with ANOVA. In an additional analysis, we compared pain and opioid requirements in trials where a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) was administered as an intervention with trial where NSAID was administered in a control group. We included 171 RCTs employing 28 different control groups with large variability in pain scores and opioid requirements. Four types of control groups (comprising 78 trials) were eligible for subgroup comparisons. These subgroups received "opioid" alone, "NSAID + opioid", "acetaminophen + opioid", or "NSAID + acetaminophen + opioid", respectively. Morphine consumption and pain scores varied substantially between these groups, with no consistent superior efficacy in any subgroup. Additionally, trials administering NSAID as an intervention demonstrated lower pain scores and opioid requirements than trials where NSAID was administered in a control group. Analgesic treatment in RCT control groups varies considerably. Control groups receiving various combinations of opioid, NSAID and acetaminophen did not differ consistently in pain and opioid requirements. Pain and opioid requirements were lower in trials administering NSAID as an intervention compared with trials administering NSAID in a control group.

Hemostatic efficacy of TachoSil in liver resection compared with argon beam coagulator treatment: An open, randomized, prospective, multicenter, parallel-group trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fischer, Lars; Seiler, Christoph M.; Broelsch, Christoph E.

2011-01-01

surgical trial with 2 parallel groups. Patients were eligible for intra-operative randomization after elective resection of ≥1 liver segment and primary hemostasis. The primary end point was the time to hemostasis after starting the randomized intervention to obtain secondaty hemostasis. Secondary end...

Headache : The placebo effects in the control groups in randomized clinical trials; An analysis of systematic reviews

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Groot, Femke M.; Voogt-Bode, Annieke; Passchier, Jan; Berger, Marjolein Y.; Koes, Bart W.; Verhagen, Arianne P.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to describe the effects in the placebo and "no treatment" arms in trials with headache patients. Method: This is a secondary analysis of randomized controlled trials from 8 systematic reviews and selected trials with a "no treatment" or placebo control group.

A Social Media Peer Group for Mothers To Prevent Obesity from Infancy: The Grow2Gether Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiks, Alexander G; Gruver, Rachel S; Bishop-Gilyard, Chanelle T; Shults, Justine; Virudachalam, Senbagam; Suh, Andrew W; Gerdes, Marsha; Kalra, Gurpreet K; DeRusso, Patricia A; Lieberman, Alexandra; Weng, Daniel; Elovitz, Michal A; Berkowitz, Robert I; Power, Thomas J

2017-10-01

Few studies have addressed obesity prevention among low-income families whose infants are at increased obesity risk. We tested a Facebook peer-group intervention for low-income mothers to foster behaviors promoting healthy infant growth. In this randomized controlled trial, 87 pregnant women (Medicaid insured, BMI ≥25 kg/m 2 ) were randomized to the Grow2Gether intervention or text message appointment reminders. Grow2Gether participants joined a private Facebook group of 9-13 women from 2 months before delivery until infant age 9 months. A psychologist facilitated groups featuring a curriculum of weekly videos addressing feeding, sleep, parenting, and maternal well-being. Feasibility was assessed using the frequency and content of participation, and acceptability using surveys. Maternal beliefs and behaviors and infant growth were assessed at birth, 2, 4, 6, and 9 months. Differences in infant growth between study arms were explored. We conducted intention-to-treat analyses using quasi-least-squares regression. Eighty-eight percent (75/85) of intervention participants (42% (36/85) food insecure, 88% (75/85) black) reported the group was helpful. Participants posted 30 times/group/week on average. At 9 months, the intervention group had significant improvement in feeding behaviors (Infant Feeding Style Questionnaire) compared to the control group (p = 0.01, effect size = 0.45). Intervention group mothers were significantly less likely to pressure infants to finish food and, at age 6 months, give cereal in the bottle. Differences were not observed for other outcomes, including maternal feeding beliefs or infant weight-for-length. A social media peer-group intervention was engaging and significantly impacted certain feeding behaviors in families with infants at high risk of obesity.

Effectiveness of Cognitive and Transactional Analysis Group Therapy on Improving Conflict-Solving Skill

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bahram A. Ghanbari-Hashemabadi

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Today, learning the communication skills such as conflict solving is very important. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficiency of cognitive and transactional analysis group therapy on improving the conflict-solving skill.Materials and Method: This study is an experimental study with pretest-posttest and control group. Forty-five clients who were referring to the counseling and psychological services center of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad were chosen based on screening method. In addition, they were randomly divided into three equal groups: control group (15 participants, cognitive experimental group (15 participants and transactional analysis group (15 participants. Conflict-solving questionnaire was used to collect data and the intervention methods were cognitive and transactional analysis group therapy that was administrated during 8 weekly two-hour sessions. Mean and standard deviation were used for data analysis in the descriptive level and One-Way ANOVA method was used at the inference level.Results: The results of the study suggest that the conflict-solving skills in the two experimental groups were significantly increased. Conclusion: The finding of this research is indicative of the fact that both cognitive and transactional analysis group therapy could be an effective intervention for improving conflict-solving skills

Parent Training with High-Risk Immigrant Chinese Families: A Pilot Group Randomized Trial Yielding Practice-Based Evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Anna S.; Fung, Joey J.; Ho, Lorinda Y.; Liu, Lisa L.; Gudino, Omar G.

2011-01-01

We studied the efficacy and implementation outcomes of a culturally responsive parent training (PT) program. Fifty-four Chinese American parents participated in a wait-list controlled group randomized trial (32 immediate treatment, 22 delayed treatment) of a 14-week intervention designed to address the needs of high-risk immigrant families.…

The use of load patterns to identify residential customers in a chosen area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michalik, G.; Lech, M.; Mielczarski, W. [Monash Univ., Clayton, VIC (Australia). Centre for Electrical Power Engineering

1995-12-31

Information on customers` categories and energy use patterns is a basis for the development of any Demand Side Management program. This paper presents an application of energy consumption patterns to identification of customers in a chosen area. Customers have been segmented into four main categories with six subgroups in each category. A total pattern of energy use can be achieved by the combination of characteristic patterns for each subgroup with multiplication by the number of customers in each subgroup. The paper proposes to apply characteristic patterns developed and nonlinear programming techniques to identify customers in a chosen area from patterns measured at distribution feeders. The procedure can be applied as an alternative to surveys and measurements at the mains of particular customers but may also be implemented as an accompanying system to verify results from other procedures of customer identification. (author). 1 tab., 6 figs., 4 refs.

A 1-year videoconferencing-based psychoeducational group intervention following bariatric surgery: results of a randomized controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wild, Beate; Hünnemeyer, Katharina; Sauer, Helene; Hain, Bernhard; Mack, Isabelle; Schellberg, Dieter; Müller-Stich, Beat Peter; Weiner, Rudolf; Meile, Tobias; Rudofsky, Gottfried; Königsrainer, Alfred; Zipfel, Stephan; Herzog, Wolfgang; Teufel, Martin

2015-01-01

For severely obese patients, bariatric surgery has been recommended as an effective therapy. The Bariataric Surgery and Education (BaSE) study aimed to assess the efficacy of a videoconferencing-based psychoeducational group intervention in patients after bariatric surgery. The BaSE study is a randomized, controlled multicenter clinical trial involving 117 patients undergoing bariatric surgery (mean preoperative body mass index [BMI] 49.9 kg/m(2), SD 6.4). Patients were enrolled between May 2009 and November 2012 and were randomly assigned to receive either conventional postsurgical visits or, in addition, a videoconferencing-based 1-year group program. Primary outcome measures were weight in kilograms, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and general self-efficacy (GSE). Secondary outcome measures were depression symptoms and eating behavior. 94% of the patients completed the study. Mean weight loss for all patients was 45.9 kg (SD 16.4) 1 year after surgery (mean excess weight loss [EWL] 63%). Intention-to-treat analyses revealed no differences in weight loss, EWL, HRQOL, or self-efficacy between study groups at 1 year after surgery. However, patients with clinically significant depression symptoms (CSD) at baseline assigned to the intervention group (n = 29) had a significantly better HRQOL (P = .03), lower depression scores (P = .02), and a trend for a better EWL (.06) 1 year after surgery compared with the control group (n = 20). We could not prove the efficacy of the group program for the whole study sample. However, results indicate that the intervention is effective for the important subgroup of patients with CSD. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Statistics of stationary points of random finite polynomial potentials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mehta, Dhagash; Niemerg, Matthew; Sun, Chuang

2015-01-01

The stationary points (SPs) of the potential energy landscapes (PELs) of multivariate random potentials (RPs) have found many applications in many areas of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematical Biology. However, there are few reliable methods available which can find all the SPs accurately. Hence, one has to rely on indirect methods such as Random Matrix theory. With a combination of the numerical polynomial homotopy continuation method and a certification method, we obtain all the certified SPs of the most general polynomial RP for each sample chosen from the Gaussian distribution with mean 0 and variance 1. While obtaining many novel results for the finite size case of the RP, we also discuss the implications of our results on mathematics of random systems and string theory landscapes. (paper)

Statistics about elliptic curves over finite prime fields

OpenAIRE

Gekeler, Ernst-Ulrich

2006-01-01

We derive formulas for the probabilities of various properties (cyclicity, squarefreeness, generation by random points) of the point groups of randomly chosen elliptic curves over random prime fields.

Personality disorder moderates outcome in short- and long-term group analytic psychotherapy: A randomized clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorentzen, Steinar; Ruud, Torleif; Fjeldstad, Anette; Høglend, Per A

2015-06-01

In a randomized clinical trial, short- and long-term psychodynamic group psychotherapy (STG and LTG, respectively) schedules were equally effective for the 'typical' patient during a 3-year study period. Although several studies have reported good effects for patients with personality disorders (PD) in diverse forms of psychotherapy, the significance of treatment duration is unclear. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that PD patients would improve more during and after LTG than STG. A randomized, longitudinal, prospective study contrasting the outcomes during and after short- and long-term dynamic group psychotherapies. One hundred and sixty-seven outpatients with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, or PD were randomized to STG or LTG (respectively, 20 or 80 weekly sessions of 90 min each). Outcome measures are as follows: symptoms (SCL-90-R), interpersonal problems (IIP-C), and psychosocial functioning (GAF split version: GAF-Symptom and GAF-Function). PD pathology (number of PD criteria items) was selected a priori as a putative moderator of treatment effects. Change during the 3-year study period was assessed using linear mixed models. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT 00021417. Our hypothesis was supported, as patients with PD improved significantly more regarding all outcome variables in LTG than STG. For patients without PD, the rate of change was similar across 3 years; however, the rate of change in symptoms and interpersonal problems was higher in STG during the first 6 months. The effectiveness of LTG is higher for patients with co-morbid PD. Patients without PD do not appear to experience additional gain from LTG. Clinical implications: LTG demonstrates better effectiveness than STG for patients with personality disorder co-morbidity (PD). Patients without PD do not appear to experience additional gain from attending LTG. Correct initial allocation to treatment duration may prevent disruptive breaks in relationships and lead to both

Climate change impacts on chosen activities from the energy sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonte Hernandez, Aramis; Rivero Vega, Roger

2006-01-01

The present work, results of a study carried out about the possible impact of climate change on the energy sector in the province Camaguey are shown. First of all, the main activities in companies, utilities, and farms related to the most significant energy consumption were chosen in order to model corresponding equivalent fuel consumption. Impacts were determined taking into account differences between present and future consumptions for each kind of energy. In developed countries, this kind of work is done using well-known empirical-statistical models, which usually require a lot of data at a nation-wide scale, but to attempt it in an undeveloped country demands the use of specific methodology, which in this case was non-existent and required us to create it. This resulted in a carefully posed question since we had to take into consideration that the spatial scale is only that of a province, and so it was necessary, above all, to study specific characteristics of provincial fuel consumption. We used the Magic-Scengen system and SRES scenarios, and outputs of general circulation models like HadCM2 to obtain values of chosen climatic variables for use in energy consumption regression models, previously developed for each kind of activity in the corresponding companies, firm, and facilities included in the present research. It made possible to estimate energy consumption in each activity at the selected time periods centered at 2020, 2050, and 2080. The study shows that impact could rise the consumption by 2,5% of the present energy level in this territory

Improving insomnia in primary care patients: A randomized controlled trial of nurse-led group treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandlund, Christina; Hetta, Jerker; Nilsson, Gunnar H; Ekstedt, Mirjam; Westman, Jeanette

2017-07-01

Insomnia is a common health problem, and most people who seek help for insomnia consult primary care. In primary care, insomnia treatment typically consists of hypnotic drugs, although cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is the recommended treatment. However, such treatment is currently available to few primary care patients. To evaluate the effects of a group treatment program for insomnia led by nurses in primary care. were the Insomnia Severity Index, a 2-week sleep diary, and a questionnaire on frequency of hypnotic drug use. A randomized controlled trial with pre- and post-treatment assessment and a 1-year post-treatment follow-up of the intervention group. Routine primary health care; 7 primary care centers in Stockholm, Sweden. Patients consulting primary care for insomnia were assessed for eligibility. To be included, patients had to have insomnia disorder and be 18 years or older. Patients were excluded if they if they worked night shifts or had severe untreated somatic and/or mental illness, bipolar disorder, or untreated sleep disorder other than insomnia. One-hundred and sixty-five patients 20 to 90 years were included. Most were women, and many had co-existing somatic and/or mental health problems. The post-treatment dropout rate was 20%. The intervention was a nurse-led group treatment for insomnia based on the techniques of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. The nurses had 2days of training in how to deliver the program. Ninety patients were randomized to the intervention and 75 to the control group (treatment as usual). Data from 82 in the intervention and 71 in the control group were analyzed in accordance with intention-to-treat principles. Fifty-four of the 72 in the intervention group who participated in the group treatment program were followed up after 1year. Mean Insomnia Severity Index score decreased significantly from 18.4 to 10.7 after group treatment but remained unchanged after treatment as usual (17.0 to 16.6). The effect

Specific collaborative group intervention for patients with medically unexplained symptoms in general practice: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefert, R; Kaufmann, C; Wild, B; Schellberg, D; Boelter, R; Faber, R; Szecsenyi, J; Sauer, N; Guthrie, E; Herzog, W

2013-01-01

Patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are frequent in primary care and substantially impaired in their quality of life (QoL). Specific training of general practitioners (GPs) alone did not demonstrate sustained improvement at later follow-up in current reviews. We evaluated a collaborative group intervention. We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial. Thirty-five GPs recruited 304 MUS patients (intervention group: 170; control group: 134). All GPs were trained in diagnosis and management of MUS (control condition). Eighteen randomly selected intervention GPs participated in training for a specific collaborative group intervention. They conducted 10 weekly group sessions and 2 booster meetings in their practices, together with a psychosomatic specialist. Six and 12 months after baseline, QoL was assessed with the Short-Form 36. The primary outcome was the physical composite score (PCS), and the secondary outcome was the mental composite score (MCS). At 12 months, intention-to-treat analyses showed a significant between-group effect for the MCS (p = 0.023) but not for the PCS (p = 0.674). This effect was preceded by a significant reduction of somatic symptom severity (15-item somatic symptom severity scale of the Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-15) at 6 months (p = 0.008) that lacked significance at 12 months (p = 0.078). As additional between-group effects at 12 months, per-protocol analyses showed less health anxiety (Whiteley-7; p = 0.038) and less psychosocial distress (PHQ; p = 0.024); GP visits were significantly (p = 0.042) reduced in the intervention group. Compared to pure GP training, collaborative group intervention achieved a progressive, clinically meaningful improvement in mental but not physical QoL. It could bridge gaps between general practice and mental health care. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

ASSESSMENT OF SURFACE QUALITY FOR CHOSEN MILLING STRATEGIES WHEN PRODUCING RELIEF SURFACES

OpenAIRE

Jan Varga; Jozef Stahovec; Jozef Beno; Marek Vrabeľ

2014-01-01

The paper deals with design and modeling of the relief surfaces that are produced in milling. Modeled and real surface quality is presented for the chosen fragments of the relief surfaces. Fragmentation of the relief surfaces has been made by the surface sampling. Milling strategies are compared with regard to surface formation. Surface quality was checked with regard to applied cutting conditions.

A teachable moment communication process for smoking cessation talk: description of a group randomized clinician-focused intervention

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Flocke Susan A

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Effective clinician-patient communication about health behavior change is one of the most important and most overlooked strategies to promote health and prevent disease. Existing guidelines for specific health behavior counseling have been created and promulgated, but not successfully adopted in primary care practice. Building on work focused on creating effective clinician strategies for prompting health behavior change in the primary care setting, we developed an intervention intended to enhance clinician communication skills to create and act on teachable moments for smoking cessation. In this manuscript, we describe the development and implementation of the Teachable Moment Communication Process (TMCP intervention and the baseline characteristics of a group randomized trial designed to evaluate its effectiveness. Methods/Design This group randomized trial includes thirty-one community-based primary care clinicians practicing in Northeast Ohio and 840 of their adult patients. Clinicians were randomly assigned to receive either the Teachable Moments Communication Process (TMCP intervention for smoking cessation, or the delayed intervention. The TMCP intervention consisted of two, 3-hour educational training sessions including didactic presentation, skill demonstration through video examples, skills practices with standardized patients, and feedback from peers and the trainers. For each clinician enrolled, 12 patients were recruited for two time points. Pre- and post-intervention data from the clinicians, patients and audio-recorded clinician‒patient interactions were collected. At baseline, the two groups of clinicians and their patients were similar with regard to all demographic and practice characteristics examined. Both physician and patient recruitment goals were met, and retention was 96% and 94% respectively. Discussion Findings support the feasibility of training clinicians to use the Teachable Moments

Integrating CHWs as Part of the Team Leading Diabetes Group Visits: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaughan, Elizabeth M; Johnston, Craig A; Cardenas, Victor J; Moreno, Jennette P; Foreyt, John P

2017-12-01

Purpose The purpose of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of integrating Community Health Workers (CHWs) as part of the team leading diabetes group visits. Methods This was a randomized controlled study that integrated CHWs as part of the team leading diabetes group visits for low-income Hispanic adults (n = 50). Group visits met for 3 hours each month for a 6-month duration. Main measures included baseline and 6-month clinical outcomes (ie, A1C, lipids), concordance with 8 standard of care guidelines (ie, screens for cervical, breast, and colon cancer) from the US Preventive Task Force and American Diabetes Association, and participant acceptability. Results Compared to control participants, the intervention group resulted in significantly better clinical outcomes or guideline concordance for the following areas: target A1C levels, retinal eye exams, diabetes foot exams, mammograms, and urine microalbumin. Significantly more individuals in the control group gained weight, whereas a greater number of participants in the intervention group lost weight. Intervention participants found the group visits highly acceptable. Conclusions Integrating CHWs as part a comprehensive diabetes group visit program is a feasible and effective system-level intervention to improve glycemic control and achieve guideline concordance.

The impact of reduced worktime on sleep and perceived stress - a group randomized intervention study using diary data.

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Schiller, Helena; Lekander, Mats; Rajaleid, Kristiina; Hellgren, Carina; Åkerstedt, Torbjörn; Barck-Holst, Peter; Kecklund, Göran

2017-03-01

Objective Insufficient time for recovery between workdays may cause fatigue and disturbed sleep. This study evaluated the impact of an intervention that reduced weekly working hours by 25% on sleep, sleepiness and perceived stress for employees within the public sector. Method Participating workplaces (N=33) were randomized into intervention and control groups. Participants (N=580, 76% women) worked full-time at baseline. The intervention group (N=354) reduced worktime to 75% with preserved salary during 18 months. Data were collected at baseline and after 9 and 18 months follow-up. Sleep quality, sleep duration, sleepiness, perceived stress,and worries and stress at bedtime were measured with diary during one week per data collection. Result A multilevel mixed model showed that compared with the control group, at the 18-month follow-up, the intervention group had improved sleep quality and sleep duration (+23 minutes) and displayed reduced levels of sleepiness, perceived stress, and worries and stress at bedtime on workdays (Psleep length. Effect sizes were small (Cohen's f2sleep quality and worries and stress at bedtime as additional between-group factors did not influence the results. Conclusion A 25% reduction of weekly work hours with retained salary resulted in beneficial effects on sleep, sleepiness and perceived stress both on workdays and days off. These effects were maintained over an 18-month period. This randomized intervention thus indicates that reduced worktime may improve recovery and perceived stress.

Recycling and reuse of chosen kinds of waste materials in a building industry

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Ferek, B.; Harasymiuk, J.; Tyburski, J.

2016-08-01

The article describes the current state of knowledge and practice in Poland concerning recycling as a method of reuse of chosen groups of waste materials in building industry. The recycling of building scraps is imposed by environmental, economic and technological premises. The issue of usage of sewage residues is becoming a problem of ever -growing gravity as the presence of the increasing number of pernicious contaminants makes their utilization for agricultural purposes more and more limited. The strategies of using waste materials on Polish building sites were analyzed. The analysis of predispositions to salvage for a group of traditional materials, such as: timber, steel, building debris, insulation materials, plastics, and on the example of new materials, such as: artificial light aggregates made by appropriate mixing of siliceous aggregates, glass refuses and sewage residues in order to obtain a commodity which is apt for economic usage also was made in the article. The issue of recycling of waste materials originating from building operations will be presented in the context of the binding home and EU legal regulations. It was proved that the level of recycling of building wastes in Poland is considerably different from one which is achieved in the solid market economies, both in quantity and in assortment. The method of neutralization of building refuses in connection with special waste materials, which are sewage sludge that is presented in the article may be one of the alternative solutions to the problem of recycling of these wastes not only on the Polish scale.

Decay of random correlation functions for unimodal maps

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Baladi, Viviane; Benedicks, Michael; Maume-Deschamps, Véronique

2000-10-01

Since the pioneering results of Jakobson and subsequent work by Benedicks-Carleson and others, it is known that quadratic maps tfa( χ) = a - χ2 admit a unique absolutely continuous invariant measure for a positive measure set of parameters a. For topologically mixing tfa, Young and Keller-Nowicki independently proved exponential decay of correlation functions for this a.c.i.m. and smooth observables. We consider random compositions of small perturbations tf + ωt, with tf = tfa or another unimodal map satisfying certain nonuniform hyperbolicity axioms, and ωt chosen independently and identically in [-ɛ, ɛ]. Baladi-Viana showed exponential mixing of the associated Markov chain, i.e., averaging over all random itineraries. We obtain stretched exponential bounds for the random correlation functions of Lipschitz observables for the sample measure μωof almost every itinerary.

Inference for binomial probability based on dependent Bernoulli random variables with applications to meta-analysis and group level studies.

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Bakbergenuly, Ilyas; Kulinskaya, Elena; Morgenthaler, Stephan

2016-07-01

We study bias arising as a result of nonlinear transformations of random variables in random or mixed effects models and its effect on inference in group-level studies or in meta-analysis. The findings are illustrated on the example of overdispersed binomial distributions, where we demonstrate considerable biases arising from standard log-odds and arcsine transformations of the estimated probability p̂, both for single-group studies and in combining results from several groups or studies in meta-analysis. Our simulations confirm that these biases are linear in ρ, for small values of ρ, the intracluster correlation coefficient. These biases do not depend on the sample sizes or the number of studies K in a meta-analysis and result in abysmal coverage of the combined effect for large K. We also propose bias-correction for the arcsine transformation. Our simulations demonstrate that this bias-correction works well for small values of the intraclass correlation. The methods are applied to two examples of meta-analyses of prevalence. © 2016 The Authors. Biometrical Journal Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

An intervention to reduce HIV risk behavior of substance-using men who have sex with men: a two-group randomized trial with a nonrandomized third group.

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Gordon Mansergh

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Substance use during sex is associated with sexual risk behavior among men who have sex with men (MSM, and MSM continue to be the group at highest risk for incident HIV in the United States. The objective of this study is to test the efficacy of a group-based, cognitive-behavioral intervention to reduce risk behavior of substance-using MSM, compared to a randomized attention-control group and a nonrandomized standard HIV-testing group.Participants (n = 1,686 were enrolled in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco and randomized to a cognitive-behavioral intervention or attention-control comparison. The nonrandomized group received standard HIV counseling and testing. Intervention group participants received six 2-h group sessions focused on reducing substance use and sexual risk behavior. Attention-control group participants received six 2-h group sessions of videos and discussion of MSM community issues unrelated to substance use, sexual risk, and HIV/AIDS. All three groups received HIV counseling and testing at baseline. The sample reported high-risk behavior during the past 3 mo prior to their baseline visit: 67% reported unprotected anal sex, and 77% reported substance use during their most recent anal sex encounter with a nonprimary partner. The three groups significantly (p0.05 from each other at 3-, 6-, and 12-mo follow-up. Outcomes for the 2-arm comparisons were not significantly different at 12-mo follow-up (e.g., unprotected anal sex, odds ratio = 1.14, confidence interval = 0.86-1.51, nor at earlier time points. Similar results were found for each outcome variable in both 2- and 3-arm comparisons.These results for reducing sexual risk behavior of substance-using MSM are consistent with results of intervention trials for other populations, which collectively suggest critical challenges for the field of HIV behavioral interventions. Several mechanisms may contribute to statistically indistinguishable reductions in risk

THE STUDY FOR THE ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS TOWARDS THE CHOSEN PROFESSION OF PHARMACIST

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J. N. Grigoruk

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article examines the dynamics of students’ attitude to the profession of pharmacist. Motivation factors for the choice of this profession were described. We have substantiated the stability of professional choice, and studied the satisfaction of students with the chosen profession.

Adjuvant chemotherapy with sequential or concurrent anthracycline and docetaxel: Breast International Group 02-98 randomized trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Francis, P.; Crown, J.; Di, Leo A.

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: Docetaxel is more effective than doxorubicin for patients with advanced breast cancer. The Breast International Group 02-98 randomized trial tested the effect of incorporating docetaxel into anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy and compared sequential vs concurrent administration....... However, important differences may be related to doxorubicin and docetaxel scheduling, with sequential but not concurrent administration, appearing to produce better DFS than anthracycline-based chemotherapy Udgivelsesdato: 2008/1/16...

On the efficiency of a randomized mirror descent algorithm in online optimization problems

Science.gov (United States)

Gasnikov, A. V.; Nesterov, Yu. E.; Spokoiny, V. G.

2015-04-01

A randomized online version of the mirror descent method is proposed. It differs from the existing versions by the randomization method. Randomization is performed at the stage of the projection of a subgradient of the function being optimized onto the unit simplex rather than at the stage of the computation of a subgradient, which is common practice. As a result, a componentwise subgradient descent with a randomly chosen component is obtained, which admits an online interpretation. This observation, for example, has made it possible to uniformly interpret results on weighting expert decisions and propose the most efficient method for searching for an equilibrium in a zero-sum two-person matrix game with sparse matrix.

Instability in time-delayed switched systems induced by fast and random switching

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yao; Lin, Wei; Chen, Yuming; Wu, Jianhong

2017-07-01

In this paper, we consider a switched system comprising finitely or infinitely many subsystems described by linear time-delayed differential equations and a rule that orchestrates the system switching randomly among these subsystems, where the switching times are also randomly chosen. We first construct a counterintuitive example where even though all the time-delayed subsystems are exponentially stable, the behaviors of the randomly switched system change from stable dynamics to unstable dynamics with a decrease of the dwell time. Then by using the theories of stochastic processes and delay differential equations, we present a general result on when this fast and random switching induced instability should occur and we extend this to the case of nonlinear time-delayed switched systems as well.

Comparing Acceptance and Commitment Group Therapy and 12-Steps Narcotics Anonymous in Addict’s Rehabilitation Process: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Manoochehr Azkhosh

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: Substance abuse is a socio-psychological disorder. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy with 12-steps Narcotics Anonymous on psychological well-being of opiate dependent individuals in addiction treatment centers in Shiraz, Iran.Method: This was a randomized controlled trial. Data were collected at entry into the study and at post-test and follow-up visits. The participants were selected from opiate addicted individuals who referred to addiction treatment centers in Shiraz. Sixty individuals were evaluated according to inclusion/ exclusion criteria and were divided into three equal groups randomly (20 participants per group. One group received acceptance and commitment group therapy (Twelve 90-minute sessions and the other group was provided with the 12-steps Narcotics Anonymous program and the control group received the usual methadone maintenance treatment. During the treatment process, seven participants dropped out. Data were collected using the psychological well-being questionnaire and AAQ questionnaire in the three groups at pre-test, post-test and follow-up visits. Data were analyzed using repeated measure analysis of variance.Results: Repeated measure analysis of variance revealed that the mean difference between the three groups was significant (P<0.05 and that acceptance and commitment therapy group showed improvement relative to the NA and control groups on psychological well-being and psychological flexibility.Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that acceptance and commitment therapy can be helpful in enhancing positive emotions and increasing psychological well-being of addicts who seek treatment.

The Effect of Group Discussion-based Education on Self-management of Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Compared with Usual Care: A Randomized Control Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Habibzadeh, Hosein; Sofiani, Akbar; Alilu, Leyla; Gillespie, Mark

2017-11-01

We sought to determine the effect of group discussion-based education on the self-management capability of patients with type 2 diabetes in Iran. This randomized control trial was conducted on 90 patients with type 2 diabetes. Participants were allocated randomly into one of two groups; intervention and control. The intervention group received the group discussion-based education while the control group received routine care only. The Lin's self-management questionnaire was completed at baseline and three months post-intervention. Statistical analysis, including the use of independent t -test, identified that in comparison to the control group, significant increases were observed in the scores of self-organization ( t =11.24, p health experts ( t = 7.31, p diet ( t = 5.22, p diabetes.

Effect of physical training on urinary incontinence: a randomized parallel group trial in nursing homes

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Vinsnes AG

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Anne G Vinsnes1, Jorunn L Helbostad2, Signe Nyrønning3, Gene E Harkless1,4, Randi Granbo5, Arnfinn Seim61Faculty of Nursing, Sør-Trøndelag University College, 2Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 3Søbstad Community Hospital and Teaching Nursing Home, Trondheim, Norway; 4University of New Hampshire, College of Health and Social Services, Nursing Faculty, Durham, New Hampshire, USA; 5Department of Physiotherapy, Sør-Trøndelag University College, 6Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NorwayBackground: Residents in nursing homes (NHs are often frail older persons who have impaired physical activity. Urinary incontinence (UI is a common complaint for residents in NHs. Reduced functional ability and residence in NHs are documented to be risk factors for UI.Objective: To investigate if an individualized training program designed to improve activity of daily living (ADL and physical capacity among residents in nursing homes has any impact on UI.Materials and methods: This randomized controlled trial was a substudy of a Nordic multicenter study. Participants had to be >65 years, have stayed in the NH for more than 3 months and in need of assistance in at least one ADL. A total of 98 residents were randomly allocated to either a training group (n = 48 or a control group (n = 50 after baseline registrations. The training program lasted for 3 months and included accommodated physical activity and ADL training. Personal treatment goals were elicited for each subject. The control group received their usual care. The main outcome measure was UI as measured by a 24-hour pad-weighing test. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups on this measure at baseline (P = 0.15. Changes were calculated from baseline to 3 months after the end of the intervention.Results: Altogether, 68 participants were included in the analysis

Comparison between group and personal rehabilitation for dementia in a geriatric health service facility: single-blinded randomized controlled study.

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Tanaka, Shigeya; Honda, Shin; Nakano, Hajime; Sato, Yuko; Araya, Kazufumi; Yamaguchi, Haruyasu

2017-05-01

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of rehabilitation involving group and personal sessions on demented participants. This single-blinded randomized controlled trial included 60 elderly participants with dementia in a geriatric health service facility, or R oken. Staff members, who did not participate in the intervention, examined cognitive function, mood, communication ability, severity of dementia, objective quality of life, vitality, and daily behaviour. After a baseline assessment, participants were randomly divided into three groups: (i) group intervention; (ii) personal intervention; and (iii) control. The 1-h group intervention (3-5 subjects) and 20-min personal intervention (one staff member per participant) were performed twice a week for 12 weeks (24 total sessions). The cognitive rehabilitation programme consisted of reminiscence, reality orientation, and physical exercise, and it was based on five principles of brain-activating rehabilitation; (i) pleasant atmosphere; (ii) communication; (iii) social roles; (iv) praising; and (v) errorless support. Data were analyzed after the second assessment. Outcome measures were analyzed in 43 participants-14 in the control group, 13 in group intervention, and 16 in personal intervention. Repeated measure ancova showed a significant interaction for cognitive function score (Mini-Mental State Examination) between group intervention and controls ( F  = 5.535, P = 0.029). In the post-hoc analysis, group intervention showed significant improvement (P = 0.016). Global severity of dementia tended to improve (P = 0.094) in group intervention compared to control (Mann-Whitney U -test). There were no significant interactions or improvements for other measurements. Group rehabilitation for dementia is more effective for improving cognitive function and global severity of dementia than personal rehabilitation in Roken. © 2016 Japanese Psychogeriatric Society.

Neck collar, "act-as-usual" or active mobilization for whiplash injury? A randomized parallel-group trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kongsted, Alice; Montvilas, Erisela Qerama; Kasch, Helge

2007-01-01

practitioners within 10 days after a whiplash injury and randomized to: 1) immobilization of the cervical spine in a rigid collar followed by active mobilization, 2) advice to "act-as-usual," or 3) an active mobilization program (Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy). Follow-up was carried out after 3, 6, and 12......-extension trauma to the cervical spine. It is unclear whether this, in some cases disabling, condition can be prevented by early intervention. Active interventions have been recommended but have not been compared with information only. Methods. Participants were recruited from emergency units and general......Study Design. Randomized, parallel-group trial. Objective. To compare the effect of 3 early intervention strategies following whiplash injury. Summary of Background Data. Long-lasting pain and disability, known as chronic whiplash-associated disorder (WAD), may develop after a forced flexion...

Neck collar, "act-as-usual" or active mobilization for whiplash injury? A randomized parallel-group trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kongsted, Alice; Montvilas, Erisela Qerama; Kasch, Helge

2007-01-01

Study Design. Randomized, parallel-group trial. Objective. To compare the effect of 3 early intervention strategies following whiplash injury. Summary of Background Data. Long-lasting pain and disability, known as chronic whiplash-associated disorder (WAD), may develop after a forced flexion......-extension trauma to the cervical spine. It is unclear whether this, in some cases disabling, condition can be prevented by early intervention. Active interventions have been recommended but have not been compared with information only. Methods. Participants were recruited from emergency units and general...... practitioners within 10 days after a whiplash injury and randomized to: 1) immobilization of the cervical spine in a rigid collar followed by active mobilization, 2) advice to "act-as-usual," or 3) an active mobilization program (Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy). Follow-up was carried out after 3, 6, and 12...

The effect of adding group-based counselling to individual lifestyle counselling on changes in dietary intake. The Inter99 study - a randomized controlled trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toft, Ulla; Kristoffersen, Lis; Ladelund, Steen

2008-01-01

in dietary habits. METHODS: The study was a randomized controlled intervention study. From a general Danish population, aged 30 to 60 years (n = 61,301), two random sample were drawn (group A, n = 11,708; group B, n = 1,308). Subjects were invited for a health screening program. Participation rate was 52...... participants were invited for a health examination. High risk individuals were included in this study (n = 2 356) and changes in dietary intake were analyzed using multilevel linear regression analyses. RESULTS: At one-year follow-up group A had significantly increased the unsaturated/saturated fat ratio...... compared to group B and in men a significantly greater decrease in saturated fat intake was found in group A compared to group B (net change: -1.13 E%; P = 0.003). No differences were found between group A and B at three-year follow-up. At five-year follow-up group A had significantly increased...

School-Based Smoking Prevention Programs for Middle School Students in Nowshahr- Iran: a Randomized Controlled Trial

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Maryam Khazaee-Pool

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Smoking among youths is a main public health concern, and detecting predictors of smoking is essential for designing preventive programs. Any interventional program should plan with highlighting on behavioral change models and based on operative interventional program. So, this study aimed to investigate school-based smoking prevention programs for middle school students in Nowshahr, Iran.Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental study was performed with 280 male students aged 15-17 years selected by multistage sampling. For this purpose, 6 middle schools were randomly recruited from male students in Nowshahr- Iran. Then, 140 students were randomly chosen for each the experimental and the control groups. After pretest, educational program based on Health Belief Model were performed in experimental group. Also, post-test was applied four months after interventional program in both experimental and control group.Results: Based on the results, the prevalence of smoking was higher at age 14 old in both experimental (38.7% and control (30 % groups. About 35% of participants in the experimental group and 33.6% in control group had smoker father. Additionally, 10% in experimental group and 7.8% in control group had smoker mother. Most main cause for smoking in 57.9% of the experimental group and 52.63% of the control group was reducing anxiety. Results also shown that there was a significant difference between students in the experimental and control groups after performing educational program in the mean scores of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, and preventive behaviors of smoking (P < 0.05.Conclusion: By performing educational program, it was found that the prevalence of cigarette smoking was decreased in the intervention group. So, with a better understanding of factors affecting on this complex behavior (cigarette smoking, it can be a valuable phase to

Group parent-child interaction therapy: A randomized control trial for the treatment of conduct problems in young children.

Science.gov (United States)

Niec, Larissa N; Barnett, Miya L; Prewett, Matthew S; Shanley Chatham, Jenelle R

2016-08-01

Although efficacious interventions exist for childhood conduct problems, a majority of families in need of services do not receive them. To address problems of treatment access and adherence, innovative adaptations of current interventions are needed. This randomized control trial investigated the relative efficacy of a novel format of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), a treatment for young children with conduct problems. Eighty-one families with 3- to 6-year-old children (71.6% boys, 85.2% White) with diagnoses of oppositional defiant or conduct disorder were randomized to individual PCIT (n = 42) or the novel format, Group PCIT. Parents completed standardized measures of children's conduct problems, parenting stress, and social support at intake, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up. Therapist ratings, parent attendance, and homework completion provided measures of treatment adherence. Throughout treatment, parenting skills were assessed using the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System. Parents in both group and individual PCIT reported significant improvements from intake to posttreatment and follow-up in their children's conduct problems and adaptive functioning, as well as significant decreases in parenting stress. Parents in both treatment conditions also showed significant improvements in their parenting skills. There were no interactions between time and treatment format. Contrary to expectation, parents in Group PCIT did not experience greater social support or treatment adherence. Group PCIT was not inferior to individual PCIT and may be a valuable format to reach more families in need of services. Future work should explore the efficiency and sustainability of Group PCIT in community settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Group Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: A Randomized Control Trial for the Treatment of Conduct Problems in Young Children

Science.gov (United States)

Niec, Larissa N.; Barnett, Miya L.; Prewett, Matthew S.; Shanley, Jenelle

2016-01-01

Objective Although efficacious interventions exist for childhood conduct problems, a majority of families in need of services do not receive them. To address problems of treatment access and adherence, innovative adaptations of current interventions are needed. This randomized control trial investigated the relative efficacy of a novel format of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), a treatment for young children with conduct problems. Methods Eighty-one families with three- to six-year-old children (71.6% male; 85.2% Caucasian) with diagnoses of oppositional defiant or conduct disorder were randomized to individual PCIT (n = 42) or the novel format, group PCIT. Parents completed standardized measures of children’s conduct problems, parenting stress, and social support at intake, posttreatment, and six-month follow-up. Therapist ratings, parent attendance, and homework completion provided measures of treatment adherence. Throughout treatment, parenting skills were assessed using the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System. Results Parents in both group and individual PCIT reported significant improvements from intake to posttreatment and follow-up in their children’s conduct problems and adaptive functioning, as well as significant decreases in parenting stress. Parents in both treatment conditions also showed significant improvements in their parenting skills. There were no interactions between time and treatment format. Contrary to expectation, parents in group PCIT did not experience greater social support or treatment adherence. Conclusions Group PCIT was not inferior to individual PCIT and may be a valuable format to reach more families in need of services. Future work should explore the efficiency and sustainability of group PCIT in community settings. PMID:27018531

Direct magnitude estimates of speech intelligibility in dysarthria: effects of a chosen standard.

Science.gov (United States)

Weismer, Gary; Laures, Jacqueline S

2002-06-01

Direct magnitude estimation (DME) has been used frequently as a perceptual scaling technique in studies of the speech intelligibility of persons with speech disorders. The technique is typically used with a standard, or reference stimulus, chosen as a good exemplar of "midrange" intelligibility. In several published studies, the standard has been chosen subjectively, usually on the basis of the expertise of the investigators. The current experiment demonstrates that a fixed set of sentence-level utterances, obtained from 4 individuals with dysarthria (2 with Parkinson disease, 2 with traumatic brain injury) as well as 3 neurologically normal speakers, is scaled differently depending on the identity of the standard. Four different standards were used in the main experiment, three of which were judged qualitatively in two independent evaluations to be good exemplars of midrange intelligibility. Acoustic analyses did not reveal obvious differences between these four standards but suggested that the standard with the worst-scaled intelligibility had much poorer voice source characteristics compared to the other three standards. Results are discussed in terms of possible standardization of midrange intelligibility exemplars for DME experiments.

TEACCH-based group social skills training for children with high-functioning autism: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

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Ichikawa, Kayoko; Takahashi, Yoshimitsu; Ando, Masahiko; Anme, Tokie; Ishizaki, Tatsuro; Yamaguchi, Hinako; Nakayama, Takeo

2013-10-01

Although social skills training programs for people with high-functioning autism (HFA) are widely practiced, the standardization of curricula, the examination of clinical effectiveness, and the evaluation of the feasibility of future trials have yet to be done in Asian countries. To compensate for this problem, a Japanese pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH)-based group social skills training for children with HFA and their mothers was conducted. Eleven children with HFA, aged 5-6 years, and their mothers were randomly assigned to the TEACCH program (n=5) or a waiting-list control group (n=6). The program involved comprehensive group intervention and featured weekly 2-hour sessions, totaling 20 sessions over six months. The adaptive behaviors and social reciprocity of the children, parenting stress, and parent-child interactions were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Parenting Stress Index (PSI), Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), and Interaction Rating Scale (IRS). Through this pilot trial, the intervention and evaluation of the program has been shaped. There were no dropouts from the program and the mothers' satisfaction was high. The outcome measurements improved more in the program group than in the control group, with moderate effect sizes (SDQ, 0.71; PSI, 0.58; BDI-II, 0.40; and IRS, 0.69). This pilot trial also implied that this program is more beneficial for high IQ children and mothers with low stress than for those who are not. We have standardized the TEACCH program, confirmed the feasibility of a future trial, and successfully estimated the positive effect size. These findings will contribute to a larger trial in the future and to forthcoming systematic reviews with meta-analyses. UMIN000004560.

Comparing of goal setting strategy with group education method to increase physical activity level: A randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiryaee, Nasrin; Siadat, Zahra Dana; Zamani, Ahmadreza; Taleban, Roya

2015-10-01

Designing an intervention to increase physical activity is important to be based on the health care settings resources and be acceptable by the subject group. This study was designed to assess and compare the effect of the goal setting strategy with a group education method on increasing the physical activity of mothers of children aged 1 to 5. Mothers who had at least one child of 1-5 years were randomized into two groups. The effect of 1) goal-setting strategy and 2) group education method on increasing physical activity was assessed and compared 1 month and 3 months after the intervention. Also, the weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist and hip circumference, and well-being were compared between the two groups before and after the intervention. Physical activity level increased significantly after the intervention in the goal-setting group and it was significantly different between the two groups after intervention (P goal-setting group after the intervention. In the group education method, only the well-being score improved significantly (P goal-setting strategy to boost physical activity, improving the state of well-being and decreasing BMI, waist, and hip circumference.

Random-Resistor-Random-Temperature Kirchhoff-Law-Johnson-Noise (RRRT-KLJN Key Exchange

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kish Laszlo B.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available We introduce two new Kirchhoff-law-Johnson-noise (KLJN secure key distribution schemes which are generalizations of the original KLJN scheme. The first of these, the Random-Resistor (RR- KLJN scheme, uses random resistors with values chosen from a quasi-continuum set. It is well-known since the creation of the KLJN concept that such a system could work in cryptography, because Alice and Bob can calculate the unknown resistance value from measurements, but the RR-KLJN system has not been addressed in prior publications since it was considered impractical. The reason for discussing it now is the second scheme, the Random Resistor Random Temperature (RRRT- KLJN key exchange, inspired by a recent paper of Vadai, Mingesz and Gingl, wherein security was shown to be maintained at non-zero power flow. In the RRRT-KLJN secure key exchange scheme, both the resistances and their temperatures are continuum random variables. We prove that the security of the RRRT-KLJN scheme can prevail at a non-zero power flow, and thus the physical law guaranteeing security is not the Second Law of Thermodynamics but the Fluctuation-Dissipation Theorem. Alice and Bob know their own resistances and temperatures and can calculate the resistance and temperature values at the other end of the communication channel from measured voltage, current and power-flow data in the wire. However, Eve cannot determine these values because, for her, there are four unknown quantities while she can set up only three equations. The RRRT-KLJN scheme has several advantages and makes all former attacks on the KLJN scheme invalid or incomplete.

Assessment of effectiveness of smoking cessation intervention among male prisoners in India: A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Naik, Sachin; Khanagar, Sanjeev; Kumar, Amit; Ramachandra, Sujith; Vadavadagi, Sunil V; Dhananjaya, Kiran Murthy

2014-12-01

Tobacco smoking is an integral part of prison life and an established part of the culture. Little attention has been paid to prevention of smoking in prison. Approximately 70-80% of prisoners have been identified as current smokers. To assess the effectiveness of smoking cessation intervention among male prisoners at Central Jail, Bangalore city. To assess the effectiveness of smoking cessation intervention among male prisoners at Central Jail, Bangalore city. A randomized controlled trial was planned among male prisoners in Central Jail, Bangalore city. There were 1600 convicted prisoners. A self-administered questionnaire was given to the prisoners to assess their smoking behavior by which prevalence of tobacco smoking was found. Exactly 1352 tobacco users were studied. Among them, there were 1252 smokers. Based on inclusion criteria and informed consent given by the prisoners, a sample of 600 was chosen for the study by systematic random sampling. Among the 600 prisoners, 300 were randomly selected for the study group and 300 for the control group. Prevalence of tobacco smoking among the prisoners was 92.60%. In the present study, after smoking cessation intervention, 17% showed no change in smoking, 21.66% reduced smoking, 16% stopped smoking, and 45.33% relapsed (P prison even if the living conditions are not favorable. Relatively high rate of relapse in our study indicates that some policies should be adopted to improve smokers' information on consequences of tobacco on health and motivational intervention should be added to prisoners.

Multiplicity of summands in the random partitions of an integer

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

We prove that the probability that there is a summand of multiplicity j in any randomly chosen partition or composition of an integer n goes to zero asymptotically with n provided j is larger than a critical value. As a corollary, we strengthen a result due to Erdös and Lehner (Duke. Math. J. 8 (1941) 335–345) that concerns the ...

Inference for binomial probability based on dependent Bernoulli random variables with applications to meta‐analysis and group level studies

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Bakbergenuly, Ilyas; Morgenthaler, Stephan

2016-01-01

We study bias arising as a result of nonlinear transformations of random variables in random or mixed effects models and its effect on inference in group‐level studies or in meta‐analysis. The findings are illustrated on the example of overdispersed binomial distributions, where we demonstrate considerable biases arising from standard log‐odds and arcsine transformations of the estimated probability p^, both for single‐group studies and in combining results from several groups or studies in meta‐analysis. Our simulations confirm that these biases are linear in ρ, for small values of ρ, the intracluster correlation coefficient. These biases do not depend on the sample sizes or the number of studies K in a meta‐analysis and result in abysmal coverage of the combined effect for large K. We also propose bias‐correction for the arcsine transformation. Our simulations demonstrate that this bias‐correction works well for small values of the intraclass correlation. The methods are applied to two examples of meta‐analyses of prevalence. PMID:27192062

A single blind randomized control trial on support groups for Chinese persons with mild dementia

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Young DKW

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Daniel KW Young,1 Timothy CY Kwok,2 Petrus YN Ng1 1Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong; 2Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Purpose: Persons with mild dementia experience multiple losses and manifest depressive symptoms. This research study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a support group led by a social worker for Chinese persons with mild dementia. Research methods: Participants were randomly assigned to either a ten-session support group or a control group. Standardized assessment tools were used for data collection at pretreatment and post-treatment periods by a research assistant who was kept blind to the group assignment of the participants. Upon completion of the study, 20 treatment group participants and 16 control group participants completed all assessments. Results: At baseline, the treatment and control groups did not show any significant difference on all demographic variables, as well as on all baseline measures; over one-half (59% of all the participants reported having depression, as assessed by a Chinese Geriatric Depression Scale score ≥8. After completing the support group, the depressive mood of the treatment group participants reduced from 8.83 (standard deviation =2.48 to 7.35 (standard deviation =2.18, which was significant (Wilcoxon signed-rank test; P=0.017, P<0.05, while the control group’s participants did not show any significant change. Conclusion: This present study supports the efficacy and effectiveness of the support group for persons with mild dementia in Chinese society. In particular, this present study shows that a support group can reduce depressive symptoms for participants. Keywords: support group, mild dementia, Chinese, depression

On reflexivity of random walks in a random environment on a metric space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rozikov, U.A.

2002-11-01

In this paper, we consider random walks in random environments on a countable metric space when jumps of the walks of the fractions are finite. The transfer probabilities of the random walk from x is an element of G (where G is the considering metric space) are defined by vector p(x) is an element of R k , k>1, where {p(x), x is an element of G} is the set of independent and indentically distributed random vectors. For the random walk, a sufficient condition of nonreflexivity is obtained. Examples for metric spaces Z d free groups and free product of finite numbers cyclic groups of the second order and some other metric spaces are considered. (author)

A Randomized Control Study on Psycho-Education Group on Improving Health-Related Quality of Life of Chinese Persons with Major Neurocognitive Disorder.

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Young, Kim-Wan

2016-01-01

People with a major neurocognitive disorder (PwND) are found to have a lower health related quality of life (HRQoL) than those without neurocognitive disorder. This research study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a psycho-education group in improving the HRQoL of Chinese PwND. By adopting randomized control trial (RCT), Chinese PwND were randomly assigned to either a 10-session psycho-education group or the control group. Family caregivers of treatment group were encouraged to take part in two sessions focusing on the caring and communication skills. Control group and their family caregivers received standardized educational materials on basic information on neurocognitive disorder for them to read at home. Standardized assessment was conducted both with PwND and their caregivers independently to give the self-rated and caregiver-rated HRQoL of PwND in the pre- and post- treatment periods by a research assistant who was blind to the group assignment of the participants. Moreover, qualitative interviews were also conducted for ten participants and five family caregivers of the treatment group to identify those group elements relating to its effectiveness. 2 × 2 repeated measures ANCOVA demonstrated that the treatment group (n = 32) was significantly more effective than the control group (n = 32) in improving the caregiver-rated HRQoL (F[1, 61] = 4.35, p = .04 psycho-education group significantly improves caregiver-rated HRQoL of PwND, supporting the feasibility and effectiveness of the psycho-education group.

THE CHOSEN INSTRUMENT? RECONSIDERING THE EARLY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PAN AMERICAN AIRWAYS AND THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

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Erik Benson

2004-01-01

Full Text Available During the late I920s and early 1930s, Pan American Airways became known as the U.S. “chosen instrument” for international commercial aviation. Most scholarly work about the U.S. government/Pan Am relationship presents the airline as the government’s instrument. This article challenges this traditional perspective. In certain ways Pan Am was an “instrument,” yet in others it defied such categorization. Thus, any notion that Pan Am was a “chosen instrument” merits qualification. Drawing upon the “corporatist” historical model, this study will present a more sophisticated account of this relationship, one that considers the role of business elites in shaping U.S. policy.

Effects of resource-building group intervention on career management and mental health in work organizations: randomized controlled field trial.

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Vuori, Jukka; Toppinen-Tanner, Salla; Mutanen, Pertti

2012-03-01

A resource-building group intervention was developed to enhance career management, mental health, and job retention in work organizations. The in-company training program provided employees with better preparedness to manage their own careers. The program activities were universally implemented using an organization-level, 2-trainer model with trainers from the human resources management and occupational health services. The study was a within-organizations, randomly assigned field experimental study; it investigated the impacts of the intervention on immediate career management preparedness and later mental health and intentions to retire early. A total of 718 eligible individuals returned a questionnaire in 17 organizations and became voluntary participants. The respondents were randomly assigned to either an intervention (N = 369) or a comparison group (N = 349). Those in the intervention group were invited to group intervention workshops, whereas those in the comparison group received printed information about career and health-related issues. The 7-month follow-up results showed that the program significantly decreased depressive symptoms and intentions to retire early and increased mental resources among the group participants compared to the others. The mediation analyses demonstrated that the increase in career management preparedness as a proximal impact of the intervention mediated the longer term mental health effects. Those who benefited most from the intervention as regards their mental health were employees with elevated levels of depression or exhaustion and younger employees, implying additional benefits of a more targeted use of the intervention. The results demonstrated the benefits of the enhancement of individual-level career management and resilience resources as career and health promotion practice in work organizations.

Effect of chain wheel shape on crank torque, freely chosen pedal rate, and physiological responses during submaximal cycling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Ernst Albin; Jensen, Kurt; Hallen, Jostein

2009-01-01

at preset pedal rates as well as resulting in lower pedal rate and metabolic response at freely chosen pedal rate. Ten trained cyclists (mean+/-SD: 27+/-3 years of age, 182+/-4 cm tall, 77.5+/-7.0 kg of body mass, and peak oxygen uptake of 61.7+/-4.4 ml kg(-1) min(-1)) cycled with a Biopace and a circular...... chain wheel at 180 W at 65 and 90 rpm for recording of crank torque profiles, and at their freely chosen pedal rate for recording of pedal rate and metabolic response, including oxygen uptake and blood lactate concentration. Crank torque profiles were similar between the two chain wheels during cycling...... at preset pedal rates. During cycling at the freely chosen pedal rate (being 93+/-6 and 93+/-4 rpm for the Biopace and circular chain wheel, respectively), blood lactate concentration was significantly different between the two chain wheels, being on average 0.2 mmol l(-1) lower with the Biopace chain wheel...

Randomized controlled trial of group cognitive behavioral therapy compared to a discussion group for co-morbid anxiety and depression in older adults.

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Wuthrich, V M; Rapee, R M; Kangas, M; Perini, S

2016-03-01

Co-morbid anxiety and depression in older adults is associated with worse physical and mental health outcomes and poorer response to psychological and pharmacological treatments in older adults. However, there is a paucity of research focused on testing the efficacy of the co-morbid treatment of anxiety and depression in older adults using psychological interventions. Accordingly, the primary objective of the current study was to test the effects of a group cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) program in treating co-morbid anxiety and depression in a sample of older age adults. A total of 133 community-dwelling participants aged ⩾60 years (mean age = 67.35, s.d. = 5.44, male = 59) with both an anxiety disorder and unipolar mood disorder, as assessed on the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule (ADIS), were randomly allocated to an 11-week CBT group or discussion group. Participants with Mini-Mental State Examination scores <26 were excluded. Participants were assessed pre-treatment, post-treatment and at 6 months follow-up on the ADIS, a brief measure of well-being, Geriatric Anxiety Inventory and Geriatric Depression Scale. Both conditions resulted in significant improvements over time on all diagnostic, symptom and wellbeing measures. Significant group × time interaction effects emerged at post-treatment only for diagnostic severity of the primary disorder, mean severity of all anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and all disorders, and recovery rates on primary disorder. Group CBT produced faster and sustained improvements in anxiety and depression on diagnostic severity and recovery rates compared to an active control in older adults.

Group versus Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for procrastination: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

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Alexander Rozental

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Procrastination is defined as a voluntarily delay of an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse-off for the delay, and is considered a persistent behavior pattern that can result in major psychological suffering. About one-fifth of the adult population and half of the student population are presumed having substantial difficulties due to recurrent procrastination in their everyday lives. However, chronic and severe procrastinators seldom receive adequate care due to preconceptions and the lack of understanding regarding procrastination and the treatment interventions that are assumed beneficial. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is often deemed a treatment of choice, although the evidence supporting its use is scarce, and only one randomized controlled trial has been performed. The primary aim of the proposed study is therefore to test the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy delivered as either a group intervention or via the Internet. Participants will consist of students recruited through the Student Health Centre at Karolinska Institutet. A randomized controlled trial with a sample size of 100 participants divided into blocks of thirty will be used, comparing an eight-week Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention, and an eight-week group cognitive-behavioral therapy based intervention. It is believed that the proposed study will result in two important findings. First, different treatment interventions in cognitive-behavioral therapy are assumed to be helpful for people suffering from problems caused by procrastination. Second, both an Internet-based cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention and a group intervention are presumed suitable for administering treatment for procrastination, which is considered important as the availability of adequate care is limited, particularly among students. The proposed study will increase the knowledge regarding the efficacy of different treatments of procrastination, as well

Infant-mother attachment can be improved through group intervention: a preliminary evaluation in Spain in a non-randomized controlled trial.

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Torres, Bárbara; Alonso-Arbiol, Itziar; Cantero, María José; Abubakar, Amina

2011-11-01

The quality of infant-mother attachment has been linked to competence in different domains of child development. Research indicates that early intervention can enhance the quality of infant-mother attachment, though its efficacy in a group format has yet to be evaluated. The current study is aimed at examining the usefulness of a group intervention in enhancing infant-mother attachment. An intervention aimed at addressing aspects such as maternal responsivity, sensitivity and childrearing behaviour was developed by the researchers and experienced psychologists. The intervention spanned a period of 14 months starting from the third quarter of pregnancy. The intervention was evaluated among 24 mothers from the Basque region of Spain. The sample consisted of children of both genders in a similar proportion: 45.8% were boys and 54.2% were girls. The children in this sample were full-term born and did not present symptoms of any serious pre- or postnatal complications. The intervention had a statistically non-significant medium effect. Infants whose mothers had received the intervention showed higher rates of secure attachment compared to children from the control group, as assessed by the Strange Situation observation procedure. A potentially significant confounding variable, maternal attachment, was balanced across the intervention and comparison groups. We can tentatively point out that a group intervention may enhance the quality of infant-mother attachment. Nevertheless, because the study design was not randomized, the results of this study remain preliminary and need replication in a full randomized controlled trial designed study.

Scaling laws for file dissemination in P2P networks with random contacts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nunez-Queija, R.; Prabhu, B.

2008-01-01

In this paper we obtain the scaling law for the mean broadcast time of a file in a P2P network with an initial population of N nodes. In the model, at Poisson rate λ a node initiates a contact with another node chosen uniformly at random. This contact is said to be successful if the contacted node

Scaling laws for file dissemination in P2P networks with random contacts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Núñez-Queija, R.; Prabhu, B.

2008-01-01

In this paper we obtain the scaling law for the mean broadcast time of a file in a P2P network with an initial population of N nodes. In the model, at Poisson rate lambda a node initiates a contact with another node chosen uniformly at random. This contact is said to be successful if the contacted

Comparing of goal setting strategy with group education method to increase physical activity level: A randomized trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nasrin Jiryaee

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Designing an intervention to increase physical activity is important to be based on the health care settings resources and be acceptable by the subject group. This study was designed to assess and compare the effect of the goal setting strategy with a group education method on increasing the physical activity of mothers of children aged 1 to 5. Materials and Methods: Mothers who had at least one child of 1-5 years were randomized into two groups. The effect of 1 goal-setting strategy and 2 group education method on increasing physical activity was assessed and compared 1 month and 3 months after the intervention. Also, the weight, height, body mass index (BMI, waist and hip circumference, and well-being were compared between the two groups before and after the intervention. Results: Physical activity level increased significantly after the intervention in the goal-setting group and it was significantly different between the two groups after intervention (P < 0.05. BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, and well-being score were significantly different in the goal-setting group after the intervention. In the group education method, only the well-being score improved significantly (P < 0.05. Conclusion: Our study presented the effects of using the goal-setting strategy to boost physical activity, improving the state of well-being and decreasing BMI, waist, and hip circumference.

Generalised Wigner surmise for (2 X 2) random matrices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chau Huu-Tai, P.; Van Isacker, P.; Smirnova, N.A.

2001-01-01

We present new analytical results concerning the spectral distributions for (2 x 2) random real symmetric matrices which generalize the Wigner surmise. The study of the statistical properties of spectra of realistic many-body Hamiltonians requires consideration of a random matrix ensemble whose elements are not independent or whose distribution is not invariant under orthogonal transformation of a chosen basis. In this letter we have concentrated on the properties of (2 x 2) real symmetric matrices whose elements are independent Gaussian variables with zero means but do not belong to the GOE. We have derived the distribution of eigenvalues for such a matrix, the nearest-neighbour spacing distribution which generalizes the Wigner surmise and we have calculated some important moments. (authors)

The effect of occupational therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinsen, Unni; Bentzen, Hege; Holter, Morag Kelly; Nilsen, Tove; Skullerud, Hallvard; Mowinckel, Petter; Kjeken, Ingvild

2017-03-01

Aim The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of individualized occupational therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Additionally, the authors wanted to explore the occupational problems experienced in daily life by individuals with COPD. Methods A total of 52 patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group (occupational therapy) or control group (treatment as usual). The primary outcome was assessed using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), and participants were assessed at baseline and after four and 12 months. Results There were no treatment effects on occupational performance or satisfaction with performance, as measured by the COPM. However, we found a significant effect in favour of the intervention group at exertion when performing an individually chosen activity, and in the activity dimension of St George's Respiratory Questionnaire. A total of 595 occupational problems were reported, most frequently within mobility, active recreation, and household management. Conclusions The results show that, compared with the usual care, individualized occupational therapy did not improve occupational performance or satisfaction with performance. Small but significant changes in activity performance in favour of the intervention group were found in some of the secondary outcomes.

The Effect of N-acetylcysteine on postoperative pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a randomized clinical trial

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Shahram Seyfi

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Postoperative pain is one of the most common complications following laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Because the majority of the analgesic drugs including opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have many side effects, using drugs with lesser side effects is beneficial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of N-acetylcysteine on the pain after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods: In a randomized clinical trial, in two university-affiliated teaching hospitals in Babol City (Shahid Beheshti and Shahid Yahyanezhad Hospitals, Iran, from August 2015 to March 2015, a total number of 38 patients with age of 20-50 years, who were candidates for laparoscopic cholecystectomy with American Society of Anesthesiologists Class-I were chosen and randomly assigned into two groups. The night before operation, 1200 mg oral N-acetylcysteine is given to intervention group. Also, they received 600 mg IV N-acetylcysteine in the morning before operation. In the control group, two vitamin C effervescent tablets as placebo were given at night before operation and 3 ml sterile water as placebo was injected in the morning of operation. Amount of pethidine consumption and the changes in hemodynamic in two groups was recorded and analyzed at 24 hours after operation. Results: The average of patients age was not significant different between two groups (P=0.23. Average of pain score in placebo group was 3.5 and in N-acetylcysteine group was 2.7 that it was not significant difference between two groups (P=0.06. Average of pethidine consumption in placebo group was 52 mg and in N-acetylcysteine group was 29 mg in 24 hours, that the difference was statistically significant between two groups (P=0.01 Conclusion: As the results of the study, it can be concluded that the anti-inflammatory effects N- acetylcysteine can inhibit the function of lipoproteins and prostaglandins, reduced glutathione peroxidase and dismutase has been restored and can be

Sustained and "sleeper" effects of group metacognitive training for schizophrenia: a randomized clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Moritz, Steffen; Veckenstedt, Ruth; Andreou, Christina; Bohn, Francesca; Hottenrott, Birgit; Leighton, Lucy; Köther, Ulf; Woodward, Todd S; Treszl, András; Menon, Mahesh; Schneider, Brooke C; Pfueller, Ute; Roesch-Ely, Daniela

2014-10-01

Cognitive interventions increasingly complement psychopharmacological treatment to enhance symptomatic and functional outcome in schizophrenia. Metacognitive training (MCT) is targeted at cognitive biases involved in the pathogenesis of delusions. To examine the long-term efficacy of group MCT for schizophrenia in order to explore whether previously established effects were sustained. A 2-center, randomized, controlled, assessor-blind, parallel group trial was conducted. A total of 150 inpatients or outpatients with DSM-IV diagnoses of schizophrenia spectrum disorders were enrolled. All patients were prescribed antipsychotic medication. The second follow-up assessment took place 3 years later after the intervention phase was terminated. Group MCT targeting cognitive biases vs neuropsychological training (COGPACK). Patients received a maximum of 16 sessions. The primary outcome measure was a delusion score derived from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The PANSS positive syndrome and total scores, the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales, the jumping to conclusions bias, self-esteem, and quality of life served as secondary outcome measures. The intention-to-treat analyses demonstrated that patients in the MCT group had significantly greater reductions in the core PANSS delusion score, after 3 years compared with the control group (η2partial = .037; P = .05). Among the secondary outcomes, the intention-to-treat analyses also demonstrated that patients in the MCT group had significantly greater reductions in the PANSS positive syndrome score (η2partial = .055; P = .02) and the Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales delusion score (η2partial = .109; P = .001). Significant group differences at the 3-year follow-up were also found on measures of self-esteem and quality of life, which did not distinguish groups at earlier assessment points. Attention was improved in the neuropsychological training group relative to the MCT group. The

Motivational intervention to enhance post-detoxification 12-Step group affiliation: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Vederhus, John-Kåre; Timko, Christine; Kristensen, Oistein; Hjemdahl, Bente; Clausen, Thomas

2014-05-01

To compare a motivational intervention (MI) focused on increasing involvement in 12-Step groups (TSGs; e.g. Alcoholics Anonymous) versus brief advice (BA) to attend TSGs. Patients were assigned randomly to either the MI or BA condition, and followed-up at 6 months after discharge. One hundred and forty substance use disorder (SUD) patients undergoing in-patient detoxification (detox) in Norway. The primary outcome was TSG affiliation measured with the Alcoholics Anonymous Affiliation Scale (AAAS), which combines meeting attendance and TSG involvement. Substance use and problem severity were also measured. At 6 months after treatment, compared with the BA group, the MI group had higher TSG affiliation [0.91 point higher AAAS score; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.04 to 1.78; P = 0.041]. The MI group reported 3.5 fewer days of alcohol use (2.1 versus 5.6 days; 95% CI = -6.5 to -0.6; P = 0.020) and 4.0 fewer days of drug use (3.8 versus 7.8 days; 95% CI = -7.5 to -0.4; P = 0.028); however, abstinence rates and severity scores did not differ between conditions. Analyses controlling for duration of in-patient treatment did not alter the results. A motivational intervention in an in-patient detox ward was more successful than brief advice in terms of patient engagement in 12-Step groups and reduced substance use at 6 months after discharge. There is a potential benefit of adding a maintenance-focused element to standard detox. © 2014 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.

Treatment with a barrier-strengthening moisturizer prevents relapse of hand-eczema. An open, randomized, prospective, parallel group study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lodén, Marie; Wirén, Karin; Smerud, Knut; Meland, Nils; Hønnås, Helge; Mørk, Gro; Lützow-Holm, Claus; Funk, Jörgen; Meding, Birgitta

2010-11-01

Hand eczema influences the quality of life. Management strategies include the use of moisturizers. In the present study the time to relapse of eczema during treatment with a barrier-strengthening moisturizer (5% urea) was compared with no treatment (no medical or non-medicated preparations) in 53 randomized patients with successfully treated hand eczema. The median time to relapse was 20 days in the moisturizer group compared with 2 days in the no treatment group (p = 0.04). Eczema relapsed in 90% of the patients within 26 weeks. No difference in severity was noted between the groups at relapse. Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) increased significantly in both groups; from 4.7 to 7.1 in the moisturizer group and from 4.1 to 7.8 in the no treatment group (p < 0.01) at the time of relapse. Hence, the application of moisturizers seems to prolong the disease-free interval in patients with controlled hand eczema. Whether the data is applic-able to moisturizers without barrier-strengthening properties remains to be elucidated.

CoDuSe group exercise programme improves balance and reduces falls in people with multiple sclerosis: A multi-centre, randomized, controlled pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Carling, Anna; Forsberg, Anette; Gunnarsson, Martin; Nilsagård, Ylva

2017-09-01

Imbalance leading to falls is common in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). To evaluate the effects of a balance group exercise programme (CoDuSe) on balance and walking in PwMS (Expanded Disability Status Scale, 4.0-7.5). A multi-centre, randomized, controlled single-blinded pilot study with random allocation to early or late start of exercise, with the latter group serving as control group for the physical function measures. In total, 14 supervised 60-minute exercise sessions were delivered over 7 weeks. Pretest-posttest analyses were conducted for self-reported near falls and falls in the group starting late. Primary outcome was Berg Balance Scale (BBS). A total of 51 participants were initially enrolled; three were lost to follow-up. Post-intervention, the exercise group showed statistically significant improvement ( p = 0.015) in BBS and borderline significant improvement in MS Walking Scale ( p = 0.051), both with large effect sizes (3.66; -2.89). No other significant differences were found between groups. In the group starting late, numbers of falls and near falls were statistically significantly reduced after exercise compared to before ( p balance and reduced perceived walking limitations, compared to no exercise. The intervention reduced falls and near falls frequency.

Mindfulness Training Improves Attentional Task Performance in Incarcerated Youth: A Group Randomized Controlled Intervention Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noelle R Leonard

2013-11-01

Full Text Available We investigated the impact of cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness training (CBT/MT on attentional task performance in incarcerated adolescents. Attention is a cognitive system necessary for managing cognitive demands and regulating emotions. Yet persistent and intensive demands, such as those experienced during high-stress intervals like incarceration and the events leading to incarceration, may deplete attention resulting in cognitive failures, emotional disturbances, and impulsive behavior. We hypothesized that CBT/MT may mitigate these deleterious effects of high stress and protect against degradation in attention over the high-stress interval of incarceration. Using a group randomized controlled trial design, we randomly assigned dormitories of incarcerated youth, ages 16 to 18, to a CBT/MT intervention (youth n = 147 or an active control intervention (youth n = 117. Both arms received approximately 750 minutes of intervention in a small-group setting over a 3-5 week period. Youth in the CBT/MT arm also logged the amount of out-of-session time spent practicing MT exercises. The Attention Network Test was used to index attentional task performance at baseline and 4 months post-baseline. Overall, task performance degraded over time in all participants. The magnitude of performance degradation was significantly less in the CBT/MT vs. control arm. Further, within the CBT/MT arm, performance degraded over time in those with no outside-of-class practice time, but remained stable over time in those who practiced mindfulness exercises outside of the session meetings. Thus, these findings suggest that sufficient CBT/MT practice may protect against functional attentional impairments associated with high-stress intervals. Keywords: adolescent development, incarcerated adolescents, detained adolescents, stress, attention, mindfulness meditation.

Effects of supportive-expressive discussion groups on loneliness, hope and quality of life in breast cancer survivors: a randomized control trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabrizi, Fatemeh Moghaddam; Radfar, Moloud; Taei, Zeynab

2016-09-01

Evaluation of the effect of supportive expressive discussion groups on loneliness, hope and quality of life in breast cancer survivors. A randomized control trial including breast cancer patients who had completed chemotherapy and randomly allocated into two groups: intervention (n = 41) and control (n = 40). The intervention consisted of twelve weekly 90-min sessions for groups of six to eight breast cancer survivors. Data were obtained pre-to -post the intervention and at 8-week follow-up. The data were analyzed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings revealed a significant reduction in loneliness scores (F = 69.85, p hope (F = 20.8, p life from pre- to post-intervention, and then over the 8-week follow-up period in the intervention group, while scores of control participants did not show this pattern during the study. The strongest effects were found for global quality of life (effect size) = 0.59), for future perspectives (effect size = 0.51), emotional functioning (effect size = 0.35) and social functioning (effect size = 0.31). The intervention was effective on loneliness, hope and quality of life in the intervention group. The intervention needs further evaluation in a larger study and with other cancer types. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Golden Ratio Versus Pi as Random Sequence Sources for Monte Carlo Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Sen, S. K.; Agarwal, Ravi P.; Shaykhian, Gholam Ali

2007-01-01

We discuss here the relative merits of these numbers as possible random sequence sources. The quality of these sequences is not judged directly based on the outcome of all known tests for the randomness of a sequence. Instead, it is determined implicitly by the accuracy of the Monte Carlo integration in a statistical sense. Since our main motive of using a random sequence is to solve real world problems, it is more desirable if we compare the quality of the sequences based on their performances for these problems in terms of quality/accuracy of the output. We also compare these sources against those generated by a popular pseudo-random generator, viz., the Matlab rand and the quasi-random generator ha/ton both in terms of error and time complexity. Our study demonstrates that consecutive blocks of digits of each of these numbers produce a good random sequence source. It is observed that randomly chosen blocks of digits do not have any remarkable advantage over consecutive blocks for the accuracy of the Monte Carlo integration. Also, it reveals that pi is a better source of a random sequence than theta when the accuracy of the integration is concerned.

Randomized Trial of a Group Music and Imagery Method (GrpMI) for Women with Fibromyalgia.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Esperanza; Pedersen, Inge N; Pérez-Fernández, José I

2018-06-07

Fibromyalgia (FM) affects about 2-4% of the world population. Patients, mostly women, experience chronic widespread pain, fatigue, stiffness, sleep disturbances, and psychological disorders, especially depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to examine preliminary efficacy of a Group Music and Imagery (GrpMI) intervention, which included relaxation, music listening, and spontaneous imagery, to improve subjective psychological well-being, functional capacity and health, pain perception, anxiety, and depression in women with FM. Fifty-six women aged 35 to 65 years (M = 51.3) diagnosed with FM were randomly assigned to either GrpMI treatment (n = 33) or control (n = 26) condition. Experimental group participants received 12 weekly GrpMI sessions, and control group participants who did not receive any additional service completed measures at the same time points as the experimental group. Intra-group analyses showed that GrpMI participants had a significant increase in psychological well-being and significant decrease in the impact of FM on functional capacity and health, pain perception, anxiety, and depression post-treatment, with sustained benefit at three-month follow-up for all variables except psychological well-being. Control group participants showed decreases in trait anxiety and depression at post-treatment, with no significant benefit at three-month follow-up. Inter-group analyses showed that compared with control participants, GRpMI participants had significantly higher scores for psychological well-being and lower-state anxiety post-treatment; however, no differences were observed between groups at three-month follow-up. Findings offer preliminary evidence for the benefit of GrpMI to improve well-being and reduce anxiety in women with FM. Findings also suggest that GrpMI may help diminish pain intensity, state depression, and the impact of FM on functional capacity and health, but further studies are needed to establish efficacy.

The work of the 'Irradiation Damage' sub-group of the EURATOM Working Group on Research Reactor Dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Genthon, J.P.

1975-01-01

The EURATOM Working Group on Reactor Dosimetry is investigating the problems of the dosimetry of radiation damage experiments. Papers have been published on the dosimetry of graphite and irradiation of metals: the model chosen, the quantities employed to express the fluences, numerical values, measurements, and measurement techniques. The ensuing work of the EURATOM Working Group of Reactor Dosimetry in these areas will deal with the measurement methods required for the dosimetry of radiation damage. (Auth.)

Radiation Therapy Did Not Induce Long-Term Changes in Rectal Mucosa: Results From the Randomized Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group 7 Trial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slagsvold, Jens Erik, E-mail: Jens.Erik.Slagsvold@stolav.no [Cancer Clinic, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim (Norway); Viset, Trond [Department of Pathology, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim (Norway); Wibe, Arne [Institute of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim (Norway); Department of Surgery, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim (Norway); Kaasa, Stein [Cancer Clinic, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim (Norway); European Palliative Care Research Center, Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim (Norway); Widmark, Anders [Department of Radiation Sciences, Cancercentrum, Umeå (Sweden); Lund, Jo-Åsmund [Cancer Clinic, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim (Norway); European Palliative Care Research Center, Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim (Norway)

2016-07-15

Purpose: To investigate long-term changes in the rectal mucosa after curative external beam radiation therapy in the treatment of prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: In the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group 7 trial, 880 men with locally advanced prostate cancer were randomized to hormonal therapy alone versus hormonal therapy plus radiation therapy to 70 Gy. A subcohort from this trial being randomized at our center (n=178) was invited to a study on late anorectal side effects during 2003-2005, approximately 5 years after treatment, including measuring health-reported quality of life and physician-assessed toxicity score by the Late Effects Normal Tissue Task Force/Subjective, Objective, Management, Analytic (LENT/SOMA) and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group score. Sixty-seven patients had a rectal mucosa biopsy. Sixty-four biopsies were included in the final analysis, of which 33 patients were randomized to hormonal treatment and 31 to hormonal treatment plus radiation therapy. The presence of fibrosis, number of capillaries, and lymphocyte infiltration was then evaluated by light microscopy. Results: The group receiving radiation therapy had significantly higher LENT/SOMA and function/bother scale scores than the group that only received hormonal treatment, but there was no significant difference in the presence of fibrosis, ectasia, number of capillaries in the lamina propria, or lymphocyte infiltration between the groups. Conclusion: Radiation therapy to 70 Gy to the prostate does not induce long-term microscopic mucosal changes in the rectum 5 years after treatment. This is in contrast to the general assumption that structural changes, including fibrosis, seen after radiation therapy include the mucosa. We speculate that the main late effects of radiation therapy on the structure of the rectum are located in the deeper layers of the rectal wall than the mucosa.

Competency-Based Training and Worker Turnover in Community Supports for People with IDD: Results from a Group Randomized Controlled Study

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Bogenschutz, Matthew; Nord, Derek; Hewitt, Amy

2015-01-01

Turnover among direct support professionals (DSPs) in community support settings for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has been regarded as a challenge since tracking of this workforce began in the 1980s. This study utilized a group randomized controlled design to test the effects of a competency-based training…

A cluster randomized trial in general practice with referral to a group-based or an Internet-based smoking cessation programme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pisinger, Charlotta; Jørgensen, Michael Milo; Møller, Niels Erik

2010-01-01

randomized to one of three groups: Group A, referral to group-based SC counselling (national model), n = 10; Group B, referral to internet-based SC programme (newly developed), n = 8; or Group C, no referral ('do as usual'), n = 6. A total of 1518/1914 smokers were included, and 760 returned a questionnaire...... at 1-year follow-up. RESULTS: The participating GPs reported significantly more SC counselling than GPs who refused participation (P = 0.04). Self-reported point abstinence was 6.7% (40/600), 5.9% (28/476) and 5.7% (25/442) in Groups A, B and C, respectively. Only 40 smokers attended group-based SC...... counselling, and 75 logged in at the internet-based SC programme. In cluster analyses, we found no significant additional effect of referral to group-based (OR: 1.05; 95% CI: 0.6-1.8) or internet-based SC programmes (OR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.6-1.4). CONCLUSIONS: We found no additional effect on cessation rates...

Analyzing indirect effects in cluster randomized trials. The effect of estimation method, number of groups and group sizes on accuracy and power.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joop eHox

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Cluster randomized trials assess the effect of an intervention that is carried out at the group or cluster level. Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour is often used to model the effect of the intervention as an indirect effect mediated in turn by attitude, norms and behavioural intention. Structural equation modelling (SEM is the technique of choice to estimate indirect effects and their significance. However, this is a large sample technique, and its application in a cluster randomized trial assumes a relatively large number of clusters. In practice, the number of clusters in these studies tends to be relatively small, e.g. much less than fifty. This study uses simulation methods to find the lowest number of clusters needed when multilevel SEM is used to estimate the indirect effect. Maximum likelihood estimation is compared to Bayesian analysis, with the central quality criteria being accuracy of the point estimate and the confidence interval. We also investigate the power of the test for the indirect effect. We conclude that Bayes estimation works well with much smaller cluster level sample sizes such as 20 cases than maximum likelihood estimation; although the bias is larger the coverage is much better. When only 5 to 10 clusters are available per treatment condition even with Bayesian estimation problems occur.

Psychoeducation in panic disorder patients: effect of a self-information booklet in a randomized, masked-rater study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dannon, P N; Iancu, I; Grunhaus, L

2002-01-01

The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-information booklet (SIB) in decreasing anxiety and panic attacks in Panic Disorder (PD) patients. Eighty-four patients attending an outpatient clinic due to panic disorder were randomly chosen to receive paroxetine with/without a friendly-designed brochure. Follow-up was done by a masked rater after 1, 3,and 12 weeks in order to evaluate whether the co-administration of paroxetine and the brochure (Group A) had a beneficial effect over the administration of paroxetine alone (Group B). After 3 weeks of therapy, Group A patients had significantly greater improvement and lower scores on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale, the Panic Self Questionnaire, and the Visual Analog Scale. After 12 weeks, the differential improvement was not statistically significant and both groups had improved as compared to baseline. The administration of a psychoeducational brochure (SIB) to PD patients at the initiation of therapy had beneficial effects during the first weeks of treatment. Although this effect fades away, the role of the SIB is overstressed in its ability to increase well being and compliance, and reduce anxiety and panic attacks. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The Effect of Group Discussion-based Education on Self-management of Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Compared with Usual Care: A Randomized Control Trial

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Hosein Habibzadeh

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Objectives: We sought to determine the effect of group discussion-based education on the self-management capability of patients with type 2 diabetes in Iran. Methods: This randomized control trial was conducted on 90 patients with type 2 diabetes. Participants were allocated randomly into one of two groups; intervention and control. The intervention group received the group discussion-based education while the control group received routine care only. The Lin’s self-management questionnaire was completed at baseline and three months post-intervention. Results: Statistical analysis, including the use of independent t-test, identified that in comparison to the control group, significant increases were observed in the scores of self-organization (t =11.24, p < 0.001, self-adjustment (t = 7.53, p < 0.001, interaction with health experts (t = 7.31, p < 0.001, blood sugar self-monitoring (t = 6.42, p < 0.001, adherence to the proposed diet (t = 5.22, p < 0.001, and total self-management (t = 10.82, p < 0.001 in the intervention group. Conclusions: Sharing experiences through group discussions and receiving instructive feedback can improve the ability to self-manage diabetes.

The Effectiveness of Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Treating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in Women with Multiple Sclerosis (MS): A randomized double-blind controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Sayyah, Mehdi; Bagheri, Parisa; Karimi, Negar; Ghasemzadeh, Azizreza

2016-04-01

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders and can cause problems for individuals in all aspects of life, including social and personal dimensions. To study the effect of group cognitive-behavioral therapy on the reduction of OCD symptoms in female participants with multiple sclerosis (MS). This double-blind randomized control trial was conducted from May 2012 to December 2014. The participants included 75 patients with MS who suffered from OCD and were referred to the Loghman Hakim and Imam Khomeini hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Thirty participants had been diagnosed through Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms (Y-BOCS). The participants were randomly divided into an experimental group (n=15) and a control group (n=15). Eleven sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy were provided for the experimental group. Patients in the control group continued with their normal living. Hypotheses were tested using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). A significant reduction was found in the experimental group's obsessive-compulsive symptoms after cognitive-behavioral therapy (pcognitive-behavioral therapy could considerably reduce OCD symptoms in women with MS. The application of this method by therapists, especially Iranian clinicians, is recommended.

Group Milieu in systemic and psychodynamic group therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lau, Marianne Engelbrecht

Objectives: A recent meta-analysis also concluded that psychotherapeutic approaches are beneficial for adult with a history of CSA and maintained for at least six months follow-up. The results suggest that different characteristics of therapy moderate the therapeutic outcome. We found in a random......Objectives: A recent meta-analysis also concluded that psychotherapeutic approaches are beneficial for adult with a history of CSA and maintained for at least six months follow-up. The results suggest that different characteristics of therapy moderate the therapeutic outcome. We found....... Methods: This randomized prospective study included 106 women: 52 assigned to psychodynamic group psychotherapy and 54 assigned to systemic group psychotherapy. The Group Environment Scale (GES) was filled in the mid phase of therapy and analysed in three dimensions and 10 subscales. Results: The systemic...... subscales: Cohesion (pLeader support (p=0.001), Expressiveness (p

Effects of music therapy on drug avoidance self-efficacy in patients on a detoxification unit: a three-group randomized effectiveness study.

Science.gov (United States)

Silverman, Michael J

2014-01-01

Self-efficacy is a component of Bandura's social cognitive theory and can lead to abstinence and a reduction of relapse potential for people who have substance abuse disorders. To date, no music therapy researcher has utilized this theoretical model to address abstinence and reduce the likelihood of relapse in people who have addictions. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of music therapy on drug avoidance self-efficacy in a randomized three-group wait-list control design with patients on a detoxification unit. Participants (N = 131) were cluster randomized to one of three single-session conditions: music therapy, verbal therapy, or wait-list control. Music therapy participants received a group lyric analysis intervention, verbal therapy participants received a group talk therapy session, and wait-list control participants eventually received a group recreational music therapy intervention. Although there was no significant between-group difference in drug avoidance self-efficacy, participants in the music therapy condition tended to have the highest mean drug avoidance self-efficacy scores. Posttest written comments supported the use of both music therapy and verbal therapy sessions. Two music therapy participants specifically noted that their initial skepticism had dissipated after receiving music therapy. Despite a lack of significant differences, the theoretical support of self-efficacy for substance abuse rehabilitation suggests that this may be an area of continued clinical focus and empirical investigation. Clinical anecdotes, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Freely chosen cadence during a covert manipulation of ambient temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartley, Geoffrey L; Cheung, Stephen S

2013-01-01

The present study investigated relationships between changes in power output (PO) to torque (TOR) or freely chosen cadence (FCC) during thermal loading. Twenty participants cycled at a constant rating of perceived exertion while ambient temperature (Ta) was covertly manipulated at 20-min intervals of 20 °C, 35 °C, and 20 °C. The magnitude responses of PO, FCC and TOR were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA, while the temporal correlations were analyzed using Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Averages (ARIMA). Increases in Ta caused significant thermal strain (p FCC remained unchanged (p = .51). ARIMA indicates that changes in PO were highly correlated to TOR (stationary r2 = .954, p = .04), while FCC was moderately correlated (stationary r2 = .717, p = .01) to PO. In conclusion, changes in PO are caused by a modulation in TOR, whereas FCC remains unchanged and therefore, unaffected by thermal stressors.

Pigeons exhibit higher accuracy for chosen memory tests than for forced memory tests in duration matching-to-sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Allison; Santi, Angelo

2011-03-01

Following training to match 2- and 8-sec durations of feederlight to red and green comparisons with a 0-sec baseline delay, pigeons were allowed to choose to take a memory test or to escape the memory test. The effects of sample omission, increases in retention interval, and variation in trial spacing on selection of the escape option and accuracy were studied. During initial testing, escaping the test did not increase as the task became more difficult, and there was no difference in accuracy between chosen and forced memory tests. However, with extended training, accuracy for chosen tests was significantly greater than for forced tests. In addition, two pigeons exhibited higher accuracy on chosen tests than on forced tests at the short retention interval and greater escape rates at the long retention interval. These results have not been obtained in previous studies with pigeons when the choice to take the test or to escape the test is given before test stimuli are presented. It appears that task-specific methodological factors may determine whether a particular species will exhibit the two behavioral effects that were initially proposed as potentially indicative of metacognition.

Consequences of "Minimal" Group Affiliations in Children

Science.gov (United States)

Dunham, Yarrow; Baron, Andrew Scott; Carey, Susan

2011-01-01

Three experiments (total N = 140) tested the hypothesis that 5-year-old children's membership in randomly assigned "minimal" groups would be sufficient to induce intergroup bias. Children were randomly assigned to groups and engaged in tasks involving judgments of unfamiliar in-group or out-group children. Despite an absence of information…

Randomized trial of tourniquet vs blood pressure cuff for target vein dilation in ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous access.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Drew; Jeanmonod, Rebecca; Jeanmonod, Donald

2014-07-01

Ten percent of the time, peripheral intravenous access (PIV) is not obtained in 2 attempts in the emergency department. Typically, a tourniquet is used to dilate the target vein; but recent research showed that a blood pressure (BP) cuff improves dilation, which may translate to increased PIV success. We sought to determine if there is improved success in obtaining ultrasound-guided PIV using a BP cuff vs a tourniquet in "difficult stick" patients. This is a prospective, randomized, single-blinded trial. Adult patients requiring PIV with at least 2 prior failed attempts were enrolled. Patients were assigned to tourniquet or BP cuff for target vein dilation randomly. Nurses prepared the patient for PIV attempt by either placing a BP cuff inflated to 150 mm Hg or placing a tourniquet on the chosen extremity. The extremity was draped to blind the physician to assignment. Physicians then attempted ultrasound-guided PIV. Failures were defined as IVs requiring greater than 3 ultrasound-guided attempts or 30 minutes, or patient intolerance. If failure occurred, the physician was unblinded; and the patient could be crossed over and reattempted. Thirty-eight patients were enrolled. The success rate for the tourniquet group (n = 17) and BP cuff group (n = 21) was 82.4% and 47.6%, respectively (P = .04). There were no differences between groups for vessel depth, diameter, or procedure time. Six in the BP cuff group were crossed over and had successful PIV obtained with tourniquet. Tourniquet is superior to BP cuff for target vein dilation in ultrasound-guided PIV. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chosen aspects of quality of life in patients with venous leg ulcers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michaela Miertová

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of the paper was to describe chosen aspects of quality of life in patients with venous leg ulcers treated at home in the Turiec region, and to find differences in assessing quality of life in relation to degree of adherence to external compression therapy. Design: A quantitative cross-sectional study. Methods: There were 61 patients with venous leg ulcers at 68.59 ± 9.49 years of age, with an average length of wound treatment of 6.34 ± 5.51 years. The adapted self-assessment questionnaire, the Freiburg Life Quality Assessment wound module (FLQA-w, was used to gain empirical data. Results: The findings revealed that the worst score was achieved in the category of everyday life (3.61 ± 0.93. Statistically significant differences were found between the group of respondents who apply bandages on a daily basis and those who did not use them at all. Regular bandage application is closely connected with positive assessment of wound therapy (p = 0.043, psychosocial life (p = 0.023, verbalisation of well-being in various categories (p = 0.001, assessment of state of the wound (p = 0.032, assessment of health condition (p = 0.019, and overall quality of life (p = 0.014. Length of wound treatment is related to assessments of quality of life. Conclusion: Non-healing wounds, the associated therapy and financial means required to treat them, and the pain resulting from them, are connected with physical difficulty, experience of negative emotions, and, thus, the worsening of patientsʼ quality of life. The results of the study could form the basis for further studies on similar issues.

The effectiveness of a Housing First adaptation for ethnic minority groups: findings of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vicky Stergiopoulos

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Little is known about the effectiveness of Housing First (HF among ethnic minority groups, despite its growing popularity for homeless adults experiencing mental illness. This randomized controlled trial tests the effectiveness of a HF program using rent supplements and intensive case management, enhanced by anti-racism and anti-oppression practices for homeless adults with mental illness from diverse ethnic minority backgrounds. Methods This unblinded pragmatic field trial was carried out in community settings in Toronto, Canada. Participants were 237 adults from ethnic minority groups experiencing mental illness and homelessness, who met study criteria for moderate needs for mental health services. Participants were randomized to either adapted HF (n = 135 or usual care (n = 102 and followed every 3 months for 24 months. The primary study outcome was housing stability; secondary outcomes included physical and mental health, social functioning, quality of life, arrests and health service use. Intention to treat statistical analyses examined the effectiveness of the intervention compared to usual care. Results During the 24-month study period, HF participants were stably housed a significantly greater proportion of time compared to usual care participants, 75 % (95 % CI 70 to 81 vs. 41 % (95 % CI 35 to 48, respectively, for a difference of 34 %, 95 % CI 25 to 43. HF also led to improvements in community integration over the course of the study: the change in the mean difference between treatment groups from baseline to 24-months was significantly greater among HF participants compared to those in usual care (change in mean difference = 2.2, 95 % CI 0.06 to 4.3. Baseline diagnosis of psychosis was associated with reduced likelihood of being housed ≥ 50 % of the study period (OR = 0.37, 95 % CI 0.18 to 0.72. Conclusion Housing First enhanced with anti-racism and anti-oppression practices can

Zero temperature renormalisation group study of the random systems: The Ising model in a transverse field in two dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamieniarz, G.

1984-12-01

A zero temperature real space renormalization group block method is applied to the random quantum Ising model with a transverse field on the planar honeycomb and square lattices. For the bond diluted system the magnetisation and the separation of the ground state energy level (in the paramagnetic phase) are presented for several bond concentrations p. The critical exponents extracted both from the fixed-points and from direct numerical computations preserve some scaling relations, and the critical curve displays a characteristic discontinuity at the percolation concentration. For the McCoy and Wu distribution the random fields and bonds are found to introduce a strong relevant disorder. The order parameter still falls off continuously to zero for well-defined values of the parameters, but a new fixed point yields a slight change in the critical exponents. (author)

Effectiveness of preventive support groups for children of mentally ill or addicted parents: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

van Santvoort, Floor; Hosman, Clemens M H; van Doesum, Karin T M; Janssens, Jan M A M

2014-06-01

In various countries preventive support groups are offered to children of mentally ill and/or addicted parents to reduce the risk that they will develop problems themselves. This study assessed the effectiveness of Dutch support groups for children aged 8-12 years old in terms of reducing negative cognitions; improving social support, competence, and parent-child interaction (direct intervention goals); and reducing emotional and behavioural problems (ultimate intervention aim). Children from 254 families were randomly assigned to the intervention or a control condition. Parents and children completed questionnaires at baseline and 3 and 6 months later. Emotional and behavioural problems of intervention group children were also assessed 1 year after the start. Univariate analyses of variance showed that children in the intervention group experienced a greater decrease in negative cognitions and sought more social support, immediately after participation and 3 months later, as compared to control group children. They also remained stable in their feelings of social acceptance (competence aspect) immediately after the intervention, whereas these feelings declined in control group children. The intervention and control groups both improved over time in terms of cognitions, competence, parent-child interaction and emotional and behavioural problem scores. Additional improvement in terms of problem scores was found in the intervention group 1 year after baseline. Further enhancement of effectiveness requires re-consideration of the support group goals; it should be studied whether the goals reflect the most important and influential risk and protective factors for this specific population. Besides, effects should be studied over a longer period.

Effectiveness of group reminiscence for improving wellbeing of institutionalized elderly adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaggioli, Andrea; Scaratti, Chiara; Morganti, Luca; Stramba-Badiale, Marco; Agostoni, Monica; Spatola, Chiara A M; Molinari, Enrico; Cipresso, Pietro; Riva, Giuseppe

2014-10-25

Group reminiscence therapy is a brief and structured intervention in which participants share personal past events with peers. This approach has been shown to be promising for improving wellbeing and reducing depressive symptoms among institutionalized older adults. However, despite the considerable interest in reminiscence group therapy, controlled studies to determine its specific benefits as compared to generic social interactions with peers (group conversations about everyday subjects) are still lacking. We have designed a randomized controlled trial aimed at comparing the effects of group reminiscence therapy with those of group recreational activity on the psychological wellbeing of an institutionalized sample of older adults. The study includes two groups of 20 hospitalized elderly participants: the experimental group and the control group. Participants included in the experimental group will receive six sessions of group reminiscence therapy, while the control group will participate in a recreational group discussion. A repeated-measures design will be used post-intervention and three months post-intervention to evaluate changes in self-reported outcome measures of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and quality of life from baseline. The protocol of a study aimed at examining the specific effects of group reminiscence therapy on psychological wellbeing, depression, and quality of life among institutionalized elderly people is described. It is expected that the outcomes of this trial will contribute to our knowledge about the process of group reminiscence, evaluate its effectiveness in improving psychological wellbeing of institutionalized individuals, and identify the best conditions for optimizing this approach. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (registration number: NCT02077153) on 31 January 2014.

The effectiveness of a Group Triple P with Chinese parents who have a child with developmental disabilities: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, Cynthia; Fan, Angel; Sanders, Matthew R

2013-03-01

The study examined the effectiveness of Group Triple P, a Level 4 variant of the Triple P multilevel system of parenting support, with Chinese parents who had a preschool aged child with a developmental disability, using randomized controlled trial design. Participants (Intervention group: 42; Waitlist Control group: 39) completed measures on child behaviour, parental stress, dysfunctional discipline styles and parental conflict before and after program completion by the Intervention group. Intervention group participants also completed these same measures six months after program completion. Compared to the Waitlist Control group, parents receiving Group Triple P reported significantly lower levels of child behaviour problems, parental stress, dysfunctional discipline style and parental conflict scores. The Intervention group participants maintained their gains six months after program completion. The results provided promising evidence for the Level 4 Group Triple P as an effective intervention program for Chinese parents who have preschool aged children with developmental disabilities. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robust video watermarking via optimization algorithm for quantization of pseudo-random semi-global statistics

Science.gov (United States)

Kucukgoz, Mehmet; Harmanci, Oztan; Mihcak, Mehmet K.; Venkatesan, Ramarathnam

2005-03-01

In this paper, we propose a novel semi-blind video watermarking scheme, where we use pseudo-random robust semi-global features of video in the three dimensional wavelet transform domain. We design the watermark sequence via solving an optimization problem, such that the features of the mark-embedded video are the quantized versions of the features of the original video. The exact realizations of the algorithmic parameters are chosen pseudo-randomly via a secure pseudo-random number generator, whose seed is the secret key, that is known (resp. unknown) by the embedder and the receiver (resp. by the public). We experimentally show the robustness of our algorithm against several attacks, such as conventional signal processing modifications and adversarial estimation attacks.

Decision aid on breast cancer screening reduces attendance rate: results of a large-scale, randomized, controlled study by the DECIDEO group

Science.gov (United States)

Bourmaud, Aurelie; Soler-Michel, Patricia; Oriol, Mathieu; Regnier, Véronique; Tinquaut, Fabien; Nourissat, Alice; Bremond, Alain; Moumjid, Nora; Chauvin, Franck

2016-01-01

Controversies regarding the benefits of breast cancer screening programs have led to the promotion of new strategies taking into account individual preferences, such as decision aid. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a decision aid leaflet on the participation of women invited to participate in a national breast cancer screening program. This Randomized, multicentre, controlled trial. Women aged 50 to 74 years, were randomly assigned to receive either a decision aid or the usual invitation letter. Primary outcome was the participation rate 12 months after the invitation. 16 000 women were randomized and 15 844 included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. The participation rate in the intervention group was 40.25% (3174/7885 women) compared with 42.13% (3353/7959) in the control group (p = 0.02). Previous attendance for screening (RR = 6.24; [95%IC: 5.75-6.77]; p < 0.0001) and medium household income (RR = 1.05; [95%IC: 1.01-1.09]; p = 0.0074) were independently associated with attendance for screening. This large-scale study demonstrates that the decision aid reduced the participation rate. The decision aid activate the decision making process of women toward non-attendance to screening. These results show the importance of promoting informed patient choices, especially when those choices cannot be anticipated. PMID:26883201

Randomized Trial of Group Music Therapy With Chinese Prisoners: Impact on Anxiety, Depression, and Self-Esteem.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xi-Jing; Hannibal, Niels; Gold, Christian

2016-07-01

This study investigated the effects of group music therapy on improving anxiety, depression, and self-esteem in Chinese prisoners. Two-hundred male prisoners were randomly assigned to music therapy (n = 100) or standard care (n = 100). The music therapy had 20 sessions of group therapy compared with standard care. Anxiety (State and Trait Anxiety Inventory [STAI]), depression (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]), and self-esteem (Texas Social Behavior Inventory [TSBI], Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory [RSI]) were measured by standardized scales at baseline, mid-program, and post-program. Data were analyzed based on the intention to treat principle. Compared with standard care, anxiety and depression in the music therapy condition decreased significantly at mid-test and post-test; self-esteem improved significantly at mid-test (TSBI) and at post-test (TSBI, RSI). Improvements were greater in younger participants (STAI-Trait, RSI) and/or in those with a lower level of education (STAI-State, STAI-Trait). Group music therapy seems to be effective in improving anxiety, depression, and self-esteem and was shown to be most beneficial for prisoners of younger age or with lower education level. © The Author(s) 2015.

Effect of a stress management program on subjects with neck pain: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

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Metikaridis, T Damianos; Hadjipavlou, Alexander; Artemiadis, Artemios; Chrousos, George; Darviri, Christina

2016-05-20

Studies have shown that stress is implicated in the cause of neck pain (NP). The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a simple, zero cost stress management program on patients suffering from NP. This study is a parallel-type randomized clinical study. People suffering from chronic non-specific NP were chosen randomly to participate in an eight week duration program of stress management (N= 28) (including diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation) or in a no intervention control condition (N= 25). Self-report measures were used for the evaluation of various variables at the beginning and at the end of the eight-week monitoring period. Descriptive and inferential statistic methods were used for the statistical analysis. At the end of the monitoring period, the intervention group showed a statistically significant reduction of stress and anxiety (p= 0.03, p= 0.01), report of stress related symptoms (p= 0.003), percentage of disability due to NP (p= 0.000) and NP intensity (p= 0.002). At the same time, daily routine satisfaction levels were elevated (p= 0.019). No statistically significant difference was observed in cortisol measurements. Stress management has positive effects on NP patients.

Group behavioral activation for patients with severe obesity and binge eating disorder: a randomized controlled trial.

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Alfonsson, Sven; Parling, Thomas; Ghaderi, Ata

2015-03-01

The aim of the present study was to assess whether behavioral activation (BA) is an efficacious treatment for decreasing eating disorder symptoms in patients with obesity and binge eating disorder (BED). Ninety-six patients with severe obesity and BED were randomized to either 10 sessions of group BA or wait-list control. The study was conducted at an obesity clinic in a regular hospital setting. The treatment improved some aspects of disordered eating and had a positive effect on depressive symptoms but there was no significant difference between the groups regarding binge eating and most other symptoms. Improved mood but lack of effect on binge eating suggests that dysfunctional eating (including BED) is maintained by other mechanisms than low activation and negative mood. However, future studies need to investigate whether effects of BA on binge eating might emerge later than at post-assessment, as in interpersonal psychotherapy for bulimia nervosa. © The Author(s) 2014.

The effects of a group based stress treatment program (the Kalmia concept) targeting stress reduction and return to work. A randomized, wait-list controlled trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Netterstrøm, Bo; Friebel, Lene; Ladegaard, Yun Katrine

2012-01-01

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a group based multidisciplinary stress treatment program on reductions in symptom levels and the return to work (RTW) rate. Methods General practitioners referred 199 patients with persistent work related stress symptoms...... to the project. The inclusion criteria included being employed and being on sick leave. Using a randomized wait- list control design, the participants were randomized into three groups: the intervention group (IG, 70 participants) was treated using the Stress Therapy Concept of Kalmia, which consists...... to the WLCG . Further, the prevalence of depression declined significantly in the IG and the TAUCG compared to the WLCG. Regarding the RTW rate, 66% of the participants in the IG had returned to full time work after three months. This rate was significantly greater than the percentage in the TAUCG (36...

Effects of music therapy on self- and experienced stigma in patients on an acute care psychiatric unit: a randomized three group effectiveness study.

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Silverman, Michael J

2013-10-01

Stigma is a major social barrier that can restrict access to and willingness to seek psychiatric care. Psychiatric consumers may use secrecy and withdrawal in an attempt to cope with stigma. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of music therapy on self- and experienced stigma in acute care psychiatric inpatients using a randomized design with wait-list control. Participants (N=83) were randomly assigned by cluster to one of three single-session group-based conditions: music therapy, education, or wait-list control. Participants in the music therapy and education conditions completed only posttests while participants in the wait-list control condition completed only pretests. The music therapy condition was a group songwriting intervention wherein participants composed lyrics for "the stigma blues." Results indicated significant differences in measures of discrimination (experienced stigma), disclosure (self-stigma), and total stigma between participants in the music therapy condition and participants in the wait-list control condition. From the results of this randomized controlled investigation, music therapy may be an engaging and effective psychosocial technique to treat stigma. Limitations, suggestions for future research, and implications for clinical practice and psychiatric music therapy research are provided. © 2013.

Don’t Always Prefer My Chosen Objects: Low Level of Trait Autonomy and Autonomy Deprivation Decreases Mere Choice Effect

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Shang, Zhe; Tao, Tuoxin; Wang, Lei

2016-01-01

Choice effect is a robust phenomenon in which even “mere choice” that does not include actual choosing actions could result in more preference for the self-chosen objects over other-chosen objects. In the current research, we proposed that autonomy would impact the mere choice effect. We conducted two studies to examine the hypothesis. The results showed that the mere choice effect measured by Implicit Association Test (IAT) significantly decreased for participants with lower levels of trait autonomy (Study 1) and when participants were primed to experience autonomy deprivation (Study 2). The theoretical and practical implications are discussed. PMID:27148132

The effect of adding group-based counselling to individual lifestyle counselling on changes in dietary intake. The Inter99 study – a randomized controlled trial

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Smith Lisa

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Few studies have investigated the specific effect of single intervention components in randomized controlled trials. The purpose was to investigate the effect of adding group-based diet and exercise counselling to individual life-style counselling on long-term changes in dietary habits. Methods The study was a randomized controlled intervention study. From a general Danish population, aged 30 to 60 years (n = 61,301, two random sample were drawn (group A, n = 11,708; group B, n = 1,308. Subjects were invited for a health screening program. Participation rate was 52.5%. All participants received individual life-style counselling. Individuals at high risk of ischemic heart disease in group A were furthermore offered group-based life-style counselling. The intervention was repeated for high-risk individuals after one and three years. At five-year follow-up all participants were invited for a health examination. High risk individuals were included in this study (n = 2 356 and changes in dietary intake were analyzed using multilevel linear regression analyses. Results At one-year follow-up group A had significantly increased the unsaturated/saturated fat ratio compared to group B and in men a significantly greater decrease in saturated fat intake was found in group A compared to group B (net change: -1.13 E%; P = 0.003. No differences were found between group A and B at three-year follow-up. At five-year follow-up group A had significantly increased the unsaturated/saturated fat ratio (net change: 0.09; P = 0.01 and the fish intake compared to group B (net change: 5.4 g/day; P = 0.05. Further, in men a non-significant tendency of a greater decrease was found at five year follow-up in group A compared to group B (net change: -0.68 E%; P = 0.10. The intake of fibre and vegetables increased in both groups, however, no significant difference was found between the groups. No differences between groups were found for saturated fat

Randomized control trial to assess the efficacy of metacognitive training compared with a psycho-educational group in people with a recent-onset psychosis.

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Ochoa, S; López-Carrilero, R; Barrigón, M L; Pousa, E; Barajas, A; Lorente-Rovira, E; González-Higueras, F; Grasa, E; Ruiz-Delgado, I; Cid, J; Birulés, I; Esteban-Pinos, I; Casañas, R; Luengo, A; Torres-Hernández, P; Corripio, I; Montes-Gámez, M; Beltran, M; De Apraiz, A; Domínguez-Sánchez, L; Sánchez, E; Llacer, B; Pélaez, T; Bogas, J L; Moritz, S

2017-07-01

Aims were to assess the efficacy of metacognitive training (MCT) in people with a recent onset of psychosis in terms of symptoms as a primary outcome and metacognitive variables as a secondary outcome. A multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial was performed. A total of 126 patients were randomized to an MCT or a psycho-educational intervention with cognitive-behavioral elements. The sample was composed of people with a recent onset of psychosis, recruited from nine public centers in Spain. The treatment consisted of eight weekly sessions for both groups. Patients were assessed at three time-points: baseline, post-treatment, and at 6 months follow-up. The evaluator was blinded to the condition of the patient. Symptoms were assessed with the PANSS and metacognition was assessed with a battery of questionnaires of cognitive biases and social cognition. Both MCT and psycho-educational groups had improved symptoms post-treatment and at follow-up, with greater improvements in the MCT group. The MCT group was superior to the psycho-educational group on the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS) total (p = 0.026) and self-certainty (p = 0.035) and dependence self-subscale of irrational beliefs, comparing baseline and post-treatment. Moreover, comparing baseline and follow-up, the MCT group was better than the psycho-educational group in self-reflectiveness on the BCIS (p = 0.047), total BCIS (p = 0.045), and intolerance to frustration (p = 0.014). Jumping to Conclusions (JTC) improved more in the MCT group than the psycho-educational group (p = 0.021). Regarding the comparison within each group, Theory of Mind (ToM), Personalizing Bias, and other subscales of irrational beliefs improved in the MCT group but not the psycho-educational group (p tolerance to frustration. It seems that MCT could be useful to improve symptoms, ToM, and personalizing bias.

Comparison of Metal-Ceramic and All-Ceramic Three-Unit Posterior Fixed Dental Prostheses: A 3-Year Randomized Clinical Trial.

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Nicolaisen, Maj H; Bahrami, Golnosh; Schropp, Lars; Isidor, Flemming

2016-01-01

The aim of this randomized clinical study was to compare the 3-year clinical outcome of metal-ceramic fixed dental prostheses (MC-FDPs) and zirconia all-ceramic fixed dental prostheses (AC-FDPs) replacing a posterior tooth. A sample of 34 patients with a missing posterior tooth were randomly chosen to receive either a MC-FDP (n = 17) or an AC-FDP (n = 17). The FDPs were evaluated at baseline and yearly until 3 years after cementation. They were assessed using the California Dental Association assessment system. Periodontal parameters were measured at the abutment teeth, and the contralateral teeth served as control. The statistical unit was the FDP/patient. The survival rates for MC-FDPs and AC-FDPs were 100%. The success rate was 76% and 71% for MC-FDPs and AC-FDPs, respectively. Three technical complications were observed in the MC-FDP group and five in the AC-FDP group, all chipping fractures of the ceramic veneer. Furthermore, one biologic complication in the MC-FDP group (an apical lesion) was observed. No framework fractures occurred. All patients had optimal oral hygiene and showed no bleeding on periodontal probing at any of the recalls. Only minor changes in the periodontal parameters were observed during the 3 years of observation. Three-unit posterior MC-FDPs and AC-FDPs showed similar high survival rates and acceptable success rates after 3 years of function, and ceramic veneer chipping fracture was the most frequent complication for both types of restorations.

The effect of participatory women's groups on birth outcomes in Bangladesh: does coverage matter? Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

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Fottrell Edward F

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Progress on neonatal survival has been slow in most countries. While there is evidence on what works to reduce newborn mortality, there is limited knowledge on how to deliver interventions effectively when health systems are weak. Cluster randomized trials have shown strong reductions in neonatal mortality using community mobilisation with women's groups in rural Nepal and India. A similar trial in Bangladesh showed no impact. A main hypothesis is that this negative finding is due to the much lower coverage of women's groups in the intervention population in Bangladesh compared to India and Nepal. For evidence-based policy making it is important to examine if women's group coverage is a main determinant of their impact. The study aims to test the effect on newborn and maternal health outcomes of a participatory women's group intervention with a high population coverage of women's groups. Methods A cluster randomised trial of a participatory women's group intervention will be conducted in 3 districts of rural Bangladesh. As we aim to study a women's group intervention with high population coverage, the same 9 intervention and 9 control unions will be used as in the 2005-2007 trial. These had been randomly allocated using the districts as strata. To increase coverage, 648 new groups were formed in addition to the 162 existing groups that were part of the previous trial. An open cohort of women who are permanent residents in the union in which their delivery or death was identified, is enrolled. Women and their newborns are included after birth, or, if a woman dies during pregnancy, after her death. Excluded are women who are temporary residents in the union in which their birth or death was identified. The primary outcome is neonatal mortality in the last 24 months of the study. A low cost surveillance system will be used to record all birth outcomes and deaths to women of reproductive age in the study population. Data on home

Post-discharge management following hip fracture - get you back to B4: A parallel group, randomized controlled trial study protocol

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Brown Roy A

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Fall-related hip fractures result in significant personal and societal consequences; importantly, up to half of older adults with hip fracture never regain their previous level of mobility. Strategies of follow-up care for older adults after fracture have improved investigation for osteoporosis; but managing bone health alone is not enough. Prevention of fractures requires management of both bone health and falls risk factors (including the contributing role of cognition, balance and continence to improve outcomes. Methods/Design This is a parallel group, pragmatic randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a post-fracture clinic compared with usual care on mobility for older adults following their hospitalization for hip fracture. Participants randomized to the intervention will attend a fracture follow-up clinic where a geriatrician and physiotherapist will assess and manage their mobility and other health issues. Depending on needs identified at the clinical assessment, participants may receive individualized and group-based outpatient physiotherapy, and a home exercise program. Our primary objective is to assess the effectiveness of a novel post-discharge fracture management strategy on the mobility of older adults after hip fracture. We will enrol 130 older adults (65 years+ who have sustained a hip fracture in the previous three months, and were admitted to hospital from home and are expected to be discharged home. We will exclude older adults who prior to the fracture were: unable to walk 10 meters; diagnosed with dementia and/or significant comorbidities that would preclude their participation in the clinical service. Eligible participants will be randomly assigned to the Intervention or Usual Care groups by remote allocation. Treatment allocation will be concealed; investigators, measurement team and primary data analysts will be blinded to group allocation. Our primary outcome is mobility

Effects of Flipped Learning Using Online Materials in a Surgical Nursing Practicum: A Pilot Stratified Group-Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myung Kyung; Park, Bu Kyung

2018-01-01

This study examined the effect of flipped learning in comparison to traditional learning in a surgical nursing practicum. The subjects of this study were 102 nursing students in their third year of university who were scheduled to complete a clinical nursing practicum in an operating room or surgical unit. Participants were randomly assigned to either a flipped learning group (n = 51) or a traditional learning group (n = 51) for the 1-week, 45-hour clinical nursing practicum. The flipped-learning group completed independent e-learning lessons on surgical nursing and received a brief orientation prior to the commencement of the practicum, while the traditional-learning group received a face-to-face orientation and on-site instruction. After the completion of the practicum, both groups completed a case study and a conference. The student's self-efficacy, self-leadership, and problem-solving skills in clinical practice were measured both before and after the one-week surgical nursing practicum. Participants' independent goal setting and evaluation of beliefs and assumptions for the subscales of self-leadership and problem-solving skills were compared for the flipped learning group and the traditional learning group. The results showed greater improvement on these indicators for the flipped learning group in comparison to the traditional learning group. The flipped learning method might offer more effective e-learning opportunities in terms of self-leadership and problem-solving than the traditional learning method in surgical nursing practicums.

The effects of holistic health group interventions on improving the cognitive ability of persons with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial

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Young, Kim-wan; Ng, Petrus; Kwok, Timothy; Cheng, Daphne

2017-01-01

Purpose Persons with mild cognitive impairment (PwMCI) are at a higher risk of developing dementia than those without cognitive impairment. This research study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a holistic health group intervention, which is based on the holistic brain health approach as well as an Eastern approach to health care, on improving the cognitive ability of Chinese PwMCI. Research methods In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), 38 Chinese PwMCI were randomly assigned to either a 10-session holistic health intervention group or the control group. The holistic health treatment group attempted to promote the acceptance of their illness, enhance memory and coping skills, develop a positive lifestyle, maintain positive emotions, and facilitate emotional support among participants. The 10-session holistic health group intervention was structured, with each session conducted once per week and ~90 minutes in length. Control group patients and their family caregivers received standardized basic educational materials that provided basic information on cognitive decline for them to read at home. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test was used to assess the cognitive ability of PwMCI in the pre- and posttreatment periods by a research assistant who was blind to the group assignment of the participants. Results The paired-samples t-test indicated that the treatment group (n=18) showed significant improvement in the MoCA score, whereas the control group (n=20) did not. Moreover, 2×2 (group × time) repeated-measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) demonstrated that the holistic health group treatment was significantly more effective than the control intervention in improving the MoCA score, with a moderate effect size, and improving the delayed recall (ie, short-term memory), with a strong effect size, after controlling for age, sex, education, and marital status. Conclusion This present RCT provides evidence to support the feasibility and effectiveness of

The effects of holistic health group interventions on improving the cognitive ability of persons with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Kim-Wan; Ng, Petrus; Kwok, Timothy; Cheng, Daphne

2017-01-01

Persons with mild cognitive impairment (PwMCI) are at a higher risk of developing dementia than those without cognitive impairment. This research study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a holistic health group intervention, which is based on the holistic brain health approach as well as an Eastern approach to health care, on improving the cognitive ability of Chinese PwMCI. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), 38 Chinese PwMCI were randomly assigned to either a 10-session holistic health intervention group or the control group. The holistic health treatment group attempted to promote the acceptance of their illness, enhance memory and coping skills, develop a positive lifestyle, maintain positive emotions, and facilitate emotional support among participants. The 10-session holistic health group intervention was structured, with each session conducted once per week and ~90 minutes in length. Control group patients and their family caregivers received standardized basic educational materials that provided basic information on cognitive decline for them to read at home. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test was used to assess the cognitive ability of PwMCI in the pre- and posttreatment periods by a research assistant who was blind to the group assignment of the participants. The paired-samples t -test indicated that the treatment group (n=18) showed significant improvement in the MoCA score, whereas the control group (n=20) did not. Moreover, 2×2 (group × time) repeated-measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) demonstrated that the holistic health group treatment was significantly more effective than the control intervention in improving the MoCA score, with a moderate effect size, and improving the delayed recall (ie, short-term memory), with a strong effect size, after controlling for age, sex, education, and marital status. This present RCT provides evidence to support the feasibility and effectiveness of the holistic health group intervention in

A randomized trial of upper limb botulimun toxin versus placebo injection, combined with physiotherapy, in children with hemiplegia.

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Ferrari, Adriano; Maoret, Anna Rosa; Muzzini, Simonetta; Alboresi, Silvia; Lombardi, Francesco; Sgandurra, Giuseppina; Paolicelli, Paola Bruna; Sicola, Elisa; Cioni, Giovanni

2014-10-01

The main goal of this study was to investigate the efficacy of Botulinum Toxin A (BoNT-A), combined with an individualized intensive physiotherapy/orthoses treatment, in improving upper limb activity and competence in daily activity in children with hemiplegia, and to compare its effectiveness with that of non-pharmacological instruments. It was a Randomized Clinical Trial of 27 children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy, outpatients of two high speciality Centres for child rehabilitation. Each child was assigned by simple randomization to experimental group (BoNT-A) or control group (placebo). Assisting Hand Assessment (AHA) was chosen as primary outcome measure; other measures were selected according to ICF dimensions. Participants were assessed at baseline (T0), at T1, T2, T3 (1-3-6 months after injection, respectively). Every patient was given a specific physiotherapeutic treatment, consisting of individualized goal directed exercises, task oriented activities, daily stretching manoeuvres, functional and/or static orthoses. BoNT-A group showed a significant increase of AHA raw scores at T2, compared to control group (T2-T0: p=.025) and functional goals achievement (GAS) was also slightly better in the same group (p=.033). Other measures indicated some improvement in both groups, without significant intergroup differences. Children with intermediate severity of hand function at House scale for upper limb impairment seem to have a better benefit from BoNT-A protocol. BoNT-A was effective in improving manipulation in the activity domain, in association with individualized goal-directed physiotherapy and orthoses; the combined treatment is recommended. The study brings more evidence for the efficacy of a combined treatment botulinum toxin injection-physiotherapy-orthoses, and it gives some suggestions for candidate selection and individualized treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A cognitive behavioral based group intervention for children with a chronic illness and their parents: a multicentre randomized controlled trial

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Schuengel Carlo

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Coping with a chronic illness (CI challenges children's psychosocial functioning and wellbeing. Cognitive-behavioral intervention programs that focus on teaching the active use of coping strategies may prevent children with CI from developing psychosocial problems. Involvement of parents in the intervention program may enhance the use of learned coping strategies in daily life, especially on the long-term. The primary aim of the present study is to examine the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioral based group intervention (called 'Op Koers' 1 for children with CI and of a parallel intervention for their parents. A secondary objective is to investigate why and for whom this intervention works, in order to understand the underlying mechanisms of the intervention effect. Methods/design This study is a multicentre randomized controlled trial. Participants are children (8 to 18 years of age with a chronic illness, and their parents, recruited from seven participating hospitals in the Netherlands. Participants are randomly allocated to two intervention groups (the child intervention group and the child intervention combined with a parent program and a wait-list control group. Primary outcomes are child psychosocial functioning, wellbeing and child disease related coping skills. Secondary outcomes are child quality of life, child general coping skills, child self-perception, parental stress, quality of parent-child interaction, and parental perceived vulnerability. Outcomes are evaluated at baseline, after 6 weeks of treatment, and at a 6 and 12-month follow-up period. The analyses will be performed on the basis of an intention-to-treat population. Discussion This study evaluates the effectiveness of a group intervention improving psychosocial functioning in children with CI and their parents. If proven effective, the intervention will be implemented in clinical practice. Strengths and limitations of the study design are discussed

Random regret and random utility in the household purchase of a motor vehicle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beck, M.; Chorus, C.G.; Rose, J.M.; Hensher, D.A.

2013-01-01

Random utility maximisation is the preeminent behavioural theory used to model choices. An alternative paradigm, however, is random regret minimisation. While the majority of the literature examines the choices of individuals, this paper compares the choices of groups, as well individuals, in both

Analysis of chosen urban bioclimatic conditions in Upper Silesian Industrial Region, Poland

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Zimnol, Jan

2013-04-01

Due to the increasing urbanization, people spend more and more time in cities. Because of that fact during the last century the human bioclimatological approach had an important influence on the applied urban bioclimatology. The aim of the study was to analyze chosen thermal bioclimatic conditions in urban area of Upper Silesian Industrial Region in connection with the atmospheric circulation and air masses. The study was focused on the thermal conditions that are important for the bioclimatological research on human thermal comfort. They were the basis for making study on how to show the influence of the air masses and circulations types on frequency and variability of the chosen bioclimate indexes. That research was based on data (2004 - 2008) acquired by the Silesian University (Faculty of Earth Sciences) meteorological station located in the city of Sosnowiec (50°17'N, 19°08'E, h=263 m a.s.l.). The temperature measurements were made automatically every 10 minutes on the 2 meters above the ground level. Previous research showed that the station is a good representation of the local urban climate conditions in Upper Silesian Industrial Region. In the study the following air temperatures were taken into consideration: average day temperature, maximum day temperature, minimum day temperature and the average air temperature at 12 UTC. They were associated with atmospheric circulation types and masses typical for the region. Using the data mentioned above I conducted a classification to divide days into following objective categories: cool, cold, comfortable, hot, warm and very hot in the seasonal depiction. The final stage of the work was to find the answer to the following question: "When and how do the strong air masses and air circulations types modify bioclimatic conditions in the study area?" Answer to that question together with further results of the research will be presented on my poster.

Placing of aroma compounds by food sales promotion in chosen services business

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Jakub Berčík

2016-12-01

Full Text Available There are several ways to get higher sale involving human senses too. One of the options is a security of stimulating atmosphere of sale/ business environment. In addition to equipment, design and staff, the lighting, sound (noise, and last ones but not least smell, respectively air quality significantly take part on that. Aroma is the element that inherently belongs to the visual merchandising tools. It can influence not only emotions, memory, but total customers´ satisfaction and preferences as well as spending time in that place. In this context, it is important to find right compromise when choosing the aromatic compounds for various products, in the process of their application (intensity, process of aromatization and security of sufficient air quality, because everybody perceives the odours with different sensitivity. Properly chosen smell and factors of air quality bring for business operators (services trades many advantages; from staff, who more relax and friendly behave to the guests until making of various associations and stimulations of customers, who spend time inside of service. Fragrance or air quality looks like based on of present researches as the most important factor directly on point-of-sale, while aroma acquires the importance in case of memory too. On the one side, the thinks, which are seen or heard by customers, could be memorized by them few days or weeks, so on the second side, the thinks which are smelled, could be memorized by guests many decades. Except this, the Scientifics studies show, that over 75 % of all emotions are generated based on scent´ perception. The main aim of this paper is a research, how aroma influences customer purchasing decision (preferences in chosen service provider through the tracking of daily sales of baked baguettes (Paninis with using of aroma equipment; Aroma Dispenser.

Effects of Group, Individual, and Home Exercise in Persons With Parkinson Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

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King, Laurie A; Wilhelm, Jennifer; Chen, Yiyi; Blehm, Ron; Nutt, John; Chen, Zunqiu; Serdar, Andrea; Horak, Fay B

2015-10-01

Comparative studies of exercise interventions for people with Parkinson disease (PD) rarely considered how one should deliver the intervention. The objective of this study was to compare the success of exercise when administered by (1) home exercise program, (2) individualized physical therapy, or (3) a group class. We examined if common comorbidities associated with PD impacted success of each intervention. Fifty-eight people (age = 63.9 ± 8 years) with PD participated. People were randomized into (1) home exercise program, (2) individual physical therapy, or (3) group class intervention. All arms were standardized and based on the Agility Boot Camp exercise program for PD, 3 times per week for 4 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the 7-item Physical Performance Test. Other measures of balance, gait, mobility, quality of life, balance confidence, depressions, apathy, self-efficacy and UPDRS-Motor, and activity of daily living scores were included. Only the individual group significantly improved in the Physical Performance Test. The individual exercise showed the most improvements in functional and balance measures, whereas the group class showed the most improvements in gait. The home exercise program improved the least across all outcomes. Several factors effected success, particularly for the home group. An unsupervised, home exercise program is the least effective way to deliver exercise to people with PD, and individual and group exercises have differing benefits. Furthermore, people with PD who also have other comorbidities did better in a program directly supervised by a physical therapist.Video Abstract available for additional insights from the authors (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, http://links.lww.com/JNPT/A112).

Exploring the efficacy of an acceptance, mindfulness & compassionate-based group intervention for women struggling with their weight (Kg-Free): A randomized controlled trial.

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Palmeira, Lara; Pinto-Gouveia, José; Cunha, Marina

2017-05-01

This randomized-controlled trial aims to test the efficacy of a group intervention (Kg-Free) for women with overweight or obesity based on mindfulness, ACT and compassion approaches. The intervention aimed to reduce weight self-stigma and unhealthy eating patterns and increase quality-of-life (QoL). Seventy-three women, aged between 18 and 55 years old, with BMI ≥25 without binge-eating seeking weight loss treatment were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. Kg-Free comprises 10 weekly group sessions plus 2 booster fortnightly sessions, of 2h30 h each. The control group maintained Treatment as Usual (TAU). Data was collected at baseline and at the end of the Kg-Free intervention. Overall, participants enrolled in Kg-Free found the intervention to be very important and helpful when dealing with their weight-related unwanted internal experiences. Moreover, when compared with TAU, the Kg-Free group revealed a significant increased health-related QoL and physical exercise and a reduction of weight self-stigma, unhealthy eating behaviors, BMI, self-criticism, weight-related experiential avoidance and psychopathological symptoms at post-treatment. Results for self-compassion showed a trend towards significance, whereas no significant between-groups differences were found for mindfulness. Taken together, evidence was found for Kg-Free efficacy in reducing weight-related negative experiences and promoting healthy behaviors, psychological functioning, and QoL. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Virtual In-Silico Modeling Guided Catheter Ablation Predicts Effective Linear Ablation Lesion Set for Longstanding Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: Multicenter Prospective Randomized Study.

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Shim, Jaemin; Hwang, Minki; Song, Jun-Seop; Lim, Byounghyun; Kim, Tae-Hoon; Joung, Boyoung; Kim, Sung-Hwan; Oh, Yong-Seog; Nam, Gi-Byung; On, Young Keun; Oh, Seil; Kim, Young-Hoon; Pak, Hui-Nam

2017-01-01

Objective: Radiofrequency catheter ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF) still has a substantial recurrence rate. This study aims to investigate whether an AF ablation lesion set chosen using in-silico ablation (V-ABL) is clinically feasible and more effective than an empirically chosen ablation lesion set (Em-ABL) in patients with PeAF. Methods: We prospectively included 108 patients with antiarrhythmic drug-resistant PeAF (77.8% men, age 60.8 ± 9.9 years), and randomly assigned them to the V-ABL ( n = 53) and Em-ABL ( n = 55) groups. Five different in-silico ablation lesion sets [1 pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), 3 linear ablations, and 1 electrogram-guided ablation] were compared using heart-CT integrated AF modeling. We evaluated the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of V-ABL compared with that of Em-ABL. Results: The pre-procedural computing time for five different ablation strategies was 166 ± 11 min. In the Em-ABL group, the earliest terminating blinded in-silico lesion set matched with the Em-ABL lesion set in 21.8%. V-ABL was not inferior to Em-ABL in terms of procedure time ( p = 0.403), ablation time ( p = 0.510), and major complication rate ( p = 0.900). During 12.6 ± 3.8 months of follow-up, the clinical recurrence rate was 14.0% in the V-ABL group and 18.9% in the Em-ABL group ( p = 0.538). In Em-ABL group, clinical recurrence rate was significantly lower after PVI+posterior box+anterior linear ablation, which showed the most frequent termination during in-silico ablation (log-rank p = 0.027). Conclusions: V-ABL was feasible in clinical practice, not inferior to Em-ABL, and predicts the most effective ablation lesion set in patients who underwent PeAF ablation.

How Do We Index?: A Report of Some Aslib Informatics Group Activity.

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Jones, Kevin P.

1983-01-01

Results of workshops focusing on the indexing process conducted by Aslib Informatics Group and its predecessor the Co-ordinate Indexing Group are reported, noting seminars held in 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1981. Indexing techniques and subject words chosen for journal articles are appended. (EJS)

A Randomized Depression Prevention Trial Comparing Interpersonal Psychotherapy--Adolescent Skills Training to Group Counseling in Schools.

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Young, Jami F; Benas, Jessica S; Schueler, Christie M; Gallop, Robert; Gillham, Jane E; Mufson, Laura

2016-04-01

Given the rise in depression disorders in adolescence, it is important to develop and study depression prevention programs for this age group. The current study examined the efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST), a group prevention program for adolescent depression, in comparison to group programs that are typically delivered in school settings. In this indicated prevention trial, 186 adolescents with elevated depression symptoms were randomized to receive IPT-AST delivered by research staff or group counseling (GC) delivered by school counselors. Hierarchical linear modeling examined differences in rates of change in depressive symptoms and overall functioning from baseline to the 6-month follow-up assessment. Cox regression compared rates of depression diagnoses. Adolescents in IPT-AST showed significantly greater improvements in self-reported depressive symptoms and evaluator-rated overall functioning than GC adolescents from baseline to the 6-month follow-up. However, there were no significant differences between the two conditions in onset of depression diagnoses. Although both intervention conditions demonstrated significant improvements in depressive symptoms and overall functioning, results indicate that IPT-AST has modest benefits over groups run by school counselors which were matched on frequency and duration of sessions. In particular, IPT-AST outperformed GC in reduction of depressive symptoms and improvements in overall functioning. These findings point to the clinical utility of this depression prevention program, at least in the short-term. Additional follow-up is needed to determine the long-term effects of IPT-AST, relative to GC, particularly in preventing depression onset.

A Randomized Depression Prevention Trial Comparing Interpersonal Psychotherapy—Adolescent Skills Training to Group Counseling in Schools

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Benas, Jessica S.; Schueler, Christie M.; Gallop, Robert; Gillham, Jane E.; Mufson, Laura

2017-01-01

Given the rise in depression disorders in adolescence, it is important to develop and study depression prevention programs for this age group. The current study examined the efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST), a group prevention program for adolescent depression, in comparison to group programs that are typically delivered in school settings. In this indicated prevention trial, 186 adolescents with elevated depression symptoms were randomized to receive IPT-AST delivered by research staff or group counseling (GC) delivered by school counselors. Hierarchical linear modeling examined differences in rates of change in depressive symptoms and overall functioning from baseline to the 6-month follow-up assessment. Cox regression compared rates of depression diagnoses. Adolescents in IPT-AST showed significantly greater improvements in self-reported depressive symptoms and evaluator-rated overall functioning than GC adolescents from baseline to the 6-month follow-up. However, there were no significant differences between the two conditions in onset of depression diagnoses. Although both intervention conditions demonstrated significant improvements in depressive symptoms and overall functioning, results indicate that IPT-AST has modest benefits over groups run by school counselors which were matched on frequency and duration of sessions. In particular, IPT-AST outperformed GC in reduction of depressive symptoms and improvements in overall functioning. These findings point to the clinical utility of this depression prevention program, at least in the short-term. Additional follow-up is needed to determine the long-term effects of IPT-AST, relative to GC, particularly in preventing depression onset. PMID:26638219

Quality of Life From Canadian Cancer Trials Group MA.17R: A Randomized Trial of Extending Adjuvant Letrozole to 10 Years.

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Lemieux, Julie; Brundage, Michael D; Parulekar, Wendy R; Goss, Paul E; Ingle, James N; Pritchard, Kathleen I; Celano, Paul; Muss, Hyman; Gralow, Julie; Strasser-Weippl, Kathrin; Whelan, Kate; Tu, Dongsheng; Whelan, Timothy J

2018-02-20

Purpose MA.17R was a Canadian Cancer Trials Group-led phase III randomized controlled trial comparing letrozole to placebo after 5 years of aromatase inhibitor as adjuvant therapy for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Quality of life (QOL) was a secondary outcome measure of the study, and here, we report the results of these analyses. Methods QOL was measured using the Short Form-36 (SF-36; two summary scores and eight domains) and menopause-specific QOL (MENQOL; four symptom domains) at baseline and every 12 months up to 60 months. QOL assessment was mandatory for Canadian Cancer Trials Group centers but optional for centers in other groups. Mean change scores from baseline were calculated. Results One thousand nine hundred eighteen women were randomly assigned, and 1,428 women completed the baseline QOL assessment. Compliance with QOL measures was > 85%. Baseline summary scores for the SF-36 physical component summary (47.5 for letrozole and 47.9 for placebo) and mental component summary (55.5 for letrozole and 54.8 for placebo) were close to the population norms of 50. No differences were seen between groups in mean change scores for the SF-36 physical and mental component summaries and the other eight QOL domains except for the role-physical subscale. No difference was found in any of the four domains of the MENQOL Conclusion No clinically significant differences were seen in overall QOL measured by the SF-36 summary measures and MENQOL between the letrozole and placebo groups. The data indicate that continuation of aromatase inhibitor therapy after 5 years of prior treatment in the trial population was not associated with a deterioration of overall QOL.

Randomized controlled study of CBT in bronchial asthma

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Grover Naveen

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to find out efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy, as an adjunct to standard pharmacotherapy, in bronchial asthma. In a random-ized two-group design with pre-and post assessments, forty asthma patients were randomly allotted to two groups: self management group and cognitive behavior therapy group. Both groups were exposed to 6-8 weeks of intervention, asthma self management program and cognitive behavior therapy. Assessment measures used were-Semi structured interview schedule, Asthma Symptom Checklist, Asthma di-ary, Asthma Bother Profile, Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale, AQLQ and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate. Within group comparison showed significant improvement in both groups at the post assessment. Between group comparisons showed that CBT group reported significantly greater change than that of SM group. Cognitive behavior therapy helps in improving the managment of asthma.

Effectiveness of a mobile cooperation intervention during the clinical practicum of nursing students: a parallel group randomized controlled trial protocol.

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Strandell-Laine, Camilla; Saarikoski, Mikko; Löyttyniemi, Eliisa; Salminen, Leena; Suomi, Reima; Leino-Kilpi, Helena

2017-06-01

The aim of this study was to describe a study protocol for a study evaluating the effectiveness of a mobile cooperation intervention to improve students' competence level, self-efficacy in clinical performance and satisfaction with the clinical learning environment. Nursing student-nurse teacher cooperation during the clinical practicum has a vital role in promoting the learning of students. Despite an increasing interest in using mobile technologies to improve the clinical practicum of students, there is limited robust evidence regarding their effectiveness. A multicentre, parallel group, randomized, controlled, pragmatic, superiority trial. Second-year pre-registration nursing students who are beginning a clinical practicum will be recruited from one university of applied sciences. Eligible students will be randomly allocated to either a control group (engaging in standard cooperation) or an intervention group (engaging in mobile cooperation) for the 5-week the clinical practicum. The complex mobile cooperation intervention comprises of a mobile application-assisted, nursing student-nurse teacher cooperation and a training in the functions of the mobile application. The primary outcome is competence. The secondary outcomes include self-efficacy in clinical performance and satisfaction with the clinical learning environment. Moreover, a process evaluation will be undertaken. The ethical approval for this study was obtained in December 2014 and the study received funding in 2015. The results of this study will provide robust evidence on mobile cooperation during the clinical practicum, a research topic that has not been consistently studied to date. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

THE USEFULNESS FOR ENSILING OF CHOSEN PLANT FORMS OF SPECIES OF SILPHIUM GENUS

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Jarosław Piłat

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Chemical composition and usefulness for ensiling of the chosen forms of species: S. perfoliatum was determined in different stages of vegetation. Forage fermantation coefficient of species form: I, II ,III during vegetation period from vegetative phase to seed setting phase was lower than 35. The fermentation coefficient IV form of species during the initial phase of seed setting amounted to 36,54, which ensured the correct fermentation. The high phenol acids content in I, II, III species form limits the possibility of using them for forage purposes. These species may constitute a potentially good raw material for the pharmaceutical industry.

Progressive resistance training rebuilds lean body mass in head and neck cancer patients after radiotherapy – Results from the randomized DAHANCA 25B trial

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Lønbro, Simon; Dalgas, Ulrik; Primdahl, Hanne; Johansen, Jørgen; Nielsen, Jakob Lindberg; Aagaard, Per; Hermann, Anne Pernille; Overgaard, Jens; Overgaard, Kristian

2013-01-01

Purpose: The critical weight loss observed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients following radiotherapy is mainly due to loss of lean body mass. This is associated with decreases in muscle strength, functional performance and Quality of Life (QoL). The present study investigated the effect of progressive resistance training (PRT) on lean body mass, muscle strength and functional performance in HNSCC patients following radiotherapy. Patients and methods: Following radiotherapy HNSCC patients were randomized into two groups: Early Exercise (EE, n = 20) initiated 12 weeks of PRT followed by 12 weeks of self-chosen physical activity. Delayed Exercise (DE, n = 21) initiated 12 weeks of self-chosen physical activity followed by 12 weeks of PRT. Lean body mass, muscle strength, functional performance and QoL were evaluated at baseline and after week 12 and 24. Results: In the first 12 weeks lean body mass increased by 4.3% in EE after PRT and in the last 12 weeks by 4.2% in DE after PRT. These increases were significantly larger than the changes after self-chosen physical activity (p ⩽ 0.005). Regardless of PRT start-up time, the odds ratio of increasing lean body mass by more than 4% after PRT was 6.26 (p < 0.05). PRT significantly increased muscle strength, whereas functional performance increased significantly more than after self-chosen physical activity only after delayed onset of PRT. Overall QoL improved significantly more in EE than DE from baseline to week 12. Conclusion: PRT effectively increased lean body mass and muscle strength in HNSCC patients following radiotherapy, irrespectively of early or delayed start-up

Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy in group (MIT-G) for young adults with personality disorders: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

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Popolo, Raffaele; MacBeth, Angus; Canfora, Flaviano; Rebecchi, Daniela; Toselli, Cecilia; Salvatore, Giampaolo; Dimaggio, Giancarlo

2018-04-06

Young adults with personality disorders (PD) other than borderline are in urgent need of validated treatments to help them in managing important life transitions. Therapeutic interventions focused upon social and interpersonal difficulties may facilitate these individuals in maximizing opportunities for employment, forming stable romantic relationships, and belong to social groups. It is also important that they are offered evidence-based, first-line time-limited treatments in order to maximize effectiveness and reduce costs. We developed a 16-session programme of group-based Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy (MIT-G) including psychoeducation on the main interpersonal motives, an experiential component enabling practice of awareness of mental states; and use of mentalistic knowledge for purposeful problem-solving. We report a feasibility, acceptability, and clinical significance randomized clinical trial. Participants meeting inclusion criteria were randomized to receive MIT-G (n = 10) or waiting list+TAU (n = 10). Dropout rate was low and session attendance high (92.19%). Participants in the MIT-G arm had symptomatic and functional improvements consistent with large effect sizes. In the MIT-G arm similarly large effects were noted for increased capacity to understand mental states and regulate social interactions using mentalistic knowledge. Results were sustained at follow-up. Our findings suggest potential for applying MIT-G in larger samples to further test its effectiveness in reducing PD-related symptoms and problematic social functioning. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

A randomized controlled trial of a manual-based psychosocial group intervention for young people with epilepsy [PIE].

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Dorris, Liam; Broome, Helen; Wilson, Margaret; Grant, Cathy; Young, David; Baker, Gus; Balloo, Selina; Bruce, Susan; Campbell, Jo; Concannon, Bernie; Conway, Nadia; Cook, Lisa; Davis, Cheryl; Downey, Bruce; Evans, Jon; Flower, Diane; Garlovsky, Jack; Kearney, Shauna; Lewis, Susan; Stephens, Victoria; Turton, Stuart; Wright, Ingram

2017-07-01

We conducted an exploratory RCT to examine feasibility and preliminary efficacy for a manual-based psychosocial group intervention aimed at improving epilepsy knowledge, self-management skills, and quality of life in young people with epilepsy. Eighty-three participants (33:50m/f; age range 12-17years) were randomized to either the treatment or control group in seven tertiary paediatric neuroscience centres in the UK, using a wait-list control design. Participants were excluded if they reported suicidal ideation and/or scored above the cut off on mental health screening measures, or if they had a learning disability or other neurological disorder. The intervention consisted of six weekly 2-hour sessions using guided discussion, group exercises and role-plays facilitated by an epilepsy nurse and a clinical psychologist. At three month follow up the treatment group (n=40) was compared with a wait-list control group (n=43) on a range of standardized measures. There was a significant increase in epilepsy knowledge in the treatment group (p=0.02). Participants receiving the intervention were also significantly more confident in speaking to others about their epilepsy (p=0.04). Quality of life measures did not show significant change. Participants reported the greatest value of attending the group was: Learning about their epilepsy (46%); Learning to cope with difficult feelings (29%); and Meeting others with epilepsy (22%). Caregiver and facilitator feedback was positive, and 92% of participants would recommend the group to others. This brief psychosocial group intervention was effective in increasing participants' knowledge of epilepsy and improved confidence in discussing their epilepsy with others. We discuss the qualitative feedback, feasibility, strengths and limitations of the PIE trial. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Comparison of quality of life of patients treated for SUI by surgical approaches AJUST and TVT-O - a 3-month results from randomized trial].

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Smažinka, M; Švabík, K; Hubka, P; Haddad El, R; Mašata, J

2015-06-01

The aim of this study is to compare quality of life in 3-month follow-up after the use of transobturator tape TVT-O and single incision tape AJUST in the treatment of urodynamic stress urinary incontinence (USI). Randomized trial. Gynekologicko-porodnická klinika LF UK a FN Plzeň, Gynekologicko-porodnická klinika 1. LF UK a VFN Praha. Between May 2010 and May 2012 100 women with proven urodynamic stress urinary incontinence were included in this randomized trial. These patients were randomly chosen and devided into two group: 50 patients for TVT-O procedure and 50 patients for AJUST procedure. All of the patients underwent a complete urogynecological examination prior to the actual procedure (clinical examination, urodynamic examination, ultrasound examination) and filled in ICIQ-SF and iQol questionnaires. After the surgery, the patients satisfaction was evaluated by visual analoque scale (VAS) and Likert scale and by ICIQ-SF and iQol questionnaires. The intensity and length of postoperative pain was monitored using the visual analogue scale. The patients underwent an examination after 3 months. In both groups of participants no significant differences regarding age, BMI, parity, history of surgery for gynecological disorders, were found. Preoperative urodynamic, ICIQ-SF and iQol parameters were also not significantly different. In the 3-month follow-up 48 participants from TVT-O group and 50 participants from the AJUST group were monitored. No statistically significant differences in subjective and objective parameters were found. Subjectively stress incontinence was not present in 97.9% in the TVT-O and 96.0% in the group AJUST. Objectively stress test was negative in 93.8% in the TVT-O and 94% in group AJUST. By evaluating the ICIQ and iQol were found no statistical differences in the quality of life in both operating groups. At 3-months follow up we did not find any statistical difference between subjective and objective outcome for single incision tape

Competency-Based Training and Worker Turnover in Community Supports for People With IDD: Results From a Group Randomized Controlled Study.

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Bogenschutz, Matthew; Nord, Derek; Hewitt, Amy

2015-06-01

Turnover among direct support professionals (DSPs) in community support settings for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has been regarded as a challenge since tracking of this workforce began in the 1980s. This study utilized a group randomized controlled design to test the effects of a competency-based training intervention for DSPs on site-level turnover rates over a one year period. Results suggested that, compared with the control group, sites receiving the training intervention experienced a significant decrease in annual turnover, when multiple factors were controlled. Implications, including the importance of considering quality training as a long term organizational investment and intervention to reduce turnover, are discussed.

Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in postwar Kosovar adolescents using mind-body skills groups: a randomized controlled trial.

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Gordon, James S; Staples, Julie K; Blyta, Afrim; Bytyqi, Murat; Wilson, Amy T

2008-09-01

To determine whether participation in a mind-body skills group program based on psychological self-care, mind-body techniques, and self-expression decreases symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Eighty-two adolescents meeting criteria for PTSD according to the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (which corresponds with 16 of the 17 diagnostic criteria for PTSD in DSM-IV) were randomly assigned to a 12-session mind-body group program or a wait-list control group. The program was conducted by high school teachers in consultation with psychiatrists and psychologists and included meditation, guided imagery, and breathing techniques; self-expression through words, drawings, and movement; autogenic training and biofeedback; and genograms. Changes in PTSD symptoms were measured using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. The study was conducted from September 2004 to May 2005 by The Center for Mind-Body Medicine at a high school in the Suhareka region of Kosovo. Students in the immediate intervention group had significantly lower PTSD symptom scores following the intervention than those in the wait-list control group (F = 29.8, df = 1,76; p control group, 2.5 (0.3) and 2.4 (0.4), respectively. The decreased PTSD symptom scores were maintained in the initial intervention group at 3-month follow-up. After the wait-list control group received the intervention, there was a significant decrease (p Mind-body skills groups can reduce PTSD symptoms in war-traumatized high school students and can be effectively led by trained and supervised schoolteachers. Copyright 2008 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Optimal random search for a single hidden target.

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Snider, Joseph

2011-01-01

A single target is hidden at a location chosen from a predetermined probability distribution. Then, a searcher must find a second probability distribution from which random search points are sampled such that the target is found in the minimum number of trials. Here it will be shown that if the searcher must get very close to the target to find it, then the best search distribution is proportional to the square root of the target distribution regardless of dimension. For a Gaussian target distribution, the optimum search distribution is approximately a Gaussian with a standard deviation that varies inversely with how close the searcher must be to the target to find it. For a network where the searcher randomly samples nodes and looks for the fixed target along edges, the optimum is either to sample a node with probability proportional to the square root of the out-degree plus 1 or not to do so at all.

Effectiveness of a group-based self-management program for people with chronic fatigue syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.

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Pinxsterhuis, Irma; Sandvik, Leiv; Strand, Elin Bolle; Bautz-Holter, Erik; Sveen, Unni

2017-01-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of a group-based self-management program for people with chronic fatigue syndrome. A randomized controlled trial. Four mid-sized towns in southern Norway and two suburbs of Oslo. A total of 137 adults with chronic fatigue syndrome. A self-management program including eight biweekly meetings of 2.5 hours duration. The control group received usual care. Primary outcome measure: Medical Outcomes Study-Short Form-36 physical functioning subscale. Fatigue severity scale, self-efficacy scale, physical and mental component summary of the Short Form-36, and the illness cognition questionnaire (acceptance subscale). Assessments were performed at baseline, and at six-month and one-year follow-ups. At the six-month follow-up, a significant difference between the two groups was found concerning fatigue severity ( p = 0.039) in favor of the control group, and concerning self-efficacy in favor of the intervention group ( p = 0.039). These significant differences were not sustained at the one-year follow-up. No significant differences were found between the groups concerning physical functioning, acceptance, and health status at any of the measure points. The drop-out rate was 13.9% and the median number of sessions attended was seven (out of eight). The evaluated self-management program did not have any sustained effect, as compared with receiving usual care.

Comparative Clinical Study of Conventional Dental Implants and Mini Dental Implants for Mandibular Overdentures: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

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Aunmeungtong, Weerapan; Kumchai, Thongnard; Strietzel, Frank P; Reichart, Peter A; Khongkhunthian, Pathawee

2017-04-01

Dental implant-retained overdentures have been chosen as the treatment of choice for complete mandibular removable dentures. Dental implants, such as mini dental implants, and components for retaining overdentures, are commercially available. However, comparative clinical studies comparing mini dental implants and conventional dental implants using different attachment for implant-retained overdentures have not been well documented. To compare the clinical outcomes of using two mini dental implants with Equator ® attachments, four mini dental implants with Equator attachments, or two conventional dental implants with ball attachments, by means of a randomized clinical trial. Sixty patients received implant-retained mandibular overdentures in the interforaminal region. The patients were divided into three groups. In Groups 1 and 2, two and four mini dental implants, respectively, were placed and immediately loaded by overdentures, using Equator ® attachments. In Group 3, conventional implants were placed. After osseointegration, the implants were loaded by overdentures, using ball attachments. The study distribution was randomized and double-blinded. Outcome measures included changes in radiological peri-implant bone level from surgery to 12 months postinsertion, prosthodontic complications and patient satisfaction. The cumulative survival rate in the three clinical groups after one year was 100%. There was no significant difference (p < 0.05) in clinical results regarding the number (two or four) of mini dental implants with Equator attachments. However, there was a significant difference in marginal bone loss and patient satisfaction between those receiving mini dental implants with Equator attachments and conventional dental implants with ball attachments. The marginal bone resorption in Group 3 was significantly higher than in Groups 1 and 2 (p < 0.05); there were no significant differences between Groups 1 and 2. There was no significant difference in

COMPARISON OF THE CHOSEN ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES OF THE ARABLE LAND AND FALLOW

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Stanisław Włodek

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The results and analysis of the chosen physico-chemical soil properties of the fallow, which was not cultivated for 7 years and of the arable land, situated close to it, are presented in this work. Soil moisture content was higher and the weed infestation rate was bigger on the arable land in comparison to fallow. Significant increase of C.org. as well as P, K and Mg availability for plant was noticed on the fallow. On the arable land segetal species were common, whereas on the fallow ruderal species occurred as well. In spite of the close neighborhood of fallow with Solidago gigantea and Solidago canadensis species domination, this species was not reported on the arable land.

Daily consumption of fermented soymilk helps to improve facial wrinkles in healthy postmenopausal women in a randomized, parallel-group, open-label trial

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Mitsuyoshi Kano

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Soymilk fermented by lactobacilli and/or bifidobacteria is attracting attention due to the excellent bioavailability of its isoflavones. We investigated the effects of fermented soymilk containing high amounts of isoflavone aglycones on facial wrinkles and urinary isoflavones in postmenopausal women in a randomized, parallel-group, open-label trial. Healthy Japanese women were randomly divided into active (n = 44, mean age 56.3 ± 0.5 or control (n = 44, mean age 56.1 ± 0.5 groups, who consumed or did not consume a bottle of soymilk fermented by Bifidobacterium breve strain Yakult and Lactobacillus mali for 8 weeks. Maximum depth of wrinkles around the crow’s feet area and other wrinkle parameters were evaluated as primary and secondary endpoints respectively at weeks 0, 4, and 8 during the consumption period. Urinary isoflavone levels were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: The active group demonstrated significant improvements in the maximum depth (p=0.015 and average depth (p=0.04 of wrinkles, and significantly elevated urinary isoflavones (daidzein, genistein, and glycitein; each p < 0.001 compared with the control during the consumption period. No serious adverse effects were recorded. Conclusion: These findings suggest that fermented soymilk taken daily may improve facial wrinkles and elevate urinary isoflavones in healthy postmenopausal women.

Randomized comparison of group versus individual genetic education and counseling for familial breast and/or ovarian cancer.

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Calzone, Kathleen A; Prindiville, Sheila A; Jourkiv, Oxana; Jenkins, Jean; DeCarvalho, Maria; Wallerstedt, Dawn B; Liewehr, David J; Steinberg, Seth M; Soballe, Peter W; Lipkowitz, Stan; Klein, Pamela; Kirsch, Ilan R

2005-05-20

An efficient approach to education and counseling before BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing is necessary for effective utilization of testing in the community. Education and counseling, when delivered individually, are limited by a shortage of trained health care providers as well as by financial and time constraints. The purpose of this study was to determine whether pretest education and counseling for breast cancer genetics in a group setting is equivalent to that provided on an individual basis. One hundred forty-two patients at high risk for harboring a BRCA mutation were randomly assigned to group or individual education and counseling sessions. Group education was followed by brief individual counseling. Knowledge and Impact of Events Scales (IES) were administered at baseline and after education and counseling and at 1 week and 3, 6, and 12 months. Satisfaction with education and counseling was measured at completion of the session. Preferred method of education and counseling was solicited at 3 months. There was no difference in knowledge or IES scores between groups. When stratified by genetic test results, knowledge scores showed no difference. Regardless of group, post-test IES scores in patients with positive results were higher than patients with negative or uninformative results but returned to baseline by 12 months. Participants were equally satisfied with either method they were assigned. Significantly more time was spent per patient in individual sessions (1.25 hours) than in group education (0.74 hours). Our data suggest that group education and counseling may confer similar benefits compared with traditional individual sessions. Additional investigation of this approach in larger numbers of patients is warranted.

Nonequilibrium dynamical renormalization group: Dynamical crossover from weak to infinite randomness in the transverse-field Ising chain

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Heyl, Markus; Vojta, Matthias

2015-09-01

In this work we formulate the nonequilibrium dynamical renormalization group (ndRG). The ndRG represents a general renormalization-group scheme for the analytical description of the real-time dynamics of complex quantum many-body systems. In particular, the ndRG incorporates time as an additional scale which turns out to be important for the description of the long-time dynamics. It can be applied to both translational-invariant and disordered systems. As a concrete application, we study the real-time dynamics after a quench between two quantum critical points of different universality classes. We achieve this by switching on weak disorder in a one-dimensional transverse-field Ising model initially prepared at its clean quantum critical point. By comparing to numerically exact simulations for large systems, we show that the ndRG is capable of analytically capturing the full crossover from weak to infinite randomness. We analytically study signatures of localization in both real space and Fock space.

Combined effects of astragalus soup and persistent Taiji boxing on improving the immunity of elderly women.

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Song, Qing-Hua; Xu, Rong-Mei; Zhang, Quan-Hai; Shen, Guo-Qing; Ma, Ming; Zhao, Xin-Ping; Guo, Yan-Hua; Wang, Yi

2014-01-01

To observe the combined effects of astragalus soup and persistent Taiji boxing on improving the immunity of women of advanced years. 120 elderly women lacking daily exercise were chosen as the study subjects. By using the table of random numbers, they were then divided into the control group and the experiment group, consisting of 60 each. The control group practiced Taiji boxing for 45 minutes twice a day. The experiment group did the same, and, in addition, took astragalus soup after each boxing. Indexes related to physical immunity of the two groups were observed and compared when they were first chosen, when the alternative treatment was applied three, six and twelve months later, respectively. The two groups demonstrated no significant differences in general data and research indexes when chosen (P > 0.05). Three months after the two groups were chosen and treated differently, the control group demonstrated no significant improvement while most indexes of the experiment group improved considerably (P > 0.05). After six months, the related indexes of both groups improved substantially (P soup.

Effect of park prescriptions with and without group visits to parks on stress reduction in low-income parents: SHINE randomized trial.

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Razani, Nooshin; Morshed, Saam; Kohn, Michael A; Wells, Nancy M; Thompson, Doug; Alqassari, Maoya; Agodi, Amaka; Rutherford, George W

2018-01-01

Exposure to nature may reduce stress in low-income parents. This prospective randomized trial compares the effect of a physician's counseling about nature with or without facilitated group outings on stress and other outcomes among low-income parents. Parents of patients aged 4-18 years at a clinic serving low-income families were randomized to a supported park prescription versus independent park prescription in a 2:1 ratio. Parents in both groups received physician counseling about nature, maps of local parks, a journal, and pedometer. The supported group received additional phone and text reminders to attend three weekly family nature outings with free transportation, food, and programming. Outcomes measured in parents at baseline, one month and three months post-enrollment included: stress (using the 40-point Perceived Stress Scale [PSS10]); park visits per week (self-report and journaling); loneliness (modified UCLA-Loneliness Scale); physical activity (self-report, journaling, pedometry); physiologic stress (salivary cortisol); and nature affinity (validated scale). We enrolled 78 parents, 50 in the supported and 28 in the independent group. One-month follow-up was available for 60 (77%) participants and three-month follow up for 65 (83%). Overall stress decreased by 1.71 points (95% CI, -3.15, -0.26). The improvement in stress did not differ significantly by group assignment, although the independent group had more park visits per week (mean difference 1.75; 95% CI [0.46, 3.04], p = 0.0085). In multivariable analysis, each unit increase in park visits per week was associated with a significant and incremental decrease in stress (change in PSS10-0.53; 95% CI [-0.89, -0.16]; p = 0.005) at three months. While we were unable to demonstrate the additional benefit of group park visits, we observed an overall decrease in parental stress both overall and as a function of numbers of park visits per week. Paradoxically the park prescription without group park visits

Effect of park prescriptions with and without group visits to parks on stress reduction in low-income parents: SHINE randomized trial.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nooshin Razani

Full Text Available Exposure to nature may reduce stress in low-income parents. This prospective randomized trial compares the effect of a physician's counseling about nature with or without facilitated group outings on stress and other outcomes among low-income parents.Parents of patients aged 4-18 years at a clinic serving low-income families were randomized to a supported park prescription versus independent park prescription in a 2:1 ratio. Parents in both groups received physician counseling about nature, maps of local parks, a journal, and pedometer. The supported group received additional phone and text reminders to attend three weekly family nature outings with free transportation, food, and programming. Outcomes measured in parents at baseline, one month and three months post-enrollment included: stress (using the 40-point Perceived Stress Scale [PSS10]; park visits per week (self-report and journaling; loneliness (modified UCLA-Loneliness Scale; physical activity (self-report, journaling, pedometry; physiologic stress (salivary cortisol; and nature affinity (validated scale.We enrolled 78 parents, 50 in the supported and 28 in the independent group. One-month follow-up was available for 60 (77% participants and three-month follow up for 65 (83%. Overall stress decreased by 1.71 points (95% CI, -3.15, -0.26. The improvement in stress did not differ significantly by group assignment, although the independent group had more park visits per week (mean difference 1.75; 95% CI [0.46, 3.04], p = 0.0085. In multivariable analysis, each unit increase in park visits per week was associated with a significant and incremental decrease in stress (change in PSS10-0.53; 95% CI [-0.89, -0.16]; p = 0.005 at three months.While we were unable to demonstrate the additional benefit of group park visits, we observed an overall decrease in parental stress both overall and as a function of numbers of park visits per week. Paradoxically the park prescription without group park

Free random variables

CERN Document Server

Voiculescu, Dan; Nica, Alexandru

1992-01-01

This book presents the first comprehensive introduction to free probability theory, a highly noncommutative probability theory with independence based on free products instead of tensor products. Basic examples of this kind of theory are provided by convolution operators on free groups and by the asymptotic behavior of large Gaussian random matrices. The probabilistic approach to free products has led to a recent surge of new results on the von Neumann algebras of free groups. The book is ideally suited as a textbook for an advanced graduate course and could also provide material for a seminar. In addition to researchers and graduate students in mathematics, this book will be of interest to physicists and others who use random matrices.

The Effect of Participation in Support Groups on Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Family Caregivers of People with Alzheimers: Randomized clinical trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fahimeh Taati

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study sought to determine the effect of participation in support groups on the depression, anxiety and stress level of caregivers of patients with Alzheimer. This study was a single blind randomized clinical controlled trial (RCT with 80 family caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s (per group=40. The intervention group participated in eight sessions 1.5- 2 hours in support groups. The tool used in this study was the DASS-21 questionnaire for measuring depression, anxiety and stress level of the caregivers, analysis of parametric data, using SPSS version 21. Findings showed, participation in support groups showed no significant difference on depression, anxiety and stress in family caregivers of Alzheimer patients in the control group and the intervention group. Given that caring for these patients by their family members are very sensitive and costly issues for policy makers and health service providers, community and families of these patients.

Habitual cocoa intake reduces arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women regardless of intake frequency: a randomized parallel-group study

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Okamoto T

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Takanobu Okamoto,1 Ryota Kobayashi,1 Midori Natsume,2 Koichi Nakazato1 1Department of Exercise Physiology, Nippon Sport Science University, Tokyo, Japan; 2Food Sciences Research Laboratories, Meiji Co Ltd, Kanagawa, Japan Abstract: Arterial stiffness is substantially higher in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women. Daily cocoa intake has been shown to reduce central arterial stiffness in health adults, regardless of age; however, the effect of cocoa-intake frequency on arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women remains unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cocoa-intake frequency on arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women. A total of 26 postmenopausal women (mean age ± standard deviation 64±12 years were randomly assigned to two groups with different cocoa-intake frequencies: one group ingested 17 g of cocoa once daily except on Sundays (every-day group, n=13, and the other ingested 17 g of cocoa twice daily every other day (every-other-day group, n=13. These intake regimens were maintained in both groups for 12 weeks. Carotid–femoral pulse-wave velocity and femoral–ankle pulse-wave velocity were measured in both groups at baseline and again at the end of the 12-week study period. Compared to baseline, both pulse-wave velocities had significantly decreased after the 12-week study period in both groups (P<0.05. However, no significant difference in degree of change was observed between the two groups. Although this study did not include a sedentary control group, these results suggest that regardless of frequency, habitual cocoa intake reduces central and peripheral arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women. Keywords: flavanol-enriched cocoa, pulse-wave velocity, intake frequency, endothelin 1

Evaluation of pulsing magnetic field effects on paresthesia in multiple sclerosis patients, a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Afshari, Daryoush; Moradian, Nasrin; Khalili, Majid; Razazian, Nazanin; Bostani, Arash; Hoseini, Jamal; Moradian, Mohamad; Ghiasian, Masoud

2016-10-01

Evidence is mounting that magnet therapy could alleviate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). This study was performed to test the effects of the pulsing magnetic fields on the paresthesia in MS patients. This study has been conducted as a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group clinical trial during the April 2012 to October 2013. The subjects were selected among patients referred to MS clinic of Imam Reza Hospital; affiliated to Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Sixty three patients with MS were included in the study and randomly were divided into two groups, 35 patients were exposed to a magnetic pulsing field of 4mT intensity and 15-Hz frequency sinusoidal wave for 20min per session 2 times per week over a period of 2 months involving 16 sessions and 28 patients was exposed to a magnetically inactive field (placebo) for 20min per session 2 times per week over a period of 2 months involving 16 sessions. The severity of paresthesia was measured by the numerical rating scale (NRS) at 30, 60days. The study primary end point was NRS change between baseline and 60days. The secondary outcome was NRS change between baseline and 30days. Patients exposing to magnetic field showed significant paresthesia improvement compared with the group of patients exposing to placebo. According to our results pulsed magnetic therapy could alleviate paresthesia in MS patients .But trials with more patients and longer duration are mandatory to describe long-term effects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fluvial sediments characterization of Hornád river in its chosen parts (preliminary study

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Stela Hanigovská

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Knowledge of main river sedimentary characteristics is very important source of information for next study or potentialcommercial usage of fluvial sediments. In paper is shown characterization of sediment distribution in chosen part of the river Hornád.Three main facial types were studied and described – gravel, sand and clay. Model created in this study shows that Hornád is a riverwith predominant gravel transport. This model also shows a sufficient amount of gravel for commercial use in some parts of the river.

Daily electronic self-monitoring in bipolar disorder using smartphones - the MONARCA I trial: a randomized, placebo-controlled, single-blind, parallel group trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Faurholt-Jepsen, M; Frost, M; Ritz, C; Christensen, E M; Jacoby, A S; Mikkelsen, R L; Knorr, U; Bardram, J E; Vinberg, M; Kessing, L V

2015-10-01

The number of studies on electronic self-monitoring in affective disorder and other psychiatric disorders is increasing and indicates high patient acceptance and adherence. Nevertheless, the effect of electronic self-monitoring in patients with bipolar disorder has never been investigated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The objective of this trial was to investigate in a RCT whether the use of daily electronic self-monitoring using smartphones reduces depressive and manic symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder. A total of 78 patients with bipolar disorder according to ICD-10 criteria, aged 18-60 years, and with 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) scores ≤17 were randomized to the use of a smartphone for daily self-monitoring including a clinical feedback loop (the intervention group) or to the use of a smartphone for normal communicative purposes (the control group) for 6 months. The primary outcomes were differences in depressive and manic symptoms measured using HAMD-17 and YMRS, respectively, between the intervention and control groups. Intention-to-treat analyses using linear mixed models showed no significant effects of daily self-monitoring using smartphones on depressive as well as manic symptoms. There was a tendency towards more sustained depressive symptoms in the intervention group (B = 2.02, 95% confidence interval -0.13 to 4.17, p = 0.066). Sub-group analysis among patients without mixed symptoms and patients with presence of depressive and manic symptoms showed significantly more depressive symptoms and fewer manic symptoms during the trial period in the intervention group. These results highlight that electronic self-monitoring, although intuitive and appealing, needs critical consideration and further clarification before it is implemented as a clinical tool.

Collapsing a perfect superposition to a chosen quantum state without measurement.

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Ahmed Younes

Full Text Available Given a perfect superposition of [Formula: see text] states on a quantum system of [Formula: see text] qubits. We propose a fast quantum algorithm for collapsing the perfect superposition to a chosen quantum state [Formula: see text] without applying any measurements. The basic idea is to use a phase destruction mechanism. Two operators are used, the first operator applies a phase shift and a temporary entanglement to mark [Formula: see text] in the superposition, and the second operator applies selective phase shifts on the states in the superposition according to their Hamming distance with [Formula: see text]. The generated state can be used as an excellent input state for testing quantum memories and linear optics quantum computers. We make no assumptions about the used operators and applied quantum gates, but our result implies that for this purpose the number of qubits in the quantum register offers no advantage, in principle, over the obvious measurement-based feedback protocol.

A REFLECTION ON UNIVERSITY STUDIES AND FURTHER CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF CHOSEN CULS FACULTIES’ GRADUATES

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Rymešová, Pavla

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The article is focused on professional orientation and direction of the careers of graduates of Faculty of Economics and Management (FEM and Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources (FAFNR at Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CULS. The general information and theoretical part is devoted to the topic of career, its concept and definition, and it deals with chosen determinants of career orientation and career development. The concept of career is considered within the sphere of specialized terminology mainly used in humanities disciplines, it defines subjective and objective career. Moreover, the concepts of life developmental tasks and career maturity are being mapped. The existence of typical stages of development is also discussed, for which there are typical qualitative differences on the level of information, in relation to a given profession and in motivation towards the profession (with regard to the stage that includes university studies. Significant influence of objective and situational factors, which interfere with career orientation and the choice of a profession, is further included. A look at a person’s personality with respect to the determinants of career orientation and career development also forms a part of the general information part. In its first part of the empirical section, the article is focused on the concept and definition of career from the beginning of the 1990s. This includes the views of Czech as well as foreign authors. In the second part, the article tries to present practical consequences of students’ career orientation and it deals with processing an estimate whether the observed faculties’ graduates remain working in the field related to what they studied within five years from graduation. A part of the study is also formed by a description of the main motives leading to choosing a profession during university studies. The chosen attributes were monitored among a selected group of

After-School Multifamily Groups: A Randomized Controlled Trial Involving Low-Income, Urban, Latino Children

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Lynn; Moberg, D. Paul; Brown, Roger; Rodriguez-Espiricueta, Ismael; Flores, Nydia I.; Burke, Melissa P.; Coover, Gail

2006-01-01

This randomized controlled trial evaluated a culturally representative parent engagement strategy with Latino parents of elementary school children. Ten urban schools serving low-income children from mixed cultural backgrounds participated in a large study. Classrooms were randomly assigned either either to an after-school, multifamily support…

Cost-Effectiveness of Group and Internet Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Adolescents: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

De Bruin, Eduard J; van Steensel, Francisca J A; Meijer, Anne Marie

2016-08-01

To investigate cost-effectiveness of adolescent cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI) in group- and Internet-delivered formats, from a societal perspective with a time horizon of 1 y. Costs and effects data up to 1-y follow-up were obtained from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing Internet CBTI to face-to-face group CBTI. The study was conducted at the laboratory of the Research Institute of Child Development and Education at the University of Amsterdam, and the academic youth mental health care center UvAMinds in Amsterdam. Sixty-two participants meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision criteria for insomnia were randomized to face-to-face group CBTI (GT; n = 31, age = 15.6 y ± 1.8, 71.0% girls) or individual Internet CBTI (IT; n = 31, age = 15.4 y ± 1.5, 83.9% girls). The intervention consisted of six weekly sessions and a 2-mo follow up booster-session of CBTI, consisting of psychoeducation, sleep hygiene, restriction of time in bed, stimulus control, cognitive therapy, and relaxation techniques. GT sessions were held in groups of six to eight adolescents guided by two trained sleep therapists. IT consisted of individual Internet therapy with preprogrammed content similar to GT, and guided by trained sleep therapists. Outcome measures were subjective sleep efficiency (SE) ≥ 85%, and quality-adjusted life-years (QALY). Analyses were conducted from a societal perspective. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated using bootstrap sampling, and presented in cost-effectiveness planes. Primary analysis showed costs over 1 y were higher for GT but effects were similar for IT and GT. Bootstrapped ICERs demonstrated there is a high probability of IT being cost-effective compared to GT. Secondary analyses confirmed robustness of results. Internet CBTI is a cost-effective treatment compared to group CBTI for adolescents, although effects were largely similar for both formats

The effect of adding group-based counselling to individual lifestyle counselling on changes in dietary intake. The Inter99 study--a randomized controlled trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toft, Ulla; Kristoffersen, Lis; Ladelund, Steen

2008-01-01

Few studies have investigated the specific effect of single intervention components in randomized controlled trials. The purpose was to investigate the effect of adding group-based diet and exercise counselling to individual life-style counselling on long-term changes in dietary habits....

Local randomization in neighbor selection improves PRM roadmap quality

KAUST Repository

McMahon, Troy; Jacobs, Sam; Boyd, Bryan; Tapia, Lydia; Amato, Nancy M.

2012-01-01

Probabilistic Roadmap Methods (PRMs) are one of the most used classes of motion planning methods. These sampling-based methods generate robot configurations (nodes) and then connect them to form a graph (roadmap) containing representative feasible pathways. A key step in PRM roadmap construction involves identifying a set of candidate neighbors for each node. Traditionally, these candidates are chosen to be the k-closest nodes based on a given distance metric. In this paper, we propose a new neighbor selection policy called LocalRand(k,K'), that first computes the K' closest nodes to a specified node and then selects k of those nodes at random. Intuitively, LocalRand attempts to benefit from random sampling while maintaining the higher levels of local planner success inherent to selecting more local neighbors. We provide a methodology for selecting the parameters k and K'. We perform an experimental comparison which shows that for both rigid and articulated robots, LocalRand results in roadmaps that are better connected than the traditional k-closest policy or a purely random neighbor selection policy. The cost required to achieve these results is shown to be comparable to k-closest. © 2012 IEEE.

Local randomization in neighbor selection improves PRM roadmap quality

KAUST Repository

McMahon, Troy

2012-10-01

Probabilistic Roadmap Methods (PRMs) are one of the most used classes of motion planning methods. These sampling-based methods generate robot configurations (nodes) and then connect them to form a graph (roadmap) containing representative feasible pathways. A key step in PRM roadmap construction involves identifying a set of candidate neighbors for each node. Traditionally, these candidates are chosen to be the k-closest nodes based on a given distance metric. In this paper, we propose a new neighbor selection policy called LocalRand(k,K\\'), that first computes the K\\' closest nodes to a specified node and then selects k of those nodes at random. Intuitively, LocalRand attempts to benefit from random sampling while maintaining the higher levels of local planner success inherent to selecting more local neighbors. We provide a methodology for selecting the parameters k and K\\'. We perform an experimental comparison which shows that for both rigid and articulated robots, LocalRand results in roadmaps that are better connected than the traditional k-closest policy or a purely random neighbor selection policy. The cost required to achieve these results is shown to be comparable to k-closest. © 2012 IEEE.

STUDIES OF CHOSEN TOXIC ELEMENTS CONCENTRATION IN MULTIFLOWER BEE HONEY

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Ewa Popiela

2011-04-01

Full Text Available 72 544x376 Normal 0 21 false false false  The aim of the study was to determine the bioaccumulation level of chosen toxic elements (Zn, Cu, Pb, As and Cd in multiflower honey collected from Brzeg area. Biological material (honey was mineralized using the microwave technique at an elevated pressure in the microprocessor station of pressure in the type Mars 5. Quantitative analysis of elements (As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn was performed by plasma spectrometry method using a Varian ICP-AES apparatus. The presence of toxic elements was determined in examined biological materials. The elements fallowed the fallowing decreasing order with respect to their content of honey: Zn>Cu>Pb>As>Cd. The average concentrations of studied elements observed in multi-flower honey were as follows: 6.24 mg.kg-1 of zinc, 2.75 mg.kg-1 of copper, 0.53, 0.071, 0.042 mg.kg-1of lead, arsenic and cadmium, respectively. Lead was the most problematic in bee honey because its average content exceeded the maximum acceptable concentration. Additionally, this metal concentration was 60% higher in studied samples than allowable standard of lead content.doi:10.5219/134 

Design and rationale of the medical students learning weight management counseling skills (MSWeight) group randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Ockene, Judith K; Ashe, Karen M; Hayes, Rashelle B; Churchill, Linda C; Crawford, Sybil L; Geller, Alan C; Jolicoeur, Denise; Olendzki, Barbara C; Basco, Maria Theresa; Pendharkar, Jyothi A; Ferguson, Kristi J; Guck, Thomas P; Margo, Katherine L; Okuliar, Catherine A; Shaw, Monica A; Soleymani, Taraneh; Stadler, Diane D; Warrier, Sarita S; Pbert, Lori

2018-01-01

Physicians have an important role addressing the obesity epidemic. Lack of adequate teaching to provide weight management counseling (WMC) is cited as a reason for limited treatment. National guidelines have not been translated into an evidence-supported, competency-based curriculum in medical schools. Weight Management Counseling in Medical Schools: A Randomized Controlled Trial (MSWeight) is designed to determine if a multi-modal theoretically-guided WMC educational intervention improves observed counseling skills and secondarily improve perceived skills and self-efficacy among medical students compared to traditional education (TE). Eight U.S. medical schools were pair-matched and randomized in a group randomized controlled trial to evaluate whether a multi-modal education (MME) intervention compared to traditional education (TE) improves observed WMC skills. The MME intervention includes innovative components in years 1-3: a structured web-course; a role play exercise, WebPatientEncounter, and an enhanced outpatient internal medicine or family medicine clerkship. This evidence-supported curriculum uses the 5As framework to guide treatment and incorporates patient-centered counseling to engage the patient. The primary outcome is a comparison of scores on an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) WMC case among third year medical students. The secondary outcome compares changes in scores of medical students from their first to third year on an assessment of perceived WMC skills and self-efficacy. MSWeight is the first RCT in medical schools to evaluate whether interventions integrated into the curriculum improve medical students' WMC skills. If this educational approach for teaching WMC is effective, feasible and acceptable it can affect how medical schools integrate WMC teaching into their curriculum. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quality of Life From Canadian Cancer Trials Group MA.17R: A Randomized Trial of Extending Adjuvant Letrozole to 10 Years

Science.gov (United States)

Brundage, Michael D.; Parulekar, Wendy R.; Goss, Paul E.; Ingle, James N.; Pritchard, Kathleen I.; Celano, Paul; Muss, Hyman; Gralow, Julie; Strasser-Weippl, Kathrin; Whelan, Kate; Tu, Dongsheng; Whelan, Timothy J.

2018-01-01

Purpose MA.17R was a Canadian Cancer Trials Group–led phase III randomized controlled trial comparing letrozole to placebo after 5 years of aromatase inhibitor as adjuvant therapy for hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. Quality of life (QOL) was a secondary outcome measure of the study, and here, we report the results of these analyses. Methods QOL was measured using the Short Form-36 (SF-36; two summary scores and eight domains) and menopause-specific QOL (MENQOL; four symptom domains) at baseline and every 12 months up to 60 months. QOL assessment was mandatory for Canadian Cancer Trials Group centers but optional for centers in other groups. Mean change scores from baseline were calculated. Results One thousand nine hundred eighteen women were randomly assigned, and 1,428 women completed the baseline QOL assessment. Compliance with QOL measures was > 85%. Baseline summary scores for the SF-36 physical component summary (47.5 for letrozole and 47.9 for placebo) and mental component summary (55.5 for letrozole and 54.8 for placebo) were close to the population norms of 50. No differences were seen between groups in mean change scores for the SF-36 physical and mental component summaries and the other eight QOL domains except for the role-physical subscale. No difference was found in any of the four domains of the MENQOL Conclusion No clinically significant differences were seen in overall QOL measured by the SF-36 summary measures and MENQOL between the letrozole and placebo groups. The data indicate that continuation of aromatase inhibitor therapy after 5 years of prior treatment in the trial population was not associated with a deterioration of overall QOL. PMID:29328860

Distribution of Schmidt-like eigenvalues for Gaussian ensembles of the random matrix theory

Science.gov (United States)

Pato, Mauricio P.; Oshanin, Gleb

2013-03-01

We study the probability distribution function P(β)n(w) of the Schmidt-like random variable w = x21/(∑j = 1nx2j/n), where xj, (j = 1, 2, …, n), are unordered eigenvalues of a given n × n β-Gaussian random matrix, β being the Dyson symmetry index. This variable, by definition, can be considered as a measure of how any individual (randomly chosen) eigenvalue deviates from the arithmetic mean value of all eigenvalues of a given random matrix, and its distribution is calculated with respect to the ensemble of such β-Gaussian random matrices. We show that in the asymptotic limit n → ∞ and for arbitrary β the distribution P(β)n(w) converges to the Marčenko-Pastur form, i.e. is defined as P_{n}^{( \\beta )}(w) \\sim \\sqrt{(4 - w)/w} for w ∈ [0, 4] and equals zero outside of the support, despite the fact that formally w is defined on the interval [0, n]. Furthermore, for Gaussian unitary ensembles (β = 2) we present exact explicit expressions for P(β = 2)n(w) which are valid for arbitrary n and analyse their behaviour.

Distribution of Schmidt-like eigenvalues for Gaussian ensembles of the random matrix theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pato, Mauricio P; Oshanin, Gleb

2013-01-01

We study the probability distribution function P (β) n (w) of the Schmidt-like random variable w = x 2 1 /(∑ j=1 n x 2 j /n), where x j , (j = 1, 2, …, n), are unordered eigenvalues of a given n × n β-Gaussian random matrix, β being the Dyson symmetry index. This variable, by definition, can be considered as a measure of how any individual (randomly chosen) eigenvalue deviates from the arithmetic mean value of all eigenvalues of a given random matrix, and its distribution is calculated with respect to the ensemble of such β-Gaussian random matrices. We show that in the asymptotic limit n → ∞ and for arbitrary β the distribution P (β) n (w) converges to the Marčenko–Pastur form, i.e. is defined as P n (β) (w)∼√((4 - w)/w) for w ∈ [0, 4] and equals zero outside of the support, despite the fact that formally w is defined on the interval [0, n]. Furthermore, for Gaussian unitary ensembles (β = 2) we present exact explicit expressions for P (β=2) n (w) which are valid for arbitrary n and analyse their behaviour. (paper)

Effects of Multiple Cleaning and Disinfection Interventions on Infectious Diseases in Children: A Group Randomized Trial in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Ban, Hai Qun; Li, Tao; Shen, Jin; Li, Jin; Peng, Pin Zhang; Ye, Heng Ping; Zhang, Liu Bo

2015-11-01

To assess the effectiveness of multiple cleaning and disinfection interventions in the homes and kindergartens, in reducing gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses of children. From October 2010 to September 2011, we performed a prospective, controlled study in China. 408 children under 5 years old were recruited and group randomized into intervention and control groups. Families and kindergartens in the intervention group were provided with antibacterial products for hand hygiene and surface cleaning or disinfection for one year. Each child's illness symptoms and sick leave were recorded every day. A total of 393 children completed the study, with similar baseline demographics in each of the 2 groups. Except for abdominal pain, the odds of symptoms (fever, cough and expectoration, runny nose and nasal congestion, diarrhea), illness (acute respiratory illness and gastrointestinal illness), and sick leave per person each month were significantly reduced by interventions. The rates of fever, diarrhea, acute respiratory illness, gastrointestinal illness and sick leave per person per year were significantly decreased as well. Not only the acute respiratory and gastrointestinal illness but the sick leave rate in children were significantly reduced by multiple interventions. Copyright © 2015 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.

Wave propagation and scattering in random media

CERN Document Server

Ishimaru, Akira

1978-01-01

Wave Propagation and Scattering in Random Media, Volume 2, presents the fundamental formulations of wave propagation and scattering in random media in a unified and systematic manner. The topics covered in this book may be grouped into three categories: waves in random scatterers, waves in random continua, and rough surface scattering. Random scatterers are random distributions of many particles. Examples are rain, fog, smog, hail, ocean particles, red blood cells, polymers, and other particles in a state of Brownian motion. Random continua are the media whose characteristics vary randomly an

Effectiveness of an educational video as an instrument to refresh and reinforce the learning of a nursing technique: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Salina, Loris; Ruffinengo, Carlo; Garrino, Lorenza; Massariello, Patrizia; Charrier, Lorena; Martin, Barbara; Favale, Maria Santina; Dimonte, Valerio

2012-05-01

The Undergraduate Nursing Course has been using videos for the past year or so. Videos are used for many different purposes such as during lessons, nurse refresher courses, reinforcement, and sharing and comparison of knowledge with the professional and scientific community. The purpose of this study was to estimate the efficacy of the video (moving an uncooperative patient from the supine to the lateral position) as an instrument to refresh and reinforce nursing techniques. A two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) design was chosen: both groups attended lessons in the classroom as well as in the laboratory; a month later while one group received written information as a refresher, the other group watched the video. Both groups were evaluated in a blinded fashion. A total of 223 students agreed to take part in the study. The difference observed between those who had seen the video and those who had read up on the technique turned out to be an average of 6.19 points in favour of the first (P video were better able to apply the technique, resulting in a better performance. The video, therefore, represents an important tool to refresh and reinforce previous learning.

Random walks, random fields, and disordered systems

CERN Document Server

Černý, Jiří; Kotecký, Roman

2015-01-01

Focusing on the mathematics that lies at the intersection of probability theory, statistical physics, combinatorics and computer science, this volume collects together lecture notes on recent developments in the area. The common ground of these subjects is perhaps best described by the three terms in the title: Random Walks, Random Fields and Disordered Systems. The specific topics covered include a study of Branching Brownian Motion from the perspective of disordered (spin-glass) systems, a detailed analysis of weakly self-avoiding random walks in four spatial dimensions via methods of field theory and the renormalization group, a study of phase transitions in disordered discrete structures using a rigorous version of the cavity method, a survey of recent work on interacting polymers in the ballisticity regime and, finally, a treatise on two-dimensional loop-soup models and their connection to conformally invariant systems and the Gaussian Free Field. The notes are aimed at early graduate students with a mod...

Random access to mobile networks with advanced error correction

Science.gov (United States)

Dippold, Michael

1990-01-01

A random access scheme for unreliable data channels is investigated in conjunction with an adaptive Hybrid-II Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) scheme using Rate Compatible Punctured Codes (RCPC) Forward Error Correction (FEC). A simple scheme with fixed frame length and equal slot sizes is chosen and reservation is implicit by the first packet transmitted randomly in a free slot, similar to Reservation Aloha. This allows the further transmission of redundancy if the last decoding attempt failed. Results show that a high channel utilization and superior throughput can be achieved with this scheme that shows a quite low implementation complexity. For the example of an interleaved Rayleigh channel and soft decision utilization and mean delay are calculated. A utilization of 40 percent may be achieved for a frame with the number of slots being equal to half the station number under high traffic load. The effects of feedback channel errors and some countermeasures are discussed.

Standard model group: Survival of the fittest

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, H. B.; Brene, N.

1983-09-01

The essential content of this paper is related to random dynamics. We speculate that the world seen through a sub-Planck-scale microscope has a lattice structure and that the dynamics on this lattice is almost completely random, except for the requirement that the random (plaquette) action is invariant under some "world (gauge) group". We see that the randomness may lead to spontaneous symmetry breakdown in the vacuum (spontaneous collapse) without explicit appeal to any scalar field associated with the usual Higgs mechanism. We further argue that the subgroup which survives as the end product of a possible chain of collapses is likely to have certain properties; the most important is that it has a topologically connected center. The standard group, i.e. the group of the gauge theory which combines the Salam-Weinberg model with QCD, has this property.

Standard model group: survival of the fittest

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielsen, H.B.; Brene, N.

1983-01-01

Th essential content of this paper is related to random dynamics. We speculate that the world seen through a sub-Planck-scale microscope has a lattice structure and that the dynamics on this lattice is almost completely random, except for the requirement that the random (plaquette) action is invariant under some ''world (gauge) group''. We see that the randomness may lead to spontaneous symmetry breakdown in the vacuum (spontaneous collapse) without explicit appeal to any scalar field associated with the usual Higgs mechanism. We further argue that the subgroup which survives as the end product of a possible chain of collapse is likely to have certain properties; the most important is that it has a topologically connected center. The standard group, i.e. the group of the gauge theory which combines the Salam-Weinberg model with QCD, has this property. (orig.)

Human cooperation by lethal group competition.

Science.gov (United States)

Egas, Martijn; Kats, Ralph; van der Sar, Xander; Reuben, Ernesto; Sabelis, Maurice W

2013-01-01

Why humans are prone to cooperate puzzles biologists, psychologists and economists alike. Between-group conflict has been hypothesized to drive within-group cooperation. However, such conflicts did not have lasting effects in laboratory experiments, because they were about luxury goods, not needed for survival ("looting"). Here, we find within-group cooperation to last when between-group conflict is implemented as "all-out war" (eliminating the weakest groups). Human subjects invested in helping group members to avoid having the lowest collective pay-off, whereas they failed to cooperate in control treatments with random group elimination or with no subdivision in groups. When the game was repeated, experience was found to promote helping. Thus, not within-group interactions alone, not random group elimination, but pay-off-dependent group elimination was found to drive within-group cooperation in our experiment. We suggest that some forms of human cooperation are maintained by multi-level selection: reciprocity within groups and lethal competition among groups acting together.

Accuracy of Black and White College Students' In-Group and Out-Group Stereotypes.

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Ryan, Carey S.

1996-01-01

Examined accuracy of black and of white students' in-group and out-group stereotypes by comparing judgments of stereotypicality and dispersion of black and of white first-year college students (N=100) with stereotypicality and dispersion of self-ratings provided by random samples of group members. Consistent with social identity theory,…

Using smart card technology to monitor the eating habits of children in a school cafeteria: 2. The nutrient contents of all meals chosen by a group of 8- to 11-year-old boys over 78 days.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert, N; Plumb, J; Looise, B; Johnson, I T; Harvey, I; Wheeler, C; Robinson, M; Rolfe, P

2005-08-01

The aim of the study was to test the abilities of the newly created smart card system to track the nutrient contents of foods chosen over several months by individual diners in a school cafeteria. From the food choice and composition of food data sets, an Access database was created encompassing 30 diners (aged 8-11 years), 78 days and eight nutrients. Data were available for a total of 1909 meals. Based upon population mean values the cohort were clearly choosing meals containing higher than the recommended maximum amounts for sugar and lower than the recommended minimum amounts of fibre, iron and vitamin A. Protein and vitamin C contents of meals chosen were well above minimum requirements. Over the 1909 meals, nutrient requirements were met 41% of the time. The system created was very effective at continually monitoring food choices of individual diners over limitless time. The data generated raised questions on the common practice of presenting nutrient intakes as population mean values calculated over a few days. The impact of heavily fortified foods on such studies in general is discussed.

Self-monitoring of urinary salt excretion as a method of salt-reduction education: a parallel, randomized trial involving two groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasutake, Kenichiro; Miyoshi, Emiko; Misumi, Yukiko; Kajiyama, Tomomi; Fukuda, Tamami; Ishii, Taeko; Moriguchi, Ririko; Murata, Yusuke; Ohe, Kenji; Enjoji, Munechika; Tsuchihashi, Takuya

2018-02-20

The present study aimed to evaluate salt-reduction education using a self-monitoring urinary salt-excretion device. Parallel, randomized trial involving two groups. The following parameters were checked at baseline and endline of the intervention: salt check sheet, eating behaviour questionnaire, 24 h home urine collection, blood pressure before and after urine collection. The intervention group self-monitored urine salt excretion using a self-measuring device for 4 weeks. In the control group, urine salt excretion was measured, but the individuals were not informed of the result. Seventy-eight individuals (control group, n 36; intervention group, n 42) collected two 24 h urine samples from a target population of 123 local resident volunteers. The samples were then analysed. There were no differences in clinical background or related parameters between the two groups. The 24 h urinary Na:K ratio showed a significant decrease in the intervention group (-1·1) compared with the control group (-0·0; P=0·033). Blood pressure did not change in either group. The results of the salt check sheet did not change in the control group but were significantly lower in the intervention group. The score of the eating behaviour questionnaire did not change in the control group, but the intervention group showed a significant increase in eating behaviour stage. Self-monitoring of urinary salt excretion helps to improve 24 h urinary Na:K, salt check sheet scores and stage of eating behaviour. Thus, usage of self-monitoring tools has an educational potential in salt intake reduction.

Human endogenous retroviruses and chosen disease parameters in morphea

Science.gov (United States)

Dańczak-Pazdrowska, Aleksandra; Szramka-Pawlak, Beata; Żaba, Ryszard; Osmola-Mańkowska, Agnieszka; Silny, Wojciech

2017-01-01

Introduction Morphea (localized scleroderma) is a relatively rare disease characterized by excessive skin fibrosis. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV) are largely distributed within the human genome with hundreds of thousands of elements. The HERV have been widely studied in autoimmune disorders, yet hardly ever assessed in diseases with a good prognosis such as morphea. Aim In this study we focus on the possible relations between the expression of chosen HERV and factors influencing the pathomechanism of the disease, such as age, sex, titres of anti-nuclear antibodies, as well as duration, activity, and severity of the disease (LoSSI index). Material and methods Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting six HERV sequences of interest were performed on samples derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and skin biopsies. Results In PBMC we found a statistically significant negative correlation between HERV-W env expression and LoSSI index (p = 0.01). Additionally, HERV-W env was downregulated in patients with the active form of morphea. In all other cases we found no correlation whatsoever nor statistically significant differences below the p = 0.05 threshold. Conclusions Morphea seems to be an autoimmune disease where the impact of HERV is not so apparent. It seems that probing many patients for the expression of just a few sequences is not as effective as previously expected. For initial studies of HERV in other diseases we recommend high throughput techniques such as HERV-dedicated DNA microarrays or massive parallel sequencing. PMID:28261031

Human endogenous retroviruses and chosen disease parameters in morphea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michał J. Kowalczyk

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Morphea (localized scleroderma is a relatively rare disease characterized by excessive skin fibrosis. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV are largely distributed within the human genome with hundreds of thousands of elements. The HERV have been widely studied in autoimmune disorders, yet hardly ever assessed in diseases with a good prognosis such as morphea. Aim: In this study we focus on the possible relations between the expression of chosen HERV and factors influencing the pathomechanism of the disease, such as age, sex, titres of anti-nuclear antibodies, as well as duration, activity, and severity of the disease (LoSSI index. Material and methods: Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR targeting six HERV sequences of interest were performed on samples derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC and skin biopsies. Results: In PBMC we found a statistically significant negative correlation between HERV-W env expression and LoSSI index (p = 0.01. Additionally, HERV-W env was downregulated in patients with the active form of morphea. In all other cases we found no correlation whatsoever nor statistically significant differences below the p = 0.05 threshold. Conclusions : Morphea seems to be an autoimmune disease where the impact of HERV is not so apparent. It seems that probing many patients for the expression of just a few sequences is not as effective as previously expected. For initial studies of HERV in other diseases we recommend high throughput techniques such as HERV-dedicated DNA microarrays or massive parallel sequencing.

78 FR 10692 - Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G

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2013-02-14

... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This notice is provided in accordance with IRC section 6039G of the Health...

Does peer learning or higher levels of e-learning improve learning abilities? A randomized controlled trial.

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Worm, Bjarne Skjødt; Jensen, Kenneth

2013-01-01

Background and aims The fast development of e-learning and social forums demands us to update our understanding of e-learning and peer learning. We aimed to investigate if higher, pre-defined levels of e-learning or social interaction in web forums improved students' learning ability. Methods One hundred and twenty Danish medical students were randomized to six groups all with 20 students (eCases level 1, eCases level 2, eCases level 2+, eTextbook level 1, eTextbook level 2, and eTextbook level 2+). All students participated in a pre-test, Group 1 participated in an interactive case-based e-learning program, while Group 2 was presented with textbook material electronically. The 2+ groups were able to discuss the material between themselves in a web forum. The subject was head injury and associated treatment and observation guidelines in the emergency room. Following the e-learning, all students completed a post-test. Pre- and post-tests both consisted of 25 questions randomly chosen from a pool of 50 different questions. Results All students concluded the study with comparable pre-test results. Students at Level 2 (in both groups) improved statistically significant compared to students at level 1 (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between level 2 and level 2+. However, level 2+ was associated with statistically significant greater student's satisfaction than the rest of the students (p>0.05). Conclusions This study applies a new way of comparing different types of e-learning using a pre-defined level division and the possibility of peer learning. Our findings show that higher levels of e-learning does in fact provide better results when compared with the same type of e-learning at lower levels. While social interaction in web forums increase student satisfaction, learning ability does not seem to change. Both findings are relevant when designing new e-learning materials.

Does peer learning or higher levels of e-learning improve learning abilities? A randomized controlled trial

Science.gov (United States)

Worm, Bjarne Skjødt; Jensen, Kenneth

2013-01-01

Background and aims The fast development of e-learning and social forums demands us to update our understanding of e-learning and peer learning. We aimed to investigate if higher, pre-defined levels of e-learning or social interaction in web forums improved students’ learning ability. Methods One hundred and twenty Danish medical students were randomized to six groups all with 20 students (eCases level 1, eCases level 2, eCases level 2+, eTextbook level 1, eTextbook level 2, and eTextbook level 2+). All students participated in a pre-test, Group 1 participated in an interactive case-based e-learning program, while Group 2 was presented with textbook material electronically. The 2+ groups were able to discuss the material between themselves in a web forum. The subject was head injury and associated treatment and observation guidelines in the emergency room. Following the e-learning, all students completed a post-test. Pre- and post-tests both consisted of 25 questions randomly chosen from a pool of 50 different questions. Results All students concluded the study with comparable pre-test results. Students at Level 2 (in both groups) improved statistically significant compared to students at level 1 (p>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between level 2 and level 2+. However, level 2+ was associated with statistically significant greater student's satisfaction than the rest of the students (p>0.05). Conclusions This study applies a new way of comparing different types of e-learning using a pre-defined level division and the possibility of peer learning. Our findings show that higher levels of e-learning does in fact provide better results when compared with the same type of e-learning at lower levels. While social interaction in web forums increase student satisfaction, learning ability does not seem to change. Both findings are relevant when designing new e-learning materials. PMID:24229729

Does peer learning or higher levels of e-learning improve learning abilities? A randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bjarne Skjødt Worm

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Background and aims : The fast development of e-learning and social forums demands us to update our understanding of e-learning and peer learning. We aimed to investigate if higher, pre-defined levels of e-learning or social interaction in web forums improved students’ learning ability. Methods : One hundred and twenty Danish medical students were randomized to six groups all with 20 students (eCases level 1, eCases level 2, eCases level 2+, eTextbook level 1, eTextbook level 2, and eTextbook level 2+. All students participated in a pre-test, Group 1 participated in an interactive case-based e-learning program, while Group 2 was presented with textbook material electronically. The 2+ groups were able to discuss the material between themselves in a web forum. The subject was head injury and associated treatment and observation guidelines in the emergency room. Following the e-learning, all students completed a post-test. Pre- and post-tests both consisted of 25 questions randomly chosen from a pool of 50 different questions. Results : All students concluded the study with comparable pre-test results. Students at Level 2 (in both groups improved statistically significant compared to students at level 1 (p>0.05. There was no statistically significant difference between level 2 and level 2+. However, level 2+ was associated with statistically significant greater student's satisfaction than the rest of the students (p>0.05. Conclusions : This study applies a new way of comparing different types of e-learning using a pre-defined level division and the possibility of peer learning. Our findings show that higher levels of e-learning does in fact provide better results when compared with the same type of e-learning at lower levels. While social interaction in web forums increase student satisfaction, learning ability does not seem to change. Both findings are relevant when designing new e-learning materials.

Manage at work: a randomized, controlled trial of a self-management group intervention to overcome workplace challenges associated with chronic physical health conditions.

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Shaw, William S; Besen, Elyssa; Pransky, Glenn; Boot, Cécile R L; Nicholas, Michael K; McLellan, Robert K; Tveito, Torill H

2014-05-28

The percentage of older and chronically ill workers is increasing rapidly in the US and in many other countries, but few interventions are available to help employees overcome the workplace challenges of chronic pain and other physical health conditions. While most workers are eligible for job accommodation and disability compensation benefits, other workplace strategies might improve individual-level coping and problem solving to prevent work disability. In this study, we hypothesize that an employer-sponsored group intervention program employing self-management principles may improve worker engagement and reduce functional limitation associated with chronic disorders. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), workers participating in an employer-sponsored self-management group intervention will be compared with a no-treatment (wait list) control condition. Volunteer employees (n = 300) will be recruited from five participating employers and randomly assigned to intervention or control. Participants in the intervention arm will attend facilitated group workshop sessions at work (10 hours total) to explore methods for improving comfort, adjusting work habits, communicating needs effectively, applying systematic problem solving, and dealing with negative thoughts and emotions about work. Work engagement and work limitation are the principal outcomes. Secondary outcomes include fatigue, job satisfaction, self-efficacy, turnover intention, sickness absence, and health care utilization. Measurements will be taken at baseline, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. A process evaluation will be performed alongside the randomized trial. This study will be most relevant for organizations and occupational settings where some degree of job flexibility, leeway, and decision-making autonomy can be afforded to affected workers. The study design will provide initial assessment of a novel workplace approach and to understand factors affecting its feasibility and effectiveness

Standard model group: survival of the fittest

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nielsen, H.B. (Niels Bohr Inst., Copenhagen (Denmark); Nordisk Inst. for Teoretisk Atomfysik, Copenhagen (Denmark)); Brene, N. (Niels Bohr Inst., Copenhagen (Denmark))

1983-09-19

The essential content of this paper is related to random dynamics. We speculate that the world seen through a sub-Planck-scale microscope has a lattice structure and that the dynamics on this lattice is almost completely random, except for the requirement that the random (plaquette) action is invariant under some ''world (gauge) group''. We see that the randomness may lead to spontaneous symmetry breakdown in the vacuum (spontaneous collapse) without explicit appeal to any scalar field associated with the usual Higgs mechanism. We further argue that the subgroup which survives as the end product of a possible chain of collapse is likely to have certain properties; the most important is that it has a topologically connected center. The standard group, i.e. the group of the gauge theory which combines the Salam-Weinberg model with QCD, has this property.

Standard model group survival of the fittest

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielsen, H.B.; Brene, N.

1983-02-01

The essential content of this note is related to random dynamics. The authors speculate that the world seen through a sub Planck scale microscope has a lattice structure and that the dynamics on this lattice is almost completely random, except for the requirement that the random (plaquette) action is invariant under some ''world (gauge) group''. It is seen that the randomness may lead to spontaneous symmetry breakdown in the vacuum (spontaneous collapse) without explicit appeal to any scalar field associated with the usual Higgs mechanism. It is further argued that the subgroup which survives as the end product of a possible chain of collapses is likely to have certain properties; the most important is that it has a topologically connected center. The standard group, i.e. the group of the gauge theory which combines the Salam-Weinberg model with QCD, has this property. (Auth.)

Public interest group involvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shelley, P.

1986-01-01

Including public interest groups in the siting process for nuclear waste disposal facilities is of great importance. Controversial sitings often result in litigation, but involving public interest groups early in the process will lessen the change of this. They act as surrogates for the general public and should be considered as members of the team. It is important to remember though, that all public interest groups are different. In choosing public panels such as public advisory committees, members should not be chosen on the basis of some quota. Opposition groups should not be excluded. Also, it is important to put the right person in charge of the committee. The goal of public involvement is to identify the conflicts. This must be done during the decision process, because conflicts must be known before they can be eliminated. Regarding litigation, it is important to ease through and around legal battles. If the siting process has integrity and a good faith effort has been shown, the court should uphold the effort. In addition, it is important to be negotiable and to eliminate shortcuts

Quality assurance experience with the randomized neuropathic bone pain trial (Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group, 96.05)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roos, Daniel E.; Davis, Sidney R.; Turner, Sandra L.; O'Brien, Peter C.; Spry, Nigel A.; Burmeister, Bryan H.; Hoskin, Peter J.; Ball, David L.

2003-01-01

Background and purpose: Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group 96.05 is a prospective randomized controlled trial comparing a single 8 Gy with 20 Gy in five fractions of radiotherapy (RT) for neuropathic pain due to bone metastases. This paper summarizes the quality assurance (QA) activities for the first 234 patients (accrual target 270). Materials and methods: Independent audits to assess compliance with eligibility/exclusion criteria and appropriateness of treatment of the index site were conducted after each cohort of approximately 45 consecutive patients. Reported serious adverse events (SAEs) in the form of cord/cauda equina compression or pathological fracture developing at the index site were investigated and presented in batches to the Independent Data Monitoring Committee. Finally, source data verification of the RT prescription page and treatment records was undertaken for each of the first 234 patients to assess compliance with the protocol. Results: Only one patient was found conclusively not to have genuine neuropathic pain, and there were no detected 'geographical misses' with RT fields. The overall rate of detected infringements for other eligibility criteria over five audits (225 patients) was 8% with a dramatic improvement after the first audit. There has at no stage been a statistically significant difference in SAEs by randomization arm. There was a 22% rate of RT protocol variations involving ten of the 14 contributing centres, although the rate of major dose violations (more than ±10% from protocol dose) was only 6% with no statistically significant difference by randomization arm (P=0.44). Conclusions: QA auditing is an essential but time-consuming component of RT trials, including those assessing palliative endpoints. Our experience confirms that all aspects should commence soon after study activation

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Group Coping-Oriented Therapy vs Supportive Therapy in Schizophrenia: Results of a 2-Year Follow-up.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaub, Annette; Mueser, Kim T; von Werder, Thomas; Engel, Rolf; Möller, Hans-Jürgen; Falkai, Peter

2016-07-01

Over the past 30 years, illness management programs and cognitive-behavioral therapy for psychosis have gained prominence in the treatment of schizophrenia. However, little is known about the long-term benefits of these types of programs when delivered during inpatient treatment following a symptom exacerbation. To evaluate this question, we conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing the long-term effects of a group-based coping-oriented program (COP) that combined the elements of illness management with cognitive behavioral-therapy for psychosis, with an equally intensive supportive therapy (SUP) program. 196 inpatients with DSM-IV schizophrenia were randomized to COP or SUP, each lasting 12 sessions provided over 6-8 weeks. Outcome measures were collected in the hospital at baseline and post-assessment, and following discharge into the community 1 and 2 years later. We compared the groups on rehospitalizations, symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and knowledge about psychosis. Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that patients in COP learned significantly more information about psychosis, and had greater reductions in overall symptoms and depression/anxiety over the treatment and follow-up period than patients in SUP. Patients in both groups improved significantly in other symptoms and psychosocial functioning. There were no differences between the groups in hospitalization rates, which were low. People with schizophrenia can benefit from short-term COPs delivered during the inpatient phase, with improvements sustaining for 2 years following discharge from the hospital. More research is needed to evaluate the long-term impact of coping-oriented and similar programs provided during inpatient treatment. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Adjuvant chemotherapy for rectal cancer patients treated with preoperative (chemo)radiotherapy and total mesorectal excision: a Dutch Colorectal Cancer Group (DCCG) randomized phase III trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Breugom, A J; van Gijn, W; Muller, E W; Berglund, Å; van den Broek, C B M; Fokstuen, T; Gelderblom, H; Kapiteijn, E; Leer, J W H; Marijnen, C A M; Martijn, H; Meershoek-Klein Kranenbarg, E; Nagtegaal, I D; Påhlman, L; Punt, C J A; Putter, H; Roodvoets, A G H; Rutten, H J T; Steup, W H; Glimelius, B; van de Velde, C J H

2015-04-01

The discussion on the role of adjuvant chemotherapy for rectal cancer patients treated according to current guidelines is still ongoing. A multicentre, randomized phase III trial, PROCTOR-SCRIPT, was conducted to compare adjuvant chemotherapy with observation for rectal cancer patients treated with preoperative (chemo)radiotherapy and total mesorectal excision (TME). The PROCTOR-SCRIPT trial recruited patients from 52 hospitals. Patients with histologically proven stage II or III rectal adenocarcinoma were randomly assigned (1:1) to observation or adjuvant chemotherapy after preoperative (chemo)radiotherapy and TME. Radiotherapy consisted of 5 × 5 Gy. Chemoradiotherapy consisted of 25 × 1.8-2 Gy combined with 5-FU-based chemotherapy. Adjuvant chemotherapy consisted of 5-FU/LV (PROCTOR) or eight courses capecitabine (SCRIPT). Randomization was based on permuted blocks of six, stratified according to centre, residual tumour, time between last irradiation and surgery, and preoperative treatment. The primary end point was overall survival. Of 470 enrolled patients, 437 were eligible. The trial closed prematurely because of slow patient accrual. Patients were randomly assigned to observation (n = 221) or adjuvant chemotherapy (n = 216). After a median follow-up of 5.0 years, 5-year overall survival was 79.2% in the observation group and 80.4% in the chemotherapy group [hazard ratio (HR) 0.93, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62-1.39; P = 0.73]. The HR for disease-free survival was 0.80 (95% CI 0.60-1.07; P = 0.13). Five-year cumulative incidence for locoregional recurrences was 7.8% in both groups. Five-year cumulative incidence for distant recurrences was 38.5% and 34.7%, respectively (P = 0.39). The PROCTOR-SCRIPT trial could not demonstrate a significant benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy with fluoropyrimidine monotherapy after preoperative (chemo)radiotherapy and TME on overall survival, disease-free survival, and recurrence rate. However, this trial did not complete

A randomized controlled trial of a brief versus standard group parenting program for toddler aggression.

Science.gov (United States)

Tully, Lucy A; Hunt, Caroline

2017-05-01

Physical aggression (PA) in the toddler years is common and developmentally normal, however, longitudinal research shows that frequent PA is highly stable and associated with long-term negative outcomes. Significant research has demonstrated the efficacy of parenting interventions for reducing externalizing behavior in children yet their typical length may overburden families, leading to low participation rates and high attrition rates. To increase the reach of parenting interventions and impact on the prevalence of externalizing behavior problems, brief interventions are needed. This RCT compared a standard (8 session) group Triple P to a brief (3 session) discussion group and a waitlist control for reducing toddler PA, dysfunctional parenting and related aspects of parent functioning. Sixty-nine self-referred families of toddlers with PA were randomized to the respective conditions. At post-assessment, families in the standard intervention had significantly lower levels of observed child aversive behavior, mother reports of PA and dysfunctional parenting, and higher levels of mother- and partner-rated behavioral self-efficacy than the waitlist control. Families in the standard intervention also had significantly lower levels mother-rated dysfunctional parenting than the brief intervention, and the brief intervention had significantly lower levels of mother-rated dysfunctional parenting than waitlist. There were no significant group differences at post-assessment for measures of parental negative affect or satisfaction with the partner relationship. By 6 month follow-up, families in the brief and standard intervention did not differ significantly on any measure. The implications of the findings to delivery of brief parenting interventions are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 43:291-303, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Comparison of Web-based and Small-Group Palliative and End-of-Life Care Curricula: A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Study at One Institution

Science.gov (United States)

Day, Frank C.; Srinivasan, Malathi; Der-Martirosian, Claudia; Griffin, Erin; Hoffman, Jerome R.; Wilkes, Michael S.

2014-01-01

Purpose Few studies have compared the effect of web-based eLearning versus small-group learning on medical student outcomes. Palliative and end-of-life (PEOL) education is ideal for this comparison, given uneven access to PEOL experts and content nationally. Method In 2010, the authors enrolled all third-year medical students at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine into a quasi-randomized controlled trial of web-based interactive education (eDoctoring) compared to small-group education (Doctoring) on PEOL clinical content over two months. All students participated in three 3-hour PEOL sessions with similar content. Outcomes included a 24-item PEOL-specific self-efficacy scale with three domains (diagnosis/treatment [Cronbach’s alpha = 0.92, CI: 0.91–0.93], communication/prognosis [alpha = 0.95; CI: 0.93–0.96], and social impact/self-care [alpha = 0.91; CI: 0.88–0.92]); eight knowledge items; ten curricular advantage/disadvantages, and curricular satisfaction (both students and faculty). Results Students were randomly assigned to web-based eDoctoring (n = 48) or small-group Doctoring (n = 71) curricula. Self-efficacy and knowledge improved equivalently between groups: e.g., prognosis self-efficacy, 19%; knowledge, 10–42%. Student and faculty ratings of the web-based eDoctoring curriculum and the small group Doctoring curriculum were equivalent for most goals, and overall satisfaction was equivalent for each, with a trend towards decreased eDoctoring student satisfaction. Conclusions Findings showed equivalent gains in self-efficacy and knowledge between students participating in a web-based PEOL curriculum, in comparison to students learning similar content in a small-group format. Web-based curricula can standardize content presentation when local teaching expertise is limited, but may lead to decreased user satisfaction. PMID:25539518

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Tong Len Meditation Practice in Cancer Patients: Evaluation of a Distant Psychological Healing Effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Pagliaro, Gioacchino; Pandolfi, Paolo; Collina, Natalina; Frezza, Giovanni; Brandes, Alba; Galli, Margherita; Avventuroso, Federica Marzocchi; De Lisio, Sara; Musti, Muriel Assunta; Franceschi, Enrico; Esposti, Roberta Degli; Lombardo, Laura; Cavallo, Giovanna; Di Battista, Monica; Rimondini, Simonetta; Poggi, Rosalba; Susini, Cinzia; Renzi, Rina; Marconi, Linda

2016-01-01

Tong Len meditation is an important therapeutic tool in the Tibetan medicine, and it can be used for self-healing and/or to heal others. Currently, in the West, there is no scientific study concerning the efficacy of a Tong Len distant healing effect on psychological disorders in cancer patients. To evaluate a distant healing effect of Tong Len meditation on stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and self-perceived quality of life in cancer patients. These psychological objectives were chosen as a consequence of the limited scientific literature of present day. We performed a double-blind randomized controlled trial on 103 cancer patients with tumors. Overall, 12 meditators used Tong Len in aid of 52 patients randomly selected as experimental group, while the remaining 51 patients constituted the control group. Patients and meditators did not know each other. All patients completed profile of mood states (POMS) and European Quality of Life-5 dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaires before treatment (T0), after two (T1) and three months of treatment (T2), and one month after treatment cessation (T3). With regard to the parameters related to depression, a statistically significant improvement (P = .003) was observed in the treatment group compared to controls. On the other hand, the vigor/activity parameter saw significant improvements in the control group (P = .009). Both groups exhibited significant improvements in the other factors assessed in the POMS and EQ-5D questionnaires. This study did not provide sufficient evidence supporting an efficacy of Tong Len meditation in distant psychological healing as compared to a control condition. The research highlighted some psychological improvements through Tong Len distant meditation in a group of patients unknown to meditators. Therefore, the enhancement detected in most parameters in both treatment and control groups raises interest on in-depth analysis and evaluation of distant meditation on cancer patients to mitigate

Experimental determination of chosen document elements parameters from raster graphics sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiří Rybička

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Visual appearance of documents and their formal quality is considered to be as important as the content quality. Formal and typographical quality of documents can be evaluated by an automated system that processes raster images of documents. A document is described by a formal model that treats a page as an object and also as a set of elements, whereas page elements include text and graphic object. All elements are described by their parameters depending on elements’ type. For future evaluation, mainly text objects are important. This paper describes the experimental determination of chosen document elements parameters from raster images. Techniques for image processing are used, where an image is represented as a matrix of dots and parameter values are extracted. Algorithms for parameter extraction from raster images were designed and were aimed mainly at typographical parameters like indentation, alignment, font size or spacing. Algorithms were tested on a set of 100 images of paragraphs or pages and provide very good results. Extracted parameters can be directly used for typographical quality evaluation.

Comparative analysis of chosen transforms in the context of de-noising harmonic signals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Artur Zacniewski

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In the article, comparison of popular transforms used i.a. in denoising harmonical signals was presented. The division of signals submitted to mathematical analysis was shown and chosen transforms such as Short Time Fourier Transform, Wigner-Ville Distribution, Wavelet Transform and Discrete Cosine Transform were presented. Harmonic signal with white noise added was submitted for research. During research, the parameters of noise were changed to analyze the effects of using particular transform on noised signal. The importance of right choice for transform and its parameters (different for particular kind of transform was shown. Small changes in parameters or different functions used in transform can lead to considerably different results.[b]Keywords[/b]: denoising of harmonical signals, wavelet transform, discrete cosine transform, DCT

Repairable system analysis in presence of covariates and random effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giorgio, M.; Guida, M.; Pulcini, G.

2014-01-01

This paper aims to model the failure pattern of repairable systems in presence of explained and unexplained heterogeneity. The failure pattern of each system is described by a Power Law Process. Part of the heterogeneity among the patterns is explained through the use of a covariate, and the residual unexplained heterogeneity (random effects) is modeled via a joint probability distribution on the PLP parameters. The proposed approach is applied to a real set of failure time data of powertrain systems mounted on 33 buses employed in urban and suburban routes. Moreover, the joint probability distribution on the PLP parameters estimated from the data is used as an informative prior to make Bayesian inference on the future failure process of a generic system belonging to the same population and employed in an urban or suburban route under randomly chosen working conditions. - Highlights: • We describe the failure process of buses powertrain system subject to heterogeneity. • Heterogeneity due to different service types is explained by a covariate. • Random effect is modeled through a joint pdf on failure process parameters. • The powertrain reliability under new future operating conditions is estimated

Randomized controlled pilot of a group antenatal care model and the sociodemographic factors associated with pregnancy-related empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Patil, Crystal L; Klima, Carrie S; Leshabari, Sebalda C; Steffen, Alana D; Pauls, Heather; McGown, Molly; Norr, Kathleen F

2017-11-08

The links between empowerment and a number of health-related outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa have been documented, but empowerment related to pregnancy is under-investigated. Antenatal care (ANC) is the entry point into the healthcare system for most women, so it is important to understand how ANC affects aspects of women's sense of control over their pregnancy. We compare pregnancy-related empowerment for women randomly assigned to the standard of care versus CenteringPregnancy-based group ANC (intervention) in two sub-Saharan countries, Malawi and Tanzania. Pregnant women in Malawi (n = 112) and Tanzania (n = 110) were recruited into a pilot study and randomized to individual ANC or group ANC. Retention at late pregnancy was 81% in Malawi and 95% in Tanzania. In both countries, individual ANC, termed focused antenatal care (FANC), is the standard of care. FANC recommends four ANC visits plus a 6-week post-birth visit and is implemented following the country's standard of care. In group ANC, each contact included self- and midwife-assessments in group space and 90 minutes of interactive health promotion. The number of contacts was the same for both study conditions. We measured pregnancy-related empowerment in late pregnancy using the Pregnancy-Related Empowerment Scale (PRES). Independent samples t-tests and multiple linear regressions were employed to assess whether group ANC led to higher PRES scores than individual ANC and to investigate other sociodemographic factors related to pregnancy-related empowerment. In Malawi, women in group ANC had higher PRES scores than those in individual ANC. Type of care was a significant predictor of PRES and explained 67% of the variation. This was not so in Tanzania; PRES scores were similar for both types of care. Predictive models including sociodemographic variables showed religion as a potential moderator of treatment effect in Tanzania. Muslim women in group ANC had a higher mean PRES score than those in

Desensitization to a whole egg by rush oral immunotherapy improves the quality of life of guardians: A multicenter, randomized, parallel-group, delayed-start design study.

Science.gov (United States)

Itoh-Nagato, Naoka; Inoue, Yuzaburo; Nagao, Mizuho; Fujisawa, Takao; Shimojo, Naoki; Iwata, Tsutomu

2018-04-01

Patients with food allergies and their families have a significantly reduced health-related quality of life (QOL). We performed a multicenter, randomized, parallel-group, delayed-start design study to clarify the efficacy and safety of rush oral immunotherapy (rOIT) and its impact on the participants' daily life and their guardians (UMIN000003943). Forty-five participants were randomly divided into an early-start group and a late-start group. The early-start group received rOIT for 3 months, while the late-start group continued the egg elimination diet (control). In the next stage, both groups received OIT until all participants had finished 12 months of maintenance OIT. The ratio of the participants in whom an increase of the TD was achieved in the first stage was significantly higher in the early-start group (87.0%), than in the late-start group (22.7%). The QOL of the guardians in the early-start group significantly improved after the first stage (65.2%), in comparison to the late-start group (31.8%). During 12 months of rOIT, the serum ovomucoid-specific IgE levels, the percentage of CD203c + basophils upon stimulation with egg white, and the wheal size to egg white were decreased, while the serum ovomucoid-specific IgG4 levels were increased. However, approximately 80% of the participants in the early-start group showed an allergic reaction during the first stage of the study, whereas none of the patients in the late-start group experienced an allergic reaction. rOIT induced desensitization to egg and thus improved the QOL of guardians; however, the participants experienced frequent allergic reactions due to the treatment. Copyright © 2017 Japanese Society of Allergology. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Video-games used in a group setting is feasible and effective to improve indicators of physical activity in individuals with chronic stroke: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Givon, Noa; Zeilig, Gabi; Weingarden, Harold; Rand, Debbie

2016-04-01

To investigate the feasibility of using video-games in a group setting and to compare the effectiveness of video-games as a group intervention to a traditional group intervention for improving physical activity in individuals with chronic stroke. A single-blind randomized controlled trial with evaluations pre and post a 3-month intervention, and at 3-month follow-up. Compliance (session attendance), satisfaction and adverse effects were feasibility measures. Grip strength and gait speed were measures of physical activity. Hip accelerometers quantified steps/day and the Action Research Arm Test assessed the functional ability of the upper extremity. Forty-seven community-dwelling individuals with chronic stroke (29-78 years) were randomly allocated to receive video-game (N=24) or traditional therapy (N=23) in a group setting. There was high treatment compliance for both interventions (video-games-78%, traditional therapy-66%), but satisfaction was rated higher for the video-game (93%) than the traditional therapy (71%) (χ(2)=4.98, P=0.026). Adverse effects were not reported in either group. Significant improvements were demonstrated in both groups for gait speed (F=3.9, P=0.02), grip strength of the weaker (F=6.67, P=0.002) and stronger hands (F=7.5, P=0.001). Daily steps and functional ability of the weaker hand did not increase in either group. Using video-games in a small group setting is feasible, safe and satisfying. Video-games improve indicators of physical activity of individuals with chronic stroke. © The Author(s) 2015.

Group Awareness and Self-Presentation in Computer-Supported Information Exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Kimmerle, Joachim; Cress, Ulrike

2008-01-01

A common challenge in many situations of computer-supported collaborative learning is increasing the willingness of those involved to share their knowledge with other group members. As a prototypical situation of computer-supported information exchange, a shared-database setting was chosen for the current study. This information-exchange situation…

A randomized controlled trial of support group intervention after breast cancer treatment: results on sick leave, health care utilization and health economy.

Science.gov (United States)

Björneklett, Helena Granstam; Rosenblad, Andreas; Lindemalm, Christina; Ojutkangas, Marja-Leena; Letocha, Henry; Strang, Peter; Bergkvist, Leif

2013-01-01

More than 50% of breast cancer patients are diagnosed before the age of 65. Returning to work after treatment is, therefore, of interest for both the individual and society. The aim was to study the effect of support group intervention on sick leave and health care utilization in economic terms. Of 382 patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer, 191 + 191 patients were randomized to an intervention group or to a routine control group, respectively. The intervention group received support intervention on a residential basis for one week, followed by four days of follow-up two months later. The support intervention included informative-educational sections, relaxation training, mental visualization and non-verbal communication. Patients answered a questionnaire at baseline, two, six and 12 months about sick leave and health care utilization. There was a trend towards longer sick leave and more health care utilization in the intervention group. The difference in total costs was statistically significantly higher in the intervention group after 12 months (p = 0.0036). Costs to society were not reduced with intervention in its present form.

Appraisal of Method of Flutter Analysis Based on Chosen Modes by Comparison with Experiment for Cases of Large Mass Coupling

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Woolston, Donald

1949-01-01

The present paper reports the results of a series of flutter studies including comparisons of experimental results with calculations based on a Rayleigh type analysis, in which chosen modes are assumed...

A Lightweight RFID Grouping-Proof Protocol Based on Parallel Mode and DHCP Mechanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhicai Shi

2017-07-01

Full Text Available A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID grouping-proof protocol is to generate an evidence of the simultaneous existence of a group of tags and it has been applied to many different fields. For current grouping-proof protocols, there still exist some flaws such as low grouping-proof efficiency, being vulnerable to trace attack and information leakage. To improve the secure performance and efficiency, we propose a lightweight RFID grouping-proof protocol based on parallel mode and DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol mechanism. Our protocol involves multiple readers and multiple tag groups. During the grouping-proof period, one reader and one tag group are chosen by the verifier by means of DHCP mechanism. When only a part of the tags of the chosen group exist, the protocol can also give the evidence of their co-existence. Our protocol utilizes parallel communication mode between reader and tags so as to ensure its grouping-proof efficiency. It only uses Hash function to complete the mutual authentication among verifier, readers and tags. It can preserve the privacy of the RFID system and resist the attacks such as eavesdropping, replay, trace and impersonation. Therefore the protocol is secure, flexible and efficient. It only uses some lightweight operations such as Hash function and a pseudorandom number generator. Therefore it is very suitable to some low-cost RFID systems.

Functional Group Analysis for Diesel-like Mixing-Controlled Compression Ignition Combustion Blendstocks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaspar, Daniel J.; McCormick, Robert L.; Polikarpov, Evgueni; Fioroni, Gina; George, Anthe; Albrecht, Karl O.

2016-12-30

This report addresses the suitability of hydrocarbon and oxygenate functional groups for use as a diesel-like fuel blending component in an advanced, mixing-controlled, compression ignition combustion engine. The functional groups are chosen from those that could be derived from a biomass feedstock, and represent a full range of chemistries. This first systematic analysis of functional groups will be of value to all who are pursuing new bio-blendstocks for diesel-like fuels.

Mobile Health (mHealth) Versus Clinic-Based Group Intervention for People With Serious Mental Illness: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-Zeev, Dror; Brian, Rachel M; Jonathan, Geneva; Razzano, Lisa; Pashka, Nicole; Carpenter-Song, Elizabeth; Drake, Robert E; Scherer, Emily A

2018-05-25

mHealth approaches that use mobile phones to deliver interventions can help improve access to care for people with serious mental illness. The goal was to evaluate how mHealth performs against more traditional treatment. A three-month randomized controlled trial was conducted of a smartphone-delivered intervention (FOCUS) versus a clinic-based group intervention (Wellness Recovery Action Plan [WRAP]). Participants were 163 clients, mostly from racial minority groups and with long-term, serious mental illness (schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, 49%; bipolar disorder, 28%; and major depressive disorder, 23%). Outcomes were engagement throughout the intervention; satisfaction posttreatment (three months); and improvement in clinical symptoms, recovery, and quality of life (assessed at baseline, posttreatment, and six months). Participants assigned to FOCUS were more likely than those assigned to WRAP to commence treatment (90% versus 58%) and remain fully engaged in eight weeks of care (56% versus 40%). Satisfaction ratings were comparably high for both interventions. Participants in both groups improved significantly and did not differ in clinical outcomes, including general psychopathology and depression. Significant improvements in recovery were seen for the WRAP group posttreatment, and significant improvements in recovery and quality of life were seen for the FOCUS group at six months. Both interventions produced significant gains among clients with serious and persistent mental illnesses who were mostly from racial minority groups. The mHealth intervention showed superior patient engagement and produced patient satisfaction and clinical and recovery outcomes that were comparable to those from a widely used clinic-based group intervention for illness management.

Use acupuncture to treat functional constipation: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Ying

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Whether acupuncture is effective for patients with functional constipation is still unclear. Therefore, we report the protocol of a randomized controlled trial of using acupuncture to treat functional constipation. Design A randomized, controlled, four-arm design, large-scale trial is currently undergoing in China. Seven hundred participants are randomly assigned to three acupuncture treatment groups and Mosapride Citrate control group in a 1:1:1:1 ratio. Participants in acupuncture groups receive 16 sessions of acupuncture treatment, and are followed up for a period of 9 weeks after randomization. The acupuncture groups are: (1 Back-Shu and Front-Mu acupoints of Large Intestine meridians (Shu-Mu points group; (2 He-Sea and Lower He-Sea acupoints of Large Intestine meridians (He points group; (3 Combining used Back-Shu, Front-Mu, He-Sea, and Lower He-Sea acupoints of Large Intestine meridians (Shu-Mu-He points group. The control group is Mosapride Citrate group. The primary outcome is frequency of defecation per week at the fourth week after randomization. The secondary outcomes include Bristol stool scale, the extent of difficulty during defecating, MOS 36-item Short Form health survey (SF-36, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS, and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS. The first two of second outcomes are measured 1 week before randomization and 2, 4, and 8 weeks after randomization. Other second outcomes are measured 1 week before randomization and 2 and 4 weeks after randomization, but SF-36 is measured at randomization and 4 weeks after randomization. Discussion The result of this trial (which will be available in 2012 will confirm whether acupuncture is effective to treat functional constipation and whether traditional acupuncture theories play an important role in it. Trials registration Clinical Trials.gov NCT01411501

Group cognitive behavioral therapy targeting intolerance of uncertainty: a randomized trial for older Chinese adults with generalized anxiety disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Hui, Chen; Zhihui, Yang

2017-12-01

China has entered the aging society, but the social support systems for the elderly are underdeveloped, which may make the elderly feel anxiety about their health and life quality. Given the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in the elderly, it is very important to pay more attention to the treatment for old adults. Although cognitive behavioral therapy targeting intolerance of uncertainty (CBT-IU) has been applied to different groups of patients with GAD, few studies have been performed to date. In addition, the effects of CBT-IU are not well understood, especially when applied to older adults with GAD. Sixty-three Chinese older adults with a principal diagnosis of GAD were enrolled. Of these, 32 were randomized to receive group CBT-IU (intervention group) and 31 were untreated (control group). GAD and related symptoms were assessed using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Chinese Version, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Why Worry-II scale, Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-IV, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Severity Scale across the intervention. The changes between pre and after the intervention were collected, as well as the six-month follow-up. F test and repeated-measures ANOVA were conducted to analyze the data. Compared to control group, the measures' scores of experimental group decreased significantly after the intervention and six-month follow-up. Besides the main effects for time and group were significant, the interaction effect for group × time was also significant. These results indicated the improvement of the CBT-IU group and the persistence of effect after six months. Group CBT-IU is effective in Chinese older adults with GAD. The effects of CBT-IU on GAD symptoms persist for at least six months after treatment.

Increasing Physical Activity in Mothers Using Video Exercise Groups and Exercise Mobile Apps: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Mascarenhas, Maya Nina; Chan, June Maylin; Vittinghoff, Eric; Van Blarigan, Erin Lynn; Hecht, Frederick

2018-05-18

Women significantly decrease their activity levels in the transition to motherhood. Digital health technologies are low cost, scalable, and can provide an effective delivery mechanism for behavior change. This is the first study that examines the use of videoconferencing and mobile apps to create exercise groups for mothers. The aim of the study was to test the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of an individually adaptive and socially supportive physical activity intervention incorporating videoconferencing and mobile apps for mothers. The Moms Online Video Exercise Study was an 8-week, 2-armed, Web-based randomized trial comparing the effectiveness of a group exercise intervention with a waitlist control. Healthy mothers with at least 1 child under the age of 12 years were recruited through Facebook and email listservs. Intervention participants joined exercise groups using videoconferencing (Google Hangouts) every morning on weekdays and exercised together in real time, guided by exercise mobile apps (eg, Nike+, Sworkit) of their choice. Waitlist control participants had access to recommended mobile apps and an invitation to join an exercise group after the 8-week study period. Main outcomes assessed included changes in self-reported moderate, vigorous, and moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) minutes per week in aggregate and stratified by whether women met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for sufficient aerobic activity at baseline. Outcomes were measured through self-assessed Web-based questionnaires at baseline and 8 weeks. The intervention was effective at increasing exercise for inactive women and proved to be feasible and acceptable to all participants. A total of 64 women were randomized, 30 to intervention and 34 to control. Women attended 2.8 sessions per week. There was a strong, but not statistically significant, trend toward increasing moderate, vigorous, and MVPA minutes for all women. As hypothesized, in

Effect of mental imagery on performance elite athletes’ in youth and adult age groups: a randomized trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tohid Seif-Barghi

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Athletes are usually skilled in physical aspects of sports; they are widely involved in physical conditioning, technical and tactical training. However they usually ignore the psychological and cognitive skills linked to their performance. Sport imagery is a well known fundamental skill that has a critical role in how a player performs and shows his/her competency during a real world game. On the other hand football as a complex team sport includes several skills linked to physical and psychological properties. We aimed to study the effect of cognitive imagery on elite football players through league competitions in two separate studies.Methods: Twenty two youth players and Twenty two adult players randomly assigned to imagery and control groups. Players in intervention group received 12 weeks training program for specific cognitive imagery and general cognitive imagery. Imagery training program focused on an important component of football performance as “successful passing”. Players in control group were assigned to a waiting list with no intervention. In order to evaluate outcome variable we assessed successful passing in real compete-tions as player performance in both pre and post test occasions.Results: Findings of study in youth participants showed that young players in interven-tion group improved the performance of passing compared to control players (OR=1.41, P0.05, CI 95%: 0.82, 1.4(.Conclusion: These results showed that cognitive imagery intervention can affect elite soccer players’ performance. This effect is more prominent in youth age football players.

Efficacy of individualized social competence training for children with oppositional defiant disorders/conduct disorders: a randomized controlled trial with an active control group.

Science.gov (United States)

Goertz-Dorten, Anja; Benesch, Christina; Berk-Pawlitzek, Emel; Faber, Martin; Hautmann, Christopher; Hellmich, Martin; Lindenschmidt, Timo; Schuh, Lioba; Stadermann, Rahel; Doepfner, Manfred

2018-03-28

Patient-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy in children with aggressive behavior, which uses group-based social skills training, has resulted in significant reductions in behavioral problems, with effect sizes in the small-to-medium range. However, effects of individually delivered treatments and effects on aggressive behavior and comorbid conditions rated from different perspectives, child functional impairment, child quality of life, parent-child relationship, and parental psychopathology have rarely been assessed. In a randomized controlled trial, 91 boys aged 6-12 years with a diagnosis of oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder and peer-related aggression were randomized to receive individually delivered social competence training (Treatment Program for Children with Aggressive Behavior, THAV) or to an active control involving group play that included techniques to activate resources and the opportunity to train prosocial interactions in groups (PLAY). Outcome measures were rated by parents, teachers, or clinicians. Mostly moderate treatment effects for THAV compared to PLAY were found in parent ratings and/or clinician ratings on aggressive behavior, comorbid symptoms, psychosocial impairment, quality of life, parental stress, and negative expressed emotions. In teacher ratings, significant effects were found for ADHD symptoms and prosocial behavior only. THAV is a specifically effective intervention for boys aged 6-12 years with oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder and peer-related aggressive behavior as rated by parents and clinicians.

The MANDELA study: A multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel group trial to refine the use of everolimus after heart transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Deuse, Tobias; Bara, Christoph; Barten, Markus J; Hirt, Stephan W; Doesch, Andreas O; Knosalla, Christoph; Grinninger, Carola; Stypmann, Jörg; Garbade, Jens; Wimmer, Peter; May, Christoph; Porstner, Martina; Schulz, Uwe

2015-11-01

In recent years a series of trials has sought to define the optimal protocol for everolimus-based immunosuppression in heart transplantation, with the goal of minimizing exposure to calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) and harnessing the non-immunosuppressive benefits of everolimus. Randomized studies have demonstrated that immunosuppressive potency can be maintained in heart transplant patients receiving everolimus despite marked CNI reduction, although very early CNI withdrawal may be inadvisable. A potential renal advantage has been shown for everolimus, but the optimal time for conversion and the adequate reduction in CNI exposure remain to be defined. Other reasons for use of everolimus include a substantial reduction in the risk of cytomegalovirus infection, and evidence for inhibition of cardiac allograft vasculopathy, a major cause of graft loss. The ongoing MANDELA study is a 12-month multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel-group study in which efficacy, renal function and safety are compared in approximately 200 heart transplant patients. Patients receive CNI therapy, steroids and everolimus or mycophenolic acid during months 3 to 6 post-transplant, and are then randomized at month 6 post-transplant (i) to convert to CNI-free immunosuppression with everolimus and mycophenolic acid or (ii) to continue reduced-exposure CNI, with concomitant everolimus. Patients are then followed to month 18 post-transplant The rationale and expectations for the trial and its methodology are described herein. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Group Life Insurance

CERN Multimedia

2013-01-01

The CERN Administration would like to remind you that staff members and fellows have the possibility to take out a life insurance contract on favourable terms through a Group Life Insurance.   This insurance is provided by the company Helvetia and is available to you on a voluntary basis. The premium, which varies depending on the age and gender of the person insured, is calculated on the basis of the amount of the death benefit chosen by the staff member/fellow and can be purchased in slices of 10,000 CHF.    The contract normally ends at the retirement age (65/67 years) or when the staff member/fellow leaves the Organization. The premium is deducted monthly from the payroll.   Upon retirement, the staff member can opt to maintain his membership under certain conditions.   More information about Group Life Insurance can be found at: Regulations (in French) Table of premiums The Pension Fund Benefit Service &...

Logical independence and quantum randomness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paterek, T; Kofler, J; Aspelmeyer, M; Zeilinger, A; Brukner, C; Prevedel, R; Klimek, P

2010-01-01

We propose a link between logical independence and quantum physics. We demonstrate that quantum systems in the eigenstates of Pauli group operators are capable of encoding mathematical axioms and show that Pauli group quantum measurements are capable of revealing whether or not a given proposition is logically dependent on the axiomatic system. Whenever a mathematical proposition is logically independent of the axioms encoded in the measured state, the measurement associated with the proposition gives random outcomes. This allows for an experimental test of logical independence. Conversely, it also allows for an explanation of the probabilities of random outcomes observed in Pauli group measurements from logical independence without invoking quantum theory. The axiomatic systems we study can be completed and are therefore not subject to Goedel's incompleteness theorem.

Group problem solving as a different participatory approach to Citizenship Education.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guérin, Laurence

2017-01-01

Purpose: The main goal of this article is to define and justify group problem solving as an approach to citizenship education. It is demonstrated that the choice of theoretical framework of democracy has consequences for the chosen learning goals, educational approach and learning activities. The

Free probability and random matrices

CERN Document Server

Mingo, James A

2017-01-01

This volume opens the world of free probability to a wide variety of readers. From its roots in the theory of operator algebras, free probability has intertwined with non-crossing partitions, random matrices, applications in wireless communications, representation theory of large groups, quantum groups, the invariant subspace problem, large deviations, subfactors, and beyond. This book puts a special emphasis on the relation of free probability to random matrices, but also touches upon the operator algebraic, combinatorial, and analytic aspects of the theory. The book serves as a combination textbook/research monograph, with self-contained chapters, exercises scattered throughout the text, and coverage of important ongoing progress of the theory. It will appeal to graduate students and all mathematicians interested in random matrices and free probability from the point of view of operator algebras, combinatorics, analytic functions, or applications in engineering and statistical physics.

Task Performance in Small Group Settings: The Role of Group Members' Self-Efficacy And Collective Efficacy and Group's Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Khong, Jerrine Z. N.; Liem, Gregory Arief D.; Klassen, Robert M.

2017-01-01

The present study extends the literature by investigating the relative salience of self- and collective efficacy in predicting group performance among early adolescents in Indonesia. A total of 435 early adolescents (mean age 11.70 years, 53% female) were randomly assigned to groups of three to four and completed three group tasks (task 1:…

Providing patients with information about disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs: Individually or in groups? A pilot randomized controlled trial comparing adherence and satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Homer, Dawn; Nightingale, Peter; Jobanputra, Paresh

2009-06-01

Communicating information about disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) before patients start treatment is a key role for some rheumatology clinical nurse specialists. This is done in our unit to promote understanding of the risks and benefits of drug therapy and encourage timely and reliable use of DMARDs. Information is routinely provided individually but this can lead to delays in starting treatment because of limited nursing resources. In this randomized trial we tested the feasibility of giving patients, who were about to start on a DMARD, information about the drug in groups and compared this with information given individually. Adults with a clinical diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis who were referred to the nursing team for counselling about starting on methotrexate, sulfasalazine or leflunomide were included. Patients who had previously taken a DMARD were not excluded and those consenting were randomized to receive drug information individually or in groups (of three to six patients). We provided all patients with written materials about the relevant drug and discussed the risks and benefits of drug use verbally. Patients allocated to group counselling received this intervention in a teaching room, with a slide presentation. The primary outcome was adherence with medication use, ascertained by pill counts, self-report diaries and prescription dispensation. Secondary outcomes included satisfaction with information about medicines (SIMS) by questionnaire; time taken to provide information; adherence to scheduled hospital appointments and blood monitoring schedules; and DMARD continuation rates at four and twelve months. Of 127 eligible patients referred for counselling about DMARDs, 62 consented to take part: 32 were randomized to receive drug information individually and 30 to receiving it in groups. Patients allocated to the two different interventions were comparable for age and diagnoses at baseline but more patients

Stress management and mind-body medicine: a randomized controlled longitudinal evaluation of students' health and effects of a behavioral group intervention at a middle-size German university (SM-MESH).

Science.gov (United States)

Esch, Tobias; Sonntag, Ulrike; Esch, Sonja Maren; Thees, Stefanie

2013-01-01

Student life can be stressful. Hence, we started a regular mind-body medical stress management program in 2006. By today, more than 500 students took part and evaluations showed significant results, especially with regard to a reduction of stress warning signals. For further analysis, we now decided to run a randomized controlled longitudinal trial. Participating students at Coburg University were randomized into an intervention (n = 24) or a waitlist control group (n = 19). The intervention group completed 3 sets (pre/post/follow-up) and the control group 2 sets (pre/post) of self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires included: SF-12 Health Survey, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Sense of Coherence (SOC-L9), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) concerning stress, and the Stress Warning Signs (SWS) scale. Randomly selected participants of the intervention group were also queried in qualitative interviews. The intervention consisted of an 8 week stress management group program (mind-body medical stress reduction - MBMSR). Follow-up measures were taken after 6 months. Virtually, no drop-out occurred. Our study showed significant effects in the intervention group concerning SF-12 Mental Component Scale (p = 0.05), SF-12 Physical Component Scale (p = 0.001), VAS (in general, p = 0.001) and SWS (emotional reactions, p healthy students could be demonstrated. Findings suggest that stress management might be given importance at universities that care for the performance, the quality of life, and stress-health status of their students, acknowledging and accounting for the challenging circumstances of university life, as well as the specific needs of the modern student population. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Intensive versus conventional blood pressure monitoring in a general practice population. The Blood Pressure Reduction in Danish General Practice trial: a randomized controlled parallel group trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klarskov, Pia; Bang, Lia E; Schultz-Larsen, Peter

2018-01-01

To compare the effect of a conventional to an intensive blood pressure monitoring regimen on blood pressure in hypertensive patients in the general practice setting. Randomized controlled parallel group trial with 12-month follow-up. One hundred and ten general practices in all regions of Denmark....... One thousand forty-eight patients with essential hypertension. Conventional blood pressure monitoring ('usual group') continued usual ad hoc blood pressure monitoring by office blood pressure measurements, while intensive blood pressure monitoring ('intensive group') supplemented this with frequent...... a reduction of blood pressure. Clinical Trials NCT00244660....

The Effectiveness of Marlaat’s Cognitive Behavior Intervention and Group Treatment Based on Change Stages for Recovery and Relapse Prevention Rates in Male Heroin Crack Addicts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S Khodadust

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of this study was the Study of effectiveness of Marlaat’s cognitive behavior intervention and group treatment based on change stages for recovery and relapse rates in male heroin crack addictions. Method: In a experimental research design, 45 men addictions, who were diagnosed as the dependence of the heroin crack on the basis of DSM-IV-TR criteria, were chosen after successfully detoxified. They were divided two experimental groups (30 participants and a control group (15 participants that have been selected by random sampling. The first experimental group was undergone group treatment based on change stages underwent 16 sessions of 1.5 hours, totally 24 hours and the second experimental groups who were undergone Marlaat’s cognitive behavior intervention has been held 15 sessions of 2 hours, totally 24 hours. The control group were just received MMT without any psychotherapy. All participants were assessed by structured interview, urine test, before treatment, after treatment and after 3 months follow up. Results: Results showed that both psychotherapy treatments were affected on recovery and relapse rates. Conclusion: It seems that psychological problems and conflicts before addiction and after addiction could be caused for individuals’ tendency to narcotics consumption. Therefore, applying of psychotherapy could be useful in relapse prevention.

Effect of Probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri on Salivary Cariogenic Bacterial Counts among Groups of Preschool Children in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Alamoudi, Najlaa M; Almabadi, Eman S; El Ashiry, Eman A; El Derwi, Douaa A

2018-05-15

To evaluate the effect of probiotic Lactobacilli reuteri lozenges on caries-associated salivary bacterial counts (Mutans streptococci and Lactobacillus), dental plaque accumulation, and salivary buffer capacity in a group of preschool children. The study group consisted of 178 healthy children (aged 3-6 years). Children were randomly grouped: the experimental group (n = 90) received L. reuteri probiotic lozenges and the control group (n = 88) received placebo lozenges, twice daily, for 28 days. Salivary Mutans streptococci and Lactobacillus counts, and buffer capacity were assessed using chair-side caries-risk test (CRT®) kits. The Simplified Oral Hygiene index (OHI-S) was used to assess dental plaque accumulation at baseline and after 28 days. After 28 days, the experimental group had a statistically significant reduction in Mutans streptococci and lactobacilli (p = 0.000 and p = 0.020, respectively) and both groups had less plaque accumulation than at baseline. While the buffer capacity in the experimental group increased more than in the control group, it was not statistically significant (p = 0.577). Compliance was 90%, with no adverse events. Consumption of probiotic lozenges containing L. reuteri reduces caries-associated bacterial counts significantly. Probiotics consumption may have a beneficial caries-preventive effect.

Experimental analysis of the flow near the boundary of random porous media

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Wu, Zhenxing; Mirbod, Parisa

2018-04-01

The aim of this work is to experimentally examine flow over and near random porous media. Different porous materials were chosen to achieve porosity ranging from 0.95 to 0.99. In this study, we report the detailed velocity measurements of the flow over and near random porous material inside a rectangular duct using a planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. By controlling the flow rate, two different Reynolds numbers were achieved. We determined the slip velocity at the interface between the porous media and free flow. Values of the slip velocity normalized either by the maximum flow velocity or by the shear rate at the interface and the screening distance K1/2 were found to depend on porosity. It was also shown that the depth of penetration inside the porous material was larger than the screening length using Brinkman's prediction. Moreover, we examined a model for the laminar coupled flow over and inside porous media and analyzed the permeability of a random porous medium. This study provided detailed analysis of flow over and at the interface of various specific random porous media using the PIV technique. This analysis has the potential to serve as a first step toward using random porous media as a new passive technique to control the flow over smooth surfaces.

Effects of group sexual counseling on the traditional perceptions and attitudes of Iranian pregnant women

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Navidian A

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Ali Navidian,1 Shahindokht Navabi Rigi,2 Parvin Soltani2 1Department of Counseling, Pregnancy Health Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran; 2Department of Midwifery, Nursing and Midwifery School, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, IranBackground: Marital relationships may fluctuate due to physical and psychological changes during pregnancy. This study aimed to investigate the effect of group sexual counseling on the traditional perceptions and attitudes of pregnant women.Methods: This was a quasiexperimental intervention study. Among the pregnant women who were referred to health care centers in Zahedan, Iran, in 2015 for routine care during pregnancy, 100 individuals were chosen and randomly categorized into two groups: intervention (n=50 and control (n=50. Variables were the participant’s attitudes and beliefs on sexual activity during pregnancy. The data were collected during pregnancy using the Sexual Activities and Attitudes Questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed before and 6 weeks after five sessions of group sexual counseling. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (Version 20 with descriptive and analytical statistics.Results: The mean of score changes for sexual attitudes and traditional perceptions in the intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.0001. Analysis of covariance also showed that the mean score of the participant’s traditional perceptions and sexual attitudes in both groups was significantly different after the group sexual counseling.Discussion: Due to the positive effect of group sexual counseling on improving the attitudes of pregnant women about sexual issues and reframing the traditional perceptions over sexual activities during pregnancy, it is recommended that this educational intervention should be integrated into counseling and prenatal care for pregnant women. Keywords: group sexual counseling, belief, attitude

Making Healthy Eating Policy Practice: A Group Randomized Controlled Trial on Changes in Snack Quality, Costs, and Consumption in After-School Programs.

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Beets, Michael W; Weaver, R Glenn; Turner-McGrievy, Gabrielle; Huberty, Jennifer; Ward, Dianne S; Freedman, Darcy; Hutto, Brent; Moore, Justin B; Beighle, Aaron

2016-09-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate an intervention designed to assist after-school programs (ASPs) in meeting snack nutrition policies that specify that a fruit or vegetable be served daily and sugar-sweetened beverages/foods and artificially flavored foods eliminated. The study used a 1-year group-randomized controlled trial. The study took place in ASPs operating in South Carolina, United States. Twenty ASPs serving over 1700 children were recruited, match-paired postbaseline on enrollment size and days fruits/vegetables were served per week, and randomized to either intervention (n = 10) or control (n = 10) groups. The study used Strategies To Enhance Practice for Healthy Eating (STEPs-HE), a multistep adaptive intervention framework that assists ASP leaders and staff to serve snacks that meet nutrition policies while maintaining cost. Direct observation of snacks served and consumed and monthly snack expenditures as determined by receipts were used. The study used nonparametric and mixed-model repeated measures. By postassessment, intervention ASPs increased serving of fruits/vegetables to 3.9 ± 2.1 vs. 0.7 ± 1.7 d/wk and decreased serving sugar-sweetened beverages to 0.1 ± 0.7 vs. 1.8 ± 2.4 d/wk and sugar-sweetened foods to 0.3 ± 1.1 vs. 2.7 ± 2.5 d/wk compared to controls, respectively. Cost of snacks increased by $0.02/snack in the intervention ASPs ($0.36 to $0.38) compared to a $0.01 per snack decrease in the control group ($0.39 to $0.38). Across both assessments and groups, 80% to 100% of children consumed FVs. The STEPs-HE intervention can assist ASPs in meeting nationally endorsed nutrition policies with marginal increases in cost. © 2016 by American Journal of Health Promotion, Inc.

Pilot randomized controlled trial of a mindfulness-based group intervention in adolescent girls at risk for type 2 diabetes with depressive symptoms.

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Shomaker, Lauren B; Bruggink, Stephanie; Pivarunas, Bernadette; Skoranski, Amanda; Foss, Jillian; Chaffin, Ella; Dalager, Stephanie; Annameier, Shelly; Quaglia, Jordan; Brown, Kirk Warren; Broderick, Patricia; Bell, Christopher

2017-06-01

(1) Evaluate feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness-based group in adolescent girls at-risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) with depressive symptoms, and (2) compare efficacy of a mindfulness-based versus cognitive-behavioral group for decreasing depressive symptoms and improving insulin resistance. Parallel-group, randomized controlled pilot trial conducted at a university. Thirty-three girls 12-17y with overweight/obesity, family history of diabetes, and elevated depressive symptoms were randomized to a six-week mindfulness-based (n=17) or cognitive-behavioral program (n=16). Both interventions included six, one-hour weekly group sessions. The mindfulness-based program included guided mindfulness awareness practices. The cognitive-behavioral program involved cognitive restructuring and behavioral activation. Adolescents were evaluated at baseline, post-intervention, and six-months. Feasibility/acceptability were measured by attendance and program ratings. Depressive symptoms were assessed by validated survey. Insulin resistance was determined from fasting insulin and glucose, and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry was used to assess body composition. Most adolescents attended ≥80% sessions (mindfulness: 92% versus cognitive-behavioral: 87%, p=1.00). Acceptability ratings were strong. At post-treatment and six-months, adolescents in the mindfulness condition had greater decreases in depressive symptoms than adolescents in the cognitive-behavioral condition (psmindfulness-based intervention also had greater decreases in insulin resistance and fasting insulin at post-treatment, adjusting for fat mass and other covariates (psmindfulness-based intervention shows feasibility and acceptability in girls at-risk for T2D with depressive symptoms. Compared to a cognitive-behavioral program, after the intervention, adolescents who received mindfulness showed greater reductions in depressive symptoms and better insulin resistance. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02218138

Beyond Silence: A Randomized, Parallel-Group Trial Exploring the Impact of Workplace Mental Health Literacy Training with Healthcare Employees.

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Moll, Sandra E; Patten, Scott; Stuart, Heather; MacDermid, Joy C; Kirsh, Bonnie

2018-01-01

This study sought to evaluate whether a contact-based workplace education program was more effective than standard mental health literacy training in promoting early intervention and support for healthcare employees with mental health issues. A parallel-group, randomised trial was conducted with employees in 2 multi-site Ontario hospitals with the evaluators blinded to the groups. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 group-based education programs: Beyond Silence (comprising 6 in-person, 2-h sessions plus 5 online sessions co-led by employees who personally experienced mental health issues) or Mental Health First Aid (a standardised 2-day training program led by a trained facilitator). Participants completed baseline, post-group, and 3-mo follow-up surveys to explore perceived changes in mental health knowledge, stigmatized beliefs, and help-seeking/help-outreach behaviours. An intent-to-treat analysis was completed with 192 participants. Differences were assessed using multi-level mixed models accounting for site, group, and repeated measurement. Neither program led to significant increases in help-seeking or help-outreach behaviours. Both programs increased mental health literacy, improved attitudes towards seeking treatment, and decreased stigmatized beliefs, with sustained changes in stigmatized beliefs more prominent in the Beyond Silence group. Beyond Silence, a new contact-based education program customised for healthcare workers was not superior to standard mental health literacy training in improving mental health help-seeking or help-outreach behaviours in the workplace. The only difference was a reduction in stigmatized beliefs over time. Additional research is needed to explore the factors that lead to behaviour change.

Group schema therapy versus group cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder with comorbid avoidant personality disorder: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

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Baljé, Astrid; Greeven, Anja; van Giezen, Anne; Korrelboom, Kees; Arntz, Arnoud; Spinhoven, Philip

2016-10-08

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) with comorbid avoidant personality disorder (APD) has a high prevalence and is associated with serious psychosocial problems and high societal costs. When patients suffer from both SAD and APD, the Dutch multidisciplinary guidelines for personality disorders advise offering prolonged cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Recently there is increasing evidence for the effectiveness of schema therapy (ST) for personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder and cluster C personality disorders. Since ST addresses underlying personality characteristics and maladaptive coping strategies developed in childhood, this treatment might be particularly effective for patients with SAD and comorbid APD. To our knowledge, there are no studies comparing CBT with ST in this particular group of patients. This superiority trial aims at comparing the effectiveness of these treatments. As an additional goal, predictors and underlying mechanisms of change will be explored. The design of the study is a multicentre two-group randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which the treatment effect of group cognitive behavioral therapy (GCBT) will be compared to that of group schema therapy (GST) in a semi-open group format. A total of 128 patients aged 18-65 years old will be enrolled. Patients will receive 30 sessions of GCBT or GST during a period of approximately 9 months. Primary outcome measures are the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale Self-Report (LSAS-SR) for social anxiety disorder and the newly developed Avoidant Personality Disorder Severity Index (AVPDSI) for avoidant personality disorder. Secondary outcome measures are the MINI section SAD, the SCID-II section APD, the Schema Mode Inventory (SMI-2), the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Self-Report (IDS-SR), the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and the Acceptance and Action

The Effect of Departmentalization on the Reading Achievement of Sixth-Grade Students.

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Harris, Mary B.

A study examined whether departmentalization affected the reading achievement of sixth-grade students attending a Chicago public school. A random sample of 30 students was chosen from a group of 53 who received instruction in a departmentalized program. A second random sample of 30 was selected from a total of 54 students who received instruction…

Strategies for improving memory: a randomized trial of memory groups for older people, including those with mild cognitive impairment.

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Kinsella, Glynda J; Ames, David; Storey, Elsdon; Ong, Ben; Pike, Kerryn E; Saling, Michael M; Clare, Linda; Mullaly, Elizabeth; Rand, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Governments are promoting the importance of maintaining cognitive health into older age to minimize risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Older people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) are particularly vulnerable to memory challenges in daily activities and are seeking ways to maintain independent living. To evaluate the effectiveness of memory groups for improving memory strategies and memory ability of older people, especially those with aMCI. 113 healthy older adults (HOA) and 106 adults with aMCI were randomized to a six-week memory group or a waitlist control condition. Outcome was evaluated through knowledge and use of memory strategies, memory ability (self-report and neuropsychological tests), and wellbeing. Assessments included a six-month follow-up. Using intention to treat analyses, there were intervention effects for HOA and aMCI groups in strategy knowledge (HOA: η2= 0.20; aMCI: η2= 0.06), strategy use (HOA: η2= 0.18; aMCI: η2= 0.08), and wellbeing (HOA: η2= 0.11; aMCI: η2= 0.05). There were also intervention effects in the HOA group, but not the aMCI group, in self-reported memory ability (η2= 0.06) and prospective memory tests (η2= 0.02). By six-month follow-up, gains were found on most HOA outcomes. In the aMCI group gains were found in strategy use, and by this stage, gains in prospective memory were also found. Memory groups can engage older people in techniques for maintaining cognitive health and improve memory performance, but more modest benefits are seen for older adults with aMCI.

Logical independence and quantum randomness

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Paterek, T; Kofler, J; Aspelmeyer, M; Zeilinger, A; Brukner, C [Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Boltzmanngasse 3, A-1090 Vienna (Austria); Prevedel, R; Klimek, P [Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Vienna (Austria)], E-mail: tomasz.paterek@univie.ac.at

2010-01-15

We propose a link between logical independence and quantum physics. We demonstrate that quantum systems in the eigenstates of Pauli group operators are capable of encoding mathematical axioms and show that Pauli group quantum measurements are capable of revealing whether or not a given proposition is logically dependent on the axiomatic system. Whenever a mathematical proposition is logically independent of the axioms encoded in the measured state, the measurement associated with the proposition gives random outcomes. This allows for an experimental test of logical independence. Conversely, it also allows for an explanation of the probabilities of random outcomes observed in Pauli group measurements from logical independence without invoking quantum theory. The axiomatic systems we study can be completed and are therefore not subject to Goedel's incompleteness theorem.

Intranasal Midazolam versus Rectal Diazepam for the Management of Canine Status Epilepticus: A Multicenter Randomized Parallel-Group Clinical Trial.

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Charalambous, M; Bhatti, S F M; Van Ham, L; Platt, S; Jeffery, N D; Tipold, A; Siedenburg, J; Volk, H A; Hasegawa, D; Gallucci, A; Gandini, G; Musteata, M; Ives, E; Vanhaesebrouck, A E

2017-07-01

Intranasal administration of benzodiazepines has shown superiority over rectal administration for terminating emergency epileptic seizures in human trials. No such clinical trials have been performed in dogs. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of intranasal midazolam (IN-MDZ), via a mucosal atomization device, as a first-line management option for canine status epilepticus and compare it to rectal administration of diazepam (R-DZP) for controlling status epilepticus before intravenous access is available. Client-owned dogs with idiopathic or structural epilepsy manifesting status epilepticus within a hospital environment were used. Dogs were randomly allocated to treatment with IN-MDZ (n = 20) or R-DZP (n = 15). Randomized parallel-group clinical trial. Seizure cessation time and adverse effects were recorded. For each dog, treatment was considered successful if the seizure ceased within 5 minutes and did not recur within 10 minutes after administration. The 95% confidence interval was used to detect the true population of dogs that were successfully treated. The Fisher's 2-tailed exact test was used to compare the 2 groups, and the results were considered statistically significant if P status epilepticus in 70% (14/20) and 20% (3/15) of cases, respectively (P = .0059). All dogs showed sedation and ataxia. IN-MDZ is a quick, safe and effective first-line medication for controlling status epilepticus in dogs and appears superior to R-DZP. IN-MDZ might be a valuable treatment option when intravenous access is not available and for treatment of status epilepticus in dogs at home. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Epidemiological evaluation quality of life in patients suffering from early rheumatoid arthritis: a pragmatic, prospective, randomized, blind allocation controlled of a modular program group intervention

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Hadi Yousefi

2015-11-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Epidemiology has taken on new roles in the management of health care services. In this study, we developed a non-pharmacological self-management modular program group intervention and evaluated its efficacy as an adjunct therapy in patients suffering from early rheumatoid arthritis (RA. METHODS: Patients were randomized to either participate in a non-equivalent intervention group along with the standard of care or only receive standard-of-care treatment at a community rheumatology center. The outcomes measured were a pain visual analog scale (VAS, patient general health (GH on a VAS, and the Short Form 36 Health Survey version 2 scale measuring quality of life. These parameters were evaluated in the first week to obtain baseline values, and at 20, 32, 48, and 60 weeks to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention group. RESULTS: The patients were randomized, with 100 patients in the intervention group and 106 in the control group. The intervention and control groups were similar with regard to the percentage of women (86% vs. 89.6%, tobacco usage (25% vs. 19.8%, mean age (42.6±13.2 years vs. 46.6±10.9 years, and disease duration (15.3±6.7 months vs. 14.5±6.6 months. The mean outcomes were significantly different between the two groups, and post-hoc pairwise analysis demonstrated significant deterioration in the control group in contrast to improvement in the intervention group at the second, third, fourth, and fifth evaluations. Improvements were often seen as early as the 12-week and 24-week follow-up visits. CONCLUSIONS: Epidemiology contributes to the evaluation of how well specific therapies or other health interventions prevent or control health problems. The modular program group intervention implemented in this study appears to be a suitable and feasible method to facilitate much more comprehensive management of early RA in socioeconomically challenged communities.

Design paper: The CapOpus trial: a randomized, parallel-group, observer-blinded clinical trial of specialized addiction treatment versus treatment as usual for young patients with cannabis abuse and psychosis

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Hjorthøj, Carsten; Fohlmann, Allan; Larsen, Anne-Mette

2008-01-01

: The major objective for the CapOpus trial is to evaluate the additional effect on cannabis abuse of a specialized addiction treatment program adding group treatment and motivational interviewing to treatment as usual. DESIGN: The trial is designed as a randomized, parallel-group, observer-blinded clinical...

Patterns of Change in Interpersonal Problems During and After Short-term and Long-term Psychodynamic Group Therapy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

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Fjeldstad, Anette; Høglend, Per; Lorentzen, Steinar

2017-05-01

In this study, we compared the patterns of change in interpersonal problems between short-term and long-term psychodynamic group therapy. A total of 167 outpatients with mixed diagnoses were randomized to 20 or 80 weekly sessions of group therapy. Interpersonal problems were assessed with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems at six time points during the 3-year study period. Using linear mixed models, change was linearly modelled in two steps. Earlier (within the first 6 months) and later (during the last 2.5 years) changes in five subscales were estimated. Contrary to what we expected, short-term therapy induced a significantly larger early change than long-term therapy on the cold subscale and there was a trend on the socially avoidant subscale, using a Bonferroni-adjusted alpha. There was no significant difference between short-term and long-term group therapy for improving problems in the areas cold, socially avoidant, nonassertive, exploitable, and overly nurturant over the 3 years.

Analytic and Systemic Specialized Incest Group Psychotherapy

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Elkjaer, Henriette Kiilsholm; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Poulsen, Stig Bernt

PURPOSE: Women with long-term sequalae of child sexual abuse (CSA) were randomly assigned to analytic (Group A) or systemic group psychotherapy (Group S). Pre-post-analysis indicated that both therapies led to significant improvement, but overall Group S had significantly better outcome than Group...

Chosen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of enamel formation genes and dental caries in a population of Polish children.

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Gerreth, Karolina; Zaorska, Katarzyna; Zabel, Maciej; Borysewicz-Lewicka, Maria; Nowicki, Michał

2017-09-01

It is increasingly emphasized that the influence of a host's factors in the etiology of dental caries are of most interest, particularly those concerned with genetic aspect. The aim of the study was to analyze the genotype and allele frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in AMELX, AMBN, TUFT1, TFIP11, MMP20 and KLK4 genes and to prove their association with dental caries occurrence in a population of Polish children. The study was performed in 96 children (48 individuals with caries - "cases" and 48 free of this disease - "controls"), aged 20-42 months, chosen out of 262 individuals who had dental examination performed and attended 4 day nurseries located in Poznań (Poland). From both groups oral swab was collected for molecular evaluation. Eleven selected SNPs markers were genotyped by Sanger sequencing. Genotype and allele frequencies were calculated and a standard χ2 analysis was used to test for deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The association of genetic variations with caries susceptibility or resistance was assessed by the Fisher's exact test and p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Five markers were significantly associated with caries incidence in children in the study: rs17878486 in AMELX (p caries occurrence in Polish children.

Evaluating a community-based early childhood education and development program in Indonesia: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial with supplementary matched control group

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pradhan, M.; Brinkman, S.A.; Beatty, A.; Maika, A.; Satriawan, E.; de Ree, J.; Hasan, A.

2013-01-01

Background This paper presents the study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a supplementary matched control group. The aim of the trial is to evaluate a community-based early education and development program launched by the Government of Indonesia. The program

Evaluating a community-based early childhood education and development program in Indonesia: study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial with supplementary matched control group

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pradhan, M.P.; Brinkman, S.A.; Beatty, A.; Maika, A.; Satriawan, E.; de Ree, J.; Hasan, A.

2013-01-01

Background: This paper presents the study protocol for a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a supplementary matched control group. The aim of the trial is to evaluate a community-based early education and development program launched by the Government of Indonesia. The program

Quality Improvement of Ground Works Process with the Use of Chosen Lean Management Tools - Case Study

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Nowotarski, Piotr; Paslawski, Jerzy; Wysocki, Bartosz

2017-12-01

Ground works are one of the first processes connected with erecting structures. Based on ground conditions like the type of soil or level of underground water different types and solutions for foundations are designed. Foundations are the base for the buildings, and their proper design and execution is the key for the long and faultless use of the whole construction and might influence on the future costs of the eventual repairs (especially when ground water level is high, and there is no proper water insulation made). Article presents the introduction of chosen Lean Management tools for quality improvement of the process of ground works based on the analysis made on the construction site of vehicle control station located in Poznan, Poland. Processes assessment is made from different perspectives taking into account that 3 main groups of workers were directly involved in the process: blue collar-workers, site manager and site engineers. What is more comparison is made on the 3 points of view to the problems that might occur during this type of works, with details analysis on the causes of such situation? Authors presents also the change of approach of workers directly involved in the mentioned processes regarding introduction of Lean Management methodology, which illustrates the problem of scepticism for new ideas of the people used to perform works and actions in traditional way. Using Lean Management philosophy in construction is a good idea to streamline processes in company, get rid of constantly recurring problems, and in this way improve the productivity and quality of executed activities. Performed analysis showed that different groups of people have very different idea and opinion on the problems connected with executing the same process - ground works and only having full picture of the situation (especially in construction processes) management can take proper problems-preventing actions that consequently can influence on the amount of waste generated on

Melodic Intonation Therapy in chronic aphasia: evidence from a pilot randomized controlled trial

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Ineke Van Der Meulen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available AbstractMelodic Intonation Therapy (MIT is a language production therapy for severely non-fluent aphasic patients using melodic intoning and rhythm to restore language. Although many studies have reported its beneficial effects on language production, randomized controlled trials (RCT examining the efficacy of MIT are rare. In an earlier publication, we presented the results of an RCT on MIT in subacute aphasia and found that MIT was effective on trained and untrained items. Further, we observed a clear trend in improved functional language use after MIT. Subacute aphasic patients receiving MIT improved considerably on language tasks measuring connected speech and daily life verbal communication. Here, we present the results of a pilot RCT on MIT in chronic aphasia and compare these to the results observed in subacute aphasia. We used a multicenter waiting-list randomized controlled trial design. Patients with chronic (>1 year post-stroke aphasia were randomly allocated to the experimental group (6 weeks MIT or to the control group (6 weeks no intervention followed by 6 weeks MIT. Assessments were done at baseline (T1, after 6 weeks (T2, and 6 weeks later (T3. Efficacy was evaluated at T2 using univariable linear regression analyses. Outcome measures were chosen to examine several levels of therapy success: improvement on trained items, generalization to untrained items, and generalization to verbal communication. Of 17 included patients, 10 were allocated to the experimental condition and 7 to the control condition. MIT significantly improved repetition of trained items (β=13.32, p=.02. This effect did not remain stable at follow-up assessment. In contrast to earlier studies, we found only a limited and temporary effect of MIT, without generalization to untrained material or to functional communication. The results further suggest that the effect of MIT in chronic aphasia is more restricted than its effect in earlier stages post stroke. This

Group unconscious common orientation: exploratory study at the Basque Foundation for the investigation of mental health group training for therapists

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Trojaola Zapirain, Begona; Carminati, Federico; Gonzalez Torres, Miguel Angel; Gonzalez de Mendivil, Ernesto; Fouassier, Claire; Gex-Fabry, Marianne; Martin, Francois; Labarere, Jose; Demongeot, Jacques; Lorincz, Erika Nora

2014-01-01

Group phenomena have been used since antiquity in therapeutic, social, economic and political domains. According to Bion, the interactions between group members generate a ``group unconscious'' and its behavior is governed and oriented by Bion's ``basic assumptions.'' The present work has been conducted during group analysis training at the Basque Foundation for the Investigation of Mental Health (OMIE) at Bilbao, consisting of eleven sessions. The participants are presented with an ``absurd questionnaire'' proposing 50 pairs of images, in each of which one image has to be chosen. The results are used to search for evidence in favor of the influence of group dynamics on individual choices of the images proposed in the questionnaire. Our analysis finds some evidence for an effect of group dynamics both on the initial choice of the pictures and on the evolution of the number of changes (swaps) of picture choices across the eleven sessions. We interpret these effects in the light of Bion's view of group dynamics...

A Randomized 10-year Prospective Follow-up of Class II Nanohybrid and Conventional Hybrid Resin Composite Restorations

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van Dijken, Jan Wv; Pallesen, Ulla

2014-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the 10-year durability of a nanohybrid resin composite in Class II restorations in a randomized controlled intraindividual comparison with its conventional hybrid resin composite predecessor. Materials and Methods: Each of 52 participants received at least two Class II...... restorations that were as similar as possible. The cavities were chosen at random to be restored with a nanohybrid resin composite (Excite/Tetric EvoCeram (TEC); n = 61) and a conventional hybrid (Excite/Tetric Ceram (TC); n = 61). The restorations were evaluated with slightly modified USPHS criteria...... investigated resin composites. Conclusion: The nanohybrid and the conventional hybrid resin composite showed good clinical effectiveness in extensive Class II restorations during the 10-year study....

The effects of Internet-based exercise compared with supervised group exercise in people with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled study.

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Akinci, Buket; Yeldan, Ipek; Satman, Ilhan; Dirican, Ahmet; Ozdincler, Arzu Razak

2018-06-01

To compare the effects of Internet-based exercise on glycaemic control, blood lipids, body composition, physical activity level, functional capacity, and quality of life with supervised group exercise in patients with type 2 diabetes. Single-blind, randomized controlled study. A Faculty of Health Sciences. A total of 65 patients with type 2 diabetes (47 women, 18 men). Group A ( n = 22), control group - physical activity counselling once with a brochure. Group B ( n = 22), supervised group-based exercise, three days per week for eight weeks. Group C ( n = 21), Internet-based exercise following the same programme via a website. Primary outcomes - glycosylated haemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, high-density and low-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, and cholesterol. Secondary outcomes - waist and hip circumferences, body mass index, number of steps, six-minute walking test, and Euro-Quality of Life-5 Dimension. After treatment, glycaemic control (mean change for Group B; Group C; -0.80%, -0.91%, P = 0.003), waist circumference (-4.23 cm, 5.64 cm, P = 0.006), and quality of life (0.26, 0.15, P = 0.013) significantly improved in both training groups compared with the control group. Fasting blood glucose (-46.86 mg/dL, P = 0.009) and hip circumference (-2.7 cm, P = 0.011) were significantly decreased in Group B and total cholesterol (-16.4 mg/dL, P = 0.028), six-minute walking distance (30.5 m, P = 0.01), and number of steps (1258.05, P = 0.023) significantly improved in Group C compared with control group. Group B and Group C changed with equal magnitude. In type 2 diabetes, supervised group-based and Internet-based exercise can improve equally glycaemic control, waist circumference, and quality of life, and both are better than simply counselling.

Performance Evaluation of User Selection Protocols in Random Networks with Energy Harvesting and Hardware Impairments

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Tan Nhat Nguyen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we evaluate performances of various user selection protocols under impact of hardware impairments. In the considered protocols, a Base Station (BS selects one of available Users (US to serve, while the remaining USs harvest the energy from the Radio Frequency (RF transmitted by the BS. We assume that all of the US randomly appear around the BS. In the Random Selection Protocol (RAN, the BS randomly selects a US to transmit the data. In the second proposed protocol, named Minimum Distance Protocol (MIND, the US that is nearest to the BS will be chosen. In the Optimal Selection Protocol (OPT, the US providing the highest channel gain between itself and the BS will be served. For performance evaluation, we derive exact and asymptotic closed-form expressions of average Outage Probability (OP over Rayleigh fading channels. We also consider average harvested energy per a US. Finally, Monte-Carlo simulations are then performed to verify the theoretical results.

A phase 2a randomized, parallel group, dose-ranging study of molindone in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and persistent, serious conduct problems.

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Stocks, Jennifer Dugan; Taneja, Baldeo K; Baroldi, Paolo; Findling, Robert L

2012-04-01

To evaluate safety and tolerability of four doses of immediate-release molindone hydrochloride in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and serious conduct problems. This open-label, parallel-group, dose-ranging, multicenter trial randomized children, aged 6-12 years, with ADHD and persistent, serious conduct problems to receive oral molindone thrice daily for 9-12 weeks in four treatment groups: Group 1-10 mg (5 mg if weight conduct problems. Secondary outcome measures included change in Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form-Typical Intelligence Quotient (NCBRF-TIQ) Conduct Problem subscale scores, change in Clinical Global Impressions-Severity (CGI-S) and -Improvement (CGI-I) subscale scores from baseline to end point, and Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham rating scale-revised (SNAP-IV) ADHD-related subscale scores. The study randomized 78 children; 55 completed the study. Treatment with molindone was generally well tolerated, with no clinically meaningful changes in laboratory or physical examination findings. The most common treatment-related adverse events (AEs) included somnolence (n=9), weight increase (n=8), akathisia (n=4), sedation (n=4), and abdominal pain (n=4). Mean weight increased by 0.54 kg, and mean body mass index by 0.24 kg/m(2). The incidence of AEs and treatment-related AEs increased with increasing dose. NCBRF-TIQ subscale scores improved in all four treatment groups, with 34%, 34%, 32%, and 55% decreases from baseline in groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. CGI-S and SNAP-IV scores improved over time in all treatment groups, and CGI-I scores improved to the greatest degree in group 4. Molindone at doses of 5-20 mg/day (children weighing <30 kg) and 20-40 mg (≥ 30 kg) was well tolerated, and preliminary efficacy results suggest that molindone produces dose-related behavioral improvements over 9-12 weeks. Additional double-blind, placebo-controlled trials are needed to further investigate molindone in this pediatric population.

Random and systematic beam modulator errors in dynamic intensity modulated radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parsai, Homayon; Cho, Paul S; Phillips, Mark H; Giansiracusa, Robert S; Axen, David

2003-01-01

This paper reports on the dosimetric effects of random and systematic modulator errors in delivery of dynamic intensity modulated beams. A sliding-widow type delivery that utilizes a combination of multileaf collimators (MLCs) and backup diaphragms was examined. Gaussian functions with standard deviations ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 mm were used to simulate random positioning errors. A clinical example involving a clival meningioma was chosen with optic chiasm and brain stem as limiting critical structures in the vicinity of the tumour. Dose calculations for different modulator fluctuations were performed, and a quantitative analysis was carried out based on cumulative and differential dose volume histograms for the gross target volume and surrounding critical structures. The study indicated that random modulator errors have a strong tendency to reduce minimum target dose and homogeneity. Furthermore, it was shown that random perturbation of both MLCs and backup diaphragms in the order of σ = 1 mm can lead to 5% errors in prescribed dose. In comparison, when MLCs or backup diaphragms alone was perturbed, the system was more robust and modulator errors of at least σ = 1.5 mm were required to cause dose discrepancies greater than 5%. For systematic perturbation, even errors in the order of ±0.5 mm were shown to result in significant dosimetric deviations

Variations of high frequency parameter of heart rate variability following osteopathic manipulative treatment in healthy subjects compared to control group and sham therapy: randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nuria eRuffini

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Context: Heart Rate Variability (HRV indicates how heart rate changes in response to inner and external stimuli. HRV is linked to health status and it is an indirect marker of the autonomic nervous system (ANS function. Objective: To investigate the influence of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT on ANS activity through changes of High Frequency, a heart rate variability index indicating the parasympathetic activity, in healthy subjects, compared with sham therapy and control group.Methods: Sixty-six healthy subjects, both male and female, were included in the present 3-armed randomized placebo controlled within subject cross-over single blinded study. Participants were asymptomatic adults, both smokers and non-smokers and not on medications. At enrollment subjects were randomized in 3 groups: A, B, C. Standardized structural evaluation followed by a patient need-based osteopathic treatment was performed in the first session of group A and in the second session of group B. Standardized evaluation followed by a protocoled sham treatment was provided in the second session of group A and in the first session of group B. No intervention was performed in the two sessions of group C, acting as a time-control. The trial was registered on clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT01908920.Main Outcomes Measures: HRV was calculated from electrocardiography before, during and after the intervention, for a total amount time of 25 minutes.Results: OMT engendered a statistically significant increase of parasympathetic activity, as shown by High Frequency rate (p<0.001, and decrease of sympathetic activity, as revealed by Low Frequency rate (p<0.01; results also showed a reduction of Low Frequency/High Frequency ratio (p<0.001 and Detrended fluctuation scaling exponent (p<0.05. Conclusions: Findings suggested that OMT can influence ANS activity increasing parasympathetic function and decreasing sympathetic activity, compared to sham therapy and control group.

Target Temperature Management after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest--a randomized, parallel-group, assessor-blinded clinical trial--rationale and design

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Niklas; Wetterslev, Jørn; al-Subaie, Nawaf

2012-01-01

Experimental animal studies and previous randomized trials suggest an improvement in mortality and neurologic function with induced hypothermia after cardiac arrest. International guidelines advocate the use of a target temperature management of 32°C to 34°C for 12 to 24 hours after resuscitation...... from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. A systematic review indicates that the evidence for recommending this intervention is inconclusive, and the GRADE level of evidence is low. Previous trials were small, with high risk of bias, evaluated select populations, and did not treat hyperthermia...... in the control groups. The optimal target temperature management strategy is not known....

RTOG: Updated results of randomized trials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curran, Walter J.

1997-01-01

Objective: To review the background, rationale and available results for recently completed randomized comparative clinical trials of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), including inter group trials in which the RTOG has been the managing group or a major participant. When available, laboratory studies will be correlated with clinical results

A cluster randomized controlled platform trial comparing group MEmory specificity training (MEST) to group psychoeducation and supportive counselling (PSC) in the treatment of recurrent depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Werner-Seidler, Aliza; Hitchcock, Caitlin; Bevan, Anna; McKinnon, Anna; Gillard, Julia; Dahm, Theresa; Chadwick, Isobel; Panesar, Inderpal; Breakwell, Lauren; Mueller, Viola; Rodrigues, Evangeline; Rees, Catrin; Gormley, Siobhan; Schweizer, Susanne; Watson, Peter; Raes, Filip; Jobson, Laura; Dalgleish, Tim

2018-06-01

Impaired ability to recall specific autobiographical memories is characteristic of depression, which when reversed, may have therapeutic benefits. This cluster-randomized controlled pilot trial investigated efficacy and aspects of acceptability, and feasibility of MEmory Specificity Training (MEST) relative to Psychoeducation and Supportive Counselling (PSC) for Major Depressive Disorder (N = 62). A key aim of this study was to determine a range of effect size estimates to inform a later phase trial. Assessments were completed at baseline, post-treatment and 3-month follow-up. The cognitive process outcome was memory specificity. The primary clinical outcome was symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory-II at 3-month follow-up. The MEST group demonstrated greater improvement in memory specificity relative to PSC at post-intervention (d = 0.88) and follow-up (d = 0.74), relative to PSC. Both groups experienced a reduction in depressive symptoms at 3-month follow-up (d = 0.67). However, there was no support for a greater improvement in depressive symptoms at 3 months following MEST relative to PSC (d = -0.04). Although MEST generated changes on memory specificity and improved depressive symptoms, results provide no indication that MEST is superior to PSC in the resolution of self-reported depressive symptoms. Implications for later-phase definitive trials of MEST are discussed. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A randomized controlled trial of an electronic informed consent process.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothwell, Erin; Wong, Bob; Rose, Nancy C; Anderson, Rebecca; Fedor, Beth; Stark, Louisa A; Botkin, Jeffrey R

2014-12-01

A pilot study assessed an electronic informed consent model within a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants who were recruited for the parent RCT project were randomly selected and randomized to either an electronic consent group (n = 32) or a simplified paper-based consent group (n = 30). Results from the electronic consent group reported significantly higher understanding of the purpose of the study, alternatives to participation, and who to contact if they had questions or concerns about the study. However, participants in the paper-based control group reported higher mean scores on some survey items. This research suggests that an electronic informed consent presentation may improve participant understanding for some aspects of a research study. © The Author(s) 2014.

A Multicenter, Randomized, Open-Labeled, Parallel Group Trial of Sildenafil in Alcohol-Associated Erectile Dysfunction: The Impact on Psychosocial Outcomes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Grinshpoon

2009-09-01

Full Text Available To examine the effect of sildenafil on erectile dysfunction (ED and psychosocial outcomes in alcohol-dependent (AD men, 108 men with these diagnoses were randomly assigned to either take sildenafil (50 mg as add-on to standard treatment for AD, or the same treatment without sildenafil, for 12 weeks. Only 50 patients in sildenafil group and 51 in control group twice completed the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF and a battery of self-report questionnaires. IIEF scores and psychosocial functioning, self-esteem and support from friends improved only for sildenafil-treated patients (P < 0.001. The high effect sizes suggest that the observed benefits are unlikely to be a placebo effect, although their unspecific nature could not be ruled out. In men with ED associated with AD, sildenafil improves both ED and psychosocial outcomes. Further placebo-controlled clinical trial is warranted.

Group based prenatal care in a low-and high risk population in the Netherlands: a study protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial.

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van Zwicht, Birgit S; Crone, Matty R; van Lith, Jan M M; Rijnders, Marlies E B

2016-11-15

CenteringPregnancy (CP) is a multifaceted group based care-model integrated in routine prenatal care, combining health assessment, education, and support. CP has shown some positive results on perinatal outcomes. However, the effects are less obvious when limited to the results of randomized controlled trials: as there are few trials and there is a variation in reported outcomes. Furthermore, former research was mostly conducted in the United States of America and in specific (often high risk) populations. Our study aims to evaluate the effects of CP in the Netherlands in a general population of pregnant women (low and high risk). Furthermore we aim to explore the mechanisms leading to the eventual effects by measuring potential mediating factors. We will perform a stepped wedge cluster randomized controlled trial, in a Western region in the Netherlands. Inclusion criteria are care, women in the intervention period (starting at the randomized time-point) will be offered the choice between individual care or CP. Primary outcomes are maternal and neonatal morbidity, retrieved from a national routine database. Secondary outcomes are health behavior, psychosocial outcomes, satisfaction, health care utilization and process outcomes, collected through self-administered questionnaires, group-evaluations and individual interviews. We will conduct intention-to-treat analyses. Also a per protocol analysis will be performed comparing the three subgroups: control group, CP-participants and non-CP-participants, using multilevel techniques to account for clustering effects. This study contributes to the evidence regarding the effect of CP and gives a first indication of the effect and implementation of CP in both low and high-risk pregnancies in a high-income Western society other than the USA. Also, measuring factors that are hypothesized to mediate the effect of CP will enable to explain the mechanisms that lead to effects on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Dutch Trial

Group Music Therapy as a Preventive Intervention for Young People at Risk: Cluster-Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Christian; Saarikallio, Suvi; Crooke, Alexander Hew Dale; McFerran, Katrina Skewes

2017-07-01

Music forms an important part of the lives and identities of adolescents and may have positive or negative mental health implications. Music therapy can be effective for mental disorders such as depression, but its preventive potential is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine whether group music therapy (GMT) is an effective intervention for young people who may be at risk of developing mental health problems, as indicated via unhealthy music use. The main question was whether GMT can reduce unhealthy uses of music and increase potentials for healthy uses of music, compared to self-directed music listening (SDML). We were also interested in effects of GMT on depressive symptoms, psychosocial well-being, rumination, and reflection. In an exploratory cluster-randomized trial in Australian schools, 100 students with self-reported unhealthy music use were invited to GMT (weekly sessions over 8 weeks) or SDML. Changes in the Healthy-Unhealthy Music Scale (HUMS) and mental health outcomes were measured over 3 months. Both interventions were well accepted. No effects were found between GMT and SDML (all p > 0.05); both groups tended to show small improvements over time. Younger participants benefited more from GMT, and older ones more from SDML (p = 0.018). GMT was associated with similar changes as SDML. Further research is needed to improve the processes of selecting participants for targeted interventions; to determine optimal dosage; and to provide more reliable evidence of effects of music-based interventions for adolescents. © the American Music Therapy Association 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

LARGE AND SMALL GROUP TYPEWRITING PROJECT.

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JEFFS, GEORGE A.; AND OTHERS

AN INVESTIGATION WAS CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE IF GROUPS OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS NUMERICALLY IN EXCESS OF 50 COULD BE AS EFFECTIVELY INSTRUCTED IN TYPEWRITING SKILLS AS GROUPS OF LESS THAN 30. STUDENTS ENROLLED IN 1ST-YEAR TYPEWRITING WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO TWO LARGE GROUPS AND THREE SMALL GROUPS TAUGHT BY THE SAME INSTRUCTOR. TEACHER-MADE,…

Effects of the randomly distributed magnetic field on the phase diagrams of the Ising Nanowire II: Continuous distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akıncı, Ümit

2012-01-01

The effect of the random magnetic field distribution on the phase diagrams and ground state magnetizations of the Ising nanowire has been investigated with effective field theory with correlations. Gaussian distribution has been chosen as a random magnetic field distribution. The variation of the phase diagrams with that distribution parameters has been obtained and some interesting results have been found such as disappearance of the reentrant behavior and first order transitions which appear in the case of discrete distributions. Also for single and double Gaussian distributions, ground state magnetizations for different distribution parameters have been determined which can be regarded as separate partially ordered phases of the system. - Highlights: ► We give the phase diagrams of the Ising nanowire under the continuous randomly distributed magnetic field. ► Ground state magnetization values obtained. ► Different partially ordered phases observed.

Transdiagnostic group CBT vs. standard group CBT for depression, social anxiety disorder and agoraphobia/panic disorder: Study protocol for a pragmatic, multicenter non-inferiority randomized controlled trial.

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Arnfred, Sidse M; Aharoni, Ruth; Hvenegaard, Morten; Poulsen, Stig; Bach, Bo; Arendt, Mikkel; Rosenberg, Nicole K; Reinholt, Nina

2017-01-23

Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TCBT) manuals delivered in individual format have been reported to be just as effective as traditional diagnosis specific CBT manuals. We have translated and modified the "The Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders" (UP-CBT) for group delivery in Mental Health Service (MHS), and shown effects comparable to traditional CBT in a naturalistic study. As the use of one manual instead of several diagnosis-specific manuals could simplify logistics, reduce waiting time, and increase therapist expertise compared to diagnosis specific CBT, we aim to test the relative efficacy of group UP-CBT and diagnosis specific group CBT. The study is a partially blinded, pragmatic, non-inferiority, parallel, multi-center randomized controlled trial (RCT) of UP-CBT vs diagnosis specific CBT for Unipolar Depression, Social Anxiety Disorder and Agoraphobia/Panic Disorder. In total, 248 patients are recruited from three regional MHS centers across Denmark and included in two intervention arms. The primary outcome is patient-ratings of well-being (WHO Well-being Index, WHO-5), secondary outcomes include level of depressive and anxious symptoms, personality variables, emotion regulation, reflective functioning, and social adjustment. Assessments are conducted before and after therapy and at 6 months follow-up. Weekly patient-rated outcomes and group evaluations are collected for every session. Outcome assessors, blind to treatment allocation, will perform the observer-based symptom ratings, and fidelity assessors will monitor manual adherence. The current study will be the first RCT investigating the dissemination of the UP in a MHS setting, the UP delivered in groups, and with depressive patients included. Hence the results are expected to add substantially to the evidence base for rational group psychotherapy in MHS. The planned moderator and mediator analyses could spur new hypotheses about mechanisms of change in

Sucralfate versus mesalazine versus hydrocortisone in the prevention of acute radiation proctitis during conformal radiotherapy for prostate carcinoma. A randomized study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanguineti, Giuseppe; Franzone, Paola; Marcenaro, Michela; Foppiano, Franca; Vitale, Vito

2003-07-01

To assess whether the topical use of steroids or 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) is superior to sucralfate in preventing acute rectal toxicity during three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) to 76 Gy. Patients undergoing 3DCRT for prostate carcinoma at our institution were offered to be randomized to sucralfate 3 g in 15 ml suspension enema (Antepsin, mesalazine 4 g gel enema (Enterasyn, or hydrocortisone 100 mg foam enema (Colifoam. Randomization was blind to the treating physician but not to the patient. Sucralfate was chosen as control arm. Topical treatment had to be performed once daily, starting on day 1 of 3DCRT. Acute rectal toxicity was scored weekly according to RTOG criteria. Time to occurrence of grade 2+ acute rectal toxicity was taken as endpoint. The trial was opened in August 1999, and after the first 24 patients had been treated, arm 2 was discontinued because of eight patients receiving mesalazine, seven actually developed acute rectal toxicity (five patients grade 3 and two patients grade 2). Until May 2001, 134 consecutive patients were randomly assigned to sucralfate (63 patients), mesalazine (eight patients) or hydrocortisone (63 patients). The cumulative incidence of acute rectal toxicity at the end of treatment by arm is 61.9 +/- 6.1%, 87.5 +/- 11.7%, and 52.4 +/- 6.2% for arms 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The difference between the mesalazine group and the sucralfate group is highly significant (hazard ratio [HR] 2.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-5.7; p = 0.03). At both uni- and multivariate analysis taking into account several patients and treatment covariates, the difference between hydrocortisone and sucralfate is not significant (HR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-1.2; p = 0.2). Topical mesalazine is contraindicated during radiotherapy. Hydrocortisone enema is not superior to sucralfate in preventing acute rectal toxicity.

Effects of Random Environment on a Self-Organized Critical System: Renormalization Group Analysis of a Continuous Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonov N.V.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We study effects of the random fluid motion on a system in a self-organized critical state. The latter is described by the continuous stochastic model proposed by Hwa and Kardar [Phys. Rev. Lett. 62: 1813 (1989]. The advecting velocity field is Gaussian, not correlated in time, with the pair correlation function of the form ∝ δ(t − t′/k⊥d-1+ξ , where k⊥ = |k⊥| and k⊥ is the component of the wave vector, perpendicular to a certain preferred direction – the d-dimensional generalization of the ensemble introduced by Avellaneda and Majda [Commun. Math. Phys. 131: 381 (1990]. Using the field theoretic renormalization group we show that, depending on the relation between the exponent ξ and the spatial dimension d, the system reveals different types of large-scale, long-time scaling behaviour, associated with the three possible fixed points of the renormalization group equations. They correspond to ordinary diffusion, to passively advected scalar field (the nonlinearity of the Hwa–Kardar model is irrelevant and to the “pure” Hwa–Kardar model (the advection is irrelevant. For the special case ξ = 2(4 − d/3 both the nonlinearity and the advection are important. The corresponding critical exponents are found exactly for all these cases.

Random walks and diffusion on networks

Science.gov (United States)

Masuda, Naoki; Porter, Mason A.; Lambiotte, Renaud

2017-11-01

Random walks are ubiquitous in the sciences, and they are interesting from both theoretical and practical perspectives. They are one of the most fundamental types of stochastic processes; can be used to model numerous phenomena, including diffusion, interactions, and opinions among humans and animals; and can be used to extract information about important entities or dense groups of entities in a network. Random walks have been studied for many decades on both regular lattices and (especially in the last couple of decades) on networks with a variety of structures. In the present article, we survey the theory and applications of random walks on networks, restricting ourselves to simple cases of single and non-adaptive random walkers. We distinguish three main types of random walks: discrete-time random walks, node-centric continuous-time random walks, and edge-centric continuous-time random walks. We first briefly survey random walks on a line, and then we consider random walks on various types of networks. We extensively discuss applications of random walks, including ranking of nodes (e.g., PageRank), community detection, respondent-driven sampling, and opinion models such as voter models.

Project LifeSkills - a randomized controlled efficacy trial of a culturally tailored, empowerment-based, and group-delivered HIV prevention intervention for young transgender women: study protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhns, Lisa M; Mimiaga, Matthew J; Reisner, Sari L; Biello, Katie; Garofalo, Robert

2017-09-16

Transgender women in the U.S. have an alarmingly high incidence rate of HIV infection; condomless anal and vaginal sex is the primary risk behavior driving transmission. Young transgender women are the subpopulation at the highest risk for HIV. Despite this, there are no published randomized controlled efficacy trials testing interventions to reduce sexual risk for HIV among this group. This paper describes the design of a group-based intervention trial to reduce sexual risk for HIV acquisition and transmission in young transgender women. This study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is a randomized controlled trial of a culturally-specific, empowerment-based, and group-delivered six-session HIV prevention intervention, Project LifeSkills, among sexually active young transgender women, ages 16-29 years in Boston and Chicago. Participants are randomized (2:2:1) to either the LifeSkills intervention, standard of care only, or a diet and nutrition time- and attention-matched control. At enrollment, all participants receive standardized HIV pre- and post-test counseling and screening for HIV and urogenital gonorrhea and chlamydia infections. The primary outcome is difference in the rate of change in the number of self-reported condomless anal or vaginal sex acts during the prior 4-months, assessed at baseline, 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow-up visits. Behavioral interventions to reduce sexual risk for HIV acquisition and transmission are sorely needed for young transgender women. This study will provide evidence to determine feasibility and efficacy in one of the first rigorously designed trials for this population. ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01575938 , registered March 29, 2012.

Multi-group dynamic quantum secret sharing with single photons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Hongwei [School of Science and State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876 (China); Ma, Haiqiang, E-mail: hqma@bupt.edu.cn [School of Science and State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876 (China); Wei, Kejin [School of Science and State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876 (China); Yang, Xiuqing [School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China); Qu, Wenxiu; Dou, Tianqi; Chen, Yitian; Li, Ruixue; Zhu, Wu [School of Science and State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876 (China)

2016-07-15

In this letter, we propose a novel scheme for the realization of single-photon dynamic quantum secret sharing between a boss and three dynamic agent groups. In our system, the boss can not only choose one of these three groups to share the secret with, but also can share two sets of independent keys with two groups without redistribution. Furthermore, the security of communication is enhanced by using a control mode. Compared with previous schemes, our scheme is more flexible and will contribute to a practical application. - Highlights: • A multi-group dynamic quantum secret sharing with single photons scheme is proposed. • Any one of the groups can be chosen to share secret through controlling the polarization of photons. • Two sets of keys can be shared simultaneously without redistribution.

Making healthy eating policy practice: A group randomized controlled trial on changes in snack quality, costs, and consumption in after school programs

Science.gov (United States)

Beets, Michael W.; Weaver, R. Glenn; Turner-McGrievy, Gabrielle; Huberty, Jennifer; Ward, Dianne S.; Freedman, Darcy; Hutto, Brent; Moore, Justin B.; Beighle, Aaron

2017-01-01

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate an intervention designed to assist after school programs (ASPs) in meeting snack nutrition policies that specify that a fruit or vegetable (FV) be served daily, and sugar-sweetened beverages/foods and artificially flavored foods eliminated. Design One-year group randomized controlled trial Setting Afterschool programs operating in South Carolina, US. Subjects Twenty ASPs serving over 1,700 children were recruited, match-paired post-baseline on enrollment size and days FV were served/week (days/wk), and randomized to either an intervention (n=10) or control (n=10) groups. Intervention Strategies To Enhance Practice for Healthy Eating (STEPs-HE), a multi-step adaptive intervention framework, which assists ASP leaders and staff to serve snacks that meet nutrition policies while maintaining cost. Measures Direct observation of snacks served and consumed, and monthly snack expenditures via receipts. Analysis Nonparametric and mixed-model repeated-measures Results By post-assessment, intervention ASPs increased serving FV to 3.9±2.1 vs. 0.7±1.7days/wk and decreased serving sugar-sweetened beverages to 0.1±0.7 vs. 1.8±2.4days/wk and foods to 0.3±1.1 vs. 2.7±2.5days/wk compared to controls, respectively. Cost of snacks increased by $0.02/snack in the intervention ASPs ($0.36 to $0.38) compared to a $0.01/snack decrease in the control ($0.39 to $0.38). Across both assessments and groups 80–100% of children consumed FV. Conclusions The STEPs-HE intervention can assist ASPs in meeting nationally endorsed nutrition policies with marginal increases in cost. PMID:26158679

Effects of Live and Educational Music Therapy on Working Alliance and Trust With Patients on Detoxification Unit: A Four-Group Cluster-Randomized Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Silverman, Michael J

2016-11-09

Lyric analysis is a commonly utilized music therapy intervention for clients in substance abuse rehabilitation wherein participants interpret song lyrics related to their clinical objectives. For these patients, working alliance and trust in the therapist represent consequential factors that may influence outcomes. However, there is a lack of randomized controlled music therapy studies investigating working alliance and trust in the therapist within lyric analysis interventions for patients with addictions. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively differentiate live versus recorded and educational versus recreational music therapy interventions via measures of working alliance and trust with patients on a detoxification unit. Participants (N = 130) were cluster randomized in a single-session posttest-only design to one of four conditions: Live educational music therapy, recorded educational music therapy, education without music, or recreational music therapy. Dependent measures included working alliance and trust in the therapist. Educational music therapy interventions were scripted lyric analyses. There was no statistically significant between-group difference in any of the measures. Although not significant, a greater number of patients and research participants attended live educational music therapy sessions. Between-group descriptive data were consistently similar but attendance trends may have implications for engaging patients and billing. Implications for clinical practice, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Effectiveness of a group-based intervention to change medication beliefs and improve medication adherence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwikker, Hanneke E; van den Ende, Cornelia H; van Lankveld, Wim G; den Broeder, Alfons A; van den Hoogen, Frank H; van de Mosselaar, Birgit; van Dulmen, Sandra; van den Bemt, Bart J

2014-03-01

To assess the effect of a group-based intervention on the balance between necessity beliefs and concern beliefs about medication and on medication non-adherence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Non-adherent RA patients using disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) were randomized to an intervention or control arm. The intervention consisted, amongst others, of two motivational interviewing-guided group sessions led by the same pharmacist. Control patients received brochures about their DMARDs. Questionnaires were completed up to 12 months follow-up. 123 patients (mean age: 60 years, female: 69%) were randomized. No differences in necessity beliefs and concern beliefs about medication and in medication non-adherence were detected between the intervention and control arm, except at 12 months' follow-up: participants in the intervention arm had less strong necessity beliefs about medication than participants in the control arm (b: -1.0 (95% CI: -2.0, -0.1)). This trial did not demonstrate superiority of our intervention over the control arm in changing beliefs about medication or in improving medication adherence over time. Absent intervention effects might have been due to, amongst others, selection bias and a suboptimal treatment integrity level. Hence, targeting beliefs about medication in clinical practice should not yet be ruled out. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consideration regarding the scheduling of unannounced or randomized inspections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanborn, J.

2001-01-01

Full text: Randomized inspection strategies, including unannounced, short notice, or randomly selected scheduled inspections can play an useful role in integrated safeguards by allowing a reduction in the number of inspections without sacrificing coverage of diversion scenarios. The Agency and member states have proposed such strategies as important elements of integrated safeguards proposals at reactors as well as bulk handling facilities. The Agency, however, has limited experience with such inspections, and a number of issues need to be addressed before effective implementation can occur; how these issues are resolved will determine how effective the inspections will be. This paper focuses on the question of how to determine the timing of such inspections. It is pointed out that there are a large number of variants of the idea of 'randomized inspection,' and that each option will have advantages and disadvantages from the points of view of the operator, the logistics of inspection scheduling, and the capabilities for detection. The method chosen should depend on the type of scenarios that the Agency wishes to detect. The mathematically purest form of randomized schedule will have broad theoretical applicability, but may prove more difficult to put into practice, and may be unnecessary, or even sub-optimal, depending on the inspection objective. On the other hand, each restriction on inspection that provides the operator with information on when the inspection will occur must be taken into account when assessing detection probability. The paper reviews a number of scheduling approaches in the context of different objectives and considers effectiveness, operational impact, and practicality. (author)

A Web-Based, Social Networking Beginners’ Running Intervention for Adults Aged 18 to 50 Years Delivered via a Facebook Group: Randomized Controlled Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Boshoff, Kobie; Maher, Carol

2018-01-01

Background Online social networks continue to grow in popularity, with 1.7 billion users worldwide accessing Facebook each month. The use of social networking sites such as Facebook for the delivery of health behavior programs is relatively new. Objective The primary aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a Web-based beginners’ running program for adults aged 18 to 50 years, delivered via a Facebook group, in increasing physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness. Methods A total of 89 adults with a mean age of 35.2 years (SD 10.9) were recruited online and via print media. Participants were randomly allocated to receive the UniSA Run Free program, an 8-week Web-based beginners’ running intervention, delivered via a closed Facebook group (n=41) that included daily interactive posts (information with links, motivational quotes, opinion polls, or questions) and details of the running sessions; or to the control group who received a hard copy of the running program (n=48). Assessments were completed online at baseline, 2 months, and 5 months. The primary outcome measures were self-reported weekly moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and objectively measured cardiorespiratory fitness. Secondary outcomes were social support, exercise attitudes, and self-efficacy. Analyses were undertaken using random effects mixed modeling. Compliance with the running program and engagement with the Facebook group were analyzed descriptively. Results Both groups significantly increased MVPA across the study period (P=.004); however, this was significantly higher in the Facebook group (P=.04). The Facebook group increased their MVPA from baseline by 140 min/week versus 91 min for the control at 2 months. MVPA remained elevated for the Facebook group (from baseline) by 129 min/week versus a 50 min/week decrease for the control at 5 months. Both groups had significant increases in social support scores at 2 months (P=.02); however, there were no group

Simple, low-cost group-counselling programme vs treatment as usual for patients with newly notified occupational hand eczema-Exploratory analyses of effects on knowledge, behaviour and personal resources of the randomized PREVEX clinical trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fisker, Maja H; Agner, Tove; Sørensen, Jennifer A

2018-01-01

and knowledge regarding skin protection and care, as well as personal resources, in patients with occupational hand eczema. METHODS: PREVEX is an individually randomized clinical trial investigating the 1-year effects of a simple, low-cost group-counselling programme vs treatment as usual for patients...... with notified occupational hand eczema. Exploratory outcomes were behaviour, knowledge, self-efficacy, and self-evaluated skin care ability. RESULTS: In total, 1668 patients with notified occupational skin disease were invited to participate, of whom 769 were randomized and 756 were analysed: intervention group...... (n = 376) vs control group (n = 380). Behaviour was improved and the knowledge score increased in the intervention group as compared with the control group (respectively: estimate 0.08; 95%CI: 0.02-0.19; P = .01; and estimate 0.49; 95%CI: 0.28-0.70; P 

The effects of adding group-based lifestyle counselling to individual counselling on changes in plasma glucose levels in a randomized controlled trial: The Inter99 study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lau, C.; Vistisen, D.; Toft, U.

2011-01-01

AimThis study aimed to assess whether group-based lifestyle counselling offered to a high-risk population subgroup had any effect beyond individual multifactorial interventions on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2-h plasma glucose (2hPG) changes. MethodsIn a population-based study of 6784......% to low-intensity intervention (group B). All participants went through health examinations, risk assessments and individual lifestyle counselling. Participants in group A were further offered group-based lifestyle counselling. The intervention was repeated after 1 and 3 years. A total of 2738...... participants, 4053 were determined to be at high risk based on a risk estimate of ischaemic heart disease or the presence of risk factors (smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, obesity, impaired glucose tolerance). Of these subjects, 90% were randomized to high-intensity intervention (group A) and 10...

Bayesian analysis of systems with random chemical composition: renormalization-group approach to Dirichlet distributions and the statistical theory of dilution.

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Vlad, Marcel Ovidiu; Tsuchiya, Masa; Oefner, Peter; Ross, John

2002-01-01

We investigate the statistical properties of systems with random chemical composition and try to obtain a theoretical derivation of the self-similar Dirichlet distribution, which is used empirically in molecular biology, environmental chemistry, and geochemistry. We consider a system made up of many chemical species and assume that the statistical distribution of the abundance of each chemical species in the system is the result of a succession of a variable number of random dilution events, which can be described by using the renormalization-group theory. A Bayesian approach is used for evaluating the probability density of the chemical composition of the system in terms of the probability densities of the abundances of the different chemical species. We show that for large cascades of dilution events, the probability density of the composition vector of the system is given by a self-similar probability density of the Dirichlet type. We also give an alternative formal derivation for the Dirichlet law based on the maximum entropy approach, by assuming that the average values of the chemical potentials of different species, expressed in terms of molar fractions, are constant. Although the maximum entropy approach leads formally to the Dirichlet distribution, it does not clarify the physical origin of the Dirichlet statistics and has serious limitations. The random theory of dilution provides a physical picture for the emergence of Dirichlet statistics and makes it possible to investigate its validity range. We discuss the implications of our theory in molecular biology, geochemistry, and environmental science.

Comparative Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Long-Term Use of Imidafenacin and Solifenacin in Patients with Overactive Bladder: A Prospective, Open, Randomized, Parallel-Group Trial (the LIST Study

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Masayoshi Zaitsu

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives. Overactive bladder (OAB is a chronic disease, but comparative trials of anticholinergics, which are commonly used for treatment of OAB, have generally been performed for up to 12 weeks only. There is no comparative study of a long-term intervention. Methods. We conducted a 52-week prospective randomized comparative study to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of two anticholinergics. Results. Forty-one Japanese patients with untreated OAB were randomly assigned to imidafenacin and solifenacin groups. There was no difference in OABSS and KHQ scores between the two groups, but the severity and incidence of adverse events caused by the anticholinergics showed increased differences between the groups with time. The severity of dry mouth and the incidence of constipation were significantly lower in the imidafenacin group (=0.0092 and =0.0013, resp.. Conclusions. This study is the first long-term trial to show differences in the properties of anticholinergics that were not detected in short-term studies. Since OAB is a chronic disease, we conclude that imidafenacin is preferable to solifenacin from a perspective of safety.

Sensitivity coefficients for the 238U neutron-capture shielded-group cross sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munoz-Cobos, J.L.; de Saussure, G.; Perez, R.B.

1981-01-01

In the unresolved resonance region cross sections are represented with statistical resonance parameters. The average values of these parameters are chosen in order to fit evaluated infinitely dilute group cross sections. The sensitivity of the shielded group cross sections to the choice of mean resonance data has recently been investigated for the case of 235 U and 239 Pu by Ganesan and by Antsipov et al; similar sensitivity studies for 238 U are reported

Random practice - one of the factors of the motor learning process

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Petr Valach

2012-01-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: An important concept of acquiring motor skills is the random practice (contextual interference - CI. The explanation of the effect of contextual interference is that the memory has to work more intensively, and therefore it provides higher effect of motor skills retention than the block practice. Only active remembering of a motor skill assigns the practical value for appropriate using in the future. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to determine the difference in how the motor skills in sport gymnastics are acquired and retained using the two different teaching methods - blocked and random practice. METHODS: The blocked and random practice on the three selected gymnastics tasks were applied in the two groups students of physical education (blocked practice - the group BP, random practice - the group RP during two months, in one session a week (totally 80 trials. At the end of the experiment and 6 months after (retention tests the groups were tested on the selected gymnastics skills. RESULTS: No significant differences in a level of the gymnastics skills were found between BP group and RP group at the end of the experiment. However, the retention tests showed significantly higher level of the gymnastics skills in the RP group in comparison with the BP group. CONCLUSION: The results confirmed that a retention of the gymnastics skills using the teaching method of the random practice was significantly higher than with use of the blocked practice.

Randomization Does Not Help Much, Comparability Does

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Saint-Mont, Uwe

2015-01-01

According to R.A. Fisher, randomization “relieves the experimenter from the anxiety of considering innumerable causes by which the data may be disturbed.” Since, in particular, it is said to control for known and unknown nuisance factors that may considerably challenge the validity of a result, it has become very popular. This contribution challenges the received view. First, looking for quantitative support, we study a number of straightforward, mathematically simple models. They all demonstrate that the optimism surrounding randomization is questionable: In small to medium-sized samples, random allocation of units to treatments typically yields a considerable imbalance between the groups, i.e., confounding due to randomization is the rule rather than the exception. In the second part of this contribution, the reasoning is extended to a number of traditional arguments in favour of randomization. This discussion is rather non-technical, and sometimes touches on the rather fundamental Frequentist/Bayesian debate. However, the result of this analysis turns out to be quite similar: While the contribution of randomization remains doubtful, comparability contributes much to a compelling conclusion. Summing up, classical experimentation based on sound background theory and the systematic construction of exchangeable groups seems to be advisable. PMID:26193621

Intralesional immunotherapy with tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) in recalcitrant wart: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial including an extra group of candidates for cryotherapy.

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Amirnia, Mehdi; Khodaeiani, Effat; Fouladi, Daniel F; Masoudnia, Sima

2016-01-01

Due to paucity of randomized clinical trials, intralesional immunotherapy has not been yet accepted as a standard therapeutic method. To examine the efficacy and safety of intralesional immunotherapy with tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) for treating recalcitrant wart. In this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, a total of 69 patients with recalcitrant warts received either intralesional PPD antigen (n = 35) or intralesional saline (n = 34) for six times at 2-week intervals. A third group of candidates for cryotherapy (n = 33) was also included. The decrease in lesion size (good: complete response, intermediate: 50-99% improvement, poor: PPD patients; 0%, 14.7% and 85.3% of the placebo patients and 18.2%, 33.3% and 48.5% of the cryotherapy patients, respectively (PPD versus placebo: p PPD versus cryotherapy: p PPD group. The recurrence rate was 8.6%, 5.9% and 24.2% in the PPD, placebo and cryotherapy groups, respectively (p > 0.05). Intralesional immunotherapy with PPD antigen is highly effective and safe for treating recalcitrant warts. IRCT201407089844N3 in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT).

The Effect of Group Work on Misconceptions of 9th Grade Students about Newton's Laws

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Ergin, Serap

2016-01-01

In this study, the effect of group work and traditional method on 9th grade students' misconceptions about Newton Laws was investigated. The study was conducted in three classes in an Anatolian Vocational High School in Ankara/Turkey in the second term of the 2014-2015 academic year. Two of these classes were chosen as the experimental group and…

Twelve-week, multicenter, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, comparative phase II/III study of benzoyl peroxide gel in patients with acne vulgaris: A secondary publication.

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Kawashima, Makoto; Sato, Shinichi; Furukawa, Fukumi; Matsunaga, Kayoko; Akamatsu, Hirohiko; Igarashi, Atsuyuki; Tsunemi, Yuichiro; Hayashi, Nobukazu; Yamamoto, Yuki; Nagare, Toshitaka; Katsuramaki, Tsuneo

2017-07-01

A placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, comparative, multicenter study was conducted to investigate the efficacy and safety of benzoyl peroxide (BPO) gel, administrated once daily for 12 weeks to Japanese patients with acne vulgaris. Efficacy was evaluated by counting all inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions. Safety was evaluated based on adverse events, local skin tolerability scores and laboratory test values. All 609 subjects were randomly assigned to receive the study products (2.5% and 5% BPO and placebo), and 607 subjects were included in the full analysis set, 544 in the per protocol set and 609 in the safety analyses. The median rates of reduction from baseline to the last evaluation of the inflammatory lesion counts, the primary end-point, in the 2.5% and 5% BPO groups were 72.7% and 75.0%, respectively, and were significantly higher than that in the placebo group (41.7%). No deaths or other serious adverse events were observed. The incidences of adverse events in the 2.5% and 5% BPO groups were 56.4% and 58.8%, respectively; a higher incidence than in the placebo group, but there was no obvious difference between the 2.5% and 5% BPO groups. All adverse events were mild or moderate in severity. Most adverse events did not lead to study product discontinuation. The results suggested that both 2.5% and 5% BPO are useful for the treatment of acne vulgaris. © 2017 The Authors. The Journal of Dermatology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

To compare the efficacy of two kinds of Zhizhu pills in the treatment of functional dyspepsia of spleen-deficiency and qi-stagnation syndrome:a randomized group sequential comparative trial

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory, functional dyspepsia (FD) can be divided into different syndromes according to different clinical symptoms and signs, and the most common one is spleen-deficiency and qi-stagnation syndrome that can be treated by Chinese traditional patent medicine ---- two kinds of Zhizhu pills, between which the primary difference in ingredients is that one contains immature orange fruit of Citrus aurantium L.(IFCA) and the other contains that of Citrus sinensis Osbeck (IFCS). The trial's objective was to compare the efficacy of two kinds of Zhizhu pills on symptom changes in patients with FD of spleen-deficiency and qi-stagnation syndrome. Methods A randomized, group sequential, double-blinded, multicenter trial was conducted in patients with FD of spleen-deficiency and qi-stagnation syndrome at 3 hospitals in Beijing between June 2003 and May 2005. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups (IFCA group and IFCS group) in a 1:1 ratio, and respectively took one of the two kinds of Zhizhu pills orally, 6 g each time, 3 times a day, for 4 weeks. Statistical analysis was performed with use of a group sequential method, the triangular test (TT). Results A total of 163 patients were randomized, and 3 patients were excluded from analysis because of early dropouts, leaving 160 patients (IFCA group: n = 82; IFCS group: n = 78) for statistical analysis. Three interim analyses were done after 62, 116, and 160 patients had completed their 4-week treatment, respectively. At the third interim analysis, the sample path crossed the upper boundary and the trial was stopped, the cure-markedly effective rates were 45% for IFCS group and 67% for IFCA group, respectively, the one-sided p-value was 0.0036, the median unbiased estimate of the odds ratio (OR) for the benefit of IFCA relative to IFCS was 2.91 with 95%CI: 1.40 to 6.06. No adverse events were observed in the two groups. Conclusions Zhizhu pills containing IFCA was superior

Heterogeneous Two-group Diffusion Theory for a Finite Cylindrical Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jonsson, Alf; Naeslund, Goeran

1961-06-15

The source and sink method given by Feinberg and Galanin is extended to a finite cylindrical reactor. The two-group diffusion theory formulation is chosen primarily because of the relatively simple formulae emerging. A machine programme, calculating the criticality constant thermal utilization and the relative number of thermal absorptions in fuel rods, has been developed for the Ferranti-Mercury Computer.

A clinical examination of antibiotics in continuous regional arterial infusion (CRAI) therapy for severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). A prospective randomized controlled trial of BIPM and IPM/CS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamasaki, Shigemichi; Ishikura, Hiroyasu; Kamitani, Takanori

2011-01-01

Continuous regional arterial infusion (CRAI) therapy using both protease inhibitors and antibiotics are one of the specific therapeutic methods for severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). As for the administered antibiotics, imipenem/cilastatin sodium (IPM/CS) is generally chosen as a first step, but there are only a few reports comparing IPM/CS with other antibiotics. Therefore, we performed a prospective randomized controlled trial between biapenem (BIPM) and IPM/CS as CRAI antibiotics. Twelve patients with SAP were admitted to our institution during April, 2009 since August, 2006, and were randomized into two groups. They were treated with 120 mg/day of nafamostat mesilate and either 1.2 g/day of BIPM (n=6) or 2.0 g/day of IPM/CS (n=6) for CRAI therapy within 48 hours after the administration. The clinical data, inflammatory markers (WBC, CRP), serum pancreatic enzymes (lipase, tripsin, phospholipase A2, elastase 1 and pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) and contrast-enhanced abdominal Computed Tomography findings were compared between the two groups and the adverse effects were monitored. CRAI therapy was performed for seven days. The curative effect of this therapy was evaluated at the beginning of the treatment, the day 7 and the day 14. Our results suggested that BIPM was a non-recessive antibiotic which had an equal effect in CRAI therapy in comparison with IPM/CS. (author)

The effect of peer-group size on the delivery of feedback in basic life support refresher training: a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Youngsuk; Je, Sangmo; Yoon, Yoo Sang; Roh, Hye Rin; Chang, Chulho; Kang, Hyunggoo; Lim, Taeho

2016-07-04

Students are largely providing feedback to one another when instructor facilitates peer feedback rather than teaching in group training. The number of students in a group affect the learning of students in the group training. We aimed to investigate whether a larger group size increases students' test scores on a post-training test with peer feedback facilitated by instructor after video-guided basic life support (BLS) refresher training. Students' one-rescuer adult BLS skills were assessed by a 2-min checklist-based test 1 year after the initial training. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of student number in a group on BLS refresher training. Participants included 115 final-year medical students undergoing their emergency medicine clerkship. The median number of students was 8 in the large groups and 4 in the standard group. The primary outcome was to examine group differences in post-training test scores after video-guided BLS training. Secondary outcomes included the feedback time, number of feedback topics, and results of end-of-training evaluation questionnaires. Scores on the post-training test increased over three consecutive tests with instructor-led peer feedback, but not differ between large and standard groups. The feedback time was longer and number of feedback topics generated by students were higher in standard groups compared to large groups on the first and second tests. The end-of-training questionnaire revealed that the students in large groups preferred the smaller group size compared to their actual group size. In this BLS refresher training, the instructor-led group feedback increased the test score after tutorial video-guided BLS learning, irrespective of the group size. A smaller group size allowed more participations in peer feedback.

Evaluation of a group cognitive-behavioral depression prevention program for young adolescents: a randomized effectiveness trial.

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Gillham, Jane E; Reivich, Karen J; Brunwasser, Steven M; Freres, Derek R; Chajon, Norma D; Kash-Macdonald, V Megan; Chaplin, Tara M; Abenavoli, Rachel M; Matlin, Samantha L; Gallop, Robert J; Seligman, Martin E P

2012-01-01

Depression is a common psychological problem in adolescence. Recent research suggests that group cognitive-behavioral interventions can reduce and prevent symptoms of depression in youth. Few studies have tested the effectiveness of such interventions when delivered by school teachers and counselors (as opposed to research team staff). We evaluated the effectiveness of the Penn Resiliency Program for adolescents (PRP-A), a school-based group intervention that targets cognitive behavioral risk factors for depression. We randomly assigned 408 middle school students (ages 10-15) to one of three conditions: PRP-A, PRP-AP (in which adolescents participated in PRP-A and parents were invited to attend a parent intervention component), or a school-as-usual control. Adolescents completed measures of depression and anxiety symptoms, cognitive style, and coping at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and at 6-month follow-up. PRP-A reduced depression symptoms relative to the school as usual control. Baseline levels of hopelessness moderated intervention effects. Among participants with average and high levels of hopelessness, PRP (A and AP) significantly improved depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, hopelessness, and active coping relative to control. Among participants with low baseline hopelessness, we found no intervention effects. PRP-AP was not more effective than PRP-A alone. We found no intervention effects on clinical levels of depression or anxiety. These findings suggest that cognitive-behavioral interventions can be beneficial when delivered by school teachers and counselors. These interventions may be most helpful to students with elevated hopelessness.

Randomized branch sampling to estimatefruit production in Pecan trees cv. ‘Barton’

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Filemom Manoel Mokochinski

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Sampling techniques to quantify the production of fruits are still very scarce and create a gap in crop development research. This study was conducted in a rural property in the county of Cachoeira do Sul - RS to estimate the efficiency of randomized branch sampling (RBS in quantifying the production of pecan fruit at three different ages (5,7 and 10 years. Two selection techniques were tested: the probability proportional to the diameter (PPD and the uniform probability (UP techniques, which were performed on nine trees, three from each age and randomly chosen. The RBS underestimated fruit production for all ages, and its main drawback was the high sampling error (125.17% - PPD and 111.04% - UP. The UP was regarded as more efficient than the PPD, though both techniques estimated similar production and similar experimental errors. In conclusion, we reported that branch sampling was inaccurate for this case study, requiring new studies to produce estimates with smaller sampling error.

Random Walk on a Perturbation of the Infinitely-Fast Mixing Interchange Process

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Salvi, Michele; Simenhaus, François

2018-03-01

We consider a random walk in dimension d≥1 in a dynamic random environment evolving as an interchange process with rate γ >0 . We prove that, if we choose γ large enough, almost surely the empirical velocity of the walker X_t/t eventually lies in an arbitrary small ball around the annealed drift. This statement is thus a perturbation of the case γ =+∞ where the environment is refreshed between each step of the walker. We extend three-way part of the results of Huveneers and Simenhaus (Electron J Probab 20(105):42, 2015), where the environment was given by the 1-dimensional exclusion process: (i) We deal with any dimension d≥1 ; (ii) We treat the much more general interchange process, where each particle carries a transition vector chosen according to an arbitrary law μ ; (iii) We show that X_t/t is not only in the same direction of the annealed drift, but that it is also close to it.

Random Walk on a Perturbation of the Infinitely-Fast Mixing Interchange Process

Science.gov (United States)

Salvi, Michele; Simenhaus, François

2018-05-01

We consider a random walk in dimension d≥ 1 in a dynamic random environment evolving as an interchange process with rate γ >0. We prove that, if we choose γ large enough, almost surely the empirical velocity of the walker X_t/t eventually lies in an arbitrary small ball around the annealed drift. This statement is thus a perturbation of the case γ =+∞ where the environment is refreshed between each step of the walker. We extend three-way part of the results of Huveneers and Simenhaus (Electron J Probab 20(105):42, 2015), where the environment was given by the 1-dimensional exclusion process: (i) We deal with any dimension d≥1; (ii) We treat the much more general interchange process, where each particle carries a transition vector chosen according to an arbitrary law μ ; (iii) We show that X_t/t is not only in the same direction of the annealed drift, but that it is also close to it.

Duloxetine for the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain: evidence-based findings from post hoc analysis of three multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kajdasz, Daniel K; Iyengar, Smriti; Desaiah, Durisala

2007-01-01

peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP). METHODS: Data were pooled from three 12-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group studies in which patients received 60 mg duloxetine either QD or BID or placebo. NNT was calculated based on rates of response (defined as >or=30...

Variational group-PCA for intrinsic dimensionality determination in fMRI data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hinrich, Jesper Løve; Nielsen, Søren Føns Vind; Madsen, Kristoffer Hougaard

2016-01-01

. Furthermore, in an fMRI-context it is not fully understood how information from multiple subjects should best be incorporated when applying dimensionality reduction. We propose a Bayesian group principal component analysis (Group-BPCA) model with an automatic relevance determination (ARD) prior to determine...... on the spatial maps are shared, leads to pruning components, but provide better generalization in two of three scenarios. We show that the right level of subject variability is highly dependent on the chosen validation scheme....

Electronic prompts significantly increase response rates to postal questionnaires: a randomized trial within a randomized trial and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Laura; Ronaldson, Sarah; Dyson, Lisa; Hewitt, Catherine; Torgerson, David; Adamson, Joy

2015-12-01

To assess the effectiveness of sending electronic prompts to randomized controlled trial participants to return study questionnaires. A "trial within a trial" embedded within a study determining the effectiveness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (DOC) screening on smoking cessation. Those participants taking part in DOC who provided a mobile phone number and/or an electronic mail address were randomized to either receive an electronic prompt or no electronic prompt to return a study questionnaire. The results were combined with two previous studies in a meta-analysis. A total of 437 participants were randomized: 226 to the electronic prompt group and 211 to the control group. A total of 285 (65.2%) participants returned the follow-up questionnaire: 157 (69.5%) in the electronic prompt group and 128 (60.7%) in the control group [difference 8.8%; 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.11%, 17.7%; P = 0.05]. The mean time to response was 23 days in the electronic prompt group and 33 days in the control group (hazard ratio = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.105, 1.47). The meta-analysis of all three studies showed an increase in response rate of 7.1% (95% CI: 0.8%, 13.3%). The use of electronic prompts increased response rates and reduces the time to response. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chosen risk factors for osteoporosis and the level of knowledge about the disease in peri- and postmenopausal women.

Science.gov (United States)

Janiszewska, Mariola; Kulik, Teresa; Dziedzic, Małgorzata A; Żołnierczuk-Kieliszek, Dorota

2015-03-01

Osteoporosis as a chronic disease, affecting especially women in postmenopausal age, is an important, social and economic health problem especially of women of today's world. The aim of the study was to assess the level of knowledge of women in the peri- and postmenopausal period about the prevention of osteoporosis and show the influence of chosen risk factors on the level of this knowledge. A group of 300 women aged 45-65, being patients of healthcare centres in Chełm, Lublin and Zamość (Lublin voivodeship, south-eastern Poland) were included in the study. The purposive sampling was used. Osteoporosis Knowledge Test (OKT) 2011 was the research tool. Gathered material was subjected to descriptive and statistical analysis. Tukey's test, t-student test and variance analysis (ANOVA) were all applied. An accepted p materiality level was level of knowledge about the role of physical activity in the prevention of osteoporosis (M = 13.93) and a low level of knowledge about well-balanced diet rich in calcium (M = 9.77). The knowledge about risk factors, screening and treatment remained on the average level (M = 8.00). An influence of socio-demographic factors on the level of knowledge was shown. Also some behaviours, associated with the lifestyle indeed influenced the level of this knowledge. Professional educational programs on osteoporosis should be implemented in the population of Polish peri- and postmenopausal women.

A Statistically-Hiding Integer Commitment Scheme Based on Groups with Hidden Order

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damgård, Ivan Bjerre; Fujisaki, Eiichiro

2002-01-01

We present a statistically-hiding commitment scheme allowing commitment to arbitrary size integers, based on any (Abelian) group with certain properties, most importantly, that it is hard for the committer to compute its order. We also give efficient zero-knowledge protocols for proving knowledge...... input is chosen by the (possibly cheating) prover. -  - Our results apply to any group with suitable properties. In particular, they apply to a much larger class of RSA moduli than the safe prime products proposed in [14] - Potential examples include RSA moduli, class groups and, with a slight...

Protocol: the effect of 12 weeks of Tai Chi practice on anxiety in healthy but stressed people compared to exercise and wait-list comparison groups: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Shuai; Lal, Sara; Meier, Peter; Sibbritt, David; Zaslawski, Chris

2014-06-01

Stress is a major problem in today's fast-paced society and can lead to serious psychosomatic complications. The ancient Chinese mind-body exercise of Tai Chi may provide an alternative and self-sustaining option to pharmaceutical medication for stressed individuals to improve their coping mechanisms. The protocol of this study is designed to evaluate whether Tai Chi practice is equivalent to standard exercise and whether the Tai Chi group is superior to a wait-list control group in improving stress coping levels. This study is a 6-week, three-arm, parallel, randomized, clinical trial designed to evaluate Tai Chi practice against standard exercise and a Tai Chi group against a nonactive control group over a period of 6 weeks with a 6-week follow-up. A total of 72 healthy adult participants (aged 18-60 years) who are either Tai Chi naïve or have not practiced Tai Chi in the past 12 months will be randomized into a Tai Chi group (n = 24), an exercise group (n = 24) or a wait-list group (n = 24). The primary outcome measure will be the State Trait Anxiety Inventory with secondary outcome measures being the Perceived Stress Scale 14, heart rate variability, blood pressure, Short Form 36 and a visual analog scale. The protocol is reported using the appropriate Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) items. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The Effect of Calcium Pre-Rinse on Salivary Fluoride After 900 ppm Fluoride Mouthwash: A Randomized Clinical Trial

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Nahid Ramazani

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: Calcium fluoride deposit during fluoride application. Uptake and retention of fluoride by saliva depends generally on the concentration of calcium. In this study, the ef-fect of calcium pre-rinse on salivary fluoride concentration after a 900 ppm fluoride mouthwash was investigated.Materials and Methods: This cross-over double-blind randomized clinical trial was con-ducted in a girls' dormitory in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, southeast Iran. In this study, 42 female dental students were chosen using simple randomization. During the first phase, 21 subjects (group A used fluoride rinse (F regimen and the remaining (group B used calcium pre-rinse followed immediately by fluoride rinse (Ca + F regi-men. In the second phase, participants rinsed using the mouthwashes not previously used. Prior to each phase prophylaxis was performed and no fluoridated product was used dur-ing a two-week interval between the phases. Salivary samples were taken immediately be-fore (baseline, 1 and 12 hours after rinsing. The salivary fluoride concentration was de-termined using fluoride sensitive electrode. Repeated measures ANOVA was used for sta-tistical analysis and the significance level was set at P<0.05.Results: There was significant difference between fluoride concentrations at different time points (P< 0.001. Significant differences were observed when the different time points of two regimens were examined. In contrast to this, the baseline before using F regimen and the baseline before using Ca + F regimen did not show any significance (P= 0.070.Conclusion: Pre-rinsing with calcium before fluoride is recommended because of signifi-cant increases in salivary fluoride concentration.

Changes in blood morphology and chosen biochemical parameters in ultra-marathon runners during a 100-km run in relation to the age and speed of runners

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Zbigniew Jastrzębski

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The objective of the study was to reveal morphology, electrolyte and chosen biochemical parameters in terms of health risk in runners in reference to their age and running speed in the case of running a distance of 100 km, which occur after 12 h or 24 h of recovery. Material and Methods: Fourteen experienced, male, amateur, ultra-marathon runners, divided into two age and two speed groups took part in the 100-km run. Blood samples for analyses indexes were collected from the ulnar vein just before the run, after 25 km, 50 km, 75 km and 100 km, as well as 12 h and 24 h after termination of the run. Results: The sustained ultramarathon run along with the distance covered (p < 0.05 caused an increase in myoglobin (max 90-fold, bilirubin (max 2.8-fold and total antioxidant status (max 1.15-fold, which also continued during the recovery. Significant changes in the number of white blood cells were observed with each sequential course and could be associated with muscle damage. The electrolyte showed changes towards slight hyperkalemia, but no changes in natrium and calcium concentrations. There were no significant differences between the age and speed groups for all the parameters after completing the 100-km run as well as after 12 h and 24 h of recovery. Conclusions: Considering changes in blood morphology and chosen biochemical parameters in ultra-marathon runners during a 100-km run it can be stated that such an exhausting effort may be dangerous for human health due to metabolic changes and large damage to the organs. Negative metabolic changes are independent of age of an ultramarathon runner and occur both in younger (32±5.33 years and older participants (50.56±9.7 years. It can be concluded that organ damage and negative metabolic changes during a 100-km run occur similarly in participants less experienced as well as in well trained runners. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2016;29(5:801–814

The Role of Breakfast in the American Family Diet by Income Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowman, Shanthy A.

1998-01-01

Examined data from Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (USDA) concerning breakfast consumption in families and the kinds of food chosen. Found that 85% of families reported having breakfast; most of those reporting no breakfast came from lowest income group. Consumption of cereals, fruits and juices increased with income; consumption…

Readers, Players, and Watchers: EFL Students' Vocabulary Acquisition through Digital Video Games

Science.gov (United States)

Ebrahimzadeh, Mohsen

2017-01-01

The present study investigated vocabulary acquisition through a commercial digital video game compared to a traditional pencil-and-paper treatment. Chosen through cluster sampling, 241 male high school students (age 12-18) participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to one of the following groups. The first group, called Readers,…

Floristic Survey of Summer Aspect in Chosen China Clay Pits in Western Bohemia

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Kamila Botková

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Five different china clay pits in the western part of the Czech Republic were explored and plant species were determined. These chosen pits were: Hájek-western part, Chlumčany, Horní Bříza, Otovice and Podlesí II. China clay pits with active excavation represent a specific environment concerning both physical and chemical characteristics. This article is presenting a list of the higher plants which were found within active excavation or former excavation areas. Species with a protection status according to the Czech legislation are presented in more detail. 189 different species have been found in total, including 2 species from category C4 – potentially vulnerable taxa, 6 species from category C3 – endangered taxa and 1 species from the C1 – critically threatened taxa from the Red List of Vascular Plants of the Czech Republic. 28 different species occurred at each of the five sites. Predominant species favour sandy substratum and bare surface.

Evaluation of a self-management patient education program for patients with chronic heart failure undergoing inpatient cardiac rehabilitation: study protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Karin; Musekamp, Gunda; Seekatz, Bettina; Glatz, Johannes; Karger, Gabriele; Kiwus, Ulrich; Knoglinger, Ernst; Schubmann, Rainer; Westphal, Ronja; Faller, Hermann

2013-08-23

Chronic heart failure requires a complex treatment regimen on a life-long basis. Therefore, self-care/self-management is an essential part of successful treatment and comprehensive patient education is warranted. However, specific information on program features and educational strategies enhancing treatment success is lacking. This trial aims to evaluate a patient-oriented and theory-based self-management educational group program as compared to usual care education during inpatient cardiac rehabilitation in Germany. The study is a multicenter cluster randomized controlled trial in four cardiac rehabilitation clinics. Clusters are patient education groups that comprise HF patients recruited within 2 weeks after commencement of inpatient cardiac rehabilitation. Cluster randomization was chosen for pragmatic reasons, i.e. to ensure a sufficient number of eligible patients to build large-enough educational groups and to prevent contamination by interaction of patients from different treatment allocations during rehabilitation. Rehabilitants with chronic systolic heart failure (n = 540) will be consecutively recruited for the study at the beginning of inpatient rehabilitation. Data will be assessed at admission, at discharge and after 6 and 12 months using patient questionnaires. In the intervention condition, patients receive the new patient-oriented self-management educational program, whereas in the control condition, patients receive a short lecture-based educational program (usual care). The primary outcome is patients' self-reported self-management competence. Secondary outcomes include behavioral determinants and self-management health behavior (symptom monitoring, physical activity, medication adherence), health-related quality of life, and treatment satisfaction. Treatment effects will be evaluated separately for each follow-up time point using multilevel regression analysis, and adjusting for baseline values. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a

On the pertinence to Physics of random walks induced by random dynamical systems: a survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petritis, Dimitri

2016-01-01

Let be an abstract space and a denumerable (finite or infinite) alphabet. Suppose that is a family of functions such that for all we have and a family of transformations . The pair (( S_a)_a , ( p_a)_a ) is termed an iterated function system with place dependent probabilities. Such systems can be thought as generalisations of random dynamical systems. As a matter of fact, suppose we start from a given ; we pick then randomly, with probability p_a (x) , the transformation S_a and evolve to S_a (x) . We are interested in the behaviour of the system when the iteration continues indefinitely. Random walks of the above type are omnipresent in both classical and quantum Physics. To give a small sample of occurrences we mention: random walks on the affine group, random walks on Penrose lattices, random walks on partially directed lattices, evolution of density matrices induced by repeated quantum measurements, quantum channels, quantum random walks, etc. In this article, we review some basic properties of such systems and provide with a pathfinder in the extensive bibliography (both on mathematical and physical sides) where the main results have been originally published. (paper)

Mentalization-based treatment in groups for adolescents with borderline personality disorder (BPD) or subthreshold BPD versus treatment as usual (M-GAB): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Emma; Bo, Sune; Gondan, Matthias; Poulsen, Stig; Pedersen, Liselotte; Pedersen, Jesper; Simonsen, Erik

2016-07-12

Evidence-based outpatient psychotherapeutic programs are first-line treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Early and effective treatment of BPD is crucial to the prevention of its individual, psychosocial, and economic consequences. However, in spite of recent advantages in diagnosing adolescent BPD, there is a lack of cost-effective evidence-based treatment programs for adolescents. Mentalization-based treatment is an evidence-based program for BPD, originally developed for adults. We will investigate whether a specifically designed mentalization-based treatment in groups is an efficacious treatment for adolescents with BPD or subthreshold BPD compared to treatment as usual. The trial is a four-center, two-armed, parallel-group, assessor-blinded randomized clinical superiority trial. One hundred twelve patients aged 14 to 17 referred to Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics in Region Zealand are randomized to 1 year of either mentalization-based treatment in groups or treatment as usual. Patients will be included if they meet at least four DSM-5 criteria for BPD. The primary outcome is self-reported borderline features at discharge. Secondary outcomes will include self-harm, depression, BPD criteria, externalizing and internalizing symptoms, and social functioning, together with parental reports on borderline features, externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Measures of attachment and mentalization will be included as mediational variables. Follow-up assessment will take place at 3 and 12 months after end of treatment. This is the first randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a group-based mentalization-based treatment for adolescents with BPD or subthreshold BPD. If the results confirm our hypothesis, this trial will add to the treatment options of cost-effective treatment of adolescent BPD. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02068326 , February 19, 2014.

Burnout syndrome in the practice of oncology: results of a random survey of 1,000 oncologists.

Science.gov (United States)

Whippen, D A; Canellos, G P

1991-10-01

Burnout, the end result of stress, can occur in any profession. We set out to determine the extent of burnout among a representative group of American oncologists. A questionnaire with 12 specific points was designed and prepared by the authors. It was mailed to 1,000 randomly selected physician subscribers to the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Five hundred ninety-eight completed surveys (60%) were returned before the cut-off date and included in the analysis. Overall, 56% of the respondents reported experiencing burnout in their professional life. No significance was found between the incidence of burnout and specialty within oncology, year medical training ended, or practice location. Significance was found, however, between type of practice and the incidence of burnout; institution- or university-based oncologists reported a lower incidence of burnout (47%) versus all other types of practice (66% burnout rate for oncology plus internal medicine, 63% for private adult oncology only, 39% for pediatric oncologists [there were too few pediatric oncologists for this rate to be significant], and 64% for others; P = .0003). Frustration or a sense of failure was the most frequently chosen (56%) description of burnout, and insufficient personal and/or vacation time was the most frequent reason (57%) chosen to explain the existence of burnout. To alleviate burnout, the majority (69%) of respondents indicated the need for more vacation or personal time. Administering palliative or terminal care, reimbursement issues, and a heavy work load were identified as contributing factors to burnout. Given the high response to the questionnaire and a 56% incidence of burnout in the surveyed population, it is concluded that further research on this issue is required.

Group prenatal care.

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Mazzoni, Sara E; Carter, Ebony B

2017-06-01

Patients participating in group prenatal care gather together with women of similar gestational ages and 2 providers who cofacilitate an educational session after a brief medical assessment. The model was first described in the 1990s by a midwife for low-risk patients and is now practiced by midwives and physicians for both low-risk patients and some high-risk patients, such as those with diabetes. The majority of literature on group prenatal care uses CenteringPregnancy, the most popular model. The first randomized controlled trial of CenteringPregnancy showed that it reduced the risk of preterm birth in low-risk women. However, recent meta-analyses have shown similar rates of preterm birth, low birthweight, and neonatal intensive care unit admission between women participating in group prenatal care and individual prenatal care. There may be subgroups, such as African Americans, who benefit from this type of prenatal care with significantly lower rates of preterm birth. Group prenatal care seems to result in increased patient satisfaction and knowledge and use of postpartum family planning as well as improved weight gain parameters. The literature is inconclusive regarding breast-feeding, stress, depression, and positive health behaviors, although it is theorized that group prenatal care positively affects these outcomes. It is unclear whether group prenatal care results in cost savings, although it may in large-volume practices if each group consists of approximately 8-10 women. Group prenatal care requires a significant paradigm shift. It can be difficult to implement and sustain. More randomized trials are needed to ascertain the true benefits of the model, best practices for implementation, and subgroups who may benefit most from this innovative way to provide prenatal care. In short, group prenatal care is an innovative and promising model with comparable pregnancy outcomes to individual prenatal care in the general population and improved outcomes in some

The amount of 137Cs in chosen parts of food chains from localities in the East of Slovakia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cipakova, A.

2005-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare the amount of radiocaesium in chosen parts of food chains from localities in the Eastern Slovakia. Prevailing part of radiocaesium is in the upper layer of soils and specific activity of 137 Cs in the first layer for locality Stara Voda in 2000 achieved 152.4 Bq/kg 1 . On the base of results from modified Tessier sequential extraction method we determined that more than 50 % of this radionuclide is in the soil in not extractable fraction. From studied species of mushrooms the highest value was determined in sample of Rozites caperata the and specific activity achieved 1822.0 Bq/kg 1 d. w. The aim of our study was to determine the amount of caesium in chosen parts of food chains from localities in Eastern Slovakia for period 2000-2004. On the base of obtained results we can conclude that radiocaesium migrates vertically in soils very slowly and prevailing part of caesium is in the upper layer. Prevailing part of radiocaesium is in the not extractable fraction. Extremely low concentration of caesium in soil solution is the factor limiting caesium uptake by the root systems, too. Mushrooms are characterised by high ability to accumulate radiocaesium. (authors)

Effects of Ganglioside on Working Memory and the Default Mode Network in Individuals with Subjective Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Yujin; Kim, Binna; Kim, Jieun E; Kim, Bori R; Ban, Soonhyun; Jeong, Jee Hyang; Kwon, Oran; Rhie, Sandy Jeong; Ahn, Chang-Won; Kim, Jong-Hoon; Jung, Sung Ug; Park, Soo-Hyun; Lyoo, In Kyoon; Yoon, Sujung

2016-01-01

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial examined whether the administration of ganglioside, an active ingredient of deer bone extract, can improve working memory performance by increasing gray matter volume and functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) in individuals with subjective cognitive impairment. Seventy-five individuals with subjective cognitive impairment were chosen to receive either ganglioside (330[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/day or 660[Formula: see text][Formula: see text]g/day) or a placebo for 8 weeks. Changes in working memory performance with treatment of either ganglioside or placebo were assessed as cognitive outcome measures. Using voxel-based morphometry and functional connectivity analyses, changes in gray matter volume and functional connectivity in the DMN were also assessed as brain outcome measures. Improvement in working memory performance was greater in the ganglioside group than in the placebo group. The ganglioside group, relative to the placebo group, showed greater increases in gray matter volume and functional connectivity in the DMN. A significant relationship between increased functional connectivity of the precuneus and improved working memory performance was observed in the ganglioside group. The current findings suggest that ganglioside has cognitive-enhancing effects in individuals with subjective cognitive impairment. Ganglioside-induced increases in gray matter volume and functional connectivity in the DMN may partly be responsible for the potential nootropic effects of ganglioside. The clinical trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT02379481).

Use of anatomic measurement to guide injection of botulinum toxin for the management of chronic lateral epicondylitis: a randomized controlled trial

Science.gov (United States)

Espandar, Ramin; Heidari, Pedram; Rasouli, Mohammad Reza; Saadat, Soheil; Farzan, Mahmood; Rostami, Mohsen; Yazdanian, Shideh; Mortazavi, S.M. Javad

2010-01-01

Background When using botulinum toxin for the management of lateral epicondylitis, injection at a fixed distance from an anatomic landmark could result in inadequate paralysis of the intended muscle. We assessed the effectiveness of injection of botulinum toxin using precise anatomic measurement in individual patients. Methods In this randomized placebo-controlled trial, 48 patients with chronic refractory lateral epicondylitis were randomly assigned to receive a single injection of either botulinum toxin (60 units) or placebo (normal saline). The site of injection was chosen as a distance one-third the length of the forearm from the tip of the lateral epicondyle on the course of the posterior interosseus nerve. The primary outcome measure was intensity of pain at rest, measured with the use of a 100-mm visual analogue scale, at baseline and at 4, 8 and 16 weeks after injection. Results Compared with the placebo group, the group given botulinum toxin had significant reductions in pain at rest during follow-up (decrease at 4 weeks 14.1 mm, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.8–22.3; at 8 weeks 11.5 mm, 95% CI 2.0–21.0; at 16 weeks 12.6 mm, 95% CI 7.7–17.8; p = 0.01). As for the secondary outcomes, the intensity of pain during maximum pinch decreased in the botulinum toxin group; there was no difference in pain during maximum grip or in grip strength between the two groups. All but one of the patients in the intervention group experienced weakness in the extension of the third and fourth fingers at week 4 that resolved by week 16. No serious adverse events were reported. Interpretation The use of precise anatomic measurement to guide injection of botulinum toxin significantly reduced pain at rest in patients with chronic refractory lateral epicondylitis. However, the transient extensor lag makes this method inappropriate for patients whose job requires finger extension. (ClinicalTrials.gov trial register no. NCT00497913.) PMID:20421357

Promoting physical activity among adolescent girls: the Girls in Sport group randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Okely, Anthony D; Lubans, David R; Morgan, Philip J; Cotton, Wayne; Peralta, Louisa; Miller, Judith; Batterham, Marijka; Janssen, Xanne

2017-06-21

Slowing the decline in participation in physical activity among adolescent girls is a public health priority. This study reports the outcomes from a multi-component school-based intervention (Girls in Sport), focused on promoting physical activity among adolescent girls. Group randomized controlled trial in 24 secondary schools (12 intervention and 12 control). Assessments were conducted at baseline (2009) and at 18 months post-baseline (2010). The setting was secondary schools in urban, regional and rural areas of New South Wales, Australia. All girls in Grade 8 in 2009 who attended these schools were invited to participate in the study (N = 1769). Using a Health Promoting Schools and Action Learning Frameworks, each school formed a committee and developed an action plan for promoting physical activity among Grade 8 girls. The action plan incorporated strategies in three main areas - i) the formal curriculum, ii) school environment, and iii) home/school/community links - based on the results of formative data from target girls and staff and on individual needs of the school. A member of the research team supported each school throughout the intervention. The main outcome measure was accelerometer-derived total physical activity (TPA) spent in physical activity. Data were analyzed from December 2011 to March 2012. 1518 girls (mean age 13.6y ±0.02) were assessed at baseline. There was a significant decline in TPA from baseline to 18-month follow-up with no differences between girls in the intervention and control schools. Only one-third of schools (4/12) implemented the intervention as per their action plan. Per-protocol analyses on these schools revealed a smaller decline in percentage of time spent in MVPA among girls in the intervention group (adjusted difference 0.5%, 95% CI = -0.01, 0.99, P = 0.05). The Girls in Sport intervention was not effective in reducing the decline in physical activity among adolescent girls. Lack of implementation by most

The effect of exercise-induced arousal on chosen tempi for familiar melodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Jakubowski, Kelly; Halpern, Andrea R; Grierson, Mick; Stewart, Lauren

2015-04-01

Many previous studies have shown that arousal affects time perception, suggesting a direct influence of arousal on the speed of the pacemaker of the internal clock. However, it is unknown whether arousal influences the mental representation of tempo (speed) for highly familiar and complex stimuli, such as well-known melodies, that have long-term representations in memory. Previous research suggests that mental representations of the tempo of familiar melodies are stable over time; the aim of the present study was to investigate whether these representations can be systematically altered via an increase in physiological arousal. Participants adjusted the tempo of 14 familiar melodies in real time until they found a tempo that matched their internal representation of the appropriate tempo for that piece. The task was carried out before and after a physiologically arousing (exercise) or nonarousing (anagrams) manipulation. Participants completed this task both while hearing the melodies aloud and while imagining them. Chosen tempi increased significantly following exercise-induced arousal, regardless of whether a melody was heard aloud or imagined. These findings suggest that a change in internal clock speed affects temporal judgments even for highly familiar and complex stimuli such as music.

Social group utility maximization

CERN Document Server

Gong, Xiaowen; Yang, Lei; Zhang, Junshan

2014-01-01

This SpringerBrief explains how to leverage mobile users' social relationships to improve the interactions of mobile devices in mobile networks. It develops a social group utility maximization (SGUM) framework that captures diverse social ties of mobile users and diverse physical coupling of mobile devices. Key topics include random access control, power control, spectrum access, and location privacy.This brief also investigates SGUM-based power control game and random access control game, for which it establishes the socially-aware Nash equilibrium (SNE). It then examines the critical SGUM-b

A Web-Based, Social Networking Beginners' Running Intervention for Adults Aged 18 to 50 Years Delivered via a Facebook Group: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Looyestyn, Jemma; Kernot, Jocelyn; Boshoff, Kobie; Maher, Carol

2018-02-26

Online social networks continue to grow in popularity, with 1.7 billion users worldwide accessing Facebook each month. The use of social networking sites such as Facebook for the delivery of health behavior programs is relatively new. The primary aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a Web-based beginners' running program for adults aged 18 to 50 years, delivered via a Facebook group, in increasing physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness. A total of 89 adults with a mean age of 35.2 years (SD 10.9) were recruited online and via print media. Participants were randomly allocated to receive the UniSA Run Free program, an 8-week Web-based beginners' running intervention, delivered via a closed Facebook group (n=41) that included daily interactive posts (information with links, motivational quotes, opinion polls, or questions) and details of the running sessions; or to the control group who received a hard copy of the running program (n=48). Assessments were completed online at baseline, 2 months, and 5 months. The primary outcome measures were self-reported weekly moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and objectively measured cardiorespiratory fitness. Secondary outcomes were social support, exercise attitudes, and self-efficacy. Analyses were undertaken using random effects mixed modeling. Compliance with the running program and engagement with the Facebook group were analyzed descriptively. Both groups significantly increased MVPA across the study period (P=.004); however, this was significantly higher in the Facebook group (P=.04). The Facebook group increased their MVPA from baseline by 140 min/week versus 91 min for the control at 2 months. MVPA remained elevated for the Facebook group (from baseline) by 129 min/week versus a 50 min/week decrease for the control at 5 months. Both groups had significant increases in social support scores at 2 months (P=.02); however, there were no group by time differences (P=.16). There were

Study of The Vector Product using Three Dimensions Vector Card of Engineering in Pathumwan Institute of Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Mueanploy, Wannapa

2015-06-01

The objective of this research was to offer the way to improve engineering students in Physics topic of vector product. The sampling of this research was the engineering students at Pathumwan Institute of Technology during the first semester of academic year 2013. 1) Select 120 students by random sampling are asked to fill in a satisfaction questionnaire scale, to select size of three dimensions vector card in order to apply in the classroom. 2) Select 60 students by random sampling to do achievement test and take the test to be used in the classroom. The methods used in analysis of achievement test by the Kuder-Richardson Method (KR- 20). The results show that 12 items of achievement test are appropriate to be applied in the classroom. The achievement test gets Difficulty (P) = 0.40-0.67, Discrimination = 0.33-0.73 and Reliability (r) = 0.70.The experimental in the classroom. 3) Select 60 students by random sampling divide into two groups; group one (the controlled group) with 30 students was chosen to study in the vector product lesson by the regular teaching method. Group two (the experimental group) with 30 students was chosen to learn the vector product lesson with three dimensions vector card. 4) Analyzed data between the controlled group and the experimental group, the result showed that experimental group got higher achievement test than the controlled group significant at .01 level.

Dynamical evolution of clusters with two stellar groups

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Angeletti, L; Giannone, P. (Rome Univ. (Italy))

1977-08-01

The generalization of the fluid-dynamical approach from one-component star clusters to clusters with several stellar groups (as far as the star masses are concerned) has been applied to the study of two-component clusters. Rather extreme values of stellar masses and masses of groups were chosen in order to emphasize the different dynamical evolutions and asymptotic behaviors. Escape of stars from clusters and the problem of equipartition of kinetic energy among the two star groups are discussed. Comparisons of the main features of the results with those obtained by other authors have shown a good agreement. Some characteristic properties of the last computed models with an age of 18x10/sup 9/ yr have been pointed out and discussed in relation with some observed features of galactic globular clusters.

A randomized controlled trial of a senior centre group programme for increasing social support and preventing depression in elderly people living at home in Norway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bøen Hege

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Late-life depression is a common condition and a challenging public health problem. A lack of social support is strongly associated with psychological distress. Senior centres seem to be suitable arenas for community-based health promotion interventions, although few studies have addressed this subject. The objectives were to examine the effect of a preventive senior centre group programme consisting of weekly meetings, on social support, depression and quality of life. Methods A questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 4,000 persons over 65 in Oslo, and a total of 2,387 completed questionnaires were obtained. These subjects served as a basis for recruitment of participants for a trial, with scores on HSCL-10 being used as a main inclusion criterion. A total of 138 persons were randomized into an intervention group (N = 77 and control group (N = 61. Final analyses included 92 persons. Social support (OSS-3, depression (BDI, life satisfaction and health were measured in interviews at baseline and after 12 months (at the end of the intervention programme. Perceptions of benefits from the intervention were also measured. Mean scores, SD, SE and CI were used to describe the changes in outcomes. Effect sizes were calculated based on the original scales and as Cohen’s d. Paired sample tests and ANOVA were used to test group differences. Results There was an increase in social support in both groups, but greatest in the intervention group. The level of depression increased for both groups, but more so in the control than the intervention group. There was a decrease in life satisfaction, although the decrease was largest among controls. There were almost no differences in reported health between groups. However, effect sizes were small and differences were not statistically significant. In contrast, most of the participants said the intervention meant much to them and led to increased use of the centre. Conclusions In

Rapid, easy, and cheap randomization: prospective evaluation in a study cohort

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parker Melissa J

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background When planning a randomized controlled trial (RCT, investigators must select randomization and allocation procedures based upon a variety of factors. While third party randomization is cited as being among the most desirable randomization processes, many third party randomization procedures are neither feasible nor cost-effective for small RCTs, including pilot RCTs. In this study we present our experience with a third party randomization and allocation procedure that utilizes current technology to achieve randomization in a rapid, reliable, and cost-effective manner. Methods This method was developed by the investigators for use in a small 48-participant parallel group RCT with four study arms. As a nested study, the reliability of this randomization procedure was prospectively evaluated in this cohort. The primary outcome of this nested study was the proportion of subjects for whom allocation information was obtained by the Research Assistant within 15 min of the initial participant randomization request. A secondary outcome was the average time for communicating participant group assignment back to the Research Assistant. Descriptive information regarding any failed attempts at participant randomization as well as costs attributable to use of this method were also recorded. Statistical analyses included the calculation of simple proportions and descriptive statistics. Results Forty-eight participants were successfully randomized and group allocation instruction was received for 46 (96% within 15 min of the Research Assistant placing the initial randomization request. Time elapsed in minutes until receipt of participant allocation instruction was Mean (SD 3.1 +/− 3.6; Median (IQR 2 (2,3; Range (1–20 for the entire cohort of 48. For the two participants for whom group allocation information was not received by the Research Assistant within the 15-min pass threshold, this information was obtained following a second

Collocation methods for uncertainty quanti cation in PDE models with random data

KAUST Repository

Nobile, Fabio

2014-01-06

In this talk we consider Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) whose input data are modeled as random fields to account for their intrinsic variability or our lack of knowledge. After parametrizing the input random fields by finitely many independent random variables, we exploit the high regularity of the solution of the PDE as a function of the input random variables and consider sparse polynomial approximations in probability (Polynomial Chaos expansion) by collocation methods. We first address interpolatory approximations where the PDE is solved on a sparse grid of Gauss points in the probability space and the solutions thus obtained interpolated by multivariate polynomials. We present recent results on optimized sparse grids in which the selection of points is based on a knapsack approach and relies on sharp estimates of the decay of the coefficients of the polynomial chaos expansion of the solution. Secondly, we consider regression approaches where the PDE is evaluated on randomly chosen points in the probability space and a polynomial approximation constructed by the least square method. We present recent theoretical results on the stability and optimality of the approximation under suitable conditions between the number of sampling points and the dimension of the polynomial space. In particular, we show that for uniform random variables, the number of sampling point has to scale quadratically with the dimension of the polynomial space to maintain the stability and optimality of the approximation. Numerical results show that such condition is sharp in the monovariate case but seems to be over-constraining in higher dimensions. The regression technique seems therefore to be attractive in higher dimensions.

[Randomized parallel group study of 0.0015% tafluprost ophthalmic solution in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension (comparison with 0.005% latanoprost ophthalmic solution)].

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Jian; Li, Xiaoxin; Sun, Xinghuai; He, Xiangge; Zhang, Hong

2015-02-01

To confirm the non-inferiority of the IOP-lowering effect of the 0.0015% Tafluprost ophthalmic solution to the 0.005% Latanoprost ophthalmic solution in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.Safety was also compared between two groups. This study was conducted from August 2008 to December 2009, at five clinical trial sites in China. Patients of this study population was diagnosed with primary open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension in both eyes.Subjects were randomized into 0.0015% Tafluprost group or 0.005% Latanoprost group.Intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement by Goldmann applanation tonometer, slit-lamp microscopy, Gonioscopy, Fundascopy, Visual acuity test, Perimetry, Blood pressure and pulse rate, Subjective symptoms were compered between two groups at Week 0, Week 2 and Week 4.For main effectiveness evaluation index adopt the bad effect evaluation, safety evaluation index by Fisher's exact test probability method. The 246 subjects/246 eyes were randomized (Tafluprost group:122 subjects/122 eyes, Latanoprost group:124 subjects/ 124 eyes). Change in the IOP at 17:00 of Week 2 is (8.8 ± 3.8) mmHg and (8.9 ± 4.4) mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa) in Tafluprost group and Latanoprost group. Percent change in the IOP at 17:00 of Week 2 is (33.2 ± 12.8)% and (34.4 ± 14.1)% in Tafluprost group and Latanoprost group. Change in the IOP at 17:00 at the end of treatment is (9.8 ± 4.0) mmHg and (9.2 ± 4.1) mmHg in Tafluprost group and Latanoprost group. Percent change in the IOP at 17:00 at the end of treatment is 37.2% ± 13.4% group and 35.7% ± 13.0% in Tafluprost and Latanoprost group.In addition, distribution of subjects with percentage decrease of IOP > 30% was 72.5% in Tafluprost group higher than 63.8% in Latanoprost group. The major adverse reactions were conjunctival hyperemia, eye irritation, eye pain and foreign body sensation. The incidence of adverse reactions is 31.7% in Tafluprost group and 20.8% in Latanoprost group. The inter-group

40 CFR 60.4410 - How do I establish a valid parameter range if I have chosen to continuously monitor parameters?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How do I establish a valid parameter... § 60.4410 How do I establish a valid parameter range if I have chosen to continuously monitor... continuously monitored and recorded during each run of the initial performance test, to establish acceptable...

Mental skills training with basic combat training soldiers: A group-randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Adler, Amy B; Bliese, Paul D; Pickering, Michael A; Hammermeister, Jon; Williams, Jason; Harada, Coreen; Csoka, Louis; Holliday, Bernie; Ohlson, Carl

2015-11-01

Cognitive skills training has been linked to greater skills, self-efficacy, and performance. Although research in a variety of organizational settings has demonstrated training efficacy, few studies have assessed cognitive skills training using rigorous, longitudinal, randomized trials with active controls. The present study examined cognitive skills training in a high-risk occupation by randomizing 48 platoons (N = 2,432 soldiers) in basic combat training to either (a) mental skills training or (b) an active comparison condition (military history). Surveys were conducted at baseline and 3 times across the 10-week course. Multilevel mixed-effects models revealed that soldiers in the mental skills training condition reported greater use of a range of cognitive skills and increased confidence relative to those in the control condition. Soldiers in the mental skills training condition also performed better on obstacle course events, rappelling, physical fitness, and initial weapons qualification scores, although effects were generally moderated by gender and previous experience. Overall, effects were small; however, given the rigor of the design, the findings clearly contribute to the broader literature by providing supporting evidence that cognitive training skills can enhance performance in occupational and sports settings. Future research should address gender and experience to determine the need for targeting such training appropriately. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Linearization effect in multifractal analysis: Insights from the Random Energy Model

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Angeletti, Florian; Mézard, Marc; Bertin, Eric; Abry, Patrice

2011-08-01

The analysis of the linearization effect in multifractal analysis, and hence of the estimation of moments for multifractal processes, is revisited borrowing concepts from the statistical physics of disordered systems, notably from the analysis of the so-called Random Energy Model. Considering a standard multifractal process (compound Poisson motion), chosen as a simple representative example, we show the following: (i) the existence of a critical order q∗ beyond which moments, though finite, cannot be estimated through empirical averages, irrespective of the sample size of the observation; (ii) multifractal exponents necessarily behave linearly in q, for q>q∗. Tailoring the analysis conducted for the Random Energy Model to that of Compound Poisson motion, we provide explicative and quantitative predictions for the values of q∗ and for the slope controlling the linear behavior of the multifractal exponents. These quantities are shown to be related only to the definition of the multifractal process and not to depend on the sample size of the observation. Monte Carlo simulations, conducted over a large number of large sample size realizations of compound Poisson motion, comfort and extend these analyses.

Protocol and recruitment results from a randomized controlled trial comparing group phone-based versus newsletter interventions for weight loss maintenance among rural breast cancer survivors.

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Befort, Christie A; Klemp, Jennifer R; Fabian, Carol; Perri, Michael G; Sullivan, Debra K; Schmitz, Kathryn H; Diaz, Francisco J; Shireman, Theresa

2014-03-01

Obesity is a risk factor for breast cancer recurrence and death. Women who reside in rural areas have higher obesity prevalence and suffer from breast cancer treatment-related disparities compared to urban women. The objective of this 5-year randomized controlled trial is to compare methods for delivering extended care for weight loss maintenance among rural breast cancer survivors. Group phone-based counseling via conference calls addresses access barriers, is more cost-effective than individual phone counseling, and provides group support which may be ideal for rural breast cancer survivors who are more likely to have unmet support needs. Women (n=210) diagnosed with Stage 0 to III breast cancer in the past 10 years who are ≥ 3 months out from initial cancer treatments, have a BMI 27-45 kg/m(2), and have physician clearance were enrolled from multiple cancer centers. During Phase I (months 0 to 6), all women receive a behavioral weight loss intervention delivered through group phone sessions. Women who successfully lose 5% of weight enter Phase II (months 6 to 18) and are randomized to one of two extended care arms: continued group phone-based treatment or a mail-based newsletter. During Phase III, no contact is made (months 18 to 24). The primary outcome is weight loss maintenance from 6 to 18 months. Secondary outcomes include quality of life, serum biomarkers, and cost-effectiveness. This study will provide essential information on how to reach rural survivors in future efforts to establish weight loss support for breast cancer survivors as a standard of care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sustained effects of a psychoeducational group intervention following bariatric surgery: follow-up of the randomized controlled BaSE study.

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Wild, Beate; Hünnemeyer, Katharina; Sauer, Helene; Schellberg, Dieter; Müller-Stich, Beat Peter; Königsrainer, Alfred; Weiner, Rudolf; Zipfel, Stephan; Herzog, Wolfgang; Teufel, Martin

2017-09-01

Evidence regarding the efficacy of psychosocial interventions after bariatric surgery is rare and shows conflicting results. The Bariatric Surgery and Education (BaSE) study aimed to assess the efficacy of a psychoeducational group intervention in patients after bariatric surgery. The BaSE study was a randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trial involving 117 patients who underwent bariatric surgery. Patients received either conventional postsurgical visits or, in addition, a 1-year psychoeducational group program. The present study evaluated the sustained effects of the intervention program. Mean follow-up duration was 37.9 months (standard deviation [SD] 8.2 months) after surgery. Outcome measures were as follows: body mass index (BMI), weight loss, self-efficacy, depression severity, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Groups were compared using an intention-to-treat approach with a mixed model for repeated measurements. A total of 74 patients (63.2%) completed the follow-up (T5) assessment. Mean weight loss for all patients was 43 kg (SD 15.5 kg) at T5 (mean BMI 35.1 kg/m 2 ). Mean excess weight loss was 60.4%. The effects of the surgery during the first postsurgical year were reflected, on average, by both decreasing weight and psychosocial burden. At the T5 time point, patients had slowly started to regain weight and to deteriorate regarding psychosocial aspects. However, at T5, patients who had participated in the intervention program (n = 39) showed significantly lower depression severity scores (p = .03) and significantly higher self-efficacy (p = .03) compared to the control group (n = 35). The 2 groups did not differ regarding weight loss and quality of life. Psychoeducational intervention shows sustained effects on both depression severity scores and self-efficacy. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Beyond silence: protocol for a randomized parallel-group trial comparing two approaches to workplace mental health education for healthcare employees.

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Moll, Sandra; Patten, Scott Burton; Stuart, Heather; Kirsh, Bonnie; MacDermid, Joy Christine

2015-04-16

Mental illness is a significant and growing problem in Canadian healthcare organizations, leading to tremendous personal, social and financial costs for individuals, their colleagues, their employers and their patients. Early and appropriate intervention is needed, but unfortunately, few workers get the help that they need in a timely way due to barriers related to poor mental health literacy, stigma, and inadequate access to mental health services. Workplace education and training is one promising approach to early identification and support for workers who are struggling. Little is known, however, about what approach is most effective, particularly in the context of healthcare work. The purpose of this study is to compare the impact of a customized, contact-based education approach with standard mental health literacy training on the mental health knowledge, stigmatized beliefs and help-seeking/help-outreach behaviors of healthcare employees. A multi-centre, randomized, two-group parallel group trial design will be adopted. Two hundred healthcare employees will be randomly assigned to one of two educational interventions: Beyond Silence, a peer-led program customized to the healthcare workplace, and Mental Health First Aid, a standardized literacy based training program. Pre, post and 3-month follow-up surveys will track changes in knowledge (mental health literacy), attitudes towards mental illness, and help-seeking/help-outreach behavior. An intent-to-treat, repeated measures analysis will be conducted to compare changes in the two groups over time in terms of the primary outcome of behavior change. Linear regression modeling will be used to explore the extent to which knowledge, and attitudes predict behavior change. Qualitative interviews with participants and leaders will also be conducted to examine process and implementation of the programs. This is one of the first experimental studies to compare outcomes of standard mental health literacy training to an

Convergence to equilibrium under a random Hamiltonian

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Brandão, Fernando G. S. L.; Ćwikliński, Piotr; Horodecki, Michał; Horodecki, Paweł; Korbicz, Jarosław K.; Mozrzymas, Marek

2012-09-01

We analyze equilibration times of subsystems of a larger system under a random total Hamiltonian, in which the basis of the Hamiltonian is drawn from the Haar measure. We obtain that the time of equilibration is of the order of the inverse of the arithmetic average of the Bohr frequencies. To compute the average over a random basis, we compute the inverse of a matrix of overlaps of operators which permute four systems. We first obtain results on such a matrix for a representation of an arbitrary finite group and then apply it to the particular representation of the permutation group under consideration.

Strategy of competition between two groups based on an inflexible contrarian opinion model.

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Li, Qian; Braunstein, Lidia A; Havlin, Shlomo; Stanley, H Eugene