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Sample records for stop events trial

  1. Stopping randomized trials early for benefit: a protocol of the Study Of Trial Policy Of Interim Truncation-2 (STOPIT-2)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briel, Matthias; Lane, Melanie; Montori, Victor M; Bassler, Dirk; Glasziou, Paul; Malaga, German; Akl, Elie A; Ferreira-Gonzalez, Ignacio; Alonso-Coello, Pablo; Urrutia, Gerard; Kunz, Regina; Culebro, Carolina Ruiz; da Silva, Suzana Alves; Flynn, David N; Elamin, Mohamed B; Strahm, Brigitte; Murad, M Hassan; Djulbegovic, Benjamin; Adhikari, Neill KJ; Mills, Edward J; Gwadry-Sridhar, Femida; Kirpalani, Haresh; Soares, Heloisa P; Elnour, Nisrin O Abu; You, John J; Karanicolas, Paul J; Bucher, Heiner C; Lampropulos, Julianna F; Nordmann, Alain J; Burns, Karen EA; Mulla, Sohail M; Raatz, Heike; Sood, Amit; Kaur, Jagdeep; Bankhead, Clare R; Mullan, Rebecca J; Nerenberg, Kara A; Vandvik, Per Olav; Coto-Yglesias, Fernando; Schünemann, Holger; Tuche, Fabio; Chrispim, Pedro Paulo M; Cook, Deborah J; Lutz, Kristina; Ribic, Christine M; Vale, Noah; Erwin, Patricia J; Perera, Rafael; Zhou, Qi; Heels-Ansdell, Diane; Ramsay, Tim; Walter, Stephen D; Guyatt, Gordon H

    2009-01-01

    Background Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) stopped early for benefit often receive great attention and affect clinical practice, but pose interpretational challenges for clinicians, researchers, and policy makers. Because the decision to stop the trial may arise from catching the treatment effect at a random high, truncated RCTs (tRCTs) may overestimate the true treatment effect. The Study Of Trial Policy Of Interim Truncation (STOPIT-1), which systematically reviewed the epidemiology and reporting quality of tRCTs, found that such trials are becoming more common, but that reporting of stopping rules and decisions were often deficient. Most importantly, treatment effects were often implausibly large and inversely related to the number of the events accrued. The aim of STOPIT-2 is to determine the magnitude and determinants of possible bias introduced by stopping RCTs early for benefit. Methods/Design We will use sensitive strategies to search for systematic reviews addressing the same clinical question as each of the tRCTs identified in STOPIT-1 and in a subsequent literature search. We will check all RCTs included in each systematic review to determine their similarity to the index tRCT in terms of participants, interventions, and outcome definition, and conduct new meta-analyses addressing the outcome that led to early termination of the tRCT. For each pair of tRCT and systematic review of corresponding non-tRCTs we will estimate the ratio of relative risks, and hence estimate the degree of bias. We will use hierarchical multivariable regression to determine the factors associated with the magnitude of this ratio. Factors explored will include the presence and quality of a stopping rule, the methodological quality of the trials, and the number of total events that had occurred at the time of truncation. Finally, we will evaluate whether Bayesian methods using conservative informative priors to "regress to the mean" overoptimistic tRCTs can correct observed

  2. Stopping randomized trials early for benefit: a protocol of the Study Of Trial Policy Of Interim Truncation-2 (STOPIT-2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mullan Rebecca J

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Randomized clinical trials (RCTs stopped early for benefit often receive great attention and affect clinical practice, but pose interpretational challenges for clinicians, researchers, and policy makers. Because the decision to stop the trial may arise from catching the treatment effect at a random high, truncated RCTs (tRCTs may overestimate the true treatment effect. The Study Of Trial Policy Of Interim Truncation (STOPIT-1, which systematically reviewed the epidemiology and reporting quality of tRCTs, found that such trials are becoming more common, but that reporting of stopping rules and decisions were often deficient. Most importantly, treatment effects were often implausibly large and inversely related to the number of the events accrued. The aim of STOPIT-2 is to determine the magnitude and determinants of possible bias introduced by stopping RCTs early for benefit. Methods/Design We will use sensitive strategies to search for systematic reviews addressing the same clinical question as each of the tRCTs identified in STOPIT-1 and in a subsequent literature search. We will check all RCTs included in each systematic review to determine their similarity to the index tRCT in terms of participants, interventions, and outcome definition, and conduct new meta-analyses addressing the outcome that led to early termination of the tRCT. For each pair of tRCT and systematic review of corresponding non-tRCTs we will estimate the ratio of relative risks, and hence estimate the degree of bias. We will use hierarchical multivariable regression to determine the factors associated with the magnitude of this ratio. Factors explored will include the presence and quality of a stopping rule, the methodological quality of the trials, and the number of total events that had occurred at the time of truncation. Finally, we will evaluate whether Bayesian methods using conservative informative priors to "regress to the mean" overoptimistic t

  3. Remune trial will stop; new trials planned.

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, J S

    1999-05-21

    A clinical trial using remune, the anti-HIV vaccine developed by the late Dr. Jonas Salk, has been ended. The study is a clinical-endpoint trial which looks for statistically significant differences in AIDS sickness or death between patients who add remune to their treatment regimens versus those who use a placebo. Agouron Pharmaceuticals and the Immune Response Corporation who were conducting the trial announced their decision to stop it after an analysis by the Data Safety Monitoring Board. No differences in clinical endpoints were found and it was projected that continuing the trial would likely not find any. The companies are now planning two new Phase III trials using viral load testing rather than clinical endpoints as study criteria.

  4. STOP-EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS FROM INTRACRANIAL ELECTRODES REVEAL A KEY ROLE OF PREMOTOR AND MOTOR CORTICES IN STOPPING ONGOING MOVEMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurizio eMattia

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available In humans, the ability to withhold manual motor responses seems to rely on a right-lateralized frontal–basal ganglia–thalamic network, including the pre-supplementary motor area and the inferior frontal gyrus. These areas should drive subthalamic nuclei to implement movement inhibition via the hyperdirect pathway. The output of this network is expected to influence those cortical areas underlying limb movement preparation and initiation, i.e. premotor (PMA and primary motor (M1 cortices. Electroencephalographic (EEG studies have shown an enhancement of the N200/P300 complex in the event-related potentials (ERPs when a planned reaching movement is successfully stopped after the presentation of an infrequent stop-signal. PMA and M1 have been suggested as possible neural sources of this ERP complex but, due to the limited spatial resolution of scalp EEG, it is not yet clear which cortical areas contribute to its generation. To elucidate the role of motor cortices, we recorded epicortical ERPs from the lateral surface of the fronto-temporal lobes of five pharmacoresistant epileptic patients performing a reaching version of the countermanding task while undergoing presurgical monitoring. We consistently found a stereotyped ERP complex on a single-trial level when a movement was successfully cancelled. These ERPs were selectively expressed in M1, PMA and Brodmann's area (BA 9 and their onsets preceded the end of the stop process, suggesting a causal involvement in this executive function. Such ERPs also occurred in unsuccessful-stop trials, that is, when subjects moved despite the occurrence of a stop-signal, mostly when they had long reaction times. These findings support the hypothesis that motor cortices are the final target of the inhibitory command elaborated by the frontal–basal ganglia–thalamic network.

  5. Stop feeling: inhibition of emotional interference following stop-signal trials.

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    Kalanthroff, Eyal; Cohen, Noga; Henik, Avishai

    2013-01-01

    Although a great deal of literature has been dedicated to the mutual links between emotion and the selective attention component of executive control, there is very little data regarding the links between emotion and the inhibitory component of executive control. In the current study we employed an emotional stop-signal task in order to examine whether emotion modulates and is modulated by inhibitory control. Results replicated previous findings showing reduced inhibitory control [longer stop-signal reaction time (SSRT)] following negative, compared to neutral pictures. Most importantly, results show decreased emotional interference following stop-signal trials. These results show that the inhibitory control component of executive control can serve to decrease emotional effects. We suggest that inhibitory control and emotion have a two-way connection in which emotion disrupts inhibitory control and activation of inhibitory control disrupts emotion.

  6. Stop feeling: Inhibition of emotional interference following stop-signal trials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eyal eKalanthroff

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Although a great deal of literature has been dedicated to the mutual links between emotion and the selective attention component of executive control, there is very little data regarding the links between emotion and the inhibitory component of executive control. In the current study we employed an emotional stop-signal task in order to examine whether emotion modulates and is modulated by inhibitory control. Results replicated previous findings showing reduced inhibitory control (longer stop-signal reaction time following negative, compared to neutral pictures. Most importantly, results show decreased emotional interference following stop-signal trials. These results show that the inhibitory control component of executive control can serve to decrease emotional effects. We suggest that inhibitory control and emotion have a two-way connection in which emotion disrupts inhibitory control and activation of inhibitory control disrupts emotion.

  7. A comparison of a new multinomial stopping rule with stopping rules of fleming and gehan in single arm phase II cancer clinical trials

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    Tu Dongsheng

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Response rate (RR alone may be insensitive to drug activity in phase II trials. Early progressive disease (EPD could improve sensitivity as well as increase stage I stopping rates. This study compares the previously developed dual endpoint stopping rule (DESR, which incorporates both RR and EPD into a two-stage, phase II trial, with rules using only RR. Methods Stopping rules according to the DESR were compared with studies conducted under the Fleming (16 trials or Gehan (23 trials designs. The RR hypothesis for the DESR was consistent with the comparison studies (ralt = 0.2, rnul = 0.05. Two parameter sets were used for EPD rates of interest and disinterest respectively (epdalt, epdnul: (0.4, 0.6 and (0.3, 0.5. Results Compared with Fleming, the DESR was more likely to allow stage two of accrual and to reject the null hypothesis (Hnul after stage two, with rejection being more common with EPD parameters (0.4, 0.6 than (0.3, 0.5. Compared with Gehan, both DESR parameter sets accepted Hnul in 15 trials after stage I compared with 8 trials by Gehan, with consistent conclusions in all 23 trials after stage II. Conclusions The DESR may reject Hnul when EPD rates alone are low, and thereby may improve phase II trial sensitivity to active, cytostatic drugs having limited response rates. Conversely, the DESR may invoke early stopping when response rates are low and EPD rates are high, thus shortening trials when drug activity is unlikely. EPD parameters should be chosen specific to each trial.

  8. Investigating the effect of independent, blinded digital image assessment on the STOP GAP trial.

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    Patsko, Emily; Godolphin, Peter J; Thomas, Kim S; Hepburn, Trish; Mitchell, Eleanor J; Craig, Fiona E; Bath, Philip M; Montgomery, Alan A

    2017-02-02

    Blinding is the process of keeping treatment assignment hidden and is used to minimise the possibility of bias. Trials at high risk of bias have been shown to report larger treatment effects than low-risk studies. In dermatology, one popular method of blinding is to have independent outcome assessors who are unaware of treatment allocation assessing the endpoint using digital photographs. However, this can be complex, expensive and time-consuming. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of blinded and unblinded outcome assessment on the results of the STOP GAP trial. The STOP GAP trial compared prednisolone to ciclosporin in treating pyoderma gangrenosum. Participants' lesions were measured at baseline and at 6 weeks to calculate the primary outcome, speed of healing. Independent blinded assessors obtained measurements from digital photographs using specialist software. In addition, unblinded treating clinicians estimated lesion area by measuring length and width. The primary outcome was determined using blinded measurements where available, otherwise unblinded measurements were used (method referred to as trial measurements). In this study, agreement between the trial and unblinded measurements was determined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The STOP GAP trial's primary analysis was repeated using unblinded measurements only. We introduced differential and nondifferential error in unblinded measurements and investigated the effect on the STOP GAP trial's primary analysis. Eighty-six (80%) of the 108 patients were assessed using digital images. Agreement between trial and unblinded measurements was excellent (ICC = 0.92 at baseline; 0.83 at 6 weeks). There was no evidence that the results of the trial primary analysis differed according to how the primary outcome was assessed (p value for homogeneity = 1.00). Blinded digital image assessment in the STOP GAP trial did not meaningfully alter trial conclusions compared with

  9. Predictive event modelling in multicenter clinical trials with waiting time to response.

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    Anisimov, Vladimir V

    2011-01-01

    A new analytic statistical technique for predictive event modeling in ongoing multicenter clinical trials with waiting time to response is developed. It allows for the predictive mean and predictive bounds for the number of events to be constructed over time, accounting for the newly recruited patients and patients already at risk in the trial, and for different recruitment scenarios. For modeling patient recruitment, an advanced Poisson-gamma model is used, which accounts for the variation in recruitment over time, the variation in recruitment rates between different centers and the opening or closing of some centers in the future. A few models for event appearance allowing for 'recurrence', 'death' and 'lost-to-follow-up' events and using finite Markov chains in continuous time are considered. To predict the number of future events over time for an ongoing trial at some interim time, the parameters of the recruitment and event models are estimated using current data and then the predictive recruitment rates in each center are adjusted using individual data and Bayesian re-estimation. For a typical scenario (continue to recruit during some time interval, then stop recruitment and wait until a particular number of events happens), the closed-form expressions for the predictive mean and predictive bounds of the number of events at any future time point are derived under the assumptions of Markovian behavior of the event progression. The technique is efficiently applied to modeling different scenarios for some ongoing oncology trials. Case studies are considered. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Stopping, goal-conflict, trait anxiety and frontal rhythmic power in the stop-signal task.

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    Neo, Phoebe S-H; Thurlow, Jane K; McNaughton, Neil

    2011-12-01

    The medial right frontal cortex is implicated in fast stopping of an initiated motor action in the stop-signal task (SST). To assess whether this region is also involved in the slower behavioural inhibition induced by goal conflict, we tested for effects of goal conflict (when stop and go tendencies are balanced) on low-frequency rhythms in the SST. Stop trials were divided, according to the delays at which the stop signal occurred, into short-, intermediate-, and long-delay trials. Consistent with goal-conflict processing, intermediate-delay trials were associated with greater 7-8 Hz EEG power than short- or long-delay trials at medial right frontal sites (Fz, F4, and F8). At F8, 7-8 Hz power was linked to high trait anxiety and neuroticism. A separate 4-7 Hz power increase was also seen in stop, relative to go, trials, but this was independent of delay, was maximal at the central midline site Cz, and predicted faster stopping. Together with previous data on the SST, these results suggest that the right frontal region could be involved in multiple inhibition mechanisms. We propose a hierarchical model of the control of stopping that integrates the literature on the neural control of fast motor stopping with that on slower, motive-directed behavioural inhibition.

  11. Lifespan changes in global and selective stopping and performance adjustments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Christina Van De Laar

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examined stopping and performance adjustments in four age groups (M ages: 8, 12, 21, and 76 years. All participants performed on three tasks, a standard two-choice task and the same task in which stop-signal trials were inserted requiring either the suppression of the response activated by the choice stimulus (global stop task or the suppression of the response when one stop signal was presented but not when the other stop signal occurred (selective stop task. The results showed that global stopping was faster than selective stopping in all age groups. Global stopping matured more rapidly than selective stopping. The developmental gain in stopping was considerably more pronounced compared to the loss observed during senescence. All age groups slowed the response on trials without a stop signal in the stop task compared to trials in the choice task, the elderly in particular. In addition, all age groups slowed on trials following stop-signal trials, except the elderly who did not slow following successful inhibits. By contrast, the slowing following failed inhibits was disproportionally larger in the elderly compared to young adults. Finally, sequential effects did not alter the pattern of performance adjustments. The results were interpreted in terms of developmental change in the balance between proactive and reactive control.

  12. Lifespan Changes in Global and Selective Stopping and Performance Adjustments

    Science.gov (United States)

    van de Laar, Maria C.; van den Wildenberg, Wery P. M.; van Boxtel, Geert J. M.; van der Molen, Maurits W.

    2011-01-01

    This study examined stopping and performance adjustments in four age groups (M ages: 8, 12, 21, and 76 years). All participants performed on three tasks, a standard two-choice task and the same task in which stop-signal trials were inserted requiring either the suppression of the response activated by the choice stimulus (global stop task) or the suppression of the response when one stop-signal was presented but not when the other stop-signal occurred (selective stop task). The results showed that global stopping was faster than selective stopping in all age groups. Global stopping matured more rapidly than selective stopping. The developmental gain in stopping was considerably more pronounced compared to the loss observed during senescence. All age groups slowed the response on trials without a stop-signal in the stop task compared to trials in the choice task, the elderly in particular. In addition, all age groups slowed on trials following stop-signal trials, except the elderly who did not slow following successful inhibits. By contrast, the slowing following failed inhibits was disproportionally larger in the elderly compared to young adults. Finally, sequential effects did not alter the pattern of performance adjustments. The results were interpreted in terms of developmental change in the balance between proactive and reactive control. PMID:22180746

  13. Stop feeling: Inhibition of emotional interference following stop-signal trials

    OpenAIRE

    Eyal eKalanthroff; Noga eCohen; Avishai eHenik

    2013-01-01

    Although a great deal of literature has been dedicated to the mutual links between emotion and the selective attention component of executive control, there is very little data regarding the links between emotion and the inhibitory component of executive control. In the current study we employed an emotional stop-signal task in order to examine whether emotion modulates and is modulated by inhibitory control. Results replicated previous findings showing reduced inhibitory control [longer stop...

  14. Preliminary stop of the TOPical Imiquimod treatment of high-grade Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (TOPIC) trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koeneman, M. M.; Kruse, Arnold-Jan; Kooreman, L. F. S.; zur Hausen, Axel; Hopman, Anton H N; Sep, S. J. S.; Van Gorp, T.; Slangen, B. F. M.; van Beekhuizen, H. J.; de Sande, Michiel A. J. van; Gerestein, Cornelis G.; Nijman, H. W.; Kruitwagen, R. F. M. P.

    2017-01-01

    The "TOPical Imiquimod treatment of high-grade Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia" (TOPIC) trial was stopped preliminary, due to lagging inclusions. This study aimed to evaluate the treatment efficacy and clinical applicability of imiquimod 5% cream in high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

  15. Conflict and inhibition differentially affect the N200/P300 complex in a combined go/nogo and stop-signal task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enriquez-Geppert, Stefanie; Konrad, Carsten; Pantev, Christo; Huster, René J

    2010-06-01

    Conflict and inhibition are considered to exert strong influences on the neurophysiological N200 and P300 brain responses as evoked in go/nogo and stop-signal tasks. In order to separate their underlying neural and functional mechanisms, the current experiment manipulated both conflict and inhibition. To do so, the go/nogo and stop-signal tasks were merged into one paradigm. Conflict was manipulated by varying go-trial frequencies across blocks (75% vs. 25%). Motor inhibition was manipulated by using go, nogo and stop trials each representing a different load of inhibition. Event-related potentials (ERPs) as well as current density reconstructions (CDRs) of fifteen healthy participants were analyzed. Overall, infrequent trials evoked significantly more pronounced N200s than frequent trials. The P300 predominantly revealed significant variations between trial types (go, nogo, stop). Estimated source activations of the MCC and the IFC supported the ERP results; N200-related effects were revealed in both regions, whereas the condition-specific variations of the P300 were only observed in the IFC. The results indicate that the N200 primarily reflects conflict-related effects whereas the P300 predominantly represents motor inhibition. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Conflict anticipation in alcohol dependence - A model-based fMRI study of stop signal task.

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    Hu, Sien; Ide, Jaime S; Zhang, Sheng; Sinha, Rajita; Li, Chiang-Shan R

    2015-01-01

    Our previous work characterized altered cerebral activations during cognitive control in individuals with alcohol dependence (AD). A hallmark of cognitive control is the ability to anticipate changes and adjust behavior accordingly. Here, we employed a Bayesian model to describe trial-by-trial anticipation of the stop signal and modeled fMRI signals of conflict anticipation in a stop signal task. Our goal is to characterize the neural correlates of conflict anticipation and its relationship to response inhibition and alcohol consumption in AD. Twenty-four AD and 70 age and gender matched healthy control individuals (HC) participated in the study. fMRI data were pre-processed and modeled with SPM8. We modeled fMRI signals at trial onset with individual events parametrically modulated by estimated probability of the stop signal, p(Stop), and compared regional responses to conflict anticipation between AD and HC. To address the link to response inhibition, we regressed whole-brain responses to conflict anticipation against the stop signal reaction time (SSRT). Compared to HC (54/70), fewer AD (11/24) showed a significant sequential effect - a correlation between p(Stop) and RT during go trials - and the magnitude of sequential effect is diminished, suggesting a deficit in proactive control. Parametric analyses showed decreased learning rate and over-estimated prior mean of the stop signal in AD. In fMRI, both HC and AD responded to p(Stop) in bilateral inferior parietal cortex and anterior pre-supplementary motor area, although the magnitude of response increased in AD. In contrast, HC but not AD showed deactivation of the perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC). Furthermore, deactivation of the pgACC to increasing p(Stop) is positively correlated with the SSRT in HC but not AD. Recent alcohol consumption is correlated with increased activation of the thalamus and cerebellum in AD during conflict anticipation. The current results highlight altered proactive

  17. Light stop searches at the LHC in events with one hard photon or jet and missing energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carena, M.; Freitas, A.; Wagner, C.E.M.

    2008-01-01

    Low energy supersymmetric models provide a solution to the hierarchy problem and also have the necessary ingredients to solve two of the most outstanding issues in cosmology: the origin of the baryon asymmetry and the source of dark matter. In the MSSM, weak scale generation of the baryon asymmetry may be achieved in the presence of light stops, with masses lower than about 130 GeV. Moreover, the proper dark matter density may be obtained in the stop-neutralino co-annihilation region, where the stop-neutralino mass difference is smaller than a few tens of GeV. Searches for scalar top quarks (stops) in pair production processes at the Tevatron and at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) become very challenging in this region of parameters. At the LHC, however, light stops proceeding from the decay of gluino pairs may be identified, provided the gluino mass is smaller than about 900 GeV. In this article we propose an alternative method for stop searches in the co-annihilation region, based on the search for these particles in events with missing energy plus one hard photon or jet. We show that this method is quite efficient and, when complemented with ongoing Tevatron searches, allows to probe stop masses up to about 160 GeV, fully probing the region of parameters consistent with electroweak baryogenesis in the MSSM.

  18. Adverse event reporting in cancer clinical trial publications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sivendran, Shanthi; Latif, Asma; McBride, Russell B; Stensland, Kristian D; Wisnivesky, Juan; Haines, Lindsay; Oh, William K; Galsky, Matthew D

    2014-01-10

    Reporting adverse events is a critical element of a clinical trial publication. In 2003, the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) group generated recommendations regarding the appropriate reporting of adverse events. The degree to which these recommendations are followed in oncology publications has not been comprehensively evaluated. A review of citations from PubMed, Medline, and Embase published between Jan 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011, identified eligible randomized, controlled phase III trials in metastatic solid malignancies. Publications were assessed for 14 adverse event-reporting elements derived from the CONSORT harms extension statement; a completeness score (range, 0 to 14) was calculated by adding the number of elements reported. Linear regression analysis identified which publication characteristics associated with reporting completeness. A total of 175 publications, with data for 96,125 patients, were included in the analysis. The median completeness score was eight (range, three to 12). Most publications (96%) reported only adverse events occurring above a threshold rate or severity, 37% did not specify the criteria used to select which adverse events were reported, and 88% grouped together adverse events of varying severity. Regression analysis revealed that trials without a stated funding source and with an earlier year of publication had significantly lower completeness scores. Reporting of adverse events in oncology publications of randomized trials is suboptimal and characterized by substantial selectivity and heterogeneity. The development of oncology-specific standards for adverse event reporting should be established to ensure consistency and provide critical information required for medical decision-making.

  19. When enough is enough: how the decision was made to stop the FEAST trial: data and safety monitoring in an African trial of Fluid Expansion As Supportive Therapy (FEAST) for critically ill children.

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    Todd, Jim; Heyderman, Robert S; Musoke, Philippa; Peto, Tim

    2013-03-26

    In resource-rich countries, bolus fluid expansion is routinely used for the treatment of poor perfusion and shock, but is less commonly used in many African settings. Controversial results from the recently completed FEAST (Fluid Expansion As Supportive Therapy) trial in African children have raised questions about the use of intravenous bolus fluid for the treatment of shock. Prior to the start of the trial, the Independent data monitoring committee (IDMC) developed stopping rules for the proof of benefit that bolus fluid resuscitation would bring. Although careful safety monitoring was put in place, there was less expectation that bolus fluid expansion would be harmful and differential stopping rules for harm were not formulated.In July 2010, two protocol amendments were agreed to increase the sample size from 2,880 to 3,600 children, and to increase bolus fluid administration. There was a non-significant trend against bolus treatment, but although the implications were discussed, the IDMC did not comment on the results, or on the amendments, in order to avoid inadvertent partial unblinding of the study.In January 2011, the trial was stopped for futility, as the combined intervention arms had significantly higher mortality (relative risk 1.46, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.90, P = 0.004) than the control arm. The stopping rule for proof of benefit was not achieved, and the IDMC stopped the trial with a lower level of significance (P = 0.01) due to futility and an increased risk of mortality from bolus fluid expansion in children enrolled in the trial. The basis for this decision was that the local standard of care was not to use bolus fluid for the care of children with shock in these African countries, and this was a different standard of care to that used in the UK. These decisions emphasize two important principles: firstly, the IDMC should avoid inadvertent unblinding of the trial by commenting on amendments, and secondly, when considering stopping a trial, the IDMC

  20. Motor Preparation Disrupts Proactive Control in the Stop Signal Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wuyi Wang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available In a study of the stop signal task (SST we employed Bayesian modeling to compute the estimated likelihood of stop signal or P(Stop trial by trial and identified regional processes of conflict anticipation and response slowing. A higher P(Stop is associated with prolonged go trial reaction time (goRT—a form of sequential effect—and reflects proactive control of motor response. However, some individuals do not demonstrate a sequential effect despite similar go and stop success (SS rates. We posited that motor preparation may disrupt proactive control more in certain individuals than others. Specifically, the time interval between trial and go signal onset—the fore-period (FP—varies across trials and a longer FP is associated with a higher level of motor preparation and shorter goRT. Greater motor preparatory activities may disrupt proactive control. To test this hypothesis, we compared brain activations and Granger causal connectivities of 81 adults who demonstrated a sequential effect (SEQ and 35 who did not (nSEQ. SEQ and nSEQ did not differ in regional activations to conflict anticipation, motor preparation, goRT slowing or goRT speeding. In contrast, SEQ and nSEQ demonstrated different patterns of Granger causal connectivities. P(Stop and FP activations shared reciprocal influence in SEQ but FP activities Granger caused P(Stop activities unidirectionally in nSEQ, and FP activities Granger caused goRT speeding activities in nSEQ but not SEQ. These findings support the hypothesis that motor preparation disrupts proactive control in nSEQ and provide direct neural evidence for interactive go and stop processes.

  1. Stashing the stops in multijet events at the LHC

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    Diglio, Sara; Feligioni, Lorenzo; Moultaka, Gilbert

    2017-09-01

    While the presence of a light stop is increasingly disfavored by the experimental limits set on R-parity conserving scenarios, the naturalness of supersymmetry could still be safely concealed in the more challenging final states predicted by the existence of non-null R-parity violating couplings. Although R-parity violating signatures are extensively looked for at the Large Hadron Collider, these searches mostly assume 100% branching ratios for the direct decays of supersymmetric particles into Standard Model ones. In this paper we scrutinize the implications of relaxing this assumption by focusing on one motivated scenario where the lightest stop is heavier than a chargino and a neutralino. Considering a class of R-parity baryon number violating couplings, we show on general grounds that while the direct decay of the stop into Standard Model particles is dominant for large values of these couplings, smaller values give rise, instead, to the dominance of a plethora of longer decay chains and richer final states that have been so far barely analyzed at the LHC, thus weakening the impact of the present experimental stop mass limits. We characterize the case for R-parity baryon number violating couplings in the 10-7-10-1 range, in two different benchmark points scenarios within the model-independent setting of the low-energy phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We identify the different relevant experimental signatures from stop pair production and decays, estimate the corresponding proton-proton cross sections at √{s }=14 TeV and discuss signal versus background issues.

  2. Stopping and energy deposition of hadrons in target nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strugalski, Z.

    1983-01-01

    In an analysis of pion-xenon nucleus collisions at 2.34-9 GeV/c momentum events are identified in which incident pions were completely stopped and deposited their energy in target nucleus. Probability of appearance of such ''stopped'' events among any-type pion-xenon collision events depends on the incident pion momentum and is: approximately 0.15 at 2.34 GeV/c, approximately 0.02 at 3.5 GeV/c, and approximately 0 at higher momenta. Formula expressing probability of appearance of the ''stopped'' events is derived. Range-energy relation in nuclear matter for pions and protons is given

  3. Multi-arm group sequential designs with a simultaneous stopping rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urach, S; Posch, M

    2016-12-30

    Multi-arm group sequential clinical trials are efficient designs to compare multiple treatments to a control. They allow one to test for treatment effects already in interim analyses and can have a lower average sample number than fixed sample designs. Their operating characteristics depend on the stopping rule: We consider simultaneous stopping, where the whole trial is stopped as soon as for any of the arms the null hypothesis of no treatment effect can be rejected, and separate stopping, where only recruitment to arms for which a significant treatment effect could be demonstrated is stopped, but the other arms are continued. For both stopping rules, the family-wise error rate can be controlled by the closed testing procedure applied to group sequential tests of intersection and elementary hypotheses. The group sequential boundaries for the separate stopping rule also control the family-wise error rate if the simultaneous stopping rule is applied. However, we show that for the simultaneous stopping rule, one can apply improved, less conservative stopping boundaries for local tests of elementary hypotheses. We derive corresponding improved Pocock and O'Brien type boundaries as well as optimized boundaries to maximize the power or average sample number and investigate the operating characteristics and small sample properties of the resulting designs. To control the power to reject at least one null hypothesis, the simultaneous stopping rule requires a lower average sample number than the separate stopping rule. This comes at the cost of a lower power to reject all null hypotheses. Some of this loss in power can be regained by applying the improved stopping boundaries for the simultaneous stopping rule. The procedures are illustrated with clinical trials in systemic sclerosis and narcolepsy. © 2016 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. © 2016 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Event-related fields evoked by vocal response inhibition: a comparison of younger and older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro-Meneses, Leidy J; Johnson, Blake W; Sowman, Paul F

    2016-06-01

    The current study examined event-related fields (ERFs) evoked by vocal response inhibition in a stimulus-selective stop-signal task. We compared inhibition-related ERFs across a younger and an older group of adults. Behavioural results revealed that stop-signal reaction times (RTs), go-RTs, ignore-stop RTs and failed stop RTs were longer in the older, relative to the younger group by 38, 123, 149 and 116 ms, respectively. The amplitude of the ERF M2 peak (approximately 200 ms after the stop signal) evoked on successful stop trials was larger compared to that evoked on both failed stop and ignore-stop trials. The M4 peak (approximately 450 ms after stop signal) was of larger amplitude in both successful and failed stops compared to ignore-stop trials. In the older group, the M2, M3 and M4 peaks were smaller in amplitude and peaked later in time (by 24, 50 and 76 ms, respectively). We demonstrate that vocal response inhibition-related ERFs exhibit a similar temporal evolution to those previously described for manual response inhibition: an early peak at 200 ms (i.e. M2) that differentiates successful from failed stopping, and a later peak (i.e. M4) that is consistent with a neural marker of response checking and error processing. Across groups, our data support a more general decline of stimulus processing speed with age.

  5. Failsafe automation of Phase II clinical trial interim monitoring for stopping rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Day, Roger S

    2010-02-01

    In Phase II clinical trials in cancer, preventing the treatment of patients on a study when current data demonstrate that the treatment is insufficiently active or too toxic has obvious benefits, both in protecting patients and in reducing sponsor costs. Considerable efforts have gone into experimental designs for Phase II clinical trials with flexible sample size, usually implemented by early stopping rules. The intended benefits will not ensue, however, if the design is not followed. Despite the best intentions, failures can occur for many reasons. The main goal is to develop an automated system for interim monitoring, as a backup system supplementing the protocol team, to ensure that patients are protected. A secondary goal is to stimulate timely recording of patient assessments. We developed key concepts and performance needs, then designed, implemented, and deployed a software solution embedded in the clinical trials database system. The system has been in place since October 2007. One clinical trial tripped the automated monitor, resulting in e-mails that initiated statistician/investigator review in timely fashion. Several essential contributing activities still require human intervention, institutional policy decisions, and institutional commitment of resources. We believe that implementing the concepts presented here will provide greater assurance that interim monitoring plans are followed and that patients are protected from inadequate response or excessive toxicity. This approach may also facilitate wider acceptance and quicker implementation of new interim monitoring algorithms.

  6. Clinical Trials

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... under way. For example, some trials are stopped early if benefits from a strategy or treatment are ... stop a trial, or part of a trial, early if the strategy or treatment is having harmful ...

  7. Accrual and drop out in a primary prevention randomised controlled trial: qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Price Jackie F

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Recruitment and retention of participants are critical to the success of a randomised controlled trial. Gaining the views of potential trial participants who decline to enter a trial and of trial participants who stop the trial treatment is important and can help to improve study processes. Limited research on these issues has been conducted on healthy individuals recruited for prevention trials in the community. Methods Semi-structured interviews with people who were eligible but had declined to participate in the Aspirin for Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis (AAA trial (N = 11, and AAA trial participants who had stopped taking the trial medication (N = 11. A focus group with further participants who had stopped taking the trial medication (N = 6. (Total participants N = 28. Results Explanations for declining to participate could be divided into two groups: the first group were characterised by a lack of necessity to participate and a tendency to prioritise other largely mundane problems. The second group's concern was with a high level of perceived risk from participating. Explanations for stopping trial medication fell into four categories: side effects attributed to the trial medication; starting on aspirin or medication contraindicating to aspirin; experiencing an outcome event, and changing one's mind. Conclusions These results indicate that when planning trials (especially in preventive medicine particular attention should be given to designing appropriate recruitment materials and processes that fully inform potential recruits of the risks and benefits of participation. Trial registration ISRCTN66587262

  8. Accrual and drop out in a primary prevention randomised controlled trial: qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eborall, Helen C; Stewart, Marlene C W; Cunningham-Burley, Sarah; Price, Jackie F; Fowkes, F Gerry R

    2011-01-11

    Recruitment and retention of participants are critical to the success of a randomised controlled trial. Gaining the views of potential trial participants who decline to enter a trial and of trial participants who stop the trial treatment is important and can help to improve study processes. Limited research on these issues has been conducted on healthy individuals recruited for prevention trials in the community. Semi-structured interviews with people who were eligible but had declined to participate in the Aspirin for Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis (AAA) trial (N = 11), and AAA trial participants who had stopped taking the trial medication (N = 11). A focus group with further participants who had stopped taking the trial medication (N = 6). (Total participants N = 28). Explanations for declining to participate could be divided into two groups: the first group were characterised by a lack of necessity to participate and a tendency to prioritise other largely mundane problems. The second group's concern was with a high level of perceived risk from participating.Explanations for stopping trial medication fell into four categories: side effects attributed to the trial medication; starting on aspirin or medication contraindicating to aspirin; experiencing an outcome event, and changing one's mind. These results indicate that when planning trials (especially in preventive medicine) particular attention should be given to designing appropriate recruitment materials and processes that fully inform potential recruits of the risks and benefits of participation. ISRCTN66587262.

  9. UK Dermatology Clinical Trials Network's STOP GAP trial (a multicentre trial of prednisolone versus ciclosporin for pyoderma gangrenosum): protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craig, Fiona F; Thomas, Kim S; Mitchell, Eleanor J; Williams, Hywel C; Norrie, John; Mason, James M; Ormerod, Anthony D

    2012-04-28

    Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare inflammatory skin disorder characterised by painful and rapidly progressing skin ulceration. PG can be extremely difficult to treat and patients often require systemic immunosuppression. Recurrent lesions of PG are common, but the relative rarity of this condition means that there is a lack of published evidence regarding its treatment. A systematic review published in 2005 found no randomised controlled trials (RCTs) relating to the treatment of PG. Since this time, one small RCT has been published comparing infliximab to placebo, but none of the commonly used systemic treatments for PG have been formally assessed. The UK Dermatology Clinical Trials Network's STOP GAP Trial has been designed to address this lack of trial evidence. The objective is to assess whether oral ciclosporin is more effective than oral prednisolone for the treatment of PG. The trial design is a two-arm, observer-blind, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial comparing ciclosporin (4 mg/kg/day) to prednisolone (0.75 mg/kg/day). A total of 140 participants are to be recruited over a period of 4 years, from up to 50 hospitals in the UK and Eire. Primary outcome of velocity of healing at 6 weeks is assessed blinded to treatment allocation (using digital images of the ulcers). Secondary outcomes include: (i) time to healing; (ii) global assessment of improvement; (iii) PG inflammation assessment scale score; (iv) self-reported pain; (v) health-related quality of life; (vi) time to recurrence; (vii) treatment failures; (viii) adverse reactions to study medications; and (ix) cost effectiveness/utility. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of PG (excluding granulomatous PG); measurable ulceration (that is, not pustular PG); and patients aged over 18 years old who are able to give informed consent are included in the trial. Randomisation is by computer generated code using permuted blocks of randomly varying size, stratified by lesion size, and

  10. Event-Related Potentials for Post-Error and Post-Conflict Slowing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Andrew; Chen, Chien-Chung; Li, Hsin-Hung; Li, Chiang-Shan R.

    2014-01-01

    In a reaction time task, people typically slow down following an error or conflict, each called post-error slowing (PES) and post-conflict slowing (PCS). Despite many studies of the cognitive mechanisms, the neural responses of PES and PCS continue to be debated. In this study, we combined high-density array EEG and a stop-signal task to examine event-related potentials of PES and PCS in sixteen young adult participants. The results showed that the amplitude of N2 is greater during PES but not PCS. In contrast, the peak latency of N2 is longer for PCS but not PES. Furthermore, error-positivity (Pe) but not error-related negativity (ERN) was greater in the stop error trials preceding PES than non-PES trials, suggesting that PES is related to participants' awareness of the error. Together, these findings extend earlier work of cognitive control by specifying the neural correlates of PES and PCS in the stop signal task. PMID:24932780

  11. Reconciling the influence of task-set switching and motor inhibition processes on stop signal after-effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anguera, Joaquin A; Lyman, Kyle; Zanto, Theodore P; Bollinger, Jacob; Gazzaley, Adam

    2013-01-01

    Executive response functions can be affected by preceding events, even if they are no longer associated with the current task at hand. For example, studies utilizing the stop signal task have reported slower response times to "GO" stimuli when the preceding trial involved the presentation of a "STOP" signal. However, the neural mechanisms that underlie this behavioral after-effect are unclear. To address this, behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) measures were examined in 18 young adults (18-30 years) on "GO" trials following a previously "Successful Inhibition" trial (pSI), a previously "Failed Inhibition" trial (pFI), and a previous "GO" trial (pGO). Like previous research, slower response times were observed during both pSI and pFI trials (i.e., "GO" trials that were preceded by a successful and unsuccessful inhibition trial, respectively) compared to pGO trials (i.e., "GO" trials that were preceded by another "GO" trial). Interestingly, response time slowing was greater during pSI trials compared to pFI trials, suggesting executive control is influenced by both task set switching and persisting motor inhibition processes. Follow-up behavioral analyses indicated that these effects resulted from between-trial control adjustments rather than repetition priming effects. Analyses of inter-electrode coherence (IEC) and inter-trial coherence (ITC) indicated that both pSI and pFI trials showed greater phase synchrony during the inter-trial interval compared to pGO trials. Unlike the IEC findings, differential ITC was present within the beta and alpha frequency bands in line with the observed behavior (pSI > pFI > pGO), suggestive of more consistent phase synchrony involving motor inhibition processes during the ITI at a regional level. These findings suggest that between-trial control adjustments involved with task-set switching and motor inhibition processes influence subsequent performance, providing new insights into the dynamic nature of executive control.

  12. Population Analysis of Adverse Events in Different Age Groups Using Big Clinical Trials Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Jake; Eldredge, Christina; Cho, Chi C; Cisler, Ron A

    2016-10-17

    Understanding adverse event patterns in clinical studies across populations is important for patient safety and protection in clinical trials as well as for developing appropriate drug therapies, procedures, and treatment plans. The objective of our study was to conduct a data-driven population-based analysis to estimate the incidence, diversity, and association patterns of adverse events by age of the clinical trials patients and participants. Two aspects of adverse event patterns were measured: (1) the adverse event incidence rate in each of the patient age groups and (2) the diversity of adverse events defined as distinct types of adverse events categorized by organ system. Statistical analysis was done on the summarized clinical trial data. The incident rate and diversity level in each of the age groups were compared with the lowest group (reference group) using t tests. Cohort data was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, and 186,339 clinical studies were analyzed; data were extracted from the 17,853 clinical trials that reported clinical outcomes. The total number of clinical trial participants was 6,808,619, and total number of participants affected by adverse events in these trials was 1,840,432. The trial participants were divided into eight different age groups to support cross-age group comparison. In general, children and older patients are more susceptible to adverse events in clinical trial studies. Using the lowest incidence age group as the reference group (20-29 years), the incidence rate of the 0-9 years-old group was 31.41%, approximately 1.51 times higher (P=.04) than the young adult group (20-29 years) at 20.76%. The second-highest group is the 50-59 years-old group with an incidence rate of 30.09%, significantly higher (Pgroup. The adverse event diversity also increased with increase in patient age. Clinical studies that recruited older patients (older than 40 years) were more likely to observe a diverse range of adverse events (Page group (older

  13. UK Dermatology Clinical Trials Network’s STOP GAP trial (a multicentre trial of prednisolone versus ciclosporin for pyoderma gangrenosum: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig Fiona F

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG is a rare inflammatory skin disorder characterised by painful and rapidly progressing skin ulceration. PG can be extremely difficult to treat and patients often require systemic immunosuppression. Recurrent lesions of PG are common, but the relative rarity of this condition means that there is a lack of published evidence regarding its treatment. A systematic review published in 2005 found no randomised controlled trials (RCTs relating to the treatment of PG. Since this time, one small RCT has been published comparing infliximab to placebo, but none of the commonly used systemic treatments for PG have been formally assessed. The UK Dermatology Clinical Trials Network’s STOP GAP Trial has been designed to address this lack of trial evidence. Methods The objective is to assess whether oral ciclosporin is more effective than oral prednisolone for the treatment of PG. The trial design is a two-arm, observer-blind, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial comparing ciclosporin (4 mg/kg/day to prednisolone (0.75 mg/kg/day. A total of 140 participants are to be recruited over a period of 4 years, from up to 50 hospitals in the UK and Eire. Primary outcome of velocity of healing at 6 weeks is assessed blinded to treatment allocation (using digital images of the ulcers. Secondary outcomes include: (i time to healing; (ii global assessment of improvement; (iii PG inflammation assessment scale score; (iv self-reported pain; (v health-related quality of life; (vi time to recurrence; (vii treatment failures; (viii adverse reactions to study medications; and (ix cost effectiveness/utility. Patients with a clinical diagnosis of PG (excluding granulomatous PG; measurable ulceration (that is, not pustular PG; and patients aged over 18 years old who are able to give informed consent are included in the trial. Randomisation is by computer generated code using permuted blocks of randomly varying size

  14. Stop search in the compressed region via semileptonic decays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheng, Hsin-Chia; Gao, Christina; Li, Lingfeng; Neill, Nicolás A. [Department of Physics, University of California,Davis, California 95616 (United States)

    2016-05-05

    In supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model, the superpartners of the top quark (stops) play the crucial role in addressing the naturalness problem. For direct pair-production of stops with each stop decaying into a top quark plus the lightest neutralino, the standard stop searches have difficulty finding the stop for a compressed spectrum where the mass difference between the stop and the lightest neutralino is close to the top quark mass, because the events look too similar to the large tt̄ background. With an additional hard ISR jet, the two neutralinos from the stop decays are boosted in the opposite direction and they can give rise to some missing transverse energy. This may be used to distinguish the stop decays from the backgrounds. In this paper we study the semileptonic decay of such signal events for the compressed mass spectrum. Although the neutrino from the W decay also produces some missing transverse energy, its momentum can be reconstructed from the kinematic assumptions and mass-shell conditions. It can then be subtracted from the total missing transverse momentum to obtain the neutralino contribution. Because it suffers from less backgrounds, we show that the semileptonic decay channel has a better discovery reach than the fully hadronic decay channel along the compressed line m{sub t̃}−m{sub χ̃}≈m{sub t}. With 300 fb{sup −1}, the 13 TeV LHC can discover the stop up to 500 GeV, covering the most natural parameter space region.

  15. Robustness assessments are needed to reduce bias in meta-analyses that include zero-event randomized trials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Keus, F; Wetterslev, J; Gluud, C

    2009-01-01

    of statistical method on inference. RESULTS: In seven meta-analyses of seven outcomes from 15 trials, there were zero-event trials in 0 to 71.4% of the trials. We found inconsistency in significance in one of seven outcomes (14%; 95% confidence limit 0.4%-57.9%). There was also considerable variability......OBJECTIVES: Meta-analysis of randomized trials with binary data can use a variety of statistical methods. Zero-event trials may create analytic problems. We explored how different methods may impact inferences from meta-analyses containing zero-event trials. METHODS: Five levels of statistical...... methods are identified for meta-analysis with zero-event trials, leading to numerous data analyses. We used the binary outcomes from our Cochrane review of randomized trials of laparoscopic vs. small-incision cholecystectomy for patients with symptomatic cholecystolithiasis to illustrate the influence...

  16. Ciclosporin compared with prednisolone therapy for patients with pyoderma gangrenosum: cost-effectiveness analysis of the STOP GAP trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, J M; Thomas, K S; Ormerod, A D; Craig, F E; Mitchell, E; Norrie, J; Williams, H C

    2017-12-01

    Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a painful, ulcerating skin disease with poor evidence for management. Prednisolone and ciclosporin are the most commonly used treatments, although not previously compared within a randomized controlled trial (RCT). To compare the cost-effectiveness of ciclosporin and prednisolone-initiated treatment for patients with PG. Quality of life (QoL, EuroQoL five dimensions three level questionnaire, EQ-5D-3L) and resource data were collected as part of the STOP GAP trial: a multicentre, parallel-group, observer-blind RCT. Within-trial analysis used bivariate regression of costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), with multiple imputation of missing data, informing a probabilistic assessment of incremental treatment cost-effectiveness from a health service perspective. In the base case analysis, when compared with prednisolone, ciclosporin was cost-effective due to a reduction in costs [net cost: -£1160; 95% confidence interval (CI) -2991 to 672] and improvement in QoL (net QALYs: 0·055; 95% CI 0·018-0·093). However, this finding appears driven by a minority of patients with large lesions (≥ 20 cm 2 ) (net cost: -£5310; 95% CI -9729 to -891; net QALYs: 0·077; 95% CI 0·004-0·151). The incremental cost-effectiveness of ciclosporin for the majority of patients with smaller lesions was £23 374/QALY, although the estimate is imprecise: the probability of being cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay of £20 000/QALY was 43%. Consistent with the clinical findings of the STOP GAP trial, patients with small lesions should receive treatment guided by the side-effect profiles of the drugs and patient preference - neither strategy is clearly a preferred use of National Health Service resources. However, ciclosporin-initiated treatment may be more cost-effective for patients with large lesions. © 2017 The Authors. British Journal of Dermatology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Association of Dermatologists.

  17. Many multicenter trials had few events per center, requiring analysis via random-effects models or GEEs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahan, Brennan C; Harhay, Michael O

    2015-12-01

    Adjustment for center in multicenter trials is recommended when there are between-center differences or when randomization has been stratified by center. However, common methods of analysis (such as fixed-effects, Mantel-Haenszel, or stratified Cox models) often require a large number of patients or events per center to perform well. We reviewed 206 multicenter randomized trials published in four general medical journals to assess the average number of patients and events per center and determine whether appropriate methods of analysis were used in trials with few patients or events per center. The median number of events per center/treatment arm combination for trials using a binary or survival outcome was 3 (interquartile range, 1-10). Sixteen percent of trials had less than 1 event per center/treatment combination, 50% fewer than 3, and 63% fewer than 5. Of the trials which adjusted for center using a method of analysis which requires a large number of events per center, 6% had less than 1 event per center-treatment combination, 25% fewer than 3, and 50% fewer than 5. Methods of analysis that allow for few events per center, such as random-effects models or generalized estimating equations (GEEs), were rarely used. Many multicenter trials contain few events per center. Adjustment for center using random-effects models or GEE with model-based (non-robust) standard errors may be beneficial in these scenarios. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Internet-based intervention for smoking cessation (StopAdvisor) in people with low and high socioeconomic status: a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Jamie; Michie, Susan; Geraghty, Adam W A; Yardley, Lucy; Gardner, Benjamin; Shahab, Lion; Stapleton, John A; West, Robert

    2014-12-01

    Internet-based interventions for smoking cessation could help millions of people stop smoking at very low unit costs; however, long-term biochemically verified evidence is scarce and such interventions might be less effective for smokers with low socioeconomic status than for those with high status because of lower online literacy to engage with websites. We aimed to assess a new interactive internet-based intervention (StopAdvisor) for smoking cessation that was designed with particular attention directed to people with low socioeconomic status. We did this online randomised controlled trial between Dec 6, 2011, and Oct 11, 2013, in the UK. Participants aged 18 years and older who smoked every day were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive treatment with StopAdvisor or an information-only website. Randomisation was automated with an unseen random number function embedded in the website to establish which treatment was revealed after the online baseline assessment. Recruitment continued until the required sample size had been achieved from both high and low socioeconomic status subpopulations. Participants, and researchers who obtained data and did laboratory analyses, were masked to treatment allocation. The primary outcome was 6 month sustained, biochemically verified abstinence. The main secondary outcome was 6 month, 7 day biochemically verified point prevalence. Analysis was by intention to treat. Homogeneity of intervention effect across the socioeconomic subsamples was first assessed to establish whether overall or separate subsample analyses were appropriate. The study is registered as an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial, number ISRCTN99820519. We randomly assigned 4613 participants to the StopAdvisor group (n=2321) or the control group (n=2292); 2142 participants were of low socioeconomic status and 2471 participants were of high status. The overall rate of smoking cessation was similar between participants in the StopAdvisor and control

  19. Assessing the impact of safety monitoring on the efficacy analysis in large Phase III group sequential trials with non-trivial safety event rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, Yanqiu; Palesch, Yuko Y; DeSantis, Stacia M; Zhao, Wenle

    2016-01-01

    In Phase III clinical trials for life-threatening conditions, some serious but expected adverse events, such as early deaths or congestive heart failure, are often treated as the secondary or co-primary endpoint, and are closely monitored by the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee (DSMC). A naïve group sequential design (GSD) for such a study is to specify univariate statistical boundaries for the efficacy and safety endpoints separately, and then implement the two boundaries during the study, even though the two endpoints are typically correlated. One problem with this naïve design, which has been noted in the statistical literature, is the potential loss of power. In this article, we develop an analytical tool to evaluate this negative impact for trials with non-trivial safety event rates, particularly when the safety monitoring is informal. Using a bivariate binary power function for the GSD with a random-effect component to account for subjective decision-making in safety monitoring, we demonstrate how, under common conditions, the power loss in the naïve design can be substantial. This tool may be helpful to entities such as the DSMCs when they wish to deviate from the prespecified stopping boundaries based on safety measures.

  20. Event Rates in Randomized Clinical Trials Evaluating Cardiovascular Interventions and Devices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mahmoud, Karim D.; Lennon, Ryan J.; Holmes, David R.

    2015-01-01

    Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are considered the gold standard for evidence-based medicine. However, an accurate estimation of the event rate is crucial for their ability to test clinical hypotheses. Overestimation of event rates reduces the required sample size but can compromise the

  1. Competing events and costs of clinical trials: Analysis of a randomized trial in prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zakeri, Kaveh; Rose, Brent S.; D’Amico, Anthony V.; Jeong, Jong-Hyeon; Mell, Loren K.

    2015-01-01

    Background: Clinical trial costs may be reduced by identifying enriched subpopulations of patients with favorable risk profiles for the events of interest. However, increased selectivity affects accrual rates, with uncertain impact on clinical trial cost. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) 8794 randomized trial of adjuvant radiotherapy for high-risk prostate cancer. The primary endpoint was metastasis-free survival (MFS), defined as time to metastasis or death from any cause (competing mortality). We used competing risks regression models to identify an enriched subgroup at high risk for metastasis and low risk for competing mortality. We applied a cost model to estimate the impact of enrichment on trial cost and duration. Results: The treatment effect on metastasis was similar in the enriched subgroup (HR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.23–0.76) compared to the whole cohort (HR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.30–0.81) while the effect on competing mortality was not significant in the subgroup or the whole cohort (HR 0.70; 95% CI 0.39–1.23, vs. HR 0.94; 95% CI, 0.68–1.31). Due to the higher incidence of metastasis relative to competing mortality in the enriched subgroup, the treatment effect on MFS was greater in the subgroup compared to the whole cohort (HR 0.55; 95% CI 0.36–0.82, vs. HR 0.77; 95% CI, 0.58–1.01). Trial cost was 75% less in the subgroup compared to the whole cohort ($1.7 million vs. $6.8 million), and the trial duration was 30% shorter (8.4 vs. 12.0 years). Conclusion: Competing event enrichment can reduce clinical trial cost and duration, without sacrificing generalizability

  2. Guidelines for time-to-event end-point definitions in trials for pancreatic cancer. Results of the DATECAN initiative (Definition for the Assessment of Time-to-event End-points in CANcer trials).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonnetain, Franck; Bonsing, Bert; Conroy, Thierry; Dousseau, Adelaide; Glimelius, Bengt; Haustermans, Karin; Lacaine, François; Van Laethem, Jean Luc; Aparicio, Thomas; Aust, Daniela; Bassi, Claudio; Berger, Virginie; Chamorey, Emmanuel; Chibaudel, Benoist; Dahan, Laeticia; De Gramont, Aimery; Delpero, Jean Robert; Dervenis, Christos; Ducreux, Michel; Gal, Jocelyn; Gerber, Erich; Ghaneh, Paula; Hammel, Pascal; Hendlisz, Alain; Jooste, Valérie; Labianca, Roberto; Latouche, Aurelien; Lutz, Manfred; Macarulla, Teresa; Malka, David; Mauer, Muriel; Mitry, Emmanuel; Neoptolemos, John; Pessaux, Patrick; Sauvanet, Alain; Tabernero, Josep; Taieb, Julien; van Tienhoven, Geertjan; Gourgou-Bourgade, Sophie; Bellera, Carine; Mathoulin-Pélissier, Simone; Collette, Laurence

    2014-11-01

    Using potential surrogate end-points for overall survival (OS) such as Disease-Free- (DFS) or Progression-Free Survival (PFS) is increasingly common in randomised controlled trials (RCTs). However, end-points are too often imprecisely defined which largely contributes to a lack of homogeneity across trials, hampering comparison between them. The aim of the DATECAN (Definition for the Assessment of Time-to-event End-points in CANcer trials)-Pancreas project is to provide guidelines for standardised definition of time-to-event end-points in RCTs for pancreatic cancer. Time-to-event end-points currently used were identified from a literature review of pancreatic RCT trials (2006-2009). Academic research groups were contacted for participation in order to select clinicians and methodologists to participate in the pilot and scoring groups (>30 experts). A consensus was built after 2 rounds of the modified Delphi formal consensus approach with the Rand scoring methodology (range: 1-9). For pancreatic cancer, 14 time to event end-points and 25 distinct event types applied to two settings (detectable disease and/or no detectable disease) were considered relevant and included in the questionnaire sent to 52 selected experts. Thirty experts answered both scoring rounds. A total of 204 events distributed over the 14 end-points were scored. After the first round, consensus was reached for 25 items; after the second consensus was reached for 156 items; and after the face-to-face meeting for 203 items. The formal consensus approach reached the elaboration of guidelines for standardised definitions of time-to-event end-points allowing cross-comparison of RCTs in pancreatic cancer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Whole of Systems Trial of Prevention Strategies for Childhood Obesity: WHO STOPS Childhood Obesity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven Allender

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Community-based initiatives show promise for preventing childhood obesity. They are characterized by community leaders and members working together to address complex local drivers of energy balance. Objectives: To present a protocol for a stepped wedge cluster randomized trial in ten communities in the Great South Coast Region of Victoria, Australia to test whether it is possible to: (1 strengthen community action for childhood obesity prevention, and (2 measure the impact of increased action on risk factors for childhood obesity. Methods: The WHO STOPS intervention involves a facilitated community engagement process that: creates an agreed systems map of childhood obesity causes for a community; identifies intervention opportunities through leveraging the dynamic aspects of the system; and, converts these understandings into community-built, systems-oriented action plans. Ten communities will be randomized (1:1 to intervention or control in year one and all communities will be included by year three. The primary outcome is childhood obesity prevalence among grade two (ages 7–8 y, grade four (9–10 y and grade six (11–12 y students measured using our established community-led monitoring system (69% school and 93% student participation rate in government and independent schools. An additional group of 13 external communities from other regions of Victoria with no specific interventions will provide an external comparison. These communities will also allow us to assess diffusion of the intervention to control communities during the first three years of the trial. Conclusion: This trial will test effectiveness, over a five-year period, of community-owned, -supported and -led strategies designed to address complex and dynamic causes of childhood obesity.

  4. Mandatory Rest Stops Improve Athlete Safety during Event Medical Coverage for Ultramarathons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joslin, Jeremy; Mularella, Joshua; Bail, Allison; Wojcik, Susan; Cooney, Derek R

    2016-02-01

    Provisions of medical direction and clinical services for ultramarathons require specific attention to heat illness. Heat stress can affect athlete performance negatively, and heat accumulation without acclimatization is associated with the development of exertional heat stroke (EHS). In order to potentially mitigate the risk of this safety concern, the Jungle Marathon (Para, Brazil) instituted mandatory rest periods during the first two days of this 7-day, staged, Brazilian ultramarathon. Race records were reviewed retrospectively to determine the number of runners that suffered an emergency medical complication related to heat stress and did not finish (DNF) the race. Review of records included three years before and three years after the institution of these mandatory rest periods. A total of 326 runners competed in the Jungle Marathon during the 2008-2013 period of study. During the pre-intervention years, a total of 46 athletes (21%) DNF the full race with 25 (54.3%) cases attributed to heat-related factors. During the post-intervention years, a total of 26 athletes (24.3%) DNF the full race with four (15.4%) cases attributed to heat-related factors. Mandatory rest stops during extreme running events in hot or tropical environments, like the Jungle Marathon, are likely to improve athlete safety and improve the heat acclimatization process.

  5. Leptonic mono-top from single stop production at the LHC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duan, Guang Hua [CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100190 (China); Hikasa, Ken-ichi [Department of Physics, Tohoku University,Sendai 980-8578 (Japan); Wu, Lei [Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical Physics, Nanjing Normal University,Nanjing, Jiangsu 210023 (China); ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terascale,School of Physics, The University of Sydney,NSW 2006 (Australia); Yang, Jin Min [CAS Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Institute of Theoretical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100190 (China); Department of Physics, Tohoku University,Sendai 980-8578 (Japan); Zhang, Mengchao [Center for Theoretical Physics and Universe, Institute for Basic Science (IBS),Daejeon 34051 (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-03-16

    Top squark (stop) can be produced via QCD interaction but also the electroweak interaction at the LHC. In this paper, we investigate the observability of the associated production of stop and chargino, pp→t̃{sub 1}χ̃{sub 1}{sup −}, in compressed electroweakino scenarios at 14 TeV LHC. Due to small mass splitting between the lightest neutralino (χ̃{sub 1}{sup 0}) and chargino (χ̃{sub 1}{sup −}), the single stop production can give the mono-top signature through the stop decay t̃{sub 1}→tχ̃{sub 1}{sup 0}. We analyze the leptonic mono-top channel of the single stop production and propose a lab-frame observable cos θ{sub bℓ} to reduce the SM backgrounds. We find that such leptonic mono-top events from the single stop production can be probed at 2σ level at the HL-LHC if m{sub t̃{sub 1}}<760 GeV and m{sub χ̃{sub 1{sup 0}}}<150 GeV. Given a discovery of the stop and a measurement of the single stop production cross section, the stop mixing angle can also be determined from the single stop production at the HL-LHC.

  6. The STOP-AB trial protocol: efficacy and safety of discontinuing patient antibiotic treatment when physicians no longer consider it necessary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llor, Carl; Moragas, Ana; Bayona, Carolina; Cots, Josep M; Molero, José M; Ribas, Joana; Fóthy, Julio Francisco; Gutiérrez, Isabel; Sánchez, Coro; Ortega, Jesús; Arranz, Javier; Botanes, Jenifer; Robles, Purificación

    2017-06-06

    Since 2011, the Spanish Society of Family Medicine has recommended general practitioners (GPs) to ask their patients to stop taking antibiotics when they suspect a viral infection. However, this practice is seldom used because uncertainty about diagnosis, and fear of consequences of discontinuing antibiotic therapy, as well as perceived pressure to continue prescribing antibiotics and potential conflict with patients are more of a concern for GPs than antibiotic resistance. The main objective of this study is to determine whether discontinuation of antibiotic therapy when a GP no longer considers it necessary has any impact on the number of days with severe symptoms. This is a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled clinical trial. The study was conducted in 10 primary care centres in Spain. We included patients from 18 to 75 years of age with uncomplicated acute respiratory tract infections-acute rhinosinusitis, acute sore throat, influenza or acute bronchitis-who had previously taken any dose of antibiotic for antibiotic treatment or to discontinuing antibiotic therapy. A sample size of 240 patients per group was calculated on the basis of a reduction of 1 day in the duration of severe symptoms being a clinically relevant outcome. The primary outcome was the duration of severe symptoms, that is, symptoms scored 5 or 6 by means of validated symptom diaries. Secondary outcomes included antibiotics taken, adverse events, patient satisfaction and complications within the first 3 months. The study was approved by the Ethical Board of Fundació Jordi Gol i Gurina (reference number: 16/093). The findings of this trial will bedisseminated through research conferences and peer-reviewed journals. NCT02900820; pre-results. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  7. Investigation of RADTRAN Stop Model input parameters for truck stops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griego, N.R.; Smith, J.D.; Neuhauser, K.S.

    1996-01-01

    RADTRAN is a computer code for estimating the risks and consequences as transport of radioactive materials (RAM). RADTRAN was developed and is maintained by Sandia National Laboratories for the US Department of Energy (DOE). For incident-free transportation, the dose to persons exposed while the shipment is stopped is frequently a major percentage of the overall dose. This dose is referred to as Stop Dose and is calculated by the Stop Model. Because stop dose is a significant portion of the overall dose associated with RAM transport, the values used as input for the Stop Model are important. Therefore, an investigation of typical values for RADTRAN Stop Parameters for truck stops was performed. The resulting data from these investigations were analyzed to provide mean values, standard deviations, and histograms. Hence, the mean values can be used when an analyst does not have a basis for selecting other input values for the Stop Model. In addition, the histograms and their characteristics can be used to guide statistical sampling techniques to measure sensitivity of the RADTRAN calculated Stop Dose to the uncertainties in the stop model input parameters. This paper discusses the details and presents the results of the investigation of stop model input parameters at truck stops

  8. Psychiatric adverse events during treatment with brodalumab: Analysis of psoriasis clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebwohl, Mark G; Papp, Kim A; Marangell, Lauren B; Koo, John; Blauvelt, Andrew; Gooderham, Melinda; Wu, Jashin J; Rastogi, Shipra; Harris, Susan; Pillai, Radhakrishnan; Israel, Robert J

    2018-01-01

    Individuals with psoriasis are at increased risk for psychiatric comorbidities, including suicidal ideation and behavior (SIB). To distinguish between the underlying risk and potential for treatment-induced psychiatric adverse events in patients with psoriasis being treated with brodalumab, a fully human anti-interleukin 17 receptor A monoclonal antibody. Data were evaluated from a placebo-controlled, phase 2 clinical trial; the open-label, long-term extension of the phase 2 clinical trial; and three phase 3, randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trials (AMAGINE-1, AMAGINE-2, and AMAGINE-3) and their open-label, long-term extensions of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. The analysis included 4464 patients with 9161.8 patient-years of brodalumab exposure. The follow-up time-adjusted incidence rates of SIB events were comparable between the brodalumab and ustekinumab groups throughout the 52-week controlled phases (0.20 vs 0.60 per 100 patient-years). In the brodalumab group, 4 completed suicides were reported, 1 of which was later adjudicated as indeterminate; all patients had underlying psychiatric disorders or stressors. There was no comparator arm past week 52. Controlled study periods were not powered to detect differences in rare events such as suicide. Comparison with controls and the timing of events do not indicate a causal relationship between SIB and brodalumab treatment. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Protocol of the Definition for the Assessment of Time-to-event Endpoints in CANcer trials (DATECAN) project: formal consensus method for the development of guidelines for standardised time-to-event endpoints' definitions in cancer clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellera, Carine A; Pulido, Marina; Gourgou, Sophie; Collette, Laurence; Doussau, Adélaïde; Kramar, Andrew; Dabakuyo, Tienhan Sandrine; Ouali, Monia; Auperin, Anne; Filleron, Thomas; Fortpied, Catherine; Le Tourneau, Christophe; Paoletti, Xavier; Mauer, Murielle; Mathoulin-Pélissier, Simone; Bonnetain, Franck

    2013-03-01

    In randomised phase III cancer clinical trials, the most objectively defined and only validated time-to-event endpoint is overall survival (OS). The appearance of new types of treatments and the multiplication of lines of treatment have resulted in the use of surrogate endpoints for overall survival such as progression-free survival (PFS), or time-to-treatment failure. Their development is strongly influenced by the necessity of reducing clinical trial duration, cost and number of patients. However, while these endpoints are frequently used, they are often poorly defined and definitions can differ between trials which may limit their use as primary endpoints. Moreover, this variability of definitions can impact on the trial's results by affecting estimation of treatments' effects. The aim of the Definition for the Assessment of Time-to-event Endpoints in CANcer trials (DATECAN) project is to provide recommendations for standardised definitions of time-to-event endpoints in randomised cancer clinical trials. We will use a formal consensus methodology based on experts' opinions which will be obtained in a systematic manner. Definitions will be independently developed for several cancer sites, including pancreatic, breast, head and neck and colon cancer, as well as sarcomas and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs). The DATECAN project should lead to the elaboration of recommendations that can then be used as guidelines by researchers participating in clinical trials. This process should lead to a standardisation of the definitions of commonly used time-to-event endpoints, enabling appropriate comparisons of future trials' results. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Continuing versus Stopping Prestroke Antihypertensive Therapy in Acute Intracerebral Hemorrhage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krishnan, Kailash; Scutt, Polly; Woodhouse, Lisa

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: More than 50% of patients with acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) are taking antihypertensive drugs before ictus. Although antihypertensive therapy should be given long term for secondary prevention, whether to continue or stop such treatment during the acute phase of ICH...... remains unclear, a question that was addressed in the Efficacy of Nitric Oxide in Stroke (ENOS) trial. METHODS: ENOS was an international multicenter, prospective, randomized, blinded endpoint trial. Among 629 patients with ICH and systolic blood pressure between 140 and 220 mmHg, 246 patients who were...... taking antihypertensive drugs were assigned to continue (n = 119) or to stop (n = 127) taking drugs temporarily for 7 days. The primary outcome was the modified Rankin Score at 90 days. Secondary outcomes included death, length of stay in hospital, discharge destination, activities of daily living, mood...

  11. INTERSECTION DETECTION BASED ON QUALITATIVE SPATIAL REASONING ON STOPPING POINT CLUSTERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Zourlidou

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to propose and test a method for detecting intersections by analysing collectively acquired trajectories of moving vehicles. Instead of solely relying on the geometric features of the trajectories, such as heading changes, which may indicate turning points and consequently intersections, we extract semantic features of the trajectories in form of sequences of stops and moves. Under this spatiotemporal prism, the extracted semantic information which indicates where vehicles stop can reveal important locations, such as junctions. The advantage of the proposed approach in comparison with existing turning-points oriented approaches is that it can detect intersections even when not all the crossing road segments are sampled and therefore no turning points are observed in the trajectories. The challenge with this approach is that first of all, not all vehicles stop at the same location – thus, the stop-location is blurred along the direction of the road; this, secondly, leads to the effect that nearby junctions can induce similar stop-locations. As a first step, a density-based clustering is applied on the layer of stop observations and clusters of stop events are found. Representative points of the clusters are determined (one per cluster and in a last step the existence of an intersection is clarified based on spatial relational cluster reasoning, with which less informative geospatial clusters, in terms of whether a junction exists and where its centre lies, are transformed in more informative ones. Relational reasoning criteria, based on the relative orientation of the clusters with their adjacent ones are discussed for making sense of the relation that connects them, and finally for forming groups of stop events that belong to the same junction.

  12. On reporting results from randomized controlled trials with recurrent events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sobolev Boris G

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Evidence-based medicine has been advanced by the use of standards for reporting the design and methodology of randomized controlled trials (RCT. Indeed, without this information it is difficult to assess the quality of evidence from an RCT. Although a variety of statistical methods are available for the analysis of recurrent events, reporting the effect of an intervention on outcomes that recur is an area that remains poorly understood in clinical research. The purpose of this paper is to outline guidelines for reporting results from RCTs where the outcome of interest is a recurrent event. Methods We used a simulation study to relate an event process and results from analyses of the gamma-Poisson, independent-increment, conditional, and marginal Cox models. We reviewed the utility of regression models for the rate of a recurrent event by articulating the associated study questions, preenting the risk sets, and interpreting the regression coefficients. Results Based on a single data set produced by simulation, we reported and contrasted results from statistical methods for evaluating treatment effect from an RCT with a recurrent outcome. We showed that each model has different study questions, assumptions, risk sets, and rate ratio interpretation, and so inferences should consider the appropriateness of the model for the RCT. Conclusion Our guidelines for reporting results from an RCT involving a recurrent event suggest that the study question and the objectives of the trial, such as assessing comparable groups and estimating effect size, should determine the statistical methods. The guidelines should allow clinical researchers to report appropriate measures from an RCT for understanding the effect of intervention on the occurrence of a recurrent event.

  13. Stopping versus continuing acetylsalicylic acid before coronary artery bypass surgery: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 randomized controlled trials with 4499 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sá, Michel Pompeu Barros Oliveira; Soares, Artur Freire; Miranda, Rodrigo Gusmão Albuquerque; Araújo, Mayara Lopes; Menezes, Alexandre Motta; Silva, Frederico Pires Vasconcelos; Lima, Ricardo Carvalho

    2017-11-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of continuing versus stopping aspirin [acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)] preoperatively in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL/Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (CCTR), ClinicalTrials.gov, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Literatura Latino Americana em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS), Google Scholar and reference lists of relevant articles were searched for randomized controlled trials that reported efficacy outcomes of myocardial infarction and mortality, and safety outcomes of blood loss, packed red blood cell transfusion and surgical re-exploration were compared between groups. Fourteen studies fulfilled our eligibility criteria and included a total of 4499 patients (2329 for 'continuing ASA' and 2170 for 'stopping ASA'). In the pooled analysis, continuing aspirin therapy did not reduce the risk of myocardial infarction [risk ratio 0.834, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.688-1.010; P = 0.063] or operative mortality (risk ratio 1.384, 95% CI 0.727-2.636; P = 0.323). Preoperative ASA increased postoperative chest tube drainage (mean difference 143 ml, 95% CI 39-248 ml; P = 0.007) and packed red blood cell transfusion (mean difference 142 ml, 95% CI 55-228; P = 0.001) but did not increase the risk of surgical re-exploration (risk ratio 1.316, 95% CI 0.910-1.905; P = 0.145). This meta-analysis found no statistically significant difference regarding the risk of operative mortality and myocardial infarction between the 'continuing ASA' and 'stopping ASA' strategies. On the other hand, the mean volume of blood loss and packed red blood cell transfusion was higher in the 'continuing ASA' group, but this finding did not translate into higher risk of reoperation for bleeding. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

  14. High post-movement parietal low-beta power during rhythmic tapping facilitates performance in a stop task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Petra; Tan, Huiling; Pogosyan, Alek; Brown, Peter

    2016-09-01

    Voluntary movements are followed by a post-movement electroencephalography (EEG) beta rebound, which increases with practice and confidence in a task. We hypothesized that greater beta modulation reflects less load on cognitive resources and may thus be associated with faster reactions to new stimuli. EEG was recorded in 17 healthy subjects during rhythmically paced index finger tapping. In a STOP condition, participants had to interrupt the upcoming tap in response to an auditory cue, which was timed such that stopping was successful only in ~ 50% of all trials. In a second condition, participants carried on tapping twice after the stop signal (CONTINUE condition). Thus the conditions were distinct in whether abrupt stopping was required as a second task. Modulation of 12-20 Hz power over motor and parietal areas developed with time on each trial and more so in the CONTINUE condition. Reduced modulation in the STOP condition went along with reduced negative mean asynchronies suggesting less confident anticipation of the timing of the next tap. Yet participants were more likely to stop when beta modulation prior to the stop cue was more pronounced. In the STOP condition, expectancy of the stop signal may have increased cognitive load during movement execution given that the task might have to be stopped abruptly. However, within this condition, stopping ability was increased if the preceding tap was followed by a relatively larger beta increase. Significant, albeit weak, correlations confirmed that increased post-movement beta power was associated with faster reactions to new stimuli, consistent with reduced cognitive load. © 2016 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience published by Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. An Economic Evaluation of Stopping versus Continuing TNF-Inhibitor Treatment in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients in Remission or Low Disease Activity: results from the POET randomized trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran-Duy, An; Ghiti Moghadam, Marjan; Oude Voshaar, Martijn A H; Vonkeman, Harald E; Boonen, Annelies; Clarke, Philip; McColl, Geoff; Ten Klooster, Peter M; Zijlstra, T R; Lems, Willem F; Riyazi, N; Griep, E N; Hazes, J M W; Landewé, Robert; Bernelot Moens, Hein J; van Riel, Piet L C M; van de Laar, Mart A F J; Jansen, T L

    2018-05-09

    To evaluate, from a societal perspective, the incremental cost-effectiveness of withdrawing tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFis) compared to continuation of these drugs within a one-year randomized trial among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) having longstanding stable disease activity or remission. Data were collected from a pragmatic, open label trial. Cost-utility analysis was performed using the non-parametric bootstrapping method and a cost-effectiveness acceptability curve was constructed using the net-monetary benefit (NMB) framework, where a willingness-to-accept threshold (WTA) was defined as the minimal cost saved that a patient accepted for each quality-adjusted life year (QALY) lost. 531 patients were randomized to the Stop Group and 186 patients to the Continue Group. Withdrawal of TNFis resulted in more than 60% reduction of the total drug cost, but led to an increase of about 30% in the other healthcare expenditure. Compared to continuation, stopping TNFis resulted in a mean yearly cost saving of €7,133 (95% CI, [€6,071, €8,234]) and was associated with a mean loss of QALYs of 0.02 (95% CI, [0.002, 0.040]). Mean saved cost [95% CI] per QALY lost and per extra flare incurred in the Stop group compared to the Continuation group was €368,269 [€155,132, €1,675,909] and €17,670 [€13,650, €22,721], respectively. At a WTA of €98,438 per QALY lost, the probability that stopping TNFis is cost-effective was 100%. Although an official WTA is not defined, the mean saved cost of €368,269 per QALY lost seems acceptable in The Netherlands, given existing data on the willingness-to-pay. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  16. Development of diagnostic criteria for serious non-AIDS events in HIV clinical trials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lifson, Alan R; Belloso, Waldo H; Davey, Richard T

    2010-01-01

    PURPOSE: Serious non-AIDS (SNA) diseases are important causes of morbidity and mortality in the HAART era. We describe development of standard criteria for 12 SNA events for Endpoint Review Committee (ERC) use in START, a multicenter international HIV clinical trial. METHODS: SNA definitions were...... was reached. CONCLUSION: HIV clinical trials that include SNA diseases as clinical outcomes should have standardized SNA definitions to optimize event reporting and validation and should have review by an experienced ERC with opportunities for adjudication......., peripheral arterial disease, pulmonary embolism, and stroke. Of 563 potential SNA events reported in ESPRIT and reviewed by an ERC, 72% met "confirmed" and 13% "probable" criteria. Twenty-eight percent of cases initially reviewed by the ERC required follow-up discussion (adjudication) before a final decision...

  17. Purring in cats during auscultation: how common is it, and can we stop it?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, C J L; Ferasin, L; Ferasin, H; Holmes, M A

    2014-01-01

    When cats purr during examination it is difficult to perform auscultation. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of purring in cats during examination, and identify interventions that could be used to stop purring. Cats seen at a first opinion clinic were enrolled in the study and their purring status recorded. Thirty of the purring cats were exposed to up to three different interventions in an attempt to stop purring in a randomised controlled trial including blowing at the ear, use of an ethanol-based aerosol near the cat and proximity to a running tap. The 30 cats in the trial were subjected to a total of 54 attempts to stop purring, proximity to a running tap caused 17 of 21 (81%) cats to stop purring, blowing at the cat's ears worked in 2 of 15 (13%) cats, spraying an aerosol close to the cat was effective in 9 of 18 (50%) cases. In 2 cats (7%), none of the interventions interrupted purring. This study provides evidence that placing a purring cat near a running tap and in proximity to the discharge of an ethanol-based aerosol are effective measures to stop purring in order to allow auscultation. © 2013 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

  18. Serious adverse events after HPV vaccination: a critical review of randomized trials and post-marketing case series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez-Lavín, Manuel; Amezcua-Guerra, Luis

    2017-10-01

    This article critically reviews HPV vaccine serious adverse events described in pre-licensure randomized trials and in post-marketing case series. HPV vaccine randomized trials were identified in PubMed. Safety data were extracted. Post-marketing case series describing HPV immunization adverse events were reviewed. Most HPV vaccine randomized trials did not use inert placebo in the control group. Two of the largest randomized trials found significantly more severe adverse events in the tested HPV vaccine arm of the study. Compared to 2871 women receiving aluminum placebo, the group of 2881 women injected with the bivalent HPV vaccine had more deaths on follow-up (14 vs. 3, p = 0.012). Compared to 7078 girls injected with the 4-valent HPV vaccine, 7071 girls receiving the 9-valent dose had more serious systemic adverse events (3.3 vs. 2.6%, p = 0.01). For the 9-valent dose, our calculated number needed to seriously harm is 140 (95% CI, 79–653) [DOSAGE ERROR CORRECTED] . The number needed to vaccinate is 1757 (95% CI, 131 to infinity). Practically, none of the serious adverse events occurring in any arm of both studies were judged to be vaccine-related. Pre-clinical trials, post-marketing case series, and the global drug adverse reaction database (VigiBase) describe similar post-HPV immunization symptom clusters. Two of the largest randomized HPV vaccine trials unveiled more severe adverse events in the tested HPV vaccine arm of the study. Nine-valent HPV vaccine has a worrisome number needed to vaccinate/number needed to harm quotient. Pre-clinical trials and post-marketing case series describe similar post-HPV immunization symptoms.

  19. Stock market returns and clinical trial results of investigational compounds: an event study analysis of large biopharmaceutical companies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Thomas J

    2013-01-01

    For biopharmaceutical companies, investments in research and development are risky, and the results from clinical trials are key inflection points in the process. Few studies have explored how and to what extent the public equity market values clinical trial results. Our study dataset matched announcements of clinical trial results for investigational compounds from January 2011 to May 2013 with daily stock market returns of large United States-listed pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Event study methodology was used to examine the relationship between clinical research events and changes in stock returns. We identified public announcements for clinical trials of 24 investigational compounds, including 16 (67%) positive and 8 (33%) negative events. The majority of announcements were for Phase 3 clinical trials (N = 13, 54%), and for oncologic (N = 7, 29%) and neurologic (N = 6, 24%) indications. The median cumulative abnormal returns on the day of the announcement were 0.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.3, 13.4%; P = 0.02) for positive events and -2.0% (95% CI: -9.1, 0.7%; P = 0.04) for negative events, with statistically significant differences from zero. In the day immediately following the announcement, firms with positive events were associated with stock price corrections, with median cumulative abnormal returns falling to 0.4% (95% CI: -3.8, 12.3%; P = 0.33). For firms with negative announcements, the median cumulative abnormal returns were -1.7% (95% CI: -9.5, 1.0%; P = 0.03), and remained significantly negative over the two day event window. The magnitude of abnormal returns did not differ statistically by indication, by trial phase, or between biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. The release of clinical trial results is an economically significant event and has meaningful effects on market value for large biopharmaceutical companies. Stock return underperformance due to negative events is greater in magnitude and persists longer than

  20. Baseline characteristics in the Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Events With Aranesp Therapy (TREAT)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pfeffer, Marc A; Burdmann, Emmanuel A; Chen, Chao-Yin

    2009-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Anemia augments the already high rates of fatal and major nonfatal cardiovascular and renal events in individuals with type 2 diabetes. In 2004, we initiated the Trial to Reduce Cardiovascular Events With Aranesp Therapy (TREAT). This report presents the baseline characteristics and t...

  1. The continual reassessment method: comparison of Bayesian stopping rules for dose-ranging studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zohar, S; Chevret, S

    2001-10-15

    The continual reassessment method (CRM) provides a Bayesian estimation of the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in phase I clinical trials and is also used to estimate the minimal efficacy dose (MED) in phase II clinical trials. In this paper we propose Bayesian stopping rules for the CRM, based on either posterior or predictive probability distributions that can be applied sequentially during the trial. These rules aim at early detection of either the mis-choice of dose range or a prefixed gain in the point estimate or accuracy of estimated probability of response associated with the MTD (or MED). They were compared through a simulation study under six situations that could represent the underlying unknown dose-response (either toxicity or failure) relationship, in terms of sample size, probability of correct selection and bias of the response probability associated to the MTD (or MED). Our results show that the stopping rules act correctly, with early stopping by using the two first rules based on the posterior distribution when the actual underlying dose-response relationship is far from that initially supposed, while the rules based on predictive gain functions provide a discontinuation of inclusions whatever the actual dose-response curve after 20 patients on average, that is, depending mostly on the accumulated data. The stopping rules were then applied to a data set from a dose-ranging phase II clinical trial aiming at estimating the MED dose of midazolam in the sedation of infants during cardiac catheterization. All these findings suggest the early use of the two first rules to detect a mis-choice of dose range, while they confirm the requirement of including at least 20 patients at the same dose to reach an accurate estimate of MTD (MED). A two-stage design is under study. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Clinical Trials

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Sponsors also may stop a trial, or part of a trial, early if the strategy or treatment is having harmful effects. Food and Drug Administration In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides oversight ...

  3. Assessment of Adverse Events in Protocols, Clinical Study Reports, and Published Papers of Trials of Orlistat: A Document Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeppe Bennekou Schroll

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Little is known about how adverse events are summarised and reported in trials, as detailed information is usually considered confidential. We have acquired clinical study reports (CSRs from the European Medicines Agency through the Freedom of Information Act. The CSRs describe the results of studies conducted as part of the application for marketing authorisation for the slimming pill orlistat. The purpose of this study was to study how adverse events were summarised and reported in study protocols, CSRs, and published papers of orlistat trials.We received the CSRs from seven randomised placebo controlled orlistat trials (4,225 participants submitted by Roche. The CSRs consisted of 8,716 pages and included protocols. Two researchers independently extracted data on adverse events from protocols and CSRs. Corresponding published papers were identified on PubMed and adverse event data were extracted from this source as well. All three sources were compared. Individual adverse events from one trial were summed and compared to the totals in the summary report. None of the protocols or CSRs contained instructions for investigators on how to question participants about adverse events. In CSRs, gastrointestinal adverse events were only coded if the participant reported that they were "bothersome," a condition that was not specified in the protocol for two of the trials. Serious adverse events were assessed for relationship to the drug by the sponsor, and all adverse events were coded by the sponsor using a glossary that could be updated by the sponsor. The criteria for withdrawal due to adverse events were in one case related to efficacy (high fasting glucose led to withdrawal, which meant that one trial had more withdrawals due to adverse events in the placebo group. Finally, only between 3% and 33% of the total number of investigator-reported adverse events from the trials were reported in the publications because of post hoc filters, though six of

  4. Guidelines for time-to-event end point definitions in breast cancer trials: results of the DATECAN initiative (Definition for the Assessment of Time-to-event Endpoints in CANcer trials)†.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gourgou-Bourgade, S; Cameron, D; Poortmans, P; Asselain, B; Azria, D; Cardoso, F; A'Hern, R; Bliss, J; Bogaerts, J; Bonnefoi, H; Brain, E; Cardoso, M J; Chibaudel, B; Coleman, R; Cufer, T; Dal Lago, L; Dalenc, F; De Azambuja, E; Debled, M; Delaloge, S; Filleron, T; Gligorov, J; Gutowski, M; Jacot, W; Kirkove, C; MacGrogan, G; Michiels, S; Negreiros, I; Offersen, B V; Penault Llorca, F; Pruneri, G; Roche, H; Russell, N S; Schmitt, F; Servent, V; Thürlimann, B; Untch, M; van der Hage, J A; van Tienhoven, G; Wildiers, H; Yarnold, J; Bonnetain, F; Mathoulin-Pélissier, S; Bellera, C; Dabakuyo-Yonli, T S

    2015-05-01

    Using surrogate end points for overall survival, such as disease-free survival, is increasingly common in randomized controlled trials. However, the definitions of several of these time-to-event (TTE) end points are imprecisely which limits interpretation and cross-trial comparisons. The estimation of treatment effects may be directly affected by the definitions of end points. The DATECAN initiative (Definition for the Assessment of Time-to-event Endpoints in CANcer trials) aims to provide recommendations for definitions of TTE end points. We report guidelines for randomized cancer clinical trials (RCTs) in breast cancer. A literature review was carried out to identify TTE end points (primary or secondary) reported in publications of randomized trials or guidelines. An international multidisciplinary panel of experts proposed recommendations for the definitions of these end points based on a validated consensus method that formalize the degree of agreement among experts. Recommended guidelines for the definitions of TTE end points commonly used in RCTs for breast cancer are provided for non-metastatic and metastatic settings. The use of standardized definitions should facilitate comparisons of trial results and improve the quality of trial design and reporting. These guidelines could be of particular interest to those involved in the design, conducting, reporting, or assessment of RCT. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Good news is bad news: Leverage cycles and sudden stops

    OpenAIRE

    Akinci, Ozge; Chahrour, Ryan

    2015-01-01

    We show that a model with imperfectly forecastable changes in future productivity and an occasionally binding collateral constraint can match a set of stylized facts about “sudden stop” events. “Good” news about future productivity raises leverage during times of expansion, increasing the probability that the constraint binds, and a sudden stop occurs, in future periods. The economy exhibits a boom period in the run-up to the sudden stop, with output, consumption, and investment all above tre...

  6. City Under Siege: Narrating Mumbai Through NonStop Capture

    OpenAIRE

    Yasmin Ibrahim

    2009-01-01

    When Mumbai became the target of terror in the 26/11 attack in 2008, the events in that city, like other tragic global events in recent years, were narrated through new media platforms. The increasing convergence of technologies and mobile telephony enabled new forms of gaze and the ability to bear witness through these new media technologies. The non-stop capture of events through recording equipment embedded in mobile phones and their connectivity to the World Wide Web constructed Mumbai th...

  7. Impact of adaptation algorithm, timing, and stopping boundaries on the performance of Bayesian response adaptive randomization in confirmative trials with a binary endpoint.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yunyun; Zhao, Wenle; Durkalski-Mauldin, Valerie

    2017-11-01

    Despite the concerns of time trend in subject profiles, the use of Bayesian response adaptive randomization (BRAR) in large multicenter phase 3 confirmative trials has been reported in recent years, motivated by the potential benefits in subject ethics and/or trial efficiency. However three issues remain unclear to investigators: 1) among several BRAR algorithms, how to choose one for the specific trial setting; 2) when to start and how frequently to update the allocation ratio; and 3) how to choose the interim analyses stopping boundaries to preserve the type 1 error. In this paper, three commonly used BRAR algorithms are evaluated based on type 1 error, power, sample size, the proportion of subjects assigned to the better performing arm, and the total number of failures, under two specific trial settings and different allocation ratio update timing and frequencies. Simulation studies show that for two-arm superiority trials, none of the three BRAR algorithms has predominant benefits in both patient ethics and trial efficiency when compared to fixed equal allocation design. For a specific trial aiming to identify the best or the worst among three treatments, a properly selected BRAR algorithm and its implementation parameters are able to gain ethical and efficiency benefits simultaneously. Although the simulation results come from a specific trial setting, the methods described in this paper are generally applicable to other trials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. The auditory-evoked N2 and P3 components in the stop-signal task: indices of inhibition, response-conflict or error-detection?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimoska, Aneta; Johnstone, Stuart J; Barry, Robert J

    2006-11-01

    The N2 and P3 components have been separately associated with response inhibition in the stop-signal task, and more recently, the N2 has been implicated in the detection of response-conflict. To isolate response inhibition activity from early sensory processing, the present study compared processing of the stop-signal with that of a task-irrelevant tone, which subjects were instructed to ignore. Stop-signals elicited a larger N2 on failed-stop trials and a larger P3 on successful-stop trials, relative to ignore-signal trials, likely reflecting activity related to failed and successful stopping, respectively. ERPs between fast and slow reaction-time (RT) groups were also examined as it was hypothesised that greater inhibitory activation to stop faster responses would manifest in the component reflecting this process. Successful-stop P3 showed the anticipated effect (globally larger amplitude in the fast than slow RT group), supporting its association with the stopping of an ongoing response. In contrast, N2 was larger in the slow than fast RT group, and in contrast to the predictions of the response-conflict hypothesis, successful-stop N2 and the response-locked error-negativity (Ne) differed in scalp distribution. These findings indicate that the successful-stop N2 may be better explained as a deliberate form of response control or selection, which the slow RT group employed as a means of increasing the likelihood of a successful-stop. Finally, a comparison of stimulus and response-locked ERPs revealed that the failed-stop N2 and P3 appeared to reflect error-related activity, best observed in the response-locked Ne and error-positivity (Pe). Together these findings indicate that the successful-stop N2 and P3 reflect functionally distinct aspects of response control that are dependent upon performance strategies, while failed-stop N2 and P3 reflect error-related activity.

  9. Aspirin Does Not Increase Heart Failure Events in Heart Failure Patients: From the WARCEF Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teerlink, John R; Qian, Min; Bello, Natalie A; Freudenberger, Ronald S; Levin, Bruce; Di Tullio, Marco R; Graham, Susan; Mann, Douglas L; Sacco, Ralph L; Mohr, J P; Lip, Gregory Y H; Labovitz, Arthur J; Lee, Seitetz C; Ponikowski, Piotr; Lok, Dirk J; Anker, Stefan D; Thompson, John L P; Homma, Shunichi

    2017-08-01

    The aim of this study was to determine whether aspirin increases heart failure (HF) hospitalization or death in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction receiving an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB). Because of its cyclooxygenase inhibiting properties, aspirin has been postulated to increase HF events in patients treated with ACE inhibitors or ARBs. However, no large randomized trial has addressed the clinical relevance of this issue. We compared aspirin and warfarin for HF events (hospitalization, death, or both) in the 2,305 patients enrolled in the WARCEF (Warfarin versus Aspirin in Reduced Cardiac Ejection Fraction) trial (98.6% on ACE inhibitor or ARB treatment), using conventional Cox models for time to first event (489 events). In addition, to examine multiple HF hospitalizations, we used 2 extended Cox models, a conditional model and a total time marginal model, in time to recurrent event analyses (1,078 events). After adjustment for baseline covariates, aspirin- and warfarin-treated patients did not differ in time to first HF event (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.87; 95% confidence interval: 0.72 to 1.04; p = 0.117) or first hospitalization alone (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.88; 95% confidence interval: 0.73 to 1.06; p = 0.168). The extended Cox models also found no significant differences in all HF events or in HF hospitalizations alone after adjustment for covariates. Among patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction in the WARCEF trial, there was no significant difference in risk of HF events between the aspirin and warfarin-treated patients. (Warfarin Versus Aspirin in Reduced Cardiac Ejection Fraction trial [WARCEF]; NCT00041938). Copyright © 2017 American College of Cardiology Foundation. All rights reserved.

  10. Search for the supersymmetric partner of the top quark in the channel stop anti-stop {yields} e{sup {+-}} {mu}{sup {+-}} sneutrino anti-sneutrino b anti-b in D0 experiment at the Tevatron. Calibration of the D0 electromagnetic calorimeter; Recherche du partenaire supersymetrique du quark top dans le canal stop anti-stop {yields} e{sup {+-}} {mu}{sup {+-}} sneutrino anti-sneutrino b anti-b au sein de l'experience D0 aupres du TeVatron. Calibration du calorimetre electromagnetique de D0

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendes, A

    2006-10-15

    Symmetry is one of the most natural extensions of the standard model. At low energy it may consist in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model which is the framework chosen to perform the search of the stop with 350 pb{sup -1} of data collected by D0 during the run-IIa period of the Tevatron. We selected the events with an electron, a muon, missing transverse energy and non-isolated tracks, signature for the stop decay in 3 particles (stop {yields} bl sneutrino). Since no significant excess of signal is seen, the results are interpreted in terms of limit on the stop production cross-sections, in such a way that we extend the existing exclusion region in the parameter space (m(stop), m(sneutrino)) up to stop masses of 168 (140) GeV for sneutrino masses of 50 (94) GeV. Finally, because of the crucial role of the electromagnetic calorimeter, a fine calibration was performed using Z {yields} e{sup +}e{sup -} events, which improved significantly the energy resolution. (author)

  11. Search for the supersymmetric partner of the top quark in the channel stop anti-stop {yields} e{sup {+-}} {mu}{sup {+-}} sneutrino anti-sneutrino b anti-b in D0 experiment at the Tevatron. Calibration of the D0 electromagnetic calorimeter; Recherche du partenaire supersymetrique du quark top dans le canal stop anti-stop {yields} e{sup {+-}} {mu}{sup {+-}} sneutrino anti-sneutrino b anti-b au sein de l'experience D0 aupres du TeVatron. Calibration du calorimetre electromagnetique de D0

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendes, A

    2006-10-15

    Symmetry is one of the most natural extensions of the standard model. At low energy it may consist in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model which is the framework chosen to perform the search of the stop with 350 pb{sup -1} of data collected by D0 during the run-IIa period of the Tevatron. We selected the events with an electron, a muon, missing transverse energy and non-isolated tracks, signature for the stop decay in 3 particles (stop {yields} bl sneutrino). Since no significant excess of signal is seen, the results are interpreted in terms of limit on the stop production cross-sections, in such a way that we extend the existing exclusion region in the parameter space (m(stop), m(sneutrino)) up to stop masses of 168 (140) GeV for sneutrino masses of 50 (94) GeV. Finally, because of the crucial role of the electromagnetic calorimeter, a fine calibration was performed using Z {yields} e{sup +}e{sup -} events, which improved significantly the energy resolution. (author)

  12. Effect of oxygen-breathing during a decompression-stop on bubble-induced platelet activation after an open-sea air dive: oxygen-stop decompression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pontier, J-M; Lambrechts, K

    2014-06-01

    We highlighted a relationship between decompression-induced bubble formation and platelet micro-particle (PMP) release after a scuba air-dive. It is known that decompression protocol using oxygen-stop accelerates the washout of nitrogen loaded in tissues. The aim was to study the effect of oxygen deco-stop on bubble formation and cell-derived MP release. Healthy experienced divers performed two scuba-air dives to 30 msw for 30 min, one with an air deco-stop and a second with 100% oxygen deco-stop at 3 msw for 9 min. Bubble grades were monitored with ultrasound and converted to the Kisman integrated severity score (KISS). Blood samples for cell-derived micro-particle analysis (AnnexinV for PMP and CD31 for endothelial MP) were taken 1 h before and after each dive. Mean KISS bubble score was significantly lower after the dive with oxygen-decompression stop, compared to the dive with air-decompression stop (4.3 ± 7.3 vs. 32.7 ± 19.9, p air-breathing decompression stop, we observed an increase of the post-dive mean values of PMP (753 ± 245 vs. 381 ± 191 ng/μl, p = 0.003) but no significant change in the oxygen-stop decompression dive (329 ± 215 vs. 381 +/191 ng/μl, p = 0.2). For the post-dive mean values of endothelial MP, there was no significant difference between both the dives. The Oxygen breathing during decompression has a beneficial effect on bubble formation accelerating the washout of nitrogen loaded in tissues. Secondary oxygen-decompression stop could reduce bubble-induced platelet activation and the pro-coagulant activity of PMP release preventing the thrombotic event in the pathogenesis of decompression sickness.

  13. Challenges in coding adverse events in clinical trials: a systematic review.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeppe Bennekou Schroll

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Misclassification of adverse events in clinical trials can sometimes have serious consequences. Therefore, each of the many steps involved, from a patient's adverse experience to presentation in tables in publications, should be as standardised as possible, minimising the scope for interpretation. Adverse events are categorised by a predefined dictionary, e.g. MedDRA, which is updated biannually with many new categories. The objective of this paper is to study interobserver variation and other challenges of coding. METHODS: Systematic review using PRISMA. We searched PubMed, EMBASE and The Cochrane Library. All studies were screened for eligibility by two authors. RESULTS: Our search returned 520 unique studies of which 12 were included. Only one study investigated interobserver variation. It reported that 12% of the codes were evaluated differently by two coders. Independent physicians found that 8% of all the codes deviated from the original description. Other studies found that product summaries could be greatly affected by the choice of dictionary. With the introduction of MedDRA, it seems to have become harder to identify adverse events statistically because each code is divided in subgroups. To account for this, lumping techniques have been developed but are rarely used, and guidance on when to use them is vague. An additional challenge is that adverse events are censored if they already occurred in the run-in period of a trial. As there are more than 26 ways of determining whether an event has already occurred, this can lead to bias, particularly because data analysis is rarely performed blindly. CONCLUSION: There is a lack of evidence that coding of adverse events is a reliable, unbiased and reproducible process. The increase in categories has made detecting adverse events harder, potentially compromising safety. It is crucial that readers of medical publications are aware of these challenges. Comprehensive interobserver

  14. Methamphetamine, d-amphetamine and p-chloroamphetamine induced neurotoxicity differentially effect impulsive responding on the stop-signal task in rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furlong, Teri M.; Leavitt, Lee S.; Keefe, Kristen A.; Son, Jong-Hyun

    2016-01-01

    Abused amphetamines, such as d-amphetamine (AMPH) and methamphetamine (METH), are highly addictive and destructive to health and productive lifestyles. The abuse of these drugs is associated with impulsive behavior, which is likely to contribute to addiction. The amphetamines also differentially damage dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) systems, which regulate impulsive behavior; therefore, exposure to these drugs may differentially alter impulsive behavior to effect the progression of addiction. We examined the impact of neurotoxicity induced by three amphetamines on impulsive action using a stop-signal task in rats. Animals were rewarded with a food pellet after lever pressing (i.e. a go trial), unless an auditory cue was presented and withholding lever press gained reward (i.e. a stop trial). Animals were trained on the task and then exposed to a neurotoxic regimen of either AMPH, p-chloroamphetamine (PCA), or METH. These regimens preferentially reduced DA transporter levels in striatum, 5-HT transporter levels in prefrontal cortex, or both, respectively. Assessment of performance on the stop-signal task beginning one week after the treatment revealed that AMPH produced a deficit in go-trial performance, whereas PCA did not alter performance on either trial type. In contrast, METH produced a deficit in stop-trial performance (i.e. impulsive action) but not go-trial performance. These findings suggest that the different neurotoxic consequences of substituted amphetamines are associated with different effects on inhibitory control over behavior. Thus, the course of addiction and maladaptive behavior resulting from exposure to these substances is likely to differ. PMID:26846719

  15. Assessment of Adverse Events in Protocols, Clinical Study Reports, and Published Papers of Trials of Orlistat

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schroll, Jeppe Bennekou; Penninga, Elisabeth I; Gøtzsche, Peter C

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Little is known about how adverse events are summarised and reported in trials, as detailed information is usually considered confidential. We have acquired clinical study reports (CSRs) from the European Medicines Agency through the Freedom of Information Act. The CSRs describe......Med and adverse event data were extracted from this source as well. All three sources were compared. Individual adverse events from one trial were summed and compared to the totals in the summary report. None of the protocols or CSRs contained instructions for investigators on how to question participants about...

  16. Seismic stops for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cloud, R.L.; Leung, J.S.M.; Anderson, P.H.

    1989-01-01

    In the regulated world of nuclear power, the need to have analytical proof of performance in hypothetical design-basis events such as earth quakes has placed a premium on design configurations that are mathematically tractable and easily analyzed. This is particularly true for the piping design. Depending on how the piping analyses are organized and on how old the plant is, there may be from 200 to 1000 separate piping runs to be designed, analyzed, and qualified. In this situation, the development of snubbers seemed like the answer to a piping engineer's prayer. At any place where seismic support was required but thermal motion had to be accommodated, a snubber could be specified. But, as experience has now shown, the program was solved only on paper. This article presents an alternative to conventional snubbers. These new devices, termed Seismic Stops are designed to replace snubbers directly and look like snubbers on the outside. But their design is based on a completely different principle. The original concept has adapted from early seismic-resistant pipe support designs used on fossil power plants in California. The fundamental idea is to provide a space envelope in which the pipe can expand freely between the hot and cold positions, but cannot move outside the envelope. Seismic Stops are designed to transmit any possible impact load, as would occur in an earthquake, away from the pipe itself to the Seismic Stop. The Seismic Stop pipe support is shown

  17. The control of deliberate waiting strategies in a stop-signal task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R.P. Sylwan

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available To inhibit an ongoing flow of thoughts or actions has been largely considered to be a crucial executive function, and the stop-signal paradigm makes inhibitory control measurable. Stop-signal tasks usually combine two concurrent tasks, i.e., manual responses to a primary task (go-task are occasionally countermanded by a stimulus which signals participants to inhibit their response in that trial (stop-task. Participants are always instructed not to wait for the stop-signal, since waiting strategies cause the response times to be unstable, invalidating the data. The aim of the present study was to experimentally control the strategies of waiting deliberately for the stop-signal in a stop-task by means of an algorithm that measured the variation in the reaction times to go-stimuli on-line, and displayed a warning legend urging participants to be faster when their reaction times were more than two standard deviations of the mean. Thirty-four university students performed a stop-task with go- and stop-stimuli, both of which were delivered in the visual modality and were lateralized within the visual field. The participants were divided into two groups (group A, without the algorithm, vs group B, with the algorithm. Group B exhibited lower variability of reaction times to go-stimuli, whereas no significant between-group differences were found in any of the measures of inhibitory control, showing that the algorithm succeeded in controlling the deliberate waiting strategies. Differences between deliberate and unintentional waiting strategies, and anxiety as a probable factor responsible for individual differences in deliberate waiting behavior, are discussed.

  18. Second stop and sbottom searches with a stealth stop

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheng, Hsin-Chia; Li, Lingfeng; Qin, Qin [Department of Physics, University of California,Davis, California 95616 (United States)

    2016-11-29

    The top squarks (stops) may be the most wanted particles after the Higgs boson discovery. The searches for the lightest stop have put strong constraints on its mass. However, there is still a search gap in the low mass region if the spectrum of the stop and the lightest neutralino is compressed. In that case, it may be easier to look for the second stop since naturalness requires both stops to be close to the weak scale. The current experimental searches for the second stop are based on the simplified model approach with the decay modes t̃{sub 2}→t̃{sub 1}Z and t̃{sub 2}→t̃{sub 1}h. However, in a realistic supersymmetric spectrum there is always a sbottom lighter than the second stop, hence the decay patterns are usually more complicated than the simplified model assumptions. In particular, there are often large branching ratios of the decays t̃{sub 2}→b̃{sub 1}W and b̃{sub 1}→t̃{sub 1}W as long as they are open. The decay chains can be even more complex if there are intermediate states of additional charginos and neutralinos in the decays. By studying several MSSM benchmark models at the 14 TeV LHC, we point out the importance of the multi-W final states in the second stop and the sbottom searches, such as the same-sign dilepton and multilepton signals, aside from the traditional search modes. The observed same-sign dilepton excesses at LHC Run 1 and Run 2 may be explained by some of our benchmark models. We also suggest that the vector boson tagging and a new kinematic variable may help to suppress the backgrounds and increase the signal significance for some search channels. Due to the complex decay patterns and lack of the dominant decay channels, the best reaches likely require a combination of various search channels at the LHC for the second stop and the lightest sbottom.

  19. Using marketing theory to inform strategies for recruitment: a recruitment optimisation model and the txt2stop experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Recruitment is a major challenge for many trials; just over half reach their targets and almost a third resort to grant extensions. The economic and societal implications of this shortcoming are significant. Yet, we have a limited understanding of the processes that increase the probability that recruitment targets will be achieved. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to bring analytical rigour to the task of improving recruitment, thereby increasing the likelihood that trials reach their recruitment targets. This paper presents a conceptual framework that can be used to improve recruitment to clinical trials. Methods Using a case-study approach, we reviewed the range of initiatives that had been undertaken to improve recruitment in the txt2stop trial using qualitative (semi-structured interviews with the principal investigator) and quantitative (recruitment) data analysis. Later, the txt2stop recruitment practices were compared to a previous model of marketing a trial and to key constructs in social marketing theory. Results Post hoc, we developed a recruitment optimisation model to serve as a conceptual framework to improve recruitment to clinical trials. A core premise of the model is that improving recruitment needs to be an iterative, learning process. The model describes three essential activities: i) recruitment phase monitoring, ii) marketing research, and iii) the evaluation of current performance. We describe the initiatives undertaken by the txt2stop trial and the results achieved, as an example of the use of the model. Conclusions Further research should explore the impact of adopting the recruitment optimisation model when applied to other trials. PMID:24886627

  20. Using marketing theory to inform strategies for recruitment: a recruitment optimisation model and the txt2stop experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galli, Leandro; Knight, Rosemary; Robertson, Steven; Hoile, Elizabeth; Oladapo, Olubukola; Francis, David; Free, Caroline

    2014-05-22

    Recruitment is a major challenge for many trials; just over half reach their targets and almost a third resort to grant extensions. The economic and societal implications of this shortcoming are significant. Yet, we have a limited understanding of the processes that increase the probability that recruitment targets will be achieved. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to bring analytical rigour to the task of improving recruitment, thereby increasing the likelihood that trials reach their recruitment targets. This paper presents a conceptual framework that can be used to improve recruitment to clinical trials. Using a case-study approach, we reviewed the range of initiatives that had been undertaken to improve recruitment in the txt2stop trial using qualitative (semi-structured interviews with the principal investigator) and quantitative (recruitment) data analysis. Later, the txt2stop recruitment practices were compared to a previous model of marketing a trial and to key constructs in social marketing theory. Post hoc, we developed a recruitment optimisation model to serve as a conceptual framework to improve recruitment to clinical trials. A core premise of the model is that improving recruitment needs to be an iterative, learning process. The model describes three essential activities: i) recruitment phase monitoring, ii) marketing research, and iii) the evaluation of current performance. We describe the initiatives undertaken by the txt2stop trial and the results achieved, as an example of the use of the model. Further research should explore the impact of adopting the recruitment optimisation model when applied to other trials.

  1. Search for the supersymmetric partner of the top quark in the channel stop anti-stop → e± μ± sneutrino anti-sneutrino b anti-b in D0 experiment at the Tevatron. Calibration of the D0 electromagnetic calorimeter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendes, A.

    2006-10-01

    Symmetry is one of the most natural extensions of the standard model. At low energy it may consist in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model which is the framework chosen to perform the search of the stop with 350 pb -1 of data collected by D0 during the run-IIa period of the Tevatron. We selected the events with an electron, a muon, missing transverse energy and non-isolated tracks, signature for the stop decay in 3 particles (stop → bl sneutrino). Since no significant excess of signal is seen, the results are interpreted in terms of limit on the stop production cross-sections, in such a way that we extend the existing exclusion region in the parameter space (m(stop), m(sneutrino)) up to stop masses of 168 (140) GeV for sneutrino masses of 50 (94) GeV. Finally, because of the crucial role of the electromagnetic calorimeter, a fine calibration was performed using Z → e + e - events, which improved significantly the energy resolution. (author)

  2. Characteristic adverse events and their incidence among patients participating in acute ischemic stroke trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hesse, Kerrick; Fulton, Rachael L; Abdul-Rahim, Azmil H; Lees, Kennedy R

    2014-09-01

    Adverse events (AE) in trial populations present a major burden to researchers and patients, yet most events are unrelated to investigational treatment. We aimed to develop a coherent list of expected AEs, whose incidence can be predicted by patient characteristics that will inform future trials and perhaps general poststroke care. We analyzed raw AE data from patients participating in acute ischemic stroke trials. We identified events that occurred with a lower 99% confidence bound greater than nil. Among these, we applied receiver operating characteristic principles to select the fewest types of events that together represented the greatest number of reports. Using ordinal logistic regression, we modeled the incidence of these events as a function of patient age, sex, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, and multimorbidity status, defining Ppatients, reporting 21 217 AEs. Among 756 types of AEs, 132 accounted for 82.7%, of which 80% began within 10 days after stroke. Right hemisphere (odds ratio [OR], 1.67), increasing baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (OR, 1.11), multimorbidity status (OR, 1.09 per disease), patient age (OR, 1.01 per year), height (OR, 1.01 per centimeter), diastolic blood pressure (OR, 0.99 per mm Hg), and smoking (OR, 0.82) were independently associated with developing more AEs but together explained only 13% of the variation. A list of 132 expected AEs after acute ischemic stroke may be used to simplify interpretation and reporting of complications. AEs can be modestly predicted by patient characteristics, facilitating stratification of patients by risk for poststroke complications. © 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.

  3. Reconciling the influence of task-set switching and motor inhibition processes on stop signal after-effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joaquin A. Anguera

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Executive response functions can be affected by preceding events, even if they are no longer associated with the current task at hand. For example, studies utilizing the stop signal task have reported slower response times to ‘GO’ stimuli when the preceding trial involved the presentation of a ‘STOP’ signal. However, the neural mechanisms that underlie this behavioral after-effect are unclear. To address this, behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG measures were examined in 18 young adults (18-30yrs on 'GO' trials following a previously ‘Successful Inhibition’ trial (pSI, a previously ‘Failed Inhibition’ trial (pFI, and a previous ‘GO’ trial (pGO. Like previous research, slower response times were observed during both pSI and pFI trials (i.e., ‘GO’ trials that were preceded by a successful and unsuccessful inhibition trial, respectively compared to pGO trials (i.e., ‘GO’ trials that were preceded by another ‘GO’ trial. Interestingly, response time slowing was greater during pSI trials compared to pFI trials, suggesting executive control is influenced by both task set switching and persisting motor inhibition processes. Follow-up behavioral analyses indicated that these effects resulted from between-trial control adjustments rather than repetition priming effects. Analyses of inter-electrode coherence (IEC and inter-trial coherence (ITC indicated that both pSI and pFI trials showed greater phase synchrony during the inter-trial interval compared to pGO trials. Unlike the IEC findings, differential ITC was present within the beta and alpha frequency bands in line with the observed behavior (pSI > pFI > pGO, suggestive of more consistent phase synchrony involving motor inhibition processes during the ITI at a regional level. These findings suggest that between-trial control adjustments involved with task-set switching and motor inhibition processes influence subsequent performance, providing new insights into the

  4. The Eichmann Trial on East German Television : On (not) Reporting about a Transnational Media Event

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Keilbach, Judith|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/289029635

    2014-01-01

    This paper discusses the Eichmann trial (1961) as a transnational media event. It describes on the one hand the co-operation of different institutions that facilitated the trial's filming as well as the worldwide distribution of the footage. On the other hand it draws on East and West German

  5. Gastrointestinal adverse events during methylphenidate treatment of children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review with meta-analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis of randomised clinical trials.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathilde Holmskov

    Full Text Available To study in more depth the relationship between type, dose, or duration of methylphenidate offered to children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their risks of gastrointestinal adverse events based on our Cochrane systematic review.We use data from our review including 185 randomised clinical trials. Randomised parallel-group trials and cross-over trials reporting gastrointestinal adverse events associated with methylphenidate were included. Data were extracted and quality assessed according to Cochrane guidelines. Data were summarised as risk ratios (RR with 95% confidence intervals (CI using the inverse variance method. Bias risks were assessed according to domains. Trial Sequential Analysis (TSA was used to control random errors. Eighteen parallel group trials and 43 cross-over trials reported gastrointestinal adverse events. All trials were at high risk of bias. In parallel group trials, methylphenidate decreased appetite (RR 3.66, 95% CI 2.56 to 5.23 and weight (RR 3.89, 95% CI 1.43 to 10.59. In cross-over trials, methylphenidate increased abdominal pain (RR 1.61, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.04. We found no significant differences in the risk according to type, dose, or duration of administration. The required information size was achieved in three out of four outcomes.Methylphenidate increases the risks of decreased appetite, weight loss, and abdominal pain in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. No differences in the risks of gastrointestinal adverse events according to type, dose, or duration of administration were found.

  6. A self-controlled comparative clinical trial to explore the effectiveness of three topical hemostatic agents for stopping severe epistaxis in pediatrics with inherited coagulopathies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eshghi, P; Jenabzade, A; Habibpanah, B

    2014-09-01

    The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of localized treatments to persistently stop epistaxis in patients with inherited bleeding disorders. In a self-controlled comparative clinical trial, to offer the best solution to stop epistaxis at home (within 10 minutes), patients with inherited bleeding disorders were treated using three different topical hemostatic agents, including Tranexamic acid impregnated tampon, EpiCell tampon prepared from oxidized regenerated cellulose pad, and ChitoHem tampon (reinforced with chitosan). The results of using these different products on three groups of randomly selected patients were ultimately compared using the χ(2) and Fisher's exact test statistics. A total of 31 patients, 5 females and 26 males with a mean age of 5.6 years, were included in the study. Twenty-three patients had Glanzmann disease, four had von-Willebrand disease, two had Bernard soulier syndrome, two had activated factor VII deficiency, and one patient had impaired secretion of adenosine deaminase. The study exhibited that statistically there was no significant difference between EpiCell tampon and Tranexamic acid impregnated tampon treatments with respect to the hemostasis duration. However, ChitoHem tampon was more efficient than Tranexamic acid impregnated tampon (P value stop epistaxis. We recommend further research on the use of other hemostatic agents for localized bleeding in patients with inherited bleeding disorders.

  7. SHIFT: server for hidden stops analysis in frame-shifted translation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Arun; Singh, Tiratha Raj

    2013-02-23

    Frameshift is one of the three classes of recoding. Frame-shifts lead to waste of energy, resources and activity of the biosynthetic machinery. In addition, some peptides synthesized after frame-shifts are probably cytotoxic which serve as plausible cause for innumerable number of diseases and disorders such as muscular dystrophies, lysosomal storage disorders, and cancer. Hidden stop codons occur naturally in coding sequences among all organisms. These codons are associated with the early termination of translation for incorrect reading frame selection and help to reduce the metabolic cost related to the frameshift events. Researchers have identified several consequences of hidden stop codons and their association with myriad disorders. However the wealth of information available is speckled and not effortlessly acquiescent to data-mining. To reduce this gap, this work describes an algorithmic web based tool to study hidden stops in frameshifted translation for all the lineages through respective genetic code systems. This paper describes SHIFT, an algorithmic web application tool that provides a user-friendly interface for identifying and analyzing hidden stops in frameshifted translation of genomic sequences for all available genetic code systems. We have calculated the correlation between codon usage frequencies and the plausible contribution of codons towards hidden stops in an off-frame context. Markovian chains of various order have been used to model hidden stops in frameshifted peptides and their evolutionary association with naturally occurring hidden stops. In order to obtain reliable and persuasive estimates for the naturally occurring and predicted hidden stops statistical measures have been implemented. This paper presented SHIFT, an algorithmic tool that allows user-friendly exploration, analysis, and visualization of hidden stop codons in frameshifted translations. It is expected that this web based tool would serve as a useful complement for

  8. Kernel PLS Estimation of Single-trial Event-related Potentials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosipal, Roman; Trejo, Leonard J.

    2004-01-01

    Nonlinear kernel partial least squaes (KPLS) regressior, is a novel smoothing approach to nonparametric regression curve fitting. We have developed a KPLS approach to the estimation of single-trial event related potentials (ERPs). For improved accuracy of estimation, we also developed a local KPLS method for situations in which there exists prior knowledge about the approximate latency of individual ERP components. To assess the utility of the KPLS approach, we compared non-local KPLS and local KPLS smoothing with other nonparametric signal processing and smoothing methods. In particular, we examined wavelet denoising, smoothing splines, and localized smoothing splines. We applied these methods to the estimation of simulated mixtures of human ERPs and ongoing electroencephalogram (EEG) activity using a dipole simulator (BESA). In this scenario we considered ongoing EEG to represent spatially and temporally correlated noise added to the ERPs. This simulation provided a reasonable but simplified model of real-world ERP measurements. For estimation of the simulated single-trial ERPs, local KPLS provided a level of accuracy that was comparable with or better than the other methods. We also applied the local KPLS method to the estimation of human ERPs recorded in an experiment on co,onitive fatigue. For these data, the local KPLS method provided a clear improvement in visualization of single-trial ERPs as well as their averages. The local KPLS method may serve as a new alternative to the estimation of single-trial ERPs and improvement of ERP averages.

  9. Big Data Mining and Adverse Event Pattern Analysis in Clinical Drug Trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Federer, Callie; Yoo, Minjae; Tan, Aik Choon

    2016-12-01

    Drug adverse events (AEs) are a major health threat to patients seeking medical treatment and a significant barrier in drug discovery and development. AEs are now required to be submitted during clinical trials and can be extracted from ClinicalTrials.gov ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/ ), a database of clinical studies around the world. By extracting drug and AE information from ClinicalTrials.gov and structuring it into a database, drug-AEs could be established for future drug development and repositioning. To our knowledge, current AE databases contain mainly U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs. However, our database contains both FDA-approved and experimental compounds extracted from ClinicalTrials.gov . Our database contains 8,161 clinical trials of 3,102,675 patients and 713,103 reported AEs. We extracted the information from ClinicalTrials.gov using a set of python scripts, and then used regular expressions and a drug dictionary to process and structure relevant information into a relational database. We performed data mining and pattern analysis of drug-AEs in our database. Our database can serve as a tool to assist researchers to discover drug-AE relationships for developing, repositioning, and repurposing drugs.

  10. Online Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Protocol for Measuring Cortical Physiology Associated with Response Inhibition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guthrie, Michael D; Gilbert, Donald L; Huddleston, David A; Pedapati, Ernest V; Horn, Paul S; Mostofsky, Stewart H; Wu, Steve W

    2018-02-08

    We describe the development of a reproducible, child-friendly motor response inhibition task suitable for online Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) characterization of primary motor cortex (M1) excitability and inhibition. Motor response inhibition prevents unwanted actions and is abnormal in several neuropsychiatric conditions. TMS is a non-invasive technology that can quantify M1 excitability and inhibition using single- and paired-pulse protocols and can be precisely timed to study cortical physiology with high temporal resolution. We modified the original Slater-Hammel (S-H) stop signal task to create a "racecar" version with TMS pulses time-locked to intra-trial events. This task is self-paced, with each trial initiating after a button push to move the racecar towards the 800 ms target. GO trials require a finger-lift to stop the racecar just before this target. Interspersed randomly are STOP trials (25%) during which the dynamically adjusted stop signal prompts subjects to prevent finger-lift. For GO trials, TMS pulses were delivered at 650 ms after trial onset; whereas, for STOP trials, the TMS pulses occurred 150 ms after the stop signal. The timings of the TMS pulses were decided based on electroencephalography (EEG) studies showing event-related changes in these time ranges during stop signal tasks. This task was studied in 3 blocks at two study sites (n=38) and we recorded behavioral performance and event-related motor-evoked potentials (MEP). Regression modelling was used to analyze MEP amplitudes using age as a covariate with multiple independent variables (sex, study site, block, TMS pulse condition [single- vs. paired-pulse], trial condition [GO, successful STOP, failed STOP]). The analysis showed that TMS pulse condition (p<0.0001) and its interaction with trial condition (p=0.009) were significant. Future applications for this online S-H/TMS paradigm include the addition of simultaneous EEG acquisition to measure TMS-evoked EEG potentials. A

  11. Inseparability of Go and Stop in Inhibitory Control: Go Stimulus Discriminability Affects Stopping Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Ning; Yu, Angela J

    2016-01-01

    Inhibitory control, the ability to stop or modify preplanned actions under changing task conditions, is an important component of cognitive functions. Two lines of models of inhibitory control have previously been proposed for human response in the classical stop-signal task, in which subjects must inhibit a default go response upon presentation of an infrequent stop signal: (1) the race model, which posits two independent go and stop processes that race to determine the behavioral outcome, go or stop; and (2) an optimal decision-making model, which posits that observers decides whether and when to go based on continually (Bayesian) updated information about both the go and stop stimuli. In this work, we probe the relationship between go and stop processing by explicitly manipulating the discrimination difficulty of the go stimulus. While the race model assumes the go and stop processes are independent, and therefore go stimulus discriminability should not affect the stop stimulus processing, we simulate the optimal model to show that it predicts harder go discrimination should result in longer go reaction time (RT), lower stop error rate, as well as faster stop-signal RT. We then present novel behavioral data that validate these model predictions. The results thus favor a fundamentally inseparable account of go and stop processing, in a manner consistent with the optimal model, and contradicting the independence assumption of the race model. More broadly, our findings contribute to the growing evidence that the computations underlying inhibitory control are systematically modulated by cognitive influences in a Bayes-optimal manner, thus opening new avenues for interpreting neural responses underlying inhibitory control.

  12. Inseparability of Go and Stop in Inhibitory Control: Go Stimulus Discriminability Affects Stopping Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ning eMa

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Inhibitory control, the ability to stop or modify preplanned actions under changing task conditions, is an important component of cognitive functions. Two lines of models of inhibitory control have previously been proposed for human response in the classical stop-signal task, in which subjects must inhibit a default go response upon presentation of an infrequent stop signal: (1 the race model, which posits two independent go and stop processes that race to determine the behavioral outcome, go or stop; and (2 an optimal decision-making model, which posits that observers decides whether and when to go based on continually (Bayesian updated information about both the go and stop stimuli. In this work, we probe the relationship between go and stop processing by explicitly manipulating the discrimination difficulty of the go stimulus. While the race model assumes the go and stop processes are independent, and therefore go stimulus discriminability should not affect the stop stimulus processing, we simulate the optimal model to show that it predicts harder go discrimination results in a longer go reaction time (RT, a lower stop error rate, as well as a faster stop-signal RT. We then present novel behavioral data that validate these model predictions. The results thus favor a fundamentally inseparable account of go and stop processing, in a manner consistent with the optimal model, and contradicting the independence assumption of the race model. More broadly, our findings contribute to the growing evidence that the computations underlying inhibitory control are systematically modulated by cognitive influences in a Bayes-optimal manner, thus opening new avenues for interpreting neural responses underlying inhibitory control.

  13. Clinical Trials

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... to preexisting differences between the patients. Usually, a computer program makes the group assignments. Masking The term " ... under way. For example, some trials are stopped early if benefits from a strategy or treatment are ...

  14. Data Science Solution to Event Prediction in Outsourced Clinical Trial Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalevi, Daniel; Lovick, Susan; Mann, Helen; Metcalfe, Paul D; Spencer, Stuart; Hollis, Sally; Ruau, David

    2015-01-01

    Late phase clinical trials are regularly outsourced to a Contract Research Organisation (CRO) while the risk and accountability remain within the sponsor company. Many statistical tasks are delivered by the CRO and later revalidated by the sponsor. Here, we report a technological approach to standardised event prediction. We have built a dynamic web application around an R-package with the aim of delivering reliable event predictions, simplifying communication and increasing trust between the CRO and the in-house statisticians via transparency. Short learning curve, interactivity, reproducibility and data diagnostics are key here. The current implementation is motivated by time-to-event prediction in oncology. We demonstrate a clear benefit of standardisation for both parties. The tool can be used for exploration, communication, sensitivity analysis and generating standard reports. At this point we wish to present this tool and share some of the insights we have gained during the development.

  15. Impact of Stopping Tumor Necrosis Factor-inhibitors on Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients' Burden of Disease

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ghiti Moghadam, Marjan; ten Klooster, Peter M.; Vonkeman, Harald E.; Kneepkens, Eva L.; Klaasen, Ruth; Stolk, Jan N.; Tchetverikov, Ilja; Vreugdenhil, Simone A.; van Woerkom, Jan M.; Goekoop-Ruiterman, Yvonne P. M.; Landewé, Robert B. M.; van Riel, Piet L. C. M.; van de Laar, Mart A. F. J.; Jansen, Tim L.

    2017-01-01

    To determine the impact of stopping tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) treatment on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) of physical and mental health status, health utility, pain, disability and fatigue in patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In the pragmatic 12-month POET trial,

  16. Adverse events associated with acupuncture: three multicentre randomized controlled trials of 1968 cases in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Ling; Zhang, Fu-wen; Li, Ying; Wu, Xi; Zheng, Hui; Cheng, Lin-hao; Liang, Fan-rong

    2011-03-24

    In order to evaluate the safety of acupuncture in China objectively, we investigated the adverse events associated with acupuncture based on three multicentre randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the safety of acupuncture, identifying the common types of acupuncture adverse events, and analysing the related risk factors for their occurrence. This observational study included patients who received acupuncture from three multicentre RCTs respectively for migraine, functional dyspepsia and Bell's palsy. The 1968 patients and their acupuncturists documented adverse events associated with acupuncture after treatment. We collected data about adverse events due to acupuncture treatment from their case report forms. We analysed the incidence and details of the adverse effects, and studied the risk factors for acupuncture adverse events with non-conditional logistic regression analysis. Among the 1968 patients, 74 patients (3.76%) suffered at least one adverse event throughout the treatment period. We did not observe the occurrence of serious adverse events. 73 patients with adverse events recovered within 2 weeks through effective treatment such as physiotherapy or self-treatment. A total of 3 patients withdrew because of adverse events. There were 9 types of adverse events related to acupuncture, including subcutaneous haematoma, bleeding, skin bruising and needle site pain. Subcutaneous haematoma and haemorrhage in the needling points were the most common adverse events. Age and gender were related to the occurrence of acupuncture adverse events. The older the patients were, the higher the risk of adverse events was. In addition, male patients had slightly higher risk of an adverse event than female patients. Acupuncture is a safe therapy with low risk of adverse events in clinical practice. The risk factors for adverse events (AEs) were related to the patients' gender and age and the local anatomical structure of the acupoints. AEs could be reduced and

  17. Guidelines for time-to-event end point definitions in sarcomas and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) trials: results of the DATECAN initiative (Definition for the Assessment of Time-to-event Endpoints in CANcer trials)†.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellera, C A; Penel, N; Ouali, M; Bonvalot, S; Casali, P G; Nielsen, O S; Delannes, M; Litière, S; Bonnetain, F; Dabakuyo, T S; Benjamin, R S; Blay, J-Y; Bui, B N; Collin, F; Delaney, T F; Duffaud, F; Filleron, T; Fiore, M; Gelderblom, H; George, S; Grimer, R; Grosclaude, P; Gronchi, A; Haas, R; Hohenberger, P; Issels, R; Italiano, A; Jooste, V; Krarup-Hansen, A; Le Péchoux, C; Mussi, C; Oberlin, O; Patel, S; Piperno-Neumann, S; Raut, C; Ray-Coquard, I; Rutkowski, P; Schuetze, S; Sleijfer, S; Stoeckle, E; Van Glabbeke, M; Woll, P; Gourgou-Bourgade, S; Mathoulin-Pélissier, S

    2015-05-01

    The use of potential surrogate end points for overall survival, such as disease-free survival (DFS) or time-to-treatment failure (TTF) is increasingly common in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in cancer. However, the definition of time-to-event (TTE) end points is rarely precise and lacks uniformity across trials. End point definition can impact trial results by affecting estimation of treatment effect and statistical power. The DATECAN initiative (Definition for the Assessment of Time-to-event End points in CANcer trials) aims to provide recommendations for definitions of TTE end points. We report guidelines for RCT in sarcomas and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). We first carried out a literature review to identify TTE end points (primary or secondary) reported in publications of RCT. An international multidisciplinary panel of experts proposed recommendations for the definitions of these end points. Recommendations were developed through a validated consensus method formalizing the degree of agreement among experts. Recommended guidelines for the definition of TTE end points commonly used in RCT for sarcomas and GIST are provided for adjuvant and metastatic settings, including DFS, TTF, time to progression and others. Use of standardized definitions should facilitate comparison of trials' results, and improve the quality of trial design and reporting. These guidelines could be of particular interest to research scientists involved in the design, conduct, reporting or assessment of RCT such as investigators, statisticians, reviewers, editors or regulatory authorities. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Ultimate design load analysis of planetary gearbox bearings under extreme events

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gallego Calderon, Juan Felipe; Natarajan, Anand; Cutululis, Nicolaos Antonio

    2017-01-01

    This paper investigates the impact of extreme events on the planet bearings of a 5 MW gearbox. The system is simulated using an aeroelastic tool, where the turbine structure is modeled, and MATLAB/Simulink, where the drivetrain (gearbox and generator) are modeled using a lumped-parameter approach....... Three extreme events are assessed: low-voltage ride through, emergency stop and normal stop. The analysis is focused on finding which event has the most negative impact on the bearing extreme radial loads. The two latter events are carried out following the guidelines of the International...

  19. Sensitivity Analysis of Per-Protocol Time-to-Event Treatment Efficacy in Randomized Clinical Trials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbert, Peter B.; Shepherd, Bryan E.; Hudgens, Michael G.

    2013-01-01

    Summary Assessing per-protocol treatment effcacy on a time-to-event endpoint is a common objective of randomized clinical trials. The typical analysis uses the same method employed for the intention-to-treat analysis (e.g., standard survival analysis) applied to the subgroup meeting protocol adherence criteria. However, due to potential post-randomization selection bias, this analysis may mislead about treatment efficacy. Moreover, while there is extensive literature on methods for assessing causal treatment effects in compliers, these methods do not apply to a common class of trials where a) the primary objective compares survival curves, b) it is inconceivable to assign participants to be adherent and event-free before adherence is measured, and c) the exclusion restriction assumption fails to hold. HIV vaccine efficacy trials including the recent RV144 trial exemplify this class, because many primary endpoints (e.g., HIV infections) occur before adherence is measured, and nonadherent subjects who receive some of the planned immunizations may be partially protected. Therefore, we develop methods for assessing per-protocol treatment efficacy for this problem class, considering three causal estimands of interest. Because these estimands are not identifiable from the observable data, we develop nonparametric bounds and semiparametric sensitivity analysis methods that yield estimated ignorance and uncertainty intervals. The methods are applied to RV144. PMID:24187408

  20. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Diet and New and Recurrent Root Caries Events in Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaye, Elizabeth K; Heaton, Brenda; Sohn, Woosung; Rich, Sharron E; Spiro, Avron; Garcia, Raul I

    2015-09-01

    To examine the effect of overall dietary quality on number of teeth with new or recurrent root caries events during follow-up (root caries increment). Prospective study with dental examinations approximately every 3 years over 20 years. Veterans Affairs Dental Longitudinal Study in greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Men aged 47 to 90 (N = 533). A single calibrated examiner assessed root caries and restorations, calculus, probing pocket depth, and attachment loss on each tooth at each examination. The adjusted root caries increment (root-ADJCI) was computed from new and recurrent root caries events on teeth with recession of 2 mm or more. Dietary information was obtained from food frequency questionnaires. An adherence score was computed by comparing consumption frequency of 10 food groups (fruits, vegetables, total dairy, low-fat dairy, meat, total grains, high-fiber grains, legumes, fats, sweets) from the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet guidelines. Mean root-ADJCIs were compared according to DASH adherence score quartile using generalized linear negative binomial regression models, controlling for age, number of teeth at risk of root caries, time at risk of root caries, calculus, presence of removable denture, history of dental prophylaxis, body mass index, and smoking status. Men with DASH adherence scores in the highest quartile had a 30% lower mean root-ADJCI (1.86 teeth) than those in the lowest quartile (2.68 teeth) (P = .03). Root-ADJCI was lower with greater adherence to recommendations for vegetables and total grains and greater with greater sugar-sweetened carbonated beverage consumption. Root caries incidence rate did not vary significantly between quartiles. A higher-quality diet may reduce root caries risk in older men. © 2015, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2015, The American Geriatrics Society.

  1. Impact of hydroxyurea on clinical events in the BABY HUG trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Files, Beatrice A.; Luo, Zhaoyu; Miller, Scott T.; Kalpatthi, Ram; Iyer, Rathi; Seaman, Phillip; Lebensburger, Jeffrey; Alvarez, Ofelia; Thompson, Bruce; Ware, Russell E.; Wang, Winfred C.

    2012-01-01

    The Pediatric Hydroxyurea Phase 3 Clinical Trial (BABY HUG) was a phase 3 multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of hydroxyurea in infants (beginning at 9-18 months of age) with sickle cell anemia. An important secondary objective of this study was to compare clinical events between the hydroxyurea and placebo groups. One hundred and ninety-three subjects were randomized to hydroxyurea (20 mg/kg/d) or placebo; there were 374 patient-years of on-study observation. Hydroxyurea was associated with statistically significantly lower rates of initial and recurrent episodes of pain, dactylitis, acute chest syndrome, and hospitalization; even infants who were asymptomatic at enrollment had less dactylitis as well as fewer hospitalizations and transfusions if treated with hydroxyurea. Despite expected mild myelosuppression, hydroxyurea was not associated with an increased risk of bacteremia or serious infection. These data provide important safety and efficacy information for clinicians considering hydroxyurea therapy for very young children with sickle cell anemia. This clinical trial is registered with the National Institutes of Health (NCT00006400, www.clinicaltrials.gov). PMID:22915643

  2. Adverse events among seniors receiving spinal manipulation and exercise in a randomized clinical trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maiers, Michele; Evans, Roni; Hartvigsen, Jan

    2015-01-01

    Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) and exercise have demonstrated effectiveness for neck pain (NP). Adverse events (AE) reporting in trials, particularly among elderly participants, is inconsistent and challenges informed clinical decision making. This paper provides a detailed report of AE experi...

  3. Search for stopped long-lived particles produced in pp collisions at $\\sqrt{s}$ =7 TeV

    CERN Document Server

    Chatrchyan, Serguei; Sirunyan, Albert M; Tumasyan, Armen; Adam, Wolfgang; Bergauer, Thomas; Dragicevic, Marko; Erö, Janos; Fabjan, Christian; Friedl, Markus; Fruehwirth, Rudolf; Ghete, Vasile Mihai; Hammer, Josef; Hörmann, Natascha; Hrubec, Josef; Jeitler, Manfred; Kiesenhofer, Wolfgang; Knünz, Valentin; Krammer, Manfred; Liko, Dietrich; Mikulec, Ivan; Pernicka, Manfred; Rahbaran, Babak; Rohringer, Christine; Rohringer, Herbert; Schöfbeck, Robert; Strauss, Josef; Taurok, Anton; Wagner, Philipp; Waltenberger, Wolfgang; Walzel, Gerhard; Widl, Edmund; Wulz, Claudia-Elisabeth; Mossolov, Vladimir; Shumeiko, Nikolai; Suarez Gonzalez, Juan; Bansal, Sunil; Cornelis, Tom; De Wolf, Eddi A; Janssen, Xavier; Luyckx, Sten; Maes, Thomas; Mucibello, Luca; Ochesanu, Silvia; Roland, Benoit; Rougny, Romain; Selvaggi, Michele; Staykova, Zlatka; Van Haevermaet, Hans; Van Mechelen, Pierre; Van Remortel, Nick; Van Spilbeeck, Alex; Blekman, Freya; Blyweert, Stijn; D'Hondt, Jorgen; Gonzalez Suarez, Rebeca; Kalogeropoulos, Alexis; Maes, Michael; Olbrechts, Annik; Van Doninck, Walter; Van Mulders, Petra; Van Onsem, Gerrit Patrick; Villella, Ilaria; Clerbaux, Barbara; De Lentdecker, Gilles; Dero, Vincent; Gay, Arnaud; Hreus, Tomas; Léonard, Alexandre; Marage, Pierre Edouard; Reis, Thomas; Thomas, Laurent; Vander Velde, Catherine; Vanlaer, Pascal; Wang, Jian; Adler, Volker; Beernaert, Kelly; Cimmino, Anna; Costantini, Silvia; Garcia, Guillaume; Grunewald, Martin; Klein, Benjamin; Lellouch, Jérémie; Marinov, Andrey; Mccartin, Joseph; Ocampo Rios, Alberto Andres; Ryckbosch, Dirk; Strobbe, Nadja; Thyssen, Filip; Tytgat, Michael; Verwilligen, Piet; Walsh, Sinead; Yazgan, Efe; Zaganidis, Nicolas; Basegmez, Suzan; Bruno, Giacomo; Castello, Roberto; Caudron, Adrien; Ceard, Ludivine; Delaere, Christophe; Du Pree, Tristan; Favart, Denis; Forthomme, Laurent; Giammanco, Andrea; Hollar, Jonathan; Lemaitre, Vincent; Liao, Junhui; Militaru, Otilia; Nuttens, Claude; Pagano, Davide; Perrini, Lucia; Pin, Arnaud; Piotrzkowski, Krzysztof; Schul, Nicolas; Vizan Garcia, Jesus Manuel; Beliy, Nikita; Caebergs, Thierry; Daubie, Evelyne; Hammad, Gregory Habib; Alves, Gilvan; Correa Martins Junior, Marcos; De Jesus Damiao, Dilson; Martins, Thiago; Pol, Maria Elena; Henrique Gomes E Souza, Moacyr; Aldá Júnior, Walter Luiz; Carvalho, Wagner; Custódio, Analu; Melo Da Costa, Eliza; De Oliveira Martins, Carley; Fonseca De Souza, Sandro; Matos Figueiredo, Diego; Mundim, Luiz; Nogima, Helio; Oguri, Vitor; Prado Da Silva, Wanda Lucia; Santoro, Alberto; Soares Jorge, Luana; Sznajder, Andre; Bernardes, Cesar Augusto; De Almeida Dias, Flavia; Tomei, Thiago; De Moraes Gregores, Eduardo; Lagana, Caio; Da Cunha Marinho, Franciole; Mercadante, Pedro G; Novaes, Sergio F; Padula, Sandra; Genchev, Vladimir; Iaydjiev, Plamen; Piperov, Stefan; Rodozov, Mircho; Stoykova, Stefka; Sultanov, Georgi; Tcholakov, Vanio; Trayanov, Rumen; Vutova, Mariana; Dimitrov, Anton; Hadjiiska, Roumyana; Kozhuharov, Venelin; Litov, Leander; Pavlov, Borislav; Petkov, Peicho; Bian, Jian-Guo; Chen, Guo-Ming; Chen, He-Sheng; Jiang, Chun-Hua; Liang, Dong; Liang, Song; Meng, Xiangwei; Tao, Junquan; Wang, Jian; Wang, Xianyou; Wang, Zheng; Xiao, Hong; Xu, Ming; Zang, Jingjing; Zhang, Zhen; Asawatangtrakuldee, Chayanit; Ban, Yong; Guo, Shuang; Guo, Yifei; Li, Wenbo; Liu, Shuai; Mao, Yajun; Qian, Si-Jin; Teng, Haiyun; Wang, Siguang; Zhu, Bo; Zou, Wei; Avila, Carlos; Gomez, Juan Pablo; Gomez Moreno, Bernardo; Osorio Oliveros, Andres Felipe; Sanabria, Juan Carlos; Godinovic, Nikola; Lelas, Damir; Plestina, Roko; Polic, Dunja; Puljak, Ivica; Antunovic, Zeljko; Kovac, Marko; Brigljevic, Vuko; Duric, Senka; Kadija, Kreso; Luetic, Jelena; Morovic, Srecko; Attikis, Alexandros; Galanti, Mario; Mavromanolakis, Georgios; Mousa, Jehad; Nicolaou, Charalambos; Ptochos, Fotios; Razis, Panos A; Finger, Miroslav; Finger Jr, Michael; Assran, Yasser; Elgammal, Sherif; Ellithi Kamel, Ali; Khalil, Shaaban; Mahmoud, Mohammed; Radi, Amr; Kadastik, Mario; Müntel, Mait; Raidal, Martti; Rebane, Liis; Tiko, Andres; Azzolini, Virginia; Eerola, Paula; Fedi, Giacomo; Voutilainen, Mikko; Härkönen, Jaakko; Heikkinen, Mika Aatos; Karimäki, Veikko; Kinnunen, Ritva; Kortelainen, Matti J; Lampén, Tapio; Lassila-Perini, Kati; Lehti, Sami; Lindén, Tomas; Luukka, Panja-Riina; Mäenpää, Teppo; Peltola, Timo; Tuominen, Eija; Tuominiemi, Jorma; Tuovinen, Esa; Ungaro, Donatella; Wendland, Lauri; Banzuzi, Kukka; Karjalainen, Ahti; Korpela, Arja; Tuuva, Tuure; Besancon, Marc; Choudhury, Somnath; Dejardin, Marc; Denegri, Daniel; Fabbro, Bernard; Faure, Jean-Louis; Ferri, Federico; Ganjour, Serguei; Givernaud, Alain; Gras, Philippe; Hamel de Monchenault, Gautier; Jarry, Patrick; Locci, Elizabeth; Malcles, Julie; Millischer, Laurent; Nayak, Aruna; Rander, John; Rosowsky, André; Shreyber, Irina; Titov, Maksym; Baffioni, Stephanie; Beaudette, Florian; Benhabib, Lamia; Bianchini, Lorenzo; Bluj, Michal; Broutin, Clementine; Busson, Philippe; Charlot, Claude; Daci, Nadir; Dahms, Torsten; Dobrzynski, Ludwik; Granier de Cassagnac, Raphael; Haguenauer, Maurice; Miné, Philippe; Mironov, Camelia; Nguyen, Matthew; Ochando, Christophe; Paganini, Pascal; Sabes, David; Salerno, Roberto; Sirois, Yves; Veelken, Christian; Zabi, Alexandre; Agram, Jean-Laurent; Andrea, Jeremy; Bloch, Daniel; Bodin, David; Brom, Jean-Marie; Cardaci, Marco; Chabert, Eric Christian; Collard, Caroline; Conte, Eric; Drouhin, Frédéric; Ferro, Cristina; Fontaine, Jean-Charles; Gelé, Denis; Goerlach, Ulrich; Juillot, Pierre; Le Bihan, Anne-Catherine; Van Hove, Pierre; Fassi, Farida; Mercier, Damien; Beauceron, Stephanie; Beaupere, Nicolas; Bondu, Olivier; Boudoul, Gaelle; Chasserat, Julien; Chierici, Roberto; Contardo, Didier; Depasse, Pierre; El Mamouni, Houmani; Fay, Jean; Gascon, Susan; Gouzevitch, Maxime; Ille, Bernard; Kurca, Tibor; Lethuillier, Morgan; Mirabito, Laurent; Perries, Stephane; Sordini, Viola; Tosi, Silvano; Tschudi, Yohann; Verdier, Patrice; Viret, Sébastien; Tsamalaidze, Zviad; Anagnostou, Georgios; Beranek, Sarah; Edelhoff, Matthias; Feld, Lutz; Heracleous, Natalie; Hindrichs, Otto; Jussen, Ruediger; Klein, Katja; Merz, Jennifer; Ostapchuk, Andrey; Perieanu, Adrian; Raupach, Frank; Sammet, Jan; Schael, Stefan; Sprenger, Daniel; Weber, Hendrik; Wittmer, Bruno; Zhukov, Valery; Ata, Metin; Caudron, Julien; Dietz-Laursonn, Erik; Duchardt, Deborah; Erdmann, Martin; Fischer, Robert; Güth, Andreas; Hebbeker, Thomas; Heidemann, Carsten; Hoepfner, Kerstin; Klingebiel, Dennis; Kreuzer, Peter; Lingemann, Joschka; Magass, Carsten; Merschmeyer, Markus; Meyer, Arnd; Olschewski, Mark; Papacz, Paul; Pieta, Holger; Reithler, Hans; Schmitz, Stefan Antonius; Sonnenschein, Lars; Steggemann, Jan; Teyssier, Daniel; Weber, Martin; Bontenackels, Michael; Cherepanov, Vladimir; Flügge, Günter; Geenen, Heiko; Geisler, Matthias; Haj Ahmad, Wael; Hoehle, Felix; Kargoll, Bastian; Kress, Thomas; Kuessel, Yvonne; Nowack, Andreas; Perchalla, Lars; Pooth, Oliver; Rennefeld, Jörg; Sauerland, Philip; Stahl, Achim; Aldaya Martin, Maria; Behr, Joerg; Behrenhoff, Wolf; Behrens, Ulf; Bergholz, Matthias; Bethani, Agni; Borras, Kerstin; Burgmeier, Armin; Cakir, Altan; Calligaris, Luigi; Campbell, Alan; Castro, Elena; Costanza, Francesco; Dammann, Dirk; Diez Pardos, Carmen; Eckerlin, Guenter; Eckstein, Doris; Flucke, Gero; Geiser, Achim; Glushkov, Ivan; Gunnellini, Paolo; Habib, Shiraz; Hauk, Johannes; Hellwig, Gregor; Jung, Hannes; Kasemann, Matthias; Katsas, Panagiotis; Kleinwort, Claus; Kluge, Hannelies; Knutsson, Albert; Krämer, Mira; Krücker, Dirk; Kuznetsova, Ekaterina; Lange, Wolfgang; Lohmann, Wolfgang; Lutz, Benjamin; Mankel, Rainer; Marfin, Ihar; Marienfeld, Markus; Melzer-Pellmann, Isabell-Alissandra; Meyer, Andreas Bernhard; Mnich, Joachim; Mussgiller, Andreas; Naumann-Emme, Sebastian; Olzem, Jan; Perrey, Hanno; Petrukhin, Alexey; Pitzl, Daniel; Raspereza, Alexei; Ribeiro Cipriano, Pedro M; Riedl, Caroline; Ron, Elias; Rosin, Michele; Salfeld-Nebgen, Jakob; Schmidt, Ringo; Schoerner-Sadenius, Thomas; Sen, Niladri; Spiridonov, Alexander; Stein, Matthias; Walsh, Roberval; Wissing, Christoph; Autermann, Christian; Blobel, Volker; Draeger, Jula; Enderle, Holger; Erfle, Joachim; Gebbert, Ulla; Görner, Martin; Hermanns, Thomas; Höing, Rebekka Sophie; Kaschube, Kolja; Kaussen, Gordon; Kirschenmann, Henning; Klanner, Robert; Lange, Jörn; Mura, Benedikt; Nowak, Friederike; Peiffer, Thomas; Pietsch, Niklas; Rathjens, Denis; Sander, Christian; Schettler, Hannes; Schleper, Peter; Schlieckau, Eike; Schmidt, Alexander; Schröder, Matthias; Schum, Torben; Seidel, Markus; Sola, Valentina; Stadie, Hartmut; Steinbrück, Georg; Thomsen, Jan; Vanelderen, Lukas; Barth, Christian; Berger, Joram; Böser, Christian; Chwalek, Thorsten; De Boer, Wim; Descroix, Alexis; Dierlamm, Alexander; Feindt, Michael; Guthoff, Moritz; Hackstein, Christoph; Hartmann, Frank; Hauth, Thomas; Heinrich, Michael; Held, Hauke; Hoffmann, Karl-Heinz; Honc, Simon; Katkov, Igor; Komaragiri, Jyothsna Rani; Lobelle Pardo, Patricia; Martschei, Daniel; Mueller, Steffen; Müller, Thomas; Niegel, Martin; Nürnberg, Andreas; Oberst, Oliver; Oehler, Andreas; Ott, Jochen; Quast, Gunter; Rabbertz, Klaus; Ratnikov, Fedor; Ratnikova, Natalia; Röcker, Steffen; Scheurer, Armin; Schilling, Frank-Peter; Schott, Gregory; Simonis, Hans-Jürgen; Stober, Fred-Markus Helmut; Troendle, Daniel; Ulrich, Ralf; Wagner-Kuhr, Jeannine; Wayand, Stefan; Weiler, Thomas; Zeise, Manuel; Daskalakis, Georgios; Geralis, Theodoros; Kesisoglou, Stilianos; Kyriakis, Aristotelis; Loukas, Demetrios; Manolakos, Ioannis; Markou, Athanasios; Markou, Christos; Mavrommatis, Charalampos; Ntomari, Eleni; Gouskos, Loukas; Mertzimekis, Theodoros; Panagiotou, Apostolos; Saoulidou, Niki; Evangelou, Ioannis; Foudas, Costas; Kokkas, Panagiotis; Manthos, Nikolaos; Papadopoulos, Ioannis; Patras, Vaios; Bencze, Gyorgy; Hajdu, Csaba; Hidas, Pàl; Horvath, Dezso; Sikler, Ferenc; Veszpremi, Viktor; Vesztergombi, Gyorgy; Beni, Noemi; Czellar, Sandor; Molnar, Jozsef; Palinkas, Jozsef; Szillasi, Zoltan; Karancsi, János; Raics, Peter; Trocsanyi, Zoltan Laszlo; Ujvari, Balazs; Beri, Suman Bala; Bhatnagar, Vipin; Dhingra, Nitish; Gupta, Ruchi; Bansal, Monika; Kaur, Manjit; Mehta, Manuk Zubin; Nishu, Nishu; Saini, Lovedeep Kaur; Sharma, Archana; Singh, Jasbir; Kumar, Ashok; Kumar, Arun; Ahuja, Sudha; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Choudhary, Brajesh C; Malhotra, Shivali; Naimuddin, Md; Ranjan, Kirti; Sharma, Varun; Shivpuri, Ram Krishen; Banerjee, Sunanda; Bhattacharya, Satyaki; Dutta, Suchandra; Gomber, Bhawna; Jain, Sandhya; Jain, Shilpi; Khurana, Raman; Sarkar, Subir; Sharan, Manoj; Abdulsalam, Abdulla; Choudhury, Rajani Kant; Dutta, Dipanwita; Kailas, Swaminathan; Kumar, Vineet; Mehta, Pourus; Mohanty, Ajit Kumar; Pant, Lalit Mohan; Shukla, Prashant; Aziz, Tariq; Ganguly, Sanmay; Guchait, Monoranjan; Maity, Manas; Majumder, Gobinda; Mazumdar, Kajari; Mohanty, Gagan Bihari; Parida, Bibhuti; Sudhakar, Katta; Wickramage, Nadeesha; Banerjee, Sudeshna; Dugad, Shashikant; Arfaei, Hessamaddin; Bakhshiansohi, Hamed; Etesami, Seyed Mohsen; Fahim, Ali; Hashemi, Majid; Hesari, Hoda; Jafari, Abideh; Khakzad, Mohsen; Mohammadi Najafabadi, Mojtaba; Paktinat Mehdiabadi, Saeid; Safarzadeh, Batool; Zeinali, Maryam; Abbrescia, Marcello; Barbone, Lucia; Calabria, Cesare; Chhibra, Simranjit Singh; Colaleo, Anna; Creanza, Donato; De Filippis, Nicola; De Palma, Mauro; Fiore, Luigi; Iaselli, Giuseppe; Lusito, Letizia; Maggi, Giorgio; Maggi, Marcello; Marangelli, Bartolomeo; My, Salvatore; Nuzzo, Salvatore; Pacifico, Nicola; Pompili, Alexis; Pugliese, Gabriella; Selvaggi, Giovanna; Silvestris, Lucia; Singh, Gurpreet; Venditti, Rosamaria; Zito, Giuseppe; Abbiendi, Giovanni; Benvenuti, Alberto; Bonacorsi, Daniele; Braibant-Giacomelli, Sylvie; Brigliadori, Luca; Capiluppi, Paolo; Castro, Andrea; Cavallo, Francesca Romana; Cuffiani, Marco; Dallavalle, Gaetano-Marco; Fabbri, Fabrizio; Fanfani, Alessandra; Fasanella, Daniele; Giacomelli, Paolo; Grandi, Claudio; Guiducci, Luigi; Marcellini, Stefano; Masetti, Gianni; Meneghelli, Marco; Montanari, Alessandro; Navarria, Francesco; Odorici, Fabrizio; Perrotta, Andrea; Primavera, Federica; Rossi, Antonio; Rovelli, Tiziano; Siroli, Gianni; Travaglini, Riccardo; Albergo, Sebastiano; Cappello, Gigi; Chiorboli, Massimiliano; Costa, Salvatore; Potenza, Renato; Tricomi, Alessia; Tuve, Cristina; Barbagli, Giuseppe; Ciulli, Vitaliano; Civinini, Carlo; D'Alessandro, Raffaello; Focardi, Ettore; Frosali, Simone; Gallo, Elisabetta; Gonzi, Sandro; Meschini, Marco; Paoletti, Simone; Sguazzoni, Giacomo; Tropiano, Antonio; Benussi, Luigi; Bianco, Stefano; Colafranceschi, Stefano; Fabbri, Franco; Piccolo, Davide; Fabbricatore, Pasquale; Musenich, Riccardo; Benaglia, Andrea; De Guio, Federico; Di Matteo, Leonardo; Fiorendi, Sara; Gennai, Simone; Ghezzi, Alessio; Malvezzi, Sandra; Manzoni, Riccardo Andrea; Martelli, Arabella; Massironi, Andrea; Menasce, Dario; Moroni, Luigi; Paganoni, Marco; Pedrini, Daniele; Ragazzi, Stefano; Redaelli, Nicola; Sala, Silvano; Tabarelli de Fatis, Tommaso; Buontempo, Salvatore; Carrillo Montoya, Camilo Andres; Cavallo, Nicola; De Cosa, Annapaola; Dogangun, Oktay; Fabozzi, Francesco; Iorio, Alberto Orso Maria; Lista, Luca; Meola, Sabino; Merola, Mario; Paolucci, Pierluigi; Azzi, Patrizia; Bacchetta, Nicola; Bellato, Marco; Bisello, Dario; Branca, Antonio; Carlin, Roberto; Checchia, Paolo; Dorigo, Tommaso; Gasparini, Fabrizio; Gozzelino, Andrea; Kanishchev, Konstantin; Lacaprara, Stefano; Lazzizzera, Ignazio; Margoni, Martino; Meneguzzo, Anna Teresa; Pazzini, Jacopo; Pozzobon, Nicola; Ronchese, Paolo; Simonetto, Franco; Torassa, Ezio; Tosi, Mia; Vanini, Sara; Ventura, Sandro; Zotto, Pierluigi; Zucchetta, Alberto; Zumerle, Gianni; Gabusi, Michele; Ratti, Sergio P; Riccardi, Cristina; Torre, Paola; Vitulo, Paolo; Biasini, Maurizio; Bilei, Gian Mario; Fanò, Livio; Lariccia, Paolo; Lucaroni, Andrea; Mantovani, Giancarlo; Menichelli, Mauro; Nappi, Aniello; Romeo, Francesco; Saha, Anirban; Santocchia, Attilio; Taroni, Silvia; Azzurri, Paolo; Bagliesi, Giuseppe; Boccali, Tommaso; Broccolo, Giuseppe; Castaldi, Rino; D'Agnolo, Raffaele Tito; Dell'Orso, Roberto; Fiori, Francesco; Foà, Lorenzo; Giassi, Alessandro; Kraan, Aafke; Ligabue, Franco; Lomtadze, Teimuraz; Martini, Luca; Messineo, Alberto; Palla, Fabrizio; Rizzi, Andrea; Serban, Alin Titus; Spagnolo, Paolo; Squillacioti, Paola; Tenchini, Roberto; Tonelli, Guido; Venturi, Andrea; Verdini, Piero Giorgio; Barone, Luciano; Cavallari, Francesca; Del Re, Daniele; Diemoz, Marcella; Grassi, Marco; Longo, Egidio; Meridiani, Paolo; Micheli, Francesco; Nourbakhsh, Shervin; Organtini, Giovanni; Paramatti, Riccardo; Rahatlou, Shahram; Sigamani, Michael; Soffi, Livia; Amapane, Nicola; Arcidiacono, Roberta; Argiro, Stefano; Arneodo, Michele; Biino, Cristina; Cartiglia, Nicolo; Costa, Marco; Demaria, Natale; Graziano, Alberto; Mariotti, Chiara; Maselli, Silvia; Migliore, Ernesto; Monaco, Vincenzo; Musich, Marco; Obertino, Maria Margherita; Pastrone, Nadia; Pelliccioni, Mario; Potenza, Alberto; Romero, Alessandra; Ruspa, Marta; Sacchi, Roberto; Solano, Ada; Staiano, Amedeo; Vilela Pereira, Antonio; Belforte, Stefano; Candelise, Vieri; Cossutti, Fabio; Della Ricca, Giuseppe; Gobbo, Benigno; Marone, Matteo; Montanino, Damiana; Penzo, Aldo; Schizzi, Andrea; Heo, Seong Gu; Kim, Tae Yeon; Nam, Soon-Kwon; Chang, Sunghyun; Chung, Jin Hyuk; Kim, Dong Hee; Kim, Gui Nyun; Kong, Dae Jung; Park, Hyangkyu; Ro, Sang-Ryul; Son, Dong-Chul; Son, Taejin; Kim, Jae Yool; Kim, Zero Jaeho; Song, Sanghyeon; Choi, Suyong; Gyun, Dooyeon; Hong, Byung-Sik; Jo, Mihee; Kim, Hyunchul; Kim, Tae Jeong; Lee, Kyong Sei; Moon, Dong Ho; Park, Sung Keun; Choi, Minkyoo; Kim, Ji Hyun; Park, Chawon; Park, Inkyu; Park, Sangnam; Ryu, Geonmo; Cho, Yongjin; Choi, Young-Il; Choi, Young Kyu; Goh, Junghwan; Kim, Min Suk; Kwon, Eunhyang; Lee, Byounghoon; Lee, Jongseok; Lee, Sungeun; Seo, Hyunkwan; Yu, Intae; Bilinskas, Mykolas Jurgis; Grigelionis, Ignas; Janulis, Mindaugas; Juodagalvis, Andrius; Castilla-Valdez, Heriberto; De La Cruz-Burelo, Eduard; Heredia-de La Cruz, Ivan; Lopez-Fernandez, Ricardo; Magaña Villalba, Ricardo; Martínez-Ortega, Jorge; Sánchez-Hernández, Alberto; Villasenor-Cendejas, Luis Manuel; Carrillo Moreno, Salvador; Vazquez Valencia, Fabiola; Salazar Ibarguen, Humberto Antonio; Casimiro Linares, Edgar; Morelos Pineda, Antonio; Reyes-Santos, Marco A; Krofcheck, David; Bell, Alan James; Butler, Philip H; Doesburg, Robert; Reucroft, Steve; Silverwood, Hamish; Ahmad, Muhammad; Asghar, Muhammad Irfan; Hoorani, Hafeez R; Khalid, Shoaib; Khan, Wajid Ali; Khurshid, Taimoor; Qazi, Shamona; Shah, Mehar Ali; Shoaib, Muhammad; Brona, Grzegorz; Bunkowski, Karol; Cwiok, Mikolaj; Dominik, Wojciech; Doroba, Krzysztof; Kalinowski, Artur; Konecki, Marcin; Krolikowski, Jan; Bialkowska, Helena; Boimska, Bozena; Frueboes, Tomasz; Gokieli, Ryszard; Górski, Maciej; Kazana, Malgorzata; Nawrocki, Krzysztof; Romanowska-Rybinska, Katarzyna; Szleper, Michal; Wrochna, Grzegorz; Zalewski, Piotr; Almeida, Nuno; Bargassa, Pedrame; David Tinoco Mendes, Andre; Faccioli, Pietro; Fernandes, Miguel; Ferreira Parracho, Pedro Guilherme; Gallinaro, Michele; Seixas, Joao; Varela, Joao; Vischia, Pietro; Belotelov, Ivan; Bunin, Pavel; Gavrilenko, Mikhail; Golutvin, Igor; Gorbunov, Ilya; Kamenev, Alexey; Karjavin, Vladimir; Kozlov, Guennady; Lanev, Alexander; Malakhov, Alexander; Moisenz, Petr; Palichik, Vladimir; Perelygin, Victor; Shmatov, Sergey; Smirnov, Vitaly; Volodko, Anton; Zarubin, Anatoli; Evstyukhin, Sergey; Golovtsov, Victor; Ivanov, Yury; Kim, Victor; Levchenko, Petr; Murzin, Victor; Oreshkin, Vadim; Smirnov, Igor; Sulimov, Valentin; Uvarov, Lev; Vavilov, Sergey; Vorobyev, Alexey; Vorobyev, Andrey; Andreev, Yuri; Dermenev, Alexander; Gninenko, Sergei; Golubev, Nikolai; Kirsanov, Mikhail; Krasnikov, Nikolai; Matveev, Viktor; Pashenkov, Anatoli; Tlisov, Danila; Toropin, Alexander; Epshteyn, Vladimir; Erofeeva, Maria; Gavrilov, Vladimir; Kossov, Mikhail; Lychkovskaya, Natalia; Popov, Vladimir; Safronov, Grigory; Semenov, Sergey; Stolin, Viatcheslav; Vlasov, Evgueni; Zhokin, Alexander; Belyaev, Andrey; Boos, Edouard; Dubinin, Mikhail; Dudko, Lev; Ershov, Alexander; Gribushin, Andrey; Klyukhin, Vyacheslav; Kodolova, Olga; Lokhtin, Igor; Markina, Anastasia; Obraztsov, Stepan; Perfilov, Maxim; Petrushanko, Sergey; Popov, Andrey; Sarycheva, Ludmila; Savrin, Viktor; Snigirev, Alexander; Andreev, Vladimir; Azarkin, Maksim; Dremin, Igor; Kirakosyan, Martin; Leonidov, Andrey; Mesyats, Gennady; Rusakov, Sergey V; Vinogradov, Alexey; Azhgirey, Igor; Bayshev, Igor; Bitioukov, Sergei; Grishin, Viatcheslav; Kachanov, Vassili; Konstantinov, Dmitri; Korablev, Andrey; Krychkine, Victor; Petrov, Vladimir; Ryutin, Roman; Sobol, Andrei; Tourtchanovitch, Leonid; Troshin, Sergey; Tyurin, Nikolay; Uzunian, Andrey; Volkov, Alexey; Adzic, Petar; Djordjevic, Milos; Ekmedzic, Marko; Krpic, Dragomir; Milosevic, Jovan; Aguilar-Benitez, Manuel; Alcaraz Maestre, Juan; Arce, Pedro; Battilana, Carlo; Calvo, Enrique; Cerrada, Marcos; Chamizo Llatas, Maria; Colino, Nicanor; De La Cruz, Begona; Delgado Peris, Antonio; Domínguez Vázquez, Daniel; Fernandez Bedoya, Cristina; Fernández Ramos, Juan Pablo; Ferrando, Antonio; Flix, Jose; Fouz, Maria Cruz; Garcia-Abia, Pablo; Gonzalez Lopez, Oscar; Goy Lopez, Silvia; Hernandez, Jose M; Josa, Maria Isabel; Merino, Gonzalo; Puerta Pelayo, Jesus; Quintario Olmeda, Adrián; Redondo, Ignacio; Romero, Luciano; Santaolalla, Javier; Senghi Soares, Mara; Willmott, Carlos; Albajar, Carmen; Codispoti, Giuseppe; de Trocóniz, Jorge F; Brun, Hugues; Cuevas, Javier; Fernandez Menendez, Javier; Folgueras, Santiago; Gonzalez Caballero, Isidro; Lloret Iglesias, Lara; Piedra Gomez, Jonatan; Brochero Cifuentes, Javier Andres; Cabrillo, Iban Jose; Calderon, Alicia; Chuang, Shan-Huei; Duarte Campderros, Jordi; Felcini, Marta; Fernandez, Marcos; Gomez, Gervasio; Gonzalez Sanchez, Javier; Jorda, Clara; Lopez Virto, Amparo; Marco, Jesus; Marco, Rafael; Martinez Rivero, Celso; Matorras, Francisco; Munoz Sanchez, Francisca Javiela; Rodrigo, Teresa; Rodríguez-Marrero, Ana Yaiza; Ruiz-Jimeno, Alberto; Scodellaro, Luca; Sobron Sanudo, Mar; Vila, Ivan; Vilar Cortabitarte, Rocio; Abbaneo, Duccio; Auffray, Etiennette; Auzinger, Georg; Baillon, Paul; Ball, Austin; Barney, David; Benitez, Jose F; Bernet, Colin; Bianchi, Giovanni; Bloch, Philippe; Bocci, Andrea; Bonato, Alessio; Botta, Cristina; Breuker, Horst; Camporesi, Tiziano; Cerminara, Gianluca; Christiansen, Tim; Coarasa Perez, Jose Antonio; D'Enterria, David; Dabrowski, Anne; De Roeck, Albert; Di Guida, Salvatore; Dobson, Marc; Dupont-Sagorin, Niels; Elliott-Peisert, Anna; Frisch, Benjamin; Funk, Wolfgang; Georgiou, Georgios; Giffels, Manuel; Gigi, Dominique; Gill, Karl; Giordano, Domenico; Giunta, Marina; Glege, Frank; Gomez-Reino Garrido, Robert; Govoni, Pietro; Gowdy, Stephen; Guida, Roberto; Hansen, Magnus; Harris, Philip; Hartl, Christian; Harvey, John; Hegner, Benedikt; Hinzmann, Andreas; Innocente, Vincenzo; Janot, Patrick; Kaadze, Ketino; Karavakis, Edward; Kousouris, Konstantinos; Lecoq, Paul; Lee, Yen-Jie; Lenzi, Piergiulio; Lourenco, Carlos; Maki, Tuula; Malberti, Martina; Malgeri, Luca; Mannelli, Marcello; Masetti, Lorenzo; Meijers, Frans; Mersi, Stefano; Meschi, Emilio; Moser, Roland; Mozer, Matthias Ulrich; Mulders, Martijn; Musella, Pasquale; Nesvold, Erik; Orimoto, Toyoko; Orsini, Luciano; Palencia Cortezon, Enrique; Perez, Emmanuelle; Perrozzi, Luca; Petrilli, Achille; Pfeiffer, Andreas; Pierini, Maurizio; Pimiä, Martti; Piparo, Danilo; Polese, Giovanni; Quertenmont, Loic; Racz, Attila; Reece, William; Rodrigues Antunes, Joao; Rolandi, Gigi; Rommerskirchen, Tanja; Rovelli, Chiara; Rovere, Marco; Sakulin, Hannes; Santanastasio, Francesco; Schäfer, Christoph; Schwick, Christoph; Segoni, Ilaria; Sekmen, Sezen; Sharma, Archana; Siegrist, Patrice; Silva, Pedro; Simon, Michal; Sphicas, Paraskevas; Spiga, Daniele; Spiropulu, Maria; Tsirou, Andromachi; Veres, Gabor Istvan; Vlimant, Jean-Roch; Wöhri, Hermine Katharina; Worm, Steven; Zeuner, Wolfram Dietrich; Bertl, Willi; Deiters, Konrad; Erdmann, Wolfram; Gabathuler, Kurt; Horisberger, Roland; Ingram, Quentin; Kaestli, Hans-Christian; König, Stefan; Kotlinski, Danek; Langenegger, Urs; Meier, Frank; Renker, Dieter; Rohe, Tilman; Sibille, Jennifer; Bäni, Lukas; Bortignon, Pierluigi; Buchmann, Marco-Andrea; Casal, Bruno; Chanon, Nicolas; Deisher, Amanda; Dissertori, Günther; Dittmar, Michael; Dünser, Marc; Eugster, Jürg; Freudenreich, Klaus; Grab, Christoph; Hits, Dmitry; Lecomte, Pierre; Lustermann, Werner; Marini, Andrea Carlo; Martinez Ruiz del Arbol, Pablo; Mohr, Niklas; Moortgat, Filip; Nägeli, Christoph; Nef, Pascal; Nessi-Tedaldi, Francesca; Pandolfi, Francesco; Pape, Luc; Pauss, Felicitas; Peruzzi, Marco; Ronga, Frederic Jean; Rossini, Marco; Sala, Leonardo; Sanchez, Ann - Karin; Starodumov, Andrei; Stieger, Benjamin; Takahashi, Maiko; Tauscher, Ludwig; Thea, Alessandro; Theofilatos, Konstantinos; Treille, Daniel; Urscheler, Christina; Wallny, Rainer; Weber, Hannsjoerg Artur; Wehrli, Lukas; Aguilo, Ernest; Amsler, Claude; Chiochia, Vincenzo; De Visscher, Simon; Favaro, Carlotta; Ivova Rikova, Mirena; Millan Mejias, Barbara; Otiougova, Polina; Robmann, Peter; Snoek, Hella; Tupputi, Salvatore; Verzetti, Mauro; Chang, Yuan-Hann; Chen, Kuan-Hsin; Kuo, Chia-Ming; Li, Syue-Wei; Lin, Willis; Liu, Zong-Kai; Lu, Yun-Ju; Mekterovic, Darko; Singh, Anil; Volpe, Roberta; Yu, Shin-Shan; Bartalini, Paolo; Chang, Paoti; Chang, You-Hao; Chang, Yu-Wei; Chao, Yuan; Chen, Kai-Feng; Dietz, Charles; Grundler, Ulysses; Hou, George Wei-Shu; Hsiung, Yee; Kao, Kai-Yi; Lei, Yeong-Jyi; Lu, Rong-Shyang; Majumder, Devdatta; Petrakou, Eleni; Shi, Xin; Shiu, Jing-Ge; Tzeng, Yeng-Ming; Wan, Xia; Wang, Minzu; Adiguzel, Aytul; Bakirci, Mustafa Numan; Cerci, Salim; Dozen, Candan; Dumanoglu, Isa; Eskut, Eda; Girgis, Semiray; Gokbulut, Gul; Gurpinar, Emine; Hos, Ilknur; Kangal, Evrim Ersin; Karapinar, Guler; Kayis Topaksu, Aysel; Onengut, Gulsen; Ozdemir, Kadri; Ozturk, Sertac; Polatoz, Ayse; Sogut, Kenan; Sunar Cerci, Deniz; Tali, Bayram; Topakli, Huseyin; Vergili, Latife Nukhet; Vergili, Mehmet; Akin, Ilina Vasileva; Aliev, Takhmasib; Bilin, Bugra; Bilmis, Selcuk; Deniz, Muhammed; Gamsizkan, Halil; Guler, Ali Murat; Ocalan, Kadir; Ozpineci, Altug; Serin, Meltem; Sever, Ramazan; Surat, Ugur Emrah; Yalvac, Metin; Yildirim, Eda; Zeyrek, Mehmet; Gülmez, Erhan; Isildak, Bora; Kaya, Mithat; Kaya, Ozlem; Ozkorucuklu, Suat; Sonmez, Nasuf; Cankocak, Kerem; Levchuk, Leonid; Bostock, Francis; Brooke, James John; Clement, Emyr; Cussans, David; Flacher, Henning; Frazier, Robert; Goldstein, Joel; Grimes, Mark; Heath, Greg P; Heath, Helen F; Kreczko, Lukasz; Metson, Simon; Newbold, Dave M; Nirunpong, Kachanon; Poll, Anthony; Senkin, Sergey; Smith, Vincent J; Williams, Thomas; Basso, Lorenzo; Bell, Ken W; Belyaev, Alexander; Brew, Christopher; Brown, Robert M; Cockerill, David JA; Coughlan, John A; Harder, Kristian; Harper, Sam; Jackson, James; Kennedy, Bruce W; Olaiya, Emmanuel; Petyt, David; Radburn-Smith, Benjamin Charles; Shepherd-Themistocleous, Claire; Tomalin, Ian R; Womersley, William John; Bainbridge, Robert; Ball, Gordon; Beuselinck, Raymond; Buchmuller, Oliver; Colling, David; Cripps, Nicholas; Cutajar, Michael; Dauncey, Paul; Davies, Gavin; Della Negra, Michel; Ferguson, William; Fulcher, Jonathan; Futyan, David; Gilbert, Andrew; Guneratne Bryer, Arlo; Hall, Geoffrey; Hatherell, Zoe; Hays, Jonathan; Iles, Gregory; Jarvis, Martyn; Karapostoli, Georgia; Lyons, Louis; Magnan, Anne-Marie; Marrouche, Jad; Mathias, Bryn; Nandi, Robin; Nash, Jordan; Nikitenko, Alexander; Papageorgiou, Anastasios; Pela, Joao; Pesaresi, Mark; Petridis, Konstantinos; Pioppi, Michele; Raymond, David Mark; Rogerson, Samuel; Rose, Andrew; Ryan, Matthew John; Seez, Christopher; Sharp, Peter; Sparrow, Alex; Stoye, Markus; Tapper, Alexander; Vazquez Acosta, Monica; Virdee, Tejinder; Wakefield, Stuart; Wardle, Nicholas; Whyntie, Tom; Chadwick, Matthew; Cole, Joanne; Hobson, Peter R; Khan, Akram; Kyberd, Paul; Leggat, Duncan; Leslie, Dawn; Martin, William; Reid, Ivan; Symonds, Philip; Teodorescu, Liliana; Turner, Mark; Hatakeyama, Kenichi; Liu, Hongxuan; Scarborough, Tara; Charaf, Otman; Henderson, Conor; Rumerio, Paolo; Avetisyan, Aram; Bose, Tulika; Fantasia, Cory; Heister, Arno; St John, Jason; Lawson, Philip; Lazic, Dragoslav; Rohlf, James; Sperka, David; Sulak, Lawrence; Alimena, Juliette; Bhattacharya, Saptaparna; Cutts, David; Ferapontov, Alexey; Heintz, Ulrich; Jabeen, Shabnam; Kukartsev, Gennadiy; Laird, Edward; Landsberg, Greg; Luk, Michael; Narain, Meenakshi; Nguyen, Duong; Segala, Michael; Sinthuprasith, Tutanon; Speer, Thomas; Tsang, Ka Vang; Breedon, Richard; Breto, Guillermo; Calderon De La Barca Sanchez, Manuel; Chauhan, Sushil; Chertok, Maxwell; Conway, John; Conway, Rylan; Cox, Peter Timothy; Dolen, James; Erbacher, Robin; Gardner, Michael; Houtz, Rachel; Ko, Winston; Kopecky, Alexandra; Lander, Richard; Miceli, Tia; Pellett, Dave; Rutherford, Britney; Searle, Matthew; Smith, John; Squires, Michael; Tripathi, Mani; Vasquez Sierra, Ricardo; Andreev, Valeri; Cline, David; Cousins, Robert; Duris, Joseph; Erhan, Samim; Everaerts, Pieter; Farrell, Chris; Hauser, Jay; Ignatenko, Mikhail; Jarvis, Chad; Plager, Charles; Rakness, Gregory; Schlein, Peter; Tucker, Jordan; Valuev, Vyacheslav; Weber, Matthias; Babb, John; Clare, Robert; Dinardo, Mauro Emanuele; Ellison, John Anthony; Gary, J William; Giordano, Ferdinando; Hanson, Gail; Jeng, Geng-Yuan; Liu, Hongliang; Long, Owen Rosser; Luthra, Arun; Nguyen, Harold; Paramesvaran, Sudarshan; Sturdy, Jared; Sumowidagdo, Suharyo; Wilken, Rachel; Wimpenny, Stephen; Andrews, Warren; Branson, James G; Cerati, Giuseppe Benedetto; Cittolin, Sergio; Evans, David; Golf, Frank; Holzner, André; Kelley, Ryan; Lebourgeois, Matthew; Letts, James; Macneill, Ian; Mangano, Boris; Padhi, Sanjay; Palmer, Christopher; Petrucciani, Giovanni; Pieri, Marco; Sani, Matteo; Sharma, Vivek; Simon, Sean; Sudano, Elizabeth; Tadel, Matevz; Tu, Yanjun; Vartak, Adish; Wasserbaech, Steven; Würthwein, Frank; Yagil, Avraham; Yoo, Jaehyeok; Barge, Derek; Bellan, Riccardo; Campagnari, Claudio; D'Alfonso, Mariarosaria; Danielson, Thomas; Flowers, Kristen; Geffert, Paul; Incandela, Joe; Justus, Christopher; Kalavase, Puneeth; Koay, Sue Ann; Kovalskyi, Dmytro; Krutelyov, Vyacheslav; Lowette, Steven; Mccoll, Nickolas; Pavlunin, Viktor; Rebassoo, Finn; Ribnik, Jacob; Richman, Jeffrey; Rossin, Roberto; Stuart, David; To, Wing; West, Christopher; Apresyan, Artur; Bornheim, Adolf; Chen, Yi; Di Marco, Emanuele; Duarte, Javier; Gataullin, Marat; Ma, Yousi; Mott, Alexander; Newman, Harvey B; Rogan, Christopher; Timciuc, Vladlen; Traczyk, Piotr; Veverka, Jan; Wilkinson, Richard; Yang, Yong; Zhu, Ren-Yuan; Akgun, Bora; Carroll, Ryan; Ferguson, Thomas; Iiyama, Yutaro; Jang, Dong Wook; Liu, Yueh-Feng; Paulini, Manfred; Vogel, Helmut; Vorobiev, Igor; Cumalat, John Perry; Drell, Brian Robert; Edelmaier, Christopher; Ford, William T; Gaz, Alessandro; Heyburn, Bernadette; Luiggi Lopez, Eduardo; Smith, James; Stenson, Kevin; Ulmer, Keith; Wagner, Stephen Robert; Alexander, James; Chatterjee, Avishek; Eggert, Nicholas; Gibbons, Lawrence Kent; Heltsley, Brian; Khukhunaishvili, Aleko; Kreis, Benjamin; Mirman, Nathan; Nicolas Kaufman, Gala; Patterson, Juliet Ritchie; Ryd, Anders; Salvati, Emmanuele; Sun, Werner; Teo, Wee Don; Thom, Julia; Thompson, Joshua; Vaughan, Jennifer; Weng, Yao; Winstrom, Lucas; Wittich, Peter; Winn, Dave; Abdullin, Salavat; Albrow, Michael; Anderson, Jacob; Bauerdick, Lothar AT; Beretvas, Andrew; Berryhill, Jeffrey; Bhat, Pushpalatha C; Bloch, Ingo; Burkett, Kevin; Butler, Joel Nathan; Chetluru, Vasundhara; Cheung, Harry; Chlebana, Frank; Elvira, Victor Daniel; Fisk, Ian; Freeman, Jim; Gao, Yanyan; Green, Dan; Gutsche, Oliver; Hanlon, Jim; Harris, Robert M; Hirschauer, James; Hooberman, Benjamin; Jindariani, Sergo; Johnson, Marvin; Joshi, Umesh; Kilminster, Benjamin; Klima, Boaz; Kunori, Shuichi; Kwan, Simon; Leonidopoulos, Christos; Lincoln, Don; Lipton, Ron; Lykken, Joseph; Maeshima, Kaori; Marraffino, John Michael; Maruyama, Sho; Mason, David; McBride, Patricia; Mishra, Kalanand; Mrenna, Stephen; Musienko, Yuri; Newman-Holmes, Catherine; O'Dell, Vivian; Prokofyev, Oleg; Sexton-Kennedy, Elizabeth; Sharma, Seema; Spalding, William J; Spiegel, Leonard; Tan, Ping; Taylor, Lucas; Tkaczyk, Slawek; Tran, Nhan Viet; Uplegger, Lorenzo; Vaandering, Eric Wayne; Vidal, Richard; Whitmore, Juliana; Wu, Weimin; Yang, Fan; Yumiceva, Francisco; Yun, Jae Chul; Acosta, Darin; Avery, Paul; Bourilkov, Dimitri; Chen, Mingshui; Das, Souvik; De Gruttola, Michele; Di Giovanni, Gian Piero; Dobur, Didar; Drozdetskiy, Alexey; Field, Richard D; Fisher, Matthew; Fu, Yu; Furic, Ivan-Kresimir; Gartner, Joseph; Hugon, Justin; Kim, Bockjoo; Konigsberg, Jacobo; Korytov, Andrey; Kropivnitskaya, Anna; Kypreos, Theodore; Low, Jia Fu; Matchev, Konstantin; Milenovic, Predrag; Mitselmakher, Guenakh; Muniz, Lana; Remington, Ronald; Rinkevicius, Aurelijus; Sellers, Paul; Skhirtladze, Nikoloz; Snowball, Matthew; Yelton, John; Zakaria, Mohammed; Gaultney, Vanessa; Lebolo, Luis Miguel; Linn, Stephan; Markowitz, Pete; Martinez, German; Rodriguez, Jorge Luis; Adams, Jordon Rowe; Adams, Todd; Askew, Andrew; Bochenek, Joseph; Chen, Jie; Diamond, Brendan; Gleyzer, Sergei V; Haas, Jeff; Hagopian, Sharon; Hagopian, Vasken; Jenkins, Merrill; Johnson, Kurtis F; Prosper, Harrison; Veeraraghavan, Venkatesh; Weinberg, Marc; Baarmand, Marc M; Dorney, Brian; Hohlmann, Marcus; Kalakhety, Himali; Vodopiyanov, Igor; Adams, Mark Raymond; Anghel, Ioana Maria; Apanasevich, Leonard; Bai, Yuting; Bazterra, Victor Eduardo; Betts, Russell Richard; Bucinskaite, Inga; Callner, Jeremy; Cavanaugh, Richard; Dragoiu, Cosmin; Evdokimov, Olga; Gauthier, Lucie; Gerber, Cecilia Elena; Hofman, David Jonathan; Khalatyan, Samvel; Lacroix, Florent; Malek, Magdalena; O'Brien, Christine; Silkworth, Christopher; Strom, Derek; Varelas, Nikos; Akgun, Ugur; Albayrak, Elif Asli; Bilki, Burak; Clarida, Warren; Duru, Firdevs; Griffiths, Scott; Merlo, Jean-Pierre; Mermerkaya, Hamit; Mestvirishvili, Alexi; Moeller, Anthony; Nachtman, Jane; Newsom, Charles Ray; Norbeck, Edwin; Onel, Yasar; Ozok, Ferhat; Sen, Sercan; Tiras, Emrah; Wetzel, James; Yetkin, Taylan; Yi, Kai; Barnett, Bruce Arnold; Blumenfeld, Barry; Bolognesi, Sara; Fehling, David; Giurgiu, Gavril; Gritsan, Andrei; Guo, Zijin; Hu, Guofan; Maksimovic, Petar; Rappoccio, Salvatore; Swartz, Morris; Whitbeck, Andrew; Baringer, Philip; Bean, Alice; Benelli, Gabriele; Grachov, Oleg; Kenny Iii, Raymond Patrick; Murray, Michael; Noonan, Daniel; Sanders, Stephen; Stringer, Robert; Tinti, Gemma; Wood, Jeffrey Scott; Zhukova, Victoria; Barfuss, Anne-Fleur; Bolton, Tim; Chakaberia, Irakli; Ivanov, Andrew; Khalil, Sadia; Makouski, Mikhail; Maravin, Yurii; Shrestha, Shruti; Svintradze, Irakli; Gronberg, Jeffrey; Lange, David; Wright, Douglas; Baden, Drew; Boutemeur, Madjid; Calvert, Brian; Eno, Sarah Catherine; Gomez, Jaime; Hadley, Nicholas John; Kellogg, Richard G; Kirn, Malina; Kolberg, Ted; Lu, Ying; Marionneau, Matthieu; Mignerey, Alice; Pedro, Kevin; Peterman, Alison; Skuja, Andris; Temple, Jeffrey; Tonjes, Marguerite; Tonwar, Suresh C; Twedt, Elizabeth; Bauer, Gerry; Bendavid, Joshua; Busza, Wit; Butz, Erik; Cali, Ivan Amos; Chan, Matthew; Dutta, Valentina; Gomez Ceballos, Guillelmo; Goncharov, Maxim; Hahn, Kristan Allan; Kim, Yongsun; Klute, Markus; Krajczar, Krisztian; Li, Wei; Luckey, Paul David; Ma, Teng; Nahn, Steve; Paus, Christoph; Ralph, Duncan; Roland, Christof; Roland, Gunther; Rudolph, Matthew; Stephans, George; Stöckli, Fabian; Sumorok, Konstanty; Sung, Kevin; Velicanu, Dragos; Wenger, Edward Allen; Wolf, Roger; Wyslouch, Bolek; Xie, Si; Yang, Mingming; Yilmaz, Yetkin; Yoon, Sungho; Zanetti, Marco; Cooper, Seth; Dahmes, Bryan; De Benedetti, Abraham; Franzoni, Giovanni; Gude, Alexander; Kao, Shih-Chuan; Klapoetke, Kevin; Kubota, Yuichi; Mans, Jeremy; Pastika, Nathaniel; Rusack, Roger; Sasseville, Michael; Singovsky, Alexander; Tambe, Norbert; Turkewitz, Jared; Cremaldi, Lucien Marcus; Kroeger, Rob; Perera, Lalith; Rahmat, Rahmat; Sanders, David A; Avdeeva, Ekaterina; Bloom, Kenneth; Bose, Suvadeep; Butt, Jamila; Claes, Daniel R; Dominguez, Aaron; Eads, Michael; Keller, Jason; Kravchenko, Ilya; Lazo-Flores, Jose; Malbouisson, Helena; Malik, Sudhir; Snow, Gregory R; Baur, Ulrich; Godshalk, Andrew; Iashvili, Ia; Jain, Supriya; Kharchilava, Avto; Kumar, Ashish; Shipkowski, Simon Peter; Smith, Kenneth; Alverson, George; Barberis, Emanuela; Baumgartel, Darin; Chasco, Matthew; Haley, Joseph; Nash, David; Trocino, Daniele; Wood, Darien; Zhang, Jinzhong; Anastassov, Anton; Kubik, Andrew; Mucia, Nicholas; Odell, Nathaniel; Ofierzynski, Radoslaw Adrian; Pollack, Brian; Pozdnyakov, Andrey; Schmitt, Michael Henry; Stoynev, Stoyan; Velasco, Mayda; Won, Steven; Antonelli, Louis; Berry, Douglas; Brinkerhoff, Andrew; Hildreth, Michael; Jessop, Colin; Karmgard, Daniel John; Kolb, Jeff; Lannon, Kevin; Luo, Wuming; Lynch, Sean; Marinelli, Nancy; Morse, David Michael; Pearson, Tessa; Ruchti, Randy; Slaunwhite, Jason; Valls, Nil; Wayne, Mitchell; Wolf, Matthias; Bylsma, Ben; Durkin, Lloyd Stanley; Hart, Andrew; Hill, Christopher; Hughes, Richard; Kotov, Khristian; Ling, Ta-Yung; Puigh, Darren; Rodenburg, Marissa; Vuosalo, Carl; Williams, Grayson; Winer, Brian L; Adam, Nadia; Berry, Edmund; Elmer, Peter; Gerbaudo, Davide; Halyo, Valerie; Hebda, Philip; Hegeman, Jeroen; Hunt, Adam; Jindal, Pratima; Lopes Pegna, David; Lujan, Paul; Marlow, Daniel; Medvedeva, Tatiana; Mooney, Michael; Olsen, James; Piroué, Pierre; Quan, Xiaohang; Raval, Amita; Safdi, Ben; Saka, Halil; Stickland, David; Tully, Christopher; Werner, Jeremy Scott; Zuranski, Andrzej; Acosta, Jhon Gabriel; Brownson, Eric; Huang, Xing Tao; Lopez, Angel; Mendez, Hector; Oliveros, Sandra; Ramirez Vargas, Juan Eduardo; Zatserklyaniy, Andriy; Alagoz, Enver; Barnes, Virgil E; Benedetti, Daniele; Bolla, Gino; Bortoletto, Daniela; De Mattia, Marco; Everett, Adam; Hu, Zhen; Jones, Matthew; Koybasi, Ozhan; Kress, Matthew; Laasanen, Alvin T; Leonardo, Nuno; Maroussov, Vassili; Merkel, Petra; Miller, David Harry; Neumeister, Norbert; Shipsey, Ian; Silvers, David; Svyatkovskiy, Alexey; Vidal Marono, Miguel; Yoo, Hwi Dong; Zablocki, Jakub; Zheng, Yu; Guragain, Samir; Parashar, Neeti; Adair, Antony; Boulahouache, Chaouki; Ecklund, Karl Matthew; Geurts, Frank JM; Padley, Brian Paul; Redjimi, Radia; Roberts, Jay; Zabel, James; Betchart, Burton; Bodek, Arie; Chung, Yeon Sei; Covarelli, Roberto; de Barbaro, Pawel; Demina, Regina; Eshaq, Yossof; Garcia-Bellido, Aran; Goldenzweig, Pablo; Han, Jiyeon; Harel, Amnon; Miner, Daniel Carl; Vishnevskiy, Dmitry; Zielinski, Marek; Bhatti, Anwar; Ciesielski, Robert; Demortier, Luc; Goulianos, Konstantin; Lungu, Gheorghe; Malik, Sarah; Mesropian, Christina; Arora, Sanjay; Barker, Anthony; Chou, John Paul; Contreras-Campana, Christian; Contreras-Campana, Emmanuel; Duggan, Daniel; Ferencek, Dinko; Gershtein, Yuri; Gray, Richard; Halkiadakis, Eva; Hidas, Dean; Lath, Amitabh; Panwalkar, Shruti; Park, Michael; Patel, Rishi; Rekovic, Vladimir; Robles, Jorge; Rose, Keith; Salur, Sevil; Schnetzer, Steve; Seitz, Claudia; Somalwar, Sunil; Stone, Robert; Thomas, Scott; Cerizza, Giordano; Hollingsworth, Matthew; Spanier, Stefan; Yang, Zong-Chang; York, Andrew; Eusebi, Ricardo; Flanagan, Will; Gilmore, Jason; Kamon, Teruki; Khotilovich, Vadim; Montalvo, Roy; Osipenkov, Ilya; Pakhotin, Yuriy; Perloff, Alexx; Roe, Jeffrey; Safonov, Alexei; Sakuma, Tai; Sengupta, Sinjini; Suarez, Indara; Tatarinov, Aysen; Toback, David; Akchurin, Nural; Damgov, Jordan; Dudero, Phillip Russell; Jeong, Chiyoung; Kovitanggoon, Kittikul; Lee, Sung Won; Libeiro, Terence; Roh, Youn; Volobouev, Igor; Appelt, Eric; Florez, Carlos; Greene, Senta; Gurrola, Alfredo; Johns, Willard; Johnston, Cody; Kurt, Pelin; Maguire, Charles; Melo, Andrew; Sheldon, Paul; Snook, Benjamin; Tuo, Shengquan; Velkovska, Julia; Arenton, Michael Wayne; Balazs, Michael; Boutle, Sarah; Cox, Bradley; Francis, Brian; Goodell, Joseph; Hirosky, Robert; Ledovskoy, Alexander; Lin, Chuanzhe; Neu, Christopher; Wood, John; Yohay, Rachel; Gollapinni, Sowjanya; Harr, Robert; Karchin, Paul Edmund; Kottachchi Kankanamge Don, Chamath; Lamichhane, Pramod; Sakharov, Alexandre; Anderson, Michael; Bachtis, Michail; Belknap, Donald; Borrello, Laura; Carlsmith, Duncan; Cepeda, Maria; Dasu, Sridhara; Gray, Lindsey; Grogg, Kira Suzanne; Grothe, Monika; Hall-Wilton, Richard; Herndon, Matthew; Hervé, Alain; Klabbers, Pamela; Klukas, Jeffrey; Lanaro, Armando; Lazaridis, Christos; Leonard, Jessica; Loveless, Richard; Mohapatra, Ajit; Ojalvo, Isabel; Palmonari, Francesco; Pierro, Giuseppe Antonio; Ross, Ian; Savin, Alexander; Smith, Wesley H; Swanson, Joshua

    2012-01-01

    A search has been performed for long-lived particles that have stopped in the CMS detector, during 7 TeV proton-proton operations of the CERN LHC. The existence of such particles could be inferred from observation of their decays when there were no proton-proton collisions in the CMS detector, namely during gaps between LHC beam crossings. Using a data set in which CMS recorded an integrated luminosity of 4.0 inverse femtobarns, and a search interval corresponding to 246 hours of trigger live time, 12 events are observed, with a mean background prediction of 8.6+/-2.4 events. Limits are presented at 95% confidence level on long-lived gluino and stop production, over 13 orders of magnitude of particle lifetime. Assuming the "cloud model" of R-hadron interactions, a gluino with mass below 640 GeV and a stop with mass below 340 GeV are excluded, for lifetimes between 10 microseconds and 1000 seconds.

  4. STOP smoking and alcohol drinking before OPeration for bladder cancer (the STOP-OP study), perioperative smoking and alcohol cessation intervention in relation to radical cystectomy: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauridsen, Susanne Vahr; Thomsen, Thordis; Thind, Peter; Tønnesen, Hanne

    2017-07-17

    To evaluate the effect of a smoking-, alcohol- or combined-cessation intervention starting shortly before surgery and lasting 6 weeks on overall complications after radical cystectomy. Secondary objectives are to examine the effect on types and grades of complications, smoking cessation and alcohol cessation, length of hospital stay, health-related quality of life and return to work or habitual level of activity up to 12 months postoperatively. The study is a multi-institutional randomised clinical trial involving 110 patients with a risky alcohol intake and daily smoking who are scheduled for radical cystectomy. Patients will be randomised to the 6-week Gold Standard Programme (GSP) or treatment as usual (control). The GSP combines patient education and pharmacologic strategies. Smoking and alcohol intake is biochemically validated (blood, urine and breath tests) at the weekly meetings and at follow-up. Herein, we report the design of the STOP-OP study, objectives and accrual up-date. This study will provide new knowledge about how to prevent smoking and alcohol-related postoperative complications at the time of bladder cancer surgery. Till now 77 patients have been enrolled. Patient accrual is expected to be finalised before the end of 2017 and data will be published in 2018. ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT02188446 . Registered on 28 May 2014.

  5. Contrast effects on stop consonant identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diehl, R L; Elman, J L; McCusker, S B

    1978-11-01

    Changes in the identification of speech sounds following selective adaptation are usually attributed to a reduction in sensitivity of auditory feature detectors. An alternative explanation of these effects is based on the notion of response contrast. In several experiments, subjects identified the initial segment of synthetic consonant-vowel syllables as either the voiced stop [b] or the voiceless stop [ph]. Each test syllable had a value of voice onset time (VOT) that placed it near the English voiced-voiceless boundary. When the test syllables were preceded by a single clear [b] (VOT = -100 msec), subjects tended to identify them as [ph], whereas when they were preceded by an unambiguous [ph] (VOT = 100 msec), the syllables were predominantly labeled [b]. This contrast effect occurred even when the contextual stimuli were velar and the test stimuli were bilabial, which suggests a featural rather than a phonemic basis for the effect. To discount the possibility that these might be instances of single-trial sensory adaptation, we conducted a similar experiment in which the contextual stimuli followed the test items. Reliable contrast effects were still obtained. In view of these results, it appears likely that response contrast accounts for at least some component of the adaptation effects reported in the literature.

  6. Continuing or Temporarily Stopping Prestroke Antihypertensive Medication in Acute Stroke:An Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Woodhouse, Lisa J.; Manning, Lisa; Potter, John F.; Berge, Eivind; Sprigg, Nikola; Wardlaw, Joanna; Lees, Kennedy R.; Bath, Philip M.; Robinson, Thompson G.; , Blood Pressure in Acute Stroke Collaboration (BASC)

    2017-01-01

    Over 50% of patients are already taking blood pressure-lowering therapy on hospital admission for acute stroke. An individual patient data meta-analysis from randomized controlled trials was undertaken to determine the effect of continuation versus temporarily stopping pre-existing antihypertensive medication in acute stroke. Key databases were searched for trials against the following inclusion criteria: randomized design; stroke onset ≤48 hours; investigating the effect of continuation vers...

  7. The blue drama: narratives of the victim's suffering of Cesium-137 radiological event

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vieira, Suzane de Alencar

    2014-01-01

    This research presents a dramatic approach to the Cesium-137 Radiological Event. The event, which started on Goiania in 1987, did not stop with the end of radiological contamination and continues in a judicial, scientific and narrative process of identification and recognition of new victims. The ethnography’s output follows a theoretical experiment with the notions of drama and event. In order to better understand the pattern of this event, I analyzed narratives such as romances, arts, photographs, news, documentaries, films, academic bibliography and stories that emerged from the research field. I argue that the narratives politicize the discourses of victimization and the suffering experience. The dramatic form of narratives and symbols concentrates on emotions and promotes the emotional commitment of the subjects on the trial. The drama articulates the relationship between the narratives and the event and creates a tactful space that arouses the recognition of victims through the narrative form and the suffering language. The drama occupies a central place on the dynamics of radiological event, as it extends its limits, inflects its intensity and updates the event. As a narrative of the event, the ethnography incorporates and brings up to date the drama as an analysis landmark and the description of the theme as it is absorbed by a dramatic process. (author)

  8. Comparison of lumiracoxib with naproxen and ibuprofen in the Therapeutic Arthritis Research and Gastrointestinal Event Trial (TARGET), cardiovascular outcomes: randomised controlled trial.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Farkouh, M.E.; Kirshner, H.; Harrington, R.A.; Ruland, S.; Verheugt, F.W.A.; Schnitzer, T.J.; Burmester, G.R.; Mysler, E.; Hochberg, M.C.; Doherty, M.; Ehrsam, E.; Gitton, X.; Krammer, G.; Mellein, B.; Gimona, A.; Matchaba, P.; Hawkey, C.J.; Chesebro, J.H.

    2004-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The potential for cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX2)-selective inhibitors to increase the risk for myocardial infarction is controversial. The Therapeutic Arthritis Research and Gastrointestinal Event Trial (TARGET) aimed to assess gastrointestinal and cardiovascular safety of the COX2 inhibitor

  9. Clinical trial of an F(ab')(2) polyvalent equine antivenom for African snake bites in Benin

    OpenAIRE

    Chippaux, Jean-Philippe; Massougbodji, A.; Stock, R. P.; Alagon, A.

    2007-01-01

    We report the results of a trial designed to measure the safety and efficacy of African Antivipmyn((R)), a new freeze-dried polyvalent equine F(ab')(2)-based antivenom. We tested 289 envenomations. After treatment, 19% of treated patients had undesirable events, all benign. A possible adverse effect was attributed to this antivenom in 11% of the patients. Bleeding was observed in 48% of the patients; it stopped within 2 hours after treatment with antivenom in 60% of the patients. Blood incoag...

  10. The duration of response inhibition in the stop-signal paradigm varies with response force

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Wildenberg, W.P.M.; van Boxtel, G.J.M.; van der Molen, M.

    2003-01-01

    In a previous study, we have found that the speed of stopping a response is delayed when response readiness is reduced by cuing the probability of no-go trials [Acta Psychol. 111 (2002) 155]. Other investigators observed that responses are more forceful when the probability to respond is low than

  11. Progress in understanding heavy-ion stopping

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sigmund, P., E-mail: sigmund@sdu.dk [Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense M (Denmark); Schinner, A. [Institut für Experimentalphysik, Johannes Kepler Universität, A-4040 Linz (Austria)

    2016-09-01

    We report some highlights of our work with heavy-ion stopping in the energy range where Bethe stopping theory breaks down. Main tools are our binary stopping theory (PASS code), the reciprocity principle, and Paul’s data base. Comparisons are made between PASS and three alternative theoretical schemes (CasP, HISTOP and SLPA). In addition to equilibrium stopping we discuss frozen-charge stopping, deviations from linear velocity dependence below the Bragg peak, application of the reciprocity principle in low-velocity stopping, modeling of equilibrium charges, and the significance of the so-called effective charge.

  12. Progress in understanding heavy-ion stopping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sigmund, P.; Schinner, A.

    2016-01-01

    We report some highlights of our work with heavy-ion stopping in the energy range where Bethe stopping theory breaks down. Main tools are our binary stopping theory (PASS code), the reciprocity principle, and Paul’s data base. Comparisons are made between PASS and three alternative theoretical schemes (CasP, HISTOP and SLPA). In addition to equilibrium stopping we discuss frozen-charge stopping, deviations from linear velocity dependence below the Bragg peak, application of the reciprocity principle in low-velocity stopping, modeling of equilibrium charges, and the significance of the so-called effective charge.

  13. Search for stopped long-lived particles produced in pp collisions at $ \\sqrt {s} = {\\text{7 TeV}} $

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chatrchyan, S.; Khachatryan, V.; Sirunyan, A. M.; Tumasyan, A.; Adam, W.; Bergauer, T.; Dragicevic, M.; Erö, J.; Fabjan, C.; Friedl, M.; Frühwirth, R.; Ghete, V. M.; Hammer, J.; Hörmann, N.; Hrubec, J.; Jeitler, M.; Kiesenhofer, W.; Knünz, V.; Krammer, M.; Liko, D.; Mikulec, I.; Pernicka, M.; Rahbaran, B.; Rohringer, C.; Rohringer, H.; Schöfbeck, R.; Strauss, J.; Taurok, A.; Wagner, P.; Waltenberger, W.; Walzel, G.; Widl, E.; Wulz, C. -E.; Mossolov, V.; Shumeiko, N.; Suarez Gonzalez, J.; Bansal, S.; Cornelis, T.; De Wolf, E. A.; Janssen, X.; Luyckx, S.; Maes, T.; Mucibello, L.; Ochesanu, S.; Roland, B.; Rougny, R.; Selvaggi, M.; Staykova, Z.; Van Haevermaet, H.; Van Mechelen, P.; Van Remortel, N.; Van Spilbeeck, A.; Blekman, F.; Blyweert, S.; D’Hondt, J.; Gonzalez Suarez, R.; Kalogeropoulos, A.; Maes, M.; Olbrechts, A.; Van Doninck, W.; Van Mulders, P.; Van Onsem, G. P.; Villella, I.; Clerbaux, B.; De Lentdecker, G.; Dero, V.; Gay, A. P. R.; Hreus, T.; Léonard, A.; Marage, P. E.; Reis, T.; Thomas, L.; Vander Velde, C.; Vanlaer, P.; Wang, J.; Adler, V.; Beernaert, K.; Cimmino, A.; Costantini, S.; Garcia, G.; Grunewald, M.; Klein, B.; Lellouch, J.; Marinov, A.; Mccartin, J.; Ocampo Rios, A. A.; Ryckbosch, D.; Strobbe, N.; Thyssen, F.; Tytgat, M.; Verwilligen, P.; Walsh, S.; Yazgan, E.; Zaganidis, N.; Basegmez, S.; Bruno, G.; Castello, R.; Caudron, A.; Ceard, L.; Delaere, C.; du Pree, T.; Favart, D.; Forthomme, L.; Giammanco, A.; Hollar, J.; Lemaitre, V.; Liao, J.; Militaru, O.; Nuttens, C.; Pagano, D.; Perrini, L.; Pin, A.; Piotrzkowski, K.; Schul, N.; Vizan Garcia, J. M.; Beliy, N.; Caebergs, T.; Daubie, E.; Hammad, G. H.; Alves, G. A.; Correa Martins, M.; De Jesus Damiao, D.; Martins, T.; Pol, M. E.; Souza, M. H. G.; Aldá, W. L.; Carvalho, W.; Custódio, A.; Da Costa, E. M.; De Oliveira Martins, C.; Fonseca De Souza, S.; Matos Figueiredo, D.; Mundim, L.; Nogima, H.; Oguri, V.; Prado Da Silva, W. L.; Santoro, A.; Soares Jorge, L.; Sznajder, A.; Bernardes, C. A.; Dias, F. A.; Fernandez Perez Tomei, T. R.; Gregores, E. M.; Lagana, C.; Marinho, F.; Mercadante, P. G.; Novaes, S. F.; Padula, Sandra S.; Genchev, V.; Iaydjiev, P.; Piperov, S.; Rodozov, M.; Stoykova, S.; Sultanov, G.; Tcholakov, V.; Trayanov, R.; Vutova, M.; Dimitrov, A.; Hadjiiska, R.; Kozhuharov, V.; Litov, L.; Pavlov, B.; Petkov, P.; Bian, J. G.; Chen, G. M.; Chen, H. S.; Jiang, C. H.; Liang, D.; Liang, S.; Meng, X.; Tao, J.; Wang, J.; Wang, X.; Wang, Z.; Xiao, H.; Xu, M.; Zang, J.; Zhang, Z.; Asawatangtrakuldee, C.; Ban, Y.; Guo, S.; Guo, Y.; Li, W.; Liu, S.; Mao, Y.; Qian, S. J.; Teng, H.; Wang, S.; Zhu, B.; Zou, W.; Avila, C.; Gomez, J. P.; Gomez Moreno, B.; Osorio Oliveros, A. F.; Sanabria, J. C.; Godinovic, N.; Lelas, D.; Plestina, R.; Polic, D.; Puljak, I.; Antunovic, Z.; Kovac, M.; Brigljevic, V.; Duric, S.; Kadija, K.; Luetic, J.; Morovic, S.; Attikis, A.; Galanti, M.; Mavromanolakis, G.; Mousa, J.; Nicolaou, C.; Ptochos, F.; Razis, P. A.; Finger, M.; Finger, M.; Assran, Y.; Elgammal, S.; Ellithi Kamel, A.; Khalil, S.; Mahmoud, M. A.; Radi, A.; Kadastik, M.; Müntel, M.; Raidal, M.; Rebane, L.; Tiko, A.; Azzolini, V.; Eerola, P.; Fedi, G.; Voutilainen, M.; Härkönen, J.; Heikkinen, A.; Karimäki, V.; Kinnunen, R.; Kortelainen, M. J.; Lampén, T.; Lassila-Perini, K.; Lehti, S.; Lindén, T.; Luukka, P.; Mäenpää, T.; Peltola, T.; Tuominen, E.; Tuominiemi, J.; Tuovinen, E.; Ungaro, D.; Wendland, L.; Banzuzi, K.; Karjalainen, A.; Korpela, A.; Tuuva, T.; Besancon, M.; Choudhury, S.; Dejardin, M.; Denegri, D.; Fabbro, B.; Faure, J. L.; Ferri, F.; Ganjour, S.; Givernaud, A.; Gras, P.; Hamel de Monchenault, G.; Jarry, P.; Locci, E.; Malcles, J.; Millischer, L.; Nayak, A.; Rander, J.; Rosowsky, A.; Shreyber, I.; Titov, M.; Baffioni, S.; Beaudette, F.; Benhabib, L.; Bianchini, L.; Bluj, M.; Broutin, C.; Busson, P.; Charlot, C.; Daci, N.; Dahms, T.; Dobrzynski, L.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Haguenauer, M.; Miné, P.; Mironov, C.; Nguyen, M.; Ochando, C.; Paganini, P.; Sabes, D.; Salerno, R.; Sirois, Y.; Veelken, C.; Zabi, A.; Agram, J. -L.; Andrea, J.; Bloch, D.; Bodin, D.; Brom, J. -M.; Cardaci, M.; Chabert, E. C.; Collard, C.; Conte, E.; Drouhin, F.; Ferro, C.; Fontaine, J. -C.; Gelé, D.; Goerlach, U.; Juillot, P.; Le Bihan, A. -C.; Van Hove, P.; Fassi, F.; Mercier, D.; Beauceron, S.; Beaupere, N.; Bondu, O.; Boudoul, G.; Chasserat, J.; Chierici, R.; Contardo, D.; Depasse, P.; El Mamouni, H.; Fay, J.; Gascon, S.; Gouzevitch, M.; Ille, B.; Kurca, T.; Lethuillier, M.; Mirabito, L.; Perries, S.; Sordini, V.; Tosi, S.; Tschudi, Y.; Verdier, P.; Viret, S.; Tsamalaidze, Z.; Anagnostou, G.; Beranek, S.; Edelhoff, M.; Feld, L.; Heracleous, N.; Hindrichs, O.; Jussen, R.; Klein, K.; Merz, J.; Ostapchuk, A.; Perieanu, A.; Raupach, F.; Sammet, J.; Schael, S.; Sprenger, D.; Weber, H.; Wittmer, B.; Zhukov, V.; Ata, M.; Caudron, J.; Dietz-Laursonn, E.; Duchardt, D.; Erdmann, M.; Fischer, R.; Güth, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heidemann, C.; Hoepfner, K.; Klingebiel, D.; Kreuzer, P.; Lingemann, J.; Magass, C.; Merschmeyer, M.; Meyer, A.; Olschewski, M.; Papacz, P.; Pieta, H.; Reithler, H.; Schmitz, S. A.; Sonnenschein, L.; Steggemann, J.; Teyssier, D.; Weber, M.; Bontenackels, M.; Cherepanov, V.; Flügge, G.; Geenen, H.; Geisler, M.; Haj Ahmad, W.; Hoehle, F.; Kargoll, B.; Kress, T.; Kuessel, Y.; Nowack, A.; Perchalla, L.; Pooth, O.; Rennefeld, J.; Sauerland, P.; Stahl, A.; Aldaya Martin, M.; Behr, J.; Behrenhoff, W.; Behrens, U.; Bergholz, M.; Bethani, A.; Borras, K.; Burgmeier, A.; Cakir, A.; Calligaris, L.; Campbell, A.; Castro, E.; Costanza, F.; Dammann, D.; Diez Pardos, C.; Eckerlin, G.; Eckstein, D.; Flucke, G.; Geiser, A.; Glushkov, I.; Gunnellini, P.; Habib, S.; Hauk, J.; Hellwig, G.; Jung, H.; Kasemann, M.; Katsas, P.; Kleinwort, C.; Kluge, H.; Knutsson, A.; Krämer, M.; Krücker, D.; Kuznetsova, E.; Lange, W.; Lohmann, W.; Lutz, B.; Mankel, R.; Marfin, I.; Marienfeld, M.; Melzer-Pellmann, I. -A.; Meyer, A. B.; Mnich, J.; Mussgiller, A.; Naumann-Emme, S.; Olzem, J.; Perrey, H.; Petrukhin, A.; Pitzl, D.; Raspereza, A.; Ribeiro Cipriano, P. M.; Riedl, C.; Ron, E.; Rosin, M.; Salfeld-Nebgen, J.; Schmidt, R.; Schoerner-Sadenius, T.; Sen, N.; Spiridonov, A.; Stein, M.; Walsh, R.; Wissing, C.; Autermann, C.; Blobel, V.; Draeger, J.; Enderle, H.; Erfle, J.; Gebbert, U.; Görner, M.; Hermanns, T.; Höing, R. S.; Kaschube, K.; Kaussen, G.; Kirschenmann, H.; Klanner, R.; Lange, J.; Mura, B.; Nowak, F.; Peiffer, T.; Pietsch, N.; Rathjens, D.; Sander, C.; Schettler, H.; Schleper, P.; Schlieckau, E.; Schmidt, A.; Schröder, M.; Schum, T.; Seidel, M.; Sola, V.; Stadie, H.; Steinbrück, G.; Thomsen, J.; Vanelderen, L.; Barth, C.; Berger, J.; Böser, C.; Chwalek, T.; De Boer, W.; Descroix, A.; Dierlamm, A.; Feindt, M.; Guthoff, M.; Hackstein, C.; Hartmann, F.; Hauth, T.; Heinrich, M.; Held, H.; Hoffmann, K. H.; Honc, S.; Katkov, I.; Komaragiri, J. R.; Lobelle Pardo, P.; Martschei, D.; Mueller, S.; Müller, Th.; Niegel, M.; Nürnberg, A.; Oberst, O.; Oehler, A.; Ott, J.; Quast, G.; Rabbertz, K.; Ratnikov, F.; Ratnikova, N.; Röcker, S.; Scheurer, A.; Schilling, F. -P.; Schott, G.; Simonis, H. J.; Stober, F. M.; Troendle, D.; Ulrich, R.; Wagner-Kuhr, J.; Wayand, S.; Weiler, T.; Zeise, M.; Daskalakis, G.; Geralis, T.; Kesisoglou, S.; Kyriakis, A.; Loukas, D.; Manolakos, I.; Markou, A.; Markou, C.; Mavrommatis, C.; Ntomari, E.; Gouskos, L.; Mertzimekis, T. J.; Panagiotou, A.; Saoulidou, N.; Evangelou, I.; Foudas, C.; Kokkas, P.; Manthos, N.; Papadopoulos, I.; Patras, V.; Bencze, G.; Hajdu, C.; Hidas, P.; Horvath, D.; Sikler, F.; Veszpremi, V.; Vesztergombi, G.; Beni, N.; Czellar, S.; Molnar, J.; Palinkas, J.; Szillasi, Z.; Karancsi, J.; Raics, P.; Trocsanyi, Z. L.; Ujvari, B.; Beri, S. B.; Bhatnagar, V.; Dhingra, N.; Gupta, R.; Jindal, M.; Kaur, M.; Mehta, M. Z.; Nishu, N.; Saini, L. K.; Sharma, A.; Singh, J.; Kumar, Ashok; Kumar, Arun; Ahuja, S.; Bhardwaj, A.; Choudhary, B. C.; Malhotra, S.; Naimuddin, M.; Ranjan, K.; Sharma, V.; Shivpuri, R. K.; Banerjee, S.; Bhattacharya, S.; Dutta, S.; Gomber, B.; Jain, Sa.; Jain, Sh.; Khurana, R.; Sarkar, S.; Sharan, M.; Abdulsalam, A.; Choudhury, R. K.; Dutta, D.; Kailas, S.; Kumar, V.; Mehta, P.; Mohanty, A. K.; Pant, L. M.; Shukla, P.; Aziz, T.; Ganguly, S.; Guchait, M.; Maity, M.; Majumder, G.; Mazumdar, K.; Mohanty, G. B.; Parida, B.; Sudhakar, K.; Wickramage, N.; Banerjee, S.; Dugad, S.; Arfaei, H.; Bakhshiansohi, H.; Etesami, S. M.; Fahim, A.; Hashemi, M.; Hesari, H.; Jafari, A.; Khakzad, M.; Mohammadi Najafabadi, M.; Paktinat Mehdiabadi, S.; Safarzadeh, B.; Zeinali, M.; Abbrescia, M.; Barbone, L.; Calabria, C.; Chhibra, S. S.; Colaleo, A.; Creanza, D.; De Filippis, N.; De Palma, M.; Fiore, L.; Iaselli, G.; Lusito, L.; Maggi, G.; Maggi, M.; Marangelli, B.; My, S.; Nuzzo, S.; Pacifico, N.; Pompili, A.; Pugliese, G.; Selvaggi, G.; Silvestris, L.; Singh, G.; Venditti, R.; Zito, G.; Abbiendi, G.; Benvenuti, A. C.; Bonacorsi, D.; Braibant-Giacomelli, S.; Brigliadori, L.; Capiluppi, P.; Castro, A.; Cavallo, F. R.; Cuffiani, M.; Dallavalle, G. M.; Fabbri, F.; Fanfani, A.; Fasanella, D.; Giacomelli, P.; Grandi, C.; Guiducci, L.; Marcellini, S.; Masetti, G.; Meneghelli, M.; Montanari, A.; Navarria, F. L.; Odorici, F.; Perrotta, A.; Primavera, F.; Rossi, A. M.; Rovelli, T.; Siroli, G.; Travaglini, R.; Albergo, S.; Cappello, G.; Chiorboli, M.; Costa, S.; Potenza, R.; Tricomi, A.; Tuve, C.; Barbagli, G.; Ciulli, V.; Civinini, C.; D’Alessandro, R.; Focardi, E.; Frosali, S.; Gallo, E.; Gonzi, S.; Meschini, M.; Paoletti, S.; Sguazzoni, G.; Tropiano, A.; Benussi, L.; Bianco, S.; Colafranceschi, S.; Fabbri, F.; Piccolo, D.; Fabbricatore, P.; Musenich, R.; Benaglia, A.; De Guio, F.; Di Matteo, L.; Fiorendi, S.; Gennai, S.; Ghezzi, A.; Malvezzi, S.; Manzoni, R. A.; Martelli, A.; Massironi, A.; Menasce, D.; Moroni, L.; Paganoni, M.; Pedrini, D.; Ragazzi, S.; Redaelli, N.; Sala, S.; Tabarelli de Fatis, T.; Buontempo, S.; Carrillo Montoya, C. A.; Cavallo, N.; De Cosa, A.; Dogangun, O.; Fabozzi, F.; Iorio, A. O. M.; Lista, L.; Meola, S.; Merola, M.; Paolucci, P.; Azzi, P.; Bacchetta, N.; Bellato, M.; Bisello, D.; Branca, A.; Carlin, R.; Checchia, P.; Dorigo, T.; Gasparini, F.; Gozzelino, A.; Kanishchev, K.; Lacaprara, S.; Lazzizzera, I.; Margoni, M.; Meneguzzo, A. T.; Pazzini, J.; Pozzobon, N.; Ronchese, P.; Simonetto, F.; Torassa, E.; Tosi, M.; Vanini, S.; Ventura, S.; Zotto, P.; Zucchetta, A.; Zumerle, G.; Gabusi, M.; Ratti, S. P.; Riccardi, C.; Torre, P.; Vitulo, P.; Biasini, M.; Bilei, G. M.; Fanò, L.; Lariccia, P.; Lucaroni, A.; Mantovani, G.; Menichelli, M.; Nappi, A.; Romeo, F.; Saha, A.; Santocchia, A.; Taroni, S.; Azzurri, P.; Bagliesi, G.; Boccali, T.; Broccolo, G.; Castaldi, R.; D’Agnolo, R. T.; Dell’Orso, R.; Fiori, F.; Foà, L.; Giassi, A.; Kraan, A.; Ligabue, F.; Lomtadze, T.; Martini, L.; Messineo, A.; Palla, F.; Rizzi, A.; Serban, A. T.; Spagnolo, P.; Squillacioti, P.; Tenchini, R.; Tonelli, G.; Venturi, A.; Verdini, P. G.; Barone, L.; Cavallari, F.; Del Re, D.; Diemoz, M.; Grassi, M.; Longo, E.; Meridiani, P.; Micheli, F.; Nourbakhsh, S.; Organtini, G.; Paramatti, R.; Rahatlou, S.; Sigamani, M.; Soffi, L.; Amapane, N.; Arcidiacono, R.; Argiro, S.; Arneodo, M.; Biino, C.; Cartiglia, N.; Costa, M.; Demaria, N.; Graziano, A.; Mariotti, C.; Maselli, S.; Migliore, E.; Monaco, V.; Musich, M.; Obertino, M. M.; Pastrone, N.; Pelliccioni, M.; Potenza, A.; Romero, A.; Ruspa, M.; Sacchi, R.; Solano, A.; Staiano, A.; Vilela Pereira, A.; Belforte, S.; Candelise, V.; Cossutti, F.; Della Ricca, G.; Gobbo, B.; Marone, M.; Montanino, D.; Penzo, A.; Schizzi, A.; Heo, S. G.; Kim, T. Y.; Nam, S. K.; Chang, S.; Chung, J.; Kim, D. H.; Kim, G. N.; Kong, D. J.; Park, H.; Ro, S. R.; Son, D. C.; Son, T.; Kim, J. Y.; Kim, Zero J.; Song, S.; Choi, S.; Gyun, D.; Hong, B.; Jo, M.; Kim, H.; Kim, T. J.; Lee, K. S.; Moon, D. H.; Park, S. K.; Choi, M.; Kim, J. H.; Park, C.; Park, I. C.; Park, S.; Ryu, G.; Cho, Y.; Choi, Y.; Choi, Y. K.; Goh, J.; Kim, M. S.; Kwon, E.; Lee, B.; Lee, J.; Lee, S.; Seo, H.; Yu, I.; Bilinskas, M. J.; Grigelionis, I.; Janulis, M.; Juodagalvis, A.; Castilla-Valdez, H.; De La Cruz-Burelo, E.; Heredia-de La Cruz, I.; Lopez-Fernandez, R.; Magaña Villalba, R.; Martínez-Ortega, J.; Sánchez-Hernández, A.; Villasenor-Cendejas, L. M.; Carrillo Moreno, S.; Vazquez Valencia, F.; Salazar Ibarguen, H. A.; Casimiro Linares, E.; Morelos Pineda, A.; Reyes-Santos, M. A.; Krofcheck, D.; Bell, A. J.; Butler, P. H.; Doesburg, R.; Reucroft, S.; Silverwood, H.; Ahmad, M.; Asghar, M. I.; Hoorani, H. R.; Khalid, S.; Khan, W. A.; Khurshid, T.; Qazi, S.; Shah, M. A.; Shoaib, M.; Brona, G.; Bunkowski, K.; Cwiok, M.; Dominik, W.; Doroba, K.; Kalinowski, A.; Konecki, M.; Krolikowski, J.; Bialkowska, H.; Boimska, B.; Frueboes, T.; Gokieli, R.; Górski, M.; Kazana, M.; Nawrocki, K.; Romanowska-Rybinska, K.; Szleper, M.; Wrochna, G.; Zalewski, P.; Almeida, N.; Bargassa, P.; David, A.; Faccioli, P.; Fernandes, M.; Ferreira Parracho, P. G.; Gallinaro, M.; Seixas, J.; Varela, J.; Vischia, P.; Belotelov, I.; Bunin, P.; Gavrilenko, M.; Golutvin, I.; Gorbunov, I.; Kamenev, A.; Karjavin, V.; Kozlov, G.; Lanev, A.; Malakhov, A.; Moisenz, P.; Palichik, V.; Perelygin, V.; Shmatov, S.; Smirnov, V.; Volodko, A.; Zarubin, A.; Evstyukhin, S.; Golovtsov, V.; Ivanov, Y.; Kim, V.; Levchenko, P.; Murzin, V.; Oreshkin, V.; Smirnov, I.; Sulimov, V.; Uvarov, L.; Vavilov, S.; Vorobyev, A.; Vorobyev, An.; Andreev, Yu.; Dermenev, A.; Gninenko, S.; Golubev, N.; Kirsanov, M.; Krasnikov, N.; Matveev, V.; Pashenkov, A.; Tlisov, D.; Toropin, A.; Epshteyn, V.; Erofeeva, M.; Gavrilov, V.; Kossov, M.; Lychkovskaya, N.; Popov, V.; Safronov, G.; Semenov, S.; Stolin, V.; Vlasov, E.; Zhokin, A.; Belyaev, A.; Boos, E.; Dubinin, M.; Dudko, L.; Ershov, A.; Gribushin, A.; Klyukhin, V.; Kodolova, O.; Lokhtin, I.; Markina, A.; Obraztsov, S.; Perfilov, M.; Petrushanko, S.; Popov, A.; Sarycheva, L.; Savrin, V.; Snigirev, A.; Andreev, V.; Azarkin, M.; Dremin, I.; Kirakosyan, M.; Leonidov, A.; Mesyats, G.; Rusakov, S. V.; Vinogradov, A.; Azhgirey, I.; Bayshev, I.; Bitioukov, S.; Grishin, V.; Kachanov, V.; Konstantinov, D.; Korablev, A.; Krychkine, V.; Petrov, V.; Ryutin, R.; Sobol, A.; Tourtchanovitch, L.; Troshin, S.; Tyurin, N.; Uzunian, A.; Volkov, A.; Adzic, P.; Djordjevic, M.; Ekmedzic, M.; Krpic, D.; Milosevic, J.; Aguilar-Benitez, M.; Maestre, J.; Arce, P.; Battilana, C.; Calvo, E.; Cerrada, M.; Chamizo Llatas, M.; Colino, N.; De La Cruz, B.; Delgado Peris, A.; Domínguez Vázquez, D.; Fernandez Bedoya, C.; Fernández Ramos, J. P.; Ferrando, A.; Flix, J.; Fouz, M. C.; Garcia-Abia, P.; Gonzalez Lopez, O.; Goy Lopez, S.; Hernandez, J. M.; Josa, M. I.; Merino, G.; Puerta Pelayo, J.; Quintario Olmeda, A.; Redondo, I.; Romero, L.; Santaolalla, J.; Soares, M. S.; Willmott, C.; Albajar, C.; Codispoti, G.; de Trocóniz, J. F.; Brun, H.; Cuevas, J.; Fernandez Menendez, J.; Folgueras, S.; Gonzalez Caballero, I.; Lloret Iglesias, L.; Piedra Gomez, J.; Brochero Cifuentes, J. A.; Cabrillo, I. 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M.; Maruyama, S.; Mason, D.; McBride, P.; Mishra, K.; Mrenna, S.; Musienko, Y.; Newman-Holmes, C.; O’Dell, V.; Prokofyev, O.; Sexton-Kennedy, E.; Sharma, S.; Spalding, W. J.; Spiegel, L.; Tan, P.; Taylor, L.; Tkaczyk, S.; Tran, N. V.; Uplegger, L.; Vaandering, E. W.; Vidal, R.; Whitmore, J.; Wu, W.; Yang, F.; Yumiceva, F.; Yun, J. C.; Acostav, D.; Avery, P.; Bourilkov, D.; Chen, M.; Das, S.; De Gruttola, M.; Di Giovanni, G. P.; Dobur, D.; Drozdetskiy, A.; Field, R. D.; Fisher, M.; Fu, Y.; Furic, I. K.; Gartner, J.; Hugon, J.; Kim, B.; Konigsberg, J.; Korytov, A.; Kropivnitskaya, A.; Kypreos, T.; Low, J. F.; Matchev, K.; Milenovic, P.; Mitselmakher, G.; Muniz, L.; Remington, R.; Rinkevicius, A.; Sellers, P.; Skhirtladze, N.; Snowball, M.; Yelton, J.; Zakaria, M.; Gaultney, V.; Lebolo, L. M.; Linn, S.; Markowitz, P.; Martinez, G.; Rodriguez, J. L.; Adams, J. R.; Adams, T.; Askew, A.; Bochenek, J.; Chen, J.; Diamond, B.; Gleyzer, S. V.; Haas, J.; Hagopian, S.; Hagopian, V.; Jenkins, M.; Johnson, K. F.; Prosper, H.; Veeraraghavan, V.; Weinberg, M.; Baarmand, M. M.; Dorney, B.; Hohlmann, M.; Kalakhety, H.; Vodopiyanov, I.; Adams, M. R.; Anghel, I. M.; Apanasevich, L.; Bai, Y.; Bazterra, V. E.; Betts, R. R.; Bucinskaite, I.; Callner, J.; Cavanaugh, R.; Dragoiu, C.; Evdokimov, O.; Gauthier, L.; Gerber, C. E.; Hofman, D. J.; Khalatyan, S.; Lacroix, F.; Malek, M.; O’Brien, C.; Silkworth, C.; Strom, D.; Varelas, N.; Akgun, U.; Albayrak, E. A.; Bilki, B.; Clarida, W.; Duru, F.; Griffiths, S.; Merlo, J. -P.; Mermerkaya, H.; Mestvirishvili, A.; Moeller, A.; Nachtman, J.; Newsom, C. R.; Norbeck, E.; Onel, Y.; Ozok, F.; Sen, S.; Tiras, E.; Wetzel, J.; Yetkin, T.; Yi, K.; Barnett, B. A.; Blumenfeld, B.; Bolognesi, S.; Fehling, D.; Giurgiu, G.; Gritsan, A. V.; Guo, Z. J.; Hu, G.; Maksimovic, P.; Rappoccio, S.; Swartz, M.; Whitbeck, A.; Baringer, P.; Bean, A.; Benelli, G.; Grachov, O.; Kenny, R. P.; Murray, M.; Noonan, D.; Sanders, S.; Stringer, R.; Tinti, G.; Wood, J. S.; Zhukova, V.; Barfuss, A. F.; Bolton, T.; Chakaberia, I.; Ivanov, A.; Khalil, S.; Makouski, M.; Maravin, Y.; Shrestha, S.; Svintradze, I.; Gronberg, J.; Lange, D.; Wright, D.; Baden, A.; Boutemeur, M.; Calvert, B.; Eno, S. C.; Gomez, J. A.; Hadley, N. J.; Kellogg, R. G.; Kirn, M.; Kolberg, T.; Lu, Y.; Marionneau, M.; Mignerey, A. C.; Pedro, K.; Peterman, A.; Skuja, A.; Temple, J.; Tonjes, M. B.; Tonwar, S. C.; Twedt, E.; Bauer, G.; Bendavid, J.; Busza, W.; Butz, E.; Cali, I. A.; Chan, M.; Dutta, V.; Gomez Ceballos, G.; Goncharov, M.; Hahn, K. A.; Kim, Y.; Klute, M.; Krajczar, K.; Li, W.; Luckey, P. D.; Ma, T.; Nahn, S.; Paus, C.; Ralph, D.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rudolph, M.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Stöckli, F.; Sumorok, K.; Sung, K.; Velicanu, D.; Wenger, E. A.; Wolf, R.; Wyslouch, B.; Xie, S.; Yang, M.; Yilmaz, Y.; Yoon, A. S.; Zanetti, M.; Cooper, S. I.; Dahmes, B.; De Benedetti, A.; Franzoni, G.; Gude, A.; Kao, S. C.; Klapoetke, K.; Kubota, Y.; Mans, J.; Pastika, N.; Rusack, R.; Sasseville, M.; Singovsky, A.; Tambe, N.; Turkewitz, J.; Cremaldi, L. M.; Kroeger, R.; Perera, L.; Rahmat, R.; Sanders, D. A.; Avdeeva, E.; Bloom, K.; Bose, S.; Butt, J.; Claes, D. R.; Dominguez, A.; Eads, M.; Keller, J.; Kravchenko, I.; Lazo-Flores, J.; Malbouisson, H.; Malik, S.; Snow, G. R.; Baur, U.; Godshalk, A.; Iashvili, I.; Jain, S.; Kharchilava, A.; Kumar, A.; Shipkowski, S. P.; Smith, K.; Alverson, G.; Barberis, E.; Baumgartel, D.; Chasco, M.; Haley, J.; Nash, D.; Trocino, D.; Wood, D.; Zhang, J.; Anastassov, A.; Kubik, A.; Mucia, N.; Odell, N.; Ofierzynski, R. A.; Pollack, B.; Pozdnyakov, A.; Schmitt, M.; Stoynev, S.; Velasco, M.; Won, S.; Antonelli, L.; Berry, D.; Brinkerhoff, A.; Hildreth, M.; Jessop, C.; Karmgard, D. J.; Kolb, J.; Lannon, K.; Luo, W.; Lynch, S.; Marinelli, N.; Morse, D. M.; Pearson, T.; Ruchti, R.; Slaunwhite, J.; Valls, N.; Wayne, M.; Wolf, M.; Bylsma, B.; Durkin, L. S.; Hart, A.; Hill, C.; Hughes, R.; Kotov, K.; Ling, T. Y.; Puigh, D.; Rodenburg, M.; Vuosalo, C.; Williams, G.; Winer, B. L.; Adam, N.; Berry, E.; Elmer, P.; Gerbaudo, D.; Halyo, V.; Hebda, P.; Hegeman, J.; Hunt, A.; Jindal, P.; Lopes Pegna, D.; Lujan, P.; Marlow, D.; Medvedeva, T.; Mooney, M.; Olsen, J.; Piroué, P.; Quan, X.; Raval, A.; Safdi, B.; Saka, H.; Stickland, D.; Tully, C.; Werner, J. S.; Zuranski, A.; Acosta, J. G.; Brownson, E.; Huang, X. T.; Lopez, A.; Mendez, H.; Oliveros, S.; Ramirez Vargas, J. E.; Zatserklyaniy, A.; Alagoz, E.; Barnes, V. E.; Benedetti, D.; Bolla, G.; Bortoletto, D.; De Mattia, M.; Everett, A.; Hu, Z.; Jones, M.; Koybasi, O.; Kress, M.; Laasanen, A. T.; Leonardo, N.; Maroussov, V.; Merkel, P.; Miller, D. H.; Neumeister, N.; Shipsey, I.; Silvers, D.; Svyatkovskiy, A.; Vidal Marono, M.; Yoo, H. D.; Zablocki, J.; Zheng, Y.; Guragain, S.; Parashar, N.; Adair, A.; Boulahouache, C.; Ecklund, K. M.; Geurts, F. J. M.; Padley, B. P.; Redjimi, R.; Roberts, J.; Zabel, J.; Betchart, B.; Bodek, A.; Chung, Y. S.; Covarelli, R.; de Barbaro, P.; Demina, R.; Eshaq, Y.; Garcia-Bellido, A.; Goldenzweig, P.; Han, J.; Harel, A.; Miner, D. C.; Vishnevskiy, D.; Zielinski, M.; Bhatti, A.; Ciesielski, R.; Demortier, L.; Goulianos, K.; Lungu, G.; Malik, S.; Mesropian, C.; Arora, S.; Barker, A.; Chou, J. P.; Contreras-Campana, C.; Contreras-Campana, E.; Duggan, D.; Ferencek, D.; Gershtein, Y.; Gray, R.; Halkiadakis, E.; Hidas, D.; Lath, A.; Panwalkar, S.; Park, M.; Patel, R.; Rekovic, V.; Robles, J.; Rose, K.; Salur, S.; Schnetzer, S.; Seitz, C.; Somalwar, S.; Stone, R.; Thomas, S.; Cerizza, G.; Hollingsworth, M.; Spanier, S.; Yang, Z. C.; York, A.; Eusebi, R.; Flanagan, W.; Gilmore, J.; Kamon, T.; Khotilovich, V.; Montalvo, R.; Osipenkov, I.; Pakhotin, Y.; Perloff, A.; Roe, J.; Safonov, A.; Sakuma, T.; Sengupta, S.; Suarez, I.; Tatarinov, A.; Toback, D.; Akchurin, N.; Damgov, J.; Dudero, P. R.; Jeong, C.; Kovitanggoon, K.; Lee, S. W.; Libeiro, T.; Roh, Y.; Volobouev, I.; Appelt, E.; Florez, C.; Greene, S.; Gurrola, A.; Johns, W.; Johnston, C.; Kurt, P.; Maguire, C.; Melo, A.; Sheldon, P.; Snook, B.; Tuo, S.; Velkovska, J.; Arenton, M. W.; Balazs, M.; Boutle, S.; Cox, B.; Francis, B.; Goodell, J.; Hirosky, R.; Ledovskoy, A.; Lin, C.; Neu, C.; Wood, J.; Yohay, R.; Gollapinni, S.; Harr, R.; Karchin, P. E.; Kottachchi Kankanamge Don, C.; Lamichhane, P.; Sakharov, A.; Anderson, M.; Bachtis, M.; Belknap, D.; Borrello, L.; Carlsmith, D.; Cepeda, M.; Dasu, S.; Gray, L.; Grogg, K. S.; Grothe, M.; Hall-Wilton, R.; Herndon, M.; Hervé, A.; Klabbers, P.; Klukas, J.; Lanaro, A.; Lazaridis, C.; Leonard, J.; Loveless, R.; Mohapatra, A.; Ojalvo, I.; Palmonari, F.; Pierro, G. A.; Ross, I.; Savin, A.; Smith, W. H.; Swanson, J.

    2012-08-01

    A search has been performed for long-lived particles that have stopped in the CMS detector, during 7 TeV proton-proton operations of the CERN LHC. The existence of such particles could be inferred from observation of their decays when there were no proton-proton collisions in the CMS detector, namely during gaps between LHC beam crossings. Using a data set in which CMS recorded an integrated luminosity of 4.0 inverse femtobarns, and a search interval corresponding to 246 hours of trigger live time, 12 events are observed, with a mean background prediction of 8.6 +/- 2.4 events. Limits are presented at 95% confidence level on long-lived gluino and stop production, over 13 orders of magnitude of particle lifetime. Assuming the "cloud model" of R-hadron interactions, a gluino with mass below 640 GeV and a stop with mass below 340 GeV are excluded, for lifetimes between 10 microseconds and 1000 seconds.

  14. Agutaynen Glottal Stop.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quakenbush, J. Stephen

    A study investigated the phonemic and morphophonemic patterning of the glottal stop in Agutaynen, a Meso-Philippine language, and some comparison with two northern Philippine languages. Agutaynen glottal stop has as its sole origin a neutralization of contrast rule, the operation of which can be noted in three different linguistic environments.…

  15. Modular 125 ps resolution time interval digitizer for 10 MHz stop burst rates and 33 ms range

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turko, B.

    1978-01-01

    A high resolution multiple stop time interval digitizer is described. It is capable of resolving stop burst rates of up to 10 MHz with an incremental resolution of 125 ps within a range of 33 ms. The digitizer consists of five CAMAC modules and uses a standard CAMAC crate and controller. All the functions and ranges are completely computer controlled. Any two subsequent stop pulses in a burst can be resolved within 100 ns due to a new dual interpolation technique employed. The accuracy is maintained by a high stability 125 MHz reference clock. Up to 131 stop events can be stored in a 48-bit, 10 MHz derandomizing storage register before the digitizer overflows. The experimental data are also given

  16. Prevention of Contrast-Induced AKI: A Review of Published Trials and the Design of the Prevention of Serious Adverse Events following Angiography (PRESERVE) Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Martin; Kaufman, James; Cass, Alan; Parikh, Chirag R.; Chertow, Glenn M.; Shunk, Kendrick A.; McCullough, Peter A.; Fine, Michael J.; Mor, Maria K.; Lew, Robert A.; Huang, Grant D.; Conner, Todd A.; Brophy, Mary T.; Lee, Joanne; Soliva, Susan; Palevsky, Paul M.

    2013-01-01

    Summary Contrast-induced AKI (CI-AKI) is a common condition associated with serious, adverse outcomes. CI-AKI may be preventable because its risk factors are well characterized and the timing of renal insult is commonly known in advance. Intravenous (IV) fluids and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) are two of the most widely studied preventive measures for CI-AKI. Despite a multitude of clinical trials and meta-analyses, the most effective type of IV fluid (sodium bicarbonate versus sodium chloride) and the benefit of NAC remain unclear. Careful review of published trials of these interventions reveals design limitations that contributed to their inconclusive findings. Such design limitations include the enrollment of small numbers of patients, increasing the risk for type I and type II statistical errors; the use of surrogate primary endpoints defined by small increments in serum creatinine, which are associated with, but not necessarily causally related to serious, adverse, patient-centered outcomes; and the inclusion of low-risk patients with intact baseline kidney function, yielding low event rates and reduced generalizability to a higher-risk population. The Prevention of Serious Adverse Events following Angiography (PRESERVE) trial is a randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial that will enroll 8680 high-risk patients undergoing coronary or noncoronary angiography to compare the effectiveness of IV isotonic sodium bicarbonate versus IV isotonic sodium chloride and oral NAC versus oral placebo for the prevention of serious, adverse outcomes associated with CI-AKI. This article discusses key methodological issues of past trials investigating IV fluids and NAC and how they informed the design of the PRESERVE trial. PMID:23660180

  17. An audit strategy for time-to-event outcomes measured with error: application to five randomized controlled trials in oncology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodd, Lori E; Korn, Edward L; Freidlin, Boris; Gu, Wenjuan; Abrams, Jeffrey S; Bushnell, William D; Canetta, Renzo; Doroshow, James H; Gray, Robert J; Sridhara, Rajeshwari

    2013-10-01

    Measurement error in time-to-event end points complicates interpretation of treatment effects in clinical trials. Non-differential measurement error is unlikely to produce large bias [1]. When error depends on treatment arm, bias is of greater concern. Blinded-independent central review (BICR) of all images from a trial is commonly undertaken to mitigate differential measurement-error bias that may be present in hazard ratios (HRs) based on local evaluations. Similar BICR and local evaluation HRs may provide reassurance about the treatment effect, but BICR adds considerable time and expense to trials. We describe a BICR audit strategy [2] and apply it to five randomized controlled trials to evaluate its use and to provide practical guidelines. The strategy requires BICR on a subset of study subjects, rather than a complete-case BICR, and makes use of an auxiliary-variable estimator. When the effect size is relatively large, the method provides a substantial reduction in the size of the BICRs. In a trial with 722 participants and a HR of 0.48, an average audit of 28% of the data was needed and always confirmed the treatment effect as assessed by local evaluations. More moderate effect sizes and/or smaller trial sizes required larger proportions of audited images, ranging from 57% to 100% for HRs ranging from 0.55 to 0.77 and sample sizes between 209 and 737. The method is developed for a simple random sample of study subjects. In studies with low event rates, more efficient estimation may result from sampling individuals with events at a higher rate. The proposed strategy can greatly decrease the costs and time associated with BICR, by reducing the number of images undergoing review. The savings will depend on the underlying treatment effect and trial size, with larger treatment effects and larger trials requiring smaller proportions of audited data.

  18. All in One Stop? The Accessibility of Work Support Programs at One-Stop Centers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richer, Elise; Kubo, Hitomi; Frank, Abbey

    The accessibility of work support programs at one-stop centers was examined in a study during which 33 telephone directors or managers of one-stop centers in 22 states were interviewed by telephone. The interviews established the existence of extensive differences between one-stop centers from the standpoint of all aspects of their operation,…

  19. LHC Availability 2017: Technical Stop 1 to Technical Stop 2

    CERN Document Server

    Todd, Benjamin; Apollonio, Andrea; Walsh, David John; CERN. Geneva. ATS Department

    2017-01-01

    This document summarises the LHC machine availability for the period of Technical Stop 1 (TS1) to Technical Stop 2 (TS2) in 2017. This period was dedicated to proton physics with a bunch spacing of 25ns. This note has been produced and ratified by the Availability Working Group which has complied fault information for the period in question using the Accelerator Fault Tracker.

  20. Luminescent beam stop

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bryant, Diane; Morton, Simon A.

    2017-10-25

    This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus related to beam stops. In one aspect, a device comprises a luminescent material, a beam stop plate, and an optical fiber. The luminescent material is a parallelepiped having a first side and a second side that are squares and having a third side that is a rectangle or a square. The first side and the second side are perpendicular to the third side. The beam stop plate is attached to the first side of the luminescent material. The optical fiber has a first end and a second end, with the first end of the optical fiber attached to the third side of the luminescent material.

  1. Probing Light Stops with Stoponium

    CERN Document Server

    Batell, Brian

    2015-01-01

    We derive new limits on light stops from diboson resonance searches in the $\\gamma\\gamma$, $Z \\gamma$, $ZZ$, $WW$ and $hh$ channels from the first run of the LHC. If the two-body decays of the light stop are mildly suppressed or kinematically forbidden, stoponium bound states will form in $pp$ collisions and subsequently decay via the pair annihilation of the constituent stops to diboson final states, yielding striking resonance signatures. Remarkably, we find that stoponium searches are highly complementary to direct collider searches and indirect probes of light stops such as Higgs coupling measurements. Using an empirical quarkonia potential model and including the first two $S$-wave stoponium states, we find that in the decoupling limit $m_{\\widetilde t_1} \\lesssim 130$ GeV is excluded for any value of the stop mixing angle and heavy stop mass by the combination of the latest resonance searches and the indirect constraints. The $\\gamma \\gamma$ searches are the most complementary to the indirect constraint...

  2. Stop smoking support programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smokeless tobacco - stop smoking programs; Stop smoking techniques; Smoking cessation programs; Smoking cessation techniques ... You can find out about smoking cessation programs from: Your ... Your employer Your local health department The National Cancer ...

  3. Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pay (RSLSP), providing $500 for each month/partial month served in stop loss status. Service members served under stop loss must submit a claim for the special pay. Throughout the year, the services have or extension of service, became ineligible to receive retroactive stop loss special pay. There may be

  4. The Tendril Plot-a novel visual summary of the incidence, significance and temporal aspects of adverse events in clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karpefors, Martin; Weatherall, James

    2018-03-21

    In contrast to efficacy, safety hypotheses of clinical trials are not always pre-specified, and therefore, the safety interpretation work of a trial tends to be more exploratory, often reactive, and the analysis more statistically and graphically challenging. We introduce a new means of visualizing the adverse event data across an entire clinical trial. The approach overcomes some of the current limitations of adverse event analysis and streamlines the way safety data can be explored, interpreted and analyzed. Using a phase II study, we describe and exemplify how the tendril plot effectively summarizes the time-resolved safety profile of two treatment arms in a single plot and how that can provide scientists with a trial safety overview that can support medical decision making. To our knowledge, the tendril plot is the only way to graphically show important treatment differences with preserved temporal information, across an entire clinical trial, in a single view.

  5. Simultaneous modelling of multi-purpose/multi-stop activity patterns and quantities consumed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, John R.; Smith, Nariida C.; Xu, Blake

    Whereas for commuting travel there is a one-to-one correspondence between commuters and jobs, and for commodity flows a one-to-one correspondence between the size of orders and the shipping cost of the commodities, the situation is much more complex for retail/service travel. A typical shopper may make a single trip or multi-stop tour to buy/consume a quite diverse set of commodities/services at different locations in quite variable quantities. At the same time, the general pattern of the tour is clearly dependent on the activities and goods available at potential stops. These interdependencies have been alluded to in the literature, especially by spatial economists. However, until some preliminary work by the first author, there has been no attempt to formally include these interdependencies in a general model. This paper presents a framework for achieving this goal by developing an evolutionary set of models starting from the simplest forms available. From the above, it is clear that such interdependency models will inevitably have high dimensionality and combinatorial complexity. This rules out a simultaneous treatment of all the events using an individual choice approach. If an individual choice approach is to be applied in a tractable manner, the set of interdependent events needs to be segmented into several subsets, with simultaneity recognised within each subset, but a mere sequential progression occurring between subsets. In this paper, full event interdependencies are retained at the expense of modelling market segments of consumers rather than a sample of representative individuals. We couple the travel and consumption events in the only feasible way, by modelling the tours as discrete entities, in conjunction with the amount of each commodity consumed per stop on each such tour in terms of the continuous quantities of microeconomics. This is performed both under a budget/income constraint from microeconomics and a time budget constraint from time

  6. Group sequential designs for stepped-wedge cluster randomised trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grayling, Michael J; Wason, James Ms; Mander, Adrian P

    2017-10-01

    The stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial design has received substantial attention in recent years. Although various extensions to the original design have been proposed, no guidance is available on the design of stepped-wedge cluster randomised trials with interim analyses. In an individually randomised trial setting, group sequential methods can provide notable efficiency gains and ethical benefits. We address this by discussing how established group sequential methodology can be adapted for stepped-wedge designs. Utilising the error spending approach to group sequential trial design, we detail the assumptions required for the determination of stepped-wedge cluster randomised trials with interim analyses. We consider early stopping for efficacy, futility, or efficacy and futility. We describe first how this can be done for any specified linear mixed model for data analysis. We then focus on one particular commonly utilised model and, using a recently completed stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial, compare the performance of several designs with interim analyses to the classical stepped-wedge design. Finally, the performance of a quantile substitution procedure for dealing with the case of unknown variance is explored. We demonstrate that the incorporation of early stopping in stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial designs could reduce the expected sample size under the null and alternative hypotheses by up to 31% and 22%, respectively, with no cost to the trial's type-I and type-II error rates. The use of restricted error maximum likelihood estimation was found to be more important than quantile substitution for controlling the type-I error rate. The addition of interim analyses into stepped-wedge cluster randomised trials could help guard against time-consuming trials conducted on poor performing treatments and also help expedite the implementation of efficacious treatments. In future, trialists should consider incorporating early stopping of some kind into

  7. Observed and predicted reduction of ischemic cardiovascular events in the Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holme, Ingar; Boman, Kurt; Brudi, Philippe

    2010-01-01

    In the Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis (SEAS) trial, combined ezetimibe (10 mg) and simvastatin (40 mg) decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels by 50% and ischemic cardiovascular event (ICE) risk by 22% compared to placebo. A larger decrease in ICE risk might have been...... expected for the degree of lipid-lowering observed. This analysis investigated relations between changes in lipoprotein components (LCs), and ICE risk decrease in the SEAS trial in all patients, by severity of aortic stenosis (AS), and compared to results of other clinical trials. A total of 1,570 patients...

  8. Money and morals: ending clinical trials for financial reasons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eaton, Margaret L; Kwon, Brian K; Scott, Christopher Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Too often, biopharmaceutical companies stop their clinical trials solely for financial reasons. In this chapter, we discuss this phenomenon against the backdrop of a 2011 decision by Geron Corporation to abandon its stem cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury (SCI), the preliminary results of which were released in May 2014. We argue that the resultant harms are widespread and are different in nature from the consequences of stopping trials for scientific or medical reasons. We examine the ethical and social effects that arise from such decisions and discuss them in light of ethical frameworks, including duties of individual stakeholders and corporate sponsors. We offer ways that sponsors and clinical sites can ensure that trials are responsibly started, and once started adequately protect the interests of participants. We conclude with recommendations that industry sponsors of clinical trials should adopt in order to advance a collective and patient-centered research ethic.

  9. Identifying treatment effect heterogeneity in clinical trials using subpopulations of events: STEPP.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazar, Ann A; Bonetti, Marco; Cole, Bernard F; Yip, Wai-Ki; Gelber, Richard D

    2016-04-01

    Investigators conducting randomized clinical trials often explore treatment effect heterogeneity to assess whether treatment efficacy varies according to patient characteristics. Identifying heterogeneity is central to making informed personalized healthcare decisions. Treatment effect heterogeneity can be investigated using subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot (STEPP), a non-parametric graphical approach that constructs overlapping patient subpopulations with varying values of a characteristic. Procedures for statistical testing using subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot when the endpoint of interest is survival remain an area of active investigation. A STEPP analysis was used to explore patterns of absolute and relative treatment effects for varying levels of a breast cancer biomarker, Ki-67, in the phase III Breast International Group 1-98 randomized clinical trial, comparing letrozole to tamoxifen as adjuvant therapy for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Absolute treatment effects were measured by differences in 4-year cumulative incidence of breast cancer recurrence, while relative effects were measured by the subdistribution hazard ratio in the presence of competing risks using O-E (observed-minus-expected) methodology, an intuitive non-parametric method. While estimation of hazard ratio values based on O-E methodology has been shown, a similar development for the subdistribution hazard ratio has not. Furthermore, we observed that the subpopulation treatment effect pattern plot analysis may not produce results, even with 100 patients within each subpopulation. After further investigation through simulation studies, we observed inflation of the type I error rate of the traditional test statistic and sometimes singular variance-covariance matrix estimates that may lead to results not being produced. This is due to the lack of sufficient number of events within the subpopulations, which we refer to as instability of

  10. A whistle-stop tour of statistics

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Everitt, Brian

    2012-01-01

    "Preface according to my Penguin English dictionary, whistle-stop, used before a noun means 'consisting of brief stops in several places' and this whistle-stop tour of statistics does just that, with...

  11. Complications and Adverse Events of a Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing 3 Graft Types for ACL Reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohtadi, Nicholas; Barber, Rhamona; Chan, Denise; Paolucci, Elizabeth Oddone

    2016-05-01

    Complications/adverse events of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery are underreported, despite pooled level 1 data in systematic reviews. All adverse events/complications occurring within a 2-year postoperative period after primary ACL reconstruction, as part of a large randomized clinical trial (RCT), were identified and described. Prospective, double-blind randomized clinical trial. Patients and the independent trained examiner were blinded to treatment allocation. University-based orthopedic referral practice. Three hundred thirty patients (14-50 years; 183 males) with isolated ACL deficiency were intraoperatively randomized to ACL reconstruction with 1 autograft type. Graft harvest and arthroscopic portal incisions were identical. Patients were equally distributed to patellar tendon (PT), quadruple-stranded hamstring tendon (HT), and double-bundle (DB) hamstring autograft ACL reconstruction. Adverse events/complications were patient reported, documented, and diagnoses confirmed. Two major complications occurred: pulmonary embolism and septic arthritis. Twenty-four patients (7.3%) required repeat surgery, including 25 separate operations: PT = 7 (6.4%), HT = 9 (8.2%), and DB = 8 (7.3%). Repeat surgery was performed for meniscal tears (3.6%; n = 12), intra-articular scarring (2.7%; n = 9), chondral pathology (0.6%; n = 2), and wound dehiscence (0.3%; n = 1). Other complications included wound problems, sensory nerve damage, muscle tendon injury, tibial periostitis, and suspected meniscal tears and chondral lesions. Overall, more complications occurred in the HT/DB groups (PT = 24; HT = 31; DB = 45), but more PT patients complained of moderate or severe kneeling pain (PT = 17; HT = 9; DB = 4) at 2 years. Overall, ACL reconstructive surgery is safe. Major complications were uncommon. Secondary surgery was necessary 7.3% of the time for complications/adverse events (excluding graft reinjury or revisions) within the first 2 years. Level 1 (therapeutic studies

  12. Compliance with the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH diet: a systematic review.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mandy Wing-Man Kwan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH diet has been recognized as effective to lower blood pressure in feeding trials, but compliance with the diet must be persistent to maximize health benefits in clinical practice. This paper reports a systematic review of the latest evidence on the method to assess DASH compliance and the corresponding patients' compliance in interventional settings. METHODS: The databases including MEDLINE, EBM Reviews, EMBASE, and CINAHL Plus were searched for original research studies published in the period of January 1992-December 2012 that evaluated compliance with DASH diet. Studies written in English language, with DASH intervention, with complete documentation of the degree of DASH compliance and the assessment method used were included in this review. The search terms included: dietary approaches to stop hypertension, DASH, compliance, adherence, consistency, and concordance. RESULTS: Nine studies were included. Different types of interventions were identified, ranging from feeding trial to dietary counseling. These studies differed in the assessment methods used to evaluate DASH compliance, which included objective approaches like measurement of urinary excretion, and subjective approaches like dietary intake assessment for DASH target comparison and construction of DASH scoring systems. Compliance levels were lower in educational interventions than that of the original DASH feeding trial. CONCLUSIONS: To conclude, although no consensus existed regarding the best approach to assess DASH compliance, its suboptimal compliance warrants attention. This study implied a need to investigate effective approaches to sustain the DASH dietary pattern beyond counselling alone.

  13. Amphotericin B colloidal dispersion (Amphocil) vs fluconazole for the prevention of fungal infections in neutropenic patients : data of a prematurely stopped clinical trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Timmers, G J; Zweegman, S; Simoons-Smit, A M; van Loenen, A C; Touw, D; Huijgens, P C

    We conducted an open label, randomised clinical trial to compare amphotericin B colloidal dispersion (ABCD, Amphocil) 2 mg/kg/day intravenously with fluconazole 200 mg/day orally, for the prevention of fungal disease in neutropenic patients with haematological malignancies. In the event of

  14. RARtool: A MATLAB Software Package for Designing Response-Adaptive Randomized Clinical Trials with Time-to-Event Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryeznik, Yevgen; Sverdlov, Oleksandr; Wong, Weng Kee

    2015-08-01

    Response-adaptive randomization designs are becoming increasingly popular in clinical trial practice. In this paper, we present RARtool , a user interface software developed in MATLAB for designing response-adaptive randomized comparative clinical trials with censored time-to-event outcomes. The RARtool software can compute different types of optimal treatment allocation designs, and it can simulate response-adaptive randomization procedures targeting selected optimal allocations. Through simulations, an investigator can assess design characteristics under a variety of experimental scenarios and select the best procedure for practical implementation. We illustrate the utility of our RARtool software by redesigning a survival trial from the literature.

  15. Trial latencies estimation of event-related potentials in EEG by means of genetic algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Da Pelo, P.; De Tommaso, M.; Monaco, A.; Stramaglia, S.; Bellotti, R.; Tangaro, S.

    2018-04-01

    Objective. Event-related potentials (ERPs) are usually obtained by averaging thus neglecting the trial-to-trial latency variability in cognitive electroencephalography (EEG) responses. As a consequence the shape and the peak amplitude of the averaged ERP are smeared and reduced, respectively, when the single-trial latencies show a relevant variability. To date, the majority of the methodologies for single-trial latencies inference are iterative schemes providing suboptimal solutions, the most commonly used being the Woody’s algorithm. Approach. In this study, a global approach is developed by introducing a fitness function whose global maximum corresponds to the set of latencies which renders the trial signals most aligned as possible. A suitable genetic algorithm has been implemented to solve the optimization problem, characterized by new genetic operators tailored to the present problem. Main results. The results, on simulated trials, showed that the proposed algorithm performs better than Woody’s algorithm in all conditions, at the cost of an increased computational complexity (justified by the improved quality of the solution). Application of the proposed approach on real data trials, resulted in an increased correlation between latencies and reaction times w.r.t. the output from RIDE method. Significance. The above mentioned results on simulated and real data indicate that the proposed method, providing a better estimate of single-trial latencies, will open the way to more accurate study of neural responses as well as to the issue of relating the variability of latencies to the proper cognitive and behavioural correlates.

  16. Modified STOP-Bang Tool for Stratifying Obstructive Sleep Apnea Risk in Adolescent Children.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Combs

    Full Text Available Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA is prevalent in children and diagnostic polysomnography is costly and not readily available in all areas. We developed a pediatric modification of a commonly used adult clinical prediction tool for stratifying the risk of OSA and the need for polysomnography.A total of 312 children (age 9-17 years from phase 2 of the Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea cohort study, with complete anthropomorphic data, parent questionnaires, and home polysomnograms were included. An adolescent modification of STOP-Bang (teen STOP-Bang was developed and included snoring, tired, observed apnea, blood pressure ≥ 95th percentile, BMI > 95th percentile, academic problems, neck circumference >95th percentile for age, and male gender. An apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 1.5 events/hour was considered diagnostic of OSA.Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC curves for parent-reported STOP-Bang scores were generated for teenage and pre-teen children. A STOP-Bang score of < 3 in teenagers was associated with a negative predictive value of 0.96. ROC curves were also generated based upon child-reported sexual maturity rating (SMR; n = 291. The ability of teen STOP-Bang to discriminate the presence or absence of OSA as measured by the AUC for children with SMR ≥ 4 (0.83; 95%CI 0.71-0.95 was better than children with SMR < 4 (0.63; 95%CI 0.46-0.81; p = 0.048.In community dwelling adolescents, teen STOP-Bang may be useful in stratifying the risk of OSA.

  17. City Under Siege: Narrating Mumbai Through NonStop Capture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasmin Ibrahim

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available When Mumbai became the target of terror in the 26/11 attack in 2008, the events in that city, like other tragic global events in recent years, were narrated through new media platforms. The increasing convergence of technologies and mobile telephony enabled new forms of gaze and the ability to bear witness through these new media technologies. The non-stop capture of events through recording equipment embedded in mobile phones and their connectivity to the World Wide Web constructed Mumbai through civilian narratives and images, and this phe-nomenon was described as the "coming of age of Twitter". Conversely the event raised fundamental questions about the role of broadcasting and protocols in live telecasts of terrorist attacks which have consequences for national security. In narrating the city through the civilian gaze and traditional media the spectacle of suffering in postmodernity becomes an open-ended exercise where the city is both a canvas for showcasing the risks of modernity and new forms of visibilities which emerge from social media and the "act of sharing" content on global plat-forms.

  18. Measurement of stopping power of heavy ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitahara, Tetsuo

    1981-01-01

    The stopping power of heavy ions is discussed. In the low energy region, heavy ions keep some of their orbital electrons, and have equilibrium electron charge. The stopping power of penetrating particles depends on this effective charge. At present, it is hard to estimate this effective charge theoretically, accordingly, the estimation is made experimentally. Another difficulty in this estimation is that the Born approximation is not effective for heavy ions. In the low energy region, electronic stopping and nuclear stopping contribute to the stopping power. For the electronic stopping, a formula for the stopping power was given by Lindhard et al. The experimental values were obtained at GSI, and are inconsistent with the estimation by the Lindhard's formula. In the high energy region, where the Born approximation can be used, the Bethe's formula is applied, but the experimental data are scarce. Oscillations are seen in the Z dependence graph of the experimental stopping cross sections. Experimental works on the stopping power have been done. The differential and the integral methods were carried out. (Kato, T.)

  19. Surrogate marker analysis in cancer clinical trials through time-to-event mediation techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vandenberghe, Sjouke; Duchateau, Luc; Slaets, Leen; Bogaerts, Jan; Vansteelandt, Stijn

    2017-01-01

    The meta-analytic approach is the gold standard for validation of surrogate markers, but has the drawback of requiring data from several trials. We refine modern mediation analysis techniques for time-to-event endpoints and apply them to investigate whether pathological complete response can be used as a surrogate marker for disease-free survival in the EORTC 10994/BIG 1-00 randomised phase 3 trial in which locally advanced breast cancer patients were randomised to either taxane or anthracycline based neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In the mediation analysis, the treatment effect is decomposed into an indirect effect via pathological complete response and the remaining direct effect. It shows that only 4.2% of the treatment effect on disease-free survival after five years is mediated by the treatment effect on pathological complete response. There is thus no evidence from our analysis that pathological complete response is a valuable surrogate marker to evaluate the effect of taxane versus anthracycline based chemotherapies on progression free survival of locally advanced breast cancer patients. The proposed analysis strategy is broadly applicable to mediation analyses of time-to-event endpoints, is easy to apply and outperforms existing strategies in terms of precision as well as robustness against model misspecification.

  20. Common data elements for secondary use of electronic health record data for clinical trial execution and serious adverse event reporting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philipp Bruland

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Data capture is one of the most expensive phases during the conduct of a clinical trial and the increasing use of electronic health records (EHR offers significant savings to clinical research. To facilitate these secondary uses of routinely collected patient data, it is beneficial to know what data elements are captured in clinical trials. Therefore our aim here is to determine the most commonly used data elements in clinical trials and their availability in hospital EHR systems. Methods Case report forms for 23 clinical trials in differing disease areas were analyzed. Through an iterative and consensus-based process of medical informatics professionals from academia and trial experts from the European pharmaceutical industry, data elements were compiled for all disease areas and with special focus on the reporting of adverse events. Afterwards, data elements were identified and statistics acquired from hospital sites providing data to the EHR4CR project. Results The analysis identified 133 unique data elements. Fifty elements were congruent with a published data inventory for patient recruitment and 83 new elements were identified for clinical trial execution, including adverse event reporting. Demographic and laboratory elements lead the list of available elements in hospitals EHR systems. For the reporting of serious adverse events only very few elements could be identified in the patient records. Conclusions Common data elements in clinical trials have been identified and their availability in hospital systems elucidated. Several elements, often those related to reimbursement, are frequently available whereas more specialized elements are ranked at the bottom of the data inventory list. Hospitals that want to obtain the benefits of reusing data for research from their EHR are now able to prioritize their efforts based on this common data element list.

  1. Common data elements for secondary use of electronic health record data for clinical trial execution and serious adverse event reporting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruland, Philipp; McGilchrist, Mark; Zapletal, Eric; Acosta, Dionisio; Proeve, Johann; Askin, Scott; Ganslandt, Thomas; Doods, Justin; Dugas, Martin

    2016-11-22

    Data capture is one of the most expensive phases during the conduct of a clinical trial and the increasing use of electronic health records (EHR) offers significant savings to clinical research. To facilitate these secondary uses of routinely collected patient data, it is beneficial to know what data elements are captured in clinical trials. Therefore our aim here is to determine the most commonly used data elements in clinical trials and their availability in hospital EHR systems. Case report forms for 23 clinical trials in differing disease areas were analyzed. Through an iterative and consensus-based process of medical informatics professionals from academia and trial experts from the European pharmaceutical industry, data elements were compiled for all disease areas and with special focus on the reporting of adverse events. Afterwards, data elements were identified and statistics acquired from hospital sites providing data to the EHR4CR project. The analysis identified 133 unique data elements. Fifty elements were congruent with a published data inventory for patient recruitment and 83 new elements were identified for clinical trial execution, including adverse event reporting. Demographic and laboratory elements lead the list of available elements in hospitals EHR systems. For the reporting of serious adverse events only very few elements could be identified in the patient records. Common data elements in clinical trials have been identified and their availability in hospital systems elucidated. Several elements, often those related to reimbursement, are frequently available whereas more specialized elements are ranked at the bottom of the data inventory list. Hospitals that want to obtain the benefits of reusing data for research from their EHR are now able to prioritize their efforts based on this common data element list.

  2. Two controlled trials to increase participant retention in a randomized controlled trial of mobile phone-based smoking cessation support in the United Kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Severi, Ettore; Free, Caroline; Knight, Rosemary; Robertson, Steven; Edwards, Philip; Hoile, Elizabeth

    2011-10-01

    Loss to follow-up of trial participants represents a threat to research validity. To date, interventions designed to increase participants' awareness of benefits to society of completing follow-up, and the impact of a telephone call from a senior female clinician and researcher requesting follow-up have not been evaluated robustly. Trial 1 aimed to evaluate the effect on trial follow-up of written information regarding the benefits of participation to society. Trial 2 aimed to evaluate the effect on trial follow-up of a telephone call from a senior female clinician and researcher. Two single-blind randomized controlled trials were nested within a larger trial, Txt2stop. In Trial 1, participants were allocated using minimization to receive a refrigerator magnet and a text message emphasizing the benefits to society of completing follow-up, or to a control group receiving a simple reminder regarding follow-up. In Trial 2, participants were randomly allocated to receive a telephone call from a senior female clinician and researcher, or to a control group receiving standard Txt2stop follow-up procedures. Trial 1: 33.5% (327 of 976) of the intervention group and 33.8% (329 of 974) of the control group returned the questionnaire within 26 weeks of randomization, risk ratio (RR) 0.99; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88-1.12. In all, 83.3% (813 of 976) of the intervention group and 82.2% (801 of/974) of the control group sent back the questionnaire within 30 weeks of randomization, RR 1.01; 95% CI 0.97, 1.05. Trial 2: 31% (20 of 65) of the intervention group and 32% (20 of 62) of the control group completed trial follow-up, RR 0.93; 95%CI 0.44, 1.98. In presence of other methods to increase follow-up neither experimental method (refrigerator magnet and text message emphasizing participation's benefits to society nor a telephone call from study's principal investigator) increased participant follow-up in the Txt2stop trial.

  3. 20 CFR 662.430 - Under what conditions may One-Stop operators designated to operate in a One-Stop delivery system...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... designated to operate in a One-Stop delivery system established prior to the enactment of WIA be designated... DESCRIPTION OF THE ONE-STOP SYSTEM UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT One-Stop Operators § 662.430 Under what conditions may One-Stop operators designated to operate in a One-Stop delivery system...

  4. Finite seismic source parameters inferred from stopping phases for selected events of West Bohemia 2000 swarm

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kolář, Petr; Růžek, Bohuslav

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 9, č. 4 (2012), s. 435-447 ISSN 1214-9705 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA300120805; GA ČR GAP210/10/1728 Institutional support: RVO:67985530 Keywords : finite seismic source * stopping phases * West Bohemia earthquke swarm Subject RIV: DC - Siesmology, Volcanology, Earth Structure Impact factor: 0.530, year: 2011

  5. A digital intervention to increase motivation and access to NHS Stop Smoking Services: Applying the Behaviour Change Wheel to develop the ‘Stop-app’.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily Fulton

    2015-10-01

    Health Warwickshire, and other local authorities nationally for NHS and non-NHS providers. Stop-app incorporates a brief behaviour change intervention to increase motivation to attend SSS, along with an e-referral system for instant appointment booking. Examples of content and functionality of the app are outlined. Usability and feasibility testing are planned for Phase 4; and a pilot efficacy trial protocol is in development.

  6. Perceptual assessment of fricative--stop coarticulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Repp, B H; Mann, V A

    1981-04-01

    The perceptual dependence of stop consonants on preceding fricatives [Mann and Repp, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 69, 548--558 (1981)] was further investigated in two experiments employing both natural and synthetic speech. These experiments consistently replicated our original finding that listeners, report velar stops following [s]. In addition, our data confirmed earlier reports that natural fricative noises (excerpted from utterances of [st alpha], [sk alpha], [(formula: see text)k alpha]) contain cues to the following stop consonants; this was revealed in subjects' identifications of stops from isolated fricative noises and from stimuli consisting of these noises followed by synthetic CV portions drawn from a [t alpha]--[k alpha] continuum. However, these cues in the noise portion could not account for the contextual effect of fricative identity ([formula: see text] versus [sp) on stop perception (more "k" responses following [s]). Rather, this effect seems to be related to a coarticulatory influence of a preceding fricative on stop production; Subjects' responses to excised natural CV portions (with bursts and aspiration removed) were biased towards a relatively more forward place of stop articulation when the CVs had originally been preceded by [s]; and the identification of a preceding ambiguous fricative was biased in the direction of the original fricative context in which a given CV portion had been produced. These findings support an articulatory explanation for the effect of preceding fricatives on stop consonant perception.

  7. Stopping of hypervelocity clusters in solids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anders, Christian; Ziegenhain, Gerolf; Urbassek, Herbert M; Bringa, Eduardo M

    2011-01-01

    Using molecular-dynamics simulations, we study the processes underlying the stopping of energetic clusters upon impact in matter. We investigate self-bombardment of both a metallic (Cu) and a van-der-Waals bonded (frozen Ar) target. Clusters with sizes up to N = 10 4 atoms and with energies per atom of E/N = 0.1-1600 eV atom -1 were studied. We find that the stopping force exerted on a cluster follows an N 2/3 -dependence with cluster size N; thus large clusters experience less stopping than equi-velocity atoms. In the course of being stopped, the cluster is strongly deformed and attains a roughly pancake shape. Due to the cluster inertia, maximum deformation occurs later than the maximum stopping force. The time scale of projectile stopping is set by t 0 , the time the cluster needs to cover its own diameter before impacting the target; it thus depends on both cluster size and velocity. The time when the cluster experiences its maximum stopping force is around (0.7-0.8)t 0 . We find that the cluster is deformed with huge strain rates of around 1/2t 0 ; this amounts to 10 11 -10 13 s -1 for the cases studied here. (paper)

  8. Active versus passive adverse event reporting after pediatric chiropractic manual therapy: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pohlman, Katherine A; Carroll, Linda; Tsuyuki, Ross T; Hartling, Lisa; Vohra, Sunita

    2017-12-01

    Patient safety performance can be assessed with several systems, including passive and active surveillance. Passive surveillance systems provide opportunity for health care personnel to confidentially and voluntarily report incidents, including adverse events, occurring in their work environment. Active surveillance systems systematically monitor patient encounters to seek detailed information about adverse events that occur in work environments; unlike passive surveillance, active surveillance allows for collection of both numerator (number of adverse events) and denominator (number of patients seen) data. Chiropractic manual therapy is commonly used in both adults and children, yet few studies have been done to evaluate the safety of chiropractic manual therapy for children. In an attempt to evaluate this, this study will compare adverse event reporting in passive versus active surveillance systems after chiropractic manual therapy in the pediatric population. This cluster randomized controlled trial aims to enroll 70 physicians of chiropractic (unit of randomization) to either passive or active surveillance system to report adverse events that occur after treatment for 60 consecutive pediatric (13 years of age and younger) patient visits (unit of analysis). A modified enrollment process with a two-phase consent procedure will be implemented to maintain provider blinding and minimize dropouts. The first phase of consent is for the provider to confirm their interest in a trial investigating the safety of chiropractic manual therapy. The second phase ensures that they understand the specific requirements for the group to which they were randomized. Percentages, incidence estimates, and 95% confidence intervals will be used to describe the count of reported adverse events in each group. The primary outcome will be the number and quality of the adverse event reports in the active versus the passive surveillance group. With 80% power and 5% one-sided significance

  9. Single-Trial Event-Related Potential Based Rapid Image Triage System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ke Yu

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Searching for points of interest (POI in large-volume imagery is a challenging problem with few good solutions. In this work, a neural engineering approach called rapid image triage (RIT which could offer about a ten-fold speed up in POI searching is developed. It is essentially a cortically-coupled computer vision technique, whereby the user is presented bursts of images at a speed of 6–15 images per second and then neural signals called event-related potential (ERP is used as the ‘cue’ for user seeing images of high relevance likelihood. Compared to past efforts, the implemented system has several unique features: (1 it applies overlapping frames in image chip preparation, to ensure rapid image triage performance; (2 a novel common spatial-temporal pattern (CSTP algorithm that makes use of both spatial and temporal patterns of ERP topography is proposed for high-accuracy single-trial ERP detection; (3 a weighted version of probabilistic support-vector-machine (SVM is used to address the inherent unbalanced nature of single-trial ERP detection for RIT. High accuracy, fast learning, and real-time capability of the developed system shown on 20 subjects demonstrate the feasibility of a brainmachine integrated rapid image triage system for fast detection of POI from large-volume imagery.

  10. Randomized trial of stopping or continuing ART among postpartum women with pre-ART CD4 ≥ 400 cells/mm3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Currier, Judith S; Britto, Paula; Hoffman, Risa M; Brummel, Sean; Masheto, Gaerolwe; Joao, Esau; Santos, Breno; Aurpibul, Linda; Losso, Marcelo; Pierre, Marie F; Weinberg, Adriana; Gnanashanmugam, Devasena; Chakhtoura, Nahida; Klingman, Karin; Browning, Renee; Coletti, Anne; Mofenson, Lynne; Shapiro, David; Pilotto, Jose

    2017-01-01

    Health benefits of postpartum antiretroviral therapy (ART) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive women with high CD4+ T-counts have not been assessed in randomized trials. Asymptomatic, HIV-positive, non-breastfeeding women with pre-ART CD4+ T-cell counts ≥ 400 cells/mm3 started on ART during pregnancy were randomized up to 42 days after delivery to continue or discontinue ART. Lopinavir/ritonavir plus tenofovir/emtricitabine was the preferred ART regimen. The sample size was selected to provide 88% power to detect a 50% reduction from an annualized primary event rate of 2.07%. A post-hoc analysis evaluated HIV/AIDS-related and World Health Organization (WHO) Stage 2 and 3 events. All analyses were intent to treat. 1652 women from 52 sites in Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, China, Haiti, Peru, Thailand and the US were enrolled (1/2010-11/2014). Median age was 28 years and major racial categories were Black African (28%), Asian (25%) White (15%). Median entry CD4 count was 696 cells/mm3 (IQR 575-869), median ART exposure prior to delivery was 19 weeks (IQR 13-24) and 94% had entry HIV-1 RNA women randomized to continue ART, 189/827 (23%) had virologic failure; of the 155 with resistance testing, 103 (66%) failed without resistance to their current regimen, suggesting non-adherence. Overall, serious clinical events were rare among young HIV-positive post-partum women with high CD4 cell counts. Continued ART was safe and was associated with a halving of the rate of WHO 2/3 conditions. Virologic failure rates were high, underscoring the urgent need to improve adherence in this population. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00955968.

  11. Evaluating the Effects of Traffic on Driver Stopping and Turn Signal Use at a Stop Sign: A Systematic Replication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebbon, Angela R.; Austin, John; Van Houten, Ron; Malenfant, Louis E.

    2007-01-01

    The current analyses of observational data found that oncoming traffic substantially affected driver stopping patterns and turn signal use at the target stop sign. The percentage of legal stops and turn signal use by drivers in the presence and absence of traffic was analyzed using a multi-element design. The results showed that legal stops were…

  12. The costs associated with adverse event procedures for an international HIV clinical trial determined by activity-based costing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, Victoria B; Omer, Saad B; Hussain, Hamidah; Mugasha, Christine; Musisi, Maria; Mmiro, Francis; Musoke, Philippa; Jackson, J Brooks; Guay, Laura A

    2007-12-01

    To determine costs for adverse event (AE) procedures for a large HIV perinatal trial by analyzing actual resource consumption using activity-based costing (ABC) in an international research setting. The AE system for an ongoing clinical trial in Uganda was evaluated using ABC techniques to determine costs from the perspective of the study. Resources were organized into cost categories (eg, personnel, patient care expenses, laboratory testing, equipment). Cost drivers were quantified, and unit cost per AE was calculated. A subset of time and motion studies was performed prospectively to observe clinic personnel time required for AE identification. In 18 months, there were 9028 AEs, with 970 (11%) reported as serious adverse events. Unit cost per AE was $101.97. Overall, AE-related costs represented 32% ($920,581 of $2,834,692) of all study expenses. Personnel ($79.30) and patient care ($11.96) contributed the greatest proportion of component costs. Reported AEs were predominantly nonserious (mild or moderate severity) and unrelated to study drug(s) delivery. Intensive identification and management of AEs to conduct clinical trials ethically and protect human subjects require expenditure of substantial human and financial resources. Better understanding of these resource requirements should improve planning and funding of international HIV-related clinical trials.

  13. How Can I Stop Cutting?

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Educators Search English Español How Can I Stop Cutting? KidsHealth / For Teens / How Can I Stop Cutting? ... in a soft, cozy blanket Substitutes for the Cutting Sensation You'll notice that all the tips ...

  14. Intelligent Bus Stops in the Flexible Bus Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Razi Iqbal

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to discuss Intelligent Bus Stops in a special Demand Responsive Transit (DRT, the Flexible Bus System. These Intelligent Bus Stops are more efficient and information rich than Traditional Bus Stops. The real time synchronization of the Flexible Bus System makes it unique as compared to Traditional Bus Systems. The Main concern is to make Bus Stops intelligent and information rich. Buses are informed about the no. of passengers waiting at the upcoming Bus Stops. If there are no passengers to ride or get off on upcoming Bus Stop, the Bus can skip that Bus Stop and head towards the next Bus Stop where passenger is waiting, which will decrease the ride time of the passengers on the Bus and also the wait time of the passengers waiting on the upcoming Bus Stops. Providing more information at Bus Stops about the Destination (Time to Destination, Distance to Destination etc. and Buses (Bus Location, Arrival Time of Bus etc. makes it easier for the passengers to decide whether to ride a particular Bus or not.

  15. Development of an automated vehicle stop system for cardiac emergencies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tung T. Nguyen

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the concept and configuration of a novel automated safety vehicle stop system, and a future prospect of the study. Intrinsic sudden death may cause traffic accident since such accidents sometimes involve not only the driver but also other traffic users such as passengers and pedestrians. Cardiovascular disease (CVD is considered as a serious driving risk factor. The pain and others effects of cardiac events degrade driver’s performance, and CVD causes ischemia brought by the CVD induces incapacity of driving. In the automated safety vehicle stop system, which our research group has developed, steer-sensors collects bio-signals and a camera captures the driver’s posture to monitor driver’s incapability. When the driver loses his or her driving capability, the system takes over the maneuver of the vehicle and automatically drives to a safety spot by observing the traffic environment. An emergency scenario was used to demonstrate the system verifying its potential.

  16. Biobjective Optimization and Evaluation for Transit Signal Priority Strategies at Bus Stop-to-Stop Segment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui Li

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a new optimization framework for the transit signal priority strategies in terms of green extension, red truncation, and phase insertion at the stop-to-stop segment of bus lines. The optimization objective is to minimize both passenger delay and the deviation from bus schedule simultaneously. The objective functions are defined with respect to the segment between bus stops, which can include the adjacent signalized intersections and downstream bus stops. The transit priority signal timing is optimized by using a biobjective optimization framework considering both the total delay at a segment and the delay deviation from the arrival schedules at bus stops. The proposed framework is evaluated using a VISSIM model calibrated with field traffic volume and traffic signal data of Caochangmen Boulevard in Nanjing, China. The optimized TSP-based phasing plans result in the reduced delay and improved reliability, compared with the non-TSP scenario under the different traffic flow conditions in the morning peak hour. The evaluation results indicate the promising performance of the proposed optimization framework in reducing the passenger delay and improving the bus schedule adherence for the urban transit system.

  17. Bubble formation after a 20-m dive: deep-stop vs. shallow-stop decompression profiles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schellart, Nico A. M.; Corstius, Jan-Jaap Brandt; Germonpré, Peter; Sterk, Wouter

    2008-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: It is claimed that performing a "deep stop," a stop at about half of maximal diving depth (MDD), can reduce the amount of detectable precordial bubbles after the dive and may thus diminish the risk of decompression sickness. In order to ascertain whether this reduction is caused by the

  18. Randomised preference trial of medical versus surgical termination of pregnancy less than 14 weeks' gestation (TOPS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robson, S C; Kelly, T; Howel, D; Deverill, M; Hewison, J; Lie, M L S; Stamp, E; Armstrong, N; May, C R

    2009-11-01

    To determine the acceptability, efficacy and costs of medical termination of pregnancy (MTOP) compared with surgical termination of pregnancy (STOP) at less than 14 weeks' gestation, and to understand women's decision-making processes and experiences when accessing the termination service. A partially randomised preference trial and economic evaluation with follow-up at 2 weeks and 3 months. The Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Women accepted for termination of pregnancy (TOP) under the relevant Acts of Parliament with pregnancies day of abortion. A further group of women attending contraception and sexual health clinics participated in a discrete choice experiment (DCE). STOP: all women > or = 6 weeks' and pay (WTP); distress, using the Impact of Event Scale (IES); anxiety and depression; satisfaction with care; experience of care; frequency and extent of symptoms including self-assessment of pain; clinical effectiveness; and complications. A DCE was used to identify attributes that shape women's preferences for abortion services. The trial recruited 1877 women, 349 in the randomised arms and 1528 in the preference arms. Of those in the preference arms, 54% chose MTOP. At 2 weeks after the procedure more women having STOP would choose the same method again in the future. Acceptability of MTOP declined with increasing gestational age. The difference in acceptability between STOP and MTOP persisted at 3 months. At 2 weeks after TOP, women in the preference arms were prepared to pay more to have their preferred option. There was no difference in anxiety or depression scores in women having MTOP or STOP. However, women randomised to MTOP had higher scores on subscales of the IES at both 2 weeks and 3 months. There was no difference in IES scores between MTOP and STOP in the preference arm. Women were more likely to be satisfied overall and with technical and interpersonal aspects of care if they had STOP rather than MTOP. Experience of care scores

  19. Introduction to Stopping Time in Stochastic Finance Theory. Part II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaeger Peter

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available We start proceeding with the stopping time theory in discrete time with the help of the Mizar system [1], [4]. We prove, that the expression for two stopping times k1 and k2 not always implies a stopping time (k1 + k2 (see Theorem 6 in this paper. If you want to get a stopping time, you have to cut the function e.g. (k1 + k2 ⋂ T (see [2, p. 283 Remark 6.14]. Next we introduce the stopping time in continuous time. We are focused on the intervals [0, r] where r ∈ ℝ. We prove, that for I = [0, r] or I = [0,+∞[ the set {A ⋂ I : A ∈ Borel-Sets} is a σ-algebra of I (see Definition 6 in this paper, and more general given in [3, p.12 1.8e]. The interval I can be considered as a timeline from now to some point in the future. This set is necessary to define our next lemma. We prove the existence of the σ-algebra of the τ -past, where τ is a stopping time (see Definition 11 in this paper and [6, p.187, Definition 9.19]. If τ1 and τ2 are stopping times with τ1 is smaller or equal than τ2 we can prove, that the σ-algebra of the τ1-past is a subset of the σ-algebra of the τ2-past (see Theorem 9 in this paper and [6, p.187 Lemma 9.21]. Suppose, that you want to use Lemma 9.21 with some events, that never occur, see as a comparison the paper [5] and the example for ST(1={+∞} in the Summary. We don’t have the element +1 in our above-mentioned time intervals [0, r[ and [0,+1[. This is only possible if we construct a new σ-algebra on ℝ {−∞,+∞}. This construction is similar to the Borel-Sets and we call this σ-algebra extended Borel sets (see Definition 13 in this paper and [3, p. 21]. It can be proved, that {+∞} is an Element of extended Borel sets (see Theorem 21 in this paper. Now we use the interval [0,+∞] as a basis. We construct a σ-algebra on [0,+∞] similar to the book ([3, p. 12 18e], see Definition 18 in this paper, and call it extended Borel subsets. We prove for stopping times with this given σ-algebra, that

  20. Optimal Stopping and Policyholder Behaviour in Life Insurance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gad, Kamille Sofie Tågholt

    . Below, I give a brief overview of the results of each of the chapters. A more thorough overview is presented in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2 we consider a general geometric Lévy process and solve the non-linear optimal stopping problem of maximizing the variance at the stopping time. For solving this problem...... we solve an auxiliary quadratic optimal stopping problem. We show that the solution to maximizing variance depends on whether randomized stopping times are included in the set of stopping times we maximize over. For some problems the inclusion of randomized stopping times increase the value function...... and for some it does not. Even when the value function is not affected by inclusion of randomized stopping times, a solution may be easier to identify when they are. In Chapter 3 we consider the non-linear optimal stopping problem of maximizing the mean minus a positive constant times the variance...

  1. Workflow in clinical trial sites & its association with near miss events for data quality: ethnographic, workflow & systems simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Carvalho, Elias Cesar Araujo; Batilana, Adelia Portero; Claudino, Wederson; Reis, Luiz Fernando Lima; Schmerling, Rafael A; Shah, Jatin; Pietrobon, Ricardo

    2012-01-01

    With the exponential expansion of clinical trials conducted in (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) and VISTA (Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey, and Argentina) countries, corresponding gains in cost and enrolment efficiency quickly outpace the consonant metrics in traditional countries in North America and European Union. However, questions still remain regarding the quality of data being collected in these countries. We used ethnographic, mapping and computer simulation studies to identify/address areas of threat to near miss events for data quality in two cancer trial sites in Brazil. Two sites in Sao Paolo and Rio Janeiro were evaluated using ethnographic observations of workflow during subject enrolment and data collection. Emerging themes related to threats to near miss events for data quality were derived from observations. They were then transformed into workflows using UML-AD and modeled using System Dynamics. 139 tasks were observed and mapped through the ethnographic study. The UML-AD detected four major activities in the workflow evaluation of potential research subjects prior to signature of informed consent, visit to obtain subject́s informed consent, regular data collection sessions following study protocol and closure of study protocol for a given project. Field observations pointed to three major emerging themes: (a) lack of standardized process for data registration at source document, (b) multiplicity of data repositories and (c) scarcity of decision support systems at the point of research intervention. Simulation with policy model demonstrates a reduction of the rework problem. Patterns of threats to data quality at the two sites were similar to the threats reported in the literature for American sites. The clinical trial site managers need to reorganize staff workflow by using information technology more efficiently, establish new standard procedures and manage professionals to reduce near miss events and save time/cost. Clinical trial

  2. Maintenance based Bevacizumab versus complete stop or continuous therapy after induction therapy in first line treatment of stage IV colorectal cancer: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamburini, Emiliano; Rudnas, Britt; Santelmo, Carlotta; Drudi, Fabrizio; Gianni, Lorenzo; Nicoletti, Stefania V L; Ridolfi, Claudio; Tassinari, Davide

    2016-08-01

    In stage IV colorectal cancer, bevacizumab-based maintenance therapy, complete stop therapy and continuous therapy are considered all possible approaches after first line induction chemotherapy. However, there are no clear data about which approach is preferable. All randomized phase III trials comparing bevacizumab-based maintenance therapy (MB) with complete stop therapy (ST) or with continuous therapy (CT) were considered eligible and included into the analysis. Primary endpoint was the Time to failure strategies (TFS). Secondary endpoints were Overall Survival (OS) and Progression free survival (PFS). Meta-analysis was performed in line with the PRISMA statement. 1892 patients of five trials were included into the analysis. A significant improvement in TFS (HR 0.79; CI 95% 0.7-0.9 p=0.0005) and PFS (HR 0.56; CI 95% 0.44-0.71 p<0.00001) were observed in favour of MB versus ST. A trend, but not statistically significant, in favour of MB versus ST was also observed for OS (HR 0.88; CI 95% 0.77-1.01, p=0.08). Comparing maintenance therapy versus continuous therapy no statistically differences were observed in the outcomes evaluated (OS 12 months OR 1.1 p=0.62, OS 24 months OR 1 p=1, OS 36 months OR 0.54 p=0.3, TFS 12 months OR 0.76 p=0.65). Our meta-analysis suggests that use of MB approach increases TFS, PFS compared to ST. Although without observing any statistically advantage, it should be highlighted that MB versus ST showed a trend in favour of MB. We observed no difference between MB and CT. MB should be considered the standard regimen in patients with stage IV colorectal cancer after first line induction therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Optimally Stopped Optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinci, Walter; Lidar, Daniel

    We combine the fields of heuristic optimization and optimal stopping. We propose a strategy for benchmarking randomized optimization algorithms that minimizes the expected total cost for obtaining a good solution with an optimal number of calls to the solver. To do so, rather than letting the objective function alone define a cost to be minimized, we introduce a further cost-per-call of the algorithm. We show that this problem can be formulated using optimal stopping theory. The expected cost is a flexible figure of merit for benchmarking probabilistic solvers that can be computed when the optimal solution is not known, and that avoids the biases and arbitrariness that affect other measures. The optimal stopping formulation of benchmarking directly leads to a real-time, optimal-utilization strategy for probabilistic optimizers with practical impact. We apply our formulation to benchmark the performance of a D-Wave 2X quantum annealer and the HFS solver, a specialized classical heuristic algorithm designed for low tree-width graphs. On a set of frustrated-loop instances with planted solutions defined on up to N = 1098 variables, the D-Wave device is between one to two orders of magnitude faster than the HFS solver.

  4. Marketing trials, marketing tricks - how to spot them and how to stop them.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matheson, Alastair

    2017-03-08

    Last this year in this journal, Barbour and colleagues reported a study of "marketing trials" in leading medical journals (Trials 2016;17:31). In this commentary I discuss their research, describe new analyses of the study cohort and consider measures to address marketing within academic medical literature. Barbour et al. sought to identify a subgroup of "marketing trials" within leading medical journals, but in reality, nearly all industry-financed trials serve marketing functions, and many exhibit marketing-related features, including biases, in their framing, methodology or reporting. I conducted new analyses of the cohort of Barbour et al., showing that most trials funded exclusively by drug manufacturers had direct involvement of the manufacturer in design, analysis and reporting, and features supportive of product seeding. However, these commercial enterprises were without exception presented to journal readers as academic-led projects, using attributional spin, which should itself be considered an important form of marketing bias. Barbour et al. correctly conclude that commercial bias in industry clinical trials articles often requires expertise to recognize, and in many cases cannot be identified from the published journal report. Several potential remedies are discussed, including independent clinical research, data sharing, improved reporting guidance, improved tools for assessing research quality, reforms to article attribution, submission checklists and new editorial standards. Medicine's journals have a responsibility to uphold rigorous scientific and reporting standards, require ready trials data access and ensure the commercial dimensions of research are brought prominently to their readers' attention. Failure to meet these responsibilities constitutes an enduring threat to the integrity of biomedical literature.

  5. Simulating fail-stop in asynchronous distributed systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabel, Laura; Marzullo, Keith

    1994-01-01

    The fail-stop failure model appears frequently in the distributed systems literature. However, in an asynchronous distributed system, the fail-stop model cannot be implemented. In particular, it is impossible to reliably detect crash failures in an asynchronous system. In this paper, we show that it is possible to specify and implement a failure model that is indistinguishable from the fail-stop model from the point of view of any process within an asynchronous system. We give necessary conditions for a failure model to be indistinguishable from the fail-stop model, and derive lower bounds on the amount of process replication needed to implement such a failure model. We present a simple one-round protocol for implementing one such failure model, which we call simulated fail-stop.

  6. Stop or go? Preventive cognitive therapy with guided tapering of antidepressants during pregnancy: study protocol of a pragmatic multicentre non-inferiority randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molenaar, Nina M; Brouwer, Marlies E; Bockting, Claudi L H; Bonsel, Gouke J; van der Veere, Christine N; Torij, Hanneke W; Hoogendijk, Witte J G; Duvekot, Johannes J; Burger, Huibert; Lambregtse-van den Berg, Mijke P

    2016-03-18

    Approximately 6.2 % of women in the USA and 3.7 % of women in the UK, use Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) during their pregnancies because of depression and/or anxiety. In the Netherlands, this prevalence is around 2 %. Nonetheless, SSRI use during pregnancy is still controversial. On the one hand SSRIs may be toxic to the intrauterine developing child, while on the other hand relapse or recurrence of depression during pregnancy poses risks for both mother and child. Among patients and professionals there is an urgent need for evidence from randomized studies to make rational decisions regarding continuation or tapering of SSRIs during pregnancy. At present, no such studies exist. 'Stop or Go' is a pragmatic multicentre randomized non-inferiority trial among 200 pregnant women with a gestational age of less than 16 weeks who use SSRIs without clinically relevant depressive symptoms. Women allocated to the intervention group will receive preventive cognitive therapy with gradual, guided discontinuation of SSRIs under medical management (STOP). Women in the control group will continue the use of SSRIs (GO). Primary outcome will be the (cumulative) incidence of relapse or recurrence of maternal depressive disorder (as assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM disorders) during pregnancy and up to three months postpartum. Secondary outcomes will be child outcome (neonatal outcomes and psychomotor and behavioural outcomes up to 24 months postpartum), and health-care costs. Total study duration for participants will be therefore be 30 months. We specified a non-inferiority margin of 15 % difference in relapse risk. This study is the first to investigate the effect of guided tapering of SSRIs with preventive cognitive therapy from early pregnancy onwards as compared to continuation of SSRIs during pregnancy. We will study the effects on both mother and child with a pragmatic approach. Additionally, the study examines cost effectiveness. If non

  7. Phase II Trials for Heterogeneous Patient Populations with a Time-to-Event Endpoint.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Sin-Ho

    2017-07-01

    In this paper, we consider a single-arm phase II trial with a time-to-event end-point. We assume that the study population has multiple subpopulations with different prognosis, but the study treatment is expected to be similarly efficacious across the subpopulations. We review a stratified one-sample log-rank test and present its sample size calculation method under some practical design settings. Our sample size method requires specification of the prevalence of subpopulations. We observe that the power of the resulting sample size is not very sensitive to misspecification of the prevalence.

  8. An Exponential Tilt Mixture Model for Time-to-Event Data to Evaluate Treatment Effect Heterogeneity in Randomized Clinical Trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chi; Tan, Zhiqiang; Louis, Thomas A

    2014-01-01

    Evaluating the effect of a treatment on a time-to-event outcome is the focus of many randomized clinical trials. It is often observed that the treatment effect is heterogeneous, where only a subgroup of the patients may respond to the treatment due to some unknown mechanism such as genetic polymorphism. In this paper, we propose a semiparametric exponential tilt mixture model to estimate the proportion of patients who respond to the treatment and to assess the treatment effect. Our model is a natural extension of parametric mixture models to a semiparametric setting with a time-to-event outcome. We propose a nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation approach for inference and establish related asymptotic properties. Our method is illustrated by a randomized clinical trial on biodegradable polymer-delivered chemotherapy for malignant gliomas patients.

  9. Frame by frame stop motion non-traditional approaches to stop motion animation

    CERN Document Server

    Gasek, Tom

    2011-01-01

    In a world that is dominated by computer images, alternative stop motion techniques like pixilation, time-lapse photography and down-shooting techniques combined with new technologies offer a new, tangible and exciting approach to animation. With over 25 years professional experience, industry veteran, Tom Gasek presents a comprehensive guide to stop motion animation without the focus on puppetry or model animation. With tips, tricks and hands-on exercises, Frame by Frame will help both experienced and novice filmmakers get the most effective results from this underutilized branch of animation

  10. A light sneutrino rescues the light stop

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chala, M. [Departament de Física Tèorica, Universitat de València and IFIC, Universitat de València-CSIC,Dr. Moliner 50, E-46100 Burjassot (València) (Spain); Delgado, A. [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Nardini, G. [Albert Einstein Center (AEC), Institute for Theoretical Physics (ITP), University of Bern,Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern (Switzerland); Quirós, M. [Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST),Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats - ICREA, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain)

    2017-04-18

    Stop searches in supersymmetric frameworks with R-parity conservation usually assume the lightest neutralino to be the lightest supersymmetric particle. In this paper we consider an alternative scenario in which the left-handed tau sneutrino is lighter than neutralinos and stable at collider scales, but possibly unstable at cosmological scales. Moreover the (mostly right-handed) stop t̃ is lighter than all electroweakinos, and heavier than the scalars of the third generation lepton doublet, whose charged component, τ̃, is heavier than the neutral one, ν̃. The remaining supersymmetric particles are decoupled from the stop phenomenology. In most of the parameter space, the relevant stop decays are only into tτ̃τ, tν̃ν and bν̃τ via off-shell electroweakinos. We constrain the branching ratios of these decays by recasting the most sensitive stop searches. Due to the “double invisible” kinematics of the t̃→tν̃ν process, and the low efficiency in tagging the tτ̃τ decay products, light stops are generically allowed. In the minimal supersymmetric standard model with ∼ 100 GeV sneutrinos, stops with masses as small as ∼ 350 GeV turn out to be allowed at 95% CL.

  11. How to Stop Biting Your Nails

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Mohs AUC MyDermPath+ Psoriasis Patient education resources ... Try to gradually stop biting your nails: Some doctors recommend taking a gradual approach to break the habit. Try to stop biting ...

  12. The Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial lipid lowering arm: extended observations 2 years after trial closure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sever, Peter S; Poulter, Neil R; Dahlof, Bjorn

    2008-01-01

    Aims To determine the cardiovascular benefits in those originally assigned atorvastatin in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial-2.2 years after closure of the lipid-lowering arm of the trial (ASCOT-LLA). Methods and results The Blood Pressure Lowering Arm of the ASCOT trial (ASCOT......-BPLA) compared two different antihypertensive treatment strategies on cardiovascular outcomes. ASCOT-LLA was a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of atorvastatin in those enrolled into ASCOT-BPLA with total cholesterol concentrations at baseline of ... enrolled in ASCOT-BPLA and 10 305 were further assigned either atorvastatin, 10 mg, or placebo. ASCOT-LLA was stopped prematurely after a median 3.3 years follow-up because of substantial cardiovascular benefits in those assigned atorvastatin. Trial physicians were invited to offer atorvastatin to all...

  13. Use and misuse of common terminology criteria for adverse events in cancer clinical trials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Sheng; Liang, Fei; Tannock, Ian

    2016-01-01

    Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, Version 3.0 (CTCAE v3.0) were released in 2003 and have been used widely to report toxicity in publications or presentations describing cancer clinical trials. Here we evaluate whether guidelines for reporting toxicity are followed in publications reporting randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for cancer. Phase III RCTs evaluating systemic cancer therapy published between 2011 and 2013, were reviewed to identify eligible studies, which stated explicitly that CTCAE v3.0 was used to report toxicity. Each AE term and its grade were located in CTCAE v3.0 to determine if they fell within the guidelines provided in the explanatory file. A total of 166 publications were included in this analysis. Criteria from CTCAE v3.0 were frequently used incorrectly. For example, CATEGORY names such as Metabolic were misreported as AEs in 19 trials, and inappropriate grades for AEs assigned frequently. For example, febrile neutropenia was graded 1 or 2 in 35 of 91 studies (38 %), but the minimum grade for this toxicity is 3. Alopecia was graded 3 or more in 19 of 77 studies (25 %), but the maximum is only grade 2. The present study provides evidence of poor reporting of toxicity in clinical trials. The study provides a lower estimate for the misuse of AE terms and grades, and implies that other AE terms and grades that conform to CTCAE v3.0 guidelines may have been assigned incorrectly. Inaccurate reporting of toxicity in clinical trials can lead clinicians to make inappropriate treatment decisions

  14. Optimizing event-related potential based brain-computer interfaces: a systematic evaluation of dynamic stopping methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreuder, Martijn; Höhne, Johannes; Blankertz, Benjamin; Haufe, Stefan; Dickhaus, Thorsten; Tangermann, Michael

    2013-06-01

    Objective. In brain-computer interface (BCI) research, systems based on event-related potentials (ERP) are considered particularly successful and robust. This stems in part from the repeated stimulation which counteracts the low signal-to-noise ratio in electroencephalograms. Repeated stimulation leads to an optimization problem, as more repetitions also cost more time. The optimal number of repetitions thus represents a data-dependent trade-off between the stimulation time and the obtained accuracy. Several methods for dealing with this have been proposed as ‘early stopping’, ‘dynamic stopping’ or ‘adaptive stimulation’. Despite their high potential for BCI systems at the patient's bedside, those methods are typically ignored in current BCI literature. The goal of the current study is to assess the benefit of these methods. Approach. This study assesses for the first time the existing methods on a common benchmark of both artificially generated data and real BCI data of 83 BCI sessions, allowing for a direct comparison between these methods in the context of text entry. Main results. The results clearly show the beneficial effect on the online performance of a BCI system, if the trade-off between the number of stimulus repetitions and accuracy is optimized. All assessed methods work very well for data of good subjects, and worse for data of low-performing subjects. Most methods, however, are robust in the sense that they do not reduce the performance below the baseline of a simple no stopping strategy. Significance. Since all methods can be realized as a module between the BCI and an application, minimal changes are needed to include these methods into existing BCI software architectures. Furthermore, the hyperparameters of most methods depend to a large extend on only a single variable—the discriminability of the training data. For the convenience of BCI practitioners, the present study proposes linear regression coefficients for directly estimating

  15. Statins but not aspirin reduce thrombotic risk assessed by thrombin generation in diabetic patients without cardiovascular events: the RATIONAL trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro Macchia

    Full Text Available The systematic use of aspirin and statins in patients with diabetes and no previous cardiovascular events is controversial. We sought to assess the effects of aspirin and statins on the thrombotic risk assessed by thrombin generation (TG among patients with type II diabetes mellitus and no previous cardiovascular events.Prospective, randomized, open, blinded to events evaluation, controlled, 2×2 factorial clinical trial including 30 patients randomly allocated to aspirin 100 mg/d, atorvastatin 40 mg/d, both or none. Outcome measurements included changes in TG levels after treatment (8 to 10 weeks, assessed by a calibrated automated thrombogram. At baseline all groups had similar clinical and biochemical profiles, including TG levels. There was no interaction between aspirin and atorvastatin. Atorvastatin significantly reduced TG measured as peak TG with saline (85.09±55.34 nmol vs 153.26±75.55 nmol for atorvastatin and control groups, respectively; p = 0.018. On the other hand, aspirin had no effect on TG (121.51±81.83 nmol vs 116.85±67.66 nmol, for aspirin and control groups, respectively; p = 0.716. The effects of treatments on measurements of TG using other agonists were consistent.While waiting for data from ongoing large clinical randomized trials to definitively outline the role of aspirin in primary prevention, our study shows that among diabetic patients without previous vascular events, statins but not aspirin reduce thrombotic risk assessed by TG.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00793754.

  16. Study and treatment of post Lyme disease (STOP-LD): a randomized double masked clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krupp, L B; Hyman, L G; Grimson, R; Coyle, P K; Melville, P; Ahnn, S; Dattwyler, R; Chandler, B

    2003-06-24

    To determine whether post Lyme syndrome (PLS) is antibiotic responsive. The authors conducted a single-center randomized double-masked placebo-controlled trial on 55 patients with Lyme disease with persistent severe fatigue at least 6 or more months after antibiotic therapy. Patients were randomly assigned to receive 28 days of IV ceftriaxone or placebo. The primary clinical outcomes were improvement in fatigue, defined by a change of 0.7 points or more on an 11-item fatigue questionnaire, and improvement in cognitive function (mental speed), defined by a change of 25% or more on a test of reaction time. The primary laboratory outcome was an experimental measure of CSF infection, outer surface protein A (OspA). Outcome data were collected at the 6-month visit. Patients assigned to ceftriaxone showed improvement in disabling fatigue compared to the placebo group (rate ratio, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.50 to 8.03; p = 0.001). No beneficial treatment effect was observed for cognitive function or the laboratory measure of persistent infection. Four patients, three of whom were on placebo, had adverse events associated with treatment, which required hospitalization. Ceftriaxone therapy in patients with PLS with severe fatigue was associated with an improvement in fatigue but not with cognitive function or an experimental laboratory measure of infection in this study. Because fatigue (a nonspecific symptom) was the only outcome that improved and because treatment was associated with adverse events, this study does not support the use of additional antibiotic therapy with parenteral ceftriaxone in post-treatment, persistently fatigued patients with PLS.

  17. How to Stop Biting Your Nails

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... your fingers and from your nails to your face and mouth. To help you stop biting your ... re inclined to bite may help solve the problem. Try to gradually stop biting your nails: Some ...

  18. Application of the RADTRAN 5 stop model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neuhauser, K.S.; Kanipe, R.L.; Weiner, R.F.

    1997-01-01

    A number of environmental impact analyses with the RADTRAN computer code have shown that dose to persons at stops is one of the largest components of incident-free dose during overland carriage of spent fuel and other radioactive materials (e.g., USDOE, 1994). The input data used in these analyses were taken from a 1983 study that reports actual observations of spent fuel shipments by truck. Early RADTRAN stop models, however, were insufficiently flexible to take advantage of the detailed information in the study. A more recent study of gasoline service stations that specialize in servicing large trucks, which are the most likely stop locations for shipments of Type B packages in the United States, has provided additional, detailed data on refueling/meal stops. The RADTRAN 5 computer code for transportation risk analysis allows exposures at stops to be more fully modeled than have previous releases of the code and is able to take advantage of detailed data. It is the intent of this paper first to compare results from RADTRAN and RADTRAN 5 for the old, low-resolution form of input data, and then to demonstrate what effect the new data and input format have on stop-dose estimates for an individual stop and for a hypothetical shipment route. Finally, these estimated public doses will be contrasted with doses calculated for a special population group -- inspectors

  19. Application of the radtran 5 stop model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neuhauser, K.S.; Kanipe, R.L.; Weiner, R.F.

    1998-01-01

    A number of environmental impact analyzes with the RADTRAN computer code have shown that dose to persons at stops is one of the largest components of incident-free dose during overland carriage of spent fuel and other radioactive materials. The input data used in these analyses were taken from a 1983 study that reports actual observations of spent fuel shipments by truck. Early RADTRAN stop models, however, were insufficiently flexible to take advantage of the detailed information in the study. A more recent study of gasoline service stations that specialize in servicing large trucks, which are the most likely stop locations for shipments of Type B packages in the United States, has provided additional, detailed data on refueling/meal stops. The RADTRAN 5 computer code for transportation risk analysis allows exposures at stops to be more fully modelled than have previous releases of the code and is able to take advantage of detailed data. It is the intent of this paper first to compare results from RADTRAN 4 and RADTRAN 5 for the old, low-resolution form of input data, and then to demonstrate what effect the new data and input format have on stop-dose estimates for an individual stop and for a hypothetical shipment route. Finally, these estimated public doses will be contrasted with doses calculated for a special population group-inspectors. (authors)

  20. Risk of adverse events with bevacizumab addition to therapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lai XX

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Xi-Xi Lai, Ren-Ai Xu, Yu-Ping Li, Han Yang Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China Background: Bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor ligand, has shown survival benefits in the treatment of many types of malignant tumors, including non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the risk of the most clinically relevant adverse events related to bevacizumab in advanced NSCLC.Methods: Databases from PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to August 2015, were searched to identify relevant studies. We included prospective randomized controlled Phase II/III clinical trials that compared therapy with or without bevacizumab for advanced NSCLC. Summary relative risk (RR and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using random effects or fixed effects according to the heterogeneity among included trials.Results: A total of 3,745 patients from nine clinical trials were included in the meta-analysis. Summary RRs showed a statistically significant bevacizumab-associated increased risk in three of the adverse outcomes studied: proteinuria (RR =7.55, hypertension (RR =5.34, and hemorrhagic events (RR =2.61. No statistically significant differences were found for gastrointestinal perforation (P=0.60, arterial and venous thromboembolic events (P=0.35 and P=0.92, respectively, or fatal events (P=0.29.Conclusion: The addition of bevacizumab to therapy in advanced NSCLC did significantly increase the risk of proteinuria, hypertension, and hemorrhagic events but not arterial/venous thromboembolic events, gastrointestinal perforation, or fatal adverse events. Keywords: toxicities, angiogenesis inhibitors, non-small-cell lung carcinoma, meta-analysis, safety

  1. Treatment of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome with a combination of lopinavir-ritonavir and interferon-β1b (MIRACLE trial): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arabi, Yaseen M; Alothman, Adel; Balkhy, Hanan H; Al-Dawood, Abdulaziz; AlJohani, Sameera; Al Harbi, Shmeylan; Kojan, Suleiman; Al Jeraisy, Majed; Deeb, Ahmad M; Assiri, Abdullah M; Al-Hameed, Fahad; AlSaedi, Asim; Mandourah, Yasser; Almekhlafi, Ghaleb A; Sherbeeni, Nisreen Murad; Elzein, Fatehi Elnour; Memon, Javed; Taha, Yusri; Almotairi, Abdullah; Maghrabi, Khalid A; Qushmaq, Ismael; Al Bshabshe, Ali; Kharaba, Ayman; Shalhoub, Sarah; Jose, Jesna; Fowler, Robert A; Hayden, Frederick G; Hussein, Mohamed A

    2018-01-30

    It had been more than 5 years since the first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus infection (MERS-CoV) was recorded, but no specific treatment has been investigated in randomized clinical trials. Results from in vitro and animal studies suggest that a combination of lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon-β1b (IFN-β1b) may be effective against MERS-CoV. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of treatment with a combination of lopinavir/ritonavir and recombinant IFN-β1b provided with standard supportive care, compared to treatment with placebo provided with standard supportive care in patients with laboratory-confirmed MERS requiring hospital admission. The protocol is prepared in accordance with the SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) guidelines. Hospitalized adult patients with laboratory-confirmed MERS will be enrolled in this recursive, two-stage, group sequential, multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized controlled trial. The trial is initially designed to include 2 two-stage components. The first two-stage component is designed to adjust sample size and determine futility stopping, but not efficacy stopping. The second two-stage component is designed to determine efficacy stopping and possibly readjustment of sample size. The primary outcome is 90-day mortality. This will be the first randomized controlled trial of a potential treatment for MERS. The study is sponsored by King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Enrollment for this study began in November 2016, and has enrolled thirteen patients as of Jan 24-2018. ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT02845843 . Registered on 27 July 2016.

  2. Effectiveness of cellulose sulfate vaginal gel for the prevention of HIV infection: results of a Phase III trial in Nigeria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Halpern

    Full Text Available This trial evaluated the safety and effectiveness of 6% cellulose sulfate vaginal gel in preventing male-to-female vaginal transmission of HIV, gonorrhea and chlamydial infection.This Phase III, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted between November 2004 and March 2007 in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Nigeria. We enrolled 1644 HIV-antibody negative women at high risk of HIV acquisition. Study participants were randomized 1:1 to cellulose sulfate or placebo and asked to use gel plus a condom for each act of vaginal intercourse over one year of follow-up. The participants were evaluated monthly for HIV, gonorrhea and chlamydial infection, and for adverse events.The trial was stopped prematurely after the data safety monitoring board of a parallel trial concluded that cellulose sulfate might be increasing the risk of HIV. In contrast, we observed fewer infections in the active arm (10 than on placebo (13, a difference that was nonetheless not statistically significant (HR = 0.8, 95% CI 0.3-1.8; p = 0.56. Rates of gonorrhea and chlamydial infection were lower in the CS group but the difference was likewise not statistically significant (HR = 0.8, 95% CI 0.5-1.1; p = 0.19 for the combined STI outcome. Rates of adverse events were similar across study arms. No serious adverse events related to cellulose sulfate use were reported.Cellulose sulfate gel appeared to be safe in the evaluated study population but we found insufficient evidence that it prevented male-to-female vaginal transmission of HIV, gonorrhea or chlamydial infection. The early closure of the trial compromised the ability to draw definitive conclusions about the effectiveness of cellulose sulfate against HIV.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00120770.

  3. Note on measuring electronic stopping of slow ions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigmund, P.; Schinner, A.

    2017-11-01

    Extracting stopping cross sections from energy-loss measurements requires careful consideration of the experimental geometry. Standard procedures for separating nuclear from electronic stopping treat electronic energy loss as a friction force, ignoring its dependence on impact parameter. In the present study we find that incorporating this dependence has a major effect on measured stopping cross sections, in particular for light ions at low beam energies. Calculations have been made for transmission geometry, nuclear interactions being quantified by Bohr-Williams theory of multiple scattering on the basis of a Thomas-Fermi-Molière potential, whereas electronic interactions are characterized by Firsov theory or PASS code. Differences between the full and the restricted stopping cross section depend on target thickness and opening angle of the detector and need to be taken into account in comparisons with theory as well as in applications of stopping data. It follows that the reciprocity principle can be violated when checked on restricted instead of full electronic stopping cross sections. Finally, we assert that a seeming gas-solid difference in stopping of low-energy ions is actually a metal-insulator difference. In comparisons with experimental results we mostly consider proton data, where nuclear stopping is only a minor perturbation.

  4. R20 Programme: The development of grouting technique. Stop criteria and field tests

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hollmen, K.

    2008-01-01

    stop criteria for grouting are found: maximum pressure and maximum grouted volume together, GIN-method (Grouting Intensity Number) and GT-method (Grouting Time). Empirically set maximum pressure and grout volume are current prevailing practice for stop criterion. The stop criteria in GIN-method are grouting pressure, grout volume and distinct GIN-number, which is product of maximum pressure and maximum grout volume. Grouting time is the stop criterion in recently presented GT-method. Criterion is analytical and based on relations between grout penetration and grouting time. The field trials to test GT-method were done in ONKALO as a part of normal grouting. The first field test was pre-grouting in access tunnel and the second was shaft-grouting in personnel shaft. On the grounds of the field tests it cannot be committed with certainty if the GT-method is workable as a grouting stop criterion. Therefore further clarifications and test runs for GT-method are needed. (orig.)

  5. Stop searches in flavourful supersymmetry

    CERN Document Server

    Crivellin, Andreas; Tunstall, Lewis C.

    2016-01-01

    Natural realisations of supersymmetry require light stops ${\\tilde t}_1$, making them a prime target of LHC searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. Depending on the kinematic region, the main search channels are ${\\tilde t_1}\\to t \\tilde \\chi^0_1$, ${\\tilde t_1}\\to W b \\tilde \\chi^0_1$ and ${\\tilde t_1}\\to c \\tilde \\chi^0_1$. We first examine the interplay of these decay modes with ${\\tilde c_1}\\to c \\tilde \\chi^0_1$ in a model-independent fashion, revealing the existence of large regions in parameter space which are excluded for any ${\\tilde t_1}\\to c \\tilde \\chi^0_1$ branching ratio. This effect is then illustrated for scenarios with stop-scharm mixing in the right-handed sector, where it has previously been observed that the stop mass limits can be significantly weakened for large mixing. Our analysis shows that once the LHC bounds from ${\\tilde c_1}\\to c \\tilde \\chi^0_1$ searches are taken into account, non-zero stop-scharm mixing leads only to a modest increase in the allowed regions of parameter...

  6. Stopping power for heavy ions in low energy region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitagawa, Mitsuo

    1983-01-01

    Review is made for the study on the power for stopping heavy ions. The studies on the power for stopping heavy ions passing through materials have been developed in the last twenty years due to the accuracy improvement in the data analysis of the power for stopping light ions, the requirement of data establishment on the power for stopping heavy ions from fusion research and the development of the experimental studies by heavy-ion accelerators. The relation between the analysis of the power for stopping heavy ions and the power for stopping light ions is described from the standpoint that the results on the power for stopping light ions serve as the guide for the study on the power for stopping heavy ions. Both at present and in future. The analysis of stopping power data with the accuracy from +-10 to 20 % is possible from the theoretical analysis of effective electric charge and its systematic table of the numerical data. The outline of the scaling rule on effective electric charge is discussed. The deviation of the experimental data from the scaling rule is discussed by comparing with the measured values of effective electric charge ratio. Various analyses of the power for stopping heavy ions are summarized. (Asami, T.)

  7. Dependence and motivation to stop smoking as predictors of success of a quit attempt among smokers seeking help to quit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ussher, Michael; Kakar, Geetanjali; Hajek, Peter; West, Robert

    2016-02-01

    It is not known how well motivation to stop smoking predicts abstinence in a clinical sample relative to the most widely used measure of cigarette dependence. A secondary analysis was conducted from a trial with 864 smokers making quit attempt. Fagerström Test of Cigarette Dependence (FTCD), Heaviness of Smoking Index (HSI), and motivation to stop smoking (composite of determination to quit and importance of quitting) were measured at baseline. Continuous smoking abstinence, validated by expired-air carbon monoxide, was assessed at 4weeks, 6months and 12months post-quit date. FTCD, HSI, non-HSI items in FTCD, and motivation were assessed as predictors of abstinence. In multiple-logistic regressions, controlling for age, gender and medication use, lower scores for FTCD, HSI and non-HSI all significantly predicted abstinence at all follow-ups, while motivation did not predict abstinence at any time. Likelihood ratio tests showed that the FTCD contributed most to the model at 4weeks and 6months; at 12months FTCD and non-HSI equally contributed most to the model. At 4weeks and 6months, predictions were improved by combining HSI and non-HSI components, compared with using these components alone. Cigarette dependence, measured by the FTCD, or by its HSI or non-HSI components, predicts both short-term and medium-term outcomes of attempts to stop smoking in treatment-seeking smokers involved in a clinical trial, whereas strength of motivation to stop predicts neither. Both the HSI and non-HSI components may be considered as briefer alternatives to the full FTCD. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  8. Sweet Spots and Door Stops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Michael; Tsui, Stella; Leung, Chi Fan

    2011-01-01

    A sweet spot is referred to in sport as the perfect place to strike a ball with a racquet or bat. It is the point of contact between bat and ball where maximum results can be produced with minimal effort from the hand of the player. Similar physics can be applied to the less inspiring examples of door stops; the perfect position of a door stop is…

  9. Intelligent Bus Stops in the Flexible Bus Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Razi Iqbal; Muhammad Usman Ghani

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to discuss Intelligent Bus Stops in a special Demand Responsive Transit (DRT), the Flexible Bus System. These Intelligent Bus Stops are more efficient and information rich than Traditional Bus Stops. The real time synchronization of the Flexible Bus System makes it unique as compared to Traditional Bus Systems. The Main concern is to make Bus Stops intelligent and information rich. Buses are informed about the no. of passengers waiting at the upcoming ...

  10. Inertial-confinement-fusion applications of ion-stopping theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    More, R.M.; Lee, Y.T.; Bailey, D.S.

    1982-01-01

    Methods were developed to calculate: (1) the stopping power of a hot plasma target, (2) the charge-state of a fast ion projectile, and (3) the final disposition of the deposited energy. The first issue refers to the stopping power for protons. The proton stopping power is altered in high-density or high-temperature targets, especially at velocities below the stopping peak. The second issue concerns the application of a proton stopping curve to the arbitrary projectile. The third topic is more specialized to inertial fusion and concerns the partition of deposited energy between ion (nuclear motion) degrees of freedom and those corresponding to bound and free electrons. The question here is whether a thermal equilibrium plasma is produced

  11. Long-term antibiotics for prevention of recurrent urinary tract infection in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Haroon; Davies, Freya; Francis, Nick; Farewell, Daniel; Butler, Christoper; Paranjothy, Shantini

    2017-05-29

    To address clinical uncertainties about the effectiveness and safety of long-term antibiotic therapy for preventing recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) in older adults. Systematic review andmeta-analysis of randomised trials. We searched Medline, Embase, The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature( CINAHL), and the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials from inception to August 2016. Eligible studies compared long-term antibiotic therapy with non-antibiotic therapy or placebo in men or women aged over 65, or in postmenopausal women, with recurrent UTIs. We did not identify any studies that included older men. Three randomised controlled trials compared long-term antibiotics with vaginal oestrogens (n=150), oral lactobacilli (n=238) and D-mannose powder (n=94) in postmenopausal women. Long-term antibiotics reduced the risk of UTI recurrence by 24% (three trials, n=482; pooled risk ratio (RR) 0.76; 95% CI 0.61 to 0.95, number needed to treat=8.5). There was no statistically significant increase in risk of adverse events (mild adverse events: pooled RR 1.52; 95% CI 0.76 to 3.03; serious adverse events: pooled RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.31 to 2.66). One trial showed 90% of urinary and faecal Escherichia coli isolates were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole after 1 month of prophylaxis. Findings from three small trials with relatively short follow-up periods suggest long-term antibiotic therapy reduces the risk of recurrence in postmenopausal women with recurrent UTI. We did not identify any evidence to inform several clinically important scenarios including, benefits and harms in older men or frail care home residents, optimal duration of prophylaxis, recurrence rates once prophylaxis stops and effects on urinary antibiotic resistance. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  12. The Stop Transmission of Polio Data Management (STOP DM) assignment and its role in polio eradication and immunization data improvement in Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benke, Amalia; Williams, Alford Joseph; MacNeil, Adam

    2017-01-01

    The availability and use of high quality immunization and surveillance data are crucial for monitoring all components of the Global Polio Eradication Program (GPEI). The Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) program was initiated in 1999 to train and mobilize human resources to provide technical support to polio endemic and at-risk countries and in 2002 the STOP data management (STOP DM) deployment was created to provide capacity development in the area of data management for immunization and surveillance data for these countries. Since 2002, Africa has received the majority of support from the STOP DM program, with almost 80% of assignments being placed in African countries. The STOP DM program has played a valuable role in improving the quality and use of data for the GPEI and has increasingly supported other immunization program data needs. In this report we provide an overview of the history, current status, and future of the STOP DM program, with a specific focus on the African continent.

  13. Empirical stopping powers for ions in solids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ziegler, J.F.; Biersack, J.P.; Littmark, U.

    1983-01-01

    The work of Brandt and collaborators on low energy ion stopping powers has been extended to create an empirical formulation for the stopping of ions in solids. The result is a simple computer program (about 60 lines of code) which calculates stopping powers from zero to 100 MeV/amu for all ions in all elemental solids. This code has been compared to the data in about 2000 papers, and has a standard error of 9% for energies above keV/amu. This approach includes high energy relativistic effects and shell-corrections. In the medium energy range it uses stopping theory based on the local-density approximation and Lindhard stopping in a free electron gas. This is applied to realistic Hartree-Fock charge distributions for crystalline solids. In the low energy range it uses the Brandt concepts of ion stripping relative to the Fermi velocity of solids, and also his formalism for the relation of projectile ionization to its effective charge. The details of the calculation are presented, and a broad comparison is shown with experiment. Special comparative examples are shown of both the low energy stopping power oscillations which depend on the atomic number of the ion, and also of the target

  14. Influence of trial design, heterogeneity and regulatory environment on the results of clinical trials: An appraisal in the context of recent trials on acute stroke intervention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P R Srijithesh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The outcome of randomized controlled trials can vary depending on the eligibility criteria of the patients entering into the trial, as well as the heterogeneity of the eligible population and/or the interventions. If the subject population and/or interventions are heterogeneous, the final outcome of the trial depends on the degree of concordance of effects of the subgroups of interventions on the subgroups of the subject population. The considerations that go into the calculation of sample size and determination of the study stopping rules also would affect the nature of the outcome of the study. In this paper we try to examine these phenomena with respect to the recent trials on endovascular therapy in acute ischemic stroke.

  15. Nuclear stopping in transmission experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glazov, Lev G.; Sigmund, Peter

    2003-01-01

    Energy-loss spectra, mean and peak energy loss, and straggling due to elastic nuclear scattering have been studied theoretically as a function of target thickness and deflection angle of an initially monochromatic and well-collimated ion beam. The goal of this work has been to provide a generally valid scheme for nuclear-stopping corrections, allowing to determine electronic-stopping forces from energy-loss spectra measured in transmission geometry. Calculations have been based on the generalized Bothe-Landau theory of energy loss and multiple scattering. Our peak energy losses at zero emergence angle show close (∼10%) agreement with predictions of Fastrup et al. on the basis of the Bohr-Williams theory. However, predicted mean and peak energy losses are found to more sensitively depend on the underlying interatomic potential than unrestricted, i.e. angle-integrated mean or peak energy losses. Both elastic energy loss and multiple scattering are known to obey scaling laws involving only two combinations of the pertinent variables and atomic parameters. The dependence on deflection angle and foil thickness of mean and peak energy loss obeys a simple combination of these scaling laws. Comments are made on potential errors due to uncertainties in the nuclear-stopping correction applied in the literature with specific reference to central papers in low-velocity stopping

  16. Correlated ion stopping in plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zwicknagel, G.; Deutsch, C.

    1997-01-01

    The basic features of correlated ion stopping in plasmas are demonstrated by employing two opposite extremes of cluster structures, a statistical model with a spatial ion distribution of Gaussian shape and the highly regular configuration of N-ion chains and cubic boxes. In the case of the ion chains the resonant character of correlated stopping due to the interference of the excited wake fields is discussed in detail. The general behavior of correlation effects is summarized and its dependence on the ratio of cluster size and interion spacing to the screening length in the plasma, as well as the ratio of the cluster velocity to the mean electron velocity in the target, is stressed out. The validity and applicability of the dielectric response formalism used for describing correlated stopping is critically reviewed. A scheme is presented to extend the linear formalism to weak nonlinear situations that occur, in particular, for small highly charged clusters at moderate or low velocities. For the Gaussian cluster a fit formula is given, which allows a fast and accurate calculation of the enhancement of stopping due to correlation effects and applies for all degrees of degeneracy of the electrons and arbitrary cluster velocities. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  17. Randomized trial of stopping or continuing ART among postpartum women with pre-ART CD4 ≥ 400 cells/mm3.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judith S Currier

    Full Text Available Health benefits of postpartum antiretroviral therapy (ART for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV positive women with high CD4+ T-counts have not been assessed in randomized trials.Asymptomatic, HIV-positive, non-breastfeeding women with pre-ART CD4+ T-cell counts ≥ 400 cells/mm3 started on ART during pregnancy were randomized up to 42 days after delivery to continue or discontinue ART. Lopinavir/ritonavir plus tenofovir/emtricitabine was the preferred ART regimen. The sample size was selected to provide 88% power to detect a 50% reduction from an annualized primary event rate of 2.07%. A post-hoc analysis evaluated HIV/AIDS-related and World Health Organization (WHO Stage 2 and 3 events. All analyses were intent to treat.1652 women from 52 sites in Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, China, Haiti, Peru, Thailand and the US were enrolled (1/2010-11/2014. Median age was 28 years and major racial categories were Black African (28%, Asian (25% White (15%. Median entry CD4 count was 696 cells/mm3 (IQR 575-869, median ART exposure prior to delivery was 19 weeks (IQR 13-24 and 94% had entry HIV-1 RNA < 1000 copies/ml. After a median follow-up of 2.3 years, the primary composite endpoint rate was significantly lower than expected, and not significantly different between arms (continue arm 0.21 /100 person years(py; discontinue 0.31/100 py, Hazard ratio (HR 0.68, 95% CI: 0.19, 2.40. WHO Stage 2 and 3 events were significantly reduced with continued ART (2.08/100 py vs. 4.36/100 py in the discontinue arm; HR 0.48, 95%CI: 0.33, 0.70. Toxicity rates did not differ significantly between arms. Among women randomized to continue ART, 189/827 (23% had virologic failure; of the 155 with resistance testing, 103 (66% failed without resistance to their current regimen, suggesting non-adherence.Overall, serious clinical events were rare among young HIV-positive post-partum women with high CD4 cell counts. Continued ART was safe and was associated with a halving of the

  18. HDL cholesterol and residual risk of first cardiovascular events after treatment with potent statin therapy: an analysis from the JUPITER trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ridker, P.M.; Genest, J.; Boekholdt, S.M.

    2010-01-01

    Background HDL-cholesterol concentrations are inversely associated with occurrence of cardiovascular events. We addressed, using the JUPITER trial cohort, whether this association remains when LDL-cholesterol concentrations are reduced to the very low ranges with high-dose statin treatment. Methods...... Participants in the randomised placebo-controlled JUPITER trial were adults without diabetes or previous cardiovascular disease, and had baseline concentrations of LDL cholesterol of less than 3.37 mmol/L and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein of 2 mg/L or more. Participants were randomly allocated...... these quartiles and the JUPITER primary endpoint of first non-fatal myocardial infarction or stroke, hospitalisation for unstable angina, arterial revascularisation, or cardiovascular death. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00239681. Findings For 17802 patients in the JUPITER trial...

  19. Stop Negative Thinking Effects for Drug Dependence

    OpenAIRE

    Windiarti, Sri Endang; Indriati, Indriati; Surachmi, Fajar

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of therapy stop thinking negatively against drug addiction in Rehabilitation Orphanage Rumah Damai Gunung Pati Semarang. This research is quasy experiment with pretest - posttes without the control group design. Thirty respondents were taken to the reseach sujects. Stop thinking negative therapy before and after thebehavior of drug addiction there are differences (t = 0.00), so it can be stated that the therapy stop thinking negatively inf...

  20. "Stop Diabetes Now!"

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... of this page please turn Javascript on. Feature: Diabetes "Stop Diabetes Now!" Past Issues / Fall 2009 Table of Contents ... Tips for Seniors at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Lifestyle changes that lead to weight loss—such ...

  1. Relationships of different types of event to cardiovascular death in trials of antihypertensive treatment: an aid to definition of total cardiovascular disease risk in hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zambon, Antonella; Arfè, Andrea; Corrao, Giovanni; Zanchetti, Alberto

    2014-03-01

    Guidelines for management of cardiovascular diseases stratify absolute cardiovascular risk into categories with a high-risk threshold defined at a 20% cardiovascular events risk in 10 years, but it is unclear whether only major events or the Framingham-extended definition should be considered. The 2013 ESH-ESC hypertension guidelines, instead, define cardiovascular risk as a risk of cardiovascular death in 10 years, as in the SCORE model, setting the threshold for high risk at the 5% level. It would be therefore convenient to know the quantitative relationship between the risks of the different outcomes adopted by the different guidelines, especially because some outcome definitions include serious nonfatal cardiovascular events relevant in cardiovascular prevention. We have therefore analysed these relationships in trials of antihypertensive therapy as an aid to defining total cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients. Sixty-one trials were identified, and 51 retained for analysis of the relationship of cardiovascular death to the incidence of all-cause death, major cardiovascular events and inclusive (Framingham) cardiovascular events. The relationship between cardiovascular death rates and each type of event rates was explored by fitting flexible regression models. The included trials provided 15164 cardiovascular deaths and 1674427 patient-years. The relation of each event rate to cardiovascular death rate was best explained by a model considering the logarithm of each event rate as a dependent variable and the logarithm of cardiovascular death rate as a predictor. Mean patients' age and treatment were also predictors, but to a minor extent. The increase of the incidence rates of all types of events was less steep the higher the CV death rate: the rate ratios of all-cause death to cardiovascular death were 2.2, 1.9 and 1.8 at low-moderate (cardiovascular death hypertensive patients whose cardiovascular death risk is calculated by the SCORE model.

  2. Are Stopped Strings Preferred in Sad Music?

    OpenAIRE

    David Huron; Caitlyn Trevor

    2017-01-01

    String instruments may be played either with open strings (where the string vibrates between the bridge and a hard wooden nut) or with stopped strings (where the string vibrates between the bridge and a performer's finger pressed against the fingerboard). Compared with open strings, stopped strings permit the use of vibrato and exhibit a darker timbre. Inspired by research on the timbre of sad speech, we test whether there is a tendency to use stopped strings in nominally sad music. Specifica...

  3. The Stop Transmission of Polio Data Management (STOP DM) assignment and its role in polio eradication and immunization data improvement in Africa

    OpenAIRE

    Benke, Amalia; Williams, Alford Joseph; MacNeil, Adam

    2017-01-01

    The availability and use of high quality immunization and surveillance data are crucial for monitoring all components of the Global Polio Eradication Program (GPEI). The Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) program was initiated in 1999 to train and mobilize human resources to provide technical support to polio endemic and at-risk countries and in 2002 the STOP data management (STOP DM) deployment was created to provide capacity development in the area of data management for immunization and sur...

  4. Guidelines for the definition of time-to-event end points in renal cell cancer clinical trials: results of the DATECAN project†.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramar, A; Negrier, S; Sylvester, R; Joniau, S; Mulders, P; Powles, T; Bex, A; Bonnetain, F; Bossi, A; Bracarda, S; Bukowski, R; Catto, J; Choueiri, T K; Crabb, S; Eisen, T; El Demery, M; Fitzpatrick, J; Flamand, V; Goebell, P J; Gravis, G; Houédé, N; Jacqmin, D; Kaplan, R; Malavaud, B; Massard, C; Melichar, B; Mourey, L; Nathan, P; Pasquier, D; Porta, C; Pouessel, D; Quinn, D; Ravaud, A; Rolland, F; Schmidinger, M; Tombal, B; Tosi, D; Vauleon, E; Volpe, A; Wolter, P; Escudier, B; Filleron, T

    2015-12-01

    In clinical trials, the use of intermediate time-to-event end points (TEEs) is increasingly common, yet their choice and definitions are not standardized. This limits the usefulness for comparing treatment effects between studies. The aim of the DATECAN Kidney project is to clarify and recommend definitions of TEE in renal cell cancer (RCC) through a formal consensus method for end point definitions. A formal modified Delphi method was used for establishing consensus. From a 2006-2009 literature review, the Steering Committee (SC) selected 9 TEE and 15 events in the nonmetastatic (NM) and metastatic/advanced (MA) RCC disease settings. Events were scored on the range of 1 (totally disagree to include) to 9 (totally agree to include) in the definition of each end point. Rating Committee (RC) experts were contacted for the scoring rounds. From these results, final recommendations were established for selecting pertinent end points and the associated events. Thirty-four experts scored 121 events for 9 end points. Consensus was reached for 31%, 43% and 85% events during the first, second and third rounds, respectively. The expert recommend the use of three and two endpoints in NM and MA setting, respectively. In the NM setting: disease-free survival (contralateral RCC, appearance of metastases, local or regional recurrence, death from RCC or protocol treatment), metastasis-free survival (appearance of metastases, regional recurrence, death from RCC); and local-regional-free survival (local or regional recurrence, death from RCC). In the MA setting: kidney cancer-specific survival (death from RCC or protocol treatment) and progression-free survival (death from RCC, local, regional, or metastatic progression). The consensus method revealed that intermediate end points have not been well defined, because all of the selected end points had at least one event definition for which no consensus was obtained. These clarified definitions of TEE should become standard practice in

  5. Romantic love is associated with enhanced inhibitory control in an emotional stop-signal task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sensen Song

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This study explored whether romantic lovers differ in emotion-related inhibitory control capacity from those who are single. Methods: 88 healthy undergraduate college students participated in the study. Half were currently in love and in a romantic relationship (love group, LG, and half were single and had never been in a romantic relationship (single group, SG. Based on duration of romantic relationship (i.e., love duration, the LG were further divided into two subgroups: early stage love and longer periods of love. All participants completed an emotional Stop Signal Task (eSST, which consisted of a variety of human face stimuli representing sadness (a negative emotion, as well as neutral emotions. Results: Results found that relative to SG, lovers showed greater inhibitory control [shorter stop-signal reaction time (SSRT] during negative emotion condition trials. Furthermore, in early stages of love, SSRT for negative emotion condition trials was significantly shorter compared to that in longer periods of love or SG individuals, with no significant differences between the latter two groups. Conclusions: Compared with individuals who were single, early-stage lovers showed greater capacity for inhibiting action during presentation of negative emotional stimuli. Within a greater social context, greater inhibitory control capacity during early stages of love may be related to the successful formation of romantic relationships, particularly to the ability to persevere in goal-directed action despite negative emotional contexts such as that of sadness.

  6. Romantic Love Is Associated with Enhanced Inhibitory Control in an Emotional Stop-Signal Task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Sensen; Zou, Zhiling; Song, Hongwen; Wang, Yongming; d’Oleire Uquillas, Federico; Wang, Huijun; Chen, Hong

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This study explored whether romantic lovers differ in emotion-related inhibitory control capacity from those who are single. Methods: 88 healthy undergraduate college students participated in the study. Half were currently in love and in a romantic relationship (love group, LG), and half were single and had never been in a romantic relationship (single group, SG). Based on duration of romantic relationship (i.e., love duration), the LG were further divided into two subgroups: “early stage love” and “longer periods of love”. All participants completed an emotional Stop Signal Task, consisting of a variety of human face stimuli displaying either sad or neutral affect. Results: Results found that relative to SG, lovers showed greater inhibitory control [shorter stop-signal reaction time (SSRT)] during negative emotion condition trials. Furthermore, in early stages of love, SSRT for negative emotion condition trials was significantly shorter compared to that in “longer periods of love” or SG individuals, with no significant differences between the two latter groups. Conclusion: Compared with individuals who were single, early stage lovers showed greater capacity for inhibiting action during presentation of negative emotional stimuli. Within a greater social context, greater inhibitory control capacity during early stages of love may be related to the successful formation of romantic relationships, particularly to the ability to persevere in goal-directed action despite negative emotional contexts such as that of sadness. PMID:27826260

  7. 49 CFR 392.22 - Emergency signals; stopped commercial motor vehicles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... REGULATIONS DRIVING OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES Stopped Commercial Motor Vehicles § 392.22 Emergency signals; stopped commercial motor vehicles. (a) Hazard warning signal flashers. Whenever a commercial motor vehicle... than necessary traffic stops, the driver of the stopped commercial motor vehicle shall immediately...

  8. Persisting roughness when deposition stops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwartz, Moshe; Edwards, S F

    2004-12-01

    Useful theories for growth of surfaces under random deposition of material have been developed by several authors. The simplest theory is that introduced by Edwards and Wilkinson (EW), which is linear and soluble. Its nonlinear generalization by Kardar, Parisi, and Zhang (KPZ) resulted in many subsequent studies. Yet both EW and KPZ theories contain an unphysical feature. When deposition of material is stopped, both theories predict that as time tends to infinity, the surface becomes flat. In fact, of course, the final surface is not flat, but simply has no gradients larger than the gradient related to the angle of repose. We modify the EW and KPZ theories to accommodate this feature and study the consequences for the simpler system which is a modification of the EW equation. In spite of the fact that the equation describing the evolution of the surface is not linear, we find that the steady state in the presence of noise is not very different in the long-wavelength limit from that of the linear EW equation. The situation is quite different from that of EW when deposition stops. Initially there is still some rearrangement of the surface, but that stops as everywhere on the surface the gradient is less than that related to the angle of repose. The most interesting feature observed after deposition stops is the emergence of history-dependent steady-state distributions.

  9. How to Stop Biting Your Nails

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... of hangnails, or other triggers, such as boredom, stress, or anxiety. By figuring out what causes you to bite your nails, you can figure out how to avoid these situations and develop a plan to stop. Just knowing when you’re inclined to bite may help solve the problem. Try to gradually stop biting ...

  10. Safety and efficacy of device closure for patent foramen ovale for secondary prevention of neurological events: Comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hakeem, Abdul; Marmagkiolis, Konstantinos; Hacioglu, Yalcin; Uretsky, Barry F.; Gundogdu, Betul; Leesar, Massoud; Bailey, Steven R.; Cilingiroglu, Mehmet

    2013-01-01

    Background: Controversy persists regarding the management of patients with cryptogenic stroke and patent foramen ovale (PFO). We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing PFO closure with medical therapy. Methods and Results: A prospective protocol was developed and registered using the following data sources: PubMed, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, conference proceedings, and Internet-based resources of clinical trials. Primary analyses were performed using the intention-to-treat method. Three randomized trials comparing percutaneous PFO closure vs. medical therapy for secondary prevention of embolic neurological events formed the data set. Baseline characteristics were similar. During long-term follow-up, the pooled incidence of the primary endpoint (composite of stroke, death, or fatal stroke) was 3.4% in the PFO closure arm and 4.8% in the medical therapy group [risk-reduction (RR) 0.7 (0.48–1.06); p = 0.09]. The incidence of recurrent neurological events (secondary endpoint) was 1.7% for PFO closure and 2.7% for medical therapy [RR 0.66 (0.35–1.24), p = 0.19]. There was no difference in terms of death or adverse events between the two groups. Conclusions: While this meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials demonstrated no statistical significance in comparison to medical therapy, there was a trend towards overall improvement in outcomes in the PFO closure group

  11. Safety and efficacy of device closure for patent foramen ovale for secondary prevention of neurological events: Comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hakeem, Abdul [University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR (United States); Marmagkiolis, Konstantinos [Citizens Memorial Hospital Heart and Vascular Institute, Bolivar, MO (United States); Hacioglu, Yalcin; Uretsky, Barry F.; Gundogdu, Betul [University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR (United States); Leesar, Massoud [University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL (United States); Bailey, Steven R. [University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX (United States); Cilingiroglu, Mehmet, E-mail: mcilingiroglu@yahoo.com [Arkansas Heart Hospital, Little Rock, AR (United States)

    2013-11-15

    Background: Controversy persists regarding the management of patients with cryptogenic stroke and patent foramen ovale (PFO). We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing PFO closure with medical therapy. Methods and Results: A prospective protocol was developed and registered using the following data sources: PubMed, Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, conference proceedings, and Internet-based resources of clinical trials. Primary analyses were performed using the intention-to-treat method. Three randomized trials comparing percutaneous PFO closure vs. medical therapy for secondary prevention of embolic neurological events formed the data set. Baseline characteristics were similar. During long-term follow-up, the pooled incidence of the primary endpoint (composite of stroke, death, or fatal stroke) was 3.4% in the PFO closure arm and 4.8% in the medical therapy group [risk-reduction (RR) 0.7 (0.48–1.06); p = 0.09]. The incidence of recurrent neurological events (secondary endpoint) was 1.7% for PFO closure and 2.7% for medical therapy [RR 0.66 (0.35–1.24), p = 0.19]. There was no difference in terms of death or adverse events between the two groups. Conclusions: While this meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials demonstrated no statistical significance in comparison to medical therapy, there was a trend towards overall improvement in outcomes in the PFO closure group.

  12. Dietary approaches to stop hypertension influence on insulin receptor substrate-1gene expression: A randomized controlled clinical trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marzieh Kafeshani

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Insulin receptor substrate (IRS Type 1 is a main substrate for the insulin receptor, controls insulin signaling in skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and the vascular, so it is an important candidate gene for insulin resistance (IR. We aimed to compare the effects of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH and Usual Dietary Advices (UDA on IRS1 gene expression in women at risk for cardiovascular disease. Materials and Methods: A randomized controlled clinical trial was performed in 44 women at risk for cardiovascular disease. Participants were randomly assigned to a UDA diet or the DASH diet. The DASH diet was rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products and low in saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, refined grains, and sweets, with a total of 2400 mg/day sodium. The UDA diet was a regular diet with healthy dietary advice. Gene expression was assessed by the real-time polymerase chain reaction at the first of study and after 12 weeks. Independent sample t-test and paired-samples t-test were used to compare means of all variables within and between two groups respectively. Results: IRS1 gene expression was increased in DASH group compared with UDA diet (P = 0.00. Weight and waist circumference decreased in DASH group significantly compared to the UDA group (P < 0.05 but the results between the two groups showed no significant difference. Conclusion: DASH diet increased IRS1 gene expression and probably has beneficial effects on IR risks.

  13. On poisson-stopped-sums that are mixed poisson

    OpenAIRE

    Valero Baya, Jordi; Pérez Casany, Marta; Ginebra Molins, Josep

    2013-01-01

    Maceda (1948) characterized the mixed Poisson distributions that are Poisson-stopped-sum distributions based on the mixing distribution. In an alternative characterization of the same set of distributions here the Poisson-stopped-sum distributions that are mixed Poisson distributions is proved to be the set of Poisson-stopped-sums of either a mixture of zero-truncated Poisson distributions or a zero-modification of it. Peer Reviewed

  14. Electron stopping powers for transport calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berger, M.J.

    1988-01-01

    The reliability of radiation transport calculations depends on the accuracy of the input cross sections. Therefore, it is essential to review and update the cross sections from time to time. Even though the main interest of the author's group at NBS is in transport calculations and their applications, the group spends almost as much time on the analysis and preparation of cross sections as on the development of transport codes. Stopping powers, photon attenuation coefficients, bremsstrahlung cross sections, and elastic-scattering cross sections in recent years have claimed attention. This chapter deals with electron stopping powers (with emphasis on collision stopping powers), and reviews the state of the art as reflected by Report 37 of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements

  15. Stroke Prevention Trials in Sickle Cell Anemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Gordon Millichap

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available As part of an International Pediatric Stroke Study launched in 2002, the Stroke Prevention Trial in Sickle Cell Anemia (STOP reports a reduction in the number of overt clinical strokes in children with critically high transcranial Doppler velocities (>200 cm/sec who were regularly transfused.

  16. STARCODES, Stopping Power and Ranges for Electrons, Protons, He

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-01-01

    1 - Description of program or function: The 'STAR CODES', ESTAR, PSTAR, and ASTAR, calculate stopping-power and range tables for electrons, protons, and helium ions (alphas), according to methods described in ICRU Reports 37 and 39. 2 - Method of solution: Collision stopping powers are calculated from the theory of Bethe (1930, 1932), with a density-effect correction evaluated according to Sternheimer (1952, 1982). The stopping-power formula contains an important parameter, the mean excitation energy (I-value), which characterizes the stopping properties of a material. The codes provide output for electrons in any stopping material (279 provided) and for protons and helium ions in 74 materials. The calculations include the 1) Collision stopping power, 2) Radiative stopping power (electrons only), 3) Nuclear stopping power (protons and helium ions), 4) Total stopping power, 5) CSDA range, 6) Projected range (protons and helium ions), 7) Density effect parameter (electrons), 8) Radiation yield (electrons), and 9) Detour factor (protons and helium ions). Standard energy grids and files of elements w/ionization-excitation information are included with lookup table capabilities. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: The minimum energies used in the calculations are at 1 KeV (protons and helium ions) and 10 KeV (electrons), and the maximum are 1 GeV. The standard energy grids are set at 81 for electrons, equally spaced (logarithmically), 133 for protons, and 122 for helium ions. The lower energy electron calculations (< 10 KeV) have up to 5-10% errors and are considered too fallable

  17. Intensified secondary prevention intending a reduction of recurrent events in TIA and minor stroke patients (INSPiRE-TMS: a protocol for a randomised controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leistner Stefanie

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Patients with recent stroke or TIA are at high risk for new vascular events. Several evidence based strategies in secondary prevention of stroke are available but frequently underused. Support programs with multifactorial risk factor modifications after stroke or TIA have not been investigated in large-scale prospective controlled trials so far. INSPiRE-TMS is a prospective, multi-center, randomized open intervention trial for intensified secondary prevention after minor stroke and TIA. Methods/design Patients with acute TIA or minor stroke admitted to the participating stroke centers are screened and recruited during in-hospital stay. Patients are randomised in a 1:1 ratio to intervention (support program and control (usual care arms. Inclusion of 2.082 patients is planned. The support program includes cardiovascular risk factor measurement and feedback, monitoring of medication adherence, coaching in lifestyle modifications, and active involvement of relatives. Standardized motivational interviewing is used to assess and enhance patients’ motivation. Primary objective is a reduction of new major vascular events defined as nonfatal stroke and myocardial infarction or vascular death. Recruitment time is planned for 3.5 years, follow up time is at least 2 years for every patient resulting in a total study time of 5 years (first patient in to last patient out. Discussion Given the high risk for vascular re-events in acute stroke and the available effective strategies in secondary prevention, the INSPIRE-TMS support program has the potential to lead to a relevant reduction of recurrent events and a prolongation of the event-free survival time. The trial will provide the basis for the decision whether an intensified secondary prevention program after stroke should be implemented into regular care. A cost-effectiveness evaluation will be performed. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov: 01586702

  18. Ready to stop

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Molitoris, Joseph; Dribe, Martin

    2016-01-01

    the Roteman Database for Stockholm, Sweden between 1878 and 1926 to examine the association of socioeconomic status and fertility and the adoption of stopping behaviour during the city's transition. Using piecewise constant hazard models and logistic regression, we find that a clear class pattern arises...

  19. Inferring Stop-Locations from WiFi.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Kofoed Wind

    Full Text Available Human mobility patterns are inherently complex. In terms of understanding these patterns, the process of converting raw data into series of stop-locations and transitions is an important first step which greatly reduces the volume of data, thus simplifying the subsequent analyses. Previous research into the mobility of individuals has focused on inferring 'stop locations' (places of stationarity from GPS or CDR data, or on detection of state (static/active. In this paper we bridge the gap between the two approaches: we introduce methods for detecting both mobility state and stop-locations. In addition, our methods are based exclusively on WiFi data. We study two months of WiFi data collected every two minutes by a smartphone, and infer stop-locations in the form of labelled time-intervals. For this purpose, we investigate two algorithms, both of which scale to large datasets: a greedy approach to select the most important routers and one which uses a density-based clustering algorithm to detect router fingerprints. We validate our results using participants' GPS data as well as ground truth data collected during a two month period.

  20. Light stops and fine-tuning in MSSM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cici, Ali; Kirca, Zerrin; Uen, Cem Salih [Uludag Univ., Department of Physics, Bursa (Turkey)

    2018-01-15

    We discuss the fine-tuning issue within the MSSM framework. Following the idea that the fine-tuning can measure effects of some missing mechanism, we impose non-universal gaugino masses at the GUT scale, and explore the low scale implications. We realize that the fine-tuning parametrized with Δ{sub EW} can be as low as zero. We consider the stop mass with a special importance and focus on the mass scales as m{sub t} ≤ 700 GeV, which are excluded by the current experiments when the stop decays into a neutralino along with a top quark or a chargino along with a bottom quark. We find that the stop mass can be as low as about 250 GeV with Δ{sub EW} ∝ 50. We find that the solutions in this region can be excluded only up to 60% when stop decays into a neutralino-top quark, and 50% when it decays into a chargino-b quark. Setting 65% CL to be potential exclusion and 95% to be pure exclusion limit such solutions will be tested in near future experiments, which are conducted with higher luminosity. In addition to stop, the region with low fine-tuning and light stops predicts masses for the other supersymmetric particles such as m{sub b} >or similar 700 GeV, m{sub τ} >or similar 1 TeV, m{sub χ{sub 1}{sup {sub ±}}} >or similar 120 GeV. The details for the mass scales and decay rates are also provided by tables of benchmark points. (orig.)

  1. Light stops and fine-tuning in MSSM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çiçi, Ali; Kırca, Zerrin; Ün, Cem Salih

    2018-01-01

    We discuss the fine-tuning issue within the MSSM framework. Following the idea that the fine-tuning can measure effects of some missing mechanism, we impose non-universal gaugino masses at the GUT scale, and explore the low scale implications. We realize that the fine-tuning parametrized with Δ _{EW} can be as low as zero. We consider the stop mass with a special importance and focus on the mass scales as m_{\\tilde{t}} ≤ 700 GeV, which are excluded by the current experiments when the stop decays into a neutralino along with a top quark or a chargino along with a bottom quark. We find that the stop mass can be as low as about 250 GeV with Δ _{EW} ˜ 50. We find that the solutions in this region can be exluded only up to 60% when stop decays into a neutralino-top quark, and 50% when it decays into a chargino-b quark. Setting 65% CL to be potential exclusion and 95% to be pure exclusion limit such solutions will be tested in near future experiments, which are conducted with higher luminosity. In addition to stop, the region with low fine-tuning and light stops predicts masses for the other supersymmetric particles such as m_{\\tilde{b}} ≳ 700 GeV, m_{\\tilde{τ }} ≳ 1 TeV, m_{\\tilde{χ }1^{± }} ≳ 120 GeV. The details for the mass scales and decay rates are also provided by tables of benchmark points.

  2. Methodological issues for designing and conducting a multicenter, international clinical trial in Acute Stroke: Experience from ARTSS-2 trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahbar, Mohammad H; Dickerson, Aisha S; Cai, Chunyan; Pedroza, Claudia; Hessabi, Manouchehr; Shen, Loren; Pandurengan, Renganayaki; Jacobs, Amber Nicole M; Indupuru, Hari; Sline, Melvin R; Delgado, Rigoberto I; Macdonald, Claire; Ford, Gary A; Grotta, James C; Barreto, Andrew D

    2015-09-01

    We describe innovations in the study design and the efficient data coordination of a randomized multicenter trial of Argatroban in Combination with Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Acute Stroke (ARTSS-2). ARTSS-2 is a 3-arm, multisite/multiregional randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of two doses of Argatroban injection (low, high) in combination with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in acute ischemic stroke patients and rt-PA alone. We developed a covariate adaptive randomization program that balanced the study arms with respect to study site as well as hemorrhage after thrombolysis (HAT) score and presence of distal internal carotid artery occlusion (DICAO). We used simulation studies to validate performance of the randomization program before making any adaptations during the trial. For the first 90 patients enrolled in ARTSS-2, we evaluated performance of our randomization program using chi-square tests of homogeneity or extended Fisher's exact test. We also designed a four-step partly Bayesian safety stopping rule for low and high dose Argatroban arms. Homogeneity of the study arms was confirmed with respect to distribution of study site (UK sites vs. US sites, P=0.98), HAT score (0-2 vs. 3-5, P=1.0), and DICAO (N/A vs. No vs. Yes, P=0.97). Our stopping thresholds for safety of low and high dose Argatroban were not crossed. Despite challenges, data quality was assured. We recommend adaptive designs for randomization and Bayesian safety stopping rules for multisite Phase I/II RCTs for maintaining additional flexibility. Efficient data coordination could lead to improved data quality. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  3. Design of permanent block stopping to resist strata convergence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ray, R.E.

    1985-11-01

    Conventional concrete block plastered with a cementitious coating is the most common material used in the construction of permanent stoppings to direct airflow in underground mines in the US. All mines experience various degrees of strata convergence depending on depth of overburden, geological conditions, and type of roof support employed. Strata convergence will cause cracks and joint openings in masonry stoppings, resulting in significant air leakage losses. Where strata convergence is severe, complete structural failure of the stopping can ultimately occur. Reconstruction of damaged or destroyed stoppings adds expensive overheads to mining operations, and even greater expenses are incurred from the additional fan horsepower required to overcome leakage losses. Ideally, a stopping should maintain high resistance to airflow while yielding to strata convergence. By properly incorporating a polyisocyanurate rigid foam material within the masonry block structure, stopping service life can be increased in mines experiencing strata convergence problems such as floor heave, roof loading, and lateral rib movement.

  4. Dynamics of response-conflict monitoring and individual differences in response control and behavioral control: an electrophysiological investigation using a stop-signal task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stahl, Jutta; Gibbons, Henning

    2007-03-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the functional significance of error (related) negativity Ne/ERN and individual differences in human action monitoring. A response-conflict model of Ne/ERN should be tested applying a stop-signal paradigm. After a few modifications of Ne/ERN response-conflict theory (Yeung N, Botvinick MM, Cohen JD. The neural basis of error detection: conflict monitoring and the error-related negativity. Psychological Review 2004:111(4);931-959), strength and time course of response conflict could be modeled as a function of stop-signal delay. In Experiment 1, 35 participants performed a visual two-choice response-time task but tried to withhold the response if an auditory stop signal was presented. Probability of stopping errors was held at 50% using variable delays between visual and auditory stimuli. Experiment 2 (n=10) employed both auditory go and stop signals and confirmed that Ne/ERN effects are due to conflict induced by the auditory stop signal, and not the mere presence or absence of an additional stimulus. As predicted, amplitudes of both the stimulus-locked and response-locked Ne/ERN were largest for non-stopped responses, followed by successfully stopped and go responses. However, independently of response type Ne/ERN also increased with increasing stop-signal delay. Since longer delay invokes stronger response conflict, results specifically support the notion of Ne/ERN reflecting response-conflict monitoring. Furthermore, individual differences related to measures of response control and behavioral control were observed. Both low response control estimated from stop-task performance and high psychometric impulsivity were accompanied by smaller Ne/ERN amplitude on stop trials, suggesting reduced response-conflict monitoring. The present study supported the response-conflict view of Ne/ERN. Furthermore, the observed relationship between impulsivity and Ne/ERN amplitude suggested that individuals with low behavioral

  5. Stop. Write! Writing Grounded Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barney G. Glaser, PhD, Hon. PhD

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The message in this book, the dictum in this book, is to stop and write when the Grounded Theory (GT methodology puts you in that ready position. Stop unending conceptualization, unending data coverage, and unending listening to others who would egg you on with additional data, ideas and/or requirements or simply wait too long. I will discuss these ideas in detail. My experience with PhD candidates is that for the few who write when ready, many do not and SHOULD. Simply put, many write-up, but many more should.

  6. Could stops lighten the top?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bilal, A.; Ellis, J.; Fogli, G.L.

    1990-01-01

    The analysis of the presently available electroweak data including radiative corrections in the standard model suggests that the top quark weighs more than the Z 0 . We examine whether squark loops in the minimal supersymmetric model, particularly those involving stops (partners of the top quark), could reduce substantially the preferred range of top quark masses. Given the present lower bounds on squark masses, we find that stop effects can reduce the central value of m t by at most a few GeV, although they do make a very heavy top quark increasingly unlikely. (orig.)

  7. The Barkas effect and other higher-order Z1-contributions to the stopping power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersen, H.H.

    1985-01-01

    The experimental evidence for contributions to the stopping power proportional to Z 1 3 (Barkas effect) and Z 1 4 (Bloch correction) at velocities around 10 v 0 is reviewed. Quantitative evidence is found for both terms but it is not possible experimentally to discern whether hard collisions contribute to the Barkas term. Evidence from single-collision events are drawn into the discussion and some experiments which may turn out to be decisive are discussed. (orig.)

  8. A comparison of two worlds: How does Bayes hold up to the status quo for the analysis of clinical trials?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pressman, Alice R; Avins, Andrew L; Hubbard, Alan; Satariano, William A

    2011-07-01

    There is a paucity of literature comparing Bayesian analytic techniques with traditional approaches for analyzing clinical trials using real trial data. We compared Bayesian and frequentist group sequential methods using data from two published clinical trials. We chose two widely accepted frequentist rules, O'Brien-Fleming and Lan-DeMets, and conjugate Bayesian priors. Using the nonparametric bootstrap, we estimated a sampling distribution of stopping times for each method. Because current practice dictates the preservation of an experiment-wise false positive rate (Type I error), we approximated these error rates for our Bayesian and frequentist analyses with the posterior probability of detecting an effect in a simulated null sample. Thus for the data-generated distribution represented by these trials, we were able to compare the relative performance of these techniques. No final outcomes differed from those of the original trials. However, the timing of trial termination differed substantially by method and varied by trial. For one trial, group sequential designs of either type dictated early stopping of the study. In the other, stopping times were dependent upon the choice of spending function and prior distribution. Results indicate that trialists ought to consider Bayesian methods in addition to traditional approaches for analysis of clinical trials. Though findings from this small sample did not demonstrate either method to consistently outperform the other, they did suggest the need to replicate these comparisons using data from varied clinical trials in order to determine the conditions under which the different methods would be most efficient. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Stopping test of iterative methods for solving PDE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Bangrong

    1991-01-01

    In order to assure the accuracy of the numerical solution of the iterative method for solving PDE (partial differential equation), the stopping test is very important. If the coefficient matrix of the system of linear algebraic equations is strictly diagonal dominant or irreducible weakly diagonal dominant, the stopping test formulas of the iterative method for solving PDE is proposed. Several numerical examples are given to illustrate the applications of the stopping test formulas

  10. Stopping power, its meaning, and its general characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inokuti, Mitio.

    1995-01-01

    This essay presents remarks on the meaning of stopping, power and of its magnitude. More precisely, the first set of remarks concerns the connection of stopping power with elements of particle-transport theory, which describes particle transport and its consequences in full detail, including its stochastic aspects. The second set of remarks concerns the magnitude of the stopping power of a material and its relation with the material's electronic structure and other properties

  11. STOP4-7 Nederland. Resultaten 2010-2011

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geijsen, L.; Veerman, J.W.; Bastiaanssen, I.L.W.

    2011-01-01

    STOP4-7 is een multimodale interventie voor kinderen van 4 tot 7 jaar met ernstige externaliserende gedragsproblemen en hun opvoeders en leerkrachten. Het doel van STOP4-7 is het aanleren en versterken van sociale en probleemoplossende vaardigheden en het verminderen van ongewenst gedrag. Daarvoor

  12. HDL cholesterol and residual risk of first cardiovascular events after treatment with potent statin therapy: an analysis from the JUPITER trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ridker, Paul M.; Genest, Jacques; Boekholdt, S. Matthijs; Libby, Peter; Gotto, Antonio M.; Nordestgaard, Børge G.; Mora, Samia; Macfadyen, Jean G.; Glynn, Robert J.; Kastelein, John Jp

    2010-01-01

    Background HDL-cholesterol concentrations are inversely associated with occurrence of cardiovascular events. We addressed, using the JUPITER trial cohort, whether this association remains when LDL-cholesterol concentrations are reduced to the very low ranges with high-dose statin treatment. Methods

  13. Using the Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) Program to Develop a South Sudan Expanded Program on Immunization Workforce.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tchoualeu, Dieula D; Hercules, Margaret A; Mbabazi, William B; Kirbak, Anthony L; Usman, Abdulmumini; Bizuneh, Ketema; Sandhu, Hardeep S

    2017-07-01

    In 2009, the international Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) program began supporting the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in the Republic of South Sudan to address shortages of human resources and strengthen acute flaccid paralysis surveillance. Workforce capacity support is provided to the South Sudan Expanded Program on Immunization by STOP volunteers, implementing partners, and non-governmental organizations. In 2013, the Polio Technical Advisory Group recommended that South Sudan transition key technical support from external partners to national staff as part of the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan, 2013-2018. To assist in this transition, the South Sudan Expanded Program on Immunization human resources development project was launched in 2015. This 3-year project aims to build national workforce capacity as a legacy of the STOP program by training 56 South Sudanese at national and state levels with the intent that participants would become Ministry of Health staff on their successful completion of the project. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  14. Relationship of Sodium Intake and Blood Pressure Varies With Energy Intake: Secondary Analysis of the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension)-Sodium Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murtaugh, Maureen A; Beasley, Jeannette M; Appel, Lawrence J; Guenther, Patricia M; McFadden, Molly; Greene, Tom; Tooze, Janet A

    2018-05-01

    Dietary Na recommendations are expressed as absolute amounts (mg/d) rather than as Na density (mg/kcal). Our objective was to determine whether the strength of the relationship of Na intake with blood pressure (BP) varied with energy intake. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension)-Sodium trial was a randomized feeding trial comparing 2 diets (DASH and control) and 3 levels of Na density. Participants with pre- or stage 1 hypertension consumed diets for 30 days in random order; energy intake was controlled to maintain body weight. This secondary analysis of 379 non-Hispanic black and white participants used mixed-effects models to assess the association of Na and energy intakes with BP. The relationships between absolute Na and both systolic and diastolic BP varied with energy intake. BP rose more steeply with increasing Na at lower energy intake than at higher energy intake ( P interaction<0.001). On the control diet with 2300 mg Na, both systolic and diastolic BP were higher (3.0 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval, 0.2-5.8; and 2.7 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-4.5, respectively) among those with lower energy intake (higher Na density) than among those with higher energy intake (lower Na density). The association of Na with systolic BP was stronger at lower levels of energy intake in both blacks and whites ( P <0.001). The association of Na and diastolic BP varied with energy intake only among blacks ( P =0.001). Sodium density should be considered as a metric for expressing dietary Na recommendations. © 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

  15. Research of the stopping distance for different road conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel LYUBENOV

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper a modern method for determination of stopping distance is represented. Application of the non-contact VBOX 3i 100Hz GPS Data Logger speed and distance measurement system is represented. A description of the total stopping distance of vehicle main components - driver reaction time, vehicle reaction time and vehicle braking capability has been made. Research of the total stopping distance of a vehicle for different road conditions has been made. The results for the stopping distance can be very useful in the expert practice.

  16. Clinical Trials

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Events About NHLBI About NHLBI Home Mission and Strategic Vision Leadership Scientific Divisions Operations and Administration Advisory ... a Clinical Trial If you're interested in learning more about, or taking part in, clinical trials, ...

  17. Nonlinear effects contributing to hand-stopping tones in a horn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebihara, Takayasu; Yoshikawa, Shigeru

    2013-05-01

    Hand stopping is a technique for playing the French horn while closing the bell relatively tightly using the right hand. The resulting timbre is called "penetrating" and "metallic." The effect of hand stopping on the horn input impedance has been studied, but the tone quality has hardly ever been considered. In the present paper, the dominant physical cause of the stopped-tone quality is discussed in detail. Numerical calculations of the transmission function of the stopped-horn model and the measurements of both sound pressure and wall vibration in hand stopping are carried out. They strongly suggest that the metallicness of the stopped tone is characterized by the generation of higher harmonics extending over 10 kHz due to the rapidly corrugating waveform and that the associated wall vibration on the bell may be responsible for this higher harmonic generation. However, excitation experiments and immobilization experiments performed to elucidate the relationship between sound radiation and wall vibration deny their correlation. Instead, the measurement result of the mouthpiece pressure in hand stopping suggests that minute wave corrugations peculiar to the metallic stopped tones are probably formed by nonlinear sound propagation along the bore.

  18. Single-trial event-related potentials to significant stimuli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rushby, Jacqueline A; Barry, Robert J

    2009-11-01

    The stimulus-response pattern of the skin conductance response (SCR) was used as a model of the Orienting Reflex (OR) to assess the P1, N1, P2, N2 and late positive complex (LPC/P300) components of the ERP in a simple habituation paradigm, in which a single series of 12 innocuous tones were presented at a very long interstimulus interval (2 min). To maintain their waking state during this boring task, participants were instructed to alternately close or open their eyes to each stimulus. None of the baseline-to-peak ERP measures showed trials effects comparable with the marked habituation over trials shown by the SCRs. Principal Components Analysis was used to decompose the ERP, yielding factors identified as the N1, N2, P3a, P3b and Novelty P3 components. An additional factor represented later eye-movement activity. No trial effects were apparent for the N1, N2, P3a or P3b components. The Novelty P3 showed marked response decrement over trials. These results are discussed in relation to current conceptualisations of the OR.

  19. Can I Stop Myself From Having a Wet Dream? (For Teens)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Can I Stop Myself From Having a Wet Dream? KidsHealth / For Teens / Can I Stop Myself From Having a Wet Dream? Print Can I stop myself from having a wet dream? – Tom* You really can't stop wet dreams, ...

  20. Classification of Single-Trial Auditory Events Using Dry-Wireless EEG During Real and Motion Simulated Flight

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel eCallan

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Application of neuro-augmentation technology based on dry-wireless EEG may be considerably beneficial for aviation and space operations because of the inherent dangers involved. In this study we evaluate classification performance of perceptual events using a dry-wireless EEG system during motion platform based flight simulation and actual flight in an open cockpit biplane to determine if the system can be used in the presence of considerable environmental and physiological artifacts. A passive task involving 200 random auditory presentations of a chirp sound was used for evaluation. The advantage of this auditory task is that it does not interfere with the perceptual motor processes involved with piloting the plane. Classification was based on identifying the presentation of a chirp sound versus silent periods. Evaluation of Independent component analysis and Kalman filtering to enhance classification performance by extracting brain activity related to the auditory event from other non-task related brain activity and artifacts was assessed. The results of permutation testing revealed that single trial classification of presence or absence of an auditory event was significantly above chance for all conditions on a novel test set. The best performance could be achieved with both ICA and Kalman filtering relative to no processing: Platform Off (83.4% vs 78.3%, Platform On (73.1% vs 71.6%, Biplane Engine Off (81.1% vs 77.4%, and Biplane Engine On (79.2% vs 66.1%. This experiment demonstrates that dry-wireless EEG can be used in environments with considerable vibration, wind, acoustic noise, and physiological artifacts and achieve good single trial classification performance that is necessary for future successful application of neuro-augmentation technology based on brain-machine interfaces.

  1. The functional organization of trial-related activity in lexical processing after early left hemispheric brain lesions: An event-related fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fair, Damien A; Choi, Alexander H; Dosenbach, Yannic B L; Coalson, Rebecca S; Miezin, Francis M; Petersen, Steven E; Schlaggar, Bradley L

    2010-08-01

    Children with congenital left hemisphere damage due to perinatal stroke are capable of acquiring relatively normal language functions despite experiencing a cortical insult that in adults often leads to devastating lifetime disabilities. Although this observed phenomenon is accepted, its neurobiological mechanisms are not well characterized. In this paper we examined the functional neuroanatomy of lexical processing in 13 children/adolescents with perinatal left hemispheric damage. In contrast to many previous perinatal infarct fMRI studies, we used an event-related design, which allowed us to isolate trial-related activity and examine correct and error trials separately. Using both group and single subject analysis techniques we attempt to address several methodological factors that may contribute to some discrepancies in the perinatal lesion literature. These methodological factors include making direct statistical comparisons, using common stereotactic space, using both single subject and group analyses, and accounting for performance differences. Our group analysis, investigating correct trial-related activity (separately from error trials), showed very few statistical differences in the non-involved right hemisphere between patients and performance matched controls. The single subject analysis revealed atypical regional activation patterns in several patients; however, the location of these regions identified in individual patients often varied across subjects. These results are consistent with the idea that alternative functional organization of trial-related activity after left hemisphere lesions is in large part unique to the individual. In addition, reported differences between results obtained with event-related designs and blocked designs may suggest diverging organizing principles for sustained and trial-related activity after early childhood brain injuries. 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Development and psychometric properties of the Suicidality: Treatment Occurring in Paediatrics (STOP) Suicidality Assessment Scale (STOP-SAS) in children and adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flamarique, I; Santosh, P; Zuddas, A; Arango, C; Purper-Ouakil, D; Hoekstra, P J; Coghill, D; Schulze, U; Dittmann, R W; Buitelaar, J K; Lievesley, K; Frongia, R; Llorente, C; Méndez, I; Sala, R; Fiori, F; Castro-Fornieles, J

    2016-12-13

    To create a self-reported, internet-based questionnaire for the assessment of suicide risk in children and adolescents. As part of the EU project 'Suicidality: Treatment Occurring in Paediatrics' (STOP project), we developed web-based Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for children and adolescents and for proxy reports by parents and clinicians in order to assess suicidality. Based on a literature review, expert panels and focus groups of patients, we developed the items of the STOP Suicidality Assessment Scale (STOP-SAS) in Spanish and English, translated it into four more languages, and optimized it for web-based presentation using the HealthTracker TM platform. Of the total 19 questions developed for the STOP-SAS, four questions that assess low-level suicidality were identified as screening questions (three of them for use with children, and all four for use with adolescents, parents and clinicians). A total of 395 adolescents, 110 children, 637 parents and 716 clinicians completed the questionnaire using the HealthTracker TM , allowing us to evaluate the internal consistency and convergent validity of the STOP-SAS with the clinician-rated Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Validity was also assessed with the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) area of the STOP-SAS with the C-SSRS. The STOP-SAS comprises 19 items in its adolescent, parent, and clinician versions, and 14 items in its children's version. Good internal consistency was found for adolescents (Cronbach's alpha: 0.965), children (Cronbach's alpha: 0.922), parents (Cronbach's alpha: 0.951) and clinicians (Cronbach's alpha: 0.955) versions. A strong correlation was found between the STOP-SAS and the C-SSRS for adolescents (r:0.670), parents (r:0.548), clinicians (r:0.863) and children (r:0.654). The ROC area was good for clinicians' (0.917), adolescents' (0.834) and parents' (0.756) versions but only fair (0.683) for children's version. The STOP-SAS is a comprehensive, web

  3. Start-Stop Test Procedures on the PEMFC Stack Level

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mitzel, Jens; Nygaard, Frederik; Veltzé, Sune

    The test is addressed to investigate the influence on stack durability of a long stop followed by a restart of a stack. Long stop should be defined as a stop in which the anodic compartment is fully filled by air due to stack leakages. In systems, leakage level of the stack is low and time to fil...

  4. Plasma triglycerides and cardiovascular events in the Treating to New Targets and Incremental Decrease in End-Points through Aggressive Lipid Lowering trials of statins in patients with coronary artery disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Faergeman, Ole; Holme, Ingar; Fayyad, Rana

    2009-01-01

    We determined the ability of in-trial measurements of triglycerides (TGs) to predict new cardiovascular events (CVEs) using data from the Incremental Decrease in End Points through Aggressive Lipid Lowering (IDEAL) and Treating to New Targets (TNT) trials. The trials compared atorvastatin 80 mg...

  5. CDC Vital Signs: New Hope for Stopping HIV

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... 27 MB] Read the MMWR Science Clips New Hope for Stopping HIV Testing and Medical Care Save ... acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) and early death. There's new hope today for stopping HIV in the US. Medicines ( ...

  6. The effect of valsartan, captopril, or both on atherosclerotic events after acute myocardial infarction: an analysis of the Valsartan in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial (VALIANT)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McMurray, John; Solomon, Scott; Pieper, Karen

    2006-01-01

    failure, most treated with an ACE inhibitor). One of the main active controlled trials was confounded by a blood pressure difference between treatments. METHODS: We compared the effects of captopril, valsartan, and their combination on atherosclerotic events in 14,703 patients randomized in the Valsartan...... in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial (VALIANT). RESULTS: The number of individuals adjudicated as having a fatal or non-fatal MI in the captopril group was 559 (total investigator reported events 798), 587 (796) in the valsartan group, and 554 (756) in the combination group; valsartan versus captopril, p...... = 0.651 (0.965); combination versus captopril, p = 0.187 (0.350). Overall, all atherosclerotic events examined occurred at a similar frequency in the captopril and valsartan groups. CONCLUSIONS: Angiotensin receptor blockers appear to be as effective as ACE inhibitors in reducing atherosclerotic...

  7. Stopping power for particle therapy: the generic library libdEdx and clinically relevant stopping-power ratios for light ions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lühr, Armin Christian; Toftegaard, Jakob; Kantemiris, Ioannis

    2012-01-01

    to be known accurately for dosimetry. Methods: An open-source computer library called libdEdx (library for energy loss per unit path length, dE/dx, calculations) is developed, providing stopping-power data from data tables and computer programs as well as a stopping-power formula comprising a large list...

  8. Depression - stopping your medicines

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... this page: //medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000570.htm Depression - stopping your medicines To use the sharing features ... prescription medicines you may take to help with depression, anxiety, or pain. Like any medicine, there are ...

  9. Study design of ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE): a randomized, controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-01

    Cost-effective strategies to maintain healthy active lifestyle in aging populations are required to address the global burden of age-related diseases. ASPREE will examine whether the potential primary prevention benefits of low dose aspirin outweigh the risks in older healthy individuals. Our primary hypothesis is that daily oral 100 mg enteric-coated aspirin will extend a composite primary endpoint termed 'disability-free life' including onset of dementia, total mortality, or persistent disability in at least one of the Katz Activities of Daily Living in 19,000 healthy participants aged 65 years and above ('US minorities') and 70 years and above (non-'US minorities'). ASPREE is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of oral 100mg enteric-coated acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) or matching placebo being conducted in Australian and US community settings on individuals free of dementia, disability and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Secondary endpoints are all-cause and cause specific mortality, fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, fatal and non-fatal cancer (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer), dementia, mild cognitive impairment, depression, physical disability, and clinically significant bleeding. To 20 September 2013 14,383 participants have been recruited. Recruitment and study completion are anticipated in July 2014 and December 2018 respectively. In contrast to other aspirin trials that have largely focused on cardiovascular endpoints, ASPREE has a unique composite primary endpoint to better capture the overall risk and benefit of aspirin to extend healthy independent lifespan in older adults in the US and Australia. © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Dietary approach to stop hypertension (DASH) diet and risk of renal function decline and all-cause mortality in renal transplant recipients

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Osté, M.C.J.; Gomes-neto, A.W.; Corpeleijn, E.; Gans, R.O.B.; De Borst, M.H.; Van Den Berg, E.; Soedamah-Muthu, S.S.; Kromhout, D.; Navis, G.J.; Bakker, S.J.L.

    Renal transplant recipients (RTR) are at risk of decline of graft function and premature mortality, with high blood pressure as important risk factor for both. To study the association of the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet with these adverse events, we conducted a prospective

  11. Are Stopped Strings Preferred in Sad Music?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Huron

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available String instruments may be played either with open strings (where the string vibrates between the bridge and a hard wooden nut or with stopped strings (where the string vibrates between the bridge and a performer's finger pressed against the fingerboard. Compared with open strings, stopped strings permit the use of vibrato and exhibit a darker timbre. Inspired by research on the timbre of sad speech, we test whether there is a tendency to use stopped strings in nominally sad music. Specifically, we compare the proportion of potentially open-to-stopped strings in a sample of slow, minor-mode movements with matched major-mode movements. By way of illustration, a preliminary analysis of Samuel Barber's famous Adagio from his Opus 11 string quartet shows that the selected key (B-flat minor provides the optimum key for minimizing open string tones. However, examination of a broader controlled sample of quartet movements by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven failed to exhibit the conjectured relationship. Instead, major-mode movements were found to avoid possible open strings more than slow minor-mode movements.

  12. Predicting crash-relevant violations at stop sign-controlled intersections for the development of an intersection driver assistance system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scanlon, John M; Sherony, Rini; Gabler, Hampton C

    2016-09-01

    Intersection crashes resulted in over 5,000 fatalities in the United States in 2014. Intersection Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (I-ADAS) are active safety systems that seek to help drivers safely traverse intersections. I-ADAS uses onboard sensors to detect oncoming vehicles and, in the event of an imminent crash, can either alert the driver or take autonomous evasive action. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a predictive model for detecting whether a stop sign violation was imminent. Passenger vehicle intersection approaches were extracted from a data set of typical driver behavior (100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study) and violations (event data recorders downloaded from real-world crashes) and were assigned weighting factors based on real-world frequency. A k-fold cross-validation procedure was then used to develop and evaluate 3 hypothetical stop sign warning algorithms (i.e., early, intermediate, and delayed) for detecting an impending violation during the intersection approach. Violation detection models were developed using logistic regression models that evaluate likelihood of a violation at various locations along the intersection approach. Two potential indicators of driver intent to stop-that is, required deceleration parameter (RDP) and brake application-were used to develop the predictive models. The earliest violation detection opportunity was then evaluated for each detection algorithm in order to (1) evaluate the violation detection accuracy and (2) compare braking demand versus maximum braking capabilities. A total of 38 violating and 658 nonviolating approaches were used in the analysis. All 3 algorithms were able to detect a violation at some point during the intersection approach. The early detection algorithm, as designed, was able to detect violations earlier than all other algorithms during the intersection approach but gave false alarms for 22.3% of approaches. In contrast, the delayed detection algorithm sacrificed

  13. Stopping power. Projectile and target modeled as oscillators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevanovic, N.; Nikezic, D.

    2005-01-01

    In this Letter the collision of two quantum harmonic oscillators was considered. The oscillators interact through the Coulomb interaction. Stopping power of projectile was calculated assuming that both, target and projectile may be excited. It has been shown that the frequency of the projectile oscillation, ω p influences on stopping power, particularly in the region of Bragg peak. If, ω p ->0 is substitute in the expression for stopping power derived in this Letter, then it comes to the form when the projectile has been treated as point like charged particle

  14. Psychosocial interventions for supporting women to stop smoking in pregnancy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chamberlain, Catherine; O’Mara-Eves, Alison; Oliver, Sandy; Caird, Jenny R; Perlen, Susan M; Eades, Sandra J; Thomas, James

    2014-01-01

    1.15, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.53). In studies comparing counselling and usual care (the largest comparison), it was unclear whether interventions prevented smoking relapse among women who had stopped smoking spontaneously in early pregnancy (eight studies; average RR 1.06, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.21). However, a clear effect was seen in smoking abstinence at zero to five months postpartum (10 studies; average RR 1.76, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.95), a borderline effect at six to 11 months (six studies; average RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.77), and a significant effect at 12 to 17 months (two studies, average RR 2.20, 95% CI 1.23 to 3.96), but not in the longer term. In other comparisons, the effect was not significantly different from the null effect for most secondary outcomes, but sample sizes were small. Incentive-based interventions had the largest effect size compared with a less intensive intervention (one study; RR 3.64, 95% CI 1.84 to 7.23) and an alternative intervention (one study; RR 4.05, 95% CI 1.48 to 11.11). Feedback interventions demonstrated a significant effect only when compared with usual care and provided in conjunction with other strategies, such as counselling (two studies; average RR 4.39, 95% CI 1.89 to 10.21), but the effect was unclear when compared with a less intensive intervention (two studies; average RR 1.19, 95% CI 0.45 to 3.12). The effect of health education was unclear when compared with usual care (three studies; average RR 1.51, 95% CI 0.64 to 3.59) or less intensive interventions (two studies; average RR 1.50, 95% CI 0.97 to 2.31). Social support interventions appeared effective when provided by peers (five studies; average RR 1.49, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.19), but the effect was unclear in a single trial of support provided by partners. The effects were mixed where the smoking interventions were provided as part of broader interventions to improve maternal health, rather than targeted smoking cessation interventions. Subgroup analyses on primary outcome for

  15. On NonAsymptotic Optimal Stopping Criteria in Monte Carlo Simulations

    KAUST Repository

    Bayer, Christian; Hoel, Hakon; von Schwerin, Erik; Tempone, Raul

    2014-01-01

    We consider the setting of estimating the mean of a random variable by a sequential stopping rule Monte Carlo (MC) method. The performance of a typical second moment based sequential stopping rule MC method is shown to be unreliable in such settings both by numerical examples and through analysis. By analysis and approximations, we construct a higher moment based stopping rule which is shown in numerical examples to perform more reliably and only slightly less efficiently than the second moment based stopping rule.

  16. The Effect on Teenage Risky Driving of Feedback From a Safety Monitoring System: A Randomized Controlled Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bingham, C. Raymond; Ouimet, Marie Claude; Pradhan, Anuj; Chen, Rusan; Barretto, Andrea; Shope, Jean

    2012-01-01

    Purpose Teenage risky driving may be due to teenagers not knowing what is risky, preferring risk, or the lack of consequences. Elevated gravitational-force (g-force) events, caused mainly by hard braking and sharp turns, provide a valid measure of risky driving and are the target of interventions using in-vehicle data recording and feedback devices. The effect of two forms of feedback about risky driving events to teenagers only or to teenagers and their parents was tested in a randomized controlled trial. Methods Ninety parent-teen dyads were randomized to one of two groups: (1) immediate feedback to teens (Lights Only); or (2) immediate feedback to teens plus family access to event videos and ranking of the teen relative to other teenage drivers (Lights Plus). Participants’ vehicles were instrumented with data recording devices and events exceeding 0.5 g were assessed for two weeks of baseline and 13 weeks of feedback. Results Growth analysis with random slopes yielded a significant decrease in event rates for the Lights Plus group (slope = −.11, p teenagers did not. Implications and Contribution Reducing elevated g-force events due to hard stops and sharp turns could reduce crash rates among novice teenage drivers. Using materials from the DriveCam For Families Program we found that feedback to both teens and parents significantly reduced rates, while feedback only to teens did not. PMID:23375825

  17. High fluence effects on ion implantation stopping and range

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Selvi, S.; Tek, Z.; Oeztarhan, A.; Akbas, N.; Brown, I.G.

    2005-01-01

    We have developed a code STOPPO which can be used to modify the more-widely used ion implantation codes to more accurately predict the mean nuclear and electronic stopping power, preferential sputtering and range of heavy ions in monatomic target materials. In our simulations an effective atomic number and effective atomic mass are introduced into conveniently available analytical stopping cross-sections and a better fitting function for preferential sputtering yield is carefully evaluated for each ion implantation. The accuracy of the code confirmed experimentally by comparison with measured Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) concentration profiles for 130 keV Zr ions implanted into Be to fluences of 1 x 10 17 , 2 x 10 17 and 4 x 10 17 ions/cm 2 . We find a steady increase in the mean nuclear and electronic stopping powers of the target; the increase in nuclear stopping power is much greater than the increase in electronic stopping power

  18. Electron and Positron Stopping Powers of Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    SRD 7 NIST Electron and Positron Stopping Powers of Materials (PC database for purchase)   The EPSTAR database provides rapid calculations of stopping powers (collisional, radiative, and total), CSDA ranges, radiation yields and density effect corrections for incident electrons or positrons with kinetic energies from 1 keV to 10 GeV, and for any chemically defined target material.

  19. Addressing production stops in the food industry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Zaza Nadja Lee; Herbert, Luke Thomas; Jacobsen, Peter

    2014-01-01

    This paper investigates the challenges in the food industry which causes the production lines to stop, illustrated by a case study of an SME size company in the baked goods sector in Denmark. The paper proposes key elements this sector needs to be aware of to effectively address production stops......, and gives examples of the unique challenges faced by the SME food industry....

  20. The stopping rules for winsorized tree

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ch'ng, Chee Keong; Mahat, Nor Idayu

    2017-11-01

    Winsorized tree is a modified tree-based classifier that is able to investigate and to handle all outliers in all nodes along the process of constructing the tree. It overcomes the tedious process of constructing a classical tree where the splitting of branches and pruning go concurrently so that the constructed tree would not grow bushy. This mechanism is controlled by the proposed algorithm. In winsorized tree, data are screened for identifying outlier. If outlier is detected, the value is neutralized using winsorize approach. Both outlier identification and value neutralization are executed recursively in every node until predetermined stopping criterion is met. The aim of this paper is to search for significant stopping criterion to stop the tree from further splitting before overfitting. The result obtained from the conducted experiment on pima indian dataset proved that the node could produce the final successor nodes (leaves) when it has achieved the range of 70% in information gain.

  1. Genetic risk, coronary heart disease events, and the clinical benefit of statin therapy: an analysis of primary and secondary prevention trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mega, J L; Stitziel, N O; Smith, J G; Chasman, D I; Caulfield, M; Devlin, J J; Nordio, F; Hyde, C; Cannon, C P; Sacks, F; Poulter, N; Sever, P; Ridker, P M; Braunwald, E; Melander, O; Kathiresan, S; Sabatine, M S

    2015-06-06

    Genetic variants have been associated with the risk of coronary heart disease. In this study, we tested whether or not a composite of these variants could ascertain the risk of both incident and recurrent coronary heart disease events and identify those individuals who derive greater clinical benefit from statin therapy. A community-based cohort study (the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study) and four randomised controlled trials of both primary prevention (JUPITER and ASCOT) and secondary prevention (CARE and PROVE IT-TIMI 22) with statin therapy, comprising a total of 48,421 individuals and 3477 events, were included in these analyses. We studied the association of a genetic risk score based on 27 genetic variants with incident or recurrent coronary heart disease, adjusting for traditional clinical risk factors. We then investigated the relative and absolute risk reductions in coronary heart disease events with statin therapy stratified by genetic risk. We combined data from the different studies using a meta-analysis. When individuals were divided into low (quintile 1), intermediate (quintiles 2-4), and high (quintile 5) genetic risk categories, a significant gradient in risk for incident or recurrent coronary heart disease was shown. Compared with the low genetic risk category, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio for coronary heart disease for the intermediate genetic risk category was 1·34 (95% CI 1·22-1·47, pgenetic risk category was 1·72 (1·55-1·92, pgenetic risk categories. Similarly, we noted greater absolute risk reductions in those individuals in higher genetic risk categories (p=0·0101), resulting in a roughly threefold decrease in the number needed to treat to prevent one coronary heart disease event in the primary prevention trials. Specifically, in the primary prevention trials, the number needed to treat to prevent one such event in 10 years was 66 in people at low genetic risk, 42 in those at intermediate genetic risk, and 25 in those at high

  2. STOP smoking and alcohol drinking before OPeration for bladder cancer (the STOP-OP study), perioperative smoking and alcohol cessation intervention in relation to radical cystectomy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauridsen, Susanne Vahr; Thomsen, Thordis; Thind, Peter

    2017-01-01

    meetings and at follow-up. Discussion: Herein, we report the design of the STOP-OP study, objectives and accrual up-date. This study will provide new knowledge about how to prevent smoking and alcohol-related postoperative complications at the time of bladder cancer surgery. Till now 77 patients have been......Background: To evaluate the effect of a smoking-, alcohol- or combined-cessation intervention starting shortly before surgery and lasting 6 weeks on overall complications after radical cystectomy. Secondary objectives are to examine the effect on types and grades of complications, smoking cessation...... and alcohol cessation, length of hospital stay, health-related quality of life and return to work or habitual level of activity up to 12 months postoperatively. Methods/design: The study is a multi-institutional randomised clinical trial involving 110 patients with a risky alcohol intake and daily smoking who...

  3. A randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled trial in dementia patients continuing or stopping neuroleptics (the DART-AD trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clive Ballard

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: There have been increasing concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of neuroleptics in people with dementia, but there are very few long-term trials to inform clinical practice. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of long-term treatment with neuroleptic agents upon global cognitive decline and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with Alzheimer disease. METHODS AND FINDINGS: DESIGN: Randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled parallel two-group treatment discontinuation trial. SETTING: Oxfordshire, Newcastle and Gateshead, London and Edinburgh, United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: Patients currently prescribed the neuroleptics thioridazine, chlorpromazine, haloperidol trifluoperazine or risperidone for behavioural or psychiatric disturbance in dementia for at least 3 mo. INTERVENTIONS: Continue neuroleptic treatment for 12 mo or switch to an identical placebo. OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome was total Severe Impairment Battery (SIB score. Neuropsychiatric symptoms were evaluated with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI. RESULTS: 165 patients were randomised (83 to continue treatment and 82 to placebo, i.e., discontinue treatment, of whom 128 (78% commenced treatment (64 continue/64 placebo. Of those, 26 were lost to follow-up (13 per arm, resulting in 51 patients per arm analysed for the primary outcome. There was no significant difference between the continue treatment and placebo groups in the estimated mean change in SIB scores between baseline and 6 mo; estimated mean difference in deterioration (favouring placebo -0.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] -6.4 to 5.5, adjusted for baseline value (p = 0.9. For neuropsychiatric symptoms, there was no significant difference between the continue treatment and placebo groups (n = 56 and 53, respectively in the estimated mean change in NPI scores between baseline and 6 mo; estimated mean difference in deterioration (favouring continue treatment -2.4 (95% CI -8.2 to 3.5, adjusted for

  4. One-stop endoscopic hernia surgery: efficient and satisfactory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voorbrood, C E H; Burgmans, J P J; Clevers, G J; Davids, P H P; Verleisdonk, E J M M; Schouten, N; van Dalen, T

    2015-06-01

    One-stop surgery offers patients diagnostic work-up and subsequent surgical treatment on the same day. In the present study, patient satisfaction and efficiency from an institutional perspective were evaluated in patients who were referred for one-stop endoscopic inguinal hernia repair. In a high-volume inguinal hernia clinic, all consecutive patients referred for one-stop surgical treatment, were registered prospectively. An instructed secretary screened patients for eligibility for the one-stop option when the appointment was made. Totally extraperitoneal hernia repair under general anaesthesia was the preferred operative technique. Patient's satisfaction, successful day surgery and institutional efficiency were evaluated. Between January 2010 and January 2012 a total of 349 patients (17 % of all patients in the hernia clinic) were referred for one-stop hernia repair. Mean age was 47.5 years and 96.3 % were males. Three hundred thirty-six patients underwent hernia surgery on the same day (96.3 %). In thirteen patients (3.7 %) no operative repair was done on the day of presentation due to an incorrect diagnosis (n = 7), a watchful waiting policy for asymptomatic hernia (n = 3), rescheduling due to a large scrotal hernia, and there were two "no shows". Following hernia repair 97 % of the patients were discharged on the same day, while ten patients required hospitalization. Based on the questionnaires the main satisfaction score among patients was 9.0 (8.89-9.17 95 % CI) on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. One-stop hernia surgery is feasible and satisfactory from an institutional as well as from a patient's perspective.

  5. Treatment Effect in Earlier Trials of Patients With Chronic Medical Conditions: A Meta-Epidemiologic Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alahdab, Fares; Farah, Wigdan; Almasri, Jehad; Barrionuevo, Patricia; Zaiem, Feras; Benkhadra, Raed; Asi, Noor; Alsawas, Mouaz; Pang, Yifan; Ahmed, Ahmed T; Rajjo, Tamim; Kanwar, Amrit; Benkhadra, Khalid; Razouki, Zayd; Murad, M Hassan; Wang, Zhen

    2018-03-01

    To determine whether the early trials in chronic medical conditions demonstrate an effect size that is larger than that in subsequent trials. We identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating a drug or device in patients with chronic medical conditions through meta-analyses (MAs) published between January 1, 2007, and June 23, 2015, in the 10 general medical journals with highest impact factor. We estimated the prevalence of having the largest effect size or heterogeneity in the first 2 published trials. We evaluated the association of the exaggerated early effect with several a priori hypothesized explanatory variables. We included 70 MAs that had included a total of 930 trials (average of 13 [range, 5-48] RCTs per MA) with average follow-up of 24 (range, 1-168) months. The prevalence of the exaggerated early effect (ie, proportion of MAs with largest effect or heterogeneity in the first 2 trials) was 37%. These early trials had an effect size that was on average 2.67 times larger than the overall pooled effect size (ratio of relative effects, 2.67; 95% CI, 2.12-3.37). The presence of exaggerated effect was not significantly associated with trial size; number of events; length of follow-up; intervention duration; number of study sites; inpatient versus outpatient setting; funding source; stopping a trial early; adequacy of random sequence generation, allocation concealment, or blinding; loss to follow-up or the test for publication bias. Trials evaluating treatments of chronic medical conditions published early in the chain of evidence commonly demonstrate an exaggerated treatment effect compared with subsequent trials. At the present time, this phenomenon remains unpredictable. Considering the increasing morbidity and mortality of chronic medical conditions, decision makers should act on early evidence with caution. Copyright © 2017 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Cellular Automata Based Modeling for Evaluating Different Bus Stop Designs in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haoyang Ding

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A cellular automaton model is proposed to simulate mixed traffic flow composed of motor vehicles and bicycles near bus stops. Three typical types of bus stops which are common in China are considered in the model, including two types of curbside bus stops and one type of bus bay stops. Passenger transport capacity of three types of bus stops, which is applied to evaluate the bus stop design, is calculated based on the corresponding traffic flow rate. According to the simulation results, the flow rates of both motor vehicles and bicycles exhibit phase transition from free flow to the saturation one at the critical point. The results also show that the larger the interaction between motor vehicle and bicycle flow is near curbside bus stops, the more the value of saturated flows drops. Curbside bus stops are more suitable when the conflicts between two flows are small and the inflow rate of motor vehicles is low. On the contrary, bus bay stops should be applied due to their ability to reduce traffic conflicts. Findings of this study can provide useful suggestions on bus stop selection considering different inflow rate of motor vehicles and bicycles simultaneously.

  7. Ethosuximide for Essential Tremor: An Open-Label Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gironell, Alexandre; Marin-Lahoz, Juan

    2016-01-01

    Background T-type calcium channel activation has been postulated to underlie rhythmicity in the olivo-cerebellar system that is implicated in ET. Ethosuximide reduces T-type calcium currents and can suppress tremor in two animal models of ET. We explored the effects of ethosuximide in subjects with ET in an open-label trial using both clinical scales and accelerometric recordings measures. We initially planned to conduct the trial with 15 patients, but due to lack of efficacy and a high incidence of adverse effects, the trial was stopped after seven patients had participated. Methods Seven patients diagnosed with ET were included in the study. The ethosuximide dose was 500 mg daily (BID). The main outcome measures were: 1) tremor clinical rating scale (TCRS) score, 2) accelerometric recordings, and 3) self-reported disability scale score. Results Five patients completed the study, and two dropped out due to adverse effects. There were no significant changes in clinical scores in motor task performance (TCRS 1+2), daily living activities (TCRS 3), or in the patients’ subjective assessment (TCRS 4) and global appraisal. There were no differences observed for accelerometry data or disability scale scores. Anxiety, nervousness, headache, and dizziness were reported by two patients while on ethosuximide, causing them to stop the trial. No patient preferred to continue ethosuximide treatment. Discussion The results of our exploratory study suggest that ethosuximide is not an effective treatment for ET. PMID:27625899

  8. Ethosuximide for Essential Tremor: An Open-Label Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre Gironell

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: T-type calcium channel activation has been postulated to underlie rhythmicity in the olivo-cerebellar system that is implicated in ET. Ethosuximide reduces T-type calcium currents and can suppress tremor in two animal models of ET. We explored the effects of ethosuximide in subjects with ET in an open-label trial using both clinical scales and accelerometric recordings measures. We initially planned to conduct the trial with 15 patients, but due to lack of efficacy and a high incidence of adverse effects, the trial was stopped after seven patients had participated. Methods: Seven patients diagnosed with ET were included in the study. The ethosuximide dose was 500 mg daily (BID. The main outcome measures were: 1 tremor clinical rating scale (TCRS score, 2 accelerometric recordings, and 3 self-reported disability scale score. Results: Five patients completed the study, and two dropped out due to adverse effects. There were no significant changes in clinical scores in motor task performance (TCRS 1+2, daily living activities (TCRS 3, or in the patients’ subjective assessment (TCRS 4 and global appraisal. There were no differences observed for accelerometry data or disability scale scores. Anxiety, nervousness, headache, and dizziness were reported by two patients while on ethosuximide, causing them to stop the trial. No patient preferred to continue ethosuximide treatment. Discussion: The results of our exploratory study suggest that ethosuximide is not an effective treatment for ET.

  9. The blue drama: narratives of the victim's suffering of Cesium-137 radiological event; O drama azul: narrativas sobre o sofrimento das vitimas do evento radiologico do Cesio-137

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vieira, Suzane de Alencar

    2014-07-01

    This research presents a dramatic approach to the Cesium-137 Radiological Event. The event, which started on Goiania in 1987, did not stop with the end of radiological contamination and continues in a judicial, scientific and narrative process of identification and recognition of new victims. The ethnography’s output follows a theoretical experiment with the notions of drama and event. In order to better understand the pattern of this event, I analyzed narratives such as romances, arts, photographs, news, documentaries, films, academic bibliography and stories that emerged from the research field. I argue that the narratives politicize the discourses of victimization and the suffering experience. The dramatic form of narratives and symbols concentrates on emotions and promotes the emotional commitment of the subjects on the trial. The drama articulates the relationship between the narratives and the event and creates a tactful space that arouses the recognition of victims through the narrative form and the suffering language. The drama occupies a central place on the dynamics of radiological event, as it extends its limits, inflects its intensity and updates the event. As a narrative of the event, the ethnography incorporates and brings up to date the drama as an analysis landmark and the description of the theme as it is absorbed by a dramatic process. (author)

  10. Simulation on effect of stopping nuclear power generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yajima, Masayuki; Kumakura, Osamu; Sakurai, Norihisa; Nagata, Yutaka; Hattori, Tsuneaki

    1990-01-01

    The effects that the stopping of nuclear power generation exerts on the price of primary energy such as petroleum, LNG and coal and the trend of Japanese energy and economy are analyzed by using the medium term economy forecasting system. In the simulation, the case of stopping nuclear power generation in seven countries of OECD is supposed, and as for the process of stopping, two cases of immediate stopping and stopping by gradual reduction are set up. The models used for the simulation are the world energy model, the competition among energies model and the multiple category model. By the decrease of nuclear power generation, thermal power generation increases, and the demand of fossil fuel increases. As the result, the price of fossil fuel rises (the world energy model), and the price of fossil fuel imported to Japan rises. Also the quantity of fossil fuel import to Japan increase. These price rise and quantity increase exert deflation effect to Japanese economy (the multiple category model). The price rise of fossil fuel affects the competition among energies in Japan through the relative change of secondary energy price (the competition among energies model). The impact to the world and to Japan is discussed. (K.I.)

  11. LHCb: LHCb High Level Trigger design issues for post Long Stop 1 running

    CERN Multimedia

    Albrecht, J; Raven, G; Sokoloff, M D; Williams, M

    2013-01-01

    The LHCb High Level Trigger uses two stages of software running on an Event Filter Farm (EFF) to select events for offline reconstruction and analysis. The first stage (Hlt1) processes approximately 1 MHz of events accepted by a hardware trigger. In 2012, the second stage (Hlt2) wrote 5 kHz to permanent storage for later processing. Following the LHC's Long Stop 1 (anticipated for 2015), the machine energy will increase from 8 TeV in the center-of-mass to 13 TeV and the cross sections for beauty and charm are expected to grow proportionately. We plan to increase the Hlt2 output to 12 kHz, some for immediate offline processing, some for later offline processing, and some ready for immediate analysis. By increasing the absolute computing power of the EFF, and buffering data for processing between machine fills, we should be able to significantly increase the efficiency for signal while improving signal-to-background ratios. In this poster we will present several strategies under consideration and some of th...

  12. When to stop drying fruit: Insights from hygrothermal modelling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Defraeye, Thijs

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Partial dehydration reduces energy consumption and processing time and improves product quality. • This study gives a quantitative insight in when fruit drying should be stopped. • Decrease in dryer residence time of 2%, 24% and 70% are found for different stopping criteria. - Abstract: Stopping the drying process prior to complete dehydration reduces energy consumption and processing time but can also improve product quality. Using hygrothermal simulations, different stopping criteria are evaluated, which are based on the final water activity and residual moisture content in the fruit. Their impact on drying time and moisture redistribution kinetics inside fruit is quantified. One of the variants leads to a significant reduction in residence time in the dryer (24%), compared to full dehydration. For this variant, drying is stopped when the average moisture content in the sample reaches the value corresponding to an equilibrium water activity of 60% in the sample, as determined from the sorption isotherm. At the same time, this variant does not induce problems with fruit spoilage, as a sufficiently low water activity is reached after moisture redistribution during relaxation in the ambient environment. In addition, the relation of the drying time to the drying air temperature was quantified for all stopping criteria, as well as the impact of the humidity of the ambient environment in which the dried fruits are placed afterwards. This study gives a better quantitative insight in when fruit drying should be stopped, given specific drying conditions, without having to compromise food safety.

  13. Stopping the unstoppable

    CERN Multimedia

    2002-01-01

    How do you stop two very high energy proton beams circulating in opposite directions around a 27-kilometre ring? The answer is the beam dumps. Two tunnels, pointing in opposite directions, are being constructed at point 6 of the LHC. These will allow the beams to be directed into two large beam dumps housed at the ends of the tunnels.

  14. Results of a neutrino oscillation experiment performed at a meson factory beam-stop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mitchell, J.W.

    1989-04-01

    This document describes a neutrino oscillation experiment performed at the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility. The oscillation mode searched for is /bar /nu///sub μ/ → /bar /nu///sub e/. The first chapter is a review of the known properties of the neutrino and a description of the phenomenon of neutrino oscillation. Previous experimental limits on this unobserved phenomenon are also given. The second chapter describes the experimental apparatus used by the E645 experiment to detect neutrinos produced in the LAMPF beam stop. The salient features of the detector are its large mass (20 tons of CH 2 ), its fine segmentation (to allow good particle tracking), good energy resolution, its recording of the history both before and after tracks appear in the detector, an active cosmic-ray anticoincidence shield, and 2000 gm/cm 2 of passive cosmic-ray shielding. It is located 26.8 m from the neutrino source, which has a mean neutrino energy of 40 MeV. The third chapter details the reduction of the 1.3 million event data sample to a 49 event sample of neutrino candidates. Principle backgrounds are Michel electrons from stopping cosmic-ray muons and protons from np elastic scattering by cosmic-ray neutrons. The fourth chapter explains how background levels from neutrino-nuclear scattering are predicted. The result of a maximum-likelihood analysis reveals no evidence for oscillation. 90% confidence levels are set at δm 2 = .10 eV 2 for large mixing and sin 2 (2θ) = .014 for large δm 2 . 82 refs., 18 figs., 55 tabs

  15. Theoretical model for calculation of molecular stopping power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Y.J.

    1984-01-01

    A modified local plasma model based on the work of Linhard-Winther, Bethe, Brown, and Walske is established. The Gordon-Kim's molecular charged density model is employed to obtain a formula to evaluate the stopping power of many useful molecular systems. The stopping power of H 2 and He gas was calculated for incident proton energy ranging from 100 KeV to 2.5 MeV. The stopping power of O 2 , N 2 , and water vapor was also calculated for incident proton energy ranging from 40 keV to 2.5 MeV. Good agreement with experimental data was obtained. A discussion of molecular effects leading to departure from Bragg's rule is presented. The equipartition rule and the effect of nuclear momentum recoiling in stopping power are also discussed in the appendix. The calculation procedure presented hopefully can easily be extended to include the most useful organic systems such as the molecules composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen which are useful in radiation protection field

  16. Higgs-Stoponium Mixing Near the Stop-Antistop Threshold

    CERN Document Server

    Bodwin, Geoffrey T; Wagner, Carlos E M

    2016-01-01

    Supersymmetric extensions of the standard model contain additional heavy neutral Higgs bosons that are coupled to heavy scalar top quarks (stops). This system exhibits interesting field theoretic phenomena when the Higgs mass is close to the stop-antistop production threshold. Existing work in the literature has examined the digluon-to-diphoton cross section near threshold and has focused on enhancements in the cross section that might arise either from the perturbative contributions to the Higgs-to-digluon and Higgs-to-diphoton form factors or from mixing of the Higgs boson with stoponium states. Near threshold, enhancements in the relevant amplitudes that go as inverse powers of the stop-antistop relative velocity require resummations of perturbation theory and/or nonperturbative treatments. We present a complete formulation of threshold effects at leading order in the stop-antistop relative velocity in terms of nonrelativistic effective field theory. We give detailed numerical calculations for the case in ...

  17. Study and testing of the photomultipliers of TILECAL calorimeter of ATLAS detector. Search for stop t-tilde{sub 1} with ATLAS detector; Etude et caracterisation des photomultiplicateurs du calorimetre a tuiles scintillantes d'atlas. Recherche du stop t-tilde{sub 1} avec le detecteur atlas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hebrard, Ch

    1999-11-04

    The first part of this thesis presents the prospective study on the possibility that we observe an excess of event with four light quark jets, two b quark jets and missing transverse energy in comparison with the predictions of standard model. In the frame of the SUperGRAvity (SUGRA) these events are produced by the Stop decay. The results show that it will be possible to observe an excess of events if Stop mass is less than 600 GeV. The second part of this work turns on the design of the photomultipliers which will be used in ATLAS Tile Calorimeter. A huge work of development and optimisation has been done to make R7877 Hamamatsu photomultiplier fitting all the specifications dictating by the detector. The measurements developed to characterize the photomultipliers are discussed. An special effort has been done to understand and solve the problem of instability of R7877 photomultiplier. In the future, Tile calorimeter will be equipped with 10000 photomultipliers, so a test bench has been developed in order to characterize all these photomultipliers. The performances of this test bench are inspected for each type of measurement (amplification, quantum efficiency, collection efficiency, dark current, linearity and stability). The specifications and technical design of this test bench are summarized in annexes. (author)

  18. Clinical Trials

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Trials Publications and Resources Health Education and Awareness The Science Science Home Blood Disorders and Blood Safety Sleep ... Activity Population and Epidemiology Studies Women’s Health All Science A-Z Grants ... in the Press Research Features All Events Past Events Upcoming ...

  19. Bus-stop Based Real Time Passenger Information System - Case Study Maribor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Čelan, Marko; Klemenčič, Mitja; Mrgole, Anamarija L.; Lep, Marjan

    2017-10-01

    Real time passenger information system is one of the key element of promoting public transport. For the successful implementation of real time passenger information systems, various components should be considered, such as: passenger needs and requirements, stakeholder involvement, technological solution for tracking, data transfer, etc. This article carrying out designing and evaluation of real time passenger information (RTPI) in the city of Maribor. The design phase included development of methodology for selection of appropriate macro and micro location of the real-time panel, development of a real-time passenger algorithm, definition of a technical specification, financial issues and time frame. The evaluation shows that different people have different requirements; therefore, the system should be adaptable to be used by various types of people, according to the age, the purpose of journey, experience of using public transport, etc. The average difference between perceived waiting time for a bus is 35% higher than the actual waiting time and grow with the headway increase. Experiences from Maribor have shown that the reliability of real time passenger system (from technical point of view) must be close to 100%, otherwise the system may have negative impact on passengers and may discourage the use of public transport. Among considered events of arrivals during the test period, 92% of all prediction were accurate. The cost benefit analysis has focused only on potential benefits from reduced perceived users waiting time and foreseen costs of real time information system in Maribor for 10 years’ period. Analysis shows that the optimal number for implementing real time passenger information system at the bus stops in Maribor is set on 83 bus stops (approx. 20 %) with the highest number of passenger. If we consider all entries at the chosen bus stops, the total perceived waiting time on yearly level could be decreased by about 60,000 hours.

  20. A trigger for the identification of pions stopped in an active target

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raywood, K.J.; Ambardar, A.R.; Lange, J.B.; Sevior, M.E.

    1995-03-01

    The total cross sections of the π + p→ π + π + n and π - p→ π + π - n reactions threshold can be used to obtain scattering lengths which are directly comparable to predictions of chiral perturbation theory. Data for these reactions were taken at TRIUMF using a segmented active scintillator target. The signature of a π + in an active target segment was a prompt pulse caused by the particle stopping, followed by a second pulse due to the π + to μ + decay. TRIUMF 500 Mhz transient digitisers were used to record the scintillator outputs in 2 ns steps so that the double pulses could be identified with high efficiency in off-line data analysis. A second level trigger able to reject events in less than 10 μs was necessary to avoid a prohibitively high deadtime due to the long read-out time of the digitisers. It was implemented with fast ECLine electronics and increased the useful event acquisition rate by a factor of more than forty. (author)

  1. Stopping time of a one-dimensional bounded quantum walk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo Hao; Zhang Peng; Zhan Xiang; Xue Peng

    2016-01-01

    The stopping time of a one-dimensional bounded classical random walk (RW) is defined as the number of steps taken by a random walker to arrive at a fixed boundary for the first time. A quantum walk (QW) is a non-trivial generalization of RW, and has attracted a great deal of interest from researchers working in quantum physics and quantum information. In this paper, we develop a method to calculate the stopping time for a one-dimensional QW. Using our method, we further compare the properties of stopping time for QW and RW. We find that the mean value of the stopping time is the same for both of these problems. However, for short times, the probability for a walker performing a QW to arrive at the boundary is larger than that for a RW. This means that, although the mean stopping time of a quantum and classical walker are the same, the quantum walker has a greater probability of arriving at the boundary earlier than the classical walker. (paper)

  2. Ξ-P Scattering and STOPPED-Ξ-12C Reaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, J. K.; Aoki, S.; Chung, K. S.; Chung, M. S.; En'yo, H.; Fukuda, T.; Funahashi, H.; Goto, Y.; Higashi, A.; Ieiri, M.; Iijima, T.; Iinuma, M.; Imai, K.; Itow, Y.; Lee, J. M.; Makino, S.; Masaike, A.; Matsuda, Y.; Matsuyama, Y.; Mihara, S.; Nagoshi, C.; Nomura, I.; Park, I. S.; Saito, N.; Sekimoto, M.; Shin, Y. M.; Sim, K. S.; Susukita, R.; Takashima, R.; Takeutchi, F.; Tlustý, P.; Weibe, S.; Yokkaichi, S.; Yoshida, K.; Yoshida, M.; Yoshida, T.; Yamashita, S.

    2000-09-01

    We report upper limits on the cross sections for the Ξ-p elastic and conversion processes based on the observation of one Ξ-p elastic scattering events with an invisible Λ decay. The cross section for the Ξ-p elastic scattering is, for simplicity, assumming an isotropic angular distribution, found to be 40 mb at 90% confidence level, whereas that for the Ξ-p → ΛΛ reaction is 11 mb at 90% confidence level. While the results on the elastic cross section give no stringent constraint on theoretical estimates, the upper limit on the conversion process suggests that the estimate of the RGM-F model prediction could be ruled out. We also report some preliminary results on the obervation of the stopped-Ξ- hyperon-nucleus interaction with respect to hypernuclear production and existence of doubly-strange H-dibaryon.

  3. Pressure RElieving Support SUrfaces: a Randomised Evaluation 2 (PRESSURE 2): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Sarah; Smith, Isabelle L; Brown, Julia M; Hulme, Claire; McGinnis, Elizabeth; Stubbs, Nikki; Nelson, E Andrea; Muir, Delia; Rutherford, Claudia; Walker, Kay; Henderson, Valerie; Wilson, Lyn; Gilberts, Rachael; Collier, Howard; Fernandez, Catherine; Hartley, Suzanne; Bhogal, Moninder; Coleman, Susanne; Nixon, Jane E

    2016-12-20

    Pressure ulcers represent a major burden to patients, carers and the healthcare system, affecting approximately 1 in 17 hospital and 1 in 20 community patients. They impact greatly on an individual's functional status and health-related quality of life. The mainstay of pressure ulcer prevention practice is the provision of pressure redistribution support surfaces and patient repositioning. The aim of the PRESSURE 2 study is to compare the two main mattress types utilised within the NHS: high-specification foam and alternating pressure mattresses, in the prevention of pressure ulcers. PRESSURE 2 is a multicentre, open-label, randomised, double triangular, group sequential, parallel group trial. A maximum of 2954 'high-risk' patients with evidence of acute illness will be randomised on a 1:1 basis to receive either a high-specification foam mattress or alternating-pressure mattress in conjunction with an electric profiling bed frame. The primary objective of the trial is to compare mattresses in terms of the time to developing a new Category 2 or above pressure ulcer by 30 days post end of treatment phase. Secondary endpoints include time to developing new Category 1 and 3 or above pressure ulcers, time to healing of pre-existing Category 2 pressure ulcers, health-related quality of life, cost-effectiveness, incidence of mattress change and safety. Validation objectives are to determine the responsiveness of the Pressure Ulcer Quality of Life-Prevention instrument and the feasibility of having a blinded endpoint assessment using photography. The trial will have a maximum of three planned analyses with unequally spaced reviews at event-driven coherent cut-points. The futility boundaries are constructed as non-binding to allow a decision for stopping early to be overruled by the Data Monitoring and Ethics Committee. The double triangular, group sequential design of the PRESSURE 2 trial will provide an efficient design through the possibility of early stopping for

  4. The Yusuf-Peto method was not a robust method for meta-analyses of rare events data from antidepressant trials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sharma, Tarang; Gøtzsche, Peter C.; Kuss, Oliver

    2017-01-01

    Objectives The aim of the study was to identify the validity of effect estimates for serious rare adverse events in clinical study reports of antidepressants trials, across different meta-analysis methods. Study Design and Setting Four serious rare adverse events (all-cause mortality, suicidality......, aggressive behavior, and akathisia) were meta-analyzed using different methods. The Yusuf-Peto odds ratio ignores studies with no events and was compared with the alternative approaches of generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs), conditional logistic regression, a Bayesian approach using Markov Chain Monte...... from 1. For example, the odds ratio for suicidality for children and adolescents was 2.39 (95% confidence interval = 1.32–4.33), using the Yusuf-Peto method but increased to 2.64 (1.33–5.26) using conditional logistic regression, to 2.69 (1.19–6.09) using beta-binomial, to 2.73 (1.37–5.42) using...

  5. Interplay between Hippocampal Sharp-Wave-Ripple Events and Vicarious Trial and Error Behaviors in Decision Making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papale, Andrew E; Zielinski, Mark C; Frank, Loren M; Jadhav, Shantanu P; Redish, A David

    2016-12-07

    Current theories posit that memories encoded during experiences are subsequently consolidated into longer-term storage. Hippocampal sharp-wave-ripple (SWR) events have been linked to this consolidation process during sleep, but SWRs also occur during awake immobility, where their role remains unclear. We report that awake SWR rates at the reward site are inversely related to the prevalence of vicarious trial and error (VTE) behaviors, thought to be involved in deliberation processes. SWR rates were diminished immediately after VTE behaviors and an increase in the rate of SWR events at the reward site predicted a decrease in subsequent VTE behaviors at the choice point. Furthermore, SWR disruptions increased VTE behaviors. These results suggest an inverse relationship between SWRs and VTE behaviors and suggest that awake SWRs and associated planning and memory consolidation mechanisms are engaged specifically in the context of higher levels of behavioral certainty. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Control of trunk motion following sudden stop perturbations during cart pushing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yun-Ju; Hoozemans, Marco J M; van Dieën, Jaap H

    2011-01-04

    External perturbations during pushing tasks have been suggested to be a risk factor for low-back symptoms. An experiment was designed to investigate whether self-induced and externally induced sudden stops while pushing a high inertia cart influence trunk motions, and how flexor and extensor muscles counteract these perturbations. Twelve healthy male participants pushed a 200 kg cart at shoulder height and hip height. Pushing while walking was compared to situations in which participants had to stop the cart suddenly (self-induced stop) or in which the wheels of the cart were unexpectedly blocked (externally induced stop). For the perturbed conditions, the peak values and the maximum changes from the reference condition (pushing while walking) of the external moment at L5/S1, trunk inclination and electromyographic amplitudes of trunk muscles were determined. In the self-induced stop, a voluntary trunk extension occurred. Initial responses in both stops consisted of flexor and extensor muscle cocontraction. In self-induced stops this was followed by sustained extensor activity. In the externally induced stops, an external extension moment caused a decrease in trunk inclination. The opposite directions of the internal moment and trunk motion in the externally induced stop while pushing at shoulder height may indicate insufficient active control of trunk posture. Consequently, sudden blocking of the wheels in pushing at shoulder height may put the low back at risk of mechanical injury. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Why do People Stop Playing On-Line Games?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sudzina, Frantisek; Razmerita, Liana

    2012-01-01

    The recent initial public offering of shares of Zynga, probably the most important on-line game provider, drew interest of potential investors but also of general public to their business model. What the most interested people learned so far is that if Zynga had not changed their accounting...... practice, they would be in red numbers for several months already. This is most likely caused by people stopping to play their games. This paper provides an estimate of what proportion of people, who played on-line games, already stopped playing them. Additionally, it analyzed the reasons why people...... stopped playing on-line games. It also compares Facebook and other on-line games....

  8. ELectron stopping of heavy ions in a matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akhiezer, I.A.; Davydov, L.N.

    1978-01-01

    The theory of heavy ion stopping by electrons in solids is analyzed with an aim to establish which physical mechanisms are of importance at different ion velocity values v. The theory is presented for deep inelastic collisions taking the main part in stopping at v > Zsub(1)sup(1/3) v 0 (z 1 is the atomic number of the ion, v 0 is the Bohr velocity). Elastic scattering (relative to the incident ion) are investigated. It is shown that the contribution from these processes to the stopping cross-section is predominant at Zsub(1)sup(1/3) v 0 > v > Zsub(1)sup(2/3) v 0

  9. The stability of locus equation slopes across stop consonant voicing/aspiration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sussman, Harvey M.; Modarresi, Golnaz

    2004-05-01

    The consistency of locus equation slopes as phonetic descriptors of stop place in CV sequences across voiced and voiceless aspirated stops was explored in the speech of five male speakers of American English and two male speakers of Persian. Using traditional locus equation measurement sites for F2 onsets, voiceless labial and coronal stops had significantly lower locus equation slopes relative to their voiced counterparts, whereas velars failed to show voicing differences. When locus equations were derived using F2 onsets for voiced stops that were measured closer to the stop release burst, comparable to the protocol for measuring voiceless aspirated stops, no significant effects of voicing/aspiration on locus equation slopes were observed. This methodological factor, rather than an underlying phonetic-based explanation, provides a reasonable account for the observed flatter locus equation slopes of voiceless labial and coronal stops relative to voiced cognates reported in previous studies [Molis et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 95, 2925 (1994); O. Engstrand and B. Lindblom, PHONUM 4, 101-104]. [Work supported by NIH.

  10. The global polio eradication initiative Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) program - 1999-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-21

    In 1988, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) was established through a partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, CDC, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). By 2012, the annual incidence of polio had decreased by >99%, compared with 1988, and the number of countries in which wild poliovirus (WPV) circulation has never been interrupted was reduced to three: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. However, because of the persistence of endemic WPV transmission and recurring outbreaks in polio-free countries after the original polio eradication target date of 2000, the World Health Assembly in 2012 declared the completion of polio eradication a programmatic emergency. A key component of GPEI is the Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) program, which was developed and initiated by CDC with WHO in 1999 to mobilize additional human resources and technical assistance for countries affected by WPV transmission. During 1999-2013, 1,563 volunteers were identified, trained, and deployed for 2,221 assignments in 69 countries. The number of volunteers increased from 90-120 per year during 1999-2011 to 287 in 2012 and 378 in 2013, and the number of volunteer person-months in the field per year increased from 273 in 1999 to 1,456 in 2012. The STOP program has aided GPEI by strengthening the capacity of country-level immunization programs and by allowing a large cohort of volunteers to gain valuable field experience that prepares them well for subsequent work as staff members of WHO, UNICEF, and other public health agencies.

  11. Help Stop the Flu | NIH MedlinePlus the Magazine

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... page please turn Javascript on. Feature: Flu Shot Help Stop the Flu Past Issues / Winter 2011 Table ... CDC recommends that Americans do the following to help stop the flu: Cover nose and mouth with ...

  12. The extent of the stop coannihilation strip

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ellis, John [King' s College London, Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology Group, Department of Physics, London (United Kingdom); CERN, Theory Division, Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Olive, Keith A. [University of Minnesota, School of Physics and Astronomy, Minneapolis, MN (United States); University of Minnesota, William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute, School of Physics and Astronomy, Minneapolis, MN (United States); Zheng, Jiaming [University of Minnesota, School of Physics and Astronomy, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

    2014-07-15

    Many supersymmetric models such as the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (CMSSM) feature a strip in parameter space where the lightest neutralino χ is identified as the lightest supersymmetric particle, the lighter stop squark t{sub 1} is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric particle (NLSP), and the relic χ cold darkmatter density is brought into the range allowed by astrophysics and cosmology by coannihilation with the lighter stop squark t{sub 1} NLSP. We calculate the stop coannihilation strip in the CMSSM, incorporating Sommerfeld enhancement effects, and we explore the relevant phenomenological constraints and phenomenological signatures. In particular, we show that the t{sub 1} may weigh several TeV, and its lifetime may be in the nanosecond range, features that are more general than the specific CMSSM scenarios that we study in this paper. (orig.)

  13. GMSB with Light Stops

    CERN Document Server

    Delgado, Antonio; Quiros, Mariano

    2015-01-01

    Gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking (GMSB) is an elegant mechanism to transmit supersymmetry breaking from the hidden to the MSSM observable sector, which solves the supersymmetric flavor problem. However the smallness of the generated stop mixing requires superheavy stops to reproduce the experimental value of the Higgs mass. Two possible ways out are: i) To extend GMSB by direct superpotential messenger-MSSM Yukawa couplings to generate sizeable mixing, thus reintroducing the flavor problem; ii) To extend the MSSM Higgs sector with singlets and/or triplets providing extra tree-level corrections to the Higgs mass. Singlets will not get any soft mass from GMSB and triplets will contribute to the $\\rho$ parameter which could be an issue. In this paper we explore the second way by introducing extra supersymmetric triplets with hypercharges $Y=(0,\\pm 1)$, with a tree-level custodial $SU(2)_L\\otimes SU(2)_R$ global symmetry in the Higgs sector protecting the $\\rho$ parameter: a supersymmetric generalization of ...

  14. Recruiting community health centers into pragmatic research: Findings from STOP CRC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coronado, Gloria D; Retecki, Sally; Schneider, Jennifer; Taplin, Stephen H; Burdick, Tim; Green, Beverly B

    2016-04-01

    Challenges of recruiting participants into pragmatic trials, particularly at the level of the health system, remain largely unexplored. As part of Strategies and Opportunities to STOP Colon Cancer in Priority Populations (STOP CRC), we recruited eight separate community health centers (consisting of 26 individual safety net clinics) into a large comparative effectiveness pragmatic study to evaluate methods of raising the rates of colorectal cancer screening. In partnership with STOP CRC's advisory board, we defined criteria to identify eligible health centers and applied these criteria to a list of health centers in Washington, Oregon, and California affiliated with Oregon Community Health Information Network, a 16-state practice-based research network of federally sponsored health centers. Project staff contacted centers that met eligibility criteria and arranged in-person meetings of key study investigators with health center leadership teams. We used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to thematically analyze the content of discussions during these meetings to identify major facilitators of and barriers to health center participation. From an initial list of 41 health centers, 11 met the initial inclusion criteria. Of these, leaders at three centers declined and at eight centers (26 clinic sites) agreed to participate (73%). Participating and nonparticipating health centers were similar with respect to clinic size, percent Hispanic patients, and percent uninsured patients. Participating health centers had higher proportions of Medicaid patients and higher baseline colorectal cancer screening rates. Common facilitators of participation were perception by center leadership that the project was an opportunity to increase colorectal cancer screening rates and to use electronic health record tools for population management. Barriers to participation were concerns of center leaders about ability to provide fecal testing to and assure follow-up of

  15. Increased reaction time variability in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as a response-related phenomenon: evidence from single-trial event-related potentials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saville, Christopher W N; Feige, Bernd; Kluckert, Christian; Bender, Stephan; Biscaldi, Monica; Berger, Andrea; Fleischhaker, Christian; Henighausen, Klaus; Klein, Christoph

    2015-07-01

    Increased intra-subject variability (ISV) in reaction times (RTs) is a promising endophenotype for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and among the most robust hallmarks of the disorder. ISV has been assumed to represent an attentional deficit, either reflecting lapses in attention or increased neural noise. Here, we use an innovative single-trial event-related potential approach to assess whether the increased ISV associated with ADHD is indeed attributable to attention, or whether it is related to response-related processing. We measured electroencephalographic responses to working memory oddball tasks in patients with ADHD (N = 20, aged 11.3 ± 1.1) and healthy controls (N = 25, aged 11.7 ± 1.1), and analysed these data with a recently developed method of single-trial event-related potential analysis. Estimates of component latency variability were computed for the stimulus-locked and response-locked forms of the P3b and the lateralised readiness potential (LRP). ADHD patients showed significantly increased ISV in behavioural ISV. This increased ISV was paralleled by an increase in variability in response-locked event-related potential latencies, while variability in stimulus-locked latencies was equivalent between groups. This result held across the P3b and LRP. Latency of all components predicted RTs on a single-trial basis, confirming that all were relevant for speed of processing. These data suggest that the increased ISV found in ADHD could be associated with response-end, rather than stimulus-end processes, in contrast to prevailing conceptions about the endophenotype. This mental chronometric approach may also be useful for exploring whether the existing lack of specificity of ISV to particular psychiatric conditions can be improved upon. © 2014 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  16. Ab initio electronic stopping power in materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukri, Abdullah-Atef

    2015-01-01

    The average energy loss of an ion per unit path length when it is moving through the matter is named the stopping power. The knowledge of the stopping power is essential for a variety of contemporary applications which depend on the transport of ions in matter, especially ion beam analysis techniques and ion implantation. Most noticeably, the use of proton or heavier ion beams in radiotherapy requires the knowledge of the stopping power. Whereas experimental data are readily available for elemental solids, the data are much more scarce for compounds. The linear response dielectric formalism has been widely used in the past to study the electronic stopping power. In particular, the famous pioneering calculations due to Lindhard evaluate the electronic stopping power of a free electron gas. In this thesis, we develop a fully ab initio scheme based on linear response time-dependent density functional theory to predict the impact parameter averaged quantity named the random electronic stopping power (RESP) of materials without any empirical fitting. The purpose is to be capable of predicting the outcome of experiments without any knowledge of target material besides its crystallographic structure. Our developments have been done within the open source ab initio code named ABINIT, where two approximations are now available: the Random-Phase Approximation (RPA) and the Adiabatic Local Density Approximation (ALDA). Furthermore, a new method named 'extrapolation scheme' have been introduced to overcome the stringent convergence issues we have encountered. These convergence issues have prevented the previous studies in literature from offering a direct comparison to experiment. First of all, we demonstrate the importance of describing the realistic ab initio electronic structure by comparing with the historical Lindhard stopping power evaluation. Whereas the Lindhard stopping power provides a first order description that captures the general features of the

  17. SUSY Higgs at the LHC large stop mixing effects and associated production

    CERN Document Server

    Bélanger, G; Sridhar, K

    2000-01-01

    We revisit the effect of the large stop mixing on the decay and production of the lightest SUSY Higgs at the LHC. We stress that whenever the inclusive 2-photon signature is substantially reduced, associated production, $Wh$ and $t\\bar t h$, with the subsequent decay of the Higgs into photons is enhanced and becomes an even more important discovery channel. We also point out that these reductions in the inclusive channel do not occur for the smallest Higgs mass where the significance is known to be lowest. We show that in such scenarios the Higgs can be produced in the decay of the heaviest stop. For not too heavy masses of the pseudo-scalar Higgs where the inclusive channel is even further reduced, we show that large stop mixing also allows the production of the pseudo-scalar Higgs through stop decays. These large mixing scenarios therefore offer much better prospects than previously thought. As a by-product we have recalculated stop1-stop1-h production at the LHC and give a first evaluation of stop1-stop1-Z...

  18. The IAEA stopping power database, following the trends in stopping power of ions in matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montanari, C. C.; Dimitriou, P.

    2017-10-01

    The aim of this work is to present an overview of the state of art of the energy loss of ions in matter, based on the new developments in the stopping power database of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This exhaustive collection of experimental data, graphs, programs and comparisons, is the legacy of Helmut Paul, who made it accessible to the global scientific community, and has been extensively employed in theoretical and experimental research during the last 25 years. The field of stopping power in matter is evolving, with new trends in materials of interest, including oxides, nitrides, polymers, and biological targets. Our goal is to identify areas of interest and emerging data needs to meet the requirements of a continuously developing user community.

  19. Ball Screw Actuator Including an Axial Soft Stop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wingett, Paul T. (Inventor); Forrest, Steven Talbert (Inventor); Abel, Steve (Inventor); Woessner, George (Inventor); Hanlon, Casey (Inventor)

    2016-01-01

    An actuator includes an actuator housing, a ball screw, and an axial soft stop assembly. The ball screw extends through the actuator housing and has a first end and a second end. The ball screw is coupled to receive a drive force and is configured, upon receipt of the drive force, to selectively move in a retract direction and an extend direction. The axial soft stop assembly is disposed within the actuator housing. The axial soft stop assembly is configured to be selectively engaged by the ball screw and, upon being engaged thereby, to translate, with compliance, a predetermined distance in the extend direction, and to prevent further movement of the ball screw upon translating the predetermined distance.

  20. GMSB with light stops

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Delgado, Antonio [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame,225 Nieuwland Science Hall, IN 46556, Notre Dame (United States); Theory Division, Physics Department CERN,CH-1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Garcia-Pepin, Mateo [Institut de Física d’Altes Energies, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain); Quiros, Mariano [ICREA at Institut de Física d’Altes Energies, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona,08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain)

    2015-08-31

    Gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking (GMSB) is an elegant mechanism to transmit supersymmetry breaking from the hidden to the MSSM observable sector, which solves the supersymmetric flavor problem. However, the smallness of the generated stop mixing requires superheavy stops to reproduce the experimental value of the Higgs mass. A possible way out is to extend the MSSM Higgs sector with singlets and/or triplets providing extra tree-level corrections to the Higgs mass. Singlets will not get any soft mass from GMSB and triplets will contribute to the ρ parameter which could be an issue. In this paper we explore the second possibility by introducing extra supersymmetric triplets with hypercharges Y=(0,±1), with a tree-level custodial SU(2){sub L}⊗SU(2){sub R} global symmetry in the Higgs sector protecting the ρ parameter: a supersymmetric generalization of the Georgi-Machacek model, dubbed as supersymmetric custodial triplet model (SCTM). The renormalization group running from the messenger to the electroweak scale mildly breaks the custodial symmetry. We will present realistic low-scale scenarios (with the NLSP being a Bino-like neutralino or the right-handed stau) based on general (non-minimal) gauge mediation and consistent with all present experimental data. Their main features are: i) Light (∼1 TeV) stops; ii) Exotic couplings (H{sup ±}W{sup ∓}Z and H{sup ±±}W{sup ∓}W{sup ∓}) absent in the MSSM and proportional to the triplets VEV, v{sub Δ}; and, iii) A possible (measurable) universality breaking of the Higgs couplings λ{sub WZ}=r{sub WW}/r{sub ZZ}≠1.

  1. Exploring the nearly degenerate stop region with sbottom decays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    An, Haipeng [Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, California Institute of Technology,1200 E. California Blvd, Pasadena, CA, 91125 (United States); Gu, Jiayin [Center for Future High Energy Physics, Institute of High Energy Physics,19B YuquanLu, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 (China); DESY,Notkestraße 85, Hamburg, D-22607 (Germany); Wang, Lian-Tao [Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago,5640 S Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL, 60637 (United States); Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago,5640 S Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL, 60637 (United States)

    2017-04-13

    A light stop with mass almost degenerate with the lightest neutralino has important connections with both naturalness and dark matter relic abundance. This region is also very hard to probe at colliders. In this paper, we demonstrate the potential of searching for such stop particles at the LHC from sbottom decays, focusing on two channels with final states 2ℓ+E{sub T}{sup miss} and 1b1ℓ+E{sub T}{sup miss}. We found that, if the lightest sbottom has mass around or below 1 TeV and has a significant branching ratio to decay to stop and W (b̃→t̃ W), a stop almost degenerate with neutralino can be excluded up to about 500–600 GeV at the 13 TeV LHC with 300 fb{sup −1} data. The searches we propose are complementary to other SUSY searches at the LHC and could have the best sensitivity to the stop-bino coannihilation region. Since they involve final states which have already been used in LHC searches, a reinterpretation of the search results already has sensitivity. Further optimization could deliver the full potential of these channels.

  2. Exploring the nearly degenerate stop region with sbottom decays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    An, Haipeng [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States). Walter Burke Inst. for Theoretical Physics; Gu, Jiayin [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China). Inst. of High Energy Physics; Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Wang, Lian-Tao [Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Enrico Fermi Inst.; Chicago Univ., IL (United States). Kavli Inst. for Cosmological Physics

    2016-11-15

    A light stop with mass almost degenerate with the lightest neutralino has important connections with both naturalness and dark matter relic abundance. This region is also very hard to probe at colliders. In this paper, we demonstrate the potential of searching for such stop particles at the LHC from sbottom decays, focusing on two channels with final states 2l+E{sup miss}{sub T} and 1b1l+E{sup miss}{sub T}. We found that, if the lightest sbottom has mass around or below 1 TeV and has a significant branching ratio to decay to stop and W (b→tW), a stop almost degenerate with neutralino can be excluded up to about 500-600 GeV at the 13 TeV LHC with 300 fb{sup -1} data. The searches we propose are complementary to other SUSY searches at the LHC and could have the best sensitivity to the stop-bino coannihilation region. Since they involve final states which have already been used in LHC searches, a reinterpretation of the search results already has sensitivity. Further optimization could deliver the full potential of these channels.

  3. Cardiovascular events in acute coronary syndrome patients with peripheral arterial disease treated with ticagrelor compared to clopidogrel: Data from the PLATO trials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Patel, Manesh R.; Becker, Richard C.; Wojdyla, Daniel M.

    Abstract 14299: Cardiovascular Events in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease Treated With Ticagrelor Compared to Clopidogrel: Data From the PLATO Trial Manesh R Patel1; Richard C Becker1; Daniel M Wojdyla2; Håkan Emanuelsson3; William Hiatt4; Jay Horrow5; Steen Husted6...... Uppsala, Sweden 10 Cardiology, Uppsala Clinical Rsch center, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden Background: Patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are at high risk for clinical events and are often difficult to manage. We evaluated cardiovascular outcomes of ACS patients...

  4. Response inhibition deficits in externalizing child psychiatric disorders: An ERP-study with the Stop-task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heinrich Hartmut

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Evidence from behavioural studies suggests that impaired motor response inhibition may be common to several externalizing child psychiatric disorders, although it has been proposed to be the core-deficit in AD/HD. Since similar overt behaviour may be accompanied by different covert brain activity, the aim of this study was to investigate both brain-electric-activity and performance measures in three groups of children with externalizing child psychiatric disorders and a group of normal controls. Methods A Stop-task was used to measure specific aspects of response inhibition in 10 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD, 8 children with oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder (ODD/CD, 11 children with comorbid AD/HD+ODD/CD and 11 normal controls. All children were between 8 and 14 years old. Event-related potentials and behavioural responses were recorded. An initial go-signal related microstate, a subsequent Stop-signal related N200, and performance measures were analyzed using ANCOVA with age as covariate. Results Groups did not differ in accuracy or reaction time to the Go-stimuli. However, all clinical groups displayed reduced map strength in a microstate related to initial processing of the Go-stimulus compared to normal controls, whereas topography did not differ. Concerning motor response inhibition, the AD/HD-only and the ODD/CD-only groups displayed slower Stop-signal reaction times (SSRT and Stop-failure reaction time compared to normal controls. In children with comorbid AD/HD+ODD/CD, Stop-failure reaction-time was longer than in controls, but their SSRT was not slowed. Moreover, SSRT in AD/HD+ODD/CD was faster than in AD/HD-only or ODD/CD-only. The AD/HD-only and ODD/CD-only groups displayed reduced Stop-N200 mean amplitude over right-frontal electrodes. This effect reached only a trend for comorbid AD/HD+ODD/CD. Conclusion Following similar attenuations in initial processing of the Go

  5. A Phonemic and Acoustic Analysis of Hindko Oral Stops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haroon Ur RASHID

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Hindko is an Indo-Aryan language that is mainly spoken in Khyber Pukhtoonkhaw province of Pakistan. This work aims to identify the oral stops of Hindko and determine the intrinsic acoustic cues for them. The phonemic analysis is done with the help of minimal pairs and phoneme distribution in contrastive environments which reveals that Hindko has twelve oral stops with three way series. The acoustic analysis of these segments shows that intrinsically voice onset time (VOT, closure duration and burst are reliable and distinguishing cues of stops in Hindko.

  6. 49 CFR 37.201 - Intermediate and rest stops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... wheelchair, shall be permitted to leave and return to the bus on the same basis as other passengers. The... passenger to get on and off the bus at the stop (e.g., operate the lift and provide assistance with... DISABILITIES (ADA) Over-the-Road Buses (OTRBs) § 37.201 Intermediate and rest stops. (a) Whenever an OTRB makes...

  7. Bisphosphonates and risk of cardiovascular events: a meta-analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dae Hyun Kim

    Full Text Available Some evidence suggests that bisphosphonates may reduce atherosclerosis, while concerns have been raised about atrial fibrillation. We conducted a meta-analysis to determine the effects of bisphosphonates on total adverse cardiovascular (CV events, atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction (MI, stroke, and CV death in adults with or at risk for low bone mass.A systematic search of MEDLINE and EMBASE through July 2014 identified 58 randomized controlled trials with longer than 6 months in duration that reported CV events. Absolute risks and the Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effects odds ratios (ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs of total CV events, atrial fibrillation, MI, stroke, and CV death were estimated. Subgroup analyses by follow-up duration, population characteristics, bisphosphonate types, and route were performed.Absolute risks over 25-36 months in bisphosphonate-treated versus control patients were 6.5% versus 6.2% for total CV events; 1.4% versus 1.5% for atrial fibrillation; 1.0% versus 1.2% for MI; 1.6% versus 1.9% for stroke; and 1.5% versus 1.4% for CV death. Bisphosphonate treatment up to 36 months did not have any significant effects on total CV events (14 trials; ORs [95% CI]: 0.98 [0.84-1.14]; I2 = 0.0%, atrial fibrillation (41 trials; 1.08 [0.92-1.25]; I2 = 0.0%, MI (10 trials; 0.96 [0.69-1.34]; I2 = 0.0%, stroke (10 trials; 0.99 [0.82-1.19]; I2 = 5.8%, and CV death (14 trials; 0.88 [0.72-1.07]; I2 = 0.0% with little between-study heterogeneity. The risk of atrial fibrillation appears to be modestly elevated for zoledronic acid (6 trials; 1.24 [0.96-1.61]; I2 = 0.0%, not for oral bisphosphonates (26 trials; 1.02 [0.83-1.24]; I2 = 0.0%. The CV effects did not vary by subgroups or study quality.Bisphosphonates do not have beneficial or harmful effects on atherosclerotic CV events, but zoledronic acid may modestly increase the risk of atrial fibrillation. Given the large reduction in fractures with bisphosphonates, changes in

  8. Increasing BCI communication rates with dynamic stopping towards more practical use: an ALS study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mainsah, B. O.; Collins, L. M.; Colwell, K. A.; Sellers, E. W.; Ryan, D. B.; Caves, K.; Throckmorton, C. S.

    2015-02-01

    Objective. The P300 speller is a brain-computer interface (BCI) that can possibly restore communication abilities to individuals with severe neuromuscular disabilities, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), by exploiting elicited brain signals in electroencephalography (EEG) data. However, accurate spelling with BCIs is slow due to the need to average data over multiple trials to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the elicited brain signals. Probabilistic approaches to dynamically control data collection have shown improved performance in non-disabled populations; however, validation of these approaches in a target BCI user population has not occurred. Approach. We have developed a data-driven algorithm for the P300 speller based on Bayesian inference that improves spelling time by adaptively selecting the number of trials based on the acute SNR of a user’s EEG data. We further enhanced the algorithm by incorporating information about the user’s language. In this current study, we test and validate the algorithms online in a target BCI user population, by comparing the performance of the dynamic stopping (DS) (or early stopping) algorithms against the current state-of-the-art method, static data collection, where the amount of data collected is fixed prior to online operation. Main results. Results from online testing of the DS algorithms in participants with ALS demonstrate a significant increase in communication rate as measured in bits/min (100-300%), and theoretical bit rate (100-550%), while maintaining selection accuracy. Participants also overwhelmingly preferred the DS algorithms. Significance. We have developed a viable BCI algorithm that has been tested in a target BCI population which has the potential for translation to improve BCI speller performance towards more practical use for communication.

  9. 49 CFR 236.335 - Dogs, stops and trunnions of mechanical locking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Dogs, stops and trunnions of mechanical locking..., AND APPLIANCES Interlocking Rules and Instructions § 236.335 Dogs, stops and trunnions of mechanical locking. Driving pieces, dogs, stops and trunnions shall be rigidly secured to locking bars. Swing dogs...

  10. Characterization of atrial fibrillation adverse events reported in ibrutinib randomized controlled registration trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Jennifer R; Moslehi, Javid; O'Brien, Susan; Ghia, Paolo; Hillmen, Peter; Cymbalista, Florence; Shanafelt, Tait D; Fraser, Graeme; Rule, Simon; Kipps, Thomas J; Coutre, Steven; Dilhuydy, Marie-Sarah; Cramer, Paula; Tedeschi, Alessandra; Jaeger, Ulrich; Dreyling, Martin; Byrd, John C; Howes, Angela; Todd, Michael; Vermeulen, Jessica; James, Danelle F; Clow, Fong; Styles, Lori; Valentino, Rudy; Wildgust, Mark; Mahler, Michelle; Burger, Jan A

    2017-10-01

    The first-in-class Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib has proven clinical benefit in B-cell malignancies; however, atrial fibrillation (AF) has been reported in 6-16% of ibrutinib patients. We pooled data from 1505 chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma patients enrolled in four large, randomized, controlled studies to characterize AF with ibrutinib and its management. AF incidence was 6.5% [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 4.8, 8.5] for ibrutinib at 16.6-months versus 1.6% (95%CI: 0.8, 2.8) for comparator and 10.4% (95%CI: 8.4, 12.9) at the 36-month follow up; estimated cumulative incidence: 13.8% (95%CI: 11.2, 16.8). Ibrutinib treatment, prior history of AF and age 65 years or over were independent risk factors for AF. Multiple AF events were more common with ibrutinib (44.9%; comparator, 16.7%) among patients with AF. Most (85.7%) patients with AF did not discontinue ibrutinib, and more than half received common anticoagulant/antiplatelet medications on study. Low-grade bleeds were more frequent with ibrutinib, but serious bleeds were uncommon (ibrutinib, 2.9%; comparator, 2.0%). Although the AF rate among older non-trial patients with comorbidities is likely underestimated by this dataset, these results suggest that AF among clinical trial patients is generally manageable without ibrutinib discontinuation ( clinicaltrials.gov identifier: 01578707, 01722487, 01611090, 01646021 ). Copyright© 2017 Ferrata Storti Foundation.

  11. A High-yield Fall Risk and Adverse Events Screening Questions From the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Death, and Injuries (STEADI) Guideline for Older Emergency Department Fall Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sri-On, Jiraporn; Tirrell, Gregory Philip; Kamsom, Anucha; Marill, Keith A; Shankar, Kalpana Narayan; Liu, Shan W

    2018-03-25

    The objectives were to examine whether responses to the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Death, and Injuries (STEADI) questions responses predicted adverse events after an older adult emergency department (ED) fall visits and to identify factors associated with such recurrent fall. We conducted a prospective study at two urban, teaching hospitals. We included patients aged ≥ 65 years who presented to the ED for an accidental fall. Data were gathered for fall-relevant comorbidities, high-risk medications for falls, and the responses to 12 questions from the STEADI guideline recommendation. Our outcomes were the number of 6-month adverse events that were defined as mortality, ED revisit, subsequent hospitalization, recurrent falls, and a composite outcome. There were 548 (86.3%) patients who completed follow-up and 243 (44.3%) patients experienced an adverse event after a fall within 6 months. In multivariate analysis, seven questions from the STEADI guideline predicted various outcomes. The question "Had previous fall" predicted recurrent falls (odds ratio [OR] = 2.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.52 to 3.97), the question "Feels unsteady when walking sometimes" (OR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.44 to 3.81), and "Lost some feeling in their feet" predicted recurrent falls. In addition to recurrent falls risk, the supplemental questions "Use or have been advised to use a cane or walker," "Take medication that sometimes makes them feel light-headed or more tired than usual," "Take medication to help sleep or improve mood," and "Have to rush to a toilet" predicted other outcomes. A STEADI score of ≥4 did not predict adverse outcomes although seven individual questions from the STEADI guidelines were associated with increased adverse outcomes within 6 months. These may be organized into three categories (previous falls, physical activity, and high-risk medications) and may assist emergency physicians to evaluate and refer high-risk fall patients for a comprehensive

  12. The Eichmann Trial on East German Television

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Keilbach, Judith

    2014-01-01

    abstractThe trial against Adolf Eichmann was one of the first transnational media events on television. Its world-wide coverage required transnational cooperation. Using East German television reports about the trial this article argues that although the event transcended national borders it

  13. Tests of Event Filter Configuration Software

    CERN Multimedia

    Wickens, F.J.

    TDAQ - Tests of Event Filter configuration software Within Trigger/DAQ a major consideration is how well the performance of the system components scale in going from the small set-ups used for development work to the final system with many hundreds of processors and links. In the case of the Event Filter, which makes the final stage of on-line event selection, plus on-line calibrations and monitoring, more than a thousand processors are envisaged. These processors will be divided into sub-farms, most will be remote from the detector and some could even be at institutes far from CERN. As part of the on-line system it is important that the software in the sub-farms can be reconfigured rapidly as runs start and stop, and that the system be fault tolerant. The flow of data inside a sub-farm involves many processes, for distribution and collection of results in addition to those for event processing itself. Supervision code written in Java has been developed to manage the processes within a cluster, with XML f...

  14. Types, frequencies, and burden of nonspecific adverse events of drugs: analysis of randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahr, Alfred; Golmard, Clara; Pham, Emilie; Iordache, Laura; Deville, Laure; Faure, Pierre

    2017-07-01

    Scarce studies analyzing adverse event (AE) data from randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials (RPCCTs) of selected illnesses suggested that a substantial proportion of collected AEs are unrelated to the drug taken. This study analyzed the nonspecific AEs occurring with active-drug exposure in RPCCTs for a large range of medical conditions. Randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials published in five prominent medical journals during 2006-2012 were searched. Only trials that evaluated orally or parenterally administered active drugs versus placebo in a head-to-head setting were selected. For AEs reported from ≥10 RPCCTs, Pearson's correlation coefficients (r) were calculated to determine the relationship between AE rates in placebo and active-drug recipients. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to compute proportions of nonspecific AEs, which were truncated at a maximum of 100%, in active-drug recipients. We included 231 trials addressing various medical domains or healthy participants. For the 88 analyzed AE variables, AE rates for placebo and active-drug recipients were in general strongly correlated (r > 0.50) or very strongly correlated (r > 0.80). The pooled proportions of nonspecific AEs for the active-drug recipients were 96.8% (95%CI: 95.5-98.1) for any AEs, 100% (97.9-100) for serious AEs, and 77.7% (72.7-83.2) for drug-related AEs. Results were similar for individual medical domains and healthy participants. The pooled proportion of nonspecificity of 82 system organ class and individual AE types ranged from 38% to 100%. The large proportion of nonspecific AEs reported in active-drug recipients of RPCCTs, including serious and drug-related AEs, highlights the limitations of clinical trial data to determine the tolerability of drugs. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Increased pain relief with remifentanil does not improve the success rate of external cephalic version: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgos, Jorge; Pijoan, José I; Osuna, Carmen; Cobos, Patricia; Rodriguez, Leire; Centeno, María del Mar; Serna, Rosa; Jimenez, Antonia; Garcia, Eugenia; Fernandez-Llebrez, Luis; Melchor, Juan C

    2016-05-01

    Our objective was to compare the effect of two pain relief methods (remifentanil vs. nitrous oxide) on the success rate of external cephalic version. We conducted a randomized open label parallel-group controlled single-center clinical trial with sequential design, at Cruces University Hospital, Spain. Singleton pregnancies in noncephalic presentation at term that were referred for external cephalic version were assigned according to a balanced (1:1) restricted randomization scheme to analgesic treatment with remifentanil or nitrous oxide during the procedure. The primary endpoint was external cephalic version success rate. Secondary endpoints were adverse event rate, degree of pain, cesarean rate and perinatal outcomes. The trial was stopped early after the second interim analysis due to a very low likelihood of finding substantial differences in efficacy (futility). The external cephalic version success rate was the same in the two arms (31/60, 51.7%) with 120 women recruited, 60 in each arm. The mean pain score was significantly lower in the remifentanil group (3.2 ± 2.4 vs. 6.0 ± 2.3; p external cephalic version-related complications. There was a trend toward a higher frequency of adverse effects in the remifentanil group (18.3% vs. 6.7%, p = 0.10), with a significantly higher incidence rate (21.7 events/100 women vs. 6.7 events/100 women with nitrous oxide, p = 0.03). All reported adverse events were mild and reversible. Remifentanil for analgesia decreased external cephalic version-related pain but did not increase the success rate of external cephalic version at term and appeared to be associated with an increased frequency of mild adverse effects. © 2016 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  16. Who stops selling? A systematic analysis of ex-tobacco retailers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feletto, Eleonora; Burton, Suzan; Williams, Kelly; Fry, Rae; Sutton, Clare; Bagus, Lachlan; Egger, Sam

    2016-03-09

    There is evidence that wide distribution of cigarettes contributes to smoking, and multiple commentators have called for a review of tobacco retailing. This study analyses retailers who stop selling cigarettes, why they do so, and discusses the implications for tobacco control. An audit of tobacco retailers in the Australian state of NSW was used to identify retailers who had stopped selling tobacco, and they were then compared with current retailers to determine how many, and what types of outlets stop selling tobacco. Attempts were made to contact and interview all former tobacco retailers identified in three audited regions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 ex-tobacco retailers, or 31% of the subset of ex-tobacco retailers. Low-volume outlet types were over-represented as a proportion of retailers exiting the market, and some had resumed selling within 18 months of the audit. Low profits were often cited as a contributor to stopping; however, in all but one case, the decision to stop selling was also influenced by a significant change in business circumstances-either legislative or other business changes. Few retailers stop selling tobacco while continuing in the same business, and those who stop disproportionately represent retailer types with low sales volume. The results suggest that legislative changes provide a window where retailers could be prompted to exit the market. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  17. Prominent transverse flow of clusters in stopped Au(150AMeV)+Au reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coffin, J.P.; Kuhn, C.; Roy, C.; Cerruti, C.; Crochet, P.; Fintz, P.; Guillaume, G.; Houari, A.; Jundt, F.; Rami, F.; Tizniti, L.; Wagner, P.; Konopka, J.; Stoecker, H.

    1995-01-01

    Stopped Au(150AMeV)+Au collisions have been measured with the FOPI-Detector at GSI by imposing an upper limit on the ratio of the global longitudinal momentum to the collected charge within an event. The ejectiles, in particular those with Z>3, have a rapidity close to mid-rapidity and exhibit angular distributions in the centre-of-mass strongly peaking around 90 thus suggesting an enhancement of the flow in the transverse direction. Fits to the data and comparisons with QMD calculations indicate an averaged collective velocity in the transverse direction equal to 0.12c. Significance of the determined velocity and temperature values is discussed. ((orig.))

  18. Fricative-stop coarticulation: acoustic and perceptual evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Repp, B H; Mann, V A

    1982-06-01

    Eight native speakers of American English each produced ten tokens of all possible CV, FCV, and VFCV utterances with V = [a] or [u], F = [s] or [integral of], and C = [t] or [k]. Acoustic analysis showed that the formant transition onsets following the stop consonant release were systematically influenced by the preceding fricative, although there were large individual differences. In particular, F3 and F4 tended to be higher following [s] than following [integral of]. The coarticulatory effects were equally large in FCV (e.g.,/sta/) and VFCV (e.g.,/asda/) utterances; that is, they were not reduced when a syllable boundary intervened between fricative and stop. In a parallel perceptual study, the CV portions of these utterances (with release bursts removed to provoke errors) were presented to listeners for identification of the stop consonant. The pattern of place-of-articulation confusions, too, revealed coarticulatory effects due to the excised fricative context.

  19. Phase I (or phase II) dose-ranging clinical trials: proposal of a two-stage Bayesian design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zohar, Sarah; Chevret, Sylvie

    2003-02-01

    We propose a new design for phase I (or phase II) dose-ranging clinical trials aiming at determining a dose of an experimental treatment to satisfy safety (respectively efficacy) requirements, at treating a sufficiently large number of patients to estimate the toxicity (respectively failure) probability of the dose level with a given reliability, and at stopping the trial early if it is likely that no dose is safe (respectively efficacious). A two-stage design was derived from the Continual Reassessment Method (CRM), with implementation of Bayesian criteria to generate stopping rules. A simulation study was conducted to compare the operating characteristics of the proposed two-stage design to those reached by the traditional CRM. Finally, two applications to real data sets are provided.

  20. IMPACTS OF BUS STOP IMPROVEMENTS

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-03-23

    Improving bus stops by providing shelters, seating, signage, and sidewalks is relatively inexpensive and popular among riders and local officials. Making such improvements, however, is not often a priority for U.S. transit providers because of compet...

  1. Saccharomyces boulardii to Prevent Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea: A Randomized, Double-Masked, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrhardt, Stephan; Guo, Nan; Hinz, Rebecca; Schoppen, Stefanie; May, Jürgen; Reiser, Markus; Schroeder, Maximilian Philipp; Schmiedel, Stefan; Keuchel, Martin; Reisinger, Emil C; Langeheinecke, Andreas; de Weerth, Andreas; Schuchmann, Marcus; Schaberg, Tom; Ligges, Sandra; Eveslage, Maria; Hagen, Ralf M; Burchard, Gerd D; Lohse, Ansgar W

    2016-01-01

    Background.  Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) and Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) are common complications of antibiotic use. Data on the efficacy of probiotics to prevent AAD and CDAD are unclear. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Saccharomyces boulardii to prevent AAD and CDAD in hospitalized adult patients. Methods.  We conducted a multicenter, phase III, double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in hospitalized patients who received systemic antibiotic treatment in 15 hospitals in Germany between July 2010 and October 2012. Participants received Perenterol forte 250 mg capsules or matching placebo twice per day within 24 hours of initiating antibiotic treatment, continued treatment for 7 days after antibiotic discontinuation, and were then observed for 6 weeks. Results.  Two thousand four hundred forty-four patients were screened. The trial was stopped early for futility after inclusion of 477 participants. Two hundred forty-six patients aged 60.1 ± 16.5 years and 231 patients aged 56.5 ± 17.8 were randomized to the S boulardii group and the placebo group, respectively, with 21 and 19 AADs in the respective groups (P = .87). The hazard ratio of AAD in the S boulardii group compared with the placebo group was 1.02 (95% confidence interval, .55-1.90; P = .94). Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea occurred in 0.8% of participants (4 of 477). Nine serious adverse events were recorded in the S boulardii group, and 3 serious adverse events were recorded in the placebo group. None were related to study participation. Conclusions.  We found no evidence for an effect of S boulardii in preventing AAD or CDAD in a population of hospitalized patients without particular risk factors apart from systemic antibiotic treatment. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier.  NCT01143272.

  2. Ombuds’ corner: “I want it to stop!”

    CERN Multimedia

    Vincent Vuillemin

    2013-01-01

    Most people that seek help from the Ombuds just want that their dispute ended, so they can get back to work in normal, respectful conditions. They clearly express it when I ask them what they want: “I want it to stop!” How should it stop? And who should stop it?   Ideally the interpersonal issues between the people working at or on behalf of CERN should be resolved between the colleagues concerned. This should really be expected in cases where the colleagues are part of the senior staff, for two main reasons: first, their high accountability to the institution should prevent them from falling into ineffective disputes; second, they are in charge of fostering dialogue among their supervisees and should not present such a detrimental image of fighting against each other. Where conflict arises between a manager and a supervisee, and mutual understanding cannot be reached, their management should act and stop the fight right away to prevent further escalation of the dispute. ...

  3. Modeling Stop-and-Go Waves in Pedestrian Dynamics

    OpenAIRE

    Portz, Andrea; Seyfried, Armin

    2010-01-01

    Several spatially continuous pedestrian dynamics models have been validated against empirical data. We try to reproduce the experimental fundamental diagram (velocity versus density) with simulations. In addition to this quantitative criterion, we tried to reproduce stop-and-go waves as a qualitative criterion. Stop-and-go waves are a characteristic phenomenon for the single file movement. Only one of three investigated models satisfies both criteria.

  4. The calculation of proton and secondary electron stopping powers in liquid water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marouane, Abdelhak; Inchaouh, Jamal; Ouaskit, Said; Fathi, Ahmed

    2012-01-01

    The stopping power of energetic protons in liquid water has been calculated using a new model based on different theoretical and semi-empirical approaches. In this model, we consider the relativistic corrections along with the electronic and nuclear stopping power. The present work accounts for the different interactions made with electrons and nuclei inside the target. Interactions of the incident particle with the target's electrons dominate in the high energy regime; in the low energy regime, the interactions of the projectile with the target nuclei contribute importantly and are included in the calculation. We also compute the stopping cross sections and the stopping power of secondary electrons ejected from proton and hydrogen ionization impact, and generated by hydrogen electron loss processes. The consideration of secondary electrons' stopping power can contribute to the study of nano-dosimetry. Our results are in good agreement with existing experimental data. This calculation model can be useful for different applications in medical physics and space radiation health, such as hadron therapy for cancer treatment or radiation protection for astronauts. - Highlights: ► We discussed the stopping cross sections at the Bragg peak region of primary and secondary processes. ► We considered the corrections of incident particle energy focusing on the Rudds semi-empirical model. ► We calculated the electronic and nuclear stopping power, and we deduced the total stopping power. ► We calculated the stopping power of the secondary electrons.

  5. Modulation of cognitive control levels via manipulation of saccade trial-type probability assessed with event-related BOLD fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierce, Jordan E; McDowell, Jennifer E

    2016-02-01

    Cognitive control supports flexible behavior adapted to meet current goals and can be modeled through investigation of saccade tasks with varying cognitive demands. Basic prosaccades (rapid glances toward a newly appearing stimulus) are supported by neural circuitry, including occipital and posterior parietal cortex, frontal and supplementary eye fields, and basal ganglia. These trials can be contrasted with complex antisaccades (glances toward the mirror image location of a stimulus), which are characterized by greater functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the aforementioned regions and recruitment of additional regions such as dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The current study manipulated the cognitive demands of these saccade tasks by presenting three rapid event-related runs of mixed saccades with a varying probability of antisaccade vs. prosaccade trials (25, 50, or 75%). Behavioral results showed an effect of trial-type probability on reaction time, with slower responses in runs with a high antisaccade probability. Imaging results exhibited an effect of probability in bilateral pre- and postcentral gyrus, bilateral superior temporal gyrus, and medial frontal gyrus. Additionally, the interaction between saccade trial type and probability revealed a strong probability effect for prosaccade trials, showing a linear increase in activation parallel to antisaccade probability in bilateral temporal/occipital, posterior parietal, medial frontal, and lateral prefrontal cortex. In contrast, antisaccade trials showed elevated activation across all runs. Overall, this study demonstrated that improbable performance of a typically simple prosaccade task led to augmented BOLD signal to support changing cognitive control demands, resulting in activation levels similar to the more complex antisaccade task. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

  6. A Pause-then-Cancel model of stopping: evidence from basal ganglia neurophysiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Robert; Berke, Joshua D

    2017-04-19

    Many studies have implicated the basal ganglia in the suppression of action impulses ('stopping'). Here, we discuss recent neurophysiological evidence that distinct hypothesized processes involved in action preparation and cancellation can be mapped onto distinct basal ganglia cell types and pathways. We examine how movement-related activity in the striatum is related to a 'Go' process and how going may be modulated by brief epochs of beta oscillations. We then describe how, rather than a unitary 'Stop' process, there appear to be separate, complementary 'Pause' and 'Cancel' mechanisms. We discuss the implications of these stopping subprocesses for the interpretation of the stop-signal reaction time-in particular, some activity that seems too slow to causally contribute to stopping when assuming a single Stop processes may actually be fast enough under a Pause-then-Cancel model. Finally, we suggest that combining complementary neural mechanisms that emphasize speed or accuracy respectively may serve more generally to optimize speed-accuracy trade-offs.This article is part of the themed issue 'Movement suppression: brain mechanisms for stopping and stillness'. © 2017 The Author(s).

  7. A Conceptual Approach for Optimising Bus Stop Spacing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johar, Amita; Jain, S. S.; Garg, P. k.

    2017-06-01

    An efficient public transportation system is essential of any country. The growth, development and shape of the urban areas are mainly due to availability of good transportation (Shah et al. in Inst Town Plan India J 5(3):50-59, 1). In developing countries, like India, travel by local bus in a city is very common. The accidents, congestion, pollution and appropriate location of bus stops are the major problems arising in metropolitan cities. Among all the metropolitan cities in India, Delhi has highest percentage of growth of population and vehicles. Therefore, it is important to adopt efficient and effective ways to improve mobility in different metropolitan cities in order to overcome the problem and to reduce the number of private vehicles on the road. The primary objective of this paper is to present a methodology for developing a model for optimum bus stop spacing (OBSS). It describes the evaluation of existing urban bus route, data collection, development of model for optimizing urban bus route and application of model. In this work, the bus passenger generalized cost method is used to optimize the spacing between bus stops. For the development of model, a computer program is required to be written. The applicability of the model has been evaluated by taking the data of urban bus route of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) in Excel sheet in first phase. Later on, it is proposed to develop a programming in C++ language. The developed model is expected to be useful to transport planner for rational design of the spacing of bus stops to save travel time and to generalize operating cost. After analysis it is found that spacing between the bus stop comes out to be between 250 and 500 m. The Proposed Spacing of bus stops is done considering the points that they don't come nearer to metro/rail station, entry or exit of flyover and near traffic signal.

  8. Synchro-Betatron Stop-Bands Due to a Single Crab Cavity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chao, A

    2004-06-17

    We analyze the stop-band due to crab cavities for horizontal tunes that are either close to integers or close to half integers. The latter case is relevant for today's electron/positron colliders. We compare this stop-band to that created by dispersion in an accelerating cavity and show that a single typical crab cavity creates larger stop-bands than a typical dispersion at an accelerating cavity. We furthermore analyze whether it is beneficial to place the crab cavity at a position where the dispersion and its slope vanish. We find that this choice is worth while if the horizontal tune is close to a half integer, but not if it is close to an integer. Furthermore we find that stop-bands can be avoided when the horizontal tune is located at a favorable side of the integer or the half integer. While we are here concerned with the installation of a single crab cavity in a storage ring, we show that the stop-bands can be weakened, although not eliminated, significantly when two crab cavities per ring are chosen suitably.

  9. The application of particle filters in single trial event-related potential estimation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohseni, Hamid R; Nazarpour, Kianoush; Sanei, Saeid; Wilding, Edward L

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, an approach for the estimation of single trial event-related potentials (ST-ERPs) using particle filters (PFs) is presented. The method is based on recursive Bayesian mean square estimation of ERP wavelet coefficients using their previous estimates as prior information. To enable a performance evaluation of the approach in the Gaussian and non-Gaussian distributed noise conditions, we added Gaussian white noise (GWN) and real electroencephalogram (EEG) signals recorded during rest to the simulated ERPs. The results were compared to that of the Kalman filtering (KF) approach demonstrating the robustness of the PF over the KF to the added GWN noise. The proposed method also outperforms the KF when the assumption about the Gaussianity of the noise is violated. We also applied this technique to real EEG potentials recorded in an odd-ball paradigm and investigated the correlation between the amplitude and the latency of the estimated ERP components. Unlike the KF method, for the PF there was a statistically significant negative correlation between amplitude and latency of the estimated ERPs, matching previous neurophysiological findings

  10. New developments in stopping power for fast ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paul, Helmut

    2007-01-01

    We discuss the available stopping power tables and codes, and new experimental methods. Among the semi-empirical stopping power tables, SRIM and MSTAR describe experimental data best. Of the recent theoretical stopping codes CasP, PASS, TCS and dielectric formalism, all describe some data well. PASS is the only theoretical code with an extended table for many ions and targets, but on the average, its predictive value at low energies is less than that of SRIM or MSTAR. The first-principle extended classical trajectory Monte Carlo method is very promising. The ToF-E ERDA arrangements have made it possible to produce accurate data for many ion-target combinations. A new liquid jet target method promises data for liquid water which is an important substance for medical dosimetry

  11. Event-based proactive interference in rhesus monkeys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devkar, Deepna T; Wright, Anthony A

    2016-10-01

    Three rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were tested in a same/different memory task for proactive interference (PI) from prior trials. PI occurs when a previous sample stimulus appears as a test stimulus on a later trial, does not match the current sample stimulus, and the wrong response "same" is made. Trial-unique pictures (scenes, objects, animals, etc.) were used on most trials, except on trials where the test stimulus matched potentially interfering sample stimulus from a prior trial (1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 trials prior). Greater interference occurred when fewer trials separated interference and test. PI functions showed a continuum of interference. Delays between sample and test stimuli and intertrial intervals were manipulated to test how PI might vary as a function of elapsed time. Contrary to a similar study with pigeons, these time manipulations had no discernable effect on the monkey's PI, as shown by compete overlap of PI functions with no statistical differences or interactions. These results suggested that interference was strictly based upon the number of intervening events (trials with other pictures) without regard to elapsed time. The monkeys' apparent event-based interference was further supported by retesting with a novel set of 1,024 pictures. PI from novel pictures 1 or 2 trials prior was greater than from familiar pictures, a familiar set of 1,024 pictures. Moreover, when potentially interfering novel stimuli were 16 trials prior, performance accuracy was actually greater than accuracy on baseline trials (no interference), suggesting that remembering stimuli from 16 trials prior was a cue that this stimulus was not the sample stimulus on the current trial-a somewhat surprising conclusion particularly given monkeys.

  12. Lessons learned from recruiting socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers into a pilot randomized controlled trial to explore the role of Exercise Assisted Reduction then Stop (EARS) smoking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Tom P; Greaves, Colin J; Ayres, Richard; Aveyard, Paul; Warren, Fiona C; Byng, Richard; Taylor, Rod S; Campbell, John L; Ussher, Michael; Michie, Susan; West, Robert; Taylor, Adrian H

    2015-02-12

    Research is needed on what influences recruitment to smoking reduction trials, and how to increase their reach. The present study aimed to i) assess the feasibility of recruiting a disadvantaged population, ii) examine the effects of recruitment methods on participant characteristics, iii) identify resource requirements for different recruitment methods, and iv) to qualitatively assess the acceptability of recruitment. This was done as part of a pilot two-arm trial of the effectiveness of a novel behavioral support intervention focused on increasing physical activity and reducing smoking, among disadvantaged smokers not wishing to quit. Smokers were recruited through mailed invitations from three primary care practices (62 participants) and one National Health Stop Smoking Service (SSS) database (31 participants). Six other participants were recruited via a variety of other community-based approaches. Data were collected through questionnaires, field notes, work sampling, and databases. Chi-squared and t-tests were used to compare baseline characteristics of participants. We randomized between 5.1 and 11.1% of those invited through primary care and SSS, with associated researcher time to recruit one participant varying from 18 to 157 minutes depending on time and intensity invested.Only six participants were recruited through a wide variety of other community-based approaches, with an associated researcher time of 469 minutes to recruit one participant. Targets for recruiting a disadvantaged population were met, with 91% of the sample in social classes C2 to E (NRS social grades, UK), and 41% indicating mental health problems. Those recruited from SSS were more likely to respond to an initial letter, had used cessation aids before, and had attempted to quit in the past year. Overall, initial responders were more likely to be physically active than those who were recruited via follow-up telephone calls. No other demographics or behaviour characteristics were

  13. Big Data Discovery and Access Services through NOAA OneStop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, K. S.; Neufeld, D.; Ritchey, N. A.; Relph, J.; Fischman, D.; Baldwin, R.

    2017-12-01

    The NOAA OneStop Project was created as a pathfinder effort to to improve the discovery of, access to, and usability of NOAA's vast and diverse collection of big data. OneStop is led by the NOAA/NESDIS National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), and is seen as a key NESDIS contribution to NOAA's open data and data stewardship efforts. OneStop consists of an entire framework of services, from storage and interoperable access services at the base, through metadata and catalog services in the middle, to a modern user interface experience at the top. Importantly, it is an open framework where external tools and services can connect at whichever level is most appropriate. Since the beta release of the OneStop user interface at the 2016 Fall AGU meeting, significant progress has been made improving and modernizing many NOAA data collections to optimize their use within the framework. In addition, OneStop has made progress implementing robust metadata management and catalog systems at the collection and granule level and improving the user experience with the web interface. This progress will be summarized and the results of extensive user testing including professional usability studies will be reviewed. Key big data technologies supporting the framework will be presented and a community input sought on the future directions of the OneStop Project.

  14. Effect of Weight Transfer on a Vehicle's Stopping Distance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitmire, Daniel P.; Alleman, Timothy J.

    1979-01-01

    An analysis of the minimum stopping distance problem is presented taking into account the effect of weight transfer on nonskidding vehicles and front- or rear-wheels-skidding vehicles. Expressions for the minimum stopping distances are given in terms of vehicle geometry and the coefficients of friction. (Author/BB)

  15. Ion Stopping Powers and Ranges Whenever You Need Them

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bassler, Niels; Christensen, Casper; Tørresø, Jesper Rosholm

    A new app "Electronic Stopping Power" for Android mobile phones and tablets, looks up stopping powers using the ICRU 49 (protons and alphas) and the revised ICRU 73 (lithium and heavier ions) tables. In addition, also MSTAR and an implementation of the Bethe equation expanded to low energies...

  16. Effect of passenger position on fear of danger experienced during sudden bus stops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aoki, Takeo; Uetake, Teruo; Shimoda, Masahiro

    2009-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of bus passengers' positions on their fear of danger when a bus stopped suddenly. A temporary bus running course with one bus stop was set up on the campus of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT). The bus ran the course 14 times with the bus stopping twice during the course, once at the bus stop and again just after re-starting from the bus stop. The driver was asked to brake more strongly than usual when stopping. Sixteen students (15 males and 1 female) between the ages of 18 and 21 years participated. In turn, all participants were asked to take 14 different postures in the bus. Participants were also asked to report their level of fear on a rating scale each time the bus stopped. The study showed that (1) passengers' fear of danger at the first sudden stop was typically higher than that at the second stop, (2) standing passengers who held hand straps experienced more fear than those who held fixed safety devices, (3) bus passengers sitting on the centre of the rear seat had a great risk of injury if the bus stopped suddenly, and (4) when passengers faced the window and stood transversely with respect to from the moving direction of the bus and the bus stopped suddenly, passengers' fear of danger was affected by the side of the bus on which they stood as well as which hand they used to grasp a safety device.

  17. Stopping Power Measurements: Implications in Nuclear Astrophysics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carmen Angulo; Thierry Delbar; Jean-Sebastien Graulich; Pierre Leleux

    1999-01-01

    The stopping powers of C, CH 2 , Al, Ni, and polyvinylchloride (PVC) for several light ions ( 9 Be, 11 B, 12 C, 14 N, 16 O, 19 F, 20 Ne) with an incident energy of 1 MeV/amu have been measured at the Louvain-la-Neuve cyclotron facility. Stopping powers are given relative to the one for 5.5 MeV 4 He ions with an uncertainty of less than 1%. We compare our results with two widely used semiempirical models and we discuss some implications in nuclear astrophysics studies

  18. Stop grating for perfect replication of micro Fresnel lens by thermal imprinting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Yulong; Lin, Jie; Jin, Peng; Tan, Jiubin; Davies, Graham; Prewett, Philip D

    2012-01-01

    A stop grating concept is proposed to improve polymer filling in the thermal imprinting of a micro Fresnel lens structure. The stop grating consists of line and space structures outside the Fresnel lens pattern zone area. The experimental results have proved that the stop grating can help to achieve the complete filling of a mold, at the same time acting as a stop to prevent possible damage to the mold surface relief structures during imprinting press. A computer simulation was carried out to identify the phenomena of micro-holes at the edge of imprinted pattern. By removing the cavity between the pattern area and stop grating, perfect imprinting results have been achieved. (paper)

  19. Towards a model-based cognitive neuroscience of stopping - a neuroimaging perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebastian, Alexandra; Forstmann, Birte U; Matzke, Dora

    2018-07-01

    Our understanding of the neural correlates of response inhibition has greatly advanced over the last decade. Nevertheless the specific function of regions within this stopping network remains controversial. The traditional neuroimaging approach cannot capture many processes affecting stopping performance. Despite the shortcomings of the traditional neuroimaging approach and a great progress in mathematical and computational models of stopping, model-based cognitive neuroscience approaches in human neuroimaging studies are largely lacking. To foster model-based approaches to ultimately gain a deeper understanding of the neural signature of stopping, we outline the most prominent models of response inhibition and recent advances in the field. We highlight how a model-based approach in clinical samples has improved our understanding of altered cognitive functions in these disorders. Moreover, we show how linking evidence-accumulation models and neuroimaging data improves the identification of neural pathways involved in the stopping process and helps to delineate these from neural networks of related but distinct functions. In conclusion, adopting a model-based approach is indispensable to identifying the actual neural processes underlying stopping. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  20. Tourette Syndrome: Help Stop Bullying

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... work on Tourette Syndrome Tourette Association information on bullying What it’s like to have Tourette – Mary tells her story What children wish people knew about Tourette Syndrome CDC Children’s Mental Health StopBullying.gov Features Media Sign up for Features ...

  1. Stop researching transformational leadership! Now!

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    L.G. Tummers (Lars)

    2013-01-01

    markdownabstract__Intro__ Researchers all over the world, stop with your research on transformational leadership! Now! This could be the provocative conclusion after reading the recent article of Profs. Daan van Knippenberg and Sim Sitkin in The Academy of Management Annals (2013). These

  2. Stop-loss premiums under dependence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Albers, Willem/Wim

    1999-01-01

    Stop-loss premiums are typically calculated under the assumption that the insured lives in the underlying portfolio are independent. Here we study the effects of small departures from this assumption. Using Edgeworth expansions, it is made transparent which configurations of dependence parameters

  3. The Eichmann Trial on East German Television

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judith Keilbach

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The trial against Adolf Eichmann was one of the first transnational media events on television. Its world-wide coverage required transnational cooperation. Using East German television reports about the trial this article argues that although the event transcended national borders it maintained at the same time ideological boundaries.

  4. Usefulness of proteinuria as a prognostic marker of mortality and cardiovascular events among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (data from the Evaluation of Oral Xemilofiban in Controlling Thrombotic Events [EXCITE] trial).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercado, Nestor; Brugts, Jasper J; Ix, Joachim H; Shlipak, Michael G; Dixon, Simon R; Gersh, Bernard J; Lemos, Pedro A; Guarneri, Mimi; Teirstein, Paul S; Wijns, William; Serruys, Patrick W; Boersma, Eric; O'Neill, William W

    2008-11-01

    Proteinuria was associated with cardiovascular events and mortality in community-based cohorts. The association of proteinuria with mortality and cardiovascular events in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was unknown. The association of urinary dipstick proteinuria with mortality and cardiovascular events (composite of death, myocardial infarction, or nonhemorrhagic stroke) in 5,835 subjects of the EXCITE trial was evaluated. Dipstick urinalysis was performed before PCI, and proteinuria was defined as trace or greater. Subjects were followed up for 210 days/7 months after enrollment for the occurrence of events. Multivariate Cox regression analysis evaluated the independent association of proteinuria with each outcome. Mean age was 59 years, 21% were women, 18% had diabetes mellitus, and mean estimated glomerular filtration rate was 90 ml/min/1.73 m(2). Proteinuria was present in 750 patients (13%). During follow-up, 22 subjects (2.9%) with proteinuria and 54 subjects (1.1%) without proteinuria died (adjusted hazard ratio 2.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.65 to 4.84, p use tool as urinary dipstick may be useful to identify and treat patients at high risk of mortality at the time of PCI.

  5. The capture of the Marienwerder Castle, or where the Teutonic Order’s expansion to the East was stopped

    OpenAIRE

    Vytenis Almonaitis

    2017-01-01

    The capture of the Marienwerder Castle, or where the Teutonic Order’s expansion to the East was stopped This paper analyzes the construction, features, and significance of the Marienwerder castle, and its capture by Lithuanian forces in 1384. Located in what is now Kaunas, the castle represented the furthest eastern point of the Teutonic Order’s penetration into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. As the sparse historiography on it suggests, the event seems to have been overlooked by contempora...

  6. Comparison of Data on Serious Adverse Events and Mortality in ClinicalTrials.gov, Corresponding Journal Articles, and FDA Medical Reviews: Cross-Sectional Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pradhan, Richeek; Singh, Sonal

    2018-04-11

    Inconsistencies in data on serious adverse events (SAEs) and mortality in ClinicalTrials.gov and corresponding journal articles pose a challenge to research transparency. The objective of this study was to compare data on SAEs and mortality from clinical trials reported in ClinicalTrials.gov and corresponding journal articles with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) medical reviews. We conducted a cross-sectional study of a randomly selected sample of new molecular entities approved during the study period 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2015. We extracted data on SAEs and mortality from 15 pivotal trials from ClinicalTrials.gov and corresponding journal articles (the two index resources), and FDA medical reviews (reference standard). We estimated the magnitude of deviations in rates of SAEs and mortality between the index resources and the reference standard. We found deviations in rates of SAEs (30% in ClinicalTrials.gov and 30% in corresponding journal articles) and mortality (72% in ClinicalTrials.gov and 53% in corresponding journal articles) when compared with the reference standard. The intra-class correlation coefficient between the three resources was 0.99 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.98-0.99) for SAE rates and 0.99 (95% CI 0.97-0.99) for mortality rates. There are differences in data on rates of SAEs and mortality in randomized clinical trials in both ClinicalTrials.gov and journal articles compared with FDA reviews. Further efforts should focus on decreasing existing discrepancies to enhance the transparency and reproducibility of data reporting in clinical trials.

  7. Stopping powers of energetic electrons penetrating condensed matter-theory and application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tan Zhenyu; Xia Yueyuan

    2004-01-01

    In this review article, the motivation of studying inelastic energy loss for energetic electrons penetrating through matter and the corresponding technological importance have been outlined. The theoretical development and method for the calculation of stopping powers are described. The stopping power data tables for a group of polymers and bioorganic compounds are presented, and the application aspects of the stopping power data are briefly discussed. (authors)

  8. Physical activity and trial-by-trial adjustments of response conflict.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamijo, Keita; Takeda, Yuji

    2013-08-01

    The relationship of physical activity to trial-by-trial adjustments of response conflict was assessed using behavioral task performance, the N2 event-related brain potential component, and phase-locking values (PLVs) in a lower gamma band during a perceptual conflict task. Nineteen physically active and 19 inactive young adults (mean age = 21.3 years) performed a Navon task, using a global letter made up of local letters of either the same kind (congruent trials) or a different kind (incongruent trials). Findings revealed that active individuals exhibited smaller N2 amplitudes and greater PLVs on incongruent trials that were preceded by incongruent trials compared with those preceded by congruent trials. Such phenomena were not observed for inactive individuals. These results suggest that greater physical activity is associated with larger trial-by-trial adjustments of response conflict, which we attribute to upregulation of top-down cognitive control and reductions in response conflict.

  9. Comparison of reporting phase I trial results in ClinicalTrials.gov and matched publications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepshelovich, D; Goldvaser, H; Wang, L; Abdul Razak, A R; Bedard, P L

    2017-12-01

    Background Data on completeness of reporting of phase I cancer clinical trials in publications are lacking. Methods The ClinicalTrials.gov database was searched for completed adult phase I cancer trials with reported results. PubMed was searched for matching primary publications published prior to November 1, 2016. Reporting in primary publications was compared with the ClinicalTrials.gov database using a 28-point score (2=complete; 1=partial; 0=no reporting) for 14 items related to study design, outcome measures and safety profile. Inconsistencies between primary publications and ClinicalTrials.gov were recorded. Linear regression was used to identify factors associated with incomplete reporting. Results After a review of 583 trials in ClinicalTrials.gov , 163 matching primary publications were identified. Publications reported outcomes that did not appear in ClinicalTrials.gov in 25% of trials. Outcomes were upgraded, downgraded or omitted in publications in 47% of trials. The overall median reporting score was 23/28 (interquartile range 21-25). Incompletely reported items in >25% publications were: inclusion criteria (29%), primary outcome definition (26%), secondary outcome definitions (53%), adverse events (71%), serious adverse events (80%) and dates of study start and database lock (91%). Higher reporting scores were associated with phase I (vs phase I/II) trials (ppublication in journals with lower impact factor (p=0.004). Conclusions Reported results in primary publications for early phase cancer trials are frequently inconsistent or incomplete compared with ClinicalTrials.gov entries. ClinicalTrials.gov may provide more comprehensive data from new cancer drug trials.

  10. The frequentist implications of optional stopping on Bayesian hypothesis tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanborn, Adam N; Hills, Thomas T

    2014-04-01

    Null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) is the most commonly used statistical methodology in psychology. The probability of achieving a value as extreme or more extreme than the statistic obtained from the data is evaluated, and if it is low enough, the null hypothesis is rejected. However, because common experimental practice often clashes with the assumptions underlying NHST, these calculated probabilities are often incorrect. Most commonly, experimenters use tests that assume that sample sizes are fixed in advance of data collection but then use the data to determine when to stop; in the limit, experimenters can use data monitoring to guarantee that the null hypothesis will be rejected. Bayesian hypothesis testing (BHT) provides a solution to these ills because the stopping rule used is irrelevant to the calculation of a Bayes factor. In addition, there are strong mathematical guarantees on the frequentist properties of BHT that are comforting for researchers concerned that stopping rules could influence the Bayes factors produced. Here, we show that these guaranteed bounds have limited scope and often do not apply in psychological research. Specifically, we quantitatively demonstrate the impact of optional stopping on the resulting Bayes factors in two common situations: (1) when the truth is a combination of the hypotheses, such as in a heterogeneous population, and (2) when a hypothesis is composite-taking multiple parameter values-such as the alternative hypothesis in a t-test. We found that, for these situations, while the Bayesian interpretation remains correct regardless of the stopping rule used, the choice of stopping rule can, in some situations, greatly increase the chance of experimenters finding evidence in the direction they desire. We suggest ways to control these frequentist implications of stopping rules on BHT.

  11. Uncover compressed supersymmetry via boosted bosons from the heavier stop/sbottom

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Zhaofeng; Li, Jinmian [Korea Institute for Advanced Study, School of Physics, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Zhang, Mengchao [Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Center for Theoretical Physics of the Universe, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-06-15

    A light stop around the weak scale is a hopeful messenger of natural supersymmetry (SUSY), but it has not shown up at the current stage of LHC. Such a situation raises the question of the fate of natural SUSY. Actually, a relatively light stop can easily be hidden in a compressed spectra such as mild mass degeneracy between stop and neutralino plus top quark. Searching for such a stop at the LHC is a challenge. On the other hand, in terms of the argument of natural SUSY, other members in the stop sector, including a heavier stop t{sub 2} and lighter sbottom b{sub 1} (both assumed to be left-handed-like), are also supposed to be relatively light and therefore searching for them would provide an alternative method to probe natural SUSY with a compressed spectra. In this paper we consider quasi-natural SUSY which tolerates relatively heavy colored partners near the TeV scale, with a moderately large mass gap between the heavier members and the lightest stop. Then W/Z/h as companions of t{sub 2} and b{sub 1} decaying into t{sub 1} generically are well boosted, and they, along with other visible particles from t{sub 1} decay, are a good probe to study compressed SUSY. We find that the resulting search strategy with boosted bosons can have better sensitivity than those utilizing multi-leptons. (orig.)

  12. Station Stopping of Freight Trains with Pneumatic Braking

    OpenAIRE

    Yun Bai; Baohua Mao; Tinkin Ho; Yu Feng; Shaokuan Chen

    2014-01-01

    In Chinese mainline railway, freight trains need to stop within passenger stations at times because of the delayed passenger trains. Without any decision-support system, it is very difficult for drivers to stop trains within stations with consistency in one braking action. The reasons are that braking performance of train changes with the conditions of braking equipment and the drivers’ subjective evaluations of track profiles and braking distance are vague and imprecise. This paper presents ...

  13. Unsure When to Stop? Ask Your Semantic Neighbors

    OpenAIRE

    Gonçalves, Ivo; Silva, Sara; Fonseca, Carlos M.; Castelli, Mauro

    2017-01-01

    In iterative supervised learning algorithms it is common to reach a point in the search where no further induction seems to be possible with the available data. If the search is continued beyond this point, the risk of overfitting increases significantly. Following the recent developments in inductive semantic stochastic methods, this paper studies the feasibility of using information gathered from the semantic neighborhood to decide when to stop the search. Two semantic stopping criteria are...

  14. Broadcasting a Common Message with Variable-Length Stop-Feedback codes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trillingsgaard, Kasper Fløe; Yang, Wei; Durisi, Giuseppe

    2015-01-01

    We investigate the maximum coding rate achievable over a two-user broadcast channel for the scenario where a common message is transmitted using variable-length stop-feedback codes. Specifically, upon decoding the common message, each decoder sends a stop signal to the encoder, which transmits...... itself in the absence of a square-root penalty in the asymptotic expansion of the maximum coding rate for large blocklengths, a result also known as zero dispersion. In this paper, we show that this speed-up does not necessarily occur for the broadcast channel with common message. Specifically...... continuously until it receives both stop signals. For the point-to-point case, Polyanskiy, Poor, and Verdú (2011) recently demonstrated that variable-length coding combined with stop feedback significantly increases the speed at which the maximum coding rate converges to capacity. This speed-up manifests...

  15. Analysis and enhancement of flexural wave stop bands in 2D periodic plates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Song, Yubao [Laboratory of Science and Technology on Integrated Logistics Support, National University of Defense Technology, 410073 Changsha (China); The Marcus Wallenberg Laboratory for Sound and Vibration Research, KTH – The Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm (Sweden); Feng, Leping [The Marcus Wallenberg Laboratory for Sound and Vibration Research, KTH – The Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm (Sweden); Wen, Jihong, E-mail: wenjihong_nudt1@vip.sina.com [Laboratory of Science and Technology on Integrated Logistics Support, National University of Defense Technology, 410073 Changsha (China); Yu, Dianlong; Wen, Xisen [Laboratory of Science and Technology on Integrated Logistics Support, National University of Defense Technology, 410073 Changsha (China)

    2015-07-17

    The band structure and enhancement of flexural wave stop bands in a 2D periodic plate are investigated. A unified method for analysing and designing the stop band of the plates with various attached structures is proposed. The effect of attached structures is considered based on their equivalent parameters (added equivalent mass and equivalent moment of inertia). The influences of the equivalent parameters on the band structures are studied. Three cases are considered: adding pure equivalent mass, pure equivalent moment of inertia and the combination of these two. The stop bands are enhanced via the multi interaction between the host plate and the attached structure. The enhancement pattern is determined, and several ways to obtain a wider combined stop band are presented. The frequency response functions of corresponding finite periodic plates are calculated to verify the stop bands and their enhancement in a number of typical cases. - Highlights: • A unified method for studying the stop band of the plates with various simplified attached structures is proposed. • The enhancement of flexural wave stop bands in a 2D phononic plate is investigated. • The stop bands are widened via multi interaction between the host plate and the attached structure. • The enhancement pattern is determined and several ways to get a wider stop band are presented.

  16. INES: The International Nuclear Event Scale. User's manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-08-01

    The International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) is being introduced for a trial period, the primary purpose being to facilitate communication between the nuclear community, the media and the public on such events. The scale runs from zero, for events with no safety significance, to seven for a major accident. The scale has been circulated to Member States of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is presently anticipated that the trial period will last until late 1991. Provision has been made for the scale to be refined thereafter in the light of experience. It is designed as an important tool in providing prompt, clear and consistent information on nuclear events wherever and whenever they may occur. 2 figs, 2 tabs

  17. Nuclear stopping power at high energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Date, S.; Gyulassy, M.; Sumiyoshi, H.

    1985-03-01

    Recent p + A → p + X data are analyzed within the context of the multi-chain and additive quark models. We deduce the average energy loss of a baryon as a function of distance traversed in nuclear matter. Consistency of the multi-chain model is checked by comparing the predictions for p + A → π +- + X with data. We discuss the space-time development of baryon stopping and show how longitudinal growth limits the energy deposition per unit length. Predictions are made for the proton spectra to be measured in nucleus-nucleus collisions at CERN and BNL. Finally, we conclude that the stopping domain for central collisions of heavy ions extends up to center of mass kinetic energies KEsub(em) asymptotically equals 3 +- 1 AGev. (author)

  18. Search for Pair Production of Supersymmetric Top Quarks in Dilepton Events at the Tevatron

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, William Casey [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)

    2010-01-01

    We search for pair production of the supersymmetric partner of the top quark, the stop quark ~$\\bar{t}$1, decaying to a b-quark and a chargino X1 with a subsequent X1 decay into a neutralino X-1 , lepton ℓ, and neutrino . Using 2.7 fb-1 of √s = 1.96 TeV p$\\bar{p}$ collision data collected by the CDF II experiment, we reconstruct the mass of candidate stop events and t the observed mass spectrum to a combination of standard model processes and stop signal. No evidence of ~$\\bar{t}$1 $\\bar{t}$1 production is found, therefore we set 95% C.L. limits on the masses of the stop and the neutralino for several values of the chargino mass and the branching ratio B (X1 → X-01±v).

  19. Reparametrizations with given stop data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raussen, Martin

    2009-01-01

    In [1] we performed a systematic investigation of reparametrizations of continuous paths in a Hausdorff space that relies crucially on a proper understanding of stop data of a (weakly increasing) reprametrizations of the unit interval. I am grateful to Marco Grandis (Genova) for pointing out to me...

  20. Reparametrizations with given stop data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raussen, Martin

    In [1], we performed a systematic investigation of reparametrizations of continuous paths in a Hausdorff space that relies crucially on a proper understanding of stop data of a (weakly increasing) reparametrization of the unit interval. I am indebted to Marco Grandis (Genova) for pointing out tome...

  1. Mechanical stop mechanism for overcoming MEMS fabrication tolerances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussein, Hussein; Bourbon, Gilles; Le Moal, Patrice; Lutz, Philippe; Haddab, Yassine

    2017-01-01

    A mechanical stop mechanism is developed in order to compensate MEMS fabrication tolerances in discrete positioning. The mechanical stop mechanism is designed to be implemented on SOI wafers using a common DRIE etching process. The various fabrication tolerances obtained due to the etching process are presented and discussed in the paper. The principle and design of the mechanism are then presented. Finally, experiments on microfabricated positioning prototypes show accurate steps unaffected by the fabrication tolerances. (technical note)

  2. STOP-Bang Questionnaire in Patients with Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ki-Hwan Ji

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objective The snoring, tiredness, observed apnea, and high blood pressure– body mass index, age, neck circumference, and gender (STOP-Bang questionnaire is known as a simple but useful tool for the diagnosis of high-risk obstructive sleep apnea (OSA. However, the utility of STOP-Bang questionnaire in rapid eye movement (REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD populations is not validated. This study aimed to determine the diagnostic value of the STOP-Bang questionnaire in patients with RBD at high risk for OSA. Methods We collected data from 65 consecutive patients who were diagnosed with RBD in a tertiary sleep center (20 women; mean age, 64.3 ± 12.5 years. All the patients visited sleep center with complaints of abnormal behavior during sleep, and underwent testing with STOP-Bang questionnaire and polysomnography. The diagnosis of RBD was based on the International Classification of Sleep Disorders, second edition. We diagnosed OSA when apnea-hypopnea index (AHI was at least 5/h. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC curves were plotted. Results The mean AHI was 18.2 ± 16.5/h, and 75.4% (n = 49 had an AHI ≥ 5. The STOP-Bang (threshold ≥ 3 identified 70.7% of patients as high risk for OSA, and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 81.6, 62.5, 87, and 52.6%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve (AUC was 0.79 (p < 0.001. The STOP (threshold ≥ 2 identified 70.7% of patients at high risk for OSA, and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were 75.5, 87.5, 94.9, and 53.8%, respectively. The AUC was 0.86 (p < 0.001. A pairwise comparison of ROC curve between STOP-Bang and STOP was insignificant (p = 0.145. Conclusions In RBD population, the STOP-Bang or STOP questionnaire is a useful screening tool to identify patients at high risk for OSA.

  3. Optimal Locations of Bus Stops Connecting Subways near Urban Intersections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan Cui

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Unsuitable locations of bus stops which provide feeder transportation connecting subways near urban intersections usually lead to the low efficiency of public transport and level of passenger service. A multiobjective optimization model to distribute such stop locations is proposed to attain the shortest total walk distance of passengers and minimum delay time of cars through intersections and travel time of buses. The Pareto frontier and optimal solutions for the proposed model are given by the distance-based and enumerative methods. The Xizhimen bus stop is selected to implement case studies for verifying the validity of the proposed model. The analysis of sensitivity on possible solutions is also carried out in the case studies. The results show that the proposed model is capable of optimizing the locations of bus stops connecting subways near intersections and helpful to improve the level of passengers service and operational efficiency of public transportation.

  4. Density dependence of stopping cross sections measured in liquid ethane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Both, G.; Krotz, R.; Lohmer, K.; Neuwirth, W.

    1983-01-01

    Electronic stopping cross sections for 7 Li projectiles (840--175 keV) have been measured with the inverted Doppler-shift attenuation method in liquid ethane (C 2 H 6 ) at two different densities. The density of the target has been varied by changing the temperature, and measurements have been performed at 0.525 g/cm 3 (199 K) and 0.362 g/cm 3 (287 K). At the higher density the stopping cross section is about 2% smaller. This result agrees with a calculation of the stopping cross section of liquid ethane, applying Lindhard's theory in the local-density approximation using a simple model of the liquid. It is also in agreement with various observations of the so-called physical-state effect, which show that the stopping cross section of the same substance is smaller in a condensed phase than in the gaseous one

  5. "CAN Stop" - Implementation and evaluation of a secondary group prevention for adolescent and young adult cannabis users in various contexts - study protocol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moré Kerstin

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Current research shows that overall numbers for cannabis use among adolescents and young adults dropped in recent years. However, this trend is much less pronounced in continuous cannabis use. With regard to the heightened risk for detrimental health- and development-related outcomes, adolescents and young adults with continuous cannabis use need special attention. The health services structure for adolescents and young adults with substance related problems in Germany, is multifaceted, because different communal, medical and judicial agencies are involved. This results in a rather decentralized organizational structure of the help system. This and further system-inherent characteristics make the threshold for young cannabis users rather high. Because of this, there is a need to establish evidence-based low-threshold help options for young cannabis users, which can be easily disseminated. Therefore, a training programme for young cannabis users (age 14-21 was developed in the "CAN Stop" project. Within the project, we seek to implement and evaluate the training programme within different institutions of the help system. The evaluation is sensitive to the different help systems and their specific prerequisites. Moreover, within this study, we also test the practicability of a training provision through laypersons. Methods/Design The CAN Stop study is a four-armed randomized wait-list controlled trial. The four arms are needed for the different help system settings, in which the CAN Stop training programme is evaluated: (a the drug addiction aid and youth welfare system, (b the out-patient medical system, (c the in-patient medical system and (d prisons for juvenile offenders. Data are collected at three points, before and after the training or a treatment as usual, and six months after the end of either intervention. Discussion The CAN Stop study is expected to provide an evidence-based programme for young cannabis users

  6. Reasons for starting and stopping electronic cigarette use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pepper, Jessica K; Ribisl, Kurt M; Emery, Sherry L; Brewer, Noel T

    2014-10-03

    The aim of our study was to explore reasons for starting and then stopping electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use. Among a national sample of 3878 U.S. adults who reported ever trying e-cigarettes, the most common reasons for trying were curiosity (53%); because a friend or family member used, gave, or offered e-cigarettes (34%); and quitting or reducing smoking (30%). Nearly two-thirds (65%) of people who started using e-cigarettes later stopped using them. Discontinuation was more common among those whose main reason for trying was not goal-oriented (e.g., curiosity) than goal-oriented (e.g., quitting smoking) (81% vs. 45%, p reasons for stopping e-cigarette use were that respondents were just experimenting (49%), using e-cigarettes did not feel like smoking cigarettes (15%), and users did not like the taste (14%). Our results suggest there are two categories of e-cigarette users: those who try for goal-oriented reasons and typically continue using and those who try for non-goal-oriented reasons and then typically stop using. Research should distinguish e-cigarette experimenters from motivated users whose decisions to discontinue relate to the utility or experience of use. Depending on whether e-cigarettes prove to be effective smoking cessation tools or whether they deter cessation, public health programs may need distinct strategies to reach and influence different types of users.

  7. Stopping power of K electrons at extreme relativistic energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leung, P.T.; Rustgi, M.L.

    1983-01-01

    The recent work of Anholt on K-vacancy production by relativistic projectiles has been applied to calculate the stopping power of the K electrons. The results show that for protons of energy approx.10 3 GeV and heavy target elements, the relativistic contributions to the stopping power amount to several times the resuls due to the longitudinal terms obtained from Walske's work

  8. Stop valve with automatic control and locking for nuclear reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, D.K.

    1980-01-01

    This invention generally concerns an automatic control and locking stop valve. Specifically it relates to the use of such a valve in a nuclear reactor of the type containing absorber elements supported by a fluid and intended for stopping the reactor in complete safety [fr

  9. Proposal for a CINDA-type stopping data bibliography (CISDA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ivascu, M.; Bucurescu, D.; Avrigeanu, V.

    1980-11-01

    The present status and requirements of stopping power data (SD) are reviewed, by considering the significant trends in applications of nuclear data. The need of centralized information on SD is emphasized. If the establishing of compiled and evaluated SD libraries format is possible only through an internationally co-ordinated action, to produce a computerized index to bibliographic references on SD is an easier task. One describes a plan of a CINDA-type SD bibliography (named CISDA - Computer Index of Stopping Data) containing experimental, theoretical and evaluated works for stopping powers, range, energy and range straggling of ions with atomic mass and charge both larger than or equal to 1. The index organization and detailed field descriptions of reference records are presented. (author)

  10. Optimized Skip-Stop Metro Line Operation Using Smart Card Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peitong Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Skip-stop operation is a low cost approach to improving the efficiency of metro operation and passenger travel experience. This paper proposes a novel method to optimize the skip-stop scheme for bidirectional metro lines so that the average passenger travel time can be minimized. Different from the conventional “A/B” scheme, the proposed Flexible Skip-Stop Scheme (FSSS can better accommodate spatially and temporally varied passenger demand. A genetic algorithm (GA based approach is then developed to efficiently search for the optimal solution. A case study is conducted based on a real world bidirectional metro line in Shenzhen, China, using the time-dependent passenger demand extracted from smart card data. It is found that the optimized skip-stop operation is able to reduce the average passenger travel time and transit agencies may benefit from this scheme due to energy and operational cost savings. Analyses are made to evaluate the effects of that fact that certain number of passengers fail to board the right train (due to skip operation. Results show that FSSS always outperforms the all-stop scheme even when most passengers of the skipped OD pairs are confused and cannot get on the right train.

  11. Program of rehabilitative exercise and education to avert vascular events after non-disabling stroke or transient ischemic attack (PREVENT Trial: a multi-centred, randomised controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thompson Kara

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite lack of outward signs, most individuals after non-disabling stroke (NDS and transient ischemic attack (TIA have significant cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease and are at high risk of a major stroke, hospitalization for other vascular events, or death. Most have multiple modifiable risk factors (e.g., hypertension, physical inactivity, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes, tobacco consumption, psychological stress. In addition, accelerated rates of depression, cognitive decline, and poor quality of sleep have been reported following TIA, which correlate with poor functional outcomes and reduced quality of life. Thus, NSD and TIA are important warning signs that should not be overlooked. The challenge is not unlike that facing other 'silent' conditions - to identify a model of care that is effective in changing people's current behaviors in order to avert further morbidity. Methods/Design A single blind, randomized controlled trial will be conducted at two sites to compare the effectiveness of a program of rehabilitative exercise and education versus usual care in modifying vascular risk factors in adults after NDS/TIA. 250 adults within 90 days of being diagnosed with NDS/TIA will be randomly allocated to a 12-week program of exercise and education (PREVENT or to an outpatient clinic assessment and discussion of secondary prevention recommendations with return clinic visits as indicated (USUAL CARE. Primary outcome measures will include blood pressure, waist circumference, 12-hour fasting lipid profile, and 12-hour fasting glucose/hemoglobin A1c. Secondary measures will include exercise capacity, walking endurance, physical activity, cognitive function, depression, goal attainment and health-related quality of life. Outcome assessment will be conducted at baseline, post-intervention, and 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Direct health care costs incurred over one year by PREVENT versus USUAL CARE participants will also be

  12. Imagine stopping the progression of Alzheimer's

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Issue Past Issues Imagine stopping the progression of Alzheimer's Past Issues / Fall 2006 Table of Contents For ... I have friends and loved ones suffering from Alzheimer's. But I can imagine… and hope for… a ...

  13. On plasma coupling and turbulence effects in low velocity stopping

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kurilenkov, Yu K [Unified Institute for High Temperatures of Russian Academy of Sciences, 13/19 Izhorskaya Str., 125412 Moscow (Russian Federation); Maynard, G [Laboratoire de Physique des Gaz et des Plasmas, UMR-8578, Bat. 210, Universite Paris XI, F-91405 Orsay (France); Barriga-Carrasco, M D [Laboratoire de Physique des Gaz et des Plasmas, UMR-8578, Bat. 210, Universite Paris XI, F-91405 Orsay (France); Valuev, A A [Unified Institute for High Temperatures of Russian Academy of Sciences, 13/19 Izhorskaya Str., 125412 Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2006-04-28

    The problem of stopping power (SP) for projectile ions is analysed in terms of the dielectric function and effective collision frequency for moderately dense and strongly coupled plasmas (SCP). We consider several issues regarding the calculation of stopping power for correlated ensembles of particles and oscillators. In particular, effects of group (few particle) modes, transition from positive to negative dispersion and excitation of collective modes up to suprathermal level at plasma targets are addressed. Linear SP of dense suprathermal (nonlinear) plasma targets at different levels of target plasma turbulence is estimated. The force of suprathermal plasma oscillations on the projectile ions is mostly in the nature of increased frictional drag. The results obtained show the possibility of increasing low velocity stopping (up to 'turbulent' values) in comparison with losses in equilibrium dense plasma targets. Experimental conditions to create specific turbulent targets as well as some connection between stopping phenomena and SCP transport properties are discussed briefly.

  14. On plasma coupling and turbulence effects in low velocity stopping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurilenkov, Yu K; Maynard, G; Barriga-Carrasco, M D; Valuev, A A

    2006-01-01

    The problem of stopping power (SP) for projectile ions is analysed in terms of the dielectric function and effective collision frequency for moderately dense and strongly coupled plasmas (SCP). We consider several issues regarding the calculation of stopping power for correlated ensembles of particles and oscillators. In particular, effects of group (few particle) modes, transition from positive to negative dispersion and excitation of collective modes up to suprathermal level at plasma targets are addressed. Linear SP of dense suprathermal (nonlinear) plasma targets at different levels of target plasma turbulence is estimated. The force of suprathermal plasma oscillations on the projectile ions is mostly in the nature of increased frictional drag. The results obtained show the possibility of increasing low velocity stopping (up to 'turbulent' values) in comparison with losses in equilibrium dense plasma targets. Experimental conditions to create specific turbulent targets as well as some connection between stopping phenomena and SCP transport properties are discussed briefly

  15. Stopping powers of solids for low-energy protons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashley, J.C.; Ritchie, R.H.

    1984-01-01

    Electron gas models are useful approximations for describing the valence electron response of a solid to the passage of a charged particle. A simple free-electron gas model was used by Fermi and Teller to estimate the time required for a mesotron to be stopped in various solids. More recent work has employed the Lindhard dielectric response function, or approximations thereto, for calculations of the valence electron contributions to energy loss per unit pathlength for protons. Such calculations have generally shown rather poor agreement with experimental data for low-energy protons (velocity small compared to the Fermi velocity, v<< v/sub F/). The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to a recent calculation of the stopping power for slow protons using a density-functional formalism. These new results have been shown to give good agreement with experimental data and thus should provide valuable theoretical guidance in estimating stopping powers of solids for which no experimental data are available

  16. How Do People Stop Non-Suicidal Self-Injury? A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mummé, Tess Alexandra; Mildred, Helen; Knight, Tess

    2017-07-03

    The current paper reviews extant quantitative and qualitative literature into how Non-Suicidal Self-Injury cessation occurs, and individuals' experiences of stopping. Specific search criteria utilizing a PRISMA format were used across 5 databases, which resulted in 454 papers being identified. After utilizing exclusion criteria and then review, nine of the 454 papers identified were retained for extensive synthesis and critique. Results from 8 of the identified papers indicated that both intra and inter personal factors can influence self-injury cessation. These include: family support, self-esteem, emotional regulation, and professional help. Only 1 paper articulated a cessation process, describing it as a procedural event of developing interpersonal strength, then implementing alternative coping strategies. Limitations and implications of the studies are reported, concluding that further research is warranted to inform effective prevention and treatment strategies to ameliorate this growing public health concern.

  17. Stop researching transformational leadership! Now!

    OpenAIRE

    Tummers, Lars

    2013-01-01

    markdownabstract__Intro__ Researchers all over the world, stop with your research on transformational leadership! Now! This could be the provocative conclusion after reading the recent article of Profs. Daan van Knippenberg and Sim Sitkin in The Academy of Management Annals (2013). These leadership professors write about the problems surrounding transformational leadership.

  18. Effect of STOP technique on safety climate in a construction company.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darvishi, Ebrahim; Maleki, Afshin; Dehestaniathar, Saeed; Ebrahemzadih, Mehrzad

    2015-01-01

    Safety programs are a core part of safety management in workplaces that can reduce incidents and injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of Safety Training Observation Program (STOP) technique as a behavior modification program on safety climate in a construction company. This cross-sectional study was carried out on workers of the Petrochemical Construction Company, western Iran. In order to improve safety climate, an unsafe behavior modification program entitled STOP was launched among workers of project during 12 months from April 2013 and April 2014. The STOP technique effectiveness in creating a positive safety climate was evaluated using the Safety Climate Assessment Toolkit. 76.78% of total behaviors were unsafe. 54.76% of total unsafe acts/ at-risk behaviors were related to the fall hazard. The most cause of unsafe behaviors was associated with habit and unavailability of safety equipment. After 12 month of continuous implementation the STOP technique, 55.8% of unsafe behaviors reduced among workers. The average score of safety climate evaluated using of the Toolkit, before and after the implementation of the STOP technique was 5.77 and 7.24, respectively. The STOP technique can be considered as effective approach for eliminating at-risk behavior, reinforcing safe work practices, and creating a positive safety climate in order to reduction incidents/injuries.

  19. Shelter from the Storm: Optimizing Distribution of Bus Stop Shelters in Los Angeles

    OpenAIRE

    Law, Philip; Taylor, Brian D.

    2010-01-01

    The functions of bus stop shelters and factors affecting their placement at stops in transit systems are analyzed. Drawing on information from a variety of sources, current shelter placement policy in Los Angeles was found to be guided principally by the revenue-generating potential of shelter advertisements, secondarily by political concerns over geographic equity, and only peripherally on the basis of bus stop use. Using data on shelter and stop locations, boardings, and headways, a methodo...

  20. Overriding actions in Parkinson’s disease : Impaired stopping and changing of motor responses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Wildenberg, W.P.M.; Ridderinkhof, K.R.; van Wouwe, N.C.; Neimat, J.S.; Bashore, T.R.; Wylie, S.A.

    2017-01-01

    We administered a stop-change paradigm, an extended version of the stop task that requires (a) stopping an ongoing motor response and (b) changing to an alternative (change) response. Performance of a group of patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) and taking dopaminergic medication was

  1. Cardiovascular safety of linagliptin in type 2 diabetes: a comprehensive patient-level pooled analysis of prospectively adjudicated cardiovascular events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenstock, Julio; Marx, Nikolaus; Neubacher, Dietmar; Seck, Thomas; Patel, Sanjay; Woerle, Hans-Juergen; Johansen, Odd Erik

    2015-05-21

    The cardiovascular (CV) safety of linagliptin was evaluated in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Pre-specified patient-level pooled analysis of all available double-blind, randomized, controlled trials, ≥ 12 weeks' duration (19 trials, 9459 subjects) of linagliptin versus placebo/active treatment. Primary end point: composite of prospectively adjudicated CV death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and hospitalization for unstable angina (4P-MACE). Hospitalization for congestive heart failure (CHF) was also evaluated; adjudication of CHF was introduced during the phase 3 program (8 trials; 3314 subjects). 4P-MACE was assessed in placebo-controlled trials (subgroup of 18 trials; 7746 subjects). Investigator-reported events suggestive of CHF from 24 placebo-controlled trials (including trials 4P-MACE incidence rates: 13.4 per 1000 patient-years, linagliptin (60 events), 18.9, total comparators (62 events); overall hazard ratio (HR), 0.78 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55-1.12). HR for adjudicated hospitalization for CHF (n = 21): 1.04 (0.43-2.47). For placebo-controlled trials, 4P-MACE incidence rates: 14.9 per 1000 patient-years, linagliptin (43 events), 16.4, total comparators (29 events); overall HR, 1.09 (95% CI, 0.68-1.75). Occurrence of investigator-reported events suggestive of CHF was low for linagliptin- (26 events, 0.5%; serious: 16 events, 0.3%) and placebo-treated (8 events, 0.2%; serious: 6 events, 0.2%) patients. Linagliptin is not associated with increased CV risk versus pooled active comparators or placebo in patients with T2DM.

  2. Search for stop production in R-parity-violating supersymmetry at HERA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chekanov, S.; Derrick, M.; Magill, S.

    2006-11-01

    A search for stop production in R-parity-violating supersymmetry has been performed in e + p interactions with the ZEUS detector at HERA, using an integrated luminosity of 65 pb -1 . At HERA, the R-parity-violating coupling λ' allows resonant squark production, e + d→q. Since the lowest-mass squark state in most supersymmetry models is the light stop, t, this search concentrated on production of t, followed either by a direct R-parity-violating decay, or by the gauge decay to b χ 1 + . No evidence for stop production was found and limits were set on λ 131 ' as a function of the stop mass in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. The results have also been interpreted in terms of constraints on the parameters of the minimal Supergravity model. (orig.)

  3. Contribution of inner shell electrons to position-dependent stopping powers of a crystal surface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Narumi, Kazumasa; Fujii, Yoshikazu; Kishine, Keiji; Kurakake, Hiroshi; Kimura, Kenji; Mannami, Michi-hiko

    1994-01-01

    Position-dependent stopping powers of the (001) surface of SnTe single crystal for specularly reflected 15 - 200 keV H + ions are studied. The position dependence of the experimental stopping powers varies with the energy of ions. From the comparison with the theoretical stopping powers based on both the single ion-electron collision and the collective excitation of the valence electrons, it is concluded that the observed change in the position-dependent stopping powers with energy of H + is due to the variation of contribution of inner shell electrons to stopping. (author)

  4. Low-bias flat band-stop filter based on velocity modulated gaussian graphene superlattice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sattari-Esfahlan, S. M.; Shojaei, S.

    2018-05-01

    Transport properties of biased planar Gaussian graphene superlattice (PGGSL) with Fermi velocity barrier is investigated by transfer matrix method (TMM). It is observed that enlargement of bias voltage over miniband width breaks the miniband to WSLs leads to suppressing resonant tunneling. Transmission spectrum shows flat wide stop-band property controllable by external bias voltage with stop-band width of near 200 meV. The simulations demonstrate that strong velocity barriers prevent tunneling of Dirac electrons leading to controllable enhancement of stop-band width. By increasing ratio of Fermi velocity in barriers to wells υc stop-band width increase. As wide transmission stop-band width (BWT) of filter is tunable from 40 meV to 340 meV is obtained by enhancing ratio of υc from 0.2 to 1.5, respectively. Proposed structure suggests easy tunable wide band-stop electronic filter with a modulated flat stop-band characteristic by height of electrostatic barrier and structural parameters. Robust sensitivity of band width to velocity barrier intensity in certain bias voltages and flat band feature of proposed filter may be opens novel venue in GSL based flat band low noise filters and velocity modulation devices.

  5. Remote Shutoff Stops Runaway Lawnmower

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grambo, Alan A.

    2007-01-01

    In this article, the author describes how electronics students at Central Nine Career Center designed a kill switch circuit to stop a runaway lawnmower. This project is ideal for a career center since the electronics/robotics, small engines and horticulture classes can all work together on their respective parts of the modification, installation…

  6. Revised emission factors for gas engines including start/stop emissions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nielsen, Malene; Boll Illerup, J.; Birr-Petersen, K.

    2008-06-15

    Liberalisation of the electricity market has led to Danish gas engine plants increasingly converting to the spot and regulating power markets. In order to offer regulating power, plants need to be able to start and stop the engines at the plants quickly. The liberalisation causes a considerable change of operation practice of the engines e.g. less full load operation hours /year. The project provides an inventory determining the scale of the emissions during the start and stop sequence as well as proposals for engine modifications aimed at reducing start/stop emissions. This report includes calculation of emission factors as well as an inventory of total emissions and reduction potentials. (au)

  7. A video-based system for hand-driven stop-motion animation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Xiaoguang; Fu, Hongbo; Zheng, Hanlin; Liu, Ligang; Wang, Jue

    2013-01-01

    Stop-motion is a well-established animation technique but is often laborious and requires craft skills. A new video-based system can animate the vast majority of everyday objects in stop-motion style, more flexibly and intuitively. Animators can perform and capture motions continuously instead of breaking them into increments and shooting one still picture per increment. More important, the system permits direct hand manipulation without resorting to rigs, achieving more natural object control for beginners. The system's key component is two-phase keyframe-based capturing and processing, assisted by computer vision techniques. With this system, even amateurs can generate high-quality stop-motion animations.

  8. How to Stop Biting Your Nails

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... and away from your mouth. Identify your triggers: These could be physical triggers, such as the presence ... nails, you can figure out how to avoid these situations and develop a plan to stop. Just ...

  9. How to Stop Biting Your Nails

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... figure out how to avoid these situations and develop a plan to stop. Just knowing when you’ ... a doctor. If you bite your nails and develop a skin or nail infection, consult a board- ...

  10. How to Stop Biting Your Nails

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... your nails to your face and mouth. To help you stop biting your nails, dermatologists recommend the ... stress ball or silly putty instead. This will help keep your hands busy and away from your ...

  11. How to Stop Biting Your Nails

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Skin dictionary Camp Discovery Good Skin Knowledge lesson plans and activities Video library Find a dermatologist Why ... how to avoid these situations and develop a plan to stop. Just knowing when you’re inclined ...

  12. How to Stop Biting Your Nails

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Part 2: Origin Part 3: Function Textbook Study notes Image library 3-D animated image library Board ... gradually stop biting your nails: Some doctors recommend taking a gradual approach to break the habit. Try ...

  13. The Brazilian Cardioprotective Nutritional Program to reduce events and risk factors in secondary prevention for cardiovascular disease: study protocol (The BALANCE Program Trial).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Bernardete; Bersch-Ferreira, Ângela Cristine; Torreglosa, Camila Ragne; Ross-Fernandes, Maria Beatriz; da Silva, Jacqueline Tereza; Galante, Andrea Polo; Lara, Enilda de Sousa; Costa, Rosana Perim; Soares, Rafael Marques; Cavalcanti, Alexandre Biasi; Moriguchi, Emilio H; Bruscato, Neide M; Kesties; Vivian, Lilian; Schumacher, Marina; de Carli, Waldemar; Backes, Luciano M; Reolão, Bruna R; Rodrigues, Milena P; Baldissera, Dúnnia M B; Tres, Glaucia S; Lisbôa, Hugo R K; Bem, João B J; Reolão, Jose B C; Deucher, Keyla L A L; Cantarelli, Maiara; Lucion, Aline; Rampazzo, Daniela; Bertoni, Vanessa; Torres, Rosileide S; Verríssimo, Adriana O L; Guterres, Aldair S; Cardos, Andrea F R; Coutinho, Dalva B S; Negrão, Mayara G; Alencar, Mônica F A; Pinho, Priscila M; Barbosa, Socorro N A A; Carvalho, Ana P P F; Taboada, Maria I S; Pereira, Sheila A; Heyde, Raul V; Nagano, Francisca E Z; Baumgartner, Rebecca; Resende, Fernanda P; Tabalipa, Ranata; Zanini, Ana C; Machado, Michael J R; Araujo, Hevila; Teixeira, Maria L V; Souza, Gabriela C; Zuchinali, Priccila; Fracasso, Bianca M; Ulliam, Karen; Schumacher, Marina; Pierotto, Moara; Hilário, Thamires; Carlos, Daniele M O; Cordeiro, Cintia G N C; Carvalho, Daniele A; Gonçalves, Marília S; Vasconcelos, Valdiana B; Bosquetti, Rosa; Pagano, Raira; Romano, Marcelo L P; Jardim, César A; de Abreu, Bernardo N A; Marcadenti, Aline; Schmitt, Alessandra R; Tavares, Angela M V; Faria, Christiane C; Silva, Flávia M; Fink, Jaqueline S; El Kik, Raquel M; Prates, Clarice F; Vieira, Cristiane S; Adorne, Elaine F; Magedanz, Ellen H; Chieza, Fernanda L; Silva, Ingrid S; Teixeira, Joise M; Trescastro, Eduardo P; Pellegrini, Lívia A; Pinto, Jéssika C; Telles, Cristina T; Sousa, Antonio C S; Almeida, Andreza S; Costa, Ariane A; Carmo, José A C; Silva, Juliana T; Alves, Luciana V S; Sales, Saulo O C; Ramos, Maria E M; Lucas, Marilia C S; Damiani, Monica; Cardoso, Patricia C; Ramos, Salvador S; Dantas, Clenise F; Lopes, Amanda G; Cabral, Ana M P; Lucena, Ana C A; Medeiros, Auriene L; Terceiro, Bernardino B; Leda, Neuma M F S; Baía, Sandra R D; Pinheiro, Josilene M F; Cassiano, Alexandra N; Melo, Andressa N L; Cavalcanti, Anny K O; Souza, Camila V S; Queiroz, Dayanna J M; Farias, Hercilla N C F; Souza, Larissa C F; Santos, Letícia S; Lima, Luana R M; Hoffmann, Meg S; Ribeiro, Átala S Silva; Vasconcelos, Daniel F; Dutra, Eliane S; Ito, Marina K; Neto, José A F; Santos, Alexsandro F; Sousa, Rosângela M L; Dias, Luciana Pereira P; Lima, Maria T M A; Modanesi, Victor G; Teixeira, Adriana F; Estrada, Luciana C N C D; Modanesi, Paulo V G; Gomes, Adriana B L; Rocha, Bárbara R S; Teti, Cristina; David, Marta M; Palácio, Bruna M; Junior, Délcio G S; Faria, Érica H S; Oliveira, Michelle C F; Uehara, Rose M; Sasso, Sandramara; Moreira, Annie S B; Cadinha, Ana C A H; Pinto, Carla W M; Castilhos, Mariana P; Costa, Mariana; Kovacs, Cristiane; Magnoni, Daniel; Silva, Quênia; Germini, Michele F C A; da Silva, Renata A; Monteiro, Aline S; dos Santos, Karina G; Moreira, Priscila; Amparo, Fernanda C; Paiva, Catharina C J; Poloni, Soraia; Russo, Diana S; Silveira, Izabele V; Moraes, Maria A; Boklis, Mirena; Cardoso, Quinto I; Moreira, Annie S B; Damaceno, Aline M S; Santos, Elisa M; Dias, Glauber M; Pinho, Cláudia P S; Cavalcanti, Adrilene C; Bezerra, Amanda S; Queiroga, Andrey V; Rodrigues, Isa G; Leal, Tallita V; Sahade, Viviane; Amaral, Daniele A; Souza, Diana S; Araújo, Givaldo A; Curvello, Karine; Heine, Manuella; Barretto, Marília M S; Reis, Nailson A; Vasconcelos, Sandra M L; Vieira, Danielly C; Costa, Francisco A; Fontes, Jessica M S; Neto, Juvenal G C; Navarro, Laís N P; Ferreira, Raphaela C; Marinho, Patrícia M; Abib, Renata Torres; Longo, Aline; Bertoldi, Eduardo G; Ferreira, Lauren S; Borges, Lúcia R; Azevedo, Norlai A; Martins, Celma M; Kato, Juliana T; Izar, Maria C O; Asoo, Marina T; de Capitani, Mariana D; Machado, Valéria A; Fonzar, Waléria T; Pinto, Sônia L; Silva, Kellen C; Gratão, Lúcia H A; Machado, Sheila D; de Oliveira, Susane R U; Bressan, Josefina; Caldas, Ana P S; Lima, Hatanne C F M; Hermsdorff, Helen H M; Saldanha, Tânia M; Priore, Sílvia E; Feres, Naoel H; Neves, Adila de Queiroz; Cheim, Loanda M G; Silva, Nilma F; Reis, Silvia R L; Penafort, Andreza M; de Queirós, Ana Paula O; Farias, Geysa M N; de los Santos, Mônica L P; Ambrozio, Cíntia L; Camejo, Cirília N; dos Santos, Cristiano P; Schirmann, Gabriela S; Boemo, Jorge L; Oliveira, Rosane E C; Lima, Súsi M B; Bortolini, Vera M S; Matos, Cristina H; Barretta, Claiza; Specht, Clarice M; de Souza, Simone R; Arruda, Cristina S; Rodrigues, Priscila A; Berwanger, Otávio

    2016-01-01

    This article reports the rationale for the Brazilian Cardioprotective Nutritional Program (BALANCE Program) Trial. This pragmatic, multicenter, nationwide, randomized, concealed, controlled trial was designed to investigate the effects of the BALANCE Program in reducing cardiovascular events. The BALANCE Program consists of a prescribed diet guided by nutritional content recommendations from Brazilian national guidelines using a unique nutritional education strategy, which includes suggestions of affordable foods. In addition, the Program focuses on intensive follow-up through one-on-one visits, group sessions, and phone calls. In this trial, participants 45 years or older with any evidence of established cardiovascular disease will be randomized to the BALANCE or control groups. Those in the BALANCE group will receive the afore mentioned program interventions, while controls will be given generic advice on how to follow a low-fat, low-energy, low-sodium, and low-cholesterol diet, with a view to achieving Brazilian nutritional guideline recommendations. The primary outcome is a composite of death (any cause), cardiac arrest, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, myocardial revascularization, amputation for peripheral arterial disease, or hospitalization for unstable angina. A total of 2468 patients will be enrolled in 34 sites and followed up for up to 48 months. If the BALANCE Program is found to decrease cardiovascular events and reduce risk factors, this may represent an advance in the care of patients with cardiovascular disease. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Subshell stopping power of the elements for protons in the Born approximation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGuire, E.J.

    1982-01-01

    The generalized oscillator-strength formulation of the Born approximation was used to generate a large sample of subshell excitation and ionization generalized oscillator strengths across the periodic table. These were used to calculate the excitation and ionization contributions to the proton stopping power by individual subshells. The subshell ionization stopping powers are expressed in scaled form, depending on the subshell ionization energy. Detailed comparison of the calculated total proton stopping power is in good agreement with experiment across the periodic table. Detailed calculations show the importance of outer-shell ionization and excitation to the total stopping power for protons with energy less than 10 MeV

  15. Evaluating Study Withdrawal Among Biologics and Immunomodulators in Treating Ulcerative Colitis: A Meta-analysis of Controlled Clinical Trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Eric D; Siegel, Corey A; Chong, Kelly; Melmed, Gil Y

    2016-04-01

    We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and adverse event (AE)-associated tolerability of treatment with immunomodulators and biologics in ulcerative colitis clinical trials. We performed a literature search of PubMed and the Cochrane databases to identify randomized placebo-controlled trials of immunomodulators and biologics. Tolerability was defined through study withdrawal due to AEs and efficacy through clinical response in induction trials and clinical remission in maintenance trials. We performed meta-analyses using a random-effects model to determine relative risks (RRs) of efficacy and study withdrawal. Number needed to treat (NNT) and number needed to stop (NNS) were determined. The ratio of NNS/NNT was calculated, with a higher ratio indicating a greater number of patients in remission for every AE study discontinuation. We examined 13 single-agent trials representing biologics (infliximab, adalimumab, golimumab, and vedolizumab) and immunomodulators (tacrolimus and azathioprine). Induction therapy did not result in excess study withdrawal with immunomodulators (RR = 0.9, 95% CI 0.1-12.0) or biologics (RR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.3-1.8), therefore the NNS/NNT ratio could not be assessed because of high tolerability. Maintenance immunomodulator therapy resulted in a NNS of 14 (RR = 2.8, 95% CI 0.7-10.5) and NNS/NNT ratio of 2.4 in 2 trials. Biologics did not result in excess study withdrawal in maintenance (RR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.3-1.7) or combined induction-and-maintenance (RR = 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-1.0) trials. Biologics were not associated with a higher RR of study withdrawal due to AE than placebo. There were insufficient data to compare these results with immunomodulators.

  16. Reasons for Starting and Stopping Electronic Cigarette Use

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica K. Pepper

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of our study was to explore reasons for starting and then stopping electronic cigarette (e-cigarette use. Among a national sample of 3878 U.S. adults who reported ever trying e-cigarettes, the most common reasons for trying were curiosity (53%; because a friend or family member used, gave, or offered e-cigarettes (34%; and quitting or reducing smoking (30%. Nearly two-thirds (65% of people who started using e-cigarettes later stopped using them. Discontinuation was more common among those whose main reason for trying was not goal-oriented (e.g., curiosity than goal-oriented (e.g., quitting smoking (81% vs. 45%, p < 0.001. The most common reasons for stopping e-cigarette use were that respondents were just experimenting (49%, using e-cigarettes did not feel like smoking cigarettes (15%, and users did not like the taste (14%. Our results suggest there are two categories of e-cigarette users: those who try for goal-oriented reasons and typically continue using and those who try for non-goal-oriented reasons and then typically stop using. Research should distinguish e-cigarette experimenters from motivated users whose decisions to discontinue relate to the utility or experience of use. Depending on whether e-cigarettes prove to be effective smoking cessation tools or whether they deter cessation, public health programs may need distinct strategies to reach and influence different types of users.

  17. Spectroscopy of hypernuclei with stopped kaons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamura, H.; Brueckner, W.; Doebbeling, H.

    1987-09-01

    Pion momentum spectra from K - absorption at rest on various nuclear targets were measured by means of a magnetic spectrometer with wide momentum range (100 ∼ 300 MeV/c). The ground state of Σ - hypernucleus, if well bound with a narrow width, is expected to be populated in 12 C(stopped K - , π + ) inclusive (untagged) spectrum, but such a peak was not observed. The spectrum is compared with the DWIA calculations by Morimatsu and Yazaki, indicating that the depth of the nuclear potential of Σ - is shallower than 12 MeV, and that its imaginary part is larger than 5 MeV if the potential depth is about 10 MeV. In the 12 C(stopped K - , π - ) spectrum, the ground state ((p3/2) n -1 (s1/2) Λ ) and the excited states ((p3/2) n -1 (p) Λ ) of Λ 12 C were observed, and their formation probabilities were roughly in agreement with the results of DWIA calculations. In the π - spectra on 12 C, 9 Be, and 7 Li targets a distinct peak was observed at 132.1 ± 0.7 MeV/c. It is ascribed to π - from the mesic decay of Λ 4 H; Λ 4 H → 4 He π - . The formation probability of Λ 4 H on C, Be, or Li target is much larger than those of the discrete states of Λ 12 C via the direct (stopped K - , π - ) reaction. (author)

  18. Stopping power of degenerate electron liquid at metallic densities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, Shigenori; Ichimaru, Setsuo

    1985-01-01

    We calculate the stopping power of the degenerate electron liquid at metallic densities in the dielectric formalism. The strong Coulomb-coupling effects beyond the random-phase approximation are taken into account through the static and dynamic local-field corrections. It is shown that those strong-coupling and dynamic effects act to enhance the stopping power substantially in the low-velocity regime, leading to an improved agreement with experimental data. (author)

  19. Single start multiple stop time digitizer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deshpande, P.A.; Mukhopadhyay, P.K.; Gopalakrishnan, K.R.

    1997-01-01

    A single start multiple stop time digitizer has been developed which can digitize the time between a start pulse and multiple stop pulses. The system has been designed as a PC add on card. The resolution of the instrument is 10 nSecs and the maximum length of time that it can measure is 1.28 milliseconds. Apart from time digitization, it can also resolve the height of the incoming pulses into 64 levels. After each input pulse the system dead time is less than 300 nSecs. The driver software for this card has been developed on DOS platform. It uses graphical user interface to provide a user friendly environment. The system is intended to be used in time of flight mass spectroscopy experiments. It can also be used for time of flight experiments in nuclear physics. (author). 2 figs

  20. Stopping-power ratios for dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andreo, P.

    1988-01-01

    The determination of the absorbed dose at a specified location in a medium irradiated with an electron or photon beam normally consists of two steps: (1) the determination of the mean absorbed dose to a detector by using a calibration factor or performing an absolute measurement, (2) the determination of the absorbed dose to the medium at the point of interest by calculations based on the knowledge of the absorbed dose to the detector and the different stopping and scattering properties of the medium and the detector material. When the influence of the detector is so small that the electron fluence in the medium is not modified, the ratio of the mass collision stopping power of the two materials accounts for the differences in energy deposition, and provides a conversion factor to relate the absorbed dose in both materials. Today, all national and international dosimetry protocols and codes of practice are based on such procedures, and the user easily can carry out these steps using tabulated data to convert a measured quantity to absorbed dose in the irradiated medium at the location of interest. Effects due to the spatial extension of the detector are taken into account using perturbation correction factors. The Monte Carlo method has become the most common and powerful calculational technique for determining the electron fluence (energy spectra) under different irradiation conditions. Cavity theory is then used to calculate stopping-power ratios. In this chapter, the different steps needed to evaluate s-ratios will be considered, emphasizing the different types of cavity-theory integrals and the Monte Carlo techniques used to derive the necessary electron spectra in the range of energies commonly used in radiation dosimetry, i.e., photon and electron beams with energies up to 50 MeV

  1. BOP2: Bayesian optimal design for phase II clinical trials with simple and complex endpoints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Heng; Lee, J Jack; Yuan, Ying

    2017-09-20

    We propose a flexible Bayesian optimal phase II (BOP2) design that is capable of handling simple (e.g., binary) and complicated (e.g., ordinal, nested, and co-primary) endpoints under a unified framework. We use a Dirichlet-multinomial model to accommodate different types of endpoints. At each interim, the go/no-go decision is made by evaluating a set of posterior probabilities of the events of interest, which is optimized to maximize power or minimize the number of patients under the null hypothesis. Unlike other existing Bayesian designs, the BOP2 design explicitly controls the type I error rate, thereby bridging the gap between Bayesian designs and frequentist designs. In addition, the stopping boundary of the BOP2 design can be enumerated prior to the onset of the trial. These features make the BOP2 design accessible to a wide range of users and regulatory agencies and particularly easy to implement in practice. Simulation studies show that the BOP2 design has favorable operating characteristics with higher power and lower risk of incorrectly terminating the trial than some existing Bayesian phase II designs. The software to implement the BOP2 design is freely available at www.trialdesign.org. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Measurement of the Barkas effect around the stopping-power maximum for light and heavy targets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moeller, S.P.; Knudsen, H.; Mikkelsen, U.; Paludan, K.; Morenzoni, E.

    1997-01-01

    The first direct measurements of antiproton stopping powers around the stopping power maximum are presented. The LEAR antiproton-beam of 5.9 MeV is degraded to 50-700 keV, and the energy-loss is found by measuring the antiproton velocity before and after the target. The antiproton stopping powers of Si and Au are found to be reduced by 30 and 40% near the electronic stopping power maximum as compared to the equivalent proton stopping power. The Barkas effect, that is the stopping power difference between protons and antiprotons, is extracted and compared to theoretical estimates. (orig.)

  3. Plagiarism: Can It Be Stopped?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, G. Jay

    2011-01-01

    Plagiarism can be controlled, not stopped. The more appropriate question to ask is: What can be done to encourage students to "cheat" correctly by doing the assignment the way it was intended? Cheating by college students continues to reach epidemic proportions on selected campuses, as witnessed by the recent episode at Central Florida University,…

  4. Relativistic theory of stopping for heavy ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindhard, J.; So/rensen, A.H.

    1996-01-01

    We calculate the electronic stopping power and the corresponding straggling for ions of arbitrary charge number, penetrating matter at any relativistic energy. The stopping powers are calculated by a simple method. Its starting point is the deviation of the precise theory from first-order quantum perturbation. We show that this deviation can be expressed in terms of the transport cross section, σ tr , for scattering of a free electron by the ion. In the nonrelativistic case the deviation is precisely the Bloch correction to Bethe close-quote s formula; we look into the nonrelativistic case in order to clarify both some features of our method and a seeming paradox in Rutherford scattering. The corresponding relativistic correction is obtained from σ tr for scattering of a Dirac electron in the ion potential. Here, the major practical advantage of the method shows up; we need not find the scattering distribution, but merely a single quantity, σ tr , determined by differences of successive phase shifts. For a point nucleus our results improve and extend those of Ahlen. Our final results, however, are based on atomic nuclei with standard radii. Thereby, the stopping is changed substantially already for moderate values of γ=(1-v 2 /c 2 ) -1/2 . An asymptotic saturation in stopping is obtained. Because of finite nuclear size, recoil corrections remain negligible at all energies. The average square fluctuation in energy loss is calculated as a simple fluctuation cross section for a free electron. The fluctuation in the relativistic case is generally larger than that of the perturbation formula, by a factor of ∼2 endash 3 for heavy ions. But the finite nuclear radius leads to a strong reduction at high energies and the elimination of the factor γ 2 belonging to point nuclei. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

  5. Optimal Stopping with Information Constraint

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lempa, Jukka

    2012-01-01

    We study the optimal stopping problem proposed by Dupuis and Wang (Adv. Appl. Probab. 34:141–157, 2002). In this maximization problem of the expected present value of the exercise payoff, the underlying dynamics follow a linear diffusion. The decision maker is not allowed to stop at any time she chooses but rather on the jump times of an independent Poisson process. Dupuis and Wang (Adv. Appl. Probab. 34:141–157, 2002), solve this problem in the case where the underlying is a geometric Brownian motion and the payoff function is of American call option type. In the current study, we propose a mild set of conditions (covering the setup of Dupuis and Wang in Adv. Appl. Probab. 34:141–157, 2002) on both the underlying and the payoff and build and use a Markovian apparatus based on the Bellman principle of optimality to solve the problem under these conditions. We also discuss the interpretation of this model as optimal timing of an irreversible investment decision under an exogenous information constraint.

  6. How to Stop Biting Your Nails

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Mohs AUC MyDermPath+ Psoriasis Patient education resources Practice Management Center Coding and reimbursement Coding MACRA Fee schedule ... your nails: Some doctors recommend taking a gradual approach to break the habit. Try to stop biting ...

  7. Positron stopping in elemental systems: Monte Carlo calculations and scaling properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghosh, V.J.; Aers, G.C.

    1995-01-01

    The scaling of positron-implantation (stopping) profiles has been reported by Ghosh et al., who used the BNL Monte Carlo scheme to generate stopping profiles in semi-infinite elemental metals. A simple scaling relationship reduced the stopping profiles of positrons implanted at different energies (ranging from 1--10 keV) onto a single universal curve for that particular metal. We have confirmed that the scaling relationship also applies to the quite different Jensen and Walker Monte Carlo scheme, for more materials, and over an expanded energy range of 1--25 keV. The mean depths of the stopping profiles calculated by the two Monte Carlo schemes are found to be different, mainly due to differences in the inelastic mean free paths and the energy-loss functions. However, after scaling, the profiles generated by the two schemes can be superimposed onto a single curve which can be appropriately parametrized. The scaled profiles are found to be only weakly material dependent. The mean depths, backscattered fractions, and scaled stopping profiles are fitted to simple parametric functions, and the values of these parameters are obtained for several elements

  8. Event classification related to overflow of solvent containing uranium according to the INES scale (International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dourado, Eneida R.G.; Assis, Juliana T. de; Lage, Ricardo F.; Lopes, Karina B.

    2013-01-01

    This paper aims to frame the event overflow organic solvent rich in uranium, from a decanter of ore beneficiation plant, caused by the fall in the supply of electricity, according to the criteria established by the International Nuclear Event Scale and radiological (INES), facilitating the understanding of the occurrence and communication with the public regarding the radiation safety aspects involved. With the fall of electricity, routine procedures in situations of installation stop were performed, however, due to operational failure, the valve on the transfer line liquor was not closed. Thus, the mixer continued being fed with liquor, that led the consequent leakage of solvent loaded with uranium. It reached the drainage system, and the box of rainwater harvesting of the plant. However, immediately after the detection of the event, corrective actions were initiated and the overflow was contained. Regulatory agencies followed the removal of the solvent and on the results of the analysis of environmental monitoring, found that the event did not provide exposure to workers or any other impact. Therefore, comparing the characteristics of the event and the guidelines proposed by the INES scale, it is concluded that the classification of the event is below scale/level 0, confirming the absence of risk to the local population, workers and the environment

  9. Simulations of enhanced ion stopping power experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehlhorn, T.A.; Maenchen, J.E.; Olsen, J.N.; Johnson, D.J.

    1984-01-01

    As the material in an ICF target is heated and ionized by an intense ion beam, the ion stopping power changes from that of neutral atoms. This changes the energy deposition characteristics of the ion beam and thereby can profoundly influence the target dynamics. An accurate ion energy deposition model is important for designing ICF targets that perform in an optimal fashion. An experiment to measure a time-resolved ion stopping power history in a partially ionized target is being fielded on the PROTO I accelerator at Sandia Labs. This experiment utilizes a voltage ramped Thomson parabola to provide a time-history of the ion energy incident upon and exiting from a cylindrical target foil

  10. Traditional and new composite endpoints in heart failure clinical trials : facilitating comprehensive efficacy assessments and improving trial efficiency

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Anker, Stefan D. t; Schroeder, Stefan; Atar, Dan; Bax, Jeroen J.; Ceconi, Claudio; Cowie, Martin R.; AdamCrisp,; Dominjon, Fabienne; Ford, Ian; Ghofrani, Hossein-Ardeschir; Gropper, Savion; Hindricks, Gerhard; Hlatky, Mark A.; Holcomb, Richard; Honarpour, Narimon; Jukema, J. Wouter; Kim, Albert M.; Kunz, Michael; Lefkowitz, Martin; Le Floch, Chantal; Landmesser, Ulf; McDonagh, Theresa A.; McMurray, John J.; Merkely, Bela; Packer, Milton; Prasad, Krishna; Revkin, James; Rosano, Giuseppe M. C.; Somaratne, Ransi; Stough, Wendy Gattis; Voors, Adriaan A.; Ruschitzka, Frank

    Composite endpoints are commonly used as the primary measure of efficacy in heart failure clinical trials to assess the overall treatment effect and to increase the efficiency of trials. Clinical trials still must enrol large numbers of patients to accrue a sufficient number of outcome events and

  11. Analysis of phase II methodologies for single-arm clinical trials with multiple endpoints in rare cancers: An example in Ewing's sarcoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dutton, P; Love, S B; Billingham, L; Hassan, A B

    2018-05-01

    Trials run in either rare diseases, such as rare cancers, or rare sub-populations of common diseases are challenging in terms of identifying, recruiting and treating sufficient patients in a sensible period. Treatments for rare diseases are often designed for other disease areas and then later proposed as possible treatments for the rare disease after initial phase I testing is complete. To ensure the trial is in the best interests of the patient participants, frequent interim analyses are needed to force the trial to stop promptly if the treatment is futile or toxic. These non-definitive phase II trials should also be stopped for efficacy to accelerate research progress if the treatment proves to be particularly promising. In this paper, we review frequentist and Bayesian methods that have been adapted to incorporate two binary endpoints and frequent interim analyses. The Eurosarc Trial of Linsitinib in advanced Ewing Sarcoma (LINES) is used as a motivating example and provides a suitable platform to compare these approaches. The Bayesian approach provides greater design flexibility, but does not provide additional value over the frequentist approaches in a single trial setting when the prior is non-informative. However, Bayesian designs are able to borrow from any previous experience, using prior information to improve efficiency.

  12. Ball Screw Actuator Including a Compliant Ball Screw Stop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wingett, Paul T. (Inventor); Hanlon, Casey (Inventor)

    2017-01-01

    An actuator includes a ball nut, a ball screw, and a ball screw stop. The ball nut is adapted to receive an input torque and in response rotates and supplies a drive force. The ball screw extends through the ball nut and has a first end and a second end. The ball screw receives the drive force from the ball nut and in response selectively translates between a retract position and a extend position. The ball screw stop is mounted on the ball screw proximate the first end to translate therewith. The ball screw stop engages the ball nut when the ball screw is in the extend position, translates, with compliance, a predetermined distance toward the first end upon engaging the ball nut, and prevents further rotation of the ball screw upon translating the predetermined distance.

  13. How to Stop Biting Your Nails

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... gloves to prevent biting. Replace the nail-biting habit with a good habit: When you feel like biting your nails, try ... recommend taking a gradual approach to break the habit. Try to stop biting one set of nails, ...

  14. The effect of facial makeup on the frequency of drivers stopping for hitchhikers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guéguen, Nicolas; Lamy, Lubomir

    2013-08-01

    Judgments of photographs have shown that makeup enhances ratings of women's facial attractiveness. The present study assessed whether makeup affects the stopping behavior of drivers in response to a hitchhiker's signal. Four 20- to 22-year-old female confederates wore facial makeup, or not, while pretending to be hitchhiking. Frequency of stopping was compared in 1,600 male and female drivers. Facial makeup was associated with an increase in the number of male drivers who stopped to offer a ride. Makeup did not affect frequency of stopping by female drivers.

  15. Drinking and driving behavior at stop signs and red lights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Jingyan; Wu, Changxu; Zhang, Yiqi; Houston, Rebecca J; Chen, Chang Wen; Chanawangsa, Panya

    2017-07-01

    Alcohol is one of the principal risk factors for motor vehicle crashes. One factor that contributes to vehicle crashes is noncompliance with stop signs and red lights. The present experiment investigated the effects of alcohol and drinking patterns on driving behavior at stop signs and red lights. 28 participants participated in drinking and simulated driving sessions during which they received a moderate dose of alcohol (0.08% BAC) or a placebo. Simulated driving tasks measured participants' driving performance at stop signs and red lights in response to each dose. Results suggested that alcohol impaired the driver control of speed and direction and prolonged their simple and complex reaction time, which were exhibited by impaired speed and lateral control, longer reaction time when the lights turned yellow, and lower deceleration towards stop signs and red lights. Visual degradation may also occur under alcohol intake. It was also suggested that alcohol impaired non-binge drinkers more severely. To be specific, higher acceleration was observed in impaired non-binge drinkers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Clinical Trials

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Events About NHLBI About NHLBI Home Mission and Strategic Vision Leadership Scientific Divisions Operations and Administration Advisory ... offer a variety of funding mechanisms tailored to planning and conducting clinical trials at all phases, including ...

  17. Stopping Power for Degenerate Electrons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singleton, Jr., Robert [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2016-05-16

    This is a first attempt at calculating the BPS stopping power with electron degeneracy corrections. Section I establishes some notation and basic facts. Section II outlines the basics of the calculation, and in Section III contains some brief notes on how to proceed with the details of the calculation. The remaining work for the calculation starts with Section III.

  18. Randomized, multicenter trial of lateral Trendelenburg versus semirecumbent body position for the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li Bassi, Gianluigi; Panigada, Mauro; Ranzani, Otavio T; Zanella, Alberto; Berra, Lorenzo; Cressoni, Massimo; Parrini, Vieri; Kandil, Hassan; Salati, Giovanni; Selvaggi, Paola; Amatu, Alessandro; Sanz-Moncosi, Miquel; Biagioni, Emanuela; Tagliaferri, Fernanda; Furia, Mirella; Mercurio, Giovanna; Costa, Antonietta; Manca, Tullio; Lindau, Simone; Babel, Jaksa; Cavana, Marco; Chiurazzi, Chiara; Marti, Joan-Daniel; Consonni, Dario; Gattinoni, Luciano; Pesenti, Antonio; Wiener-Kronish, Janine; Bruschi, Cecilia; Ballotta, Andrea; Salsi, Pierpaolo; Livigni, Sergio; Iotti, Giorgio; Fernandez, Javier; Girardis, Massimo; Barbagallo, Maria; Moise, Gabriella; Antonelli, Massimo; Caspani, Maria Luisa; Vezzani, Antonella; Meybohm, Patrick; Gasparovic, Vladimir; Geat, Edoardo; Amato, Marcelo; Niederman, Michael; Kolobow, Theodor; Torres, Antoni

    2017-11-01

    The lateral Trendelenburg position (LTP) may hinder the primary pathophysiologic mechanism of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). We investigated whether placing patients in the LTP would reduce the incidence of VAP in comparison with the semirecumbent position (SRP). This was a randomized, multicenter, controlled study in invasively ventilated critically ill patients. Two preplanned interim analyses were performed. Patients were randomized to be placed in the LTP or the SRP. The primary outcome, assessed by intention-to-treat analysis, was incidence of microbiologically confirmed VAP. Major secondary outcomes included mortality, duration of mechanical ventilation, and intensive care unit length of stay. At the second interim analysis, the trial was stopped because of low incidence of VAP, lack of benefit in secondary outcomes, and occurrence of adverse events. A total of 194 patients in the LTP group and 201 in the SRP group were included in the final intention-to-treat analysis. The incidence of microbiologically confirmed VAP was 0.5% (1/194) and 4.0% (8/201) in LTP and SRP patients, respectively (relative risk 0.13, 95% CI 0.02-1.03, p = 0.04). The 28-day mortality was 30.9% (60/194) and 26.4% (53/201) in LTP and SRP patients, respectively (relative risk 1.17, 95% CI 0.86-1.60, p = 0.32). Likewise, no differences were found in other secondary outcomes. Six serious adverse events were described in LTP patients (p = 0.01 vs. SRP). The LTP slightly decreased the incidence of microbiologically confirmed VAP. Nevertheless, given the early termination of the trial, the low incidence of VAP, and the adverse events associated with the LTP, the study failed to prove any significant benefit. Further clinical investigation is strongly warranted; however, at this time, the LTP cannot be recommended as a VAP preventive measure. CLINICALTRIALS. NCT01138540.

  19. Review of stopping power and Coulomb explosion for molecular ion in plasmas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guiqiu Wang

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available We summarize our theoretical studies for stopping power of energetic heavy ion, diatomic molecular ions and small clusters penetrating through plasmas. As a relevant research field for the heavy ion inertial confinement fusion (HICF, we lay the emphasis on the dynamic polarization and correlation effects of the constituent ion within the molecular ion and cluster for stopping power in order to disclose the role of the vicinage effect on the Coulomb explosion and energy deposition of molecules and clusters in plasma. On the other hand, as a promising scheme for ICF, both a strong laser field and an intense ion beam are used to irradiate a plasma target. So the influence of a strong laser field on stopping power is significant. We discussed a large range of laser and plasma parameters on the coulomb explosion and stopping power for correlated-ion cluster and C60 cluster. Furthermore, in order to indicate the effects of different cluster types and sizes on the stopping power, a comparison is made for hydrogen and carbon clusters. In addition, the deflection of molecular axis for diatomic molecules during the Coulomb explosion is also given for the cases both in the presence of a laser field and laser free. Finally, a future experimental scheme is put forward to measure molecular ion stopping power in plasmas in Xi'an Jiaotong University of China. Keywords: Molecules, Stopping power, Coulomb explosion, Vicinage effect, Laser, PACS Codes: 34.50.Bw, 52.40.Mj, 61.85.+p, 34.50.Dy

  20. PAIS 2 (Paracetamol [Acetaminophen] in Stroke 2): Results of a Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Ridder, Inger R; den Hertog, Heleen M; van Gemert, H Maarten A; Schreuder, A H C M L Tobien; Ruitenberg, Annemieke; Maasland, E Lisette; Saxena, Ritu; van Tuijl, Jordie H; Jansen, Ben P W; Van den Berg-Vos, Renske M; Vermeij, Frederique; Koudstaal, Peter J; Kappelle, L Jaap; Algra, Ale; van der Worp, H Bart; Dippel, Diederik W J

    2017-04-01

    Subfebrile body temperature and fever in the first days after stroke are strongly associated with unfavorable outcome. A subgroup analysis of a previous trial suggested that early treatment with paracetamol may improve functional outcome in patients with acute stroke and a body temperature of ≥36.5°C. In the present trial, we aimed to confirm this finding. PAIS 2 (Paracetamol [Acetaminophen] in Stroke 2) was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. We aimed to include 1500 patients with acute ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage within 12 hours of symptom onset. Patients were treated with paracetamol in a daily dose of 6 g or matching placebo for 3 consecutive days. The primary outcome was functional outcome at 3 months, assessed with the modified Rankin Scale and analyzed with multivariable ordinal logistic regression. Because of slow recruitment and lack of funding, the study was stopped prematurely. Between December 2011 and October 2015, we included 256 patients, of whom 136 (53%) were allocated to paracetamol. In this small sample, paracetamol had no effect on functional outcome (adjusted common odds ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 0.74-1.79). There was no difference in the number of serious adverse events (paracetamol n=35 [26%] versus placebo n=28 [24%]). Treatment with high-dose paracetamol seemed to be safe. The effect of high-dose paracetamol on functional outcome remains uncertain. Therefore, a large trial of early treatment with high-dose paracetamol is still needed. URL: http://www.trialregister.nl. Unique identifier: NTR2365. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  1. Reciprocity in the electronic stopping of slow ions in matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sigmund, P.

    2008-01-01

    The principle of reciprocity, i.e., the invariance of the inelastic excitation in ion-atom collisions against interchange of projectile and target, has been applied to the electronic stopping cross section of low-velocity ions and tested empirically on ion-target combinations supported by a more or less adequate amount of experimental data. Reciprocity is well obeyed (within ∼10%) for many systems studied, and deviations exceeding ∼20% are exceptional. Systematic deviations such as gas-solid or metal-insulator differences have been looked for but not identified on the present basis. A direct consequence of reciprocity is the equivalence of Z 1 with Z 2 structure for random slowing down. This feature is reasonably well supported empirically for ion-target combinations involving carbon, nitrogen, aluminium and argon. Reciprocity may be utilized as a criterion to reject questionable experimental data. In cases where a certain stopping cross section has not been or cannot be measured, the stopping cross section for the inverted system may be available and serve as a first estimate. It is suggested to build in reciprocity as a fundamental requirement into empirical interpolation schemes directed at the stopping of low-velocity ions. Examination of the SRIM and MSTAR codes reveals cases where reciprocity is obeyed accurately, but deviations of up to a factor of two are common. In case of heavy ions such as gold, electronic stopping cross sections predicted by SRIM are asserted to be almost an order of magnitude too high. (authors)

  2. Reciprocity in the electronic stopping of slow ions in matter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sigmund, P.

    2008-04-01

    The principle of reciprocity, i.e., the invariance of the inelastic excitation in ion-atom collisions against interchange of projectile and target, has been applied to the electronic stopping cross section of low-velocity ions and tested empirically on ion-target combinations supported by a more or less adequate amount of experimental data. Reciprocity is well obeyed (within ~10%) for many systems studied, and deviations exceeding ~20% are exceptional. Systematic deviations such as gas-solid or metal-insulator differences have been looked for but not identified on the present basis. A direct consequence of reciprocity is the equivalence of Z1 with Z2 structure for random slowing down. This feature is reasonably well supported empirically for ion-target combinations involving carbon, nitrogen, aluminium and argon. Reciprocity may be utilized as a criterion to reject questionable experimental data. In cases where a certain stopping cross section has not been or cannot be measured, the stopping cross section for the inverted system may be available and serve as a first estimate. It is suggested to build in reciprocity as a fundamental requirement into empirical interpolation schemes directed at the stopping of low-velocity ions. Examination of the SRIM and MSTAR codes reveals cases where reciprocity is obeyed accurately, but deviations of up to a factor of two are common. In case of heavy ions such as gold, electronic stopping cross sections predicted by SRIM are asserted to be almost an order of magnitude too high.

  3. Search for stop production in R-parity-violating supersymmetry at HERA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chekanov, S.; Derrick, M.; Magill, S. [Argonne National Laboratory, IL (US)] (and others)

    2006-11-15

    A search for stop production in R-parity-violating supersymmetry has been performed in e{sup +}p interactions with the ZEUS detector at HERA, using an integrated luminosity of 65 pb{sup -1}. At HERA, the R-parity-violating coupling {lambda}' allows resonant squark production, e{sup +}d{yields}q. Since the lowest-mass squark state in most supersymmetry models is the light stop, t, this search concentrated on production of t, followed either by a direct R-parity-violating decay, or by the gauge decay to b{sub {chi}{sub 1}}{sup +}. No evidence for stop production was found and limits were set on {lambda}{sub 131}' as a function of the stop mass in the framework of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. The results have also been interpreted in terms of constraints on the parameters of the minimal Supergravity model. (orig.)

  4. Specific treatment of problems of the spine (STOPS: design of a randomised controlled trial comparing specific physiotherapy versus advice for people with subacute low back disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richards Matthew C

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Low back disorders are a common and costly cause of pain and activity limitation in adults. Few treatment options have demonstrated clinically meaningful benefits apart from advice which is recommended in all international guidelines. Clinical heterogeneity of participants in clinical trials is hypothesised as reducing the likelihood of demonstrating treatment effects, and sampling of more homogenous subgroups is recommended. We propose five subgroups that allow the delivery of specific physiotherapy treatment targeting the pathoanatomical, neurophysiological and psychosocial components of low back disorders. The aim of this article is to describe the methodology of a randomised controlled trial comparing specific physiotherapy treatment to advice for people classified into five subacute low back disorder subgroups. Methods/Design A multi-centre parallel group randomised controlled trial is proposed. A minimum of 250 participants with subacute (6 weeks to 6 months low back pain and/or referred leg pain will be classified into one of five subgroups and then randomly allocated to receive either physiotherapy advice (2 sessions over 10 weeks or specific physiotherapy treatment (10 sessions over 10 weeks tailored according to the subgroup of the participant. Outcomes will be assessed at 5 weeks, 10 weeks, 6 months and 12 months following randomisation. Primary outcomes will be activity limitation measured with a modified Oswestry Disability Index as well as leg and back pain intensity measured on separate 0-10 Numerical Rating Scales. Secondary outcomes will include a 7-point global rating of change scale, satisfaction with physiotherapy treatment, satisfaction with treatment results, the Sciatica Frequency and Bothersomeness Scale, quality of life (EuroQol-5D, interference with work, and psychosocial risk factors (Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire. Adverse events and co-interventions will also be measured. Data will be

  5. Search for stopped long-lived particles produced in pp collisions at $\\sqrt{s}=13~\\mathrm{TeV}$

    CERN Document Server

    CMS Collaboration

    2017-01-01

    A search is presented for long-lived particles that lose sufficient kinetic energy and come to rest in the CMS detector. If such a particle decays to at least one standard model particle, it would produce a spectacular signature: a high-energy jet that is not coincident with the proton-proton collisions. During the time intervals without collisions, the detector is quiet and only rare background processes must be considered. The 2015 search is performed using a $2.7~\\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ sample of pp collision run data at $\\sqrt{s}=13~\\mathrm{TeV}$, corresponding to 135 hours of trigger livetime, while the 2016 search is carried out using a $36.8~\\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ sample of pp collision run data at the same energy, which corresponds to 586 hours of trigger livetime. Four events are observed in the 2015 analysis and thirteen events are observed in the 2016 analysis; both observed numbers of events are consistent with the predicted backgrounds. Limits are placed on the mass of gluinos and stop quarks with lifetimes...

  6. Development and feasibility of the misuse, abuse, and diversion drug event reporting system (MADDERS®).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treister, Roi; Trudeau, Jeremiah J; Van Inwegen, Richard; Jones, Judith K; Katz, Nathaniel P

    2016-12-01

    Inappropriate use of analgesic drugs has become increasingly pervasive over the past decade. Currently, drug abuse potential is primarily assessed post-marketing; no validated tools are available to assess this potential in phase II and III clinical trials. This paper describes the development and feasibility testing of a Misuse, Abuse, and Diversion Drug Event Reporting System (MADDERS), which aims to identify potentially abuse-related events and classify them according to a recently developed classification scheme, allowing the quantification of these events in clinical trials. The system was initially conceived and designed with input from experts and patients, followed by field-testing to assess its feasibility and content validity in both completed and ongoing clinical trials. The results suggest that MADDERS is a feasible system with initial validity. It showed higher rates of the triggering events in subjects taking medications with known abuse potential than in patients taking medications without abuse potential. Additionally, experts agreed on the classification of most abuse-related events in MADDERS. MADDERS is a new systematic approach to collect information on potentially abuse-related events in clinical trials and classify them. The system has demonstrated feasibility for implementation. Additional research is ongoing to further evaluate its validity. Currently, there are no validated tools to assess drug abuse potential during clinical trials. Because of its ease of implementation, its systematic approach, and its preliminary validation results, MADDERS could provide such a tool for clinical trials. (Am J Addict 2016;25:641-651). © 2016 American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

  7. Role of blood pressure and other variables in the differential cardiovascular event rates noted in the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial-Blood Pressure Lowering Arm (ASCOT-BPLA)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulter, Neil R; Wedel, Hans; Dahlöf, Björn

    2005-01-01

    Results of the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial-Blood Pressure Lowering Arm (ASCOT-BPLA) show significantly lower rates of coronary and stroke events in individuals allocated an amlodipine-based combination drug regimen than in those allocated an atenolol-based combination drug regimen (HR...

  8. Book Review: Stop, Write!

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hans Thulesius

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This book on writing grounded theory is intended for the empirical GT researcher who wants to pursue his/her research until publication. It is the first book devoted entirely to such a crucial issue as writing grounded theory. Thus, Stop, Write: Writing Grounded Theory, is a practical book that fills a gap in GT methodology. In the first chapter of the book, Dr. Glaser says, “Stop unending conceptualization, unending data coverage, and unending listening to others who would egg you on with additional data, ideas and/or requirements or simply wait too long”. The book teaches the reader how to actually write a grounded theory by “simply” writing up the sorted memos. This requires efficient sorting that is dealt with in chapter two on Sorting Memos, which includes precious repetition from Theoretical Sensitivity (1978. How writing can be done effectively is outlined in chapter three The Working Paper. Then follows chapter four on how to rework the first draft with the different tasks of editing for language and professionalism. Thereafter Dr. Glaser discusses Writing Problems in chapter five where he gives useful guidance on how to overcome writing blocks and problems with supervisors and dissertation committees. The book also deals with publishing and with collaboration as experienced between Barney Glaser and the cofounder of grounded theory, Anselm Strauss.

  9. Anatomy of maximal stop mixing in the MSSM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruemmer, Felix; Kraml, Sabine; Kulkarni, Suchita

    2012-05-01

    A Standard Model-like Higgs near 125 GeV in the MSSM requires multi-TeV stop masses, or a near-maximal contribution to its mass from stop mixing. We investigate the maximal mixing scenario, and in particular its prospects for being realized it in potentially realistic GUT models. We work out constraints on the possible GUT-scale soft terms, which we compare with what can be obtained from some well-known mechanisms of SUSY breaking mediation. Finally, we analyze two promising scenarios in detail, namely gaugino mediation and gravity mediation with non-universal Higgs masses.

  10. International Symposium of Scientists for Nuclear test Stopping

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1986-01-01

    Problems discussed at International Symposium of Scientists for Nuclear Test Stopping in July 1986 in Moscow were considered. Scientists discussed complex of possible measures directed at strengthening of peace supporting mechanism, spoke in support of prohibition of all nuclear weapon tests. Necessity of measures preventing the weapon delivery to space, construction of the regime of using cosmic equipment exclusively for peace was noted. Attention was paid to the problem of control for test stopping (by means of sattelites and seismic methods), cooperation establishment between the USSR Academy of Sciences and the Council for the protection of the USA Natural Resources

  11. Anatomy of maximal stop mixing in the MSSM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bruemmer, Felix [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Kraml, Sabine; Kulkarni, Suchita [CNRS/IN2P3, INPG, Grenoble (France). Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et de Cosmologie

    2012-05-15

    A Standard Model-like Higgs near 125 GeV in the MSSM requires multi-TeV stop masses, or a near-maximal contribution to its mass from stop mixing. We investigate the maximal mixing scenario, and in particular its prospects for being realized it in potentially realistic GUT models. We work out constraints on the possible GUT-scale soft terms, which we compare with what can be obtained from some well-known mechanisms of SUSY breaking mediation. Finally, we analyze two promising scenarios in detail, namely gaugino mediation and gravity mediation with non-universal Higgs masses.

  12. Maintenance cost savings - snubber elimination with limit stops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cloud, R.L.; Taylor, W.H.

    1993-01-01

    'Active' snubbers can be replaced with 'passive' Limit Stops using two separate strategies. One is a straightforward piping re-analysis to optimize the number of dynamic supports and replace remaining snubbers with Limit Stops. A second approach is to take implicit advantage of the margins afforded by the ASME Code Case N-411 reduced damping ratios and simply replace snubbers one-for-one with no re-analysis. Both methods result in major maintenance cost savings and both have been discussed with the NRC. Approaches to maintenance cost reduction using these strategies are discussed in this paper

  13. Coherent resonance stop bands in alternating gradient beam transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, K.; Okamoto, H.; Tokashiki, Y.; Fukushima, K.

    2017-06-01

    An extensive experimental study is performed to confirm fundamental resonance bands of an intense hadron beam propagating through an alternating gradient linear transport channel. The present work focuses on the most common lattice geometry called "FODO" or "doublet" that consists of two quadrupoles of opposite polarities. The tabletop ion-trap system "S-POD" (Simulator of Particle Orbit Dynamics) developed at Hiroshima University is employed to clarify the parameter-dependence of coherent beam instability. S-POD can provide a non-neutral plasma physically equivalent to a charged-particle beam in a periodic focusing potential. In contrast with conventional experimental approaches relying on large-scale machines, it is straightforward in S-POD to control the doublet geometry characterized by the quadrupole filling factor and drift-space ratio. We verify that the resonance feature does not essentially change depending on these geometric factors. A few clear stop bands of low-order resonances always appear in the same pattern as previously found with the sinusoidal focusing model. All stop bands become widened and shift to the higher-tune side as the beam density is increased. In the space-charge-dominated regime, the most dangerous stop band is located at the bare betatron phase advance slightly above 90 degrees. Experimental data from S-POD suggest that this severe resonance is driven mainly by the linear self-field potential rather than by nonlinear external imperfections and, therefore, unavoidable at high beam density. The instability of the third-order coherent mode generates relatively weak but noticeable stop bands near the phase advances of 60 and 120 degrees. The latter sextupole stop band is considerably enhanced by lattice imperfections. In a strongly asymmetric focusing channel, extra attention may have to be paid to some coupling resonance lines induced by the Coulomb potential. Our interpretations of experimental data are supported by theoretical

  14. Predictors of discontinuation of antipsychotic medication and subsequent outcomes in the European First Episode Schizophrenia Trial (EUFEST)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Landolt, Karin; Rössler, Wulf; Ajdacic-Gross, Vladeta; Derks, Eske M.; Libiger, Jan; Kahn, René S.; Fleischhacker, W. Wolfgang

    2016-01-01

    This study had two aims: to describe patients suffering from first-episode schizophrenia who had stopped taking any antipsychotic medication, and to gain information on the predictors of successful discontinuation. We investigated data from the European First Episode Schizophrenia Trial (EUFEST).

  15. Brownian Optimal Stopping and Random Walks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamberton, D.

    2002-01-01

    One way to compute the value function of an optimal stopping problem along Brownian paths consists of approximating Brownian motion by a random walk. We derive error estimates for this type of approximation under various assumptions on the distribution of the approximating random walk

  16. Empirical Analysis and Modeling of Stop-Line Crossing Time and Speed at Signalized Intersections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keshuang Tang

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In China, a flashing green (FG indication of 3 s followed by a yellow (Y indication of 3 s is commonly applied to end the green phase at signalized intersections. Stop-line crossing behavior of drivers during such a phase transition period significantly influences safety performance of signalized intersections. The objective of this study is thus to empirically analyze and model drivers’ stop-line crossing time and speed in response to the specific phase transition period of FG and Y. High-resolution trajectories for 1465 vehicles were collected at three rural high-speed intersections with a speed limit of 80 km/h and two urban intersections with a speed limit of 50 km/h in Shanghai. With the vehicle trajectory data, statistical analyses were performed to look into the general characteristics of stop-line crossing time and speed at the two types of intersections. A multinomial logit model and a multiple linear regression model were then developed to predict the stop-line crossing patterns and speeds respectively. It was found that the percentage of stop-line crossings during the Y interval is remarkably higher and the stop-line crossing time is approximately 0.7 s longer at the urban intersections, as compared with the rural intersections. In addition, approaching speed and distance to the stop-line at the onset of FG as well as area type significantly affect the percentages of stop-line crossings during the FG and Y intervals. Vehicle type and stop-line crossing pattern were found to significantly influence the stop-line crossing speed, in addition to the above factors. The red-light-running seems to occur more frequently at the large intersections with a long cycle length.

  17. Clinical presentation and course of bleeding events in patients with venous thromboembolism, treated with apixaban or enoxaparin and warfarin. Results from the AMPLIFY trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bleker, Suzanne M; Cohen, Alexander T; Büller, Harry R; Agnelli, Giancarlo; Gallus, Alexander S; Raskob, Gary E; Weitz, Jeffrey I; Curto, Madelyn; Sisson, Melanie; Middeldorp, Saskia

    2016-11-30

    Apixaban, a direct acting oral anticoagulant (DOAC), was found to be non-inferior to and safer as enoxaparin followed by warfarin for treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the AMPLIFY trial. Information is needed on how bleeding events with DOACs present and develop. In this post-hoc analysis, the clinical presentation and course of all major and clinically relevant non major (CRNM) bleeding events in the AMPLIFY trial were blindly classified by three investigators, using pre-designed classification schemes containing four categories. Odds ratios (OR) for classifying as category three or four (representing a more severe clinical presentation and course) were calculated between apixaban and enoxaparin/warfarin. In total, 63 major and 311 CRNM bleeding events were classified. Of the major bleeds, a more severe clinical presentation occurred in 28.5 % of apixaban versus 44.9 % of enoxaparin/warfarin related recipients (OR 0.49, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.14-1.78). A severe clinical course was observed in 14.3 % and in 12.2 %, respectively (OR 1.19, 95 %CI 0.21-6.69). Of the CRNM bleeding events, a more severe clinical presentation and extent of clinical care was found in 25 % of apixaban recipients compared to 22.7 % in the enoxaparin/warfarin group (OR 1.13, 95 %CI 0.65-1.97). The clinical presentation and course of major and CRNM bleeds were similar in apixaban and enoxaparin/warfarin treated patients. This finding should reassure physicians and patients that even in the absence of a specific reversal agent, apixaban is a convenient and safe choice for VTE.

  18. Optimal Stopping Problems Driven by Lévy Processes and Pasting Principles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Surya, B.A.

    2007-01-01

    Solving optimal stopping problems driven by Lévy processes has been a challenging task and has found many applications in modern theory of mathematical finance. For example situations in which optimal stopping typically arise include the problem of finding the arbitrage-free price of the American

  19. Approximations for stop-loss reinsurance premiums

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reijnen, Rajko; Albers, Willem/Wim; Kallenberg, W.C.M.

    2005-01-01

    Various approximations of stop-loss reinsurance premiums are described in literature. For a wide variety of claim size distributions and retention levels, such approximations are compared in this paper to each other, as well as to a quantitative criterion. For the aggregate claims two models are

  20. Computational prediction of muon stopping sites using ab initio random structure searching (AIRSS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liborio, Leandro; Sturniolo, Simone; Jochym, Dominik

    2018-04-01

    The stopping site of the muon in a muon-spin relaxation experiment is in general unknown. There are some techniques that can be used to guess the muon stopping site, but they often rely on approximations and are not generally applicable to all cases. In this work, we propose a purely theoretical method to predict muon stopping sites in crystalline materials from first principles. The method is based on a combination of ab initio calculations, random structure searching, and machine learning, and it has successfully predicted the MuT and MuBC stopping sites of muonium in Si, diamond, and Ge, as well as the muonium stopping site in LiF, without any recourse to experimental results. The method makes use of Soprano, a Python library developed to aid ab initio computational crystallography, that was publicly released and contains all the software tools necessary to reproduce our analysis.

  1. Behavioural and ERP indices of response inhibition during a Stop-signal task in children with two subtypes of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnstone, Stuart J; Barry, Robert J; Clarke, Adam R

    2007-10-01

    Previous research has shown that children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder of the Combined Type (AD/HDcom) have problems with response inhibition, with poorer task performance and atypical inhibition-related ERPs relative to control subjects, while little is known about response inhibition in children with Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder of the Predominantly Inattentive Type (AD/HDin). In this study children with AD/HDin (N=12), AD/HDcom (N=13) and age-matched controls (N=13) aged between 8 and 14 years completed a Stop-signal task, with visual Go and auditory Stop-signal stimuli, while EEG was recorded. The results indicated that the groups did not differ on any inhibitory task performance measure, but the AD/HD groups showed more errors of omission to Go stimuli than controls. ERPs to the visual Go stimuli differed between children with AD/HDin and controls (increased central N1 and N2, decreased central P2 and increased parietal P3), while the AD/HDcom group showed only minor scalp distribution differences for N2 and P3. The AD/HDin group showed amplitude differences from controls to Stop signals (larger central N1 and parietal P3; reduced midline N2) and did not show a Successful vs. Failed inhibition effect for P3. The AD/HDcom group showed reduced parietal P3 to Stop signals, with the Trial Type effect present for N2 but not P3. These data suggest that the apparent atypical inhibitory processing at N2 and P3 may stem, at least in part, from atypical early sensory/alerting processing of all stimuli in children with AD/HDin.

  2. Correlated stopping, proton clusters and higher order proton cumulants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bzdak, Adam [AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science, Krakow (Poland); Koch, Volker [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Nuclear Science Division, Berkeley, CA (United States); Skokov, Vladimir [RIKEN/BNL, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States)

    2017-05-15

    We investigate possible effects of correlations between stopped nucleons on higher order proton cumulants at low energy heavy-ion collisions. We find that fluctuations of the number of wounded nucleons N{sub part} lead to rather nontrivial dependence of the correlations on the centrality; however, this effect is too small to explain the large and positive four-proton correlations found in the preliminary data collected by the STAR collaboration at √(s) = 7.7 GeV. We further demonstrate that, by taking into account additional proton clustering, we are able to qualitatively reproduce the preliminary experimental data. We speculate that this clustering may originate either from collective/multi-collision stopping which is expected to be effective at lower energies or from a possible first-order phase transition, or from (attractive) final state interactions. To test these ideas we propose to measure a mixed multi-particle correlation between stopped protons and a produced particle (e.g. pion, antiproton). (orig.)

  3. Potential information and stopping power from channeling in diamond

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edge, R.D.; Derry, J.E.; Fearick, R.W.; Sellschop, J.P.F.

    1983-01-01

    When a carefully cleaned diamond crystal was bombarded with helium nuclei parallel to a low index plane, up to seven peaks in the energy spectrum of backscattered ions were seen. These arose from particles oscillating to and fro across the channel as they progressed along it. Spectra taken with ions incident in different directions in the same plane allowed both the wavelengths of the oscillations in the channel, lambda, and the stopping power within the channel to be obtained. The character of the oscillations changed as the beam deviated from exact alignment with the channel, giving the highest maximum at an angle /psi/ /SUB m/ to the channel. Calculations based on those of Barrett employing lambda, /psi/ /SUB m/, and the stopping power showed a smoother potential for the (111) planar channel, which has a larger spacing, than (100) and (110). The energy dependence of the stopping power and oscillation wavelength was also determined from 0.2 to 1.2 MeV for the (110) planar channel

  4. Port Authority of Allegheny County Transit Stops

    Data.gov (United States)

    Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — All transit stops within the Port Authority of Allegheny County's service area for the November 20, 2016 - March (TBD) 2017 schedule period.

  5. Adaptive weak approximation of reflected and stopped diffusions

    KAUST Repository

    Bayer, Christian

    2010-01-01

    We study the weak approximation problem of diffusions, which are reflected at a subset of the boundary of a domain and stopped at the remaining boundary. First, we derive an error representation for the projected Euler method of Costantini, Pacchiarotti and Sartoretto [Costantini et al., SIAM J. Appl. Math., 58(1):73-102, 1998], based on which we introduce two new algorithms. The first one uses a correction term from the representation in order to obtain a higher order of convergence, but the computation of the correction term is, in general, not feasible in dimensions d > 1. The second algorithm is adaptive in the sense of Moon, Szepessy, Tempone and Zouraris [Moon et al., Stoch. Anal. Appl., 23:511-558, 2005], using stochastic refinement of the time grid based on a computable error expansion derived from the representation. Regarding the stopped diffusion, it is based in the adaptive algorithm for purely stopped diffusions presented in Dzougoutov, Moon, von Schwerin, Szepessy and Tempone [Dzougoutov et al., Lect. Notes Comput. Sci. Eng., 44, 59-88, 2005]. We give numerical examples underlining the theoretical results. © de Gruyter 2010.

  6. Automatic generation of stop word lists for information retrieval and analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Stuart J

    2013-01-08

    Methods and systems for automatically generating lists of stop words for information retrieval and analysis. Generation of the stop words can include providing a corpus of documents and a plurality of keywords. From the corpus of documents, a term list of all terms is constructed and both a keyword adjacency frequency and a keyword frequency are determined. If a ratio of the keyword adjacency frequency to the keyword frequency for a particular term on the term list is less than a predetermined value, then that term is excluded from the term list. The resulting term list is truncated based on predetermined criteria to form a stop word list.

  7. Quitting time: When do honey bee foragers decide to stop foraging on natural resources?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael eRivera

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Honey bee foragers may use both personal and social information when making decisions about when to visit resources. In particular, foragers may stop foraging at resources when their own experience indicates declining resource quality, or when social information, namely the delay to being able to unload nectar to receiver bees, indicates that the colony has little need for the particular resource being collected. Here we test the relative importance of these two factors in a natural setting, where colonies are using many dynamically changing resources. We recorded detailed foraging histories of individually marked bees, and identified when they appeared to abandon any resources (such as flower patches that they had previously been collecting from consistently. As in previous studies, we recorded duration of trophallaxis events (unloading nectar to receiver bees as a proxy for resource quality and the delays before returning foragers started trophallaxis as a proxy for social need for the resource. If these proxy measures accurately reflect changes in resource quality and social need, they should predict whether bees continue foraging or not. However, neither factor predicted when individuals stopped foraging on a particular resource, nor did they explain changes in colony-level foraging activity. This may indicate that other, as yet unstudied processes also affect individual decisions to abandon particular resources.

  8. Prestimulus subsequent memory effects for auditory and visual events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otten, Leun J; Quayle, Angela H; Puvaneswaran, Bhamini

    2010-06-01

    It has been assumed that the effective encoding of information into memory primarily depends on neural activity elicited when an event is initially encountered. Recently, it has been shown that memory formation also relies on neural activity just before an event. The precise role of such activity in memory is currently unknown. Here, we address whether prestimulus activity affects the encoding of auditory and visual events, is set up on a trial-by-trial basis, and varies as a function of the type of recognition judgment an item later receives. Electrical brain activity was recorded from the scalps of 24 healthy young adults while they made semantic judgments on randomly intermixed series of visual and auditory words. Each word was preceded by a cue signaling the modality of the upcoming word. Auditory words were preceded by auditory cues and visual words by visual cues. A recognition memory test with remember/know judgments followed after a delay of about 45 min. As observed previously, a negative-going, frontally distributed modulation just before visual word onset predicted later recollection of the word. Crucially, the same effect was found for auditory words and observed on stay as well as switch trials. These findings emphasize the flexibility and general role of prestimulus activity in memory formation, and support a functional interpretation of the activity in terms of semantic preparation. At least with an unpredictable trial sequence, the activity is set up anew on each trial.

  9. Car Stopping Distance on a Tabletop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haugland, Ole Anton

    2013-01-01

    Stopping distances in car braking can be an intriguing topic in physics teaching. It illustrates some basic principles of physics, and sheds valuable light on students' attitude towards aggressive driving. Due to safety considerations, it can be difficult to make experiments with actual car braking. (Contains 2 figures.)

  10. Maintenance cost savings - snubber elimination with limit stops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monette, P.; Baltus, R.; Cloud, R.L.

    1995-01-01

    ''Active'' snubbers can be replaced with ''passive'' Limit Stops using two separate strategies. One is a straightforward piping re-analysis to optimize the number of dynamics supports and replace remaining snubbers with Limit Stops. A second approach is to take implicit advantage of the margins afforded by the ASME Code Case N-411 damping ratios and simply replace snubbers one-for-one with no re-analysis. Both methods result in major maintenance cost savings and both have been received favorably by the USNRC (United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission). Approaches to maintenance cost reduction using these strategies are discussed in this paper. (Author). 11 refs., 4 figs

  11. Measurement of stopping power of light ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakamoto, Naoki

    1981-01-01

    The stopping power of light ions penetrating various materials has been measured. The data of proton stopping power and the mean ionization potentials are presented. The experiments were made by using the 6.75 MeV protons from a cyclotron and the protons in the energy range from 3 to 9 MeV from a tandem Van de Graaff. The windows with and without sample-foils were rotated in front of a semiconductor detector, and the measured energy loss and the thickness of the sample foils were used to estimate the energy loss at the mean energy of protons in the samples. The analyses were made by considering the inner shell correction, Z 1 3 correction and the Bloch correction. The mean ionization potentials were derived from the data. (Kato, T.)

  12. Lessons Learned and Legacy of the Stop Transmission of Polio Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Yinka; Mailhot, Melinda; Williams, Alford A J; Swezy, Virginia; Quick, Linda; Tangermann, Rudolf H; Ward, Kirsten; Benke, Amalia; Callaghan, Anna; Clark, Kathleen; Emery, Brian; Nix, Jessica; Aydlotte, Eleanor; Newman, Charlotte; Nkowane, Benjamin

    2017-07-01

    In 1988, the by the World Health Assembly established the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which consisted of a partnership among the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United Nations Children's Fund. By 2016, the annual incidence of polio had decreased by >99.9%, compared with 1988, and at the time of writing, only 3 countries in which wild poliovirus circulation has never been interrupted remain: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. A key strategy for polio eradication has been the development of a skilled and deployable workforce to implement eradication activities across the globe. In 1999, the Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) program was developed and initiated by the CDC, in collaboration with the WHO, to train and mobilize additional human resources to provide technical assistance to polio-endemic countries. STOP has also informed the development of other public health workforce capacity to support polio eradication efforts, including national STOP programs. In addition, the program has diversified to address measles and rubella elimination, data management and quality, and strengthening routine immunization programs. This article describes the STOP program and how it has contributed to polio eradication by building global public health workforce capacity. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

  13. Failing at College Football Reform: The Jan Kemp Trial at the University of Georgia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulford, Michael J.

    2008-01-01

    Throughout the history of college football, there have been efforts to reform the system and stop improprieties, yet conflict between gaining academic and athletic prowess at colleges remained a central theme. In the 1980s, the Jan Kemp trial involving the University of Georgia demonstrated this clash between revenue-generating athletics and…

  14. Atorvastatin reduces the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with carotid atherosclerosis: a secondary analysis of the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sillesen, H.; Amarenco, P.; Hennerici, M.G.

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels (SPARCL) trial found that treatment with atorvastatin 80 mg per day reduced the risk of stroke and cardiovascular events in patients with a recent transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke. We hypothesized...... this benefit would be greatest in the subgroup of patients with carotid stenosis. METHODS: The SPARCL trial randomized patients with TIA or stroke within 1 to 6 months without known coronary heart disease (CHD) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol 100 to 190 mg/dL to treatment with atorvastatin 80 mg per...... artery stenosis, treatment with atorvastatin was associated with a 33% reduction in the risk of any stroke (hazard ratio [HR] 0.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.47, 0.94; P=0.02), and a 43% reduction in risk of major coronary events (HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.32, 1.00; P=0.05). Later carotid revascularization...

  15. Extreme control of light in metamaterials: Complete and loss-free stopping of light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsakmakidis, Kosmas L.; Hess, Ortwin

    2012-01-01

    We present an overview of recent advances within the field of slow- and stopped-light in metamaterial and plasmonic waveguides. We start by elucidating the mechanisms by which these configurations can enable complete stopping of light. Decoherence mechanisms may destroy the zero-group-velocity condition for real-frequency/complex-wavevector modes, but we show that metamaterial and nanoplasmonic waveguides also support complex-frequency/real-wavevector modes that uphold the light-stopping condition. A further point of focus is how, by using gain, dissipative losses can be overcome in the slow- and stopped-light regimes. To this end, on the basis of full-wave finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations and analytic transfer-matrix calculations, we show that the incorporation of thin layers made of an active medium, placed adjacently to the core layer of a negative-refractive-index waveguide, can fully remove dissipative losses - in a slow- or stopped-light regime where the effective index of the guided lightwave remains negative.

  16. Measurements of Ion Stopping around the Bragg Peak in High-Energy-Density Plasmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frenje, Johan

    2015-11-01

    Over the last few decades, ion stopping in weakly- to strongly-coupled High-Energy-Density (HED) plasmas has been subject to extensive analytical and numerical studies, but only a limited set of experimental data exists to check the validity of these theories. Most of these experiments also did not probe the detailed characteristics of the Bragg peak (peak ion stopping) where the ion velocity is similar to the average thermal electron velocity. To the best of our knowledge, only one exploratory attempt to do this was conducted by Hicks et al., who were able to describe qualitatively the behavior of the Bragg peak for one plasma condition. The work described in this presentation makes significant advances over previous experimental efforts by quantitatively assessing the characteristics of the ion stopping, ranging from low-velocity stopping, through the Bragg peak, to high-velocity stopping for different HED plasma conditions. This was achieved by measuring the energy loss of DD-tritons, D3He-alphas, DD-protons and D3He-protons, with distinctly different velocities, and the results indicate that the stopping power varies strongly with Te and ne. This effort represents the first experimental test of state-of-art plasma-stopping-power theories around the Bragg peak, which is an important first step in our efforts of getting a fundamental understanding of DT-alpha stopping in HED plasmas, a prerequisite for understanding ignition margins in various implosion designs with varying hot spot areal density at the National Ignition Facility. The work described here was performed in part at the LLE National Laser User's Facility (NLUF), and was supported in part by US DOE (Grant No. DE-FG03- 03SF22691), LLNL (subcontract Grant No. B504974) and LLE (subcontract Grant No. 412160-001G).

  17. Electroweak baryogenesis and Higgs and stop searches at LEP and the Tevatron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carena, M.; Quiros, M.; Wagner, C.E.M.

    1998-01-01

    It has been recently shown that the observed baryon number may originate at the electroweak phase transition, provided that the Higgs boson and the lightest stop are sufficiently light. In this work, we perform a detailed analysis, including all dominant two-loop finite-temperature corrections to the Higgs effective potential, as well as the non-trivial effects proceeding from the mixing in the stop sector, to define the region of parameter space for which electroweak baryogenesis can happen. The limits on the stop and Higgs masses are obtained by taking into account the experimental bounds on these quantities, as well as those coming from the requirement of avoiding dangerous color breaking minima. We find for the Higgs mass m h < or∼105 GeV, while the stop mass may be close to the present experimental bound and must be smaller than, or of the order of, the top quark mass. These results provide a very strong motivation for further non-perturbative analysis of the electroweak phase transition, as well as for the search for Higgs and stop particles at the LEP and Tevatron colliders. (orig.)

  18. Spread the Word: The Stop.Think.Connect.[TM] Community Outreach Guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    US Department of Homeland Security, 2013

    2013-01-01

    The "Stop.Think.Connect. Community Outreach Toolkit" was adapted from the Federal Trade Commission's "OnGuardOnline.gov," a project that provides practical tips to help guard against Internet fraud and protect your privacy. The kit will help you offer your community information about protecting kids online. It includes "Stop.Think.Connect.," a…

  19. Nuclear stopping in oxygen-induced reactions at 200 A GeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Obenshain, F.E.; Albrecht, R.; Awes, T.C.

    1988-01-01

    A primary goal of relativistic heavy-ion studies is to verify the existence of the postulated quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Since most of the possible plasma signatures are indistinguishable from background created by nonplasma events. Thorough understanding of reaction mechanisms is an important prerequisite in any QGP search. To isolate collective features of nucleus-nucleus collisions from those that may be expected on the basis of linear superposition of nucleon-nucleus collisions, we compare measured quantities with calculations that reproduce data from nucleon-induced reactions and that make predictions for nucleus-nucleus reactions. Here we discuss the data obtained from our Zero-Degree Calorimeter (ZDC) and the transverse energy obtained from the Mid-Rapidity Calorimeter (MIRAC). The primary reactions considered are: 16 O + 16 C and 16 O + 197 Au. The measurements show a high degree of nuclear stopping and the energy densities may be large enough to produce a transition to the quark-gluon plasma. 10 refs., 5 figs

  20. Optimal design of a beam stop for Indus-2 using finite element heat

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The radiation source impinges ∼ 1 kW power on the beam stop and the heat transfer capabilities of the beam stop have been evaluated. Temperature distribution in the beam stop has been obtained under various cooling conditions using the finite element analysis calculations with ANSYS software. Design parameters of ...

  1. Bus Stops and Pedestrian-Motor Vehicle Collisions in Lima, Peru: A Matched Case-Control Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quistberg, D. Alex; Koepsell, Thomas D.; Johnston, Brian D.; Boyle, Linda Ng; Miranda, J. Jaime; Ebel, Beth E.

    2015-01-01

    Objective To evaluate the relationship between bus stop characteristics and pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions. Design Matched case-control study where the units of study were pedestrian crossing. Setting Random sample of 11 police commissaries in Lima, Peru. Data collection occurred from February, 2011 to September, 2011. Participants 97 intersection cases representing 1,134 collisions and 40 mid-block cases representing 469 collisions that occurred between October, 2010 and January, 2011 and their matched controls. Main Exposures Presence of a bus stop and specific bus stop characteristics. Main Outcome Occurrence of a pedestrian-motor vehicle collision. Results Intersections with bus stops were three times more likely to have a pedestrian-vehicle collision (OR 3.28, 95% CI 1.53-7.03), relative to intersections without bus stops. Both formal and informal bus stops were associated with a higher odds of a collision at intersections (OR 6.23, 95% CI 1.76-22.0 and OR 2.98, 1.37-6.49). At mid-block sites, bus stops on a bus-dedicated transit lane were also associated with collision risk (OR 2.36, 95% CI 1.02-5.42). All bus stops were located prior to the intersection, contrary to practices in most high income countries. Conclusions In urban Lima, the presence of a bus stop was associated with a three-fold increase in risk of a pedestrian collision. The highly competitive environment among bus companies may provide an economic incentive for risky practices such as dropping off passengers in the middle of traffic and jockeying for position with other buses. Bus stop placement should be considered to improve pedestrian safety. PMID:24357516

  2. [Is this the end for double RAAS inhibition?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Deinum, J.

    2014-01-01

    Recently, the VA NEPHRON-D study was stopped early due to insignificant effects and increased adverse events. This was the last in a series of trials on the value of dual versus single blockade of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in patients at risk for renal or cardiovascular complications.

  3. Serenoa repens (saw palmetto): a systematic review of adverse events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agbabiaka, Taofikat B; Pittler, Max H; Wider, Barbara; Ernst, Edzard

    2009-01-01

    Serenoa repens (W. Bartram) Small, also known as saw palmetto, is one of the most widely used herbal preparations for the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Although a number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews of the efficacy of S. repens for the treatment of LUTS and BPH have been published, no systematic review on its drug interactions or adverse events currently exists. This review assesses all available human safety data of S. repens monopreparations. Systematic literature searches were conducted from date of inception to February 2008 in five electronic databases; reference lists and our departmental files were checked for further relevant publications. Information was requested from spontaneous reporting schemes of the WHO and national safety bodies. Twenty-four manufacturers/distributors of S. repens preparations and four herbalist organizations were contacted for additional information. No language restrictions were imposed. Only reports of adverse events in humans from monopreparations of S. repens were included. Data from all articles, regardless of study design, reporting adverse events or interactions were independently extracted by the first author and validated by the second. Forty articles (26 randomized controlled trials, 4 non-randomized controlled trials, 6 uncontrolled trials and 4 case reports/series) were included. They suggest that adverse events associated with the use of S. repens are mild and similar to those with placebo. The most frequently reported adverse events are abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea, fatigue, headache, decreased libido and rhinitis. More serious adverse events such as death and cerebral haemorrhage are reported in isolated case reports and data from spontaneous reporting schemes, but causality is questionable. No drug interactions were reported. Currently available data suggest that S. repens is well tolerated by most users and is not

  4. Socioeconomic differences in outdoor food advertising at public transit stops across Melbourne suburbs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Settle, Philippa J; Cameron, Adrian J; Thornton, Lukar E

    2014-10-01

    To assess and compare the number and type of outdoor food advertisements at public transit stops within suburbs of varying levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. An observational audit tool was developed and implemented to assess the number and type of food advertisements at public transit stops within Melbourne, Victoria. A total of 20 Melbourne neighbourhoods (suburbs) from across the least and the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas were selected. All public transit stops, including train stations and bus and tram stops with a shelter were audited.  A similar proportion of transit stops in the least and most-disadvantaged suburbs displayed food advertisements (total n=203). However, some differences in the type of advertisements across suburbs were noted with advertisements for fast food restaurants, flavoured milk and fruit juice more common in the most-disadvantaged neighbourhoods (all padvertisements for diet soft drink, tea, coffee and convenience stores more common in the least-disadvantaged neighbourhoods (all padvertising at Melbourne transit stops found 30% displayed food advertisements, with those in more disadvantaged suburbs more frequently promoting chain-brand fast food and less frequently promoting diet varieties of soft drinks. These findings may help raise awareness of unhealthy environmental exposures. © 2014 Public Health Association of Australia.

  5. Lithium carbonate in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: lack of efficacy in a dose-finding trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiò, A; Borghero, G; Calvo, A; Capasso, M; Caponnetto, C; Corbo, M; Giannini, F; Logroscino, G; Mandrioli, J; Marcello, N; Mazzini, L; Moglia, C; Monsurrò, M R; Mora, G; Patti, F; Perini, M; Pietrini, V; Pisano, F; Pupillo, E; Sabatelli, M; Salvi, F; Silani, V; Simone, I L; Sorarù, G; Tola, M R; Volanti, P; Beghi, E

    2010-08-17

    A neuroprotective effect of lithium in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has been recently reported. We performed a multicenter trial with lithium carbonate to assess its tolerability, safety, and efficacy in patients with ALS, comparing 2 different target blood levels (0.4-0.8 mEq/L, therapeutic group [TG], vs 0.2-0.4 mEq/L, subtherapeutic group [STG]). The study was a multicenter, single-blind, randomized, dose-finding trial, conducted from May 2008 to November 2009 in 21 Italian ALS centers. The trial was registered with the public database of the Italian Agency for Drugs (http://oss-sper-clin.agenziafarmaco.it/) (EudraCT number 2008-001094-15). As of October 2009, a total of 171 patients had been enrolled, 87 randomized to the TG and 84 to the STG. The interim data analysis, performed per protocol, showed that 117 patients (68.4%) discontinued the study because of death/tracheotomy/severe disability, adverse events (AEs)/serious AEs (SAEs), or lack of efficacy. The Data Monitoring Committee recommended stopping the trial on November 2, 2009. Lithium was not well-tolerated in this cohort of patients with ALS, even at subtherapeutic doses. The 2 doses were equivalent in terms of survival/severe disability and functional data. The relatively high frequency of AEs/SAEs and the reduced tolerability of lithium raised serious doubts about its safety in ALS. The study provides Class II evidence that therapeutic (0.4-0.8 mEq/L) vs subtherapeutic (0.2-0.4 mEq/L) lithium carbonate did not differ in the primary outcome of efficacy (survival/loss of autonomy) in ALS. Both target levels led to dropouts in more than 30% of participants due to patient-perceived lack of efficacy and AEs.

  6. Prevention of cardiovascular events in Asian patients with ischaemic stroke at high risk of cerebral haemorrhage (PICASSO): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Bum Joon; Lee, Eun-Jae; Kwon, Sun U; Park, Jong-Ho; Kim, Yong-Jae; Hong, Keun-Sik; Wong, Lawrence K S; Yu, Sungwook; Hwang, Yang-Ha; Lee, Ji Sung; Lee, Juneyoung; Rha, Joung-Ho; Heo, Sung Hyuk; Ahn, Sung Hwan; Seo, Woo-Keun; Park, Jong-Moo; Lee, Ju-Hun; Kwon, Jee-Hyun; Sohn, Sung-Il; Jung, Jin-Man; Navarro, Jose C; Kang, Dong-Wha

    2018-06-01

    The optimal treatment for patients with ischaemic stroke with a high risk of cerebral haemorrhage is unclear. We assessed the efficacy and safety of cilostazol versus aspirin, with and without probucol, in these patients. In this randomised, controlled, 2 × 2 factorial trial, we enrolled patients with ischaemic stroke with a history of or imaging findings of intracerebral haemorrhage or two or more microbleeds from 67 centres in three Asian countries. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) to receive oral cilostazol (100 mg twice a day), aspirin (100 mg once a day), cilostazol plus probucol (250 mg twice a day), or aspirin plus probucol with centralised blocks stratified by centre. Cilostazol versus aspirin was investigated double-blinded; probucol treatment was open-label, but the outcome assessor was masked to assignment. The co-primary outcomes were incidence of the composite of stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascular death (efficacy) and incidence of haemorrhagic stroke (safety), which were assessed in intention-to-treat and modified intention-to-treat populations. Efficacy was analysed with a non-inferiority test and a superiority test if non-inferiority was satisfied. Safety was assessed with a superiority test only. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01013532. Between Aug 1, 2009, and Aug 31, 2015, we randomly assigned 1534 patients to one of the four study groups, of whom 1512 were assessed for the co-primary endpoints. During a median follow-up of 1·9 years (IQR 1·0-3·0), the incidence of composite vascular events was 4·27 per 100 person-years in patients who received cilostazol and 5·33 per 100 person-years in patients who received aspirin (HR 0·80, 95% CI 0·57-1·11; non-inferiority p=0·0077; superiority p=0·18). Incidence of cerebral haemorrhage was 0·61 per 100 person-years in patients who received cilostazol and 1·20 per 100 person-years in those who received aspirin (HR 0·51, 97·5% CI 0·20-1·27; superiority

  7. Double blind, placebo-controlled trial of Tranexamic acid on recent internal hemorrhoid bleeding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul A. Rani

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available Double blind randomized placebo controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of Tranexamic acid in 54 patients with recent hemorrhoid bleeding. Age, gender, body weight, height, grade of hemorrhoid, time of onset of recent bleeding were comparable between two groups. Analysis of haemostatic effect or stop bleeding as an immediate outcome of this study revealed that in the grade 2 patients, 23/23 (100% of tranexamic group and 18/23(78.26% of placebo group the bleeding stop. After 3 days of observation, there was statistically significant different for the rate of stop bleeding as well as at the end of observation. Bleeding stop earlier in the Tranexamic group with median 4 days (3-5 days, compare to placebo, median 11(9.55-12.45. Analysis of recurrent bleeding as an outcome of this study revealed that in the placebo group 9/18(50% of grade 2 patients and all grade 3 (100%patients suffered from recurrent bleeding. Since the days 4, both group have significant different time for recurrent bleeding and at the end of observation, cumulative probability of free of bleeding between two groups significantly different. Median still stop bleeding in the placebo group was 36 days, and the tranexamic group never reaches the median until the end of observation. Conclusion: tranexamic acid was an effective drug to stop recent hemorrhoid bleeding and prevent further recurrent bleeding, significantly better than placebo. (Med J Indones 2002;11: 215-21Keywords: Tranexamic acid, hemorrhoid bleeding, haemostatic effect, recurrent bleeding.

  8. Enhanced stopping of macro-particles in particle-in-cell simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    May, J.; Tonge, J.; Ellis, I.; Mori, W. B.; Fiuza, F.; Fonseca, R. A.; Silva, L. O.; Ren, C.

    2014-01-01

    We derive an equation for energy transfer from relativistic charged particles to a cold background plasma appropriate for finite-size particles that are used in particle-in-cell simulation codes. Expressions for one-, two-, and three-dimensional particles are presented, with special attention given to the two-dimensional case. This energy transfer is due to the electric field of the wake set up in the background plasma by the relativistic particle. The enhanced stopping is dependent on the q 2 /m, where q is the charge and m is the mass of the relativistic particle, and therefore simulation macro-particles with large charge but identical q/m will stop more rapidly. The stopping power also depends on the effective particle shape of the macro-particle. These conclusions are verified in particle-in-cell simulations. We present 2D simulations of test particles, relaxation of high-energy tails, and integrated fast ignition simulations showing that the enhanced drag on macro-particles may adversely affect the results of these simulations in a wide range of high-energy density plasma scenarios. We also describe a particle splitting algorithm which can potentially overcome this problem and show its effect in controlling the stopping of macro-particles

  9. Stopping single photons in one-dimensional circuit quantum electrodynamics systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen, J.-T.; Povinelli, M. L.; Sandhu, Sunil; Fan Shanhui

    2007-01-01

    We propose a mechanism to stop and time reverse single photons in one-dimensional circuit quantum electrodynamics systems. As a concrete example, we exploit the large tunability of the superconducting charge quantum bit (charge qubit) to predict one-photon transport properties in multiple-qubit systems with dynamically controlled transition frequencies. In particular, two qubits coupled to a waveguide give rise to a single-photon transmission line shape that is analogous to electromagnetically induced transparency in atomic systems. Furthermore, by cascading double-qubit structures to form an array and dynamically controlling the qubit transition frequencies, a single photon can be stopped, stored, and time reversed. With a properly designed array, two photons can be stopped and stored in the system at the same time. Moreover, the unit cell of the array can be designed to be of deep subwavelength scale, miniaturizing the circuit

  10. A flexible and coherent test/estimation procedure based on restricted mean survival times for censored time-to-event data in randomized clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horiguchi, Miki; Cronin, Angel M; Takeuchi, Masahiro; Uno, Hajime

    2018-04-22

    In randomized clinical trials where time-to-event is the primary outcome, almost routinely, the logrank test is prespecified as the primary test and the hazard ratio is used to quantify treatment effect. If the ratio of 2 hazard functions is not constant, the logrank test is not optimal and the interpretation of hazard ratio is not obvious. When such a nonproportional hazards case is expected at the design stage, the conventional practice is to prespecify another member of weighted logrank tests, eg, Peto-Prentice-Wilcoxon test. Alternatively, one may specify a robust test as the primary test, which can capture various patterns of difference between 2 event time distributions. However, most of those tests do not have companion procedures to quantify the treatment difference, and investigators have fallen back on reporting treatment effect estimates not associated with the primary test. Such incoherence in the "test/estimation" procedure may potentially mislead clinicians/patients who have to balance risk-benefit for treatment decision. To address this, we propose a flexible and coherent test/estimation procedure based on restricted mean survival time, where the truncation time τ is selected data dependently. The proposed procedure is composed of a prespecified test and an estimation of corresponding robust and interpretable quantitative treatment effect. The utility of the new procedure is demonstrated by numerical studies based on 2 randomized cancer clinical trials; the test is dramatically more powerful than the logrank, Wilcoxon tests, and the restricted mean survival time-based test with a fixed τ, for the patterns of difference seen in these cancer clinical trials. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  11. Clamped seismic metamaterials: ultra-low frequency stop bands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Achaoui, Y; Enoch, S; Guenneau, S; Antonakakis, T; Brûlé, S; Craster, R V

    2017-01-01

    The regularity of earthquakes, their destructive power, and the nuisance of ground vibration in urban environments, all motivate designs of defence structures to lessen the impact of seismic and ground vibration waves on buildings. Low frequency waves, in the range 1–10 Hz for earthquakes and up to a few tens of Hz for vibrations generated by human activities, cause a large amount of damage, or inconvenience; depending on the geological conditions they can travel considerable distances and may match the resonant fundamental frequency of buildings. The ultimate aim of any seismic metamaterial, or any other seismic shield, is to protect over this entire range of frequencies; the long wavelengths involved, and low frequency, have meant this has been unachievable to date. Notably this is scalable and the effects also hold for smaller devices in ultrasonics. There are three approaches to obtaining shielding effects: bragg scattering, locally resonant sub-wavelength inclusions and zero-frequency stop-band media. The former two have been explored, but the latter has not and is examined here. Elastic flexural waves, applicable in the mechanical vibrations of thin elastic plates, can be designed to have a broad zero-frequency stop-band using a periodic array of very small clamped circles. Inspired by this experimental and theoretical observation, all be it in a situation far removed from seismic waves, we demonstrate that it is possible to achieve elastic surface (Rayleigh) wave reflectors at very large wavelengths in structured soils modelled as a fully elastic layer periodically clamped to bedrock. We identify zero frequency stop-bands that only exist in the limit of columns of concrete clamped at their base to the bedrock. In a realistic configuration of a sedimentary basin 15 m deep we observe a zero frequency stop-band covering a broad frequency range of 0–30 Hz. (paper)

  12. Inferring Stop-Locations from WiFi

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wind, David Kofoed; Sapiezynski, Piotr; Furman, Magdalena Anna

    2016-01-01

    methods are based exclusively on WiFi data. We study two months of WiFi data collected every two minutes by a smartphone, and infer stop-locations in the form of labelled time-intervals. For this purpose, we investigate two algorithms, both of which scale to large datasets: a greedy approach to select...

  13. Brazil may stop HIV drug access; problems also reported from Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-09-03

    Brazil's financial crisis is threatening its HIV treatment programs, as well as programs for other diseases such as hemophilia, tuberculosis, diabetes, and malaria. The government is expected to stop providing antiretroviral therapy through the public health system in October. Meanwhile, the Argentine government stopped providing antiretroviral medications in August. Drug recycling programs are also discussed. Contact information is provided.

  14. The cost-effectiveness of smoking cessation support delivered by mobile phone text messaging: Txt2stop.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerriero, Carla; Cairns, John; Roberts, Ian; Rodgers, Anthony; Whittaker, Robyn; Free, Caroline

    2013-10-01

    The txt2stop trial has shown that mobile-phone-based smoking cessation support doubles biochemically validated quitting at 6 months. This study examines the cost-effectiveness of smoking cessation support delivered by mobile phone text messaging. The lifetime incremental costs and benefits of adding text-based support to current practice are estimated from a UK NHS perspective using a Markov model. The cost-effectiveness was measured in terms of cost per quitter, cost per life year gained and cost per QALY gained. As in previous studies, smokers are assumed to face a higher risk of experiencing the following five diseases: lung cancer, stroke, myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and coronary heart disease (i.e. the main fatal or disabling, but by no means the only, adverse effects of prolonged smoking). The treatment costs and health state values associated with these diseases were identified from the literature. The analysis was based on the age and gender distribution observed in the txt2stop trial. Effectiveness and cost parameters were varied in deterministic sensitivity analyses, and a probabilistic sensitivity analysis was also performed. The cost of text-based support per 1,000 enrolled smokers is £16,120, which, given an estimated 58 additional quitters at 6 months, equates to £278 per quitter. However, when the future NHS costs saved (as a result of reduced smoking) are included, text-based support would be cost saving. It is estimated that 18 LYs are gained per 1,000 smokers (0.3 LYs per quitter) receiving text-based support, and 29 QALYs are gained (0.5 QALYs per quitter). The deterministic sensitivity analysis indicated that changes in individual model parameters did not alter the conclusion that this is a cost-effective intervention. Similarly, the probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated a >90 % chance that the intervention will be cost saving. This study shows that under a wide variety of conditions, personalised

  15. Conflicting results between randomized trials and observational studies on the impact of proton pump inhibitors on cardiovascular events when coadministered with dual antiplatelet therapy: systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melloni, Chiara; Washam, Jeffrey B; Jones, W Schuyler; Halim, Sharif A; Hasselblad, Victor; Mayer, Stephanie B; Heidenfelder, Brooke L; Dolor, Rowena J

    2015-01-01

    Discordant results have been reported on the effects of concomitant use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for cardiovascular outcomes. We conducted a systematic review comparing the effectiveness and safety of concomitant use of PPIs and DAPT in the postdischarge treatment of unstable angina/non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction patients. We searched for clinical studies in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, from 1995 to 2012. Reviewers screened and extracted data, assessed applicability and quality, and graded the strength of evidence. We performed meta-analyses of direct comparisons when outcomes and follow-up periods were comparable. Thirty-five studies were eligible. Five (4 randomized controlled trials and 1 observational) assessed the effect of omeprazole when added to DAPT; the other 30 (observational) assessed the effect of PPIs as a class when compared with no PPIs. Random-effects meta-analyses of the studies assessing PPIs as a class consistently reported higher event rates in patients receiving PPIs for various clinical outcomes at 1 year (composite ischemic end points, all-cause mortality, nonfatal MI, stroke, revascularization, and stent thrombosis). However, the results from randomized controlled trials evaluating omeprazole compared with placebo showed no difference in ischemic outcomes, despite a reduction in upper gastrointestinal bleeding with omeprazole. Large, well-conducted observational studies of PPIs and randomized controlled trials of omeprazole seem to provide conflicting results for the effect of PPIs on cardiovascular outcomes when coadministered with DAPT. Prospective trials that directly compare pharmacodynamic parameters and clinical events among specific PPI agents in patients with unstable angina/non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction treated with DAPT are warranted. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

  16. Stopped-pipe wind instruments: Acoustics of the panpipes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, N. H.

    2005-01-01

    Stopped-pipe jet-excited musical instruments are known in many cultures, those best-known today being the panpipes or syrinx of Eastern Europe and of the Peruvian Andes. Although the playing style differs, in each case the instrument consists of a set of graduated bamboo pipes excited by blowing across the open tops. Details of the excitation aerodynamics warrant examination, particularly as the higher notes contain amplitudes of the even harmonics approaching those of the odd harmonics expected from a stopped pipe. Analysis shows that the jet offset is controlled by the fluid dynamics of the jet, and is such that appreciable even-harmonic excitation is generated. The theory is largely confirmed by measurements on a player. .

  17. USABC Development of 12 Volt Battery for Start-Stop Application: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tataria, H.; Gross, O.; Bae, C.; Cunningham, B.; Barnes, J. A.; Deppe, J.; Neubauer, J.

    2015-02-01

    Global automakers are accelerating the development of fuel efficient vehicles, as a part of meeting regional regulatory CO2 emissions requirements. The micro hybrid vehicles with auto start-stop functionality are considered economical solutions for the stringent European regulations. Flooded lead acid batteries were initially considered the most economical solution for idle-stop systems. However, the dynamic charge acceptance (DCA) at lower state-of-charge (SOC) was limiting the life of the batteries. While improved lead-acid batteries with AGM and VRLA features have improved battery longevity, they do not last the life of the vehicle. The United States Advanced Battery Consortium (or USABC, a consortium of GM, Ford, and Chrysler) analyzed energy storage needs for a micro hybrid automobile with start-stop capability, and with a single power source. USABC has analyzed the start-stop behaviors of many drivers and has developed the requirements for the start-stop batteries (Table 3). The testing procedures to validate the performance and longevity were standardized and published. The guideline for the cost estimates calculations have also been provided, in order to determine the value of the newly developed modules. The analysis effort resulted in a set of requirements which will help the battery manufacturers to develop a module to meet the automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) micro hybrid vehicle requirements. Battery developers were invited to submit development proposals and two proposals were selected for 50% cost share with USABC/DOE.

  18. When can immunotherapy for insect sting allergy be stopped?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Ulrich R; Ring, Johannes

    2015-01-01

    Stings by Hymenoptera (honey bees, vespids, ants) can cause systemic allergic reactions (SARs). Venom immunotherapy (VIT) is highly effective and reduces an allergic patient's risk of a recurrent SAR to less than 5-20%. The risk of a recurrent SAR to a re-sting decreases the longer VIT is continued. The recommended duration of VIT is at least 3 to 5 years. Risk factors for recurrent SARs to a sting after stopping VIT have been identified and discussed: Recommendations concerning stopping VIT: For patients without any of the identified risk factors, VIT should be continued for 5 rather than 3 years. In patients with definite risk factors, a longer duration of VIT has to be discussed before stopping it. In mast cell disorders, VIT for life is recommended. Because of the residual risk of SARs after VIT, all patients are advised to carry an epinephrine autoinjector indefinitely and to continue to take measures to avoid Hymenoptera stings. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Promoting smoking cessation in Bangladeshi and Pakistani male adults: design of a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial of trained community smoking cessation workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gill Paramjit

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The prevalence of smoking is higher among Pakistani and Bangladeshi males than among the general population. Smokers who receive behavioural support and medication quadruple their chances of stopping smoking, but evidence suggests that these populations do not use National Health Service run stop smoking clinics as frequently as would be expected given their high prevalence of smoking. This study aims to tackle some of the main barriers to use of stop smoking services and adherence to treatment programmes by redesigning service delivery to be more acceptable to these adult male populations. The study compares the effectiveness of trained Pakistani and Bangladeshi smoking cessation workers operating in an outreach capacity ('clinic + outreach' with standard care ('clinic only' to improve access to and success of National Health Service smoking cessation services. Methods/design This is a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial based in Birmingham, UK. Super output areas of Birmingham will be identified in which more than 10% of the population are of Pakistani and/or Bangladeshi origin. From these areas, 'natural geographical communities' will be identified. Sixteen aggregated agglomerations of super output areas will be identified, separating areas from each other using buffer regions in order to reduce potential contamination. These natural communities will be randomised to 'clinic + outreach' (intervention or 'clinic only' (control arms. The use of stop smoking services and the numbers of people quitting smoking (defined as prolonged self-reported abstinence at four weeks, three months and six months will be assessed in each area. In addition, we will assess the impact of the intervention on adherence to smoking cessation treatments and patient satisfaction. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN 82127540.

  20. One Stop Post Op cardiac surgery recovery--a proven success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joyce, L; Pandolph, P

    2001-01-01

    The One Stop Post Op model for open heart surgery recovery is an innovative approach to post op care utilized in only a few facilities in the country. This model calls for an integration of acute ICU and step-down phases of care, thus changing the paradigm for nursing care of the open heart surgery patient. Typically, hospitals incur inefficiencies transferring the patient through multiple levels of care, thus resulting in a "disconnect" as new caregivers relearn the patient's care requirements and special needs. The construction of a "one stop" unit allows the patient to remain stationary while the service level changes to accommodate changing care needs. The cardiac "one stop" model is similar to the LDRP concept for obstetrical care. The One Stop Post Op patient rooms are designed to accommodate every level of patient acuity. All rooms meet the regulations for critical care room design, however this is where the aesthetic similarity ends. The patient environment looks more like hotel rooms rather than the traditional ICU setting. Cabinets designed to cover medical gases, in the room's private bathrooms and comfortable furnishings help to create a patient focused environment conducive to recovery. This model has been utilized by several facilities and has demonstrated clear clinical and economic advantages for patients, families, and health care providers. Implementing an open heart surgery (OHS) program presents the opportunity for several community based hospitals to challenge the way they have been providing patient care and establish an innovative approach to post surgery patient care. The One Stop Post Op cardiovascular recovery unit is designed to receive the OHS patient directly from the operating room and to be the "care unit" for the patient's entire stay. Patient flow, quality monitoring and caregiver acceptance in this unit requires new paradigms from the traditional two or three step post OHS care delivery process. The One Stop Post Op model focuses

  1. A methodology for rearranging transit stops for enhancing transit users generalized travel time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Nurul Hassan

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This study develops a methodology to consolidate transit stops. It develops a mathematical model and a program which takes stop consolidation decision(s according to users generalized travel time savings and desired accessibility. The model iterates until the users generalized travel time savings are maximized. The study tests this mathematical model in different hypothetical scenarios. Six factors (distance between stops, passenger activity, average cruising speed, maximum walking distance, service frequency, and percentage of decreased passengers with multiple levels were set to build the scenarios. Three responses (percentage of consolidated stops, percentages of travel time and operating time savings were observed. The findings showed that the distance between the stops the passenger activity, and the probable demand change (or the percentage of decreased passengers are the most influential factors. The frequency of service was found to be influential as well. The average cruising speed has very little influence on the response variables. Finally, the model is tested on two routes (route 900 and 930 of Al Ain City public bus service. It shows that 22 and 32 out of 98 and 126 stops can be consolidated in route 900 and 930 respectively. This can save considerable amounts of users travel and operating times. In monetary values, the savings are about $329,827 and $491,094 per year for routes 900 and 930, respectively.

  2. A Bayesian approach for estimating the probability of trigger failures in the stop-signal paradigm

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Matzke, D.; Love, J.; Heathcote, A.

    Response inhibition is frequently investigated using the stop-signal paradigm, where participants perform a two-choice response time task that is occasionally interrupted by a stop signal instructing them to withhold their response. Stop-signal performance is formalized as a race between a go and a

  3. Biomechanical evaluation of the X-Stop device for surgical treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Zongmiao; Wang, Shaobai; Kozánek, Michal; Passias, Peter G; Mansfield, Frederick L; Wood, Kirkham B; Li, Guoan

    2012-10-01

    Controlled experimental study. To evaluate the kinematical effects of X-Stop device on the spinal process at the operated and the adjacent segments before and after X-Stop surgeries during various weight-bearing postures in elderly patients with lumbar spine stenosis. The mechanism of interspinous process (ISP) devices is to directly distract the ISP of the implanted level to indirectly decompress the intervertebra foramen and spinal canal. Few studies have investigated the changes of ISP gap caused by X-Stop implantation using magnetic resonance imaging or radiography, but the effect of X-Stop surgery on the kinematics of spinous processes during functional activities is still unclear. Eight patients were tested before and, on average, 7 months after surgical implantation of the X-Stop devices using a combined computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging and dual fluoroscopic imaging system during weight-bearing standing, flexion-extension, left-right bending, and left-right twisting positions of the torso. The shortest distances of the ISPs at the operated and the adjacent levels were measured using iterative closest point method and was dissected into vertical (gap) and horizontal (lateral translation) components. At the operated levels, the shortest vertical ISP distances (gap) significantly (P0.05) in right twist, left bend, and right bend after the X-Stop implantation. The lateral translations were not significantly affected. At both cephalad and caudad adjacent levels, the ISP distances (vertical and horizontal) were not significantly affected during all postures after X-Stop implantation. The findings of this study indicate that implantation of the X-Stop devices can effectively distract the ISP space at the diseased level without causing apparent kinematic changes at the adjacent segments during the studied postures.

  4. The Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryant, Jen

    2004-01-01

    Growing up in Flemington, New Jersey, put Jen Bryant in the heart of the lore behind the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Family stories of the events of the day and extensive research led to "The Trial," a novel in verse. The first several parts of this novel are included here.

  5. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is an independent predictor of death but not atherosclerotic events in patients with myocardial infarction: analysis of the Valsartan in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial (VALIANT)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hawkins, Nathaniel M; Huang, Zhen; Pieper, Karen S

    2009-01-01

    ) events associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 14 703 patients with acute MI enrolled in the Valsartan in Acute Myocardial Infarction (VALIANT) trial. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and CV outcomes...

  6. Cholesterol Efflux Capacity, High-Density Lipoprotein Particle Number, and Incident Cardiovascular Events: An Analysis From the JUPITER Trial (Justification for the Use of Statins in Prevention: An Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khera, Amit V; Demler, Olga V; Adelman, Steven J; Collins, Heidi L; Glynn, Robert J; Ridker, Paul M; Rader, Daniel J; Mora, Samia

    2017-06-20

    Recent failures of drugs that raised high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels to reduce cardiovascular events in clinical trials have led to increased interest in alternative indices of HDL quality, such as cholesterol efflux capacity, and HDL quantity, such as HDL particle number. However, no studies have directly compared these metrics in a contemporary population that includes potent statin therapy and low low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. HDL cholesterol levels, apolipoprotein A-I, cholesterol efflux capacity, and HDL particle number were assessed at baseline and 12 months in a nested case-control study of the JUPITER trial (Justification for the Use of Statins in Prevention: An Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin), a randomized primary prevention trial that compared rosuvastatin treatment to placebo in individuals with normal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol but increased C-reactive protein levels. In total, 314 cases of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) (myocardial infarction, unstable angina, arterial revascularization, stroke, or cardiovascular death) were compared to age- and gender-matched controls. Conditional logistic regression models adjusting for risk factors evaluated associations between HDL-related biomarkers and incident CVD. Cholesterol efflux capacity was moderately correlated with HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein A-I, and HDL particle number (Spearman r = 0.39, 0.48, and 0.39 respectively; P capacity (OR/SD, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.72-1.10; P =0.28), HDL cholesterol (OR/SD, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.66-1.02; P =0.08), or apolipoprotein A-I (OR/SD, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.67-1.03; P =0.08). Twelve months of rosuvastatin (20 mg/day) did not change cholesterol efflux capacity (average percentage change -1.5%, 95% CI, -13.3 to +10.2; P =0.80), but increased HDL cholesterol (+7.7%), apolipoprotein A-I (+4.3%), and HDL particle number (+5.2%). On-statin cholesterol efflux capacity was inversely associated with incident CVD (OR/SD, 0.62; 95% CI, 0

  7. Fundamentals of clinical trials

    CERN Document Server

    Friedman, Lawrence M; DeMets, David L; Reboussin, David M; Granger, Christopher B

    2015-01-01

    This is the fifth edition of a very successful textbook on clinical trials methodology, written by recognized leaders who have long and extensive experience in all areas of clinical trials. The three authors of the first four editions have been joined by two others who add great expertise.  Most chapters have been revised considerably from the fourth edition.  A chapter on regulatory issues has been included and the chapter on data monitoring has been split into two and expanded.  Many contemporary clinical trial examples have been added.  There is much new material on adverse events, adherence, issues in analysis, electronic data, data sharing, and international trials.  This book is intended for the clinical researcher who is interested in designing a clinical trial and developing a protocol. It is also of value to researchers and practitioners who must critically evaluate the literature of published clinical trials and assess the merits of each trial and the implications for the care and treatment of ...

  8. Monte Carlo Simulations on the water-to-air stopping power ratio for carbon ion dosimetry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henkner, Katrin; Bassler, Niels; Sobolevsky, Nikolai

    2009-01-01

    Many papers discussed the I value for water given by the ICRU, concluding that a value of about 80±2  eV instead of 67.2  eV would reproduce measured ion depth-dose curves. A change in the I value for water would have an effect on the stopping power and, hence, on the water-to-air stopping power...... tables and ICRU reports. The stopping power ratio is calculated via track-length dose calculation with SHIELD-HIT07. In the calculations, the stopping power ratio is reduced to a value of 1.119 in the plateau region as compared to the cited value of 1.13 in IAEA TRS-398. At low energies the stopping...

  9. Aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and subgroup analysis by sex and diabetes status.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manling Xie

    Full Text Available To evaluate the benefits and harms of aspirin for the primary prevention of CVD and determine whether the effects vary by sex and diabetes status.We searched Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases for randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of aspirin with placebo or control in people with no pre-existing CVD. Two investigators independently extracted data and assessed the study quality. Analyses were performed using Stata version 12.Fourteen trials (107,686 participants were eligible. Aspirin was associated with reductions in major cardiovascular events (risk ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval, 0.85-0.95, myocardial infarction (0.86; 0.75-0.93, ischemic stroke (0.86; 0.75-0.98 and all-cause mortality (0.94; 0.89-0.99. There were also increases in hemorrhagic stroke (1.34; 1.01-1.79 and major bleeding (1.55; 1.35-1.78 with aspirin. The number needed to treat to prevent 1 major cardiovascular event over a mean follow-up of 6.8 years was 284. By comparison, the numbers needed to harm to cause 1 major bleeding is 299. In subgroup analyses, pooled results demonstrated a reduction in myocardial infarction among men (0.71; 0.59-0.85 and ischemic stroke among women (0.77; 0.63-0.93. Aspirin use was associated with a reduction (0.65; 0.51-0.82 in myocardial infarction among diabetic men. In meta-regression analyses, the results suggested that aspirin therapy might be associated with a decrease in stroke among diabetic women and a decrease in MI among diabetic men and risk reductions achieved with low doses (75 mg/day were as large as those obtained with higher doses (650 mg/day.The use of low-dose aspirin was beneficial for primary prevention of CVD and the decision regarding an aspirin regimen should be made on an individual patient basis. The effects of aspirin therapy varied by sex and diabetes status. A clear benefit of aspirin in the primary prevention of CVD in people with diabetes needs more trials.

  10. Measurements of x-rays and γ-rays from stopped kaons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Godfrey, G.L.

    1975-01-01

    Intensities of x rays and γ rays from negative kaons stopped in elements, pure isotopes, and some compounds ranging from Z = 2 through Z = 92 have been measured. Included were x rays from K - atoms, Σ - atoms, and π - atoms. Also some nuclear γ rays associated with the stopped kaons were observed. The kaonic x-ray intensities for low n, Δn = 1 transitions, varied from .1 to .5 x rays/K/sub stop/ and showed a remarkable oscillation as Z changed. Peaks occurred near elements with closed electron shells. Within experimental accuracy, isotopes of the same elements yielded equal intensities. By searching for μ - from K - → μ - anti ν it was concluded that less than or equal to 5 percent of the stopped kaons decayed before nuclear capture in those elements studied. A cascade calculation was performed that reasonably reproduced the Δn = 1 intensities but gave Δn = 2 intensities high by a factor of 2. Initial kaon distributions in n = 30 proportional to (2l + 1) out to some l/sub max/ were used to begin the cascade. The value of l/sub max/ changed with Z. It is suggested that l/sub max/ might be related to an impact parameter picture with the lever arm equal to one-half the distance between the atoms in their lattice. (U.S.)

  11. A heuristic statistical stopping rule for iterative reconstruction in emission tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ben Bouallegue, F.; Mariano-Goulart, D.; Crouzet, J.F.

    2013-01-01

    We propose a statistical stopping criterion for iterative reconstruction in emission tomography based on a heuristic statistical description of the reconstruction process. The method was assessed for maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) reconstruction. Based on Monte-Carlo numerical simulations and using a perfectly modeled system matrix, our method was compared with classical iterative reconstruction followed by low-pass filtering in terms of Euclidian distance to the exact object, noise, and resolution. The stopping criterion was then evaluated with realistic PET data of a Hoffman brain phantom produced using the Geant4 application in emission tomography (GATE) platform for different count levels. The numerical experiments showed that compared with the classical method, our technique yielded significant improvement of the noise-resolution tradeoff for a wide range of counting statistics compatible with routine clinical settings. When working with realistic data, the stopping rule allowed a qualitatively and quantitatively efficient determination of the optimal image. Our method appears to give a reliable estimation of the optimal stopping point for iterative reconstruction. It should thus be of practical interest as it produces images with similar or better quality than classical post-filtered iterative reconstruction with a mastered computation time. (author)

  12. MO-E-BRD-03: Intra-Operative Breast Brachytherapy: Is One Stop Shopping Best?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Libby, B.

    2015-01-01

    Is Non-invasive Image-Guided Breast Brachytherapy Good? – Jess Hiatt, MS Non-invasive Image-Guided Breast Brachytherapy (NIBB) is an emerging therapy for breast boost treatments as well as Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) using HDR surface breast brachytherapy. NIBB allows for smaller treatment volumes while maintaining optimal target coverage. Considering the real-time image-guidance and immobilization provided by the NIBB modality, minimal margins around the target tissue are necessary. Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation in brachytherapy: is shorter better? - Dorin Todor, PhD VCU A review of balloon and strut devices will be provided together with the origins of APBI: the interstitial multi-catheter implant. A dosimetric and radiobiological perspective will help point out the evolution in breast brachytherapy, both in terms of devices and the protocols/clinical trials under which these devices are used. Improvements in imaging, delivery modalities and convenience are among the factors driving the ultrashort fractionation schedules but our understanding of both local control and toxicities associated with various treatments is lagging. A comparison between various schedules, from a radiobiological perspective, will be given together with a critical analysis of the issues. to review and understand the evolution and development of APBI using brachytherapy methods to understand the basis and limitations of radio-biological ‘equivalence’ between fractionation schedules to review commonly used and proposed fractionation schedules Intra-operative breast brachytherapy: Is one stop shopping best?- Bruce Libby, PhD. University of Virginia A review of intraoperative breast brachytherapy will be presented, including the Targit-A and other trials that have used electronic brachytherapy. More modern approaches, in which the lumpectomy procedure is integrated into an APBI workflow, will also be discussed. Learning Objectives: To review past and current

  13. Identifying Adverse Drug Events by Relational Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Page, David; Costa, Vítor Santos; Natarajan, Sriraam; Barnard, Aubrey; Peissig, Peggy; Caldwell, Michael

    2012-07-01

    The pharmaceutical industry, consumer protection groups, users of medications and government oversight agencies are all strongly interested in identifying adverse reactions to drugs. While a clinical trial of a drug may use only a thousand patients, once a drug is released on the market it may be taken by millions of patients. As a result, in many cases adverse drug events (ADEs) are observed in the broader population that were not identified during clinical trials. Therefore, there is a need for continued, post-marketing surveillance of drugs to identify previously-unanticipated ADEs. This paper casts this problem as a reverse machine learning task , related to relational subgroup discovery and provides an initial evaluation of this approach based on experiments with an actual EMR/EHR and known adverse drug events.

  14. Range and stopping power tables for 2.5-12MeV/nucleon heavy ions in solids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hubert, F.; Fleury, A.; Bimbot, R.; Gardes, D.

    1978-12-01

    A semi-empirical procedure to compute heavy ion stopping powers is presented. The calculations use recent stopping power values for alpha particles and a new parameterization for the effective charge taking into account the effect to the stopping medium. Stopping powers and ranges are tabulated for moving ions of atomic number 2<=Z<=45 in the energy region 2.5<=E/A<=12 MeV/nucleon for 18 solid materials

  15. A randomized controlled trial of levosimendan to reduce mortality in high-risk cardiac surgery patients (CHEETAH): Rationale and design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zangrillo, Alberto; Alvaro, Gabriele; Pisano, Antonio; Guarracino, Fabio; Lobreglio, Rosetta; Bradic, Nikola; Lembo, Rosalba; Gianni, Stefano; Calabrò, Maria Grazia; Likhvantsev, Valery; Grigoryev, Evgeny; Buscaglia, Giuseppe; Pala, Giovanni; Auci, Elisabetta; Amantea, Bruno; Monaco, Fabrizio; De Vuono, Giovanni; Corcione, Antonio; Galdieri, Nicola; Cariello, Claudia; Bove, Tiziana; Fominskiy, Evgeny; Auriemma, Stefano; Baiocchi, Massimo; Bianchi, Alessandro; Frontini, Mario; Paternoster, Gianluca; Sangalli, Fabio; Wang, Chew-Yin; Zucchetti, Maria Chiara; Biondi-Zoccai, Giuseppe; Gemma, Marco; Lipinski, Michael J; Lomivorotov, Vladimir V; Landoni, Giovanni

    2016-07-01

    Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are at risk of perioperative low cardiac output syndrome due to postoperative myocardial dysfunction. Myocardial dysfunction in patients undergoing cardiac surgery is a potential indication for the use of levosimendan, a calcium sensitizer with 3 beneficial cardiovascular effects (inotropic, vasodilatory, and anti-inflammatory), which appears effective in improving clinically relevant outcomes. Double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter randomized trial. Tertiary care hospitals. Cardiac surgery patients (n = 1,000) with postoperative myocardial dysfunction (defined as patients with intraaortic balloon pump and/or high-dose standard inotropic support) will be randomized to receive a continuous infusion of either levosimendan (0.05-0.2 μg/[kg min]) or placebo for 24-48 hours. The primary end point will be 30-day mortality. Secondary end points will be mortality at 1 year, time on mechanical ventilation, acute kidney injury, decision to stop the study drug due to adverse events or to start open-label levosimendan, and length of intensive care unit and hospital stay. We will test the hypothesis that levosimendan reduces 30-day mortality in cardiac surgery patients with postoperative myocardial dysfunction. This trial is planned to determine whether levosimendan could improve survival in patients with postoperative low cardiac output syndrome. The results of this double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial may provide important insights into the management of low cardiac output in cardiac surgery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Mathematical modeling for optimizing skip-stop rail transit operation strategy using genetic algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-01

    "With skip-stop rail transit operation, transit agencies can reduce their operating costs and fleet size, : and passengers can experience reduced in-transit travel times without extra track and technological : improvement. However, since skip-stop op...

  17. Measurements of hydrogen gas stopping efficiency for tin ions from laser-produced plasma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abramenko, D. B.; Spiridonov, M. V.; Krainov, P. V.; Krivtsun, V. M.; Astakhov, D. I.; Medvedev, V. V.; van Kampen, M.; Smeets, D.; Koshelev, K. N.

    2018-04-01

    Experimental studies of stopping of ion fluxes from laser-produced plasma by a low-pressure gas atmosphere are presented. A modification of the time-of-flight spectroscopy technique is proposed for the stopping cross-sectional measurements in the ion energy range of 0.1-10 keV. The application of the proposed technique is demonstrated for Sn ion stopping by H2 gas. This combination of elements is of particular importance for the development of plasma-based sources of extreme ultraviolet radiation for lithographic applications.

  18. Drivers' smart advisory system improves driving performance at STOP sign intersections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qing Li

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available STOP signs are often physically blocked by obstacles at the corner, forming a safety threat. To enhance the safety at an un-signalized intersection like a STOP sign intersection, a radio frequency identification (RFID based drivers smart advisory system (DSAS was developed, which provides drivers with an earlier warning message when they are approaching an un-signalized intersection. In this research, a pilot field test was conducted with the DSAS alarm on an approach towards a STOP sign intersection in a residential area in Houston, Texas. The designed test route covers all turning movements, including left turn, through movement, and right turn. GPS units recorded test drivers' driving behaviors. A self-developed MATLAB program and statistically significant difference t-test were applied to analyze the impacts of the DSAS messages on drivers' driving performance, in terms of approaching speed profile, acceleration/deceleration rates, braking distance, and possible extra vehicle emissions induced by the introduction of the DSAS message. Drivers' preference on the DSAS was investigated by a designed survey questionnaire among test drivers. Results showed that the DSAS alarm was able to induce drivers to drive significantly slower to approach a STOP sign intersection, perform smaller fluctuation in acceleration/deceleration rates, and be more aware of a coming STOP sign indicated by decelerating earlier. All test drivers preferred to follow the DSAS alarm on roads for a safety concern. Further, the DSAS alarm caused the reduction in emission rates through movement. For a general observation, more road tests with more participants and different test routes were recommended.

  19. Adverse respiratory events after general anesthesia in patients at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xará, Daniela; Mendonça, Júlia; Pereira, Helder; Santos, Alice; Abelha, Fernando José

    2015-01-01

    Patients with STOP-BANG score >3 have a high risk of Obstructive sleep apnea. The aim of this study was to evaluate early postoperative respiratory complications in adults with STOP-BANG score >3 after general anesthesia. This is a prospective double cohort study matching 59 pairs of adult patients with STOP-BANG score >3 (high risk of obstructive sleep apnea) and patients with STOP-BANG score <3 (low risk of obstructive sleep apnea), similar with respect to gender, age and type of surgery, admitted after elective surgery in the Post-Anaesthesia Care Unit in May 2011. Primary outcome was the development of adverse respiratory events. Demographics data, perioperative variables, and postoperative length of stay in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit and in hospital were recorded. The Mann-Whitney test, the chi-square test and the Fisher exact test were used for comparisons. Subjects in both pairs of study subjects had a median age of 56 years, including 25% males, and 59% were submitted to intra-abdominal surgery. High risk of obstructive sleep apnea patients had a higher median body mass index (31 versus 24kg/m(2), p<0.001) and had more frequently co-morbidities, including hypertension (58% versus 24%, p<0.001), dyslipidemia (46% versus 17%, p<0.001) and insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (17% versus 2%, p=0.004). These patients were submitted more frequently to bariatric surgery (20% versus 2%, p=0.002). Patients with high risk of obstructive sleep apnea had more frequently adverse respiratory events (39% versus 10%, p<0.001), mild to moderate desaturation (15% versus 0%, p=0.001) and inability to breathe deeply (34% versus 9%, p=0.001). After general anesthesia high risk of obstructive sleep apnea patients had an increased incidence of postoperative respiratory complications. Copyright © 2014 Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  20. [Adverse respiratory events after general anesthesia in patients at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xará, Daniela; Mendonça, Júlia; Pereira, Helder; Santos, Alice; Abelha, Fernando José

    2015-01-01

    Patients with STOP-BANG score >3 have a high risk of Obstructive sleep apnea. The aim of this study was to evaluate early postoperative respiratory complications in adults with STOP-BANG score >3 after general anesthesia. This is a prospective double cohort study matching 59 pairs of adult patients with STOP-BANG score >3 (high risk of obstructive sleep apnea) and patients with STOP-BANG score <3 (low risk of obstructive sleep apnea), similar with respect to gender, age and type of surgery, admitted after elective surgery in the Post-Anaesthesia Care Unit in May 2011. Primary outcome was the development of adverse respiratory events. Demographics data, perioperative variables, and postoperative length of stay in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit and in hospital were recorded. The Mann-Whitney test, the chi-square test and the Fisher exact test were used for comparisons. Subjects in both pairs of study subjects had a median age of 56 years, including 25% males, and 59% were submitted to intra-abdominal surgery. High risk of obstructive sleep apnea patients had a higher median body mass index (31 versus 24kg/m(2), p<0.001) and had more frequently co-morbidities, including hypertension (58% versus 24%, p<0.001), dyslipidemia (46% versus 17%, p<0.001) and insulin-treated diabetes mellitus (17% versus 2%, p=0.004). These patients were submitted more frequently to bariatric surgery (20% versus 2%, p=0.002). Patients with high risk of obstructive sleep apnea had more frequently adverse respiratory events (39% versus 10%, p<0.001), mild to moderate desaturation (15% versus 0%, p=0.001) and inability to breathe deeply (34% versus 9%, p=0.001). After general anesthesia high risk of obstructive sleep apnea patients had an increased incidence of postoperative respiratory complications. Copyright © 2014 Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia. Publicado por Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.