Determining material damping type by comparing modal frequency estimators.

The accuracy of modal frequency and damping estimators for non-lightly damped single degree of freedom systems depend on the response parameter used as well as the damping mechanism. Therefore, in order to make accurate modal parameter measurements, the damping mechanism at play must be known to be either viscous or hysteretic a priori. Here, comparisons between the evaluated frequency values are used to glean this information.

Impaired plasmacytoid dendritic cell (PDC)-NK cell activity in viremic human immunodeficiency virus infection attributable to impairments in both PDC and NK cell function.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections impair plasmacytoid dendritic cell (PDC) and natural killer (NK) cell subset numbers and functions, though little is known about PDC-NK cell interactions during these infections. We evaluated PDC-dependent NK cell killing and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and granzyme B production, using peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-based and purified cell assays of samples from HCV- and HIV-infected subjects. CpG-enhanced PBMC killing and IFN-gamma and granzyme B activity (dependent on PDC and NK cells) were impaired in viremic HIV infection.

Quality of life for patients with schizophrenia living in the community in Greece.

Several quality of life instruments were considered for use in a Greek mental health environment. Subjective Quality of Life Profile was chosen as it was easy to complete and covered the issues raised by patients with schizophrenia through interviews. Confirmatory factor analysis gave credence to the four-dimensional structure identified by the original authors.

Comparison of MRI signatures in pattern I and II multiple sclerosis models.

The majority of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) exhibit T-cell- and macrophage-dominated lesions (patterns I and II; as opposed to III and IV). These lesions, in turn, may be distinguished on the basis of whether or not there are immunoglobulin and complement depositions at the sites of active myelin destruction; such depositions are found exclusively in pattern II lesions. The main aim of this study was to determine whether pattern I and pattern II MS lesions exhibit distinct MRI signatures.

How much do patients' preferences contribute to resource use?

Regional variation in health care use may stem, in part, from the fact that patients in high-utilization regions demand and receive more-intensive care. We examine the association between patients' care-seeking preferences and use of services, using a national survey of Medicare patients. Patients' preferences, in addition to health and sociodemographic characteristics, are associated with differences in individuals' use of office visits.

Racial and ethnic differences in preferences for end-of-life treatment.

Background: Studies using local samples suggest that racial minorities anticipate a greater preference for life-sustaining treatment when faced with a terminal illness. These studies are limited by size, representation, and insufficient exploration of sociocultural covariables.

Objective: To explore racial and ethnic differences in concerns and preferences for medical treatment at the end of life in a national sample, adjusting for sociocultural covariables.

The impact of pressure ulcer risk assessment on patient outcomes among hospitalised patients.

Aims And Objectives: To determine whether use of a risk assessment scale reduces nosocomial pressure ulcers.

Background: There is contradictory evidence concerning the validity of risk assessment scales. The interaction of education, clinical judgement and use of risk assessment scales has not been fully explored.

Systemic inflammatory response reactivates immune-mediated lesions in rat brain.

The potential association between microbial infection and reactivation of a multiple sclerosis (MS) lesion is an important issue that remains unresolved, primarily because of the absence of suitable animal models and imaging techniques. Here, we have evaluated this question in an empirical manner using immunohistochemistry and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), before and after the induction of a systemic inflammatory response in two distinct models of MS. In a pattern-II-type focal myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein-experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis model, systemic endotoxin injection caused an increase in regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) around the lesion site after 6 h, together with a reduction in the magnetization transfer ratio of the lesioned corpus callosum.

Differential effects of hepatitis C virus JFH1 on human myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are reported to be functionally deficient during chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Differing results have been reported on direct effects of intact replicative-form HCV on DC function. To better understand the effect of HCV on DC function, we treated freshly purified human myeloid DCs (mDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) with HCV JFH1.

Accessory cell dependent NK cell mediated PBMC IFN-gamma production is defective in HIV infection.

HCV and HIV infections impair dendritic cell function. We evaluated the impact of HCV, HIV, and HCV-HIV infection on MDC-NK interactions by analyzing CD3 depleted PBMC for NK cell IFN-gamma in response to IL-12 or poly (I:C). Purified MDC and NK cells were analyzed for TLR ligand-dependent, MDC-dependent NK activity.

A reengineered hospital discharge program to decrease rehospitalization: a randomized trial.

Background: Emergency department visits and rehospitalization are common after hospital discharge.

Objective: To test the effects of an intervention designed to minimize hospital utilization after discharge.

Design: Randomized trial using block randomization of 6 and 8.

Waterlow score to predict patients at risk of developing Clostridium difficile-associated disease.

This study describes the development and testing of an assessment tool to predict the risk of patients developing Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD). The three phases of the study include the development of the tool, prospective testing of the validity of the tool using 1468 patients in a medical assessment unit and external retrospective testing using data from 29 425 patients. In the first phase of the study, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified the Waterlow assessment score as having the ability to predict CDAD (area under the curve: 0.

The development of the Glamorgan paediatric pressure ulcer risk assessment scale.

Objective: To develop a predictive pressure ulcer risk assessment scale based on patient data.

Method: Detailed questionnaires, based on a review of the paediatric and adult literature and discussion with paediatric nurses with expertise in this area, were used to obtain data on patient characteristics from 265 inpatients in a children's hospital and 54 children with pressure ulcers and 17 children without pressure ulcers from 11 hospitals. These data were then combined to compare the characteristics of children with and without pressure ulcers (using the chi-square test).

Glyconanoparticles allow pre-symptomatic in vivo imaging of brain disease.

Initial recruitment of leukocytes in inflammation associated with diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), ischemic stroke, and HIV-related dementia, takes place across intact, but activated brain endothelium. It is therefore undetectable to symptom-based diagnoses and cannot be observed by conventional imaging techniques, which rely on increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in later stages of disease. Specific visualization of the early-activated cerebral endothelium would provide a powerful tool for the presymptomatic diagnosis of brain disease and evaluation of new therapies.

Joint appointees' experiences within a school of nursing and midwifery.

This study evaluated the experiences of joint appointees within a school of nursing and midwifery. The nature of joint appointments has evolved, particularly since nurse education moved from the NHS into higher education institutions. Anecdotal evidence suggests that joint appointments are viewed as a bridge between clinical services and university teaching.

LDL-cholesterol differences predicted survival benefit in statin trials by the surrogate threshold effect (STE).

Objective: We describe a new statistical method called the surrogate threshold effect (STE) that estimates the threshold level of a surrogate needed in a clinical trial to predict a benefit in the target clinical outcome. In this article, we apply this method to the LDL-cholesterol biomarker surrogate and survival benefit-target outcome in statin trials.

Study Design And Setting: We identified randomized trials comparing statin treatment to placebo treatment or no treatment and reporting all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

Inter-rater reliability of Glamorgan Paediatric Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Scale.

Unlabelled: Children who are at risk of pressure ulcers need to be identified so that preventative measures can be taken. Most paediatric pressure ulcer risk assessment scales were developed using clinical experience, or by modifying adult scales. The Glamorgan Paediatric Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Scale was developed using detailed paediatric inpatient data.

Hepatitis C virus-specific T-cell gamma interferon and proliferative responses are more common in perihepatic lymph nodes than in peripheral blood or liver.

The activation state, differentiation state, and functions of liver lymphocytes and perihepatic lymph nodes during chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are not well understood. Here, we performed phenotypic and functional analyses of freshly prepared lymphocytes isolated from the livers, perihepatic lymph nodes, and peripheral blood compartments of chronic HCV-infected and disease control subjects with end-stage liver disease undergoing liver transplantation. We measured lymphocyte subset frequency and memory T-cell gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) and proliferative responses to HCV peptide and control viral antigens in direct ex vivo assays.

Combination therapy of established cancer using a histone deacetylase inhibitor and a TRAIL receptor agonist.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) and agents such as recombinant tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and agonistic anti-TRAIL receptor (TRAIL-R) antibodies are anticancer agents that have shown promise in preclinical settings and in early phase clinical trials as monotherapies. Although HDACi and activators of the TRAIL pathway have different molecular targets and mechanisms of action, they share the ability to induce tumor cell-selective apoptosis. The ability of HDACi to induce expression of TRAIL-R death receptors 4 and 5 (DR4/DR5), and induce tumor cell death via the intrinsic apoptotic pathway provides a molecular rationale to combine these agents with activators of the TRAIL pathway that activate the alternative (death receptor) apoptotic pathway.

Liver Kupffer cells control the magnitude of the inflammatory response in the injured brain and spinal cord.

The CNS inflammatory response is regulated by hepatic chemokine synthesis, which promotes leukocytosis and facilitates leukocyte recruitment to the site of injury. To understand the role of the individual cell populations in the liver during the hepatic response to acute brain injury, we selectively depleted Kupffer cells (KC), using clodronate-filled liposomes, and assessed the inflammatory response following a microinjection of IL-1beta into the rat brain or after a compression injury in the spinal cord. We show by immunohistochemistry that KC depletion reduces neutrophil infiltration into the IL-1beta-injected brain by 70% and by 50% into the contusion-injured spinal cord.

Inhibition of peripheral TNF can block the malaise associated with CNS inflammatory diseases.

Circulating cytokine levels are elevated in many neuropathologies and may be a cause of the associated malaise and depression. Using a rat model, we demonstrate that sickness behaviors generated by microinjection of IL-1beta into the anterior hypothalamus are adopted by naive recipient animals following plasma transfer. We further show that neutralizing peripheral TNF by etanercept (a p75 TNF receptor/Fc fusion protein) prior to the IL-1beta microinjection inhibits certain IL-1beta-mediated sickness behaviors, such as the depression of open-field activity and reduced glucose consumption.

Older patients perceptions of "unnecessary" tests and referrals: a national survey of Medicare beneficiaries.

Context: Unnecessary exposure to medical interventions can harm patients. Many hope that generalist physicians can limit such unnecessary exposure.

Objective: To assess older Americans' perceptions of the need for tests and referrals that their personal physician deemed unnecessary.