Does the Well-Being of Individuals with Down Syndrome and Dementia Improve When Using Life Story Books and Rummage Boxes? A Randomized Single Case Series Experiment.

Background: This study investigated whether a personalized life story book and rummage box enhanced well-being and led to changes in behaviour for people with Down syndrome (DS) who have dementia.

Materials And Methods: A randomized single case series design was used with five participants who had DS and a diagnosis of dementia. Participants were invited to take part in three conditions at random (i) life story book, (ii) rummage box and (iii) no-intervention condition.

An exploration of the experience of self in the social world for men following traumatic brain injury.

This study explores the lived experience of male survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in relation to perceived changes in their personal and social identity. The aim was to provide an understanding of the individuals' sense of self and sources of emotional distress and growth following injury. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine male survivors of TBI (aged 22-59 years).

Service use, drop-out rate and clinical outcomes: a comparison between high and low intensity treatments in an IAPT service.

Background: The IAPT services provide high and low intensity psychological treatments for adults suffering from depression and anxiety disorders using a stepped care model. The latest national evaluation study reported an average recovery rate of 42%. However, this figure varied widely between services, with better outcomes associated with higher "step-up" rates between low and high intensity treatments.

A service evaluation of the Solihull Approach training and practice.

The Solihull Approach (SA) is a conceptual framework concerned with parent-child relationships. Across the UK, training in the SA expanded from health visitors (HVs) to various practitioners in health, social care, education and voluntary sectors. A substantial amount of research had provided evidence for the effectiveness of the SA with HVs.

Randomized phase II placebo-controlled trial of maintenance therapy using the oral triple angiokinase inhibitor BIBF 1120 after chemotherapy for relapsed ovarian cancer.

Purpose: Inhibiting angiogenesis is one of the most promising avenues for new therapies for ovarian cancer. We investigated the efficacy and safety of a novel agent, BIBF 1120, a triple angiokinase inhibitor, after chemotherapy for relapsed disease.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, controlled phase II trial in 83 patients who had just completed chemotherapy for relapsed ovarian cancer, with evidence of response, but at high risk of further early recurrence.

The relationship between coping and psychological and physical adjustment in rheumatoid arthritis: a literature review.

Aim: This systematic review examines how specific coping strategies are associated with psychological and physical outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis.

Background And Methods: Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term condition that people cope with but it is unclear whether specific coping strategies have an effect on mood and function. Therefore a systematic review was undertaken of the coping with arthritis literature and 174 studies were initially included.

Five years' experience treating locally advanced cervical cancer with concurrent chemoradiotherapy and high-dose-rate brachytherapy: results from a single institution.

Purpose: To assess the clinical outcomes after concurrent cisplatin chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT) followed by high-dose-rate brachytherapy for locally advanced carcinoma of the cervix and perform a multivariate analysis of the prognostic factors.

Methods And Materials: The outcomes were analyzed for all women treated between 1999 and 2004 with concurrent cisplatin chemotherapy and RT followed by high-dose-rate brachytherapy. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for overall survival (OS), local control (LC), and distant control (DC).

The evolution of fidelity in sensory systems.

We investigate the effect that noise has on the evolution of measurement strategies and competition in populations of organisms with sensory systems of differing fidelities. We address two questions motivated by experimental and theoretical work on sensory systems in noisy environments: (1) How complex must a sensory system be in order to face the need to develop adaptive measurement strategies that change depending on the noise level? (2) Does the principle of competitive exclusion for sensory systems force one population to win out over all others? We find that the answer to the first question is that even very simple sensory systems will need to change measurement strategies depending on the amount of noise in the environment. Interestingly, the answer to the second question is that, in general, at most two populations with different fidelity sensory systems may co-exist within a single environment.

A mobile phone as a memory aid for individuals with traumatic brain injury: a preliminary investigation.

Primary Objective: To investigate the use of a 'reminders' function on a mobile phone as a compensatory memory aid for five individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Research Design: A series of five single case ABAB reversal design.

Methods And Procedure: A mobile phone was given to each participant during two intervention phases.

Analysis of a certain class of replicator equations.

Motivated by a problem in the evolution of sensory systems where gains obtained by improvements in detection are offset by increased costs, we prove several results about the dynamics of replicator equations with an n x n game matrix of the form: A( ij ) = a( i )b( j ) - c( i ). First, we show that, generically, for this class of game matrix, all equilibria must be on the 1-skeleton of the simplex, and that all interior solutions must limit to the boundary. Second, for the particular ordering, a1 View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Prevention of ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynaecological malignancy. The incidence is high in the Western world. The incidence of ovarian cancer is reduced by pregnancy, lactation, the oral contraceptive pill and tubal ligation.

Recovery of CD8+ T-cell function during systemic chemotherapy in advanced ovarian cancer.

Immunologic approaches are emerging as new treatment options in several types of cancer. However, whereas the ability of patients to develop potent CD8+ T-cell responses is crucial for efficient antitumor responses, immunocompetence and T-cell function are not tested routinely in patients entering immunotherapy. The objective of our study was to monitor T-cell function in advanced cancer and during chemotherapy.

Assessment of immunological competence and SV40 specific recall immunity in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is the third most common lung malignancy showing rising incidence with 250,000 deaths expected from it in Western Europe over the next 35 year. The tumour is generally resistant to conventional treatment and there is urgent need for novel preventative and therapeutic measures to combat this growing public threat. Finding of SV40 DNA sequences in a high proportion (40-90%) of several series of MPM cases, and suggestion of its potential co-carcinogen role provide a rationale for the development of novel anti-MPM vaccines incorporating SV40 gene sequences or antigenic determinants.

Exosomes as potent cell-free peptide-based vaccine. II. Exosomes in CpG adjuvants efficiently prime naive Tc1 lymphocytes leading to tumor rejection.

Ideal vaccines should be stable, safe, molecularly defined, and out-of-shelf reagents efficient at triggering effector and memory Ag-specific T cell-based immune responses. Dendritic cell-derived exosomes could be considered as novel peptide-based vaccines because exosomes harbor a discrete set of proteins, bear functional MHC class I and II molecules that can be loaded with synthetic peptides of choice, and are stable reagents that were safely used in pioneering phase I studies. However, we showed in part I that exosomes are efficient to promote primary MHC class I-restricted effector CD8(+) T cell responses only when transferred onto mature DC in vivo.

How do attitudes to illness and treatment compare with self-reported behaviour in predicting inhaler use in asthma?

Aim: To compare attitudes to illness and treatment with self-reported behaviour in predicting inhaler use in asthmatic patients.

Methods: In five practices, 45 patients had their β-2-agonist and steroid inhalers exchanged for Ventolin and Flixotide Accuhalers™. They completed the Illness Perception Questionnaire, the Attitudes to Treatment for Asthma Questionnaire, and a self-report questionnaire at entry, after one month's run-in, and at three months.

Developing a questionnaire to measure patients' beliefs about inhaler treatment for asthma: Tests of validity and reliability.

Aim: To develop a valid and reliable questionnaire for measuring patients' beliefs about inhaler treatments for asthma.

Methods: In seven general practices, 335 patients prescribed both beclomethasone and salbutamol inhalers completed a 66-item questionnaire. Sub-scales were developed using factor analysis and a 29-item questionnaire sent to 90 patients in another practice to estimate test-retest reliability.