Demonstration project on epilepsy in Brazil - WHO/ILAE/IBE Global Campaign Against Epilepsy - A foreword

In 2002, ASPE (Assistência à Saúde de Pacientes com Epilepsia)* initiated an Epilepsy Demonstration Project (DP) in Brazil as part of the Global Campaign Against Epilepsy "Epilepsy out of the Shadows", led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) and the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE)1-4. Demonstration Projects have been carried out in several countries and their main aim is to develop treatment models for people with epilepsy in primary health care settings, improving the quality of life of people with epilepsy and their families5-9. The project in Brazil has targeted areas in Campinas and São José do Rio Preto municipalities, both in São Paulo State, in Southeastern region8. A task force has been established to assess strategies to expand this nationwide. The DP was carried out in six phases as shown in Figure 1. The Brazilian DP was officially closed during the IV Workshop of the WHO/ILAE/IBE Global Campaign Against Epilepsy "Epilepsy out of the Shadows", held on May 4-5th 2006, in Campinas. The workshop reviewed the results of the project and discussed the establishment of a National Epilepsy Policy. This supplement presents some results from all phases of the Brazilian DP which were discussed during the Workshop. In brief, we believe that the DP had an impact in our society and brought a new perspective on epilepsy. Awareness campaigns are now carried out on September 9th (Epilepsy Awareness Day) annually in many sites around the country. Regulations and Bills related to epilepsy have been proposed in several regions. Epilepsy has been officially adopted as a theme to be considered in elementary education by the Ministry of Education. Currently, a National Epilepsy Programme, endorsed by the main Brazilian non-governmental organizations in the field of epilepsy, is under review at the Ministry of Health. We hope that this will benefit some of the many people with epilepsy in the country and will eventually bring epilepsy out of the shadows in Brazil

Blue organic LEDs with improved power efficiency

High-power-efficiency blue fluorescent organic lightemitting devices have been demonstrated by simultaneously doping two hole-conduction layers of 4, 4′, 4″-Tris(N-3-methylphenyl-N-phenyl-amino) triphenylamine (m-MTDATA), and N, N′-diphenyl-N, N′-bis(1-naphthyl)-(1, 1′-biphenyl)-4, 4′-diamine (NPB) with 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8- tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4-TCNQ) as well as doping two ambipolar emission layers with p-bis(p-N, N-diphenyl-aminostyryl) benzene (DSA-Ph). By doping the two host layers with DSA-Ph to form the double emission layer, the current efficiency is enhanced due to the extended emission zone. We further increase the performance by introducing the doping F4-TCNQ into the hole-injection and transporting layers to reduce the transport barrier at the m-MTDATA:F4TCNQ/NPB and to enhance the hole injection and conduction. The luminance and power efficiencies reach 8.9 cd/A and 4.5 lm/W, respectively. © 2009 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Vortex states in iron-based superconductors with collinear antiferromagnetic cores

Magnetism in the FeAs stoichiometric compounds and its interplay with superconductivity in vortex states are studied by self-consistently solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations based on a two-orbital model with including the on-site interactions between electrons in the two orbitals. It is revealed that for the parent compound, magnetism is caused by the strong Hund's coupling, and the Fermi-surface topology aids to select the spin-density-wave (SDW) pattern. The superconducting (SC) order parameter with s± = Δ0 cos (kx) cos (ky) symmetry is found to be the most favorable pairing for both the electron- and hole-doped cases while the local density of states exhibits the characteristic of nodal gap for the former and full gap for the latter. In the vortex state, the emergence of the field-induced SDW depends on the strength of the Hund's coupling and the Coulomb repulsions. The field-induced SDW gaps the finite-energy contours on the electron- and hole-pocket sides, leading to the dual structures with one reflecting the SC pairing and the other being related to the SDW order. These features can be discernable in STM measurements for identifying the interplay between the field-induced SDW order and the SC order around the core region. © 2009 The American Physical Society.published_or_final_versio

Impact of breast cancer subtypes on 3-year survival among adolescent and young adult women.

IntroductionYoung women have poorer survival after breast cancer than do older women. It is unclear whether this survival difference relates to the unique distribution of hormone receptor (HR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-defined molecular breast cancer subtypes among adolescent and young adult (AYA) women aged 15 to 39 years. The purpose of our study was to examine associations between breast cancer subtypes and short-term survival in AYA women, as well as to determine whether the distinct molecular subtype distribution among AYA women explains the unfavorable overall breast cancer survival statistics reported for AYA women compared with older women.MethodsData for 5,331 AYA breast cancers diagnosed between 2005 and 2009 were obtained from the California Cancer Registry. Survival by subtype (triple-negative; HR+/HER2-; HR+/HER2+; HR-/HER2+) and age-group (AYA versus 40- to 64-year-olds) was analyzed with Cox proportional hazards regression with follow-up through 2010.ResultsWith up to 6 years of follow-up and a mean survival time of 3.1 years (SD = 1.5 years), AYA women diagnosed with HR-/HER + and triple-negative breast cancer experienced a 1.6-fold and 2.7-fold increased risk of death, respectively, from all causes (HR-/HER + hazard ratio: 1.55; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10 to 2.18; triple-negative HR: 2.75; 95% CI, 2.06 to 3.66) and breast cancer (HR-/HER + hazard ratio: 1.63; 95% CI, 1.12 to 2.36; triple-negative hazard ratio: 2.71; 95% CI, 1.98 to 3.71) than AYA women with HR+/HER2- breast cancer. AYA women who resided in lower socioeconomic status neighborhoods, had public health insurance, and were of Black, compared with White, race/ethnicity experienced worse survival. This race/ethnicity association was attenuated somewhat after adjusting for breast cancer subtypes (hazard ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 0.98 to 1.82). AYA women had similar all-cause and breast cancer-specific short-term survival as older women for all breast cancer subtypes and across all stages of disease.ConclusionsAmong AYA women with breast cancer, short-term survival varied by breast cancer subtypes, with the distribution of breast cancer subtypes explaining some of the poorer survival observed among Black, compared with White, AYA women. Future studies should consider whether distribution of breast cancer subtypes and other factors, including differential receipt of treatment regimens, influences long-term survival in young compared with older women

The Ecology of Fringe Science and its Bearing on Policy

In this paper we illustrate the tension between mainstream 'normal', 'unorthodox' and 'fringe' science that is the focus of two ongoing projects that are analysing the full ecology of physics knowledge. The first project concentrates on empirically understanding the notion of consensus in physics by investigating the policing of boundaries that is carried out at the arXiv preprint server, a fundamental element of the contemporary physics publishing landscape. The second project looks at physics outside the mainstream and focuses on the set of organisations and publishing outlets that have mushroomed outside of mainstream physics to cover the needs of 'alternative', 'independent' and 'unorthodox' scientists. Consolidating both projects into the different images of science that characterise the mainstream (based on consensus) and the fringe (based on dissent), we draw out an explanation of why today's social scientists ought to make the case that, for policy-making purposes, the mainstream's consensus should be our main source of technical knowledge

MiR-29b negatively regulates cell cycle activity of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes

published_or_final_versionThe 16th Medical Resarch Conference (MRC), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, 22 January 2011. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2011, v. 17, suppl. 1, p. 50, abstract no. 7

Preliminary study on TIMS U-Th dating technique and their application

Thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) U-Th technique in dating purecarbonate has been established in our laboratory and was used to determine the ages of the Holocene coral samples from the South China Sea and a National Reference Material of uranium-series, GBW04413. The TIMS results of GBW04413 are in good agreement with their reference data determined from α-couning, indication that the ages by TIMS U-Th method are reliable. The TIMS ages of the coral samples older than 5ka have slightly older TIMS U-Th ages than their [14] C ages, which agrees with previous studies [12, 13, 16].尝试了用热电离质谱方法测定南海第四纪珊瑚的U- Th 年龄, 并利用国家铀系年龄标准物质GBW04413 来监测分析结果的合理性。结果显示, GBW04413 的TIMS 年龄与作为推荐值的A记数方法测定结果一致, 反映出其可靠性; 而年龄在1ka 左右的珊瑚样品的TIMS 年龄与14C 年龄一致, >5ka 样品的TIMS 年龄老于14C 年龄, 体现两种方法的系统差别。published_or_final_versio

Demonstration project on epilepsy in Brazil - Outcome assessment

Purpose: To assess the outcome of patients with epilepsy treated at primary care health units under the framework of the demonstration project on epilepsy in Brazil, part of the WHO/ILAE/IBE Global Campaign Against Epilepsy. Method. We assessed the outcome of patients treated at four primary health units. The staff of the health units underwent information training in epilepsy. The outcome assessment was based on: 1) reduction of seizure frequency, 2) subjective perception from the patient's and the physician's point of view, 3) reduction of absenteeism, 4) social integration (school and work), and 5) sense of independence. Results: A total of 181 patients (93 women - 51%) with a mean age of 38 (range from 2 to 86) years were studied. The mean follow-up was 26 months (range from 1 to 38 months, 11 patients had follow-up of less than 12 months). Seizure frequency was assessed based on a score system, ranging from 0 (no seizure in the previous 24 months) to 7 (> 10 seizure/day). The baseline median seizure-frequency score was 3 (one to three seizures per month). At the end of the study the median seizure-frequency score was 1 (one to three seizures per year). The patients' and relatives' opinions were that in the majority (59%) the health status had improved a lot, some (19%) had improved a little, 20% experienced no change and in 2% the health status was worse. With regard to absenteeism, social integration and sense of independence, there were some modest improvements only. Discussion: The development of a model of epilepsy treatment at primary health level based on the existing health system, with strategic measures centred on the health care providers and the community, has proved to be effective providing important reductions in seizure frequency, as well as in general well being. This model can be applied nationwide, as the key elements already exist provided that strategic measures are put forward in accordance with local health providers and managers

MicroRNA-21 promotes survival but not functional maturation of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs)

published_or_final_versionThe 16th Medical Resarch Conference (MRC), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, 22 January 2011. In Hong Kong Medical Journal, 2011, v. 17, suppl. 1, p. 35, abstract no. 5

Multiple G-It\^{o} integral in the G-expectation space

In this paper, motivated by mathematic finance we introduce the multiple G-It\^{o} integral in the G-expectation space, then investigate how to calculate. We get the the relationship between Hermite polynomials and multiple G-It\^{o} integrals which is a natural extension of the classical result obtained by It\^{o} in 1951.Comment: 9 page