Search

Many alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) patients have received Cannabidiol (CBD) but, to our knowledge, there are no published data available. Test the hypothesis that CBD has favorable effects on AHC spells. Retrospective review of available data of AHC patients who received CBD. Primary analysis: Clinical Global Impression Scale of Improvement (CGI-I) score for response of AHC spells to CBD with calculation of 95% confidence interval (CI) for rejection of the null hypothesis. Secondary analyses, performed to achieve an understanding of the effect of CBD as compared to flunarizine, were CGI-I scores of 1) epileptic seizures to CBD, 2) AHC spells to flunarizine, 3) epileptic seizures to flunarizine. Also, Mann-Whitney test was done for comparison of CGI-I scores of CBD and flunarizine to both AHC spells and seizures. We studied 16 AHC patients seen at Duke University and University of Lyon. CI of CGI-I scores for AHC spells in response to CBD and to flunarizine, each separately, indicated a positive response to each of these two medications: neither overlapped with the null hypothesis score, 4, indicating significant positive responses with p < 0.05 for both. These two scores also did not differ (p = 0.84) suggesting similar efficacy of both: CBD score was 2 ± 1.1 with a 95% CI of 1.5–2.6 and flunarizine score was 2.3 ± 1.3 with a 95% CI of 1.7–3.1. In patients who had seizures, CI calculations indicated a positive effect of CBD on seizure CGI scores but not of flunarizine on seizure scores. CBD was well tolerated with no patients discontinuing it due to side effects and with some reporting positive behavioral changes. Our study indicates a real-life positive effect of CBD on AHC type spells. • Real life study of 16 Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood (AHC) patients • Response of AHC spells to cannabidiol was assessed • We determined the Clinical Global Impression Scale of Improvement scores • Scores showed significant response and cannabidiol was well tolerated [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the U.S. Department of Defense, high-performance power sources are a critical technology for current and future gun-fired munitions. Molten salt thermal batteries are the reserve power source of choice for many weapon systems due to their high power density, proven long shelf life, and capability to function across a wide range of operating environments. The incorporation of nanomaterials into thermal battery components offers the potential to produce batteries with performance improvements, such as higher voltages at increased current densities. In this study, nanoscale iron disulfide (FeS2) was synthesized using a fully scalable, high energy milling method, and characterized utilizing SEM, XRD, ICP-OES, BET surface area analysis, TGA-DSC, and other techniques. Nanostructured cathode mixtures containing the nanoscale FeS2 and LiCl-KCl eutectic salt electrolyte were pressed into electrode pellets. Their electrochemical performance was then characterized as compared to standard FeS2 cathode electrode pellets currently used in industry. Single cell thermal battery discharge testing, polarization type scans, and pulse load capability were used to compare cell performance for better understanding of best-use applications for these materials. Compared to control cells, the cells utilizing nanostructured cathodes provided higher power response, with respect to both voltage and runtime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this work was to evaluate the contrast-detail performance of full field digital mammography (FFDM) systems using ideal (Hotelling) observer Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) methodology and ascertain whether it can be considered an alternative to the conventional, automated analysis of CDMAM phantom images. Methods Five FFDM units currently used in the national breast screening programme were evaluated, which differed with respect to age, detector, Automatic Exposure Control (AEC) and target/filter combination. Contrast-detail performance was analysed using CDMAM and ideal observer SNR methodology. The ideal observer SNR was calculated for input signal originating from gold discs of varying thicknesses and diameters, and then used to estimate the threshold gold thickness for each diameter as per CDMAM analysis. The variability of both methods and the dependence of CDMAM analysis on phantom manufacturing discrepancies also investigated. Results Results from both CDMAM and ideal observer methodologies were informative differentiators of FFDM systems' contrast-detail performance, displaying comparable patterns with respect to the FFDM systems' type and age. CDMAM results suggested higher threshold gold thickness values compared with the ideal observer methodology, especially for small-diameter details, which can be attributed to the behaviour of the CDMAM phantom used in this study. In addition, ideal observer methodology results showed lower variability than CDMAM results. Conclusion The Ideal observer SNR methodology can provide a useful metric of the FFDM systems' contrast detail characteristics and could be considered a surrogate for conventional, automated analysis of CDMAM images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-income families experience many barriers to purchasing and preparing healthful foods. To help address some of these barriers, a team created a family-based cooking class, Healthy All Together, in which participants learn strategies for how to stretch their food dollars and feed their families healthful meals. In this article, we describe the development of Healthy All Together, report program impacts, and summarize program feedback from participants and instructors. Of particular importance is the idea that engaging children in cooking through a family-based class has the potential to help families consider how to use strategies to mitigate barriers to healthful cooking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]