Heavy flavor in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC and RHIC II

In the initial years of operation, experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) have identified a new form of matter formed in nuclei-nuclei collisions at energy densities more than 100 times that of a cold atomic nucleus. Measurements and comparison with relativistic hydrodynamic models indicate that the matter thermalizes in an unexpectedly short time, has an energy density at least 15 times larger than needed for color deconfinement, has a temperature about twice the critical temperature predicted by lattice QCD, and appears to exhibit collective motion with ideal hydrodynamic properties - a "perfect liquid" that appears to flow with a near-zero viscosity to entropy ratio - lower than any previously observed fluid and perhaps close to a universal lower bound. However, a fundamental understanding of the medium seen in heavy-ion collisions at RHIC does not yet exist. The most important scientific challenge for the field in the next decade is the quantitative exploration of the new state of nuclear matter. That will require new data that will, in turn, require enhanced capabilities of the RHIC detectors and accelerator. In this report we discuss the scientific opportunities for an upgraded RHIC facility - RHIC II - in conjunction with improved capabilities of the two large RHIC detectors, PHENIX and STAR. We focus solely on heavy flavor probes. Their production rates are calculable using the well-established techniques of perturbative QCD and their sizable interactions with the hot QCD medium provide unique and sensitive measurements of its crucial properties making them one of the key diagnostic tools available to us.Comment: 96 pages, 53 figures. Accepted for publication in Physics Reports. Fixed typo in Fig. 15 captio

Narrowing the uncertainty on the total charm cross section and its effect on the J/\psi\ cross section

We explore the available parameter space that gives reasonable fits to the total charm cross section to make a better estimate of its true uncertainty. We study the effect of the parameter choices on the energy dependence of the J/\psi\ cross section.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figure

Improving the J/psi Production Baseline at RHIC and the LHC

We assess the theoretical uncertainties on the inclusive J/psi production cross section in the Color Evaporation Model (CEM) using values for the charm quark mass, renormalization and factorization scales obtained from a fit to the charm production data. We use our new results to provide improved baseline comparison calculations at RHIC and the LHC. We also study cold matter effects on J/psi production at leading relative to next-to-leading order in the CEM within this approach.Comment: Proceedings for Hard Probes 2012, Cagliari, Ital

Process of care in outpatient Integrative healthcare facilities: a systematic review of clinical trials

© 2015 Grant et al. Abstract Background: Patients currently integrate complementary medicine (CM) and allopathic, choosing a combination of therapies rather than a single therapy in isolation. Understanding integrative healthcare (IHC) extends beyond evaluation of specific therapies to encompass evaluations of multidisciplinary complex interventions. IHC is defined as a therapeutic strategy integrating conventional and complementary medical practices and practitioners in a shared care setting to administer an individualized treatment plan. We sought to review the outcomes of recent clinical trials, explore the design of the interventions and to discuss the methodological approaches and issues that arise when investigating a complex mix of interventions in order to guide future research. Method: Five databases were searched from inception to 30 March 2013. We included randomized and quasi-experimental clinical trials of IHC. Data elements covering process of care (initial assessment, treatment planning and review, means for integration) were extracted. Results: Six thousand two hundred fifty six papers were screened, 5772 were excluded and 484 full text articles retrieved. Five studies met the inclusion criteria. There are few experimental studies of IHC. Of the five studies conducted, four were in people with lower back pain. The positive findings of these studies indicate that it is feasible to conduct a rigorous clinical trial of an integrative intervention involving allopathic and CM treatment. Further, such interventions may improve patient outcomes. Conclusions: The trials in our review provide a small yet critical base from which to refine and develop larger studies. Future studies need to be adequately powered to address efficacy, safety and include data on cost effectiveness

CSR and Mega-Events: Sponsorship Compatibility and Alignment

Organizations seek unique and innovative platforms in which to communicate their brand messages to the public and other stakeholders. Event sponsorship presents an attractive and popular medium for these communications. Effective sponsorship campaigns can build brand identities and provide differentiation in the competitive market. Building a meaningful identity and instilling symbolic value into brands, is now a key priority for organizations in both the private and public sectors (Alcañiz, Cáceres, & Pérez, 2010). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is high on the corporate agenda for these exact reasons. CSR is used to position organizations as socially responsible and for them to develop a brand identity that aligns to social and ethical values. There is now significant discourse on the brand building potential of both sponsorship and CSR activity. CSR activities have been found to increase consumer loyalty (Du, Bhattacharya & Sen, 2007), brand credibility (BeckerOlsen, Cudmore & Hill, 2006) and product purchase intentions (Gupta & Pirsch, 2006). In the context of sport management, most CSR research has focused on similar areas, that is, the consumer response (e.g. Walker & Kent, 2009)

Is immunisation education in midwifery degrees adequate?

© 2018, © 2018 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Maternal and childhood vaccination decisions begin during pregnancy, and midwives are an important information resource. Their role is set to increase with the expansion of maternal immunisations into new jurisdictions, and new maternal vaccines in development. Meanwhile, other health providers are orienting parents towards vaccine acceptance, using strategies at odds with midwifery norms around information provision and maternal autonomy. To better understand and address the implications of these developments, we conducted a pilot study to ascertain how midwifery students in Australian universities are taught about immunisation, including dedicated time, assessment, who teaches it, and when. We also analysed teaching materials, looking for messaging regarding the importance of vaccination and whether midwives should be advocating for it. We found that education on immunisation comprises less than four hours of the degree, and encountered the norm of midwives informing about rather than recommending vaccination. The considerations we brought to our small project, and what it illuminated, suggest that midwifery university education is an important arena for developing future vaccine advocates. However, midwifery ideology and professional practice mean that such efforts will be challenging, and must commence from a position of respect for the values midwives hold

Substantial out-of-pocket expenditure on maternity care practitioner consultations and treatments during pregnancy: Estimates from a nationally-representative sample of pregnant women in Australia

© 2017 The Author(s). Background: A wide range of health care options are utilised by pregnant women in Australia. The out-of-pocket costs of maternity care in Australia vary depending on many factors including model of care utilised, health insurance coverage, and women's decision to access health services outside of conventional maternity care provision. Methods: Women from the 1973-78 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) who identified as pregnant or as recently having given birth in 2009 were invited to complete a sub-study questionnaire investigating health service utilisation during their most recent pregnancy. Results: A total of 1,835 women agreed to participate in the sub-study. The majority of women (99.8%) consulted with a conventional health care practitioner during pregnancy, 49.4% consulted with a complementary and alternative medicine practitioner at least once during pregnancy and 89.6% of the women used a complementary and alternative medicine product. Women reported an average of AUD$781.10 in out-of-pocket expenses for consultations with conventional health care practitioners, AUD$185.40 in out-of-pocket expenses for consultations with complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and AUD$179.60 in out-of-pocket expenses for complementary and alternative medicine products. From the study data we estimate Australian pregnant women spend over AUD$337 M on out-of-pocket health services. Conclusion: While the majority of pregnant women in Australia may obtain health services via the publically-funded health care system and/or private health insurance coverage, our analysis identifies substantial out-of-pocket expenditure for health care by pregnant women - a trend in public spending for maternity care of importance to policy makers, health administrators, and health professionals

The Association between women’s choice of birth setting and their use of CAM during labor and birth.

Purpose: Contemporary maternity care often means women are able to choose a number of settings for their birth including hospitals, birth centers, and community settings. There is also evidence that many women utilised complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) during pregnancy and birth. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between women’s choice of birth setting and their use of CAM during labor and birth. Methods: Longitudinal data from a sub-study of women (n = 2445) from the nationally-representative Australian Longitudinal Study of Women’s Health (ALSWH) was analyzed for relationships between women’s birth setting (hospital, birth center, or community) and their demographics, attitudes towards maternity care (including CAM), and use of CAM during pregnancy and birth. Results: The characteristics associated with women’s choice of birth setting include some demographic features such as employment status, health care subsidy, and level of education. Women’s birth setting choice was also linked to a preference for CAM practitioner by women birthing in birth centers and community settings. In contrast, women birthing in hospitals held more positive views towards obstetric care. There was a higher use of CAM during pregnancy by women birthing in birth centers and community but this was not consistent across all CAMs investigated. Naturopaths, herbal medicines, homeopathy and flower essences were more commonly used by women birthing in community compared with those in a birth center. There was also a higher rate of CAM use for intrapartum pain management for women birthing outside of a hospital setting, although women attending a birth center were more likely than those birthing in community to use pharmacological pain management techniques. Conclusion: There are characteristic differences between women birthing in different birth settings which seems to be influenced as much by preference for maternity care and interest in CAM use as it is by demographics