28 research outputs found
Centre-level variation in speech outcome and interventions, and factors associated with poor speech outcomes in 5-year-old children with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate:the Cleft Care UK study. Part 4
Objectives: To investigate centre-level variation in speech intervention and outcome and factors associated with a speech disorder in children in Cleft Care UK (CCUK). Setting and Sample Population: Two hundred and sixty-eight 5-year-old British children with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate recruited to CCUK. Materials and Methods: Centre-based therapists undertook audio-video recordings. Perceptual analysis was undertaken using the CAPS-A tool. Speech outcomes were based on structural and articulation scores, and intelligibility/distinctiveness. Between-centre variation in treatment and outcomes were examined using multilevel models. These models were extended to estimate the association between a range of factors (hearing loss, speech intervention, fistula, secondary speech surgery for velopharyngeal insufficiency, socio-economic status, gender, and parental happiness with speech) and speech outcomes. Results: There was centre-level variation in secondary speech surgery, speech intervention, structure and intelligibility outcomes. Children with a history of speech intervention had a lower odds of poor intelligibility/distinctiveness, 0.1 (95% CI: 0.0-0.4). Parental concern was associated with a higher odds of poor intelligibility/distinctiveness, 13.2 (95% CI: 4.9-35.1). Poor speech outcomes were associated with a fistula, secondary speech surgery and history of hearing loss. Conclusions: Within the centralized service there is centre-level variation in secondary speech surgery, intervention and speech outcomes. These findings support the importance of early management of fistulae, effective management of velopharyngeal insufficiency and hearing impairment, and most importantly speech intervention in the preschool years. Parental concern about speech is a good indicator of speech status
Centralization of cleft care in the UK. Part 6:a tale of two studies
OBJECTIVES: We summarize and critique the methodology and outcomes from a substantial study which has investigated the impact of reconfigured cleft care in the United Kingdom (UK) 15 years after the UK government started to implement the centralization of cleft care in response to an earlier survey in 1998, the Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG). SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION: A UK multicentre cross-sectional study of 5-year-olds born with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate. Data were collected from children born in the UK with a unilateral cleft lip and palate between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2007. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We discuss and contextualize the outcomes from speech recordings, hearing, photographs, models, oral health and psychosocial factors in the current study. We refer to the earlier survey and other relevant studies. RESULTS: We present arguments for centralization of cleft care in healthcare systems, and we evidence this with improvements seen over a period of 15 years in the UK. We also make recommendations on how future audit and research may configure. CONCLUSIONS: Outcomes for children with a unilateral cleft lip and palate have improved after the introduction of a centralized multidisciplinary service, and other countries may benefit from this model. Predictors of early outcomes are still needed, and repeated cross-sectional studies, larger longitudinal studies and adequately powered trials are required to create a research-led evidence-based (centralized) service
Structure of self-organized Fe clusters grown on Au(111) analyzed by Grazing Incidence X-Ray Diffraction
We report a detailed investigation of the first stages of the growth of
self-organized Fe clusters on the reconstructed Au(111) surface by grazing
incidence X-ray diffraction. Below one monolayer coverage, the Fe clusters are
in "local epitaxy" whereas the subsequent layers adopt first a strained fcc
lattice and then a partly relaxed bcc(110) phase in a Kurdjumov-Sachs epitaxial
relationship. The structural evolution is discussed in relation with the
magnetic properties of the Fe clusters.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Physical Review B September 200
Relaxation and reconstruction on (111) surfaces of Au, Pt, and Cu
We have theoretically studied the stability and reconstruction of (111)
surfaces of Au, Pt, and Cu. We have calculated the surface energy, surface
stress, interatomic force constants, and other relevant quantities by ab initio
electronic structure calculations using the density functional theory (DFT), in
a slab geometry with periodic boundary conditions. We have estimated the
stability towards a quasi-one-dimensional reconstruction by using the
calculated quantities as parameters in a one-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova
model. On all surfaces we have found an intrinsic tensile stress. This stress
is large enough on Au and Pt surfaces to lead to a reconstruction in which a
denser surface layer is formed, in agreement with experiment. The
experimentally observed differences between the dense reconstruction pattern on
Au(111) and a sparse structure of stripes on Pt(111) are attributed to the
details of the interaction potential between the first layer of atoms and the
substrate.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review
A cross-sectional survey of 5-year-old children with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate:the Cleft Care UK study. Part 1: background and methodology
OBJECTIVES: We describe the methodology for a major study investigating the impact of reconfigured cleft care in the United Kingdom (UK) 15 years after an initial survey, detailed in the Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) report in 1998, had informed government recommendations on centralization. SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION: This is a UK multicentre cross-sectional study of 5-year-olds born with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate. Children born between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2007 were seen in cleft centre audit clinics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consent was obtained for the collection of routine clinical measures (speech recordings, hearing, photographs, models, oral health, psychosocial factors) and anthropometric measures (height, weight, head circumference). The methodology for each clinical measure followed those of the earlier survey as closely as possible. RESULTS: We identified 359 eligible children and recruited 268 (74.7%) to the study. Eleven separate records for each child were collected at the audit clinics. In total, 2666 (90.4%) were collected from a potential 2948 records. The response rates for the self-reported questionnaires, completed at home, were 52.6% for the Health and Lifestyle Questionnaire and 52.2% for the Satisfaction with Service Questionnaire. CONCLUSIONS: Response rates and measures were similar to those achieved in the previous survey. There are practical, administrative and methodological challenges in repeating cross-sectional surveys 15 years apart and producing comparable data
Thickness Induced Structural Changes in Polystyrene Films
Changes to the structure of polystyrene melt films as measured through the spectrum of density
fluctuations have been observed as a function of film thickness down to the polymer radius of gyration (Rg). Films thicker than 4Rg show bulklike density fluctuations. Thinner films exhibit a peak in S(q) near q = 0,
which grows with decreasing thickness. This peak is attributed to a decreased interpenetration of
chains resulting in an enhanced compressibility. Measurements were made using small angle x-ray
scattering in a standing wave geometry designed to enhance scattering from the interior of the film
compared to interface scattering.This work is supported by NSF Grant
No. DMR-0209542. Use of the Advanced Photon Source
at Argonne National Laboratory was supported by the
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of
Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357
Aquaporin-4 Immuneglobulin G Testing in 36 Consecutive Jamaican Patients with Inflammatory Central Nervous System Demyelinating Disease
Epidemiological studies of neuromyelitis optica (NMO) in Jamaica are lacking. Here we reviewed the clinical records of 700 patients undergoing neurological evaluation at the Kingston Public Hospital, the largest tertiary institution in Jamaica over a 4 month period. We investigated the diagnostic utility of Aquaporin-4 ImmuneglobulinG (AQP4-IgG) testing in 36 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of an inflammatory demyelinating disorder (IDD) of the central nervous system (CNS). Patients were classified into 3 categories: i) NMO, n=10; ii) multiple sclerosis (MS), n=14 and iii) unclassified IDD (n=12). All sera were tested for AQP-IgG status by cell binding assay (Euroimmun). No MS cases were positive. Ninety per cent of NMO cases were positive. Four of 12 patients with unclassified IDD tested positive for AQP4-IgG. AQP4-IgG seropositivity was associated with a lower socioeconomic status, higher EDSS (P=0.04) and lower pulmonary function than the seronegative cases (P=0.007). Aquaporin-4 autoimmunity may account for a significant proportion of Jamaican CNS IDDs