Towards a middle-range theory of mental health and well-being effects of employment transitions: Findings from a qualitative study on unemployment during the 2009-2010 economic recession.

This article builds upon previous theoretical work on job loss as a status passage to help explain how people's experiences of involuntary unemployment affected their mental well-being during the 2009-2010 economic recession. It proposes a middle-range theory that interprets employment transitions as status passages and suggests that their health and well-being effects depend on the personal and social meanings that people give to them, which are called properties of the transitions. The analyses, which used a thematic approach, are based on the findings of a qualitative study undertaken in Bradford (North England) consisting of 73 people interviewed in 16 focus groups. The study found that the participants experienced their job losses as divestment passages characterised by three main properties: experiences of reduced agency, disruption of role-based identities, for example, personal identity crises, and experiences of 'spoiled identities', for example, experiences of stigma. The proposed middle-range theory allows us to federate these findings together in a coherent framework which makes a contribution to illuminating not just the intra-personal consequences of unemployment, that is, its impact on subjective well-being and common mental health problems, but also its inter-personal consequences, that is, the hidden and often overlooked social processes that affect unemployed people's social well-being. This article discusses how the study findings and the proposed middle-range theory can help to address the theoretical weaknesses and often contradictory empirical findings from studies that use alternative frameworks, for example, deprivation models and 'incentive theory' of unemployment

Thermal effects in the Input Optics of the Enhanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory interferometers

We present the design and performance of the LIGO Input Optics subsystem as implemented for the sixth science run of the LIGO interferometers. The Initial LIGO Input Optics experienced thermal side effects when operating with 7 W input power. We designed, built, and implemented improved versions of the Input Optics for Enhanced LIGO, an incremental upgrade to the Initial LIGO interferometers, designed to run with 30 W input power. At four times the power of Initial LIGO, the Enhanced LIGO Input Optics demonstrated improved performance including better optical isolation, less thermal drift, minimal thermal lensing, and higher optical efficiency. The success of the Input Optics design fosters confidence for its ability to perform well in Advanced LIGO

Characterization of thermal effects in the Enhanced LIGO Input Optics

We present the design and performance of the LIGO Input Optics subsystem as implemented for the sixth science run of the LIGO interferometers. The Initial LIGO Input Optics experienced thermal side effects when operating with 7 W input power. We designed, built, and implemented improved versions of the Input Optics for Enhanced LIGO, an incremental upgrade to the Initial LIGO interferometers, designed to run with 30 W input power. At four times the power of Initial LIGO, the Enhanced LIGO Input Optics demonstrated improved performance including better optical isolation, less thermal drift, minimal thermal lensing and higher optical efficiency. The success of the Input Optics design fosters confidence for its ability to perform well in Advanced LIGO

Analysis of weighted networks

The connections in many networks are not merely binary entities, either present or not, but have associated weights that record their strengths relative to one another. Recent studies of networks have, by and large, steered clear of such weighted networks, which are often perceived as being harder to analyze than their unweighted counterparts. Here we point out that weighted networks can in many cases be analyzed using a simple mapping from a weighted network to an unweighted multigraph, allowing us to apply standard techniques for unweighted graphs to weighted ones as well. We give a number of examples of the method, including an algorithm for detecting community structure in weighted networks and a new and simple proof of the max-flow/min-cut theorem.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Physical resolution of tubal ectopic pregnancy on ultrasound imaging following successful expectant management

RESEARCH QUESTION What is the time required for complete physical resolution of tubal ectopic pregnancies diagnosed on ultrasound imaging in women undergoing successful expectant management? DESIGN A prospective observational cohort study of 177 women who had successful expectant management of tubal ectopic pregnancy, who attended a single Early Pregnancy Unit between January 2014 and December 2018. All participants were monitored until their serum β-hCG dropped to non-pregnant levels and with two-weekly follow-up ultrasound scans until resolution of the pregnancy. RESULTS 112/177 (63.8%, 95% CI 56.3-70.9) of tubal ectopic pregnancies were indiscernible on ultrasound 2 weeks after serum β-hCG had returned to non-pregnant levels. In 8/177 (4.5%, 95% CI 2.0-8.7) physical resolution took longer than 78 days. There was a positive correlation between biochemical and physical resolution of tubal ectopic pregnancy (r=0.21, p=0.006). CONCLUSIONS Physical resolution of tubal ectopic pregnancy is often prolonged and is positively correlated with initial and maximum β-hCG levels. Our results indicate that β-hCG resolution cannot be used as the end-point of expectant management of tubal ectopic pregnancy, which should be considered when counselling women and planning for future pregnancies. KEY MESSAGE In a significant proportion, physical resolution of tubal ectopic pregnancy takes several weeks following the return of serum β-hCG to non-pregnant levels. Women should be advised to delay trying for another pregnancy for three months, to avoid resolving pregnancies being misdiagnosed as new ones and to reduce the theoretical risk of recurrent ectopic, due to temporary tubal blockage by the resolving trophoblast

The subelliptic heat kernel on SU(2): Representations, Asymptotics and Gradient bounds

The Lie group SU(2) endowed with its canonical subriemannian structure appears as a three-dimensional model of a positively curved subelliptic space. The goal of this work is to study the subelliptic heat kernel on it and some related functional inequalities.Comment: Update: Added section + Correction of typo

A Mixed-Method Analysis of Fatal Attacks on Police by Far-Right Extremists

Several recent high-profile homicides of police officers have brought increased attention to issues of far-right extremist violence in the United States. We still, however, know very little about why (and how) certain encounters between far-right extremists and police result in violence. To fill this research gap, we conduct a mixed-method analysis of far-right antipolice homicides based on quantitative and qualitative data from the U.S. Extremist Crime Database. We begin by categorizing cases based on key aspects of homicide storylines. We then comparatively analyze attributes of event precursor, transaction, and aftermath stages across four storyline categories. Finally, a case study is purposively selected to follow-up on each storyline category to better capture the nuances of fluid homicide processes. Our findings have important implications for identifying triggering events, escalation factors, and other situated sets of conditions and circumstances that contribute to deadly outcomes for police officers