“We have to improve our culture about this”: Family planning decision-making among women and men living in Florence, Italy

The male condom is the most widely used family planning method in Italy and Southern Europe. Most family planning research is focused on women and, therefore, could be missing significant gender differences in behavior, as male partners play a critical role in decision-making and pregnancy prevention. This study aimed to explore attitudes toward contraceptive methods, including decision-making and desired improvements related to family planning in Italy. Semi- structured interviews with 42 men and women aged 18–50 years (29.1±7.9) living in or near Florence, Italy, were conducted between May and June 2019. Techniques from thematic analysis allowed for a constant comparative approach to contextualize data and identify emergent themes. HyperRESEARCH assisted in data management and analysis. Data resulted in three emerging themes: (1) Family planning decision-making dynamics; (2) Outside sources that influence family planning decision-making; and (3) Desired improvements to family planning. Participants engaged in most forms of family planning methods; however, participants also had knowledge gaps and misinformation about hormonal contraceptive methods\u27 efficacy and long-term health effects. Participants clarified that family, general doctors, and other important persons (i.e., intimate partners) were the primary source of information about family planning methods. Findings offer practical recommendations to guide social marketing and behavior change interventions to increase family planning access among women and men in Italy. Improved messaging strategies could address concerns and knowledge gaps, improving family planning decision-making among couples

Mentoring the Next Generation of Health Professionals: A Mentor-the-Mentor Approach

The purpose of this commentary is to share team-based mentoring strategies used for successful interdisciplinary research team productivity and sustainability. This commentary lists and describes the top ten considerations for building a productive mentor-the-mentor approach, inspired by the train-the-trainer method. The approach promotes reciprocal training and individualized experiences, while producing positive professional and personal outcomes. We pinpoint how relationship-building rooted in passion and clear communication, explicit expectations and regular celebrations, and routine paired with a bit of play enhances productivity and encourages future health professionals to emerge as leaders in the field

Hormonal male contraception: Formative research to develop and test communication messaging

Male-controlled contraception is limited, yet a promising hormonal male contraceptive (HMC) development in may increase options for men to share in the work of pregnancy prevention. This study examined college-aged (18–26 years) men’s and women’s perceptions of influential marketing strategy for an experimental novel HMC method, a transdermal gel. Six focus groups (n = 29) were conducted to glean insights for ad prototype creation. Ad prototypes were designed and then tested in semi-structured interviews (n = 20) to understand whether the messages were adequately representing the attributes intended while also allowing participants to contribute insights on improving appeal. A constant comparative approach was used for data contextualization and theme identification. Results provided a foundation for the creation of HMC message prototypes, aimed at increasing knowledge and uptake of a novel family planning method for men. Representation of a relatable character, or drawing on authentic experiences, aligned best with participant values. Focus groups illuminated salient concepts for HMC marketing, including humor, destigmatization, information, and credibility. Interview message testing yielded an understanding of elements participants responded most strongly to, including (1) ad sentiment and (2) trustworthiness. Findings provide a basis for understanding the placement of a potential marketing campaign to effectively frame HMC uptake as easy to use, safe, and popular while building on peer norms and group acceptability among a college-aged demographic. Healthcare providers and other practitioners can utilize these findings while engaging in family planning conversations, interventions, and message development

An Exploratory Model of Shared Decision-Making in Women\u27s Reproductive Health in Indiana: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ecological approaches to shared decision-making (SDM) are underexplored in women’s reproductive health. The purpose was to identify ecological factors important to women in contraceptive and prenatal care SDM. In this cross-sectional study, women (18-45 years) living in Indiana who had sought reproductive healthcare completed an online survey (N=432). Multiple linear regression was utilized to identify predictors of SDM. Furthermore, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were conducted to explore ecological factors associated with SDM in contraception and prenatal care. Healthcare professional type was associated with decreased contraceptive SDM scores, but not prenatal care SDM scores. Access, social support, and patient-healthcare professional relationship demonstrated good global fit in confirmatory factor analysis. Path coefficients suggested significant relationships between these ecological factors and contraceptive and prenatal care SDM scores. Additionally, the ecological factors demonstrated good global fit for contraceptive and prenatal care SDM. Social support had a significant, strong, and inverse relationship with both contraceptive and prenatal care SDM in the models. Findings further SDM work by moving beyond option discussion and toward increased attention to women’s contexts and relationships. Taking a holistic approach to SDM and the patient experience ensures that women’s multi-faceted needs, influences, and preferences are met across healthcare settings

A Qualitative Investigation of Individual, Interpersonal, and Institutional Contributions to Postpartum Work-Family Balance

Managing personal and professional responsibilities may be challenging during the postpartum period, as employees navigate new roles, responsibilities, and family dynamics. The purpose of this paper was to understand the work/life balance experiences of diverse stakeholders and identify opportunities to improve the work environment. We conducted a series of in-depth focus groups with faculty, staff, and graduate students (n = 22), and in-depth interviews with administrators (n = 10) at a research-intensive university in the United States. A six-phase thematic analysis approach was used to examine the experiences and perspectives of individuals with different roles. Three themes with subsequent subthemes emerged: 1) employee role shapes perspectives on campus policies and practices; 2) confusion about policies exacerbates return-to-work issues; and 3) coworkers and supervisors are the primary sources of postpartum support in this workplace. Employees in our study expressed strong desires for clear, consistent institutional policies to ensure employees’ postpartum return-to-work experiences were not dependent on informal arrangements with coworkers and supervisors. Faculty, staff, and graduate student postpartum needs are shaped by individual, interpersonal, and community factors. Clear communication between individuals who make policy decisions and those who are subject to the policies may reduce employee issues during the postpartum period

Association between Patient Characteristics and HPV Vaccination Recommendation for Postpartum Patients: A National Survey of Obstetrician/Gynecologists

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates in the U.S. are relatively low. Provider recommendation rates for HPV vaccination often vary by patient age and relationship status. Obstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYNs) represent a key provider group that can recommend the HPV vaccine. This study examined differences in OB/ GYN recommendation of HPV vaccination for inpatient postpartum patients by age, parity, and marital status. Data were collected from OB/GYNs nationally via a cross-sectional survey. Participants were randomized to two vignette groups (23-year-old patient or 33-year-old patient). Within each group, participants received 4 vignettes that were identical except for patient marital status (married/not in a committed relationship) and number of children (first/third child), and were asked to indicate HPV vaccination recommendation likelihood on a scale of 0 (definitely would not) to 100 (definitely would). A 2 × 2 × 2 general linear model with repeated measures was used to examine main and interaction effects of patient age, relationship status, and parity. 207 OB/GYNs were included in the final analyses. Recommendation was high for 23-year-old patients (range: 64.5–84.6 out of 100). When marital status and parity were held constant, recommendation likelihood was higher for the younger vs. older patient and was also higher for patients not in a committed relationship, compared to married patients (all p-values \u3c 0.001). Differences in recommendation exist when considering age and relationship status, which provides insight into OB/GYN clinical decision-making. Findings highlight the need to address barriers to HPV vaccination recommendation, including awareness of risk factors to consider when recommending the vaccine

A Prototype of a New Generation Readout ASIC in 65 nm CMOS for Pixel Detectors at HL-LHC

The foreseen High-Luminosity upgrade at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will constitute a new frontier for particle physics after year 2024, demanding for the installation of new silicon pixel detectors able to withstand unprecedented track densities and radiation levels in the inner tracking systems of current general-purpose experiments. This paper describes the implementation of a new-generation pixel chip demonstrator using a commercial 65 nm CMOS technology and targeting HL-LHC specifications. It was designed as part of the Italian INFN CHIPIX65 project and in close synergy with the international CERN RD53 collaboration on 65 nm CMOS. The prototype is composed of a matrix of 64×64 pixels with 50 μm × 50 μm cells featuring a compact design, low-noise and low-power performance. The pixel array integrates two different analogue front-end architectures working in parallel, one with asynchronous and one with synchronous hit discriminators. Common characteristics are a compact layout able to fit into half the pixel size, low-noise performance (ENC < 100 e− RMS for 50 fF input capacitance), below 5 μW/pixel power consumption, linear charge measurements up to 30 ke− input charge using Time-over-Threshold (ToT) encoding and leakage current compensation up to 50 nA per pixel. A novel region-based digital architecture has been designed in order to ensure > 99% efficiency for expected 3 GHz/cm2 hit rate, 1 MHz trigger rate and 12.5 μs trigger latency at HL-LHC. Pixels have been organized into regions of 4×4 cells and a common synthesized logic shared among all pixels provides a centralized memory for latency buffering, performs the trigger matching and handles the local configuration. The simulated particle inefficiency for this architecture is below 0.1% under nominal HL-LHC conditions. All global biases and voltages required by analogue front-ends are generated on-chip using 10-bit programmable DACs. Bias currents and voltages can be monitored by a 12-bit ADC. A bandgap voltage reference circuit provides a stable reference voltage for all these blocks. The readout of triggered data is based on replicated FIFOs placed at the chip periphery. Data are finally sent off-chip with 8b/10b encoding using a high-speed serializer. Triggerless and debug operating modes are also supported. Chip configuration and slow-control are performed through fully-duplex synchronous Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) master/slave transactions. The I/O interface uses custom-designed JEDEC-compliant SLVS transmitters and receivers. All blocks and analogue front-ends have been silicon-proven during a previous prototyping phase and were demonstrated to be radiation tolerant up to 580 Mrad Total Ionizing Dose (TID) or beyond. The CHIPIX65 demonstrator was submitted for fabrication on July 2016. It was received back from the foundry on October 2016 and preliminary experimental characterizations started

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Search for New Physics with Jets and Missing Transverse Momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for new physics is presented based on an event signature of at least three jets accompanied by large missing transverse momentum, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 inverse picobarns collected in proton--proton collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. No excess of events is observed above the expected standard model backgrounds, which are all estimated from the data. Exclusion limits are presented for the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Cross section limits are also presented using simplified models with new particles decaying to an undetected particle and one or two jets

Search for anomalous t t-bar production in the highly-boosted all-hadronic final state

A search is presented for a massive particle, generically referred to as a Z', decaying into a t t-bar pair. The search focuses on Z' resonances that are sufficiently massive to produce highly Lorentz-boosted top quarks, which yield collimated decay products that are partially or fully merged into single jets. The analysis uses new methods to analyze jet substructure, providing suppression of the non-top multijet backgrounds. The analysis is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns. Upper limits in the range of 1 pb are set on the product of the production cross section and branching fraction for a topcolor Z' modeled for several widths, as well as for a Randall--Sundrum Kaluza--Klein gluon. In addition, the results constrain any enhancement in t t-bar production beyond expectations of the standard model for t t-bar invariant masses larger than 1 TeV.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physics; this version includes a minor typo correction that will be submitted as an erratu