NGC1052 - A study of the pc-scale twin jet

We present results of a VLBA multi-frequency study of the pc-scale twin jet in NGC1052. We observed this object at epoch 1998.99 with the VLBA at 5, 8.4, 22 and 43 GHz both in total and linearly polarized intensity. The spectral analysis confirms the necessity of a free-free absorbing medium, obscuring the innermost part of both jets. At 5 GHz we found a compact linearly polarized emission region at the base of the eastern jet with a degree of polarization of 1.5%. At higher frequencies there is no evidence for polarization in our data. A core shift analysis constrains the position of the central engine to ~0.03 pc. The shift rates of the apparent core position with frequency confirm the strong influence of free-free absorption in conjunction with steep pressure gradients at the bases of both jets.Comment: Proceedings of the conference "SRT: the impact of large antennas on Radio Astronomy and Space Science", Cagliari, Italy, 7-10 November 2001, in press; 6 pages, 5 figures, needs srt_style.st

When Sherman Marched Down to the Sea

1st verse:Our camp fires shone bright on the mountain That frown\u27d on the river below,While we stood by our guns in the morning,And eagerly watch\u27d for the foe;When a horseman rode out from the darknessThat hung over mountain and tree,And shouted, Boys, up and be ready,For Sherman will march to the sea. 2nd verse:When cheer upon cheer for bold ShermanWent up from each valley and glen,And the bugles reechoed the musicThat came from the lips of the menFor we knew that the stars on our banners,More bright in their splendor would be,And the blessings from Northland would greet usWhen Sherman march\u27d down to the sea. 3rd verse:Then forward, boys; forward to battle,We march\u27d on our wearysome way,And we storm\u27d the wild hills of Resaca,God bless those who fell on that day!Then Kenesaw, dark in its glory,Frown\u27d down on the flag of the free,But the East and the West bore her standardWhen Sherman march\u27d down to the sea. 4th verse:Still onward we pressed till our bannersSwept out from Atlanta\u27s grim walls,And the blood of the patriot dampenedThe soil where the traitor\u27s flag falls;But we paused not to weep for the fallenWho slept by each river and tree,Yet we twined the a wreath of the laurel,And Sherman marched down to the sea. 5th verse:Proud, proud was our army that morningThat stood by the cypress and pine,The Sherman said, Boys, you are weary,This day fair Savannah is mine! Then sang we a song for our chieftain,That echoed o\u27er river and sea,And the stars on our banners shone brighterWhen Sherman marched down to the sea

The Environmental Implications of Asia's 1997 Financial Crisis

Summary This article assesses the environmental implications of the Asian financial crisis in South?East Asia and Melanesia, covering the period from mid?1997 until early 1999. It examines the implications for agricultural development, natural resource management, industrial pollution, corporate activities, and state environment budgets and implementation. It shows that the crisis has contributed to extensive environmental changes. There are, however, considerable variations across sectors, areas, and time. For some environmental issues, such as water quality and conservation, the crisis has (in some instances) aggravated environmental mismanagement in the immediate term. In others, such as agriculture, plantations, and fisheries, it has created powerful incentives to expand export?oriented production to earn foreign exchange. And in still others, most notably commercial timber and urban air pollution, it has created temporary respites and windows of opportunity for environmental reformers, although if reforms are unsuccessful, environmental management is likely to worsen in the long term. Finally, the article points to the need for further research to help the countries of the Asia?Pacific address the immediate and future implications of the present crisis, as well as build a set of analytical tools for policymakers, donors, and development specialists to analyse the environmental implications of globalisation as well as future financial crises

Face Value: The Rhetoric of Facial Disfigurement in American Film and Popular Culture, 1917-27

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this record.The return of facially disfigured men from the trenches of World War One occasioned a muted public reaction in the US. However, this article will show that burgeoning discourses concerning plastic surgery in the US also generated a significant reaction in the popular press, and that these were reflected, too, in several feature films dealing with facial surgery on disfigured veterans. Though several of these films depicted miraculous transformations occasioned by the surgeons, Robert Florey’s 1927 film, Face Value, focused on an American veteran with facial scarring that could not be repaired. The article will argue that this film drew strongly upon the increasingly prominent public presence of the gueules cassées in the US during 1926 and 1927. Depicting gueules cassées and their facial injuries prominently in several scenes, the film brought to attention difficult questions concerning the futures of such men, which the US media had hitherto rarely addressed

IMPRoving Outcomes for children exposed to domestic ViolencE (IMPROVE): an evidence synthesis

BackgroundExposure to domestic violence and abuse (DVA) during childhood and adolescence increases the risk of negative outcomes across the lifespan.ObjectivesTo synthesise evidence on the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of interventions for children exposed to DVA, with the aim of making recommendations for further research.Design(1) A systematic review of controlled trials of interventions; (2) a systematic review of qualitative studies of participant and professional experience of interventions; (3) a network meta-analysis (NMA) of controlled trials and cost-effectiveness analysis; (4) an overview of current UK provision of interventions; and (5) consultations with young people, parents, service providers and commissioners.SettingsNorth America (11), the Netherlands (1) and Israel (1) for the systematic review of controlled trials of interventions; the USA (4) and the UK (1) for the systematic review of qualitative studies of participant and professional experience of interventions; and the UK for the overview of current UK provision of interventions and consultations with young people, parents, service providers and commissioners.ParticipantsA total of 1345 children for the systematic review of controlled trials of interventions; 100 children, 202 parents and 39 professionals for the systematic review of qualitative studies of participant and professional experience of interventions; and 16 young people, six parents and 20 service providers and commissioners for the consultation with young people, parents, service providers and commissioners.InterventionsPsychotherapeutic, advocacy, parenting skills and advocacy, psychoeducation, psychoeducation and advocacy, guided self-help.Main outcome measuresInternalising symptoms and externalising behaviour, mood, depression symptoms and diagnosis, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and self-esteem for the systematic review of controlled trials of interventions and NMA; views about and experience of interventions for the systematic review of qualitative studies of participant and professional experience of interventions and consultations.Data sourcesMEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Science Citation Index, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Social Services Abstracts, Social Care Online, Sociological Abstracts, Social Science Citation Index, World Health Organization trials portal and clinicaltrials.gov.Review methodsA narrative review; a NMA and incremental cost-effectiveness analysis; and a qualitative synthesis.ResultsThe evidence base on targeted interventions was small, with limited settings and types of interventions; children were mostly &lt; 14 years of age, and there was an absence of comparative studies. The interventions evaluated in trials were mostly psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational interventions delivered to the non-abusive parent and child, usually based on the child’s exposure to DVA (not specific clinical or broader social needs). Qualitative studies largely focused on psychoeducational interventions, some of which included the abusive parent. The evidence for clinical effectiveness was as follows: 11 trials reported improvements in behavioural or mental health outcomes, with modest effect sizes but significant heterogeneity and high or unclear risk of bias. Psychoeducational group-based interventions delivered to the child were found to be more effective for improving mental health outcomes than other types of intervention. Interventions delivered to (non-abusive) parents and to children were most likely to be effective for improving behavioural outcomes. However, there is a large degree of uncertainty around comparisons, particularly with regard to mental health outcomes. In terms of evidence of cost-effectiveness, there were no economic studies of interventions. Cost-effectiveness was modelled on the basis of the NMA, estimating differences between types of interventions. The outcomes measured in trials were largely confined to children’s mental health and behavioural symptoms and disorders, although stakeholders’ concepts of success were broader, suggesting that a broader range of outcomes should be measured in trials. Group-based psychoeducational interventions delivered to children and non-abusive parents in parallel were largely acceptable to all stakeholders. There is limited evidence for the acceptability of other types of intervention. In terms of the UK evidence base and service delivery landscape, there were no UK-based trials, few qualitative studies and little widespread service evaluation. Most programmes are group-based psychoeducational interventions. However, the funding crisis in the DVA sector is significantly undermining programme delivery.ConclusionsThe evidence base regarding the acceptability, clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of interventions to improve outcomes for children exposed to DVA is underdeveloped. There is an urgent need for more high-quality studies, particularly trials, that are designed to produce actionable, generalisable findings that can be implemented in real-world settings and that can inform decisions about which interventions to commission and scale. We suggest that there is a need to pause the development of new interventions and to focus on the systematic evaluation of existing programmes. With regard to the UK, we have identified three types of programme that could be justifiably prioritised for further study: psycho-education delivered to mothers and children, or children alone; parent skills training in combination with advocacy: and interventions involving the abusive parent/caregiver. We also suggest that there is need for key stakeholders to come together to explicitly identify and address the structural, practical and cultural barriers that may have hampered the development of the UK evidence base to date.Future work recommendationsThere is a need for well-designed, well-conducted and well-reported UK-based randomised controlled trials with cost-effectiveness analyses and nested qualitative studies. Development of consensus in the field about core outcome data sets is required. There is a need for further exploration of the acceptability and effectiveness of interventions for specific groups of children and young people (i.e. based on ethnicity, age, trauma exposure and clinical profile). There is also a need for an investigation of the context in which interventions are delivered, including organisational setting and the broader community context, and the evaluation of qualities, qualifications and disciplines of personnel delivering interventions. We recommend prioritisation of psychoeducational interventions and parent skills training delivered in combination with advocacy in the next phase of trials, and exploratory trials of interventions that engage both the abusive and the non-abusive parent.Study registrationThis study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42013004348 and PROSPERO CRD420130043489.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.</jats:sec

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients