Quality of life in children newly diagnosed with cancer and their mothers

Background With current treatments, approximately 75% of children diagnosed with cancer can expect to achieve disease-free survival. However, treatments are complex and aggressive, potentially compromising QOL for children and their parents. Although previous work has shown increased anxiety and depression among parents after diagnosis, the recent development of standardised measures of QOL enables us to look more directly at the impact of diagnosis on mothers' and children's QOL. The aims of this study are to i) describe QOL for children and their mothers after diagnosis by comparing their scores with population norms, ii) explore the relationship between mothers' worries about the illness and their QOL, and iii) determine the relationship between mothers ratings of their own QOL and their child. Method A total of 87 families took part, constituting 60% of those eligible. The children included 58 males and 29 females aged between 2 years 6 months to 16 years 3 months (mean = 7 years, median = 5 years 8 months). Diagnoses were acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL, n = 57), brain tumours (n = 11), bone tumours (n = 17) and 2 rare cancers. Mothers completed questionnaires about their own and the child's QOL. Results Mothers' reported their own and the child's QOL to be significantly lower than population norms. There were significant correlations between mothers' worries and their own and their ratings of the child's QOL and mothers' ratings of their own QOL correlated with their ratings of the child's QOL. Conclusion Both children and their mothers experience significantly compromised QOL in the months following diagnosis. Mothers who rated their own QOL to be poor also rate their child's QOL to be low. These results suggest caution is required where mothers rate their child's QOL. Efforts must continue to be made to improve QOL of children especially in the period immediately following diagnosis

Colloidal Flying Carpets

DNA plays a special role in polymer science not just because of the highly selective recognition of complementary single DNA strands but also because bacteria can express DNA chains that are very long yet perfectly monodisperse. The latter reason makes long DNA molecules widely used as model systems in polymer science. Here, we report the unusual self-assembly that takes place in systems of colloids coated with very long double-stranded DNA. In particular, we find that colloids coated with such long DNA can assemble into unique floating crystalline monolayers. Floating colloidal structures have potentially interesting applications as such ordered structures can be assembled in one location and then deposited somewhere else. This would open the way to the assembly of multi-component, layered colloidal crystals.Comment: submitted to PR

The measurement of health-related quality of life (QOL) in paediatric clinical trials: a systematic review

Background The goal of much care in chronic childhood illness is to improve quality of life (QOL). However, surveys suggest QOL measures are not routinely included. In addition, there is little consensus about the quality of many QOL measures. Objectives To determine the extent to which quality of life (QOL) measures are used in paediatric clinical trials and evaluate the quality of measures used. Design Systematic literature review. Review Methods Included paediatric trials published in English between 1994 and 2003 involving children and adolescents up to the age of 20 years, and use of a standardised QOL measure. Data Sources included MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMB Reviews, AMED, BNI, PSYCHINFO, the Cochrane library, Internet, and reference lists from review articles. Results We identified 18 trials including assessment of QOL (4 Asthma, 4 Rhinitis, 2 Dermatitis, and single studies of Eczema, Cystic fibrosis, Otis media, Amblyopia, Diabetes, Obesity associated with a brain tumour, Idiopathic short stature, and Congenital agranulocytosis). In three trials, parents rated their own QOL but not their child's. Fourteen different QOL measures were used but only two fulfilled our minimal defined criteria for quality. Conclusions This review confirms previous reports of limited use of QOL measures in paediatric clinical trials. Our review provides information about availability and quality of measures which will be of especial value to trial developers

Predicting smokers' non-compliance with smoking restrictions in public places

Objective: The present study aimed to identify the predictors of non-compliance with smoking restrictions among Greek college student smokers. Differences in attitudes to smoking bans and tobacco control policies between current smokers and non-smokers were also examined. Methods: Data were collected from college students (n = 229, mean (SD) age 21.27 (3.15) years). Measures included tobacco dependence, attitudes to tobacco control policies, outcome expectancy and normative beliefs. Results: The majority of current smokers reported noncompliance with existing restrictions. Logistic regression analysis showed that non-compliance was significantly predicted by (less) anticipated regret from tobacco-related health harm, tobacco dependence and perceived prevalence and social acceptability of smoking. Analysis of variance indicated that current non-smokers held significantly more positive attitudes to smoking bans and tobacco control policies than current smokers. Conclusions: Smoking was highly prevalent, and more than half of current smokers reported not complying with existing regulations in public places. Smokers' attitudes to smoking bans and tobacco control policies did not have an effect on compliance behaviour. Future policies to promote compliance with smoking restrictions in Greece should target health-related anticipated regret, and perceived social norms

What might slower economic growth in Scotland mean for Scotland's income tax revenues?

Income tax revenues now account for over 40% of the Scottish resource budget. Under Scotland's Fiscal Framework, the Scottish budget benefits from growth in income tax revenues per capita if they grow faster than the growth in equivalent revenues in the rest of the UK (rUK). Since the beginning of 2015, Scotland's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita has grown significantly slower than the UK's, raising concerns that if this trend continues it may lead to relatively slower growth in the Scottish income tax base and a weaker outlook for the Scottish budget. This paper considers the relationship between GDP per capita and income tax revenues. It argues that, whilst there is a reasonably strong relationship between growth in GDP per capita and tax revenues in the longer-term, the relationship is likely to be significantly weaker in the short-term. Empirically, it finds that whilst Scottish and UK GDP per capita has broadly grown at similar rates between 1999 and 2015, growth in income tax revenues per capita have at times diverged. The paper concludes by considering whether Scotland’s recent slower growth in GDP per capita is likely to continue over the next few years, and, if it does, what this might mean for Scotland's income tax revenues

A primer on the Scottish Parliament's new fiscal powers : what are they, how will they work, and what are the challenges?

This article provides an overview of Scotland’s new Fiscal Framework. The Fiscal Framework sets out how the new powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament in the Scotland Acts 2012 and 2016 will be made operational. It provides a brief overview of the history of fiscal devolution to Scotland since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. From relying on a Block Grant from Westminster to fund virtually all its expenditure, the Scottish Parliament now has a range of revenue raising powers including substantial flexibility to vary income tax rates and thresholds; moreover the Scottish budget will in future be much more closely linked to the performance of the Scottish economy. In addition, the Scottish Parliament will gain a range of powers in relation to social security. The mechanisms and method(s) for adjusting Scotland’s Block Grant – Block Grant Adjustments (BGA’s) – the forecasting role of the new Scottish Fiscal Commission and Scotland’s new capital borrowing, resource and cash management powers are all outlined. . Finally, the implications for Scotland’s budget process and what the new arrangements could mean for the Scottish Government’s ability to impact on Scotland’s econom

In Scotland, public appetite for further fiscal decentralisation is fuelled by greater levels of trust in Holyrood than in Westminster

Popular pressure for further fiscal devolution from Westminster to Holyrood is less a matter of wanting to pursue a different policy agenda, says David Eiser, and more a matter of who the electorate trusts

Social mobility and the intergenerational transfer of advantage in labour and housing markets in Scotland : some preliminary analyses

This paper presents new data on social mobility in Scotland. It examines the extent to which individuals’ occupation as adults is correlated with the occupation of their parents. It considers the extent to which growing up in a workless household influences the likelihood of being employed as an adult. And it examines how the occupational class of one’s parents influences the probability of being a homeowner, after controlling for individual characteristics (educational qualifications, health). The paper finds evidence that parental labour market status plays a significant role in influencing labour and housing market outcomes in Scotland, and that this intergenerational effect is at least as strong in Scotland as it is in the UK as a whole