Experiences of obesity among Saudi Arabian women contemplating bariatric surgery: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2013 The Authors.This study explored experiences of obesity, its perceived causes and motives for surgery, as described by seven Saudi women contemplating bariatric surgery. The women experienced cultural restrictions on their physical and social activities. Obesity embodied these restrictions, attracting stigma and moral failure. Traditional clothing, foods, hospitality norms and limited outdoor female activities were regarded as barriers to weight loss. Bariatric surgery was chosen to protect health and to access normative female roles. Some were encouraged by relatives who had undergone surgery. Opting for surgery reflected both participants’ sense of powerlessness to self-manage weight and the social acceptability, within their family context, of this biomedical approach

The origins of recusancy in Elizabethan England reconsidered

Most historians now acknowledge that Catholic recusancy existed in small pockets throughout 1560s and early 1570s England thanks to the sporadic efforts of a handful of former Marian priests. However, it is widely agreed that the influx of continentally trained seminarians and missionaries from abroad after 1574 was responsible for transforming the 'curious and confused' activities of these Marian clergymen into a fully fledged, intellectually justified campaign in favour ofnonconformity. This article challenges this consensus through investigation ofa neglected group of clerics - the cathedral clergy of Mary I's reign. Drawing on insights emerging from recent research into the nature of Mary's church, it demonstrates how these clerics became key agents in the so-called 'invention of the Counter-Reformation' in Marian England. It suggests that this 'upbringing' gave these priests the determination and skills to become leaders ofa co-ordinated campaign in favour ofprincipled nonconformity following Elizabeth' s accession. Far from lacking the zeal of their seminary and missionary counterparts, this article sees the former cathedral clergy imitating the practices of their adversaries and anticipating the strategies of the later English mission in order to promote recusancy throughout England from as early as 1560.This research, which was undertaken during my MPhil year at Cambridge, was partially funded through a generous grant from Clare College and the University of Cambridge’s Newton Trust

Study of university donor recognition event

Festivals, fairs, conventions, ballgames, concerts and fundraising activities are types of special events that individuals typically attend to participate in the festivities and enjoy with friends, family and colleagues (Causin & McCarthy, 2017; Causin et. al, 2010). Fundraising in higher education has been around for hundreds of years. In the early 1900’s, the driving motivator for fundraising was to provide funds for students specifically for housing expenses, books and food (Cook & Lasher, 1996). Research has shown that donors are more likely to give when their contributions are made known to the public (Sheremeta & Samek, 2017). In an effort to create awareness and appreciation, many institutions have incorporated events to honor donors. However, there is little research on how and what type of donor recognition is most effective and will encourage donors to give. Determining what motivates a donor to give large contributions and if publicly recognizing donors at a major event motivates others to give is still to be determined. Although research has shown that donor recognition is important in cultivating relationships, the type of recognition that is most effective is unknown (Sheremeta & Samek, 2017)

Risk Adjustment In Neurocritical care (RAIN)--prospective validation of risk prediction models for adult patients with acute traumatic brain injury to use to evaluate the optimum location and comparative costs of neurocritical care: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To validate risk prediction models for acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to use the best model to evaluate the optimum location and comparative costs of neurocritical care in the NHS. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Sixty-seven adult critical care units. PARTICIPANTS: Adult patients admitted to critical care following actual/suspected TBI with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of < 15. INTERVENTIONS: Critical care delivered in a dedicated neurocritical care unit, a combined neuro/general critical care unit within a neuroscience centre or a general critical care unit outside a neuroscience centre. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality, Glasgow Outcome Scale - Extended (GOSE) questionnaire and European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions, 3-level version (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire at 6 months following TBI. RESULTS: The final Risk Adjustment In Neurocritical care (RAIN) study data set contained 3626 admissions. After exclusions, 3210 patients with acute TBI were included. Overall follow-up rate at 6 months was 81%. Of 3210 patients, 101 (3.1%) had no GCS score recorded and 134 (4.2%) had a last pre-sedation GCS score of 15, resulting in 2975 patients for analysis. The most common causes of TBI were road traffic accidents (RTAs) (33%), falls (47%) and assault (12%). Patients were predominantly young (mean age 45 years overall) and male (76% overall). Six-month mortality was 22% for RTAs, 32% for falls and 17% for assault. Of survivors at 6 months with a known GOSE category, 44% had severe disability, 30% moderate disability and 26% made a good recovery. Overall, 61% of patients with known outcome had an unfavourable outcome (death or severe disability) at 6 months. Between 35% and 70% of survivors reported problems across the five domains of the EQ-5D-3L. Of the 10 risk models selected for validation, the best discrimination overall was from the International Mission for Prognosis and Analysis of Clinical Trials in TBI Lab model (IMPACT) (c-index 0.779 for mortality, 0.713 for unfavourable outcome). The model was well calibrated for 6-month mortality but substantially underpredicted the risk of unfavourable outcome at 6 months. Baseline patient characteristics were similar between dedicated neurocritical care units and combined neuro/general critical care units. In lifetime cost-effectiveness analysis, dedicated neurocritical care units had higher mean lifetime quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) at small additional mean costs with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £14,000 per QALY and incremental net monetary benefit (INB) of £17,000. The cost-effectiveness acceptability curve suggested that the probability that dedicated compared with combined neurocritical care units are cost-effective is around 60%. There were substantial differences in case mix between the 'early' (within 18 hours of presentation) and 'no or late' (after 24 hours) transfer groups. After adjustment, the 'early' transfer group reported higher lifetime QALYs at an additional cost with an ICER of £11,000 and INB of £17,000. CONCLUSIONS: The risk models demonstrated sufficient statistical performance to support their use in research but fell below the level required to guide individual patient decision-making. The results suggest that management in a dedicated neurocritical care unit may be cost-effective compared with a combined neuro/general critical care unit (although there is considerable statistical uncertainty) and support current recommendations that all patients with severe TBI would benefit from transfer to a neurosciences centre, regardless of the need for surgery. We recommend further research to improve risk prediction models; consider alternative approaches for handling unobserved confounding; better understand long-term outcomes and alternative pathways of care; and explore equity of access to postcritical care support for patients following acute TBI. FUNDING: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme

Are Split Tablet Keyboards Better? A Study of Soft Keyboard Layout and Hand Posture

acceptedVersio

Evidence of space–time clustering of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in Sweden

We have examined 645 recorded cases of childhood acute lymphatic leukaemia (ALL) in Sweden during 1973–89 to identify space–time clustering by using the close-pair method of Knox. The records included date of birth and of diagnosis as well as addresses at birth and at diagnosis. There was a significant excess of case pairs close in date of birth and place of birth in the 5- to 15-year age group. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Comparative population structure of <i>Plasmodium malariae</i> and <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> under different transmission settings in Malawi

&lt;b&gt;Background:&lt;/b&gt; Described here is the first population genetic study of Plasmodium malariae, the causative agent of quartan malaria. Although not as deadly as Plasmodium falciparum, P. malariae is more common than previously thought, and is frequently in sympatry and co-infection with P. falciparum, making its study increasingly important. This study compares the population parameters of the two species in two districts of Malawi with different malaria transmission patterns - one seasonal, one perennial - to explore the effects of transmission on population structures. &lt;BR/&gt; &lt;b&gt;Methods:&lt;/b&gt; Six species-specific microsatellite markers were used to analyse 257 P. malariae samples and 257 P. falciparum samples matched for age, gender and village of residence. Allele sizes were scored to within 2 bp for each locus and haplotypes were constructed from dominant alleles in multiple infections. Analysis of multiplicity of infection (MOI), population differentiation, clustering of haplotypes and linkage disequilibrium was performed for both species. Regression analyses were used to determine association of MOI measurements with clinical malaria parameters. &lt;BR/&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; Multiple-genotype infections within each species were common in both districts, accounting for 86.0% of P. falciparum and 73.2% of P. malariae infections and did not differ significantly with transmission setting. Mean MOI of P. falciparum was increased under perennial transmission compared with seasonal (3.14 vs 2.59, p = 0.008) and was greater in children compared with adults. In contrast, P. malariae mean MOI was similar between transmission settings (2.12 vs 2.11) and there was no difference between children and adults. Population differentiation showed no significant differences between villages or districts for either species. There was no evidence of geographical clustering of haplotypes. Linkage disequilibrium amongst loci was found only for P. falciparum samples from the seasonal transmission setting. &lt;BR/&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/b&gt; The extent of similarity between P. falciparum and P. malariae population structure described by the high level of multiple infection, the lack of significant population differentiation or haplotype clustering and lack of linkage disequilibrium is surprising given the differences in the biological features of these species that suggest a reduced potential for out-crossing and transmission in P. malariae. The absence of a rise in P. malariae MOI with increased transmission or a reduction in MOI with age could be explained by differences in the duration of infection or degree of immunity compared to P. falciparum

An Introductory Guide to Aligning Networks Using SANA, the Simulated Annealing Network Aligner.

Sequence alignment has had an enormous impact on our understanding of biology, evolution, and disease. The alignment of biological networks holds similar promise. Biological networks generally model interactions between biomolecules such as proteins, genes, metabolites, or mRNAs. There is strong evidence that the network topology-the "structure" of the network-is correlated with the functions performed, so that network topology can be used to help predict or understand function. However, unlike sequence comparison and alignment-which is an essentially solved problem-network comparison and alignment is an NP-complete problem for which heuristic algorithms must be used.Here we introduce SANA, the Simulated Annealing Network Aligner. SANA is one of many algorithms proposed for the arena of biological network alignment. In the context of global network alignment, SANA stands out for its speed, memory efficiency, ease-of-use, and flexibility in the arena of producing alignments between two or more networks. SANA produces better alignments in minutes on a laptop than most other algorithms can produce in hours or days of CPU time on large server-class machines. We walk the user through how to use SANA for several types of biomolecular networks