350 research outputs found
Driving precision policy responses to child health and developmental inequities
The
growing evidence base on the extent of and opportunities to reduce inequities
in childrenâs health and development still lacks the specificity to inform
clear policy decisions. A new phase of research is needed that builds on
contemporary directions in precision medicine to develop precision policy
making; with the aim to redress child inequities. This would include
identifying effective interventions and their ideal time point(s), duration,
and intensity to maximise impact. Drawing on existing data sources and
innovations in epidemiology and biostatistics would be key. The economic and
social gains that could be achieved from reducing child inequities are immense.
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Preferred reporting items for studies mapping onto preference-based outcome measures: The MAPS statement
'Mapping' onto generic preference-based outcome measures is increasingly being used as a means of generating health utilities for use within health economic evaluations. Despite publication of technical guides for the conduct of mapping research, guidance for the reporting of mapping studies is currently lacking. The MAPS (MApping onto Preference-based measures reporting Standards) statement is a new checklist, which aims to promote complete and transparent reporting of mapping studies. The primary audiences for the MAPS statement are researchers reporting mapping studies, the funders of the research, and peer reviewers and editors involved in assessing mapping studies for publication. A de novo list of 29 candidate reporting items and accompanying explanations was created by a working group comprised of six health economists and one Delphi methodologist. Following a two-round, modified Delphi survey with representatives from academia, consultancy, health technology assessment agencies and the biomedical journal editorial community, a final set of 23 items deemed essential for transparent reporting, and accompanying explanations, was developed. The items are contained in a user friendly 23 item checklist. They are presented numerically and categorised within six sections, namely: (i) title and abstract; (ii) introduction; (iii) methods; (iv) results; (v) discussion; and (vi) other. The MAPS statement is best applied in conjunction with the accompanying MAPS explanation and elaboration document. It is anticipated that the MAPS statement will improve the clarity, transparency and completeness of reporting of mapping studies. To facilitate dissemination and uptake, the MAPS statement is being co-published by eight health economics and quality of life journals, and broader endorsement is encouraged. The MAPS working group plans to assess the need for an update of the reporting checklist in five years' time. This statement was published jointly in Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, Journal of Medical Economics, Medical Decision Making, PharmacoEconomics, and Quality of Life Research
Counting and effective rigidity in algebra and geometry
The purpose of this article is to produce effective versions of some rigidity
results in algebra and geometry. On the geometric side, we focus on the
spectrum of primitive geodesic lengths (resp., complex lengths) for arithmetic
hyperbolic 2-manifolds (resp., 3-manifolds). By work of Reid, this spectrum
determines the commensurability class of the 2-manifold (resp., 3-manifold). We
establish effective versions of these rigidity results by ensuring that, for
two incommensurable arithmetic manifolds of bounded volume, the length sets
(resp., the complex length sets) must disagree for a length that can be
explicitly bounded as a function of volume. We also prove an effective version
of a similar rigidity result established by the second author with Reid on a
surface analog of the length spectrum for hyperbolic 3-manifolds. These
effective results have corresponding algebraic analogs involving maximal
subfields and quaternion subalgebras of quaternion algebras. To prove these
effective rigidity results, we establish results on the asymptotic behavior of
certain algebraic and geometric counting functions which are of independent
interest.Comment: v.2, 39 pages. To appear in Invent. Mat
SR studies of the frustrated quasi-2d square-lattice spin system Cu(Cl,Br)La(Nb,Ta)O: evolution from spin-gap to antiferromagnetic state
We report muon spin relaxation (SR) and magnetic susceptibility
measurements on Cu(Cl,Br)La(Nb,Ta)O, which demonstrate: (a) the
absence of static magnetism in (CuCl)LaNbO down to 15 mK confirming
a spin-gapped ground state; (b) phase separation between partial volumes with a
spin-gap and static magnetism in (CuCl)La(Nb,Ta)O; (c)
history-dependent magnetization in the (Nb,Ta) and (Cl,Br) substitution
systems; (d) a uniform long-range collinear antiferromagnetic state in
(CuBr)LaNbO; and (e) a decrease of N\'eel temperature with
decreasing Br concentration in Cu(ClBr)LaNbO with
no change in the ordered Cu moment size for . Together with
several other SR studies of quantum phase transitions in
geometrically-frustrated spin systems, the present results reveal that the
evolution from a spin-gap to a magnetically ordered state is often associated
with phase separation and/or a first order phase transition.Comment: 10 pages 10 color figures; revised from letter paper style to full
paper style; Figs. 2, 4, 5, 7c, 10 newly adde
From Quantum Systems to L-Functions: Pair Correlation Statistics and Beyond
The discovery of connections between the distribution of energy levels of
heavy nuclei and spacings between prime numbers has been one of the most
surprising and fruitful observations in the twentieth century. The connection
between the two areas was first observed through Montgomery's work on the pair
correlation of zeros of the Riemann zeta function. As its generalizations and
consequences have motivated much of the following work, and to this day remains
one of the most important outstanding conjectures in the field, it occupies a
central role in our discussion below. We describe some of the many techniques
and results from the past sixty years, especially the important roles played by
numerical and experimental investigations, that led to the discovery of the
connections and progress towards understanding the behaviors. In our survey of
these two areas, we describe the common mathematics that explains the
remarkable universality. We conclude with some thoughts on what might lie ahead
in the pair correlation of zeros of the zeta function, and other similar
quantities.Comment: Version 1.1, 50 pages, 6 figures. To appear in "Open Problems in
Mathematics", Editors John Nash and Michael Th. Rassias. arXiv admin note:
text overlap with arXiv:0909.491
Blockade of T-cell activation by dithiocarbamates involves novel mechanisms of inhibition of nuclear factor of activated T cells.
Dithiocarbamates (DTCs) have recently been reported as powerful inhibitors of NF-kappaB activation in a number of cell types. Given the role of this transcription factor in the regulation of gene expression in the inflammatory response, NF-kappaB inhibitors have been suggested as potential therapeutic drugs for inflammatory diseases. We show here that DTCs inhibited both interleukin 2 (IL-2) synthesis and membrane expression of antigens which are induced during T-cell activation. This inhibition, which occurred with a parallel activation of c-Jun transactivating functions and expression, was reflected by transfection experiments at the IL-2 promoter level, and involved not only the inhibition of NF-kappaB-driven reporter activation but also that of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT). Accordingly, electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) indicated that pyrrolidine DTC (PDTC) prevented NF-kappaB, and NFAT DNA-binding activity in T cells stimulated with either phorbol myristate acetate plus ionophore or antibodies against the CD3-T-cell receptor complex and simultaneously activated the binding of AP-1. Furthermore, PDTC differentially targeted both NFATp and NFATc family members, inhibiting the transactivation functions of NFATp and mRNA induction of NFATc. Strikingly, Western blotting and immunocytochemical experiments indicated that PDTC promoted a transient and rapid shuttling of NFATp and NFATc, leading to their accelerated export from the nucleus of activated T cells. We propose that the activation of an NFAT kinase by PDTC could be responsible for the rapid shuttling of the NFAT, therefore transiently converting the sustained transactivation of this transcription factor that occurs during lymphocyte activation, and show that c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) can act by directly phosphorylating NFATp. In addition, the combined inhibitory effects on NFAT and NF-KB support a potential use of DTCs as immunosuppressants
Roadmap on measurement technologies for next generation structural health monitoring systems
Structural health monitoring (SHM) is the automation of the condition assessment process of an engineered system. When applied to geometrically large components or structures, such as those found in civil and aerospace infrastructure and systems, a critical challenge is in designing the sensing solution that could yield actionable information. This is a difficult task to conduct cost-effectively, because of the large surfaces under consideration and the localized nature of typical defects and damages. There have been significant research efforts in empowering conventional measurement technologies for applications to SHM in order to improve performance of the condition assessment process. Yet, the field implementation of these SHM solutions is still in its infancy, attributable to various economic and technical challenges. The objective of this Roadmap publication is to discuss modern measurement technologies that were developed for SHM purposes, along with their associated challenges and opportunities, and to provide a path to research and development efforts that could yield impactful field applications. The Roadmap is organized into four sections: distributed embedded sensing systems, distributed surface sensing systems, multifunctional materials, and remote sensing. Recognizing that many measurement technologies may overlap between sections, we define distributed sensing solutions as those that involve or imply the utilization of numbers of sensors geometrically organized within (embedded) or over (surface) the monitored component or system. Multi-functional materials are sensing solutions that combine multiple capabilities, for example those also serving structural functions. Remote sensing are solutions that are contactless, for example cell phones, drones, and satellites. It also includes the notion of remotely controlled robots
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The potential of intervening on childhood adversity to reduce socioeconomic inequities in body mass index and inflammation among Australian and UK children: A causal mediation analysis.
BACKGROUND: Lower maternal education is associated with higher body mass index (BMI) and higher chronic inflammation in offspring. Childhood adversity potentially mediates these associations. We examined the extent to which addressing childhood adversity could reduce socioeconomic inequities in these outcomes. METHODS: We analysed data from two early-life longitudinal cohorts: the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC; n=1873) and the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC; n=7085). EXPOSURE: low/medium (below university degree) versus high maternal education, as a key indicator of family socioeconomic position (0-1âyear). OUTCOMES: BMI and log-transformed glycoprotein acetyls (GlycA) (LSAC: 11-12 years; ALSPAC: 15.5 years). Mediator: multiple adversities (â„2/<2) indicated by family violence, mental illness, substance abuse and harsh parenting (LSAC: 2-11 years; ALSPAC: 1-12 years). A causal mediation analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Low/medium maternal education was associated with up to 1.03âkg/m2 higher BMI (95%âCI: 0.95 to 1.10) and up to 1.69% higher GlycA (95%âCI: 1.68 to 1.71) compared with high maternal education, adjusting for confounders. Causal mediation analysis estimated that decreasing the levels of multiple adversities in children with low/medium maternal education to be like their high maternal education peers could reduce BMI inequalities by up to 1.8% and up to 3.3% in GlycA. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings in both cohorts suggest that slight reductions in socioeconomic inequities in children's BMI and inflammation could be achieved by addressing childhood adversities. Public health and social policy efforts should help those affected by childhood adversity, but also consider underlying socioeconomic conditions that drive health inequities
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