Measurement of Physical Discipline Practices: Is it Potato or Potata? Tomato or Tomata? Or, Should We Call the Whole Thing Off? An Analysis of the Different Measures of Physical Discipline on the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence Hypotheses

The intergenerational transmission of violence hypothesis has been stated in four general ways: “abuse breeds abuse,” “abuse breeds crime,” “abuse breeds violent crime,” and “abuse breeds a life of crime.” Scholars have disagreed as to whether abuse is a dichotomous concept or not- that is, abuse or no abuse. Some researchers have suggested that abuse is on a continuum of severity and frequency of physical discipline ranging from a slap or a spank to the more violent abusive practices such as beatings and burnings. The current study examines the intergenerational transmission of violence hypotheses using this broader concept. The question of this study is not whether these hypotheses are valid in predicting adult behavior but whether some physical discipline measures are more relevant than others. The current study sampled 719 inmates from a Nebraska intake correctional facility. The data collected were retrospective accounts of past physical discipline experiences measured five different ways: ever physically disciplined, severity of discipline, combination of variety and frequency of discipline, variety and severity of discipline, and variety, frequency, and severity of discipline. The results indicate that the “ever physically disciplined” measure is more relevant than the combination measures in their relationship to the respondent’s likelihood of ever disciplining his child. However, the more complex measures are more relevant in their relationship to the likelihood of committing violent crime and the likelihood of early onset. This result suggests that when a respondent experiences chronic severe physical discipline, he is more likely to commit a violent crime and begin a life of crime early

An Evaluation of Operation Street Sweeper - 2006

Operation Street Sweeper (OSS) was a multi-level, interagency collaboration with multiple purposes. According to OSS documents, Operation Street Sweeper goals included the following: (1) to reduce gang-related criminal and violent activity in Nampa and Caldwell, Idaho through aggressive, proactive, and coordinated street enforcement between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and local law enforcement; (2) to deter criminal activity through high profile enforcement activity; (3) to develop and/or increase the number of positive community contacts; (4) to show the community and gang members that law enforcement is serious about reducing gang and violent crime in the area; and (5) to use the media to showcase a law enforcement effort to reduce gang violence and activity

The Efficacy of PET Staging for Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Cost Analysis in the Australian Setting

IntroductionThis study aimed to establish from the published literature the efficacy of a positron emission tomography (PET)-based strategy for the staging of small-cell lung cancer compared to conventional methods, the potential impact on patient management and outcomes, and cost implications for the Australian health system.MethodsEMBASE, Current Contents, PubMed, and OVID, databases were searched using relevant search terms. Reference lists of identified studies were examined for additional pertinent papers. Literature review identified 22 relevant studies containing data for 1663 patients. Studies were evaluated regarding the adequacy of pathological or clinical correlation of imaging findings. Efficacy of PET-staging was analyzed. The Medicare benefits schedule was used to compare costs of the two strategies.ResultsPublished data confirm that PET staging has a sensitivity approaching 100% and specificity exceeding 90%. Data suggest that compared to conventional staging, PET can alter management (including radiotherapy portal changes) in at least 28% of patients, can result in the addition of life-prolonging radiotherapy in 6%, and avert unnecessary radiotherapy with associated toxicity in 9%. PET-based staging costs 1603 Australian dollars (AUD) and conventional staging 1610 AUD per patient. An additional 540,354 AUD may be saved annually through avoidance of unnecessary radiotherapy.ConclusionsPET-based staging seems superior to conventional staging, and can significantly alter patient management particularly with regard to the inclusion, omission, and portal design of radiotherapy. The initial costs of the two strategies do not seem significantly different. PET may ultimately reduce healthcare costs through avoidance of inappropriate thoracic radiotherapy. The major advantages of PET-staging may, however, lie in averting unnecessary toxicity and in the appropriate addition of thoracic radiotherapy with potential survival gains

Disentangling the Relationship Between Child Maltreatment and Violent Delinquency: Using a Nationally Representative Sample

This study uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents (Add Health) data, a nationally representative sample of adolescents, to disentangle the relationship between child maltreatment and violent delinquency. Also examined are potential moderating effects of gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and religiosity on the association between child maltreatment and violent delinquency. Contrary to prior research findings, the current analyses reveal that physical abuse is not associated with future violent delinquency, whereas sexual abuse and neglect predict violent delinquency significantly. The current study also did not reveal any moderating effects of gender, SES, and religiosity on the association between maltreatment and violent delinquency. Interpretations of these findings are presented, drawing on the properties of the national probability sample compared to the findings of most prior studies that used localized samples

Additional resource needs for viral hepatitis elimination through universal health coverage : projections in 67 low-income and middle-income countries, 2016–30

Background: The World Health Assembly calls for elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030 (ie, −90% incidence and −65% mortality). However, WHO's 2017 cost projections to achieve health-related Sustainable Development Goals did not include the resources needed for hepatitis testing and treatment. We aimed to estimate the incremental commodity cost of adding scaled up interventions for testing and treatment of hepatitis to WHO's investment scenarios. Methods: We added modelled costs for implementing WHO recommended hepatitis testing and treatment to the 2017 WHO cost projections. We quantified additional requirements for diagnostic tests, medicines, health workers' time, and programme support across 67 low-income and middle-income countries, from 2016–30. A progress scenario scaled up interventions and a more ambitious scenario was modelled to reach elimination by 2030. We used 2018 best available prices of diagnostics and generic medicines. We estimated total costs and the additional investment needed over the projection of the 2016 baseline cost. Findings: The 67 countries considered included 230 million people living with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and 52 million people living with hepatitis C virus (HCV; 90% and 73% of the world's total, respectively). Under the progress scenario, 3250 million people (2400 million for HBV and 850 million for HCV) would be tested and 58·2 million people (24·1 million for HBV and 34·1 million for HCV) would be treated (total additional cost US$27·1 billion). Under the ambitious scenario, 11 631 million people (5502 million for HBV and 6129 million for HCV) would be tested and 93·8 million people (32·2 million for HBV and 61·6 million for HCV) would be treated (total additional cost$58·7 billion), averting 4·5 million premature deaths and leading to a gain of 51·5 million healthy life-years by 2030. However, if affordable HCV medicines remained inaccessible in 13 countries where medicine patents are protected, the additional cost of the ambitious scenario would increase to $118 billion. Hepatitis elimination would account for a 1·5% increase to the WHO ambitious health-care strengthening scenario costs, avert an additional 4·6% premature deaths, and add an additional 9·6% healthy life-years from 2016–30. Interpretation: Access to affordable medicines in all countries will be key to reach hepatitis elimination. This study suggests that elimination is feasible in the context of universal health coverage. It points to commodities as key determinants for the overall price tag and to options for cost reduction strategies. Funding: WHO, United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Unitaid

Systematic nomenclature for the PLUNC/PSP/BSP30/SMGB proteins as a subfamily of the BPI fold-containing superfamily

We present the BPIFAn/BPIFBn systematic nomenclature for the PLUNC (palate lung and nasal epithelium clone)/PSP (parotid secretory protein)/BSP30 (bovine salivary protein 30)/SMGB (submandibular gland protein B) family of proteins, based on an adaptation of the SPLUNCn (short PLUNCn)/LPLUNCn (large PLUNCn) nomenclature. The nomenclature is applied to a set of 102 sequences which we believe represent the current reliable data for BPIFA/BPIFB proteins across all species, including marsupials and birds. The nomenclature will be implemented by the HGNC (HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee)

MutPred Splice: machine learning-based prediction of exonic variants that disrupt splicing

We have developed a novel machine-learning approach, MutPred Splice, for the identification of coding region substitutions that disrupt pre-mRNA splicing. Applying MutPred Splice to human disease-causing exonic mutations suggests that 16% of mutations causing inherited disease and 10 to 14% of somatic mutations in cancer may disrupt pre-mRNA splicing. For inherited disease, the main mechanism responsible for the splicing defect is splice site loss, whereas for cancer the predominant mechanism of splicing disruption is predicted to be exon skipping via loss of exonic splicing enhancers or gain of exonic splicing silencer elements. MutPred Splice is available at http://mutdb.org/mutpredsplice

Quantum computing with antiferromagnetic spin clusters

We show that a wide range of spin clusters with antiferromagnetic intracluster exchange interaction allows one to define a qubit. For these spin cluster qubits, initialization, quantum gate operation, and readout are possible using the same techniques as for single spins. Quantum gate operation for the spin cluster qubit does not require control over the intracluster exchange interaction. Electric and magnetic fields necessary to effect quantum gates need only be controlled on the length scale of the spin cluster rather than the scale for a single spin. Here, we calculate the energy gap separating the logical qubit states from the next excited state and the matrix elements which determine quantum gate operation times. We discuss spin cluster qubits formed by one- and two-dimensional arrays of s=1/2 spins as well as clusters formed by spins s>1/2. We illustrate the advantages of spin cluster qubits for various suggested implementations of spin qubits and analyze the scaling of decoherence time with spin cluster size.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures; minor change

Low energy diet and intracranial pressure in women with idiopathic intracranial hypertension: prospective cohort study

Objective To observe intracranial pressure in women with idiopathic intracranial hypertension who follow a low energy diet

Exploring the relative lack of impact of research on ‘ability grouping’ in England: a discourse analytic account

Grouping students by ‘ability’ is a topic of long-standing contention in English education policy, research and practice. While policy-makers have frequently advocated the practice as reflecting educational ‘standards’, research has consistently failed to find significant benefits of ‘ability’ grouping; and indeed has identified disadvantages for some (low-attaining) pupil groups. However, this research evidence has apparently failed to impact on practice in England. This article, contextualised by the authors’ interests in education and social inequality, seeks to do two things. First, it provides a brief analysis of the existing research evidence on the impact of ‘ability’ grouping, with particular reference to socio-economic inequality, identifying seven different explanations for the poorer progress of pupils in low sets that emerge from the literature. Second, it applies Foucaultian ‘analysis of discourse’ to propose potential explanations for the apparent lack of traction of existing research with policy and practice, arguing that practices of ‘ability grouping’ reflect cultural investments in discourses of ‘natural order’ and hierarchy, with particular resonance for the discursive and political habitus of middle-class parents. The authors postulate that investing in a powerful counter-discourse of enlightenment science, illustrated via their current randomised control trial of different approaches to pupil grouping, may offer a means to challenge hegemonic discourses that underpin current classroom practice