Post-adoption Contact and Adoptive Parents' Receptiveness to Direct Contact in the Four Nations of the UK : Research Briefing

This briefing paper reports key findings from a recent study of direct contact between adoptive families and birth relatives within the four nations of the UK. The study involved secondary analysis of a data set generated from the Adoption Barometer, a largescale annual survey of adoptive parents conducted by Adoption UK (n=3,470). The analysis focused on data relating to actual direct contact between adoptive and birth families in 2018, and anticipated future direct contact. The key purpose of this study was to compare experiences of adoptive families across the four nations of the United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Key findings • Rates of direct contact between birth families and adoptive families vary considerably across the UK from a low of 16% in Wales to high of 54% in Northern Ireland. • In addition, there are differences in rates of direct contact with various categories of birth relative such as birth parents and birth siblings. • A significant minority of adopters across all four nations are receptive to considering additional direct contact with birth relatives than is currently experienced, particularly, with birth siblings. • The variations across nations in rates and types of contact suggest that decisions regarding a child’s best interests are open to considerable interpretation. • Some opportunities for positive ongoing contact between adopted children and birth family members, especially siblings, may be being misse

Dried Distillers Grains Supplementation of Calves Grazing Irrigated Corn Residue

Steer calves grazing irrigated corn residue received supplementation of dried distillers grains plus solubles (DGS) at 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, or 1.1% of body weight. Steers were individually supplemented daily through Calan gates. Daily gain improved linearly (0.77 lb/head/day to 2.21 lb/head/day) with increasing supplementation (1.5 lb/day to 7 lb/day). Supplementing DGS to calves grazing corn residue increased gain during the winter period

Evaluation of Changes in Nutritional Quality of Corn Residue Over Time

Irrigated corn residue was sampled across time in order to determine changes in quality and proportion of corn residue as the plant dried and was exposed to effects of weathering. Corn plants from two hybrids were planted on two different planting dates and harvested at periodic intervals from August 2012 to December 2012. Proportions of stem, blade/sheath, husk/shank, and cob made up smaller components of total plant DM as it matured, with the largest relative reduction occurring in the blade/sheath or stem. Hybrid impacted TDN values primarily because the 119 day hybrid was less mature at the early sampling dates

Comparison of Commercial Lick Tubs to Distillers Grains Supplementation for Calves Grazing Corn Residue

Steer calves grazing irrigated corn residue were supplemented dried distillers grains plus solubles (DGS) or allowedcontinuous access to a commercial lick tub. Dried DGS was fed at 2.94 lb/steer/day and the lick tubs were consumed at 2.04 lb/steer/day (DM basis). Gain was greater for cattle supplemented with dried DGS (1.36 lb/day) compared to those with access to lick tubs (0.83 lb/day). Supplement efficiency varied between calves receiving dried DGS (46%) and those with continuous access to the lick tub (43%) when expressed on a DM basis. Values for dried DGS supplementation (48%) were not different for supplement efficiencyon an OM basis when compared to cattle on the lick tub treatment (50%). Economic analysis shows that as the price of DGS increases, the difference in profit between supplementation strategiesis reduced

Search for direct stau production in events with two hadronic tau-leptons in root s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of the supersymmetric partners ofτ-leptons (staus) in final stateswith two hadronically decayingτ-leptons is presented. The analysis uses a dataset of pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of139fb−1, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LargeHadron Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. No significant deviation from the expected StandardModel background is observed. Limits are derived in scenarios of direct production of stau pairs with eachstau decaying into the stable lightest neutralino and oneτ-lepton in simplified models where the two staumass eigenstates are degenerate. Stau masses from 120 GeV to 390 GeV are excluded at 95% confidencelevel for a massless lightest neutralino

The risk of venous thromboembolism associated with peripherally inserted central catheters in ambulant cancer patients

Background Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a common complication of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs). PICCs are increasingly utilised in the management of cancer patients, a group which carries both additional risks for vascular thromboembolism as well as for complex morbidity. We analysed a cohort of cancer patients subjected to PICC insertion in a single cancer centre for the incidence of all-type vascular thromboembolism (VTE) and investigated relative risk factors. Methods In this clinical audit, the records of patients referred for PICC insertion in our centre in the period between 1/1/2011 and 1/4/2014 were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcomes investigated were a) PICC-related deep vein thrombosis (PRDVT) and b) distant VTE (lower limb DVT and pulmonary embolism). 4Fr single lumen PICCs were placed in all patients. The Kaplan Meier method was used to study time from PICC insertion to PRDVT/VTE. Survival curves were compared using the log rank method. Logistic and Cox regression analyses were used to assess local, distant and combined endpoints. Results Four hundred ninety patients were included in the analysis of which 27 (5.5%) developed a PRDVT. Statistically significant risk factors for developing PRDVT in multivariate analysis included more than one attempt for insertion (OR 2.61, 95%CI: 1.12–6.05) and the use of fluoropyrimidine containing chemotherapy (OR 4.27, 95%CI 1.3–14.07). Twenty-six patients developed a distant VTE. Male gender was the only significant risk factor for distant VTE. When all-type VTE were considered together fluoropyrimidine containing chemotherapy (OR 4.54, 95% CI 1.63–12.61), male gender (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.04–3.93) and white cell count (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.00–1.26) were statistically significant as risk factors in this analysis. Conclusions This is a large study of VTE following PICC insertion in cancer patients which also looks at the rate of distant VTE. The observed PRDVT incidence is comparable with available literature. Fluoropyrimidine containing chemotherapy and more than one attempt for PICC insertion were independent predictors of PICC-associated VTE whilst the former remained an independent predictor of all-type VTE. Anticoagulation did not prevent thrombotic events in this cohort

The performance of the jet trigger for the ATLAS detector during 2011 data taking

The performance of the jet trigger for the ATLAS detector at the LHC during the 2011 data taking period is described. During 2011 the LHC provided proton–proton collisions with a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and heavy ion collisions with a 2.76 TeV per nucleon–nucleon collision energy. The ATLAS trigger is a three level system designed to reduce the rate of events from the 40 MHz nominal maximum bunch crossing rate to the approximate 400 Hz which can be written to offline storage. The ATLAS jet trigger is the primary means for the online selection of events containing jets. Events are accepted by the trigger if they contain one or more jets above some transverse energy threshold. During 2011 data taking the jet trigger was fully efficient for jets with transverse energy above 25 GeV for triggers seeded randomly at Level 1. For triggers which require a jet to be identified at each of the three trigger levels, full efficiency is reached for offline jets with transverse energy above 60 GeV. Jets reconstructed in the final trigger level and corresponding to offline jets with transverse energy greater than 60 GeV, are reconstructed with a resolution in transverse energy with respect to offline jets, of better than 4 % in the central region and better than 2.5 % in the forward direction

Search for anomalous production of prompt like-sign lepton pairs at s√=7TeV with the ATLAS detector

An inclusive search for anomalous production of two prompt, isolated leptons with the same electric charge is presented. The search is performed in a data sample corresponding to 4.7 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected in 2011 at root s = 7TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Pairs of leptons (e(+/-)e(+/-), e(+/-)mu(+/-), and mu(+/-)mu(+/-)) with large transverse momentum are selected, and the dilepton invariant mass distribution is examined for any deviation from the Standard Model expectation. No excess is found, and upper limits on the production cross section of like-sign lepton pairs from physics processes beyond the Standard Model are placed as a function of the dilepton invariant mass within a fiducial region close to the experimental selection criteria. The 95% confidence level upper limits on the cross section of anomalous e(+/-)e(+/-), e(+/-)mu(+/-), or mu(+/-)mu(+/-) production range between 1.7 fb and 64 fb depending on the dilepton mass and flavour combination