Access to Care for VA Dialysis Patients During Superstorm Sandy.

Introduction: This study examines the use of dialysis services by end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients following the Superstorm Sandy-related, months-long closure of the New York campus of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) New York Harbor VA Healthcare System (NYHHS, Manhattan VAMC). Methods: Outpatient visits, dialysis care, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations at VA and non-VA facilities for 47 Manhattan VAMC ESRD patients were examined 12 months pre- and post-Sandy using VA administrative and clinical data. Results: The Brooklyn campus of NYHHS, which is within ten miles of Manhattan VAMC, experienced the largest increase in the number of dialysis encounters after the closure. Dialysis encounters for VA patients also increased at non-VA facilities, rising on average, to 106 per month. For the James J Peters Bronx VAMC, the number of total dialysis encounters for Manhattan VAMC patients fluctuated between 39 and 43 per month, dropping to less than 30 after the Manhattan VAMC dialysis unit reopened. Conclusion: Manhattan VAMC ESRD patients used nearby alternate VA sites and non-VA clinics for their care during the closure of the Manhattan VAMC dialysis unit. The VA electronic health records played an important role in ensuring continuity of care for patients who exclusively used VAMC facilities post-Sandy because patient information was immediately accessible at other VA facilities. The events related to Superstorm Sandy highlight the need for dialysis providers to have a comprehensive disaster plan, including nearby alternate care sites that can increase service capacity when a dialysis facility is closed because of a disaster

Measurement of the cross section of e + e − → ηπ + π − at center-of-mass energies from 3.872 GeV to 4.700 GeV

Using data samples with an integrated luminosity of 19 fb−1 at twenty-eight center-of-mass energies from 3.872 GeV to 4.700 GeV collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII electron-positron collider, the process e+e− → ηπ+π− and the intermediate process e+e− → ηρ0 are studied for the first time. The Born cross sections are measured. No significant resonance structure is observed in the cross section lineshape. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Measurement of the CP -even fraction of D0 →π+π-π+π-

A measurement of the CP-even fraction of the decay D0→π+π-π+π- is performed with a quantum-correlated ψ(3770)→DD¯ data sample collected by the BESIII experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.93 fb-1. Using a combination of CP eigenstates, D→π+π-π0 and D→KS,L0π+π- as tagging modes, the CP-even fraction is measured to be F+4π=0.735±0.015±0.005, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. This is the most precise determination of this quantity to date. It provides valuable model-independent input for the measurement of the angle γ of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix with B±→DK± decays, and for time-dependent studies of CP violation and mixing in the D0-D¯0 system

Search for a massless dark photon in Λc+ →pγ′ decay

A search for a massless dark photon γ′ is conducted using 4.5 fb-1 of e+e- collision data collected at center-of-mass energies between 4.600 and 4.699 GeV with the BESIII detector at BEPCII. No significant signal is observed, and the upper limit on the branching fraction B(Λc+→pγ′) is determined to be 8.0×10-5 at 90% confidence level

Improved measurement of the strong-phase difference δDKπ in quantum-correlated DD¯ decays

The decay D→ K-π+ is studied in a sample of quantum-correlated DD¯ pairs, based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.93 fb- 1 collected at the ψ(3770) resonance by the BESIII experiment. The asymmetry between CP-odd and CP-even eigenstate decays into K-π+ is determined to be AKπ= 0.132 ± 0.011 ± 0.007 , where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. This measurement is an update of an earlier study exploiting additional tagging modes, including several decay modes involving a KL0 meson. The branching fractions of the KL0 modes are determined as input to the analysis in a manner that is independent of any strong phase uncertainty. Using the predominantly CP-even tag D→ π+π-π and the ensemble of CP-odd eigenstate tags, the observable AKππππ0 is measured to be 0.130 ± 0.012 ± 0.008. The two asymmetries are sensitive to rDKπcosδDKπ, where rDKπ and δDKπ are the ratio of amplitudes and phase difference, respectively, between the doubly Cabibbo-suppressed and Cabibbo-favoured decays. In addition, events containing D→ K-π+ tagged by D→KS,L0π+π- are studied in bins of phase space of the three-body decays. This analysis has sensitivity to both rDKπcosδDKπ and rDKπsinδDKπ. A fit to AKπ, AKππππ0 and the phase-space distribution of the D→KS,L0π+π- tags yields δDKπ=(187.6-9.7+8.9-6.4+5.4)∘, where external constraints are applied for rDKπ and other relevant parameters. This is the most precise measurement of δDKπ in quantum-correlated DD¯ decays

Study of e+e- → ω- ω ¯ + at center-of-mass energies from 3.49 to 3.67 GeV

Using data samples of e+e- collisions collected with the BESIII detector at eight center-of-mass energy points between 3.49 and 3.67 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 670 pb-1, we present the upper limits of Born cross sections and the effective form factor for the process e+e-→ω-ω¯+. A fit to the cross sections using a perturbative QCD-derived energy-dependent function shows no significant threshold effect. The upper limit on the measured effective form factor is consistent with a theoretical prediction within the uncertainty of 1σ. These results provide new experimental information on the production mechanism of ω

Observation of the hindered electromagnetic Dalitz decay ψ (3686) →e+e-ηc

Using a data sample of (448.1±2.9)×106 ψ(3686) decays collected at an e+e- center-of-mass energy of 3.686 GeV by the BESIII detector at Beijing Electron Positron Collider II, we report an observation of the hindered electromagnetic Dalitz decay ψ(3686)→e+e-ηc with a significance of 7.9σ. The branching fraction is determined to be B(ψ(3686)→e+e-ηc)=(3.77±0.40stat±0.18syst)×10-5, agreeing well with the prediction of the vector meson dominance model. This is the first measurement of the electromagnetic Dalitz transition between the ψ(3686) and the ηc, which provides new insight into the electromagnetic properties of this decay, and offers new opportunities to measure the absolute branching fractions of ηc decays

Averting the legacy of kidney disease: focus on childhood

World Kidney Day 2016 focuses on kidney disease in childhood and the antecedents of adult kidney disease that can begin in earliest childhood. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in childhood differs from that in adults, as the largest diagnostic group among children includes congenital anomalies and inherited disorders, with glomerulopathies and kidney disease in the setting of diabetes being relatively uncommon. In addition, many children with acute kidney injury will ultimately develop sequelae that may lead to hypertension and CKD in later childhood or in adult life. Children born early or who are small-for date newborns have relatively increased risk for the development of CKD later in life. Persons with a high-risk birth and early childhood history should be watched closely in order to help detect early signs of kidney disease in time to provide effective prevention or treatment. Successful therapy is feasible for advanced CKD in childhood; there is evidence that children fare better than adults, if they receive kidney replacement therapy including dialysis and transplantation, while only a minority of children may require this ultimate intervention Because there are disparities in access to care, effort is needed so that those children with kidney disease, wherever they live, may be treated effectively, irrespective of their geographic or economic circumstances. Our hope is that World Kidney Day will inform the general public, policy makers and caregivers about the needs and possibilities surrounding kidney disease in childhood