Evaluation of the Hindi version of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy among pregnant and postnatal women in urban India

Background: Valid and reliable measures such as London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP) are imperative for understanding fertility-related behaviors and estimating unintended pregnancy. The aim of this study was to validate the LMUP in the Hindi language for a wider reach in India. Methods: An interviewer administered version of the LMUP was translated and pretested in Hindi. The LMUP was field tested with married women in the reproductive age group across forty informal settlements in Mumbai in the post intervention census of a cluster randomized control trial to improve the health of women and children. Analyses involved the full sample and sub-groups according to time-from-conception. Reliability (internal consistency) was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, inter-item correlations, and item-rest correlations. Construct validity was assessed by hypothesis testing and confirmatory factor analysis. Results: 4991 women were included in the study (1180 were pregnant, 2126 in their first- and 1685 in their second postnatal year). LMUP item completion rates were 100 % and the full range of LMUP scores was captured. Reliability: the scale was internally consistent (Cronbach’s α = 0.84), inter-item correlations were positive, and item-rest correlations were above 0.2 for all items except item six (0.07). Construct validity: hypotheses were met, and confirmatory factor analysis showed that a one-factor model was a good fit for the data, confirming unidimensional measurement. The sub-group analysis (by pregnant, first-, and second postnatal year) showed that the psychometric properties of the LMUP were similar across the groups. In terms of LMUP scores, the women in the postnatal groups were very slightly, but significantly, more likely to have an LMUP score of 10 + compared to pregnant women; the difference between the first and second postnatal year was not significant. Conclusions: The Hindi LMUP is valid and reliable measure of pregnancy intention that may be used in India. Trial Registration: This study is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN56183183, and Clinical Trials Registry of India, number CTRI/2012/09/003004

Waltzing binaries: Probing line-of-sight acceleration of merging compact objects with gravitational waves

Line-of-sight acceleration of a compact binary coalescence (CBC) event would modulate the shape of the gravitational waves (GWs) it produces with respect to the corresponding non-accelerated CBC. Such modulations could be indicative of its astrophysical environment. We investigate the prospects of detecting this acceleration in future observing runs of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA network, as well as in next-generation (XG) detectors and the proposed DECIGO. We place the first observational constraints on this acceleration, for putative binary neutron star mergers GW170817 and GW190425. We find no evidence of line-of-sight acceleration in these events at $90\%$ confidence. Prospective constraints for the fifth observing run of the LIGO at A+ sensitivity suggest that accelerations for typical BNSs could be constrained with a precision of $a/c \sim 10^{-7}~[\mathrm{s}^{-1}]$, assuming a signal-to-noise ratio of $10$. These improve to $a/c \sim 10^{-9}~[\mathrm{s}^{-1}]$ in XG detectors, and $a/c \sim 10^{-16}~[\mathrm{s}^{-1}]$ in DECIGO. We also interpret these constraints in the context of mergers around supermassive black holes.Comment: Accepted to Ap

Authoring Multi-Actor Behaviors in Crowds With Diverse Personalities

Multi-actor simulation is critical to cinematic content creation, disaster and security simulation, and interactive entertainment. A key challenge is providing an appropriate interface for authoring high-fidelity virtual actors with featurerich control mechanisms capable of complex interactions with the environment and other actors. In this chapter, we present work that addresses the problem of behavior authoring at three levels: Individual and group interactions are conducted in an event-centric manner using parameterized behavior trees, social crowd dynamics are captured using the OCEAN personality model, and a centralized automated planner is used to enforce global narrative constraints on the scale of the entire simulation. We demonstrate the benefits and limitations of each of these approaches and propose the need for a single unifying construct capable of authoring functional, purposeful, autonomous actors which conform to a global narrative in an interactive simulation

A pedagogic appraisal of the Priority Heuristic

We have explored how science and mathematics teachers made decisions when confronted with a dilemma in which a fictitious young woman, Deborah, may choose to have an operation that might address a painful spinal condition. We sought to explore the extent to which psychological heuristic models, in particular the Priority Heuristic, might successfully describe the decision-making process of these teachers and how an analysis of the role of personal and emotional factors in shaping the decision-making process might inform pedagogical design. A novel aspect of this study is that the setting in which the decision-making process is examined contrasts sharply with those used in psychological experiments. We found that to some extent, even in this contrasting setting, the Priority Heuristic could describe these teachers' decision-making. Further analysis of the transcripts yielded some insights into limitations on scope as well the richness and complexity in how personal factors were brought to bear. We see these limitations as design opportunities for educational intervention

Severe Aortic Stenosis and Coronary Artery Disease—Implications for Management in the Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Era A Comprehensive Review

Management of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) referred for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is posing challenges. Due to limited and heterogeneous data on the prevalence and clinical impact of CAD on the outcomes of TAVR and the management strategies for CAD in patients undergoing TAVR, we performed a comprehensive review of the literature. Significant CAD is present in 40% to 75% of patients undergoing TAVR. The impact of CAD on outcomes after TAVR remains understudied. Based on existing data, not all patients require revascularization before TAVR. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) should be considered for severely stenotic lesions in proximal coronaries that subtend a large area of myocardium at risk. Ongoing studies randomizing patients to surgical or percutaneous management strategies for severe AS will help provide valuable data regarding the impact of CAD on TAVR outcomes, the role of PCI, and its timing in relation to TAVR

The GstLAL Search Analysis Methods for Compact Binary Mergers in Advanced LIGO's Second and Advanced Virgo's First Observing Runs

After their successful first observing run (September 12, 2015 - January 12, 2016), the Advanced LIGO detectors were upgraded to increase their sensitivity for the second observing run (November 30, 2016 - August 26, 2017). The Advanced Virgo detector joined the second observing run on August 1, 2017. We discuss the updates that happened during this period in the GstLAL-based inspiral pipeline, which is used to detect gravitational waves from the coalescence of compact binaries both in low latency and an offline configuration. These updates include deployment of a zero-latency whitening filter to reduce the over-all latency of the pipeline by up to 32 seconds, incorporation of the Virgo data stream in the analysis, introduction of a single-detector search to analyze data from the periods when only one of the detectors is running, addition of new parameters to the likelihood ratio ranking statistic, increase in the parameter space of the search, and introduction of a template mass-dependent glitch-excision thresholding method.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev. D, comments welcom

2019 international consensus on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care science with treatment recommendations : summary from the basic life support; advanced life support; pediatric life support; neonatal life support; education, implementation, and teams; and first aid task forces

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation has initiated a continuous review of new, peer-reviewed, published cardiopulmonary resuscitation science. This is the third annual summary of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations. It addresses the most recent published resuscitation evidence reviewed by International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Task Force science experts. This summary addresses the role of cardiac arrest centers and dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the role of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in adults and children, vasopressors in adults, advanced airway interventions in adults and children, targeted temperature management in children after cardiac arrest, initial oxygen concentration during resuscitation of newborns, and interventions for presyncope by first aid providers. Members from 6 International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task forces have assessed, discussed, and debated the certainty of the evidence on the basis of the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria, and their statements include consensus treatment recommendations. Insights into the deliberations of the task forces are provided in the Justification and Evidence to Decision Framework Highlights sections. The task forces also listed priority knowledge gaps for further research