Are vitiligo treatments cost-effective? A systematic review

Vitiligo is characterised by well demarcated, cutaneous, macular depigmentation, with worldwide prevalence estimated to be between 0.2-1.8% [1]. Vitiligo treatments aim to encourage re-pigmentation and include topical corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors and NB-UVB phototherapy. Camouflage can also be prescribed to help mask the appearance of vitiligo, although this is frequently only prescribed for the face

Identifying acne treatment uncertainties via a James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership

Objectives: The Acne Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) was set up to identify and rank treatment uncertainties by bringing together people with acne, and professionals providing care within and beyond the National Health Service (NHS). Setting: The UK with international participation. Participants: Teenagers and adults with acne, parents, partners, nurses, clinicians, pharmacists, private practitioners. Methods: Treatment uncertainties were collected via separate online harvesting surveys, embedded within the PSP website, for patients and professionals. A wide variety of approaches were used to promote the surveys to stakeholder groups with a particular emphasis on teenagers and young adults. Survey submissions were collated using keywords and verified as uncertainties by appraising existing evidence. The 30 most popular themes were ranked via weighted scores from an online vote. At a priority setting workshop, patients and professionals discussed the 18 highest-scoring questions from the vote, and reached consensus on the top 10. Results: In the harvesting survey, 2310 people, including 652 professionals and 1456 patients (58% aged 24 y or younger), made submissions containing at least one research question. After checking for relevance and rephrasing, a total of 6255 questions were collated into themes. Valid votes ranking the 30 most common themes were obtained from 2807 participants. The top 10 uncertainties prioritised at the workshop were largely focused on management strategies, optimum use of common prescription medications and the role of nondrug based interventions. More female than male patients took part in the harvesting surveys and vote. A wider range of uncertainties were provided by patients compared to professionals. Conclusions: Engaging teenagers and young adults in priority setting is achievable using a variety of promotional methods. The top 10 uncertainties reveal an extensive knowledge gap about widely used interventions and the relative merits of drug versus non-drug based treatments in acne management

Increasing Efforts to Reduce Cervical Cancer through State-Level Comprehensive Cancer Control Planning

Reducing cervical cancer disparities in the U.S. requires intentional focus on structural barriers such as systems and policy which impact access to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, cervical cancer screening and treatment. Such changes are difficult and often politicized. State comprehensive cancer control (CCC) plans are vehicles that, if designed well, can help build collective focus on structural changes. Study objectives were to identify the prioritization of cervical cancer in state CCC plans, the conceptualization of HPV within these plans, and the focus of plans on structural changes to reduce cervical cancer disparities. Data were gathered by systematic content analysis of CCC plans from 50 states and the District of Columbia from February-June 2014 for evidence of cervical cancer prioritization, conceptualization of HPV, and focus on structural barriers to cervical cancer vaccination, screening or treatment. Findings indicate that prioritization of cervical cancer within state CCC plans may not be a strong indicator of state efforts to reduce screening and treatment disparities. While a majority of plans reflected scientific evidence that HPV causes cervical and other cancers, they did not focus on structural elements impacting access to evidence-based interventions. Opportunities exist to improve state CCC plans by increasing their focus on structural interventions that impact cervical cancer prevention, detection, and treatmentparticularly for the 41% of plans ending in 2015 and the 31% ending between 2016-2020. Future studies should focus on the use of policy tools in state CCC plans and their application to cervical cancer prevention and treatment

Effective actions, Wilson lines and the IR/UV mixing in noncommutative supersymmetric gauge theories

We study IR/UV mixing effects in noncommutative supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with gauge group U(N) using background field perturbation theory. We compute three- and four-point functions of background fields, and show that the IR/UV mixed contributions to these correlators can be reproduced from an explicitly gauge-invariant effective action, which is expressed in terms of open Wilson lines.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures. v2: new section and references added, effective action expressed only in terms of open Wilson lines operator

N=1/2 Supersymmetric gauge theory in noncommutative space

A formulation of (non-anticommutative) N=1/2 supersymmetric U(N) gauge theory in noncommutative space is studied. We show that at one loop UV/IR mixing occurs. A generalization of Seiberg-Witten map to noncommutative and non-anticommutative superspace is employed to obtain an action in terms of commuting fields at first order in the noncommutativity parameter tetha. This leads to abelian and non-abelian gauge theories whose supersymmetry transformations are local and non-local, respectively.Comment: One reference added, published versio

A New Approach to Non-Commutative U(N) Gauge Fields

Based on the recently introduced model of arXiv:0912.2634 for non-commutative U(1) gauge fields, a generalized version of that action for U(N) gauge fields is put forward. In this approach to non-commutative gauge field theories, UV/IR mixing effects are circumvented by introducing additional 'soft breaking' terms in the action which implement an IR damping mechanism. The techniques used are similar to those of the well-known Gribov-Zwanziger approach to QCD.Comment: 11 pages; v2 minor correction

Planar and Nonplanar Konishi Anomalies and Effective Superpotential for Noncommutative N=1 Supersymmetric U(1)

The Konishi anomalies for noncommutative N=1 supersymmetric U(1) gauge theory arising from planar and nonplanar diagrams are calculated. Whereas planar Konishi anomaly is the expected \star-deformation of the commutative anomaly, nonplanar anomaly reflects the important features of nonplanar diagrams of noncommutative gauge theories, such as UV/IR mixing and the appearance of nonlocal open Wilson lines. We use the planar and nonplanar Konishi anomalies to calculate the effective superpotential of the theory. In the limit of vanishing |\Theta p|, with \Theta the noncommutativity parameter, the noncommutative effective superpotential depends on a gauge invariant superfield, which includes supersymmetric Wilson lines, and has nontrivial dependence on the gauge field supermultiplet.Comment: LaTeX, 36 pages. Version 2: Typos Corrected. Version 3: Extensively revised version, 42 pages, to be published in Int. J. Mod. Phys. A. (2005

Structural Analysis of the Western Afar Margin, East Africa: Evidence for Multiphase Rotational Rifting

The Afar region in East Africa represents a key location to study continental breakup. We present an integrated structural analysis of the Western Afar Margin (WAM) aiming to better understand rifted margin development and the role of plate rotation during rifting. New structural information from remote sensing, fieldwork, and earthquake data sets reveals that the N-S striking WAM is still actively deforming and is characterized by NNW-SSE normal faulting as well as a series of marginal grabens. Seismicity distribution analysis and the first-ever borehole-calibrated sections of this developing passive margin show recent slip concentrated along antithetic faults. Tectonic stress parameters derived from earthquake focal mechanisms reveal different extension directions along the WAM (82°N), in Afar (66°N) and in the Main Ethiopian Rift (108°N). Fault slip analysis along the WAM yields the same extension direction. Combined with GPS data, this shows that current tectonics in Afar is dominated by the local rotation of the Danakil Block, considered to have occurred since 11 Ma. Earlier stages of Afar development (since 31–25 Ma) were most likely related to the large-scale rotation of the Arabian plate. Various authors have proposed scenarios for the evolution of the WAM. Any complete model should consider, among other factors, the multiphase tectonic history and antithetic fault activity of the margin. The findings of this study are not only relevant for a better understanding of the WAM but also provide insights into the role of multiphase rotational extension during rifting and passive margin formation in general.</p

Health Visiting and School Nursing Programmes: supporting implementation of the new service model No.5: Domestic Violence and Abuse – Professional Guidance

Guidance created by an expert working group at the Department of Healt

Work-time underemployment and financial hardship: class inequalities and recession in the UK

The economic crisis that led to recession in the UK in 2008–9 impacted in multiple ways on work and economic life. This article examines changes to the work-time of employees. The UK stood out for its recessionary expansion of work-time underemployment. Working in a job that provides ‘too few’ hours can have serious ramifications for the economic livelihood of workers. Working-class workers are central here. Drawing on analysis of large-scale survey data, the article identifies that workers in lower level occupations experienced the most substantial post-recessionary growth in the proportions working ‘too few’ hours. Did these work-time changes narrow or widen class inequalities in feelings of financial hardship? The article concludes that although middle-class workers also saw their financial positions damaged, this so-called ‘first middle-class recession’ did not erode class inequalities in financial hardship among UK workers