469 research outputs found

    Identification of families in need of support : correlates of adverse childhood experiences in the right@home sustained nurse home visiting program

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    Background Little is known about the efficacy of pregnancy screening tools using non-sensitive sociodemographic questions to identify the possible presence of as yet undiagnosed disease in individuals and later adverse childhood events disclosure. Objectives The study aims were to: 1) record the prevalence of risk disclosed by families during receipt of a sustained nurse home visiting program; and 2) explore patterns of relationships between the disclosed risks for their child having adverse experiences and the antenatal screening tool, which used non-sensitive demographic questions. Design Retrospective, observational study. Participants and methods Data about the participants in the intervention arm of the Australian right@home trial, which is scaffolded on the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting model, collected between 2013 and 2017 were used. Screening data from the 10-item antenatal survey of non-sensitive demographic risk factors and disclosed risks recorded by the nurse in audited case files during the subsequent 2 year intervention were examined (n = 348). Prevalence of disclosed risks for their child having adverse experiences were analysed in 2019 using multiple response frequencies. Phi correlations were conducted to test associations between screening factors and disclosed risks. Results Among the 348 intervention participants whose files were audited, 300 were noted by nurses to have disclosed risks during the intervention, with an average of four disclosures. The most prevalent maternal disclosures were depression or anxiety (57.8%). Mental health issues were the most prevalent partner and family disclosures. Screening tool questions on maternal smoking in pregnancy, not living with another adult, poverty and self-reporting anxious mood were significantly associated with a number of disclosed risks for their child having adverse experiences. Conclusions These findings suggest that a non-sensitive sociodemographic screening tool may help to identify families at higher risk for adverse childhood experiences for whom support from a sustained nurse home visiting program may be beneficial

    Elliptic curves of large rank and small conductor

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    For r=6,7,...,11 we find an elliptic curve E/Q of rank at least r and the smallest conductor known, improving on the previous records by factors ranging from 1.0136 (for r=6) to over 100 (for r=10 and r=11). We describe our search methods, and tabulate, for each r=5,6,...,11, the five curves of lowest conductor, and (except for r=11) also the five of lowest absolute discriminant, that we found.Comment: 16 pages, including tables and one .eps figure; to appear in the Proceedings of ANTS-6 (June 2004, Burlington, VT). Revised somewhat after comments by J.Silverman on the previous draft, and again to get the correct page break

    Preliminary results of determination of chemical element concentrations in the aerosol of Venus clouds

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    An X-ray radiometeric experiment is described along with the results of measurements of the elemental composition of aerosols in Venusian clouds. A preliminary analysis of the data showed that sulfur is present in the range of heights 63 to 47 km with mean content of 5.8 mg/cu m and that chlorine is present in the height range 61 t0 52 km with a mean content of 4.1 mg/cu m. The results of measurements in the range 52 to 47 km may come to an agreement if phosphorus is present in the aerosol with a mean concentration of 7.7 mg/cu m

    Counting and effective rigidity in algebra and geometry

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    The purpose of this article is to produce effective versions of some rigidity results in algebra and geometry. On the geometric side, we focus on the spectrum of primitive geodesic lengths (resp., complex lengths) for arithmetic hyperbolic 2-manifolds (resp., 3-manifolds). By work of Reid, this spectrum determines the commensurability class of the 2-manifold (resp., 3-manifold). We establish effective versions of these rigidity results by ensuring that, for two incommensurable arithmetic manifolds of bounded volume, the length sets (resp., the complex length sets) must disagree for a length that can be explicitly bounded as a function of volume. We also prove an effective version of a similar rigidity result established by the second author with Reid on a surface analog of the length spectrum for hyperbolic 3-manifolds. These effective results have corresponding algebraic analogs involving maximal subfields and quaternion subalgebras of quaternion algebras. To prove these effective rigidity results, we establish results on the asymptotic behavior of certain algebraic and geometric counting functions which are of independent interest.Comment: v.2, 39 pages. To appear in Invent. Mat

    Preferred reporting items for studies mapping onto preference-based outcome measures: The MAPS statement

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    'Mapping' onto generic preference-based outcome measures is increasingly being used as a means of generating health utilities for use within health economic evaluations. Despite publication of technical guides for the conduct of mapping research, guidance for the reporting of mapping studies is currently lacking. The MAPS (MApping onto Preference-based measures reporting Standards) statement is a new checklist, which aims to promote complete and transparent reporting of mapping studies. The primary audiences for the MAPS statement are researchers reporting mapping studies, the funders of the research, and peer reviewers and editors involved in assessing mapping studies for publication. A de novo list of 29 candidate reporting items and accompanying explanations was created by a working group comprised of six health economists and one Delphi methodologist. Following a two-round, modified Delphi survey with representatives from academia, consultancy, health technology assessment agencies and the biomedical journal editorial community, a final set of 23 items deemed essential for transparent reporting, and accompanying explanations, was developed. The items are contained in a user friendly 23 item checklist. They are presented numerically and categorised within six sections, namely: (i) title and abstract; (ii) introduction; (iii) methods; (iv) results; (v) discussion; and (vi) other. The MAPS statement is best applied in conjunction with the accompanying MAPS explanation and elaboration document. It is anticipated that the MAPS statement will improve the clarity, transparency and completeness of reporting of mapping studies. To facilitate dissemination and uptake, the MAPS statement is being co-published by eight health economics and quality of life journals, and broader endorsement is encouraged. The MAPS working group plans to assess the need for an update of the reporting checklist in five years' time. This statement was published jointly in Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, Journal of Medical Economics, Medical Decision Making, PharmacoEconomics, and Quality of Life Research

    From Quantum Systems to L-Functions: Pair Correlation Statistics and Beyond

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    The discovery of connections between the distribution of energy levels of heavy nuclei and spacings between prime numbers has been one of the most surprising and fruitful observations in the twentieth century. The connection between the two areas was first observed through Montgomery's work on the pair correlation of zeros of the Riemann zeta function. As its generalizations and consequences have motivated much of the following work, and to this day remains one of the most important outstanding conjectures in the field, it occupies a central role in our discussion below. We describe some of the many techniques and results from the past sixty years, especially the important roles played by numerical and experimental investigations, that led to the discovery of the connections and progress towards understanding the behaviors. In our survey of these two areas, we describe the common mathematics that explains the remarkable universality. We conclude with some thoughts on what might lie ahead in the pair correlation of zeros of the zeta function, and other similar quantities.Comment: Version 1.1, 50 pages, 6 figures. To appear in "Open Problems in Mathematics", Editors John Nash and Michael Th. Rassias. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:0909.491

    Blockade of T-cell activation by dithiocarbamates involves novel mechanisms of inhibition of nuclear factor of activated T cells.

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    Dithiocarbamates (DTCs) have recently been reported as powerful inhibitors of NF-kappaB activation in a number of cell types. Given the role of this transcription factor in the regulation of gene expression in the inflammatory response, NF-kappaB inhibitors have been suggested as potential therapeutic drugs for inflammatory diseases. We show here that DTCs inhibited both interleukin 2 (IL-2) synthesis and membrane expression of antigens which are induced during T-cell activation. This inhibition, which occurred with a parallel activation of c-Jun transactivating functions and expression, was reflected by transfection experiments at the IL-2 promoter level, and involved not only the inhibition of NF-kappaB-driven reporter activation but also that of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT). Accordingly, electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) indicated that pyrrolidine DTC (PDTC) prevented NF-kappaB, and NFAT DNA-binding activity in T cells stimulated with either phorbol myristate acetate plus ionophore or antibodies against the CD3-T-cell receptor complex and simultaneously activated the binding of AP-1. Furthermore, PDTC differentially targeted both NFATp and NFATc family members, inhibiting the transactivation functions of NFATp and mRNA induction of NFATc. Strikingly, Western blotting and immunocytochemical experiments indicated that PDTC promoted a transient and rapid shuttling of NFATp and NFATc, leading to their accelerated export from the nucleus of activated T cells. We propose that the activation of an NFAT kinase by PDTC could be responsible for the rapid shuttling of the NFAT, therefore transiently converting the sustained transactivation of this transcription factor that occurs during lymphocyte activation, and show that c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) can act by directly phosphorylating NFATp. In addition, the combined inhibitory effects on NFAT and NF-KB support a potential use of DTCs as immunosuppressants

    Evidence for the classical integrability of the complete AdS(4) x CP(3) superstring

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    We construct a zero-curvature Lax connection in a sub-sector of the superstring theory on AdS(4) x CP(3) which is not described by the OSp(6|4)/U(3) x SO(1,3) supercoset sigma-model. In this sub-sector worldsheet fermions associated to eight broken supersymmetries of the type IIA background are physical fields. As such, the prescription for the construction of the Lax connection based on the Z_4-automorphism of the isometry superalgebra OSp(6|4) does not do the job. So, to construct the Lax connection we have used an alternative method which nevertheless relies on the isometry of the target superspace and kappa-symmetry of the Green-Schwarz superstring.Comment: 1+26 pages; v2: minor typos corrected, acknowledgements adde

    μ\muSR studies of the frustrated quasi-2d square-lattice spin system Cu(Cl,Br)La(Nb,Ta)2_{2}O7_{7}: evolution from spin-gap to antiferromagnetic state

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    We report muon spin relaxation (μ\muSR) and magnetic susceptibility measurements on Cu(Cl,Br)La(Nb,Ta)2_{2}O7_{7}, which demonstrate: (a) the absence of static magnetism in (CuCl)LaNb2_{2}O7_{7} down to 15 mK confirming a spin-gapped ground state; (b) phase separation between partial volumes with a spin-gap and static magnetism in (CuCl)La(Nb,Ta)2_{2}O7_{7}; (c) history-dependent magnetization in the (Nb,Ta) and (Cl,Br) substitution systems; (d) a uniform long-range collinear antiferromagnetic state in (CuBr)LaNb2_{2}O7_{7}; and (e) a decrease of N\'eel temperature with decreasing Br concentration xx in Cu(Cl1x_{1-x}Brx_{x})LaNb2_{2}O7_{7} with no change in the ordered Cu moment size for 0.33x10.33 \leq x \leq 1. Together with several other μ\muSR studies of quantum phase transitions in geometrically-frustrated spin systems, the present results reveal that the evolution from a spin-gap to a magnetically ordered state is often associated with phase separation and/or a first order phase transition.Comment: 10 pages 10 color figures; revised from letter paper style to full paper style; Figs. 2, 4, 5, 7c, 10 newly adde

    Economic evaluation of an Australian nurse home visiting programme : a randomised trial at 3 years

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    Objectives To investigate the additional programme cost and cost-effectiveness of ‘right@home’ Nurse Home Visiting (NHV) programme in relation to improving maternal and child outcomes at child age 3 years compared with usual care. Design A cost–utility analysis from a government-as-payer perspective alongside a randomised trial of NHV over 3-year period. Costs and quality-adjusted lifeyears (QALYs) were discounted at 5%. Analysis used an intention-to-treat approach with multiple imputation. Setting The right@home was implemented from 2013 in Victoria and Tasmania states of Australia, as a primary care service for pregnant women, delivered until child age 2 years. Participants 722 pregnant Australian women experiencing adversity received NHV (n=363) or usual care (clinic visits) (n=359). Primary and secondary outcome measures First, a cost–consequences analysis to compare the additional costs of NHV over usual care, accounting for any reduced costs of service use, and impacts on all maternal and child outcomes assessed at 3 years. Second, cost–utility analysis from a government-as-payer perspective compared additional costs to maternal QALYs to express cost-effectiveness in terms of additional cost per additional QALY gained. Results When compared with usual care at child age 3 years, the right@home intervention cost A7685extraperwoman(95A7685 extra per woman (95%CI A7006 to A8364)andgenerated0.01moreQALYs(95A8364) and generated 0.01 more QALYs (95%CI −0.01 to 0.02). The probability of right@home being cost-effective by child age 3 years is less than 20%, at a willingness-to-pay threshold of A50 000 per QALY. Conclusions Benefits of NHV to parenting at 2 years and maternal health and well-being at 3 years translate into marginal maternal QALY gains. Like previous cost-effectiveness results for NHV programmes, right@home is not cost-effective at 3 years. Given the relatively high up-front costs of NHV, long-term follow-up is needed to assess the accrual of health and economic benefits over time
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