Performing against the odds: developmental trajectories of children in the EPPSE 3 to 16 study

The Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPSE 3 to 16) research project is a large scale, longitudinal, mixed-methods research that is following the progress of 3,000 children since 1997 from the age of 3- to 16-years-old. A focus for EPPSE has been the extent to which pre-school, compulsory education and children’s home learning experiences (HLE) can reduce inequality. Earlier EPPSE found that what parents did with their children was important in terms of the children’s outcomes, not simply ‘who they were’ in terms of social class and income. Following a pilot study with disadvantaged children who were ‘succeeding against the odds’ towards the end of primary school, this study provides in-depth exploration and explanation of how risks and protective factors in the lives of children shape their learning life-courses, and why they lead to academic resilience for some but not for others

Cyclometalated iridium(III)-sensitized titanium dioxide solar cells

Ir(III) dyes used as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells produced quantum yields approaching unity for conversion of absorbed photons to current under simulated air mass 1.0 sunlight, with current production resulting from ligand-to-ligand charge-transfer states, rather than the typical metal-to-ligand charge-transfer states in ruthenium-based cells

Risk factors for incident delirium among urological patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis with GRADE summary of findings

Background Post-operative delirium is an important, yet under-researched complication of surgery. Patients undergoing urological surgery may be at especially high risk of POD, as they are often older, and interventions can be associated with conditions that trigger delirium. The main aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the available evidence for risk factors in this patient group. Methods Five databases were searched (MEDLINE, Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL and PsychInfo) between January 1987 and June 2019. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was used to assess for risk of bias. Pooled odds ratio or mean difference (MD) for individual risk factors were estimated using the Mantel–Haenzel and inverse variance methods. Results Seven articles met the inclusion criteria, giving a total population of 1937. The incidence of POD ranged from 5 to 29%. Three studies were deemed low risk of bias and four at a high risk of bias. Nine risk factors were suitable for meta-analysis, with age (MD 4.314 95% CI 1.597, 7.032 p = 0.002) and the clock drawing test (MD − 2.443 95% CI − 3.029, − 1.857 p < 0.001) having a statistically significant association with POD in pooled analyses. Conclusion Delirium is common in urological patients. This review has identified a lack of studies in this surgical population, with wide heterogeneity and high risk of bias. It also highlights a number of potential risk factors for post-operative delirium, of which some are modifiable. However, the strength of evidence is weak at present and so future research should focus on assessing comparable risk factors in this patient group in order to inform future clinical practice

A comparison of the healthiness of packaged foods and beverages from 12 countries using the Health Star Rating nutrient profiling system, 2013-2018

We compared the healthiness of packaged foods and beverages between selected countries using the Health Star Rating (HSR) nutrient profiling system. Packaged food and beverage data collected 2013-2018 were obtained for Australia, Canada, Chile, China, India, Hong Kong, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa, the UK, and USA. Each product was assigned to a food or beverage category and mean HSR was calculated overall by category and by country. Median energy density (kJ/100 g), saturated fat (g/100 g), total sugars (g/100 g) and sodium (mg/100 g) contents were calculated. Countries were ranked by mean HSR and median nutrient levels. Mean HSR for all products (n = 394,815) was 2.73 (SD 1.38) out of 5.0 (healthiest profile). The UK, USA, Australia and Canada ranked highest for overall nutrient profile (HSR 2.74-2.83) and India, Hong Kong, China and Chile ranked lowest (HSR 2.27-2.44). Countries with higher overall HSR generally ranked better with respect to nutrient levels. India ranked consistently in the least healthy third for all measures. There is considerable variability in the healthiness of packaged foods and beverages in different countries. The finding that packaged foods and beverages are less healthy in middle-income countries such as China and India suggests that nutrient profiling is an important tool to enable policymakers and industry actors to reformulate products available in the marketplace to reduce the risk of obesity and NCDs among populations

Electrostatic self-energy and Bekenstein entropy bound in the massive Schwinger model

We obtain the electrostatic energy of two opposite charges near the horizon of stationary black-holes in the massive Schwinger model. Besides the confining aspects of the model, we discuss the Bekenstein entropy upper bound of a charged object using the generalized second law. We show that despite the massless case, in the massive Schwinger model the entropy of the black hole and consequently the Bekenstein bound are altered by the vacuum polarization.Comment: 14 pages, accepted for publication in "Gen. Rel. Grav. (2005)

Consensus on a social return on investment model of physical activity and sport: a Delphi study protocol

Background: Physical activity and sport (PAS) have been related to many health outcomes and social benefits. The main aim of this research is to build a Social Return on Investment (SROI) model of PAS based on experts’ opinion to clarify the domains of impact and how to measure and value them. Methods and analysis: A Delphi method will be employed with a systematic review on the SROI framework applied to PAS and initial interviews with experts informing the design of the Delphi survey statements. Three iterative rounds of communication with the expert panel will be carried out. Participants will indicate their level of agreement with each statement on a five-point Likert scale. During the second and third iterative rounds, experts will reappraise the statements and will be provided with a summary of the group responses from the panel. A statement will have reached consensus if ≥70% of the panel agree/strongly agree or disagree/strongly disagree after round 3. Finally, group meetings (3–4 experts) will be conducted to ask about the measurement and valuation methods for each domain. Discussion: The final goal of this project will result in the design of a toolkit for organizations, professionals, and policymakers on how to measure the social benefits of PAS