Alien Registration- Macdonald, William R. (Pittsfield, Somerset County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/6602/thumbnail.jp

Process Evaluation to Document Crucial Moments in Development of the National Neurological Conditions Surveillance System at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Background: Neurological conditions or disorders strike roughly 50 million Americans annually but accurate and comprehensive national estimates for many of these conditions are not available. In 2019, Congress provided $5 million to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish the National Neurological Conditions Surveillance System (NNCSS). CDC focused initial activities on multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease. Purpose: We conducted a process evaluation to document and understand multifaceted work to implement a new surveillance activity for two neurological conditions. Setting: We conducted this evaluation with government personnel internal to the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA. Intervention: A new public health surveillance activity for two neurological conditions, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, that uses existing data resources and systems. Research design: The evaluation included interviews with CDC personnel and review of administrative and programmatic information. Data were analyzed and interpreted to identify crucial moments in the first year of funded work on NNCSS. The study revealed that this surveillance activity required diverse contributions and collaboration within the federal government and with non-governmental organizations. The findings can be used to guide work to enhance surveillance for many neurological conditions. Findings: The study revealed that this surveillance activity required diverse contributions and collaboration within the federal government and with non-governmental organizations. While collaboration is a cornerstone of public health practice, it is not always well-documented in planning or implementation of surveillance or other data-related activities. Keywords: program evaluation; surveillance; neurological conditions; neurological disorders; multiple sclerosis; Parkinson’s disease

A discussion of statistical methods to characterise early growth and its impact on bone mineral content later in childhood

Background Many statistical methods are available to model longitudinal growth data and relate derived summary measures to later outcomes. Aim To apply and compare commonly used methods to a realistic scenario including pre- and postnatal data, missing data and confounders. Subjects and methods Data were collected from 753 offspring in the Southampton Women’s Survey with measurements of bone mineral content (BMC) at age 6 years. Ultrasound measures included crown-rump length (11 weeks’ gestation) and femur length (19 and 34 weeks’ gestation); postnatally, infant length (birth, 6 and 12 months) and height (2 and 3 years) were measured. A residual growth model, two-stage multilevel linear spline model, joint multilevel linear spline model, SITAR and a growth mixture model were used to relate growth to 6-year BMC. Results Results from the residual growth, two-stage and joint multilevel linear spline models were most comparable: an increase in length at all ages was positively associated with BMC, the strongest association being with later growth. Both SITAR and the growth mixture model demonstrated that length was positively associated with BMC. Conclusions Similarities and differences in results from a variety of analytic strategies need to be understood in the context of each statistical methodology

Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 10

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Getting shot of elves: healing, witchcraft and fairies in the Scottish witchcraft trials

This paper re-examines the evidence of the Scottish witchcraft trials for beliefs associated by scholars with "elf-shot." Some supposed evidence for elf-shot is dismissed, but other material illuminates the interplay between illness, healing and fairy-lore in early modern Scotland, and the relationship of these beliefs to witchcraft itself

Repulsion of Single-well Fundamental Edge Magnetoplasmons in Double Quantum Wells

A {\it microscopic} treatment of fundamental edge magnetoplasmons (EMPs) along the edge of a double quantum well (DQW) is presented for strong magnetic fields, low temperatures, and total filling factor \nu=2. It is valid for lateral confining potentials that Landau level (LL) flattening can be neglected. The cyclotron and Zeeman energies are assumed larger than the DQW energy splitting \sqrt{\Delta^2 +4T^2}, where \Delta is the splitting of the isolated wells and T the tunneling matrix element. %hen calculated unperturbed density profile is sharp at the edge. Using a random-phase approximation (RPA), which includes local and nonlocal contributions to the current density, it is shown that for negligible tunnel coupling 2T << \Delta the inter-well Coulomb coupling leads to two DQW fundamental EMPs which are strongly renormalized in comparison with the decoupled, single-well fundamental EMP. These DQW modes can be modified further upon varying the inter-well distance d, along the z axis, and/or the separation of the wells' edges \Delta y along the y axis. The charge profile of the {\it fast} and {\it slow} DQW mode varies, respectively, in an {\it acoustic} and {\it optical} manner along the y axis and is not smooth on the \ell_{0} scale. For strong tunneling \Delta\alt 2T these DQW modes are essentially modified when \Delta is changed by applying a transverse electric field to the DQW.Comment: Text 18 pages in Latex/Revtex/Preprint format, 2 Postscript figure

A core outcome set for localised prostate cancer effectiveness trials

Objective: To develop a core outcome set (COS) applicable for effectiveness trials of all interventions for localised prostate cancer. Background: Many treatments exist for localised prostate cancer, although it is unclear which offers the optimal therapeutic ratio. This is confounded by inconsistencies in the selection, definition, measurement and reporting of outcomes in clinical trials. Subjects and methods: A list of 79 outcomes was derived from a systematic review of published localised prostate cancer effectiveness studies and semi-structured interviews with 15 prostate cancer patients. A two-stage consensus process involving 118 patients and 56 international healthcare professionals (HCPs) (cancer specialist nurses, urological surgeons and oncologists) was undertaken, consisting of a three-round Delphi survey followed by a face-to-face consensus panel meeting of 13 HCPs and 8 patients. Results: The final COS included 19 outcomes. Twelve apply to all interventions: death from prostate cancer, death from any cause, local disease recurrence, distant disease recurrence/metastases, disease progression, need for salvage therapy, overall quality of life, stress urinary incontinence, urinary function, bowel function, faecal incontinence, sexual function. Seven were intervention-specific: perioperative deaths (surgery), positive surgical margin (surgery), thromboembolic disease (surgery), bothersome or symptomatic urethral or anastomotic stricture (surgery), need for curative treatment (active surveillance), treatment failure (ablative therapy), and side effects of hormonal therapy (hormone therapy). The UK-centric participants may limit the generalisability to other countries, but trialists should reason why the COS would not be applicable. The default position should not be that a COS developed in one country will automatically not be applicable elsewhere. Conclusion: We have established a COS for trials of effectiveness in localised prostate cancer, applicable across all interventions which should be measured in all localised prostate cancer effectiveness trials