Geodesic Warps by Conformal Mappings

In recent years there has been considerable interest in methods for diffeomorphic warping of images, with applications e.g.\ in medical imaging and evolutionary biology. The original work generally cited is that of the evolutionary biologist D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson, who demonstrated warps to deform images of one species into another. However, unlike the deformations in modern methods, which are drawn from the full set of diffeomorphism, he deliberately chose lower-dimensional sets of transformations, such as planar conformal mappings. In this paper we study warps of such conformal mappings. The approach is to equip the infinite dimensional manifold of conformal embeddings with a Riemannian metric, and then use the corresponding geodesic equation in order to obtain diffeomorphic warps. After deriving the geodesic equation, a numerical discretisation method is developed. Several examples of geodesic warps are then given. We also show that the equation admits totally geodesic solutions corresponding to scaling and translation, but not to affine transformations

Childhood IQ and marriage by mid-life: the Scottish Mental Survey 1932 and the Midspan Studies

The study examined the influence of IQ at age 11 years on marital status by mid-adulthood. The combined databases of the Scottish Mental Survey 1932 and the Midspan studies provided data from 883 subjects. With regard to IQ at age 11, there was an interaction between sex and marital status by mid-adulthood (p = 0.0001). Women who had ever-married achieved mean lower childhood IQ scores than women who had never-married (p < 0.001). Conversely, there was a trend for men who had ever-married to achieve higher childhood IQ scores than men who had never-married (p = 0.07). In men, the odds ratio of ever marrying was 1.35 (95% CI 0.98–1.86&#59; p = 0.07) for each standard deviation increase in childhood IQ. Among women, the odds ratio of ever marrying by mid-life was 0.42 (95% CI 0.27–0.64; p = 0.0001) for each standard deviation increase in childhood IQ. Mid-life social class had a similar association with marriage, with women in more professional jobs and men in more manual jobs being less likely to have ever-married by mid-life. Adjustment for the effects of mid-life social class and height on the association between childhood IQ and later marriage, and vice versa, attenuated the effects somewhat, but suggested that IQ, height and social class acted partly independently

Anomalous frequency scaling of acoustic phonon damping in freestanding nickel cavities fabricated via laser delamination

Single-shot picosecond (ps) laser-induced delamination allows for the direct generation of suspended membranes from a continuous metallic film, offering a promising platform for the control of ultrafast magnetization dynamics driven by acoustic waves. Using the picosecond-ultrasonics method, we demonstrate that long-lived low-frequency acoustic waves can be optically excited in the delaminated cavities. At the same time, higher-frequency modes above 60 GHz exhibit a surprisingly fast damping, following a scaling law incompatible with the expected attenuation mediated by phonon–phonon scattering. Comparing measurements between delaminated cavities and a benchmark nickel film in contact with the substrate, we link our findings to structural modifications of the nickel crystal induced by the delamination proces

Social origin, schooling and individual change in intelligence during childhood influence long-term mortality: a 68-year follow-up study

Background Intelligence at a single time-point has been linked to health outcomes. An individual's IQ increases with longer schooling, but the validity of such increase is unclear. In this study, we assess the hypothesis that individual change in the performance on IQ tests between ages 10 and 20 years is associated with mortality later in life

Family physicians' effort to stay in charge of the medical treatment when patients have home care by district nurses. A grounded theory study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>District nurses (DNs) provide home care for old persons with a mixture of chronic diseases, symptoms and reduced functional ability. Family physicians (FPs) have been criticised for their lack of involvement in this care. The aim of this study was to obtain increased knowledge concerning the FP's experience of providing medical treatment for patients with home care provided by DNs by developing a theoretical model that elucidates how FPs handle the problems they encounter regarding the individual patients and their conditions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 Swedish FPs concerning one of their registered patients with home care by a DN, and the treatment of this patient. Grounded theory methodology (GTM) was used in the analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The core category was the effort to stay in charge of the medical treatment. This involved three types of problems: gaining sufficient insight, making adequate decisions, and maintaining appropriate medical treatment. For three categories of patients, the FPs had problems staying in charge. Patients with reduced functional ability had problems providing information and maintaining treatment. Patients who were "fixed in their ways" did not provide information and did not comply with recommendations, and for patients with complex conditions, making adequate decisions could be problematic. To overcome the problems, four different strategies were used: relying on information from others, supporting close observation and follow-up by others, being constantly ready to change the goal of the treatment, and relying on others to provide treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The patients in this study differed from most other patients seen at the healthcare centre as the consultation with the patient could not provide the usual foundation for decisions concerning medical treatment. Information from and collaboration with the DN and other home care providers was essential for the FP's effort to stay in charge of the medical treatment. The complexity of the situation made it problematic for the FP to make adequate decisions about the goal of the medical treatment. The goal of the treatment had to be constantly evaluated based on information from the DN and other care providers, and thus this information was absolutely crucial.</p

‘‘Beet-ing’’ the Mountain: A Review of the Physiological and Performance Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation at Simulated and Terrestrial Altitude

Exposure to altitude results in multiple physiological consequences. These include, but are not limited to, a reduced maximal oxygen consumption, drop in arterial oxygen saturation, and increase in muscle metabolic perturbations at a fixed sub-maximal work rate. Exercise capacity during fixed work rate or incremental exercise and time-trial performance are also impaired at altitude relative to sea-level. Recently, dietary nitrate (NO3-) supplementation has attracted considerable interest as a nutritional aid during altitude exposure. In this review, we summarise and critically evaluate the physiological and performance effects of dietary NO3- supplementation during exposure to simulated and terrestrial altitude. Previous investigations at simulated altitude indicate that NO3- supplementation may reduce the oxygen cost of exercise, elevate arterial and tissue oxygen saturation, improve muscle metabolic function, and enhance exercise capacity/ performance. Conversely, current evidence suggests that NO3- supplementation does not augment the training response at simulated altitude. Few studies have evaluated the effects of NO3- at terrestrial altitude. Current evidence indicates potential improvements in endothelial function at terrestrial altitude following NO3- supplementation. No effects of NO3- supplementation have been observed on oxygen consumption or arterial oxygen saturation at terrestrial altitude, although further research is warranted. Limitations of the present body of literature are discussed, and directions for future research are provided

Profiling social, emotional and behavioural difficulties of children involved in direct and indirect bullying behaviours

Being involved in bullying places a child at risk of poor psychosocial and educational outcomes. This study aimed to examine the profile of behavioural, emotional and social functioning for two subtypes of bullying; direct and indirect (relational). Pupils aged between seven and eleven years old completed sociometric measures of social inclusion and bullying behaviour to identify 192 pupils considered to be involved in either direct, indirect, both or neither types of bullying. These pupils and their teachers completed a battery of assessments relating to behaviour, social competence and self-perception. All bully-groups experienced similar levels of significant social rejection. ‘Direct’ and ‘both’ groups showed the greatest number of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, while the ‘indirect’ group showed weaknesses in self-perception, but no teacher-rated problems. Understanding the behavioural, emotional and social correlates of bullying is of particular importance for early identification of children at risk of becoming bullies and for developing targeted interventions

Flu Vaccine and Mortality in Hypertension:A Nationwide Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Influenza infection may increase the risk of stroke and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Whether influenza vaccination may reduce mortality in patients with hypertension is currently unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a nationwide cohort study including all patients with hypertension in Denmark during 9 consecutive influenza seasons in the period 2007 to 2016 who were prescribed at least 2 different classes of antihypertensive medication (renin‐angiotensin system inhibitors, diuretics, calcium antagonists, or beta‐blockers). We excluded patients who were aged 100 years, had ischemic heart disease, heart failure, chronic obstructive lung disease, cancer, or cerebrovascular disease. The exposure to influenza vaccination was assessed before each influenza season. The end points were defined as death from all‐causes, from cardiovascular causes, or from stroke or AMI. For each influenza season, patients were followed from December 1 until April 1 the next year. We included a total of 608 452 patients. The median follow‐up was 5 seasons (interquartile range, 2–8 seasons) resulting in a total follow‐up time of 975 902 person‐years. Vaccine coverage ranged from 26% to 36% during the study seasons. During follow‐up 21 571 patients died of all‐causes (3.5%), 12 270 patients died of cardiovascular causes (2.0%), and 3846 patients died of AMI/stroke (0.6%). After adjusting for confounders, vaccination was significantly associated with reduced risks of all‐cause death (HR, 0.82; P<0.001), cardiovascular death (HR, 0.84; P<0.001), and death from AMI/stroke (HR, 0.90; P=0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Influenza vaccination was significantly associated with reduced risks of death from all‐causes, cardiovascular causes, and AMI/stroke in patients with hypertension. Influenza vaccination might improve outcome in hypertension

Electronic Nudge Letters to Increase Influenza Vaccination Uptake in Younger and Middle-Aged Individuals With Diabetes

BackgroundDespite evidence demonstrating that influenza vaccination is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM), vaccine uptake remains suboptimal.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of electronically delivered nudges on influenza vaccine uptake according to the presence of DM status versus other chronic diseases.MethodsNUDGE-FLU-CHRONIC was a nationwide, randomized, pragmatic implementation trial among younger and middle-aged (18-64 years) Danish citizens with chronic disease during the 2023/2024 influenza season. Participants were randomized in a 2.45:1:1:1:1:1:1 ratio to usual care (no electronic letter) or 1 of 6 different electronic nudge letters. The endpoint was receipt of a seasonal influenza vaccine on or before January 1, 2024.ResultsOf 299,881 participants, 57,666 (19.2%) had DM (median age: 51.6 years, 43.0% female). During the season, 43.0% of those with DM vs 34.6% of those without DM received the vaccine (P &lt; 0.001). Any electronic letter vs usual care was highly effective in increasing vaccine uptake in participants with DM (45.6% vs 36.5%, difference: +9.1 percentage points [99.29% CI: 7.9-10.3], relative risk ratio: 1.42 [99.29% CI: 1.39-1.44]). However, DM status modified the effect of the interventions such that participants without DM at baseline experienced a greater relative gain than those with DM (37.3% vs 25.9%, difference: +12.3 percentage points [99.29% CI: 11.7-12.8], risk ratio: 1.47 [99.29% CI: 1.45-1.50]; Pinteraction&lt;0.001).ConclusionsElectronic nudge letters effectively boosted vaccine uptake in individuals with DM and in individuals free of DM but with other chronic diseases, but the effect was lower among those with DM. Electronic nudges represent a low-cost and effective strategy to boost influenza vaccination rates in the DM population. (Nationwide Utilization of Danish Government Electronic Letter System for Increasing InFLUenza Vaccine Uptake Among Adults With Chronic Disease; NCT06030739