1,466 research outputs found
What does it mean when we ask the public if they are āconfidentā in policing? The Trust, Fairness, Presence model of āpublic confidenceā
āConfidenceā is widely taken to be a crucial measure of the relationship between citizens and public services such as policing. It is acknowledged that confidence is multifaceted and hard to measure, but often discussions are based on one āheadlineā rating of a single item, for instance: āWhat is your level of confidence inā¦ā. The subsequent focus for research is explaining what might drive āconfidenceā, or what it might predict. We are interested in a more fundamental question: what does it mean when we ask the public if they are āconfidentā in policing? To answer this, we analyse extensive and detailed survey data specifically designed to measure public confidence, within the jurisdiction of a UK police force ā West Midlands Police. We develop then validate a three-part model of confidence as trust, fairness and presence, and find good evidence to support this model across different waves of the survey. This extends existing literature with implications for policy
Beyond evidence: reappraising use of CA-125 as post-therapy surveillance for ovarian cancer
omen who have completed primary
chemotherapy for ovarian cancer commonly
have serial assessment of the serum tumour
marker cancer antigen 125 (CA-125).1
This practice has
been based on the proven utility of CA-125 in diagnostic
algorithms and as a marker of response to therapy. Serial
CA-125 assessment is also used because there is evidence
that in women who have completed treatment for ovarian
cancer, the serum CA-125 rises 2ā6 months before
symptoms or signs of relapse develop. The assumption
underlying this and other similar studies is that serial
monitoring of CA-125 would enable early diagnosis and
treatment of relapse. This would thus lead to delay or
reduction of cancer-related symptoms, psychological
reassurance and, in theory, improved survival. Some studies have suggested that CA-125 may have
some benefit in post-treatment surveillance. However,
many others have demonstrated that although a rising
CA-125 level is highly predictive of relapse, surveillance
monitoring of CA-125 levels after remission from
primary chemotherapy confers little benefit over
standard clinical examination and does not improve
duration of survival or quality of life
The perils of a vanishing cohort: A study of social comparisons by women with advanced ovarian cancer
Objective: To examine the role social comparisons play in the experience of ovarian cancer patients and to consider the implications this may have for provision of supportive care services for ovarian cancer patients. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal qualitative study of women with advanced ovarian cancer in Sydney, Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women with advanced ovarian cancer over a period of 2.5 years. Social comparisons made by 13 study participants in 33 interviews were extracted and analysed using coding categories based on social comparison theory. Results: Participants favoured downward contrasts and lateral comparisons and avoided downward identifications, upward contrasts and upward identifications. Participants expressed a preference for avoiding contact with ovarian cancer patients, for the company of ānormalā others, for normalizing information and information that facilitated upward identifications. Conclusions: We suggest that social comparisons made by women with ovarian cancer are influenced by specific clinical factors associated with their diagnosis ā in particular their status as a member of a āvanishing cohortā ā and argue for further research examining the specific comparison needs and preferences of patients with advanced disease and types of cancer with poor prognoses. Practice implications: These findings raise questions about uniform approaches to the provision of cancer care and suggest that further research may be required to ensure that interventions are appropriately tailored to the supportive care needs of patients with different types and stages of disease. KEYWORDS Cancer; Oncology; Ovarian neoplasms; Social comparison theory; Social support; Self-help groupsNational Health & Medical Research Council Project Grant 40260
Cancergazing? CA125 and post-treatment surveillance in advanced ovarian cancer.
Post-treatment surveillance of advanced ovarian cancer involves regular testing of asymptomatic patients using the CA125 test. This practice is based on a rationale that is not supported by evidence from clinical trials. This paper aims to stimulate critical reflection concerning the effect of investigative tests on clinical decisions and interactions, and the experience of illness, particularly in the context of advanced malignant disease. Drawing on the idea of the āmedical gazeā, and building on previous health communication research, we present an analysis of in-depth interviews and psychometric tests collected in a prospective study of 20 Australian women with advanced ovarian cancer conducted between 2006 and 2009. We describe the demands placed on patients by the use of the CA125 test, some hazards it creates for decision-making, and some of the testās subjective benefits. It is widely believed that the CA125 test generates anxiety among patients, and the proposed solution is to educate women more about the test. We found no evidence that anxiety was a problem requiring a response over and above existing services. We conclude that the current debate is simplistic and limited. Focussing on patient anxiety does not account for other important effects of post-treatment surveillance, and educating patients about the test is unlikely to mitigate anxiety because testing is part of a wider process by which patients become aware of a disease that ā once it has relapsed ā will certainly kill them in the near future.National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant number 40260
Beyond evidence: reappraising use of CA-125 as post-therapy surveillance for ovarian cancer
omen who have completed primary chemotherapy for ovarian cancer commonly have serial assessment of the serum tumour marker cancer antigen 125 (CA-125).1 This practice has been based on the proven utility of CA-125 in diagnostic algorithms and as a marker of response to therapy. Serial CA-125 assessment is also used because there is evidence that in women who have completed treatment for ovarian cancer, the serum CA-125 rises 2ā6 months before symptoms or signs of relapse develop. The assumption underlying this and other similar studies is that serial monitoring of CA-125 would enable early diagnosis and treatment of relapse. This would thus lead to delay or reduction of cancer-related symptoms, psychological reassurance and, in theory, improved survival. Some studies have suggested that CA-125 may have some benefit in post-treatment surveillance. However, many others have demonstrated that although a rising CA-125 level is highly predictive of relapse, surveillance monitoring of CA-125 levels after remission from primary chemotherapy confers little benefit over standard clinical examination and does not improve duration of survival or quality of life
LOCUS: A Multi-Sensor Lidar-Centric Solution for High-Precision Odometry and 3D Mapping in Real-Time
A reliable odometry source is a prerequisite to enable complex autonomy
behaviour in next-generation robots operating in extreme environments. In this
work, we present a high-precision lidar odometry system to achieve robust and
real-time operation under challenging perceptual conditions. LOCUS (Lidar
Odometry for Consistent operation in Uncertain Settings), provides an accurate
multi-stage scan matching unit equipped with an health-aware sensor integration
module for seamless fusion of additional sensing modalities. We evaluate the
performance of the proposed system against state-of-the-art techniques in
perceptually challenging environments, and demonstrate top-class localization
accuracy along with substantial improvements in robustness to sensor failures.
We then demonstrate real-time performance of LOCUS on various types of robotic
mobility platforms involved in the autonomous exploration of the Satsop power
plant in Elma, WA where the proposed system was a key element of the CoSTAR
team's solution that won first place in the Urban Circuit of the DARPA
Subterranean Challenge.Comment: Accepted for publication at IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters,
202
ASASSN-15pz: Revealing Significant Photometric Diversity among 2009dc-like, Peculiar SNe Ia
We report comprehensive multi-wavelength observations of a peculiar Type
Ia-like supernova ("SN Ia-pec") ASASSN-15pz. ASASSN-15pz is a spectroscopic
"twin" of SN 2009dc, a so-called "Super-Chandrasekhar-mass" SN, throughout its
evolution, but it has a peak luminosity M_B,peak = -19.69 +/- 0.12 mag that is
\approx 0.6 mag dimmer and comparable to the SN 1991T sub-class of SNe Ia at
the luminous end of the normal width-luminosity relation. The synthesized Ni56
mass of M_Ni56 = 1.13 +/- 0.14 M_sun is also substantially less than that found
for several 2009dc-like SNe. Previous well-studied 2009dc-like SNe have
generally suffered from large and uncertain amounts of host-galaxy extinction,
which is negligible for ASASSN-15pz. Based on the color of ASASSN-15pz, we
estimate a host extinction for SN 2009dc of E(B-V)_host=0.12 mag and confirm
its high luminosity (M_B, peak[2009dc] \approx -20.3 mag). The 2009dc-like SN
population, which represents ~1% of SNe Ia, exhibits a range of peak
luminosities, and do not fit onto the tight width-luminosity relation. Their
optical light curves also show significant diversity of late-time (>~ 50 days)
decline rates. The nebular-phase spectra provide powerful diagnostics to
identify the 2009dc-like events as a distinct class of SNe Ia. We suggest
referring to these sources using the phenomenology-based "2009dc-like SN
Ia-pec" instead of "Super-Chandrasekhar SN Ia," which is based on an uncertain
theoretical interpretation.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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