Children with Cancer and Blood Diseases Experience Positive Physical and Psychological Effects from Massage Therapy

Background: Previous research has reported positive effects of massage therapy (MT) on premature infants, children with asthma, arthritis and other illnesses. Although significant effects have been demonstrated with the use of MT with children, research regarding children with cancer and blood disease is needed. Purpose: This study measured the physical and psychological effects of MT on pediatric oncology and hematology patients. The study hypotheses tested the effects MT for physical and psychological symptom relief. Setting: Cancer Center, Shands Hospital at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Research Design: Randomized non-blinded prospective study. Measures of physical health and mental wellbeing were completed before, during, and after four sessions were implemented. Descriptive statistics and 2 (treatment) X 2 (time) one-way ANOVAs were used to analyze data. Participants: Thirty children with cancer and blood disease, ages 6 months to 17 years old. Intervention: Treatment group received 20 minute sessions of Swedish MT once a day for approximately 4 days (inpatient) or once a week for approximately four weeks (outpatient) vs. no MT for the control group. Results: Treatment group showed significant improvement in both psychological stress [STAI-C: State (F [1, 28] = 24.63, p < .001), Trait (F [1, 28] = 12.83, p < .001) and emotional state (F [1, 28] = 157.79, p < .001)], physical measures [muscle soreness (F [1, 28] = 148.20,

Fodder Crop Adoption through Push-Pull Technology (PPT) for Fall Armyworm (FAW) Control in Cereals Cropping Systems

There is an urgent need to increase grain yields and animal products due to increasing human population in Africa. Push-pull technology (PPT) is a conservation agriculture intercrop technology which protects and enhances natural resources productivity and ecosystem services in mixed farming systems. The technology involves growing of a cereal crop with a repellent intercrop, Desmodium genus (silverleaf, D. uncinatum and greenleaf, D. intortum) with grass such as Pennisetum purpureum or Brachiaria spp. planted as a border around the cereal-legume intercrop. The plants accompanying the cereal crop are typically valuable high quality fodder thus integrating crop-livestock production. The PPT was initially developed in the high altitude areas which were mainly suitable for optimal growth of Desmodium sp. In contrast, Clitoria ternatea (Blue pea) is the recommended herbaceous forage legume crop for the low altitude areas. In addition, clitoria and dolichos demonstrated their ability to effectively repel stem-borer pests in push pull technology systems within the coastal lowlands. The experiments were established in four sites representing diverse coastal lowlands (CL) agro-ecological zones (CL3, CL4, and CL5). The species used in the system were: maize (cereal crop, the main target by Spodoptera pests); climate-smart brachiaria grass (as a pull crop) and blue pea (as a push crop). It was demonstrated that the push-pull technology can also control FAW and that this system be promoted for provision of high quality fodder for livestock in smallholder mixed farms

Integrating trauma-informed services in out-of-school time programs to mitigate the impact of community gun violence on youth mental health

Community gun violence disproportionately impacts youth in low-income urban neighborhoods. Integrating trauma informed mental health care in community-based out-of-school time (OST) programs is an innovative method of service delivery for these youth. This article provides justification for integrating evidence-based, trauma-informed services in OST programs within communities characterized by high rates of violent crime to minimize the impact of violence exposure on youth mental health. We describe the initial feasibility of a model program, the Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Initiative, implemented in a small city in southeastern Pennsylvania. Within the first six months of the VIP Initiative, 95 community residents (90% under age 18; 51% Hispanic) received intervention services, primarily through single-session and short-term weekly group intervention in OST programs, and 80% of OST youth development staff participated in at least one trauma-informed professional development training. Recommendations to enhance and expand the delivery of trauma-informed services in the novel setting of OST programs are provided

Cold atoms in double-well optical lattices

Cold atoms, loaded into an optical lattice with double-well sites, are considered. Pseudospin representation for an effective Hamiltonian is derived. The system in equilibrium displays two phases, ordered and disordered. The second-order phase transition between the phases can be driven either by temperature or by changing the system parameters. Collective pseudospin excitations have a gap disappearing at the phase-transition point. Dynamics of atoms is studied, when they are loaded into the lattice in an initially nonequilibrium state. It is shown that the temporal evolution of atoms, contrary to their equilibrium thermodynamics, cannot be described in the mean-field approximation, since it results in a structurally unstable dynamical system, but a more accurate description is necessary taking account of attenuation effects.Comment: Latex file, 24 pages, 3 figure

Occupy: in theory and practice

This paper situates the discourse of the Occupy movement within the context of radical political philosophy. Our analysis takes place on two levels. First, we conduct an empirical analysis of the ‘official’ publications of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and Occupy London (OL). Operationalising core concepts from the framing perspective within social movement theory, we provide a descriptive-comparative analysis of the ‘collective action frames’ of OWS and OL. Second, we consider the extent to which radical political philosophy speaks to the discourse of Occupy. Our empirical analysis reveals that both movements share diagnostic frames, but there were notable differences in terms of prognostic framing. The philosophical discussion suggests that there are alignments between anarchist, post-anarchist and post-Marxist ideologies at the level of both identity and strategy. Indeed, the absence of totalising anti-capitalist or anti-statist positions in Occupy suggests that – particularly with Occupy London – alignments are perhaps not so distant from typically social democratic demands

Equilibrium configurations of two charged masses in General Relativity

An asymptotically flat static solution of Einstein-Maxwell equations which describes the field of two non-extreme Reissner - Nordstr\"om sources in equilibrium is presented. It is expressed in terms of physical parameters of the sources (their masses, charges and separating distance). Very simple analytical forms were found for the solution as well as for the equilibrium condition which guarantees the absence of any struts on the symmetry axis. This condition shows that the equilibrium is not possible for two black holes or for two naked singularities. However, in the case when one of the sources is a black hole and another one is a naked singularity, the equilibrium is possible at some distance separating the sources. It is interesting that for appropriately chosen parameters even a Schwarzschild black hole together with a naked singularity can be "suspended" freely in the superposition of their fields.Comment: 4 pages; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

High frequency statistical arbitrage via the optimal thermal causal path

We consider the problem of identifying similarities and causality relationships in a given set of financial time series data streams. We develop further the “Optimal Thermal Causal Path” method, which is a non-parametric method proposed by Sornette et al. The method considers the mismatch between a given pair of time series in order to identify the expected minimum energy path lead-lag structure between the pair. Traders may find this a useful tool for directional trading, to spot arbitrage opportunities. We add a curvature energy term to the method and we propose an approximation technique to reduce the computational time. We apply the method and approximation technique on various market sectors of NYSE data and extract the highly correlated pairs of time series. We show how traders could exploit arbitrage opportunities by using the method

Development of paediatric non-stage prognosticator guidelines for population-based cancer registries and updates to the 2014 Toronto Paediatric Cancer Stage Guidelines

Population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) generate measures of cancer incidence and survival that are essential for cancer surveillance, research, and cancer control strategies. In 2014, the Toronto Paediatric Cancer Stage Guidelines were developed to standardise how PBCRs collect data on the stage at diagnosis for childhood cancer cases. These guidelines have been implemented in multiple jurisdictions worldwide to facilitate international comparative studies of incidence and outcome. Robust stratification by risk also requires data on key non-stage prognosticators (NSPs). Key experts and stakeholders used a modified Delphi approach to establish principles guiding paediatric cancer NSP data collection. With the use of these principles, recommendations were made on which NSPs should be collected for the major malignancies in children. The 2014 Toronto Stage Guidelines were also reviewed and updated where necessary. Wide adoption of the resultant Paediatric NSP Guidelines and updated Toronto Stage Guidelines will enhance the harmonisation and use of childhood cancer data provided by PBCRs