Increasing prevalence of asthma diagnosis and symptoms in children is confined to mild symptoms

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of childhood asthma is increasing but few studies have investigated trends in asthma severity. We investigated trends in asthma diagnosis and symptom morbidity between an eight year time period in a paired prevalence study. METHODS: All children in one single school year aged 8-9 years in the city of Sheffield were given a parent respondent questionnaire in 1991 and 1999 based on questions from the International Survey of Asthma and Allergy in Children (ISAAC). Data were obtained regarding the prevalence of asthma and wheeze and current (12 month) prevalences of wheeze attacks, speech limiting wheeze, nocturnal cough and wheeze, and exertional symptoms. RESULTS: The response rates in 1991 and 1999 were 4580/5321 (85.3%) and 5011/6021 (83.2%), respectively. There were significant increases between the two surveys in the prevalence of asthma ever (19.9% v 29.7%, mean difference 11.9%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 10.16 to 13.57, p<0.001), current asthma (10.3% v 13.0%, mean difference 2.7%, 95% CI 1.44 to 4.03, p<0.001), wheeze ever (30.3% v 35.8%, mean difference 5.7%, 95% CI 3.76 to 7.56, p<0.001), wheeze in the previous 12 months (17.0% v 19.4%, mean difference 2.5, 95% CI 0.95 to 4.07, p<0.01), and reporting of medication use (16.9% v 20%, mean difference 3.0%, 95% CI 1.46 to 4.62, p<0.001). There were also significant increases in reported hayfever and eczema diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic labelling of asthma and lifetime prevalence of wheeze has increased. The current 12 month point prevalence of wheeze has increased but this is confined to occasional symptoms. The increased medication rate may be responsible for the static prevalence of severe asthma symptoms. The significant proportion of children receiving medication but reporting no asthma symptoms identified from our 1999 survey suggests that some children are being inappropriately treated or overtreated

The mobilising effect of political choice

Political choice is central to citizens’ participation in elections. Nonetheless, little is known about the individual-level mechanisms that link political choice and turnout. It is argued in this article that turnout decisions are shaped not only by the differences between the parties (party polarisation), but also by the closeness of parties to citizens’ own ideological position (congruence), and that congruence matters more in polarised systems where more is at stake. Analysing cross-national survey data from 80 elections, it is found that both polarisation and congruence have a mobilising effect, but that polarisation moderates the effect of congruence on turnout. To further explore the causal effect of political choice, the arrival of a new radical right-wing party in Germany, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), is leveraged and the findings show that the presence of the AfD had a mobilising effect, especially for citizens with congruent views

All-electron GW calculation based on the LAPW method: application to wurtzite ZnO

We present a new, all-electron implementation of the GW approximation and apply it to wurtzite ZnO. Eigenfunctions computed in the local-density approximation (LDA) by the full-potential linearized augmented-plane-wave (LAPW) or the linearized muffin-tin-orbital (LMTO) method supply the input for generating the Green function G and the screened Coulomb interaction W. A mixed basis is used for the expansion of W, consisting of plane waves in the interstitial region and augmented-wavefunction products in the augmentation-sphere regions. The frequency-dependence of the dielectric function is computed within the random-phase approximation (RPA), without a plasmon-pole approximation. The Zn 3d orbitals are treated as valence states within the LDA; both core and valence states are included in the self-energy calculation. The calculated bandgap is smaller than experiment by about 1eV, in contrast to previously reported GW results. Self-energy corrections are orbital-dependent, and push down the deep O 2s and Zn 3d levels by about 1eV relative to the LDA. The d level shifts closer to experiment but the size of shift is underestimated, suggesting that the RPA overscreens localized states.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Bereavement care for ethnic minority communities : a systematic review of access to, models of, outcomes from, and satisfaction with, service provision

Objectives To review and synthesize the existing evidence on bereavement care, within the United Kingdom (UK), for ethnic minority communities in terms of barriers and facilitators to access; models of care; outcomes from, and satisfaction with, service provision. Design A systematic review adopting a framework synthesis approach was conducted. An electronic search of the literature was undertaken in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Social Work Abstract and CINAHL via EBSCO, Global Health, Cochrane library, the Trip database and ProQuest between 1995 and 2020. Search terms included bereavement care, ethnic minority populations and the UK setting. Results From 3,185 initial records, following screening for eligibility, and full-text review of 164 articles, seven studies were identified. There was no research literature outlining the role of family, friends and existing networks; and a real absence of evidence about outcomes and levels of satisfaction for those from an ethnic minority background who receive bereavement care. From the limited literature, the overarching theme for barriers to bereavement care was ‘unfamiliarity and irregularities’. Four identified subthemes were ‘lack of awareness’; ‘variability in support’; ‘type and format of support’; and ‘culturally specific beliefs’. The overarching theme for facilitators for bereavement care was ‘accessibility’ with the two subthemes being ‘readily available information’ and ‘inclusive approaches’. Three studies reported on examples of different models of care provision. Conclusions This review reveals a stark lack of evidence about bereavement care for ethnic minority populations. In particular, understanding more about the role of family, friends and existing support systems, alongside outcomes and satisfaction will begin to develop the evidence base underpinning current provision. Direct user-representation through proactive engagement and co-design approaches may begin to determine the most appropriate models and format of bereavement care for ethnic minority communities to inform service design and delivery

Epilepsy mortality in Wales during COVID-19

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased mortality worldwide and those with chronic conditions may have been disproportionally affected. However, it is unknown whether the pandemic has changed mortality rates for people with epilepsy. We aimed to compare mortality rates in people with epilepsy in Wales during the pandemic with pre-pandemic rates. Methods: We performed a retrospective study using individual-level linked population-scale anonymised electronic health records. We identified deaths in people with epilepsy (DPWE), i.e. those with a diagnosis of epilepsy, and deaths associated with epilepsy (DAE), where epilepsy was recorded as a cause of death on death certificates. We compared death rates in 2020 with average rates in 2015–2019 using Poisson models to calculate death rate ratios. Results: There were 188 DAE and 628 DPWE in Wales in 2020 (death rates: 7.7/100,000/year and 25.7/100,000/year). The average rates for DAE and DPWE from 2015 to 2019 were 5.8/100,000/year and 23.8/100,000/year, respectively. Death rate ratios (2020 compared to 2015–2019) for DAE were 1.34 (95%CI 1.14–1.57, p<0.001) and for DPWE were 1.08 (0.99–1.17, p = 0.09). The death rate ratios for non-COVID deaths (deaths without COVID mentioned on death certificates) for DAE were 1.17 (0.99–1.39, p = 0.06) and for DPWE were 0.96 (0.87–1.05, p = 0.37). Conclusions: The significant increase in DAE in Wales during 2020 could be explained by the direct effect of COVID-19 infection. Non-COVID-19 deaths have not increased significantly but further work is needed to assess the longer-term impact

Ab-initio study of BaTiO3 surfaces

We have carried out first-principles total-energy calculations of (001) surfaces of the tetragonal and cubic phases of BaTiO3. Both BaO-terminated (type I) and TiO2-terminated (type II) surfaces are considered, and the atomic configurations have been fully relaxed. We found no deep-gap surface states for any of the surfaces, in agreement with previous theoretical studies. However, the gap is reduced for the type-II surface, especially in the cubic phase. The surface relaxation energies are found to be substantial, i.e., many times larger than the bulk ferroelectric well depth. Nevertheless, the influence of the surface upon the ferroelectric order parameter is modest; we find only a small enhancement of the ferroelectricity near the surface.Comment: 8 pages, two-column style with 4 postscript figures embedded. Uses REVTEX and epsf macros. Also available at http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/index.html#pad_sur

Isotopic analysis of faunal material from South Uist, Western Isles, Scotland

This paper reports on the results from stable isotope analysis of faunal bone collagen from a number of Iron Age and later sites on the island of South Uist, in the Western Isles, Scotland. This preliminary investigation into the isotopic signatures of the fauna is part of a larger project to model the interaction between humans, animals, and the broader environment in the Western Isles. The results demonstrate that the island fauna data fall within the range of expected results for the UK, with the terrestrial herbivorous diets of cattle and sheep confi rmed. The isotopic composition for pigs suggests that some of these animals had an omnivorous diet, whilst a single red deer value might be suggestive of the consumption of marine foods, such as by grazing on seaweed. However, further analysis is needed in order to verify this anomalous isotopic ratio

The Opinion-Policy Nexus in Europe and the Role of Political Institutions

A strong link between citizen preferences and public policy is one of the key goals and criteria of democratic governance. Yet, our knowledge about the extent to which public policies on specific issues are in line with citizen preferences in Europe is limited. This article reports on the first study of the link between public opinion and public policy that covers a large and diverse sample of concrete public policy issues in 31 European democracies. The findings demonstrate a strong positive relationship and a substantial degree of congruence between public opinion and the state of public policy. Also examined is whether political institutions, including electoral systems and the horizontal and vertical division of powers, influence the opinion‐policy link. The evidence for such effects is very limited, which suggests that the same institutions might affect policy representation in countervailing ways through different mechanisms

New determination of the D0→K−π+π0 and D0→K−π+π+π− coherence factors and average strong-phase differences

AbstractMeasurements of the coherence factors (RKππ0 and RK3π) and the average strong-phase differences (δDKππ0 and δDK3π) for the decays D0→K−π+π0 and D0→K−π+π+π− are presented. These parameters are important inputs to the determination of the unitarity triangle angle γ in B∓→DK∓ decays, where D designates a D0 or D¯0 meson decaying to a common final state. The measurements are made using quantum correlated DD¯ decays collected by the CLEO-c experiment at the ψ(3770) resonance, and augment a previously published analysis by the inclusion of new events in which the signal decay is tagged by the mode D→KS0π+π−. The measurements also benefit from improved knowledge of external inputs, namely the D0D¯0 mixing parameters, rDKπ and several D-meson branching fractions. The measured values are RKππ0=0.82±0.07, δDKππ0=(164−14+20)°, RK3π=0.32−0.28+0.20 and δDK3π=(225−78+21)°. Consideration is given to how these measurements can be improved further by using the larger quantum-correlated data set collected by BESIII

Half-metallic antiferromagnets in thiospinels

We have theoretically designed the half-metallic (HM) antiferromagnets (AFMs) in thiospinel systems, $\rm Mn(CrV)S_{4}$ and $\rm Fe_{0.5}Cu_{0.5}(V_{0.5}Ti_{1.5})S_{4}$, based on the electronic structure studies in the local-spin-density approximation (LSDA). We have also explored electronic and magnetic properties of parent spinel compounds of the above systems; $\rm CuV_{2}S_{4}$ and $\rm CuTi_{2}S_{4}$ are found to be HM ferromagnets in their cubic spinel structures, while $\rm MnCr_{2}S_{4}$ is a ferrimagnetic insulator. We have discussed the feasibility of material synthesis of HM-AFM thiospinel systems.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure