The clinical and cost-effectiveness of a Victim Improvement Package (VIP) for the reduction of chronic symptoms of depression or anxiety in older victims of common crime (the VIP trial): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Older people are vulnerable to sustained high levels of psychosocial distress following a crime. A cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-informed psychological therapy, the Victim Improvement Package (VIP) may aid recovery. The VIP trial aims to test the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the VIP for alleviating depressive and anxiety symptoms in older victims of crime. METHODS/DESIGN: People aged 65 years or more who report being a victim of crime will be screened by Metropolitan Police Service Safer Neighbourhood Teams within a month of the crime for distress using the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-2. Those who screen positive will be signposted to their GP for assistance, and re-screened at 3 months. Participants who screen positive for depression and/or anxiety at re-screening are randomised to a CBT informed VIP added to treatment as usual (TAU) compared to TAU alone. The intervention consists of 10 individual 1-h sessions, delivered weekly by therapists from the mental health charity Mind. The primary outcome measure is the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), used as a composite measure, assessed at 6 months after the crime (post therapy) with a 9-month post-crime follow-up. Secondary outcome measures include the EQ-5D, and a modified Client Service Receipt Inventory. A total of 226 participants will be randomised VIP:TAU with a ratio 1:1, in order to detect a standardised difference of at least 0.5 between groups, using a mixed-effects linear-regression model with 90% power and a 5% significance level (adjusting for therapist clustering and potential drop-out). A cost-effectiveness analysis will incorporate intervention costs to compare overall health care costs and quality of life years between treatment arms. An embedded study will examine the impact of past trauma and engagement in safety behaviours and distress on the main outcomes. DISCUSSION: This trial should provide data on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a CBT-informed psychological therapy for older victims of crime with anxiety and/or depressive symptoms and should demonstrate a model of integrated cross-agency working. Our findings should provide evidence for policy-makers, commissioners and clinicians responding to the needs of older victims of crime. TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials Number, ID: ISRCTN16929670. Registered on 3 August 2016

LSDA+U approximation-based analysis of the electronic estructure of CeFeGe3

We perform ab initio electronic structure calculations of the intermetallic compound CeFeGe3 by means of the Tight Binding Linear Muffin-Tin Orbitals-Atomic Sphere Approximation (TB-LMTO-ASA) within the Local Spin Density Approximation containing the so-called Hubbard correction term (LSDA+U^SIC), using the Sttutgart's TB (Tight Binding)-LMTO-ASA code in the framework of the Density Funcional Theory (DFT).Comment: 12 pages 8 figures, submitted to Int. J. Modern Phys.

Monte Carlo Simulation of Electron Backscattering in Solids Using a General-Purpose Computer Code

A Monte Carlo study of backscattering of kilovolt electrons in solids, a process of primary importance in electron microscopy and surface analytical techniques, is carried out. Simulations have been performed using the general-purpose simulation code PENELOPE (an acronym for Penetration and ENErgy LOss of Positrons and Electrons ), which generates electron-photon showers in arbitrary materials. A systematic comparison of results from PENELOPE with available experimental data, and with results from simulations with a much more sophisticated code, is given for electron beams with energies between 2.5 and 60 keV and elemental solids with atomic numbers Z = 4 to 92. It is concluded that PENELOPE gives a reliable description of the backscattering process, even for relatively low electron energies and thin targets

Torque y curva de potencia de una turbina de Tesla con una y doble entrada

In this paper, the motor torque and the mechanical power of a Tesla turbine featuring a single- and double stator inlets are measured. A rope brake-based system permits the determination of the turbine shaft torque whose value is used for measuring the powered generated by the device. Compressed air and saturated water steam are used as working fluids. Under similar pressures, these fluids are used in a first stage in only one inlet and the process is later completed with the use of the second inlet. In the latter scenario, an increased number of shaft spins is observed. With the obtained results, the torque curve and the power are plotted in terms of the revolutions and the maximum value of power is shown.En este trabajo se mide el par motor y la potencia mecánica de una turbina de Tesla con una y doble entrada en su estator. La utilización de un sistema basado en un freno de cuerda permite determinar el torque en el eje de la turbina y con dicho valor la potencia desarrollada por la máquina. Se utiliza aire comprimido y vapor de agua saturado como fluidos de trabajo. A presiones similares para dichos fluidos se trabaja con una entrada en una primera etapa y se completa el proceso habilitando la segunda entrada. Para esta última situación se observa un crecimiento considerable en la cantidad de vueltas del eje. Los resultados obtenidos permiten graficar la curva de torque y potencia en función de las revoluciones mostrando un valor máximo de potencia alcanzado.Tema 3: Energía solar, aplicaciones térmicas y químicas.Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanism

Torque y curva de potencia de una turbina de Tesla con una y doble entrada

In this paper, the motor torque and the mechanical power of a Tesla turbine featuring a single- and double stator inlets are measured. A rope brake-based system permits the determination of the turbine shaft torque whose value is used for measuring the powered generated by the device. Compressed air and saturated water steam are used as working fluids. Under similar pressures, these fluids are used in a first stage in only one inlet and the process is later completed with the use of the second inlet. In the latter scenario, an increased number of shaft spins is observed. With the obtained results, the torque curve and the power are plotted in terms of the revolutions and the maximum value of power is shown.En este trabajo se mide el par motor y la potencia mecánica de una turbina de Tesla con una y doble entrada en su estator. La utilización de un sistema basado en un freno de cuerda permite determinar el torque en el eje de la turbina y con dicho valor la potencia desarrollada por la máquina. Se utiliza aire comprimido y vapor de agua saturado como fluidos de trabajo. A presiones similares para dichos fluidos se trabaja con una entrada en una primera etapa y se completa el proceso habilitando la segunda entrada. Para esta última situación se observa un crecimiento considerable en la cantidad de vueltas del eje. Los resultados obtenidos permiten graficar la curva de torque y potencia en función de las revoluciones mostrando un valor máximo de potencia alcanzado.Tema 3: Energía solar, aplicaciones térmicas y químicas.Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanism

Household-level risk factors for water contamination and antimicrobial resistance in drinking water among households with children under 5 in rural San Marcos, Cajamarca, Peru

Household water contamination at point of use depends on human, animal and environmental factors embodying all aspects of a One Health approach. This study investigated the association between household factors, the presence of thermotolerant coliform, and the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in drinking water among 314 households with children under 5 in Cajamarca, Peru. This study analysed data from a baseline sampling of a randomized controlled trial, including household surveys covering household water management and factors such as household animals, as well as microbiological data from samples collected from drinking water. Data were analysed using generalized linear models. Drinking water samples collected from narrow-mouthed containers were less likely to be contaminated than samples collected from the faucet (OR = 0.55, p = 0.030) or wide mouthed containers. The presence of thermotolerant coliform was associated with owning farm birds, which increased the proportion of contamination from 42.2% to 59.1% (OR = 1.98, p = 0.017) and with animal waste observed in the kitchen area, which increased the prevalence of contamination from 51.4% to 65.6% (OR = 1.80, p = 0.024). Resistance to any antibiotic was higher among pig owners at 60%, relative to non-pig owners at 36.4% (OR = 1.97, p = 0.012) as well as households with free-roaming animals in the kitchen area at 59.6% compared to households without free-roaming animals at 39.7% (OR = 2.24, p = 0.035). Recent child antibiotic use increased the prevalence of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistance among E. coli isolates to 22.3% relative to 16.7% (OR = 3.00, p = 0.037). Overall, these findings suggest that water storage in a secure container to protect from in-home contamination is likely to be important in providing safe drinking water at point of use. In addition, transmission of thermotolerant coliform and AMR between domestic animals and human drinking water supplies is likely. Further research should explore transmission pathways and methods to support safe drinking water access in multi-species households