An external evaluation of Phat Pak process and structure: Volume 2: Appendices

An evaluation was conducted by the 510 Evaluation Research Group 2007 after receiving a request from the Phat Pak Governance Group (PPGG). The evaluation focused on four areas identified in the Phat Pak service specification plan attached to it’s Ministry of Health contract (Youth participation, Communication Strategies, Decision making Processes and Skills Development)

An external evaluation of Phat Pak process and structure: Volume 1: Evaluation report

An evaluation was conducted by the 510 Evaluation Research Group 2007 after receiving a request from the Phat Pak Governance Group (PPGG). The evaluation focused on four areas identified in the Phat Pak service specification plan attached to it’s Ministry of Health contract (Youth participation, Communication Strategies, Decision making Processes and Skills Development). Our intention of evaluating the Phat Pak Programme has been to, through feedback from a range of participants, gauge the extent that the programme objectives (such as those highlighted in the contract are being met. More specifically, the function of the evaluation has been to help identify specific areas that are working well and those areas that need further development. It is our intention that the evaluation will provide both short and long-term direction with added insight towards increasing participation and enhancing health outcomes for youth and the wider community of the Waikato region

A Preliminary Report on Unique Hail and Tornadic Storm Observations in Central Illinois and Eastern Indiana on 3 April 1974

published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Comparison of quantum mechanical and classical trajectory calculations of cross sections for ion-atom impact ionization of negative - and positive -ions for heavy ion fusion applications

Stripping cross sections in nitrogen have been calculated using the classical trajectory approximation and the Born approximation of quantum mechanics for the outer shell electrons of 3.2GeV I$^{-}$ and Cs$^{+}$ ions. A large difference in cross section, up to a factor of six, calculated in quantum mechanics and classical mechanics, has been obtained. Because at such high velocities the Born approximation is well validated, the classical trajectory approach fails to correctly predict the stripping cross sections at high energies for electron orbitals with low ionization potential.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.

Prolonged length of stay in illeal conduit compared to neobladder diversion in radical cystectomy patients for bladder cancer

Background: Radical cystectomy and urinary diversion has become the standard treatment for invasive and complicated malignancies of the bladder, urethra, and ureters. [1] Robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC), introduced in the last decade, has been associated with favorable perioperative outcomes when compared to open radical cystectomy. Yet little is known about how different urinary diversion types compare in regards to length of hospital stay, readmission rates, and perioperative course. This data analysis seeks to identify the statistically significant differences in postoperative course of ileal conduit versus neobladder among patients with staged bladder cancer. Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) is a health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) compliant data file containing cases from 706 participating hospitals. The data includes 275 HIPAA compliant variables on 902,968 cases in 2020 and 273 variables on 1,076,441 cases in 2019. ACS NSQIP includes all major cases as determined by Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code. The goal of the program is to determine the quality of care after surgical procedures. The ACS NSQIP is deidentified and the study was exempted from the requirement for institutional review board approval. The primary outcomes were length of stay and readmission after radical cystectomy with either ileal conduit or neobladder. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was utilized for continuous variables as the data was not normally distributed. For categorical variables, Fisher’s exact test was performed and Chi-squared analysis where more than two categories were evaluated. Statistical significance was set at P-value \u3c 0.05. Results: Data from a total of 6,103 patients in the NSQIP database were screened and 1,478 analyzed for all outcomes measures. There was no statistical significance in terms of mean length of stay between the ileal conduit and neobladder groups (7.85 vs. 7.44 days, p = 0.185) (Table 1). Additionally, there was not a statistically significant difference in mean days to discharge. Secondary endpoints that resulted in statistically significant differences include rates of readmission (21.5% vs 30%, p \u3c 0.05), colonic anastomotic leak (6.3% vs 1.8%, p \u3c 0.05), urinary anastomotic leak (3.1% vs 6.7%, p \u3c 0.05) , and lymphocele/lymphatic leak (3.8% vs 8.5%, p \u3c 0.05)( Table 1.) Multivariable analysis revealed additional differences between these groups. Prior pelvic radiotherapy ( p = 0.003) and a characterized bleeding disorder (p = 0.001) were associated with length of stay in the ileal conduit group (Table 2). Chemotherapy within 90 days (p = 0.004) and diabetes mellitus (p = 0.029) were predictors of length of stay in the neobladder group (Table 2). Conclusion: The conduit diversion cohort did not show a difference in length of stay compared to the neobladder cohort. However, secondary endpoints including rates of readmission, colonic anastomotic leak, urinary anastomotic leak, and lymphocele/lymphatic leak showed significant differences. Risk factors that influenced length of stay were prior pelvic radiation, a characterized bleeding disorder, chemotherapy within 90 days, and diabetes mellitus

A terrestrial search for dark contents of the vacuum, such as dark energy, using atom interferometry

We describe the theory and first experimental work on our concept for searching on earth for the presence of dark content of the vacuum (DCV) using atom interferometry. Specifically, we have in mind any DCV that has not yet been detected on a laboratory scale, but might manifest itself as dark energy on the cosmological scale. The experimental method uses two atom interferometers to cancel the effect of earth's gravity and diverse noise sources. It depends upon two assumptions: first, that the DCV possesses some space inhomogeneity in density, and second that it exerts a sufficiently strong non-gravitational force on matter. The motion of the apparatus through the DCV should then lead to an irregular variation in the detected matter-wave phase shift. We discuss the nature of this signal and note the problem of distinguishing it from instrumental noise. We also discuss the relation of our experiment to what might be learned by studying the noise in gravitational wave detectors such as LIGO.The paper concludes with a projection that a future search of this nature might be carried out using an atom interferometer in an orbiting satellite. The apparatus is now being constructed