462 research outputs found
Some Implications of Endogenous Stabilization Policy
macroeconomics, stabilization policy
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Emergency Medicine Palliative Care Access (EMPallA): Protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of specialty outpatient versus nurse-led telephonic palliative care of older adults with advanced illness
Introduction Emergency department (ED)-initiated palliative care has been shown to improve patient-centred outcomes in older adults with serious, life-limiting illnesses. However, the optimal modality for providing such interventions is unknown. This study aims to compare nurse-led telephonic case management to specialty outpatient palliative care for older adults with serious, life-limiting illness on: (1) quality of life in patients; (2) healthcare utilisation; (3) loneliness and symptom burden and (4) caregiver strain, caregiver quality of life and bereavement. Methods and analysis This is a protocol for a pragmatic, multicentre, parallel, two-arm randomised controlled trial in ED patients comparing two established models of palliative care: nurse-led telephonic case management and specialty, outpatient palliative care. We will enrol 1350 patients aged 50+ years and 675 of their caregivers across nine EDs. Eligible patients: (1) have advanced cancer (metastatic solid tumour) or end-stage organ failure (New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure, end-stage renal disease with glomerular filtration rate /min/m2, or global initiative for chronic obstructive lung disease stage III, IV or oxygen-dependent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease); (2) speak English; (3) are scheduled for ED discharge or observation status; (4) reside locally; (5) have a working telephone and (6) are insured. Patients will be excluded if they: (1) have dementia; (2) have received hospice care or two or more palliative care visits in the last 6 months or (3) reside in a long-term care facility. We will use patient-level block randomisation, stratified by ED site and disease. Effectiveness will be compared by measuring the impact of each intervention on the specified outcomes. The primary outcome will measure change in patient quality of life. Ethics and dissemination Institutional Review Board approval was obtained at all study sites. Trial results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal
Measuring Positive Childhood Experiences: Testing the structural and predictive validity of the Health Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE) framework
OBJECTIVE:
Positive childhood experiences (PCEs), that occur within secure and nurturing social environments, are fundamental to healthy physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development. However, reliable measures of these experiences are not yet widely available. We used data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) to empirically represent and psychometrically evaluate three primary domains of PCEs defined within the Health Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE) framework, specifically: (1) nurturing and supportive relationships; (2) safe and protective environments and; (3) constructive social engagement and connectedness.
METHODS:
LSAC is a nationally representative cohort that has followed young Australians from birth since 2004. LSAC data were used to represent the three primary HOPE-PCEs domains (0-11 years) across four interrelated PCEs constructs: (1) positive parenting, (2) trusting and supportive relationships, (3) supportive neighbourhood and home learning environments, and (4) social engagement and enjoyment. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the proposed four-factor structure. Predictive validity was examined through associations with mental health problems and academic difficulties at 14-15 years.
RESULTS:
The four-factor structure was supported by empirical data at each time point. Higher exposure to PCEs across each domain was associated with lower reporting of mental health problems (β=-0.20 to -2.05) and academic difficulties (β=-0.01 to -0.13) in adolescence.
CONCLUSIONS:
The four LSAC-based HOPE-PCEs have sufficient internal coherence and predictive validity to offer a potentially useful way of conceptualizing and measuring PCEs in future cohort studies and intervention trials aiming to enhance understanding of, and mitigate the negative impacts of, adverse childhood experiences
Driving precision policy responses to child health and developmental inequities
The
growing evidence base on the extent of and opportunities to reduce inequities
in children’s health and development still lacks the specificity to inform
clear policy decisions. A new phase of research is needed that builds on
contemporary directions in precision medicine to develop precision policy
making; with the aim to redress child inequities. This would include
identifying effective interventions and their ideal time point(s), duration,
and intensity to maximise impact. Drawing on existing data sources and
innovations in epidemiology and biostatistics would be key. The economic and
social gains that could be achieved from reducing child inequities are immense.
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The impact of policy modifiable factors on inequalities in rates of child dental caries in Australia
Background: Poor oral health in childhood can lead to adverse impacts later in life. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and population distribution of childhood dental caries in Australia and investigate factors that might ameliorate inequalities. Methods: Data from the nationally representative birth cohort Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N = 5107), using questions assessing: The experience of dental caries during each biennial follow-up period (2-3 years to 10-11 years), socioeconomic position (SEP), and policy modifiable oral health factors. Results: The odds of dental caries were higher for children with lowest vs. highest SEP (adjusted OR (adjOR) 1.92, 95% CI 1.49-2.46), and lower where water was fluoridated to recommended levels (adjOR 0.53, 95% CI 0.43-0.64). There was no evidence of an association between caries experience and either reported sugary diet or tooth brushing. When SEP and fluoridation were considered in conjunction, compared to the highest SEP group with water fluoridation children in the lowest SEP with fluoridation had adjOR 1.54 for caries, (95% CI 1.14-2.07), and children in the lowest SEP without fluoridation had adjOR 4.06 (95% CI 2.88-5.42). For patterns of service use: The highest SEP group reported a greater percentage of service use in the absence of caries. Conclusions: Dental caries appears prevalent and is socially distributed in Australia. Policy efforts should consider how to ensure that children with dental caries receive adequate prevention and early care with equitable uptake.Sharon Goldfeld, Kate Louise Francis, Monsurul Hoq, Loc Do, Elodie O’Connor, and Fiona Mensa
Counting and effective rigidity in algebra and geometry
The purpose of this article is to produce effective versions of some rigidity
results in algebra and geometry. On the geometric side, we focus on the
spectrum of primitive geodesic lengths (resp., complex lengths) for arithmetic
hyperbolic 2-manifolds (resp., 3-manifolds). By work of Reid, this spectrum
determines the commensurability class of the 2-manifold (resp., 3-manifold). We
establish effective versions of these rigidity results by ensuring that, for
two incommensurable arithmetic manifolds of bounded volume, the length sets
(resp., the complex length sets) must disagree for a length that can be
explicitly bounded as a function of volume. We also prove an effective version
of a similar rigidity result established by the second author with Reid on a
surface analog of the length spectrum for hyperbolic 3-manifolds. These
effective results have corresponding algebraic analogs involving maximal
subfields and quaternion subalgebras of quaternion algebras. To prove these
effective rigidity results, we establish results on the asymptotic behavior of
certain algebraic and geometric counting functions which are of independent
interest.Comment: v.2, 39 pages. To appear in Invent. Mat
From Quantum Systems to L-Functions: Pair Correlation Statistics and Beyond
The discovery of connections between the distribution of energy levels of
heavy nuclei and spacings between prime numbers has been one of the most
surprising and fruitful observations in the twentieth century. The connection
between the two areas was first observed through Montgomery's work on the pair
correlation of zeros of the Riemann zeta function. As its generalizations and
consequences have motivated much of the following work, and to this day remains
one of the most important outstanding conjectures in the field, it occupies a
central role in our discussion below. We describe some of the many techniques
and results from the past sixty years, especially the important roles played by
numerical and experimental investigations, that led to the discovery of the
connections and progress towards understanding the behaviors. In our survey of
these two areas, we describe the common mathematics that explains the
remarkable universality. We conclude with some thoughts on what might lie ahead
in the pair correlation of zeros of the zeta function, and other similar
quantities.Comment: Version 1.1, 50 pages, 6 figures. To appear in "Open Problems in
Mathematics", Editors John Nash and Michael Th. Rassias. arXiv admin note:
text overlap with arXiv:0909.491
Elliptic curves of large rank and small conductor
For r=6,7,...,11 we find an elliptic curve E/Q of rank at least r and the
smallest conductor known, improving on the previous records by factors ranging
from 1.0136 (for r=6) to over 100 (for r=10 and r=11). We describe our search
methods, and tabulate, for each r=5,6,...,11, the five curves of lowest
conductor, and (except for r=11) also the five of lowest absolute discriminant,
that we found.Comment: 16 pages, including tables and one .eps figure; to appear in the
Proceedings of ANTS-6 (June 2004, Burlington, VT). Revised somewhat after
comments by J.Silverman on the previous draft, and again to get the correct
page break
Blockade of T-cell activation by dithiocarbamates involves novel mechanisms of inhibition of nuclear factor of activated T cells.
Dithiocarbamates (DTCs) have recently been reported as powerful inhibitors of NF-kappaB activation in a number of cell types. Given the role of this transcription factor in the regulation of gene expression in the inflammatory response, NF-kappaB inhibitors have been suggested as potential therapeutic drugs for inflammatory diseases. We show here that DTCs inhibited both interleukin 2 (IL-2) synthesis and membrane expression of antigens which are induced during T-cell activation. This inhibition, which occurred with a parallel activation of c-Jun transactivating functions and expression, was reflected by transfection experiments at the IL-2 promoter level, and involved not only the inhibition of NF-kappaB-driven reporter activation but also that of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT). Accordingly, electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs) indicated that pyrrolidine DTC (PDTC) prevented NF-kappaB, and NFAT DNA-binding activity in T cells stimulated with either phorbol myristate acetate plus ionophore or antibodies against the CD3-T-cell receptor complex and simultaneously activated the binding of AP-1. Furthermore, PDTC differentially targeted both NFATp and NFATc family members, inhibiting the transactivation functions of NFATp and mRNA induction of NFATc. Strikingly, Western blotting and immunocytochemical experiments indicated that PDTC promoted a transient and rapid shuttling of NFATp and NFATc, leading to their accelerated export from the nucleus of activated T cells. We propose that the activation of an NFAT kinase by PDTC could be responsible for the rapid shuttling of the NFAT, therefore transiently converting the sustained transactivation of this transcription factor that occurs during lymphocyte activation, and show that c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) can act by directly phosphorylating NFATp. In addition, the combined inhibitory effects on NFAT and NF-KB support a potential use of DTCs as immunosuppressants
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