1,231 research outputs found
Children’s episodic and generic reports of alleged abuse
With the present data, we explored the relations between the language of interviewer questions, children’s reports, and case and child characteristics in forensic interviews. Results clearly indicated that the type of questions posed by interviewers – either probing generic or episodic features of an event – was related to the specificity of information reported by children. Further, interviewers appeared to adjust their questioning strategies based on the frequency of the alleged abuse. Children alleging single instances of abuse were asked more episodic questions than those alleging multiple abuses. In contrast, children alleging multiple incidents of abuse were asked a greater proportion of generic questions. Given that investigators often seek forensically-relevant episodic information, it is recommended that training for investigators focus on recognition of prompt selection tendencies and developing strategies for posing non-suggestive, episodically focused questions
Supersense and Sensibility: Proxy Tasks for Semantic Annotation of Prepositions
Prepositional supersense annotation is time-consuming and requires expert
training. Here, we present two sensible methods for obtaining prepositional
supersense annotations by eliciting surface substitution and similarity
judgments. Four pilot studies suggest that both methods have potential for
producing prepositional supersense annotations that are comparable in quality
to expert annotations.Comment: Presented at LAW XIV in 202
Defining high probability when making a diagnosis of asthma in primary care: a mixed methods consensus workshop::a mixed methods consensus workshop
One-dimensional stable probability density functions for rational index 0<α≤2
Fox’s H-function provide a unified and elegant framework to tackle several physical phenomena. We solve the space fractional diffusion equation on the real line equipped with a delta distribution initial condition and identify the corresponding H-function by studying the small x expansion of the solution. The asymptotic expansions near zero and infinity are expressed, for rational values of the index α, in terms of a finite series of generalized hypergeometric functions. In x-space, the α=1 stable law is also derived by solving the anomalous diffusion equation with an appropriately chosen infinitesimal generator for time translations. We propose a new classification scheme of stable laws according to which a stable law is now characterized by a generating probability density function. Knowing this elementary probability density function and bearing in mind the infinitely divisible property we can reconstruct the corresponding stable law. Finally, using the asymptotic behavior of H-function in terms of hypergeometric functions we can compute closed expressions for the probability density functions depending on their parameters α β c τ. Known cases are then reproduced and new probability density functions are presented
Diagnostic accuracy of FeNO and asthma symptoms increased when evaluated with a superior reference standard
Diagnostic accuracy of FeNO [fractional exhaled nitric oxide] and asthma symptoms increased when evaluated with a superior reference standard
Objectives:
The objective of the study is to determine the impact of changing reference standards (RS), namely spirometry vs. whole-body plethysmography (WBP), on estimation of the diagnostic accuracy of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and clinical signs and symptoms (CSS) as index tests regarding asthma diagnosis.
Study Design and Setting:
This was a diagnostic study conducted in 393 patients attending a private practice of pneumologists with complaints suspicious of asthma. First, the index tests were compared with the diagnostic results of spirometry in terms of forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) responsiveness. Second, the index tests were compared with the results of WBP in terms of specific airway resistance and FEV1 responsiveness. Areas under the curve (AUC) were compared with a generalized estimating equation approach based on binary logistic regression.
Results:
FeNO values and CSS ‘wheezing’ and ‘allergic rhinitis’ showed higher specificities (P < 0.001) and sensitivities (not significant) when evaluated with WBP; also, Youden indices increased in these CSS (P < 0.05). AUC of FeNO in combination with ‘wheezing’ and ‘allergic rhinitis’ when WBP was used as RS (AUC = 0.724; 95% confidence interval 0.672 to 0.776) was higher compared with spirometry as RS (AUC = 0.654; 95% confidence interval 0.585 to 0.722) (P < 0.001).
Conclusion:
In case of asthma, superior RS led to more favorable assessment of index tests. FeNO measurement might have been underestimated in some previous studies
Self-lensing flares from black hole binaries III: general-relativistic ray tracing of circumbinary accretion simulations
Self-lensing flares (SLFs) are expected to be produced once or twice per
orbit by an accreting massive black hole binary (MBHB), if the eclipsing MBHBs
are observed close to edge-on. SLFs can provide valuable electromagnetic (EM)
signatures to accompany the gravitational waves (GWs) detectable by the
upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). EM follow-ups are crucial
for, e.g., sky-localization, and constraining the Hubble constant and the
graviton mass. We use high-resolution two-dimensional viscous hydrodynamical
simulations of a circumbinary disk (CBD) embedding a MBHB. We then use very
high-cadence output of these hydrodynamical simulation inputs for a
general-relativistic ray-tracing code to produce synthetic spectra and
phase-folded light curves. Our main results show a significant periodic
amplification of the flux with the characteristic shape of a sharp flare with a
central dip, as the foreground black hole (BH) transits across the minidisk and
shadow of the background BH, respectively. These corroborate previous
conclusions based on the microlensing approximation and analytical toy models
of the emission geometry. We also find that at lower inclinations, without some
occlusion of the minidisk emission by the CBD, shocks from quasi-periodic
mass-trading between the minidisks can produce bright flares which can mimic
SLFs and could hinder their identification.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, submitted to journal, split Fig. 1 by
frequency, fixed some typo
Phase I/II sequencing study of azacitidine, epacadostat, and pembrolizumab in advanced solid tumors
Cancer epigenetics; Cancer immunotherapyEpigenética del cáncer; Inmunoterapia contra el cáncerEpigenètica del cà ncer; Immunoterà pia del cà ncerBackground
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1), an interferon-inducible enzyme, contributes to tumor immune intolerance. Immune checkpoint inhibition may increase interferon levels; combining IDO1 inhibition with immune checkpoint blockade represents an attractive strategy. Epigenetic agents trigger interferon responses and may serve as an immunotherapy priming method. We evaluated whether epigenetic therapy plus IDO1 inhibition and immune checkpoint blockade confers clinical benefit to patients with advanced solid tumors.
Methods
ECHO-206 was a Phase I/II study where treatment-experienced patients with advanced solid tumors (N = 70) received azacitidine plus an immunotherapy doublet (epacadostat [IDO1 inhibitor] and pembrolizumab). Sequencing of treatment was also assessed. Primary endpoints were safety/tolerability (Phase I), maximum tolerated dose (MTD) or pharmacologically active dose (PAD; Phase I), and investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR; Phase II).
Results
In Phase I, no dose-limiting toxicities were reported, the MTD was not reached; a PAD was not determined. ORR was 5.7%, with four partial responses. The most common treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were fatigue (42.9%) and nausea (42.9%). Twelve (17.1%) patients experienced ≥1 fatal AE, one of which (asthenia) was treatment-related.
Conclusions
Although the azacitidine-epacadostat-pembrolizumab regimen was well tolerated, it was not associated with substantial clinical response in patients with advanced solid tumors previously exposed to immunotherapy.This study was sponsored by Incyte Corporation
Disappearing thermal X-ray emission as a tell-tale signature of merging massive black hole binaries
The upcoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is expected to detect
gravitational waves (GWs) from massive black hole binaries (MBHB). Finding the
electromagnetic (EM) counterparts for these GW events will be crucial for
understanding how and where MBHBs merge, measuring their redshifts,
constraining the Hubble constant and the graviton mass, and for other novel
science applications. However, due to poor GW sky localisation,
multi-wavelength, time-dependent electromagnetic (EM) models are needed to
identify the right host galaxy among many candidates. We studied merging MBHBs
embedded in a circumbinary disc using high-resolution two-dimensional
simulations, with a -law equation of state, incorporating viscous
heating, shock heating, and radiative cooling. We simulate the binary from
large separation until after merger, allowing us to model the decoupling of the
binary from the circumbinary disc (CBD). We compute the EM signatures and
identify distinct features before, during, and after the merger. Our main
result is a multi-band EM signature: we find that the MBHB produces strong
thermal X-ray emission until 1-2 days prior to the merger. However, as the
binary decouples from the CBD, the X-ray-bright minidiscs rapidly shrink in
size, become disrupted, and the accretion rate drops precipitously. As a
result, the thermal X-ray luminosity drops by orders of magnitude, and the
source remains X-ray dark for several days after the merger, regardless of any
post-merger effects such as GW recoil or mass loss. Looking for the abrupt
spectral change where the thermal X-ray disappears is a tell-tale EM signature
of LISA mergers that does not require extensive pre-merger monitoring.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures, 1 table, submitted to journa
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