The entropy of alpha-continued fractions: numerical results

We consider the one-parameter family of interval maps arising from generalized continued fraction expansions known as alpha-continued fractions. For such maps, we perform a numerical study of the behaviour of metric entropy as a function of the parameter. The behaviour of entropy is known to be quite regular for parameters for which a matching condition on the orbits of the endpoints holds. We give a detailed description of the set M where this condition is met: it consists of a countable union of open intervals, corresponding to different combinatorial data, which appear to be arranged in a hierarchical structure. Our experimental data suggest that the complement of M is a proper subset of the set of bounded-type numbers, hence it has measure zero. Furthermore, we give evidence that the entropy on matching intervals is smooth; on the other hand, we can construct points outside of M on which it is not even locally monotone.Comment: 33 pages, 14 figure

Survival and Neural Models for Private Equity Exit Prediction

Within the Private Equity (PE) market, the event of a private company undertaking an Initial Public Offering (IPO) is usually a very high-return one for the investors in the company. For this reason, an effective predictive model for the IPO event is considered as a valuable tool in the PE market, an endeavor in which publicly available quantitative information is generally scarce. In this paper, we describe a data-analytic procedure for predicting the probability with which a company will go public in a given forward period of time. The proposed method is based on the interplay of a neural network (NN) model for estimating the overall event probability, and Survival Analysis (SA) for further modeling the probability of the IPO event in any given interval of time. The proposed neuro-survival model is tuned and tested across nine industrial sectors using real data from the Thomson Reuters Eikon PE database

Natural extensions and entropy of α\alpha-continued fractions

We construct a natural extension for each of Nakada's $\alpha$-continued fractions and show the continuity as a function of $\alpha$ of both the entropy and the measure of the natural extension domain with respect to the density function $(1+xy)^{-2}$. In particular, we show that, for all $0 < \alpha \le 1$, the product of the entropy with the measure of the domain equals $\pi^2/6$. As a key step, we give the explicit relationship between the $\alpha$-expansion of $\alpha-1$ and of $\alpha$

Instruments Measuring Self-Care in Children and Young Adults With Chronic Conditions: A Systematic Review

: Children and young adults (CYAs) with chronic conditions need to engage in self-care to improve their quality of life. This study aimed to retrieve the literature on instruments to assess self-care in CYAs living with chronic conditions and evaluate the psychometric proprieties of the instruments retrieved. A systematic literature review was conducted on six databases to identify peer-reviewed papers that described or used an evaluation instrument of self-care in CYAs with chronic conditions. Twenty-three articles describing 11 instruments of self-care were identified. Five instruments (45.45%) were developed for specific diseases, while six (54.54%) for various chronic illnesses. Most of the instruments were focused on treatment adherence within self-care maintenance (i.e., behaviors to maintain illness stability), excluding the monitoring of clinical parameters or the management of exacerbations. This review provides an overview of available instruments that measure self-care in CYAs with chronic conditions, which health professionals could use for patient education

Self-care in pediatric patients with chronic conditions: A systematic review of theoretical models

Background: To improve outcomes in children and young adults (CYAs) with chronic conditions, it is important to promote self-care through education and support. Aims: (1) to retrieve the literature describing theories or conceptual models of self-care in CYAs with chronic conditions and (2) to develop a comprehensive framework. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on nine databases, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. All peer-reviewed papers describing a theory or a conceptual model of self-care in CYAs (0-24 years) with chronic conditions were included. Results: Of 2674 records, 17 met the inclusion criteria. Six papers included a theory or a model of self-care, self-management, or a similar concept. Six papers developed or revised pre-existing models or theories, while five papers did not directly focus on a specific model or a theory. Patients were CYAs, mainly with type 1 diabetes mellitus and asthma. Some relevant findings about self-care in CYAs with neurocognitive impairment and in those living with cancer may have been missed. Conclusions: By aggregating the key elements of the 13 self-care conceptual models identified in the review, we developed a new overarching model emphasizing the shift of self-care agency from family to patients as main actors of their self-management process. The model describes influencing factors, self-care behaviors, and outcomes; the more patients engaged in self-care behaviors, the more the outcomes were favorable

Pediatric nurses in pediatricians' offices: a survey for primary care pediatricians

Background: The role played by nurses in caring for children in pediatricians' officies in the community is crucial to ensure integrated care. In Italy, pediatricians are responsible for the health of children aged 0-14 years living in the community. This study aimed to describe Italian primary care pediatricians' opinions about the usefulness of several nursing activities that pediatric nurses could perform in pediatricians' offices. Methods: An online survey with pediatricians working in primary care in Italy was conducted between April-December 2018. A 40-item questionnaire was used to assess four types of nursing activities: clinical care, healthcare education, disease prevention, and organizational activities. The answers ranged from 1 (not useful at all) to 6 (very useful). Moreover, three open-ended questions completed the questionnaire. Results: Overall, 707 pediatricians completed the online survey. Participants were mainly female (63%), with a mean age of 57.74 (SD = 6.42). The presence of a pediatric nurse within the pediatrician's office was considered very useful, especially for healthcare education (Mean 4.90; SD 1.12) and disease prevention (Mean 4.82; SD 1.11). Multivariate analysis confirmed that pediatricians 'with less working experience', 'having their office in a small town', and 'collaborating with a secretary and other workers in the office' rated the nurse's activities significantly more useful. Conclusions: A pediatric nurse in the pediatrician's office can significantly contribute to many activities for children and their families in the community. These activities include clinical care, healthcare education, disease prevention, and the organizational processes of the office. Synergic professional activity between pediatricians and pediatric nurses could ensure higher health care standards in the primary care setting

Measurement of the Branching Fraction for B- --> D0 K*-

We present a measurement of the branching fraction for the decay B- --> D0 K*- using a sample of approximately 86 million BBbar pairs collected by the BaBar detector from e+e- collisions near the Y(4S) resonance. The D0 is detected through its decays to K- pi+, K- pi+ pi0 and K- pi+ pi- pi+, and the K*- through its decay to K0S pi-. We measure the branching fraction to be B.F.(B- --> D0 K*-)= (6.3 +/- 0.7(stat.) +/- 0.5(syst.)) x 10^{-4}.Comment: 7 pages, 1 postscript figure, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications

Evidence for the Rare Decay B -> K*ll and Measurement of the B -> Kll Branching Fraction

We present evidence for the flavor-changing neutral current decay $B\to K^*\ell^+\ell^-$ and a measurement of the branching fraction for the related process $B\to K\ell^+\ell^-$, where $\ell^+\ell^-$ is either an $e^+e^-$ or $\mu^+\mu^-$ pair. These decays are highly suppressed in the Standard Model, and they are sensitive to contributions from new particles in the intermediate state. The data sample comprises $123\times 10^6$ $\Upsilon(4S)\to B\bar{B}$ decays collected with the Babar detector at the PEP-II $e^+e^-$ storage ring. Averaging over $K^{(*)}$ isospin and lepton flavor, we obtain the branching fractions ${\mathcal B}(B\to K\ell^+\ell^-)=(0.65^{+0.14}_{-0.13}\pm 0.04)\times 10^{-6}$ and ${\mathcal B}(B\to K^*\ell^+\ell^-)=(0.88^{+0.33}_{-0.29}\pm 0.10)\times 10^{-6}$, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The significance of the $B\to K\ell^+\ell^-$ signal is over $8\sigma$, while for $B\to K^*\ell^+\ell^-$ it is $3.3\sigma$.Comment: 7 pages, 2 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Study of e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 process using initial state radiation with BABAR

The process e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 gamma has been studied at a center-of-mass energy near the Y(4S) resonance using a 89.3 fb-1 data sample collected with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II collider. From the measured 3pi mass spectrum we have obtained the products of branching fractions for the omega and phi mesons, B(omega --> e+e-)B(omega --> 3pi)=(6.70 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.27)10-5 and B(phi --> e+e-)B(phi --> 3pi)=(4.30 +/- 0.08 +/- 0.21)10-5, and evaluated the e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 cross section for the e+e- center-of-mass energy range 1.05 to 3.00 GeV. About 900 e+e- --> J/psi gamma --> pi+ pi- pi0 gamma events have been selected and the branching fraction B(J/psi --> pi+ pi- pi0)=(2.18 +/- 0.19)% has been measured.Comment: 21 pages, 37 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Conditional deletion of epithelial IKKβ impairs alveolar formation through apoptosis and decreased VEGF expression during early mouse lung morphogenesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Alveolar septation marks the beginning of the transition from the saccular to alveolar stage of lung development. Inflammation can disrupt this process and permanently impair alveolar formation resulting in alveolar hypoplasia as seen in bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm newborns. NF-κB is a transcription factor central to multiple inflammatory and developmental pathways including dorsal-ventral patterning in fruit flies; limb, mammary and submandibular gland development in mice; and branching morphogenesis in chick lungs. We have previously shown that epithelial overexpression of NF-κB accelerates lung maturity using transgenic mice. The purpose of this study was to test our hypothesis that targeted deletion of NF-κB signaling in lung epithelium would impair alveolar formation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We generated double transgenic mice with lung epithelium-specific deletion of IKKβ, a known activating kinase upstream of NF-κB, using a cre-<it>loxP </it>transgenic recombination strategy. Lungs of resulting progeny were analyzed at embryonic and early postnatal stages to determine specific effects on lung histology, and mRNA and protein expression of relevant lung morphoreulatory genes. Lastly, results measuring expression of the angiogenic factor, VEGF, were confirmed <it>in vitro </it>using a siRNA-knockdown strategy in cultured mouse lung epithelial cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results showed that IKKβ deletion in the lung epithelium transiently decreased alveolar type I and type II cells and myofibroblasts and delayed alveolar formation. These effects were mediated through increased alveolar type II cell apoptosis and decreased epithelial VEGF expression.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that epithelial NF-κB plays a critical role in early alveolar development possibly through regulation of VEGF.</p