Questions and Answers About the National Survey of Children\u27s Exposure to Violence.

Presents an overview of the National Survey of Children\u27s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), the most comprehensive nationwide survey to date of the incidence and prevalence of children\u27s exposure to violence, sponsored by OJJDP and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and carried out by the Crimes Against Children Research Center of the University of New Hampshire. It outlines the survey’s objectives and key features, how exposure to violence was measured, and plans for followup surveys and publications. NatSCEV bases its estimates on a large, nationally representative sample of more than 4,500 children ages 17 and younger. The survey interviewed caregivers of children ages 9 and younger and children and youth ages 10 to 17 about 45 different kinds of violence, abuse, and victimization in the past year and over the course of their lifetime

Cyanoacetylene in IC 342: An Evolving Dense Gas Component with Starburst Age

We present the first images of the J=5-4 and J=16-15 lines of the dense gas tracer, cyanoacetylene, HC_3N, in an external galaxy. The central 200 pc of the nearby star-forming spiral galaxy, IC 342, was mapped using the VLA and the Plateau de Bure Interferometer. HC_3N(5-4) line emission is found across the nuclear mini-spiral, but is very weak towards the starburst site, the location of the strongest mid-IR and radio emission. The J=16-15 and 10-9 lines are also faint near the large HII region complex, but are brighter relative to the 5-4 line, consistent with higher excitation. The brightest HC_3N emission is located in the northern arm of the nuclear minispiral, 100 pc away from the radio/IR source to the southwest of the nucleus. This location appears less affected by ultraviolet radiation, and may represent a more embedded, earlier stage of star formation. HC_3N excitation temperatures are consistent with those determined from C^{18}O; the gas is dense, 10^{4-5}/cc, and cool, T_K ~< 40 K. So as to not violate limits on the total H_2 mass determined from C^{18}O, at least two dense components are required to model IC 342's giant molecular clouds. These observations suggest that HC_3N(5-4) is an excellent probe of the dense, quiescent gas in galaxies. The high excitation combined with faint emission towards the dense molecular gas at the starburst indicates that it currently lacks large masses of very dense gas. We propose a scenario where the starburst is being caught in the act of dispersing or destroying its dense gas in the presence of the large HII region. This explains the high star formation efficiency seen in the dense component. The little remaining dense gas appears to be in pressure equilibrium with the starburst HII region.Comment: Accepted, AJ. 12 pages, 5 figure

Children\u27s Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and Other Family Violence.

Explores in depth the survey results from the National Survey of Children\u27s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV) regarding exposure to family violence among children in the United States, including exposure to intimate partner violence, assaults by parents on siblings of children surveyed, and other assaults involving teen and adult household members. These results confirm that children are exposed to unacceptable rates of violence in the home. The bulletin presents information regarding the types of exposure to family violence, the gender of the perpetrator, the relationship of the child witness to the perpetrator, and youth\u27s reactions to the incident. It also discusses the implications of the survey data for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers and makes policy recommendations, including better screening protocols for exposure to family violence, improved interventions for those exposed, increased coordination of services for adult and child victims of family violence, and more prevention and education programs to reduce family violence. This is the second in a series of bulletins that present findings from NatSCEV, the most comprehensive nationwide survey to date of the incidence and prevalence of children’s exposure to violence across all ages, settings, and timeframes

Polyvictimization: Children\u27s Exposure to Multiple Types of Violence, Crime, and Abuse.

Presents the findings of the National Survey of Children\u27s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV) regarding children\u27s direct exposure to multiple types of violence, crime, and abuse, also known as polyvictimization. Children and youth who are exposed to multiple types of violence are at particularly high risk for lasting physical, mental, and emotional harm, even compared with children who experience repeated exposures to a single type of violence. Among the key findings: 8 percent of all youth in the nationally representative NatSCEV sample had seven or more different kinds of exposures to violence, crime, and abuse in the past year. These youth also had a disproportionate share of the most serious kinds of victimizations, such as sexual victimization and parental maltreatment. Polyvictimization was most likely to start near the beginning of grade school and the beginning of high school and tended to persist over time. It was associated with a cluster of four prior circumstances or pathways: living in a violent family, living in a distressed and chaotic family, living in a violent neighborhood, and having preexisting psychological symptoms. In addition, polyvictims are overrepresented among certain demographic groups, including boys, African American children, and children in single-parent, stepparent, and other adult caregiver families. This is the third in a series of bulletins that present findings from NatSCEV, the most comprehensive nationwide survey to date of the incidence and prevalence of children\u27s exposure to violence across all ages, settings, and timeframes

Child and Youth Victimization Known to Police, School, and Medical Authorities.

Presents the survey results from the National Survey of Children\u27s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV) regarding authorities\u27 knowledge of victimization incidents involving children and youth, particularly police, school, and medical authorities. Compared with a similar study in the early 1990s, the survey found that authorities were more likely to know about NatSCEV survey participants\u27 exposure to violence, which may reflect efforts by authorities, criminal justice and child protection agencies, and advocates to promote disclosure. This increase in disclosure is also consistent with the decrease in child victimizations during the last two decades. The survey found that 46 percent of children who were victimized in the previous year had at least one victimization known to school, police, and medical authorities, with school authorities (e.g., teachers, principals, and counselors) being the most likely to know of the victimizations. However, police were most likely to know about many of the most serious victimizations. In general, authorities were most likely to know about serious victimizations, including sexual abuse by an adult, kidnapping, and gang or group assaults. They were least likely to know about victimizations committed by other youth, including peer and sibling assaults, dating violence, flashing, and completed or attempted rate. This bulletin also discusses factors that promote or hinder disclosure of victimization incidents to authorities, and the implications of the increase in disclosure for prevention and treatment. This is the fourth in a series of bulletins that present findings from NatSCEV, the most comprehensive nationwide survey to date of the incidence and prevalence of children’s exposure to violence across all ages, settings, and timeframes

Identification of dividing, determined sensory neuron precursors in the mammalian neural crest

Sensory and autonomic neurons of the vertebrate peripheral nervous system are derived from the neural crest. Here we use the expression of lineage-specific transcription factors as a means to identify neuronal subtypes that develop in rat neural crest cultures grown in a defined medium. Sensory neurons, identified by expression of the POU-domain transcription factor Brn-3.0, develop from dividing precursors that differentiate within 2 days following emigration from the neural tube. Most of these precursors generate sensory neurons even when challenged with BMP2, a factor that induces autonomic neurogenesis in many other cells in the explants. Moreover, BMP2 fails to prevent expression of the sensory-specific basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors neurogenin1, neurogenin2 and neuroD, although it induces expression of the autonomic-specific bHLH factor MASH1 and the paired homeodomain factor Phox2a in other cells. These data suggest that there are mitotically active precursors in the mammalian neural crest that can generate sensory neurons even in the presence of a strong autonomic-inducing cue. Further characterization of the neurons generated from such precursors indicates that, under these culture conditions, they exhibit a proprioceptive and/or mechanosensory, but not nociceptive, phenotype. Such precursors may therefore correspond to a lineally (Frank, E. and Sanes, J. (1991) Development 111, 895-908) and genetically (Ma, Q., Fode, C., Guillemot, F. and Anderson, D. J. (1999) Genes Dev. 13, in press) distinct subset of early-differentiating precursors of large-diameter sensory neurons identified in vivo

Modelling rankings in R: the PlackettLuce package

This paper presents the R package PlackettLuce, which implements a generalization of the Plackett-Luce model for rankings data. The generalization accommodates both ties (of arbitrary order) and partial rankings (complete rankings of subsets of items). By default, the implementation adds a set of pseudo-comparisons with a hypothetical item, ensuring that the underlying network of wins and losses between items is always strongly connected. In this way, the worth of each item always has a finite maximum likelihood estimate, with finite standard error. The use of pseudo-comparisons also has a regularization effect, shrinking the estimated parameters towards equal item worth. In addition to standard methods for model summary, PlackettLuce provides a method to compute quasi standard errors for the item parameters. This provides the basis for comparison intervals that do not change with the choice of identifiability constraint placed on the item parameters. Finally, the package provides a method for model-based partitioning using covariates whose values vary between rankings, enabling the identification of subgroups of judges or settings that have different item worths. The features of the package are demonstrated through application to classic and novel data sets.Comment: In v2: review of software implementing alternative models to Plackett-Luce; comparison of algorithms provided by the PlackettLuce package; further examples of rankings where the underlying win-loss network is not strongly connected. In addition, general editing to improve organisation and clarity. In v3: corrected headings Table 4, minor edit

Association of inferior vena cava filter placement for venous thromboembolic disease and a contraindication to anticoagulation with 30-day mortality

Importance: Despite the absence of data from randomized clinical trials, professional societies recommend inferior vena cava (IVC) filters for patients with venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) and a contraindication to anticoagulation therapy. Prior observational studies of IVC filters have suggested a mortality benefit associated with IVC filter insertion but have often failed to adjust for immortal time bias, which is the time before IVC filter insertion, during which death can only occur in the control group. Objective: To determine the association of IVC filter placement with 30-day mortality after adjustment for immortal time bias. Design, Setting, and Participants: This comparative effectiveness, retrospective cohort study used a population-based sample of hospitalized patients with VTE and a contraindication to anticoagulation using the State Inpatient Database and the State Emergency Department Database, part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, from hospitals in California (January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2011), Florida (January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2013), and New York (January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2012). Data analysis was conducted from September 15, 2015, to March 14, 2018. Exposure: Inferior vena cava filter placement. Main Outcomes and Measures: Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were constructed with IVC filters as a time-dependent variable that adjusts for immortal time bias. The Cox model was further adjusted using the propensity score as an adjustment variable. Results: Of 126 030 patients with VTE, 61 281 (48.6%) were male and the mean (SD) age was 66.9 (16.6) years. In this cohort, 45 771 (36.3%) were treated with an IVC filter, whereas 80 259 (63.7%) did not receive a filter. In the Cox model with IVC filter status analyzed as a time-dependent variable to account for immortal time bias, IVC filter placement was associated with a significantly increased hazard ratio of 30-day mortality (1.18; 95% CI, 1.13-1.22; P \u3c .001). When the propensity score was included in the Cox model, IVC filter placement remained associated with an increased hazard ratio of 30-day mortality (1.18; 95% CI, 1.13-1.22; P \u3c .001). Conclusions and Relevance: After adjustment for immortal time bias, IVC filter placement was associated with increased 30-day mortality in patients with VTE and a contraindication to anticoagulation. Randomized clinical trials are needed to determine the efficacy of IVC filter placement in patients with VTE and a contraindication to anticoagulation