Comparison of breast and bowel cancer screening uptake patterns in a common cohort of South Asian women in England

Background: Inequalities in uptake of cancer screening by ethnic minority populations are well documented in a number of international studies. However, most studies to date have explored screening uptake for a single cancer only. This paper compares breast and bowel cancer screening uptake for a cohort of South Asian women invited to undertake both, and similarly investigates these women's breast cancer screening behaviour over a period of fifteen years. Methods: Screening data for rounds 1, 2 and 5 (1989-2004) of the NHS breast cancer screening programme and for round 1 of the NHS bowel screening pilot (2000-2002) were obtained for women aged 50-69 resident in the English bowel screening pilot site, Coventry and Warwickshire, who had been invited to undertake breast and bowel cancer screening in the period 2000-2002. Breast and bowel cancer screening uptake levels were calculated and compared using the chi-squared test. Results: 72,566 women were invited to breast and bowel cancer screening after exclusions. Of these, 3,539 were South Asian and 69,027 non-Asian; 18,730 had been invited to mammography over the previous fifteen years (rounds 1 to 5). South Asian women were significantly less likely to undertake both breast and bowel cancer screening; 29.9% (n = 1,057) compared to 59.4% (n = 40,969) for non-Asians (p < 0.001). Women in both groups who consistently chose to undertake breast cancer screening in rounds 1, 2 and 5 were more likely to complete round 1 bowel cancer screening. However, the likelihood of completion of bowel cancer screening was still significantly lower for South Asians; 49.5% vs. 82.3% for non-Asians, p < 0.001. South Asian women who undertook breast cancer screening in only one round were no more likely to complete bowel cancer screening than those who decided against breast cancer screening in all three rounds. In contrast, similar women in the non-Asian population had an increased likelihood of completing the new bowel cancer screening test. The likelihood of continued uptake of mammography after undertaking screening in round 1 differed between South Asian religio-linguistic groups. Noticeably, women in the Muslim population were less likely to continue to participate in mammography than those in other South Asian groups. Conclusions: Culturally appropriate targeted interventions are required to reduce observed disparities in cancer screening uptakes

A luminosity monitor for the A4 parity violation experiment at MAMI

A water Cherenkov luminosity monitor system with associated electronics has been developed for the A4 parity violation experiment at MAMI. The detector system measures the luminosity of the hydrogen target hit by the MAMI electron beam and monitors the stability of the liquid hydrogen target. Both is required for the precise study of the count rate asymmetries in the scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons on unpolarized protons. Any helicity correlated fluctuation of the target density leads to false asymmetries. The performance of the luminosity monitor, investigated in about 2000 hours with electron beam, and the results of its application in the A4 experiment are presented.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, submitted to NIM

Evolution in random fitness landscapes: the infinite sites model

We consider the evolution of an asexually reproducing population in an uncorrelated random fitness landscape in the limit of infinite genome size, which implies that each mutation generates a new fitness value drawn from a probability distribution $g(w)$. This is the finite population version of Kingman's house of cards model [J.F.C. Kingman, \textit{J. Appl. Probab.} \textbf{15}, 1 (1978)]. In contrast to Kingman's work, the focus here is on unbounded distributions $g(w)$ which lead to an indefinite growth of the population fitness. The model is solved analytically in the limit of infinite population size $N \to \infty$ and simulated numerically for finite $N$. When the genome-wide mutation probability $U$ is small, the long time behavior of the model reduces to a point process of fixation events, which is referred to as a \textit{diluted record process} (DRP). The DRP is similar to the standard record process except that a new record candidate (a number that exceeds all previous entries in the sequence) is accepted only with a certain probability that depends on the values of the current record and the candidate. We develop a systematic analytic approximation scheme for the DRP. At finite $U$ the fitness frequency distribution of the population decomposes into a stationary part due to mutations and a traveling wave component due to selection, which is shown to imply a reduction of the mean fitness by a factor of $1-U$ compared to the $U \to 0$ limit.Comment: Dedicated to Thomas Nattermann on the occasion of his 60th birthday. Submitted to JSTAT. Error in Section 3.2 was correcte

Measurement of the Transverse Beam Spin Asymmetry in Elastic Electron Proton Scattering and the Inelastic Contribution to the Imaginary Part of the Two-Photon Exchange Amplitude

We report on a measurement of the asymmetry in the scattering of transversely polarized electrons off unpolarized protons, A$_\perp$, at two Q$^2$ values of \qsquaredaveragedlow (GeV/c)$^2$ and \qsquaredaveragedhighII (GeV/c)$^2$ and a scattering angle of $30^\circ < \theta_e < 40^\circ$. The measured transverse asymmetries are A$_{\perp}$(Q$^2$ = \qsquaredaveragedlow (GeV/c)$^2$) = (\experimentalasymmetry alulowcorr $\pm$ \statisticalerrorlow$_{\rm stat}$ $\pm$ \combinedsyspolerrorlowalucor$_{\rm sys}$) $\times$ 10$^{-6}$ and A$_{\perp}$(Q$^2$ = \qsquaredaveragedhighII (GeV/c)$^2$) = (\experimentalasymme tryaluhighcorr $\pm$ \statisticalerrorhigh$_{\rm stat}$ $\pm$ \combinedsyspolerrorhighalucor$_{\rm sys}$) $\times$ 10$^{-6}$. The first errors denotes the statistical error and the second the systematic uncertainties. A$_\perp$ arises from the imaginary part of the two-photon exchange amplitude and is zero in the one-photon exchange approximation. From comparison with theoretical estimates of A$_\perp$ we conclude that $\pi$N-intermediate states give a substantial contribution to the imaginary part of the two-photon amplitude. The contribution from the ground state proton to the imaginary part of the two-photon exchange can be neglected. There is no obvious reason why this should be different for the real part of the two-photon amplitude, which enters into the radiative corrections for the Rosenbluth separation measurements of the electric form factor of the proton.Comment: 4 figures, submitted to PRL on Oct.

Evaluating Performance of Severly Aphasic Patients on a Computer-aided Visual Communication System

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Evidence for Strange Quark Contributions to the Nucleon's Form Factors at Q2Q^2 = 0.108 (GeV/c)2^2

We report on a measurement of the parity violating asymmetry in the elastic scattering of polarized electrons off unpolarized protons with the A4 apparatus at MAMI in Mainz at a four momentum transfer value of $Q^2$ = \Qsquare (GeV/c)$^2$ and at a forward electron scattering angle of 30$^\circ < \theta_e < 40^\circ$. The measured asymmetry is $A_{LR}(\vec{e}p)$ = (\Aphys $\pm$ \Deltastat$_{stat}$ $\pm$ \Deltasyst$_{syst}$) $\times$ 10$^{-6}$. The expectation from the Standard Model assuming no strangeness contribution to the vector current is A$_0$ = (\Azero $\pm$ \DeltaAzero) $\times$ 10$^{-6}$. We have improved the statistical accuracy by a factor of 3 as compared to our previous measurements at a higher $Q^2$. We have extracted the strangeness contribution to the electromagnetic form factors from our data to be $G_E^s$ + \FakGMs $G_M^s$ = \GEsGMs $\pm$ \DeltaGEsGMs at $Q^2$ = \Qsquare (GeV/c)$^2$. As in our previous measurement at higher momentum transfer for $G_E^s$ + 0.230 $G_M^s$, we again find the value for $G_E^s$ + \FakGMs $G_M^s$ to be positive, this time at an improved significance level of 2 $\sigma$.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Measurement of Strange Quark Contributions to the Nucleon's Form Factors at Q^2=0.230 (GeV/c)^2

We report on a measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in the scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons on unpolarized protons at a $Q^2$ of 0.230 (GeV/c)^2 and a scattering angle of \theta_e = 30^o - 40^o. Using a large acceptance fast PbF_2 calorimeter with a solid angle of \Delta\Omega = 0.62 sr the A4 experiment is the first parity violation experiment to count individual scattering events. The measured asymmetry is A_{phys} =(-5.44 +- 0.54_{stat} +- 0.27_{\rm sys}) 10^{-6}. The Standard Model expectation assuming no strangeness contributions to the vector form factors is $A_0=(-6.30 +- 0.43) 10^{-6}$. The difference is a direct measurement of the strangeness contribution to the vector form factors of the proton. The extracted value is G^s_E + 0.225 G^s_M = 0.039 +- 0.034 or F^s_1 + 0.130 F^s_2 = 0.032 +- 0.028.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Letters on Dec 11, 200

Identity work in different entrepreneurial settings:dominant interpretive repertoires and divergent striving agendas

This paper examines how entrepreneurs within different settings reflect on social interactions to work on their identity. Using life story narratives, we explore a business membership network and a creative hub in the central belt of Scotland. Our subsequent model shows how individuals in these settings use different dominant interpretive repertoires, as represented by structural-instrumental work in the business network and relational work in the creative hub. We also show how the interpretive repertoires both shape and are shaped by what individuals strive for in their identity work: striving for esteem and striving for closeness. We discuss how our findings offer insight into the dynamics of social identities and how they are reproduced and maintained through situated exchange using specific interpretive repertoires and striving agendas