Anal signs of child sexual abuse: a case–control study

Background: There is uncertainty about the nature and specificity of physical signs following anal child sexual abuse. The study investigates the extent to which physical findings discriminate between children with and without a history of anal abuse.<p></p> Methods: Retrospective case note review in a paediatric forensic unit.<p></p> Cases: all eligible cases from 1990 to 2007 alleging anal abuse.<p></p> Controls: all children examined anally from 1998 to 2007 with possible physical abuse or neglect with no identified concern regarding sexual abuse. Fisher’s exact test (two-tailed) was performed to ascertain the significance of differences for individual signs between cases and controls. To explore the potential role of confounding, logistic regression was used to produce odds ratios adjusted for age and gender.<p></p> Results: A total of 184 cases (105 boys, 79 girls), average age 98.5 months (range 26 to 179) were compared with 179 controls (94 boys, 85 girls) average age 83.7 months (range 35–193). Of the cases 136 (74%) had one or more signs described in anal abuse, compared to 29 (16%) controls. 79 (43%) cases and 2 (1.1%) controls had >1 sign. Reflex anal dilatation (RAD) and venous congestion were seen in 22% and 36% of cases but <1% of controls (likelihood ratios (LR) 40, 60 respectively), anal fissure in 14% cases and 1.1% controls (LR 13), anal laxity in 27% cases and 3% controls (LR 10).<p></p> Novel signs seen significantly more commonly in cases were anal fold changes, swelling and twitching. Erythema, swelling and fold changes were seen most commonly within 7 days of last reported contact; RAD, laxity, venous congestion, fissure and twitching were observed up to 6 months after the alleged assault.<p></p> Conclusions: Anal findings are more common in children alleging anal abuse than in those presenting with physical abuse or neglect with no concern about sexual abuse. Multiple signs are rare in controls and support disclosed anal abuse

Magnetic field effects in few-level quantum dots: theory, and application to experiment

We examine several effects of an applied magnetic field on Anderson-type models for both single- and two-level quantum dots, and make direct comparison between numerical renormalization group (NRG) calculations and recent conductance measurements. On the theoretical side the focus is on magnetization, single-particle dynamics and zero-bias conductance, with emphasis on the universality arising in strongly correlated regimes; including a method to obtain the scaling behavior of field-induced Kondo resonance shifts over a very wide field range. NRG is also used to interpret recent experiments on spin-1/2 and spin-1 quantum dots in a magnetic field, which we argue do not wholly probe universal regimes of behavior; and the calculations are shown to yield good qualitative agreement with essentially all features seen in experiment. The results capture in particular the observed field-dependence of the Kondo conductance peak in a spin-1/2 dot, with quantitative deviations from experiment occurring at fields in excess of $\sim$ 5 T, indicating the eventual inadequacy of using the equilibrium single-particle spectrum to calculate the conductance at finite bias.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures. Version as published in PR

Correlated electron physics in multilevel quantum dots: phase transitions, transport, and experiment

We study correlated two-level quantum dots, coupled in effective 1-channel fashion to metallic leads; with electron interactions including on-level and inter-level Coulomb repulsions, as well as the inter-orbital Hund's rule exchange favoring the spin-1 state in the relevant sector of the free dot. For arbitrary dot occupancy, the underlying phases, quantum phase transitions (QPTs), thermodynamics, single-particle dynamics and electronic transport properties are considered; and direct comparison is made to conductance experiments on lateral quantum dots. Two distinct phases arise generically, one characterised by a normal Fermi liquid fixed point (FP), the other by an underscreened (USC) spin-1 FP. Associated QPTs, which occur in general in a mixed valent regime of non-integral dot charge, are found to consist of continuous lines of Kosterlitz-Thouless transitions, separated by first order level-crossing transitions at high symmetry points. A `Friedel-Luttinger sum rule' is derived and, together with a deduced generalization of Luttinger's theorem to the USC phase (a singular Fermi liquid), is used to obtain a general result for the T=0 zero-bias conductance, expressed solely in terms of the dot occupancy and applicable to both phases. Relatedly, dynamical signatures of the QPT show two broad classes of behavior, corresponding to the collapse of either a Kondo resonance, or antiresonance, as the transition is approached from the Fermi liquid phase; the latter behavior being apparent in experimental differential conductance maps. The problem is studied using the numerical renormalization group method, combined with analytical arguments.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures, submitted for publicatio

Arylstibonic acids [H₈(RSb)₁₂O₂₈]; precursors to organometallic isopolyoxostibonates [Na₂H₉(RSb)₁₂O₃₀]-, (R = aryl).

Electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry shows that arylstibonic acids, RSbO₃H₂, give rise to oxo-bridged clusters derived from [H₈(RSb)₁₂O₂₈] which act as inorganic crown ligands towards Na+ cations; structure determination of one derivative revealed a cage-like anion [Na₂H₉(p-O₂NC₆H₄Sb)₁₂O₃₀.4H₂O]-

Money and capital

We revisit classic questions concerning the effects of money on investment in a new framework: a two-sector model where some trade occurs in centralized and some in decentralized markets, as in recent monetary theory, but extended to include capital. This allows us to incorporate novel elements from the microfoundations literature on trading with frictions, including stochastic exchange opportunities, alternative pricing mechanisms, etc. We calibrate models with bargaining and with price taking in the decentralized market.Money ; Capital ; Monetary policy

Preventing and managing plant diseases (2008)

"New 4/08/2M.""Master Gardener.

Homoeopathy

Homoeopathy is a system of treating patients using very low dose preparations according to the principle: "like should be cured with like". This paper summarises the research evidence presented in a recent issue of Effective Health Care on the effectiveness of homoeopathy. Increasing numbers of patients are seeking information on complementary medicines from NHS health professionals. Results of a 1998 survey of use and expenditure on complementary medicine in England suggested that 28% of respondents had either visited a complementary therapist or had purchased an over the counter herbal or homoeopathic remedy in the past year. From this survey it was estimated that there could be over 470 000 recent users of homoeopathic remedies in England

Informational Support And Online Information Seeking: Examining The Association Between Factors Contributing To Healthy Eating Behavior.

This study explores the nature of the relationship between informational social support and components of online health information seeking and how this process influences college students’ healthy eating intentions. Results showed that social support was positively associated with online information seeking and more favorable impressions of nutrition/healthy diet information on the web. In addition, although socialsupport was not associated with healthy eating intentions, all three information-seeking measures significantly predicted this outcome – even after controlling for numerous health-related factors. Additional mediation tests showed that social support had an indirect impact on healthy eating intentions through use as well as through a multi-step process involving perceptions of online resources. Overall, these results suggest that by raising health consciousness, informational support may trigger online health information seeking leading to healthier lifestyle intentions