Feeding Records of Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) From Wisconsin

Basic to our understanding of any animal and its habitat requirements is knowing what it eats. Reported here are observations of feeding by 27 species of aphids encountered in Wisconsin over 1992-2002

Feeding Records of Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) From Wisconsin, Supplement

Basic to our understanding of any animal and its habitat requirements is knowing what it eats. Reported here are observations of feeding by 24 species of aphids encountered in Wisconsin over 2002-2010

Cost-effectiveness analysis in R using a multi-state modelling survival analysis framework: a tutorial

This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide to performing cost-effectiveness analysis using a multi-state modelling approach. Alongside the tutorial we provide easy-to-use functions in the statistics package R. We argue this multi-state modelling approach using a package such as R has advantages over approaches where models are built in a spreadsheet package. In particular, using a syntax-based approach means there is a written record of what was done and the calculations are transparent. Reproducing the analysis is straightforward as the syntax just needs to be run again. The approach can be thought of as an alternative way to build a Markov decision analytic model, which also has the option to use a state-arrival extended approach if the Markov property does not hold. In the state-arrival extended multi-state model a covariate that represents patients’ history is included allowing the Markov property to be tested. We illustrate the building of multi-state survival models, making predictions from the models and assessing fits. We then proceed to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis including deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses. Finally, we show how to create two common methods of visualising the results, namely cost-effectiveness planes and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. The analysis is implemented entirely within R. It is based on adaptions to functions in the existing R package mstate, to accommodate parametric multi-state modelling which facilitates extrapolation of survival curves

A simple tool for comparing benefits and “costs” of COVID-19 lockdown exit strategies

As several countries begin to exit various forms of COVID-19 “lockdown,” a simple epidemiological tool – Population Attributable Risk – can help guide decisions about specific exit policy options, by quantifying the proportion of “serious” (hospitalised) COVID-19 cases likely attributable to various combinations of individual risk factors at the population level, such as age alone, versus age combined with the presence of any chronic disease/risk factor. Using recent COVID-19 hospitalisation data from a large hospital network, and current Scottish population age structure and risk-factor prevalences, we show that the likely impact on adult hospitalisations would be very similar (an approximate halving, compared to full lockdown exit for all adults) for the most “moderate” and yet reasonably effective options for continued lockdown: continuing to restrict the social contacts of all persons over 65, compared to all persons over 50 with any chronic disease/risk factor. Other considerations are therefore of critical importance to this decision, such as the equity and acceptability of these two policy options, as well their likely economic impacts.PostprintPeer reviewe

Do the determinants of mental wellbeing vary by housing tenure status? Secondary analysis of a 2017 cross-sectional residents survey in Cornwall, South West of England

Housing is a social determinant of health, comprising multiple interrelated attributes; the current study was developed to examine whether differences in mental wellbeing across housing tenure types might relate to individual, living, or neighbourhood circumstances. To achieve this aim, an exploratory cross-sectional analysis was conducted using secondary data from a county-wide resident survey undertaken by Cornwall Council in 2017. The survey included questions about individual, living, or neighbourhood circumstances, as well as mental wellbeing (Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale). A random sample of 30,152 households in Cornwall were sent the survey, from whom 11,247 valid responses were received (38% response), but only 4085 (13.5%) provided complete data for this study. Stratified stepwise models were estimated to generate hypotheses about inequalities in mental wellbeing related to housing tenure. Health, life satisfaction, and social connectedness were found to be universal determinants of mental wellbeing, whereas issues related to living circumstances (quality of housing, fuel poverty) were only found to be related to wellbeing among residents of privately owned and rented properties. Sense of safety and belonging (neighbourhood circumstances) were also found to be related to wellbeing, which together suggests that whole system place-based home and people/community-centred approaches are needed to reduce inequalities.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Feeding Records of Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) From Wisconsin

Basic to our understanding of any animal and its habitat requirements is knowing what it eats. Reported here are observations of feeding by 27 species of aphids encountered in Wisconsin over 1992-2002

Feeding Records of Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) From Wisconsin, Supplement

Basic to our understanding of any animal and its habitat requirements is knowing what it eats. Reported here are observations of feeding by 24 species of aphids encountered in Wisconsin over 2002-2010

A complexity-informed in-depth case study into the sustainability and impact of a culture of health:The TR14ers community youth dance group

Funding: This study was funded by the NIHR Rapid Funding Scheme (NIHR127482 to KW, AJW and LP, https://www.nihr.ac.uk/funding/public-health-research-programme-rapid-funding-scheme/20247). This paper is independent research and KMW is supported by the National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula.There are calls for researchers to study existing community assets and activities that appear to improve health and have achieved longevity. The TR14ers Community Dance Charity Limited is a community youth dance group that has been running since 2005 providing free weekly sessions for children and adolescents in an economically disadvantaged town in the UK. An in-depth case study employing qualitative, quantitative and participatory methods was undertaken with the TR14ers (current participants and those who have left, co-ordinators and families) over 6 months with the aim of understanding the sustainable processes and impact of the Group. The 12 complex systems’ leverage points described by Meadows and the five domains of adolescent wellbeing developed by the United Nations H6+ Technical Working Group on Adolescent Health and Well-Being were used as frameworks to recognise the complexity of community assets like the TR14ers. The quantitative and qualitative data indicated that being part of the TR14ers contributed to multiple health and wellbeing outcomes. The positive experiences of being a TR14er led members to actively recruit others through word of mouth and public performances. Central to the TR14ers is a commitment to children’s rights, which is communicated formally and informally throughout the membership informing how and what the Group does, leading to the structure and delivery of the Group evolving over time. Members sought to ensure the sustainability of the Group after they had left and were keen to mentor younger members to develop and become the leaders. Based on the insights from this case study we suggest that efforts to develop cultures of health, like the TR14ers, should focus on the core values of the activity or intervention that underpin what it does and how within the local context.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe