MacArthur Foundation's Initiative to Promote Midwifery in Mexico, Complete Baseline Report

This baseline report is a first step in the evaluation of the MacArthur Foundation's initiative to improve maternal and reproductive health in Mexico by helping to institutionalize professional midwifery. The foundation's strategy concentrates on contributing to lasting, measurable, and targeted changes in the maternal and reproductive health landscape of Mexico by capitalizing on and strengthening momentum around building a new cadre of professional midwives, in order to reach a tipping point that will allow for improved quality of care and, eventually, better maternal health outcomes.The purpose of the baseline evaluation was to understand the starting points for the initiative with respect to:Midwifery and maternal health care in MexicoTraining in professional midwiferyDemand for and understanding of professional midwiferyThe legal and policy framewor

Bidding for Offshore Oil: Toward an Optimal Strategy

The outcome of the drilling of a wildcat well on a lease is almost never known precisely at the time the well is drilled. In fact, even a probability density function of the present values of the possible outcomes is typically not known with certainty. But even wildcat wells are not drilled blindly; before a rational entrepreneur undertakes such a project, he must have enough information to convince him that the possibilities of gain are sufficient to justify the drilling costs. Thus, it can be persuasively argued that, although a potential investor may not be able to specify an objective probability density function, he, in effect, does crudely specify a subjective probability density function in the process of deciding whether or not to undertake the investment

Evaluating the implementation of injury prevention strategies in rugby union and league: a systematic review using the RE-AIM framework

Rugby (union and league) has come under intense scrutiny due to its injury risk. Various interventions have been introduced to protect players from injury, with many deemed efficacious and advocated for use across various worldwide contexts. However, their implementation is less clear. The objective of this systematic review was to determine whether injury prevention interventions in rugby have evaluated their ‘reach’, ‘effectiveness’, ‘adoption’, ‘implementation’ and ‘maintenance’ as per the RE-AIM Multi-Dimension Item Checklist. Six electronic databases were searched in November 2019. Inclusion criteria included: English language, peer-reviewed journal article, original research, field-based rugby code, prospective intervention. Of the 4253 studies identified, 74 met the full inclusion criteria. Protective equipment, predominately mouthguards, was the intervention of interest in 44 studies. Other interventions included multimodal national injury prevention programmes, law changes and neuromuscular training programmes. ‘Effectiveness’ was the highest scoring RE-AIM dimension (55%), followed by ‘reach’ (26%). All other RE-AIM dimensions scored below 20%. Research currently focuses on determining intervention ‘effectiveness’. For injury prevention strategies to have their desired impact, there must be a shift to address all determinants associated with implementation. Consideration should be given to how this can be achieved by adopting specific reporting checklists, research frameworks and study designs

Adsorption and melting of hydrogen in potassium-intercalated graphite

Volumetric adsorption and quasielastic neutron scattering are used to study the diffusion and thermodynamics of sorbed H_2 in the graphite intercalation compound KC24. A sorption enthalpy of 8.5 kJ/mol at zero coverage is determined from H_2 adsorption isotherms. From measurements of total elastic-neutron-scattering intensity as a function of temperature, a melting transition of the H_2 adsorbate is observed at 35 K for KC_(24)(H_2)_1. Quasielastic-neutron-scattering (QENS) spectra reveal distinct slow- and fast-H_2-diffusion processes which exist simultaneously at temperatures above the transition point. The temperature dependence of the characteristic diffusion times follows an Arrhenius relation tau=tau_0 exp(E_a/T), where tau_0^(fast)=1.0±0.1 ps, tau_0^(slow)=21±2 ps, E_a^(fast)=156±5 K, and E_a^(slow)=189±5 K. The fast-diffusion process is attributable to individual motions of H_2 molecules in a static potassium structure, and the slow-diffusion process could be attributable to fluctuations in H_2 particle density correlated with jumps of potassium atoms. The QENS spectra at low Q are used to discuss the dimensionality of the diffusion process

The Midwest Feeds Consortium: Final Report

The strategic intent of the Midwest Feeds Consortium (MFC) was to decrease the dependence of the U.S. agriculture and aquaculture feed industries on imported marine protein meals and to increase the utilization and export of plant and animal coproduct protein meals to the international aquaculture industry. Replacement of marine meals in feeds traditionally dependent on these protein sources with grains, oilseed, and animal coproduct protein meals common to the U.S. Midwest would be accomplished through innovative, value-added ingredient processing technology. Through systematic, integrated, industry-directed research to develop ingredient composition, quality, digestibility, and economic values, the U.S. and international feed industry would then be able to rapidly incorporate the findings into their ingredient and equipment-purchasing decisions. The work described herein drew heavily upon recommendations developed by the MFC workshop, which was the first United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded undertaking by the Consortium. The priority activities were industry linkages, ingredient processing, ingredient testing, and technology transfer. After the initial workshop, the Consortium underwent several changes in management structure, participants, and directions, which slowed progress considerably. In May 1997, a focus meeting was held in Des Moines, Iowa, between principal Consortium participants to modify priorities and reestablish timelines. The project reemerged with objectives designed to meet the priority issues of the project

The Orbit, Mass, and Albedo of Transneptunian Binary 1999 RZ253

We have observed 1999 RZ253 with the Hubble Space Telescope at seven separate epochs and have fit an orbit to the observed relative positions of this binary. Two orbital solutions have been identified that differ primarily in the inclination of the orbit plane. The best fit corresponds to an orbital period, P=46.263 +0.006/-0.074 days, semimajor axis a=4,660 +/-170 km and orbital eccentricity e=0.460 +/-0.013 corresponding to a system mass m=3.7 +/-0.4 x10^18 kg. For a density of rho = 1000 kg m^-3 the albedo at 477 nm is p = 0.12 +/-0.01, significantly higher than has been commonly assumed for objects in the Kuiper Belt. Multicolor, multiepoch photometry shows this pair to have colors typical for the Kuiper belt with a spectral gradient of 0.35 per 100 nm in the range between 475 and 775 nm. Photometric variations at the four epochs we observed were as large as 12 +/-3% but the sampling is insufficient to confirm the existence of a lightcurve

A Precision Calculation of the Next-to-Leading Order Energy-Energy Correlation Function

The O(alpha_s^2) contribution to the Energy-Energy Correlation function (EEC) of e+e- -> hadrons is calculated to high precision and the results are shown to be larger than previously reported. The consistency with the leading logarithm approximation and the accurate cancellation of infrared singularities exhibited by the new calculation suggest that it is reliable. We offer evidence that the source of the disagreement with previous results lies in the regulation of double singularities.Comment: 6 pages, uuencoded LaTeX and one eps figure appended Complete paper as PostScript file (125 kB) available at: http://www.phys.washington.edu/~clay/eecpaper1/paper.htm

Injuries in elite men’s Rugby Union:An updated (2012-2020) meta-analysis of 11,620 match and training injuries

BACKGROUND: The most recent meta-analytic review of injuries in elite senior men’s Rugby Union was published in 2013. The demands of the game at the elite level are continually changing alongside law amendments and developments in player preparation. As such, an updated meta-analysis of injury data in this setting is necessary. OBJECTIVE: To meta-analyse time-loss injury data in elite senior men’s Rugby Union between 2012 and 2020. METHODS: Electronic databases were searched using the keywords ‘rugby’ and ‘inj*’. Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Injury incidence rate data were modelled using a mixed-effects Poisson regression model. Days missed data were modelled using a general linear mixed model. RESULTS: The included data encompassed a total of 8819 match injuries and 2801 training injuries. The overall incidence rate of injuries in matches was 91 per 1000 h (95% confidence interval (CI) 77–106). The estimated mean days missed per match injury was 27 days (95% CI 23–32). The overall incidence rate of match concussions was 12 per 1000 h (95% CI 9–15). The overall incidence rate of training injuries was 2.8 per 1000 h (95% CI 1.9–4.0). Playing level was not a significant effect modifier for any outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The injury incidence rate and mean days missed per injury in the present meta-analysis were higher, but statistically equivalent to, the 2013 meta-analysis (81 per 1000 h and 20 days, respectively). The injury incidence rate for match injuries in elite senior men’s Rugby Union is high in comparison to most team sports, though the training injury incidence rate compares favourably. The tackle event and concussion injuries should continue to be the focus of future preventative efforts. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40279-021-01603-w