Resource use data by patient report or hospital records: Do they agree?

Background: Economic evaluations alongside clinical trials are becoming increasingly common. Cost data are often collected through the use of postal questionnaires; however, the accuracy of this method is uncertain. We compared postal questionnaires with hospital records for collecting data on physiotherapy service use. Methods: As part of a randomised trial of orthopaedic medicine compared with orthopaedic surgery we collected physiotherapy use data on a group of patients from retrospective postal questionnaires and from hospital records. Results: 315 patients were referred for physiotherapy. Hospital data on attendances was available for 30% (n = 96), compared with 48% (n = 150) of patients completing questionnaire data (95% Cl for difference = 10% to 24%); 19% (n = 59) had data available from both sources. The two methods produced an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.54 (95% Cl 0.31 to 0.70). However, the two methods produced significantly different estimates of resource use with patient self report recalling a mean of 1.3 extra visits (95% Cl 0.4 to 2.2) compared with hospital records. Conclusions: Using questionnaires in this study produced data on a greater number of patients compared with examination of hospital records. However, the two data sources did differ in the quantity of physiotherapy used and this should be taken into account in any analysi

Heterogeneity in multiple perpetrator rapes:a national comparison of lone, duo and 3+ perpetrator rapes

The effect of number of perpetrators involved in multiple perpetrator rapes on offense characteristics is underresearched despite beliefs that duos/dyads differ in their interactions and dynamics to groups of 3+ members. We analyzed a national sample of 336 allegations of completed and attempted rape of female victims from the United Kingdom. Rapes committed by multiple (duos and groups of 3+ perpetrators) and lone offenders were compared on offense characteristics (incorporating the approach, maintenance, and closure phases of each rape) and victim and offender sociodemographic characteristics. Significant differences between rapes committed by lone, duo, and 3+ group offenders were found for the age and ethnicity of the offenders; the type of approach used; the locations of the initial contact, assault, and release of the victims; the use of a vehicle; the precautions utilized; the verbal themes present; and the sex acts performed. These results have implications for educational prevention programs and interventions with offenders. </jats:p

Modelling water vapor permeability through atomic layer deposition coated photovoltaic barrier defects

Transparent barrier films such as Al2O3 used for prevention of oxygen and/or water vapour permeation are the subject of increasing research interest when used for the encapsulation of flexible photovoltaic modules. However, the existence of micro-scale defects in the barrier surface topography has been shown to have the potential to facilitate water vapour ingress, thereby reducing cell efficiency and causing internal electrical shorts. Previous work has shown that small defects (≤ 3 μm lateral dimension) were less significant in determining water vapour ingress. In contrast, larger defects (≥ 3 μm lateral dimension) seem to be more detrimental to the barrier functionality. Experimental results based on surface topography segmentation analysis and a model presented in this paper, will be used to test the hypothesis that the major contributing defects to water vapour transmission rate are small numbers of large defects. The model highlighted in this study has the potential to be used for gaining a better understanding of photovoltaic module efficiency and performance

Leadership in Multiple Perpetrator Stranger Rape.

Sexual offences by multiple perpetrators are more violent and involve more severe forms of sexual violation than those perpetrated by a lone offender. Often a clear leader exists within these groups. Questions have been raised as to the relative risk of reoffending and the potentially differing criminogenic needs of leaders and followers. However, a recent study comparing leaders and followers in juvenile multiple perpetrator rapes (t’Hart-Kerkhoffs et al., 2011) failed to find some of the expected differences. It was proposed that this might be due, in part, to the way leaders and followers were cclassified in the study. Before work can progress in this area, it is important to devise reliable and valid means of identifying leaders and followers in multiple perpetrator rape. This article reports on a study which investigated the utility of two different methods of identifying leadership. The Scale of Influence (Porter &amp; Alison, 2001) was applied to a sample of 256 offenders responsible for 95 multiple perpetrator rapes from the United Kingdom. Following this, the relative number of directives uttered by offenders was used to designate leadership. In 66% of the offences sampled, a leader was designated using the number of directives uttered compared with 80% when using the Scale of Influence. When combining both measures to form a composite measure of leadership, this percentage increased to 89%. Classifications of offenders as leaders, followers, and neither, according to the Scale of Influence, the count of directives, and the composite measure, were compared with classifications made by a practitioner to assess their concordance. The composite measure showed the greatest agreement with practitioner opinion. These findings suggest that the Scale of Influence could be developed to take account of other ways that leadership is displayed during multiple perpetrator rapes. </jats:p

Quantifying the Universality of the Stellar Initial Mass Function in Old Star Clusters

We present a new technique to quantify cluster-to-cluster variations in the observed present-day stellar mass functions of a large sample of star clusters. Our method quantifies these differences as a function of both the stellar mass and the total cluster mass, and offers the advantage that it is insensitive to the precise functional form of the mass function. We applied our technique to data taken from the ACS Survey for Globular Clusters, from which we obtained completeness-corrected stellar mass functions in the mass range 0.25-0.75 M$_{\odot}$ for a sample of 27 clusters. The results of our observational analysis were then compared to Monte Carlo simulations for globular cluster evolution spanning a range of initial mass functions, total numbers of stars, concentrations, and virial radii. We show that the present-day mass functions of the clusters in our sample can be reproduced by assuming an universal initial mass function for all clusters, and that the cluster-to-cluster differences are consistent with what is expected from two-body relaxation. A more complete exploration of the initial cluster conditions will be needed in future studies to better constrain the precise functional form of the initial mass function. This study is a first step toward using our technique to constrain the dynamical histories of a large sample of old Galactic star clusters and, by extension, star formation in the early Universe.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS, proof corrections made in updated versio

Macroscopic transport by synthetic molecular machines

Nature uses molecular motors and machines in virtually every significant biological process, but demonstrating that simpler artificial structures operating through the same gross mechanisms can be interfaced with—and perform physical tasks in—the macroscopic world represents a significant hurdle for molecular nanotechnology. Here we describe a wholly synthetic molecular system that converts an external energy source (light) into biased brownian motion to transport a macroscopic cargo and do measurable work. The millimetre-scale directional transport of a liquid on a surface is achieved by using the biased brownian motion of stimuli-responsive rotaxanes (‘molecular shuttles’) to expose or conceal fluoroalkane residues and thereby modify surface tension. The collective operation of a monolayer of the molecular shuttles is sufficient to power the movement of a microlitre droplet of diiodomethane up a twelve-degree incline.

Fluoroquinolone resistance during 2000–2005 : An observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Moxifloxacin is a respiratory fluoroquinolone with a community acquired pneumonia indication. Unlike other fluoroquinolones used in our healthcare system, moxifloxacin's urinary excretion is low and thus we hypothesized that increased use of moxifloxacin is associated with an increase in fluoroquinolone resistance amongst gram negative uropathogens.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All antibiograms for Gram negative bacteria were obtained for 2000 to 2005. The defined daily dose (DDD) for each fluoroquinolone was computed according to World Health Organization criteria. To account for fluctuation in patient volume, DDD/1000 bed days was computed for each year of study. Association between DDD/1000 bed days for each fluoroquinolone and the susceptibility of Gram negative bacteria to ciprofloxacin was assessed using Pearson's Correlation Coefficient, r.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the study period, there were 48,261 antibiograms, 347,931 DDD of fluoroquinolones, and 1,943,338 bed days. Use of fluoroquinolones among inpatients decreased from 237.2 DDD/1000 bed days in 2000 to 115.2 DDD/1000 bed days in 2005. With the exception of <it>Enterobacter aerogenes</it>, moxifloxacin use was negatively correlated with sensitivity among all 13 Gram negative species evaluated (r = -0.07 to -0.97). When the sensitivities of all Gram negative organisms were aggregated, all fluoroquinolones except moxifloxacin were associated with increased sensitivity (r = 0.486 to 1.000) while moxifloxacin was associated with decreased sensitivity (r = -0.464).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Moxifloxacin, while indicated for empiric treatment of community acquired pneumonia, may have important negative influence on local antibiotic sensitivities amongst Gram negative organisms. This effect was not shared by other commonly used members of the fluoroquinolone class.</p