A survey of patient reaction to hydrophilic contact lenses

A survey of patient reaction to hydrophilic contact lense

The association of puberty and young adolescent alcohol use: do parents have a moderating role?

Purpose: To explore the extent to which parent-adolescent emotional closeness, family conflict, and parental permissiveness moderate the association of puberty and alcohol use in adolescents (aged 10-14)

Familial alcohol supply, adolescent drinking and early alcohol onset in 45 low and middle income countries

This study estimated the extent of familial alcohol supply in 45 low and middle income countries (LMIC), and examined the country-level effects of familial alcohol supply on adolescents' alcohol use. We used data from 45 LMICs that participated in the Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) between 2003 and 2013 (n = 139,840). The weighted prevalence of familial alcohol supply in each country was estimated. Multilevel binary and ordinal logistic regression analyses were used to examine the country-level effect of familial alcohol supply on early onset of alcohol use (first alcohol before 12), past 30-day alcohol use, lifetime drunkenness and alcohol-related social problems. There were large variations between LMICs in the prevalence of familial alcohol supply and pattern of adolescent alcohol use. The prevalence of familial supply ranged from 0.1% in Tajikistan to 23.8% in St Lucia. It was estimated that a one percentage change in prevalence of familial alcohol supply was associated with 10%, 12% and 12% change in the odds of lifetime drunkenness (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = [1.04, 1.16]), early onset of alcohol use (OR = 1.12, 95% CI = [1.07, 1.08]) and more frequent drinking in the past month (OR = 1.12, 95% CI = [1.04, 1.20]). There were large variations in the prevalence of familial alcohol supply and adolescent alcohol use among LMICs. Adolescents in countries with higher prevalence of familial alcohol supply were more likely to start using alcohol at an earlier age, to have used alcohol in the past 30 days and experience intoxication

Exploring variation in patient access of post-discharge physiotherapy following total hip and knee arthroplasty under a choice based system in the UK: an observational cohort study

Objectives: To assess a targeted ‘therapy as required’ model of post-discharge outpatient physiotherapy provision. Specifically, we investigated what proportion of patients accessed post-discharge physiotherapy following total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA), whether accessing therapy was associated with post-arthroplasty patient reported outcomes and whether it was possible to predict which patients would access post-discharge physiotherapy from pre-operative data.Design Prospective, observational, longitudinal cohort study.Setting: Single National Health Service orthopaedic teaching hospital in the UK.Participants: 1395 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty and 1374 patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty.Primary and secondary outcome measures: Self-reported access of post-discharge physiotherapy, the Oxford Hip or Knee Score, EuroQol 5-dimension questionnaire and post-operative surgical episode satisfaction metric.Results: 662 (48.2%) patients with TKA and 493 (35.3%) patients with THA accessed additional post-discharge physiotherapy. Patient-reported outcomes (

Symptom recognition and health care seeking among immigrants and native Swedish patients with heart failure

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is not known what patient perceptions or beliefs lead to beneficial decisions or response patterns in symptom interpretation among heart failure (HF) patients, especially immigrants. The aim of this study was to explore and compare symptom recognition and health care seeking patterns among immigrants and native Swedes with HF.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study used a qualitative design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 patients with HF, of whom 21 were consecutively selected immigrants and 21 were randomly selected Swedish patients. The interviews were analysed using content analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A majority of the immigrant patients sought health care for symptoms and signs, such as breathing difficulties, fatigue and swelling. Twice as many immigrants as Swedes were unaware of "what the illness experience entailed" and which symptoms indicated worsening of HF.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The symptoms that patients sought care for, were similar among immigrants and Swedes. However, when interpreting symptoms more immigrants were unaware of the connection between the symptoms/signs and their HF condition. More tailored educational interventions might improve recognition of worsening symptoms in immigrant patients with chronic heart failure.</p

Study of Gluon versus Quark Fragmentation in Υ→ggγ\Upsilon\to gg\gamma and e+e−→qqˉγe^{+}e^{-}\to q\bar{q}\gamma Events at \sqrt{s}=10 GeV

Using data collected with the CLEO II detector at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring, we determine the ratio R(chrg) for the mean charged multiplicity observed in Upsilon(1S)->gggamma events, to the mean charged multiplicity observed in e+e- -> qqbar gamma events. We find R(chrg)=1.04+/-0.02+/-0.05 for jet-jet masses less than 7 GeV.Comment: 15 pages, postscript file also available through http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN

The Impact of Thyroid Cancer and Post-Surgical Radioactive Iodine Treatment on the Lives of Thyroid Cancer Survivors: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: Adjuvant treatment with radioactive iodine (RAI) is often considered in the treatment of well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma (WDTC). We explored the recollections of thyroid cancer survivors on the diagnosis of WDTC, adjuvant radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment, and decision-making related to RAI treatment. Participants provided recommendations for healthcare providers on counseling future patients on adjuvant RAI treatment. METHODS: We conducted three focus group sessions, including WDTC survivors recruited from two Canadian academic hospitals. Participants had a prior history of WDTC that was completely resected at primary surgery and had been offered adjuvant RAI treatment. Open-ended questions were used to generate discussion in the groups. Saturation of major themes was achieved among the groups. FINDINGS: There were 16 participants in the study, twelve of whom were women (75%). All but one participant had received RAI treatment (94%). Participants reported that a thyroid cancer diagnosis was life-changing, resulting in feelings of fear and uncertainty. Some participants felt dismissed as not having a serious disease. Some participants reported receiving conflicting messages from healthcare providers on the appropriateness of adjuvant RAI treatment or insufficient information. If RAI-related side effects occurred, their presence was not legitimized by some healthcare providers. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer significantly impacts the lives of survivors. Fear and uncertainty related to a cancer diagnosis, feelings of the diagnosis being dismissed as not serious, conflicting messages about adjuvant RAI treatment, and treatment-related side effects, have been raised as important concerns by thyroid cancer survivors

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission: Optical Telescope Element Design, Development, and Performance

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared space telescope that has recently started its science program which will enable breakthroughs in astrophysics and planetary science. Notably, JWST will provide the very first observations of the earliest luminous objects in the Universe and start a new era of exoplanet atmospheric characterization. This transformative science is enabled by a 6.6 m telescope that is passively cooled with a 5-layer sunshield. The primary mirror is comprised of 18 controllable, low areal density hexagonal segments, that were aligned and phased relative to each other in orbit using innovative image-based wavefront sensing and control algorithms. This revolutionary telescope took more than two decades to develop with a widely distributed team across engineering disciplines. We present an overview of the telescope requirements, architecture, development, superb on-orbit performance, and lessons learned. JWST successfully demonstrates a segmented aperture space telescope and establishes a path to building even larger space telescopes.Comment: accepted by PASP for JWST Overview Special Issue; 34 pages, 25 figure

How Smart Cities Transform Operations Models: A New Research Agenda for Operations Management in the Digital Economy

The notion of smart cities is growing in prominence in the digital economy. The integration of urban infrastructures with information and communication technologies (ICT) enables the development of new operations models. Digitised infrastructures offer opportunities for public and private organisations to design and deliver more customer-centric products or services, particularly for those that require geographical proximity with consumers in the O2O (online to offline) context. A framework is developed and used to analyse three case examples. These cases illustrate the emergence of new operations models and, demonstrate how smart cities are re-defining the characteristics of operations models around their scalability, analytical output and, connectivity. We also explore the feasibility, vulnerability and acceptability of each new operation. This paper contributes to our understanding of how smart cities can potentially transform operational models, and sets out a research agenda for operations management in smart cities in the digital economy