Weekend admission and mortality for gastrointestinal disorders across England and Wales

BACKGROUND: Little has been reported on mortality following admissions at weekends for many gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. The aim was to establish whether GI disorders are susceptible to increased mortality following unscheduled admission on weekends compared with weekdays. METHODS: Record linkage was undertaken of national administrative inpatient and mortality data for people in England and Wales who were hospitalized as an emergency for one of 19 major GI disorders. RESULTS: The study included 2 254 701 people in England and 155 464 in Wales. For 11 general surgical and medical GI disorders there were little, or no, significant weekend effects on mortality at 30 days in either country. There were large consistent weekend effects in both countries for severe liver disease (England: 26·2 (95 per cent c.i. 21·1 to 31·6) per cent; Wales: 32·0 (12·4 to 55·1 per cent) and GI cancer (England: 21·8 (19·1 to 24·5) per cent; Wales: 25·0 (15·0 to 35·9) per cent), which were lower in patients managed by surgeons. Admission rates were lower at weekends than on weekdays, most strongly for severe liver disease (by 43·3 per cent in England and 51·4 per cent in Wales) and GI cancer (by 44·6 and 52·8 per cent respectively). Both mortality and the weekend mortality effect for GI cancer were lower for patients managed by surgeons. DISCUSSION: There is little, or no, evidence of a weekend mortality effect for most major general surgical or medical GI disorders, but large weekend effects for GI cancer and severe liver disease. Lower admission rates at weekends indicate more severe cases. The findings for severe liver disease may suggest a lack of specialist hepatological resources. For cancers, reduced availability of end-of-life care in the community at weekends may be the cause

eta and eta' in a coupled Schwinger-Dyson and Bethe-Salpeter approach. II. The gamma^* gamma transition form factors

The applications of the consistently coupled Schwinger-Dyson and Bethe-Salpeter approach to the eta-eta' complex are extended to the two-photon transition form factors of eta and eta' for spacelike transferred momenta. We compare our predictions with experiment and some other theoretical approaches.Comment: Some typos, syntax and the title corrected in accord with the published versio

A proton-cyclotron wave storm generated by unstable proton distribution functions in the solar wind

We use audification of 0.092 s cadence magnetometer data from the Wind spacecraft to identify waves with amplitudes >0.1 nT near the ion gyrofrequency (~0.1 Hz) with duration longer than 1 hr during 2008. We present one of the most common types of event for a case study and find it to be a proton-cyclotron wave storm, coinciding with highly radial magnetic field and a suprathermal proton beam close in density to the core distribution itself. Using linear Vlasov analysis, we conclude that the long-duration, large-amplitude waves are generated by the instability of the proton distribution function. The origin of the beam is unknown, but the radial field period is found in the trailing edge of a fast solar wind stream and resembles other events thought to be caused by magnetic field footpoint motion or interchange reconnection between coronal holes and closed field lines in the corona

Achievement goals, self-handicapping, and performance: A 2 × 2 achievement goal perspective

Elliot and colleagues (2006) examined the effects of experimentally induced achievement goals, proposed by the trichotomous model, on self-handicapping and performance in physical education. Our study replicated and extended the work of Elliot et al. by experimentally promoting all four goals proposed by the 262 model (Elliot & McGregor, 2001), measuring the participants’ own situational achievement goals, using a relatively novel task, and testing the participants in a group setting. We used a randomized experimental design with four conditions that aimed to induce one of the four goals advanced by the 262 model. The participants (n¼138) were undergraduates who engaged in a dart-throwing task. The results pertaining to self-handicapping partly replicated Elliot and colleagues’ findings by showing that experimentally promoted performance-avoidance goals resulted in less practice. In contrast, the promotion of mastery-avoidance goals did not result in less practice compared with either of the approach goals. Dart-throwing performance did not differ among the four goal conditions. Personal achievement goals did not moderate the effects of experimentally induced goals on selfhandicapping and performance. The extent to which mastery-avoidance goals are maladaptive is discussed, as well as the interplay between personal and experimentally induced goals

Optical Activity From Extra Dimension

Optical activity, like Faraday effect, is a rotation of the plane of polarization of propagating light in a medium and can be attributed to different sources with distinct signatures. In this note we discuss the effect of optical activity {\it{in vacuum}} due to Kaluza-Klein scalar field $\phi$, in the presence of an external electro-magnetic field. The astrophysical implication of this effect is indicated. We also point out the possibility of observing the same in laboratory conditions.Comment: Four Page

A Critical Appraisal of Guidelines for Antenatal Care: Components of Care and Priorities in Prenatal Education

There are a variety of published prenatal care (PNC) guidelines that claim a scientific basis for the information included. Four sets of PNC guidelines published between 2005 and 2009 were examined and critiqued. The recommendations for assessment procedures, laboratory testing, and education/counseling topics were analyzed within and between these guidelines. The PNC components were synthesized to provide an organized, comprehensive appendix that can guide providers of antepartum care. The appendix may be used to locate which guidelines addressed which topics to assist practitioners to identify evidence sources. The suggested timing for introducing and reinforcing specific topics is also presented in the appendix. Although education is often assumed to be a vital component of PNC, it was inconsistently included in the guidelines that were reviewed. Even when education was included, important detail was lacking. Addressing each woman\u27s needs as the first priority was suggested historically and remains relevant in current practice to systematically provide care while maintaining the woman as the central player. More attention to gaps in current research is important for the development of comprehensive prenatal guidelines that contribute effectively to the long‐term health and well‐being of women, families, and their communities

Nucleosynthesis-relevant conditions in neutrino-driven supernova outflows. II. The reverse shock in two-dimensional simulations

After the initiation of the explosion of core-collapse supernovae, neutrinos emitted from the nascent neutron star drive a supersonic baryonic outflow. This neutrino-driven wind interacts with the more slowly moving, earlier supernova ejecta forming a wind termination shock (or reverse shock), which changes the local wind conditions and their evolution. Important nucleosynthesis processes (alpha-process, charged-particle reactions, r-process, and vp-process) occur or might occur in this environment. The nucleosynthesis depends on the long-time evolution of density, temperature, and expansion velocity. Here we present two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations with an approximate description of neutrino-transport effects, which for the first time follow the post-bounce accretion, onset of the explosion, wind formation, and the wind expansion through the collision with the preceding supernova ejecta. Our results demonstrate that the anisotropic ejecta distribution has a great impact on the position of the reverse shock, the wind profile, and the long-time evolution. This suggests that hydrodynamic instabilities after core bounce and the consequential asymmetries may have important effects on the nucleosynthesis-relevant conditions in the neutrino-heated baryonic mass flow from proto-neutron stars.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Ice chemistry in massive Young Stellar Objects: the role of metallicity

We present the comparison of the three most important ice constituents (water, CO and CO2) in the envelopes of massive Young Stellar Objects (YSOs), in environments of different metallicities: the Galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and, for the first time, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We present observations of water, CO and CO2 ice in 4 SMC and 3 LMC YSOs (obtained with Spitzer-IRS and VLT/ISAAC). While water and CO2 ice are detected in all Magellanic YSOs, CO ice is not detected in the SMC objects. Both CO and CO2 ice abundances are enhanced in the LMC when compared to high-luminosity Galactic YSOs. Based on the fact that both species appear to be enhanced in a consistent way, this effect is unlikely to be the result of enhanced CO2 production in hotter YSO envelopes as previously thought. Instead we propose that this results from a reduced water column density in the envelopes of LMC YSOs, a direct consequence of both the stronger UV radiation field and the reduced dust-to-gas ratio at lower metallicity. In the SMC the environmental conditions are harsher, and we observe a reduction in CO2 column density. Furthermore, the low gas-phase CO density and higher dust temperature in YSO envelopes in the SMC seem to inhibit CO freeze-out. The scenario we propose can be tested with further observations.Comment: accepted by MNRAS Letters; 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Postcolonial Transplants: Cinema, Diaspora and the Body Politic

This essay examines depictions of migrant workers in French and British postcolonial cinema as transplanted interlopers, 'exotic' or transgendered bodies that are perceived as a threat to the integrity of the body politic

Quenched complexity of the p-spin spherical spin-glass with external magnetic field

We consider the p-spin spherical spin-glass model in the presence of an external magnetic field as a general example of a mean-field system where a one step replica symmetry breaking (1-RSB) occurs. In this context we compute the complexity of the Thouless-Anderson-Palmer states, performing a quenched computation. We find what is the general connection between this method and the standard static 1-RSB one, formulating a clear mapping between the parameters used in the two different calculations. We also perform a dynamical analysis of the model, by which we confirm the validity of our results.Comment: RevTeX, 11 pages, including 2 EPS figure