•Meta-analysis of psychological intervention randomized controlled studies.•Psychological interventions found effective for improving children’s mental health.•Interventions found effective ...regardless if delivered in groups group individually.•Support for train the trainer models as effectiveness found regardless of facilitators.•Calls for policy changes in African countries to support children’s mental health.
With a mandate to increase the capacity to support global mental health, this is the first meta-analysis with the aim of examining where the field stands in understanding the effectiveness of psychological interventions created for, and implemented with, children in African countries who experience stress and trauma. Searches for empirical randomized-controlled trials of psychological interventions with children in African countries were carried out in major databases. The current study combines the results of 26 studies to examine overall effectiveness of these interventions and goes on to examine the moderators of effectiveness looking at eight different potential moderators. Two moderators reach the level of significance, namely that mental health outcomes and age moderate the effectiveness of an intervention. Interventions targeting trauma were most effective. Some instances in which the null hypothesis could not be rejected turned out to be positive for the purposes of this study e.g. the education level of facilitators and the format of the group, do not show a significant impact on the effect size of these interventions. This study concludes that the creation and development of psychological interventions for African children should continue, and potential moderating variables should be more closely examined.
Understanding salmonid discharge requirements can help inform management to conserve wild populations in a changing climate. This study developed Bayesian hierarchical mixed‐effects models relating ...0+ Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) and trout (Salmo trutta L.) densities to different aspects of river discharge. Associations between these densities and nine hydrological variables representing the magnitude, frequency and duration of discharge events were evaluated using historical monitoring data from 36 sites on five rivers in England and Wales. All hydrological variables had weak associations with 0+ salmonid densities. More frequent high discharges between spawning and emergence were positively and negatively associated with 0+ salmon and trout densities, respectively. High discharges might increase spawning site availability for salmon and decrease egg‐to‐fry survival for trout. However, overall, only equivocal evidence was found regarding which discharge aspects affect juvenile salmonid densities. Therefore, a strategic review of juvenile salmonid monitoring programmes integrating environmental data collection is recommended.
Axons are particularly at risk in human diffuse head injury. Use of immunocytochemical labeling techniques has recently demonstrated that axonal injury (AI) and the ensuing reactive axonal change is, ...probably, more widespread and occurs over a longer posttraumatic time in the injured brain than had previously been appreciated. But the characterization of morphologic or reactive changes occurring after nondisruptive AI has largely been defined from animal models. The comparability of AI in animal models to human diffuse AI (DAI) is discussed and the conclusion drawn that, although animal models allow the analysis of morphologic changes, the spatial distribution within the brain and the time course of reactive axonal change differs to some extent both between species and with the mode of brain injury. Thus, the majority of animal models do not reproduce exactly the extent and time course of AI that occurs in human DAI. Nonetheless, these studies provide good insight into reactive axonal change. In addition, there is developing in the literature considerable variance in the terminology applied to injured axons or nerve fibers. We explain our current understanding of a number of terms now present in the literature and suggest the adoption of a common terminology. Recent work has provided a consensus that reactive axonal change is linked to pertubation of the axolemma resulting in disruption of ionic homeostatic mechanisms within injured nerve fibers. But quantitative data for changes for different ion species is lacking and is required before a better definition of this homeostatic disruption may be provided. Recent studies of responses by the axonal cytoskeleton after nondisruptive AI have demonstrated loss of axonal microtubules over a period up to 24 h after injury. The biochemical mechanisms resulting in loss of microtubules are, hypothetically, mediated both by posttraumatic influx of calcium and activation of calmodulin. This loss results in focal accumulation of membranous organelles in parts of the length of damaged axons where the axonal diameter is greater than normal to form axonal swellings. We distinguish, on morphologic grounds, between axonal swellings and axonal bulbs. There is also a growing consensus regarding responses by neurofilaments after nondisruptive AI. Initially, and rapidly after injury, there is reduced spacing or compaction of neurofilaments. This compaction is stable over at least 6 h and results from the loss or collapse of neurofilament sidearms but retention of the filamentous form of the neurofilaments. We posit that sidearm loss may be mediated either through proteolysis of sidearms via activation of microM calpain or sidearm dephosphorylation via posttraumatic, altered interaction between protein phosphatases and kinase(s), or a combination of these two, after calcium influx, which occurs, at least in part, as a result of changes in the structure and functional state of the axolemma. Evidence for proteolysis of neurofilaments has been obtained recently in the optic nerve stretch injury model and is correlated with disruption of the axolemma. But the earliest posttraumatic interval at which this was obtained was 4 h. Clearly, therefore, no evidence has been obtained to support the hypothesis that there is rapid, posttraumatic proteolysis of the whole axonal cytoskeleton mediated by calpains. Rather, we hypothesize that such proteolysis occurs only when intra-axonal calcium levels allow activation of mM calpain and suggest that such proteolysis, resulting in the loss of the filamentous structure of neurofilaments occurs either when the amount of deformation of the axolemma is so great at the time of injury to result in primary axotomy or, more commonly, is a terminal degenerative change that results in secondary axotomy or disconnection some hours after injury.
Adult return rates for wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts captured in a rotary screw trap and tagged with coded wire (CW) tags were compared with a control group, using detections from passive ...integrated transponder (PIT) antennae systems over 7 years in a small chalk stream in southern England, U.K. Compared with control smolts, capture and CW‐tagging of experimental smolts affected detected return rates only under certain conditions, with a decreased return probability for smolts caught and tagged following mild winter river temperature anomalies and during the night. Similarly, analysis of the experimental smolts revealed that capture and CW‐tagging following mild winters decreased their probability of return as adults. There were also marginal positive effects of length at PIT‐tagging as parr and length at CW‐tagging as smolts, on individual probability of return as adult. The results support the hypothesis that the effect of procedures involving the capture and tagging of migrating wild S. salar smolts will vary with the circumstances under which they are performed. The implications of the findings are considered in the context of ongoing investigations to derive and report marine return rates for S. salar in support of national and international stock assessments and in developing best practice.
Despite recent evidence for sub-stock structuring, North Sea cod are assessed as a single unit. As a consequence, knowledge of sub-stock trends is poor. In particular, there are no recent evaluations ...of which spawning grounds are active. Here we report results from the first ichthyoplankton survey to cover the whole North Sea. Also, this survey, conducted in 2004, was the first to make extensive use of DNA-based molecular methods to unambiguously identify early developmental stage cod eggs. We compare the findings from the plankton survey with estimated egg production inferred from the distribution of mature cod in contemporaneous trawl surveys. Results from both approaches were in general agreement and showed hot spots of egg production around the southern and eastern edges of the Dogger Bank, in the German Bight, the Moray Firth and to the east of the Shetlands. These areas broadly coincide with known spawning locations from the period 1940 to 1970. We were, however, unable to directly detect significant numbers of cod eggs at the historic spawning ground off Flamborough (northeast coast of England). The results demonstrate that most of the major spawning grounds of cod in the North Sea are still active but that some localized populations may have been reduced to the point where it is now difficult to detect the presence of eggs in the plankton.
We used a framework to assess the value implications of thoracic surgeon operative volume within an 8-hospital health system.
Surgical cases for non–small cell lung cancer were assessed from March ...2015 to March 2021. High-volume (HV) surgeons performed >25 pulmonary resections annually. Metrics include length of stay, infection rates, 30-day readmission, in-hospital mortality, median 30-day charges and direct costs, and 3-year recurrence-free and overall survival. Multivariate regression-based propensity scores matched patients between groups. Metrics were graphed on radar charts to conceptualize total value.
All 638 lung resections were performed by 12 surgeons across 6 hospitals. Two HV surgeons performed 51% (n = 324) of operations, and 10 low-volume surgeons performed 49% (n = 314). Median follow-up was 28.8 months (14.0-42.3 months). Lobectomy was performed in 71% (n = 450) of cases. HV surgeons performed more segmentectomies (33% n = 107 vs 3% n = 8; P < .001). Patients of HV surgeons had a lower length of stay (3 2-4 vs 5 3-7; P < .001) and infection rates (0.6% n = 1 vs 4% n = 7; P = .03). Low-volume and HV surgeons had similar 30-day readmission rates (14% n = 23 vs 7% n = 12; P = .12), in-hospital mortality (0% n = 0 vs 0.6% n = 1; P = .33), and oncologic outcomes; 3-year recurrence-free survival was 95% versus 91%; P = .44, and 3-year overall survival was 94% versus 90%; P = 0. Charges were reduced by 28%, and direct costs were reduced by 23% (both P < .001) in the HV cohort.
HV surgeons provide comprehensive value across a health system. This multidomain framework can be used to help drive oncologic care decisions within a health system.
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Illinois has many years of experience using various reclaimed materials in highway construction; and in recent years, recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) have been adopted for use in hot-mix asphalt ...(HMA), along with much higher amounts of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). These reclaimed asphalt materials usually contain aged asphalt binders, which may increase the mix brittleness and hence, a challenge for maintaining a flexible pavement and ensuring good performance. To counter these hard asphalt binders, softer asphalts are incorporated into the HMA. The goal is for the final mix to provide acceptable mix properties for the life of the pavement. To determine the impact of recycled materials on pavement performance, this study monitored nine field projects in terms of the testing, construction, and performance of surface mixes that have a variety of asphalt binder replacement levels from RAP and RAS which used different virgin asphalt binder grades. Simple performance tests (Hamburg wheel tracking test and the Illinois flexibility index test I-FIT) were used to evaluate the mix designs. Flexibility index (FI) from the I-FIT showed good correlation with field crack development, especially after first year performance of the mix. Early-age field performance showed that placing the HMA overlay directly over existing bare concrete pavement or milling off all the HMA and placing new overlay on concrete pavement results in higher extents of cracking in early age than the sections that left an HMA layer in place. Regardless of which mix type is designed and what material sources are used, the performance of mix should be evaluated to ensure it has sufficient flexibility to resist cracking before the mix is used in road construction. This allows owners and contractors to use low-cost reclaimed and recycled materials to the extent possible without negatively impacting pavement performance.
High-pressure shear viscosity measurements of polymer/supercritical fluid systems are numerous, but most involve pressure-gradient equipment such as a capillary or slit die with pressure drops ...exceeding 10%. Pressure change across the measurement region introduces some errors when quantifying the effect of blowing agents and other diluents on viscosity. This source of errors was removed by using a static-pressure, Couette rheometer. The viscosity of polystyrene (PS)/carbon dioxide (CO2) was measured from 140 to 180 °C and from 3 to 6 wt % CO2. The effect of pressure on diluent-free PS viscosity was required to calculate the CO2 concentration shift factor. Thus, viscosities at both atmospheric and elevated pressure (via helium, an insoluble gas) were measured using the same equipment and method. The Fillers−Moonan−Tschoegl (FMT) model was overdefined for obtaining free volume parameters, but it was a helpful correlation tool to obtain the pressure effect on viscosity. Pressure and concentration shift factors obtained from the experiments were compared with empirical free-volume plasticization models, one based on glass transition temperature, the other on P−V−T behavior. Unfortunately, neither model demonstrated quantitative agreement with the experimental data within the 3−6 wt % CO2 range examined. The WLF−Chow model, based on T g data, fared better than the P−V−T-based model.
The datasets described here bring together quality-controlled seawater temperature measurements from over 130 years of departmental government-funded marine science investigations in the UK (United ...Kingdom). Since before the foundation of a Marine Biological Association fisheries laboratory in 1902 and through subsequent evolutions as the Directorate of Fisheries Research and the current Centre for Environment Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, UK government marine scientists and observers have been collecting seawater temperature data as part of oceanographic, chemical, biological, radiological, and other policy-driven research and observation programmes in UK waters. These datasets start with a few tens of records per year, rise to hundreds from the early 1900s, thousands by 1959, and hundreds of thousands by the 1980s, peaking with > 1 million for some years from 2000 onwards. The data source systems vary from time series at coastal monitoring stations or offshore platforms (buoys), through repeated research cruises or opportunistic sampling from ferry routes, to temperature extracts from CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) profiles, oceanographic, fishery and plankton tows, and data collected from recreational scuba divers or electronic devices attached to marine animals. The datasets described have not been included in previous seawater temperature collation exercises (e.g. International Comprehensive Ocean–Atmosphere Data Set, Met Office Hadley Centre sea surface temperature data set, the centennial in situ observation-based estimates of sea surface temperatures), although some summary data reside in the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC) archive, the Marine Environment Monitoring and Assessment National (MERMAN) database and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) data centre. We envisage the data primarily providing a biologically and ecosystem-relevant context for regional assessments of changing hydrological conditions around the British Isles, although cross-matching with satellite-derived data for surface temperatures at specific times and in specific areas is another area in which the data could be of value (see e.g. Smit et al., 2013). Maps are provided indicating geographical coverage, which is generally within and around the UK Continental Shelf area, but occasionally extends north from Labrador and Greenland to east of Svalbard and southward to the Bay of Biscay. Example potential uses of the data are described using plots of data in four selected groups of four ICES rectangles covering areas of particular fisheries interest. The full dataset enables extensive data synthesis, for example in the southern North Sea where issues of spatial and numerical bias from a data source are explored. The full dataset also facilitates the construction of long-term temperature time series and an examination of changes in the phenology (seasonal timing) of ecosystem processes. This is done for a wide geographic area with an exploration of the limitations of data coverage over long periods. Throughout, we highlight and explore potential issues around the simple combination of data from the diverse and disparate sources collated here. The datasets are available on the Cefas Data Hub (https://www.cefas.co.uk/cefas-data-hub/). The referenced data sources are listed in Sect. 5.
Imaging biomarker roadmap for cancer studies O'Connor, James P B; Aboagye, Eric O; Adams, Judith E ...
Nature reviews. Clinical oncology,
03/2017, Letnik:
14, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Imaging biomarkers (IBs) are integral to the routine management of patients with cancer. IBs used daily in oncology include clinical TNM stage, objective response and left ventricular ejection ...fraction. Other CT, MRI, PET and ultrasonography biomarkers are used extensively in cancer research and drug development. New IBs need to be established either as useful tools for testing research hypotheses in clinical trials and research studies, or as clinical decision-making tools for use in healthcare, by crossing 'translational gaps' through validation and qualification. Important differences exist between IBs and biospecimen-derived biomarkers and, therefore, the development of IBs requires a tailored 'roadmap'. Recognizing this need, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) assembled experts to review, debate and summarize the challenges of IB validation and qualification. This consensus group has produced 14 key recommendations for accelerating the clinical translation of IBs, which highlight the role of parallel (rather than sequential) tracks of technical (assay) validation, biological/clinical validation and assessment of cost-effectiveness; the need for IB standardization and accreditation systems; the need to continually revisit IB precision; an alternative framework for biological/clinical validation of IBs; and the essential requirements for multicentre studies to qualify IBs for clinical use.
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