Purpose
The Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) is a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded initiative to develop reliable, valid, and normed item banks to measure ...health. We describe the first large-scale translation and cross-cultural adaptation effort to German and Spanish of eight pediatric PROMIS item banks: Physical activity (PAC), subjective well-being (SWB), experiences of stress (EOS), and family relations (FAM).
Methods
We utilized methods outlined in the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) PRO Translation Task Force recommendations. Ten professional translators performed a translatability assessment and generated forward translations. Forward Translations were compared within a country and cross-culturally to identify problems and to produce a consensus-derived version, which was then back translated, evaluated, and revised where necessary. Reconciled versions were evaluated in cognitive interviews with 126 children before finalization.
Results
Eight resulting pediatric PROMIS
®
item banks were translated: Two PAC banks (22 total items), three SWB banks (125 total items), two EOS banks (45 total items), and one FAM bank (47 total items). Up to 92% of all items raised no or only minor translation difficulties, 0–5.6% were difficult to translate. Up to 20% item revisions were necessary to ensure conceptual equivalence and comprehensibility. Cognitive interviews indicated that 91–94% of the final items were appropriate for children (8–17 years).
Conclusions
German and Spanish translations of eight PROMIS Pediatric item banks were created for clinical trials and routine pediatric health care. Initial translatability assessment and rigorous translation methodology helped to ensure conceptual equivalence and comprehensibility. Next steps include cross-cultural validation and adaptation studies.
This paper presents a search for the rare flavor-changing neutral current process B0→K*0τ+τ- using data taken with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy $e^+$$e^-$ collider. The analysis ...is based on the entire $\Upsilon$$(4S)$ resonance data sample of $711$ $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$, corresponding to $772 × 10^6$$B$$\bar{B}$ pairs. In our search we fully reconstruct the companion $B$ meson produced in the process $e^+$$e^-$ → $\Upsilon$$(4S)$ → $B$$\bar{B}$ from its hadronic decay modes and look for the decay B0→K*0τ+τ- in the rest of the event. No evidence for a signal is found. We report an upper limit on the branching fraction $\mathscr{B}$(B0→K*0τ+τ-) < $3.1 × 10^{-3}$ at 90% confidence level. This is the first direct limit on $\mathscr{B}$(B0→K*0τ+τ-).
The first simultaneous determination of the absolute value of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix element $V_{ub}$ using inclusive and exclusive decays is performed with the full Belle data set at ...the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 711 fb^{-1}$. We analyze collision events in which one $B$ meson is fully reconstructed in hadronic modes. This allows for the reconstruction of the hadronic $X_u$ system of the semileptonic $b \to u \ell \bar \nu_\ell$ decay. We separate exclusive $B \to \pi \, \ell\, \bar \nu_{\ell}$ decays from other inclusive $B \to X_u \, \ell\, \bar \nu_{\ell}$ and backgrounds with a two-dimensional fit, that utilizes the number of charged pions in the $X_u$ system and the four-momentum transfer $q^2$ between the $B$ and $X_u$ system. Combining our measurement with information from lattice QCD and QCD calculations of the inclusive partial rate as well as external experimental information on the shape of the $B \to \pi \, \ell\, \bar \nu_{\ell}$ form factor, we determine $\left|V_{ub}^{\mathrm{excl.}} \right| = (3.78 \pm 0.23 \pm 0.16 \pm 0.14)\times 10^{-3}$ and $\left|V_{ub}^{\mathrm{incl.}} \right| = (3.88 \pm 0.20 \pm 0.31 \pm 0.09)\times 10^{-3}$, respectively, with the uncertainties being the statistical error, systematic errors, and theory errors. The ratio of $\left|V_{ub}^{\mathrm{excl.}} \right| / \left|V_{ub}^{\mathrm{incl.}} \right| = 0.97 \pm 0.12$ is compatible with unity.
There are indications that during the lockdown and the measures of social distancing due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, physical and sexual child abuse and neglect may have ...increased. Additionally, decreased social control may have led to a lower detection rate of child protection cases.
This study aimed to better understand the impact of the lockdown in Germany on the frequency and severity of child abuse and neglect. To do so the quantity and quality of cases of suspected child abuse and neglect in German pediatric departments and outpatient departments for medical child protection were examined.
In May 2020 a total of 343 institutions of medical child protection were invited to fill in a questionnaire with items describing their institution and items depicting cases of child protection in March and April 2019 and 2020 regarding age, form and severity of abuse as well as items to describe particular remarks and ideas for child protection during the pandemic.
Out of the 343 pediatric departments and outpatient departments of medical child protection invited, the participation rate was 46%. In this study 81 institutions reported the total cases of suspected child abuse or neglect for both March and April 2019 and 2020. The number of cases dropped from 454 to 387 (-15%) in outpatient child abuse clinics and from 307 to 246 (-20%) in pediatric inpatient departments. Regarding the age of affected children and the form of abuse no significant differences were found.
The study found a decrease in reported cases of suspected child abuse and neglect during the lockdown in March and April 2020 compared to 2019. While the results do not show an increase of total child abuse and neglect, as suspected by many professionals, the decrease in reported cases may be explained by a steep increase in unreported cases due to reduced social control.
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