No / Using SANS to map the deformation of individual polymer chains in the vicinity of re-entrant corners in a contraction−expansion flow, we show that stress singularities at such corners, predicted by formulations of fluid dynamics that lack a molecular basis, do not cause extreme deformation of the chains. Multiscale modeling based on a nonlinear tube theory incorporating appropriate relaxation processes quantitatively reproduces the observed scattering, thus providing further evidence for the universality of the tube model for polymer flow.

No / An experimental configuration that combines the powerful capabilities of a short-term shearing apparatus with simultaneous optical and X-ray scattering techniques is demonstrated, connecting the earliest events that occur during shear-induced crystallization of a polymer melt with the subsequent kinetics and morphology development. Oriented precursors are at the heart of the great effects that flow can produce on polymer crystallization (strongly enhanced kinetics and formation of highly oriented crystallites), and their creation is highly dependent on material properties and the level of stress applied. The sensitivity of rheo-optics enables the detection of these dilute shear-induced precursors as they form during flow, before X-ray techniques are able to reveal them. Then, as crystallization occurs from these precursors, X-ray scattering allows detailed quantification of the characteristics and kinetics of growth of the crystallites nucleated by the flow-induced precursors. This simultaneous combination of techniques allows unambiguous correlation between the early events that occur during shear and the evolution of crystallization after flow has stopped, eliminating uncertainties that result from the extreme sensitivity of flow-induced crystallization to small changes in the imposed stress and the material. Experimental data on a bimodal blend of isotactic polypropylenes are presented.

No / More than 1 billion people live in societies where consanguineous marriages are common. When children are born to consanguineous unions, there is an increased probability of the expression of single-gene disorders with a recessive mode of inheritance. There are presumptive social benefits of consanguineous marriages reported in the literature. METHODS: The UK's Born in Bradford birth cohort study recruited 12 453 women at 26-28 weeks' gestation between 2007 and 2010. In all, 11 396 completed a questionnaire, including questions about their relationship to their baby's father. We compared Pakistani and Other ethnic groups in consanguineous relationships and Pakistani, Other and White British groups not in consanguineous relationships, calculating percentages and age-adjusted prevalence ratios (95% confidence intervals). RESULTS: In the Pakistani group, 59.3% of women (n = 3038) were blood relatives of their baby's father. Consanguinity was uncommon in the Other ethnic group (7.3%, n = 127) and rare (n = 5) in the White British group. Compared with non-consanguineous counterparts, mothers in consanguineous relationships were socially and economically disadvantaged (e.g. never employed, less likely to have higher education). The Pakistani consanguineous group's social, economic and health lifestyle circumstances were equivalent to, in some cases better than, women in non-consanguineous relationships (e.g. up-to-date in paying bills, or in disagreeing that they wished for more warmth in their marital relationship). The consanguineous relationship group had less separation/divorce. Rates of cigarette smoking during pregnancy were lower in mothers in consanguineous relationships. CONCLUSION: Debate about consanguinity should balance the potential protective effect of consanguineous relationships with established genetic risk of congenital anomaly in children.

No / Risk-adjustment schemes are used to monitor hospital performance, on the assumption that excess mortality not explained by case mix is largely attributable to suboptimal care. We have developed a model to estimate the proportion of the variation in standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) that can be accounted for by variation in preventable mortality. The model was populated with values from the literature to estimate a predictive value of the SMR in this context-specifically the proportion of those hospitals with SMRs among the highest 2.5% that fall among the worst 2.5% for preventable mortality. The extent to which SMRs reflect preventable mortality rates is highly sensitive to the proportion of deaths that are preventable. If 6% of hospital deaths are preventable (as suggested by the literature), the predictive value of the SMR can be no greater than 9%. This value could rise to 30%, if 15% of deaths are preventable. The model offers a 'reality check' for case mix adjustment schemes designed to isolate the preventable component of any outcome rate.

No / Ambient air pollution has been associated with restricted fetal growth, which is linked with adverse respiratory health in childhood. We assessed the effect of maternal exposure to low concentrations of ambient air pollution on birthweight. We pooled data from 14 population-based mother-child cohort studies in 12 European countries. Overall, the study population included 74-178 women who had singleton deliveries between Feb 11, 1994, and June 2, 2011, and for whom information about infant birthweight, gestational age, and sex was available. The primary outcome of interest was low birthweight at term (weight <2500 g at birth after 37 weeks of gestation). Mean concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2·5 μm (PM2·5), less than 10 μm (PM10), and between 2·5 μm and 10 μm during pregnancy were estimated at maternal home addresses with temporally adjusted land-use regression models, as was PM2·5 absorbance and concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrogen oxides. We also investigated traffic density on the nearest road and total traffic load. We calculated pooled effect estimates with random-effects models. A 5 μg/m3 increase in concentration of PM2·5 during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of low birthweight at term (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1·18, 95% CI 1·06-1·33). An increased risk was also recorded for pregnancy concentrations lower than the present European Union annual PM2·5 limit of 25 μg/m3 (OR for 5 μg/m3 increase in participants exposed to concentrations of less than 20 μg/m3 1·41, 95% CI 1·20-1·65). PM10 (OR for 10 μg/m3 increase 1·16, 95% CI 1·00-1·35), NO2 (OR for 10 μg/m3 increase 1·09, 1·00-1·19), and traffic density on nearest street (OR for increase of 5000 vehicles per day 1·06, 1·01-1·11) were also associated with increased risk of low birthweight at term. The population attributable risk estimated for a reduction in PM2·5 concentration to 10 μg/m3 during pregnancy corresponded to a decrease of 22% (95% CI 8-33%) in cases of low birthweight at term. Exposure to ambient air pollutants and traffic during pregnancy is associated with restricted fetal growth. A substantial proportion of cases of low birthweight at term could be prevented in Europe if urban air pollution was reduced. / The European Union

No / Congenital anomalies are a leading cause of infant death and disability and their incidence varies between ethnic groups in the UK. Rates of infant death are highest in children of Pakistani origin, and congenital anomalies are the most common cause of death in children younger than 12 in this ethnic group. We investigated the incidence of congenital anomalies in a large multiethnic birth cohort to identify the causes of the excess of congenital anomalies in this community. Methods: We obtained questionnaire data from the mothers of children with one or more anomalies from the Born in Bradford study, a prospective birth cohort study of 13 776 babies and their families in which recruitment was undertaken between 2007 and 2011. Details of anomalies were prospectively reported to the study and we cross checked these details against medical records. We linked data for anomalies to maternal questionnaire and clinical data gathered as part of the Born in Bradford study. We calculated univariate and multivariate risk ratios (RRs) with 95% CIs for various maternal risk factors. Findings: Of 11 396 babies for whom questionnaire data were available, 386 (3%) had a congenital anomaly. Rates for congenital anomaly were 305·74 per 10 000 livebirths, compared with a national rate of 165·90 per 10 000. The risk was greater for mothers of Pakistani origin than for those of white British origin (univariate RR 1·96, 95% CI 1·56–2·46). Overall, 2013 (18%) babies were the offspring of first-cousin unions. These babies were mainly of Pakistani origin—1922 (37%) of 5127 babies of Pakistani origin had parents in first-cousin unions. Consanguinity was associated with a doubling of risk for congenital anomaly (multivariate RR 2·19, 95% CI 1·67–2·85); we noted no association with increasing deprivation. 31% of all anomalies in children of Pakistani origin could be attributed to consanguinity. We noted a similar increase in risk for mothers of white British origin older than 34 years (multivariate RR 1·83, 95% CI 1·14–3·00). Maternal education to degree level was protective (0·53, 95% CI 0·38–0·75), irrespective of ethnic origin. Interpretation: Consanguinity is a major risk factor for congenital anomaly. The risk remains even after adjustment for deprivation, and accounts for almost a third of anomalies in babies of Pakistani origin. High levels of educational attainment are associated with reduced risk in all ethnic groups. Our findings will be valuable in health promotion and public health, and to those commissioning antenatal, paediatric, and clinical genetic services. Sensitive advice about the risks should be provided to communities at increased risk, and to couples in consanguineous unions, to assist in reproductive decision making. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care programme.

No / Autobiographical memory (AM) concerns the ability to remember past events from one's own life and consists of autobiographical knowledge (personal facts) and autobiographical incidents (personal events). The novelty of this research was to assess both personal factual and personal event AM in Parkinson's disease (PD) for specified lifetime periods. An autobiographical fluency task was used in which participants were asked to recall personal events and personal facts from five separate lifetime periods. Previous findings as well the brain regions affected in PD lead to the hypothesis that Parkinson's patients would recall less autobiographical memories especially for the most recent lifetime periods. Sixteen non-demented and non-depressed Parkinson's patients and sixteen age-education-matched controls participated. The results showed a temporal gradient for the recall of personal events in Parkinson's patients as they recalled fewer events for recent time periods. The PD group also had more difficulties in recalling autobiographical events rather than an autobiographical knowledge. The difficulty in recalling autobiographical events was characterized by overgenerality, with PD patients failing to generate specific episodic memories.

No / The balance of evidence about whether psychosocial interventions for caregivers of people with dementia could reduce carers' psychological morbidity and delay their relatives' institutionalisation is now widely regarded as moderately positive (Brodaty 2003; Spijker 2008). Multi-component, tailor-made psychosocial interventions are considered to be particularly promising (Brodaty 2003; Spijker 2008). These interventions involve multiple mechanisms of action. In this review we focused solely on the effectiveness of one element within psychosocial interventions, cognitive reframing. Cognitive reframing is a component of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In dementia care, cognitive reframing interventions focus on family carers' maladaptive, self-defeating or distressing cognitions about their relatives' behaviors and about their own performance in the caring role. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive reframing interventions for family carers of people with dementia on their psychological morbidity and stress. SEARCH METHODS: The trials were identified by searching (5 April 2009) the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group Specialized Register, which contains records from major healthcare databases: The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and LILACS, ongoing trial databases and grey literature sources. For more detailed information on what the Group's specialized register contains and to view the search strategies see the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group methods used in reviews.The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, LILACS and a number of trial registers and grey literature sources were also searched separately on 5 April 2009. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials of cognitive reframing interventions for family carers of people with dementia. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Three assessors (MVD, ID, JmC) independently judged whether the intervention being studied was documented in a trial; two assessors assessed trial quality. MAIN RESULTS: Pooled data indicated a beneficial effect of cognitive reframing interventions on carers' psychological morbidity, specifically anxiety (standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.21; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.39 to -0.04), depression (SMD -0.66; 95% CI -1.27 to -0.05), and subjective stress (SMD -0.23; 95% CI -0.43 to -0.04). No effects were found for carers' coping, appraisal of the burden, reactions to their relatives' behaviors, or institutionalization of the person with dementia. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive reframing for family carers of people with dementia seems to reduce psychological morbidity and subjective stress but without altering appraisals of coping or burden. The results suggest that it may be an effective component of individualised, multi-component interventions for carers. Identifying studies with relevant interventions was a challenge for this review. The impact of cognitive reframing might be higher when used alongside other interventions because this offers better opportunities to tailor cognitive reframing to actual everyday carer problems.

No

No description available.