Children's experiences with an intervention aimed to prevent further physical abuse

Although many children across cultures are victims of physical abuse, few treatment models target these children and their parents. In Sweden, Combined Parent–Child Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for families at risk for child physical abuse has been successfully used according to pretreatment and posttreatment studies. However, few studies have explored how physically abused children experience treatment. This study includes 20 physically abused children aged 9–17 who completed Combined Parent–Child Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Children had a positive overall impression of the treatment and highlighted addressing the abuse, as well as processing their experiences as particularly essential. Children described a positive transformation in their family life as a result of treatment, including violence cessation and bonding among family members. Children experienced the intervention as inclusive and child‐friendly. The implications of the promising findings are discussed.     

Statistical considerations in clinical trial design with event-free survival as the primary efficacy endpoint

In late-phase confirmatory clinical trials in the oncology field, time-to-event (TTE) endpoints are commonly used as primary endpoints for establishing the efficacy of investigational therapies. Among these TTE endpoints, overall survival (OS) is always considered as the gold standard. However, OS data can take years to mature, and its use for measurement of efficacy can be confounded by the use of post-treatment rescue therapies or supportive care. Therefore, to accelerate the development process and better characterize the treatment effect of new investigational therapies, other TTE endpoints such as progression-free survival and event-free survival (EFS) are applied as primary efficacy endpoints in some confirmatory trials, either as a surrogate for OS or as a direct measure of clinical benefits. For evaluating novel treatments for acute myeloid leukemia, EFS has been gradually recognized as a direct measure of clinical benefits. However, the application of an EFS endpoint is still controversial mainly due to the debate surrounding definition of treatment failure (TF) events. In this article, we investigate the EFS endpoint with the most conservative definition for the timing of TF, which is Day 1 since randomization. Specifically, the corresponding non-proportional hazard pattern of the EFS endpoint is investigated with both analytical and numerical approaches.     

Modelling of connected processes

The problem of comparing, contrasting and combining information from different sets of data is an enduring one in many practical applications of statistics. A specific problem of combining information from different sources arose in integrating information from three different sets of data generated by three different sampling campaigns at the input stage as well as at the output stage of a grey-water treatment process. For each stage, a common process trend function needs to be estimated to describe the input and output material process behaviours. Once the common input and output process models are established, it is required to estimate the efficiency of the grey-water treatment method. A synthesized tool for modelling different sets of process data is created by assembling and organizing a number of existing techniques: (i) a mixed model of fixed and random effects, extended to allow for a nonlinear fixed effect, (ii) variogram modelling, a geostatistical technique, (iii) a weighted least squares regression embedded in an iterative maximum-likelihood technique to handle linear/nonlinear fixed and random effects and (iv) a formulation of a transfer-function model for the input and output processes together with a corresponding nonlinear maximum-likelihood method for estimation of a transfer function. The synthesized tool is demonstrated, in a new case study, to contrast and combine information from connected process models and to determine the change in one quality characteristic, namely pH, of the input and output materials of a grey-water filtering process.     

Improved communality estimation in factor analysis

The symmetric treatment of an asymmetric approach to factor analysis is shown to provide accurate communality estimates. In comparison with existing estimates including upper and lower bounds, the present approach is shown to be superior. In one example with known communalities, the present approach perfectly captures those communalities. In two empirical examples, it is shown to produce better communality estimates than any existing method.     

Healthy Barbs: Activism Confronts Mortality

Barbara Brenner, JD, was the Executive Director of Breast Cancer Action (BCA) from 1995–2010. Before that, she was a longtime activist in the anti-war movement and an attorney who, for most of her career, practiced public policy law. After she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993 at the age of 41, she took the helm of BCA. Under her leadership, the organization moved into a position of national advocacy—demanding research on the causes and prevention of breast cancer, including the role of industrial pollutants. Barbara started the “Think Before You Pink” campaign, encouraging people to question whether companies that display pink ribbons actually produce products that harm women's health or generate any funds to fight breast cancer. Her blog, “Healthy Barbs,” challenged readers to critique routine healthcare practices and policies. Barbara received numerous awards, including a Jefferson Award for Public Service in 2007, the Smith College Medal in 2012, and the ACLU-Northern California's Lola Hanzel Courageous Advocacy Award in 2012. Barbara had a recurrence of breast cancer in 1996. She died of complications associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, on May 10, 2013.     

Empowered and self-managing users in methadone treatment?

Empowerment is a keyword in treatment. Users should have the means and possibilities to influence their treatment and become self-managing. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in a Danish methadone treatment project, we find that the practices of users and staff are often not carried out in accordance with governmental intentions. We identify a gap between the official notions of treatment and practices. We analyse the notions and practices of empowerment by applying two analytical perspectives. First, we apply a constructionist perspective in which empowerment is analysed as wanting to set users ‘free’ but also as ways to govern. We elaborate the analysis by applying a more practice-oriented focus. Drawing on this perspective, we analyse the ways in which staff and users constantly produce, construct and negotiate institutional practices that differ from the governmental intentions for treatment.     

Confidence Corridors for Multivariate Generalized Quantile Regression

We focus on the construction of confidence corridors for multivariate nonparametric generalized quantile regression functions. This construction is based on asymptotic results for the maximal deviation between a suitable nonparametric estimator and the true function of interest, which follow after a series of approximation steps including a Bahadur representation, a new strong approximation theorem, and exponential tail inequalities for Gaussian random fields. As a byproduct we also obtain multivariate confidence corridors for the regression function in the classical mean regression. To deal with the problem of slowly decreasing error in coverage probability of the asymptotic confidence corridors, which results in meager coverage for small sample sizes, a simple bootstrap procedure is designed based on the leading term of the Bahadur representation. The finite-sample properties of both procedures are investigated by means of a simulation study and it is demonstrated that the bootstrap procedure considerably outperforms the asymptotic bands in terms of coverage accuracy. Finally, the bootstrap confidence corridors are used to study the efficacy of the National Supported Work Demonstration, which is a randomized employment enhancement program launched in the 1970s. This article has supplementary materials online.     

Preliminary evaluation of contingent meals and telephone use to improve evidence-supported family therapy session attendance in mothers referred by Child Protective Services for substance abuse

Persons referred by Child Protective Services (CPS) for substance abuse evidence high rates of nonattendance to therapy sessions, taxing systems of care and exacerbating outcomes. This study examined the influence of two telephone-based incentive programs on therapy session attendance in mothers who were referred by CPS for substance abuse. After baseline therapy session attendance was established in an evidence-based clinic that incorporated a telephone engagement intervention (Phase I), participants were provided free cellular telephones with limited minutes and permitted to order free meals delivered by the therapist during upcoming sessions (Phase II). The third phase was similar to Phase II, but participants were provided unlimited minutes. Results indicated that participants’ attendance was significantly improved when meals and cellular telephone minutes were contingent on attendance. Although the percentage of sessions attended by participants during Phase III was higher than Phase II, unlimited minutes and meals did not significantly enhance attendance relative to limited minutes and meals. Session attendance for significant others of these participants was significantly higher during Phase III as compared with Phase I. Session attendance of significant others was statistically similar between Phase I and II and between Phase II and Phase III. Study implications and recommendations for future research and practice are discussed in light of the findings.     

奥巴马政府对朝政策的新理念及其走向

奥巴马政府上台后,其主要致力于应对金融危机和反恐战争.对朝政策上,其在"巧实力"外交理念的指导下,寻求在外交、经济、军事、政治、法律和文化等所有政策工具中选择正确的工具或组合.针对朝核问题的敏感性和脆弱性,奥巴马政府倾向于"冷处理",继而"多管齐下",在合作外交的框架内展开更加灵活的外交活动,促使朝鲜重返六方会谈,继续以对话方式处理相关问题,不过美国也适度增强了对朝鲜的威慑力量,奥巴马政府仍对美朝关系正常化持一种谨慎态度.     

絮凝床在茂名热电厂含油污水处理系统中的应用

絮凝床是中山大学开发的一种新型水处理设备．这种水处理技术在我省已用于包括含动、植物油类的污水处理工程中，１９９６年我院首次把这种设备用于茂名热电厂合油（矿物油）污水处理，工程建成投产以来取得了令人满意的效果。