Food in Foster Families: Care,Communication and Conflict

This study explores the significance of food and mealtimes in relation to the transition into foster care and the therapeutic settling of the child in a new family. In doing so, we draw upon an in‐depth, qualitative case study of 10 experienced foster families in the UK focusing on what helped them to be successful. At the time of the study, there were 16 foster children, aged 9–16, living with the families. Data collection included semi‐structured qualitative interviews and audio‐diaries with all family members who wished to be involved as well as eco‐maps produced by the young people. Thematic analysis and data extracts are reproduced in the study to demonstrate that meals and food preferences can function to affirm identities, membership and boundaries of family life as well as provide a site of conflict and control.     

CO-OFDM系统中基于线性预处理的新相位噪声抑制算法

针对相干光正交频分复用（coherent optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing,CO-OFDM）系统中相位噪声引起的载波间干扰（inter-carrier interference,ICI）问题,提出了一种基于线性预处理的新判决反馈相位噪声抑制算法。该新算法改进了线性预处理部分,利用循环前缀与OFDM符号固有的相关性,在时域进行简单的线性组合运算,充分利用了OFDM符号中冗余信息。仿真分析表明,在激光器线宽为200 kHz且误码率（bit error rate, BER）为10－4时,与判决反馈相位噪声抑制算法和一次迭代的判决反馈相位噪声抑制算法相比,该新算法BER曲线的信噪比（signal to noise ratio,SNR）分别改善了3 dB和1 dB,有效地降低由ICI引起的错误平层。     

Supporting foster and kinship carers to promote the mental health of children

The majority of children and young people removed from the care of their parents by the state of Victoria, Australia, reside in foster or kinship care. These children have experienced a broad range of adverse conditions and are up to 4 times more likely to experience problems with mental health than their mainstream peers. This paper draws on the perspectives of foster and kinship carers, describing the disconnection between their role as mental health advocates and their interest in early intervention in a field which is dominated by crisis and the historic marginalisation of foster and kinship carers. Thirty‐one foster and kinship carers across greater metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this study through interviews and focus groups. Participants demonstrated a practical understanding of mental health and an ability to identify a range of conditions that have an adverse impact on the mental health of children and young people in their care. The paper concludes that there is a lack of systemic support and even a range of barriers that affect the capacity of foster and kinship carers to promote the mental health and well‐being of the children and young people in their care.     

Multiphase experiments in practice: A look back

Multiphase experiments are introduced and an overview of their design and analysis as it is currently practised is given via an account of their development since 1955 and a literature survey. Methods that are available for designing and analysing them are outlined, with an emphasis on making explicit the role of the model in their design. The availability of software and its use is described in detail. Overall, while multiphase designs have been applied in areas such as plant breeding, plant pathology, greenhouse experimentation, product storage, gene expression studies, and sensory evaluation, their deployment has been limited.     

A simulation study of methods for selecting subgroup‐specific doses in phase 1 trials

Patient heterogeneity may complicate dose‐finding in phase 1 clinical trials if the dose‐toxicity curves differ between subgroups. Conducting separate trials within subgroups may lead to infeasibly small sample sizes in subgroups having low prevalence. Alternatively,it is not obvious how to conduct a single trial while accounting for heterogeneity. To address this problem,we consider a generalization of the continual reassessment method on the basis of a hierarchical Bayesian dose‐toxicity model that borrows strength between subgroups under the assumption that the subgroups are exchangeable. We evaluate a design using this model that includes subgroup‐specific dose selection and safety rules. A simulation study is presented that includes comparison of this method to 3 alternative approaches,on the basis of nonhierarchical models,that make different types of assumptions about within‐subgroup dose‐toxicity curves. The simulations show that the hierarchical model‐based method is recommended in settings where the dose‐toxicity curves are exchangeable between subgroups. We present practical guidelines for application and provide computer programs for trial simulation and conduct.     

Adaptive phase I/II clinical trials for drug combination assessment in oncology using the outcomes of each cycle

Many new anticancer agents can be combined with existing drugs, as combining a number of drugs may be expected to have a better therapeutic effect than monotherapy owing to synergistic effects. Furthermore, to drive drug development and to reduce the associated cost, there has been a growing tendency to combine these as phase I/II trials. With respect to phase I/II oncology trials for the assessment of dose combinations, in the existing methodologies in which efficacy based on tumor response and safety based on toxicity are modeled as binary outcomes, it is not possible to enroll and treat the next cohort of patients unless the best overall response has been determined in the current cohort. Thus, the trial duration might be potentially extended to an unacceptable degree. In this study, we proposed a method that randomizes the next cohort of patients in the phase II part to the dose combination based on the estimated response rate using all the available observed data upon determination of the overall response in the current cohort. We compared the proposed method to the existing method using simulation studies. These demonstrated that the percentage of optimal dose combinations selected in the proposed method is not less than that in the existing method and that the trial duration in the proposed method is shortened compared to that in the existing method. The proposed method meets both ethical and financial requirements, and we believe it has the potential to contribute to expedite drug development.     

A simple two-stage design for quantitative responses with application to a study in diabetic neuropathic pain

Two-stage designs offer substantial advantages for early phase II studies. The interim analysis following the first stage allows the study to be stopped for futility, or more positively, it might lead to early progression to the trials needed for late phase II and phase III. If the study is to continue to its second stage, then there is an opportunity for a revision of the total sample size. Two-stage designs have been implemented widely in oncology studies in which there is a single treatment arm and patient responses are binary. In this paper the case of two-arm comparative studies in which responses are quantitative is considered. This setting is common in therapeutic areas other than oncology. It will be assumed that observations are normally distributed, but that there is some doubt concerning their standard deviation, motivating the need for sample size review. The work reported has been motivated by a study in diabetic neuropathic pain, and the development of the design for that trial is described in detail.     

Driving outcomes: learning to drive,resilience and young people living in residential care

There are continuing concerns about the experiences offered to older adolescents being looked after (‘in care’) in the UK and, especially, to care leavers. Questions are asked about the limitations of State care compared with normal family life. This paper reports on an initiative to provide driving lessons to a group of six young men living in residential homes in one city. It links with resilience theory – how individuals can have relatively good outcomes despite early adversity. A qualitative study was undertaken to explore the effects of the initiative, including individual interviews with young men, heads of homes in which they lived and children's services managers. The overall results indicated that the initiative was very worthwhile. The lessons were a significant part of young people's lives. Possible effects on young people were divided into personal, instrumental and social. Benefits were reported from all parties concerning young people's self‐esteem and self‐confidence, as well as in forging close relationships with supportive adults. Driving would not be seen as a panacea for complex personal histories and structural problems, yet this small experiment suggests that driving lessons could be of disproportionate benefit and there is a moral obligation to provide them in any case.     

语段理论下汉语存现句的生成机制研究

存现句是一种特殊的句式,具有跨语言的性质,一般认为其下位句型包括存在甸与隐现句。对汉语存现句相关问题的研究也一直是国内外生成语言学者研究关注的热门话题,通过对汉语存现句的研究进行回顾,发现以往对汉语存现句的研究大多是在管约论框架下进行的,研究的主要问题包括以下几个方面：1．存现句的生成机制;2．句首处所名词组的语法地位;3．存现动词的性质;4．动词后名词组的赋格问题。其中存现句的生成机制问题是最为根本的问题,生成语言学者对此也是各持己见。本文尝试在语段理论的框架下,对汉语存现句的推导生成做尝试性探究,力图寻求汉语存现句统一的生成机制。     

试论中华民族多元一体格局发展的阶段划分

本文通过解析多元一体格局的内涵及其演变,探寻多元一体格局发展的轨迹,将中华民族多元一体格局的发展划分为四个阶段.从中看出,多元一体格局、中华民族(中国境内)、统一多民族中国三者之间虽然范畴不同,却三位一体,多元一体格局本身的形成、稳定与危机,同中华民族、中国统一多民族国家的命运息息相关.