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At first glance, amidst contemporary popular suspicion of the law's onerous safeguards in favour of the accused, it may appear surreal, quixotic or even wilfully provocative to split hairs over the presentation of DNA evidence in criminal trials -- particularly in cases, as below, in which all parties accept the expression of that evidence as mathematically correct and, in its own right, highly persuasive. Yet the clash of established behavioural science with uniform Australian evidence legislation and traditional expectations of jurors gives rise to questions which strike at the heart of the values of criminal law. In Aytugrul v The Queen (2012) 247 CLR 170, the High Court declined the appellant's invitation to delve into psychological research on the effects of the 'exclusion percentage' on a juror's subconscious mind. Dubious from the outset about the distinction between two alternative expressions of the same mathematical value, the Court found that the 'exclusion percentage' was not unfairly prejudicial as it was mitigated by prosecutorial and judicial explanation. Above all, the 'exclusion percentage' was salvaged by its presentation alongside the less problematic 'frequency ratio'. However, even if the exclusion percentage adds no further probative value beyond the 'frequency ratio', the High Court preferred to analyse its merit on its own terms, in isolation. This case note draws on Heydon J's discussion of a contrasting American decision, wide-ranging empirical studies and the policy of the law of evidence to argue that DNA evidence communicated as an 'exclusion percentage' should be excluded from criminal trials [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low- versus high-carbohydrate diets for fuelling elite endurance sport performance They also demonstrated that, despite an acute 24 h HCHO diet and pre-race CHO-rich meal, rates of fat and CHO oxidation at speeds corresponding to the athletes' 25 km and 50 km race pace were not sufficiently restored to baseline values. Accordingly, during the 10 km adaptation race, the athletes who were adapted to the LCHF diet demonstrated worsened real-life race performance compared to their baseline trials with the HCHO diet. [Extracted from the article]

BACKGROUND: Health-related, school-based interventions may serve to prevent disease and improve academic performance. The Healthy Maine Partnerships (HMP) initiative funded local school health coordinators (SHCs) as a part of Maine's Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) beginning in January 2001. SHCs established school health leadership teams and implemented annual work plans to address health risk behaviors. This study evaluates the impact of the Healthy Maine Partnerships SHC (HMPSHC) intervention on school policies and student risk behaviors after its first 5 years. METHODS: Data sources include the Maine School Health Profiles Survey and the Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey/Youth Tobacco Survey. Cross-sectional analyses were performed on 2006 data to assess physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco-related policy associations with the HMPSHC intervention. Finally, policy and student behavior analyses were conducted to assess associations. RESULTS: Intervention schools were more likely to be associated with physical activity intramural offerings, improved nutritional offerings, and tobacco cessation programs. In intervention schools, supportive school policies were associated with decreased soda consumption, decreased inactivity, and decreased tobacco use. Required school health education curricula were more predictive of decreased risk behavior in intervention schools than in nonintervention schools. CONCLUSIONS: In schools with SHCs, there exists a stronger association with improved school programs. Improved policies and programs were associated with decreases in risk behavior among students in intervention schools. The HMPSHC intervention may be a viable CSHP model to replicate and evaluate in other settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a multivariate logistic regression model for the joint analysis of longitudinal multiple-source binary data. Longitudinal multiple-source binary data arise when repeated binary measurements are obtained from two or more sources, with each source providing a measure of the same underlying variable. Since the number of responses on each subject is relatively large, the empirical variance estimator performs poorly and cannot be relied on in this setting. Two methods for obtaining a parsimonious within-subject association structure are considered. An additional complication arises with estimation, since maximum likelihood estimation may not be feasible without making unrealistically strong assumptions about third- and higher order moments. To circumvent this, we propose the use of a generalized estimating equations approach. Finally, we present an analysis of multiple-informant data obtained longitudinally from a psychiatric interventional trial that motivated the model developed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine whether concurrent in utero exposure to buprenorphine and antidepressants impacts the course of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in infants.Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 148 infants who were exposed to buprenorphine during pregnancy. Univariate and bivariate analyses were used to examine associations between concurrent maternal use of buprenorphine and antidepressants as compared to maternal use of buprenorphine alone.Results: The time to onset of NAS resolution was significantly longer in infants exposed to both buprenorphine and antidepressants during pregnancy when compared to those exposed to buprenorphine alone (129.8 h versus 70.2 h, p = 0.042).Conclusions: Women who are prescribed both antidepressants and buprenorphine during pregnancy should be counseled about the possibility of a prolonged course of neonatal abstinence syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological semimetals have recently garnered widespread interest in the quantum materials research community due to their symmetry-protected surface states with dissipationless transport which have potential applications in next-generation low-power electronic devices. One such material, , exhibits Dirac nodal arcs and although the topological properties of single crystals have been investigated, there have been no reports in crystalline thin film geometry. We examined the growth of heterostructures on a range of single crystals by optimizing the electron beam evaporation of Pt and Sn and studied the effect of vacuum thermal annealing on phase and crystallinity. The electrical resistivity was fitted to a modified Bloch–Grüneisen model with a residual resistivity of 79.43(1) cm at 2K and a Debye temperature of 200K. Nonlinear Hall resistance indicated the presence of more than one carrier type with an effective carrier mobility of 33.6 and concentration of 1.41 at 300 K. X-ray photoemission spectra were in close agreement with convolved density of states and a work function of 4.7(2) eV was determined for the (010) surface. This study will facilitate measurements that require heterostructure geometry, such as spin and topological Hall effect, and will facilitate potential device incorporation in future quantum technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We outline an approach to fabricate nanoscale artificial quasiperiodic tilings with thermal‐scanning probe lithography. Quasiperiodic tilings such as the Ammann‐Beenker, Square Fibonacci tiling, and Penrose are fabricated and imaged with thermal‐conductance feedback microscopy, followed by electron microscopy. The design implementation, chemical, and physical challenges involved in fabricating such artificial systems using nanolithography are discussed. Additionally, the potential applications of fabricated quasiperiodic tilings are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine whether infant gender influences the course of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) following exposure to buprenorphine during pregnancy. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed in which maternal and infant data were collected for 46 male and 44 female infants. All infants were born to women enrolled in a buprenorphine treatment program from December 2007 until October 2012. Maternal and infant characteristics and outcomes were compared by infant gender. Results: Male infants had a significantly higher mean peak NAS score (10.04 vs. 7.98, P=0.028) and were more likely to require pharmacologic treatment for NAS (39.1% vs. 11.4%, P=0.005). Conclusions: These data indicate that, following exposure to buprenorphine during pregnancy, male infants experience a more severe withdrawal syndrome and are more likely to require pharmacologic treatment for NAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transverse domain wall (DW) switchable gate with a very high efficiency is experimentally demonstrated in Permalloy nanowires using a transverse T-shaped structure. DWs are found to either travel undisturbed through the open gate or to be strongly trapped in front of the closed gate only able to travel backwards. The opening and closing of the gate depends on the magnetic configuration of the gate and is controlled using externally applied magnetic fields. Micromagnetic simulations confirm the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarcoma patients often undergo surveillance chest CT for detection of pulmonary metastases. No data exist on the optimal surveillance interval for chest CT. The aim of this study was to estimate pulmonary metastasis growth rate in sarcoma patients. This was a retrospective review of 95 patients with pulmonary metastases (43 patients with histologically confirmed metastases and 52 with clinically diagnosed metastases) from sarcoma treated at an academic tertiary-care center between 01 January 2000 and 01 June 2019. Age, sex, primary tumor size, grade, subtype, size and volume of the pulmonary metastasis over successive chest CT scans were recorded. Two metastases per patient were chosen if possible. Multivariate linear mixed-effects models with random effects for each pulmonary metastasis and each patient were used to estimate pulmonary metastasis growth rate, evaluating the impact of patient age, tumor size, tumor grade, chemotherapy and tumor subtype. We estimated the pulmonary metastasis volume doubling time using these analyses. Maximal primary tumor size at diagnosis (LRT statistic = 2.58, df = 2, p = 0.275), tumor grade (LRT statistic = 1.13, df = 2, p = 0.567), tumor type (LRT statistic = 7.59, df = 6, p = 0.269), and patient age at diagnosis (LRT statistic = 0.735, df = 2, p = 0.736) were not statistically significant predictors of pulmonary nodule growth from baseline values. Chemotherapy decreased the rate of pulmonary nodule growth from baseline (LRT statistic = 7.96, df = 2, p = 0.0187). 95% of untreated pulmonary metastases are expected to grow less than 6 mm in 6.4 months. There was significant intrapatient and interpatient variation in pulmonary metastasis growth rate. Pulmonary metastasis volume growth rate was best fit with an exponential model in time. The volume doubling time for pulmonary metastases assuming an exponential model in time was 143 days (95% CI (104, 231) days). Assuming a 2 mm nodule is the smallest reliably detectable nodule by CT, the data suggest that an untreated pulmonary metastasis is expected to grow to 8 mm in 8.4 months (95% CI (4.9, 10.2) months). Tumor size, grade and sarcoma subtype did not significantly alter pulmonary metastasis growth rate. However, chemotherapy slowed the pulmonary metastasis growth rate. CT surveillance intervals for pulmonary metastases can be estimated based on metastasis growth rate. There was significant variation in the pulmonary metastasis growth rate between metastases within patient and between patients. Pulmonary nodule volume growth followed an exponential model, linear in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model-based predictive control (MPC) has been promoted as a software-based energy saving approach for buildings since the 2000s. However, there has not been significant industry adoption of MPC using current approaches. This paper proposes and tests an approach to MPC using rule extraction (RE) that can be easily implemented in building controllers to override sub-optimal control. The resulting decision trees could be implemented by building control programmers to save energy when ambient conditions are predicted to satisfy the thermal requirements of the spaces. A detailed MPC algorithm using inverse models was implemented in 27 rooms of an institutional building to provide data for a classification learning approach. Cooling and heating season decision trees were generated based on the inputs and outputs of the detailed MPC algorithm. An ensemble and sample randomization were used to generalize the trees across rooms and prevent overfitting to individual rooms. Cooling season MPC and RE energy savings were 42% and 27% respectively and heating season MPC and RE energy savings were 18% and 33% respectively. Both algorithms also reduced the difference between the temperature setpoint and measured indoor air temperature compared to the reactive controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine variables related to treatment retention in women six and twelve months postpartum that were in medication treatment using buprenorphine during pregnancy.Methods: This retrospective cohort study of 190 maternal-infant dyads exposed to buprenorphine during pregnancy examines rates of treatment retention at six and twelve months postpartum and also analyzes a variety of potential predictors of treatment retention including illicit drug use in the third trimester, delayed entry into medication treatment and co-occurring mental health diagnoses requiring prescription medication.Results: At 12months postpartum, women appeared more likely to remain in medication treatment if they entered treatment early in pregnancy (defined as either being in treatment at the time of conception, p=0.001, or entering medication treatment prior to 13weeks gestation, p=0.037). Being prescribed an antidepressant medication during the third trimester was also associated with enhanced treatment retention at six months postpartum (p=0.005). At both six and twelve months postpartum, the use of illicit drugs (including opioids, cocaine and benzodiazepines) during the third trimester was negatively correlated with treatment retention (p=0.012 and p<0.001, respectively).Conclusions: Early access to medication treatment is associated with treatment retention in women prescribed buprenorphine during pregnancy. This has important public health implications as access to treatment is limited in many parts of the country and many women are only able to obtain treatment after becoming pregnant. Being prescribed an antidepressant medication during pregnancy may enhance treatment retention, supporting the work of previous authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Little is known about whether pain can be effectively managed in pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD) during delivery hospitalization, particularly those undergoing surgery and taking buprenorphine as medication for OUD (MOUD). To address this question, we compared pain scores and opioid analgesic utilization during delivery hospitalization in women taking their pre-hospital dose of buprenorphine who delivered by cesarean section to matched controls. To inform future research efforts, we also began to explore opioid analgesic utilization and pain scores by type of anesthesia as this variable is often not included in related literature. Methods: Retrospective matched cohort study of 46 women prescribed buprenorphine during pregnancy who delivered by cesarean section during a 7-year period. Results: When compared to matched controls, women taking their pre-hospital dose of buprenorphine undergoing cesarean section utilized more opioid analgesics as measured by morphine milligram equivalents (MME) (mean MME first 48 hours 153.0 mg vs 175.1 mg, respectively, P <.01) but had similar pain scores during delivery hospitalization. There was no difference in MME utilization by maternal dose of buprenorphine though sample sizes were small. Women on buprenorphine who received spinal anesthesia with morphine had mean pain scores that were 1.4 points lower (P =.01) during the first 48 hours than women on buprenorphine receiving other methods of anesthesia. Discussion And Conclusions: Pregnant women taking their pre-hospital dose of buprenorphine throughout their surgical delivery hospitalization were able to achieve pain relief similar to women not on MOUD but had higher MME requirements. Our results add to the emerging body of evidence suggesting that individuals on MOUD can achieve adequate post-surgical pain management without adjusting their pre-hospital dose of buprenorphine. Further research is required to fully understand the optimal buprenorphine dosing regimen during surgical hospitalizations. Our results also provide important preliminary evidence that spinal anesthesia containing opioids can be used effectively in individuals with OUD requiring surgical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To determine whether maternal and infant outcomes are associated with exposure to marijuana during the third trimester in a population of opioid dependent pregnant women maintained on buprenorphine.Methods: This retrospective cohort study of 191 maternal-infant dyads exposed to buprenorphine during pregnancy examines a variety of variables including gestational age, birthweight, method of delivery, Apgar scores at one and five minutes, duration of infant hospital stay, peak neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) score, duration of NAS and incidence of pharmacologic treatment of NAS in infants exposed to marijuana during the third trimester as compared to infants not exposed to marijuana during the third trimester.Results: Analyses failed to support any significant relationship between marijuana use in the third trimester and a variety of maternal and infant outcomes. Two important variables - the likelihood of requiring pharmacologic treatment for NAS (27.6% in marijuana exposed infants vs. 15.7% in non-marijuana exposed infants, p=0.066) and the duration of infant hospital stay (7.7days in marijuana exposed infants vs. 6.6days in non-exposed infants, p=0.053) trended toward significance.Conclusions: Preliminary results indicate that marijuana exposure in the third trimester does not complicate the pregnancy or the delivery process. However, the severity of the infant withdrawal syndrome in the immediate postnatal period may be impacted by marijuana exposure. Because previous study of prenatal marijuana exposure has yielded mixed results, further analysis is needed to determine whether these findings are indeed significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All‐optical helicity‐dependent switching in ferromagnetic layers has revealed an unprecedented route to manipulate magnetic configurations by circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses. In this work, rare‐earth free synthetic ferrimagnetic heterostructures made from two antiferromagnetically exchange coupled ferromagnetic layers are studied. Experimental results, supported by numerical simulations, show that the designed structures enable all‐optical switching which is controlled, not only by light helicity, but also by the relative Curie temperature of each ferromagnetic layer. Indeed, through the antiferromagnetic exchange coupling, the layer with the larger Curie temperature determines the final orientation of the other layer and so the synthetic ferrimagnet. For similar Curie temperatures, helicity‐independent back switching is observed and the final magnetic configuration is solely determined by the initial magnetic state. This demonstration of electrically‐detected, optical control of engineered rare‐earth free heterostructures opens a novel route toward practical opto‐spintronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leukemias are clonal proliferative disorders arising from immature leukocytes in the bone marrow. While the advent of targeted therapies has improved survival in certain subtypes, relapse after initial therapy is a major problem. Dendritic cell (DC) vaccination has the potential to induce tumor-specific T cells providing long-lasting, anti-tumor immunity. This approach has demonstrated safety but limited clinical success until recently, as DC vaccination faces several barriers in both solid and hematological malignancies. Importantly, vaccine-mediated stimulation of protective immune responses is hindered by the aberrant production of immunosuppressive factors by cancer cells which impede both DC and T cell function. Leukemias present the additional challenge of severely disrupted hematopoiesis owing to both cytogenic defects in hematopoietic progenitors and an abnormal hematopoietic stem cell niche in the bone marrow; these factors accentuate systemic immunosuppression and DC malfunction. Despite these obstacles, several recent clinical trials have caused great excitement by extending survival in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients through DC vaccination. Here, we review the phenotype and functional capacity of DCs in leukemia and approaches to harness DCs in leukemia patients. We describe the recent clinical successes in AML and detail the multiple new strategies that might enhance prognosis in AML and other leukemias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting older adult’s cognitive health is a public health priority. Wellness behaviors within 6 domains have demonstrated effectiveness in protecting older adult’s cognitive abilities. Interventions targeted to low-income older adults are needed because these populations experience greater social and physical health disparities compared to adults in higher socioeconomic statuses. This study examined the feasibility of engaging independent, community-dwelling older adults living in low-income senior housing in cultivating raised-bed gardens and reviewed the improvements in cognition and nutrition. Ten participants received ergonomic garden tools, seeds, waist-height garden beds, and weekly garden education. Participants planted vegetables of their choosing and tended to their garden beds for 17 weeks. Cognition and nutrition outcomes were measured before and after the intervention. Adults successfully engaged in the intervention throughout the duration and experienced improvement in cognitive and nutrition outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]