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- 2019
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)
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| 2. |
- Bellm, Eric C., et al.
(författare)
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The Zwicky Transient Facility : System Overview, Performance, and First Results
- 2019
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Ingår i: Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. - : IOP Publishing. - 0004-6280 .- 1538-3873. ; 131:995
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) is a new optical time-domain survey that uses the Palomar 48 inch Schmidt telescope. A custom-built wide-field camera provides a 47 deg(2) field of view and 8 s readout time, yielding more than an order of magnitude improvement in survey speed relative to its predecessor survey, the Palomar Transient Factory. We describe the design and implementation of the camera and observing system. The ZTF data system at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center provides near-real-time reduction to identify moving and varying objects. We outline the analysis pipelines, data products, and associated archive. Finally, we present on-sky performance analysis and first scientific results from commissioning and the early survey. ZTF's public alert stream will serve as a useful precursor for that of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.
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| 3. |
- Oeser, Clarissa, et al.
(författare)
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Feasibility and acceptability of home-based self-collection of multiple vaginal swabs in a general population survey in Britain′s fourth National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles-4 (Natsal-4)
- 2024
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Ingår i: Sexually Transmitted Diseases. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0148-5717 .- 1537-4521. ; 51:1S, s. S318-S319
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Despite greater sensitivity of vaginal swabs compared to urine for detection of STIs and high acceptability in clinical settings, acceptability and feasibility of home-based self-collected vaginal swabs for research are less certain. We undertook development work to test these attributes for self-collected vaginal swabs for Natsal-4, a probability sample, interviewer-administered, survey of the ritish population aged 16-59 years.Methods: We conducted two pilot studies in 2021-22. After completing an interview, all participants identifying as cisgender women were invited to provide three self-collected vaginal swabs, with procedures for providing samples during or afte rface-to-face interviews or after remote interviews. Samples were posted to the laboratory. Consent was provided with the understanding of non-return of results. Participants declining vaginal swabs were invited to provide urine. Interviewers were not clinically trained. Qualitative follow-up interviews were conducted with participants and interviewers provided feedback.Results: Of the 153 cisgender women interviewed, 77 (50%) agreed to provide a vaginal swab, and 22 preferred to provide urine, resulting in an overall biosample consent rate of 65%. Of these, 60 swabs and 18 urine samples were received (Figure), resulting in an overall response of 51% (39% for vaginal swabs). Of the 77 who consented to provide swabs, 43 (56%) were during face-to-face interviews, of which 95% were received, compared to 13 (17%) agreeing to collection after face-to-face with 54% received, and 21 (27%) choosing remote interviews with 57% received. Fourteen participants (10 provided swabs) gave follow-up interviews and seven interviewers provided feedback. Participants conveyed their motivation to support research by giving samples. Interviewers were surprised at participants’ willingness to provide swabs. Reasons for not providing a swab included the belief that it was uncomfortable, too intimate or not relevant for their circumstances, or that urine was easier to collect.Conclusion: Our findings show that self-collection of vaginal swabs at home facilitated by non-clinically trained interviewers for a population-based probability survey is feasible and acceptable. Mode of interview and timing of sample collection are important as they affect response rate. Vaginal swab collection was incorporated into the main Natsal-4study with similar response to date.
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| 4. |
- Pirkis, Jane, et al.
(författare)
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Suicide numbers during the first 9-15 months of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with pre-existing trends : An interrupted time series analysis in 33 countries
- 2022
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Ingår i: eClinicalMedicine. - : Elsevier. - 2589-5370. ; 51
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Predicted increases in suicide were not generally observed in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the picture may be changing and patterns might vary across demographic groups. We aimed to provide a timely, granular picture of the pandemic's impact on suicides globally. Methods We identified suicide data from official public-sector sources for countries/areas-within-countries, searching websites and academic literature and contacting data custodians and authors as necessary. We sent our first data request on 22nd June 2021 and stopped collecting data on 31st October 2021. We used interrupted time series (ITS) analyses to model the association between the pandemic's emergence and total suicides and suicides by sex-, age-and sex-by-age in each country/area-within-country. We compared the observed and expected numbers of suicides in the pandemic's first nine and first 10-15 months and used meta-regression to explore sources of variation. Findings We sourced data from 33 countries (24 high-income, six upper-middle-income, three lower-middle-income; 25 with whole-country data, 12 with data for area(s)-within-the-country, four with both). There was no evidence of greater-than-expected numbers of suicides in the majority of countries/areas-within-countries in any analysis; more commonly, there was evidence of lower-than-expected numbers. Certain sex, age and sex-by-age groups stood out as potentially concerning, but these were not consistent across countries/areas-within-countries. In the meta-regression, different patterns were not explained by countries' COVID-19 mortality rate, stringency of public health response, economic support level, or presence of a national suicide prevention strategy. Nor were they explained by countries' income level, although the meta-regression only included data from high-income and upper-middle-income countries, and there were suggestions from the ITS analyses that lower-middle-income countries fared less well. Interpretation Although there are some countries/areas-within-countries where overall suicide numbers and numbers for certain sex- and age-based groups are greater-than-expected, these countries/areas-within-countries are in the minority. Any upward movement in suicide numbers in any place or group is concerning, and we need to remain alert to and respond to changes as the pandemic and its mental health and economic consequences continue. Copyright (C) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
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