Strong-disorder renormalization group approach to the Anderson model using Raleigh-Schr\"odinger perturbation theory

Previous work proposed a strong-disorder renormalization approach for the Anderson model, using it to calculate the density of states and the inverse participation ratio [Johri \& Bhatt, Phys.\ Rev.\ B {\bf 90} 060205(R) (2014)]. This is interesting because of the potential for expansion to higher dimensions and to interacting systems. The original proposal used a non-standard perturbation theory approach which avoided degeneracies. We implemented the same structure but with standard Rayleigh-Schr\"odinger perturbation theory. Here degeneracies do arise, and we consider two approaches, one in which renormalization is suppressed if degeneracy is present and a second in which the most common form of degeneracy is handled using standard degenerate perturbation theory. The version in which degeneracies are not handled performs similarly to the original proposal, and the addition of degeneracies provides some improvement.Comment: Annals of Physic

Regenerative medicine: Stroke survivor and carer views and motivations towards a proposed stem cell clinical trial using placebo neurosurgery

Background  Few studies explore stroke survivor views and motivations towards stem cell therapy (SCT). This qualitative study explores the views and motivations of both stroke survivors and their partners/carers towards a proposed 2-arm Phase III Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) comparing intracerebral insertion of stem cells with placebo neurosurgery in stroke survivors with disability.  Objective  To explore views and motivations towards a proposed 2-arm stem cell trial and identify factors that may impede and enhance participation.  Design  This study adopts a naturalistic design to explore the complexity of this field, employing a participatory action-research approach comprising a specialized Conversation (World) Café form of focus group. Data were collected via 5 Conversation Cafés with stroke survivors (age 40-75) and partners/carers between June and October 2016. Of 66 participants, 53 (31 male, 22 female) were stroke survivors and 13 (6 female, 7 male) were partners/carers. Qualitative data were analysed using a thematic approach.  Discussion and Conclusion  Stroke survivor views and motivations reflect anticipation of the personal and future benefits of regenerative medicine. Partners/carers sought to balance the value of stroke survivor hope with carrying the weight of hope as carer, a conflict burden adding to known caregiver burden. All participants expressed the need for during and post-trial psychological support. This study provides a rare opportunity to explore the prospective views and motivations of stroke survivors and their partners/carers towards a proposed Phase III 2-arm RCT. This adds weight to qualitative evidence exploring capacity, consent, decision making, perceptions of treatment risk and supports required for clinical trial participation

Governing culture: legislators, interpreters and accountants

Cultural policy has become dominated by questions of how to account for the intangible value of government investments. This is as a result of longstanding developments within government’s approaches to policy making, most notably those influenced by practices of audit and accounting. This paper will outline these developments with reference to Peter Miller’s concept of calculative practices, and will argue two central points: first, that there are practical solutions to the problem of measuring the value of culture that connect central government discourses with the discourses of the cultural sector; and second, the paper will demonstrate how academic work has been central to this area of policy making. As a result of the centrality of accounting academics in cultural policy, for example in providing advice on the appropriate measurement tools and techniques, questions are raised about the role academia might take vis-à-vis public policy. Accounting professionals and academics not only provide technical expertise that informs state calculative practices, but also play a surveillance role through the audit and evaluation of government programmes, and act as interpreters in defining terms of performance measurement, success and failure. The paper therefore concludes by reflecting on recent work by Phillip Schlesinger to preserve academic integrity whilst allowing accounting scholars and academics influence and partnership in policy

Training recruiters to randomized trials to facilitate recruitment and informed consent by exploring patients' treatment preferences

BACKGROUND: Patients’ treatment preferences are often cited as barriers to recruitment in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We investigated how RCT recruiters reacted to patients’ treatment preferences and identified key strategies to improve informed decision-making and trial recruitment. METHODS: Audio-recordings of 103 RCT recruitment appointments with 96 participants in three UK multicenter pragmatic RCTs were analyzed using content and thematic analysis. Recruiters’ responses to expressed treatment preferences were assessed in one RCT (ProtecT - Prostate testing for cancer and Treatment) in which training on exploring preferences had been given, and compared with two other RCTs where this specific training had not been given. RESULTS: Recruiters elicited treatment preferences similarly in all RCTs but responses to expressed preferences differed substantially. In the ProtecT RCT, patients’ preferences were not accepted at face value but were explored and discussed at length in three key ways: eliciting and acknowledging the preference rationale, balancing treatment views, and emphasizing the need to keep an open mind and consider all treatments. By exploring preferences, recruiters enabled participants to become clearer about whether their views were robust enough to be sustained or were sufficiently weak that participation in the RCT became possible. Conversely, in the other RCTs, treatment preferences were often readily accepted without further discussion or understanding the reasoning behind them, suggesting that patients were not given the opportunity to fully consider all treatments and trial participation. CONCLUSIONS: Recruiters can be trained to elicit and address patients’ treatment preferences, enabling those who may not have considered trial participation to do so. Without specific guidance, some RCT recruiters are likely to accept initial preferences at face value, missing opportunities to promote more informed decision-making. Training interventions for recruiters that incorporate key strategies to manage treatment preferences, as in the ProtecT study, are required to facilitate recruitment and informed consent. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ProtecT RCT: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN20141297. The other two trials are registered but have asked to be anonymized

Thermal Starch Properties in Corn Belt and Exotic Corn Inbred Lines and Their Crosses

More knowledge is needed about variability of starch functional traits in adapted and exotic germplasm and possible genetic effects of these traits before conducting rigorous inheritance studies and breeding programs for starch quality. We studied and compared the range of variability for starch functional traits in a set of Corn Belt inbred lines with a set of exotic inbred lines from Argentina, Uruguay, and South Africa. Reciprocal hybrids of some of the lines within each set were compared with their parents. Functional traits were examined by using differential scanning calorimetry on starch extracted from single kernels of genotypes. The set of Corn Belt lines had a wider range of values for most traits than did the set of exotic lines. For both sets of lines, the maximum value for peak height index was as high as that previously reported for the waxy endosperm mutant. Although the Corn Belt lines exhibited a wider range of values for range of retrogradation than the exotic lines, the exotic lines showed a wider range of values for percentage retrogradation. Hybrid values were not consistently higher, lower, midpoint, or similar with respect to the values of their parents. This was true regardless of germplasm type or functional trait. Reciprocal cross values showed trends suggesting reciprocal differences, although there was no trend suggesting greater effect of the female parent. These traits seem to be controlled by many modifying effects in addition to major effects. Results indicate that sufficient variability exists in Corn Belt germplasm to conduct breeding and inheritance studies effectively and that there should be potential for breeding for functional traits

Climate-Smart Agriculture investment portfolios for the Southern Plains in Jamaica

The Southern Plains are Jamaica’s breadbasket, but they are highly exposed to drought and heat, irregular rainfalls, and hurricanes. This Policy Brief presents the main findings and policy recommendations of the project 'Capacity Building Program to Improve Stakeholder Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change in Jamaica (CBCA)

Goat-associated Q fever: a new disease in Newfoundland.

In the spring of 1999 in rural Newfoundland, abortions in goats were associated with illness in goat workers. An epidemiologic investigation and a serologic survey were conducted in April 1999 to determine the number of infections, nature of illness, and risk factors for infection. Thirty-seven percent of the outbreak cohort had antibody titers to phase II Coxiella burnetii antigen >1:64, suggesting recent infection. The predominant clinical manifestation of Q fever was an acute febrile illness. Independent risk factors for infection included contact with goat placenta, smoking tobacco, and eating cheese made from pasteurized goat milk. This outbreak raises questions about management of such outbreaks, interprovincial sale and movement of domestic ungulates, and the need for discussion between public health practitioners and the dairy industry on control of this highly infectious organism

Global Evidence of Constraints and Limits to Human Adaptation

Constraints and limits to adaptation are critical to understanding the extent to which human and natural systems can successfully adapt to climate change. We conduct a systematic review of 1,682 academic studies on human adaptation responses to identify patterns in constraints and limits to adaptation for different regions, sectors, hazards, adaptation response types, and actors. Using definitions of constraints and limits provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we find that most literature identifies constraints to adaptation but that there is limited literature focused on limits to adaptation. Central and South America and Small Islands generally report greater constraints and both hard and soft limits to adaptation. Technological, infrastructural, and ecosystem-based adaptation suggest more evidence of constraints and hard limits than other types of responses. Individuals and households face economic and socio-cultural constraints which also inhibit behavioral adaptation responses and may lead to limits. Finance, governance, institutional, and policy constraints are most prevalent globally. These findings provide early signposts for boundaries of human adaptation and are of high relevance for guiding proactive adaptation financing and governance from local to global scales

Nocturnal water loss in mature subalpine Eucalyptus delegatensis tall open forests and adjacent E. pauciflora woodlands

We measured sap flux (S) and environmental variables in four monospecific stands of alpine ash (Eucalyptus delegatensis R. Baker, AA) and snowgum (E. pauciflora Sieb. ex Spreng., SG) in Australia's Victorian Alps. Nocturnal S was 11.8 ± 0.8% of diel totals. We separated transpiration (E) and refilling components of S using a novel modeling approach based on refilling time constants. The nocturnal fraction of diel water loss (fn) averaged 8.6 ± 0.6% for AA and 9.8 ± 1.7% for SG; fn differed among sites but not species. Evaporative demand (D) was the strongest driver of nocturnal E (En). The ratio En/D (Gn) was positively correlated to soil moisture in most cases, whereas correlations between wind speed and Gn varied widely in sign and strength. Our results suggest (1) the large, mature trees at our subalpine sites have greater fn than the few Australian native tree species that have been studied at lower elevations, (2) AA and SG exhibit similar fn despite very different size and life history, and (3) fn may differ substantially among sites, so future work should be replicated across differing sites. Our novel approach to quantifying fn can be applied to S measurements obtained by any method

A centralised public information resource for randomised trials: a scoping study to explore desirability and feasibility

BACKGROUND: There are currently several concerns about the ways in which people are recruited to participate in randomised controlled trials, the low acceptance rates among people invited to participate, and the experiences of trial participants. An information resource about on-going clinical trials designed for potential and current participants could help overcome some of these problems. METHODS: We carried out a scoping exercise to explore the desirability and feasibility of establishing such a resource. We sought the views of a range of people including people who were considering taking part in a trial, current trial participants, people who had been asked but refused to participate in a trial, consumer group representatives and researchers who design and conduct trials. RESULTS: There was broad-based support for the concept of a centralised information resource for members of the public about on-going and recently completed clinical trials. Such an information resource could be based on a database containing standardised information for each trial relating to the purpose of the trial; the interventions being compared; the implications of participation for participants; and features indicative of scientific quality and ethical probity. The usefulness of the database could be enhanced if its search facility could allow people to enter criteria such as a disease and geographic area and be presented with all the trials relevant to them, and if optional display formats could allow them to view information in varying levels of detail. Access via the Internet was considered desirable, with complementary supported access via health information services. The development of such a resource is technically feasible, but the collation of the required information would take a significant investment of resources. CONCLUSION: A centralised participant oriented information resource about clinical trials could serve several purposes. A more detailed investigation of its feasibility and exploration of its potential impacts are required