Thermal Performance of the LHC Connection Cryostat

The 16 connection cryostats for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) being built at CERN are designed to fill the gap existing between the dispersion suppressor zones and the standard arcs of the accelerator. The first connection cryostat was cold tested down to superfluid helium temperature in August 2005, and the measured thermal performance was as expected. This paper presents the test results and a new thermal modeling of the connection cryostat based on the measurement of the thermal resistances of the braids used for thermalisation, allowing the precise determination of cool down times and equilibrium temperatures of the shielding under various conditions such as lead heating

A computer decision aid for medical prevention: a pilot qualitative study of the Personalized Estimate of Risks (EsPeR) system

BACKGROUND: Many preventable diseases such as ischemic heart diseases and breast cancer prevail at a large scale in the general population. Computerized decision support systems are one of the solutions for improving the quality of prevention strategies. METHODS: The system called EsPeR (Personalised Estimate of Risks) combines calculation of several risks with computerisation of guidelines (cardiovascular prevention, screening for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, uterine cervix cancer, and prostate cancer, diagnosis of depression and suicide risk). We present a qualitative evaluation of its ergonomics, as well as it's understanding and acceptance by a group of general practitioners. We organised four focus groups each including 6–11 general practitioners. Physicians worked on several structured clinical scenari os with the help of EsPeR, and three senior investigators leaded structured discussion sessions. RESULTS: The initial sessions identified several ergonomic flaws of the system that were easily corrected. Both clinical scenarios and discussion sessions identified several problems related to the insufficient comprehension (expression of risks, definition of familial history of disease), and difficulty for the physicians to accept some of the recommendations. CONCLUSION: Educational, socio-professional and organisational components (i.e. time constraints for training and use of the EsPeR system during consultation) as well as acceptance of evidence-based decision-making should be taken into account before launching computerised decision support systems, or their application in randomised trials

Diffusive energy transport in the S=1 Haldane chain compound AgVP2S6

We present the results of measurements of the thermal conductivity $\kappa$ of the spin S=1 chain compound AgVP_2S_6 in the temperature range between 2 and 300 K and with the heat flow directed either along or perpendicular to the chain direction. The analysis of the anisotropy of the heat transport allowed for the identification of a small but non-negligible magnon contribution $\kappa_m$ along the chains, superimposed on the dominant phonon contribution $\kappa_ph$. At temperatures above about 100 K the energy diffusion constant D_E(T), calculated from the $\kappa_m(T)$ data, exhibits similar features as the spin diffusion constant D_S(T), previously measured by NMR. In this regime, the behaviour of both transport parameters is consistent with a diffusion process that is caused by interactions inherent to one-dimensional S=1 spin systems.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Socioeconomic position and the effect of energy labelling on consumer behaviour: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: There are well documented socioeconomic disparities in diet quality and obesity. Menu energy labelling is a public health policy designed to improve diet and reduce obesity. However, it is unclear whether the impact energy labelling has on consumer behaviour is socially equitable or differs based on socioeconomic position (SEP). METHODS: Systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental (between-subjects) and pre-post implementation field studies examining the impact of menu energy labelling on energy content of food and/or drink selections in higher vs. lower SEP groups. RESULTS: Seventeen studies were eligible for inclusion. Meta-analyses of 13 experimental studies that predominantly examined hypothetical food and drink choices showed that energy labelling tended to be associated with a small reduction in energy content of selections that did not differ based on participant SEP (X2(1) = 0.26, p = .610). Effect estimates for higher SEP SMD = 0.067 [95% CI: -0.092 to 0.226] and lower SEP SMD = 0.115 [95% CI: -0.006 to 0.237] were similar. A meta-analysis of 3 pre-post implementation studies of energy labelling in the real world showed that the effect energy labelling had on consumer behaviour did not significantly differ based on SEP (X2(1) = 0.22, p = .636). In higher SEP the effect was SMD = 0.032 [95% CI: -0.053 to 0.117] and in lower SEP the effect was SMD = -0.005 [95% CI: -0.051 to 0.041]. CONCLUSIONS: Overall there was no convincing evidence that the effect energy labelling has on consumer behaviour significantly differs based on SEP. Further research examining multiple indicators of SEP and quantifying the long-term effects of energy labelling on consumer behaviour in real-world settings is now required

The attachments of the anteromedial and posterolateral fibre bundles of the anterior cruciate ligament. Part 2: femoral attachment.

Accepted versio

Socioeconomic position and the effect of energy labelling on consumer behaviour: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: There are well documented socioeconomic disparities in diet quality and obesity. Menu energy labelling is a public health policy designed to improve diet and reduce obesity. However, it is unclear whether the impact energy labelling has on consumer behaviour is socially equitable or differs based on socioeconomic position (SEP). Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental (between-subjects) and pre-post implementation field studies examining the impact of menu energy labelling on energy content of food and/or drink selections in higher vs. lower SEP groups. Results: Seventeen studies were eligible for inclusion. Meta-analyses of 13 experimental studies that predominantly examined hypothetical food and drink choices showed that energy labelling tended to be associated with a small reduction in energy content of selections that did not differ based on participant SEP (X2(1) = 0.26, p = .610). Effect estimates for higher SEP SMD = 0.067 [95% CI: -0.092 to 0.226] and lower SEP SMD = 0.115 [95% CI: -0.006 to 0.237] were similar. A meta-analysis of 3 pre-post implementation studies of energy labelling in the real world showed that the effect energy labelling had on consumer behaviour did not significantly differ based on SEP (X2(1) = 0.22, p = .636). In higher SEP the effect was SMD = 0.032 [95% CI: -0.053 to 0.117] and in lower SEP the effect was SMD = -0.005 [95% CI: -0.051 to 0.041]. Conclusions: Overall there was no convincing evidence that the effect energy labelling has on consumer behaviour significantly differs based on SEP. Further research examining multiple indicators of SEP and quantifying the long-term effects of energy labelling on consumer behaviour in real-world settings is now required

A comparison of logistic regression models with alternative machine learning methods to predict the risk of in-hospital mortality in emergency medical admissions via external validation

YesWe compare the performance of logistic regression with several alternative machine learning methods to estimate the risk of death for patients following an emergency admission to hospital based on the patients’ first blood test results and physiological measurements using an external validation approach. We trained and tested each model using data from one hospital (n=24696) and compared the performance of these models in data from another hospital (n=13477). We used two performance measures – the calibration slope and area under the curve (AUC). The logistic model performed reasonably well – calibration slope 0.90, AUC 0.847 compared to the other machine learning methods. Given the complexity of choosing tuning parameters of these methods, the performance of logistic regression with transformations for in-hospital mortality prediction was competitive with the best performing alternative machine learning methods with no evidence of overfitting.Health Foundation; National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Yorkshire and Humberside Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR YHPSTRC

The attachments of the anteromedial and posterolateral fibre bundles of the anterior cruciate ligament: Part 1: tibial attachment.

Accepted versio

Effects of Two Commercial Electronic Prescribing Systems on Prescribing Error Rates in Hospital In-Patients: A Before and After Study

In a before-and-after study, Johanna Westbrook and colleagues evaluate the change in prescribing error rates after the introduction of two commercial electronic prescribing systems in two Australian hospitals

Knee stability assessment on anterior cruciate ligament injury: Clinical and biomechanical approaches

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is common in knee joint accounting for 40% of sports injury. ACL injury leads to knee instability, therefore, understanding knee stability assessments would be useful for diagnosis of ACL injury, comparison between operation treatments and establishing return-to-sport standard. This article firstly introduces a management model for ACL injury and the contribution of knee stability assessment to the corresponding stages of the model. Secondly, standard clinical examination, intra-operative stability measurement and motion analysis for functional assessment are reviewed. Orthopaedic surgeons and scientists with related background are encouraged to understand knee biomechanics and stability assessment for ACL injury patients