A comparison of the results from intra-pleural and intra-peritoneal studies with those from inhalation and intratracheal tests for the assessment of pulmonary responses to inhalable dusts and fibres.

The aim of this paper is to compare results from inhalation studies with those from intraperitoneal and intrapleural tests, where available, for a number of fibrous and particulate test materials. The objective is to determine how well intraperitoneal/intrapleural studies predict the pathological responses observed in more standard in vivo studies of pulmonary toxicity, with a particular focus on carcinogenicity. Published toxicity data was obtained for a number of materials including asbestos, wollastonite, MMVFs (including glass fibres, stone wools and RCF), silicon carbide whiskers, potassium octatitanate, quartz, kevlar, polypropylene and titanium dioxide. For some of the fibrous material reviewed, there is conformity between the results of intraperitoneal and inhalation tests such that they are either consistently positive or consistently negative. For the remaining fibrous materials reviewed, intraperitoneal and inhalation tests give different results, with positive results in the intraperitoneal test not being reflected by positive inhalation results. It is suggested that the intraperitoneal test can be used to exonerate a dust or fibre (because if negative in the intraperitoneal test it is extremely unlikely to be positive in either inhalation or intratracheal tests) but should not be used to positively determine that a dust or fibre is carcinogenic by inhalation. We would argue against the use of intraperitoneal tests for human health risk assessment except perhaps for the purpose of exoneration of a material from classification as a carcinogen.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Modelling the long-term benefits of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with Verteporfin for age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the United Kingdom and the rest of the western world. It occurs in 15% to 30% of individuals over 75 years of age. About 15% of these patients develop a more aggressive wet form of the disease that causes severe loss of vision. This report contains estimates of the benefits of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin therapy using a modeling approach based on clinical trial data. While this report covers only the effects of the treatment, the model built was customizable so that it could be populated with local cost data. This made it possible to use the model to help inform local formulary decisions.clinical trial, blindness, vision

Revisiting the one in four: the prevalence of psychiatric disorder in the population of England 2000-2014

Mental health problems are often said to affect one in four people in Britain, although with no consistent explanation of what the figure includes. We used three English national population surveys of psychiatric morbidity from 2000, 2007 and 2014 to provide prevalence rates for recent psychiatric problems. We combined disorders progressively to demonstrate the effects of cumulation. Psychosis had a prevalence of around 1%, severe common mental disorders added about 8%, and including less-severe common mental disorders gave a value around one in six. The figure of one in four required the inclusion of various other disorders. These values were strikingly stable over the surveys

Computational and algebraic aspects of two-dimensional, linear, multivariable control systems

There are at present a large number of theoretical and algorithmic results relating to one-variable polynomial matrices arising from one-dimensional multivariable systems. In recent years many of the theoretical results have been extended to two-variable polynomial matrices arising from two-dimensional multi variable systems, such as delay-differential or partial differential systems. However there has been no major attempt to extend the algorithmic results associated with single variable polynomial matrices to two-variable or multivariable polynomial matrices. This thesis investigates further some of the extensions of the algebra of one-dimensional multivariable systems to two-dimensional multivariable systems. [Continues.

Two-loop supergravity on AdS5×_5\timesS5^5 from CFT

We describe a construction of the two-loop amplitude of four graviton supermultiplets in AdS$_5\times$S$^5$. We start from an ansatz for a preamplitude from which we generate the full amplitude under the action of a specific Casimir operator. The ansatz captures a recent ansatz of Huang and Yuan and we confirm their result through similar constraints. We identify a class of four-dimensional `zigzag' integrals which are perfectly adapted to describing the leading logarithmic discontinuity to all orders. We also observe that a bonus crossing symmetry of the preamplitude follows from the transformation properties of the Casimir operator. Combined with the zigzag integrals this allows us to construct a crossing symmetric function with the correct leading logarithmic discontinuities in all channels. From the two-loop result we extract an explicit expression for the two-loop correction to the anomalous dimensions of twist-four operators of generic spin which includes dependence on (alternating) nested harmonic sums up to weight three. We also revisit the prescription of the bulk-point limit of AdS amplitudes and show how it recovers the full flat-space amplitude, not just its discontinuity. With this extended notion of the bulk-point limit we reproduce the scale-dependent logarithmic threshold terms of type IIB string theory in flat-space.Comment: 51 pages, 1 ancillary fil

One-loop string corrections to AdS amplitudes from CFT

We consider $\alpha'$ corrections to the one-loop four-point correlator of the stress-tensor multiplet in $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills at order $1/N^4$. Holographically, this is dual to string corrections of the one-loop supergravity amplitude on AdS$_5\times$S$^5$. While this correlator has been considered in Mellin space before, we derive the corresponding position space results, gaining new insights into the analytic structure of AdS loop-amplitudes. Most notably, the presence of a transcendental weight three function involving new singularities is required, which has not appeared in the context of AdS amplitudes before. We thereby confirm the structure of string corrected one-loop Mellin amplitudes, and also provide new explicit results at orders in $\alpha'$ not considered before.Comment: 25 page

Obsessive-compulsive disorder: current management options

© 2019 JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a disabling condition that can severely affect daily activities in both adults and children. This article discusses the psychological and drug treatments available, and highlights instances where referral for specialised treatment is appropriate.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

1.5°C Climate and Energy Scenarios: Impacts on Economic Growth

In the context of calls for ‘de-growth’ (reduction in GDP) in developed countries for them to be able to reduce emissions to ‘net zero’ in time for the temperature target in the Paris Agreement to be met, this article explores the various impacts on economic growth in the IPCC scenarios that limit the average global temperature increase in 2100 to 1.5oC. It finds that the impacts are generally small and that in no case is ‘degrowth’ required, although the requirements for the rate and nature of technological developments are challenging. The article then reports on a modelling exercise that investigates in more detail the economic dynamics of achieving the 1.5oC target. It finds that, as with the IPCC scenarios, and assuming the feasibility of at-scale deployment of carbon capture and negative emission technologies, economic growth continues throughout this century, with a major contribution coming from the investment required to decarbonise the energy system

Bootstrapping string theory on AdS5×S5_5 \times S^5

We make an ansatz for the Mellin representation of the four-point amplitude of half-BPS operators of arbitrary charges at order $\lambda^{-\frac{5}{2}}$ in an expansion around the supergravity limit. Crossing symmetry and a set of constraints on the form of the spectrum uniquely fix the amplitude and double-trace anomalous dimensions at this order. The results exhibit a number of natural patterns which suggest that the bootstrap approach outlined here will extend to higher orders in a simple way.Comment: 6 page

The super-correlator/super-amplitude duality: Part I

We extend the recently discovered duality between MHV amplitudes and the light-cone limit of correlation functions of a particular type of local scalar operators to generic non-MHV amplitudes in planar N=4 SYM theory. We consider the natural generalization of the bosonic correlators to super-correlators of stress-tensor multiplets and show, in a number of examples, that their light-cone limit exactly reproduces the square of the matching super-amplitudes. Our correlators are computed at Born level. If all of their points form a light-like polygon, the correlator is dual to the tree-level amplitude. If a subset of points are not on the polygon but are integrated over, they become Lagrangian insertions generating the loop corrections to the correlator. In this case the duality with amplitudes holds at the level of the integrand. We build up the superspace formalism needed to formulate the duality and present the explicit example of the n-point NMHV tree amplitude as the dual of the lowest nilpotent level in the correlator.Comment: 56 page