Monitoring External Resources in Java MIDP

We present a Java library for mobile phones which tracks and controls at runtime the use of potentially costly resources, such as premium rate text messages. This improves on the existing framework (MIDP — the Mobile Information Device Profile [6]), where for example every text message must be authorised explicitly by the user as it is sent. Our resource management library supports richer protocols, like advance reservation and bulk messaging, while maintaining the security guarantee that attempted resource abuse is trapped

Analysis of magma flux and eruption intensity during the 2021 explosive activity at the Soufrière of St Vincent, West Indies

Seismic RSAM signals and eruption cloud height measurements were used to estimate peak intensities of 40 explosive events during the 8-22 April 2021 activity of the Soufrière volcano. We estimated magma supply rates and erupted volumes in each explosion, characterized uncertainty by stochastic modelling and identified four eruptive stages. Stage 1 included an intense period of 9.5 hours with 11 explosive events with peak eruption intensity between 2000 and 4000 m3/s and magma supply rate reaching 828 m3/s. 12 high intensity explosions (∼4000 m3/s) occurred in Stage 2 with average magma supply rate of 251 m3/s. Stage 3 involved declining intensity, magma supply rate and lengthening repose periods between explosions. Stage 4 involved 3 much weaker explosions. The total erupted volume of magma is estimated at 38.5 × 106 m3 (90% credible interval: [22.0 .. 61.9] × 106 m3) consistent with independent estimates from analysis of tephra deposits and volcano subsidence sourced at ∼6 km depth. The 150-fold increase in magma supply rate, from the preceding effusive phase to Stage 1 of the explosive phase, is attributed to replacement of very high viscosity degassed magma occupying the shallow conduit system with new lower viscosity volatile-rich magma from the magma chamber. Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.655800

Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent-shunts: a new option in portal hypertension.

These guidelines on transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent-shunt (TIPSS) in the management of portal hypertension have been commissioned by the Clinical Services and Standards Committee (CSSC) of the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) under the auspices of the Liver Section of the BSG. The guidelines are new and have been produced in collaboration with the British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR) and British Association of the Study of the Liver (BASL). The guidelines development group comprises elected members of the BSG Liver Section, representation from BASL, a nursing representative and two patient representatives. The quality of evidence and grading of recommendations was appraised using the GRADE system. These guidelines are aimed at healthcare professionals considering referring a patient for a TIPSS. They comprise the following subheadings: indications; patient selection; procedural details; complications; and research agenda. They are not designed to address: the management of the underlying liver disease; the role of TIPSS in children; or complex technical and procedural aspects of TIPSS.</jats:p

Quality standards for the management of alcohol-related liver disease: consensus recommendations from the British Association for the Study of the Liver and British Society of Gastroenterology ARLD special interest group

Objective Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) is the most common cause of liver-related ill health and liver-related deaths in the UK, and deaths from ALD have doubled in the last decade. The management of ALD requires treatment of both liver disease and alcohol use; this necessitates effective and constructive multidisciplinary working. To support this, we have developed quality standard recommendations for the management of ALD, based on evidence and consensus expert opinion, with the aim of improving patient care.Design A multidisciplinary group of experts from the British Association for the Study of the Liver and British Society of Gastroenterology ALD Special Interest Group developed the quality standards, with input from the British Liver Trust and patient representatives.Results The standards cover three broad themes: the recognition and diagnosis of people with ALD in primary care and the liver outpatient clinic; the management of acutely decompensated ALD including acute alcohol-related hepatitis and the posthospital care of people with advanced liver disease due to ALD. Draft quality standards were initially developed by smaller working groups and then an anonymous modified Delphi voting process was conducted by the entire group to assess the level of agreement with each statement. Statements were included when agreement was 85% or greater. Twenty-four quality standards were produced from this process which support best practice. From the final list of statements, a smaller number of auditable key performance indicators were selected to allow services to benchmark their practice and an audit tool provided.Conclusion It is hoped that services will review their practice against these recommendations and key performance indicators and institute service development where needed to improve the care of patients with ALD

Unacceptable failures: the final report of the <em>Lancet</em> Commission into liver disease in the UK

This final report of the Lancet Commission into liver disease in the UK stresses the continuing increase in burden of liver disease from excess alcohol consumption and obesity, with high levels of hospital admissions which are worsening in deprived areas. Only with comprehensive food and alcohol strategies based on fiscal and regulatory measures (including a minimum unit price for alcohol, the alcohol duty escalator, and an extension of the sugar levy on food content) can the disease burden be curtailed. Following introduction of minimum unit pricing in Scotland, alcohol sales fell by 3%, with the greatest effect on heavy drinkers of low-cost alcohol products. We also discuss the major contribution of obesity and alcohol to the ten most common cancers as well as measures outlined by the departing Chief Medical Officer to combat rising levels of obesity—the highest of any country in the west. Mortality of severely ill patients with liver disease in district general hospitals is unacceptably high, indicating the need to develop a masterplan for improving hospital care. We propose a plan based around specialist hospital centres that are linked to district general hospitals by operational delivery networks. This plan has received strong backing from the British Association for Study of the Liver and British Society of Gastroenterology, but is held up at NHS England. The value of so-called day-case care bundles to reduce high hospital readmission rates with greater care in the community is described, along with examples of locally derived schemes for the early detection of disease and, in particular, schemes to allow general practitioners to refer patients directly for elastography assessment. New funding arrangements for general practitioners will be required if these proposals are to be taken up more widely around the country. Understanding of the harm to health from lifestyle causes among the general population is low, with a poor knowledge of alcohol consumption and dietary guidelines. The Lancet Commission has serious doubts about whether the initiatives described in the Prevention Green Paper, with the onus placed on the individual based on the use of information technology and the latest in behavioural science, will be effective. We call for greater coordination between official and non-official bodies that have highlighted the unacceptable disease burden from liver disease in England in order to present a single, strong voice to the higher echelons of government

New metrics for the Lancet Standing Commission on Liver Disease in the UK

Health Polic

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist