Elementary Derivation of the Chiral Anomaly

An elementary derivation of the chiral gauge anomaly in all even dimensions is given in terms of noncommutative traces of pseudo-differential operators.Comment: Minor errors and misprints corrected, a reference added. AmsTex file, 12 output pages. If you do not have preloaded AmsTex you have to \input amstex.te

Housing system, milk production, and zero-grazing effects on lameness and leg injury in dairy cows

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of grazing (G) vs. zero-grazing (ZG), level of milk production,and quality and type of housing system [free stalls (FS)and straw yards (SY)] on the prevalence of lamenessand leg injuries in dairy cows. Observations were madeon 37 commercial dairy farms across Great Britain. Asingle visit of 5 d duration was made to each farm.During this visit, lameness scores and the incidence ofswellings, rubs, and injuries to hocks and knees wererecorded on all the peak- or mid-lactation cows. Aspectsof the quality of housing and management that werelikely to affect foot and leg health were recorded. Therewere more lame cows on ZG farms (39 ± 0.02%) thanon grazing (G) farms (15 ± 0.01%), and lameness scoreswere higher on FS farms compared with SY farms (0.25± 0.01 vs. 0.05 ± 0.01). Cows on SY farms had fewerhock and knee injuries compared with FS farms. The frequency of knee swellings was higher on ZG farms(0.31 ± 0.02) than on G farms (0.15 ± 0.01). Aspects of the free-stall design affected foot and leg health. The number of hock swellings increased with increasing stall gradient (0.16 ± 0.01 with no slope vs. 0.39 ± 0.02at a 0 to 1.5% slope). There was an interaction between the length of the free-stall lunging space and the hip width of the cow, indicating that the incidence of lameness is generally highest on farms with small free stalls and heavy cows. High levels of milk production did not affect lameness or leg injury. The results indicate that housing cows throughout the year potentially has adetrimental effect on foot and leg health. However, good free-stall design may reduce lameness and leg lesion

‘We Need to Deploy Them Very Thoughtfully and Carefully’: Perceptions of Analytical Treatment Interruptions in HIV Cure Research in the United States – A Qualitative Inquiry

Strategies to control HIV in the absence of antiretroviral therapy are needed to cure HIV. However, such strategies will require analytical treatment interruptions (ATIs) to determine their efficacy. We investigated how U.S. stakeholders involved in HIV cure research perceive ATIs. We conducted 36 in-depth interviews with three groups of stakeholders: 12 people living with HIV, 11 clinician-researchers, and 13 policy-makers/bioethicists. Qualitative data revealed several themes. First, there was little consensus on when ATIs would be ethically warranted. Second, the most frequent perceived hypothetical motivators for participating in research on ATIs were advancing science and contributing to society. Third, risks related to viral rebound were the most prevalent concerns related to ATIs. Stakeholders suggested ways to minimize the risks of ATIs in HIV cure research. Increased cooperation between scientists and local communities may be useful for minimizing risk. Further ethics research is necessary

Interobserver agreement for neonatal seizure detection using multichannel EEG

Objective To determine the interobserver agreement (IOA) of neonatal seizure detection using the gold standard of conventional, multichannel EEG. Methods A cohort of full-term neonates at risk of acute encephalopathy was included in this prospective study. The EEG recordings of these neonates were independently reviewed for seizures by three international experts. The IOA was estimated using statistical measures including Fleiss' kappa and percentage agreement assessed over seizure events (event basis) and seizure duration (temporal basis). Results A total of 4066 h of EEG recordings from 70 neonates were reviewed with an average of 2555 seizures detected. The IOA was high with temporal assessment resulting in a kappa of 0.827 (95% CI: 0.769–0.865; n = 70). The median agreement was 83.0% (interquartile range [IQR]: 76.6–89.5%; n = 33) for seizure and 99.7% (IQR: 98.9–99.8%; n = 70) for nonseizure EEG. Analysis of events showed a median agreement of 83.0% (IQR: 72.9–86.6%; n = 33) for seizures with 0.018 disagreements per hour (IQR: 0.000–0.090 per hour; n = 70). Observers were more likely to disagree when a seizure was less than 30 sec. Overall, 33 neonates were diagnosed with seizures and 28 neonates were not, by all three observers. Of the remaining nine neonates with contradictory EEG detections, seven presented with low total seizure burden. Interpretation The IOA is high among experts for the detection of neonatal seizures using conventional, multichannel EEG. Agreement is reduced when seizures are rare or have short duration. These findings support EEG-based decision making in the neonatal intensive care unit, inform EEG interpretation guidelines, and provide benchmarks for seizure detection algorithms.Peer reviewe

ОПТИМАЛЬНЕ ЗА ШВИДКОДІЄЮ КЕРУВАННЯ КОМПЕНСАЦІЙНИМИ СИМЕТРУВАЛЬНИМИ ПРИСТРОЯМИ

Обґрунтований алгоритм оптимального за швидкодією керування компенсаційними симетрувальними пристроями, який рекомендується для застосування за умови істотного зниження напруги у вузлі приєднання споживача.Обоснован алгоритм оптимального по быстродействию управления компенсационными симметрирую- щими устройствами, который рекомендуется для применения при условии существенного снижения на- пряжения в узле присоединения потребител

Harmonising the definition of refinement

Russell and Burch's Three Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) remain the cornerstone for principles guiding humane experimental research. However, the concept of refinement has evolved considerably since its first inception and there have been numerous interpretations, some of which are regressive from the original definition. In this paper we examine the interpretations of refinement, and propose a harmonised progressive definition that is in line with changes in animal ethics and animal welfare science. Our definition should be applied to all aspects of refinement: those related to housing, husbandry and care, techniques used in scientific procedures, periprocedural care, health and welfare monitoring, and experimental design. We argue not only that the concept should include the avoidance or minimisation of adverse effects experienced at any time during the life of an animal destined for use in a laboratory, but also that it should be applied to the founder animals. Furthermore, we take a proactive stance and argue that refinement should include enhancing well-being through environmental enrichment. The acceptance and application of this new definition by legislative authorities and in guidelines would represent a significant step forward for animal welfare

Digital storytelling and Co-creative Media: The role of community arts and media in propagating and coordinating population-wide creative practice

How is creative expression and communication extended among whole populations? What is the social and cultural value of this activity? What roles do formal agencies, community-based organisations and content producer networks play? Specifically, how do participatory media and arts projects and networks contribute to building this capacity in the contemporary communications environment

Willingness to Participate in HIV Cure Research: Survey Results from 400 People Living with HIV in the United States

Introduction Participation in early-phase HIV cure studies includes clinical risks with little to no likelihood of clinical benefit. Examining the willingness of people living with HIV to participate is important to guide study design and informed consent. Our study examined the overall willingness of people living with HIV to participate in HIV cure research in the US, focusing on perceived risks and benefits of participation. Methods We undertook an online survey of adults living with HIV in the US. Survey questions were developed based on previous research and a scoping review of the literature. We quantitatively assessed individuals’ perceived risks and benefits of HIV cure-related research and respondents’ willingness to participate in different modalities of HIV cure studies. Results We recruited 409 study participants of whom 400 were eligible for the study and were included in the analysis (nine were not eligible due to self-declared HIV-negative status). We found >50% willingness to participate in 14 different types of HIV cure studies. Perceived clinical benefits and social benefits were important motivators, while personal clinical risks appeared to deter potential participation. Roughly two-thirds of survey respondents (68%) indicated that they were somewhat willing to stop treatment as part of HIV cure research. In the bivariate models, females, African Americans/blacks, Hispanics, individuals in the lowest income bracket, people living with HIV for longer periods of their lives, and people who were self-perceived ‘very healthy’ were less willing to participate in certain types of HIV cure studies than others. Multivariate results showed the perceived benefits (adjusted odds ratios >1) and perceived risks (adjusted odds ratios <1) acted as potential motivators and deterrents to participation, respectively. Conclusion Our study is the first attempt to quantify potential motivators and deterrents of participation in HIV cure research in the US using perceived risks and benefits. The results offer guidance to HIV cure researchers and developers of interventions about the beneficial and detrimental characteristics of HIV cure strategies that are most meaningful to people living with HIV. The study also highlights new potential lines of inquiry for further social science and ethics research

New Lower Bounds on the Self-Avoiding-Walk Connective Constant

We give an elementary new method for obtaining rigorous lower bounds on the connective constant for self-avoiding walks on the hypercubic lattice $Z^d$. The method is based on loop erasure and restoration, and does not require exact enumeration data. Our bounds are best for high $d$, and in fact agree with the first four terms of the $1/d$ expansion for the connective constant. The bounds are the best to date for dimensions $d \geq 3$, but do not produce good results in two dimensions. For $d=3,4,5,6$, respectively, our lower bound is within 2.4\%, 0.43\%, 0.12\%, 0.044\% of the value estimated by series extrapolation.Comment: 35 pages, 388480 bytes Postscript, NYU-TH-93/02/0

Perceptions of Equipoise, Risk/Benefit Ratios, and ‘Otherwise Healthy Volunteers’ in the Context of Early-Phase HIV Cure Research in the United States – A Qualitative Inquiry

Early-phase HIV cure research is conducted against a background of highly effective antiretroviral therapy, and involves risky interventions in individuals who enjoy an almost normal life expectancy. To explore perceptions of three ethical topics in the context of HIV cure research—(a) equipoise, (b) risk–benefit ratios, and (c) “otherwise healthy volunteers”—we conducted 36 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with three groups of purposively selected key informants: clinician-researchers (n = 11), policy-makers and bioethicists (n = 13), and people living with HIV (PLWHIV; n = 12). Our analysis revealed variability in perceptions of equipoise. Second, most key informants believed there was no clear measure of risk–benefit ratios in HIV cure research, due in part to the complexity of weighing (sometimes unknown) risks to participants and (sometimes speculative) benefits to science and society. Third, most clinician-researchers and policy-makers/bioethicists viewed potential HIV cure study participants as “otherwise healthy volunteers,” but this perception was not shared among PLWHIV in our study