La modernización administrativa en el Reino Unido: una perspectiva general

Sin resume

Four New Planets Orbiting Metal-enriched Stars

Peer reviewe

Management of failed spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section

Background. Failed spinal anaesthesia for caesarean section (CS) may be partial or complete and the subsequent discomfort is the most commonly cited cause of litigation in obstetric anaesthesia.Objectives. To determine if there is a standardised approach to: (i) testing the level of block of spinal anaesthesia; and (ii) the management of failed spinal anaesthesia for CS.Methods. A structured questionnaire to ascertain the current practice of testing the level of block and management of three different scenarios of failed spinal anaesthesia was distributed to 51 government hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (SA). All obstetric anaesthetic service providers, ranging from interns to specialist anaesthetists, were invited to complete the questionnaire.Results. A total of 375 responses were received from 42 of the 51 hospitals surveyed. Specialist anaesthetists managed failure of spinal anaesthesia significantly differently than other anaesthetic service providers. Specialists were more likely to convert to a general anaesthetic (GA), while others were more likely to repeat spinal anaesthesia or administer intravenous ketamine, midazolam and opioids. Only 212 respondents (56%) tested the level of block and there was no difference between the groups with regard to the method of assessment of height (p=0.15). Nonspecialists, however, accepted a significantly lower level of block, using pinprick, than specialists (p=0.027), which could lead to a higher failure rate. More than one-third of non-specialists did not consider themselves competent to perform a GA and >90% of respondents agreed that a ‘failed’ spinal algorithm would be useful.Conclusion. There is a need for standardised assessment of the adequacy of spinal anaesthesia for CS in SA, as well as a failed spinal algorithm

The distribution of iodine and bromine in the sediments of the southwestern Barents Sea

In 42 surface sediments from the southwestern Barents Sea, iodine and bromine ranged from 60 to 828 p.p.m. and 12 to 257 p.p.m., respectively. In the surface environment, both I and Br are related to organic matter; the dependence of halogens on the grain size of the sediment is small...

A successful clinical pilot registry of four radiation oncology practices in Africa and Ontario

A journal article on radiation oncology practices in Africa and Ontario, Canada.Cancer is a major disease category in higher-income countries (HIC), In HIC, health resources are substantial, with budgets for health care exceeding 10% of Gross Domestic Product of large economies. This resourcing is many times higher than that in low- and-middle-income countries (LMIC) where there are fewer infrastructures and less political and sociocultural support. However, cancer is an increasing concern in LMIC's due to improving longevity and the changing prevalences of etiological agents and broader determinants of disease. Indeed, global mortality from cancer exceeds that from tuberculosis, malaria and HIV-AIDS combined2, and there are many more cancer cases in LMIC than in HIC

Steered molecular dynamics simulations on the binding of the appendant structure and helix-β2 in domain-swapped human cystatin C dimer

We have performed steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations to investigate the dissociation process between the appendant structure (AS) and helix-β2 in human cystatin C dimer. Energy change during SMD showed that electrostatic interactions, including hydrogen bonds and salt bridges, were the dominant interactions to stabilize the two parts of the dimer. Furthermore, our data indicated that residues, Asn35, Asp40, Ser44, Lys75, and Arg93 play significant roles in the formation of these electrostatic interactions. Docking studies suggested that the interactions between AS and β2-helix were formed following domain swapping and were responsible for stabilizing the structure of the domain-swapped dimer

Toric anti-self-dual Einstein metrics via complex geometry

Using the twistor correspondence, we give a classification of toric anti-self-dual Einstein metrics: each such metric is essentially determined by an odd holomorphic function. This explains how the Einstein metrics fit into the classification of general toric anti-self-dual metrics given in an earlier paper (math.DG/0602423). The results complement the work of Calderbank-Pedersen (math.DG/0105263), who describe where the Einstein metrics appear amongst the Joyce spaces, leading to a different classification. Taking the twistor transform of our result gives a new proof of their theorem.Comment: v2. Published version. Additional references. 14 page

Distilling programs for verification

In this paper, we show how our program transformation algorithm called distillation can not only be used for the optimisation of programs, but can also be used to facilitate program verification. Using the distillation algorithm, programs are transformed into a specialised form in which functions are tail recursive, and very few intermediate structures are created. We then show how properties of this specialised form of program can be easily verified by the application of inductive proof rules. We therefore argue that the distillation algorithm is an ideal candidate for inclusion within compilers as it facilitates the two goals of program optimization and verification

Complex structure moduli stability in toroidal compactifications

In this paper we present a classification of possible dynamics of closed string moduli within specific toroidal compactifications of Type II string theories due to the NS-NS tadpole terms in the reduced action. They appear as potential terms for the moduli when supersymmetry is broken due to the presence of D-branes. We particularise to specific constructions with two, four and six-dimensional tori, and study the stabilisation of the complex structure moduli at the disk level. We find that, depending on the cycle on the compact space where the brane is wrapped, there are three possible cases: i) there is a solution inside the complex structure moduli space, and the configuration is stable at the critical point, ii) the moduli fields are driven towards the boundary of the moduli space, iii) there is no stable solution at the minimum of the potential and the system decays into a set of branes.Comment: 24 pages, JHEP3.cls, 19 figures. A few references adde

Inflation on Fractional Branes: D--Brane Inflation as D--Term Inflation

We describe a D--brane inflation model which consists of two fractional D3 branes separated on a transverse $T^2 \times K3$. Inflation arises due to the resolved orbifold singularity of $K3$ which corresponds to an anomalous D--term on the brane. We show that D--brane inflation in the bulk corresponds to D--term inflation on the brane. The inflaton and the trigger field parametrize the interbrane distances on $T^2$ an $K3$ respectively. After inflation the branes reach a supersymmetric configuration in which they are at the origin of $T^2$ but separated along the $K3$ directions.Comment: 15 pages in phyzzx.tex; minor corrections including all factors of 2\pi; v3: more minor correction