Lunar laser ranging data deposited in the National Space Science Data Center: Filtered observations for September 1969 through June 1970 and unfiltered photon detections for July through December 1970

The technique of laser ranging to a reflector fixed on the lunar surface is discussed. The causes for initial low rate of data acquisition are explained. The documentation to be used in conjunction with the deposition of the filtered data in the National Space Science Data Center are documented. Filtered data obtained during laser operations between the McDonald Observatory and the reflector at Tranquility Base during the interval September 1969 through June 1970 are presented. The unfiltered photon detections for the succeeding six months are examined

Understanding the role of obsolescence in PPP/PFI

In 2013 the Guardian newspaper reported that the UK Government had acquired £300 billion worth of capital costs and unitary payments within the formally known Private Finance Initiatives – now Public Private Partnerships. This paper is not about the economics or moral debate upon the success and failures of PPP’s within the UK, but rather the untold story of the impact of obsolescence upon the integral asset systems which support the service delivery. Prisons require supportable and maintainable security systems, the same can be said for government/defence buildings, not to the mention the life critical systems within hospitals and clinics across the country. However, there is an untold story, which is impacting the through life or lifecycle costs to support and maintain key asset systems, driving additional lifecycle expenditures that may be unforeseen. This paper contains evidence of the scale of the financial impact of obsolescence through obsolescence driven investments, not least to mention the potential operational impacts if systems become unsupportable. This paper begins to create a foundation for future research focusing on obsolescence and how best to monitor and mitigate its effects

Identifying and Managing Asset Obsolescence within the Built Environment

Obsolescence in practice commonly occurs in two forms; the asset in question is no longer suitable for current demands, or is no longer available from manufacturers. Most research surrounding obsolescence has targeted short lifecycle components such as electronics or software (2-5 years). There is little consideration of low volume, long-life assets (20+ years) that are commonplace within the built environment (e.g. Uninterruptable Power Supply Systems, Building Management Systems and Fire Alarm Systems). This paper evidences the importance of identifying asset obsolescence within the built environment by observing 'lifecycle mismatches' within a live case study of a ten year old UK Private Finance Initiative (PFI). This paper develops and proposes an original assessment tool, identifying obsolescence within the built environment and empirically tests it within the case study. The methodology and results combine to evidence the importance of obsolescence and the contractual and financial risk it poses. The model is transferrable and scalable thus allowing larger portfolios to be considered. The levels of identifying obsolescence within long-life assets are increasing, whilst the lifecycles of certain component groups are decreasing; posing a growing problem for future Facility Managers

Antibody-targeted nanoparticles for cancer treatment

Nanoparticles (NPs) are diverse and versatile with physical properties that can be employed for use in cancer medicine. Targeting NPs using antibodies and antibody fragments could overcome some of the limitations seen with current targeted therapies. This review will discuss the role of antibody-targeted NPs in the treatment of cancer: as delivery vehicles, targeted theranostic agents and in the evolving field of cancer hyperthermia

Critical Point Field Mixing in an Asymmetric Lattice Gas Model

The field mixing that manifests broken particle-hole symmetry is studied for a 2-D asymmetric lattice gas model having tunable field mixing properties. Monte Carlo simulations within the grand canonical ensemble are used to obtain the critical density distribution for different degrees of particle-hole asymmetry. Except in the special case when this asymmetry vanishes, the density distributions exhibit an antisymmetric correction to the limiting scale-invariant form. The presence of this correction reflects the mixing of the critical energy density into the ordering operator. Its functional form is found to be in excellent agreement with that predicted by the mixed-field finite-size-scaling theory of Bruce and Wilding. A computational procedure for measuring the significant field mixing parameter is also described, and its accuracy gauged by comparing the results with exact values obtained analytically.Comment: 10 Pages, LaTeX + 8 figures available from author on request, To appear in Z. Phys.

How well do we currently care for our dying patients in acute hospitals: the views of the bereaved relatives?

Background The National Care of the Dying Audit—Hospitals (NCDAH) is used as a method to evaluate care for dying patients in England. An additional component to the 2013/2014 audit was the Local Survey of Bereaved Relatives Views using the ‘Care Of the Dying Evaluation’ (CODE) questionnaire. Aim Within the context of the NCDAH audit, to evaluate quality of care provided to dying patients and their families in acute hospitals from the perspective of bereaved relatives. Design Postbereavement survey to bereaved relatives. Setting/participants For acute hospitals wishing to participate, consecutive ‘expected’ adult deaths occurring between 1 May and 30 June 2013 were identified and the CODE questionnaire was sent to the next-of-kin. Results From 3414 eligible next-of-kin, 95 (2.8%) were excluded due to being involved in a complaint procedure and 1006 (29.5%) due to insufficient next-of-kin details. From the remaining 2313 potential participants, 858 returned a completed CODE questionnaire (37.1% response rate). Generally, symptoms were perceived to be well controlled with 769 (91%) participants reporting that either no pain was present or only there ‘some of the time’. Unmet information needs, however, was a recognised area for improvement, for example, 230 (29%) reporting having a discussion about hydration would have been beneficial. Conclusions Adopting a postbereavement survey to NCDAH appears to be feasible, acceptable and a valuable addition. On the whole, the majority of participants reported good or excellent care. A small but significant minority, however, perceived poor quality of patient care with clear and timely communication urgently needed

A renormalisation approach to excitable reaction-diffusion waves in fractal media

Of fundamental importance to wave propagation in a wide range of physical phenomena is the structural geometry of the supporting medium. Recently, there have been several investigations on wave propagation in fractal media. We present here a renormalization approach to the study of reaction-diffusion (RD) wave propagation on finitely ramified fractal structures. In particular we will study a Rinzel-Keller (RK) type model, supporting travelling waves on a Sierpinski gasket (SG), lattice

Vaccine-preventable haemophilus influenza type B disease burden and cost-effectiveness of infant vaccination in Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: Most of Asia, including Indonesia, does not use Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccines. We estimated total vaccine-preventable disease burden and the cost-effectiveness of Hib conjugate vaccine in Indonesia. METHODS: Hib pneumonia and meningitis incidences for children with access to health care were derived from a randomized vaccine probe study on Lombok Island, Indonesia during 1998-2002. Incidences were adjusted for limited access to care. Health system and patient out-of-pocket treatment cost data were collected concurrent with the probe study. For Hib vaccine in monovalent and combined (with DTP-HepB) presentations, we used 2007 UNICEF vaccine prices of US$3.30 and$3.75 per dose. RESULTS: For the 2007 Indonesian birth cohort, Hib vaccine would prevent meningitis in 1 of every 179 children, pneumonia in 1 of every 18 children, and 4.9% of mortality among those younger than 5 years. The total incremental societal costs of introducing Hib vaccine in monovalent and pentavalent presentations were, respectively, US$11.74 and$8.93 per child vaccinated. Annual discounted treatment costs averted amounted to 20% of pentavalent vaccine costs. For the pentavalent vaccine, the incremental costs per discounted death and disability adjusted life-year averted amounted to US$3102 and$74, respectively, versus $4438 and$102 for monovalent vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: Routine infant Hib vaccination would prevent a large burden of pediatric illness and death in Indonesia. Even without external funding support, Hib vaccine will be a highly cost-effective intervention in either a monovalent or pentavalent presentation based on commonly used benchmarks

Ipilimumab and Bevacizumab in Glioblastoma

The median survival in glioblastoma is just over a year, with no standard second-line therapy. Ipilimumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor that activates the anti-tumour immune response by cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 blockade. There is significant evidence supporting its role in the treatment of malignant melanoma, including in patients with brain metastases. The addition of the anti-angiogenesis agent, bevacizumab, seems to offer additional benefit and limit the immune-related side-effects of ipilimumab in melanoma. To date there have been no clinical trials investigating this combination in glioblastoma. In this single practice case series, 20 patients with glioblastoma were consented for and treated with ipilimumab and bevacizumab in combination. Safety, tolerability and the response to treatment were reviewed for all patients. Three patients were treated after palliative first-line radiotherapy, one patient after first-line chemoradiation and 16 patients were treated with recurrent disease. Sixty-five per cent of patients completed four cycles of 3 weekly ipilimumab therapy, administered with 2 weekly bevacizumab. Radiographic responses for patients with recurrent disease were evaluated by Response Assessment in Neuro-oncology (RANO) criteria; 31% of patients showed a partial response, 31% had stable disease and 38% had disease progression. The treatment combination was well tolerated, with treatment terminated before completion due to adverse events in two patients. Autoimmune toxicity was manageable with systemic corticosteroid therapy. Ipilimumab and bevacizumab in combination show promising activity with a predictable and manageable toxicity profile, warranting further clinical studies