Higher Spin Gravitational Couplings and the Yang--Mills Detour Complex

Gravitational interactions of higher spin fields are generically plagued by inconsistencies. We present a simple framework that couples higher spins to a broad class of gravitational backgrounds (including Ricci flat and Einstein) consistently at the classical level. The model is the simplest example of a Yang--Mills detour complex, which recently has been applied in the mathematical setting of conformal geometry. An analysis of asymptotic scattering states about the trivial field theory vacuum in the simplest version of the theory yields a rich spectrum marred by negative norm excitations. The result is a theory of a physical massless graviton, scalar field, and massive vector along with a degenerate pair of zero norm photon excitations. Coherent states of the unstable sector of the model do have positive norms, but their evolution is no longer unitary and their amplitudes grow with time. The model is of considerable interest for braneworld scenarios and ghost condensation models, and invariant theory.Comment: 19 pages LaTe

Lipidomic analysis of serum from horses with strongyle infection

The development of techniques capable of accurate diagnosis of strongyle infections is at the forefront of research in equine parasitology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential, for using lipidomics in the diagnosis of strongyle infection. Blood and fecal samples were collected from 30 horses. Fecal egg count (FEC) results were used to select the serum samples from six uninfected horses (negative controls) and from the five horses with the highest burdens. The lipid portion of serum samples was extracted and analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy. The concentrations of 66 lipid metabolites differed between infected and uninfected horses (p<0.025). Database comparison of mass/charge (m/z) ratios and retention times were used to tentatively identify 16 of these metabolites. The roles of these metabolites and reasons for the observable changes were discussed. These results demonstrate the potential for the use of high resolution lipidomic analysis, for the development of a diagnostic technique capable of detecting, and perhaps stratifying, equine strongyle infection

Lipidomic analysis of serum from horses with strongyle infection

The development of techniques capable of accurate diagnosis of strongyle infections is at the forefront of research in equine parasitology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential, for using lipidomics in the diagnosis of strongyle infection. Blood and fecal samples were collected from 30 horses. Fecal egg count (FEC) results were used to select the serum samples from six uninfected horses (negative controls) and from the five horses with the highest burdens. The lipid portion of serum samples was extracted and analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy. The concentrations of 66 lipid metabolites differed between infected and uninfected horses (p<0.025). Database comparison of mass/charge (m/z) ratios and retention times were used to tentatively identify 16 of these metabolites. The roles of these metabolites and reasons for the observable changes were discussed. These results demonstrate the potential for the use of high resolution lipidomic analysis, for the development of a diagnostic technique capable of detecting, and perhaps stratifying, equine strongyle infection

Broadening the Debate About Post-trial Access to Medical Interventions: A Qualitative Study of Participant Experiences at the End of a Trial Investigating a Medical Device to Support Type 1 Diabetes Self-Management.

Increasing ethical attention and debate is focusing on whether individuals who take part in clinical trials should be given access to post-trial care. However, the main focus of this debate has been upon drug trials undertaken in low-income settings. To broaden this debate, we report findings from interviews with individuals (n = 24) who participated in a clinical trial of a closed-loop system, which is a medical device under development for people with type 1 diabetes that automatically adjusts blood glucose to help keep it within clinically recommended ranges. Individuals were recruited from UK sites and interviewed following trial close-out, at which point the closed-loop had been withdrawn. While individuals were stoical and accepting of the requirement to return the closed-loop, they also conveyed varying degrees of distress. Many described having relaxed diabetes management practices while using the closed-loop and having become deskilled as a consequence, which made reverting back to pre-trial regimens challenging. Participants also described unanticipated consequences arising from using a closed-loop. As well as deskilling, these included experiencing psychological and emotional benefits that could not be sustained after the closed-loop had been withdrawn and participants reevaluating their pre- and post-trial life in light of having used a closed-loop and now perceiving this life much more negatively. Participants also voiced frustrations about experiencing better blood glucose control using a closed-loop and then having to revert to using what they now saw as antiquated and imprecise self-management tools. We use these findings to argue that ethical debates about post-trial provisioning need to be broadened to consider potential psychological and emotional harms, and not just clinical harms, that may result from withdrawal of investigated treatments. We also suggest that individuals may benefit from information about potential nonclinical harms to help make informed decisions about trial participation.NIHR, JDR

Transabdominal ultrasonographic measurement of caudal vena cava to aorta derived ratios in clinically healthy neonatal foals

Background: Ultrasonographic measurement of the vena cava and aorta (Ao) diameters and their ratios have been suggested to be a reliable way of quantifying hypovolemia. Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and reliability of an ultrasonographic technique for measurement of Ao and caudal vena cava (CVC) and derived ratios using three different acoustic windows in a population of healthy neonatal foals. Correlation between Ao and CVC measurements and ratios and foals' age or bodyweight were also investigated. Methods: In 14 healthy foals aged less than 7 days, the diameters of the Ao and of the CVC in long and short axis were measured by two observers from images obtained using three different ultrasonographic imaging planes (left dorsal, left ventral and right views). The Ao and CVC cross-sectional area and the CVC/Ao diameter and area ratios were calculated. Image quality was subjectively assessed. Intraobserver and interobserver reliabilities for image quality scores and measurements were evaluated between the two observers. Simple linear regression models were used to identify correlations between the CVC/Ao measurements and ratios and the age and bodyweight of the foals. Results: The left ventral view showed the highest reliability. A correlation between bodyweight and the short axis measurement of the CVC was found (R2 = 0.385; p = 0.018). Age was positively correlated with the long axis of measurement of the CVC (R2 = 0.426; p = 0.011) and CVC/Ao diameter ratio (R2 = 0.625; p = 0.001). Conclusions: The left ventral view allows the Ao and CVC cross sections to be easily visualized and measured in neonatal foals in right lateral recumbency