On site 2 : Bruce Armstrong, Paul Boston, Alison Clouston, Susan Norrie

On site 2 : Bruce Armstrong, Paul Boston, Alison Clouston, Susan Norrie Catalogue of exhibition held at the Centre for the Arts Gallery, Oct. 17-31, 1986. Works by Bruce Armstrong, Paul Boston, Alison Clouston, Susan Norri

Use of effective contraception following provision of the progestogen-only pill for women presenting to community pharmacies for emergency contraception (Bridge-It): a pragmatic cluster-randomised crossover trial

BACKGROUND: Unless women start effective contraception after oral emergency contraception, they remain at risk of unintended pregnancy. Most women in the UK obtain emergency contraception from community pharmacies. We hypothesised that pharmacist provision of the progestogen-only pill as a bridging interim method of contraception with emergency contraception plus an invitation to a sexual and reproductive health clinic, in which all methods of contraception are available, would result in increased subsequent use of effective contraception. METHODS: We did a pragmatic cluster-randomised crossover trial in 29 UK pharmacies among women receiving levonorgestrel emergency contraception. Women aged 16 years or older, not already using hormonal contraception, not on medication that could interfere with the progestogen-only pill, and willing to give contact details for follow-up were invited to participate. In the intervention group, women received a 3-month supply of the progestogen-only pill (75 μg desogestrel) plus a rapid access card to a participating sexual and reproductive health clinic. In the control group, pharmacists advised women to attend their usual contraceptive provider. The order in which each pharmacy provided the intervention or control was randomly assigned using a computer software algorithm. The primary outcome was the use of effective contraception (hormonal or intrauterine) at 4 months. This study is registered, ISRCTN70616901 (complete). FINDINGS: Between Dec 19, 2017, and June 26, 2019, 636 women were recruited to the intervention group (316 [49·6%], mean age 22·7 years [SD 5·7]) or the control group (320 [50·3%], 22·6 years [5·1]). Three women (one in the intervention group and two in the control group) were excluded after randomisation. 4-month follow-up data were available for 406 (64%) participants, 25 were lost to follow-up, and two participants no longer wanted to participate in the study. The proportion of women using effective contraception was 20·1% greater (95% CI 5·2-35·0) in the intervention group (mean 58·4%, 48·6-68·2), than in the control group (mean 40·5%, 29·7-51·3 [adjusted for recruitment period, treatment group, and centre]; p=0·011).The difference remained significant after adjusting for age, current sexual relationship, and history of effective contraception use, and was robust to the effect of missing data (assuming missingness at random). No serious adverse events occurred. INTERPRETATION: Provision of a supply of the progestogen-only pill with emergency contraception from a community pharmacist, along with an invitation to a sexual and reproductive health clinic, results in a clinically meaningful increase in subsequent use of effective contraception. Widely implemented, this practice could prevent unintended pregnancies after use of emergency contraception. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research (Health Technology Assessment Programme project 15/113/01)

Conservative treatment for urinary incontinence in Men After Prostate Surgery (MAPS) : two parallel randomised controlled trials

Final Report Submitted to NIHR HTA ProgrammePeer reviewedPublisher PD

Types of urethral catheter for reducing symptomatic urinary tract infections in hospitalised adults requiring short-term catheterisation : multicentre randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of antimicrobial- and antiseptic-impregnated urethral catheters (the CATHETER trial)

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Challenges in optics for Extremely Large Telescope instrumentation

We describe and summarize the optical challenges for future instrumentation for Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). Knowing the complex instrumental requirements is crucial for the successful design of 30-60m aperture telescopes. After all, the success of ELTs will heavily rely on its instrumentation and this, in turn, will depend on the ability to produce large and ultra-precise optical components like light-weight mirrors, aspheric lenses, segmented filters, and large gratings. New materials and manufacturing processes are currently under study, both at research institutes and in industry. In the present paper, we report on its progress with particular emphasize on volume-phase-holographic gratings, photochromic materials, sintered silicon-carbide mirrors, ion-beam figuring, ultra-precision surfaces, and free-form optics. All are promising technologies opening new degrees of freedom to optical designers. New optronic-mechanical systems will enable efficient use of the very large focal planes. We also provide exploratory descriptions of "old" and "new" optical technologies together with suggestions to instrument designers to overcome some of the challenges placed by ELT instrumentation.Comment: (Proc. OPTICON Key Technology Network Workshop, Rome 20-21 October 2005

Study protocol: quantitative fibronectin to help decision-making in women with symptoms of preterm labour (QUIDS) part 2, UK Prospective Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the QUIDS study is to develop a decision support tool for the management of women with symptoms and signs of preterm labour, based on a validated prognostic model using quantitative fetal fibronectin (fFN) concentration, in combination with clinical risk factors. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study will evaluate the Rapid fFN 10Q System (Hologic, Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA) which quantifies fFN in a vaginal swab. In QUIDS part 2, we will perform a prospective cohort study in at least eight UK consultant-led maternity units, in women with symptoms of preterm labour at 22+0 to 34+6 weeks gestation to externally validate a prognostic model developed in QUIDS part 1. The effects of quantitative fFN on anxiety will be assessed, and acceptability of the test and prognostic model will be evaluated in a subgroup of women and clinicians (n=30). The sample size is 1600 women (with estimated 96-192 events of preterm delivery within 7 days of testing). Clinicians will be informed of the qualitative fFN result (positive/negative) but be blinded to quantitative fFN result. Research midwives will collect outcome data from the maternal and neonatal clinical records. The final validated prognostic model will be presented as a mobile or web-based application. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study is funded by the National Institute of Healthcare Research Health Technology Assessment (HTA 14/32/01). It has been approved by the West of Scotland Research Ethics Committee (16/WS/0068). VERSION: Protocol V.2, Date 1 November 2016. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN 41598423andCPMS: 31277

The philosophy of critical realism and childhood studies

Critical realism is a philosophy of social science that analyses and aims to remedy current problems and gaps. Basic tenets of positivist and quantitative research tend to contradict those of qualitative and interpretive research, and critical realism proposes ways to resolve the contradictions. Vital themes in childhood research that are reviewed in this article include a comparison with feminist research, critical realism, being and thought, transitive and intransitive, theory/practice consistency, agency and structure, closed and open systems, micro and macro in the global/local nexus, four planar social being, facts and values, and transformative change through the four-stage MELD dialectic. Critical realism aims to understand the world in order to be able move from coercion towards creative liberating power

Finite Temperature Models of Bose-Einstein Condensation

The theoretical description of trapped weakly-interacting Bose-Einstein condensates is characterized by a large number of seemingly very different approaches which have been developed over the course of time by researchers with very distinct backgrounds. Newcomers to this field, experimentalists and young researchers all face a considerable challenge in navigating through the `maze' of abundant theoretical models, and simple correspondences between existing approaches are not always very transparent. This Tutorial provides a generic introduction to such theories, in an attempt to single out common features and deficiencies of certain `classes of approaches' identified by their physical content, rather than their particular mathematical implementation. This Tutorial is structured in a manner accessible to a non-specialist with a good working knowledge of quantum mechanics. Although some familiarity with concepts of quantum field theory would be an advantage, key notions such as the occupation number representation of second quantization are nonetheless briefly reviewed. Following a general introduction, the complexity of models is gradually built up, starting from the basic zero-temperature formalism of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. This structure enables readers to probe different levels of theoretical developments (mean-field, number-conserving and stochastic) according to their particular needs. In addition to its `training element', we hope that this Tutorial will prove useful to active researchers in this field, both in terms of the correspondences made between different theoretical models, and as a source of reference for existing and developing finite-temperature theoretical models.Comment: Detailed Review Article on finite temperature theoretical techniques for studying weakly-interacting atomic Bose-Einstein condensates written at an elementary level suitable for non-experts in this area (e.g. starting PhD students). Now includes table of content

Evaluating pharmacological THRomboprophylaxis in Individuals undergoing superficial endoVEnous treatment across NHS and private clinics in the UK: a multi-centre, assessor-blind, randomised controlled trial - THRIVE trial

\ua9 Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.Introduction Endovenous therapy is the first choice management for symptomatic varicose veins in NICE guidelines, with 56-70 000 procedures performed annually in the UK. Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a known complication of endovenous therapy, occurring at a rate of up to 3.4%. Despite 73% of UK practitioners administering pharmacological thromboprophylaxis to reduce VTE, no high-quality evidence supporting this practice exists. Pharmacological thromboprophylaxis may have clinical and cost benefit in preventing VTE; however, further evidence is needed. This study aims to establish whether when endovenous therapy is undertaken: a single dose or course of pharmacological thromboprophylaxis alters the risk of VTE; pharmacological thromboprophylaxis is associated with an increased rate of bleeding events; pharmacological prophylaxis is cost effective. Methods and analysis A multi-centre, assessor-blind, randomised controlled trial (RCT) will recruit 6660 participants from 40 NHS and private sites across the UK. Participants will be randomised to intervention (single dose or extended course of pharmacological thromboprophylaxis plus compression) or control (compression alone). Participants will undergo a lower limb venous duplex ultrasound scan at 21-28 days post-procedure to identify asymptomatic DVT. The duplex scan will be conducted locally by blinded assessors. Participants will be contacted remotely for follow-up at 7 days and 90 days post-procedure. The primary outcome is imaging-confirmed lower limb DVT with or without symptoms or PE with symptoms within 90 days of treatment. The main analysis will be according to the intention-to-treat principle and will compare the rates of VTE at 90 days, using a repeated measures analysis of variance, adjusting for any pre-specified strongly prognostic baseline covariates using a mixed effects logistic regression. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was granted by Brent Research Ethics Committee (22/LO/0261). Results will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at national and international conferences. Trial registration number ISRCTN18501431

Beyond Gross-Pitaevskii Mean Field Theory

A large number of effects related to the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC) can be understood in terms of lowest order mean field theory, whereby the entire system is assumed to be condensed, with thermal and quantum fluctuations completely ignored. Such a treatment leads to the Gross-Pitaevskii Equation (GPE) used extensively throughout this book. Although this theory works remarkably well for a broad range of experimental parameters, a more complete treatment is required for understanding various experiments, including experiments with solitons and vortices. Such treatments should include the dynamical coupling of the condensate to the thermal cloud, the effect of dimensionality, the role of quantum fluctuations, and should also describe the critical regime, including the process of condensate formation. The aim of this Chapter is to give a brief but insightful overview of various recent theories, which extend beyond the GPE. To keep the discussion brief, only the main notions and conclusions will be presented. This Chapter generalizes the presentation of Chapter 1, by explicitly maintaining fluctuations around the condensate order parameter. While the theoretical arguments outlined here are generic, the emphasis is on approaches suitable for describing single weakly-interacting atomic Bose gases in harmonic traps. Interesting effects arising when condensates are trapped in double-well potentials and optical lattices, as well as the cases of spinor condensates, and atomic-molecular coupling, along with the modified or alternative theories needed to describe them, will not be covered here.Comment: Review Article (19 Pages) - To appear in 'Emergent Nonlinear Phenomena in Bose-Einstein Condensates: Theory and Experiment', Edited by P.G. Kevrekidis, D.J. Frantzeskakis and R. Carretero-Gonzalez (Springer Verlag