A HIERARCHY OF GAUGED GRASSMANIAN MODELS IN 4p4p DIMENSIONS WITH SELF-DUAL INSTANTONS

We present a hierarchy of gauged Grassmanian models in $4p$ dimensions, where the gauge field takes its values in the $2^{2p- 1}\times 2^{2p-1}$ chiral representation of SO(4p). The actions of all these models are absolutely minimised by a hierarchy of self-duality equations, all of which reduce to a single pair of coupled ordinary differential equations when subjected to $4p$ dimensional spherical symmetry.Comment: latex file, 13 page

Digital Library Education: Some International Course Structure Comparisons

Digital Library Education (DLE) is assuming increasing importance and it is clear there is a pressing need from social trends and technology for educational developments in this new and fast moving area [1, 3]. Our latest review of progress in DLE and other recent studies [1, 2] pointed out that the number of library schools offering DL education is still growing. By the end of 2006 (based on modules titles shown on-line), 28% (5/18) of all universities with accredited programmes by CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) in the UK and over 60% (34/56) of all library schools by ALA (American Library Association) in the USA and Canada are offering specific DL education. Around 40% of DLE is now either specialized independent or certificate programmes and courses, mainly in North America. However, there is currently no widely accepted formal curriculum framework for digital librarianship [2]. A major difficulty for academics in library and information science (LIS) is how to incorporate all of the DL technologies to their DLE, and no formal widely accepted framework of DLE has yet been established [1, 2, 3, 4]. It is difficult to compare full-scale independent programmes with other programmes that are more traditionally-based but which have modules on DLs [3, 4]. This and others recent studies [1, 2, 5] show there is a pressing need for educators to explore the specific question of what should be the standard framework for DLE in LIS to ensure that students and their employers – can be assured of having an adequate skill set to work confidently and productively in this area. DLE taught in a Computer Science environment benefits from an outline framework from CC2001 but no such framework has yet been promulgated from LIS based programmes [1, 2]

PARADISE (statistical analysis plan): predicting atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery – the PARADISE score. A clinical prediction rule for postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing cardiac surgery

This document details the proposed statistical analysis and presentation of the results for the main paper reporting the findings from the NIHR funded Clinical Prediction Rule for Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery after Cardiac Surgery -the PARADISE Score. This plan is intended to establish the rules that will be followed, as closely as possible, when modelling and reporting the prediction model. This analysis plan will be available on request after submitting the main papers for publication in a scientific journal. Any deviations from the statistical analysis plan will be described and justified in the final report of the study. An identified, appropriately qualified, and experienced statistician will conduct the analysis, as well as ensuring the integrity of the data during their processing. Examples of such procedures include quality control and evaluation procedures

Dissecting early regulatory relationships in the lamprey neural crest gene network

The neural crest, a multipotent embryonic cell type, originates at the border between neural and nonneural ectoderm. After neural tube closure, these cells undergo an epithelial–mesenchymal transition, migrate to precise, often distant locations, and differentiate into diverse derivatives. Analyses of expression and function of signaling and transcription factors in higher vertebrates has led to the proposal that a neural crest gene regulatory network (NC-GRN) orchestrates neural crest formation. Here, we interrogate the NC-GRN in the lamprey, taking advantage of its slow development and basal phylogenetic position to resolve early inductive events, 1 regulatory step at the time. To establish regulatory relationships at the neural plate border, we assess relative expression of 6 neural crest network genes and effects of individually perturbing each on the remaining 5. The results refine an upstream portion of the NC-GRN and reveal unexpected order and linkages therein; e.g., lamprey AP-2 appears to function early as a neural plate border rather than a neural crest specifier and in a pathway linked to MsxA but independent of ZicA. These findings provide an ancestral framework for performing comparative tests in higher vertebrates in which network linkages may be more difficult to resolve because of their rapid development

Experimental realisation of Shor's quantum factoring algorithm using qubit recycling

Quantum computational algorithms exploit quantum mechanics to solve problems exponentially faster than the best classical algorithms. Shor's quantum algorithm for fast number factoring is a key example and the prime motivator in the international effort to realise a quantum computer. However, due to the substantial resource requirement, to date, there have been only four small-scale demonstrations. Here we address this resource demand and demonstrate a scalable version of Shor's algorithm in which the n qubit control register is replaced by a single qubit that is recycled n times: the total number of qubits is one third of that required in the standard protocol. Encoding the work register in higher-dimensional states, we implement a two-photon compiled algorithm to factor N=21. The algorithmic output is distinguishable from noise, in contrast to previous demonstrations. These results point to larger-scale implementations of Shor's algorithm by harnessing scalable resource reductions applicable to all physical architectures.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Digital Library Education: Some International Course Structure Comparisons

Digital Library Education (DLE) is assuming increasing importance and it is clear there is a pressing need from social trends and technology for educational developments in this new and fast moving area [1, 3]. Our latest review of progress in DLE and other recent studies [1, 2] pointed out that the number of library schools offering DL education is still growing. By the end of 2006 (based on modules titles shown on-line), 28% (5/18) of all universities with accredited programmes by CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) in the UK and over 60% (34/56) of all library schools by ALA (American Library Association) in the USA and Canada are offering specific DL education. Around 40% of DLE is now either specialized independent or certificate programmes and courses, mainly in North America. However, there is currently no widely accepted formal curriculum framework for digital librarianship [2]. A major difficulty for academics in library and information science (LIS) is how to incorporate all of the DL technologies to their DLE, and no formal widely accepted framework of DLE has yet been established [1, 2, 3, 4]. It is difficult to compare full-scale independent programmes with other programmes that are more traditionally-based but which have modules on DLs [3, 4]. This and others recent studies [1, 2, 5] show there is a pressing need for educators to explore the specific question of what should be the standard framework for DLE in LIS to ensure that students and their employers – can be assured of having an adequate skill set to work confidently and productively in this area. DLE taught in a Computer Science environment benefits from an outline framework from CC2001 but no such framework has yet been promulgated from LIS based programmes [1, 2]

Digital Library Education: Some International Course Structure Comparisons

Following our recent review of progress in Digital Library (DL) education [1], we present here a brief overview of current work to investigate the commonality/diversity of course structure between ten institutions outside North America which offer DL education in their library schools. The weighting of specifically DL module topic credits as a proportion of the overall course taught credits varies between 13% and 63%, and coverage of a proposed core topic set [2] is as high as 85%

Description and process evaluation of pharmacists’ interventions in a pharmacist-led information technology-enabled multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial for reducing medication errors in general practice (PINCER trial)

Objective To undertake a process evaluation of pharmacists' recommendations arising in the context of a complex IT-enabled pharmacist-delivered randomised controlled trial (PINCER trial) to reduce the risk of hazardous medicines management in general practices. Methods PINCER pharmacists manually recorded patients’ demographics, details of interventions recommended, actions undertaken by practice staff and time taken to manage individual cases of hazardous medicines management. Data were coded and double entered into SPSS v15, and then summarised using percentages for categorical data (with 95% CI) and, as appropriate, means (SD) or medians (IQR) for continuous data. Key findings Pharmacists spent a median of 20 minutes (IQR 10, 30) reviewing medical records, recommending interventions and completing actions in each case of hazardous medicines management. Pharmacists judged 72% (95%CI 70, 74) (1463/2026) of cases of hazardous medicines management to be clinically relevant. Pharmacists recommended 2105 interventions in 74% (95%CI 73, 76) (1516/2038) of cases and 1685 actions were taken in 61% (95%CI 59, 63) (1246/2038) of cases; 66% (95%CI 64, 68) (1383/2105) of interventions recommended by pharmacists were completed and 5% (95%CI 4, 6) (104/2105) of recommendations were accepted by general practitioners (GPs), but not completed at the end of the pharmacists’ placement; the remaining recommendations were rejected or considered not relevant by GPs. Conclusions The outcome measures were used to target pharmacist activity in general practice towards patients at risk from hazardous medicines management. Recommendations from trained PINCER pharmacists were found to be broadly acceptable to GPs and led to ameliorative action in the majority of cases. It seems likely that the approach used by the PINCER pharmacists could be employed by other practice pharmacists following appropriate training

Localisation of Fermions to brane: Codimension d≥2d \geq 2

We investigate $4+d$ dimensional fermionic models in which the system in codimension-$d$ supports a topologically stable solution, and in which the fermion may be localised to the brane, with power law in 'instanton' backgrounds and exponentially in 'soliton' backgrounds. When the fermions are isoscalars, the mechanism fails, while for isospinor fermions it is successful. As backgrounds we consider instantons of Yang--Mills and sigma models in even codimensions, solitons of sigma models in odd codimensions, as well as solitons of Higgs and Goldstone models in all codimensions.Comment: 20 pages latex; expande