The thermal instanton determinant in compact form

The thermal instanton determinant for the gauge group $SU(2)$ can be reduced to a form involving two simple functions. Various boundary conditions can easily incorporated. Only a two dimensional integral has to be done numerically. As an example we compute the contribution to the free energy of $\mathcal{N}=1$ theory.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures. This version contains a number of cosmetic improvements of the version appearing in PR

Adaptation to Health States: A Micro-Econometric Approach

Health care funding decisions in the UK are based on valuations of the general public. However, it has been shown that there is a disparity between a hypothetical valuation of the impact of a specific condition on health and the effect of that health state by someone who experiences it. This paper examines the issue of adaptation to health states, which partially may explain the discrepancy between hypothetical and experienced health state valuations. We use the British Cohort Study (BCS70) which is a longitudinal dataset that tracks a sample of British individuals since their birth in 1970. We use four BCS70 waves containing information on self-assessed health (SAH), morbidity as well as a number of socio-economic characteristics. To estimate the issue of adaptation, we implement a dynamic ordered probit model that controls for (health) state dependence. The empirical specification controls for morbidity and also includes a variable for the duration of the illness. We find that, for most chronic conditions, duration has a positive impact on self-assessed health, while for some conditions-such as diabetes- this does not occur. We interpret our results as evidence in support of the hypothesis that adaptation to chronic diseases exists and may explain at least in part the differences between general public and patients’ health state valuations

High performance computing of the matrix exponential

This work presents a new algorithm for matrix exponential computation that significantly simplifies a Taylor scaling and squaring algorithm presented previously by the authors, preserving accuracy. A Matlab version of the new simplified algorithm has been compared with the original algorithm, providing similar results in terms of accuracy, but reducing processing time. It has also been compared with two state-of-the-art implementations based on Fade approximations, one commercial and the other implemented in Matlab, getting better accuracy and processing time results in the majority of cases. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Ruíz Martínez, PA.; Sastre Martinez, J.; Ibáñez González, JJ.; Defez Candel, E. (2016). High performance computing of the matrix exponential. Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics. 291:370-379. doi:10.1016/j.cam.2015.04.001S37037929

Adaptation to Health States: Sick yet better off?

Healthcare funding decisions in the UK rely on health state valuations of the general public. However, it has been shown that there is disparity between the valuation of the impact of hypothetical conditions on health and the reported health by those experiencing them. Patients' adaptation to health states is among the most common explanations for this discrepancy. Being diagnosed with a disease appears to affect individual perception of health over time so that better subjective health may be reported over a disease trajectory. This paper examines adaptation to health states using a longitudinal dataset. We use four waves of the British Cohort Study (BCS70), which tracks a sample of British individuals since birth in 1970 and contains information on self-assessed health (SAH), morbidity, and socioeconomic characteristics. We implement a dynamic ordered probit model controlling for health state dependence. Results are supportive of the existence of adaptation: Time since diagnosis has a positive impact on SAH. Moreover, adaptation happens over relatively long durations. We do not find significant results proving different adaptation paths for patients reporting prior better SAH. The analysis by specific conditions generally supports the existence of adaptation, but results are statistically significant only for a subset of conditions

Management of the polyallergic patient with allergy immunotherapy: A practice-based approach

Background: The great majority (60-80 %) of patients consulting specialist physicians for allergic respiratory disease are polysensitized and thus may be potentially clinically polyallergic. However, management approaches to allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in polysensitized and polyallergic patients are not standardized. Methods: An international group of clinicians with in-depth expertise in AIT product development, clinical trials and clinical practice met to generate up-to-date, unambiguous, pragmatic guidance on AIT in polysensitized and polyallergic patients. The guidance was developed after reviewing (1) the current stance of regulatory bodies and learned societies, (2) the literature data on single- and multi-AIT and (3) the members' confirmed clinical experience with polysensitized patients. Results: AIT is safe and effective in polysensitized and polyallergic patients, and should always be based on the identification of one or more clinically relevant allergens (based on the type and severity of symptoms, the duration of induced symptoms, the impact on quality of life and how difficult an allergen is to avoid). Single-AIT is recommended in polyallergic patients in whom one of the relevant allergens is nevertheless clearly responsible for the most intense and/or bothersome symptoms. Parallel 2-allergen immunotherapy or mixed 2-allergen immunotherapy is indicated in polyallergic patients in whom two causal relevant allergens have a marked clinical and QoL impact. In parallel 2-allergen immunotherapy (whether subcutaneous or sublingual), high-quality, standardized, single-allergen formulations must be administered with an interval of 30 min. Mixing of allergen extracts may be considered, as long as (1) the mixture is technically feasible, (2) the mixture is allowed from a regulatory standpoint, (3) the allergen doses are reduced in proportion to the number of components but are still at concentrations with demonstrated efficacy. Conclusions: Physicians can prescribe AIT (preferably with high-quality, standardized, single-allergen formulations) with confidence in polysensitized and polyallergic patients by focusing on clinical/QoL relevance and safety

Heat treatments for improved quality binder jetted molds for casting aluminum alloys

The objective of this paper was to investigate the most suitable heat treatment for casting molds manufactured by binder jetting. For this purpose, the printed molds were subjected to different heat treatments and the properties of the molds were analyzed. Tests were performed at different temperatures and times to investigate their effect on the water and volatile substances content; the joining among particles; and the porosity, roughness, and compression strength of the printed molds. Moreover, to relate the properties of the mold with the quality of the castings, aluminum alloy specimens were cast and the dimensional accuracy, surface roughness, mechanical strength, and porosity were evaluated. This research leads to the conclusion that the binder jetting process, using calcium sulfate powder, is useful for manufacturing molds for casting aluminum alloy. To improve the mold quality and, consequently, the casting quality, heat-treatment is necessary. The best mold properties were obtained at 250 °C for 1.5 h.S

CIVET a Controlled Intrusiveness Verification Technology

CIVET is a proposed concept for Arms Control verification capable of using information while preserving its confidentiality, in a bilateral environment