Generating on-the-fly large samples of theoretical spectra through N-dimensional grid

Many analyses and parameter estimations undertaken in astronomy require a large set (> 10^5) of non-analytical, theoretical spectra, each of these defined by multiple parameters. We describe the construction of an N-dimensional grid which is suitable for generating such spectra. The theoretical spectra are designed to correspond to a targeted parameter grid but otherwise to random positions in the parameter space, and they are interpolated on-the-fly through a pre-calculated grid of spectra. The initial grid is designed to be relatively low in parameter resolution and small in occupied hard disk space and therefore can be updated efficiently when a new model is desired. In a pilot study of stellar population synthesis of galaxies, the mean square errors on the estimated parameters are found to decrease with the targeted grid resolution. This scheme of generating a large model grid is general for other areas of studies, particularly if they are based on multi-dimensional parameter space and are focused on contrasting model differences.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in A

A Student Perspective on the Effectiveness of PASS in Seminar Courses: A Mixed-Method Study

The General Education Foundation (GEF) Programme, consisting of two seminar courses, namely “In Dialogue with Humanity” and “In Dialogue with Nature,” has been a common core requirement of The Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2012. Aided by selected classics, students from all faculties engage in dialogues with their teachers and each other to reflect on what it means to have a good life, what an ideal society is, and the nature of intellectual pursuit in the sciences. Reading classics and discussing serious questions in class, however, can be challenging for some students. To help students meet these challenges, Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) were introduced in the pilot stage of GEF in 2010 and, with subsequent refinements, continue to this day. The seminar-style and interdisciplinary nature of GEF makes it an atypical case for PASS. This paper will examine and evaluate how PASS can improve student learning in seminar-style courses like GEF with a mixed-method study from a student perspective. According to evidence from online surveys and focus group interviews, PASS successfully 1) improves students’ understanding of the course content at a cognitive level, 2) assists and motivates them to prepare better for seminar discussions, effecting a behavioural change, and 3) facilitates affective learning outcomes in terms of confidence and motivation. Major challenges—including students’ misperceptions about PASS, differences in leaders’ approaches and organisational difficulties—are identified. Proposed solutions to these challenges will also be discussed

Supported Housing and Supported Independent Living in the Netherlands, with a Comparison with England

Research into community housing programs for people with severe mental illness is underexposed. The Dutch UTOPIA study describes characteristics of their service users, which may predict their allocation to either supported housing or supported independent living programs. Additionally, a comparison is made with English studies. 119 Care coordinators of Dutch residential care institutes and 534 service users participated in a cross-sectional survey which includes socio-demographic data, clinical data, measures of functioning, needs for care and quality of life. Differences between Dutch residents and independent living service users were small, making predictions of care allocation difficult. This similarity suggests a possible lack of methodical assessment in the allocation procedure of people who are eligible for residential housing or independent living programs. This is largely comparable to the English situation. In comparison with their English counterparts, Dutch service users have more met needs and are more engaged in occupational activities

All clinically-relevant blood components transmit prion disease following a single blood transfusion: a sheep model of vCJD

Variant CJD (vCJD) is an incurable, infectious human disease, likely arising from the consumption of BSE-contaminated meat products. Whilst the epidemic appears to be waning, there is much concern that vCJD infection may be perpetuated in humans by the transfusion of contaminated blood products. Since 2004, several cases of transfusion-associated vCJD transmission have been reported and linked to blood collected from pre-clinically affected donors. Using an animal model in which the disease manifested resembles that of humans affected with vCJD, we examined which blood components used in human medicine are likely to pose the greatest risk of transmitting vCJD via transfusion. We collected two full units of blood from BSE-infected donor animals during the pre-clinical phase of infection. Using methods employed by transfusion services we prepared red cell concentrates, plasma and platelets units (including leucoreduced equivalents). Following transfusion, we showed that all components contain sufficient levels of infectivity to cause disease following only a single transfusion and also that leucoreduction did not prevent disease transmission. These data suggest that all blood components are vectors for prion disease transmission, and highlight the importance of multiple control measures to minimise the risk of human to human transmission of vCJD by blood transfusion

A Single-Arm, Proof-Of-Concept Trial of Lopimune (Lopinavir/Ritonavir) as a Treatment for HPV-Related Pre-Invasive Cervical Disease

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the most common female malignancy in the developing nations and the third most common cancer in women globally. An effective, inexpensive and self-applied topical treatment would be an ideal solution for treatment of screen-detected, pre-invasive cervical disease in low resource settings. METHODS: Between 01/03/2013 and 01/08/2013, women attending Kenyatta National Hospital's Family Planning and Gynaecology Outpatients clinics were tested for HIV, HPV (Cervista®) and liquid based cervical cytology (LBC -ThinPrep®). HIV negative women diagnosed as high-risk HPV positive with high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) were examined by colposcopy and given a 2 week course of 1 capsule of Lopimune (CIPLA) twice daily, to be self-applied as a vaginal pessary. Colposcopy, HPV testing and LBC were repeated at 4 and 12 weeks post-start of treatment with a final punch biopsy at 3 months for histology. Primary outcome measures were acceptability of treatment with efficacy as a secondary consideration. RESULTS: A total of 23 women with HSIL were treated with Lopimune during which time no adverse reactions were reported. A maximum concentration of 10 ng/ml of lopinavir was detected in patient plasma 1 week after starting treatment. HPV was no longer detected in 12/23 (52.2%, 95%CI: 30.6-73.2%). Post-treatment cytology at 12 weeks on women with HSIL, showed 14/22 (63.6%, 95%CI: 40.6-82.8%) had no dysplasia and 4/22 (18.2%, 95%CI: 9.9-65.1%) were now low grade demonstrating a combined positive response in 81.8% of women of which 77.8% was confirmed by histology. These data are supported by colposcopic images, which show regression of cervical lesions. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate the potential of Lopimune as a self-applied therapy for HPV infection and related cervical lesions. Since there were no serious adverse events or detectable post-treatment morbidity, this study indicates that further trials are clearly justified to define optimal regimes and the overall benefit of this therapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN Registry 48776874

Mycobacterium ulcerans disease: experience with primary oral medical therapy in an Australian cohort

Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU) is responsible for disfiguring skin infections which are challenging to treat. The recommended treatment for MU has continued to evolve from surgery to remove all involved tissue, to the use of effective combination oral antibiotics with surgery as required. Our study describes the oral medical treatment utilised for consecutive cases of MU infection over a 15 month period at our institution, in Victoria, Australia. Managing patients primarily with oral antibiotics results in high cure rates and excellent cosmetic outcomes. The success with medical treatment reported in this study will aid those treating cases of MU infection, and will add to the growing body of knowledge about the relative roles of antibiotics and surgery for treating this infection

Empowerment or Engagement? Digital Health Technologies for Mental Healthcare

We argue that while digital health technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence, smartphones, and virtual reality) present significant opportunities for improving the delivery of healthcare, key concepts that are used to evaluate and understand their impact can obscure significant ethical issues related to patient engagement and experience. Specifically, we focus on the concept of empowerment and ask whether it is adequate for addressing some significant ethical concerns that relate to digital health technologies for mental healthcare. We frame these concerns using five key ethical principles for AI ethics (i.e. autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and explicability), which have their roots in the bioethical literature, in order to critically evaluate the role that digital health technologies will have in the future of digital healthcare