Description of an individual patient methodology for calculating the cost-effectiveness of treatments for osteoporosis in women

Models of the cost-effectiveness of pharmaceutical interventions for the treatment of osteoporosis have traditionally adopted cohort-based approaches. We present a transition-state model to simulate the experience of individual patients, allowing the full patient history and residential status to influence the probabilities of future fractures at the hip, spine, wrist or proximal humerus. Alongside epidemiological data, we used systematic literature reviews of costs, utilities and efficacy to populate the model for a UK setting. We established a statistical relationship between the inputs and outputs of the individual patient model creating a near instantaneous emulation of the individual patient model. We undertook extensive sensitivity analyses to analyse the uncertainty in the estimated incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year due to uncertainty in the efficacy of the drugs. We provide illustrative results accompanied by individual and multi-interventional cost-effectiveness acceptability curves.     

Resolution of the renormalisation-scheme ambiguity in perturbative QCD

Next-to-leading-order QCD predictions depend on the arbitrary choice of renormalisation scheme. I resolve this ambiguity and show how to find the unique, optimum prediction, given the result in some arbitrary, initial scheme.     

Synthesis of tetrahydrofuran lignans, (±)-galbelgin and (±)-grandisin

A stereoselective synthesis procedure for lignans of the all-trans αα'-diaryl-ββ'-dimethyltetrahydrofurans is described. The lignans, galbelgin (4) and grandisin (37) were synthesized by routine reduction of the tetrahydrofuran dicarboxylic esters (24 and 34), obtained by mild acid treatment of the readily available diaryl dilactones (23 and 33).     

Miscibility gaps in fully pressure-ionized binary alloys

Binary alloys in which all the electrons form a uniform, degenerate, non-relativistic gas are predicted to exhibit miscibility gaps. Approximate analytical formulae are given for the critical temperatures and compositions. Astrophysical implications are mentioned.     

Some observations on the interdependence of cyanide concentration and atomization efficiency in the nitrous oxide-acetylene flame

A relationship is derived between CN concentration and atomization efficiency in the C₂H₂-N₂O flame. The relationship is examined under various experimental conditions and β values are estimated for a number of elements. The possibility of complex vapour phase oxide formation by U is considered.     

Concerning phyltetralin : Synthesis of lignan aryltetralin isomers

The acid-catalyzed rearrangement of diaryl-dilactones, readily obtained by oxidation of ferulic acid derivatives, is examined as a synthesis route to aryltetralins. Two structures which have been proposed for the lignan, phyltetralin, are shown by synthesis of the two diastereomeric 1-veratryltetralins (3A) and (3B), to be untenable. Conidendrin has been converted to isolariciresinol tetramethyl ether (21) and comparison of empirical constants and spectra with those reported for phyltetralin strongly suggest that the lignan has the enantiomeric constitution (26).     

The influence of low-temperature crystallization on the tensile elastic modulus of natural rubber

When natural rubber crystallizes at low temperatures, there is an increase in elastic modulus of up to two orders of magnitude. This phenomenon has been studied at various temperatures in the range 0 to ?55°C for samples held at tensile strains of up to 500%. There is an induction period associated with the nucleation of crystallites, before any increase in modulus is observed. The induction period increases with decreasing strain and passes through a minimum with increasing temperature at ?25°C. The growth rate subsequent to nucleation is successfully described in terms of Avrami-type rate relationships. The Avrami rate coefficient is independent of temperature and follows a simple exponential function of strain. The equilibrium extent of the modulus increase has also been studied by means of experiments of up to three months' duration. The equilibrium modulus increases with decreasing temperature—as predicted by Flory's thermodynamic theory.     

Ultrahigh-temperature regenerated gratings in boron-codoped germanosilicate optical fiber using 193 nm

Regenerated gratings seeded by type I gratings in boron-codoped germanosilicate optical fiber written with 193 nm are shown to withstand temperatures beyond 1000 degrees C.