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The Working Party has developed some practical hints and tips for those developing integrated risk management (IRM) plans for UK defined benefit pension schemes in the context of the requirements of the Pensions Regulator. Four case studies are presented to illustrate its conclusions, which are encapsulated in the ten commandments for effective IRM. IRM is the consideration of investment, funding and covenant issues, and how these interact. Its purpose should be to aid decision making and so should have a clear outcome in mind. It should be a continuous process and should form part of everyday trustee governance – it is not simply a one-off exercise. Whilst most Trustees and advisors consider funding issues when setting their investment strategy and vice versa, fewer fully integrate covenant into their decision-making process. However, covenant underpins all risk taken in a pension scheme and so needs to form a regular part of trustee discussions and analysis by advisors.

There are no reports indicating the effect of prophylactic transabdominal cerclage (TAC) on the prolongation of multifetal pregnancies. We report the use of TAC in triplets, which evolved over 20 years in one practice. A retrospective cohort study of triplet pregnancies was conducted. Obstetric and neonatal outcomes were compared among women who underwent a prophylactic TAC or transvaginal cerclage and no cerclage. Of the 141 women who delivered triplets, prophylactic TAC was associated with reduced incidence of extreme prematurity and improved incidence of neonatal/postnatal survival. With the exception of mode of conception, prepregnancy weight, and the use of home monitoring uterine activity monitor, procardia and terbutaline, no major differences were found in terms of patient characteristics and pregnancy and delivery management among the three groups. It was concluded that in triplet pregnancies, prophylactic placement of a TAC appears to lower the incidence of delivery before 28 weeks.

Seven different vibratory agitators, consisting of single and dual flat blade configurations or dual angle blade configurations, were studied for their ability to produce mixing and solid suspension in a slab tank. The mixing behavior of the various configurations was recorded on video tape, and mixing times were measured as the time needed to disperse injected dye. The solid suspension tests, using ash tray sand, were conducted to determine the minimum stroke frequency of the agitators needed for complete off-bottom suspension. The mixing studies demonstrated that vibratory agitation produced strong vertical fluid motion, good bulk circulation and dispersion in the liquid. The effects of stroke frequency, n; amplitude, a; blade width, w; blade clearance, c; and liquid depth, h, on mixing time, {theta}, were studied. Single blade geometries produced complete mixing in the least number of strokes. The most effective geometry, in terms of both mixing and solid suspension, was a single flat blade with minimum off-bottom clearance and a blade width/tank thickness ratio, w/T, of 0.74 at the maximum stroke amplitude of 51 mm.