The Role of Popliteal Vein Incompetence in the Diagnosis of Saphenous-popliteal Reflux Using Continuous Wave Doppler

AbstractIntroduction: continuous wave Doppler (CWD) has good discriminatory power at the groin in the assessment of saphenous femoral junction (SFJ); however, it is not as accurate as duplex ultrasound scanning (DUS) in the popliteal fossa for assessment of saphenous popliteal junction (SPJ) in patients with primary short saphenous vein incompetence.Aim: the aim of this study was to compare the findings of CWD with those of DUS at the SPJ and assess the role of popliteal vein incompetence in the accuracy of CWD. Method: prospective study of consecutive patients presenting to a vein clinic requiring a duplex scan of their SPJ. Each patient was examined by one surgeon using CWD and by one radiologist using DUS. Each observer was unaware of the other's findings. Additional information on the competence of the popliteal vein on DUS was also recorded. Results: some 171 limbs in 128 patients with varicose veins were studied. One hundred and sixteen limbs had reflux at SPJ on CWD whilst 55 did not. Their mean age was 54 (range 18–85). Female to male ratio was 3:1. Spearman's rank correlation between CWD and DUS has 0.49 (p =0.0001). CWD has a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 53% (PPV=62%, NPV=89%, accuracy=70%). Twenty-nine limbs had an incompetent popliteal vein (IPV). Of those, 12 limbs also had incompetence on CWD and competence on DUS at the SPJ, which represent 28% of the total number of limbs with these findings (n =43). Conclusion: CWD is sensitive in detecting incompetence at SPJ, though its specificity is low. In this study 17% (n =29) of all patients had incompetence of popliteal vein. Up to 25% ( n =12) of patients with SPJ incompetence on CWD (Doppler +) and competence on DUS (duplex −) had incompetence of the underlying popliteal vein, which may explain the low specificity. The presence of SPJ incompetence on CWD should be confirmed on DUS prior to surgery

Environmental and biological aspects of the mass mortality of pilchards (Autumn 1995) in Western Australia

The first pilchard deaths were reported in South Australia during March 1995 in the eastern region of the Great Australian Bight. Subsequently, dead pilchards were found both east and west of this point source moving in a 'bushfire-like' front at an average of 3Q km/day. By early May the fronts had reached Albany in Western Australia f0il A) and Bass Strait in Victoria. They continued moving up both coasts, reaching Carnarvon f0il A) and Noosa Heads (Queensland) by the end of June, thereby affecting pilchards throughout their entire Australian distribution (6700 km). In early June, a similar pattern of deaths began to occur in the north of New Zealand..

Two-loop beta-functions and their effects for the R-parity Violating MSSM

We present the full two-loop beta-functions for the MSSM including R-parity violating couplings. We analyse the effect of two-loop running on the bounds on R-parity violating couplings, on the nature of the LSP and on the stop masses.Comment: 12 pages, including 2 figures. Plain TeX. Uses Harvmac and epsf. Revised version with corrected Table and Figure

Snowmass Benchmark Points and Three-Loop Running

We present the full three-loop beta-functions for the MSSM generalised to include additional matter multiplets in 5, 10 representations of SU(5). We analyse in detail the effect of three-loop running on the sparticle spectrum for the MSSM Snowmass Benchmark Points. We also consider the effect on these spectra of additional matter multiplets (the semi-perturbative unification scenario).Comment: 28 pages, TeX, 4 figures, 10 tables. Uses Harvmac and eps

R-parity Violation and General Soft Supersymmetry Breaking

We consider the most general class possible of soft supersymmetry breaking terms that can be added to the MSSM, with and without R-parity violation, consistent with the sole requirement that no quadratic divergences are induced. We renormalise the resulting theory through one loop and give an example of how a previously ignored term might affect the sparticle spectrum.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure. Plain TeX, uses Harvmac (Big) and epsf. Added references and typo corrected (v2

Three loop soft running, benchmark points and semi-perturbative unification

We consider three-loop $\beta$-function corrections to the sparticle spectrum in the MSSM, with particular emphasis on Snowmass Benchmark points. The three loop running has little effect on the weakly interacting particle spectrum, but for the squark masses the effect can be comparable to, or greater than, that of two loop running. We extend the analysis to the semi-perturbative unification scenario, where the impact of the three loop corrections becomes even more dramatic.Comment: 12 pages, TeX, Uses Harvmac (big) and epsf. Added references (v2). More emphasis on magnitude of three loop corrections (v3

Mindfulness, self-stigma and social functioning in first episode psychosis: a brief report

This study aimed to test the hypothesis that people with first-episode psychosis who are more mindful will have lower self-stigma, and hence better social functioning. Thirty-four participants experiencing first-episode psychosis completed self-report questionnaires, in a cross-sectional design. Consistent with the hypothesis, higher levels of mindfulness predicted lower self-stigma and better social functioning, and self-stigma statistically mediated the mindfulness → social functioning relationship. However, contrary to expectations, when symptom severity was included as a covariate, evidence of mediation was lost. Limitations and implications of these findings are discussed

Light variations of massive stars (α Cyg variables). XIX. The late-type supergiants R 59, HDE 268822, HDE 269355, HDE 269612 and HDE 270025 in the LMC

Wetensch. publicatieFaculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappe

Evaluating stress physiology and parasite infection parameters in the translocation of critically endangered woylies (Bettongia penicillata)

Translocation can be stressful for wildlife. Stress may be important in fauna translocation because it has been suggested that it can exacerbate the impact of infectious disease on translocated wildlife. However, few studies explore this hypothesis by measuring stress physiology and infection indices in parallel during wildlife translocations. We analysed faecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) concentration and endoparasite parameters (nematodes, coccidians and haemoparasites) in a critically endangered marsupial, the woylie (Bettongia penicillata), 1–3 months prior to translocation, at translocation, and 6 months later. FCM for both translocated and resident woylies was significantly higher after translocation compared to before or at translocation. In addition, body condition decreased with increasing FCM after translocation. These patterns in host condition and physiology may be indicative of translocation stress or stress associated with factors independent of the translocation. Parasite factors also influenced FCM in translocated woylies. When haemoparasites were detected, there was a significant negative relationship between strongyle egg count and FCM. This may reflect the influence of glucocorticoids on the immune response to micro- and macro-parasites. Our results indicate that host physiology and infection patterns can change significantly during translocation, but further investigation is required to determine how these patterns influence translocation success

New empirical fits to the proton electromagnetic form factors

Recent measurements of the ratio of the elastic electromagnetic form factors of the proton, G_Ep/G_Mp, using the polarization transfer technique at Jefferson Lab show that this ratio decreases dramatically with increasing Q^2, in contradiction to previous measurements using the Rosenbluth separation technique. Using this new high quality data as a constraint, we have reanalyzed most of the world e-p elastic cross section data. In this paper, we present a new empirical fit to the reanalyzed data for the proton elastic magnetic form factor in the region 0 < Q^2 < 30 GeV^2. As well, we present an empirical fit to the proton electromagnetic form factor ratio, G_Ep/G_Mp, which is valid in the region 0.1 < Q^2 < 6 GeV^2