Closed-form solutions of the Schroedinger equation for a class of smoothed Coulomb potentials

An infinite family of closed-form solutions is exhibited for the Schroedinger equation for the potential $V(r) = -Z/\sqrt{|r|^{2} + a^{2}}$. Evidence is presented for an approximate dynamical symmetry for large values of the angular momentum $l$.Comment: 13 pages LaTeX, uses included Institute of Physics style files, 3 PostScript figures. In press at J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. (1997

Statistical Studies of Giant Pulse Emission from the Crab Pulsar

We have observed the Crab pulsar with the Deep Space Network (DSN) Goldstone 70 m antenna at 1664 MHz during three observing epochs for a total of 4 hours. Our data analysis has detected more than 2500 giant pulses, with flux densities ranging from 0.1 kJy to 150 kJy and pulse widths from 125 ns (limited by our bandwidth) to as long as 100 microseconds, with median power amplitudes and widths of 1 kJy and 2 microseconds respectively. The most energetic pulses in our sample have energy fluxes of approximately 100 kJy-microsecond. We have used this large sample to investigate a number of giant-pulse emission properties in the Crab pulsar, including correlations among pulse flux density, width, energy flux, phase and time of arrival. We present a consistent accounting of the probability distributions and threshold cuts in order to reduce pulse-width biases. The excellent sensitivity obtained has allowed us to probe further into the population of giant pulses. We find that a significant portion, no less than 50%, of the overall pulsed energy flux at our observing frequency is emitted in the form of giant pulses.Comment: 19 pages, 17 figures; to be published in Astrophysical Journa

What nonpharmacological treatments are effective against common nongenital warts?

Cryotherapy has similar cure rates to topical salicylate (a pharmacologic therapy) for non-genital common warts (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, based on systemic review of variable quality randomized trials). Duct tape may be equivalent to cryotherapy (SOR: B, based on a single randomized trial). CO2 laser, photodynamic therapy, pulsed dye laser (PDL), and Er:Yag laser therapies may also be effective for recalcitrant warts (SOR: C, based on observational cohort studies)

Does case management improve diabetes outcomes?

Patients with type 2 diabetes benefit from case management, as evidenced by decreased glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). The improvement in HbA1c appeared larger when case managers could make changes in medications independently and multidisciplinary teams were used (strength of recommendation [SOR]: C, 2 meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials [RCTs] with consistent disease-oriented findings). Patients with type 1 diabetes who have case management and "intense control" experience fewer cardiovascular events and decreased retinopathy and clinical neuropathy (SOR: B, 1 large, good-quality RCT)

Outcomes at five to eight years of age for children with Hirschsprung's disease.

OBJECTIVE: This study describes core outcomes of Hirschsprung's disease (HD) in a UK-wide cohort of primary school-aged children. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study conducted from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2012. Outcomes data were collected from parents and clinicians when children were 5-8 years of age, and combined with data collected at birth, and 28 days and 1 year post diagnosis. SETTING: All 28 UK and Irish paediatric surgical centres. PARTICIPANTS: Children with histologically proven HD diagnosed at <6 months of age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: NETS1HD core outcomes. RESULTS: Data were returned for 239 (78%) of 305 children. Twelve children (5%) died prior to 5 years of age.Of the 227 surviving children, 30 (13%) had a stoma and 21 (9%) were incontinent of urine. Of the 197 children without a stoma, 155 (79%) maintained bowel movements without enemas/washouts, while 124 (63%) reported faecal incontinence. Of the 214 surviving children who had undergone a pull-through operation, 95 (44%) underwent ≥1 unplanned reoperation. 89 unplanned reoperations (27%) were major/complex.Of the 83 children with returned PedsQL scores, 37 (49%) had quality of life scores, and 31 (42%) had psychological well-being scores, that were ≥1 SD lower than the reference population mean for children without HD. CONCLUSION: This study gives a realistic picture of population outcomes of HD in primary school-aged children in the UK/Ireland. The high rates of faecal incontinence, unplanned procedures and low quality of life scores are sobering. Ensuring clinicians address the bladder, bowel and psychological problems experienced by children should be a priority

Measuring Strategic Uncertainty in Coordination Games

Lecture on the first SFB/TR 15 meeting, Gummersbach, July, 18 - 20, 2004This paper explores predictability of behavior in coordination games with multiple equilibria. In a laboratory experiment we measure subjects' certainty equivalents for three coordination games and one lottery. Attitudes towards strategic uncertainty in coordination games are related to risk aversion, experience seeking, gender and age. From the distribution of certainty equivalents among participating students we estimate probabilities for successful coordination in a wide range of coordination games. For many games success of coordination is predictable with a reasonable error rate. The best response of a risk neutral player is close to the global-game solution. Comparing choices in coordination games with revealed risk aversion, we estimate subjective probabilities for successful coordination. In games with a low coordination requirement, most subjects underestimate the probability of success. In games with a high coordination requirement, most subjects overestimate this probability. Data indicate that subjects have probabilistic beliefs about success or failure of coordination rather than beliefs about individual behavior of other players

Suitability of simple human immunodeficiency virus rapid tests in clinical trials in community-based clinic settings

The suitability and accuracy of using simple human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rapid (SR) tests in community-based clinics in northwest Tanzania were determined to assess eligibility for participation in clinical trials. The HIV rapid and ELISA test results for 789 women aged 16 to 54 who were screened for two clinical trials of HIV prevention were compared. Women were offered voluntary HIV counseling and testing (VCT) at screening; those who accepted were tested with the Abbott Determine and Trinity Biotech Capillus SR tests in parallel. The results were confirmed by two parallel HIV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests (Abbott Murex HIV Ag/Ab combination and Vironostika Uniform II HIV Ag/Ab) to determine eligibility. Positive samples for any of the four assays were confirmed by a line immunoassay and p24 testing. The parallel SR tests had high concordance (96.2%) with the parallel ELISA algorithm. The sensitivities of the SR tests were 98.6% for Capillus (95% confidence interval [CI], 95.1 to 99.8%), 99.3% for Determine (95% CI, 96.2 to 100%), and 98.6% for the parallel SR (95% CI, 95.1 to 99.8%). The specificities were 99.7% for Capillus (95% CI, 98.9 to 100%), 99.7% for Determine (95% CI, 98.9 to 100%), and 100% for the parallel SR (95% CI, 99.4 to 100%). SR tests are suitable for use in community-based clinical research settings to assess eligibility both for trial participation and for the provision of on-site VCT services. Copyrigh