Vortex-loop calculation of the specific heat of superfluid ^{4}He under pressure.

Vortex-loop renormalization is used to compute the specific heat of superfluid ^{4}He near the lambda point at various pressures up to 26 bars. The input parameters are the pressure dependence of T_{λ} and the superfluid density, which determine the nonuniversal parameters of the vortex core energy and core size. The results for the specific heat are found to be in good agreement with experimental data, matching the expected universal pressure dependence to within about 5%. The nonuniversal critical amplitude of the specific heat is found to be in reasonable agreement, a factor of four larger than the experiments. We point out problems with recent Gross-Pitaevskii simulations that claimed the vortex-loop percolation temperature did not match the critical temperature of the superfluid phase transition

Assessing the painful, uninflamed eye in primary care

We acknowledge the important contributions of Professor Amada J Lee, University of Aberdeen, Division of Statistics, for assistance with analysing the data from the patient survey. We thank Kamran Khan, Oliver Chadwick, and Paul Chua, trainee ophthalmologists, NHS Grampian, for providing the clinical images. Contributors: LK contributed to the design of the study, the survey of patients, and writing the paper. JVF contributed to the design of the study and writing the paper. ADD contributed to the design of the study, the survey of the patients, and writing the paper. JVF is guarantor for the paper.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Autoimmunity, Autoinflammation, and Infection in Uveitis

Funding/Support: No funding or grant support. Financial Disclosures: John V. Forrester has received an honorarium for lecturing from Janssen (London, UK). Lucia Kuffova has undertaken consultancy work for Abbvie (London, UK). Andrew D. Dick has undertaken consultancy work for Abbvie (London, UK), Roche (London, UK), and Genentech (London, UK) and has received honoraria from Janssen (London, UK) and Abbvie (London, UK). The authors attest that they meet the current ICMJE criteria for authorship.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Assange, mental health and assurances in extradition.

Julian Assange is wanted by the United States so it can prosecute him for espionage and hacking. His extradition was barred on mental health grounds. That decision has been overturned. The English High Court has accepted US assurances detailing how he will be treated if transferred. Assange is seeking to appeal to the UK Supreme Court. Mental health-related issues have played a central role in his case to date, and look to continue to do so. The specific timing and effect of assurances are central to the present litigation. The Supreme Court will imminently decide on the next stage in Assange’s fight against extradition

Extradition and mental health: the need for multidisciplinary review and research.

More than 1000 people are forcibly removed from the UK each year through the process of extradition, so that they might stand trial or be imprisoned abroad. Over the last 10 years, 115,915 extradition requests were made using one such mechanism, the European Arrest Warrant, resulting in 15,243 arrests and 10,689 surrenders. A somewhat similar system has now been agreed post Brexit. In an increasing number of these cases, mental-health disorders are put forward in opposition to the process. This is allowed under the law. However, a number of questions necessarily arise in the area. Central to these is whether extradition law and practice appropriately and fully take these disorders into account, given the specific context. The importance of this hardly needs to be emphasised. Subjection to the criminal justice process within the UK itself is a challenging prospect for those with a mental-health disorder – indeed for all people. The prospect of facing a criminal trial or incarceration in a foreign country apart from family, support systems and familiar medical and mental-health support networks is daunting indeed

Extradition and mental health in the spotlight: the case of Julian Assange.

Approximately 1000 persons are extradited from the UK every year. While this number may lessen on account of Brexit, it is clear that hundreds of individuals will be forcibly removed from the UK, both nationals and non-nationals, to stand trial or be imprisoned abroad. The UK has a duty to take due cognisance of the mental health of requested persons in coming to decisions to extradite. Whilst Julian Assange’s extradition has been barred on account of his mental health, there is no certainty that that decision will stand. While there is undoubtedly a need for research into the interplay of mental health disorders and extradition, this may be a time for root and branch reconsideration of the law and related practice itself. Cooperation between relevant mental health professionals in various countries is one such area that could be enhanced. This could add weight to assurances given by the requesting state and may increase the likelihood that they are adhered to. Related to this, consequences in the event of non-compliance could be agreed between countries, including the potential return of the individual in certain circumstances. As extradition law and practice stand, these important issues are not addressed

Dynamics of the forward vortex cascade in two-dimensional quantum turbulence

The dynamics of the forward vortex cascade in 2D turbulence in a superfluid film is investigated using analytic techniques. The cascade is formed by injecting pairs with the same initial separation (the stirring scale) at a constant rate. They move to smaller scales with constant current under the action of frictional forces, finally reaching the core size separation, where they annihilate and the energy is removed by a thermal bath. On switching off the injection, the pair distribution first decays starting from the initial stirring scale, with the total vortex density decreasing linearly in time at a rate equal to the initial injection rate. As pairs at smaller scales decay, the vortex density then falls off as a power law, the same power law found in recent exact solutions of quenched 2D superfluids.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, Proceedings of LT2

Editorial independence is dead, long live editorial independence

Editorial Independence is an essential principle in scientific publishing, protecting the content from undue influence beyond the scientific data. This involves assurances around research integrity, publications ethics, combatting undue influence from journal owners, and improving on research practices including peer review and declarations and management of conflicts of interest. In reality, there are many examples of these principles not being followed, and no formal regulator or mechanism to optimise other than through voluntary efforts of editors and journal owners. We set out some of the fundamental principles and challenges to editorial independence and propose protections and recommendations to improve practice, policy, values, and regulation