Non-equilibrium heat capacity of polytetrafluoroethylene at room temperature

Polytetrafluoroethylene can be considered as a model for calorimetric studies of complex systems with thermodynamics transitions at ambient temperature. This polymer exhibits two phase transitions of different nature at 292 K and 303 K. We show that sensitive ac-calorimetry measurements allow us to study the thermodynamic behaviour of polytetrafluoroethylene when it is brought out of thermodynamic equilibrium. Thanks to the thermal modelisation of our calorimetric device, the frequency dependent complex heat capacity of this polymer is extracted. The temperature and frequency variations of the real and imaginary parts of the complex heat capacity are obtained when polytetrafluoroethylene undergoes its first-order structural phase transition at 292 K

Is the up-quark massless?

We report on determinations of the low-energy constants alpha5 and alpha8 in the effective chiral Lagrangian at O(p^4), using lattice simulations with N_f=2 flavours of dynamical quarks. Precise knowledge of these constants is required to test the hypothesis whether or not the up-quark is massless. Our results are obtained by studying the quark mass dependence of suitably defined ratios of pseudoscalar meson masses and matrix elements. Although comparisons with an earlier study in the quenched approximation reveal small qualitative differences in the quark mass behaviour, numerical estimates for alpha5 and alpha8 show only a weak dependence on the number of dynamical quark flavours. Our results disfavour the possibility of a massless up-quark, provided that the quark mass dependence in the physical three-flavour case is not fundamentally different from the two-flavour case studied here.Comment: references added, typos correcte

Another determination of the quark condensate from an overlap action

I use the technique of Hernandez, et al (hep-lat/0106011) to convert a recent calculation of the lattice-regulated quark condensate from an overlap action to a continuum-regulated number. I find Sigma(MSbar)(mu = 2 GeV) = (282(6) MeV)-cubed times (a-inverse/1766 MeV)-cubed from a calculation with the Wilson gauge action at beta=5.9.Comment: 3 pages, Revtex, 1 postscript figure. References added. COLO-HEP-47

Serum anti-Müllerian hormone concentrations before and after treatment of an ovarian granulosa cell tumour in a cat

Case summary A 15-year-old female cat was presented for investigation of progressive behavioural changes, polyuria, polydipsia and periuria. An ovarian granulosa cell tumour was identified and the cat underwent therapeutic ovariohysterectomy (OHE). The cat’s clinical signs resolved, but 6 months later it was diagnosed as having an anaplastic astrocytoma and was euthanased. Serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration prior to OHE was increased vs a control group of entire and neutered female cats. Following OHE, serum AMH concentration decreased to <1% of the original value. Relevance and novel information Serum AMH measurement may represent a novel diagnostic and monitoring tool for functional ovarian neoplasms in cats

Light hadron spectroscopy with O(a) improved dynamical fermions

We present the first results for the static quark potential and the light hadron spectrum using dynamical fermions at $\beta=5.2$ using an O(a) improved Wilson fermion action together with the standard Wilson plaquette action for the gauge part. Sea quark masses were chosen such that the pseudoscalar-vector mass ratio, m_PS/m_V$, varies from 0.86 to 0.67. Finite-size effects are studied by using three different volumes, 8^3\cdot 24, 12^3\cdot 24 and 16^3\cdot 24. Comparing our results to previous ones obtained using the quenched approximation, we find evidence for sea quark effects in quantities like the static quark potential and the vector-pseudoscalar hyperfine splitting.Comment: 38 pages, 14 Postscript figure, LaTe

Surgical management and longterm follow-up of non-parasitic hepatic cysts

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing use of laparoscopic techniques, the optimal surgical approach for cystic liver disease has not been well defined. This study aims to determine the optimum operative approach for these patients. METHODS: Data were identified from the Lothian Surgical Audit, case note review and general practitioner contact. Patients were contacted and asked to complete the SF-36 questionnaire on quality of life. RESULTS: A total of 102 patients (67 with simple cysts, 31 with polycystic liver disease [PCLD], four with cystic tumours) underwent 62 laparoscopic deroofings, 15 open deroofings, 36 resections and one liver transplant between June 1985 and April 2006. The median follow-up was 77 months (range 3–250 months). Morbidity and recurrent symptom rates after laparoscopic surgery were greater in PCLD patients compared with simple cyst patients, at 31% (four patients) vs. 15% (seven patients) and 85% (11 patients) vs. 29% (24 patients), respectively. Four patients with simple cysts and eight with PCLD required further surgery. All patients with simple cysts had comparable quality of life after surgery. Patients with recurrent symptoms after surgery for PCLD had a significantly better quality of life following laparoscopic deroofing than after resection. CONCLUSIONS: Most simple cysts can be managed laparoscopically, but there is a definite role for open resection in some patients. Open deroofing is the preferred approach for a dominant cyst pattern in PCLD, whereas resection is necessary for diffuse cystic disease

Determination of Light and Strange Quark Masses from Full Lattice QCD

We compute the light and strange quark masses m_l = (m_u+m_d)/2 and m_s, respectively, in full lattice QCD with N_f=2 flavors of light dynamical quarks. The renormalization constants, which convert bare quark masses into renormalized quark masses, are computed nonperturbatively, including the effect of quark-line disconnected diagrams. We obtain m_l=4.7(2)(3) MeV and m_s=119(5)(8) MeV in the MSbar scheme at the scale 2 GeV.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Outcomes of total hip arthroplasty, as a salvage procedure, following failed internal fixation of intracapsular fractures of the femoral neck: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIMS: The optimal management of intracapsular fractures of the femoral neck in independently mobile patients remains open to debate. Successful fixation obviates the limitations of arthroplasty for this group of patients. However, with fixation failure rates as high as 30%, the outcome of revision surgery to salvage total hip arthroplasty (THA) must be considered. We carried out a systematic review to compare the outcomes of salvage THA and primary THA for intracapsular fractures of the femoral neck. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) compliant systematic review, using the PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane libraries databases. A meta-analysis was performed where possible, and a narrative synthesis when a meta-analysis was not possible. RESULTS: Our analyses revealed a significantly increased risk of complications including deep infection, early dislocation and peri-prosthetic fracture with salvage THA when compared with primary THA for an intracapsular fracture of the femoral neck (overall risk ratio of 3.15). Functional outcomes assessment using EuroQoL (EQ)-5D were not significantly different (p = 0.3). CONCLUSION: Salvage THA carries a significantly higher risk of complications than primary THA for intracapsular fractured neck of femur. Current literature is still lacking well designed studies to provide a full answer to the question. TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Salvage THA is associated with more complications than primary THA for intracapsular neck of femur fractures

Quenched QCD with O(a) improvement: I. The spectrum of light hadrons

We present a comprehensive study of the masses of pseudoscalar and vector mesons, as well as octet and decuplet baryons computed in O(a) improved quenched lattice QCD. Results have been obtained using the non-perturbative definition of the improvement coefficient c_sw, and also its estimate in tadpole improved perturbation theory. We investigate effects of improvement on the incidence of exceptional configurations, mass splittings and the parameter J. By combining the results obtained using non-perturbative and tadpole improvement in a simultaneous continuum extrapolation we can compare our spectral data to experiment. We confirm earlier findings by the CP-PACS Collaboration that the quenched light hadron spectrum agrees with experiment at the 10% level.Comment: 36 pages, 7 postscript figures, REVTEX; typo in Table XVIII corrected; extended discussion of finite-size effects in sections III and VII; version to appear in Phys. Rev.