A Comparison Of Outcomes In Osteoarthritis Patients Undergoing Total Hip And Knee Replacement Surgery

Objective The aims of this study were to assess changes in physical function and quality of life with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and the instrument of the Medical Outcomes Study SF-36 Health Survey (MOS SF-36), respectively, in patients undergoing hip and knee joint replacement surgery and to compare the responsiveness of these two outcome measures 1 year after surgery. Design One hundred and ninety-four patients with osteoarthritis (OA knee 108, OA hip 86) admitted to four hospitals in Sydney were followed over a period of 1 year at 3 monthly intervals. Results WOMAC measures improved significantly after 1 year for OA hip and OA knee: there was reduction in pain of 71% and 53%, reduction in stiffness of 55% and 43% and improvement in physical function of 68% and 43%, respectively. MOS SF-36 measures in those having hip surgery improved significantly for pain (222%), physical function (247%), physical role functioning (402%), general health (110%), vitality (143%), social functioning (169%) and mental health (114%). For those in the knee surgery group, significant improvement was seen for pain (175%), physical function (197%), physical role functioning (275%), vitality (125%) and social functioning (119%). The WOMAC was a more responsive measure than the MOS SF-36. Conclusion WOMAC and MOS SF-36 detect significant and clinically meaningful changes in outcome after hip and knee replacement. WOMAC requires a smaller sample size and is more responsive in the short term. For a follow-up longer than 6 months MOS SF-36 provides additional information. The improvement in outcomes following hip joint surgery were significantly greater than those following knee surgery

First Observation of Coherent π0\pi^0 Production in Neutrino Nucleus Interactions with Eν<E_{\nu}< 2 GeV

The MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab has amassed the largest sample to date of $\pi^0$s produced in neutral current (NC) neutrino-nucleus interactions at low energy. This paper reports a measurement of the momentum distribution of $\pi^0$s produced in mineral oil (CH$_2$) and the first observation of coherent $\pi^0$ production below 2 GeV. In the forward direction, the yield of events observed above the expectation for resonant production is attributed primarily to coherent production off carbon, but may also include a small contribution from diffractive production on hydrogen. Integrated over the MiniBooNE neutrino flux, the sum of the NC coherent and diffractive modes is found to be (19.5 $\pm$1.1 (stat) $\pm$2.5 (sys))% of all exclusive NC $\pi^0$ production at MiniBooNE. These measurements are of immediate utility because they quantify an important background to MiniBooNE's search for $\nu_{\mu} \to \nu_e$ oscillations.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Lett.

Test of Lorentz and CPT violation with Short Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Excesses

The sidereal time dependence of MiniBooNE electron neutrino and anti-electron neutrino appearance data are analyzed to search for evidence of Lorentz and CPT violation. An unbinned Kolmogorov-Smirnov test shows both the electron neutrino and anti-electron neutrino appearance data are compatible with the null sidereal variation hypothesis to more than 5%. Using an unbinned likelihood fit with a Lorentz-violating oscillation model derived from the Standard Model Extension (SME) to describe any excess events over background, we find that the electron neutrino appearance data prefer a sidereal time-independent solution, and the anti-electron neutrino appearance data slightly prefer a sidereal time-dependent solution. Limits of order 10E-20 GeV are placed on combinations of SME coefficients. These limits give the best limits on certain SME coefficients for muon neutrino to electron neutrino and anti-muon neutrino to anti-electron neutrino oscillations. The fit values and limits of combinations of SME coefficients are provided.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, and 2 tables, submitted to Physics Letters

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Influence of shape on the reactivity and properties of dendritic, hyperbranched and linear aromatic polyesters

Previously described dendritic and hyperbranched polyesters and a new linear polyester obtained by polymerization of 3-hydroxy-5-(t-butyldimethylsilyloxy)benzoic acid, each based on the 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid building block, were used in the study of differences in chemical and physical properties between the three different polymer architectures. Comparison of the physical properties between the dendritic, hyperbranched and linear structures showed that thermal properties, such as glass transition temperature and thermogravimetric analysis, were independent of macromolecular architecture. However, the dendritic and hyperbranched materials demonstrated comparative solubilities which were much greater than that found for the linear polymer. Other differences were observed in chemical reactivities

Physical Properties of Dendritic Macromolecules: A Study of Glass Transition Temperature

The variation of glass transition temperature with molecular weight and chain-end composition for dendritic polyethers and polyesters was studied. A new and modified version of the chain-end free volume theory was derived to account for the large number of chain ends in these unusual structures. For both homopolymers and a variety of novel block copolymers, the experimental variation in T with molecular weight was found to correlate well with theoretical predictions, thus demonstrating the wide applicability of the chain-end free volume theory. The glass transition was found to be greatly affected by the nature of the chain ends and internal monomer units

Polymers with multiple hydrogen-bonded end groups and their blends

A new strategy for synthesizing well-defined, chain-end-functionalized polymers containing multiple hydrogen-bonding (MHB) groups capable of heterodimerization in both solution and the melt has been developed. Two complementary MHB systems were chosen for initial studies: 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinone (UPy) and 2,7-diamido-1,8-naphthyridine (Napy) and ATRP initiators containing either UPy or Napy were prepared and shown to produce well-defined (meth)acrylic polymers with the desired MHB functionality present at the chain end. To characterize the effectiveness of the MHB interaction in the melt, blends of chain-end-functionalized linear polymers were cast into films, annealed at various temperatures above Tg, and then quenched, and their structures were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was shown that the nature of the hydrogen-bonding group(s) present in the blend has a significant effect on bulk microstructure and thermal behavior, in particular for blends of UPy- and Napy-functional chains

Polymers with multiple hydrogen-bonded end groups and their blends

A new strategy for synthesizing well-defined, chain-end-functionalized polymers containing multiple hydrogen-bonding (MHB) groups capable of heterodimerization in both solution and the melt has been developed. Two complementary MHB systems were chosen for initial studies: 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinone (UPy) and 2,7-diamido-1,8-naphthyridine (Napy) and ATRP initiators containing either UPy or Napy were prepared and shown to produce well-defined (meth)acrylic polymers with the desired MHB functionality present at the chain end. To characterize the effectiveness of the MHB interaction in the melt, blends of chain-end-functionalized linear polymers were cast into films, annealed at various temperatures above Tg, and then quenched, and their structures were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was shown that the nature of the hydrogen-bonding group(s) present in the blend has a significant effect on bulk microstructure and thermal behavior, in particular for blends of UPy- and Napy-functional chains

Spacer-length-dependent association in polymers with multiple-hydrogen-bonded end groups

Herein, we investigate the influence of spacer length on the homoassociation and heteroassociation of end-functionalized hydrogen-bonding polymers based on poly(n-butyl acrylate). Two monofunctional ureido-pyrimidinone (UPy) end-functionalized polymers were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization using self-complementary UPy-functional initiators that differ in the spacer length between the multiple-hydrogen-bonding group and the chain initiation site. The self-complementary binding strength (Kdim) of these end-functionalized polymers was shown to depend critically on the spacer length as evident from 1H NMR and diffusion-ordered spectroscopy. In addition, the heteroassociation strength of the end-functionalized UPy polymers with end-functionalized polymers containing the complementary 2,7-diamido-1,8-naphthyridine (NaPy) hydrogen-bond motif is also affected when the aliphatic spacer length is too short

Dendrimer and polystyrene surfactant structure at the air-water interface

The Π-A isotherms at the air-water interface and 25°C for monomolecular films of the recently synthesized dendrimer surfactants are reported and compared with those of polystyrene terminated with a single hydroxyl group. There is a strong dependence of the isotherms on molecular weight (MW) for both systems, the lower MWs typified by an increase in the surface pressure through a liquid expanded phase, followed by a peaked collapse transition, indicating a nucleation and growth process, to a liquid condensed, phase. The higher molecular weight dendrimer and polystyrene isotherms are also similar, with a steep increase in the surface pressure being due to a direct transition to a solid phase