Meson masses in large Nf QCD from the Bethe-Salpeter equation

We solve the homogeneous Bethe-Salpeter (HBS) equation for the scalar, pseudoscalar, vector, and axial-vector bound states of quark and anti-quark in large Nf QCD with the improved ladder approximation in the Landau gauge. The quark mass function in the HBS equation is obtained from the Schwinger-Dyson (SD) equation in the same approximation for consistency with the chiral symmetry. Amazingly, due to the fact that the two-loop running coupling of large Nf QCD is explicitly written in terms of an analytic function, large Nf QCD turns out to be the first example in which the SD equation can be solved in the complex plane and hence the HBS equation directly in the time-like region. We find that approaching the chiral phase transition point from the broken phase, the scalar, vector, and axial-vector meson masses vanish to zero with the same scaling behavior, all degenerate with the massless pseudoscalar meson. This may suggest a new type of manifestation of the chiral symmetry restoration in large Nf QCD.Comment: 33 pages, 16 figures. Typos are corrected. Minor corrections and references are added. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Results for the Etaprime Mass from Two-Flavor Lattice QCD

We present results for the mass of the etaprime meson for two-flavor lattice QCD in the continuum limit, calculated on the CP-PACS computer, using an RG-improved gauge action and clover fermion action with tadpole-improved csw. Measurements are made at three couplings corresponding to a approx. 0.22, 0.16, 0.11 fm for four quark masses corresponding to mpi over mrho approx. 0.8, 0.75, 0.7, 0.6. Thw two-loop diagrams are evaluated using a noisy source method. Quark smearing for both one- and two- loop diagrams is successfully applied to obtain ground state signals in the etaprime channel. We obtain metaprime=0.960(87)+0.036-0.286GeV in the continuum limit, where the second error represents the systematic uncertainty coming from varying the functional form for chiral and continuum extrapolations.Comment: 3 pages, 6 figure

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries