High energy parton-parton amplitudes from lattice QCD and the stochastic vacuum model

Making use of the gluon gauge-invariant two-point correlation function, recently determined by numerical simulation on the lattice in the quenched approximation and the stochastic vacuum model, we calculate the elementary (parton-parton) amplitudes in both impact-parameter and momentum transfer spaces. The results are compared with those obtained from the Kr\"{a}mer and Dosch ansatz for the correlators. Our main conclusion is that the divergences in the correlations functions suggested by the lattice calculations do not affect substantially the elementary amplitudes. Phenomenological and semiempirical information presently available on elementary amplitudes is also referred to and is critically discussed in connection with some theoretical issues.Comment: Text with 11 pages in LaTeX (twocolumn form), 10 figures in PostScript (psfig.tex used). Replaced with changes, Fig.1 modified, two references added, some points clarified, various typos corrected. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Socioeconomic indicators of health inequalities and female mortality: a nested cohort study within the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS)

Evidence is mounting that area-level socioeconomic indicators are important tools for predicting health outcomes. However, few studies have examined these alongside individual-level education. This nested cohort study within the control arm of the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) assesses the association of mutually adjusted individual (education) and area-level (Index of Multiple Deprivation-IMD 2007) socioeconomic status indicators and all-cause female mortality

All change: job rotations as a workplace learning tool in the Flinders University Library Graduate Trainee Program

This paper examines the place of job rotations as a workplace learning tool in the Graduate Trainee Librarian Program at Flinders University Library, Australia. Specifically, it asks two questions: whether job rotation is an effective workplace learning tool for new librarians; and, whether the trainee experience contributed to the retention in the Library and career progression of those in the program. These questions are examined using Kirkpatrick's Evaluation Framework. The findings indicate that while participants rate the trainee program very positively overall, their satisfaction with workplace learning in their placements was lower. The majority of former trainees have remained with the Library and have progressed in their careers

Ovarian cancer screening - current status, future directions.

Evidence of a mortality benefit continues to elude ovarian cancer (OC) screening. Data from the US Prostate Lung Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening trial which used a screening strategy incorporating CA125 cut-off and transvaginal ultrasound has not shown mortality benefit. The United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) is using the Risk of Ovarian Cancer (ROC) time series algorithm to interpret CA125, which has shown an encouraging sensitivity and specificity however the mortality data will only be available in 2015. The article explores the impact of growing insights into disease etiology and evolution and biomarker discovery on future screening strategies. A better understanding of the target lesion, improved design of biomarker discovery studies, a focus on detecting low volume disease using cancer specific markers, novel biospecimens such as cervical cytology and targeted imaging and use of time series algorithms for interpreting markers profile suggests that a new era in screening is underway

Socioeconomic Status and Ovarian Cancer Stage at Diagnosis: A Study Nested Within UKCTOCS

BACKGROUND: Tubo-ovarian cancer (OC) continues to be the most lethal of all gynaecological cancers. Over half of women are diagnosed with late stage (III/IV) disease, which has a five-year survival rate of 11%. Socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to have an impact on outcomes of several cancer types, including OC. This study aims to investigate any potential association between SES and stage at diagnosis of OC. METHODS: Women from the non-screening arm of the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) with a confirmed diagnosis of OC prior to 01 January 2015 and an English index of multiple deprivation (IMD) score were eligible for the study. The association between IMD and OC stage (FIGO) was analysed using an ordinal logistic regression model adjusted for age at diagnosis and BMI. RESULTS: Four-hundred and fifty seven women were eligible for inclusion in the primary analysis. The odds of being diagnosed with the higher dichotomization of stage (I vs. II/III/IV; I/II vs. III/IV; I/II/III vs. IV) was 1.29 (p = 0.017; 95% CI: 1.048-1.592) per unit SD (standard deviation) increase in IMD. This translates to a 29% increase in odds of being diagnosed at the higher stage per each unit SD increase in IMD. CONCLUSION: Increased deprivation is consistently associated with a higher probability of being diagnosed with later stage OC

Association between skirt size and chronic liver disease in post-menopausal women: a prospective cohort study within the United Kingdom Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS)

BACKGROUND: We investigated the association between self-reported skirt size (SS) and change in SS, and incidence of chronic liver disease (CLD) in a prospective cohort study of women recruited to the UKCTOCS trial. METHODS: Women recruited to UKCTOCS in England without documented CLD self-reported their current UK SS during trial participation and were asked to recall their SS when aged in 20s (via completion of a questionnaire 3-5 years after recruitment). Participants were followed up via electronic health record linkage and hazard ratios (HR) calculated for incident liver-related events (LRE). RESULTS: Three hundred twenty-two (0.3%) of 94,124 women experienced a first LRE. Compared to SS ≤ 16, rates of LRE were higher in the SS ≥ 18 groups (both when aged in 20s and at questionnaire completion). Event rates were higher if there was no change in SS or an increase in SS, compared to a decrease in SS. In the models adjusted for potential confounders, HRs for LRE were higher in the groups of women reporting SS ≥ 18 both when aged in 20s (HR = 1.39 (95% CI; 0.87-2.23)) and at questionnaire completion (HR = 1.37 (95% CI; 1.07-1.75)). Compared to a decrease in SS, HRs were higher in the no change (HR = 1.78 (95% CI; 0.95-3.34)) and increase (HR = 1.80 (95% CI; 1.01-3.21)) groups. CONCLUSION: CLD is associated with high SS and an increase in SS over time. These data suggest SS can be used in simple public health messages about communicating the risk of liver disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UKCTOCS is registered as an International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial, number ISRCTN22488978 . Registered 06/04/2000

Validity of self-reported hysterectomy: a prospective cohort study within the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS).

To evaluate the validity of self-reported hysterectomy against the gold standard of uterine visualisation using pelvic ultrasound

Direct observation of the flux-line vortex glass phase in a type II superconductor

The order of the vortex state in La_{1.9} Sr_{0.1} CuO_{4} is probed using muon spin rotation and small-angle neutron scattering. A transition from a Bragg glass to a vortex glass is observed, where the latter is composed of disordered vortex lines. In the vicinity of the transition the microscopic behavior reflects a delicate interplay of thermally-induced and pinning-induced disorder.Comment: 14 pages, 4 colour figures include

Anomalous Roughness in Dimer-Type Surface Growth

We point out how geometric features affect the scaling properties of non-equilibrium dynamic processes, by a model for surface growth where particles can deposit and evaporate only in dimer form, but dissociate on the surface. Pinning valleys (hill tops) develop spontaneously and the surface facets for all growth (evaporation) biases. More intriguingly, the scaling properties of the rough one dimensional equilibrium surface are anomalous. Its width, $W\sim L^\alpha$, diverges with system size $L$, as $\alpha={1/3}$ instead of the conventional universal value $\alpha={1/2}$. This originates from a topological non-local evenness constraint on the surface configurations.Comment: Published version in PR