Liquid antiferromagnets in two dimensions

It is shown that, for proper symmetry of the parent lattice, antiferromagnetic order can survive in two-dimensional liquid crystals and even isotropic liquids of point-like particles, in contradiction to what common sense might suggest. We discuss the requirements for antiferromagnetic order in the absence of translational and/or orientational lattice order. One example is the honeycomb lattice, which upon melting can form a liquid crystal with quasi-long-range orientational and antiferromagnetic order but short-range translational order. The critical properties of such systems are discussed. Finally, we draw conjectures for the three-dimensional case.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX, 4 figures include

Square to stripe transition and superlattice patterns in vertically oscillated granular layers

We investigated the physical mechanism for the pattern transition from square lattice to stripes, which appears in vertically oscillating granular layers. We present a continuum model to show that the transition depends on the competition between inertial force and local saturation of transport. By introducing multiple free-flight times, this model further enables us to analyze the formation of superlattices as well as hexagonal lattice

Choice of implicit and explicit operators for the upwind differencing method

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76274/1/AIAA-1988-624-513.pd

Medicare/medicaid insurance, rurality, and black race associated with provision of hepatocellular carcinoma treatment and survival

Background: Early treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with improved survival, but many patients with HCC do not receive therapy. We aimed to examine factors associated with HCC treatment and survival among incident patients with HCC in a statewide cancer registry. Materials and Methods: All patients with HCC from 2003 through 2013 were identified in the North Carolina cancer registry. These patients were linked to insurance claims from Medicare, Medicaid, and large private insurers in North Carolina. Associations between prespecified covariates and more advanced HCC stage at diagnosis (ie, multifocal cancer), care at a liver transplant center, and provision of HCC treatment were examined using multivariate logistic regression. A Cox proportional hazards model was developed to assess the association between these factors and survival. Results: Of 1,809 patients with HCC, 53% were seen at a transplant center,90 days from diagnosis, with lower odds among those who were Black (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.54; 95% CI, 0.39-0.74), had Medicare insurance (aOR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.21-0.59), had Medicaid insurance (aOR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.28-0.77), and lived in a rural area; odds of transplant center visits were higher among those who had prediagnosis alpha fetoprotein screening (aOR, 1.74; 95% CI, 1.35-2.23) and PCP and gastroenterology care (aOR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.27-2.18). Treatment was more likely among patients who had prediagnosis gastroenterology care (aOR, 1.68; 95% CI, 0.98-2.86) and transplant center visits (aOR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.74-3.36). Survival was strongly associated with age, cancer stage, cirrhosis complications, and receipt of HCC treatment. Individuals with Medicare (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.58; 95% CI, 1.20-2.09) and Medicaid insurance (aHR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.17-2.05) had shorter survival than those with private insurance. Conclusions: In this population-based cohort of patients with HCC, Medicare/Medicaid insurance, rural residence, and Black race were associated with lower provision of HCC treatment and poorer survival. Efforts should be made to improve access to care for these vulnerable populations

Pain prediction by serum biomarkers of bone turnover in people with knee osteoarthritis: an observational study of TRAcP5b and cathepsin K in OA

Objectives: To investigate serum biomarkers, tartrate resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRAcP5b) and cathepsin K, indicative of osteoclastic bone resorption, and their relationship to pain and pain change in knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: Sera and clinical data were collected from 129 people (97 with 3-year follow-up) with knee OA from the Prediction of Osteoarthritis Progression (POP) cohort. Knee OA-related outcomes in POP included: WOMAC pain, NHANES I (pain, aching and stiffness), subchondral sclerosis, and radiographically determined tibiofemoral and patellofemoral OA. Two putative osteoclast biomarkers were measured in sera: TRAcP5b and cathepsin K. Medial tibia plateaux were donated at knee arthroplasty for symptomatic OA (n=84) or from 16 post mortem controls from the Arthritis Research UK (ARUK) Pain Centre joint tissue repository. Osteoclasts were stained for TRAcP within the subchondral bone of the medial tibia plateaux. Results: Serum TRAcP5b activity, but not cathepsin K-immunoreactivity, was associated with density of TRAcP-positive osteoclasts in the subchondral bone of medial tibia plateaux. TRAcP-positive osteoclasts were more abundant in people with symptomatic OA compared to controls. Serum TRAcP5b activity was associated with baseline pain and pain change. Conclusions: Our observations support a role for subchondral osteoclast activity in the generation of OA pain. Serum TRAcP5b might be a clinically relevant biomarker of disease activity in OA

Subclinical thyroid dysfunction and incident diabetes:a systematic review and an individual participant data analysis of prospective cohort studies

Objective: Few prospective studies have assessed whether individuals with subclinical thyroid dysfunction are more likely to develop diabetes, with conflicting results. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of the literature and an individual participant data analysis of multiple prospective cohorts to investigate the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and incident diabetes.Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature in Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from inception to February 11, 2022. A two-stage individual participant data analysis was conducted to compare participants with subclinical hypothyroidism and subclinical hyperthyroidism vs euthyroidism at baseline and the adjusted risk of developing diabetes at follow-up.Results: Among 61 178 adults from 18 studies, 49% were females, mean age was 58 years, and mean follow-up time was 8.2 years. At the last available follow-up, there was no association between subclinical hypothyroidism and incidence of diabetes (odds ratio (OR) = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.88-1.17, I2 = 0%) or subclinical hyperthyroidism and incidence of diabetes (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.82-1.30, I2 = 0%), in age- and sex-adjusted analyses. Time-to-event analysis showed similar results (hazard ratio for subclinical hypothyroidism: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.87-1.11; hazard ratio for subclinical hyperthyroidism: 1.07, 95% CI: 0.88-1.29). The results were robust in all sub-group and sensitivity analyses.Conclusions: This is the largest systematic review and individual participant data analysis to date investigating the prospective association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and diabetes. We did not find an association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and incident diabetes. Our results do not support screening patients with subclinical thyroid dysfunction for diabetes.Significance statement: Evidence is conflicting regarding whether an association exists between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and incident diabetes. We therefore aimed to investigate whether individuals with subclinical thyroid dysfunction are more prone to develop diabetes in the long run as compared to euthyroid individuals. We included data from 18 international cohort studies with 61 178 adults and a mean follow-up time of 8.2 years. We did not find an association between subclinical hypothyroidism or subclinical hyperthyroidism at baseline and incident diabetes at follow-up. Our results have clinical implications as they neither support screening patients with subclinical thyroid dysfunction for diabetes nor treating them in the hope of preventing diabetes in the future.</p

Global Search for New Physics with 2.0/fb at CDF

Data collected in Run II of the Fermilab Tevatron are searched for indications of new electroweak-scale physics. Rather than focusing on particular new physics scenarios, CDF data are analyzed for discrepancies with the standard model prediction. A model-independent approach (Vista) considers gross features of the data, and is sensitive to new large cross-section physics. Further sensitivity to new physics is provided by two additional algorithms: a Bump Hunter searches invariant mass distributions for "bumps" that could indicate resonant production of new particles; and the Sleuth procedure scans for data excesses at large summed transverse momentum. This combined global search for new physics in 2.0/fb of ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV reveals no indication of physics beyond the standard model.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Final version which appeared in Physical Review D Rapid Communication

Observation of Orbitally Excited B_s Mesons

We report the first observation of two narrow resonances consistent with states of orbitally excited (L=1) B_s mesons using 1 fb^{-1} of ppbar collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We use two-body decays into K^- and B^+ mesons reconstructed as B^+ \to J/\psi K^+, J/\psi \to \mu^+ \mu^- or B^+ \to \bar{D}^0 \pi^+, \bar{D}^0 \to K^+ \pi^-. We deduce the masses of the two states to be m(B_{s1}) = 5829.4 +- 0.7 MeV/c^2 and m(B_{s2}^*) = 5839.7 +- 0.7 MeV/c^2.Comment: Version accepted and published by Phys. Rev. Let

Anisotropic flow of charged hadrons, pions and (anti-)protons measured at high transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76 TeV

The elliptic, $v_2$, triangular, $v_3$, and quadrangular, $v_4$, azimuthal anisotropic flow coefficients are measured for unidentified charged particles, pions and (anti-)protons in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Results obtained with the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods are reported for the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ at different collision centralities and as a function of transverse momentum, $p_{\rm T}$, out to $p_{\rm T}=20$ GeV/$c$. The observed non-zero elliptic and triangular flow depends only weakly on transverse momentum for $p_{\rm T}>8$ GeV/$c$. The small $p_{\rm T}$ dependence of the difference between elliptic flow results obtained from the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods suggests a common origin of flow fluctuations up to $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$. The magnitude of the (anti-)proton elliptic and triangular flow is larger than that of pions out to at least $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$ indicating that the particle type dependence persists out to high $p_{\rm T}$.Comment: 16 pages, 5 captioned figures, authors from page 11, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/186