Spinor-helicity and the algebraic classification of higher-dimensional spacetimes

The spinor-helicity formalism is an essential technique of the amplitudes community. We draw on this method to construct a scheme for classifying higher-dimensional spacetimes in the style of the 4D Petrov classification and the Newman–Penrose formalism. We focus on the 5D case for concreteness. Our spinorial scheme naturally reproduces the full structure previously seen in both the CMPP and de Smet classifications, and resolves longstanding questions concerning the relationship between the two classifications

Projecting prevalence by stage of care for prostate cancer and estimating future health service needs: protocol for a modelling study

Introduction Current strategies for the management of prostate cancer are inadequate in Australia. We will, in this study, estimate current service needs and project the future needs for prostate cancer patients in Australia. Methods and analysis First, we will project the future prevalence of prostate cancer for 2010-2018 using data for 1972-2008 from the New South Wales (NSW) Central Cancer Registry. These projections, based on modelled incidence and survival estimates, will be estimated using PIAMOD (Prevalence, Incidence, Analysis MODel) software. Then the total prevalence will be decomposed into five stages of care: initial care, continued monitoring, recurrence, last year of life and long-term survivor. Finally, data from the NSW Prostate Cancer Care and Outcomes Study, including data on patterns of treatment and associated quality of life, will be used to estimate the type and amount of services that will be needed by prostate cancer patients in each stage of care. In addition, Central Cancer Registry episode data will be used to estimate transition rates from localised or locally advanced prostate cancer to metastatic disease. Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits data, linked with Prostate Cancer Care and Outcomes Study data, will be used to complement the Cancer Registry episode data. The methods developed will be applied Australia-wide to obtain national estimates of the future prevalence of prostate cancer for different stages of clinical care. Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the NSW Population and Health Services Research Ethics Committee. Results of the study will be disseminated widely to different interest groups and organisations through a report, conference presentations and peer-reviewed articles.This work is supported by the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (grant number: PCFA – YI 0410). Both David Smith and Xue Qin Yu are supported by an Australian NHMRC Training Fellowship (Ref 1016598, 550002). Mark Clements is supported by an Australian NHMRC Career Development Award (Ref 471491)

Laplace transform of spherical Bessel functions

We provide a simple analytic formula in terms of elementary functions for the Laplace transform j_{l}(p) of the spherical Bessel function than that appearing in the literature, and we show that any such integral transform is a polynomial of order l in the variable p with constant coefficients for the first l-1 powers, and with an inverse tangent function of argument 1/p as the coefficient of the power l. We apply this formula for the Laplace transform of the memory function related to the Langevin equation in a one-dimensional Debye model.Comment: 5 pages LATEX, no figures. Accepted 2002, Physica Script

The varying role of the GP in the pathway between colonoscopy and surgery for colorectal cancer: a retrospective cohort study

Extent: 11p.Objectives: To describe general practitioner (GP) involvement in the treatment referral pathway for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Design: A retrospective cohort analysis of linked data. Setting: A population-based sample of CRC patients diagnosed from August 2004 to December 2007 in New South Wales, Australia, using the 45 and Up Study, cancer registry diagnosis records, inpatient hospital records and Medicare claims records. Participants: 407 CRC patients who had a colonoscopy followed by surgery. Primary outcome measures: Patterns of GP consultations between colonoscopy and surgery (ie, between diagnosis and treatment). We investigated whether consulting a GP presurgery was associated with time to surgery, postsurgical GP consultations or rectal cancer cases having surgery in a centre with radiotherapy facilities. Results: Of the 407 patients, 43% (n=175) had at least one GP consultation between colonoscopy and surgery. The median time from colonoscopy to surgery was 27 days for those with an intervening GP consultation and 15 days for those without the consultation. 55% (n=223) had a GP consultation up to 30 days postsurgery; it was more common in cases of patients who consulted a GP presurgery than for those who did not (65% and 47%, respectively, adjusted OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.50 to 4.89, p=0.001). Of the 142 rectal cancer cases, 23% (n=33) had their surgery in a centre with radiotherapy facilities, with no difference between those who did and did not consult a GP presurgery (21% and 25% respectively, adjusted OR 0.84, 95% CI 0.27 to 2.63, p=0.76). Conclusions: Consulting a GP between colonoscopy and surgery was associated with a longer interval between diagnosis and treatment, and with further GP consultations postsurgery, but for rectal cancer cases it was not associated with treatment in a centre with radiotherapy facilities. GPs might require a more defined and systematic approach to CRC management.David Goldsbury, Mark Harris, Shane Pascoe, Michael Barton, Ian Olver, Allan Spigelman, Justin Beilby, Craig Veitch, David Weller, Dianne L O'Connel

A single amino acid substitution beyond the C2H2-zinc finger in Ros derepresses virulence and T-DNA genes in Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Ros is a chromosomally-encoded repressor containing a novel C2H2 zinc finger in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Ros regulates the expression of six virulence genes and an oncogene on the Ti plasmid. Constitutive expression of these genes occurs in the spontaneous mutant 4011R derived from the octopine strain Ach-5, resulting in T-DNA processing in the absence of induction, and in the biosynthesis of cytokinin. Interestingly, the mutation in 4011R is an Arg to Cys conversion at amino acid residue 125 near the C-terminus well outside the zinc finger of Ros. Yet, Ros bearing this mutation is unable to bind to the Ros-box and is unable to complement other ros mutant

The Young Cluster Population of M82 Region B

We present observations obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble Space Telescope of the "fossil" starburst region B in the nearby starburst galaxy M82. By comparing UBVI photometry with models, we derive ages and extinctions for 35 U-band selected star clusters. We find that the peak epoch of cluster formation occurred ~ 150 Myr ago, in contrast to earlier work that found a peak formation age of 1.1 Gyr. The difference is most likely due to our inclusion of U-band data, which are essential for accurate age determinations of young cluster populations. We further show that the previously reported turnover in the cluster luminosity function is probably due to the neglect of the effect of extended sources on the detection limit. The much younger cluster ages we derive clarifies the evolution of the M82 starburst. The M82-B age distribution now overlaps with the ages of: the nuclear starburst; clusters formed on the opposite side of the disk; and the last encounter with M81, some 220 Myr ago.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Perturbative spacetimes from Yang-Mills theory

SCOAP

The limited utility of electrocardiography variables used to predict arrhythmia in psychotropic drug overdose

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between serious arrhythmias in patients with psychotropic drug overdose and electrocardiography (ECG) findings that have been suggested previously to predict this complication. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients with serious arrhythmias (ventricular tachycardia, supraventricular tachycardia or cardiac arrest) after tricyclic antidepressant overdose or thioridazine overdose were compared with 117 controls with clinically significant overdose matched to each case for the drug ingested. These patients with psychotropic drug overdose had presented for treatment to the Department of Clinical Toxicology, Newcastle and to the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane. The heart rate, the QRS width, the QTc and QT intervals, the QT dispersion, and the R wave and R/S ratios in aVR on the initial ECGs were compared in cases and controls. RESULTS: The cases had taken dothiepin (16 patients), doxepin (six patients), thioridazine (five patients), amitriptyline (five patients), nortriptyline (three patients), imipramine (one patient) and a combination of dothiepin and thioridazine (three patients). In 20 of the 39 patients with arrhythmias, the arrhythmia had been a presumed ventricular tachycardia. Of the other 19 patients, 15 patients had a supraventricular tachycardia, two patients had cardiac arrests (one asystole, one without ECG monitoring) and two patients had insufficient data recorded to make classification of the arrhythmias possible. The QRS was ≥ 100 ms in 82% of cases but also in 76% of controls. QRS ≥ 160 ms had a sensitivity of only 13% and occurred in 2% of controls. QRS > 120 ms, QTc > 500 and the R/S ratio in aVR appeared to have a stronger association with the occurrence of arrhythmia: QRS > 120 ms (odds ratio [OR], 3.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46–8.68), QTc > 500 (OR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.33–7.07), and R/S ratio in aVR > 0.7 (OR, 16; 95% CI, 3.47–74). Excluding thioridazine overdoses and performing the analysis for tricyclic antidepressant overdoses alone gave increased odds ratios for QRS > 120 ms (OR, 4.83; 95% CI, 1.73–13.5) and QTc > 500 (OR, 4.5; 95% CI, 1.56–13) but had little effect on that for the R/S ratio in aVR > 0.7 (OR, 14.5; 95% CI, 3.10–68). CONCLUSION: ECG measurements were generally weakly related to the occurrence of arrhythmia and should not be used as the sole criteria for risk assessment in tricyclic antidepressant overdose. The frequently recommended practice of using either QRS ≥ 100 ms or QRS ≥ 160 ms to predict arrhythmias is not supported by our study. R/S ratio in aVR > 0.7 was most strongly related to arrhythmia but had estimated positive and negative predictive values of only 41% and 95%, respectively. The use of these specific predictors in other drug overdoses is not recommended without specific studies