O(a)-improved quark action on anisotropic lattices and perturbative renormalization of heavy-light currents

We investigate the Symanzik improvement of the Wilson quark action on anisotropic lattices. Taking first a general action with nearest-neighbor and clover interactions, we study the mass dependence of the ratio of the hopping parameters, the clover coefficients, and an improvement coefficient for heavy-light vector and axial vector currents. We show how tree-level improvement can be achieved. For a particular choice of the spatial Wilson coupling, the results simplify, and $O(m_0a_\tau)$ improvement is possible. (Here $m_0$ is the bare quark mass and $a_\tau$ the temporal lattice spacing.) With this choice we calculate the renormalization factors of heavy-light bilinear operators at one-loop order of perturbation theory employing the standard plaquette gauge action.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figure

Sound and Complete Typing for lambda-mu

In this paper we define intersection and union type assignment for Parigot's calculus lambda-mu. We show that this notion is complete (i.e. closed under subject-expansion), and show also that it is sound (i.e. closed under subject-reduction). This implies that this notion of intersection-union type assignment is suitable to define a semantics.Comment: In Proceedings ITRS 2010, arXiv:1101.410

Reduced costs with bisoprolol treatment for heart failure - An economic analysis of the second Cardiac Insufficiency Bisoprolol Study (CIBIS-II)

Background Beta-blockers, used as an adjunctive to diuretics, digoxin and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, improve survival in chronic heart failure. We report a prospectively planned economic analysis of the cost of adjunctive beta-blocker therapy in the second Cardiac Insufficiency BIsoprolol Study (CIBIS II). Methods Resource utilization data (drug therapy, number of hospital admissions, length of hospital stay, ward type) were collected prospectively in all patients in CIBIS . These data were used to determine the additional direct costs incurred, and savings made, with bisoprolol therapy. As well as the cost of the drug, additional costs related to bisoprolol therapy were added to cover the supervision of treatment initiation and titration (four outpatient clinic/office visits). Per them (hospital bed day) costings were carried out for France, Germany and the U.K. Diagnosis related group costings were performed for France and the U.K. Our analyses took the perspective of a third party payer in France and Germany and the National Health Service in the U.K. Results Overall, fewer patients were hospitalized in the bisoprolol group, there were fewer hospital admissions perpatient hospitalized, fewer hospital admissions overall, fewer days spent in hospital and fewer days spent in the most expensive type of ward. As a consequence the cost of care in the bisoprolol group was 5-10% less in all three countries, in the per them analysis, even taking into account the cost of bisoprolol and the extra initiation/up-titration visits. The cost per patient treated in the placebo and bisoprolol groups was FF35 009 vs FF31 762 in France, DM11 563 vs DM10 784 in Germany and pound 4987 vs pound 4722 in the U.K. The diagnosis related group analysis gave similar results. Interpretation Not only did bisoprolol increase survival and reduce hospital admissions in CIBIS II, it also cut the cost of care in so doing. This `win-win' situation of positive health benefits associated with cost savings is Favourable from the point of view of both the patient and health care systems. These findings add further support for the use of beta-blockers in chronic heart failure

Infrared study of the hydrogen bonding association in polyamides plasticized by benzenesulfonamides. Part I: Self-association in amide and sulfonamide systems; Part II: Amide-sulfonamide interaction

The molecular associations of N-(n-hexyl)hexanamide (PA-12MC) and N-(n-butyl)benzenesulfonamide (BBSA), taken as model compounds for polydodecamide (PA-12) and benzenesulfonamide plasticizers, respectively, were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In solution, the amide is distributed between a self-associated form, involving intermolecular hydrogen bonding, and isolated species. Dissociation is favored in an electron donor solvent due to hydrogen bonding between the amide and the solvent. Comparatively, BBSA has much less tendency to dissociate. Molecular modeling suggests that BBSA dimer associations exist in the condensed state thanks to intermolecular hydrogen bonds, while gasphase infrared spectroscopy supports a stabilizing intramolecular interaction between the sulfonamide proton and the sulfonyl lone pairs for isolated molecules. Mixtures of the amide model compound with BBSA show the creation of a strong S-N-H . . .O=C hydrogen bond between the sulfonamide proton and the amide's carbonyl lone pairs. The amide N-H groups liberated from the former amide-amide interaction find themselves involved in a weaker C-N-H . . .O=S hydrogen bond ("free N-H") with the plasticizer's sulfonyl lone pairs, the concentration of these bonds being maximum at mid-composition. For polyamide/BSAs mixtures, the accessibility of the amide and sulfonamide groups can restrict these associations. Mixtures of AAPA, an aliphatic amorphous polyamide, with a plasticizer bearing a branched alkyl chain, generate a low free N-H concentration and cause phase separation to occur, which confirms the steric sensibility of their interaction. A bifunctional benzenesulfonamide plasticizer appears to be less efficient than BBSA and leads to an increased dispersion in hydrogen bond distribution, both of which could be ascribed to the bulk of this molecule. Incorporation of BBSA in semicrystalline PA-12 leads to a behavior identical to that of AAPA/BBSA mixtures

Exception handling and classical logic

We present λtry, an extension of the λ-calculus with named exception handling, via try, throw and catch, and present a basic notion of type assignment expressing recoverable exception handling and show that it is sound. We define an interpretation for λtry to Parigot's λμ-calculus, and show that reduction (both lazy and call by value) is preserved by the interpretation. We will show that also types assignable in the basic system are preserved by the interpretation. We will then add a notion of total failure through halt that escapes applicative contexts without being caught by a handler, and show that we can interpret this in λμ when adding top as destination. We will argue that introducing handlers for halt will break the relation with λμ. We will conclude the paper by showing that it is possible to add handlers for program failure by introducing panic and dedicated handlers to λtry. We will need to extend the language with a conditional construct that is typed in a non-traditional way, that cannot be expressed in λμ or logic. This will allow both recoverable exceptions and total failure, dealt with by handlers; we will show a non-standard soundness result for this system