The H-Dibaryon and the Hard Core

The H dibaryon, a single, triply magic bag containing two up, two down and two strange quarks, has long been sought after in a variety of experiments. Its creation has been attempted in $K^-$, proton and most recently in relativistic heavy ion induced reactions. We concentrate on the latter, but our conclusions are more generally applicable. The two baryons coalescing to form the single dibaryon, likely $\Lambda \Lambda$ in the case of heavy ions, must penetrate the short range repulsive barrier which is expected to exist between them. We find that this barrier can profoundly affect the probability of producing the H state, should it actually exist.Comment: 9 pages including 4 figure

Resonant State in Helium-4 Lambda

In a recent experiment E906 at the BNL-AGS, a search for light S=-2 hypernuclei, strong evidence was found for the nuclide Hydrogen-4 double Lambda. One of the most striking components of this data was the appearance of a narrow low-momentum pi- line at k(pi-) = 104-105 MeV/c. This was ascribed to the decay of Hydrogen-4 double Lambda into a resonant state in Helium-4 Lambda. The existence of such a state is shown to be plausible and its characteristics are delineated.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

A Delphi Exercise to Identify Characteristic Features of Gout -- Opinions from Patients and Physicians, the First Stage in Developing New Classification Criteria

Item does not contain fulltextOBJECTIVE: To identify a comprehensive list of features that might discriminate between gout and other rheumatic musculoskeletal conditions, to be used subsequently for a case-control study to develop and test new classification criteria for gout. METHODS: Two Delphi exercises were conducted using Web-based questionnaires: one with physicians from several countries who had an interest in gout and one with patients from New Zealand who had gout. Physicians rated a list of potentially discriminating features that were identified by literature review and expert opinion, and patients rated a list of features that they generated themselves. Agreement was defined by the RAND/UCLA disagreement index. RESULTS: Forty-four experienced physicians and 9 patients responded to all iterations. For physicians, 71 items were identified by literature review and 15 more were suggested by physicians. The physician survey showed agreement for 26 discriminatory features and 15 as not discriminatory. The patients identified 46 features of gout, for which there was agreement on 25 items as being discriminatory and 7 items as not discriminatory. CONCLUSION: Patients and physicians agreed upon several key features of gout. Physicians emphasized objective findings, imaging, and patterns of symptoms, whereas patients emphasized severity, functional results, and idiographic perception of symptoms