Static-light mesons on a dynamical anisotropic lattice

We present results for the spectrum of static-light mesons from Nf=2 lattice QCD. These results were obtained using all-to-all light quark propagators on an anisotropic lattice, yielding an improved signal resolution when compared to more conventional lattice techniques. In particular, we consider the inversion of orbitally-excited multiplets with respect to the `standard ordering', which has been predicted by some quark models.Comment: 3 pages with 3 figures. Talk by JF at "Quarks and Nuclear Physics", Madrid 5th-10th June 200

A non-perturbative study of the action parameters for anisotropic-lattice quarks

A quark action designed for highly anisotropic lattice simulations is discussed. The mass-dependence of the parameters in the action is studied and the results are presented. Applications of this action in studies of heavy quark quantities are described and results are presented from simulations at an anisotropy of six, for a range of quark masses from strange to bottom.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure

Static-light hadrons on a dynamical anisotropic lattice

We present preliminary results for the static-light meson and baryon spectra for $N_f=2$ QCD. The study is performed on an anisotropic lattice and uses a new all-to-all propagator method allowing us to determine particle masses to a high precision.Comment: 6 pages, Contribution to Lattice2005, PoS styl

Summative and Formative Assessment in Medicine: The Experience of an Anaesthesia Trainee

The practice of medicine is becoming increasingly onerous for doctors, with growing demands coming from both patients and peers. Therefore, we need to equip doctors of the future with the appropriate skills to negotiate a very complex environment. Assessment should be central to this goal with a renewed focus on a more rounded examination process. Rather than a compete reliance on summative assessment, an increased focus should be placed on formative assessment, which has been historically neglected in medicine. In addition, it is important for educators to realise that a mutimodal approach is required to establish competence in a valid fashion and that each assessment modality should be used for both summative and formative assessment where possible. This will not only serve to address the external pressures placed on the teacher to streamline students but it will facilitate student learning as they become active participants in assessment. Other areas of development in medical education going forward include peer assessment, which may be the answer to increasing cohort sizes. We also need to address the issue of maintaining adequate standards of assessment. Furthermore, we need to conduct further research to ensure that our assessment methods are an adequate predictor of future performance otherwise we as educational leaders will be failing both our students and the wider community

Improving Algorithms to Compute All Elements of the Lattice Quark Propagator

We present a new exact algorithm for estimating all elements of the quark propagator. The advantage of the method is that the exact all-to-all propagator is reproduced in a large but finite number of inversions. The efficacy of the algorithm is tested in Monte Carlo simulations of Wilson quarks in quenched QCD. Applications that are difficult to probe with point propagators are discussed.Comment: Talks presented by AOC and KJJ at Lattice2004(machines), Fermilab, June 21-26, 2004. 6 pages, 6 figure

Fused silica capillary interferometer with a layer-by-layer functional coating for the analysis of chemicals content in aqueous solutions

A simple fused silica capillary interferometric (FSCI) sensor has been proposed and investigated for the detection and analysis of multiple chemical compounds content in aqueous solutions. The sensor was fabricated by splicing a commercially available fused silica capillary (FSC) with two single mode fibers to create a 0.7 cm long air cavity. The fiber surface was functionalized with two different polymers: poly (allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and sol-gel silica in sequence using a layer-by-layer deposition method. The operating principle of the sensor relies on light interference in the fused silica capillary cavity due to adhesion of the different chemical compounds on the functional coating surface. Studies of the sensors response to the presence of five different compounds in water solutions at different concentrations have been carried out and the results have been analyzed using the principal component analysis (PCA). This work is a preliminary investigation towards the development of a novel method for assessment of content and quality of alcoholic beverages in real time using functionalized FSCIs

Practical all-to-all propagators for lattice QCD

A new method for computing all elements of the lattice quark propagator is proposed. The method combines the spectral decomposition of the propagator, computing the lowest eigenmodes exactly, with noisy estimators which are 'diluted', i.e. taken to have support only on a subset of time, space, spin or colour. We find that the errors are dramatically reduced compared to traditional noisy estimator techniques.Comment: 24 pages, 18 figure

Refractive change following pseudophakic vitrectomy: a retrospective review

Background To assess the occurrence and magnitude of refractive change in pseudophakic eyes undergoing 20 gauge pars plana vitrectomy without scleral buckling and to investigate possible aetiological factors. Methods Retrospective case note review of 87 pseudophakic eyes undergoing 20 gauge pars plana vitrectomy for a variety of vitreo-retinal conditions over a three-year period. Anterior chamber depth (ACD) was measured before and after vitrectomy surgery in 32 eyes. Forty-three pseudophakic fellow eyes were used as controls. Results Eighty-seven eyes (84 patients) were included in the study. Mean spherical equivalent refraction prior to vitrectomy was -0.20 dioptres, which changed to a mean of -0.65 dioptres postoperatively (standard deviation of refractive change 0.59, range-2.13 to 0.75 dioptres) (p < 0.001). Sixty-one of the 87(70%) eyes experienced a myopic shift and 45(52%) eyes had a myopic shift of -0.5 dioptres or more. Mean fellow eye refraction was -0.19 dioptres preoperatively and -0.17 dioptres postoperatively (p = 0.14)(n = 37) Mean ACD preoperatively was 3.29 mm and postoperatively 3.27 mm (p = 0.53) (n = 32) and there was no significant change in ACD with tamponade use. Regression analysis revealed no statistically significant association between changes in anterior chamber depth, as well as a wide variety of other pre-, intra and postoperative factors examined, and the refractive change observed. Conclusion Significant refractive changes occur in some pseudophakic patients undergoing 20 g pars plana vitrectomy. The mean change observed was a small myopic shift but the range was large. The aetiology of the refractive change is uncertain

Dynamical QCD simulations on anisotropic lattices

The simulation of QCD on dynamical (Nf - 2) anisotropic lattices is described. A method for nonperturbative renormalisation of the parameters in the anisotropic gauge and quark actions is presented. The precision with which this tuning can be carried out is determined in dynamical simulations on 8³ X 48 and 8³ X 80 lattices