Transfer-matrix scaling from disorder-averaged correlation lengths for diluted Ising systems

A transfer matrix scaling technique is developed for randomly diluted systems, and applied to the site-diluted Ising model on a square lattice in two dimensions. For each allowed disorder configuration between two adjacent columns, the contribution of the respective transfer matrix to the decay of correlations is considered only as far as the ratio of its two largest eigenvalues, allowing an economical calculation of a configuration-averaged correlation length. Standard phenomenological-renormalisation procedures are then used to analyse aspects of the phase boundary which are difficult to assess accurately by alternative methods. For magnetic site concentration $p$ close to $p_c$, the extent of exponential behaviour of the $T_c \times p$ curve is clearly seen for over two decades of variation of $p - p_c$. Close to the pure-system limit, the exactly-known reduced slope is reproduced to a very good approximation, though with non-monotonic convergence. The averaged correlation lengths are inserted into the exponent-amplitude relationship predicted by conformal invariance to hold at criticality. The resulting exponent $\eta$ remains near the pure value (1/4) for all intermediate concentrations until it crosses over to the percolation value at the threshold.Comment: RevTeX 3, 11 pages +5 figures, uuencoded, to appear in Phys. Rev. B (1994), PUC/RJ preprin

Cats with diabetes mellitus have diastolic dysfunction in the absence of structural heart disease

Diabetes mellitus (DM) can result in cardiovascular dysfunction and heart failure characterized by diastolic dysfunction with or without the presence of systolic dysfunction in people and laboratory animals. The objective of this prospective study was to determine if cats with newly diagnosed DM had myocardial dysfunction and, if present, whether it would progress if appropriate antidiabetic therapy was commenced. Thirty-two diabetic cats were enrolled and received baseline echocardiographic examination; of these, 15 cats were re-examined after 6 months. Ten healthy age- and weight-matched cats served as controls. Diabetic cats at diagnosis showed decreased diastolic, but not systolic function, when compared to healthy controls, with lower mitral inflow E wave (E) and E/E' than controls. After 6 months, E and E/IVRT' decreased further in diabetic cats compared to the baseline evaluation. After excluding cats whose DM was in remission at 6 months, insulin-dependent diabetic cats had lower E, E/A and E' than controls. When classifying diastolic function according to E/A and E'/A', there was shift towards impaired relaxation patterns at 6 months. All insulin-dependent diabetic cats at 6 months had abnormal diastolic function. These results indicate that DM has similar effects on diastolic function in feline and human diabetics. The dysfunction seemed to progress rather than to normalize after 6 months, despite antidiabetic therapy. In cats with pre-existing heart disease, the development of DM could represent an important additional health risk

Quenched bond dilution in two-dimensional Potts models

We report a numerical study of the bond-diluted 2-dimensional Potts model using transfer matrix calculations. For different numbers of states per spin, we show that the critical exponents at the random fixed point are the same as in self-dual random-bond cases. In addition, we determine the multifractal spectrum associated with the scaling dimensions of the moments of the spin-spin correlation function in the cylinder geometry. We show that the behaviour is fully compatible with the one observed in the random bond case, confirming the general picture according to which a unique fixed point describes the critical properties of different classes of disorder: dilution, self-dual binary random-bond, self-dual continuous random bond.Comment: LaTeX file with IOP macros, 29 pages, 14 eps figure

Long-term palliation of right-sided congestive heart failure after stenting a recurrent cor triatriatum dexter in a 10½-year-old pug

A 10½-year-old, male neutered, pug presented with increasing ascites over two months. Echocardiography revealed cor triatriatum dexter with no concurrent cardiovascular anomalies, subsequently confirmed by computed tomography angiography. Balloon dilation of the perforated intra-atrial membrane under fluoroscopic guidance resulted in the transient resolution of all clinical abnormalities, but six months later stenosis and ascites recurred. After repeated balloon dilation, a stent was placed across the membrane. The dog remains asymptomatic fourteen months after the second procedure. One noteworthy feature of this case is the onset of congestive heart failure due to a congenital defect only at more than 10 years of age

Long-term palliation of right-sided congestive heart failure after stenting a recurrent cor triatriatum dexter in a 10½-year-old pug.

A 10½-year-old, male neutered, pug presented with increasing ascites over two months. Echocardiography revealed cor triatriatum dexter with no concurrent cardiovascular anomalies, subsequently confirmed by computed tomography angiography. Balloon dilation of the perforated intra-atrial membrane under fluoroscopic guidance resulted in the transient resolution of all clinical abnormalities, but six months later stenosis and ascites recurred. After repeated balloon dilation, a stent was placed across the membrane. The dog remains asymptomatic fourteen months after the second procedure. One noteworthy feature of this case is the onset of congestive heart failure due to a congenital defect only at more than 10 years of age

Adherence to dietary recommendations is not associated with depression in two Swiss population-based samples.

Little is known about adherence to dietary recommendations and depression. Furthermore, dietary habits may differ among depression subtypes, which has not been evaluated previously. Two population-based Swiss studies, including 3620 individuals from PsyCoLaus and 11,032 individuals from the Swiss Health Survey 2012 (SHS), were used to examine the associations between adherence to common dietary guidelines and odds of depressive disorders. In both studies, depression was assessed by validated instruments. Adherence to dietary recommendations were assessed by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (PsyCoLaus) and by single item questions (SHS). Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association of adhering to dietary recommendations with depression. For the analyses of diet with depression subtypes maximum-likelihood multinomial (polytomous) logistic regression analyses were conducted. No association of adherence to dietary recommendations with current major depressive disorder (MDD) was observed in any of the two study populations except for adherence to fish consumption, which was positively associated with MDD in the SHS. For depression subtypes, statistically significantly positive associations of vegetable consumption and adherence to the 5-a-day recommendation with current unspecified and current melancholic MDD were found. In conclusion, we don't see consistent associations between adherence to dietary recommendations and MDD or subtypes of depression

Insights Into Insular Isolation of the Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas (Müller and Henle, 1839), in Fijian Waters

The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is a large, mobile, circumglobally distributed high trophic level predator that inhabits a variety of remote islands and continental coastal habitats, including freshwater environments. Here, we hypothesize that the barriers to dispersal created by large oceanic expanses and deep-water trenches result in a heterogeneous distribution of the neutral genetic diversity between island bull shark populations compared to populations sampled in continental locations connected through continuous coastlines of continental shelves. We analyzed 1,494 high-quality neutral single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in 215 individual bull sharks from widespread locations across the Indian and Pacific Oceans (South Africa, Indonesia, Western Australia, Papua New Guinea, eastern Australia, New Caledonia, and Fiji). Genomic analyses revealed partitioning between remote insular and continental populations, with the Fiji population being genetically different from all other locations sampled (FST = 0.034–0.044, P \u3c 0.001), and New Caledonia showing marginal isolation (FST = 0.016–0.024, P \u3c 0.001; albeit based on a small sample size) from most sampled sites. Discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) identified samples from Fiji as a distinct cluster with all other sites clustering together. Genetic structure analyses (Admixture, fastStructure and AssignPOP) further supported the genetic isolation of bull sharks from Fiji, with the analyses in agreement. The observed differentiation in bull sharks from Fiji makes this site of special interest, as it indicates a lack of migration through dispersal across deep-water trenches and large ocean expanses