Reporting and dealing with missing quality of life data in RCTs : has the picture changed in the last decade?

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Minimal access surgery compared with medical management for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease : five year follow-up of a randomised controlled trial (REFLUX)

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Determining information for inclusion in a decision-support intervention for clinical trial participation : A modified Delphi approach

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Efficacy of a Second Injection of Prostaglandin F2α in Yearling Beef Heifers Following Previous Estrus Synchronization

Angus- based, yearling beef heifers were utilized to determine the effects of administering a second prostaglandin F2α (PGF; Lutalyse, Zoetis Animal Health, Parsippany, NJ) injection to heifers who did not previously respond to estrus synchronization. All heifers were exposed to a melengestrolacetate (MGA)- PGF protocol. Following PGF injection, heifers were observed for estrus (estrus detection patches rubbed) for 3 d and inseminated. Heifers who did not show signs of estrus were placed with fertile bulls. Aft er 3 d with bulls, heifers with greater than 50% of the rub- off coating removed from estrus detection aids were considered to have been bred. One- half of the heifers not showing estrus received a second PGF injection; the other half were the controls and received no further treatment. Heifers remained with bulls for 4 d. Percentage expressing estrus was greater for heifers receiving a second PGF injection. However, pregnancy rate was similar between treatments

The Turn-On of Mass Transfer in AM CVn Binaries: Implications for RX J0806+1527 and RX J1914+2456

We report on evolutionary calculations of the onset of mass transfer in AM CVn binaries, treating the donor's evolution in detail. We show that during the early contact phase, while the mass transfer rate, \Mdot, is increasing, gravity wave (GW) emission continues to drive the binary to shorter orbital period, \Porb. We argue that the phase where \Mdot > 0 and \nudot > 0 (\nu = 1/\Porb) can last between $10^3$ and $10^6$ yrs, significantly longer than previously estimated. These results are applied to RX J0806+1527 (\Porb = 321 s) and RX J914+2456 (\Porb=569 s), both of which have measured \nudot > 0. \emph{Thus, a \nudot > 0 does not select between the unipolar inductor and accretion driven models proposed as the source of X-rays in these systems}. For the accretion model, we predict for RX J0806 that \ddot{\nu} \approx \ee{1.0-1.5}{-28} Hz s$^{-2}$ and argue that timing observations can probe $\ddot{\nu}$ at this level with a total $\approx 20$ yr baseline. We also place constraints on each system's initial parameters given current observational data.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted to ApJ

A burst from the direction of UZ Fornacis with XMM-Newton

The XMM-Newton pointing towards the magnetic cataclysmic variable UZ For finds the source to be a factor > 10^3 fainter than previous EXOSAT and ROSAT observations. The source was not detected for the majority of a 22 ksec exposure with the EPIC cameras, suggesting that the accretion rate either decreased, or stopped altogether. However a 1.1 ksec burst was detected from UZ For during the observation. Spectral fits favour optically thin, kT = 4.4 keV thermal emission. Detection of the burst by the on-board Optical Monitor indicates that this was most probably an accretion event. The 0.1-10 keV luminosity of 2.1 x 10^30 erg/s is typical for accretion shock emission from high state polars and would result from the potential energy release of ~ 10^16 g of gas. There is no significant soft excess due to reprocessing in the white dwarf atmosphere.Comment: 7 pages, 2 postscript figures, ApJL, in pres

KIC 10449976: discovery of an extreme-helium subdwarf in the Kepler field

Optical spectroscopy of the blue star KIC 10449976 shows that it is an extremely helium-rich subdwarf with effective temperature T=40000+/-300 K and surface gravity log g=5.3+/-0.1. Radial-velocity measurements over a five-day timescale show an upper variability limit of ~50+/-20 km/s. Kepler photometry of KIC 10449976 in both long and short cadence modes shows evidence for a periodic modulation on a timescale of ~3.9 days. We have examined the possibility that this modulation is not astrophysical but conclude it is most likely real. We discuss whether the modulation could be caused by a low-mass companion, by stellar pulsations, or by spots. The identification of any one of these as cause has important consequences for understanding the origin of helium-rich subdwarfs.Comment: Accepted by MNRA

Clinical and economic evaluation of laparoscopic surgery compared with medical management for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease : 5-year follow-up of multicentre randomised trial (the REFLUX trial)

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Protocol for the United Kingdom Rotator Cuff Study (UKUFF) : a randomised controlled trial of open and arthroscopic rotator cuff repair

This project was funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme (project number 05/47/02). J. L. Rees has received a grant from Oxford University which is related to this paper. J. Dawson reports that Oxford University has received a grant from HTA which is related to this paper, as well as a study grant.Peer reviewedPublisher PD