Quasiperiodic systems are aperiodic but deterministic, so their critical behavior differs from that of clean systems and disordered ones as well. Quasiperiodic criticality was previously understood ...only in the special limit where the couplings follow discrete quasiperiodic sequences. Here we consider generic quasiperiodic modulations; we find, remarkably, that for a wide class of spin chains, generic quasiperiodic modulations flow to discrete sequences under a real-space renormalization-group transformation. These discrete sequences are therefore fixed points of a functional renormalization group. This observation allows for an asymptotically exact treatment of the critical points. We use this approach to analyze the quasiperiodic Heisenberg, Ising, and Potts spin chains, as well as a phenomenological model for the quasiperiodic many-body localization transition.
Population-level data on COVID-19 vaccine uptake in pregnancy and SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes are lacking. We describe COVID-19 vaccine uptake and SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women in ...Scotland, using whole-population data from a national, prospective cohort. Between the start of a COVID-19 vaccine program in Scotland, on 8 December 2020 and 31 October 2021, 25,917 COVID-19 vaccinations were given to 18,457 pregnant women. Vaccine coverage was substantially lower in pregnant women than in the general female population of 18-44 years; 32.3% of women giving birth in October 2021 had two doses of vaccine compared to 77.4% in all women. The extended perinatal mortality rate for women who gave birth within 28 d of a COVID-19 diagnosis was 22.6 per 1,000 births (95% CI 12.9-38.5; pandemic background rate 5.6 per 1,000 births; 452 out of 80,456; 95% CI 5.1-6.2). Overall, 77.4% (3,833 out of 4,950; 95% CI 76.2-78.6) of SARS-CoV-2 infections, 90.9% (748 out of 823; 95% CI 88.7-92.7) of SARS-CoV-2 associated with hospital admission and 98% (102 out of 104; 95% CI 92.5-99.7) of SARS-CoV-2 associated with critical care admission, as well as all baby deaths, occurred in pregnant women who were unvaccinated at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis. Addressing low vaccine uptake rates in pregnant women is imperative to protect the health of women and babies in the ongoing pandemic.
Introduction: Acromial apophysitis is a traction apophysitis caused by repetitive stress to the distal acromion. Although it is a common non-traumatic cause of shoulder pain in adolescence, data is ...scarce in the literature. There is a need for a better understanding of acromial apophysitis regarding its cause, diagnosis and management. Aim: To determine the cause, clinical features, radiological findings, management, and outcome of the patients diagnosed with acromial apophysitis. Materials and Methods: A longitudinal descriptive study was carried out at Jaipur National University Institute for Medical Sciences and Research Centre (JNUIMSRC), Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, from August 2018 to August 2022. A total of 30 patients aged 10-20 years with shoulder pain, diagnosed with acromial apophysitis based on history, clinical, and radiological examination, were included in the study. The treatment given, duration of disease, and outcome were noted. Descriptive statistics were performed using Microsoft Office Excel. Results: Out of 30 patients diagnosed with acromial apophysitis, 24 (80%) were male, and 6 (20%) were female, with a mean age of 13.47 (range 10-18) years. The cause was repetitive microtrauma following chronic overuse during athletic and sports activities in 24 patients (80%). Among these patients, 13 played cricket, three played basketball, three played volleyball, two did weightlifting, one was a wrestler, one was a tennis player, and one was a judo player. Six patients (20%) did not give a history of playing any kind of sports. All patients had anterior shoulder pain with tenderness at the antero-lateral acromion. Radiographs showed fragmentation, sclerosis, and irregularity of the acromial apophysis. Conservative treatment included rest and restriction of sporting activities. The duration for the analgesics taken by patients was 8.9 days (range 3-21). The duration from the onset of symptoms to recovery was 5.8±1.61 weeks. None of the patients showed a recurrence of symptoms after complete recovery. Conclusion: Acromial apophysitis is a common cause of shoulder pain in paediatric and adolescent age. It occurs due to repeated overhead abduction, overuse, and throwing activities, mostly in sports persons. It is diagnosed clinically and confirmed with plain radiographs. It is a self-limiting disease with a short benign course. It is treated conservatively with rest and analgesics and has an excellent outcome. This diagnosis should be kept in mind for shoulder pain in young patients to prevent undue investigations and surgery.
Monitored quantum circuits can exhibit an entanglement transition as a function of the rate of measurements, stemming from the competition between scrambling unitary dynamics and disentangling ...projective measurements. We study how entanglement dynamics in nonunitary quantum circuits can be enriched in the presence of charge conservation, using a combination of exact numerics and a mapping onto a statistical mechanics model of constrained hard-core random walkers. We uncover a charge-sharpening transition that separates different scrambling phases with volume-law scaling of entanglement, distinguished by whether measurements can efficiently reveal the total charge of the system. We find that while Rényi entropies grow sub-ballistically astin the absence of measurement, for even an infinitesimal rate of measurements, all average Rényi entropies grow ballistically with time∼t. We study numerically the critical behavior of the charge-sharpening and entanglement transitions in U(1) circuits, and show that they exhibit emergent Lorentz invariance and can also be diagnosed using scalable local ancilla probes. Our statistical mechanical mapping technique readily generalizes to arbitrary Abelian groups, and offers a general framework for studying dissipatively stabilized symmetry-breaking and topological orders.
Background Total hip replacement is a safe and effective surgery with excellent outcomes in most patients with hip arthritis. The aim of this study was to evaluate functional outcomes and ...complications of total hip replacement among patients with low socioeconomic status in India. Methods We assessed 50 patients whose incomes fell below the poverty line and who underwent uncemented total hip replacement. We used a modified Harris Hip Score, replacing two items (one measuring range of motion and one measuring deformity) with two new ones (one related to return to professional activity and another regarding sexual activity). Results At the final follow-up, patients' modified Harris Hip Score improved from a preoperative mean value of 13.28 (0-46) to a postoperative mean value of 88.52 (64-100), suggesting marked improvement in functional outcome (p<0.001). In total, 32 (64%) patients returned to their original profession, and 12 (24%) switched to alternate work with mild pain. All patients reported satisfaction with their sexual activity at the final follow-up. Conclusions Many patients in India whose income is below the poverty line work in manual labor professions (e.g., farmers, masons, and cobblers) that increase their risk of hip damage. Total hip replacement is beneficial for these patients, offering good personal and professional quality of life after the surgery.
Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a biochemical thyroid disorder characterised by elevated levels of Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) together with normal levels of thyroid hormones. Evidence on ...the benefits of treatment is limited, resulting in persistent controversies relating to its clinical management.
This study describes the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients identified as having subclinical hypothyroidism in Wales between 2000 and 2021, the annual cumulative incidence during this period and the testing and treatment patterns associated with this disorder.
We used linked electronic health records from SAIL Databank. Eligible patients were identified using a combination of diagnostic codes and Thyroid Function Test results. Descriptive analyses were then performed.
199,520 individuals (63.8% female) were identified as having SCH, 23.6% (n = 47,104) of whom received levothyroxine for treatment over the study period. The median study follow-up time was 5.75 person-years (IQR 2.65-9.65). Annual cumulative incidence was highest in 2012 at 502 cases per 100,000 people. 92.5% (n = 184,484) of the study population had TSH levels between the upper limit of normal and 10mIU/L on their first test. 61.9% (n = 5,071) of patients identified using Read v2 codes were in the treated group. 41.9% (n = 19,716) of treated patients had a history of a single abnormal test result before their first prescription.
In Wales, the number of incident cases of SCH has risen unevenly between 2000 and 2021. Most of the study population had mild SCH on their index test, but more than a third of the identified patients received levothyroxine after a single abnormal test result. Patients with clinically recorded diagnoses were more likely to be treated. Given the expectation of steadily increasing patient numbers, more evidence is required to support the clinical management of subclinical hypothyroidism.
Multimorbidity is common in women across the life course. Preterm birth is the single biggest cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity. We aim to estimate the prevalence of multimorbidity in ...pregnant women and to examine the association between maternal multimorbidity and PTB.
This is a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records from the Scottish Morbidity Records. All pregnancies among women aged 15 to 49 with a conception date between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2018 were included. Multimorbidity was defined as the presence of two or more pre-existing long-term physical or mental health conditions, and complex multimorbidity as the presence of four or more. It was calculated at the time of conception using a predefined list of 79 conditions published by the MuM-PreDiCT consortium. PTB was defined as babies born alive between 24 and less than 37 completed weeks of gestation. We used Generalised Estimating Equations adjusted for maternal age, socioeconomic status, number of previous pregnancies, BMI, and smoking history to estimate the effect of maternal pre-existing multimorbidity. Absolut rates are reported in the results and tables, whilst Odds Ratios (ORs) are adjusted (aOR).
Thirty thousand five hundred fifty-seven singleton births from 27,711 pregnant women were included in the analysis. The prevalence of pre-existing multimorbidity and complex multimorbidity was 16.8% (95% CI: 16.4-17.2) and 3.6% (95% CI: 3.3-3.8), respectively. The prevalence of multimorbidity in the youngest age group was 10.2%(95% CI: 8.8-11.6), while in those 40 to 44, it was 21.4% (95% CI: 18.4-24.4), and in the 45 to 49 age group, it was 20% (95% CI: 8.9-31.1). In women without multimorbidity, the prevalence of PTB was 6.7%; it was 11.6% in women with multimorbidity and 15.6% in women with complex multimorbidity. After adjusting for maternal age, socioeconomic status, number of previous pregnancies, Body Mass Index (BMI), and smoking, multimorbidity was associated with higher odds of PTB (aOR = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.48-1.82).
Multimorbidity at the time of conception was present in one in six women and was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth. Multimorbidity presents a significant health burden to women and their offspring. Routine and comprehensive evaluation of women with multimorbidity before and during pregnancy is urgently needed.
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