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Dupuytren's contracture is a common disease that principally affects those of northern European descent. It causes a progressive flexion contracture in the digits especially affecting the ulna side of the hand. The prevalence of the disease increases with age and is commoner in men than women. The current treatment is an operative correction of the contracture that generally results in good if not complete correction. However operative release is associated with a high complication rate and although they are mainly minor in nature, recovery following surgery can take many weeks. Dupuytren's disease has a genetic predisposition and as a result recurrence is common following surgery. There is extensive research into the disease to understand the biological basis and to ultimately develop improved treatments that are less invasive and provide a greater disease-free interval.

This prospective cohort study investigated the responsiveness and interpretability of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) and Unité Rhumatologique des Affections de la Main (URAM) outcome measures for assessing recovery after fasciectomy and dermofasciectomy for Dupuytren’s disease. DASH outcome scores at 1 year were significantly better than at 6 weeks, suggesting that recovery is not complete by 6 weeks. Of the 101 patients recruited to the DASH cohort, 71 completed preoperative, 6 week and 1 year postoperative DASH scores; 68 of them completed preoperative and 1 year postoperative DASH scores and an external anchor question. In the URAM cohort, 30/44 completed the preoperative and the 1 year postoperative URAM scores and the anchor question. The DASH score exhibited moderate responsiveness but poor interpretability on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, such that a minimal important change could not be estimated. The URAM score showed acceptable responsiveness, and an MIC of 10.5 on receiver operating characteristic analysis. Level of evidence: II

Novel lithium ion battery anode materials consisting of carbon-coated silicon were prepared. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods were used in the syntheses of these composite materials with toluene being used as the precursor for carbon coatings on silicon powder. The temperature of carbon deposition was 950°C and the deposition time was 30 min for powdered substrates. Carbon-coated silicon powders were analyzed by HRSEM, TEM, and Raman spectroscopy. Coin cells were made and cycled to evaluate the electrochemical performance of carbon-coated silicon powders. Coated materials performed well during the initial coin cell testing. Silicon wafers (orientation ) were also used as the substrates for carbon coatings. Silicon wafers were coated for 40 seconds at 950°C. Auger spectroscopy and XPS depth profiling were used to analyze the thin films of toluene-derived carbons on silicon wafers.

We report submillimeter CO(6-5) observations around 15 nearby young stellar objects of low mass. The correlation between linewidth and peak temperature indicates shock heating of dense gas, presumably at the origin of molecular outflows.

We have obtained near-IR (NIR) J, H and K mosaic images and photometry of a region 10′×10′ centered on the young pre-main sequence (PMS) star SSV13 in the highly active stars formation region NGC1333-S. The aims of this project are to i) determine the extent and nature of the PMS population in NGC1333-S, ii) investigate techniques to separate embedded PMS stars from reddened background sources, and iii) assess the affect of variable molecular cloud extinction on stellar luminosity functions. Our survey has found 134 sources in NGC1333-S and, from an analysis of the NIR photometry and colours, we conclude that 41 of these objects are probably in a PMS evolutionary state. We class 17 other sources as possible PMS objects. The PMS population is considered consistent with ~5% Class I sources, ~5% Herbig Ae/Be stars, ~25% ‘classical’ T Tauri stars and ~65% young, low-mass stars. Some 10 objects are prime candidates for young, very-low-mass stars.

Submillimeter and far-infrared observations of carbon monoxide (Jaffe, Harris, and Genzel 1987; Genzel, Poglitsch, and Stacey 1988; Schmid-Burgk et al. 1989; Boreiko, Betz, and Zmuidzinas 1989) have indicated the presence of warm, dense molecular gas near regions of recent star forming activity. Estimates based on the comparison of mid-J (submm) and high-J (far-IR) 12CO lines in M17 and S106 (Harris et al. 1987a) gave a lower limit of ≈1018 cm-2 (τ(12CO7→6) ≈ 1) to the CO column density of quiescent (▵v ≤ 10 km/s) gas at temperatures of at least 100 K and H2 densities of 104 to 106 cm-3. The mid-J 12CO lines are likely to be optically thick in most sources. In order to obtain a better estimate of the column densities, it is thus of great interest to observe isotopic mid-J CO lines, which are likely to be optically thin.

The first heterodyne observations on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in the far sub-millimetre bands were made in 1988 August with the laser-pumped cooled Schottky receiver of the Max-Planck-Institut (Harris et al., 1987) mounted at the Nasmyth focus. Observations were made at 691 GHz (CO 6–5), 797 GHz (HCN 9–8) and 806 GHz (CO 7–6) with the aims both of characterising the antenna and of carrying out astronomical research. At 691 GHz a scan of Mars showed the primary beam size to be consistent with the 7 arcsec FWHM expected from diffraction theory; the antenna efficiency was determined to be 14 % and the (lunar) beam efficiency 50 %. At 806 GHz, there was sufficient dry time available to measure only the antenna efficiency, which was 9 %. The rms accuracy of the surface of the telescope implied by these figures is about 40 microns, close to the value inferred from holographic measurements made at 3 mm wavelength.

21 cm VLA line observations are presented of DR21. These reveal a massive (24Mo) HI jet which is red-shifted by up to 90 km/s. These data are compared with HCO+ J=3-2 data taken at UKIRT. The momentum flux of the HI is sufficient to drive the molecular outflow in a momentum conserving interaction.

Removal of circumferential objects from the digits is frequently undertaken to prevent or manage tourniquet effect. We report a case of a ring spanner, defiant to remove by traditional methods, removed using a dental bur. A …

We report the first observations of T Tauri stars (T-, HL-, DG-, RY-, and GG-Tau) in the 12 CO (6-5) line. The observations trace the dynamics of warm (T≥60 K) and dense (≥10 5 cm −3 ) gas on a scale below 10″. The CO submillimeter emission probably originates in shocks where a stellar wind interacts with a high column density of molecular material close to the star. Additional 12 CO (3-2) and C 18 O (2-1) data show that the spatial distributions and line widths in T-Tau and HL-Tau are not consistent with Keplerian rotation or residual infall but can be explained by warm, dense, slowly outflowing material

We present observations of 13 CO J=6→5 emission from a variety of Galactic star-forming regions. Sources spanning a luminosity range from 1 to 106 L ○ . have been detected in this isotopic transition. The high line intensity (typically T mb =20-100 K) confirms the presence of large column densities (N H2 ≃10 23 cm −2 ) of warm (T kin ≥100 K) molecular gas in typical regions of massive star formation. The 13 CO/ 12 CO J=6→5 intensity ratio is typically much higher than the 13 CO/ 12 CO abundance ratio

We report the detection of carbon monoxide (CO) J=6-5 emission from the starburst nuclei of the galaxies NGC 253, M82, and IC 342. We have used the 6-5 transition as a thermometer of warm molecular gas in starburst nuclei, unambiguously finding that the nuclear molecular gas in starburst galaxies is substantially warmer than in typical disk clouds.

Using the 15 m James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the molecular envelope surrounding the planetary nebula NGC 7027 was mapped in the J=3-2 line of 12 CO and the central position in the J=3-2 line of 13 CO and the J=2-1 lines of 12 CO and 13 CO observed. The J=3-2 12 CO map shows substantial deviations from spherical symmetry. The mass-loss rate along the nebula's polar axis appears to be about half that in the equatorial directions. Bright line wings are caused by a bipolar flow of molecular gas along the low-density axis. This gas has an outflow velocity of 23 km/s, larger than the 15 km/s expansion velocity of the bulk of the envelope.

IRAS 4 is a cold, low luminosity source in the active star formation region NGC 1333. The present sub-mm photometry and high spatial resolution 800- and 450-micron maps resolve this source into a binary system whose components are separated by about 31 arcsec and connected by a bridge of faint dust emission. The dust masses associated with the binary component are by far the largest seen toward any star of comparable luminosity, and are a factor of 10 higher than predicted by protostar models. It is suggested that these observations indicate a very young stellar system, possibly an actual protostar, in which most luminosity is generated by accretion. 27 refs.

The first astronomical detection of isotopic (C-13)O J = 6 - 5 emission at 661 GHz from the molecular clouds in Orion A and in NGC 2024 is reported. Strong lines indicate large column densities of warm, dense, molecular gas in these star formation regions. It is estimated that H2 column densities of gas with temperature of 100 K or more lie between 3 x 10 to the 22nd and 4 x 10 to the 23rd/sq cm. These column densities are difficult to explain by present theoretical heating models. In NGC 2024 and the Orion Bar, where lines are narrow, shock heating is very unlikely. The correlation of warm CO column density with UV intensity, also indicated by the nondetection of (C-13)O J = 6 - 5 emission toward the weak UV source NGC 2023, favors heating by UV radiation. However, present photodissociation region models fail to predict the large quantities of warm gas detected in NGC 2024 and in the Orion Bar. 32 refs.

High-angular resolution molecular hydrogen (H2) v = 1-0 S(1) line images of several well-known molecular outflow sources (DR 21, NGC 2071, HH 7-11, and HH 12) are presented. It is found that all of the outflow sources possess highly collimated jets of shock-excited gas that are extremely clumpy and often consist of bright knots that are placed periodically along the jet axis. The H2 emission-line jets are significantly more collimated than their corresponding CO outflows and remain collimated to large distances from their driving source. In DR 21 and NGC 2071, the H2 jets appear to become more collimated with increasing distance from the central source, suggesting that they are pressure-confined by the ambient cloud medium. In HH 7-11 and HH 12 the shock-excited ionized and molecular components are spatially coincident and appear to be of comparable shape and size; this suggests that the shocked gas is highly mixed on scales significantly smaller than the current spatial resolution.

The activity of anodic oxide films on nickel, iron and copper metal anodes in cryolite-alumina melts was calculated using values of the reversible potential obtained from a polarization scan of the corresponding metal electrode. The best results were obtained with prepolarized electrodes. The anodic oxide layer formed on nickel becomes thick and dense and remains adherent during the period of prepolarization. Similar activity calculations were made for selected nickel-, iron- and copper-cermet compositions containing either a MnZn ferrite or a nickel ferrite ceramic phase. Large activities were observed for a NiO type corrosion product on both the nickel and nickelcermet electrodes. The results suggest that a dense surface layer containing a NiO phase is formed on nickel-cermet electrodes. This layer may help lower corrosion by minimizing electrolyte penetration of the anode surface.

Electronically conducting interconnector materials are required to connect consecutive anodes and cathodes in high-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Nb-doped TiO2-glass composites, prepared by cold pressing and sintering in air above 1200° C, possess adequate conductivity and resistance to oxidizing and reducing atmospheres, as well as compatibility with Y2O3-doped ZrO2. They thus show promise as interconnector materials.

The polarization of fluorescence and phosphorescence of benzene (φH), perdeuterobenzene (PDB), and perchlorobenzene (PCB) (phosphorescence only) excited in rigid solutions at 77°K is studied in detail. Excitation is achieved in the first absorption band of each molecule using polarized 2537‐A mercury radiation. The absorption bands and all emission bands (except the phosphorescence of PCB) are highly structured and of a forbidden type of electronic transition. The unstructured phosphorescence of PCB is also interpreted as an electronically (as well as spin) forbidden transition. The polarization of emission is found to be significantly constant over the entire band of each emission after sufficient experimental control is achieved. Precautions against depolarization effects due to concentration depolarization and rotational relaxation are taken. Both effects are found under extreme conditions. The polarization data are converted to intrinsic molecular transition moments. The fluorescences agree with the 1...

Two receiver systems are described. The first is a 220-280 GHz dual-polarization system using cryogenically cooled Schottky-diode mixers pumped with a frequency-multiplied IMPATT local oscillator. The second is a 350 GHz indium antimonide array receiver which uses a novel quasi-optical LO injection scheme.

Variables associated with recurrent Dupuytren’s disease, or a ‘diathesis’, have been investigated, but those associated with functional outcome and complications are less well studied. Outcomes 1 or 5 years after an aponeurotomy, fasciectomy or dermofasciectomy were assessed by patient interview and examination at five UK centres. A total of 432 procedures were studied. The reoperation rate did not differ at 1 year ( p = 0.396, Chi-square test with Monte Carlo simulation), but was higher after aponeurotomy in the 5-year group (30%, versus 6% after fasciectomy and 0% after dermofasciectomy, p = 0.003, Chi square test with Monte Carlo simulation). Loss of function (DASH>15) did not differ between procedures at 5 years, even when reoperation and other variables were controlled. Diabetes, female gender and previous ipsilateral surgery were associated with poorer function in logistic regression analysis. The variables associated with poor function after treatments differ from diathesis variables. Aponeurotomy had lower complication rates than fasciectomy and dermofasciectomy. This may counterbalance the former’s higher recurrence rate and explain why aponeurotomy demonstrated similar long-term functional outcome compared with excisional surgery in this study. Level of evidence: III

A 144-sq-arcmin region of the Rho Oph star-forming cloud core was surveyed at 2.2 microns, complete to mK = 14. A total of 61 sources are detected, 26 of which have been previously reported, accounting for a total of 35 new sources with mK = 12-14. There is no turnover in the 2-micron luminosity function of the Rho Oph cloud core to a limiting sensitivity of mK = 14. Two of the newly discovered sources are binary companions to previously cataloged objects.