Observing The Hidden Sector

We study the effects of renormalization due to hidden-sector dynamics on observable soft supersymmetry-breaking parameters in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model (MSSM), under various hypotheses about their universality at a high input scale. We show that hidden-sector renormalization effects may induce the spurious appearance of unification of the scalar masses at some lower scale, as in mirage unification scenarios. We demonstrate in simple two-parameter models of the hidden-sector dynamics that the parameters may in principle be extracted from experimental measurements, rendering the hidden sector observable. We also discuss the ingredients that would be necessary to carry this programme out in practice.Comment: 38 pages, 13 figures, uses UApreprint.cls and subfigure.sty (included

State of the Art Twenty Years On: Reflections

This paper discusses three position papers presented at the vicentennial conference of the Association for the Rhetoric of Science and Technology (ARST) concerning the disciplinary prospects of rhetoric of science and technology as a field. It identifies common themes among the three papers, including a theoretical focus on rhetorical invention, the prospects for viable responses to institutional changes and pressures in the academy, and the possibilities for interdisciplinary and public engagement by rhetoricians of science. It also identifies points of departure among the three papers, including their respective foci on globalization, the place of style in invention, and the interaction of the technical and public spheres

The impact of an EMR on the management of adult patients with type two diabetes by family physicians in ruralnewfoundland

PURPOSE This study was designed to determine whether the use of advanced features of an electronic medical record in a primary care setting could improve the process of delivering diabetes care in such a way as to produce improvements in diabetic outcome measures in adult type II diabetic patients. METHODS The study was a Retrospective Cohort Study conducted in primary care clinics that had an established electronic medical record following 307 adult patients with type II diabetes over the course of two years. The clinics had similarly trained primary care physicians, similar patient populations, and used common diabetic care guidelines. The advanced EMR features used during the diabetic study included a diabetic template, premade laboratory requisitions, appeared consultations, flow sheets, and patient alerts. The dependent variables measured included the process of the delivery of diabetic care and the measurement of diabetic outcomes. The process of care measures were: the frequency of visits specific for diabetes care, ordering of HbA1c and LDL cholesterol, the measurement of blood pressure, and the documentation of these activities. The outcome measures included glycemic, lipid and blood pressure control as measured by HbA1c, LDL and blood pressure levels. The two independent variables of interest in the study were the extent to which the advanced features EMR are use by the physician and the second any changes noted in the outcome measures. RESULTS The demographic information for the patients in this study was sex and age as well as baseline HbA1c, LDL, baseline systolic blood pressures, baseline diastolic blood pressures, and the number of visits that each patient had during the study period. The two groups were seen to be similar at baseline except for age and systolic blood pressure. The mean age of the intervention group was four years older than the control group and the comparison group had more people with systolic blood pressure at target. Age and systolic blood pressure were therefore controlled in the analysis. There was no difference in the two groups of patients in terms of measurements of HbA1c but there were differences in the frequency of measurements of LDL and blood pressures. Patients for whom the template was used during at least one clinical encounter, were 1.18 times more likely to have their LDL measured and 1.9 times more likely to have their blood pressure measured. Using logistics regression analysis there was a higher proportion of patients with an LDL at target in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS The meaningful use of EMRs in primary care, is possible through a process of maturity by design; an individualized approach looking at the needs of a given physician(s) and their practice(s) most likely to aid EMRs in achieving their potential. The technology needs to support care by automation of clinical processes and work flow behind the computer screen in such a way as to not disrupt or significantly change the patient physician interaction and focus both of these individuals on managing meaningful clinical outcomes personalized to each patient

Integrated support structure

This Major Qualifying Project is part of the Advanced Space Design Program at WPI. The goal is to design a support structure for a NASA GetAway Special experimental canister. The payload integration, weight, volume, and structural integrity of the canister as specified by NASA guidelines were studied. The end result is a complete set of design drawings with interface drawings and data to specify the design and leave a base on which the next group can concentrate

Student Health Services

This departmental history was written on the occasion of the UND Quasquicentennial in 2008.https://commons.und.edu/departmental-histories/1097/thumbnail.jp

On the Baryon, Lepton-Flavour and Right-Handed Electron Asymmetries of the Universe

Non-perturbative electroweak effects, in thermal equilibrium in the early universe, have the potential to erase the baryon asymmetry of the universe, unless it is encoded in a B-L asymmetry, or in some "accidentally" conserved quantity. We first consider the possibility that the BAU may be regenerated from lepton flavour asymmetries even when initially $B-L = 0$. We show that provided some, but {\it not} all the lepton flavours are violated by ${\Delta}L{\neq}0$ interactions in equilibrium, the BAU may be regenerated without lepton mass effects. We next examine the possibility of encoding the baryon asymmetry in a primordial asymmetry for the right-handed electron, which due to its weak Yukawa interaction only comes into chemical equilibrium as the sphalerons are falling out of equilibrium. This would also raise the possibility of preserving an initial baryon asymmetry when $B-L = 0$.Comment: LATEX File with 12 pages, one figure (not included); published in Phys. Lett B297 (1992) p11

Reheating and Supersymmetric Flat-Direction Baryogenesis

We re-examine Affleck-Dine baryo/leptogenesis from the oscillation of condensates along flat directions of the supersymmetric standard model, which attained large vevs at the end of inflationary epoque. The key observation is that superpotential interactions couple the flat directions to other fields, which acquire masses induced by the flat-direction vev that may be sufficiently small for them to be kinematically accessible to inflaton decay. The resulting plasma of inflaton decay products then may act on the flat directions via these superpotential Yukawa couplings, inducing thermal masses and supersymmetry-breaking A terms. In such cases the flat directions start their oscillations at an earlier time than usually estimated. The oscillations are also terminated earlier, due to evaporation of the flat direction condensate produced by its interaction with the plasma of inflaton decay products. In these cases we find that estimates for the resulting baryon/lepton asymmetry of the universe are substantially altered. We identify scenarios for the Yukawa couplings to the flat directions, and the order and mass scale of higher-dimensional superpotential interactions that set the initial flat direction vev, that might lead to acceptable baryo/leptogenesis.Comment: 26 pages, 9 Table