185 research outputs found
VALUE study : a protocol for a qualitative semi-structured interview study of IVF add-ons use by patients, clinicians and embryologists in the UK and Australia
Funding This research was funded by an Obstetrics and Gynaecology Innovation Grant from the University of Melbourne Australia. MP is supported by a University of Melbourne Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology MCR Fellowship. Acknowledgements Our heartfelt thanks to our PPI panel who gave up their time to contribute to the development of VALUE. UK: Isabella Dash, Jennifer Nisbett, Hannah Reid, Ally Richardson, Victoria Thomas, Bassel Wattar. Australia: Katherine Gobbi, Hilary Smith, Natasha Devetak, Alex Polyakov, Anna Ninnis, Lisa Lee, Vadim Mirmilstein.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
The discontinuous nature of chromospheric activity evolution
Chromospheric activity has been thought to decay smoothly with time and,
hence, to be a viable age indicator. Measurements in solar type stars in open
clusters seem to point to a different conclusion: chromospheric activity
undergoes a fast transition from Hyades level to that of the Sun after about 1
Gyr of main--sequence lifetime and any decaying trend before or after this
transition must be much less significant than the short term variations.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, to be published in Astrophysics and Space Scienc
Patient and professional perspectives about using in vitro fertilisation add-ons in the UK and Australia: a qualitative study
Objectives In vitro fertilisation (IVF) add-ons are additional procedures offered alongside an IVF cycle with the aim of improving live birth rates. They are controversial because of the paucity of evidence to support their efficacy and safety, alongside the additional financial cost they often pose to patients. Despite this, they are popular. However, there is limited qualitative research regarding their use. The aims of the VALUE Study were to understand the decision-making process surrounding using or recommending add-ons; report sources of information for add-ons; and explore concerns for safety and effectiveness when considering their use.
Design ‘VALUE’ is a qualitative semistructured interview study using inductive thematic analysis of anonymised transcriptions.
Setting Participants were recruited from a broad geographical spread across the UK and Australia from public and private clinical settings.
Participants Patients (n=25) and health professionals (embryologists (n=25) and clinicians (n=24)) were interviewed. A purposive sampling strategy was undertaken. The sampling framework included people having state-subsidised and private cycles, professionals working in public and private sectors, geographical location and professionals of all grades.
Results Patients often made decisions about add-ons based on hope, minimising considerations of safety, efficacy or cost, whereas professionals sought the best outcomes for their patients and wanted to avoid them wasting their money. The driving forces behind add-on use differed: for patients, a professional opinion was the most influential reason, whereas for professionals, it was seen as patient driven. For both groups, applying the available evidence to individual circumstances was very challenging, especially in the sphere of IVF medicine, where the stakes are high.
Conclusions There is scope to build on the quality of the discourse between patients and professionals. Patients describe valuing their autonomy with add-ons, but for professionals, undertaking informed consent will be critical, no matter where they sit on the spectrum regarding add-ons
A pooled analysis of dietary sugar/carbohydrate intake and esophageal and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma incidence and survival in the USA
Background: During the past 40 years, esophageal/gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (EA/ GCA) incidence increased in Westernized countries, but survival remained low. A parallel increase in sugar intake, which may facilitate carcinogenesis by promoting hyperglycaemia, led us to examine sugar/carbohydrate intake in association with EA/GCA incidence and survival. Methods: We pooled 500 EA cases, 529 GCA cases and 2027 controls from two US population-based case-control studies with cases followed for vital status. Dietary intake, assessed by study-specific food frequency questionnaires, was harmonized and pooled to estimate 12 measures of sugar/carbohydrate intake. Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] were calculated using multinomial logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression, respectively. Results: EA incidence was increased by 51-58% in association with sucrose (ORQ5vs.Q1=1.51, 95% CI=1.01-2.27), sweetened desserts/beverages (ORQ5vs.Q1=1.55, 95% CI=1.06-2.27) and the dietary glycaemic index (ORQ5vs.Q1=1.58, 95% CI=1.13-2.21). Bodymass index (BMI) and gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) modified these associations (Pmultiplicative-interaction ≤ 0.05). For associations with sucrose and sweetened desserts/beverages, respectively, the OR was elevated for BMI < 25 (ORQ4-5vs.Q1-3=1.79, 95% CI=1.26-2.56 and ORQ4-5vs.Q1-3=1.45, 95% CI=1.03-2.06), but not BMI≥25 (ORQ4-5vs.Q1-3=1.05, 95% CI=0.76-1.44 and ORQ4-5vs.Q1-3=0.85, 95% CI=0.62-1.16). The EA-glycaemic index association was elevated for BMI≥25 (ORQ4-5vs.Q1-3=1.38, 95% CI=1.03-1.85), but not BMI < 25 (ORQ4-5vs.Q1-3=0.88, 95% CI=0.62-1.24). The sucrose-EA association OR for GERD < weekly was 1.58 (95% CI=1.16-2.14), but for GERD≥weekly was 1.01 (95% CI=0.70-1.47). Sugar/carbohydrate measures were not associated with GCA incidence or EA/GCA survival. Conclusions: If confirmed, limiting intake of sucrose (e.g. table sugar), sweetened desserts/ beverages, and foods that contribute to a high glycaemic index, may be plausible EA risk reduction strategies
Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset
corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected
during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV.
The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the
couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and
right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary
mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b,
leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing
transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W'
boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to
the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for
masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC
data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed
coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant
improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe
Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV
A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The
analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC
from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an
integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross
section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected
exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the
standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The
analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model
Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The
largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is
observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance
of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local
significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is
estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of
this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section
ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum
pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7
TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are
based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi
Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and
Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times
the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls
faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the
branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06
+/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for
anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are
statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (BSM) in final
states with a pair of opposite-sign isolated leptons accompanied by jets and
missing transverse energy. The search uses LHC data recorded at a
center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to
an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 inverse femtobarns. Two
complementary search strategies are employed. The first probes models with a
specific dilepton production mechanism that leads to a characteristic kinematic
edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second strategy probes models of
dilepton production with heavy, colored objects that decay to final states
including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and
missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield in excess of the
standard model expectations is found. Upper limits on the BSM contributions to
the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a
region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric
extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector
efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing specific models of BSM
physics not considered in this paper.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
Measurement of isolated photon production in pp and PbPb collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV
Isolated photon production is measured in proton-proton and lead-lead
collisions at nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energies of 2.76 TeV in the
pseudorapidity range |eta|<1.44 and transverse energies ET between 20 and 80
GeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The measured ET spectra are found to be
in good agreement with next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD predictions. The
ratio of PbPb to pp isolated photon ET-differential yields, scaled by the
number of incoherent nucleon-nucleon collisions, is consistent with unity for
all PbPb reaction centralities.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
Moral courage in the workplace: moving to and from the desire and decision to act
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72135/1/j.1467-8608.2007.00484.x.pd
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