Exploring Routine Sight Testing And The Management Of Eye Disease By Primary Care Optometrists In England, UK

Previous research has reported that inequalities exist in uptake of NHS sight tests in relation to socio-economic status, and that community optometric services have potential to improve system efficiency. The current research found inequalities in sight test outcome related to socio-economic status and the type of practice that a patient visits (multiple, or independent). Patients attending multiples were more likely to receive a ‘new or changed prescription’ relative to ‘no prescription’ compared to patients that attended independent opticians (36-71% more likely). Those living in the least deprived areas were also less likely to receive a new prescription (1-12%) and those aged <16 years were less likely to be referred (9%). The study examining the need for a Minor Eye Condition Service in Leeds and Bradford found it would produce theoretical cost savings, whilst maintaining high patient satisfaction. Subsequently, a MECS was commissioned in Bradford. The study attempting to collect data from MECS across all areas of England found that data is not routinely collected, or shared. The limited data available typically showed that 73-83% of patients were retained in optometric practice with 12-18% receiving a hospital referral. A prospective evaluation of a COVID urgent eye care service found that teleconsultations frequently did not resolve patients’ eye problems (27%). These telephone consultations failed to detect some serious conditions such as scleritis, wet macular degeneration, retinal detachment. The results from the thesis support the view that the current method of delivering eye care in England is contrary to the public health interest

Referral in a routine Italian optometric examination: towards an evidence-based model.

Italian optometrists refract patients and prescribe optical appliances. The routine optometric examination that is currently conducted in Italy, however, does not include a comprehensive ocular health assessment. Like many other countries, in Italy ophthalmologists are solely responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of ocular pathologies, yet, the care an optometrist provides must be done with the aim of promoting the general and ocular health of patients seen in practice. Such scope has to be pursued using a close collaboration with ophthalmologists, ultimately facilitating the earliest medical diagnosis and minimisation of visual impairment. Referral represents the basis of optometrist-ophthalmologist collaboration, yet, no guidance is available to Italian optometrists indicating when referral is warranted. The purpose of this study was to identify the circumstances deserving a referral in a routine Italian optometric examination in adults, ultimately constituting preliminary evidence-based indications of a referral model oriented to enhance the ocular and general health of patients. A literature review was conducted on Pubmed and the Cochrane Library, mainly targeting high quality secondary literature such as systematic reviews, meta-analysis and clinical guidelines. Several reasons for referral were identified. Further, while a wide range of anomalies of the visual system are likely to be discovered by the Italian optometric examination, up to 20% of patients could suffer an underlying condition undetected by the current assessment. This results in the need to refer seemingly healthy patients if they have not attended routine ophthalmological examinations within optimal time frames. In Italy, and countries with similar settings, the referral is an essential instrument that optometrists must largely use to ensure early diagnosis of ocular conditions by ophthalmologists and minimisation of avoidable visual impairment

Studies of η\eta and η′\eta' production in pppp and ppPb collisions

The production of $\eta$ and $\eta'$ mesons is studied in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions collected with the LHCb detector. Proton-proton collisions are studied at center-of-mass energies of $5.02$ and $13~{\rm TeV}$, and proton-lead collisions are studied at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon of $8.16~{\rm TeV}$. The studies are performed in center-of-mass rapidity regions $2.5<y_{\rm c.m.}<3.5$ (forward rapidity) and $-4.0<y_{\rm c.m.}<-3.0$ (backward rapidity) defined relative to the proton beam direction. The $\eta$ and $\eta'$ production cross sections are measured differentially as a function of transverse momentum for $1.5<p_{\rm T}<10~{\rm GeV}$ and $3<p_{\rm T}<10~{\rm GeV}$, respectively. The differential cross sections are used to calculate nuclear modification factors. The nuclear modification factors for $\eta$ and $\eta'$ mesons agree at both forward and backward rapidity, showing no significant evidence of mass dependence. The differential cross sections of $\eta$ mesons are also used to calculate $\eta/\pi^0$ cross section ratios, which show evidence of a deviation from the world average. These studies offer new constraints on mass-dependent nuclear effects in heavy-ion collisions, as well as $\eta$ and $\eta'$ meson fragmentation.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-030.html (LHCb public pages

Search for CP\textit{CP} violation in the phase space of D0→KS0K±π∓D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{\pm} \pi^{\mp} decays with the energy test

A search for $\textit{CP}$ violation in $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{+} \pi^{-}$ and $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{-} \pi^{+}$ decays is reported. The search is performed using an unbinned model-independent method known as the energy test that probes local $\textit{CP}$ violation in the phase space of the decays. The data analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of $5.4~$fb$^{-1}$ collected in proton-proton collisions by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$~TeV, amounting to approximately 950000 and 620000 signal candidates for the $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{-} \pi^{+}$ and $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{+} \pi^{-}$ modes, respectively. The method is validated using $D^{0} \rightarrow K^{-} \pi^{+} \pi^{-} \pi^{+}$ and $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} \pi^{+} \pi^{-}$ decays, where $\textit{CP}$-violating effects are expected to be negligible, and using background-enhanced regions of the signal decays. The results are consistent with $\textit{CP}$ symmetry in both the $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{-} \pi^{+}$ and the $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{+} \pi^{-}$ decays, with $p$-values for the hypothesis of no $\textit{CP}$ violation of 70% and 66%, respectively.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-019.html (LHCb public pages

Observation of Cabibbo-suppressed two-body hadronic decays and precision mass measurement of the Ωc0\Omega_{c}^{0} baryon

The first observation of the singly Cabibbo-suppressed $\Omega_{c}^{0}\to\Omega^{-}K^{+}$ and $\Omega_{c}^{0}\to\Xi^{-}\pi^{+}$ decays is reported, using proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of $13\,{\rm TeV}$, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $5.4\,{\rm fb}^{-1}$, collected with the LHCb detector between 2016 and 2018. The branching fraction ratios are measured to be $\frac{\mathcal{B}(\Omega_{c}^{0}\to\Omega^{-}K^{+})}{\mathcal{B}(\Omega_{c}^{0}\to\Omega^{-}\pi^{+})}=0.0608\pm0.0051({\rm stat})\pm 0.0040({\rm syst})$, $\frac{\mathcal{B}(\Omega_{c}^{0}\to\Xi^{-}\pi^{+})}{\mathcal{B}(\Omega_{c}^{0}\to\Omega^{-}\pi^{+})}=0.1581\pm0.0087({\rm stat})\pm0.0043({\rm syst})\pm0.0016({\rm ext})$. In addition, using the $\Omega_{c}^{0}\to\Omega^{-}\pi^{+}$ decay channel, the $\Omega_{c}^{0}$ baryon mass is measured to be $M(\Omega_{c}^{0})=2695.28\pm0.07({\rm stat})\pm0.27({\rm syst})\pm0.30({\rm ext})\,{\rm MeV}/c^{2}$, improving the precision of the previous world average by a factor of four.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-011.html (LHCb public pages

Enhanced production of Λb0\Lambda_{b}^{0} baryons in high-multiplicity pppp collisions at s=13\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

The production rate of $\Lambda_{b}^{0}$ baryons relative to $B^{0}$ mesons in $pp$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 13$ TeV is measured by the LHCb experiment. The ratio of $\Lambda_{b}^{0}$ to $B^{0}$ production cross-sections shows a significant dependence on both the transverse momentum and the measured charged-particle multiplicity. At low multiplicity, the ratio measured at LHCb is consistent with the value measured in $e^{+}e^{-}$ collisions, and increases by a factor of $\sim2$ with increasing multiplicity. At relatively low transverse momentum, the ratio of $\Lambda_{b}^{0}$ to $B^{0}$ cross-sections is higher than what is measured in $e^{+}e^{-}$ collisions, but converges with the $e^{+}e^{-}$ ratio as the momentum increases. These results imply that the evolution of heavy $b$ quarks into final-state hadrons is influenced by the density of the hadronic environment produced in the collision. Comparisons with a statistical hadronization model and implications for the mechanisms enforcing quark confinement are discussed.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-027.html (LHCb public pages

Fraction of χc\chi_c decays in prompt J/ψJ/\psi production measured in pPb collisions at sNN=8.16\sqrt{s_{NN}}=8.16 TeV

The fraction of $\chi_{c1}$ and $\chi_{c2}$ decays in the prompt $J/\psi$ yield, $F_{\chi c}=\sigma_{\chi_c \to J/\psi}/\sigma_{J/\psi}$, is measured by the LHCb detector in pPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=8.16$ TeV. The study covers the forward ($1.5<y^*<4.0$) and backward ($-5.0<y^*<-2.5$) rapidity regions, where $y^*$ is the $J/\psi$ rapidity in the nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass system. Forward and backward rapidity samples correspond to integrated luminosities of 13.6 $\pm$ 0.3 nb$^{-1}$ and 20.8 $\pm$ 0.5 nb$^{-1}$, respectively. The result is presented as a function of the $J/\psi$ transverse momentum $p_{T,J/\psi}$ in the range 1$<p_{T, J/\psi}<20$ GeV/$c$. The $F_{\chi c}$ fraction at forward rapidity is compatible with the LHCb measurement performed in $pp$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV, whereas the result at backward rapidity is 2.4 $\sigma$ larger than in the forward region for $1<p_{T, J/\psi}<3$ GeV/$c$. The increase of $F_{\chi c}$ at low $p_{T, J/\psi}$ at backward rapidity is compatible with the suppression of the $\psi$(2S) contribution to the prompt $J/\psi$ yield. The lack of in-medium dissociation of $\chi_c$ states observed in this study sets an upper limit of 180 MeV on the free energy available in these pPb collisions to dissociate or inhibit charmonium state formation.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-028.html (LHCb public pages

Observation of the decays B(s)0→Ds1(2536)∓K±B_{(s)}^{0}\to D_{s1}(2536)^{\mp}K^{\pm}

This paper reports the observation of the decays $B_{(s)}^{0}\to D_{s1}(2536)^{\mp}K^{\pm}$ using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$. The branching fractions of these decays are measured relative to the normalisation channel $B^{0}\to \overline{D}^{0}K^{+}K^{-}$. The $D_{s1}(2536)^{-}$ meson is reconstructed in the $\overline{D}^{*}(2007)^{0}K^{-}$ decay channel and the products of branching fractions are measured to be $$\mathcal{B}(B_{s}^{0}\to D_{s1}(2536)^{\mp}K^{\pm})\times\mathcal{B}(D_{s1}(2536)^{-}\to\overline{D}^{*}(2007)^{0}K^{-})=(2.49\pm0.11\pm0.12\pm0.25\pm0.06)\times 10^{-5},$$ $$\mathcal{B}(B^{0}\to D_{s1}(2536)^{\mp}K^{\pm})\times\mathcal{B}(D_{s1}(2536)^{-}\to\overline{D}^{*}(2007)^{0}K^{-}) = (0.510\pm0.021\pm0.036\pm0.050)\times 10^{-5}.$$ The first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic, and the third arises from the uncertainty of the branching fraction of the $B^{0}\to \overline{D}^{0}K^{+}K^{-}$ normalisation channel. The last uncertainty in the $B_{s}^{0}$ result is due to the limited knowledge of the fragmentation fraction ratio, $f_{s}/f_{d}$. The significance for the $B_{s}^{0}$ and $B^{0}$ signals is larger than $10\,\sigma$. The ratio of the helicity amplitudes which governs the angular distribution of the $D_{s1}(2536)^{-}\to\overline{D}^{*}(2007)^{0}K^{-}$ decay is determined from the data. The ratio of the $S$- and $D$-wave amplitudes is found to be $1.11\pm0.15\pm 0.06$ and its phase $0.70\pm0.09\pm 0.04$ rad, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-014.html (LHCb public pages

Measurement of ZZ boson production cross-section in pppp collisions at s=5.02\sqrt{s} = 5.02 TeV

The first measurement of the $Z$ boson production cross-section at centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 5.02\,$TeV in the forward region is reported, using $pp$ collision data collected by the LHCb experiment in year 2017, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $100 \pm 2\,\rm{pb^{-1}}$. The production cross-section is measured for final-state muons in the pseudorapidity range $2.0 20\,\rm{GeV/}\it{c}$. The integrated cross-section is determined to be $$\sigma_{Z \rightarrow \mu^{+}\mu^{-}} = 39.6 \pm 0.7\,(\rm{stat}) \pm 0.6\,(\rm{syst}) \pm 0.8\,(\rm{lumi}) \ \rm{pb}$$ for the di-muon invariant mass in the range $60<M_{\mu\mu}<120\,\rm{GeV/}\it{c^{2}}$. This result and the differential cross-section results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order in the strong coupling. Based on a previous LHCb measurement of the $Z$ boson production cross-section in $p$Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=5.02$ TeV, the nuclear modification factor $R_{p\rm{Pb}}$ is measured for the first time at this energy. The measured values are $1.2^{+0.5}_{-0.3}\,(\rm{stat}) \pm 0.1\,(\rm{syst})$ in the forward region ($1.53<y^*_{\mu}<4.03$) and $3.6^{+1.6}_{-0.9}\,(\rm{stat}) \pm 0.2\,(\rm{syst})$ in the backward region ($-4.97<y^*_{\mu}<-2.47$), where $y^*_{\mu}$ represents the muon rapidity in the centre-of-mass frame.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-010.html (LHCb public pages