Study of \Lambda - \Lambdabar Oscillation in quantum coherent \Lambda\Lambdabar state by using J/\psi \to \Lambda \bar{\Lambda}$ decay

We discuss the possibility of searching for the \Lam - \Lamb oscillations for coherent \Lam\Lamb production in the J/\psi \to \Lam \Lamb decay process. The sensitivity of measurement of \Lam -\Lamb oscillation in the external field at BES-III experiment is considered. These considerations indicate an alternative way to probe the $\Delta B =2$ amplitude in addition to neutron oscillation experiments. Both coherent and time-dependent information can be used to extract the \Lam-\Lamb oscillation parameter. With one year's luminosity at BES-III, we can set an upper limit of \delta m_{\Lam \Lamb} < 10^{-15} MeV at 90% confidence level, corresponding to about $10^{-6}$ s of \Lam-\Lamb oscillation time.Comment: 4 pages, no figure, minor corrections to improve grammar, published in Phys.Rev.D as Rapid Communication

First ADS analysis of B- -> D0K- decays in hadron collisions

Proceedings of DISCRETE 2010, Symposium on Prospects in the Physics of Discrete Symmetries, Rome (IT), 6-11 December 2010Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Clinical Disease Severity of Respiratory Viral Co-Infection versus Single Viral Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Results from cohort studies evaluating the severity of respiratory viral co-infections are conflicting. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the clinical severity of viral co-infections as compared to single viral respiratory infections. METHODS: We searched electronic databases and other sources for studies published up to January 28, 2013. We included observational studies on inpatients with respiratory illnesses comparing the clinical severity of viral co-infections to single viral infections as detected by molecular assays. The primary outcome reflecting clinical disease severity was length of hospital stay (LOS). A random-effects model was used to conduct the meta-analyses. RESULTS: Twenty-one studies involving 4,280 patients were included. The overall quality of evidence applying the GRADE approach ranged from moderate for oxygen requirements to low for all other outcomes. No significant differences in length of hospital stay (LOS) (mean difference (MD) -0.20 days, 95% CI -0.94, 0.53, p = 0.59), or mortality (RR 2.44, 95% CI 0.86, 6.91, p = 0.09) were documented in subjects with viral co-infections compared to those with a single viral infection. There was no evidence for differences in effects across age subgroups in post hoc analyses with the exception of the higher mortality in preschool children (RR 9.82, 95% CI 3.09, 31.20, p&lt;0.001) with viral co-infection as compared to other age groups (I2 for subgroup analysis 64%, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: No differences in clinical disease severity between viral co-infections and single respiratory infections were documented. The suggested increased risk of mortality observed amongst children with viral co-infections requires further investigation

Herd effect from influenza vaccination in non-healthcare settings: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials and observational studies.

Influenza vaccination programmes are assumed to have a herd effect and protect contacts of vaccinated persons from influenza virus infection. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Global Health and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) from inception to March 2014 for studies assessing the protective effect of influenza vaccination vs no vaccination on influenza virus infections in contacts. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using a random-effects model. Of 43,082 screened articles, nine randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and four observational studies were eligible. Among the RCTs, no statistically significant herd effect on the occurrence of influenza in contacts could be found (OR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.34-1.12). The one RCT conducted in a community setting, however, showed a significant effect (OR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.26-0.57), as did the observational studies (OR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.43-0.77). We found only a few studies that quantified the herd effect of vaccination, all studies except one were conducted in children, and the overall evidence was graded as low. The evidence is too limited to conclude in what setting(s) a herd effect may or may not be achieved