Phenomenological Implications of Deflected Mirage Mediation: Comparison with Mirage Mediation

We compare the collider phenomenology of mirage mediation and deflected mirage mediation, which are two recently proposed "mixed" supersymmetry breaking scenarios motivated from string compactifications. The scenarios differ in that deflected mirage mediation includes contributions from gauge mediation in addition to the contributions from gravity mediation and anomaly mediation also present in mirage mediation. The threshold effects from gauge mediation can drastically alter the low energy spectrum from that of pure mirage mediation models, resulting in some cases in a squeezed gaugino spectrum and a gluino that is much lighter than other colored superpartners. We provide several benchmark deflected mirage mediation models and construct model lines as a function of the gauge mediation contributions, and discuss their discovery potential at the LHC.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Jets and Missing Energy Search Strategies for the 7 TeV LHC

This work explores the potential reach of the 7 TeV LHC to new colored states in the context of simplified models and addresses the issue of which search regions are necessary to cover an extensive set of event topologies and kinematic regimes. This article demonstrates that if searches are designed to focus on specific regions of phase space, then new physics may be missed if it lies in unexpected corners. Simple multiregion search strategies can be designed to cover all of kinematic possibilities. A set of benchmark models are created that cover the qualitatively different signatures and a benchmark multiregion search strategy is presented that covers these models.Comment: 30 pages, 8 Figures, 3 Tables. Version accepted at JHEP. Minor changes. Added figur

NLSP Gluino Search at the Tevatron and early LHC

We investigate the collider phenomenology of gluino-bino co-annihilation scenario both at the Tevatron and 7 TeV LHC. This scenario can be realized, for example, in a class of realistic supersymmetric models with non-universal gaugino masses and t-b-\tau Yukawa unification. The NLSP gluino and LSP bino should be nearly degenerate in mass, so that the typical gluino search channels involving leptons or hard jets are not available. Consequently, the gluino can be lighter than various bounds on its mass from direct searches. We propose a new search for NLSP gluino involving multi-b final states, arising from the three-body decay \tilde{g}-> b\bar{b}\tilde{\chi}_1^0. We identify two realistic models with gluino mass of around 300 GeV for which the three-body decay is dominant, and show that a 4.5 \sigma observation sensitivity can be achieved at the Tevatron with an integrated luminosity of 10 fb^{-1}. For the 7 TeV LHC with 50 pb^{-1} of integrated luminosity, the number of signal events for the two models is O(10), to be compared with negligible SM background event.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures and 3 tables, minor modifications made and accepted for publication in JHE

Bigger, Better, Faster, More at the LHC

Multijet plus missing energy searches provide universal coverage for theories that have new colored particles that decay into a dark matter candidate and jets. These signals appear at the LHC further out on the missing energy tail than two-to-two scattering indicates. The simplicity of the searches at the LHC contrasts sharply with the Tevatron where more elaborate searches are necessary to separate signal from background. The searches presented in this article effectively distinguish signal from background for any theory where the LSP is a daughter or granddaughter of the pair-produced colored parent particle without ever having to consider missing energies less than 400 GeV.Comment: 26 pages, 8 Figures. Minor textual changes, typos fixed and references adde

Light Sneutrino Dark Matter at the LHC

In supersymmetric (SUSY) models with Dirac neutrino masses, a weak-scale trilinear A-term that is not proportional to the small neutrino Yukawa couplings can induce a sizable mixing between left and right-handed sneutrinos. The lighter sneutrino mass eigenstate can hence become the lightest SUSY particle (LSP) and a viable dark matter candidate. In particular, it can be an excellent candidate for light dark matter with mass below ~10 GeV. Such a light mixed sneutrino LSP has a dramatic effect on SUSY signatures at the LHC, as charginos decay dominantly into the light sneutrino plus a charged lepton, and neutralinos decay invisibly to a neutrino plus a sneutrino. We perform a detailed study of the LHC potential to resolve the light sneutrino dark matter scenario by means of three representative benchmark points with different gluino and squark mass hierarchies. We study in particular the determination of the LSP (sneutrino) mass from cascade decays involving charginos, using the mT2 variable. Moreover, we address measurements of additional invisible sparticles, in our case the lightest neutralino, and the question of discrimination against the MSSM.Comment: 25 pages, 16 figure

A Human Development Framework for CO2 Reductions

Although developing countries are called to participate in CO2 emission reduction efforts to avoid dangerous climate change, the implications of proposed reduction schemes in human development standards of developing countries remain a matter of debate. We show the existence of a positive and time-dependent correlation between the Human Development Index (HDI) and per capita CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Employing this empirical relation, extrapolating the HDI, and using three population scenarios, the cumulative CO2 emissions necessary for developing countries to achieve particular HDI thresholds are assessed following a Development As Usual approach (DAU). If current demographic and development trends are maintained, we estimate that by 2050 around 85% of the world's population will live in countries with high HDI (above 0.8). In particular, 300Gt of cumulative CO2 emissions between 2000 and 2050 are estimated to be necessary for the development of 104 developing countries in the year 2000. This value represents between 20% to 30% of previously calculated CO2 budgets limiting global warming to 2{\deg}C. These constraints and results are incorporated into a CO2 reduction framework involving four domains of climate action for individual countries. The framework reserves a fair emission path for developing countries to proceed with their development by indexing country-dependent reduction rates proportional to the HDI in order to preserve the 2{\deg}C target after a particular development threshold is reached. Under this approach, global cumulative emissions by 2050 are estimated to range from 850 up to 1100Gt of CO2. These values are within the uncertainty range of emissions to limit global temperatures to 2{\deg}C.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl

A randomized, controlled clinical trial: the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on generalized anxiety disorder among Chinese community patients: protocol for a randomized trial

<b>Background</b> Research suggests that an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program may be effective in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorders. Our objective is to compare the clinical effectiveness of the MBCT program with a psycho-education programme and usual care in reducing anxiety symptoms in people suffering from generalized anxiety disorder.<p></p> <b>Methods and Design</b> A three armed randomized, controlled clinical trial including 9-month post-treatment follow-up is proposed. Participants screened positive using the Structure Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) for general anxiety disorder will be recruited from community-based clinics. 228 participants will be randomly allocated to the MBCT program plus usual care, psycho-education program plus usual care or the usual care group. Validated Chinese version of instruments measuring anxiety and worry symptoms, depression, quality of life and health service utilization will be used. Our primary end point is the change of anxiety and worry score (Beck Anxiety Inventory and Penn State Worry Scale) from baseline to the end of intervention. For primary analyses, treatment outcomes will be assessed by ANCOVA, with change in anxiety score as the baseline variable, while the baseline anxiety score and other baseline characteristics that significantly differ between groups will serve as covariates.<p></p> <b>Discussion</b> This is a first randomized controlled trial that compare the effectiveness of MBCT with an active control, findings will advance current knowledge in the management of GAD and the way that group intervention can be delivered and inform future research

Aberrant signaling in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: biological and therapeutic implications

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a biologically heterogeneous disease with respect to phenotype, gene expression profile and activation of particular intracellular signaling pathways. Despite very significant improvements, current therapeutic regimens still fail to cure a portion of the patients and frequently implicate the use of aggressive protocols with long-term side effects. In this review, we focused on how deregulation of critical signaling pathways, in particular Notch, PI3K/Akt, MAPK, Jak/STAT and TGF-beta, may contribute to T-ALL. Identifying the alterations that affect intracellular pathways that regulate cell cycle and apoptosis is essential to understanding the biology of this malignancy, to define more effective markers for the correct stratification of patients into appropriate therapeutic regimens and to identify novel targets for the development of specific, less detrimental therapies for T-ALL

Pilot study evaluating a brief mindfulness intervention for those with chronic pain: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The burden of chronic pain is a major challenge, impacting the quality of life of patients. Intensive programmes of mindfulness-based therapy can help patients to cope with chronic pain but can be time consuming and require a trained specialist to implement. The self-management model of care is now integral to the care of patients with chronic pain; home-based interventions can be very acceptable, making a compelling argument for investigating brief, self-management interventions. The aim of this study is two-fold: to assess the immediate effects of a brief self-help mindfulness intervention for coping with chronic pain and to assess the feasibility of conducting a definitive randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of such an intervention. METHODS/DESIGN: A randomized controlled pilot study will be conducted to evaluate a brief mindfulness intervention for those with chronic pain. Ninety chronic pain patients who attend hospital outpatient clinics will be recruited and allocated randomly to either the control or treatment group on a 1:1 basis using the computer-generated list of random numbers. The treatment group receives mindfulness audios and the control group receives audios of readings from a non-fiction book, all of which are 15 minutes in length. Immediate effects of the intervention are assessed with brief psychological measures immediately before and after audio use. Mindfulness, mood, health-related quality of life, pain catastrophizing and experience of the intervention are assessed with standardized measures, brief ratings and brief telephone follow-ups, at baseline and after one week and one month. Feasibility is assessed by estimation of effect sizes for outcomes, patient adherence and experience, and appraisal of resource allocation in provision of the intervention. DISCUSSION: This trial will assess whether a brief mindfulness-based intervention is effective for immediately reducing perceived distress and pain with the side effect of increasing relaxation in chronic pain patients and will determine the feasibility of conducting a definitive randomized controlled trial. Patient recruitment began in January 2015 and is due to be completed in June 2016. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN61538090 Registered 20 April 2015