Response to Quality of Life Surveying: An Analysis of Patients with Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome

Patient-reported outcomes and surveying has increased in clinical settings in order to assess outcomes and patient health status. However, there is a lack of these assessments from a pediatric standpoint, an inpatient standpoint, and family perspective. In addition to health status and overall clinic experience, expanding the self-reported evaluation to include quality of life on physical and psychosocial levels will provide a more comprehensive evaluation of the patients’ health services. The PedsQL ™ scale scores four domains: physical, emotional, social, and school/work functioning. It includes a parent-proxy report as well as self-report for patients ages 5 to 18 years. Infant scales are also available for children 1-24 months of age that include a parent-proxy report. The Wiskott-Aldrich Foundation aims to improve quality of life (QoL) surveying to best reflect patient and family sentiments for patients with the immunodeficiency disorder, Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS). WAS is a genetically inherited immunodeficiency disease that severely suppresses the immune system to make the patient dangerously susceptible to autoimmune disorders and malignancies. The comparison of family impact and PedsQL™ can paint a picture of the family’s coping with WAS and what they may need beyond clinical treatment of WAS

The choice and effects of governance mechanisms for regulating client-contractor relationships in large construction projects

A questionnaire survey was conducted in Iran and Australia to study the choice and effects of governance mechanisms in regulating client-contractor relationships in two culturally and legally diverse environments. Data collected from 73 Iranian and 38 Australian client-contractor partnerships were then analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method. The contributions of this thesis are threefold; first, it contributes to social capital theory and social exchange theory by revealing that social capital and collaboration play different roles in regulating exchange relationships; for example, the results showed that where there is no substitutive or complementary relationship between social capital and formal contract, collaboration and formal contract complement each other. Second, it contributes to the inter-organizational relationships (IORs) and project management literature by introducing a new construct of ‘project control capability’ and showing the importance of its role in transaction performance; for example, the findings showed that if collaboration is not effectively implemented to enhance ‘project control capability’, its impact on project performance will disappear. Third, this thesis enriches the IORs literature by identifying and elaborating how culture and contract enforceability influence the choice and effects of governance mechanisms. For instance, the findings showed that while collaboration is the main contributor to relationship satisfaction in Australia as an individualistic country with high contract enforceability, social capital is the main motivator for relationship satisfaction in Iran with its collectivistic culture and low contract enforceability. Together, this study provides important theoretical and managerial insights and opens the way for more research within IORs context, particularly with regard to complex conditions in large construction projects

Electrochemical and morphological characterization of the Interface at negative electrodes in aqueous metal-ion batteries Gas Evolution & electrodepostion Efficiency

Providing a sufficient amount of energy is a primary problem for current and future societies. To achieve this goal, it is essential to expand the use of renewable energy sources such as the sun and wind, as soon as possible. These energy sources are inherently intermittent. Thus, appropriate grid-scale energy storage systems are required to store high amount of energy in a very short period of time. One possible choice for stationary applications in which volumetric and gravimetric energy densities are not primary factors is aqueous metal-ion batteries. Recently, aqueous zinc-ion batteries based on copper hexacyanoferrate with an average potential of 1.73 V have been developed. The main limiting factors for this new family of batteries include a low electrodeposition efficiency and hydrogen evolution on the negative electrode. These problems are related to the use of zinc as the negative electrode, in which the electrochemical reduction potential is sufficiently low that, at least thermodynamically, hydrogen evolution becomes favorable. Hydrogen evolution negatively influences the electrodeposition efficiency of the electrode and performance of the battery, hindering the power density, and lowering the overall energy efficiency. Therefore, decreasing the level of hydrogen evolution and increasing the electrodeposition efficiency are of primary importance in this type of battery. In the first part of this dissertation, a new electrochemical cell was designed for in-operando characterization of gas evolution in batteries via differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS). Different parameters such as the position, size, and shape of the electrodes, flow of the carrier gas, contact between the current connectors and electrodes, sealing of the cell, and setup to run the DEMS measurements were all discussed. The performance of the cell for DEMS measurements was validated by investigating the gas evolution at the graphite electrode in an organic electrolyte. To do so, cyclic voltammetry (CV) was combined with the DEMS method. Moreover, the ability of the cell to perform electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements was confirmed. Subsequently, the cell was used to study hydrogen evolution on negative electrodes in an aqueous zinc-ion battery based on Prussian blue derivatives. To accomplish this goal, galvanostatic cycling with potential limitation (GCPL) was combined with the DEMS method. The results showed that increasing the concentration of the electrolyte could suppress the level of hydrogen evolution. The second part of this dissertation studied the morphology of zinc electrodeposition on the negative electrode at different current densities. Several constant current densities were applied and the surface morphology investigated via SEM and color 3D laser microscopy. The results showed that below the limiting current density, no preferential growth was observed on iv the surface of the electrode. However, above the limiting current density, large hexagonal crystals were formed all over the surface. Thereafter, the effect of Branched Polyethyleneimine (BPEI) as an electrolyte additive on the zinc electrodeposition mechanism was studied. It was determined that the presence of BPEI in the range of 30 ppm inside the electrolyte could suppress the growth of hexagonal crystals and stabilize the electrodeposition efficiency of zinc. The third part of this dissertation focused the application of layered double hydroxide (LDH) as a substrate for zinc electrodeposition. To do so, GCPL was used and the electrodeposition efficiency of zinc on different substrates serving as the negative electrode was examined. The results showed that the appropriate ratio of zinc to LDH as a substrate considerably enhanced the efficiency of zinc electrodeposition in 500 mM of zinc sulfate, from 88% to 98%. Moreover, LDH suppressed the intense potential drop at the beginning of the reduction reaction that could be attributed to the elimination of hydrogen evolution. LDH, in an appropriate combination with zinc, was determined to be a very good alternative for use as a negative electrode in aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Designing and establishment of ISO/IEC 17025 in laboratories of national inland water aquaculture center and south Iran aquaculture research center

The project was carried out between June of 2011 and November of 2012,8 laboratories of research center in Anzali (Plankton, Algae, Hydrochemistry, Physiology, Ichthyology, Bentose, Parazitology, Virology) and 7 laboratories of research center in Ahvaz (Clinical pathology, Plankton, Hydrochemistry, Physiology, Ichthyology, Bentose, Parazitology, Virology) were selected for accreditation. The main stages for establishment of the system consisted of: 1-Conducting a gap analysis to compare the present state of the laboratories with ISO/IEC 17025 2-Training General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories Validation of methods Estimation of uncertainty Internal audits 3- Performing of technical and management requirements 4-Submit of quality manual to ASCB center in England in order to accredit In August of 2012 The main results were including: 1-Increase the accuracy of measurement in laboratories 2-Improvement of the Repeatability and Reproducibility of the test methods 3-Traceability and standardization of test methods 4- Calibration of measurement instruments 6- Updating of test methods 7-Standardization of physical condition of the laboratories 8- Getting the certification from ASCB center i

Search for supersymmetry in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV using identified top quarks

A search for supersymmetry is presented based on proton-proton collision events containing identified hadronically decaying top quarks, no leptons, and an imbalance p(T)(miss) in transverse momentum. The data were collected with the CMS detector at the CERN LHC at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). Search regions are defined in terms of the multiplicity of bottom quark jet and top quark candidates, the p(T)(miss) , the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta, and themT2 mass variable. No statistically significant excess of events is observed relative to the expectation from the standard model. Lower limits on the masses of supersymmetric particles are determined at 95% confidence level in the context of simplified models with top quark production. For a model with direct top squark pair production followed by the decay of each top squark to a top quark and a neutralino, top squark masses up to 1020 GeVand neutralino masses up to 430 GeVare excluded. For amodel with pair production of gluinos followed by the decay of each gluino to a top quark-antiquark pair and a neutralino, gluino masses up to 2040 GeVand neutralino masses up to 1150 GeVare excluded. These limits extend previous results.Peer reviewe

Search for resonances in the mass spectrum of muon pairs produced in association with b quark jets in proton-proton collisions at root 8 and 13 TeV

A search for resonances in the mass range 12-70 GeV produced in association with a b quark jet and a second jet, and decaying to a muon pair, is reported. The analysis is based on data from proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 8 and 13 TeV, collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponding to integrated luminosities of 19.7 and 35.9 fb(-1), respectively. The search is carried out in two mutually exclusive event categories. Events in the first category are required to have a b quark jet in the central region (|| 2.4) and at least one jet in the forward region (|| > 2.4). Events in the second category are required to have two jets in the central region, at least one of which is identified as a b quark jet, no jets in the forward region, and low missing transverse momentum. An excess of events above the background near a dimuon mass of 28 GeV is observed in the 8 TeV data, corresponding to local significances of 4.2 and 2.9 standard deviations for the first and second event categories, respectively. A similar analysis conducted with the 13 TeV data results in a mild excess over the background in the first event category corresponding to a local significance of 2.0 standard deviations, while the second category results in a 1.4 standard deviation deficit. The fiducial cross section measurements and 95% confidence level upper limits on those for a resonance consistent with the 8 TeV excess are provided at both collision energies

Search for physics beyond the standard model in events with a Z boson, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at √s̅ = 7 TeV

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Search for Evidence of the Type-III Seesaw Mechanism in Multilepton Final States in Proton-Proton Collisions at root s=13 TeV

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Search for Higgsino pair production in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV in final states with large missing transverse momentum and two Higgs bosons decaying via H -> b(b)over bar

Results are reported from a search for new physics in 13 TeV proton-proton collisions in the final state with large missing transverse momentum and two Higgs bosons decaying via H -> b(b)over bar. The search uses a data sample accumulated by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The search is motivated by models based on gauge-mediated supersymmetry breaking, which predict the electroweak production of a pair of Higgsinos, each of which can decay via a cascade process to a Higgs boson and an undetected lightest supersymmetric particle. The observed event yields in the signal regions are consistent with the standard model background expectation obtained from control regions in data. Higgsinos in the mass range 230-770 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level in the context of a simplified model for the production and decay of approximately degenerate Higgsinos.Peer reviewe

Measurement of vector boson scattering and constraints on anomalous quartic couplings from events with four leptons and two jets in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

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