A minimal BV action for Vasiliev's four-dimensional higher spin gravity

The action principle for Vasiliev's four-dimensional higher-spin gravity proposed recently by two of the authors, is converted into a minimal BV master action using the AKSZ procedure, which amounts to replacing the classical differential forms by vectorial superfields of fixed total degree given by the sum of form degree and ghost number. The nilpotency of the BRST operator is achieved by imposing boundary conditions and choosing appropriate gauge transitions between charts leading to a globally-defined formulation based on a principal bundle.Comment: 39 pages, 1 figure. Additional comments in the conclusion

Intrinsic quadrupole moment of the nucleon

We address the question of the intrinsic quadrupole moment Q_0 of the nucleon in various models. All models give a positive intrinsic quadrupole moment for the proton. This corresponds to a prolate deformation. We also calculate the intrinsic quadrupole moment of the Delta(1232). All our models lead to a negative intrinsic quadrupole moment of the Delta corresponding to an oblate deformation.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

Gauge dependence of the on-shell renormalized mixing matrices

It was recently pointed out that the on-shell renormalization of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix in the method by Denner and Sack causes a gauge parameter dependence of the amplitudes. We analyze the gauge dependence of the on-shell renormalization of the mixing matrices both for fermions and scalars in general cases, at the one-loop level. We then show that this gauge dependence can be avoided by fixing the counterterms for the mixing matrices in terms of the off-diagonal wave function corrections for fermions and scalars after a rearrangement, in a similar manner to the pinch technique for gauge bosons. We finally present explicit calculation of the gauge dependence for two cases: CKM matrix in the Standard Model, and left-right mixing of scalar quarks in the minimal supersymmetric standard model.Comment: 16 pages, minor correction

Delta-to-N-gamma Coulomb Quadrupole Amplitude in PQCD

We present a leading-order pQCD calculation of the helicity-flip $\Delta\to N\gamma^*$ matrix element $G_0$ (Coulomb quadrupole amplitude $C2$), taking into account the transverse momenta of the quarks and the contribution from the gluons. In the large $Q^2$ limit, its scaling behavior acquires a double-logarithmic correction $\log^2{(Q^2/\Lambda^2)}$ compared with the standard scaling analysis, due to the contribution from the orbital motion of the small-$x$ partons. Based on this and on the latest JLab experimental results of the $C2-M1$ ratio $R_{SM}$ at $Q^2$ = 3 $\sim$ 4 GeV$^2$, we make a phenomenological prediction for the latter at higher values of $Q^2$.Comment: 9 pages, two figure

The nonperturbative functional renormalization group and its applications

The renormalization group plays an essential role in many areas of physics, both conceptually and as a practical tool to determine the long-distance low-energy properties of many systems on the one hand and on the other hand search for viable ultraviolet completions in fundamental physics. It provides us with a natural framework to study theoretical models where degrees of freedom are correlated over long distances and that may exhibit very distinct behavior on different energy scales. The nonperturbative functional renormalization-group (FRG) approach is a modern implementation of Wilson's RG, which allows one to set up nonperturbative approximation schemes that go beyond the standard perturbative RG approaches. The FRG is based on an exact functional flow equation of a coarse-grained effective action (or Gibbs free energy in the language of statistical mechanics). We review the main approximation schemes that are commonly used to solve this flow equation and discuss applications in equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium statistical physics, quantum many-particle systems, high-energy physics and quantum gravity.Comment: v2) Review article, 93 pages + bibliography, 35 figure

Developing a proxy version of the Adult Social Care Outcome Toolkit (ASCOT)

Background: Social care-related quality of life is a key outcome indicator used in the evaluation of social care interventions and policy. It is not, however, always possible to collect quality of life data by self-report even with adaptations for people with cognitive or communication impairments. A new proxy-report version of the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) measure of social care-related quality of life was developed to address the issues of wider inclusion of people with cognitive or communication difficulties who may otherwise be systematically excluded. The development of the proxy-report ASCOT questionnaire was informed by literature review and earlier work that identified the key issues and challenges associated with proxy-reported outcomes. Methods: To evaluate the acceptability and content validity of the ASCOT-Proxy, qualitative cognitive interviews were conducted with unpaid carers or care workers of people with cognitive or communication impairments. The proxy respondents were invited to ‘think aloud’ while completing the questionnaire. Follow-up probes were asked to elicit further detail of the respondent’s comprehension of the format, layout and content of each item and also how they weighed up the options to formulate a response. Results: A total of 25 unpaid carers and care workers participated in three iterative rounds of cognitive interviews. The findings indicate that the items were well-understood and the concepts were consistent with the item definitions for the standard self-completion version of ASCOT with minor modifications to the draft ASCOT-Proxy. The ASCOT-Proxy allows respondents to rate the proxy-proxy and proxy-patient perspectives, which improved the acceptability of proxy report. Conclusions: A new proxy-report version of ASCOT was developed with evidence of its qualitative content validity and acceptability. The ASCOT-Proxy is ready for empirical testing of its suitability for data collection as a self-completion and/or interview questionnaire, and also evaluation of its psychometric properties

Developing a proxy version of the Adult Social Care Outcome Toolkit (ASCOT)

Background: Social care-related quality of life is a key outcome indicator used in the evaluation of social care interventions and policy. It is not, however, always possible to collect quality of life data by self-report even with adaptations for people with cognitive or communication impairments. A new proxy-report version of the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT) measure of social care-related quality of life was developed to address the issues of wider inclusion of people with cognitive or communication difficulties who may otherwise be systematically excluded. The development of the proxy-report ASCOT questionnaire was informed by literature review and earlier work that identified the key issues and challenges associated with proxy-reported outcomes. Methods: To evaluate the acceptability and content validity of the ASCOT-Proxy, qualitative cognitive interviews were conducted with unpaid carers or care workers of people with cognitive or communication impairments. The proxy respondents were invited to ‘think aloud’ while completing the questionnaire. Follow-up probes were asked to elicit further detail of the respondent’s comprehension of the format, layout and content of each item and also how they weighed up the options to formulate a response. Results: A total of 25 unpaid carers and care workers participated in three iterative rounds of cognitive interviews. The findings indicate that the items were well-understood and the concepts were consistent with the item definitions for the standard self-completion version of ASCOT with minor modifications to the draft ASCOT-Proxy. The ASCOT-Proxy allows respondents to rate the proxy-proxy and proxy-patient perspectives, which improved the acceptability of proxy report. Conclusions: A new proxy-report version of ASCOT was developed with evidence of its qualitative content validity and acceptability. The ASCOT-Proxy is ready for empirical testing of its suitability for data collection as a self-completion and/or interview questionnaire, and also evaluation of its psychometric properties

Thrombocytopenia in malaria: who cares?

Despite not being a criterion for severe malaria, thrombocytopenia is one of the most common complications of both Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum malaria. In a systematic review of the literature, platelet counts under 150,000/mm³ ranged from 24-94% in patients with acute malaria and this frequency was not different between the two major species that affected humans. Minor bleeding is mentioned in case reports of patients with P. vivax infection and may be explained by medullary compensation with the release of mega platelets in the peripheral circulation by megakaryocytes, thus maintaining a good primary haemostasis. The speculated mechanisms leading to thrombocytopenia are: coagulation disturbances, splenomegaly, bone marrow alterations, antibody-mediated platelet destruction, oxidative stress and the role of platelets as cofactors in triggering severe malaria. Data from experimental models are presented and, despite not being rare, there is no clear recommendation on the adequate management of this haematological complication. In most cases, a conservative approach is adopted and platelet counts usually revert to normal ranges a few days after efficacious antimalarial treatment. More studies are needed to specifically clarify if thrombocytopenia is the cause or consequence of the clinical disease spectrum