Adherence to clinical practice guidelines among three primary contact professions: A best evidence synthesis of the literature for the management of acute and subacute low back pain

Aim: To determine adherence to clinical practice guidelines in the medical, physiotherapy and chiropractic professions for acute and subacute mechanical low back pain through best-evidence synthesis of the healthcare literature. Methods: A structured best-evidence synthesis of the relevant literature through a literature search of relevant databases for peer-reviewed papers on adherence to clinical practice guidelines from 1995 to 2013. Inclusion of papers was based on selection criteria and appraisal by two reviewers who independently applied a modified Downs & Black appraisal tool. The appraised papers were summarized in tabular form and analysed by the authors. Results: The literature search retrieved 23 potentially relevant papers that were evaluated for methodological quality, of which 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. The main finding was that no profession in the study consistently attained an overall high concordance rating. Of the three professions examined, 73% of chiropractors adhered to current clinical practice guidelines, followed by physiotherapists (62%) and then medical practitioners (52%). Conclusions: This review showed that quality papers in this area of research are very limited. Notwithstanding, chiropractors appear to adhere to clinical practice guidelines more so than physiotherapists and medical practitioners, although there is scope for improvement across all three professions

Search for excited τ-leptons and leptoquarks in the final state with τ-leptons and jets in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

A search is reported for excited τ-leptons and leptoquarks in events with two hadronically decaying τ-leptons and two or more jets. The search uses proton-proton (pp) collision data at √s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS experiment during the Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider in 2015–2018. The total integrated luminosity is 139 fb−1. The excited τ-lepton is assumed to be produced and to decay via a four-fermion contact interaction into an ordinary τ-lepton and a quark-antiquark pair. The leptoquarks are assumed to be produced in pairs via the strong interaction, and each leptoquark is assumed to couple to a charm or lighter quark and a τ-lepton. No excess over the background prediction is observed. Excited τ-leptons with masses below 2.8 TeV are excluded at 95% CL in scenarios with the contact interaction scale Λ set to 10 TeV. At the extreme limit of model validity where Λ is set equal to the excited τ-lepton mass, excited τ-leptons with masses below 4.6 TeV are excluded. Leptoquarks with masses below 1.3 TeV are excluded at 95% CL if their branching ratio to a charm quark and a τ-lepton equals 1. The analysis does not exploit flavour-tagging in the signal region

Search for magnetic monopoles and stable particles with high electric charges in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

We present a search for magnetic monopoles and high-electric-charge objects using LHC Run 2 √s = 13 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector. A total integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1 was collected by a specialized trigger. No highly ionizing particle candidate was observed. Considering the Drell-Yan and photon-fusion pair production mechanisms as benchmark models, cross-section upper limits are presented for spin-0 and spin-1/2 magnetic monopoles of magnetic charge 1gD and 2gD and for high-electric-charge objects of electric charge 20 ≤ |z| ≤ 100, for masses between 200 GeV and 4000 GeV. The search improves by approximately a factor of three the previous cross-section limits on the Drell-Yan production of magnetic monopoles and high-electric charge objects. Also, the first ATLAS limits on the photon-fusion pair production mechanism of magnetic monopoles and high-electric-charge objects are obtained

Search for dark photons from Higgs boson decays via ZH production with a photon plus missing transverse momentum signature from pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper describes a search for dark photons (γd) in proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The dark photons are searched for in the decay of Higgs bosons (H → γγd) produced through the ZH production mode. The transverse mass of the system, made of the photon and the missing transverse momentum from the non-interacting γd, presents a distinctive signature as it peaks near the Higgs boson mass. The results presented use the total Run-2 integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The dominant reducible background processes are estimated using data-driven techniques. A Boosted Decision Tree technique is adopted to enhance the sensitivity of the search. As no excess is observed with respect to the Standard Model prediction, an observed (expected) upper limit on the branching ratio BR(H → γγd) of 2.28% ( (2.82+1.33−0.84%) is set at 95% CL for massless γd. For massive dark photons up to 40 GeV, the observed (expected) upper limits on BR(H → γγd) at 95% confidence level is found within the [2.19,2.52]% ([2.71,3.11]%) range

Searches for lepton-flavour-violating decays of the Higgs boson into eτ and μτ in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents direct searches for lepton flavour violation in Higgs boson decays, H → eτ and H → μτ, performed using data collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The searches are based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy √s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. Leptonic (τ → ℓνℓντ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons ντ) decays of the τ-lepton are considered. Two background estimation techniques are employed: the MC-template method, based on data-corrected simulation samples, and the Symmetry method, based on exploiting the symmetry between electrons and muons in the Standard Model backgrounds. No significant excess of events is observed and the results are interpreted as upper limits on lepton-flavour-violating branching ratios of the Higgs boson. The observed (expected) upper limits set on the branching ratios at 95% confidence level, β(H → eτ) < 0.20% β(0.12%) and (H → μτ ) < 0.18% (0.09%), are obtained with the MC-template method from a simultaneous measurement of potential H → eτ and H → μτ signals. The best-fit branching ratio difference, β(H → μτ) → β(H → eτ), measured with the Symmetry method in the channel where the τ-lepton decays to leptons, is (0.25 ± 0.10)%, compatible with a value of zero within 2.5σ

Search for vector-boson resonances decaying into a top quark and a bottom quark using pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for a new massive charged gauge boson, W′, is performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The dataset used in this analysis was collected from proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 13 TeV, and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. The reconstructed tb invariant mass is used to search for a W′ boson decaying into a top quark and a bottom quark. The result is interpreted in terms of a W′ boson with purely right-handed or left-handed chirality in a mass range of 0.5–6 TeV. Different values for the coupling of the W′ boson to the top and bottom quarks are considered, taking into account interference with single-top-quark production in the s-channel. No significant deviation from the background prediction is observed. The results are expressed as upper limits on the W′ → tb production cross-section times branching ratio as a function of the W′-boson mass and in the plane of the coupling vs the W′-boson mass

Measurements of Zγ+jets differential cross sections in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Differential cross-section measurements of Zγ production in association with hadronic jets are presented, using the full 139 fb−1 dataset of √s = 13 TeV proton–proton collisions collected by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the LHC. Distributions are measured using events in which the Z boson decays leptonically and the photon is usually radiated from an initial-state quark. Measurements are made in both one and two observables, including those sensitive to the hard scattering in the event and others which probe additional soft and collinear radiation. Different Standard Model predictions, from both parton-shower Monte Carlo simulation and fixed-order QCD calculations, are compared with the measurements. In general, good agreement is observed between data and predictions from MATRIX and MiNNLOPS, as well as next-to-leading-order predictions from MadGraph5_aMC@NLO and Sherpa

Search for neutral long-lived particles in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV that decay into displaced hadronic jets in the ATLAS calorimeter

A search for decays of pair-produced neutral long-lived particles (LLPs) is presented using 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data collected by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2015–2018 at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. Dedicated techniques were developed for the reconstruction of displaced jets produced by LLPs decaying hadronically in the ATLAS hadronic calorimeter. Two search regions are defined for different LLP kinematic regimes. The observed numbers of events are consistent with the expected background, and limits for several benchmark signals are determined. For a SM Higgs boson with a mass of 125 GeV, branching ratios above 10% are excluded at 95% confidence level for values of c times LLP mean proper lifetime in the range between 20 mm and 10 m depending on the model. Upper limits are also set on the cross-section times branching ratio for scalars with a mass of 60 GeV and for masses between 200 GeV and 1 TeV

Search for direct pair production of sleptons and charginos decaying to two leptons and neutralinos with mass splittings near the W-boson mass in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the electroweak production of pairs of charged sleptons or charginos decaying into two-lepton final states with missing transverse momentum is presented. Two simplified models of R-parity-conserving supersymmetry are considered: direct pair-production of sleptons (˜`˜`), with each decaying into a charged lepton and a ˜χ01 neutralino, and direct pair-production of the lightest charginos ( ˜χ±1 ˜χ∓1 ), with each decaying into a W -boson and a ˜χ01. The lightest neutralino ( ˜χ01) is assumed to be the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP). The analyses target the experimentally challenging mass regions where m( ˜`) − m( ˜χ01) and m( ˜χ±1 ) − m( ˜χ01) are close to the W -boson mass (‘moderately compressed’ regions). The search uses 139 fb−1 of √s = 13 TeV proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excesses over the expected background are observed. Exclusion limits on the simplified models under study are reported in the (˜`, ˜χ01) and ( ˜χ±1 , ˜χ01) mass planes at 95% confidence level (CL). Sleptons with masses up to 150 GeV are excluded at 95% CL for the case of a mass-splitting between sleptons and the LSP of 50 GeV. Chargino masses up to 140 GeV are excluded at 95% CL for the case of a mass-splitting between the chargino and the LSP down to about 100 GeV