Top-squark searches at the Tevatron in models of low-energy supersymmetry breaking

We study the production and decays of top squarks (stops) at the Tevatron collider in models of low-energy supersymmetry breaking. We consider the case where the lightest Standard Model (SM) superpartner is a light neutralino that predominantly decays into a photon and a light gravitino. Considering the lighter stop to be the next-to-lightest Standard Model superpartner, we analyze stop signatures associated with jets, photons and missing energy, which lead to signals naturally larger than the associated SM backgrounds. We consider both 2-body and 3-body decays of the top squarks and show that the reach of the Tevatron can be significantly larger than that expected within either the standard supergravity models or models of low-energy supersymmetry breaking in which the stop is the lightest SM superpartner. For a modest projection of the final Tevatron luminosity, L = 4 fb-1, stop masses of order 300 GeV are accessible at the Tevatron collider in both 2-body and 3-body decay modes. We also consider the production and decay of ten degenerate squarks that are the supersymmetric partners of the five light quarks. In this case we find that common squark masses up to 360 GeV are easily accessible at the Tevatron collider, and that the reach increases further if the gluino is light.Comment: 32 pages, 9 figures; references adde

CPsuperH: a Computational Tool for Higgs Phenomenology in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with Explicit CP Violation

We provide a detailed description of the Fortran code CPsuperH, a newly--developed computational package that calculates the mass spectrum and decay widths of the neutral and charged Higgs bosons in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with explicit CP violation. The program is based on recent renormalization-group-improved diagrammatic calculations that include dominant higher--order logarithmic and threshold corrections, b-quark Yukawa-coupling resummation effects and Higgs-boson pole-mass shifts. The code CPsuperH is self--contained (with all subroutines included), is easy and fast to run, and is organized to allow further theoretical developments to be easily implemented. The fact that the masses and couplings of the charged and neutral Higgs bosons are computed at a similar high-precision level makes it an attractive tool for Tevatron, LHC and LC studies, also in the CP-conserving case.Comment: 46 pages, LaTeX, 4 eps figures; the code may be obtained from http://theory.ph.man.ac.uk/~jslee/CPsuperH.html (version as to appear in Comput. Phys. Commun.

Management goals for type 1 Gaucher disease: An expert consensus document from the European working group on Gaucher disease

AbstractGaucher Disease type 1 (GD1) is a lysosomal disorder that affects many systems. Therapy improves the principal manifestations of the condition and, as a consequence, many patients show a modified phenotype which reflects manifestations of their disease that are refractory to treatment. More generally, it is increasingly recognised that information as to how a patient feels and functions [obtained by patient- reported outcome measurements (PROMs)] is critical to any comprehensive evaluation of treatment. A new set of management goals for GD1 in which both trends are reflected is needed. To this end, a modified Delphi procedure among 25 experts was performed. Based on a literature review and with input from patients, 65 potential goals were formulated as statements. Consensus was considered to be reached when ≥75% of the participants agreed to include that specific statement in the management goals. There was agreement on 42 statements. In addition to the traditional goals concerning haematological, visceral and bone manifestations, improvement in quality of life, fatigue and social participation, as well as early detection of long-term complications or associated diseases were included. When applying this set of goals in medical practice, the clinical status of the individual patient should be taken into account

ADP binding induces an asymmetry between the heads of unphosphorylated myosin.

Light chain phosphorylation is the key event that regulates smooth and non-muscle myosin II ATPase activity. Here we show that both heads of smooth muscle heavy meromyosin (HMM) bind tightly to actin in the absence of nucleotide, irrespective of the state of light chain phosphorylation. In striking contrast, only one of the two heads of unphosphorylated HMM binds to actin in the presence of ADP, and the heads have different affinities for ADP. This asymmetry suggests that phosphorylation alters the mechanical coupling between the heads of HMM. A model that incorporates strain between the two heads is proposed to explain the data, which have implications for how one head of a motor protein can gate the response of the other

Qualitätsstandards für epidemiologische Kohortenstudien. Ein bewerteter Anforderungskatalog zur Studienvorbereitung und Studiendurchführung.  

Hintergrund Kohortenstudien sind prospektive Beobachtungsstudien. Sie sind in der Epidemiologie zum Studium von Krankheitsverläufen und Risikofaktoren fest etabliert. Hinsichtlich der Beschreibung und Bewertung von Qualitätsmerkmalen epidemiologischer Kohortenstudien existieren jedoch keine Standards. Ziel der Arbeit Im TMF(Technologie- und Methodenplattform für die vernetzte medizinische Forschung e. V.)-Projekt „Qualitätsmanagementstandards in Kohortenstudien“ sollte unter Beteiligung von Vertretern epidemiologischer Kohortenstudien ein Anforderungskatalog für Qualitätsmerkmale der Studienvorbereitung und Studiendurchführung zusammengestellt und bewertet werden. Material und Methoden Der Anforderungskatalog wurde auf Basis eines Konsensprozesses von Vertretern aus sieben deutschen epidemiologischen Kohortenstudien erstellt. Um die Struktur und Elemente einer Anforderungsliste zu definieren, fanden Expertentreffen statt. In drei Bewertungswellen wurden Wichtigkeit und Implementierungsgrad aller Anforderungen bewertet. Ergebnisse Konsentiert wurde ein Anforderungskatalog mit 138 Anforderungen, die in 10 Bereiche gegliedert sind: 1. Studiendokumente, 2. Instrumentenauswahl, 3. Untersuchungsplanung, 4. Organisationsstruktur, 5. Qualifizierung und Zertifizierung, 6. Probandenrekrutierung, 7. Untersuchungsvorbereitung und -durchführung, 8. Logistik und Instandhaltung, 9. Datenerfassung und Datenmanagement sowie 10. Reporting und Monitoring. Insgesamt 41 Anforderungen wurden als essenziell, 91 als wichtig und 6 als weniger wichtig bewertet. Diskussion Der Anforderungskatalog liefert Kohortenstudien Orientierungspunkte bei der Konzeption und Umsetzung, um eine möglichst hohe Struktur‑, Prozess- und Ergebnisqualität zu erzielen. Die Bewertung der Wichtigkeit und des Implementationsgrades einzelner Anforderungen hängt vom Studiendesign ab. Die Ergebnisse können mit Anpassungen auch für andere Studientypen relevant sein. &nbsp

Management goals for type 1 Gaucher disease: An expert consensus document from the European working group on Gaucher disease

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