1,110 research outputs found
Maverick dark matter at colliders
Assuming that dark matter is a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP)
species X produced in the early Universe as a cold thermal relic, we study the
collider signal of pp or ppbar -> XXbar + jets and its distinguishability from
standard-model background processes associated with jets and missing energy. We
assume that the WIMP is the sole particle related to dark matter within reach
of the LHC--a "maverick" particle--and that it couples to quarks through a
higher dimensional contact interaction. We simulate the WIMP final-state signal
XXbar + jet and dominant standard-model (SM) background processes and find that
the dark-matter production process results in higher energies for the colored
final state partons than do the standard-model background processes, resulting
in more QCD radiation and a higher jet multiplicity. As a consequence, the
detectable signature of maverick dark matter is an excess over standard-model
expectations of events consisting of large missing transverse energy, together
with large leading jet transverse momentum and scalar sum of the transverse
momenta of the jets. Existing Tevatron data and forthcoming LHC data can
constrain (or discover!) maverick dark matter.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
Organization-wide adoption of computerized provider order entry systems: a study based on diffusion of innovations theory
Background: Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems have been introduced to reduce medication errors, increase safety, improve work-flow efficiency, and increase medical service quality at the moment of prescription. Making the impact of CPOE systems more observable may facilitate their adoption by users. We set out to examine factors associated with the adoption of a CPOE system for inter-organizational and intra-organizational care. Methods: The diffusion of innovation theory was used to understand physicians and nurses attitudes and thoughts about implementation and use of the CPOE system. Two online survey questionnaires were distributed to all physicians and nurses using a CPOE system in county-wide healthcare organizations. The number of complete questionnaires analyzed was 134 from 200 nurses (67.0%) and 176 from 741 physicians (23.8%). Data were analyzed using descriptive-analytical statistical methods. Results: More nurses (56.7%) than physicians (31.3%) stated that the CPOE system introduction had worked well in their clinical setting (P andlt; 0.001). Similarly, more physicians (73.9%) than nurses (50.7%) reported that they found the system not adapted to their specific professional practice (P = andlt; 0.001). Also more physicians (25.0%) than nurses (13.4%) stated that they did want to return to the previous system (P = 0.041). We found that in particular the received relative advantages of the CPOE system were estimated to be significantly (P andlt; 0.001) higher among nurses (39.6%) than physicians (16.5%). However, physicians agreements with the compatibility of the CPOE and with its complexity were significantly higher than the nurses (P andlt; 0.001). Conclusions: Qualifications for CPOE adoption as defined by three attributes of diffusion of innovation theory were not satisfied in the study setting. CPOE systems are introduced as a response to the present limitations in paper-based systems. In consequence, user expectations are often high on their relative advantages as well as on a low level of complexity. Building CPOE systems therefore requires designs that can provide rather important additional advantages, e. g. by preventing prescription errors and ultimately improving patient safety and safety of clinical work. The decision-making process leading to the implementation and use of CPOE systems in healthcare therefore has to be improved. As any change in health service settings usually faces resistance, we emphasize that CPOE system designers and healthcare decision-makers should continually collect users feedback about the systems, while not forgetting that it also is necessary to inform the users about the potential benefits involved.Original Publication:Bahlol Rahimi, Toomas Timpka, Vivian Vimarlund, Srinivas Uppugunduri and Mikael Svensson, Organization-wide adoption of computerized provider order entry systems: a study based on diffusion of innovations theory, 2009, BMC MEDICAL INFORMATICS AND DECISION MAKING, (9), 52, .http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6947-9-52Licensee: BioMed Centralhttp://www.biomedcentral.com/. On the day of the defence date the original title of this article was "Adoption of computerized provider order entry systems: An organization-wide study based on diffusion of innovations theory"
Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in European Primary Care
Contains fulltext :
96207.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular risk management plays an important role in primary care. In patients at high risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) lifestyle and, where appropriate, medical interventions are recommended in guidelines. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important outcome in clinical practice. This study aimed to assess the HRQoL of this patient group and to investigate the impact of both patients' characteristics and practice quality scores on their assessments of HRQoL. METHODS AND FINDINGS: An observational study in 218 general practices from 8 European countries was conducted. 2142 patients at risk for CVD (33.5% female) with a mean age of 66.3 (SD 9.1) years completed a questionnaire including the EQ-5D instrument and provided data from medical record. Validated quality indicators of general practices were assessed using practice questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. A hierarchical multilevel analysis was performed to identify predictors of EQ-5D scores at patient and practice level. The mean EQ-5D score was 0.78 (SD 0.19). Female gender (r = -0.03, p<0.0016), age (r = -0.01, p = 0.0387) and lower educational level (r = -0.03, p<0.0001) were correlated negatively with EQ-5D scores. Clinically more important was the correlation of HRQoL with the frequency of practice contacts (r = -0.12, p<0.0001) and the number of uncontrolled risk factors (r = -0.01, p<0.0039). Medication adherence (r = 0.032, p<0.0001), and physical activity (r = 0.02, p<0.0001) were identified as positive predictors of HRQoL. The EUPROPEP-score category 'organization' (r = 0.02, p<0.0001) was positively related to EQ-5D scores, whereas other practice scores were not correlated to EQ-5D-scores. CONCLUSIONS: In patients at risk for CVD, good medication adherence, regular physical activity, controlling of biomedical risk factor levels and patient-centered practice organization have been shown to be positively correlated to HRQoL and should therefore be targeted in interventions not only to reduce morbidity but also to sustain or even to ameliorate HRQoL
Evaluation of next-generation sequencing software in mapping and assembly
Next-generation high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies have advanced progressively in sequence-based genomic research and novel biological applications with the promise of sequencing DNA at unprecedented speed. These new non-Sanger-based technologies feature several advantages when compared with traditional sequencing methods in terms of higher sequencing speed, lower per run cost and higher accuracy. However, reads from next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms, such as 454/Roche, ABI/SOLiD and Illumina/Solexa, are usually short, thereby restricting the applications of NGS platforms in genome assembly and annotation. We presented an overview of the challenges that these novel technologies meet and particularly illustrated various bioinformatics attempts on mapping and assembly for problem solving. We then compared the performance of several programs in these two fields, and further provided advices on selecting suitable tools for specific biological applications.published_or_final_versio
Multiple populations in globular clusters. Lessons learned from the Milky Way globular clusters
Recent progress in studies of globular clusters has shown that they are not
simple stellar populations, being rather made of multiple generations. Evidence
stems both from photometry and spectroscopy. A new paradigm is then arising for
the formation of massive star clusters, which includes several episodes of star
formation. While this provides an explanation for several features of globular
clusters, including the second parameter problem, it also opens new
perspectives about the relation between globular clusters and the halo of our
Galaxy, and by extension of all populations with a high specific frequency of
globular clusters, such as, e.g., giant elliptical galaxies. We review progress
in this area, focusing on the most recent studies. Several points remain to be
properly understood, in particular those concerning the nature of the polluters
producing the abundance pattern in the clusters and the typical timescale, the
range of cluster masses where this phenomenon is active, and the relation
between globular clusters and other satellites of our Galaxy.Comment: In press (The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review
Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the B -> K(*) mu+ mu- Decay and First Observation of the Bs -> phi mu+ mu- Decay
We reconstruct the rare decays , , and in a data sample
corresponding to collected in collisions at
by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron
Collider. Using and decays we report the branching ratios. In addition, we report
the measurement of the differential branching ratio and the muon
forward-backward asymmetry in the and decay modes, and the
longitudinal polarization in the decay mode with respect to the squared
dimuon mass. These are consistent with the theoretical prediction from the
standard model, and most recent determinations from other experiments and of
comparable accuracy. We also report the first observation of the {\mathcal{B}}(B^0_s \to
\phi\mu^+\mu^-) = [1.44 \pm 0.33 \pm 0.46] \times 10^{-6}27 \pm 6B^0_s$ decay observed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Measurements of the properties of Lambda_c(2595), Lambda_c(2625), Sigma_c(2455), and Sigma_c(2520) baryons
We report measurements of the resonance properties of Lambda_c(2595)+ and
Lambda_c(2625)+ baryons in their decays to Lambda_c+ pi+ pi- as well as
Sigma_c(2455)++,0 and Sigma_c(2520)++,0 baryons in their decays to Lambda_c+
pi+/- final states. These measurements are performed using data corresponding
to 5.2/fb of integrated luminosity from ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV,
collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. Exploiting the
largest available charmed baryon sample, we measure masses and decay widths
with uncertainties comparable to the world averages for Sigma_c states, and
significantly smaller uncertainties than the world averages for excited
Lambda_c+ states.Comment: added one reference and one table, changed order of figures, 17
pages, 15 figure
Search for a New Heavy Gauge Boson Wprime with Electron + missing ET Event Signature in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We present a search for a new heavy charged vector boson decaying
to an electron-neutrino pair in collisions at a center-of-mass
energy of 1.96\unit{TeV}. The data were collected with the CDF II detector
and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.3\unit{fb}^{-1}. No
significant excess above the standard model expectation is observed and we set
upper limits on . Assuming standard
model couplings to fermions and the neutrino from the boson decay to
be light, we exclude a boson with mass less than
1.12\unit{TeV/}c^2 at the 95\unit{%} confidence level.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures Submitted to PR
Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS
has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions
at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection
criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined.
For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a
muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the
whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4,
while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The
efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than
90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall
momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The
transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity
for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be
better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions
of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
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