240 research outputs found
HbA1cmeasurement and relationship to incident stroke
Aims: To determine the proportion of people with diabetes who have Hb
A1c measured, what
proportion achieve an HbA1c level of < 58 mmol/mol (7.5%), the frequency of testing and if
there was any change in HbA1c level in the year before and the year after an incident stroke.
Methods: This study used the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank, which
stores hospital data for the whole of Wales and ~65% of Welsh general practice records, to
identify cases of stroke in patients with diabetes between 2000 and 2010. These were matched
against patients with diabetes but without stroke disease. We assessed the frequency of HbA1c
testing and change in HbA1c in the first year after stroke. Estimation was made of the proportion
of patients achieving an HbA1c measurement ≤ 58 mmol/mol (7.5%).
Results: There were 1741 patients with diabetes and stroke. Of these, 1173 (67.4%) had their
HbA1c checked before their stroke and 1137 (65.3%) after their stroke. In the control group of
16 838 patients with diabetes but no stroke, 8413 (49.9%) and 9288 (55.1%) had their HbA1c
checked before and after the case-matched stroke date, respectively. In patients with diabetes and stroke, HbA1c fell from 7.7 to 7.3% after their stroke (
P<0.001). Before the study, 55.0% of
patients with stroke had an HbA1c ≥58 mmol/mol compared with 65.2% of control patients,
these figures were 62.5% and 65.3% after the stroke.
Conclusions: The frequency of diabetes testing was higher in patients who had experienced a
stroke before and after their incident stroke compared with control patients but did not
increase after their stroke. Glucose control improved significantly in the year after a stroke
Social sciences research in neglected tropical diseases 2: A bibliographic analysis
The official published version of the article can be found at the link below.Background
There are strong arguments for social science and interdisciplinary research in the neglected tropical diseases. These diseases represent a rich and dynamic interplay between vector, host, and pathogen which occurs within social, physical and biological contexts. The overwhelming sense, however, is that neglected tropical diseases research is a biomedical endeavour largely excluding the social sciences. The purpose of this review is to provide a baseline for discussing the quantum and nature of the science that is being conducted, and the extent to which the social sciences are a part of that.
Methods
A bibliographic analysis was conducted of neglected tropical diseases related research papers published over the past 10 years in biomedical and social sciences. The analysis had textual and bibliometric facets, and focussed on chikungunya, dengue, visceral leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis.
Results
There is substantial variation in the number of publications associated with each disease. The proportion of the research that is social science based appears remarkably consistent (<4%). A textual analysis, however, reveals a degree of misclassification by the abstracting service where a surprising proportion of the "social sciences" research was pure clinical research. Much of the social sciences research also tends to be "hand maiden" research focused on the implementation of biomedical solutions.
Conclusion
There is little evidence that scientists pay any attention to the complex social, cultural, biological, and environmental dynamic involved in human pathogenesis. There is little investigator driven social science and a poor presence of interdisciplinary science. The research needs more sophisticated funders and priority setters who are not beguiled by uncritical biomedical promises
Search for Decay
We have searched for the charmless hadronic decay of B0 mesons into two
neutral pions. Using 9.13fb^-1 taken at the Upsilon(4S) with the CLEO detector,
we obtain an improved upper limit for the branching fraction BR(B0-->pi0pi0) <
5.7*10^-6 at the 90% confidence level.Comment: pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
Search for Zgamma events with large missing transverse energy in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We present the first search for supersymmetry (SUSY) in Zgamma final states
with large missing transverse energy using data corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of 6.2 fb-1 collected with the D0 experiment in ppbar collisions at
sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV. This signature is predicted in gauge-mediated SUSY-breaking
models, where the lightest neutralino is the next-to-lightest supersymmetric
particle (NLSP) and is produced in pairs, possibly through decay from heavier
supersymmetric particles. The NLSP can decay either to a Z boson or a photon
and an associated gravitino that escapes detection. We exclude this model at
the 95% C.L. for SUSY breaking scales of Lambda < 87 TeV, corresponding to
neutralino masses of < 151 GeV.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Measurement of Leptonic Asymmetries and Top Quark Polarization in ttbar Production
We present measurements of lepton (l) angular distributions in ttbar -> W+ b
W- b -> l+ nu b l- nubar bbar decays produced in ppbar collisions at a
center-of-mass energy of sqrt(s)=1.96TeV, where l is an electron or muon. Using
data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4fb^-1, collected with the
D0 detector at the Fermilab Collider, we find that the angular distributions of
l- relative to anti-protons and l+ relative to protons are in agreement with
each other. Combining the two distributions and correcting for detector
acceptance we obtain the forward-backward asymmetry A^l_FB = (5.8 +- 5.1(stat)
+- 1.3(syst))%, compared to the standard model prediction of A^l_FB (predicted)
= (4.7 +- 0.1)%. This result is further combined with the measurement based on
the analysis of the l+jets final state to obtain A^l_FB = (11.8 +- 3.2)%.
Furthermore, we present a first study of the top-quark polarization.Comment: submitted versio
Measurement of the semileptonic charge asymmetry in B0 meson mixing with the D0 detector
We present a measurement of the semileptonic mixing asymmetry for B0 mesons,
a^d_{sl}, using two independent decay channels: B0 -> mu+D-X, with D- ->
K+pi-pi-; and B0 -> mu+D*-X, with D*- -> antiD0 pi-, antiD0 -> K+pi- (and
charge conjugate processes). We use a data sample corresponding to 10.4 fb^{-1}
of ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV, collected with the D0 experiment at
the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We extract the charge asymmetries in these two
channels as a function of the visible proper decay length (VPDL) of the B0
meson, correct for detector-related asymmetries using data-driven methods, and
account for dilution from charge-symmetric processes using Monte Carlo
simulation. The final measurement combines four signal VPDL regions for each
channel, yielding a^d_{sl} = [0.68 \pm 0.45 \text{(stat.)} \pm 0.14
\text{(syst.)}]%. This is the single most precise measurement of this
parameter, with uncertainties smaller than the current world average of B
factory measurements.Comment: Version includes minor textual changes following peer review by
journal, most notably the updating of Ref. [21] to reflect the most recent
publicatio
Search for the Higgs boson in lepton, tau and jets final states
We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson in final states with an electron or muon and a hadronically decaying tau lepton in association with two or more jets using 9.7 fb^{-1} of Run II Fermilab Tevatron Collider data collected with the D0 detector. The analysis is sensitive to Higgs boson production via gluon fusion, associated vector boson production, and vector boson fusion, followed by the Higgs boson decay to tau lepton pairs or to W boson pairs. The ratios of 95% C.L. upper limits on the cross section times branching ratio to those predicted by the standard model are obtained for orthogonal subsamples that are enriched in either H -> tau tau decays or H -> WW decays, and for the combination of these subsample limits. The observed and expected limit ratios for the combined subsamples at a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV are 11.3 and 9.0 respectively
Search for associated production in collisions at
This report describes a search for associated production of and Higgs
bosons based on data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab
Tevatron Collider. Events containing a
candidate (with corresponding to or ) are selected in
association with two or three reconstructed jets. One or two of the jets are
required to be consistent with having evolved from a quark. A multivariate
discriminant technique is used to improve the separation of signal and
backgrounds. Expected and observed upper limits are obtained for the product of
the production cross section and branching ratios and reported in terms of
ratios relative to the prediction of the standard model as a function of the
mass of the Higgs boson (). The observed and expected 95% C.L. upper
limits obtained for an assumed are, respectively, factors
of 4.5 and 4.8 larger than the value predicted by the standard model.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figure
A search for charged massive long-lived particles
We report on a search for charged massive long-lived particles (CMLLPs),
based on 5.2 fb of integrated luminosity collected with the D0 detector
at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We search for events in which one
or more particles are reconstructed as muons but have speed and ionization
energy loss inconsistent with muons produced in beam collisions.
CMLLPs are predicted in several theories of physics beyond the standard model.
We exclude pair-produced long-lived gaugino-like charginos below 267 GeV and
higgsino-like charginos below 217 GeV at 95% C.L., as well as long-lived scalar
top quarks with mass below 285 GeV.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter
Measurement of the semileptonic charge asymmetry using Bs^0 -> D_s mu X decays
We present a measurement of the time-integrated flavor-specific semileptonic
charge asymmetry in the decays of Bs mesons that have undergone flavor mixing,
a^s_ls, using B_s^0 (barB_s^0) -> D_s^-/+ mu^+/- X decays, with D_s^-/+ -> phi
pi^-/+ and phi K^+ K^-, using 10.4 fb^-1 of proton-antiproton collisions
collected by the D0 detector during Run II at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. A
fit to the difference between the time-integrated D_s^-$ and D_s^+ mass
distributions of the B_s^0 and barB^0_s candidates yields the flavor-specific
asymmetry a^s_ls = [-1.12 pm 0.74 (stat) +/-0.17 (syst)]% which is the most
precise measurement and in agreement with the standard model prediction.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures (updated with changes made in journal review
process
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