Residential mobility and childhood leukemia.

AimsStudies of environmental exposures and childhood leukemia studies do not usually account for residential mobility. Yet, in addition to being a potential risk factor, mobility can induce selection bias, confounding, or measurement error in such studies. Using data collected for California Powerline Study (CAPS), we attempt to disentangle the effect of mobility.MethodsWe analyzed data from a population-based case-control study of childhood leukemia using cases who were born in California and diagnosed between 1988 and 2008 and birth certificate controls. We used stratified logistic regression, case-only analysis, and propensity-score adjustments to assess predictors of residential mobility between birth and diagnosis, and account for potential confounding due to residential mobility.ResultsChildren who moved tended to be older, lived in housing other than single-family homes, had younger mothers and fewer siblings, and were of lower socioeconomic status. Odds ratios for leukemia among non-movers living <50 meters (m) from a 200+ kilovolt line (OR: 1.62; 95% CI: 0.72-3.65) and for calculated fields ≥ 0.4 microTesla (OR: 1.71; 95% CI: 0.65-4.52) were slightly higher than previously reported overall results. Adjustments for propensity scores based on all variables predictive of mobility, including dwelling type, increased odds ratios for leukemia to 2.61 (95% CI: 1.76-3.86) for living < 50 m from a 200 + kilovolt line and to 1.98 (1.11-3.52) for calculated fields. Individual or propensity-score adjustments for all variables, except dwelling type, did not materially change the estimates of power line exposures on childhood leukemia.ConclusionThe residential mobility of childhood leukemia cases varied by several sociodemographic characteristics, but not by the distance to the nearest power line or calculated magnetic fields. Mobility appears to be an unlikely explanation for the associations observed between power lines exposure and childhood leukemia

The market environment for artisanal dimension stone in Nairobi, Kenya

This paper reports on a study involving the market environment for artisanal dimension stone in Nairobi, Kenya. Taking the point of view of exchange relationships within a market systems framework it maps out economic interactions involving actors in this market such as suppliers of raw materials, producers, marketers and users of artisanal dimension stone. This strategy enabled the study to understand the enabling environment for the production and use of artisanal dimension stone that is characterized by the following factors: a rising population that sustains the demand for the built environment products, a vibrant construction market, building regulations that favour the use of stone, availability of cheap and abundant unskilled labour and low standards of stone finish involved, availability of natural rock, a regulatory system that can compromise, lack of support by government institutions and an informal system of transaction that is non-compliant with conventional requirements such as labour and environmental laws but ensures ease of entry into the market environment. Such understanding brings potential for rectifying the negative perceptions about this market environment through policy development and change

Antibiotic Prophylaxis For Transrectal Prostate Biopsy.

Transrectal prostate biopsy (TRPB) is a well established procedure used to obtain tissue for the histological diagnosis of carcinoma of the prostate. Despite the fact that TRPB is generally considered a safe procedure, it may be accompanied by traumatic and infective complications, including asymptomatic bacteriuria (bacteria in the urine), urinary tract infection (UTI), transitory bacteremia (bacteria in the blood), fever episodes, and sepsis (pathogenic microorganisms or their toxins in the blood). Although infective complications after TRPB are well known, there is uncertainty about the necessity and effectiveness of routine prophylactic antibiotics and their adverse effects, as well as a clear lack of standardization. To evaluate the effectiveness and adverse effects of prophylactic antibiotic treatment in TRPB. The search covered the principal electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). Experts were consulted and references from the relevant articles were scanned. All randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) of men who underwent TRPB and received prophylactic antibiotics or placebo/no treatment, were selected, and all RCTs looking at one type of antibiotic versus another, including comparable dosages, routes of administration, frequency of administration, and duration of antibiotic treatment. Two reviewers (ELZ, OACC) independently selected included trials and extracted study data. Any disagreements were resolved by a third party (NRNJ). Overall, more than 3500 references were considered and 19 original reports with a total of 3599 patients were included.There were 9 trials analysing antibiotics versus placebo/no treatment, with all outcomes significantly favouring antibiotic use (P < 0.05) (I(2) = 0%), including bacteriuria (risk ratio (RR) 0.25 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.15 to 0.42), bacteremia (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.92), fever (RR 0.39, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.64), urinary tract infection (RR 0.37, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.62), and hospitalization (RR 0.13, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.55). Several classes of antibiotics were effective prophylactically for TRPB, while the quinolones, with the highest number of studies (5) and patients (1188), were the best analysed. For 'antibiotics versus enema', we analysed four studies with a limited number of patients. The differences between groups for all outcomes were not significant. For 'antibiotic versus antibiotic + enema', only the risk of bacteremia (RR 0.25, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.75) was diminished in the 'antibiotic + enema group'. Seven trials reported the effects of short-course (1 day) versus long-course (3 days) antibiotics. Long course was significantly better than short-course treatment only for bacteriuria (RR 2.09, 95% CI 1.17 to 3.73). For 'single versus multiple dose', there was significantly greater risk of bacteriuria for single-dose treatment (RR 1.98, 95% CI 1.18 to 3.33). Comparing oral versus systemic administration - intramuscular injection (IM), or intravenous (IV) - of antibiotics, there were no significant differences in the groups for bacteriuria, fever, UTI and hospitalization. Antibiotic prophylaxis is effective in preventing infectious complications following TRPB. There is no definitive data to confirm that antibiotics for long-course (3 days) are superior to short-course treatments (1 day), or that multiple-dose treatment is superior to single-dose.

Measurement of the correlation between flow harmonics of different order in lead-lead collisions at √sNN = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Correlations between the elliptic or triangular flow coefficients vm (m=2 or 3) and other flow harmonics vn (n=2 to 5) are measured using √sNN=2.76 TeV Pb+Pb collision data collected in 2010 by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 7 μb−1. The vm−vn correlations are measured in midrapidity as a function of centrality, and, for events within the same centrality interval, as a function of event ellipticity or triangularity defined in a forward rapidity region. For events within the same centrality interval, v3 is found to be anticorrelated with v2 and this anticorrelation is consistent with similar anticorrelations between the corresponding eccentricities, ε2 and ε3. However, it is observed that v4 increases strongly with v2, and v5 increases strongly with both v2 and v3. The trend and strength of the vm−vn correlations for n=4 and 5 are found to disagree with εm−εn correlations predicted by initial-geometry models. Instead, these correlations are found to be consistent with the combined effects of a linear contribution to vn and a nonlinear term that is a function of v22 or of v2v3, as predicted by hydrodynamic models. A simple two-component fit is used to separate these two contributions. The extracted linear and nonlinear contributions to v4 and v5 are found to be consistent with previously measured event-plane correlations

Measurement of the cross section for isolated-photon plus jet production in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV using the ATLAS detector

The dynamics of isolated-photon production in association with a jet in proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV are studied with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using a dataset with an integrated luminosity of 3.2 fb−1. Photons are required to have transverse energies above 125 GeV. Jets are identified using the anti- algorithm with radius parameter and required to have transverse momenta above 100 GeV. Measurements of isolated-photon plus jet cross sections are presented as functions of the leading-photon transverse energy, the leading-jet transverse momentum, the azimuthal angular separation between the photon and the jet, the photon–jet invariant mass and the scattering angle in the photon–jet centre-of-mass system. Tree-level plus parton-shower predictions from Sherpa and Pythia as well as next-to-leading-order QCD predictions from Jetphox and Sherpa are compared to the measurements

Search for W′→tb→qqbb decays in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for a massive W′ gauge boson decaying to a top quark and a bottom quark is performed with the ATLAS detector in pp collisions at the LHC. The dataset was taken at a centre-of-mass energy of √s=8 TeV and corresponds to 20.3 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. This analysis is done in the hadronic decay mode of the top quark, where novel jet substructure techniques are used to identify jets from high-momentum top quarks. This allows for a search for high-mass W′ bosons in the range 1.5–3.0 TeV. b-tagging is used to identify jets originating from b-quarks. The data are consistent with Standard Model background-only expectations, and upper limits at 95 % confidence level are set on the W′→tb cross section times branching ratio ranging from 0.16pb to 0.33pb for left-handed W′ bosons, and ranging from 0.10pb to 0.21pb for W′ bosons with purely right-handed couplings. Upper limits at 95 % confidence level are set on the W′-boson coupling to tb as a function of the W′ mass using an effective field theory approach, which is independent of details of particular models predicting a W′boson

Search for vectorlike B quarks in events with one isolated lepton, missing transverse momentum, and jets at √s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search has been performed for pair production of heavy vectorlike down-type (B) quarks. The analysis explores the lepton-plus-jets final state, characterized by events with one isolated charged lepton (electron or muon), significant missing transverse momentum, and multiple jets. One or more jets are required to be tagged as arising from b quarks, and at least one pair of jets must be tagged as arising from the hadronic decay of an electroweak boson. The analysis uses the full data sample of pp collisions recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC, operating at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb −1 . No significant excess of events is observed above the expected background. Limits are set on vectorlike B production, as a function of the B branching ratios, assuming the allowable decay modes are B → Wt/Zb/Hb. In the chiral limit with a branching ratio of 100% for the decay B → Wt, the observed (expected) 95% C.L. lower limit on the vectorlike B mass is 810 GeV (760 GeV). In the case where the vectorlike B quark has branching ratio values corresponding to those of an SU(2) singlet state, the observed (expected) 95% C.L. lower limit on the vectorlike B mass is 640 GeV (505 GeV). The same analysis, when used to investigate pair production of a colored, charge 5/3 exotic fermion T 5/3 , with subsequent decay T 5/3 → Wt, sets an observed (expected) 95% C.L. lower limit on the T 5/3 mass of 840 GeV (780 GeV)

A search for prompt lepton-jets in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for a new, light boson with a mass of about 1 GeV and decaying promptly to jets of collimated electrons and/or muons (lepton-jets). The analysis is performed with 20.3 fb−1 of data collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. Events are required to contain at least two lepton-jets. This study finds no statistically significant deviation from predictions of the Standard Model and places 95% confidence-level upper limits on the contribution of new phenomena beyond the SM, incuding SUSY-portal and Higgs-portal models, on the number of events with lepton-jets.We acknowledge the support of ANPCyT, Argentina; YerPhI, Armenia; ARC, Australia; BMWFW and FWF, Austria; ANAS, Azerbaijan; SSTC, Belarus; CNPq and FAPESP, Brazil; NSERC, NRC and CFI, Canada; CERN; CONICYT, Chile; CAS, MOST and NSFC, China; COLCIENCIAS, Colombia; MSMT CR, MPO CR and VSC CR, Czech Republic; DNRF, DNSRC and Lundbeck Foundation, Denmark; IN2P3-CNRS, CEADSM/IRFU, France; GNSF, Georgia; BMBF, HGF, and MPG, Germany; GSRT, Greece; RGC, Hong Kong SAR, China; ISF, I-CORE and Benoziyo Center, Israel; INFN, Italy; MEXT and JSPS, Japan; CNRST, Morocco; FOM and NWO, Netherlands; RCN, Norway; MNiSW and NCN, Poland; FCT, Portugal; MNE/IFA, Romania; MES of Russia and NRC KI, Russian Federation; JINR; MESTD, Serbia; MSSR, Slovakia; ARRS and MIZ. S, Slovenia; DST/NRF, South Africa; MINECO, Spain; SRC and Wallenberg Foundation, Sweden; SERI, SNSF and Cantons of Bern and Geneva, Switzerland; MOST, Taiwan; TAEK, Turkey; STFC, United Kingdom; DOE and NSF, United States of America. In addition, individual groups and members have received support from BCKDF, the Canada Council, CANARIE, CRC, Compute Canada, FQRNT, and the Ontario Innovation Trust, Canada; EPLANET, ERC, FP7, Horizon 2020 and Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, European Union; Investissements d'Avenir Labex and Idex, ANR, Region Auvergne and Fondation Partager le Savoir, France; DFG and AvH Foundation, Germany; Herakleitos, Thales and Aristeia programmes co-financed by EU-ESF and the Greek NSRF; BSF, GIF and Minerva, Israel; BRF, Norway; the Royal Society and Leverhulme Trust, United Kingdom

Measurement of jet charge in dijet events from √s = 8 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

The momentum-weighted sum of the charges of tracks associated to a jet is sensitive to the charge of the initiating quark or gluon. This paper presents a measurement of the distribution of momentum-weighted sums, called jet charge, in dijet events using 20.3 fb−¹ of data recorded with the ATLAS detector at √s = 8 TeV in pp collisions at the LHC. The jet charge distribution is unfolded to remove distortions from detector effects and the resulting particle-level distribution is compared with several models. The pT dependence of the jet charge distribution average and standard deviation are compared to predictions obtained with several leading-order and next-to-leading-order parton distribution functions. The data are also compared to different Monte Carlo simulations of QCD dijet production using various settings of the free parameters within these models. The chosen value of the strong coupling constant used to calculate gluon radiation is found to have a significant impact on the predicted jet charge. There is evidence for a pT dependence of the jet charge distribution for a given jet flavor. In agreement with perturbative QCD predictions, the data show that the average jet charge of quark-initiated jets decreases in magnitude as the energy of the jet increases

Search for the production of single vector-like and excited quarks in the Wt final state in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for vector-like quarks and excited quarks in events containing a top quark and a W boson in the final state is reported here. The search is based on 20.3 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data taken at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector. Events with one or two leptons, and one, two or three jets are selected with the additional requirement that at least one jet contains a b-quark. Single-lepton events are also required to contain at least one large-radius jet from the hadronic decay of a high-pTW boson or a top quark. No significant excess over the expected background is observed and upper limits on the cross-section times branching ratio for different vector-like quark and excited-quark model masses are derived. For the excited-quark production and decay to Wt with unit couplings, quarks with masses below 1500 GeV are excluded and coupling-dependent limits are set