Limit on the fermion masses in technicolor models

Recently it has been pointed out that no limits can be put on the scale of fermion mass generation $(M)$ in technicolor models, because the relation between the fermion masses $(m_f)$ and $M$ depends on the dimensionality of the interaction responsible for generating the fermion mass. Depending on this dimensionality it may happens that $m_f$ does not depend on $M$ at all. We show that exactly in this case $m_f$ may reach its largest value, which is almost saturated by the top quark mass. We make few comments on the question of how large can be a dynamically generated fermion mass.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, RevTeX

Quantization of eletric charge, the neutrino and generation nonuniversality

text of abstract It is showed that the eletric charge quantization is unconnected to Majorana neutrino in the non-universal generations leptoquark-bilepton flavordynamics which includes the right-handed neutrino and an explicit U(1) factor in the gauge semisimple group.Comment: 4 pages, latex ps, no figure

A clinical decision aid for patients with suspected midfacial and mandibular fractures (the REDUCTION-I study):A prospective multicentre cohort study

Purpose To assess physical examination findings related to maxillofacial trauma to identify patients at risk of midfacial and mandibular fractures and then to construct a clinical decision aid to rule out the presence of midfacial and mandibular fractures in emergency department patients. Methods We performed a prospective multicentre cohort study in four hospitals in the Netherlands, including consecutive patients with maxillofacial trauma. Each patient received a standardized physical examination consisting of 15 and 14 findings for midfacial and mandibular traumas, respectively. Consequently, clinical decision aids were constructed with the focus being on ruling out the presence of midfacial and mandibular fractures, and diagnostic accuracy was calculated. Results A total of 993 consecutive patients were identified of whom 766 and 280 patients were suspected of midfacial and mandibular fractures, respectively. Midfacial fractures were diagnosed in 339 patients (44.3%), whereas mandibular fractures were observed in 66 patients (23.6%). The decision aid for midfacial trauma consisting of peri-orbital hematoma, epistaxis, ocular movement limitation, infra-orbital nerve paresthesia, palpable step-off and tooth mobility or avulsion, produced a sensitivity of 89.7 (86.0-92.5), a specificity of 42.6 (38.0-47.4), and a negative predictive value of 83.9% (78.4-88.2). The decision aid for mandibular trauma consisting of the angular compression test, axial chin pressure test, objective malocclusion, tooth mobility or avulsion and the tongue blade bite test resulted in a sensitivity of 98.5 (91.9-99.7), a specificity of 34.6 (28.5-41.2), and a negative predictive value of 98.7% (92.8-99.8). Conclusion The constructed clinical decision aids for maxillofacial trauma may aid in stratifying patients suspected for midfacial and mandibular fractures to reduce unnecessary diagnostic imaging

On the gauge boson's properties in a candidate technicolor theory

The technicolor scenario replaces the Higgs sector of the standard model with a strongly interacting sector. One candidate for a realization of such a sector is two-technicolor Yang-Mills theory coupled to two degenerate flavors of adjoint, massless techniquarks. Using lattice gauge theory the properties of the technigluons in this scenario are investigated as a function of the techniquark mass towards the massless limit. For that purpose the minimal Landau gauge two-point and three-point correlation functions are determined, including a detailed systematic error analysis. The results are, within the relatively large systematic uncertainties, compatible with a behavior very similar to QCD at finite techniquark mass. However, the limit of massless techniquarks exhibits features which could be compatible with a (quasi-)conformal behavior.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures, 1 table; v2: persistent notational error corrected, some minor modification

High-throughput Proteomics Identifies THEMIS2 as Independent Biomarker of Treatment-free Survival in Untreated CLL

It remains challenging in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) to distinguish between patients with favorable and unfavorable time-to-first treatment (TTFT). Additionally, the downstream protein correlates of well-known molecular features of CLL are not always clear. To address this, we selected 40 CLL patients with TTFT ≤24 months and compared their B cell intracellular protein expression with 40 age- and sex-matched CLL patients with TTFT &gt;24 months using mass spectrometry. In total, 3268 proteins were quantified in the cohort. Immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable (IGHV) mutational status and trisomy 12 were most impactful on the CLL proteome. Comparing cases to controls, 5 proteins were significantly upregulated, whereas 3 proteins were significantly downregulated. Of these, only THEMIS2, a signaling protein acting downstream of the B cell receptor, was significantly associated with TTFT, independently of IGHV and TP53 mutational status (hazard ratio, 2.49 [95% confidence interval, 1.62-3.84]; P &lt; 0.001). This association was validated on the mRNA and protein level by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and ELISA, respectively. Analysis of 2 independently generated RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry datasets confirmed the association between THEMIS2 expression and clinical outcome. In conclusion, we present a comprehensive characterization of the proteome of untreated CLL and identify THEMIS2 expression as a putative biomarker of TTFT.</p

PGB pair production at LHC and ILC as a probe of the topcolor-assisted technicolor models

The topcolor-assisted technicolor (TC2) model predicts some light pseudo goldstone bosons (PGBs), which may be accessible at the LHC or ILC. In this work we study the pair productions of the charged or neutral PGBs at the LHC and ILC. For the productions at the LHC we consider the processes proceeding through gluon-gluon fusion and quark-antiquark annihilation, while for the productions at the ILC we consider both the electron-positron collision and the photon-photon collision. We find that in a large part of parameter space the production cross sections at both colliders can be quite large compared with the low standard model backgrounds. Therefore, in future experiments these productions may be detectable and allow for probing TC2 model.Comment: 26 pages, 16 figures. slight changes in the text; notations for curves changed; references adde

Durability of treatment effects of the Sleep Position Trainer versus oral appliance therapy in positional OSA: 12-month follow-up of a randomized controlled trial

The Sleep Position Trainer (SPT) is a new option for treating patients with positional obstructive sleep apnea (POSA). This study investigated long-term efficacy, adherence, and quality of life during use of the SPT device compared with oral appliance therapy (OAT) in patients with POSA. This prospective, multicenter trial randomized patients with mild to moderate POSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] 5-30/h) to SPT or OAT. Polysomnography was performed at baseline and after 3 and 12 months' follow-up. The primary endpoint was OSA severity; adherence, quality of life, and adverse events were also assessed. Ninety-nine patients were randomized and 58 completed the study (29 in each group). Median AHI in the SPT group decreased from 13.2/h at baseline to 7.1/h after 12 months (P < 0.001); corresponding values in the OAT group were 13.4/h and 5.0/h (P < 0.001), with no significant between-group difference (P = 1.000). Improvements throughout the study were maintained at 12 months. Long-term median adherence was also similar in the two treatment groups; the proportion of patients who used their device for ≥ 4 h for 5 days in a week was 100% in the SPT group and 97.0% in the OAT group (P = 0.598). The efficacy of SPT therapy was maintained over 12 months and was comparable to that of OAT in patients with mild to moderate POSA. Adherence was relatively high, and similar in the two groups. www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02045576