Superfield algorithm for higher order gauge field theories

We propose an algorithm for the construction of higher order gauge field theories from a superfield formulation within the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism. This is a generalization of the superfield algorithm recently considered by Batalin and Marnelius. This generalization seems to allow for non-topological gauge field theories as well as alternative representations of topological ones. A five dimensional non-abelian Chern-Simons theory and a topological Yang-Mills theory are treated as examples.Comment: 17 pages in LaTeX, improved text, published versio

Shaping the midwifery profession in Nepal - Uncovering actors' connections using a Complex Adaptive Systems framework.

OBJECTIVES: To explore how actors connect in a system aiming at promoting the establishment of a midwifery profession in Nepal. METHODS: A qualitative explorative study based on the framework of Complex Adaptive Systems. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 key people representing eight different organisations (actors) promoting the development of the midwifery profession. RESULTS: The actors' connections can be described with a complex set of facilitators for and barriers to promoting the establishment of a midwifery profession. The identified facilitators for this establishment in Nepal are (1) a common goal and (2) a desire to collaborate, whilst the barriers are (1) different political interests and priorities, (2) competing interests of the nursing profession and societal views, (3) divergent academic opinions on a midwifery profession, and (4) insufficient communication. The results also showed that Nepalese society cannot distinguish between nursing and midwifery and that the public support for a midwifery profession was hence minimal. CONCLUSION: The move of midwifery from an occupation to a profession in Nepal is an on-going, challenging process. The study indicates the importance of understanding the motivations of, and barriers perceived by, actors that can promote or obstruct the establishment of the midwifery profession. It also points to the importance of informing the wider public about the role and responsibility of an autonomous midwifery profession

Covariant quantization of infinite spin particle models, and higher order gauge theories

Further properties of a recently proposed higher order infinite spin particle model are derived. Infinitely many classically equivalent but different Hamiltonian formulations are shown to exist. This leads to a condition of uniqueness in the quantization process. A consistent covariant quantization is shown to exist. Also a recently proposed supersymmetric version for half-odd integer spins is quantized. A general algorithm to derive gauge invariances of higher order Lagrangians is given and applied to the infinite spin particle model, and to a new higher order model for a spinning particle which is proposed here, as well as to a previously given higher order rigid particle model. The latter two models are also covariantly quantized.Comment: 38 pages, Late

Impact of a Health Fair on Student Organizations Providing Care to the Detroit Hispanic/Latinx Community and Barriers Affecting Patients of a Student-Run Clinic Primarily Serving this Population

Current literature shows Hispanic/Latinx populations in the U.S. face health inequities. Amigos Medicos (AM) Clinic, located in Southwest Detroit, is a student-run free clinic that addresses these issues through preventive health screenings. We hosted a health fair in 2022 and invited other student organizations in efforts to connect the community to resources. Our aim is to identify specific barriers faced by our population in receiving health care and to identify the impact of participation in the fair on those organizations. One survey was administered to patients attending clinic that identified health barriers they face. The other survey was administered to student organizations four months after the fair to assess representatives’ experiences. Data administered to organizations showed all (100%) student organization representatives believed the health fair brought increased awareness to the Detroit population about their respective student organization. The most identified limitations reported by the organizations in serving the community were financial constraints (43%) followed by limited space/resources (14%) and lack of volunteers (14%). Our response rate for the survey administered at the clinic is approximately 38% and data collection is ongoing. 66.67% of patients reported they do not have health insurance. 44% reported visiting a community clinic and 22% visit the Emergency Department. 22% indicated that lack of health insurance, language barriers, lack of transportation, or long wait-time for appointments increased the difficulty of accessing healthcare. Our research not only demonstrates unique challenges in working with Hispanic/Latinx populations but also the needs and barriers faced by the community

Topological Field Theories and Geometry of Batalin-Vilkovisky Algebras

The algebraic and geometric structures of deformations are analyzed concerning topological field theories of Schwarz type by means of the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism. Deformations of the Chern-Simons-BF theory in three dimensions induces the Courant algebroid structure on the target space as a sigma model. Deformations of BF theories in $n$ dimensions are also analyzed. Two dimensional deformed BF theory induces the Poisson structure and three dimensional deformed BF theory induces the Courant algebroid structure on the target space as a sigma model. The deformations of BF theories in $n$ dimensions induce the structures of Batalin-Vilkovisky algebras on the target space.Comment: 25 page

Evaluation of neuroendocrine markers in renal cell carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of the study was to examine serotonin, CD56, neurone-specific enolase (NSE), chromogranin A and synaptophysin by immunohistochemistry in renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) with special emphasis on patient outcome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied 152 patients with primary RCCs who underwent surgery for the removal of kidney tumours between 1990 and 1999. The mean follow-up was 90 months. The expression of neuroendocrine (NE) markers was determined by immunohistochemical staining using commercially available monoclonal antibodies. Results were correlated with patient age, clinical stage, Fuhrman grade and patient outcome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eight percent of tumours were positive for serotonin, 18% for CD56 and 48% for NSE. Chromogranin A immunostaining was negative and only 1% of the tumours were synaptophysin immunopositive. The NSE immunopositivity was more common in clear cell RCCs than in other subtypes (<it>p </it>= 0.01). The other NE markers did not show any association with the histological subtype. Tumours with an immunopositivity for serotonin had a longer RCC-specific survival and tumours with an immunopositivity for CD56 and NSE had a shorter RCC-specific survival but the difference was not significant. There was no relationship between stage or Fuhrman grade and immunoreactivity for serotonin, CD56 and NSE.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Serotonin, CD56 and NSE but not synaptophysin and chromogranin A are expressed in RCCs. However, the prognostic potential of these markers remains obscure.</p

Blood Donation and Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Men

Background: Although blood donations may reduce body iron stores, to date, prospective data on frequent blood donation and colorectal cancer risk are limited. Methodology/Principal Findings: We tested whether frequent blood donation is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. We prospectively followed 35,121men who provide the information on lifetime number of blood donations in 1992 through 2008. Serum ferritin levels were measured in a random sample of 305 men. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to calculate the multivariable relative risks (RRs, 95%CIs) after adjusting for age and other established colorectal cancer risk factors. We documented 684 incident colorectal cancer cases and 224 deaths from colorectal cancer. The mean serum ferritin levels varied from 178 µg/L for men who did not donate blood to 98 µg/L for men who had at least 30 donations. Age-adjusted results for both incidence and mortality were essentially the same as the multivariable-adjusted results. Comparing with non-donors, the multivariable RRs (95%CIs) for colorectal cancer incidence were 0.92 (0.77, 1.11) for 1–5 donation, 0.85 (0.64, 1.11) for 6–9 donations, 0.96 (0.73, 1.26) for 10–19 donations, 0.91 (0.63, 1.32) for 20–29 donations, and 0.97 (0.68, 1.38) for at least 30 donations (Ptrend = 0.92). The multivariable RRs for colorectal cancer mortality were 0.99 (0.72, 1.36) for 1–5 donation, 0.93 (0.57, 1.51) for 6–9 donations, 0.85 (0.50, 1.42) for 10–19 donations, and 1.14 (0.72, 1.83) for at least 20 donations (Ptrend = 0.82). The results did not vary by cancer sub-sites, intake levels of total iron, heme iron, or family history of colorectal cancer. Conclusions/Significance: Frequent blood donations were not associated with colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in men. Our results do not support an important role of body iron stores in colorectal carcinogenesis

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease:recent developments

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare prion disorder that has been the subject of both professional and public interest following the identification of variant CJD as a zoonotic disorder. There have been recent advances in diagnostic techniques, including real-time quaking-induced conversion and magnetic resonance imaging brain scan, that have allowed more accurate case recognition in all forms of CJD. Although the epidemic of variant CJD is clearly in decline, prevalence studies suggest that it may be premature to be complacent about concerns for public health

Integrating clinicians, knowledge and data: expert-based cooperative analysis in healthcare decision support

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Decision support in health systems is a highly difficult task, due to the inherent complexity of the process and structures involved.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>This paper introduces a new hybrid methodology <it>Expert-based Cooperative Analysis </it>(EbCA), which incorporates explicit prior expert knowledge in data analysis methods, and elicits implicit or tacit expert knowledge (IK) to improve decision support in healthcare systems. EbCA has been applied to two different case studies, showing its usability and versatility: 1) Bench-marking of small mental health areas based on technical efficiency estimated by <it>EbCA-Data Envelopment Analysis (EbCA-DEA)</it>, and 2) Case-mix of schizophrenia based on functional dependency using <it>Clustering Based on Rules (ClBR)</it>. In both cases comparisons towards classical procedures using qualitative explicit prior knowledge were made. Bayesian predictive validity measures were used for comparison with expert panels results. Overall agreement was tested by Intraclass Correlation Coefficient in case "1" and kappa in both cases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>EbCA is a new methodology composed by 6 steps:. 1) Data collection and data preparation; 2) acquisition of "Prior Expert Knowledge" (PEK) and design of the "Prior Knowledge Base" (PKB); 3) PKB-guided analysis; 4) support-interpretation tools to evaluate results and detect inconsistencies (here <it>Implicit Knowledg </it>-IK- might be elicited); 5) incorporation of elicited IK in PKB and repeat till a satisfactory solution; 6) post-processing results for decision support. EbCA has been useful for incorporating PEK in two different analysis methods (DEA and Clustering), applied respectively to assess technical efficiency of small mental health areas and for case-mix of schizophrenia based on functional dependency. Differences in results obtained with classical approaches were mainly related to the IK which could be elicited by using EbCA and had major implications for the decision making in both cases.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This paper presents EbCA and shows the convenience of completing classical data analysis with PEK as a mean to extract relevant knowledge in complex health domains. One of the major benefits of EbCA is iterative elicitation of IK.. Both explicit and tacit or implicit expert knowledge are critical to guide the scientific analysis of very complex decisional problems as those found in health system research.</p