The impact of stapling technique and surgeon specialism on anastomotic failure after right-sided colorectal resection. An international multi-centre, prospective audit

There is little evidence to support choice of technique and configuration for stapled anastomoses after right hemicolectomy and ileocaecal resection. This study aimed to determine the relationship between stapling technique and anastomotic failure

Graviton production with 2 jets at the LHC in large extra dimensions

We study Kaluza-Klein (KK) graviton production in the large extra dimensions model via 2 jets plus missing transverse momentum signatures at the LHC. We make predictions for both the signal and the dominant Zjj and Wjj backgrounds, where we introduce missing P_T-dependent jet selection cuts that ensure the smallness of the 2-jet rate over the 1-jet rate. With the same jet selection cuts, the distributions of the two jets and their correlation with the missing transverse momentum provide additional evidence for the production of an invisible massive object.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, 1 table; Version to be printed in JHE

Free Quarks and Antiquarks versus Hadronic Matter

Meson-meson reactions A(q_1 \bar{q}_1) + B(q_2 \bar{q}_2) to q_1 + \bar{q}_1 + q_2 + \bar{q}_2 in high-temperature hadronic matter are found to produce an appreciable amount of quarks and antiquarks freely moving in hadronic matter and to establish a new mechanism for deconfinement of quarks and antiquarks in hadronic matter.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Precision Measurements and Fermion Geography in the Randall-Sundrum Model Revisited

We re-examine the implications of allowing fermion fields to propagate in the five-dimensional bulk of the Randall-Sundrum (RS) localized gravity model. We find that mixing between the Standard Model top quark and its Kaluza Klein excitations generates large contributions to the rho parameter and consequently restricts the fundamental RS scale to lie above 100 TeV. To circumvent this bound we propose a `mixed' scenario which localizes the third generation fermions on the TeV brane and allows the lighter generations to propagate in the full five-dimensional bulk. We show that this construction naturally reproduces the observed m_c / m_t and m_s / m_b hierarchies. We explore the signatures of this scenario in precision measurements and future high energy collider experiments. We find that the region of parameter space that addresses the hierarchies of fermion Yukawa couplings permits a Higgs boson with a mass of 500 GeV and remains otherwise invisible at the LHC. However, the entire parameter region consistent with electroweak precision data is testable at future linear colliders. We briefly discuss possible constraints on this scenario arising from flavor changing neutral currents.Comment: 44 pages, 20 ps files; VII, typos fixed and refs adde

The Sexual Impact of Infertility Among Women Seeking Fertility Care.

IntroductionInfertility affects approximately 6.7 million women in the United States. Couples with infertility have significantly more anxiety, depression, and stress. This is compounded by the fact that almost 40% of couples undergoing assisted reproduction technology still cannot conceive, which can have an ongoing effect on quality of life, marital adjustment, and sexual impact.AimTo assess the sexual impact of infertility in women undergoing fertility treatment.MethodsThis study is a cross-sectional analysis of women in infertile couples seeking treatment at academic or private infertility clinics. Basic demographic information was collected. Respondents were surveyed regarding sexual impact and perception of their infertility etiology. Multivariate regression analyses were used to identify factors independently associated with increased sexual impact.Main outcome measureSexual impact of perceived fertility diagnosis.ResultsIn total, 809 women met the inclusion criteria, of whom 437 (54%) agreed to participate and 382 completed the sexual impact items. Most of the infertility was female factor only (58.8%), whereas 30.4% of infertility was a combination of male and female factors, 7.3% was male factor only, and 3.5% was unexplained infertility. In bivariate and multivariate analyses, women who perceived they had female factor only infertility reported greater sexual impact compared with woman with male factor infertility (P = .01). Respondents who were younger than 40 years experienced a significantly higher sexual impact than respondents older than 40 years (P < .01). When stratified by primary and secondary infertility, respondents with primary infertility overall reported higher sexual impact scores.ConclusionIn women seeking fertility treatment, younger age and female factor infertility were associated with increased sexual impact and thus these women are potentially at higher risk of sexual dysfunction. Providers should consider the role young age and an infertility diagnosis plays in a women's sexual well-being

Kl3γ+K^+_{l3\gamma} decays revisited: branching ratios and T-odd momenta correlations

We calculate the branching ratios of the $K^+ \to \pi^0 l^+ \nu_l\gamma (l = e, \mu)$ decays, and the T-odd triple momenta correlations $\xi=\vec{q}\cdot[\vec{p}_l \times \vec{p}_\pi]/M^3_K$, due to the electromagnetic final state interaction, in these processes. The contributions on the order of $\omega^{-1}$ and $\omega^0$ to the corresponding amplitudes are treated exactly. For the branching ratios, the corrections on the order of $\omega$ are estimated and demonstrated to be small. We compare the results with those of other authors. In some cases our results differ considerably from the previous ones.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures; references adde

Probing Yukawa Unification with K and B Mixing

We consider corrections to the unification of down-quark and charged-lepton Yukawa couplings in supersymmetric GUTs, which links the large nu_tau-nu_mu mixing angle to b -> s transitions. These corrections generically occur in simple grand-unified models with small Higgs representations and affect s -> d and b -> d transitions via the mixing of the corresponding right-handed superpartners. On the basis of a specific SUSY-SO(10) model, we analyze the constraints from K-Kbar and B-Bbar mixing on the additional \tilde{d}_R-\tilde{s}_R rotation angle theta. We find that epsilon_K already sets a stringent bound on theta, theta^{max}=O(1 degree), indicating a very specific flavor structure of the correction operators. The impact of the large neutrino mixings on the unitarity triangle analysis is also briefly discussed, as well as their ability to account for the sizeable CP-violating phase observed recently in B_s -> psi phi decays.Comment: 19 pages. Discussion in Sec. 5.2 slightly extended; minor numerical modifications in Secs. 5.1 to 5.4, conclusions unchanged. Version to appear in JHE

Uptake of systematic reviews and meta-analyses based on individual participant data in clinical practice guidelines: descriptive study.

To establish the extent to which systematic reviews and meta-analyses of individual participant data (IPD) are being used to inform the recommendations included in published clinical guidelines

Isospin constraints from/on B->pipi

The Standard Model constraints on alpha which can be derived from the B-> pipi decays are revisited in some depth. As experimental inputs, the three branching ratios, the two CP parameters Spipi and Cpipi and/or the value of alpha as determined by the global CKM fit are used. The constraints discussed here are model independent in the sense that they rely only on Isospin symmetry, following the Gronau-London proposal. A new bound on B00 and the function C00(B00) are introduced. The Grossman-Quinn bound is rediscussed. A close form expression is given for alpha as a function of the measurements. Various scenarii for the future of the isospin analysis are explored. To probe the Standard Model the (B00,C00) plane is introduced.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, Submitted to Eur. Phys. J.