Statistical Analyses of Mutually Exclusive Competing Risks in Neonatal Studies

Following the well-established approach on how to deal with competing risks in the situation of time-to-event endpoints, cumulative incidences have to be used to analyse each single category of an outcome in the situation of competing risks without a time-to-event structure as well. This can be easily done by applying a simple chi-square test.Nevertheless, these categorial outcomes are usually combined to get a composed dichotomous outcome to face the problem on how to deal with a significant chi-square omnibus test in the situation of more than 1 df, i.e. > 2x2 tables.The aim of this report is to question the practice of combined, i.e. composed dichotomized, endpoints because important information is lost and the real effect of interest in confirmatory phase III studies may only become apparent in explorative secondary analyses.It is shown – by using hypothetical data and by recalculation of published phase III studies' results – how the use of a chi-square omnibus test and the scarcely known post-hoc testing answers the real question of interest within one primary confirmatory analysis. This method reveals insight into the actual effect of a new treatment or therapy on the event of interest in the presence of a mutually exclusive competing risk

Spectral Properties of Quasiparticle Excitations Induced by Magnetic Moments in Superconductors

The consequences of localized, classical magnetic moments in superconductors are explored and their effect on the spectral properties of the intragap bound states is studied. Above a critical moment, a localized quasiparticle excitation in an s-wave superconductor is spontaneously created near a magnetic impurity, inducing a zero-temperature quantum transition. In this transition, the spin quantum number of the ground state changes from zero to 1/2, while the total charge remains the same. In contrast, the spin-unpolarized ground state of a d-wave superconductor is found to be stable for any value of the magnetic moment when the normal-state energy spectrum possesses particle-hole symmetry. The effect of impurity scattering on the quasiparticle states is interpreted in the spirit of relevant symmetries of the clean superconductor. The results obtained by the non-self-consistent (T matrix) and the self-consistent mean-field approximations are compared and qualitative agreement between the two schemes is found in the regime where the coherence length is longer than the Fermi length.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev. B55, May 1st (1997

Search for solar axion emission from 7Li and D(p,gamma)3He nuclear decays with the CAST gamma-ray calorimeter

We present the results of a search for a high-energy axion emission signal from 7Li (0.478 MeV) and D(p,gamma)3He (5.5 MeV) nuclear transitions using a low-background gamma-ray calorimeter during Phase I of the CAST experiment. These so-called "hadronic axions" could provide a solution to the long-standing strong-CP problem and can be emitted from the solar core from nuclear M1 transitions. This is the first such search for high-energy pseudoscalar bosons with couplings to nucleons conducted using a helioscope approach. No excess signal above background was found.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, final version to be published in JCA

The Q2Q^2-dependence of the generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral for the deuteron, proton and neutron

The Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) sum rule connects the anomalous contribution to the magnetic moment of the target nucleus with an energy-weighted integral of the difference of the helicity-dependent photoabsorption cross sections. The data collected by HERMES with a deuterium target are presented together with a re-analysis of previous measurements on the proton. This provides a measurement of the generalised GDH integral covering simultaneously the nucleon-resonance and the deep inelastic scattering regions. The contribution of the nucleon-resonance region is seen to decrease rapidly with increasing $Q^2$. The DIS contribution is sizeable over the full measured range, even down to the lowest measured $Q^2$. As expected, at higher $Q^2$ the data are found to be in agreement with previous measurements of the first moment of $g_1$. From data on the deuteron and proton, the GDH integral for the neutron has been derived and the proton--neutron difference evaluated. This difference is found to satisfy the fundamental Bjorken sum rule at $Q^2 = 5$ GeV$^2$.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Measurement of the Proton Spin Structure Function g1p with a Pure Hydrogen Target

A measurement of the proton spin structure function g1p(x,Q^2) in deep-inelastic scattering is presented. The data were taken with the 27.6 GeV longitudinally polarised positron beam at HERA incident on a longitudinally polarised pure hydrogen gas target internal to the storage ring. The kinematic range is 0.021<x<0.85 and 0.8 GeV^2<Q^2<20 GeV^2. The integral Int_{0.021}^{0.85} g1p(x)dx evaluated at Q0^2 of 2.5 GeV^2 is 0.122+/-0.003(stat.)+/-0.010(syst.).Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, RevTeX late

Spallation reactions. A successful interplay between modeling and applications

The spallation reactions are a type of nuclear reaction which occur in space by interaction of the cosmic rays with interstellar bodies. The first spallation reactions induced with an accelerator took place in 1947 at the Berkeley cyclotron (University of California) with 200 MeV deuterons and 400 MeV alpha beams. They highlighted the multiple emission of neutrons and charged particles and the production of a large number of residual nuclei far different from the target nuclei. The same year R. Serber describes the reaction in two steps: a first and fast one with high-energy particle emission leading to an excited remnant nucleus, and a second one, much slower, the de-excitation of the remnant. In 2010 IAEA organized a worskhop to present the results of the most widely used spallation codes within a benchmark of spallation models. If one of the goals was to understand the deficiencies, if any, in each code, one remarkable outcome points out the overall high-quality level of some models and so the great improvements achieved since Serber. Particle transport codes can then rely on such spallation models to treat the reactions between a light particle and an atomic nucleus with energies spanning from few tens of MeV up to some GeV. An overview of the spallation reactions modeling is presented in order to point out the incomparable contribution of models based on basic physics to numerous applications where such reactions occur. Validations or benchmarks, which are necessary steps in the improvement process, are also addressed, as well as the potential future domains of development. Spallation reactions modeling is a representative case of continuous studies aiming at understanding a reaction mechanism and which end up in a powerful tool.Comment: 59 pages, 54 figures, Revie

Measurement of single-spin azimuthal asymmetries in semi-inclusive electroproduction of pions and kaons on a longitudinally polarised deuterium target

Single-spin asymmetries have been measured for semi-inclusive electroproduction of $\pi^+$, $\pi^-$, $\pi^0$ and $K^+$ mesons in deep-inelastic scattering off a longitudinally polarised deuterium target. The asymmetries appear in the distribution of the hadrons in the azimuthal angle $\phi$ around the virtual photon direction, relative to the lepton scattering plane. The corresponding analysing powers in the $\sin \phi$ moment of the cross section are $0.012 \pm 0.002 {(stat.)} \pm 0.002 {(syst.)}$ for $\pi^+$, $0.006 \pm 0.003 {(stat.)} \pm 0.002 {(syst.)}$ for $\pi^-$, $0.021 \pm 0.005 {(stat.)} \pm 0.003 {(syst.)}$ for $\pi^0$ and $0.013 \pm 0.006 {(stat.)} \pm 0.003 {(syst.)}$ for $K^+$. The $\sin 2\phi$ moments are compatible with zero for all particles.Comment: Revised version shortened 9 pages, 3 tables, 7 figure

Determination of the Deep Inelastic Contribution to the Generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Integral for the Proton and Neutron

The virtual photon absorption cross section differences [sigma_1/2-sigma_3/2] for the proton and neutron have been determined from measurements of polarised cross section asymmetries in deep inelastic scattering of 27.5 GeV longitudinally polarised positrons from polarised 1H and 3He internal gas targets. The data were collected in the region above the nucleon resonances in the kinematic range nu < 23.5 GeV and 0.8 GeV**2 < Q**2 < 12 GeV**2. For the proton the contribution to the generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral was found to be substantial and must be included for an accurate determination of the full integral. Furthermore the data are consistent with a QCD next-to-leading order fit based on previous deep inelastic scattering data. Therefore higher twist effects do not appear significant.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, revte

Observation of a Coherence Length Effect in Exclusive Rho^0 Electroproduction

Exclusive incoherent electroproduction of the rho^0(770) meson from 1H, 2H, 3He, and 14N targets has been studied by the HERMES experiment at squared four-momentum transfer Q**2>0.4 GeV**2 and positron energy loss nu from 9 to 20 GeV. The ratio of the 14N to 1H cross sections per nucleon, known as the nuclear transparency, was found to decrease with increasing coherence length of quark-antiquark fluctuations of the virtual photon. The data provide clear evidence of the interaction of the quark- antiquark fluctuations with the nuclear medium.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 3 figure

Double-Spin Asymmetry in the Cross Section for Exclusive rho^0 Production in Lepton-Proton Scattering

Evidence for a positive longitudinal double-spin asymmetry = 0.24 +-0.11 (stat) +-0.02 (syst) in the cross section for exclusive diffractive rho^0(770) vector meson production in polarised lepton-proton scattering was observed by the HERMES experiment. The longitudinally polarised 27.56 GeV HERA positron beam was scattered off a longitudinally polarised pure hydrogen gas target. The average invariant mass of the photon-proton system has a value of = 4.9 GeV, while the average negative squared four-momentum of the virtual photon is = 1.7 GeV^2. The ratio of the present result to the corresponding spin asymmetry in inclusive deep-inelastic scattering is in agreement with an early theoretical prediction based on the generalised vector meson dominance model.Comment: 10 pages, 4 embedded figures, LaTe