528 research outputs found
Detection of HIV-1 infection in dried blood spots from a 12-year-old ABO bedside test card
Background and Objectives: We tested dried blood from an ABO bedside test card which had been stored at room temperature for 12 years, to prove that a patient with HIV-1 infection had been infected by blood transfusion. Materials and Methods: Immunoblots for HIV-1 antibodies and threefold PCRs with half-nested primers for the HIV-1 integrase gene were done with eluates from the dried blood spots. Results: HIV-1 antibodies and HIV-1 DNA could be detected in the sample from one unit of blood, but not from the two other units or from the recipient before transfusion. Conclusion: Further studies should be done on the validity of stored dried blood as an alternative to the storage of frozen donor serum for several years for `look-back' studies
Constrained fitting of three-point functions
We determine matrix elements for semileptonic decay. The use of the
constrained fitting method and multiple smearings for both two- and three-point
correlators allows an improved calculation of the form factors.Comment: Talk given at Lattice2001(heavyquark), 3 pages, 4 figure
Where does the hot electroweak phase transition end?
We give the nonperturbative phase diagram of the four-dimensional hot
electroweak phase transition. A systematic extrapolation is done. Our
results show that the finite temperature SU(2)-Higgs phase transition is of
first order for Higgs-boson masses GeV. The full
four-dimensional result agrees completely with that of the dimensional
reduction approximation. This fact is of particular importance, because it
indicates that the fermionic sector of the Standard Model (SM) can be included
perturbatively. We obtain that the Higgs-boson endpoint mass in the SM is GeV. Taking into account the LEP Higgs-boson mass lower bound excludes
any electroweak phase transition in the SM.Comment: LATTICE98(electroweak), presented by Z. Fodor. Latex, 3 pages, 3 figu
res. Comment line change
Sabotage in Contests: A Survey
A contest is a situation in which individuals expend irretrievable resources to win valuable prize(s). ‘Sabotage’ is a deliberate and costly act of damaging a rival’s' likelihood of winning the contest. Sabotage can be observed in, e.g., sports, war, promotion tournaments, political or marketing campaigns. In this article, we provide a model and various perspectives on such sabotage activities and review the economics literature analyzing the act of sabotage in contests. We discuss the theories and evidence highlighting the means of sabotage, why sabotage occurs, and the effects of sabotage on individual players and on overall welfare, along with possible mechanisms to reduce sabotage. We note that most sabotage activities are aimed at the ablest player, the possibility of sabotage reduces productive effort exerted by the players, and sabotage may lessen the effectiveness of public policies, such as affirmative action, or information revelation in contests. We discuss various policies that a designer may employ to counteract sabotage activities. We conclude by pointing out some areas of future research
Endpoint of the hot electroweak phase transition
We give the nonperturbative phase diagram of the four-dimensional hot
electroweak phase transition. The Monte-Carlo analysis is done on lattices with
different lattice spacings (). A systematic extrapolation is done.
Our results show that the finite temperature SU(2)-Higgs phase transition is of
first order for Higgs-boson masses GeV. At this endpoint the
phase transition is of second order, whereas above it only a rapid cross-over
can be seen. The full four-dimensional result agrees completely with that of
the dimensional reduction approximation. This fact is of particular importance,
because it indicates that the fermionic sector of the Standard Model can be
included perturbatively. We obtain that the Higgs-boson endpoint mass in the
Standard Model is GeV. Taking into account the LEP Higgs-boson
mass lower bound excludes any electroweak phase transition in the Standard
Model.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, 4 figure
The costs of preventing and treating chagas disease in Colombia
Background: The objective of this study is to report the costs of Chagas disease in Colombia, in terms of vector disease control programmes and the costs of providing care to chronic Chagas disease patients with cardiomyopathy.
Methods: Data were collected from Colombia in 2004. A retrospective review of costs for vector control programmes carried out in rural areas included 3,084 houses surveyed for infestation with triatomine bugs and 3,305 houses sprayed with insecticide. A total of 63 patient records from 3 different hospitals were selected for a retrospective review of resource use. Consensus methodology with local experts was used to estimate care seeking behaviour and to complement observed data on utilisation. Findings: The mean cost per house per entomological survey was of 2004), whereas the mean cost of spraying a house with insecticide was 46.4 and 1,028, whereas lifetime costs averaged $11,619 per patient. Chronic Chagas disease patients have limited access to healthcare, with an estimated 22% of patients never seeking care. Conclusion: Chagas disease is a preventable condition that affects mostly poor populations living in rural areas. The mean costs of surveying houses for infestation and spraying infested houses were low in comparison to other studies and in line with treatment costs. Care seeking behaviour and the type of insurance affiliation seem to play a role in the facilities and type of care that patients use, thus raising concerns about equitable access to care. Preventing Chagas disease in Colombia would be cost-effective and could contribute to prevent inequalities in health and healthcare.Wellcome Trus
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