3,975 research outputs found
Semileptonic decays of the standard Higgs boson
The Higgs boson decay into a pair of real or virtual W bosons, with one of
them decaying leptonically, is predicted within the Standard Model to have the
largest branching fraction of all Higgs decays that involve an isolated
electron or muon, for M_h > 120 GeV. We compute analytically the
fully-differential width for this h -> l \nu jj decay at tree level, and then
explore some multi-dimensional cuts that preserve the region of large signal.
Future searches for semileptonic decays at the Tevatron and LHC, employing
fully-differential information as outlined here, may be essential for ruling
out or in the Higgs boson and for characterizing a Higgs signal.Comment: 17 pages, 5 .eps figure
The LHC Phenomenology of Vectorlike Confinement
We investigate in detail the LHC phenomenology of "vectorlike confinement",
where the Standard Model is augmented by a new confining gauge interaction and
new light fermions that carry vectorlike charges under both the Standard Model
and the new gauge group. If the new interaction confines at the TeV scale, this
framework gives rise to a wide range of exotic collider signatures such as the
production of a vector resonance that decays to a pair of collider-stable
charged massive particles (a "di-CHAMP" resonance), to a pair of
collider-stable massive colored particles (a "di-R-hadron resonance), to
multiple photons, s and s via two intermediate scalars, and/or to
multi-jet final states. To study these signals at the LHC, we set up two
benchmark models: one for the di-CHAMP and multi-photon signals, and the other
for the di-R-hadron and multijet signals. For the di-CHAMP/multi-photon model,
Standard Model backgrounds are negligible, and we show that a full
reconstruction of the spectrum is possible, providing powerful evidence for
vectorlike confinement. For the di-R-hadron/multijet model, we point out that
in addition to the di-R-hadron signal, the rate of the production of four
R-hadrons can also be sizable at the LHC. This, together with the multi-jet
signals studied in earlier work, makes it possible to single out vectorlike
confinement as the underlying dynamics.Comment: 32 pages, 28 figures. Several typos fixed, one paragraph added
elaborating choice of benchmarks. Version accepted by JHEP
Zeaxanthin Dipalmitate Therapeutically Improves Hepatic Functions in an Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Model through Modulating MAPK Pathway
published_or_final_versio
The effect of immunomodulatory drugs on aortic stenosis: a Mendelian randomisation analysis
There are currently no approved pharmacological treatment options for aortic stenosis (AS), and there are limited identified drug targets for this chronic condition. It remains unclear whether inflammation plays a role in AS pathogenesis and whether immunomodulation could become a therapeutic target. We evaluated the potentially causal association between inflammation and AS by investigating the genetically proxied effects of tocilizumab (IL6 receptor, IL6R, inhibitor), canakinumab (IL1β inhibitor) and colchicine (β-tubulin inhibitor) through a Mendelian randomisation (MR) approach. Genetic proxies for these drugs were identified as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene, enhancer or promoter regions of IL6R, IL1β or β-tubulin gene isoforms, respectively, that were significantly associated with serum C-reactive protein (CRP) in a large European genome-wide association study (GWAS; 575,531 participants). These were paired with summary statistics from a large GWAS of AS in European patients (653,867 participants) to then perform primary inverse-variance weighted random effect and sensitivity MR analyses for each exposure. This analysis showed that genetically proxied tocilizumab was associated with reduced risk of AS (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.45–0.70 per unit decrease in genetically predicted log-transformed CRP). Genetically proxied canakinumab was not associated with risk of AS (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.51–1.26), and only one suitable SNP was identified to proxy the effect of colchicine (OR 34.37, 95% CI 1.99–592.89). The finding that genetically proxied tocilizumab was associated with reduced risk of AS is concordant with an inflammatory hypothesis of AS pathogenesis. Inhibition of IL6R may be a promising therapeutic target for AS management
Top Quarks as a Window to String Resonances
We study the discovery potential of string resonances decaying to
final state at the LHC. We point out that top quark pair production is a
promising and an advantageous channel for studying such resonances, due to
their low Standard Model background and unique kinematics. We study the
invariant mass distribution and angular dependence of the top pair production
cross section via exchanges of string resonances. The mass ratios of these
resonances and the unusual angular distribution may help identify their
fundamental properties and distinguish them from other new physics. We find
that string resonances for a string scale below 4 TeV can be detected via the
channel, either from reconstructing the semi-leptonic
decay or recent techniques in identifying highly boosted tops.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure
Setting research priorities for sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health in humanitarian settings
Background: An estimated 70.8 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, 75% of whom are women and children. Prioritizing a global research agenda to inform guidance, service delivery, access to and quality of services is essential to improve the survival and health of women, children and adolescents in humanitarian settings. / Method: A mixed-methods design was adapted from the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methodology to solicit priority research questions across the sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (SRMNCAH) domains in humanitarian settings. The first step (CHNRI) involved data collection and scoring of perceived priority questions, using a web-based survey over two rounds (first, to generate the questions and secondly, to score them). Over 1000 stakeholders from across the globe were approached; 177 took part in the first survey and 69 took part in the second. These research questions were prioritized by generating a research prioritization score (RPP) across four dimensions: answerability, program feasibility, public health relevance and equity. A Delphi process of 29 experts followed, where the 50 scored and prioritized CHRNI research questions were shortlisted. The top five questions from the CHNRI scored list for each SRMNCAH domain were voted on, rendering a final list per domain. / Results: A total of 280 questions were generated. Generated questions covered sexual and reproductive health (SRH) (n = 90, 32.1%), maternal health (n = 75, 26.8%), newborn health (n = 42, 15.0%), child health (n = 43, 15.4%), and non-SRH aspects of adolescent health (n = 31, 11.1%). A shortlist of the top ten prioritized questions for each domain were generated on the basis of the computed RPPs. During the Delphi process, the prioritized questions, based on the CHNRI process, were further refined. Five questions from the shortlist of each of the SRMNCAH domain were formulated, resulting in 25 priority questions across SRMNCAH. For example, one of the prioritized SRH shortlisted and prioritized research question included: “What are effective strategies to implement good quality comprehensive contraceptive services (long-acting, short-acting and EC) for women and girls in humanitarian settings?” / Conclusion: Data needs, effective intervention strategies and approaches, as well as greater efficiency and quality during delivery of care in humanitarian settings were prioritized. The findings from this research provide guidance for researchers, program implementers, as well as donor agencies on SRMNCAH research priorities in humanitarian settings. A global research agenda could save the lives of those who are at greatest risk and vulnerability as well as increase opportunities for translation and innovation for SRMNCAH in humanitarian settings
Stop the Top Background of the Stop Search
The main background for the supersymmetric stop direct production search
comes from Standard Model ttbar events. For the single-lepton search channel,
we introduce a few kinematic variables to further suppress this background by
focusing on its dileptonic and semileptonic topologies. All are defined to have
end points in the background, but not signal distributions. They can
substantially improve the stop signal significance and mass reach when combined
with traditional kinematic variables such as the total missing transverse
energy. Among them, our variable M^W_T2 has the best overall performance
because it uses all available kinematic information, including the on-shell
mass of both W's. We see 20%-30% improvement on the discovery significance and
estimate that the 8 TeV LHC run with 20 fb-1 of data would be able to reach an
exclusion limit of 650-700 GeV for direct stop production, as long as the stop
decays dominantly to the top quark and a light stable neutralino. Most of the
mass range required for the supersymmetric solution of the naturalness problem
in the standard scenario can be covered.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
Two Simple W' Models for the Early LHC
W' gauge bosons are good candidates for early LHC discovery. We define two
reference models, one containing a W'_R and one containing a W'_L, which may
serve as ``simplified models'' for presenting experimental results of W'
searches at the LHC. We present the Tevatron bounds on each model and compute
the constraints from precision electroweak observables. We find that indirect
low-energy constraints on the W'_L are quite strong. However, for a W'_R
coupling to right-handed fermions there exists a sizeable region in parameter
space beyond the bounds from the Tevatron and low-energy precision measurements
where even 50 inverse picobarns of integrated LHC luminosity are sufficient to
discover the W'_R. The most promising final states are two leptons and two
jets, or one lepton recoiling against a ``neutrino jet''. A neutrino jet is a
collimated object consisting of a hard lepton and two jets arising from the
decay of a highly boosted massive neutrino.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. v2: references adde
- …