9,256 research outputs found
Exclusive Hadronic D Decays to eta' and eta
Hadronic decay modes and
are studied in the generalized
factorization approach. Form factors for transitions
are carefully evaluated by taking into account the wave function normalization
of the eta and eta'. The predicted branching ratios are generally in agreement
with experiment except for and
; the calculated decay rates for the first two decay modes
are too small by an order of magnitude. We show that the weak decays and followed by resonance-induced final-state
interactions (FSI), which are amenable technically, are able to enhance the
branching ratios of and dramatically
without affecting the agreement between theory and experiment for and . We argue that it is difficult to understand
the observed large decay rates of and
simultaneously; FSI, W-annihilation and the production of excess eta' from
gluons are not helpful in this regard. The large discrepancy between the
factorization hypothesis and experiment for the ratio of
and remains as an enigma.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Phys. Rev. D. Form factors for D to
eta and eta' transitions are slightly change
Struggling and juggling: a comparison of assessment loads in research and teaching-intensive universities
In spite of the rising tide of metrics in UK higher education, there has been scant attention paid to assessment loads, when evidence demonstrates that heavy demands lead to surface learning. Our study seeks to redress the situation by defining assessment loads and comparing them across research-and teaching intensive universities. We clarify the concept of âassessment loadâ in response to findings about high volumes of summative assessment on modular degrees. We define assessment load across whole undergraduate degrees, according to four measures: the volume of summative assessment; volume of formative assessment; proportion of examinations to coursework; number of different varieties of assessment. All four factors contribute to the weight of an assessment load, and influence studentsâ approaches to learning. Our research compares programme assessment data from 73 programmes in 14 UK universities, across two institutional categories. Research-intensives have higher summative assessment loads and a greater proportion of examinations; teaching-intensives have higher varieties of assessment. Formative assessment does not differ significantly across both university groups. These findings pose particular challenges for students in different parts of the sector. Our study questions the wisdom that âmoreâ is always better, proposing that lighter assessment loads may make room for âslowâ and deep learning
Final-State Phases in Baryon-Antibaryon Decays
The recent observation of the decay \ob \to \Lambda_c^+ \bar p suggests
that related decays may soon be visible at colliders. It is shown how
these decays can shed light on strong final-state phases and amplitudes
involving the spectator quark, both of which are normally expected to be small
in B decays.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D, references and
discussion of helicity amplitudes adde
Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for refractory stiff-person syndrome: the UK experience
Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) is a rare immune-mediated disabling neurological disorder characterised by muscle spasms and high GAD antibodies. There are only a few case reports of autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) as a treatment for SPS.
Objective
To describe the UK experience of treating refractory SPS with auto-HSCT.
Methods
Between 2015 and 2019, 10 patients with SPS were referred to our institution for consideration of auto-HSCT. Eight patients were deemed suitable for autograft and four were treated. Of the treated patients, three had classical SPS and one had the progressive encephalomyelitis with rigidity and myoclonus variant. All patients were significantly disabled and had failed conventional immunosuppressive therapy. Patients were mobilised with Cyclophosphamide (Cy) 2 g/m2â+âG-CSF and conditioned with Cy 200 mg/kgâ+âATG followed by auto-HSCT.
Results
Despite their significantly reduced performance status, all patients tolerated the procedure with no unexpected toxicities. Following autograft, all patients improved symptomatically and stopped all forms of immunosuppressive therapies. Two patients were able to ambulate independently from being wheelchair dependent. One patientâs walking distance improved from 300 meters to 5 miles and one patientâs ambulation improved from being confined to a wheelchair to be able to walk with a frame. Two patients became seronegative for anti-GAD antibodies and normalised their neurophysiological abnormalities.
Conclusions
Auto-HSCT is an intensive but well tolerated and effective treatment option for patients with SPS refractory to conventional immunotherapy. Further work is warranted to optimise patient selection and establish the efficacy, long-term safety, and cost-effectiveness of this treatment
Enhanced Direct CP Violation in
We study direct CP violation in the hadronic decay , including the effect of mixing. We find
that the CP violating asymmetry is strongly dependent on the CKM matrix
elements, especially the Wolfenstein parameter . For fixed (the
effective parameter associated with factorization), the CP violating asymmetry,
, has a maximum of order when the invariant mass of the
pair is in the vicinity of the resonance. The
sensitivity of the asymmetry, , to is small. Moreover, if is
constrained using the latest experimental branching ratios from the CLEO
collaboration, we find that the sign of is always positive. Thus,
a measurement of direct CP violation in would
remove the mod ambiguity in .Comment: 37 pages, 7 figure
Can we consider fludarabine/ full dose I.V. busulfan a reduced intensity conditioning regimen?
Upper and Lower Limits on Neutralino WIMP Mass and Spin--Independent Scattering Cross Section, and Impact of New (g-2)_{mu} Measurement
We derive the allowed ranges of the spin--independent interaction cross
section \sigsip for the elastic scattering of neutralinos on proton for wide
ranges of parameters of the general Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We
investigate the effects of the lower limits on Higgs and superpartner masses
from colliders, as well as the impact of constraints from \bsgamma and the
new measurement of \gmtwo on the upper and lower limits on \sigsip. We
further explore the impact of the neutralino relic density, including
coannihilation, and of theoretical assumptions about the largest allowed values
of the supersymmetric parameters. For , requiring the latter to lie
below 1\tev leads to \sigsip\gsim 10^{-11}\pb at \mchi\sim100\gev and
\sigsip\gsim 10^{-8}\pb at \mchi\sim1\tev. When the supersymmetric
parameters are allowed above 1\tev, for 440\gev \lsim \mchi\lsim 1020 \gev
we derive a {\em parameter--independent lower limit} of \sigsip \gsim 2\times
10^{-12}\pb. (No similar lower limits can be set for nor for
1020\gev\lsim\mchi\lsim2.6\tev.) Requiring \abundchi<0.3 implies a {\em
parameter--independent upper limit} \mchi\lsim2.6\tev. The new \epem--based
measurement of restricts \mchi\lsim 350\gev at CL
and \mchi\lsim515\gev at CL, and implies . The largest
allowed values of \sigsip have already become accessible to recent
experimental searches.Comment: LaTeX, 17 pages, 9 eps figures. Version to appear in JHE
The concept of solidarity: emerging from the theoretical shadows?
The concept of solidarity has been relatively neglected by social scientists since Durkheim's pioneering work in the late 19th century. The discipline of politics has been guilty of overlooking this 'subjective' element of community life, but recent works by StjernĂž and Brunkhorst reflect a growing awareness of the theoretical significance of the concept. Whereas early liberal attempts to theorise solidarity took the nation state to be the appropriate community for its realisation, the emergence of globalisation raises the possibility of human solidarity developing in the global community. Traditional forms of solidarity have been dissipated by the social changes accompanying globalisation, but they were often locked into the defence of particular interests. New forms may be emerging to rekindle the broader vision of human solidarity. Recent work by writers such as Habermas, Honneth, Rorty and Touraine focuses on widening and deepening democratic participation and/or the articulation of our ethical obligations in various ways. It is argued here that these perspectives need to be supplemented by a radical humanist approach grounded in a normative theory of human self-realisation
Electromagnetic Decays of Heavy Baryons
The electromagnetic decays of the ground state baryon multiplets with one
heavy quark are calculated using Heavy Hadron Chiral Perturbation Theory. The
M1 and E2 amplitudes for S^{*}--> S gamma, S^{*} --> T gamma and S --> T gamma
are separately computed. All M1 transitions are calculated up to
O(1/Lambda_chi^2). The E2 amplitudes contribute at the same order for S^{*}-->
S gamma, while for S^{*} --> T gamma they first appear at O(1/(m_Q
\Lambda_\chi^2)) and for S --> T gamma are completely negligible. The
renormalization of the chiral loops is discussed and relations among different
decay amplitudes are derived. We find that chiral loops involving
electromagnetic interactions of the light pseudoscalar mesons provide a sizable
enhancement of these decay widths. Furthermore, we obtain an absolute
prediction for the widths of Xi^{0'(*)}_c--> Xi^{0}_c gamma and Xi^{-'(*)}_b-->
Xi^{-}_b gamma. Our results are compared to other estimates existing in the
literature.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
From planning the port/city to planning the port-city : exploring the economic interface in European port cities
In last three decades, planning agencies of most ports have institutionally evolved into a (semi-) independent port authority. The rationale behind this process is that port authorities are able to react more quickly to changing logistical and spatial preferences of maritime firms, hence increasing the competitiveness of ports. Although these dedicated port authorities have proven to be largely successful, new economic, social, and environmental challenges are quickly catching up on these port governance models, and particularly leads to (spatial) policy âconflictsâ between port and city. This chapter starts by assessing this conflict and argue that the conflict is partly a result of dominantâoften also academicâspatial representations of the port city as two separate entities. To escape this divisive conception of contemporary port cities, this chapter presents a relational visualisation method that is able to analyse the economic interface between port and city. Based on our results, we reflect back on our proposition and argue that the core challenge today for researchers and policy makers is acknowledging the bias of port/city, being arguably a self-fulfilling prophecy. Hence, we turn the idea of (planning the) port/city conflicts into planning the port-cityâs strengths and weaknesses
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