Why a Scalar Explanation of the L3 Events is Implausible

We investigate the question of whether an additional light neutral scalar can explain the $l^+ l^- \gamma \gamma$ events with high invariant mass photon pairs recently observed by the L3 collaboration. We parameterize the low energy effects of the unknown dynamics in terms of higher dimensional effective operators. We show that operators which allow for the scalar to be produced and decay into photon pairs will allow other observable processes that should have been seen in current experiments.Comment: Latex 14 pages (1 figure not included). MIT preprint CTP-219

Six-fermion production at e+e- colliders

The class of six-fermion production processes at e+e- colliders comprises very interesting particle reactions, such as the production of top-quark pairs and of Higgs bosons in the intermediate Higgs mass range, the scattering of massive gauge bosons, and triple gauge-boson production. The Monte Carlo event generator LUSIFER is designed for the analysis of such processes. A few illustrating results obtained with LUSIFER are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, latex, 4 eps files, to appear in the proceedings of the "International Workshop on Linear Colliders", August 26-30, 2002, Jeju Island, Kore

Oxycodone for Cancer Pain in Adult Patients

Clinical Question: Is oxycodone associated with greater efficacy and fewer adverse events compared with alternative analgesics for cancer pain? Bottom Line: Oxycodone was not associated with superior cancer pain relief or fewer adverse effects compared with other strong opioids, such as morphine or oxymorphone. However, the quality of the evidence was low. Many patients with cancer experience moderate or severe pain requiring treatment with strong opioids. However, not all opioids are well tolerated by all patients. This JAMA Clinical Evidence Synopsis summarizes a published Cochrane review1 that examined the association of oxycodone (any formulation or route of administration) compared with placebo or an active drug (including alternative forms of oxycodone) for treating cancer pain in adults

Subventionssysteme und Wettbewerbsbedingungen in der EG: Theoretische Analysen und Fallbeispiele

Das Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft hat das Institut für Weltwirtschaft beauftragt zu untersuchen, wie sich sektorspezifische, regionale und allgemeine Beihilfensysteme auf die Wettbewerbsbedingungen innerhalb der EG auswirken. Das Institut legt hiermit den Endbericht dieser Untersuchung vor. In der vorliegenden Studie werden zunächst Ziele, Ansatzpunkte und Umfang der Subventionspolitik in Belgien, der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Frankreich, Irland, Italien und dem Vereinigten Königreich sowie die Maßnahmen der EG im Rahmen der Beihilfenaufsicht dargestellt. In der anschließenden Analyse wird gezeigt, daß nicht nur die sektoralen Subventionen, sondern auch die regionalen und die allgemeinen Förderungsmaßnahmenden den Wettbewerb auf den Produkt- und Faktormärkten verzerren. Außerdem wird anhand von zwei Fallbeispielen untersucht, wie die staatlichen Hilfen zugunsten der Textilindustrie und des Schiffbaus die Wettbewerbsposition dieser Branchen auf den internationalen Märkten beeinflußt haben

All electroweak four fermion processes in electron-positron collisions

This paper studies the electroweak production of all possible four fermion states in e+ e- collisions. Since the methods employed to evaluate the complete matrix elements and phase space are very general, all four fermion final states in which the charged particles are detected can be considered. Also all kinds of experimental cuts can be imposed. With the help of the constructed event generator a large number of illustrative results is obtained, which show the relevance of backgrounds to a number of signals. For LEP 200 the W-pair signal and its background are discussed, for higher energies also Z-pair and single W and Z signals and backgrounds are presented.Comment: INLO-PUB-1/94,NIKHEF-H/94-08, LaTeX, uses axodraw.sty (appended to end of TeX file), 45 page

Plants, people and health: Three disciplines at work in Namaqualand

In Paulshoek, Namaqualand, three research projects focusing on medicinal plants were developed concurrently. The projects were based in the disciplines of anthropology, botany and chemistry. In this paper, we explore how these projects related to one another and describe the conversations that occurred in the process of searching for transdisciplinary knowledge. The projects ostensibly shared a common object of knowledge, but it was through working together that the medicinal plants constituted us as a community of scholars. As our insight into our respective disciplinary relationships with the plants grew, so did our understanding of the limitations of our respective disciplinary positions. The process made possible a ‘reimagination’ of both the object of study and our relationships to it and to one another. The research project, conceptualised in 2009, engaged current debates on indigenous knowledge and its historical erasures, and offered an approach that has potential to produce new knowledges while respecting the integrity of the disciplines. This approach requires a non-competitive attitude to research and one that acknowledges the contributions that can be made by multiple approaches

Improved Phase Space Treatment of Massive Multi-Particle Final States

In this paper the revised Kajantie-Byckling approach and improved phase space sampling techniques for the massive multi-particle final states are presented. The application of the developed procedures to the processes representative for LHC physics indicates the possibility of a substantial simplification of multi-particle phase space sampling while retaining a respectable weight variance reduction and unweighing efficiencies in the event generation process.Comment: Minor stilistic changes, submitted to EPJ

Keeping creative writing on track: Co-designing a framework to support behavior change

The application of persuasive technology in web-based and mobile phone-based systems is well established, particularly in the health domain. However, a greater understanding of the effectiveness of the techniques deployed is needed to facilitate the successful transfer of research findings into practical applications. The context explored here is that of creative writing and the potential use of persuasive technology to foster and support a productive writing routine. Employing a user-centered design approach, we conducted surveys and a co-creation workshop with writers. Goal setting and regular writing, combined with self-monitoring, were key indicators of an effective writing practice. Group and mentor support were also highlighted. Based on our findings, we developed the architecture for a mobile personal writing coach. We evaluated the architecture against existing frameworks, finding good congruence. This supports our long-term goal of creating a universal framework, applicable to a wider range of behavior change interventions, domains and users. The design considerations reported in this paper go some way towards that goal

LUSIFER: a LUcid approach to SIx-FERmion production

LUSIFER is a Monte Carlo event generator for all processes e+e-->6fermions, which is based on the multi-channel Monte Carlo integration technique and employs the full set of tree-level diagrams. External fermions are taken to be massless, but can be arbitrarily polarized. The calculation of the helicity amplitudes and of the squared matrix elements is presented in a compact way. Initial-state radiation is included at the leading logarithmic level using the structure-function approach. The discussion of numerical results contains a comprehensive list of cross sections relevant for a 500GeV collider, including a tuned comparison to results obtained with the combination of the WHIZARD and MADGRAPH packages as far as possible. Moreover, for off-shell top-quark pair production and the production of a Higgs boson in the intermediate mass range we additionally discuss some phenomenologically interesting distributions. Finally, we numerically analyze the effects of gauge-invariance violation by comparing various ways of introducing decay widths of intermediate top quarks, gauge and Higgs bosons.Comment: 39 pages, latex, 14 postscript files, some minor misprints corrected, version to appear in Nucl.Phys.