378 research outputs found

    Could Large CP Violation Be Detected at Colliders?

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    We argue that CP--violation effects below a few tenths of a percent are probably undetectable at hadron and electron colliders. Thus only operators whose contributions interfere with tree--level Standard Model amplitudes are detectable. We list these operators for Standard Model external particles and some two and three body final state reactions that could show detectable effects. These could test electroweak baryogenesis scenarios.Comment: 11pp, LaTeX, UM--TH--92--27(massaged to make TeX output cleaner), no picture

    A Probe of New Physics in Top Quark Pair Production at ee+e^-e^+ Colliders

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    We describe how to probe new physics through examination of the form factors describing the Ztt couplings via the scattering process e^-e^+->t+tbar. We focus on experimental methods on how the top quark momentum can be determined and show how this can be applied to select polarized samples of ttˉt\bar{t} pairs through the angular correlations in the final state leptons. We also study the dependence on the energy and luminosity of an \ee\ collider to probe a CP violating asymmetry at the 10210^{-2} level.}Comment: 24 pages in TeXsis (figures available upon request) (revised July 1993

    Leadership Competencies for Digital Transformation : Evidence from Multiple Cases

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    Digital transformation (DT) is disrupting industrial organizations, which require significant changes in their properties to remain competitive. This calls for strong leadership to drive this transformation. However, what leadership competencies are required to lead DT impactfully is unclear. Therefore, we seek to identify the key leadership competencies by employing a qualitative, grounded theory approach. By conducting interviews of ten DT experts from two hardcore industrial organizations, we highlight five key leadership competencies that industrial organizations need to develop in their leaders: digital vision, digital knowledge, failing fast, empowerment, and managing diverse teams. The results of this study will help industrial organizations to strategically prepare their leadership for the requirements of DT.©2020 Springer. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Advances in Human Factors, Business Management and Leadership: Proceedings of the AHFE 2020 Virtual Conferences on Human Factors, Business Management and Society, and Human Factors in Management and Leadership, July 16-20, 2020, USA. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/0.1007/978-3-030-50791-6_11.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

    Gene expression and matrix turnover in overused and damaged tendons

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    Chronic, painful conditions affecting tendons, frequently known as tendinopathy, are very common types of sporting injury. The tendon extracellular matrix is substantially altered in tendinopathy, and these changes are thought to precede and underlie the clinical condition. The tendon cell response to repeated minor injuries or “overuse” is thought to be a major factor in the development of tendinopathy. Changes in matrix turnover may also be effected by the cellular response to physical load, altering the balance of matrix turnover and changing the structure and composition of the tendon. Matrix turnover is relatively high in tendons exposed to high mechanical demands, such as the supraspinatus and Achilles, and this is thought to represent either a repair or tissue maintenance function. Metalloproteinases are a large family of enzymes capable of degrading all of the tendon matrix components, and these are thought to play a major role in the degradation of matrix during development, adaptation and repair. It is proposed that some metalloproteinase enzymes are required for the health of the tendon, and others may be damaging, leading to degeneration of the tissue. Further research is required to investigate how these enzyme activities are regulated in tendon and altered in tendinopathy. A profile of all the metalloproteinases expressed and active in healthy and degenerate tendon is required and may lead to the development of new drug therapies for these common and debilitating sports injuries

    Neutral Higgs bosons in the MNMSSM with explicit CP violation

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    Within the framework of the minimal non-minimal supersymmetric standard model (MNMSSM) with tadpole terms, CP violation effects in the Higgs sector are investigated at the one-loop level, where the radiative corrections from the loops of the quark and squarks of the third generation are taken into account. Assuming that the squark masses are not degenerate, the radiative corrections due to the stop and sbottom quarks give rise to CP phases, which trigger the CP violation explicitly in the Higgs sector of the MNMSSM. The masses, the branching ratios for dominant decay channels, and the total decay widths of the five neutral Higgs bosons in the MNMSSM are calculated in the presence of the explicit CP violation. The dependence of these quantities on the CP phases is quite recognizable, for given parameter values.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figure

    A survey of primary care physician practices in antibiotic prescribing for the treatment of uncomplicated male gonoccocal urethritis

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The development of resistance to antimicrobial therapy by <it>Neisseria gonorrhoeae </it>causes on-going problems for individual case management of gonorrhoea. Surveillance data about <it>N. gonorrhoeae </it>have indicated an increase in the incidence of gonorrhoea in France in 2006. As a consequence of the development of antibiotic resistance in <it>N. gonorrhoeae</it>, French guidelines excluded fluoroquinolones as a standard treatment for <it>N. gonorrhoeae</it>. Ceftriaxone became the recommended treatment, associated with azithromycin for <it>Clamydia trachomatis </it>infection. Our aim was to describe the practice patterns of general practitioners (GPs) in managing the antibiotic treatment of patients with symptoms suggestive of uncomplicated male urethritis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We developed a clinical vignette describing a man with typical gonococcal urethritis symptoms to elicit questions about antibiotic treatment. We mailed the electronic questionnaire to a random sample of 1000 French GPs belonging to the <it>Sentinelles </it>Network.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By the end of the survey period, 350 vignettes were received, yielding a response rate of 35%. Sixty-six GPs (20.2%) prescribed the recommended antibiotics for the simultaneous treatment of <it>N</it>. <it>gonorrhoeae </it>and <it>C. trachomatis </it>infections, while 132 GPs (40.4%) prescribed only non-recommended antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin in 69 cases (21.1%). General practitioners with less than 10 years in practice showed better compliance to guidelines than those with more years in practice (p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results suggest a mismatch between the guidelines and the antibiotic treatment of male uncomplicated urethritis by French GPs, mostly among the subgroup of physicians who have been in practice longer. Educational approaches based on practice feedback need to be developed to improve these deficits in the quality of care.</p

    Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS): A Potential Arthroscopic Tool for Quantitative Assessment of Articular Cartilage

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    Conventional ultrasound examination of the articular cartilage performed externally on the body surface around the joint has limited accuracy due to the inadequacy in frequency used. In contrast to this, minimally invasive arthroscopy-based ultrasound with adequately high frequency may be a better alternative to assess the cartilage. Up to date, no special ultrasound transducer for imaging the cartilage in arthroscopic use has been designed. In this study, we introduced the intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) for this purpose. An IVUS system with a catheter-based probe (Ø ≈ 1mm) was used to measure the thickness and surface acoustical reflection of the bovine patellar articular cartilage in vitro before and after degeneration induced by enzyme treatments. Similar measurement was performed using another high frequency ultrasound system (Vevo) with a probe of much larger size and the results were compared between the two systems. The thickness measured using IVUS was highly correlated (r = 0.985, p < 0.001) with that obtained by Vevo. Thickness and surface reflection amplitude measured using IVUS on the enzymatically digested articular cartilage showed changes similar to those obtained by Vevo, which were expectedly consistent with previous investigations. IVUS can be potentially used for the quantitative assessment of articular cartilage, with its ready-to-use arthroscopic feature

    "It doesn't do any harm, but patients feel better": a qualitative exploratory study on gastroenterologists' perspectives on the role of antidepressants in inflammatory bowel disease

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    Background: Interest in psychological factors in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has increased in recent years. It has even been proposed that treating psychological co-morbidities with antidepressants may control disease activity and improve quality of life. Despite this, there is no data on gastroenterologists' attitudes to, and experiences with, antidepressant therapy in patients with IBD. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 gastroenterologists associated with metropolitan teaching hospitals. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine their responses. Results: Seventy-eight percent of gastroenterologists had treated IBD patients with antidepressants for pain, depression and/or anxiety, and insomnia. Antidepressants were reported to be useful in improving psychosocial well-being, quality of life, and self-management of the disease by patients. However, in this group of gastroenterologists, there appears to be skepticism towards psychological disorders themselves or antidepressant therapy having a central role in either the causation of IBD or its clinical course. Nevertheless, these gastroenterologists were receptive to the idea of conducting a trial of the role of antidepressants in IBD. Conclusion: While the majority of specialists have treated IBD patients with antidepressants, there is considerable skepticism with regard to efficacy of antidepressive therapy or the role of psychological factors in the outcome of IBD patients.Antonina A Mikocka-Walus, Deborah A Turnbull, Nicole T Moulding, Ian G Wilson, Jane M Andrews and Gerald J Holtman
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