564 research outputs found
A profile of demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic risk factors among children with congenital and rheumatic heart disease in western Kenya
Objectives: Congenital heart disease (CHD) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are major health concerns among children in sub-Saharan Africa. Poverty is a key predictor of both conditions, but the mechanisms of that association are not well understood.Design: We conducted a retrospective review of medical records of children diagnosed with CHD or RHD to identify associations between demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic variables and the two diseases.Setting: Medical records were obtained for care received at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), a public hospital in Eldoret, western Kenya.Participants: Our sample included 180 children with a mean age of 9 years.Main Outcome Measures: We examined multiple potential predictors associated with a diagnosis of CHD or RHD, including the child’s household size, family socioeconomic status, age, gender, geographical distribution, and racial/ethnic identity.Results: Siblings per household was greater amongst children with RHD (4.6) than among those with CHD (3.7). Patients were of low socio-economic status in both groups. The gender, geographical, and ethnic composition were similar between the CHD and RHD groups. Age and family size were significantly higher among children with RHD as compared to CHD.Conclusion: Future exploration of the environmental factors associated with childhood CHD and RHD will complement studies of genetic and biological risk factors and can advance understanding of the determinants of cardiac diseases in western Kenya. These data may inform early intervention, prevention, and screening efforts for children at risk of both conditions
Experimental characterization of a graded-index ring-core fiber supporting 7 LP mode groups
We design and characterize a graded-index-ring-core fiber supporting 7 LP modegroups (13 spatial modes) for mode multiplexed transmission with low MIMO processing complexity. Spatial and temporal modal properties are analyzed using an SLM-based mode multiplexer/demultiplexer
Absence of First-order Transition and Tri-critical Point in the Dynamic Phase Diagram of a Spatially Extended Bistable System in an Oscillating Field
It has been well established that spatially extended, bistable systems that
are driven by an oscillating field exhibit a nonequilibrium dynamic phase
transition (DPT). The DPT occurs when the field frequency is on the order of
the inverse of an intrinsic lifetime associated with the transitions between
the two stable states in a static field of the same magnitude as the amplitude
of the oscillating field. The DPT is continuous and belongs to the same
universality class as the equilibrium phase transition of the Ising model in
zero field [G. Korniss et al., Phys. Rev. E 63, 016120 (2001); H. Fujisaka et
al., Phys. Rev. E 63, 036109 (2001)]. However, it has previously been claimed
that the DPT becomes discontinuous at temperatures below a tricritical point
[M. Acharyya, Phys. Rev. E 59, 218 (1999)]. This claim was based on
observations in dynamic Monte Carlo simulations of a multipeaked probability
density for the dynamic order parameter and negative values of the fourth-order
cumulant ratio. Both phenomena can be characteristic of discontinuous phase
transitions. Here we use classical nucleation theory for the decay of
metastable phases, together with data from large-scale dynamic Monte Carlo
simulations of a two-dimensional kinetic Ising ferromagnet, to show that these
observations in this case are merely finite-size effects. For sufficiently
small systems and low temperatures, the continuous DPT is replaced, not by a
discontinuous phase transition, but by a crossover to stochastic resonance. In
the infinite-system limit the stochastic-resonance regime vanishes, and the
continuous DPT should persist for all nonzero temperatures
Identification of a fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda)-specific gene and development of a rapid and sensitive loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay
Open Access Journal; Published online: 18 Jan 2022The fall armyworm [FAW, Spodoptera frugiperda (J E Smith)], a moth native to America, has spread throughout the world since it was first discovered in Africa in 2016. The FAW is a polyphagous migratory pest that can travel over long distances using seasonal winds or typhoons because of its excellent flying ability, causing serious damage to many crops. For effective FAW control, accurate species identification is essential at the beginning of the invasion. In this study, the FAW-specific gene Sf00067 was discovered by performing bioinformatics to develop a fast and accurate tool for the species-specific diagnosis of this pest. An Sf00067 loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed, and optimal conditions were established. The Sf00067 6 primer LAMP (Sf6p-LAMP) assay established in this study was able to diagnose various genotype-based strains of FAW captured in Korea and FAWs collected from Benin, Africa. Our FAW diagnostic protocol can be completed within 30 min, from the process of extracting genomic DNA from an egg or a 1st instar larva to species determination
Decomposition of the QCD String into Dipoles and Unintegrated Gluon Distributions
We present the perturbative and non-perturbative QCD structure of the
dipole-dipole scattering amplitude in momentum space. The perturbative
contribution is described by two-gluon exchange and the non-perturbative
contribution by the stochastic vacuum model which leads to confinement of the
quark and antiquark in the dipole via a string of color fields. This QCD string
gives important non-perturbative contributions to high-energy reactions. A new
structure different from the perturbative dipole factors is found in the
string-string scattering amplitude. The string can be represented as an
integral over stringless dipoles with a given dipole number density. This
decomposition of the QCD string into dipoles allows us to calculate the
unintegrated gluon distribution of hadrons and photons from the dipole-hadron
and dipole-photon cross section via kT-factorization.Comment: 43 pages, 14 figure
Multiplicity Studies and Effective Energy in ALICE at the LHC
In this work we explore the possibility to perform ``effective energy''
studies in very high energy collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
In particular, we focus on the possibility to measure in collisions the
average charged multiplicity as a function of the effective energy with the
ALICE experiment, using its capability to measure the energy of the leading
baryons with the Zero Degree Calorimeters. Analyses of this kind have been done
at lower centre--of--mass energies and have shown that, once the appropriate
kinematic variables are chosen, particle production is characterized by
universal properties: no matter the nature of the interacting particles, the
final states have identical features. Assuming that this universality picture
can be extended to {\it ion--ion} collisions, as suggested by recent results
from RHIC experiments, a novel approach based on the scaling hypothesis for
limiting fragmentation has been used to derive the expected charged event
multiplicity in interactions at LHC. This leads to scenarios where the
multiplicity is significantly lower compared to most of the predictions from
the models currently used to describe high energy collisions. A mean
charged multiplicity of about 1000-2000 per rapidity unit (at ) is
expected for the most central collisions at .Comment: 12 pages, 19 figures. In memory of A. Smirnitski
Search for Higgs bosons decaying to tautau pairs in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV
We present a search for the production of neutral Higgs bosons decaying into
tautau pairs in ppbar collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV. The
data, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb-1, were collected by
the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. We set upper limits at the
95% C.L. on the product of production cross section and branching ratio for a
scalar resonance decaying into tautau pairs, and we then interpret these limits
as limits on the production of Higgs bosons in the minimal supersymmetric
standard model (MSSM) and as constraints in the MSSM parameter space.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PL
Measurement of three-jet differential cross sections d sigma-3jet / d M-3jet in p anti-p collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV
We present the first measurement of the inclusive three-jet differential
cross section as a function of the invariant mass of the three jets with the
largest transverse momenta in an event in p anti-p collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96
TeV. The measurement is made in different rapidity regions and for different
jet transverse momentum requirements and is based on a data set corresponding
to an integrated luminosity of 0.7 fb^{-1} collected with the D0 detector at
the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The results are used to test the three-jet
matrix elements in perturbative QCD calculations at next-to-leading order in
the strong coupling constant. The data allow discrimination between
parametrizations of the parton distribution functions of the proton.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Phys. Lett. B, corrected
chi2 values for NNPD
Search for pair production of the scalar top quark in muon+tau final states
We present a search for the pair production of scalar top quarks
(), the lightest supersymmetric partners of the top quarks, in
collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, using data
corresponding to an integrated luminosity of {7.3 } collected with the
\dzero experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Each scalar top quark is
assumed to decay into a quark, a charged lepton, and a scalar neutrino
(). We investigate final states arising from and
. With no significant excess of events observed above the
background expected from the standard model, we set exclusion limits on this
production process in the (,) plane.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Lett.
Measurements of inclusive W+jets production rates as a function of jet transverse momentum in ppbar collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV
This Letter describes measurements of inclusive W (--> e nu) + n jet cross
sections (n = 1-4), presented as total inclusive cross sections and
differentially in the nth jet transverse momentum. The measurements are made
using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.2 fb-1 collected by
the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider, and achieve considerably
smaller uncertainties on W +jets production cross sections than previous
measurements. The measurements are compared to next-to-leading order
perturbative QCD (pQCD) calculations in the n =1-3 jet multiplicity bins and to
leading order pQCD calculations in the 4-jet bin. The measurements are
generally in agreement with pQCD predictions, although certain regions of phase
space are identified where the calculations could be improved
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