Performance Measures Using Electronic Health Records: Five Case Studies

Presents the experiences of five provider organizations in developing, testing, and implementing four types of electronic quality-of-care indicators based on EHR data. Discusses challenges, and compares results with those from traditional indicators

Six-Month Mortality among HIV-Infected Adults Presenting for Antiretroviral Therapy with Unexplained Weight Loss, Chronic Fever or Chronic Diarrhea in Malawi.

In sub-Saharan Africa, early mortality is high following initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART). We investigated 6-month outcomes and factors associated with mortality in HIV-infected adults being assessed for ART initiation and presenting with weight loss, chronic fever or diarrhea, and with negative TB sputum microscopy

Simultaneous measurement of the ratio B(t->Wb)/B(t->Wq) and the top quark pair production cross section with the D0 detector at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV

We present the first simultaneous measurement of the ratio of branching fractions, R=B(t->Wb)/B(t->Wq), with q being a d, s, or b quark, and the top quark pair production cross section sigma_ttbar in the lepton plus jets channel using 0.9 fb-1 of ppbar collision data at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV collected with the D0 detector. We extract R and sigma_ttbar by analyzing samples of events with 0, 1 and >= 2 identified b jets. We measure R = 0.97 +0.09-0.08 (stat+syst) and sigma_ttbar = 8.18 +0.90-0.84 (stat+syst)} +/-0.50 (lumi) pb, in agreement with the standard model prediction.Comment: submitted to Phys.Rev.Letter

Search for charged Higgs bosons decaying to top and bottom quarks in ppbar collisions

We describe a search for production of a charged Higgs boson, q \bar{q'} -> H^+, reconstructed in the t\bar{b} final state in the mass range 180 <= M_{H^+} <= 300 GeV. The search was undertaken at the Fermilab Tevatron collider with a center-of-mass energy sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV and uses 0.9 fb^{-1} of data collected with the D0 detector. We find no evidence for charged Higgs boson production and set upper limits on the production cross section in the Types I, II and III two-Higgs-doublet models (2HDMs). An excluded region in the (M_{H^+},tan\beta) plane for Type I 2HDM is presented.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letter

Measurement of the B0_s semileptonic branching ratio to an orbitally excited D_s** state, Br(B0_s -> Ds1(2536) mu nu)

In a data sample of approximately 1.3 fb-1 collected with the D0 detector between 2002 and 2006, the orbitally excited charm state D_s1(2536) has been observed with a measured mass of 2535.7 +/- 0.6 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst) MeV via the decay mode B0_s -> D_s1(2536) mu nu X. A first measurement is made of the branching ratio product Br(b(bar) -> D_s1(2536) mu nu X).Br(D_s1(2536)->D* K0_S). Assuming that D_s1(2536) production in semileptonic decay is entirely from B0_s, an extraction of the semileptonic branching ratio Br(B0_s -> D_s1(2536) mu nu X) is made.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX, version with minor changes as accepted by Phys. Rev. Let

Genome-wide association and HLA fine-mapping studies identify risk loci and genetic pathways underlying allergic rhinitis

Allergic rhinitis is the most common clinical presentation of allergy, affecting 400 million people worldwide, with increasing incidence in westernized countries1,2. To elucidate the genetic architecture and understand the underlying disease mechanisms, we carried out a meta-analysis of allergic rhinitis in 59,762 cases and 152,358 controls of European ancestry and identified a total of 41 risk loci for allergic rhinitis, including 20 loci not previously associated with allergic rhinitis, which were confirmed in a replication phase of 60,720 cases and 618,527 controls. Functional annotation implicated genes involved in various immune pathways, and fine mapping of the HLA region suggested amino acid variants important for antigen binding. We further performed genome-wide association study (GWAS) analyses of allergic sensitization against inhalant allergens and nonallergic rhinitis, which suggested shared genetic mechanisms across rhinitis-related traits. Future studies of the identified loci and genes might identify novel targets for treatment and prevention of allergic rhinitis

Measurement of the forward-backward charge asymmetry and extraction of sin^2Theta^{eff}_W in ppbar -> Z/\gamma^{*}+X -> e+e+X events produced at \sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

We present a measurement of the forward-backward charge asymmetry ($A_{FB}$) in $p\bar{p} \to Z/\gamma^{*}+X \to e^+e^-+X$ events at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV using 1.1 fb$^{-1}$ of data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. $A_{FB}$ is measured as a function of the invariant mass of the electron-positron pair, and found to be consistent with the standard model prediction. We use the $A_{FB}$ measurement to extract the effective weak mixing angle $sin^2Theta^{eff}_W = 0.2327 \pm 0.0018 (stat.) \pm 0.0006 (syst.)$.Comment: 7 Pages, 1 Figure, 3 Tables, Accepted by Phys. Rev. Let

Measurement of the lifetime of the B_c meson in the semileptonic decay channel

Using approximately 1.3 fb-1 of data collected by the D0 detector between 2002 and 2006, we measure the lifetime of the B_c meson in the B_c -> J/psi mu nu X final state. A simultaneous unbinned likelihood fit to the J/\psi+mu invariant mass and lifetime distributions yields a signal of 881 +/- 80 (stat) candidates and a lifetime measurement of \tau(B_c) = 0.448 +0.038 -0.036 (stat) +/- 0.032 (syst) ps.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Measurements of differential cross sections of Z/gamma*+jets+X events in proton anti-proton collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV

We present cross section measurements for Z/gamma*+jets+X production, differential in the transverse momenta of the three leading jets. The data sample was collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron proton anti-proton collider at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 1 fb-1. Leading and next-to-leading order perturbative QCD predictions are compared with the measurements, and agreement is found within the theoretical and experimental uncertainties. We also make comparisons with the predictions of four event generators. Two parton-shower-based generators show significant shape and normalization differences with respect to the data. In contrast, two generators combining tree-level matrix elements with a parton shower give a reasonable description of the the shapes observed in data, but the predicted normalizations show significant differences with respect to the data, reflecting large scale uncertainties. For specific choices of scales, the normalizations for either generator can be made to agree with the measurements.Comment: Published in PLB. 11 pages, 3 figure

Search for W' bosons decaying to an electron and a neutrino with the D0 detector

This Letter describes the search for a new heavy charged gauge boson W' decaying into an electron and a neutrino. The data were collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron proton-antiproton Collider at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of about 1 inverse femtobarn. Lacking any significant excess in the data in comparison with known processes, an upper limit is set on the production cross section times branching fraction, and a W' boson with mass below 1.00 TeV can be excluded at the 95% C.L., assuming standard-model-like couplings to fermions. This result significantly improves upon previous limits, and is the most stringent to date.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. Let