4,835 research outputs found

    Employment status and work-related problems of gastrointestinal cancer patients at diagnosis: a cross-sectional study

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    Objective To assess the employment status of patients with gastrointestinal cancer at diagnosis and to examine work-related problems of employed patients. Design New, consecutive patients were included at the Gastrointestinal Oncology Center Amsterdam, a one-stop, rapid access diagnostic assessment centre. Patients were interviewed on their employment status by a nurse. If (self-) employed, patients were asked to self-report on work-related problems, perceived distress (0-10), cancer-related problems, fatigue (MFI-20, range 4-20) and work ability (three WAI questions, range 0-10). Results Of all 333 included new consecutive patients (age range 32-89 years), 95 patients (28%) were (self-) employed at time of diagnosis, 179 (54%) were pensioners, and 59 were not working (18%). For the assessment of work-related problems, 45 (47%) of these 95 employed patients with cancer participated. Their mean age was 56 years, and patients had oesophageal/stomach (49%), colorectal (18%) or hepatic/pancreatic/biliary cancer (33%). Half of the employed patients (49%) were still at work, while 51% were on sick leave. The main reasons for sick leave were stress (35%), (scheduled) operation (26%), fatigue (17%) and pain (13%). Most patients on sick leave (70%) had no contact with their own occupational physician, although the majority (67%) would like to continue to work. Work-related problems were experienced by 73% of working patients. The mean work ability was 5.4, the mean general fatigue score was 11.5, and the mean distress score was 4.7. Employed patients on sick leave reported a lower work ability, more fatigue and higher distress but no more cancer-related problems compared with those still working. Conclusion A quarter of all patients with gastrointestinal cancer seen at an oncological centre are employed at time of diagnosis, and of these employed patients, 73% experience work-related problems. During diagnosis and treatment, information and support on work-related issues should be offered to patients with cancer as an essential part of high-quality oncological car

    Particle Dark Matter Candidates

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    I give a short overview on some of the favorite particle Cold Dark Matter candidates today, focusing on those having detectable interactions: the axion, the KK-photon in Universal Extra Dimensions, the heavy photon in Little Higgs and the neutralino in Supersymmetry. The neutralino is still the most popular, and today is available in different flavours: SUGRA, nuSUGRA, sub-GUT, Mirage mediation, NMSSM, effective MSSM, scenarios with CP violation. Some of these scenarios are already at the level of present sensitivities for direct DM searches.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 3 references added. Contribution to the proceedings of the TAUP 07 conference, Sep. 11-15, Sendai, Japa

    Construction and Performance of Large-Area Triple-GEM Prototypes for Future Upgrades of the CMS Forward Muon System

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    At present, part of the forward RPC muon system of the CMS detector at the CERN LHC remains uninstrumented in the high-\eta region. An international collaboration is investigating the possibility of covering the 1.6 < |\eta| < 2.4 region of the muon endcaps with large-area triple-GEM detectors. Given their good spatial resolution, high rate capability, and radiation hardness, these micro-pattern gas detectors are an appealing option for simultaneously enhancing muon tracking and triggering capabilities in a future upgrade of the CMS detector. A general overview of this feasibility study will be presented. The design and construction of small (10\times10 cm2) and full-size trapezoidal (1\times0.5 m2) triple-GEM prototypes will be described. During detector assembly, different techniques for stretching the GEM foils were tested. Results from measurements with x-rays and from test beam campaigns at the CERN SPS will be shown for the small and large prototypes. Preliminary simulation studies on the expected muon reconstruction and trigger performances of this proposed upgraded muon system will be reported.Comment: 7 pages, 25 figures, submitted for publication in conference record of the 2011 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium, Valencia, Spai

    New Physics at the LHC. A Les Houches Report: Physics at TeV Colliders 2009 - New Physics Working Group

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    We present a collection of signatures for physics beyond the standard model that need to be explored at the LHC. First, are presented various tools developed to measure new particle masses in scenarios where all decays include an unobservable particle. Second, various aspects of supersymmetric models are discussed. Third, some signatures of models of strong electroweak symmetry are discussed. In the fourth part, a special attention is devoted to high mass resonances, as the ones appearing in models with warped extra dimensions. Finally, prospects for models with a hidden sector/valley are presented. Our report, which includes brief experimental and theoretical reviews as well as original results, summarizes the activities of the "New Physics" working group for the "Physics at TeV Colliders" workshop (Les Houches, France, 8-26 June, 2009).Comment: 189 page

    Simulation of the CMS Resistive Plate Chambers

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    The Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) muon subsystem contributes significantly to the formation of the trigger decision and reconstruction of the muon trajectory parameters. Simulation of the RPC response is a crucial part of the entire CMS Monte Carlo software and directly influences the final physical results. An algorithm based on the parametrization of RPC efficiency, noise, cluster size and timing for every strip has been developed. Experimental data obtained from cosmic and proton-proton collisions at s=7\sqrt{s}=7 TeV have been used for determination of the parameters. A dedicated validation procedure has been developed. A good agreement between the simulated and experimental data has been achieved.Comment: to be published in JINS

    Dashen's phenomenon in gauge theories with spontaneously broken chiral symmetries

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    We examine Dashen’s phenomenon in the Leutwyler-Smilga regime of QCD with any number of colors and quarks in either the fundamental or adjoint representations of the gauge group. In this limit, the theories only depend on simple combinations of quark masses, the volume, chiral condensate and vacuum angle. Based upon this observation, we derive simple expressions for the chiral condensate and the topological density and show that they are in fact related. By examining the zeros of the various partition functions, we elucidate the mechanism leading to Dashen’s phenomena in QCD

    An overview of the design, construction and performance of large area triple-GEM prototypes for future upgrades of the CMS forward muon system

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    GEM detectors are used in high energy physics experiments given their good spatial resolution, high rate capability and radiation hardness. An international collaboration is investigating the possibility of covering the 1.6 < vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.4 region of the CMS muon endcaps with large-area triple-GEM detectors. The CMS high-eta area is actually not fully instrumented, only Cathode Strip Chamber (CSC) are installed. The vacant area presents an opportunity for a detector technology able to to cope with the harsh radiation environment; these micropattern gas detectors are an appealing option to simultaneously enhance muon tracking and triggering capabilities in a future upgrade of the CMS detector. A general overview of this feasibility study is presented. Design and construction of small (10cm x 10cm) and full-size trapezoidal (1m x 0.5m) triple-GEM prototypes is described. Results from measurements with x-rays and from test beam campaigns at the CERN SPS is shown for the small and large prototypes. Preliminary simulation studies on the expected muon reconstruction and trigger performances of this proposed upgraded muon system are reported

    Performance of a Large-Area GEM Detector Prototype for the Upgrade of the CMS Muon Endcap System

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    Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology is being considered for the forward muon upgrade of the CMS experiment in Phase 2 of the CERN LHC. Its first implementation is planned for the GE1/1 system in the 1.5<η<2.21.5 < \mid\eta\mid < 2.2 region of the muon endcap mainly to control muon level-1 trigger rates after the second long LHC shutdown. A GE1/1 triple-GEM detector is read out by 3,072 radial strips with 455 μ\murad pitch arranged in eight η\eta-sectors. We assembled a full-size GE1/1 prototype of 1m length at Florida Tech and tested it in 20-120 GeV hadron beams at Fermilab using Ar/CO2_{2} 70:30 and the RD51 scalable readout system. Four small GEM detectors with 2-D readout and an average measured azimuthal resolution of 36 μ\murad provided precise reference tracks. Construction of this largest GEM detector built to-date is described. Strip cluster parameters, detection efficiency, and spatial resolution are studied with position and high voltage scans. The plateau detection efficiency is [97.1 ±\pm 0.2 (stat)]\%. The azimuthal resolution is found to be [123.5 ±\pm 1.6 (stat)] μ\murad when operating in the center of the efficiency plateau and using full pulse height information. The resolution can be slightly improved by \sim 10 μ\murad when correcting for the bias due to discrete readout strips. The CMS upgrade design calls for readout electronics with binary hit output. When strip clusters are formed correspondingly without charge-weighting and with fixed hit thresholds, a position resolution of [136.8 ±\pm 2.5 stat] μ\murad is measured, consistent with the expected resolution of strip-pitch/12\sqrt{12} = 131.3 μ\murad. Other η\eta-sectors of the detector show similar response and performance.Comment: 8 pages, 32 figures, submitted to Proc. 2014 IEEE Nucl. Sci. Symposium, Seattle, WA, reference adde

    Measurement of the Spin Asymmetry in the Photoproduction of Pairs of High-pT Hadrons at HERMES

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    We present a measurement of the longitudinal spin asymmetry A_|| in photoproduction of pairs of hadrons with high transverse momentum p_T. Data were accumulated by the HERMES experiment using a 27.5 GeV polarized positron beam and a polarized hydrogen target internal to the HERA storage ring. For h+h- pairs with p_T^h_1 > 1.5 GeV/c and p_T^h_2 > 1.0 GeV/c, the measured asymmetry is A_|| = -0.28 +/- 0.12 (stat.) +/- 0.02 (syst.). This negative value is in contrast to the positive asymmetries typically measured in deep inelastic scattering from protons, and is interpreted to arise from a positive gluon polarization.Comment: 5 pages (latex), 4 figures (eps
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