Sensitivity of LHC experiments to exotic highly ionising particles

The experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are able to discover or set limits on the production of exotic particles with TeV-scale masses possessing values of electric and/or magnetic charge such that they behave as highly ionising particles (HIPs). In this paper the sensitivity of the LHC experiments to HIP production is discussed in detail. It is shown that a number of different detection methods are required to investigate as fully as possible the charge-mass range. These include direct detection as the HIPs pass through either passive or active detectors and, in the case of magnetically charged objects, the so-called induction method with which magnetic monopoles which stop in accelerator and detector material could be observed. The benefit of using complementary approaches to HIP detection is discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 52 figure

'Universal' FitzGerald Contractions

The model of a universe with a preferred frame, which nevertheless shares the main properties with traditional special and general relativity theories, is considered. We adopt Mach's interpretation of inertia and show that the energy balance equation, which includes the Machian energy of gravitational interactions with the universe, can imitate standard relativistic formulas.Comment: The version accepted by Eur. Phys. J.

Comparing Presenting Clinical Features in 48 Children With Microscopic Polyangiitis to 183 Children Who Have Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis (Wegener's) : an ARChiVe Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: To uniquely classify children with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), to describe their demographic characteristics, presenting clinical features, and initial treatments in comparison to patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) (GPA). METHODS: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) classification algorithm was applied by computation to categorical data from patients recruited to the ARChiVe (A Registry for Childhood Vasculitis: e-entry) cohort, with the data censored to November 2015. The EMA algorithm was used to uniquely distinguish children with MPA from children with GPA, whose diagnoses had been classified according to both adult- and pediatric-specific criteria. Descriptive statistics were used for comparisons. RESULTS: In total, 231 of 440 patients (64% female) fulfilled the classification criteria for either MPA (n\u2009=\u200948) or GPA (n\u2009=\u2009183). The median time to diagnosis was 1.6 months in the MPA group and 2.1 months in the GPA group (ranging to 39 and 73 months, respectively). Patients with MPA were significantly younger than those with GPA (median age 11 years versus 14 years). Constitutional features were equally common between the groups. In patients with MPA compared to those with GPA, pulmonary manifestations were less frequent (44% versus 74%) and less severe (primarily, hemorrhage, requirement for supplemental oxygen, and pulmonary failure). Renal pathologic features were frequently found in both groups (75% of patients with MPA versus 83% of patients with GPA) but tended toward greater severity in those with MPA (primarily, nephrotic-range proteinuria, requirement for dialysis, and end-stage renal disease). Airway/eye involvement was absent among patients with MPA, because these GPA-defining features preclude a diagnosis of MPA within the EMA algorithm. Similar proportions of patients with MPA and those with GPA received combination therapy with corticosteroids plus cyclophosphamide (69% and 78%, respectively) or both drugs in combination with plasmapheresis (19% and 22%, respectively). Other treatments administered, ranging in decreasing frequency from 13% to 3%, were rituximab, methotrexate, azathioprine, and mycophenolate mofetil. CONCLUSION: Younger age at disease onset and, perhaps, both gastrointestinal manifestations and more severe kidney disease seem to characterize the clinical profile in children with MPA compared to those with GPA. Delay in diagnosis suggests that recognition of these systemic vasculitides is suboptimal. Compared with adults, initial treatment regimens in children were comparable, but the complete reversal of female-to-male disease prevalence ratios is a provocative finding

Polymorphism: an evaluation of the potential risk to the quality of drug products from the Farmácia Popular Rede Própria

Polymorphism in solids is a common phenomenon in drugs, which can lead to compromised quality due to changes in their physicochemical properties, particularly solubility, and, therefore, reduce bioavailability. Herein, a bibliographic survey was performed based on key issues and studies related to polymorphism in active pharmaceutical ingredient (APIs) present in medications from the Farmácia Popular Rede Própria. Polymorphism must be controlled to prevent possible ineffective therapy and/or improper dosage. Few mandatory tests for the identification and control of polymorphism in medications are currently available, which can result in serious public health concerns

Elastic and inelastic scattering of alpha particles from /sup 40,44 /Ca over a broad range of energies and angles

Angular distributions for alpha -particle elastic scattering by /sup 40,44/Ca and excitation of the 3.73 MeV 3/sup -/ collective state of /sup 40/Ca were measured for incident energies ranging from 40 to 62 MeV. An extensive optical model analysis of these elastic scattering cross sections and other available data, using squared Woods-Saxon form factors, results in potentials with fixed geometry for both real and imaginary parts and depths with smooth energy behavior over a broad incident energy range. These results are discussed in the frame of the semi-classical approximation developed by Brink and Takigawa (1977). The sensitiveness of the calculated elastic scattering cross sections to the real part of the potentials as a function of the projectile-target distance has been investigated by means of a notch test. Distorted-wave Born-approximation calculations for the excitation of the 3.73 MeV 3/sup -/ state of /sup 40/Ca are presented.Anglai