The classification of freezing cold injuries - a NATO research task group position paper

Introduction: Freezing cold injuries (FCI) are a common risk in extreme cold weather operations. Although the risks have long been recognised, injury occurrences tend to be sparse and geographically distributed, with relatively few cases to study in a systematic way. The first challenge to improve FCI medical management is to develop a common nomenclature for FCI classification. This is critical for the development of meaningful epidemiological reports on the magnitude and severity of FCI, for the standardisation of patient inclusion criteria for treatment studies, and for the development of clinical diagnosis and treatment algorithms. Methodology: A scoping review of the literature using PubMed and cross-checked with Google Scholar, using search terms related to freezing cold injury and frostbite, highlighted a paucity of published clinical papers and little agreement on classification schemes. Results: A total of 74 papers were identified, and 28 were included in the review. Published reports and studies can be generally grouped into four different classification schemes that are based on (1) injury morphology; (2) signs and symptoms; (3) pathophysiology; and (4) clinical outcome. The nomenclature in the different classification systems is not coherent and the discrete classification limits are not evidence based. Conclusions: All the classification systems are necessary and relevant to FCI medical management for sustainment of soldier health and performance in cold weather operations and winter warfare. Future FCI reports should clearly characterise the nature of the FCI into existing classification schemes for surveillance (morphology, symptoms, and appearance), identifying risk-factors, clinical guidelines, and agreed inclusion/exclusion criteria for a future treatment trial

Validation of ambulatory monitoring devices to measure energy expenditure and heart rate in a military setting

Objectives.; To investigate the validity of different devices and algorithms used in military organizations worldwide to assess physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) and heart rate (HR) among soldiers.; Design.; Device validation study.; Methods; . Twenty-three male participants serving their mandatory military service accomplished, firstly, nine different military specific activities indoors, and secondly, a normal military routine outdoors. Participants wore simultaneously an ActiHeart, Everion, MetaMax 3B, Garmin Fenix 3, Hidalgo EQ02, and PADIS 2.0 system. The PAEE and HR data of each system were compared to the criterion measures MetaMax 3B and Hidalgo EQ02, respectively.; Results; . Overall, the recorded systematic errors in PAEE estimation ranged from 0.1 (±1.8) kcal.min; -1; to -1.7 (±1.8) kcal.min; -1; for the systems PADIS 2.0 and Hidalgo EQ02 running the Royal Dutch Army algorithm, respectively, and in the HR assessment ranged from -0.1 (±2.1) b.min; -1; to 0.8 (±3.0) b.min; -1; for the PADIS 2.0 and ActiHeart systems, respectively. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) in PAEE estimation ranged from 29.9% to 75.1%, with only the Everion system showing an overall MAP

Body composition changes during 8 weeks of military training are not accurately captured by circumference-based assessments

In 1981, the US military adopted body fat standards to promote physical readiness and prevent obesity. Separate circumference-based equations were developed for women and men. Both predictive equations were known to underestimate %BF. However, it was not known how well these abdominal circumference-based methods tracked changes in %BF. This study examined the validity of the circumference-based %BF equations for assessing changes in %BF in young adult recruits during Army Basic Combat Training (BCT). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and circumference-based measures of %BF were obtained in women (n = 481) and men (n = 926) at the start (pre-BCT) and end (post-BCT) of 8 weeks of BCT. Repeated-measure ANOVAs were used to assess differences between DXA and circumference pre-BCT and for the change during BCT. Pre-BCT, circumferences underestimated %BF relative to DXA, with mean errors of −6.0% ± 4.4% for women and −6.0% ± 3.5% for men (both p < 0.01), and no difference between sexes was observed (p = 0.77). DXA detected a −4.0% ± 2.4% and −3.3% ± 2.8% change in %BF for women and men in response to BCT, respectively (both p < 0.01), whereas circumference estimates of %BF indicated a 0.0% ± 3.3% (p = 0.86) change in women and a −2.2% ± 3.3% (p < 0.01) change in men (sex difference by technique p < 0.01). In conclusion, circumference-based measures underestimated %BF at the start of BCT in both sexes as compared to DXA. Circumference measures underestimated changes in %BF during BCT in men and did not detect changes in women. These findings suggest that circumference-based %BF metrics may not be an appropriate tool to track changes in body composition during short duration training

Search for supersymmetry in events with b-quark jets and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for physics beyond the standard model based on events with large missing transverse energy, at least three jets, and at least one, two, or three b-quark jets. The study is performed using a sample of proton-proton collision data collected at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2011. The integrated luminosity of the sample is 4.98 inverse femtobarns. The observed number of events is found to be consistent with the standard model expectation, which is evaluated using control samples in the data. The results are used to constrain cross sections for the production of supersymmetric particles decaying to b-quark-enriched final states in the context of simplified model spectra.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review

Measurements of the branching fractions for B→K∗γB \to K^{*}\gamma decays at Belle II

This paper reports a study of $B \to K^{*}\gamma$ decays using $62.8\pm 0.6$ fb$^{-1}$ of data collected during 2019--2020 by the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB $e^{+}e^{-}$ asymmetric-energy collider, corresponding to $(68.2 \pm 0.8) \times 10^6$ $B\overline{B}$ events. We find $454 \pm 28$, $50 \pm 10$, $169 \pm 18$, and $160 \pm 17$ signal events in the decay modes $B^{0} \to K^{*0}[K^{+}\pi^{-}]\gamma$, $B^{0} \to K^{*0}[K^0_{\rm S}\pi^{0}]\gamma$, $B^{+} \to K^{*+}[K^{+}\pi^{0}]\gamma$, and $B^{+} \to K^{*+}[K^{+}\pi^{0}]\gamma$, respectively. The uncertainties quoted for the signal yield are statistical only. We report the branching fractions of these decays: $$\mathcal{B} [B^{0} \to K^{*0}[K^{+}\pi^{-}]\gamma] = (4.5 \pm 0.3 \pm 0.2) \times 10^{-5},$$ $$\mathcal{B} [B^{0} \to K^{*0}[K^0_{\rm S}\pi^{0}]\gamma] = (4.4 \pm 0.9 \pm 0.6) \times 10^{-5},$$ $$\mathcal{B} [B^{+} \to K^{*+}[K^{+}\pi^{0}]\gamma] = (5.0 \pm 0.5 \pm 0.4)\times 10^{-5},\text{ and}$$ $$\mathcal{B} [B^{+} \to K^{*+}[K^0_{\rm S}\pi^{+}]\gamma] = (5.4 \pm 0.6 \pm 0.4) \times 10^{-5},$$ where the first uncertainty is statistical, and the second is systematic. The results are consistent with world-average values

Observation of B→D(∗)K−KS0{B\to D^{(*)} K^- K^{0}_S} decays using the 2019-2022 Belle II data sample

We present a measurement of the branching fractions of four $B^{0,-}\to D^{(*)+,0} K^- K^{0}_S$ decay modes. The measurement is based on data from SuperKEKB electron-positron collisions at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance collected with the Belle II detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of ${362~\text{fb}^{-1}}$. The event yields are extracted from fits to the distributions of the difference between expected and observed $B$ meson energy to separate signal and background, and are efficiency-corrected as a function of the invariant mass of the $K^-K_S^0$ system. We find the branching fractions to be: $$\text{B}(B^-\to D^0K^-K_S^0)=(1.89\pm 0.16\pm 0.10)\times 10^{-4},$$ $$\text{B}(\overline B{}^0\to D^+K^-K_S^0)=(0.85\pm 0.11\pm 0.05)\times 10^{-4},$$ $$\text{B}(B^-\to D^{*0}K^-K_S^0)=(1.57\pm 0.27\pm 0.12)\times 10^{-4},$$ $$\text{B}(\overline B{}^0\to D^{*+}K^-K_S^0)=(0.96\pm 0.18\pm 0.06)\times 10^{-4},$$ where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. These results include the first observation of $\overline B{}^0\to D^+K^-K_S^0$, $B^-\to D^{*0}K^-K_S^0$, and $\overline B{}^0\to D^{*+}K^-K_S^0$ decays and a significant improvement in the precision of $\text{B}(B^-\to D^0K^-K_S^0)$ compared to previous measurements

Measurement of the branching fraction for the decay B→K∗(892)ℓ+ℓ−B \to K^{\ast}(892)\ell^+\ell^- at Belle II

We report a measurement of the branching fraction of $B \to K^{\ast}(892)\ell^+\ell^-$ decays, where $\ell^+\ell^- = \mu^+\mu^-$ or $e^+e^-$, using electron-positron collisions recorded at an energy at or near the $\Upsilon(4S)$ mass and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $189$ fb$^{-1}$. The data was collected during 2019--2021 by the Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB $e^{+}e^{-}$ asymmetric-energy collider. We reconstruct $K^{\ast}(892)$ candidates in the $K^+\pi^-$, $K_{S}^{0}\pi^+$, and $K^+\pi^0$ final states. The signal yields with statistical uncertainties are $22\pm 6$, $18 \pm 6$, and $38 \pm 9$ for the decays $B \to K^{\ast}(892)\mu^+\mu^-$, $B \to K^{\ast}(892)e^+e^-$, and $B \to K^{\ast}(892)\ell^+\ell^-$, respectively. We measure the branching fractions of these decays for the entire range of the dilepton mass, excluding the very low mass region to suppress the $B \to K^{\ast}(892)\gamma(\to e^+e^-)$ background and regions compatible with decays of charmonium resonances, to be \begin{equation} {\cal B}(B \to K^{\ast}(892)\mu^+\mu^-) = (1.19 \pm 0.31 ^{+0.08}_{-0.07}) \times 10^{-6}, {\cal B}(B \to K^{\ast}(892)e^+e^-) = (1.42 \pm 0.48 \pm 0.09)\times 10^{-6}, {\cal B}(B \to K^{\ast}(892)\ell^+\ell^-) = (1.25 \pm 0.30 ^{+0.08}_{-0.07}) \times 10^{-6}, \end{equation} where the first and second uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. These results, limited by sample size, are the first measurements of $B \to K^{\ast}(892)\ell^+\ell^-$ branching fractions from the Belle II experiment