Lorentz Violation and Superpartner Masses

We consider Lorentz violation in supersymmetric extensions of the standard model. We perform a spurion analysis to show that, in the simplest natural constructions, the resulting supersymmetry-breaking masses are tiny. In the process, we argue that one of the strongest bounds on Lorentz violation in the photon Lagrangian, which comes from the absence of birefringence from distant astrophysical sources, does not apply when Lorentz violation is parametrized by a single vector.Comment: 13 pages. v3: some comments and a short appendix added to elaborate on the relation between LV and SUSY breakin

The Power of Creative Space in Engineering Education

In order to graduate globally capable engineers who are not only technically savvy, but socially competent and business smart, Sheridan’s School of Engineering has found both a process and a ‘place’ to meet these goals and align with their vision to create curricula that inspire innovation and creativity. The process: the CDIO methodology that helps graduate “ready to work” engineers. The place: Sheridan’s Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Design Technologies (CAMDT). In the fall of 2013 Sheridan unveiled its new visual identity with a tag line that challenges people to get creative. It\u27s a bold and courageous statement that reflects Sheridan\u27s belief that creativity is, among other things, an essential life skill. Our focus on creativity, which can best be described as \u27creativity with purpose\u27 or \u27practical creativity,\u27 extends across all programs. It\u27s about challenging students to re-imagine ideas, experiment, collaborate, take risks and build a resourceful, resilient and flexible mind. How realistic and authentic is this Creative Campus philosophy at Sheridan? How did this notion of creativity make its way into our mission, values and strategic goals? For the CDIO methodology to translate into outcomes, students need the creative space to get the real world practice that makes CDIO such a powerful learning strategy. Operating like a research and development arm for small and medium sized enterprises, CAMDT unites engineering students, faculty and community partners to solve real world challenges and produce solutions that benefit the local economy. At Sheridan, CAMDT is not just a physical space, it’s a creative space where the collaboration between engineering students, educators, industry and community partners not only benefits enterprise partners, but helps Sheridan shape engineering education. In travelling down the road to university recognition, Sheridan has engaged its academic community to describe the characteristics that best represent the Sheridan University of the future. It is through this process that the plan for the Creative Campus emerged. The paper reviews Sheridan’s Creative Campus Strategy and draws parallels to the four high-level expectations in the CDIO syllabus

Gauge Theories in AdS5AdS_5 and Fine-Lattice Deconstruction

The logarithmic energy dependence of gauge couplings in AdS_5 emerges almost automatically when the theory is deconstructed on a coarse lattice. Here we study the theory away from the coarse-lattice limit. While we cannot analytically calculate individual KK masses for a fine lattice, we can calculate the product of all non-zero masses. This allows us to write down the gauge coupling at low energies for any lattice-spacing and curvature. As expected, the leading log behaviour is corrected by power-law contributions, suppressed by the curvature. We then turn to intermediate energies, and discuss the gauge coupling and the gauge boson profile in perturbation theory around the coarse-lattice limit.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, typos in listing version of abstract correcte

Lack of Association between Anti-Phospholipid Antibodies (APLA) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Children

Numerous studies have shown the pathological influence anti-phospholipid antibodies (APLA) have on the physiology of the single neuron as well as the function of the entire human nervous system. The influence is well demonstrated in the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). This syndrome is characterized by a triad of arterial or venous thrombotic events, recurrent fetal loss and thrombocytopenic purpura. The syndrome exhibits different neurological pathologies such as: chorea, seizures, transverse myelopathy, migraine, cerebral ataxia, hemiballismus and transient global amnesia, which are not fully explained by the procoagulopathic trait of APLA. A study on mice induced with APS demonstrated hyperactive behavior when compared to the control group. The information gathered from these different studies raised the question whether APLA has any part in the etiology of Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) in children

White Matter Hyperintensities in Parkinson’s Disease: Do They Explain the Disparity between the Postural Instability Gait Difficulty and Tremor Dominant Subtypes?

Background: Brain white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) commonly observed on brain imaging of older adults are associated with balance and gait impairment and have also been linked to cognitive deficits. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is traditionally sub-classified into the postural instability gait difficulty (PIGD) sub-type, and the tremor dominant (TD) sub-type. Considering the known association between WMHs and axial symptoms like gait disturbances and postural instability, one can hypothesize that WMHs might contribute to the disparate clinical sub-types of patients with PD. Methods: 110 patients with PD underwent a clinical evaluation and a 3T MRI exam. Based on the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale, the patients were classified into motor sub-types, i.e., TD or PIGD, and scores reflecting PIGD and TD symptoms were computed. We compared white matter burden using three previously validated methods: one using a semi-quantitative visual rating scale in specific brain regions and two automated methods. Results: Overall, MRI data were obtained in 104 patients. The mean WMHs scores and the percent of subjects with lesions in specific brain regions were similar in the two subtypes, p = 0.678. The PIGD and the TD scores did not differ even when comparing patients with a relatively high burden of WMHs to patients with a relatively low burden. Across most of the brain regions, mild to moderate correlations between WMHs and age were found (r = 0.23 to 0.41; p<0.021). Conversely, no significant correlations were found between WMHs and the PIGD score or disease duration. In addition, depressive symptoms and cerebro-vascular risk factors were similar among the two subtypes. Conclusions: In contrast to what has been reported previously among older adults, the present study could not demonstrate any association between WMHs and the PIGD or TD motor sub-types in patients with PD

Gastrostomy Tube Placement by Radiological Methods for Older Patients Requiring Enteral Nutrition: Not to be Forgotten

Background: The use of gastrostomy tubes for long-term nutritional support in older patients is frequent. Percutaneous gastrostomy tube placement may be performed using various techniques, including endoscopic, surgical, and radiologically-guided methods. While percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement is the most widely used and accepted approach, experience with the use of percutaneous radiological gastrostomy (PRG) is more limited.Objective: To evaluate the safety and short-term outcomes of PRG in older patients requiring long-term enteral feeding.Method: We performed a prospective study involving all patients aged 65 years and older who underwent PRG insertion at the Laniado hospital over a period of 2 years. Adverse events related to the gastrostomy tube insertion were recorded over a period of 3 months following the procedure.Results: A total of 58 patients were included with a mean age of 78.1 years, and 48% were women. The most frequent indications for enteral feeding were stroke (47%) and dementia (41%). The technical success rate was 100% with no immediate procedure-related mortality or morbidity. One-month mortality was 3%, and overall mortality at 3-month follow-up was 16%. Complications were reported in 39 (67%) of patients, with 17 (29%) experiencing more than 1 complication. While most complications (88%) were minor, major complications occurred in 19 (33%) of the patients. Peritonitis was the cause of death in 2 patients, and tube dislodgment occurred in 17 subjects. During the follow-up period 17 (29%) of patients were re-admitted to hospital, with the cause for re-hospitalization being unrelated to the PRG in half of the cases. Neither bleeding nor deep wound infection was detected in the study group.Conclusions: PRG is relatively safe and effective for gastrostomy placement in older patients, and this technique may be of value in patients with oral infections and those receiving anti-thrombotic therapy