320 research outputs found
Medical student experiences in clinical reproductive medicine: dual-cohort assessment of a new learning module at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Aims: Exposure to a structured curriculum in reproductive medicine during medical school is helpful given the high frequency of fertility and pregnancy-related issues that future physicians will encounter. This study sought to evaluate a new reproductive medicine module for medical students. Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Place and Duration of Study: Dublin, Ireland; 2008-2010. Methodology: A new educational module in reproductive medicine for upper-level medical students was initiated in 2008 at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). The module included reproductive endocrinology lectures, laboratory sessions, and direct observation of clinical consultations as a required component of an obstetrics and gynaecology rotation. Students were assigned to this module on the basis of random allocation by departmental administration. The current investigation used an anonymous questionnaire and a MCQ exam to measure academic performance and student acceptance of this module, at launch and again two years later. The first sampling was from the pilot class in 2008 and a second group was evaluated in 2010. No student was in both groups. Results: 42 of 66 students completed the evaluation in 2008, and 71 of 98 did so in 2010. Mean±SD medical student age and average examination scores were comparable for the two groups. In both samples, most students (95.5%) had no prior lectures on reproductive endocrinology, and most indicated improvement in their level of understanding after the module. Both laboratory and clinical features were scored highly by students. Conclusion: At present, there is no standardised medical student curriculum for reproductive medicine in Ireland. This report is the first to describe a structured learning experience in this subspecialty area for medical students in Ireland. Additional studies are planned to track knowledge acquisition and career impact specific to reproductive medicine based on this module
Fragmentation Function in Non-Equilibrium QCD Using Closed-Time Path Integral Formalism
In this paper we implement Schwinger-Keldysh closed-time path integral
formalism in non-equilibrium QCD to the definition of Collins-Soper
fragmentation function. We consider a high p_T parton in QCD medium at initial
time t_0 with arbitrary non-equilibrium (non-isotropic) distribution function
f(\vec{p}) fragmenting to hadron. We formulate parton to hadron fragmentation
function in non-equilibrium QCD in the light-cone quantization formalism. It
may be possible to include final state interactions with the medium via
modification of the Wilson lines in this definition of the non-equilibrium
fragmentation function. This may be relevant to study hadron production from
quark-gluon plasma at RHIC and LHC.Comment: 15 pages latex, Accepted for Publication in European Physical Journal
The beta function of N=1 SYM in Differential Renormalization
Using differential renormalization, we calculate the complete two-point
function of the background gauge superfield in pure N=1 Supersymmetric
Yang-Mills theory to two loops. Ultraviolet and (off-shell) infrared
divergences are renormalized in position and momentum space respectively. This
allows us to reobtain the beta function from the dependence on the ultraviolet
renormalization scale in an infrared-safe way. The two-loop coefficient of the
beta function is generated by the one-loop ultraviolet renormalization of the
quantum gauge field via nonlocal terms which are infrared divergent on shell.
We also discuss the connection of the beta function to the flow of the
Wilsonian coupling.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figures. Reference added, minor correction
Photoproduction of J/psi mesons at high energies in parton model and k_t-faktorization approach
We consider J/psi meson photoproduction on protons at high energies at the
leading order in alpha_s using conventional parton model and k_t-factorization
approach of QCD. It is shown that in the both cases the colour singlet
mechanism gives correct description for experimental data from HERA for the
total cross section and for the J/psi meson z-spectrum at realistic values of a
c-quark mass and meson wave function at the origin Psi (0). At the same time
our predictions for p_t-spectrum of J/psi meson and for p_t dependence of the
spin parameter alpha obtained in k_t-factorization approach are very different
from the results obtained in conventional parton model. Such a way the
experimental study of a polarized J/psi meson production at the large p_t
should be a direct test of BFKL gluons.Comment: LaTeX2e, 11 pages plus 8 fig. using epsfig.st
Approximating a Behavioural Pseudometric without Discount for<br> Probabilistic Systems
Desharnais, Gupta, Jagadeesan and Panangaden introduced a family of
behavioural pseudometrics for probabilistic transition systems. These
pseudometrics are a quantitative analogue of probabilistic bisimilarity.
Distance zero captures probabilistic bisimilarity. Each pseudometric has a
discount factor, a real number in the interval (0, 1]. The smaller the discount
factor, the more the future is discounted. If the discount factor is one, then
the future is not discounted at all. Desharnais et al. showed that the
behavioural distances can be calculated up to any desired degree of accuracy if
the discount factor is smaller than one. In this paper, we show that the
distances can also be approximated if the future is not discounted. A key
ingredient of our algorithm is Tarski's decision procedure for the first order
theory over real closed fields. By exploiting the Kantorovich-Rubinstein
duality theorem we can restrict to the existential fragment for which more
efficient decision procedures exist
Properties of the BFKL equation and structure function predictions for HERA
The general properties of the Lipatov or BFKL equation are reviewed.
Modifications to the infrared region are proposed. Numerical predictions for
the deep-inelastic electron-proton structure functions at small are
presented and confronted with recent HERA measurements.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, Latex file, Durham preprint DTP 92/2
Double parton scatterings in b-quark pairs production at the LHC
A sizable rate of events where two pairs of b-quarks are produced
contemporarily is foreseen at the CERN LHC, as a consequence of the large
parton luminosity. At very high energies both single and the double parton
scatterings contribute to the process, the latter mechanisms, although power
suppressed, giving the dominant contribution to the integrated cross section.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure
Generalized parton distributions and Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering in Color Glass Condensate model
Within the framework of the Color Glass Condensate model, we evaluate quark
and gluon Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) and the cross section of
Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) in the small- region. We
demonstrate that the DVCS cross section becomes independent of energy in the
limit of very small , which clearly indicates saturation of the DVCS
cross section. Our predictions for the GPDs and the DVCS cross section at
high-energies can be tested at the future Electron-Ion Collider and in
ultra-peripheral nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC.Comment: 20 pages, 8 Figure
Direct J/psi and psi' hadroproduction via fragmentation in the collinear parton model and k_T-factorization approach
The p_T-spectra for direct J/psi and psi' in hadroproduction at Tevatron
energy have been calculated based on NRQCD formalism and fragmentation
approximation in the collinear parton model and k_T-factorization approach. We
have described the CDF data and obtained a good agreement between the
predictions obtained in the parton model and k_T-factorization approach. We
performed the calculations using the relevant leading order in alpha_s hard
amplitudes and the equal values of the color-octet long-distance matrix
elements for the both models.Comment: 10 pages, Latex, 4 eps figures, epsfig.sty, graphics.st
Two parton shower background for associate W Higgs production
The estimates of the background for the associate W Higgs production, which
stems from the two parton shower production. It is about 1 - 2.5 times larger
than the signal. However, this background does not depend on the rapidity
difference between the W and the pair, while the signal peaks when
the rapidity difference is zero. The detailed calculations for the enhanced
diagrams' contribution to this process, are presented, and it is shown that the
overlapping singularities, being important theoretically, lead to a negligible
contribution for the LHC range of energiesComment: 35 pages and 10 figures in eps file
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