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 $x$ 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-$x_{B}$ region. We demonstrate that the DVCS cross section becomes independent of energy in the limit of very small $x_{B}$, 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 $b \bar{b}$ 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