21,646 research outputs found
Evaluation of subcutaneous proleukin (Interleukin-2) in a randomized international trial (ESPRIT): Geographical and gender differences in the baseline characteristics of participants
Background: ESPRIT, is a phase III, open-label, randomized, international clinical trial evaluating the effects of subcutaneous recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) plus antiretroviral therapy (ART) versus ART alone on HIV-disease progression and death in HIV-1-infected individuals with CD4+ T-cells ≥300 cells/μL. Objectives: To describe the baseline characteristics of participants randomized to ESPRIT overall and by geographic location. Method: Baseline characteristics of randomized participants were summarized by region. Results: 4,150 patients were enrolled in ESPRIT from 254 sites in 25 countries. 41%, 27%, 16%, 11%, and 5% were enrolled in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Australia, respectively. The median age was 40 years, 81% were men, and 76%, 11%, and 9% were Caucasian, Asian, and African American or African, respectively. 44% of women enrolled (n = 769) were enrolled in Thailand and Argentina. Overall, 55% and 38% of the cohort acquired HIV through male homosexual and heterosexual contact, respectively. 25% had a prior history of AIDS-defining illness; Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, M. tuberculosis, and esophageal candida were most commonly reported. Median nadir and baseline CD4+ T-cell counts were 199 and 458 cells/μL, respectively. 6% and 13% were hepatitis B or C virus coinfected, respectively. Median duration of antiretroviral therapy (ART) was 4.2 years; the longest median duration was in Australia (5.2 years) and the shortest was in Asia (2.3 years). 17%, 13%, and 69% of participants began ART before 1995, between 1996 and 1997, and from 1998 onward, respectively. 86% used ART from two or more ART classes, with 49% using a protease inhibitor-based regimen and 46% using a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimen. 78% had plasma HIV RNA below detection (<500 cp/mL). Conclusion: ESPRIT has enrolled a diverse population of HIV-infected individuals including large populations of women and patients of African-American/African and Asian ethnicity often underrepresented in HIV research. As a consequence, the results of the study may have wide global applicability
eta_c production at the Large Hadron Collider
We have studied the production of the 1S_0 charmonium state, eta_c, at the
Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the framework of Non-Relativistic Quantum
Chromodynamics (NRQCD) using heavy-quark symmetry. We find that NRQCD predicts
a large production cross-section for this resonance at the LHC even after
taking account the small branching ratio of eta_c into two photons. We show
that it will be possible to test NRQCD through its predictions for eta_c, with
the statistics that will be achieved at the early stage of the LHC, running at
a center of mass energy of 7 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 100 pb^{-1}Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
Hyperon Nonleptonic Weak Decays Revisited
We first review the current algebra - PCAC approach to nonleptonic octet
baryon 14 weak decay B (\to) (B^{\prime})(\pi) amplitudes. The needed four
parameters are independently determined by (\Omega \to \Xi \pi),(\Lambda K) and
(\Xi ^{-}\to \Sigma ^{-}\gamma) weak decays in dispersion theory tree order. We
also summarize the recent chiral perturbation theory (ChPT) version of the
eight independent B (\to) (B^{\prime}\pi) weak (\Delta I) = 1/2 amplitudes
containing considerably more than eight low-energy weak constants in one-loop
order.Comment: 10 pages, RevTe
Glueball Production in Peripheral Heavy-Ion Collisions
The method of equivalent quanta is applied both to photon-photon and, by
analogy, to double pomeron exchange in heavy-ion collisions. This
Weizs\"acker-Williams approach is used to calculate production cross sections
for the glueball candidate meson via photon-photon and
pomeron-pomeron fusion in peripheral heavy-ion collisions at both RHIC and LHC
energies. The impact-parameter dependence for total and elastic cross sections
are presented, and are compared to results for proton-proton collisions.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure
A simple quantum cosmology
A simple and surprisingly realistic model of the origin of the universe can
be developed using the Friedmann equation from general relativity, elementary
quantum mechanics, and the experimental values of h, c, G and the proton mass.
The model assumes there are N space dimensions (with N > 6) and the potential
constraining the radius r of the invisible N -3 compact dimensions varies as
r^4. In this model, the universe has zero total energy and is created from
nothing. There is no initial singularity. If space-time is eleven dimensional,
as required by M theory, the scalar field corresponding to the size of the
compact dimensions inflates the universe by about 26 orders of magnitude (60
e-folds). If the Hubble constant is 65 km/sec Mpc, the energy density of the
scalar field after inflation results in Omega-sub-Lambda = 0.68, in agreement
with recent astrophysical observations.Comment: To be published in General Relativity and Gravitation, August 200
conversion in nuclei within the CMSSM seesaw: universality versus non-universality
In this paper we study conversion in nuclei within the context of the
Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, enlarged by three right
handed neutrinos and their supersymmetric partners, and where the neutrino
masses are generated via a seesaw mechanism. Two different scenarios with
either universal or non-universal soft supersymmetry breaking Higgs masses at
the gauge coupling unification scale are considered. In the first part we
present a complete one-loop computation of the conversion rate for this process
that includes the photon-, -boson, and Higgs-boson penguins, as well as box
diagrams, and compare their size in the two considered scenarios. Then, in
these two scenarios we analyse the relevance of the various parameters on the
conversion rates, particularly emphasising the role played by the heavy
neutrino masses, , and especially . In the case of
hierachical heavy neutrinos, an extremely high sensitivity of the rates to
is indeed found. The last part of this work is devoted to the
study of the interesting loss of correlation between the conversion and
rates that occurs in the non-universal scenario. In the case
of large and light Higgs boson an enhanced ratio of the
to rates, with respect to the universal case is
found, and this could be tested with the future experimental sensitivities.Comment: 48 pages, 15 figures. Minor typos corrected and some references adde
Flavor Changing Neutral Currents involving Heavy Quarks with Four Generations
We study various FCNC involving heavy quarks in the Standard Model (SM) with
a sequential fourth generation. After imposing , and constraints, we find can be enhanced by an order of magnitude to ,
while decays can reach , which are orders of magnitude
higher than in SM. However,these rates are still not observable for the near
future.With the era of LHC approaching, we focus on FCNC decays involving
fourth generation and quarks. We calculate the rates for
loop induced FCNC decays , as well as
t^\prime\to tZ,\tH, tg, t\gamma. If is of order , tree level decay would dominate, posing a challenge
since -tagging is less effective. For ,
would tend to dominate, while could also open for heavier
, leading to thepossibility of quadruple- signals via . The FCNC decays could still dominate if
is just above 200 GeV. For the case of , ingeneral would be dominant, hence it behaves like a heavy top. For both and
, except for the intriguing light case, FCNC decays are in the
range, and are quite detectable at the LHC.For a possible
future ILC, we find the associated production of FCNC ,
are below sensitivity, while
and can be better probed.Tevatron Run-II can still probe the
lighter or scenario. LHC would either discover the fourth generation
and measure the FCNC rates, or rule out the fourth generation conclusively.Comment: 31 pages, 15 eps figures, version to appear in JHE
Frailty Index and incident mortality, hospitalization and institutionalization in Alzheimer's disease: data from the ICTUS study.
BACKGROUND:
The identification of an objective evaluation of frailty capable of predicting adverse outcomes in Alzheimer's disease is increasingly discussed. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the Frailty Index (FI) predicts hospitalization, institutionalization, and mortality in Alzheimer's disease patients.
METHODS:
A prospective multicenter cohort study (follow-up = 2 years) that included 1,191 participants with Alzheimer's disease was carried out. The outcomes of interest were incident hospitalization, institutionalization, and mortality. The FI was calculated as the ratio of actual to thirty potential deficits, that is, deficits presented by the participant divided by 30. Severity of dementia was assessed using the Clinical Dementia Rating score. Cox proportional hazard models were performed.
RESULTS:
Mean age of the study sample was 76.2 (SD = 7.6) years. A quadratic relationship of the FI with age was reported at baseline (R 2 = .045, p < .001). The FI showed a statistically significant association with mortality (age- and gender-adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.019, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.002-1.037, p = .031) and hospitalization (age- and gender-adjusted HR = 1.017, 95% CI = 1.006-1.029, p = .004) and a borderline significance with institutionalization. When the Clinical Dementia Rating score was simultaneously included in the age- and gender-adjusted models, the FI confirmed its predictive capacity for hospitalization (HR = 1.019, 95% CI = 1.006-1.032, p = .004), whereas the Clinical Dementia Rating score was the strongest predictor for mortality (HR = 1.922, 95% CI = 1.256-2.941, p = .003) and institutionalization (HR = 1.955, 95%CI = 1.427-2.679, p < .001).
CONCLUSIONS:
The FI is a robust predictor of adverse outcomes even after the stage of the underlying dementia is considered. Future work should evaluate the clinical implementation of the FI in the assessment of demented individuals in order to improve the personalization of care
Photo- and Electroproduction of Eta Mesons
Eta photo- and electroproduction off the nucleon is investigated in an
effective lagrangian approach that contains Born terms and both vector meson
and nucleon resonance contributions. In particular, we review and develop the
formalism for coincidence experiments with polarization degrees of freedom. The
different response functions appearing in single and double polarization
experiments have been studied. We will present calculations for structure
functions and kinematical conditions that are most sensitive to details of the
lagrangian, in particular with regard to contributions of nucleon resonances
beyond the dominant (1535) resonance.Comment: 24 pages RevTeX/LaTeX2.09, NFSS1, 13 figures (in separate file
(tar,gzip and uue)), accepted for publication in Z. Phys.
Model prediction of impurity retention in stochastic magnetic boundary and comparison with edge carbon emission in LHD
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