Experiencing visual impairment in a lifetime home: an interpretative phenomenological inquiry

Lifetime home standards (LTHS) are a set of standards aimed at making homes more accessible. Previous research, however, indicates that LTHS do not adequately meet the needs of those with sensory impairments. Now, with visual impairment set to increase globally and acknowledging the recognised link between quality of dwelling and wellbeing, this article aims to examine the experiences of visually impaired people living in lifetime homes. The objectives are to investigate existing lifetime homes and to identify whether LTHS meet occupants’ needs. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were carried out with six visually impaired people living in homes designed to LTHS in Northern Ireland. Collected data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis identifying three super-ordinate themes: (1) living with visual impairment; (2) design considerations and (3) coping strategies. A core theme of balance between psychological and physical needs emerged through interconnection of super-ordinate themes. Although there are benefits to living in lifetime homes, negative aspects are also apparent with occupants employing several coping strategies to overcome difficulties. Whilst residents experience negative emotions following visual impairment diagnoses, results suggest that occupants still regard their homes as key places of security and comfort in addition to then highlighting the need for greater consideration of specific individual needs within general guidelines

Translational models for vascular cognitive impairment: a review including larger species.

BACKGROUND: Disease models are useful for prospective studies of pathology, identification of molecular and cellular mechanisms, pre-clinical testing of interventions, and validation of clinical biomarkers. Here, we review animal models relevant to vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). A synopsis of each model was initially presented by expert practitioners. Synopses were refined by the authors, and subsequently by the scientific committee of a recent conference (International Conference on Vascular Dementia 2015). Only peer-reviewed sources were cited. METHODS: We included models that mimic VCI-related brain lesions (white matter hypoperfusion injury, focal ischaemia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy) or reproduce VCI risk factors (old age, hypertension, hyperhomocysteinemia, high-salt/high-fat diet) or reproduce genetic causes of VCI (CADASIL-causing Notch3 mutations). CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that (1) translational models may reflect a VCI-relevant pathological process, while not fully replicating a human disease spectrum; (2) rodent models of VCI are limited by paucity of white matter; and (3) further translational models, and improved cognitive testing instruments, are required

A search for new physics in central exclusive production using the missing mass technique with the CMS detector and the CMS-TOTEM precision proton spectrometer

A generic search is presented for the associated production of a Z boson or a photon with an additional unspecified massive particle X, pp → pp + Z/γ + X, in proton-tagged events from proton–proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV, recorded in 2017 with the CMS detector and the CMS-TOTEM precision proton spectrometer. The missing mass spectrum is analysed in the 600–1600 GeV range and a fit is performed to search for possible deviations from the background expectation. No significant excess in data with respect to the background predictions has been observed. odelindependent upper limits on the visible production cross section of pp → pp + Z/γ + X are set

Inclusive nonresonant multilepton probes of new phenomena at s\sqrt{s}= 13 TeV

An inclusive search for nonresonant signatures of beyond the standard model (SM) phenomena in events with three or more charged leptons, including hadronically decaying τ leptons, is presented. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016–2018. Events are categorized based on the lepton and b-tagged jet multiplicities and various kinematic variables. Three scenarios of physics beyond the SM are probed, and signal-specific boosted decision trees are used for enhancing sensitivity. No significant deviations from the background expectations are observed. Lower limits are set at 95% confidence level on the mass of type-III seesaw heavy fermions in the range 845–1065 GeV for various decay branching fraction combinations to SM leptons. Doublet and singlet vectorlike τ lepton extensions of the SM are excluded for masses below 1045 GeV and in the mass range 125–150 GeV, respectively. Scalar leptoquarks decaying exclusively to a top quark and a lepton are excluded below 1.12–1.42 TeV, depending on the lepton flavor. For the type-III seesaw as well as the vectorlike doublet model, these constraints are the most stringent to date. For the vectorlike singlet model, these are the first constraints from the LHC experiments. Detailed results are also presented to facilitate alternative theoretical interpretations

Inclusive nonresonant multilepton probes of new phenomena at s\sqrt{s}= 13 TeV

An inclusive search for nonresonant signatures of beyond the standard model (SM) phenomena in events with three or more charged leptons, including hadronically decaying τ leptons, is presented. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}$= 13 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016–2018. Events are categorized based on the lepton and b-tagged jet multiplicities and various kinematic variables. Three scenarios of physics beyond the SM are probed, and signal-specific boosted decision trees are used for enhancing sensitivity. No significant deviations from the background expectations are observed. Lower limits are set at 95% confidence level on the mass of type-III seesaw heavy fermions in the range 845–1065 GeV for various decay branching fraction combinations to SM leptons. Doublet and singlet vectorlike τ lepton extensions of the SM are excluded for masses below 1045 GeV and in the mass range 125–150 GeV, respectively. Scalar leptoquarks decaying exclusively to a top quark and a lepton are excluded below 1.12–1.42 TeV, depending on the lepton flavor. For the type-III seesaw as well as the vectorlike doublet model, these constraints are the most stringent to date. For the vectorlike singlet model, these are the first constraints from the LHC experiments. Detailed results are also presented to facilitate alternative theoretical interpretations

Search for a right-handed W boson and a heavy neutrino in proton-proton collisions at s \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV

A search is presented for a right-handed W boson (WR) and a heavy neutrino (N), in a final state consisting of two same-flavor leptons (ee or μμ) and two quarks. The search is performed with the CMS experiment at the CERN LHC using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. The search covers two regions of phase space, one where the decay products of the heavy neutrino are merged into a single large-area jet, and one where the decay products are well separated. The expected signal is characterized by an excess in the invariant mass distribution of the final-state objects. No significant excess over the standard model background expectations is observed. The observations are interpreted as upper limits on the product of WR production cross sections and branching fractions assuming that couplings are identical to those of the standard model W boson. For N masses mN equal to half the WR mass mWR (mN = 0.2 TeV), mWR is excluded at 95% confidence level up to 4.7 (4.8) and 5.0 (5.4) TeV for the electron and muon channels, respectively. This analysis provides the most stringent limits on the WR mass to date

Search for flavor-changing neutral current interactions of the top quark and the Higgs boson decaying to a bottom quark-antiquark pair at s√ = 13 TeV

A search for flavor-changing neutral current interactions of the top quark (t) and the Higgs boson (H) is presented. The search is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137 fb−1 recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at s√ = 13 TeV. Events containing exactly one lepton (muon or electron) and at least three jets, among which at least two are identified as originating from the hadronization of a bottom quark, are analyzed. A set of deep neural networks is used for kinematic event reconstruction, while boosted decision trees distinguish the signal from the background events. No significant excess over the background predictions is observed, and upper limits on the signal production cross sections are extracted. These limits are interpreted in terms of top quark decay branching fractions (B ) to the Higgs boson and an up (u) or a charm quark (c). Assuming one nonvanishing extra coupling at a time, the observed (expected) upper limits at 95% confidence level are B (t → Hu) < 0.079 (0.11)% and B (t → Hc) < 0.094 (0.086)%