An all-glass microfluidic network with integrated amorphous silicon photosensors for on-chip monitoring of enzymatic biochemical assay

A lab-on-chip system, integrating an all-glass microfluidics and on-chip optical detection, was developed and tested. The microfluidic network is etched in a glass substrate, which is then sealed with a glass cover by direct bonding. Thin film amorphous silicon photosensors have been fabricated on the sealed microfluidic substrate preventing the contamination of the micro-channels. The microfluidic network is then made accessible by opening inlets and outlets just prior to the use, ensuring the sterility of the device. The entire fabrication process relies on conventional photolithographic microfabrication techniques and is suitable for low-cost mass production of the device. The lab-on-chip system has been tested by implementing a chemiluminescent biochemical reaction. The inner channel walls of the microfluidic network are chemically functionalized with a layer of polymer brushes and horseradish peroxidase is immobilized into the coated channel. The results demonstrate the successful on-chip detection of hydrogen peroxide down to 18 mu M by using luminol and 4-iodophenol as enhancer agent

Gravitino Dark Matter in Tree Level Gauge Mediation with and without R-parity

We investigate the cosmological aspects of Tree Level Gauge Mediation, a recently proposed mechanism in which the breaking of supersymmetry is communicated to the soft scalar masses by extra gauge interactions at the tree level. Embedding the mechanism in a Grand Unified Theory and requiring the observability of sfermion masses at the Large Hadron Collider, it follows that the Lightest Supersymmetric Particle is a gravitino with a mass of the order of 10 GeV. The analysis in the presence of R-parity shows that a typical Tree Level Gauge Mediation spectrum leads to an overabundance of the Dark Matter relic density and a tension with the constraints from Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. This suggests to relax the exact conservation of the R-parity. The underlying SO(10) Grand Unified Theory together with the bounds from proton decay provide a rationale for considering only bilinear R-parity violating operators. We finally analyze the cosmological implications of this setup by identifying the phenomenologically viable regions of the parameter space.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures. References added. To appear in JHE

Extended Tree-Level Gauge Mediation

Tree-level gauge mediation (TGM) is a scenario of SUSY breaking in which the tree-level exchange of heavy (possibly GUT) vector fields generates flavor-universal sfermion masses. In this work we extend this framework to the case of E_6 that is the natural extension of the minimal case studied so far. Despite the number of possible E_6 subgroups containing G_SM is large (we list all rank 6 subgroups), there are only three different cases corresponding to the number of vector messengers. As a robust prediction we find that sfermion masses are SU(5) invariant at the GUT scale, even if the gauge group does not contain SU(5). If SUSY breaking is mediated purely by the U(1) generator that commutes with SO(10) we obtain universal sfermion masses and thus can derive the CMSSM boundary conditions in a novel scenario.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figures, 3 table

Comparison of multiple techniques for endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration specimen preparation in a single institution experience.

The optimal method for specimen preparation of endobronchial ultrasound-transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is still controversial. This study aims to compare several techniques available for EBUS-TBNA specimen acquisition and processing, in order to identify the best performing technique. We retrospectively reviewed the data of 199 consecutive patients [male, 73%; median age, 64 years (IQR: 52-74 years)] undergoing EBUS-TBNA at our institution from 2012 through 2014 for diagnosis of hilar-mediastinal lymph node enlargement suspect of neoplastic (n=139) or granulomatous (n=60) disease. All procedures were performed by two experienced bronchoscopists, under conscious sedation and local anaesthesia, using 21/22-Gauge (G) needle, without rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE). Five specimen-processing techniques were used: cytology slides in 42 cases (21%); cell-block in 25 (13%); core-tissue in 60 (30%); combination of cytology slides and core-tissue in 51 (26%); combination of cytology slides and cell-block in 21 (10%). To assess the diagnostic accuracy of each tissue-processing technique we compared the EBUS-TBNA results to those obtained with surgical lymphadenectomy, or 1-year follow-up in non-operated patients. Diagnostic yield, accuracy and area under the curve (AUC) were as follows. Cytology slides: 81%, 80%, 0.90; cell-block: 48%, 33%, 0.67; core-tissue: 87%, 99%, 0.96; cytology slides + core-tissue: 80%, 100%, 1.00; cytology slides + cell-block: 86%, 100%, 1.00. Cytology slides and core-tissue method showed non-significantly different diagnostic yield (P=0.435) and AUC (P=0.152). In our single-institution experience, cytology slides and core-tissue preparations demonstrated high and similar diagnostic performance. Cytology slides combination with core-tissue or cell-block showed the highest performance, however these combination methods were more resource-consuming

Tree Level Gauge Mediation

We propose a new scheme in which supersymmetry breaking is communicated to the MSSM sfermions by GUT gauge interactions at the tree level. The (positive) contribution of MSSM fields to $\text{Str}(\mathcal{M}^2)$ is automatically compensated by a (negative) contribution from heavy fields. Sfermion masses are flavour universal, thus solving the supersymmetric flavour problem. In the simplest SO(10) embedding, the ratio of different sfermion masses is predicted and differs from mSugra and other schemes, thus making this framework testable at the LHC. Gaugino masses are generated at the loop level but enhanced by model dependent factors.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, text and references adde

Dirac Gauginos, Negative Supertraces and Gauge Mediation

In an attempt to maximize General Gauge Mediated parameter space, I propose simple models in which gauginos and scalars are generated from disconnected mechanisms. In my models Dirac gauginos are generated through the supersoft mechanism, while independent R-symmetric scalar masses are generated through operators involving non-zero messenger supertrace. I propose several new methods for generating negative messenger supertraces which result in viable positive mass squareds for MSSM scalars. The resultant spectra are novel, compressed and may contain light fermionic SM adjoint fields.Comment: 16 pages 3 figure

Factors influencing diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) in pancreatic and biliary tumors

Background and aimDiagnostic accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is influenced by several factors, primarily operator expertise. Formal training in EUS-FNA, as suggested by the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy guidelines, is not always available and is often expensive and time-consuming. In this study we evaluate factors influencing the diagnostic accuracy of pancreatic EUS-FNA.MethodsIn a retrospective study, 557 consecutive EUS-FNAs were evaluated. Several variables relating to the procedures were considered to calculate the EUS-FNA performance over eight years.ResultsA total of 308 out of 557 EUS-FNAs were selected. Overall sensitivity of EUS-FNA was 66% (95% CI: 60.8-71.8), specificity 100%, and diagnostic accuracy 69% (95% CI: 64.0-74.4). An increase in diagnostic accuracy was observed to >90% using a new fine-needle biopsy (FNB) needle and in the case of simultaneous sampling of primary and metastatic lesions. Diagnostic accuracy >80% was observed after 250 procedures, in the absence of rapid on-site cytopathological examination (ROSE). Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that the FNB needle, operator skill, and double EUS-FNA sampling are associated with high diagnostic accuracy.ConclusionsThe learning curve for EUS-FNA may be longer and a considerable number of procedures are needed to achieve high diagnostic accuracy in the absence of ROSE. However, the use of FNB needles and the simultaneous sampling of primary and metastatic lesions can rapidly improve the diagnostic accuracy of the procedure

The Diboson Excess: Experimental Situation and Classification of Explanations; A Les Houches Pre-Proceeding

We examine the `diboson' excess at $\sim 2$ TeV seen by the LHC experiments in various channels. We provide a comparison of the excess significances as a function of the mass of the tentative resonance and give the signal cross sections needed to explain the excesses. We also present a survey of available theoretical explanations of the resonance, classified in three main approaches. Beyond that, we discuss methods to verify the anomaly, determining the major properties of the various surpluses and exploring how different models can be discriminated. Finally, we give a tabular summary of the numerous explanations, presenting their main phenomenological features.Comment: 37 pages, 9 Figures, 1 Tabl

Clinical care pathway program versus open-access system: a study on appropriateness, quality, and efficiency in the delivery of colonoscopy in the colorectal cancer

Open-access colonoscopy (OAC), whereby the colonoscopy is performed without a prior office visit with a gastroenterologist, is affected by inappropriateness which leads to overprescription and reduced availability of the procedure in case of alarming symptoms. The clinical care pathway (CCP) is a healthcare management tool promoted by national health systems to organize work-up of various morbidities. Recently, we started a CCP dedicated to colorectal cancer (CRC), including a colonoscopy session for CRC diagnosis and prevention. We aimed to evaluate the appropriateness, the quality, and the efficiency in the delivery of colonoscopy with the open-access system and a CCP program in the CRC. Quality indicators for colonoscopy in subjects in the CCP were compared to referrals by general practitioners (OAC) or by non-gastroenterologist physicians (non-gastroenterologist physician colonoscopy, NGPC). Attendance rate to colonoscopy was greater in the CCP group and NGPC group than in the OAC group (99%, 99%, and 86%, respectively). Waiting time in the CCP group was shorter than in the OAC group (3.88 +/- 2.27 vs. 32 +/- 22.31 weeks, respectively). Appropriateness of colonoscopy prescription was better in the CCP group than in the OAC group (92 vs. 50%, respectively). OAC is affected by the lack of timeliness and low appropriateness of prescription. A CCP reduces the number of inappropriate colonoscopies, especially for post-polypectomy surveillance, and improves the delivery of colonoscopy in patients requiring a fast-track examination. The high rate of inappropriate OAC suggests that this modality of healthcare should be widely reviewed

Higgs decay with monophoton + MET signature from low scale supersymmetry breaking

We study the decay of a standard model-like Higgs boson into a gravitino and a neutralino, which subsequently decays promptly into another gravitino and a photon. Such a decay can be important in scenarios where the supersymmetry breaking scale is of the order of a few TeV, and in the region of low transverse momenta of the photon, it may provide the dominant contribution to the final state with a photon and two gravitinos. We estimate the relevant standard model backgrounds and the prospects for discovering this Higgs decay through a photon and missing transverse energy signal at the LHC in terms of a simplified model. We also give an explicit model with manifest, but spontaneously broken, supersymmetry in which the usual MSSM soft terms are promoted to supersymmetric operators involving a dynamical goldstino supermultiplet. This model can give rise to a SM-like CP-even neutral Higgs particle with a mass of 125 GeV, without requiring substantial radiative corrections, and with couplings sufficiently large for a signal discovery through the above mentioned Higgs decay channel with the upcoming data from the LHC.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables; v2: updated to JHEP version, references adde