The soft supersymmetry breaking in D=5 supergravity compactified on S_1/Z_2 orbifolds

We study the origin of the supersymmetry breaking induced by the mediation of gravity and the radion multiplet from the hidden to the visible brane in the context of the N=2, D=5 supergravity compactified on S_1/Z_2 orbifolds. The soft supersymmetry breaking terms for scalar masses, trilinear scalar couplings and gaugino masses are calculated to leading order in the five dimensional Newton's constant k_5^2 and the gravitino mass m_{3/2}. These are finite and non-vanishing, with the scalar soft masses be non-tachyonic, and are all expressed in terms of the gravitino mass and the length scale R of the fifth dimension. The soft supersymmetry breaking parameters are thus correlated and the phenomenological implications are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 1 Table, final version to appear in Physics Letters B, slightly shortened, comments added, typos correcte

Transport by molecular motors in the presence of static defects

The transport by molecular motors along cytoskeletal filaments is studied theoretically in the presence of static defects. The movements of single motors are described as biased random walks along the filament as well as binding to and unbinding from the filament. Three basic types of defects are distinguished, which differ from normal filament sites only in one of the motors' transition probabilities. Both stepping defects with a reduced probability for forward steps and unbinding defects with an increased probability for motor unbinding strongly reduce the velocities and the run lengths of the motors with increasing defect density. For transport by single motors, binding defects with a reduced probability for motor binding have a relatively small effect on the transport properties. For cargo transport by motors teams, binding defects also change the effective unbinding rate of the cargo particles and are expected to have a stronger effect.Comment: 20 pages, latex, 7 figures, 1 tabl

Identified particles in Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV

The yields of identified particles have been measured at RHIC for Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV using the PHOBOS spectrometer. The ratios of antiparticle to particle yields near mid-rapidity are presented. The first measurements of the invariant yields of charged pions, kaons and protons at very low transverse momenta are also shown.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Contribution to Quark Matter 2002, Nantes, France, July 200

Universal Behavior of Charged Particle Production in Heavy Ion Collisions

The PHOBOS experiment at RHIC has measured the multiplicity of primary charged particles as a function of centrality and pseudorapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 19.6, 130 and 200 GeV. Two kinds of universal behavior are observed in charged particle production in heavy ion collisions. The first is that forward particle production, over a range of energies, follows a universal limiting curve with a non-trivial centrality dependence. The second arises from comparisons with pp/pbar-p and e+e- data. N_tot/(N_part/2) in nuclear collisions at high energy scales with sqrt(s) in a similar way as N_tot in e+e- collisions and has a very weak centrality dependence. This feature may be related to a reduction in the leading particle effect due to the multiple collisions suffered per participant in heavy ion collisions.Comment: 4 Pages, 5 Figures, contributed to the Proceedings of Quark Matter 2002, Nantes, France, 18-24 July 200

Global Observations from PHOBOS

Particle production in Au+Au collisions has been measured in the PHOBOS experiment at RHIC for a range of collision energies. Three empirical observations have emerged from this dataset which require theoretical examination. First, there is clear evidence of limiting fragmentation. Namely, particle production in central Au+Au collisions, when expressed as $dN/d\eta'$ ($\eta' \equiv \eta-y_{beam}$), becomes energy independent at high energy for a broad region of $\eta'$ around $\eta'=0$. This energy-independent region grows with energy, allowing only a limited region (if any) of longitudinal boost-invariance. Second, there is a striking similarity between particle production in e+e- and Au+Au collisions (scaled by the number of participating nucleon pairs). Both the total number of produced particles and the longitudinal distribution of produced particles are approximately the same in e+e- and in scaled Au+Au. This observation was not predicted and has not been explained. Finally, particle production has been found to scale approximately with the number of participating nucleon pairs for $N_{part}>65$. This scaling occurs both for the total multiplicity and for high \pT particles (3 <\pT< 4.5 GeV/c).Comment: QM2002 plenary talk, 10 pages, 11 figure

Hospital variation in combined liver resection and thermal ablation for colorectal liver metastases and impact on short-term postoperative outcomes: a nationwide population-based study

Background: Combining resection and thermal ablation can improve short-term postoperative outcomes in patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). This study assessed nationwide hospital variation and short-term postoperative outcomes after combined resection and ablation.Methods: In this population-based study, all CRLM patients who underwent resection in the Netherlands between 2014 and 2018 were included. After propensity score matching for age, ASA-score, Charlson-score, diameter of largest CRLM, number of CRLM and earlier resection, postoperative outcomes were compared. Postoperative complicated course (PCC) was defined as discharge after 14 days or a major complication or death within 30 days of surgery.Results: Of 4639 included patients, 3697 (80%) underwent resection and 942 (20%) resection and ablation. Unadjusted percentage of patients who underwent resection and ablation per hospital ranged between 4 and 44%. Hospital variation persisted after case-mix correction. After matching, 734 patients remained in each group. Hospital stay (median 6 vs. 7 days, p = 0.011), PCC (11% vs. 14.7%, p = 0.043) and 30-day mortality (0.7% vs. 2.3%, p = 0.018) were lower in the resection and ablation group. Differences faded in multivariable logistic regression due to inclusion of major hepatectomy.Conclusion: Significant hospital variation was observed in the Netherlands. Short-term postoperative outcomes were better after combined resection and ablation, attributed to avoiding complications associated with major hepatectomy.Imaging- and therapeutic targets in neoplastic and musculoskeletal inflammatory diseas

Charged hadron transverse momentum distributions in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV

We present transverse momentum distributions of charged hadrons produced in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The spectra were measured for transverse momenta p_T from 0.25 to 4.5 GeV/c in a rapidity range of 0.2 < y_pi < 1.4. The evolution of the spectra is studied as a function of collision centrality, from 65 to 344 participating nucleons. The results are compared to data from proton-antiproton collisions and Au+Au collisions at lower RHIC energies. We find a significant change of the spectral shape between proton-antiproton and peripheral Au+Au collisions. Comparing peripheral to central Au+Au collisions, we find that the yields at high p_T exhibit approximate scaling with the number of participating nucleons, rather than scaling with the number of binary collisions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys.Lett.

Updated precision measurement of the average lifetime of B hadrons

The measurement of the average lifetime of B hadrons using inclusively reconstructed secondary vertices has been updated using both an improved processing of previous data and additional statistics from new data. This has reduced the statistical and systematic uncertainties and gives \tau_{\mathrm{B}} = 1.582 \pm 0.011\ \mathrm{(stat.)} \pm 0.027\ \mathrm{(syst.)}\ \mathrm{ps.} Combining this result with the previous result based on charged particle impact parameter distributions yields \tau_{\mathrm{B}} = 1.575 \pm 0.010\ \mathrm{(stat.)} \pm 0.026\ \mathrm{(syst.)}\ \mathrm{ps.

Colorectal liver metastases: Surgery versus thermal ablation (COLLISION) - a phase III single-blind prospective randomized controlled trial

Background: Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA) are widely accepted techniques to eliminate small unresectable colorectal liver metastases (CRLM). Although previous studies labelled thermal ablation inferior to surgical resection, the apparent selection bias when comparing patients with unresectable disease to surgical candidates, the superior safety profile, and the competitive overall survival results for the more recent reports mandate the setup of a randomized controlled trial. The objective of the COLLISION trial is to prove non-inferiority of thermal ablation compared to hepatic resection in patients with at least one resectable and ablatable CRLM and no extrahepatic disease. Methods: In this two-arm, single-blind multi-center phase-III clinical trial, six hundred and eighteen patients with at least one CRLM (≤3cm) will be included to undergo either surgical resection or thermal ablation of appointed target lesion(s) (≤3cm). Primary endpoint is OS (overall survival, intention-to-treat analysis). Main secondary endpoints are overall disease-free survival (DFS), time to progression (TTP), time to local progression (TTLP), primary and assisted technique efficacy (PTE, ATE), procedural morbidity and mortality, length of hospital stay, assessment of pain and quality of life (QoL), cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and quality-adjusted life years (QALY). Discussion: If thermal ablation proves to be non-inferior in treating lesions ≤3cm, a switch in treatment-method may lead to a reduction of the post-procedural morbidity and mortality, length of hospital stay and incremental costs without compromising oncological outcome for patients with CRLM. Trial registration:NCT03088150 , January 11th 2017