Welcher Weg? A trajectory representation of a quantum Young's diffraction experiment

The double slit problem is idealized by simplifying each slit by a point source. A composite reduced action for the two correlated point sources is developed. Contours of the reduced action, trajectories and loci of transit times are developed in the region near the two point sources. The trajectory through any point in Euclidian 3-space also passes simultaneously through both point sources.Comment: 12 pages LaTeX2e, 9 figures. Typos corrected. Author's final submission. A companion paper to "Interference, reduced action, and trajectories", quant-ph/0605120. Keywords: interference, Young's experiment, entanglement, nonlocality, trajectory representation, determinis

Interference, reduced action, and trajectories

Instead of investigating the interference between two stationary, rectilinear wave functions in a trajectory representation by examining the two rectilinear wave functions individually, we examine a dichromatic wave function that is synthesized from the two interfering wave functions. The physics of interference is contained in the reduced action for the dichromatic wave function. As this reduced action is a generator of the motion for the dichromatic wave function, it determines the dichromatic wave function's trajectory. The quantum effective mass renders insight into the behavior of the trajectory. The trajectory in turn renders insight into quantum nonlocality.Comment: 12 pages text, 5 figures. Typos corrected. Author's final submission. A companion paper to "Welcher Weg? A trajectory representation of a quantum Young's diffraction experiment", quant-ph/0605121. Keywords: interference, nonlocality, trajectory representation, entanglement, dwell time, determinis

Common Problems, Common Data Model Solutions: Evidence Generation for Health Technology Assessment

There is growing interest in using observational data to assess the safety, effectiveness, and cost effectiveness of medical technologies, but operational, technical, and methodological challenges limit its more widespread use. Common data models and federated data networks offer a potential solution to many of these problems. The open-source Observational and Medical Outcomes Partnerships (OMOP) common data model standardises the structure, format, and terminologies of otherwise disparate datasets, enabling the execution of common analytical code across a federated data network in which only code and aggregate results are shared. While common data models are increasingly used in regulatory decision making, relatively little attention has been given to their use in health technology assessment (HTA). We show that the common data model has the potential to facilitate access to relevant data, enable multidatabase studies to enhance statistical power and transfer results across populations and settings to meet the needs of local HTA decision makers, and validate findings. The use of open-source and standardised analytics improves transparency and reduces coding errors, thereby increasing confidence in the results. Further engagement from the HTA community is required to inform the appropriate standards for mapping data to the common data model and to design tools that can support evidence generation and decision making

Common Problems, Common Data Model Solutions: Evidence Generation for Health Technology Assessment

There is growing interest in using observational data to assess the safety, effectiveness, and cost effectiveness of medical technologies, but operational, technical, and methodological challenges limit its more widespread use. Common data models and federated data networks offer a potential solution to many of these problems. The open-source Observational and Medical Outcomes Partnerships (OMOP) common data model standardises the structure, format, and terminologies of otherwise disparate datasets, enabling the execution of common analytical code across a federated data network in which only code and aggregate results are shared. While common data models are increasingly used in regulatory decision making, relatively little attention has been given to their use in health technology assessment (HTA). We show that the common data model has the potential to facilitate access to relevant data, enable multidatabase studies to enhance statistical power and transfer results across populations and settings to meet the needs of local HTA decision makers, and validate findings. The use of open-source and standardised analytics improves transparency and reduces coding errors, thereby increasing confidence in the results. Further engagement from the HTA community is required to inform the appropriate standards for mapping data to the common data model and to design tools that can support evidence generation and decision making

A symptom-based algorithm for calcium management after thyroid surgery: a prospective multicenter study

Objective: Evidence-based treatment guidelines for the management of postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia are absent. The aim of this study was to evaluate a newly developed symptom-based treatment algorithm including a protocolized attempt to phase out supplementation. Methods: In a prospective multicenter study, patients were treated according to the new algorithm and compared to a historical cohort of patients treated with a biochemically based approach. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients receiving calcium and/or alfacalcidol supplementation. Secondary outcomes were calcium-related complications and predictors for supplementation. Results: One hundred thirty-four patients were included prospectively, and compared to 392 historical patients. The new algorithm significantly reduced the proportion of patients treated with calcium and/or alfacalcidol during the first postoperative year (odds ratio (OR): 0.36 (95% CI: 0.23–0.54), P < 0.001), and persistently at 12 months follow-up (OR: 0.51 (95% CI: 0.28–0.90), P < 0.05). No severe calcium-related complications occurred, even though calcium-related visits to the emergency department and readmissions increased (OR: 11.5 (95% CI: 4.51–29.3), P <0.001) and (OR: 3.46 (95% CI: 1.58–7.57), P < 0.05), respectively. The proportional change in pre- to post operative parathyroid hormone (PTH) was an independent predictor for supplementation (OR: 1.04 (95% CI: 1.02–1.07), P < 0.05). Conclusions: Symptom-based management of postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia and a protocolized attempt to phase out supplementation safely reduce d the proportion of patients receiving supplementation, although the number of calcium-related hospital visits increased. For the future, we envision a more individualized treatment approach for patients at risk for delayed symptomatic hypocalcemia, including the proportional change in pre- to post- operative PTH

Commissioning and performance of the CMS pixel tracker with cosmic ray muons

This is the Pre-print version of the Article. The official published verion of the Paper can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 IOPThe pixel detector of the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment consists of three barrel layers and two disks for each endcap. The detector was installed in summer 2008, commissioned with charge injections, and operated in the 3.8 T magnetic field during cosmic ray data taking. This paper reports on the first running experience and presents results on the pixel tracker performance, which are found to be in line with the design specifications of this detector. The transverse impact parameter resolution measured in a sample of high momentum muons is 18 microns.This work is supported by FMSR (Austria); FNRS and FWO (Belgium); CNPq, CAPES, FAPERJ, and FAPESP (Brazil); MES (Bulgaria); CERN; CAS, MoST, and NSFC (China); COLCIENCIAS (Colombia); MSES (Croatia); RPF (Cyprus); Academy of Sciences and NICPB (Estonia); Academy of Finland, ME, and HIP (Finland); CEA and CNRS/IN2P3 (France); BMBF, DFG, and HGF (Germany); GSRT (Greece); OTKA and NKTH (Hungary); DAE and DST (India); IPM (Iran); SFI (Ireland); INFN (Italy); NRF (Korea); LAS (Lithuania); CINVESTAV, CONACYT, SEP, and UASLP-FAI (Mexico); PAEC (Pakistan); SCSR (Poland); FCT (Portugal); JINR (Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan); MST and MAE (Russia); MSTDS (Serbia); MICINN and CPAN (Spain); Swiss Funding Agencies (Switzerland); NSC (Taipei); TUBITAK and TAEK (Turkey); STFC (United Kingdom); DOE and NSF (USA)

Alignment of the CMS silicon tracker during commissioning with cosmic rays

This is the Pre-print version of the Article. The official published version of the Paper can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 IOPThe CMS silicon tracker, consisting of 1440 silicon pixel and 15 148 silicon strip detector modules, has been aligned using more than three million cosmic ray charged particles, with additional information from optical surveys. The positions of the modules were determined with respect to cosmic ray trajectories to an average precision of 3–4 microns RMS in the barrel and 3–14 microns RMS in the endcap in the most sensitive coordinate. The results have been validated by several studies, including laser beam cross-checks, track fit self-consistency, track residuals in overlapping module regions, and track parameter resolution, and are compared with predictions obtained from simulation. Correlated systematic effects have been investigated. The track parameter resolutions obtained with this alignment are close to the design performance.This work is supported by FMSR (Austria); FNRS and FWO (Belgium); CNPq, CAPES, FAPERJ, and FAPESP (Brazil); MES (Bulgaria); CERN; CAS, MoST, and NSFC (China); COLCIENCIAS (Colombia); MSES (Croatia); RPF (Cyprus); Academy of Sciences and NICPB (Estonia); Academy of Finland, ME, and HIP (Finland); CEA and CNRS/IN2P3 (France); BMBF, DFG, and HGF (Germany); GSRT (Greece); OTKA and NKTH (Hungary); DAE and DST (India); IPM (Iran); SFI (Ireland); INFN (Italy); NRF (Korea); LAS (Lithuania); CINVESTAV, CONACYT, SEP, and UASLP-FAI (Mexico); PAEC (Pakistan); SCSR (Poland); FCT (Portugal); JINR (Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan); MST and MAE (Russia); MSTDS (Serbia); MICINN and CPAN (Spain); Swiss Funding Agencies (Switzerland); NSC (Taipei); TUBITAK and TAEK (Turkey); STFC (United Kingdom); DOE and NSF (USA)

Performance of the CMS drift-tube chamber local trigger with cosmic rays

The performance of the Local Trigger based on the drift-tube system of the CMS experiment has been studied using muons from cosmic ray events collected during the commissioning of the detector in 2008. The properties of the system are extensively tested and compared with the simulation. The effect of the random arrival time of the cosmic rays on the trigger performance is reported, and the results are compared with the design expectations for proton-proton collisions and with previous measurements obtained with muon beams