97 research outputs found
Residual hip dysplasia in children: osseous and cartilaginous acetabular angles to guide further treatment-a pilot study.
In case of residual hip dysplasia (RHD) in children, pelvic radiographs are sometimes insufficient to precisely evaluate the entire coverage of the femoral head, when trying to decide on the need for further reconstructive procedures.
This study retrospectively compares the bony and the cartilaginous acetabular angle of Hilgenreiner (HTE) of 60 paediatric hips on pelvic MRI separated in two groups. Group 1 included 31 hips with RHD defined by a bony HTE > 20°. Group 2 included 27 hips with a HTE < 20°. They were compared by introducing a new ratio calculated from the square of cartilaginous HTE above the bony HTE on frontal MRI. The normal upper limit for this acetabular angle ratio was extrapolated from the published normal values of cartilaginous HTE and bony HTE in children.
The acetabular angle ratio was statistically significantly increased in the hips with RHD with a mean value of 7.1 ± 4.7 compared to the hips in the control group presenting a mean value of 2.1 ± 1.9 (p < 0.00001).
This newly introduced ratio seems to be a helpful tool to orientate the further treatment in children presenting borderline RHD
High energy photon interactions at the LHC
Experimental prospects for studying high-energy photon-photon and
photon-proton interactions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are
discussed. Cross sections are calculated for many electroweak and beyond the
Standard Model processes. Selection strategies based on photon interaction
tagging techniques are studied. Assuming a typical LHC multipurpose detector,
various signals and their irreducible backgrounds are presented after applying
acceptance cuts. Prospects are discussed for the Higgs boson search, detection
of supersymmetric particles and of anomalous quartic gauge couplings, as well
as for the top quark physics.Comment: 17 pages, 16 tables and 14 figure
A Method to Estimate the Boson Mass and to Optimise Sensitivity to Helicity Correlations of tau+tau- Final States
In proton-proton collisions at LHC energies, Z and low mass Higgs bosons
would be produced with high and predominantly longitudinal boost with respect
to the beam axis. This note describes a new analysis tool devised to handle
this situation in cases when such bosons decay to a pair of tau-leptons. The
tool reconstructs the rest frame of the tau+tau- pair by finding the boost that
minimises the acollinearity between the visible tau decay products. In most
cases this gives a reasonable approximation to the rest frame of the decaying
boson. It is shown how the reconstructed rest frame allows for a new method of
mass estimation. Also a considerable gain in sensitivity to helicity
correlations is obtained by analysing the tau-jets in the reconstructed frame
instead of using the laboratory momenta and energies, particularly when both
tau-leptons decay hadronically.Comment: 13 pages, method extended with 3D boost finde
TauSpinner program for studies on spin effect in tau production at the LHC
Final states involving tau leptons are important components of searches for
new particles at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). A proper treatment of tau
spin effects in the Monte Carlo (MC) simulations is important for understanding
the detector acceptance as well as for the measurements of tau polarization and
tau spin correlations. In this note we present a TauSpinner package designed to
simulate the spin effects. It relies on the availability of the four-momenta of
the taus and their decay products in the analyzed data. The flavor and the
four-momentum of the boson decaying to the tau-tau+ or tau+- nu pair need to be
known. In the Z/gamma* case the initial state quark configuration is attributed
from the intermediate boson kinematics, and the parton distribution functions
(PDF's). TauSpinner is the first algorithm suitable for emulation of tau spin
effects in tau-embedded samples. It is also the first tool that offers the user
the flexibility to simulate a desired spin effect at the analysis level. An
algorithm to attribute tau helicity states to a previously generated sample is
also provided.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures New feature, an algorithm to attribute tau
helicity states introduced in v
Measuring Higgs Coupling to Tau-Leptons at Future e+ e- Colliders
We perform a complete simulation of the process , where can be an electron, muon or tau neutrino, in the
context of a general Higgs coupling to leptons. We analyse various
kinematical distributions and obtain the sensitivity regions in the parameter
space that can be explored at a future collider. In particular,
inclusion of boson fusion enhances the sensitivity significantly.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
Age-related changes in relative expression stability of commonly used housekeeping genes in selected porcine tissues
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gene expression analysis using real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) is increasingly important in biological research due to the high-throughput and accuracy of qRT-PCR. For accurate and reliable gene expression analysis, normalization of gene expression data against housekeeping genes or internal control genes is required. The stability of reference genes has a tremendous effect on the results of relative quantification of gene expression by qRT-PCR. The expression stability of reference genes could vary according to tissues, age of individuals and experimental conditions. In the pig however, very little information is available on the expression stability of reference genes. The aim of this research was therefore to develop a new set of reference genes which can be used for normalization of mRNA expression data of genes expressed in varieties of porcine tissues at different ages.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mRNA expression stability of nine commonly used reference genes (<it>B2M, BLM, GAPDH, HPRT1, PPIA, RPL4, SDHA, TBP </it>and <it>YWHAZ</it>) was determined in varieties of tissues collected from newborn, young and adult pigs. geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper software were used to rank the genes according to their stability. geNorm software revealed that <it>RPL4, PPIA </it>and <it>YWHAZ </it>showed high stability in newborn and adult pigs, while <it>B2M, YWHAZ </it>and <it>SDHA </it>showed high stability in young pigs. In all cases, <it>GAPDH </it>showed the least stability in geNorm. NormFinder revealed that <it>TBP </it>was the most stable gene in newborn and young pigs, while <it>PPIA </it>was most stable in adult pigs. Moreover, geNorm software suggested that the geometric mean of three most stable gene would be the suitable combination for accurate normalization of gene expression study.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although, there was discrepancy in the ranking order of reference genes obtained by different analysing software methods, the geometric mean of the <it>RPL4, PPIA </it>and <it>YWHAZ </it>seems to be the most appropriate combination of housekeeping genes for accurate normalization of gene expression data in different porcine tissues at different ages.</p
Prospects for Diffractive and Forward Physics at the LHC
The CMS and TOTEM experiments intend to carry out a joint diffractive/forward physics program with an unprecedented rapidity coverage. The present document outlines some aspects of such a physics program, which spans from the investigation of the low-x structure of the proton to the diffractive production of a SM or MSSM Higgs boson
EQ-5D in Central and Eastern Europe : 2000-2015
Objective: Cost per quality-adjusted life year data are required for reimbursement decisions in many Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. EQ-5D is by far the most commonly used instrument to generate utility values in CEE. This study aims to systematically review the literature on EQ-5D from eight CEE countries. Methods: An electronic database search was performed up to July 1, 2015 to identify original EQ-5D studies from the countries of interest. We analysed the use of EQ-5D with respect to clinical areas, methodological rigor, population norms and value sets. Results: We identified 143 studies providing 152 country-specific results with a total sample size of 81,619: Austria (n=11), Bulgaria (n=6), Czech Republic (n=18), Hungary (n=47), Poland (n=51), Romania (n=2), Slovakia (n=3) and Slovenia (n=14). Cardiovascular (20%), neurologic (16%), musculoskeletal (15%) and endocrine/nutritional/metabolic diseases (14%) were the most frequently studied clinical areas. Overall 112 (78%) of the studies reported EQ VAS results and 86 (60%) EQ-5D index scores, of which 27 (31%) did not specify the applied tariff. Hungary, Poland and Slovenia have population norms. Poland and Slovenia also have a national value set. Conclusions: Increasing use of EQ-5D is observed throughout CEE. The spread of health technology assessment activities in countries seems to be reflected in the number of EQ-5D studies. However, improvement in informed use and methodological quality of reporting is needed. In jurisdictions where no national value set is available, in order to ensure comparability we recommend to apply the most frequently used UK tariff. Regional collaboration between CEE countries should be strengthened
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