Supersymmetric QCD corrections to the charged Higgs boson decay of the top quark

The one-loop supersymmetric QCD quantum effects on the width of the unconventional top quark decay mode t\rightarrow H^{+}\, b are evaluated within the MSSM. The study of this process is useful to hint at the supersymmetric nature of the charged Higgs emerging from that decay. Remarkably enough, recent calculations of supersymmetric corrections to Z-boson observables have shown that the particular conditions by which the decay t\rightarrow H^{+}\, b becomes competitive with the standard decay t\rightarrow W^{+}\,b have a chance to be realized in nature. This further motivates us to focus our attention on the dynamics of t\rightarrow H^{+}\, b as an excellent laboratory to unravel Supersymmetry at the quantum level in future experiments at Tevatron and at LHC

A new cell primo-culture method for freshwater benthic diatom communities

A new cell primo-culture method was developed for the benthic diatom community isolated from biofilm sampled in rivers. The approach comprised three steps: (1) scraping biofilm from river pebbles, (2) diatom isolation from biofilm, and (3) diatom community culture. With a view to designing a method able to stimulate the growth of diatoms, to limit the development of other microorganisms, and to maintain in culture a community similar to the original natural one, different factors were tested in step 3: cell culture medium (Chu No 10 vs Freshwater “WC” medium modified), cell culture vessel, and time of culture. The results showed that using Chu No 10 medium in an Erlenmeyer flask for cell culture was the optimal method, producing enough biomass for ecotoxicological tests as well as minimising development of other microorganisms. After 96 h of culture, communities differed from the original communities sampled in the two rivers studied. Species tolerant of eutrophic or saprobic conditions were favoured during culture. This method of diatom community culture affords the opportunity to assess, in vitro, the effects of different chemicals or effluents (water samples andindustrial effluents) on diatom communities, as well as on diatom cells, from a wide range of perspectives

Miopatía del complejo muscular Gracilis-Semitendinoso

Tras efectuar una revisión bibliográfica sobre el tema, el presente artículo describe 4 casos de miopatía fibrótica en los que ésta afecta al músculo graci/is en perros de raza Pastor alemán. El diagnóstico se basa en identificar la cojera característica y en descartar otros procesos. El tratamiento quirúrgico da buenos resultados a corto plazo, pero luego aparecen recidivas.After a bibliographic update, this article describes 4 cases of fíbrotíc miopathy of the gracilis muscle in German Shepherd dogs. Diagnosis relies on identifying typical gait and differentiating from other diseases. Surgical.treatment leads to short term satisfactory results but later, relapses occur

Single top production in a non-minimal supersymmetric model

We study single top production at the LHC in a SUSY-QCD model with a heavy Dirac gluino. The presence of a heavy Dirac gluino allows for notable top-up flavour changing neutral currents. In this scenario, we find that the process ug->tg gives the largest contribution to single top production via FCNCs at the LHC. The key features of this signal are that the top quark is produced very forward and that it is asymmetric to its anti-top counterpart, as the latter lacks a valence quark.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, a background added, references added, minor revisions, to be published in Phys. Lett.

MW and sin^2\theta_eff in Split SUSY: present and future expectations

We analyse the precision electroweak observables MW and sin^2\theta_eff and their correlations in the recently proposed Split SUSY model. We compare the results with the Standard Model and Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model predictions, and with present and future experimental accuracies. Present experimental accuracies in (MW, sin^2\theta_eff) do not allow constraints to be placed on the Split SUSY parameter space. We find that the shifts in (MW, sin^2\theta_eff) induced by Split SUSY can be larger than the anticipated accuracy of the GigaZ option of the International Linear Collider, and that the most sensitive observable is sin^2\theta_eff. These large shifts are possible also for large chargino masses in scenarios with small tan(\beta) =~ 1.Comment: LaTeX, 13 pages, 4 figures. Comments adde

The Antioxidant Potential of the Mediterranean Diet in Patients at High Cardiovascular Risk: An In-Depth Review of the PREDIMED

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading global cause of death. Diet is known to be important in the prevention of CVD. The PREDIMED trial tested a relatively low-fat diet versus a high-fat Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) for the primary prevention of CVD. The resulting reduction of the CV composite outcome resulted in a paradigm shift in CV nutrition. Though many dietary factors likely contributed to this effect, this review focuses on the influence of the MedDiet on endogenous antioxidant systems and the effect of dietary polyphenols. Subgroup analysis of the PREDIMED trial revealed increased endogenous antioxidant and decreased pro-oxidant activity in the MedDiet groups. Moreover, higher polyphenol intake was associated with lower incidence of the primary outcome, overall mortality, blood pressure, inflammatory biomarkers, onset of new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and obesity. This suggests that polyphenols likely contributed to the lower incidence of the primary event in the MedDiet groups. In this article, we summarize the potential benefits of polyphenols found in the MedDiet, specifically the PREDIMED cohort. We also discuss the need for further research to confirm and expand the findings of the PREDIMED in a non-Mediterranean population and to determine the exact mechanisms of action of polyphenols

Supersymmetric Electroweak Corrections to Sbottom Decay into Lighter Stop and Charged Higgs Boson

The Yukawa corrections of order ${\cal O}(\alpha_{ew}m_{t(b)}^2/m_W^2)$, ${\cal O}(\alpha_{ew}m_{t(b)}^3/m_W^3)$ and ${\cal O}(\alpha_{ew}m_{t(b)}^4/m_W^4)$ to the width of sbottom decay into lighter stop plus charged Higgs boson are calculated in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. These corrections depend on the masses of charged Higgs boson and lighter stop, and the parameters $\tan\beta$ and $\mu$. For favorable parameter values, the corrections decrease or increase the decay widths significantly. Especially for high values of $\tan\beta$(=30) the corrections exceed at least 10% for both $\tilde b_1$ and $\tilde b_2$ decay. But for low values of $\tan\beta$(=4,10) the corrections are small and the magnitudes are less than 10%. The numerical calculations also show that using the running bottom quark mass which includes the QCD effects and resums all high order $\tan\beta$-enhanced effects can improve much the convergence of the perturbation expansion.Comment: LateX, 27 pages, 13 ps figures. 12 figures updated, a figure and some references adde

Supersymmetric Electroweak Corrections to Heavier Top Squark Decay into Lighter Top Squark and Neutral Higgs Boson

We calculate the Yukawa corrections of order ${\cal O}(\alpha_{ew}m_{t(b)}^2/m_W^2)$, ${\cal O}(\alpha_{ew}m_{t(b)}^3/m_W^3)$ and ${\cal O}(\alpha_{ew}m_{t(b)}^4/m_W^4)$ to the widths of the decays $\tilde t_2\to \tilde t_1 + (h^0,H^0,A^0)$ in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, and perform a detailed numerical analysis. We also compare the results with the ones presented in an earlier literature, where the ${\cal O}(\alpha_{s})$ SUSY-QCD corrections to the same three decay processes have been calculated. Our numerical results show that for the decays $\tilde t_2\to \tilde t_1 + h^{0}$, $\tilde t_2\to \tilde t_1 + H^{0}$, the Yukawa corrections are significant in most of the parameter range, which can reach a few ten percent, and for the decay $\tilde t_2\to\tilde t_1 + A^{0}$, the Yukawa corrections are relatively smaller, which are only a few percent. The numerical calculations also show that using the running quark masses and the running trilinear coupling $A_t$, which include the QCD, SUSY-QCD, SUSY-Electroweak effects and resume all high order ($\tan\beta$)-enhanced effects, can vastly improve the convergence of the perturbation expansion. We also discuss the effects of the running of the higgsino mass parameter $\mu$ on the corrections, and find that they are significant, too, especially for large $\tan\beta$.Comment: 37 pages, 19 eps figure

The effects of laryngeal mask airway passage simulation training on the acquisition of undergraduate clinical skills: a randomised controlled trial

Background\ud Effective use of the laryngeal mask airway (LMA) requires learning proper insertion technique in normal patients undergoing routine surgical procedures. However, there is a move towards simulation training for learning practical clinical skills, such as LMA placement. The evidence linking different amounts of mannequin simulation training to the undergraduate clinical skill of LMA placement in real patients is limited. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness in vivo of two LMA placement simulation courses of different durations. \ud \ud Methods\ud Medical students (n = 126) enrolled in a randomised controlled trial. Seventy-eight of these students completed the trial. The control group (n = 38) received brief mannequin training while the intervention group (n = 40) received additional more intensive mannequin training as part of which they repeated LMA insertion until they were proficient. The anaesthetists supervising LMA placements in real patients rated the participants' performance on assessment forms. Participants completed a self-assessment questionnaire. \ud \ud Results\ud Additional mannequin training was not associated with improved performance (37% of intervention participants received an overall placement rating of > 3/5 on their first patient compared to 48% of the control group, $X^2$ = 0.81, p = 0.37). The agreement between the participants and their instructors in terms of LMA placement success rates was poor to fair. Participants reported that mannequins were poor at mimicking reality. \ud \ud Conclusions\ud The results suggest that the value of extended mannequin simulation training in the case of LMA placement is limited. Educators considering simulation for the training of practical skills should reflect on the extent to which the in vitro simulation mimics the skill required and the degree of difficulty of the procedure. \ud \u