59 research outputs found
Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays and Stable H-dibaryon
It is shown that an instanton induced interaction between quarks produces a
very deeply bound H-dibaryon with mass below 2M_N, M_H=1718 MeV. Therefore the
H-dibaryon is predicted to be a stable particle. The reaction of
photodisintegration of H-dibaryon to in during of its penetration
into cosmic microwave background will result in a new possible cut-off in the
cosmic-ray spectrum. This provides an explanation of ultra-high energy cosmic
ray events observed above the GZK cut-off as a result of the strong interaction
of high energy H-dibaryons from cosmic rays with nuclei in Earth's atmosphere.Comment: 5 pages, Late
Can Doubly Strange Dibaryon Resonances be Discovered at RHIC?
The baryon-baryon continuum invariant mass spectrum generated from
relativistic nucleus + nucleus collision data may reveal the existence of
doubly-strange dibaryons not stable against strong decay if they lie within a
few MeV of threshold. Furthermore, since the dominant component of these states
is a superposition of two color-octet clusters which can be produced
intermediately in a color-deconfined quark-gluon plasma (QGP), an enhanced
production of dibaryon resonances could be a signal of QGP formation. A total
of eight, doubly-strange dibaryon states are considered for experimental search
using the STAR detector (Solenoidal Tracker at RHIC) at the new Relativistic
Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). These states may decay to Lambda-Lambda and/or
proton-Cascade-minus, depending on the resonance energy. STAR's large
acceptance, precision tracking and vertex reconstruction capabilities, and
large data volume capacity, make it an ideal instrument to use for such a
search. Detector performance and analysis sensitivity are studied as a function
of resonance production rate and width for one particular dibaryon which can
directly strong decay to proton-Cascade-minus but not Lambda-Lambda. Results
indicate that such resonances may be discovered using STAR if the resonance
production rates are comparable to coalescence model predictions for dibaryon
bound states.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures, revised versio
Low-lying S-wave and P-wave Dibaryons in a Nodal Structure Analysis
The dibaryon states as six-quark clusters of exotic QCD states are
investigated in this paper. With the inherent nodal surface structure analysis,
the wave functions of the six-quark clusters (in another word, the dibaryons)
are classified. The contribution of the hidden color channels are discussed.
The quantum numbers of the low-lying dibaryon states are obtained. The States
, ,
, and the
hidden color channel states with the same quantum numbers are proposed to be
the candidates of dibaryons, which may be observed in experiments.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figure
Neutron Star Constraints on the H Dibaryon
We study the influence of a possible H dibaryon condensate on the equation of
state and the overall properties of neutron stars whose population otherwise
contains nucleons and hyperons. In particular, we are interested in the
question of whether neutron stars and their masses can be used to say anything
about the existence and properties of the H dibaryon. We find that the equation
of state is softened by the appearance of a dibaryon condensate and can result
in a mass plateau for neutron stars. If the limiting neutron star mass is about
that of the Hulse-Taylor pulsar a condensate of H dibaryons of vacuum mass 2.2
GeV and a moderately attractive potential in the medium could not be ruled out.
On the other hand, if the medium potential were even moderately repulsive, the
H, would not likely exist in neutron stars. If neutron stars of about 1.6 solar
mass were known to exist, attractive medium effects for the H could be ruled
out. Certain ranges of dibaryon mass and potential can be excluded by the mass
of the Hulse-Taylor pulsar which we illustrate graphically.Comment: Revised by the addition of a figure showing the region of dibaryon
mass and potential excluded by the Hulse-Taylor pulsar. 18 pages, 11 figures,
latex (submitted to Phys. Rev. C
Heavy hexaquarks in a chiral constituent quark model
We discuss the stability of hexaquark systems of type uuddsQ (Q=c or b)
within a chiral constituent quark model which successfully describes the baryon
spectra including the charmed ones. We find these systems highly unstable
against strong decays and give a comparison with some of the previous
literature.Comment: 17 pages, Late
How the "H-particle" unravels the quark dynamics
It is shown that the short-range part of the Goldstone boson exchange
interaction between the constituent quarks which explains baryon spectroscopy
and the short-range repulsion in the NN system induces a strong short-range
repulsion in the flavour-singlet state of the system with
. It then suggests that a deeply bound H-particle should not exist. We
also compare our approach with other models employing different hyperfine
interactions between quarks in the nonperturbative regime of QCD.Comment: 9 pages. Section, devoted to the numerical estimate of the
"H-particle" channel with the Goldstone boson exchange model, is extended.
Discussion on the possible role of instantons is esentially modifie
Mental distress, alcohol use and help-seeking among medical and business students: a cross-sectional comparative study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stress and distress among medical students are thoroughly studied and presumed to be particularly high, but comparative studies including other student groups are rare.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A web-based survey was distributed to 500 medical students and 500 business students. We compared levels of study stress (HESI), burnout (OLBI), alcohol habits (AUDIT) and depression (MDI), and analysed their relationship with self-assessed mental health problems by logistic regression, with respect to gender.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Medical students' response rate was 81.6% and that of business students 69.4%. Business students scored higher on several study stress factors and on disengagement. Depression (OR 0.61, CI<sub>95 </sub>0.37;0.98) and harmful alcohol use (OR 0.55, CI<sub>95 </sub>0.37; 0.75) were both less common among medical students. However, harmful alcohol use was highly prevalent among male students in both groups (medical students 28.0%, business students 35.4%), and among female business students (25.0%). Mental health problems in need of treatment were equally common in both groups; 22.1% and 19.3%, respectively, and was associated with female sex (OR 2.01, CI<sub>95 </sub>1.32;3.04), exhaustion (OR 2.56, CI<sub>95 </sub>1.60;4.10), lower commitment to studies (OR 1.95, CI<sub>95 </sub>1.09;3.51) and financial concerns (OR 1.81 CI<sub>95 </sub>1.18;2.80)</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Medical students may not be more stressed than other high achieving student populations. The more cohesive structure of medical school and a higher awareness of a healthy lifestyle may be beneficial factors.</p
The PHENIX Experiment at RHIC
The physics emphases of the PHENIX collaboration and the design and current
status of the PHENIX detector are discussed. The plan of the collaboration for
making the most effective use of the available luminosity in the first years of
RHIC operation is also presented.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Further details of the PHENIX physics program
available at http://www.rhic.bnl.gov/phenix
The development and initial evaluation of the Diarrhoea Management Diary (DMD) in patients with metastatic breast cancer
Purpose
Chemotherapy-induced diarrhoea (CID) is a common, but often underreported problem in patients with breast cancer that has a profound effect on quality of life. It is best measured from a patient’s perspective, but tools are limited. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the Diarrhoea Management Diary (DMD), a self-report measure to assess CID, use of self-management strategies and treatment adherence.
Methods
The DMD was constructed using an iterative process of instrument development: concept elicitation (literature review), item generation and reduction (cognitive debriefing), and pilot testing in the target population. After translation into eight languages, the DMD was used in an international randomised trial for women receiving lapatinib and capecitabine for metastatic breast cancer with or without prophylactic octreotide. Patterns of missing data and sensitivity to change were examined.
Results
The understandability and completeness of the 8-item DMD was confirmed in cognitive interviews and pilot testing. Practicability of the DMD was evaluated in 62 women with metastatic breast cancer (median age 57). Up to 68% reported CID at any given time-point, and 19% had diarrhoea at each time-point. Patients also described efficacy of different strategies for diarrhoea management. Missing data were associated with study discontinuation. DMD missing item response was 0.9%. Sensitivity to change was good at most assessment points.
Conclusions
Although further psychometric testing is recommended, initial evaluation of the DMD showed good content validity and practicability in international research with cancer patients
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