2,578 research outputs found
Strong Sphalerons and Electroweak Baryogenesis
We analyze the spontaneous baryogenesis and charge transport mechanisms
suggested by Cohen, Kaplan and Nelson for baryon asymmetry generation in
extended versions of electroweak theory. We find that accounting for
non-perturbative chirality-breaking transitions due to strong sphalerons
reduces the baryonic asymmetry by the factor or ,
provided those processes are in thermal equilibrium.Comment: CERN-TH.7080/9
Spontaneous Parity Violation in SUSY Strong Gauge Theory
We suggest simple models of spontaneous parity violation in supersymmetric
strong gauge theory. We focus on left-right symmetric model and investigate
vacuum with spontaneous parity violation. Non-perturbative effects are
calculable in supersymmetric gauge theory, and we suggest two new models. The
first model shows confinement, and the second model has a dual description of
the theory. The left-right symmetry breaking and electroweak symmetry breaking
are simultaneously occurred with the suitable energy scale hierarchy. The
second model also induces spontaneous supersymmetry breaking.Comment: 14 page
Aging and well-being in Goa, India: a qualitative study.
: The population of India is aging rapidly. This demographic shift brings with it a host of challenges to the health and well-being of older adults, including the increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases, among them depressive disorders. In this paper, we report on qualitative research intended to inform the development of a locally acceptable and appropriate intervention to improve the well-being of older adults in Goa, India and, specifically, to prevent late-life depression. : Semi-structured interviews with 20 individuals, aged 60Â years and older, attending two primary care clinics in Goa, India. Transcripts were reviewed to identify emerging themes, a coding scheme was developed and thematic analyses were conducted. : Analyses of the interview transcripts revealed the following key themes: (1) notions of old age tended to be negative and there were widespread fears of becoming widowed or incapacitated; (2) the most frequently reported health conditions were joint pain, diabetes and heart disease; (3) emotional distress was described using the terms 'tension', 'stress', 'worry' and 'thinking'; (4) family issues often involved financial matters, difficult relationships with daughters-in-law and conflicted feelings about living with the family or independently; (5) other than a pension scheme, participants did not know of community resources available to older adults. : Our findings are in general agreement with those of previous research, and with our experiences of working with older adults in Pittsburgh and the Netherlands. This research will inform the development of an intervention to prevent depression in older adults in Goa.<br/
Application of quasi-Monte Carlo methods to PDEs with random coefficients -- an overview and tutorial
This article provides a high-level overview of some recent works on the
application of quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) methods to PDEs with random
coefficients. It is based on an in-depth survey of a similar title by the same
authors, with an accompanying software package which is also briefly discussed
here. Embedded in this article is a step-by-step tutorial of the required
analysis for the setting known as the uniform case with first order QMC rules.
The aim of this article is to provide an easy entry point for QMC experts
wanting to start research in this direction and for PDE analysts and
practitioners wanting to tap into contemporary QMC theory and methods.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1606.0661
A prospective cohort study assessing clinical referral management & workforce allocation within a UK regional medical genetics service
Abstract
Ensuring patient access to genomic information in the face of increasing demand requires clinicians to develop innovative ways of working. This paper presents the first empirical prospective observational cohort study of UK multi-disciplinary genetic service delivery. It describes and explores collaborative working practices including the utilisation and role of clinical geneticists and non-medical genetic counsellors. Six hundred and fifty new patients referred to a regional genetics service were tracked through 850 clinical contacts until discharge. Referral decisions regarding allocation of lead health professional assigned to the case were monitored, including the use of initial clinical contact guidelines. Significant differences were found in the cases led by genetic counsellors and those led by clinical geneticists. Around a sixth, 16.8% (109/650) of referrals were dealt with by a letter back to the referrer or re-directed to another service provider and 14.8% (80/541) of the remaining patients chose not to schedule an appointment. Of the remaining 461 patients, genetic counsellors were allocated as lead health professional for 46.2% (213/461). A further 61 patients did not attend. Of those who did, 86% (345/400) were discharged after one or two appointments. Genetic counsellors contributed to 95% (784/825) of total patient contacts. They provided 93.7% (395/432) of initial contacts and 26.8% (106/395) of patients were discharged at that point. The information from this study informed a planned service re-design. More research is needed to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of different models of collaborative multi-disciplinary working within genetics services. Keywords (MeSH terms)
Genetic Services, Genetic Counseling, Interdisciplinary Communication, Cohort Studies, Delivery of Healthcare, Referral and Consultation
The Maximal Inverse Seesaw from Operator and Oscillating Asymmetric Sneutrino Dark Matter
The maximal supersymmetric inverse seesaw mechanism (MSIS)
provides a natural way to relate asymmetric dark matter (ADM) with neutrino
physics. In this paper we point out that, MSIS is a natural outcome if one
dynamically realizes the inverse seesaw mechanism in the next-to minimal
supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM) via the dimension-five operator
, with the NMSSM singlet developing TeV scale VEV; it
slightly violates lepton number due to the suppression by the fundamental scale
, thus preserving maximally. The resulting sneutrino is a
distinguishable ADM candidate, oscillating and favored to have weak scale mass.
A fairly large annihilating cross section of such a heavy ADM is available due
to the presence of singlet.Comment: journal versio
The Dark Side of the Electroweak Phase Transition
Recent data from cosmic ray experiments may be explained by a new GeV scale
of physics. In addition the fine-tuning of supersymmetric models may be
alleviated by new O(GeV) states into which the Higgs boson could decay. The
presence of these new, light states can affect early universe cosmology. We
explore the consequences of a light (~ GeV) scalar on the electroweak phase
transition. We find that trilinear interactions between the light state and the
Higgs can allow a first order electroweak phase transition and a Higgs mass
consistent with experimental bounds, which may allow electroweak baryogenesis
to explain the cosmological baryon asymmetry. We show, within the context of a
specific supersymmetric model, how the physics responsible for the first order
phase transition may also be responsible for the recent cosmic ray excesses of
PAMELA, FERMI etc. We consider the production of gravity waves from this
transition and the possible detectability at LISA and BBO
Influence of facial feedback and mind perception during a cooperative human-robot task in schizophrenia
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this record.Rapid progress in the area of humanoid robots offers tremendous possibilities for investigating
and improving social competences in people with social deficits, but remains yet unexplored in
schizophrenia. In this study, we examined the influence of social feedbacks elicited by a
humanoid robot on motor coordination during a human-robot interaction. Twenty-two
schizophrenia patients and twenty-two matched healthy controls underwent a collaborative
motor synchrony task with the iCub humanoid robot. Results revealed that positive social
feedback had a facilitatory effect on motor coordination in the control participants compared
to non-social positive feedback. This facilitatory effect was not present in schizophrenia
patients, whose social-motor coordination was similarly impaired in social and non-social
feedback conditions. Furthermore, patients’ cognitive flexibility impairment and antipsychotic
dosing were negatively correlated with patients’ ability to synchronize hand movements with
iCub. Overall, our findings reveal that patients have marked difficulties to exploit facial social
cues elicited by a humanoid robot to modulate their motor coordination during human-robot
interaction, partly accounted for by cognitive deficits and medication. This study opens new
perspectives for comprehension of social deficits in this mental disorder.This experiment was supported by a grant from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7 ICT 2011 Call 9) under grant agreement n FP7-ICT-600610 ALTEREGO
Aidnogenesis via Leptogenesis and Dark Sphalerons
We discuss aidnogenesis, the generation of a dark matter asymmetry via new
sphaleron processes associated to an extra non-abelian gauge symmetry common to
both the visible and the dark sectors. Such a theory can naturally produce an
abundance of asymmetric dark matter which is of the same size as the lepton and
baryon asymmetries, as suggested by the similar sizes of the observed baryonic
and dark matter energy content, and provide a definite prediction for the mass
of the dark matter particle. We discuss in detail a minimal realization in
which the Standard Model is only extended by dark matter fermions which form
"dark baryons" through an SU(3) interaction, and a (broken) horizontal symmetry
that induces the new sphalerons. The dark matter mass is predicted to be
approximately 6 GeV, close to the region favored by DAMA and CoGeNT.
Furthermore, a remnant of the horizontal symmetry should be broken at a lower
scale and can also explain the Tevatron dimuon anomaly.Comment: Minor changes, discussion of present constraints expanded. 16 pages,
2 eps figures, REVTeX
First report of generalized face processing difficulties in möbius sequence.
Reverse simulation models of facial expression recognition suggest that we recognize the emotions of others by running implicit motor programmes responsible for the production of that expression. Previous work has tested this theory by examining facial expression recognition in participants with Möbius sequence, a condition characterized by congenital bilateral facial paralysis. However, a mixed pattern of findings has emerged, and it has not yet been tested whether these individuals can imagine facial expressions, a process also hypothesized to be underpinned by proprioceptive feedback from the face. We investigated this issue by examining expression recognition and imagery in six participants with Möbius sequence, and also carried out tests assessing facial identity and object recognition, as well as basic visual processing. While five of the six participants presented with expression recognition impairments, only one was impaired at the imagery of facial expressions. Further, five participants presented with other difficulties in the recognition of facial identity or objects, or in lower-level visual processing. We discuss the implications of our findings for the reverse simulation model, and suggest that facial identity recognition impairments may be more severe in the condition than has previously been noted
- …