One Step Non SUSY Unification

We show that it is possible to achieve one step gauge coupling unification in a general class of non supersymmetric models which at low energies have only the standard particle content and extra Higgs fields doublets. The constraints are the experimental values of $\alpha_{em}$, $\alpha_s$ and $\sin^2\theta_W$ at $10^2 GeVs$, and the lower bounds for FCNC and proton decay rates. Specific example are pointed out.Comment: 10 pages, Latex file,, uses epsf style, Two Postscript figures included. To appear in Europhysics Letter

Complementary and alternative medical therapies for chronic low back pain: What treatments are patients willing to try?

BACKGROUND: Although back pain is the most common reason patients use complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies, little is known about the willingness of primary care back pain patients to try these therapies. As part of an effort to refine recruitment strategies for clinical trials, we sought to determine if back pain patients are willing to try acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, meditation, and t'ai chi and to learn about their knowledge of, experience with, and perceptions about each of these therapies. METHODS: We identified English-speaking patients with diagnoses consistent with chronic low back pain using automated visit data from one health care organization in Boston and another in Seattle. We were able to confirm the eligibility status (i.e., current low back pain that had lasted at least 3 months) of 70% of the patients with such diagnoses and all eligible respondents were interviewed. RESULTS: Except for chiropractic, knowledge about these therapies was low. Chiropractic and massage had been used by the largest fractions of respondents (54% and 38%, respectively), mostly for back pain (45% and 24%, respectively). Among prior users of specific CAM therapies for back pain, massage was rated most helpful. Users of chiropractic reported treatment-related "significant discomfort, pain or harm" more often (23%) than users of other therapies (5–16%). Respondents expected massage would be most helpful (median of 7 on a 0 to 10 scale) and meditation least helpful (median of 3) in relieving their current pain. Most respondents indicated they would be "very likely" to try acupuncture, massage, or chiropractic for their back pain if they did not have to pay out of pocket and their physician thought it was a reasonable treatment option. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients with chronic back pain in our sample were interested in trying therapeutic options that lie outside the conventional medical spectrum. This highlights the need for additional studies evaluating their effectiveness and suggests that researchers conducting clinical trials of these therapies may not have difficulties recruiting patients

Optimization of anti-wear and anti-bacterial properties of beta TiNb alloy via controlling duty cycle in open-air laser nitriding

A multifunctional beta TiNb surface, featuring wear-resistant and antibacterial properties, was successfully created by means of open-air fibre laser nitriding. Beta TiNb alloy was selected in this study as it has low Young’s modulus, is highly biocompatible, and thus can be a promising prosthetic joint material. It is, however, necessary to overcome intrinsically weak mechanical properties and poor wear resistance of beta TiNb in order to cover the range of applications to loadbearing and/or shearing parts. To this end, open-air laser nitriding technique was employed. A control of single processing parameter, namely duty cycle (between 5% and 100%), led to substantially different structural and functional properties of the processed beta TiNb surfaces as analyzed by an array of analytical tools. The TiNb samples nitrided at the DC condition of 60% showed a most enhanced performance in terms of improving surface hardness, anti-friction, antiwear and anti-bacterial properties in comparison with other conditions. These findings are expected to be highly important and useful when TiNb alloys are considered as materials for hip/knee articular joint implant

What Consensus? Ideology, Politics and Elections Still Matter

This article, which was prepared for an ABA Antitrust Section Panel, discusses the role of ideology and politics in antitrust enforcement and the impact of elections in the last twenty year on enforcement and policy at the federal antitrust agencies. The article explains the differences in antitrust ideologies and their impact on policy preferences. The article then uses a database of civil non-merger complaints by the DOJ and FTC over the last three Presidential administrations to analyze changes in the number, type and other characteristics of antitrust enforcement. It also discusses change in vertical merger enforcement and other antirust policies such as amicus briefs, reports and guidelines. The article concludes that elections do matter and that the impact of elections on the DOJ and FTC has differed significantly

Reincentivizing – a new theory of work and work absence

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Work capacity correlates weakly to disease concepts, which in turn are insufficient to explain sick leave behavior. With data mainly from Sweden, a welfare state with high sickness absence rates, our aim was to develop an explanatory theory of how to understand and deal with work absence and sick leave.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used classic grounded theory for analyzing data from >130 interviews with people working or on sick leave, physicians, social security officers, and literature. Several hundreds of typed and handwritten memos were the basis for writing up the theory.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this paper we present a theory of work incentives and how to deal with work absence. We suggest that work disability can be seen as hurt work drivers or people caught in mode traps. Work drivers are specified as work capacities + work incentives, monetary and non-monetary. Also, people can get trapped in certain modes of behavior through changed capacities or incentives, or by inertia. Different modes have different drivers and these can trap the individual from reincentivizing, ie from going back to work or go on working. Hurt drivers and mode traps are recognized by driver assessments done on several different levels. Mode driver calculations are done by the worker. Then follows employer, physician, and social insurance officer assessments. Also, driver assessments are done on the macro level by legislators and other stakeholders. Reincentivizing is done by different repair strategies for hurt work drivers such as body repair, self repair, work-place repair, rehumanizing, controlling sick leave insurance, and strengthening monetary work incentives. Combinations of these driver repair strategies also do release people from mode traps.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Reincentivizing is about recognizing hurt work drivers and mode traps followed by repairing and releasing the same drivers and traps. Reincentivizing aims at explaining what is going on when work absence is dealt with and the theory may add to social psychological research on work and work absence, and possibly inform sick leave policies.</p

Sub-THz and H{\alpha} activity during the preflare and main phases of a GOES class M2 event

Radio and optical observations of the evolution of flare-associated phenomena have shown an initial and rapid burst at 0.4 THz only followed subsequently by a localized chromospheric heating producing an H{\alpha} brightening with later heating of the whole active region. A major instability occurred several minutes later producing one impulsive burst at microwaves only, associated with an M2.0 GOES X-ray flare that exhibited the main H{\alpha} brightening at the same site as the first flash. The possible association between long-enduring time profiles at soft X-rays, microwaves, H{\alpha} and sub-THz wavelengths is discussed. In the decay phase the H{\alpha} movie shows a disrupting magnetic arch structure ejecting dark, presumably chromospheric, material upwards. The time sequence of events suggests genuine interdependent and possibly non-thermal instabilities triggering phenomena, with concurrent active region plasma heating and material ejection.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journal, October 13, 201