The embryo as moral work object: PGD/IVF staff views and experiences

Copyright @ 2008 the authors. This article is available in accordance with the Creative Commons Deed, Attribution 2.5, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/deed.en_CA.We report on one aspect of a study that explored the views and experiences of practitioners and scientists on social, ethical and clinical dilemmas encountered when working in the field of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for serious genetic disorders. The study produced an ethnography based on observation, interviews and ethics discussion groups with staff from two PGD/IVF Units in the UK. We focus here on staff perceptions of work with embryos that entails disposing of ‘affected’ or ‘spare’ embryos or using them for research. A variety of views were expressed on the ‘embryo question’ in contrast to polarised media debates. We argue that the prevailing policy acceptance of destroying affected embryos, and allowing research on embryos up to 14 days leaves some staff with rarely reported, ambivalent feelings. Staff views are under-researched in this area and we focus on how they may reconcile their personal moral views with the ethical framework in their field. Staff construct embryos in a variety of ways as ‘moral work objects’. This allows them to shift attention between micro-level and overarching institutional work goals, building on Casper's concept of ‘work objects’ and focusing on negotiation of the social order in a morally contested field.The Wellcome Trust Biomedical Ethics Programme, who funded the projects‘Facilitating choice, framing choice: the experience of staff working in pre-implantation genetic diagnosis’ (no: 074935), and ‘Ethical Frameworks for Embryo Donation:the views and practices of IVF/PGD staff’ (no: 081414)

Measurement of the W(+/-)Z production cross section and limits on anomalous triple gauge couplings in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This Letter presents a measurement of W(+/-)Z production in 1.02 fb(-1) of pp collision data at root s = 7 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment in 2011. Doubly leptonic decay events are selected with electrons, muons and missing transverse momentum in the final state. In total 71 candidates are observed, with a background expectation of 12.1 +/- 1.4(stat.)(-2.0)(+4.1)(syst.) events. The total cross section for W(+/-)Z production for Z/gamma* masses within the range 66 GeV to 116 GeV is determined to be sigma(tot)(WZ) = 20.5(-2.8)(+3.1)(stat.)(-1.3)(+1.4)(syst)(-0.8)(+0.9)(lumi.) pb, which is consistent with the Standard Model expectation of 17.3(0.8)(+1.3) pb. Limits on anomalous triple gauge boson couplings are extracted. (C) 2012 CERN. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. RI Doyle, Anthony/C-5889-2009; Pina, Joao /C-4391-2012; Li, Xuefei/C-3861-2012; Fazio, Salvatore /G-5156-2010; Smirnova, Lidia/D-8089-2012; Sivoklokov, Sergey/D-8150-2012; Smirnov, Sergei/F-1014-2011; Gladilin, Leonid/B-5226-2011; Barreiro, Fernando/D-9808-2012; Kramarenko, Victor/E-1781-2012; Prokoshin, Fedor/E-2795-2012; valente, paolo/A-6640-2010; Alexa, Calin/F-6345-2010; Gutierrez, Phillip/C-1161-2011; Pacheco Pages, Andres/C-5353-2011; Moorhead, Gareth/B-6634-2009; Livan, Michele/D-7531-2012; Takai, Helio/C-3301-2012; Petrucci, Fabrizio/G-8348-2012; Wemans, Andre/A-6738-2012; Jones, Roger/H-5578-2011; Fabbri, Laura/H-3442-2012; Kurashige, Hisaya/H-4916-2012; Villa, Mauro/C-9883-2009; Delmastro, Marco/I-5599-201

Properties of jets measured from tracks in proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energy root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

"Jets are identified and their properties studied in center-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider using charged particles measured by the ATLAS inner detector. Events are selected using a minimum bias trigger, allowing jets at very low transverse momentum to be observed and their characteristics in the transition to high-momentum fully perturbative jets to be studied. Jets are reconstructed using the anti-k(t) algorithm applied to charged particles with two radius parameter choices, 0.4 and 0.6. An inclusive charged jet transverse momentum cross section measurement from 4 GeV to 100 GeV is shown for four ranges in rapidity extending to 1.9 and corrected to charged particle-level truth jets. The transverse momenta and longitudinal momentum fractions of charged particles within jets are measured, along with the charged particle multiplicity and the particle density as a function of radial distance from the jet axis. Comparison of the data with the theoretical models implemented in existing tunings of Monte Carlo event generators indicates reasonable overall agreement between data and Monte Carlo. These comparisons are sensitive to Monte Carlo parton showering, hadronization, and soft physics models.

Search for a Heavy Particle Decaying into an Electron and a Muon with the ATLAS Detector in root s=7 TeV pp collisions at the LHC

This Letter presents the first search for a heavy particle decaying into an e(+/-)mu(-/+) final state in root s = 7 TeV pp collisions at the LHC. The data were recorded by the ATLAS detector during 2010 and correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 35 pb(-1). No excess above the standard model background expectation is observed. Exclusions at 95% confidence level are placed on two representative models. In an R-parity violating supersymmetric model, tau sneutrinos with a mass below 0.75 TeV are excluded, assuming all R-parity violating couplings are zero except lambda(311)' = 0.11 and lambda(312) = 0.07. In a lepton flavor violating model, a Z'-like vector boson with masses of 0.70-1.00 TeV and corresponding cross sections times branching ratios of 0.175-0.183 pb is excluded. These results extend to higher mass R-parity violating sneutrinos and lepton flavor violating Z's than previous constraints from the Tevatron