A Nonperturbative, Schwinger-Dyson-Equation Analysis of Quark Masses and Mixings in a Model with QCD and Higgs Interactions

The Landau gauge Schwinger-Dyson Equation for the quark self-energy is solved in the quenched ladder approximation for several cases of one- and two-quark-generations. The exchanges of Standard Model gluons and Higgs bosons are taken into account. It is found that Higgs boson exchange dominates the quark self-energy for sufficiently large input quark masses (>75 GeV), causing the running quark propagator mass to increase with energy-scale. The running of the quark mixing angles is also considered. No running of the quark mixing angles is found, to one part in a billion, for input quark masses up to and including 500 GeV.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX twice, 4 figures available upon reques

Investigating long-term outcomes and cure for children and young people diagnosed with cancer

Survival for children and young adults (CYA) diagnosed with cancer has improved substantially over recent decades, with over 80% currently diagnosed expected to survive at least 5-years. However, survivors are at increased risk of the late effects of their treatment, with many reporting chronic health conditions in later life. The purpose of this project was to investigate cure and long-term health outcomes in CYA with cancer in Yorkshire using data from a population-based cancer registry. The study included 5471 patients diagnosed with a primary tumour in Yorkshire between 1990 and 2011 aged under 30. Statistical cure models were utilised to describe survival trends. These models simultaneously estimate the percentage ‘cured’ and the survival of those ‘uncured’. The percentage cured is a summary of long-term survival while the median survival time of the uncured provides important information on those who are not long-term survivors. Generally for most diagnostic groups there was an improvement in survival over time which was mainly driven by an increase in the proportion of patients cured rather than an increase in the survival of the uncured. Long-term morbidity was assessed via linkage to hospital admission data for respiratory and cardiovascular disease and subsequent tumours obtained from cancer registrations. Long-term CYA had increased risk of each of these outcomes compared to the general population. Analysis incorporating the cumulative burden of all subsequent neoplasms and all respiratory and cardiovascular hospitalisations combined found that by age 40, an individual experienced an average of 2 of these events, mainly driven by hospitalisations for respiratory conditions. Findings from this study provide an evidence base to aid risk-stratification for the long-term follow-up care for this high risk population

Medieval Exegesis in Translation: Commentaries on the Book of Ruth

This book brings together and translates from the medieval Latin a series of commentaries on the biblical book of Ruth, with the intention of introducing readers to medieval exegesis or biblical interpretation. . . . Ruth is the shortest book of the Old Testament, being only four chapters long. It is partly for this reason that it lends itself so well to a short book introducing medieval exegesis; but it is also of interest in itself. Ruth poses a number of exegetical problems, including the basic one of why such an odd book, in which God never appears as an actor, and with a central character who was not an Israelite but a Moabite outsider, and a woman at that, should find a place in the canon of Scripture.https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/mip_teamscs/1003/thumbnail.jp

Increased duration of extreme thermal events negatively affects cold acclimation ability in a high-latitude, freshwater ectotherm (Ischnura elegans; Odonata: Coenagrionidae)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We wish to thank the owners of the Midmar Stillwater Fishery for permission to sample larvae from their trout ponds. Thanks also to S. Areshi and R. Fitt for assistance in the field. This project was funded by the University of Aberdeen School of Biological Sciences, as part of their Ecology and Conservation MSc programme thesis project budget.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Increased Productivity of a Cover Crop Mixture Is Not Associated with Enhanced Agroecosystem Services

Cover crops provide a variety of important agroecological services within cropping systems. Typically these crops are grown as monocultures or simple graminoid-legume bicultures; however, ecological theory and empirical evidence suggest that agroecosystem services could be enhanced by growing cover crops in species-rich mixtures. We examined cover crop productivity, weed suppression, stability, and carryover effects to a subsequent cash crop in an experiment involving a five-species annual cover crop mixture and the component species grown as monocultures in SE New Hampshire, USA in 2011 and 2012. The mean land equivalent ratio (LER) for the mixture exceeded 1.0 in both years, indicating that the mixture over-yielded relative to the monocultures. Despite the apparent over-yielding in the mixture, we observed no enhancement in weed suppression, biomass stability, or productivity of a subsequent oat (Avena sativa L.) cash crop when compared to the best monoculture component crop. These data are some of the first to include application of the LER to an analysis of a cover crop mixture and contribute to the growing literature on the agroecological effects of cover crop diversity in cropping systems

The online multi-agency support barometer

This report presents the findings of a small feasibility study which sought to investigate the use of an online risk management Barometer. The barometer was developed with a view to helping multiple agencies communicate about vulnerable and 'at risk' patients within mental health settings.The Barometer is an online tool which allows staff from multiple agencies to access and share information with other staff if a patient is at risk.The key aims and objectives of this small research project were i) to evaluating how professionals felt about their current risk assessment tools, ii) to assess the ease of use and the relevance of questions within the Barometer tool and iii) to discuss some potential modifications/problem areas of incorporating the Barometer tool within mental health services and across a multi-disciplinary perspective.The research was conducted in three mental services within the South Essex Partnership Trust (2 x CAMHS and 2 x Adult Services) using a mixed-methods approach

Improving professional learning and teaching through the development of a quality process

Investigation of graduate attributes (GAs) and professional standards (PSs) within faculty curriculum development are rare, despite university importance. Examining learning objectives and assessment with PSs and accreditation, this project sought learning and teaching improvements through developing a cross discipline quality assurance process, aligning learning and assessment with PSs and GAs. This paper describes the results of interviews with those responsible for teaching and learning in four faculties at an Australian University. The results indicate that curriculum developers are often unable to align the GAs and PSs that creates challenges for an assurance of students’ learning