Precise measurement of Γ(H⟶γγ)\Gamma (H \longrightarrow \gamma \gamma) at a PLC and theoretical consequences

With the LEP II Higgs search approaching exclusion limits on low values of $\tan \beta \sim 2$ it becomes increasingly important to investigate physical quantities sensitive to large masses of a pseudoscalar Higgs mass. This regime is difficult and over a large range of $\tan \beta$ impossible to cover at the LHC proton proton collider. In this paper we focus on the achievable statistical precision of the Higgs decay into two photons at a future $\gamma \gamma$ collider (PLC) in the MSSM mass range below 130 GeV. The MSSM and SM predictions for $\Gamma (H \longrightarrow \gamma \gamma)$ can differ by up to 10 % even in the decoupling limit of large $m_A$. We summarize recent progress in both the theoretical understanding of the background process $\gamma \gamma \longrightarrow q \bar{q}$, $q=\{b,c\}$, and in the expected detector performance allow for a high accuracy of the lightest MSSM or SM Higgs boson decay into a $b \bar{b}$ pair. We find that for optimized but still realistic detector and accelerator assumptions, statistically a 1.4% accuracy is feasible after about four years of collecting data for a Higgs boson mass which excludes $\tan \beta <2$.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, contributed to LP99 at Stanford, C

Resummation of Yukawa enhanced and subleading Sudakov logarithms in longitudinal gauge boson and Higgs production

Future colliders will probe the electroweak theory at energies much larger than the gauge boson masses. Large double (DL) and single (SL) logarithmic virtual electroweak Sudakov corrections lead to significant effects for observable cross sections. Recently, leading and subleading universal corrections for external fermions and transverse gauge boson lines were resummed by employing the infrared evolution equation method. The results were confirmed at the DL level by explicit two loop calculations with the physical Standard Model (SM) fields. Also for longitudinal degrees of freedom the approach was utilized for DL-corrections via the Goldstone boson equivalence theorem. In all cases, the electroweak Sudakov logarithms exponentiate. In this paper we extend the same approach to both Yukawa enhanced as well as subleading Sudakov corrections to longitudinal gauge boson and Higgs production. We use virtual contributions to splitting functions of the appropriate Goldstone bosons in the high energy regime and find that all universal subleading terms exponentiate. The approach is verified by employing a non-Abelian version of Gribov's factorization theorem and by explicit comparison with existing one loop calculations. As a side result, we obtain also all top-Yukawa enhanced subleading logarithms for chiral fermion production at high energies to all orders. In all cases, the size of the subleading contributions at the two loop level is non-negligible in the context of precision measurements at future linear colliders.Comment: 32 pages, 7 figures, uses LaTeX2

The perioperative patient experience of hand and wrist surgical patients: An exploratory study using patient journey mapping

Patient-centred care is becoming more important in healthcare. The success of patient-centred care can be assessed by exploring the patient experience through a patient journey map. As the number of outpatient surgeries is increasing, it is important to reveal the specific characteristics of this type of surgery. The perioperative patient experience is considered very important for outpatient surgery, because all perioperative activities are condensed in one day. To investigate this experience, we performed a case study of hand and wrist surgery. Six teams of two industrial design engineering students interviewed 40 patients in total in two private and two public hospitals in the Netherlands. All teams created a patient journey map, describing the patient experience. These maps were analysed by the authors to identify common themes among the six journeys. Four time-independent themes and four time-dependent themes were identified. Insecurity, reassurance by staff, loneliness, and lack of information were associated with the whole patient experience. Before surgery, lack of control was the most prominent experience. During surgery, acceptance and curiosity were present. After surgery, relief was the dominant experience. No significant differences between the public and private hospitals were discovered. Several suggestions are given on how to facilitate positive experiences and how to resolve negative experiences in outpatient surgery. These include suggestions for hospital policy and design interventions

The perioperative patient experience of hand and wrist surgical patients: An exploratory study using patient journey mapping

Patient-centred care is becoming more important in healthcare. The success of patient-centred care can be assessed by exploring the patient experience through a patient journey map. As the number of outpatient surgeries is increasing, it is important to reveal the specific characteristics of this type of surgery. The perioperative patient experience is considered very important for outpatient surgery, because all perioperative activities are condensed in one day. To investigate this experience, we performed a case study of hand and wrist surgery. Six teams of two industrial design engineering students interviewed 40 patients in total in two private and two public hospitals in the Netherlands. All teams created a patient journey map, describing the patient experience. These maps were analysed by the authors to identify common themes among the six journeys. Four time-independent themes and four time-dependent themes were identified. Insecurity, reassurance by staff, loneliness, and lack of information were associated with the whole patient experience. Before surgery, lack of control was the most prominent experience. During surgery, acceptance and curiosity were present. After surgery, relief was the dominant experience. No significant differences between the public and private hospitals were discovered. Several suggestions are given on how to facilitate positive experiences and how to resolve negative experiences in outpatient surgery. These include suggestions for hospital policy and design interventions

Wie gestalte ich gute Items und Interviewfragen?

"In diesem Kapitel geben wir anhand praktischer Beispiele Hinweise zur Gestaltung von Fragebogenitems und Interviewfragen. Neben grundsätzlichen Regeln stehen dabei besonders die Informationserhebung und die Verständlichkeit von Fragen im Fokus. Die dargestellten Grundsätze werden durch ein Praxisbeispiel zur Erfassung der Kundenzufriedenheit verdeutlicht." (Autorenreferat

Next-to-Next-to-Leading Logarithms in Four-Fermion Electroweak Processes at High Energy

We sum up the next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic virtual electroweak corrections to the high energy asymptotics of the neutral current four-fermion processes for light fermions to all orders in the coupling constants using the evolution equation approach. From this all order result we derive finite order expressions through next-to-next-to leading order for the total cross section and various asymmetries. We observe an amazing cancellation between the sizable leading, next-to-leading and next-to-next-to-leading logarithmic contributions at TeV energies.Comment: latex, 20 pages; coupling constant in the fermionic contribution to the electroweak corrections correcte

Master integrals for massive two-loop Bhabha scattering in QED

We present a set of scalar master integrals (MIs) needed for a complete treatment of massive two-loop corrections to Bhabha scattering in QED, including integrals with arbitrary fermionic loops. The status of analytical solutions for the MIs is reviewed and examples of some methods to solve MIs analytically are worked out in more detail. Analytical results for the pole terms in epsilon of so far unknown box MIs with five internal lines are given.Comment: 23 pages, 5 tables, 12 figures, references added, appendix B enlarge

Relação genética entre cepas de Neisseria meningitidis sorogrupo B sorotipo 4

We compared the results obtained by serotyping of PorB epitopes using an expanded panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) including mAb 7 and mAb 10, with results obtained by RFLP of rRNA genes (ribotyping). The purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between phenotypic- and genotypic- methods for typing N. meningitidis. The ribotypes obtained using ClaI or EcoRV endonucleases grouped the strains in seven and two different patterns, respectively. This additional characterization of PorB epitopes improved the correlation between these two methods of typing N. meningitidis.Nós comparamos os resultados obtidos pela sorotipagem usando um painel de anticorpos monoclonais (mAb) ao qual se incluíam os mAbs 7 e 10, com os resultados obtidos pelo RFLP do gene rRNA (ribotipagem). O propósito deste estudo foi avaliar a correlação entre os métodos fenotípico e genotípico de tipagem de N. meningitidis. Os ribotipos obtidos usando as endonucleases de restrição ClaI e EcoRV foram hábeis em dividir as cepas em sete e dois diferentes perfis de restrição, respectivamente. A caracterização adicional de epítopos na proteína PorB melhorou a correlação entre os dois métodos de tipagem de N. meningitidis

The Two-Loop Scale Dependence of the Static QCD Potential including Quark Masses

The interaction potential V(Q^2) between static test charges can be used to define an effective charge $\alpha_V(Q^2)$ and a physically-based renormalization scheme for quantum chromodynamics and other gauge theories. In this paper we use recent results for the finite-mass fermionic corrections to the heavy-quark potential at two-loops to derive the next-to-leading order term for the Gell Mann-Low function of the V-scheme. The resulting effective number of flavors $N_F(Q^2/m^2)$ in the $\alpha_V$ scheme is determined as a gauge-independent and analytic function of the ratio of the momentum transfer to the quark pole mass. The results give automatic decoupling of heavy quarks and are independent of the renormalization procedure. Commensurate scale relations then provide the next-to-leading order connection between all perturbatively calculable observables to the analytic and gauge-invariant $\alpha_V$ scheme without any scale ambiguity and a well defined number of active flavors. The inclusion of the finite quark mass effects in the running of the coupling is compared with the standard treatment of finite quark mass effects in the $\bar{MS}$ scheme.Comment: 27 pages, 13 figure