Baryogenesis, Electric Dipole Moments and Dark Matter in the MSSM

We study the implications for electroweak baryogenesis (EWB) within the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) of present and future searches for the permanent electric dipole moment (EDM) of the electron, for neutralino dark matter, and for supersymmetric particles at high energy colliders. We show that there exist regions of the MSSM parameter space that are consistent with both present two-loop EDM limits and the relic density and that allow for successful EWB through resonant chargino and neutralino processes at the electroweak phase transition. We also show that under certain conditions the lightest neutralino may be simultaneously responsible for both the baryon asymmetry and relic density. We give present constraints on chargino/neutralino-induced EWB implied by the flux of energetic neutrinos from the Sun, the prospective constraints from future neutrino telescopes and ton-sized direct detection experiments, and the possible signatures at the Large Hadron Collider and International Linear Collider.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures; version to appear on JHE

The <SPP> Green function and SU(3) breaking in Kl3 decays

Using the 1=/N-C expansion scheme and truncating the hadronic spectrum to the lowest-lying resonances, we match a meromorphic approximation to the Green function onto QCD by imposing the correct large-momentum falloff, both off- shell and on the relevant hadron mass shells. In this way we determine a number of chiral low-energy constants of O(p(6)), in particular the ones governing SU(3) breaking in the K-l3 vector form factor at zero momentum transfer. The main result of our matching procedure is that the known loop contributions largely dominate the corrections of O(p(6)) to f(+)(0). We discuss the implications of our final value f(+)(K0 pi-) (0) = 0.984 +/- 0.012 for the extraction of V-us from K-l3 decays

The Personalized Acne Treatment Tool - Recommendations to facilitate a patient-centered approach to acne management from the Personalizing Acne: Consensus of Experts

BACKGROUND: Acne, a commonly treated skin disease, requires patient-centered management due to its varying presentations, chronicity, and impact on health-related quality of life. Despite this, evidence-based clinical guidelines focus primarily on clinical severity of facial acne, omitting important patient- and disease-related factors, including ongoing management. OBJECTIVES: To generate recommendations to support patient-centered acne management, which incorporate priority and prognostic factors beyond conventional clinical severity, traditionally defined by grading the appearance and extent of visible lesions. METHODS: The Personalizing Acne: Consensus of Experts consisted of 17 dermatologists who used a modified Delphi approach to reach consensus on statements regarding patient- and treatment-related factors pertaining to patient-centered acne management. Consensus was defined as ≥75% voting agree or strongly agree. RESULTS: Recommendations based on factors such as acne sequelae, location of acne, high burden of disease, and individual patient features were generated and incorporated into the Personalized Acne Treatment Tool. LIMITATIONS: Recommendations are based on expert opinion, which may differ from patients\u27 perspectives. Regional variations in healthcare systems may not be represented. CONCLUSIONS: The Personalizing Acne: Consensus of Experts panel provided practical recommendations to facilitate individualized management of acne, based on patient features, which can be implemented to improve treatment outcomes, adherence, and patient satisfaction

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Roadmap on energy harvesting materials

Ambient energy harvesting has great potential to contribute to sustainable development and address growing environmental challenges. Converting waste energy from energy-intensive processes and systems (e.g. combustion engines and furnaces) is crucial to reducing their environmental impact and achieving net-zero emissions. Compact energy harvesters will also be key to powering the exponentially growing smart devices ecosystem that is part of the Internet of Things, thus enabling futuristic applications that can improve our quality of life (e.g. smart homes, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and smart healthcare). To achieve these goals, innovative materials are needed to efficiently convert ambient energy into electricity through various physical mechanisms, such as the photovoltaic effect, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, and radiofrequency wireless power transfer. By bringing together the perspectives of experts in various types of energy harvesting materials, this Roadmap provides extensive insights into recent advances and present challenges in the field. Additionally, the Roadmap analyses the key performance metrics of these technologies in relation to their ultimate energy conversion limits. Building on these insights, the Roadmap outlines promising directions for future research to fully harness the potential of energy harvesting materials for green energy anytime, anywhere