Visible Sector Supersymmetry Breaking Revisited

We revisit the possibility of "visible sector" SUSY models: models which are straightforward renormalizable extensions of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM), where SUSY is broken at tree level. Models of this type were abandoned twenty years ago due to phenomenological problems, which we review. We then demonstrate that it is possible to construct simple phenomenologically viable visible sector SUSY models. Such models are indeed very constrained, and have some inelegant features. They also have interesting and distinctive phenomenology. Our models predict light gauginos and very heavy squarks and sleptons. The squarks and sleptons may not be observable at the LHC. The LSP is a stable very light gravitino with a significant Higgsino admixture. The NLSP is mostly Bino. The Higgs boson is naturally heavy. Proton decay is sufficently and naturally suppressed, even for a cutoff scale as low as 10^8 GeV. The lightest particle of the O'Raifeartaigh sector (the LOP) is stable, and is an interesting cold dark matter candidate.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, LaTe

Fabrication and mechanical testing of a new sandwich structure with carbon fiber network core

The aim is the fabrication and mechanical testing of sandwich structures including a new core material known as fiber network sandwich materials. As fabrication norms for such a material do not exist as such, so the primary goal is to reproduce successfully fiber network sandwich specimens. Enhanced vibration testing diagnoses the quality of the fabrication process. These sandwich materials possess low structural strength as proved by the static tests (compression, bending), but the vibration test results give high damping values, making the material suitable for vibro-acoustic applications where structural strength is of secondary importance e.g., internal panelling of a helicopter

Characterizing the Shapes of Galaxy Clusters Using Moments of the Gravitational Lensing Shear

We explore the use of the tangential component of weak lensing shear to characterize the ellipticity of clusters of galaxies. We introduce an ellipticity estimator, and quantify its properties for isolated clusters from LCDM N-body simulations. We compare the N-body results to results from smooth analytic models. The expected distribution of the estimator for mock observations is presented, and we show how this distribution is impacted by contaminants such as noise, line of sight projections, and misalignment of the central galaxy used to determine the orientation of the triaxial halo. We examine the radial profile of the estimator and discuss tradeoffs in the observational strategy to determine cluster shape.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures; added references, corrected typos, matches published versio

Influence des facteurs géo-éthniques sur les modifications morphologiques et fonctionnelles de la thyroïde au cours de la grossesse : Cas des gestantes chinoises et congolaises suivies en consultation de Médecine Interne: Geographical and ethnical factors of morphological and functional changes of the thyroid during pregnancy. About Chinese and Congolese pregnant women with goitres followed in the Department of Internal Medecine at Kinshasa University Hospital, DR Congo and Qian Foshan Provincial Hospital in Jinan, China

Context and objectives. The occurrence of pregnancy in patients with goitre or vice-versa limits the field of intervention for the clinician, both for diagnosis and for therapeutic management. Only non-invasive methods can be performed under these conditions. But the data regarding goitre inpregnancy are paradoxically scarce. This study aimed to describe the clinical and ultrasound features of the thyroid gland and to investigate the effects of goitre on surrounding tissues. Racial differences were also assessed. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, 80 pregnant women (40 Chinese and 40 Congolese) with goitres were examined between February 2015 and February 2017 at Kinshasa University Hospital / DR Congo and Qian Foshan Provincial Hospital in Jinan, China. Parameters of interest included age, sex, marital status, parity, family history of goitre, thyroid hormone and TSH measurements, and ultrasound data of goitre. Data were compared between the two groups using the Pearson or t Student or chi-square tests as appropriate. Results. The average age was 32.2 ± 4.9 years; Congolese pregnant women being older (33.5 ± 5.4 vs. 30.9 ± 4.2, p = 0.018). More than 60% of participants were examined during the first trimester of pregnancy. The thyroid function appeared more distuberd among Chinese compared to Congolese pregnant women (25% vs 52.5%, p = 0.02). The average size of the thyroid gland was 5 times bigger than in chinese studied population , with more nodular pattern in the former group (85% vs. 45%, p = 0.0004). Ultrasound data suggesting Hashimoto's thyroiditis with lymph node involvement were more frequent in Chinese population. Conclusion. This study suggests that the goiter occurs more frequently during the 1st trimester of pregnancy in both races. Thyroid dysfunction seems more present in Chinese compared to Congolese. Nodular goiter is more frequent in Congolese pregnant women with subsequent therapeutical implications. Contexte et objectifs. La survenue de la grossesse chez les malades porteuses de goitre ou l’inverse limite le champ d’intervention du clinicien, tant pour le diagnostic que pour la prise en charge thérapeutique. Seules les méthodes non invasives peuvent être réalisées dans ces conditions. Mais, les données y relatives sont paradoxalement fragmentaires. La présente étude visait à décrire les aspects cliniques et échographiques de la thyroïde et à rechercher les retentissements du goitre sur les tissus avoisinants. Les différences raciales ont été également recherchées. Méthodes. Dans une étude transversale, 80 gestantes (40 chinoises et 40 congolaises) porteuses de goitre ont été examinées entre février 2015 et février 2017 aux CUK/RD Congo et à l’Hôpital Provincial Qian Foshan de Jinan en Chine. Les paramètres d’intérêt comprenaient l’âge, le sexe, l’état civil, la parité, les antécédents familiaux de goitre, les dosages des hormones thyroïdiennes et de la TSH et les données échographiques du goitre. Nous avons recouru aux tests de chi carré de Pearson et de student pour comparer respectivement les proportions et les moyennes majorées de l’écart-type. Résultats. L’âge  moyen était de 32,2 ± 4,9 ans ; les gestantes congolaises étaient plus âgées que les chinoises (33,5 ± 5,4 vs 30,9 ± 4,2, p = 0,018). Plus de 60% des participants ont consulté au premier trimestre de la grossesse. L’étude de la fonction thyroïdienne  a révélé plus de perturbation chez les chinoises que chez les congolaises  (52,5% vs 25%, p = 0,02) ;  en dépit d’une taille moyenne de la glande 5 fois plus grande chez ces dernières. Les congolaises avaient également une proportion plus importante de goître nodulaire ou multinodulaire (85% vs 45%, p = 0,0004). Les données échographiques suggestives de la thyroïdite de Hashimoto avec atteinte ganglionnaire ont été plus observées chez les chinoises. Conclusion. L’étude révèle que le goître survient plus fréquemment au courant du premeier de la grossesse dans les 2 groupes. La dysfonction thyroïdienne est toutefois plus observée chez les chinoises. Morphologiquement, les nodules sont plus fréquemment rencontrés chez la congolaise, avec éventuelles implications thérapeutiques

Expression of p16INK4a as a biomarker of T-cell aging in HIV-infected patients prior to and during antiretroviral therapy

The p16INK4a tumor suppressor gene is a mediator of cellular senescence and has been suggested to be a biomarker of ‘molecular’ age in several tissues including T-cells. To determine the association of both active and suppressed HIV infection with T-cell aging, T-cell p16INK4a expression was compared between 60 HIV+ suppressed subjects, 23 HIV+ untreated subjects, and 18 contemporaneously collected HIV-negative controls, as well as 148 HIV-negative historical samples. Expression did not correlate with chronologic age in untreated HIV+ patients, consistent with an effect of active HIV replication on p16INK4a expression. In patients on cART with suppressed viral loads, however, p16INK4a levels were similar to uninfected controls and correlated with chronologic age, with a trend toward an inverse correlation with CD4 count. These data show that p16INK4a is a reliable biomarker of T cell aging in HIV+ patients with suppressed viral loads and suggest that poor CD4 cell recovery on cART may be associated with increased T-cell expression of p16INK4a, a marker of cellular senescence

Design of Experiments for Screening

The aim of this paper is to review methods of designing screening experiments, ranging from designs originally developed for physical experiments to those especially tailored to experiments on numerical models. The strengths and weaknesses of the various designs for screening variables in numerical models are discussed. First, classes of factorial designs for experiments to estimate main effects and interactions through a linear statistical model are described, specifically regular and nonregular fractional factorial designs, supersaturated designs and systematic fractional replicate designs. Generic issues of aliasing, bias and cancellation of factorial effects are discussed. Second, group screening experiments are considered including factorial group screening and sequential bifurcation. Third, random sampling plans are discussed including Latin hypercube sampling and sampling plans to estimate elementary effects. Fourth, a variety of modelling methods commonly employed with screening designs are briefly described. Finally, a novel study demonstrates six screening methods on two frequently-used exemplars, and their performances are compared

The public health approach to identify antiretroviral therapy failure: high-level nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor resistance among Malawians failing first-line antiretroviral therapy

Over 150 000 Malawians have started antiretroviral therapy (ART), in which first-line therapy is stavudine/lamivudine/nevirapine. We evaluated drug resistance patterns among patients failing first-line ART on the basis of clinical or immunological criteria in Lilongwe and Blantyre, Malawi

Reflections

The American Society of International Law Committee recommended that the Manley 0. Hudson Medal be awarded to Professor Eric Stein for his lifetime of significant contributions to international and comparative law. Stein, the Hessel E. Yntema Professor of Law, Emeritus, at the University of Michigan Law School, had been an active supporter of ASIL as Honorary Vice President, Counsellor, and Honorary Editor of, and frequent contributor to, the American Journal of International Law. His many books and articles established him as a leading thinker and writer on European Community law and on what he described in a famous article as the Uses, Misuses, and Nonuses of Comparative Law