108 research outputs found
INCREASING PATIENT DEMAND FOR HOME MEDICINES REVIEWS: A MARKETING PLAN
Campbell (2008)stated that “Consumer awareness of the program is of major concern” and concluded that “all stakeholders agreed that the Home Medicines Review (HMR) Program should be promoted more to consumers and carers.” Schwartzkoff et al (2004) recommended the implementation of a “national public awareness campaign to strengthen demand for HMR services from consumers who are likely to benefit”. Our research study (White & Clark, 2010; see poster 2) found that: There is very low awareness of HMRs amongst eligible non-recipient patients and carers There is an extremely high level of satisfaction amongst those who have experienced an HMR and very positive perceptions amongst those eligible patients and carers who have not had an HMR, after being informed of the service through the study.The goal of the marketing plan is to increase patient demand for HMRs by: 1. overcoming the lack of awareness, 2. facilitating patient self identification of eligibility and 3. instituting procedures that enhance the uptake of second and subsequent HMRs by HMR recipients where appropriate. All marketing strategies must be carefully targeted in order to attract only patients who meet the HMR eligibility criteria.Pharmacy Guild of Australi
Supersymmetry and the positron excess in cosmic rays
Recently the HEAT balloon experiment has confirmed an excess of high-energy
positrons in cosmic rays. They could come from annihilation of dark matter in
the galactic halo. We discuss expectations for the positron signal in cosmic
rays from the lightest superpartner. The simplest interpretations are
incompatible with the size and shape of the excess if the relic LSPs evolved
from thermal equilbrium. Non-thermal histories can describe a sufficient
positron rate. Reproducing the energy spectrum is more challenging, but perhaps
possible. The resulting light superpartner spectrum is compatible with collider
physics, the muon anomalous magnetic moment, Z-pole electroweak data, and other
dark matter searches.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, references added, minor wording change
Bound states between dark matter particles and emission of gravitational radiation
Bound states of two weakly interactive massive particles are studied. It is
assumed that the WIMPonium is formed due to the gravitational interaction,
since the weak interaction can sometimes be repulsive. The lifetimes of the
spontaneous emission of gravitational radiation and of the WIMPs annihilation
into a pair of gravitons are computed, and are shown to be many orders of
magnitude larger than the age of the universe.Comment: Accepted for publication in GER
Minimal Mass Matrices for Dirac Neutrinos
We consider the possibility of neutrinos being Dirac particles and study
minimal mass matrices with as much zero entries as possible. We find that up to
5 zero entries are allowed. Those matrices predict one vanishing mass state, CP
conservation and U_{e3} either zero or proportional to R, where R is the ratio
of the solar and atmospheric \Delta m^2. Matrices containing 4 zeros can be
classified in categories predicting U_{e3} = 0, U_{e3} \neq 0 but no CP
violation or |U_{e3}| \neq 0 and possible CP violation. Some cases allow to set
constraints on the neutrino masses. The characteristic value of U_{e3} capable
of distinguishing some of the cases with non-trivial phenomenological
consequences is about R/2 \sin 2 \theta_{12}. Matrices containing 3 and less
zero entries imply (with a few exceptions) no correlation for the observables.
We outline models leading to the textures based on the Froggatt-Nielsen
mechanism or the non-Abelian discrete symmetry D_4 \times Z_2.Comment: 32 pages, 3 figures. Comments and references added. To appear in JHE
The cosmic ray positron excess and neutralino dark matter
Using a new instrument, the HEAT collaboration has confirmed the excess of
cosmic ray positrons that they first detected in 1994. We explore the
possibility that this excess is due to the annihilation of neutralino dark
matter in the galactic halo. We confirm that neutralino annihilation can
produce enough positrons to make up the measured excess only if there is an
additional enhancement to the signal. We quantify the `boost factor' that is
required in the signal for various models in the Minimal Supersymmetric
Standard Model parameter space, and study the dependence on various parameters.
We find models with a boost factor greater than 30. Such an enhancement in the
signal could arise if we live in a clumpy halo. We discuss what part of
supersymmetric parameter space is favored (in that it gives the largest
positron signal), and the consequences for other direct and indirect searches
of supersymmetric dark matter.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, matches published version (PRD
The AMANDA Neutrino Telescope
With an effective telescope area of order m for TeV neutrinos, a
threshold near 50 GeV and a pointing accuracy of 2.5 degrees per muon
track, the AMANDA detector represents the first of a new generation of high
energy neutrino telescopes, reaching a scale envisaged over 25 years ago. We
describe early results on the calibration of natural deep ice as a particle
detector as well as on AMANDA's performance as a neutrino telescope.Comment: 12 pages, Latex2.09, uses espcrc2.sty and epsf.sty, 13 postscript
files included. Talk presented at the 18th International Conference on
Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics (Neutrino 98), Takayama, Japan, June 199
Non-thermal dark matter via Affleck-Dine baryogenesis and its detection possibility
The formation and late time decays of Q-balls are generic consequences of the
Affleck-Dine (AD) baryogenesis. A substantial amount of the lightest
supersymmetry (SUSY) particles (LSPs) are produced non-thermally as the decay
products of these Q-balls. This requires a significantly large annihilation
cross section of the LSP so as not to overclose the universe, which predicts a
higgsino- or wino-like LSP instead of the standard bino LSP. We have reexamined
the AD baryogenesis with special attention to the late-time decays of the
Q-balls, and then specified the parameter regions where the LSPs produced by
the Q-ball decays result in a cosmologically interesting mass density of dark
matter by adopting several SUSY breaking models. This reveals new
cosmologically interesting parameter regions, which have not attracted much
attention so far. We have also investigated the prospects of direct and
indirect detection of these dark matter candidates, and found that there is an
intriguing possibility to detect them in various next generation dark matter
searches.Comment: 51 pages, 18 figures, version accepted for publication in Physical
Review
Particle Acceleration in Cosmic Sites - Astrophysics Issues in our Understanding of Cosmic Rays
Laboratory experiments to explore plasma conditions and stimulated particle
acceleration can illuminate aspects of the cosmic particle acceleration
process. Here we discuss the cosmic-ray candidate source object variety, and
what has been learned about their particle-acceleration characteristics. We
identify open issues as discussed among astrophysicists. -- The cosmic ray
differential intensity spectrum is a rather smooth power-law spectrum, with two
kinks at the "knee" (~10^15 eV) and at the "ankle" (~3 10^18 eV). It is unclear
if these kinks are related to boundaries between different dominating sources,
or rather related to characteristics of cosmic-ray propagation. We believe that
Galactic sources dominate up to 10^17 eV or even above, and the extragalactic
origin of cosmic rays at highest energies merges rather smoothly with Galactic
contributions throughout the 10^15--10^18 eV range. Pulsars and supernova
remnants are among the prime candidates for Galactic cosmic-ray production,
while nuclei of active galaxies are considered best candidates to produce
ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays of extragalactic origin. Acceleration processes
are related to shocks from violent ejections of matter from energetic sources
such as supernova explosions or matter accretion onto black holes. Details of
such acceleration are difficult, as relativistic particles modify the structure
of the shock, and simple approximations or perturbation calculations are
unsatisfactory. This is where laboratory plasma experiments are expected to
contribute, to enlighten the non-linear processes which occur under such
conditions.Comment: accepted for publication in EPJD, topical issue on Fundamental
physics and ultra-high laser fields. From review talk at "Extreme Light
Infrastructure" workshop, Sep 2008. Version-2 May 2009: adjust some wordings
and references at EPJD proofs stag
Energy and Flux Measurements of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays Observed During the First ANITA Flight
The first flight of the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA)
experiment recorded 16 radio signals that were emitted by cosmic-ray induced
air showers. For 14 of these events, this radiation was reflected from the ice.
The dominant contribution to the radiation from the deflection of positrons and
electrons in the geomagnetic field, which is beamed in the direction of motion
of the air shower. This radiation is reflected from the ice and subsequently
detected by the ANITA experiment at a flight altitude of 36km. In this paper,
we estimate the energy of the 14 individual events and find that the mean
energy of the cosmic-ray sample is 2.9 EeV. By simulating the ANITA flight, we
calculate its exposure for ultra-high energy cosmic rays. We estimate for the
first time the cosmic-ray flux derived only from radio observations. In
addition, we find that the Monte Carlo simulation of the ANITA data set is in
agreement with the total number of observed events and with the properties of
those events.Comment: Added more explanation of the experimental setup and textual
improvement
Neutralino Dark Matter from MSSM Flat Directions in light of WMAP Result
The minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM) has a truly supersymmetric
way to explain both the baryon asymmetry and cold dark matter in the present
Universe, that is, ``Affleck-Dine baryo/DM-genesis.'' The associated late-time
decay of Q-balls directly connects the origins of the baryon asymmetry and dark
matter, and also predicts a specific nature of the LSP. In this paper, we
investigate the prospects for indirect detection of these dark matter
candidates observing high energy neutrino flux from the Sun, and hard positron
flux from the halo. We also update the previous analysis of the direct
detection in hep-ph/0205044 by implementing the recent result from WMAP
satellite.Comment: 32 pages, including 40 figure
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