A Monte Carlo Test of the Optimal Jet Definition

We summarize the Optimal Jet Definition and present the result of a benchmark Monte Carlo test based on the W-boson mass extraction from fully hadronic decays of pairs of W's.Comment: 7 pages, talk given at Lake Louise Winter Institute: "Particles and the Universe", Lake Louise, Canada, February 16-22, 2003, to be published in the proceeding

Alien Registration- Jankowski, Anna E. (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/32070/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Jankowski, Anna E. (Portland, Cumberland County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/32070/thumbnail.jp

Is a Parent-Focused Intervention More Effective Than a Child-Focused Approach in Treating Childhood Obesity?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not a parent-focused intervention is more effective than a child-focused approach in treating childhood obesity. STUDY DESIGN: This review consists of three randomized controlled trials published in the English language between the years 2004 and 2010. DATA SOURCES: Data sources were articles published in peer reviewed journals comparing parent-focused intervention as a treatment of childhood obesity compared to a child-focused approach found using Cochrane and PubMed databases. OUTCOMES MEASURED: The outcomes measured were the child’s obesity status and quality of life. These outcomes were measured using a standard medical scale and rigid height rod for height and weight and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory to measure quality of life. RESULTS: All three studies showed a significant decrease in the obesity status in children ages 4-12 diagnosed with obesity and their quality of life. Golan et al showed significant weight loss results 1, 2, and 7 years after conclusion of the study in the parent-only group vs child-only group (p=\u3c 0.05, p=\u3c 0.01, p=\u3c 0.05, respectively). Yackobovitch-Gavan also showed significant results in BMI reduction and in overall BMI decrease in parents who were involved versus those who were not. (p=0.048, p=0.031, respectively). Lastly, West et al had significant BMI reduction in the intervention group compared to the control group. (-0.11, p=\u3c 0.05) CONCLUSIONS: The results of the RCTs and comparing weights of obese children before and after the implemented interventions show that a parent-focused health care approach is an effective treatment in childhood obesity. The inclusion of parents in the intervention of their children’s health resulted in weight reduction, BMI improvement, and improvement in quality of life. Further research is needed in order to determine the exact type of parental involvement that can maximize weight loss and provide patients with the best quality of life

Biology Student Perceptions of Information Literacy Instruction in the Context of an Essential Skills Workshop Series

The University Libraries at the University of New Mexico reconfigured their established library instruction program for biology as part of a broader grant-funded essential skills workshop series for STEM students. This initiative standardized supplementary instruction through seven in-person and online workshops delivered to students through the Biology Department’s four core undergraduate laboratory courses. Post-workshop feedback data were gathered from students throughout the two-year grant period. The present study analyzes this data set—including 3,797 completed student surveys from both library and non-library workshops over the course of four semesters—with the goal of understanding STEM student perceptions of the value of information literacy skills as compared to the general and disciplinary value of other essential intellectual and practical skills. The findings suggest that undergraduate biology students generally perceive information literacy to be among the most valuable and relevant skills introduced through the workshop series. The results have the potential to inform information literacy instruction practices and collaborative efforts with broader essential skills education programs

Debye mass and heavy quark potential in a PNJL quark plasma

We calculate the Debye mass for the screening of the heavy quark potential in a plasma of massless quarks coupled to the temporal gluon background governed by the Polyakov loop potential within the PNJL model in RPA approximation. We give a physical motivation for a recent phenomenological fit of lattice data by applying the calculated Debye mass with its suppression in the confined phase due to the Polyakov-loop to a description of the temperature dependence of the singlet free energy for QCD with a heavy quark pair at infinite separation. We compare the result to lattice data.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, contribution to Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on "Critical Point and Onset of Deconfinement", to appear in Phys. At. Nucl., vol. 7

Consumer\u27s choice in protective eyewear

Seventeen pairs of racquetball eyewear were tested for distortion and loss of field. Four of the seventeen eyewear produced twenty five percent or greater loss of field. Two of the eyewears produced less than one percent loss of field. None produced measurable distortion utilized by our measurement techniques

The olive biophenols oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol selectively reduce proliferation, influence the cell cycle, and induce apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells

Current chemotherapy drugs for pancreatic cancer only offer an increase in survival of up to six months. Additionally, they are highly toxic to normal tissues, drastically affecting the quality of life of patients. Therefore, the search for novel agents, which induce apoptosis in cancer cells while displaying limited toxicity towards normal cells, is paramount. The olive biophenols, oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol, have displayed cytotoxicity towards cancer cells without affecting non-tumorigenic cells in cancers of the breast and prostate. However, their activity in pancreatic cancer has not been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the anti-pancreatic cancer potential of oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol. Pancreatic cancer cells (MIA PaCa-2, BxPC-3, and CFPAC-1) and non-tumorigenic pancreas cells (HPDE) were treated with oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol to determine their effect on cell viability. Oleuropein displayed selective toxicity towards MIA PaCa-2 cells and hydroxytyrosol towards MIA PaCa-2 and HPDE cells. Subsequent analysis of Bcl-2 family proteins and caspase 3/7 activation determined that oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol induced apoptosis in MIA PaCa-2 cells, while oleuropein displayed a protective effect on HPDE cells. Gene expression analysis revealed putative mechanisms of action, which suggested that c-Jun and c-Fos are involved in oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol induced apoptosis of MIA PaCa-2 cells

Optimal Jet Finder

We describe a FORTRAN 77 implementation of the optimal jet definition for identification of jets in hadronic final states of particle collisions. We discuss details of the implementation, explain interface subroutines and provide a usage example. The source code is available from http://www.inr.ac.ru/~ftkachov/projects/jets/Comment: version to appear in Comp. Phys. Commun., 36 page

Limits on the Mass, Velocity and Orbit of PSR J1933−-6211

We present a high-precision timing analysis of PSR J1933$-$6211, a millisecond pulsar (MSP) with a 3.5-ms spin period and a white dwarf (WD) companion, using data from the Parkes radio telescope. Since we have accurately measured the polarization properties of this pulsar we have applied the matrix template matching approach in which the times of arrival are measured using full polarimetric information. We achieved a weighted root-mean-square timing residuals (rms) of the timing residuals of 1.23 $\rm \mu s$, 15.5$\%$ improvement compared to the total intensity timing analysis. After studying the scintillation properties of this pulsar we put constraints on the inclination angle of the system. Based on these measurements and on $\chi^2$ mapping we put a 2-$\sigma$ upper limit on the companion mass (0.44 M$_\odot$). Since this mass limit cannot reveal the nature of the companion we further investigate the possibility of the companion to be a He WD. Applying the orbital period-mass relation for such WDs, we conclude that the mass of a He WD companion would be about 0.26$\pm$0.01 M$_\odot$ which, combined with the measured mass function and orbital inclination limits, would lead to a light pulsar mass $\leqslant$ 1.0 M$_\odot$. This result seems unlikely based on current neutron star formation models and we therefore conclude that PSR J1933$-$6211 most likely has a CO WD companion, which allows for a solution with a more massive pulsar