161 research outputs found

    Constraints on the Charged Higgs Sector from the Tevatron Collider Data on Top Quark Decay

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    The top quark data in the lepton plus τ\tau channel offers a viable probe for the charged Higgs boson signal. We analyse the recent Tevatron collider data in this channel to obtain a significant limit on the H±H^\pm mass in the large tanβ\tan\beta region.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX file; 2 figures included (PS files

    Charged Higgs Boson Search at the Tevatron Upgrade Using Tau Polarization

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    We explore the prospect of charged Higgs boson search in top quark decay at the Tevatron collider upgrade, taking advantage of the opposite states of τ\tau polarization resulting from the H±H^\pm and W±W^\pm decays. Methods of distinguishing the two contributions in the inclusive 1-prong hadronic decay channel of τ\tau are suggested. The resulting signature and discovery limit of H±H^\pm are presented for the Tevatron upgrade as well as the Tevatron^\star and the Ditevatron options.Comment: 19 pages LaTeX + 6 figures (available on request

    Acceptability and Feasibility of Community-Based, Lay Navigator-Facilitated At-Home Self-Collection for Human Papillomavirus Testing in Underscreened Women

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    Objective: Women without regular health care providers or a medical home routinely fail to complete recommended cervical cancer screening. At-home self-collection of samples to test for high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (hrHPV) can improve screening rates. This study documents acceptability and feasibility of community lay navigator (LN)-facilitated at-home self-collection for underscreened women in Appalachian Virginia. Materials and Methods: This study used mixed methods in three phases. Phase I involved focus groups of LNs to ensure cultural acceptability of self-collection, and to enhance recruitment of medically underserved women. An environmental scan of community resources and climate was created in Phase II. During Phase III, underscreened women in Appalachian Virginia (the far southwest corner of Virginia) were recruited to complete hrHPV testing using LN-provided self-collection kits. Results: LN-facilitated at-home self-collection for HPV testing was deemed culturally acceptable and feasible to participants in this community-based pilot study. Self-kit training included 64 LNs, of which 35 engaged in the study and were provided 77 kits and instructions. A total of 59 self-kits were returned, of which 42 were correctly completed with valid HPV results, yielding a 16.6% hrHPV rate. Conclusions: Over a quarter of the women LNs recruited had no medical home, indicating this delivery model may have potential to reach women at increased risk of being underscreened for cervical cancer. Research is needed to identify optimal approaches to increase LN participation in outreach self-collection interventions

    Substructures in lens galaxies: PG1115+080 and B1555+375, two fold configurations

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    We study the anomalous flux ratio which is observed in some four-image lens systems, where the source lies close to a fold caustic. In this case two of the images are close to the critical curve and their flux ratio should be equal to unity, instead in several cases the observed value differs significantly. The most plausible solution is to invoke the presence of substructures, as for instance predicted by the Cold Dark Matter scenario, located near the two images. In particular, we analyze the two fold lens systems PG1115+080 and B1555+375, for which there are not yet satisfactory models which explain the observed anomalous flux ratios. We add to a smooth lens model, which reproduces well the positions of the images but not the anomalous fluxes, one or two substructures described as singular isothermal spheres. For PG1115+080 we consider a smooth model with the influence of the group of galaxies described by a SIS and a substructure with mass 105M\sim 10^{5} M_{\odot} as well as a smooth model with an external shear and one substructure with mass 108M\sim 10^{8} M_{\odot} . For B1555+375 either a strong external shear or two substructures with mass 107M\sim 10^{7} M_{\odot} reproduce the data quite well.Comment: 26 pages, updated bibliography, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

    Inflation, cold dark matter, and the central density problem

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    A problem with high central densities in dark halos has arisen in the context of LCDM cosmologies with scale-invariant initial power spectra. Although n=1 is often justified by appealing to the inflation scenario, inflationary models with mild deviations from scale-invariance are not uncommon and models with significant running of the spectral index are plausible. Even mild deviations from scale-invariance can be important because halo collapse times and densities depend on the relative amount of small-scale power. We choose several popular models of inflation and work out the ramifications for galaxy central densities. For each model, we calculate its COBE-normalized power spectrum and deduce the implied halo densities using a semi-analytic method calibrated against N-body simulations. We compare our predictions to a sample of dark matter-dominated galaxies using a non-parametric measure of the density. While standard n=1, LCDM halos are overdense by a factor of 6, several of our example inflation+CDM models predict halo densities well within the range preferred by observations. We also show how the presence of massive (0.5 eV) neutrinos may help to alleviate the central density problem even with n=1. We conclude that galaxy central densities may not be as problematic for the CDM paradigm as is sometimes assumed: rather than telling us something about the nature of the dark matter, galaxy rotation curves may be telling us something about inflation and/or neutrinos. An important test of this idea will be an eventual consensus on the value of sigma_8, the rms overdensity on the scale 8 h^-1 Mpc. Our successful models have values of sigma_8 approximately 0.75, which is within the range of recent determinations. Finally, models with n>1 (or sigma_8 > 1) are highly disfavored.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Minor changes made to reflect referee's Comments, error in Eq. (18) corrected, references updated and corrected, conclusions unchanged. Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D, scheduled for 15 August 200

    Inflation: flow, fixed points and observables to arbitrary order in slow roll

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    I generalize the inflationary flow equations of Hoffman and Turner to arbitrary order in slow roll. This makes it possible to study the predictions of slow roll inflation in the full observable parameter space of tensor/scalar ratio rr, spectral index nn, and running dn/dlnkd n / d \ln k. It also becomes possible to identify exact fixed points in the parameter flow. I numerically evaluate the flow equations to fifth order in slow roll for a set of randomly chosen initial conditions and find that the models cluster strongly in the observable parameter space, indicating a ``generic'' set of predictions for slow roll inflation. I comment briefly on the the interesting proposed correspondence between flow in inflationary parameter space and renormalization group flow in a boundary conformal field theory.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures. LaTeX. V4: Fixed important error in numerical constant in the second-order slow roll expressions for the observables r, n, and dn/dlog(k). See footnote after Eq. (48). New figures, minor changes to conclusions. Supersedes version published in Phys. Rev.

    Understanding the rift, the (still) uneasy bedfellows of History and Organization Studies

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    Although the use of History has become increasingly discussed and more widely applied within Organization Studies (OS), its relevance for OS still remains far from centrally accepted. This article historicizes the relationship between Sociology and History as a means of better understanding the tensions, perceived and real, that exist between History and Organization Studies. In particular we analyse three differences of epistemological standpoint (method, objectivity and usefulness) that are commonly seen as the foundation stones to incompatibility. Perhaps surprisingly for an analysis of apparent disciplinary differences, we find that these distinctions in terms of approach, once closely examined, are rarely clear-cut and historians and OS scholars are frequently closer in intention and method than they are distant. However, despite their large intersection of interests, we argue that important distinctions between the two fields should be acknowledged. Our contribution to the debates over the need for more historical approaches within OS therefore centrally rests on abandoning aspirations for fully integrative models of working together, in favour of cooperative modes that concede the fields’ differences. This subtle shift of emphasis will, we believe, greatly benefit OS scholars who hope to include historical perspectives in their work

    Discovery and characterization of a specific inhibitor of serine-threonine kinase cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) demonstrates role in hippocampal CA1 physiology

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    Pathological loss-of-function mutations in cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) cause CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD), a rare and severe neurodevelopmental disorder associated with severe and medically refractory early-life epilepsy, motor, cognitive, visual, and autonomic disturbances in the absence of any structural brain pathology. Analysis of genetic variants in CDD has indicated that CDKL5 kinase function is central to disease pathology. CDKL5 encodes a serine-threonine kinase with significant homology to GSK3β, which has also been linked to synaptic function. Further, Cdkl5 knock-out rodents have increased GSK3β activity and often increased long-term potentiation (LTP). Thus, development of a specific CDKL5 inhibitor must be careful to exclude cross-talk with GSK3β activity. We synthesized and characterized specific, high-affinity inhibitors of CDKL5 that do not have detectable activity for GSK3β. These compounds are very soluble in water but blood-brain barrier penetration is low. In rat hippocampal brain slices, acute inhibition of CDKL5 selectively reduces postsynaptic function of AMPA-type glutamate receptors in a dose-dependent manner. Acute inhibition of CDKL5 reduces hippocampal LTP. These studies provide new tools and insights into the role of CDKL5 as a newly appreciated key kinase necessary for synaptic plasticity. Comparisons to rodent knock-out studies suggest that compensatory changes have limited the understanding of the roles of CDKL5 in synaptic physiology, plasticity, and human neuropathology
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