The association of shift work and coronary heart disease risk factors among male factory workers in Kota Bharu, Kelantan

Shift work is one of the work hour systems in which a relay of employees extends the period of production beyond the conventional 8-hour working day. It has been found to be associated with various health problems and there is concern that shift workers are at higher risk to develop risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). The study was undertaken to examine relationships between shift work and CHD risk factors, namely hypertension, dyslipidaemia (either hypercholesterolaemia, hyper-low density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia, hypo-high density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia or hypertriglyceridaemia), high body mass index (BMI), hyperglycemia and physical inactivity among male factory workers in a factory in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. METHODS: This study was a contrived cross-sectional study of 76 shift and 72 day workers from one ofthe factories in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Data was collected through a questionnaire on psychosocial and life-style factors, anthropometric and blood pressure measurement, fasting blood sugar and fasting lipid proJiles analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and high body mass index (BMO were significantly higher among shift workers compared to day workers. There was no difference in the prevalence of hyperg[ycemia, hypo-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia, hyper-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia and physical inactivity. When the shiji workers were compared with the day workers, the aajusted odds ratio (OR) for hypertension, high BMI andphysical inactivity were 9.1 (95% CI 1.4-56.8), 2.9 (95% CI 1.3-6.1) and 7.7 (95% CI 2.1-27.5) respectively. There was neither association of shift work with dyslipidaemia, nor with hyperglycemia. CONCLUSIONS: There were positive association between shiji work and hypertension, high BMI andphysical inactivity which denotes a higher risk of CHD risk factors among shift workers compared to day workers

Neutrino lensing and modification of Newtonian gravity at large distances

The nature of the modification to neutrino lensing from galaxies, as caused by possible modifications to Newtonian gravity at large distances, is studied.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figur

Signature of Randall-Sundrum Quantum Gravity model in γγ\gamma\gamma scattering in the TeV range

We examine the implications of the Randall-Sundrum gravity models on $\gamma\gamma$ scattering in the TeV range.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Short and long distance contributions to B→K∗γγB \to K^* \gamma \gamma

We study the decay of the neutral B meson to $K^* \gamma \gamma$ within the framework of the Standard Model, including long distance contributions.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures; A sign error in the numerical estimation corrected. Results and figures changed. Results for resonance contributions also updated to match with the experimetal values in the narrow width approximatio

CP violation in the decay mode B→πγγB\to \pi \gamma \gamma

Within the framework of Standard Model, the exclusive decay mode $B\to \pi \gamma \gamma$ is studied. Although the usual short distance contribution is small compared to the similar $B\to K\gamma\gamma$ mode, the process offers the possibility of studying the CP violation, a feature absent in the $B \to K$ counterpart.Comment: 11 page latex file including 2 ps figures. Typos corrected, minor changes. To appear in PR

Predictions for B→KγγB \to K \gamma \gamma decays

We present a phenomenological study of the rare double radiative decay $B\to K \gamma\gamma$ in the Standard Model (SM) and beyond. Using the operator product expansion (OPE) technique, we estimate the short-distance (SD) contribution to the decay amplitude in a region of the phase space which is around the point where all decay products have energy $\sim m_b/3$ in the rest frame of the $B$-meson. At lowest order in 1/Q, where $Q$ is of order $m_b$, the $B\to K \gamma\gamma$ matrix element is then expressed in terms of the usual $B\to K$ form factors known from semileptonic rare decays. The integrated SD branching ratio in the SM in the OPE region turns out to be $\Delta {\cal{B}}(B \to K \gamma \gamma)_{SM}^{OPE} \simeq 1 \times 10^{-9}$. We work out the di-photon invariant mass distribution with and without the resonant background through $B\to K \{\eta_c,\chi_{c0}\}\to K\gamma \gamma$. In the SM, the resonance contribution is dominant in the region of phase space where the OPE is valid. The present experimental upper limit on $B_s \to \tau^+ \tau^-$ decays, which constrains the scalar/pseudoscalar Four-Fermi operators with $\tau^+ \tau^-$, leaves considerable room for new physics in the one-particle-irreducible contribution to $B\to K \gamma \gamma$ decays. In this case, we find that the SD $B\to K \gamma \gamma$ branching ratio can be enhanced by one order of magnitude with respect to its SM value and the SD contribution can lie outside of the resonance peaks.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures; Note added on Schouten identity and 2 references added; v4: typos in Eqs (8), (44) and erroneous statement on mixing before Eq (44) fixed. All results and conclusions unchange

Probing Heavy Higgs Boson Models with a TeV Linear Collider

The last years have seen a great development in our understanding of particle physics at the weak scale. Precision electroweak observables have played a key role in this process and their values are consistent, within the Standard Model interpretation, with a light Higgs boson with mass lower than about 200 GeV. If new physics were responsible for the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking, there would, quite generally, be modifications to this prediction induced by the non-standard contributions to the precision electroweak observables. In this article, we analyze the experimental signatures of a heavy Higgs boson at linear colliders. We show that a linear collider, with center of mass energy \sqrt{s} <= 1 TeV, would be very useful to probe the basic ingredients of well motivated heavy Higgs boson models: a relatively heavy SM-like Higgs, together with either extra scalar or fermionic degrees of freedom, or with the mixing of the third generation quarks with non-standard heavy quark modes.Comment: 21 page

Analysis of the lepton polarisation asymmetries of Bˉ→Kˉ2(1430) ℓ+ ℓ−{\bar B} \to {\bar K}_2(1430) \, \ell^+ \, \ell^- decay

In this work we will study the longitudinal polarisations of both leptons in the decay process ${\bar B} \to {\bar K}_2(1430)\, \ell^+ \, \ell^-$. This process has all the features of the related and well investigated process ${\bar B} \to {\bar K}^*(890) \, \ell^+ \, \ell^-$, with theoretically comparable branching ratios. The polarised differential decay rates as well as the single and double polarisation asymmetries are worked out, where the sensitivity of these to possible right-handed couplings for the related $b \to s$ radiative decay (and other generic BSM parameters) are also investigated.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures file

Nucleon Spin-Polarisabilities from Polarisation Observables in Low-Energy Deuteron Compton Scattering

We investigate the dependence of polarisation observables in elastic deuteron Compton scattering below the pion production threshold on the spin-independent and spin-dependent iso-scalar dipole polarisabilities of the nucleon. The calculation uses Chiral Effective Field Theory with dynamical Delta(1232) degrees of freedom in the Small Scale Expansion at next-to-leading order. Resummation of the NN intermediate rescattering states and including the Delta induces sizeable effects. The analysis considers cross-sections and the analysing power of linearly polarised photons on an unpolarised target, and cross-section differences and asymmetries of linearly and circularly polarised beams on a vector-polarised deuteron. An intuitive argument helps one to identify kinematics in which one or several polarisabilities do not contribute. Some double-polarised observables are only sensitive to linear combinations of two of the spin-polarisabilities, simplifying a multipole-analysis of the data. Spin-polarisabilities can be extracted at photon energies \gtrsim 100 MeV, after measurements at lower energies of \lesssim 70 MeV provide high-accuracy determinations of the spin-independent ones. An interactive Mathematica 7.0 notebook of our findings is available from [email protected]: 30 pages LaTeX2e, including 22 figures as 66 .eps file embedded with includegraphicx; three errors in initial submission corrected. This submission includes ot the erratum to be published in EPJA (2012) and the corrections in the tex