517 research outputs found
Reporting Requirements and the New York SAFE Act of 2013
Following the Sandy Hook school shooting in December of 2012, the state of New York took the increased public support for gun control measures as an opportunity to amend its existing assault weapons ban, creating the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms (SAFE) Act of 2013. This paper focuses on the SAFE Act provision that creates a reporting requirement for mental health professionals, and compares it to existing reporting requirements for health care professionals in other contexts, including the reporting of communicable diseases, individuals considered medically unfit to drive, cases of suspected child abuse, and of pregnant women who use illegal drugs. The SAFE Actâs misguided attempt at protecting public health and safety through this reporting requirement does not meet the five criteria outlined by Childress et al. (effectiveness, necessity, least infringement, benefits proportional to harms, and justifiable to the public) needed for a public health intervention that conflicts with moral considerations
Morphological plasticity in Cladosporium sphaerospermum
A morphologically distinct isolate of Cladosporium sphaerospermum from a North American patent collection, referenced as Cladosporium lignicola in the patent, was examined. Generic affinity was confirmed by scanning electron microscopic examination of conidiogenous loci and conidial hila. Species identity as C. sphaerospermum was indicated by DNA sequence data derived from actin and translation elongation factor 1-α genes, and the internal transcribed spacer region. The isolate broadens the morphological limits of C. sphaerospermum by production of obclavate, occasionally transversely septate conidia with subrostrate conidiogenous apices (âalternarioidâ conidia), and by production of conidia larger than those in prior standard descriptions. Type material of C. lignicola was re-examined and compared with the North American fungus, from which it is morphologically distinct. The decision to reduce C. lignicola to synonymy under C. herbarum was confirmed
Rationale, design, and protocol for the prevention of low back pain in the military (POLM) trial (NCT00373009)
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are few effective strategies reported for the primary prevention of low back pain (LBP). Core stabilization exercises targeting the deep abdominal and trunk musculature and psychosocial education programs addressing patient beliefs and coping styles represent the current best evidence for secondary prevention of low back pain. However, these programs have not been widely tested to determine if they are effective at preventing the primary onset and/or severity of LBP. The purpose of this cluster randomized clinical trial is to determine if a combined core stabilization exercise and education program is effective in preventing the onset and/or severity of LBP. The effect of the combined program will be compared to three other standard programs.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Consecutive Soldiers participating in advanced individual training (AIT) will be screened for eligibility requirements and consented to study participation, as appropriate. Companies of Soldiers will be randomly assigned to receive the following standard prevention programs; a core stabilization exercise program (CSEP) alone, a CSEP with a psychosocial education (PSEP), a traditional exercise (TEP), or a TEP with a PSEP. Proximal outcome measures will be assessed at the conclusion of AIT (a 12 week training period) and include imaging of deep lumbar musculature using real-time ultrasound imaging and beliefs about LBP by self-report questionnaire. We are hypothesizing that Soldiers receiving the CSEP will have improved thickness of selected deep lumbar musculature (transversus abdominus, multifidi, and erector spinae muscles). We are also hypothesizing that Soldiers receiving the PSEP will have improved beliefs about the management of LBP. After AIT, Soldiers will be followed monthly to measure the distal outcomes of LBP occurrence and severity. This information will be collected during the subsequent 2 years following completion of AIT using a web-based data entry system. Soldiers will receive a monthly email that queries whether any LBP was experienced in the previous calendar month. Soldiers reporting LBP will enter episode-specific data related to pain intensity, pain-related disability, fear-avoidance beliefs, and pain catastrophizing. We are hypothesizing that Soldiers receiving the CSEP and PSEP will report the longest duration to first episode of LBP, the lowest frequency of LBP, and the lowest severity of LBP episodes. Statistical comparisons will be made between each of the randomly assigned prevention programs to test our hypotheses related to determining which of the 4 programs is most effective.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>We have presented the design and protocol for the POLM trial. Completion of this trial will provide important information on how to effectively train Soldiers for the prevention of LBP.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>NCT00373009</p
Testing factorization in B -> D(*)X decays
In QCD the amplitude for B0 -> D(*)+pi- factorizes in the large Nc limit or
in the large energy limit Q >> Lambda_QCD where Q = {m_b, m_c, m_b-m_c}. Data
also suggests factorization in exclusive processes B-> D* pi+ pi- pi- pi0 and
B-> D* omega pi-, however by themselves neither large Nc nor large Q can
account for this. Noting that the condition for large energy release in B0-> D+
pi- is enforced by the SV limit, m_b, m_c >> m_b-m_c >> Lambda, we propose that
the combined large Nc and SV limits justify factorization in B -> D(*) X. This
combined limit is tested with the inclusive decay spectrum measured by CLEO. We
also give exact large Nc relations among isospin amplitudes for B -> D(*)X and
B -> D(*) D-bar(*)X, which can be used to test factorization through exclusive
or inclusive measurements. Predictions for the modes B-> D(*) pi pi, B-> D(*)K
K-bar and B-> D(*) D-bar(*) K are discussed using available data.Comment: 15 pages, 3 included .eps figures, minor change
Associated production as a probe of the polarized gluon distribution
Associated production of and a has recently been proposed
as clean probe of the gluon distribution. The same mechanism can be used to
probe the polarized gluon content of the proton in polarized proton-proton
collisions. We study production at both polarized fixed
target and polarized collider energies.Comment: 16 pages (10 figures available from M.A.D.), MAD/PH/745, SNUTP 93-6,
YUMS 93-
FCNC Effects in a Minimal Theory of Fermion Masses
As a minimal theory of fermion masses we extend the SM by heavy vectorlike
fermions, with flavor-anarchical Yukawa couplings, that mix with chiral
fermions such that small SM Yukawa couplings arise from small mixing angles.
This model can be regarded as an effective description of the fermionic sector
of a large class of existing flavor models and thus might serve as a useful
reference frame for a further understanding of flavor hierarchies in the SM.
Already such a minimal framework gives rise to FCNC effects through exchange of
massive SM bosons whose couplings to the light fermions get modified by the
mixing. We derive general formulae for these corrections and discuss the bounds
on the heavy fermion masses. Particularly stringent bounds, in a few TeV range,
come from the corrections to the Z couplings.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur
Strong Double Higgs Production at the LHC
The hierarchy problem and the electroweak data, together, provide a plausible
motivation for considering a light Higgs emerging as a pseudo-Goldstone boson
from a strongly-coupled sector. In that scenario, the rates for Higgs
production and decay differ significantly from those in the Standard Model.
However, one genuine strong coupling signature is the growth with energy of the
scattering amplitudes among the Goldstone bosons, the longitudinally polarized
vector bosons as well as the Higgs boson itself. The rate for double Higgs
production in vector boson fusion is thus enhanced with respect to its
negligible rate in the SM. We study that reaction in pp collisions, where the
production of two Higgs bosons at high pT is associated with the emission of
two forward jets. We concentrate on the decay mode hh -> WW^(*)WW^(*) and study
the semi-leptonic decay chains of the W's with 2, 3 or 4 leptons in the final
states. While the 3 lepton final states are the most relevant and can lead to a
3 sigma signal significance with 300 fb^{-1} collected at a 14 TeV LHC, the two
same-sign lepton final states provide complementary information. We also
comment on the prospects for improving the detectability of double Higgs
production at the foreseen LHC energy and luminosity upgrades.Comment: 54 pages, 26 figures. v2: typos corrected, a few comments and one
table added. Version published in JHE
A Resolution to the Supersymmetric CP Problem with Large Soft Phases via D-branes
We examine the soft supersymmetry breaking parameters that result from
various ways of embedding the Standard Model (SM) on D-branes within the Type I
string picture, allowing the gaugino masses and to have large CP-
violating phases. One embedding naturally provides the relations among soft
parameters to satisfy the electron and neutron electric dipole moment
constraints even with large phases, while with other embeddings large phases
are not allowed. The string models provide some motivation for large phases in
the soft breaking parameters. The results generally suggest how low energy data
might teach us about Planck scale physics.Comment: 11 pages, 2 eps figures; revised references and updated tex
TeV Symmetry and the Little Hierarchy Problem
Constraints from precision electroweak measurements reveal no evidence for
new physics up to 5 - 7 TeV, whereas naturalness requires new particles at
around 1 TeV to address the stability of the electroweak scale. We show that
this "little hierarchy problem" can be cured by introducing a symmetry for new
particles at the TeV scale. As an example, we construct a little Higgs model
with this new symmetry, dubbed T-parity, which naturally solves the little
hierarchy problem and, at the same time, stabilize the electroweak scale up to
10 TeV. The model has many important phenomenological consequences, including
consistency with the precision data without any fine-tuning, a stable
weakly-interacting particle as the dark matter candidate, as well as collider
signals completely different from existing little Higgs models, but rather
similar to the supersymmetric theories with conserved R-parity.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure; v.2: typos corrected and various minor
modifications/expansions on the presentations. now 16 pages and 1 figure.
version to appear on JHE
Multi-Photon Signals from Composite Models at LHC
We analyze the collider signals of composite scalars that emerge in certain
little Higgs models and models of vectorlike confinement. Similar to the decay
of the pion into photon pairs, these scalars mainly decay through
anomaly-induced interactions into electroweak gauge bosons, leading to a
distinct signal with three or more photons in the final state. We study the
standard model backgrounds for these signals, and find that the LHC can
discover these models over a large range of parameter space with 30 fb
at 14 TeV. An early discovery at the current 7 TeV run is possible in some
regions of parameter space. We also discuss possibilities to measure the spin
of the particles in the and decay channels.Comment: 18 pages, LaTe
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