Are Women Willing to Change Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines?

This purpose of this study is to evaluate the willingness of women to change their breast cancer screening practices if given personalized recommendations based on risk factors such as breast density, family history and lifestyle. Methods: A random sample of 1,024 Virginia women between age 35–70 years and without breast cancer, reached by landline and cell phone, completed a 24-minute interview. Results: Just over half (54.6%) of women are definitely or probably willing to reduce their frequency of breast cancer screening if provided with personalized recommendations. This compares to 81.9% who are definitely or probably willing to increase screening. The most cited disadvantage for reduced screening was delayed detection of breast cancer (77%) while the most cited advantage for increased screening is earlier detection (82%). Women are willing to change their type of screening (92.3%). Women who were more likely to be willing to reduce screening are those with a lower perceived risk of breast cancer, less familiarity with risk factors and recommendations. When asked what they needed to know to make a change, women cited advice of a doctor (52.1%), research/evidence (38.9%) and comparison with old recommendations (22.5%) most frequently. Advice of a radiologist was only stated by 2.3% of the women. Conclusions: These results suggest that most women will be willing to change their breast cancer screening frequency especially if recommended by their primary care physician. Women do not view their radiologist as having a primary role in delivering screening recommendations; this underscores the need to educate primary healthcare providers regarding breast screening recommendations.

A prospective observational study investigating all children presenting to a specialty paediatric burns centre

AIM AND METHOD

The aim of this study was to describe the mechanism of injury and outcome of all children who presented to The Stuart Pegg Paediatric Burns Centre (SPPBC) with a burn injury in the year 2013. A detailed proforma was completed prospectively at time of presentation to hospital.

RESULTS

During the one year period, 758 children with a median age of 2 years 3 months presented with a burn injury. Overall, 12.7% of patients (n=96) were initially treated as inpatients. Similarities existed between in and outpatients. Over half the children admitted had a scald injury (53.1%). Whilst slightly higher than the outpatient scald rate of 43.1% there was no statistical significant difference. However, there was a significant difference between inpatients and outpatients with respect to other mechanisms of injury. Contact burns were under represented in inpatients (27.1%) compared to outpatients (44.5%), p<0.05. In contrast, flame burns were over represented in inpatients, 11.5% compared to outpatients, 2.9% (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Paediatric burns are a common cause of childhood injury. The majority of children present with small to medium sized partial thickness injuries and are managed as outpatients. In order to understand the true impact of paediatric burn injury and to develop appropriate targeted injury prevention campaigns, data repositories must include detailed information regarding outpatient paediatric burns.

Search for supersymmetry in hadronic final states with missing transverse energy using the variables αT and b-quark multiplicity in pp collisions at [Formula: see text]

An inclusive search for supersymmetric processes that produce final states with jets and missing transverse energy is performed in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 11.7 fb-1 collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. In this search, a dimensionless kinematic variable, αT, is used to discriminate between events with genuine and misreconstructed missing transverse energy. The search is based on an examination of the number of reconstructed jets per event, the scalar sum of transverse energies of these jets, and the number of these jets identified as originating from bottom quarks. No significant excess of events over the standard model expectation is found. Exclusion limits are set in the parameter space of simplified models, with a special emphasis on both compressed-spectrum scenarios and direct or gluino-induced production of third-generation squarks. For the case of gluino-mediated squark production, gluino masses up to 950-1125 GeV are excluded depending on the assumed model. For the direct pair-production of squarks, masses up to 450 GeV are excluded for a single light first- or second-generation squark, increasing to 600 GeV for bottom squarks.

Inclusive search for supersymmetry using razor variables in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

An inclusive search is presented for new heavy particle pairs produced in √s=7 TeV proton-proton collisions at the LHC using 4.7±0.1 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity. The selected events are analyzed in the 2D razor space of M(R), an event-by-event indicator of the heavy particle mass scale, and R, a dimensionless variable related to the missing transverse energy. The third-generation sector is probed using the event heavy-flavor content. The search is sensitive to generic supersymmetry models with minimal assumptions about the superpartner decay chains. No excess is observed in the number of events beyond that predicted by the standard model. Exclusion limits are derived in the CMSSM framework as well as for simplified models. Within the CMSSM parameter space considered, gluino masses up to 800 GeV and squark masses up to 1.35 TeV are excluded at 95% confidence level depending on the model parameters. The direct production of pairs of top or bottom squarks is excluded for masses as high as 400 GeV.

Search for physics beyond the standard model in events with τ leptons, jets, and large transverse momentum imbalance in pp collisions at [Formula: see text]

A search for physics beyond the standard model is performed with events having one or more hadronically decaying τ leptons, highly energetic jets, and large transverse momentum imbalance. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.98 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text] collected with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2011. The number of observed events is consistent with predictions for standard model processes. Lower limits on the mass of the gluino in supersymmetric models are determined.

Search for supersymmetry in pp collisions at [Formula: see text] TeV in events with a single lepton, jets, and missing transverse momentum

Results are reported from a search for new physics processes in events containing a single isolated high-transverse-momentum lepton (electron or muon), energetic jets, and large missing transverse momentum. The analysis is based on a 4.98 fb-1 sample of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, obtained with the CMS detector at the LHC. Three separate background estimation methods, each relying primarily on control samples in the data, are applied to a range of signal regions, providing complementary approaches for estimating the background yields. The observed yields are consistent with the predicted standard model backgrounds. The results are interpreted in terms of limits on the parameter space for the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model, as well as on cross sections for simplified models, which provide a generic description of the production and decay of new particles in specific, topology based final states.

ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

The online version of this article (doi:10.1140/epjc/s10052-013-2404-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Measurement of associated production of vector bosons and top quark-antiquark pairs in pp collisions at sqrt[s]=7 TeV

The first measurement of vector-boson production associated with a top quark-antiquark pair in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s] = 7  TeV is presented. The results are based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0  fb(-1), recorded by the CMS detector at the LHC in 2011. The measurement is performed in two independent channels through a trilepton analysis of ttZ events and a same-sign dilepton analysis of ttV (V = W or Z) events. In the trilepton channel a direct measurement of the ttZ cross section σ(ttZ) = 0.28(-0.11)(+0.14) (stat)(-0.03)(+0.06) (syst)  pb is obtained. In the dilepton channel a measurement of the ttV cross section yields σ(ttV) = 0.43(-0.15)(+0.17) (stat)(-0.07)(+0.09) (syst)  pb. These measurements have a significance, respectively, of 3.3 and 3.0 standard deviations from the background hypotheses and are compatible, within uncertainties, with the corresponding next-to-leading order predictions of 0.137(-0.016)(+0.012) and 0.306(-0.053)(+0.031)  pb.

Search for pair-produced dijet resonances in four-jet final states in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV

A search for the pair production of a heavy, narrow resonance decaying into two jets has been performed using events collected in sqrt[s] = 7 TeV pp collisions with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(-1). Events are selected with at least four jets and two dijet combinations with similar dijet mass. No resonances are found in the dijet mass spectrum. The upper limit at 95% confidence level on the product of the resonance pair production cross section, the branching fractions into dijets, and the acceptance varies from 0.22 to 0.005 pb, for resonance masses between 250 and 1200 GeV. Pair-produced colorons decaying into qq are excluded for coloron masses between 250 and 740 GeV.

Search for pair production of third-generation leptoquarks and top squarks in pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for the pair production of third-generation scalar and vector leptoquarks, as well as for top squarks in R-parity-violating supersymmetric models. In either scenario, the new, heavy particle decays into a τ lepton and a b quark. The search is based on a data sample of pp collisions at sqrt[s] = 7 TeV, which is collected by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb(-1). The number of observed events is found to be in agreement with the standard model prediction, and exclusion limits on mass parameters are obtained at the 95% confidence level. Vector leptoquarks with masses below 760 GeV are excluded and, if the branching fraction of the scalar leptoquark decay to a τ lepton and a b quark is assumed to be unity, third-generation scalar leptoquarks with masses below 525 GeV are ruled out. Top squarks with masses below 453 GeV are excluded for a typical benchmark scenario, and limits on the coupling between the top squark, τ lepton, and b quark, λ(333)(') are obtained. These results are the most stringent for these scenarios to date.