Examining the cancellation mechanism of neutron EDM in a model with dilaton-dominated susy breaking

We examine the cancellation mechanism between the different contributions to the electric dipole moment of the neutron in a model with dilaton-dominated SUSY breaking. We find these accidental cancellations occur at few points in parameter space. For a wide region of this space we must constrain the phase of $\mu$ to be of order $10^{-1}$ and have the phases of $A$ and $\mu$ strongly correlated in order to have small neutron EDM. Moreover, we consider the indirect CP violation parameter $\epsilon$ in this region where the electric dipole moment is less than the experimental limit and find that we can generate $\epsilon$ of order $10^{-6}$

Constraining supersymmetric models from B_d - B-bar_d mixing and the B_d --> J/psi K_S asymmetry

We analyze the chargino contributions to B_d - B-bar_d mixing and CP asymmetry of the B_d --> J/psi K_S decay, in the framework of the mass insertion approximation. We derive model independent bounds on the relevant mass insertions. Moreover, we study these contributions in supersymmetric models with minimal flavor violation, Hermitian flavor structure, and small CP violating phases and universal strength Yukawa couplings. We show that in supersymmetric models with large flavor mixing, the observed values of sin(2 beta) may be entirely due to the chargino-up-squark loops.Comment: 22 pages, 1 figure, minor corrections, version to appear in Phys. Rev.

In vitro and in vivo preliminary results on Spirulina platensis for treatment of impetigo: Topical cream application

Impetigo is a highly infectious superficial bacterial disease, most common among pre-school children. Applying 11 antimicrobial agents to the Staphylococcus aureus, the most causative organism for impetigo, S. aureus isolates are resistant to all agents except of vancomycin and fusidic acid. Nevertheless, treatment of impetigo using antimicrobial agents may cause serious medical problems, such as destroying normal gut and skin flora and producing gastrointestinal irritations, dermatitis or serious hypersensitivity problems. Thus, the test of new microbial infection-fighting natural compounds is urgent. The in vitro measuring the antibacterial activity of Spirulina platensis extracts, following agarwell diffusion method, against methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) clinical isolates showed that the methanolic S. platensis extract is the most active. The in vivo efficacy of applied topical S. platensis creams, both methanolic extract and crude, in treatment of impetigo were compared. In general, clinical application of both active ingredients of S. platensis (Group 1-G1) and crude S. platensis form (Group 2-G2) gave promising and excellent response rates. However, the Group 1 application had the best efficacy, no side effects and no recurrence during the follow-up period. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of both crude alga and its methanolic extract concludes that the potential antimicrobial activity is attributed to synergic effect of some fatty acids. We propose that the higher percentage of linoleic and palmitic acids and the presence of squalane in methanolic extract of Spirulina most probably are the causes of its higher antimicrobial activity.Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus, impetigo, Spirulina platensis, extracts, topical cream, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), antimicrobial activityAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(18), pp. 2498-250

Fetal midline anomalies: Diagnosis and counselling Part 1: Corpus callosum anomalies.

Midline anomalies encompasses a heterogeneous group of conditions caused by an abnormal process of ventral induction after the end of primary neurulation. Advances in prenatal imaging techniques have led to an increase in the detection rate of such anomalies since the first trimester of pregnancy although a significant proportion of them remain undiagnosed until birth. Ultrasound is the primary technique in detecting such anomalies while fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is commonly performed to confirm the diagnosis and detect additional anomalies, especially those involving the cortical surface of the brain, which may potentially impact post-natal outcome. Neurodevelopmental outcome of cerebral anomalies involving the midline is directly related to the type of anomaly, cause and presence of associated anomalies. However, even in case of isolated anomalies prenatal counselling is challenging. The aim of this review is to provide an up to date on the diagnosis, counselling and management of the most common supra-tentorial anomalies involving the midline and diagnosed on prenatal ultrasound

Fetuses with right aortic arch Multicentre cohort study and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Recent antenatal screening guidelines for cardiac abnormalities has increased fetal diagnosis of right aortic arch (RAA). We aimed to establish outcome of fetal RAA without intra-cardiac abnormalities (ICA) to guide postnatal management. METHODOLOGY: Retrospective cohort study. Outcome measures were rates of chromosomal abnormalities, 22q11.2 deletion, fetal extra-cardiac abnormalities (ECA), postnatal ICA and ECA, symptoms and surgery for vascular ring. A systematic review and meta-analysis (reference: CRD42015016097) was performed; results are reported as proportions. Kaplan Meier analysis of vascular ring cases with surgery as endpoint was performed. RESULTS: Our cohort included 86 cases; 41 had a vascular ring. Rates of chromosomal abnormalities, 22q11.2 deletion, and fetal ECA were 14.1%, 6.4% and 17.4% respectively. Sixteen studies including our cohort (312 fetuses) were included in the systematic review. Overall chromosomal abnormalities and 22q11.2 deletion rates were 9.0% (95% CI 6.0-12.5) and 6.1% (95% CI 3.6-9.3) whilst rates for cases with no ECA were 4.6% (95% CI 2.3-7.8) and 5.1% (95% CI 2.4-8.6). ECA were seen in 14.6% (95% CI 10.6-19.0) prenatally and 4.0% (95%CI 1.5-7.6) after birth. Postnatal ICA were identified in 5.0% (95% CI 2.7-7.9). Rate of symptoms (follow up ≥24 months) was 25.2% (95% CI 16.6-35.0) while 17.1% (95% CI 9.9-25.7) had surgery. Two-year freedom from surgery was 83.0% (95% CI 74.3-90.1) CONCLUSIONS: Fetal RAA without ICA is more frequently associated with ECA than chromosomal abnormalities. Most cases however, are isolated. Vascular ring symptoms occur in about 25% of cases. Postnatal surveillance is required mainly in the first 2 years of life

Supersymmetric origin of a low aJ/psia_{J/psi} CP asymmetry

We show that general Minimal Supersymmetric extensions of the Standard Model (MSSM) allow for a CP asymmetry in B --> J/psi K(S) well bellow the SM expectations with dominant Supersymmetric contributions to epsilon_K and epsilon'/epsilon. Indeed, we provide an explicit example of an MSSM with non-universal soft breaking terms fully consistent with the low results of this asymmetry recently announced by Babar and Belle collaborations.Comment: 6 pages, no figures. Reference added, typos correcte

Polyunsaturated fatty acids influence offspring sex ratio in cows

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can influence fertility in farm animals. Some evidence in mice and sheep have suggested that PUFAs may influence offspring sex ratio, which may have significant value for cattle production. To test this hypothesis, three groups of Holstein cows were supplemented with either 0%, 3% or 5% protected fat (PF) in the form of calcium salt of fatty acids (rich in omega-6) from 14–21 days pre-partum until conception. Proven-fertile frozen semen from the same ejaculate was used for insemination. Calf sex recorded at birth was 8/19 (42.1%) male offspring in the control group, increasing to 14/20 (70%, P > 0.05) and 17/20 (85%, P < 0.05) in 3% and 5% PF, respectively. To test if this effect was caused by a direct influence on the oocyte, we supplemented bovine cumulus oocyte complexes during in vitro maturation with either omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), omega-6 linoleic acid (LA) or trans-10, cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Sex ratio of the produced transferable embryos was determined using PCR of SRY gene. Similar to the in vivo results, sex ratio was skewed to the male side in the embryos derived from LA- and CLA-treated oocytes (79% and 71%) compared to control and ALA-treated oocytes (44% and 54%, respectively). These results indicate that both dietary and in vitro supplementation of omega-6 PUFAs can skew the sex ratio towards the male side in cattle. Further experiments are required to confirm this effect on a larger scale and to study the mechanisms of action that might be involved