Parton Fragmentation within an Identified Jet at NNLL

The fragmentation of a light parton i to a jet containing a light energetic hadron h, where the momentum fraction of this hadron as well as the invariant mass of the jet is measured, is described by "fragmenting jet functions". We calculate the one-loop matching coefficients J_{ij} that relate the fragmenting jet functions G_i^h to the standard, unpolarized fragmentation functions D_j^h for quark and gluon jets. We perform this calculation using various IR regulators and show explicitly how the IR divergences cancel in the matching. We derive the relationship between the coefficients J_{ij} and the quark and gluon jet functions. This provides a cross-check of our results. As an application we study the process e+ e- to X pi+ on the Upsilon(4S) resonance where we measure the momentum fraction of the pi+ and restrict to the dijet limit by imposing a cut on thrust T. In our analysis we sum the logarithms of tau=1-T in the cross section to next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy (NNLL). We find that including contributions up to NNLL (or NLO) can have a large impact on extracting fragmentation functions from e+ e- to dijet + h.Comment: expanded introduction, typos fixed, journal versio

Epimorphin expression in interstitial pneumonia

Epimorphin modulates epithelial morphogenesis in embryonic mouse organs. We previously suggested that epimorphin contributes to repair of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice via epithelium-mesenchyme interactions. To clarify the role of epimorphin in human lungs, we evaluated epimorphin expression and localization in normal lungs, lungs with nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), and lungs with usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP); we also studied the effect of recombinant epimorphin on cultured human alveolar epithelial cells in vitro. Northern and Western blotting analyses revealed that epimorphin expression in NSIP samples were significantly higher than those in control lungs and lungs with UIP. Immunohistochemistry showed strong epimorphin expression in mesenchymal cells of early fibrotic lesions and localization of epimorphin protein on mesenchymal cells and extracellular matrix of early fibrotic lesions in the nonspecific interstitial pneumonia group. Double-labeled fluorescent images revealed expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2 in re-epithelialized cells overlying epimorphin-positive early fibrotic lesions. Immunohistochemistry and metalloproteinase activity assay demonstrated augmented expression of metalloproteinase induced by recombinant epimorphin in human alveolar epithelial cells. These findings suggest that epimorphin contributes to repair of pulmonary fibrosis in nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, perhaps partly by inducing expression of matrix metalloproteinase 2, which is an important proteolytic factor in lung remodeling

Assessment of Metabolome Annotation Quality: A Method for Evaluating the False Discovery Rate of Elemental Composition Searches

BACKGROUND: In metabolomics researches using mass spectrometry (MS), systematic searching of high-resolution mass data against compound databases is often the first step of metabolite annotation to determine elemental compositions possessing similar theoretical mass numbers. However, incorrect hits derived from errors in mass analyses will be included in the results of elemental composition searches. To assess the quality of peak annotation information, a novel methodology for false discovery rates (FDR) evaluation is presented in this study. Based on the FDR analyses, several aspects of an elemental composition search, including setting a threshold, estimating FDR, and the types of elemental composition databases most reliable for searching are discussed. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The FDR can be determined from one measured value (i.e., the hit rate for search queries) and four parameters determined by Monte Carlo simulation. The results indicate that relatively high FDR values (30-50%) were obtained when searching time-of-flight (TOF)/MS data using the KNApSAcK and KEGG databases. In addition, searches against large all-in-one databases (e.g., PubChem) always produced unacceptable results (FDR >70%). The estimated FDRs suggest that the quality of search results can be improved not only by performing more accurate mass analysis but also by modifying the properties of the compound database. A theoretical analysis indicates that FDR could be improved by using compound database with smaller but higher completeness entries. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: High accuracy mass analysis, such as Fourier transform (FT)-MS, is needed for reliable annotation (FDR <10%). In addition, a small, customized compound database is preferable for high-quality annotation of metabolome data

Kawasaki disease: a review with emphasis on cardiovascular complications

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute systemic vasculitis that is currently the leading cause of acquired heart disease in childhood in the United States. Cardiovascular complications are the major cause of morbidity, are responsible for virtually all deaths from KD and should be evaluated as soon as possible after the acute phase to establish the baseline status, in order to predict disease progression and determine adequate treatment. In selected patients, electrocardiography (ECG)-gated cardiac computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are valuable non-invasive techniques that can be used to help diagnose the cardiovascular complications associated with KD. In this article, we review the epidemiology, aetiology and pathogenesis, histopathology, clinical features, cardiovascular complications and imaging, focusing on the role of cardiac CT and MR on the initial assessment and follow-up of the cardiovascular complications of KD

Selective Preservation of Bone Marrow Mature Recirculating but Not Marginal Zone B Cells in Murine Models of Chronic Inflammation

Inflammation promotes granulopoiesis over B lymphopoiesis in the bone marrow (BM). We studied B cell homeostasis in two murine models of T cell mediated chronic inflammation, namely calreticulin-deficient fetal liver chimeras (FLC), which develop severe blepharitis and alopecia due to T cell hyper responsiveness, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) caused by injection of CD4+ naïve T cells into lymphopenic mice. We show herein that despite the severe depletion of B cell progenitors during chronic, peripheral T cell-mediated inflammation, the population of BM mature recirculating B cells is unaffected. These B cells are poised to differentiate to plasma cells in response to blood borne pathogens, in an analogous fashion to non-recirculating marginal zone (MZ) B cells in the spleen. MZ B cells nevertheless differentiate more efficiently to plasma cells upon polyclonal stimulation by Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands, and are depleted during chronic T cell mediated inflammation in vivo. The preservation of mature B cells in the BM is associated with increased concentration of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in serum and BM plasma. MIF produced by perivascular dendritic cells (DC) in the BM provides a crucial survival signal for recirculating B cells, and mice treated with a MIF inhibitor during inflammation showed significantly reduced mature B cells in the BM. These data indicate that MIF secretion by perivascular DC may promote the survival of the recirculating B cell pool to ensure responsiveness to blood borne microbes despite loss of the MZ B cell pool that accompanies depressed lymphopoiesis during inflammation

Resummation of small-x double logarithms in QCD: semi-inclusive electron-positron annihilation

We have derived the coefficients of the highest three 1/x-enhanced small-x logarithms of all timelike splitting functions and the coefficient functions for the transverse fragmentation function in one-particle inclusive e^+e^- annihilation at (in principle) all orders in massless perturbative QCD. For the longitudinal fragmentation function we present the respective two highest contributions. These results have been obtained from KLN-related decompositions of the unfactorized fragmentation functions in dimensional regularization and their structure imposed by the mass-factorization theorem. The resummation is found to completely remove the huge small-x spikes present in the fixed-order results for all quantities above, allowing for stable results down to very small values of the momentum fraction and scaling variable x. Our calculations can be extended to (at least) the corresponding as^n ln^(2n-l) x contributions to the above quantities and their counterparts in deep-inelastic scattering.Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX, 6 eps-figure

One-Step Detection of the 2009 Pandemic Influenza A(H1N1) Virus by the RT-SmartAmp Assay and Its Clinical Validation

<div><h3>Background</h3><p>In 2009, a pandemic (pdm) influenza A(H1N1) virus infection quickly circulated globally resulting in about 18,000 deaths around the world. In Japan, infected patients accounted for 16% of the total population. The possibility of human-to-human transmission of highly pathogenic novel influenza viruses is becoming a fear for human health and society.</p> <h3>Methodology</h3><p>To address the clinical need for rapid diagnosis, we have developed a new method, the “RT-SmartAmp assay”, to rapidly detect the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus from patient swab samples. The RT-SmartAmp assay comprises both reverse transcriptase (RT) and isothermal DNA amplification reactions in one step, where RNA extraction and PCR reaction are not required. We used an exciton-controlled hybridization-sensitive fluorescent primer to specifically detect the HA segment of the 2009 pdm influenza A(H1N1) virus within 40 minutes without cross-reacting with the seasonal A(H1N1), A(H3N2), or B-type (Victoria) viruses.</p> <h3>Results and Conclusions</h3><p>We evaluated the RT-SmartAmp method in clinical research carried out in Japan during a pandemic period of October 2009 to January 2010. A total of 255 swab samples were collected from outpatients with influenza-like illness at three hospitals and eleven clinics located in the Tokyo and Chiba areas in Japan. The 2009 pdm influenza A(H1N1) virus was detected by the RT-SmartAmp assay, and the detection results were subsequently compared with data of current influenza diagnostic tests (lateral flow immuno-chromatographic tests) and viral genome sequence analysis. In conclusion, by the RT-SmartAmp assay we could detect the 2009 pdm influenza A(H1N1) virus in patients' swab samples even in early stages after the initial onset of influenza symptoms. Thus, the RT-SmartAmp assay is considered to provide a simple and practical tool to rapidly detect the 2009 pdm influenza A(H1N1) virus.</p> </div

Relationship between peripheral airway function and patient-reported outcomes in COPD: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Health status, dyspnea and psychological status are important clinical outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV₁) measured by spirometry, the standard measurement of airflow limitation, has only a weak relationship with these outcomes in COPD. Recently, in addition to spirometry, impulse oscillometry (IOS) measuring lung resistance (R) and reactance (X) is increasingly being used to assess pulmonary functional impairment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We aimed to identify relationships between IOS measurements and patient-reported outcomes in 65 outpatients with stable COPD. We performed pulmonary function testing, IOS, high-resolution computed tomography (CT), and assessment of health status using the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), dyspnea using the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale and psychological status using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). We then investigated the relationships between these parameters. For the IOS measurements, we used lung resistance at 5 and 20 Hz (R5 and R20, respectively) and reactance at 5 Hz (X5). Because R5 and R20 are regarded as reflecting total and proximal airway resistance, respectively, the fall in resistance from R5 to R20 (R5-R20) was used as a surrogate for the resistance of peripheral airways. X5 was also considered to represent peripheral airway abnormalities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>R5-R20 and X5 were significantly correlated with the SGRQ and the MRC. These correlation coefficients were greater than when using other objective measurements of pulmonary function, R20 on the IOS and CT instead of R5-R20 and X5. Multiple regression analyses showed that R5-R20 or X5 most significantly accounted for the SGRQ and MRC scores.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>IOS measurements, especially indices of peripheral airway function, are significantly correlated with health status and dyspnea in patients with COPD. Therefore, in addition to its simplicity and non-invasiveness, IOS may be a useful clinical tool not only for detecting pulmonary functional impairment, but also to some extent at least estimating the patient's quality of daily life and well-being.</p

Metabarcoding analysis on European coastal samples reveals new molecular metazoan diversity

Although animals are among the best studied organisms, we still lack a full description of their diversity, especially for microscopic taxa. This is partly due to the time-consuming and costly nature of surveying animal diversity through morphological and molecular studies of individual taxa. A powerful alternative is the use of high-throughput environmental sequencing, providing molecular data from all organisms sampled. We here address the unknown diversity of animal phyla in marine environments using an extensive dataset designed to assess eukaryotic ribosomal diversity among European coastal locations. A multi-phylum assessment of marine animal diversity that includes water column and sediments, oxic and anoxic environments, and both DNA and RNA templates, revealed a high percentage of novel 18S rRNA sequences in most phyla, suggesting that marine environments have not yet been fully sampled at a molecular level. This novelty is especially high among Platyhelminthes, Acoelomorpha, and Nematoda, which are well studied from a morphological perspective and abundant in benthic environments. We also identified, based on molecular data, a potentially novel group of widespread tunicates. Moreover, we recovered a high number of reads for Ctenophora and Cnidaria in the smaller fractions suggesting their gametes might play a greater ecological role than previously suspected