Probing MSSM Higgs Sector with Explicit CP Violation at a Photon Linear Collider

The CP properties of Higgs bosons can be probed through their s-channel resonance productions via photon-photon collisions by use of circularly and/or linearly polarized backscattered laser photons at a TeV-scale linear e^+ e^- collider. Exploiting this powerful tool, we investigate in detail the Higgs sector of the minimal supersymmetric Standard Model with explicit CP violation.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures. Some comments added and typos corrected. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Participatory arts interventions promote interpersonal and intergroup prosocial intentions in middle childhood

We report the results of two experiments which test the potential of arts engagement for promoting prosocial intentions. Experiment 1 (N = 216) tested the impact of a participatory arts intervention (vs. a control condition) on children's empathy and interpersonal prosocial intentions. Experiment 2 (N = 174) tested the impact of a participatory arts intervention (vs. a control condition) on children's prosocial intentions toward outgroup members under competitive and non-competitive conditions. Experiment 1 showed that the participatory arts intervention significantly increased children's interpersonal prosocial intentions, but not their empathy. Experiment 2 showed that, under competitive conditions, the participatory arts intervention significantly increased prosocial intentions toward outgroup members, an effect that persisted for six months beyond the intervention. Under non-competitive conditions, the participatory arts intervention consolidated improvements in prosocial intentions toward outgroup members. Overall, the results confirm the hypothesis that participatory arts engagement can promote prosocial intentions during middle childhood

MSSM Higgs-Boson Production at Hadron Colliders with Explicit CP Violation

Gluon fusion is the main production mechanism for Higgs bosons with masses up to several hundred GeV in $pp$ collisions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. We investigate the effects of the CP-violating phases on the fusion process including both the sfermion-loop contributions and the one-loop induced CP-violating scalar-pseudoscalar mixing in the minimal supersymmetric standard model. With a universal trilinear parameter assumed, every physical observable involves only the sum of the phases of the universal trilinear parameter $A$ and the higgsino mass parameter $\mu$. The phase affects the lightest Higgs-boson production rate significantly through the neutral Higgs-boson mixing and, for the masses around the lightest stop-pair threshold, it also changes the production rate of the heavy Higgs bosons significantly through both the stop and sbottom loops and the neutral Higgs-boson mixing.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figures. Some references and comments added. Typos corrected. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Preparation and characterization of quinoxaline-pyrene-based conjugated copolymers for organic photovoltaic devices

In this study, two novel conjugated polymers, poly(4,5,9,10-tetrakis((2-ethylhexyl)oxy]pyrene-alt-2,3-bis(3-(octyloxy)phenyl)-5,8-di(2-thienyl)-6,7-difluoroquinoxaline) (PPyQxff) and poly(4,5,9,10-tetrakis((2-ethylhexyl)oxy)pyren-alt-2,3-bis(3-(octyloxy)phenyl)-5,8-di(2-thienyl)quinoxaline) (PPyQx), consisting of quinoxaline units with and without fluorine substituents, as electron-accepting moieties and pyrene flanked with dithienyl units as electron-donating moieties were prepared via Stille polymerization reactions for use as electron donor materials in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. PPyQxff and PPyQx were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), cyclic voltammetry (CV), UV−VIS absorption, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. PPyQxff and PPyQx revealed excellent solution processability in common organic solvents. PPyQxff and PPyQx presented decomposition temperatures above 300 °C. The inclusion of F atoms to the quinoxaline moiety made a slight reduction in the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level, relative to the unfluorinated polymer, but had no impact on the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level. PPyQxff and PPyQx exhibited similar physical properties with strong and broad absorbance from 400 to 700 nm and an optical band-gap energy of 1.77 eV. The X-ray powder diffraction study indicated that PPyQxff possessed a reduced π–π stacking distance relative to PPyQx

Loop-Induced CP Violation in the Gaugino and Higgsino Sectors of Supersymmetric Theories

We show that the gaugino and higgsino sectors of supersymmetric theories can naturally acquire observable CP violation through radiative effects which originate from large CP-violating trilinear couplings of the Higgs bosons to the third-generation scalar quarks. These CP-violating loop effects are not attainable by evolving the supersymmetric renormalization-group equations from a higher unification scale down to the electroweak one. We briefly discuss the phenomenological consequences of such a scenario, and as an example, calculate the two-loop contribution to the neutron electric dipole moment generated by the one-loop chromo-electric dipole moment of the gluino.Comment: 9 pages, as to appear in Physical Review

Predictive models for Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and MCI identification: The use of cognitive scores and artificial intelligence algorithms

The paper presents a comprehensive study on predictive models for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) diagnosis, implementing a combination of cognitive scores and artificial intelligence algorithms. The research includes detailed analyses of clinical and demographic variables such as age, education, and various cognitive and functional scores, investigating their distributions and correlations with AD and MCI. The study utilizes several machine-learning classifiers, comparing their performance through metrics like accuracy, precision, and area under the ROC curve (AUC). Key findings include the influence of gender on AD prevalence, the potential protective effect of education, and the significance of functional decline and cognitive performance scores in the models. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of ensemble methods and the robustness of the models across different data subsets, highlighting the potential of artificial intelligence in enhancing diagnostic accuracy for Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment

Optimizing individual treatment outcomes in men with lower urinary tract symptoms using storage subscale score/total International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) as a new IPSS lratio

Background/aim: To evaluate the effects of the storage/total International Prostate Symptom Score (s/T) ratio on the selection and success of medical therapy in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).Materials and methods: A total of 54 men (>45 years of age) with moderate or severe LUTS were divided into 2 groups according to the s/T ratio: Group 1 at 0.43. Tamsulosin (0.4 mg to Group 1) and tolterodine ER (4 mg to Group 2) were administered. Patients were evaluated during the 1st and 3rd months of follow-up treatment.Results: Thirty-seven (68.5%) and 17 (31.5%) patients were in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. The mean s/T ratios in Groups 1 and 2 increased to 0.38 ± 0.19 from 0.33 ± 0.08 (P = 0.03) and decreased to 0.54 ± 0.18 from 0.59 ± 0.1 (P = 0.17) during the 3rd month of follow-up, respectively. The treatment success rates of Groups 1 and 2 were 88.4% and 75.7%, respectively. Nine unsuccessful cases were treated with combination therapy and the treatment success was 86.6% at follow-up.Conclusion: The s/T ratio is effective to determine symptom dominance in men with LUTS and can guide medical treatment selection through better identification of symptoms. © TÜBİTAK

Measurement of the Branching Fraction for B->eta' K and Search for B->eta'pi+

We report measurements for two-body charmless B decays with an eta' meson in the final state. Using 11.1X10^6 BBbar pairs collected with the Belle detector, we find BF(B^+ ->eta'K^+)=(79^+12_-11 +-9)x10^-6 and BF(B^0 -> eta'K^0)=(55^+19_-16 +-8)x10^-6, where the first and second errors are statistical and systematic, respectively. No signal is observed in the mode B^+ -> eta' pi^+, and we set a 90% confidence level upper limit of BF(B^+-> eta'pi^+) eta'K^+- decays is investigated and a limit at 90% confidence level of -0.20<Acp<0.32 is obtained.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

A p53-TLR3 axis ameliorates pulmonary hypertension by inducing BMPR2 via IRF3

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) features pathogenic and abnormal endothelial cells (ECs), and one potential origin is clonal selection. We studied the role of p53 and toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) in clonal expansion and pulmonary hypertension (PH) via regulation of bone morphogenetic protein (BMPR2) signaling. ECs of PAH patients had reduced p53 expression. EC-specific p53 knockout exaggerated PH, and clonal expansion reduced p53 and TLR3 expression in rat lung CD117+ ECs. Reduced p53 degradation (Nutlin 3a) abolished clonal EC expansion, induced TLR3 and BMPR2, and ameliorated PH. Polyinosinic/polycytidylic acid [Poly(I:C)] increased BMPR2 signaling in ECs via enhanced binding of interferon regulatory factor-3 (IRF3) to the BMPR2 promoter and reduced PH in p53−/− mice but not in mice with impaired TLR3 downstream signaling. Our data show that a p53/TLR3/IRF3 axis regulates BMPR2 expression and signaling in ECs. This link can be exploited for therapy of PH