99 research outputs found
The Semileptonic to Decays in QCD Sum Rules
We analyze the semileptonic rare decays of meson to and
axial vector mesons. The
decays are significant flavor changing neutral current decays of the meson.
These decays are sensitive to the new physics beyond SM, since these processes
are forbidden at tree level at SM. These decays occurring at the quark level
via transition, also provide new opportunities for
calculating the CKM matrix elements and . In this study, the
transition form factors of the decays
are calculated using three-point QCD sum rules approach. The resulting form
factors are used to estimate the branching fractions of these decays.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, version to appear in JP
Constraints from Solar and Reactor Neutrinos on Unparticle Long-Range Forces
We have investigated the impact of long-range forces induced by unparticle
operators of scalar, vector and tensor nature coupled to fermions in the
interpretation of solar neutrinos and KamLAND data. If the unparticle couplings
to the neutrinos are mildly non-universal, such long-range forces will not
factorize out in the neutrino flavour evolution. As a consequence large
deviations from the observed standard matter-induced oscillation pattern for
solar neutrinos would be generated. In this case, severe limits can be set on
the infrared fix point scale, Lambda_u, and the new physics scale, M, as a
function of the ultraviolet (d_UV) and anomalous (d) dimension of the
unparticle operator. For a scalar unparticle, for instance, assuming the
non-universality of the lepton couplings to unparticles to be of the order of a
few per mil we find that, for d_UV=3 and d=1.1, M is constrained to be M >
O(10^9) TeV (M > O(10^10) TeV) if Lambda_u= 1 TeV (10 TeV). For given values of
Lambda_u and d, the corresponding bounds on M for vector [tensor] unparticles
are approximately 100 [3/Sqrt(Lambda_u/TeV)] times those for the scalar case.
Conversely, these results can be translated into severe constraints on
universality violation of the fermion couplings to unparticle operators with
scales which can be accessible at future colliders.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Minor changes due to precision in numerical
factors and correction in figure labels. References added. Conclusions remain
unchange
Environmental Factors in the Relapse and Recurrence of Inflammatory Bowel Disease:A Review of the Literature
The causes of relapse in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are largely unknown. This paper reviews the epidemiological and clinical data on how medications (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, estrogens and antibiotics), lifestyle factors (smoking, psychological stress, diet and air pollution) may precipitate clinical relapses and recurrence. Potential biological mechanisms include: increasing thrombotic tendency, imbalances in prostaglandin synthesis, alterations in the composition of gut microbiota, and mucosal damage causing increased permeability
Measurement of electrons from open heavy-flavor hadron decays in Au+Au collisions at GeV with the STAR detector
We report a new measurement of the production of electrons from open
heavy-flavor hadron decays (HFEs) at mid-rapidity ( 0.7) in Au+Au
collisions at GeV. Invariant yields of HFEs are
measured for the transverse momentum range of GeV/ in
various configurations of the collision geometry. The HFE yields in head-on
Au+Au collisions are suppressed by approximately a factor of 2 compared to that
in + collisions scaled by the average number of binary collisions,
indicating strong interactions between heavy quarks and the hot and dense
medium created in heavy-ion collisions. Comparison of these results with models
provides additional tests of theoretical calculations of heavy quark energy
loss in the quark-gluon plasma
Elliptic Flow of Heavy-Flavor Decay Electrons in Au+Au Collisions at = 27 and 54.4 GeV at RHIC
We report on new measurements of elliptic flow () of electrons from
heavy-flavor hadron decays at mid-rapidity () in Au+Au collisions at
= 27 and 54.4 GeV from the STAR experiment. Heavy-flavor
decay electrons () in Au+Au collisions at =
54.4 GeV exhibit a non-zero in the transverse momentum ()
region of 2 GeV/ with the magnitude comparable to that at
GeV. The measured at 54.4 GeV is
also consistent with the expectation of their parent charm hadron
following number-of-constituent-quark scaling as other light and strange flavor
hadrons at this energy. These suggest that charm quarks gain significant
collectivity through the evolution of the QCD medium and may reach local
thermal equilibrium in Au+Au collisions at GeV. The
measured in Au+Au collisions at 27
GeV is consistent with zero within large uncertainties. The energy dependence
of for different flavor particles () shows an
indication of quark mass hierarchy in reaching thermalization in high-energy
nuclear collisions.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl
Hyperon polarization along the beam direction relative to the second and third harmonic event planes in isobar collisions at = 200 GeV
The polarization of and hyperons along the beam
direction has been measured relative to the second and third harmonic event
planes in isobar Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at = 200 GeV. This
is the first experimental evidence of the hyperon polarization by the
triangular flow originating from the initial density fluctuations. The
amplitudes of the sine modulation for the second and third harmonic results are
comparable in magnitude, increase from central to peripheral collisions, and
show a mild dependence. The azimuthal angle dependence of the
polarization follows the vorticity pattern expected due to elliptic and
triangular anisotropic flow, and qualitatively disagree with most hydrodynamic
model calculations based on thermal vorticity and shear induced contributions.
The model results based on one of existing implementations of the shear
contribution lead to a correct azimuthal angle dependence, but predict
centrality and dependence that still disagree with experimental
measurements. Thus, our results provide stringent constraints on the thermal
vorticity and shear-induced contributions to hyperon polarization. Comparison
to previous measurements at RHIC and the LHC for the second-order harmonic
results shows little dependence on the collision system size and collision
energy.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Published in Physical Review Letter
Event-by-event correlations between () hyperon global polarization and handedness with charged hadron azimuthal separation in Au+Au collisions at from STAR
Global polarizations () of () hyperons have been
observed in non-central heavy-ion collisions. The strong magnetic field
primarily created by the spectator protons in such collisions would split the
and global polarizations (). Additionally, quantum chromodynamics (QCD) predicts
topological charge fluctuations in vacuum, resulting in a chirality imbalance
or parity violation in a local domain. This would give rise to an imbalance
() between left- and right-handed
() as well as a charge separation along the magnetic field,
referred to as the chiral magnetic effect (CME). This charge separation can be
characterized by the parity-even azimuthal correlator () and
parity-odd azimuthal harmonic observable (). Measurements of
, , and have not led to definitive
conclusions concerning the CME or the magnetic field, and has not
been measured previously. Correlations among these observables may reveal new
insights. This paper reports measurements of correlation between and
, which is sensitive to chirality fluctuations, and correlation
between and sensitive to magnetic field in Au+Au
collisions at 27 GeV. For both measurements, no correlations have been observed
beyond statistical fluctuations.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures; paper from the STAR Collaboratio
Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease
Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.
Mathematical Model of Plasmid-Mediated Resistance to Ceftiofur in Commensal Enteric Escherichia coli of Cattle
Antimicrobial use in food animals may contribute to antimicrobial resistance in bacteria of animals and humans. Commensal bacteria of animal intestine may serve as a reservoir of resistance-genes. To understand the dynamics of plasmid-mediated resistance to cephalosporin ceftiofur in enteric commensals of cattle, we developed a deterministic mathematical model of the dynamics of ceftiofur-sensitive and resistant commensal enteric Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the absence of and during parenteral therapy with ceftiofur. The most common treatment scenarios including those using a sustained-release drug formulation were simulated; the model outputs were in agreement with the available experimental data. The model indicated that a low but stable fraction of resistant enteric E. coli could persist in the absence of immediate ceftiofur pressure, being sustained by horizontal and vertical transfers of plasmids carrying resistance-genes, and ingestion of resistant E. coli. During parenteral therapy with ceftiofur, resistant enteric E. coli expanded in absolute number and relative frequency. This expansion was most influenced by parameters of antimicrobial action of ceftiofur against E. coli. After treatment (>5 weeks from start of therapy) the fraction of ceftiofur-resistant cells among enteric E. coli, similar to that in the absence of treatment, was most influenced by the parameters of ecology of enteric E. coli, such as the frequency of transfer of plasmids carrying resistance-genes, the rate of replacement of enteric E. coli by ingested E. coli, and the frequency of ceftiofur resistance in the latter
Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial
Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials.
Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure.
Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen.
Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049
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