Chemokine-guided angiogenesis directs coronary vasculature formation in zebrafish.

Supramolecular & Biomaterials Chemistr

Using kinematic boundary lines for particle mass measurements and disambiguation in SUSY-like events with missing energy

We revisit the method of kinematical endpoints for particle mass determination, applied to the popular SUSY decay chain squark -> neutralino -> slepton -> LSP. We analyze the uniqueness of the solutions for the mass spectrum in terms of the measured endpoints in the observable invariant mass distributions. We provide simple analytical inversion formulas for the masses in terms of the measured endpoints. We show that in a sizable portion of the SUSY mass parameter space the solutions always suffer from a two-fold ambiguity, due to the fact that the original relations between the masses and the endpoints are piecewise-defined functions. The ambiguity persists even in the ideal case of a perfect detector and infinite statistics. We delineate the corresponding dangerous regions of parameter space and identify the sets of "twin" mass spectra. In order to resolve the ambiguity, we propose a generalization of the endpoint method, from single-variable distributions to two-variable distributions. In particular, we study analytically the boundaries of the (m_{jl(lo)}, m_{jl(hi)}) and (m_{ll}, m_{jll}) distributions and prove that their shapes are in principle sufficient to resolve the ambiguity in the mass determination. We identify several additional independent measurements which can be obtained from the boundary lines of these bivariate distributions. The purely kinematical nature of our method makes it generally applicable to any model that exhibits a SUSY-like cascade decay.Comment: 47 pages, 19 figure

Precise reconstruction of sparticle masses without ambiguities

We critically reexamine the standard applications of the method of kinematical endpoints for sparticle mass determination. We consider the typical decay chain in supersymmetry (SUSY) squark -> neutralino -> slepton -> LSP, which yields a jet j and two leptons ln and lf. The conventional approaches use the upper kinematical endpoints of the individual distributions m_{jll}, m_{jl(lo)} and m_{jl(hi)}, all three of which suffer from parameter space region ambiguities and may lead to multiple solutions for the SUSY mass spectrum. In contrast, we do not use m_{jll}, m_{jl(lo)} and m_{jl(hi)}, and instead propose a new set of (infinitely many) variables whose upper kinematic endpoints exhibit reduced sensitivity to the parameter space region. We then outline an alternative, much simplified procedure for obtaining the SUSY mass spectrum. In particular, we show that the four endpoints observed in the three distributions m^2_{ll}, m^2_{jln} U m^2_{jlf} and m^2_{jln}+m^2_{jlf} are sufficient to completely pin down the squark mass and the two neutralino masses, leaving only a discrete 2-fold ambiguity for the slepton mass. This remaining ambiguity can be easily resolved in a number of different ways: for example, by a single additional measurement of the kinematic endpoint of any one out of the many remaining 1-dimensional distributions at our disposal, or by exploring the correlations in the 2-dimensional distribution of m^2_{jln} U m^2_{jlf} versus m^2_{ll}. We illustrate our method with two examples: the LM1 and LM6 CMS study points. An additional advantage of our method is the expected improvement in the accuracy of the SUSY mass determination, due to the multitude and variety of available measurements.Comment: 37 pages, added a new figure in the Appendix, published versio

Finding a moral homeground: appropriately critical religious education and transmission of spiritual values

Values-inspired issues remain an important part of the British school curriculum. Avoiding moral relativism while fostering enthusiasm for spiritual values and applying them to non-curricular learning such as school ethos or children's home lives are challenges where spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development might benefit from leadership by critical religious education (RE). Whether the school's model of spirituality is that of an individual spiritual tradition (schools of a particular religious character) or universal pluralistic religiosity (schools of plural religious character), the pedagogy of RE thought capable of leading SMSC development would be the dialogical approach with examples of successful implementation described by Gates, Ipgrave and Skeie. Marton's phenomenography, is thought to provide a valuable framework to allow the teacher to be appropriately critical in the transmission of spiritual values in schools of a particular religious character as evidenced by Hella's work in Lutheran schools

Gamma tocopherol-enriched supplement reduces sputum eosinophilia and endotoxin-induced sputum neutrophilia in volunteers with asthma

Background: We and others have shown that the gamma tocopherol (γT) isoform of vitamin E has multiple anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions and that γT supplementation reduces eosinophilic and endotoxin (LPS)-induced neutrophilic airway inflammation in animal models and healthy human volunteers. Objective: We sought to determine whether γT supplementation reduces eosinophilic airway inflammation and acute neutrophilic response to inhaled LPS challenge in volunteers with asthma. Methods: Participants with mild asthma were enrolled in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study to assess the effect of 1200 mg of γT daily for 14 days on sputum eosinophils, mucins, and cytokines. We also assessed the effect on acute inflammatory response to inhaled LPS challenge following γT treatment, focusing on changes in sputum neutrophilia, mucins, and cytokines. Mucociliary clearance was measured using gamma scintigraphy. Results: Fifteen subjects with mild asthma completed both arms of the study. Compared with placebo, γT notably reduced pre-LPS challenge sputum eosinophils and mucins, including mucin 5AC and reduced LPS-induced airway neutrophil recruitment 6 and 24 hours after challenge. Mucociliary clearance was slowed 4 hours postchallenge in the placebo group but not in the γT treatment group. Total sputum mucins (but not mucin 5AC) were reduced at 24 hours postchallenge during γT treatment compared with placebo. Conclusions: When compared with placebo, γT supplementation for 14 days reduced inflammatory features of asthma, including sputum eosinophils and mucins, as well as acute airway response to inhaled LPS challenge. Larger scale clinical trials are needed to assess the efficacy of γT supplements as a complementary or steroid-sparing treatment for asthma