Analytical and finite element prediction of Lamb wave scattering at delaminations in quasi-isotropic composite laminates

This paper presents a theoretical and finite element (FE) investigation of the scattering characteristics of the fundamental anti-symmetric (A0) Lamb wave at delaminations in a quasi-isotropic (QI) composite laminate. Analytical models based on the Mindlin plate theory and Born approximation are presented to predict the A0 Lamb wave scattering at a delamination, which is modelled as an inhomogeneity, in an equivalent isotropic model of the QI composite laminate. The results are compared with FE predictions, in which the delamination is modelled as a volume split. The equivalent isotropic model and QI composite laminate are used to investigate the feasibility of the common theoretical approach of modelling the delamination as the inhomogeneity. A good correlation is observed between the theoretical solutions and FE results in the forward scattering amplitudes, but there exists a larger discrepancy in the backward scattering amplitudes. The FE results also show that the fibre direction of the outer laminae has a pronounced influence on the forward and backward scattering amplitudes, which is not predicted by the analytical models.C.T. Ng, M. Veidt, L.R.F. Rose, C.H. Wan

Search for Lepton-Flavor-Violating and Lepton-Number-Violating tau to lhh' Decay Modes

We search for lepton-flavor-violating and lepton-number-violating tau decays into a lepton (l = electron or muon) and two charged mesons (h, h' = pion or Kaon) using 854 fb^{-1} of data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^+e^- collider. We obtain 90% confidence level upper limits on the tau to lhh' branching fractions in the range (2.0-8.4)*10^{-8}. These results improve upon our previously published upper limits by factors of about 1.8 on average.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Lett.

Study of B^{+-} -> K^{+-}(K_S K pi)^0 Decay and Determination of eta_c and eta_c(2S) Parameters

We report the results of a study of $B^{\pm}\to K^{\pm}\eta_c$ and $B^{\pm}\to K^{\pm}\eta_c(2S)$ decays followed by $\eta_c$ and $\eta_c(2S)$ decays to $(K_SK\pi)^0$. The results are obtained from a data sample containing 535 million $B\bar{B}$-meson pairs collected by the Belle experiment at the KEKB $e^+e^-$ collider. We measure the products of the branching fractions ${\mathcal B}(B^{\pm}\to K^{\pm}\eta_c){\mathcal B}(\eta_c\to K_S K^{\pm}\pi^{\mp})=(26.7\pm 1.4(stat)^{+2.9}_{-2.6}(syst)\pm 4.9(model))\times 10^{-6}$ and ${\mathcal B}(B^{\pm}\to K^{\pm}\eta_c(2S)){\mathcal B}(\eta_c(2S)\to K_S K^{\pm}\pi^{\mp})=(3.4^{+2.2}_{-1.5}(stat+model)^{+0.5}_{-0.4} syst))\times 10^{-6}$. Interference with the non-resonant component leads to significant model uncertainty in the measurement of these product branching fractions. Our analysis accounts for this interference and allows the model uncertainty to be reduced. We also obtain the following charmonia masses and widths: $M(\eta_c)=(2985.4\pm 1.5(stat)^{+0.5}_{-2.0}(syst))$ MeV/$c^2$, $\Gamma(\eta_c)=(35.1\pm 3.1(stat)^{+1.0}_{-1.6}(syst))$ MeV/$c^2$, $M(\eta_c(2S))=(3636.1^{+3.9}_{-4.2}(stat+model)^{+0.7}_{-2.0}(syst))$ MeV/$c^2$, $\Gamma(\eta_c(2S))=(6.6^{+8.4}_{-5.1}(stat+model)^{+2.6}_{-0.9}(syst))$ MeV/$c^2$.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, submitted to PL

Search for Lepton-Flavor-Violating tau Decays into a Lepton and a Vector Meson

We search for lepton-flavor-violating tau-> ell V^0 decays, where ell is an electron or muon and V^0 is one of the vector mesons rho^0, phi, omega, K*0 and K*0-bar. We use 854 fb^{-1} of data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e^+e^- collider. No evidence for a signal is found in any decay mode, and we obtain 90% confidence level upper limits on the individual branching fractions in the range (1.2-8.4)*10^{-8}.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Lett.

Measurement of D0-D0 mixing and search for CP violation in D0→K+K-,π+π- decays with the full Belle data set

We report an improved measurement of D0 – D‾0 mixing and a search for CP violation in D0 decays to CP -even final states K+K− and π+π− . The measurement is based on the final Belle data sample of 976 fb −1 . The results are yCP=(1.11±0.22±0.09)% and AΓ=(−0.03±0.20±0.07)% , where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic

Fine-Scale Mapping of the 4q24 Locus Identifies Two Independent Loci Associated with Breast Cancer Risk

Background: A recent association study identified a common variant (rs9790517) at 4q24 to be associated with breast cancer risk. Independent association signals and potential functional variants in this locus have not been explored. Methods: We conducted a fine-mapping analysis in 55,540 breast cancer cases and 51,168 controls from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Results: Conditional analyses identified two independent association signals among women of European ancestry, represented by rs9790517 [conditional P = 2.51 × 10−4; OR, 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02–1.07] and rs77928427 (P = 1.86 × 10−4; OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02–1.07). Functional annotation using data from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project revealed two putative functional variants, rs62331150 and rs73838678 in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with rs9790517 (r2 ≥ 0.90) residing in the active promoter or enhancer, respectively, of the nearest gene, TET2. Both variants are located in DNase I hypersensitivity and transcription factor–binding sites. Using data from both The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC), we showed that rs62331150 was associated with level of expression of TET2 in breast normal and tumor tissue. Conclusion: Our study identified two independent association signals at 4q24 in relation to breast cancer risk and suggested that observed association in this locus may be mediated through the regulation of TET2. Impact: Fine-mapping study with large sample size warranted for identification of independent loci for breast cancer risk

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362