Precise measurements of the eta and the neutral kaon meson masses with the KLOE detector

We present precise measurements of the eta and K0 masses using the processes phi to eta gamma, eta to gamma gamma and phi to Ks Kl, Ks to pi+ pi-. The K0 mass measurement, M_K=497.583 +/- 0.005 (stat) +/- 0.020 (syst) MeV, is in acceptable agreement with the previous measurements but is more accurate. We find m(eta) = 547.874 +/- 0.007 (stat) +/- 0.031 (syst) MeV. Our value is the most accurate to date and is in agreement with two recent measurements based on eta decays, but is inconsistent, by about 10 sigma, with a measurement of comparable precision based on eta production at threshold.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures Submitted to Physics Letters

Development of a Standardized Set of Patient-centered Outcomes for Advanced Prostate Cancer: An International Effort for a Unified Approach

AbstractBackgroundThere are no universally monitored outcomes relevant to men with advanced prostate cancer, making it challenging to compare health outcomes between populations.ObjectiveWe sought to develop a standard set of outcomes relevant to men with advanced prostate cancer to follow during routine clinical care.Design, setting, and participantsThe International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement assembled a multidisciplinary working group to develop the set.Outcome measurements and statistical analysisWe used a modified Delphi method to achieve consensus regarding the outcomes, measures, and case mix factors included.Results and limitationsThe 25 members of the multidisciplinary international working group represented academic and nonacademic centers, registries, and patients. Recognizing the heterogeneity of men with advanced prostate cancer, the group defined the scope as men with all stages of incurable prostate cancer (metastatic and biochemical recurrence ineligible for further curative therapy). We defined outcomes important to all men, such as overall survival, and measures specific to subgroups, such as time to metastasis. Measures gathered from clinical data include measures of disease control. We also identified patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), such as degree of urinary, bowel, and erectile dysfunction, mood symptoms, and pain control.ConclusionsThe international multidisciplinary group identified clinical data and PROMs that serve as a basis for international health outcome comparisons and quality-of-care assessments. The set will be revised annually.Patient summaryOur international group has recommended a standardized set of patient-centered outcomes to be followed during routine care for all men with advanced prostate cancer

Effect of (+)-pulegone and other oil components of Mentha x piperita on cucumber respiration

Peppermint (Menthaxpiperita L.) essential oil and main components were assessed for their ability to interfere with plant respiratory functions. Tests were conducted on both root segments and mitochondria isolated by etiolated seedlings of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Total essential oil inhibited 50% of root and mitochondrial respiration (IC50) when used at 324 and 593 ppm, respectively. ( )-Pulegone was the most toxic compound, with a 0.08 and 0.12 mM IC50 for root and mitochondrial respiration, respectively. (−)-Menthone, followed ( )-pulegone in its inhibitory action (IC50 values of 1.11 and 2.30 mM for root and mitochondrial respiration respectively), whereas (−)-menthol was the less inhibitory compound (IC50 values of 1.85 and 3.80 mM respectively). A positive correlation was found for ( )-pulegone, (−)-menthone and (−)-menthol between water solubility and respiratory inhibition. The uncoupling agent, carbonyl-cyanide-m-chlorophenyl-hydrazone (CCCP), lowered (−)-menthol and (−)-menthone inhibition and annulled ( )-pulegone inhibition of mitochondrial respiration, whereas salicyl-hydroxamic acid (SHAM) 2-hydroxybenzohydroxamic acid, the alternative oxidase (AO) inhibitor, increased (−)-menthone inhibition and annulled both ( )-pulegone and (−)-menthol inhibitory activity. The possible interaction of ( )-pulegone and (−)-menthol with AO and the mechanism of action of ( )-pulegone, (−)-menthone and (−)-menthol on mitochondrial respiration are discussed

Magnaporthe oryzae cell wall hydrolysate induces ROS and fungistatic VOCs in rice cell cultures.

Plants react to microbial attack with a number of defense mechanisms, including the synthesis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). These responses are triggered by elicitors derived from either the cell surface of pathogens or the incomplete hydrolysis of the plant cell wall. Here we show the response of rice (Oryza sativa L., cv Gigante Vercelli) cell cultures following treatment with cell wall hydrolysates prepared from the rice blast Magnaporthe oryzae. Elicitation prompted the production of several plant VOCs, which were analyzed by stir bar sorptive extraction from both the liquid and head-space phase (SBSE and HSSE, respectively) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. VOCs included alkanes, alkenes and long-chain alcohols as well as cinnamyl alcohol, myristicin, a sesquiterpene alcohol (caryolan-1-ol), 1-butanamide and 2-pentylfuran. The major released compounds, 1-octanol and 1-decanol, were found to induce ROS production in both elicited and non-elicited rice cells and showed fungistatic activity against the pathogen M. oryzae. The possible role of induced VOCs and ROS production in the plant–pathogen interaction is discussed

biRNA: Fast RNA-RNA Binding Sites Prediction

Abstract. We present biRNA, a novel algorithm for prediction of binding sites between two RNAs based on minimization of binding free energy. Similar to RNAup approach [29], we assume the binding free energy is the sum of accessibility and the interaction free energies. Our algorithm maintains tractability and speed and also has two important advantages over previous similar approaches: 1) it is able to predict multiple simultaneous binding sites and 2) it computes a more accurate interaction free energy by considering both intramolecular and intermolecular base pairing. Moreover, biRNA can handle crossing interactions as well as hairpins interacting in a zigzag fashion. To deal with simultaneous accessibility of binding sites, our algorithm models their joint probability of being unpaired. Since computing the exact joint probability distribution is intractable, we approximate the joint probability by a polynomially representable graphical model namely a Chow-Liu tree-structured Markov Random Field. Experimental results show that biRNA outperforms RNAup and also support the accuracy of our approach. Our proposed Bayesian approximation of the Boltzmann joint probability distribution provides a powerful, novel framework that can also be utilized in other applications.

Electroweak measurements in electron–positron collisions at w-boson-pair energies at lep

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